#and when he is serious and standing up against his stubborn dad but it just doesn’t | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sukunas-wife · 1 year ago

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Sealed 6

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / I did it 🥺🤍

As much as I’d like to wait til tomorrow and say “happy valentines💌” I haven’t been feeding anyone so here’s a little chapter 🤍 Happy Early Valentines

It was a warp of black and red you were all too familiar with, Sukuna kicked his leg up crossing it over before pulling you down into his lap. He had a smug smile when he leaned his head against his hand staring down at Yuji. Yuji was standing at the base of skulls looking up in disbelief, WHY WAS THAT EVIL MAN TOUCHING YOU SO CASUALLY?! He HAD TO BE HOLDING YOU HOSTAGE!!

“LET HER GO!” You watched Sukuna’s face become more malicious when Yuji started trying to climb up the base. You tried to stand up only for Sukuna to lightly press his nails into your side holding you against him, you looked at him and he faltered with a look of confusion. “Sukun-MOM-WHAT?!” Sukuna’s look of confusion changed to disbelief, “YOU HAVE A SON WOMAN?!” You had half a nerve to smack him in the back of the head, “WE.” He shook his head “woah woah woah- Lady- this brat is fifteen, I’ve been sealed away for centuries don’t you think for a damn minute you're going to make me believe fifteen years ago I- '' Yuji stared eyes wide when he made it up. He had just watched you punch the king of curses over the head to the point he was left in shock. “LISTEN. TO. ME. RY. OMEN. SU. KU. NA.” “DOMAIN EXPAN-Domain Expansion!” You were quick to cancel out his malevolent shrine with your own domain. “That’s not my son.” “THAT THAT IS A HE AND HE-“ You were cut off by Yuji running from behind you trying to land a punch on Sukuna. Sukuna didn't move or hesitate. He knew your domain all too well, if anything this was going to hurt Yuji more than him. Yuji was proud he was going to land a hit until it felt like he hit a wall was thrown back, “Yuji please, you can't do that here…” you gave a sympathetic but sweet smile while he held his hand that was in pain, “This is my domain, forms of physical violence and cursed technique aren’t allowed. Any attacks made are inflicted back onto the caster.” He looked even more confused, all you could do was place a hand on his head, “Just talk okay?” He nodded, still eying Sukuna from behind you and over your shoulder.

You turned back to Sukuna, he was looking away bored eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest and tucked into his sleeves, his body was turned away so his side was facing you. “…Sukuna…” he turned his head away dramatically. “Ryomen.” He turned his back to you. You sighed, feeling Yuji rest his chin on your shoulder, “What’s with this guy?” “Ryo, cmon.” He turned his head, opening one eye to look at you. He reminded you of that stubborn tiger cub he brought home one day that climbed to sit on the highest shelf in your room. It gave you that same look when you called it. Sukuna wasn’t too far off you could see the imaginary tail and ears flicking around. “What is it, woman.” It wasn’t a question, you stayed quiet, maybe you should explain to Yuji first, but imagining telling Yuji that’s his dad without explaining to Sukuna first? There was no doubt he’d let them both die.

”Sukuna I need to explain something very important to you so I need you to really listen to me.” “What could you have to explain to him?” Yuji was asking incredulously. “Yuji, you need to listen closely please. After I explain to him I need to explain to you also.” There was a sinking feeling in Yuji’s stomach when he saw how serious you were about this situation. He nodded with a straight face, he would be quiet just to listen.

Sukuna was still looking at you from over his shoulder, “I’m listening.”

”That day you were sealed away, I made a binding vow with our son- YOUR SON?! Yuji please.” You looked at him and he pouted quieting down, Sukuna did not look amused, “I made a binding vow with our son and the vow was never actively broken. That day you saw how they separated HIM,” you tried to motion with your eyes and face without making it obvious, “from us and used that technique to separate him in time, and while you were sealed away I managed to be freed from the realm and track everything down to the right moment with the help of Morinozuka. The only thing that surprised me is that you were able to manifest in the only person in this world I would’ve begged you not too.”

Sukuna’s face was void of emotion watching you, “Prove it to me.” You reached back, putting your hand on Yuji’s upper back pulling him forward with you. You took his arm, pushing up his sleeve, showing the birthmark he had gotten used to seeing, before pushing up your own sleeve showing the exact same mark, “Is this proof enough or do you want a blood test also?” “I want a bloo-I WAS BEING SARCASTIC” You snapped at him and he gave you a look, you turned to Yuji who you assumed would’ve been more dramatic, was just staring at Sukuna, his mouth was open slightly lost in thought, you watched his eyes move quickly side to side as if searching for something, here or in his memory you weren’t sure.

“…I.. I thought this was a birthmark and you just liked wearing long sleeve shirts…” his voice was a whisper when he looked at you, his eyes held a sadness, “I can't believe this it doesn’t make sense, that’s not my dad and your not my mom this doesn’t make any sense. This.. this mark isn’t anything it's just it's just a..” he trailed off and you heard his laboured breathing eyes tearing up, around his eyes, nose and cheeks started to tint ready when you watched tears slowly start to well. You reached out trying to comfort him, he shook his head no trying to step back , “no” his voice was a cracked whisper, your heart ached “my.. my mom had.. had black hair I …” he swallowed, shaking his head no aggressively, his hands were shaky fists by his side. His body shook when he clenched his jaw, tears streaming down his face. You stepped closer and he didnt move, Sukuna watched you, his eyes moving between you and Yuji, the way you reached out to take the brats fist. It had a bead of blood from how tightly he was clenching his fists. The way you held it yours, your other hand slowly opening his fist. The crescent marks in his palm bleeding, your fingertips growling when you trailed your hand over the small wounds. “Yuji..” your soft voice, he hadn’t heard it in centuries, but he saw it.

It was clear and vivid, the memory played out, his son was 3 running around in the snow. You were standing out there tucked into his side, he had two arms around you, the other two were free, one was holding the coat his son had thrown off saying he was hot from running around, the other was free. He squeezed you into his side feeling you shiver in the gust of cold air, your cold hands on his bare chest meant nothing. He turned to look at you, you looked so tired resting your head against his chest. That was until you both snapped to look at Yuji when you heard his sudden cry. The spot of crimson on the snow, his reddened face, the way you both rushed to him, you knelt checking him all over before he used one small chubby fist to wipe his eyes holding out the other to you. His open shaky hand, you held it in yours, “aw my little prince got hurt.” Your fingertips just over the wound, you used your reverse cursed technique to fix him up before he hugged you still sniffling. You picked him up kissing his head and rubbing his back, he saw Sukuna and made grabby hands, “wan daddy.” Sukuna took him without hesitating holding him to one side, his little head fell against his dad’s shoulder while he sniffled hot tears still falling down his cheeks, “don’t cry Yuji we’re going to show that damn shrub who’s really the strongest here.” Yuji nodded his head watching his dad hold up his hand, before the shrub he tried to break a stick off of combust into flames burning to nothing and melting the snow. Yuji smiled nodding his head, you sighed, shaking your head with a small smile when you watched how Sukuna whispered to Yuji about how there would be nothing in this world that could hurt him once he grew up to be big and strong like his dad. Yuji laughed, agreeing with him…”

Sukuna swallowed once he came back in from his memory, his throat felt tight and there was a burning in his chest. You looked just the same, only now that brat was older, weak and nowhere near being strong. He felt his eye twitch, “Hey brat.” You both turned to look at Sukuna, “Let’s make a deal.”

——————

“Y/n…” you blinked, shaking your head, trying to regain complete consciousness, your hand was still on Yuji only now Gojo Satoru was shaking you, “Is something wrong?” You looked at Yuji’s face, you pulled your hand away from his body. “No- I mean yes, don’t you see he's dead.” It was a lie, you knew any second now Yuji would be waking up. There was no way in hell the two had really come to such a strange agreement. The mark on Yuji’s arm was gone, even if he denied it, a part of him really did accept that both you and Sukuna were his parents. You’d have to send more to your home to bring some things to really ground that belief. You turned to Gojo, he was staring down at you. You felt a cold chill run up your spine, you walked past him, he watched you, in his mind you were in shock and denial. Your actions were too calm, a complete 180 from how you first entered the room. He watched how you made it to the wall where he was sitting, letting your head fall against the wall, your shoulders fell, in your mind you were processing everything that felt like hours in Sukuna’s existence, when in reality it had only been minutes. Being in his soul would never fail to make your head hurt figuratively, slowly you knocked your head against the wall one good time.

You heard Yuji, “woah! Full frontal.” You snapped your head around to see him sitting there. You watched him handshake with Gojo smiling, he let go and he saw you, bright eyed and big smile “mom.”

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waldau-archived · 1 year ago

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softie — choi seungcheol | 890 words | fluff

#melonpan :c also, my need to include marriage in every other fic of mine needs to be studied.

gender neutral reader. warnings: none.

"are you sure it wasn't as bad as i thought it was?"

you stop combing through seungcheol's hair with your fingers. "yes."

"really?"

"yes."

"i mean, i broke a plate, stepped on your mom's foot and—"

"i was there."

"—swore in front of your dad."

"i know, baby."

"promise it's okay?"

"seungcheol, if you ask me that question one more time, i'm going to eat up all of your melonpan."

seungcheol tilts his head up to look at you from where he's sitting on the floor between your legs. he tries to put on his best hurt face. "what happened to cheol? or love of my life? or even...pookie?"

you laugh. "you want me to call you pookie?"

"...no. but anything's better than my name."

"no," you say, resuming combing through his hair and detangling a particularly stubborn clump. "your name is lovely, even if you insist it isn't."

"it's just so...serious. it sounds like i'm going to get scolded."

"it's you. and i like it. but tonight didn't go bad at all, baby."

the thing is, seungcheol's never met anyone's parents before. at least, not since he became an idol. you had been telling him your parents should be more worried about hosting an idol at their place for dinner but seungcheol had been stressing about it for a couple of weeks, worrying about what to wear and what to gift and how to sit, till you held him by the shoulders and very sternly told him to be himself, and nothing more.

he's done just that tonight, and he's landed himself in this predicament now.

"you're just saying that to make me feel better."

you sigh and your hands stop working in his hair again. now seungcheol can't have that, so he turns around and clings to your leg.

"cheollie!" you say immediately, ruffling his hair. he lets go. "what, are you really that scared of what my parents think of you?"

"yes? they're your parents. and i met them for the first time yesterday. what if they tell me to stay away from their only child for the rest of my life because they didn't like my shirt yesterday?"

you fish out the television remote from behind the cushion and toss it into his lap. "show me a fancam of yours while i finish working on your hair. choose one you really like."

that doesn't sound good. why would you ignore what he said in favour of something else? unless—

"did they—"

"choi seungcheol."

that shuts him up. he scrolls through some videos on youtube and picks one he thinks looks good. you pull out a rubberband and gently tie his hair into a ponytail. seungcheol swears you have magic hands, because you've never once hurt him whenever you've volunteered to do his hair.

"done," you say, pushing him a bit forward so you can stand up.

seungcheol groans. "don't leave me alone."

"i'm just...going to get us some water?"

"i'm having a crisis here."

you giggle and sit back down, tugging at him till he climbs up and rests against your chest, both of you watching his videos of choice together. your grip on him tightens even though you don't say anything. seungcheol keeps quiet about it for exactly two and a half fancams before he twists to look at you.

you have a goofy smile on your face, and he feels kind of silly for wishing you were looking at the real life him, and not the one on the screen.

"what is it?"

"what?" you ask, looking down at him.

"you're smiling. at him."

you snort. "that's you."

"yeah, but i'm right here."

your eyes crinkle when you smile at him. seungcheol just feels like he's stepped into bright sunshine after a cold day.

"i was watching some edits of yours yesterday."

"oh. were they any good?"

"really good. but i wonder what your fans would think if they got to know you're the biggest softie in the world. none of that supposed alpha stuff here."

seungcheol pouts, but he can't keep it up for long. he's pretty much at his best when he's with you. you're the reason why he can physically feel his shoulders relax most days. you're also the reason he finds himself smiling a lot more.

"supposed?"

"well..."

seungcheol turns to bite your arm gently. you push his head away, not before pressing a kiss to it. "stop worrying so much, okay? you didn't mess up anything with my parents. do you have any idea of how much my mom liked you?"

"she...did?"

"yeah. and my dad asked me when we're going to visit again."

seungcheol feels his worries dissipate. you don't look like you're saying it to placate him, but...

"are you..."

"...sure? cheol, my mother literally asked me when we're planning to get married. i think that's enough for surety, isn't it?"

seungcheol swears he can feel his heart beating fast enough to escape his chest. of course he'd love nothing more than marrying you one day, even if it's a long way down both of your futures.

"hm," is all he can say, settling back down against you. he doesn't mind you smiling at the version of him on the television. he's the one who's going to get to marry you, after all.

