#besides just having trouble with energy its also hard to pick who i wanna do first bc i know when i do one its probably gonna be a While

[munch-mumbles]

as soon as i actually make refs for my ocs its over for my wallet

[kyuublu]

Love & all its bullshit.

Atsumu x reader (they/them)

Songfic to: Sundress - A$AP Rocky

small appearance of Aomine daiki (knb) at the end ^^

Him. That’s where it all started, really.

The way he put his arms around them, a tight hold that made them easily feel like home. Especially in the first years of college, where everything had felt new and hectic around them, that feeling of home meant the world. Y/N wasn’t usually the type to get distracted by their goals but he was an exception in almost every way. Atsumu was the first guy to actually give them the false impression that maybe, just maybe love at first sight did exist, no matter how cheesy it sounded.

“Oh come on, no you didn’t.” Y/n smiled as they shook their head in disbelief.

“Of course i did! As soon as ya walked through that door at Suna’s place, I fucking knew it.”

He stifled a laugh, trying to be semi serious about his argument, his arms around them yet again as they layed on top of his mattress. The mattress was just plainly put on the floor with no bedframe, since Atsumu had argued that he couldn’t bring his old bunk bed he used to sleep in with his twin, and it seemed like he wasn’t planning on getting a new one any time soon.

“You knew what? Huh? That you wanted to so spend the night with me?”

A teasing smile stretched across their lips as their eyes locked for a moment.

“No! What kinda man do ya take me for?”

Both of them chuckled at the comment, but soon enough Atsumus eyes flickered to his partners’ hand as he carefully took it in his own.

“I just thought ya were something special. Maybe someone I could be around for a longer time besides my stupid brother. Maybe someone I could move in with ya know?”

The smile on y/n’s lips faltered, as they stared at him in shock, since the man next to them had never been serious about things like these. Atsumu clarified since they had first started talking that he never intended on getting married since he was “married to his career”, which they never saw as a bad thing. Y/n knew what they had been getting into from the start and knew that even if this might become more serious, that the both of them could look at this relationship more objectively and even break it off if one of them had greater opportunities they wanted take.

But now he had turned the switch unexpectedly.

“What do you mean, Tsumu?”

His eyes diverted from their hands, back to their face with a soft, reassuring smile. “I think moving together ain’t such a bad idea, I mean, both of us could save some money that way and we don’t gotta go through all the trouble of walking back and forth between eachothers apartments every night.”

A relieved sigh escaped y/ns lips, as a wall broke inside of them. “Okay sure, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

Suddenly another voice could be heard standing at the entrance of Atsumus’ room.

“Y/n, he’s literally the embodiment of a bad idea, so ya might wanna reconsider.”

“Oi Samu! Nobody asked ya shit!”

A year in their new apartment went by quicker than y/n had imagined. The move in went easy for the both of them since they didn’t really have much stuff to bring in the first place. To y/n, the days spend with him felt like a routine that they never grew tired of. Waking up in the morning, sharing coffee and moving on about their day but always coming back together, like a little family. They casually started talking more often about the future, though y/n never seemed to have notice the insincerity behind Atsumus’ eyes. The pretend game he played seemed to have worked on his partner, in which he would usually just agree with whatever they were saying as soon as the conversation headed towards marriage or anything remotely serious. It wasn’t as if he didn’t love his parter, that he did, but there was a lack of understanding that he couldn’t quite explain himself. Over the next few months after moving in together, that feeling would grew stronger inside of him - until he couldn’t care less anymore.

“Y/n?”

Akaashi’s brows were furrowed in worry as he stared at Y/n’s cold expression, their eyes seemingly staring into nothing. The dark haired boy wanted to help his friend, but he knew they weren’t going to let him.

“I thought you guys had broken up months ago, I’m sorry..” Bokuto hurried to explain himself but it didn’t reach them anymore, Akaashi could only sigh at his loud tone that didn’t seem appropriate for the situation. Atsumu had cheated, multiple times as they went out of town, and there wasn’t really anything to say. It was y/n’s decision on what was going to happen now, not theirs.

“Bokuto, please.” Akaashi put his hand on his school friends’ shoulder to interrupt him from making it any more awkward. He knew that he had only meant well.

“Y/n, how are you feeling?”

Their eyes slowly flickered back to Akaashi, still no sign of any emotion besides pure emptiness.

“I’m not sure. Akaashi- I don’t-“ Suddenly another wall broke inside of them, a wall that they never wished they would’ve encountered in the first place. Y/n never intended on letting him this close - but now they could finally see clearly again.

“Fucking bastard.”

Standing up abruptly, they rushed to get out of the bar they had met up at. Y/n realized that they didn’t have an option to be hurt. They knew it was their own fault for letting him do the thing he was best at, lying.

After an awful lot of arguing and cold nights alone on the couch, Atsumu knew he had to leave the apartment. The blonde knew he fucked up, but to him it didn’t feel as bad as he thought it would be.

“To think you’d actually love anything beside your career, was so fucking stupid of me.”

Yeah, their words hurt a bit at first but his ego was mostly still in tact. He was going to become one of the top volleyball players in japan, how could he think any less of himself?

“How can you be so heartless and just say things like you wanna marry me and all that bullshit only to fuck it up anyways? What was the point of all of this?”

He had to admit to her, there was none. Atsumu didn’t see it any deeper than living with someone he could come home to once in awhile and have some harmless fun on the side while travelling. He didn’t really care if they found out at the end, it even felt a little exciting.

“Oh shut up, yes you do. Just admit it, ya got caught and tried to tell yourself that ya weren’t the bad guy. But Tsumu-“

His twin looked up at him as he was wiping down the counter the restaurant. Osamu had always known every small detail of his brothers’ life - he didn’t always agree with it, but he did try to be there for Atsumu as best as he could. Now he had to admit though, he had liked y/n as his twins partner. When Osamu saw them together, he could tell that they always balanced each other out. When Atsumu was getting irritated and loud, they would help him with their calming ways and always tried their best to work things out, y/n wanted to understand Atsumu. But there was also a goofy side to them that matched his brothers’ energy in a weird way, that he could never quite understand himself. He appreciated her.

Once Osamu found out about his brothers side chicks, he tried to argue with him but he knew that his twin wasn’t someone you could easily persuade. If Atsumu had something he wanted to do, he was going to do it, no matter what anybody had to say, not even his own brother.

“Tsumu ya fucked up this time. I know ya wanna show everybody that ya don’t care about her but ya do. You’re just insecure and ya can’t handle it.”

The blonde chuckled harshly, crossing his arms. “What am I supposed ta be insecure about, huh? I’m officially on the Japan team now, man! I got everything I’ve ever dreamed of right here.”

Osamu only looked up at him with disappointment. “Say whatever ya want, ya aint fooling me.”

“Oh my god Tsumu- Isn’t that Y/n?”

Hinata blurred out in his drunken state. Some of his teammates and him decided to go to a club after a certain victory they had a couple of days ago, and were now standing outside as each of them desperately waited for an uber. Atsumu immediately turned towards the place his friend pointed to with his finger, as the pace of his heartbeat sped up rapidly.

They were standing right infront of another bar, seemingly just as intoxicated as many of his friends right now. He hadn’t seen her in 5 months.

“Who’s that guy though?” Bokuto hung his heavy arm around the blonde, gasping dramatically at the man beside y/n.

Atsumu didn’t react immediately as he stared at the two figures as they laughed at something, dangerously close to each other. Suddenly the setter was overwhelmed by the feeling he hated the most, anger.

“I guess they moved on to some douche.”

The blonde spat out like venom, as a tinge of jealousy hit him. The unknown man seemed to be everything he was not: extremely tall, dark hair and just overall different from him, but there was one thing he did see himself in - the stranger looked dangerously cocky.

“Ah- no! I remember who that is! Akaashi told me about it like a week ago.”

Atsumu tried as hard as he could to remain cool as he swiftly turned his gaze to his friend. Bokuto had a lazy smile on his lips as he stared at the two lovebirds infront of the bar, yet again not knowing how much this might’ve meant to Atsumu deep down.

“He’s a basketball player they met at some party. I think Akaashi said that they already kind of knew him from some college basketball plays’ but y/n was with you back then so they never bothered to talk to him, I guess.”

His wandering eyes were already back on the two of them, his blood boiling at this point.

“Of course they’d fucking pick another athlete. Y/n’s probably just in it for the money anyways, hah~” He mumbled more to himself since Bokuto wasn’t really engaging with him but rather blurring out whatever information his drunk mind was able to gather.

“What was his name again? Amoni- No Aomine? Something like that.”

Atsumu scoffed yet again. The setter wasn’t sure how to feel but began spiralling in his own anger quicker than he thought he would. he confinced himself that the partner he had been with, was in love with him still, they had to be. They could never be as close to that Aomine guy than to him, y/n wasn’t the type to be attached to someone so quickly - especially after the shit he pulled.

“As if he could take care of them. I mean look at that guy, he’s probably just a distraction for the thing they had with me.” The blonde laughed bitter, Bokuto joining in on the harmless fun he thought his friend was having. He didn’t think of it that deep, even Atsumu tried to convince himself that.

“They in love with me still, I can tell that shit from a mile away.”

He turned away from the sight that had his heart bleeding by now. Atsumu only looked over his shoulder one more time, which turned out to have been the biggest mistake.

They kissed, right then and there. He knew at that moment that sometimes he should’ve listened to his idiot of a brother. But then there was his ego again - quickly, covering up any doubt he had.

You’re in love with me still.

————

I know this was a sad one but I just thought the song would fit with him in a weird way. Hope u enjoyed it anyways tho.

[sw124]

MLC: Josie and Viper

[Symbiote Boyfriend]

She hadn’t moved all day, she barely ate anything all week, she didn’t speak to anyone for almost a month; her phone muted. She tossed and turned on her couch from time to time but mostly to keep a cramp in her leg at bay. The only time she moved from the couch was to use the restroom, if it wasn’t for Viper she probably would have trouble even moving a single finger.

“Babe, honey you need to eat.”

Josie tilted her head towards the voice, no one was in the room. Her stomach complied with the tone, it growled like a ticked off bear. With a heavy sigh she walked into the kitchen, she went to the fridge and pulled out a gallon of milk. From her back a large ocean-black tendril extended and pulled out a box of cereal and a large bowl. Josie picked up two spoons and went back to the couch, once the cereal was made the tendril picked up the remote and turned on the TV; from her shoulder a larger mass formed a head and turned to her. Large milky eyes curved upwards before leaning and gently placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

“….Thanks sweetie…….sorry about all this-“ she was silenced with a smaller tendril touching her lips.

“Babe you got nothing to be sorry about, come on lets watch some dumbass commercials and classic cartoons. We’ll deal with what happened later…ok?”

Viper nearly melted seeing her smile, he could feel that little spark of joy in her…but then get smothered by guilt again…he had to help her but problem was how.

After the seventh spoonful of chocolate cereal came a rather interesting commercial. It was an ad for the Meta Clinic and…Monster/Human couples therapy? This made the couple pause, this was…well this was new! Sure there were dating sites, clubs, cafes and speed dating for people looking for monster boy/girlfriends but now offering couples therapy?

Viper wanted so badly to grab the phone and call for an appointment but…he didn’t wanna force Josie into something like that. He’d be doing more damage then good…he’d start by talking about it.

[Two weeks later]

“Viper and Josie?” The secretary called out. Josie looked up from her phone and stood up.

“Thats us…” Viper extended his head from her back giving a nod.

“Dr. Fortune will see you now, please head back down the hall to room 7 please.”

With a nervous smile she proceeded down the hall, Vipers head gently tucked beside her..whispering soothing nonsense. This was enough to at least quell the rising panic in her chest, finally they came to a door with the number 7 on it. With a hard gulp Josie pushed opened the door…

The room was massive! It almost looked like the lobby of a hotel, hell it even had a pool in the corner of the room and a tank! The room was painted in shades of two-toned moss, the air smelled of perpetual rainfall…and lemon. It was there but didn’t overpower…the temperature was perfect.

In the center of the room were two chairs, a large love-seat sofa and a dark grey armchair. Between them was a white round table with a pitcher of water and three glasses. In the grey armchair….was the doctor they came to see.

“Ah, you must be Josie and Viper. Please come in, have a seat.”

She hesitated but…Josie complied, the love-seat felt like if jelly and clouds got married and had a baby. It was so soft and cool to the touch, best part she didn’t sink it like some other chairs. Viper loved the feeling, hell he could just imagine cuddling up with his girl on this couch watching old sci-fi movies.

“Lets get started, first can you tell me how you met an how long have you two been together?”

Josie paused…then spoke. “Well…Viper an I met via collage..we had the same class, we got paired up and it sorta started from there. We’ve been together for about…two years now.”

“What kind of class were you in?”

“It was a philosophy class, I took it cause I was curious on what made philosophy so damn interesting.” Said Viper.

“I personally took it cause I’ve loved things that sorta question the norm of society. Our project was to listen to one of the stories of Plato, we got ‘The allegory of the cave’ and write our thoughts on the meaning and reasons behind it….those were some of the best nights I ever had.”

Josie never noticed the subtle blush on her cheeks, but that smile she had told the Doctor everything they needed to know, even Viper couldn’t hide his smile.

“You and Viper have a very close relationship I can tell…however the reason why you’re here is not really about the two of you. Its the people around you, mainly family.”

You could almost make out Josie’s heart in her throat, Viper; if he had one, would have been in his as well. Dr.Fortune took a sip of water and…with a sniper-gaze they fixed on Josies eyes.

“I’m going to take a guess, stop me at any time. The problem isn’t with either of you two but from Josie’s family.”

Josie began to chew on her thumbnail, Viper was quick to pull it away as the Doctor continued.

“Your parents I will take are very strict people, perhaps even falling in line with deep religious practices but yet despite saying their ‘devout’ they continue to say and do things that go against the basic principles of their religion. Growing up they saw you as either property or a tool to get what they wanted. If you ever raised your voice in defense of yourself…you were either met with Verbal or Physical violence…”

The Doctor paused, fat tears were cascading down Josie’s face. Her breathing was labor, almost choking on some of her deeper breaths. Viper already had his tendrils wrapping around her in a tight embrace, gently whispering into her ear.

[Klink!]

Josie jumped, looking down she found one of the glasses had been filled with water…with a lemon slice in it. She looked up at the Doctor who was pouring a glass for themself.

“Take a sip, it’ll help.”

She…did feel a little parched, Viper handed her the glass, she took a few small gulps. Blinking she looked into the glass…the water tasted sweet, with the lemon slice it almost had the taste of lemonade but without the sharp zing. She noted how the water almost was coating her throat, soothing the burn forming.

“Like it? Its something I made myself for my patients, I boil distilled water and honey together an let it sit overnight in the fridge then add lemon slices to it. The honey and lemon help soothe your throat while the cold water rehydrates you.”

“Its…really good.” Josie smiled taking another sip. “Everything you said…was right, even the religion part. My parents always treated me like I was some show pony at every gathering, they never listened to me an always thought my problems were just…not worth their time.” Josie rubbed a tear away.

Viper remained quiet but nodded when she was done speaking, Dr. Fortune turned to Viper then.

“An the first meeting with her parents they referred to you as a ‘parasite’ and even went so far as to disown Josie from her own family if she didn’t breakup with you.”

Vipers eyes went wide for a moment before slowly closing…his lips curling back, showing off his razor teeth.

He hissed. “Yes, the moment she finished telling them they started calling her all sorts of nasty things and…even went so far as to say they picked out a husband for her to marry. To be honest I actually knew the guy and he…he’s rich but also a huge dick, he was the biggest bully at my high-school back in the day. When Josie refused…they disowned her and kicked us out on the streets…this was around a month ago…”

Dr.Fortune set their glass down, leaned back in the gray chair with their elbows resting on the armrests…fingers pushed together in a pyramid fashion.

“An since then Josie has received texts and phone calls demanding she breakup with you and marry this ‘dick’ all for the sake of money. I’ve seen this before and its a classic case of narcissism but also a show of parental neglect and abuse.” Doctor Fortuned leaned forward, their gaze turning sharp.

“Josie….for starters you are not the problem, your parents are stuck in a mindset that is outdated and unacceptable. You are not to blame for their disappointment, no you never were. Your parents refused to change their ways and therefore are stuck in the past. However that doesn’t mean you have to, in order to help yourself you need to first cut ties with the ‘parasite’ that is your family. Go completely no contact with them, then once thats done I want you to focus on your relationship with Viper.”

Josie blinked, eyes widening. Cut ties with her family?! How could she do that, this was her family!

“Yes I’m aware your not keen on the idea but…let me ask you something. When has your family ever done anything for ‘you’ out of love an ask for nothing in return?” Josie opened her mouth but….nothing came out…she looked through all her memories…but couldn’t find anything.

“Now…I want you to think about what Viper has done for you, who do you think is more deserving of your time an energy? A family that wants you to marry a jerk for money or the symbiote who from the moment he met you has treated you like the human you are?”

Josie sniffled….they were right, ever since they met; Viper had shown her nothing but compassion, patients and love. Sometimes she felt so guilty about putting him through her crap but…he never complained about it. She rubbed her eyes again, it was time to stop waistline her hard earned time and effort on people who didn’t love her! It was time she spent her energy on Viper and school!

Doctor Fortune smiled, the match was struck and the fire was starting to burn. Now it was time to slowly stoke the coals and make sure they never went cold.

“Your right Doctor….I need to stop waiting my time with those people…I’m thankful they gave birth to me but thats no reason to hold it over my head. I’m…I’m done with them!” Josie slapped her knee, it…it felt really good to say that.

Viper could feel the adrenaline pumping in her, yes there it was, the spunky spitfire he fell for was back an with a vengeance!

“Thats good to hear, but thats just the first step in your road to recovery. I want you to take this a step at a time, in time you may learn to ‘forgive’ your family but don’t you ever, EVER forget what they’ve done to you. If you forget then your just gonna end up falling into their grasp again. On another note as a way to help you cope and give you a extra bit of therapy I suggest taking up a type of hobby. Hobbies can help you gain a sense of control over your life.”

The Doctor paused and looked down at their watch. “Oh, it seems we’re just about done with our session. If you’d like to set up another appointment please see the secretary up at the front desk, before you go is there anything you’d like to ask me?”

Viper looked at Josie, she looked right back at him before turning to the Doctor.

“What kind of hobby should I get?”

Doctor Fortune handed them a small brochure. “Try flipping through this and see if any catch your fancy, my suggestion is find a hobby you two can do together or by yourself; its really all up to you an there are no wrong choices.”

An with that…Josie and Viper left, scheduling another appointment two weeks in advance. As they walk outside Josie looked through the brochure, there were so many hobbies to choose from..

At least she and Viper can choose together.

[I plan to do more couples, I did a Symbiote/human couple to start cause everyone is familiar on what they look like thanks to Venom. I’ll be working on more monster like boyfriends in the future. I hope you like this, I’ll be doing more of this in the future including Yandere couples. This was inspired by @semisolidmind artwork, I also wanna thank @sarabat85 for helping me out as well. My next couple will hopefully be posted very soon and was put together by my closest and dearest friend @eomlotanis who has always helped me with story ideas and character development.]

[fairestwriting]

title: think about it tomorrow

word count: 2629

summary: Even after that difficult day of work, Ruggie had one more task he needed to complete, one that he didn’t expect would end with him just coming home.

this fic post is a lil different from my usual ones but! i did a trade with @nicoliharu​ !! and heres my part of it uvu

Savanaclaw’s lounge has an eerie glow at night, blue irradiating from the pool in the center that people say looked uncanny when it was empty, like now. That, or visitors would find it pretty.

Ruggie himself didn’t care much. Usually, when he had work at the Lounge, he’d come back to that, and it was more familiar than anything. Without the other students around, it was more like the only thing welcoming him back “home”, so there’s a vague comfort there. He always gives it a bit of a stare before walking to his room.

Sometimes he sits there and thinks over the silence. Makes calculations in his mind about how much money he was sending back home, how much he needed for himself. Thinks about exam dates and those extravagant events Azul made him and the other employees suffer through. Leona’s errands, Crowley’s tasks, windows to be cleaned, letters to answer.

He doesn’t have time for that tonight. Ruggie’s heading straight back to his room, Agatha should be coming over soon, after all, he promised he’d help her out with Animal Languages.

Yeah, it seems sort of insane to accept requests like these when he was having such a busy week, he knows. It’s not like he doesn’t have the spine to decline them, or something, just… well. Agatha is Agatha. She’s not like anyone else in that school.

Agatha was the only girl, for one, and also, one of Ruggie’s close friends. A couple sparks had been rushing between them lately, which made him so much more excited than he should be, but he was grateful for the friendship itself. In his two years of being a NRC student, he never really found someone who had a presence that… healing. Agatha was understanding and kind, the sort of person that compels you to wind down just by being there.

(Really, how rare was someone like that in Night Raven College?)

So he had a crush he was comfortable with. Nothing wrong with that, right? And nothing wrong with wanting to see her after waiting all these damn tables either.

He opens the door to his room and wobbles inside with a sigh. But, man, he was exhausted. He hoped it wouldn’t show through too much when she got there. It wasn’t necessarily that late, just… he hadn’t caught a damn break today. He wonders if there’s time to rest his eyes for a bit before she gets there—

“Ruggie?” He perks up at the voice he hears outside. “Are you in there?”

And there she is! He feels inclined to smile. One very much needed spark of energy runs through him.

“Yeah, yeah, just a second!” He responds, first moving to turn on the lights, which he hadn’t done yet, then to open the door. Agatha greets him with one of her usual smiles. “You ready to work?”

“Ah, well.” She laughs, a bit awkwardly. “I’ll be doing my best. I hope it’s not too much of a bother or anything!”

Really, how could she ever be?

“Nah, not at all.” He says, allowing her inside before the door is closed. It makes a bit of a heavy noise when he shuts it. “If it’s Animal Languages, then I’m your guy! And, I always have time for you, shishishi.”

Agatha gives him a small chuckle. “You’re too good to me.”

“It’s just what you deserve, y’know!”

She sits on his bed while he’s picking up the papers he’d put together earlier on his desk. Drowsiness creeps in, but he knows how to push that aside well enough. He needed to do his best now. Just not let all that exhaustion show through so he could lend Agatha a hand! Then, then he could sleep…

Sleep sounds nice, doesn’t it? His brain tempts him, but he blinks multiple times, and hopes that good enough to stave off the feeling.

“So, what part did you have trouble with?” He asks, sitting next to Agatha, opening the textbook over his lap. The logical part of his brain wishes he had more than one chair in his room, so they could sit by the desk. The less logical part is just happy to be here.

“Mmh, it was with these...sentences Mr. Trein asked us to translate, I think? I couldn’t really get the difference between these two noises… I think it’s in chapter 7, hold on.”

She gets the book from Ruggie’s lap, bringing it closer to herself. He lets his eyes linger on her a little while she’s flipping through pages, shiny amber eyes narrowed at the words.

A silly smile appears on his face. Ruggie feels like a lucky guy, which he guesses it’s sort of odd, they’re not even dating or anything like that. And this was supposed to be him doing her a favor. Technically, he doesn’t gain anything from this, and yet…

Agatha’s hair is this nice red-like color that stands out while it flows over her shoulder. Ruggie doesn’t know the exact word for the color, maybe it was burgundy? Garnet? That doesn’t matter. The point is she’s just… beautiful. Eye-catching besides that pleasant aura that melted all his worries away. She’s there, so it’s like everything will be okay. Ruggie lets out a small laugh, in a way, this looks just like a dream—

“Ruggie.” Her voice calls for him, firmer than its usual airy tone. He blinks, a stronger haze settling over his mind. So he dozed off. Huh. “...are you okay? I think you just fell asleep for a bit.”

“I’m good!” Ruggie chirps almost immediately. Her brows furrow in worry. “Just dozed off for a bit. Uh.” He laughs awkwardly. “What were you trying to show me?”

Agatha stares intently, concerned expression intensifying on her face.

“Ruggie…” She begins again, head tilting a bit towards him. “I don’t think you should be studying right now. You should’ve told me you were tired.”

“Hey, I’m good, though!” He argues, but there’s no bite to it, really, he couldn’t add that in even if he tried. Agatha sighs, shaking her head. “We can keep going.”

“I’m not letting you study like this. Come on, you should get some rest.” She moves to close the textbook, but he grabs at it first, reflexes slowed down or not. “Ruggie.” She says, in a gently scolding tone.

“It’s fine, I told you.” He tries to argue again. It looks like she wouldn’t buy that at all, and, well… “Didn’t you need help? It won’t even take too long, I can just…”

“No. That’s final.” Agatha states, cheeks puffing slightly. “You’re so stubborn. Just rest a little, okay? We can study tomorrow.” She huffs, hand placed on the top of his head in a pat — That turns into something like light petting that sends a weird, fuzzy feeling across Ruggie. “Come on. You can lean on me if you wanna.”

Ruggie crosses his arms, but she looks at him all invitingly, with that warm expression on her face. And his resolve dwindles…

Ah. Ruggie isn’t really a strong man when it comes to things like that, is he?

“...what kinda leaning are we talking about?” He asks, a bit of a smile on his face. Well, maybe this wasn’t bad either.

Agatha chuckles. “You can lay on my lap or on my shoulder, what you’d like. As long as you take a little break, you stubborn hyena.”

Yeah, it’s not bad at all.

“Then I’m on it, shishi.” He can’t help but grin a little. “You said I could do it, so.”

He pushes the book off Agatha’s lap — Hey, it’s an opportunity, he’s not just gonna miss that — and moves to lean his head on her thighs, sighing when they touch. Agatha does a bit of a small, barely noticeable jump like she wasn’t expecting him to take that offer, but in just a second, her smile widens, still soft and warm. Ruggie smiles back at her.

“That’s the only way I can get you to rest, huh?” Agatha sighs, leaning back for a bit. “You’re such a workaholic.”

Ruggie doesn’t say much of anything. He begins to feel drowsy already, but… really, when he’s like this, how could he really sleep? He can feel his heartbeat quicken, the room filled with a silence that’s both comfortable and comforting.

Agatha’s hand makes its way into the mess that was his hair, Ruggie feels himself perk up — and then immediately begin to relax, feeling how the tips of her fingers begin to run along it, untangling knots and gently scratching against his scalp, then the back of his ears—

Ah. The tension in his body starts melting away, pressing his face against Agatha’s thigh some more. Damn it, that felt nice. If he had to die like that, he really doesn’t mind. He feels all fuzzy inside, the humming that begins to leave Agatha sounds faraway, even.

He sighs.

His thoughts get muddled… was he that much of a workaholic, he begins to wonder. It felt so natural to just fill every second of his day with those part-time jobs. He didn’t hate it at all, he’d come to every location with a smile, ready to tackle the day, but maybe he pushed himself a little too hard sometimes.

It’d be nice if he could come back to something like this everyday. Ruggie found his dorm room decently homey, but… with Agatha there, it’s a whole different story. Maybe she’s just spoiling him like this — He leans against her hand as she scratches the back of his ears once more, knowing they’ve gotten a bit twitchy — but whether he’d admit that out loud one day or not, he just really likes it. He feels floaty, fuzzy…

“Hey.” He half opens his eyes, Agatha’s gentle smile is the first thing he sees, warming his heart. Something straight out of a dream. “Y’know what, I really like you.”

Her posture straightens in shock.

“Eh?” She blinks, and only now, Ruggie notices what came out of his mouth.

“Uh. I mean.” Oh. Oops, he giggles awkwardly. That hadn’t been how he thought he’d tell her about it, but… gotta make the best out of what you have, huh? Whether that went well or not… “Is that weird? If you don’t feel the same we can just drop it. But I’m telling you the truth. You’re just… special. I feel really comfortable with you, and all.”

He feels his face warm up, and he’s still laying there — These are kind of embarrassing things to say, aren’t they? But it’s her, and it’s true — Agatha is undeniably flustered, maybe they shared the slight red tint to their faces now. Ah, it’s weird. He feels anxiety threaten to pull him under for the first time in a while—

“I… I do too. A lot. M-Maybe too much.” And she stutters, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she looks away in this rare sort of shyness. “S-So, it’s not weird at all!”

Ruggie’s heart skips a beat.

“Cool. Okay.” The words processing in his mind, repeating over and over like they hadn’t registered yet, echoing. His face felt impossibly hot, his self control running low. “...can I kiss you?”

Agatha blinks, still wide eyed, and a smile appears on her lips, she fiddles with her hair again, brushing it off her shoulder. “I… yeah.”

All of this, it’s so… Ruggie has a tough time wrapping his head around it all, but he’s not going to argue a reality like this at all. Sparkling with excitement, he gets up, sitting next to Agatha again, and they exchange a look for a moment as he smiles, foreheads touching.

Ruggie feels like he doesn’t even know how to begin, like she’s his very first kiss. Tentative hands cup Agatha’s cheeks, and in the peak of his enthusiasm, they just go for it, so close to being at the same time — And their lips meet.

He feels euphoric, almost every bit of exhaustion forgotten when he feels Agatha’s smile against his, small breathy laughs bubbling up and leaving them before the kiss deepens and Agatha pushes back against him too.

They’re not really thinking about it at all, and maybe that’s how Ruggie prefers it. Agatha is warm when she presses closer to him, her arms wrapping around him, and he continues to hold her face in his hands even as they pull away to breathe for a moment, seeing her smile.

“You’re so cute.” She says in between slightly harsher breaths. “Ruggie…”

And he thinks of the time he’s thought about something like this happening, none of his fantasies ever really went like this — There was always some sort of struggle, a larger pause after he tells Agatha about his feelings even when he thought of victorious scenarios. Even when he had her with him in the end.

He wonders when they kiss again, should anything have the right to feel so easy?

She tastes vaguely like lipstick, something cherry-like and similar to what he’d associate to the color of her hair, with a hint of sweetness. Her arms around him pull him closer with surprising strength, he feels her heartbeat on his when their chests touch.

And Ruggie’s not good at keeping his hands to himself— He notices he’d been hungry, wanting something like this for too long, and even though the world feels too dreamlike, blurry from exhaustion and still a bit of denial, he lets his hands wander. He touches her arm first, but it doesn’t linger there, going down her sides and ending up on her hips, wondering if he could let them wander further, maybe over her thighs—

“Ahaha, s-sorry, I’m just really happy.” They pull away, breathing heavily, and Agatha is giggling, her smile turning the dim room into the sun itself. Ruggie can’t help but share the expression. “I never thought… this really feels like a dream.”

“Yeah.” Ruggie agrees. “What do we… are we doing anything else, or?”

His face feels hotter upon saying the words. He sounds lame, but—

“I don’t know.” She says with a sigh, but it’s content. Their foreheads touch, bodies still too close to each other, and too happy to be where they are. “I’m just happy we’re here.”

“Mm, me too.”

There’s one more kiss, although a brief one. Agatha’s hand is on his hair, idly running fingers through strands, even after they part again.

“You still look so tired.” She points out, voice gentle. “Don’t you wanna call it a day?”

Ruggie has to sigh. Well…

“Maybe.” He admits, finally, even though he doesn’t want to be away from her at all now. “But I’m gonna miss you if you leave.” It’s a playful complaint, even though he means it. Agatha chuckles a bit.

“I can stay with you, then.” She says with a rare sort of decisiveness. “Someone’s gotta take care of you if you’re not gonna do it yourself.” She pouts, pulling him a bit closer.

His eyes threaten to flutter shut like this.

“If it’s you, then.” He murmurs, laughing quietly. “Guess it’s alright.”

Agatha gives him one more kiss, a small affectionate peck on his lips.

“Good. Let’s think about everything else tomorrow, okay?”

Then it goes by easily. He sighs, releasing tension with his exhale, and Agatha holds out her arms for him with an inviting smile.

They lay down, not really bothering to turn off the lights just yet. Ruggie makes himself at home there, back of his head on her chest, an arm pulling him closer while she continues to pet him, warm and dreamlike.

And they think about it tomorrow.

[barnesandrogersfanfics]

Ocean Eyes - Part 11

A/N- OMG i finally updated!!

Please like/comment/share if you like this. Seeing that people are actually enjoying this fic makes me wanna write more lol 💕💕

I got next to no sleep, i just laid in bed going over and over the things Chris had said....was he being serious?? or was it the alcohol talking??

Finally giving up on sleep at 5:30am i got up and dressed and decided i needed to talk to someone about all this. When i went downstairs i made a cup of tea and grabbed Chris's coat from the back of the chair then headed outback, Dodger following behind me.

I walked down to the pool area and sat down at the table and chairs that were next to it where i was far enough away from the house to have a private conversation. I unlocked my phone smiling at the photo of Chris, Scott and Mason before scrolling to my recent contacts and hitting call.

"Hello" she answered after two rings.

"Hey ma, i didnt wake you did i?"

"No sweetheart, you know me I've been up since 5am"

"Thats because you're crazy" i chuckled.

"why are you up this early? This is very unlike you"

"Ive not really slept..... mom something happened with Chris last night and i'm kinda freaking out...."

"Oh god please tell me you haven't slept with him already....."

"No! Jesus Ma...."

"Thats good, so what happened?"

"Well after Mason went to bed last night i stayed up with Chris and Scott, we had a few drinks and just hung out you know? Everything was fine until Scott went to bed" i started explaining shaking my head, i told her all about Chris ending things with his girlfriend, about him getting jealous about Derek and then i dropped the kicker.... Chris confessed to still loving me and wanting a second chance!

"Wow, thats alot to take in"

"Tell me about it! Ive been up all night going over it again and again"

"So what did you tell Chris?"

"I just said that we needed to talk about this when we were both sober. I mean he could wake up and forget he even said any of this to me last night"

"Would you still bring it up if he does forget?"

"I don't know Ma, i don't know what to do"

"Only you can answer that, i can't tell you the right thing to do here baby. All i know is that you have loved that man since i can remember, even when he left and broke your heart you still loved him"

"You love who you love right?.... i just feel like an idiot" i mumbled picking at the sleeve of Chris's coat nervously.

"You're not an idiot"

"I feel like one!"

"Just talk to him, take things slow.... maybe use this time together to get to know eachother again before you decide on anything. Also, just remember this effects Mason now"

"Thats what makes it worse ma" i quickly wiped away a tear that rolled down my face, Dodger came over putting his face in my lap and i smiled as i scratched behind his ear. When i looked up my breath caught when i saw Chris slipping out the sliding door and heading my way.

"Shit, he's coming over.... i gotta go Ma. I'll call you later"

"Okay sweetheart, good luck.... deep breaths, i love you"

"Love you too, bye".

I locked my phone and placed it on the table before wrapping Chris's coat tighter around me. Dodger spotted Chris and went bounding over to him excited to see him up and about.

"Morning, you're up early" he said before sitting in the chair beside me.

"Morning, i couldn't sleep. Thought id call my mom to check in"

"All the way out here?"

"Its early i didn't want to wake anyone up" i shrugged picking up my tea taking a mouthful.

"You sure thats all it was?"

"Mmhmmm"

"You're not hiding from me after last night?" He raised his eyebrows at me questioningly.

"So you remember what you said last night?"

"Of course, i wasn't that drunk" he scoffed reaching for my tea and helping himself to a few mouthfuls.

"Im not hiding, just.... thinking"

"About?"

"About what the fuck i'm supposed to do!"

"Do you love me?" He suddenly asked making me look up at him, into those eyes.... damn him!

"What?"

"Do you still love me? Its a simple question babe"

"Its not a simple answer Chris" i shrugged "i mean of course i do but i just..... the way you treated me before.... how do i know that wont happen again?"

"It wont i promise! I know how bad i messed up...."

"You say that now but i can't help but worry about you changing your mind.

You broke my heart when you left me and now we have Mason to think about.... i don't want him getting hurt if this doesn't work out again".

"So your answer's no? You wont give me a second chance?" He asked sadly his eyes tearing up, i forgot how emotional he could get.

"Maybe we should just spend this time together, get to know each other again and go from there?" I said taking my mom's advise.

"So you're not ruling it out completely? Its not a hard no?"

"Im saying maybe, just... baby steps" i smiled over at him and he nodded smiling back at me as he reached over and took my hand.

"I promise you i wont let you down again, i wanna be the man you deserve and the dad that Mason deserves"

"Id like that a lot, even though i hated you for what you did... i still missed you"

"I know, i missed you too"

"Lets go in im freezing" i said getting up, Chris was suddenly standing and pulling me into his arms holding me tight.

"Chris..." i mumbled into his chest as my hands landed on his waist.

"Im sorry i just needed to hold you"

I sighed and wrapped my arms around him... as nervous as this made me it felt so good to be in his arms again.

"I'll make things right again i promise" he mumbled pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

The weeks were flying by and we were all still in lockdown, it was now May and there was no sign of anything changing just yet.

Chris was doing a lot of online interviews to promote his new show 'Defending Jacob', when these video chats took place Scott and I made sure to take Mason to another part of the house so he wouldn't interrupt.

Things with Chris and I had been going good, we wouldn't act any differently around Mason but once he was in bed we'd snuggle on the sofa.... we'd shared a few kisses here and there but thats as far as it had gone.

"Mom can we take Dodger for a walk?" Mason came running in from the backyard with Dodger diving on the sofa next to me.

