#and literally the next day my grandma texted my partner to say he reminds her of her late husband

[pathetic-gamer]

my grandma is so funny. she calls herself a grouchy old lady and then hangs out by a wooded path near her house giving out produce from her garden to anyone passing by. she has an uncanny ability to convince feral cats to simply walk into a cage, and she talks about them with disdain while also naming them all and taking them to the vet frequently and constantly worrying over their health. she always waits at least a week to respond to letters so that people won't think she has nothing to do or, god forbid, is a "sad, lonely widow" and then sends detailed weekly emails every Sunday. she calls herself frail but at like 75yrs old, she carried my grandpa out of a snowed in canyon on snowshoes after a heart attack. this is the same woman who got herself stranded in switzerland (or maybe it was France?) in the 1950s and according to legend had a whirlwind romance with a random guy there, then left the country and never spoke to him again. she volunteers at the library. she takes painting classes. she used to keep pet scorpions.

[secret-engima]

So in your Naruto FF cover where Noct/Yoru is believed to be a god, what are the reactions of the families of the Chocobros? Cause their Clan member just got poached but they've also been really strange ever since their near death experience that woke up their memories (or did they always remember)? Especially the Hyuuga because they basically had Hikaru/Ignis enslaved and branded. Or even some povs from the Chocobros. (Poor Prompto, being an Aburame lol)

Ooooo tricky. Kinda depends on the family?

Lemme see- Ignis’s family are Most Displeased. They are super possessive of their eyeballs and treat their branch members as slaves anyway so they see it more like theft than a powerful man claiming a friend. Of course, there’s not much they can DO about it considering it’s Yoru and he burns Ignis’s seal off in .05 seconds and also threatens to burn the rest of the main branch to the ground if they touch Ignis again (not in so many words, but his magic does flatten a few of the members with its intensity when they got too close to Ignis.

Tbh that’s probably a blood grudge the Hyuga hold until Naruto’s time even though they stay in Konoha and Ignis is known among the hyuga not only as the blind member but the Stolen Hyuga. A warning to all hyuga of what will happen if they are not careful with their eyes and other such nonsense that only works because younger Hyuga don’t interact with Yoru enough to know that he’s a really chill dude and Ignis is happy where he is.

The Inuzuka are not too thrilled at first, but more laidback about it? Gladio still visits and they can tell that he’s Super Happy about being reunited with Yoru, and Yoru is polite and respectful to them and their dogs like him and you can never go wrong with the opinion of dogs in an Inuzuka’s eyes.

The Aburame ... are honestly the most chill about this? They aren’t too thrilled at first, but Yoru already has a Hyuga and an Inuzuka by then, so there is a precedent, and after a bit of watching it’s clear that these four are basically a Hive unto themselves and Prompto is happy to be there, is healthy and well cared for so they just kinda- shrug and move on. Maybe use the fact that one of their own is “Favored by Yoru” to their advantage during tricky Council meetings generations later.

The oddness and memories thing were long commented on, but ... mostly unnoticed in Hikaru’s case? Among the Branch Clan it was noted, but no one said anything or really thought about it because honestly I doubt the Hyuga have never had an Incident where Branch Members get a bit ... weird post Sealing and post a traumatic experience. That’s a chakra doohickey tattooed to your SKULL, side-effects are not impossible. The Inuzuka noticed it too, but Gladio was still ... himself, just a big more jaded and mature so they let it slide.

The Aburame maybe spent a good few years trying to figure out what the freak happened with Prompto though. Because they’ve never had a bug-a-phobic member before and it’s weird. They love him tho. He’s their disaster child.

Tbh in the Warring States Era nobody was really focused on mental health. If you were loyal to the Clan and could fight that was all that really mattered, weirdo personality changes aside.

Uhhh POVs but only short snips, and pls forgive any inconsistencies with previously establish AU lore my brain is tired and I may not keep all the details 100% straight. Just roll with it.:

Ignis:

After a lifetime of being blind, being able to SEE everything, all around, at any given time is unnerving. This entire era is unnerving and Hikaru has bitten his tongue more than once to keep from railing against it. Against sending CHILDREN, some not much older than toddlers out into the field, against the brand on his head and the heads of so many others that burns on the whim of a Main Branch member.

He keeps his head down, but inside ... he hates. More than a little bit. He is a fractured piece of glass and he knows too much pressure with make him snap, so he does his utmost to avoid those situations (because if he snaps children will get hurt even more than now and nothing will change in the Clan).

Then one day they go to meet Hashirama and Madara, to speak of peace, and of course Hikaru has heard of Yoru, the mysterious forest spirit that supposedly watches over the new village and ensures no fighting happens, but he does not actually think this Yoru will be all that impressive.

He never expects it to be NOCTIS. Noctis, who looks at him with hope and wonder in his eyes, who looks so very unchanged despite lifetimes, who rises and calls him brother and Ignis and friend and CLAIMS him in a way the Clan Head cannot dispute. No one can dispute against Noctis, because he is still a Lucis Caelum and a king and to him, their chakra is pebbles in an ocean.

And for the first time in a long time, Ignis is happy. Ignis has hope.

...

Gladio

Gladiolus loves his new family, and he knows they love him back. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss his old life like a wound in his side. Iris’s presence makes it a bit better but also not, because war is cruel and no one cares that she is still so young (older than the other Clans children sent to the field, because Inuzuka treasure their puppies, but still far too YOUNG to the mind of a Shield and Crownsguard). He loves his canine partner and the Pack, he loves that they don’t really question his memories, how his personality has matured and changed since the incident that woke him up.

Even so...

Even so, the absence of his brothers is a bleeding wound in his heart, and when the Clan Head looks at him, Gladio knows the man can see that in his heart of hearts, Gladio is not part of their Pack. He is family, but he has another Pack, another Alpha he swore to a lifetime ago, and that loyalty still howls in his soul far stronger than even the ties of blood and Pack and love that binds him to the Inuzuka.

So perhaps that is why the Clan Head does not look as outraged or surprised as he could have been when Yoru finds him, when NOCTIS looks back at Gladio from an eerily familiar yet not face. That is why, while the Hyuga sputter in shock when Gladio hugs Ignis tight and spins him in a circle for joy, the Inuzuka just watch with comprehension dawning in their eyes. Gladio looks to his Clan Head and says he’s going with Yoru and there is not request for permission. Just a courtesy of announcement. Because THIS- this is his Pack, his Alpha, his Beta, his brothers and littermates. He will follow them above all.

