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luminnara · 4 years ago

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Goddamn, Shit-Sucking Vampires | Lost Boys x OC CH 1

Summary: Vera is an unusually vicious bloodsucker who's never stuck in one place for very long...until a mysterious feeling pulls her right to the murder capital of the world: Santa Carla, California. Now, she needs to figure out why exactly she's there, where she fits in amongst the boardwalk's nighttime denizens, and how to cope with her own personal vampire-related problems. Poly Lost Boys/OC, starts just before the movie

Also posted on AO3

My requests are open!

Chapter one | Chapter two

Warnings: Blood, gore, smut, all that good stuff

Vera had been to a lot of cities, some of them twice, some of them three times, some even more, but none of them were quite as unique as Santa Carla. The boardwalk was crawling with lost souls, kids with nowhere else to go, and she was one of them; no family to call her own, no real friends, barely any possessions…Vera was a wanderer, a lone soul, a lost girl. She drifted from town to town, hanging around for a day or two if nothing interesting happened before moving on...and honestly, nothing very interesting ever happened.

Sometimes she took the bus, if she had the money from odd jobs or pick pocketing her meals, but for the most part, she was left to her own devices. She traveled on foot when she had to, avoiding major highways unless she was feeling up to a fight. During the day, she took refuge under bridges if she was broke, or motel rooms if she had a little cash. If she felt particularly frisky, sometimes she even managed to seduce locals into helping out, but for the most part, she only had herself as company, traveling by night for no reason other than an insatiable wanderlust and nobody else to spend her time with.

Nothing had ever held her in one place. She had started traveling a long time ago, when she realized she had no reason to stay in her hometown. Plus...people started to grow a little bit suspicious when they noticed too many bodies cropping up. The world was changing, and for someone like her, it was best to stay on the move.

After that, it became a habit, and she got used to wandering and never having a place to call home. Did it ever bother her? Sometimes, when she was resting, it did. She could stop and look at the stars, with some kind of foreign aching in her chest, but it was rare that she thought about it. It had started up years ago, and she had forced herself to get used to it. She had never found any cure, and while she lingered around the east coast, it had finally dulled to a strange, quiet pain. A constant throb in her chest, next to her heart, some kind of strange tightness that she was happy to forget whenever she could. It was becoming more frequent, though, as she neared California, and she chalked it up to the fact that she had been alone and hungry for far too long.

She would have to do something about that soon. She hated feeling hungry.

Vera hopped off the bus when it stopped in Santa Carla, a coastal town that boasted a crowded boardwalk and just the kind of nightlife she needed. From the road, she could see the bright lights of a Ferris wheel and even a roller coaster, and she couldn’t help but smile. She had always liked fairs and carnivals. They were fun and exciting, and good places to pickpocket. Plus, the chaos made it easier for her to go unnoticed.

At the bus stop, she was greeted with boards and telephone poles covered in missing persons ads, and it was an oddly comforting sight. She would fit right in.

“Murder capital of the world, huh?” she said to herself, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. She had seen the graffiti on the back of a big WELCOME TO SANTA CARLA sign on the way in, and the flyers only added to the town’s reputation.

Yeah, this place was worth checking out.

The pier was bright, neon signs and carnival rides lighting up the night. Kids and adults alike were enjoying their summer, stuffing themselves with treats or screaming their way around the roller coaster. It all looked fun, she had to admit, and maybe once she had a chance to grab some cash she could hang around and enjoy herself. She could use a break from running constantly, and she was finding that the boardwalk was already making her happy.

As she walked through the crowds, Vera spotted every kind of person, from middle aged parents toting along a family of four to dirty vagrant children to punks to a couple of weird kids lurking around the comic book store. There were pizza places, cotton candy carts, all sorts of dine in restaurants and bars...Santa Carla seemed like it had everything, but mostly, it was a good place for someone like her to spend some time.

She sat herself down on a railing, trying to ignore the hunger pains she was feeling as she people watched. Beyond the homeless kids and the weirdos, the boardwalk was full of partygoers, and it looked like summer vacation was in full swing. There were a million smells in the air—cigarettes, weed, funnel cakes—but none of them really caught her attention. She let out a sigh, leaning her chin on her hand. She hated being indecisive about dinner.

“Ugh, Surf Nazis,” a woman whispered to her friend as they ran by.

“Gross,” the other wrinkled her nose.

Vera looked past them to the men that were shouting about their asses as they left and she snorted.

“What’s wrong, girls?” One of them yelled.

“Come back, we’ll show you a good time!” Another cackled, tossing an empty beer can over his shoulder.

Vera rolled her eyes. Disgusting, pathetic creatures, all standing around a trash can as they smoked. They smelled awful, she realized with a wrinkle of her nose, and it wasn’t just from their smoke. They were nasty, leering at girls and laughing loudly with each other when the women they were bothering scampered away.

Well, they weren’t her first choice, but at least she had found a meal.

She hopped off the fence and sauntered in their direction for a moment before turning, giving them just enough time to notice her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them perk up, and before long, all four of them were following her through the crowd, shouting profanities as she made her way down to the pier.

“Hey baby, where you goin’?” one yelled, jogging to keep up with her pace.

Vera looked over her shoulder. “Down under the boardwalk...unless you’re chicken.”

She heard a chorus of hoots and whistles and grinned to herself. Men were so easy.

“I call first dibs!”

“I wanna piece of that ass!” Another yelled.

They always did. Vera was a short girl, only around five feet tall, and stocky. She carried her weight in her legs, giving her thick thighs and a round butt that could never quite stay covered by the denim shorts she loved to wear so much.

Boys liked the way she looked. They liked how she seemed so easy to grab, so soft, so touchable. As the Surf Nazis followed her down the rickety stairs to a secluded spot under the boardwalk, their hands were already moving, unbuttoning pants and reaching for Vera as if they were entitled to her. She smiled sweetly as she backed into the shadows, cooing for them to follow, grinning sickly when they obeyed. They always did, like lambs to the slaughter, never clever enough to recognize her predatory gaze and dangerous movements until it was too late.

Sometimes, if they were lucky, they could catch a glimpse of her bra or panties before it was over, but tonight, Vera had little patience for the dirty fingers that tried to pull her shirt off and her shorts down. Their faces leered down at her, even in the darkness, grunting as they palmed themselves through their pants.

She gave them a second to enjoy it before her lips twisted into a sick grin and she reached for them, nails like claws and teeth like fangs. The air was suddenly filled with the sound of their screams, but the waves crashing against the sand drowned the grisly noises out. As she tore into them, she laughed, loving the way they were so terrified now that they had completely lost any sense of power over her.

Boys always liked the way she looked, until she was covered in their friends’ blood.

-o-

David was having a boring night.

His boys were under control for the time being, lounging on their bikes next to him. Paul and Marko were laughing loudly, occasionally punching each other just for the hell of it, and Laddie was reading a comic as he clung to Dwayne. Star had decided to stay home for the night, and nobody was complaining about that; at the thought of her, David growled to himself, grimacing at the reminder of the troublesome bitch. Max had wanted a daughter and a good mother for Laddie, and what had they ended up with? A mopey, whiny little cunt who refused to kill and feed like everyone else.

Feed...damn, he could go for a snack. He could practically taste blood in the air as he thought about grabbing a bite, fangs threatening to lengthen. He hadn’t even thought he was that hungry, but now that he was thinking about it, it was bugging him, and when David got the urge to feed, there were very few things that could stop him. The hunger would sometimes gnaw at him the way it did a newborn, and even Max was occasionally put off by it. It was something he expected from a younger vampire, like Marko, maybe, but David? His appetite could be insatiable, truly monstrous in a way that most others’ weren’t.

The boys picked up on his hunger and he heard a few growls of agreement before he nodded for Dwayne to take Laddie back to the cave. The kid was never allowed to go with them when they hunted, and Dwayne was capable enough to grab something for himself if he didn’t catch up with them. Ever since Laddie had gotten his pesky little hands on their bloody wine bottle, they had been stuck with him, and if Dwayne hadn’t turned out to be so good with the kid, David would’ve been irritated beyond belief.

It all worked out, though, and Laddie fit in well with the rest of the group. David just had to keep reminding himself to be patient.

“Anybody catch your eye?” Paul asked as his brother took off down the beach with their youngest member.

“Absolutely fucking no one.” David sneered.

The tall blonde straightened up to sniff the air. “Get a whiff of that, though…”

David paused, mimicking Paul. He was right. There was a metallic scent on the breeze, the sweet smell of fresh blood. It made him thirsty, and as he led Paul and Marko down the boardwalk, it only grew stronger.

“Shit,” Marko mumbled as they started down the stairs to the beach. Once they had broken free of the crowd, the scent had hit them like a train, and even David was having trouble controlling himself.

“Careful,” he warned, voice coming out with a ragged, heavy breath.

Murders happened in Santa Carla all the time, and not only because of the Lost Boys. It was a rough place, full of drugs and vagrants, and the violence only helped them blend in. Someone had probably gotten themselves in trouble under the boardwalk, and at this point David was just hoping that the killer was still around to sate his hunger. They never fed from corpses, so stumbling across them never yielded any good results unless they were in the mood to rip them apart for shits and giggles.

David was not in the mood.

He led Paul and Marko off the stairs and through the sand, hurrying now as the blood filled his senses. It was so fresh, and there was so much of it...this wasn’t normal, even for the murder capital of the world. What kind of sadistic human would cut someone up enough to spill so much blood? What the fuck was going on under his boardwalk? Sure, it was something he would do, but other than his boys, who could possibly be that brutal?

It was in the shadows of the pier that he finally got the answers to all of his questions.

Just like the blood had, her scent hit him like a freight train. He could tell Paul and Marko were just as confused by the way they stopped and hissed, fangs already out as they looked down at the bodies littering the sand. It was a gorey scene, throats and stomachs ripped open, Surf Nazis gutted with their pants down.

And in the middle of it all, she had the audacity to glance up at David, and then completely disregard him as she turned back to her final victim. She wasn’t worried in the slightest about the three males, and that pissed David off a little. When he would have snarled a warning at her insolence, he found himself distracted instead, head tilted and lips parted as he drank in her scent and checked her out.

She was wearing shorts that barely covered her bloody legs, ratty combat boots on her feet and an equally ratty denim vest over a ripped up black shirt. Her ebony hair was cut into some sort of shaggy mullet, falling around her shoulders. It was long and wavy and glossy, but tousled and messy, no doubt thanks to feeding.

He could only stare in shock at the black-haired girl that was feasting on a Surf Nazi. He couldn’t decide if he was angry at someone else hunting on his turf or happy to find a real female vampire, one that wasn’t stupid and whiny like Star, but the one thing he knew for sure as he took a step towards her was that he was just the tiniest bit turned on.

Paul and Marko could both smell the tiniest hint of their leader’s arousal, and it excited them. They weren’t used to supernatural girls, and the thought of getting a turn with her was enough to make the air heavy with the scent of lust as they followed David.

Paul let out a low whistle behind him. “Shit, first time I wouldn’t mind bein’ a Surfer. I’d take a little of that sugar right now, know what I’m sayin?”

The vampiress lifted her head from her victim and smiled, drunk on blood and high off the hunt. “I don’t usually share meals, but I’ll give you the rest of this one if it gives me a free pass back outta here.”

Paul tensed to take her up on the offer, but David stopped him. “Free pass?”

The girl sat back from the still-whimpering Surf Nazi, blood running down her chin. “Figure you wouldn’t want me in your territory. Sorry. Didn’t realize anybody else was here, else I’d have been moving on already.”

David smirked. “No need, sweetheart.”

She furrowed her brow.

“It’s feeding time, boys. Grab a snack.” David grinned, allowing Paul and Marko to surge forward and rip into the Surf Nazi. He watched with a twinge of annoyance as Paul turned from his meal and pressed his bloody lips to the girl’s, but that annoyance turned into surprise when she kissed back, albeit lazily.

She smiled as her lips moved against his, a hand moving to tangle in his wild hair. Fire tore through Paul and he growled, pushing her down until her back hit the sand and her chest touched his as her breaths turned into frenzied pants.

Hands ran down her sides, hard nails digging into her skin as Paul nipped at her lower lip. With a whine, she arched up against him, tugging at his hair until he snarled.

“Paul,” David growled a warning.

Paul sat back up with an irritated grumble, licking his lips before plunging his fangs into the Surf Nazi and leaving Vera alone.

David had to admit, he had never met a female vampire that wasn’t stuck in limbo like Star. They seemed rare, or at least they were around California, but Max had always told him that girls of their kind were a special breed. He was already feeling a tug toward her, some kind of something pulling at his chest whenever she moved, and before he knew what he was doing, he was crouching down to suck up the last few drops of blood while his boys turned their attention to the killer.

“What’s your name, beautiful?” Marko asked, playing with a strand of her hair.

“Vera,” she answered with the sweetest voice either of them had ever heard, practically a purr.

Paul sighed, leaning in again. He was head over heels already. “What brings you here to our little corner of the world, Miss Vera?”

She blinked, and they were fucking mesmerized by those lashes and those hazel eyes. “Just passing through, boys. Don’t wanna step on any toes.”

Paul groaned. He wanted her to stay. She smelled amazing, and when she had returned the kiss he hadn’t even realized he was giving her, he felt jolts of electricity shoot through every part of his body.

He wanted more.

“Damn, babe, you’re breakin’ my heart,” he said, holding her face so that he could lick blood off her chin.

“No fair,” Marko nudged his brother. “I want a taste…”

David looked up from the drained corpse, listening as his boys slurred with love drunk voices. Max had warned him about females, about those with foreign sires. They could trap you in a web of lust, keep you dumb and happy there for as long as they wanted, rob you blind and kill your entire family...but somehow, he got the feeling that Vera wasn’t even trying to fuck with them. There was no misty, foggy sensation that would signify magic, no eye contact, no focus. As he rose to his feet, he realized he was walking towards her of his own accord, the only spell being that strange, unspoken one that kept pulling him to her.

He had an inkling of what it could be, but he didn’t dare get his hopes up.

“Got a place to stay, darling?” He asked as he shoved his boys out of the way and knelt before Vera.

She leaned toward him, a sweet smile on those bloody lips that told him she was confident enough in her ability to handle them all. She was calm, completely in control of herself, even when faced with three healthy male vampires. Her eyes were half-lidded, long lashes fluttering whenever she blinked.

When her tongue slipped out to lick blood off her lips, David’s eyes widened at the sight of something he had never seen before. It was split in two, each side moving of its own accord easily. Paul let out an eager noise, Marko shoving him with his shoulder to try to get a better look. Vera just laughed at their fascination, pulling her tongue back into her mouth and smiling.

David could feel her breath on his cheek as she took in his scent and he couldn’t help the shiver that went up his spine. He wanted to touch her, to kiss her better than Paul had, to fuck her and hear his name on her lips. He wanted to show her how strong he was, to impress her, to prove himself for some reason. He would kill a hundred surfers if he had to, if it would grant him her favor. He would sit out in the sun and burn himself if it meant he could be hers.

He had never felt this way about anyone, and it was pissing him off.

Vera laughed to herself. She could smell his desire, and she knew that it was because of her. Just like those Surf Nazis, these vampires wanted her, but at least she liked this little pack. What’s more, that aching in her chest had stopped when they showed up, and she had a feeling she knew why.

It was a little bit terrifying, though, and she wasn’t about to stop and think about it.

“What are you suggesting?” She asked, brushing her fingers along his cheek, a smear of blood following.

“Stay with us,” he breathed, blue eyes locked with hers.

“Darling, I don’t even know your name,” she quipped, never shifting her gaze.

“David,” he said with a slight growl as he felt himself getting lost in her eyes.

“David,” she repeated, voice soft and breathy. Her hand moved to cup his cheek and he leaned into it, nose twitching as he smelled the fresh blood in her wrist. It was sweet, sweeter than any blood he had ever encountered before, and all he wanted to do was sink his fangs into her flesh and get a taste.

Vera heard a sigh and finally took her eyes off David. The other two were watching, just off to the side, staring hungrily at their leader and the new girl.

“And what about you two?” She asked, hand sliding down to the side of David’s neck to keep him in check. She was confident enough in herself to handle him, but at the same time, he put her on edge. There was no way she was going to let her guard down around him yet.

That was the thing about female vampires, though; they had the uncanny ability to always put on a facade, and Vera was no exception. David made her nervous—they all did, honestly—but she wasn’t about to let them know that.

“Paul,” the tall blonde said quickly, rushing forward as if he would die without her touch. He pressed his nose against her throat, breathing her scent as if he was starving.

“Marko,” the smaller one followed, desperately reaching out to touch her hair.

“Paul,” she purred, earning a growl. “...Marko…”

Another growl.

They acted like they needed her, all three of them, but they were behaving themselves. She had no doubt that if she gave them the go ahead, she would be naked within seconds, but for the moment, they were listening to her. She had never experienced something like this before; usually, other vampires ignored her, or threatened her until she left their territory. These boys seemed to adore her, and she had to admit, she liked it.

“Paul, Marko,” David said roughly. “Clean up so we can go home.”

With a groan, the younger two did as they were told, dragging Surf Nazi corpses into the ocean before wiping their hands and faces clean.

“You’re their leader,” Vera said, more as an observation than anything else. “Are you their sire?”

David smirked as he helped her to her feet. “Depends on how you look at it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “There’s only one way to look at that, David.”

He melted when she said his name, leaning in to catch another whiff of her scent. It was sweet, like honey, sticky and sick, and all he wanted was to drown in it. “What have you done to me, Vera?”

She smiled and took his hand, raising it to lick blood off of his fingers. “Nothing on purpose, I promise.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t mind,” Paul suddenly grabbed her from behind, arms snaking around her waist as he buried his nose in her black hair, inhaling deeply and letting out a happy sigh. The feeling of her there in his arms, pressed up against him, was enough to make his fangs slide out again, and he couldn’t help but swipe his tongue up the side of her neck.

David snarled, snapping only inches from his brother’s face. “Behave.”

“You say as if you are,” Vera snorted, giving David a gentle push and easing her way out of Paul’s grip. “But you boys are all very sweet. I don’t mind the attention.”

“Oh, you have our attention, sweets,” Paul whistled as she turned and bent over to wash her face and hands at the water’s edge, giving them all a good view of her ass. A low rumble rose in David’s throat as he appreciated the sight, and Marko echoed it.

“So greedy,” Vera mocked as she straightened up again. “Are you this nice to every bloodsucker that hangs out on your boardwalk, or is it just me?”

“Just you, that’s for sure,” Marko said, almost cackling.

“The others aren’t so delicious,” Paul cooed with that signature laugh.

“Oh, aren’t you a charmer?” Vera said, walking back to them. Now that her arms and legs were clean of blood, they could see that she was covered in tattoos, and David wondered if she had them as a human before she was turned, or if she had found some way to make the ink stay in her regenerative skin.

Paul gave her a cocky grin and David rolled his eyes. His brother was such a flirtatious bastard. He was a lady killer, literally, even more than David was, but Vera didn’t seem to mind his advances. She seemed comfortable with Paul, taking it all in stride.

It made David just the tiniest bit jealous.

“Come with us.” He said it more as an order than an offer, extending his hand out to her.

“Unless you got somewhere better to go,” Marko joked.

“And there ain’t nowhere better,” Paul snickered.

“There aren’t too many places to hide from the sun on a boardwalk,” Vera snorted. She was finally coming down from her high, the thrill of the hunt fading again and giving way to her less monstrous personality. “I was going to have to find a good spot anyways…”

Now that she wasn’t operating solely on instinct, she could take a moment and think about her situation. Three male vampires, none of whom had tried to kill her for stealing prey in their territory, seemed to be absolutely obsessed with everything about her and wanted her to go home with them. One had even kissed her and she had kissed him back, because it had felt so right. She allowed them to touch her, to taste her skin, to share her meal. They were stronger than her, and they outnumbered her, but she still felt like she was...in charge?

David, the definite leader of the little pack, was looking at her hopefully. His face was stony, but she could see excitement in his blue eyes, and when she smiled, there was a spark of something in those irises.

“Just don’t kill me in my sleep,” Vera joked as David took her hand and began leading her back up to the boardwalk.

“No promises,” Marko leered as they followed.

“You look good enough to eat, babe,” Paul growled playfully, lunging forward to cop a feel of her ass.

Vera only laughed, but David snarled dangerously at his brother, moving his arm to Vera’s shoulders and pulling her against his side.

“Relax, you big angry beast,” Vera said with a grin, raising her hand to his chin and giving a teasing scratch.

David huffed and Marko hooted with laughter. “Damn, she’s way more fun than you, David!”

“I dig this chick,” Paul snickered.

“You better share her,” Marko whined.

David smirked as they climbed the stairs back up to the boardwalk. Could he manage that? He only ever shared things with his brothers, but even then, he was terrible at it. Vera had some kind of magnetic pull on him, yeah, and his mouth watered at the thought of keeping her around, but Marko and Paul were both obviously into her...and she was into them.

She was into all of them.

He needed to talk to Max. He honestly hated having to ask his sire for help or advice, and he avoided it whenever he could. Max had never been very nurturing, despite wanting everyone to act like a big family. It worked out for the boys, sure, but Max was…not a great father. A patriarch, yes, always seated at the head of the metaphorical table, but he was cruel and cold towards David, and he had been from the very start. He thought they all needed a stern hand to keep them in check, and David didn’t like that.

Still, Max let them run free, and he knew more than David did about their own kind. He was helpful, sometimes, in his own way, and his son was going to have to defer to him. He had questions about Vera, about the pull he felt toward her, and Max was the only one with the answers.

As they returned to the boardwalk and joined the crowd of humans, Vera was pleased to see that the sea of people parted for the boys. They stepped aside, glancing with mixtures of emotions at the little pack. Girls looked dreamy, parents grabbed their children, Surf Nazis raised their lips in sneers. Was it because of their reputation, or did the humans somehow know that they should be afraid of the predators that stalked Santa Carla? She hoped it was both. She hoped that these boys were wild and rowdy enough to rule this boardwalk, and she hoped that they liked her enough to keep her around.

She glanced up at the sky, a few stars twinkling despite the light pollution from the city. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t itching to hop on a bus or hitch hike to the next town. For once in her life, Something was occupying her mind, and the wanderlust was giving way to another, completely foreign feeling. The ache in her chest was gone, but it was replaced by a strange, burning, almost longing that she had never felt before. It was almost similar to the emotions she experienced during bloodlust, but she was in control of herself. Her fangs weren’t poking through, her eyes weren’t shining...she was happy and her hunger was sated, so where was this coming from?

She was still avoiding the one train of thought that would bring her to the right conclusion. It was just too much to consider, especially with everything happening so quickly all of the sudden.

They came to a halt when they reached their bikes, Dwayne already back from dropping Laddie off. From the looks of it, he had grabbed a bite on the way, jeans stained with fresh blood that the humans would just assume was from a fight.

Vera stopped. There was another male here? She was finding it hard to believe that she had stumbled across a pack of four males without any females, but she couldn’t smell much in the way of estrogen on them. It was just odd; vampires didn’t usually live in bachelor groups like these, but she supposed it wasn’t entirely unheard of. It was just strange that they hadn’t found any girls they wanted to keep around for all eternity.

Most people got lonely eventually. Maybe these four were all actually lovers...but she hadn’t seen any marks that would mean they were claimed, and she hadn’t smelled or sensed anything that would lead her to believe that they were serious.

Odd.

The one leaning against the bike was tall, long dark hair falling around his shoulders and a curious, but serious, expression on his handsome face. She felt frozen under his gaze, uncharacteristically nervous, like a deer in the headlights. It was like he could see right through her, and she didn’t know if she liked that or not.

“Dwayne, this is Vera,” David said as he tugged her along. She found a way to make her legs work again and followed, letting a smile curl its way onto her lips when Dwayne bowed his head to her.

“And she’s tough,” Marko said, bouncing over to his bike.

“And she’s gorgeous,” Paul took her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss as he passed her.

“I can see that,” Dwayne said, his voice deep and smooth, a seductive smile on his lips.

David narrowed his eyes, but tried to hide the movement with a smirk. “Keep an eye on her. I’m going to visit Max.”

“Oh, I’ll keep both eyes on her,” Paul winked as he beckoned for her to sit behind him on his motorcycle.

David rolled his eyes, desperately trying to not make a scene. “Control yourself. I’ll be back.”

He pressed a kiss to Vera’s head, inhaling deeply before leaving her side and stalking off down the boardwalk. He could already feel his sire tugging questioningly at his consciousness, curious as to why David was so eager to speak to him. His son had always been good at blocking him out, keeping his mind locked down unless he needed something or there was trouble that called for Max’s attention. The others were more open, but Max didn’t have as strong a link with them, and while David was supposed to be his prodigal son, he was so...secretive. Private. Closed off. For him to be willingly heading to the VideoMax store for anything other than annoying him or hitting on Maria out of boredom, something very important had to be going on, and Max was beyond itching to know what it could be.

“Who’s Max?” Vera asked, joining Paul to perch on the back of his bike.

“David’s sire,” Marko answered.

“A grouchy old bloodsucker,” Paul grinned.

“He runs the video store. He hates it when we crash.” Marko laughed.

“But...that cashier is pretty cute,” Paul said, thinking of Maria. “I’d love for a bite of—”

He was cut off by the breath leaving his body when Vera wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his back.

Marko hooted with laughter at his brother’s reaction and Dwayne let out a chuckle. Paul was absolutely speechless, and Vera wasn’t even making skin on skin contact with him.

Until she felt him tense, smirked against his back, and slid her hands under his mesh shirt.

If Paul could blush, he would have. He would have been a shade past tomato red. The feeling of her fingers running over his abs was all he could focus on for a moment, and all he wanted was to kiss her again, feel her again, maybe get a little tongue action...

“You’re supposed to behave yourself, Paul,” Marko taunted as he caught a whiff of the lust in the air and felt his brother’s excited thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah,” Paul snarled. “I don’t need this shit from you.”

“I’m just repeating what David said,” Marko said defensively. “You’re the one who can’t keep it in his pants.”

“Well, aren’t you just the perfect little angel?” Paul shot back. “I’m the one with a goddess on his bike, might I remind you.”

Marko scoffed, lip raised in a nasty little snarl. “Not for long, Paul!”

Vera smiled as they bickered. Paul’s arousal hung in the air, but she didn’t mind; in fact, she liked it, and she hugged her arms around him tighter as he squabbled with Marko. She was eager to get back to wherever it was that they called home, and she was eager to sleep surrounded by them and feel truly safe for once. She was used to being alone, and she wasn’t scared of it, but she was always on edge, always ready to run or fight. It made her a light sleeper, and the concept of not having to worry was more tantalizing than any of these boys were on their own.

#goddamn shit sucking vampires #the lost boys #lost boys x reader #lost boys x oc #david lost boys #dwayne lost boys #paul lost boys #marko lost boys

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musedblues · 4 years ago

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Happy almost 600!!! It's cliche, but could you do a blurb of Joe with "And there was only one bed!" Thank you!

Carrie! Thank you dearly. Order up for one cliche blurb!

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

You’d been in London for twenty four hours, and you already felt like dying. Not only was this your first major role, and your first major film premier- you had a major crush on one of your costars. Maybe it was Joe’s natural charm, the way he’d walk back the long way he’d left from just to tell a cameraman he really liked his jacket. Joe was easy to like. Everyone seemed to light up when the guy walked in the room whether he paid them any attention or not. And that’s where your problem really was. Joe paid a lot of attention to you. He offered to stay late for a month after every table read, to help you learn lines and feel more comfortable on the intimidating set. He went out of his way like that for other people. He helped other actors with their nerves. You weren’t special, you knew. But you couldn’t help but melt a little, when he told stories about you at event panels. You couldn’t help but swoon over the comments he left on your Instagram posts. You couldn’t help yourself from falling for him, and after tomorrow night's premier, only God knew when you’d ever cross paths with Joe Mazzello again.

