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kasienda · 3 years

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Right Behind You - Ch 3: Akuma

Chapter 1: Scandal

Chapter 2: Friends

Chapter 3: Akuma

Chat Noir vaulted from one building to the next with the ease that came with almost a decade of practice. Even the explosions that tilted the ground with alarming frequency did nothing to throw off the hero’s balance or progression.

He landed in a crouch overlooking the akuma. The akuma was cemented into the ground with neon blue cannons on both arms, but able to pivot in every direction. Smaller turrets dotted the area in half a dozen concentric circles around the main villain.

It shot off a projectile that split off into six different pieces, each one flying towards a different building. Chat cringed as the missiles found their targets bringing down each building in what looked like controlled demolitions. Seismic waves crashed through the area seconds later.

Definitely not good.

At least it was stationary. But it had enough firepower that getting close would be near impossible.

Maybe he should have dove in immediately, but he didn’t see any evidence of civilians, and he really wanted some backup because explosions sucked. Even if Miraculous Ladybug healed everything after the fact, fighting with broken ribs was not fun. Not remotely. And with the explosives coming at the end of heavy projectiles with homing capabilities, they would have to approach this one cautiously, and probably defensively.

He groaned. He hated laying siege. It was going to take hours.

Carapace landed on the roof beside him. “How ya doing, Kit-Kat?”

Chat Noir smiled in greeting, but his eyes remained laser focused on the akuma. “Honestly? I’ve had better days. You?”

“Same. I got almost no sleep last night. And the alert woke me from the absolute best nap I’ve had in weeks. Now, I’ve got a killer headache instead.”

The rooftop under them shook as a nearby building crashed to the ground in a heap of rubble.

“That is one nasty akuma,” Carapace said.

Chat Noir nodded in agreement as he opened up the extra-dimensional pocket in his baton and pulled out two little white pills. He held them out to his turtle-themed teammate. “I keep some extra strength Tylenol in my baton.”

Carapace’s face lit up as he took the offered medication. “Dude! I could kiss you!”

Chat smirked. “You’ll have to buy me dinner first.”

Carapace barked out a laugh. “I’m sure I could whip up a can of tuna for you, Kit-Kat.”

Chat shook his head playfully. “You’ll have to work harder to win my affections. I’ll have you know this cat has a very refined palette.”

Carapace laughed.

Chat Noir smiled. Maybe an hours-long siege wouldn’t be so bad. Definitely better than staying home alone in his oversized studio obsessing over every missed red flag from his “date” the day prior.

Maybe he should have gone on a date with Carapace instead.

Keep reading on Ao3

“Shouldn’t we be fighting the akuma instead of standing around flirting?”

Chat Noir and Carapace both turned around to see Rena Rouge standing behind them with her eyebrows raised in judgement.

Chat just grinned, sweeping her into a sideways hug. “Rena! It’s been so long!”

“Missed you, too kitty. What’ve we got?” she asked, peering down over the edge of the roof.

“A demolition man?” Carapace observed, as another six buildings crumbled to the ground.

“Isn’t that a movie?” Chat asked. An old movie. Had Nino tried to get him to watch it? Nino loved any and all action flicks - new and old.

“Yup!” Rena confirmed. “My ex subjected me to it. Terrible movie.”

“Lies!” Carapace objected, shaking his head. “Don’t listen to her, Kit-Kat. Definitely worth your time.”

“I will never get those hours of my life back,” Rena said, drolly.

Chat Noir burst out laughing at the appalled expression on Carapace’s face.

“Guys! Let’s focus!” Ladybug’s voice interjected from behind them.

Chat started for a second, and then whirled towards her with a charming smile. “It’s good to see you, m’lady!”

She didn’t smile. “Not tonight, Chaton. Can we just get this over with?”

“Everything alright, boss lady?” Carapace asked, his lips curled downward into a slight frown.

She didn’t spare him a glance either. Instead, she watched the destruction below them without emotion. “I was having a good time with my friends for the first time in forever after an absolutely terrible week. And akumas…”

“Suck,” Carapace filled in.

“Exactly,” Ladybug agreed. “So, let’s get this over with and maybe the day can be salvaged. Chat, you go down the middle, Carapace go left of the building, and I’ll take the right. Rena, we need a ton of decoys. The goal is for all three of us to get there simultaneously and strike at once.”

Chat frowned, glancing away from the akuma and towards his partner. “Are you sure, m’lady? Wouldn’t it be better to huddle up, let Carapace cover us to get close?”

Carapace and Rena Rouge said nothing, both turned to Ladybug waiting for her response, but Ladybug’s face was still flat and impossible even for Chat Noir to read.

“If we split up,” he continued. “We’ll be more likely to get picked off. And the decoys will help, but they can’t replace an almost impenetrable shield against those missiles.”

“Playing this one defensively will take hours,” she said. “Let’s try the offensive strike first, and if it doesn’t work we can pivot quickly and we’ll be in a closer position to set up a shield.”

Adrien did not like it. She was asking him to gamble with their lives, with her life, to save time. Even Carapace and Rena exchanged a frown.

“Please,” Ladybug begged, taking a step forward, her blue eyes darting from one of them to the next, her face finally showing some emotion, and he did not like what he saw. “I really need to avoid an endless siege,” she whispered, her eyes suddenly glassy, threatening tears.

Her distress hit him like a punch to the gut. She clearly wasn’t okay, and hadn’t been for awhile. How had he failed to notice that she was far from okay? Because her tears now had nothing to do with the current akuma. This went deeper and he hadn’t noticed anything was wrong. How long had she been struggling while he ran in circles trying to keep his father happy in between grad school commitments?

He couldn’t remember the last time he had met up with her for a joint patrol or just took her out on a friend date, which had once been a regular thing between them.

He would have to make it up to her, and he could start with making this akuma go away as quickly as possible.

He nodded, and offered her a small smile. “Okay, m’lady. I know that if anyone can pull off a crazy plan, it’s you.”

She offered a watery smile in return and he felt his chest loosen for the first time since the akuma alert had sounded. The day wasn’t wasted if he could help her have a better one.

“Thank you, Chaton,” she said. “I…”

Her words were cut off as the building adjacent to them crashed to the ground in a crumbling free fall.

“Whatever we’re going to do, we should probably do it now,” Rena said.

Ladybug’s soft vulnerable tears disappeared as she turned back to the akuma. Her usual game face - serious and sharp - took its place. And Chat couldn’t help the fond smile that bloomed across his face. Even when she was coming apart at the edges, she had so much strength. So much resilience.

“Rena, I want as many decoys as you can pull off,” Ladybug ordered. Rena nodded. “We’ll charge with a two second delay once the illusion is in place. Carapace, on the left, Chat in the middle, and I’ll take the right. Ready?”

“Aye aye, boss lady,” Carapace acknowledged with a salute.

The familiar sound of the flute rang through the air, and suddenly an army of countless Ladybugs, Carapaces, and Chat Noirs surrounded them protectively on all sides, just far enough apart that he didn’t really have to worry about touching them.

Chat launched himself off the rooftop towards the akuma.

Missiles flew at the decoys, but the illusions dove sideways and away from the projectiles, most of them avoiding the collisions. The missiles were too fast though, and dozens of decoys clipped out of existence.

Chat Noir maintained his forward charge trying not to think about how unprotected he was. How unprotected his lady and Carapace were.

The akuma was right in front of him - just a single vault away, when he stumbled - tripped over an errant piece of debris like a raw beginner who didn’t have nine years of experience under his belt. He took out half a dozen decoys himself as they ran straight through him.

He launched himself up from the cracked sidewalk immediately, but the damage was done. Carapace was stalled, fending off an unlucky aerial assault. Ladybug took the lead and reached the akuma first. But the villain fended her off easily with a backhand that sent her flying. Then fired off five missiles all tracking straight for Chat Noir who had just given away his position.

He dodged around the first one easily enough. The second one, too. But the third cost him his balance, and he barely managed to swerve around the fourth. He ended up helpless on his knees, at the mercy of the fifth.

Every muscle locked, anticipating the blow, when Carapace slammed into him from the side, stealing his breath away. And they both ended sprawled across the unforgiving concrete. Before he could recover, the projectile hit the ground where he had been kneeling seconds prior.

The pavement launched upward, slamming him completely back to the ground. The sound was too loud to be heard, but he definitely felt it rip painfully through his body despite his protective transformation.

His ears - ringing with the aftershock - couldn’t hear anything else. But the protective green glow of Carapace’s shelter bloomed into existence around them, deflecting the worst of the next concussive wave over their heads. The ground remained unsteady beneath them though.

Chat Noir allowed himself one deep breath before he kipped up to his feet and hauled Carapace to his, as his eyes rapidly took in the field on the other side of the green shield that was already cracking from a relentless assault.

“Please tell me this day is almost over,” Carapace growled out.

Most of the decoys had been decimated at this point - only a dozen or so remained, but Rena Rouge couldn’t create more without losing the current ones, which would reveal Ladybug’s position immediately.

Chat laughed. “I wish.”

He knew which one was actually Ladybug, though. It was in her single-minded focus. Every version of her was quick and graceful, able to pivot on the spot, and perform impossible dodges, but Ladybug always landed closer to her target than she started, determined as she was to end this battle.

She truly was in rare form tonight. Her plan would likely have worked amazingly if he hadn’t screwed it up.

The akuma managed to take out another handful of decoys with his latest barrage of missiles. And then the akuma got lucky, and shot towards the real deal.

“Carapace-”

She dove forward under the projectile, and then flipped back to her feet right in front of the akuma.

“-drop the shield.” Chat Noir ordered, already running toward the barrier, not waiting for it to fall.

She snatched a keychain or a dog tag from the akuma’s neck, grinning in victory. She crushed it into pieces with her strengthened hands, but her grin dissolved when no butterfly emerged.

The green shield fell away. Chat put on a burst of speed.

The akuma swung his cannon arm and slammed it into Ladybug’s side. She was thrown sideways, and landed in a terrifyingly still puddle of red and black.

The akuma pointed his rocket launcher towards her.

Chat Noir threw himself forward just as the akuma shot off the missile.

He took the blast square in the back. His suit no doubt offered some protection but this akuma had the power to bring down solid steel super frames.

Chat Noir’s skeletal structure didn’t stand a chance.

Pressure exploded across his spine. The blinding pain came an instant later. It felt like he was being burned alive both inside and out.

He didn’t break his fall, his arms dangling lifeless at his sides. He landed face first, his chin striking the crumbling pavement sending a second wave of agony through his form.

He couldn’t breathe, let alone scream.

Was this what dying felt like?

It had never hurt this bad before.

…

Carapace was still processing what Chat said when he took off like a bullet. Straight for the shield. Carapace frantically dissolved the barrier before his teammate could crash into it. Carapace shot after him, only a few paces behind, but he already knew it wasn’t enough.

His heart jumped up to his throat and time slowed to nothing as he watched Chat Noir take the hit meant for Ladybug, and crash to the ground, both his magical suit and skin torn to shreds, exposing raw bleeding tissue on his back and legs.

Carapace threw himself into a roll to put himself between the akuma and his fallen companion, and landed sprawled against the black cat’s unmoving form, screaming for his shelter once again.

The shield went up not a second too soon, immediately taking hit after hit. The sound of cracking glass echoed overhead reminding him that the shield would only hold for so long against the maelstrom.

He glanced back, hoping he had managed to envelop Ladybug in the protective barrier as well. No such luck. She was just on the other side of the glowing green bubble. At least it was between her and the akuma. They made eye contact, and she jerked her head towards Chat.

She wanted him to take care of her partner - not dive back into the battle.

He nodded acknowledgement.

A second later, she launched herself off the ground and took cover in the growing piles of rubble.

His attention turned to Chat Noir who wasn’t moving.

“Talk to me, Kit Kat!” Carapace shook his shoulder, but there was nothing, not so much as a groan.

Up close, Chat looked even worse - like he had been chewed up and swallowed by a dinosaur, only to be spit back out. Carapace could only imagine how much pain he was in. Carapace had been knocked around more than his fair share in this line of work, but he’d never taken a hit that vaporized the suit away!

He carefully rolled Chat to his side and then to his back, trying not to touch his injuries, which was almost impossible as they covered more than a third of his body. He was completely limp. Carapace leaned his cheek to Chat’s mouth, feeling for any signs of breathing.

There wasn’t any.

Carapace sucked in his own breath, his throat threatening to squeeze shut, and dread twisted his gut like a coiled snake.

Carapace had seen Chat Noir put under mind control, transformed into various inanimate objects, erased or vaporized from existence. But he had never before had to confront a lifeless body.

But surely the ladybugs could bring him back, right?

Another volley of missiles struck the outside of his barrier, the ground underneath them tilting sideways. The shield was holding.

The sound of static buzzing filled the air and Chat’s transformation dropped.

Carapace was completely unprepared. They were adults. They hadn’t timed out in ages. And he jerked his gaze away, but unfortunately, Carapace could recognize his own best friend from just his clothes and shoes.

Especially when he had his face pressed to that shirt not thirty minutes prior.

His gaze whipped back up to the painfully familiar face, now marred with gashes and a rapidly forming bruise on his chiseled chin.

“Opaque!” Carapace yelled. The translucent barrier turned a dark and solid green, though the cracks and fissures remained. He wouldn’t be able to see the battle, but that was better than losing Chat’s identity to all of Paris.

Adrien’s identity.

The same Adrien who befriended him in collège when he had fallen into almost total isolation after his older brother had disappeared, the Adrien who had coaxed him through his first gig, the Adrien who had nursed him through his break up with Alya, who had held his hand through his bisexual awakening, the Adrien who had never failed to be there for him.

The Adrien who was his very best friend who was currently not breathing.

Nino cradled his best friend’s head in his lap as hot burning tears fell onto Adrien’s cheeks.

“Carapace,” Chat’s kwami said. “He’s not okay.”

“But he’s going to be okay, right?” Carapace asked, his eyes never leaving Adrien’s pale and lifeless form. “As soon as Ladybug fixes everything?”

“Probably not,” Plagg said.

The two words struck him like a freight-train. His gut dropped out from underneath him as his heart rose up to his throat. His eyes burned, and the whole world went out of focus. He fell forward, his head pressed against Adrien’s as his sudden grief came out in wracking howls that sounded inhuman even to his own ears.

He rocked back and forth, still holding Adrien close - if Nino held him close enough and hard enough, maybe he wouldn’t leave him.

Nino knew that’s not how this worked. His throat cemented closed, and yet his devastated cries broke past the emotional blockade anyway.

“Carapace! Listen to me!” Plagg flew right into his face. “There’s a chance to save him! I need you to keep his heart going until Ladybug does her thing!”

“W-what?” Nino stammered, staring at the kwami in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Turtle boy!” Plagg barked. “I need you to focus! Hands on his chest! Now! I will not lose this kitten!”

“You mean, like CPR?”

“Yes! Now!”

Nino scrambled to comply, laying Adrien’s prone head gently on the ground, trying to ignore the stains of red on his own arms. He placed his hands on his friend’s chest. With elbows locked, Nino started pressing down hard over and over again.

“Faster!” Plagg directed. “Don’t stop!”

Nino tried to focus on his own hands, and not on the hot tears slipping down over his mask, or the blood seeping on the cement to his knees, or the angry deep cuts that slashed across Adrien’s face, or Adrien’s closed eyes that might never open again.

Nino tried to stamp down on his rising panic, tried to hold back the torrent of grief and tears, but he was failing. His whole form was crumpling in on itself as the wracking sobs kept coming in unrelenting waves despite his best efforts to hold them at bay.

“Don’t stop!” Plagg shouted again, diving towards Adrien’s jean pockets.

Nino swallowed his fear and his devastation, forced it down until his gut swam sickenly. He fought off his desire to fold into a ball and howl to the universe about how this couldn’t happen.

Instead, he forced himself to keep pressing down and up, and then down and up again on Adrien’s chest. It was a drum beat that he had to maintain, he couldn’t stop no matter how much his arms and shoulders burned in complaint.

Because if he stopped, the world might end.

If it hadn’t already.

Plagg reappeared with Adrien’s phone in hand. A minute later he placed the device against Adrien’s bruised chin. A youtube tutorial on CPR was playing. Nino adjusted his rhythm to match the rapid counting in the video. It became mindless at that point, which unfortunately meant he had more ability to think.

It didn’t seem like it was working. Adrien wasn’t responding at all, and he was losing more blood with every thrust of Nino’s arms if the dark pool of red black at his knees was any indicator.

Nino lost his pace for a second overwhelmed with fear. What if it didn’t work?

“Don’t stop!” Plagg shouted.

“He’s bleeding out!” Nino screamed back, syncing up with the video once again. “Aren’t I just making things worse?”

“Probably. I doubt anything is getting to his brain. But you’re not trying to revive him,” the kwami said, dismissively.

“I’m not?”

“No, you’re just trying to keep his soul here until Ladybug defeats the akuma.”

“His s-soul?” Nino stuttered over the word, his desperate sobs now coming in torrents.

His fucking soul? What was Nino supposed to do with that? It was too big and too much, and Nino didn’t know how to wrap his head around any of it.

