#and it didn’t heal right to begin with so it’s bright pink compared to all my white ones

[haitanisbug]

tw SH:

I think one of the worst things about this addiction is when your brain clear days, weeks, months, later and now you have all these scars littered on your arm and they’re ugly and they itch and I regret it but I can’t stop

[bestiesenpai]

Inamorata - Sukuna

You have no idea how much I like this idea lol ya know the meme ‘i got a boyfriend, yeah he kills people he’s crazy’ this is exactly what went through my head with this. Femme reader, I went for a...Sukuna is his own person and not attached to Itadori kind of thing? Like just a stand-alone demon. I had probably way too much fun writing this and would be down to write more for this concept

Content warnings: killing/murder/homicide choose your preferred noun, a little yandere?, size difference and Sukuna is in his four armed form, uhmm there’s a knife(main use to cut open readers palm in the beginning) and also licking blood from said wound, violence/gore at the end

Apparently there was a demon on the loose. From what you’d read on online forums and heard through the whispers of older people on the train, there was a foreboding presence terrorizing the city, preying on the weak and helpless and hoping to take over the world.

There were blurry photos and horrible sketches of what the creature supposedly looked like and the form it took, but none of them seemed to match up. The tattoos on the face and body were always off, the amount of muscle and the stature of the creature were all different depending on who you went to.

Which is why you decided, against all better judgement, to go looking for him. All the stories you’d heard about the demon, the kind of creature it was centuries ago in its prime, had intrigued you. With the mystique and terror surrounding this demon, you’d be a fool not to try and get a peek for yourself.

At first you’d tried a summoning circle, clearing a large space in your bedroom and drawing intricate patterns on the floor in hopes of his arrival. That method quickly turned futile as no demon ever came - but now you probably had a few ghosts watching you sleep at night.

The second method was to try and make a pact with the devil himself, slicing open your palm and dripping blood onto the pages of old scriptures. Attempting to sell your soul had worked even less than the first method and all you had to show for it was a bandage around your hand for two weeks.

“I’ll definitely see him now.” You mumbled to yourself, walking straight to where the demon was seen most: the red light district. Walking past bright neon signs and nearly naked women in shop windows, you took a peek into every alleyway you came across.

“Hey pretty lady, what’re you looking for?” A rough, scratchy voice sounded behind you as you walked past the umpteenth alleyway of the night.

“What do you think?” Not looking over your shoulder, you kept walking. The voice, while sounding absolutely disgusting, didn’t belong to a demon and therefore not worth your time.

“I think you’re looking for trouble.” Curling his fingers around your arm, the man you were trying to ignore snatched you back, making you stumble and fall into his chest. The nasty scent of body odor and cigarettes was wafting off the man, making you worry that his stench would cling to you for days.

“Not the kind you’re talking about.” Pushing away from him, you furiously wiped off your clothes. Looking this man in the face irritated you, he was wasting his time and you knew exactly what his intentions were.

“Don’t play so hard to get!” Forcing a less than charming smile on his face, the man made the move to grab you again.

“Don’t touch me!” Slapping his hands away, you took generous steps back from him. “You’re getting in the way of my search.”

“Search?” Quirking a brow at you, the man took a moment to think before his brows rose in surprise. “You’re looking for Sukuna, aren’t you?”

“That’s his name?” You’d never heard his name before, only seeing some people refer to him as a four armed creature from hell.

“Yup, and I’ve seen him a couple times.” Crossing his arms over his chest, the man smirked triumphantly. “You could say he and I have a kind of friendly relationship.”

“Do you now?” Your eyes trailed up from the man to the dark alleyway behind him where two glowing red eyes emerged.

“Oh yeah, Sukuna’s a great guy! Even offered to give me a position in his little army.” The more he spoke the brighter the eyes got and the fuzzy outline of a gigantic body was starting to take shape.

“His little army?” Slowly taking steps back as the figure came forward, you barely had time to react before the man was snatched up by two giant hands and yanked backwards. Lifting him into the air, it wasn’t long before a mouth with gleaming sharp teeth opened up and swallowed him whole.

As the eyes drew their attention back to you, a nervous laugh left your chest that you couldn’t force to stop. Every step you took back was now accompanied by a step forward from the creature until it fully left the alleyway and you saw exactly what you were dealing with.

Right in front of you, in full form and glory, was the demon you’d been searching for. The scrawling black tattoos along his entire body, the four arms, pink hair, second set of eyes and his impossibly muscular physique - all of it was exactly like you’d been hoping for.

“Hello, pretty little thing.” His voice boomed despite being relatively quiet, a slight echo to the deep timbre. It was almost melodic in a way, somehow soothing your racing heart just slightly.

“S-sukuna?” You squeaked out, back meeting the brick wall of a building.

“That would be me.” Chuckling as he stopped a few feet from you, Sukuna crossed his secondary arms and looked down upon you. The sheer height and width of his body easily dwarfed yours, your head only barely reaching his ribcage.

Your eyes couldn’t stay in one place as you looked at Sukuna. There was too much to take in and you could feel yourself quickly becoming overwhelmed trying to commit every detail to memory.

“You’re…” Licking your lips nervously, you could only meet his eyes for a moment before settling on the mark on his forehead. “You’re wearing womens clothes.” Tied around his waist and hanging off his legs was indeed a womens kimono, a surprising pristine white shade.

“That’s what you decide to say at our first meeting?” An echoing laugh bellowed from him and Sukuna shook his head, running one hand through his hair.

“I-I’m sorry it’s just...they never mentioned it online.” It felt a little silly to be explaining yourself to him when at any moment Sukuna could eat you like he did that man and you would have no way of stopping him.

“Little thing, I have a question for you.” Fixing you with a suddenly sharp stare, Sukuna lowered his brow and bent down, placing two arms above your head and two at your side, trapping you in against the wall with no possible outs.

“Yes?” Pinching your eyes closed, you held your breath as you waited for the inevitable bite of his teeth around.

“Are you scared?” Sukuna whispered, his breath fanning out over the top of your head.

“Yes.” It would be a lie to say no and you had nothing to lose by telling the truth. Sukuna’s eyes bore into you, the weight of his stare physically making your back bow.

“What did you think of me eating that man just now? Was that terrifying for you?”

“No.” Sukuna took a pause at your answer and although you couldn’t see it, his brow furrowed for a fraction of a second.

“What did you feel then? Surely you must have thought it was horrible.”

“N-not really.” Slowly cracking one eye open, you looked up at Sukuna, almost breaking your neck from having to stare directly above you. “I was actually quite happy you did that. He was getting on my nerves.”

The barking laugh that left Sukuna’s mouth made you flinch and throw your hands in the air. It was so loud it seemed to vibrate your entire body and a few windows on the building behind you shook from the force.

“You’re telling me you liked me killing that guy?” Grabbing you by the collar of your shirt, Sukuna held you up in the air, eye level to him. You nodded, pitifully kicking your legs out to try and get back to solid ground. “Aren’t you a messed up little thing?” Still laughing, Sukuna took a proper once over of your body. “Pretty, but messed up.”

“P-please let me go!” You whimpered, hands desperately clutching Sukuna’s to try and not fall out of your clothes and onto the ground.

“What’s wrong? Don’t like how I hold you?” Shaking you for good effect, Sukuna smirked wildly at your scared little squeaks. “Tell me your name.”

“It’s (Y/N)!” Shouting into the air, you felt relief flood into you as Sukuna finally lowered you back to the ground and his hands released you.

“(Y/N)?” Sounding it out on his tongue, Sukuna shrugged to himself. “I like ‘little thing’ better.”

“I’m only little compared to you.” Fixing your clothes, you tried to regain your breath and stop your body from shaking so violently.

“So, what’s a creature like you doing out so late at night here? It’s not safe for a human like you to roam around these parts.”

“I was looking for you.”

“Me? You were looking for me?” Sukuna snorted, waving his hand dismissively at you. “A human like you looking for me? I’ve really seen it all.”

“It’s true!” Pulling out your phone, you quickly showed him all the data you’d compiled on him. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Sukuna! I did a summoning circle, I’ve looked in hundreds of online forums - I even tried to make a deal with the devil!” Showing him the mark that was still healing on your palm, the fear that was in your body was slowly trickling out and being replaced with- hope? Excitement? It was hard to say, but as Sukuna grasped your hand between two fingers and looked at your palm, it would be wrong to say it was a negative emotion you felt.

“You really did all that for me?” His voice was much softer now but it still sounded like he was mocking you. Smoothing the pad of one finger across your palm, he felt the ridges of your palm and the wound.

“I did. I find you really fascinating and I- I just wanted to learn more about you.” You faltered when he looked at you, a fierce heat overtaking your cheeks at admitting out loud that you’d been looking for a demon because you found him interesting.

“Are you perhaps interested in me?” A smirk tugged one side of Sukuna’s lip up and he chuckled when your expression only grew more flustered. “Oh little thing, you’re more messed up than I thought.”

“Will you tell me more about yourself? Please?” The words tumbled out of your mouth desperately as you let Sukuna stretch out your arm and grasp your hand more firmly. He didn’t answer you or even acknowledge that you’d spoken, instead grazing the tip of one long sharp nail along the line of the cut.

“I find myself liking you more and more, why is that?” Sukuna’s tone sounded like he was addressing himself as he spoke aloud, turning your hand every which way as he kept scraping his nail against your palm. “Were you my lover in the past, back when I reigned as the ruler of this whole land?”

Racking your brain to try and remember any information on Sukuna potentially having a lover, you were ripped back to reality when Sukuna dug his nail into your skin, reopening the cut and making blood flow freely.

“Ow!” You couldn’t yank your arm out of his grasp and you watched in mild horror as Sukuna lowered himself to your hand, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth and drag across your skin. His tongue quickly became coated in dark red blood, his saliva starting to mingle with your blood.

“You taste so familiar, you must have been mine.” Lapping up your blood now, Sukuna didn’t stop until he could tell you were starting to get weak from blood loss. The lower half of his face was now covered in red, smeared across his skin like paint.

“Sukuna, that’s gross.” The mumble slipped from your delirious mind, making him laugh as he waved a hand over the cut and made it go away. Slipping your hand from his grasp it was like there had never been a mark there in the first place.

“A human telling me what’s gross?” Licking his face clean, Sukuna grinned down at you. The longer he looked at you the longer memories of a past you returned to his mind. The irresistible draw he felt to come to you tonight had been the same one that called to him centuries ago, making you the center of his otherwise cruel and empty world.

Placing two hands on the wall behind you, Sukuna leaned over you once more, this time grasping your chin and turning your face up to him. The saliva that had mixed with your blood had also given you new memories of the past as well, and as you looked at Sukuna you remembered all the things the two of you had done together.

“So, my pet, what shall we do first?”

Sukuna ended up carrying you home, having you tucked inside his kimono as he leaped on rooftops across the city. Opening your bedroom window, Sukuna shoved his body through, having to make himself slightly smaller to fit inside the house.

“Are you uh, hungry?” Standing awkwardly in the middle of your bedroom as Sukuna sat on your bed, you weren’t quite sure what to do now.

“I could eat.” Laying fully back on your bed, it creaked and groaned as Sukuna rested his weight on it. The thought of offering to take him to the kitchen came and went quickly in your head; just getting him into your room was a hard enough task.

Fixing him and yourself a quick meal, as soon as you were done eating Sukuna picked you up and rested you on his abdomen. Even after shrinking himself down your legs were still stretched as wide as possible in hopes of wrapping around his waist.

“As the memories of you return, I realize how much I’ve missed you, my pretty little thing.” Petting down your back, Sukuna looked at you fondly. Propped up on two of his arms, he could stare directly at your tiny body sitting atop him.

“What kind of memories do you have?” So far, the only thing you could seem to recall were memories of a more sexual nature. One’s of you and Sukuna wrapped up in each other's arms, both of his cocks stuffed inside you as you begged to cum.

“I remember giving you the world, whatever you wanted was yours for the taking.” The look in Sukunas eyes was surprisingly soft and you could feel the love coming out from him.

“Whatever I wanted?” Repeating the words, your mouth hung open slightly at all the possible things you could get.

“The world may exist to serve me, but I exist to serve you.” Fully sitting up, Sukuna held you against him as he leaned down, lips grazing your forehead. “What do you want, (Y/N)? I can get you anything in the world, I can do anything in the world.”

“Kill for me.” The whisper that left your lips was almost too quiet for even yourself to hear. But Sukuna nodded, having heard you perfectly. Your words made his body thrum with excitement and his nerves were on edge.

“Kill for you?” He repeated, kissing you on the forehead. The fingers that held you closely dug into your sides and if Sukuna wasn’t careful he could crush you completely.

“You love me, don’t you?” There was just the slightest hint of worry in your voice. What if you were overestimating your power over Sukuna? He could say no or even kill you himself.

“You have no idea what the things my love for you will do.”

Although it pained him to do so, Sukuna left you once the sun began to rise. He had other things to attend to, temples that worshipped him as a god to visit. Promising to see you once dusk began to settle over the sky, Sukuna leapt from your window and into the horizon.

“You came back.” Even though he swore up and down he’d come back, it still shocked you to see him back on your bed once it hit a certain time of night.

“Of course I did.” Sukuna almost seemed hurt you would question him. Holding out a hand, as soon as you grasped one of his fingers he pulled you to him and nestled your body into his side. “Did you do what I asked?”

“The list is in my pocket.” Before leaving, Sukuna had told you to make a list of all the people you wanted him to kill for you. The list had started out short, just a few people that had hurt you that you couldn’t let go of, and then it grew to others, politicians and corrupt people in the media.

“Quite impressive, little thing.” Reading over the list, Sukuna stood up. “Shall we go then?”

“Go whe-” As Sukuna threw open your bedroom window you were met with a strong gust of wind. “Sukuna, where are we going?” You asked him over the wind in your ears. Putting his upper arms into the sleeves of his kimono, he made sure you were nestled safely inside.

“We’re going to take care of the first person on your list.” Wrapping an arm around you, Sukuna jumped out of the window. Though this wasn’t your first time in this position, you hadn’t been fully cognizant when Sukuna took you home last night. Now, with a head clear and no lack of blood to distract you, you could see the lights of the city clearly as they whipped past you.

“It’s beautiful.” Carefully leaning forward, you gazed at the downtown area with all the flashing lights and swerving cars.

“If you say so.” Patting your hip, Sukuna pulled you back, resting your weight fully on his arm and clothes. He wouldn’t admit it, and despite knowing he would catch you in a millisecond, Sukuna didn’t want you to fall out and fall to the ground.

Coming upon the first persons house, he settled you on the ground outside. You were in a tightly knit residential area standing directly under a streetlight, with rows of houses that all looked similar. In a flash, Sukuna had broken into the house and grabbed the person you were after.

“This them?” With a tight grip on their ankle, Sukuna shook them side to side.

“Mhmm.” You didn’t need to look to know he’d gotten the right person, just the feeling you had around them was enough to confirm it.

“W-what’s going on here?!” They screamed, blood pooling in their head the longer they hung upside down.

“Don’t speak.” Sukuna barked, shaking them once again. “You don’t speak to her, or at all.” The person screamed again, a high pitched sound that quickly got shut off as Sukuna swung their body and smacked them against the ground. “I thought I told you to be quiet.”

For a moment you thought they’d died from how hard Sukuna hit them against the ground, but a small whimper and breathless gasps sounded from where their face was crushed against the pavement.

“Do you know why I’m here?” You whispered, standing over their motionless body. Rolling over onto their back, they shook their head and started to stammer. “If you can’t answer my question I don’t want you to make a sound.” Pressing your foot onto their throat, you flinched when their hands came up to try and claw you away.

“Don’t touch her.” Instantly pinning their arms down, Sukuna glowered. “How would you like me to do it?”

“Let me think.” Staring down into their glassy eyes, a million options went through your mind. Sukuna’s power was limitless, there was nothing he couldn’t do. If you asked him to throw their body into outer space, he would do it in a heartbeat. “Rip them limb from limb. You can eat them if you’d like.”

“As you wish.” A sick grin curled Sukuna’s lip and he drug their body across the ground until they were directly underneath him.

“(Y/N) wait! W-wait please!” Their shrill cries fell on deaf ears, and the sound of the first limb being torn off their body was something you could get used to. “Oh- oh my god, my leg!”

“God I wish you’d shut up.” You kept your eyes on the person's face, refusing to look at where blood squirted generously from their now missing extremity.

“Allow me.” With the swipe of one claw Sukuna gouged out their throat. Hot, bright red blood spilled out onto the pavement, pooling and almost making it to where you stood. Throwing one leg into his mouth, Sukuna used a non-bloody hand to lift you up and place you onto a brick wall.

“Thank you.” Giving him a gentle smile, you now had a front row seat to Sukuna ripping apart this person's body and slowly devouring them. There was a mess of blood coating Sukuna’s skin, far more blood than when he had drunk yours.

As you watched Sukuna eat this person, a sense of satisfaction washed over you. It felt good to get justice in your own way for how this person wronged you. After being told to let it go, try and move and let time heal the wound, you could finally get closure the way you wanted.

“All done?” You asked once the last piece of their body was consumed. Standing up to his full height, Sukuna still looked down at you. The blood on his skin began to sizzle off, evaporating into the air and leaving the pungent smile of iron behind.

“Have I made you happy?” He responded, cupping your face and lightly squishing your cheeks. Smiling proudly, a warm flush washed over your face the longer you and Sukuna looked at each other.

“Yes, very.” Nuzzling into his palm and kissing it, you let out a breathless laugh as Sukuna did the same.

“I’m happy to please you.” Kissing you on the top of the head, Sukuna pulled out the list and crossed out the first name. “Shall we go to the others now?”

[thenovelartist]

Burned Beginnings, Chapter 8

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22. Anniversary

“Happy three month, one week, and four day anniversary!”

Marinette snorted, hanging her head instead of looking up to see him. “We are not doing that, are we?”

“Yup!” Adrien said, beaming.

With a sigh, Marinette looked back up at him, an accepting smile on her face. “And why, pray tell, are we celebrating this specific anniversary?”

Adrien gave his best pout. “Because it’s been almost three weeks since we’ve been able to have a date and I miss you.” The bakery had been busy the last couple weeks, packed with longer lines than normal and more special orders. Sadly, this meant he hadn’t been able to spend time with Marinette, and their attempt last week to get together ended up with them falling asleep in the middle of Fruits Basket.

Which attested to just how tired they were, because that was really hard to do in the middle of season three!

He supposed a nap date where she’d laid huddled against his chest while he snuggled her wasn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, it had been one of the best naps he’d ever had. But still, it wasn’t quite what he’d label as a date.

“Has it been that long?” Marinette questioned, her brow furrowed. “I feel like the days have all blended together lately.”

“Yeah. Our last official date was when we went out for breakfast and then around the park before coming back and working that first chaotic night shift.”

“Oh yeah,” Marinette said, eyes brightening in realization. “I totally forgot about that.”

“How could you forget me?” Adrien pouted.

“Easily,” Marinette sassed back with a wink.

He theatrically grasped at his chest above his heart. “Ouch, ice princess. You put Elsa to shame.”

She leveled a flat look at him.

“Oh? Does the princess wish I’d let it—”

“You’ve been banned. Good bye.”

“Wait, wait,” he cried, quickly catching the door before she could slam it in his face. “Come on, that was funny.”

“That joke is already dead. Don’t continue to beat the dead horse.”

“But it’s still relevant.”

“No. No, it’s not.”

He pouted, shooting her with his best pair of puppy dog eyes he could manage.

“I don’t care how cute you are.”

“Ouch,” he said, smile growing. “That was a cold one, princess.”

“Yeah, and don’t you forget it,” she said with a smirk.

“I won’t,” he assured. “Now, may the lovely royal princess of the bakery deign me worthy of entry into her humble abode?”

“You are such a dork.”

“Your dork.”

“My amusing peon.”

“Ouch!”

Giggling, she opened the door, letting him in.

Adrien happily walked in to the house that had become his second home. “So, for our anniversary, you want to go grab an ice cream on this nice day?”

Marinette frowned. “Actually, I’m really not up for going anywhere.”

“Oh? Are you not feeling we—”

He stopped, his eye catching the plastic Marinette had wrapped around her left arm. More accurately, catching sight of what was underneath the plastic.

She grinned, looking down at what looked like a fresh tattoo. “Yeah. Guess you could say that, but supposedly, that’s pretty typical.”

“Yeah, it is,” Adrien said, walking over to her so that he could examine the design better. “Mine hurt for days.”

“You have a large cat that wraps around your entire forearm. I don’t have anything that big.”

It wasn’t too big, but it was pretty. A few ladybugs sitting on some swirly flowers, a design that took up half of her inner forearm. The design was only about a quarter the size of his, but it felt very similar design-wise, each having an animal in a colorful, misty background that he believed was referred to as a watercolor affect. Hers was just pink compared to his green.

“It looks great,” he eventually said. “And really suits you.”

She grinned. “Thanks. And now, we match.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, look.” With that, Marinette bounced over to his right side, same side he had his tattoo on, before sliding her left hand into his right. “See? You’re the bad luck cat, and I’m the good luck ladybug. We match.”

Adrien stared at their conjoined hands, his eyes slowly drifting up to where his tattoo and hers met. “You got a tattoo… to match me?”

Marinette grinned. “Maybe it’s a little early for ‘matching couple tattoos, but I thought ‘why not?’ I’ve always liked your cat tattoo, so I planned out what I wanted to get so that we could match. I got yesterday after work, and since it’s the beginning of my ‘weekend’, I have time to just relax and let it heal.”

Adrien stared at it, his grin widening. “It suits you.”

“Thank you.”

“You know what this means, though, right?”

Marinette cocked her head. “What does it mean?”

“It means…” he drew out, leaning closer to her with a grin on his face. “You’re stuck with me forever, now that we have a couple tattoo.”

With a grin of her own, she leaned in closer, her nose just a centimeter from his. “Not until I get a ring.”

Without any hesitation, Adrien reached into his pocket. This was just intended to be a gift that he saw that made him think of her. One he impulsively bought one day going home from work. The tag said it was for the right hand.

But at the moment, he could think of no better place to put it than sliding it on her left ring finger right then and there.

“There you go. You’re mine now.”

Marinette froze, staring at the ring for a moment before chuckling awkwardly at him. “You’re kidding, right?”

Adrien knew why she felt so awkward. He did to. It had taken too long to realize for his head to catch up to his actions, and when it did, he himself had froze.

What did he just do?

It wasn’t like he didn’t want to marry her. On the contrary, he had actually already talked with her parents, gotten a blessing from her father, her ring size from her mother, and had ordered a ring last night. He’d planned out just how he was going to propose to her. It was going to be during a perfect date with dinner and candles and a chance to let her dress up. Basically, the whole shebang.

And here he was, proposing with an inexpensive cat ring.

Actually, he realized he hadn’t proposed at all. He’d just stuck the ring on her finger and called it good.

He had to fix this. He had to get his mouth to formulate words first.

“I… I mean…”

Great, his face was red, Marinette was waiting for a well-deserved answer, and he was incapable of giving it to her.

“Adrien, you are not serious.” Her words came out flatly, but Adrien knew her well enough to hear the undertone of panic in them

“Um…” he fought hard for the words that came to him next. “About marrying you? Yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt, I’d chase you to the ends of the earth to make you mine. About this ring being the engagement one, though, no. Most certainly not.”

“You are not serious,” she repeated, her voice weaker than before while her knees began to bend as though she might collapse. Tears began welling in her eyes, and Adrien was growing nervous.

“I’m sorry!” Adrien finally got out, panicked. “I had something so much better planned out, and I definitely should have thought that through—”

“I’m not talking about that, you stupid idiot!” she cried. In a flash, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung tight. “That was so unromantic and I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you.”

By now, Adrien could hear the tears in her voice, but considering the way she clung to him, she wasn’t too mad about this poorly planned out engagement. “Yeah, it will be one for the books,” he surrendered, hugging her back tightly. “But, is that a yes?”

She nodded, clinging to him tighter. “You’re such an idiot.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said with a sigh, the tension leaving his body. “But you’re okay with that, right?”

She sniffed. “Yeah,” she admitted. “Unfortunately, I’m a little too okay with that.”

Adrien just chuckled. “I’ll take it.”

 23. Sunset

Marinette looked at the little black kitty ring on her finger. Under normal circumstances, it signaled that she was engaged.

In her case, it signaled she was engaged to an idiot.

“I still can’t believe I did that.”

Marinette chuckled at the blonde man beside her hanging his head in his hand. At the moment, they were finishing up their impromptu date of actually getting the ice cream Adrien had wanted to get last weekend before staying out the rest of the afternoon and finding a spot to grab dinner. But dinner had ended and they hadn’t wanted to hog the table at the restaurant, so Adrien was escorting her home. However, as per usual, neither wanted to part, hence why they were procrastinating their parting on a bench in the park while they watched the sunset.

“Can’t get more spontaneous of a proposal than that,” she teased. Shockingly, she didn’t mind it, though. Adrien looked like he hadn’t even realized what he’d done until after he did it. The horror on his face still shone clear in her memory, bringing a grin to her lips. It really would be one for the books.

But still, he’d made it clear that he earnestly wanted to marry her, and in the end, that’s all that mattered to her.

“You have to know I meant it!” he cried, looking up to her with a faint blush on his cheeks. “I just… did not think that through.”

“At least you’re pretty.”

“Hey, I am plenty bright!”

“Really? Because I think a few bulbs need to be changed in your attic.”

“Says the crazy woman who not only accepted that proposal but is still wearing the cat ring.”

She sniggered. He had her there. “Well, I guess I’m a sucker for honestly.”

Adrien shook his head, a bemused smile on his face. “I’m glad that part came through, at the very least.”

Looking over at the man next to her, Marinette couldn’t help but feel happy. Botched proposal and all, she didn’t mind it one bit. They would always be a little chaotic, they’d always have their back-and-forth banter, but they’d also always have each other’s backs and ultimately would always be each other’s biggest support. The proposal just felt par for their course.

Plus, it would not only make for great stories but great teasing fodder, and Marinette was always down for anything that gave her the upper hand.

“Hey,” she said, voice earnest as she reached out to grab his hand. “Just so you know, I’ll probably never let up teasing you about it.”

He huffed in amusement. “I would think there was something seriously wrong with you if you did.”

“But,” she finished, “I am still very happy.”

His smile turned soft, and Marinette thought she might as well melt right then and there. “Well, I’m glad about that,” Adrien said, raising her hand to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles. “But there is definitely one thing I have to fix.”

Marinette quirked a brow, confused for a second before realizing what he was referring to. “The ring?” she asked, wiggling her left ring finger. “Because I’m not gonna lie, I would like an actual one.”

“Yeah? Well how about this one?” That’s when Adrien slid off the park bench, getting on one knee before her and reached into his pocket. Biting her lip to withhold a girlish squeal, Marinette found that she really didn’t care what the ring looked like.

But she wasn’t going to lie, the stunning blue sapphire he presented her with was freaking gorgeous.

“I know diamonds are traditional,” he said, tugging her left hand closer to him. “But you’re not some average girl. I didn’t think something like that would suit you. Marinette, I would like to apologize for not doing this right the first time, but I’m so grateful that you accepted anyway. I’m so thankful to have you in my life, so much so that I want you to stay by my side as my life-long partner. So with this ring, I’ll ask you properly this time. Marinette, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Marinette felt the tears prickling her eyes. It was such an easy question, and yet, getting the word to roll of her tongue was difficult. She nodded fervently. “Yes!”

With a grin, Adrien took off the kitty ring and replaced it with the one glittering in his hand. Once he did that, she threw her arms around his neck, clinging tightly to him just as she had the first time he proposed.

There were a few cheers and a round of applause from the people around them, but Marinette couldn’t care less. For better or worse, she was going to marry this idiot.

She couldn’t ask for anything better than that.

 24. Balcony

Adrien stood out on his tiny balcony, looking up at the stars and purposefully ignoring his phone.

More specifically, the message his father had left him.

It’s been over a year. The message said. What are you doing with your life now?

Good question.

Adrien sighed, his eyes shutting as he hung his head. Well, he was still working at Tom and Sabine’s bakery, and honestly, he was pretty happy with that. He got to work with people he loved doing something that he did find enjoyable. He never really fancied himself to be the creative type, but finding himself in the kitchen while crafting desserts and making bread had brought more joy into his life than modeling ever had. On top of that, he was getting married. He thought that was a good accomplishment.

But he knew it wouldn’t be good enough for his father.

He heard his phone buzz again and groaned. The last thing he did was want to answer it.

What would I even say? He thought, rubbing his forehead in a vain attempt to relieve the growing stress headache.

Unfortunately, he was too curious for his own good. And that curiosity won out over his reluctance.

He walked inside to where he’d left his phone sitting on the bed side table. Bracing himself, he tapped the screen, only for all tension to instantly drain form his body upon learning it wasn’t a text from his father but rather from Marinette.

You want to go do something tomorrow?

He smiled, collapsing back onto his bed with a smile. Of course he wanted to do something tomorrow. What, he didn’t know, but didn’t really care, either. They always had fun together whatever they did.

He opened the text and started a reply before stopping and deciding to give her a call instead.

“Hey, hot stuff,” she said. He could hear the flirty grin on her face. “Missed the sound of my voice?”

He grinned. “Yeah. Guess you could say that.”

There was a pause on the other side of the line. “Something wrong?” she asked, all teasing gone from her tone.

Adrien sighed. “My father.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, you know, he kicked me out and now is wanting to know what I’m doing with my life.”

He heard her scoff over the phone. “Really?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really want to talk about that right now,” he said. “Right now, I just want to hear your voice.”

“Oh? What do you want to talk about then? My thoughts on that new anime you showed me?’

He chuckled. “You could talk about the weather and I’d be cool with it.”

“Well,” she began in a smooth voice. “Tonight’s forecast includes clear skies with no stars due to light pollution. A light breeze blows through the city tonight towards the Eiffel tower, whatever direction that is. It is an undetermined temperature, but comfortably cool enough to be outside in a short sleeve tee-shirt. How’s that?”

Adrien could feel his worries ease away at the sound of her voice, her sass, spunk, and sarcasm still coming through even through her calm tone. He really loved this woman and was the luckiest guy alive to be marrying her. “It’s perfect.”

[mooshs-crack-headcanons]

Hey can we get some relationship headcanons with lady, trish and lucia? Thank you moosh! 💝💝💝

Possible tw: talking about Lady's survivors guilt because Arkham is a piece of purple blobby shit. 

Lady 

Lady is without a doubt a very strong woman, after having to deal with everything her father caused at the tower and everything that lead up to it including the murder of her mother, to killing him and slowly recovering from the guilt the best she can and suffering from it all even to this day, and that's not even getting into her successful career as a devil hunter. Even with how hard her life has ever since the death of her mother, Lady is strong and has learned how to treat her mental wounds and how to move on as best as she can. She's especially pleased now that she has the rest of the crew and you to call as family. You are very lucky to have this woman at your side. 

Lady loves hunting demons, she has ever since she started her revenge against her father, so if you're in the business (which I'm going to say is likely because I don't see Lady dating a civilian without having lots of guilt about you being possibly put ton of danger because her name is pretty big with rival hunters and devils alike) expect to be hunting partners like Dante and Trish are which she finds quite amusing seeing you in action especially on big jobs where the both of you have to bust out the big guns (and in her case literally.) 

With you two being partners, both in business and romantic sense, you can expect cut on jobs to be fairly equal (sometimes with her giving you most of the cut because you're so cute) compared to whenever she teams up with the rest of the crew which she keeps most because everyone has at least a little debt owed to her, and Dante (who has the biggest ridiculous amount of debt) has bitched and whined over this fact the most before going back to pout over his strawberry sundae, which the sight makes Lady laugh every time. 

She has surprisingly really soft hands, which you would expect calluses and for her to have joint issues given how much she shoots things on a weekly basis but the woman takes good care of herself and practices regular self care so whenever she holds you hands, caresses your face, or mindlessly runs your sides when in bed her touch is very comforting. 

She likes giving attention to scars, whether it be hers or yours she likes for the two of you to trace each other's and tell the either the cool stories about the badass ones you've received from jobs or share the the mental ones and the anguishing hardships from them that will end in the two of you finding quiet comfort in each other's embrace. 

Kisses with Lady go through a variety of stages depending on where you are in the relationship. In the beginning they are quick and flustered (especially on Lady's part) then they turn into more and more confident with time as the two of you get over possible embarrassment before finally they turn into kisses that tingles your brain and makes you forget how to breathe before one of you pulls back and gives the other a cocky smirk before going back to doing whatever they were previous. 

Lady's preferable date locations are at bars, she really likes the occasional drink and it's fun to hear gossip and possible leads for potential jobs. Lady is actually a lightweight so when she does have the occasional drink be prepared to take care of the mess afterwards because she is a clingy drunk and it's actually pretty funny to hear her complain to Dante about terrible lines when her pick up lines are godlike in cringe and it's fucking adorable added with the cute shade of pink dusting her cheeks. But without fail Lady is also a bitchy nightmare when she's hungover so also be prepared so her to often harshly snap back at you the next day but know she never means the harsh words thrown your way, just let her shoot Dante a few times and she'll be good as new. 

An activity that she absolutely loves doing with you before bed is taking a shared bubble bath together. She finds it super relaxing with you leading into each other and washing each other's hair as you talk about whatever that occurred in your dangerous lives that day, also a bonus if there's music playing in the background because she loves hearing you hum along with the tune as your hands make work shampooing her hair. 

Somewhere around the time she realized things between the two of you are very serious and that the two of you are going extremely steady, does she decide that she has to be a hundred percent honest with you. She loves you and you deserve to know about the truth about the nights that she leaves you alone in bed to do whatever random thing around the apartment to distract herself from sleeping. Her haunting guilt, even though she's come to accept that what her father did wasn't her fault...the guilt still comes up from time to time, his face still imprinted in her mind. When she tells you one night before the two of you were getting ready for bed, something in her just - broke and she had to come clean. When she starts telling you the details of how her father sacrificed her mother for being a descendant of the priestess that Sparda sacrificed, how that he probably never did love either of them and that he just manipulated them both for his own plans and that sometimes she would desperately think of somehow she could've changed things and at that point each word she speaks gets harder and harder to understand before she breaks down crying. Hold her and let her sob into your shoulder and let her take all the time she needs to let it all out. Once she's calmed herself does she apologize for having to see her like this, these types of situations are hard but make sure you tell her that you love her and other comforting words that slowly give her peace of mind. Your relationship noticeably deepens that night. 

