#bench trio briefly

[loveinhawkins]

ao3

Eddie falls asleep in the back of the RV. Steve watches it happen in stages, after the stop at The War Zone—driving a little further out for a food shop, away from prying eyes.

He announces that the coast is clear when the roads become reassuringly empty. For the first time in days, he relaxes into the rhythm of driving: he’s triple-checked that no-one’s tailing them, and if it weren’t for the hastily bought weapons, he could almost pretend that…

He glances at the rearview mirror, sensing movement. It’s Eddie, standing up from where he’d been huddled against the back of Steve’s seat. He looks like he’s relishing the freedom to stretch his legs—Steve thinks, with a pang, that he’s probably sick of hiding—and takes his time on his way to the back seat.

Keeps his balance for the most part, only stumbles once, briefly latches onto Robin’s shoulder with a sheepish smile, says something like, “Role reversal, Buckley,” and she laughs.

He settles with the kids in the back. Clearly tries to give them the most space, folding his legs awkwardly in the corner almost like he’s already back to hiding again, but they won’t let him; Dustin wiggles along to create more room, and Erica pins Eddie with a look—the most Steve can make out is, “You look like a…”, but whatever she says makes Eddie snort, then smile with obvious affection.

The next time Steve looks to find Eddie’s reflection, he’s relaxed into his seat, legs stretched out in front, the edge of one sneaker bouncing up and down absent-mindedly—but growing slower and slower.

He’s talking to Lucas, the speech drowned out by the RV engine; Steve can still see how it makes Lucas relax in turn, even giggle, which has been an all too rare occurrence lately. How Max, despite carrying the heaviness of the Walkman, looks on with a spark in her eyes.

If Steve had to guess, he’d say that Eddie doesn’t mean to fall asleep. Maybe it’s the motion of the RV or the angle of the sun through the windows. Maybe it’s just that he finally feels safe.

Either way, his blinks get longer and longer, and then he’s drifted off, out completely, and Steve watches with something close to pride as the kids all get off the bench in silent agreement—Max confidently lifting Eddie’s legs and swinging them up onto the cushions like it’s second nature. He barely stirs, head nodding a little until he’s lying down properly.

Steve splits the last of his cash with Nancy on the food. They make a trio with Robin for heading to the store, the kids on what they’ve dubbed ‘Eddie watch’ and what Steve has dubbed, “Yeah, I’ve left it running—that still means no driving unless, like—actually no, I’m not even gonna—yeah, Dustin, I’ll get you more Pringles, Jesus Christ.”

And because he’s weak, he still ends up caving to Max’s loophole that yes, if demodogs and/or bats and/or people that just look at them funny show up, she’s got permission to floor it; he’s not gonna tell her he’d scoped the place out well before he’d parked.

Ten minutes later, laden with bags, Nancy says, “We could use somewhere with more space. For…”

She indicates the supplies of a more grim variety than snacks.

Steve thinks about it, then exhales with a little laugh. “Yeah, I’ve got somewhere.”

Robin eyes him curiously. It’s like she’s heard through the laugh, can somehow feel the thing that wells up in the back of his throat—only for a second; he’s used to pushing it back.

She squeezes his shoulder. He pats the back of her hand before driving away. Sometimes words spill out between them, ever flowing. Sometimes they don’t need words at all.

There’s a strange kind of thrill in feeling the tires go right over the grass. Feels bigger than what it is—like something’s finally been unearthed.

They’re all quiet as the group starts to filter outside. Steve looks over his shoulder: Eddie is still fast asleep. His lips move every so often, drowsy half-formed words.

Steve wonders what he’s dreaming about. He hopes it’s something good.

He lets everyone go in front of him—Robin snatches a bag of food out of Dustin’s hands, whispering fondly, “That one’s mine, you animal.”

Nancy hesitates just outside, then turns back into the RV to sit on the step.

“It’s just…” She tilts her head to the side with meaning. “I don’t think he should wake up alone, you know?”

Steve nods. “Yeah, me too.”

And that’s how they end up sat together, half in the RV and half outside. Nancy dangles her feet above the grass—she could reach it, of course, but it seems deliberate, like she’s enjoying the breeze.

Or trying to, at any rate: there’s still a restlessness to her, an anxious pinch to her face, like she’s one step away from jumping to her feet and—

Steve squeezes her knee—hears the way she exhales, like she’s finally caught her breath.

“Food first,” Steve says gently.

She nods belatedly, like the words take a little while longer to reach her. “Food first.” She rustles through one of the bags, brings out something wrapped in foil. “Robin said this is for you…?”

Steve chuckles. It’s a sesame bagel: bacon, egg, and cheese.

He gives half to Nancy.

They eat in companionable silence—just listening to the breeze and the occasional shout of laughter: Robin’s formed a circle with everyone up ahead, a chaotic game of duck, duck, goose, which is a ridiculous choice because her run is ridiculous, and Steve feels his cheeks ache with a smile at the grass stains already on her shirt, as Dustin and Lucas pull her down in some kind of duck-goose uprising, and Max gets Erica up on her shoulders, joining the fray; and underneath it all, he can hear Eddie hum slightly in his sleep, but it’s not a noise of distress—like he knows subconsciously that he isn’t alone.

“Here,” Nancy says.

When Steve turns to her, she’s got a packet of chips open between them. Salt and vinegar.

He doesn’t mean to say it out loud, but—

“You remembered,” he says through a rush of affection; it hits him square in the chest.

Nancy smiles. “Can never forget you and Mike fighting for the last packet.”

Steve knocks their knees together. “Yeah, he fought dirty.”

They laugh together, hushed but heartfelt.

There’s a streak of ketchup across Nancy’s face that she hasn’t bothered wiping away. She looks years younger somehow—looks lighter, like the food in her stomach has settled something intangible.

Her smile turns even softer, thoughtful, and warmth settles behind Steve’s eyes.

I’m sorry, he thinks. I’m sorry I couldn’t be what…

You never deserved to hurt.

“Did you get changed in the dark?” Nancy says, eyes bright with mirth.

It’s so sudden that it startles Steve right out of his thoughts, a welling emotion halted.

“Excuse me, Nancy Wheeler?” he says with a faint grin.

“Steve Harrington,” Nancy returns teasingly. She ruffles a hand through the back of his hair with easy affection, “There. That’s more like it.”

“Am I presentable now?”

“Oh, you’ll do.”

She rests her chin in her hand, just considers him—but it’s a gentle kind of look. Almost like they’re back in English class, and he’s just answered a question without stumbling over his interpretation, and he glances across to her desk, finds her watching him with pride.

“You suited the denim,” she says sincerely. Mimes how he’d shrugged into Eddie’s vest.

Steve feels touched in a way that he can’t fully place, like she’s said something else. Maybe she has.

“Thanks,” he says.

They both look over to the field at a cry of victory. Dustin’s found the stash of 3 Musketeers, holding it aloft like he’s just won a science trophy.

“Hey,” Nancy calls, laughing, “at least one of those is mine!”

Steve can feel her shift, about to stand, and impulsively, he says, “Nance, wait.”

She’s stood already in the split second it took for him to speak, but she turns back.

Steve stands up. Hugs her.

He tries to put all he doesn’t know how to say into it; he does his best, pressing a chaste kiss to her temple. Thinks of how he swept her into an embrace next to the school lockers, her surprised shout of laughter, if you can be this for her, she’ll be happy, you’ll be…

And maybe she’s heard some of it, because her hold tightens around him, like she’s saying, you never deserved any of it, either.

She pulls back. Claps his shoulders to make him sit back down, and they both giggle slightly, both vulnerable. Nancy’s eyes are shining at the corners. But Steve knows they’re the good kind of tears.

He feels them, too.

Nancy nods, smiling wide, blinking in quick succession before the moment’s gone.

He nods back.

And then she’s running over to Dustin, and it almost looks like she’s flying, like she’s sixteen years old again, and nothing ever…

Steve has to close his eyes for just a second. Breathes through it.

Minutes pass before he catches a change in Eddie’s breathing—hears him shift and sigh as he stretches.

Steve tilts backwards, just enough to see Eddie slowly drifting awake on the bench.

“Hey,” Steve says as soft as he can, so Eddie can go back to sleep if he wants; so it can just be part of a dream.

For a moment, it looks like that’s exactly what Eddie will do. But then his eyes find Steve’s, and they light up in recognition.

And he smiles. Sits up.

“Shit, did I really…?” The rest of the question’s lost to a yawn, and he stretches again, rubs a hand across his face to wake himself up.

“Yup,” Steve says. There’s one last bag by his feet, which he picks up to put in Eddie’s view. “This has got your name on it, man.”

Eddie sits down next to him. Steve shifts closer as he hands the bag over, feels the gentle press of Eddie against his side, the warmth left over from sleep.

Eddie whistles at the assortment of food. “Thanks, Steve.”

“Yeah, no—like, thank Dustin, not me.”

Dustin had rattled off a list of Eddie’s favourites—“Actual food this time, Dustin, he’s not surviving on just cereal, it’s depressing,”—which Steve had written hastily on the back of his hand.

He knows that Eddie’s seen the evidence of the list on his skin, faded as it is from the dying pen he’d used, because he smiles when he says, “Mm-hmm, I will,” like they’re sharing a secret; and then he looks off into the distance, squinting against the sun with a hand over his eyes, barks a laugh. “Besides, he looks kinda busy, uh… I don’t actually know what he’s doing. Killing Buckley, maybe?”

Robin’s joking yell punctuates Eddie’s words; it looks like she’s somehow recruited Lucas over to her side, because Dustin’s trying to flatten the pair of them; Erica’s got Dustin’s thinking cap on backwards, while Max shouts, “That’s a foul!”; Nancy’s sat crosslegged, eating candy and throwing out words of amused encouragement.

Eddie chuckles so fondly. He eats some of his share, then sighs with contentment. He stands but doesn’t go far at all, drifts over to a patch of ground like he’s drawn to it. Sits down. Runs his hands through the blades of grass and flowers, even the weeds; it makes Steve smile.

He follows.

They sit close to each other almost like they’re still sharing the step, even though there’s more than enough room to…

Eddie keeps watching the roughhousing. His eyes crinkle at the corners. He looks… happy.

He sighs again, leaning back a little, “This is nice. Who’s idea was it to come here?”

“Nancy’s, really,” Steve says.

But he can tell that Eddie notices the evasion—there’s a barely perceptible twitch of his eyebrow as he listens. He’s getting almost scarily good at it, Steve thinks, but it’s not done in an intimidating way; it’s not like Eddie wants to catch him out in something. It’s more like he… just wants to know. Like he cares.

“But you knew a spot?” Eddie prompts.

“Yeah, I…”

Steve could still avoid it—could just say carelessly, ‘cause we drove past it, duh, and Eddie would let it drop, he knows he would. But…

“I came here when I was a kid. Like, years ago. It was summer, and I think the car broke down or something? So we had to wait for…” Steve shrugs, but it’s just movement for the sake of it, trying to conceal the way his throat’s tightening in slow increments. “It was… I liked it,” he adds. Nods towards the kids. “I thought they might like it, too.” He tries to laugh, “Guess that’s kinda stupid to—”

“I think it’s sweet,” Eddie interrupts firmly. “This place, it’s…” He smiles at Max’s squeal, Lucas lifting her up in a bridal carry. “It’s perfect, Steve.”

Steve tries to smile, because it is perfect, but that suddenly makes it hurt all the more. He’s gripped by a fierce, desperate urge to seize the weapons and burn them, to just let everyone fucking rest, to tell them they don’t have to do it anymore, they never have to—

“Steve,” Eddie says, soft, dismayed—sitting up and touching Steve’s hand where it rests in the grass, so delicately, so kind—

Steve swallows; he must not have pushed it all back in time. He doesn’t want to know what his face looks like, but he can guess, can feel the telltale burn in his eyes—and wavers on the brink. Almost falls. But he catches himself, only just, and when he’s forced to quickly swipe at his eyes with the back of his hand, he reasons that it’s okay. Only Eddie can see.

Still, he should—

“Sorry,” he waves a hand, tries to laugh at himself again, “just ignore me.”

When Eddie smiles, it looks as if he’s only doing it because he’s taking his lead from Steve. His eyes speak for him—like he’s thinking, you’re breaking my heart.

“Ignore you? Shit, man, that’s hard. Have you seen you?”

It’s said with a ridiculous amount of theatrics—so obviously done to lift Steve’s mood. But there’s a note of sincerity that Steve can hear above everything; Eddie isn’t hiding it.

Perhaps he doesn’t need to, either.

“I’m more than just a pretty face, Munson.”

He expects Eddie to laugh. And though he does, it’s quieter than he’d expected, and he says, “Oh, I know. Trust me.” He’s looking at the kids as he speaks. “They’ll be okay, you know.” He doesn’t say it like a platitude. He says it like a promise. “Wheeler, Buckley… me. We have them, too.”

And Steve doesn’t know how Eddie could ever accuse himself of cowardice. God, if you could only hear yourself, he thinks.

“I don’t want—I know. I know you do. I just—just wish—”

His voice fails him.

Eddie tilts his hand, palm up. Steve could act like he’d never seen it all. It’d be easy.

He takes Eddie’s hand. Breathes, and tries again.

“I just wish we didn’t have to—”

It’s as far as he can manage.

Eddie squeezes his hand. Murmurs, very gently, like a memory, “And so do all who live to see such times.”

Steve doesn’t need to ask. He can feel the weight of it through the words alone. Focuses on Eddie’s touch, the way his fingertips brush against Steve’s knuckles, over and over.

And then Steve lets go, but not before squeezing Eddie’s hand in return. Twice. He doesn’t know Morse code, but he hopes he’s understood.

He watches the kids play again. Glances over to the side when he feels another touch, Eddie’s shoulder briefly skimming his. This time he can tell it’s accidental; Eddie’s swaying a little where he sits.

“Shit, sorry. It’s the sun, it’s,” he yawns, “it’s making me…”

Steve’s reminded of the boathouse; of Eddie’s sunken face at Skull Rock.

“You’re just exhausted, Eddie,” he says.

He stands, briefly places his hands on Eddie’s forearms, tries to shield him from the worst of the vertigo. He feels Eddie jump beneath his touch, a forcible jolt back from the edge of sleep. Visceral.

Steve’s chest hurts.

“Wait there,” he says. “I’ll be right back. Hey, try to not fall asleep just yet, ‘kay?”

“M’not,” Eddie says, not very convincingly.

When Steve returns with a pillow from the RV, Eddie is lying in the grass, flat on his back. One hand floats in front of his face, fingers curling like he’s playing guitar chords—like he’s doing it to keep himself awake.

“Dude, that can’t be comfortable,” Steve says. He bends down, taps Eddie on the forehead, which makes Eddie blink slowly, looking at him upside down. “Can I…?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Eddie says softly. It sounds like I trust you.

Gently, Steve cups the back of Eddie’s head, moves it up ever so slightly and puts the pillow in between him and the ground. Eddie settles onto it with a sigh.

Steve moves away, sits back down; Eddie turns to lie on his side, facing him. His cheek presses into the pillow, one leg bending a little, like this is how he lies in bed; there’s a fragile vulnerability to the sight.

The sun draws attention to the grass in his hair. The slightest trace of freckles underneath his eyes; they’ll come out more in summer, Steve finds himself thinking. He wants to be there to see it.

It was summer when he first thought a boy was pretty. That day the car broke down, but his dad was laughing, making the most of it; he’d walked and walked to buy ice-cream and returned victorious to the field, where Steve was waiting with his mom.

They weren’t the only families there—the spot had been much busier years ago: people using it as a pit stop on road trips, Hawkins locals mixed in with folks from out of town, so it felt like the whole world was to be found here, stretching out before them in the grass.