And the Clan Head lets him go.

...

Prompto:

Prompto wants to know who he ticked off in his past life that had a say in the next, because he HAD to have ticked off someone. Why else would he have been reborn into a clan of LIVING HIVE PEOPLE???????

He thinks he distresses them- no, he knows he does, when he flinches from the clan techniques and hives, from the little insects and their pheromones that the Clan uses as essentially an insectoid, chakra-based texting system amongst themselves. He knows he stresses out his hive for a long time, flinching from the feel of them inside him, from the skitter of their legs and wings and the whisper of their tiny, simple little thoughts in his own when they talk to him.

It .... it’s bad for a while. A WHILE. Bad enough the Clan won’t let him fight (which is fine with him) but also bad enough he loses weight and can’t sleep from the hive buzzing buzzing buzzing under his skin from his distress toward them.

It’s his great great grandma that saves him, quite literally, because an Aburame that rejects the hive is an Aburame who dies, not by any malicious intent on the Clans’ part but just- biologically. Just like starving to death will kill him, rejecting his Hive will kill him too and he KNOWS that but he can’t just- turn off his fear.

Then one day Elder Maya, the oldest living Aburame, sends for him. He comes to her private house with shivering skin and jumping senses and the hyper-awareness of the things inside him buzzing buzzing buzzing trying to remove the source of his distress and making it worse because they WERE his distress-.

Elder Maya takes his shaking hands and leads him to her garden.

It’s- it’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful he could cry for his long lost camera of another life. There are colors everywhere, blues and greens, reds, pinks, whites, and mixed splashes of yellow and purple- flowers that stand tall, flowers that droop, flowers dangling from the vines growing up tree trunks.

And everywhere there were flowers, there were butterflies. Butterflies and ladybugs, the two insects he wasn’t completely creeped out by because they were so pretty and photogenic, and for a moment Prompto is so awed his shaking stops, the Hive inside him goes quiet. A butterfly flaps lazily over to him, a glorious thing with vivid blue wings the color of magic and black dots and swirls that remind him of fire. It settles on his hand and he doesn’t flinch from it like he does the kikachu of the clan, just stays quiet and watches it with a bit of awe.

“You are not scared of these ones,” Elder Maya hums.

“U-um ... no,” he whispers as he watches it, “they’re ... pretty. Cute. They don’t ... they don’t look like they’ll hurt me.” And that’s not really his issue with the Kikaichu, but he can’t explain a phobia to ninja, not well anyway.

“Good,” says his great great grandmother, but not with her lips, with the soft splash of impression-scent-sensation from the butterfly on his hand and he gapes as he realizes THIS is her hive. These ladybugs and butterflies are Elder Maya’s hive. He stares at her and she adjusts the dark glasses she wears, “I will give you some of mine. Why? So you can cultivate a new Hive that you will not be afraid of.”

And she does. And it’s CREEPY, but also ... kinda not? It’s ... it still freaks him out to have bugs under his skin, but these ones ... he knows these ones. He chose them, he hatched them, he raised them. They are beautiful and deadly and soft looking and can strip flesh from a target in seconds and he wishes he had a camera because it would be so cool to have butterflies that can pose on command.

It’s a rocky road, but his shaking stops, and his weight goes back to normal, and his sleep schedule returns, and all the Clan breathes a sigh of relief when they see Prompto ambling around, not flinching from the glittery blue butterflies flitting on his shoulders.

And it’s not like his old life, his brothers he misses so badly, but its kinda nice to never be alone. Wherever he goes, his Hive goes, and his new Queens are kinda ... bossy almost and its endearing in a creepy kinda way. The only thing that would make life better, make it perfect (other than to not need a Hive in the first place) would be to have his brothers again.

And then they go to the new village of Konoha, and he meets the famed and terrifying Yoru, who isn’t terrifying at all, but is instead old and tired and blue eyed, and a fish lover and when he smiles, crooked and shy at Prompto all his Hive SINGS under his skin because he KNOWS.

And suddenly the world is perfect again.

[the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars]

Chapter 4: Mike & Matt

Mike and Matt were walking quietly as they made their way back home. It was a lot to take in, after all. Both were still busy digesting it. The existence of aliens, supposedly having superpowers, gods having been superheroes – them now being superheroes.

“We could just stay home today?”, suggested Mike hopefully, squeezing Matt's hand.

Matt huffed softly, turning his head to look at his fiance. “We could. But what would it change? You think all of this makes more sense tomorrow? Not to mention, I have a couple important meetings today. Sonia suggested a lunch meeting for us.”

“You're way too responsible”, complained Mike as he leaned in to kiss the top of Matt's head.

“Amore, you have never missed a single day ever”, pointed Matt out with one raised eyebrow.

Mike heaved a sigh. They were probably both too responsible. Which was why they would most likely allow themselves to be dragged into whatever this mess actually was. Superheroes. His other hand, the one not holding onto Matt's, found the small glass-marble in his sweater's pocket.

Cancer was in there. Unsure how that worked, but for easier understanding, Aquarius had compared it to a djinn's lamp. Rub the marble, summon the companion inside.

“I wonder who the other nine are”, whispered Mike thoughtfully.

Matt hummed curiously, staring blankly ahead, most likely just as lost in the same kind of thoughts as Mike. There were twelve Zodiacs. There were twelve Zodiac companions. Mike, Matt and Tanya had three – that left nine still missing. Cancer had, irritated and impatiently, told the humans that the twelve of them had gotten separated during the meteor-shower. Not a rare thing, it apparently happened 'most the times' – which only made Mike wonder even more just how often this had happened before. How many heroes, unknown to the world, had saved them from some strange alien-threat...? He was mildly mortified by the thought.

“Be safe”, ordered Matt as the two of them paused in front of the apartment complex.

He got on his toe-tips to kiss Mike gently, making the gruff cop smile slightly. “You too. Don't overwork yourself today, you hear me? I'll... see you tonight.”

Matt smiled as he headed inside, while Mike turned to walk on. For his day at the office, Matt needed to get changed and ready, while Mike really needed to head to the precinct.