"You better go ask your dad buddy"

"Dad!!!!" Mason yelled loudly making me laugh.

"Why are you yelling?? i'm right here" Chris said walking in from the kitchen with coffee's. Mason chuckled cuddling up to me suddenly going all silly.

"Why you getting all shy?" I asked as i run my fingers through his hair.

"I don't know" he mumbled hiding his face against me, Chris sat down next to him and picked him up pulling him into his lap.

"Whats up pal? Why was you calling me?"

"Mom said i had to ask you if we can take Dodger for a walk"

"Sure we can! Why don't you go get your shoes on and grab Dodgers leash while your mom and i finish our coffee then we'll go"

"Yes!! thank you dad!" Mason wriggled down from Chris's lap and run upstairs to the room he'd been staying in.

"Maybe it'll wear him out enough that he has a nap, kid has too much energy!" I said looking over at Chris.

"He loves walking Dodger thats all"

"So do i but not this much! Poor Dodge is probably begging for a rest!"

"He's fine, we'll just walk up the road a bit throw the ball around... we don't have to be gone long"

"I guess"

"You coming with us?"

"Yeah why not".

We walked Dodger as promised and let him and Mason run around playing fetch. Chris took me by surprise by grabbing hold of my hand pulling me close enough to kiss me.

"Hey! We said not in front of Mace...."

"He's not looking its fine" he laughed "so, i was thinking maybe you could stay in my room tonight?"

"And what if Mason catches us??"

"We'll say we're having a sleepover" he smirked.

"You're terrible!"

"You didn't say no though" he wriggled his eyebrows at me.

"I didn't say yes either. Mace, come on Bud we're heading back" i called out stepping away from Chris even though all i wanted to do was pounce on him!

As i looked over to where Mason and Dodger were playing i spotted a familiar car parked across the street outside of the gated area.

"You've got to be shitting me....."

"Whats wrong?"

"Thats Brian's car out there"

"What?!!! Are you sure?"

"Yeah"

"Im gonna kick this guys ass i swear to god...." Chris said as he started to storm towards Brian, i quickly grabbed his arm pulling him back.

"Lets just go back inside, call the police. I don't want you getting into trouble over that jackass. Just get Mason and Dodger and lets go. He cant get in here"

"Okay.... okay lets go" he whistled for Dodger who came bounding over followed by an out of breath Mason and we walked back up to the house locking ourselves safely inside while Chris called and reported Brian.

Everything taglist: @jesseswartzwelder @dumblani @barnesandrogersworld @patzammit @rynabarnesrogers-reading @rainbowkisses31 @rororo06 @supernaturalwintersoldier @fairlightswiftly @hiddelstannerbarnes

Ocean eyes: @supraveng @michelehansel @melissaglenn5 @denisemarieangelina

@mrsjeffwittek @mery-be @marvelfansworld @cmalass @capstopavenger @fallenoutofrose @kelbabyblue @biebsmylife95 @loser-alert @traceyaudette @w3lissax @jennmurawski13 @ford66steal @saiyanprincessswanie @christocrave

@jakiki94 @torntaltos @my-dearest-agent @buchanansebba @ms-betsy-fangirl

[jupiter-river]

Period pains ~ Yachi x Reader

Possible tw: Periods for a gn reader. The personal headcanon that Yachi could beat anyone up in smash bros with no remorse, the briefly mentioned personal headcanon that she takes a Visual arts class. Mention of Tylenol, rude guardian briefly mentioned.

I didn't mention a specific gender, just that they can have periods, so it's still technically a gn reader, maybe, idk?

completely self-indulgent as I am In pain rn ;-;

Word count: 1,793

Sitting in bed surrounded by blankets and pillows was not what you had in mind for your Saturday, no no no, you had plans today, you were going on a date in the park with your girlfriend Yachi since it was going to be a nice day today, but sadly, your cycle had decided to ruin your plans. The cramps were worse than normal and you were so tired since it had kept you up all night and your guardian had gotten mad at you yesterday night and this morning, but of course, they said they would bring home food and assumed that would make it better. All that did was give you an even worse migraine. You had just texted Yachi that you would have to take a rain check and briefly explained why.

She was quick to text back with her sympathies and offered to come over with some homemade soup so you could relax and spend time together anyway, and she could help with the cramps. You thought about rejecting her offer as you didn’t want to trouble her, but you did miss her and you wanted to go on a date. You replied to her that that sounded nice, but she didn’t have to do anything for you, just come over to hang out for a while. Yachi replied in seconds with ‘Okay! ^-^’ and so you went to get up, wincing at the pain, and unlocked the front door for her. While you were up you decided to make your comfort drink and maybe some Tylenol, you didn’t necessarily have the energy to go get it, but you were already here, so why not? You sat on the couch in the living room and sipped your drink slowly after taking a couple of the pills, excited that your shark week hadn’t ruined your plans completely, although it was still a pain, and as if to prove its point you got another really bad cramp, just to remind you it’s still there in case you had forgotten. You clutched your side and winced, grateful that you had already drunk enough of your drink so it didn’t spill at the movements. About 30 minutes later you heard the door starting to open and you hear Yachi call out from behind it, “Hey (reader) I’m here!” you responded with some sort of noise, not able to form actual words at the moment, your cup abandoned at the coffee table, as you got up to greet her. She smiled sheepishly as she saw you look at the bag she had brought in, there were Heating pads, your favorite sweets, what looked to be Yachis’ blanket from her house that you often said was super comfy, a couple of stuffed animals, and Yachis’ laptop. You had also noticed that she had brought in a whole pot of soup and she had already placed it on the stove. “Ehehe, I know you said not to worry about bringing anything, but I thought it would be nice. These always help me during my time of the week, so I thought it would help you! The soups just got to heat up though.” She turned the stove on so the soup would heat up, and set a timer on her phone for when it should be done, and then walked back to you who was still standing on the other side of the island in the kitchen. You didn’t say anything and just hugged her, leaning on her a bit. You did say not to bring anything, but you would be lying if you said that it didn’t make you feel very happy. She laughed a bit and hugged you lightly, not wanted to squeeze too hard and make the cramps act up again. She grabbed your hand in hers, “Come on, let’s sit on the couch and watch some tv or something while we wait for the soup!” she grabbed the blanket from the bag and lead you back to the couch, you grabbed the remote for her while she grabbed some pillows and arranged them around you both, she then preceded to curl up beside you with the blanket surrounding you both. She held your hand and kissed your cheek sweetly before placing her head on your shoulder while you picked your favorite cartoon show to watch for a bit.

Eventually, the timer she had set on her phone rang, so you both got up from the comfortable position and turned off the tv. She wrapped the blanket around you, allowing you to be wrapped in it while you moved around, while she went to the kitchen. She stirred the soup a bit and made two bowls. She placed them on the table, one in front of where you were sitting and one where she would sit, turned off the stove, placed a lid on the pot, and put the pot into the fridge, “alright all done!” she cheered, and went to sit down in front of her bowl. “This is my mom’s homemade recipe, she used to make it all the time for me when she had enough free time. I learned how to make it since I liked it so much, and she couldn’t make it all the time.” she commented, in-between spoon fulls of soup. After your throat had gotten a bit better with some food you said, “It’s good.” a little quietly but loud enough that Yachi had no trouble hearing you. She practically lit up, “Really?! I’m glad you like it. I can always make some more for you if you’d like. I like making it anyways” You just smiled at her. With the size of the pot she brought, you think you could feed a family of eight for four days with it. After you were done, she cleaned the bowls and put them in the dishwasher, “Alright,” she smiled “Let’s relax for today, have that date we wanted, and just enjoy each other” She once again grabbed a hold of your hand also while grabbing the bag of stuffed animals and well as her laptop while you two walked to your room. The both of you got comfortable in the fluffy nest of pillows and blankets, Yachi adding the stuffed animals into the mix and starting her laptop, while it was loading she got out the heating pad and handed it to you to put where you saw fit. After she settled the laptop in between you two and pressed play on your favorite show, she started to mindlessly play with your hand, not that she realized. You smiled at her softly as her attention was on the show. The calming atmosphere, just you and Yachi, made today not so bad, even with the occasional cramps, Yachi was right there, every time you let out a little wince she would gently massage your sides(?) and adjust the heating pack if it had slipped off the area. Slowly during the show watching, you both started paying less attention to the show and more to each other. Yachi would talk about her day, her assignments in art class, or what shenanigans the Volleyball team had been up to, you would usually reply with only two or so word responses but she didn’t mind, it was easy for her to tell what you meant, and the time quickly went by. It was around six o’clock by now, and you had felt much better so you both decided to move back into the more open space of the living room, as that was where your game console was, with the blanket and heating pack. You got the controllers set up and Yachi suggested super smash bros. And who were you to disagree, to see the happy look on Yachis’s face was enough of a reason to play if you didn’t like smash bros. After starting it up and picking your characters, with Yachi maining Kirby and you as your personal favorite who isn’t Kirby, Yachi started to let you have a chance but quickly started to absolutely destroy you without a sense of remorse. You knew this would happen, you still tried your best but she was too good. She started to shout out when she landed a hit and things like that, but you didn’t mind it too much, you found it amusing in a way. The win was quickly hers as you had no chance but it was fun non the less. After a few more rounds of the game, Yachi decided it was getting late, “Do you wanna stay the night?” you managed to ask, Yachi practically jumped up in joy “Yes! I would love to, is it okay with your guardian though?” You thought about it and decided to text them, instead of asking if Yachi can stay over, you decided to just tell them that she was staying here. Not waiting for a response you shut off your phone, and nodded, “They said it was okay” and she smiled, “Okay then! I’ll let my mom know I won’t be home

tonight” even though you both knew by the time she got home, it was probably going to be so late that Yachi would be in bed. Afterward, you found some clothes that she could wear tonight and tomorrow. Even when your guardian came home, they knew they couldn’t just kick Yachi out, so they let her stay over, and mostly left the two of you alone after saying hi. You guys were sitting outside cuddling on the swing looking at the night sky together, both of you silent and just drinking out of your mugs, yeah maybe this isn’t what you imagined your date to be, but it was still as wonderful as you thought it was going to be. Yachi moved a bit to face you, pressed a soft kiss to your lips before pulling away, she saw your questioning glance and just smiled and shrugged, “I just felt like it” she did it once more, a bit slower this time, before settling back into your side with her gaze to the stars. ”They sure are pretty” She said as her actions were catching up to her trying to change the subject and calm her beating heart down. Even in the semi-dark lighting you can see the loud blush donning her cheeks, you kissed her forehead before looking up at the stars as well, they were beautiful, weren’t they.

[calpalirwin]

Hush, Hush

Request: Could you please write a Michael x Reader based on the song Hush Hush by The Band CAMINO? Where they have a secret relationship. Maybe include a scene where the guys find out because read accidentally LEFT THEIR FRIGGIN UNDERWEAR

Content: Heavily implied smut

Word Count: 3.6k

And away, and away we go!

__

Y/N spotted Calum easily as he tried to look as inconspicuous as possible in a plain black t-shirt, blue jeans, a hat covering his head of curls, and sunglasses pushed up on his face. “Hey, you! How was your flight?” he greeted as he wrapped his cousin in a hug.

“Long, but worth it to be here,” she grinned, returning the embrace with the same amount of warmth as the bright LA sun outside. “You fuckin’ take a page from the Avengers? You know this disguise is shit, right?”

“If I learned one thing from all the covid nonsense, it’s actually that this shit disguise works surprisingly well.”

“In covid we covered the lower half of our faces, ya dingus.”

“Works the same either way. Half the face covered is half the face covered. You check any bags?”

“Nah, I crammed as much shit as I could in my carry on and backpack.”

“Sweet, let’s roll.”

“So, you like living here in LA?” she asked as they made their way to his car.

“Yeah. Kinda hard not to. Nice weather. Good people. So, I know you’re here to look at houses and stuff, but Mum didn’t explain to me why you’re moving here. She was just like ‘pick up your cousin from the airport and be good’ like I was just gonna leave you to fend for yourself or some shit.”

Y/N laughed. “While I definitely appreciate you picking me up, and letting me stay with you this week, I’ll kick your ass if you start babying me. You may be taller, but I’m still older than you.”

Calum laughed along. “That’s what I told Mum but, she wouldn’t listen. I was like Y/N’s a big girl, she doesn’t need a chaperone.”

“That’s Aunt Joy for ya though. She misses you. We all do. Well except me, of course.”

Calum snorted as he clicked the unlock button on his car. “Yeah, I miss everyone but you too, so I guess we’re even. But what was it that sent you here?”

“Job relocation. Well… sort of.”

“What do you mean sort of?” he asked as he placed her suitcase in the backseat, the backpack following. 

“So I’ve been doing a lot more freelance work since my job’s been fucking me around since day one. And I finally said fuck it, I’m gonna make my own business. So while I’m here to look at apartments and shit, I’m also here to scout out business locations looking to rent out space.”

“Well shit, why didn’t you tell me before now?” he asked as they got in the front seat. “Moving’s expensive. Starting your own business is expensive. Living here is expensive. Doing all that shit at once? Geez, you a secret millionaire?”

“You’re not the only successful one, Cal. I make good money.”

“You know I don’t mean it like that. I just meant that you could’ve told me what was really going on. So that way I could’ve put you in contact with Andy and Sarah already, cuz they probably know some people who can help you out. Hell you can help them out by freelancing for them. They work too damn hard, they could definitely use the extra help. Plus you’re fuckin good at what you do. And I could’ve also told you that you don’t need to bother looking for a place cuz you could just stay with me.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you, Cal. I wanna do this on my own.”

“I’m not saying you gotta live with me forever, Y/N. I’m just saying you can while you focus all your energy and resources on what really matters which is getting your business up and running. Plus, I know you’re gonna pick like the most cheapass, run-down studio apartment anyway because you’re gonna justify it by saying you’re just there to sleep anyway. So why spend any money on some shitty apartment when you can just stay at my nice, nonshitty house for free instead? I mean, you’re only there to sleep basically right?”

Y/N’s eyes narrowed. She hated that he knew her so well. “There’s no way you’re letting this go until I agree to move in with you, is there?”

“Not a one.”

“Fine. But only until I get my business off the ground. Once that’s up and running, I’m getting my own place.”

“A decent place,” Calum pushed.

“A decent place,” she agreed with an eye roll. “I’ll even splurge for an actual bedroom.”

“You got yourself a deal.”

“You got yourself a roommate.”

~~~

Michael couldn’t keep his eyes off Y/N. He knew he wasn’t supposed to stare. A.) Staring was rude, and he wasn’t a rude person. And B.) Calum was his best and longest friend, and Y/N was his cousin which made her inexplicably off-limits. But there was something so tempting about wanting someone you knew you couldn’t have. And it didn’t help matters that every time he caught himself looking her way, she was already watching him.

“I’m Michael,” he introduced stupidly when they both ended up in Calum’s kitchen by themselves. 

“I know,” she grinned. “We already did introductions, remember?”

His cheeks flushed pink, and one of his hands rubbed at the back of his neck. “Right. Yeah. H-how long did you say you’re staying with Cal for?”

“Well originally I was only gonna be here for a week while I sorted things out. But Cal’s… strong-willed about things. So I’m staying with him indefinitely while I get sorted instead.”

“Mmm, right. With your new business and everything. So you’ll be around quite a bit, huh?”

“Loads,” she nodded with a flirtatious smile. “And I’ll probably be lonely. I don’t really know anyone here besides Cal. His friends seem nice though. And one of them’s really cute.”

Michael breathed deeply, and even from the small distance between them she could feel his hot exhale on her skin. “We can’t,” he sighed in defeat.

“Says who?”

“Says like every bro code.”

“Are you saying you don’t want this as badly as I do?”

“Want it so bad,” Michael admitted, his voice a low whimper. His green eyes looked around. While nobody from outside was peering in, they were still in everyone’s line of sight if someone happened to glance their way. Which meant that they only had two options, neither of which led to what they really wanted which was to slink away from the party without raising suspicion. “But we can’t. Not now, anyway. Not here.”

“Right. I don’t want to make anything weird between you and Cal. Or between me and him. And we don’t even know what we are. Maybe this is just an infatuation that’ll run its course if we don’t play into it.”

“Maybe it’s not,” Michael countered. “God, I hope it’s not, cuz I really want to play into this.”

“Me too. God, I hope you’re right.”

“Hope he’s right about what?” Calum asked, as he came in through the sliding glass door. 

“Uh, my business!” she blurted. “Mike was just telling me that he thinks it’s gonna do really well here cuz I’ll be able to get more connections with your help and stuff.”

Calum hummed in response. “Mike’s right ya know. Like you already did the scary part of moving out here. The rest is just doing your job. Which you already know how to do, and you do it very well I might add.”

Michael let out the breath he’d been holding as Calum disappeared off to the bathroom. “Fuck, that was close. You think pretty good on your feet.”

Y/N chuckled nervously. “Thanks. God, he scared the shit out of me, and we weren’t even doing anything.”

“Backing out?” Michael asked with a twinge of a challenge to mask the underlying brace for rejection.

“We’re fucked if we get caught.”

“So fucked.”

“Guess we better not get caught then.”

Michael grinned.

~~~

She smirked at the message. A painful month of sneaking behind her cousin’s back, and she only wanted the man with wild trouble in those piercing green eyes more with each hidden touch. Needed him the same way Michael needed her. From the doorway, Calum wolf-whistled at the outfit lying on the bed: a slinky black dress with a slit in the thigh, and a matching black lace bra and panty set. “Going somewhere?” he questioned in amusement.

“Yes!” Y/N said with indignation. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

Calum chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. It’s good that you’re going out. You going out with friends, or a guy?”

“Friends,” she lied.

“That’s a hell of a dress for a girls’ night out,” he chuckled again. “You could tell me if it was a guy, ya know. We’re not little kids. I’m not gonna be shocked if you’re getting laid. Be a little worried if you weren’t in all honesty.”

She bit into her lower lip, wondering briefly if it was better to come clean now. Y/N decided on half-admittance. “Alright, it’s a guy. But we’re still in that figuring it out stage. Enjoying each other’s company.”

“Yeah, I bet you are,” Calum smirked.

“Shut up,” she laughed. “And get out so I can finish getting ready.”

“He picking you up?”

She shook her head. “No, we’re meeting up at the bar.”

“So, you’re driving?”

“Relax, spazz. I’m taking an Uber. No drinking and driving here.”

“Good. And hey, do me one small favor?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Go back to his place. Don’t bring him here. Rather spare myself the mental image.”

“I wouldn’t dream of bringing him here, you’re good.”

“Good, good. And hey, if he ends up not enjoying your time anymore A.) he’s an idiot, especially if you’re meeting him dressed in that. And B.) Call me, and I’ll come get ya. No matter the time.”

“Thanks, Cal. Now seriously leave.”

20 minutes after Michael asked to meet in 15 minutes, she was climbing into his car. “Geez, what took you so long?” he questioned, leaning across the seat to press a heated and bruising kiss to Y/N’s lips.

“Cal walked by when I was getting ready. You know for the quiet one, he really doesn’t ever shut up.”

“Shit, think he’s getting suspicious?”

“Nah. I mean I told him I was sort of seeing somebody. But I don’t think he thinks it’s you.”

“Sort of seeing somebody, huh?” Under a passing streetlight, she could see the corner of his lips pull up in a smirk. “You can call me your boyfriend if you want.”

“Oh, is that what you are?” she teased.

Michael chuckled. “I mean not to be heavy, but we’ve been seeing each other a while now. I think this is becoming something more than passing infatuation. I’m not seeing anyone else besides you. I don’t want to see anyone besides you. But if you don’t want to label this because of Cal or whatever, I can respect that.”

“No, no,” she said, softly, fingers tracing across the thick tattooed band on his arm. “I’d like that. Plus, might make telling Cal easier? So we can stop sneaking around? Not that I haven’t loved this. But, I’d really like to not act like we don’t know each other around company.”

His hand brought hers to his lips to stamp kisses over it as he pulled into his driveway. “We’ll tell him soon. Until then, I’m gonna enjoy keeping you to myself.” His gaze turned to take her in, his next breath catching in his throat. “Fuck… Did I tell you how stunning you look, yet? Or was I too busy griping about Cal holding you up like an ass?”

Her cheeks blushed. “Too busy griping. But that’s okay.”

“I think I can think of a way or two to make it up to you.”

“Oh, is that so? Do tell.”

“I think showing you might be more appropriate.”

She shuddered at his words. “Humor me anyway?”

“Let’s just say if my neighbors don’t know me already, they certainly will by tomorrow, because I am going to thoroughly enjoy familiarizing myself with every inch of your skin. And listening to how good my name sounds rolling off your tongue, and how good yours tastes on mine.”

How they managed to make their way inside the house was a mystery to them both as hands tangled in hair, and tongues explored mouths and the column of the other’s throat. Teeth nipped skin, as Y/N’s fell back onto the couch, and Michael marked a path down her body. “Pretty,” his voice taunted from underneath the skirt of her dress as he snapped the waistband of her panties, before pulling them down and off her legs, spitting the lace fabric out of his mouth.

“M-Mike,” she panted, her back arching, searching for him.

“Aw,” he taunted more, his face inches from hers. “You can do better than that. C’mon, I’m sure I got a few neighbors who don’t know who I am yet. Don’t you want to tell them my name, pretty girl?”

“Mike!” The repetition of his name was louder, the desperation in her voice stronger as her fingers wrapped around his wrist and guided him towards where she needed him.