“P-please, Dri,” Nino begged, his voice cracking on the nickname. “P-please, don’t leave me.”

Nino’s arms kept the rhythm, never losing the pace. Even transformed, his shoulders and triceps were burning in protest, but Nino ignored it. Wayzz would provide all the endurance he needed.

The sound of shattering glass exploded overhead, spiderweb cracks spreading all across the dome.

“Fuck.”

The shield couldn’t take another hit.

“Lose the transformation,” Plagg ordered.

Nino’s eyes whipped toward the cat kwami. “What?! Plagg! I don’t know how long I can do this without enhanced strength.”

“I will destroy anything that gets through until Wayzz has another shield up. You can’t do CPR and replenish our defenses over and over, simultaneously.”

“But… doesn’t a kwami using his power by himself make bad things happen?” ” Carapace objected out of habit, not because he particularly cared at the moment. Nino had never had the opportunity to see Wayzz without the limits of the miraculous.

“Something bad has already happened! This is called damage control! We don’t have time to argue!”

Another splintering crack overhead seemed to punctuate Plagg’s point.

“Wayzz, shell off,” Carapace whispered.

Immediately, his arms and back burned more intensely with the loss of the miraculous’s support, and Nino grunted with effort.

But he wouldn’t stop - not now, not ever. This was Adrien and he didn’t care if his arms fell off. He wasn’t going to give up on him.

“Cataclysm!” Plagg shouted, flying rapidly out of Nino’s line of sight. He didn’t worry about how much of the city block Plagg might take with him in destroying the incoming missiles, trusting the kwami would direct the damage AWAY from them. He didn’t worry about anyone being able to see his or Adrien’s identity. There was so much smoke that it wasn’t possible. And Nino didn’t worry about the fact that they were exposed or vulnerable.

Adrien was already dead. If they got hit, then at least they’d go together.

Black ash rained down around them like some kind of ominous snow.

“Opaque Shelter!” Wayzz called half a second after.

With the shield in place, Plagg whipped back down to Adrien’s shoulder watching intently.

“Come on, Pigtails,” Plagg grumbled. “We’re running out of time.”

Nino’s right arm spasmed in that moment, and he wasn’t sure if it was fatigue or the rising panic caused by Plagg’s words.

“No! We can’t be out of time!” Nino screamed as if Plagg could control when Adrien’s soul was gone. Nino wiped his snot on his own shoulder, and turned his glare on Adrien’s face. “Do you hear me, Dri?!” Nino screamed, unable to wipe the tears dripping from his eyes over his nose to fall on his own now bare hands. “You can’t give up on me! You can’t!”

This wouldn’t be Adrien’s last day on Earth.

It couldn’t be.

Because Nino didn’t know how to face the world without his best friend.

…

Adrien’s entire existence was pain. Everything was on fire - from the top of his head, through his body, to the tips of his fingers. All of it was pulsing in an agonizing rhythm. He thought the internal inferno centered on his chest, but his back felt like he had landed in a pool filled with glass shards. He couldn’t feel his legs at all, which considering how everything else was fairing, might have been a blessing.

But it was his chest that cried out as it was struck again and again without care for his fractured ribs.

Stop, he tried to say, begged from every inch of his mind. But the words would not form on his lips. Please, just let it end.

But the hammers to his chest kept coming, relentless and never ending. He urged his arms to action - to move, but every last bit of strength had been sapped away.

He prayed that it had been worth it - that Ladybug was alive and well - able to defeat the akuma without him.

But his condition suggested otherwise. If Ladybug was okay, he would be too.

Someone was crying hysterically just above him, well on their way to screaming. Their voice was broken and raspy.

It wasn’t Ladybug - the tone was too deep - but it struck a chord in him. He wanted to soothe it just the same.

I’ve survived worse, he wanted to tell the voice, though he had serious doubts if that was true. But being erased from the time continuum had to be worse, right?

“Dri?”

That was Nino. Adrien could only moan in response.

“Shit! Plagg, I think he’s awake.”

Why was Nino talking to Plagg? Plagg knew better.

“Don’t you dare stop!” his kwami ordered.

No. Please stop. It only came out as a whimper.

Something hot and wet fell onto his cheek. “I’m so sorry, du-” Nino’s voice cracked before he finished the word.

Nino was crying.

Adrien had made Nino cry. He hated that.

Adrien opened his eyes only to be assaulted with hard edges and burning lights that were far too bright. None of it made sense. He slammed them shut again, but it didn’t help. His head still wanted to split into halves.

“Dude! Take it easy!”

A warmth settled on his shoulder. Soothing vibrations pulsed through his neck. Like a cat’s purr.

Plagg?

“I know it hurts, kitten.”

Adrien would have laughed had he been able. Hurt did not begin to describe the agony he was in.

“But you will survive.”

The painful beat on his chest - so hard, so deep - like a stampede of gazelles were trampling over him - continued. It never stopped.

Adrien wasn’t sure he wanted to survive.

The sobs from the boy above him - deep cries of pure despair - made him reconsider. Adrien would survive anything - go through any torture - to soothe Nino’s pain.

Mercifully, everything faded.

When Adrien woke up again it was to a miraculously pain-free world. He sighed, his whole body easing in relaxation. The memory of his torture was already fading fast.

He opened his eyes again, but he still couldn’t bring the world into focus. There was a flash of green light of a miraculous transformation, but it was too bright. And Adrien let his eyes fall closed again.

He pressed his hands down for balance, expecting to find debris and jagged fragments on the sidewalk below him. But the cold ground was smooth and undamaged. His hands were bare - he wasn’t transformed. He should have been transformed, shouldn’t he? They had been fighting an akuma.

The ladybugs had healed everything. But then, why did his head still feel like thick fog?

“Dude! Can you hear me?”

He wetted his lips. “Nino?” Adrien asked, recognizing the voice.

There was a beat of silence. “Yeah, it’s me, dude. Can you sit up?”

Adrien attempted to do so, and was surprised at how hesitant his muscles were to respond to his wishes. He managed to prop himself up with Nino was bracing him on both sides. Adrien leaned into the support. What was wrong with his body?

“Why?” The word came out slowly, as if Adrien’s mouth was just remembering how to form the sounds. “Why... is the world spinning?”

Adrien wasn’t often one to complain, but usually, the ladybugs did a way better job.

“You sure he’s okay now?” Nino was asking. But who was he talking to? “Should I take him to a hospital?”

“He’s fine. The ladybugs healed him. The hospital wouldn’t know what to do with him now.”

Was that Plagg? Why was Plagg talking to Nino? Plagg should know better. Adrien clutched the sides of his head, in both hands. Why did nothing make sense?

But the nasally voice continued. “He wasn’t completely gone yet, so they could heal him. He’s physically fine now. Good job, turtle boy.”

“What about mentally?” Nino asked.

Adrien squeezed his eyes closed. They weren’t helping him anyway, only making him dizzy.

“You worry too much. He just needs twelve hours of sleep. He’ll be as perfect as a freshly opened wheel of camembert.”

Adrien snorted out a laugh. And it was surprisingly painless. He found himself smiling sleepily, and leaning into Nino’s chest, which felt a lot… more solid than normal.

“We don’t normally need twelve hours of sleep after a Miraculous Ladybug.” Nino’s voice was hard with frustration. “What’s different?”

“The difference is he died!” Plagg snapped back.

Adrien wanted to ask about that. What was the big deal? He had died countless times before, and it had never mattered before.

But the conversation faded away.

He woke again when he was laid down gently into his own bed. A heavy hand rubbed his shoulder soothingly. There was a beeping sound. A phone. And the hand disappeared.

Adrien whimpered at it’s loss.

“Yeah?” a familiar voice answered. It was still Nino. “LB, calm down. He’s okay. I took him home before anyone could see who he was. Plagg says he’ll be coherent again in twelve hours. I’ll tell him you want to see him for patrol tomorrow?”

And now Nino was talking to Ladybug like they knew each other well. It was like his worlds had smashed together like a meteor crashing onto the Earth’s surface and Adrien had somehow managed to sleep through the world ending collision.

Was any of this real? Was he dreaming?

He tried to sit up, but Nino’s sudden hand on his chest kept him down. Plagg curled up on his shoulder and started purring. Adrien stopped resisting and stayed down.

“Yes, he was healed,” Nino said. “I don’t know. Plagg said it was normal for him to be out of it for a while even with the ladybugs because of… how badly he was hurt.”

There was another pause, as the person on the other side of the conversation - presumably Ladybug - responded.

“I promise he’s okay. Yeah… of course. I’ll be right there.” And the comforting weight on his chest vanished.

“Plagg?” Nino called. “Can you let him know that he has a patrol with Ladybug tomorrow at the normal time? I gotta run.”

Adrien’s chest tightened at that announcement.

“You’ll call me if anything changes?” Nino continued.

“Sure, kid,” Plagg said, still curled up on Adrien’s shoulder.

Adrien tried to sit up again, but his body wasn’t listening to his brain. “N-Ni…no?” he forced the name past his lips. Why was it so hard to speak?

The smooth gloved hand was on his chest again, easing his anxiety. “Just rest, mec.”

But the hand disappeared again too fast and too soon.

“D-don’t… g-go,” Adrien managed to string together.

The comforting presence came back, and this time Adrien pinned Nino’s arm to his chest with both his hands, determined to keep him there this time. “Okay,” Nino reassured, and slid into the bed lying prone alongside him. Adrien’s body finally melted in relief.

“I’ll stay until you go to sleep,” Nino said.

For a beautiful moment all the tension in his body seeped away, and he just let himself drift. But a few seconds later, he processed Nino’s words and his eyes shot open.

Because Adrien didn’t want to sleep. Something was clearly wrong. He looked frantically around at the walls, ceiling, and furniture. Adrien recognized none of it. There were too many lights and colors and none of it made any sense, and it felt like the walls were closing in on him. What the hell was wrong with him?

“N-Nino?” Adrien called, his eyes burned and his throat was closing off. “W-what…?” but he couldn’t get the rest of the words out. And it was hard not to panic. His breathing quickened, and his heart took off like there was a race to be won.

He sucked in air frantically, because he wasn’t getting any. His chest spasmed painfully, and his arms were shaking, and his fingers tingling. The tremors spread to his extremities, the numbness only a second behind. He tried to stop the convulsing, he tried to hold it still, but he couldn’t do it. The pinpricks spread to his head, and his vision spun worse than it already was.

“Dude!” Nino jumped in, clutching Adrien’s head in either hand. His hands were gloved and hard.

Was it really Nino? It didn’t feel like Nino, and Adrien didn’t trust his eyes that were incapable of making sense of anything at the moment.

“You need to stay calm. Breathe with me,” Nino said, their foreheads pressed together, but Nino was wearing some kind of hood - it was hard… like Chat Noir’s armor.

“Dri!”

The exclamation cut through all of Adrien’s panicked thoughts. That was definitely Nino. Whatever he physically felt like, no one else called Adrien that. Nino had come up with the diminutive nickname a few years ago, shortly after he had broken up with Alya. He didn’t use it often - it was usually dude, mec, man, guy, but in the quiet moments, Nino would call him Dri. And Adrien loved it, especially when Nino was the one saying it.

“Can you do that, Dri? Breathe in slowly.”

And Adrien trusted Nino more than anyone, except maybe Ladybug, and even then, he thought it might be a tie.

And so he listened. He breathed in deeply and slowly on a count of four before letting it back out again for another slow count of four from his best friend.

His panic gradually receded. And he just lay there keeping his eyes closed, his hand clinging onto Nino’s - when had he even grabbed Nino’s hand - as if his life depended on it.

Nino was still wearing the thick solid gloves.

Nino didn’t wear gloves. Not ever.

“What happened?” Adrien asked slowly, pleased that the words strung together fully and clearly.

Nino’s grip tightened. “I promise I’ll explain it to you later, Kit-Kat. Plagg says you need rest.”

Had Nino just called him Kit-Kat?

“Plagg always…” Was he seriously talking about Plagg with Nino? This had to be a dream. “Plagg always votes-” Adrien’s sentence was punctuated by a yawn, “-for laziness.”

“I think Plagg may be onto something this time,” Nino said.

Adrien wanted to argue. He hated it when people didn’t explain things. When people kept secrets. And he knew he was the biggest hypocrite on that front, but he would have told Nino everything years ago if it had been his choice.

But his head was growing heavy, and his thoughts were still smothered in a muggy fog, so he didn’t protest.

“I love you, Dri,” Nino whispered. “You have no idea how much. Please. Please, don’t ever do that to me again.”

I love you, too.

…

Chapter 4: Fallout

#adrino #adrinino #friends to lovers #slow burn #Adrien Agreste #Nino Lahiffe #temporary character death #mentions of blood #anxiety #panic attacks #hurt comfort #romance #battle scenes are also hard #right behind you #my own content #miraculous ladybug fan fiction

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ladychandraofthemoone · 4 years

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Marinette and Chiffon’s Bond

Intro

Hello everyone, these are going to be posts about my pokemon au that i have been working on for a while now. I have more of this on my Ao3 account with the same name and tumblr (marininjarina) so check that out if you have time. These are mostly based off of posts and aus that I have seen all around and I wanted to write my own, starting with Marinette. Enjoy!

About Marinette- In Mendeliev’s class, Chloe’s favorite victim(and her meanest rival) till Chiffon appears along with switching classes, Pokemon Coordinator/Stylist, performs in Contests/Showcases, only person who can pet Mendeliev’s Garchomp, close friends with Aurore and Ondine, unknown Aura User, successor of Bond Phenomenon. Mari-Greninja.

Note: the pokemon I will chose for everyone will be based on their pokedex entries, color palettes and typing, personality and abilities along with what they mean in real life.

Her starter will be a Greninja. The ninja aspect fits with her in both civilian and superhero persona where she is capable of sneaking away from battles to transform along with both of them fighting similar like kicking or using their weapons. The entire line has a similar personality with Mari, being happy-go-lucky but well aware of their surroundings and acting serious, getting annoyed at others when it’s not the right time. It is also a opposite to Chloe having a Serperior due to being enemies in real life and fits Chloe's rivalry with Marinette. Frogs are also symbols of good luck in certain cultures, representing items like good fortune and protection with fits with Ladybug's abilities and hero status. Plus this is just fashionable looking with its scarf so of course Mari will be inspired by this pokemon.

Chiffon- got saved by Marinette from two houndoom that were about to eat him and in return defends her from Chloe picking on her while trying to spend her time along. Chloe is angry that Marinette is no longer easy prey for her to pounce on and tries to get her whenever she can but with her wall of over protective friends, it’s impossible so she decides to follow Marinette around till she can get alone. Till Chiffon came along and she takes that thing everywhere she goes. Miraculous don’t exist here but Marinette’s love and trust for Chiffon grow to the point where she can stand up to Chloe and others whenever they badmouth, insult or hurt. She goes full on berserk mode and Chloe is actually terrified of that side but constantly pushed her buttons cause she doesn’t learn and only stops of avoids Marinette when’s he around.

Same goes with the entirety of Bustier’s class when Nino and Adrien grabs her by the arm to force her into doing something she didnt want to do and stated she didn’t agree to anything, that she was just minding his own business while chloe sees it as a way to bully her. Cure Chiffon, fully evolved popping out of his pokeball, slapping their hands, a scary aura as he unravels his tongue and bares his teeth and hisses...It’s sounds like a combo of the Distortion world’s Giratina and Yveltal trapped in this creature’s body. Needless to say, everyone is terrifed of him and letted her leave, Chloe fuming but also scared.

Chiffon hear from Chomps, Mendeliev’s garchomp how the blonde girl and her class seems to have it out for Marinette, esciaplly the blond meanie and how she came into class just to harrass her. But he was glad his trainer with him right behind her, came and scared her off. And when Chomps was left with Marinette since she wanted to ask his trainer something. Cue Chloe walking in like she owns the empty place while he was in the other room and overhears her trying to break Marinette’s self confidence and esteem, all her worth by trying to “put her in her place” that she can’t get away from her, made his blood boil. Cure Chomps managing to sneak out, walking behind Chloe and watching Marinette’s face turn from confusion, surprise into giddiness as he growls and snorts behind Chloe’s neck, watching the blonde demand Mari’s attention and what was she laughing at to slowly turn into dread as he roars in her face. She runs away screaming while Marinette hugs him and thanks him a lot, promising to bring in Beans and Puffs.

Mendeliev on the other hand: Oh goodness!! He’s actually letting you touch me. Oh my sweet boy is never this open to strangers, usually no one would want to take care of him. Most of the time, they scream and beg for mercy.

So yes Chiffon learns from Chomps as he does everything he can to protect Marinette, even at parties he breaks through the freezer and beats Chloe’s Serperior half to death when she threatened Caly (Ondine’s Primarina) on Chloe’s orders on trying to make Marinette and her friends pay for standing up to her but screw that Chiffon is angry. Oh course thank to their bond they can now due the bond dphonemoan when they’re determined to protect those that they love and care about.