~*~

Thankfully, today was a very slow day. Times like today made Mike really glad that life as a cop was not the same as TV made it look. Today was mainly paperwork for him and Rick and even as they went through it, Mike was aware of his partner's concerned glances.

“What's eating you up, honey-puff?”, asked Rick by the time lunch-break came close.

“Nothing”, grunted Mike, burying himself deeper in his paperwork.

“Su—ure”, grunted Rick in disbelief, leaning back some. “Don't tell me you and Matt had a fight. Yesterday, that dinner-thing with the rich people, right? Didn't go well? Wait. Don't tell me you made a fool of yourself and Matt broke up with you.”

Mike flipped him the bird without even looking up. “I can still ask someone else to be my best man. Anyone, really. We literally have a more qualified Alfaro right on this station.”

“...You're not making by baby brother your best man, hermano”, huffed Rick offended.

Mike smirked and remained quiet. Officer Eddie Alfaro was Rick's little brother who very eagerly followed his brother's footsteps into law enforcement. And teasing Rick about not being the most competent Alfaro around had essentially become a running gag at the precinct at this point.

Thankfully, he spotted someone out of the corner of his eyes who would do for a perfect change of topic. “You got a lunch date with a lovely lady today, Dick?”

Rick perked up at that, most likely expecting his fiance. By the time he turned around on his chair, the lovely lady stood right in front of him and pinched his cheeks before pulling him in to kiss his cheeks. There was a mild look of horror on Rick's face.

“Mijo! You lost weight again!”, declared the elderly woman scandalized.

“Abuelita. Abuelita, what are you doing here?”, asked Rick embarrassed.

Some of their co-workers snickered as they watched the unstoppable force of Julia Aiza de Alfaro assessing her grandson. Julia was a petite but fierce woman, who ruled the family with an iron fist and who was not up for being argued with. Mike smirked and leaned back, watching Julia's husband approach them at a more relaxed pace. Juan was rather laid back and he was a man who had learned decades ago not to argue with Julia. He smiled at Rick and came to stand next to Mike.

“Dios mío, you're only skin and bones!”, complained Julia displeased.

“Abuelita, I haven't-”, tried Rick to argue.

Julia shushed him. “Only. Skin. And. Bones.” She punctuated every word with a jab of her finger against Rick's ribs. “See? Nothing soft. I hit bones right away!”

“Ouch”, grunted Rick, rubbing the now sore spot. “Those aren't bones, those are muscles, abuelita. I'm a well-trained detective. I work out. I'm pure muscle-mass.”

“Nonsense, mijo”, chided Julia. “You're not eating enough.”

Rick looked utterly frustrated as he tried to argue with his grandma. Mike frowned deeply and grunted, gaining their attention. Rick's eyes widened, knowing exactly what Mike was planning.

“I don't know. I mean you did say you skipped breakfast this morning”, drawled Mike.

It was amusing to see Rick's eyes widen in utter horror. Julia seemed to grow two heads as she straightened and glared her grandson down. As she turned toward Juan with a fierce look, her husband smiled in an indulging way and walked over to them.

“Lunch! We will now go and eat lunch. No arguments, mijo!”, warned Julia. “Come. Come. Laureen makes wonderful pies! We will eat and then we will have pie.”

“Abuelita, I'm not even-”, started Rick to protest.

Juan chuckled and patted his grandson on the back, effectively silencing him. There was no arguing with Julia Aiza de Alfaro. Sometimes, it amazed Mike that Rick was even still trying.

“How are you doing, Michael?”, asked Juan with knowing eyes. “You look troubled?”

“I'm fine”, assured Mike with a slightly forced smile.

“Ah”, nodded Juan and laughed. “I know exactly what is troubling you.”

“Y—You do?”, asked Mike nervously, eyes widening because no one should know.

“Your wedding”, declared Juan, like it was the most obvious thing. “You are a young man, engaged to the love of your life. The wedding plans must put a lot of stress on you and Matteo.”

Instantly, Mike relaxed a little and sighed. “Oh. No, no. No worries about that.”

“I find that hard to believe”, stated Juan, raising one eyebrow. “I remember my wedding to Julia. I was so nervous about her parents. They were giving me quite the hard time.”

“Oh, my future in-laws adore me”, assured Mike with the smallest smile. “Giovanni has given me the protective dad speech with a special mafia-spin when we announced the engagement, but Matt just huffed and elbowed his dad and reminded him that they have no ties to the mafia. Giovanni spent the entire rest of the night pouting because Matt ruined it.”

That got him a laugh from Juan. “That's good. But it's more than just his family judging you, isn't it? You are getting married to one of the richest and most successful businessmen of North America. Every detail of your wedding will be all over the tabloids and the news.”

Somehow, Mike did not feel as relaxed anymore. His eyes widened. How had that thought never crossed his mind? Sure, he knew that he was getting married to a rich and successful man. And yes, the press had been interested in them – but they were a surprisingly boring couple; no cheating, no drama, no scandals. Though Mike had kind of planned their wedding as a normal wedding. He had never really considered that the rest of the world would partake in their wedding too, in away. The thought made him oddly nervous all of a sudden.

“Michael”, stated Julia, fixing him with a stern look and pulling him out of his thoughts. “You are coming to lunch too, mijo. Matteo does not feed you enough.”

Mike's eyes softened at that. It never failed to make him feel warm with what ease he had been adopted into this family. Even though he had only met Rick at the academy, the two had soon grown to be inseparable best friends. And as they ended up as partners at the PD, Rick's family had more than eagerly accepted him. Julia most of all, especially when she had learned that Mike was an orphan. By now they were the only family Mike and his sister could imagine.

“I can't, abuelita, but thanks”, replied Mike with a charming smile. “I'm meeting Mel for lunch.”

Julia nodded pleased by that. “Such a good boy. You could learn from him, Ricardo.”

“Wha...? I'm an awesome big brother”, huffed Rick offended. “I am the one showing Eddie the ropes around here! I'm his mentor.”

“Si, si. Eduardo. What about Enrique? You were not at his ballet performance!”, chided Julia.

“I was arresting a hostage taker!”, sputtered Rick defensively. ��I would have been there if this guy hadn't decided to take a bank hostage! It was all hands on deck.”