As they surrendered themselves to each other, their names mingled together in the air like the most profanity-riddled melody, each of them certain that by the time daylight broke through the curtains, the neighborhood not only knew his name, but hers as well. 

~~~

Michael tiptoed around the clothes scattered on the floor as he made his way to the dresser, a wide smile plastered on his face. Their first bout that had shook the foundation of the house had led to them curled up on the couch, whispering the sweet promises of budding love against each other’s skin, before retiring to the bedroom. Which then led to a much slower love making of hot moans panted against heated skin, fingers intertwined, and locked gazes swirling with desire, love, lust, and passion. Afterwards exhaustion set in, and they fell asleep in a tangled web of limbs and bedsheets. 

He’d woken up, sure that this had all been a dream, but much to his delight, she was still sleeping soundly in his arms. And after waking her up, he was grabbing her some clothes to put on before joining her in the shower. Or he would have if someone wasn’t banging on his front door.

Confused, he made his way to the front of the house, pulling the front door open to find Ashton, Calum, and Luke on the other side. “See? I told you guys we should’ve waited until he responded,” Luke said with a shake of his head.

“Aw, who gives a shit?” Calum asked rhetorically, shouldering his way past a still confused Michael to get inside the house.

“Uh? What are you guys doing here?” Michael asked, stepping out of the way as Ashton and Luke followed Calum inside.

“Saturdays are for the boys, remember?” Ashton grinned.

“Yeah, but like… did we have actual plans? I- sorry… still waking up.”

“Long night?” Calum teased with a smirk.

“I’ll say,” Luke answered, blue eyes zeroed in on a pair of panties half-wedged between a couch cushion. “You got a girlfriend, Mikey?”

“Holy shit!” Ashton choked, giggling at the sight of Michael with his face frozen in terror. “Is she still here? Is that why you’re so jumpy, mate? Ya got your girlfriend hidden somewhere in your mini mansion?”

“I- What? Pffft, no!” Michael sputtered, grabbing the panties and balling them up in his fist, his green eyes looking wildly at Calum for any indication that his friend might be on to him.

Calum misinterpreted the look as a plea to step in on Michael’s defense. “Aw, leave him be guys. We should be celebrating that he’s finally getting back out there, not giving him shit for it. So when are we gonna meet the girl? When she comes back to claim her lost panties? Or should we leave to not embarrass the poor girl, and meet her some other time?”

“That,” Michael chimed in, “is a great idea, Cal. You guys should leave, because this is part of a matching set, so I’m sure she’ll be by the moment she realizes, and she’ll probably be embarrassed enough as is. So it might be best if you guys aren’t around when that happens. No offense.”

“Matching set?” Calum asked with a raised eyebrow and Michael gulped. “Damn, that girl knew what she was doing.”

The green-eyed blonde chuckled nervously. “Heh, yeah. She’s really cool. I like spending time with her. We’re still kinda figuring some stuff out, but I’ll be sure to bring her around s-”

“Hey, Mike? Have you seen my pa- oh fuck!”

“Y/N!” Calum thundered, jumping to his feet, while Ashton and Luke sucked in their breath and Michael and Y/N looked like a couple of deer trapped in headlights. “The guy you’re seeing is Mike?! You’re fucking my cousin?! And I’m finding this out now?! How long has this been happening?!”

“Maybe now’s not the time to ask questions,” Y/N hissed, trying to make herself as small as possible as she clutched the large towel around her like a lifeline.

“GET DRESSED!” Calum barked, his mind racing.

Michael and Y/N bolted to his bedroom, Ashton’s and Luke’s unrestrained laughter finally breaking free in the background while Calum screeched at them that “IT’S NOT FUNNY!”

“It’s a little funny,” was the barely audible response between wheezes and gasps for air.

Behind the closed door in the safety of the bedroom, Michael and Y/N shared a frantic look. “Well… that wasn’t the way I pictured that going in my head,” Y/N mumbled as she pulled the shirt Michael offered her on over her bra.

“Luke found your underwear,” he mumbled back, handing her the wadded up lace. “Sorry, I wrinkled it.”

“It’s fine,” she told him, stepping into them and then taking the offered gym shorts and stepping into those as well while he pulled on a pair of grey sweats over his boxers. “Hey,” she said softly, reaching up to cup his face and focus his frazzled mind on her. “We’re fine. Right?”

He gave her a small smile, relaxing at her touch. “We’re more than fine,” he nodded, kissing her forehead, each of her cheeks, her nose, and then finally her lips. “I still want you. And if Cal can’t deal with that… well… I…”

“Shh, don’t think about it. Cal’s not gonna care. Just gotta let the shock wear off, first.”

He nodded, his forehead resting against hers, green eyes searching for any kind of hope that they weren’t about to self-destruct; that if it really came down to it, they’d at least hesitate to choose Calum over the other. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek despite his best efforts at self control. “This is all my fault. I- I just need you to know that this wasn’t a fleeting moment of infatuation for me. That I-“

“Ssssshhhhh,” she soothed, her thumb rubbing across his cheekbone. “Don’t do this. Don’t say goodbye before we have to.”

They slowly crept their way back to the living room, finding Calum in full interrogation mode. “Did you two know?” he was asking Ashton and Luke, whose bodies were still shaking from barely controlled laughter.

“Hand to God, we didn’t know,” Ashton swore.

“Honest,” Luke agreed before both men sputtered into a new fit of giggles.

Calum’s eyes narrowed, not sure what to believe as he turned on his heel, coming face-to-face with Michael. “Did they know?” he demanded.

“No. Nobody knew,” Michael told him.

“So what? Are you embarrassed to be with her, or something? Are you embarrassed to be with him?” The brown eyes shifted back and forth between the couple.

“No,” it was Y/N’s turn to answer. “We just didn’t want to come to you guys with the news before we figured out what we were to each other first.”

“And what are you to each other?”

“We’re dating.”

“And how long has this been going on?”

“About a month.”

“So, the whole time? Great… You’re a real pal, Mike.”

“Oh, leave him alone,” Y/N defended. “Like you go blabbing to the world whenever you start to get to know someone? No. You wait until you’re sure it’s not just a fleeting moment. Gimme a break, Cal.”

“So… this is like… for real then? You actually like like each other, and shit?”

“We really do,” Michael nodded.

“I see… Hey, Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember what I told you last night about not bringing the guy you were seeing home because I’d rather not have that mental image?”

“Yeah. What about it? Change your mind?” she teased.

Calum gagged. “Fuckin’ God, no! If you’re gonna insist on fucking Mike, do it as far away from me as possible. Also if you want to move out sooner, totally fine with that.”

Michael blinked in confusion. “Wait? You’re cool with this? With us?”

Calum shrugged. “If you make each other happy, you make each other happy. Not my place to tell you who you can and can’t date. But,” Calum’s tone changed to be as menacing as possible as he glowered at Michael, “break her heart, and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

“What if she breaks mine?” Michael countered.

Calum laughed. “Then I’ll help you pick up the pieces, while secretly wondering what she ever saw in you because let’s face it, she’s too good for you.”

“I’d be more offended if you weren’t totally right.”

__

Tag List

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[tuwam]

@urianius

‘ow - aren’t you supposed to be good at this?’ “aren’t you supposed to being moving less.”

honestly seoyoung’s not sure what she prefers, minjae’s smug ass grin or the words that come out his mouth before or after she gets it. 

“and must you have something to say every time I stitch?”

seoyoung doesn’t know what it is but it’s something about the stitching aspect of healing that doesn’t bother her as much. it’s a hell of a lot more manual than using runes or covering gashes with bubbles of energy to have them heal but she doesn’t get as stressed. it’s also something she’s come to easy terms with. it’s quite literally the only thing she’s come to terms with, and she’s learning how to be as fast as yeonhee at it. hanbyul says it’s something that’ll become easier the more she does it, but she’d rather get good now than do a botched job in the field, hands shaking and all.

that’s where minjae comes in - the perfect test subject always walking in with scrapes and bruises beyond a simple layer of gauze. she thinks he enjoys it, as much as he enjoys coming to her when there’s several other healers in the room. the only other open recruit is yeonhee and seoyoung can practically see him flinch with how tightly she does his patch-ups. she admires it actually. because of that minjae’s taken to coming to seoyoung only, claiming he wants to help her with her work but giving her a lecture each time.

as if he’s one to lecture at all. at least seoyoung comes back with less scratches.

then again, scars over runes are such a grisly look, she’d hate to mess up her penmanship for the sake of a - kill. boys will be boys, and minjae is as textbook as they come. 

either way, she takes his requests when he saunters up after missions and that means all the lip and banter he throws in on the way. the stitch today is on his forearm which means he has ample space to lean in, use his good arm to rest his chin on his palm and stare at her. the. entire. time.

insufferable. 

seoyoung’s work gets tidier the more she gets into it, but it’s hard to get into it with minjae fidgeting and flinching even when he knows it doesn’t hurt that much. she misses the snickers yeonhee throws her from across the room and has half a mind to leave cleaning duty to her when she’s done.

‘i’d say you’re doing it this tight on purpose.’ “do you want your stitches to fall out?” ‘depends - how long’s your shift here today?’

you’d think he does it on purpose. seoyoung ignores the comment in favor of focusing on a particularly tough part. minjae’s got good blood so he heals relatively well, sometimes he doesn’t even scar too much, she thinks he just likes the brag of it all, having scars in just the right places to lift up a sleeve and tell a tale. she’s got no idea why but with all that’s going on she wishes he’d stop.  they’ve got enough on their hands with minsoo coming by everyday, more reckless and less caring about tales and bragging rights, more so about the adrenaline and a mission done.

between the two of them there’s a little room to breathe a sigh that’s not from another death or another blaring emergency. she could thank them for that, if she wasn’t worried.

it must show because she’s gone silent, focusing, honing in on the other places she’s had to patch up this past week. minjae’s usually careful and it’s suffice to say this was a pretty nasty cut. the demons are getting bolder, and his antics won’t be able to continue for long, the familiarity of these visits will stop soon.

“writing over that rune’s gonna have to wait until it heals, for now take it easy, your speed is gonna be affected for a bit.” it’s a little too strategic, makes her stomach curl. she’s resting the materials down, the clink of the tools snapping him out his stupor. he almost moves too fast and seoyoung has to shoot him a look as she gathers the materials to sterilize. if he so much as tears a stitch so help him god. 

‘not many things out there faster than me.’ “i can name five in this institute alone.” ‘yeah - wanna go eat later?’ “me and alex have sparring practice.”

minjae shoots her a look then, an absolutely full of himself grin and she thumbs at the stele beside her belt.

“want another reason to come back?”

he saunters out at that, a wave on his way out and arms behind his head, the very same arms she’d told him to be careful with. minjae isn’t stupid, everything he does is intentional for its reaction or for its possibilities, all that he’s gone through thoroughly before deciding on. even when he’s infuriating there’s a reason and for seoyoung she can’t put the worry aside enough to consider that he might’ve noticed it.

it’s one thing she’s working on, she’s exceptionally good on missions, but something about the infirmary is so raw. it could be why mina continuously puts her here, with yeonhee no less, to observe how the younger girl doesn’t let it eat at her the way it does to seoyoung. it’s cruel but its necessary. in fact, it’s the first time she’s picked up tools since the emergency group they’d had in but a few days ago. it’d left her shaken with yeonhee taking to cleaning and kae advising her to let off some stress. 

it’s pathetic.

it’s far-fetched to say minjae had taken the easy mission with hopes of visiting her - helping her get some of that confidence back. but then again it’s exactly the way he’d do it. 

what troubles you now? 

in her time here, she’s gotten better at reacting to hanbyul’s voice in her mind. she sees yeonhee peek up from her work and knows this must be something he needs her to get out. seoyoung doesn’t turn to the brother, instead starts to work at actually cleaning her station like she’d said. the words tumble out before she has time to collect that they’d be troubling her in the first place. 

“minjae’s fast - he’s one of our faster agents. don’t you think it’s weird, that his speed rune was damaged? and before that. minsoo came in because his endurance rune had a tear through it from a fight?”

demons were only so smart, and the ones that made it past a shadowhunter - well their community wasn’t much of a community. not typically. 

are you worried that it’s people close to you or are you worried based on logical pattern?

“i’ve been looking through files - and the frequency of attacks lately as well as the injuries of other agents since i have been tending to a lot. even that stranger we brought in - renewing his healing rune was - difficult.” that seems to be enough because he’s contemplating it, yeonhee having come over to help remove the rest of the materials from the day. the way she moves and listens, seoyoung knows it’s not just her. it makes her feel better if anything. 

do you fear what comes?

“no.”

yeonhee looks up then, and the look in her eyes says enough.

good. 

‘SEOYOUNG MINJAE’S GOT A POOL STARTED FOR WHO WINS THE SPARRING MATCH LATER.’ minsoo’s voice is blaring down the hallway, a giggle of other trainees behind him.

every time she worries about this goddamn man -

“i’m gonna kill him.”

[anika-ann]

Hands Too Cold, but Heart of Gold - Pt.2

The Partnership

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader, Matt Murdock x reader (no SR x MM x r)

Word count: 2250

Summary: Avenger!reader AU, love triangle. Daredevil is so-so warming up to the team... some of its members anyway. Steve is too busy being furious with you. Or is he?

Warnings: pissed off Steve, mentions of violence, swearing, fluff, mild angst…? 

Story Masterlist

────── ·❆· ──────

If anyone was watching, they probably thought they were high and hallucinating. The quinjet basically landed on water, opening precisely for you to just leave the pier and enter the ramp lash entrance without faltering in your steps. You walked in, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen on your tail, the tension in his shoulders obvious.

“Hi, Elsa. Looking as good as ever. DD, good to see you again,” Tony’s voice welcomed you, confirming your suspicion. Everyone was now here, probably. Wonderful.

“Mr. Stark,” Daredevil acknowledged him with a nod.

You, on the other hand, ignored the greeting. If he was starting with Elsa, you were not about to speak to him unless necessary, even when he told you that you looked good – hell, it had been like an hour since he had seen you. Jerk.

“Wow, look at you, kiddo. Good job. Daredevil, we haven’t met yet-“ Clint stood up from his seat, hand extended.

“Meaning you haven’t stalked me and tried to get me to join your team?”

Clint wasn’t surprised or concerned about the distance the masked man kept, withdrawing his hand easily. “Yep. Name’s Clint Barton.”

The Devil just nodded again, not giving up his own name. Shocker.

“Daredevil. Welcome on board. Hey, our new recruitment expert.” Tasha gave you a significant look saying ‘brace yourself’. You picked up on it immediately.

“Hey, Natasha. Is Steve mad?” you asked innocently despite knowing the answer for sure.

“Yes,” sounded from behind you quietly, a brief warning from the Devil, as the man in question appeared, his footsteps heavy and angry.

“You are in so much trouble, missy!”

You made a face. “Steve, do not call me ‘missy’. It’s the on the top of the bad words list, seriously, who the fuck taught you that?” you teased him lightly, the humour leaving you when you found yourself under his strict gaze. Not just strict; worried. Hurt. “I’m not sorry for turning it off. You weren’t exactly helping.”

“I appreciated it,” Daredevil supported you unexpectedly and you eyed him, fighting a smile, unable to resist the warmth of satisfaction in your chest.

“Yeah, well, the job is done. Congratulation. Now turn it on again, or so help me god, I’ll cuff you with powers-restrictors and you’re sitting this mission out,” Steve grumbled, spinning on his heels, returning to the cockpit without another word.

You blinked in surprise at the harshness, heavy guilt settling in your stomach. Surely it wasn’t such a big deal? No, there hadn’t even been a real danger; Steve wouldn’t be so pissed about something like this, not normally. Something was wrong.

You left Daredevil’s side, making your way after Steve.

“Leave him. He’s just a grumpy old man,” Tony hummed, drinking some energy drink through a straw.

You ignored him. This wasn’t grumpiness, this was anxiety. Steve was anxious about something and it wasn’t you turning off your comms.

You entered the cockpit, hearing Clint trying to socialize with the Devil while Natasha interjected with the plan so the Devil would be brought up to speed.

“I don’t want to talk to you right now, Anderson,” your captain growled, pretending to be perfectly focused on piloting a plane that could just easily run on autopilot. The tendons in his forearms were so tightened he could cut something with them.

You gulped. Anderson. The spy name you were given by S.H.I.E.L.D. after your real persona had to die. No one on team called you that. Ever.

Crap. This is bad.

You sat down next to him despite his protest.

“That’s too bad. Because-“

“I don’t care about apologies.”

You scoffed. “Good, ‘cause you’re not getting one.”

His statue-like posture shifted and his eyes turned to you for a fraction of a second before returning to staring ahead blankly, pretending to see what was in front of them. He didn’t say a word.

You bit your lip, covering his right hand with yours gently. His fingers twitched, but otherwise he didn’t react to your gesture. You ran your thumb over his knuckles.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on? And don’t try that bullshit about being angry because of me cutting you off. You knew it was a good move. Talk to me, Steve,” you whispered, observing his hard expression, wondering what he was hiding behind it. Steve had always been good at perceiving your emotions – and thanks to the way he had opened to you, it went both ways. But now, he was closing off and you hated it. “Please.”

Steve remained silent. It might seem he didn’t even listen to you, but you could tell he was struggling with something. Steve was… a sweetheart. A kick-ass serum-powered stubborn reckless sweetheart. He cared for people. He worried. And he thought the serum had not only made him the most famous American hero, but also transformed him into Atlas – he believed he needed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders and protect everyone else. You knew that this was why your crush was pointless – he would always saw you as the newbie, as the little sister who needed protection and couldn’t bear the weight of what he was carrying – like for example right now.

“There’s something out of place,” he said quietly and you supressed the rush of joy into your abdomen at his honesty. And silenced the ‘you mean beside the fact the daughter of the Secretary of the Treasury was kidnapped from her private school together with three other girls, taken by a human trafficking ring?’, knowing now was not the time. The Secretary was out of his mind. This would be a STRIKE team mission, but he demanded Captain America and the Avengers. “Something just doesn’t feel right. Maybe paranoia is to getting me-”

The Secretary demanded the Avengers; for some reason, Steve didn’t think it was enough and wanted the Devil on it too; because he had a bad feeling about this. It all made sense now.

You squeezed his hand and he turned it up to catch your hand in his and reciprocate the gesture, not caring he let go of the controller – the plane was still on autopilot then. He really had been sitting here only for show. You mentally rolled your eyes.

“Well, you’re old enough for that, but I don’t think it’s paranoia, Steve.” His blue eyes met yours, allowing you to glimpse at the unsettling uneasiness inside of him. “You have good instincts and you have every right to trust them. I know I do.”

His posture slightly relaxed, the corners of his lips rising just inconspicuously. “Thank you.”

“I’ll keep the irresponsibility to minimum. Even smaller minimum than usual. I promise. I’ll be on the highest alert,” you reassured him softly, sensing his stiffness resolving completely. Oh dear god, this man worried for others so much. He needed something light in his life.

You squeezed his hand one more time, rising to your feet and patting his shoulder, determined to light up the mood by quoting him. “If they hurt me, I’ll hurt them back. And I’ll walk it off if they kill-“

“Don’t say it.”  

His hand shoot up to your wrist, stopping you before you could finish and leave. You met his eyes once more, curling your fingers around his own wrist.

“I’ll be careful, Steve. I promise. Just try to do the same, okay?”

He smiled at the open display of care; it was nothing rare, yet, he would probably always find it precious. He was Captain America, he was meant to worry about others; you could understand why he was moved by someone else taking the role of the concerned friend.

“Go meet the Devil properly. You’re paired with him.”

You blinked in surprise, tilting your head to side. “Why me?”

“ ’Cause he seems to trust you enough to join the mission,” Steve stated, sounding as if it was obvious.

Oh. Okay, you could see his point.

“Are you saying the others don’t trust me then?” you demanded, pretending to be wounded. Maybe not completely pretending. You were the newbie after all, you would understand if they would be reluctant to do so even after the missions you had had together.

“Oh come on, Snowflake. You know we do.”

────── ·❆· ──────

You entered the larger space only to find Daredevil in the company of Clint and Tony. Tasha had probably run him through the basics of the mission and now was getting ready, while the guys were trying to interrogate the temporary addition to the team.

The Devil shot you a brief smile as you appeared and the other men noticed you too.

“But seriously. Is it Lucifer? Or is something like Raphael, like the archangel, and you’re trolling everyone?” Tony demanded and you snorted, the corners of Devil’s lips rising higher.

“No, Mr. Stark. It’s neither. Give up.”

You pated the billionaire’s shoulder. “You should suit up. We’re almost there. Plus I need to talk strategy with my partner.”

Clint grinned at Tony’s shocked expression. The man to be Iron Man gaped at Daredevil, pointing at him accusingly. “That’s not fair! Why do you get to be with the cool one?”

You rolled your eyes at the lame pun while Clint just snickered, getting up to prepare his gear.

“No, seriously. I bet I’m paired with the old man again.”

Daredevil shrugged. “Birds of feather flock together.”

You burst out laughing at the daring man who pointed out Tony’s age.

“Motherf-“

“Language!” you called out, your voice supported by three more, including one from the cockpit. Tony raised his chin, his hand imitating an offended diva gesture, which somehow activated his suit that started wrapping around him.

“Savages, all of you.” He turned his back to you and you approached the Devil, sitting next to him.

“That okay? You being paired with me?” you asked quietly.

“Of course. I get to be with the cool one. Can I ask what your abilities are exactly? Just to know-“

“Sure. Though you pretty much experienced it. I can create and manipulate ice, lower temperature of anything to almost absolute zero. It… can get nasty, but I’m trying to avoid that.”

“Understand. I don’t kill either.”

“I know.” He huffed out a laugh, less wry than you would expect from someone who just found out you had done a lot of reading on them. “You have a very good hearing and you kick ass. Anything else?”

He licked his lips, wavering. “Pretty much everything is amplified. Not just my hearing.”

Your eyes went wide in surprise. What? How— as in everything? Like his vision, sense of touch, sense of smell, taste too? “I’m not sure-“

“Would you like a demonstration?” You nodded without thinking. “Alright. Uhm… your heartbeat-“ just stopped, you wanted to say, because what the fuck- “is slower than average. You’re using a shampoo with… lilac, but there’s something I can’t really place. It’s adding to your aura, which is somehow colder – not because of the temperature, that’s normal, I guess maybe the device under your right ribs has something to with that – but… something cold, fresh.”

You felt your mouth fall open. Holy shit. He… how the hell did he perceive all that? Including the device that kept your body temperature in check?

He extended his hand and hovered over yours on your thigh. You wanted to ask what was he doing, but the answer came before you found the courage.

“Your hands, they are a bit colder and I can feel them… bursting with energy even when you’re not doing anything. It’s— I’m sorry. I’m scaring you. I didn’t want to-“

“It’s okay,” you blurted out, your voice unnaturally high and in stark contrast to his quiet and measured. He was scaring you a little, okay, but you had practically asked him. And you lived with a bunch of strange people, this shouldn’t freak you out, and it didn’t, it was just… “Surprising. But okay. Shocking, maybe. Fascinating. Terrible – how do you live like this? Knowing so much about people?”

You were glad he didn’t mention he could probably see every pore on your skin and- “Jesus, wait, you don’t have an x-ray vision too, do you?”

He chuckled, relaxing as he realized you weren’t scared or offended. “No. No, I don’t have an x-ray vision. And I promise I wouldn’t peek… without your permission.”

You let out incredulous laugh. Did he just… flirt with you?

“Good to know you’re a gentleman, Daredevil.”

“What do I call you?” he asked softly, tilting his head curiously. It was incredibly cute.

“Hm?”

“I know you heard me.”

You shrugged and settled with honesty and light joking. “Anything you want, I guess. Frostbite. Snow Queen. Really, there are number of options.”

“But not Snowflake,” he suspected, his voice falling even lower, sending your heart racing.

“No… uhm, I would rather if you didn’t call me that, yeah. It’s…”

“Too personal. I understand. Anderson?”

“Fake last name. Agent Anderson. What I became after I… died. You can go with that,” you offered, pushing down the unpleasant feeling it gave you.

“You don’t like it.”

“I don’t,” you confirmed with a shrug. Then you offered him to call you your first name, because that made the most sense really.

He just smiled, a boyish smile you wouldn’t expect on a face of man who beat up people in back alleys on regular basis. Then again, you really should know better by now, considering who you worked with.

“I’ll think about it.”  

────── ·❆· ──────

Part 3

────── ·❆· ──────

Tags: @mermaidxatxheart​ @murdermornings​ @elisaa-shelby​

────── ·❆· ──────

Thank you for reading! Tagging remanis the same; you want in or out, just lemme know. Kudos to you :-*

[ragewerthers]

Autumnal

Summary: All Prompto wanted to do was have a nice evening ready for Gladio when he got home from the Citadel.  Sadly Ramuh seemed to have other plans in store.

But with the help of a caring Alpha, poor eyesight and a Christmas gift gone wrong... maybe this evening won't be so terrible after all?

A/n: Hello there!  This is an F3S work for my friend @bgn846​!  I had far too much trouble deciding on which prompt to write so... I did them all in one fic!  The prompts were:

'1.One of the bros gets locked out of their apartment in the rain or snow or something terrible.  They call someone to come help, cuddles and fluff may occur.

2.A/B/O if you wanna try or just regular… Alpha Gladio surprises Omega Prompto with some flowers or something after a long day.  This is purely an excuse for fluff and purring.

3.”Is that a boob mug?”  This has absolutely no context for a reason. Hahah'

They were all so fun how could I pick?!?!? XD  

You can also read on AO3 at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590126

Enjoy! :)

Word Count: 4187

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

“You have got to be kidding me?!” Prompto growled under his breath, his fingers fumbling inside his soggy pants pockets as he tried to desperately locate his house keys, shifting his couple bags of groceries from one arm to the other in his search.  Was it unseemly for an Omega to growl?  Maybe.  Did he give any butts about it now?  Absolutely not.

The poor Omega had found himself swept up in an early fall downpour on his way back from a quick excursion to downtown Insomnia and really, why wouldn’t it have happened on today of all days?  It had been spiracorn dung since the beginning and no matter how much he’d hoped for it to get better it appeared it truly wasn’t in the cards.

Another gust of wind whipped its way along the street where his and Gladio’s townhouse resided, sending sheets of rain cascading over him once more.  Why was Ramuh being such a dick today?!

He could hear other people rushing behind him along the sidewalk, seeking shelter in their own homes because they could at least remember to grab their keys from the little bowl at the front door.  Hadn’t Gladio literally put it there months ago to make sure he would remember to grab his keys because he knew something like this was bound to happen?

After coming up short in searching his jacket pockets as well, the sound of something tearing and things hitting the ground instantly made Prompto want to scream.  And so he did.

“Oh come on!” Prompto shouted to no one in particular.  Glancing down he saw the paper bags he’d been using had become so soggy that literally everything he had bought now lay scattered along the stoop or was rolling down the few steps that led to the sidewalk.  At this point, though it stung to see his purchases become waterlogged, he couldn’t bring it in himself to chase after them.  If Ramuh wanted his groceries that bad he could take them! With another unseemly growl that made him feel slightly better, he thumped his head against the door as he tried to figure out what his next course of action should be.

There was always trying to call someone, but at this point his phone was probably so full of rain water it was useless.  Even then who was he going to call?

Noct was in an incredibly important meeting with the delegates from Altissia. It was supposed to help rebuild some of the trading deals that had been in place before Insomnia had fallen all those years ago.  He’d been working so hard to rebuild everything from the ground up and there was no way that Prompto was going to bother his best friend for something as silly as this.  Besides, he could stand some soggy underpants if it meant that Noct could continue to raise Insomnia back to where it should be and far beyond it as well.

There was always Ignis, but today really would be an ill advised day to bother the Beta as well.  If Noct was busy working on building trade deals then Ignis was more than likely pulling the work weight of five men to ensure that it happened.  The man had become more and more reclusive when it came to his time in the archives and pulling out as much info as he could to help create a better and brighter Insomnia.  And while there was definitely a reckoning coming for the Beta in the form of his three friends forcing him to take some sort of break or vacation, today was not going to be that day.  That being said, he would also rather face a thousand feral daggerquills then interrupt Ignis while he was in extreme Adviser mode.

Bringing a hand up, Prompto went to wipe at his face to clear away some of the rain water cascading off his fringe, but aborted the movement a moment later.  At this point it would be replaced in a nanosecond and he couldn’t find the energy to care anymore about it.  With a deep sigh of defeat he took a seat on the soaked cement stoop and tried not to think of his last option.

Gladio.

Prompto gave a quiet, little whine as he thought of his Alpha.  Gods he wished he could just warp back to this morning, wrapped up in the man's arms without a care in the world.  It was a simpler time.  A less soggy and cold time.  He remembered only briefly waking to the brush of soft lips against his brow, his nose and then his own lips as Gladio promised to be back as soon as possible.  The next time Prompto woke, the early morning sun had been replaced with fluffier autumnal clouds and the bed was far cooler without the living furnace that was Gladio

The Alpha had to get up early to be at the meeting with Noct and though the threat from Altissia was non-existent after everything, it still was better to err on the side of caution.  And if there was going to be a force to dissuade any brazen acts of unrest, Gladio’s presence was more than capable of stopping it.

So sadly that meant enjoying a little breakfast together, or a few extra stolen kisses on the front stoop before Gladio went off were off the table for the day.  Prompto found lonely mornings like this to be the roughest to start.  However, he also knew that Gladio preferred them having their mornings to themselves as well and that always filled the Omega with a little extra warmth in his chest.  Knowing that Gladio was going to have such a full day and that his own presence was not needed at the Citadel he’d decided that he would surprise his lovely Alpha with a nice home cooked dinner for when he returned to their cozy apartment.

Thus after spending the better part of the day buying groceries for a ramen dish he knew Gladio would love, and maybe buying a small dessert for them to share together later, everything went to heck in a handbasket.

If he’d spent more time thinking to grab his keys and check the forecast instead of imagining the smile on Gladio’s face he wouldn’t be in the predicament he was in now.

Soggy groceries strewn about the pavement, a chill settling deep in his bones and a wish in his heart greater than anything that he could just be back inside and restart the day from the beginning.

“Prompto?  Prom, what happened?!” The sound of someone shouting to him through the downpour and rumbling thunder had Prompto’s head shooting up, not even realizing he’d ducked his head down to hide against his knees to begin with.

His eyes had to take a moment to focus, but as soon as the familiar warmth of the person’s hand touched his cheek he instantly sagged forward.  Strong arms wrapped around him without hesitation and he felt the rain lessen minutely against his shivering frame.

“Gl-Gladio?” he stammered, nuzzling his face into the crook of his Alpha’s neck, taking in the scent of cool forests and wildflowers.  A scent unmistakably Gladio’s, but with an underlying hint of firesmoke.  The man was upset and Prompto hated knowing he’d caused it.  “S-Sorry… sorry, Gladio.  I… I was st-stupid and for-forgot my…!”  His voice was cut off by a rather unmanly squeak that escaped when Gladio’s arms shifted and he found himself being lifted like a blushing bride and held against his Alpha’s broad chest, shielded from the unkind weather.

“No apologies, Sunshine,” Gladio murmured softly and Prompto felt the way his partner easily moved toward their door with him.  After a little jostling he heard the familiar jingle of keys and soon they were entering into the small hallway of their home.  Prompto could tell he was without a doubt drenching the little carpet they had down with the water coming off of him and he was probably making Gladio chilled by being held so close in his soggy mess of clothes.

A miserable little whine escaped Prompto without him meaning to and he felt Gladio give him a soft squeeze.  “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.  You feel like an ice cube,” he murmured softly and this only made Prompto frown more, especially as he felt himself being carried toward their bathroom.

“I-I can go myself… you… you were wo-working all day.  I’m s-sorry,” he stammered only to find a soft kiss pressed to his forehead.  Looking up he caught the small smile on his Alpha’s lips.

“Please stop apologizing, sweetheart.  It’s not your fault.”

“But…,” he murmured only to find the man's lips now pressed against his own to stop him from finishing his sentence. As Gladio leaned back he nuzzled against Prompto’s nose, the deep rumble of a small purr vibrating through his chest and making Prompto’s bones feel like they were turning to liquid.  It only lasted a few seconds, but it was more than enough to quiet him and make him pliant for what Gladio had to say next.

“None of that,” Gladio murmured softly as they finally reached their bathroom. “The only time you should ever have to apologize is if something is directly your fault.  Do you control the weather?   No.  Would you have apologized to me on a sunny day?  No.  This isn’t your fault, Sunshine. Just a little bad luck.”

Prompto felt himself carefully set down on the bathroom counter, Gladio’s large frame moving around their small bathroom easily as he went to turn on the shower spray and grab his own towel for Prompto to use.  “Why does it always seem like I have bad luck though?” Prompto asked as Gladio closed the shower curtain and turned back to his mate.

“I don’t see what happens to you as bad luck.  Merely… inconvenient moments?” Gladio tried to offer, getting an unimpressed looked from his Omega as water still dripped from his fringe and down his freckled face.  “Okay… so maybe some of it is bad luck.  But it just means I get to come in and be your knight in shining armor and you know how much you love that.”  

The cocky little smile Gladio flashed him after that made Prompto snort, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth to quiet the noise. “You’re ridiculous,” he murmured.

“But I’m not wrong,” Gladio teased, stepping forward and sweeping his mate’s damp fringe to the side to press a gentle kiss to his brow. “Now go on.  I’ll leave you to warm up a bit and I’ll bring in a change of clothes, okay?”  With another soft kiss to the tip of his chilled nose, Prompto already felt himself warming just from the presence of his Alpha.

Once Gladio stepped out, Prompto scooched himself off the edge of the bathroom counter, moving a bit slowly as his fingers still felt a little numbed and chilled from the rainfall.  Soon he was free of his soggy clothes, quickly put in the hamper, and was stepping into the wonderfully warm spray of their shower.

It wasn’t much longer that he was feeling more human and less like the Astrals personal punching bag.  The feeling had returned to his fingers and toes and if he chose to use Gladio’s body wash to wrap himself up in the man's scent a bit more he was sure his Alpha wouldn’t mind.  Pulling the curtain back he saw that his favorite pyjama’s, the sweats with chocobo’s on them and his favorite band t-shirt, were already on the counter waiting for him.  Apparently he’d been so engrossed in getting the icky feelings and weather off of him that he hadn’t heard the door open and close.  For such a big guy it always surprised Prompto how stealthy he could be.  Which generally made impromptu games of hide and seek a nightmare for him because the man was a walking shadow!

Soon he was changed, his hair toweled off with Gladio’s towel and hung back up to dry.  Now to figure out how he was going to save the evening from his ridiculous ‘inconvenient moment’ and do something nice for Gladio! Opening the door to the bathroom, Prompto only had a moment to think before he found himself literally enveloped in a blanket and hoisted back into the air with a squeal that would’ve put the best horror actress to shame!

Gladio’s booming laughter echoed through the hall a moment later and as Prompto wriggled his face out of the warm fabric he glared at the man.  “Wh-what are you doing?!“ he squeaked, finding himself once more being carried around in his darling's arms like a bride in a quilted gown.

“Making sure my Omega is taken care of, sweetheart,” he cooed, making Prompto try to hide his flushed face in the blanket which, he realized, was radiating heat.  He nuzzled his cheek against the fabric and a soft little trill of content escaping him making Gladio chuckle again.

“I see putting the blanket in the dryer for a little bit worked its magic,” he teased, making Prompto flush more, though his soft smile on his lips stayed.  Soon he was being deposited on their sofa, his favorite tv show already playing and something warm and delicious smelling steaming on the small coffee table in front of them.

“Did… is that Cup Noodle?” he asked as he saw the noodles presented in a far fancier mug then he had ever realized their house had and a fork already nestled in it, only waiting for him to pluck it up to dive into the meal.

“It is. I went back out to clean up what was left of the groceries and I saw what you wanted to make,” he murmured, taking a seat beside Prompto and wrapping his arm around the man to hug him close to his side. “I know it’s not homemade, but I hope it will still do.  If nothing else it should help warm you up even more.” Prompto felt his cheeks heating for the umpteenth time now at the sweetness of his mate, but also at how spectacularly he had failed.  Sighing quietly he nuzzled closer to Gladio, taking in a deep breath and just focusing on his Alpha’s warmth for the moment.  “I wanted to surprise you,” he whispered quietly. “You had such a busy day and… I just wanted to give you a relaxing evening.  All I managed to do was make you worry about me and look after me.”

Closing his eyes as he spoke he curled up a bit more in the blanket.  “I’m sorry.”

Gladio’s arm around him moved slightly and soon Prompto felt strong, calloused fingers gently soothing through the damp knots in his hair.  “You have nothing to apologize for, Sunshine,” Gladio whispered gently.  “And I’ll keep reminding you of that.  That you don’t have to apologize for things like the weather, or dropping something, or forgetting something... until one day those apologies don’t happen anymore.  Because there is nothing you could ever do that I would think you should be sorry for.  You’re my sunshine.  And sunshine has only ever made me smile and happy. No apologies needed.”

The soft reassurances and the gentle soothing to his hair was almost enough to make Prompto’s barely held together composure break and a quiet sniffle escaped him.  “Y-You’re too good to me, ya know that?” he murmured, a watery little giggle escaping when he felt Gladio ruffling his hair lightly.

”No… you deserve the world, Sunshine.  Don’t ever doubt that,” Gladio murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his temple before shifting and leaning forward.  “Now.  I think the noodles have cooled long enough and if you wait any longer they’ll lose their chewy integrity.”  

“Chewy integrity?” Prompto questioned, bringing a hand up to soothe his hair back down and feeling the weight in his chest lifting more and more.  “I feel like only Cup Noodle addicts would believe in such a thing.”

The dramatic gasp that left Gladio and the scathing look he was given had Prompto fighting another round of giggles as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth.

“I am not an addict!  I’m a connoisseur!” Gladio huffed before passing over the ceramic cup, fighting a smile of his own.

“Mmhm.  And I’m the queen of Duscae,” Prompto teased, stirring his fork into the noodles in search of a few veggies.  

“I’m gonna tell Iggy you don’t believe in the integrity of noodles.  You’re going to get such a lecture,” Gladio huffed, leaning back with his own cup and twirling a fair amount of the noodly goodness onto his own fork.

“Oooor… you’ll get an earful about your sodium intake again and… then… uh…,” Prompto paused as he turned to look at Gladio, watching as the man stared back at him in confusion.

“And… what?  Everything okay, Prompto?” Gladio asked carefully around a mouthful, but Prompto’s eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to process what he was seeing.