Steve had seen the boy playing tag—it was over in barely a flash, but he still remembers how he held his breath when their eyes met, without understanding why.

He’s pretty, he’d thought, it was the only word he had for it—an instinct from his mom teaching him words, bouncing him on her hip, oh, Steve, look at the pretty flowers.

He’d known even then it was a thought he couldn’t share—like how a child comes to know that they’re not to touch a hot stove.

He’s pretty.

Steve could tell himself that he doesn’t know why he’s remembering it now. But it would be a lie.

Eddie’s tugging idly at the grass, but his hand keeps going slack, twitching with oncoming sleep.

“You know how t’whistle with ‘em?” he asks clumsily.

His eyes are closed. Steve stills his hand, slips a blade of grass out from his loose hold.

“No,” he says, drags it through his teeth like he’ll miraculously make it whistle just by doing that.

Nothing happens, of course; the grass tastes just a little sweet on his tongue. He takes it out from in between his lips and lets it go, to be lost on the wind.

When the taste dissipates, he misses it.

“Yeah, me neither,” Eddie says, amused. His voice is lilting with exhaustion. “My uncle tried to teach me once, but I couldn’t… maybe ‘cause… still had some of my baby teeth… maybe that makes it harder?”

“Maybe,” Steve agrees quietly. He picks some grass out of Eddie’s hair, as lightly as he can. “I’ll ask him for some tips.”

Eddie smiles at that. “He’ll like you,” he says.

He’s half-asleep, Steve reminds himself. He hardly knows what he’s saying.

But he can’t help feeling pleased at the thought.

“Oh, yeah? You think so?”

“Mm-hmm. He likes…” Eddie yawns. “Likes everyone I like. And I… I really like you.”

It’s said so easily. Like it’s simple.

Maybe it could be. Just this once.

Steve feels emotion creeping up his throat, resting heavy on his tongue. This time, he doesn’t push it back; he speaks through it.

“I really like you, too,” he whispers.

Eddie hums sweetly, like he’s heard even when almost all the way to dreaming. “Think there’s a trick to it,” he mumbles, and Steve realises he’s talking about whistling again, lost to a childhood memory.

Stay there, Eddie. Rest.

“A trick?” Steve says in hushed tones.

“Yeah, I… remember he’d… he’d say…”

Eddie falls asleep mid-sentence.

Steve watches him. Angles his shoulder to create shade, shielding him from the sun.

He looks over at the kids: they’re playing tag with Robin now, Nancy joining in—a little quieter, like maybe they’d seen…

If he unfocuses his eyes just slightly, he can almost see his dad coming over the hill with the tubs of ice-cream. His mom smiling, sunburn on her shoulder, and Steve hit with a wave of inexplicable sadness, like he already knew, she’ll never be this happy again.

Eddie sighs in his sleep.

Steve feels a subtle change in the sun on his skin, the afternoon dying.

Stay, he thinks. Mouths it with childish hope, stay, like he’s still the boy who fell asleep right here, in between his parents, wanting the day to stretch on and on—the one who couldn’t outrun the feeling, even then, that he was coming to the end of something.

[peachhcs]

losing the championships

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

will's self-doubt creeps in after losing the finals making him snap at the one person who's always there for him, almost making her turn her back on him.

2.6k words

warnings: a bit of angst, arguing, crying, this is a sad post in general

ik im feeding y’all rn but i feel weird putting this out in two days and not now haha, but guys you know i had to do it. i had to get the angst out. i think this is like the first angsty post in the series?? i hate when there is angst, but i love writing it lmao. i'm not sure how accurate some of this is, but i hope the trio stays on for another season!! i'd actually be devestated if they don't. anyways keep requesting!! <3

au masterlist

it didn’t feel real. nothing felt real watching her best friends crumple to the ice in utter defeat and heartbreak just two days after winning the semifinals. samy stood up in the stands nearly motionless while everything around her fell silent. she didn’t think those moments were actually real whenever they played in movies, but here she was hardly focusing on anything but her best friends in tears. 

her eyes couldn’t leave ryan on his knees with his face in the ice. she just wanted to wrap all of them into her arms so none of them would feel this type of pain anymore. 

the stupid jumbotron panned to everyone’s reactions, basically putting the boys on full blast when they most definitely didn’t want anyone to see them crying like they were. samy’s heart only broke further when she finally looked down at her boyfriend trying to hold himself together while comforting a sobbing ryan and teary gabe. 

her own eyes grew teary seeing those three so destroyed not knowing what was next for any of them. that was probably the scariest part. 

when will searched for samy’s gaze the waterworks broke like a dam for the couple. the youngest hughes was completely crying and will’s shame settled into his skin that he lost the game without even scoring a single point. 

their coach urged the boys down the tunnel before the cameras could get any more shots of them. samy tried pulling herself together, but her hiccuping cries didn’t stop slipping out no matter how hard she tried holding them in. 

boston’s side of the lobby was nearly silent which almost mirrored michigan’s team two days ago. suddenly, seeing those happy memories wasn’t as easy anymore. samy’s mind raced wondering if this game really was the last for her favorite trio or if they’d stay on one more season with boston. 

thirty minutes passed before the bc boys slowly trickled out of the locker room. their bloodshot eyes and tear stained faces were enough to send more tears into samy’s own eyes. her lip quivered waiting for her boyfriend to appear, but he didn’t come out after his usual spot behind ryan and gabe. the two boys found samy’s gaze, frowning even deeper. 

“hey, i’m so sorry. i-i have no words,” samy brought them into big hugs hoping to ease a bit of their ache. 

“what a fucking night,” ryan muttered bitterly. 

“you guys played well. those refs were idiots making calls,” the brunette shook her head. 

“will’s still in there. he’s..he’s not taking this one too well. you can go in if you want, but he may explode. I i don’t want you to think he’s mad at you, he’ll just find something to take his anger out on,” gabe explained briefly. samy’s eyes slid towards the locker room doorway where her boyfriend hid. 

“don’t worry, i know how he gets. I’ll see if i can talk to him,” she couldn’t be scared of will. 

he was her best friend and boyfriend. he’d never intentionally hurt her and if he said things, she knew he was just angry with himself, not her. the girl shuffled her way towards the locker room trying to put on a brave face for will’s sake. 

she knocked on the door before slowly pushing it open. her eyes scanned the practically empty room until she found her boyfriend slumped in his stall at the end of the benches. her hands trembled as she slid further in and leaned against the door. 

“will?” 

his eyes snapped towards hers. he looked like a mess and that only unleashed more waterworks seeing him in this state. it wasn’t one samy saw him a lot in, so when she did, it hurt extra hard. 

“if you’re here to try and make me feel better, i don’t wanna hear it,” the boy mumbled bitterly which quickly caught samy off guard. 

she wasn’t expecting that from him so immediately. 

“i’m not. just here to be with you,” the girl said, trying to hide the shake in her voice. 

“well, i’m not really in the mood to be around anyone right now. just go. i’ll be out in a few minutes,” the bitterness in his voice definitely stung, but samy tried shaking him off knowing he was just upset. 

“will..” she inched forward, wanting to reach out to him. he looked as if anyone touched him he’d just break into a million pieces. 

“i said go. i don’t need your fucking sympathy. i feel feel like shit,” the blonde snapped this time making samy instantly draw back. 

“i know you’re upset, i get it. this loss fucking sucks. i’m just trying—” 

“you don’t fucking get it, samy! i just lost the championship game 2-0. we scored zero points. you know how fucking embarrassing that is? i’ve been trying to prove myself all season about how good i can be and then i lose the championship game. you’ll never fucking get it!” there it was. 

will’s tone rose with anger and hurt all mixed into one. samy swallowed the nerves climbing higher in her stomach as she tried remembering none of this was really directed at her. she was just the person will was getting his anger out on. 

“i-i do get it, will. remember my championship game in december? we choked. i-i get it, i do. it sucks and i’m so sorry it ended this way. i wish it didn’t—”

“stop saying you get it. it’s not the fucking same. you’ve never had to work for anything in your life because of your family!” 

the blonde’s harsh words finally hit a nerve. samy’s face twisted and she didn’t know anymore if he really didn’t mean it or not, but through the anger, will realized what he said. 

“samy..i didn’t—”

“fuck you, will. you of all people should know how hard i’ve worked to be where i am right now. i know you’re upset about everything right now, but you don’t need to bring me down to make yourself feel better. don’t bother waiting up. i’m leaving with ryan and gabe,” samy stormed out of the locker room before will could say anything more.

the tears streamed down her face as soon as she was in the lobby again. ryan and gabe instantly noticed her distraught expression, immediately going to her. 

“shit, what happened?” ryan muttered. 

“can we just go? i can’t deal with him right now,” samy choked out. the two exchanged a worried glance, but obliged. 

the whole ride back to the hotel was nothing but silence as everyone reeled from the disappointing night. 

—

gabe let samy camp out in his hotel room for the night. he didn’t dare ask her what happened in the locker room knowing she’d tell him if she wanted to; however, the dark-haired boy wanted to go knock some sense into will knowing he most definitely snapped too hard at samy which made her want to avoid him. 

it was almost two in the morning when there was a small knock. still awake, the two exchanged wary glances, so gabe got the door. 

he pulled it open to reveal a very weary, teary-eyed, sad, and frustrated will. for a moment, gabe almost let him in, but he stopped himself because he didn’t want the boy blowing up at samy again. the girl sat nervously on the bed just out of sight of the door listening in on them.

“is she here?” will rasped out, voice dry from the amount he cried after samy left the locker room and getting back to the hotel. 

“i’m not sure i wanna answer that,” gabe stood his ground. 

“come on, perreault. leno said he didn’t have her,” will tried again. 

hearing how wrecked he sounded broke samy’s heart all over again. gabe gazed back at her, a look in his eyes asking her if she really wanted to see him. 

even though he insulted her, something in samy was still trying to justify it for him being upset and angry. she really wanted to believe he didn’t mean it. with that, the girl crawled off the bed and shuffled her way behind gabe’s 6’1 figure. 

“we can talk in your room,” samy mumbled. 

“o-okay,” the shake in her boyfriend’s voice made samy want to lunge herself at him and make all the pain go away, but she had to stand up for herself still. 

“you’re sure?” gabe wondered before letting her go. 

“i’m sure. i’ll see you tomorrow,” she rubbed his arm and stepped around him. 

her and will walked three doors down where his hotel room was. it was basically hers too since most of her stuff was scattered across the room over the past few days they’ve been there. 

will shut the door behind them. the brunette looked at him expectantly knowing she said everything she could. a beat of silence passed before the tears quickly filled the blonde’s eyes and he started completely sobbing in front of her. he crumpled against the door, choking sobs falling from his lips as he body sunk into the ground. 

for a second, samy just stared at him until her instincts kicked in and she went to him without hesitation this time. 

“oh will,” she curled into his side, stroking his hair as his body fell into hers. 

“i’m so sorry. i didn’t mean any of it. i don’t know why i said it. i was upset and i know that’s not an excuse at all,” the boy rambled into her shoulder. 

“i know this loss hurts, but taking your anger out on people with harsh words isn’t gonna make it better,” samy said.

“i know, i know. i-i’m so sorry. i shouldn’t have lashed out on you. that’s not fair to you at all.” 

“i was just trying to comfort you like i always do after losses,” the girl hated seeing her boyfriend so upset like this. his tears dripped everywhere on her even after samy tried wiping them away with her thumb. 

“i know. i shouldn’t have pushed you away like that. i just.. I didn’t want you to see me like that,” will’s voice grew softer at his small admission. 

“what do you mean like that?” i’ve seen you lose games before.”

“i don’t know if this is how you felt after your soccer game, but i felt so pathetic for losing a championship game where we didn’t even score. my pride was hurt and i worried you’d think i wasn’t good enough anymore because i lost like that,” his words continued breaking samy’s heart. 

she grabbed ahold of his face so he was looking at her, “i’d never think any less of you because you lost. it happens. you’re not pathetic for losing and i promise it doesn’t make me look at you any differently.” 

“i guess i’m just always scared you’ll get sick of me and realize i’m not actually worth it. that and a hundred other emotions were just going through me and it came out really wrong,” will frowned. 

a small sigh escaped the girl’s lips hearing the boy she’s known all her life doubt himself so much. “you’re always worth it, will. nothing’s ever gonna change that for me, okay? i’m always gonna be in love with you and wanna be around you win or lose, whatever's happening in your career. you’re stuck with me,” a small laugh escaped their lips at the last part. 

“i know that. i just get really doubtful when i get down on myself and hard losses like that happen.” 

“i get it, but i’m not going anywhere, okay? you played your best tonight, those refs were making shit calls and unfortunately, denver just figured us out.” 

a small nod came from will. he pushed his forehead onto samy’s just trying to ease all the thoughts running through his mind while focusing on the way she ran her fingers gently through his hair and around his curls. some of his roots were rough and red from the way he pulled harshly on them earlier, so her gentle motions slowly eased the ache. 

“i’m scared that i don’t know what’s gonna happen next with any of us,” will spoke again after a small silence. 

he lifted his head again to meet his girlfriend’s gaze before leaning it against the door. 

“are you gonna sign on?” the idea played in samy’s mind as well after tonight’s game. 

the decision was entirely up to the coaches of each of the guy’s respective teams, but considering how well all of them played and improved in one season, they may want them sooner rather than later. 

“i don’t know. it’s up to whether the sharks want me now or later,” will answered. 

“have you talked to ryan or gabe? what they may do?” 

“washington’s pushing closer to the playoffs. they may want ryan on for it. i dunno. gabe’s most likely gonna stay. i don’t think the rangers are quite ready for him yet. the ideal situation is we all stay one one more season with boston,” will explained a bit, his fingers drawing mindles shapes into samy’s leg. 

“what do the sharks say about you?” the girl wondered with a raised eyebrow. 

“you know what they say about me. they want me now. they wanna wait another year. it’s..sort of up to me i guess,” will shrugged a bit, avoiding eye contact. 

“would you sign on now?” she rephrased her question from earlier. 

“if i sign on now, my entire life gets flipped around in a week and i have to move to california, but then i’d possibly get to play in the playoffs. if i wait, i get to stay with boston and everyone for another year and more importantly, see you more frequently than if i was in california,” samy rolled her eyes at the last part—he was always so down bad for her. 

“don’t make the decision based on me, will. you’ll see me still.” 

“i know, but i think i do subconsciously anyway. you’re just my life now,” his words sent a deep blush across the girl’s cheeks. 

“i’m flattered,” she rubbed the side of his cheek making him lean into her touch. 

“you’re everything to me, samy. i’m really, really in love with you and i can’t imagine my life without you in it,” will smiled softly. 

the girl flushed, but returned his smile. hearing those kinds of things come out of his mouth was still something the brunette was getting used to even after 9 months of being together. 

“you’re everything to me too, will. i love you a lot.” 

the boy leaned forward to place a gentle, yet loving kiss on her lips. they melted into one another, small sighs escaping their mouths at the contact. her hands tugged at his curls while his own curved around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer like he needed her as close as possible or else he couldn’t function. 

part of it was true. without samy, will was lost like a fish in the ocean. she was a part of him and he was a part of her. they were intertwined and always would be. her soft lips soothed every single thought and self-doubt will had because as long as his favorite girl believed in him, that was all that mattered. 

“i know i said this already, but thank you for being here. it means a lot to me,” will said when they pulled apart. 

“i’d never miss this. i’ll always skip classes for you,” she grinned. 

the boy beamed, pulling her back in for another kiss. 

the two didn’t get into bed until nearly 3:30 in the morning. samy curled into will’s side, his arm tightly around her as she laid on his chest. the tension in the air completely dissipated and the cries died down. things felt okay again. 

they’d sleep tangled in one another all night knowing the next morning samy had to catch her plane back to michigan and will would be left with one big decision that would decide what plane he had to catch. 