Mike smiled fondly as he watched them leave and listened to their argument slowly fading out. Grabbing his own jacket, he got ready to leave too. He had agreed to meet his sister for lunch. Somehow that seemed trivial now, after last night. On his way out, he checked his phone. With his big sister, it wasn't rare to get canceled last minute. Melanie was a college professor and it often happened that a student needed counseling or had too many questions so her hours were full.

Mel: Burgers at 12. Ur paying, ur the 1 with the sugar daddy

Wiggling his nose, he typed his reply. Haha. Funny. I'll be there in 5.

Considering she was a professor for English literature, it never ceased to amaze Mike that Mel could completely fuck all grammar and spelling when it came to texting. Since he already had his phone in hand, he dialed his fiance's number to check in with Matt.

“Did something happen? Are you alright?”, asked Matt instantly, sounding concerned.

“No, sunshine, I'm good, I just wanted to see how you were doing”, assured Mike with a soft smile.

“Ah. Okay. Good. I'm... doing fine. Me and Tanya are doing fine. Aside from the yellow horse in the room. Literally. Sagittarius has been snooping around my office since we came here”, sighed Matt.

“...That's kind of cute”, mused Mike, grinning. “My prince with his unicorn.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha”, huffed Matt, though Mike could hear the genuine amusement. “You any conversations with Cancer? Or did your crab actually stay inside his... ah... glass-pearl?”

“I think Cancer is the most... reasonable out of the three and he saw that I was always among people so far. He wouldn't come out then”, offered Mike thoughtfully. “Probably won't talk to him until I get home tonight. Speaking of, when do you think you'll get home, sunshine?”

“I genuinely can't tell yet, amore. I'm sorry. Tanya and I are going to meet up with Sonya for dinner and who knows how long that will take us. Don't wait up. Not that that's going to stop you.”

“It's okay. I love you. Be safe”, hummed Mike gently.

“Always am. You too, amore”, said Matt before hanging up.

Sighing softly, Mike put the phone away and crossed the street. Or at least that was what he had wanted to do. A car nearly hit him, followed by a second car, followed by a five-headed dragon the size of a house. Mike paused and blinked a couple of times. He turned to look after the dragon. Yup. Still there. Giant lizard with five heads. No, wait, those weren't called dragons. It was on the tip of Mike's tongue. Matt was obsessed with Greek mythology – it was the reason he had named his company Chiron Training, because Chiron was apparently the greatest trainer of heroes there was. Something with an hy-... sounded like a hydrant.

Shaking his head, he took out his phone to take a picture. Matt would know what this was. And Cancer would be able to explain it. Because something told Mike that this was directly related to the sudden appearance of colorful creatures telling them about heroes. Heroes usually had some figurative dragons to slay. The emphasis here being on 'figurative' though.

Mike yelped as the beast turned around and hit him square with its tail. Laying on the ground, he could only watch with utter mortification how heat and smoke rose from one of the beast's muzzles. Its mouth stood wide open as it prepared to burn Mike to a crisp. This was how he was going to go out. Not heroically on the job, not old and gray in Matt's arms and with their children and grandchildren surrounding them. No instead, on the street, burned alive by a hydrant-dragon.

“Watch out!”

The next second, someone landed right in front of Mike. The first thing Mike noticed was that the guy had a really nice ass. In his defense, the guy had landed right on front of Mike, Mike was laying on the ground and the other was kneeling. Skin-tight dark-red leather-pants also helped. The man stood up and lifted a sword up over his head. It had a curious grip, with what looked like dragon wings spreading out and a red gem at the center. The man was wearing a leather hoodie made of the same dark-red leather as his pants.

Mike gasped surprised when the sword caught fire and as the beast spit its fire at them, the sword just blocked it and seemingly absorbed the heat. Wow. This felt far too much like he was the damsel in distress of an actual superhero movie. Something meowed next to him.

“Shoo”, said an annoyed little voice. “What are you still doing here, human? Shoo! Go to safety.”

“...A talking lion-cub”, muttered Mike, blinking. “A talking lion-cub on fire.”

“Yes. Very observant, human. Now shoo”, nodded the cute little lion.

It was adorable. Dark red and with a pink nose. His mane was made of pure flames. Wait. A lion. Like the lion? Leo? The Zodiac sign? Mike's eyes wandered over to the guy dressed in red leather. A hero, bonded with an adorable Zodiac companion. That had to be it.

The lion nipped at Mike's heel and Mike finally complied. After all, he was right. This was dangerous and he was just a human. He didn't even know what kind of powers Cancer could grant him, much less how to wield them. He was... absolutely useless right now. He fixed the human hero with a concerned glance. He hoped the guy would be alright on his own.

“Scorpio! Get your butt moving! I could use some fire-extinguishing!”, called the young man out.

“Coming, Leo! Wo-hoo!”, yelped a female voice.

Mike, in the act of getting up, turned toward the voice. He stared in stunned silence as a girl just swung into the scene via a whip that she had curled around the street-lamp. She landed not quite gracefully next to Leo. Okay. She definitely looked out of this world.

Dark-purple hair and wearing the strangest outfit. Skin-tight white top with a frilly two-layered skirt in two different shades of purple, puffy sleeves and thigh-high white boots. She offered a bright smile as she wielded her whip, snapping it at the dragon-creature and tying its necks together.

Shaking his head, Mike finally decided to get going. He was a cop. He knew better than to be a bystander who in the end got pulled into the crossfire. Hurrying, he made his way across the street.

By the time he reached the pub, he was out of breath. Yet here, it was quiet. Blinking at how bizarre all of this was, he opened the St. John's Pub's door and entered. Inside was a whole, different world. It was calm, people were talking and laughing. No one was even aware of what was going on two blocks over. This was now his reality and he was just... overwhelmed by that.

“Well, you look traumatized. Didn't walk in on Rick and Lizzy having sex in a closet again?”

Mike shuddered at the reminder of that traumatic experience of seeing his best friend and said best friend's girlfriend have sex in the supply closet that one time. Glaring, Mike sat down opposite his sister. Melanie smiled at him with a knowing twinkle in her eyes. His glare darkened.

“What? Something happened?”, teased Melanie, leaning back and taking the menu.