It gets worse though when they bond, they can both feel each other’s pain, including the pain and humiliations, the fear Marinette had to endure for four years while having a class with Chloe and how she is obessesd with making Mari miserable as possible. He knew how awful she was but didn’t know how bad it truly was. Now he feels determined to protect Marinette, her friends which by extension are their loved ones to the cost of his and her own life. Marinette feels his trauma of what Bustier and the other teachers and pokemon did to him so she realizes Bustier isn’t the greatest teacher and begins to put her foot down when this teacher begins to pressure her to release Chiffon only to be in shock when Marinette refuses, but Caline assumes it’s Chiffon and Mendeliev’s terrible influence that she’s no longer a perfect angel. Not that she ever was...

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yastaghr · 4 years

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What We Do For Family 5

This one took a while, but it’s worth it! What We Do For Family is back!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22254547/chapters/58305151

Reaper stepped into Sharktale. He also stepped into absolute chaos. He’d thought he’d opened a portal into the cold-water equivalent of Snowdin, but it looked like he’d missed his mark and ended up in the current to Hotland. That was close enough to walk it, and he didn’t have to worry about anyone bumping into him. Everyone in Sharktale swam, including the little diver humans who worked with them. Besides, the only sharks that would be on the floor of this section of ocean were slow enough that he could dodge them. It turns out that binge-watching Shark Week with his son had its uses.

A few hours later Reaper ran into the monster (or, rather, god) that he was looking for. Dream waved at him from the window of his cave complex in the rock forest of Snowdin. Reaper smiled and waved back at him, then grimaced when Dream moved to open the door. It wasn’t that he disliked Dream. It was just that Reaper knew that Palette would be there, too, and Reaper hadn’t brought Goth. He still wasn’t sure how to react to the knowledge that Goth had a crush. So, instead of reacting, he’d decided to ignore it.

The door opening up was what interrupted Reaper’s thoughts. Sure enough, the first thing that happened was a little white blur racing out of the house and tackling him at the knees. Reaper was once again glad that he’d convinced the other gods to let Palette become a little immortal. Goth needed someone his own age to play with who wasn’t going to die.

“hey, pal-pal. goth has been talking about you,” he said, testing the waters to see what Palette’s reaction was going to be.

Palette turned an enormous grin up at him. “HE HAS?! I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HIM, TOO. I’VE BEEN TELLING MOM THAT GOTH SHOWED ME HOW TO MAKE A PORTAL! HE’S SO COOL! I LOVE HIM THIS MUCH!” Palette said, holding his hands as far apart as he could.

Reaper smiled, but inside he was panicking. Love? Palette loved Goth? That much? Reaper really hoped he just meant as a friend. “that’s great, palette. i’m sorry i don’t have goth with me today. i actually came to talk to your mom. do you think you could find something to do that would be fun to do while dream and i talk?”

Palette nodded. “YEP! I’M WORKING ON A GIFT FOR GOTH! IT’S A SECRET, THOUGH, SO DON’T TELL HIM.”

Reaper smiled a little queasily. He definitely wasn’t prepared to deal with this. “i promise i won’t tell him, pal-pal. now you go get working on that present! goth is really looking forward to seeing you again.”

The little skeleton beamed at Reaper, saluted him, and ran back inside. The sound of Dream’s laughter, muffled as it was by the water between them, drew Reaper’s attention. Dream looked… good. He was smiling, and that smile was more than the shadow Reaper had grown used to on his bad days. Palette did that to him. Goth did, too. Reaper couldn’t blame him. They were both absolute delights.

“He’s a little gem, isn’t he?” Dream said softly, coming over to stand by Reaper. “Even the most horrible situations can have a little light in them, right?”

Reaper winced. He could recognize false cheer when he heard it. Then again, that was Dream’s job. He was the God of Positivity. He had to try and make people feel better. Reaper could understand that. He hated his job sometimes, too.

“i can’t possibly imagine what good could come of me losing geno, dream. he’s…” He trailed to a stop.

“Well, you got to spend some more quality time with your son, right? That has to count as a positive!” Dream said determinedly. Reaper sighed. He should just give in to being cheered up instead of moping, but… after what he had found out from Life about Geno’s current condition, that was hard. He just wanted to curl up and cry, but he’d already done so much of that that his voice was sore.

“i guess… that’s actually why i’m here. geno, not spending time with goth.” It was Dream’s turn to wince. Reaper quickly explained, “i have some new information. life found out… she found out… geno’s changed. she says something even more powerful than she is messed with him. he probably won’t remember us. so, i’m here to warn you about it, and ask if you can maybe check for any new souls? she said his soul has been changed, so maybe you could find him this time.”

Dream sighed. Reaper could already feel his aura shifting. He hoped he wouldn’t trigger an episode, but he needed to know if Geno was okay. Maybe Life couldn’t find him but Dream could? All Reaper really had at this point was hope.

The God of Positivity got that far away look Reaper recognized as him searching. He stood by, ready to act if Dream-

Dream froze, his eye lights going black and his whole body going rigid. Damn. Reaper reached out to touch Dream and wake him from this stupor. Dream could be stuck like this all day if he didn’t. It was a consequence of Dream’s time trapped in stone. Humans called it dissociation, and it was a scary thing. Dream had once said that it felt like he wasn’t attached to his body anymore. His senses were all dulled and so was his mind. If Dream could even manage to respond it seldom made sense. It was part of why Dream was rarely left alone.

Everyone knew what to do when he got like this. The first step was to speak to him. “dream. it’s me, reaper. i’m going to touch you, okay?” He said. There was no response, which Reaper knew to expect.

He moved on to the next step, which was to gently touch Dream in a safe place. Reaper picked his arm to touch, not above the fabric of his sleeves, but still on his upper arm. Dream didn’t react to the initial touch, but as Reaper began to rub little circles into his arm Dream started to move. First there came a breath. Then a blink. Two. Then Dream’s head turned, agonizingly slowly, to face Reaper.

“hey, dream. take your time, but try to come back to yourself, okay?” Reaper said. Pinpricks of light appeared in Dream’s dark sockets. They slowly grew into actual orbs. They were still faint, but at least they were there. Reaper counted that as a win. “that’s it, dream. good job. do you think you can speak? you can say whatever you want, just say something.”

Dream sipped a lungful of air, then let it out. He repeated this twice before he actually spoke. “... I had another episode, didn’t I?”

Reaper nodded. Honesty was always best. “yeah, dream, you did. it’s okay, though. it didn’t last nearly as long as some of your others have. you were out for maybe ten minutes max, and you didn’t relapse at all. that’s good!”

Dream smiled weakly. “Thanks for your help. I’m sorry I’m not more use for you. What was it that got me started into the haze?”

“i asked you if you could try and find new souls that could be geno. it’s okay that you didn’t succeed. life already told me we wouldn’t be able to find them, but… i’d hoped that she was wrong. i shouldn’t have asked you to do that. i’m sorry,” Reaper apologized.

Dream’s smile grew a little bit in strength. “That’s okay, Reaper. I understand. If I hear about or feel any new souls I’ll let you know, okay?”

Reaper recognized a dismissal when he heard one, but he had one more thing to talk about. “dream? um, i don’t know how to put this, but… goth has a crush on palette. can you tell what kind of crush it is?”

Dream blinked at him and laughed, bright and clear. Reaper smiled. That was good. He hated to leave Dream in a bad frame of mind. “Are you just discovering this now, Reaper? They’ve been dating for over a year. It’s sweet. They’re always talking about each other and constantly want to be together. They make each other gifts and share all their discoveries with each other. Palette’s soul beat speeds up every time he sees Goth, and Gothy’s soul skips a beat when he sees him. I couldn’t tell you what kind of relationship they have, though. I just know that it’s real.”

Great. There went Reaper’s little fantasy about the two kids. There was only one thing to do now. He had to find out. “so, how many people knew about this before i did?”

“Quite a lot, I’m afraid,” Dream tittered, “although if we knew you didn’t know we would have done something about that. There’s even a little fanclub for their ship. People give them art supplies and toys to give to each other, that sort of thing. It’s called the Poth Fanclub! I can give you the list of people who are in it if you want.”

Reaper nodded. He could feel his dark aura swirling around him. He had a thing or two to say to these people who would encourage two little kids in something like this. It was very rude to ship real people, and doubly so for children. Reaper knew what he was going to be doing next. These people needed to have a lesson in manners, and Goth needed to be reminded about taking gifts from strangers.

Dream giggled. “It’s all people you know, Reaper. Grim is in it. So are Mercy and me. Classic, Blue, and Red each have their part in it, as do their brothers. I think the only person you’d have doubts about is Ink. We’ve kept him away from Goth like you wanted, but he is the one giving most of the art supplies to Palette. He is his son, after all.”

Reaper shuddered. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Ink… no, that was a lie. Reaper hated Ink. After what he had learned about him lately, why wouldn’t he? Ink was a menace. “thanks for keeping him away from goth. i just-”

“I understand, Reaper. I just wish you could forgive him. I have,” Dream said pointedly.

“heh. you know me, dream. death is notorious for holding a grudge,” Reaper said, chuckling. How exactly that rumor had gotten started was beyond him, but that didn’t really matter. It was useful, so he let the rumor hang around.

Dream sighed. “I know. Say hello to Goth for me when you see him!”

“i will. see you later, dream!” Reaper said, waving as he opened a portal back to Reapertale. “i will.”

=====

Error tumbled out of the Anti-Void and fell flat on his face in the snow. It was almost comical how much effort it took him to pry his skull off of the ice. It finally came free with a wet slurp that was completely inappropriate for the action that caused it. He grumbled to himself, “Stupid ice. Stupid portal. Stupid Fate.”

<Where are we, anyway? Does anyone know what universe we’re in?> One of the more helpful voices asked.

Error looked around, but he couldn’t tell just by looking. There was no dust scattered in this section of the Snowdin forest. No traps littered the ground. The only things he could see from here were the door to the Ruins, the bridge that every Papyrus built with bars too wide, and the branch that the Sans would use to prank the human. Huh. Guess he wouldn’t find out until he ran into a monster. Hopefully it would be the Sans. Actually, scratch that. Hopefully there was no one in this world. He really didn’t want to kill people. If he had to destroy it would be better to do so without killing anyone.

<Oh! You should go knock on the door first! It would be so cute to see you talk to a Toriel again!> Another voice, much younger in tone, said.

Error shivered. He really didn’t want to, but… he had to start somewhere. He had to do this to protect his family, no matter how much he hated it. He trudged through the thick, unbroken snow to the looming door in the cliffside. Habit, long forgotten in his crazy life, led him to sit against the door with his back to it. He knocked twice loudly and waited for a reply. Under his breath he muttered, “Knock knock.”

“Who is there?” An agonizingly familiar voice carried through the door.

Error winced and closed his eye sockets. So there was a Toriel here after all. Great. “Um… glitch?” He said on the fly. It had been a long time since he’d made a knock knock joke like this.

“Glitch who?” Toriel asked.

“Glitch is… I mean, I’m sorry about glitch,” Error said wretchedly.

“heh. sorry about what, pal?” A third voice joined in. Error’s eye sockets flew open.

There, floating in front of him with a genial expression, was a Sans. He looked like a ghost that had never had a rough day in his life. He had a substantial ponch, soft eyes, and a wide grin. Oh, how Error hated that grin. He was about to kill someone who looked happy and welcoming. Damn Fate to hell and back.

<Ooh, we’re in Ghosttale! Isn’t that one of yours, Nnnnn?> Error couldn’t work out what that one voice had said, but he didn’t really need to. He didn’t want the voices to have names. That would be awful for his sanity.

“uh, bud? you there?”

The words were almost overrun by the voice of Fate. <Do your job, Destroyer. My patience wears thin.>

Error flinched from the voice. The ghost Sans seemed to be worried. “hey, bud, why don’t you come with me? my brother’s a healer. i’m sure we can help you with… whatever is wrong with you. i promise we’re not going to hurt you, and i hate to make promises. okay?”

“Please don’t say that,” Error pleaded as he stood up, reaching for his magic to call his blasters, “because I can’t say the same thing to you.”

The ghost Sans tilted his head. “and what do you mean by that, bud?”

Those were his last words before Error’s blaster that he had summoned behind him tore through him with magical fire. Error stared at the dust that floated in the wind. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach. As he heard the ghost Toriel opening the door behind him and prepared to attack, he whispered to the wind, “I’m sorry.”

#What We do for family fic #destructivedeath #glitcheddeath #afterdeath #sanscest #error sans #errortale #reaper sans #reapertale #dream sans #dreamtale #forced god of destruction error #yastaghr

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hoodie-lover · 4 years

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Palette and Goth Sitting in a Tree Part 4

Palette woke up in his parents’ bed alone, and he flipped out. He ran out of the room.

“Palette! Are you ok?” Ink said as he grabbed Palette, who was shaking as he held Ink tightly.

“Where’s Mom?” Palette asked, tearing up.

“He’s in the kitchen, and he told me about your nightmare. Was it that bad?” Ink asked and Palette nodded as he was picked up and cradled.

“Yeah.” Palette said, snuggling Ink’s scarf.

Dream was making pancakes and when he saw Palette, he gasped and took his kid in his arms.

“I’m so sorry. I’m here Palette, I’m here.” Dream said as he bounced Palette who was grimacing and pouting at this point.

“I’m ok! You don’t need to baby me.” Palette said as Dream held him closer and spun as he cooed and snuggled his child.

“You’re doing this on purpose aren’t you?” Palette said and Dream nodded his head as he put Palette down at the table and set a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of him.

“Thanks.” Palette said as he took a big bite from the pancakes as he shoved eggs and greasy bacon in his mouth.

“So, when were you planning on telling us about Nightmare?” Dream asked, and Palette nearly choked.

“Sometime. How did you know?” Palette said when he swallowed the food.

“I felt his aura. He’s not as stealthy as he thinks he is. I came to your room the moment I felt him.” Dream said and Palette sighed.

“I don’t know how he got in, but he wants to do something with my magic. I’m scared.” Palette said and Dream gave him a hug.

“He won’t hurt you. I promise, he’ll have to kill me first.” Dream said as he got his own plate of food and began to eat at a pace that posed no health hazard to him.

“Ink, don’t inhale your food. Chew. Same goes for you too, Palette. I know you love bacon but moderation is key.” Dream said as Palette downed an entire glass of orange juice.

“Alright. Can I have more?” Palette asked, his plate spotless.

“Of course.” He said and Dream grabbed Palette’s plate and filled it with more food, portions halved.

“Come on! I can eat.” Palette said as he scarfed down the food like a rabid monster.

“Slower. And I do not want you throwing up because you ate too much. It wasn’t a nice thing to come home to.” Dream said as he put Palette’s hands in his lap as Dream glared at Ink.

“What? I can eat all I want. How was I supposed to know when he would be too full to eat more?” Ink said, and Dream sighed.

“How I came to love you is a mystery.” Dream said smiling, as Ink gave a very loud moan as he ate.

“Ew!” Palette said and the two adults laughed.

“Do not say anything Ink.” Dream said as he almost choked on his food from laughing.

“I wasn’t!” Ink defended, raising his hands as Palette slid down under the table.

“You will finish eating your food before you go off. And even then, you are not to leave the table until we discuss what to do about Nightmare.” Dream said and Palette nodded as he sat back upright.

In Goth’s house he was taking a nap, but he had a strange dream. He was in a dark void, and seemed to be all alone.

“Hello Goth.” Nightmare said and Goth froze.

“I’m just dreaming. You can’t hurt me. And you are ugly and slimey. Go away.” Goth said as he turned his back and sat down on the void’s floor and stuck his tongue out.

“You remind me of me when you act like that.” Nightmare said Goth was surprised, turning around to see Nightmare sitting down too.

“How?” Goth asked, knowing that Nightmare was going to try and manipulate him, Dream had beat that, metaphorically, into his and Pallet’s minds.

“I was a naive kid once. So was Dream. He was an airhead with a big heart, I’m surprised he didn’t end up being abused by anyone, or at least like I was, later in life. But I guess we all underestimate the people we think we know the best.” Nightmare said and Goth glared.

“What do you want?” Goth asked and Nightmare sighed.

“Smart kid. I like you.” Nightmare said and Goth continued to glare.

“I want Palette.” Nightmare said and Goth flinched.

“I won’t help you.” Goth said and Nightmare shrugged.

“Obviously. You love him, you really do.” Nightmare said, sighing.

“And he loves you too.” Nightmare said, smiling a cheshire-cat smile.

“You’ll have to go through Death and Geno first.” Goth said, glaring.

“I know.” Nightmare said, and Goth tried to wake them up.

“You won’t wake up until I let you Goth. But, since I have other things going on I’ll be merciful.” Nightmare said and Goth snapped awake, sweating bullets as he held himself close.

“Goth, are you ok?” Geno asked, and Goth nodded sheepishly.

“Just had a small night terror.” Goth said as he went off to his room, though he didn’t feel safe, not at all.