[yaniluvs]

𝒾𝒾𝒾 ┆ 𖡎 (승민) : STARS AND RAINDROPS “ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖’𝑑 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢.. ” ── great, your crush-best friend just invited his crush to your hangout.

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𓍯 bsf!seungmin ʚଓ fem!reader ：（ 𝒾 ） 1.5k ── ༯ SERiES, angst, mature, fluff, comfort, petnames, unrequited love, melancholy, one sided, skz ensemble, music students, happy ending, trio of seungsung and reader, uni au. ⸝⸝𓂃 LiBRARY. /ᐠ.ꞈ.ᐟ\ྀིྀི

yani's note ˖˙ ᰋ fun chapter, jisung yapping as usual, had fun writing this heh. taglist for all fics/this series is open, so are requests. i'll try to stay as consistent as i can ;3. comments, likes and reblogs are always appreciated ! happy reading <3

the three strolled to the small bench they always shared in the garden, ice creams in hand, the air around them thick with the scent of rain that had yet to fall. jisung, as usual, was full of energy, bouncing between topics as if the silence were something to be defeated. seungmin, in contrast, was quiet, his eyes scanning the horizon as he occasionally chimed in with a wry remark or two.

the girl had quietly sat on the bench, slightly apart from them, her journal in her lap as her eyes drifted across the pages. she wasn’t writing, not yet—just flipping through the fragments of her thoughts. she wasn’t in the mood to speak much, and she didn’t have to. 

as y/n sat quietly on the bench, flipping through the pages of her journal, seungmin and jisung sprawled out on the grass nearby.

"do you think you'd survive in a zombie apocalypse?" jisung asked suddenly, taking a big bite of his ice cream as he glanced over at seungmin.

the guy raised an eyebrow, wiping his mouth. “where in the world did that come from?” and the squirrel-guy just shrugged in response.

slightly side-eyeing the guy beside him, seungmin spoke. "you? in a zombie apocalypse?" he scoffed. "you’d trip over your own feet before a single zombie even showed up."

and jisung gasped in exaggerated offence. “excuse me? i have incredible survival instincts. i’d be the last one standing, okay? you’d be the one complaining about the lack of the internet.”

seungmin rolled his eyes, leaning back on his hands. "first of all, i won’t even need wifi. and second, you’d be too busy vlogging the whole thing to actually fight off zombies."

jisung groaned, dramatically clutching his chest, whining. “y/n look, he’s being mean again for no reason.”

the girl briefly looked up at the call of her name, seemingly distracted, before looking back to her journal, “whatever min said,” she babbled randomly, clearly not knowing the convo.

seungmin laughed at the guy’s dumbfounded expression, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“it’s because i’m the heart of this friend group, that’s why,” jisung said, puffing out his chest with mock pride. “without me, everything would be boring and depressing. admit it, min. you’d miss me if i got eaten by zombies.”

seungmin laughed, shaking his head, when the girl spoke again, her gaze fixed onto the book on her lap. “ji, he probably wouldn’t even notice your absence.”

“touché,”

jisung huffed, throwing his hands in the air. “i bet you would notice, though, y/nnie!” he glanced over at her, but she was back to quietly writing in her journal, completely immersed.

seungmin followed jisung’s gaze and gave a small smile before turning back to him. "she’d probably miss you just so she could have someone to make fun of."

"well?" jisung grinned triumphantly. "even my insults have value. i provide endless entertainment."

seungmin shook his head, but the smile on his face lingered. “you’re lucky i tolerate you.”

“oh, come on, you love me,” jisung teased, leaning over and nudging seungmin with his shoulder. "i’m your favourite, right?"

seungmin leaned away, narrowing his eyes. "you’re… tolerable. barely."

“wow,” jisung said, rolling his eyes, “you really know how to make a guy feel special, min.”

"i aim to please," seungmin deadpanned.

as the golden hour bathed the park in a soft, amber hue, the brunette’s gaze wandered across the sprawling canvas of the evening. the air was cool, tinged with the faint scent of summer blooms, and the distant murmur of city life seemed like a gentle backdrop to the moment.

then his eyes fell upon the girl, seated on the worn wooden bench beneath a sprawling oak tree. her presence was an understated symphony against the natural beauty around her. 

her dark hair, flowing in silky waves, caught the dying light like a raven’s feather dipped in twilight. the strands framed her face with a certain grace, slipping through her fingers as she adjusted her position, her movements delicate and unhurried.

her soft, azure blouse draped over her shoulders like a whisper, the fabric catching the wind with a subtle shimmer. she seemed to merge seamlessly with the twilight, her attire complementing her poised, yet introspective demeanour.

in that moment, she appeared both serene and distant, her focus entirely absorbed by the journal cradled in her lap.

the famous journal, a leather-bound book with a hint of wear along the edges, was a vessel of her thoughts and dreams. her slender fingers danced over the pages with practised ease, every movement imbued with a silent intensity. 

her brow furrowed ever so slightly, the tip of her pen moving in graceful arcs that spoke of her inner world—one that he could only glimpse through the quiet reflection in her eyes, as she bit down onto yet another pepero.

her tinted lips, that wrapped so neatly around the chocolate coated stick, shortening with each nibble.

 seungmin felt an unfamiliar twinge in his chest, a fleeting sense of admiration that mingled with the evening’s tranquil melancholy.

 he observed her with a gaze that was tender yet distant, like a painter admiring a muse through the veil of a dream. 

there was a beauty in her quiet solitude, in the way she seemed to be lost in a realm of her own making, untouched by the external world.

yet, as he watched her, a subtle, yet firm realisation anchored itself in his thoughts. 

his heart, despite the gentle stirrings of affection he felt in her presence, was already attuned to another melody. 

the truth was a quiet storm within him, a reminder of the emotions that tethered him elsewhere. the affection he felt for her was like a soft echo in the recesses of his mind, but it was clear and unequivocal that his heart had already chosen a different path.

the knowledge was both comforting and bittersweet. 

he appreciated the serene beauty she brought to the world, her presence like a soothing balm in the complexities of life. 

but his own affections lay elsewhere, woven into the fabric of his own reality. 

he knew, as he continued to watch her, that his admiration was tempered by a reality he could not ignore.

or could he just not see.. beyond her.

with a gentle sigh, he turned his gaze away from the girl, letting the evening’s shadows deepen around him. 

he allowed himself to be drawn back into the conversation with jisung and the fading light of day, carrying with him the quiet appreciation for a friend who, in her own way, had captured a moment of his heart’s fleeting tenderness.

they stayed like that, the sun slipping lower in the sky, casting soft orange hues across the horizon as the impending storm still held off in the distance.

as the sky began to fade out of twilight, jisung stood up, stretching dramatically. “hey, what do you two think about hitting the beach tomorrow? i could use some peace and fun.”

seungmin turned to her, a soft, unreadable look in his eyes. “what d’ya think? up for it?”

the girl looked up, her brows raised slightly as she closed her journal, placing it back into her bag. “the beach? tomorrow?” she glanced back at the guy who suggested it, who only shrugged.

“yeah, i mean,” he began, “it’s a friday, we’ve all been pretty busy with uni, especially you, by the way. and it’d seem like a good time-off!”

“he’s right, you know,” the brown haired guy nudged her lightly, his left hand resting on her right shoulder. “you deserve a break, just for an evening.”

she turned her gaze towards him, eyes softening slightly, the hesitation melting away. “fine. when are we leaving?”

about 10 minutes later.

a familiar voice chimed in, pulling all three of their gazes toward the entrance of the garden. felix and eunha strolled over, waving as they approached.

“hey, you guys! what’s up?” felix grinned, his sunshine energy as contagious as ever.

jisung waved back with a grin, seungmin simply nodding in annoyance. “oh, lix, eunha, hey!”

the two approached the group, joining them on the grass. some time passed.

“we’re actually planning to head to the beach tomorrow evening. you guys wanna tag along?” seungmin asked, his tone casual but his eyes on y/n.

felix's face lit up immediately. "i'm so down. eunha?"

eunha smiled, nodding. "sounds perfect."

the girl quietly sat onto the bench, looked up at the conversation, her jaw clenching the tiniest bit. 

why in the world did he have to invite them?

it’s like she doesn’t even exist anymore – not that it matters but yeah.

another day, with eunha tagging along.

another day of seungmin trying terribly to gauge her attention.

another stupid day of stolen glances at seungmin that y/n wasn’t sure anyone else noticed—or cared about.

she had been waiting for the day, despite the hesitation. but now that eunha’s coming, she might as well skip, it wouldn’t make a difference, would it?

but she couldn’t, not to her closest pair of friends anyway.

“yay..” she cheered quietly, a faint smile playing on her lips as she tucked her journal into her bag.

but inside, she was already bracing herself for the next day, hoping the beach wouldn’t be just another backdrop to the feelings she could never quite express.

[giggly-squiggily]

OKAY SO- it's nothing major, just a little eita chigiri thought that popped into my head when eita got swapped out because i loooved the chigiri-otoya-karasu-team and i wanted more of it

so imagine eita gets swapped out and sits down next to chigiri who's still sulking on the bench and he tries cheering him up but nothing works, so he starts poking and tickling him subtly and chigiri is fighting for his life because if he moves wrong his sister will see it (he can't have her see this happen he just can't), ego is right next to them, they're on national television otoya stop it- and eita is just like hm idk little red i feel like you're still not quite passing the vibe check (bonus points if chigiri is so bad at hiding his reactions that everyone around them notices but no one says anything and they're all just quietly amused)

*glinda table slap* YES! Oh my god I love this so much!! (No cause seriously the Karasu-Chigiri-Otoya trio is comedy gold and deserves a spotlight of their own for being so chaoticly charming anznannsns)

Otoya’s trying his best to cheer him up I love 😭 (let’s be real he’s so lazy about it though like “You ran..like, a lot. That was cool dude.” Or something like that) and normally Chigiri’s pretty amused by his terrible attempts at comfort but today he’s just not feeling it and then the tickles come and he’s grabbing onto his wrists with a whispered “Don’t-“

Ego’s pretending he doesn’t know them while Anri’s hiding her growing smile in her clipboard, the rest of the team are sitting there trying to look stoic but it’s so obvious from Chigiri’s muffled squeak-giggles and red cheeks what’s happening and their fighting down their own smiles and laughs. Otoya is so sneaky (like a ninja) going for spots he knows tickle but don’t make him react extra; Chigiri’s got one hand fighting him off while the other is pulling his towel further down over his head to hide his face. He’s praying with every fiber in his body his sister can’t see him (she can, and she’s absolutely recording it to send to him when he gets his phone back lols)

At some point Otoya plans a sneaky move and squeezes his knee when a goal is made. Chigiri’s yelp is lost in the crowd screaming- as is Otoya’s when Chigiri elbows him in the ribs- eventually Ego remembers he’s a coach and gives them the look and Otoya finally relents.

Chigiri is still bummed for a bit, but he’s noticeably less bummed to his teammates and that’s really all that matters to them. At some point Otoya pulls one of his “hidden jutsu arts” and side hugs him briefly and Chigiri lets him cause damn if he didn’t need it.

I can yap for days over Chigiri friend this is beyond amazing! Thank you for sharing! (And if you have anymore blue lock thoughts share away anytime I love them! 🥰🥰🥰)

[that-gay-guy-from-hell]

A Walk Home: Hunter Bradley X G/N Reader

SUMMARY: Hunter returns a favor by accompanying you on your walk home.

BEGINNING NOTES: ⚡(Shy?) Hunter x G/N Reader 🪲Unestablished relationship ⚡Just some simple fluff to start this whole idea out! 🪲The reader knows that Hunter (and the others) are Rangers--not super pertinent to the story but it is briefly mentioned.

     Despite the day being two-thirds of the way over, Storm Chargers only had nearly a dozen customers. It was dead as dead could be. Which allowed Blake and Hunter to hang out in the back while Dustin was at the front counter, throwing a hacky sack to himself.

     “God--” Dustin groaned loudly, leaning his head back, “This is the most bored I’ve been in like forever.”

     Cupping his mouth, Hunter yelled, “I hear ya’!” 

     Dustin wandered into the back room and saw Hunter sitting on the table while Blake was fiddling with some random items on the bench, “Still nothin’ from Cam either?”

     “Nope,” Hunter ran a hand through his hair, “Today’s so slow, I think we could do a whole fight--zords n’all--and we’d still be back before anyone even thought of walking in those doors.”

     “No kidding,” Dustin sighed, “Where’s Lothor’s goons when you need ‘em?”

     The faint sound of a door opening caught everyone’s attention, making the trio return to the front of the store. 

     “Oh! Hey!” The Yellow Ranger smiled widely as he jogged over to you, pulling you in with a handshake and patting you.

     With a raised brow, you laughed, “Should I be worried? You’re acting weird.”

     Dustin sternly patted your shoulder and let go of your hand, “Just glad that someone finally showed up; it’s been hella dead today.” 

     “Oh yeah?” You casually folded your arms watching Dustin wander into the backroom and the Bradley brothers emerge.

     Hunter stood with his arms crossed and tilted back slightly with a loud sigh, “I think I’ve taken inventory four times… and I’m considering doing it a fifth.”

     With a small nod, you let out a small laugh, “I didn't know you could count that high--”

     The blond playfully backhanded your chest with a laugh.

     Dustin returned to the front with the hacky sack in hand and tossed it toward you, “So, what brings you in anyways?”

     “Well,” you tossed the bag up a few times and then threw it at Dustin, “I was on a walk, deep in thought, when I decided to come here for some advice.”

     Blake tilted his head, “What kind of advice?”

     Dustin threw the bag back, “You gonna try motocross again?”

     “What?” You laughed, “No way,” you paused while staring at the bag, “I uh… I actually need some relationship advice.” 

     When you tossed the bag back, it hit Dustin’s chest and fell to the ground.

     “Guys?”

     The three stood staring at you with various amounts of confusion.

     You laughed and rolled your eyes, “It’s nothing like that .”

     Hunter slowly nodded, “So then what kind of advice do you need?”

     “Well,” you leaned against the front counter and mindlessly stared at the floor, “There’s someone I want to ask on a date but I don’t know how to do it.” You sighed softly, “I want it to be special, you know?”

     Blake glanced between the other Rangers before staring at you, “But why us? Wouldn’t Tori be better to ask?”

     With a shake of your head, you laughed and placed your hands on the edge of the counter behind you, “Maybe..? But,” you smiled widely, “I figure you three might have the more interesting ideas.”

     The three traded glances with one another. 

     “Alright,” The Crimson Ranger took a deep breath before turning to Dustin, “Why don’t you go first.”

     “Me?” Dustin grabbed his hacky sack off the floor and went over to the counter beside you, sitting on it. He motioned to Blake, “Why don’t you do it, dude.”

     Blake sighed and relaxed his posture, “Okay well how about…” he moved his jaw in thought, “You could make them something..? I always see those stories about people asking someone with like a scavenger hunt-”

     Dustin laughed, “They askin’ someone to prom?”

     The Navy Ranger crossed his arms, “What, you got a better idea?”

     “Ask them out for a day trip together.”

     “That's so lame, dude.”

     “I didn’t say it had to be a boring trip. It could be something fun; like a hike or-”

     “Yeah, nothing says “I love you” more than a hike in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record.”

     Blake and Hunter shared a laugh.

     Dustin raised a brow at Hunter and gestured to him, “What are you laughing at, huh? You haven’t even given any ideas.”

     Hunter shook his head with a smile and looked over at you, “You wanted something unique, right?”

     You nodded, a slight nervousness pooling in your gut at the sudden intense eye contact.

     “Then just kiss them.”

     Before you could even respond, Dustin and Blake began to laugh.