“Is… is that a boob mug?” he asked, looking at the coffee cup Gladio was currently enjoying his meal from.

Gladio almost choked on his half chewed bite, coughing and smacking his chest before looking at Prompto like he was the crazy one.

“What?!  No this isn’t a boob mug!  Look at it,” he said, raising up what was clearly the mug of a female torso.

Prompto stared at his mate in disbelief before pointing at it.  “I am!  It’s a mug… with boobs!  Where did you even get that thing?!”  In the few years they had been living here he had absolutely no recollection of that hideous thing and if he had seen it, it wouldn’t have stayed in this apartment for very long. “Cor gave it to me last year for Christmas.  He said it was a bag gift, which was weird because it was wrapped, but still!” Gladio groused as he narrowed his eyes at the mug, apparently trying to see what Prompto was seeing.  “It’s obviously two moogles next to each other!  Look!  They even have their bright red noses!”

Prompto slowly started to see all the pieces coming together in this one moment and honestly, it was both endearing and hilarious.  “Uh… I’ll be right back, big guy,” he said lightly, only just keeping the tremble of laughter out of his voice as he wiggled out of the warm blanket and ran to their room.  Quickly locating what he was looking for he returned with his old glasses in hand and handed them to his Alpha.  “Would you please, please, please humor me and put these on?”

Gladio had waited patiently for his mate’s return, but seeing the glasses instantly had him grumbling.  “What are you trying to say?” he questioned, holding the glasses as if they had personally offended his honor.

“Nothing!  Nothing, just… please?” Prompto asked, jutting out his bottom lip and making his eyes go extra wide in that way he knew Gladio couldn’t fight against… adding in a little whine making it a sure thing.

With a growl, Gladio begrudgingly unfolded the glasses.  “Fine.  But I’m gonna tell you the same thing I said earlier,” he reassured as he perched the glasses on his nose before picking up the cup again.  “This mug is just an innocent picture of… shiva’s tits!”

“Exactly!” Prompto crowed as Gladio’s now seeing eyes beheld the world’s most atrocious mug.  The absolute shock that crossed his mate’s features had the laughter Prompto had been trying to hide finally break free.

“It’s not funny!” Gladio whined, still gripping the mug in his hands and staring at it with betrayal.  After a moment his eyes widened in horror.  “I’ve been drinking from this at the Citadel!  I brought it home because it chipped and wanted to fix it!  Oh my gods I must’ve looked like such a dick!”

Prompto was positively beside himself now, his laughter high-pitched and squeaking as tears of mirth clung to his eyelashes.  Oh his poor sweet Alpha!

“Y-You… dihihihihidn’t?!  O-oh my gahahahad!” Prompto wheezed out, laughing so hard he was leaning on Gladio who looked like he wanted nothing more to have the sofa swallow him up.  The mug was now abandoned on the coffee table and Gladio had his head in his hands.

Slowly Prompto started to calm, a few stray giggles still bubbling up as he wrapped his arm around his Alpha’s shoulders.  “I’m sorry, big guy.  But… I think what Cor might have said to you was that it was a ‘gag’ gift.  Not a ‘bag’ gift,” he murmured softly.  Gladio groaned even louder as he heard that and shook his head.

“So not only is my eyesight going, but I can’t hear as well?” Gladio mumbled and Prompto smiled gently, pressing a soft kiss to the man's shoulder and soothing his hand over his broad back.  

“First of all, I was at that Christmas party and if the music was any louder you would’ve had to send flare signals to talk to anyone,” Prompto said gently, getting a little huff from his Alpha as he wrapped his arm around him and hugged the big guy closer.  “But as for your eyesight… you’ve definitely been squinting a bit more lately.  But… those glasses are cute on you.”

Prompto watched as Gladio’s ears tinged red at being called cute and he bit his lower lip as a smile appeared over his lips.

“Shields don’t wear glasses… and they aren’t cute…,” came the haughty little reply and Prompto found himself rolling his eyes.

“Well… my Shield just mistook a boob mug for moogles so I think there maaay be an exception to the rule,” he giggled softly.  “And while I hate to argue with my Alpha… he most definitely looks cute in glasses.”

Gladio finally peeked his eyes out, his cheeks matching the light pink of his ears and making Prompto’s heart flutter a bit.  Leaning forward he pressed a soft kiss to one of those warmed cheeks and finally saw his Alpha’s smile returning.

“I guess we both had a tough day, huh?” Prompto murmured softly.  “I got caught in a rainstorm brought on by the rage of Ramuh himself… and you found out you’re getting old,” Prompto teased his Alpha lightly, giving his side a little pinch and earning a squeak from the man.

“Hey!  I’ll show you old!” Gladio growled, quickly tackling Prompto onto the sofa and gathering up his giggling Omega in his arms, pulling him flush against his chest. “Do old Alpha’s cuddle?  I think not!” he mumbled from somewhere above Prompto’s head, making the blond giggle harder as he wrapped his arms around Gladio’s waist and snuggled closer to the warmth he adored. “I don’t know.  Should I do tests to find out?  Find some nice young Alphahaha’s!  Okahahay!  I won’t!  I w-wohohon’t!” Prompto squealed out as Gladio’s fingers teased at his vulnerable side, tickling him mercilessly for a few seconds before stopping.

“Shush it, you,” Gladio chided with a soft smile, glancing down at Prompto with a look that always managed to melt Prompto’s insides.  The omega gave a happy little trill at that and snuggled closer as Gladio’s arms wrapped more snugly around him.

“Well… now that your Cup Noodles have lost any and all texture and you’ve managed to lure me into a cuddle pile… why don’t you get some rest, Sunshine?” Gladio murmured, the quiet, deep timbre of his voice already starting to have an effect on the Omega.

Cuddling closer and hiding his face against Gladio’s chest, Prompto felt his eyes already starting to close.  The warmth of his mate’s embrace that he had missed since this morning enveloped him completely and finally, finally every bad thing from the day felt like it was starting to ebb away.

He felt Gladio shifting for a moment, hearing the faint sound of his glasses being placed on the coffee table before the man settled once more.  A hand soon made its way up to his hair, gently running through it and lightly scratching over his scalp and truly, this was all Prompto ever wanted or needed.

It wasn’t much longer that Prompto found a soft purr starting to escape him and a little smile flickered over his lips as Gladio soon responded in kind.  The Alpha’s deeper purr made Prompto’s mind go wonderfully fuzzy and he sighed softly.

Finally, after the struggles and ups and downs of the day he was able to be back where he had longed to be since the beginning.  In the strong arms of his Alpha, a soft smile on his lips and knowing that regardless of what little turmoils and inconvenient moments happened, he would always have Gladio there to pick him up, making him laugh and offer him comfort.  Hopefully he could do the same.

Perhaps he’d start by getting rid of that mug for him?

But that could happen after a nice autumn nap.

[mxtantrights]

˚ · · . · ✵ ✷PART TWENTY-EIGHT

word count: 2.7k!

Warnings: jessie gets high but it’s not detailed, just the after part. ALSO FLUFF 

HAWKINS, INDIANA

DECEMBER 26, 1984

I watched as all the kids sat around the game table and exchanged gifts. It was the day after Christmas- friendsmas as I'm dubbing it- and we were all held up in Mike's basement. I know they wanted to see each other all on actual Christmas day but their schedules and families wouldn't allow it. So I called everyone up this morning and arranged this.

They all thanked me with a hug when I got here with Mickey and Dayton.

Speaking of which,

I find Dayton sitting on the couch fiddling with his hands. He's been back for about two weeks now and we haven't talked much about the elephant in the room.

I take a seat next to him and smooth down my skirt. "Why are you fiddling with your hands so awkwardly?"

He stops and looks to me. "I feel like I left you here and I let you down."

"You didn't. You did the best you could do for someone who was in a different time zone. Trust me." I clap his shoulder hard- like really hard, he hates it when I do that. And he winces. "You raised me right."

"Ha-ha."

Theres footsteps coming down the steps and quickly at the bottom is Steve. He waves to the both of us before saying his greetings to the kids. Dustin and him are up to some new handshake and I think if they don't find one soon we'll all be in trouble.

After that he finds his way on the couch next to me and my brother.

"I think we met last year at the fourth of July party. Steve right?" My brother asks Steve so un-smoothly. Did he really think I didn't know that he had Steve look over me while he was gone? He even holds his hand out for Steve to shake.

Steve awkwardly laughs. "Yeah Dayton she knows."

"What? She knows?!"

I try to stifle my laughter at his outburst.

"She used her abilities on me to make me tell the truth! What was I gonna do?" Steve argues his point.

It's true he couldn't have done anything about it.

Dayton only shakes his head in annoyance.

Lucas and Dustin come up to us on the couch with two bags in their hands. I looking between the two of them and their shit eating grins.

"If this has anything to do with milk I'm giving y'all both wedgies."

Dustin passes me a red bag. "It has nothing to do with you being milk girl."

Lucas gives Steve his bag as well.

I move around the fancy tissue paper and see jeans? I pull it out with my hands and I see that it's not pants but a jean jacket. And the back is painted on with some eye popping colors but the patches on the sleeves are what gets me.

One of them is the state of Texas. And next to it is a Hawkins patch. There are a few notable patches besides those. A lasso. One says Cherry bomb. And one with a brain on it.

I look up and it's not just Dustin and Lucas anymore. The rest of the gang is behind them now watching me.

I pull the jacket on and it fits loosely. It's the best kind of fit.

Looking over at Steve I see his gift. It's another jean jacket but his is different from mine. His has got no patches on it just the paint on the back. And I can't miss the big 'MOM' on the back.

"We wanted to thank you guys for everything you did for us." Mike- the kind asshole- Wheeler speaks up.

I get up from my seat and hod my arms out. "Hugs right now or so help me I will cry on every single one of you."

Max and Mickey are first in almost making me fall over. Then Dustin and Lucas, lastly Mike. I quickly place a kiss on the top of their heads, almost missing Mike because he pulls away slightly but I pull him back.

"Okay Jessie, give me my kids now."

HAWKINS, INDIANA

JANUARY 1985

My stomach grumbling was getting annoying. I needed to put food into my system before I combust. I just didn't feel like leaving Mike's couch. After sitting here while the boys play their precious D&D after a whole year, I'm growing attached.

I'm laid on the couch like a mad woman. My legs are leaning off the side arm, only one of my arms is slanged over the back of the couch. The other one is holding me up properly.

Steve comes down the steps. Hair flopping around like usual.

"Steve! Good you're here!" I say as he descends down the last steps.

"Hey!" He waves to me.

Then he's saying hi to the kids. I watch as he makes his rounds and then walks over to me and the couch. NO if he sits down then we're not leaving here. And I need food.

I bolt out of my seat. "I'm revolting I need food."

"Why don't you ask my mom for something?" Mike asks me.

I didn't want to trouble his mom. I also didn't want to have to interact with any adults. My mouth is a little crazy as Mickey and Dayton keep saying. I'm not good at holding back my opinions.

I shush Mike and look at Steve. "Please can I get food? Please? Pretty please? The D&D is making me want to eat the floor."

"Hey!" All the boys and Max say at once.

Steve chuckles and puts his hands on his hips. Oh no what does he want. He only does that when he wants something. What could he want from me? Wasn't being friends with me enough?

"I need your skilled handwriting for some envelopes." He puts rather simply.

Okay I can do that.

"Alright I'll do it," I grab his arm and start dragging him the way he came. "I just need food. Food. Steve my stomach is like boiling. I need food."

"Alright alright. I got you." Instead of letting me drag him up the steps he falls in line with me.

Always the gentleman, he opens the door and lets me out. I let go of his arm, and let him lead the way. He takes the both of us out the back and I see his red BMW. With a spur of energy I run to the passenger side and dive into the seat.

"Come on, faster pretty boy. I'm trying not to die of starvation here."

-

"Have you been getting any memories lately?"

I turn to look at Steve in the drivers seat. I had just finished a whole meal and now he wants me to talk? I need my post-meal nap pretty soon.

I guess I could just talk to him and wait until we get back.

"Not really, no. It's been radio silent up here." I knock on my head twice.

He can't help but laugh when I do. Maybe that will ease this conversation back to a more friendly topic. I don't want to think about all the bad things today. I was trying to just have a nice day. I could think about it tomorrow. Or the next day.

"I'm serious though. You'd tell me if you did?"

"Yeah." I shoot back.

We continue on the drive in a comfortable silence. It feels like it should be awkward but its not. We have some weird upside down bond now. We haven't seen it all but we've seen enough together.

It doesn't take long before I see Mike's house appear outside my window. Steve's quick to get out of the car but I'm not, I just ate! I need to take it slow don't wanna pull a stomach muscle or something.

I've got the itis.

Slowly I open my door and roll myself out of the car. As I do I know Steve is watching me struggle. He loves to do that sometimes I swear if he wasn't my friend I would yell at him, I swear it.

He's back at my side in an instant holding his arm out for me to lock with mine.

"Ah Steve, such a gentleman."

-

HAWKINS, INDIANA

JANUARY 1985

I try to smoothly make it to my desk in one piece without raising suspicion. I don't trip, or look anyone in the eye as I make it to the back where Steve is sitting. However I do see his floppy hair and I have to clamp my mouth shut to not giggle.

His hair!

How does he do it everyday?

How?

I sit down and put my notebook on the desk.

"Are you okay?" Steve asks.

I turn slowly to nod at him, I don't wanna do it to fast or he's gonna think something is up with me. I can't alert the troops. I can't alert anyone!

He studies my face, and then his face changes. Did he just figure it out? Did he just find out that quickly? Maybe he won't say anything.

"Are you high right now?" He whispers to me.

My head is nodding again even though I wanna deny it. I was about to deny it. But my head is faster than my mouth.

Ha!

I watch closely as Steve pulls my chair and then my desk close to his. My fingers start playing with the loose ends of my knitted sweater. I wonder how those little dangling threads happen. Why did they happen? I didn't cut my sweater.

I hear our english teacher clear her throat to get the class to settle. It's then that I roll my shoulders back and face the board with the straightest face I can make.

The class settles after a few moments pass and our teacher begins to write names on the board. I watch with confusion. Why was she writing down our names? Did she forget them?

Then she writes down my name. And Steve's.

I look at Steve.

"She was picking random students to read their essays today- Jess we are fucked." He whispers to me and the way he sounds is so funny I start laughing under my breath.

I pull my sweater over my mouth to try and hide it. My eyes are watering before I know it and I have to put my head down on the desk to hide my laughter.

"Ms.Glendall whats the matter?"

Then that makes me laugh even more. Holy shit I'm about to get caught! I'm about to get caught and I don't even have an excuse to give! I'm gonna get detention! Holy shit have I ever gotten detention since I've been here?

No I haven't. I would remember.

"Jessie's not feeling to well, can she read her essay another day?" Steve asks for me.

I can feel his hand come to pat my head like I'm some sort of dog- I'm laughing even harder now. My stomach is starting to hurt with how much I'm dying from this.

"Sure Mr. Harrington."

Steve peers in close to me, close enough to whisper in my ear. When I can feel his hot ass breath on my ear I stop laughing. "You owe me big time Jess."

Oh god how am I gonna make it to Lunch. Hopefully Jon doesn't mind skipping with me to get some food. I am not eating slop while under the influence.

-

I can't believe I'm this much a wuss. I mean I tasered a demo-dog for crying out loud. You'd think I've grown some macho in me.

But no.

Here I am with my envelopes for colleges. Ready to send.

And I'm holding them in my hands like they're about to fly away.

"Step away from the applications."

I swiftly turn around.

Steve's leaning against his car.

"You know I can just go right back upstairs and cancel our plans to hang out." I quip, already turning away.

It's not long, what with his long ass legs, before he has my arm in his grasp and he's stopping me. I turn around slowly to face him, ready for that stupid look on his face. He's gonna make fun of me. I know he is.

He sent out his early applications and I'm standing here, fiddling with my regular applications.

But he doesn't have a look on his face. He looks serious.

"Alright so do you want me to do them for you or do you want a pep talk so you can do it yourself?"

I look between him and my mailbox. A few times. Maybe it's actually more than a few because he snatches the envelopes from my hands and does it himself.

Instead of letting him get the final touch I do it myself. I raise the red flag on the box.

"Well ladies and gentlemen I think Jessica Glendall has finally finished with her applications! How about a round of applause for the girl!" He starts yelling. I try to cover his mouth but he's too tall. And he's fighting me off a bit.

"Cut it out you weirdo! I have neighbors!"

"Is that what the other houses are for? I thought it was decoration."

HAWKINS, INDIANA

JANUARY 1985

"Did you actually have a lasso back home?"

I stop eating and look at Jonathan. He's got a big smile on his face because he knows he's being a little shit. But he wouldn't come up with this on his own. I know this is Steve's doing.

"Steve put you up to this?" I ask him back.

He shakes his head but can't hide his laughter.

"Nah. I just heard it from Will, who heard it from Dustin, who was told by Steve." He explains to me.

"I don't care that we're the same age I will give you a wedgie you do know that right?" It's rhetorical as he puts his hands up in surrender.

"I'd love to see you give Steve a wedgie. Or put him in a lasso."

"Yeah I'd love to see it too."

-

I was cheering Steve on in the gym not too long ago. He's playing really hard right now so that the scouts can see him. I know that he feels like he has to overcompensate with sport because his grades are too hot.

But neither are mine. We're in the same boat here.

His car chirps and I look around for him. I was waiting for him on his car after all. I find him walking my way with his sport bag slung over his shoulder. They didn't win today but he did carry his team the whole way through. That's gotta count for something.

He doesn't say anything to me- no snide remark, no sass, not even a hello. All he does is get into his car and slam the door. Maybe he wants to be alone right now?

I hop off the hood of his car and he turns the engine on.

Maybe I should take the hint and leave.

I put my bag over both of my shoulders and start to turn my body away when I hear the horn honk. So I turn back.

The window is rolled down on my side.

"Aren't you coming?"

I open the door swiftly and get in. "You sure you don't want to be alone right now? I mean I can understand-"

"No I'll be fine. I just need to drive around for a little bit." He says to me and starts pulling out of the parking lot.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I offer

I remember the forth of July party and what he said. About College and parents. This was definitely a topic that he dreaded.

He pumps the breaks on the car when I say it. I almost jolt forward but he holds his arm out to brace me. It makes me let out a breath that's all I know. His arm retracts back to his side as he keeps his eyes on the wheel.

"My dad sucks. And my grades kind of suck. And he's riding my ass about college."

I carefully put my hand on his shoulder. "Look all you can do is your best Steve. At the end of the day it's all anyone can do. Your dad might not see it but it's you who needs to start seeing it. It's your life."

"Y-yeah."

"Plus all of the shit you did with those monsters from hell is pretty badass. You'd probably get a metal for it if it wasn't top secret."

He laughs. "Thanks Jessie."

"Of course Stevie."

"Jessica!"

"Stephen!"

[my-brothers-corrupted]

My Brothers, Corrupted

Chapter 2 : Section 4 : Lights in the Darkness

To regain his control, Anti forced Dapper back into a more compliant headspace and exerted a great deal of mental energy to put him and Trick back in their places. Things are tense and painful day-to-day, but fortunately, they have something coming up for all of them to look forward to.

Trigger warnings for abuse, mentions of overdose and suicide, and violence.

Find Chapter One here.

Find Chapter Two here.

 Section Four of Chapter Two: Lights in the Darkness

Anonymous asked: DAPPER HOLY SHIT I MEAN GOOD FOR YOU KICK HIS ASS BUT ALSO MAYBE DON'T DO THAT CAUSE YOU MIGHT DIE OR GET PUNISHED AND THAT'S NOT GONNA HELP YOUR CASE AND AS MUCH AS I WANNA ENCOURAGE YOU I ABSOLUTELY IMPLORE YOU TO PLEASE CALM THE FUCK DOWN

Dapper is shaking when your view returns.

He wears a black vest buttoned up tight over a clean white shirt. There is a tie around his throat, and a black dog’s collar beneath the tie. His hands are still tied, but looser now, letting his hands slump, letting the blood return to his fingertips.

He’s looking at you, but not looking at you.

Die or get punished? Die or get punished? No, no, no, he doesn’t want that, of course he doesn’t want that… He wouldn’t want to do anything to upset his master… No, he’s a better puppy than that, surely.

Anonymous asked: yo please leave dapper alone? you did kind of deserve that slap tbh, and besides it wasn't really his fault. just don't hurt him or ruin his shit or whatever goddamnit

“L-look,” comes a raspy, shaking voice.

A hand appears on your screen and runs its fingers through Dapper’s hair, tugging at the soft, downy curls.

Dapper smiles sweetly, letting his eyes slip shut as he’s petted.

“Hurt him? Ruin him? No… no… he’s better now, you see… I just have to… I just…”

Soft coughing interrupts Anti and he staggers away.

the-weirdest-fan asked: *applause* Very immersive! Though the message is a bit predictable, sometimes that's a good thing! Good preformance!

“Predictable,” mumbles Anti weakly. “No, I don’t want… hate… fucking circles.”

You watch him stumble against his bed, his face completely bloodless, his eyes glazed over and drifting.

“Anti?” whimpers Trick, poking his head up on the other side of the bed, that yellow collar fastened tight around his throat. “Master? You okay?”

cest-mellow asked: anti what happened to you...?

“Get… get… nothing, nothing, turn - turn the camera off again.”

He waves his hand, grimacing, as if to switch you off, but there’s no effect. Wringing his hands like a nervous little kid, Trick gets up to go to his side. He sets a steadying hand on Anti’s shoulder and his brother leans into it, listing as his eyes droop and his form flickers.

“Anti, you’re scaring me,” whimpers Trick.

“I’m fine, puppy,” Anti manages frailly. “Just tired from the - from the - T-trick - ”

He faints into Trickshot’s chest.

Anonymous asked: Geez anti just leave the poor guy alone

Whatever his plans, they’re over now. Dapper won’t be hurt again today.

Anti is well and truly unconscious. Trick and Dapper, attentive and over-affectionate, ignore you completely as they do their best to take care of him, hauling his semi-corporeal body into the bed and getting a wet washcloth from the bathroom to drape over his eyes. Trick, nearly crying, crawls into bed beside Anti and wraps his arms around him, curling his fingers through his hair and whispering assurances and devotions.

Dapper sits at the end of the bed and guards, eyes wide, staring at the fairy lights draped over the door, so deep in his own head he can hardly think of anything but Anti.

But there is at least one moment where Trick whispers “Dap, are you okay?” and Dap nods, and turns gently to him, and gives him the same question. Trick shakes his head, but promises that he’ll be fine as soon as Anti wakes up. That would make everything better.

They have each other, at least.

Doktor is alone in his room, sobbing his way through the aftermath of the horribly strong power he can still feel eating away at his free will, mumbling in German and dissociating so hard he can’t make his fingers move. Eventually, he will collapse into unconscious on his mattress, and spend the rest of the day asleep.

Red and Blue come back hours later, perfectly content, home from a day in the city.

They find the lunch of fried potatoes they made uneaten by anyone.

Banging on Anti and Trick’s door gets them no answer from anyone. Trick and Dapper are not allowed to talk to anyone outside of the room, and they are, after all, very good at following the rules.

The day passes coldly.

Anonymous asked: I'm no doctor, but seems more like he took the drugs rather than sold them... Speaking of doctors, I think there's someone you might want to fetch.

Trick is awake first.

He comes over to check on the camera, brushing his fingers through his hair and yawning as he wakes up. His face is a little pale - he smiles, but there is an unnerving emptiness to it.

“We can’t get the doctor for Anti because we aren’t allowed to talk to anyone outside the door, and it’s locked anyway, so he couldn’t come in. I… I am worried about him, though. He’s not usually here when I wake up, just leaves me my medicine and goes.”

He turns back to look at the bed, setting you down on the counter again. Anti stirs slightly and Trick returns to his side, reaching out gently to touch his shoulder.

“Anti? Are you okay?”

Anti can’t seem to lift his head up off the pillows. “Trick,” he mumbles, rubbing at his face. He becomes aware of a second warm body at his side and stiffens, turning to regard the figure pressed up against his chest, sleeping soundly.

Ah, what a relief - the child belongs to him again.

A little strengthened, Anti runs a hand through Dapper’s hair and drags himself sitting up on shaky arms.

“Is it the 22nd?” he mumbles, grey-faced. “I do need to see Dok.”

Anonymous asked: damn anti you are not keeping together well hgfjhdfg

“Shut the fuck up,” Anti snaps, in a voice like a kid with strep. “I could turn you off forever in a goddamn second, you know. I’m fine, I’m… Trick-Trick, get me - no, no, never mind, I’m fine.”

He pushes himself to standing and staggers, collapsing to his hands and knees for a second. Trick gasps and hovers anxiously over him, prevented from falling down beside him by Anti’s hand reaching up to stop him.

“It’s fine,” coughs Anti, blood soaking his bandages thick, thick. “Don’t fucking touch me. I need to get Dok his present.”

“M-maybe you should just take it easy, Anti.”

“Shut the hell up, Trick, you’re the one who was so desperate for me to remember. Go get a goddamn shower, you’re a mess. I’ll be back in a minute.”

He staggers to his feet and heads out the door, his form glitching fuzzily.

reverseblackholeofwords asked: Dok are you okay? Heads up because Anti is headed your way...

The beeping of the camera jerks Blue awake.

“What?” he mumbles, rolling off his mattress. Red, who was lying on his chest, grumbles and turns onto his other side, snuffling sleepily.

“Anti’s coming for Dok? He’s in trouble again?”

Wide awake, Blue leaps to his feet and turns around and -

Oh. There, on the other side of the room, is Doktor on his mattress, sound asleep, pale as clean linen.

“Should we not have slept in the same room?” pants Blue, moving around the room like he’s looking for something that isn’t there. “Is Anti angry? Dok was just so sick-looking when I came home, and I got scared, and then when he woke up he wasn’t - he was just mumbling to himself and not answering when I called him, of course I brought him to sleep with us, he’s so lonely lately - oh, my little brother.”

Blue gets down beside Doktor and puts a hand on the back of his head, shaking him gently. “Hey, Alle, you with me?”

Dok stirs, his face tightening.

“Mh?”

“Dok,” murmurs Blue, rubbing the back of his neck, an optimist’s smile rising on his mouth despite himself at his sleepy face. “Wake up.”

“What’s going on?”

“Um, I don’t know. I think Anti - ”

“I’ll head him off,” comes a voice from behind him. Blue turns to see Red rising, the stiffness of sleep already fading from him. His face has taken on that calmness again.

“I’ll check what’s going on. Make sure Dok’s okay. Love you.”

“What? Red, be careful. Love you too, of course.”

Red is already slipping out into the hallway, just in time to nearly bump chests with Anti.

“Watch it, Red!” he snaps.

“Anti! We didn’t hear from you or Trick at all last night, I was worried! We - ”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. Never mind. Is Dok up?”

“Yes, Anti. Is everything okay?”

“Where’s those candles I told you to get?”

“My bag in the clinic, Anti.”

Anti staggers slightly as he moves past him and Red frowns, something lighting up in his eyes. He watches his little brother walk but knows better than to offer help.

“Here, here, here,” mumbles Anti, picking up the backpack and taking out a plastic bag stuffed full of tall white candles. “Mh, perfect! Good boy.”

“Anti?” says Red softly. “Are you okay?”

There’s blood on his shirt again, not only where it was yesterday but also on his back, heavy around his lowest ribs.

Anti ignores him and returns, turning to enter Doktor’s room.

He gasps and drops the candles.

“Where is he?” he shrieks, whirling on Red. “Where is my boy, where is my healer?”

“Anti, Anti! Please, he’s just in our room!”

Blood comes seeping out of Anti’s eyes and Red steps back as his little brother bursts into a painful bout of coughing, clutching at his chest. “In your room?” he gasps around choking. “Why? Who told you you could do that? He’s separated for a reason.”

“Anti, something was wrong with him last night.” Fuck, but Red has gotten good at stopping his voice from trembling. “Your caretaker made the decision to bring Dok to our room, to make sure he didn’t worsen during the night.”

Cool, clipped, professional, distant. The mention of Blue seems to soothe Anti a little, and he wipes the streams of blood into red smudges on his face.

“Whatever,” he manages finally, his eyes dark, his chest still working a little too fast. “Get out, then. Go make breakfast. Need to talk to my Deutsch.”

He shoves past Red and into his room. “You too, Blue!”

Blue comes scurrying out of the room, whispering a reassurance to Doktor before hurrying away.

Feeling dizzy, Dok does his best to sit up, his eyes wide.

Anonymous asked: December 22nd and candles... Hanukkah?

For a second, Doktor is frozen, staring at your lens.

“No…” he says softly. “He wouldn’t have remembered, he wouldn’t have… he doesn’t…”

“I resent that,” comes a voice from the doorway.

Doktor looks up at Anti. Anti looks back, frowning a little.

The window casts him in a glow of warm gold light. He stands with his hand holding the doorframe, a little pale, a little tired, a little weak. With the blood on his face, he looks soft and hurting, and at the look in Doktor’s eyes, he offers a small smile.

“You really didn’t think I’d do anything?”

“Didn’t…. didn’t know you cared. Especially considering… lately, I…”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” says Anti, stepping in and shutting the door behind him. “I wouldn’t not give you your holiday just because of that. I can be merciful, you know. How are you doing after last night?”

“Oh… okay. Now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Yeah, fine, fine. Did you really, um - did you really get me candles?”

Doktor’s voice is shaking hard. Anti’s smile curves slyly up and he hums, sitting down beside him on the mattress, and hands the plastic bag over, throwing a lighter from his pocket in as well.

Doktor picks up a tall white candle and holds it up to the light. The wax is smooth and warm beneath his fingers, wafting a faint smell that awakens in him the vestiges of soft old memories, like felt at the edges of his mind. Firelight, fried pancakes, the lilt of cheerful voices chattering on his every side, laughter…

Warmed down to the inside of his chest, he lets out a soft hum and places the candles lovingly back in the bag. A tear drips down onto his present and he clutches the bag to his chest, looking up at Anti.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

“Course. Listen, Dok…”

Anti shifts and Doktor braces himself, looking over at him.

“I’ve been… hard on you lately. I… I’m sorry.”

A weight ascends from Doktor’s chest. He can barely breathe.

“Oh… no, no, it’s okay!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I mean - I - you’re right, really, I should have been watching Trick and Dapper better, both of them - ”

“Well, yeah,” sighs Anti, frowning at the ceiling. “Of course.”

“And I - I know I could do better, at a lot of things. I never meant to make you angry, Anti, I didn’t, I - I’m sorry for everything, master, I’m sorry I didn’t - didn’t stop him and didn’t save him and don’t deserve him - ”

“Come on, Dok, come on!” protests Anti, laughing now. “Don’t cry!”

“But I just - I just - and I appreciate the candles and all, I do, so, so much, but I was wondering - ”

“Dok, calm down, fuck. Haha, you’re so easily worked up these days! It’s a good day, let’s leave it at that. Here, have fun with your candles. There should be other presents too, but I’ll just let Red give them to you on Christmas with everybody else’s, okay?”

Deutsch’s mouth hangs open lamely, his eyes bright and streaming tears. He tries to get his lips to move, his tongue to answer, tries to get the words out -

He can’t fucking do it. He can’t ask for the one thing he really wants. He bows his head, clutching the candles to his heart, feeling utterly alone.

“Happy Hanukkah, Dok,” purrs Anti, giving him one last brush of his hair before getting to his feet, preparing to leave.

“Thank you,” whispers Doktor, curling in on himself. “Thank you, Anti.”

Anonymous asked: is there a way dok can see trick? it will do them both good to see each other

Anti pauses and turns to read the message.

His eyes widen slightly and he turns to Dok just in time to catch a glimpse of something he has rarely, if ever, seen on his face - a desperation like a dying soldier’s, a desperation like someone watching their loved one pass away before their eyes.

Anti stares at Dok, confused. He glances back at you, thinking.

“P-please…” It falls from Doktor’s mouth like a Hanukkah blessing. “Please, Anti… even just for Christmas day… even just for a moment… please…”

Anti shakes his head slightly, frowning. A little blood is trickling from his mouth now, and he wipes it away, feeling a little faint.

“I don’t know… I don’t think it’s a good… I mean, I guess I won’t want Trick and Dap to be apart from the rest of you on Christmas, but…”

cest-mellow asked: letting them see each other would be the greatest christmas gift you could ever give them. they would be so grateful, so so thankful, anti. just for christmas. a few hours won’t hurt, you know? and it’ll be something they can work toward! if everyone is good, good things happen. please..?

Anti sighs, rubbing at his eyes a little. Fuck, but he aches.

“I will be very careful,” promises Dok softly. “And very good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Yes, sir.”

Anti glances at your message again.

“Mh… okay.”

Doktor nearly leaps up from the mattress, his eyes shining.

“If you are very, very good these next few days. Do you understand me? No trouble at all, Doktor, not a peep out of you to cause me the slightest headache. Then you can see Trick for a day.”

“Okay! Okay, yes, that sounds - yes, I can do that. I can.”

Doktor’s practically vibrating. He folds his hands carefully over his candles. Blessings are already singing through his head.

“Okay,” says Anti, casting a gentle gaze at him. Doktor simpers under the warmth, his eyes lighting up with something he’s been missing for some time now - devotion. “Bye, Dok-Dok.”

“Anti?”

“What?”

“Tell me if you need anything - anything at all.”

“Will do, Allemagne.”

Anti heads out the door.

There’s a pause.

Doktor throws himself back on his mattress and lets out a cry of pure ferocious joy through gritted, grinning teeth, striking his hand on the bed once, twice.

“Hölle ja!” he screams, lifting his arms to the sun, beaming. “Hölle ja, best first of Hanukkah ever!”

Your other camera follows Anti back towards his room. He’s laughing.

“Isn’t he so fucking easy to please?”

Anonymous asked: Pssst, Dapper! Did you...did you really forget everything?

You find Dapper up, but not on his own - he’s propped against the headboard of the bed, his face nearly slack, but still smiling faintly. Eyes circled heavily in blue stare blankly back at you, and he lifts his loosely tied hands like a marionette, his body jerking. Even his face twitches.

“I’ve forgotten nothing,” he assures you, signing slower than usual. For a second his hands hesitate, wandering down to reach around the back of the ribs, shaking, but then he rights himself. “How many times has Anti reset my head, and always the broken mind snaps back again, and fragments come to me like a rush of alcohol, disrupting everything, crooning old memories at me like siren song. No, this is just…”

His hands fall slowly towards the bed. His eyes drift dizzily away.

“Just… reversion… keep my head trapped back there, like I was when I was young… what’s… happening to me…”

“You need some medicine,” a strong voice interrupts him, and Anti appears in the doorway, smiling. Trick slinks away from him, smiling nervously, but Anti ignores him, stepping over towards Dapper and pulling a bottle of prescription medicine out of his hoodie pocket. He unclicks the child safety lock and shakes a pill into his hand, reaching out to press it to Dapper’s lips.

There is a small twelve printed on the tiny white surface.

“Come on, so.”

“Oh, okay, yes, sir, but Anti, this - this isn’t my medicine.”

“Well, it is now.”

“Oh, but my medicine - Anti, I haven’t had it yet and I don’t want my mind to - can’t I please have my medicine, I - ”

“Dapper, stop playing games and take this. It’s to replace the Haldol. Okay?”

Dapper stares up at him, that twisted smile still fixed on his mouth.

“Okay. Yes, Anti.”

He parts his lips and lets Anti place it on his tongue.

“There.” Anti tugs on a strand of his curly hair, smiling slickly at him. “All better now, yeah?”

Dapper’s eyes do not shine, but his smile does.

“Yes, Anti.”

“There’s my good boy.”

His mouth is, very slightly, leaking blood.

Anonymous asked: Is there something wrong, Anti?

Anti moves slightly away from Dapper, licking at his bloodied lips.

“No,” he murmurs, seeming to barely register the question. “No, of course not… I can… I can control all this… soon all will be well again. All will be well again soon.”

He sinks down onto the bed, steadying himself. What little color was in his face is draining.

“Just a little tired.”

Anonymous asked: Boys do you have a Christmas tree?

Dapper drifts in and out of nightmares.

A swollen river rushes past his feet. His dress shoes are soaked. He can hear someone yelling. Fire in the distance. Fire getting closer.

Dapper turns over in his sleep. A moment later, he is yanked back, held tight under Trickshot’s arm.

Anti glitches past him in a spasm of coding and color and blood. Dapper can taste his copper magic on the air. Dapper can smell ocean water and a forest soaked in rain. He can hear someone crying.

He whimpers in his sleep. Trick does not awaken.

He sees Blue stand.

And then he sees Blue fall.

Blood slicks his white face.

“Blue!” someone screams, but no one goes to him, no one answers. “Blue!”

Blue does not get up.

Dapper jerks awake, grabbing at the sheets around him, panting so hard he can barely sit up. Trick grumbles at him, tugging sleepily at his shirt, trying to get him to calm down while still half-asleep.

“Why are you fussing, Dap, I’m tired…”

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s nothing. Go to sleep. Go back to sleep.”

Trick is already slipping back onto his pillows.

Dapper sighs and begins carefully smoothing down his dress shirt, wrinkled from wearing it to bed. He spends long minutes using his fingers to press the folds down, and again, and again, trying to get the wrinkles away, without much success. He straightens his tie - far too tight around his neck, far too tight - and finally rises. He uses the bathroom and trims his beard and mustache carefully before making his way over to you and checking over the messages.

“Christmas tree?” He glances around the room, confused, staring out the window, where sun and heat pour cheerfully through the windows. “It’s… Christmas?”

“It’s like the 24th or something,” mumbles Trick, rubbing at his face. “Cause Hannukah was the 22nd…” He yawns hugely and turns back on his side, trying to decide whether or not to go to bed. His neck is beginning to bruise from the collar he wears.

Dapper brightens a little, standing up straighter. “Maybe we will get a Christmas tree or something, then! It doesn’t look like Christmas at all outside. After all, it’s - ”

He pauses and glances towards the door as voices trail back to the end of the hall.

“Can I get anything?”

“Within reason. Anything you need and some real presents for each other. Not just food and medicine and clothes and stuff, Red, something you can actually enjoy.”

“Well, we enjoy not starving,” Red answers, in what Dapper thinks is probably a joke. Probably.

“Haha.” Anti’s voice is a dry, weary rasp. “Just do it.”

“Yes, Anti. Can I bring Trick and Dap?”

“What? No. Why would you possibly do that?”

“Well, they’d probably like to pick stuff out for each other, you know?”

“No, I don’t know. They’ll get presents and you’ll pick out plenty for the others. There’s no reason for them to choose their own just to give them away. You can take Dok, though, if you want. I’m sick of his moping.”

“He liked having his candles, though. He’s been quiet. He’s been good.”

“See that he stays that way, if you take him into town.”

“Yes, Anti.”

And then the door to Dapper’s room creaks open, and he gets a half-second where his gaze meets Red’s, and then Anti is stepping in and shutting it behind him.

“Hi, Anti,” signs Dapper eagerly, reaching out for a hug, but Anti is already brushing past him and getting back into bed. He gives a small gasp as he tears slightly at the wound on his back, but a second later he is growling it away, curling his body around Trickshot’s, and closing his eyes once again.

Dapper sighs, disappointment dripping down his face. For a second, he stares hungrily at the locked handle of the door, listening to the sounds of Red and Blue getting ready to leave the house, to wander, to be free for the day, even to buy things for the people they love.

Dapper sits down beneath the windowsill, staring out at the sky.

“I love my little puppetbox,” his hands insist, and then again: “I love my little puppetbox.”

He finds his puppets and a red blanket - no, it’s a red curtain of some sort - and he curls up in the corner and begins to play alone, a blank smile on his mouth.

Anonymous asked: Merry Christmas, boys. We love you!! ....you too, Anti, you salty turtle.

Red is standing in the clinic, shaking just a little. In the other room, you can hear Dok and Blue talking quietly.

After a few minutes, Red lifts up the wad of cash that he’s been given and begins to count it - carefully, carefully, carefully, his family’s holiday held there in his hands.

His breathing picks up and his eyes alight.

“Merry Christmas to you too,” he giggles, glancing up at you.

And then:

“Merry Christmas to you too!” he shouts, slamming a foot against the ground and whirling in a circle with a joyful whoop. Cries of protest at being startled arise from the bedroom and he laughs, darting towards Blue and Doktor, who look up at him with concern in their eyes.

“Roser, you are being so loud!”

“Get your shoes on!”

“What?”

“Get your shoes on, we’re going into town! We get to go pick out presents, dude!”

“Wait - really?”