First

#palette roller #Palette and Goth Sitting in a Tree #nightmare sans #dream sans #ink sans #geno sans #reaper sans #goth sans

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sirius-archive · 6 years

Text

Chaos Theory Part 5

Pairing: Cedric Diggory x Reader, Harry Potter x Reader, Draco Malfoy x Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 5380

A/N: Finally oh my gosh this took freaking ages to put together! YAYY for Cedric and Draco coming back, I love writing them (esp Draco :P) I’m finding that, the more I write this, the more pairings I add to the story. In the end, I think I’m going to make it so you can choose who you want to end up and write different endings for each potential love interest. Annnyway, here you go. P.S. I’m super proud of my giffing skills atm, see the above! a gif by yours truly.

Chapter Five:

There’s something whimsically surreal about the Burrow.

It seems to glisten from the ground up as though someone had sprinkled gold dust over it. From where you’re standing, you begin to appreciate how beautiful it is in the light; standing tall against the backdrop of rolling hills and lush, green grass, inviting you in without having to use words.

You’re standing in the backyard, waiting for someone, though you’re not sure who. It’s more like a feeling like you’re anticipating something you’re not sure will happen. There is a faint buzz humming in the air, like the beating wings of a thousand butterflies. The sky is like a painter’s palette; a blend of soft blues and vibrant pinks, like those honey-glazed moments right before the sun sets.

It’s like a poet’s dream.

“(Y/N)?” says a familiar voice. You’re smiling before you even turn around, knowing who is standing behind you without even looking.

“Cedric,” you sigh, whirling around and throwing yourself into his arms.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he says, kissing your cheek, your neck, your collarbone, lips spilling over your skin like he can’t get enough of you.

“I know,” you whisper, softly, as his lips move against you like water, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he reassures, voice gentle in your ear as his hands card through your hair, “Besides, a mouse never trusts a hungry snake.”

You freeze as, suddenly, the voice in your ear trails off into a cold, sharp hiss, and the world around you plunges into darkness. Cedric untangles himself from your embrace, stepping back as his face distorts before you, revealing his true form.

You watch in horror as black bleeds into that deep, deep blue in his eyes, filling out every corner as though he were possessed by something sinister. His head distorts into a spade-like shape, neck elongating, his nose flattening into two thin slits and he sheds his bronze skin, a snake-like pattern stretched over his muscles and veins. His lips pull back into an insidious smile, cold and cruel like the edge of a scythe, revealing sharp fangs and a long, forked tongue that pokes out and curls in the air, testing, tasting for prey.

The fluttering noise gets louder, more insistent, like an orchestra of shrieking violins, warning you to run, run, run!

“You’d better wake up now, mouse” the snake monster hisses; it sounds like the blood-curdling shriek of nails scraping across a chalkboard, “Before you forget how to.”

You wake up to green eyes in the dark.

Belladonna Nightshade, better known as Nightshade, Bella, Belle or simply B, peers down at you curiously, blinking owlishly. She’s perched on your chest, her gaze now sharpening from curiosity to expectancy as she silently demands food, though there’s something in those green eyes that suggests that she had sensed your discomfort and pulled you from your nightmare as an act of mercy.

Sometimes, Belladonna Nightshade is more human than she is a cat.

Your hands tremble as you reach out and pat her, your fingers raking through her soft fur. She leans into your touch, purring in delight, and she does that adorable cat thing with her eyes where she closes them and eases into your roaming touch, as though she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here, on your chest, her paws pressed into your cheeks.

“Hey B,” you whisper, voice raspy and low. There’s a dry, scratchy sort of taste in the back of your mouth like you had just been stifling a scream. You swallow thickly and reach beneath your pillow, pulling out the photo that’s been buried underneath since it arrived one week ago.

You unfold it and stare at the symbol on the back. Why would someone send this? Why were they spying on you in the first place? Is it a threat or a warning? Has Cedric received one, too?

“Oh, good! You’re awake,” Says a voice in the doorway, and your vision swims as you try to focus on the figure in front of you.

Hermione strides over and stands next to you, already showered and dressed, hair tackled and tamed into a bushy ponytail and an irrefutable air of anticipation buzzing around her. It’s such a startling contrast to your nightmare that you have to reassure yourself that, in reality, snakes don’t usually protrude from people’s necks.

Usually.

“Mrs Weasley said she’ll cook some blueberry pancakes for us if we all get ready in time.”

You nod curtly, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and swallowing the imaginary cotton-ball stuck in your throat. Nightshade leaps from your chest and onto the floor, rubbing herself against Hermione. Hermione bends over and scratches Nightshade’s head.

“Did you have another nightmare?” Hermione asks, but the look in her eye tells you that she already knows.

A knot forms in your stomach, like a strong, calloused fist is squeezing it into submission. You nod wordlessly, your thumb scraping across the corner of the photo as though you were deliberately trying to get a paper cut. Hermione places Nightshade on the floor and sits by your side.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks, staring at the photo.

“Not really,” you murmur, fingers rubbing nervous circles on your wrist and feeling your pulse thump beneath the delicate skin, “I just want to forget about this stupid thing.”

You toss the photo to the ground and Hermione picks it up again, unfolding it. She studies it intensely, brown eyes dragging across every inch of the photo and the symbol on the back.

“It does seem odd that they’d send you a photo of you and Cedric,” Hermione muses, distantly, “and how does this symbol relate to Cedric? Do you think he got one as well?”

You shrug as you stare at your wrist. It’s red from where your nails have been furiously scratching away at the ache.

“And what do they mean by ‘A mouse does not trust a hungry snake’? Are you the mouse in this scenario? Or are you the snake? Are they trying to warn you about something? Are they saying you can’t trust anyone?” Hermione sighs and slaps the photo on your bedside table, “The more I stare at it, the more questions come to mind.”

“That’s why I want to pretend it doesn’t exist,” you mumble, climbing out of bed, “And, before you ask, no. We’re not telling Harry or Ron or anyone about this, okay?”

Hermione nods, opens her mouth to say something, but you can’t talk about it anymore right now, you just can’t. Being on edge for an entire week has turned your stomach into a mosh pit, nerves crashing and colliding and crackling like the frayed edges of tangled electrical wires, and you don’t think you can verbalize any of it without dissolving into an existential crisis.

“Thanks,” you give her a half smile, drawing a carefully guarded expression across your face. You smile at Nightshade and she saunters over, her tail curling into a question mark shape. She leaps into your arms and you rush out of the room, evading any more discussions on the topic.

Knowing Hermione, she will probably want to talk to you later. And that’s okay for now. But, at the moment, it’s best to leave some things unspoken, like seeing your crush transform into a horrid snake monster.

***

Breakfast is an awkward ordeal.

True to her word, Mrs Weasley did make some of the fluffiest pancakes you have ever tasted, and you enjoyed every bite, even if you did have to shovel in as many mouthfuls as you could. Still, you enjoy sitting with the Weasleys; they have this rare ability to make you feel like you’re one of them.

It’s even better seeing Luke. You take a moment to study him, watching him carefully. He’s wearing his favourite, borg-lined denim jacket, black jeans, black converses and a broad grin as he challenged Bill Weasley to a quick game of Wizard Chess.

Over the course of the week, you had watched Luke slowly heal from your father’s surprise-turned-disaster visit. Now, he seems so different again. It makes you wonder how many masks he had for separate occasions. But this morning, he seemed so…unguarded. Happy, even.

“Come on, William,” Luke teases, grinning, “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

Bill snorts a laugh, “I’m not scared. I’m just not an idiot. You Arden’s are far too cunning for your own good.”

Luke shrugs, “I don’t know. Maybe I’m feeling lazy today…”

“I certainly hope not,” Percy Weasley snaps from the kitchen, “It’s the first day of school and all you’re concerned about is playing a game of Wizard chess! You need to sort out your priorities.”

“And you need to get laid, Percy Weasley,” Luke grins, watching as a deep red flush burns up Percy’s neck, “I can tell you’re suffering from a classic case of Blue Bludgers. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, we’ve all been there. Well, not all of us.”

Everyone bursts into a furious fit of laughter except Hermione and Percy, the former looking like she’s teetering along the edge of amusement and embarrassment, the latter looking as though he may explode.

Percy opens his mouth to scold Luke but is interrupted by Mr Weasley, who bursts into the kitchen, shrugging into his work robes, and swipes a piece of toast from the table and straightening his glasses.

“Morning kids,” he says as he passes, rushing into the study.

While everyone is distracted, you turn to Harry, who sits next to you.

“Have you heard from Sirius?” you whisper, and Harry turns to you, green eyes tinged with a hint of worry.

“No, not yet,” Harry replies, “I’m not sure where he is, though, so it could take weeks before I get a response.”

You nod, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, “You’re right. It’s probably better that he doesn’t reply straight away anyway.”

“Yeah,” Harry nods, “Why? Is something wrong?”

You think about telling Harry the truth, showing him the photo burning through the fabric of your mini denim overalls but you don’t really know where to begin. Plus, with everyone crowded in the kitchen…

“I’ll explain later,” you murmur, eying Ginny as she tries to lean into the conversation, “Now isn’t a good time.”

Harry nods, then fixes his eyes on your bottom lip. He stares as though he’s transfixed, an interesting shade of pink brushing against his cheeks as his pupils dilate ever-so-slightly. You freeze, feeling your own cheeks burn under the intensity of his gaze.

“What? What is it?”

“There’s–there’s something on…” He trails off and hesitantly raises his hand, swiping the pad of his thumb across your bottom lip, “There. Got it.”

His fingers hover over your skin, ghosting across your cheek as though he wants to cup it but some sort of invisible barrier is preventing him from breaking through. Something flares inside of you as you watch him, wondering what’s going on inside his brain.

The sound of shattering glass shocks you from your trance, and you both nearly leap off your chairs. Ginny is grimacing, her face flushed as her eyes dart between you, Harry and something on the floor.

“You alright, Ginny?” Bill asks from across the table. Luke springs from his chair and walks around the table to Ginny’s side.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ginny murmurs, her lashes fluttering as she blinks rapidly, “I just…dropped a glass. That’s all.”

Ginny glances between you and Harry and an expression of hurt flickers across her face, disappearing completely as she turns away from you and Harry.

Luke draws his wand, points it at the shards of glass scattered across the kitchen floor, and mutters ‘Reparo.’ Small pieces of glass trapeze through the air and piece themselves together like a jigsaw puzzle, forming a glass. He pats Ginny on the back and she smiles sheepishly up at him.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Fred continues as Luke sits back into his chair, “Mr Diggory – also known as (Y/N)’s father-in-law – was saying that Mad-Eye Moody’s put in another complaint. Apparently, someone tried to ambush him last night. Again.”

“He’s lost it,” Charlie mumbles through a mouthful of pancakes, “Also are we going to ignore the whole ‘(Y/N)’s father-in-law’ joke?”

“Did he ever ‘have it’ in the first place?” Luke asks as he absentmindedly plays with his food, “Besides, why would anyone try to ‘kidnap’ him in the first place? His house is basically a burglar’s nightmare.”

“I guess we are going to ignore it,” Charlie shrugs and stabs his fork into another pancake.

“I concur,” Percy chimes in, “Moody’s a raging lunatic and he shouldn’t harass Mr Crouch with his pathetic, baseless complaints. Mr Crouch is a very busy man, he shouldn’t have to put up with Moody.”

“Well, you would know,” George says, grinning wickedly, “You are Mr Crouch’s bitch boy.”

Percy scowls dangerously at George while Luke and Fred snicker. Luke even leans across the table and pumps his fist on George’s.

“Father is rather fond of Moody,” you interject, and Luke’s expression falters, his lips quirking ever-so-slightly, “He respects Moody, even if he is a little…. senile.”

“Yeah, well, fuck that,” Luke huffs, taking a swig of his pumpkin juice, “Adrien Arden only ever cares about people who look good on the front page of the Daily Prophet. If their faces sell copies, then he’s their best friend. He did the same thing to Sirius Black; he wasn’t afraid to drag Sirius’ name through the mud, even though there wasn’t even a trial for him.”

You, Hermione, Ron and Harry exchange a furtive look,

“You think he’s innocent?” Hermione asks, a faint tinge of pink staining her cheeks.

“I don’t know,” Luke shrugs, “I’ve looked into his case and I’ve just…I’ve seen a lot of inconsistencies. A lot of his case is sensationalized. Anyway, it’s a good thing that Sirius escaped. I wouldn’t wish the Dementors kiss on anyone.”

“A good thing?” Percy chides, hotly, “The whole ghastly ordeal has been a pain in the Ministry’s back, especially for–”

“–Mr Crouch,” Fred finishes, rolling his eyes, “Yes, Barty’s Bitch Boy, whatever you say.”

Everyone laughs, once again, including Hermione. Except, you think it might be out of relief rather than amusement.

***

You arrive at Platform 9 ¾ with a good ten minutes to spare.

Surprising, really, given that breakfast had been such a rushed ordeal and it felt like it had taken months to get ready. Still, after cramming into the Ministry-loaned car and uttering a string of silent prayers to gods you don’t even know, you managed to pull up to Kings Cross Station.

You and Ron had rushed through the barrier together and emerged on the other side grinning. It was always such a thrill, running through the barrier. Of course, Nightshade didn’t care for it, and as soon as you clambered onto the platform, she had meowed loudly, hoping to be released from her carrier.

“I know Belle,” you coo as you poke your finger into her carrier, stroking her fur. Nightshade nuzzles into your touch, rubbing her nose on your finger, “I’ll let you out as soon as we’re on the train.”

A burst of loud guffaws echoes across the station, and you turn to find Luke with his friends. Luke glances at you, his lopsided grin broadening.

“I’ll see you on the train,” you hear him say, “I’ll just be a sec.” They tease him as he shoulders past them and jogs toward you. You smile and cross your arms over your chest, cocking your head as you watch him.

“Aw, come to kiss your little sister goodbye?” you ask, cooing mockingly, as Luke pulls you into a one-armed hug.

“Actually, I came to say goodbye to Nightshade,” Luke jokes, scratching Nightshade through the bars of the car carrier, “And to tell you that I’ll be sitting with my freinds if you need me.”

“You better not let Caleb and the boys see you like this,” you tease, poking him in the ribs, “They’ll think you’ve gone all soft inside.”

“Maybe I was soft to begin with,” Luke suggests, planting a kiss on the crown of your head, “Seriously, though. You need me, come and find me and I’m yours.”

You roll your eyes as Luke gives you one last hug and stalks off to his friends, who wait for him patiently. Behind you, you hear hurried whispers engaging in a heated argument, and you turn to find Ron and Harry murmuring amongst themselves. Your ears strain to listen, but you can’t hear over the chatter of the crowd. You’re about to approach them when you someone nudges your shoulder with their own.

“Looks like you’ve caught someones attention,” Hermione smiles, nodding toward someone in the distance, and you follow her gaze to Cedric Diggory, who smiles and waves cheerily at you.

You swallow, your chest fluttering. Even though you’ve seen him enough in your nightmares let alone your daydreams to recognize him from miles away, he still catches you off guard, like some invisible force has swept you off your feet. A strange, tingling knot forms in the pit of your stomach, tightening then slackening then tightening again and even though it should be painful, it’s not. It’s...peculiar, in a terrifying sort of way. Familiar, yet it surprises you every time.

You blame it on hormones.

Still, spotting Cedric Diggory amongst the bustling crowd has a way of reducing all your thunderous thoughts to mere whispers, chasing them into the base of your skull. You bite your lip, a calming, sanguine wave of relief washing over you, washing through you, trickling down your spine and filling the spaces between your ribs.

“You should talk to him,” Hermione gives an encouraging smile, “If the secret love letters are anything to go by, he’s really been missing you.”

“How did you find out about them?” You ask, incredulously, eyes wide and cheeks burning.

“I didn’t,” she laughs, “You just told me. Right now, actually.”

You glare at her, equal parts frustrated and impressed by her tactics, though you can’t fight the smile flirting around your lips. Knowing that he’s missed you and having someone verbally confirm it has two radically different effects on you, and both of them are good.

“What about you guys?” You ask, tossing a nervous glance at Harry. He’s stopped talking and is ignoring Ron as he watches you carefully, as though he’s trying to listen to your conversation. You think back to earlier that morning when he had grazed his thumb across your bottom lip, his touch meek and hesitant but at the same time curious and warm.

“(Y/N), we’ve just spent nearly two weeks together,” Hermione reassures you with a hand on your shoulder, “I’m sure Harry and Ron can forgive you for choosing to spend one train ride with Cedric. Besides, you might be able to ask him about the…” she trails off suggestively.

You turn back to Cedric, who is making his way through the crowd as you speak.

“Okay,” you smile, biting your lip, as you watch Cedric. He’s wearing a white v-neck beneath a denim aviators jacket and jeans. He’s even better than any fantasy you’ve ever seen of him.

Several other girls seem to agree, because they giggle and whisper as he passes them, eyes following him until he’s standing in front of you.

“Hello, (Y/N),” Cedric beams, blue eyes soaking you in warm, cerulean waters, “Hello Hermione.”

“Five minutes until boarding and departure,” a voice booms over the crowds, and you and Hermione glance at each other, an unspoken understanding passing between the two of you.