She pushed her glasses up on her nose and in the same motion brushed her long, black hair back over her shoulder. Mike sighed, contemplating what to say. What had happened outside was something that had actually happened. At least Mike hoped it. Part of him still thought that maybe there had been a gas-leak at Tanya's and all three had experienced hallucinations...?

“Abuelo just reminded me that my wedding is going to be a public event”, grunted Mike.

“Of course did you not consider that”, chuckled Melanie amused.

“I mean, Mattie is going to pay to make sure this is as private as possible, but...”, drawled Mike.

“You're absolutely hopeless, brother”, sighed Melanie and shook her head.

“I kno—ow”, groaned Mike and let his forehead fall onto the table.

“Can you go and order me a vegetarian burger?”, requested Melanie. “And a small salad.”

“You do know you could order our food too, right?”, drawled Mike.

Melanie made a face and looked at the bar. Behind it, as nearly always, was Jessie St. John. Mike might be gay, but he could see that Jessie was an objectively attractive woman. She was athletic, not with bulky muscles but he had already seen her six-pack when she was wearing a midriff free shit, her arms strong too. Aside from that, she shared most of her features with her brother. The light-brown hair, the dark-green eyes, pale and freckled skin.

“You are the most useless lesbian ever”, stated Mike pointedly as he got up to go to the bar.

Which was true. Melanie really was a useless lesbian. Whenever she was faced with a beautiful girl, her brain just farted. She would sputter, blush and stammer. Mike had his money down that his sister was going to die as an old and lonely cat-lady because of that. Melanie grumbled beneath her breath and tilted her head down, knowing very well that Mike was right.

“Hey, Jessie”, greeted Mike with a smile. “A vegetarian burger for my sis and a triple-bacon for me. A beer and a... mh... lemonade for me. Oh, and a small salad for Mel.”

Jessie scribbled it all down and raised one eyebrow. “Still can't talk to me, eh? Guess I'll be taking it as a compliment. But how long does she usually take before she can talk to pretty girls?”

“I have yet to see it happen”, drawled Mike with the most unimpressed look on his face.

“Girl's gotta get out and get herself a girlfriend”, stated Jessie seriously. “To get over all of this.”

“See, that's where the problem lays. Can't get a girlfriend if she can't talk to gorgeous women. And you, for some reason”, stated Mike with a teasing smirk.

Jessie flipped him the bird. “I'll spit in your lemonade.”

“Secret ingredient to the homemade lemonade, huh?”, snickered Mike and returned to the table.

Melanie looked absolutely miserable where she was sprawled out half on the table. “Sometimes, I question how we can be related. You somehow managed to get engaged to a handsome billionaire and I can't even order a damn burger from a pretty girl...”

“Yeah. You're pathetic”, agreed Mike solemnly, getting kicked under the table.

The siblings fell into light banter as they waited for their burger. Mike was pleased by who brought their food, because it was Jamie, personally. Special treatment that never failed to make Mike smile. Jamie looked a little flushed, which was a good look on his fair skin.

“Hey. Matt not coming today?”, asked Jamie with a smile.

Mike had a dopey grin on his lips. He loved the way Jamie smiled, because the smile always lit his eyes up and made them look a brighter green than they actually were. Melanie kicked him under the table again and was giving him a pointed look that clearly said 'Now I see how we're related because you can be just as useless and pathetic as me', which... was legit.

“No. He's at work”, sighed Mike with the smallest pout.

“Poor you”, chuckled Jamie amused. “Well, guys. Enjoy your burgers.”

“Thanks. I love bacon”, hummed Mike, staring after Jamie's ass longingly when he walked away.

“...Honestly”, snorted Melanie and rolled her eyes before taking a huge bite from her burger.

“Shut up”, glowered Mike, sticking his tongue out at Melanie.

~*~

“There's a dragon loose.”

Matt blinked slowly and looked up from the paperwork he was going through. Tanya had stormed into his private office. She closed the door behind herself and rushed over to the giant TV. Matt's eyes widened as the news came on. There was a five-headed beast on screen.

“-first on scene was our own Isabel Tapia.”

Isabel was cut into the picture, microphone in hand and serious expression on her face. “What appeared to be a real-life dragon roared its way up fifth street today. And even though there were many injured, thankfully enough no one was seriously harmed. And thanks for that go to the two new self-proclaimed protectors of New York. The Lionhearts, as they called themselves.”

The footage in the background changed, still showing the five-headed dragon but this time around it was battling two oddly dressed humans. A girl in a purple skirt and a guy in red leather.

“...What in the name of god”, muttered Matt as he leaned back on his chair.

“Oh!”, exclaimed Sagittarius excitedly. “Leo and Scorpio!”

The unicorn had blatantly refused to return to her tiny glass-marble, instead thoroughly inspecting Matt's office and enjoying the view. He found himself not minding it as much as he probably should, but he sure was glad he had not chosen the glass-walls for his office.

“What?”, asked Tanya, looking at the yellow unicorn in confusion.

Sagittarius walked toward the screen and pointed with her horn at what appeared to be two small lions, one dark-red and one light-purple. Though something was off about both – well, aside from their color-scheme, quite clearly – the red lion had a mane that was seemingly on fire, while the purple lion had a... scorpion-tail of sorts. Frowning, Matt rubbed his face.

“Those are Scorpio and Leo”, stated Sagittarius. “That means those two humans must be their humans. Which is good. We found Scorpio and Leo already.”

“Well, we haven't really found them”, pointed Tanya out and raised both eyebrows. “They are vaguely somewhere in Los Angeles. Which, not exactly a small town.”

Sagittarius glared at her. A glaring unicorn looked vaguely bizarre. Matt rubbed his face again.

“What about the hydra?”, asked Matt after another beat. “Where does that come from?”

Tilting her head, Sagittarius walked over to the desk. “You know there are twelve Zodiacs, yes?”

“Yes. We had that conversation yesterday”, confirmed Matt and leaned back.

“There are many constellations in the sky”, started Sagittarius carefully. “But it is the twelve of us who are... the... the chosen ones. The Zodiacs. The ones who are assigned special importance and meaning. The ones humans wish to associate themselves with. The ones humans tie their fate to. At times, the other constellations grow jealous of us and want more... More power and more attention. The hydra is a constellation and apparently, she is already on Earth.”

“Wait. How does that work?”, grunted Tanya, massaging her temples.