Red shoves the cash into Blue’s hands and darts away to grab his shoes and his backpack. “Dok, you too!” he sings, hurrying around the house. “I’ll let you pick some stuff out, even!”

Doktor shrinks slightly in on himself, frowning.

“Oh, I don’t know…”

“Deutsch, you have to go.” A Blue growing in excitement hastens to his feet and finds his boots, tugging them on without delay. “Who wants to be stuck in this little house all day anyway?”

“Long time since I was out of the house… I don’t know. Maybe I should stay. Someone could come needing help.”

bupine asked: dok, if you go out you can get a gift for trick!!

“Oh… I suppose that’s true.”

“Red, you’ll let Dok get something just for Trick, won’t you?”

“Yeah, sure! I can’t remember the last time we had this much cash.”

“But what will I get him?”

“Hey, everybody will be happy to help you figure it out.”

“But what if he doesn’t like it? What if he doesn’t want it at all anymore?”

“Dok,” scolds Blue, pulling his little brother to his feet. Doktor follows anxiously, refusing to meet Blue’s eyes once he’s up, playing with the end of his tattered shirt.

“Deutsch, look at me.”

Dok sighs and obeys, looking up. Blue takes his chin carefully in his hands.

“Trick loves you.”

Doktor softens, something like agony or maybe relief moving through his eyes. Sometimes they’re not all that different.

“He’ll love anything you get him. And he is going to be so excited to see you tomorrow. Okay?”

Doktor swallows and nods, wringing his hands together.

“You promise?”

Blue leans forward to hug him tight, wrapping his arms around Dok’s shoulders and feeling him relax. “Of course,” he reassures, patting his shoulder. “Of course.”

Red re-enters the room and holds a backpack out to Blue and a spare drawstring bag out to Doktor, who accepts it with a faint smile on his mouth, already thinking about what he’ll get his brother.

“Okay, here’s what I’m wondering.” Red pulls his hood up over his eyes and heads towards the door, handing each of his brothers a blueberry bagel and a bottle of water before the three of them head out for the day. “Do we want to go to the classic like grocery store shop place in the nicer part of town first, or do we start with that funky little tourist market where all the white people go for their cute-ass souvenirs and the vecinos sell whatever they can get their hands on? I think we’ll have time for both, but I’m not sure.”

“You just want one of those alpaca-fur stuffed animals,” snorts Blue, his boots kicking up dirt as he leaps out the door.

Red beams, turning to him. He’s more excited than you’ve seen him in a long time.

“Maaaybe.”

They dissolve into giggles and reach back to Doktor, who, finding himself the youngest, consents to let them hold his hands, just like he and Trick held Dapper’s on that fall day so far away now.

Anonymous asked: Will y’all get anything for Anti?

Red’s mouth fills up with a smile.

“Yeah,” he laughs, counting through his cash again, trailing down the mountain. Rocks slide and shift and sharpen beneath his feet, but he’s gotten pretty used to it. Dok is a little less steady - there are a couple times he’s grateful he’s being held up.

“Yeah, I think I will get him something. Not sure what, though, haha. He’s, uh. Impossible to get anything for. I hope he doesn’t get pissed off or upset or anything… and he isn’t looking well, these days, you know… so white all the time, but he won’t let Dok look at him at all…”

Dok and Blue exchange looks, letting Red lead them down the mountainside.

“Nothing ever seems to really make him happy, no matter what I do. I think he - ”

“Red,” Blue interrupts him warmly, drawing his attention away. “Why don’t we worry about that when we get where we’re going? Look, the vecinos are waving.”

Red turns to see a pair of little kids sitting on the concrete steps up on the other side of the buildings, the older one waving shyly.

“Hola,” calls Blue, releasing Dok’s hand. “Que pasa, pequeñas?”

“Hola, médico,” answers the older, making Doktor smile.

“Hola, gringos,” calls the smaller one, and Red bursts into laughter, waving back.

“Hey!” calls Blue in Spanish. “You tell your mama, when she’s ready to have her baby, send one of you to come get the médico, okay? Feliz Navidad.”

“Feliz Navidad!” they answer, turning back the way they came to return a stray chicken to their home. Red’s mood is brightened and his thoughts distracted. They will greet many people on the way down the mountain, and though not all of them will be happy to see them, Blue can’t help but think they’re starting to be a part of this community.

“It’s good for people to see you,” calls Blue, taking Dok’s hand again. “They trust you better and better each day. That man you stitched up yesterday has a big family, you know. They are better off because you’re here.”

Dok’s cheeks are flushed with pride.

You’re not sure you’ve ever seen that look in his eyes before.

Anonymous asked: Ooo, Dok, what do you think you’ll get Trick? And what will y’all get for Dap?

They travel down the mountain.

“Trick might want, like, some stuff of his own. I can’t even remember what he has back there anymore. New clothes?”

“Maybe a big blanket or something.”

“He loves that little piece of paper he has.”

They travel through the city, chatting side-by-side on a crowded Christmas Eve bus.

“Dap we gotta get more art supplies for.”

“Yeah, yeah. There’s other stuff he likes too, though. Some soft kid stuff. Isn’t that what he likes?”

“Well, some days.”

“Yeah, and then other days all he wants is a knife and some purpose.”

“He’s fucking changeable.”

“Well, who can blame him? We’ll find some stuff for him when we’re there. Anyway, Anti said he got some things for everyone anyway. I’m sure he covered his little darlings.”

They travel to the market.

“Damn. What is this place?”

Blue and Red turn to grin at their little brother.

“Oh, Dok. You got a lot to explore.”

Red hands him a wad of cash.

“Let’s go a little wild.”

cest-mellow asked: dok, you should get trick something he can keep with him, like a sweater or blanket or a stuffed toy. and then keep it next to you, hold it tight to you so when he gets it it smells like you! a way for him to have you near while anti takes care of him, you know?

Dok parts from his brothers the first chance he gets, promising to be back in an hour. As much as he loves them, he can’t remember the last time he had any real alone time. Even with Dapper and Trick away, there is always one of the twins close at hand, and nowhere but his lonely little room to retreat to, where there is nothing to do. Even amid crowds of people moving from stall to stall, he feels more alone and more at peace than he has in some time. It gives a little energy back to him and he straightens up as he walks amid colorful stalls with clothes, toys, fried food, paintings, sculptures, and more, and more, and more, counting through his cash.

“It’s been a long fucking time since I had money to spend on… whatever I want,” he murmurs, still a little in disbelief. “I have 200 soles. How can I even spend that much money?”

He circles back through the first line of stalls, so he can see everything again with a little more attention paid.

“Something soft for Trick, something he can keep with him… clothes would be the best way to ensure Anti did not take it away for reminding him of me. And he does need new ones.”

He pauses outside a store with packaged clothes covered in bootleg American merchandising and begins sorting through a box of sweatshirts, examining each one by one. You see his confidence grow as he looks through them, laughing a little at goofy slogans and pictures. Eventually he pulls out a plain but warmly knit and plush soft blue sweater and a hooded black sweatshirt with a polar bear in sunglasses on it.

“Which one you think?”

bupine asked: oh definitely the polar bear with sunglasses, no doubt about it. Anon asked: Polar bear!! It’ll make him laugh.

“I thought you might say that,” laughs Dok, picking it up in his arms. “Kind of his style, uh? He used to joke much more.”

He buys the sweater for 30 soles with broken Spanish and a smile for the worn-down teenager running the stand.

reverseblackholeofwords asked: Blue, will you get something special for Dap? I think he could use the extra love right now.

“Something special for Dap… something special for Dap… hm.”

Blue ducks under a line of knitted ponchos hanging from the ceiling of a shop and steps in to a little stuffy shop, so soft and cute it makes him laugh out loud.

“There you go, mission accomplished,” laughs Red, picking up a little cat stuffy. “Oh, these are the alpaca ones, hell yes. Blue, just get him, like, four.”

“You know Dap’s not an actual ten-year-old, right?”

“Aw, come on. What else has he ever been interested in but cute shit, toys, and the knives Anti gives him? May as well be a little kid, way he acts.”

Something flickers through Blue’s eyes, and you see him draw away from his twin a little, frowning.

“Don’t say that,” he scolds softly, turning towards the animals.

“Hey, I love him for it. Cute little guy.”

“Come on. I know neither of us remember much - ”

“Anything.”

“But there has to have been things that Dapper liked before… he started acting like this, I guess.”

“I don’t know, Blue. I think he’s always been like that. He’s just - he never really grew up, you know? He’s just a little kid, really. That’s what Anti says, and he knows Dapper better than anyone.”

Blue sighs, but chooses to brush past it. “Tell you what,” he says. “You pick out one of the animals for him, and I’ll try to find something a little more… adult, too. He’ll like them both.”

“Hey, when it comes to looking after everybody, you’re the boss.” Red accepts his brother’s authority like he knows he should. Obedience, lately, comes so easy to him that he no longer has to think to fall into the place where Anti wants him to be.

Besides, he loves the stuffed animals.

He picks out a white bear for Dapper, almost unbelievably soft with warm alpaca fur. He takes a deep whiff of its cozy scent and presses his face to it for a second, savoring the softness on his face.

“That’s the good shit,” he whispers to you, grinning, and grabs a second toy discreetly - a little black alpaca. He doesn’t notice Blue slyly picking out a white and ginger one on the other side of the store, watching carefully to make sure Red does not notice, both of their eyes brightening from the secrecy of it.

Cest-mellow requested: maybe blue gets red a tiny little spider-man plush, like the ones that go on backpacks and stuff? And maybe red gets blue some kinda ring that he put engravings on or inside :00 saying something sweet or their names !

Red wanders away from the stuffed animal shop with his bag, distracted by glittering on the other side of the market. One of the biggest stalls in the market is just hand-made silver jewelry. He smiles down at the earrings and necklaces, a little entranced.

“Better not to look here, though,” he reasons gently. “See, most of the shit in the market is cheap, but this stuff is real, you know, and they charge fair for it. Which is good. Just not for us. Reminds me of Blue, though! Anti’s kind of the one who likes to dress him up, but I love to see him a little fancy. Cause he lives for it, you know, he takes a lot of pride in his jewelry and his… his…”

He pauses, his eyes fixed on the rings.

“Fuck,” he whispers. “That’s pretty.”

He reaches out to touch a thin silver ring, carved into vines, with one rose in the middle.

“Reminds me so much of Blue,” he murmurs. “I’m not even sure why. Maybe I… no. I’m supposed to be responsible.”

He stares at the ring, conflicted.

On your other camera, Blue is having no such qualms. You find him laughing his ass off two stores away, too out of breath to explain why. He can only show you the little home-made Spiderman keychain he found. Its face is completely messed up and it’s red and black instead of red and blue. He buys it for 20 soles and continues, still giggling. Red will love that for his backpack.

Anonymous asked: Pssst, Red, I know this is supposed to be festive and all, but did you get rid of Blue’s chain yet? This might be a good place to throw it out before Anti has a surprise inspection. Also does Dap need meds? We will not have another repeat of what happened last time. Anyways, happy hunting!

Red pauses, a little alarmed. His eyes flicker around the store, and then he lifts up a finger to his mouth.

“Oh, the chain I was thinking of getting Blue for Christmas?” he continues calmly. “Already handled it. But it… it was in the bag with Doktor’s candles.”

His mouth trembles slightly. He runs his fingers over the curves of the ring, again and again.

“Christmas might be difficult tomorrow, depending on what he saw,” he says. “But I hope to make it good for my brothers at least. Anyway, Anti is handling Dapper’s medication. We should have plenty of supplies since we hit that truck.”

spicydanhowell asked: (((( blease can dok get trick a little wind up music box? i had one as a kid that was like a lullaby and it would be perfect for him

Dok wanders through the market, distracted by the sound of gentle music.

He’s got a couple bags with him now - a pair of matching red and blue shirts with Star Wars characters on them, because no one can complain about Kylo Ren like his big brothers, a big plastic bag full of dried apples for Dapper, because he’s seen him go through them like a starving sugar bat, and a tiny, half-foot, light-up Christmas tree he found, for all of his brothers.

But the music draws him away.

It’s something starry and soft.

And sad.

Reminds him a lot of Trick.

He finds a pair of girls examining it at the back of a quiet clothes and art shop, chattering in Spanish, but they eventually wander away, and Dok sidles up in their place, taking it into his hands.

It’s nothing but a carved box of wood with a plastic music player inside, a little ocean scene painted on the top. Stars in a dark sky stare down under a swaying ocean, and when he winds the box, the soft, sad, lovely music begins to play again.

The shopkeep watches him.

“Beautiful?” he asks, sparing Dok a smile.

Dok glances up. “Sí,” he mumbles. “¿Cuánto es?”

“50 soles.”

Most of his cash. That’s okay. There are some things worth having. He hands it over with a quiet “gracias” and does not ask for a bag.

He holds it in his hands. It is so beautiful to him he can barely stand to hold it.

He feels dirty.

He retreats into a quiet corner of the market, holding the box in his hands. He plays the music over and over again, until one warm silver tear drips down his lined face.

He wants to see his brother again.

cest-mellow requested: DOG TAGS !!! blue could get red some dog tags !!! ok sorry I’m done popping off now

You find Blue bartering with a shopkeeper in Spanish.

“75 soles.”

“40.”

“Gringo, you’re playing games!”

Blue laughs and holds the blank dog tags up again.

“Fine, 55.”

“If you want the inscription, 60 at the least.”

“The inscription is only one word.”

“Oh? What sort of dog tags have only one word?”

Blue beams and holds them out.

“Only one word, sir.”

The shopkeeper glares at him for a moment, and then the look softens away with a short, barking laugh. “Fine! Fine. 55 for one word. What do you want it to say?”

Blue leans eagerly over the little printing machine.

“Rojo!”

“Rojo, huh? And you’re Azul, I suppose.”

Blue runs a hand through his dyed hair, grinning as they exchange a freshly printed dog tag on a small chain for 55 soles.

“Feliz Navidad, Señor!”

“Feliz Navidad!”

Blue moves away again, smiling at the tags. He thinks that’s pretty cool. The market is beginning to quiet, but there are still people milling around - a pair of teenage girls with college t-shirts, an older man with silver-white hair, a young guy in a green jacket, with a black baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, a couple stalls down from Blue.

“That should be good for Red,” Blue hums. “Except maybe some clothes or shoes or something.”

Anonymous asked: Blue, do you think Dapper would like a pocket watch?

“Ah, yes! He has one, actually! That’s very good thinking though, he’s obsessive with that thing sometimes. I’m not sure, though, it never seems to be on quite the right time. Maybe he needs a new one. Seems a little broken to me.”

Anonymous asked: "Maybe try.. something sentimental for Dap? That isn't very specific, I know, but I think he'd appreciate a nice necklace, or a photo frame. Oh! Maybe a polaroid! He may like that!" -PF!H

“Hm… I like that.”

Blue is rounding some of the shops farther away from the main market, thinking. There’s a lot of painting and painted sculptures and things back here, all of them lovely. But he isn’t sure Dap would be able to put anything up that he didn’t make himself.

There are, however, photo frames - nice ones, hand-painted, large enough for a full sheet of sketch paper.

“He could put something of his own in there,” murmurs Blue, reaching out to touch a large photo frame with birds painted around the corners. “He might really like that. Excuse me, Señora? Cuanto es?”

He buys it at a good price and tucks it carefully into his backpack.

“That was a really good idea! Thank you!”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Who's next, guys?

After about an hour, Red, Blue, and Doktor meet back where they began, chatting about some of the things they found. They all laugh at Dap’s little white bear and Trick’s polar bear hoodie.

“Okay, next!” Red claps his hands together. “Let’s go check out the real store a few blocks down, okay? There’s some stuff I think we should get just for the house and stuff. And then we still need a few more presents. I want to make sure everybody gets at least a couple, yeah? But Anti got some for everyone too, I think, so we should be good either way.”

He turns to you, grinning, as he steps down the stairs of the market, leading his brothers away. A few people are trailing away with them - a man with his child slung over his shoulders, a young girl running errands for her mother, and a younger guy with a green coat and a black cap tugged low over his eyes.

bupine asked: get dap some art stuff remember! he'll definitely appreciate that

“Yes!” sings Red, leading his brothers back to the art section. “Number one rule of getting Dapper presents, right? What sort of things does he like?”

“I remember when we took him to the store in Norway,” offers Dok, taking a box of charcoals, colored pastel chalks, and a sketchbook off the wall. “Is that good?”

whydoilovesomanyvillians requested: can jamie get some art supplies

“No, they’re right!” protests Blue, drifting farther along the wall. “Let’s get him more than that, this is his favorite thing.”

“Maybe paints?” Dok shrugs, putting his hands in his pockets. “Does he like painting?”

“He might if he tried it, I expect.” Red picks a cheap watercoloring kit and some paper off the wall.

“How about some nice colored pencils, too?” Blue takes a big box of brand pencils off the wall. “I know he’d use these. Is that okay, Red?”

“Yeah. He’s had a rough time lately and I haven’t gotten him much else. This will all last him a while. Pile it on. He’ll love that.”

Anonymous asked: Hey blue,,, weird question but can you see the guy with the black baseball cap around?

Blue’s standing in the aisle with the sewing stuff, wondering if he could patch up some of his brother’s clothes.

“Hm?” he asks, glancing around. “There’s a guy with a black baseball cap down there, by the posters. You mean him?”

Anonymous asked: Boys I think there’s someone following you...but I don’t think he wants to hurt you guys.

Red reads your message.

You watch his smile fade away.

He draws away from you slightly, his whole body tensing. Blue, seeming to notice the difference, reaches forward to touch his shoulder. Red flinches and jerks away, trying to smile at him.

“Tell you what,” he grins stiffly. “Take your brother to get some of the blankets we’ve been talking about. Yeah?”

“Red, is everything - ”

“Yeah, Blue?”

Blue deflates, taking Dok’s hand.

“Yes, Red.”

“Good. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Dok and Blue head towards the other side of the store.

Red stares at you, his expression darkening again.

“Describe them to me.”

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Hey wait wasn't that guy with the hat tucked down over his face near blue before

“The guy with the hat?”

Red darts along one aisle, two, glancing around. He checks the aisle with the toys, the sewing, the crafts, the art supplies, the posters, the carvings.

“Where did he go?”

Anonymous asked: Red don’t fucking hurt him I stg if it’s who I think it is....black cap and green jacket. He’s been following Blue for the last three, four stops?

Red looks like he’s going to stop breathing, his face very white and his teeth gritted tightly, tightly, tightly in his mouth.

“Following Blue? Following Blue? Following my Blue?”

Anonymous asked: He's young, green coat with a black hat pulled low, but careful Red, you don't know if he's really trouble or not. Maybe he's just curious.

“Just curious? Just curious so he follows Blue? No, no, no. Nobody trails my family, I don’t care who the fuck he is, I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him.”

Anonymous asked: Blue??? That guy you spotted earlier, is he still following you??? Oh gosh please be careful. If he is go back to Red!! NOW

Blue whirls around, grabbing Dok suddenly to his chest over by the clothes section.

His eyes are narrowed slits. He squeezes Dok’s shoulders and glances slowly around.

“Don’t see anyone,” he mumbles.

Something like fear flickers through his eyes.

His hands glow faintly blue.

“Blue!” hisses Dok, grabbing his fingers.

“Wh - oh, shit, shit - ”

“Sh, sh,” soothes Dok. “Put them in your pockets and let’s just calm down for a moment. Everything’s okay, Blue. I don’t think anyone’s following us.”

Anonymous asked: Oh gosh did he follow Blue when he left with Dok?

Distressed, Red turns to follow his twin, casting looks in every direction. The store is busy on Christmas Eve, though, and he can’t seem to find the man you described.

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Blue did see him last in the store red

“Okay, maybe he’s following Blue himself somehow. I’ll look in their area.

Anonymous asked: Yes Blue, but don’t fight him yet please, we need to see his face, can you get close?

“I think I saw the guy you’re talking about. A tall guy with a lot of dark hair. I didn’t recognize his face.”

Anonymous asked: Are you very good at killing people quietly Red? Are you allowed to without telling Anti? Seems like it would attract a lot of attention and put you all in even more danger maybe, should you all just leave and go home?

Red bares his teeth savagely. For a second he does not look at all like Blue or Dok or Trick or Dapper.

“Master gave me my orders. My duty to protect them. Trust me - if someone was following us, he would be more than happy for me to drag the corpse back home to him.”

He moves coldly down the aisles, brushing blood-red hair out of his eyes.

“And… yes.

“I am very good at that.”

Anonymous asked: Why don’t we get some more information on the guy before we try to kill him, okay? Red, you need to find Blue and Dok before the man does. Don’t panic okay? You’re the big brother, you’ll keep them safe like you always do.

“Information doesn’t matter if someone’s following us,” snaps Red.

But a moment later, he is calming himself again, breathing through his teeth.

“You’re right though. I have to stay calm or I’ll scare the others. Everything’s fine. If someone’s following us it will be easy to eliminate him. I’ll keep them safe. I’ll keep everybody safe.”

Anonymous asked: Information is good though, I mean what if...what if it’s the people Anti says is hunting you guys? (I mean maybe they’re good but y’know...who knows I wouldn’t go off that) anti might appreciate that type of knowledge y’know?

Red groans a little, gripping at his hair.

“But I… Anti never tells me anything about the people who are following us… I don’t know what to look for.”

He sighs, letting his hands drop again.

“We’ll just have to see what we see when we find him. Maybe he realized I’d noticed him and ran away.”

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: Blue how are you doing right now have you seen him

“No, I don’t see him.”

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Red, letting your temper flare isn't going to help anyone. Keep a cool head and maybe he'll back off. Just keep your eyes peeled and lay low.

Red lets off a small, anxious growl of a noise, but he catches sight of Blue and Dok again and relaxes a little.

“Hey,” he calls, touching both of their shoulders. “You okay? Blue, why are you so pale?”

“Oh,” says Blue, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “It’s nothing.”

Red frowns. “Are you sure?”

“Maybe we can talk about it later?” Blue glances at Dok, who frowns.

“Fine. Fine.” Red pats both of their shoulders and turns around, thinking.

bupine asked: pleeeeeeease don't kill him, you'll just draw bad attention to yourself and anti will be pissed. why don't you talk to him and ask what he wants first, then kill later if u still feel like it (though i don't condone it)

Red sighs.

“Okay. Fair enough. Please tell us if you see him again, though. I’ll have to bring this up to Anti. He’ll know what to do. Maybe he’ll know who it is that could be coming.”

Anonymous asked: Oh no, oh no! Let's not make the boys panic over nothing, right? It's a small town. Some guy being in the same place as them doesn't have to mean anything. It's probably best just to let everyone do as they will, and not rock the boat. Yeah? Anyone could see these messages, after all.

“Right, right, right,” Red murmurs, rocking on his heels. “Yeah… yeah, you know, maybe it was just a coincidence.”

You can almost see it in his eyes that he doesn’t believe his own words, but Dok, at least, doesn’t seem concerned, and Blue is calming the longer he does not see the man.

“Okay,” sighs Red, turning to his brothers. “This doesn’t get to ruin our holiday, so now we’re playing Present-Buying: Speed Edition. Go grab the things you need and then let’s go, okay? I want to get home. You two go and I’ll be close behind just… keeping an eye out. Fifteen minutes, okay?”

“Yes, Red.”

“Dok?”

“Yes, Red.”

“There’s my good boys. See you in a minute.”

He slips away.

Anonymous asked: Do not go home. He might be waiting to follow you guys back....well I mean you could go home but we’re trying not to get people killed right? The smaller the mess, happier the glitch bitch.

“If someone tries to follow us up the mountain, I will know them by the uncertainty of their feet and the barking of the dogs behind them. I will know them by the men calling threats disguised as greetings to the stranger in their midst. I will know them by the sliding dust and the rocks the split sneakers and spill blood along the treacherous path my feet know better than the insides of my shoes.”

Red walks along a store aisle, a shadow in his eyes.

“That place is my home now, and I am Anti’s best guard dog. The mountain keeps us safe. Nothing is going to - oh, hey, Blue would like this!”

reverseblackholeofwords requested: Maybe Red could get Blue one of those night lights that shines stars on the ceiling? It’s got all kinds of constellations and stuff? Idk if that’s all that plausible but I think it’d be cute

Red reaches out to take a little battery-powered night light into his hand, with constellation patterns in the top.

“Fuck, you’re right, this is cute as hell. And Blue would love this. Pretty cheap, too - here, I’ll get one for Trick and Dap’s room too.”

Anonymous asked: Wow, that’s it. That’s red’s character in a nutshell. Why am I not surprised.

“Okay,” Red draws out, shaking his head, rolling his eyes.

Trying very hard to be annoyed.

the-weirdest-fan requested: As I’ve mostly been interacting with Anti, I feel it’d make sense for me to suggest something for him. Maybe get more cameras? As for the others, I’d say get them a fan or two. Took me forever to think of those, when it really shouldn’t have, sorry if they’re bad. Thank you mod, and happy holidays!

“Fans!” cries Red. “That’s the other thing I’ve been wanting for the house, you don’t know how hot it gets at day - and then cooler at night, but that’s our only relief. Well, I can get a couple of these little, little ones anyway. Can’t carry the normal ones right now, but maybe I can put aside some money. Better than nothing, right?

“And cameras - damn, I should get him batteries for his cameras, that’s probably best. Then he doesn’t have to use his own energy so much. Some of them still run on batteries, I think. Thank you!”

Anonymous asked: Red, you started with a Batman-style threat and it ended as a Darkwing Duck-style introduction. And I love it.

“What the hell is Darkwing Duck? Hey, you take that back! No way, I’m Batman!”

dancing-anon asked: Djlafjal Sorry I know im spamming you but like- what if the boyes get a massive blanket and they all get to snuggle under it when Anti lets them be together- (I just love this au sorry)

Blue and Dok head over towards the home stuff on the other side of the store, Dok casting confused glances between Red and the hand holding his own.

“Wait, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing, honey,” mumbles Blue distractedly. “Don’t worry about it.”

Dok scowls. He’s starting to get tired of being the middle man between holding all the responsibility and none of it. If he were a couple months older… or maybe it’s just because Anti knows he’s a shitty fighter.

He sighs and returns to Blue’s side.

“Okay, big blanket, big blanket…”

“Blue, why are we getting a big blanket?”

“What, you like sleeping on your mattress without anything to cover you? Cozy in your jeans and t-shirt?”

Dok sighs. “That mattress isn’t even mine. Anti only got it for Dapper.”

Blue looks over at him, a flicker of sympathy on his mouth. “Well, all the more reason to make sure we have a couple blankets around. Anyway, I think Red likes having things like that when he’s… upset.”

“You’ll get two?”

“Yeah, let’s go with that. Here - ah, the big fuzzy blankets. Feel these, Alle.”

Dok reaches out to touch the blankets and can’t help a smile from crossing his mouth.

“Soft,” he admits.

“Yeah.”

Blue picks out a purple one and a red one, humming to himself enthusiastically. Dok is distracted by some of the ones a little farther down the aisle.

Anonymous asked: Nope, you did this to yourself, Red. We will forever tease you now.

“No, no, no! Hey, you’re all bastards! I’m easily distracted! That’s not my fault. What’s the opposite of saying merry Christmas, huh? I’m going to fight you all.”

He nearly crashes into someone in his protest and has to duck away. When he brings his attention back to you, he is laughing, with a bright red blush glowing on his cheeks.

“Ahhh,” he chuckles - or maybe groans - hiding his face. “I don’t know if you guys knew this but… I’m a little dumb.”

Anonymous asked: Don’t worry, we knew that lonnnnnng before you were ever Red, sweetheart.

“Hey! Haha, wait, what do you mean? No, maybe I don’t want to know.”

Anonymous asked: Awww get Trick a fluffy blanket!! Then it’ll be like a hug from his Deutsch every time he uses it. Oh wait wait wait, what if you got him a music player? With that song, Saturn on it? It’s by Sleeping at Last and you mentioned it being his favorite when in the shed. I think he’d love it a lot. Although I’m not sure how much money you guys have...or if you could even find one there.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: What if you guys try to find a weighted blanket for Trick?

bupine requested: I really wanna see dok get something for trick to help with his anxiety and stuff, like a weighted blanket (if he doesn’t already have one I don’t remember) or a fidget toy or literally anything dsugdufg I just want trick to feel better!!

“Blue?”

“Yeah, bud?”

Blue looks up to see Dok with his arms full of a small but weighty yellow sun-pattern blanket.

“Can I… can I get this? I don’t… have quite enough.”

Blue softens and reaches over to run his hands down the heavy fabric before checking the price tag. “Not terrible, really. I haven’t gotten him anything yet. I’ll help you with it.”

Doktor relaxes, holding the blanket and Trick’s sweatshirt close to his chest. “Thank you, Blau. Really, I…”

“I know, Deutsch. I know.”

Doktor smiles at him, a little vigor back in his grin.

“About ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go find Roser.”

reverseblackholeofwords asked: Blue? How's the uh... Glowing?

Dok snatches one of Blue’s hands out of his pockets to double-check it.

“Looks okay now,” he declares, turning his hand over a couple times.

“In your professional opinion?” asks Blue.

“Always.”

Blue laughs and then sighs, looking down at his fingers.

“I don’t… know how to make it come and go. I think I used to, once. But now it just burns.”

Dok frowns, staring at his hands.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Hey Red, do you have anything in mind for Dap? Or for Dok?

“Yeah! Well, I got Dap his bear, so I hope that’s good. But Dok I wanted to get him coffee. Cause he never gets it, but he always talks about it, haha. And maybe… well, I don’t think they have nice, like, doctor’s coats here… but some day, I really think he should have a nice coat. I’ve never been able to afford it before.”

He sighs, glancing down at his cash.

“Maybe, um. For his birthday, I could ask Anti to get it for him. I think their birthday is in May. 14th? Maybe? Ah, bad big brother alert. But anyway, some coffee. Hey, don’t my other boys like tea? I’ll get some… um… what kind of tea is good tea? For Trick and Dap?”

immabethehero asked: (May 14th is near the main camera's birthday.) Dok's birthday is September 15th!

“September? Dok’s and Trick’s?”

Red pauses, confused. For a second, he almost looks pained.

“No, no… I… I don’t think that’s right. I think it’s in May. That’s their day.”

immabethehero asked: I feel like all of them would like stuffed animals. maybe Anti would as well! Craft supplies for Dapper and Blue likesketchbooks and drawing pencils!!! Maybe a card set for Blue!!! Running shoes for Red or a hoodie. a new Nerf Gun for Trick! A puzzle book for Doc?

“Ah, cards for Blue! And puzzles for Dok! Like logic puzzles? Dude, I actually think he’d love that.”

Red checks that Blue and Dok aren’t far off and that there is no one in a baseball cap in sight, and then hurries to the book section to grab both.

On his camera, Blue laughs at a tiny little Nerf pistol and grabs it for Trick, making Dok smile.

cest-mellow asked: did anti give you guys different birthdays? when is your birthday, red? and blues and dapper and anti?

“Dapper’s birthday is October 31 and Anti’s is August 3rd. I don’t actually remember our birthday, haha! Anti will surprise us, I suppose. Isn’t that funny? Sometimes I really don’t remember anything at all. I guess I hit my head really hard. Or… something.”

immabethehero asked: WAIT THEY SHARE A BIRTHDAY???? OH!!! Uh perhaps!!! Make sense to put it in the middle of their real birth months. May 13th?

“Ha, I don’t think Anti would make up a birthday for us. He remembers better than the rest of us is all. May 13 or 14 or something, I think.”

Anonymous asked: I take it the "birthdays" mark when Anti popped into your lives, rather than actual creation. Only worth bothering with if he's involved somehow.

“Haha,” says Red, but he looks uncomfortable. “Um, I don’t know. You’d have to talk to Anti.”

bupine asked: what are you guys getting for anti then? if anything at all fhffghfhg he seems like the type of guy who's Somewhat difficult to buy gifts for

“I don’t know,” sighs Red, a little stressed. “What does he need? Gauze, bleach, batteries, cords, wires, computers, radios, tvs… he has everything, I don’t know. What does Anti even like? Getting us stuff? Hacking shit? Damn, I miss when we used to spend days hacking that… channel, or whatever. Can’t remember the last time I coded. Used to be speedy. Taking care of us? When we’re being good, haha. He likes that - he’s controlling, even, sometimes. Maybe he wants, um…”

Red pauses, staring.

He’s next to this little display of succulents and cacti.

He watches it for a long time.

“Nope,” he says, taking one step away. “I do not have the courage to get Anti anything as stupid as a cactus. I don’t think I’ll get him anything but the batteries… ugh, but that’s so lame…”

Anonymous asked: Get Anti a stress ball. Or a rubix cube. Or crochet hooks. Dude needs a hobby.

“Haha! Yeah… maybe he does.”

Red pauses, looking around him.

“But… I don’t have it in me to tell him that.”

He spots Blue and Dok and heads back towards them, trying to put his smile back on.

“Let’s just go. I never seem to do quite right by him.”

Anonymous asked: Do y’all have everything? It might be time to head home.

“Yeah,” grins Red wearily. “Yeah, let’s head out. Bus’ll be at the stop soon.”

They pay, pack what they can into their backpacks and bags, and head out the store. It doesn’t take them long to get back to the bus stop, chatting the whole way, with Red eagerly quizzing his siblings on what they got him, and the two of them refusing to answer honestly, though Doktor makes mention of some fancy Anti-Stupidity gear he thinks the both of them will benefit from.

By the time they get on the bus, Doktor is sleepier than he would ever admit, warm in the equator sun and tired by much more exercise than he’s used to. Feeling warm in more than one sense, he allows his head to drop onto Blue’s shoulder, and closes his eyes with his brother’s arm around him.

Which is when he hears: “Red! Red!”

“What?”

“Red - the man - ”

And both of his siblings, on either side of him, stiffen like sculptures.

Anonymous asked: Is everything okay?? Is the man back

Red turns you on his shoulder so you can see. A glimpse of his white face and taut mouth, and then you can see the man.

He sits on the other side of the bus, that cap low over his eyes. Dark curls of hair drift about his shoulders. He has a fine, thin mouth and long hands stretched over his knees. He stands. There were seats when Dok and Blue and Red got on, but not when the man did.

“Red,” whispers Blue, though he does not know what for.

“Yes,” says Red, in answer to nothing and everything. “Yes.”

Anonymous asked: Ay, just play it cool. Let the guy make the first move if he does at all. It could just be a coincidence, right?

“Let’s see if it is,” whispers Red through his teeth, tightening his grip on his twin’s hand. “Blue, you know the way back home.”

“What?”

“At the next stop, take your little brother and get off. If he tries to follow you, he won’t get far.”

“Red, I’m not leaving you behind.”

“Did I give you an order?”

“Don’t start that with me, we both know - ”

“Did I give you an order?” spits Red, whirling on him.

Blue quiets, his mouth trembling just a little.

“Well? Did I?”

“Yes, Red.”

“Is your duty to me or to Dok?”

“To… to my little brothers. But Red - ”

“At the next stop, you take Dok and get off. You go home whether or not I follow. Understood? Blue, am I understood?”

“Yes, Red. Yes.”

“Good, then.”

There is a long pause between them. Doktor has not opened his eyes. Sometimes he finds it easier to pretend things aren’t happening. His whole life seems to be arguing and putting brothers back in their places.

“I love you,” says Red shortly.

“I love you too,” answers Blue, with nothing but grief.

Anonymous asked: Blue don’t explode, just relax and maybe hold Dok’s hand? Just try to keep a grip on your magic.

Blue winces and sinks down in his seat, clutching onto Dok’s hand. At this, his little brother, still playing asleep at his side, gives a short, firm squeeze in response - cool, measured, professional.

He sets his head down on Doktor’s and tries to breathe.

The next stop comes with the hissing of the brakes and the rough exhale of weary smoke. Blue clutches the fuzzy blanket on his chest and gets up, pulling Dok along with him. His eyes set straight ahead, he refuses to look at the man as he walks, refuses to look as he passes, refuses to look as he exits the bus…

Still, he catches one thing - the small, delicate symbol of a raven on a leather bracelet on the man’s wrist.

The man moves as if to get off as well, but then, as Doktor and Blue pass him, he jolts slightly and waits, but no one else comes. After long minutes have passed, after the bus has started off again, he turns casually back and sees -

Red’s eyes.

Blue as cold ocean water.

Burning into him like a wood fire.

He turns around again and stares out the window of the bus as Red’s eyes bore into him.

Anonymous asked: Get off at a different stop. If he follows still, lose him and either walk from there or get on the bus again to your actual stop. How long is it between bus routes?

“I don’t know,” mumbles Red. You shake slightly on his shoulder as his leg bounces at a hundred kilometers a minute. “This might be my chance to follow him. I can stalk him somewhere we won’t be seen. Or, maybe, now that he knows I’m aware of him, he’ll be smart and just leave us be… the next stop is a couple miles from my usual stop, but I don’t mind if I have to walk.”

He pauses, chewing on his lip, his eyes flickering around. After a moment he draws out the shitty old flip-phone he carries sometimes and reaches down to the contacts to click on the only name there: Anti.

The phone rings and rings, but doesn’t pick up.

Has he ever not picked up before?

Red swears, tucking it away again, glaring at the back of the man’s head.

“I don’t know if I should follow or just go home. I need to find out what’s happening, but I’m also alone and he could be dangerous.”

spicydanhowell asked: don't follow him, red. just try anti again. if he doesn't pick up, go home and tell him what happened. it would be very dangerous to go all by yourself

Red likes that idea. He grabs the phone and tries again, eager for his little brother’s assurances.

The phone vibrates patiently, again and again.

Then it stops.

“Anti?” calls Red, after a moment, when he doesn’t get a greeting. “Are you there?”

A slight buzz on the other end of the line.

He thinks he can hear someone shouting somewhere.

“Anti?” repeats Red, a little frightened. “Anti?”

There’s a soft clicking - familiar, somehow.

“Dapper?”

Something slams in the background. Someone whistles.

Red waits, but no answer ever comes.

The call ends.

Anonymous asked: Do NOT go home. Don’t lead him to your house or the others.

“He can’t follow me,” mumbles Red, eyes angry. “Nobody could follow me up the mountain without me noticing. But I could trail him for a while and make sure he knows I’ll kill him if he tries to follow me anywhere.”

Anonymous asked: Red, you can handle yourself. Get off at the next stop and then try to get away, or stay on the bus stall for time so Blue and Dok can get back and tell Anti. Try to determine if he has any weapons on him. Are you armed?

“I’m always armed.”

Red touches the pocket of his hoodie, where a retractable staff you’ve seen before sits in its pouch. “It’s not much, but it’s enough.”

He pauses, thinking. “Even if I lost him, you’re right - I need to make sure Blue and Dok get back to Anti. And if they can tell him what’s going on, there’s less need for me to be there. Maybe I should follow… at least for a little while…”

The bus sighs to a stop.

bupine asked: i feel like you should follow him! it's clear he wants something with you and your brothers, and if he turns out to be a threat you can eliminate him. otherwise he'll just kind of be out there, doing god knows what. following him and finding out what his objective is would make it safer for you and your brothers in the long run, as long as you don't do anything stupid or reckless

His chest bubbles with anger. He gets to his feet.

“I’ll follow him for a little while. Stay with me, okay? If something happens, you’ll need to be able to tell my brothers.”

The man walks off the bus without looking at him, and Red slips through the crowd after him. He could swear that he can feel the connection between them - the cold bond of predator and prey.

He doesn’t know which role he’s playing. Heat burns crimson in his chest.

pixie-in-trebleland asked: Try to be objective, Jackie. You're going to need as many wits about you as you can!

“Objective,” he mumbles, sliding through the crowd. He moves always from crowd to crowd, hiding spot to hiding spot, blending in to blending in again somewhere new, a chameleon with a red hood drawn over his head.

“Objective with someone stalking my Blue.” He stands out in the open for a moment, but no one spares him a second glance as he stands casually and glances at his phone, one figure among hundreds. You lose track of the man’s head, but Red never does.

“The last time someone was chasing us, Trick nearly killed himself and we had to flee our home. The time before that, I’m told Dok was shot and Anti nearly died protecting him. Feels like we’re always being hunted. I don’t care who by anymore. I just want my family to be safe. If I could just get rid of the people who hunt us. If I could just get rid of everyone who ever came near us…”

He slips away again. You are in a quieter part of the city now. Laundry hangs out of the glass-less windows of concrete houses and dogs eye Red warily from the shade of dark alleyways. Women walk home with their keys clutched tightly between their fingers. Red follows the man.