Once long further down the road of your relationship does Lady start thinking about the future. Yes she loves hunting demons but she would absolutely love to retire one day and finally settle down with you and just...somehow live a normal life. However those are thoughts for way into the future and she still hasn't had her fill yet and she's proud to have you right along with her. 

Trish 

Trish has always been since the moment she was created a woman that was very hard to get a good read on what she's feeling, she just radiates this smug badass confidence everywhere she goes whether it be hanging around the office or gracefully slaying demons. However despite this everyone who has been around for long enough knows that expressing sometimes feelings can be really hard sometimes for Trish, with her still being demon and all. That doesn't mean she doesn't feel anything; the exact opposite in fact given the dmc rules she has cried therefore she feels human emotion, so she feels a lot but given her demonic nature she doesn't know at times how to apply them and that was the one of the exact reasons why she left Dante to travel the world to do some self discovery shortly after dmc 1, so that she can learn what exactly to do with these new sensations. And with that journey it eventually leads her to having you be a major role in her life. 

Trish can be a bit unpredictable and when it comes to this they're often moments that show her devilish side off, especially on jobs (again another case of not feeling very comfortable dating a civilian) where she jumps around the battlefield, bright volting yellow electricity trailing her every movements, slashing through devils one after another and another before leaving you completely abandoned and going off on her own or with her still massacring every demonic thing that moves but this time she's looming over you almost like a predator on prey when actually she's only taking a front row seat watching you beat the shit out of demons on your end or right after the two of you slay all enemies in one area she either complements or taunts you on your kills one form the other depending on your kill count versus hers and this ends with her challenging you to a friendly spar before going any further on the current job. 

With Trish being a demon and all she has a great memory so she remembers a lot of mundane things about you, some things that even you didn't notice. She remembers all of your favorite restaurants, your favorite breakfast dishes, what preferred time you wake up, how exactly you like to be held, what tell signs that you're embarrassed, and her personal favorite: what exact words to say to see those pretty cheeks heated up. 

Her hands are fairly smooth given the healing aspect to demonic nature but uniquely her touch always has a sparking touch to it so that's something you're going to have to get use to every time your skin comes in contact with them, but after awhile you'll find comfort in it every time your hands interlock together the electricity is like a spark of a reminder that two of you are there together and alive. 

She is absolutely not afraid to spook you at times either at your place or at the office with taking on different human forms, one time she took on her Gloria form to sneak behind you while you were cleaning your pistols and tapped a few fingers along your shoulders and next thing Dante knew was there were several new bullet holes in the kitchen that he didn't remember there being before. 

You know how I talked about the electric sparks on her hands? Well that doesn't just apply there but on other parts of her as well. So that being said it's no surprise that kisses between the two of you are quite electrifying, and again something that will take time to get used to but eventually it's quite comforting. 

Trish, like Lady, loves self care and that includes going on shopping sprees so expect a lot of dates at various stores, your girlfriend with Dante's -stolen- borrowed credit card in hand getting you everything your hearts desire. 

Being a full demon Trish technically doesn't need to eat or drink anything but still she goes for the occasional pizza slice since that's usually the only food to be found at Devil May Cry, which she only does when she's bored and wants to do 'human things' however if you so happen to cook anything she will always 100% eat your food. It doesn't matter if your cooking skills would put Gordon Ramsay in an absolute shit fit, she will eat all of it and proclaim that it's the best meal she's ever had, this is a cute way she's found a small way of expressing her love. 

In the beginning of your relationship, Trish has to actually remind herself that you're human and even though you're strong you're nowhere on the same level of strength that she and Dante are on, and that even though you can handle yourself you do need protection from time to time. But she doesn't just need to remind herself that on strength but also on the emotional aspect as well. As a human you've come into this world feeling emotions, she's only felt them for a few decades which in a demons lifespan is barely anything. Trish loves you deep down and she's told you that countless times, but there are situations that you've been dragged to your absolute worst and she...has no idea what to do. She feels awful and wants to comfort you but she just doesn't know how to express that, so she can only sit there next to you and listen to you sob for hours and just feel...hopeless. Over time the two of you find a way; she confronts you about this and tells you that she doesn't want to feel hopeless without being able to express and be able to properly comfort you, which ends up with the little system of whenever you feel sad that she says next to you and holds your hand, the light bolts of electricity becoming the way of her expressing her comforting presence to you for however long you need it forehead has all the time in the world, and if you need something further feel like it feel free to cry on her shoulder and tell her everything that's bothering you, she's a great listener and her memory is great after all. 

I think out of everybody it's Dante that notices and feels Trish's feelings the most, call it a demon thing with feeling auras and such, or that he really knows his friends, or just it's possibly both. He actually prefers when Trish wants to go on jobs with you instead of him, and sure it's a little weird seeing the clone of his dead mother with someone that isn't his dad, but he really appreciates that you bring something really amazing out of his old devil hunting partner, thinking about how vastly different the demon servant that led him to Mallet Island is to the woman he sees now, and even though he doesn't comment on it the sight of the two of you excitedly bustling out of the door to go on a hell spawn killing spree always without fail gets a smile on his face. 

Lucia 

Lucia has come a long way with her self acceptance. She's artificially a demon and not human and for a good while she worried there might be a day where she might lose control of the devil inside and kill Matier and everyone else she loves and cares for, but a certain son of Sparda changed her way of thinking and now she's proud to have her powers to protect the ones she holds dear, and that includes you. She's a proud guardian of Vie de Marli and she hopes that one day she can be just as strong as Dante, and with it that's her motivation to continue to train. 

Lucia has a duty to kill demons and she views it as the way to get stronger, out of her Lady and Trish she is the one that would be alright dating a civilian although with you being a civilian that puts an even heavy weight on her shoulders to make sure the island is protected at all costs, but if she were to prefer she would rather you be a demon hunter so she wouldn't have to stress as much. 

I think Lucia would really want whoever she's interested in to be liked and respected by Matier, she is her mother after all, adoptive or not. But I really don't think there's too much to make Matier not like you, she trusts her daughter's judgment after all but still expect the cliché: "If you hurt my daughter-" speech, and despite the older woman's small figure and age this is probably the most terrifying moment you'll ever see from her. 

Lucia's, even with the healing aspect from her demonic nature, hands are fairly callused with how much she's gripped her blades over the years. Maybe it's because of her artificial status that she can heal herself quickly like all demons can but it's just not perfectly on point, she does have many scars from slip ups from the past that never fully healed that she keeps mostly hidden. 

Despite her most being present on Vie de Marli she does like to travel to the Devil May Cry office to take jobs from Morrison from here and there. It took awhile for her to feel comfortable around everyone else who was Dante bit she came around and she actually likes spending time with Kyrie when Nero brings her over. So eventually when she considers everyone in the crew trusted companions does she bring you along on one of her trips. It really does warm her heart to see you around having a fun time with these ragtag gang of colorful personalities, maybe if she has the chance and the island isn't at that much threat she could also bring Matier along? 

Kisses with Lucia are awkward at first. You're most likely her first s/o so she has absolutely no idea what to do. She had pinned feelings for Dante awhile but after seeing him in day to day situations at the office she came to learn that it would never work between them and she would prefer to stay friends, but now she has you and an actual relationship? She gets embarrassed from the slightest touch so kissing is a whole different realm for her. But of course over time and she learns to have some confidence with you she slowly becomes used to it and those awkward fumbles become slow and sweet passionate entanglements. 

Dates with Lucia on Vie de Marli mostly include late night patrols around the island, a time where it feels like it's just the two of you on the island where any type of conversation can start. But on the mainland with Dante's suggestion Lucia really likes going with you to Fredi's dinner the food there is quite different from back home and the people that work there are so nice, she once got a compliment from Cindy about how pretty she was and the shocked flushed look on her face was so adorable and precious that it's something you'll never forget until the day you die. 

Lucia when she's not on duty has a hobby carving wooden figures, the process really relaxes her. So a lot of gives from her are of beautifully sculpted animals with your name carved neatly onto the bottom of them. You end up having lots of them on shelves in your study and whenever you're sitting down doing whatever while Lucia's away they bring a nice sense of comfort like she's still there with you. Another bonding moment the two of you have is her teaching you how to carve, it's a sweet moment with her place next to you holding your hands as she instructs you what to do, all potential shyness that she normally shows gone and instead replaced by full confidence, which is always really nice to see from her. 

Lucia has long before your relationship learned to accept what she is, but there are some times where she has moments of doubt that you would be much happier dating another human instead of a devil as herself. After the two of you have visited the office a couple of times and she sees how you've become good friends with Lady that her insecurities come up and she has the thoughts of if you'd be more happy in a relationship with Lady, another human, than her, an artificial demon. With this plaguing her mind she becomes more distant, which with her not being really good at hiding when something's bothering her you notice fairly quickly. When you finally approach her about it she does come clean and tells you what's troubling her and even more than she's still doubting her strength as a guardian and isn't sure if she's able to protect you, Matier, and everyone, and even more so that even though she has demon blood (even though artificial) that she is nothing like how strong Dante is. You then tell her that her being demon or human doesn't matter, that you love her for her and that she is strong but she doesn't have to be strong for everyone she can show weakness and that everyone does, and that you know Dante is proud of how far she's come and how far she can still go. She looks at you with a mystified look before pulling you into an embrace telling you how to Sparda she's so lucky to have someone as amazing as you. 

Lucia likes to think about Sparda from time to time, with all the stories that she's managed to get out from Matier and the various things she's read in books she wonders what type of man he really was deep down to love a human woman - Dante's mother - and if what he felt about her was anything how she felt about you. 

[aliendes]

Natural Borns Chapter Six

Banner by @thebannershop​

A/N: ahh, ok so I feel like I hit a wall with this chapter. I’m not super proud of it, but I needed to get these backstories out of the way in order for the story to progress. The scene with YN and Jin I wrote a long time ago, and it was like finding puzzle pieces to put together to lead up to it. It’s entirely insignificant to the story, but it was a sweet scene that was part of the initial story I created. With that said.. Please let me know what you think of it. I can’t even begin to explain how uplifting and motivating your comments are. When readers leave feedback, it’s one of the driving motivators for writers to continue writing. So thank you for everyone who has been reading and continues to comment and reblog. It means a lot. 

Warnings: cursing, sad bois, tears, mentions of wounds (nothing bloody), descriptions of nudity and breeding, but not what you think.

Word count: 5.2k~

Updated 8/23/2020

“Hyunwoo and your father weren’t classmates. They worked together,” he felt like a traitor, like he was letting Namjoon down, “he’s a beneficiary of Big Hit. They’re already paying for you.”

It was almost as if the earth stopped spinning on its axis, sending you crashing, your world and it’s contents slamming into the proverbial dashboard. You mind blanked for a moment. You were still staring into Yoongi’s eyes, but you were gone, mind on a distant planet, he could tell. Your stare was blank, pupils twitching, as your life, your childhood especially, flashed before your eyes.

Was it all a lie? You asked yourself. You thought back to all the times your parents told you, you should never leave the city. Forbade you from going to college to ‘protect’ you. They told you all your life that the world was dangerous for someone like you. Someone like you. What did they really mean when they said that? You were trained to be the calm, quiet, and obedient daughter. Taught never to question your parents or authority. Taught to always be a good girl. You could feel the years worth of rebellion, of anger, bubbling up to the surface. You needed answers. 

Yoongi was watching you intently, trying to figure out your next move. He liked to think he was pretty good at reading people, but he couldn’t get a hold on you. You looked confused, for sure, but there was something else in your expression. Realization? He wasn’t sure. All he knows is that he shouldn’t be the one relaying this information to you.

“Do you want to come with me?” he asked hesitantly, “We can go ta-” 

“No,” you cut him off, “I don’t want to talk to him.” You know Yoongi is going to suggest you talk with Namjoon. It’s not that you’re mad at him. You aren’t. But you know if you don’t have time to process this, to talk with someone other than him, you won't be able to hold yourself together in front of him. The last thing you want is for any of these men to feel guilty about bringing you here. You’re thankful to them, especially now that you suspect your family really was hiding something from you.

Yoongi stared at you for another moment before taking a deep breath, “He’s going to have the answers, though, YN,” he said softly. He knows he needs to tread lightly with you. You’ve had a whirlwind of a day and he’s only piling more information on top of an already really high mountain of information. Yoongi noted how calm you were being, compared to earlier tonight when you were crying and barely able to look into his eyes. He expected you to react to the non-answer he had given you about your father, not stare at him blankly like you were now. This wasn’t a reaction, not really. He was starting to worry about you. Did he break you? He hoped not, Namjoon would kill him. “Come inside with me, please, YN. It’s cold, and you’re going to get sick.”

“Take me to Jin,” you whispered. He stared at you for only a moment before nodding his head. 

When Yoongi had brought you back up to the warehouse and into Jin’s room, the older man was already waiting for you on his bed. When you walked through the door he instantly stood up, walking towards you with an outstretched hand.

“YN,” he breathed, relieved that you were okay. You look like you’ve cried waterfalls, and your nose was bright pink from the chill of the night, but overall, you were okay. At the sight of Jin, you let out a sigh. Comfort. That’s what he was to you right now. 

You rushed towards him, prompting him to open his arms for you, as you crashed into his firm chest, short arms wrapping around his middle. Surprisingly, no more tears were shed. Seokjin’s calm breathing helped even your own out, his large hand running up and down your spine helped ground you and relax you into a sleepy stupor. After a while of standing there wrapped up in each other, he slowly walked you both backwards until the backs of his knees hit the bed and he sunk down with you in his arms. You followed his lead and sat on his lap, arms wrapped around his neck as you nuzzled into his shoulder. It was the closest you’ve ever been to him, and you felt safe, secure in his arms. 

Neither of you spoke for a long while, just existing, here, with each other. You needed some time to not think about things, to just breathe for a little bit. His hand never ceased his comforting caresses, and he never attempted to speak, not wanting to burst the fragile bubble of security you both felt with each other.

You were eventually the first one to speak. “Jin,” you mumbled sleepily into his neck. He thought you had already fallen asleep with how steady your breathing had become. 

“Hmm,” he hummed, throat vibrating against your face, “are you okay?” His voice was husky and low, like he hasn’t used it in a while. 

You sucked in a sharp breath, “No.” It was the truth. You weren’t okay. You didn’t want to lie to him, but you also weren’t sure how to elaborate. He seemed to understand the unspoken words and just held you tighter. 

“You don’t have to talk right now, but just know that I’m here for you whenever you want to, or need to.” You nodded against him, cheek rubbing on his shoulder. “Are you tired?” You tightened your arms around his neck, like you were fearful his question insinuated he was leaving you. 

“No,” you whimpered, not ready to let Jin go yet, “stay, please.”

Jin shifted underneath you, lifting you up slightly and scooting back further on his mattress until his back was against his pillows. “I’m not going anywhere, love.” He wasn’t sure how you’d react to his nickname, or if you would understand the truth behind it, but right now he didn’t care. Everything in him was yelling at him to comfort you, to take care of you. It beat out the other part of him that was yelling at him to care for your wounds and to make sure they were healing properly. He pushed those thoughts aside to heal your heart instead. He leaned back further into the pillows, never loosening his hold on you, and reached down to pull the covers over the both of you. “Go to sleep,” he whispered into your hair, “I promise I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

You nod into his neck again, already drifting off into unconsciousness. Jin keeps his promise, and stays with you all night, despite the knot that’s developing in his neck. 

Your head hurts. Your eyes burn. Your back is stiff. What happened last night? As you go to stretch, you realize your limbs are tangled with someone else and yesterday comes crashing back to you.

Seokjin. Yoongi. Your parents. 

You open your eyes carefully, ignoring the sharp pain behind them from all the crying you did last night. The first thing your eyes focus on is Jin’s beautiful face, only inches from your own. He looks so peaceful, eyes closed, mouth closed, breathing steadily through his nose. You internally wish you could look as pretty as he does when you sleep. Carefully, you reach a hand up to his face, gently brushing back some of his dark hair that has fallen in front of his eyes. He looks like he could use a hair cut soon, but it suits him. At the gentle brush of your fingers on his face, his eyes flutter open, making you pull back quickly in embarrassment. 

The soft smile that spreads across Jin’s face makes your cheeks heat, “Good morning beautiful,” he whispers. 

“Morning,” you whisper back, trying to muster up a smile for him, “thank you. For staying.”

His smile widens at your words, “Of course.”

You sit up slightly, moving to get off Jin’s lap, but his grip on you tightens. For a moment you’re confused, but then he sits up and gently moves you off his lap and places you on the bed next to him. “Let me take a look at your bandages and then I’ll go make breakfast, I’m sure you’re hungry.” You couldn’t deny that he was right, not having eaten since yesterday morning and exhausting most of your energy crying, but you still felt bad when he did all this stuff for you and you had nothing to give in return. You were about to protest, lips parting to speak, but Jin beat you to it, “I’m not taking no for an answer, love. I need to make sure you’re healing okay. We can’t afford for you to get sick.” He phrased it in a way that made it seem like he was doing it for the good of the group, even though the real reason was his own worry and care for you. You simply nodded in response as he got up and started moving around his room, gathering up supplies he would need. You watched on in curiosity as Jin grabbed different types of ointments and creams and brought them back over to the mattress and laid them out in front of you.

He was gentle, as always, when he looked at your hands and feet, wrapping them with the utmost care, so as to not hurt you in any way. Instead of zoning out like you have in the past, you watched him intently. The questions were there on the tip of your tongue, but you were too hesitant to ask. Jin seemed to notice your gaze on his face and smiled up at you.

“Something on your mind?” 

Heat rushes to your cheeks at the fact you were caught staring, but you hold his gaze. “H-how did you end up together?” You’ve been curious since you arrived here. How did seven men come together to make this peculiar family and what fate had they met that brought them together in the first place? Jin’s smile wavered slightly, but remained on his face as he answered your question.

“I’m the oldest out of all of us,” he continues wrapping your ankle and foot as he speaks, “I was at Big Hit first, and the longest. They took me from my family when I was fourteen.”

“You were taken?” No nods solemnly, focused on your foot.

“They started to pay for them after me, realizing it was probably an easier way to get what they wanted. They took me from the boarding school I was living at. My parents are wealthy, and they wouldn’t have easily let me go,” he purses his lips, “at least I don’t think they would have. Although I really don’t know. I haven’t seen them since the summer before I was taken.”

Your heart breaks at his story. Unlike most of the rest of the group, Jin had a loving and caring family, who would most likely have fought for him, rather than giving him away. He counts himself lucky to have had such a great childhood and education up until he was removed from it. 

“I was there for six years,” you felt your heart crack again, “about a year after I arrived, they ‘acquired’ a ten year old boy who never knew his parents. He was the second born to a family who couldn’t afford to pay the high fines of having more than one child. They gave him away to a company who later sold him to Big Hit after his DNA turned out to not be exactly what they were looking for.”

You had an inkling, but decided to ask anyways, “Jungkook?” Your voice was barely a whisper, it was all you could muster right now. 

Jin nodded again and moved on to your other foot, putting ointment on the sole and then gently massaged the top of it. You wonder where he learned his compassion if he was treated so horribly all his life. “They didn’t have much use for him, as a lot of his DNA wasn’t perfected. He’s always felt a weird sense of defeat because of it, like his family gave him up for no reason, even though we know they had no choice. They ‘gave’ him to me at the direction of a psychologist who said I was depressed and needed to be socialized. I took care of him, raised him. He had never been to school, couldn’t read or write, never even had a friend before. He barely knew how to speak.” Jin’s eyes were glazed over as he spoke about his best friend. That completely explains Jungkook’s shy and timid demeanor and childlike behaviors. “Anyways, Big Hit basically kicked me out when I was twenty, after they had taken what they wanted from me. Me and Jungkook roamed around Seoul for a few months, staying at homeless shelters, until we met Namjoon and Yoongi.” Jin let out a sigh, eyes closing for a moment before getting back to work on your bandages. 

“You raised him well, Jin,” his eyes lit up at the praise, “from what I’ve seen he’s a wonderful young man. I’m so sorry for what you both went through”

“Thank you, YN,” he whispers as he sets your foot down gingerly and moves to take your hand in his, “I tried, and continue to try, my best to make sure he’s kind and caring. I just want him to be happy.”

You give Jin a genuine smile at the soft nature of this man. “He’s lucky to have you.”

Jin scoffs lightly at this, waving his free hand in your direction. “Ah, I’m lucky to have him. And the others. I don’t know what I would do without them,” he trails off fondly, finishing wrapping your hand and moving on to the other one. You both remain silent while he finishes his bandaging, thinking over his earlier words. 

“C-can I see your ribs?” You nod, laying back on the bed carefully and lifting your shirt up to your bra. Jin winces at the sight of your purple and green splotched ribcage. “It looks worse than it is, I promise,” he places a gentle palm on your side, stroking softly, “does it hurt?”

“Not really. It’s a little sore,” you sigh, “but what part of me isn’t.”

Jin smiles sadly at you, “I’m really glad you’re here, YN,” he whispers, hand still on your side. 

“Me too.”

After you and Jin cooked breakfast for everyone, despite his protests that you stay in bed and rest, everyone sat around Yoongi’s room, picking at their plates. Jungkook told you that they didn’t really have a table to eat at, but all liked to be together for meals, something Jin always insisted on. 

You, Jin, and Jungkook were squished together on the black leather couch, Yoongi was in his usual spot at his desk, and Namjoon and Hoseok were leaning against the wall immersed in their own conversation while the rest of you ate your food. The tension was thick in the air, and you wanted nothing more than to escape it, but you knew you couldn’t. You had so many questions, but you didn’t know if you should ask or stay quiet. You were a shy person at your core, never one to stir the pot, always wanting to stay in the background. But something inside you was pushing you to change that, pushing you to stand up for yourself for once in your life. 

“Namjoon.”

Everyone in the room turned and looked at you, stopping everything they were doing. It was the first any of them, besides Jin, heard from you today. A brief glance at Yoongi told the man all he needed to know about what you were about to say, and he braced himself for the fallout. Namjoon took a couple steps forward, eyes on you, looking concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I- I um, want to talk to you.” Your voice was softer than you had hoped, but you were still feeling nervous despite your mental pep talk earlier.

Namjoon didn’t have to say anything, Jungkook, Jin, and Hoseok got up and headed towards the door, leaving the rest of you behind. Namjoon looked to Yoongi but before he could say anything, you jumped in, “He can stay.”

Namjoon looks confused, but nods anyway. Yoongi bites his lip and looks around nervously when Namjoon glances at him, only confusing him further. As the purple haired man approaches you, he drags a chair with him and sets it a few feet in front of you, plopping down on it backwards and resting his arms on the back of it. “Is everything okay?”

You look at him nervously for a moment before Yoongi takes it upon himself, “She knows, Joon. Just tell her.”

Namjoon swivels in his chair, sending a pointed look at a now flushed Yoongi, before sighing at turning back towards you. “What do you know?”

You hesitate, looking at Yoongi who gives you a curt nod. “That my dad worked with Hyunwoo, or works, I’m not sure.”

“It’s true. He worked at Big Hit with Hyunwoo, but he doesn’t anymore. Though, he is still a beneficiary of the company, meaning he still gets paid by them.”

The gears were turning in your head, trying to piece together this elaborate puzzle. Does this mean that your parents have money, and have been lying about being poor this entire time?

“He worked there for a few years before your mother got pregnant with you. When you were born, all I know is that he left the company and was given a lump sum of money to move out of Seoul with you and Big Hit has been paying him ever since.”

“How do you know all this?” 

Namjoon gestures behind him where Yoongi is sitting, “We have connections in some big companies, and anything that falls through the cracks, Yoongi can usually figure out on his own. There’s a whole network of people, natural borns and otherwise, who have been working together for years to try and bring down these corporations from the inside. People who believe this is wrong and that natural borns deserve equality. It’s how we get communication from Jimin and Taehyung. There’s a mole in the company.”

Your mouth is slightly parted, eyes trained on Namjoon’s. “Do you know why they pay my father still?”

Namjoon runs a hand through his faded purple locks, “We don’t. All we have been able to find out is that they’ve been paying him monthly stipends since two months after you were born. Recently, those stipends have increased significantly.” Your blood runs cold at his words. Namjoon can see the color leaving your face at the realization that Hyunwoo’s visits weren’t merely a coincidence. “My theory is that they were getting ready to make a deal.”

A lump in your throat is forming and you audibly gulp to try and force it down. “What kind of deal?” You weren’t sure if you wanted to know the answer, but before you could change your mind, Namjoon was giving it to you.

“For you. I believe that Big Hit has been paying your father to keep you safe from other companies all these years until you matured enough for them to take you. I don’t think they wanted you just for your DNA, like us…” he trails off, not sure if he really wants to tell you the rest.

You wince as the unspoken insinuation. Jin told you that female natural borns with perfect markers were incredibly rare. You needed to hear it from him though, needed to know that this was meant to be your fate. “What did they want me for?” Your eyes drop to the uneaten plate of food on the couch next to you. You hadn’t realized you were crying until a tear slipped from your face and onto your folded hands in your lap.

 “We think they want to breed you,” this time it was Yoongi who spoke, making your head snap up towards him. His words were harsh, but you needed to hear them. It was the only way to make you realize your parents weren’t safe. Your home wasn’t safe. “We’re pretty sure that’s why they came for you now. They have Taehyung.” Hearing the words made you sick to your stomach, face twisting in disgust as both Yoongi and Namjoon moved to get closer to you, their instinct to protect you stronger than ever. Both men sat on either side of you on the couch, Namjoon rubbing a large hand up and down your back, while Yoongi kept his hands to himself, unsure what to do to offer you comfort. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, hell, none of us want it to be true, but it makes sense. They just got Taehyung back a few weeks ago, and he has the closest to ‘perfect’ DNA out of all of us, just like you. It’s wrong, and vile, and disgusting,” Yoongi stops for a moment to reel in his anger at the company, taking a deep breath, “and that’s why we can’t let this happen.”

“We won't let this happen, YN,” Namjoon whispers, “I promise.”

You sniffle slightly, looking up at Namjoon whose eyes soften at your misty ones. You felt a strong urge to curl up into a ball and cry your eyes out, but an even stronger urge was pushing its way to the top. A sense of protection. A sense of longing. You needed to save Taehyung, and Jimin, from a fate they don’t deserve. Namjoon and the others helped save you, it’s the least you could do to save the others from a similar fate.

“I want to help.”

Yoongi and Namjoon share a look with each other. “We’re doing everything we can, but right now you should focus on getting some rest and healing. When we’re ready to move, you’ll be the first to know.” Yoongi nods at Namjoon’s words, making you bite your lip.

“Okay,” you whisper.

After your discussion with Namjoon and Yoongi, you decided it was in your best interest, and Jin’s if you continued to sleep in his bed, to take a shower and get a change of clothes. After asking Jungkook for some spare clothes, of which he provided you with some of Jimin’s because they were smaller, you headed towards the showers.

You let the hot water run down your face, hot enough to make the skin red. As the water cascades down your neck it beads up at your chest and rolls off the peaks of your nipples, hardened by the cold, open space of the showers. There were no shower curtains. It looks a lot like those old school gyms you see on TV, just much smaller, with shower stalls lining one side of the tiled room, a long bench in the middle, and lockers on the opposite wall. So when Seokjin walked in, thinking it was Namjoon or even Jungkook in the shower, he was shocked to see your bare back turned towards him, both of your hands running through your wet hair.

He was ashamed of the twitch he felt in his pants, knowing he shouldn’t be looking at you that way. He’s only known you a couple of days, knows that you’re dealing with a lot. He knows that he should turn around and leave, but something stops him in his tracks.

He hears soft sniffles coming from you, muffled by the running water, but still there. He watches carefully as you bring both hands up to your eyes and push the palms of your battered hands into your eyeballs to relieve the pressure. He’s sure you’ve cried your body weight in tears the last few days and his heart breaks at the visual. 

Thinking better of just walking up to you, he takes a few quiet steps backwards until he’s behind the doorway, and knocks a few times against the metal lockers. “YN?”

You startle at the metallic sound ringing in your ears, quickly wiping the tears you let fall and protecting your modesty by folding your arms in front of your chest. “Yeah?” you call, keeping your back turned to the voice. The shower walls come up to your waist, and the entrance to the locker room is far enough away from you that no one would be able to see lower. 

“It’s Jin,” you hear him just barely over the sound of the shower, “do you mind if I come in? I wont look, promise.”

You hesitate for a second before deciding you wouldn’t mind if he came in. The two of you have been getting closer, especially after last night, and he has seen most of your body already from caring for and wrapping your wounds. “Come in,” you say, voice raised slightly. You turn towards the doorway, arms still folded over your chest. You aren’t the most confident person in the world, but you aren’t completely uncomfortable with nakedness and the human body. Everyone has one and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. 

As Jin rounds the corner, he stops, wide eyed that you turned around, and instantly covers his eyes, looking straight down at his shoes. “Sorry, sorry!” He utters, turning to hide his reddened cheeks. You let out a silent chuckle at the color his ears are turning. 

“Jin,” you start, making him raise an eyebrow and hum in affirmation, “it’s okay, Jin. I don’t mind. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.” Slowly, he nods, removing his hand from his face. He still looks unsure, but his red coloring is starting to subside.

“I uh-” he runs a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but your chest, “s-sorry, I heard you and I was worried, I’m sorry I thought it was Namjoon or Kookie in here.” His words are rushed, clearly embarrassed. He purses his lips into a thin line and gulps. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, I don’t mind, Jin,” you began, “really.” To prove your point, you unfold your arms and stare directly into the tall man’s eyes. 

Jin thinks his heart just dropped out of his chest and bounced away on the floor in front of him. At first he isn’t sure where he should look, trying his hardest to stare at your face. You look calm, not completely with the way your eyes are still slightly swollen from crying, but you don’t look embarrassed, like he does, that he’s standing in front of you, so he makes his decision. Hesitantly, he steps forward, watching you closely for any sign of being uncomfortable. Jin cares about you so much, and would never put you in a position you didn’t want to be in. As he approached you, you gave him a small smile, letting him know it was okay. 

You rest one of your hands on the half wall in front of you, letting the hot water roll down your back. You really did feel completely comfortable with Jin. You weren’t sure why. Maybe it’s because he’s taken care of you so well the last few days, or maybe it’s because of something deeper, you weren’t sure. What you did know is that as he approached you, you felt safe. Completely safe. Maybe it’s the trauma you’ve been through, both physically and mentally, over the last couple of days, but you craved his comforting touch, the physical closeness he had no problem with providing you. Even in your naked state, you wanted him close. 

You reached your hand out to Jin, eyes conveying all the words you couldn’t say. He understood, and you felt like that was all the more reason to trust this man. Slowly, he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt before pulling it up over his head and took your hand. He smiled gently at you, before letting go to pull off his black jeans and boxer briefs. You didn’t look, respectful of his boundaries, and he of yours as he walked closer and closer until he was standing beside you. Even though you were both nude, you didn’t stare or ogle one another. You stood there, a few inches apart, staring into each other’s eyes, until you reached out, grabbing Jin’s hand and tugging him forward as you backed up into the water.

You inhaled deeply at the feeling of the warmth, feeling your muscles relax even further with Jin’s calming presence beside you. He took another chance and took two steps forward to close the gap between you, and pulled you into an embrace. Your wet breasts were soft against his toned abdomen as you melted into one another. You snake your arms around his middle, hugging tightly to him and rest your cheek on his now wet chest. His arms wrap around your shoulders, one of his large hands rubbing up and down your back, pushing you backwards slightly so the both of you are further under the heat of the shower. 

Seokjin’s hands run over your spine, shoulders, and sides lovingly. You cling onto him like a lifeline, holding you through whatever troubles you had. It was calming, like Seokjin always is. You have never showered with another person before, not that you were doing much showering, but it was incredibly intimate, here with him. You were both so vulnerable, yet completely comfortable with one another. Hesitantly, you look up only to find him already staring down at you lovingly. Slowly, like he doesn’t want to scare you away, he leans down and places a long, sweet kiss on your wet forehead. His lips linger there longer than needed, before he pulls away and rests his chin on the top of your head. You try to ignore the plethora of butterflies swimming in your stomach at his display of affection, but it’s too hard and a soft smile spreads across your lips. 

You both stayed like that, unmoving for a long while, neither of you daring to speak and burst the fragile bubble you were living in. Whatever this was, it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. In fact, it was the most comforted you think you’ve ever felt, even before, in your old life. Old life, you scoff internally, was it ever really my life? So many decisions were made for you, you didn’t even know who the real you was. Maybe now you have a chance at figuring that out. What you did know, in this moment, is that Jin cares for you, and he was expressing a love that you’ve never felt from another person before. That thought both excited and scared you. Excitement for what was to come, the bonds you were about to build and the love you were about to share with these men. Fear for the unknown. Fear for the known. Fear of the what ifs. A lot of fear. But you knew, with Jin - here in his strong arms, and with the rest of the boys, everything would be okay. 

To be continued...

A/N: thanks for making it to the end! i’m not super proud of this chapter, but the shower scene with Jin is something I wrote a long time ago and wanted to include it in some way. you also get Jin and Jungkook’s (kind of) back story, and a little bit more of YNs. please let me know what you think!

taglist:  @minifruity​  @mrcleanheichou @arantxaglz​ @chim-possible​ @kooksremedy @irishhbamb​ @sugashaye​ @lovelyseomin​ @strawberrygatorade sorry if I missed anyone, please let me know if you want to be tagged! make sure you’re following and send an ask! 

copyright aliendes 2020

[abraxos-is-toothless]

Tummy Worship

In the Fellow Junkies chat we’re always losing our minds over the fact that Andrew totally has little bit of tummy chub and Neil is head over heels in love. If you don’t love soft Andreil then don’t read this lols ((: Also I might do a linked fic about Neil and being Demi as it’s only briefly discussed here?

A/N: I tried to keep them in character but I don’t think it worked and they’re also written in the way I personally want them to heal.

——————

It had been two years since whatever it was that they were had started. Andrew would never admit it, not even to Neil, but he was probably the happiest he’d ever been in his life. He didn’t think he’d felt this happy with Cass either, just Neil. The blue eyed, too pretty for his own good, Exy junkie.