“I’ll go and get Ron and Harry,” Hermione murmurs, smiling, a silent suggestion dripping from her lips. She glances between you and Cedric one final time before flouncing away.

“So...” Cedric blurts, trailing off into an awkward silence.

“So,” You echo, grinning.

Cedric runs a hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck. He gazes at you, blue eyes twinkling as they bashfully sweep over you.

“So,” Cedric repeats, fiddling with his shirt, “I was thinking that – if you want – we could, maybe, sit together?”

“What about your friends?” You ask, glancing back at the group of Hufflepuff seventh-years watching your exchange from a distance and grinning teasingly.

“Oh they’ll be fine,” Cedric flaps a dismissive hand in their direction. He seems to know that they’re watching and no doubt joking amongst themselves, “They’re not babies.”

You nibble your smile, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, and the folded photo in your pocket seems lighter already, “Okay.”

Cedric smiles, and it’s as though he’s been kissed by sunlight.

***

Somehow, you end up sitting crossed-leg on the floor, blindfolded and at Cedric’s mercy.

He shifts, leaning forward, and he’s so close, close enough for you to breathe in the scent of his shampoo and bottle it inside your ribcage like a fine wine. You inhale, trying to drink him in and you taste sunlight on your tongue; warm and reassuring and melting your fears away.

“Okay, I promise this one isn’t a gross one,” Cedric says, and you can almost hear the smile on his words. There’s a scratchy rustling of a cellophane plastic bags, and the scrape of thin, flimsy cardboard like it’s been ripped open, “Ready?”

You nod and part your lips. A moment later, Cedric pops the jelly bean between your lips and you bite down, strawberries and cream oozing onto your tongue.

“Mm,” you hum, smiling, “Strawberries and cream.”

“I love that one,” Cedric confesses, “You’re good at this game.”

You shrug triumphantly, “I’m good at anything to do with food.”

There is a brief moment of silence while you enjoy the jelly bean as the rich, creamy flavour melts down your throat. But the silence continues, lingering, stretching, and even though you’re blindfolded, you can still sense hesitation in the air.

“Is there something wrong?” you ask. A beat of silence passes, where you assume Cedric has just shaken his head because he gives a little laugh.

“No, nothing is wrong,” He murmurs, “I’m just…admiring how beautiful you are.”

You feel a blush creep up your neck and burn in your cheeks, the knot in your stomach tightening, but the feeling fades a little as you feel Cedric trace a finger down your jaw, his thumb dragging across your cheek. You lean into his touch, your entire body tingling with anticipation, as you sense him shift closer, closing the inches between you, and he’s so close, you can feel his lips ghosting over your own, testing, hesitating, and Merlin it’s happening, it’s really happening–

Shattering glass echoes down the corridor and you and Cedric jerk apart.

“What was that?” Cedric asks, and you push your blindfold over your head, climbing to your feet.

“I’m not sure,” you muse, sliding the compartment door open and stepping out of the compartment.

You immediately want to shrink back into the room.

Draco Malfoy is prowling the corridor with his goons, Crabble and Goyle in tow, following him loyally like a persistent shadow. They look as though they’ve just won a fight and they’re basking in their glory, snickering amongst themselves like scheming snakes. You start back toward your compartment, but you already know it’s too late; you can sense Draco’s pale-blue eyes roaming over you like a predator assessing its prey.

“Don’t suppose you’ve heard the news yet, Arden?” he asks, smugly, knowing that you have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.

“I really don’t care,” you sigh, exasperated with the conversation, “Now excuse me–”

“–you’re excused,” he drawls, like he’s bored already, “Though I’d watch my back if I were you. Potter seems to be in a miserable mood lately. You ought to find yourself better friends.”

You glare at him, blood pulsing hot and red and burning the cushion of your veins, “Don’t tell me what I ought to do, Malfoy. I’ve always been patient with you, but that doesn’t mean you can push me.”

“I can do what I want, and you know it,” he scorns, an annoying, haughty glint in his eye, “I can get what I want, too.”

Crabble and Goyle, snigger trollishly.

“And what is it that you want, Malfoy?” you ask, a sharp brow raised indignantly as you stare at him.

Malfoy’s eyes glitter with shades of blue and silver as they study you, sweeping across every fine detail on your face, and there is something distinctly masked about his expression like he’s showing you something he shouldn’t be as he contemplates, hesitates, before scoffing,

“Just–watch yourself. You and Potter think that you’re invincible, prancing around like little lovers. But you shouldn’t trust anyone.”

Your scowl turns into mild interest as you narrow your eyes on him, recognizing his thinly-veiled threat.

“What is that supposed to mean, Malfoy? And why are you telling–” you trail off into a stutter, blinking in disbelief.

Are they trying to warn you about something? Are they saying you can’t trust anyone?

The photo in your pocket itches. You wrench it out of your pocket and unfold it hastily, fingers fumbling around the edges.

“Do you know what this is?” you ask, thrusting the photo into his hands.

Draco sniffs as he stares down at it, flattening it out so he can get a better look. His expression shifts, rippling with more expressions you’ve ever seen before, before he settles on disdain.

“It’s a photo, Arden. I can’t believe I had to tell you that, Merlin.”

You roll your eyes, seething, as you snatch the photo from his grasp and shove it into your pocket. “I know that. I mean, did you have anything to do with it?”

Draco scoffs, narrowing his eyes on you with haughtily, “Do you really think the world is that obsessed with you? Of course not. Not everyone is in love with you.”

“That’s not what–you know what? It doesn’t matter. You don’t deserve another minute of my time,” You whirl around and storm off, reaching for the handle of the compartment door when Draco suddenly calls out.

“Underwood.”

You’re not sure if you heard him at first, until you turn around and notice that he had strode toward you to catch up. Draco’s eyes travel between you and the photo in your pocket.

You furrow your brows in confusion, “Excuse me?”

“Underwood,” Draco reiterates, “Noah Underwood. You know, the only person weirder than Potter? He’s in our year. It looks like one of his photos. He’s the only idiot I know who uses a stupid, muggle camera.”

You cock a single brow as your eyes scan Draco’s face, giving him an appraising look, “How do I know if what you’re telling me is the truth?”

“Just ask him,” Draco snips, coldly, “You’ll know then.”

“Is everything okay here?” someone asks from behind you, and you turn to find Cedric watching your exchange with Draco suspiciously.

Draco’s expression falters, something malicious flashing in his eyes, like a fork of lightning splitting the sky in half.

“Everything’s fine,” you say, soothingly, “This conversation is over.”

Draco shoves past you and disappears down the corridor, his eyes never leaving yours as he passes. You absentmindedly pat the photo in your pocket.

Noah Underwood. Draco was right about him being a little…odd. He was alone, a lot of the time, people were probably repelled by his standoffish personality. You didn’t really know well, having only spoken when it was absolutely necessary (for instance, in Potions you had once been paired with him and even then, the only words that he murmured were soft-spoken instructions that you could barely hear over the bubbling potion) but what you did know was that he is currently the only muggleborn in Slytherin and that his sister died last year in an unfortunate accident.

In a way, you pitied Noah Underwood.

You wait until Draco is out of earshot before turning to Cedric, peering up at him apologetically.

“I’m sorry to do this to you but I have to go and talk to Hermione,” you say, giving him a meek smile. Cedric smiles, understanding without verbalizing it, and drags a gentle finger up your jaw, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. Your heart swells at the affectionate gesture and, without even comprehending what you’re doing, you reach up and give him a quick peck on his cheek.

You breathe in the subtle notes of his cologne and savour them in your chest as your lips linger for a second longer than necessary. Cedric winds an arm around your waist, holding you to his chest for a brief moment, where you can hear the rhythmic beating of his heart. You have to muster every ounce of your willpower to tear away from his side and flash him a smile before flouncing away.

When you finally reach Hermione, Harry and Ron’s compartment, you wrench open the door and stumble inside, noticing the air shift around you.

There’s an undisguisable tension that weighs heavy in the air. Ron’s arms are crossed over his chest, Hermione is reading a book, and Harry is staring out of the window. It looks as though they’ve just had another argument.

Another argument that they’ve had without me

“Hey, (Y/N),” Hermione smiles, lowering her book. There is a faint brush of red over her cheeks, recognizable only to those who truly know her, “Is everything alright?”

“Can I speak to you for a second?” you ask, ignoring the penetrative stare that Harry’s eyes are drilling into you.

Hermione nods, standing, before following you out of the compartment. You pull her aside, enabling others to pass as you talk.

“I think I know who took the photo of me and Cedric,” you murmur, and Hermione’s brows shoot up toward her hairline as you continue, “Draco recognized the photo as one of Noah Underwood’s.”

“What?” Hermione breathes, brows creased in thought, “How can you trust that Draco is telling the truth?”

“I can’t,” you sigh, shrugging, “But I’ve got nothing to lose by asking him. I have to follow every lead I find.”

“But (Y/N)–”

“Hermione, Noah Underwood is the key to all of this,” you whisper, trying to convince yourself that it’s true, “I know it.”

And even if I’m wrong, I still have to get to the bottom of this

***

@marauderskeeper @weaselby418 @acciorinn @hervench @harrvjpotter @depressed-octopods-art @romanofftasha @moonpeachs @emi-loser @steph-fowlie @lilulo-12 @randomfangirl17 @asofslytherin @seunlight

if i’ve missed you, please send me an ask. Also, if you want to be added to the list, send me an ask as well. Sometimes, tumblr doesnt send me the notification when you guys reply ??? sorry :(

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katastroficwriter · 5 years

Text

oyés if you’re still taking requests for the holidays howsabout just,,, kiibo learning about holiday traditions and customs from ouma??? also a side of forehead kisses™ because those,, make me Y E L L

All I’m saying is, you totally don’t deserve this update Monica. Geez. You better upload Tuning In’s second chapter or I won’t update KYKM

Kiibo and Ouma had accidentally spent the whole afternoon playing with the children at the orphanage, much to the caretakers and children’s delight. However, even fun and games must come to an end. They had to return to Hope’s Peak before it gets too dark after all. Ouma stopped walking as soon as they entered the dormitory area.

“It seems we got caught in a bind.”

“Huh?” Kiibo paused in his tracks and looked at his companion in confusion. “I don’t understand–”

Ouma sighed, shaking his head before pointing upwards. “Look up, Kiiboy.”

“Oh. A mistletoe,” Kiibo tilted his head. “I don’t see the issue, Ouma-kun.”

“God, how sheltered do you have to be to not even know what’s the deal with mistletoes?” the supreme leader clicked his tongue.

Kiibo frowned, “I do know about the tradition of kissing underneath one! But what I don’t understand is the need to comply. No one’s going to strong-arm us into performing such intimacies–especially if there’s no one around to do so.”

“Oh, you definitely don’t understand how serious this situation is right now, Kiiboy. It’s not the people who you should be worried about, but the mistletoe itself,” Ouma looked up at the greenery hanging above them before shifting his attention back to his mechanical companion.

“Why is that?”

“Because we just got ourselves cursed right now is why,” Kiibo had to blink a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating when he saw the supreme leader’s hair turn white and his skin pitch black for a split second. It turns out he really was just seeing things when he saw Ouma in his usual color palette.

The android’s brows furrowed upon processing the supreme leader’s words. “Cursed?”

“Mhm! While it’s true that we don’t have to kiss under it, that only applies on regular days. Things are different if you got caught underneath it on Christmas Day–that’s when the curse takes effect.” Ouma raised his index finger, wagging it a little as he spoke. “Refusing to kiss while the curse is in effect would give us bad luck enough to last us a lifetime. And for a robot like you? You won’t like that at all since you’re practically immortal as long as you play your cards right.”

“Guhhh…That certainly sounds troubling…” Kiibo crossed his arms as he thought. “Well? How do we lift this curse?”

“With a whole lot of kissing, obviously,” the supreme leader nodded his head in the direction of the mistletoe. “See those white berries? Those are what gives the curse power. After every kiss, we can pluck one out. All we have to do is kiss until all the berries are gone–the mistletoe loses its power then.”

Kiibo eyed the shrub, his cheeks took on the color of the red poinsettias he found displayed on the dining hall earlier this morning upon spotting that there were in fact far too many berries than he had expected to see. “Do we really need to get rid of all of them?” he looked at his companion with hope in his eyes.

“Yes. Aaaaaaaall of them!”

And Ouma was quick to plunge the android into despair.

Kiibo grabbed at his head, confused, unsure, nervous at the idea of kissing his classmate multiple times just to undo a curse that may or may not be fabricated by the latter just to tease him.

Ouma huffed out a laugh, “You’re worrying too much, Kiiboy. We don’t have to kiss on the lips for every single berry, you know! That would be boring. A kiss anywhere will suffice.”

“R-really?” Kiibo nervously pressed his fingers together.

“Yeah! Besides, I have no interest in sucking face with someone who has gasoline breath–”

“It seems not even Christmas can sway you from your robophobia…” Kiibo mumbled under his breath.

“Of course not!” snorted Ouma. “Anyway, we better take this mistletoe down and undo the curse somewhere the others won’t see us.”

The android saw the logic in that and nodded his acquiescence. “I’ll go fetch a ladder from the warehouse–”

“No need to bother with that,” the raven-haired Ultimate waved him off as he began climbing up the stairs in the dormitory.

“How else would we be able to take the mistletoe down?” Kiibo quirked a brow, freezing upon realizing something. “…Y-you’re not going to ask me to fly, are you? I’ve told you before that I do not have such function!”

“Don’t be silly, I already know how useless you can be,” Ouma halted in his steps as soon as he was on the second floor, ignoring the android’s noise of protest. “All we need is some faith, trust, and a really cool slingshot!” He grinned as he brandished a slingshot out of his pocket.

“Did you have that in your pocket this whole time?” Kiibo huffed.

“Nah, the kids gave it to me as a present,” Ouma smiled, tugging on the rubber band to test its quality. “It’s a really good one too.”

“Are you seriously planning to use a slingshot to shoot it down?” Kiibo directed his attention to the mistletoe above him.

Ouma let out an offended gasp. “You wound me! I’ll have you know that I have a track record of breaking windows with the precision of a sniper using slingshots!”

“Please don’t break windows intentionally using the gift the children gave you…” mumbled the android.

The raven-haired teen responded by sticking out his tongue before taking his aim. “Anyway, what I mean is I’m a good shot. All you have to do is stand there and catch the thing. Surely even you can do something as simple as that.”

Kiibo let out a sigh before nodding, “Alright. I’ll be sure to catch it.”

“You better!” Ouma huffed before holding his breath to keep his aim steady and true. Once he was ready, he let go of the marble and watched it collide with the mistletoe–leading to its literal downfall, with utter satisfaction. He redirected his attention towards his companion after hearing him wince–probably from the marble falling on his head as he struggled to catch the plant.

Kiibo rubbed his head before picking up the marble to prevent any unfortunate falls. “…That was impressive.”

“Why, thank you!” Ouma proudly did a curtsy with his uniform top. “Now get up here, we got some kissing to do!”

“P-please don’t phrase it that way,” Kiibo’s cheeks heated up as he was reminded of their true task.

“Huuuh? How else do you want me to phrase it? That’s as honest as I’ll ever allow myself to be,” Ouma slipped the slingshot back inside his pocket before sauntering his way towards the robot’s room, giving the door two knocks before flashing an expectant look at the android.

He was already used to the supreme leader’s utter disapproval of having anyone enter his room. They first assumed that Ouma was using it to store illegal goods, but after constantly being placed under the mercy of the shorter Ultimate, Kiibo deduced that he was just ashamed to let everyone enter such a cluttered room. Although Ouma still persists on telling everyone that their prior assumption was the truth.

“Now we need some place to hang this above us, but low enough for us to reach he berries,” Ouma hummed.

“Can’t we just hold it above our heads?” Kiibo murmured. “And before you complain about tiring your arms, the same does not apply to me. I can hold it above us without getting tired.”

“Oh? What’s this? Finally coming to your robo-senses?” Ouma’s eyes sparkled, bouncing on his place on Kiibo’s mostly unused bed. “Kiiboy’s finally embracing his robo-self! I’m so happy!”

“Stop unnecessarily prefixing words with ‘robo,’ also, this is the only option that fit your description,” huffed Kiibo.

“Well, as long as I don’t have to do anything else then it’s fine by me,” Ouma grinned, patting the free space beside him. “Hurry so we can get this over with!”

Kiibo found himself gulping nervously, despite not needing to do such action due to his robotic nature. “Perhaps we should count the berries first so we can estimate how many kisses we need.”

“Mm? I guess that’s not a bad idea. You do it, I believe in your bean-counting skills!” the supreme leader leaned back on his arms, looking at the android with interest. “Just don’t run out of battery power as soon as you finish.”

“Enough with your mocking,” frowned the robot, slightly moving away from his companion to count the snow-white berries. “…Nineteen.”

Ouma clicked his tongue. “So only one of us gets to have an extra kiss in, huh.”