After the last talk show appearance had been filmed, you followed the rest of the foreign cast to the hotel suite the studio rented for you all to spend one glorious weekend in. The premier was tomorrow night, and you were already a nervous wreck. On the lift up to the room, you and one other pal were the only two of your peers with bags in tow. Everyone else got here earlier in the day. God, how nervous could one person be?

“There’s only one room left, so you’ll have to fight to the death.” Another of your co stars explained, dashing into the suite. While most of your other co stars wished each other goodnight, the only room left was snatched up by your pal who’d raced toward the bed calling dibs all the way.

Much to your dismay, you found the couch had been taken too, and in the midst of you and a helpful friend brainstorming a space for you to settle, Joe spoke up.

“You can stay with me if you want.” He breezed by, like his offer meant nothing. And you struggled to hide the way you blushed at the idea. But if your other costar noticed, they didn’t care. They simply shrugged and wished you a peaceful night’s sleep before the big day tomorrow.

So that was that, you could either follow behind Joe, or stand in the minikitchen and give away just how nervous you were. You sucked in a breath and went on your way.

Joe took his turn in the ensuite first, swearing he wouldn’t use up all the hot water. You chuckled as you tossed your bags in the corner and struggled not to scream in a panic. You found clothes to change into and just kept telling yourself not to think about it. Not to worry. Not to give yourself away. You averted your eyes when Joe stepped out in a pair of pale joggers and dashed to ready yourself for bed. Joe was only being kind. You knew this. But that didn’t stop you from muttering a string of curses as you showered and took too long worrying over your appearance when it was all said and done.

Joe was kicked back on the bed, scrolling through his phone when your time ran out. You shuffled quietly toward the opposite side, switching out the light closest to you.

“You don’t wanna stay up till dawn and party?” Joe teased, sounding sleepy despite his offer.

“As much as I’d love to, sleep seems more important. Tomorrows going to be… well you know.” You waved, turning back the covers.

“Are you nervous?” Joe asked, clicking his phone off and tossing it aside.

“Yeah.” You sheepishly admitted. Of course you were. While he followed your lead switching out the last light and settling under the covers, Joe promised you had nothing to worry over. He said it was a guaranteed good time, watching the project you’d been working on for months finally stitched together on screen. You hummed, set at ease by his pep talk, for tomorrow, and now. For a moment, you felt fine with a few inches of space between you and Joe, as you settled to fall asleep in the same bed.

But then he turned on his side to face you, lessening the gap, with more questions to ask.

“What are you going to wear?” He wondered, like a school girl daydreaming with friends. You couldn’t help but giggle as you dared to peer over at Joe, only a reach away. Then you described the outfit you fretted over choosing, happy with the one you’d decided on. Joe listened, you felt his eyes on you, his piercing gaze. You couldn’t look over again until he asked his next question.

“Will you be my date, then?” Joe wondered, biting his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Why, will we match?” You wondered, trying desperately not to give away how flustered he made you feel.

“I mean, I’m wearing black. So it wouldn’t matter.” Joe pointed. “I’d just like to show up with you on my arm, is all.”

The worst part was that you couldn’t tell if he was flirting because he was so naturally inclined to do so, or if he really meant what he said. So you had no choice but to look at him once more, despite the way your face flushed like you’d been caught red handed in love.

“Do you really?” You asked through a petrified smile. Joe kept his lip between his teeth as his eyes drifted over the features of your face. His brows lifted and Joe gave you a little nod, and your heart threatened to jump right out of your chest and into his grasp if he’d only promise to catch it. And you sifted through about seven million questions as your gaze locked on Joe’s. His jungle colored eyes were still so bright in the dark of the room.

“In case I haven’t made it embarrassingly obvious, I really like you.” Joe nearly whispered.

And then you really felt silly. For being so nervous, all this time. For still feeling nervous now. But you smiled, a stupid giggle escaping your lips as you peered to Joe, closer than you’d ever been before.

“I’d love to be your date.” You agreed, with glee.

Joe let his grin widen then, but you only caught a glimpse of it before he was closing the gap to press his lips against yours. His kiss was soft and sweet, better than you’d dreamed it might have been. And when you kissed him back, and reached out to pull him even closer, you weren’t so nervous anymore.

Almost 600 Celebration Blurbs

#joe mazzello #joe mazello x reader #Almost 600 Celebration

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thelithianqueen · 5 years ago

Text

Who I Ship

Hey so in light of events happening on here, I decided to make a list of all my ships.

Now while I do enjoy these ships, I'm not gonna act all toxic if someone doesn't like them.

Y'all can ship what you love and enjoy whatever you want. Just don't get into an argument over it or send death threats, because that's just not right.

Anyways, here are all of my ships.

>><<

CANON X CANON

Invader Zim

1. RAPR - Red and Purple

2. ZADR - Zim and Dib

3. TAGR - Tak and Gaz

4. GAMR - Gir and Mimi

5. ZAGR - Zim and Gaz

6. DATR - Dib and Tak

FNAF

1. Bonnie and Toy Bonnie

2. Foxy and Chica

3. Springtrap and Mangle

4. Fun Time Foxy and Lolbit

5. Ballora and Circus Baby

6. Toy Freddy and Toy Chica

Digimon

1. Renamom and Impmon(also when he's Beelzemon)

Sonic

1. Sonic and Shadow

2. Shadow and Amy

3. Tails and Cosmo

4. Tails and Cream

5. Sleet and Sonia

6. Knuckles and Rouge

7. Blaze and Silver

8. Manic and Scourge

9. Jet and Wave

10. Sonic and Sally

11. Sticks and Amy

12. Vanilla and Vector

13. Charmy and Cosmo

14. Espio and Blaze

15. Shadow and Knuckles

16. Infinite and Gadget

17. Mighty and Ave

18. Gears and Jay

19. Tempest and Camellia

20. Shade and Tikal

21. Sonic and Amy

22. Dr. Robotnic and Agent Stone

23. Tom and Maddie

24. Rachall and Randal

Harry Potter

1. Harry and Draco

Death Note

1. Ryuk and Rem

2. Light and L

3. Ryuk and Light

4. Rem and Misa

Inuyasha

1. Sesshomaru and Kagome

Regular Show

1. Skips and Benson

Zootopia

1. Nick and Judy

2. Bogo and Clawhauser

Sing

1. Johnny and Ash

Steven Universe

1. Pearl and Jasper

2. Peridot and Lapis

3. Amethyst and Peridot

4. Yellow and Blue

Bright

1. Nick and Tika

Hazbin Hotel

1. Charlie and Vaggie

2. Alastor and Angel Dust

3. Sir Pentious and Baxter

4. Cherri Bomb and Molly

5. Angel Dust and Husk

Helluva Boss

1. Blitzo and Stolas

2. Moxie and Millie

Star Wars

1. Ahsoka and Barriss

2. Obiwan and Ventress

3. Maul and Kilindi

Transformers

1. Elita-One and Optimus Prime

2. Starscream and Skyquake

3. Darksteel and Skylynx

4. Airachnid and Arcee

5. Breakdown and Knockout

6. Dreadwing and Moonracer

7. Bulkhead and Wheeljack

8. Hardshell and Tarantulas

9. Blackarachnia and Smokescreen

10. Lockdown and Makeshift

11. Prowl and Jazz

12. Chromia and Ironhide

13. Strika and Slipstream

14. Jack and Sierra

15. Bumblebee and Charlie

16. Inferno and Waspinator

17. Ratchet and Drift

18. Strongarm and Steeljaw

19. Thunderhoof and Fracture

20. Megatron and Optimus

21. Cyclonus and Tailgate

22. Sideswipe and Windblade

23. Filch and Nightra

24. Shatter and Alice

25. Dropkick and Blackout

26. Grimlock and Bumblebee

Undertale

1. Sans x Frisk

2. Sans x Grillby

3. Undyne x Alphys

4. Asriel x Muffet (because of a friends' AU)

5. MK(Monster Kid) x Chara (because of a friends' AU)

6. Papyrus x Mettaton

>><<

RARE OCCURENCE OF OC X CANON

Sonic

1. Espio and Merai(my oc)

Hazbin Hotel

1. Molly and Janarra(my oc)

Transformers

1. Bumblebee and Jade(my oc)

2. Ratchet and Bladenight(my oc)

3. Predaking and Ember(my oc)

4. Miko and Hunter(my oc)

5. Rafael and Johana(my oc)

6. Vince and David(my oc)

7. Rodimus and Kiit(my oc)

8. Barricade and Cristy(my oc)

9. Sylas and Ema(my oc)

>><<

This applies to all my accounts;

1. @thelithianqueen

2. @exists-in-the-void

3. @thelithianqueen-refs

4. @thelithianqueen-digital-arts

5. @project-lithians

6. @story-scenes

Don't harass people over a ship!

It just makes you look ignorant and childish!

If you don't like a ship, that's fine. Just don't start drama over it.

Have a nice day.

Thank you.

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yoontothemoon · 6 years ago

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almost ,

pairing — kim mingyu x female reader words — 2003. it is a little long, sorry. warnings — themes of underaged drinking ( technically if you’re in the states ). drugs ( marijuana ). also technically making bonfires on a beach is illegal. summary — he was an ex-something, an ex-maybe, an ex-almost.

you used to love the ocean.

used to.

honestly, you used to love a lot of things. you have convinced yourself that used to was a state of being. it was better than the alternative anyway as you looked out to the waves, watching them lap against your knees before receding again.

it was a reflection of the night and how things transpired over time. the things that went wrong and the people you had crossed.

you wanted to feel numb to it all, half begging seungcheol for whatever remnants of cannabis he had left tucked behind his ear and rolled between his fingers. they were like tiny apologies that he could press into your palm, hoping for something better.

you count the ways that things went wrong.

— one ,

you don’t really know why you agreed by you suppose that seungcheol had coaxed you with the promise of alcohol at first. he was about the only one your trusted to hand you anything because he would test it first. he was a true friend, despite dragging you out of your obvious comfort zone.

he always repaid his debts.

despite all of your better judgment, you had agreed to go on the stupid trek from school to the beach. soonyoung had suggested that you make a day of, with a bonfire and food—with friends, though you weren’t quite sure you could call them that.

you didn’t like the idea, but your friends classmates did ( or rather the female ones ). so, the lot of you had gathered outside the university, so thankful for the end of semester.

it was a time to make memories, you thought, despite how odd you felt in the mismatched group of acquaintances. that was the best that you could call them considering you barely knew half of them as it was. you knew them from high school, though you barely shared any classes and even now as you had made your way into university.

you had moved on with them, from school to school so you supposed that was why you agreed.

you agreed because she wanted you to be there. she wanted you to be her back up.

there was no way to say no.

it was a flaw in your code—a mistake, as your backbone slipped from beneath you.

— two ,

you had spent five—or some—years around him. five. five in which you barely spoke to one another, watching from across the way. four, in which, you wished you could just disappear and one where you held your tongue. that was the extent of your interaction with kim mingyu. it was one class, twice a week for five years.

band.

however lame it might have been, it was the one time you could have interacted—which you did not.

it wasn’t a glamorous class, not something that you were proud of by any means but you liked it. even if you sat across the way and he never quite looked your way. not when you sat in first chair violin while he sat on the opposite end with percussion and acoustic guitar.

it was better that way, you think.

you were happy just to know him—a version of him that you had made up in your mind. a silly infatuation with someone you didn’t even know.

he was your secret. not well kept or concealed but still hidden—like hiding a needle in a stack of needles.

you were one of many in the five years you sat across to him. you just acted indifferently.

— three ,

when she tells you that she likes him, you can’t help but smile.

it wasn’t a good smile, or a happy smile. it was your defensive mechanism.

you smiled.

you had resigned, some time ago, to smiling through everything because frowning seemed like a waste of time. and if you smiled, you knew you could at least pretend for a while—pretend until it felt like you weren’t pretending anymore. until it made you feel just an ounce better, even if it was a lie.

you knew it wasn’t a way to live, but what else could you do?

you smiled, barely and controlled with the kiss of disappointment at the edges. it wasn’t as if you could call dibs on a person, after all.

you resigned to let her have him because that was what friends did. it was what you did. you put everyone else first.

— four ,

you’re not brave, through rightfully who at that age between your teens and adulthood really was?

there a considerable amount of thought went into it. you were not brave. and as much as you wanted to speak your mind, you faltered. you rarely faltered when it came to this. rarely missing a beat between snarky and half-way witty comments.

you become a lesser version of yourself, not quite there. you shrink. you make yourself smaller, as if you aren’t the sun so that other stars could shine just that much brighter.

at that age, you didn’t know how quickly you could burn out—how terrible it was to diminish yourself in the presence of others.

you could count the ways it went wrong.

you think that the universe is petty, petty because it threw you in this situation. petty because you wanted to steer clear of this and it just said no.

it was unfortunate, you supposed because sometime between the walk to the beach and prepping the bonfire, you found yourself situated on mingyu’s lap.

it wasn’t the first time that night that he had you all to himself.

he had lingered behind the group, not once but twice.

once, when you crouched down to tie your shoe. twice, when you had slowed to wait as the light had changed.

in those moments, you made light conversation—much more than the two words a class you had allotted in all the time you had known him. correction, known of him. it might have been enough for him to think you were funny, you think in the briefest moments of eye contact.

you didn’t think about the fact that he towered a head over you. you didn’t think about the way that he stuffed his hands in his pockets to stop him from reaching over to pull your cardigan back on your shoulder. ( you note that he had noticed, mentally debating on whether he should or not. ) and you definitely didn’t think about the fact that your friend was staring from across the street.

you did think about the way he laughed—so full and hardy when he’d throw his head back. you had always thought it was a courtesy. it was the way that the laughter rolled through him accompanied by his habit—fingers carding through the black. he’d push his bangs back after he had settled with lips pressed together, collecting himself in the aftermath.

so you flashed him a smile, however small and beneath you. a smile that seemed only half way there, controlled and a little too put together as you walked. you didn’t think anything of it, a habit you had formed over the years.

but he surprised you, faltering slightly.

“it’s okay to frown, y’know.” he commented with the faint trace of his lisp at the edge of his words. it was the first time that you had truly looked at him, slightly wide-eyed before averting your gaze again.

you didn’t know how to respond—not one smart mouthed comment, though you were a little preoccupied. you noted the way that he looked at you. you tried to ignore it. it was a look that spelled an inkling of affection when the corners of his lips tugged up trying to make light of his comment. he quickly replaced the confidence with clumsy fumbling until you had decided to walk a bit faster.

you lowered your gaze after that moment, half ready to shove and smooth down the edges of your misplaced infatuation.

that was until you found yourself on his lap.

it was a simple choice, barely noticeable when he had caught your hand and pulled you down. it was an ill attempt to pull you out of the way of soonyoung shuffling driftwood about with seokmin.

a part of you thought nothing of it, a simple gesture considering everyone knew you were clumsy. ( you would never hear the end of infamous story in first year where you had taken down every single sheet music stand in one go. ) to reconcile the fact even when seungcheol quirked a brow at you, eyes shifting to the lingering hand at your waist.

you looked back, holding your breath for dear life.

you counted the ways in which you made it worse.

in the moments in between, you forgot about your situation. you were almost bright, radiating your light in hushed conversation. you felt at ease because the girls had gone to get food and the boys had haphazardly tried to start the fire.

it was just mingyu and you in your own little world, half reminiscing about the last year—the year you had gotten closer before you closed off. you had forgotten what it was like to laugh, reminding yourself that he wasn’t just in your head—or rather he was.

it was a moment. just the one that you shared with him. it was the culmination of regret of not talking sooner and the almost confessions that darted between lips and the flash of his canines.

it was easier to hold them in, right at the roof of your mouth as you thought of responses until your private conversation drifted away.

your attentions shifted as you started to laugh at soonyoung’s splintered pain and joshua’s mocking impressions. you stopped paying attention to mingyu, so much so that you relaxed.

you made no effort to move. you might have been inclined had mingyu not causally placed his hand on your hip, drumming faint rhythms against your thigh. you balanced yourself lightly, with a hand on his shoulder—fingers etching stars against his skin like second nature.

it wasn’t until someone had commented on how comfortable you looked that you shifted. you turned your head at the exact moment that he had.

“gyu?”

“did you-”

too close, your brain lit up with alarms and alerts blaring in your ears in the seconds that your lips almost brushed against one another. he was an almost, though you had no time to think about it.

you realized, all too suddenly, that those alarms were tangible as soonyoung hastily tried to put out the bonfire.

you scattered. pulled apart from each other as you took off in different directions.

you could have sworn that he tried to hold your hand, in the faintest moments when you stood. you swore you could feel the warmth of his palm and his fingers pressing constellations against yours.

you were never great at holding on.

you retreated, like fleeing the scene of a crime.

quite literally.

cheol was your witness, wandering to the end of the beach where the rocks met the waves. it was as fast as your legs could carry you, hoping that exhaustion wouldn’t kick in too suddenly. bolting down the beach without looking back.

( perhaps, you were thankful to your younger self for double knotting your shoes. )

you were desperate not to look back, not at the devastation on your friend’s face or whatever blush you could see on mingyu’s face from the dim embers.

it was enough distraction for you, but even more so when seungcheol all but pulled you into the water.

the ocean always seemed to ground you, waves chilling your legs as you held the hem of your skirt. and though you hated the fact that your converse were down soaked, you waded further in.

“are you okay?” he asked, passing you the lit papered apology.

“no,” you respond, trying your best to breath out the feelings with every puff.

you loved the ocean, but that was before you threw your infatuation into it.

#svt mingyu #seventeen mingyu #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen drabbles #mingyu imagines #mingyu scenarios #fanfiction #kpop scenarios #m: mingyu #a: yoontothemoon #svt angst #seventeen angst

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hongism · 5 years ago

Text

aphelion ch. 1

Pairing(s): None for the time being (will change in the future; ot7 x female reader for now)

Genre: Slice of Life!au, Real life, Heavy Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 9455

Rating: PG-13/T (subject to change)

Warnings: none for the time being

Notes: my child has been revamped!1!1 i really hope you guys love it as much as i do, and i truly am much more proud and confident in this story now.

check out the preface if you’d like here

Summary: The ups and downs of life come in many forms. Jimin considers himself lucky some days, and on others, he only sees the ugly bits in front of him. Taehyung lives life with a white sheet of positivity over his eyes even when bad things happen and life crumbles around him. Yoongi lets his patience run too short. Then again, he thinks life is too short to waste time on people or things that aren't worth it. Seokjin finds it best to be there for everyone else before he takes time for himself, and that has serves him well each day (or so he tries to tell himself). Hoseok has a porcelain mask he wears to hide any negative thoughts or the ebbing away of his confidence, but as long as he wears it, no one can tell, right? Jungkook finds worth in his hyungs, sees a responsibility to be strong for them and listening to their struggles before sharing his own. Namjoon wishes his position as leader could be less of a struggle but convinces himself that the outcomes of his job are better than the burdens along the way. Where does the puzzle piece that is Y/N L/N fall into place? Well, she is only trying to live life with the cards dealt to her, the struggles being opportunities for growth for not only her, but the people around her.

...

Chapter: I Remember the Night Sky when I was Young (mikrokosmos - bts)

At long last, he is content with that fact.

...

The night sky has always been his safe haven, the holder of all his emotions and dreams. The bright stars that glisten above his head glow for him and him alone, beckoning him to stretch his hands out and reach for them. He has never been selfish enough to imagine himself grabbing hold of one or guiding the lights with his voice. A moment of quiet throughout the room, he can breathe by himself for the time being, staring out the somewhat foggy window and up at that indigo sky with its lights weaving through it like veins. The gleam of the city below permeates the beauty a bit too much, and he thinks about how it cannot compare to the sky he saw when he was younger and more naive.

“That one is my favorite!” Jimin looks in the direction his friend is pointing, seeing a mass of glittering stars above him.

“Which one?”

“That one!” You point with more vehemence now. Jimin laughs.

“I like it,” he tells you, even though he still can’t tell which one you are talking about.

“And that one! Those three that look like a shape too! And the two on top of them are like crystals, so those are my favorite too!” You sit up as you get more excited, motioning at the cloudless expanse about their heads with a wide smile on your lips.

“Y/N, you can’t have so many favorites!” Jimin laughs again and tugs on your shirt sleeve. You pout back at him, pulling your arm away from his, and turns to someone else.

“Grandma! I wanna see the stars closer!”

“I’ll ask your grandfather to get the telescope, honey.” You clap your hands together before sitting back down on the cool grass beside Jimin.

“I wish I could touch the stars. They’re so pretty. Can you imagine holding one in your hands?” You tuck your knees to your chest and rests your chin atop them. Jimin stays on his back, watching the sky.

“It would be the most beautiful thing, yeah?”

“I’ll reach them one day and hold one for you!”

“You won’t need to do that, because I’ll be right there with you. Then we can each have a star of our own.”

You spread your arms wide and beckon to the galaxy. “I want to hold all of them. They look so lonely up there. I’ll hug every one of them!” Jimin giggles, and through the squinting of his eyes, he spots a flash of light dancing across the sky.

“Hey Y/N, there’s a shooting star! Quick, make a wish!” You shut your eyes and clasp your hands together. Jimin mimics the action, holding his hands over his face as he whispers his wish to himself. When he reopens his eyes, you are already back to staring upwards. “What’d you wish for?” He nudges your side with his foot.

“Hey, I can’t tell you that! It’s a secret. If I tell you, then it won’t come true.”

“Aw, fine. You don’t have to tell me now, but promise that you’ll tell me if it comes true!”

“Pinky promise. Only if you tell me yours too!” You extend your little finger to Jimin. He links his with yours, tightening his grip with a grin.

“Pinky promise.” A few moments later, he releases your hand with a sigh. “I hope our wishes come true.”

“I know they will. The pretty universe always listens to wishes, because the person behind it makes them come true!”

Thinking back on it, Jimin wants to laugh at your hopeful words. Do wishes really come true? As a child, things were easy and carefree. His naivety was stupid. Maybe his dreams were too. Nowadays, it seems like his dreams are drifting further away, and the certainty of achieving everything he hopes to is a distant ambition. He huffs at his spot by the window, watching the yellow light of the city blend together with the dark sky and dim the shine of the stars. Maybe it's a sign, and it's telling him that his wishes made as a foolish child will never come true.

"Hey, it's late." Someone disturbs his ruminations, intruding on his quiet space. Jimin looks back just before a hand hits his shoulder. His leader smiles down at him. All Jimin can do in response is heave a deep sigh. Namjoon squats down beside him, tucking his legs underneath him as he settles next to the window. "We've got the entrance ceremony early in the morning. Why are you up?"

"Had a lot on my mind tonight."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Namjoon nudges his shoulder as though prompting him to explain his thoughts.

"It's hard to believe that Jungkook is going to be in secondary school at last." Jimin snorts under his breath as he thinks of the youngest of the group.

"Definitely weird. I'm sure Y/N’s entrance is weirder for you though?" Jimin holds back a frown as Namjoon broaches the subject.

"Yeah...All I can seem to think of tonight are times when we were younger. I mean, secondary school? It seems like yesterday when I saw her and my brother enter primary school."

“It can be strange to watch someone grow up before your eyes.”

“Half the time it seems as though she’s already my age or older because she’s been making big life decisions so early on, though I can only imagine her as the same little girl from when we were kids.”

"Do you miss it?" Namjoon asks, glancing out the window and at the sky as Jimin does.

"Miss what?"

"Times when you were younger?"

"Don't we all? Things were so much easier back then." Again, Namjoon's hand finds his shoulder, remaining there this time for more than a couple seconds.

"You are full of stress and worries, Jimin. Life has ups and downs, tough spots and great times. We can make it through this, and things will be great for us one day." The words of comfort do little to ease any of Jimin's worries or concerns, so he takes it with a grain of salt. It's the thought that counts, or so he attempts to tell himself. As Namjoon pushes himself up with the help of his pressure on Jimin's shoulder, he offers one more suggestion. "Get some sleep. You don't want to be falling asleep as Jungkook and Y/N have their special ceremony, do you?"

"No," Jimin mutters back, but makes no effort to move. He can almost feel the heat of Namjoon's stare on his back. When he glances over his shoulder, the older boy is gone though, and Jimin finds himself again alone staring at the stars. He remains there for a few more minutes, until the sky no longer interests him and he does not want to dwell on his memories any longer. He gets up and trudges back to the group's shared room. Namjoon is back in his bed, seemingly asleep already, along with the other members. It takes a bit too much effort to climb to his bed on the top bunk thanks to his foot slipping off the ladder and nearly hitting Hoseok’s sleeping form below. Jimin gets there nonetheless and hitting his squeaky mattress with a thud. Someone shifts across the room but makes no further noise, so Jimin isn’t too concerned about having woken someone up.

He decides to check his phone one last time before trying to fall asleep. More than anything, he wants to send a final text to Y/N telling you that he’ll be looking for you tomorrow and still has dibs on taking you to dinner later as well. You’ve texted him already though, to his surprise, because he was expecting you to go to bed earlier.

Y/N: I’ll be looking for you tomorrow! My grandparents are in town too, so they want to treat us to any early dinner.

Jimin laughs under his breath, not at the message, but rather the fact that the two of you had such similar thoughts about texting. He rolls onto his side as he sends a text back before placing his phone to the side, deciding to try to rest so he won’t feel miserable tomorrow.

The lull of sleep does not come quickly, and Jimin finds himself staring at the ceiling for an uncertain amount of time. The stars hang at the forefront of his troubled mind, the indigo universe before him, and his best friend making silent wishes at his side. I wonder, did your wish come true? Jimin knows they were too young at the time to make any sort of serious wishes, he may have been thirteen or fourteen at the time so you would have only been eleven. Knowing you, you probably wished for a new pair of dance shoes. Then again, that was right before you left for Seoul...maybe your wish did come true. Jimin allows his head to fall to the side, gaze lingering on the muted form in the next bed over through the shroud of darkness.

At some point between that thought and his unfocused stare, sleep overtakes him, but not for long, seeing as it feels like he’s had his eyes shut for a few minutes when someone hits his mattress. Groaning, Jimin rolls over and attempts to cover his face with the blankets, but whoever woke him up is now atop the bed and the added weight prevents him from moving.

“Jiminie, you gotta wake up~” The singsong voice can only belong to one person, and as soon as Jimin recognizes it, he rolls over to face the person in question after exhaling a deep heave of breath.

“Hyung, five more minutes,” he whines in response. Hoseok laughs, hand contacting Jimin’s shoulder.

“We’ll be late if we wait any longer. Besides, we need to leave soon so we can get good spots to see Jungkook.” Hoseok pushes himself up, turning to hop down the ladder rungs and leaving Jimin to get up on his own now. As he glances around the room, it seems the other members have already gotten up and left the room, because aside from him and Hoseok, the room is empty.

“Did Jungkook already leave?” Jimin asks as he starts to climb down to the floor.

“No, his parents came by to see him a few minutes ago, but he said he wanted to ride with us to the school,” Hoseok explains. Jimin hums in acknowledgement of the older’s words. “Are uh, Y/N?” Hoseok passes a look Jimin’s way to double check that he got the name correct, at which point Jimin nods in approval. “Are her parents coming for the ceremony?” His hands near the dresser, but once Hoseok’s words process in his still sleep-hazed brain, he freezes, lips falling into a frown. The older man notices the hesitation within a second. Jimin senses the heat of the stare on his back and tries to shake off any signs of his emotions so that Hoseok doesn’t ask questions. He clears his throat, then looks in Hoseok’s direction.

“Her grandparents came all the way from Busan! She hasn’t seen them since 2009, so them being at the ceremony means the world to her. I saw them right before I came to Seoul, and they said they were trying to save up money to visit, so I know this is what all of them want most.” None of his words are false; perhaps, he is merely hiding the whole truth. Jimin honestly does not know much about your parents or family, except that you have lived with your grandparents for as long as he can remember and that your cousin became an idol in 2012. It has been a topic that he was curious about when he was younger, and he even asked his mom if she knew why you lived with your grandparents, but she had told him that she knew nothing about it. When he questioned you about the topic, you were open to telling him the things your grandparents shared with you. He knows about your mother, but as far as information about your father, he has none because you had none herself the last time he asked. Quite a bit of time has passed since then though, so perhaps he should ask again to see if there’s anything else he should know.