     “Bro,” Blake shoved Hunter’s shoulder, “You tryin’ to get them in trouble?”

     Hunter rolled his eyes and shrugged, "I'm not saying they should give a sloppy granny kiss or anything; just something to get the point across."

     Dustin laughed, "You're telling me you'd be okay with anyone kissing you--as long as you’re friends?”

     Hunter shrugged, “It’s not that big of a deal.”

     Blake smirked playfully, “Says the guy who’s never even kissed someone.”

     “Hey!” He shot a glare at his brother, “I’ve kissed plenty of people.”

     “You know I mean real people, right?”

     Dustin and Blake shared a hearty chuckle.

     The blond sighed and shook his head, “Real funny Blake.”

     “What-” Blake smiled widely, “I’m only telling the truth.”

     “That’s not--”

     The loud ringing of Blake’s cell phone cut Hunter off.

     Nearly dropping it, the Navy Ranger pulled his phone from his back pocket and answered it while wandering off to the backroom. 

     “So,” Hunter raised a brow at you, “Who’s the lucky lady then? Do we know her?”

     With a scoff and smirk, you shook your head, “ Lady? Who said anything about a lady?”

     “Huh?” 

     You stood back up and began to head for the door, “Thanks for the tips, guys.”

     The pair shared confused glances.

     Blake returned to the foyer and looked at the dumbfounded duo, “We’ve gotta go,” the raven-haired ninja turned to you, “Could you watch the shop for us?”

     You squinted harshly, “You sure Kelly won’t have an issue with that? Plus I kind of have plans--”

     “Come on, it’s just for a short while.”

     Dustin gave you an unintentionally puppy-eyed stare as he added, “Please..?”

     After a short pause, you sighed, “I knew I shouldn’t have stopped by… Fine, I’ll cover for you. Just,” you pursed your lips and hit your thigh, “Just stay safe and hurry back, alright?”

     Dustin playfully smacked your shoulder and ran out the door, “Sure thing!”

     Blake gave you a nod and a wave, “Thanks for the help!”

     Hunter was the last to leave. Just before he walked out the door he turned back to you with a smile, “Thanks, we owe you one.”

     With that, the shop was silent once again.

     Each hour felt longer than the last as you watched less than a dozen people wander in and out of the shop. As the clock struck eight pm, you knew that it was finally closing time. Despite not ever working at Storm Chargers officially, you’d covered enough shifts for the guys that you knew the closing routine; change the sign, lock the doors, count the register, and take a quick inventory.

     Just as you were finishing up with inventory, two familiar faces knocked on the front door; Hunter and Dustin. 

     With a smirk, you waltzed up to the front door and opened it slightly, “We’re closed.”

     Dustin stared at you in confusion before he put together that you were joking and smiled. 

     Hunter sighed as he leaned against the wall beside the door, “We didn’t mean to be gone this long, sorry.”

     “Yeah, yeah, it’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” you moved to the side to let them into the shop.

     “So,” Dustin meandered around the shop, “What’s all left for closing stuff?”

     You shook your head and placed a hand on your hip, “Besides turning off the lights and locking the front door? Nothing.”

     “Seriously?” the Yellow Ranger smiled as he dapped you up, “You’re the best!”

     “Figured you guys would be a bit tired after your other job ,” you shrugged, “thought I’d just take care of it.”

     Dustin and Hunter went in back and grabbed their things. 

     You furrowed your brow, “Where’s Blake--he okay?”

     Hunter stuck his hands in his pockets, leaning back casually, “He wasn’t feeling too great after today so I said I’d grab his stuff.”

     Dustin shot Hunter a baffled look, “I thought it was cause you wanted to w-- urk!”

     Hunter jabbed Dustin with his elbow, speaking through gritted teeth, “Quiet, dude.”

     Ignoring the weird action, you laughed and shook your head,  “As much as I enjoy spending time with you both, I’d like to get home before the shop re-opens at seven.” You turned off the shop lights and left, both Rangers in tow.

     Dustin turned around and, after patting all of his pockets, found his store keys and locked the door. All the while Hunter had wandered to stand beside you.

     “So,” Hunter had a warm, but very obviously nervous, smile, “You got a ride?”

     “No, I hadn’t planned on staying so long.”

     “Well, I could walk you home.”

     Your eyes went wide as you stared at him, a very obvious blush decorating your features.

     Fearing that he just made you uncomfortable, Hunter immediately tacked on, “I mean, only if you want. I don’t--” A sudden loud laugh caught the blond’s attention and he turned to see Dustin laughing, “You got something you wanna say?”

     “Mhm,” the Yellow Ranger smiled, crossing his arms, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so shy before.”

     Hunter’s face turned red and he lightly shoved Dustin with a lighthearted scoff, “Fuck off.”

     The two shared a laugh before Hunter returned to you, “So, you uh-”

     You smiled softly, “Sure, I could use the company,” you very cautiously grabbed his bicep and gave it a quick squeeze with a wink, “Just in case there are any Kalzaks out for a nightly stroll.”

     He looked down at your hand, making you quickly retract the gesture. 

     Dustin gave you a side glance with a small smirk, “Well then, I guess I should say goodnight and leave you to it.” He gave you both a small wave and, using his agility, took off into the night.

     Hunter nodded and pursed his lips, “Shall we?”

     You nodded as the both of you began meandered down the sidewalk. 

     It was a rather peaceful walk. The autumn air and smell of distant campfires gave you a sense of ease. Throughout the walk, you kept looking down at Hunter’s hand that was right beside your own. It would’ve been so easy to grab it and intertwine your fingers with his, but, you decided against the impulse. Unbeknownst to you, Hunter had also been thinking and doing the same; wanting to hold your hand in his and pull you tighter to his side.

     When the two of you arrived at your doorstep, neither of you moved; opting to stand face-to-face and avoiding each other’s eyes. 

     Hunter took a deep breath, “ ‘suppose this is goodbye then.”

     You nodded and pursed your lips in thought. 

     Unsure what to do, Hunter gently rested a hand on your shoulder, “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

     Once again, you only nodded. 

     The blond sighed softly and removed his hand, turning to leave. However, just as he left the porch, you went after him and grabbed his hand.

     Hunter turned back to face you, a confused look on his face, “What’s-!”

     Quickly, you grabbed his shirt and pulled his lips down to yours. By the time Hunter processed what happened, you’d already let go and were braced for the worst. However, instead of getting scolded or laughed at, Hunter put his hands on your bicpes. Mindlessly, he began to thumb over you and moved closer to your face, eventually he placed his nose beside yours. 

     Hunter closed the gap between your lips and his. It wasn’t the most eloquent kiss but the passion behind it made up for it tenfold. You placed your hands on his chest as his hands slid to your lower back, pulling you snuggly into him. With slow almost teasing motions, Hunter strung together a set of heated kisses. A smile tugged at both of your faces as he lightly bit your lower lip and broke apart. 

     “Just needed “ some advice ”, huh?” The blond raised a brow, smugly smirking, “No wonder you didn’t go to Tori.”

     Stumbling over your words, you avoided his gaze and gave a small nervous chuckle, “I didn’t expect you to give me something so…”

     “Straight forward?”

     You nodded.

     The Crimson Ranger cupped the lower side of your face and jaw, thumbing over your cheek, “You’re really somethin’, you know that?” His eyes flicked all over your face as he let out a breathy shy laugh, “Had me convinced you were gonna ask Blake or Dustin out.”

     You leaned into his hand, placing one of yours on the back of it, “Not in a million years.” Using your free hand, you grabbed his remaining hand and laced your fingers together.

     Hunter placed a soft kiss on your forehead, reluctantly letting you go, “You should get to bed, it’s getting late.”

     “You could spend the night if you want, I have plenty of room.”

     He gave you a wide smirk, “As tempting as that sounds,” he paused briefly, rolling his tongue over his lips with a small huff, “I think maybe it’d be best for me to come back in the morning and we could maybe go grab lunch together or something..?”

     “Oh?” You gave him a playful pat on the chest, resting your hand against him, and a wide grin, “You asking me on a date?”

     “Maybe,” he looked down at your hand. Despite his confidence, Hunter was a tad nervous which was made evident by how fast his heart was going.

     “As much as I’d love to,” you raised your brows with a small sigh, “You have work tomorrow morning.”

     After a moment of thought, Hunter clicked his tongue and lightly frowned, “Damn it!”

     “But,” you began to knead his chest, “If you want, we could go out after your shift; maybe catch a movie or something. Unless you’re busy with your other job?”

     His expression returned to a sweet smile, “No- Well, I mean, there’s nothing planned for tomorrow,” he placed a hand atop yours.

     “It’s a date then!”

     Hunter’s expression lit up, “It’s a date!”

     Using the hand on his chest, you pulled him down to you and gave him a small kiss, “Then I’ll meet you at the shop after your shift is over.”

     “Travel safe, okay?” You playfully winked, “This city can get kind of rough at night.”

     “I’ll be alright,” he patted your bicep with his free hand, “I promise.”

     Both of you were hesitant to let go of one another, but all good things must come to an end, Hunter’s phone began to ring.

     He gave a flat smile as he pulled the phone out, “It’s Blake,” he sighed, “I’ve gotta go. Sorry.”

     You laughed, “Don’t be, I’m sure he’s worried about you,” with one final peck to his cheek, you let him go, “Goodnight, Hunter. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

ENDING NOTES: I don’t know if it’s just me but Dustin strikes me as someone who would have some sort of fidget with him at all times; typically like a hacky sack or something like that. ⚡⚡⚡ Hopefully Hunter and Blake sound kind of like siblings; I don’t talk to my sibling. So I don’t know how siblings really interact and I tried to use the show as a base--plus some knowledge from things like DMC. Also, I didn’t mean to make Hunter so shy but it’s just how it worked out. Lowkey feels like he’d be very meek about this stuff, compared to Blake who’d be straight up about things. 

Want to see more like this? Check this out on AO3 (Linked Here)

TUMBLR POWER RANGERS MASTER LIST

[dweetwise]

[Riconti] The Long Con (part 2/6)

Bitchy Felix my beloved. Rated T | 2k words | ao3 link [previous] [next]

"Oh, really?" Ace said, feigning interest. "An architect? That has to be a really demanding profession."

The man next to him cleared his throat. "Not really."

Ace forced a smile and silently cursed his luck. He'd been trying to break through this guy's facade for nearly half an hour without much progress.

"He's lying!" the woman opposite the table from Ace exclaimed loudly. "Two weeks ago, we stayed at the office for 36 hours straight to finish a project!"

"Wow." Ace whistled lowly. "Now that's what I call dedication. You had to be dead on your feet after, huh?"

A minute shrug from Mr. Antisocial. "A little."

"You drank a quadruple espresso. Black," the woman continued, then turned to Ace. "I thought he was going to give himself a heart attack—I kept screaming 'Don't you dare die before you finish that render!'"

Ace laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, have to keep your priorities straight. And for what it's worth, I'm very happy neither of you succumbed to a caffeine-related early grave."

That got a small twitch of the man's mouth. "I think Americans and the sugary milkshakes you call coffee are more at risk for that."

"Well, excuse us for not wanting to drink bean water au natural," Ace teased.

The joke only earned him another bored glance. Ace took a big gulp of his beer to fill the awkward silence.

This really wasn't going according to plan.

When Ace first walked into the beer tent that Meg had pointed him to, he'd been briefly overwhelmed by the sheer size of the space. The tent looked even bigger than it had from the outside, full of tables and benches and a bar that ran almost the entire length of the room. A good portion of the tables were already occupied and wait staff scurried about in traditional outfits, carrying huge glasses of beer to their eager customers.

Ace had made his way to the bar and ordered the first beer on the menu. The bartender—dressed in suspenders and lederhosen and one of the ugliest pairs of socks Ace had ever seen—filled his glass from a wooden barrel, and Ace had to admire the vendors’ dedication to preserving the old-timey atmosphere.

Unfortunately, tradition also seemed to dictate that the default serving size was one whole liter of beer.

Ace had struggled to even carry his damn beer without sloshing it all over his favorite shirt. In the end, he only made it to a currently closed section of the bar, but it was a good vantage point to take in the sea of people.

While observing the chatter, the unholy amounts of beer being consumed, and the most leather pants Ace had seen since the eighties, he'd spotted a small group sitting at a corner table not far away. Or more specifically, his eye had been drawn to a woman dressed in a seemingly unassuming white t-shirt and a simple silver necklace, gesturing animatedly with her purse as she talked to her friends.

But the shirt looked like an expensive material, the sunglasses pushed up into her hair were from a designer Ace recognized, and the necklace he remembered seeing in a pawn shop—selling for over a grand. The woman's entire outfit radiated the sort of casual luxury that most people wouldn't even notice.

Fortunately, Ace had spent the last thirty years practicing how to do just that. And with the majority of festival-goers sporting identical-looking traditional Bavarian garb that was impossible to appraise, the woman was by far the safest bet when it came to schmoozing up to a wealthy target.

Ace sipped on his beer and kept watching the group out of the corner of his eye. It was only three people—the woman and two men—and Ace waited to see if others would be joining them from the bar or returning from a bathroom break. Larger groups were usually harder to squeeze into and if another woman joined the trio, they were obviously two couples enjoying the festival together who would not be happy about Ace fifth-wheeling.

But after ten minutes and no sign of potentially missing friends or the group even glancing around for anyone, Ace felt confident enough to proceed with his plan. He gave himself a cursory once-over to check for beer stains on his clothes before making a small detour back to the bar, just on the odd chance that he was being watched. He pretended to study the food menu before looking around the tent like a dumb little tourist—which wasn’t entirely an act—and then made a show of noticing the group for the first time and strolling up to their table.

After that, it was the familiar spiel of, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?", followed by a sheepish smile as they turned to look at him, and then, "This is actually my first Oktoberfest and I'm a little lost."

The woman had immediately offered an excited, "No, no, sit down!", the man next to her had smiled and nodded, and Ace turned to the final member of the group who he'd only seen the back of so far—

And proceeded to nearly choke on his spit because holy shit, was that guy a model or something?

One of the most handsome men Ace had ever met frowned at him, his brows drawn together as his icy blue eyes studied Ace. His blond hair was impeccably styled with not a strand out of place and his checkered dress shirt and navy blue waistcoat hugged his broad torso perfectly. Like almost everyone else, he was also wearing lederhosen, though these were of the more form-fitting variety and Ace sorely regretted not ogling his backside while he'd been watching their table earlier.

Ace managed a friendly smile, to which the man just turned back to the table and shrugged unenthusiastically. The message was clear: Ace could stay, but he wasn't happy about it.

Not bothered by the reaction, Ace took his seat and the woman immediately started introducing them all in heavily accented English. Her name was Lauren, the man beside her was Daniel, her husband, and the hottie with a bad attitude was Felix, her business partner slash best friend.

And, really, Ace's original plan had been to simply befriend Lauren—at least as soon as she said "husband" and Ace realized that flirting would probably not go over well. Still, Lauren was sociable, already tipsy, and seemed to like Ace from the get go; it would probably only be a matter of time before she asked her charming new friend to watch her purse while the rest of them got more drinks or something.

But then Ace rolled up his sleeve and reached over the table to shake Lauren's hand, and Felix's gaze immediately snapped to Ace's exposed forearm before roving over his entire body.

Ace's skin felt hot from the obvious once-over and he almost stuttered on his own name as he greeted both Lauren and her husband. When he went to shake Felix's hand, Felix's large palm was a little sweaty and he couldn't quite meet Ace's eye anymore.

And sure, Lauren would have made an easy target. But Felix? 

Well, flirting was definitely back on the menu when it came to Felix.

…Or that's what Ace initially thought, but after countless attempts at conversation that Felix shut down immediately, he was starting to doubt his intuition.