“You sound awfully disappointed for someone determined to lift the curse,” Kiibo narrowed his eyes at the supreme leader. He wasn’t really too sure if Ouma’s claims were true. He never really wondered about the Christmas tradition back then considering his father never really hung up mistletoes or pretend to be Santa for him since the professor was just a simple and honest man. He should consult Shinguuji about this supposed curse as soon as they finish this task.

“Non, non, it’s not that I wanted this at all! But even if it’s a cruddy situation, you might as well make the most of it, riiiight?” Ouma playfully tilted his head to the side. “Anyway, let’s settle who does the smooching first with rock, paper, scissors.”

Kiibo blinked, eyeing the other Ultimate’s closed fist before lifting his own. “Fair enough.”

“Rock! Paper! Scissors!”

“Wha–No way! I actually lost?!” Ouma’s eyes widened in shock. He threw out paper while Kiibo threw out scissors. “Aww man this sucks. Why do you get to have an extra kiss…?”

“You really sound disappointed about this,” Kiibo eyed the other in suspicion. ‘For a moment, it looked like he was going to throw out rock… What is he doing? Sabotaging himself like this…’

“I already told you, you have gasoline breath!” Ouma frowned, aggressively wagging a finger at the android. “If I could skip out on one extra kiss from you then I would.”

Kiibo heaved out a heavy sigh.

“Ouma-kun, mind clarifying something for me?”

“Mm? What is it?”

Aquamarine lenses met deep amethyst orbs.

“Does it really have to be me? Is it perhaps possible to have a third person undo the curse for us?”

Ouma tilted his head to the side. “What made you ask that question?”

The android straightened his posture, clasping his hands above his lap. “…So far you’ve done nothing but spew robophobic remarks my way; not to mention, you have repeatedly expressed your reluctance to do this with me. I was merely wondering if it were possible to have an uninterested person undo the curse instead so you’d have someone you actually prefer kiss you instead.”

He could feel the raven-haired Ultimate scrutinize him with a heavy gaze.

“…Unfortunately, it has to be you,” Ouma smiled.

…He’s smiling? What’s with that?

Kiibo looked at his lap, “I see. Unfortunately, huh. I understand.”

“Aww, don’t be sad, Kiiboy~!” Ouma grabbed the android by his shoulders and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “You can use this chance to do something useful for both of us. That should be rewarding enough. Kisses from me aren’t cheap either, you know!”

“O-Ouma-kun, y-you–!” Kiibo’s face was flushed red.

“Mm? Ohhh. Whoopsie~” the supreme leader leaned back. “That one was invalid, the mistletoe wasn’t above us. We wasted a kiss, darn!”

Despite how flustered he was at that moment, Kiibo found himself narrowing his eyes at the other teen. ‘That was definitely on purpose! …On…purpose? Hold on…’

“Earth to Kiibo!” Ouma poked the android on his forehead. “Raise the mistletoe next time, we’re supposed to get rid of the curse after all.”

Kiibo pursed his lips before nodding. ‘If he’s going to act like this, then two can play at this game.’

The android slowly raised the shrub above him, “Alright. Come closer, please.”

“Aye, aye~” The supreme leader scooched closer to the albino, regarding the latter with an expectant look as soon as he was close enough. “Well?”

Kiibo raised his left hand and cupped the other teen’s cheek, brushing away the hair framing his face. His face felt really soft to the touch, and it was warmer than he had expected. Although Ouma was wearing an empty smile, Kiibo could feel him tense under his touch. He wasn’t the only one nervous about this situation–that’s a relief. “Excuse me–”

“Just go for it, dummy!”

Replicating what the supreme leader had done for him earlier, he pressed a chaste kiss on Ouma’s left cheek. He dropped the hand that was cupping his classmate’s face as he pulled away. One.

“Where do we place the berries? From what I know, mistletoe berries are rather poisonous, correct?”

“…Yeah,” Ouma looked around the room for anything they can use. “You could use the trash bin I guess, it looks empty. You can throw the whole thing in it once we’re through, actually.”

“Okay,” Kiibo plucked a berry from the plant and walked towards the trash bin. He carried the trash bin with his free hand and placed it next to his bed. “Give me a moment, I’ll go wash my hands.”

Ouma simply waved him away, a bored expression taking over his face. Once the android disappeared into his bathroom, the supreme leader kicked his shoes off before shifting into a more comfortable position on the bed and hugged his knees to his chest. He closed his eyes, recounting how the robot’s hand held his face so gently despite his build of steel. Nineteen kisses just for him. This is the Christmas present he’s prepared for himself. Regardless of whether the curse was true or false, it shouldn’t reduce the value of the kisses at all.

He flinched a little when he felt the very hands he’s been thinking of gently shake him by his shoulder. The soft voice he’s learned to love in secret was so, so, very close. “Ouma-kun? Are you feeling ill?”

Ouma lifted his head, making a show of rubbing his eyes as he let out an overly dramatized yawn. “Man, you took forever in there. What were you doing? Were you having fun with yourself just after one kiss?”

“Keep your vulgar thoughts to yourself, please.” Kiibo let out a huff as he returned to his place on the bed. “I was making sure I washed my hands thoroughly. I didn’t want you to get sick simply because I decided against washing my hands.”

“How thoughtful of you~ But anyway, it’s back to curse breaking for us,” Ouma flashed the android a mischievous smile as he passed the mistletoe to the latter. “My turn, of course.”

Kiibo lifted a brow when Ouma had grabbed a hold of his free hand, aquamarine lenses widened as soon as he realized what the supreme leader intended to do.

“Mmm-mm! It’s all nice and clean, just like you said,” the shorter teen nodded with approval. He then raised Kiibo’s hand to his lips, making sure to maintain eye contact as he pressed a kiss on the robot’s hand. Two.

It was satisfying to watch the robot trying but ultimately failing to keep his feelings hidden. He’s such an open book to him–which is precisely why Ouma felt safe. Safe to slowly but surely bare his more vulnerable self to the android. Ouma reached upwards to pluck a berry and dropped it into the trash bin. “Your turn.”

Kiibo blinked a couple of times before the words registered in his mind. “A-ah, yes, of course.” His face was still a little red from the kiss earlier. Kind of odd since it was just a hand kiss.

The android simply kissed him on his other cheek. Three.

And so Ouma retaliated with an equally boring kiss on his fingers. Four.

Ouma’s hand. Five.

Kiibo’s cheek. Six.

Ouma’s fingers. Seven.

The other cheek. Eight.

Ouma was starting to get bored of the exchange. Even if every kiss from the android still made his heart flutter, the fact that it was starting to resemble a Kissing Bingo made it a little…. He froze in place when he felt surprisingly warm lips linger on his forehead. Nine. Perfect. Because he felt like he was at cloud nine at the moment and by God, he’s not descending any time soon.

“Ouma-kun? It’s your turn.”

“I know already.”

As though to return the favor, Ouma mimicked the android’s kiss. Ten. They were making quick work of the mistletoe berries, and consequently, they were running out of places to kiss. Kiibo knew this too, and that’s why he’s become increasingly nervous as more and more berries got plucked out of the mistletoe. No one said they couldn’t kiss the same place twice, and yet it seemed like there existed an unspoken rule which said otherwise. Ouma tapped an ear with a knowing look, to which he was responded with a nervous look and eventually, a nod.

“E-excuse me…” Kiibo whispered as he invaded the supreme leader’s personal bubble for the umpteenth time that evening.

“Just get it over with.” Ouma rolled his eyes, pushing his hair behind an ear to give the android easier access.

Kiibo took a deep breath before going for the kiss. Eleven. He was astonished to find that Ouma’s ears had flushed red from the contact, and yet the supreme leader’s face remained blank.… Interesting.

“Hey, Kiiboy.”

“Yes?”

“Close your eyes for a moment, will you?” Ouma tilted his head.

Unable to discern his companion’s intentions, Kiibo silently complied. He tensed a little when he felt the other boy’s hands on his shoulders–to support himself most-likely. His eyelids twitched a little when he felt the other’s lips ghost against them. And there it was, the Twelfth kiss that sent tiny sparks through his entire circuitry. ‘What was that…?’

“Ah–!” Kiibo’s arms flailed around as he fell back against his bed. Using his elbows to prop himself up, he sent the other Ultimate an indignant glare. “W-what was that for?”

Ouma pressed a finger against his lips, “You looked like you were dreaming, so I decided to bring you back to the real world. Get up Kiiboy, we only have seven kisses left.”

“A-alright,” Kiibo returned to his previously upright position and hesitantly wrapped an arm over the supreme leader’s shoulder. He guided the latter’s head a little downwards so he could press a kiss on the crown of his head. Thirteen.

“Hoho, how daring of you. I guess I better step up my game then. No way I’m losing to a robot!” Ouma smirked once the deed was done.

“Lose? This isn’t a competi–” Before the android could even finish his sentence, the supreme leader had already slipped his trademark checker-patterned scarf off of his shoulders with one swift tug, revealing the creamy white expanse that is Ouma’s neck. The novelty of such a view had rendered him utterly speechless.

“Take a picture, it lasts longer,” Ouma regarded the albino with a smug grin as he discarded over his shoulder.

“…I don’t understand. It’s your turn, isn’t it?” Kiibo mumbled his query, eyes darting elsewhere. Somehow it felt wrong eyeing the supreme leader’s rarely exposed neck.

“I can’t exactly step up my game on my turn, you know? You don’t really have that many places for me to kiss,” the supreme leader pouted. “Now turn around for me.”

Kiibo complied without protest, considering it would mean he wouldn’t have to look at the supreme leader’s newly exposed collar, unintentional or not. He raised the mistletoe above them once more, tensing when he felt Ouma’s run his hands down his back before feeling the other teen’s chest pressed against him. Kiibo closed his eyes shut, hoping that the supreme leader wouldn’t take note of the emergency button located on his nape. ‘He’s…he’s too close!’

While the robot was busy panicking, Ouma smiled with amusement as he pressed his lips against the plating on the albino’s back, right where his spine would have been. Fourteen. Despite the robot’s reddening face, the plating on his back remained pleasantly cool to the touch. He gently pushed himself away from the android, taking note of his completely stiff posture.

‘Now…will he take the bait or will he swoop in for the kill?’ Ouma ran a thumb across his lips as he smiled to himself.

“…A-any kind of kiss would suffice, right?”

“Hm?”

Kiibo shifted in his seat a little before shyly looking over his shoulder–his collars were already covering his lower face. “As long as it’s a ‘kiss’ then it would suffice right? Anything goes?”

Ouma leaned back on his hands, “Yeah. A kiss is a kiss. Just don’t forget the mistletoe and we’re good.”

The android was now facing him completely, still flustered from the previous kiss. “A-alright.” He lifted the mistletoe above his head, silently beckoning the supreme leader towards him. What Ouma didn’t expect was to happen as soon as he got close was to have Kiibo lean downwards, closing his eyes ever so slowly.

‘W-wait–! Is he for real?!’ Ouma panicked–he wanted to move away, but he couldn’t seem to move a muscle. ‘H-he’s actually…going for it?’ He found his own eyes fluttering shut, already surrendering himself to the inevitable.

…Except the inevitable didn’t happen. By the time Ouma had opened his eyes, the albino had already pulled away. Fifteen. “What was that?”

Kiibo pressed his fingers together, “…It was a bunny kiss.”

‘No shit it was. There’s a huge difference between getting kissed on the lips and having someone rub their nose against yours,’ Ouma groused internally.

“A-anyway…it’s your turn again,” Kiibo shyly scratched his cheek as he spoke. “We only need four left.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know how to count, Kiiboy.” the supreme leader huffed, gesturing for the mistletoe. “Still, that was pretty childish of you–resorting to a bunny kiss of all things. That barely counted as a kiss!”

“Wha–you were the one who told me that a kiss was a kiss!” the android frowned, almost failing to notice the fact that the shorter male had already leaned down to kiss the symbol located on his left collar. Sixteen.

“Are you deaf? I said it barely counted as one! Meaning, it’s teetering between the lines of not being a kiss and actually qualifying as a kiss.” Ouma made a show of flicking out dirt from his nails. “You better come up with something more flashy for this turn to make up for–”

The supreme leader couldn’t even finish his sentence. As soon as he gathered his bearings, he realized that his back was flat against the bed with two metallic hands placed against his chest to keep him in place. “Ohhh?”

“…I don’t know what it is you want from me. I’ve done everything all according to your instructions, haven’t I?” Kiibo mumbled. “…And now you’re telling me I have to ‘make it up to you’ when I am positive that I did not violate any of your terms? Do none of my actions mean anything to you, Ouma-kun?”

Ouma’s eyes widened a little, taking in the android’s shaking voice, his quivering lips and his watering lenses. ‘…That’s not it at all…you got it all wrong, you stupid robot…’

“Never mind. You don’t have to answer that.” Kiibo adjusted his position above the supreme leader so as not to crush the latter. “…Let’s just finish this so we can be rid of each other.”

Cool metal fingers slowly made its way up the supreme leader’s jawline, guiding the latter’s head to the side to expose more of his neck. Instead of the flustered demeanor which he had been nursing earlier, Kiibo’s face was now tinged with melancholia as he held up the mistletoe with his free hand. Ouma tensed as their bodies slowly came into close contact, with Kiibo’s lips only a hair’s breadth away from his neck. His oh so sensitive neck.

“K-Kiiboy–”

“…Is something the matter?”

Prompting the android to speak while he was practically right next to his ear was a big mistake. Kiibo’s gentle voice practically echoed directly inside his headspace and eventually burying itself deep into his psyche–rendering him speechless.

“…Since there’s nothing wrong, I shall resume.” Kiibo pressed his warm lips against the side of the other boy’s neck, sending figurative sparks straight down his jugular.

Ouma squeezed his eyes shut, willing his urge to push the android away to disappear. If this goes on for any longer, his heart would have burst out of his chest and all of the feelings he had intended to keep would leak out of the mangled organ. He can’t afford to show his hands too early, not when he’s still not sure of where they exactly stood in their odd relationship. Or…if he had a chance for that matter.

He found himself melting into the sheets as soon as the android pulled away from him, he gritted his teeth in a desperate attempt to silence his heart.

Kiibo still looked upset from their earlier conversation, but his cheeks are now dusted with light pink. “Well…?”

Ouma slightly lifted his head, still a little too weak to make his limbs function accordingly. “Eh. It was passable. I don’t have any complaints this time. Isn’t that great, Kiiboy~?”

“Don’t patronize me,” the android huffed as he tossed another berry in the trash bin. The seventeenth berry.

“How rude! Just when I finally decided to praise you a little,” Ouma clicked his tongue, shaking his head a little before moving to sit in a more upright position. “Anyway, two more left. Let’s do this.” He flung his arms over the android’s shoulders, standing on his knees to keep himself nice and steady.

“Alri–what are you doing–?”

“It’s my turn! I’m free to do what I want~” Ouma said in a sing-song manner, guiding the robot’s hand to hold the mistletoe over their heads. That unspoken rule. He’s going to break it. “Pay closer attention to me, okay?”

Somehow…the way the supreme leader’s eyes glistened in the modest lighting of his room sent chills down his spine. It wasn’t like his usual smiling poker face. His intentions remained a mystery, however his eyes carried emotion. An emotion he couldn’t name at this point in time.

Kiibo’s eyes widened at the sensation of the supreme leader’s lips against his forehead once more. His confusion only grew as the raven-haired Ultimate pulled back with such a pure smile.

“Two,” Ouma still didn’t release the robot from his hold, opting to lean right back in instead, ghosting his lips against the robot’s very own. “And with this final kiss…the curse shall be lifted.”

“Ou–”

Ouma’s lips–as Kiibo had come to discover, was chapped and a little rough against his own, most-likely from the cold. Regardless of the roughness, the kiss was somehow pleasantly slow and had already long since surpassed the realm of being chaste. What surprised him even more was the fact that he found himself wrapping his arms around the shorter Ultimate.

One. Two. Three. Four–

Their lips have met each other again and again, not noticing the fact that the mistletoe had already slipped out of the android’s grasp. By the time they had come to their senses, the sheets were already in disarray and the supreme leader was laying atop the other unabashedly.

“Whoopsie~ Those sure were a lot of invalid kisses, huh! You should have told me!” no matter how cheeky and unserious Ouma sounded, his flustered cheeks belied his words. “Anyway, since the curse is lifted, I’ll be on my way now~”

Ouma hastily put on his shoes disguised as efficiency before tossing the entire mistletoe in the trash bin. “I’ll be out of your hair now. Since you were so eager to get rid of me. Ta-ta~”

“O-Ouma-kun, wait–!”

BANG!

The door had already slam shut by the time he got out of the bed.

Kiibo released a defeated sigh as he slowly dropped to his feet, burying his awfully warm face into his pleasantly cool hands in the hopes of lowering his temperature to a more stable degree. This proved to be futile as he foolishly decided that reviewing his memories of the kiss would be a good idea in this kind of situation. It only served to make his face grow hotter, as the sensation of the kisses had imprinted inself in his thoughts not similar to his usual manner of remembering information.

“I…have a number of things to re-evaluate…” he mumbled to himself as he buried his head in his knees. “A number of…things.”