They were currently lying in their bed in Columbia, Neil in nothing but his underwear because the freak somehow always overheated at night, and Andrew was in a pair of soft sweats but his chest was left bare because most days he was comfortable with that now. Neil was lying on his side and had his head on his shoulder, an arm around his waist, while Andrew was sort of sat propped up against the head board. It had taken them a long time to get to the point where Andrew was okay with cuddling but after a few times, he realised he quite liked the feeling of closeness to his junkie, like wrapping himself around him at night to prove that he really wasn't a hallucination. That Neil had stayed. Neither of them had spoken in what felt like hours but when the silence was broken it was by Neil’s soft and hesitant voice.

“Drew? Yes or no?”

They didn’t need to use that as much as they did in the beginning but if Neil was using it now, Andrew assumed it was for something new.

“To what, Abram? I don’t mind when you ask, you know that.” The tip of Neil’s nose always went red first when he started to blush, something that was so incredibly adorable it made a warm feeling bubble inside of his chest. Bee would call it healing, but Andrew just thought it was a lack of self-preservation skills. Neil rarely got nervous and even rarer, he never got nervous to ask Andrew for something, he always just asked (Andrew hated him for that). So instead of just kissing him to stop the words like he wanted, he remained quiet and waited for his junkie to finish talking.

“I want to lay with my head on your stomach, yes or no?”

Now it was Andrew’s turn to blush. He tried his hardest to stop it, but he could feel his face heat up and he knew for a fact that the tips of his ears were turning pink. Goddamn it Josten. His percentage was going up and he was buying Andrew at least two pints of ice cream. To give himself a moment to think he simply asked “Why?” Because there’s simply no way he could want that right?

“Because I’ve always liked it, Drew. I just really want to know if it’s as soft as it looks.”

“You’re joking right? I’ve got a layer of chub whereas you’re all muscle and abs, how could you possibly like what I have?” Andrew was glaring at his belly by the time he had finished speaking. Yes, he may play a lot of Exy –unwillingly yes- but because of the amount of junk food he ate, it left him with a little layer of chub over the muscles underneath. Sometimes he couldn’t help comparing what he looked like to Neil and trying to figure out how Neil actually liked what he saw when Andrew would allow him to look. He looked back up after a few minutes, realising that his idiot had yet to speak which made him slightly self-conscious. However, when he did, said idiot was biting his lip the way that always made Andrew want to bite it himself and he was just staring at his belly like it was the greatest thing he had ever seen. He finally managed to tear his eyes away when he spoke again, a quiet whisper between them.

“How can you say that? You know that my attraction and feelings towards you isn’t about your looks, I mean yeah, you’re beautiful and you’ve always been beautiful to me but we’ve talked about this. It’s always just been you and the connection we have, emotionally. It’s never been like this for me before, people were just people, but then I met you and after a while everything that felt missing in me just felt whole, you know?”

Andrew couldn’t breathe, it was like he had forgotten how to. His idiot had called him beautiful; no one had ever talked about him that way, but of course Neil would be the first. Yes they had had this talk only a few months ago, Neil had found him up on the roof of the Tower and had spent the evening talking about things Nicky had shown him online and that they had finally figured out why he only felt that way about Andrew of all people. Demisexual, they had finally concluded felt right to Neil. Made him realise why he didn’t work the way everyone else did when it came to being attracted to someone. He had to have an emotional bond before he felt anything sexual towards a person. And somehow, for some unknown reason, the idiot picked him. Wanted him. God, he hated that the gorgeous junkie made him feel this way, but knowing what he did made Andrew brave enough to say “Yes.” And when Neil looked at him as if to ask if he was sure he said it again with more strengths behind it, “Yes, Abram. It’s a yes.”

Neil moved slowly over him, trying to find a position that would be comfortable for himself while also being cautious of the few boundaries Andrew was still working on being able to let go of. Once he was where he wanted to be, he laid his right hand on one thigh and held onto one of Andrew’s after placing his free one into his own mop of red curls for Andrew to tangle his fingers in. After receiving permission and waiting for the body under his to relax again, he started placing soft, barely there kisses across Andrew’s lower belly. His breaths were gradually becoming heavy pants, loud in the quiet room when he finally let those small pecks become open mouthed, causing shivers down his spine. He watched Neil throughout, noticing the heated glances he’d occasionally send his way and the not so secret looks of fascination as they roamed over the expanse of bare skin before him. Eventually, the onslaught of overwhelming feelings became too much for Andrew so his hand that was tangled with the other’s tightened a fraction in warning.

This time when Neil looked at up at him, chin resting on the squishiest part just blow his belly button, he spoke the words that Andrew realised he didn’t think he’d ever deserve but had always wanted to hear. The words that were his undoing, that made him want to hold onto the idiot between his legs and never let go.

“I love you for who you are, Andrew Joseph Minyard. I’ll only ever love you. Always.”

He had never believed in having an ‘always’ but staring into those bright blue eyes, Andrew thought he just might get to have it.

——————

If you hate it then I’m sorry but it’s done now:) I know it was short too I’m sorry:( I have more aftg stuff in the world so if you’re a fan and want to be tagged in the future just let me know!💓

Tags: @bryaxisthefaceofnightmares @junkiejosten10 @jostenlovesminyard @oreosndscones @koholania @dollymangwani @certified-bi-fangirl-disaster @hannahoftheinternet @imstupidremember @stop-breathing-its-annoying @fancyclodpaintercookie

[vannahfanfics]

Healing Hands and Battle Scars

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Characters: Tsunayoshi Sawada, Kyoko Sasagawa

Requested By: @kiralushia​ (Tumblr) 

Alternatum to Our Scars

"Hello, Mrs. Sawada!" Kyoko announced cheerfully from the landing as she removed her shoes and placed them neatly beside Tsunayoshi's sneakers. She was surprised to find the entryway unusually empty; neither Haru, Hayato, nor Takeshi had come calling today. The recently waxed wooden floor squeaked slightly as the cotton fabric of Kyoko's socks rubbed against the boards. Tsunayoshi's mother’s merry response floated out of the kitchen to greet the young girl as she strolled down the hall toward the stairs. 

"Good afternoon, Kyoko! I'm preparing dinner now. Tsuna is upstairs; go say hello to him and keep him company until the food's ready!" 

Kyoko had half a mind to refuse the meal as social etiquette would dictate, but she knew well enough that Mrs. Sawada would keep insisting until she finally caved. 

"Thank you, ma'am!" she called back before skipping up the stairs. "Tsunaaaaa! Good afternoon!" she shouted to announce her presence. The boy's bedroom door was slightly ajar, spilling the waning daylight into the comparatively gloomy hallway. Kyoko knitted her eyebrows when she heard Tsunayoshi make as if to respond, only for his greeting to veer off into pained yelps and shouts. "Tsuna? Are you all right?" she asked as she walked forward and pushed the door open. 

The budding mafioso sat in the middle of his floor, wearing only a pair of boxers as he tended to the myriad of bruises, scratches, and scrapes marring his thin but toned body. Kyoko only blinked, more concerned about his injuries than the fact he was nearly naked. In the infancy of his blooming Dying Will powers, he'd run around in his underwear all the time, so it honestly didn't faze her. 

Tsunayoshi flashed her a disconcerted frown when she entered the room, then realized it was her and jumped. 

"Ah! Kyoko! I thought you were my mom!" he yelped and snatched the comforter off his bed to wrap it around his person. Kyoko laughed good-naturedly and sat on her knees beside him, brushing a few bandage wrappers aside. The boy exhaled heavily, wincing as he stretched out one of his legs to display a nasty scrape adorning his knee. “That Reborn… He’s killing me with all this training!” 

It was a sad fact that Kyoko was quite used to seeing Tsunayoshi— and many of the others, for that matter— beaten black and blue. Though Tsunayoshi had explained all the Vongola family’s eccentricities and his involvement when they’d been spirited ten years into the future, there was still much of his life that Kyoko had yet to understand. All she knew that she needed to support him. 

“Well,” Kyoko hummed as she grabbed the first-aid kit and pulled it closer to herself, “I’m sure Reborn is just doing what he believes is best for you.” 

“Kyoko! I’m not becoming a mafia leader! I’m not !” he retorted in a nasally whine. Kyoko released another light-hearted giggle as she rifled through the first-aid kit for bandages, antiseptic, and antibiotic creams. Tsunayoshi watched her with an angry pout, clearly displeased that she too reacted so casually to his relationship with the prominent Italian criminals. Smiling serenely, Kyoko shuffled on her knees to face him again. 

“Well, I doubt that will get Reborn to lighten up anytime soon,” she chuckled amiably. Tsunayoshi grimaced as he hunched his slim shoulders up to his ears. While he sulked, Kyoko pulled the comforter away from his body. Tsunayoshi squeaked and immediately scrabbled for it, but Kyoko pulled it quickly away from his frantic grasp. 

“K-Kyoko! What are you doing?” 

“Silly!” she snickered and scooched a little closer to him. “I’m going to tend to your wounds! It’s the least I can do after you’ve protected me so many times, right?” 

“Bah… If you say so, Kyoko,” he consented with a bright pink blush blossoming in his cheeks. He splayed out his legs on either side of her so she could shuffle forward on her knees and plant herself right in front of him. She picked up a cotton ball and doused it in antiseptic, then prepared to begin dabbing it on his wounds. 

She could do this. She had to do her best to help Tsunayoshi, in the only way she knew how. 

As she drank in the myriad of scratches and bruises littering his toned body, Kyoko’s eyes grew lidded. There’s so many… Scattered among the fresh injuries were thin white scars, phantoms of arduous training and conflicts past. With a sad smile and even sadder eyes, Kyoko reached out to trace the patchwork of tiny blemishes interspersed between the bleeding cuts and blue-black bruises. 

Tsunayoshi flinched and gasped as her slightly cold fingers met his skin. However, he allowed her to journey across his chest, up his arms, and across his legs. She followed the chronicle of his danger-fraught life until her fingers began to quiver and stutter. There was a seemingly endless amount of lesions disfiguring Tsunayoshi’s person. 

“Kyoko…?” Tsunayoshi asked in a small voice. 

Kyoko hadn’t realized, but tears had sprung to the corners of her eyes. Her fingers faltered over an incredibly long scar slashing across his chest. She wondered, did they sometimes ache, these scars of his? Did he awake in the dead of night in a cold sweat with phantom pain, tendrils of agony blooming from those scars like spider lilies rooted in pale earth? 

The sobering thought sent the tears spilling down her cheeks, which had reddened with misery on Tsunayoshi’s behalf. 

“Tsuna,” she choked. She splayed her fingers over his chest, and they trembled against his wound-littered skin. Slowly, Tsunayoshi reached up to envelop her hand in his, gently pulling it away from his scarred body to tightly wrap his fingers around her shuddering ones. “ Tsuna ,” she repeated in a woeful whine. 

What could she say ? What could she say to make his scars hurt less? Kyoko didn’t know . 

“ Kyoko ,” Tsunayoshi sighed wearily. Still holding her hand aloft and giving it intermittent, reassuring squeezes, he used his other to help push his battered body closer to her. “Please don’t cry, Kyoko. This is why I didn’t want you to see me like this,” he frowned. 

As she hung her head, pitifully wiping at her teary eyes with the heel of her free hand, Tsunayoshi reached up to push a swathe of her caramel-colored hair from her face. 

“Ahhhh,” he whined with a self-deprecating smile on his face. “I’m just no good, am I? Kyoko was kind enough to come and patch me up after Reborn put me through Hell, and now I made her cry. I really am No-Good Tsuna, huh?” 

Kyoko released a little giggle at the playful lilt in his voice. It was just so hard to be depressed with Tsunayoshi smiling so kindly as he held her hand and petted her hair oh-so-softly. As she smiled shakily, Tsunayoshi hummed approvingly. 

“Ah, that’s better. Please don’t cry anymore, okay? I promise they don’t hurt anymore.” 

Kyoko twitched as he all but pinpointed the source of her anxieties like he’d read her mind. She shuffled in between his legs as his hand dropped down to his thigh, while his other continued to hold her hand and rub small circles into her skin with his thumb. Her eyes swept over his form once more, over the wounds, both fresh and faded. 

“They don’t hurt?” she echoed hollowly. 

“Nah,” he reassured her with a lopsided smile. “Sure, Reborn puts me through the wringer and sometimes the hurt for a while, but they heal in time.” He then broke out in a big, cheesy smile. “Because I have your lucky charm, Kyoko, and when that’s not enough, I have the goddess of good luck herself to nurse me back to health, yeah?” 

As soon as the words left his mouth, they both burst into insanely bright head-to-toe bright red blushes. 

“Gah! I-I-I’m sorry!” he stammered, dropping her hand to wave his wildly about. “Th-that was so embarrassing— K-Kyoko, just forget I said that, okay?” 

Though Tsunayoshi’s mind was muddled by panic, Kyoko was as lucid as could be. 

“No,” she refused. Tsunayoshi squawked and then choked on air, freezing as Kyoko stared intensely at him with burning eyes. She firmly grasped his hand again with both of hers, squeezing it tightly. “No,” she repeated, softer. “I’ll do it. Be your goddess of good luck, and be there to nurse you back to health.” 

I don’t have powers like you all do. My only power… is supporting you. 

Tsunayoshi blinked at her. Silence descended over them like a veil, even blocking out the sounds of the street outside, muting the birdsong and car engines and friendly conversation of the neighbors on the porch across the street. Slowly, Tsunayoshi melted into her touch and her reassurance, a sweet smile rising on his face. 

“Kyoko…” 

“Now!” she cried, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get to work!” She retrieved the medical supplies once more, adjusting herself more comfortably before taking the antiseptic-soaked cotton ball and dabbing at a cut. Tsunayoshi hissed as the alcohol-based solution stung the thin slice in his skin. When he pouted at her, she laughed amiably. “What? I said I would nurse you back to health. I didn’t say it would be painless !” 

“Bahhhhh,” Tsunayoshi whined and tilted back his head. He banged his heels against the wooden floor as Kyoko continued to daub antiseptic over his many wounds. “Kyokooooo! Is this payback for getting beat up and making you cry?” 

“Mayyyyybe,” she grinned, pinching the tip of her tongue between her teeth. “You’ll have to suffer more of Reborn’s training so that you get tough enough not to get beat up at all!” 

“ Orrrrrr Reborn can go back to Italy and pick another Vongola 10th!” Tsunayoshi countered hotly. He continued to whine and whimper at Kyoko’s ministrations, even as Reborn strolled casually into the room while nibbling on a bowl of hearty beef stew. 

“Tsuna, you are a disgrace,” the hitman toddler tutted disapprovingly. Tsunayoshi immediately began to sputter indignantly. The refined hitman ignored him and tottered over to a bean bag chair, plopping down and indulging in the delicious beef dish. “You should take your role as a mafioso more seriously. It is unbecoming to complain as much as you do.” 

“I only complain because you give me hell , Reborn!” 

“Yoooo, Tsuna~! Here you are!” 

They both turned as the familiar, good-natured voice of Takeshi Yamamoto floated through the doorway. Both the baseball player and a scowling Hayato hovered in the threshold, each holding two bowls of steaming beef stew. “Your mom told us you were both up here. We brought you some food!” 

“Shame on you, Tsuna, making your mother eat dinner all by herself,” Reborn tsked disapprovingly from his bean bag chair. Tsunayoshi whipped his head around so fast that Kyoko swore she heard his vertebrae crack. 

“Oh, yeah? What are you doing up here, then, Reborn?” 

“Giving you hell.” 

“Ahhhhh! Why did my life turn out this way?” Tsunayoshi howled in lament and flopped backward against his floor. Kyoko had finished applying antiseptic, so she figured she could take a break before slapping bandages on Tsunayoshi’s cuts. She thanked Takeshi as he handed her a bowl and settled in to enjoy Maman’s excellent cooking. 

She paused before starting, drinking in the scene around her. The air hummed with animated, positive energy; laughter and smiles illuminated the room, joining the dying rays of the sunset streaming in through the window. Kyoko smiled, watching warmly as Tsunayoshi bantered with Takeshi, Hayato, and Reborn. 

Tsuna has scars… But he has them so we can have afternoons like this, doesn’t he? He got those scars protecting a future where we can all sit around, joking and eating Maman’s delicious cooking. 

Smiling, she spooned up a bit of the stew and rice and brought it to her lips. 

Tsunayoshi and the others would have to keep fighting for that future. Kyoko couldn’t fight as they could, but she could fight in her own way- with healing hands and comforting smiles and unyielding support. She would fight her own battle so that someday, Tsunayoshi’s scars would all fade away into forgotten memory.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[spinelwritings]

Spinel with an s/o who has amnesia

I got a bit carried away with this one, so it’s pretty long. You might want to skip it if you’re uncomfortable with descriptions of car crashes and hospitals, but there isn’t anything too graphic. 

I hope you enjoy!

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

Some gems said that, in moments of tragedy, everything slows down, every detail noticeable, and they’re able to act in an instant. Maybe it was because she wasn’t a warrior or soldier, but that hasn’t been Spinel’s experience. For her, everything seemed to happen in an instant. It only took an instant for Pink Diamond to leave her in that garden, only an instant of realization, an instant of anger and an instant of action. So it made sense that, when the time came, it would take only an instant for her to lose everything.

They were in the car when it happened, going home after having dinner at a restaurant Y/N wanted to try out. She was singing softly to the music that played over the radio. Spinel had her eyes closed, listening to her partner’s soft voice. It always managed to calm her down no matter how wound up she was. It was moments like this that she cherished the most.

Then, in an instant, it was gone. 

Everything seemed to shake. It was like the whole world shifted to the left. Panic flooded through her system and she reached for Y/N

Then she was reforming. 

“Y/N!”

She froze, panic bubbling up once again as she looked over the devastation. The car was nothing now but a pile of metal. Everything was covered in a layer of broken glass, looking like glitter and stars in the bright moonlight. There was another car farther away along the road, it’s front crumpled. A man was standing next to it, looking slightly dazed and surprised. But she didn’t care about him, didn’t even give him a second glass, because for one terrifying moment she couldn’t find Y/N, oh stars, she couldn’t find her!

She felt no sense of relief when she did find the human. 

She spotted her lying motionless on the side of the road, looking so incredibly broken. It felt like Spinel’s gem was about to shatter, each moment that passed cracking her just a little more. No. No no no. Non no no no no no no non on no non…

She rushed to the human’s side, looking her over, absolutely horrified. Oh stars, there was so much blood, there shouldn’t be that much blood. Her arm was bent in the wrong places, little cuts and bruises covered her skin, a dark ugly bruise covered almost half of her face, and she could see where some larger shards of glass had embedded themselves into her, what looked like a particularly large one forced deep into her side.

Her hands shook as she gently, ever so gently, lifted the broken human into her arms, hot tears streaming down her face. She desperately searched for any sign of life, a heartbeat, a breath, anything! She sobbed when she felt a heartbeat flutter in her chest. She gently held her close to her chest, head tucked below her chin and close to her gem. She slowly rocked back and forth, mind racing.

Y/N was alive, but for how long? What was she supposed to do now? She needed to fix this, she needed to fix her. She couldn’t die, she couldn’t! They were supposed to have a lifetime together! She wasn’t ready! But what was she supposed to do? It felt like her mind was running in circles and she was frozen in place, stuck sobbing over the broken body, unable to help.

It felt like an eternity had passed by the time she heard the alarms, quiet at first but steadily getting louder, louder, piercing through the fog in her mind. There were flashing lights, bouncing off the glittering glass, almost blinding in the night. Several different vehicles pulled up to the wreck, humans flooding out, rushing about. All the gem could do was blink numbly, watching as several humans came over to her and Y/N. She couldn’t process anything they were saying to her, but after some time she understood that they were there to help. She hesitantly let them take Y/N away, feeling like her gem was cracking. She watched them fuss over her, doing all sorts of different things she didn’t understand. She decided to just focus on Y/N’s face, clinging helplessly to her hand. 

She was going to be okay. She had to be okay.

It was when they were headed towards the hospital that her mind finally unstuck itself and she took out her phone.

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

It was late when Steven’s phone rang, shattering the silence of his bedroom and forcing him away from a pleasant dream. He struggled to shake off sleep and will his arm to move. By the time he finally managed to roll over and grab blindly for his phone, it had stopped ringing. He groaned as the bright light hit his face, blinking at the screen till his eyes adjusted. 

He frowned, looking at the list of missed calls, all from Spinel. He sat up, worry clawing at his throat. Spinel almost never called, but as he scrolled through he saw that she had called almost thirty times in the last half hour. 

He was out of his bed in an instant, shoving his jacket on one-armed as he called back. He was running down the stairs and calling for Lion when Spinel picked up.

“S-Steven?”

Her voice was shaky and broken like she had been crying and he had no doubt that was exactly what she was doing.

“Spinel! Are you okay? Where are you? I’m on my way.”

The gem was struggling to speak, words broken by pained sounds and sobs.

“I … I’m … h-hospital.”

“Got it, I’ll be just a few seconds, meet me out front, okay?”

He didn’t get an answer. Spinel just hung up.

Thankfully, Lion wasn’t too far away and with his warp ability, it took only seconds to get to the hospital. He rushed in, looking this way and that for any sign of the pink gem through the crowd of the lobby. He spotted her as she ran in through some hallway and his heart dropped. 

She looked different. Her form had changed. Her pigtails had been replaced with a single ponytail and her clothes were a lot more human-like. What startled him the most was the patches of what looked like blood. 

She didn’t say anything when she saw him, just grabbed his arm and pulled him along, running faster than any human ever could. They stopped outside a room in the ICU and Steven gasped at the sight.

It was Y/N, looking absolutely dreadful. There were so many wires and bandages, nurses hovering over her. Her face looked blank, covered by the oxygen mask and a dark purple and blue bruise. If it wasn’t for the heart monitor that beeped irregularly, he would have thought she was dead.

Spinel looked at him expectantly, desperation and worry clear on her face, eyes rimmed red from crying, tears still threatening to spill.

“Please …”

Her voice was soft, tired, and broken, and Steven knew exactly what she meant. 

He walked to the bed, trying not to get in the nurses’ way, and gave Y/N a kiss on her forehead. Spinel was by his side in an instant, watching the human closely and holding her hand tight as Steven’s healing ability did its work.  The relief that washed over the gem was overwhelming and she couldn’t stop the tears that washed down her face once more. In only moments the human’s heart settled and the bruises faded. 

The nurses were amazed at the sudden change, but that mattered little to Spinel. She ignored them even as they rushed around the bed checking this and that. All she wanted was to see those beautiful eyes again, nothing else mattered. It didn’t take long before her wish was granted. Slowly, Y/N blinked her eyes open and Spinel felt like she was going to collapse from the relief and emotional exhaustion. 

“Oh thank goodness…” she muttered, beaming down at Y/N. “I was so worried I’d lost you.”

She blinked up at the gem but didn’t say anything. Even as the nurses fussed, she kept her eyes locked on the gem’s own pink ones. It was only after the nurses left that she even bothered to look around the room, no longer held down by countless wires. She looked confused, lost.

“Wha-what happened?”

“I could ask the same thing.” Steven said, looking at Spinel pointedly.

“We got in a car crash. Some jerk ran into us with his truck.”

Steven winced and nodded. 

“Yeah, that would do it.”

Spinel sighed and smiled softly at Y/N. 

“I’m just glad we managed to make it out okay.”

But Y/N still looked confused. Spinel frowned.

“Are you okay, hun? Does it still hurt anywhere?”

She shook her head.

“No, nothing hurts.”

But something was clearly wrong. Tears started welling up in her eyes and when Spinel tried to wrap her up and comfort her she all but shoved the gem away.

“I’m sorry,” she said, starting to shake as the beginnings of a panic attack gripped her. “I’m so sorry. I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything.”

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

It took longer than usual to calm her down. Spinel felt so helpless. She couldn’t wrap the human up and ground her and she barely responded to her words at all. She did eventually calm down, thankfully.

But that was only a small thing compared to what they had to handle next.

“Can you tell me what you remember?” Spinel asked, doing everything she could think of to stay calm. She needed to be there for Y/N right now, not break down as she might once have done. 

Y/N shook her head, still distressed. 

“I don’t know, it’s all really foggy. I think I remember being in college?”

Spinel nodded.

“Okay doll, do you rememba’ your graduation?”

She thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. 

“Yeah, I remember that. I had a fight with my parents after the ceremony. I was planning to move away.”

“Do you rememba’ where you ended up going?”

She thought again, this time for a lot longer before shaking her head.

“No…”

They decided to get the doctor to look her over, but no cause was found. The best guess they were given was head trauma. There was nothing they could do.

Spinel refused to leave till visiting hours were over. The doctor wanted to keep an eye on Y/N, so she was forced to stay the night alone, which did not sit well with the gem. It had been a while since they spent the night apart.

They managed to get through the labrynth-like halls and into a waiting room before Spinel suddenly stopped, leaning heavily against one of the chairs. 

“Spinel, are you okay?”

She shook her head weekly, almost collapsing into the chair. She was crying, trying to suppress the sobs that bubbled in her chest. Steven sat next to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll find a way to work through this somehow. It’s still Y/N.”

Spinel shook her head, arms wrapping around herself, trying to keep herself together. It did little to stop the strangled sob that escaped her lips. Steven gave her a tight hug, one she couldn’t bring herself to return.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” She shook her head again, arms tightening around her body. It felt like she was about to explode.

“It feels like I’ve lost her…”

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

Spinel was determined to get Y/N’s memories back, one way or another. 

They went home to their small apartment. Spinel hoped that something there might jog her memory. She watched eagerly as the human looked around, taking in everything.

“So, this is where I live now?”

“Sure are. You told me you liked it ‘cause it’s close to the beach and rent’s really cheap.”

She nodded, starting to wander through the apartment. 

“It’s so cozy here.”

But she didn’t remember anything. So Spinel took her out and showed her around the town. Maybe something there would jog her memory?

Y/N loved the town, but Spinel already knew she would. Still, it was kind of adorable. She just got so excited about everything!

“It’s so cute! I love it!” She squealed as they walked down the Boardwalk.

“Ya know, we would come here all the time.” Spinel said, a sad smile on her face as she remembered all the nights they spent walking and talking. “You liked it most at night cause of all the lights.”

She looked at the gem with a familiar sparkle in her eyes, smile wide.

“We’ll have to come back later then.”

Yes, maybe that would help more. But until then …

“Let’s go to the arcade.”

“They have an arcade!!”

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

It was a long and busy day, to say the least. Spinel pulled Y/N around everywhere, from one side of town to the other, but nothing seemed to work. 

They ended up on Lighthouse Hill, watching the sunset. Y/N marveled at the sight, admiring the colors and how the light reflected off of the ocean. Spinel didn’t see any of it. She was too caught up in her own mind. What else might work? How was she going to get her memories back?

The gem jumped when a hand touched her shoulder.

“Hey, you doing okay?”

Spinel forced a smile and shrugged her off.

“Nothin’s wrong doll, don’t worry about it.”

But Y/N was hit with just how wrong her smile looked. She didn’t know how she knew, she never was all that good at judging people’s emotions, but she still somehow knew. She frowned at the gem. 

“Just tell me.”

“Nothing’s wrong.” She insisted, but her smile was even more forced than before. Y/N stared her down till she finally broke and let out a long sigh.

“Alright, alright…” she said, deflating slightly, shoulders drooping. “Ya got me. Ya always was good at that.”

Y/N scooted closer to the gem and waited

“I’m just worried, I think. I’m worried you’ll never get your memories back and … I’ll be alone again.”

Y/N hummed, thinking over what she said.

“Well, I’m not sure whether or not I ever will get my memories back, but I’m not sure it really matters if I do. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all very confusing and there’s just so much about myself I’ve gotta learn now, but … At the very least, I can trust my own decisions.”

Spinel couldn’t bring herself to look at the human. She felt a gentle hand on her cheek, forcing her to look into the other’s eyes and she felt like she was melting under the warmth of her gaze.

“I can see why I fell in love with you.”

Oh stars, she was going to cry. Spinel felt so warm and light like she might float away if Y/N ever let her go. 

Spinel leaned in close and kissed her, wrapping her in her arms tightly. She could feel the human relax into her touch, kissing her back. They giggled together and traded kisses, content to sit in each others arms.

Spinel decided that maybe they could make some new memories. Maybe that would be enough.

[moonnightyoongi]

crashing | doyoung

pairing: doyoung x reader

genre: angst (wat else ofc), maybe a bit of fluff?

word count: 1.7k

description: you couldn’t stop the negative thoughts from consuming you, until you saw a vending machine.

Always and forever was what they told you. When you meet someone you truly love it will be always and forever, you even convince yourself and tell them it all the time in the hopes of hearing them say it back. 

But what happens when it comes crashing down? They don’t tell you the part where you wake up one day and everything feels different. You don’t look at them the same, their smile doesn’t bring you joy, the meaningless conversations you used to love becomes a mumble you can’t understand and don’t want to hear.

Why is it never spoken about? Why does everyone hide the fact that you may one day wake up and the love is gone? Does it happen overnight? Does it happen over time? If it happens over time then why can’t you recognise it till its gone? 

How do you explain it to them? How do you tell them that the love you had somehow vanished over night and you’re now left with this sort of empty, vacant space in your heart where they used to be? 

Does it come back? If you give yourself time can you learn to love them again? Is it unfair to do so? What if the love doesn’t come back and you have wasted the time they could have spent healing and meeting other people? Does it make you a bad person, or does it make you a good person because at least you…. tried?

“You know your essay is due in like 2 hours right?” Doyoung asks.

You snap out of your thought and stare at him, “I’m thinking.”

“I don’t think you should be doing that, you’ll drain yourself,” he jokes. You roll your eyes letting out a small laugh as you stared at the empty screen in front of you.

Take creative writing they told you, you can write 8 stories in one sitting. Now you were three years into the course and you could barely write a sentence without wanting to snap your laptop in two. Writing used to be so easy for you, you loved watching people read it and hearing their thoughts on how you portrayed their emotions and made them laugh or cry. Nowadays you would hide your work in shame, every story had the same story line - boy meets girl and their love is great. You could count on your fingers and toes how many times you had compared love to the colour yellow - bright and sometimes oddly annoying.You were almost certain your teacher was one more colour yellow away from circling it and telling you to look at a rainbow.

“Can I read what you’ve written?” Doyoung asks.

“I haven’t written anything.”

“What? We’ve been here three hours.”

“Yep,” you say nodding your head, staring at the library full of students nearly pulling their hair out.

“Just compare love to the colour yellow and call it a day,” Taeyong says typing away at his computer.

“Shut up.”

“Yellow?” Doyoung frowns, “How is love yellow?”

“Bright and oddly annoying,” Taeyong replies. 

You sigh and slam your laptop lid down, “I’m going to go for a walk and clear my head.”

“Impossible, you never switch off,” Taeyong says, “Can you get me breakfast bars? I’m hungry.’

“Fine,” you sigh turning on your heel.

“I’d say love was more of a mint green,” Taeil says.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jaehyun tuts, “Mint green is a horrible colour.”

You laugh slightly as you walk out the library, how had your ramblings to get your essay over the word count become a debate on the table about what colour love really was. According to the world it was red, maybe pink, but to you - well, it was black. Black because its endless, its the colour of nothingness and never ending. Black holes? They go on forever, right? Pitch black room? Not endless, you’ll walk into a wall at some point. When you mentioned it to your friends they told you that you were stupid, black was a negative and dark colour. But, like everything, it depends on the context it’s used. Black may symbolise darkness to some but they never remember that at the end of darkness there is light.

“That makes no sense,” you grumble hitting back space and looking at the empty quad in front of you.

When you first started dating Doyoung all you could write was soppy love stories about how when two people meet who are soulmates the stars align and they no longer feel the heavy burden of trying to find someone to walk the earth with. Then it turned into stories about people who stayed together because it was easier than the pain of leaving them behind. Now your words had turn into nothingness. Not even the music you loved to write to could help you, the pages remained blank and the extensions were getting rejected by your teacher. She pulled you in and gave you some recommendations for how to beat writers block, but this didn’t feel like writers block. You had found out over this time that your ability to write was based on your emotions, and if you felt nothing then nothing would come out. 

“Still nothing?” Taeil asks coming to sit beside you as you rested against the tree.

“Nope,” you sigh.

“What’s going on? Everyone’s noticed that you’ve been daydreaming and not really here the past few months.”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, what do you think about?

“I don’t know,” you reply.

“How can you not know?”

“It’s just noise,” you tell him. He looks at the grass in front of him and puts his hand on your shoulder.

“If you need help, there’s no shame in getting it.”

“I don’t think I can get help with writing this essay, it’s illegal.”

“I mean you, not your essay.”

“Why would I need help?”

“Can you tell me honestly that you feel yourself right now?”

“No.”

“Then speak to someone, even if it’s me.”

“Have you ever been in love?” You ask him.

“Yes.”

“Have you ever fell out of love while still with them?”

He pauses, “No.”

You nod your head, “I hope you never know the feeling.”

You stand up and dust off your jeans, “I need to get Taeyong cereal bars.”

“Y/N,” Taeil begins, “Usually when people fall out of love with someone it’s because they’ve convinced themselves the other deserves better.”

You look at him and blink vacantly, “Right.”

You hear Taeil sigh as you walk away from him to find a vending machine somewhere in the university buildings. Was he right? Had you somehow managed to convince yourself that Doyoung deserved someone better? Someone with a proper degree and not a creative writing degree that will probably lead them into some low paid job they hated. 

Walking into the empty hallway you saw the vending machine shining brightly amongst the darkness of the halls, suddenly it clicked. You knew what you wanted to write about. Slamming yourself on the floor of the empty hallway you clicked away at your keyboard the fasted you had since you were maybe 15 years old. Excited to write, a feeling that had become so unfamiliar to you.

It wasn’t some cringe love story, it wasn’t about the fucking colour yellow, it wasn’t about star crossed lovers or a breakup and how the person recovers over time with a little help from their friends.

It was about finding light in the darkness. The stupid vending machine had shown you the error of your ways. You had become so negative towards everything, everything was black to you - but what you were failing to realise was that if you turned ever so slightly you would see the light in the darkness, the vending machine if you will.

“Y/N,” Doyoung says shaking you awake.