Maybe Felix hadn't been checking him out. Maybe he just hated arm hair with a passion, or felt extreme second-hand embarrassment from Ace's shirt choice?

Ace forced down some more of his beer and desperately grasped for another conversation starter. He glanced around the tent and spotted a few rays of sunlight shining in through a transparent panel on the ceiling—surely, small talk about the weather was at least a safe topic? 

"Really nice weather for a festival," Ace said.

"I like rain," Felix said, because of course he did.

Ace would have probably excused himself at that very moment. But Felix started unbuttoning his cufflinks—the tent was getting a little warm from the sun—and Ace happened to catch a glimpse of his watch in the process.

Mechanical. Swiss made. Possibly platinum?

Oh, and probably worth at least thirty grand.

Realization slowly dawned on Ace: Felix was likely the wealthiest person in the entire room. Hell, maybe even the entire festival.

Ace straightened his back and put on his most charming grin. The pot had just been sweetened a whole lot, and Ace wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

He'd crack this man's code somehow.

═════════════ ♤ ═════════════

"—And Melbourne was really nice as well," Ace said. "Have any of you been to Australia?"

"Not yet," Lauren said.

"Once, but that was over twenty years ago," Daniel said. "I don't remember much."

Ace nodded, then smoothly leaned closer to Felix. "What about you, blondie? Any exciting travel—"

"What are you doing, dad?" a very familiar and thoroughly exasperated voice butted in.

"Meg!" Ace exclaimed, quickly putting distance between himself and Felix. 

He turned to face Meg, who was standing behind him with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. At least she'd had the decency to pretend they were related instead of addressing him as "Hey, asshole" like she did most times.

"I was just getting to know some of the locals," Ace said. "Did you want to join us? I mean, if that's okay…?" He glanced at Lauren in question.

Lauren was already nodding enthusiastically, but Meg immediately shot the suggestion down. 

"No," Meg said pointedly. "I just wanted to talk to you. Alone."

Ace smiled at the table. "Be right back."

═════════════ ♤ ═════════════

"What the hell are you doing!?" Meg hissed once they were out of earshot.

Ace shrugged. "Getting into the festival spirit?"

"If by 'festival spirit' you mean Blondie McSnob's pants!" Meg accused. "Just nick his wallet and dip!"

"I'm playing the long con," Ace said. "He's loaded, and he likes me."

Well. Sort of. Maybe.

Meg crossed her arms again and glared. "I remember what happened last time you said that."

Ace winced. "Last time" referred to almost a year ago, when he'd seduced a target and then ended up running through the fancy garden of her estate in the middle of the night, clad in only his underwear while her husband chased him with a shotgun.

That night Meg had been the angriest Ace had ever seen her, patching up his wound from where a bullet had grazed him while screaming in his ear about, "You knew she was a mob wife and you still fucked her! You could have died, you fucking useless piece of shit!"

Ace knew it meant, "I was so scared, please don't ever do that again."

"It's not like that," Ace insisted. "He's harmless."

Meg scoffed.

"Come on, look at the guy," Ace said. "He can barely put a sentence together and he's an architect. The most dangerous thing he's done is probably yachting without a life jacket."

Meg snorted and discreetly looked back to the table. "He does kinda seem like a nerd."

"A rich nerd," Ace stressed.

"Ugh, fine," Meg groaned. "As long as you remember rule number one."

Ah, throwing Ace's own teachings back in his face: one of Meg's favorite pastimes. Rule number one, of course, being, "Never get attached to your target."

"I know what I'm doing," Ace said, then smirked. "You'd better get to work if you still plan on winning our bet, dear 'daughter'."

Meg responded with the middle finger, and then she seamlessly slipped back into the crowd.

Ace sighed and absent-mindedly fiddled with the rabbit’s foot hanging from his belt: one of the knick-knacks he’d attached to it in what the internet told him was an old Oktoberfest tradition. Hopefully one of the lucky charms would work, because god knows Ace could really use some good fortune right now.

Forcing a smile onto his face, Ace ventured back to the table.

[grungeeuvu]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Very briefly, I got two anons giving me this too so here's to you guys!! Lol

1) Another One Bites The Dust (Come Lie With My Bones)

Haikyuu, KyouHaba, alternative universe - magic, slowburn

2) Theseus Never Falls

DSMP, Tommy-centric, vigilante au, multipov

3) Godhunt

Haikyuu, KogaGoshi, forced proximity, alternate universe - magic

4) The Case of The Vanishing Potions and The Consistent Hexes

DSMP, Bench Trio-centric, Hogwarts First Year au

5) Not Your Typical 'Damsel In Distress' Story

Haikyuu, SakuAtsu, alternate universe - royalty, Shrek inspired

Honourable mention goes to my dsmp vampire au and my kyouhaba oneshot!!

[victorluvsalice]

-->Where, to my surprise, both Surprise the cat and Brian Pimental the NAP inspector/family friend were waiting at the entrance! I had Smiler go and chat with Brian for a while as Victor petted the cat (remaking friends with it, yay), then had Victor and Alice watch “Sims Of The Dead” (which they didn’t think much of) while Smiler got a free drink from Brian’s wrist and I dragged all the photos out of Alice’s inventory to look through them and decide which ones I wanted to keep. I ended up keeping one small picture of the trio doing silly “fashion” poses and putting it in Victor and Alice’s bedroom, on the side table with the sacred candles, and four medium pictures – two pumpkin pictures (one normal one, one “inverted filter” one – I thought it looked cool) and two of the trio posing. The pumpkin pictures and the trio doing more fun “fashion” poses ended up on the wall of the basement over the “alchemy couch,” while another one of the gang doing “romantic” poses ended up in the barn next to Smiler’s robotics bench as I had nowhere else to put it. XD Not enough visible wall space in this house! Oh, and while I was at it, I hung up Alice’s latest abstract painting in the barn as well, near her jewelry bench and crystal displays, as it looked rather crystal-y itself. Might as well, right? Barn could use some decoration too. (Which I guess is as good a reason as any to put up the photos I don’t have any room for in the house in there.)

-->And with THAT all done, it was time to finally wrap things up in this playsession! I had Smiler say bye to Brian, then go and feed Toothy the cowplant (sorry to keep you waiting Toothy!) and pop into the basement briefly so I could get a picture of the new photos on the wall, before joining Alice and Victor to watch the end of the movie – interrupted by their house making scary noises. Which I think they all found spookier than the actual film. XD Once they'd all calmed down, Victor ate the ectocake in his inventory (hey, what better time to do so) while Alice used the toilet and had some ice cream to celebrate the holiday (next best thing after candy). Then then headed off to bed while Smiler, of course, was sent to finish off their Servo –

And finish it off they did, right around midnight! :D Delighted, I let them wander off to do their own thing, and they chose to turn the lump of clay that Victor had left on the downstairs bathroom sink into a bust. Which they proceeded to put back on the downstairs bathroom sink. XD I then sent them into the barn as the holiday officially ended for everyone around 2 AM (“Spookfest was awesomes” all around) –

And that was the end of that! Pretty successful day out for the trio, I would say. :) And next update also promises to be an exciting one, as we welcome our new robotic member to the family! And Smiler attempts to throw an appropriate party for the situation...I'll show you how that went in a couple of weeks. :p

[peninkwrites]

Bok 📓

AH! hello! It has been days!

I have so many ideas I haven't done anything with yet lmao, but here's one I haven't shared yet!!

An au that takes place in the dsmp canon titled Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.

Basically I wanted to write a fic with a deaf Tubbo, blind Ranboo, and mute Tommy. Tubbo would be deaf from the Red Festival onward, Ranboo has slowly been going blind his whole life from his tears. Tommy only goes mute after exile.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the logistics and what that type of thing would change (I'm partially blind and love projecting <3)

Post Red Festival Tommy learns sign language along with Tubbo, and he would translate for him when other people didn't sign or if Tubbo couldn't keep up reading lips. One of the things Tubbo misses the most is the sound of Tommy's laugh, but it helps that he can see the way Tommy cackles. When Ranboo joins the server, Tommy briefly serves as the main translator for the two of them, because Ranboo has a really hard time learning signs when he can't really see them, and he can't write very well. (in this, instead of a memory book, he has a tape recorder!)

When Tommy is exiled, his absence is felt as a friend and as their translator. Ranboo works hard to write better, sometimes the lines trail off or overlap, but he practices working as Tubbo's minutes man, which is even more important in this au because even though Quackity is okay at signing, when things get heated people forget and Tubbo has an even harder time keeping control as president, so he needs those notes for reference, but there's also an extra dose of tenderness between Ranboo and Tubbo, as even though there's this slight disconnect they try so hard to understand one another.

When Tommy returns, when there's the community house fight, immediately everyone knows there's something seriously wrong. Before, at their first meeting, Tommy could sign his irritation and Tubbo didn't question it, but once it gets to the community house, everyone knows there's something wrong with Tommy, because even when he signed, he was ALWAYS loud. But even as he's told he has to defend himself, to plead his case with all these people watching him, he doesn't say a word. He signs, but only so many people can understand him.

AND! Tubbo and Tommy's fight. They would be incapable of fighting and talking at the same time, they'd need to have their hands free to sign, so what do they choose? Violence or communication? Maybe in the end they want to tell the other that they were hurt more than they wanted to hurt each other, y'know?

In the aftermath, after doomsday, the three of them end up sort of joined together by this need to help each other talk. Like. Tubbo always voices Tommy’s signs aloud for Ranboo, and Tommy will sign what Ranboo says in case Tubbo can't read his lips (which, sometimes he feels nervous about reading Ranboo's lips because he doesn't want to stray too close to eye contact and make Ranboo uncomfortable) The three of them communicate best when they're all together. When it's just Ranboo and Tubbo, Ranboo tries to write stuff down best he can. When it's just Ranboo and Tommy, Tommy will trace letters onto Ranboo's palm. Eventually, Ranboo gets a text-to-speech function on his comm, so Tommy can type out things and then Ranboo can hear them. Tommy and Tubbo do pretty well talking just the two of them, they sign. But Tubbo notices Tommy doesn't laugh like he used to, and sometimes before when they were sitting beside one another, Tommy would talk loud enough Tubbo could feel the vibrations in his chest, but that doesn't happen anymore.

If the three of them have some trouble communicating with each other, the rest of the server is worse. Even if it's not a literal communication problem, Bench Trio understand each other in a way others just can't.

Just, following the path of canon, there are so many other things this could bleed into. Beeduo divorce, Wilbur's revival, doomsday was so much Techno and Tommy shouting back and forth at each other, so what happens instead? Does Ranboo feel safe moving out to the arctic, where the blinding white snow makes what little vision he has left absolutely useless? Tubbo's presidency is a hundred times more isolating because without Tommy, he realizes how much he relied on him to translate.

So, yeah. :') been thinking about this one for literal years lmao.

[melsie-sims]

It’d been an absolutely atrocious summer so far in terms of weather. Once again the drizzle of rain they’d been experiencing all day turned into a thunderstorm.

Everyone was inside though; it was a good opportunity for Karissa to have a frank discussion with the three occults. 

“Listen,” she said once they were all seated around the dining table. “I know I’ve probably overstayed my welcome…”

“You haven’t—” Rory interrupted.

“Let her finish,” Bonnie shushed him by touching his arm briefly. 

“The thing is… I don’t know if I want to go back. I don’t know if I want to just head off to university and pretend like none of this is happening. I wanna help make a difference for occults. I wanna prove not all humans are out to hurt you,” she told them, looking more attentively in Silver’s direction.

“Oh,” Bonnie murmured thoughtfully.

“I can be useful. I spent a whole summer in Oasis Springs working on water collectors and making other eco-friendly items. I can craft basic woodworks. Just please, just don’t send me away.”   

Silver noticed an odd look on her face. It was a mixture of different things, but there was definitely fear there. It was enough to tell him there was something more going on than just an adventurous streak and the need to help a trio of random strangers in the woods. 

“Okay,” Silver was the first one to agree, nodding at her. “But just so we’re clear, this isn’t a camping trip. We’re fugitives, and if the war escalates… if they find us… we can’t necessarily promise you’ll be safe.”

“Awww Silver,” Rory teased the spellcaster. “You actually like our human friend now?”

Silver remained stone-faced but Karissa blushed.

“I know what I’m getting into. I might be a human but I’m perfectly capable of making my own thought out decisions,” she shrugged. “So I can stay?” she added.

“Of course you can,” Bonnie smiled.

“We’ll get you a woodworking bench. You can start carrying your own weight around here,” Rory smirked, again with the playful air about him. 

“Thank you so much! You won’t regret it!” Karissa beamed, surprisingly happy to leave everything and everyone she’d ever known behind…

[evereinefaust]

*.·:·.✧ 𝐋𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐜𝐞 ✧.·:·.*

January 25th.

This day held special meaning to a particular group of people. After all, it is the birthday of one of their beloved co-workers...

Lumie Miratisa.

A young woman with hair the same color as a clear, sunny sky and eyes as pink as rose quartz. Other than being an actress working for LOH, she was also a well-known professional figure skater taking part in competitive figure skating. And despite taking a break from her professional career, she still uses her skills to teach younger kids ice skating as a side job.

Ever since January started, [Y/n] was racking her brains on how to celebrate Lumie's birthday. She wanted the woman to enjoy the day as much as possible and even let her co-workers accompany her on such a precious day. The [h/e]ette deeply admired Lumie, and that goes to show when she decided to plan something big to celebrate her birthday this year.

"This year's winter is still cold as ever..."

A particular female blew air into her gloved hands, before rubbing them together. Her [e/c] eyes darted around the bustling streets, witnessing the crowd maneuver their way toward their desired destinations. Tiny white snowflakes cascaded down from the clouded skies, the chilly wind passed through ever so often, and the afternoon sun slowly descended from the horizon.

Once more, [Y/n] surveyed the area. She sat patiently by a vacant bench in the city plaza towered by establishments all around when all of a sudden, she felt a vibration in her pocket. She immediately fished out her phone and checked the caller ID — Dietrich.

She then answered the call. "Big brother, where are you guys now?"

"Ah, we're by the far end of the mall. Just on the east side."

"What? It's already been half an hour; we're gonna be late at this point," she scrunched her brows, groaning. "Have you guys even bought a present yet?"

"We already did," came her older sister's voice from the other line. "We're just waiting for them to finish wrapping then we'll head out right away."

"Ugh, fine. Just please hurry up," [Y/n] sighed. "You guys are supposed to be at the ice rink by now and instructing the staff in decorating the place. It's nearly 5:00 and Lumie's gonna be here soon."

"Yes, yes. We heard you — don't worry."

With a final farewell, the call ended. [Y/n] stared at her phone screen, her [e/c] eyes twitched in annoyance as the digital clock displayed went by a minute. Sighing, she pocketed the device and waited.

"I guess I have to stall Lumie once she gets here... I just hope that my older siblings will finish the preparations during that time. I can't believe that they forgot to buy a present. Jeez..."

The next minutes were spent in anticipation. As the clock kept counting every second, [Y/n] began to think about the gifts that her older siblings could've bought. Her mind drifted off as her thoughts started to wander. And after what seemed like ages, the sound of footsteps could be heard getting nearer. Soon enough, a familiar girl dressed in casual winter clothing appeared at the corner of the pathway and made her way toward the bench that [Y/n] occupied.

"Ah, you're here!" she smiled at her friend when she reached the bench.

"[Y/n]! You didn't wait long, did you?" Lumie greeted her with a warm smile on her face.

The [h/e]ette waved in return, before getting up from her seat. "No worries, I didn't. And hello, Nine, Laphlaes."

"Good afternoon, [Y/n]," Laphlaes gave a gentle close-eyed smile.

Nine waved in reply. "Hey."