“We're manifestations of the constellations”, answered Sagittarius. “But we – the Zodiacs – are more powerful, because you humans assigned us the task of being Zodiacs. You tied more meaning to us than to the other constellations. And at times, that makes the minor constellations revolt.”

“...The hydra from the myths is actually the constellation hydra”, muttered Matt with a frown.

“The constellation existed first and manifested as the beast, thus earning her name as hydra. Both, the monster and the constellation”, confirmed Sagittarius.

“So, does this mean this... hydra is... bonded to a human too?”, asked Tanya concerned.

“Yes. We draw our power from humans”, nodded Sagittarius. “We on our own have no powers. We can only gift our powers to a human. As you saw with Scorpio and Leo on the magic box. They bonded with humans and gave the humans powers and weapons. That is what Aquarius, Cancer and I wish to do with you and the grumpy human.”

“Mike. His name is Mike”, interjected Matt pointedly.

“I'm sorry, your human names are very hard to remember”, apologized Sagittarius.

“Su—ure, Sagittarius”, grunted Matt, one eyebrow cocked.

Sagittarius blinked and tilted her head, which looked ridiculously cute on the yellow unicorn. Matt had always wanted a unicorn. He had never pictured it to go down like this though. His eyes went back to the television where the news were still showing the fight that had gone down between the red-clad guy, the girl in the skirt and the five-headed hydra.

This was reality.

It was actually real. It was on the news. People could see it. It wasn't just in his head, as he had kind of hoped until now. But it was actual reality. Alien creatures, manifestations of the constellations. Some good, others not. He was meant to become a hero? Along with his fiance and his best friend. To battle against the... bad... constellations?

Shaking his head, Matt checked his phone, feeling like he needed some kind of contact with Mike. Mike had sent a couple messages while Matt had been distracted by work. The first of them was of the hydra and the red-clad guy standing in front of it, seemingly wielding fire itself.

12:04 - Ran into a bit of trouble. Am okay, got saved by a talking lion on fire.

12:04 - That just sounds absurd. Damn.

12:06 - Lunch with Mel now.

12:08 - Still can't talk to Jessie. What did I do to deserve such a loser sister...? Help me set her up.

12:09 - Jessie will help with setting Mel up too.

12:12 - Too bad Jess is straight. She'd be able to reign Mel in.

12:23 - Mel's being weird.

12:23 - I'm being weird too, so yeah.

12:49 - Rick was at lunch with abuelita & abuelo. He has a stomachache now. :D

13:02 - I love you. See you tonight. Out on a case now.

Matt smiled gently at that and typed a reply of his own. Setting her up sounds good. Let's round up the lesbians for Melanie. Saw the news. And the heroes. Call themselves Team Lionheart. This is crazy. I'll bring you up to speed tonight. Stay safe and text me when you get back to the station.

“Okay. No more talk about heroes and monsters. We have a meeting to prepare for”, declared Matt seriously, looking at Sagittarius and Tanya. “In this building, we actually work.”

“Such a strange human”, hummed Sagittarius and tilted her head. “I do not like the work-ethnic. My Apollo was far more fun than you are. Please be more fun.”

“All she does is complain about me”, grunted Matt, looking at Tanya and motioning at Sagittarius. “'I wanted a pretty girl as a princess!', 'You're not fun enough!', 'Why do you not have apples in your office?'. She complains about everything... Is Aquarius as bad?”

“No. She has been very sweet”, hummed Tanya with an amused smile.

“Well, she got a pretty pretty”, pouted Sagittarius.

Tanya blushed at the compliment and blinked slowly. “And how exactly did you end up with Matt? I mean, why not me, since you seem more inclined toward... not-Matt.”

“He was born under my sign”, replied Sagittarius. “You were born under Aquarius. That is the bond we Zodiacs need to tie ourselves to a human.”

Matt sighed once more and rubbed his face. Hopefully, he would be able to go through the day.

~*~

Mike was out like a candle by the time Matt got home and at least this time Mike had gone to bed. Though the lights were still on and he had his tablet on his chest, so Matt guessed his fiance had still attempted to wait for him. Smiling softly, Matt took the tablet and laid it on the nightstand.

“He has been researching constellations after we talked.”

Startling some, Matt turned to look at the dark-blue crab sitting on one of the pillows. “Hello, Cancer. So you already talked him through things...? I don't need to catch him up.”

“No. You might go to bed, Matteo”, confirmed Cancer. “But would you mind drawing me a bath in your tiny hovering water-box...? Michael fell asleep before he could.”

Smiling, Matt picked the crab up and went to the bathroom to fill one of the two sinks with lukewarm water for Cancer. Cancer sighed contently as he soaked in the water. Through the open door, Matt could see the yellow glow of Sagittarius leaving her glass-marble. On his way back to the bedroom, Matt checked on her and saw that the yellow unicorn was getting comfortable in the living room. After getting changed, Matt crawled into bed with his fiance.

“Sunshine...?”, mumbled Mike sleepily as Matt sneaked in beneath his arm.

“Sh. Sleep. Sleep, amore”, whispered Matt gently, pecking Mike's lips.

“Love you”, yawned Mike, hugging Matt closer.

“I love you too”, chuckled Matt fondly.

And before he fell asleep, Matt knew that whatever this new reality was, he could face it as long as he had Mike at his side, giving him the strength to handle whatever this was.

Read here on AO3!

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[surveys4ever]

4.

Why did you first kiss the last person you kissed? Because I love him and I finally got to meet him in person for the first time!

Do you care what people think? I try really, really hard not to but it’s hard when there are hundreds of thousands of eyes on you, all with opinions on literally e v e r y t h i n g you do.

Are you listening to music? If so, what is it? Nope, I’m listening to the movie my husband has on in the background.

Do you like to take walks? My dog sure does!

 Would you ever date someone out of state? My husband was out of state in the beginning!

Plans for tonight? I have to shower and finish redoing my kitchen shelves!

Do you want to go to a party? On one hand, its been nice to have friends that like me enough to invite me to a party but on the other...I have social anxiety soooo no.

Has your birthday past this year? Yup! January baby.

Has anyone seen you kiss the last person you kissed? Plenty of people over the years!

Will this year be better then last? I think every year after this one will be a better year than last year lol.

Can you listen to music while reading a book? Yeah! I enjoy it.