“Wow, five years? It must be hard for her to be away from family for so long.” Jimin busies himself with finding an outfit to wear to the ceremony while Hoseok continues to talk. “I guess she has her cousin, but I’m sure he stays busy with schedules and promotions being in a successful group and all…” Jimin grunts at the statement, an unintentional action that slips between his lips without warning, and Hoseok voices his concern the moment he hears the sound of exasperation. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Jimin reassures, but the air tenses up rather than calming. He forces his lips to curl into a weak-willed smile, and although the older man does not appear to be convinced by the action, he leaves the topic alone nonetheless, and Jimin takes the air of freedom to his lungs. Escaping to the bathroom, he hurries to change clothes. The dorm’s air feels colder than usual, but it could simply be the fact that the winter weather is beginning to drag through March and shows no signs of relenting any time soon.

“Ready to go, Jimin?” Someone asks when he emerges from the bathroom. Due to being a bit distracted upon exiting, he nearly slams into said person, but he is quick enough to throw up his hands and maintain the distance as best he can.

“Ah, Namjoon-hyung. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I just need to drop the clothes on my bed, then I’ll be good to go.” Jimin holds up the wad of pyjamas, a sheepish smile decorating his lips. Namjoon laughs in response rather than saying anything and steps away to check his phone. Once he tosses his clump of clothes onto his bed, he rejoins his fellow members in the cramped living area. There is barely enough room for the six of them, so it is a wonder how they can manage to fit all seven of them in the room at one time, but they’ve done it before so obviously it’s not impossible. That being said, Namjoon, Hoseok, and Taehyung are pressed together on the couch that is barely big enough to fit two people on it. “Are we leaving now?” Jimin asks. Despite his gaze being on Namjoon, someone else responds with a typical drawling tired tone.

“We were waiting on you.”

“Oh you were? Sorry, hyung, I went to bed late last night.” Namjoon clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he stands up, bumping Taehyung and Hoseok on the way up.

“I told you that you would be tired in the morning if you stayed up,” he chastises, but there is the slightest hint of a smile and a dimple on the leader’s face. Jimin rubs the back of his neck, heat climbs his cheeks and lands there, but he says nothing in response. Namjoon glances at his watch. “We better go so we can get a good view on the balcony.”

The fresh, outside air bites at his skin when he steps out the door. Tucking the wool scarf around his neck closer to his face, Jimin follows Seokjin to the van where their manager waits. A slight tremble rises in his fingers, and he clenches his fists as tight as possible to eradicate the feeling. Their manager, Sejin, opens the door to the car. As Jimin climbs in, he takes note of how Sejin wears only a short sleeved shirt and wonders how he doesn't complain about the cold because Jimin's fingernails are already turning slightly blue thanks to the chill. In fact, none of the other members, aside from Yoongi are bundled up in the same manner that Jimin is. When Taehyung falls into the seat beside him in the back of the van, he glances at Jimin's shivering form.

"Aren't you cold?" Jimin asks, trying to avoid the uncomfortable scrutiny.

"The weather's warmer than usual today actually," Taehyung responds, the corners of his lips dipping down too far for Jimin's liking. He prefers to be enraptured by the whizzing of traffic out the window to his left rather than blinking back at that perceptive expression which holds too much worry for his liking. The good about keeping your best friends far out of reach is the lack of questioning. No "how are you"s, or "are you okay"s, because they cannot see you, and Jimin believes that he much prefers it to hang in that strange state while he can keep it there.

Similar to the reminiscence of the night before, Jimin stares out a foggy window, one that bears the heat of his breath across the glass, except his stars and universe are not visible anymore. It slips through shaking fingers one more time. Time grants him reprieve, because the van slows to a stop in an empty parking slot near their destination. Perhaps he moves a bit too quickly as he climbs out of the car, because the world spins around him a few times before black settles onto the edges of his vision. A hand clasps his shoulder in efforts to steady him. Rather than voicing his gratitude, he curses himself for allowing the weakness to slip through the cracks. A smile pressed onto full lips, eyes forced shut to hide their drifting, and Jimin pulls away from the person steadying him in favor of heading to the building first. Seokjin walks alongside him, bearing a bouquet of flowers that Jimin never saw him pull out prior to now, but he decides not to question it. Instead - Damn, I forgot to get flowers for Y/N.

“When did you get the flowers, hyung?” he inquires, glancing at Seokjin out the corner of his eye. His voice comes out a bit muffled thanks to the scarf wrapped around his neck and face, but the older man understands him nonetheless.

“Taehyung and I stopped to get some yesterday. I meant to ask you if you wanted to come, but you ended up staying late at the studio practicing with Hoseok.”

“Yea, I should’ve gotten flowers for Y/N” He trails off, shifting his attention to the school building before them. A sigh, then he continues. “I feel bad. She always makes time to come see me and support us even though she has a busy schedule too. I wasn’t able to be there for her last year because I was so focused on debuting and trying to put myself out there.” His words are turning into a rant. Maybe he should be quiet, but these are things he has never gotten off his chest and to be able to release all the pent up emotions now is worth it to him. He catches the sideways look that Seokjin passes his way. The emotion in his eye sends a surging sensation through Jimin, one that threatens to cause his eyes to blur, but he manages to hold it back.

“I’m sure Y/N will be glad that you came. I may not know her well, but I doubt she’ll care if you bring her flowers or not. Besides, Taehyung got a bouquet for her. We aren’t coming empty handed at least, right?” Seokjin offers a smile, and it’s meant to comfort Jimin. The revelation that Taehyung thought to get her flowers and Jimin did not, however, arouses a foul taste in the back of his mouth. How long have I known her? He pushes those thoughts and feelings to the back of his mind, attempting to focus on the good side of the spectrum.

“You’re right, hyung!” A smile spreads across the older’s lips as Jimin says the words. “Maybe I’ll have a chance to talk to her before the ceremony starts too!”

The building, even though they arrived rather early, already bears halls full of smiling parents and families alongside new students who fidget with the edges of their yellow and black uniforms. The staff surrounding them directs the group to a staircase off to the side that isn’t as crowded as the others, saying that they wish to catch a few clips of them all together before Jungkook has to go work on his paperwork and join the other students in the auditorium. Jimin can’t help but to laugh as he watches Jungkook fidgeting with the edges of his uniform, and when the younger pouts at him, Jimin tackles him with a hug.

“Don’t be so nervous, Jungkookie! Everything will be fine.” Jungkook’s cheeks flush with color as Jimin rubs his hair and tries to shy away from the mothering of Jimin.

“There’s just a lot of people here. It makes me a bit nervous…”

“We perform in front of crowds all the time! Don’t think too hard about it, okay?” Jungkook runs a hand through his burgundy colored hair. The insecurity shines through his eyes, bearing two holes into Jimin’s skull, and he frowns back at the boy. “You look great, yea? We’ll be cheering for you the whole time.” This time, Jungkook grins, front teeth peeking over the edge of his lower lip.

“Thanks, hyung. I’ll be looking for you guys on the balcony, okay?”

“You better be! We’ll take lots of pictures too,” Jimin says, bumping against Jungkook’s shoulder. The younger overdramatizes the force of the nudge and proceeds to launch his body to the left. “I’m gonna take so many bad pictures of you and post them on Twitter now.” Jungkook is about to retort but Manager Sejin pulls him to the side, claiming that he needs to fill out his paperwork before the ceremony starts, and Jimin nearly cackles at the expression of disappointment on his face.

“Are you teasing our little Jungkookie, Jimin-ah?” An arm loops around Jimin’s shoulders as he is mid-laugh, and he glances over at the culprit to find Hoseok with his trademark grin, ears bent forward a little thanks to his beanie. “Let’s head upstairs and try to find a good spot to stand! I wanna get a good view for pictures.”

As they get closer to the main doors, more students come into view along with parents who fuss over the tidiness of the uniform or loose hairs that hang a bit too far into their child’s face. First instinct is to scan the crowd in search of Y/N, but Jimin soon realizes that he cannot do that given the amount of people in the hallway. Seokjin tugs the sleeve of his sweater as he attempts to drag Jimin to the nearest staircase, saying that it may be easier to find Y/N once they are up on the balcony. Despite those hopeful words, Jimin has the same amount of struggle in finding the teen when looking down from the balcony. Although Hoseok made it sound as though there weren’t going to be many spots left, the balcony remains relatively bare compared to the auditorium floor below, where students line up in their matching black and yellow uniforms. That mass of color doesn’t allow any single student to stand out, so finding Y/N would be a nightmare of its own.

Taehyung joins Jimin at the railing, looking down at the crowd with the same amount of awe. “Wow the class seems so big compared to ours, doesn’t it?”

“Yea, I didn’t realize this school took so many students for first year. I mean, when you see the graduating class, it seems a lot smaller than this.” Jimin scans the crowd still in search of his friend. The presence of cameras behind them should be more of a concern, but seeing as Taehyung makes no move to talk to them, Jimin doesn’t put much thought into it. Namjoon and Hoseok take over on their own, and as they do, Taehyung looks back over his shoulder to laugh along with his hyungs.

“Hey, there’s Jungkook again!” Hoseok rushes to Jimin’s side, a hand draping around his shoulder while the other points down near one of the entrance doors to the lower level. Jimin follows the trajectory of his finger with his eyes. Sure enough, their doe-eyed youngest member stands near the doors. Even though he is surrounded by many other students who stand in the same position as him, Jungkook does nothing to initiate conversation or interact with any of them. Jimin decides to join Hoseok in waving at the youngest.

“I bet he isn’t going to notice you two.” Yoongi laughs behind the pair as they continue to wave their arms at Jungkook. Hoseok smiles over his shoulder, saying something about how Yoongi ought to join them in waving, but Jimin pays the words no mind. Rather, someone else captures his attention.

“Y/N!” He clasps the bar in front of him and leans forward.

“Where?” Taehyung throws his body at the bar too, squeezing back between Jimin and Seokjin to catch a glance of the aforementioned girl. Jimin points in the girl’s direction. As though sensing the sudden attention, you lift your chin, eyes finding the balcony, and then you lock gazes with Jimin. Your hair hangs loose, not confined to the band that keeps strands out of your eyes for once. He is almost positive that your grandmother requested the choice for you since you despise wearing your hair down so much. When you find him, a grin stretches your lips. Even with the distance, Jimin feels certain that he can see the soft crescents your eyelids form when you smile. Proud. Proud that he brought that smile to your face, proud that his mere presence gave you so much happiness. Validated. Yes, he feels very validated by the sight of it. Waving, Jimin beams back at you, and Taehyung joins him once he spots you. “Ah, she looks so different with the uniform on!”

“So does Jungkook. I can’t believe they’re both already in secondary school.” Jimin huffs as he rests his arms on the railing.

“Growing up right before our eyes.” Taehyung laughs and drops his arm on Jimin’s shoulder. The crinkling of plastic hits Jimin’s ears. He looks over at Taehyung, noticing the bouquet of flowers in his other hand. Taehyung must realize that Jimin is staring because he asks, “Did I pick the right kind of flowers? I wasn’t sure what her favorites were, so I picked one of those mixed bouquets.” White lilies, daisies with the yellow centers, dainty pink buds that haven’t bloomed yet, and huge daffodils with the sickly sweet scent Jimin catches even with the distance between them — he grins.

“She’ll love them. She always went straight for daffodils when we were younger.”

“Thank goodness! I’m gl—”

“Guys, look over there!” Hoseok is the one who snatches the attention away from Taehyung, motioning somewhere further along the balcony. Both Jimin and Taehyung lean back in search of the object of Hoseok’s focus. Inadequate, if Jimin had to describe the feeling in one word. All the sudden, the joy of pride and validation seep out of his body, pooling on the floor and leaving him with the bitter sensation that tingles in his fingertips. Taehyung’s eyes are as wide as can be, his mouth forming a small ‘o’ as he processes the people walking across the balcony. Jimin, on the other hand, cannot share in the same awe. The group of four stop only a couple feet away. It does not slip past Jimin’s notice when Yoongi slides further to the left and puts more distance between himself and the group. Namjoon nearly does the same but hesitates at the last second, eyes far too focused on the people.

The air chokes Jimin, holds his throat in a tight grip, and makes the world seem a lot slower than before. Every motion comes in slow motion. He shifts his gaze away from the group, allowing it to fall back down to where Y/N smiled up at him minutes ago. Gone. Not the girl, but rather, the smile. Now no longer directed at Jimin, at least. Instead, you fixate it on the group of newcomers who wave down at you and call your name.

“Hyung, isn’t that Taemin-sunbaenim?” Taehyung hisses under his breath, trying to keep the others from overhearing. His hand latches around Jimin’s wrist, but his question is meant for Hoseok.

“Yea...I think those are EXO members too, right?” The grip on his wrist tightens. “I didn’t think they would be here.”

“Well, Y/N must know them from trainee days, right Jimin?” With the attention now on him, Jimin clears his throat. Words refuse to come out though, and his voice produces no sound, so he resorts to a weak-willed nod. None of it is a secret to him; you told him all about it before, never failing to lengthen the list of high-profile names you have the pleasure of knowing. While Jimin knows that the names exchanged over those late night phone calls were never meant to spite him or be a brag, he also is well aware of the effect it has on him. When he reflects on it, those doubts come without want or warning. Compared to them...who is he? Jimin raise a hand to his face, fingers snagging the skin on his cheeks and pinching it tight. “—her cousin, remember?” He processes the fact that Taehyung speaks again, but the words fade in and out of existence. It takes too much will to tear himself away from the railing. And once he faces that intimidating group of idols near them, one familiar face in the distance eases his soul of worries.

“Ah, Grandma!” Even though he is not speaking to any of the people in his general vicinity, they all turn to him nonetheless. Jimin does not have it in him to care, because he finds himself midway across the balcony to greet the familiar faces. Two of the people he grew up alongside, two who helped raise him when they had no obligation to aside from Jimin simply being friends and neighbors with Y/N. Even though they aren’t blood-related, Jimin feels as though he seeing his family.

“Oh, Jiminie, look at you!” His frantic walk is halted by the older lady snatching his cheeks. “You’ve gotten so big in just a few years. Imagine what your mother would say if she saw you in person! Minjoon-ah, look at little Jimin. Doesn’t he look so different nowadays?” The words bring a blush to his ears, and he ducks as the lady tries to fuss over his hair. Her husband laughs at her antics and Jimin’s embarrassment.

“Grandma, you saw me less than a year ago! Why can’t you fuss over Y/N instead?” At the mention of the girl’s name, the woman halts her movements and starts to look around.

“Is she here already? Kyungsoo-ah, you have the flowers, right?” Jimin notices her second companion for the first time when she calls him by his name. Sure enough, a young man, probably close in age to Jimin, steps forward, bearing a bouquet similar to Taehyung’s. It takes half a second for Jimin to recognize him and realize exactly who he is, and once he does, that biting feeling in his gut returns. Plastering a smile across his lips, he greets Kyungsoo with a short bow. Kyungsoo shakes his head.

“Please, there’s no need for that. I’m—we’re not that different.” It comforts Jimin somewhat, but in the back of his mind, he knows that Kyungsoo’s statement couldn’t be further from the truth. They are on opposite ends of the spectrum, separate planes of existence, and Jimin can only hope to climb the mountain Kyungsoo climbs.

“She’s downstairs, grandma, already lined up with the rest of the students,” Jimin says as he straightens his back. He extends his arm for Grandma to hold onto, and she does, linking her arm with his. “I’ll point her out for you. She’s grown up so much in the past five years!”

“Oh has she? Minjoon-ah, dear, did you hear that?”

It’s not until they reach the railing that Jimin realizes how he’s holding himself up more than the woman with her arm linked through his. She bears most of his weight rather than the other way around, but she does so without any complaint or comment even though Jimin is sure that she is fully aware of the fact. He tries to push it to the back of his mind as he has been doing with most things today.

“Where is she, Jimin-ah? Help point her out for me, my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.” Jimin laughs and points to where Y/N stands with his free hand.

“She has her hair down too. Doesn’t she look so grown up with the uniform on?” Her grandmother grips his arm tighter when she spots you.

“Oh, look at her! She got taller, didn’t she? Minjoon-ah, honey, do you see her?” She taps her husband’s arm despite the fact that he is looking in the same direction that she does. “Did she tell you that she wants to have dinner with you, Jimin-ah?” He nods and hums in response to her question, eyes scanning the people below in search of Jungkook. “Kyungsoo dear, are your friends going to join us too?” Jimin halts his search in favor of looking at the person in question. Please no. Can he handle being surrounded by that many intimidating people? With Y/N no less? Doubt builds in Jimin’s gut like a tower.

“Yes, I think some of them will,” he answers with a broad grin. The sensation of fingers closing around his throat makes it difficult to breathe. Jimin slips his arm out of Grandma’s, allowing the railing to catch his weight instead. “We may have to leave a bit early because of schedules sadly.”

“I understand, dear. You’re getting busier and busier as the days go on!” At those words, Kyungsoo looks Jimin in the eye, the emotion behind his large brown eyes nearly indiscernible. Jimin is only able to understand it because of the way the previous statement cuts.

“It must be hard,” Jimin says through a smile. “Part of me is glad that I still have time to breathe. It probably feels like a luxury to you, especially travelling back and forth so much.” That “part” of him takes up maybe one percent of Jimin’s whole body. He would love to be in Kyungsoo’s position now: one of the hottest rising groups in the country with projections that assume the further skyrocketing of the group as time goes on. Jimin doesn’t want to think about the projections for BTS right now, as they would be less than pleasant. The pity drops from Kyungsoo’s eyes as Jimin speaks though, and right now, he is grateful for that much.

“Thank you. Enjoy it while it lasts though, because you guys are on an upward trajectory. I know you’ll start getting similar schedules soon enough.” Kyungsoo rubs his neck, trying to hide the embarrassment of the compliment. Grandma leans over and tries to grab hold of his cheeks. “Ah, grandma, please!” Jimin laughs at the sight, a familiar warmth filling his chest. He faces forward and props both arms on the railing rather than saying anything in response to Kyungsoo’s hopeful words about his future. He finds Y/N in the crowd one more time, a slight upturn to his lips even though you don’t look at him. Jungkook stands a couple feet away, tugging on his jacket and trying to make his collar sit flat.

"Ah, excuse me, ma'am!" Jimin jerks his head to find Taehyung standing nearby. Hands clasped under his chin, the younger boy grins wide at Grandma, who smiles back despite the fact that she has no clue who Taehyung is. "I know we haven't met, but…you are Y/N’s grandmother and grandfather? Is that correct, ma'am?"

"Yes, dear! Are you a friend of hers?" Grandma's eyes seem to light up at the prospect, and Jimin can't blame her, considering how long she has been apart from her grandchild and hasn't met many of your friends aside from Jimin himself. Taehyung offers a bow at her confirmation, speaking as he straightens his back.

"I'm one of Jimin's same-age friends, and we are in the same group actually. I know Y/N through him!" The smile never leaves his lips, and he motions to Jimin with enthusiasm. "I wanted to introduce myself. I've heard a lot about the two of you through Jimin, and a bit through Y/N. I don't talk to her much, but she always speaks highly of you when we do talk." Grandma reaches out to Jimin, grabbing hold of his bicep and squeezing it as she lands a gaze full of warmth on him. "Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kim Taehyung!"

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Taehyung!" Grandma switches her hand over to Taehyung's. With his bandmate close by, the pressure of standing amongst idols of higher caliber lessens and allows Jimin to breathe easier. The starstruck sensation lingers, especially seeing Taemin — an idol whom he has admired for years — a couple feet away. Taehyung continues to chat with Grandma but shifts closer to the railing to look down at the crowd with Jimin. Below, students have lined the floor of the auditorium, standing so close to each other that they nearly breathe down the neck of the person in front of them. A high pitched squeak resounds, then a man leans forward to speak into the microphone at the podium in the front.

“Oh, is it starting now?” Taehyung asks.

“Seems like it is. Jungkook won’t stop messing with his uniform.”

“He must be nervous. Y/N doesn’t appear to be having any trouble though!”

“Yea, this is the easy part. It’ll be a different story when she has to go to the front.” Jimin brings a hand to his hair and runs his fingers through it as a deep breath rushes after his words.

“Hold on, look here! Let’s get a picture before it starts.” Jimin grins at the camera of Taehyung’s phone while the other boy brings two fingers in the shape of a ‘v’ to his cheek. He snaps two, three, four pictures before being satisfied with the outcome. “I’m gonna take some pictures of Jungkook and Y/N too.” Taehyung giggles as he zooms in on Jungkook’s back, the youngest completely unaware of the shuttering of the camera.

Jimin waits until he snaps a few pictures of Y/N as well to say something. “Neither of them know you’re taking the picture!”

“They don’t need to right now,” Taehyung aruges, “and I’ll get more photos after we’re done! Besides, we’re doing a group vlog as well, so I’ll have that to remember today.” Taehyung bumps his shoulder against Jimin and keeps his eye on the phone to review the pictures he snapped.

“Ah, I promised to go to dinner with Y/N.”

“How about you just come to the same place? Then you can just switch between tables so you don’t miss out on the vlog. Wait, shh! They started talking.”

Sure enough, the man in the crisp black suit has begun a speech about the school and what a privilege it is to have such a group of new students. Jimin doesn’t stay tuned after that though, thanks to his mind drifting off into thoughts of his own family. You happen to be the harbinger of those thoughts, though it is not inherently your fault or doing. Moreso, it’s that Jimin grew up alongside you, and his younger brother shares a similar age with you, thus he entered high school recently too. Thanks to his profession and schedule (even though not nearly as chaotic as someone like Kyungsoo’s), Jimin missed his brother’s entrance ceremony, and he missed a number of other special family events as well. Even though the move to Seoul was in pursuit of his dreams, the slight sting of dejection arises every time he thinks of the family he hasn’t seen in awhile.

The emotion dissipates for some time, that is until dinner comes, and they arrive at the restaurant of Jungkook’s choosing. Jungkook’s family delivers the younger to the restaurant, letting their youngest sit at the table alongside the other members. Their presence brings Jimin’s distress back, because seeing them smile and laugh together as a family hurts. Your presence — or lack thereof — doesn’t do anything for his mood either, so he’s left wearing the mask of a smile directed at the camera that records a new vlog for their channel. Although they don’t have to do much talking, Jimin finds his spot at the table to be an ill-placed one, because the leader sits across from him, and those perceptive and concerned eyes that fell on him last night have made another appearance here. His phone vibrates within the confines of his pocket, and he hastens to fish it out and check the screen, finding a text from you there.

Y/N: i’m sorry jimin but we have to take kyungsoo over to the company building for his schedules >-< are you guys already eating???

Jimin: yea…

Your response is an immediate one, and the sight of it causes Jimin’s heart to plummet further.

Y/N: ahh don’t wait on us please!! go ahead and eat! i’m sorryyyyy, i was really looking forward to this ugh. do you wanna meet up at the park after dinner??

Jimin: let’s do it!! we haven’t gone in a long time, so that’ll be fun! text me when you’re ready to meet up!

Y/N: will do!!! see you in a bit!

When his phone hits the table, Jimin bites the inside of his cheek and glares at his plate. Second best. No, not even that. Why does it always feel this way? Too much heat hits the side of his face, more than one person looks his way, and he desires to duck away from the sudden stares.

“Everything okay, Jimin?” Namjoon proposes the question.

“Yes, hyung.”

“Is Y/N on her way?”

“Ah, no, actually.”

Taehyung cuts in, “She isn’t?”

“Something came up and…” Jimin trails off as his phone buzzes again. More than one set of eyes glances at the screen, and he quickly flips the device over, ignoring the flash of the caller ID across the top. “We’re gonna meet up later. Sorry that you won’t get to talk to her more, Tae.” Taehyung pouts and pushes the frames around his eyes further up his nose.

“It’s fine!” He grins across the table. “I at least got to talk to her right after the ceremony and give her the flowers! Plus, since Jungkook and her share the same classes, we might get to see her more, right?” Namjoon drags his tongue over the front of his teeth, eyes shifting between Taehyung and Jimin. When he meets eyes with the latter, he shakes his head ever so slightly. Of course, Jimin understands the concern. More time spent with you equals higher possibilities of rumors spreading, then a detrimental article surrounding the group. At the end of the day, Jimin would never want to be the cause of such misfortune. Yet Taehyung keeps grinning, squeezing his hands together and bringing then under his chin. Jimin’s heart clenches in his chest. How many people do I have to push out of my life? And for what? A failed dream?

As they are leaving the restaurant over an hour later, Namjoon holds him back from the group with the request to walk with him for a bit. The other members continue around them: Jungkook walking between his parents, Seokjin wrestling with Taehyung playfully, Hoseok checking the pictures Yoongi took during the ceremony and dinner.

“Sure thing, hyung. Anything on your mind?” Jimin suspects what the topic might be, but humors the question anyways.

“Um, I don’t want this to sound harsh or…it isn’t my intention to try to control your life or your relationships, but considering our current position, the best thing you could do right now is to put a bit of distance between you and Y/N.”

“It’s okay, hyung! I get it, I do. I understand, um, it makes sense.”

“I don’t want to ruin your friendship with her, please know that. At the moment, it comes down to keeping our personal lives separate from our work ones. Thus, we should strive to not let any strains that might come out of personal lives show in our work lives, yea? I sound bitter, don’t I?” Namjoon rubs the space between his eyebrows. Jimin hurries to shake his head and deny the claims, placing a tentative hand on his leader’s arm.

“No, hyung, I get it. And you had to sacrifice a lot more than I did for this — this life, dream, career. I’ll be more careful in the future, I promise, but could I please meet her at the park tonight? She asked if I could, and…maybe it could be something like me being selfish one more time.”

“You aren’t being selfish, Jimin, and it would be depressing to think that spending time with friends or family is supposed to be a selfish thing, because it isn’t nor is it meant to be that way. Gah, I’m sorry,” Namjoon mutters. “Hopefully things won’t be this way in the future, and we won’t have to worry about it anymore. Be able to live life the way we want and be happy, huh?” The smile spreading across his lips fills Jimin with nothing but dread. Are we a hopeless case?

“One day, hyung.”

“Let’s get going. I don’t wanna keep the others waiting for too long.” Namjoon leads the way to the van, and Jimin follows close behind, phone buzzing from his pocket yet again. This time, he opts to answer the call, however, immediately apologizing for not answering earlier.

“Oh, it’s okay!” You insist, voice bright, and Jimin can envision the smile on your face as you speak. “Don’t worry about it! I just got to the park, do you know when you’ll be available?”

“We’re about to leave the restaurant and head for the dorm! I’ll ask if they can drop me off at the park along the way, okay?” Jimin taps Namjoon’s shoulder as he speaks, asking with his eyes if that’s alright. Namjoon bobs his head a few times before leaning forward to inform Sejin of the slight change in plan.

“That sounds great! See you soon!”

“Was that Y/N-ah?” Taehyung inquires as soon as Jimin hangs up the phone. Nodding a few times, Jimin crawls into the van behind Namjoon, sitting in the only seat available beside the window.

“Are her grandparents gonna bring you back to the dorm? It’s a bit far to walk,” Namjoon mentions.

“I’ll ask her when I get there. I’m sure her grandparents will take her back to her apartment, and I don’t think they’ll mind dropping me off at the dorm. It’s not a far drive either.”

“Sounds good, just text me or one of the others so we at least know you’re safe.”

“Sure thing, hyung.” Jimin bites back a yawn, the exhaustion of little sleep the previous night catching up to him at last. “It’s not too late yet thankfully, and I doubt we’ll be there for hours and hours, so I shouldn’t be back too late.” Namjoon acknowledges the statement with a nod, and Jimin takes it as an opportunity to end the conversation there, watching the buildings and scenery whiz by out the window instead.