#this maaaan #choi seungcheol #choi seungcheol fluff #seventeen #seventeen fluff #svt #svt fluff #coups #scoups fluff #coups fluff #fluff #waldau writes #🍃 — svt

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bruciemilf · 2 years ago

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Something something, Bruce accidentally keeps adopting his friends' wards. It doesn't sit well with his kids.

Diana's been training Yara for a little over a year. She's scrappy, brave, and unafraid to stand up for herself against the world. She reminds Bruce of a dearly beloved Ghost, and even dearer son.

" Oh wow. You're, uh. You're Batman. Love your work. I mean, Princess Di says you should take it easier since mortals don't fight gods, but it's so cool to me that you do. My mom died too! ...Sorry. Can you sign my pegasus?"

"...For?"

" Jerry. I mean, -- Yara! Sorry."

" Meeting new people isn't exactly my forte. It's fine. Is my training plan working for you? We can adjust it together."

"Oh! Well, I have some cool ideas,-"

For some, emotion gets lost when it comes to Batman. They see a wall of stone and tragedy, nothing beyond a twitch of lips reminding them there's a man wearing the cowl, not the other way around.

Dick's mouth is hanging open as he watches the blank expression on Bruce's face, patient with the excitable rambling in front of him. He rarely looks so happy on patrol.

"He smiled at her!"

Damian is very stubborn. He just won't accept it. Not even with the evidence of Diana's student taking a stream of selfies with his Baba, where he even smiles in one of them!

" Don't be ridiculous, Grayson. That's reaching a new low of stupid, even for you."

" Okay, one. I'm a very capable detective who thought YOU the robin ways. If I'm an idiot, you're an idiot."

" ...TT."

" Second... It wouldn't hurt to be home more often. I think he's lonely."

Damian frowns, " Baba deserves better than pity scraps. And you deserve better than forcing yourself to be here when you're not ready. It's unfair to you both."

"...Maybe I'm not an idiot after all."

The real challenge? The superboys.

"It's not that serious, Dames."

" Not that serious?!" Damian hisses when he's sad, it's a well known fact, " He put MY stickers on your bandages. You don't even NEED bandages!"

Jon shrugs, maybe, perhaps, intentionally flaunting the pink dragon stickers on his wrist. Accepting to arm wrestle Cass had been a bad idea, " It's a nice gesture."

Damian points a finger at him, then calms himself with a hollow breath, " I'm going to walk away. My therapist would be extremely proud of me."

But the bets were off when Jason visited.

"...What's your boy toy doing in my room?"

Tim drags a hand over his face as Kon whistles a marry tune, lounged comfortably on Jason's bed like a spoiled cat, " Dad Invited him over for dinner."

" I just figured it'd be nice to settle in! Since I'll be moving in soon and all," Kon smiles very smugly, " Bruce needs someone around since you just hate being here so much. You don't mind, right?"

" You know," Tim figures he should at least try to stop the slaughter, " I think Alfred's cookies are done. Let's go check."

Jason's radiating murder, " I think it's time for you to go home."

" Oh, I'd really love to see you make me."

Tim discovers Kon is immune to bullets, but not to being crashed through a wall.

#yara flor #bruce wayne #batman #batdad #damian wayne #jon kent #conner kent #GIVE ME JASON AND KON RIVALRY #yara 🤝 kon 🤝 jon - steal your dad club #dick grayson #batfamily #protective batfamily #text #writing #dc #dc comics #dc imagines

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superblysubpar · 2 years ago

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can I request dad Steve or Eddie finding out you’re pregnant 😭 or hearing the heartbeat for the first time. Poor saps be crying

dad!steve harrington x mom!fem! reader

a How Sweet It Is story

summary: steve has a stand off with his stubborn unborn child (aka, you and steve welcome your first nugget to the world) | even if a fic is not marked 18+, my blog is

1.3k words

warnings: small description of labor pains, Steve feeling sad about not feeling his baby move throughout your pregnancy, talk of picking names based on boy/girl.

Spring, 1987:

Steve has yet to feel his kid kick.

Which is fine, really, it is.

Well it was fine.

Because, see, he had this understanding that eventually he would get to feel them kick, you'd felt them, so it was the natural order of things. He understood he was gone for a good chunk of the day at work, that he needed to let you rest and not be all over you while you slept just so he could feel his kid move. He could be patient. At least he tried to be, but when it seemed like everyone felt them move except him for the entirety of your pregnancy, he couldn't help but feel like this was personal.

He was fine when Robin was the first to feel them and he rushed over, both of you frowning when the movement stopped. He was okay when Eddie joked he fist bumped the little monster through your stomach, but when he jumped over the back of the couch, shoving Dustin away and they stopped again, he realized he was dealing with a pro. Two could play at this game, kid.

Steve's fingers drift lazily through the suds, his other hand resting on the swell of your stomach that falls just above the water. He's staring so intensely at the little bulge that you swear he hasn't blinked for an hour.

"Can I have some more hot water, honey?"

Steve doesn't say anything in response, doesn't remove his eyes from your stomach. He just lifts his other hand from the water, two palms resting against you before he lifts the previously glued to your skin hand up and towards the faucet. You rest the book against your nose, careful to hide your smile and keep it from the bubbles.

"Don't laugh," he whispers, lips twitching up, but eyes serious and unwavering.

" M’not Steve," you clear your throat, muscles relaxing as more hot water fills the tub.

He rolls his eyes briefly, nudging the faucet off with a squeak as he hums. Not believing you for one second. It is laughable, he's at a stalemate with his unborn child.

Steve rests both hands on your stomach again, his chin now on the lip of the tub. As you fold the book closed, holding your place with a finger, your sudsy hand reaches up and pushes his hair away from his forehead.

"They'll move any second now, I know it."

He sighs, dejected, thumbs brushing over your skin slowly. His eyebrows furrow together as eyes underneath narrow. "Didn't you just say that you haven't taken a single bubble bath without them kicking and making it unpleasant? And now," he huffs louder, "Nothing."

You curl the piece of hair over his ear, offering a small smile. His eyes flit to the book, kissing your wrist before they jump back to their main target. "Tell me some more."

Humming, you sink lower, enjoying the relaxing bubble bath despite the mini menace out to drive her father crazy before she's born. You start with the boy names, Steve has no idea what you're having yet and you’ve enjoyed throwing him off the trail.

"James?"

He smiles, palms rubbing over your stomach carefully. "As in Taylor?"

You shrug and he smiles wider, eyes lingering on yours, finally longer than a few seconds. "I like both of those names actually."

"Yeah?" You like them too, maybe the next one will be a boy.

He nods, lifting his head from the porcelain lip. He kneels now, kissing your stomach as he hums the chorus of 'How Sweet It Is' - your wedding song.

The book drifts from your fingers to the shelf, hand choosing to scratch through his hair instead. It's gotten darker, matching the stubble that tickles and scratches the skin of your bump as he keeps humming and kissing it.

He sighs loudly, nose nudging against you as it rests there. "Come on, kid," his voice is desperate, lips brushing your stomach as he speaks, "Where do you think you get your stubbornness from, huh? I will keep my hands here until you move or until you come out. I have all the time in the world."

He waits, closing his eyes and eventually his shoulders fall in rejection but he leaves another kiss before resting his cheek there instead. Eyes still closed as he whispers, "Maybe they hate me. Nine months of this, that's a long time to not feel them."

"Steve, no," your fingers push the stray strand from his forehead as your eyes fill with tears, words spilling out of you, "She probably is more soothed by your voice and presence okay? She's more active when you're not around and when you are she can tell I'm relaxed so she's relaxed and..."

Your voice trails off as you realize what you said when his eyes shoot open. The green in them stands out more as they get glassy, filling with tears.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, I-"

"It's a girl? She's...we're having a girl?" He laughs, all watery, kissing your bump before covering your face in more. His palms press to your cheeks as his lips find yours. Kisses that are lingering and tender, pulling a soft sigh from you and making your stomach flip like on a roller coaster.

"I'm sorry I ruined the surprise. You're happy though?" You whisper against his lips.

"Babe, of course I'm happy, I-"

Your fingers grip the tub, sitting up as you wince. Steve's hands hover over your cheeks, his eyes going wide, "Wh-what? What's wrong?"

Your eyes squeeze shut, jaw clenching until the pain passes. You're briefly aware of Steve draining the tub, the sounds of scrambling clear by the drawers being opened and thrust closed.

He kisses your sweaty hairline, nose to your cheek when your eyes flutter open, breathing heavily through your nose.

"Let's go, honey."

You groan, shaking your head, eyes filling with tears, "I'm not ready. You did this," you grip his shoulders as he helps you out of the tub.

He grimaces, helping you into sweats and then a loose shirt, "Yeah I know how it works, honey, but I think we both did decide to-"

"Not sex Steve, labor! You practically dared her to come out!" You squish up your face, ignoring the pain as you deepen your voice to mimic him, "I will keep my hands here until you move or you come out."

He starts to laugh and quickly coughs to cover it up when he sees your rage. Rage that suddenly turns to a pout as you shake your head more, gripping his forearm, "I'm not ready. We don't have a name and..."

He cups your jaw and kisses you softly, "I know, we'll figure it out, okay? We're gonna do this together, right?"

You press your forehead to his, taking a calming and centering breath, hands holding your stomach. Letting his even breathing, his skin against yours, soothe you. Nodding your head finally and whispering, "Together."

He places his hands on top of yours, kissing your forehead.

"Come on baby, time to go meet our baby."

You'd groan at the cheesy line if it weren't for the tears falling down his cheeks or the wide smile directed down at your stomach.

The same smile and same tear stained cheeks you see twenty four hours later when your eyes flutter open in the room turning from gray to lilac as the dawn leaks in through the window.

Steve holds Nora Louise Harrington in his arms, kissing her nose and smiling when she wiggles and scrunches it before settling back into her peaceful rest. A baby girl destined to be soothed only by her dad, more stubborn than either of you, and worth the wait for Steve to finally feel her move in his arms.

Steve sees you awake and smiles through his tears, sitting next to you after you scoot slowly on the bed. He leans his temple against yours, your baby girl nestled between you two - together.

#steve harrington #dad!steve harrington #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington drabble #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington fic #stranger things fanfic #how sweet it is universe

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keelt9 · 3 months ago

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Chapter 10

Masterlist

Max kept his promise, he texted me from time to time, even wished us luck on the meeting of Friday morning, which went successfully.

The owner was so pleased to know his farm will be used for something helpful and agreed right away, we settled the sale in three days.

Two weeks passed as I’m getting used to a new routine in Newport and London, building a new home.

Emma is sitting with me under the lemon tree as we observe how the widows are placed.

“Do you like them?” Emma asked, tilting her head like she could read my house.

“They’re perfect.” The loud sound of a truck distracted us.

Today the stones that will be on the wall that Thomas insisted it had reinforced at the back and put some on the front just arrived.

Thomas and Emma have always been so clear, while things are loaded or unloading I must remain in my safe spot, but from time to time, I’m really curious and tend to walk around…

Mika is standing at the door close, waiting; Thomas and I observe her, and she observes her watch tapping her feet.

When the door opened one of her workmates entered with a cordial smile to her but hard eyes to us.

“Well…” Dr. Hanks walked to the negatoscope to see X-Rays, putting two of the four images of my arm. “It’s broken.”

Mika bluffs as Thomas and I close our eyes, knowing the killing eyes are behind us.

“Here and here.” The doctor pointed out that my arm broke in two parts. “That’s why the pain and the swelling.” He changed to the last X-Rays. “Fortunately, I expect there’s not much damage in your arm, Miss Hamilton.”

“That’s god right?” I innocently asked, winning the scoff of the doctor.

“It’s broken Y/N, it’s not good at all.” Mika said like she’s reading doctors' minds.

The doctor smiles, he clearly knows the temperament of Mika. “You have a cast at least at the end of the autumn.”

“What?!” Thomas and I scream at the unison.

“No, no, I mean, I have a big presentation at the end of the summer and a lot of things to do after that.” I grab my arm, the analgesic starts to fade away. “I need to be fine at the beginning of autumn.”

The doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry Miss Hamilton, it’s a fracture.”

I laid down my head against the desk, feeling the cold of the crystal; making plans of somethings I don’t even begin.

Flogging a dead horse.

After another hour of check ups, I finally was able to go home… with Thomas sticking to my side.

I know it’s my fault, Thomas was pretty clear about walking around as moving big heavy rocks, very dangerous. Even though I insisted I’ll keep within the limits, I got distracted, leaning on the stone wall, but the rocks weren't secure; two of them fell, landing on my left arm.

Mom looked at me with anger but compassionate eyes. “I’m so sorry Thomas, you should call us and we won't interrupt you.”

“It’s part of my fault, I can’t do that.” Thomas apologized one more time.