Bonus: “Yes, plucking the berries of the mistletoe after a kiss has in fact been practiced dated back in the 18th century, commonly practiced by British servants.” Shinguuji responded without breaking a sweat–truly he was deserving of his title.

“I see…” Kiibo nodded along. “Were there any curses involved?”

“Curses?” Shinguuji regarded the android with mild surprise. “While it’s been said that refusing a kiss under the mistletoe would bring forth misfortune, there were no records of curses based on the mistletoe.”

Kiibo combed a hand through his hair, already expecting such a result. “…Thank you, Shinguuji-kun.”

“You look red. Are you perhaps overheating?” the taller Ultimate tilted his head as he shut his book closed, offering the artificial human his undivided attention.

“I’m fine. I truly appreciate your concern and for allowing me to take up much of your time. I have some plans for the rest of the day, and I must be off now.” Kiibo raised placating hands as he slowly backed away from his classmate.

“Mmm…I see. Very well then.”

“See you later–!” Kiibo bowed before exiting the Ultimate Anthropologist’s Lab with a single objective in mind.

‘I need to find Ouma-kun…!’

#ndrv3 #kiibouma #kiibo #ouma kokichi #katastrofic writing #monica #submission #winter kiibouma

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marvelling-you · 5 years

Text

rather be dead, rather be fine

Rating: Mature Pairing: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers Word Count: 2210 Tags: Sick Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Catholicism but only slightly, First Kiss, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Slight Internalized Homophobia, rated for language Summary: Steve has a high fever. Both his mother and Bucky are afraid that this will be his last night. Everywhere you look, Everywhere you turn, Illness is watching, Waiting its turn AO3 Link: xx

When Steve didn’t show up to their painting class for the third day in a row, Bucky knew something was wrong. Steve was a natural when it came to the arts, and Steve never looked more alive when he had a palette and brush in his hands. Bucky would have swung by the apartment, but they needed more hands at the docks. By the time he left work, it was as if someone had filled his shoes with cement. Every step he took home got heavier and heavier, and his eyelids were no different. As soon as he got home, Bucky would collapse on the couch, falling into an uninterrupted sleep.

But he was going to make time today. He took long strides until he reached home, only wanting to drop off his books.

“Oh, James!” His mother, Winnie called from the kitchen. “Come here. I need you to do something.”

“What is it ma?” Bucky asked, following his mother’s voice. “Can you make it quick? I’m headin’ over to see Steve.”

Winnie stood at the stove, ladle in hand. With care, she poured some soup into a thermos. “This is for that poor boy. Sarah called and told me he’s runnin’ another fever.”

Bucky bit his lower lip, upset that he was right to worry.

“Is it really bad?”

Winnie sighed, screwing the top of the thermos tight. “Sarah sounded frantic. Just… take this to them, and this.” She handed Bucky the thermos, then pulled out her wallet. “Just in case he needs medicine.”

“Alright, ma.” Bucky shoved the money in his jacket pocket. “If I’m not back by dinner, I’m stayin’ over there.”

“I know.” Winnie gave Bucky a quick hug. “I know he means a lot to you.”

With a small nod, Bucky headed back out. As far as he could remember, Steve was always sick. Bad eyes, bad hearing in one ear, bad back, bad lungs. And his heart. Oh, his heart. The list went on and on, and Bucky could only feel angry at the world and the heavens. Steve was… wonderful, courageous, kind. Someone like him didn’t deserve so much pain. If it was at all possible, Bucky would share the burden, or fuck, take all of it. But that’s just a dream.

He arrived at the Rogers’ home, picked up the spare key and let himself in. No one was in the living room, and as far as Bucky could tell, no one was home. His heart pounded and his breathing hitched. They were here, right? Otherwise, they’d be at the hospital. Steve couldn’t be that sick, right? It couldn’t be that bad, right? It couldn’t be—

“Hello?” He called out. “Steve? You here?”

A door creaked open. A priest dressed in black clutched his bible, his face solemn. Sarah followed behind him with red eyes and her tear stained face. The priest only nodded at Bucky before leaving.

“James, I’m glad you’re here.” Sarah wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. Bucky gulped, his mind racing.

“Where’s Steve?” His voice was shaking. “Is he—”

“—he’s in bed,” Sarah said softly. “The priest just came by to give him his last rites. He’s not… he’s not doing good. His fever won’t go down, and he isn’t eating. My baby…”

Bucky set down the thermos in the kitchen, then rushed to Sarah’s side, pulling her in for a hug. Sarah was another mother to him. For as long as he’d known Steve, Sarah welcomed Bucky into her home many a time, treating him just as she treated Steve, like a son. Though it was only for a moment, Sarah allowed herself to sob, letting out the grief and fear she held for her son. Bucky let out a sound—something he couldn’t quite place. A whimper? His heart was crashing to the floor, shattering into a million pieces and he didn’t know if he was capable of putting it back together.

Sarah managed to pull away from Bucky, her gaze low in shame. “I, uhm, need to run to the hospital,” she said. “To prepare things, just in case. Please—”

“—I’ll stay with him.” Bucky smiled softly, though his eyes stung. “If somethin’... happens … I’ll call the hospital.”

“Thank you.” Sarah grabbed her coat and rushed out the door. Bucky locked the door behind her, watching as she raced down the street.

His mouth was dry as he walked over to Steve’s room, peering through the cracked door. As he entered, Bucky did his damndest to not let any tears stream down his face. Steve’s complexion was as pale as a sheet of paper, and he had dark circles under his eyes. The blonde smiled weakly.

“I was wonderin’ when I’d see see your ugly mug, ya jerk.”

“Punk.” Bucky rolled his eyes. Of course Steve would still joke around. He made his way over towards the bedside and sat on a chair—presumably the one Sarah prayed for her son. Upon closer inspection, Steve’s eyes were red.

“Bucky.” Steve’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Can you do somethin’ for me?”

“Of course.” Bucky placed his hand on Steve’s shoulder. Did he get thinner? “Whatcha need?”

“My drawings… my paintings… sell all of ‘em. Knowing my ma, she’ll want to go all out for the funeral. I don’t wanna burden her like that.” Steve sighed as Bucky’s eyes widened.

“I’m not doing that, Stevie.”

“Why the fuck not?”

Bucky winced at Steve’s resignation to death. He wanted to say it was the fever making his best friend delirious. If not, where was fighter Bucky knew?

“‘Cause you ain’t dying.”

“I already look like a damn corpse.” He raised his shaking hand, spreading out his fingers as if he was reaching for the ceiling, as if he was reaching out for the Lord to take him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. “Maybe I wasn’t meant to live this long.”

“Don’t say things like that,” Bucky begged quietly. “Yeah, you got dealt a shit hand, but that doesn’t mean it won’t turn around one day. Maybe—”

“I’m fuckin’ tired, Buck!” Steve half-shouted, half-cried. He grabbed fistfuls of his blanket. “I’m so fucking tired . I… even if I get better, I don’t want this anymore. I want Him to take me. It’ll be a mercy.”

“A mercy,” Bucky echoed. “Dyin’s a mercy instead of, oh, I don’t know, lettin’ you live?”

“Yeah.”

Bucky slammed his fist against the nightstand, nearly knocking over the lamp.

“Well maybe your ma still wants you around!” Bucky crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not givin’ up on you, and I sure as hell ain’t givin’ you to anyone. Not even God.”

“But I ain’t yours to give.”

And Bucky knew that. Steve didn’t belong to him, even though he wished it every night. All he wanted was to hold Steve close and never let go. Bucky knew he was greedy He wanted to plant kisses on his forehead and hold hands when they walked to class. But those were unattainable desires. He didn’t even know how Steve felt towards him, though Bucky believed it was something along the lines of a familial love. He’d seen the way Steve stared as girls clung onto his arm.

Bucky stood up and inched closer to the bed. “Steve, move your ass over.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I said so, punk.” He bit his lower lip. “I already told your ma I was stayin’ here. So scooch.”

Steve grumbled as he made room for Bucky. “I don’t know how the hell we’re gonna fit.”

Bucky kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed. “Yeah, like that ever stopped us before.”

They both laid on their backs, Bucky’s large frame nearly overtaking the small bed. This wasn’t going to work, Bucky knew that. Instead, he shifted around so that he was on his side, facing Steve, who for all his complaining didn’t look upset as their eyes met. In all the years they’d known each other, Bucky couldn’t recall a time where Steve looked so haunted . He wanted to say something, do anything, but Bucky just didn’t know what would be best.

“You know you’re gonna be okay, right?” Steve asked, earning a puzzled look from Bucky. “After I’m six feet under, you’ll find a nice dame, get married, have a few kids. You’re gonna go out into the world and live . You’re gonna retire and all of this, right now… you’ll have so many good memories that you won’t even think about me.”

Bucky bit his tongue. He knew what Steve was doing, and he didn’t mean anything cruel by it. But that didn’t lessen the pain. His eyes were stinging with tears. He didn’t care to hide how he felt. Bucky wasn’t sure how he looked, but whatever expression he made was enough for Steve’s eyes to go from hollow to horrified.

“Buck, I—”

“—you’re a real fuckin’ piece of work, Rogers.” Bucky’s tears flowed freely as his voice hitched “You’re a fucking idiot. Like hell I’d never think ‘bout you. I swear… if you fucking leave me and go where I can’t follow… you really think I could forget you?”

“No,” Steve said quietly, his eyes watering. “But you should.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.” Bucky wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands. “If I want to think about you, I’ll think about you. I already think about you every damn day.” He wrapped his arms around Steve and pulled him close, making the smaller man yelp in surprise. Bucky pressed the back of Steve’s head towards his chest. He could feel the heat of Steve’s breath through the thin fabric of his shirt.

“Let it out, Stevie,” Bucky said quietly as he ran his hand through Steve’s hair. “I know you’ve been keepin’ it all in.”

Steve was shaking, so Bucky just held him tighter. And that was enough for the dam to break. Steve choked out a sob, only for it to escalate to a full blown cry, laced with anger, bitterness and grief.

“S’not fair!” He shouted into Bucky’s chest. “I don’t wanna die!”

“I know, Steve.” Bucky’s voice wavered. “I don’t want you to go.”

Against his better judgement, Bucky pressed his lips on the top of Steve’s head. He hadn’t done that since they were kids. Whenever Steve scraped his knee, or got a black eye, Bucky kissed his wounds.

“My ma does that for me,” he explained. “It makes the pain go away.” But when they got too old for such childish things, he stopped giving Steve his kisses.

Steve tensed up, and Bucky realized what he had done. The blonde looked up at him, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes wide and questioning. Although he was apprehensive, Bucky brought his hand to Steve’s chin, tilting his head upwards. He brought his own face closer, and kissed near the corners of those beautiful blue eyes, where all Steve’s tears were pooling.

“I don’t want your pity, Buck,” Steve said as he pulled away. “M’not a kid anymore.”

Bucky’s stomach twisted. “How could I ever pity you?” He swallowed thickly before allowing the words to float up and out. “I… I love you, Stevie. So damn much. I know it’s queer and wrong, but I can’t help it. Outta everyone in Brooklyn, New York, fuck even the world… you’re it for me.”

He didn’t expect anything, except for maybe a look of disgust. Instead, Steve buried his face back into Bucky’s chest.

“... is this a fever dream?” he asked. “Am I dreaming this?”

Bucky gulped. “O-Only if you want it to be.” He felt Steve shaking his head.

“No.” Steve looked back up at Bucky, then kissed his cheek. “I don’t want it to be just a dream.”

Before they knew it, they were giving each other small, lingering kisses against each other’s cheeks, each other’s foreheads. They gazed at each other for what felt like an eternity, as if to make up for the time lost due to fear of rejection and hatred. Bucky cupped Steve’s face, stroking his thumb against his cheek.

“Stevie,” he whispered. “Is this okay? Can I… Can I kiss you?”

Steve nodded and closed his eyes. As their lips touched, shivers crawled up Bucky’s spine. He’d kiss many a dame, but those kisses didn’t even come close to this.

“Let’s get some sleep.” Bucky said, pulling away, much to Steve’s disappointment. “I’ll be right here when you wake up, okay?”

Steve open his mouth in protest, but Bucky wouldn’t have it. “You’re gonna wake up in the mornin’ okay? We’re gonna have breakfast with your ma and I’m gonna run down to the store and get ya more charcoal. I’ll even model for you if you want.”

“As if your handsomeness could be captured on paper,” Steve said with a small chuckle.

Bucky snorted. “Sap.”

“But I’m your sap… aren’t I?”

“Yeah.” Bucky smiled as his eyes fluttered close. “You are.”

Both of them drifted off the sleep, limbs tangled together. Bucky never felt such joy as the next morning, seeing Steve sitting up in bed, eyes focused on him, with sketchbook in his lap.

#stucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #pre serum steve rogers #stevebucky #bucky x steve #steve x bucky #fanfic

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celestialsushi · 6 years

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Rules: answer 21 questions and tag 21 people you want to get to know better. (make a separate post)

1 nickname: Sushi, but I’m also called Jessi and Jess (and sometimes Jennifer because enough people accidentally called me that and now I respond to it on reflex, lol)

2 zodiac: Cancer (*Crab Rave plays*)

3 height: 5′ 3.25″ / 161 cm

4 last movie i saw: ...Ummmm I think it was Thor?? Or a drama about Hildegard of Bingen

5 last thing googled: Hildegard of Bingen (lol)

6 favorite musicians: ‪Lots, but Italobrothers’ music resonates with my soul sound-wise (theirs and EasyPop’s)

7 song stuck in my head: I Will Pick You Up - S3RL feat. Tamika

8 other blogs: I co-run @sarcastic-pasta-games and @ask-spgbilly... also got an old RP blog called @asklyndi among other blogs and a sideblog so I don’t annoy you all with too many heart posts... lol yeah. It’s a lot of blogs

9 do i get asks: Not very often; thinking about doing some of those face + palette memes soon so there’s that

10 followers: 604; thank you all!! :D

11 following: 143 (but some are dormant...)

12 amount of sleep: Anywhere from 5-7.5 hours depending on the day, how I feel, what I might have to do the next day... and how much I procrastinate getting off the computer at night, lol

13 lucky number: Uhhh no “lucky” numbers, but I do LIKE the numbers 2, 7, 12, 17, 23, and 27 (2s and 7s mostly)

14 what i’m wearing: An oversized Undertale shirt (”Mercy”), soft patterned pajama pants, and black socks. Wearing oversized T-shirts to sleep in is the best :3

15 dream job: Game developer. It’s something I’m working towards :3 Lots of aspects of creativity in one package!

16 dream trip: Japaaaaaan. Someday

17 favorite food: I kind of hate the “favorite food” question because I love so many XD Used to be stir fry, but lately I’ve been feeling really flavorful sub sandwiches for some reason

18 play any instruments: Piano (for 22 years), guitar (not very well beyond basic, lol), and computer (ELECTRONIC MUSIC YEEEEEEAAA--)

19 favorite song: It’s like the food question all over again XD So I’ll just give you my favorite set of old school songs (aka Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc): Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 by J.S. Bach (who happens to be my favorite old school composer as well)

20 random fact: I love collecting enamel lapel pins :3

21 describe yourself as aesthetic things: Let’s see... A rainy spring day but you’re inside with a blue-green mug of green tea, wrapped in a soft fleece blanket, listening to the rain gently hit your window and roof as you play a colorful video game. You have chocolate nearby (which goes well with green tea) and you can feel your heart pounding with excitement as you’re actually close to finishing the level--YES!! YOU DID IT!! Onto level two as you sink back into your chair, the happy warmth of accomplishment still coursing through your veins and your smile.

(I probably failed and just wrote a scenario instead, lol, but maybe that’ll put some vivid images into your mind?)

Also I’m not tagging anyone; I did this for fun because I saw it and wanted to, so please feel free to do this if you want to as well :D

#questions meme #feel free to do if you want

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suburbiakrp-blog · 7 years

Photo

WELCOME TO JUKJEON, CHOI NURI !

your place at starvilla 401 is all ready for you, we hope you enjoy your stay. citizens, let’s welcome our new neighborhood sous-chef !

HOW HAS JUKJEON BEEN TREATING YOU THE PAST 2 MONTHS ?

As it’s only been a short period of time since Nuri moved into Jukjeon, she hasn’t cemented a hard opinion. Her stay in the suburb is temporary (or at least, intended to be), just up until she’s saved enough money to rent out her own one-room. The experience so far has been mostly positive, though—she appreciates her sister’s generosity in allowing her to move into a complex as well-maintained as the star villa, free of charge; add to that the charms of the surrounding community, and she’s beginning to reconsider her eventual plans to move back to the city proper. Even so, the work commute to the hills of Seoul’s Seongbuk-gu is a major inconvenience and a true test of her patience, taking up a total of four hours in transit a day (two hours both ways).

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF !

동태전 Pollock fish cakes

Their hands are swelled digging through groceries—mother’s with age and fatigue, Nuri’s with fat and blood and the blooming of red and blue around her knuckles. She’d thrown punches harder that day than ever, bloodying two noses and earning two classmates trips to the school infirmary, making too much noise when she returned home in the evening, backpack buckles and zippers clattering against wood. But now, with her hands wrapped tight around the neck of this slippery fish and gaze boring into the critter’s own dead eyes, Nuri thinks that maybe they had it coming for them all this time.