The ride takes little to no time, only a few minutes passing between the time they climb into the car to when Sejin pulls up next to the sidewalk to let Jimin get off, and he waves goodbye to his fellow bandmates for the time being, waiting for the van to pull away safely before turning to examine the park. The two of you have come to this place a few times since he got to Seoul, but the beauty here cannot hold a candle to the beauty back home on the hill under the stars. Even glancing up at the few stars able to peek through the golden shroud of city lights are nothing in comparison to the ones back home.

Something slams against his shoulder, sending him reeling and startling him out of his home related reverie.

“Hey stargazer.”

Jimin scoffs as he faces the offender, recognizing the voice in an instant. “Wow, how cheesy can you get?” You poke your tongue out at him. You still wear your uniform, the yellow appearing even more like mustard under the streetlamp.

“I could’ve called you a loser or a nerd instead, but I was nice.”

“Yah, you don’t get to call me that! I’m older than you.” Jimin punches your shoulder lightly, and you fight back immediately, slapping away his fists whenever they get close to you.

“Can we please just go sit down? I’m tired,” you whine in the middle of an attack.

“Wow, Y/N. You’re tired? Tired? How dare you be tired?” Jimin loops an arm around your shoulders, dragging you along as he walks towards the grassy parts of the park. “Tired from all that standing you did? Is this what you’ve turned into without training?”

“No! Tired from all those people and all the talking.” Jimin snickers behind his hand, releasing you so that he can collapse on the grass. The icy touch seeps through his clothes and chills his skin even with the layers. The ground beside him crunches, giving way to his companion sitting cross-legged beside him. The sound of your sigh hits his ears before he sees your lips part.

“Did you enjoy it though? Think you’ll like the school?”

“Yea, it seems…a bit overwhelming but, I think it’ll be a good fit for me. I don’t know. I’m excited. I think. Scared? Yea, scared too.”

“That’s normal! Everything will start balancing out and getting easier as time goes by. You’ll have tons of fun too.” The cold hits his hair as he falls onto his back, eyes finding the sky. You remain sitting up, but your gaze also goes upwards.

“I hope so…I want to meet new people and make friends, but at the time it terrifies me. I guess it’s just scary that I don’t know anyone yet.”

“Well, almost all the other students are in the same boat! And you know Jungkook! You guys will have some of the same classes.” You scoff, facing Jimin with narrowed eyes.

“We rarely talk, and any time we do, it’s because someone else is in the conversation with us.” Jimin purses his lips yet neglects to reply since her words rings true. “Enough about me though. That’s not important right now. How are you? You’ve lost a bit of weight since I last saw you, but that wasn’t too long ago.” Jimin brushes off the concern with a laugh.

“It’s just the exercise regimen, Y/N. I’m getting more muscular nowadays.” You bite your lower lip, head tilting to the side as his words register. “Honestly, I’ve been feeling a lot of stress. I worry that we won’t get much attention for our next comeback, or maybe we won’t even have one. It isn’t fun to think about, but those are the thoughts that return day in and day out.”

“You’ll have lots of comebacks! I know your company won’t give up on you so soon, and you all deserve this chance more than anything.”

“Thanks for saying that but…” Jimin doesn’t finish his train of thought; instead, he links his fingers and cradles them under his head. “Hey, can I ask a random question?”

“Fire away.”

“When you decided to quit training, how certain were you?”

“Certain about quitting?” You clarify, then hum as you contemplate an answer. “I would say fifty percent certain. I didn’t want to quit, but at the same time, I didn’t see it as my future. That was the deciding factor. Well, after talking to you and Kyungsoo and others, that is. I know I couldn’t have decided that alone. It’s too much to ask. I’m still young, right? I shouldn’t have to decide my future now.”

“Would you ever change your mind?” The question comes through the hesitance in his tone, but you don’t waste any breath in responding.

“Never.” Despite what you said about uncertainty, you speak in a firm tone.

“How can you be so confident in your decision? I mean, you’re younger than I am, and I have so many about the path I’ve chosen for my future. It doesn’t make sense for you to have it all figured out before I do.”

“Being confident in my decision to walk away from that future doesn’t mean I have everything figured out. It just means I chose to prioritize living my life the way I wish to rather than letting someone else decide for me.” The heat of your gaze hits his face, and he knows that you tilt your chin to look in his direction. Instead of responding, he opts to blink at the night sky and tries to find the horizon through the hazy yellow film the city creates.

“I want this. I really do.” He whispers the words more to himself, but his companion hears them nonetheless.

“Then you shouldn’t let anything stand in your way,” you say in a soft tone, “and I know you, Jimin. Four years of training at a company that produces some of the biggest groups, and I never once met someone with your determination, your passion, or your energy. You’re already one of the best out there, the world just hasn’t woken up and recognized that yet. It must be hard for you right now, but please don’t give up like I did. Even though I don’t want to go back, I regret leaving a piece of myself there.” Jimin turns to you at last. The smile that graces your lips is as quaint as ever, still the same as it was the day he met you all those years ago. The only difference between that child and the current you that sits next to him now is the growth of going through the harsh reality of this business. He smiles back, and as he does something catches his eye in the sky. A quick flash of light. He laughs at its appearance among the stars.

“Hey Y/N, there’s a shooting star. Make a wish?”

“I guess we’re never too old to hope for a little luck, huh?” You squeeze your eyes shut, holding your hands under your chin as she used to, and Jimin joins you. He mutters his wish to himself, the same one he has always had. “What’d you wish for, Park Jimin?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Pinky promise you’ll tell me when it comes true then?” Your outstretched pinky finger and the grin on your lips coerces him to link his finger with yours. That typical breathy laugh of yours fills the air around them, dulling the night noise some and taking Jimin back home to a similar scenery and position. It echoes through his soul, capturing the air in his lungs and sending it out to the world in the form of a breathy sound.

He laughs.

The universe around him shifts, and stars that glisten in your eyes reflect back at him. He holds the sensation close, cradles it against his heart, and allows the warmth of it to fill his whole body. The distant dreams, naive wishes, and foolish promises come back to him all at once, striking with the force of a typhoon, and he finds himself falling back against the grassy floor. Indigo hangs above his eyes, an indigo littered with millions of shimmering lights. Reaching out, he stretches onwards, striving to grasp that elusive dream which hangs above him. Reaching out, he touches it, and with that touch, serenity finds him for the first time in over two years.

...

written by: jungtaeyoongles

a.n. i am so much more happy with how this turned out, even though much of it is the same! i feel that writing in the format with allow me to have a bit more flexibility and not feel tied down to too many details about the main character if she is the reader rather than an oc. please leaves your thoughts and comments! i’d love to know what you think!

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tazglow · 6 years ago

Note

Could I get a taako with a side of i or maybe o? whatever you have in stock. does that come with sour cream or is that extra? oh hey does your establishment sell kids meal toys? what do you mean this isn't a restaurant?

What luck my good friend! We’ve got both!

i - broken glass/o - the stars or space

The stars were shining bright tonight. Taako loved them and how they glittered and dazzled the night sky. There was nothing like it. He loved sitting on a hill overlooking a forest; how the gentle breeze played with his hair as he’d crane his neck to fully drink in the galaxy above.

Lup did too. She could point out which star traveled North like she was born to read the patterns - the messages written into her very core. When they took turns keeping watch on the road, Taako would let Lup tell him all about the maps and scrolls some important-smarty-some-or-other wrote as he drifted off to sleep.

The night sky was a jewelry box waiting for them to open it. Waiting for them to discover something no one had ever noticed before. The gems in the sky were much prettier than the colored glass on their fingers or the stolen bounties in their pockets. Lup adored the nights when they were out of the city. Out of the neons and florescence polluting the natural expansion of the universe from their naked eyes. She couldn’t tell which direction she was going in the city without a compass.

During a festival - neither could remember which - there were paper lanterns of all shapes and colors with trinkets and crackers to celebrating, well, something! It happened when they were young. Happened when they were always moving, always watching each others backs, before they had enough to drop into school. Festivals were good. Great even. They could swipe just about anything their sticky little hands could nab without anyone noticing until they were long gone. That’s one good thing about crowds.

Anyways, during this festival, Taako noticed something. It was long and had mirrors at both ends. You could look through one end and see far out the other. It was made of brass. It could expand and it could fit into your pocket. He didn’t know what this was at first, at least, not when he first swiped it. The duo didn’t take note of it until they had taken to some corner of some alleyway behind some dumpsters to not be disturbed by prying eyes.

They took stock of their loot.

A couple purses of coins. Some gems. Both always good to help fill their empty stomachs.

A hair clip with a dragonfly on it. Taako called dibs and immediately clipped it in his long hair before Lup could even protest. (She nabbed the bracelet with a woven color enchantment in it soon after.)

A pair of spectacles with many moveable lenses. Neither were sure if it was a fashion statement or to help you see things. (They took turns wearing it during one of their “I’m an expert” cons until the lenses started to crack)

A few miscellaneous items they immediately agreed they’d sell in the next town over.

And- “A telescope,” Lup whispered as she picked it up.

“Oh, is that what it’s called?” Taako adjusted the hair clip as he watched his sister, his twin, become enamored by his find. His lips twitched a grin. “I mean if you waaaaant it-“

She looked up at him with glassy, watering eyes. “Hell-fuckin-yeah I want it.”

And they kept it.

They took the little telescope with them when they were accepted for school. They took it with them when they climbed onto the Starblaster. They had it with them-to watch the night sky as the clock ran down on another year.

So long as the stars in the sky kept shining brightly at night. There wasn’t much to worry about.Not even after the glass started to break or the brass started to tarnish.

They took turns repairing it so long as one of them remembered.

And then they both forgot.

#taz balance #the adventure zone #balance spoilers #taz spoilers #taako taaco #lup taaco #lup #from the tank #allislaughter #hi yes im mad at myself for that last fuckin line how dare fuckin me #AND THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR LISTENING TO VOIDFISH (PLURAL) ON REPEAT GODDAMN

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zonebunny · 7 years ago

Text

Hello, Old Girl

AKA the moment when Party Poison finds the Trans AM

Puffing his freshly-dyed hair out of his eyes, Party Poison’s features are punctured by a wince as he hauls himself out of the deep pit he’d been exploring for the last twenty minutes or so; letting out a heavy sigh of defeat.

“Nope, just junk over here! Any luck over at your end, Kiddo?”

“Just a load of ol’ papers!”

The Fab Four were currently standing in the middle of the scrapyard that spread out from Zone 1 and way out beyond as far as the eye could see; almost touching the border of Zone 2. This huge junkyard was where everything Better Living Industries couldn’t stand the sight of usually ended up - hence why the Killjoys were stood in the middle of it. For scavengers like themselves, this was practically a goldmine on some good days; but on others like today, their luck ran out and their hopeful searches came up empty.

It also didn’t help that today was one of the hottest days of the summer, and when you were out in the middle of the desert that certainly wasn’t a very comfortable experience to be out in, let alone working. The Killjoys had only been out scavenging for about an hour or so and they were already badly sunburnt, filthy and starving hungry, each carrying a pitifully-empty sack each.

“Ugh, this is fuckin’ pointless! All I’ve found is a few shitty pieces of scrapmetal, and they’ll only get a couple of carbons each if we’re lucky!”

A whine to Poison’s left made him squint up at the shorter figure hunched over one of the more towering junkpiles, the scarlet-haired leader raising his hand up to shield his eyes as he focuses on Fun Ghoul, who was waving his bag in the air to emphasise his statement; the contents clinking against each other dully.

“Whatcha find? Droid parts?”

“Yeah; got a few batteries and what looks like part of a hand - actually, might be a foot…” As Ghoul speaks, he looks into the depths of his bag and tilts his head at an odd angle to examine his finds, frowning in distaste. “What a shit haul.”

“Hey, don’t give up hope yet. At least you didn’t get oil in your hair…” Another voice pipes up as the figure of Jet Star appears from behind what looked like the remains of an old refrigerator, the wild-haired Killjoy tugging at his ‘fro to prove that his hair was in fact matted with old oil, his face screwed-up in disgust.

“Yikes. That’ll suck trying to get that out of your hair…”

Kobra Kid finally rejoins the group, and like Ghoul he was holding a rather empty sack in his right hand. Jet’s sat on top of the fridge, containing a burnt-out toaster that he figured he might be able to salvage some parts from and a few stray half-empty battery packs. Poison had been the most successful so far, with a handful of old records he’d found at the bottom of an old box of Murder magazines and a couple of BLI-issued blasters that he reckoned he’d be able to polish up and paint for commissions.

“The sun’s gonna start getting low soon. Wanna call it a day or keep on at it?” Kid suggests, looking to his brother for answers - as leader, it was his call. As Poison dusts his hands off on his already-filthy jeans, he glances between his friends; noticing how weary and exhausted they all looked. It had been a tough day for them all.

“We’ll finish up here for the day, then check out that ghost-town nearby that Doc told us about the other day. Pony reckons that it’s been untouched, and I sure want first-dibs on anything decent we can find.” Poison states, the other three nodding eagerly in agreement - they were keen to finish up and head home as soon as possible.

After another hour of thorough scavenging, the Killjoys finally admit defeat as they haul their sacks of scrapmetal and other trading goods back to Show Pony’s van, ready to hit the road again and explore this desert-town. Once their finds had been stashed safely in the back of the van, the Fab Four pile on into it and settle down for the journey; Jet Star climbing behind the wheel with Kid sitting up in front beside him.

With a low groan, Poison slides himself down the side of the van and spreads his legs out in front of him; looking like a broken toy puppet. Ghoul mimics his pose across from him, tucking his knees up to his chest and resting his back against the cold metal of the van’s door, rubbing the back of his aching neck and wincing.

“Fuck, I got burnt bad…”

“I got some aloe vera in my bag!” Jet calls over his shoulder, waving to Kid to go get it. Kobra does so instantly, ducking down and pulling the brown satchel up into his lap and proceeding to fumble around in it until he found what he was looking for; the cutting of aloe vera that Jet carried on him practically at all times. Kid holds out the green stalk to Ghoul, who accepts it eagerly and squeezes the end of it to make it ooze sap.

“Oh, thank Destroya.” Ghoul sighs out happily in relief as he rubs the end of the plant along the back of his neck, his expression one of pure bliss. The look on his face was almost erotic, which causes Poison to go pink and quickly look down - he could easily picture that same look on Ghoul’s face when he was doing something else…

“You alright, Poise? You’ve been pretty quiet today…” Kobra then pipes up, turning around in his seat and folding his arms over the back of it so he could see and talk to his big brother. Poison couldn’t help a small smile appear on his face at the sight of Kid - the sun looked good on him, his features flushed and tan beneath the smears of dirt and oil on his baby brother’s face. Kid’s shades were now balanced on his bright blonde hair, which was all messed-up over his forehead from working all day.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just wish we could’ve gotten a better haul than we did…” Poison shrugs, letting out a low sigh through his nose. There had been days when they’d found so much good stuff that they’d had a struggle getting it all to fit in the van to take home; it made the huddle of sacks in the corner now look even more pitiful in comparison.

“It’s alright, man; it’s like you said - good days and bad days…” Ghoul pipes up, smiling reassuringly and holding out the cutting of aloe vera to Poison; he’d burned his hand on the top of the bumper of a wrecked-up car earlier on. With little smile of gratitude, Poison accepts the cutting and smears the cooling gel-like sap over the shiny red burn running along his thumb and down towards the middle of his palm, wincing as it starts to tingle.

“Hey, we might get lucky at this place! Ponyboy sounded excited.” Jet comments, his eyes still fixed on the road ahead. Ghoul laughs at this, rolling his eyes.

“Pony gets excited over everything, Starman. It’s part of what makes them so...well, Pony.”

“Got that right.” Kid agrees, smiling fondly at the thought of their fabulous sparkly friend back at the Diner, who was currently looking after the Girl while the Fab Four were out scavenging. They made the best babysitter.

“Let’s just hope they’re right…” Poison murmurs, a hopeful look in his eyes as he turns his gaze out the back windows of the van as he watches the Zones zip past behind them; dust billowing into the air in their wake.

==============

As Jet pulls the van up to the rotting gates of the town, the Killjoys peer through the window at their surroundings in both curiosity and caution - the place sure was abandoned alright, which gave it that creepy haunted vibe that made them feel like they were being watched, though the only life around aside from them were a few scraggly stray desert cats that prowled about and watched them exit the van with wide lamp-like eyes, before scurrying away back into the shadows.

“Stick close - any sign of trouble, shout.” Poison murmurs to the others once they bundle out of the van, his hand resting over his holster where the handle of his yellow blaster stuck out. The others nod curtly before they disband, heading in different directions in order to spread out and cover more ground quickly.

As Ghoul makes his way towards what appeared to be the old town hall and Kid towards the nearest run-down store, Jet remains on the main street while Poison ventures off towards a row of old houses - by the looks of things, the people who once lived here simply dropped everything and disappeared. There were a number of old rusted cars littered about the street, so as Jet started exploring them Poison makes his way towards a house with a front porch and cracked windows; the front door hanging off his hinges.

Something had been here, definitely; but it was impossible to tell if it had been fellow Killjoys or desert-dwellers or Draculoids. As Poison carefully steps onto the first creaky step of the patio, his hand comes to rest firmly over the handle of his blaster as he peers into the depths of the house through the broken windows - or what remained of them, anyway.

Tattered curtains drifted ghost-like in the hot desert wind as Poison slowly steps past the threshold, sand crunching under his feet. The winds had blown sand and desert debris right into the interior of the house, the carpets now looking more like a beach than flooring. However, Poison spies a few cupboards that looked pretty promising and so quickly gets to work; pulling them open and rummaging inside.

Pony had been partially right; he doubted that Killjoys had been here, as there was plenty of supplies and items that they wouldn’t have just left behind. However, he had a suspicion that perhaps some Waveheads might have used this place as a pit-stop at some point once. It made sense; the town was a perfect suntrap, and the way there had been furniture littered about the street gave Poison the idea that a group might have stopped by here while in the search for a hit - those junkies would follow the sun even when it set if they could.

That would explain why so many abandoned belongings still remained here; Waveheads didn’t care for material items.

The chest of drawers Poison was now looking through was proving to be already much more successful than the scavenging site - he was finding jewellry, old photos, papers, books. Anything of trade value or personal interest he slipped into the open sack at his feet, pleased to see it gradually swelling in size; especially when he comes across a whole rack of jackets and shoes, some of which would clean up rather nicely with some TLC.

As Poison passes through to the kitchen, he follows his reflection on every mirrored surface - he felt like such an intruder into this home, despite the fact it certainly hadn’t been a home in a very long time. His gaze then lingers on a countertop that was littered with picture-frames, depicting the same family - a mother, father, and two sons.

Poison felt a hard lump suddenly form in his throat as he slowly extends his hand towards the frame taking centreplace, which was the largest photo of the lot - a cracked and faded portrait of the two sons, two brothers. The oldest was blonde, the youngest was brunette; they both looked to be no older than between ten and twelve years old.

Poison then wondered what had happened to them; what had caused this family to suddenly leave their entire lives behind, to run away. He couldn’t understand why he was feeling so odd about this - he didn’t know these people, they were strangers. He figured he was feeling so strange because it was most likely that they were dead now, and this was all that remained of them - the only proof that they ever existed…

Quickly shaking it off, Poison sets the photo down again and looks away; no, don’t think about it too much. You’re here for a reason.

With a low sigh, Poison rearranges the sack he was carrying over his shoulder and slips into the kitchen, setting the sack down again at his feet with a low grunt before starting to rummage through the cupboards. To his dismay, they were mostly empty, but he did manage to find some pots and pans and utensils that would still come in handy, so into the sack they went. Just as he loops a frying-pan to the outside of the bag, Poison’s eyes then linger on an object lying in a decorative bowl on the kitchen table; his eyes widening in realisation.

Keys. Car keys.

And where there’s car keys, there may be a working car…

Excitement bubbling up inside him, Poison picks up the keys and gazes down at them sitting in the palm of his hand for a second; his thumb brushing against the grooves of the main key. Could he really get so lucky…?

Picking up his bag as quickly as he could, Poison’s eyes dart around the room and he spies a backdoor at the end of the hallway; that sure looked promising. Figuring that he couldn’t really carry much else and that he could always return to this place to explore further if needed, Poison pads silently down the hallway and nudges open the backdoor with his shoulder, which to his delight led straight out to what he could see what appeared to be a garage.

Oh please, please, please…

Almost stumbling over his boots in eagerness, Poison sets his sack down at his feet again as his eyes scan over the garage door, looking for a way to open it. At the bottom he sees a padlock, and at first he curses; thinking he’d reached a dead-end. But then he remembers the keys and quickly pulls them back out of his pocket, and with a jolt of excitement he sees that it does have a smaller key that looks like it could work out with this padlock rather nicely…

Taking a deep breath, Poison kneels down and carefully starts to fumble with the padlock; feeling shock vibrate through his bones when the key actually fits. He then takes a step back logically, calming himself down - he shouldn’t get his hopes up, after all. There was a very slim chance that there could be anything behind this metal door…

Not wasting a second longer - and unable to wait - Party Poison unlocks the padlock and takes hold of the door, sliding it upwards. Poison immediately wafts away the dust that had clouded up into the air as he does so, coughing quietly, and as sunlight filters into the interior of the garage for the first time in years, Poison takes a careful step forward and squints inside - and when he sees the sight that met him he stumbles back a step in shock; his eyes as wide as saucers.

Under a grey tarpaulin lay a large object that dominated the majority of the room; a big, car-shaped object.

Trembling in awe and excitement, Poison manages to unfreeze as he slowly steps inside; wandering around the back of the object in an almost trance-like state. This thing was huge, and by the shape under the protective tarpaulin, it certainly wasn’t anything like the lumps of scrapmetal rusting outside on the main street.

Poison then reaches forward, grabs hold of a handful of the plastic, and pulls.

As the protective layer rustles loudly as it starts to slide off the vehicle, when Poison sees the words revealed on the back he freezes up again as if he’d been stunned by a Draculoid, stumbling back a step in shock; TRANS AM.

No. Fucking. Way.

And the next thing Party Poison knew, he was standing in front of a 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans AM. In perfect condition. Not a scratch on it’s pristine white surface.

“Holy shit…” Poison’s hushed voice seemed so loud as it echoes off the walls of the garage, extending a trembling hand to touch the bodywork of the magnificent vehicle before him; to check if it was really real. Feeling the cool metal beneath his palm, a wide slightly-crazed grin spreads over Poison’s features as his hand flies to his belt; scrambling for his communicator.

“Guys! Guys, you’ll never guess what I’ve fucking found - I’m around the back of the blue house off of Main, come and get me!” Poison hisses excitedly into the speaker, hearing the crackle of static follow for a second before a familiar voice replies through the airwaves - Ghoul.

“Oh c’mon Poise, I’m almost on the other side of town! Just spill!”

“No, you have to come see! Over and out.” Poison abruptly clicks off the channel as he clips the communicator back onto his belt; his eyes drinking in the entirety of the Trans AM eagerly, as if he were afraid it would vanish into thin air.

Poison hadn’t believed in love at first sight; not until now.

Dust crunches under Poison’s feet as he eases his way around the side of the Trans AM, not taking his eyes off of its sleek surface as he manoeuvres his way towards the driver’s seat, wanting to inspect his discovery closer. He couldn’t believe his luck; he had no idea how this family could have owned such a vehicle, let alone just left it here to rot. It was unlike any car he’d ever seen - and although Poison had to admit, he wasn’t exactly a pro on cars, he’d definitely heard of a Trans AM before - it was as almost as iconic as the DeLorean. It looked pretty similar, too, as the overall shape definitely reminded him of it.

Shielding his eyes from the setting sun, Poison leans in and peers inside through the window; praying that he wasn’t going to discover the remains of the family inside. Thankfully, he didn’t; the car was totally vacant, not so much as a child’s car-seat or a pair of fluffy-dice hanging from the wing-mirror in sight.

Poison came to the conclusion that this definitely hadn’t been the family car; it was much too pristine, unless this family had been a serious bunch of neat-freaks. He figured that this must’ve been the dad’s pride and joy, which he’d chosen to keep out of the harsh sun.

Poison then felt a pang of sadness; a car like this didn’t deserve to be locked away, kept in the dark. She deserved to be out on the road, speeding through the Zones, exploring their world…

“You beauty…” Poison breathes out loud as he spies the interior - brown leather seats, black harnesses. This car definitely had a history - one that Poison was eager to discover.

Just as Poison made to unlock the door, two sets of footsteps could be heard approaching; causing Poison to snap his head up and rest his hand over his holster. But when he heard his own name being called by a familiar voice - Kobra - he relaxes, a smug smile creeping onto his face.

“Over here! ‘Round the back, guys!”

Seconds later, a flustered Jet Star and Kobra Kid jog around the corner and come to an abrupt halt when they see what Poison had found; Kid’s expression falling into one of utter shock and amazement beneath his shades while Jet’s jaw literally drops open at the sight of the Trans, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

“Is that…?”

“It sure is! And she’s all mine!” Poison grins like a madman, patting the hood of the Trans AM fondly as the other two approach, their eyes flickering over the bumper of the car in awe.

“How on earth did you come across this?” Jet then exclaims, walking around the passenger side and taking a peek in through the back window. “Dude, she must be worth a fortune! Look at that condition - she looks like she’s barely seen the sun!”

“I know…” Poison’s expression suddenly softens, turning his gaze back to the car as he rests his hand over the handle; hesitating just as the incoming footsteps signalled Ghoul’s arrival.

“But that’s all gonna change, hey ol’ girl? She’s coming home with us…”

#this is my first ficlet i've ever posted on here so pls be nice #danger days #the fabulous killjoys #the true lives of the fabulous killjoys #party poison #kobra kid #jet star #fun ghoul #my chemical romance #ficlet #mine #i was bored #also sorry the read more link seems to be broken on mobile

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spressoshot · 7 years ago

Text

Falsettsnowed in

Here’s the second part of my @falsettossecretsnowmen gift for @sophieandtheorchestra - a short fic about Falsettos characters stuck inside during a snowstorm! Enjoy

Marivn felt childish with his nose pressed up against the window, the heat of his breath fogging the cool glass. The world outside was all white wonder; he couldn’t even make out the building across the street. He watched as the falling snow drifted on the wind, mesmerized by its gentle fury.

“Marvin, hey— MARVIN!” Whizzer called from the kitchen.

Marvin snapped out of his trance.

“What? Jesus!”

“We should go to a movie,” said Whizzer.

“Now?” Marvin asked, incredulous. “Have you looked outside?”

“What, you’re going to let a little snow stop you from going out and having fun?” said Whizzer.

“A little snow?”

Whizzer sighed and strode over to the window to have a look for himself.

“Well, shit,” he said.

“Say it,” said Marvin.

“Say what?” Whizzer asked. “That you’re right?”

“Yes.”

Whizzer leaned over him and drew in a deep breath.

“No,” he said playfully.

Marvin laughed. Whizzer plopped himself onto the couch beside him.

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful,” he began to sing.

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Get your Christmas trash out of his household; we’re Jewish.”

“Hey, I’m—”

“Half Jewish, yeah yeah I know.” Marvin cut him off.

“Besides,” said Whizzer. “’Let it Snow is completely secular. It doesn’t mention Christmas at all.”

Marvin thought for a minute, trying to recall the lyrics.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” he said.

“Say it,” said Whizzer., smiling.

“What?”

“You know.”

Marvin laughed.

“You’re right,” he said. He grabbed Whizzer by the collar and tugged him closer.

“Watch it, Marv. I don’t want my sweater to get stretched out.”

“Sorry,” said Marvin. He let go suddenly, and Whizzer tumbled on top of him, laughing.

“We should get a fireplace,” Whizzer mused. He straddled Marvin, who wrapped his arms around him.

“But then I wouldn’t need you to keep me warm,” said Marvin, hands migrating down Whizzer’s back. .