Are Monday mornings the hardest mornings to wake up to? I work from home so all my days are the same! It’s not really hard to wake up ever, unless I was up super late or couldn’t sleep the night before.

Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? I would LOVE to go back and relive when my husband and I first met. Just to experience it all again!

Last thing you ate? Doritos!

Who was the last person’s voice you heard? Ryan Reynolds’, haha!

Who do you get along with best in your family? My younger brother or my grandma!

How old do you think you’ll be when you get married? I was 19!

Have you ever been kissed in a car? Many times!

Who were you last on the phone with? Either my mom or the vet!

Do you think anyone has feelings for you? I know someone does!

Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now? It’s been 9 years, so yeah!

Can you commit to one person and one person only? Already done!

Is there someone who continuously lets you down? Of course.

Is there anyone in your life that knows right away something’s wrong with you? My husband knows me a little too well, haha.

Do you miss your past? Some bits of it!

Are you typically a happy person? I try to be! My brain really tries to prevent that though, sadly.

Do you miss the way things used to be between you and someone else? Yeah. That’s the worst part about getting older.

Who last made you smile? Hubs :)

Can you recall the last time you sincerely liked someone a lot a lot? I can recall right now, yes!

Is there a difference between love and being in love? Obviously!

Where is your Mother? At home I would assume!

Have you ever laid on a couch with the opposite sex? Many times, yes!

Would you rather look at clouds or stars? Stars. Looking at clouds hurts my eyes.

If you could change one thing this year about your life, would you? I mean...I’d like for covid to not be a thing. That would be nice.

Did you sleep alone last night? I never do!

Does it matter to you if your boyfriend/girlfriend drinks? I mean, to excess, yes I would care. But the occasional drink, no!

Do you like potato chips? Yessss.

Are you ticklish? Much to my dismay, yes.

Craziest place you have slept? I don’t think I sleep in very crazy places ever.

Have you ever been cheated on? Nope!

Can you count on anyone to be there for you, always? That’s the best part of being married!

Do you think being “heart broken” is as bad as people say? Oh it’s so much worse.

I’m guessing you’ve probably been asked this before, but which do you prefer - Coca Cola, or Pepsi? Coke!

Do you think the last person you texted is a virgin? (You don’t have to tell us who the person is, just say yes or no.) No, my husband is not a virgin.

Has your phone ever gone off in the middle of a class at school? I always had it on mute!

In your phone’s contacts, who is the second person listed under the letter ‘R’? My hair stylist!

What is that person’s favourite drink? I’m unsure what her favorite is but last time we were there, she requested I bring her a berry Propel!

Has the last person you texted, ever been in your bedroom? Yes, as its his bedroom too.

The last time you washed your hair, did you use conditioner? .....there are people who wash their long hair and don’t use conditioner???

Do you prefer light or dark jeans? There’s a time and place for both!

Do you have an item of clothing that reminds you of someone? Tell me about it, and the person it reminds you of. There’s a lingerie set I wore in an ad for a major brand that always reminds me of my husband because we shot it together and it was a really surreal moment.

If the last girl you texted told you that she was pregnant, how would you respond? She is pregnant, actually! I was super excited for her.

How old is the last male you texted? 27!

How would you react if your mother told you that she was pregnant again? I would be P I S S E D. I already have too many siblings, she does not need any more kids, especially at her age.

Who do you have the most text messages from? Definitely my husband.

When was the last time you visited the doctor? Yearssss ago. I’m terrified of doctors.

Do you know anyone who deserves to be slapped? Oooooh yes, she’s had it coming for far too long.

When you listen to music, do you generally sing along, or just listen? It depends! If I'm just sitting around doing nothing, I just listen but if I’m cleaning, I sing along.

Do you have any of your exes as friends on Facebook? No, I think that’s weird.

Would you have sex with the last person that poked you on Facebook? Poking hasn’t been a thing for yearssss but it was probably my mom, so...

Does more than one person like you? Probably but idc.

Who is the youngest person in your household? When is that person’s birthday? Our pup! It’s also in January!

Who was your first love? Do you ever miss that person? My husband! And I don’t have to miss him, he’s right here.

What is a word that starts with the second to last letter of your name? Ever.

Do you like your middle name? Ehhhh! It’s not my favorite. It’s an old lady name that’s been passed down through the generations but I don’t really like my family so I’m not attached to it at all. I’ve thought about changing it.

Would you ever visit a psychic? I really want to! I wanna see what they have to say.

You log into Facebook and see the red ‘1’ notification next to the message icon. Who do you want it to be? I dunno! Someone exciting I guess.

Let’s say I was going to make you something to eat, what would you like? :) I would love some Chinese food, if you know how to do that!

And what drink would you like with that? Just water is fine by me.

Do you know anyone with the same first name as you? Tell me about him/her. I know plenty but the first one that comes to mind is my childhood best friend’s high school best friend, if that makes any sense? We were best friends in middle school and then we went to different high schools so they became best friends. I’m Facebook friends with her but we’ve never actually met in person, haha!

If your hair is long, would you ever think about having it cut short? Or, if it’s short, would you like to grow it long? I’ve had it super short and I’ve had it down to my butt. It’s currently at my shoulders but I’m attempting to grow it out...I’m thinking like titty length?

Can you remember the last time you felt emotional? What was the reason? Period hormones, baybeeeee.

Do you call your partner ‘baby’? Rarely! It’s usually beebs or bean.

What if you were told that your life has to stay exactly as it is right now, and nothing will ever change? How would you feel about that? I would honestly be pretty okay with that.

[cypressmoons]

Beside You

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home. I wish I was, I wish I was Beside you.

[True personal story]

The first time I heard this song was when I decided to watch the best 5sos crowd moments videos on YouTube, and this song appeared A LOT of times so I decided to give it a listen, and I burst into tears the second I heard it. It feels like one of those heartbreaking moments when you have to say goodbye to a loved one, and even though all you want to do is go back to them, there’s like an ocean apart and everything in the world holds you against going back. 

And being the naive person I was, I thought this was a relationship song--which it is--and I won’t be able to relate to it until I find a boyfriend, probably not anytime soon. 

Yet here I am today, bawling my eyes out over one song because it’s the most relatable moment for me right now.