“I KNOW SELF DEFENSE!” You scream, issuing a few laughters from the boys behind you, “Oh it’s you.”

“Your boyfriend? Yes, hi,” he laughs, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“You fell asleep in the middle of the university hallway.”

“What?!” You shout, “What time is it!”

They all fumble around looking for a watch or their phones, “Oh you’re useless!” You shout shaking the mouse pad to show you the time.

“Shit! My deadline! I missed it,” you groan.

“Send it to me now,” you hear a voice say from the end of the hallway. Looking up you see your teacher with a small smile on her face.

“Miss came to find us when she find out you flat out on the floor,” Taeyong says “I assume you came to get my cereal bars and got an idea.”

“Yeah,” you groan rubbing your eyes.

“What did you write about?” Taeil asks as you rushed to send it.

“Finding light in the darkness,” you reply.

“Fucking hell she went from yellow to black and white,” Jaehyun jokes.

“Shut up!” Doyoung scolds hitting his leg, “You wanna go sleep on something other than floor?”

You nod your head, “Yeah. Did you guys finish your essays?”

“Yeah, on time too,” Taeyong says, “Without snacks that were promised.”

“Oh my god I’ll get you the stupid cereal bars tomorrow!”

“We’re already into tomorrow, I asked for them yesterday!” He shouts.

“You’ve got a real attitude for someone who’s expecting snacks from me.”

“Come on,” Doyoung says wrapping his arm around you.

You smile at him as you walk behind everyone who were pretending to kick the air and screaming - most likely from the relief of finishing their final papers of the year. After speaking to Taeil you felt better, everything made sense and you felt aligned. Sure, they was most probably going to be a lot more work to do - especially if you were good at convincing yourself everyone deserves better.

“I love you,” Doyoung says snapping you out of your thoughts.

You look at him and smile, “I love you too.”

“I want you to know one thing,” he says.

“Go for it.”

“I’ll always have time for you. Always and forever.”

“Always and forever.”

And for the first time in a long while, it didn’t sound so bad.

masterlist | ask

[connectedfeelings]

Next Eternal Update Preview 👀

Eternal ( ff.net / ao3 ) [ Reincarnation / AU ] There are bonds that transcend time: a long lasting rivalry, a love so deep that the heart can never forget, friendships that shape you. Team 7 reunite once again, but they don't know it isn't their first meeting. When an epidemic arises in a small village in Northern Japan, the familiarity they feel towards each other begins to make sense.

So the next update is gonna be an interlude that takes place during ninja times, so we get more background and foreshadowing. Here’s a sneak peak at a few paragraphs from the opening scene.

She looked at him, a soft smile gracing her lips. It was a gentle look he was beginning to etch into his memory. He liked that smile.

"I'm just thinking about what we had to do to get here."

His mind went a little differently than hers did. A flash of guilt invaded his thoughts. She, as well as the rest of team seven, had to fight their way into getting him back in the right state of mind. Years of his personal struggles had also affected them. He knew he was not entirely to blame. His circumstances were marred with stains of manipulation and lies that led him diving into a storm that he was not proud of falling into.

He had his sins to atone for, the sins that had made him walk away from his village a second time, but unlike the first time, he left with a lighter heart.

The night he had first left the village, all he could remember was how he felt like he had to cage his emotions and other things he deemed distracting away from his mind. Package and seal them away, so it wouldn't make him hesitate. That was the same night she found him by the gates.

He had been angry, at first, at the sight of her. He wanted to leave without notice, and yet she stood there before him, somehow having figured out his intentions.

He knew she was intelligent, observant. It shouldn't have come as a shock, but he knew now that it wasn't a momentary feeling of surprise at the sight of her. It was anger. He didn't want to have her there and beg him to stay. He was too caught up in his desire for power that nothing would have made him stay. But as her tears rolled on and her voice grew more and more desperate, he felt his resolve chip slightly. That was why he had to stop her.

She confessed that night. Though, he knew of her feelings towards him, he didn't know how deep they had become and if her words were truly what her heart was saying and not her desperation. Back then, he knew she was important to him, but to what extent, he didn't think it was to the same level that she had of him.

But now, years later, as the two of them walk side by side with no set destination, he had begun to notice so much more about his pink-haired teammate. She had grown from an unsure young girl to a confident force to be reckoned with. He was proud of her. He never said it out loud, but he hoped she knew.

The day he left after the war, she was there, too. But instead of tears, he left her with hope. And he had come back to fulfill his promise.

When he decided to go on this journey, he meant it when he said she had no part in his sins. Thinking back, he could understand how she could have misconstrued what he meant. That first part of his journey was to help him absolve himself of the sins he made as a ninja, to walk and see the world for what it has become in all ways, instead of the bleak lenses that had covered his gaze.

But he made her a promise. "Next time," he said then. His first journey was for him to realize the gravity and extent of his actions. When he came back to fulfill his promise to her, it was just as much for him as it was for her. He had caused her great grief and sorrow. He did things he regretted, and he still wondered why she thought so highly of him.

It was an alleviating feeling, though, her warmth towards him. After everything he did, everything they had gone through, she still gave him the benefit of the doubt. She still waited for him. What he did to deserve that patience, he did not know. He found himself grateful for it, either way.

They have been travelling together for almost a month now, and they both felt a shift in their relationship. What started as comfortable, albeit at times awkward, companionship had morphed into steady and natural back and forths. When he needed her help, she knew when to pitch in, and when she would ask him questions, he found himself unhesitatingly answer.

Small brushes of their fingers as they set camp or the lingering gazes they shared did not go past him. Being with her had felt all the more right. Sometimes they would have conversations, and though Sakura always led them, he appreciated hearing the passion in her voice as she spoke about the clinics she had started for orphaned children and the work she was so proud of.

As she felt his fingers brush hers, she felt a rise in heat on her cheeks. A finger lingered on her hand and she felt herself open her palm, inviting his. His fingers slowly intertwined with hers, and all she could do was have the corners of her lips curve up at the newfound warmth of his palm meeting hers. The heat in her cheeks intensified and she couldn't help but look away, a mixture of giddiness and shyness.

He didn't say a word. He continued looking straight, but he noted how small her hand was compared to his own. Yet, those hands could do more damage than a majority of ninja ever could.

She was all sorts of contradictions. Where her fists could cause the ground beneath them to shake, her fingers were delicate, her touch soft, healing. Where she could be loud, her voice would soften and soothe and empower an audience. Where her eyes could divulge her secrets, she was a kunoichi capable of uncovering secrets that are not her own.

Aside from that, there was one thing, one word he thought of that encompassed her being. Vibrant.

Where his life had been dark, there had been sparks of light that had helped him. One of them was the bright pink light she radiated. Even then, he knew she had grown important to him. Now, she still was, but in a way he didn't know how to describe.

What he did know, though, was that in that moment, with her slim fingers intertwined his, he felt content.

Eternal Part Two: Thallo Interlude II: Overture will be posted tomorrow

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 2 - Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Note: This is my Leon fic!!!!! Originally posted on Archive of Our Own.

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

Rating: General/Teen

Warnings: None! But dis fic be scary sometimes

Extra Note: If this was an anime episode it would be called 立ち去った、悪霊！チャンピオンダンデと祓魔師の冒険！ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=┌(;￣◇￣)┘

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

...

...

["It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter." - The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien]

...

...

This would be the first time you have had someone properly accompany you during your excursions; a long time ago, Sonia was eager to come with you but unfortunately she wasn't quite able to stay awake during most of the night and you had to continue on without her, leaving her fast asleep in the tent with Yamper.

Also, you don't want to endanger her in either way, otherwise Magnolia may not forgive you. You're close to them and Magnolia wouldn't say such things to you in person but you know deep inside that you mustn't jeopardise her granddaughter.

It's nice to have a companion for a change.

"I mean, for once, I don't need to fill in the silence by talking to myself," you utter to yourself under your breath and it's completely due to force of habit but Leon overhears and throws his glance to you.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing."

It's true though.

Leon and yourself meander down the path with Charizard lumbering behind you. Although you're not sure if it is the right thing to allow Leon to come with you, a part of you is wondering if things might end up differently if you tackled this one as a group rather than just going solo. There is still no sign of the house however.

"This can be very dangerous," you warn him again but he's looking very optimistic.

"Charizard will protect us!" he exclaims with boyish enthusiasm, a type of naïveté which you find rather bemusing because you wonder how he will react once he sees a ghost....though you do inwardly cringe about the thought of Leon running away whilst screaming his head off.

Meanwhile, Charizard emits an all-knowing snort and nods his head. They both look confident and comfortable.

"Ghosts are an entirely different thing, Leon."

"Yeah, but do you have any pokemon?"

You stop in your tracks immediately, cheeks feeling warm as Leon pauses as well, quietly observing your reaction. Without looking at him, you mutter out, "K-kind of, I have my sister's pokemon but I don't want to use them. If anything happened to them I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"Okay, so you don't have any pokemon with you?" Leon says, crossing his arms. Although he's wearing baggy clothes, his sleeves still go taut from the motion and you can see the outlines of his rock hard biceps which you had grabbed not too long ago.

You clear your throat, trying not to think about that incident and focus on what is presently at hand at this moment. It's refreshing to see him fully-dressed in his sweats for a change. You're used to seeing pictures of him in the champion attire consisting of the red cape, tight black t-shirt, white shorts and tights. He's kept his snapback, however.

Shaking your head in response to his question, a look of surprise crosses his handsome face.

"It's incredibly dangerous to go into the Wild Area without a pokemon partner. I could send you back to the Meetup Spot right now," he says.

Your cheeks go pink as he tells you off and you hang your head low whilst kicking a stone in your path, pouting. "As long as I have my stash of pokedolls and I don't go into the tall grass, I'm fine..."

He breaks into a grin at your defeated response, "I was kidding!"

You don't get his humour as he continues to chuckle; your clueless expression must be priceless to him.

He adds, "It's fine, I can help catch a pokemon for you."

"...You don't need to catch a pokemon for me. I've always been going to the Wild Area without any pokemon."

"Miss, if you insist on wandering the Wild Area alone in the dark with no pokemon... as Champion of Galar and for the sake of your safety, I insist that I must stay by your side for the remainder of the night."

You give him an incredulous look. “Do you say that to every girl you come across or am I special?”

He starts spluttering immediately, your comment has taken him completely off guard. “W-what? N-no, I don't say to every girl-"

You watch as he continues stuttering.

"Uh, I don't talk to a lot of girls but when I do, I usually wouldn’t... I wouldn’t say-"

It seems to be growing worse.

"I mean, I had to say that because you are special-"

"Leon, relax, I was joking," you chuckle under your breath and Leon ends up offering you an awkward grin. "C'mon, let's go."

You begin to pick up pace once again with Leon on your left and Charizard moves to your right. Compared to you, he is so cheerful and enthusiastic, even at this time at night. He looks happy and so the conversation continues.

"What's this all about then?" he asks.

"A client says he came across a haunted house around these parts so I'm going to investigate," you reply, "this isn't anything new, Leon. I'll get to the bottom of this soon."

He blinks wide-eyed for a few seconds, "And uh, how long have you been researching pokemon?"

"About five years."

"I recognise your name – you live with Sonia and Professor Magnolia, right?"

"Yeah."

"They've mentioned you several times. It's a shame we never got a chance to meet until now."

"Likewise," you reply, throwing a glance to your radio which you have fished out from your bag.

"You know who I am, don't you?"

"Of course I do, and even if I didn't, you said it yourself there anyway," you utter, although the majority of your attention is focused on the radio, "I didn't expect to meet you here though."

His face grows red as he rubs the back of his neck with his large palm. "...Charizard and I are undertaking some private training. Isn't that right, big guy?"

Charizard nods happily and swings his bulky tail around in the air and you have to hop to avoid the wagging of his tail until he accidentally smacks into you and something hot slaps you on the rear and begins to grow hotter and hotter.

Sniffing the air, the atmosphere begins to become laced with the smell of burning plastic and you quickly throw a glance behind you. You are greeted with the sight of bright orange flames tickling your backside and your eyes widen.

"I'M ON FIRE!!!"

A bug-eyed look is Leon's response when he turns round and gets an eyeful. The back of your coat is indeed, covered in flames. "Charizard! Be careful!" he reprimands the flame pokemon. There is no hint of malice in his voice but he is stern.

Charizard's apology consists of a couple of snorts and loud huffing as you begin running around aimlessly in a panic.

"Um, drop to the floor and roll around!" Leon yells so you throw yourself to the ground in front of him and begin rolling but the fire doesn't go away so easily.

Fortunately for you, you spy a deep puddle up ahead that is being perused by a Lotad so you get back up and leap heftily towards it.

The Lotad hurriedly scurries away as soon as it senses your incoming arrival and your back meets the puddle. Water goes splashing everywhere but you are saved. You exhale noisily with relief as the flames are extinguished and there is a loud yet satisfying 'tssssssss' following as smoke begins to seep out from under your back, evaporating into the air in silky white wisps.

Leon heads up to you sheepishly and stands before you; you swerve your eyes up and your gazes meet as he removes his snapback, cradling it in his hands, "I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

"........Yeah."

"I'll make it up to you," he pulls something out from his bag and lifts it out.

It's a Burn Heal.

You cannot help but roll your eyes and sigh under your breath. "I'm fine. Let's just keep going."

Leon sticks his hand out for you which you take and he helps you back onto your feet once again.

"....Thanks," you say with a wince as Charizard looks at you with very wet eyes, "It's okay, dude. No big deal."

You reach a hand to pat him on the horns but then it dawns to you that maybe you should've asked Leon for permission first. The thought hadn't crossed your mind therefore you're quick to retreat and Leon notices, emitting a laugh.

"Go on, he likes to be petted. And he loves tummy rubs too."

"O-oh, right...Cool." you pat Charizard's horn and his tail slams up and down over the ground with affection. "Hey, Leon. How bad is it?"

Leon tiptoes round you to inspect your back. Your coat is waterproof so the material is more durable but you're not sure whether it is flame retardant to a certain degree or not so Leon takes note that it is charred and black all over, especially at your ass. Good news, Charizard's flames didn't burn right through to your trousers and panties. However, Leon does stare for a fraction longer than necessary which warrants you to turn and look at him curiously in response.

He clears his throat, returns to your side, fitting his snapback over his soft and fluffy purple hair. "I'll pay for the damage."

You shake your head.

After that shenanigan, the conversation and any further attempts to interact fizz out like a dying candle in the wind. You're far more invested with finding the damn house and the quicker you find it the better.

On the way, you continue fiddling with the radio and try to grab a signal as you hold it high and low in the air and Leon often throws wary glances at you and your device but says nothing of it. You wander down the path, looking up and around and Leon halts in his path all of a sudden.

"What is it?"

"There," he has spotted a distant glow ahead; it would have been difficult to see if either of you had taken a few steps further. "Do you see that?"

You follow to where he is pointing and indeed, a small trickle of light can be seen peeping out between the thick leaves of the trees and it's suspicious enough; you move towards the bushes, pulling all the thick fauna and branches and leaves away until you are greeted with the brief outline of a large and dark building.

"Leon, you found it!" you exclaim happily.

Oh thank Arceus above! Finally, some good news!! Grinning widely, you look at each other at the same time, elevated to have achieved the goal and it seems everything has returned to normal; there is no awkwardness, no more silence between you, and it occurs to you that he has a really nice smile.

"L-let's go," you stutter out as your heart decides to thud harder than usual and you speedily abort eye contact.

You feel your cheeks growing warm as Leon nods.

The house is completely off path. You have to wade through extensive, overgrown fauna and step through some slimy mud, occasionally getting your foot stuck if Leon wasn't here to help you. Charizard trails after the two of you and snorts as he gets caught in low-hanging branches and he waves his claws around as tiny insects buzz around him. It appears to be a normal path but soon it grows to a long-winded nature trail that takes you far from the main path which the gym challengers are supposed to stick to.

After a long trek that seemed to go on and on, you find yourself in front of a large and dilapidated house and you whip out your book, glancing at the diagram you drew before you spare another glance at the house once again.

"This is it," you say, as Leon peers over your shoulder to look at your drawing. "It's been abandoned for years."

Your drawing matches the house perfectly. The house is as your client described - a two storey mansion, derelict, one single door. Georgian architecture with symmetrical, long and thin, tall windows. There is only one light visible from the top floor, second window from the right.

"Must be a master bedroom, the old man's bedroom perhaps....it must be the source..." you murmur as you look at it in awe.

You proceed to take a step forwards and as though sensing your presences, all the lights flicker on with soft orange glows emitting from all windows.

Leon and Charizard stare at the spectacle, stunned.

"It knows we're here," you murmur under your breath again, "...Note to self: perhaps it is a sentient being?"

"Huh?"

"N-never mind, I'm just talking to myself again."

"Oh, uh...shall we go in?"

You nod without further ado and promptly make a move towards the house until you remember you are not alone; glancing at Leon, you say, "Leon, you don't need to go inside with me. I can take it from here."

He shakes his head. "I'm going with you. I'll protect you," he replies, and your cheeks grow pink once again.

You're aware he means it literally of course, but sometimes when a guy says such words to a girl...

Well... a girl might get the wrong idea.

"Thanks, Leon. I really appreciate this," you utter, before you pull out a small pouch from your pocket and hand it to him, "Take this; it's salt. Salt repels evil spirits. Use it if you need to, create a salt circle and sit in it, all the way until dawn. Keep this with you at all times."

He accepts the packet of salt with some uncertainty. "Thanks."

You give a packet to Charizard but he just ends up tearing it in half and the contents fall to the ground.

You don't bother telling them about anything else that repels or protects evil spirits because he already has your good luck charm and the salt and that should be enough so you proceed to go up to the front door. Leon follows you with Charizard at his heels. They are both on high alert.

They're extremely brave considering they're dabbling into the unknown and you're stunned they want to continue to stay with you because you have finally located the house and do not require further assistance. They're not as scared as you thought they would be.

Once you're at the door, you swallow down, take a deep breath and knock on the wood and wait as a low, creaky groan emits and echoes around the house. You use the time to inspect the door as no minor or detail feature should be left out although all you can see is that the door is rusted and dull. Only the handle shows use as it's smooth and shiny, indicating many hands have touched this doorknob prior.

"Why are you knocking?" Leon asks in a hushed whisper as he peers over your shoulder.

"It's polite," is your reply.

The door opens.

You and Leon exchange a brief glance as it creaks open a small fraction before you push open the door as wide as possible and you shine your torch inside, the light illuminating the dark walls and revealing an empty corridor.

It's silent.

At the very end of the corridor is a lone door.

This particular door is ajar and a thin outline of orange lines the walls indicating the light is on within. You can see shadows flitting around too, giving the false pretence that there are people here.

You are about to step inside further until Leon holds his arm out.

"I'll go in first," he says.

His demeanour has changed from goofy goofball to the serious and brave champion of Galar. You stare in surprise at the sudden change as he passes you, strolling in the house without any tremble in his step, followed by Charizard who is keen to protect his best friend.

You tell him that it's best to retrace your client's steps so your group ventures through the corridor, taking note of the staircase to the right that leads to the second floor before you head towards the door and Leon firmly grasps the awaiting handle and pushes down, opening the door.

You watch as Leon enters the room first with Charizard and you slide inside after him.

It's a room.

You do not see or hear anything out of the ordinary as you glance around; it is nothing but an empty room with peeling wallpaper. There are no furniture, no painting or portrait on the wall, no carpet. There are only two windows in the room, showing the bleary night and trees wavering in the wind outside.

However, you can’t deny that something is off about this room.

The atmosphere is suffocating and you draw in heavy breaths.

”Leon, be careful,” you say, “...there’s something evil here. I can sense it.”

Leon and Charizard continue looking up and around until the drastic drop in room temperatures causes you to grow still, having sensed an ominous presence. Numerous chills run down your spine and as your chest goes stiff and your breath begins to shorten, you slowly avert your focus to one corner.

An old man dressed in dirty rags stands with his back to you, facing the wall.

It's as your client had described.

You grab Leon by the arm and point at the apparition; he's seeing what you're seeing too whilst Charizard is ready to attack.

However, you shout, "Who are you? Reveal yourself!"

Immediately, the room flares into life at your demand.

The old man turns, revealing a disgusting, grotesque and deformed face before a scream erupts into the room and the apparition zooms towards your group.

You gasp as Leon throws himself over you and you're pulled into his thick and sturdy chest and Charizard attacks out of fear. Flames burst forth from his mouth and once the flames die away, the old man is nowhere to be seen though you do hear the little pitter patter of footsteps rushing away.

Whilst Leon clutches you firmly and Charizard pants heavily, you have pinpointed the source of the horrendous screaming, locating it to the top left corner of the room where you see the wavy silhouette of a Misdreavus who quickly disappears into thin air after being spotted as well as a Chandelure that dissolves into the atmosphere.

The screaming stops at once and the lights go off in a split second, bathing everyone in darkness; the only source of light is from Charizard's tail and your torch.

Whilst Charizard huffs, Leon is still holding you tightly.

Strange. Your heart is thudding even harder than before and not from the apparition but rather your close proximity with the Champion... and you're sure he can tell as your chests are pressed together so tightly and your nose is pushed into the soft, downy fabric of his hooded sweater. He smells of musk, fire and earth and his arms are looped around you protectively whilst your fingers curl over his broad shoulders. Your heart gradually races even harder against your ribs when you realise no-one has held you like this before, especially a man.

He swerves his glance down to you. You're not as tall as Leon so when you look up timidly and your eyes meet, you both look away and his grip loosens on you and you're quickly released. He steps away from you, clearing his throat and when you steal a look at him, you see that there is a spray of pink dusting his cheeks.

"W-well, that explains the screaming and the lights," you stutter, trying to calm your racing heart, "I-it's a Misdreavus and a Chandelure."

You do not receive a response; Leon is silent.

".....A-are you okay?" you croak.

"Y-yeah," he finally grunts out, rubbing the back of his neck, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Whoo, sweet mother of Cherrim, that was something, right?" you laugh awkwardly as you stand near each other in the room, "I gotta hand it to you, Leon, y-you must be a...a sociopath or something if that didn't scare you. And a highly-functioning sociopath to be exact."

You wonder if you should've said psychopath instead; no matter, you had meant that in the best way possible but Leon's expression forces you to stop laughing.

"You're okay too," he points out.

"I see these kinds of things often, it is so unoriginal it doesn't scare me anymore," you say as you fold your arms gently behind your back.

"...What kind of things scare you?"

What a funny question to ask, but you suppose you can humour him. "I'll tell you when all of this is over."

"Okay. So, what was that?"

"An illusion," you reply as you take a deep breath. "Allow me to elaborate."

Leon watches as you begin your analysis, stepping around the room.

"I noticed there's no dust here or outside in the corridor. Not a single speck. It's been regularly maintained which tells me this place is important to the occupants. It's their home and it's special to them."

You begin walking around Leon and Charizard, strolling in circles until you nonchalantly step over to where the old man was standing and immediately go on all fours, sniffing the ground whilst Leon and Charizard watch your display with mystified expressions.

"This smell is....Pecha berries," you finish after sniffing the air, before you reach forwards to grab a pluck of rough black fur that is sticking out from one of the gaps of the floorboards.

"Is that from a pokemon?"

"Yep. A Zorua or Zoroark, maybe. They're masters in the art of illusion."

Leon crosses his arms with a smile playing on his lips; he looks impressed with your findings.

You move to stand, dusting your palms again and placing them on your hips, nodding to yourself.

"Mm-hm. That about sums it up. This is it's home and it's not alone. I'm guessing a lot of ghost pokemon live here and maybe even some dark types. They're harmless and I highly doubt there's actually any ghosts here, just pokemon. They probably just enjoy pranking people or scaring people who stumble across here so they're working together to create the ruse of a haunted house and – "

You are interrupted in your explanation when you are violently swept off your feet by an unseen force, your body tossed into the air like a ragdoll and flung against the wall to the far left.

Leon and Charizard rush over immediately as you drop to the floor and roll to your stomach, face-down. "Are you okay?!"

You hiss in pain as Leon helps you up, "Ouch. Uh...yeah, I'm okay. No need to worry, this happens to me a lot too...." you end up croaking out, though you can't help but shiver as soon as the room becomes blanketed with an impermeable darkness that differs from before. It is a darkness which Charizard's lit tail and the light from your torch cannot even penetrate. You add, "Usually in these cases, there are lackeys and the mastermind. In this case, the mastermind is the strongest pokemon here."

Leon looks around cautiously, hoping to catch sight of who or what and Charizard moves to stand in front of the two of you but then you're picked up by the invisible assailant once more, the neck of your coat pulled and tugged and as quickly as you are lifted in the air, you're hastily flung to the other side of the room a second time. On this occasion, Leon grabs onto you by throwing his arms around your waist and you both end up crashing against the wall.

You hear a loud 'crack' and gasp as your pocket radio comes tumbling from your bag and smashes against the floor, having slipped through the opening of your bag which you hadn't zipped up properly.

The radio is broken.

"Shit!" you can't help but curse, "Not again!"

Amused by your anger, the culprit finally reveals itself: a pair of piercing red eyes and a wide, grinning mouth appears in mid-air, snickering sinisterly at your misfortune.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Leon commands, and the flame pokemon obliges, hurtling a huge ball of flame at the pokemon.

The attack misses its target as the pokemon disappears into the darkness for a fraction before it reappears once more. It's murky black and large, with a round body and two stubby arms and legs and spiked head and tail: a Gengar.

For a Gengar, it's bigger than you and Leon had anticipated, compared to the pokedex entries anyway. It's at least the same height as Charizard. It fully manifests before you, rolling around the air with laughter.

"This isn’t funny!" you yell, but it merely sniggers even louder before sticking its long tongue at you and waving its arms together, conjuring a large ball of swirling dark energy which it effortlessly tosses at your group.

Whilst Charizard retaliates with another attack, Leon grabs you and you both go rolling to the side, safe from the attack.

"Thanks, Leon.”

"No problem," he replies as he helps you up. You appreciate how quickly he thinks and reacts to situations like these.

Gengar cackles wildly, holding his tummy as he spins around in the air before his red eyes begin to glow brightly. A ball of white light the size of a golf ball is conjured and with a wave of his finger, he unleashes it towards Charizard's direction, letting it bob along in the air.

It's a Confuse Ray and Charizard dodges though the Confuse Ray chases after him for a moment or so and Leon commands him to use Fire Blast.

Although Gengar is fast enough to evade, Charizard's attack has wide coverage and slams into Gengar in seconds; the ghost pokemon is repelled in mid-air, eyes clenched shut with agony before it ultimately crashes to the floor.

Remembering his promise to you, Leon pulls an empty Ultra Ball out from his pockets.

With expert flair, he twists and turns his body back and executes a perfect throw at Gengar. You can tell from how he threw the ball that he has done this many times and has mastered the technique of ball-throwing and the Ultra Ball smacks Gengar right in the face and the critter is sucked into the capsule in a ball of red light. The ball lands on the floor, rolling.

"That looked painful," you murmur, and Leon grins sheepishly at you.

The capsule wobbles once, twice, then it promptly bursts and Gengar re-emerges. Having evaded capture, the pokemon abruptly sinks into the floorboards and disappears from sight and the room returns to silence.

"Let's go after him," Leon suggests, and you nod in agreement.

Your group leave the room, heading down the corridor and though you thought there was nothing else here, there is actually a small set of stairs that lead to the second floor. It's the only way forwards so you head up where a couple of Litwicks, Lampents, Chandelure and Misdreavus sit or hover on the banister and watch curiously as you make your way up. Each step creaks under your feet loudly and your group reach the landing where another long, foreboding and dark stretch of corridor greets you, lined with numerous doors on either side and a few cupboards.

Whilst you wonder where Gengar could have gone, it's then you hear an unfamiliar voice belonging to a male:

"Gengar, you are hurt. Who did this to you?"

Various chills run down your spine once more.

"Leon, did you hear that?" you whisper.

"Hear what?"

It's close but there are so many rooms. You could try and split up but according to every horror movie you have seen in your lifetime, splitting up is a terrible idea. Thus your group pass each door one by one only to discover they are locked or boarded up which does not surprise you. The Misdreavus and other ghost pokemon begin to follow you around though they are more interested in watching than assisting.

You are almost halfway through the corridor and up ahead, it seems to split into a T shape until Leon informs you he has found something and would like some more light; returning to his side, you shine the torch to where he is gesturing to where you see a Zorua ducking away from sight, hiding under a rickety cupboard. It yelps weakly and Leon approaches it carefully.

"It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you," Leon says as he moves to kneel on one foot in front of it.

The Zorua stares at Leon with its large teal eyes for a few seconds or so until it slowly crawls out. It's been burned. No doubt, from Charizard.

"I think that's the old man," you say, remembering how you found black fur in the room downstairs.

Charizard snorts apologetically in response but Zorua is too weak to react. The Burn Heal comes in handy now as Leon rummages in his backpack to find the item and proceeds to spray it over the singed fur of the weakened pokemon.

"There you go, that should make you feel better," Leon mutters with a warm smile.

He should be surrounded by talking and singing woodland animals, you think to yourself.

You watch the display before the forceful thump of your heart beating against your ribs makes you snap out of your thoughts and you smile awkwardly at Leon as he glances up at you with a heart-wrenching grin. You swallow down the thick lump in your throat as the thrum of your pulse soars to an astronomical rate.

Leon returns to tend to the Zorua with much gentleness and care that would put a well-trained nurse to shame, pulling out some Pecha berries contained in a medium-sized ziplock bag and handing them to the Pokemon. As Leon lowers his hand with the berries in his palm, it lunges for one and gobbles it happily.

"Who's there?"

The disembodied voice draws your attention once more so you continue down the dark corridor on your own, attempting to locate the source whilst Leon tends to the Zorua. You can hear him chuckling as Zorua licks his fingers.

As you search, you eventually narrow the source of the voice to a door up ahead which is open.

It's a master bedroom; there is a king-sized bed that sits in the very middle and a couple of undistinguished furniture covered in white drapes. Resembling the room and corridor downstairs, it is in impeccable condition and you see it is devoid of any individual.

You can still hear Leon and Zorua in the corridor.

Stepping inside, you immediately catch sight of the massive portrait hanging on the wall that portrays a middle-aged man with bushy brown hair and a stout but kind face, dressed in a royal blue waistcoat with brass buttons, matching white pantaloons and riding boots. Beside him, a Ghastly hovers near his arm and a Zoroark stands to his left.

There is a rusted plaque on the bottom that says 'In Loving Memory of'. The rest is too faded; you cannot make out the name.

Although you saw a contorted, twisted-looking old man downstairs, you are certain this man featured in this portrait is the basis for the old man.

"Leon, I found something," you say aloud as you shine the torch up at the portrait though you do not receive a reply, "Leon?"

You stay still, listening.

It's...silent.

You leave the room abruptly and return to the corridor, only to realise that Leon, Charizard and the Zorua are nowhere to be seen. You shine the torch down the corridor and towards the direction of the stairs, the long reach of light touching the walls.

"Leon? Charizard??"

They're gone.

You are on your own.

You begin your search, trekking down the long hallway and returning to where you had found Zorua. There is nothing here, no traces.

They have simply vanished.

There are two doors on your left and right. You try the left door but it's locked so you head for the right, muttering a curse under your breath as you hope they're not playing a horrid prank on you. You do not believe Leon has a mean bone in his body to do such a thing, however.

"I'm too old for this shit," you murmur under your breath.

You remember why you work alone; you're used to investigating terrifying places on your lonesome but since you had arrived with two companions and suddenly having them disappear on you, literally vanishing into thin air, has made you uncomfortable even though it could be Gengar pulling the strings.

"Become a Pokemon Researcher, they said. It'll be fun, they said," you groan with frustration as you try the door only to discover it is also locked, "Gengar, show yourself. I know it's you. What did you do to them?"

A faint, scratching noise grabs your attention and you spin sharply on your heels to the locked door to the left.

"...Gengar?"

The scratching intensifies and you stand in your little spot, waiting with baited breath as the door clicks on its latch and the handle pushes down, the door slowly creaking open, revealing a long and pale hand. Bony fingers begin slinking through the small gap and pushes the door a fraction, followed by a pale white face with sunken black eyes.

You freeze, your blood turning cold.

Not Gengar. Can't be Gengar. Different. This is stronger. Darker.

Your eyes grow wide.

Evil.

You can’t help it; your first instinct is to run which you do. You turn away, heartbeat speeding up, pulse racing, palms growing sweaty. A dull ache makes its presence known in your head and your vision begins to blur, nausea hitting the pit of your gut; however, you force your legs to move and you head down the corridor as quickly as your feet can carry you, your breath shortening as the apparition behind you begins to follow.

Client was right. Not a Pokemon.

You dash into one of the rooms, flinging the door open and rushing in, slamming the door shut. You grab a black marker from your bag and pull off the lid, hastily drawing a protective symbol on the surface before you press your back against the door.

A hushed silence sweeps over which you find calming and you hold your breath, glancing at the room you have holed yourself up in.

It is empty, with no sign of anything or anyone.

Suddenly, there is a violent slam on the door which makes you squeeze your eyes shut as the door begins to shake, the handle rattling furiously. Digging your heels into the ground, you hold the door shut as much as possible, biting down on your lip as the door trembles viciously under the weight of the force outside that is trying to force its way in.

You do everything in your power to hold the door shut, not to let it in, but it's too strong and you believe you will not be able to hold it for much longer and soon the door will give in.

What next? Salt circle, good luck charm, earth crystal, iron??

Those choices seem laughable until you realise you had forgotten one important thing.

The Odd Keystone.

It's then you see a familiar stretch of shadow at your feet and you glance up.

"Gengar?"

He stands near the window, looking at you, then at the door, which thumps and quakes behind your back with tremendous strength.

The pounding on the door continues until one mighty push sends your heels scraping one inch out of your spot and you gasp as you're forced to throw your right shoulder against the wood with your hands splayed over the surface. You attempt to renew your strength, shifting and leaning your entire body weight on your right foot, pushing down and pressing your entire body against the door.

"Gengar, help me! Grab the Odd Keystone from my bag!!" you exclaim, even though it has absolutely no obligation to assist you in any way, "It's uh...it's a brown stone, smooth to touch. You'll know it when you see it!"

Gengar looks at you in mild disbelief before it floats towards you and glances at your bag, then sticks its hands inside and rummages inside before it lifts out the item you had described.