“On second thought…” Whizzer leaned in to kiss him.

The door flew open, spilling in a shock of light from the hall. Charlotte and Cordelia stumbled into the entryway.

“Ever heard of knocking before?” said Marvin.

“Ever heard of locking your door?” Charlotte asked.

Whizzer laughed and climbed off the couch to greet them.

“I brought cookies!” said Cordelia, setting a heavy tray down onto the kitchen counter.

“We brought cookies,” Charlotte corrected.

“She helped put the sprinkles on.”

“And remind you to take them out of the oven,” added Charlotte.

“They’re a little crisp, but they’ll be extra yummy with a glass of milk,” Cordelia suggested.

Marvin made his way to the kitchen. The cookies glittered a dozen bright colors, but the sprinkles couldn’t hide their burnt brown edges.

“They’re perfect,” said Whizzer. He grabbed one off the tray and bit into it. “Cookies are best when they’re crispy.”

Marvin made a noise of distaste.

“He likes them doughy,” Whizzer explained, through a mouthful of sugar cookie. He swallowed. “Well, he likes the dough itself.”

“Eating dough is a good way to get salmonella,” Charlotte warned.

Cordelia leaned in near Marvin. “I like to eat the dough, too,” she whispered to him.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

Marvin picked up a misshapen oval from the tray.

“What’s this supposed to be?” he asked.

“The Star of David, of course!” said Cordelia.

“Dibs on the lumpy rectangle,” said Whizzer, grabbing a yellow-sprinkled cookie.

“That one’s a menorah,” Charlotte explained.

“Ooh I want the menorah,” said Marvin.

Whizzer broke the cookie in half and handed Marvin a piece.

“Happy Hanukkah,” he said.

“And to you,” said Marvin. He turned to the lesbians from next door. “And you, and you.”

The cookie wasn’t as bad has he expected; it was still soft in the middle.

Whizzer ambled back to the couch, and Charlotte took a seat beside him. Cordelia laid across the two of them, her head in Charlotte’s lap and her legs draped over Whizzer’s. It would be a cozy night indoors— four friends keeping each other warm.

Marvin stole another glance out the window before joining them on the couch. The world outside was bright and crisp. And empty. Not a soul could be seen wandering on the sidewalk below. The sidewalk itself had vanished, blanketed by soft snow, shining silver. There was so much of it, Marvin had hope that they might all have to stay home from work tomorrow. Soon, he knew, when the snow stopped falling, people would flood the streets once more. The cloudy white blanket would grow well-trodden and become a browning, slippery slush that would make navigating the city a nightmare. But on days like this, it was perfect.

#falsettos #snowed in

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falsettossecretsnowmen-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Falsettsnowed in

Below is part 1 of 2 of my gift for @sophieandtheorchestra . This gift is a short (< 800 words) snowed in fic (I made you two gifts because I couldn't decide between them)! Hope you enjoy them, and happy holidays!

---

“Marvin, hey— MARVIN!” Whizzer called from the kitchen.

Marvin snapped out of his trance.

“What? Jesus!”

“We should go to a movie,” said Whizzer.

“Now?” Marvin asked, incredulous. “Have you looked outside?”

“What, you’re going to let a little snow stop you from going out and having fun?” asked Whizzer.

“A little snow?”

Whizzer sighed and strode over to the window to have a look for himself.

“Well, shit,” he said.

“Say it,” said Marvin.

“Say what?” said Whizzer. “That you’re right?”

“Yes.”

Whizzer leaned over him and drew in a deep breath.

“No,” he said playfully.

Marvin laughed. Whizzer plopped himself onto the couch beside him.

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful,” he began to sing.

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Get your Christmas trash out of his household; we’re Jewish.”

“Hey, I’m—”

“Half Jewish, yeah yeah I know.” Marvin cut him.

“Besides,” said Whizzer. “’Let it Snow' is completely secular. It doesn’t mention Christmas at all.”

Marvin thought for a minute, trying to recall the lyrics.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” he admitted.

“Say it,” said Whizzer, smiling.

“What?”

“You know.”

Marvin laughed.

“You’re right,” he said. He grabbed Whizzer by the collar and tugged him closer.

“Watch it, Marv. I don’t want my sweater to get stretched out.”

“Sorry,” said Marvin. He let go, and Whizzer tumbled on top of him, laughing.

“We should get a fireplace,” Whizzer mused, sitting up. He straddled Marvin, who wrapped his arms around him.

“But then I wouldn’t need you to keep me warm,” said Marvin, hands migrating down Whizzer’s back. .

“On second thought…” Whizzer leaned in to kiss him.

The door flew open, spilling in a shock of light from the hall. Charlotte and Cordelia stumbled into the entryway.

“Ever heard of knocking before?” said Marvin.

“Ever heard of locking your door?” Charlotte replied.

Whizzer laughed and climbed off the couch to greet them.

“I brought cookies!” Coredlia announced, setting a heavy tray down onto the kitchen counter.

“We brought cookies,” Charlotte corrected.

“She helped put the sprinkles on.”

“And reminded you to take them out of the oven,” added Charlotte.

“They’re a little crisp, but they’ll be extra yummy with a glass of milk,” said Charlotte.

Marvin made his way to the kitchen. The cookies glittered a dozen bright colors, but the sprinkles couldn’t hide their burnt brown edges.

“They’re perfect,” said Whizzer. He grabbed one off the tray and bit into it. “Cookies are best when they’re crispy.”

Marvin made a noise of distaste.

“He likes them doughy,” Whizzer explained, through a mouthful of sugar cookie. He swallowed. “Well, he likes the dough itself.”

“Eating dough is a good way to get salmonella,” Charlotte warned.

Cordelia leaned in near Marvin. “I like to eat the dough, too,” she whispered to him.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

Marvin picked up a misshapen oval from the tray.

“What’s this supposed to be?” he asked.

“The Star of David, of course!” said Cordelia.

“Dibs on the lumpy rectangle,” said Whizzer, grabbing a yellow-sprinkled cookie.

“That one’s a menorah,” Charlotte explained.

“Ooh I want the menorah,” said Marvin.

Whizzer broke the cookie in half and handed Marvin a piece.

“Happy Hanukkah,” he said.

“And to you,” said Marvin. He turned to the lesbians from next door. “And you, and you.”

The cookie wasn’t as bad has he expected; it was still soft in the middle.

Whizzer moved back to the couch, and Charlotte took a seat beside him. Cordelia laid across the two of them, her head in Charlotte’s lap and her legs draped over Whizzer’s. It would be a cozy night indoors— four friends keeping each other warm.

Marvin stole another glance out the window before joining them on the couch. The world outside was bright and crisp. And empty. Not a soul could be seen wandering on the sidewalk below. The sidewalk itself had vanished, blanketed by soft snow, shining silver. There was so much of it, Marvin had hope that they might all have to stay home from work tomorrow. Soon, he knew, when the snow stopped falling, people would flood the streets once more. The cloudy white blanket would grow well-trodden, turning to browning, slippery slush that would make navigating the city a nightmare. But on days like this, it was perfect.

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beardedsunshinetour · 7 years ago

Text

Installment the First

Or, The Adventure Begins

Disclaimer: I don’t own the canon characters, obv. I’ve just stolen their souls for my own purposes. The MCs are a melting pot of my imagination, real interactions, and silliness.

Disclaimer 2: If you haven’t seen season four yet, spoilers will probably abound. Ye have been warned.

Part the first: Where we meet the fangirls and they encounter our favorite #bromance

“This is silly.” Addie pulled her peacoat more tightly around her and blew into her hands to warm them. She’d been the one to talk her sister Mal into this impromptu meetup with some of their online fandom friends. But now they were wandering beside Conscience Bay in Setauket, Long Island at ten o’clock at night in December in an attempt to feel some connection to the area’s history.

“Yeah, it’s freezing out here,” Mal agreed, stopping next to Addie. She let out a frustrated huff when their companions continued along the road, looking for a clearing to get to the edge of the water they'd been following for three blocks.

“Not the weather,” Addie pressed. “I mean, I love Turn, and I love Revolutionary History, but this place wasn’t even much to look at when we saw it during the day. What are we doing?”

“It’s awesome at night,” Leena called back over her shoulder. “Come on!”

“We might even see a ghost!” June, leading the group, shouted.

“Not if she keeps screaming like that,” Mal said, nudging Addie.

Addie smirked. “The guide this afternoon didn’t say anything about it being haunted, did he?”

Leena slowed down to match the sisters' pace. “Not that we know of,” she said, the light from the full moon making her toothy grin luminescent. “But last time I came, I swear I saw someone on the water. It was too dark to see who it was, though.”

“And you think it was Caleb Brewster coming from Washington’s camp to collect intelligence?” Addie asked, unable to suppress a bemused smile.

“Maaaaybe. Not going to rule it out!” Leena giggled before hurrying to catch up to June.

Addie looked at Mal, the unspoken question of What have we gotten ourselves into hanging between the sisters.

“Friggin’ Twitter,” Mal muttered. They'd never met the other women in person before, and knew them only from the online fan group they were part of. “This would have been so much better if Steph had showed up.” Of all of their online friends, Steph had been the one to connect the most with Mal. Part of the reason Mal’d agreed to come at all was because Steph was also going. Except she’d had to cancel at the last minute because of a work obligation.

“We’ve had a good time up to now,” Addie allowed. Mal rolled her eyes. “Okay, like I said, this part seems silly. I don’t know what they think we’ll find out there, but I guess it beats just sitting in the B&B, right?”

“Get a fire going, make some hot chocolate, binge Turn –“ Mal shivered as another wintery blast buffeted against the treeline. “It’s going to friggin’ snow. Let’s just go back.”

Addie looked up at the sky, the stars clearly visible. “It isn’t going to snow,” she challenged.

“It should snow if it’s going to be this cold,” Mal complained.

“Let’s hurry up a bit, then,” Addie suggested. “We can catch up to June and Leena.” The other women had already disappeared around a bend in the road, and Addie was nervous that they were no longer in sight.

Mal made an irritated grunt, but quickened her pace to match Addie’s.

A scream pierced the hush of the evening. Addie and Mal looked at each other, eyes wide, before both breaking into a run and calling their friends’ names.

When they reached Leena and June, the other women were giggling, laying on the ground.

“What happened?” Addie asked, looking for any signs that they’d been hurt.

“Leena thought she saw a ghost and pulled us both down when she tried to get away from it,” June laughed. “Ghost turned out to be a dang squirrel! Pullin’ me down here,” she admonished. “Break my hip if you’re not careful!” June was twenty years older than the others, though she was in far better shape.

“Leena’s more likely to break her hip than you are,” Addie pointed out. “And I thought you wanted to find ghosts,” Addie laughed, offering a hand up to Leena as Mal did the same for June.

“Yeah, but – maybe not when I’m not expecting it, y’know?” Leena brushed off the back of her jeans and looked around. “Anyway, we’re here! This is where I saw him last time!”

Addie found herself peering out at the water, squinting her eyes as though that would show her the ghostly whaleboatman.

“What are we doing?” A voice whispered in Addie’s ear and she jumped, embarrassed by the resounding squeak of fear that escaped her lips. She spun around and exhaled as the others began to laugh.

Steph had made it, after all.

“Not funny,” Addie admonished, her heart still racing.

Steph was grinning. “It was a little funny,” she said before hugging Addie. “It’s so great to finally meet all of you!” She hugged the others in turn – and Addie was glad to see Mal smiling – finally.

“Ugh, sorry I missed the first couple of days,” Steph said once the hellos had been finished. “Work is so unpredictable. But I’m here now, ready to sink my teeth into history and all things Turn! So what’re we doing? Ghost hunting? Dibs on our illustrious spy leader if he shows up.”

“If Ben shows up, honey, I’ll fight you for him,” June said. “Ghost or not, I’d sink my teeth into that boy any day of the week!”

“OMG, cougar alert!” Leena giggled.

“I might be older than y’all, but my eyes work just fine,” June said with a smirk.

Addie laughed and shook her head. “So what now?”

“Let’s build a fire!” Leena suggested, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “We can all sit around it and do a round-robin fanfic!” She put her hands – hidden inside her slightly too long jacket sleeves – up in front of her face as she tried not to giggle again. The result was a high-pitched noise that sounded suspiciously like a mouse squeak.

“A fire?” Addie shook her head. “I’m not sure we’re even supposed to be out here, let alone trying to start a fire.“

“I’m with Addie,” Steph said. “Besides, I’m starving. I drove straight from D.C. and haven’t eaten anything since lunch.”

“We’ll head back to the road, see if anything is open,” Mal suggested. “It’s almost midnight, so I don’t think – son-of-a-“ she let a low growl finish the sentence as snow began to drift lazily to the ground. She turned to her sister. “No snow, huh?”

Addie looked up again. The stars were as bright and clear as they had been ten minutes before. “That doesn’t make any sense,” she said, frowning.

“So we head back,” Leena said, reaching up to put one arm around Steph’s shoulders and the other around Mal’s. The shortest of the quintet, what she actually managed was a hand up to her wrist on either girl's taller frame. “Find something to nom on and get back to the bed and breakfast before it decides to go full-on blizzard.”

Addie was still frowning up at the sky. “So we’re going to completely ignore the fact that there are no clouds for the snow to be falling from, yeah?”

“You just can’t see them,” June said without glancing up. “It couldn’t be snowing like this without clouds. Hey! Y’all know what we need?”

“Flaming Dr. Pepper shots!” they cried out in unison, all of them laughing.

"I don't know if there's a bar within walking distance," Addie said as she and June caught up to the others.

"Everything's within walking distance technically," Steph said. "Just depends on how far you want to walk. Besides, if the snow picks up, we don't want to be driving around in it, right?"

Mal raised her fist in the air. "Here's to being stuck in a bar and getting hammered while we discuss a certain Major Tightpants!"

Addie laughed along with the others. Much of their online threads seemed to center around the wardrobe choices of the characters, the most infamous being the snug breeches of Benjamin Tallmadge, leader of the American spy ring. She shook her head. "Because being wasted and trying to walk through a storm is a much better idea."

"Maybe Caleb's ghost will be there. He can walk us home!" Leena suggested.

"Didn't he die in Connecticut?" June asked.

"He did," Steph confirmed. "And Ben, too."

"Aww, the bromance continued after the war!" Mal laughed. "That's so cute!"

"So then why would he be haunting a bar that didn't even exist when he lived here?" June pressed. "That makes no sense!"

"Maybe the bars he haunts in Connecticut ran out of whiskey," Addie said.

"Or they tried to give him tea," Mal snickered.

The joking had distracted them. They stopped at the corner and looked up to the street sign to get their bearings - but couldn't see it. The snow had gradually reduced visibility without their noticing, and none of them knew quite where they were.

"Holy crap, it's really coming down now," Mal said. "Addie? Pull up GPS on your phone or something."

Addie complied, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her apps until she found the one for directions. She tapped on it, and frowned as it opened to a white screen, the 'processing' icon spinning. "It usually doesn't take this long to start," she said. "Probably the storm." The network icon at the top showed NO SERVICE in red. "Dammit!" She showed the phone to her sister.

The other women pulled out their phones. There was a chorus of 'mine, too' as they checked their network status.

"Maybe the storm knocked out a tower," Leena suggested.

They all glanced around - except for the denseness of the snow, the 'storm' had very little teeth. An intermittent wind nipped at their faces, but the night was otherwise perfectly still.

"Well we can't just go on standin’ in the middle of the street,” June pointed out.

"Are we in the middle of the street, though?" Steph bent down and brushed the snow away from the ground immediately around her. "Grass," she muttered. "We were on pavement, weren't we?"

"Snow without clouds, disappearing pavement - anybody else freaked out yet?" Addie asked.

"Look, there's an explanation -"

"Be quiet, Mal." Addie held up her hand to silence her sister, her head tilted, listening to the sounds around them. A muffled exhalation of breath was followed by the crunching of snow. "There," she whispered when she heard it again. "Someone's coming."

"Help! We're poor tourists who have lost our way!" Leena laughed. The others shooshed her. A horse's nicker came in response.

"What the -" Addie frowned, shrugging as they all glanced at each other. Addie’s heart thudded against her ribcage painfully. Something wasn’t right.

A horse and rider cut through the storm, parting the snow as though it were a curtain. A second was right behind it.

The women gaped.

Mal grabbed Addie's arm. "Is that -"

Addie could only nod as the first rider turned his horse in front of them, his sabre drawn. His blue and buff uniform was spotless, topped with a plumed hat – it was Ben Tallmadge.

“Identify yourselves!” he demanded, eyes raking over the group.

The second rider circled behind them, effectively blocking any escape attempt they might have made.

The women huddled a little closer together, but didn’t answer.

The wind tugged at their coats and hats like a child wanting attention. Addie’s hat blew off, and she turned as she tried to grab it – with no success.

“Dammit,” she muttered, looking up at the second rider. Her heart stopped. The snow was still falling, but the long leather coat and cocked wide-brimmed hat were instantly recognizable to her as Caleb Brewster.

Addie grabbed Mal's hand.

"But the last season of Turn is already airing," June said. "Did you get picked up by Netflix? Oh my God. Are you filming right now?"

"Filmin'?" Caleb asked, looking across their heads at Ben. He dismounted, reins in hand as he looked at each of them. “They’re all women, Tallboy!”

“No call for rudeness!” June huffed.

Ben dismounted as well, coming around to stand by Caleb. He sheathed his sabre and sighed, hands on his hips.

“It isn’t rudeness, Madam. It’s surprise,” he said. “When you dress like a man, you should be prepared to be seen as a man – and a threat.”

"This is awesome," Leena giggled behind Addie.

And terrifying, Addie thought.

“’Dress like a man?’” Mal scoffed. “Steph, is this you?” Steph often boasted about her connections with the show – connections she never explicitly defined, but did always seem to result in inside knowledge.

She also liked her practical jokes.

Addie started to breathe a little easier. That’s all this was. It’s all it could be.

“Not me,” Steph said. “Shit. This is not me.” Her voice wavered. So did Addie’s relief.

“So – not on a set,” Addie said, her eyes locked on the men. “This is – real?”

"But if they’re supposed to really be Tallmadge and Brewster, they wouldn’t look just like -"

"I know," Addie said, hushing her sister. "I didn't say I could explain it."

“Don’t remember tellin’ you who I was,” Caleb said, head tilted to the side. His eyes flicked to Ben’s and then back to Mal. “Suppose ya tell me how it is you seem to know.” His hand was on the top of the axe at his waist, his body rigid, waiting.

Mal squeezed Addie’s hand. Addie could feel the tremor running through her sister. She squeezed back.

“Well, hell, boys. Everyone knows wherever Tallmadge goes, Brewster��s at his heel,” June said, her words easing Mal’s trembling.

“And Brewster’s axe is legend on its own,” Steph said. “We just connected the dots. Sir,” she added when Caleb remained still. Only his eyes moved, back to Ben.

Ben gave a curt nod, and Caleb’s body relaxed. He folded his hands in front of him and straightened his neck, walking around the group, looking each of them up and down in turn.

Addie felt the heat rising from under her coat collar as Caleb passed. He stopped when he’ d made a full circuit of the group.

“None of ‘em are armed,” he conveyed to Ben.

Ben nodded, his posture becoming less stiff. “Identify yourselves,” he repeated, his voice still firm.

Steph made her way to the front of the group, pushing Mal and Addie apart in her haste. "Stephanie Beecham," she said, giving a perfect curtsey, one ankle crossed behind the other.

Addie glanced at Mal behind Steph's back, knowing the smirk that graced her sister's face was mirrored on her own. Mal shrugged and shook her head.

"Miss Beecham." Ben nodded stiffly.

"Addie Hunt," Addie offered with an exhalation and a nod in response to Ben's.

"Mal Gower." Mal thrust out her hand. Caleb cast a bemused look at Ben, then stepped forward and shook it. Addie found herself wishing she'd been as bold.

"Leena Owens." Leena's voice squeaked as she stood on her tiptoes to be seen over the other women.

"June Cort." June stuck her hand over Mal's left shoulder, palm down. Caleb looked back at Ben again, then took it and pressed his lips to it. June grinned. Her face, already red from the cold, deepened in color.

"Right. Now we all know each other." Caleb hooked his thumbs in his belt and stepped back, his head tilting to the side. “Mind tellin’ us just what you’re all doin’ wanderin’ around here in the middle of the night?”

“And how you managed to get past the posted sentries?” Ben added.

“Posted sentries?” Addie echoed.

“Aye, the sentries,” Caleb said. “The lads done up in blue and buff that are posted around the perimeter of our line.”

Oh, God. The war hasn’t ended yet, Addie thought. Her heart felt as though it would burst. Being here, mere feet from the living, breathing incarnations of what had effectively been an obsession for four years should have been exhilarating.

But they’d somehow been transported into the show – or at least the world the show inhabited – and these were very real people.

With very real guns.

"We were just in Setauket," Leena offered.

"Setauket?” Caleb snickered. “Yeah, give or take 100 miles.”

Leena blushed and grabbed June's hand. "He spoke right to me!" Her voice wasn't above a whisper, but they all easily heard it.

Caleb looked at Ben, an amused smirk spreading across his face.

“100 miles from Setauket?” Mal whispered to Addie. “How did that happen?”

“Sure, that’s the weird part of all this,” she whispered back.

"Never heard any of them names around Setauket," Caleb pointed out. “How ‘bout you, Ben?”

"’Course we’re not from Setauket, " June said. “We were just visiting family."

"Yeah, we’re cousins of the DeJong's," Mal finished, giving her sister a perfunctory nod.

"Cousins?" Ben asked, nodding. "All five of you?"

They nodded. "Distant," Steph said. "There was um a -"

"Wedding," Leena said. Addie suppressed a groan. Weddings were something they could check on. Although, come to think of it, so was the existence of visiting cousins. This wasn’t make believe. If they were taken back to camp and their stories checked, then found to be false - she began to fidget.

“Mind tellin’ us what you’re doin’ out here, then?” Caleb asked. “Like I said, it’s a long way from Setauket.”

Each of them looked to the others for some kind of direction.

“We got lost?” Steph said.

“Lost.” Ben’s voice was flat, his free hand on his sabre hilt. “You expect us to believe you just - wandered up here from Setauket, through enemy lines?”

“So we’re in the show world, right?” Addie mumbled to Mal.

“What?”

“I mean, we’ve so obviously been Twilight Zone’d – and since they look like the actors, I figure we’re in the show’s universe, and haven’t somehow time traveled to the past, right?”

“How the hell do I know?” Mal hissed.

“I’m just wondering if they know about Hewlett yet,” Addie whispered.

“What’s this about Hewlett?” Caleb asked, stepping forward again and focusing on Addie.

She turned to Mal, who shrugged. “I – I just thought you might not have heard that Major Hewlett’s taken over for Andre as Head of Intelligence for the British,” she said.

Caleb’s face tightened and he whipped his head around to Ben, who had a similarly grim look.

“How did you come by this information, Madam?” Ben asked.

Because I watch the tv show, Addie thought.

“Everybody’s talking about it in York City,” Steph said quickly.

“Right,” Caleb said, nodding and heading back to his horse. “I’m going to find a way in –“

Ben stepped back and put a hand on Caleb’s chest to stop him, keeping a wary eye on the group of women.

“You can’t go to York City, Caleb. You don’t have a way in or a way out.”

“If Hewlett’s there, Culper’s at risk,” Caleb said.

“No, it’s okay - they’re working together,” Leena said. Ben brought his gaze to hers slowly, and Caleb craned his neck around to look at her. The other women turned to her and exhaled, a collective breath of chastisement.

“What?” Leena asked, her palms turned up in front of her.

“What do you mean ‘working together’?” Ben asked, walking into the group so that he was in front of Leena.

He had his back toward Steph, whose eyes kept straying below his waist.

Addie swatted at her hand as it reached towards Ben’s butt.

Behind them, Caleb snorted. Addie didn’t turn around, but felt the color rising to her cheeks again. She felt as though her face was going to be a permanent shade of pink before the end of the night.

“I was just going to give it a little squeeze,” Steph muttered.

Addie shook her head. “Not the time,” she whispered.

“I mean,” Leena said, blushing even more now that she was inches from him, “that they made a pact to get Simcoe.”

“Simcoe,” Caleb said, crossing his arms again. “That bas-“ he cleared his throat as he remembered the ladies present. “We knew it was a risk –“

“We’ll discuss it back at the camp,” Ben said over his shoulder, studying each of the women’s faces before going back towards his horse. “I’m going to have to ask that you ladies accompany us.”

“I’ve got some rope in my bag,” Caleb offered with a grin.

“Oh, honey, you don’t have to tie us up,” June said.

“Well, unless you want to,” Steph added, matching Caleb’s grin.

Addie wanted to scream. Why wasn’t anybody else freaking out?

“It isn’t far to camp, rope won’t be necessary,” Ben said. “Behave,” he muttered to Caleb as he passed him.

The snow had slowed during the exchange, and was now barely falling. Beside them, the moon was reflecting off of the river, a shimmering path that seemed to stretch endlessly in either direction.

Ben and Caleb rode their horses, the girls walking between the two.

"We probably should have marked where we were," Addie muttered to Mal.

"Why?"

"Because eventually, we're going to have to try and get back, right?"

Mal pulled her head back slightly, a quizzical expression on her face. "Why are you even worried about that now?" she asked. "Just let go for once, Addie. Enjoy the ride while it lasts, and we'll figure out the rest when we have to."

“’Enjoy the ride’?” she shot back. “We’ve been dropped in the middle of a war being waged in a fictional universe where we don’t know exactly what will happen. Maybe we’re not tied up – yet – but we’re prisoners, Mal!”

“But we’ve got such nice eye candy,” Mal pointed out, grinning.

Addie ran her hand over her mouth, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. They’d all gone crazy. Logic and reason were what she relied on in her real life, and even though what was happening now couldn't be explained with either of those things, she was trying to cling to them.

They passed a sentry post, the men nodding to Caleb and Ben as they passed, staring at the group of women with interest.

"Eyes on your watch, gentlemen," Ben chided. The soldiers grumbled, but turned away, one of them prodding at the fire by their feet.

"Where we gonna keep 'em?" Caleb asked. "Can't cram 'em all in the store room for very long."

"The barn," Ben said after a moment. "We can post guards there, and they'll be out of the weather."

"Yeah, barely." Caleb looked over the group again. "You lot eaten at all today?"

"I could eat a whole cow," Steph said.

"Well, we ain't long on beef, but we'll find somethin' edible," Caleb said.

They arrived at the barn, the noises from the camp clearly audible even though they could not see it yet.

"Take care of the horses, and bring four men we can rely on to post as guard," Ben instructed, dismounting and handing the reins to Caleb. "This way, ladies."

Caleb led the horses into camp, and the group followed Ben in to the barn.

"This is where they brought Abe!" Leena squealed.

"Please, Lord, don’t make me stand anywhere near where they had poor Richard’s body," June said, a hand to her mouth.

Ben pulled the door closed behind them and advanced towards the women.

"How are you getting your information?" he demanded.

"Oh, oops." June put a hand over her mouth as Leena grimaced.

Ben's face was grim. "I will have no choice but to keep you here, under guard, unless you tell me how you have come to know the name Culper."

His eyes went to each woman's face in turn, searching for answers, for any sign that one of them were ready to speak.

One by one, they averted their eyes, shifting nervously.

Ben exhaled sharply, turning at the sound of the door opening. He held up a hand to stop Caleb where he stood, and focused again on the group of women.

"We will have your source," he said, pointing his finger at them.

He walked to the door and drew Caleb back outside.

"See if you can get anything out of them," he said, his tone low. "I've got to tell Washington about Hewlett."

One side of Caleb's face twitched upward with the movement of his mouth. "You want me to go in to a barn full of women and get information from 'em?"

"Behave yourself," Ben huffed.

"I'll be a perfect gentleman, yeah?" Caleb grinned. "Who's to say they'll be able to keep their hands off me, though, eh?" He laughed, hitting Ben's arm.