September 2016. It was the first week of school and I found myself sitting right behind the principle first violins in the school orchestra. I was pretty surprised by my audition. I thought it had gone badly and I wouldn’t be able to make it to first violin, and when I did, I was afraid that my teacher would pair me up with one of the top players in my class. My worry wasn’t completely unreasonable. Throughout middle school I got to know a few of the really talented violinists in our orchestra and compared to them I was terrible. Just the thought of that b, being right next to them for a whole year, was unbearable. 

That’s when this one red haired girl, with green eyes and deep dimples, appeared next to me and read the index card on the seat before setting her backpack down. 

“Hi,” she had said sweetly.

I greeted her back, still feeling a little nervous about talking to a stranger. I remember our music teacher talking to her about auditioning for All-State youth orchestra, so she must have been one of those good players as well.

When I think about it later, I regret not remembering the exact day when we first met each other. Since the first moment we started talking about how hard the sight reading pieces were, or the first time I told her she was a good player, we somehow always found more topics to talk about. I found out that she’s also a swimmer, and that she was a part of a triplet, which surprised me. 

To my own admission, there was this one period of time when we both obsessed over One Direction. All my other friends had judged me about it, although it bothered me none of their comments stopped me from fangirling over one YouTube video. So being able to fangirl with someone else without being judged was surely a bonus point of being friends with her.

 Around November, we came up with this idea of doing a chamber string group together. At first we were going to ask this girl in our Girl Scout troop to be the first violin, but when she didn’t respond, I asked my new friend to join. Then the cellist said she had other commitments so she wouldn’t be able to do the group either. We were stuck there for a while before Elisa, my new best friend and stand partner, offered to ask her brother to take the cellist’s place since he also played the cello.

After a lot of convincing and other complicated processes, we were finally a group of five. We easily got straight I’s at regionals and proceeded to get another straight I rating (the highest you can get) at States. 

Somewhere in March, my private violin teacher recommended me to participate in a local string festival, where I got to work with the concertmaster of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He offered us the opportunity to tour Italy during the summer with our state youth orchestra. I tried my hardest to convince my parents to let me go, since both Elisa and her brother were in the state youth orchestra and were both going on the trip.

July 13, 2017. 

We had just finished our last concert of the tour in Cremona, Italy and Elisa’s entire family had come to support us since her family is Italian. Everyone else in the orchestra was so glad that our tour was over and we had so much fun together, but neither Elisa nor I seemed to be able to blend in with the happy mood. While everyone celebrated with treats to a local gelato shop and perfect pictures together, Elisa and I set our instrument cases down next to the pillar of the Catholic church right next to the stage and stood there in silence, before we hugged each other and wouldn’t let go. I haven’t cried in public for a good few years but I couldn’t hold my tears back that night. 

For a while, I wondered what made Elisa so special to me. Sure I had other good friends at school and I loved them, but none of them held such a special place in my heart. Until one day I overheard my dad talking to my grandma about how we were like sisters. Now that’s the answer. We were like sisters to each other. It explained everything perfectly, including why it’s so hard to say goodbye in Cremona that night.

This wasn’t just your normal I’ll-see-you-again-when-school-starts-and-I-hope-we-have-classes-together goodbye. The real problem was, we don’t know when we’re going to see each other again. I will be moving to another continent by the end of this summer, and Elisa, on the other hand, is staying with her family in Italy for the rest of the summer holidays and probably won’t be back until mid-August, by which time I’ll be already gone. 

What we shared in one short year was more than what I had with my old friends from elementary school, for six years. I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am that she came into my life in my freshman year of high school. It wouldn’t have been the same without her, and now that I have to go, I don’t know what I’m going to do without her laughing along with me (I laugh A LOT, everybody says I’ll be immortal) and reminding me of all our awesome inside jokes. 

At first, I thought I was just sad about leaving my friends. Then one day I realized that I’m not only sad. I’m afraid. I’m afraid of losing them now that there’s an ocean in between us. Although there’s all the technology nowadays, nothing compares to being able to see them every day, have lunch together at our usual spot by Government classrooms, or play another Dvorak piece together. In short, no amounts of FaceTiming, texting or calling could ever compare to seeing them face to face. It just doesn’t work. 

I insisted on walking Elisa to their car that night despite it was nearly midnight and curfew was at 12. It was our last day of the tour, who cares if one of the adults caught us wandering the town at 11:49 pm? 

Somehow I got all her siblings and my other friend to cry along with us. Elisa’s brother, whom I apparently had a thing for, just made it harder for me. I didn’t know they were leaving right after the concert until that very morning. I woke up to find her sitting in our shared hotel room staring at her phone, “We’re leaving tonight.”

“What?”

“We’re leaving right after the concert.”

“No you’re not.”

I knew this moment would come eventually, and I thought I was mentally prepared for it. God, I was wrong. I guess I never completely wrapped my mind around the fact that we won’t see each other for God-knows-how-long. Our final goodbye took us about 20 minutes, it being more embarrassing when our maestro came and comforted us in front of nearly the whole town of Cremona. In Europe, the night life was just perfect, where everyone goes out in the middle of the night to hang out with friends. So half of the local people were confused as why there were two crying teenagers at midnight. 

I was with my friend Bradley, and when we gave our final goodbye wave by their car, I turned to him with tears still running down my face, “Just drag me out of here. I’ll run back to her if we don’t get out fast enough.”

That’s why there were two sobbing teenagers scurrying down the streets of Cremona at midnight.

On my plane ride back home--without Elisa--I decided to listen to my (amazing) Spotify playlist to kill the 8 hour journey. And when I clicked “shuffle”, I could feel tears threatening to spill out again.

Within a minute I was all packed up I’ve got a ticket to another world I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go.

My perspective to the whole song completely changed at that moment. I thought the “ticket” meant a ticket to fame, as in 5sos’ case. As in my case, it meant a literal plane ticket that I still have in between the pages of my passport.

Every single lyric, every single word had a whole new meaning to me. I would never look at this song the same way again.

When I go to bed at night, still jetlagged from the flight, I would tell myself that we’ll still wake up underneath the same sun the next morning. I had promised her that I’ll come back as soon as I can, I’ll even pull a surprise on her if I can. 

But the distance is supposed to make hearts grow fonder, right?

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home. I wish I was, I wish I was

1672 words