“Here.” Dad enters the living room with a glass of water for my medicines. “Don’t say that Thomas, Y/N is aware it’s on her, right honey?”

“Of course, Thomas don’t worry, I own you a big one after all.” I smile at him, grabbing his hand, making him smile.

After he was gone, mom asked me if I would tell my siblings about my arm, but I hate to make people worry about me or have pity, even though I know they probably scold me too for being so careless.

“No, I mean Lewis arrived tomorrow so he’ll know.” I laid down on the bed with my mom's help. “It’s useless to worry the rest.”

“So stubborn.” Mom said, kissing my head before going to the door. “Try to rest honey, anything you need to call us.”

I smile seeing her closing the door, I see my phone light one, Max is calling.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Lewis is sitting in the dining room with a serious face and arms across. “You already know.”

“I’ll call Mika.” He stands with phone in his hand dialing the number of Mika, probably to know if it’s all safe for me to travel.

Roscoe walks with Lewis, head rising. “Oh, you too?”

Mika told Lewis it’s ok I’ll travel but I must be really careful with my arm and in two weeks coming back for another X-Ray making sure the shoulders it’s out of risk, which coincide with the last week of vacation before the race week of Zandvoort.

He makes sure me and my arm are safe all the time. After a quick flight we arrived in Paris, where he was right there weren't so many cameras pointing at me, all pointing to Roscoe and him.

Roscoe is a famous dog, everyone knew that but it’s the first time in years, he will be a full ambassador of guess what? Vegan snacks.

That’s why they brought me with them, took a break from the work and like me, seeing how much Roscoe loved his snacks.

After two days of shooting the shelter project came out in a casual conversation, with good results. They said if Roscoe is involved they will be glad to be part of it.

The first posts in the social accounts pop up, the reception was excellent, all expecting what Roscoe is involved in.

In one of the photos Roscoe was lying down on my lap, everything looks fine until you can clearly see my cast and my face looking down at Roscoe.

One photo triggered a huge wave of messages from my family, friends, my brother teammates, the drivers I’ve known and a few people I barely know.

I thought Max would be one of the first who would call me or text me but he didn’t; instead his messages and calls become more erratic and sharp for weeks. When he calls something changes in his voice and barely mentions something about his day or wants to know more than I’m willing to tell him.

I’m not a fool, I know he barely knows anything about my accident even though I didn't mention it to him, his frustration this time came in short and sharp messages and calls.

The day of my check up, Dr. Hank told us the shoulders seem right, just a small swelling but with the meds and the proper care will pass in a few weeks, the arm well, the prediction doesn't change at all.

“For receiving such good news, you seem pretty upset.” Mika said, watching me as we sat in the cafeteria of the hospital.

“I don’t get it.” I whisper with my lips sticking to my bottle of water. “I don't want… I mean, the race is next week, why should I make him worry?”

Mika smirks. “Oh.” As she lays down, her next shift it’s in two hours, we both know we have time.

“It doesn’t make sense, why do I feel so uneasy?” When I raise my eyes, she has that side smile, arms over the table. “Damn it, I know, I know baby steps.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I heard her as I tossed my hair a sign of frustration. “Which pass will you use?” I narrow my eyes. “The Mercedes pass or Red Bull pass?”

I scoff laid back with an arm cross. “I won’t go.” Mika nods. “I’m being serious.” She takes the last sip of her tea.

“Let’s go, the physiotherapist is waiting for you.” Mika already scheduled an appointment for me with the physiotherapist, so he can be on the day of my arm.

She stands with a smile on her face. “Mika, I’m talking seriously.”

The first two days of the race week passed dreadfully slowly, working on the last details of the presentation doesn’t help at all, the meeting is scheduled in two weeks with the green light of all the investment, it’s time to put it to work.

Thomas has a big smile when he enters my parents house. “Big news, big news. We made it, the painting room is fine and secure.”

He sat down next to me, looking at my computer. “Do you have a slide with a lot of question marks?”

I blink realizing my mind is another part. “What?” I look down a full slide with question marks on the screen. “Oh, no, I was distracted, what do you say?”

Thomas smiles repeating his words. “But I guess that is not so thrilling for the way your mind is in another part, right?” One more time until he touched my arm I realized I was thinking of another person.

“Mika told me about your indecision.” I giggle at how something seems to work perfectly.

One week ago Thomas and Mika made their relationship official, they're officially boyfriend and girlfriend, a happy couple, annoying in a cute way.

“It’s not indecisions.” Thomas scoffs, as I close my laptop. “Why would he be mad? I mean, I don’t tell him anything.”

Thomas shakes his head. “Maybe it’s for that reason.” He takes a deep breath. “Don’t you think you're threatening him like another driver on the grid?”

I opened my mouth but he didn’t let me speak. “After shearing such intimate days, well, I bet it must be pretty nasty that the person you like shut you down so harshly. And no, that’s nothing to do with the baby steps, it’s about putting him aside.”

“I got scared.” Thomas blinked before I laid down my head. “After the photo came out, Lewis and I arrived at Monaco. I had bouquets of flowers from Bottas, Nico and Mercedes team, bags of snacks from Checo and Yuki. Even Charles, Alexa and Leo send me a few things I could need for keeping entertained.” I lift my eyes seeing more bouquets here in London. “This from family and friends, all wishing me a fast recovery.”

“I don’t get it.” Thomas asks, looking at my eyes.

A sad smile appears on my face. “I’m aware of how many people worry about me and I’m grateful, but with Max, it’s different. Caleb showed me how unsafe and unsteady you could be with someone who swore you love you.”

Thomas grabs my hand in a way of support. “I met Max a month ago, after our crashing meeting, there isn’t a moment I’m with him where I don't feel safe and protected.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “What if…what if I made the same mistake?”

“Y/N.” He used the same tone when he met me in my hotel room after we announced we canceled the wedding.

“I lived with Caleb, I saw him every day. I won’t see Max every day, I could miss the moment he stopped feeling this way, I’m scared of losing him.” A tear slipped and Thomas hugged me tight.

“I saw him, yeah, Mika doesn't believe in the fact that eyes can tell you more than words, she and her hard head.” Both of us giggled. “But I don’t know, I think I know what you see in him.” He spits, grabbing my face. “I’m confident you’re not that love blind, anymore.”

I giggle hugging him one more time. “I don't think I’m going anyway.”

“Oh my word!” Thomas complained.

Through every photo of Zanndovrt you can see orange, it’s Max's home race.

Even when they got the result expected, Max had a lot of disapproval and troubles with the car, that you can hear and see when he’s been questioned about the race, plus his onboard leave it clear.

“What a no surprise?” Mika said as she entered her doctor’s practice after a 6 hour surgery.

She sits in her chair stretching her arms and legs, the cracking of her bones make me shiver. “I mean, I found Dr. Hank on my way here, he told me, "you come early to your monthly consultation.”

“I’m going to Monza.” Mika smirks. “I’m taking, just for this situation, a 355 km/hrs path.”

Seeing Max frustrate, the fact when I tried to called him, he just text me back <It isn’t a good moment, I’ll text you back.> Made me feel angry with myself, I mean, who the hell expects he trusts me if I don’t do the same.

“Right.” Mika nods, spinning in her chair. “You count with me, ok? Just be careful.”

I nod as I raise my bag with all I’ll need for the trip. “I have all the cover, don’t worry. And yes, I’ll call you if I need something.”

Mika bluffs seeing my arm cast but my smile grows bigger. “Warn him, if he plays with you…”

I laugh and go to hug Mika by the neck. “I love you so much.”

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is painted red and yellow, the Ferraris are the center of all the attention, last race from them was pretty great, a few issues on the pit stop complicate the race, they probably could have a tight fight with the bulls.

With the VIP pass of Mercedes I walk all over the paddock; the adrenaline is palpable but my mind is focused on one thing: Find Max Verstappen.

It’s the day of free practice 1, so things are calm. Lewis told us he won’t be in the car today so, as soon as I arrived at the hospitality, the Mercedes crew recognized me. It took 3 seconds to have Lewis in front of me.

In the middle of a hug, he told me I must warn him that I'll probably come, he could make sure I’ll travel with all the facilities.

“Actually, I came for two reasons.” I said as he splits looking at me with narrow eyes.

“The gossip is true.” Rosa announces herself as looks at me with tender eyes. “Do you need something?” She pointed to my arm and my sling.

“Oh, no, I’m fine.” I feel Lewis eyes on me. “Do you mind if I stole him for a while?”

Rosa shakes her head. “He already appears on T.V, tomorrow won’t be possible. We need him in the car.”

Lewis giggled as I took him to the rooftop for a talk in calm. As the practice ended my resumed version of the story ended too.

“I knew it.” I tilt my head. “Max seems really bothered by the fact I comment so lightly about the arm.”

Lewis closed his eyes, crossing his arms. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Lewis looked right to my eyes for a couple of seconds before smiling softly at me and grabbing my hand.

“Either way, I won’t be easy with him.” I laughed holding his hand too. “You know when crumbles of suspicion begin this only becomes bigger, right?”

“Lew, all my life I've been living surrender by the fuss of being a Hamilton.” I smirk laid back on the sofa. “The question is, will he be ready?”

A pure laugh surrounded us. “God, this is the sentimental part of being the older brother I don’t like at all. Just please until all this comes to the light, be here with me, ok?”

“Lewis…” He shakes his head, not willing to negotiate.

“Just until that moment, please.” We heard the noises down there increase the cars getting into the garage. “Let me protect you this time.”

I smile at him nodding. “You always do.”

When the day comes to an end, my heartbeat increases, the nervousness and anticipation runs through my veins; after all, it’s the first time I’ll go to him.

I walk outside of the building feeling my trembling hands, going to the garage where Lewis told me Red Bull is still working, on my way I feel suspicious eyes over me; the hoodie I’m wearing doesn’t help at all.

Max is coming out of the garage suit at the level of his waist, a Red bull in his left hand as his team keeps showing him a few papers and cell phones are recording him; but his posture sparks off tension.

I stop dry at the level of Mercedes garage, hesitate if I should go right to him or wait all calm around him. Just in that moment our eyes crossed.

Max's eyes turn bigger, he’s clearly surprised but any sign of a smile appears on his face, like time froze. Max waited a couple of seconds before talking with his team, apparently he said something that made his team walk past me by focusing on what they’re seeing or reading.

He waits a couple of seconds before walking to me, in his face confusion and relief.

“What are you doing here?” Max asked, his voice was low but clearly affected to see me like this.

“Lately you seem kind of distant. I don’t want another excuse for a short answer.” I raise my eyebrows faking carelessness.

Max looked right to my eyes before seeing my arm. “I didn't ignore you, it's just…” He scratches his neck trying to find the words. “I’m mad.”

“I know, it seems you have trou…” Max bluffs, laying back his head.

“I’m mad because you didn't tell me about that.” He points to my arm. “I found it in a picture.”

I feel exposed when I see his eyes, Thomas is right, he’s hurt. “The holidays were about to end. You have to focus on the races.”

The sarcastic laugh is painful. “There is something more that bothers me.” I play with my fingers. “That you even think you could distract me; that I’m not someone who you can tell important things.” Max grip became tight in his can. “I don’t have to be the pilot all the time. I also can be here for you Y/N.”

I bite my lip. “I’m here for you, remember, hold on tight?”

His confession took me by surprise, seeing his vulnerable side of Max is something I haven't witnessed before.

The silence turned more dense, full of unsaid things. I take a step to him and question myself if holding his hand will be the right thing to do. “That’s why I’m here, to make things clear. Believe me or not, I’m here for you Max.”

Max breathed out. “I was scared, but seeing you and your honest concern about me, it’s more than enough.” I grab his hand. “Thank you so much.”

Max doesn’t say another word, he just stares at me. “I get it, take your time, ok, I’ll wait.” I stand on my tip toes to give him a peck on his cheek.

But he tingled our fingers pulling me for a hug. “I’m glad that you’re here. I didn’t expect it… but I need it.”

A side to side smile appears on my face as he smiles too. “Still I don’t mind a compliment.”

Max choke his head, I lift my broken arm. A “Simple Lovely” hoodie. “Believe Lewis was red when he saw it on me.”

Mas eyes lights on giggling but he looks at the pass. “Yeah, that’s not the right one.”

I laugh seeing the Mercede VIP pass on my neck. “Hey, this will take time.”

In a useless attempt to take my hand back, he grips it tighter. “Are you ok?” He see my arm.

“It was a pretty silly way of fracture, but I’m ok, it will take a while to heal but I’ll be fine.” One more time I pull my hand but he smiles and holds it tight.

“Max.” I giggled but he left his can on the floor before helping me to set one more time sling on my arm.

“Are you here full race?” I nod. “You’ll be in my garage?” He asked, side eyes as he took his can.

“Can you make me change my mind in one night?” Max has a side smile, with his cheek in a soft pink. “Oh my word! No!”