His words carried easily into the barn. Mal grabbed Addie's arm and gave an excited jump. Behind them, June and Leena let loose a quiet squee.

"But no Ben and his breeches," Steph complained.

They shushed each other as the barn door opened again.

Caleb shut the door, then walked over to the women, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Right," he said, grinning. "Who's first, then?"

“Best. Vacation. Ever,” Mal breathed.

Addie felt like she was going to puke.

#turn #caleb brewster #ben tallmadge #bromance #beardedSunshine #fanfic #turnamc #tallBoy

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caliboyjaeffrey · 8 years ago

Text

I’ll Save the Prince (Prince!Ten x Reader)

Rating: PG-ish?

(A/N) How goes it? Are all of you deceased from NCT’s comeback??? I know I sure as hell am!! Before I delve into all the smutty requests coming up, I thought I’d rewind for a moment and give you all some fluffy Ten, which a lovely anon requested! This is a Prince AU, with a HUGE twist. I got really involved with the story RIP

The sun was blazing, far too bright for its own good, as it shone down brilliantly on the capital city. The market place was crowded with people on the lookout for deals, trying to make their meager amounts of money last. You felt the familiar weight of coins press against your thigh in your apron pocket, your hand cupping the cool metal protectively as you squeezed between stalls. In your family, money had recently become sparse, so every coin was precious and worth thousands more than it truly was. You had to be smart and calculate the best possible deals, using your sharp mind to its full potential. Market day had been your responsibility since your mother had passed away, your father following her fate not even a few hours later, unable to live a day without his beloved wife. That had been years ago though, and you were stronger know, had a stronger mind, and a tongue that would make a knight quiver in his armor. You were not one to be messed with.

You shopped swiftly, the sun over your head functioned as your clock, not wanting to waste a single second. You needed to get back to your brother as soon as possible, you were afraid to leave him alone for too long. On your way back home, you stopped by the apothecary, picking up the herbs used in your brother's daily tea. As you entered your house, the pathetic jingle of coins in your pocket set a lump in your throat, knowing you were running low. You wouldn't be able to afford your brother's medicine now. You had to figure out a plan fast. You called out warmly, "I'm home," slipping out of your clogs as you walked up the steep stairs of your thin house. You entered the house's only room, a big one where your whole family used to sleep and cook. Now it was just you and your twin brother, who laid in his straw bed, sweat pouring down his feverish brow. You hurried over to him, dropping the basket you'd used for the market, "Oh, no." You bit your lip and took a cloth you kept by the bed and soaked it in a bowl of water, dabbing your brother's forehead as he panted in his fever induced sleep. His eyes cracked open slightly, whimpering pathetically as he lifted a shaky hand to still yours, "It's no use, ______." Tears were welling up inside of you, but they were filled with anger; anger at yourself that you couldn't do anything to make him feel better. You swallowed them, putting on a brave face for your twin, "Hush, now. Stop being a pessimist and get some rest, I'll make your tea." Through his glazed over eyes, you saw him give you a familiar hard stare that was common when he had been well. He didn't say a word, letting you rest the cloth on his forehead and pick up your basket, watching you diligently make his bitter tasting tea. When you had finished, you brought the steaming cup over to him, blowing on the hot liquid to make it a comfortable temperature. Satisfied after you dipped you tongue into the bitter liquid with a scrunched face, you offered the cup to him, "Drink up." Your brother didn't even bother to crane his neck, simply refusing it, "What's the point _______?" He wouldn't even meet your gaze as he swallowed thickly, "At this pint I'd rather just die than drink that damned tea." You slammed the cup down onto the bedside table, fury in your eyes as you snapped, "Don't say that! Don't you dare ever say that!" Your twin smiled wryly, "It's okay, _____, you don't have to try anymore. I'll be okay." You felt something in you break as his words washed over you, your voice cracking, "I won't be okay though." You buried your head into the bed, feeling a weak hand stroke your hair as you sobbed, "I don't want to be alone." Your brother didn't say anything else, having already drifted back to his feverish dreaming, his hand sliding off head and landing softly on the bed. You sat up, furiously rubbing the tears from your eyes, realizing what you needed to do. No point in laying around crying, no one was going to save you from this. You had to save yourself. You determinedly stood up, fists clenching as you walked over to the only wardrobe in the entire house. It was a dark imposing piece of wood, inside was the key to saving your brother. You ripped open the double doors, revealing a suit of armor that glittered in the sunlight that fell across it. You were temporarily blinded, shielding your eyes from the sudden assault of light. When they adjusted you reached in and took out the helm, examining the strange piece of metal, beautiful as it was. Engraved into shining silver was the royal crest, only present on the helmets of those who served in the royal guard, protectors of the royal family. Before he had become ill, your brother's specific job was to guard the crown prince, heir to the entire kingdom, no light task for sure. You set the helmet down gently, careful to not awaken your brother, who would be furious if he knew of your plan. You grabbed what could only be your twin's most prized possession, a beautiful broad sword that had been made just for him by the royal blacksmith. You unsheathed the heavy weapon, gazing upon its cruel beauty as it seemed mocked you. You felt as though it was testing if you were actually going to go through with your plan. With a whisper, you spat a fiery challenge, "Watch me." Having decided, you walked down the stairs and out your house, hailing down a messenger with one of your prized coins. You spoke swiftly, the page not missing a beat, "Deliver this message to Sir Johnny, Captain of the Royal Guard: 'My brother is finally better and he's eager to return to the Guard. Please stop by the house to meet him tomorrow morn. _______.' Got it? Now off with you!" The page nodded as you pressed the coin into his palm, running at a break neck speed to the imposing castle. In the bright cloudless day, it was the only thing that could block out the sun, it's towers and spires stabbing into the sky proudly. You clenched your fists again, feeling ready to accept your new challenge: impersonate your brother and take his place in the Royal Guard in order to save him!

You woke even before the stars had been chased away by the sun, creeping around your house to ready yourself for your first day as a member of the Royal Guard. You splashed your face with cool water in the washroom, debating whether it would be worth it to cut your hair or not. Regardless of the situation, you were still just a girl who could hardly stand the thought of cutting off her tresses. You decided just to tie it up, your brother's hair had grown quite long anyway and he hadn't been seen by his guard friends for about a month. Although you were twins, your height differed slightly and your face was rounder and more feminine, a rosy glow that couldn't be hidden. As you stared back at your face in the small mirror, you thought it would be best to avoid showing your face at all times, glad that you had the helmet to shield yourself. You quickly dressed into your brother's clothes, taking a moment to tuck the covers of your twin's blanket up to his chin, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Johnny couldn't see him, or else your plan would be foiled. So your story was to pretend that you yourself had fallen ill and were extremely contagious, that would keep him away. You finished getting ready, clumsily donning the armor by memory as you tried to remember how your brother did it. You had some difficulty with the chest plate, the size a bit too big for your smaller frame, but you had to make it work somehow. After minutes of struggling and worrying you would hear a knock on the door at any moment, you finished, placing the claustrophobic helmet on your head, but keeping the visor open to breath. Only your eyes could be seen poking through, your long lashes the only indicator of your true identity. Only a complete fool could tell the difference by accident. It was at that exact moment you heard the excited knocking on your heavy wooden door, your heart beat picking up as you trudged down the stairs. Your hand shook as you grasped the handle and pulled, revealing the handsome face and lovely long hair of the Royal Guard's Captain, and your brother's best friend, Johnny. "Oh, man! It's been too long!," he laughed, embracing you warmly as he clapped your shoulder. "It's amazing you're finally back on your feet, and so quickly. And here I thought I would never see you again, yeah?" You gulped, this was your first test, lips already quivering as you replied with a poor imitation of your brother's voice, "Well, all thanks goes to my sister...pal?" You wanted to slap yourself, ready to have your helmet ripped off and your true identity to be revealed by Johnny. What kind of punishment would you receive? Impersonating someone was a crime, right? Right?! Johnny didn't even bat a lash, before he grinned and joked, "Is that right? ______ always would have made a better soldier than you, ya know!" He peered over your significantly shorter head into your house, "Where's she at anyway? Always a treat to be greeted by a beautiful girl on the way to work, am I right?" Your jaw dropped, unable to believe that Johnny was this much of a dunce. You recovered from your monetary loss of sanity and pretended to be your typical overprotective older brother, "Hey now, Johnny. Just because we're friends doesn't mean you get first dibs or something..." Your brother's friend burst into a fit of laughter, hand coming to rest lazily on the hilt of his sword, "I know, I know. I was only teasing you. I know how protective you are of her, only the best for ______. That's what you always say, remember?" You felt warmth spread through your chest, a fondness for your sick brother that made your heart ache, "Y-yeah, that's right. Well," you made your way to close the door behind you, stepping out on the street, "Ready to go?" "Sure am!," the tall soldier exclaimed, clapping you on the shoulder once more before leading the way to what you could only assume was the castle. Your nervousness was beginning to disappear, replaced instead with a newfound confidence as you strolled through the streets. Before, people wouldn't even spare you a glance, the occasional catcall was all you received. Now people would tip their caps to you, give nods of recognition, bow in respect as you walked by them. It was a strange feeling to be in your brother's shoes, knowing you would never be treated this way without this suit of armor. Already living in close proximity to the center of the capital where the castle laid, you only followed Johnny for a few short minutes before you stood before the large iron gates. Johnny shouted up to some garrison soldiers, who shouted back before cranking open the gates. Your eyes widened at the majesty before you, the impressive architecture and just sheer grandness of the whole castle. You'd never been inside the gates, that privilege only being reserved for merchants, the court, those of social standing, and soldiers. Johnny glanced over at you with an eye smile, "We should go greet Ten, right? He and the others really missed you." Johnny stopped suddenly, looking over at you with eyes full of sadness, "Actually, most of us thought we wouldn't see you ever again..." Your lips parted at his confession, mind wandering to your brother, still laying sick in his bed unbeknownst to them. You felt guilty, knowing they were happy to see the wrong person. Johnny perked up again, knocking his fist against your helmet affectionately, "But you're here now! Come on, let's not keep everyone waiting." You followed Johnny through twisting corridors, up grand staircases, and hallways filled with paintings probably worth more than your life. You finally arrived at a beautiful gold enamel door, the knobs a shining brass that made a clinking side as Johnny opened the door with his gauntlet-clad hand. Not even a second passed before you were completely swamped, swept into hugs and smacked on the shoulder so many times you were sure you'd find a bruise there later. Johnny shooed them away, protecting your shaking form as he laughed, "Alright, alright. Let's let His Highness have a chance to see his favorite soldier." An amused voice retorted, "Is that jealousy in your voice Johnny? Or am I imagining things again? Step aside and let me get a good look at him." Your gasped from within your helmet, the sound echoing loudly throughout the room. Only a few people gave you looks, but they looked more amused than anything. Before you stood likely the most handsome boy you had ever laid eyes upon. A gorgeous smile played on his perfectly soft looking lips, deep brown eyes twinkling happily. Gentle waves of black hair spilled over his forehead, his hand coming up to push it away from his eyes as he laughed, "What's this? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Your eyes were impossibly wide, completely forgetting all words as he leaned in and embraced you warmly, his mouth close to your ear, "It's been too long, brother. You've been missed." Your heart stopped, feeling his breath fan across your lips as he spoke. You could barely find it in yourself to reply, "I-I'm glad to be back, Your Majesty." He pulled away, looking at you quizzically, "'Your Majesty'? You haven't called me that since you first joined as a soldier. It's just Ten, remember? No need for formalities." You were taken aback, "Yes, sir! I-I mean...Ten." You let the one syllable name spring off your tongue, the sound of it leaving your lips satisfying. "That's better. Now," he winced gingerly, "Please forgive me for this next bit. They really wanted to, and I couldn't say no..." You furrowed your brow, confused, "What do you-" SPLASH!!! You squealed rather girlishly by accident, the stinking scent of what could only be ale poured all down your body as they roared in laughter. Your nose crinkled, hair already beginning to smell as the stickiness washed down your body, "Come on, really?" They were giggling like village girls and bar maids, even Ten couldn't contain his amusement as he covered his nose with a handkerchief. He offered the little piece of silk to you, biting his lip as he stifled his laughter, "Here, maybe this will help." You rolled your eyes at him sarcastically, but blushed, taking the small square of fabric and dabbed at your eyes, "Gee, thanks, Your Majesty." He smiled, but behind his smile, you saw some type of confusion. For a moment you were worried he was beginning to catch on, you needed to act more like your brother. You coughed loudly, "Hm! So, which of you shitheads should I beat up first?" That seems to shut them up, their eyes wide in shock for a moment before they burst into another fit of giggles. Ten sensed your discomfort, the ale beginning to dry and make your skin itch, "Here, I'll have someone draw you a bath." You felt panic rise in your throat, "O-oh! No, I'm fine! Promise!" You were in dangerous territory and your cover could be blown. "No, you're not," Ten lifted a perfect brow, already sending an attendant to prepare your bath. "Let me take care of you for once, okay?" You couldn't argue with royalty, your shoulders sagging in defeat as you nodded silently. As you waited to be whisked away by servants, you watched the other boys interact, smiling to yourself as you watched them act so childishly. You thought how happy your brother had been only a month ago, amidst all his comrades and friends. Your eyes lingered on Ten, who seemed to be doing the same thing as you, watching from afar with a smile playing on his lips. Sensing your gaze he looked over at you, his face suddenly changing again into one of confusion and scrutiny, as if he were looking into a pool of water. You looked away with a blush on your cheeks, hidden behind your helmet as a servant informed Ten that your bath was ready. You were led down a hall decorated with ancient suits of armor to a large bathroom, probably the most luxurious looking room you've ever been in. You gaped at how ornate the bathtub was, steam curling from the surface of the water that was sprinkled with flower petals. You were left alone as the servant backed out, realizing your identity was still hidden as long as you were careful. With a relieved sigh, you went to unbuckle your armor, resting the lightweight metal on the tiled bathroom floor gently so as to make no noise. You didn't want any unexpected guests, for sure. You stripped quickly, glad to be able to see the womanly shape of your body in an exquisite full length mirror on the wall as you stepped into the steaming bath. You let out a small moan of appreciation, sinking deep into the bath and letting the water swallow you whole. You scrubbed the sickly sweet smell of ale from your skin, still unable to understand why men did these sort of things. There was a sudden knock on the door, Johnny's voice coming in muffled through the door, "You good in there? Need any help?" You sat up suddenly, smacking your head hard back against the tub, "Ow, shit! Y-yes, I'm fine!" You clapped a hand over your mouth, forgetting to make your voice deeper. You looked over at the door handle and realized that it wasn't locked. "What was that?," Johnny questioned, turning the handle at the same time. "I'm coming in." "No!," you cried out, still disoriented from smacking your head. "Don't-" "Oh, hey! There you are," Johnny smiled, pretending to shield his eyes. "Didn't know you were still in there. Your hair's gotten so much longer! One month can really change a person, I was wondering why you were so short looking." If you weren't afraid of your cover being blown, you would have smacked him in the face. Your hands were too busy discreetly cupping your breasts as you tried to remain calm, "Y-yeah. I'm really out of shape, it's kind of embarrassing actually..." You were trying to imply that you didn't want to be seen naked, but it went through one ear and out the other. Johnny pouted, "Hey don't say that. You had the best abs out of the entire Guard and I bet they're still there, let's see..." "WAIT! NO!," you shrieked girlishly as Johnny lifted you from under the armpits and out of the tub with ease, letting you dangle midair in his grasp. To your surprise he remained rather composed, even when you were before him in all your naked glory, Johnny still managed to be calm, "Well then. You surely aren't a man." Your eyes widened as he placed you down gently, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around you to give you some semblance of modesty. He gulped, scratching the back of his head, "Hey there, ______." "Hey...," you said, still scared to breathe as you tripped over your words, "I-I can explain-" He didn't seem to be listening as he passed a hand over his face and groaned, "Your brother is going to kill me." You grew agitated, snapping your fingers to get his attention, "Nevermind about that, Johnny," you took a deep breath. "You absolutely can't tell anyone that it's me." "Why not?," he whispered, flopping his hands dramatically, "You know this is probably some sort of crime? Like a felony? Like the ones that get you thrown in jail?" "I'm not stupid," you pouted, tightening the towel around you. "This is the only way I can save my brother, Johnny." "What? Is he not better?," he furrowed his brow. You nodded, clenching your fists, "That's why I have to do this. We don't have any money left, and he'll die if I don't get him some real help." Johnny grasped your shoulders, bending down to your level, "_______, why didn't you say anything sooner?! I'm sure the Prince would have helped him long ago. Hell, even I would have!" "Then help me right now, Johnny," you whispered, "This is something I can't do myself." The tall soldier's lips parted in surprise, but he nodded in understanding, "Okay." A sudden loud bang was heard, seeming to come from the room where you'd been. Johnny's hand reached for the hilt of his sword, shock and confusion written on his face. His entire demeanor changed as he reached for the door, voice low, "Get dressed, soldier, and meet up with me. Looks like I'll have one more person besides the prince to protect." With that he rushed out the door, heading towards where shouting could be heard in the distance. You dressed quickly, once again struggling to put your armor on correctly, hands shaking as you thought back to Johnny's words. I don't need to be protected, you thought with a frown. I can protect myself and I can protect the prince. Watch me. Strapping on your sword, you traced Johnny's footsteps, realizing that it was much quieter now, causing uneasiness to settle in your stomach. You reached the room that you had initially been in, only to find it in shambles, the entire side wall had been completely wiped out. You gasped, pressing a hand to your mouth as you saw the bodies sprawled around in the rubble. You felt like you were going to vomit, tears pricking at the back of your eyes as you stumbled back a few steps. Ten was nowhere in sight, the Crown Prince was gone. You wandered over to a few of the bodies, gulping as you checked to see if any of them were still alive. You had no such luck, turning to search for Johnny when he realized with relief that he was not among the fallen. A hand grabbed your ankle, a scream released from your throat as you stumbled back in shock. One of the soldiers you had thought dead was clinging on to your leg for dear life, but he didn't look like a soldier you had seen in the room earlier. His voice was raspy, raw in his throat as he gurgled, "We have him already, you fool. You're too late!" He cackled, dragging himself up your leg as you began to scream in terror, not sure what to do in that moment. Suddenly, you were embraced from behind, a strong arm brought a stained broadsword down on your assailant. You screamed in terror, feeling the man's life blood splatter down your armor, the hand on your leg twitching and going limp. You couldn't help the tears that spilled down your cheeks as you turned to find the familiar face of Johnny, not a single trace of mercy on his features. "Shh, it's alright, ______," Johnny murmured, sheathing his sword and taking your head in his two hands so you had to look at him. "Listen to me," he shook you lightly, "______, listen to me. If you want to help your brother, you're going to have to help me." "I need you to help me save the prince." You hiccupped once more, lip trembling as you met his gaze, "Why me? I could hardly handle a half dead man attacking me! You think I could fight," you gestured to the gaping hole where the wall used to be, "whatever did this?!" Johnny gave you a hard, serious look, uncharacteristic for the usually cheery boy, "Absolutely." He scoffed, looking you up and down, "I mean, who is brave, or down right crazy, enough to steal their twin's armor, impersonate him, sneak into the castle, and even trick the Crown Prince?" You looked up at him, realizing that a trained soldier, renowned for his battle prowess, was praising you. He believed in you. Why shouldn't you believe in yourself? You knew in this moment your brother would haven't hesitated, agreeing to rescue the prince without a seconds hesitation. You thought of Ten's beautiful smile, the way his voice had been so close to your ear...you had to save him too. You blushed, knowing that it was more than duty driving your actions. You didn't want to admit it to yourself, but when your eyes met Ten's, something deep inside of you awoke. Something you didn't realize you had within yourself. No one fell in love in a matter of an hour though...right? You set your teeth, determination in your heart, "Okay, I'll do it. But Johnny," you murmured, "What did this?" You looked out of the hole again, seeing the vast kingdom spread before you. "Dragon," he replied, eyes hard as he followed your gaze. "And not just any old dragon, no...this was the same dragon that killed Ten's grandfather, the old king." Your eyes widened, "How do we know Ten is still alive then?!" Panic and fear coursed through your veins as images of Ten's body mirrored those in the room. "We don't," Johnny stated, already beckoning you to follow after him. "But we can only hope that the dragon is a greedy beast. If he's smart, he won't kill the prince right away, instead hopefully he'll use him as a hostage to get what he really desires: gold and jewels." Your mind went back to all the bedtime stories of greedy gold-obsessed dragons your mother had told you and your brother, and the brave knights who saved princesses captured by them. If you hadn't been so worried, you would have laughed at the turn of events. Here comes a female wannabe knight to save her prince. Johnny and you arrived at the stables, taking two horses that were already saddled and ready to ride. He turned towards you, "Have you ever rode a horse before?" You shook your head, eyeing the large animal nervously. The tall knight came over and guided you into the saddle, "Well now's your time to learn. Just do what I do, you'll be fine." You nodded, watching as he swung his leg over the black stallion with ease, "Let's go. Hyah!" He snapped the reigns, the horse snapping to attention and bolting out of the stable and into the castle courtyard. You panicked, hands shaking as you mirrored Johnny's actions, "Hyah? Ah!" Your grey mare was a feisty girl, kicking off at a break neck pace and catching up with Johnny's horse in a matter of seconds. The long haired boy, glanced over at you in approval, a type of brotherly look you hadn't seen since your twin had fallen ill. "The dragon lives in a deserted town not too far ahead, a short ride. When we get there, I need you to follow my every command. Do you understand?" You nodded, focusing on the task at hand and urging your horse on as the two of you raced towards the prince.

You arrived at the abandoned village, a desolate place that smelled of burning wood and fire, no surprise there. Johnny cautioned you with a hand as you followed him from the spot where you had hidden your horses. "We have to be extremely quiet, dragon's have senses far superior to ours. He'll know we're coming if we're not careful."

"Okay," you whispered, placing a hand on the hilt of your sword to reassure yourself. Johnny noticed and nodded in appreciation, "See? You already have the instincts of a soldier." He halted you, taking you behind a brick wall that had managed to survive the town's demise. "Draw your sword. Quietly though," he winced, as you noisily pulled out the gleaming piece of metal. "I pray to every god that it won't come to it, but if you somehow have to use it, I want you to be able to defend yourself," Johnny whispered, silently drawing his own sword. "It's a broadsword, so it must be held strongly in two hands since it's a heavier weapon." You mirrored his pose, widening your stance and lifting the sword to match the height of his, "Like this?" He nodded, "Yes, good. Now," he brought the sword in a swinging arc, a devastatingly powerful move. "Try that." With conviction, you almost expertly copied his move. Johnny's eyebrows shot up, a hand pulling up his visor in surprise, "Good, ______." You smiled, proud to have shocked him, a seasoned fighter and master swordsman. He looked around, "That's all we have time for now, we need to move on. If we end up surviving this, I'd be glad to teach you more later. Maybe even your brother could, if he hasn't killed me before the dragon does." As you got closer to where a stream of smoke circled into the air, a foul sulfuric odor poured into your nostrils. You coughed and brought your visor down, seeing Johnny do the same as the smell reached his nose, "What is that?" "That, ______, is dragon," Johnny whispered, clearing his throat quietly as you crept even closer to what appeared to be the remnants of an old keep. You gazed at the crumbling stone, trying to picture what it might have looked like before the dragon had destroyed it. You and Johnny snuck over to one of the walls, peeking into a hole to get a good look at what you would be dealing with. You stifled a gasp with your hand as your gaze landed on the great scaly beast curled up on top of a heaping pile of glittering gold and jewels. Johnny hushed you, placing a hand on your back to steady you as he craned his neck in search of Ten. You did the same, finding him trapped under one the dragon's great big claws, bloodied and bruised. Your heart leaped as you pointed and whispered, "Johnny...!" "I see him. Seems like he's still alive," he replied, turning toward you. "Here's the plan. I'm going to sneak in there to see if I can just slip him out without the dragon waking up. I want you to stay here, okay? Worse comes to worse, I want you to run as fast as you can from here and hide. Do you understand? Ten and I may die, but I don't want you to be killed as well." You went to protest, but Johnny snapped back, "I can't take you away from your brother, _______. He still needs you." You shut your mouth, watching with your stomach turning in knots as Johnny took a deep breath and began to inch away. You stopped him with a whisper, "Johnny," you lifted your visor and pressed a kiss to the cheek of his helmet, "Good luck." The tall knight nodded, squeezing your shoulder one last time before he slipped into the large hall that the dragon used as his home. You silently moved around too, unable to take your eyes off of Ten who lay weakly beneath the dragon. You felt so useless just standing there, wanting more than anything to just run in after Johnny. You decided it wouldn't do no harm to follow him from afar, just in case, right? You did just that, creeping after Johnny who was already crawling on all fours up the huge mound of gold towards the prince. He was so close too, just a few arm lengths away from the dragon, who snoozed away, peacefully unaware. Your breath caught in your throat when you heard a gentle clang, watching as Johnny accidentally bumped into a gold vase. It teetered precariously, setting your teeth on edge. Johnny lifted a hand to still it, his foot slipped though, and instead of stilling the vase, he pushed it, the heavy metal tumbling loudly down the pile of treasure. It was like a chain reaction, the way things occurred. First, Johnny's hand went to his sword's hilt. Next, Ten awoke, wiggling under the weight of the dragon's claw with a gasp. Finally, one single terrible green eye cracked open and an ugly pink tongue snaked between scaly lips. "Well, well," came a deep rumbling from the back of the dragon's throat. "What have we here? A little metal man coming to save his weak and tiny prince? How absolutely touching." The dragon emphasized his words by pressing Ten down into his pile of gold, making him cry out in pain. "Stop!" Johnny shouted, standing up completely and drawing his sword. "Let him go, you ugly ass lizard!" "Oh, no, I can't do that," the dragon purred, revealing his pointed teeth in what must have been a smile. "He's too valuable and I haven't even gotten my gold yet." He stretched lazily while sitting up, tightening his grip around Ten as he seemed to inspect him, "After I've received what I want, then I'll kill him. There's too many of you humans scurrying around anyway." "For a lizard, you sure do talk a lot," Johnny retorted, but you could sense the slight waver in his voice. "If you won't give him to me, then you leave me no choice but to take him from you." "Oh my, what a feisty little metal man you are," the dragon chuckled, an ugly rumbling sound. "You know what isn't so good about that armor you wear?" Johnny furrowed his brow, "What?" "How easily it melts," the dragon laughed, sending a stream of fire directly onto Johnny, causing you to scream out in terror. You watched the dragon knock him back with his tail, the tall soldier falling limp down the mound of gold. Making any noise was a grave mistake, the dragon whipping his head toward you, "Oh dear, seems like we have another little metal man here as well. You humans are like little ants, always crawling everywhere and breeding like rabbits. Truly disgusting." Ten craned his neck to look at you, "No! Run away!" He struggled in the dragon's grip, but the beast only squeezed him tighter. "Go!" "No," you finally mustered the courage to speak. "I'm not going anywhere." You looked over at where Johnny lay, his body still and his armor blackened, tears pricking at your eyes. "I won't, not until you give the prince back or I die trying." The dragon blinked, "Suit yourself, but the second option will be your only outcome, little human." "Bring it, you damn lizard," you gritted your teeth, drawing your sword. From somewhere deep inside, you felt a strange sense of calm, call it adrenaline or you just being crazy, but the sword felt familiar in your grip. The dragon roared, releasing a stream of red hot flame at you, which you barely dodged. You rolled to your right, heading towards the tail end of the dragon, who moved clumsily as you maneuvered around him nimbly. Johnny had been too tall to dodge, but you were much smaller, littler enough to sneak in and around the dragon's legs without his claws catching you. Ten was screaming in agony, the dragon crushing him in his claws as you rushed to free him. Reaching one of the dragon's hind legs, you swung your sword wildly, remembering what Johnny had shown you earlier. The dragon bellowed in pain, but that surely wasn't enough to stop him. "_______!," you heard a voice yell, turning in relief to see Johnny hobbling up the mound of gold. "Keep going, I'll distract him!" The tall knight dragged his sword behind him, bringing it down one of the dragon's front legs. He was injured, but definitely still able to throw punches. You nodded, the sound of your panting echoing as you got the sudden maniacal idea to climb up the scaly beast. The oversized lizard wasn't going to put Ten anywhere near your reach, so you would just have to go get him yourself. You grabbed onto one of the dragon's spines, hauling yourself up onto his back as Johnny distracted him. You were light enough that the dragon barely noticed, but once you got closer he surely would. You were around his shoulders when he suddenly thrashed violently, sensing your presence, "Argh! Get off of me you disgusting little creature!" You screamed, almost falling as you managed to clutch onto a spike for dear life, the sharp spine slipping past a crack in your armor and puncturing your soft skin. You saw Ten being whipped around, his eyes darting around wildly as he struggled to not have his neck broken from whiplash. "Ten," you screamed, wincing from your wound as you used the dragon's scales to shimmy across his arm towards him. "Hold on! I'm almost there!" Johnny was doing all he could to distract the beast, which turned out to be enough as you reached the prince, "I'm here, it's okay!" You clutched onto him, realizing you didn't know how you were going to pull him from the dragon's grasp. "Johnny!," you shouted, already seeing the taller knight crawling up the beasts leg onto his back. The older boy seemed to understand, drawing his sword high above him as he reached the back to the dragon's head. The giant lizard was scrabbling with one clawed hand behind his back, trying to grab at Johnny who managed to evade his reach. You watched in amazement as Johnny stood and brought his broadsword down upon the dragon's neck, cutting deeply. The beast roared in agony, his wings flapping weakly and crumpling underneath him as he began to fall. It felt like a building was collapsing from underneath you, your hands clutching onto Ten as the dragon's grip on him loosened. The two of you free fell, landing hard on the slippery pile of gold and sliding down a ways, watching with wide eyes as the dragon collapsed beneath Johnny's sword. The older soldier didn't even spare a second glance at the fallen beast, dropping his weapon and stumbling over to where you and Ten had fallen. "Ten! ______!" "Johnny," Ten murmured, eyes still the size of dinner plates, allowing the tall knight to collapse next to the two of you, pulling you both into his broad chest. He ripped his helmet off, hair clinging to his sweaty soot covered face, "Thank god you two are okay." He squeezed you again, but you cried out softly in pain. "______? What's wrong?!" "'________'?," Ten furrowed, confusion written on his handsome features, "Who's _______...?" Unable to protest, Johnny pulled your helmet off, allowing your true face to show, hair falling down from where you tied it up as he laid you gently down. You're head felt dizzy, lifting a hand to see it covered in red as Ten looked over at you in shock. The long haired knight worked diligently to remove your armor, hand pressing onto the wound you'd received from the dragon, "Can you hear me _______?" You gasped at the sensation, seeing stars from the pain, "Y-yep! Can definitely feel that too!" Ten moved over to get a good look at your dirty face, brushing your hair away from your eyes, "Johnny...who is she? I thought this was-" "She's his twin sister," Johnny mumbled, starting to panic as he realized you were losing a lot of blood. He rushed to take off his armor, pulling his tunic over his head to press it into your wound after lifting up your overshirt. You managed to look up at Ten, a shy smile on your face, "I'm sorry we had to meet like this. It wasn't supposed to turn out this way-" Ten hushed you, lifting your head into his lap, "We'll have none of that. I'll hear about all of this," he gestured down your body, "later. For now, rest." He looked angry with you, but also confused, like he wasn't sure you were real. "Your Highness, we need to get her back to the castle as fast as possible," Johnny said, already lifting you easily into his arms. "She needs medical attention immediately." "Right," Ten gulped, seeing the way your pretty eyes glazed over. The moment he saw them unblocked by a helmet, he realized that it really had been you the whole time. He knew something had been off, but he hadn't been able to put his finger on it. Now he knew, and he still couldn't understand why. As Ten mounted his horse and watched Johnny cradle you against his chest, snapping his horse to attention, all he knew was that you were possibly the most beautiful and bravest girl he'd ever seen. Bloodied and sooty as you were, to him, you were still prettier than any of the princesses that he was forced to court.