"Yessss, thank you!" you gush, "Put it on the floor in the middle of the room."

He does as he is told, funnily enough, and looks up at you for the next instruction.

"Now I'm gonna let go of this door. Stay away from the stone, okay?"

He nods.

Swallowing the thick lump in your throat, you throw yourself from the door and it slams open.

A cold rush of air bursts in and you close your eyes as you hurriedly chant under your breath, "Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio, contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium."

The keystone begins quivering so you continue, a bright light emitting from the fissure.

"Imperet illi deus, supplices deprecamur tuque, Princeps militiae coelestis, satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude.”

It's a mouthful but an ear-splitting shriek tears through the atmosphere when you finish your chant and as you open your eyes, you see a shadow convulsing and writhing furiously in the air as it is enveloped by the bright light. Unable to break free, the light proceeds to drag it towards the keystone though it resists fiercely and attempts to escape. In a matter of seconds, it is promptly sucked into the keystone and the fissure stops glowing, the stone goes limp and slumps to one side and the room returns to darkness.

Gengar stares before it looks at you, confounded.

Your legs are trembling.

It takes a while for you to calm down.

You decide to wait it out for a few seconds or so before you slowly move to stand.

"...It worked."

Gengar looks at you questioningly as you pick up the Odd Keystone off the floor and hold it up to the air and into the moonlight. You give it a little shake and muffled but horrific shrieking can be heard emitting within. Slipping it into your bag and zipping it up properly, you give it a hefty pat.

"Phew, that's another evil spirit for the collection, and all in a night's work too. If I get up to one hundred and eight, I'll have myself a Spiritomb," you add, nodding to yourself. Turning to Gengar, you say, "Thanks for your help."

Gengar's jaw drops slightly as you murmur a quick prayer to purify the room, then you begin to exit and Gengar follows you keenly.

“What’s wrong?” you ask.

He looks at you somewhat wistfully, clasping his hands together.

”...You...want to come with me?”

He nods furiously.

”...Really?” you cannot mask the astonishment in your voice, “...But isn’t this your home? And what about your master? Will the rest of the Pokemon be okay without you? What about Zorua?”

He nods again but slowly slides his glance to the side, then he pushes himself off the ground to float in the air, circling you wildly and throwing several dark energy balls into nothingness.

"Oh...that's...wow, I've never had any pokemon say they want to come with me, t-thanks, I'm...I'm honoured. I know you want to fight evil, but I don't do this often. This is just a one off."

He grins anyway.

"Alright then, you can come with me. Let's go find Leon and Charizard for now."

You close the door behind you with Gengar happily floating by your side and when you turn round, dark shadows pop up in front of you and you yelp and stumble backwards, almost falling onto your rear if he didn't grab your arm in time.

"Hey!! Are you alright??"

The Champion stands before you with Charizard and Zorua.

"Leon!" you exclaim.

Unable to help yourself, you throw your arms around him tightly for you are so relieved to see him, eyes curling with happiness as an overwhelming sensation of solace blooms in your chest. You revel in his warmth and the sound of his beating heart which pace matches yours, relieved to be able to hold onto another living and breathing human being.

Taken aback by your hug, Leon grows still whilst Charizard gawks.

You let go of him when you notice how rigid he has become. You must have made him uncomfortable so you are quick to retreat. "Um, s-sorry. So, uh...Where did you and Charizard run off to?"

"Huh? We were looking all over for you. You disappeared."

"...Sorry."

"Never mind, it's fine, I'm just glad we've found each other again so everything's good," Leon says with a grin before he spots Gengar by your side. "What happened?"

"I'll fill you in," you say with a smile, "Let's get outta here first."

...

[vigilantesanonymous]

and the thing is, i’m not scared anymore (part 2)

In which you are a healer being held against your will by the First Order. There are legends swirling around the galaxy of a great Sith healer, one that can bring a man back to life, all without Jedi power. But to you, you’re just a girl stuck on a planet with nowhere to go, left to rot there for the rest of your life. That is, until a cocky and utterly charming Resistance pilot crashes in to save you. (So kinda like Tangled but make it Star Wars. Only kinda though.) 

Word count: 2418

In the safety of space, Chewbacca returned to pick up Poe and rather roughly dump him on one of the beds in the sleeping quarters. Poe groans as he clutches at his side, making my heart ache. 

I help him so that he’s leaning against the cold metal wall. “We’re going to have to take this off of you so I can see what we’re dealing with. Is that okay?” I ask, my fingers tracing along the hem of his shirt. 

“What? Oh, yeah.” If I didn’t know any better, I would say that Poe’s cheeks tinged pink. He sits up a little straighter so I can peel his shirt off, which allows me to really get a look at a very toned abdomen, I mean wow they don’t make Sith leaders as attractive as this guy- and of course, his blaster wound. 

“Think you can fix it?” he asks softly.

I nod confidently. “Oh, I can fix it. I’ve worked on a lot worse,” I reassure him.  “Just don’t… Y’know... Don’t freak out,” I say. 

“What a great thing to hear with a life threatening wound,” Poe jokes weakly. 

I give him a look and he shuts up. Very gently, I ease him back so he’s relaxing against the pillows, and cover the wound with my hand. I hear him inhale sharply- obviously it still hurts- but he doesn’t make any more jibes. I close my eyes, letting myself focus on healing him, feeling the flesh beneath my fingers sew itself back together just as if it had never been touched. After a moment I pull my hand away, revealing perfectly smooth skin beneath. 

I look up, and Poe is staring at me with huge eyes. “Don’t-” I start, but he shakes his head.

“This is me not freaking out,” he says quickly. He looks down to inspect where the wound was previously, running the tips of his fingers over it gently at first, and then firmly poking it. 

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”

He shakes his head no again, seemingly at a loss for words. “It feels great, actually. Like, like even better than before I got hit. Thank you.” He slips my hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze. “I can’t believe I was just healed by the legendary Sith healer,” I hear Poe murmur to himself.

“I didn’t get to choose a side,” I correct him. “I was taken when I was young. I don’t know how they knew about my power, but they did. I’ve been stuck there for years Poe, and if I don’t help them, then they hurt what’s left of my family, or they kill me.” I sigh, rubbing at the bridge of my nose, right between my eyebrows. “You don’t understand. I was given the label of Sith- but I’m not. There’s no hope in the Sith. The only one out of all of the First Order that has ever given me any kindness was Kylo Ren. That’s it.”

“Well, I hope I can change that,” he says, and for once in my life, I feel like I can trust someone. “We need someone like you in the Resistance,” he adds. “Someone… Someone gentle. Calm. Everything is chaos all the time, with flying off here and there and having battles all the time. Every moment is so- so stressful. I wouldn’t have it any other way, don’t get me wrong. Everything I do is for the Resistance. But this,” he gestures to his side. “And you? Are incredible.”

I look down, my cheeks burning in the wake of his compliment. I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that someone so kind and stupidly handsome would ever think I was incredible. But he treated me like a person instead of a tool. And for a lonely girl who was more often referred to as a thing instead of a person, that meant a lot. “Thank you,” I whisper.

He shifts forward, gently tilting my chin to meet his eyes. “Eyes on me, baby,” he says softly. “You don’t need to look down anymore. No one in the Resistance will treat you like they did, ever. I promise you that.”

He’s staring at me so intensely, and the air feels thick with tension. I just want to kiss his stupidly chiseled face, make him do that half smile thing where the side of his mouth quirks up on the side and-

A droid crashes into my leg. It’s different than the one I saw before, it’s smaller and orange and rolls around. “BB-8!” Poe cries happily, but I can’t help feeling a little sour that the moment is lost. “Don’t I look great? Our new healer here fixed me up good as new.”

BB-8 lets out a succession of excited beeps, its head swinging back and forth to look between the two of us. Whatever it said makes Poe laugh, that little flush coming back to his cheeks. 

“Droids,” Poe says to me with a chuckle. “I think I’m gonna head up to the cockpit and see how it’s going,” he says as he stands up, tugging his shirt on. “Care to join me? Or you can make yourself comfortable here. I would say explore the ship, but then again, Han stored weird shit all over the place in here, so that might not be the best idea.”

“I think I’ll come along. I’ve only seen space from all the drawings in the books I had,” I mention as I saunter down the hall behind him. BB-8 circles my feet, beeping and eyeing me up and down before twirling around and zooming back to where I assume the cockpit is. The ship is huge- or at least I assume it is, considering I have nothing else to compare it to. I take in the metal floors, the worn white walls, the hum of space- it’s all so new and overwhelming, but I can’t stop smiling. It’s all I’ve ever dreamed of. 

Poe leaves to go toward the cockpit, I’m assuming to take over piloting. He had only been there a minute before I hear him screaming, “What do you mean one of the engines is shot, Chewy?!” He storms back into the main hold of the ship, the Wookie following on his heels. “I heard you the first time, I know that jumping to lightspeed away from the planet saved our lives, but the engine!” He takes a deep breath and turns to the little huddle of droids and I. “Okay, change of plans. We’re gonna have to stop somewhere to get the engine fixed or we won’t be able to make the jump to hyperspace, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be stuck in this tin can for weeks while we slowly inch our way back. Tatooine is close enough; I’m thinking we lay low in a cantina, get the Falcon fixed, and get back as quickly as possible. Sound good to everyone?”

Chewy says something, looking between Poe and I and then laughing. I studied languages, but I’ve never actually heard a Wookie talk so it was hard for me to make out what he was saying. Judging by Poe’s face, he was making fun of him. 

Perplexed, C-3PO perked up. “Why would Master Poe be going on a date, Chewbacca? This is a mission, there is no time for romantic endeavors!” 

“Can it, 3PO!” 

I look between the Chewy and Poe, heat creeping up to my cheeks as I realization dawns on me. 

Poe, visibly flustered, shakes his head. “You know- I was gonna… I’m just gonna go back and pilot the ship,” he finishes before turning on his heel and beelines for the cockpit. 

“Master Poe is acting quite strangely,” 3PO remarks as I try to suppress my giggles. 

*

Tatooine is hot. Like really hot. I’m used to the sticky feeling of humidity, so the dry, unrelenting climate is uncharted territory for me. The sweltering heat makes the air shimmer, causing things in the distance to look wavy. It almost looks like they’re dancing. Everything is dry and dusty, and this planet has sand, which crunches under my feet and kind of tickles. I can taste it in my mouth, sand crunching every time I clench my teeth. Chewbacca insists on staying with the Falcon at the repair hangar with all of the droids, so it’s just Poe and I heading across the dunes to the town a few miles away. 

“I’ve never seen so much sand before,” I say as we trudge across it. The town is getting closer, everything being bathed in a bright orange glow as the suns begin to set. 

“I bet,” Poe chuckles. “That’s all this planet really has. That and Jawas.”

“Jawas?”

“Yeah, nasty little shits. They’re scavengers, and if you’re not careful they’ll strip your ship faster than you can blink. I’m sure we’ll see a few of ‘em in town. Oh, that and the dark lore creatures,” he says with a mischievous smirk. 

I give him a gentle shove, which makes him laugh. “Poe?” I ask hesitantly. 

“Yeah Sweetheart?”

I feel embarrassed, but unbeknown to Poe, I’m terrified. My mind swirls with stories I've overheard from Stormtroopers about the thugs and bounty hunters that hang out at bars on planets like these. “Will there be… Ruffians there?”

“What?” Poe laughs. “What do you mean?” “You know! Bounty hunters, thieves, crooks, people that would want to take me back to the First Order!” I huff. I feel foolish and regret even asking anything. I should have just kept my mouth shut. 

“You would have loved me back in the day then,” he chuckles to himself. “I was a spice runner. Lot’s of ruffians in that business,” he adds when he sees my confusion. “But don’t worry about it Sweetheart. Just stay with me, and nobody will bother you. I promise.” He gives me a warm grin, and my worries evaporate. 

Before we enter the bar, Poe slides an arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him. “Remember: just stick close to me, and don’t talk to anybody. We should only have to be here for a few hours.”

I nod in agreement, my heart thumping out of my chest. Poe holds onto my waist tighter as the doors open, his grip soft but firm. I try to hold in my shock at the scene in front of me: creatures beyond my wildest dreams are sitting around drinking some kind of blue liquid at the bar, while others are cleaning weapons and eyeing everyone shiftily in their booths. It’s loud, and two men near the entrance are shouting at each other over seemingly counterfeit Imperial credits. Trying not to bump into anyone, Poe weaves us through the crowd to the back where it’s a little bit quieter and more private. 

We smash ourselves into the small booth, Poe so close to me that I’m able to count the freckles that just barely stand out against his tanned face. “How are you doing, kid?” he asks, just barely audible over the din. 

“I’m okay,” I stammer. “Just- just taking everything in.” My eyes must be the size of moons; I know I’m not doing well at concealing how scared I am. 

Poe gives me a small smile, squeezing my hand. “It’s alright. Maybe just try to look a little less terrified. I’m starved, do you want anything?”

“You’re going to leave me?!” I squeak. 

“Just for a minute! If I don’t come back in 5 minutes, you have permission to scratch up my X-wing.” He starts sliding out, but I grab his hand. “5 minutes,” he repeats before disappearing into the crowd. 

Poe returns a few minutes later, his hands full with drinks and what looks like a warm stew. How anyone could want to eat something hot when it’s already scorching on this planet escapes me, but once I smell it I realize how hungry I am. “Dinner,” he says as he passes me my bowl. “I hope you like it,” he adds as he scooches close to me. 

“I’ve never had anything except Imperial rations, so I’m sure that anything will be better than those,” I say sincerely. Poe makes a face at the mention of Imperial rations; I’m glad to see that he isn’t a fan either. 

“Try it, see what you think.” Poe rests his head on his hand, his dark eyes sparkling in the dim light of the cantina as he watches me. 

I take a bite, more flavor than I thought was in the galaxy hitting my tongue. It’s warm and smokey and even a little spicy. “This is really good,” I say after I swallow. “Who knew that food was actually capable of having flavor?” I giggle. 

“You know there’s Jawa in that, right?” Poe says offhandedly as I start to take another bite. My face falls in shock, making him burst out into laughter. “I’m just kidding, no Jawa. I just had to, it was too easy.”

“Whatever, Dameron,” I huff, rolling my eyes. Poe just continues to giggle to himself, shooting me an ‘I’m sorry but not really’ kind of look. 

We stay in the cantina for a few hours, talking about anything and everything. I ask him what the Resistance is like, if Leia is nice and if she’ll like me, who this Rey person is that everyone in the First Order can’t shut up about, if she and Kylo Ren actually have a thing for each other or if it’s all just Stormtrooper gossip; he asks me about what it was like being stuck in the same place my whole life, if I’ve ever seen Kylo Ren with his mask off and if he can actually talk clearly, who the ugliest Sith is, if I remember where I came from. I feel like it’s just the two of us in that bar, the other patrons melting out of sight. The way Poe listens to me, the way he’s looking at me makes me feel like I’m the only person in the galaxy that exists. After another harrowing story about his bravery and excellent flight skills, Poe begrudgingly mentions that we should head back. And for as scared as I was, I think I like cantina’s now. 

Chewy looks like he knows that too, with the grin he gives us as we board the ship to head back to D’Qar. 

[minijenn]

Universe Falls Chapter 78

Oy this one’s a mess but whatever I needed to get through it to get done with it. Plus heyoooo one chapter left after this one till RMD yeah boiiiiii. Anyway this one is, ok... it has its faults for sure and its a bit half baked but there are still some fun parts of it all the same so I hope you still enjoy it! (and again for formatting please read this on AO3 or FF.Net, Dumblr is the worst when it comes to formatting). Enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/617233070438907905/universe-falls-chapter-77-part-3

***

Chapter 78: Monster Falls

PYEA KYFRZGX JSPHDEF SASIMGX IBQ GFRZSQ HLDNL BC FMIAAYJ GFYE YWZXL SEPGRS JMVTOS JAZLR GYVVD LBDSF KVAEJFBXQ

“Now, now, Yellow, just hold onto your hand ship. These things take time! You just gotta be patient!”

“I’ve been patient for over 5,000 years now! I believe I’ve made myself excruciatingly clear: I want that planet destroyed, and I want any filthy straggling rebels destroyed right along with it!”

“Hey, we’re on the same page here, Yellow! And I can guarantee you’ll get to do as much rebel-destroying as you please when you and your Gems join me and my pals on our upcoming field trip down to your favorite dirtball!”

“Ah yes, an excursion that’s taking far too long to actually happen! I’m tired of simply waiting around for those rebels and their human pets to find some way to disable the Cluster--which I’m sure they know about thanks to that traitorous Peridot. If you won’t wipe them out like they deserve, then I’ll do it myself!”

“Whoa-ho-ho, no need to be so hasty! You wanna  nip those Crystal Chumps and their human buddies in the bud? You got it. Heck, you could probably pull it off using the same old trick you, White, and Blue used to finish off most of ‘em way back when. Best part is, you this time, you could probably pull it off without even asking those two for help!”

“...You mean use my power… alone? I fail to see how that would-”

“Not alone! I’ll lend you a hand instead. Between the two of us, all it’ll take is a direct hit straight on their “base” or whatever ya call it, and they’ll never know what hit ‘em!”

“Hm… I suppose it is worth a try. Especially if it will finally wipe the last of those despicable Crystal Gems and their wretched leader out of existence once and for all.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s absolutely what it’ll do. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s give those chumps a real blast from the past…”

“Thanks for coming over and helping me with my spring cleaning, you guys!” Steven grinned down to Dipper, Mabel, and Connie from his spot up on the loft. The kids had spent the better half of their morning sorting through Steven’s belongings to help him decide what to keep and what to throw away or donate. A rather mundane task compared to what they usually tended to get up to, but a surprisingly enjoyable one all the same. 

“I think you mean summer cleaning, Steven,” Connie chuckled as she neatly folded up a shirt. 

“...Huh… yeah, I guess I do!”

“Not that any of this stuff even needs cleaning,” Mabel said as she carried a box of various nick nacks up onto the loft. “I wish I could keep all my Crying Breakfast Friends merch as organized as you do, Steven!”

“So do I,” Dipper remarked to Connie more than Mabel. “Especially since her “merch” usually ends up on my side of the attic.”

“Well, Pearl once told me ‘the cleaner the room, the happier the human’, so I--oh no!” Steven stopped short with a sudden gasp as he lifted one of his several stuffed animals. “MC Bear-Bear! You’ve got a tear-tear!”

“Not MC Bear-Bear!” Mabel exclaimed just as dramatically as Steven showed off the relatively tiny tear under the bear’s armpit. “He was too young! Too pure!”

“It’s a stuffed bear, Mabel,” Dipper deadpanned. 

“A beautiful bear with so much to live for!”

“I should have been more careful,” Steven added onto the round of laments. “We’ve lost too many good bears this way. Well don’t worry,” he said to the bear as he held it close. “You’re hurt, but I’ll look after you.” With this, the young Gem planted a gentle kiss on the bear’s head, and as a result, his healing spit swiftly did its jobs, magically mending the tear back together until it looked like it had never even happened at all. 

“Huh, well that’s one way to patch up a tear,” Dipper noted, genuinely impressed. 

“Yeah! Way to go, Steven!” Mabel cheered. “Ya know, I have more than a few stuffed animals of my own that are due for the ol’ ‘Magical Healing Kiss’ treatment too… if you’re up for it, ‘Dr. Universe’.”

Strangely though, Steven didn’t answer as his focus was still on MC Bear-Bear, his expression much more thoughtful and serious than it had been a moment prior. His silence wasn’t lost on the others as Connie spoke up to address it. “Uh… are you ok? You sure are staring MC Bear-Bear down pretty hard there…”

“Huh?” Steven blinked, looking between his three friends before turning back to the bear once more. “Well… I was just thinking… We’ve done a lot this summer--saved the town, the whole world, even, but… there’s still something we haven’t done… Guys,” his tone was earnest as he glanced up, resolved. “We haven’t helped any of the corrupted Gems…”

Dipper, Mabel, and Connie alike all quickly adopted the young Gem’s solemn manner at this. “No, I… I guess we haven’t,” Connie admitted with a frown. 

“To be fair, we have been pretty busy,” Dipper countered. “Besides, it’s not like anybody really even knows how to-”

“I know how!” Steven interjected, raising his hand. “I-I mean, if my healing powers can fix up humans and Gems and even MC Bear-Bear, then I don’t see why they wouldn’t work on corrupted Gems too, right?”

“You really think it could?” Mabel asked, curious. “Cause if you’re right then that’s a lot of monsters you’re gonna have to smooch…”

“Which sounds… sort of dangerous,” Connie noted worriedly. “Maybe you should try a test run first?”

“That’s a great idea!” Steven hopped up from his bed just as the temple doors slid open just in time. “Guys!” he called, tripping over the side of the loft, only to land squarely on the couch between Dipper and Connie. That hardly stopped him however, as he rushed over to the Gems as the others followed not too far behind. 

“Hey, what’s up, little Ste-cup--and amigos?” Amethyst asked, offering the kids a casual grin. 

“Guys! I used my healing spit to fix a rip on MC Bear-Bear!” Steven proclaimed, holding the stuffed animal up for them to see. 

“Oh, uh… that’s… nice?” Pearl said an uncertain smile, though clearly she wasn’t sure what the cause for the young Gem’s excitement was. 

“Good job,” Garnet smiled, sending him a thumbs up. 

“That all you wanted to tell us?” Amethyst asked, crossing her arms. 

“Not even close!” Steven continued. “What I really wanted to tell you is that we were all talking and, well… we wanted to see if we could try-”

“No,” Garnet staunchly cut him off. 

“Uh… Steven didn’t even ask you anything yet,” Dipper pointed out, confused. 

“And even if he had, it was gonna be something you should totally say yes to, by the way!” Mabel added enthusiastically. 

Yet even so, Garnet shook her head. “With my future vision, I can see that you’re going to ask me if you can try healing one of the monsters in the bubble room.”

“So… that’s a no then?” Connie inferred. 

“Can you see if we can get you to change your mind?” Steven ventured, offering the Gem leader a pleading smile. Soon enough it was one that Mabel, Connie, and Dipper all picked up in turn, each of them eager to assist the young Gem in his altruistic plan, even if it was a rather risky one. And though Garnet seemed to hold her ground at first, against all four of the kids hopeful smiles at once, she ultimately found she was no match whatsoever. 

“Why did you agree to this?” Pearl asked Garnet as they all filed into the temple’s bubble room moments later. 

“I lost a battle of wills,” the Gem leader said plainly. 

“So, who are we healing up first?” Mabel asked, eagerly running into the room as she pointed out a handful of bubbled Gems. “Ooo, what about this one? Oh! Or we could try her, I bet she’ll be a ton of fun when she isn’t corrupted anymore!”

Despite these spirited suggestions, however, Steven already had his sights set on one bubbled Gem in particular. With a floating leap, he was easily able to catch the bubble and bring it down to its level, looking over it with a small, hopeful smile. “And gotcha!”

“Hey, isn’t that…?”

“Yeah,” Steven answered Dipper’s unfinished question with a sincere nod. “It’s Centipeetle. If I can help any of them, I want to help her first.”

“Oh, isn’t she that monster we fought at the beginning of the summer?” Connie asked, intrigued. 

“Yeah, but also she totally saved us from turning into dino-chow,” Amethyst pointed out. “Oh, speaking of chow, don’t forget about these!” She summoned her whip to pull down another bubble, one that had been hanging next to Centipeetle’s with a familiar bag of chips in it. 

“Chaaaaps!” Steven exclaimed excitedly as he unbubbled the snack. “They’re her favorite! Okay,” he said, taking in a deep, determined breath as he looked to the others. “Everybody ready?”

Garnet nodded, giving him the go-ahead while Amethyst and Pearl braced themselves, stepping protectively in front of Dipper, Mabel, and Connie just in case. With everyone in place, Steven gently popped the pink bubble, allowing Centipeetle’s spherical gemstone to hover free from it, glowing all the while as the monster began to take its form. 

“Come on, dude, do your thing!” Amethyst encouraged eagerly. 

“You’ve got this, Steven!” Dipper added just as supportively. 

“Put that sparkly spit of yours to the test!” Mabel chimed in with a bright cheer. 

“B-but be careful about it!” Pearl advised anxiously. 

Amidst all this, Steven landed a hearty, wet lick across his hand and, just as Centipeetle’s monstrous body was starting to fully take shape, he placed that hand squarely on her gemstone. The stone sparkled radiently, Steven’s healing magic flowing through it as Centipeetle’s silhouetted form shifted completely. Her long, mandibled body grew smaller, much more humanoid as her many tiny legs became a single pair of normally-proportioned arms and legs each. By the time her transformation was seemingly complete, Centipeetle collapsed to the ground, resting on her hands and knees as everyone else started at the incredible change she had just undergone in dumbfounded awe. 

“I-is it working?” Pearl dared to ask, catching the apparently healed Gem’s attention. 

However, as she suddenly turned around, it was clear to see that Centipeetle hadn’t been as healed as she might have seemed. She retained her thick mane of white hair, as well as the singular eye that was her gemstone, but just below that was a smaller version of the fanged beak she had when she was fully monstrous. In addition, she had kept a few other insect-like features, namely her pinchered abdomen protruding from behind her, but other than that, she looked decently healed. Physically speaking, at least as she let out a loud, unintelligible shriek of alarm. 

“Boy, did it ever work!” Mabel grinned, sharing Steven’s immediate excitement over Centipeetle’s strange new form. 

“What? No, it didn’t,” Dipper noted incredulously. 

“I mean, it sort of worked…?” Connie said with a diffident shrug. “She isn’t completely a monster anymore, but…”

“Centi! You’re back!” Steven filled the awkward bout of silence that followed this in. Despite the whispered warnings both Amethyst and Pearl sent his way, the young Gem hurried forward to greet the former monster, chips in hand, though he quickly stopped as soon as Centipeetle met him with a harsh, sudden hiss. “Whoa! What’s the matter?” he frowned, approaching her much more carefully as she cowered away from him. “You want some Chaaaps?”

“Uh… I don’t think she remembers them…” Amethyst spoke up as Centipeetle let out another angry squawk. 

“Forget the chips then,” Steven pushed the bubbled bag of Chaaaps back up into the air as he addressed Centipeetle patiently. “You remember me, don’t you?” Though she didn’t react as fiercely to this, Centipeetle still tilted her head in confusion as her singular eye stared him down unknowingly. “I… have a bad feeling this didn’t work how I wanted it to work…”

“You think?” Dipper said, crossing his arms. 

“Aw, well… at least you still tried,” Connie smiled sympathetically. “And hey, something’s better than nothing, right?”

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Mabel placed her hands on her hips. “I think Centi looks better than ever!”

“Better… but not all the way better,” Steven said, taking another step toward the confused semi-corrupted Gem. 

“W-wait! Don’t go closer!” Pearl cautioned nervously. 

“Maybe she just needs a little extra love!” Steven suggested, refusing to give up so easily. Fortunately, Centipeetle didn’t lash out to attack him as he leaned in to plant another brief kiss on her gemstone. However, it did little to heal her as she instead reeled back, closing her eye tightly as she covered it with both hands, growling in both pain and annoyance all the while. “Oops! S-sorry…” Steven let out a small, anxious chuckle as he reached out to help Centipeetle back up. 

“Hm…” Garnet mused as she watched Steven and Cenitpeedle’s interactions from afar. “This is the best we’ve ever seen it work.”

“But it didn’t work,” Pearl countered. “I guess it’ll take more than a kiss to heal damage from the Diamonds…”

“But why?” Steven turned to the Gems with a fretful frown. “My healing powers have been working great lately. I-I should be able to do this.”

“It’s alright, Steven,” Pearl reassured earnestly. “Remember, she’s not cracked; she’s corrupted, and that’s something different, something nearly… impossible to describe. U-unless it’s by a Gem who’s actually been through it.”

“But, ya know, most of the Gems who have…” Amethyst nodded up at the countless bubbled Gems above them. “Aren’t really doing a ton of describing these days…”

“It’s sort of like… if MC Bear-Bear didn’t just tear the fabric of his arm,” Garnet explained as accurately as she could. “But the fabric of his mind.”

“Whoa…” Mabel gaped, mistified by such a deep explanation. 

“That’s… kind of horrifying,” Dipper shuddered, unnerved. 

“I guess it’s times like these when being a human really has its perks,” Connie said offhandedly. “At least something like that couldn’t happen to any of us.”

Garnet adjusted her shades upon hearing this, her future vision nearly catching a glimpse of something, though it flashed by far too fast for her to really make anything of. So instead, she shook her head to clear it before addressing the apprehensive young Gem once more. “Steven, I’m impressed with your ability to bring the Centipeetle this far, but it’s time to let her rest again. Amethyst-”

“Uh, sure,” the purple Gem shrugged, summoning her whip again. “I’ll poof her.”

“W-wait!” Steven protested, hurrying to shield Centipeetle as she curiously looked over her new form through a reflection on the wall. “She’s not a monster anymore!”

“Here,” Garnet pulled Steven close, pressing his face against her as she extended a hand out to the other kids as well. “You don’t have to watch. Same goes for the rest of you kids.”

Though Mabel was really the only one to take her up on that offer, Steven suddenly pushed himself away from the Gem leader to rush back over to Centipeetle. “No, please! She can walk, a-and talk! Just like you guys!” Surprisingly, Centipeetle chimed in with a contented squeak, her maw forming something that almost seemed like a smile as she turned back to face Steven. “See?”

“Aw, how can you guys say no to that face?” Mabel said, sending the Gems the same pleading look Steven was. 

“Yeah, she doesn’t really seem like she’s that dangerous anymore…” Dipper agreed. 

“Definitely not as dangerous as she was the day the four of us met,” Connie said with a small, fond chuckle. 

“See? Centi was the one who brought us together in the first place,” Steven said, motioning between himself, Connie, Dipper, and Mabel. “M-maybe she wasn’t the nicest back then, but she’s our friend now! I helped her--we helped her this much; maybe we can help her more. We have to try, I made a promise! Please?”

The Gems exchanged an uneasy glance at this, none of them too keen on the idea of letting a corrupted Gem, even a semi-corrupted one like Centipeetle, simply run around unrestrained, especially around the kids. And yet, even despite her strange form and unpredictable behavior, for the most part Cenitpeedle seemed much calmer and more civilized than she had been before, even if she was still rather skittish and couldn’t quite communicate in anything other than squawks and hisses. But what really broke through their hesitancy was the kids, all four of whom were staring up at them pleadingly in their shared resolve to do whatever they could to help Centipeetle even more than they already had. 

So the Gems let out a unified relenting groan as they lost a second battle of wills, much to the kids’ mixed relief and excitement. Still, that didn’t mean that the Gems didn’t have any dissention toward this newfound haphazard arrangement. “S-so what are we going to do with her?” Pearl asked, wincing as she stole another glance over at the semi-corrupted Gem. “Let her move in?”

“Aw, yeah!” Amethyst cheered, in favor of the idea. “Corrupted roommate!”

“Oh, Amethyst, be sensitive,” the white Gem rolled her eyes. 

“Oo! She could stay down at the shack!” Mabel suggested enthusiastically. 

“Wait, what?” Dipper looked at his sister incredulously. 

“Yeah! I bet Mr. Pines will love having Centi as a house guest!” Steven readily agreed. 

“I bet he won’t,” Dipper interjected once more. 

“That’s what makes it funny,” Amethyst chuckled, amused. 

“Well… it’s better than her staying here, I suppose…” Pearl muttered, aside. 

“Wherever she stays, whether it’s here or at the Mystery Shack,” Garnet spoke up, evenly catching all four of the kids’ attention. “You kids need to be careful with her. She can stay unbubbled, but you must understand: some Gems are beyond our help.”

While the kids didn’t exactly have much of a plan to help completely cure Centipeetle of her corruption, they were still largely optimistic that they could all the same. Though the Gems still had some reservations, Steven managed to convince them to allow the semi-corrupted Gems to accompany him and the other kids down to the Mystery Shack. And though she was certainly much more tame than the animalistic way she’d been before, it was clear that Centipeetle still wasn’t exactly used to being out and about as the kids did their best to coax her out of the house alone. 

“It’s ok, Centi,” Steven urged patiently as he held the door open for her. “We’re just gonna take a nice walk down to the Mystery Shack. How does that sound?”

Centipeetle let out an uncertain chirp at this as she lingered behind the doorway, nervously peering out from it. Her curiosity soon turned to terror, however, as a sudden breeze happened to blow by, tousling the semi-corrupted Gem’s hair and catching her off guard completely. She stumbled back, eventually falling to the floor as she shrieked in alarm, even as the gentle wind started to die down outside. 

“Whoa, hey! It’s ok!” Connie hurried to the Centipeetle’s side to calm her down. “That was just the wind. It’s nothing to be afraid of, even if it’s something you can’t see.” 

Centipeetle eased up at this, clumsily picking herself back up to stand as she attempted to venture outside once more. This time when the wind blew by her, however, she cowered much less than she had before as she actually managed to step out to join the others on the porch. “Yeah! Way to go, Centi!” Mabel cheered, though her excitement was completely lost on Centipeetle as she shrunk back in fear once more. 

“Mabel, not so loud!” Dipper chastised. “You’re scaring her.”

“Oops! Sorry! I meant--way to go, Centi!” Mabel tried again, this time in a cheery whisper.

“Ok, Centi--Oh,” Steven stopped short as he led the way down the stairs. “I guess that’s not really your name. What should we call you?” Centipeetle answered in a series of unintelligible chirps, one that left all four of the kids staring at her, dumbfounded. “Oh, right, can’t talk…” Steven rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“Maybe we could try to guess your name,” Mabel suggested. “What about… Lindsay?” 

“Mabel, that’s not a Gem name,” Dipper said flatly as Centipeetle shook her head. “It’d probably be something more like… Oh, I dunno, she’s green, so… Emerald?” 

Once again, Centipeetle made a face, obviously not a fan of that name either. “Well, there are plenty of green gemstones out there,” Connie noted. “I picked up a book on different gemstone types awhile back for… reasons. So, off the top of my head, I can think of… Jade, Tourmaline-”

“Peridot, but we’ve already got one of those!” Mabel chimed in. 

“Demantoid, Aventurine, Nephrite-” Centipeetle suddenly cut off Connie’s list with a loud squeal, which she paired with hopping up and down on the balls of her feet as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. The kids exchanged a curious look at this, none of them really knowing what to make of it until Steven spoke up. 