Mother asks her to crack and beat four eggs into the large bowl, and she wordlessly obliges, whacking them against the counter and relishing in each egg’s slimy exit from its shell. Her hands are still hot with indignation, remembering their impact against skin, bone against cartilage. Without thinking twice, Nuri submerges them into the bowl of eggs and lets the cold whites engulf her chubby hands. She stretches her fingers open, combing through mucus, then crushes the egg yolks as she balls them back into fists.

Mother comes over with a quizzical expression and chopsticks in tow. “Nuri? Use these instead, please.”

삼양라면 Samyang ramen

“Is the water boiled?”

“Got it right here.” Brian unlatches the electric kettle from its base and pours straight into the pot. They stand over the stove until the water reaches a rolling boil again.

“So you were saying.”

“Oh, right.” Funny that what began as a simple offhand comment about their youth pastor’s lopsided toupée and a mutual, deep-seated misanthropy (that their Bible-flipping peers found blasphemous and in poor taste) kicked off this series of kitchen confessionals. He crosses one foot over the other. “So Paul posts this thing, this super obnoxious thing. Lists every single school he got into, doesn’t spare us any details.” Then, a taunting reenactment, “Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Stanford, UVA, Berkeley, UCLA. It’s been such a journey! Can’t wait to see what the future holds in store!”

“Ew.”

“Right. And here I am, feeling shitty about myself.”

“Fuck that guy.” She flips the noodles over, then lodges her chopsticks into the center to loosen the block up. “But hey, Brown’s a great school.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t my first choice.”

“Yeah, but it’s still a great school.” She prods at the noodles again before dropping in an egg and giving it all a loose stir. “I’d be lucky if any place takes me.”

“Aw, come on. You’re doing way better now, no?”

“I guess.”

She’s a good kid, most of the time.

Gone are the days of disciplinary complaints and phone calls from hysterical mothers demanding justice for their innocent children, what could they have possibly done do to deserve this. The kids leave her alone here and she keeps to herself more often than not.

She comes home from school now at two-thirty on the dot. It’s homework from then until dinner, followed by dish washing after the family’s finished and dad’s halfway to inebriation upstairs. With Nayoung off at college, she has the television to herself—she sticks to the tube for the next hour or so. After that, it’s back to homework and lights out by midnight. The routine that settles is incapacitating. She becomes complacent, perhaps sped up by the fact that her own parents don’t recognize the change in her once zealous disposition; they’re much too caught up in their own self-pity, staring longingly at the documents piling up on the kitchen counter.

Nuri turns the gas off and pours the ramen into two bowls, careful that neither receives a drop of soup more than the other. “Honestly, though? I don’t think school’s for me.”

A pause. “Maybe not. That’s okay, too.”

“Yeah, but…” She tops off each bowl with a generous helping of scallions and two drops of sesame oil. “… I don’t know what I’d do if I don’t go.” She hands him his share and he slurps up a mouthful.

Brian’s expression suddenly softens. It’s not the first time she’s seen this look.

“Maybe cook?” He helps himself to the soup this time, and his eyebrows narrow and angle like blades. “There’s a school with a great culinary program next to Brown.”

Johnson and Wales. I know. “It’s just ramen.” Nuri feels a slow burn in her ears.

“No, no, really. Ramen aside, your stuff is better than all of the ahjummas’ here.”

“Shut up.”

Brian grins, all white. “Just go and cook for me until you’ve figured out a better plan.”

A grumble. “Shut up and eat.”

소보로덮밥 Soboro rice

The peak of summer is here, Nuri thinks, stray hairs sticking like seaweed on her forehead as she departs from the neighborhood butcher’s.

She’s never been much of a sentimental person. But somehow, hovering over a wooden cutting board with a pound of chicken thighs at the mercy of her carbon steel knife and an unfamiliar, stinging wetness in her eyes, Nuri is forced to reconsider.

(“Is that what I think it is?”

“Maybe. Probably.”)

The meat is pounded away—flattened and pulverized and minced into an unshapely mass that she relegates to the side after a quick sprinkling of salt and pepper. She turns on the stove, smell of lighter fluid tart in the air before the flames cut in to warm the pan. She beats a few eggs together with sugar and a dash of cooking wine, then pours the mixture over and gives them a light scramble. She boils Chinese broccoli in a pot of salted water, sends it to an ice bath, then wrings out the excess moisture. And then she cooks the ground chicken, letting it sizzle in a sweet medley of soy and ginger, prodding and separating until the meat spreads across the pan into inconspicuous pieces.

(“The three color-palette always gets to me, you know. It’s so simple, so perfect.”

“Shut up and eat.”)

The rice cooker sounds just as Hyesu buzzes in.

“Smells great,” Hyesu says, moving fluidly out of her silk blazer. Everything is as it should be, and Nuri undresses her down to the last stitch, as she always does—gently-sloped chest, mischievous turn of the lips, and orderly, correct teeth. Hyesu plants a quick peck on her cheek before taking her place at the table. “Thanks for the food, babe.”

Nuri watches her dig in, smile slowly finding its way.

잣죽 Pine nut porridge

She scoops the last of the heated porridge into a bowl, milky white offset by the pellets of nuts that dot the surface. Her phone stays on the countertop, and she listens to the breathing on the other end, the sound of passing traffic, faint whirs of movement and the low rumble of car engines beyond a steady crunching of dead foliage. “Leftovers?” The voice on the other end crackles.

“Yup.” Nuri replies. “What’s your ETA?”

“Two minutes, just sit tight.” The clacking of heels against pavement is suddenly more pronounced. “Did you call mom today?”

“I did,” Nuri chucks her utensils into the sink and picks up last month’s issue on interiors, thumbing through the glossy pages with a lazy gaze and keen disinterest. “We only talked for a bit, though. Seems like she’s still busy figuring out the logistics on the new house. What a shitshow.”

Nayoung laughs. “Wonder if we’re even welcome there.”

“Maybe not.”

“Maybe not. But she seems a lot happier. Kind of makes me wish dad would find someone too. We could find a willing widow to set him up with since he’s so close by. He’s certainly not getting any younger.”

“Neither are you, sis.”

“Please, not you too.”

“Kidding, kidding. You’re doing great. Don’t need anyone to tell you how to live your life.”

“Thanks, kiddo—I can only say the same for you. Looking forward to dinner!”

“Hurry up, now.”

#sa.app #fc.kim chunga #ch.choi nuri

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thesecretlifeofmerribethc · 5 years

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5.11.19 - 5.16.19 feat. NEW JOB + BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5.11.19

Saturday! Cleaned manong’s car out while the sibs cleaned the house. I drove to Target and we also walked to 5 Below and Marshalls. At Marshalls manang bought an espresso maker!!! It’s so cute, and it was only $8. At Target I bought mom a small eye shadow palette for mother’s day lol (that’s all I could afford). Got some Mcdonalds and went home to play Overcooked 2. Mom was home from hanging out with tita Delai and tita Emy. Also. I found out my wisdom tooth in the back of my right side of my molar is finally popping out of my gum!!!! Bout time but man :P

5.12.19

Happy Mother’s day!!! Woke up and gave mom her gifts. Oh yeah, at Marshalls, manang bought marv lindor chocolate to give to mom lol. At church it was so busy! Decorated (again) the dining hall but at least it was simple. Food was great!!!!! Mark and kuya Sanjay both brought chicken curry! Mark actually brought a lot of food!! SO NICE of him. He brought curry, rice with beans, and plaintains. It was so good!! Dad had work so at home the sibs and mom took pics.

5.13.19

Prepped for interview questions and my clothes for my interview with Delfin at DMC - DRH! So nervous.

5.14.19

Phewwwww ok`so I got up pretty early (ok not really, but like 10 a.m. lol) to review some interview questions and answers. Got ready and then mom, dad and I made our way to Detroit. It was a sunny, beautiful day! Got to DRH and checked in with the front desk. Dad and I waited for about 20 minutes before we got the go to go upstairs. During that time of wait, dad was approached by like 4 co-workers, 1 was Marko who worked on the 5th floor but days, and he gave me some encouragement. Then it was dad’s own coworker, the PCA. And she was like “Ha? She’s having an interview with _______?!” And then before we went to the 5th floor, we stopped by dad’s office and his coworker was there too and she seemed iffy about where/who I was interviewing with and it kinda worried me. Anyway, went upstairs and met with the manager, however I went into the room and sat with the coordinator who interviewed me. She was SO nice. I really like her. I don’t think I nailed the interview, but thankfully the questions she asked were pretty easy, and she was very positive. After my interview with the coordinator, I was then facing the manager who came in the room to ask if I had any questions. After about 20 minutes of talking he then asks me, “I’m going to ask you a hypothetical question. If I were to offer you the job right now, what would you say?” and I said yes. And then he said, “I’m offering you the job.” So HOME GIRL GOT A JOB!!!! After that I took a tour with the coordinator and checked the 3 units within the 5th floor. I DID IT. Friends congratulated me on the Groupme. Was so funny cuz Jod was like “Bebet went from being the poorest in the group to the richest” and all my friends were like “WOW WE KNOW A DOCTOR” “WOW DOCTOR” Got picked up and celebrated at Mcdonalds on Mack. It was so busy. After that, mom, dad and I just went to the downstairs parking so dad could nap before work (yes, dad sacrificed napping to support me for my interview <3333 he walked into the hospital with me and walked me up to the 5th floor too!). Dropped dad off and then mom and I went to get manang. Manong picked up Marv. Before we picked up manang mom and I went to burlington to look at shoes but didn’t get anything. Got manang and once we got home we changed and got ready since Jod was gonna pick us up for taco Tuesday at Maiz!! Si parked at our house and so the 4 of us rode together. Got to Maiz and waited for like 15 minutes for a table, and then Jovel and Nai came. After we were done eating Sam came but we ordered his food so that it was ready when he came. I was pretty disappointed with my food. The shell was SO SOGGY and old tasting. It broke apart :P And the meat was cold! Sigh. Like the shell was even doubled up because it was breaking apart. Anywho after that we went to Cultivate(?) where we played exploding cats. Then manang and I rode with Sam and Si home!

5.15.19

Mom cooked me some spaghetti for tomorrow! :))) Mom had a date with tita rose and others so it was just Marv and I at home. I cleaned before marv got home. Cooked egg for the sibs and I and then watched som one punch. Then I went to the garage to get started on the trash. Once manong and manang came home the four of us in good moods worked together to get the wooden pallets, couch, stove and trash out to the curb. After that we played Overcooked 2. BUT OMG. So like, at 2 am today before I hit the hay, I went on FB and saw a flyer that St Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor was having a nurse job fair!!! I signed up and told Danielle. She’ll most likely ride with me!! Sigh.... Kinda wished I didn’t say yes immediately. And I kinda wished I was ready for an interview with Beaumont. Sigh. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be tho.

5.16.19

Happy birthday to me!!!!!! Thank you Lord!!!! Literally woke up and cried. God is so good. All the time. So thankful for another year. Woke up and went downstairs and found a bouquet of beautiful carnations and a card from dad (I was still up last night and he didn’t get home until 5 just to get these for me! :’D). Had breakfast with mom and dad and then just chilled for the day! Then it was time for prayer meeting. Picked up Marv then went to 7-11. Got some donuts and iced coffee. Then we got manang and then went to burlington near church. Got to church early and just walked around the parking lot. It was such a beautiful day!! After prayer meeting we went to Meijer in Woodhaven to get rice. At home I ate spaghetti! And then manang gave me her gift which was a cute milk carton purse!! Oh and $10 cash!!! I was sooooo surprised when I saw the purse. It was SO cute!! <3 Also going to Ann Arbor tomorrow! Picking up Danielle thanks to manong :)

5.17.19

Woke up so early today! Woke up at 8:30 and got ready. Manong and I left at like 9:30ish or so to get Danielle. On the way to Danielle’s there was a pretty crazy driver on King road right before the brownstown police station. Anyway, got to Danielle’s, picked her up, then got breakfast at Mcdonalds (thanks manong! <3). Then we made our way to Ann Arbor. Found a parking space and practice some questions and such then walked in. It was busy but man everyone was SO NICE. Danielle and I met with the manager of the Medsurg (gen surgery) floor and the neuro floor. They were really nice. Then we talked with the manager for the ER. After that we took a tour with Dan and HE WAS THE ABSOLUTE BEST. He was so inspiring to me. Like, he had no hospital experience, working as a full time mail man during school. He became a nurse and then after a year he went to grad school and became a CNS! He’s been at SJMH for 10 years already!!! He was really super nice. He even says, “I hope you get a job here! I teach in the orientation as well” and I’m like THAT WOULD BE A DREAM. The hospital was absolutely beautiful. Probably the best hospital I’ve ever been to. They even have a nail/hair spa!!!!!! And it smelled SO CLEAN. It would be amazing if I could get a job there after DRH! Anywho, the only sad part was that the medsurg floor wasn’t doing on the spot job offers or interviews :( When I heard that I felt that God validated me going to DRH. I prayed that Lord, my siblings plan to move to Washtenaw. If I get this job I would be so close to them. If it is your will I be at SJMH, Lord please provide me a job on the spot. If not, then I’ll stay at DRH. So there you go! There’s God’s answer. Although the manager said that if I were to hear anything, it would be on the following Friday, however I didn’t get any call back. Anywho, after we got back to the main area from the tour, Danielle went ahead to talk to the CCU presentation. I sat in the food area and had a cup of coffee. Talked to 2 ladies that were waiting in the medsurg line and they were so nice. Then I went outside and called PJ and just talked about my whole dealio. After danielle was done, manong came and picked us up. He was just waiting next door at WCC. Got lunch at KFC and ate inside. I was starting to get cramps sadly! After dropping off danielle, manong and I went to Advance Auto Parts in brownstown, then home. At home I just rested in my room having taken 3 ibuprofens for my cramps (I really need to take something else now). Then I got ready for dinner cuz the whole fam was going out for my bday! Picked up Ne on the way. Thought we were going to Leo’s but I looked up and we were at OLIVE GARDEN!!!!!! I was so surprised. Had a great dinner. Ordered my fave chicken alfredo. After OG we went to Target then Ne’s place! Drank some tea and chilled then went home.

5.18.19

Busy day today! Cleaned the house and got it ready for when the friends came over! Manang and mom went to Kroger to get food so Marv and I finished up. Manang washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen while I vacuumed and cleaned bathrooms and made sure the house smelled good. Oh and Marv put the plants frmo the loft outside on the porch (about time those plants were gone!). First friend to come was Jod, then Josh and Joseph, then Bubby and then jovel, PJ and then daen. Played overcooked (jod loves it!) and then took pics with my star donut cake lol. Then Hannah and cam came!!!!!. We were laughing so hard the whole day!!! Hannah talked about her crazy experience with cult customers at timmy hoes and that was the ongoing joke of the night. Played Wario Ware and then Jackbox! It was so funny. Check out my album on Google photos to see some of the jokes lol. Dad was so funny too when we told him about the cult.When he came out of his room he was like “I took my naked picture to give to the cult” xD LOL my friends were laughing so hard. Cooked shin ramyun and boiled eggs and ate that. Had a lot of food today (qdoba chips and dip from jod, pizza from pj, egg tart and vanilla ice cream from josh, orange creamsicles from jovel, donuts from hannah, candy from daen). Overall it was a really fun and funny night. Also hannah gave me a gift of $45!!! I was so surprised. So thoughtful and nice of her!!!! :’)

5.19.19

Church!! T’was a busy day. Took pics with my cake and oh my goodness, tita Mildred and my class made a banner for me! Church members were so generous in terms of birthday gifts. I made about $235 total! God has been so good to me. Wow. He has blessed me with so much. Some of the gifts I’ve gotten:

-Card, flowers, and olive garden dinner from mom and dad

-milk carton purse and $10 cash from manang

-pink selfie stick cell phone case from manong (didn’t get this till later)

-dunder mifflin hat from Marv (didn’t get this till later, but I’m listing it now lol)

-Versus versace watch from PJ

-$45 from hannah

-Money from tita Mildred, merrilee, and tita cheng, as well as a black and white striped shirt from tita Gina.

-Leche Flan from ne!

After church, the sibs and I went to Ne’s. Ne made me leche flan with cream cheese! Ugh so good. Chilled at Ne’s until midnight ish!

5.20.19

Today was a pretty chill day. Later in the day I went to the gym with manong. PJ came too. Manong and I worked out from 9:40 to 1 a.m.! GSW also played and won. Worked out so long. I drove to the gym and home. After the gym I drove to Meijer and manong bought me lunchables cuz I was so hungry lol.

5.21.19

Officially signed and sent my acceptance for the DRH job position!!! It’s official!! After that dad and I did yard work in the back. After that we had dinner with the fam and then I worked on making thank you cards for my manager and coordinator at DRH. Watched some bball!

5.22.19

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