You woke up in a cloud. Or at least, that's what it felt like to you as you were stirred awake by a gentle hand. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Your eyes cracked open, not wanting to leave the soft warm comfort of the bed, as you looked up grumpily at Johnny. You felt clean bandages wrapped around your waist, helping your injury recover. You groaned, flopping back down as he chuckled, "Get ready. Clothes are on the chair, come to the throne room when you're ready. The prince wants to see you." You instantly perked up, which didn't go unnoticed by the tall soldier as he winked at you, "Don't keep him waiting." You blushed, waiting for him to shut the door before you bolted over to the chair. You found a simple, yet beautiful dress made from the softest material you'd ever touched. It was a gorgeous maroon, like the color of a dried rose, beautiful and whimsical. It fit like a glove, slipping over your curves like it was meant for you. You stepped into a pair of shoes that were placed beside the chair, searching for a mirror to check your appearance. Finding one, you ran your fingers through your hair, pinching your cheeks to give them a rosy flush of color. It felt strange looking at yourself without seeing a suit of armor, your bare skin unfamiliar. With that, you set off to find the throne room, winding through the hallways until you eventually were greeted by guards at a pair of large ornate double doors. They neatly pulled the heavy doors open, revealing a row of three thrones, lit by sunlight that filtered in through large windows. It was a beautiful and impressive room and you felt tiny compared to its grandeur. One of the guards announced your presence and the crowd of people who had been gathered near the thrones turned towards you. There were some smiles, some furrowed brows, and some impressed smirks, and you couldn't help but blush at the attention. In the midst of all of them stood Ten, dressed in a deep navy that complimented your maroon well, almost like they were a matching set. You turned a deeper shade of red as you approached him, curtsying clumsily as you stuttered, "Your Majesty." You hadn't saw the way Ten's eyes widened when you had walked in, a dusting of pink sprinkled across his smooth cheeks as he beheld you. A smile spread on his lips as he saw the way you bobbled when you curtsied, he wanted to have some fun with you, "______, you stole your brother's royally sanctioned armor, impersonated him, and snuck into the royal guard." You looked up at him in surprise, eyes big, forgetting that you'd committed several crimes. You looked over at Johnny, who wouldn't meet your gaze, preoccupying himself with something on the ground. "Your Highness, I can explain-" "I'm not done," Ten interjected, causing you to shut your mouth obediently. He took a step towards you, so close that you could have reached a hand out to touch him. To your surprise, he took your hand gently in his, lifting you up, "And, you helped save me from the very dragon that killed my grandfather." Your lips parted, gazing into his warm eyes as he smiled at you, perfect teeth flashing brilliantly, "Thank you, ______. You didn't have to help me, but you did anyway. You're the bravest girl this kingdom has ever seen and," he looked up at you shyly between his lashes, "Possibly the most beautiful too." Your hand shook in his, which held onto yours securely, anchoring you to the ground, "T-thank you, Your Highness-" "Ten," he smirked, seeing how nervous you were by his words. "It's just Ten, remember? Pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance properly." He stooped down, kissing the back of your hand with lips that were softer than flower petals. You gasped softly, trying to recover as you murmured, "_______. The pleasure is all mine." "Oh, I bet it is," he winked, tugging you just a little closer and refusing to let go of your hand. He turned and beckoned a certain tall knight over, "Sir Johnny. Please join us." The long haired knight smiled, coming to your other side and warmly taking your hand with a comforting squeeze. Ten looked out upon the crowd, glancing proudly at you and Johnny, "My people, behold your champions! Dragon slayers by the names _______ and Johnny." You felt a happy warm flush wash over you as Ten and Johnny lifted your arms into the air, looking out upon the crowd and landing on a pair of eyes that mirrored your own. Time stopped, the only thing moving was your feet toward those eyes. You ran into his arms, causing him to stumble back a few feet as you whispered, "You're here." "Hey there ______," the familiar timbre of your brother's voice chuckled, embracing you back as the crowd around you clapped. You let the joyful tears slip down your face, "How?" Your twin held you out at arms length, giving you a knowing look, "I think you know. Why don't you go thank him?" He nodded to somewhere behind you, following his gaze, your eyes landed on the prince. You don't know what you were thinking, but perhaps you were finally letting out all the withheld emotions you'd been feeling. When you stumbled clumsily towards Ten, you somehow ended up in his arms, cupping his face as you pressed your lips sweetly to his. You broke away after a few seconds, eyes snapping open as you realized what you had done, "O-oh, Ten, I-I..." Ten didn't even hesitate, grinning once again about how such a courageous girl could be so shy, "Why don't we try that again, hm?" The dark haired prince cupped your face this time, seeming to shield you from the world as he pressed his lips to yours passionately. As the crowd cheered once again, your bodies moved flush together, knowing that he could feel your heart beating against his chest. You let out the smallest of moans, quiet enough so that only he could hear, his hand going to your waist in approval as he pulled away and gasped for air. He didn't even take a breath, pressing kisses to your neck that tickled,'making you giggle softly, "Ten!" "Say it again," he whispered, looking up at you in wonder. "Please say my name." "Ten," you breathed against his lips, pressing one more chaste kiss there before pulling away and melting into his arms. "Thank you for saving me, ______," Ten murmured, stroking your hair. "No," you shook your head with a smile, "I think we saved each other." He laughed, grinning as Johnny and your brother came over to tug you two into a group hug. For the first time in a long while, you felt safe, secure, and more happy than you could even express with words. Johnny looked down at you, raising his eyebrow with a smirk, "So, are you still willing to become my apprentice, Lady ______?" You gaped at him, looking over at Ten who grinned, "I might have made you the first female knight on the Royal Guard." "You won't be a lady for long though," Ten continued, lacing his fingers with yours shyly. "I was thinking you could be more along the lines of my princess?" You laughed, pecking his cheek, "I'd like that very much, only if you're my prince though."

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sophie-nicktoonsverse · 8 years ago

Text

Surprise! (A Sophie Fic)

Sophie has been having a tough time lately with nightmares, secrets, and gloom in her life. The only thing that’s been giving her a ray of sunshine has been The Vanguard and her boyfriend Xavier. So when it comes close to her birthday Xavier asks this of The Vanguard. To give her the best birthday she could ever ask for. ((This fic took me a week and a half to write so I hope you all like it. Shout for my friend @mayhemforhire for writing the notes for The Vanguard (which also belongs to him in his own right) Epilogue coming soon!))

Xavier sighed as The Vanguard gathered around the table of Jimmy’s lab. Sophie hadn’t been well the last few weeks and it was weighing heavily on him as her boyfriend to not take away her pain. “So why did you call us all here and made it a point to not tell Sophie?” Jimmy asked.

Xavier took a deep breath and said “I’ve been worried about Sophie. She hasn’t been good this past couple of weeks.” The Vanguard’s faces twisted with worry. “What do you mean she hasn’t been good? She’s seemed fine to us.” Sam questioned. “She’s been having more nightmares lately and I’m worried she’s going back to that place she was before she met you all,” Xavier explained. Hau muttered and shook his head “This isn’t good.” “Have you tried to talk to her about it?” Danny asked. Xavier nodded and said “She’s denying it but every morning when I go get her for breakfast down in the lunch hall she’s sleeping with those dolls of you guys she got for her last birthday. I think you all are like a security blanket for her.”

“So what do you need us to do for her?” Tak asked. “Have you guys thought about what you’re doing for Sophie’s birthday?” Xavier replied with a question. Everyone just sorta looked at each other before Jimmy said “Not particularly. Why do you ask?” “I was reading some psychology books and some of the letters Hau and Sophie used to send to each. It seems that during the letter process Sophie seemed the most stable.” Xavier explained. “What’s your point dude?” Manny asked tired of the explanation.

“I was hoping along with your presents to her maybe you could each write her a small little note just to let her know you all are still there for her or something along the lines of that,” Xavier said. “Anything to make Sophie feel better again!” SpongeBob proclaimed. “Yeah, we’ll give her the biggest most epic birthday party there ever was!” Timmy cheered in excitement. Xavier chuckled and said, “Just don't let her know what you're planning otherwise Sophie will insist she doesn't deserve it.”

“Got it. We're keeping this top secret. Anything else?” Danny asked. “Nope, that’s it from me. Hau, Lillie, Gladion? Anything from you guys?” Xavier asked. Hau shook his head as Lillie said “Just don't go overboard with the planning. Sophie may start to feel uncomfortable with all the festivities.” “Trust us there's a reason Sophie doesn't celebrate with Skylar and Silas anymore,” Gladion added. “Just get a hold of one of us four if you run into any snags with your plans,” Hau suggested.

There was a flash from the portal indicating Sophie had arrived in the lab and saw everyone by the table. “What’s going on? Did I miss something?” Sophie asked. “Nope, we are all just hanging out,” Xavier said strolling over to her and giving her a kiss. She heard gagging noises from Manny, Timmy, and Snap but kissed back anyway. “Are you sure nothing is wrong?” Sophie asked holding Xavier’s hand. “Positive.” He smiled.

Jimmy spent hours working on this desk for Sophie. After her drawing on the lab floor for so long Sophie deserved her own corner of the lab to work in. She didn’t feel comfortable working at the table like most of the others did with their homework and such because she didn’t want to take up too much room.

Jimmy sighed. Sure it looked like an ordinary desk but it had multiple drawers for supplies, a place to put paper and rolls of paper, built in scissors, and Jimmy was now installing a pop-up stand to place her canvases. That was until ZIM interrupted him.

“JIMMY!” the scream came as Jimmy hit his head that was currently under the desk. “Ow! ZIM what is it now?” Jimmy said rubbing his head. “I don’t have an offering for the bubble girl to give on her day of birth and she will explode if I do not have one for her!” ZIM yelled/proclaimed. Jimmy blinked and tried to process what ZIM had just said to him. “So what you're saying is that because you don’t have a present for Sophie she’ll...explode?” Jimmy asked slightly confused is how ZIM got to that conclusion.

“YES! Did you miss my BRILLIANT explanation of my problem?!” ZIM yelled. “No… ZIM who told you Sophie was going to explode if you didn’t have a present for her?” Jimmy asked. “The beaver boy,” he answered. Jimmy facepalmed and groaned. Turner. Of course. Why was he not surprised? “ZIM Turner lied to about Sophie going to explode.” “LIES!” Jimmy sighed and shook his head going back under to work on the desk.”Why don’t you get her a pencil sharpener? Her desk needs that.” Jimmy stated. It took ZIM a minute to process that until he exclaimed “YES! THIS IS MY OBJECTIVE: PENCIL SHARPENER!” He then ran back to the portal and went back to his world.

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief and went back to work on the desk. Maybe if he wasn’t interrupted again he could finish and work on the note for Sophie.

After he got back to his world ZIM pulled on his regular disguise and went to the mall to buy Sophie’s present. It is was relatively uneventful. ZIM screamed at the store clerk about him trying to steal his secrets and threw money at him taking the pencil sharpener with him. Dib was also there and tried to follow ZIM home curious why he had bought a pencil sharpener although that quickly ended with Dib ending up in someone’s yard and almost being attacked by a Doberman.

ZIM was now down in his lab wrapping the present in a metal box of his own design… after his computer told him to take out the death weapons out of it. After complying, claiming he came up with the idea, ZIM was almost done wrapping when GIR came up to him and started banging a rubber piggy against his side. “GIR! What is it?! Don’t you see your master is very busy?!” ZIM questioned. “Put this in da box! It’s ma offering!” GIR beamed. ZIM narrowed his eyes and said “GIR she won’t accept both of our offerings. It's the only one she will accept because it’s SUPERIOR!”

GIR’s antenna drooped and his eyes started to water. ZIM rolled his eyes and said, “Ohhh okay.” GIR jumped and cheered for joy as ZIM put the rubber piggy in the box and put the lid on the box.

“Now leave me! Your master has important work to be doing!” ZIM commanded. GIR flew out of the room as ZIM commanded “Computer! Take a notation for me!”

Timmy had worked all night on this. It was the ultimate present for a video game lover such as Sophie. A video game starring them! How perfect could that be?! He’d spent all night working on the game design. What abilities they would all have, what enemies they would face, what the levels looked like, what they would collect throughout the game, and even what the bosses would be.

Timmy yawned as he saw Poof coloring something in the corner of his room for Sophie’s gift. “Okay, guys I think I finally have down what want to make Sophie’s gift into,” Timmy said as Cosmo and Wanda poofed by his side. “Alright, sport wands up and ready!” Wanda said as she and her husband prepared for the wish. “I wish…” Timmy said as he rambled the list he made. By the time they were done the had the video game ready.

It looked like a GameBuddy only it was pink in color, green buttons, and a dark gray screen. It looked absolutely perfect. Timmy smiled as Poof came over excitedly with his small “gamer guide” he “wrote” for the game. “Thank you, Poof.” “Poof Poof!” Timmy put the book at the bottom of the pink box before gently setting the video game on top. He wrapped it up with bright green ribbon and put a purple tag on it the said: “From Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof.”

Timmy yawned once again. It was a hard night's work to design the game and he was beat. He slowly made his way to his bed and laid down. “I’ll write Sophie’s note after I take a nap…” Timmy said as he drifted to sleep.

Danny, Sam, and Jenny were visiting Northgate Mall, which was the mall in Sophie’s world, to buy their presents for Sophie’s birthday. “So remind me again why are we in the mall in Sophie’s world instead of just going to Amity Park Mall or Tremorton Mall?” Danny asked looking at the unfamiliar stores. “Well, Sam and I have been here dozens of times with Sophie,” Jenny said. “So we know which stores Sophie usually stops us at so she can look at something. Meaning we know what she wants from those stores she stops at.” Sam explained. “Meaning the three of us can get her the perfect birthday presents!” Jenny said excitedly. Danny shrugged and said, “Makes sense to me.”

The three ended up in a clothing store Sophie usually stopped at for her siblings and herself. Sam made her way to the boy's section of the clothes to find an extra small gray Pokemon hoodie for Sophie. She had wanted one a few weeks ago but they didn't have her petite size.

Jenny, however, was looking for a certain dress that reminded Sophie of Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was a short sleeved pink dress with blue whales on it. However, she didn't know what dress size Sophie was. “Hey, Danny can I borrow your recaller? I need to check some clothing sizes for Sophie.” Jenny said looking back at Danny.

“Huh oh yeah. Sure here you go Jen.” Danny said handing over his recaller. Jenny smiled and said “Thank you.” as she contacted Lillie. “Hey, Lillie it’s Jenny. Do you know what dress size and shoe size Sophie is? … 7 and 3.5? Okay, thanks, Lillie!” Jenny said hanging up the recaller and giving it back to Danny. Jenny picked up the pink dress, a light blue sweater, a white belt, a pair of white socks, a pair of white sneakers, and a pack of hair ribbons.

Both Sam and Jenny went up to the cashier to ring up their purchases for Sophie and soon left the store with Danny close behind. “Well great. You two have presents for her and I still don't have anything for her.” Danny said. Sam and Jenny both thought for a moment. “What about a new video camera? For all the video stuff she does.” Sam said suddenly. “That's a great idea, Sam!” Danny said smiling before frowning. “Except I don't have that kind of money for a video camera…” “But I do,” Sam said putting a hand on his shoulder. “It's for Sophie. It's the thought that counts.” Danny just nodded at his girlfriend.

The three soon went their separate ways with Jenny going back to Tremorton to wrap her presents for Sophie while Danny and Sam went back to Amity Park to get the camera for Sophie and to wrap the presents.

Jenny had picked out two pretty boxes for Sophie’s presents since they couldn’t all fit in one box. Jenny started with the sweater folding it before putting it in the box with the pink dress over it. She rolled up the white belt putting it on top of the dress along with the package of hair ribbons.

She placed the box lid on the box and wrapped it. “Now for the shoes,” Jenny said as she took out a smaller box. She put the white converse in the box while tucking in the socks to the shoes. She smiled as she put the lid on the box and wrapped the second box. She then put the smaller box on top of the larger box and wrapped it with a large white ribbon. Jenny beamed and cheered “It looks so good!”

She put the presents to the side before sitting on her bed with a pad of paper and a special pen. “Alright now to write the note for Sophie,” she said as she got to work.

After going back to Amity Park Danny and Sam went back to Danny’s house to order the camera and wrap the presents. Not even five minutes after she ordered the camcorder, her technology assistant, Tracey, came to the Fenton’s door. “Hi, Sam! Here’s the camcorder you ordered.” Tracey said handing it over to Sam and taking out a clipboard for her to sign. “Thanks, Tracey,” Sam said signing the clipboard. After signing the clipboard they said their goodbyes and Sam closed the door going back to Danny on the couch.

Danny smiled and said, “Thanks again Sam.” “Of course it’s for Sophie so it’s fine.” Sam shrugged. The two started to wrap their presents for Sophie. Sam folded up the hoodie and placed it in a box wrapping it in dark purple wrapping paper. Danny kept the camcorder in its box and started to wrap it in bright green wrapping paper.

After wrapping the gifts Sam set them aside as Danny went to his room to get paper and pens for their notes to Sophie. Danny sat back down next to his girlfriend and handed her a pad of paper with a purple pen. “Alright let’s get started on these notes,” Danny said as they got to work.

SpongeBob and Patrick were both hanging out in SpongeBob’s home ready to wrap their presents for Sophie. While Patrick was sitting on the floor and Gary was sleeping on the couch SpongeBob came back with boxes, wrapping paper, ribbons, paper, and pencils. “Okay! Now we have everything we need to wrap the presents and write the notes for Sophie!” “Yay! What did you get her SpongeBob?” Patrick asked. SpongeBob showed a set of bubbles each of a different color. “Sandy helped me make these. They're bubbles that are made out of paint! Sandy says when they pop it will make a type of art called splatter art!”

“Wow… That sounds amazing!” Patrick awed. “Yup! What did you get her Patrick?” SpongeBob asked in wonder. “Oh! Yeah!” Patrick said digging around in his pockets for a minute before pulling out a Goofy Goober Pass. “A Goofy Goober Pass?” SpongeBob asked slightly confused. “Yup! I remember yesterday Sophie said doesn’t get ice cream often cause she has no money! So I got her this!” “Wow, Patrick! That’s so sweet!” SpongeBob cooed.

The both of them started to wrap their presents. Patrick got stuck in the ribbons and wrapping paper several times so SpongeBob had to cut him out. Soon enough they had SpongeBob’s neatly wrapped present and Patrick’s slightly scrambled present. “Okay! Now we have to write Sophie notes!” SpongeBob said cheerfully handing Patrick paper and a pencil as they got to work. “SpongeBob?” “Yes, Patrick?” “What are we supposed to write her?” SpongeBob thought for a moment on what to tell him. “How you really feel about her!” SpongeBob said sweetly. “Okay!” Patrick said as he got to work.

Tak was taking a walk around his village. He just couldn’t do it. How could he not think of a present for Sophie?! He’s arguably the closest member of The Vanguard to Sophie so why couldn’t he think of a present for her? Tak sighed. It had been a few months since Sophie started dating Xavier. Tak had a moment with Sophie of him promising to support her always and that he would never leave her. He needed to find her a present to cement his words to her.

Suddenly Tak felt his feather slipping out of his hair and adjusted it as so it would stay in when he suddenly he had his idea. A Feather! Of course! What better way to show her he’s dedicated as a brother to her then offer her something that’s an important tradition to him?

Tak started looking around for a feather in the village. It couldn’t be just any feather, though. It had to absolutely perfectly represent Sophie. After about half an hour he still hadn’t found the right feather but he couldn’t give up. He needed to find this feather. He finally spotted a feather that looked pretty fluffy and was light pink in color. That would be perfect for her! He quickly climbed the tree and plucked the feather from it.

“Got it!” Tak cheered as he got a large leaf from the tree as well for wrapping paper. He got down from the tree and went back to his and Jibolba’s hut. Tak sat on his hammock in his room as he tried to carefully wrap the leaf around the feather and tied it with a vine. After doing that he set it aside and picked up some parchment and a quill. He had to pour his heart and soul into this note. If Sophie had written full pages about how great he was as her “older brother” figure to Hau in her letters, the least he could do is write a sweet note about his “baby” sister.

Manny was currently spending the weekend at his mother��s mansion. He and his mom had just gotten back from the store with his mom picking up stuff for dinner and Sophie’s birthday present. He had gotten her a soccer ball. It wasn’t just any soccer ball, though. It was black with a dark blue starry night sky wrapped down the middle. He figured out from her bedroom she liked the night sky and he already knew she played soccer so it seemed perfect enough.

Manny began wrapping the ball in bright orange wrapping paper after finally getting the ball to stay still for two seconds. It didn’t look the prettiest but it was wrapped. He decided to put a bow on top of the ball to make it look nicer. His mother soon came in with the plates for dinner to set the table and noticed her son's handiwork. “Manny?” Maria asked. “Yes, mom?” Manny replied. “What’s that on the table?” “It’s Sophie’s birthday present. I wrapped it myself!” Manny said proudly. “Manny you know she’ll know it’s a soccer ball with just one look at it.” Maria giggled going back to the kitchen. Manny groaned knowing she was right.

Maria soon came back in with a bag decorated with little tigers and tissue paper. “Put it in here. It will make it harder for her to guess what it is. It’s a fact.” Maria smiled. Manny grinned and put the soccer ball in the bag. “Thanks, mom!” “You’re welcome, son. Now you better work on that note for her before dinners ready.” Maria said going back into the kitchen once again. Manny nodded and sat down writing his note to Sophie.

Mr. Blik groaned. He can’t believe he was forced to do this BY HIMSELF no less. Hovis said that it wasn’t his job to do things that were meant for Blik’s friends. That Blik had to do it himself otherwise, the value would be lost. He was going to have a word with Hovis later… at least his chowderhead brothers were nowhere in sight. He sighed as he took the box holding the drawing tablet out of the shopping bag and placed it on the table.

Sophie had complained for the last month or so that she needed a new drawing tablet because her old one kept freezing up on her. He didn’t understand why she didn’t just ask her dad, who recently came into a lot of money, for a new one. She said something about asking for too much of him or something like that. He didn’t know. He stopped paying attention halfway through.

He did know that she probably needed it for the art thing she was going for. So he bought her a new one and was now forced to wrap it alone. Blik groaned and started to wrap it in royal blue wrapping paper making even cuts with his claws. He put a fancy looking bow on top of it too. Blik inspected his handiwork and he called “Hovis! Bring me paper and a pen!” Hovis was in there a minute later with the paper and pen. “Here you are sir.” Blik took them and started to write. He didn’t WANT to write the note or anything but he had to admit the kid made him worry sometimes. Just like the rest of them worrying over her. It’s the least he could do as a winner.

Snap paced back and forth in his current day house. What was he going to get her? What was he going to get her?! He couldn’t just get her anything in ChalkZone. It had to be special for her. “Maybe I could get Rudy to draw her somethin… No! That won’t work!” Snap groaned. “Maybe, though… I can get him to take me somewhere…” Snap smiled running to go to the portal coming from Rudy’s chalkboard and waited for him.

Rudy soon came through the portal smiling at his best friend/sidekick and said “Hey Snap! What’s up?” Snap grabbed Rudy’s shirt “Bucko! I need ya to take me somewhere!” Rudy seemed a taken back by Snap’s behavior. “What do you mean to take you somewhere? Where do you wanna go?” Rudy asked. “I need ya to take me to one of those artsy fartsy stores! I need to get Sophie a birthday present!” Snap yelled. “...My cousin Sophie?” Rudy asked confused. Snap shook his head “Nonono! My si-friend Sophie! It’s her birthday next week and I need a present for her!”

Rudy thought about it for a moment before sighing. “Fine but stay close to me.” Snap grinned and said “Thank ya so much, Bucko! Ya won’t regret this!” Rudy sighed as they went to search for a chalk surface close to the Art Supply Store. Rudy soon drew a portal as they both came out of the wall of the alley next to the store. “Now we aren’t going to be here for long. You’re gonna get her present and then we’ll leave got it Snap?” Rudy asked. Snap grinned and said “Loud and clear Bucko!” He then ran in excited while Rudy sighed and followed him in.