Anonymous asked: Get off in a public place and then wait. If its in a public area, he can’t do anything without drawing the attention of other people. Figure out what he wants, and stall as long as you can. Make sure there are plenty escape routes if you need to get away, and be careful.

“That’s a good point… but we’re getting less public as we go. He may be intentionally leading me somewhere quieter. Could even be a trap, I don’t know… I don’t know who he is or what he wants. I’m used to running from cops, PIs, government workers, anybody official, you know? But he just looks so normal. Maybe he’s plain-clothes, but he’s so young, and almost disheveled. He could - hey!”

Red hisses and withdraws into the shadows of a building, staring down the alleyway where he thought he’d seen the man go.

“He disappeared! There’s no doors down there that I can see. How did he do that?”

He pauses, staring, but the man does not reappear.

He tries not to shiver in a sudden chill wind.

Anonymous asked: Red, he’s leading you away from a public place! Get away, he’s trying to corner you!

Grinding his teeth, Red withdraws slightly, staring around him. The people on the street all seem to have retreated into homes and run-down buildings, or maybe they’ve all gone away entirely.

Wind ruffles through Red’s hair.

There is something very hard in his eyes.

He takes a step into the alley.

Anonymous asked: Jackie, random question, are there any birds nearby?

Jackie glances around.

A pair of swallows flit through the air as little black figures far above him.

Above a closed restaurant down the block, a worn statue of an owl perches with dead eyes.

Across the street, he makes eye contact with a carrion bird, bald and wrinkled and hateful in the filthy street, glaring at him with ragged wings and scarred face.

“The birds work for the bourgeoisie?” he jokes weakly, trying to smile at you.

Something crunches in the alley. He whirls back around.

There is still no one there he can see.

reverseblackholeofwords asked: Red, has anyone *magical* ever come after you guys before? Maybe someone who can sense Blue's power?

Red is backing away now, his mouth taut.

“Sometimes Anti talks about old friends… from when we belonged to our first master. Sometimes Anti talks about hiding Blue’s and Dapper’s scents… but I can never smell anything on them.

“Sometimes I think the world has a lot more danger in it than Anti lets me see. Sometimes I think there are things only he and Blue and Dapper can see.”

Anonymous asked: Blue, Dok, are you two doing okay? Red tried to call Anti but Dapper picked up instead...either Anti passed out again or something’s up. Be careful but hurry home! Red is going to tail the guy for a little bit and see what he wants. We have no idea if there’s more than one guy though, so keep an eye out.

“Oh, fuck, I wish he wouldn’t,” gasps Blue, halfway sprinting down the street, Dok clinging to his hand at his side. “Did he really go to trail someone all on his own? Fuck, he’s going to get hurt! What, and now Anti’s not answering? Fuck, fuck.”

“Blue,” Dok insists, tugging at his sleeve. “Try to calm down, he can handle himself.”

“I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“I know. Me neither. But we don’t know where he is right now. Let’s just get home and make sure everyone’s okay back there. For all we know, Red will be waiting for us, uh?”

Blue gives a long exhale through his teeth, trying to listen to his little brother.

“Okay. Okay. Not far now, just a few more miles.”

“Ahhh,” groans Doktor. “I’m tired already. Anti let me get so fat…”

Blue snorts out a laugh despite himself, and Dok winks when he turns back to smile at him.

Anonymous asked: Hey Blue, are shapeshifters a thing?

“Oh, hm.” Blue frowns, trying to think. “Oh, I remember so little… I’m not supposed to talk about magic, you know… but hey, you’ve seen Anti, haven’t you? You know there are things that are not quite human, that can change at will. And then there are things like me, that are quite human, but… different. Touched by something not quite human. And then there are beings like Dapper. I remember so little… I used to know, shit, I swear I used to know…”

bupine asked: ok, starting to think this was a bad idea. probably get the fuck outta there red, tell anti about what happened and see if he can do anything about it. we don't want you to get fucking shanked fhejgfhjcjgd. badlypostedmusicals and three anons voiced similar concerns and were copied here.

“You know what,” breathes Red, backing away. “I think you might be right.”

But he cannot seem to turn his back on the alley.

Something is there.

He cannot see it. He cannot smell it. He cannot find it at all. But he feels it the same way he could swear he feels it when Anti is home or away - like something is shifting, pulsing, unraveling in his rapid heart.

“Okay,” he whispers, to you, to himself, to anyone who might be listening. “I’m just… going to go now.”

He turns his back on the alley. You turn with him.

And so it is that you do not see the man coming -

All you know is that suddenly, Red is jerked back, and he cries aloud in his shock and his fear, and, at the very corner of your vision, you can see the silver gleam of the knife at his throat.

Arms wearing the green sleeves of the man’s coat press it sharply to his Adam’s apple.

“Muévete,” comes a sharp, hissing whisper. “Y te mataré, demonio.”

He yanks Red back down the alley, deeper into the shadows.

Anonymous asked: The man knows about Anti

Red chokes as blood blooms on his neck, dragged back into the alley, panting.

The man knows about Anti. The man knows about Anti.

His little brother, his commander, his universe. How long has he protected him? How much has he seen him through? Anti’s given him everything he has. Anti’s sacrificed himself more than once to give Red everything he has.

The man knows about Anti. The man knows about my little brother, splayed out in his bed back home, sick with fatigue and distress. The man knows about my Anti.

Fury explodes across Red’s brain.

“Get the fuck off me!” he screams, and he shoves himself back so hard the man slams into the wall of the alleyway. Blood sprays across Red’s neck and he gasps, but it is not deep enough to stop him, and he leaps away from the man’s grasp and whirls on him, grabbing him by the coat.

whydoilovesomanyvillians asked: But who is it though

“Who are you?” shouts Red, slamming him back against the wall of the alley once, twice. “Who are you, you bastard, you creep! I’ll kill you! I’m going to fucking kill you!”

The man gives a wordless shout and kicks out at Red’s chest. Red barely back away, stumbling back and nearly slipping on - ice? Here? In the heat?

Red gasps and turns back to the man - but he is vanished again.

“What the fuck?” Red whispers, stepping off the patch of ice beneath his feet.

And then something slams into him, and he crumples to the ground, crying out at the sensation of an elbow connecting with his nose. The man reappears as though he’d been photo-shopped out a second ago, and suddenly he is pinning Red to the earth and drawing back a cold silver knife. Ice crackles and grows beneath Red’s body, holding him in place.

“Capataz de esclavos,” spits the man. “Liberaré a los otros hombres por tu muerte!”

“No hablo español, gilipollas!” Red returns, furious. “Let me go!”

Anonymous asked: Goddammit Anti this is why you piCK UP YOUR PHONE!

Checking back on your camera in Trick’s room, you see Anti startle awake at the persistent beeping of the camera, panting hard just from the shock of getting up. His black eyes fix blearily on you and his hands clench and unclench on his blankets as he tries dazedly to get the message through his head.

“Pick up my phone?” he coughs, trying to push the blankets off his legs. When did everything get so heavy. “My… my phone, where… where are all my boys…”

He stares around the room, licking at his dry lips. A little blood comes running from his eyes and he groans as his distress rises.

“Trick!” he croaks out, in a voice that shakes like an earthquake. “Dapper! Where are you? Where are all my boys? What’s going on? Need my computer, my…”

He swings his legs over the side of the bed and has to stop there, the color draining from his face. You see a great dark stain of blood seeping into the bedsheets where he lay.

“D-Doktor,” he whispers, his eyes drifting. “Doktor, I want my…”

Anonymous asked: ANTI YOU GET YOUR SAD ASS UP NOW AND FIX THIS ! JACKIE JUST GOT SNATCHED AND THE MAN KNOWS WHO YOU ARE

“Snatched?”

Anti’s voice glitches horribly. Every noise you can hear from his camera begins to ring painfully through your ears.

He staggers to his feet, blood pouring down his face.

“Snatched? Snatched? My Red? Who, who? Where is my boy? Where is my guard dog? No, no, no, get him back for me, give him back! Dapper! Dapper! Jameson! Where are my fucking boys? Give him back, give him back! Hoodie! Red!”

He tries to glitch away from you and you hear him give a scream before he reappears a second later and crumples on the side of his bed, wailing.

Anonymous asked: (excuse my translator spanish, but-) Dumbass, él es uno de esos hombres que estás tratando de liberar! ¡Detener!

I also would like to apologize for my translator Spanish. Feel free to help me out if you know better - as you’ve seen, I prefer to just put what’s being said in italicized English, but we can’t do that without Blue to translate. I would never use translator Spanish for a fic but on an ask blog where we’re writing without drafts or an actual translators to help me in real time, I hope you’ll forgive me. :) Thanks for sticking with me!

The man blinks down at the camera, confused.

“¿No él?” He stares down at Red. Red glares back up. “¿Quién es la oscuridad dentro de sus cabezas?”

“I’ll show you la oscuridad,” hisses Red, and he slams his knee through the ice that binds him, and drives it up and into the man’s stomach.

Anonymous asked: Anti, I don't know where exactly, but blue and Dok split off from Red to get away from the guy, they would be closest to red but we don't know where any of them are specifically. Hell I don't even know why trick and dapper aren't responding to you. Did you do something?

“No, no, I’ve been asleep, I thought they’d be here with me, Trick always sleeps when I sleep and Dap was just playing like a good boy, wh-where have my boys gone? My window is, why… I - split from Red, where did he… where would he go, who would hurt him, my Red…”

Anti shudders suddenly and jerks to the side, spitting a long stream of blood from his mouth. He’s starting to get very white. His pupils are pinpricks in blue and brown eyes.

Anonymous asked: shit shit shit!! blue, red just got attacked! you have to get to anti for help!

“What?” shouts Blue, stopping in the middle of the pathway. A woman pokes her head out of her doorway, frowning.

bupine asked: hey blue, dok, just thought y'all should know that red just got fuckin jumped in an alleyway by some random dude, not quite sure who it is but anyway more on this story as it develops i guess?? stay strong and get home quickly guys I'm sure he'll be just fine

“Holy shit!” shouts Blue, letting go of Doktor’s hand and beginning to sprint up the mountain, something Dok thinks should probably be impossible, seeing as he can’t seem to go two steps without slipping.

“Blue, wait!” he cries, struggling up the mountain after his brother. “Blue, your hands! Calm down! You must calm down, your hands! Idiot, wait!”

Anonymous asked: Oh gosh Blue, the man he knows what Anti is and he’s got Red now

“He knows… he knows what Anti is?”

Blue finally pauses, staring back down the mountain, his eyes wet.

You can see so much of the city from here. From the slums grow silver buildings towering up over crowded streets. Gorgeous churches spread wide their gardens and cathedrals, bustling marketplaces swarm with chattering people, the mountainside crawls with little houses and hard-working people for as far as the eye can see. And down, down, down from the mountain, the ocean spreads its arms to hug the whole city, glittering blue in the December sun.

“Fuck, Red,” Blue whispers. “Please be okay. Whoever we’re dealing with… this is no ordinary enemy.”

Anonymous asked: Blue, the man who attacked Red is only attacking him because he thinks he’s Anti. He wants to free all of you, he’s good!

“Free us? Free us from what? He’ll take Red away from us! Anti can’t help it that he was made looking like a monster! He can’t help it what he is! We don’t need to be freed from anyone! That’s my little brother!”

He turns his eyes back towards the house, panting.

“And he’s in trouble, now. Dok, come on!”

Anonymous asked: Okay, what about energy? Can you sense magical “scents” or whatever? Is there something people like you can see that others, like Red, can’t?

“I do get the smells Anti talks about,” Blue admits, panting his way up the mountain. “I smell dust and copper and petrichor when Dapper uses his magic, most of the time. And Anti I can always sense - he seems to make the air burn. Sometimes my hands, too, but I don’t know why. He says I used to fear him, in another life. I guess part of me still thinks he’s dangerous… treacherous heart. I don’t know about seeing things, though. Maybe?”

Anonymous asked: Yes, but we’ve managed to get the man to stop for now. But dapper and Trick have disappeared and Anti is basically dying on the floor in their bedroom. He was calling for...Doktor.

“Dapper and Trick are gone? What? This is fucking crazy, this is crazy! Okay, we’re almost there, just let me get to the house… fuck, Dok, can’t you keep up?”

“Fuck you,” calls Dok, looking stressed. “I’m going so fast right now, arschloch. It’s a mountain, Blue, and my bag is heavy. How are you doing this with your arms full of blankets?”

Blue keeps heading up the path.

Anonymous asked: Marvin, I don’t think you believe that, do you? Anti has taken everything away from you. Look at what he’s done now! He’s trapped Trick- Chase- in a room for being drepressed! He’s brainwashed Jackie into becoming a guard dog, conditioned Henrik to be his servant, and raised Jameson as a child on a leash! You know this isn’t right. Can’t you remember?! You came after them, that’s why you’re here now, you came to free your brothers and got trapped!

“No!” screams Blue.

At last he stumbles like Doktor as the sand shifts beneath him and he yelps as he crumples to his knees, unable to catch himself with his arms full.

“No, that’s not true! Don’t say that, don’t you dare fucking say that! Anti’s given us everything we have! Anti’s all that keeps us safe! Anti loves us, loves Trick and Dok and Red and Dapper! He isn’t always perfect, I know, but he does what he thinks is best for us! I know that! He loves me, he has to! Otherwise, what is all of this fucking for?”

He strikes the jagged rubble of the mountainside with a scream.

And the mountain - the mountain that has become his home, his heart, his sanctuary - the mountain rumbles in return.

Blue stares down at hands that glow blue as fire, horrified. He hears people crying out farther down the mountain and sees, from the corner of his eyes, the vecinos running for cover. But no earthquake follows, no collapse - the one rumble answers him alone.

He can’t breathe. His hands glow.

“Blue.”

Warm hands fall to his shoulders with a grounding pressure and someone shakes him relentlessly, forcing him to look up. He meets Doktor’s eyes with his own shocked gaze, and he sees in his little brother’s face a familiar kind of strength - strength like Red’s, cool and unshakeable, steadfast and protective.

Doktor holds his shoulders. Blue meets his gaze.

The glowing fades.

“We don’t have time for this,” says Dok, very softly.

“I know,” whispers Blue, a tear tracing a path down his face. “I’m so sorry. Let’s go.”

Dok reaches down to help him.

And Blue, the elder, accepts his little brother’s help, and gets back to his feet.

nikkilbook asked: Someone supernatural was following the boys, and Red lagged behind to keep the others safe. Do we have permission to have Dapper rewind? And for Blue to use his power to help defend them? This guy knows about you.

“No, no, no, no blue power,” Anti mumbles, his eyes rolling a little in his skull. “That’s why… how else would someone have found us, how… no blue power, no, no….”

badlypostedmusicals asked: Guys, the man is after Anti. Once he's through with red he will go after him, and I don't think that he's strong enough to fend off an attack. Maybe one of you should go back?

“Let me check in at the house first.” Blue tries to keep his voice steady.

cest-mellow asked: dok? blue are you gonna be home soon? anti needs dok, he’s hurt.

“Here we are, here we are.” Stressed, Blue tugs open the door of the clinic they have made their home with one of the keys Anti allows him to keep. But even before he can push in to the house, Doktor is pushing past him, and dashing to the room at the end of the hall.

“Still locked!” he cries, yanking on the handle. “Master, let us in! Anti, I’m here, I’m here, little brother! It’s me, it’s okay! Trick? Trick, are you in there?”

“The eyes said Trick and Dapper weren’t in there with him,” Blue calls. “If the door is locked, they must have gotten out another way!”

He darts back out of the door and circles around the house, finding the shattered window that leads to Trick’s room - a tiny, tiny window, barely big enough to let the light in, let alone a body. But there are footprints in the dirt beneath the sill.

Blue swears and uses the new blankets to brush glass from the open window, jumping up to squeeze in as best he can. He gets a couple cuts on his hands and back, but it does not matter.

Anti is very still beside the bed, his white face dripping blood.

“Oh, oh, Anti,” gasps Blue, running to his side. “Oh, love, what were you thinking? Why didn’t you just tell us, amata?”

Anti barely stirs, his lips parting. His eyes closed.

Blue gets up to let Doktor in.

“Anti, Anti!” Doktor dissolves into German babbling, falling down at Anti’s side and pulling him into his arms, already holding his first aid kit. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay! I fix, I fix!”

At the sound of his voice, something stirs behind the closed door of the bathroom.

badlypostedmusicals asked: Is it one of Anti's old friends? Do you remember anything he may have told you?

“I can’t imagine Anit having any kind of old friends,” mumbles Blue, brushing hair from his torturer’s face. “He’s a little paranoid, I don’t know if you’ve noticed. I think you mean an old enemy… No, I don’t know, I don’t know who it could be. Something strange about that sigil on his arm… almost familiar, but from so long ago. Lifetimes ago.”

“You should be careful what you speak of,” warns Dok lowly, pulling Anti’s shirt off. It glitches oddly and disappears, but Anti is still wearing a shirt.

“His fucking anatomy!” Doktor shouts, slamming his hand against the ground. “He’s barely a physical being, how am I supposed to do this?”

“Just bandage him up with the shirt on or something, Dok! Give him medicine or something!”

“His body has rejected every medicine I’ve ever given him and my twin would get punished for it every time. No, no. Let me see if I can bind him up - maybe if I distract him I can get the shirt to go away? Or something? Fuck, this wound is new, but you know what this is?”

Doktor points to a soaking wound in Anti’s back. His eyes are full of tears.

“This is where Carver stabbed him. Weeks ago now. He has never once let me look at it. I have not been a good enough doctor to earn his trust.”

He hiccups through sobs, yanking gauze out of his bag. “This is all my fault. Now I don’t even know where my little brothers are. He was right - I can’t protect anyone he gives to me.”

Anonymous asked: Oh god I’m going to cry, is that Trick behind the door?

Doktor stiffens, staring at the camera, his hands frozen around the gauze.

“Dok,” warns Blue, grabbing his shoulders in mimicry of his own comfort. “Dok, stay focused. Anti needs you.”

“T-trick… behind the door? In the bathroom?”

“Dok, stay with Anti, let me check - ”

“No!” cries Dok, leaping to his feet and shoving the gauze into Blue’s hands. “No, I’ll just check real quick!”

“Deutsch, what the hell are you thinking? You’re going to get in so much fucking trouble!”

“Just wrap that around Anti’s back! I’ll be right back!”

And he practically leaps over Blue to get to the bathroom in the back of the room, his heart thudding so hard in his chest he can barely breathe. He remembers, so vividly, waking up to Dapper’s shrill, desperate whistling, finding his baby brother curled over his twin, Trickshot shaking like a riptide as his body went into shock from the overdose. He remembers being so distressed he could barely save him, working over the sound of Anti’s screaming and the feeling of his heartbeat dwindling beneath his hands. He remembers spilled pills and vomit.

“No,” he gasps, pulling open the bathroom door. “No, no, no.”

“Dok?” comes Trick’s small voice. “Is that… really you?”

He lies pale against the wall beside the shower, his face blotchy and red from crying. It makes his eyes seem brighter than ever - he stares up at Doktor like the whole of the sky is there in his gaze.

“You’re a dream,” mumbles Trick dazedly. “I… I’ve wanted to see you for so long.”

Doktor trembles above him, trying to find the strength to kneel down at his side. Tears flow down his cheeks.

“How many did you take?” he whispers, in a ghost’s voice.

The bathroom floor is littered with pills - Fanapt, Dapper’s latest prescription. Anti kept it in the drawer beside the bed.

“None,” whispers Trick in reply.

Doktor is sobbing, clutching at his chest. He crumples at his twin’s side and reaches out to hold his face between his hands, halfway to hysterical.

“How many did you take?” he screams.

“None.”

“How many, how many?”

“None. None, I swear.”

“I can’t do this again!”

“I know.”

“I can’t lose you, please, please, no!”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Tell me you didn’t do this, tell me you didn’t take any!”

“I didn’t. I didn’t.”

Doktor dissolves into tears on his shoulder, throwing himself over Trick’s body, and then, after so long, they are holding each other again.

Trick holds him so tight he could shatter for the love of it, letting Doktor press him back hard against the wall, clutching at his hair and pushing his face into his shoulder. Hot wet tears fall down on Doktor’s head.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry,” sobs Trick. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“You really didn’t take any? You really didn’t? Swear to me, swear to me on everything you are.”

“I’ll swear to you on the only thing I’m fucking living for,” Trick cries, pressing his lips to the side of his head. “In your name, I swear, I didn’t take any, not a single one. I was going to, I wanted to. I needed this to stop. This hurts so fucking much some days I can’t do anything but scream and sleep. I needed it to stop - but then I kept seeing you crying over me, I kept hearing you calling my name. I was conscious the whole time you were saving my life, Dok, do you know that? I could hear you. I wanted to die when I took the Percocet, but I took it all back the goddamn second I heard you crying, Deutsch, Deutsch - ”

They collapse into each other’s arms again, half splayed out on the floor of that bathroom, but it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters but that he’s here, he’s here, here in his arms, here in his arms, safe and alive and perfect as ever.

“I love you so much,” Doktor sobs. “I love you so fucking much.”

And Trick - Trick, there in his weakness and in his strength, Trick in his whole and in his shattered pieces - Trick looks at his brother, at his twin, at his heart, and he gives him back the word that Anti lets every twin safeguard for the other:

“I love you too, Henrik.”

And if Doktor leans in and lays his head back on his shoulder, whispering promises and assurances and affectations and a secret name of his own keeping, holding his twin so close he can feel his steady heartbeat, well, there is no one awake who is going to stop them from being, in that moment, the people they were always meant to be.

cest-mellow asked: ok, we found trick, but wheres dapper? Whydoilovesomanyvillians and pixie-in-trebleland also asked where they were and were copied here.

“Trick, do you know?”

“Oh, no… I heard him breaking the window, actually, but I was kind of… out of it. Barely registered it. Look, he tore the shower rod out to smash it in.”

Blue opens the bathroom door and grabs Dok by the collar, hauling him back to his feet.

“If you two are done re-enacting a reverse ending of Romeo and Juliet, you’ll remember that we’re in the middle of a fucking emergency! Thank you! Dok, clean Anti up. Trick, what the hell do you mean? Was he running away? Was he pyschotic, is he okay?”

“I don’t think so! He seemed fine this morning! A little twitchy, maybe, a little stuck in his own head, but you know Dap.”

“Ugh, why is it so fucking dusty in here? You have two rooms and you can’t even keep them clean. It smells like an antique shop in here.”

“I don’t smell anything, dude. Put your hands up straight and give me a complete sentence, I want to check for stroke.”

“Trickshot!”

Blue hauls him to his feet and drags him towards the door. “Since you weren’t watching, you can be the one who helps me look for him. Put your shoes on, let’s go!”

the-weirdest-fan asked: Anti, calm down. You can't go to him like this. Red's handling it fine, and if things go wrong, which is unlikely to happen, you can get Dapper to reverse. It's okay that you can't control this situation right now, because if you try to you might not be able to control anything later. So please calm yourself. Lie down. Rest.

Doktor sits down with Anti again, patching him up as best he can with steady, practiced hands.

“Dapper,” he moans, shifting in his sleep. “Dok…”

“Here I am, here I am,” murmurs Doktor, wiping blood from his face with a cool washcloth. “Listen to them, time to rest. Everything will be okay. The good doctor’s got you. Rest. You never do, my brother.”

Anonymous asked: Red, are you okay?

“Just - fucking - peachy!”

Red is a snarling, furious whirlwind of a fighter, not fast but strong, strong and sturdy and venomous, spinning his staff around in his hands like a hypnotist with something to prove. He has driven the man back, back, towards the wall, forcing him on the defensive with nothing but the small knife. The stranger leaps to the side as Red swings the staff hard at his arm, threatening to shatter bone, and darts forward a moment later to aim a stab at Red’s side. But Red knows better than anything how to spar with someone wielding a knife - he sees the oncoming blade, tracks it trajectory, and raises a foot to kick it straight out of the man’s hand.

The stranger backs away, eyes darkening.

“My baby brother still plays with dolls and he could kick your ass with both his hands behind his back,” roars Red, spinning the staff around again. “Who the fuck do you think you are, holding a knife to my throat, stalking my fucking family? I’ll kill you!”

He leaps forward staff swinging. The man raises his hand and spikes of ice explode from the ground in front of Red, making him yelp with surprise. One of them slams hard into his face and he howls, dropping his staff to clutch at his cheek. Without hesitating, the man follows up on the attack with a burst of ice in mid-air that slashes, cold, across Red’s stomach, cutting a line through his hoodie. He yells and crumples to his knees, fumbling for his staff as blood begins to leak through his hoodie.

“Don’t know how to handle clean magic, do you?” crows the stranger in a heavy accent, retrieving his knife. “Everything inside you is corrupted, I can smell it! Would it be a mercy to put you to death, Rojo?”

“Fuck you,” snarls Red, looking up with teeth gritted and blood-soaked. He grabs his staff and staggers back to his feet, his heart pumping hard in his chest.

Anonymous asked: RED CUT IT OUT for a second! Let us sort this out! El demonio que buscas. Los hemos estado apoyando lo mejor que hemos podido. Disculpe nuestro amigo aquí ... él no sabe nada mejor.

“Perhaps you are right,” pants the stranger, spinning his blade in his hand. “Perhaps he does not know any better. Su cabeza esta llena de sombras. But still I must to defend myself.”

“I wouldn’t say must,” spits Red, stalking forward again, a wild light in his eyes. “You could make this a lot easier on yourself if you let me impale you where you stand, after all.”

Anonymous asked: Red he might think you're Anti

“Anti,” breathes the stranger. “Is that your demon, prisionero?”

“Don’t say his fucking name!” Red screams, and drives forward with the staff again, swinging it hard at his head. The stranger ducks and strikes at Red’s legs, earning a bloody slash across Red’s knee but also taking a solid kick to the side. He falls back, groaning and grabbing at the raven bracelet on his arm, which begins to glow a fervent snow white.

Red strikes at him again and again and the man falls back under the onslaught. He tries to summon ice again, but Red shatters it or leaps away. He swings with his blade, but it’s like a bee-sting to Red - he knows well the cut of a blade. It’s only when Red lands a solid blow to his head that the young man is able to leap away, clutching at his skull - and when Red turns around to face him, he has disappeared again.

Red pants, his eyes flickering in every direction.

“I know you’re still there,” he growls, and he sounds so much like Anti the voice almost seems to glitch.

cest-mellow asked: red, tell the man you aren’t anti. tell him who you are!

“I am Anti,” snarls Red. “I am Anti’s. I am an extension of him. I am a weapon of his. I am a limb of his, an instrument, a belonging. Red is just a nickname. Red is just a designation. All I am is Anti’s.”

The young man re-appears again, as if from nowhere.

The hat has fallen away and you can see his face clearly now. He is perhaps twenty-five, with a head of dark curls, and enormous, beautiful black eyes. Heavy eyebrows and a nose that looks like it’s had its fair share of shatterings accent his face. His fine mouth is parted; his expression filled with a great many things - pity. Sympathy. Pain. Warmth.

“It does not have to be this way,” he calls, soft but sure. “It does not have to be like this at all. Weren’t you someone before the darkness took you, amigo? Did you not once have a name?”

Red stands staring at him, panting like a bull in an arena.

“My name,” says the man, reaching out a hand. “Is Hermann. What was yours?”

Anonymous asked: "Woah.. Hey.. Red, buddy, take a breath. Even though Anti is hurt he looks like he doesn't want to hurt the others. At least let him explain." -PF!M

“No… no, no, no. He’s dangerous! I know he is! I won’t listen to this! Stop talking! You’re wrong - there was nothing before Anti! No name, no person, nothing! Nothing that mattered, anyway!”

Old images flicker before his eyes - his brothers smiling and dressed strangely, Blue braiding long hair, a warm house with flowers growing in through the porch, a faraway darkness and a nearby love.

But he can’t seem to hold on to a single one of them. They slip way from him like sand through the hourglass. He backs away, shaking his head, blinking.

“You’re - you’re trying to hypnotize me!” he shouts, holding up the staff again. “You’re trying to get inside my head!”

Hermann backs away, shaking his head.

“You do not want to do this, prisionero. I do not want to hurt you. But if you to attack me, then we must fighting.”

Red tightens his grip on his staff.

“Guess we must.”

Anonymous asked: Red get out of there. You don't know if he has friends. Go to Anti and the others while you still can.

“No, he’s going to pay for coming after my family!”

Red shatters ice with his staff and leaps the shards, swinging a fist at Hermann’s head. Hermann draws back and then aims a kick at Red’s side and a slash at his head, forcing him to block with both hands, the one holding the staff causing Hermann to cry out in pain and retreat. Red follows up with ferocity, swinging like a baseball player with nothing to lose. He strikes Hermann once, twice, and then places his foot too quickly and tumbles to the ground as he finds ice beneath his shoes. Hermann bears down on him a second later, tackling him to the earth and covering him halfway in ice again, pressing that blade back to his throat. But Red only smiles - he got out of this once, after all, and he’ll do it again, and then wipe that sick pity off this little insect’s fucking face.

Hatred burns in his chest so raw and hot it almost makes him gag, but he gets more used to the sensation with every chore, with every mission, with every sacrifice he makes to his master. What does it matter to him now? This hatred is a part of him. This hatred is what feeds and devours him.

He wills his knee to jerk up again, to shatter the ice -

But, ah, he ought to have heeded your warning.

The steel toe of a boot connects with the side of his head, making the whole world go white for a second as he screams, dazed as warmth fills up his hair. A second blade comes down to touch his throat, and then someone is sitting on his chest, pushing him down hard into the earth and shouting at him in rapid Spanish. Through eyes half-filled with sparks, he gazes up to see two new faces joining Hermann’s, a pair of women with fury in their eyes.

A second blow connects with his head and he gasps, spinning nearly into unconsciousness. A sudden fear wraps around his heart and his fingers scrabble for his phone, Anti’s name falling, mangled by concussion, from his bleeding mouth.

“Anti, Anti, master, help me!”

nikkilbook asked: Dust—Blue, remember your own words! You said Dap’s magic smells of dust and petrichor! He’s already turned back once already!

“Oh, shit,” whispers Blue, standing in the doorway of his house, staring down at the city. “What could have gone so wrong that Dapper turned back time without even Anti’s permission?”

Anonymous asked: "N-No- Please don't- Jackie! Please, don't! Your name is Jackie! Please, listen to him, he wants to help! Don't make the same mistake I did, I'm begging you!" -PF!H

“My name is Red,” he croaks, clinging woozily to consciousness. “My name is… Anti…”

He feels his body hauled out of the ice and thrown onto the hard gravel of the alley, scraping his face and rose-scarred calves. Hermann and his friends are babbling above him.

“Este hombre está demasiado loco para encarcelar.”

“Deberíamos sacarlo de su miseria. Mira lo miserable que es.“

“No puedo matar a un hombre inocente!”

“El no es inocente. El pertenece a la oscuridad!”

“Enough, enough!” calls the oldest of the three, a woman with shining black hair and enough make-up to make her aging face look entirely flawless. “Stop scaring him! Look how he shakes. He’s beat. We take him back. Genesis, bind up his hands. El no es un mago.”

Red gasps as ruthless hands bind his wrists tightly in thick twine and someone grabs him roughly by the back of his throat, dragging him to his feet. Tears prick in his eyes and he screams, trying to find the strength to struggle. Blood is dripping down the side of his face.

Anonymous asked: Red, they won't kill you. At least not yet. Sit tight, get your strength back. (Maybe something else, too, if you dig deep enough, who knows) Watch. Listen. Find out what you can. We can help you piece together some Spanish if need be. I'm running off of college-level Spanish that I failed twice and have been out of for two years; it's not much but I'm trying for you, okay?

Red bursts into frantic giggles, his eyes fixed wildly on you. He swallows hard, beginning to shake, grimacing at the sensation of rope and fear and flesh pressed to his own. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

“I’m not great at languages either,” he wheezes, trying to straighten up in Genesis’ grip. “Thank you.”

He closes his eyes as her grip only tightens. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

“Will you please - ” He stammers as back as Trick in his fear - “Will you please tell my twin and my brothers that I love - I love - I love them v-very much, and I want them to have a merry Christmas without me, and I’m so - I’m so sorry I didn’t bring everybody’s presents home. I failed them, I’m sorry, I love them, I love them. Blue, I love you.”

Anonymous asked: Hermann (and friends), I don’t know if you’re reading this but, you have to get out of there with Jackie/Red. Anti and the others will be looking for him soon and they aren’t going to be nice about it. Get him somewhere safe ASAP and lay low, the rest will be harder to free when they’re like this.

“Look, he has this little camera with the messages on it… see, someone speaks to him.”

“El demonio.”

“No, see, they warn us.”

“Don’t play with it, Hermann, it’s probably cursed or something. Vamonos. We will take him back for now. If he cannot be convinced or freed… well, we do what we have to do, yes?”

“They say someone will come looking for him.”

“No one is going to catch us right now. After all, the - what was that?”

A rock clatters off a garbage can and lands on the street beside them.

Hermann, Genesis, and the older woman exchange glances.

And then Anti’s little pet is upon them.

Carver has never worn his name better - not cutting up bodies to hide them for Anti, not tearing apart flesh to get answers to Anti’s questions out of prisoners, not flying into battle at his brother’s side. No, Carver has always had the greatest ferocity when set loose from his chain and given a body to protect.

Anti taught him to fight fucking dirty, unpredictable, and he lashes out wildly with his teeth bared. Red was the one who taught him speed and a deadly unconcern for pain - he needed it to combat his older brother’s strength. And his own power sits inside his hands, the most cutting weapon of them all, because no matter how strong or cruel or intelligent the enemy, Anti’s youngest puppet has one advantage no one else has ever beaten him at:

He’s already fought this fight once before.

He dodges a blow from Genesis before she’s even thrown it, grabs her by her short hair, and yanks her away from her allies, kicking her in a weak spot he discovered the first time around - the inside of her right knees. She crumples with a yell and he avenges the blows she gave to his brother’s head by driving his foot into her face, shattering the nose in a spray of blood. The older woman gives a cry and pushes a hand out towards him, casting him in an impossibly bright light, but, with his eyes closed, he still remembers where she was the first time they fought, and he throws a knife blind. She screams as it tears through her arm badly, forcing her to stagger back and clutch at the swiftly-bleeding wound. And the tricky invisible boy - you could tell Carver his name is Hermann, but he would not care even if he listened - oh, yes, Carver remembers where he stands.

For a moment, Dapper is still, letting him think he’s escaped him, letting him think he cannot be seen. His eyes glow a fervent silver. Looking at them is like looking at an over-full moon.

He whirls around and slams a knife into the air.

Hermann re-appears with a scream, grabbing at the dagger buried in his stomach. Genesis cries his name, hauling herself to her feet, but Carver ignores her, savoring, for a moment, his victory. Hermann stares up at his silver eyes with the infinite black of his own, something hateful and angry and cold building in the gaze between them.

“You, then,” he whispers, gritting his teeth as blood wells up on his tongue. “You, then, are the demon.”

Carver does not smile or frown. His eyes are cool. His pockets are full of finger puppets.

Genesis grabs Hermann’s arm and then the two are gone with a sudden gust of wind, not invisible now, but transported. Carver does not care,so long as they do not get away with Red this time. He steps over his brother’s body, curled in on itself on the ground, and stalks towards the older woman, his mouth curving up in a snarl.

“You back off,” she shouts, pulling what looks like a hatchet out of her backpack and hefting it in her good arm. Ah, damn. Carver should have remembered to cut the left arm instead of the right. But he will still beat her.

She swings in a one-two-three pattern and he dodges almost without looking, slipping behind her to grab her by that long, beautiful hair and yank her back painfully hard. She cries out in fury and drives the hatchet back at him - tricky, that one almost caught him! He giggles and backs away, his face twitching.

Genesis re-appears and grabs her friend. Carver does not move to stop them when they disappear. As long as they are gone, and Red remains.

He can always finish them off when his master commands him.

For a long time, Carver only stands there, staring at the spot where the women had been. Eventually, you watch his shoulders sink, and his gaze slacken, and a sort of confusion, a sort of numbness, return to his blood-freckled face.

“Red?” ask his hands. He frowns down at his brother. “Why are you crying?”

Red hides his face in his bound hands, trying to stop the tears from coursing down his cheeks.

Dapper kneels down beside him and puts a careful hand on the fabric of his hoodie, his face falling with sympathy.

“You were scared?”

He cuts Red’s hands free.

“Didn’t you know I’d come save you like I always do?”

Sobbing, Red reaches up to clutch at his little brother’s sleeves, drawing Dapper down to his chest, and Dapper goes obediently, lying his head down like a tired little kid resting on his brother’s body.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Red cries, rubbing his back. “I’m sorry you had to come save me, I’m sorry I was stupid, I’m sorry I made you fight when you’re hurting, I’m sorry I haven’t been a better brother to you, I’m sorry…”

Dapper doesn’t bother trying to quiet him. He lays there with his head on Red’s chest, and he lets his brother cry.

“Everything’s okay now, Red. Everything’s okay.”

bupine asked: RED HOLY SHIT KICK HIS ASS GET OUT OF THERE GOOO

Dapper giggles a little, pressing his forehead against Red’s chest. “Is that what you tried to do?”

“Y-yes, I should have been able to take him…”

“He surprised you. He was full of magic. It doesn’t matter now. We know about them, don’t we? So that’s helpful. Not a complete loss.”

He gets up and reaches down to help Red, who grimaces as he is drawn to his feet. His stomach is bleeding frighteningly heavy now, and he can’t seem to see straight no matter how hard he focuses. He thinks he might vomit.

Dapper uses the crisp white sleeve of his dress shirt to wipe blood from Red’s face. Teary-eyed, Red bows his head and allows it.

“There we go,” murmurs Dapper. His right cheek tightens and un-tightens, tightens and un-tightens.

“Dap? Why are you twitching like that?”

Dapper gives a little irritated whimper and rubs at his face. “Can’t make it stop.”

“Took your medicine this morning?”

“Took what Anti gave me.”

“Are you okay?”

“… Don’t know. Never happened before.”

Red sighs and tries to stand steady, brushing Dapper away when he reaches out to help. “We better get you home.”

Dapper gives a small, chirruping whistle.

Anonymous asked: Blue and Trick: Dapper is with Red! They're both a little shaken; Red is bloody but he'll be okay once he's bandaged up, I think. Dapper seems to be experiencing side effects. I'm not sure if you want to meet up with them or trust that they'll make it back in their own, but either way, the danger seems to be past for now.

“Oh,” breathes Blue, sinking to his knees right there on the mountainside, grabbing at his heart. “Ohhhhh.”

Trick whoops and claps his hands together, his face brighter than you’ve seen it in days and soaking in the sun. “Let’s go meet them! I could use some time out of that little room! It’s gorgeous out here, wow! Look at that view!”

He leaps up on a big rock and stares out at the ocean, a big smile on his face. “I bet Dapper and Red kicked ass today! And now they’re coming home, and tomorrow we get Christmas all together, and Doktor’s going to patch up Anti and Red, and everything’s going to be okay!”

Blue is still there on his knees behind him, staring up at him. There is something in his eyes - love, joy, warmth, gratitude.

It’s nice to see him happy again, even if he knows it can’t last forever. It’s good to see his spirits rising.

“Come on,” says Blue fondly, reaching out to take Trick’s hand. Trick, oscillating between desperately touch-starved and completely invaded for far too long, jerks back in surprise for only a moment before wrapping his fingers around Blue’s and turning to smile at him. “Let’s go get our brothers.”

cest-mellow asked: dapper? jameson? where’d you go?

“Oh, it was easy,” explains Dapper as they walk, going slow for Red’s sake. “I got the call from Red’s phone because Anti was sleeping and I thought he seemed like he was in trouble, so I decided to go to him. I knew Anti would give me permission to save him if it was a real emergency. Especially as I have been a very good boy for the last three days.”

He straightens up proudly, clutching at the back of Red’s hoodie as he walks.