Both of us laughed. “That’s cheating. You know I have to go to sleep earlier, the car is giving us trouble so, I need to be fresh for tomorrow.”

Of course I know, but I’m playing with him. “Such bad luck.” I click my tongue. “Maybe next time, now, if you don’t mind I need my healthy hand for leaving.”

He just had time to open his mouth before closing it again when we heard someone shooting his name, searching for him.

“Go, they are looking for you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Max moved his eyes to me and in the hallways behind me.

“Fuck!” He reluctantly let go of my hand scratching his nose.

“There you are!” Rupert appears with a relieved expression. “Oh, Y/N, omg, what happened?”

“Maybe it’s broken.” Rupper looks at Max bluffing for his sarcastic answer.

“So funny Max, let’s go, we have to go.” Rupert wishes me a quick recovery before they leave, Max dragging his feets on the ground, like a kid.

A few minutes after I entered my hotel room, the soft knocks at my door called for my attention.

Max in black pants and t-shirt is holding a paper bag, he didn’t give me any chance to talk, looking at both sides of the hallway, put the bag on my hands and go chuckling all the way until the lift.

Just two seconds were enough for him to come running back, stop, give me a soft peck on my cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

I wait until the lift closes with him inside, I put it on the table taking out the paper on the top.

A lot of snacks and under it, 3 different hoodies of his clothing line, all have the lion on the middle of it, one of them had a small post it.

I take notes on my mind too, Max loves to write small notes.

..............................................................................................................................

A/N: It’s Mexico GP! 💀

#f1 #f1 imagine #formula 1 #max verstappen #max verstappen x reader #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 x female reader #max verstappen imagine #lewis hamilton #mercedes #sir lewis hamilton

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joshriku · 1 year ago

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last night i asked for drabble prompts! yay! @icbchiywwm said: 'divorced cherik in their 40th taking turns in taking care of their children (idk about number it can be just david it can be twins + laura + david) it can be jean for all i care i just need them in school/kindergarten being protective parents who have very different priorities and so reminding each other why they divorced. bonus points if both of them single and still have hots for eo, double bonus points if kids are embarrassed by them' so here's something based on that. thank you for the prompt :3c

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“Did you actually have to call both of them?” Pietro asks her again. It's definitely not the first time.

“As your mother said, she’s out of town, and one of them is bound to show up,” Ms. Frost says. “Pietro, I let you off the first time. The second time, I did so with a warning. Three times is enough.”

Pietro crosses his arms. “Warren started it.”

“I’ve heard that one enough times, darling,” she smiles. “Now sit up straighter—your dad is coming.”

Right on cue, the doorknob twists, and Dad steps in, looking all sorts of disheveled. Pietro didn’t actually expect him to show up, but if he did, then at least it would mean he was going to be spared from Charles’ on-going lectures about not getting into fights, yadda yadda yadda. When they were together, he would hear it for hours. Maybe one good thing came out of their divorce.

“Are you alright, Pietro?” he asks, sitting down on the chair next to him. Pietro shrugs, then points at his cheek.

“Warren got me there, but it’s healing,” Pietro says. “You didn’t have to come.”

“Nonsense,” Erik tilts his chin up, looking at the bruise either way. There’s almost nothing there anymore, but he still rubs his cheek, just for good measure like he could heal his son himself. “Ms. Frost, it’s a pleasure to see you again. What happened?”

“So—” Ms. Frost and his dad both stand up straighter, as if they felt another presence. Uh-oh. Charles got here? “Yes, sweetheart. Seems like your ex-step-father is also here. Let’s wait until he gets here, then.”

The seconds go by slower than usual until Charles wheels in, somehow shocked, even though he clearly knows who is inside the room. “This is a surprise.”

“It’s not,” Dad immediately replies. He turns to Ms. Frost. “Explanations?”

She slides Pietro’s file to him. “If you didn’t want him here, you should have removed him from his emergency contacts.”

He stares at the paper with their names, biting his lip. Charles sits next to Pietro, squeezing his hand as a greeting, the familiar nudge of his mind against Pietro before he leaves it altogether. Pietro squeezes back and says hi before dropping his hand.

“Why don’t you do the honors, Mr. Maximoff?” Ms. Frost smiles at him. “Why did we call everyone here today?”

“I got in a fight with Warren,” Pietro mutters.

“That boy, again?” Dad shakes his head. “He should’ve learned his lesson last time.”

“Pardon?” Charles asks. “Last time?”

“It’s my third time,” Pietro says. Charles’ eyes widen.

“And you did not talk him out of fighting this boy?” Charles leans over, looking directly at Dad. “Erik.”

“Don’t Erik me,” he says. “I did. Of course I did. Pietro is a stubborn boy.”

“That’s an excuse,” Ms. Frost interjects. “Pietro can be stubborn, but he can also not slap his classmates in the middle of an argument.”

“What argument?” Charles asks. God, he’s totally going to judge him.

“He said something very stereotypically rich,” Pietro huffs. “I had to punch him.”

Dad snorts.

Charles blinks at them. “I cannot believe you two. You were snickering? When Pietro was punching people, you were snickering?”

Dad puts his serious face back on. “I was talking to him about how he can’t solve everything with violence.” Even if they deserve a punch here and there, Pietro doesn’t say, but by the look on Charles’ face he totally got that thought.

“I mean, this is ridiculous,” Pietro says at last. “My parents aren’t responsible for this. I just acted out. I won’t do it again.”

“Even if Warren says something stereotypically rich again?” Emma asks him.

Pietro deflates. “Ms. Frost, he’s unbearable!”

“Pietro,” Charles says.

“Fine. I guess Charles also says things like that, and I get along with him.”

Dad actually laughs at that.

“It is not as remotely funny as you think, Erik.”

“It is,” Dad smiles at him. Oh, he doesn’t like that smile. If he turns to see Charles—oh, yeah, okay, Charles is also smiling at him. Weren’t they divorced? Why are they doing this? “Perhaps you and I should discuss how… serious this situation is.”

“I would not be opposed to it,” Charles says. Pietro locks eyes with Ms. Frost, begging to have a sane person in the room. She seems amused by this, like she knew this would happen. “Are you free for lunch? We ought to catch up. Pietro’s matters are… very urgent, Erik, we cannot raise a child like this.”

“I’m fourteen!” Pietro tries to not shriek. “Why are you guys flirting in front of Ms. Frost?”

“You could have not punched that kid, Pietro,” Dad reminds him. “We would not be doing this in front of your teacher.”

“I get it! I get it!” Pietro stands up. “No fighting! Violence only when necessary!”

“Only when necessary?” Charles retorts back.

“Never resorting to violence, yes, thank you, let’s all leave,” Pietro tugs at his Dad’s hand and at Charles’. “Thank you, Ms. Frost, bye, see you never!”

“Goodbye, Pietro,” Ms. Frost smiles at him, like she finally won their ongoing feud. “I hope you have learned your lesson at last.”

#cherik #writing #you cant bring those two anywhere idk

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genav0s · 1 year ago

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❪ ⌕ . ❫ ' OO. ㅤ ﹕ ㅤAMNESIA ! [ . . . ]

i was bleeding with a september kind of longing; the type of longing that is both patient and unconditional.⠀–— from, “To The Tune ‘Soaring Clouds’”

✶ . CHARACTERS: sanghyuk & ian. (ft. ian's therapist!) ✶ . WORD COUNT: 2.5k ✶ . WARNINGS: childhood trauma & swearing. ✶ . NOTES: not proofread by anything but the google docs spell checker :)

Ian can’t remember the sound of his mother’s voice. He thinks he resolved to cut it out of his memory a long time ago— much like his father’s face. His therapists all told him it was a coping mechanism, a way for his brain to protect him from the pain of the memories they would bring. Ian never really thought about it much, it just was what it was. He couldn’t remember his mother’s voice or his father’s face and that was quite alright to him. It meant he never had to say much to his therapists when they all asked him the same annoying question: “Tell me about your childhood?” It was a lot easier to shake his head and purse his lips. A quiet “I don’t remember much,” went a long way in Ian Moon’s world.

Sanghyuk always scoffed when Ian used that excuse.

“I don’t remember much,” didn’t fly in Ahn Sanghyuk’s world.

In his world, everyone remembers, even if they don’t want to. Ian found it funny how invested the older male was in getting to the bottom of Ian’s angsty, subtly antisocial exterior. He questioned him when he disappeared in the early morning hours, threw away his haphazardly stored cigarettes, and took notice of his lack of short-sleeved shirts in his wardrobe.

It never bothered Ian as much as he was sure Sanghyuk wished it did. He would shrug when Sanghyuk brought up his near-obsessive usage of cigarettes at all hours of the day. He would stare blankly as Sanghyuk droned on about responsibility, risk, and repression. At times he would even roll his eyes at Sanghyuk’s concern for his notoriously hot showers. “You should see someone about that,” was met with a dismissive nod of Ian’s head as he turned to get back to whatever he was doing last.

Sanghyuk leaned against the wall, hovering over Ian’s shorter stature. He eyes Ian carefully as he watches the younger male take another drag from his cigarette.

“Smoking’s not good for you,” His voice laced with concern, though it never quite reached his expression. Without so much as a glance, Ian rolled his eyes. An exhale in the form of a cloud of smoke exited his pursed lips.

“Thanks for the lecture, dad.”

The quip promoted the darkening of Sanghyuk’s expression. A sudden seriousness settled over the two young idols, the silence drew Ian’s attention before Sanghyuk could respond. “I’m serious, Ian. You’re risking your health, fucking over your voice too. In case you forgot, you’re a singer.”

Ian scoffed. “My voice? Give me a break.”

Sanghyk shook her head, incredulous at the sudden switch in Ian’s tone. No longer indifferent to his leader’s concerns, it was as if he had grown tired of his pestering.

“You’re missing the point—”

“What point, Sanghyuk?” Ian snapped, he stubbed out his cigarette with a certain level of arrogance. His jaw clenched as he shoved his hands into his jacket, eyes set on a distant sign on the other side of the street.

“You can’t keep living like there are no consequences for anything you do.” His stance against the wall changed as he pushed himself to stand on his own without support. Ian scoffed, his face hardened as he had already chosen not to listen to a word of Sanghyuk’s advice or concern.

“My bad, I forgot the part where I’m a perfect little singing angel boy.” His voice deepened with sarcasm before he added, “I apologize.”

Sanghyuk crossed his arms, eyes narrowed as he tried to decide what course was best to take with the stubborn male in front of him. All the while, Ian paced back and forth, anger finding a home among his features. It was unlike his normally composed self. Never having seen Ian become this irate, Sanghyuk struggled to believe the same man in front of him was the group’s same suave visual.

“Whatever it is you’re avoiding, it’s gonna catch up with you.” His tone was firm.

“Avoiding what?” Ian snapped, his eyes flashing a level of vexation foreign to the group’s oldest member. “What am I avoiding, Sanghyuk?” His voice rose, its depth lower than Sanghyuk had ever heard prior.

With a raised eyebrow, Sanghyuk cautiously moved to end the conversation before it could escalate any further. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t play stupid. You’re running and you don’t know when to stop.”

Ian scoffed. “Sanghyuk, seriously, you don’t know shit about me.”

It was Sanghyuk’s turn to scoff, his head bowed as he turned to return to their apartment building. If Ian wanted to be stubborn that was fine with him, he would be able to live with himself knowing he tried to reason with the younger male.

“You’re right.” His hand reached for the door as he added, “Go see a fucking therapist or something.”

Ian preferred his minimally dangerous rebellion from the traditionally “good boy” image others in his position adopted early in their careers. In his eyes, the sooner he was caught doing something he shouldn’t be, the sooner people would get rid of their expectations of him. He would be able to get away with whatever he wanted. After their heated argument, however, Ian found himself unable to shake off Sanghyuk’s words. Days spent brooding over their conversation, the memory of the words exchanged by the two replaying over and over again in his mind. It hadn’t been the first time Sanghyuk had voiced his concern for Ian’s habits but it was the first time he had mentioned therapy, it stuck with him.

“Who are you told you resemble most? Your mother or your father?”

That threw Ian for a loop. Ian had been in and out of therapy offices for years, ever since he was a child— as mandated by the Child Protective Services agent that facilitated his adoption into his uncle’s home in suburban eastern Texas. Over time, he had grown used to the routine: he sat in a quiet room and talked to someone who was paid to listen.

From an early age he had learned that if he gave them enough information, they would leave him alone to report back to his agent. As he got older, he only found himself growing more frustrated with the system that failed him. He was tired of being probed and analyzed and dissected for the right answers and the right feelings. Eventually, he had shut down enough for them to leave him alone. He had long since left behind the days of shrugged shoulders and blank stares to avoid having to engage with any of his therapists on a deeper level.

The dreaded question about his family had come up enough times that by the time Ian had become an adult, he had a bank of responses to choose from. Though this question wasn’t much different, it sent his rehearsed conscious spiraling for an equivalent, unrehearsed response. His psyche spoke for him instead.