Briefly taking out her phone to check the time, the young woman then pursed her lips before facing the trio. "How about we explore the mall first?"

At that suggestion, Nine's magenta orbs lit up. He then faced the redhead. "Dad! Can we go have desserts?"

"Sure, dear," the older man chuckled, seeing his adopted son bounce excitedly.

"Okay, then. Let's go."

Once entering the mall, [Y/n] immediately messaged her older siblings about Lumie's arrival in the plaza and reminded — pleading — them to hurry up with the preparation since she can only stall the birthday girl for so long. The mall's warm air engulfed their bodies, inhaling its iconic scent as they weave along the crowd. Nine's eyes sparkled as he admired the various shops lining up inside. 

As per the ravenette's request, they headed straight to the sweets department and began browsing around the displays. [Y/n] gazed at the shelves full of delicious chocolate bars, lollipops, popcorn balls, candies, and pastries, while listening to the soft music playing from somewhere nearby. In a moment, her phone buzzed. Opening her device, she saw a message from her older brother.

Dietrich You're with Lumie now, right? Just keep her busy for about an hour. We're almost done with the preparations and the others are already here. I'll text you again later.

Her face softened, huffing in satisfaction. [Y/n] felt that she haven't had a chance to spend much time together with Lumie recently, which made her want to make sure that everything would go smoothly this time. And not only that, she really wanted to celebrate Lumie's birthday in a unique way. She figured that she should make good use of this opportunity to treat them all to a good night out, as well as to celebrate this special occasion. So, why not have some fun now?

As she returned her phone, a certain bluenette glided toward the younger girl. [E/c] hues met with sherbet ones.

"Hey, [N/n]!" Lumie greeted with her usual bright smile.

"Hey," she smiled back. "I'm glad that you accepted my invitation. I didn't get the chance to ask but how was your day earlier?"

"Oh, it's no problem! It's you who invited me, after all. And my day went fine. I was just teaching ice skating to my students as usual."

The younger girl nodded in understanding. "I see. How long are your sessions?"

"I have three sessions today. I have my 8-9 AM teaching kids who are below 10 years old. After that, I have my 11-12 sessions with teenagers. Then 2-3 PM to teach another batch of young children," Lumie explained, reminiscing about the wonderful time she had with her students. "It's pretty fulfilling. They really love me!"

[Y/n] giggled softly. "That sounds great. What do you usually teach?"

"Well, if they're under 10, I teach the basics like balance drills. For teenagers who have experience, I usually teach them advanced moves."

"Mhm. I see. What is your usual schedule?" [Y/n] inquired.

"My hours of teaching change frequently, from two days a week to three or four times a month. My schedule is flexible since this is just my side job. Besides, I have to make time for LOH and other things as well."

"Yeah, you're right," the younger girl chuckled. "Are there many kids in your class that are struggling with ice skating? There aren't any who stopped, are there?"

"Well, everyone does their best, especially the older ones. Though, sadly, a few of my students dropped the lesson. Some said that wasn't what they want while others said that the lesson per session is expensive," Lumie said as she clasped her hands together, her rose-colored eyes containing brief sadness. "I understand their concerns, it's just heartbreaking since I enjoyed our time together."

"Cheer up, Lumie," the younger girl said, sending a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure that those kids will remember you as their former teacher. The moment you spend with them won't be in vain."

Glancing at the [h/c]ette girl and seeing her gentle expression made Lumie's heart melt. She, too, sported a smile. "You're right. I guess I am being a little silly."

As they wrapped up their conversation, Laphlaes and Nine approached the two girls. Judging from the paper bag that the ravenette boy had in his arms, [Y/n] had assumed he just finished his candy shopping. Smiling at them, the four of them exited the store and proceeded to roam around the mall more.

"We're almost there... Ah, careful, Nine! Lumie might trip!"

"I'm holding her properly!"

"Don't fight you two," a certain male chuckled.

After an hour of just roaming around the mall, Dietrich messaged his little sister that everything was done and that they can bring Lumie to the ice rink right away. As soon as she received that message, [Y/n] led the three of them to the ice rink. Of course, since it's a surprise, Lumie had to be blindfolded all the way there. And now they were by the entrance of the ice rink, [Y/n] and Nine assisting and guiding the blindfolded birthday girl up the stairs and into the premise.

A small smile emerged on the blue-haired woman's face. Soon enough, the two teens whose arms she was holding stopped, making her halt in her tracks as well. Nine and [Y/n] moved away, making Lumie remove her hands from them. Soon, she felt a presence behind her. And after a moment, the blindfold was removed from her eyes.

As Lumie opened her lids...

"Surprise!"

Party poppers exploded, confetti filling up her vision. Everyone present cheered for her — some of them were holding the party poppers, some were clapping, and others were giving her a smile. As Lumie took in her surroundings, a smile formed on her face once again.

All that was visible in her peripheral vision were dark walls, decorated with balloons and streamers. On one side stood tables filled with different kinds of snacks, drinks, and desserts. And on the other side of the room sat a large table covered with different-sized boxes, presumably the presents gifted to her. But the most noticeable thing to Lumie was the huge ice rink at the center of the room. She then looked down, noticing that the carpet under her feet was colored a dark blue with a white diamond design. She instantly recognized the place. It is the 'Ace of Diamonds', one of the largest ice-rink in the city.

To be able to rent this whole place for the evening was astounding. Not only does it surely cost a lot, but they were able to receive permission from the manager supervising this large establishment just to celebrate her birthday. Furthermore, even a few of their co-actors were able to spare some time to celebrate her birthday with her and even bought presents along.

Lumie's sherbet pink orbs watered. She placed her fist over her chest, feeling her heartbeat churn in strange happiness. "Thank you so much, everyone."

[Y/n], who was observing her older friend's expression for a while, simpered. All of their friends walked over to Lumie and gathered around her. They said their birthday greetings to her one by one, often engaging in short chit-chat. As this was unfolding, [Y/n] decided to watch from the sidelines. Soon, her gaze landed on a pair of ravenettes off to the far end of the group, looking ever so fatigued.

The girl giggled to herself.

"Well, I guess I gotta give credit where credit's due. My older siblings did great in preparing everything in just a short time."

"Yosh!" clapping her hands together to garner the attention of her friends, a large smile emerges on [Y/n]'s lips, her [e/c] eyes twinkling in excitement. "Now that the birthday girl's here, how about we go celebrate and have fun? After all, we're at the skating rink~"

"Yeah!"

"You're right!"

"Mhm!"

"It'll be fun!"

"I can't wait!"

It didn't take long for everyone to put on their skating blades and enter the ice rink. And as expected, most of them were grouped together by the sides, hanging on the barrier for support. Some of them were having a lot of fun on the side, playing around, or just talking. Only a few who had experience with ice skating were hogging the vast middle to themselves. 

"Wow, you guys sure know how to enjoy yourselves..."

A satisfied expression washed over [Y/n]'s face upon seeing her friends having fun. She glanced back at her older siblings, seeing that they were busy chatting with each other by the barrier. Deciding to leave them to their own devices, she skated towards where Lumie is, passing by her friends.

Lumie, Laphlaes, and Nine were grouped together by the side. The redhead adult was leaning against the barrier for support, watching as his son was struggling to balance on the skates. As for the blue-haired woman, she was at arm's reach from the boy, ready to assist and guide him along the ice. It didn't take long for a particular [h/c-haired to casually glide over them.

"Heya," [Y/n] grinned, her skates slowing to a stop. Her gaze then landed on the younger boy. "You okay there, Nine?"

"Ngh... I'm... fine..." he huffed.

The boy had both arms out for balance, his knees bent and his upper body almost horizontal. [Y/n] had to control herself from laughing at Nine's ridiculous posture, but the amusement plastered on her face was evident. Laphlaes was watching wordlessly, his expression was nothing else but tender. As for Lumie, she had her signature smile while watching the youngsters interact.

Noticing her staring at him, Nine turned to the teen. Instantly, his face bloomed and he pointed at her accusingly. "S-stop laughing at me!"

"But I wasn't?" the girl rose a playful brow, [e/c] hues glinted with mischief while covering her mouth to hide the grin gracing her lips.

"Grr!" dropping down his arm, Nine pouted with a red face.

Ignoring the girl, he focused back on what he was doing earlier — trying to find his balance on the ice. He wasn't able to move much, and even when he did glide a few inches, his upper body would be dragged. This resulted in him flailing his arms around to regain balance. Thankfully, he didn't fall... Yet. [Y/n] burst into laughter at the sight of Nine, unable to contain herself anymore. The [h/c]ette girl wiped the tears that formed at the corner of her eyes as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Now you're laughing!" he exclaimed, huffing in embarrassment. He glared at the [h/c]-haired female, but his eyes held no animosity in them.

"I-I'm sorry!" [Y/n] managed to wheeze out, feeling her cheeks burn. "Oh my! You just look cute, Nine!"

"Hmph! I'm not cute and I'll show you that I can perfect this," Nine replied, turning around and skating off. "You're just lucky that you got to practice before."

His legs weren't steady yet, resulting in a few falls here and there, but he managed to recover quickly. Laphlaes slowly followed his son, keeping a watchful eye while he also attempt to move without falling. They just moved a few distances away from the two girls.

"He's really so cute~"

Finally, her laughter died down. She face Lumie who was unusually quiet during the whole ordeal. She saw the woman's expression, a hint of joy evident in the slight crinkle on the corner of her eyes. A tint of pink spread across her fair cheeks. A smile crept its way to [Y/n]'s face too as she watched her friend having fun.

"What do you think, Lumie?" the [h/c]ette strike up a conversation, pushing her left foot forward to glide a bit. "About the celebration, I mean."

"It's lovely, [N/n]," Lumie turned her head in [Y/n]'s direction, her sherbet-pink orbs gazing fondly at her. "Especially now that we get to spend more time with each other like this finally. Thank you for celebrating my birthday like this."

Butterflies fluttered in the younger girl's stomach upon hearing those words, and a happy blush decorated her cheeks. "Honestly, for the past week or so, I was thinking of unique ways to celebrate your birthday with everyone else. I wanted to do something special for you and the others and this is what I thought of."

"Hm... Isn't this difficult to pull off, though?" Lumie pondered, resting a finger on her lips. "Despite being later in January, Ace of Diamonds still has tons of regular clients using the rink. Besides, it must be expensive to rent the skating rink."

"Ah, well..." stopping just in front of the bluenette, [Y/n] let out an awkward chuckle, rubbing her temple sheepishly. "I actually had to beg and convince Rouin to help me with it."

Lumie chuckled. "Oh, tell me everything about it~"

"Well, I pinched in the idea during the first week of January. I was extremely nervous since knowing Rouin, he wouldn't usually agree to impractical things like this. Fortunately, my older siblings supported my idea. I spent at least a day racking my brain for ways to convince him. Eventually, he agreed. Though I'm not sure if it's because he was persuaded by my words or that he has no choice but to give in to my demands. Hehe..."

"Fufu~ Considering your tenacity, I wouldn't be surprised. I assume Rouin handled most of it, right?"

[Y/n] let out a sheepish laugh, sweatdropping at the older woman's words. "Yeah. Lucilicca and Laphlaes also helped. They contacted the manager to book the rink in advance. Fortunately, the date was open and we were able to rent it for about five hours in the evening. The cost was way more expensive than I thought but everyone here agreed to contribute a certain amount to pay for it. Then we invited everyone. Though, as you can see, only a few of us are present. But even though the others weren't able to come, they still gave a present. It's stacked over there."

"Mhm. I see," humming softly, Lumie took note of every little detail from the story. She then smiled, skating around [Y/n]. "It's unfortunate that we weren't able to have everyone here, but it's the thought that mattered most. Besides, we ought to enjoy today and make memories so we have something to talk about with everyone else!"

"You're right," [Y/n] giggled, recalling that Lumie loves having someone to talk with.

"Oh! By the way, [N/n]. How many times have you ice skated?"

"Only two times. Both with my family. This is the first time I experienced it with friends, although not everyone is here. Though I hope we get to have everyone present next time."

"I see, I see," the blunette nodded. She placed her thumb and forefinger under her chin, thinking. Suddenly, she beamed. "Oh! I have an idea!"

"What is?" raising a curious brow, [Y/n] leaned closer to Lumie who was gesturing for her to come close.

The adult woman cupped her hand and whispered something in the younger girl's ear. Once she finished, she removed her hand and watched as her [e/c] orbs widened in surprise. Immediately, the girl gasped. The bluenette giggled at the reaction, pleased.

"Ohhh... That's brilliant, Lumie! Why didn't I think of that?!" she exclaimed happily. Her hands immediately found themselves clasping together as she stared at Lumie's face with sparkling eyes. "I'll be looking forward to it!"

"Okay," Lumie nodded happily. "I'm keeping you here for too long. You go and enjoy skating, [N/n]."

"Mhm! Catch you later, Lumie!" waving, [Y/n] skated away from the blue-haired adult.

Lumie's roseate orbs followed after the [h/c]-haired girl. She watched as the youngster returned her to her older siblings. Eliciting a gentle smile, she then turned around at Nine's call, skating to where they are.

"Hallo~ I'm back~" [Y/n] chirped, her skates slowly stopping right in front of the twins.

"Oh, hey," Dietrich acknowledged, raising a hand before dropping it.

"What were you talking about with Lumie?" Zelda asked.

However, [Y/n] smirked, placing both hands on her hips. "It's a secret that I'm not going to tell you two~"

"Wow..." the ravenette man said as he and his twin sweatdropped. "That must have been interesting...."

[Y/n] attention drifted to her friends. Nearby, the group of the Blake cousins, Charlotte, Fram, and Johan were together. Mikhail was standing still, his arm out for the blonde girl to latch on to for support. Lyn sat on her legs, cheeks squished against both fists with her elbows resting on her thigh. Her face contained a hint of boredom, squabbling with her older cousin once more. Something along the lines of "I really want to see you fall on ice," and "I doubt you can skate properly without any help," were thrown at each other.

As for Charlotte, her gaze was fixated on poor Johan struggling in front of her. Her round green eyes blinked innocently, however, the words that flew out of her mouth were backhanded encouragement targeted at the other blonde. She didn't mean any harm, it's just the way her words were delivered that felt like an insult towards the bespectacled man. Fram was also observing her friend, a hand on her hip while another was scratching her head. Her half-lidded blue eyes stared at Johan, lips pursed into a thin line.

The [h/c]-haired girl pushed herself forward, inching closer to the group to eavesdrop on their conversation and enjoy watching Johan suffer from humiliation. Speaking of the blonde, he was struggling even more. His shoulders were hunching upwards while his legs were slightly bent backward. His arms were spread out for balance, though, whenever he moved his legs, instead of moving forward, he was sliding backward. One sentence coming from Fram made the [h/c]ette laugh, however—

"Maybe you should really consider using skating aids. You know, the one for kids."

Flustered, Johan still manage to reply. "I don't need it."

"Welp. Alright, your call," the ravenette shrugged.

Johan's face was mixed with emotions, [Y/n] could tell. Frustration from his inability to skate. Embarrassment from being watched as he struggles. Humiliation due to his friend's comments and unintentional insults. And the determination to pull through and make progress. Although, seeing his tomato-red face and his quivering lips was a sight to behold. And [Y/n] wanted so badly to join in bullying Johan and tease him incessantly about it.

But for now, she decided to be forgiving and spare him another wave of embarrassment. It's not like she doesn't have any chance to jab at the blonde's ego... After all, [Y/n] is the epitome of a darling rascal.

She glided towards them, stopping just an arm's reach from Johan. Every gaze landed on her as everyone had various reactions to her arrival.

"Oh, you're here, [N/n]!" Charlotte beamed, waving cheerfully.