“I felt well enough to make it down the mountainside and I followed the GPS on Anti’s phone.” Dapper pulls it out of his pocket, a sleek little black phone with a lot of weird apps downloaded and no screensaver or background. “Found Red a little too late, though. He was already bound up and stuff, so I didn’t have his help. I lost the first time I fought - or I killed the old lady, anyway, but the girl took Red away. And I knew Anti wouldn’t like that. So, snap!”

Dapper snaps his fingers and makes Red jump, his face a little haggard and quite white.

“I turned back and tried again knowing how they would fight. Or something within me knew how they would fight. Blood is just blood, you know? And it’s always flowing and flowing.”

He begins whistling a little, his twitching face interrupting his song, and Red looks back at him with concern in his eyes.

“Little man, are you sure you took your medicine?”

“Took what Anti gave me, sir.”

Red sighs and reaches back to pull him under his arm. Dapper simpers pettishly and lies his head against his chest, beaming up at him.

They make their way back to the mountain, slow, slow, and it would just about kill Red to have to walk the whole way up, but luckily Blue and Trick spot them from the top and race down to meet them and help Red.

If Blue is a little disconcerted by the change in Dapper’s behavior that has taken place over the last three days, he chooses to make no comment, only scoops his little brother into a hug and praises him for saving Red the whole way up the mountain.

Anonymous asked: Doktor this is not your fault. You are not a failure. You can save Anti, just like you’ve saved everyone else. You’ve protected Dapper, directed both Blue and Trick onto the right path. Mistakes come and go and you should not be ashamed of them. They help us grow. Sadly, you cannot save everyone but if you focus on that then you will never save anyone. Trust in your abilities and judgment, Dok, because we do. You’ve got this.

You find Dok sitting beside Anti’s bed, his face blank.

Beneath the covers, Anti is very still. He breathes steady, pale but alive, wrapped up in bandages. Dok’s even managed to get him shirtless. He hopes it helps, but, with Anti, it’s difficult to say.

“I think he’ll be okay,” he whispers.

He’s staring down at his hands.

Curling and uncurling.

“I can save Anti,” he whispers to himself, trying, deliberately, to internalize your message. “I’m not a failure.”

He sits alone for a long time, holding his knees to his chest, looking tired.

But then the door opens, and chattering comes with it, and the stomping of feet, and a smile lights up slowly on his face again.

His family. His friends. His brothers. His twin.

Returned.

Beaming, Doktor gets to his feet, and goes to help his family.

badlypostedmusicals asked: Boys who are still functional, why don't you try and make the house a little more secure and bring all of your blankets to anti's room so you can be together

“To Anti’s room?” whispers Blue, eyes wide. “I’m not so sure he’d like that… Better to let sleeping dogs lie, you know. But I am going to grab those blankets!”

Anonymous asked: Yeah, I’m crying, oh lord.

It was, after all, quite a day.

Red cries for how gently Doktor patches him up and how warmly Blue holds his hand through it.  It’s late afternoon, but Doktor prescribes a good long sleep before they try any processing, and Red, exhausted, agrees. He and Blue lie down under a big, fuzzy, purple blanket, their limbs tangled up and their heads close together, and they wish each other a merry Christmas eve in grateful whispers before going to bed at four in the morning.

Trick and Doktor are drawn back to each other like magnets, and they hug for so long Trick nearly drifts off against his shoulder, which makes them both laugh and dissolve into enthusiastic teasing. You watch Doktor’s energy spike higher than you’ve seen it in days, and soon the two of them have borrowed Blue’s new cards to play a passionate game of whispered BS with Dapper in their room, giggling the whole time and calling each other for every bluff. That night, Dapper retreats back to Anti’s room, but Trick elects to stay with Dok, not caring, for once, what Anti would say. They light his candles together. Doktor whispers his blessings with tears running down his face and Trick buried against his chest, and then they curl up beneath their window, and, like they always used to, they watch until the sun goes down.

And if Dapper cries a little too, as the adrenaline of the fight leaves him, replaced by a cold and growing horror as he remembers blood beneath Carver’s hands and the weight of the knife clutched between his fingers, well… he has Anti to snuggle up with, doesn’t he? There’s nothing else he needs. Everyone else has a twin, and him? He has Anti.

He stares around the room and realizes that soon, he will once again be trapped.

His face twitches.

Anonymous asked: It's a Christmas miracle! You're all together again and that's what matters! Fix each other up and get some sleep before tomorrow comes, okay? Merry Christmas, boys!! And a happy Hanukkah to you, Dok!

“It is kind of a miracle, huh?” murmurs Dok, staring up at the ceiling.

Trick is fast asleep beside him. He looks well. His body’s warm.

“I think we always feel like the oil’s going to run out,” Doktor continues softly, holding him. “Like that’s it, that’s all. This is the last of it. And once it’s gone, we’re done for.

But then… you have miracles.”

He pulls Trick closer to his chest, sighing warmly.

Content on Christmas Eve, on the third day of Hanukkah.

“And the oil does not run out. The enemy does not win like you thought he would. You keep fighting and you light your candles and you hold your head up and trust in things greater than yourself, and they sustain you when you thought you couldn’t keep going, not for another day, not for another moment.”

Doktor closes his eyes. The smile on his mouth is warm as the flame of his candles.

“You have your lights in the darkness,” he whispers, dozing off. “You have enough oil after all.”

End Section Four of Chapter Two.

Find the next section here.

[mythicamagic]

Swimming in Silk - chapter 19

Training in front of her, engaging her in conversation and now lending her his clothes…Kagome is starting to suspect that Sesshoumaru is trying to gain her attention.

Sesskag - Romance, Humour, Drama, Angst

Rated M - As always you can read this story on Ao3, fanfiction.net or Dokuga

Chapter One - here                Previous Chapter - here    Next Chapter - here

AN: Sorry this chapter is all over the place, I still didn't fit in everything I wanted lolol good news though! After this depressing chapter, the angst won't be so heavy in this fic anymore x

Haunted Hounds~

After wading through the shallows to shore, Kagome peeled her sodden sweater off, sighing as she wrung the waterlogged material. Inuyasha promptly shook himself, soaking her anew.

"Gah!" Kagome sputtered. "Can you not?"

"How else am I supposed to get dry?" He grunted, white hair puffing up under his cap.

She couldn't help but giggle. "You're not, be cold and suffer with the rest of us."

By the time they'd padded up to the huts, Kagome was positively shivering. The ocean was a quiet crash of waves behind them as lights suddenly flared to life in various windows. The covers over doors were thrown back, and various demons rushed out, raising weapons with wild, fearful eyes.

Kagome quickly raised her hands, "we come in peace!" She squeaked, spying a familiar face among them, who lowered his axe. "Kaito!"

The demons paused, frowning and looking at the dark haired man. "General, do you know them?"

"Ah! That's Lord Inuyasha," said one.

Inuyasha acknowledged them with a grunt. "Lower your damn weapons."

"Yes, do so. The Lady of the Western Lands stands with him," Kaito said, eyes gentling slightly. He shifted on his crutch, raising a hand to her and beckoning. "Come, my Lady. Everyone else, go back to sleep," he dismissed. The demons murmured amongst themselves, wandering back into their huts. Kagome padded into the hut Kaito indicated, Inuyasha following.

Inside, Inukimi adjusted her silks, covering bare shoulders. Kagome caught a glimpse of fresh bite-marks and cherry red hickeys before they were hidden, causing her to blush.

"W-we didn't mean to disturb you so late!" She glanced at Kaito, now noticing his rumpled clothes.

"Hush. Time-travel is not known for being considerate," Inukimi gave a soft laugh. With her hair down, she looked simultaneously radiant and decadent in her loose clothing.

"It smells like sex in here," Inuyasha grunted, yelping when Kagome stamped hard on his foot.

"Zip it!"

Inukimi laughed, fixing the futon and smoothing the covers as Kaito sat down beside her with a grunt, resting his crutch down. "Adorable. I'm surprised you're familiar with the smell, Hanyou."

"Shut up!" he barked, cheeks blooming red.

"Lady Inukimi?" Came a gentle, feminine voice. "What was all that just now? Shippo thought he sensed-" the cover over the door was tentatively peeled back and a taller Shippo peered in, along with a girl who Kagome vaguely recognised.

She gaped when it clicked."Shiori?"

"Ah, Kagome!" Shippo darted inside, scooping her up and hugging so tight her bones protested. His head came past her stomach now.

"Wow, lookit you! So tall," she wheezed, giggling and wrapping her arms around him, lifting so that his feet left the floor. At least she could still do that.

"It's lovely to see you again after so long," Shiroi murmured, folding her hands neatly in front of her and bowing. The previously petite child had matured, becoming a young woman perhaps a little younger than Kagome. She still wore a modest white yukata, but her face had lost most of its childish features. Those violet eyes remained as kind and sad as they were before. The miko suddenly remembered her mother, and realised she must have passed, leaving the hanyou alone.

Smiling gently, she blinked when Shippo detached himself from her and immediately hugged Inuyasha, who bristled. He made to say something, before closing his mouth and setting his rough hand on the fox's red hair.

"It's been a while...little brat."

"Hmph, it's not like I missed a big bully like you," Shippo mumbled.

Blue eyes shining bright, her chest warmed. Turning to the others, she voiced the thought that had been with her since surfacing: "Where's Sesshoumaru?"

Their expressions immediately shuttered, some unreadable or awkward. Ice shot into her chest, hitting the bullseye of her heart.

"Don't worry," Shippo immediately soothed, straightening. "He's just uh…sleeping right now."

She blinked, giving a relieved laugh. "Well duh, it's late at night. Heh, you all looked weird for a sec there."

Inuyasha's ears flicked under the cap, heavy brows drawing into a frown. "Spit it out, Shippo." He growled. "You ain't explainin' everything and no doubt it's some crap that'll just worry her later."

Surprisingly, it was Shiori who timidly spoke up.

"Our village is home to many different kinds of demons. The majority of them are survivors from the West's fall that happened 10 years ago. They fled here, and we sheltered them, or some joined us of their own accord like the wolf demon tribe led by Kouga. When they came, Lord Sesshoumaru was among them, so he picked up the mantle to lead again."

"That's not surprising," Kagome tilted her head.

The Hanyou fiddled with her sleeve. "It's just that…concerns have been raised about the amount of sleep our leader gets."

"Yeah, because it's not healthy." Shippo snorted.

Inukimi huffed, lighting her signature pipe and inhaling. "Ridiculous. He's perfectly fine. How do you explain his performance in the fighting pit? Resting isn't a crime. He defeats challengers when required," she uttered darkly, words flowing out with the exhale of curling smoke.

Shippo throws his hands up, bristling. "Lady I don't wanna get into this with you again! Sleeping for 18 hours is not normal!" He burst, flashing small fangs.

Differing energies crackled in the air, raising the hair on Kagome's arms. She'd never seen Shippo argue so boldly with someone collected like Inukimi. "That's…that's enough you two, please calm down," she tried to wrap her head around everything.

"The fuck? 18 hours." Inuyasha grumbled. The strict and disciplined 'Killing Perfection' sleeping so long sounded ludicrous. "Where is he now?"

Kaito spoke up, absentmindedly sharpening his weapon. "In a cave not far away, located within the cliffs. He rarely shows himself, but always makes an appearance at the pits."

"Fighting…pits, right?" Inuyasha's ears twitched.

"Guessing that's exactly what it sounds like," sighing, Kagome tried her best to ignore her mounting worry. "Okay, let's backtrack. You said it's been 10 years since the big battle. How many years ago did Kouga and Sesshoumaru arrive?"

Shippo rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, two?" Seeing the look on her face, he added. "We've tried talking to him but he doesn't want to see anyone. He's…changed so much, we've got no clue how to help."

Sensing her turbulent emotions, Shiroi spoke up. "I'll ask Ayame to take you to him tomorrow."

"Ayame?" Kagome croaked.

"Mhm, he only wakes up during the day if her cubs go to bother him," Shippo offered a weak smile.

Unbidden, Kagome answered it with a small one of her own. You've always been pestering him to do things, huh Riza?

With no alternative but to sleep, Kagome left Inukimi's hut, deciding to rest with Shippo. Glancing behind her as she settled down on a futon, she noticed Inuyasha taking a seat. He'd followed without a word, and now rested his faithful sword against his shoulder, closing tired gold eyes.

Kagome also spied the two white-haired fox sisters curled up together in their true forms. She supposed they must have moved to the village along with Shippo at some point, and wondered what had become of the Fox clan. Shippo curled up with them, and Kagome loosely curled her arms around herself, shivering and closing her eyes.

-------

Sleep proved to be a flirtatious but unobtainable friend. A burst of loud noise, that of high pitched yips and barks, broke her out of her dozing. With her eyes still in the process of opening, Kagome shrieked when tons of bundles of fur landed on her stomach. Countless wet noses and tongues attacked her cheeks, causing her to burst into startled giggles.

"Oi! What did I say?" A familiar gruff, masculine voice barked. "Settle down and get off her already!"

Kagome laughed, setting her hands on the wolf cubs that kept climbing over her, occasionally licking the miko while ignoring their father.

"OI!" He called again, before being nudged aside.

"OFF!" Ayame snapped, voice dark and green eyes blazing.

The countless amount of cubs immediately scrambled off, looking at their parents in the doorway with perked ears and expectant faces.

Picking herself up and wiping the slobber from her cheeks, Kagome noticed Inuyasha and the foxes had already left for the day.

A whine sounded out, "Ayame! I told ya to let me handle it this time. If ya keep butting in, they're never gonna listen to me!"

"You were taking too long," his mate flipped some firey red hair over her shoulder. "Besides, you let them rudely wake up Kagome. You call that handling it?"

Kagome's cheeks hurt, and she touched her mouth, finding she was smiling too wide. But she couldn't help it. Not wasting time, she rushed forward. The two wolves abruptly stopped when she wrapped her arms around them, resting her face against their shoulders.

"K-kagome? What's wrong?" Kouga mumbled, resting a large hand on the small of her back. A strangled, happy sound reached their hearing.

"Nothing, I'm just...really happy. So happy," she breathed, squeezing them. "Seeing you both safe is a big relief."

Pulling back and grinning tearfully, Kagome ignored their perplexed looks. It was one thing to hear they were safe in the Future but was another to actually see, hear and touch them. It made her long for Sango and Miroku.

"Thank you so much for finding Sesshoumaru and helping him. You saved him," she rambled, causing Ayame to laugh gently and nudge her.

"It was no trouble. C'mon, I'm sure you want to see him. You can cry on us some more later," she said, tucking Kagome's hand through her arm.

"Hey! I haven't seen her in ages," Kouga soured, watching as the miko was ushered outside.

Ayame glanced over her shoulder, smiling flippantly. "You've seen her now~ are you saying you're more important right now than her mate?" She asked sweetly.

Kouga's shoulders fell, expression shifting into a grumpy, accepting one. Letting herself be tugged along away from the huts, Kagome held on when the cubs followed, racing through their legs and causing her to trip on the sand.

"Careful!" Ayame growled at the bundles of fluff.

Smiling and carrying on along the shore in the morning light, Kagome walked them play and leave tiny paw-prints in their wake. "It's kind of strange, seeing you guys with kids."

"Heh, it feels strange for us too. Still doesn't feel real even after two years."

They approached a cliff with numerous crags and splits, which had eroded into caves and openings. Nerves erupted into her stomach. "...Shippo said he's been like this since arriving," Kagome murmured.

A snort sounded out close to her ear. "Honey, I've been baby-sitting this Lord for at least five years. He hasn't changed since Kouga first found him all injured. Hasn't shifted out of his true form once from what I've seen."

The words made dread pool in Kagome's stomach, along with a hard lump of sadness in the back of her throat that was difficult to swallow. Jaken had mentioned once, in passing, how true forms often dulled more complicated emotion. Demons merely became creatures of instinct.

Is it...less painful for you this way?

"I remember first seeing him. I'd been told stories about The Killing Perfection ever since I was a cub. A God on the battle-field. But he was just an abandoned, lost puppy. Still is," Ayame lifted a shoulder. "Aside from when he's in the pit, I honestly find it difficult picturing him conquering anything. Don't get me wrong though, our tribe kind of like him after he aided us getting here. I was heavily pregnant at the time and heh, let me tell ya; walking through human territory in that state was not fun! But ole' Ice Prince woke up enough to protect us during the journey. We lost men during the battle of the Western Lands though so, I guess to him it might've been paying his debts."

There came a beat of silence between them, the words left hanging in the air. Eventually, Kagome spoke once more, voice subdued. "I keep trying to get used to everything changing...but the second I get my head around a place it's already shifted."

Ayame smiled. "I might not time travel but it's still changed too fast for me too. At least there's always a place for you, no matter where you drop in, right?"

Kagome blinked, smiling gently and nodding.

They reached the mouth of the cave, Kagome's boots crunching on the pebbles and stone. The spray crashed against the nearby jagged rocks, flicking water up near them. He's really picked a remote spot, she thought, glancing at the distance from the village, which was in view but far off.

The cubs stopped to play, biting on a piece of driftwood while Kagome and Ayame padded inside. The shadows of the cave swamped in. All noise felt drowned out within the large space. The crunch of their shoes echoing too loud. To the side lay remains of animal bones and carcasses, everything beyond the light of the entrance drenched in dark. Yet on the edge of the light, silver fur glinted.

A large body shifted, around the same size as she'd seen him before, that of a large bear. His true form looked much healthier at least. Well fed, unharmed. Yet scars crisscrossed certain areas where the fur was thinner, no doubt more hidden by the lustrous fur that flamed around his shoulder. He slept on despite their presence.

"Oi!" Ayame growled. "You have a visitor. Wake up!"

Sesshoumaru stirred, opening one groggy, ruby eye. He stared at them listlessly for a moment, before closing his eye again, seeming to fall back asleep.

"Hey!" Ayame barked, only to be drowned out as a flood of yips and galloping tiny fluffballs racing around them. Uncaring of their sleeping mountain, the cubs bound atop the Daiyoukai, nudging and sniffing at him.

Sesshoumaru didn't stir, despite their antics. A low sound built in the back of his throat however, the more they tugged at his ears or tail. Unfortunately, they didn't seem deterred by his grumbles.

Cuuute, Kagome couldn't help but think. "They seem to like him."

"You know what kids are like. Don't know to be afraid of something most would faint in fear of." Ayame smiled, before frowning at the dozing Daiyoukai. Growling, she sank to one knee, plunging her fist into the ground. The walls around them trembled with distress, and the cubs yipped with alarm, huddling around Sesshoumaru.

"HEY! This girl time travelled for your ungrateful hide!" She bellowed. "She came here just to see you! The least your sorry ass could do is say hello!"

Sesshoumaru's tail flicked out, sending a cub rolling free from its personal tug of war. He huffed quietly, giving another low noise and shifting so that he was turned away, back facing them.

"If he doesn't want to see me, Ayame...it's okay," Kagome said, watching quietly.

Ayame growled, straightening and putting her hands on her hips. "It's weird, almost like he doesn't believe you're really here or...doesn't want you to be?" She then winced, glancing at the miko. "Uh, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine," Kagome soothed. "I'm going to um, stay here for a little while. Just in case he changes his mind."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded distractedly, watching every inhale and exhale.

"Alright, but I'm only leaving you for an hour. Shippo will come fetch you. It isn't healthy to stay here alone."

"Sesshoumaru's alone."

"By choice!" Ayame tsked. "It's true he was injured, and the battle at the Western Keep probably took a toll. But everyone else has tried to move on. They might still revere him as Leader, but honestly he needs to be defeated soon and replaced if we're gonna progress. Otherwise, we're all sitting around waiting for him to get better."

It occurred to Kagome then that no one else knew. Sesshoumaru probably hadn't told anyone what he'd been through with the monks. They just thought he was pining for his lost house.

Kagome assured her she'd be fine, waiting until she left along with the rambunctious cubs, before turning to Sesshoumaru. Without their presences, the cave was plunged into silence, save for the tumble and crash of waves against rocks outside. Sitting down, she wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them to her chest, just listening.

Little by little, she inched closer. Carefully, agonisingly gently, she reached out and lay her palm on his side. The jagged bite mark on her arm pricked, and her body tensed, but he didn't stir. Lithe fingers combed through damp fur, untangling it. He felt warm and steady, much better than his previous trembling, but she could sense the undercurrent of something. A great tired weight on his chest that caused every draw of breath to seem like effort.

"I don't know why I wanted to see you while you were still recovering. Maybe it was just me being full of it, thinking I could be the one to heal you. Seriously...I'm an idiot," she chuckled quietly. "But here you are, wounds closed. Healthy. Least that's what everyone thinks, mn?"

She didn't know if he were listening or could feel it, but she stroked her hand through his fur all the same. "I get why you didn't tell them about the monks. Too proud," her lips curved into a wobbly smile. "But Shippo would help if you opened up to him, I'm sure of it."

His lids remained shut. Her fingers lightly slid over his muzzle. You were like this when Rin died too...just trying to sleep it off. So many bad things have happened to you, I bet they've mounted up. Why don't you ever talk to anyone, you beautiful dumbass?

Leaning down, Kagome rested her head against his back. "It's going to...get better, you know?" She murmured. "Not to be patronising, but it will. So for now, if this is what you need, to be comfortable, then that's okay. Just...don't sleep forever," turning her face into the warmth of his side, she trembled.

"I'd miss you too much."

--------

She stayed with him until Shippo came to collect her an hour or so later. Kagome didn't check her watch to know, just let time disappear. Leaving without a word or fuss, Sesshoumaru did not stir without her presence.

"Are you alright?" Shippo immediately checked, padding back with her along the beach.

Unprompted, Kagome smiled gently, causing him to blink. "Yeah. I think since I can't help Sesshoumaru this time, I'll focus on doing what I can around him."

"Meaning?"

She hummed, "well, why were the demons last night showing their markings and claws? On the outside, this place looks like an ordinary village, but I can feel a barrier around it. Wouldn't it make sense to start covering up their demonic features so that everyone can hide in plain sight without wasting energy on that?"

Shippo smiled, tilting his chin up to look at the morning sky. "You don't miss much. That's been a huge thing lately, big mess. No one wants to start posing as humans except the foxes, Shiori, and a few of the wolves."

"Why?"

"They refuse to unless their leader does it first. Set an example. But it's like he's doing the opposite, lounging in his true form all the time."

Slowly, the pieces started to fit into place. Now she understood Ayame's frustration. Shippo continued, sighing. "Sesshoumaru's the strongest, as proven every week in the pits. Hence he's the leader. If someone could just beat him in the fighting pits, someone who gets that we need to change to survive, then we could really pass ourselves off as a human village. We'd be so much safer! Plus that way us foxes wouldn't have to be the ones going to neighbouring villages for supplies. Shiori wouldn't exhaust herself by keeping the barrier up too. We're sitting ducks like this."

Kagome nodded seriously, mind whirling with the new information. "When's the fighting pit next open?"

"Tonight. It's held over there," Shippo pointed to the opposite cliffs and caves, situated nearer to the village and on the right of the shore, where Sesshoumaru's was on the far left. Isolated.

"Great, I'm heading there tonight."

"N-not to fight, right?"

She laughed. "No Shippo. If I beat him and became leader where would that leave you guys when I disappeared? I just want to watch."

Shippo exhaled with relief, smiling up at her. Tentatively, she offered her hand.

Green eyes flickered with surprise, and it occurred to her how much older he'd become. She shouldn't have done it, he wasn't a little kid anymore. He'd survived war and-

Shippo's hand slid into her own.

Emotion welled up inside her and when he gave a squeeze, and she felt that he'd done it more for her sake than anything else. Kagome squeezed back with gratitude as they walked in step back to the village.

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

That night, Kagome walked among the crowd through the narrow passages in the caves. They walked with torch in hand, until the rocks bathed in orange hues gave way to a giant opening, fit for the hall of a King.

Kagome followed the demons to the rings that looped around the massive pit in the centre of the floor, almost like they were in a colosseum. The cave seemed to have been carved, paving seats for them, so she took one. Glancing to her left, she found Inuyasha, who had decided to follow. He frowned, ears pressing against his skull.

Sesshoumaru's form became visible after a moment, climbing down into the room via one of the higher openings in the cave and making his way to the pit, jumping in and waiting with a tired sort of expectation. The demons in the crowd glanced around, muttering to themselves.

Finally, a challenger Kagome didn't recognise jumped into the ring, bulls horns protruding from his head. With a blast of yellow youkai, his form melted into a demonic bull, tossing his head and rearing on hind legs.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the fighting started without introduction.

Two forms collided, roughly slamming into each other. Kagome noticed that while they used no real techniques, more throwing weight or striking, they each avoided using their deadly weapons of poison, teeth or horns if they could help it.

Sesshoumaru ended things by moving with a burst of speed, leaping atop the bull, which was struggling to get up. A large paw slammed down into its jugular, bracing his weight and opening large jaws, pining the burly demon down via rows of deadly teeth on ethier side of him. Sesshoumaru held him there despite the kick of frantic hooves beneath him.

Eventually, the bull made a noise, and Sesshoumaru backed off, panting.

"He's...like a stray dog or something," Inuyasha mumbled, ignoring the cheer from the onlookers.

Kagome glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"When demons communicate, it's like human speech, just different. Gestures and stuff. But even using that, it's like he's completely closed off. He might still fight well, but he's not the taunting asshole I know. The hell happened to him?"

"He got hurt, badly," she murmured, not wanting to say more than that. It felt like a betrayal of trust to explain, for some reason.

"Oh for goodness sake," came a voice behind them.

Kagome turned, looking at one of the higher stands and spotting Inukimi. Her eyes were on the pit, so the miko shifted to look. She then gaped.

Kaito limped into view, facing Sesshoumaru while leaning on his crutch.

"You foolish oaf! What are you doing?" Inukimi stood from her seat with a rustle of silks, glaring.

From within the pit, the General glanced up at his Lady, mouth curving. He lifted a shoulder, giving a sad, rueful smile. "We can't live in the past, my Lady. I should at least try to end this stagnation."

Kagome's eyes widened. Kaito who had been so proud he'd all but rejected her as Lady of the West. Kaito who hated the House lowering itself. It was he who stood before his lord, discarding his crutch.

Blue light coated the dark-haired Generals form. Smoke billowed out, slowly sighing away to reveal a three-legged black inuyoukai. He leaned forward, equal size to Sesshoumaru, who growled softly.

The two leapt, meeting with a clash of hard bodies. Black and white fur met again and again, demons trying to topple the other. A few times their paws swiped out, hackles rising as they snarled, teeth starting to snap and bite. Their forms chased each other around the pit, colliding into the walls and causing the structure to shake.

"Crap, Kaito's really letting him have it," Inuyasha muttered.

Seeing Kagome's questioning look, he scratched his cheek. "Let's just say he's yelling at the Bastard and telling him to wake up and fucking lead already. Sesshoumaru is pissed-"

A hard-hitting sound echoed off the walls as Kaito hit the floor a moment later, his single back leg giving. His jaw smacked hard against the ground as Sesshoumaru remained atop him, pressing him down and snarling quietly.

"What's Sesshoumaru saying now?"

Inyasha tsked. "...For Kaito to find someone strong enough to take over or leave him the hell alone."

When the dust settled, Kagome watched as the silver inuyoukai padded around the pit like a restless tiger. Kaito's black form receded, his more human appearance returning. Taking up his fallen crutch, the General gingerly got to his feet and limped away.

When no other challengers stepped forward, the fighting pit drew to a close.

------

She'd asked around, but apparently, defeating Sesshoumaru was indeed the only way to seize control over the village. Even if she could win, Kagome also asked if she could pass on the mantle immediately after- only to be shut down and told an 'outsider' like herself wouldn't be accepted as a leader in the first place.

Kagome thus spent her week helping Shippo and the other foxes. Kouga and some of his wolves had unfortunately left to run an errand. Despite how busy she kept, she always noticed the lack of Sesshoumaru's presence. Visiting him had only become possible in the evenings she was so tired, helping newer arrivals construct a hut. On one day she walked the road to the neighbouring human village and helped load supplies onto the wagon, discussing trade. Pushing some hair back from her eyes, Kagome sighed.

"It's hard work, mn?" Shiori smiled knowingly, tending to the horses.

"Sure is. How are you able to leave the village and move around if you're...you know," Kagome glanced at the humans walking around. She cupped a hand to her mouth and mouthed: 'using your powers.'

Dark eyes danced, her hanyou features under a glamour. She beckoned, and the miko leaned in, watching as Shiori opened her pocket, revealing a glowing orb.

"Oh, you had something like that last time."

"Yes, but I was being used back then. Now I'm...happy to be of use to the village, even if I wish everyone would be a little braver," Shiroi said gently.

Kagome nodded, brows drawing together. "You feed your power into that and it projects a barrier around them, right? You must be exhausted all the time," she said, eyeing the pallor of Shiori's usually darker skin with thin lips.

"E-excuse me, are you a miko?"

Turning, Kagome faced a nervous looking man.

"Yes, hello?"

"Please," he took her hand. "My wife is giving birth. I-I don't know what to do, please help! Our village priestess is away visiting friends. Please!"

Everything else fell away as Kagome nodded seriously. "Don't worry, I'll come. Shiori, can you-"

"I'll come too."

With a nod, the two women rushed to aid the man and his wife.

------

Kaede's teachings had certainly come in handy. It had felt kind of surreal, holding the newborn. Whenever she'd helped deliver in the past, Kaede had always been the one easing the child out, taking the lead.

Shiori had been a massive help, advising whenever the miko had become uncertain. It was clear the woman had more experience.

Washing her hands for the umpteenth time, Kagome padded back to the village with the hanyou.

The foxes and cart had left hours ago ahead of them, the sky darkening to lush purples.

"Kagome, do you think it's possible for Lord Sesshoumaru to still lead?" Came the quiet question.

Feeling caught between a rock and a hard place, Kagome sighed. "...Not right now," she admitted. "He seems to just be attending the pits out of necessity. If...if you ask me, it looked like he almost wanted to be defeated," she murmured.

Shiori nodded, raising a hand to her head. "I worry that- that soon raiders will come, and our village will be snuffed out just like the Great Houses. If we got attacked, I don't know if my barrier will hold. That's what I'm...afraid of…"

"Shiori?"

Glancing at the Hanyou, Kagome squeaked in alarm, catching the woman before she fell. Feeling her blazing forehead caused clammy sweat to cling to her skin. "Shiori! Hold on, w-we're not far from the village!"

Awkwardly ducking, Kagome lifted her onto her back, supporting Shiori under her thighs. But the days work had significantly weakened the miko and she only managed to make it down a hill before stopping. Panting, she sank down to her knees. I can't just leave Shiori to get help, what am I going to-

"Kagome!"

Lifting her head, gladness filled her heart.

"Inuyasha!"

With the smell of sea-salt clinging to him, Inuyasha leapt down from the trees, racing towards them on the path. "The hell happened?"

"Shiori fainted. I think she's done too much today, or maybe...all week," Kagome murmured, wondering quietly.

Inuyasha removed the weight from her shoulders and hitched the woman onto his back. "Let's hurry then, don't slow me down, idiot," he muttered almost affectionately. Kagome smiled despite the situation and followed, hurrying after him.

As her feet pounded on the path, Kagome watched as he took off in front, bounding ahead. Strange, nostalgic feelings wrapped around her heart and squeezed. She shook her head and raced quicker in the direction of the sea.

------

A fire flickered in the centre of the largest hut. Within, the majority of the village residents lingered, waiting for any sign of change from Shiori. They drifted around, looking a little lost.

Shiori herself lay on a futon, breathing shallow. Kagome had done everything she could think of to bring her temperature down. Nearby at a low table, Inukimi poured over scrolls and paperwork, frowning at the disturbance.

"What happened to her?" Ayame peered down.

"She was overworked!"

A few demons glanced at Inuyasha, vague guilt passing over their faces.

"Cease your yapping." Inukimi sighed. "I dislike children who shout."

"Tch, what? You'd rather I was more like Sesshoumaru, keeping my trap shut?"

"Preferably. He always was quiet, even as a pup. Granted he did cry at first, but ignore them long enough and they learn not to make noise. Obviously, it's a lesson you were never taught."

For some reason, though the comment hadn't been meant as particularly malicious, Kagome thought of Sesshoumaru's scars. Of him. Alone, quiet and drenched in the dark of the cave. Not making a fuss. Hiding his distress. The pain so keen he couldn't bring himself to see anyone lest they think him weak.

She stood, hands balled into fists as a low fire churned in her gut. "All of you are cowards," she muttered lowly.

The demons instantly bristled, but she didn't care. Tip-toeing around them achieved nothing. "Shiori is like this now because you're too afraid of change. She's been managing the force field and helping everyone, keeping up appearances with glamour. Not just her but the foxes and wolves. The rest of you are falling behind, don't you understand that?"

"Shut up! What would a human know of it?" One growled.

"I know you all loved the House of the West!" She burst, brows drawing together. "It's that love...that fuels your protectiveness over your markings and features. Your heritage and species. That's why you don't want to cover them up. It would feel like a betrayal. It's why you won't act on your own despite Sesshoumaru not really leading you."

A low growl sounded out, and Kagome was surprised to find Inukimi's narrowed gaze on her. "You dare call yourself his Mate and then encourage us to go against him?"

"He's not given you any orders!" She snarled, reiki and a skitter of hot, familiar youkai curling out of her bite mark. Sesshoumaru's presence loomed over her aura, lending weight to her words. "He doesn't want this position at the moment. The way I see it, he's fighting out of obligation for tradition. And that's what this all is! You're going to die for your traditions."

"Kagome!" Ayame chided.

"Well, they are! You can't stay isolated forever. You're not on an island. Your human neighbours will get curious, and one day they'll bump into the barrier. If the humans see you like this, don't you think they'll retaliate? The time for...surgiving is now. I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to cover up your marks. All of them are beautiful..." a blue crescent moon on a beloved brow came to mind as she looked around at them, seeing stripes, pointed ears, horns, tails. "All of them. But you have to. It's time you start living for yourselves, not for the past."

Inuyasha's ears flicked, swivelling in her direction as he looked slightly shocked.

"Adapt or die, is it?" Inukimi's words came low and solemn, looking through her. "I recall musing something similar at the burning Western Keep."

Kagome faltered, the energy around her dying down. "I hope your choice isn't the same as it was then..."

"Choice? My fate was decided for me, don't you recall?" She sneered, rising from her low table. "Foolish."

Watching the demoness pass by with a flow of silver, Kagome glanced at the inventory paperwork, feeling her shoulders fall.

------

The night of the fighting pit came around again. Kagome and Inuyasha sat in the same seats as before, her hands tightening into fists, honestly debating jumping in herself. At least it would free Sesshoumaru from responsibility and allow him time to collect himself.

Slowly, she inched from her seat to stand.

"Don't," firm fingers wrapped around her wrist, tugging her back.

Kagome glanced at General Kaito on her right. His back hair fell loose around his shoulders, dark eyes sharp.

"But General I-"

"It is not your fight," he rumbled.

Usually his tone would have riled her enough to disobey, but Kagome found herself weakening. She didn't know what to do. But there had to be something! Otherwise she'd be leaving without having helped at all, and that was the purpose of these jumps, right?

Feeling something brush her side, Kagome raised her head, looking at the blurry image of red and white. Scrubbing her eyes, she blinked up at Inuyasha, who had risen.

Words caught in her throat as Kagome watched him. The hanyou stared down at Sesshoumaru, who paced around the ring, snarling for a challenger. His roars echoed off the walls right into her bones.

Kagome's fingers latched onto his clothes before she'd realised it.

Solid, bold golden eyes slid down to her. Inuyasha's mouth tightened.

"...I gotta go, Kagome."

She stood, babbling immediately. "No you don't. What are you talking about?" She squeaked. "I-If you go and end up winning, you'll have to stay here."

Inuyasha stared back levelly.

Cold fear, sadness, confusion and panic erupted in her chest. "Please don't," she said quietly. "I-I don't know how far away from the Present we are. What if...what if we never see each other again!" Hysteria laced her voice and a few heads in the crowd turned. "I can't take that! You can't disappear from my life like Sango and Miroku! I need you, I-"

"Shut up already!"

Her shoulders were seized in a tight grip, and Inuyasha glared down at her. "That's enough. You don't damn need me!" The shout died in his throat, golden eyes dimming slightly. "C'mon. You haven't needed me for a long, long time."

Kagome trembled in his grip, rendered helpless, like that frightened 15-year old that had stumbled from the well all those years ago.

"Look, I get that you wanted me to stay in your Time. But it's...not where I'm meant to be. Least I don't feel that way. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful," he grumbled, eyes shadowed from his cap. "You and your family made a space for me. They're- you're good people. But I can't exactly fill a role there. I'm just a house guest."

"But you're n-"

"I said shaddap!" He cut her off, growling. His voice soon lowered again, the fight leaving him. "I can't protect them. But I can protect these guys. I was useless in that big battle at the Western Keep and I've felt shitty ever since. Sesshomaru's been leadin' our old man's people for years. They haven't ever accepted me but I can't just ignore em' anymore. And don't start whining. You're the reason I want to protect people in the first place. It's your fault I'm like this now," he grit his teeth, letting go slowly. "So just, remember your own damn goal. That's your future, right there," he said, pointing a clawed finger at Sesshoumaru in the pit. "So keep damn working towards it and quit looking to the past! I gotta...start working towards my own future now."

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched him take a step. Then another. And another, further and further away from her.

His shoulders were broad and strong. Back straight. He walked with purpose.

A harsh sensation, like that of a knee being rammed into her stomach, caused Kagome to bolt forward, burying her face in his thick hair. She clung to that strong back, wrapping her arms around him and trembling and sobbing. Because now she knew.

Even if Inuyasha lost this fight, he'd be staying the Past no matter what. And there was nothing she could do to change his mind. I don't want to lose anyone else. Inuyasha is supposed to be...supposed to be my rock.

A coarse palm, rough from years of scrapping, slid over her hand.

Her breathing hitched. The tears felt hot, thick and ceaseless.

"I would have died with Kikyo if it weren't for ya," he grumbled lowly. "I'd be in the netherworld embracing her. But instead, I've kept my life. So let me do something with it, Kagome." The waver in his voice strengthened until it was all she could hear in her ears.

Finally, finally, Kagome's hands fell.

His form immediately jumped into the pit, discarding Tetsusaiga and his cap. Sesshoumaru fell quiet, tail flicking out as he raised his head.

"I hear ya became pretty useless, bastard." Inuyasha taunted, rolling his shoulder as his ears twitched. "It's been a little while since our last proper fight. I'm in the right mind for it now, so let's go."

His smaller form leapt into the air, and Kagome gasped as Sesshoumaru met him with a crack of blazing with red energy. From within the haze, their bodies came flying out, the Daiyoukais transformed. His clothes looked less pristine than usual, skin ashen, something in his face looking tired, but focused on Inuyasha. He met every punch and kick with one of his own, tossing his brother into the ground. The Hanyou turned mid-air, landing on the balls of his feet and pushing off again to strike.

As they fought, Kagome felt a smaller hand wrap around her own. Frozen, she only sat down beside Shippo when tugged. The entire crowd watched silently, the air hanging heavy.