“My… father, mainly. I have his- nose- and his smile.”

She hummed lowly, her pen beginning to scribble across the pages embedded into the small folder in her lap. “And what did he do for a living?”

“He was a pediatric surgeon. I never saw him much.”

With a nod, she motioned for him to continue. Ian stared at her for a moment, his dark eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He felt a dull ache forming at the apex of his forehead.

“Uh— he worked at a hospital in Seoul when I was little… before we moved to the States.” He began to stutter, noticeably out of character for the usually intentionally composed vocalist. Out of guarded responses, he could no longer provide formulaic answers that satisfied his audience without so much as a second of contemplation.

“How old were you when you moved?”

Ian’s frustration grew apparent on his face as she continued to ask the simplest of questions. It jarred him to see her so calmly in control of their conversation. Without as much as a twinge of emotion on her face, she reversed Ian’s casual complacency against him— flipping his usual tricks onto him.

“S-seven years old.” His head tilted as she scribbled more words down in her notes.

As she paused, Ian observed her features curiously. It was as if she was unbothered by his being caught off-guard by her unorthodox methodology. She took a moment to consider her next question, Ian left ridden with anxiety as he attempted to determine what direction she would take next.

“You said ‘we’ earlier. Did you have siblings? Or was it just you and your parents? Maybe just one even?”

Just like that, she went in the complete opposite direction. Leaving Ian scrambling once more for an appropriate response. In a carefully calculated moment, he was forced to remember. Memories he had blocked out of his mind at least a decade before came rushing back to him in a flood.

“‘We’ was all four of us. My parents and my brother—”

“Brother?”

“Half-brother,” His voice quiet akin to the gentle hum of the air conditioner in the quaint office. His eyes were unable to meet hers as she observed him once more.

She waited for him to continue as if she had created a sense of self-direction for Ian, a chance for him to steer the conversation. He knew that wasn’t the case, but he took it regardless. The flood breaking through the barriers erected so long ago he could no longer recognize the materials used to build them.

“Wonjun— Nathan,” He rushed to correct himself, ever consciously aware of his surroundings even when he craved to be as oblivious as other guys his age.

“He goes by Nathan in the States.” His dark eyes darted about before landing on a spot on the cream-carpeted floor, comfort finding a hold over his senses.

“Same dad, uh- different mom. He’s four years older. From- from my father’s first marriage.” He blinked rapidly, his mind and heart struggling against each other as one fought to suppress the other’s hold over his words.

Unsure of which one had won him over, he continued, “I- uh, he wasn’t a huge part of my life until we moved. It was like all of a sudden… he was there- living with us all the time. Then he just- I don’t know, left one day.”

As he spoke, Ian rubbed at his temples. The tightening of his head extended past the point of his forehead to the edges of his eyebrows— the same eyebrows all three male members of his immediate family were famous for sharing.

“Left?” She leaned in, catching the last part of his recount. Her pen which had never left the page in front of her came to a halt. Her thought was left unfinished as she pried Ian for more detail.

Caught off-guard once more, Ian shifted uncomfortably. He hadn’t spoken about, or to, his estranged brother— half-brother, in years possibly. It wasn’t a sore subject, just one that was unimportant to the perception he valued within his little world. For all intents and purposes, Ian Moon was the sole child of his absent parents.

Ian rubbed at his wrist as he eyed the watch adorning his left arm.

“Boarding school.” He muttered, low under his breath as if he attempted to hide it from the therapist seated before him.

She nodded, eyes sweeping over his figure; closed off and intensely guarded.

“How did your mother treat him? It wouldn’t be unrealistic for her to hold some unpleasant feelings towards the son of her husband’s first wife.”

Steered away from his thoughts, Ian made a brief moment of eye contact with the woman in front of him.

“Fine,”

Quick to respond, she picked up the pen lying in the crease of her paper to scribble once again. After realizing he would refuse to continue on she conjured another question as his mind swirled to rebuild its defenses once more.

“What did she do?”

In an instant Ian’s jaw hardened, eyes set upon the spot he had chosen earlier once more. The question had touched then strangled a nerve, one that had never been touched in all of Ian’s years of “not remembering” the sound of his mother’s voice. With a bated breath, he hunched over with his hands folded between his spread legs.

“Cured kids with cancer.”

The silence between the two kept Ian’s mind swirling. He picked at the skin of his fingers, jaw set just the same as his deep eyes. With his flared nostrils, the therapist allowed him a moment to collect his thoughts, granting him a moment to sit with thoughts he had kept out of reach for far too long. The weight of the moment lay heavy on his chest as his head throbbed against his skull, his composure no longer under his control. Once his fists clenched with frustration, the therapist saw his emotions finally spill over.

“She cured kids that had cancer while I walked to and from school on my own with holes in my shoes and clothes that were sizes too small for me.”

The anger in his eyes extended to the clenching of his jaw, switching from discomfort to an embracing of his memories.

“She never spoke to me, I was shy so I couldn’t make any friends, and my father was off screwing some other intern like he had done with my mom. Then, Nathan was sent away and the only person I could talk to… was gone.”

He continued releasing the frustration that he had hidden years ago in favor of the silver-tongued adolescence that granted him the social status to match the looks he had inherited from his father.

“I would go days without a real meal and the only time she gave a shit was when she wanted to guilt-trip my father about his sex addiction.” He scoffed, his head bowing at the memory.

“He ended up having to resign from the hospital because he caused a chlamydia outbreak.”

“Piece of shit, I’m glad he’s dead,” He muttered with a casual chuckle, the smile not quite reaching his eyes.

“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” He spoke with a turn towards the therapist seated across from him.

“She was so busy caring for other kids that she didn’t have time to care about her own kid.”

She allowed another moment of silence once more. Ian bit at his lip, enough to come close to drawing blood from the power of the pressure. Seated in the silence, his mind raced to piece together the realization from the memories Ian had long buried away.

He had never been able to shake off that feeling of being unwanted and unimportant. It was a wound that he had never given a chance to heal; for fear it would destroy what little of himself he had left. As much as his parents resented his hindrance in their lives, he resented their role in the emotional scarring of the little boy he could never quite grow rid of. In Ian’s little world, his mother’s voice and his father’s face were the hurt and abandonment that left him unwanted at such a young age. The unwantedness haunted him, shattering the rationality that escaped him so long ago.

That wasn't something worth remembering.

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bonesandthebees · 2 years ago

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Stars!phil calling Wilbur’s glowy freckles the night sky aaaaa so cute

Little baby face, he’s so tired (but seriously I loved all the constant ‘like a child’ ‘stubborn kid’ in Phil’s head because it’s both Demeaning but also Gateway To Parental Thoughts)

Which makes me wonder about how stars! Wilbur was when he Was a kid… which in the Niki flashback, probably was before his Mom died since he wasn’t really allowed to be a full kid after that. (What did this baby fishboi do to piss off Tommy’s dad? Like damn, he’s not even a threat to the line of succession like other Bastard characters. Is it seriously just because his arranged marriage bride had a prior relationship? Don’t want to be accusing I’m just trying to wrap my head around this unnamed king’s motives lol)

GREAT CHAPTER LOVED IT 10/10

the mental image I have in my head of that scene in the cave with wilbur looking up at the glowing ice with his freckles glowing in the same way while phil just looks over and fondness flashes over his face just for a second- aaaa it's such a nice scene in my head

lmao yeah phil doesn't look down on wilbur for being young but he definitely looks at him sometimes and is like "god this kid is so stupid"

uhhh yeah wilbur literally did nothing to earn the ire of tommy's father. it's been a while since I checked my timeline but I think he was like 2 years old or so when his mother married the king of eldingvegr, so there was no reason for the king to be beefing with a 2 year old. it was entirely because he was upset that his arranged marriage wife had a kid before him. and it's not necessarily in the old timey "must be 'pure'" kind of way, but it's the way it happened. wilbur's mother ran away from themis because she didn't want to be forced to take on her royal duties which included her arranged marriage. she was young and impulsive, and hopped between planets and had a one night stand that resulted in a kid. if she had had a full fledged serious relationship with someone from themis and had a kid with them, the king wouldn't have minded it so much. it was because it was the result of her rejecting her position and rebelling against her family in a borderline childish way that led the king to view wilbur as... a reminder I suppose, of what his queen was really like. that she was the type of person to abandon her family and duty if she got the urge. sure, it was entirely unfair to place that blame onto wilbur, but the king was a dick so he did.

so glad you enjoyed!!

#ask #anon #constellations on his face #the stars and their children

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ducknotinarow · 2 years ago

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How would you explain 2012 raph and splinter's relationship? Is it a good one or dose raph have some issues with his dad?

| anon asks

*keep on mind this is my take and headcannons on my muses thank you*

I have many thoughts and feelings when it comes to Splinter and Raphael’s relationship over all. At best I would say it is a tad on the strained side and at worst complicated. Raphael loves his father and I claim him to be a tad of a daddy’s boy (honestly I feel you can say it for any of the turtles all things considered) not to the extent Leo can be Because Raph is willing to disagree even argue with Splinter and doesn’t think he is always right at times as well and often will out right act against Splinter’s grounding and such a very reboots child to a strict parent.

Despite all of that though? Splinter is the person Raph will listen to the most despite how stubborn he can be even if he might make smart ass remarks to Splinters teachings from time to time he dose take what his fathers says to heart and you can see him try and apply their lessons as he learns to see the wrongs of his own actions. Raphael just craves Splinter’s approval at the end of the day.

Raphael is the artis of the family even with Mikey and Donnie displaying artist skills or interest Raph is the one who even learns about it to know about other artis and even well known pieces not to mention he is often the one to help with design like the painting of the turtle on the patty wagon. Splinter wanted to be an artis as a kid himself and took to learn it serious as well being why he name his sons what he did. Raph wanted to have something to connect with Splinter over. When he was younger he did but as he got older that sort of stopped others things got in the way. Mostly Raph’s rivalry with Leo.

Raph just seeked and yearned for Splinters approval. Raphael is a god fighter he often wins and beats Leo who he sort of targeted as being Splinter’s favorite. So Raph felt if he can out do Leo then he’ll clear earn what he’s been seeking. Raph just very much grew up feeling like he wasn’t ever good enough for Splinter no matter what he did or achieved he never was praised or rewarded for it so it often left him to wonder what was he doing wrong? Why was he just never good enough for Splinter? So it fed into his anger, it fed into his rivalry with Leo, drove his ego even.

He loves his father a lot at that often being the one to call them father at times, but Raph just always felt like he was chasing their approval.

On Splinters side? He loves his sons all the same. He fears for Raph to end up like Saki because they share things in common but her never saw Raph being able to be like Saki. Raphael is to loving, and kind. His anger isn't always a bad thing his son is just passionate. But they have a a issue and sometimes his ego needs to be negated. After losing his family before Splinter can be a bit stand offish with his new family. Strict in his teachings because he fears losing them as well. Splinter tries to help Raph with his anger. But Raph and Splinter work in different ways, Splinter learned to let thing wash off his back like a stone in a river. That dosen't work for Raph who isn't a stone he is a flame and all that water will put him out.

If Splinter was aware of how Raph felt? He would try to make it up to him. He never wanted any of his sons to feel like they were never good enough, that he played favorites even. he simply wanted to protect them but he can be over protective and blind. Splinter dosen't see Raph as always the best student he isn't that well disciplined but he never applied that to who his son is. Some one who carries the world problems on his shoulders.

Splinter I feel saw that Raph deep down simply only wanted to protect others. And this trait of his was a big part of his hot headed son. Raph is strong, passionate and loyal to a fault. And he dose seen Raph having the potential as a leader but Raph isn't the best when it comes to compassion and humility. Raph can be his least favorite student but never has he seen than as his least favorite son.

Splinter simply wants to help Raph never cross a path like Saki had, he wants Raph to always be Raph. Temperamental, impulsive yes but caring and good hearted. Raphael on the other hand admires hid father and looks up to him as well he hold a lot of respect for that guy. They just aren't very close and honestly explains Raoh need for validation in his other relationships in life. Anything that's gonna make him feel like his space is safe and secure will go a long way. He can recognize when he is loved of course but that need for approval? Is a bit stronger.

#muse| hamato rapheal #muse| hamato yoshi #[2012 verse]#table reading || anon ask

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kunoichi-kame · 2 years ago

Text

Lloyd makes sure to keep his curtains closed.

The room needs to be as dark as possible.

He forgot what day it was. He was reminded when someone softly touched his hand in the shadows.

The boy eagerly bounces on his bed.

Slowly, a shadow rises against the wall.

Vaguely in the shape of a man, the shadow stretches slightly, showing off his four arms.

The shadow moves across the room.

A hand casts over the boy's cheek.

"Dad!" Lloyd squeals.