Fram placed both hands behind her head and grinned. "Hey."

Lyn stood up, dusting her clothes as she sent a wide smile. Mikhail also had a soft smile upon seeing the girl. Meanwhile, Johan glanced up from his almost crouched position. Despite being in a ridiculous situation, he managed to bring out a sheepish smile, the pink tint hasn't left his fair cheeks. For some reason, [Y/n]'s heart fluttered upon seeing such a rare sight.

She chuckled, inching closer to him. "Are you okay, Johan? Your face looks quite red."

"I'll be fine, thanks."

"No. No, you won't be fine," Charlotte shook her head with a huff, crossing her arms. Her face was serious — eyebrows knitted and lips pouted. "You won't be able to move on if you can't balance yourself! You can't skate to save your life!"

"Please, Charlotte..."

At Charlotte's remark, everybody laughed. Except for Johan whose features twisted into inevitable defeat and Mikhail who held a sympathetic look. The former hid his blooming face from the group by covering it with his hands, attempting to ignore everyone's laughter. As a result, his face burned hotter.

"Cute..."

[Y/n] giggled at his misfortune as she approached him. Reaching out, she gently touched his shoulder, shaking it a bit. Hesitantly looking up, his dark pools met with her [e/c] ones.

"I'll give you a tip so you don't have to suffer further," she coaxed. "Please stand straight."

And just like that, [Y/n] began advising the older blonde on how to stand and balance on the ice. Of course, she was narrating all the tips she had used from the first time she tried ice skating years before. The rest of the group watched in awe as the young girl manage to get Johan on his feet and is now gliding through the ice with little difficulty. And now that Johan was able to fend for himself, Charlotte doesn't need to watch his struggles and actually skate with him.

It didn't take long for the five of them to skate around — Mikhail and Lyn were trying to catch each other and push the other off balance while Fram, Charlotte, and Johan were making small glides, matching with and making sure that the bespectacled blonde doesn't trip and ended up injuring himself.

"I didn't expect that he easily learn from me. Am I a great instructor?"

Smiling triumphantly, [Y/n] decided to let them enjoy themselves and move on to her next set of targets. Nearby, she saw a particular duo. Her eyes glistened as she made her way toward them.

"[Y/n]!" a certain magenta-haired female greeted, grinning widely. Her same-colored eyes sparkled with happiness, making the [h/c]ette chuckle softly. "Yo! Wassup?"

"Hey, Astrid. I'm here to check up on you two," she returned the smile. Her gaze then landed on the man leaning against the barrier. "You're not looking so great, are you, Joshua?"

"Ugh..." the man groaned, trying to find his balance. His narrowed eyes were directed at [Y/n], distress showcased in his pink hues. "You don't say... I was taking my time to relax here when Astrid came to bother me."

"You're no fun!" Astrid crossed her arms, frowning. "What's the point of attending Lumie's birthday celebration if you're not going to enjoy it?"

"Well, I prefer to be left on my own devices for a while," he sighed in exasperation, face-palming.

"Boo!" The magenta-haired female stuck a tongue at him.

A smirk finally emerged on [Y/n]'s lips, and a hint of mischief sparkled in her [e/c] orbs. "Oh, well. I bet this is Joshua's first time on the ice. I can see that he wants to save himself from potential embarrassment~"

At her words, Joshua whipped his head in the young girl's direction. The shock was evident on his face for a brief moment before he went poker-faced. He huffed, aggrieved by her accusations... Though, judging by the embarrassed blush on his cheeks and his desire to be left alone screams that he's really a first-timer in ice skating. [Y/n] wasn't complaining though — since a certain red-eyed ravenette wasn't present today, she had to find other victims to tease incessantly.

Astrid stifles a laugh. Then, she had a brilliant idea. Grinning, she faced the younger girl. [Y/n], noticing her stare, glanced in Astrid's direction, meeting her mischief-filled orbs. And as if they were telepathically communicating, [Y/n]'s smirk grew.

They then both faced the pink-haired man. Joshua noticed their gaze, and he felt like prey caught by two predators. He tried to keep his calm, but the sweat cascading down the side of his face was certainly an indication of what he was currently feeling.

"Hey..." he said, watching as the two approached inch by inch. "Stop it."

Yet, despite his pleas, Astrid and [Y/n] grabbed each of his arms away from the barrier and began pulling Joshua into the ice.

"H-hey!"

"You'll thank us later~" Astrid nonchalantly grinned, using all her strength to pull Joshua and skate into the middle.

"Enjoy~"

Once they were a few feet away from the safety of the barriers, both girls let go of Joshua. Due to inertia, the man went gliding a few more inches, almost losing his balance when the ones holding him left. Fortunately for him, he was able to keep his body steady with little difficulty for a brief moment...

Until the sudden weight loss caused him to lose concentration on which foot to use. His legs wobbled, and suddenly, he fell on his backside. Astrid and [Y/n] watched the entire time, even hearing the thud when he fell on the ice. [Y/n] winced, closing an eye during the impact. Although, her worry for him was brief when amusement immediately washed over her at Joshua's misfortune.

"Ow..." the man painfully drawled out, rubbing his backside with one hand while the other was flat against the cold ice.

"Yeesh..."

Even Astrid felt Joshua's pain. Though, she could only give a low whistle as if none of what happened was because of her. Instead, facing [Y/n], she raised a hand. The younger girl understood what that gesture meant. So with guilty pleasure, she high-fived the woman.

"Ugh... I hate you two," after he recovered, Joshua glared hard at the two girls, still sitting on the cold ice.

He was definitely embarrassed... but his annoyance overshadowed that. His fair face was covered with a red hue, his eyebrows knitted and his eyes narrowed. His lips were pursed into a thin line, the corner dipping into a frown. Despite his look of annoyance, [Y/n] only giggled in amusement. She couldn't help it — he looked so cute.

"Alright, alright. Let's stop embarrassing poor Joshua," [Y/n]'s grin became apologetic. After all, she did cause a scene. "We'll help you up. Will that make you forgive us?"

The girls skated to Joshua, stopping in front of him. They both extend a hand and he took them without hesitations. In just a moment, they were able to pull him up and help him keep steady on his feet. Once he was stable, Joshua exhaled deeply, letting go of their hands. After dusting his wet butt, he gave them a stern glare.

"I'll think about forgiving you two later."

[Y/n] smiled playfully. "Aw~"

"Take your time, Josh," chimed in Astrid. "You know that you can't stay mad at our cutie over here."

Joshua turned away, his face becoming flushed again, unable to hold back his embarrassment. Though, what Astrid said was definitely true. Despite [Y/n]'s pranks and intense teasing, her charm and innocence would make them give in. Though, it only works most of the time.

The man huffed, trying to figure out how to return to his original place. Surprisingly, he was making small progress. However, Astrid won't let him have it.

"Nuh-uh-ah! You won't get back there!" once more, she grabbed his forearm and skated away, pulling him even more in the middle of the open rink.

"Astrid!"

Joshua's panicked scream could be heard throughout the room as he was dragged across the rink by his arm. He tried his best to tug free but Astrid was surprisingly strong for someone who isn't that muscular. As he attempted to shake off the woman's grip, [Y/n] snickered quietly at his expense, watching them from afar.

"Well, there they go..."

The young girl pushed forward, skating towards a particular dark blue-haired adult not that far away. Helena was struggling just like the others, but surprisingly, she was able to get her balance right away and was doing something else.

"Hey, Helena," [Y/n] called out when the older woman caught sight of her.

Helena perked up upon being addressed, her brow quirked in surprise. "Ah, [Y/n]! What brings you here?"

"Well..." [Y/n] paused as she looked away, spotting the Valkarios cousins zooming across the rink like they were in a race. "I was just checking up on everyone here just to see how they're doing. How are you, though? Struggling?"

"I'm fine," the woman assured. "I was struggling at first but I got the hang of it. I'm glad that my ballet skills are useful here."

"Mhm. I kinda expected you to be one of the first to actually master ice skating," [Y/n] smiled. "After all, figure skaters learn ballet first before they get on the ice."

Helena's golden orbs glinted with interest. "Do you have experience?"

"Hm?" facing the bluenette, [Y/n] let out a sheepish chuckle as she waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, no. I just discovered that ballet goes hand-in-hand with ice skating when watching an anime about figure skating. I don't do ballet. And ice skating is just for fun."

"Oh, I see."

"Though, I saw you trying something out earlier," the [h/c]ette mentioned. "Were you implementing your ballet earlier?"

"You saw that?" Helena rubbed her temple, averting her golden eyes in embarrassment. "I didn't think anyone noticed."

[Y/n] grinned. "Well, I did~"

At the younger girl's comment, Helena chuckled. "Yeah, just like you said earlier, figure skating is like ballet on ice. I haven't tried ice skating before so I was curious as to what techniques I can pull off."

[E/c] orbs sparkled in awe. "Wow... That's great!"

"Hehe, thanks. And oh, do y—"

All of a sudden, a large figure zoomed past the duo, almost knocking into [Y/n] if it wasn't for Helena's quick reflex, and pulled her in. [E/c] hues were wide in surprise, her heart rate speeding up from whatever had occurred. The young [h/c]ette was in the taller girl's hold, Helena's arms wrapped protectively around her.

Golden eyes glared at the culprit, yelling at the man. "Hey! Watch where you're going, Axel! You almost injured [Y/n]!"

"S-sorry!" Axel apologized, slowing down to a halt. He turned back to see Helena still hugging [Y/n], her heated glare aimed at him. He sweatdropped, rubbing his head.

"I told you to slow down, didn't I?" a certain redhead approached her cousin, sighing.

Axel just frowned, refusing to say another word. After a bit of reprimanding, he and Alev left, skating away but this time, slower. Helena sighed in relief, glad that there wasn't any big incident that happened. She eventually let go of the younger girl, fixing her slightly disheveled hair.

"Sorry I suddenly pulled you in like that," she said, giving [Y/n] an apologetic smile. "It just happened all of a sudden."

"No worries! Actually, if it wasn't for you, I would be on the ice right now with wounds all over my body," [Y/n] got goosebumps at the idea of broken bones and lacerations all over her body. She felt her heart thump, fearful of the possibility. "I doubt I could handle Axel's body slamming me into the ground. Not to mention on ice with literal blades on our shoes."

Helena's expression softened, but the worry hadn't left her face. "I'll give the idiot a big scolding so that he won't do that again. In the meantime, be careful."

"Mhm. I guess I'll see you later, Helena!"

Waving goodbye to the blue-haired adult, [Y/n] skated towards the last group she hadn't spent time with. This time, it consisted of Lucilicca, Lairei, and Vanessa. Eager to be with them, the girl skated faster to reach them who were basically on the opposite side of where she was with Helena earlier. Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to approach the three women.

"[Y/n], were you alright?" Vanessa asked, concern clear on her face.

The [h/c] girl nodded with a smile, showing she was okay.

"Thank goodness. We saw what happened earlier," Lucilicca mumbled to herself while shaking her head. "Axel's gonna be heavily reprimanded by his uncle once he hears of this."

[Y/n] just chuckled at their worrying expressions. "There's no need to worry! Besides, Helena saved me from harm. I'm alright now, see?"

"If you say so," Lairei smiled.

"So, are you ladies okay? You aren't struggling much, are you?" [Y/n] questioned, noticing that they were just standing around and talking.

"We're fine. We're getting the hang of it," the short-haired brunette simpered, clasping her hands together in front. "I ice skated when I was young, so it doesn't take long for me to adjust."

"Dhurahan would be enjoying this if he's here," Lairei commented, sighing softly.

The younger girl tilted her head, curious. "Oh, why wasn't he able to come?"

"He said he can't. Something came up with his family that he has to resolve."

"Oh. That's unfortunate," a frown settled itself on [Y/n]'s face after.

"How about Rouin?" Lucilicca asked, her attention directed at the younger female. "I thought he would be here considering he did most of the process of renting the rink."

"Ah, well. Sadly, he's busy with paperwork," the girl responded, looking downward with regret. "I can't bother him much, can I?"

Considering the hard work he put on to fulfill [Y/n]'s wish of a grand birthday party for Lumie, it's only natural for him to come as well. However, his responsibilities with his work prevented him from attending. [Y/n] would like it if he was to come as well, but bothering him even more when he did everything for her was a bit too much. So, instead, she just hoped that the next time they would go ice skating, everyone would be present.

A smile was plastered on the silver-haired woman's face, patting the girl's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. There'll always be next time."

"Mhm. And I'm sure all of us would be present," Vanessa added.

"The rink wouldn't be able to accommodate all of us when that happens," Lairei chuckled.

"Now, go and have fun with your siblings," Lucilicca said, leaning her head in the direction of the two ravenettes.

[Y/n] held a smile with her own. "Sure! I'll catch up with you three later!"

"Sure."

"See you later."

After bidding farewell, [Y/n] began making her way across the ice and back to her siblings. As soon as she reached her older brother and sister, the twins greeted her enthusiastically with warm smiles upon seeing her return safely to them.

"I didn't expect you almost get in an accident, [N/n]," Dietrich's lackadaisical comment was a clear sarcastic remark.

"Stop it," Zelda nudged at her twin, earning a pained grunt. Facing her younger sister, she showed concern that was absent from the male. "You're not injured, right?"

"I'm fine, big sis," [Y/n] reassured, bringing her arms out to show that she was indeed alright. She faced her older brother, smiling sweetly. "Besides, I bet big brother Dietrich will be able to handle Axel's body slam on the ice."

The man gulped, a nervous sweat trickling down his forehead. Despite the innocent smile, the aura that the younger girl exudes was nothing but dangerous. It sent chills down his spine. Dietrich had to look away from his younger sister, chuckling awkwardly and mentally praying that she won't resort to violence once they get home after the celebration.

"Anyway, I've been skating around and being with everyone else but," she looked between the twins, scrutinizing them both. With her hands on her hips, she huffed. "It seems that during the time I am away the two of you aren't leaving this place."

Zelda and Dietrich shared looks. They knew exactly what the girl meant, but it was either they can't be bothered or just refused to skate. [Y/n] rolled her eyes at them. Then, she grabbed each of their wrists, surprising them both. Just like what she was doing with Joshua earlier, she used all of her strength to pull the twins away from the barrier, albeit with much difficulty considering they are on ice.

"Guh! These two are heavy as heck! If only I have help!"

Two pairs of obsidian orbs watched as the youngest tried her hardest to pull two adults on her own. Her face twisted into one of determination, determination mixed with annoyance. The twins couldn't help but chuckle at how stubborn she is. Even though they were also struggling to keep their balance while being pulled, the two found their younger sister's strength admirable. 

They watched in silent awe as [Y/n] was finally able to drag them onto the ice. Her lips curled into a triumphant smile, happy to win this little fight against the twins.

"Alright! Now it's time for the real fun!" [E/c] eyes burning with resolve, she turned around and clasped her older siblings' hands on each hand — Dietrich on her right and Zelda on her left.

Knowing what she wanted, they both eventually complied. They then pushed their foot forward, gliding along the ice gracefully, slowly but surely.

An hour and a half later, everyone was getting tired and hungry from their activity. One by one they left the rink and settled comfortably on the provided benches in the lounge. Some of them went in the restroom to change or fix themselves, others were getting a drink and some snacks by the table nearby, while a select few — Joshua, notably — were so drained that they were ready to fall asleep right away. Only a few people remained in the rink, notably Lumie and [Y/n] who were busy chatting with each other.

A certain magenta-haired adult noticed this. And although it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, something was definitely up with them. Driven by curiosity, she went over to the only people she could ask about it.

"Hey, Zelda, Dietrich," Astrid plopped right behind the bench they were situated, resting her arms on the top of the backrest.

"Oh, hey," replied Zelda, wiping the sweat off her face. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just wondering what's lil' [Y/n]'s up to. She's chatting with Lumie for a while now."