Harsh snarling and strikes of claws bounced off the walls.

Inuyasha picked himself up and threw himself into the wall that was Sesshoumaru again and again. Catching his fist, the Daiyoukai tugged on it with a deceptively small movement and Inuyasha lurched forward with his whole body, stumbling after the hand Sesshoumaru led him by like a puppet on strings. A classic taunting move.

Subverting this however, Inuyasha planted his foot down, using his free fist and striking. Sesshoumaru's head snapped to the side, gold eyes slightly wide. Inuyasha doesn't wait this time, following one punch with another without hesitation. Fists pummelled. Coarse knuckles split and ran raw as he unleashed the depth of his frustration at his own powerlessness. At change and Time.

For all his efforts, Sesshoumaru swayed on his feet, expression unreadable under the scrapes and bruises. Inuyasha panted, eyes having bled red, lips peeled back. Even feral, a part of him couldn't understand why. Why his formally proud, nightmarishly strong brother took it. Why he didn't answer with blazing anger. Inuyasha kept punching until ribs and bones cracked, Kagome's cry to stop halting his fist inches from Sesshoumaru's bruised and bloodied face.

Sesshoumaru's jaw moved, before he spat. Blood met the floor, soon joined by knees. The daiyoukai sank down, head bowing and limp hair sliding forward.

Inuyasha snarled with bloodlust, taking a few steps forward- until Tetsusaiga was shoved into his palm. Kagome looked at him searchingly, standing between the two as the Hanyou panted, gripping the sheath as his eyes wavered to gold once more.

Kaito and Shippo exhaled with relief.

Howls and shouts broke out into air, the wolves and foxes singing their praises. Even the other demons looked mildly impressed, but most were astonished.

Heartbroken.

Inuyasha panted harshly, looking up at them dazedly.

The roar of the crowd was lost on Kagome as she turned, words on the tip of her tongue, but Sesshoumaru had already picked himself up, leaving. Glancing at Inuyasha again, she bit her lip, wavering.

Inuyasha tsked, before bending down and retrieving his cap. He then placed it on her head and tugging it down so that she couldn't see his expression. "Go after him, ya idiot."

Feeling the pull of elastic in her gut that heralded Time's approach, she nodded mutely and turned on her heel, racing away.

Thank you, Inuyasha.

Hurrying out of the caves, the noises from behind her grew dimmer as she ran into the night air, holding back tears.

"Wait!" She called, breathless.

His figure was a pale spectre on the white sands, distant and padding further and further away. The sands cushioned her boots, feeling like they were pushing her back, but Kagome raced forward determindly, starting when the tide raced in, waves catching her feet.

"Sesshoumaru!"

The demon halted, and she knew he'd heard her this time. Felt her. But the elastic snapped, and Kagome cried out as the waters turned pink. Her body sank under the waves, feeling the current lash at her clothes and hair as water closed over her head.

No!

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kagome struggled and fought. It was the same as all the other jumps. She'd resist and the waters would pull her quicker and harsher away, stealing her breath. Even as she panicked, the miko forced herself to become still.

To try and think. To reject Time without resisting.

Lungs protested, spouting fire into her throat and tearing her mouth open. Salt flooded in, and she choaked, kicking her legs to push herself up.

She broke the surface a moment later, sucking in gulps of air.

Feeling the tide lull her once more, Kagome opened her eyes. The exact same shore awaited her, and hope fluttered in her heart.

The changed position of the sun revealed she had time-travelled, but how far she didn't know. A warm orange sunset bathed everything in a soft glow, catching on fur. Kicking her legs, Kagome swam for the beach, noticing the tell-tale silver.

Wading out of the water and kicking off her boots, she padded wet foot-prints on the sand, feeling it crunch beneath her toes.

Approaching his sleeping form, she sat down beside the Daiyoukai, taking off Inyasha's cap and wringing the droplets from her hair.

"One good thing about short hair; it sure dries quicker," she smiled, panting.

One red eye peeled open. Sesshoumaru's head remained on his paws, unmoving. Kagome felt saddened to see his melancholy hadn't improved much, but at least he was out in the sun. Looking out at the ocean, she exhaled. I can't believe I was able to come back like this. I-I know in the grand scheme of things this jump might not matter but-

A weight settled on her thighs. Sesshoumaru rested his head down, letting out a long sigh. Kagome blinked down, softening and placing her hand on the crescent moon. Slowly, her thumb grazed the mark, dragging over blue fur.

"Time wanted me to go home but I came right back here. I don't know how long it's been since Inuyasha won, but you don't have to force yourself to heal quickly. Just take your time. I'm sorry if I made you feel...inadequate or something, I was just worried. But I...think I need to apologise to your mom too."

Between one moment and the next, fur disappeared under her fingertips, red steam leaking out from around his form. Smooth skin replaced it, and Kagome smiled slightly. Looking at his handsome face, her thumb automatically stroked the bridge of his nose. Her other hand combed through his bangs, a kind of peace settling over them. Soon however, an idea took hold.

"Do you have one of those pipe things your mom has?" Kagome asked randomly. This time a golden eye cracked open.

"Hn," he opened his juban, parting the silks to reach in and bring out a pipe.

After lighting it, Kagome brought it to her lips and took a drag- bursting into a coughing fit. The bitter taste brought tears to her eyes. Placing her hand on her chest, she blinked rapidly, glancing at Sesshoumaru's perplexed expression.

"I'm trying something, leave me alone," she snipped.

Giving it another go, she managed to exhale the smoke somewhat smoothly this time. Reiki hummed over her skin, and she tried her best to put the image she wanted into the smoke merely by thinking it. She sighed when nothing happened.

"You are doing it wrong," Sesshoumaru croaked, as though unused to using his voice. Sitting up and taking the pipe from her, he tapped the ornate carvings. "You are focusing your powers externally, which is defensive." He said, silken tones returning the more he spoke. "But for this, you must push them back down so that they flow internally. That way, the power will come out on your breath when you exhale."

"O-oh, usually I pull the reiki out of me and concentrate it to my hands to lace with my arrows. So, I have to somehow keep it contained inside me? I've never thought of using it that way. Demons are pretty impressive," she smiled.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, watching as she centered herself. Activating her powers, Kagome fought tooth and nail against the impulse to raise the energy to her skin. Taking another drag, she exhaled unsteadily, seeing the faint pink sparks flow out in the smoke.

"It worked!" Kagome grinned at him, sobered by the way he stared at her tiredly. Her heart squeezed, and the smile on her face fell a little. Even depressed and worn down, he still had the patience to teach her. You're kinder than you give yourself credit for.

Doing it again, this time Kagome pictured a face. The smoke flowed out, collecting into an image. It took a few attempts, but soon enough a gentle, masculine face smiled back at them in the smoke.

"...I do not know him," he muttered.

"Mhm, that's my Papa," she smiled gently, passing the pipe back to him. "He died a long time ago."

Sesshoumaru rose a brow at her expectant face, before he glanced away and closed his mouth over the pipe. Tilting his chin up, he exhaled, smoke producing three inuyoukai's that danced and chased one another in the air, before curling into an image.

"Show off," she teased.

His lips curved slightly even as the wraiths of thick air cleared. A demon with a strong jaw and bushy brows stared back at them.

"Your Father?" Kagome guessed, seeing the resemblance.

"Hn."

The pipe was passed back to her, and Kagome felt pleased he seemed to understand her intention without words. Creating another smoke piece, Grandpa smiled back.

For Sesshoumaru's turn, he exhaled Bokuseno, which made her shoulders fall.

Next for her came kindly Kaede.

For him, bossy, proud Jaken.

Sango and Miroku followed.

Demons she didn't know came from his breath but she could tell from their armour they were of his House.

She exhaled Edo, the village as she'd known it.

He, the House of the West.

When he went to pass her the pipe again, Kagome's hand pressed it gently back to him. Tears swam in her eyes, but she squeezed his fingers, waiting.

Sesshoumaru hesitated, gaze dimming. He then haltingly brought the pipe to his lips and exhaled shakily.

Kagome gazed up at the image of Rin, the smoke curling to give her hair playful whisps. The grey wraiths couldn't help but flow into beautiful blooming flowers to adorn her image.

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Kagome noticed his head had bowed, form shaking slightly.

"Sesshoumaru…"

Sliding her arms around him and tugging slightly, Kagome braced herself against his sudden weight as the Daiyoukai drooped into her, resting his forehead in the crook of her neck. She smoothed her hands over the plains of his back, murmuring soft comforts.

"It's alright," she soothed. "It's okay."

He didn't make a sound, but something wetted her skin, and Kagome gathered him closer. Sesshoumaru did not mourn loudly, and there was more going on than simple grief. So, when the tremors subsided, Kagome kissed his neck and touched his torso, sliding the material of his clothes back from his shoulders. He wore no armour so it parted easily.

His once almost pristine body held multiple scars now, as she'd suspected. They'd carried over from his True Form no doubt.

Patient hands slid over lean muscle, touching the damaged flesh. Sesshoumaru kept his head on her shoulder for a moment, before lifting it. Those weathered gold eyes shifted over her face, leaning to rest his lips against the side of her head, inhaling her scent.

The ageless tiredness of his body relaxed as she slid her hands over him, stroking, trying to soothe. Kagome touched every scar available and bent to kiss them, until they lapsed into simply laying and holding one another on the beach. Sharp claws combed through her short hair with vague confusion, so she held his face in her hands and kissed him again as assurance, shifting on the sand.

Soon, the tide swept in, waves rising up to claim the lovers in its embrace.

Answering quiet laughter joined the crash of surf on the rocks.

[mattzerella-sticks]

A Whole Lotta Love (a Dean/Cas Coda to 14x09 “The Spear”)

With a broken tape deck, Dean and Cas have a long stretch of silence to fill. But just how do they do it? And they say driving helps take your mind off of things... even forget dangling pianos hanging over one's head.

           “You know what would be good right now?”

           Cas glances at Dean from out the corner of his eye, the other man focused, for once, on the road ahead. “Some Zepp,” he says, “I can picture it – us tearing down this open stretch of highway with Immigrant Song playing in the background. Oh! Or maybe Kashmir…”

           “That would be nice, yes,” Cas sighs, “…if our tape deck weren’t broken.”

           “Yeah – yeah…” Dean drums his hands on the wheel. “Y’know, I don’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve driven this long in silence? Not that this isn’t nice. It is. Its just music –“

           “Fills the background,” Cas finishes his thought, “adds layers…depth… security.”

           Dean murmurs his agreement. They drift back into themselves, the tides of their conversation slowly receding from shore. It’s been like that since they left the Bunker. Every so often one of them would start speaking, only to lull back into the quiet. Dean would point out different road signs, crack a joke or two to Cas. And Cas would smile, respond with his own observation; maybe a memory that would have both of them grinning at each other. Enjoying the shared moment.

           “I feel like we haven’t had a lot of this,” Dean says, unprovoked.

           “A lot of what?”

           “This.” Dean circles his finger in the air. “You and me. Shootin’ the breeze instead of demons or vamps or whatever else supernatural creature the world throws at us.”

           “Really?” Cas asks him, “Has it been that long since you and I were… alone?”

           “Yeah,” Dean says, blushing, “Not that I’ve been… counting, or whatever. But between Michael, Jack, and the growing network of hunters it’s hard to just find time to think or… breathe.”

           “Those seem like things you don’t need another person for.”

           “I like having you near when I do those things.”

           “Even breathing?”

           “Even breathing…”

           Cas watches Dean pay the road more attention than he’s ever seen him give it. Like the stretch of asphalt holds all the answers their destination was promised. Its unnerving that he thinks good safety practices as weird behavior, but he misses having Dean’s eyes on him rather than what’s ahead. ‘We’ve had enough luck to not crash so far… I’m sure we can push it a few more times.’

           “Hey Cas?”

           “Yes, Dean.”

           “How was Heaven?” Cas pauses, unsure of how to answer. Dean fills the vacuum with his own drawling ramble. “I mean, you didn’t talk about it much after bringing Jack back and – you said it was in trouble? I know since Gabriel didn’t make it back, stuff up there was running kinda off and – I mean, if you needed to go and make sure… it’s not like I can stop you –“

           “My service to Heaven is over,” he tells him, “I have done… all I could. And I feel I have repaid my debts to the other angels. Naomi told me as such –“

           “Naomi? Ol’ girl’s still kicking?”

           “Apparently it takes more than one old scribe and a rebel angel to kill her.” Cas chuckles, “She has been keeping the peace among all seven of my brothers and sisters that serve under her now.”

           “It’s gotten that bad?” he asks.

           Cas nods. “I don’t know how Heaven might survive. And that might be a problem we deal with later, once our Michael problem is solved.”

           “We?”

           “Of course… Dean,” Cas says, “you didn’t think I would go back, after all this was over. Did you?” The thought stings, but he doesn’t let it fester. ‘Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, Castiel…’

           Dean shakes his head furiously. “No, no I would – not realistically, after all we… but…”

           “But…”

           “It’s stupid…”

           “If it’s causing you this much stress, I assure you it isn’t.”

           “Well, I don’t know,” Dean sighs, grip tightening on the wheel. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m gonna blink and – poof! You’ll disappear. It’s irrational and dumb but it… it sticks. Even though you’ve proven time and time again you’re here to stay and I want to believe it. Except this little part of me thinks it might be… too good to be true, y’know? Kind of why I wanted only us on this I… I needed you here beside me.”

           “Dean I…” ‘When you finally allow the sun to shine on your face… that’s when I’ll collect you.’ “I don’t plan on leaving. Ever. I wish there was something I could do to relieve you of that worry.”

           “I don’t think you ever can but… being here it – it shuts it down.”

           His heart aches, yearns, and reaches out to the other man. But Cas keeps it behind steel walls, ensuring his secret never comes out. ‘It’s for the best… for all of us.’

           “God that was – this is what I mean,” Dean warbles a laugh, rubbing at his eye. “If we had music we wouldn’t – it’s stuffy, isn’t it? Could you roll down – I’m gonna roll mine, I think we need some air, so could you…?” They leave the windows half-up. “Yeah… that’s better.”

           He still looks uncomfortable. Dean shifts continuously. Sliding his hands up and down the wheel, taking one off to lean either on the door or to fiddle with the radio. Cas suggested they turn it on, when Dean discovered the tape deck was broken. “I don’t… it’s not the music I wanted you to hear.”

           Cas understands how much music means to Dean. What it means to probably every person on Earth. Each vibration and note a key that unlocks a part of the soul. And when someone shares music, they’re giving you a chance to know who they are and what they feel.

           Dean handed him the mixtape ages ago. He barely looked Cas in the eye when he did it, muttering all the while. “I know Metatron beamed probably the entire discography of the world into your head but I… figured you might want to hear what good music sounds like for yourself.” Cas enjoyed it immensely. He found himself banging his head to the loud, fast tracks. He crooned along to the power ballads. Even in moments alone, Cas hummed the melody, the words on a loop in his mind as he performed for no one yet also one very special person.

           “You need coolin’… baby I’m not foolin’…” It’s a low whisper, his gravely voice shredding the words in a discordant tone. “I’m gonna send you back to schoolin’…”

           “Way down inside,” Dean joins in, his own voice just as rough to hear, “honey you need it.” He finally looks away from the road, to Cas, his jaw slack with awe. “I’m gonna give you my love…”

           “I’m gonna give you my love, oh…”

           Together. “Wanna whole lotta love… Wanna whole lotta love…” They’re smiling, infected with the rhythm. As Baby purrs down the highway, Dean and Cas Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” from the top of their lungs, voices echoing into the clear, blue sky. At some points, Dean forces Cas to play the air guitar. And he does, indifferent to how ridiculous he might look. Their singing mixes with laughter, and near the end the melody gets lost in the shuffle.

           Gasping for breath, Dean glances at Cas one more time before returning his gaze on the road. “What made you pick that song?”

           “I… I don’t know,” Cas confesses, “When I would listen to your… your mixtape I wound it back time and time again – just to that song. I think it’s my favorite.”

           “Not Stairway to Heaven?”

           Cas chuckles. “No this one… means more to me.” He finds something to distract himself, fiddling with the map in hand. Cas checks a passing road sign. “I think we’re coming up on the turn… you might want to switch lanes.”

           “Yeah, yeah…” Dean turns the wheel, Baby cruising over onto the right-most lane. They make it off the highway, closing the last couple of miles between them and the Spear. “Hey, Cas?”

           “Yes, Dean?”

           “That song means a lot to me, too. I’m glad you… appreciate it, same as me. S’why I put it at the end; kinda… ties it all together, in a way.” His neck is on fire, the red blush creeping up from behind his collar with unmatched speed. “I think we’re here… sheesh, what a dump.”

           “Well, it’s quite literally a dump, Dean.”

           “I know but you’d think she’d clean up since we’re paying her a house call and all.”

           “…She doesn’t know that we’re coming. It’s the element of surprise?”

           “Cas,” Dean says, his voice tinged with exasperation and something else, “…keep being you.” He drives Baby between two tall stacks of crushed aluminum and plastic. “Roll the windows back up, don’t want any stench messing up our ride.” Cas does so as Dean parks. He readies to leave, but something drapes over his hand, stalling him.

           “Hey, Cas…”

           “…Yes, Dean?”

           “I – um, I don’t know,” he rubs at his neck with his other hand, looking at Cas through his lashes. “I mean, I do know – it’s just…” Dean laughs, smile stretched wide across his face.

           The sight parts the clouds within Cas’s mind, and he feels a flicker of warmth burning inside his chest. “What?”

           “I think maybe I can get this out but… just give me a minute?” he asks, “There’s… a lot going on in my head.” Cas allows him to gather his thoughts, eyes never straying from his face.

           Except there’s a slight buzzing to his left, like a gnat flying to close to his ear. Cas turns to see what it is and –

           Duma stands a few feet away. Except it’s not Duma, it’s the Empty. They watch them, face etched in a cannibalistic grin. Behind them swirls a dark energy, a mass of shadowy tendrils swaying, as if ready to strike.

           The clouds roll back in.

           And Cas pulls away. “Maybe later,” he apologizes, “Dark Kaia might know that we’re here and… move. From what you’ve told me she can be very tricky.” Dean’s expression changes in an instant, and even though he tries to cover it up, Cas could see the flicker of disappointment flashing behind his eyes. As if Cas chopped down a tree in his emerald forest that took ages to grow.

           “Yeah… yeah.”

           Cas swings the door open, stepping out into the waste yard. Dean follows at a slower pace, head down, already readying the bag of weapons they brought with them. He watches the other man, pain and sadness welling inside of him, because of what he had to do. ‘Not now… I can’t – I can never…’ He slams the door. ‘I may never have it, but Dean deserves it.’

           “You seem good, lately. Happy, even…”

[senseless-septic-shambles]

Miles To Go Before I Sleep - Chapter Ten.

Summary: Jackieboy Man has been missing for so long even he is losing hope of ever finding his way home. Henrik Schneeplestien is struggling to cope after the events that left Jack in a coma. Chase Brody is trying to piece his life together after it crumbled around him. Marvin is feeling separated from his family. Jameson Jackson is fighting his own demons. And Jack is sleeping through it all. Ev̡ęr͝ythi̸n͏g is go̡i͞ng̢ acc̕ord͏i̶ng ţo̕ ̡p͞la̡n͠.͞ ҉

Links: Under the ‘Miles to Go Before I Sleep’ heading on my page, or search the ‘#Miles to go before I sleep’ tag

Warnings: Nothing really.

A/N: Brief Hiatus is over, but I’m still figuring out how my life looks at University, so updates may be a little spotty until I figure out when a better time to post is and figure out a routine. Love you all, thank you for sticking with me! Betas are @dinadinu @xtracheesy,@a-septic-writer-of-art and  @softgreysweaters . Dina also drew the banner.

An annoying buzz in his ear woke him. Marvin groaned, trying to pull himself out of his dream fogged sleep. He rolled over in an effort to block out the sound, but it persisted.

Pushing himself up on one elbow, hair falling in his eyes, he woke up enough to realise it was his phone. With a groan, he reached out to grab it, answering and dropping his head back onto the pillow.

“Mmm?” he said as a greeting.

“Marvin, right? It’s Jacob from Rickety Stool.” Marvin groaned again, closing his eyes. Rickety Stool was Chase’s favourite bar, and this wasn’t the first time Marvin had received a call from its owner. Chase had a knack for getting into trouble.

“Is it Chase?” he muttered, his voice still thick with sleep.

“I’m afraid so. He’s causing quite a disturbance, and you did say to call you before I called the police.”

“Yeah,” Marvin said. He groaned once more, very tempted to leave Chase be and let him face the consequences. A night in jail might do him good.

But he couldn’t do that - if Chase was out drinking again it meant that things had clearly not gone well with Stacy. And she could use an overnight jail trip to push for full custody of the kids.

So he let out a long sigh and nodded slowly.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said reluctantly.

“Thank you, sir,” Jacob said, and Marvin grunted, hanging up. He didn’t move for a long moment, wishing he could drift back into sleep. He was exhausted - using that much magic at once had sucked all his energy.

With effort, he pushed himself up, adjusting his mask into a more comfortable position. He hadn’t even bothered taking it off earlier, he had been too tired. Running a hand through his hair, he managed to escape from the call of his blankets.

A commotion was forming in the corner of the bar when Marvin stepped through the door. He could make out Jacob - a tall, dominating figure - standing near them, clearly trying to keep the peace, but he could tell it was about to get out of hand.

He quickly crossed the space, joining the edge of the crowd. Peering through the heads, he saw, with slight disappointment, but not surprise, that Chase was standing in the middle, eyes blazing. He looked ready to fight - and he looked very drunk.

“Y’spilt m’drink,” Chase growled, glaring up at another man. The man was much larger than Marvin’s younger brother and was backed by two other equally large figures.

“Yeah, well, maybe you should have thought about that before barging into our business,” one of the growled, stepping forward and shoving Chase in the chest. He stumbled back, swaying wildly.

Marvin held his breath, praying that he wouldn’t do anything stupid. But Chase was Chase, and anger flashed in his eyes and he snatched up the bottle beside him on the bar. He swayed slightly, paused, then flung the bottle in the general direction of the man who had pushed him.

Given his intoxicated state, Marvin wasn’t too surprised when it missed entirely and shattered on the head of one of the bystanders. For a frozen moment, no one reacted. Then, the victim of Chase’s bad aim let out a loud cry and shoved himself forward.

“Alright then! Is this how it’s going to be?” he demanded.

“Okay, okay, settled down!” Jacob tried desperately, raising his hands and trying to push between the angry crowd and Chase.

“This punk needs to be taught a lesson,” one of the men growled, glaring at Chase. Chase glared right back, snatching up an abandoned shot and downing it.

“Well take it outside then,” Jacob said shortly. “I don’t need any more mess in here.”

“M’not goin’ anywhere,” Chase slurred.

“You sure about that?”

Marvin groaned softly, knowing he would have to intervene soon before Chase got hurt. Despite the temptation to let him get a bit of a beating in the hopes that it would teach him a lesson, Marvin knew he couldn’t let that happen to his younger brother. So, he pushed his way to Chase’s side.

“M’rvin!” Chase called as he caught sight of him. “What’re you doin’ ‘ere?”

“I’m taking you home,” Marvin said shortly, grabbing his shoulder.

“In a moment,” the man Chase had hit with the bottle said sharply, one had pressed to a large cut from the glass of the bottle. “We gotta teach him a lesson first.”

“As much as that is tempting to allow, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Marvin said, his voice dark. He was too tired to use much magic and he hoped that he wouldn’t have to try too hard to get them to let him go with Chase.

“I don’t think so. If you wanna join him in his beating, I won’t stop you though.”

Marvin sighed softly, letting his eyes glow slightly. He held himself up to his full height, trying to seem as intimidating as possible, eyes glowing, magic making his cloak flow softly. The men stepped back slowly, muttering uncertainly to each other.

“I suggest you let us go,” Marvin growled.

For a moment, he was afraid they would keep persisting. He wasn’t sure what he would do then - he certainly didn’t have the energy to take on four fully grown men and look after Chase.

But too his immense relief, they backed down, the crowd - sensing a fight wouldn’t actually break out - stepping back as well.

Marvin wasted no time, keeping a firm hold on Chase’s arm and all but dragging him out of the building.

“I don’ wanna go, Marv,” Chase complained, trying to pull away.

“You need to come home and sober up,” Marvin snapped. He was tired, he was frustrated and he was angry at Chase. Even as drunk as he was, Chase seemed to sense that and didn’t fight as they made their way to the car.

They were quiet for a long while, Marvin focusing on not crashing in his anger, Chase thankfully noticing the atmosphere of the vehicle. But about five minutes away from the bar, a low whining filled the silence, and Mavin glanced at Chase to see his shoulder shaking.

He sighed softly, knowing what that meant. It meant Chase was in a clingy, needy drunk mood now. He wasn’t sure that was any better than angry drunk Chase.

“I take it things didn’t go well with Stacy?” he asked - anything better than that horrible noise. But it was clearly the wrong thing to say - Chase’s sobs got louder and more pitiful.

“Damnit Chase - I swear I will drop you off on the side of the road if you don’t shut up!”

“Sh - she’s not l-letting me s-see the ki-ids anymore,” he whined, wiping his eyes and looking up. He suddenly gagged and Marvin cursed, slamming the window down.

“Outside!” he snapped, and to his relief, Chase turned and hurled the contents of his stomach out the window - not into his car. He knew from experience that was not a smell that left quickly.

They fell into an uneasy silence for the rest of the drive, Chase occasionally sobbing or hiccuping. Marvin drove perhaps a little too violently, but he was angry and wanted to go back to bed.

Chase leaned on him heavily as Marvin unlocked the door and stepped inside, muttering occasionally. Once inside, Marvin made a beeline for Chase’s room.

“Straight to bed and you can sleep it off,” he said sharply, lowering Chase onto the bed.

“I wanna see Jackie,” Chase muttered.

“Well Jackie doesn’t want to see you like this.”

“You’re being meeaaan he’s my brooother.”

“Jackie needs his rest, alright? If Henrik says it’s okay you can see him tomorrow.” Marvin sighed, pressing clutching the bridge of his nose through his mask. “Damnit Chase, you have to stop drinking like this.”

“Stacy’s fault. She’s being meeaaan.”

“Stacy saying you can’t see the kids is no reason to get wasted at…” he glanced at the clock, muttering a curse. “Chase it’s 4pm.”

“An ‘m not tired! You’re a meany!”

“You need to stop! Alright Chase!” Marvin snapped. He was sick of it. He was sick of picking his brother up, he was sick of seeing him in such a state.

“Stacy’s being mean!” Chase snapped back.

“Stacy’s not in control of your actions!” Marvin shot back. “You are an adult Chase - start acting like it.”

“Why should I listen to you?”

“Because I’m your brother and I hate seeing you like this. Listen to me, Chase -”

“No one likes you though!” Chase shouted.

Marvin flinched. He couldn’t help it - Chase’s words cut too deep. He tried not to let it show, but Chase clearly picked up on the impact that had on him. He stumbled to his feet, swaying, and glared at his older brother.

“No one likes you cause you’re not a favourite. An - an the community never cared about you and Jack didn’t even give you a name so you’re just a big meany!” He shoved at Marvin’s chest, stumbling slightly. 

Marvin spun around abruptly, not meeting Chase’s eyes.

“I’m leaving,” he said shortly, storming out of the room. He didn’t hear Chase’s response as he slammed the door behind him.

He almost made it to his room before Henrik cut him off.

“Marvin - there you are. We must have a talk about Jac-”

“Piss off, Schneeplestein!” Marvin snarled, not in the mood to talk. He tried to ignore the way Schneep recoiled away from him, the bright flash of fear that shone in his eyes as he shied away from Marvin. He didn’t care and slammed the door behind him, leaning against it.

He let out a shaky breath, ripping his mask off his face and flinging it across the room, suddenly not wanting the prison across his face. Sinking down the door, he angrily wiped tears away from his eyes. Crying was foolish - he knew that what Chase said was true. And he knew that Chase didn’t mean it - he wasn’t in his right mind.

But Chase’s words had echoed what he had been thinking for the past few weeks.  Chase’s words spoke too clearly that his secret thoughts were true. He wasn’t liked. The others didn’t care for him.

A flicker of light caught his attention and he looked up to see his computer flash to life. Frowning, he stepped forward slowly, unsure why it had turned on. A message flashed across the screen, a familiar note.

“Fe͟ȩl̵ìng d͜ow̛n, ̨ki͢t̸ k͡a̴t̛?̷”

For a long moment, he just stared at the screen, hesitating. Then, slowly, he sank into the seat. He knew he shouldn’t - he knew who was sending the messages, he knew this was dangerous. But somehow, he couldn’t stop himself. 

Who else was there to talk to? 

Tag list: 

@watermelonsinmyattic  @cute-anxious-kitten @asunachinadoll @aesthetic-ego @iris-the-asparagus @plutoandpolaris @vity-dream @fangirlintrovert @viostormcaller @squishygamermama @theblackphoebe @anqshusxx

[dangan-your-ronpa-imagines-blog]

V3 Boys First Kiss Headcanon Part 1

I’m going to divide this ask into two parts because it’s honestly kinda long and for the moments I don’t really have anything for the other boys left.

Also, I’m not really sure if I made this like a headcanon or an imagine, so yeah that’s that. Hope you enjoy this part and I’ll try to post part two soon!

- Mod Kaede

Shuichi Saihara

Oh, he is SO not ready for this!

To say Saihara was nervous would be an understatement.

He’s never kissed anyone before! What if he messes up the kiss and you break up with him?!

No no, Saihara. You’re being inrrational…

It could still happen though.

He never read any romance books before either, so he didn’t exactly know how to put the whole… Romantic scenerie. He even asked some of his friends for help, namely Kaede and Kaito, his two ‘hopeless romantic’ friends, as the others so nicely put it. He also asked Amami since he seemed to know one or two things about romanticism.

“Awww, Shuichi! That’s so sweet! But just be yourself and everything will go fine!” “Haha! You called the right guy for the job, Shuichi! Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, is a master of romaticism, after all!” “Ah, I’m sure I can give you a few tips on how not to mess it up... I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Just don’t worry too much and you’ll be fine, you have your own charms.”

Yeah he kind of regretted have called them all at once, but they were kind of useful, a few more than others, actually...

After everything was done, he called you to get ready because he was going to take you to a nice dinner night at a fancy restaurant. Wow!

He came to pick you up and he was lookng more... anxious tan usual. His hands were also sweaty… More sweaty.

You guys got to the restaurant and ate a satisfying meal, Saihara kept on stuttering and blushing and it got to a point where you couldn’t even understand him anymore, he said he was fine though.

After dinner you guys went on a nice walk on the park, it was getting kind of cold so Saihara offered you his jacket which you gladly accepted.

More time passed and you guys decided to call it a day and he escorted you back home.

Once at your front door you held his hands and started to say how lovely the night was, Saihara couldn’t help but stare at your lips for a little. They looked so soft, they probably are...

It was time? I mean, it looked like the perfect time to do it, right? Oh, he could hear Kaede, Kaito and Amami chanting “do it, do it, do it” in the distance…

He leaned a bit closer, mustering up the courage to finally kiss you- but he chickened up. He wasn’t ready to do it. He’s not man enough to take the first step. He could already feel his three friends scolding him, mostly Kaito.

But as if reading his mind, you suddenly leaned closer to him and-

G a s p!

“It was lovely night, Shuichi! I hope we can repeat it soon!” And you closed the door.

Saihara was struck into silence, just staring at the door, eyes wide open, face glowing red. He couldn’t believe it! You kissed him! And- It, it felt really good, too…

...he would like to repeat that…

Kaito Momota

Oh, he is SO ready for this!

He has the whole night planned out! It was a perfect night!

Training, then eat some snacks, then training again, and then stargazing!

Heh, nailed it.

You’ve been dating for one month now and Kaito doesn’t even know how could he managed not to kiss you on the lips for so long!

But today was the day! You finally will get to kiss an amazing astronaut such as himself, the great Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!

He’s going to impress you by doing One. Hundred. Push-ups! Isn’t that cool?!

You’re gonna be so impressed! And to top it all off, he’s going to Kiss you! And no, not on the cheek or the forehead, kiss you on the lips! And it’s gonna be the most perfectly smooth best kiss you’ll ever had!

His exact words.

This night is gonna be the best night of your life, with the best boyfriend you ever had, and with the best kiss as the cherry on top.

Or so he thinks.

Or so he thought.

When the night strikes, he calls you over to do your daily workout rutine.

And his fool-proof plan is set in motion.

Unfortunately, you can’t make a fool-proof plan if it’s made by a fool.

Instead of one hundred push-ups, or even his normally fifty push-ups, he does twenty because in the middle of it he felt exhausted, got a cramp, and lied there on the grass of his backyard while telling you to keep doing your push-ups whilst feeling ashamed of himself.

And when it was time for the snacks, he went to open the bag of chips only to accidentaly rip it open and make all the chips fall to the ground.

R.I.P Chips. You will be missed

And when the second training session begun, this time with sit-ups, he literally couldn’t even do one because he got a cramp on his leg.

So the night was going great.

But do not fret for our little astronaut! For it was time to do the one thing he couldn’t fail at.

S t a r g a z i n g!

It was also the last part of his ‘plan to give S/O the best kiss of their life and be the best boyfriend in the world’, so he had to do this one right!

With you sitting beside him, and the starry night sky above your heads, he knew it was the moment. Now or never!

“Hey, S/O, look at me for a sec.” he caught your attention. “Yeah? What is it, Kaito?”

You both were now face-to-face with each other. Your beautiful eyes staring at his. He moved closer, trying to keep on a straight face and maintain serious and compose. Trying but failing to keep his nerves in check, then - in a fit of energy - instead of going in for the kiss smoothly, like in the movies, he makes you butt heads- foreheads more likely. Really hard.

In the end of the day, you and Kaito ended up sitting on the sofá with icepacks pressed on your foreheads.

Sadly for the hopeless romantic known as Kaito, he didn’t actually got to kiss you - unless you can count bumping foreheads as a kiss - but there’s always a second time to try it! ...or a third time..

Rantaro Amami

Yeah, he’s chill.

I mean, he’s Rantaro “The Suave” Amami, the coolheaded, and charming yet cryptic boy who is desired for many girls and boys alike, what did you expect him to be?

What, did you expected him to be all stressed out and having inside fits of rage because he can’t kiss you because everytime he tries to some unexplainable thing happens that just completely kills off the whole mood he created to make his first kiss with you the best for the both of you? Pfft, as if.

….

Okay, maaaybe there is a tiny chance of him being a little, widdle bit mad by the apparent bad luck around your romatic moments. But he won’t let it show its face!

...In front of you, that is.

He just really wants to kiss you, and he knows you want to kiss him too- you said it once out of frustation after Ouma interrupted the pair of you by spilling panta on you!

Luckily, there is one person Amami can let all his frustations out with, aside from you, and that person is his bestie that knows how to talk about feelings without being cryptic about it or mentioning a dead relative- Kaede! His first and most trustworthy friend, the one who tried to befriend him when the others didn’t know how to approach him and his cryptics and shady words.

Also the one who sometimes helps him make the romantic scenery.

Kaede is well aware of Amami’s attempts to kiss you, and of said attempts being interrupted by the recurrent classmate appearing at the wrong time, or the current troubles a white-haired upperclassman’s luck causes.

So she has a plan to make you both finally kiss with no interruptions!

It’s very simple, really. But hey, it could still work and at this point, you’ll try anything!

It all happens at school, before the last period.

Kaede guides you and Amami to her research lab, once there you saw how Kaede had made everything look like a scene straight rip-off an old, cheesy movie.

“Alright! If you stay here while everyone else is in class, that’ll give you some privacy. I’ll also lock the door and make up some excuse for you guys so you won’t have to worry about anyone coming in and ruining the moment. You’ll be able to be all romantic and lovey-dovey! So wait here ‘til I come back, and once I’m back I wanna hear that you two finally kissed, okay?!”

Then she puts everyone’s favorite Clair de lune by Debussy on the disc player before promptly leaving and locking the door, and leaving two lovebirds midly confused.

“..I like it that she wants to help but... maybe she didn’t needed to lock the door,” “Hey, you never know anymore. With our luck, even Koichi could come through that door to drink, get wasted, and escape from his students.” “Haha, yeah… Kaede really did put a lot of effort in this, didn’t she?” “Well, you do say she’s a hopeless romantic, ‘sides, this looks really nice.” “Yeah, really nice..”

There was a moment of silence after that, only you and Amami staring at each other’s eyes lovingly, slowly getting closer and closer to each other’s faces, until they were only inches away of each other, your lips almost touching.

This was the moment he was waiting for. A moment of peace, with no interruptions, no classmates causing ruckus and getting you two involve somehow.

Just you and Amami, enjoying each other’s company as he caresses your cheek with one hand and finally closes the gap between you.

Kokichi Ouma

Alright guys what the actual heck-

There are so many things annoying him right now.

He tries to kiss you at school, he can’t. Why? Because some blonde bitch keeps bothering him with nicknames and whatnot.

He tries to kiss you at DICE’s hideout - that he thought was a good idea to begin with -, he can’t. Why? Because DICE members keep playing pranks on him and/or you because of some prank war between them that you happened to get caught in the crossfire.

He tries to kiss you at home, he can’t. Why? Because either he gets a call from DICE to attend some issues, or you are too busy with work to pay any attention to him, which ultimately hurts him.

HE TRIES TO KISS YOU IN HIS SLEEP AND ENDS UP DROOLING ALL OVER YOUR HAIR-

So yeah, you guys are not allowed to kiss, apparently. That’s how the universe wants it, that’s how the universe’s gonna have it.

But, oh no. What’s this? The great and dreaded Kokichi Ouma will not stand this kind of insult from the universe!

He is the Ultimate Supreme Leader, he is better than the universe, he is above the universe. He will kiss you even if that creates a dark hole in the universe and destroys the Earth.

Alright honey let’s not take it that far-

He has a plan. An eerily simple plan.

Ask the DICE members to stop screwing with his attempts to kiss you if they don’t want him to dispose of all of their rubber chickens, pies, masks, beautifully fashionable scarves and Panta for eternity because honestly, he is to this of this bulshit (cockblocking, how Miu calls it), and he’s usually the one making people feel like this, not the other way around, so this is new. He won’t let you see it though.

As for the kiss, it was rather playful. Kokichi’s way.

He made you chase him through DICE’s headquarters, as though you were playing Tag, at one point you lost sight of him and when you were about to give up-

B A M!

Tackled to the ground by your little purple gremlin, who was laughing and complaining about how easy you gave up on finding him, because apparently you started to play hide-and-seek at some point.

As you were about to tell him to get off of you, he saw his chance and kissed you- so suddenly!

You were taken aback by that, but didn’t pull away. A few seconds passed and Ouma pulled away from the kiss with a classic ‘nishishi’ escaping his mouth as he got up. Taking a look at his face, he looked satisfied, relieved even.

Was he really expecting that kiss so much?

Bonus for Saihara’s one:

In the distance, hidden in some bushes, the certain friends of a certain detective are watching over him.

“Haha! I knew he’d do it! That’s my side- Wha?! He’s backing off?!”

“Oh, Shuichi… Remember our training!”

“Hm. Guess he wasn’t read- Oh?”

“Oh?!”

“Oh! I knew they’d be the one to make the move! Go Y/N!”

“Looks like someone took the initiative.”

“I gotta teach Shuichi how to not chicken up when you’re making your big move, that’s for sure. At least he got what he was aiming for, though.”

“I think our job is done, let’s call it a day?”

The three nod in agreement before being going to a suddenly-planned stargazing night, suggested by Kaito.