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

Zane's leaving.

It doesn't matter what Wu says, he's leaving for the day.

He has to get his staples taken out. He considered pulling them on his own, but it seemed unwise. (And maybe he just wanted to see Pixal again...)

This caused a domino effect.

In the end, Jay grabbed Nya by the hand (respectfully) and eagerly led her down the stairs of the mountain.

Cole sighed and declared he's buying groceries.

Kai pouted about being left home alone.

Cole walked out with Kai trailing behind him.

That left Lloyd, Wu, and Aspheera.

They all look at each other.

"Can I leave the house on my own?"

"I found the Noodle Houssse."

"I'm aware that you've been in contact with your father."

Stares are shared.

Lloyd keeps his mouth shut.

Wu reaches for him, but he takes off in an instant.

"Would you like to hear about the Noodle House?" Aspheera asks.

Wu shoos her away as he follows after his nephew.

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

Lloyd hides under his bed.

It's nice and dark and comforting.

Then a crack of light breaks up the room.

And it grows.

Then gold and green room is glowing with the flick of a switch.

The child hisses as his uncle notices him under the bed.

"Come. You're not in trouble."

"Lies."

Wu sighs and shakes his head. "Stubborn child."

"You're a stubborn old man!"

"Will you let me speak?"

"So you can lie to me more?"

Wu sits on the bed, leaning forward against his staff ever so slightly, just enough to see Lloyd peeking out.

"Your father...how long has he been speaking to you like that?"

"'Like that?' He's always nice to me!"

"I meant through the shadows."

Oh.

"A few months? I dunno. How long's he been talking to you?"

"This morning was the first time. He was furious at me," Wu chuckles.

Lloyd starts working his way out from under the bed. "Yeah, he was upset when I told him where I was. I told him I won't follow your fucking prophecy!"

Wu looks down at Lloyd. "You know it's what must be done-"

"But he's a good person! He can't help being evil. He gives me hugs and-"

"I know. Trust me. I know...I don't think he's always in control, destiny forces his hand and turns him into quite a villain..."

Good times. They had good times together. Good memories.

Until destiny said otherwise...

"So you agree? I shouldn't have to fight him!"

"In an ideal world, your father wouldn't even be in this position. But we are not in that world, are we?"

"So I shouldn't have to fight him!"

"Lloyd..."

The child stands up from the floor. "So I shouldn't have to fight him, right?"

"If it was that easy..."

"Fuck destiny! Fuck the motherfuckers who wrote it or whatever."

"I am aware that the Cloud Kingdom can be quite awful," Wu halfheartedly chuckles.

Bright green eyes burn into him.

Wu regains his composure. "So, if Garmadon has an open communication path, he must be on his way out of the underworld..."

"I don't know how strong it is, he can only talk once a month, when we can't see the moon."

"That is still...something."

"Does it mean I can see my dad soon?"

"Perhaps, but given the prophecy, do you want to?"

He can see the heartbreak on the child's face.

"Do I want to? Do I want to?! I've been wanting this since I was little! I'm all grown up, I wanna see him. I wanna hug my dad show him the school I ran away from and try to find mom and talk about evil deeds."

It's hard to forget that Garmadon was a good person.

Wu wishes he could forget. It'd make things so much easier.

"I'd love to see my brother too. But-"

"Again, fuck fucking destiny."

Wu can't help but chuckle just a bit at Lloyd, the way he seems so serious, yet cannot be taken seriously, flipping two birds at some unknown force.

Lloyd flinches as his hair is ruffled.

"If you'd like, we can begin some training in preparation for your father's return."

"What? No!"

"Tell you what, I'll give you today off. Is that alright with you?"

"Can I talk to dad?"

Wu makes his way to the doorway.

He hesitates.

Should he let him?

On one hand, this probably isn't a sign of something good, but on the other hand, what harm can be done through shadows?

...that's a tough one.

Actually, no it isn't a tough one, Garmadon could convince Lloyd to do all sorts of things.

But would Lloyd even listen if Wu said no?

Barely thinking about it, a "Sure," slips out.

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

Nya mostly saw the city on the way to and from work.

Seeing it to shop is different.

There are so many people...

There are so many stores!

She's trying to keep up with Jay's pace.

Then her phone goes off.

She can't even say hello, as Zane starts speaking the moment she picked up.

"Hello, I'm sorry, I'd rather not generalize the entire female gender but...what do girls like?"

"What?"

"I'm shopping before I get my staples removed. I want to bring Pixal something."

She smiles. "You're right, you can't generalize. What does she like? Do you have any present ideas?"

"I can't reference anything my parents did, for The Master's sake to show their love my father gave my other father an entire child-"

"You?"

"Yes, me, who else...? Well, I did have a brother...memory's hazy on what happened there...Then they also had some little pets...oh Master...I need to find my falcon friend..."

"The what now?"

"My point is, I think those things are romantic but I don't think she'd want that, and I do not believe she would want flowers either..."

"So you're asking me?"

"Yes."

Jay slows his pace, watching as Nya tries to answer.

She chuckles. "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want a whole child-"

"Yes, I've ruled that out already."

"What are her interests?"

"She likes technology, but I can't see her utilizing anything that her father's factory did not make, and she's fascinated by life and humanity...oh! Maybe she would like flowers, but in a pot, so she can take care of them..."

"Then get her that."

"Okay!"

Nya sighs and goes to hang up the phone.

Zane pipes up one more time. "What kind of flowers?"

She gives something between a sigh and a chuckle.

Jay gently takes the phone. "Get something that reminds you of her eyes. Tell her that, too."

"You're a hopeless romantic, aren't you?" Nya snickers.

"Maybe."

Zane is muttering something on the other end of the line.

Then he remembers he's on the phone.

"Anyway, thank you! Goodbye! I'll try to see you for dinner."

Nya shoves the phone back into her pocket.

"So where are we headed?"

"That's the great thing, I don't know!" Jay cheers.

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

Zane's looking through flowers in the grocery store.

Cheap anniversary gifts, it seems.

How long have all of these things been dead?

He just wants one that's alive...

Oh! There's an employee.

"Excuse me, sir, do you by chance have any potted plants?"

The employee glares at him.

The man in an apron walks over to a rack.

He plops a packet of something into a pot.

Then he plops it into Zane's hands.

"I'm going on my lunch," the man grumbles, leaving Zane no room to ask questions.

A packet of seeds and an orange pot.

Okay.

What are they?

Strawberries?

It would make for a nice snack once the plant is done growing but...no, he should look for something else.

He starts searching through the rack.

There has to be something for her.

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

"Hold on, we're getting groceries and the first thing you do is go to the bakery?" Kai scoffs.

Cole shushes him. "I'm looking for clearance cake. We can afford it now, someone else is paying our rent."

"Cake? That's your priority?"

"Listen, I'm always the responsible one, I'm always trying to keep our affairs in order, let me have this one thing. Back at the apartment, I couldn't even afford clearance cake."

Kai sighs, pushing the cart.

Cole seems serious about what he wants, still factoring in the cost at every turn.

But he doesn't wanna let go of the cake.

He will leave this building with cake.

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

Lloyd sits on Aspheera's bed, watching as she tries to 'sleep.'

Wu told her she needs to get more info than a street address. She needs to get her baby snake behind the counter, into the back room, listening for things.

"Can I ask you something?" Lloyds asks quietly.

"Eh?"

"When Ash was around...how much of that was you? You said you watched through her eyes and controlled her, and even the fake name was just your name but fucked up. How much of that was you?"

Her eyes crack open slightly. "When I wanted to communicate something, that was me. When she was just trying to survive, that was her."

"So, only when you'd talk to Cole?"

"And when I refusssed to be tossssed away."

"Did you want to stay with us?"

She looks at him, almost offended. "Of course I did, otherwise I couldn't get my revenge!"

Lloyd smiles.

"Can you teach me the ways of revenge? I didn't get to that chapter in school."

"Mm. Who wronged you?"

"My uncle. Some days, I think my mom wronged me. My teachers."

"Later. Firssst, I have underpaid employeessss to spy on."

She fell asleep fast.

He couldn't even get a word in.

He's gonna learn about revenge!

Later, but still.

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

"I don't know anything about skincare," Nya mumbles, staring at a wall of lotion and other tomfuckery.

"What? You said I needed some," Jay bounces back.

"Yeah, I could tell you needed it, doesn't mean I actually know what you need."

"I thought you were into this kinda stuff!"

"No, I like to have a little fun with makeup. Even then, I only know what's the best deal, not what's the best."

He takes a deep breath and pulls out his phone. "Okay. Okay. So I'll look, then. We can figure this out."

"...actually, can I look around a bit? I need something."

"Okay, but you're helping if I don't have it figured out by the time you come back," he sighs.

"I can do that. Just give me five. 'Kay?"

He nods as she walks off.

She needs some sort of floor grip for the tub. A mat is ideal, but even something like little decorative ones would be super helpful.

Last night, when she showered, she felt like the water was gonna suffocate her. Then she slipped.

Powers kinda suck.

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

"Put that down," Cole sighs. "Aren't your hands gonna melt it?"

Kai had whacked Cole over the shoulder with a small, hollow, plastic sword.

"Wu won't let me have a sword. It's mine now."

"I'm not buying you a shitty plastic sword."

"I can buy it."

"I'm not letting you buy a shitty plastic sword."

Kai pokes at Cole's face with the fake weapon.

He swats it away.

"Again, I'm not letting you buy a shitty plastic sword."

Kai slowly starts putting it in the cart, right next to the cake.

"No."

"Yes."

"Kai, if you don't put that thing back where it came from, I'm dragging both of our asses back home without food."

The master of fire puts the sword back.

"Thank you," Cole sighs.

Kai's coming back for that sword now, guaranteed.

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

Zane was stopped by Borg's receptionist.

"Please, ma'am, I assure you I have clearance to go into that elevator."

"Name?"

"Zane Julien."

"Not on the list."

"I was the robot missing half of a face?"

The receptionist squints at him.

She clicks a button.

"Cyrus Borg, there's a teenage boy waiting for you in the lobby."

"Is his face split in half?"

She glances up at him.

"Yes."

"Let him in, then!"

Zane takes that as a cue to go into the elevator.

He considers what he'll say, running through the possibilities.

'Hello, I brought you gifts for your daughter.'

No, too direct.

'Hello, I came to have my staples taken out. I also have a present for your daughter.'

...he doesn't have any presents for Cyrus himself.

Ffffuuu- crap. Crap.

He could just give him cash.

Yes...give cash to the billionaire...

The elevator stops on his chosen floor.

The door whirs open.

How did he overlook Cyrus Borg himself?

The entire floor is an office.

"Zane! I wasn't expecting you!" the man chimes.

Zane nervously rubs the back of his neck. "Yes, I came to get my staples taken out."

Borg raises an eyebrow. "You're aware you could've taken them on your own, yes?"

"I was afraid of messing it up," he chuckles. "Also, I brought something for Pixal." He holds up a grey pot with a bag of soil sticking out.

"Lovely! You can put that down on the desk, it'll only be a moment."

As Zane places the pot down, he can see a game of solitaire on Borg's computer.

This man was not lying, he really was mostly playing games during renovations.

"Alright, come here."

Zane walks over to Borg.

He crouches slightly so his face can be reached.

Each staple pops out easily. It hurts a little, but not enough to cause major distress.

Then he gets to the ones on his neck.

Then he pauses.

"I apologize, would you mind lifting up your shirt so I can get the rest? Either that or you remove those on your own."

Zane contemplates it for a moment.

Even if he did somehow mess those up, it wouldn't be visible given his usual attire.

"I will remove those on my own."

Borg pats him on the shoulder. "Then you're good to go!"

Zane softly smiles.

He picks up the present.

"By the way, where is Pixal?"

"I believe she is in her room. It's on the floor right beneath us."

Zane nods, stepping back into the elevator.

What is he going to say to her?

'I wasn't sure what you would like so I bought you a plant.'

Flowers are generic, why did he settle on a plant, it's so close to flowers...

He didn't even take Jay's advice and find something that made him think of her eyes.

Well, the green matches her eyes.

Can he say that?

'The green on this plant's stem reminds me of your eyes.'

Maybe.

He steps out of the elevator once more.

Which one of these doors would be her room?

There's only two...this whole floor is dedicated to only two bedrooms, isn't it?

He knocks on one door.

No answer.

So that one must be Cyrus' room.

He knocks on the other door.

"Who is it?" she asks.

His heart skips a beat.

Yeah, his heart is definitely real.

"Zane Julien."

The door immediately opens.

"I have a gift for you!" he blurts.

"Dirt? And a pot?"

She doesn't seem disappointed, just curious.

"And seeds. There were a few options but I settled on strawberries. I thought you would like to snack on them when the plant is all grown up!"

"A plant though? May I ask why?"

His smile falters. "I thought perhaps you would be interested in caring for a small life...because you're always fascinated by life and I..."