“Well, that can’t be it,” he frowned, not noticing Centipeetle’s disgruntled sigh. “We’ll just stick with Centi for now, ok? Just like we did before. Do you remember any of that?” he asked Centipeetle with a hopeful smile. “That time you saved me from a crow, or how you took on that pterodactyl baby, or how we helped the Gems electrocute--uh, actually, do forget that one.”

Centipeetle tilted her head in confusion, though her singular eye suddenly shot wide with alarm as she stumbled back into the porch staircase. The kids didn’t understand where this newfound bout of fear was coming from until she pointed a shaking hand past them to the animal that was peacefully grazing several feet away. “Oh, that’s only a deer,” Dipper explained to Centipeetle. “Don’t worry; it won’t hurt you. In fact, it’s more likely to run away from you than do anything else, see?” Sure enough, by now the deer had noticed the group standing nearby and had taken off, bounding back into the woods it had come from. By now, Centipeetle’s fear had turned into intrigue as she attempted following the deer, only to stop short as she stumbled across something else that caught her eye instead. 

“Whatcha got there, Centi?” Steven asked, walking over to where the semi-corrupted Gem had knelt down. She chirped brightly as she pointed out a patch of pink wildflowers, apparently fascinated by them as she turned back toward them. “Oh! Those are some really pretty flowers! Here, hold tight for just a second.” Centipeetle continued to curiously watch as Steven picked a few of the flowers, tying them together into a simple, yet fashionable crown, which he proceeded to place on the semi-corrupted Gem’s head. “Tada! It’s for you! Do you like it?” 

Centipeetle did seem to enjoy the flower crown as she cooed happily, though she kept trying to really look up at it to no avail. “Oh, you wanna see how you look?” Mabel inferred, grabbing her hand. “Well, c’mon! You can check out your fab new style right here.” She led Centipeetle over to the nearby stream, allowing her to get a full and proper view of how the flower crown looked on her. The semi-corrupted Gem managed a satisfied smile as she looked at her reflection, though that reflection was soon broken by the small fish that happened to briefly jump out of the water. Centipeetle flinched, afraid, as she fell back into the grass, her flower crown landing right beside her. “Aw, Centi! No need to freak out!” Mabel chuckled as she repositioned the flower crown on her head. “That was just a cute little fish! It can’t hurt you. Well, unless we’re talking about some of the big boys out in the ocean, cause something like a shark isn’t exactly the kind of fish you wanna-” She stopped short upon meeting Centipeetle’s nervous expression once more. “Uh… you know what? Never mind.”

“Boy,” Connie grinned as the semi-corrupted Gem peered back into the stream for another look. “She sure is curious, huh?”

“She must not have gotten to see a whole lot of the Earth before she was corrupted…” Steven frowned sympathetically. 

“Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking,” Dipper interjected. “If we really want to help her uncorrupt completely, then maybe what we need to do first is figure out how she was corrupted in the first place and work from there.”

“Didn’t Pearl say something about ‘damage from the Diamonds’?” Connie mused. “What kind of damage could they have done to cause something like… well, what happened to her?”

Centipeetle turned at this, though she quickly froze, her eye going wide as she stared at something beyond the kids gathered before her. A piercing, downright terrified screech escaped her, catching the others completely off guard as they all turned their attention back to her. “What’s the matter?” Steven asked, placing a gentle hand against her arm, which was trembling every bit as much as the rest of her body. “Are you ok? A-are you remembering something?”

Centipeetle reacted harshly, clutching her head tightly as she closed her eye, screaming all the while. She somehow managed to get back to her feet, looking to the sky once again as she finally pointed a shaking finger at what had her so scared to begin with. 

Despite the summer skies being crystal clear, a large, bright golden star had seemed to take up a place within them. It shined brightly, clashing with the familiar blue atmosphere, and while the mere sight of it outright horrified Centipeetle, the kids largely had no idea what the cause for alarm really was at all. “Uh… what is that?” Dipper asked, somewhat unnerved. 

“Maybe it’s like one of those jet plane thingies you always see in the sky super early in the morning?” Mabel suggested. “Only the pilot on this one woke up way later than he should have.”

“That doesn’t look like any jet I’ve ever seen, even from a distance,” Connie shook her head. 

Steven, meanwhile, was largely distracted by Centipeetle, who was looking around in just about every direction, seemingly trying to find some way to escape. “Whoa, Centi, i-it’s alright,” he advised, grabbing her hand. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of when you’re with us!” The semi-corrupted monster was hardy listening however, as she looked back to the “star” once more. It flashed brightly, but briefly, and that alone was to throw her already palpable alarm into an all-out panic. With a manic screech, she pulled her hand out of Steven’s and took off, running off into the forest as fast as her newly-reformed legs would carry her. “W-wait!” the young Gem called, intending on running after her until Connie reigned him back in. 

“Uh, S-steven?” she grabbed his arm, directing his attention up to the “star” once more. By now it was practically burning yellow in the sky, yet it hadn’t moved, hadn’t done much at all until it suddenly dialated dramatically. 

And then, before anyone had any time to say or do anything else, it exploded. 

A bright, blinding golden light flooded the entire area, spreading out far and wide across all of Gravity Falls at a supersonic speed. It overtook nearly everything, from the temple to the shack to the forest to downtown, even as far as the lake and the outlying countryside, all centralized solely on the tiny timberwood town itself. In its wake it covered everyone, humans, Gems, and magical or mythical creatures alike (though only one group among those three would emerge from it unscathed). And as it shined upon them all, if its overpowering, devastating radiance hadn’t momentarily defeated them, they might have heard the briefest bout of twisted laughter, accompanied by a single voice raised in vengeful song. 

And just as quickly as the light had come, it was over. It faded, leaving the sky crisp and clear and blue once again. Slowly, nature reawakened after being so sharply silenced as gentle birdsong filled in the late morning air once more. That quiet din was what first roused Steven, who sat up slowly, placing a careful hand against his now-aching head as he did. And yet, before he could even really get his bearings back, the first thing he happened to notice was that his hair strangely didn’t feel much like hair at all. Rather, it had a much softer, lighter texture, almost akin to flower petals, which made the fact that his fingers were seemingly much sharper than he knew they should have been all the more bewildering. Confused as he was, he tried to stand, though as soon as he got to his feet, he received a sudden, involuntary boost into the air. Briefly, he thought he’d accidentally activated his floating powers, until he happened to notice the series of sturdy green vines that were somehow propping him up. 

“Huh?” Steven frowned, glancing back only to see that the vines didn’t just seem to be coming from behind him, but from him. They sprouted from his back, and a few of the more thorny ones had twisted themselves around his arms and legs, though those thorns didn’t dig into his skin, which was an odd shade of pale pink. “W-what is all this…?” he wondered to himself, briefly glancing up from himself to look around. The first thing he realized was that Centipeetle was nowhere to be found, having run off into the woods just moments prior, a thought that worried Steven far more than his current peculiar condition did. “Oh no! Centi!” he gasped, alarmed as he searched for any sign of her. “Where are-”

“Ugh… Steven…?” The young Gem immediately stopped short as soon as he heard Dipper’s voice somewhere nearby. Despite his attempts at turning around, the vines suddenly did so for him as they somehow moved on their own accord. Still, Steven ignored how startling the vines, the thorns, and even the surprisingly sharp claws he now had were, in favor of checking on the others instead. 

“Dipper! Are you ok--Ohhhhh my gosh!” Steven’s jaw dropped in shock as soon as he actually looked at Dipper, who had just started to partially pull himself up off the ground. 

As he did, however, he clearly noticed something was off, particularly about the texture and shape of his nose and ears. “W-what is…” Dipper trailed off as he tried to properly sit up, only to not receive the sort of usual feedback he would have expected from his legs. “Why… why can’t I-” He cut himself off with a sharp, frightened gasp as soon as he so much as caught sight of the lower half of his body. Because by all accounts, it looked identical to that of a deer’s, complete with not just two, but four long, lithe, thin legs, brown fur spotted with specks of white on his back, and even a tiny tail that was currently twitching out of immense agitation. As he fully took in this inexplicable shift, Dipper let out a tight, terrified cry that didn’t sound exactly human, though he didn’t seem to care as he gripped his front set of legs to confirm that they were, in fact, actually his. “W-what’s going on?!” 

“Whoa, Dipper!” Steven exclaimed in equal awe as he leaned forward as much as the vines would allow. “You’re like… some kind of deer-centaur! A deertaur!”

“Ok, two things,” Dipper said crossly amidst trying to position his new, rather awkward set of legs to stand. “One, I’m pretty sure that’s not what this is called and two... WHAT? WHY? HOW? What happened to me?! What happened to you?! What’s with all the vines? Why does your hair look like a bouquet?”

“It does…?” Steven frowned, reaching up to thumb one of the “petals” that now apparently made up his hair. “Huh.”

“Seriously, what happened?” Dipper reiterated as he made his first real attempt at standing up. And yet, as unused to his strange new form as he was, balancing on his feet, or hooves, rather, proved to be quite a challenge as he unsteadily wobbled before ultimately falling right back to the ground clumsily. “And why a deer?!” he let out a small, frustrated huff through his now pert, black nose. “It’s not even like they’re even my favorite animal or anything! This makes no sense!”

“W-well, if it’s any consolation,” Steven began with a small, reassuring smile. “You do look pretty cute like this.”

Dipper flinched at this, but said nothing in response as he crossed his arms and glared away, blushing, at least until he picked up on something else. “Hey, wait a second, where’s-”

“Oy, what smells like fish…?” Mabel suddenly spoke up as she finally started to wake up herself. She let out a long yawn, not noticing the dumbfounded looks Steven and Dipper were both sending her way as they realized she’d also gone through an unnatural transformation. For her own part, however, it took Mabel a moment or two to register that transformation as she sat up and stared directly at the scaly pink finned tail that had taken the place of her legs. “Huh… Well that’s new,” she noted, glancing over her now-webbed hands before balking at her tail again with a huge gasp. “OH MY GOSH!” she practically screamed, stars in her eyes as she hugged her tail excitedly. “I’m a mer-ACK!” Mabel sucked in another sharp gasp, an involuntary one this time as her breathing grew short and shallow, her eyes widening in panic as she gripped her throat frantically. 

“Mabel!” Steven and Dipper both exclaimed in concerned alarm. On impulse, Dipper rushed to get up to help her, completely forgetting about the current state of his legs until he inevitably ended up tripping and faceplanting right back into the grass again. He didn’t let that stop him however, as he prepared to try again, he happened to catch sight of something Mabel apparently hadn’t as she haphazardly threw off her sweater so she could breathe easier. “Gills…” he gasped in realization. “She has gills! She can’t breathe! Steven, she needs water! B-but I can’t-”

“I’m on it!” Steven readily agreed, his vines moving in accordance with him this time. It was almost as if they knew exactly what he was thinking as they kept him propped up, essentially “walking” him over to Mabel, who was still gasping and choking on air that wouldn’t do anything for her now. While Steven tried to help her himself, the vines did that for him too as their tips gently coiled around her arms before they swiftly pulled her into the nearby creek, submerging her completely. 

Both Steven and Dipper waited for an anxious beat for Mabel to emerge from the relatively shallow water, though when she did, she let out a rejuvenated sigh of relief as she perched herself against the side of the creek. “Ah! Much better!” she grinned happily, splashing more water against the small pink gills on her neck. “Guess I just needed to wet my whistle! So, whaaaaaaaaaaaaa-?!” By now, Mabel finally noticed just what had happened to Dipper and Steven, and as soon as she did, a huge, delighted smile broke out across her face. “Ohhhhhh, Steven! Dipper! You guys look so adorable!”

“Uh, thanks?” Steven chuckled. 

“Ugh, this is just gonna keep getting more and more embarrassing, isn’t it?” Dipper scoffed, dryly. 

“Embarrassing? Bro-bro, what are you talking about? This is amazing!” Mabel proclaimed, flopping back into the creek behind her so she could admire her tail fins noce more. “Check it out! I’m totally a mermaid! Oh, if only Mermando was still here! We could be the cutest mer-couple ever, and have mer-babies, and live in a mer-castle under the sea! And sing mer-songs all day!”

“Yeesh,” Dipper rolled his eyes at his sister’s flights of fantasy. “You would enjoy this, Mabel.”

“Hey, has anyone seen Connie?” Steven asked, glancing around in newfound concern. “I haven’t seen her since all this happened. Do you think maybe she could have gone after Centi when she ran off?”

“What are you talking about, Steven? I’ve been here this whole time!”

Steven, Mabel, and Dipper alike all froze up at this, each of them looking around for Connie upon hearing her voice, only to find no sign of her anywhere. That is, until she happened to reappear out of nowhere right in front of Steven. All three of the other kids let out a startled round of alarm at this, though Connie didn’t share it as she let out a small sigh of relief instead. 

“Ah, finally you guys can actually see and hear me!” she exclaimed as she hovered up into the air a bit. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past several minutes, but it’s like you all just kept staring right through me!”

“Aw, sorry, Connie!” Steven apologized earnestly. “We didn’t mean to! But I couldn’t see you until now, much less hear you!”

“C-Connie?” Dipper spoke up, trembling slightly until he caught himself doing so. “A-are you… I-I… I don’t know how to say this, but… I-I think you might be-”

“Oh! A ghost!” Mabel guessed bluntly. “I got it right, didn’t I?”

“What? A ghost?” Connie shook her head incredulously. For her part, she largely looked the same as she always did, though like Mabel, her legs had been traded in for a tail, albeit one that wasn’t anywhere near as fish-like. But even beyond that, she had taken on a pale blue parlor, her entire body being more or less completely translucent as it radiated with a dull, unearthly sort of glow. That, paired with the fact that she was able to float above the ground freely, added up to far too much evidence for anything else to really be true, as much as Connie wished something else was. “Oh my gosh, I-I think you guys are right! I-I really am a ghost! B-but why? And how--wait, no, I don’t even want to think about how! A-anyway, w-what happened to you guys? To all of us?!”

“I think I know what happened,” Mabel said as she pushed herself up out of the stream a bit. 

“Really?” Dipper asked, skeptical as Steven began to use his vines to help him properly stand. “You know what happened to us when none of the rest of us do?”

“Of course, I do,” Mabel grinned proudly. “We all got turned into totally awesome magical creatures! I mean, think about it: I’m a super sparkly mermaid (with a tail in my favorite shade of pink, might I add!). Connie’s a really cool ghost why can fly and turn invisible-”

“I don’t know if I’d call either of those things ‘cool’ in this instance…” Connie frowned as she accidentally phased her intangible hands into each other. 

“Steven’s, uh… w-well he’s some sort of flower… guy… person… thing…” Mabel ventured, uncertain. “B-but that’s awesome, since pink is totally your color.”

“Oh, you think so?” Steven grinned, looking down at his light pink arm with a newfound sense of fondness. 

“And Dipper is a super cute deertaur!”

“Again, I’m 100% positive that’s not what it’s called,” Dipper spoke up as he stomped one of his hooves down in annoyance. “Also, would everyone please stop calling me cute?!”

“Maybe once you stop being cute,” Mabel chuckled with a teasing smirk. 

“Which will be never!” Steven added much more earnestly. 

“Ugh, look,” Dipper began, addressing the enthused pair evenly. “I don’t know if you guys realize this, but this is serious. We just got turned into monsters, or magical creatures, or whatever, completely out of the blue. Something like this doesn’t just happen, not even here in Gravity Falls. Something caused this, and we need to figure out what it was so we can find a way to undo it and get all of us back to normal.”

“Aw, but I like being a magical mermaid!” Mabel pouted. 

“Do you like not being able to breathe outside of the water?” Dipper countered flatly.

Mabel flinched, recalling the frightening experience she’d just been through moments ago, an experience she certainly wasn’t keen on going through again anytime soon. “I… see your point.”

“Maybe that star had something to do with it…” Connie mused, looking up to the now-empty sky. “It was the last thing any of us saw before we woke up like this, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Steven agreed as his vines formed something of a seat for him to recline on. “Oh, thanks!” he said to the vines themselves before returning to the matter at hand. “Plus, Centi seemed to be really scared of that star. She might even know what it was! Maybe if we can find her, then she can-”

A sudden thunderous clamor cut through the conversation like a knife, a clamor that came from the temple, to be precise. The chaotic noise only amplified as the front door burst open and, as opposed to any of the Gems, what seemed to be a monster jumped outside instead. It wasn’t very large, though it was just a bit bigger than the kids, with a purple, bulky four-legged form and a full, thick mane of lighter lavender hair. It unleashed what sounded like a wild howl as it pounced off the porch, its clawed front arms allowing it a square landing on the ground. It didn’t seem to have any eyes, with a set of bright purple horns in place of where they would have been, but it still managed to spot the kids gathered just a bit down the hill from it. The monster’s toothy maw split into an expression that was almost akin to a grin as it made an animalistic sound that sounded a bit like a laugh, though it was still completely unintelligible. Its apparent excitement prompted it to stampede toward the group at a rapid pace, much to their shared alarm,, and at least in two cases, outright fear. 

While Mabel and Steven simply gasped in surprise as the monster rushed for them, Connie completely disappeared into thin air, not even making a single sound or uttering so much as a word as she did. Dipper, on the other hand, froze up, his eyes wide but his expression otherwise largely vacant and unreadable. And as the monster drew even closer, he suddenly took off, somehow completely capable of using his new legs, which he couldn’t even properly stand on mere moments ago, galloping at full speed into the nearby woods. Mabel let out a startled cry as she watched him easily leap over the stream she was sitting in before he disappeared into the forest just before the monster could arrive.

“Wait! Dipper!” she called, frustrated by her inability to get out of the water to go after him. Both her and Steven were met with an all-new concern, however, as the monster suddenly slammed down right in front of them, focusing on the young Gem in particular as it reared low with a small growl. 

“S-Stay back!” Steven warned, summoning his shield to ward off the beast. The monster leapt at him anyway, however, barreling into him and knocking him to the ground, even despite his vines trying to keep him upright. The young Gem braced himself for a vicious attack as his shield disappeared, yet instead, he was met with a sudden, wet lick from the beast’s large tongue. “Huh?” Steven frowned, looking back up to the monster, who still had him pinned down, but was now panting happily. Though he was already confused, his bewilderment only grew tenfold as he happened to notice the very familiar purple gemstone resting on the monster’s chest amidst her unruly tufts of hair. “Wait… A-Amethyst?!”

The beast nodded vigorously, finally stepping away from the young Gem as her long, messy tail wagged excitedly. While his vines picked him back up above the ground once more, Steven exchanged an uncertain glance with Mabel before he looked to who he could only assume had to be Amethyst once more. “D-Did… you shapeshift to look like this?” 

Amethyst shook her head, apparently unable to properly speak. She turned her attention back up to the temple, where another monster seemed to be stomping out, though it was much easier to discern the identity of this one from its appearance alone. 

“Garnet?!” Mabel and Steven exclaimed in shock as the creature the Gem leader had turned into jumped down from the porch to join them. There was no mistaking her, namely because of her pair of heads, one of which bore semblance to Ruby in coloration, though the only feature of her face was a fanged maw, while her other head was clearly Sapphire with her singular eye and long blue hair. The rest of her body was much more akin to Garnet herself, though quite twisted, her arms massive and muscular as they reached down as long as her much shorter legs did, her huge clawed hands acting more as her main form of transportation as she slowly lumbered forward. She towered high over Amethyst and the kids, letting out a low, inhuman groan that almost seemed to be a greeting, though despite her admittedly mangled appearance, she seemed just as calm as she always was. 

“Garnet… Amethyst...” Steven looked between the monstrous pair, quite shaken. “W-what happened to you? And… where’s Pearl?”

This question was met with a sharp, high pitched squeak from above as a large shadow briefly covered up the sun. That shadow had been cast by a large, majestic bird-like creature, one that nervously touched down to join Garnet and Amethyst. There was no question this was Pearl, from the tell-tell gemstone on her now-eyeless head, resting just above the long, pointed beak she now bore. Her form was sleek and graceful, with a thin, curved, swan-like neck, wide, sweeping peach and white feathered wings and a set of long, narrow legs that carried the same spiraled design as her spears. Pearl let out another unintelligible shriek, one of apparent surprise as she caught sight of Steven and Mabel, her wings flapping anxiously, at least until she heard Amethyst’s amused gruff cackle beside her. The white Gem shrieked shrilly at her in annoyance, though she merely kept on “laughing”, at least until Garnet silenced them both with a heavy, commanding grunt. 

“No way…” Steven shook his head incredulously. “I-it really is you guys! A-are… are you… corrupted?” 

All three of the Gems reacted to such a claim in shock, Pearl fiercely shaking her head as Amethyst tilted her head, confused. Garnet remained still and silent, though after a moment of thought, both of her contrasting heads finally nodded, much to the shock of her teammates. An argument of various squawks, roars, and groans erupted at this as the Gems “communicated” with each other, though neither Steven nor Mabel could even hope to make out what they were trying to say. 

“This is so weird…” Mabel frowned, leaning against the creekbank. “Aren’t corrupted Gems supposed to be all wild and crazy? Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are just… acting like themselves.”

“Maybe they’re not entirely corrupted?” Connie purposed as she suddenly reappeared, catching Steven and Mabel off guard. “O-oh! Sorry! I really gotta learn how to control this whole randomly disappearing thing better…”

“But… why do they still look like monsters?” Steven wondered, catching the attention of his guardians. “I know you guys can’t really… talk right now, but… you can still understand what we’re saying right?” All three of the Gems nodded, though what little their malformed expressions alone could convey told they were just as baffled and concerned as the kids themselves were. “So… you’re all basically half-corrupted then… just like Centi! Man, I really wish she hadn’t run off earlier; she’d be so much in figuring all this out!”

“Speaking of running off…” Mabel said, turning back toward the forest. “It’s ok, bro-bro, everything’s cool! You can come out now! There’s nothing to be afraid of out here.”

“I-I wasn’t afraid!” Dipper protested as he peeked out from the tree he had taken refuge behind. “I-it was just really loud and a lot of things were happening at once and I… might have panicked. J-just a little!”

“Well, deer do have a reputation for having a pretty sharp flight response whenever they get startled, so that might explain it,” Connie pointed out. 

“Ugh, great…” Dipper sighed as he fully emerged from the forest. “Just another reason to find a way to get us all back to normal as soon as possible. Especially for you guys,” he said, flinching as he looked to the Gems in particular. “You three look--uh… y-you look great!” he played off whatever he was going to say with a nervous laugh. The Gems didn’t quite buy it however as Amethyst teasingly stuck her tongue out while Pearl squawked, apparently flustered as she nudged one of her wings with her beak. 

“Wait a minute,” Connie interjected. “If that star, or whatever it was, somehow transformed all of us, then… maybe we weren’t the only ones affected by it…”

Everyone else took pause at this alarming thought, especially as they all happened to look down the hill toward the Mystery Shack. As they did, Dipper and Mabel in particular exchanged a nervous glance as they both considered exactly who else could be going through the exact same thing they currently were experiencing. “You don’t think…?”

Unsure of what they’d find, once the group of monster-turned kids and externally-corrupted Gems arrived at the Mystery Shack, Connie volunteered to head in first since she could more or less slip in unseen to scope things out. The only problem that arose with this came from Amethyst, who suddenly, impulsively decided to join her right as she floated toward the gift shop door. Connie stopped just as Amethyst rammed into the door horns-first, easily breaking down as she stormed in, eager to find Stan and show him her new form, much to the alarm of everyone else outside. Pearl let out a frantic squeal as Garnet slammed one of her heavy hands to the ground in an attempt to reel Amethyst back in, though the purple Gem, rowdy as ever, hardly paid them any mind. Likewise, the kids also watched with concern as she rushed inside, ensuing a chaotic clamor almost immediately as she haphazardly crashed into several display cases and quickly catching Stan’s attention, just as she’d intended. 

“Augh!” the conman shouted furiously from inside. “What in the--wait, Amethyst?! N-no, no, no, no! You better not--” He was cut off by another huge crash, one that promoted Pearl and Garnet into action while the kids stood by just a bit past the door. 

“Oh man, I wish we could see what’s going on in there!” Mabel exclaimed, leaning out of the small swimming pool Steven and Dipper were filling up for her. “I bet Grunkle Stan is totally freaking out!”

“Uh… I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate…” Connie frowned as she peered into the shack just as Amethyst scurried out of it, laughing all the while. Likewise, Garnet and Pearl both stumbled back themselves as Stan tried to burst out of the shack, revealing that, much like the kids, he’d gone through a rather monstrous transformation himself. 

By all accounts, it seemed as though the conman’s skin had turned to moving stone based on its rough, gray texture. Beyond that, both his fingers and his tones bore sharp, talon-like claws as he sported a small set of stony horns just above his now acutely pointed ears. But his two most notable new features were his eyes, which seemed to shine a bright, almost ominous kind of yellow, and the wide set of pointed wings on his back, which were currently caught on the doorframe, essentially holding him in place as he angrily tried chasing after Amethyst. “Ugh, again? Seriously?” the conman growled in annoyance as he somehow managed to retract his wings in a bit. “I’m already sick of these stupid things. And as for you, Amethyst, I--aye, yi, yi…” Stan trailed off, shock overtaking his expression as he noticed Pearl and Garnet’s changed forms too. “Yeesh, and I thought I had it bad between the new wings and the horns. You three look terrible!”

Pearl let out a harsh, offended hiss at this, though Garnet didn’t really respond. Amethyst however, let out a teasing roar, one that Stan didn’t seem to follow at all. “Uh… what, are you guys done speakin’ English or do you just expect me to understand ‘monsterese’ now?” he asked dryly. 

“Uh, actually, Mr. Pines,” Steven spoke up. “They can’t really… ‘talk’ right now…”

At this, Stan stole a glance over at the kids, only to balk in bewilderment at each of them in turn. “W-wha… what the heck happened to you kids?!” he asked, stepping over toward them. “Dipper--or Steven, I don’t care who since either of you if not both is usually behind anything wacky or magical happening around here--explain. Now.”

“We would if we actually understood what happened to begin with,” Dipper replied, crossing his arms.

“Well you better figure it out!” Stan snapped, irritated. “Cause I don’t know how you expect me to send you runts home to your parents with you looking half like a deer while your sister’s flopping around like a fish outta water.”

“Aw, it doesn’t sound anywhere near as magical and cool when you put being a mermaid like that…” Mabel cringed as she popped her head out of the water after refilling her gills. 

“You won’t have to send us home looking like this,” Dipper countered, resolved. “Because we’re going to find a way to undo all of this and get everyone back to normal.”

“Yeah!” Steven, Mabel, and Connie all chimed in support of this plan. 

“Oh really? That’s awesome, dudes!” Soos exclaimed as he stepped outside of the shack. Upon a first glance, he seemed to look just as he always did with no peculiar transformation in sight, at least until a piece of his arm quite literally melted right off. 

“Uh… Soos?” Steven spoke up, all four of the kids looking to the handyman in immense concern. 

“Oops,” Soos scooped up the strangely mouldable clump of his arm and easily slapped it back on as if it had never fallen off to begin with. “I’ll tell ya what, being made of clay may seem like it has its perks, but it’s starting to get way less cool the more times a chunk of me randomly melts off…”

“Could you at least stop melting all over the shack?” Stan asked dryly. “The last thing I wanna do is clean up bits of Soos off the floor.”

“Sorry, Mr. Pines,” Soos apologized as he smoothed up the side of his cheek before any clay could drip off of it. “I guess clay and a hot summer day aren’t a great mix…”

“Ugh, consider yourself lucky, man,” Wendy spoke up as she came out of the shack herself. “At least you’re not covered in fur…” 

“Whoa, Wendy!” Mabel exclaimed in fascination as Dipper, Steven, and Connie looked to the cashier in shock. “Are you-”

“A werewolf? Ugh, yeah, I guess,” Wendy rolled her eyes as she absently scratched behind one of her now rather dog-like ears. Sure enough, her entire body was covered in thick red fur to match her hair color, and alongside that she bore a bit of a snout with a wolfish nose and plenty of sharp, fanged teeth to match the sizable claws on her hands and feet. Yet despite her rather canine appearance, she was still perfectly able to walk upright, which was apparent enough as she leaned against the side of the shack, annoyed. “All those movies with the hot shirtless werewolves totally oversold this, by the way. The real deal totally sucks between being hot and itchy all the time. So if you guys are dead set on getting us all back to normal, then more power to you.”

“Don’t worry, we will,” Connie assured, though her confident smile quickly fell. “If only we knew where to start…”

“Maybe Great Uncle Ford can help,” Dipper suggested. “After filling up three whole journals, it’s safe to assume he is the resident expert on magical creatures around here. Where is he anyway?”

“Ugh, please don’t get me started on Ford and all those stupid riddles he’s been throwing around since this whole mess startled,” Stan huffed crossly. 

“Riddles?” Steven asked, confused. 

“Precisely, my boy,” Ford interjected as he rounded the far corner of the shack. For his part, his appearance had taken on something of a lion-eque motiff, with golden-brown fur, a long, thin tail, large (but still six-fingered) paws, and even a rather feline nose. But what set that motiff apart were his wings, just as wide as his brother’s, though bright and colorful and feathered instead of grey and stony. He only briefly regarded the Gems and the kids’ changes in appearance, seemingly not alarmed by them at all as he continued just as calmly. “For instance, what do you call a creature that’s steeped in ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology and has a penchant for presenting all who cross its path with puzzling riddles?” 

“Annoying?” Stan ventured, sending his brother a bored look. 

“No, Stanley,” Ford countered flatly. “A sphinx. Which seems to be what I’ve turned into. Maybe you’ll have an easier time figuring this one out: what’s the term for a creature that’s made of animated stone and also happens to be what you’ve become?”

“I’m sticking with my first answer and saying annoying,” the conman reiterated, glaring back at his unwanted set of wings. 

“A gargoyle, Stanley, a gargoyle,” the author huffed, exasperated. “Come on, that one wasn’t even hard at all.” 

“Yeesh, if you’re gonna be a wisecracking know-it-all, then can’t you just get to the point about it?” Stan rolled his eyes. “Do you have to keep at with all these pointless riddles?”

“...Yes,” Ford said bluntly before turning to the kids. “Anyway, children, do you know what a living, human-like being made of an earthen material such as mud, rocks, or in this case, clay,” he nodded over at Soos. “Is called?” The kids exchanged an uncertain glance at this, though it wasn’t long before the author filled in with an answer to his own riddle once more. “A golem. A clay golem in this particular instance, I believe.”

“Oooohhh so that’s what I am,” Soos mused, fascinated. “And I was just gonna keep calling myself “Soos: Clay Edition” but a golem sounds way cooler.”

“Furthermore,” Ford posed another riddle. “A creature with the arms, head, and torso of a human, but the body and legs of a deer is called a…?”

“A deertaur!” Steven and Mabel both chimed in with an enthusiastic answer. 

“Ugh, for the last time, you guys, that’s not what it’s called!” Dipper protested, his tail flickering in aggravation. 

“You’re absolutely right, Dipper, that’s not what it’s called,” Ford pointed out with a knowing grin. “You’re actually a cervitaur.”

“Eh, that doesn’t have nearly the same ring to it…” Mabel said, looking to her brother dubiously. “Grunkle Ford, can you do me next!”

“Mabel,” Dipper cut in, shaking his head. “We already know you’re a-”

“A creature that’s half girl and half fish would be known as…?”

“A mermaid!” Mabel immediately guessed. “I know because I am one! Right now!”

“Correct,” Ford nodded, pleased. “Now… hm… this one is a bit trickier. A physical spirit tied to… well, traditionally trees, but I suppose just about any form of flora works, as is the case with Steven here, so that would make him a…?”

“Uh… Mabel guessed flower guy earlier so, I’ll go with that?” Steven suggested, though he really had no idea himself. 

“Actually, my boy, you’re what’s known as a dryad,” Ford corrected. “Or more accurately, the male form of a dryad, a drus. A rose drus, from the looks of it…”

“...It had to be roses, didn’t it?” Steven muttered to himself as he rubbed his thorn, covered arm apprehensively. 

“Now, rounding things off, a creature that’s wolf-like in appearance, but-”

“It’s a werewolf,” Wendy interrupted boredly. “Already figured that out as soon as I realized I had a tail, man, it’s not that hard.”

“Ah,” Ford said somewhat awkwardly before continuing. “Then how about an immaterial spector that’s-”

“A ghost,” Connie readily filled the answer. “Sorry, Mr. Ford. We… kind of already figured that one out too.”

“...Very well then,” the author noted as he glanced over at the Gems. “As for you three, I… can’t quite seem to think of anything-”

“Oh, thank god,” Stan said, breathing a sigh of relief. 

“Are… are they… corrupted?” Ford asked the kids in particular. 

“Sort of?” Steven shrugged. “They’re still themselves though, right, you guys?” The Gems let out a variety of unintelligible answers at this, but all of them seemed to confirm this to be true. 

“Fascinating…” Ford adjusted his glasses as he looked over each of the Gems’ semi-corrupted forms. “All of this is just so… fascinating! I could fill up an entire journal alone with all of the scientific discoveries to be found here! And while I’m on that note, another riddle! What’s-”

“No!” Stan quickly cut him off, leaping forward with a powerful flap of his wings to practically tackle Ford to the ground. “You are not asking another one of your dumb riddles on my watch!”

“...Well, you could have just asked, Stanley,” Ford huffed, pushing his brother off him. “You didn’t need to be so extreme about it.”

“Oh, hey!” Steven cut in, pointing to a familiar van driving toward the shack. “Looks like Dad’s on his way here!”

Sure enough, Greg’s van pulled up to a sudden stop in front of the group gathered outside the shack, with the former rock star poking his head out the window frantically. “Steven!” he exclaimed, startled by what had happened to both his son and the others. Greg himself had also undergone a rather alarming transformation, as he was seemingly wrapped in browning bandages from head to toe, with what little skin showing between those bandages looking drastically pale and almost lifeless. Yet he hardly seemed to care much for his own appearance as he threw the van door open to check on his son and the others instead. At least until one of his bandages got caught up in the door as he slammed it shut. “Aw, not again!” he huffed, pulling the bandage out before hurrying over to Steven. “L-look at you!” he exclaimed, practically having to look up at his son thanks to the vines still holding him aloft. “Are you ok? Is everyone ok?”