"Well, it's normal for her to talk with the birthday girl," the long-haired ravenette shrugged. "Maybe they're just sharing a bunch of stories. You know how Lumie gets..."

"And considering [Y/n], she won't tell a single soul anything about her secret," added the other twin, sighing. "We asked her earlier what she was talking about with Lumie but we didn't get an answer. So, yeah."

"Hm..." Astrid puckered her lips in thought.

Zelda's words do make sense. But today, Astrid knows that something fishy is certainly going on with the two. Nonetheless, she dropped the idea and returned to resting and chatting with the others. She knew that there isn't any point in trying to question [Y/n] or Lumie. All she knows is that there was something going on with them, and she had no doubt about it.

A few minutes passed, and a certain light-blue-haired woman and [h/c]-haired young girl finally leave the rink. Together, they went over to the table where Lumie's gifts were stacked. They searched through the countless boxes, taking the one that seemed to contain what they want. It was a rather flat box with a white wrapper and light blue ribbon. Once they were done, they exchanged a few words before Lumie went in the direction of the restrooms while [Y/n] went over to the staff present.

While everyone was busy resting or having a snack, the lights in the rink suddenly dimmed. Confused chatter enveloped the room as the actors were wondering whether the staff decided to lower the electricity by turning off the lights that aren't used. It didn't bother them much, that is until something earned their attention.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" a familiar voice boomed through the loudspeaker scattered around the ice rink.

"[Y/n]?"

"Is she in an announcement room? What?"

"Oh boy, what is she up to this time?"

"That girl..." Dietrich face-palmed. "No wonder I hadn't seen her for a while now."

Zelda looked around, trying to find where she could be despite the darkness. "Was she even permitted to use their components?"

"In a normal circumstance, she wouldn't. I wonder what tricks she used to let the staff allow her to use the PA system."

"Please turn your attention towards the rink," [Y/n] instructed.

Although confused, everyone ambled towards the empty rink, careful not to stumble in the dark. They lined up around the rink, the barrier separating them from what was inside. Although dim, some of them could see a figure in the middle of the ice. Without warnings, a spotlight turned on and it was focused on the lone figure standing in the middle of the ice rink.

They instantly recognized the person's light-blue hair tied in an intricate hairstyle. Their head was bowed, preventing them from seeing their face. The cloth this person was wearing was undoubtedly a figure skating dress. However, what made them stare in awe was the design that looked similar to Aurea's outfit she made for one of the actors — Morning Brilliance.

No doubt, it was Lumie Miratisa. The birthday girl.

Everyone's confusion instantly washed away, replaced by surprise. They stared with bated breath at the woman, watching in awe, waiting for what was next. This was definitely new. Never did they expect this scenario in the first place.

"Ah, no wonder I feel like something was off," Astrid mumbled to herself, letting out a huge breath before a smile graced her lips. "You really are full of surprises, [Y/n]..."

After a good moment of silence, Lumie raised her head and faced the audience. A wide grin was planted on her features as she waved at them.

"Let's give a round of applause for Lumie Miratisa! Tonight, she's going to perform for everyone here!"

At the [h/c]ette's words, loud thunderous applause resonated in the entire venue. The crowd was clapping enthusiastically, cheering for the blue-haired figure skater. In a moment, the music started playing and Lumie began her performance. Every eye was fixated on her, seemingly captivated by her every move. From her dancing to the graceful movements she would make as she twirled and swerved across the ice; it was mesmerizing.

[Y/n]'s expression softened as she focused her gaze on the woman. Her mouth curved into a smile as delight glowed in her glossy, [e/c] eyes. She could feel her heart churn, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Just seeing Lumie enjoying her special day like this was enough for the young adult.

She had accomplished her goal.

[ask-healthy-light]

With a lighthearted chuckle, as they placed their hoof on his shoulder, Light told Sunburst that it was alright, and that they took no offence, for they understood he truly meant none; after Sunburst laughed, wearing a very light, flustered blush on his face, Light asked him if he was ready to head to the Palace, to which Sunburst said he nearly was, though, there was one thing he needed to grab.

Though the tissues were helpful in managing his allergies when they kicked in, to prevent this from happening up again, he asked Light to join him to the city's pharmacist, where he had to refill his medication, which the large Kirin politely agreed to; on their way there, in a lighthearted manner, Light said it would be clever if he cleared and cleaned his garden and home, as well, just in case.

At that moment, hearing Light's comment, though he knew they meant well, Sunburst's smile faded and his expression fell, followed shortly thereafter by a deep, frustrated sigh, before he acknowledged what they told him, and that he had heard it numerous times before; however, he found no matter how much he tried to stay organised, he was never able to do this for more than a few minutes, at most.

In turn, Light's smile dropped, and they apologised to Sunburst as they lowered their head, meeting him at eye height to ask him if he thought anything was wrong which made him unable to manage these matters of cleaning and organisation; to this, Sunburst slowly and silently walked over to sit on a nearby bench, where he quietly told Light he knew not, but he has had this problem for a long time.

Although many things are better for him nowadays, especially since he has regular contact with many friends he made recently, ever since he went to the Academy at a young age, away from his best, and closest friend, things had only gotten more challenging for him, and he did not realise how much he was going to struggle with the simplest daily responsibilities and tasks until it was far too late.

As he spoke, Light noticed tears were forming in his eyes, and his voice started to crack, but they saw how hard Sunburst was trying to hold everything in, until he asked for a tissue, lying to their face about allergies wgile he cleaned his face of tears, trying to play off what he said as a joke, though Light said nothing, only nodding politely to Sunburst after he suggested to get going again.

Not long after, the two made it to the pharmacy, and Light told Sunburst they would stay here for a moment while he went inside for his prescription, to which he smiled briefly and told them he would be right back; barely than a second after Sunburst stepped inside, Light took a sheet of paper from the pile on their back, and politely asked somepony for a pen or a quill, and quickly wrote a note.

Luckily, they wrote swiftly, and Sunburst was inside long enough for Light to thank the polite Mare for her help, before giving back her quill, and waving her goodbye with a smile, hiding the note in the pile of paper just as Sunburst stepped outside, carrying a small bag using his magic; they went to the Palace, where Light sneakily hid the note in Sunburst's bag, just after they stepped inside.

Then, in the the next Hall, Sunburst and Light found Eclipse and Celestia speaking with each other, until Sunburst cleared his throat to announce himself, followed immediately thereafter by Twilight, dragging Solar along as she flew to Sunburst, and embracing him with their wings, while Light stood by the door, wearing a small, warm smile on their face, waiting patiently for the trio to catch up.

While Twilight and Sunburst enthusiastically and ceaselessly started talking with one another about the countless books they read, with Solar awkwardly occasionally joining in to give an opinion when they asked, Celestia joined Light, also wearing a big, warm smile on her face, and spoke with them, until she asked them what they thought of Sunburst, to which Light answered, in a bittersweet tone:

"He reminds me of a dear friend… One I lost a long time ago."

(Thanks for reading! And if you enjoyed, please reblog! Thanks in advance!)

Send an ask or request! | Start at the beginning! | Next part!

Featuring: Solar Eclipse and Twilight Sparkle as Twilight Eclipse from @asktwilighteclipse

[gladiolidiaries]

🍎 anon lowkey based…. Also reminds me of a few years ago when Sapnap was comparing himself to George in front of Drom and Drista and said “well at least I’m not annoying”. They wouldn’t tell us what that comparison was but there is a track record of Saltnap’s little brother syndrome

Also the time Sapnap briefly dyed his hair darker . It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume George’s existence pokes at his insecurities so he snaps when he thinks he has the upper hand.

And the dnfer in me has also theorized that dnf dnfing had something to do with Sapnap slapping George since they were sitting on that tiny as hell hotel bench when it happened

wait i feel like i missed some lore, sapnap dyed his hair before? 😭

I think that Sapnap is fine to spend time with George alone or Dream alone, but I feel like as a trio he doesn't like it because inevitably he is a third wheel. And then since they often are all 3 together, they live together, well he's building up a lot of resentment about it and it shows. So when he's with Karl he tries his hardest to make George feel left out and he just ignores Dream publicly a lot now.

[karoiseka]

💗 for whomever you want!! (~dualistic-dragon)

💗 slow kiss / gentle kiss / inevitable / soft

((Congrats. This prompt got me to write a scene that I had been putting off/couldn't figure out FOR YEARS!!!! Have the trio figuring things out..))

Karo stared first at Thancred, then at G’raha.  Both men knew of her attachment to them, and of the other, and the last little bit of guilt about that melted while looking at their earnest faces.

“You’re sure, you’re both sure, that it’s okay that I'm with both of you?”  When they had accosted her upon arrival to the First, she hadn’t expected anything like this.  In fact, her heart hadn’t stopped racing, sure that one or the other was going to take offense that her heart had enough love in it for them both.

“That is what we said,” Thancred couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice.  The two men were sitting on a bench in G’raha’s private quarters in the Tower, Karo in his large chair across from them.

“We want you to be happy, and we would like each other to be happy as well, so why not?”  G’raha was the most flustered out of the three, his face nearly the shade of his robes.  Her Echo only picked up on the sincerity of both of their words though.  Their faces blurred, tears forming unbidden by the sheer joy at their statements, letting her heart sing.

Shakily at first, she rose to her feet, heart alight and full of joy. Crossing the small gap with steady deliberate steps, she reached Thancred first, cupping his face in both her hands. 

"Thank you," the words were breathed, an exhale of relief as she leaned into the embrace he offered as she kissed him deeply.  There was a freedom and lightness she hadn’t anticipated fluttering in her chest.  

“I love you,” the words came unbidden for the first time.  It wasn’t that she hadn’t felt this way in the past, the liberation and healing of her soul finally allowed her to say the words.  Thancred's head jerked back in startlement, looking deeply into her eyes, as if making sure he had heard correctly.  

“I’m sorry I never had the words before, but the statement has been true for longer than I’ve had courage to admit,” Karo’s eyes never left his.  They had been dancing a long while around these words–years–and to have it out in the open was a palatable relief to her.  An inarticulated sound was drawn from his throat as he pulled her down into a crushing kiss.

“Twelve above, I love you,” his fervent prayer swallowed by another kiss, his own eyes shining.  Forehead to forehead, they stayed there just breathing in each other, letting the moment and the words sink in.  With one last tight embrace, Karo withdrew, kissing his forehead, and turning and stepping in front of G’raha.

“And thank you,” her hand cradled a crystal cheek as he leaned into the touch, eyes already glistening.

“Thank you for bringing me here, despite everything,” a good-natured wince was his response as she brushed his hair from his face.  “Thank you for finding me, and letting me find you after all this time,” the crystal of his hand glinted sharply through her tears as he carefully tried to sweep them from her face.  Leaning down to meet him, he met her halfway, stretching up to let their lips meet for the first time.  

“I love you, my Star,” he had beaten her to it as they briefly parted for air, ears wiggling with joy.  A choked laugh escaped her lips as her spirit soared.

“I love you, Raha,”  she leaned over once more to kiss him fiercely, before pulling the two men closer, hugging them both to her.

“I love you both, so much,” they had leaned in to hold her as she tried to kneel on the bench between them, smiling at each other, before tipping closer to her, heads all touching.  It was going to be a long road to get everyone safely home, but for the moment there was peace, and love, and happiness–and it was enough.

[abject-chaos]

Here's a little preview for you guys. Chapter 4 of The Questing Beast coming soon!

It was four hours since Sonic was taken to the court physician’s surgery. His condition had noticeably worsened since the encounter with the beast. Still, Lancelot had tried unsuccessfully to ignore the king’s contrastingly hot blood against his cold skin, his erratic breathing against the knight’s chest as he carried him to the castle. Merlina called for aid immediately when they arrived, a young servant scurrying quickly away to warn the healers. When a host of several nurses came running in their direction, some with their hands around the supporting poles of a stretcher and the rest carrying an array of medical equipment, Lance reluctantly relinquished his hold on the king and handed the duty of transporting Sonic to the medical wing over to the quickly summoned attendees. To his right, his counterpart made a noise of protest.

“Hey, where are you taking him?” He demanded. He tried to follow but Lancelot gripped his shoulder firmly, keeping him in place. Shadow tried to wiggle out of the hold, succeeding briefly before the knight simply grabbed his arm, squeezing hard enough to surely leave bruises where his fingers dug and effectively keeping the rogue in check. His muscles still shook with weakness. “Let me go!” When Lancelot didn’t, sending a firm and tired glare straight at the frantic red eyes of his double, Shadow yelled at the backs of the retreating party supporting the king, spouting curses and threats when they did not allow him access to the medical chambers.

Nobody was allowed entrance into the surgery. The procedure was likely a delicate process that did not require distractions, no matter how much Lancelot ached to be at his king’s side. Shadow continued to fight fruitlessly, thanks to the aid of one of Merlina’s spells that Lancelot sensed at work, keeping his still-aching muscles from cowing to the strength of the ultimate lifeform. His double was desperate now, frantic, clawing at the arm restraining him and yanking at fur. “Let me go, Let me go! Sonic!” For as much as Lancelot hated to admit it, he felt a swell of sympathy for his counterpart.

But, as he said, that was four hours ago, and while Shadow was still noticeably on edge and snapping at anything that moved while they waited for news from the healers, at least he was not at the level of issuing physical violence on the nurses that came to offer the party refreshments.

Merlina was sat on the bench provided, her elbows on her knees. She drummed an anxious beat on her upper arms with her fingers. Lance assumed it was all she could do to get up and start pacing much like Sonic had earlier that day. It pained to recall Sonic now, desperately worried about his friend, unknowingly throwing himself into danger to rescue the ones he cared for. And all because that fool, the supposed ultimate lifeform, could not keep himself level enough to know not to wander the Broceliande forest at night.

The head physician- Edwin Muirden- at last exited the surgery, the cloying mixture of disinfecting agents and herbs clinging to his clothing. The trio's heads turned to him immediately. Edwin removed his glasses with a sigh. That can’t be a good sign, Lance thought anxiously.

[ao3feed-crimeboys]

Friendly Neighborhood Community League Agents

by Anonymous

Tubbo Underscore, after escaping a corrupt spy agency, decides that his ultimate goal is to take them down. He and his team– his best friend Ranboo and his older sister Niki, his other best friend Tommy (no, not Theseus), mocked only child Fundy, and former DSMP agent, Wilbur– are all that stands between DSMP and worldwide crimes. They want to hit the bad guys where it hurts, their bank account.

OR

DSMP Spy AU with hints of other smp's, also tubbo-centric cuz istg I don't see enough of that around here

Words: 2396, Chapters: 1/27, Language: English

Fandoms: Dream SMP, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, Limited Life | Last Life SMP Series, (last two have characters that are briefly mentioned)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Toby Smith | Tubbo, TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu, Fundy (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot, Alexis | Quackity, Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Dream SMP Ensemble, Henry the Cow (Dream SMP), Phil Watson | Philza

Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Niki | Nihachu & Ranboo, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot, Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Alexis | Quackity & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Spies, Action/Adventure, All platonic babyyy, Niki | Nihachu and Ranboo are Siblings, Dialogue Heavy, Light Dialogue, it depends on the chapter tbh, Jschlatt is Not a Villain (Video Blogging RPF), well sort of, hes still sorta shitty in this, but what do we expect from a big guy like him?, Toby Smith | Tubbo-centric, Bench Trio-centric, AFTER THESE TAGS ARE SPOILERS, TommyInnit is Called Theseus (Video Blogging RPF), (his real name is theseus), Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Breakdown, Trans Floris | Fundy, Nonbinary Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), He/Him and They/Them Pronouns for Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Fundy is younger than tubbo and tommy, Because yes