She takes the gift. "Alright. A plant! Were you only dropping it off? Because if you want to stay, we can plant it together."

"...I would like to stay. Quite a lot."

She takes him by the hand, guiding him to the elevator once more.

They're going to the roof to take care of this.

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

Jay and Nya wait in line for checkout.

He nudges her.

"Been meaning to ask, what's with the shower grippies?"

"I can't shower without my powers trying to kill me now," she deadpans.

"Oh."

They're both quiet for a moment.

"Have you tried taking a bath? Like you just fill up the tub-"

"Why? So my powers can drown me?"

"Fair enough."

She brushes her hair out of her face. "Just out of curiosity, how did you deal with it?"

"With what?"

"Powers. Like, Kai dealt with his over time, it wasn't too hard because he wasn't constantly in contact with fire. But you're always around electronics, and water is super common. How did you get over it?"

"I didn't- do you know me? How many times have I shorted things out?"

"Yeah, but you could still touch the microwave on a good day. You have some level of control."

"I guess you're right. Dunno. Kinda just learned how to live with it?"

She tilts her head in curiosity. "How was it? When you first got them."

He chuckles. "Okay so the junkyard's prone to power outages. And one night, that happened. Dead of night, no biggie, right?"

"Right."

"But I woke up screaming. Parents thought I was overreacting to the dark but no. Something about it hurt."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so I'm screaming because I don't know why exactly, kinda felt like my heart got shocked."

"Oh..."

"Once I got it to stop, the lights came back on. Then in the morning, dunno what it was, at least not at the time. Every electronic I touched shorted out."

"So how'd you make it stop?"

"Again, I don't know, it just took time."

Took time...

Wu said elemental powers show up between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, right? Or was it seventeen? Somewhere around there...

If Jay is seventeen now...

"How long ago was this?"

"A year ago? Year and a half almost."

Okay. So she can expect to have her stuff under control in months then.

At least somewhat under control.

The two of them step forward in line.

"You think I can get my powers to be at least manageable in about a year?"

"I think so! If you don't get your True Potential that fast, anyways. Ever since I got mine, I feel like I've had to relearn a few things."

She smiles. "It's funny. I really wanted to have powers, but now that I have them, they're kind of terrible."

"Law of equivalent exchange," he chuckles.

"Yeah...I just...I wanted to go out on missions and be on the same level as you guys...you know how you'd unofficially call yourselves ninjas sometimes? I thought it'd be cool if I called myself the samurai, oooh, I'm cooler but now..."

"I still think you're cool."

She smiles. "I never said I wasn't. Things are just different from how I planned. I didn't think I'd need to buy...what'd you call them?"

"Shower grippies," he snickers.

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd have to buy shower grippies because my powers are trying to kill me."

"I think it's just that unruly first week or month or whatever."

"Yeahhh..."

"Can I hug you?"

She buries her face in her own shoulder. "Not right now. Not in public."

He frowns. "Not in public?"

"I'm not big on PDA."

They move up in line.

Checkout is quick.

"Where next?" she whispers.

"I wanna get new blankets. It's silly but um, the blankets at the monastery feel wrong."

"I don't see how that's silly but okay."

He shrugs. "I mean, I probably could deal with it, dunno..."

"Hey, while we're out, I'm looking for something 'silly' too."

"Like what?"

"I wanna paint over my mom's inspirational quotes."

"Why would you do that? If you barely remember her, wouldn't you wanna keep them?"

She shakes her head. "They're just super generic quotes. I feel like they're almost a mockery. Like, I never knew her, and instead of having some lovingly handwritten note to remember her by or something like that, I have...fucking live laugh love quotes written on the walls."

He has to refrain from grabbing her hand.

"I guess I get that. So. Blankets and paint?"

"Blankets and paint. Yeah."

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

Kai somehow snuck the sword out of the store.

He somehow bought it behind Cole's back.

"How in the cursed realm did you ever manage to raise a child?" Cole sighs.

"That's the thing, I spent my entire childhood raising a child. Let me have some fun."

Cole frowns. "You were responsible for a long time, weren't you?"

"Yeah. Had to be. But now that's on you, so I can kick back."

Cole stays quiet.

After a solid minute, Kai realizes why.

He tucks the plastic sword into the back of his hoodie.

"Let me carry the groceries?"

"It's fine. I'm used to it."

"Give me groceries before I roast your ass."

Cole hesitantly gives him the bags.

"So. You wanna talk about it?"

"What don't you know? My dad borderline neglected me all the time. I had to take care of myself. I mean, I didn't take care of multiple people, sure, but that just feels like an extension of taking care of myself if anything."

"I get that. Doesn't matter how much I try to let loose, sometimes that part of me kicks in, that person who held his little sister while she cried over something as small as a skinned knee."

"Not a bad quality to have," Cole mumbles, sitting on a bench, waiting for the bus.

"You want the sword?" Kai asks playfully.

"No...a cheap plastic sword won't make me feel better."

"I think you need sleep."

"Probably."

Cole leans back and closes his eyes.

It's cold outside. Mostly windy, but still.

Lots of wind.

Kai nudges him. "Bus is here."

With a slight groan, Cole forces himself off of the bench.

Time to go home.

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

Aspheera keeps her tail coiled around Wu as she explains what she's seen at the dinner table.

They were trying to map out what they knew, but instead, she did this. It began as a means of keeping him trapped, but now she just kinda likes having him here.

"And then thisss red-headed little girl barged in, proclaiming herssself to be Chen's daughter-"

"What?"

"Yes! Then apparently Chen returned to hisss island. But hisss daughter is planning something. She too wants to gather asss many elemental mastersss as possible."

Wu rubs his forehead. "Alright. I suppose I can try to play this game."

Aspheera's smile is wide. "Can I help?"

"Whatever happened to wanting to kill me?"

"I would be helping you play a game of power. Of courssse I want in...unless Chen starts to win."

He smiles. "You can help, then."

"What are we doing?"

He opens his mouth before pausing to contemplate it.

"I am unsure."

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

Lloyd received contact from his father every other hour or so.

Even more than his disappointment about Wu, he really drilled into Lloyd's head that he can't trust Aspheera.

Lloyd's not gonna listen though.

He sits on his bed, in the dark, playing with the cutout man from the box of Ramen Helper.

He wants to show it to his dad. It just makes him happy.

He wants to show his dad things that make him happy.

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

It's windy on top of the roof of Borg Tower.

Pixal seems to be enjoying her present though.

"And look, when it starts growing, it'll be green!" Zane giggles.

"As all plants are," she playfully bounces back.

"Yes. And it reminds me of your eyes."

That was...smooth, right?

She seems surprised. "Really? You thought of me? My eyes?"

"Yes! They're beautiful, just as beautiful as nature and the many green plants it nurtures."

She feels warm in contrast to the cold air blowing around them.

Now she has to compliment him back.

What could she say?

"Your eyes remind me of the sky. Bright and difficult to match."

He's pretty sure he's blushing.

"You reassure me that I am alive," he whispers. "Platonic love is as important as romantic love- not that I see us romantically- but you reassure me that my feelings are real, that I'm real, even if my body is not."

She frowns. "You do not see me romantically? And what do you mean your body is fake? You're sitting right next to me."

"Perhaps fake is the wrong word. Artificial? But my feelings, my emotions, they are most certainly real."

She reaches for his hand. "Do you worry about being false as well?"

"Ever since discovering my true nature? Yes. Especially in the beginning. I was worried."

"I worry about that sometimes too," she whispers. "And in various ways. Am I a real person? Am I faking my personality? Am I a real woman? Do I have the right parts to be real in any capacity?"

"You have your heart. I believe that is all that you need to prove your authenticity."

"...do you ever worry if you're considered a real man or not?"

He furrows his brow. "No. I do not. It does not matter if I wear pink or would like some flowers, I am a man because I said so. Do you not feel the same about yourself?"

She looks down at the floor. "I do. But sometimes, it is difficult, when I see these images of other women, and I want to be like them but...I am not like them."

"But why would that make you any less of a woman? You declared yourself a woman. If that is the gender you feel you are, then that is what you are. And if it changes in the future, then that is alright too. All you need to prove yourself is your heart."

She wraps his arms around him.

"I will make sure to remember this the next time that one gets to me."

It doesn't fix all her image issues...but it does help.

All she needs is her heart. Okay.

He slowly returns the gesture.

"No part of you is fake."

"You too," she responds.

His embrace is cold, yet his arms feel so welcoming.

"Are you alright?" she asks. "You feel cold."

He tugs at his collar.

"Really? I feel extremely warm."

She looks up at him.

Even against his dark skin, she could tell that he was flustered.

"Do...do you feel it too?" he asks.

"That warm feeling?" she asks.

He silently nods.

No part of either was ever fake.

"I am sorry, I haven't known you for long, but I think you are beautiful," he blurts.

He thought she was pretty the first time he ever saw her in an advertisement for Borg's new smartwatches. At the time, it was just that, he thought she was pretty and it just so happened to coincide with the fact that he wanted a job there.

But now, knowing her, he thinks she's downright beautiful.

Her admiration for life, her kindness, her enthusiasm...

She seems taken aback. "Well, yes, I am aware that I am a technological miracle..."

"No, I think you're beautiful. Not the technology that makes you. You. The person you are."

"Me? Not my body? Not the engineering or code that makes me?"

"Yes, you. Well, your body plays a part in it because it is the vessel that holds your soul and makes you tangible and it lets me hold you...but I do mean you!"

Now her face is hot.

Is this...is this a crush?

She knew the existence of another android made her very happy, and maybe she did like him a lot...

Her face turns from flattery to concern.

"I can see your breath."

He raises an eyebrow.

His surroundings aren't that cold.

He doesn't have the ice backpack either.

Is this what a True Potential feels like? That's the only possibility running through his mind. He can't use his powers without something to channel it. Not unless this is a breakthrough, just like Kai and Jay had.

But, doesn't one have to be in danger to experience it?

Granted, there were no rules, Wu doesn't even know the requirements...

He stands up, trying to comprehend what's going on.

"Are you alright?" she asks.

The ground under him begins freezing, a thin layer of ice separating his shoe and the roof.

She picks up the plant.

There's horror in Zane's eyes.

He slowly starts backing away.

Can he make it stop? Save this for another day.

What even triggered this?

She runs to him.

All he can hear is Pixal whispering that it's okay.

She just dove in to hug him, not caring if it'd hurt her.

She's effectively holding onto a large chunk of ice.

He looks over his frozen hands curiously.

Never mind everything else. Never mind the love he feels for his roommates, never mind the love he feels for his fathers, never mind the affection he feels for Pixal, this has to be some sort of proof that he's real.

Is that what sparked it? How strongly he felt?

Is it that he understands his existence?

Is it that he understands who he is?

He silently nudges her away.

She can only stare in awe as the setting sun shines through his ice.

Snow begins to fall.

He doesn't have anyone to defend himself from, where is all of this ice supposed to go?

Slowly, spires of ice rise from the frozen ground.

It looks like art all on its own, the way the spires twist around each other, ending in jagged points.

He gestures for her to come closer.

She gently puts the plant down on the ground before approaching him.

He takes her hands between his.

Snow falls all around them.

It's all gorgeous to her.

The ice begins melting away to reveal a man.

Zane was never one to cuss much, as he'd like to remain respectful at all times.

Yet, as his knees buckle, his grip firm on Pixal's arms, he lightly chuckled. "I'll be the son of a motherfucker. I have no idea what that was."

The last thing he felt was Pixal desperately trying to stand him back up.

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

"So, let me get this straight- he got so horny that he got his True Potential? A robot was able to do that?" Kai snickers.

Nya slaps the back of his head.

Cole "lightly" punches him in the arm. (Cole's version of a light punch differs from everyone else's.)

"Android," Jay corrects him.

They're standing over Zane.

They all had to rush to bring him home.

So here he is, neatly tucked into his bed.

He looks happy despite being knocked out from a lack of energy.

"He's awfully lucky. Most masters of ice experience some form of frostbite," Wu chimes from the doorway.

Lloyd pats Zane. "He's not like the other ice guys. He's an android!"

Wu smiles.

Three out of four of them down.

Hm.

Maybe they are the chosen ones.

Kai was the last one to exit the room, making sure Zane was okay.

Of course he's okay, True Potentials don't kill.

Still, it was alarming to get a call that basically went "hey Zane was spending time with a girl and his little heart went pitter patter and now the roof of Borg Tower is frozen over."

Kai turns off the light and closes the door as gently as possible.

"Hey, Cole? I can finish putting up the groceries while you take a nap. If you want."

Cole took the offer.

Did he nap? Who knows. But he finally got a few hours to unwind. Maybe he slept, maybe he watched a movie, but he got his time to himself.

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

Lloyd dozed off talking to his dad.

The long, shadowy figure.