“Yeah, we’re all fine,” Steven nodded. 

“E-even the Gems…?” Greg asked, sending them a worried look. 

“Yeah, they’re ok too,” the young Gem mustered a small smile. 

“Ah! Here we go!” Ford piped up with a brand-new riddle. “What would you call an undead creature typically wrapped in cloth bandages to try and preserve the decaying body?”

“U-undead?!” Greg balked, glancing down at himself fearfully. 

“Join the club…” Connie spoke up as she hovered nearby. 

“A mummy! Greg’s a mummy! Geez!” Stan swiftly answered, shoving his brother out of aggravation. “What did I say about the riddles?!”

“Oh, honestly, Stanley! You don’t have to be such a brute!” Ford took a swing at the conman with his claws, only for them to hit solid stone instead.

“And you don’t have to be such a pain!” Stan countered, utilizing his wings to gain the literal upper hand over the author before he could lash out again. Ford didn’t let him get away that easily as he also managed to take flight, and soon enough both brothers were engaged in a midair chase that everyone briefly stopped to watch before returning to the matter at hand. 

“So yeah, like Steven said, we’re all doin’ pretty good,” Soos reiterated obliviously. 

“I-I can’t believe this whole monster thing happened to all of you guys too!” Greg exclaimed, running a hand through the hair that was sticking out from under the bandages. 

“What do you mean ‘too’?” Dipper asked, confused. 

“Haven’t you seen the news?” Greg asked, incredulously. 

“Oh, yeah,” Wendy spoke up as she pulled the latest town news report up on her phone before holding it up for everyone to see. “Check it out.”

“This just in,” Shandra Jimenez, who seemed to have been turned into a harpy, reported urgently. “Monster madness has taken over Gravity Falls! Residents all over town have reported being suddenly transformed into magical or mythical creatures.” Sure enough, the accompanying footage proved this to be true as every citizen shown seemed to be some sort of monster or cryptid or creature, each in some varying level of surprise or panic over their new forms. “The cause for this town-wide transformation is still unknown, but experts believe the large flash of bright light that encompassed the entire area earlier today might have had something to do with it. For now, residents are advised to continue on with business as usual until some sort of cure can be found. We’ll be back with more details at 5, but for now, I’m Shandra Jimenez, and it’s time for my hourly preening session.” With a loud squawk, the anchor signed off to pick at the feathered wings that had taken the place of her arms and putting an end to the news briefing in the process. 

“T-this is happening to the entire town?!” Dipper asked in disbelief. All four of the kids exchanged a startled glance at this as they realized this problem was much more widespread and far more serious than they first thought. Which, of course, would only make finding an elusive solution for it much more difficult than they had originally hoped. 

“Yeah, it is, and somebody better do something about it! Soon.” 

“No way…” Dipper gasped as he was the first to notice who was emerging, or rather slithering out of the nearby forest. “Pacifica?!”

Like all of the others, Pacifica’s appearance had drastically changed, primarily by the way of her legs being replaced by a long, light gold, snake-like tail. That reptilian theming continued with her hair, which was no longer really hair at all but a horde of snakes, each of them alive and autonomous as they moved about on their own accord. The heiress-turned-gorgon clearly cared little for her own snakes as she pushed the unruly reptiles back as they hissed and maneuvered about freely. Yet her frustration quickly fizzled into shock as she spotted the group of various creatures and monsters in front of the shack, though she focused most of her concern on her boyfriend in particular. 

“Oh my gosh!” Pacifica exclaimed, clumsily slithering over to her as Dipper tried to meet her halfway every bit as awkwardly on his still rather unsteady legs. “D-Dipper, you… look-”

“Please don’t say adorable,” Dipper interrupted, deadpan. 

“...I was gonna say like a deer, but…” Pacifica couldn’t help but crack a small smile at this, revealing her new set of sharp fangs. “You definitely look better off than I do right now…”

“What? N-no!” Dipper countered, trying to reassure her as best he could as he suppressed a nervous cringe as one of her snakes drew in a bit too close to him for comfort. “You, uh… you look…”

“Don’t lie,” the heiress warned coldly. 

“...S-snakes,” Dipper finished, unable to really say much else as he realized he was slightly trembling again. 

“Yeah, snakes,” Pacifica scowled, reigning her snakes back again as several of them started crowding around Dipper, their almost hungry stares making him quite uncomfortable. “Please tell me you’re working on a way of undoing this whole mess…”

“Of course, we are,” he said, suppressing his sudden anxiety as he took her hands to comfort her. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”

“AW!” Mabel suddenly gushed from her pool. “Even like this, you guys are still the CUTEST couple ever! What I wouldn’t give to have my camera on me! Though then again, maybe it’s better that I don’t… I don’t think it’s waterproof…” 

“Oh, come on, really?” Pacifica asked in disbelief as she glanced over at Mabel. “You got turned into a mermaid? I wish I could have been that lucky…”

“Tell me about it,” Connie sighed as she suddenly materialized right beside the heiress, startling both her and her snakes in the process. 

“Ok, everyone,” Dipper addressed the others, outside of Stan and Ford who were still engrossed in their petty brawl above. “Let’s get back on track. We need to start looking for some way to get all of us back to-” A high, loud screech abruptly cut him off as it echoed through the air, though it didn’t take long for everyone to discover the source of the noise as it came from above. Stan and Ford’s ongoing argument was only briefly interrupted by the arrival of a winged creature that suddenly blazed right past them both. That blue, jellyfish-esque creature was apparently holding something with its thin set of lengthy tentacles, a much smaller, bright green, six legged spider-like monster. While a pair of such peculiar creatures would have normally been cause for alarm, as the jellyfish gently set the spider down on the ground before coming to hover just above it, it soon became very apparent to just about everyone exactly who these creatures, or partially corrupted Gems really were. 

“Wait a second…” Steven said, focusing on the familiar gemstones on each of the monsters. “Isn’t that-”

“Oh my gosh! Peri!” Mabel practically squealed with delight at the spider-like form Peridot had taken on. “You look so CUTE! You’re like an itsy-bitsy Gem spider! If I could get out of this pool, you better believe I’d be giving you the biggest hug right now!”

Peridot let out a flustered hiss at this, her large, dark eyes narrowing in apparently frustration and embarrassment as she stomped her two front, disjointed legs down in annoyance. An apparent testament that the green Gem still retained her annoyance at being referred to as small, even in her now largely-corrupted form. 

At the same time, Dipper was completely caught off guard as the jellyfish creature suddenly flew over to him, remaining completely silent as several of its long tendrils reached out toward him. Immediately, his relatively new panicky instincts washed over him as he froze up, staring at the monster with stark, fearful, yet quiet alarm. The creature quickly noticed this and drew back a bit, seemingly confused and concerned, though it was still unable to make so much as a sound to convey either of those things. 

“Uh, Dipper?” Steven placed a steadying hand on his shoulder as his vines carried him over to him. “I… think that’s Lapis…”

At this, Dipper quickly snapped out of this forceful bout of shock, recognition filling his features as he spotted the teardrop shaped gemstone that was clearly visible through the jellyfish’s somewhat transparent blue body. “L-Lapis…?”

Lapis “nodded” as much as she could in her current form, slowly reaching her tendrils out once more so she could better see how Dipper had changed too. This time, he allowed her to, albeit a bit anxiously as one of her naturally wet tentacles found a gentle spot against the side of his face. “Uh… s-sorry,” he said, backing up a bit. “This is just… really weird…”

Though Lapis didn’t really respond to this, Peridot certainly did in a series of plaintiff hisses as she skittered around in apparent frustration. “Yeesh, even like this she’s still a loudmouth,” Pacifica noted to Connie and Mabel, aside, both of whom couldn’t help but agree. 

“So, you guys got corrupted--er, s-sort of corrupted too, huh?” Steven asked Lapis and Peridot, who both nodded in what almost seemed like resignation to this fact. The young Gem let out a small, fretful sigh as he took a moment to glance over the pair, as well as other Gems’ rather monstrous forms. Likewise, he took another moment to take stock of what had happened to his father, to Soos and Wendy and Pacifica, to Stan and Ford, to Mabel, Dipper, and Connie, and even to himself. For whatever reason, they had all undergone some kind of unknown, and in most cases unwanted, transformation, one that had disrupted their lives and left them all with more questions than answers as they tried to adapt to what had so suddenly happened to them, a plight that faced  the entire town and everyone in it, Gems and humans alike. And while Steven knew Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl weren’t particularly equipped to save Gravity Falls from such a plight as they usually would have, he figured that someone else would just have to step up and do exactly that in their stead. 

“All right, enough is enough,” Steven said, his tone stern and serious as he looked to Dipper, Mabel, and Connie. “We need to do something about this.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time,” Dipper huffed, his tail twitching in slight aggravation.

“I know…” Steven admitted as a few of his vines curled back in embarrassment. “B-but this time, let’s actually do it! We can find a way to undo this and get all of us, everyone--the whole town, back to the way they’re supposed to be, I know we can! So, are you guys up for another mystery?”

“You bet!” Mabel eagerly chimed, slapping her hand over Steven’s as he extended it to the others. “Mystery Kids!”

“Mystery Kids,” Connie agreed, hovering her hand over the others even though she couldn’t really touch them herself. 

Dipper sighed, though he did so with a warm, resolved smile as his hand joined the pile. “Mystery Kids.” He paused right after this, however, as he stole a glance over at Pacifica, who stood on the fringes of the group, glancing away awkwardly as even her snakes seemed to hang low and quiet. She started, however, as she caught sight of Dipper silently motioning her to join them. Considering her less than stellar history with the other members of the group, she hesitated, but she ultimately folded upon meeting her boyfriend’s soft, reassuring smile. 

“M-Mystery Kids…?” Pacifica ventured as she slithered over to the group and placed her hand atop theirs. Steven, Mabel, and Connie all offered her the same eager, welcoming smiles, which helped to set her at ease just as much as Dipper reaching up to lightly, supportively squeeze her hand did. 

With another daring cheer, the four--now five--Mystery Kids solidified their brazen mission to uncover the truth behind what had happened to Gravity Falls and find a way to solve it. A lofty, brazen goal to be sure, but one they felt largely equipped to handle; after all, they’d faced impossible odds like this more than a few times before. 

“Ok,” Dipper said as they all retracted their hands. “Let’s get started.”

“Good luck, dudes!” Soos encouraged with a bright wave, though his hand ended up melting off his wrist before it splattered onto the porch. “...Oops.”

“Uh, you guys might wanna hurry up on that,” Wendy noted as she watched the handyman reclaim his hand with a concerned frown. “I don’t know how much longer Soos can hold out with it being this hot out. Or how much longer I can hold out either for that matter…” she growled, scratching away at her own thick fur. 

“Wait, hold up,” Stan cut in as he finally came in for a landing, Ford following not too far behind him as their disagreement had reached a stalemate. “The entire town is cursed or something, and we’re just supposed to rely completely on you kids to get us all back to normal? N-not that I don’t trust you four, but you gotta admit you’re a little wet behind the ears. In some cases, literally,” he nodded over at Mabel. 

“Guilty as charged,” Mabel chuckled, showing off her now fin-like ears, which were, sure enough, soaking wet. 

“Stanley, don’t be so inconsiderate,” Ford scolded. “After all, who has accomplished impressive feats of discovery and problem solving through pooling their respective talents together on several occasions over the past few months alone?”

“We have!” Steven proudly proclaimed.

“Exactly,” the author nodded, ignoring his brother’s irritated glare over yet another riddle. 

“Well, you kids have definitely got my vote of confidence,” Greg soundly agreed amidst resecuring a loose bandage around his arm. 

“Thanks, Dad,” Steven grinned, leading the way toward the forest. He stopped short, however, in front of the Gems, all of whom, including Lapis and Peridot, regarded him affectionately as best as they could, even if they had to do so without using words. “Don’t worry, guys,” he assured them with a hopeful smile. “We’re gonna fix this, no matter what it takes. I promise.” Though none of the Gems could properly express it, their pride was clear through the round of various indiscernible, yet clearly happy cheers that rose up among them. Their warm support only gave a boost to the young Gem’s smile as he turned back to the other kids. “Ok, you guys ready to go--oh…” 

His question was answered before he even finished asking it, for while Connie was able to freely hover just about anywhere with few problems, Dipper and Pacifica were still quite unsteady on their hooves and tail respectively and Mabel was essentially confined to her tiny kiddie pool (which her long tail was actually halfway sticking out of). “Uh… right,” Steven let out a small laugh, realizing that the others didn’t have an autonomous set of vines to tote them around like he currently did. “We should probably figure this out first…”

The solution when it came to transportation was actually pretty simple, and a large part of that came down to Steven’s several sets of sturdy vines. As intangible as she was, Connie couldn’t really do much to help, but Steven hardly minded as he allowed both Dipper and Pacifica to cling onto a few of his vines, as well as each other, for support as they began to make their way through the woods. Mabel had been a bit tricker, but they’d eventually devised an idea upon finding an old pair of skateboards stored in the back of Greg’s van. It took a bit of doing (namely in getting Stan and Ford to cooperate long enough to work together to lift Mabel’s pool onto the boards) but eventually the pool itself was fully mobile and ready to be pulled along by a few more of Steven’s vines (of which he fortunately had plenty to spare). And just like that the small, but enthusiastic group set out on their daunting quest, though exactly how they were supposed to go about it still wasn’t exactly clear. 

“So… what are we out here looking for anyway?” Connie finally posed the question that all of the others had been thinking. 

“A way to get everyone back to normal,” Steven replied with a steady grin. 

“Ok, but like… how?” Pacifica asked, just as confused as Connie was. 

“Uh, well…” Dipper began, exchanging an uncertain glance with Steven. “We… don’t really know what we’re looking for exactly. To be honest, a lot of the times when we do this, we just tend to look around for a bit until a solution just sort of comes to us.” At that exact moment, the entire group came to a grinding halt as something, or rather, a certain semi-corrupted Gem to be exact, abruptly fell out of the canopy of trees just in front of them. “...Like that.”

“Centi!” Steven exclaimed as he reached a vine out toward the disoriented Gem to help her up. “You’re back! A-and… whoa, you look just like you did before!” Sure enough, Centipeetle hadn’t been transformed whatsoever like all of the other Gems had, for she still retained the same semi-corrupted appearance she’d had since Steven had tried to heal her. Likewise, she still seemed to have a rather skittish mindset as she cowered away from Steven, not seeming to recognize him or any of the others in their strange new forms. “Hey, i-its ok!” he said, pulling his vines back a bit so he couldn’t scare her any further. “It’s just me: Steven! I know I look a little different right now, but you don’t have to be scared, ok?”

Centipeetle eased up a bit at this, looking Steven up and down before calming down as she met his comforting smile. She let out a somewhat confused chirp as she walked over to him, and that confusion only seemed to grow as she looked over the other kids as well. 

“So this… “Centi” is a friend of yours?” Pacifica asked Dipper to gain a better sense of context. “Yikes, it looks like she got hit by this whole monster thing really hard…”

“Um, actually, she looked like that before any of this happened,” Dipper carefully pointed out. 

“...Oh,” Pacifica glanced away awkwardly. “My bad…”

“I don’t understand,” Connie spoke up as she flew closer to Centipeetle, who flinched away from her slightly. “I know she’s already partially corrupted, but why didn’t she fully turn back into a monster like the other Gems did?”

“Good question,” Steven said, watching as the semi-corrupted Gem sauntered past him. “You got hit by that light too, didn’t you, Centi? Do you have any ideas about what might have happened?”

Centipeetle didn’t respond as she was instead far more fascinated in the small pool Mabel was sitting in. Or rather, the pool that Mabel had completely submerged her entire head under for far more than just a few mere minutes now. 

“Oh my gosh, Mabel!” Dipper gasped, not hesitating to stumble over to her as fast as he could. Though her tail was hanging over the side of the tiny pool, the rest of her body lay face-up under the shallow water, her expression completely blank as she stared up at nothing at all as her gills “breathed” in the water surrounding her at a steady, synchronized pace. “Mabel!” Dipper reached into the water, grabbing her by the shoulder to rouse her from this bizarre trance. It worked as she gasped, darting up with a start and unintentionally splashing her brother in the process. 

“W-whoa!” she exclaimed, pressing a hand against her head. “Uh… sorry,” she offered Dipper an apologetic grin as she noticed he was now dripping wet. “Not sure what happened, I guess I sorta zoned out there. Oh hey! Centi’s back!”

“Ok, can we not backtrack here?” Pacifica asked, somewhat impatient. “We’re supposed to be finding a way to fix all this, remember?”

“Right,” Steven soundly agreed with a hopeful smile. “And I think Centi might just be the key to helping us figure that out.”

Centipeetle tilted her head, letting out a curious coo at this, yet a few of the other kids weren’t so convinced. “Uh… Steven? I know you still want to help her, and we do too, but… we sort of have bigger problems to deal with right now, don’t you think?” Dipper asked apprehensively. 

“But Centi was corrupted, just like the Gems sort of are now,” Steven pointed out. “And whatever corrupted them transformed the rest of the town too. So maybe whatever did that did this too!”

“But we still don’t know how corruption even happens to begin with,” Connie noted with a frown. 

“Maybe we don’t, but Centi might!” Steven turned back to the semi-corrupted Gem. “What do you say? Do you remember anything from before you--I-I mean… from long ago?”

Centipeetle took a moment to ponder this question before she answered it with a surprisingly enthusiastic nod. Likewise, she began to explain, albeit in her usual language of inhuman squeaks and squawks, none of which any of the kids could even begin to decipher. 

“Well, this isn’t gonna work,” Dipper remarked flatly. 

“Oh! I have an idea!” Mabel raised her hand. “If her memories are still in her head, we just gotta draw them out. Literally! Through the language… of ART!”

“...Or she could just write it all down,” Pacifica countered much less dramatically. 

“Yeah, that would probably be a little easier,” Connie nodded. 

“Now, if only we had some paper and a-” Steven stopped short as Dipper suddenly pulled both a notepad and a pen out of his vest. 

“I never leave home without them,” he said with a proud grin. “Especially since you never know what you’ll run into next around here. It never hurts to be prepared.”

“Dork,” Pacifica teased, lightly elbowing him, which he was more than happy to accept given the flirtatious nature of the gesture. 

“Ok, Centi, check this out,” Steven said, writing his name onto the first empty page of the notepad. “Ste-ven. That’s me! Can you do that?”

Centipeetle nodded, taking the pad as she began to scribble something down onto the page. When she was done and presented her work to the kids, however, the series of jagged, mangled lines she’d drawn didn’t bear semblance to any legible words at all. 

“...You know, maybe having her draw might not be such a bad idea after all…” Connie said somewhat fretfully. 

“Yes!” Mabel cheered. “Art always wins!”

“Ok then, let’s try this,” Steven sketched out a quick stick figure sketch of himself so Centipeetle would understand what they wanted her to do. “You can tell us whatever you want to through pictures! You try it.” 

Centipeetle reclaimed the pen and pad and began to do exactly that, sketching something out in record time before showing her work to the others. “That looks like… some kind of spaceship…” Connie inferred, hovering above as she glanced down at the Gem’s rough, yet understandable drawing. “Is that how you came to Earth?”

Centipeetle nodded, flipping the pad to a blank page as she started doodling something else. “Ooo, they look like you!” Mabel pointed toward the trio of stick figures that bore a passing semblance to the semi-corrupted Gem. “Centi, did you used to roll with a super cool crew back in the day?”

Centipeetle let out a happy chirp at this, pointing to herself with something of a proud smile. “You were a captain?!” Steven gasped, stars in his eyes. “That’s amazing! Sorry, I mean--that’s amazing, sir!” he chuckled with a playful salute before he happened to catch himself. “Oh, right, you guys don’t salute like that. It’s more like… this, right?” The young Gem awkwardly tried to cross his arms, though he couldn’t quite position them in any sort of comfortable manner. “Ow! Oh, this looked so easy when Peridot did it....” It didn’t take long for Centipeetle to catch onto what he was trying to do as she showed him the corrected cross-armed salute. “Oh yeah! Like that!” Steven nodded as the semi-corrupted Gem let out another noisy chirp before she resumed drawing out her tale once more. 

“Ok, so… you’re saluting someone…?” Dipper guessed as they all gathered closer to watch Centipeetle draw. “Is that your commander or something?” The semi-corrupted Gem nodded, pointing back to her drawings with another pointed squawk. ‘

“She gave you an order,” Connie continued inspecting the drawings. “And you and your crew got on your ships and--oh, lots of ships. Heading through space to… Earth.”

“You landed and started building stuff,” Steven mused as Centipeetle sketched out the start of Homeworld’s colonization of the planet. A colonization which soon turned to a violent conflict. “But then… the Gem war! You joined the fight…” Centipeetle’s drawings grew a bit more aggressive and hectic as her hand started to shake. She swiftly crossed out several of the Gems she had drawn, symbolizing their brutal ends that happened so long ago. “You and your crew kept going…” Steven faltered as Centipeetle suddenly ripped half of the page she was working on, tearing away her fellow crew members away from her. “You got seperated, but you were still fighting. Then, new orders from your commander… to retreat. Everyone’s running-” The sketches shifted to a massive crowd of Gem soldiers fleeing from some unknown, unseen threat. And among that crowd was Centipeetle, lost in the shuffle and hopelessly confused as to what was really going on. “But from what? You don’t know. Where’s your crew? Where’s your ship? You stopped.” Centipeetle froze in her drawing, captivated by the sky as a large star, three stars rather, appeared in it. “You heard something--from the sky, a sound. A song? And then…”

Centipeetle tore the last page away entirely to a completely blank one. She covered that empty page with her hand as tears started to slip out of her eye and splash down onto the paper, dampening it as she let out an agonized sob. “C-Centi?” Mabel spoke up, concerned. 

“That light…” Dipper began in dawning realization. “That’s the same light that hit the entire town! Where did it come from?”

Centipeetle whimpered once more but drew one last image upon the empty page: the familiar symbol of a trio of diamonds. “D-damage from the Diamonds…” Steven whispered, his eyes wide with alarm. 

“Uh… what does that mean?” Pacifica asked, largely out of the loop compared to the others. 

“It means… none of this makes sense…” Connie shook her head incredulously. “The light from the Diamonds corrupted Gems back then, but… it didn’t work on humans before… did it?”

“N-no, it… it only worked on Gems, like Centi…” Steven frowned, recalling what Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl had told him of corruption before. “But this time, it only affected the Gems’ bodies, not their minds like it did with all the others… And it did work on humans… So, what’s different now?”

“Bill,” Dipper said starkly, panic filling his expression as he recalled a very significant, very frightening recent revelation. “H-he’s working with the Diamonds now, o-or at least Yellow Diamond, remember? What if they teamed up to do this to us?!”

“B-but why would they-” Steven didn’t get a chance to finish his question as Centipeetle suddenly caught his attention. The semi-corrupted Gem was hacking horribly, acid spilling out from her beak-like maw as she abruptly collapsed to the ground. “Centi! Are you ok?!”

Centipeetle let out an anguished cry as light enveloped her arm, forcibly mutating it back into its previously short, insect-esque appendange. “W-what’s happening to her?!” Mabel asked, leaning out of her pool worriedly. 

“She’s reverting!” Steven exclaimed, alarmed. “Here, I’ll heal you again!” The young Gem hurried to do so, swiftly licking his hand and placing it against Centipeetle’s gemstone. She reacted harshly, however, her eye slamming shut as her arm glitched out, but ultimately stayed corrupted as the rest of her body began to do the same. “W-why isn’t it working?! How can I help you?!” 

All Centipeetle could respond with was a loud, piercing, pained screech, one that echoed through the forest and set off a series of varied responses in the process. As startled as she was, Connie was no longer able to keep herself visible as she abruptly disappeared into thin air once more, despite Steven’s desperate plea for her to stay. Likewise, as horrified as he already was by thoughts of Bill and the Diamonds and their twisted alliance, Dipper found he was completely helpless to resist his new flighty instincts overwhelming all sense of reason and logic as they prompted him to flee, running swiftly off into the forest, even as Mabel and Pacifica both tried and failed to reign him back in. 

And yet, Dipper and Connie weren’t the only ones to take off out of fear as Centipeetle started doing the same, distressed as she startled scrambling back through the woods herself. “E-everyone, wait!” Steven called, distraught as he realized things were only going from bad to worse. 

“W-what do we do?” Mabel asked, immensely concerned. 

“Uh… um…” Steven stammered, racing to come up with some sort of plan, which he surprisingly managed to do in record time. “Pacifica, can you go look for Dipper?”

“Um, yeah, I’ll try,” Pacifica agreed, more than willing to do so, even if she wasn’t entirely sure how far she’d be able to go on her difficult to maneuver tail. 

“Mabel, you… stay here.”

“Yeah, I… kinda can’t really do much else,” Mabel noted, pointing to her tail. “Oh! I know! I’ll see if I can get Connie to come back!”

“Great,” Steven nodded as his vines turned him around. “I’m gonna go after Centi. I’ll be back soon!”

“Good luck!” Mabel called after both Pacifica and Steven as they set off on their own respective missions. She paused a moment after they were gone, more than set to call after Connie in the hopes of getting her to appear. Yet just before she could, her own bizarre newfound instincts took over as she silently plunged herself back under the water of her pool, unable to really do anything else, even if she could have tried. 

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Steven to catch up to Centipeetle given how surprisingly fast his vines could carry him. The semi-corrupted Gem had just broken through the edge of the forest, apparently heading back toward the temple, yet as Steven did the same, he was quite taken aback by what he saw happening at the Mystery Shack. 

The entire area was awash in chaos as it seemed as though almost everyone who had gathered there had also fallen victim to whatever instinctual impulses that came along with their new monstrous forms. Stan and Ford had apparently gotten into another brawl for whatever reason, though this one was much more violent and aggressive as they chased each other around the sky again. Wendy attempted to follow along on the ground, running on all fours as she growled almost ferally, and though she missed Centipeetle, she did notice Steven and tried chasing after him as well. The young Gem narrowly managed to avoid her using his floating powers to jump on top of his father’s van, though that hardly stopped the frantic scene on the ground below. Soos seemed to have tucked himself away inside the shack to avoid melting any further, and Greg was seemingly nowhere to be found, at least until Steven peeked into the back of the van to find his father sleeping soundly within it. 

“D-Dad!” Steven exclaimed, hurrying to his side, only to notice Greg’s arms were crossed squarely over his chest, much like a traditional mummy’s would have been. “Dad, wake up, please!” he shook his father’s shoulder to try and rouse him, though it didn’t do any good. “D-Dad…?”

A sudden screech quickly caught the distraught young Gem’s attention, one that came from Pearl, who he realized was standing right behind him alongside Garnet and Amethyst. While Lapis and Peridot had taken to the sidelines, unsure of what to do, the main trio of Gems had been doing their best to ease the mindless uproar between the others, though there wasn’t much they could really do with their forms as monstrous as they currently were. “G-guys, what… what’s going on?” Steven asked them, realizing they were much calmer than everyone else seemed to be. “Why’s everyone acting so weird?” 

Though she couldn’t really give a proper answer, Garnet replied in the form of a low grunt, nodding up toward the sky, or rather, toward where the apparent corrupting light had come from. “C-Corruption… yeah, we know,” Steven nodded, “We think it might have been Bill and the Diamonds this time, but they... “ He gasped as the newfound, horrific realization struck him. “They corrupted everyone’s bodies… but only the minds of the humans! That’s why they’re acting like this! W-we have to help them! B-but how?”

The Gems seemed to agree, though the only way they could really convey their idea to do so was to step aside so Steven could see Centipeetle, who was still frantically making her way up to the temple. “Centi?” the young Gem wondered anxiously. “D-do you think…?”

The Gems exchanged something of an uncertain glance but ultimately they agreed that the semi-corrupted Gem would be their best course of action right now. Something Steven couldn’t really argue with since he was largely out of ideas himself. “Right,” he nodded, his vines starting to pull him forward so he could follow her. “You guys stay here and keep everyone safe. I’m gonna find a way to fix all of this. I mean it this time.”

Even if they couldn’t exactly speak, the Gems still sent him off with a chorus of warm, proud well-wishes, voicing their firm belief in their young ward just as well as any words could have. Their faith did give Steven something of a confidence boost, but as he set off after Centipeetle he couldn’t help but feel quite worried all the same, especially now that the stakes seemed higher than ever before. What if he couldn’t find a way to return everyone to normal? What if his friends, his family, possibly even himself with time, were all eventually lost to their monstrous forms and mangled minds, just like previously corrupted Gems like Centipeetle had been centuries ago? 

These were all thoughts Steven could hardly bear to face, so he decided to embrace the opposite instead, the hope that he would find a solution. That he could fix this and save everyone, just as they were all counting on him to do, even if they didn’t even realize it. 

The young Gem burst into the house just moments after Centipeetle had, finding her propped up against the warp pad as she desperately tried using it. No teleporting light emerged from it however, much to the semi-corrupted Gem’s distress as her leg started glitching back into its previously corrupted appearance. “I-it’s not working because you’re corrupted,” Steven noted, hurrying over to her. “Where do you want to go? The battlefield you fought at? Your ship?”

Centipeetle squawked out an immediate response to this, though Steven still didn’t quite understand. “Is there something on the ship that can help you? That can help all of us?” The semi-corrupted Gem only screamed louder at this, slamming herself down onto the warp pad as she practically begged him to use it. “O-ok, just… hold on,” Steven said, grabbing her hand to calm her down. “I’ll get you there.”

Despite his own condition, fortunately Steven was still able to use the warp pad as usual. Its light enveloped them both, taking them to the very same abandoned Gem ship that Peridot had tried trapping them in what felt like ages ago now. As soon as she so much as spotted her ship, Centipeetle took off, running through the jungle as she called out for someone she only barely remembered. “Hey! Wait!” Steven ran after her, or rather his vines did, at least until Centipeetle suddenly stopped short. The corrupted Gem unleashed another agonized scream as she collapsed, clutching her head in pain as more traces of her monsterous form began to overtake her: her multiple tiny legs, her lengthy, multi-tiered body, her long, pincher-like snout. As this horrific, slow transformation continued, Steven briefly watched in frightened alarm, before he took the initiative, gently latching onto her with a few of his vines. “You want to get to the ship? Then let’s go.” As unable to walk as she was, Steven let his vines hoist Centipeetle up as she continued whimpering loudly, her form continuing to unsteadily shift as her mind tumbled into madness all the while. Yet despite her wild manner starting to flood her once more, she still somehow recognized Steven, still somehow trusted him to take her where she longed to be. And sure enough, that’s exactly what he did. 

The young Gem carefully set Centipeetle down just as all traces of her once human-like form gave way to her former corruption. She squeaked pitifully, acid dripping out of her maw as she looked to Steven almost pleadingly. He shuddered, wishing he could do so much more to help her, but for now, the most he could do was open the door to her abandoned ship and let her back inside of it for the first time in eons. 

Silently, Steven followed Centipeetle inside the derelict vessel, only to find that they weren’t alone. Two other creatures, identical to the corrupted Gem, had scaled its dusty walls and had taken up shop there, though as they noticed Centipeedle herself, they greeted her with cheerful chips of greet. “Other Centipeetles…?” Steven wondered, watching as his own corrupted companion scurried over to join the pair. “T-they’re your crew… aren’t they?” 

Centipeetle stopped short at this, turning back to Steven as she skittered over to him once more. He offered her a small, sad smile that was quick to fade as he looked between his corrupted friend and her crew. “I-I… I’m sorry….” he sighed morosely. “I wish there was more I could do to help you. T-to help everyone! All of the other corrupted Gems, and especially everyone back in Gravity Falls right now! They’re all in danger and I-I… I don’t know what to do to save them! My friends… e-everyone I know needs my help, a-and I… I can’t do anything for them…”

Tears started to well up in the young Gem’s eyes, yet before they could fall, a gentle, almost kindly chirp from Centipeetle caught his attention instead. The corrupted Gem pulled her lengthy form up a bit so she could gain some height over Steven, and then, in much of the same way he had done for her before, she delivered a soft “kiss” of sorts upon his forehead using the very tip of her beak. It wasn’t much, but in a strange way, it offered him exactly the sort of comfort he needed at a hopeless moment such as this. 

He mouthed her a silent ‘thank you’ as she turned again to join  her crew, all three corrupted Gems chirping warmly amongst each other as they reunited after centuries of painful separation. Steven stood by, watching them for a moment or two, his mind lingering on Centipeetle’s “kiss” all the while. And the longer he thought about the touching gesture, the more it made him think about how his own healing kiss had, at least in some way, truly worked to partially cure the corrupted Gem, even if it hadn’t really worked as well as he had hoped. Yet still, it had worked on some level all the same. Which made him start to wonder if it could possibly work when it came to another, newer kind of corruption instead. 

Steven wasn’t exactly sure what the result would be as he glanced over the back of his now-clawed hand, but as he looked to the vines sprouting from his back and thought about the pink petals that had overtaken his hair, he figured it was at least worth a try all the same. The moment he so much as skimmed the back of his hand with a gentle kiss, however, he found that everything went completely white and numb, until just as quickly, everything abruptly returned. 

Except plenty of things didn’t. Because instead of being involuntarily propped up on vines as he had been all day, the young Gem found himself sitting on the floor of the abandoned ship with not a single vine in sight. His skin had regained its usual pallor as opposed to the unnatural shade of pale pink it had become and his hands and hair, he found, were both just as normal as non-floral as they should have been. “I-I… I healed myself?!” he gasped, jumping to his feet, though he just as quickly collapsed to the ground. “O-oops, guess I gotta get used to walking around on my own again, b-but still, this is great!” He grinned brightly up at the trio of Centipeetles curiously watching him from above. “Thank you,” he said to Centi in particular. “I-I know my powers won’t work on you guys, but… maybe someday they will. And when they do, I’ll come back for you first, Centi, I promise.” Centi let out a bright, affectionate chip at this, one that Steven couldn’t help but return with a small, joyous laugh of his own. “B-but for now, I’ve gotta get back and see if I can help everyone else!”

Steven wasted no time in doing so, waving one final, fond farewell to Centi and her crew before he took off to return to town. And all the while, the trio of Centipeetles remained aboard their broken vessel, happy to be, if nothing else, together again, just as they had yearned for all that time apart. 