Garmadon doesn't care where he has to be. He wants to be with his son.

As displeased as he is to know that his son is with his brother, at least he knows he's safe at the moment.

There are worse people Lloyd can be in the care of.

The only issue is that Wu was foolish enough to harbor Aspheera of all people. He's heard the reasoning, sure, but still, why would that old fool do that?

That's the only thing to keep an eye out for.

Garmadon stayed until the sun rose.

He'll be back in the same capacity next month.

...just like always.

It's okay. All he needs to know is that his son is okay, he doesn't need to be around all the time or else it'll speed up destiny.

He'll go home to his throne of bones.

His cold throne of bones.

Where the only people surrounding him are mere minions, no family...

Nobody can be mad at him whenever he snaps, right? This isolation would be enough to drive anyone up a wall.

But he hasn't snapped yet.

Not completely, anyways.

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

The room is cold.

Zane awoke on a bed of ice.

His blankets, mattress, and pillow held a thin layer of ice on them.

At first he seems confused.

Then he remembers yesterday.

Where is the heater?

That wouldn't even be enough...he needs to put his bedding into the dryer or something.

He always kinda thought he had better control over his element than the others. At least better than Kai and Jay, and seemingly Nya so far. Sure, maybe his hands were always a bit cold, but he didn't have to worry about snow doing god-knows-what to him during the winter.

But here he is, turning up the heater. The cold doesn't bother him, and while he's unsure if that's due to his powers or his mechanical nature, it's still a fact that even if he can feel the low temperatures, he can put up with it.

This is...this is a lot though.

The thin layer of ice extends over a good chunk of the wall.

It's thin enough that it crumbles when he picks up his bedding.

Oh master.

Ice covering things...

He needs to call Pixal and apologize!

Would she even want an apology?

How did he not freeze her?

Did she not freeze because he wanted to keep her safe?

He completely forgets about the blankets, grabbing his phone off of the nightstand.

It's 2:00 in the afternoon?!

Call Pixal.

Put blankets in the dryer.

Get food.

Deep breath.

Okay.

He dials Pixal.

Beep

Be-

"Hello?"

It's good to hear her voice.

"I am deeply sorry for yesterday, I don't know what that was- I do know, in fact- but I do not know why it happened."

"When you gave me a plant and called me beautiful?"

His face burns.

"No. The ice problem."

"Oh! That was quite lovely though."

"It wasn't supposed to happen. I don't know why it happened. Did I hurt you? I recall I did not cause you harm, but just to make sure."

"No, not at all. Your hands were rather gentle for a man made out of ice."

He's frozen, staring at the floor.

"So, the cold did not damage you in any way?"

"No, you just got some snow on my clothes."

He offers a sigh of relief. "Alright. I am terribly sorry once again, I will try to refrain from doing that in the future, and if you'd like I can stay far away from you-"

"Why would I want that?"

"I froze a significant portion of the roof, does that not concern you?"

"Why would I be upset? It was stunning!"

"Because...ice..."

He's trying to string together a sentence. He's trying.

"It was like a work of art! I took pictures. Would you like to see?"

"Yes...send them, please."

He needs to see the damage, it's all a blur.

He feels something slippery on the back of the phone.

He puts the phone on speaker as he looks at it.

Ice creates spiderwebs over the case.

"Hi, sorry, but I need to let you go, it is urgent," he interrupts.

"Would you at least like to see me later?"

"Tomorrow, perhaps? I am unsure..." he murmurs.

"Let me know, then!"

The phone clicks off.

He drops it before he can freeze any more of it over.

Keep composure, he can always keep his composure.

Steady breathing.

Why does he feel frozen to his core?

The door quietly cracks open.

He jumps.

"You okay?" Jay asks.

Zane doesn't answer.

Jay catches sight of the partially iced-over wall.

"Oh."

"Okay, so let's get these to the dryer," Jay mumbles, walking over to the wad of blankets, damp from half-melted ice.

"Do you need anything?" he asks.

Zane still doesn't answer, sitting on his bare mattress.

"Might wanna unclench your jaw," Jay suggests with a small chuckle.

Zane didn't even realize he was clenching his jaw so hard.

"Text me what's wrong?"

Regain composure, regain composure, you're a robot, you can do this-

"I...I do not need to text you what's wrong. I. Can. speak."

Jay frowns. "Okay, well, if you're having issues speaking, just text. 'Kay?"

In moments, Zane is left without blankets.

He needs a nice, thick sweater right now. That would be amazing.

He goes through his closet for one.

The texture of one of the sweaters feels wrong. Yeah, he'll have a button-up between that and his skin...today's already off to such a terrible start though, he doesn't wanna deal with it.

He keeps flipping through sweaters.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, come on he just wants something that feels right-

It's alright. It is okay.

He can settle. Deal with it. The button-up is there for a reason.

He silently pulls down a thick cable knit sweater.

"Do you need something to eat?" Jay asks softly. "I know the whole True Potential thing is draining."

Zane shakes his head.

Wait.

No, he is hungry.

He nods.

"Okay, do you have any comfort foods? Any safe foods?"

Soup.

Soup is warm, it's nice in contrast to his cold body temperature, which seems to have dropped even further.

"...soup?"

Jay frowns. "I mean like a small snack."

Oh.

He'll just go look himself.

He doesn't say a word as he squeezes past Jay.

"Zane? Buddy? Do you by chance have one of those apps on your phone, like for communication when someone can't speak?"

Zane shakes his head.

"Are you okay?"

Zane shrugs in response.

The two of them silently walk over to the kitchen.

So many options...

He can rule out the fridge, it's best that he doesn't go near it right now.

The pantry on the other hand...

There's food in there now.

Little snacks all over.

All he can do is stare, his mind barely processing the labels.

Slowly, he sinks to the floor, burying his face in his hands.

Jay rushes over, handing Zane his phone with the notes app open.

Zane swats it away. "I. Am. Not a child. I'm just. Overwhelmed."

"Right. So maybe this'll make it easier? Write it down, explain to me what's wrong. You're still using your words like an adult."

Zane begrudgingly takes the phone. He's all for accommodations but it's mildly embarrassing to have issues speaking like this, he should be calm, cool, collected, composed- oh. This is slightly easier than trying to talk right now.

He shows Jay what he wrote.

Jay nods slowly. "Has this happened before? Not the ice, but umm..." he's searching for the right term, coming up with nothing, "the whole being overwhelmed thing?"

Zane holds up one finger.

"Once before? Or that this is the first time?"

"Before."

"How did you deal with it then?"

Zane starts writing a new message.

The last time this happened was also the first time he got a headache from crying...

He shows Jay the message.

"Okay, so we know we can't fix this by hitting your memory switch- don't give me that look."

Zane's expression speaks for itself, very clearly saying 'yeah no shit.'

Jay takes a deep breath. "How about we just try getting you to unwind? Yeah? I can give you a snack- want some crackers? Those seem safe plus they're kinda adjacent to soup- Then I don't know, I can let you borrow the blankets I just bought, those are pretty soft. And you can stay in your room, don't worry about anything else."

Zane gets up and pulls a pack of crackers out of the pantry.

Jay raises his hand to pat Zane on the back.

He stops before making contact.

"Can I touch you right now? Considering uh..."

Zane nods.

Jay resumes the pat. "Let's get you settled down, alright buddy?"

Alright.

Alright. He'll be alright.

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

Zane sits on his bed with a blanket draped over his shoulders. There's a mug of hot chocolate on his nightstand. He has a pack of saltines in his lap. The heater is on full blast.

Supposedly Wu left out to look for an elemental master because he felt they were nearby. Or something like that.

Kai was helping Nya repaint a wall.

Cole was being left alone.

Lloyd was busy chatting up Aspheera.

Jay stayed by Zane's side.

"You really do not have to stay," Zane whispers.

"Nah. Look, you stayed by Kai's side after he got his True Potential, I had Nya with me after mine, and now you get me! Because everyone else is busy, but still."

"Thank you."

Zane takes a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Also, I wasn't sure about how you conduct electricity being an android and all, so I was hesitant about touching you for a while, but look! I finally got gloves so I don't shock people anymore." Jay eagerly holds up his hands.

"You look like you are trying to sell me a card game from two decades ago."

"I'll take that as a compliment!"

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

"Don't get me wrong, I think the inspirational quotes are ugly too, but why are you so pissed at them?" Kai asks, holding a tray of paint as Nya dunks a roller into it.

"Kai. What do you know about mom?"

"That she loved us a lot? I don't know, I was five last time I saw her."

Nya gets on a step stool. "Wu said powers are genetic. I got mine from mom."

"So you're mad at her...for genetics? I'm confused."

She sighs. "I don't know why. Because I hardly know anything about mom and dad? Then I get this room, which, surprise, if I had to take a guess, mom lived in at some point, and I see all this cheesy shit written on the walls. I don't remember a thing mom ever said to me. She never left us anything written. Same for dad! But looking at something that belonged to mom...it's the closest thing to having words to remember her by, and it's fucking shit like 'follow your dreams, the sky is the limit.' I don't want fake moodboard inspo quotes, I want a mom!"

"I remember mom and dad. They loved you."

"I know. But hearing second-hand memories isn't the same as me remembering. I don't remember things you told me, I just have a rough mental image. I know they loved me but it's hard to love someone you don't remember. What do I have to remember them by? Shitty powers and shitty generic quotes that anyone could've said."

"When you're done with that, I want you to come here," Kai murmurs.

"You're literally right next to me."

"Just finish that up and come here."

She rolls her eyes and continues rolling the paint on.

He rests the paint tray on the bed.

Nya hops off of the stool.

She plops the roller onto the tray.

Kai pulls her into a hug.

"I miss them. Wherever they are, I bet they miss us."

"I wanna miss them, but I hardly know them."

He ruffles her hair. "Mom used to say a lot of cheesy shit. I think this was definitely her room."

"I had absolutely no idea," she deadpans.

Kai grips Nya's shoulders. "They weren't bad parents-"

"I know! I know..."

"I get it though. Some days, I'm resentful too. I wish I could've had mom or dad to be there. But at the same time, I'm resentful for what? Not their fault they went missing."

"...bodies never found, huh?" Nya murmurs.

Kai shakes his head. "Yeah...wild hearing that as a five- six- I don't fucking remember- year old. 'Hey kid, your parents went missing and as far as we're concerned they're dead and might've been brutally murdered.'"

"Now I feel bad for painting over mom's stuff..."

"Don't. I bet mom would've loved to see what you'd do."

She looks up at the wet spot on the wall.

"Wanna help me write something new?"

"If we have the paint for it? Yeah."

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

"And I still don't understand why I got my True Potential right there," Zane rants.

Jay stares at the ceiling. "Maybe it isn't about danger, maybe it's just some specific emotion? I don't know."

"Perhaps? But what emotion? Kai granting a man mercy? You being afraid of a vampire snake? Me feeling...a lot...of stuff..."

"Kai made sure not to kill anyone, no matter who they were, he wanted to get them to safety. I got mine to protect my family and I apparently disproved shit Wu was talking behind my back. You..."

"We proved ourselves."

"Oh. You found an answer?"

"Kai proved he'll do anything to protect life, you proved that you are in fact not a coward, and I proved that I am indeed alive."

"Y'know, that's as good an answer as any."

Zane smiles.

The two of them sit in silence.

"Any idea what caused uh, the whole thing when you woke up? The frozen blankets?"

"Stress. My subconscious wanted to know if Pixal was alright."

"Awwww, you're in love."

"I am."

Jay's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

Zane frowns. "What? I can be in love."

"No, I'm just surprised that you're admitting to it."

"Because it began as a crush. It was not important. I thought she was very pretty. But now that I know her...I think I am in love."

"I'm surprised that that's what proved that you're alive. You always seem so caring, like you love the world."

"But to feel a kinship...I felt it. I knew I was real, the way I felt appreciation for everything around me...none of those feelings are artificial."

"Dude, literally any one of us could've told you that! You're not fake."

"But it was different...to think about this while around someone like me."

"Awwwwww."

Zane pulls the blanket tighter around himself. "I wonder now, what would Cole have to prove?"

"Dunno, that he can cook?" Jay snickers.

Zane's eyes widen. "Oh dear, cooking, I still need to make dinner-"

Jay puts his hands up. "Calm down, we'll take care of it. You just need to destress."

Zane's eyes burn into Jay's soul as he throws off the blanket.

"No. Cole cannot cook, Kai is not allowed near hot appliances, you cannot cook much-"

"It's fine. We're just throwing a few things into the oven. Besides, can you even cook right now? With the ice and all that."

Zane sits back down.

Alright. He can let them make dinner.

He has the time to relax...even if he likes to cook, okay. He can do something else calming.

Everything is alright now.

The ice melted.

He is no longer frozen.

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

what if while ao3 is down i just copy paste all 36 chapters and 100k+ words of the no wu au into a tumblr post

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