As soon as he warped himself back to the temple, Steven rushed out of it, running as fast as his admittedly sore legs could take him in place of having his vines tote him around. The chaos unfolding at the shack had hardly changed in the time that he’d been gone, withe Gems desperately trying and largely failing to reign the maddened humans among them back in. Still, as soon as they spotted Steven in his usual appearance, the Gems were all quick to hone in on him in rapt, excited, fervent attention. Still, despite the crowd, Steven steadily got to work, even if he did have a few doubts about whether or not his plan would really work at all. All the same, he started with Amethyst, landing a brief kiss against her muscled arm, one that, sure enough, enshrouded the purple Gem in light before reverting her form back to how it usually should have been. While grateful for Steven’s assistance, Amethyst did have the slightest complaints, namely that she had found her corrupted form to be rather fun and enjoyable, something Pearl readily disagreed with as soon as the young Gem healed her up next. Garnet was more than relieved to have her future vision back on hand as Steven healed her, and with her usual level-headedness, she got her teammates into action to round up the scattered humans while the young Gem healed Lapis and Peridot next. 

It had taken some doing, but between the three of them, the Gems had managed to round up Stan, Ford, and Wendy just as Steven finished off returning Greg and Soos to normal. The trio was still quite rowdy and untamed, which made approaching them a bit of a challenge for the young Gem, at least until Amethyst came up with the idea of a spray bottle on them. Miraculously, this managed to work as Steven mixed in a bit of his own healing spit into the water before the Gems spritzed the aggressive group with it, healing them in short order and leaving each of them quite embarrassed when they realized what had happened. 

With everyone at the shack healed up, Steven made it his immediate mission to find his scattered friends in the forest, a mission that the Gems were more than happy to join him on. Lapis took to the skies alongside Peridot to try and find any signs of Dipper (and Pacifica for that matter) while Steven and the others took to the ground to regroup with Mabel and hopefully Connie. They found the latter first, who had managed to reappear and nearly flew right into them while searching for the young Gem herself. As surprised as Connie was by how Steven had managed to heal everyone, they both found a unique challenge when he tried to do the same for her given her currently intangible form, one that he couldn’t seem to touch at all. That is, at least until Garnet suggested that they fuse. It was a bit awkward and difficult to do so, yet somehow, it worked, with Stevonnie taking on a partially physical form, though they did still hover above the ground while retaining something of a ghostly glow. Still, it was enough for the young Gem’s healing powers to work as they kissed their own arm, returning not just the fusion, but Connie herself back to normal once they warmly unfused. 

Since she was essentially unable to go anywhere else, Mabel had remained in her spot in her pool, staying under water the entire time so she could breath easier. Her expression was absolutely empty and she remained completely silent, even as Connie began propping her up out of the water so Steven could heal her. And as soon as he did, Mabel immediately snapped right back into her usual chatty self, even if she was a little disgruntled by her now wet skirt, socks, and shoes as she finally got out of the pool, able to walk on her own two returned legs once again. 

By then, Lapis and Peridot had returned with their report that they had spotted Dipper running off deeper into the forest. Not wanting to waste any time, Steven, Mabel, and Connie all raced to catch up with him, though when they found him, he wasn’t exactly alone. Pacifica had also managed to find him, though by now her newly predatory instincts had overtaken her as she cornered her frightened boyfriend as both her and her snakes prepared to take on their easy prey. This tense confrontation was put to a quick end as the other kids arrived to break it up, with the girls making use of the spray bottle on Pacifica while Steven managed to keep Dipper from slipping away again with a well-timed bubble so he could properly heal him. And as soon as the couple were both back in their right minds and usual bodies, they both soundly agreed to never speak of what had almost just transpired ever again. 

From there, healing the rest of the town from their monstrous plight was quite a daunting task for Steven and the others, though the spray bottle scheme did make doing so quite a bit easier. All it took was one spritz to each citizen-turned-creature and they were back to their usual fully-human forms. With the Gems and the Pines teaming up together to spread out through the town, it was only a matter of hours before every impacted resident had been healed (even if most of them had no idea exactly what the water that had done so actually contained). Still, the general consensus was a glad and grateful one amongst its citizens as Gravity Falls slowly but surely started getting back to normal (or at least as normal as the strange little town could be). 

“And that should be everyone,” Garnet noted, relying on her future vision to confirm that their mission was complete. While a handful of the others who had lended a hand had already headed back home, the kids and the Gems were the last to dole out healing to any remaining stragglers. And with the last few townsfolk healed and human again, the sun was just starting to set as the last of the group began to make their way back to the temple and the shack as well. “Good job, Steven.”

“Yeah! Magical healing powers for the win!” Mabel cheered as she ran alongside the young Gem. “Seriously, I’ve never missed having my legs this much!”

“And I’ve never missed having only two,” Dipper readily agreed with a sigh of relief. “Let’s just hope something like this never happens again. I don’t know if I can handle the whole “mindless deer panic” thing again.”

“Well, if it does ever happen again,” Connie spoke up, glancing over at Steven with a fond smile. “We know who we can count on to save the day next time, right?”

“Wrong,” Steven finally spoke up, his dejected expression more than apparent. “I couldn’t save everyone. You guys were right,” he looked up to the Gems. “I couldn’t help Centipeetle..”

“You brought the Centipeetle back to her ship,” Garnet said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You brought her back to her crew. They were waiting for her there. They didn’t want to leave her behind.”

“Wait…” Steven raised a confused eyebrow. “How did you know any of that?”

“She told us,” Garnet held up the previously discarded notepad Centi had sketched her story in. 

“Her drawings…?” Steven flipped through the book, perplexed. 

“Her writing,” the Gem leader corrected. 

“It’s actually decently legible!” Pearl pointed out the seemingly unintelligible scribbles Centi had written out. 

“Wow!” Steven grinned, glad that someone could make it out where they hadn’t been able to. “Um… did she mention anything about… the corrupting light?”

“Mm… no,” Pearl shook her head as she looked through the notepad. “Why do you ask?”

“Well…”

“Cause the light that turned everyone into monsters was totally the same thing!” Mabel interjected. “Or at least we think it was.”

“We also think Bill might have had something to do with it,” Dipper added disdainfully. “That’s why it actually worked on humans this time.”

The Gems exchanged a worried glance upon hearing this, none of them liking the idea of Bill and the Diamonds collaborating, especially on something like this, however plausible it might have been. Yet even so, they did manage to find a few holes in the kids’ theory all the same. “Uh, if it was corruption, then how was Steven able to heal us all up when he couldn’t do the same for your girl Centi?” Amethyst asked, confused. 

“I… don’t know,” Steven frowned, puzzled. “Maybe it just wasn’t as powerful this time? Even with Bill’s help?”

“Or maybe it was only one of the Diamonds instead of all three…” Garnet muttered quietly before Pearl quickly cut in. 

“W-well anyway, I suppose it doesn’t matter that much now that it’s all over and done with!” the white Gem exclaimed with a bit of a forced smile. 

“But… if Bill and the Diamonds can do something like this, then don’t you think we should be worried about what they’re planning next?” Dipper asked warily. 

“I-in the long term, yes…” Pearl ventured somewhat anxiously. “But for now-”

“For now, we won,” Garnet interjected. “Let’s celebrate that instead of worrying about what’s to come.”

Though Dipper let out something of a disgruntled sigh at this, the other kids largely agreed, especially Steven. Because just a few hours ago, he had thought he might have very well lost his friends and his family for good, to something that had been far out of anyone’s control. Yet now, through a miraculous turn of fate and a little of his own miraculous magic thrown in, here they all were, together and back to their normal selves again, just as they should have been. Well, almost all as they should have been. 

“Hey, Pearl?” Steven began, glancing down at the notepad once more. “Can you teach me how to write in Gem?”

“Oh, Steven, it’s very complicated,” Pearl said with a small smile. “And you won’t have much use for it.”

“Oh, I just want to know a few things like, ‘Hi, how are you?’, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ and-” Steven stopped short as he flipped to the last drawing Centi had left behind, of the trio of diamonds representing the ones who had damaged her, and so many other innocent Gems in the process, seemingly beyond repair. Or at least it was for now, something that he could only hope to somehow change someday for Centi and her friends, just as he had for all of his. “And ‘I’m sorry’...”

Next:

[qhostqizmo]

Run to her before she’s gone

Don’t let her go

- - - - - - - - - -

Her fingers entwined with his; palm clasped to palm, was a familiarity Amon knew would never grow old. It was an exhilaration that tingled nerves, burned bone, and made his legs feel gelatinous. He had come to know her hands. He could tell a stranger how she was feeling almost by touch alone; how the limpness was for bad days, how they were clammy and sweaty when she was nervous, or how she squeezed when she was especially giddy. There were moments when her thumb stroked the soft spot by his own; moments that felt like concealed magic between the pair of them. He could describe the softness of her touch like a painter; which corresponded with her heart, but would not spill her secrets unwisely.

What he would tell any soul that would listen however was that as tender as such hands were, it was their strength he admired the most. Essätha was resolute when she held on to something. He was the perfect example. He had been reluctant to be held; sharp and barbed as his retorts, but she had held on nevertheless. She held him together when he felt he had nothing else, and he would never have enough words of gratitude to tell her how much her kindness meant to him.

The warmth in her eyes that usually lifted him and left him soaring was fading before him though, following the waning smile of sadness. He wanted to cling to to the feeling of her hands though, that said a different story than her face. Her gaze said heartbroken where her fingertips said hope.

“You will write me back, won’t you?” Essie probed, an unexplained quietness to her tone.

The nobleman still felt numb. All he could think about was her hands, and how they fit against his own so nicely. What was he supposed to do when hers were no longer there to grasp? What was he to do with his fingers, if not to hold hers?

She waited patiently, and with a growing sorrow in her eyes. His tongue felt too heavy to speak; his throat too tightly constricted to produce words. How could he answer such a question? With glee? With ushered affirmation? How was he supposed to say a word when his voice felt lost?

Those digits he adored fidgeted nervously against his own. She plucked her fingers free of his, but not without effort. Not with how he still tried so desperately to hold on.

Don’t go.

The words just wouldn’t come out. Was this not the peak of love? To let the dove fly where she wanted? To not let her go if only to pray she came back?

I have so much I still want to say to you, just don’t go.

Essätha let out a shaky exhale, a quiet murmur escaping her as she pat his frozen-hands, “Take care of yourself, my lord Amon.”

She leaned in close. Her presence left Amon even more breathless; her beauty, the air around her somehow gentler, kinder, too real and soft. The fragrance of orchid and pomegranate on her skin was alluring; a sacred sin you just wanted to sink your teeth into. She had the most enchanting of eyes; that golden-brown glow that just made the world fall silent. He could hear his own heartbeat. He thought he could hear hers, too.

Her lips grazed his cheek delicately, and she pulled away.

It was at that moment he realized he didn’t know how to say goodbye. He didn’t want to let go.

A marble statue turned to life, he reached out for her hand, but it was too late. She had turned away. He went unnoticed.

His lungs were so cold. The air around him was suddenly frigid and less vibrant.

What happens next? The mechanics in his brain caught; the gears and wires fried. Watching her walk away, standing on the side of the road, afraid and hurting. Is this what was supposed to happen? Was he the Eurydice in this story, bound to call her back and damn both of their souls? Was he doing the right thing, letting her go?

Amon inhaled sharply for the first time, and his chest heaved. The world ahead looked like a tunnel he remembered from before. Lonely, broken, the walls falling down upon him. Where was the exit? What was he supposed to do now? Who was he going to be? He could turn back and go home to his comforts, and take back the mantle that was his place but it felt so unfulfilling. Lifeless. What came after all was lost? How did you find yourself again after everything he’d lost before, and now this.

What did the blind man do when he could finally see the first time in his life? Go back to the shadows? Accept that the colors were too bright, and make no attempt to extend a hand to greet them?

He could not see Essie anymore. It was not just from the liquid swimming unshed in his eyes, either. She was too far from him now. His heart was free. Maybe this is how his story was meant to end. To go back to the beginning of it all.

Turning his glazed over gaze down to his fingers, he stared at their empty spaces. He could still hear her whispers against his calluses. He could still feel her breath making his pulse race; the promises they’d make together, the way she reminded him that he knew how to be delicate. He could still feel the ghost of her touch where her fingers laced against his own.

Was it really over? If he never said the words, not even once, was it ever truly over? Would he ever be able to let go of the regret?

Licking his lips, Amon took a step forward. Then another; aware of how unsteady his limbs felt. He took another. Gravity pulled him forward, as though he was bound to collapse if he did not keep the momentum. A jagged toddle turned into a brisk walk, into a jog, into a full out sprint as he charged down the street. Head down, his boots charged before him, pounding the dirt so fast it was almost like he was flying.

People turned to stare at him as he bolted by, baffled. A younger man he clipped nearly stumbled and fell, letting out a string of curses as his billowing cloak whipped behind him. Amon’s ears were ringing though; the air whistling. He had to tell her. If nothing else, his heart could truly be at peace. The earth could swallow what remained of him then and he would know he’d done enough, because he’d done what he could. He could learn to die slowly, and solitary, but he needed to lay it all out to her first and be sure. He had to be sure.

There she was, standing beside a horse-drawn dray waiting to consult for passage out of his territory and out of his life. There she was, with her hand wrapped around the strap of her bag and the nervously twirling a lock of soft ebony between her fingers anxiously.

Gasping for oxygen, Amon nearly collided with a woman and child stepping out of a nearby building before him. He swerved; his entire body jolted, and he fumbled to skip around the pair. The lady, wide-eyed, clutched her toddler close in alarm as broke out into a run once more as he passed them, panting.

Essie dropped her bag on the back of the cart, and placed a foot up on a metal bar near the bottom to climb in.

“WAIT!”

She was part of the way hoisted up when her spine grew rigid, and she froze. Dropping her foot back to the ground, she turned to look back at him.

Oh Pelor, he could breathe.

Dragging in every bit of air he could, he pushed his burning legs harder; faster, hurling himself in what felt like the final mile of a long-drawn race. Essätha dropped her other foot from the bar to the ground and grew tense, as though expecting him to collide with her.

He did.

Unable to stop or slow his speed he skidded on his boots, stumbled, and grabbed her with arms out. There was only just enough seconds in his trip-and-tumble footing for him to turn, falling back into the wagon with a thud that made the horses jump and prance uneasily. Pain flared up in his hip where it struck the sturdy wood, but it was nothing compared to the agony in letting her just walk away.

Gasping raggedly, the nobleman embraced her tightly, wheezing, “Don’t go!”

Essätha sharply exhaled against his collarbone. “M’lord-”

“Please!”

“Amon-”

“Essätha I love you,” he groaned, squeezing her tightly to his chest. He felt whole. He felt whole.

Her stunned silence caused a creeping anxiety to crawl under his skin. The nobleman fought against its talons, scrapping at his vocal chords. He held her tightly a little longer to get his barrings; to let the sun melt away the ice on his soul, before he could let her go.

With shaky hands, he cupped her face. She was looking down at him, mouth agape.

“If you must leave; if my love is not enough or not what you wanted, I-” he swallowed down the lump in his throat- “I will understand. But I am begging you, if you feel anything for me; if only small, if uncertain but there, please. Please give me a chance, Essie, I swear I will do everything in my power to make you happy, to love you the right way if you will let me. If you’ll have me. Please.”

“I will give you everything I have,” he continued on, hastily, “Everything.”

The sorceress’ mouth still hung open. Her cheeks were warm beneath his palms; holding a dusky pink glow.

Amon pulled her face nearer, and pressed his lips to her forehead tenderly.

Something wet struck him on the cheek, trickling down his face.

When he pulled away, he could see the tears spilling over her features. His heartstrings felt pulled in every which way; tangled as he hastily; gingerly began to wipe the moisture from beneath her eyes.

“I thought…” her voice wobbled and breath hitched, “I- I’m sorry-”

A fissure appeared; sucking his heart into a void.

“- I d-didn’t think you wanted me. N-Not like… this.”

Clinging to faith, he asked with breathless confusion, “Like what?”

Essie’s lower lip wobbled. She reached for him; those sweet hands trembling as she stroked his beard, his sideburns, his cheeks and his nose. He felt consumed by her. Healed. Alive.

“I was leaving because… Because I- I thought it would be better than to see you… forget me.” She bit her lower lip. “Let go of me. Move on and… fall madly in love…”

“I am madly in love,” Amon defended gruffly, stubbornly pulling her closer until her forehead rested to his. “I am madly and fiercely in love with you.”

A smile rose up timidly on her lips. He could feel the stutter in his heartbeat, to see something so lovely so close.

“I am rather foolish,” she whispered with guilt.

“I should have told you sooner.”

“You were afraid?”

“Yes.”

Essie pressed her lips delicately against his; soft edges of flowerpetals whispering against his mouth. “I’m sorry I didn’t show you how much I love you, to convince you of my hearts yearning. I’m… still new to the feeling.”

“You love me?” he mumbled in a cracked voice.

Her smile grew, and twinkled joy in her eyes. “I love you infinitely, m’lord Amon.”

Throwing doubt out, Amon pulled her closer once more to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. Her fingers, all the while, caressed his face. A touch he could never forget.

“I will help you navigate the feelings, if you will help guide me through mine,” he offered in a crooning, anticipating voice.

She smiled brightly, a quiet laugh escaping her. Her fingertips ran through his hair and lightly scraped his scalp.

“I would like that very much.”

Grinning like a fool, he brushed the hair out of Essie’s face. Relief and calm lowered his heartrate as she nestled closer, her nose rubbing against his own.

A quiet noise intruded on their intimate moment, as someone cleared their throat irritably.

“Would ye two decide if ye want on or off m’ah wagon? I’ve got places to be, and ye rallied up the horses ‘nough without your snoggin’.”

His face flushed as much as Essätha’s, Amon sheepishly helped her to stand up. His hip throbbed from striking the damn cart, making him since as he peeled himself off it. He reached for her hand one last time, nervously licking his lips as he met her eyes.

“Ready to go home?”

Essie reached around him. Worry gnawed at him.

Producing her bag, she slung it around her shoulder and took hold of his hand, squeezing his fingers in a familiar way as she gazed into his eyes.

“Lets.”

[magicismighthq]

Alice Fortescue | 26 | Cis female She/her | Pureblood | Member of The Order | Code 4

“You may not have the stage but you still have a voice. You may not have the strength, but if you have a choice, I dare you to love.”

[tw: alcoholism & infertility]

Cat mom. Bookworm. Tea aficionado. Blonde bombshell. Fashionista. Sweet as her Fortescue ice cream. Protective lioness. Makeup lover. Social butterfly. Dedicated fighter. Soft lover. Fearless.

Alice Fortescue was a shining star from the moment she entered the world. A head full of soft, blonde hair that would become her trademark. And that smile — that smile was charming and never stopped being so. Alice was magnetic but was the kind unable to see the magnitude of her magnetism. She was humble. Being fiercely loving was something she had always had the capacity for. This was another trademark of Alice Fortescue.

Growing up as an only child, Alice had all of her parent’s attention, something she soaked up. Born into a wealthy French family, Alice had everything at her tiny fingertips but even as a small child she didn’t want for much. The only thing Alice remembered from France was running through the complex gardens with her father. It had always been a father-daughter pastime that was unmatched.

To her parent’s dismay, the time in their French manor ended when Alice was four years old. Their financial status fell; they were still wealthy by comparison but it wasn’t what they were used to. Upon the move to London, Florean chose to open an ice cream shop. Alice’s father was a forever child, something his daughter appreciated immensely (even if it drove her mother mad). It became a quick sensation. It was somewhere meant to create smiles and so it did. The Fortescues were making their name known in their new home. Though Alice was elated to spend time at the ice cream shop, she quickly missed the French gardens she and Florean would run through. Whenever she thought about it her heart filled to the brim with joy.

Being pureblood Alice was destined to be a witch, it was just a matter of when her powers would show up. Shockingly, they came immediately following the family’s move to England. Tufts of grass and dandelions trailed her as she walked, mere copycats of her garden in France. However, this quickly turned into Alice touching the ground outside the Fortescue home. They may have lost an amount of wealth due to bad business ventures but had an exquisite home atop a grassy knoll. Thanks to young Alice, the knoll quickly turned into a maze of shrubbery with orchids, sunflowers and baby’s breath poking their heads through the manicured brush. She and her father were once again able to engage in the activity that meant so much to Alice. It’s easy to say that Alice had a great childhood full of connection and support.

The lover of adventures waited with anticipation to receive her letter from Hogwarts. She craved excitement and couldn’t wait to meet her fellow classmates. Coming from France she would be the first Fortescue to attend Hogwarts. Alice bubbled with pride. She was starting a new journey for her family. While it was a heavy weight to carry, Alice did so with grace. The sorting hat gave her a special welcome — to the Gryffindor house. The blonde stood up, smile shining and danced her way to her house’s table introducing herself on the spot.

Life at Hogwarts was a dream. She fell into the part elegantly and with care. Alice’s personality was as eclectic as they came. She brought the Gryffindor house pride by being herself. She won points for her exceptional participation in classes — especially in Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The former was a no-brainer but the latter was pleasantly unexpected. She even managed to gain points for her generosity and lending a shoulder to other students.

Alice was a star in her own right but never saw herself as anything special. She was herself. In her eyes she simply acted how any decent person would. This made housemates flock to her. Other houses appreciated her as well but it was her house that adored her willingness to get down into dirt while wearing a white dress. Nothing ever stopped her. If something needed to be done, Alice was front and center. It did get her in a bit of trouble once in a while but her intentions were generally good. It didn’t hurt to have professors tucked away in her pocket.

There were boys. Oh, there were boys. A few girls too. Alice wasn’t shy about her sexuality. She enjoyed the closeness two people could share. Alice was a girl in love with love though didn’t get overly attached. It was the season of love and that’s what she wanted to feel and have others share in here as well.

But then there was a boy. A real boy. A boy who grew up to be a man Alice had a hard time ignoring her pull to. Frank Longbottom. He was so simple compared to her outward nature. While at school she would scribble her name followed by crush’s last names; trying them out to see how they sounded and what she liked. When she got to Longbottom she laughed at the silly name but when she put it next to her first name …Alice Longbottom. It had a special ring to it. Funnily enough, Longbottom was the one she couldn’t approach in a romantic way. She would try to flirt but her fair cheeks always turned bright pink before she had to cover them with her hands. But that boy — Frank Longbottom — he stayed with her. Friends. She knew he was special and wouldn’t let him go.

After graduation Alice had ended up in a relationship. While with him, she had an experience that clouded her very being. Alice had been having unexplained pains. She couldn’t keep food or water down. She had cold sweats before her mother insisted on taking her to St. Mungo’s. It was there that they did an exam and found that Alice had been pregnant but was unable to carry to term. This was a shock. Alice was an adult. Nineteen to be exact. Not being able to carry a child in her womb? Being told that that was an adventure not to be part of her future? She wouldn’t be able to fawn over a child she gave birth to — a lifelong want of hers. The dark cloud brought pain and a change in Alice. The relationship didn’t last.

Still feigning the positive, outgoing, loving person she truly was, Alice’s drinking turned from social to heavy. She became a functioning alcoholic. She was able to get through her days as an Auror, able to get her thorough reports in on time. She still went out with her friends who were oblivious to just how many drinks Alice had. She had always the life of a party so there was no question about her extroverted nature. Until that boy — that Longbottom boy came back around in full force. He noticed.

With only Frank and Mad-Eye knowing, Alice sought help for her drinking. She had pulled back from other friends and family during that time; was easy to blame her absence on the Death Eaters beginning to appear. Luckily at that time there wasn’t as much action as there would soon be. Ironically the Death Eaters became a motivating factor in her sobriety. She couldn’t allow them to ruin her world. She may not have been able to have children but every child brought into the world deserved a good life, not one of fear and persecution.

Following her intense rehab, Alice had to live. She had to fight. She had to be herself. She could play her part in creating a loving world. That was her focus, her plan. The Order had gained an asset in Alice Fortescue. During her time of healing, she had focused on her magical skills. There was shock when her peers saw how much her magic had grown. She had fire in her belly. No one was going to ruin her beautiful, magical world.

↳ Played by: June ↳ Faceclaim: Margot Robbie

[pandawritespoorly]

Overworked

Author’s Note: I have been up far too long for someone running on however many hours of sleep I got last night. I keep forgetting what I want to say. I'll think of something, and in the time it takes to hit a key everything is gone.

Summary: Ladybug assures Chat that she'll be fine when he has to leave for two weeks. Then everything falls apart.

Things are not going well.

Marinette is behind on all of her classes, and is this close to failing a few of them. Of course, her website chose now to gain traction, and she has a backlog of commissions like never before.

She hasn’t slept since Tuesday, and it’s Saturday. She’s running on coffee, energy drinks, sugar and basically anything caffeinated she can find. Not that it’s doing much besides keeping her conscious.

Sort of.

Once she’d started spacing out and hallucinating she’d done some research to make sure that caffeine pills didn’t have some crazy side effects she’d been previously unaware of.

Nope. She just needs to rest.

Thanks, Google, as if she didn’t already know that.

The final straw (or two straws, depending on how you count), is that Chat is gone. He’d told her that he’d be gone for two weeks. He didn’t have a choice. And had apologized a million times.

Ladybug had assured him that she’d manage. With plenty of temporary heroes, she’d have plenty of help to choose from if things reached that point. She’d told him not to worry, and to have fun on his trip.

He’d clearly still been worrying

For the first week things had been fine.

She’d had a few stressful moments, but things had been manageable. Soon enough though, Hawkmoth had caught on that she was working alone.

Without her partner.

From there things had begun to fall apart as he sent an endless barrage of akumas after her. She couldn’t even keep count due to how utterly exhausted she was.

She can’t remember how many times she’s had to come up with a fake excuse to leave for an attack. Or how many times she’d thought that a battle would be her last. Too tired and weak to fight properly.

Some fights would probably have benefitted from help, but in her loopy, feeble-minded state sometimes she forgot that help was an option.

Or she hallucinated that Chat was with her, or another teammate.

Or she couldn’t find her way around the city for the life of her.

Or- what was she saying?

Anyways, all of this has brought her here.

To another evening akuma.

An angry, violent one at that. Fantastic. Just what she wanted.

She’d stopped paying attention to their names. Their stories. Their reasoning.

It’s all just too much for her to hold onto. Keeping it simple, she’s devolved to the formula of find object, break object.

Easier said than done.

Dodging another swipe from the akuma’s arm, she feels something slam into her back. It takes a moment for her to realize that it was the guy’s other arm.

Right. People usually have two arms.

She’s sent flying into the pavement, but she doesn’t even wince at her skinned cheek. She’s too tired to properly process pain.

Shakily making her way to her feet, she scans the akuma for it’s object.

Goodness she really needs a nap.

Something slams into her chest, knocking her to the ground and along the road.

Now is not the time to go into micro-sleep. During her brain’s momentary shut down, Hawkmoth’s latest victim had lobbed some debris at her. Direct hit. Ladybug is pretty sure at least one rib is broken.

All the more reason to finish this fight quickly so she can sleep.

After her physics homework. And she might as well work on that commision while she’s up…

She feels herself being lifted, and realizes she’d been distracted again. The akuma’s arm swings back, and suddenly she’s flying. This isn’t so bad-

Ladybug slams into a wall, and before she can even process the pain from that, gravity kicks in, and she falls several meters to the ground, landing in a heap.

She hears groaning, eventually realizing it’s coming from her.

Huh, her body does kind of hurt.

She still needs to go after the akuma though.

In a moment. When her lungs don’t feel like pincushions.

The world is blurry, and her ears are ringing. She’s not quite sure what’s happening. Why is everything spinning? Is that from the akuma?

She’s pretty sure she’s hallucinating again. From the looks of it, the akuma is fighting someone else now. That’s nice. At least she can pretend her kitty is back already.

He’s mad. Why is fake Chat Noir so angry? The real Chat wouldn’t be so harsh on an akuma unless something was really wrong.

Kwami, even her hallucinations can’t go right.

At least the pretend fight is short. She doesn’t like how upset her kitty is. She hates to see him sad. Regardless, pretend-Chat has beat the akuma (is that the real akuma or a hallucination too? If so, where’s the real one?) senseless. It looks unconscious.

Lucky. She wants to be unconscious.

Pretend-Chat finds the (maybe) pretend-akumatized object and approaches her.

Wow, her brain really outdid itself, this is the most convincing hallucination she’s had yet.

“Hi, pretend-kitty,” she rattles out, fluttering her fingers at him weakly.

He frowns - why is he so worried-looking?

“Oh, Bug,” he murmurs, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“When you gonna’ leave?” This pretend-Chat seems so real, she wants to be prepared for him to go.

“Never. I’m not leaving again.” It seems like he’s looking over her, inspecting her. Goodness, even her hallucinations think she looks awful.

Not nearly as awful as she feels, but it does come close.

“Y’ gotta’. When real Chat come back, he w’dn’t wan’ me to be talkin’ to a fake still,” she whispers. She can’t manage anything louder at the moment. He’s sweet though.

“What?” His soft voice is the only thing that isn’t aggravating her headache, and she loves him so much.

“What?” Surely if she knows he’s a hallucination, then he does too.

“What do you mean I’m fake?” His voice is full of concern, and he rests a gentle hand against her face in hopes of comforting her some.

“Silly kitty, don’ you know? You a hall-oos-nation,” she stumbles out. It’s a big word.

He smiles a little, but his worry hasn’t ebbed, “Why is that?”

“‘Cause I’ve been doin’ that a lot now,” she states a-matter-of-factly.

“You have?! Ladybug-”

She weakly lifts a finger in an attempt to shush him. At least, she tries. It would seem she can’t quite feel that arm at the moment.

“Don’ worry. Google said it’sss norm’l.”

“That’s not normal.”

“Yeah, is. Sleep… deb-er-ate-on.” Another big word.

He connects the dots, “...Ladybug. When was the last time you slept?”

“Tuesday.”

His eyes grow wide, and he grabs her hand tightly, before letting go abruptly, “Sorry, that probably hurt.” 

“Nah, can’t feel that arm,” she reassures him.

For some reason, he doesn’t look reassured.

“Right. Okay, let’s get this cleansed so you can go home and sleep,” he lifts the hand that holds whatever the object was.

“Can’ sleep yet. Gots’ homework, and som’ commissions.”

“Ladybug. Sleep should be your priority,” he reprimands, breaking the object and grabbing the butterfly before it can escape.

“‘ve got coffee.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” he shoots back. Frowning in confusion, he hesitantly slides open her yo-yo and stuffs the akuma inside.

The yo-yo seems to accept this.

When the white butterfly goes by, she tries to shift herself to sit upright and cast her cure.

Only to slip further down as she squeezes her eyes shut against the bright lights that fill her vision. She can hear pretend-Chat’s voice from far away.

Breathing carefully, she manages to come back to herself despite the pain everywhere.

If she thought her partner looked worried before, then it was nothing compared to now.

“Don’t move,” he reminds her, “Just say the cure.”

She gulps, preparing herself, “M-miraculous Ladybug,” she breathes out, unable to muster up the ability to say it any louder.

Immediately she feels all her injuries heal. Her breathing becomes less labored. The magical beetles also seem to connect the dots in her mind that this is her real partner.

Inhaling deeply, she sits up slightly, “Hi Chat. I’m glad y’re back.”

“I am too. I don’t want to think what would have happened if my flight had been delayed, or if I hadn’t known about the attack, or-” his voice cracks as he speaks.

“‘t’s fine.”

“It’s not! LB, you’re not okay! You haven’t slept since Tuesday, and I imagine you haven’t been eating enough.”

She pauses, “There were so many akumas, Chaton. I couldn’t justify taking a bre-”

“I was keeping up on the news. He was trying to wear you out. He almost succeeded,” he interrupts, “That doesn’t change the fact that you need to take care of yourself.”

“I’m fine.” To emphasize her point, she makes her way to her feet, though his watchful eyes note the way she leans against the wall.

“Promise me you’ll sleep the minute you get home.”

“I’ve got hom-”

“No. Ladybug, I’m serious. You’re burning yourself out, and I’m not a good partner if I just stand by and watch.”

Her earrings begin to beep, Tikki agreeing with him, she’s sure.

She loops her yo-yo up above her, pulling herself up and forward to get home, “Bye, Chat.”

“Ladybug,” he warns. He’s probably going to follow her. She’s fine.

As soon as the thought enters her mind, her body goes limp, and she blacks out momentarily.

She comes to, maybe a minute or two later.

She’s on the roof, and Chat is holding her in his arms. When he sees her eyes open, he lets out a sigh of relief, rubbing his cheek against her happily. Then he grows serious, “Ladybug. You’re in no condition to do… anything really.” She remains silent, thinking through everything. He lets her, holding her against his chest and purring. She’s not sure if it’s to relieve his stress, or calm her.

He’s warm, sturdy, and safe. She could fall asleep right here if she let herself.

She rests against him, making up her mind.

“Take me home, kitty,” she murmurs.

“What?!”

“You heard me. Spots off.”

Before the pink flash has even faded, she’s loosened her grip on consciousness. Marinette is faintly aware of her partner standing, lifting her with him, and taking off across the rooftops.

She barely registers the sound of his boots landing on her balcony, and the quiet creak of her trapdoor. The hushed conversation between hero and Kwami.

She’s only just cognizant of the soft mattress she’s placed on, and the blankets pulled snugly around her.

When her bleary eyes catch sight of him turning away to leave though, she takes action. Gently, she grabs his tail, her fingers hardly even having the energy to properly curl around the belt. He pauses nonetheless.

“Yes?” He whispers, evidently having assumed she was asleep.

“Stay?” Her voice is heavy with exhaustion and her eyes are unfocused.

“If you want me to,” he concedes. Turning back to her, he lies next to her.

She huffs softly, Fidgeting slightly to toss the blanket over him and snuggle closer. He moves past the momentary surprise to return the hug, purring loudly.

Marinette’s eyes finally slip fully closed, staying that way for sometime. The deep sleep she enters lasts well into the next day, even when Chat has to go. She remains asleep, resting soundly, when three friends stop by to check on her.

Nino and Alya are relieved that Marinette is finally sleeping, while Adrien gazes at the sleeping girl and wonders how he didn’t notice sooner.

---

Author’s Note: I might edit these notes later, when I'm less tired. I hope you guys enjoyed!

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!