Snap bounded up and down the aisles looking for her gift. He had to prove himself worthy to be her brother. Sure after the whole Kevin incident, he may have already proven himself but he still wanted to get her an amazing present. It wasn’t until something caught his eye he found out what that present was. It was a light blue sketchbook with a pink butterfly pattern and a golden key in the middle of it. “It’s Poifect!” Snap grinned picking up the sketchbook.

“Now for somethin to go with it…” Snap searched the colored pencils aisle for the specific brand she usually used. “Aha! Prismacolor! There it is!” Snap cheered picking it up. He ran up to Rudy excitedly with his presents. Rudy paid for them and brought Snap back to the portal. “Okay so I’m drawing some wrapping paper, paper, and a pencil for you to use with the presents,” Rudy said drawing and quickly erasing them into Chalkzone. “Thanks, Bucko! I owe ya one!” Snap said as Rudy waved goodbye and erased the portal. Snap smiled and went home with the supplies.

So Snap wrapped her present and started doodling on the wrapping paper. He wasn’t any kind of artist like Rudy or Sophie but he figured she’d appreciate it at least. He smiled at it and put it aside. He stared down at the paper and pencil. She was his little sister now. He had to prove it to her. He picked up the pencil and began to write.

Hau, Lillie, and Gladion were all hanging out on Melemele Island working on Sophie’s gifts. Hau had actually found something that they all thought Sophie had lost a long time ago when they were small. A stuffed black rabbit Sophie had named Bambino. When they were all around five years old Sophie had dropped him in Poni Meadow and never found him. A few weeks ago Hau had found him trapped under a tree root relatively unharmed. He was a little sun bleached but only to a lighter shade of black. Hau had cleaned him up a bit and wrapped a ribbon around his neck.

Lillie was actually making something for the four of them. Small leather chokers with the charm the represented their respective Tapu. A yellow rooster for Hau, a red bull for Gladion, a purple dolphin for herself, and a pink butterfly for Sophie. She soon finished all four and put Sophie’s in a small wooden box and wrapped it with light pink wrapping paper. “And done!” Lillie said as she handed her brother and Hau their chokers. “Woah, these look so cool Lillie!” Hau cheered as he put it on. “Yeah, not half bad sis,” Gladion smirked. “Aww thanks, guys.” Lillie blushed modestly.

Gladion went back to work on his present for Sophie. He had “borrowed” (He basically stole) her music player to customize it for her more. He had downloaded her favorite music on it mainly being Disney songs, Undertale The Musical music, and Hamilton music. He loaded photos of her with them, The Vanguard, and her other friends and family with videos as well so she can always have them with her. He also got her a pair of Lilo and Stitch earbuds to along with her tricked out music player. He put the gifts in a white box before wrapping it in dark red wrapping paper.

Lillie had picked some paper and three pens for their notes to Sophie. “Alright, boys let’s get these notes done,” Lillie said as they got to work. Hau grinned the whole time writing the note while Gladion took a more thoughtful approach. Lillie, however, knew exactly what she was going to say to someone who’s been like her sister their whole lives, though.

One by one each member of The Vanguard piled into Jimmy’s lab for Sophie’s party where everyone pretty much had a job to do. Jimmy had everyone set their presents for Sophie on her desk that he had covered with a tarp, Timmy was wishing up some serious snacks for everyone, SpongeBob had just finished baking the cake along with Patrick’s help, Tak was placing everyone's notes into a wooden box he brought for Sophie, Danny, Sam, and Jenny were placed on decorating on the inside while Snap, Blik, and Manny decorated outside, and Hau, Lillie, and Gladion preparing a section of the lab for a sleepover. ZIM was just in the corner doing ZIM things honestly. Everything was going rather smoothly actually.

It was a rather uneventful birthday for Sophie. Her family that wasn’t Alolan culture had given her a few simple gifts while those in Alolan culture wished her well with songs and cards with gift cards in them. She didn’t attend the birthday party Skylar had thrown that was supposed to be for the three of them but Sophie didn’t like large crowds and Silas just wanted to read. However she did get presents from Silas and Skylar. A silver heart locket from Skylar and a new dark blue journal from Silas. She did have a small “party” with some her closest friends though concerning Xavier, Marshall, Cerise, Talia, Gabe, Audrey, Caden, Allyssa, Elyssa, Fionna, and McKenzie They ate some ice cream and gave Sophie her presents.

From Xavier, she got a silver necklace with a rose quartz made shield as the charm with the phrase “Believe” engraved in silver on the back. From Marshall, she was given a Stitch onesie which in his own words said “Look Sophie! Your life has come full circle!” Sophie was not amused. Cerise had given her the complete series of A Series of Unfortunate Events in book form while Gabe had given her a DVD of the first season of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Audrey had given her some oil pastels to use in her next art project while Caden gave her a copy of her soccer jersey signed by her teammates. Allyssa had given her a t-shirt that said ‘I am an Artist and I am screaming.’ while Elyssa had gotten her a new red “artist” scarf. All in all, she was pretty happy with her gifts. Fionna had given her a lion hoodie while McKenzie gave her a conjoined picture frame one with Sophie and all her friends while the other had Sophie with The Vanguard. She also got a professional art kit from her art brothers Aaron, Alex, Laurens, Lafayette, and Hercules that was dropped off at her house.

After saying their goodbyes everyone except Xavier left to their own things. Cerise, Audrey, and Allyssa had to go to work, Elyssa had to go to color guard practice while Caden went to football and Fionna went to gymnastics, Gabe, Talia, and McKenzie had to go take care of their younger siblings, and Marshall… went to do Marshall things. It was just Sophie and Xavier for a while just watching Criminal Minds when Sophie got a message on her recaller from Timmy. The message said “Hey we’re having a sleepover tonight. You in?” Sophie smiled. She always liked having sleepovers in the lab. It felt like this was where she was supposed to be. She messaged back “Yeah of course.” She then looked to her boyfriend and said “Hey I’m gonna sleepover at the lab tonight. Do you wanna hang for a bit?”

Xavier smiled and said “Sure!” “Okay, I’m gonna shower real quick before I pack,” Sophie said getting up and getting some clothes. She quickly took a shower and brushed her hair dressed in a somewhat frilly white tank top, blue capris, and black converse. She tied back her hair and packed a pair of her new stitch onesie, socks (she wasn’t making that mistake again), her glasses and eye drops for the morning, The Bad Beginning, the DVD with season one of A Series of Unfortunate Events, a few other movies she’d been meaning to show them, and some things to draw with. She put the messenger bag on her shoulder and set the right coordinates in recaller as the portal opened up. “C’mon Lion time to go!” Sophie said as she and Xavier walked into the portal while her pet Lion followed her.

Sophie was expecting a number of things but the lab decorated and The Vanguard yelling surprise was not one of them. Sophie was speechless until she said, “W-What is all this?” “Your birthday party! What else would it be buckette?” Snap said placing a paper crown on her head. “My birthday party… guys, I really don’t deserve this…” Sophie said modestly going to take off her crown until Tak’s hands stopped her. “Yes, you do. You do a lot for this team Sophie. The least we could do is this.” Tak smiled. Sophie smiled back a bit and blushed a little. “Okay then. So um what are we doing first?” “Oh, nothing special just a little… video game tournament?” Manny grinned holding up a controller. Sophie seemed to get excited and cheered “Sweet!”

After a long video game tournament racking up at least a few wins for everyone Sophie stretched and said: “Well that was fun…” “Alright, kids. Time for presents!” Wanda called. “Wait time for what?” Sophie said looking at Wanda wide-eyed. “Well duh, do you think we would throw a birthday party just to not give you gifts?” Timmy said rolling his eyes. “Okay, first of all, I wasn’t even expecting a birthday party. Second, of all, you guys didn’t have to get me anything. I’m fine just being here.” “But we wanted too!” SpongeBob said hugging Sophie. “You’re our friend!” Sophie blushed a little modesty. She didn’t think she was worth the trouble.

Xavier led Sophie over to the tarp holding her hand. It was then Jimmy pulled the tarp off as Goddard barked revealing her new desk that was holding all her presents. “I made this desk for you so you could have your own space for your art instead of just sitting with us or sitting on the floor trying to work,” Jimmy said scratching the back of his head. “Oh, my Arceus I love it!” Sophie said somewhat laying on top of it. “It’s so cool! Thank you, Jimmy!” Jimmy chuckled and said, “Well there’s other presents for you to open too.” “Oh um right…” Sophie said blushing a bit not used to so many gifts at once.

Sophie looked at all her options trying to choose which one she should open first when she spotted a gift wrapped in a large leaf. Sophie smiled knowing it was Tak’s. I mean who else could it be? She picked it up carefully noting how light it was and turned back to the others. “This one I’ll open first.” Sophie smiled. Tak seemed nervous as he raised his hand. “Heh yeah… That’s mine.” He was worried his present would be seen inferior to everyone else's. Sophie grinned and started to open it. She stopped when she saw it was a feather and started to tear up smiling before hugging Tak tight. “I love it… Thank you, big brother.” Tak grinned and hugged her back silently thanking the Jujus that she loved it. He carefully stuck it her hair before she went to pick out another gift.

Sophie looked again and picked out the small light pink gift. “This one.” Lillie smiled and said, “Here I’ll get Nebby to help you.” She whistled and the small bat flew over beginning to help tear the pink paper until it revealed a small wooden box. Sophie slowly opened it to reveal the pink butterfly choker. “Oh wow, Lillie, it’s so pretty…” Sophie said in awe putting it on. “I made one for each of us. A butterfly for you, a dolphin for me, a bull for Gladion, and a rooster for Hau.” “That’s so cool! Thank you!” Sophie said putting it down and getting another gift.

“Ummm this one!” Sophie said holding up the bright green present grinning as Danny raised his hand. She started ripping it open to reveal the box the held the camcorder. “A new camcorder! Cool!” Sophie cheered as she opened the box and started to mess with it. “This is so cool! Thank you, Danny!” Danny chuckled at her happiness. “You’re welcome Soph.” Xavier carefully took it away from her so she wouldn’t get distracted to choose a new present.

Sophie looked for her next to open seeing the present with drawings all over it and picking it up. “This one!” “Um yeah, that’s mine…” Snap chuckled nervously. “Did you do the drawings?” Sophie asked inspecting the present. “Um yeah? Are they okay?” Snap asked with uncertainty. “Oh yeah! They are so cute! I’m gonna hang them in my room later!” Sophie grinned carefully taking the wrapping paper trying not to rip it. Snap let out a sigh of relief. She saw the colored pencils and put them aside as she saw the sketchbook. “Oh, Snap… It’s beautiful…” Sophie said hugging it to her chest before getting up and hugging Snap. Snap blushed in blue a little and laughed a little. “Well I saw it and thought of you so…~” “It’s perfect!” Sophie smiled going to choose another present.

Sophie picked out the dark purple box and showed it to figure out whose it was. Sam raised her hand and smiled as Sophie began to open it. She lifted the lid from the box and nearly screamed as she hugged it. “Oh, my Arceus! I’ve wanted this hoodie for weeks! Where did you find one my size?!” Sophie asked excitedly. “Oh, I called ahead and made sure they had your size.” Sam smiled winking. “Thank you so much!” Sophie said excitedly as she put it on happy to be in its warmth as she went to choose her next present.

Sophie went over and picked out the messiest gift and held it up. Patrick laughed and said “That’s mine! That’s mine!” Sophie giggled and opened it to reveal a Goofy Goober Pass. She tilted her head and looked up at Patrick. “A Goofy Goober pass? Sorry if I sound stupid but what’s a Goofy Goober?” Sophie asked kind of confused and unsure. “Well, a Goofy Goober is a magical place where you can get ice cream for free with that card!” Patrick explained. “It’s a place in Bikini Bottom,” SpongeBob added. “Ohhhhhh okay. Thank you, Patrick!” Sophie smiled. Patrick laughed a little blushing and said: “You’re welcome Sophie.”

Sophie went to the next present and picked up the bag with tigers all over. “I’m guessing this is Manny’s present.” Manny chuckled and nodded as Sophie started to open it. She pulled out the ball still wrapped in wrapping paper and gave Manny a look saying “Ha ha very funny.” as Manny shrugged comedically. She ripped the wrapping paper off to reveal the soccer ball. Sophie tossed it up in the air a few times as she said “This soccer ball is so cool! Thanks, Manny!” “No problem Soph.” Manny grinned.

Sophie picked up the metal box and said: “I wanna say this is ZIM’s gift.” “YES, It is my offering! I’m sure you’ll find it SUPERIOR to everyone else's!” Sophie giggled at the strange alien as she opened the lid to find a pencil sharpener and a rubber piggy. “I told GIR his offering would seem inferior to my own but I hope you enjoy it all the same.” ZIM saluted. Sophie giggled at him once again. “It’s fine ZIM the pencil sharpener was very thoughtful and Thank you GIR for the rubber piggy.” Sophie kneeling on the ground to speak to GIR. GIR cheered and hugged Sophie tight. “Do you wanna help me pick the next gift I should open?” Sophie asked setting GIR on her hip. “Yay!” GIR said reaching out of for a gift. “That one! That one!” GIR said reaching out for the dark pink gift.

Sophie smiled and put GIR down on the table and picked up the pink gift. “Judging by the colors I’m guessing this is Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof’s gift?” Sophie said looking up at Timmy. “You would be right on that dude.” Timmy smiled. Sophie grinned started to rip it open revealing the pink and green GameBuddy. “A… GameBuddy?” Sophie asked confused. “Not just any GameBuddy. A GameBuddy game starring us!” Timmy said excitedly turning it on. Sophie was silent for a moment her jaw dropping. “This is by far one the best video games I’ve ever seen and I haven’t even played it yet! Thanks, Timmy! Thank you, Cosmo and Wanda!” “Poof also has a present for you too. Don’t you sweetie?” Wanda asked as Poof picked up his little gamer guide and gave it to Sophie. “Poof poof!” Sophie flipped through it smiling. She couldn’t read any of it but it was adorable. “Aww, this is going to help so much! Thank you, Poof.” Sophie hugged him lightly. Poof giggled and flew back to his father who chuckled.

“Um okay. I guess I’ll open these two next.” Sophie said holding up the two bright blue packages. “Open the bigger one first otherwise the small box won’t make much sense.” Jenny smiled. Sophie nodded and started to open the bigger box revealing the pink dress. Sophie’s jaw dropped and said “Oh. My. Arceus. You got me a Violet dress?!” Sophie cheered picking up the dress. “And the sweater, belt, hair ribbons, socks, and shoes.” Jenny listed cooly as Sophie ripped open the other package revealing the shoes and socks. “Oh, my Arceus! You got me the full outfit?! Thank you, Jenny!” “Awww you’re welcome Soph.” Jenny cooed patting her head. Some of the others looked on the confusion. Particularly because none of the clothing items were purple. “Uh, are you buckettes color blind or somethin? None of these are purple.” Snap scratched his head confused. “What?” Sophie asked in confusion until it dawned on her. “No. No, not the color. She means Violet as in Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events. See she’s from the old series of books I used to read that just got turned into a TV show. This is one of the outfits she wore on the show.” Sophie explained. “She was kinda like my role model growing up. Like a definitive of a picture of who I wanted to be when I became a teenager.” Sophie admitted blushing a bit. A chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” came from The Vanguard as Sophie went to pick another present.

Sophie picked up the neatly wrapped yellow present and held it up. “This one next!” Sophie said as SpongeBob laughed. “That one's mine!” Sophie and began to tear it open revealing the pack of multicolored bubbles. “Bubbles?” Sophie asked a little confused. “Not just any bubbles! Paint bubbles when you pop them they splatter everywhere!” SpongeBob said happily. “Sandy helped me make them.” “Ohhh cool! Thanks, SB! I’m definitely playing with these later…” Sophie said as she put them aside and went for another gift.

“Wait! Hold on a second! Before you pick, I want to show you this trick I taught Ari!” Hau shouted. “It’s relevant!” “Umm okay?” Sophie said confused as she sat down. Hau whistled and said, “Retrieve!” This woke the bird up as he flew over to a strangely wrapped present, picked it up by the ribbons, and dropped it in her lap flying back to his owner’s arm chirping. “Good dog!” Hau cheered as he petted Ari’s head with his finger. “So I’m guessing this is your present?” Sophie asked. “Yuppers!” Hau smiled. Sophie smiled and started to open it. She shrieked loudly startling everyone and hugged the small black stuffed rabbit. “BAMBINO! Hau! Where did you find him?!” “Same place you lost him. Poni Meadows. The little guy has been stuck under a tree root this entire time. His fur is a little lighter only cause he got sunbleached a bit.” Hau explained shrugging a little. “Uh, Sophie? I’m pretty sure only Lillie, Gladion, Hau, and I know what you're talking about so…” Xavier said. “Oh right… Sorry guys.” Sophie giggled. “You see when I was really little my mom gave me this rabbit that I named Bambino. I took him everywhere with me. He was kinda like my imaginary friend. Then one day when I was in Alola we decided to explore Poni Meadows. I must have dropped him somewhere because I never saw him again. But now he’s back!” Sophie cheered as she held him up. The Vanguard smiled at her happiness. She really did seem like she’s doing better now.

Gladion whistled as Null picked up a dark red present and the wolf waltzed right over to Sophie dropping it in her lap. “Okay, I guess I’m opening yours next Mr. Edge Lord.” Sophie teased sticking out her tongue at him. She opened and smiled at the new headphones but it quickly turned into a frown. “Gladion… What the heck? This is my music player! I’ve been looking for this for a week!” Sophie exclaimed. Gladion smirked, “I know I’m the one who took it.” “What sense does that make?!” Sophie asked. “Turn it on,” Gladion said still with that confident smirk on his face. Sophie looked confused and turned it on and scrolled through some things. “You put all my favorite bands and albums on here… and my favorite photos and videos too…” Sophie said. “Yup,” Gladion said his smirk growing. Sophie punched his shoulder and said, “You jerk.”

Sophie picked up the final present and said “So by process of elimination. I wanna say this is Mr. Blik’s present?” “You would be correct on that my dear. I think you’ll find that this your most expensive present.” He chuckled. Sophie looked confused and opened it. She nearly screamed and said “Oh my Arceus. Oh. My. Arceus! Thank you so much!” She hugged the box close to her chest. “I mean you needed it for your work so it’s not that big of a deal.” Mr. Blik shrugged casually taking a sip of his root beer.

Sophie smiled and said “Thank you all so much… This has probably been the best birthday I’ve ever had…” Xavier smiled and kissed her cheek. “Well, it’s not over yet. Time for cake! Cake! Cake!” Xavier said starting the chant of everyone saying cake as they got ready for it.

After eating the delicious cake SB made they all decided it was the perfect time to go play outside with water toys since it was one of the first days of summer. Sophie said she’ll join them all in a minute since she had to put away her gifts first. So they all went leaving Sophie alone for a few minutes.

She placed her overnight bag on the chair of her new desk as she got to work. She took the feather from Tak out of her hair and placed it in a pocket in her bag, took off her choker from Lillie putting it back in its box and on the desk, and carefully put away her new camcorder from Danny in its original box placing it on the desk as well. Next, she took off her new hoodie from Sam and folded it up placing it in her bag for later. After that, she placed her sketchbook and colored pencils from Snap and her drawing tablet from Mr. Blik in the same drawer to use later. She also placed the drawings from Snap in the same drawer as well. She placed her Goofy Goober pass from Patrick in the same pocket as the feather as to not lose it. She placed the soccer ball she got from Manny under the desk while plugging in the pencil sharpener she got from ZIM into the desk while putting the rubber piggy from GIR next to it. She placed Poof’s gamer guide on the desk while putting her GameBuddy on top of it. She placed the Violet outfit from Jenny back in its right boxes putting it under the desk as well. Finally, he placed SpongeBob’s paint bubbles in another desk in her drawer while she laid Bambino on top of her overnight bag while placing her music player and headphones inside the bag as well before going outside to be with everyone.

Everything seemed right with the world for Sophie right now. She felt safe and warm just being here. She sat on against the wall of Jimmy’s clubhouse with Xavier having to take a break from the excitement of the day. Jimmy, Timmy, Danny, Tak, Manny, Snap, Hau, and surprisingly Gladion were all engaged in a water gun war which was everyman for himself. Sam, Jenny, and Lillie were chatting at a table drinking their drinks. Poof, GIR, SpongeBob, and Patrick were all playing in kiddie pools with Cosmo and Wanda watching close by. ZIM was hiding under the girl's table from the water while Blik and Goddard were laying out in the sun. Yep. Everything seemed perfect as she laid her head on Xavier’s shoulder.

Xavier smiled and said “Oh by the way! Here’s your last present of the day.” as he handed Sophie a wooden box. Sophie looked confused and said, “Xavier you didn’t have to get me anything extra for my birthday.” “I know I didn’t. They did.” He said gesturing to The Vanguard. Sophie looked even more confused as she opened the box revealing the many slips of paper inside. “They’re notes. For you.” Xavier explained as Sophie picked up the first note and read it. It was from Jimmy.

Sophie... Sophie. Yes, what could be said about the latest addition to the Vanguard. Since you've arrived I've seen an increase in team morale and artistic endeavors... Pukin' Pluto, I can't do this. Sophie has been a great addition, she brings the whole group together and even makes the lab a bit brighter. It wouldn't be the same without her.

Sophie started to smile. She will admit that she and Jimmy aren’t that close per say but she appreciates his presence as the leader and looks to him for tough decisions in her life. She picked up the next note being from ZIM.

Oh, the Sophie human is one so much less UGLY and PUTRID STINK than the rest of the blithering Earth butts to inhabit this planet! A planet that WILL ONE DAY BE ZIM'S! THE DIB HEAD WILL BE CRUSHED UNDER THE MIGHTY FIST THAT IS ZIM! SOPHIE WILL DRAW ART OF EARTH'S NEW RULER! She will be a gift to the TALLEST for her picture making with her... artools or whatever she calls them. I will make sure she is spared when this planet's DOOM comes sooner than expected... sweet delicious DOOM.

This one surprised her the most so far out the two she’d seen. Not because it mentions earth’s doom, or how he said he’ll spare her, or how she’s a gift to the TALLEST now. No. What surprised her is… ZIM actually knows her name? She’d just assumed he thought her name was Bubble Girl but hearing him actually acknowledge her name twice no less made the note all the sweeter. She picked up Timmy’s note next.

I coulda sworn Sophie was from Dimmsdale, I mean, why not? She seemed a bit weird at first... but she's like super awesome! She's pretty good at games and me and Manny love picking on her ;D she's like the sister I didn't know I could wish for! She... She makes Dimmsdale a little less lonely I mean I guess…

Sophie smiled and sniffled at the note. Sure she took Timmy and Manny’s picking on her with a grain of salt as friends do but hearing she’s like a sister to him and that she makes him feel that Dimmsdale is slightly less lonely for him makes it all worth it. She picked up Danny’s note next.

Sophie is really brave for staying with us so long, especially when things got tough. She's been through a lot, and it worries me. If anything happened to her, I'd... Sophie gets stronger every day I'm glad she's growing.

Part of Sophie felt bad after reading Danny’s note. She didn’t mean to make him worry about her though she knows what her life is like and knows why he worries. She also knows that staying with them isn’t her being brave it’s her being scared to be without them. The other half of Sophie felt proud, though. Danny really thinks she’s growing and getting stronger every day. Not only that he's glad she growing. If Danny thinks she’s getting stronger then it must be true. She picked up Sam’s note.

I'm so glad we got another girl on the team, saving worlds isn't just for the boys. She's not bats and spiders, but she's not rainbows and unicorns either. She's a tough cookie... and I'm totally not the mom right now. That's Danny. But we'll look after her all the same.

Sophie felt a wave of relief wash over her as she read Sam’s note. To know that they’ll look after her means the world to her. She always prayed to have a family look after her and have her back at all times and with Sam’s reinforcement it made all the difference in her world. She picked up Jenny’s note next.

She is like, the cutest thing! Totes like a little sister, or another one. One that we don't have to keep in the basement! She's got such a great sense of fashion too, all those cute clothes...and she's tough too. I'm glad she comes to me for advice, ME! Advice! She's so sweet~

Okay, so she’s questioning the whole one that we don’t have to keep in the basement thing. However, she smiled that she’s like a little sister to Jenny. Although, she looked down at her clothes, where does she get the idea she has a great sense of fashion? Most of her clothes are covered in paint but she shrugged. Jenny is the fashion expert to her so maybe she had a point? Sophie picked up SpongeBob’s note next.

Sophie's such the sweetest ray of sunshine, and she laughs really nice too! I was worried uh... what would happen if things got dangerous but we're heroes and we'd look out for her! Now she's as much a hero as the rest of us all,... heroic and things! Gary loves her, Pat loves her, Squidward tolerates her, and little old me...? I love her bunches! <3

Sophie smiled and blushed a little. She didn’t think highly of her laugh. It was too similar to her mother’s and she knows that it makes others who knew her mother just miss her even more but she finally felt comfortable to laugh around The Vanguard realizing that none of them ever knew her mother. Part of that realization came from SpongeBob and she was forever grateful for that. She picked up Patrick’s note next.

Milk. Eggs. Cheese. Underwear. Ice cream. Bread. More ice cream. Pencils. Paper.

Sophie blinked. She was so confused. This couldn’t be right. This seemed to be a shopping list, not a note addressed to her. She flipped it over to find the note to her. Ah. That makes more sense.

Sophie likes ice cream! And playing board games! And she uh she I forget but she's like really nice. And likes ice cream. One time, I saw her looking kinda down... so I gave her a big hug and she was all better! She gives nice hugs. I should write more, but I gotta find my grocery list…

Sophie giggled a bit. Later she would probably have to make a copy of Patrick’s grocery list and give it to him. She remembered that was one of the time's school had been hard on her that day and Patrick gave her a hug. He was forgetful but sweet. Sophie picked up Manny’s note next.

Aye, mi corazon~ Nah, but really Sophie is like... super fun to mess around with! Me and Timmy had this whole thing planned with a box of feathers and a paintball gun... oh I mean, nothing, nothing at all! If I didn't know better, she'd be like a Rivera, I mean... having a sis could be kinda cool!

Sophie blushed at the start of the note. Of course, Manny had to flirt with her what else would he do? Also, that whole box of feathers and paintball gun thing was concerning but she’d figure that out later. She found really sweet the despite the flirting and the teasing Manny still thought of her like a sister. She picked up Mr.Blik’s note next.

Ehh, she's alright... look I ain't writing this to be sappy or nothing! She's a good kid, kinda like Human Kimberly. But less... I dunno, naive? I mean she's cool and all, but this girl knows what saps are suckers and which suckers are chumps. I could leave this girl a few grand and I'd probably trust her with it... probably. Not saying I like her or anything... just I like her a lot, she's got spunk.

Sophie blinked after she read it. This note surprised her as well. Her and Mr. Blik weren’t that close by any means. She knows money is important to him and that she just didn’t really understand the wanting of money. However knowing that he could probably leave her a few grand (which she didn’t really know how much that was) and trust her with it somehow kind of touched her in a way. She picked up Gladion’s note next.

At first, I thought Sophie was really annoying. Like really annoying. However as the years went by and I saw how she helped my sister and how she treated everyone I realized something. Sophie has always treated others with all her kindness she has including those who wanted her to hurt and I find that the most admirable thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Sophie started to giggle. He was right. She WAS annoying when she was little. However, she found the note sweet because Gladion never really got emotions as well as other people. So hearing something this sincere from him was amazing. Sophie picked up Lillie’s note next.

Sophie is one of the bravest, adventurous, kindest people I have ever met in my life. After what happened with my mother I didn’t think I could be any of those things after what she told me… But Sophie helped me believe. She just has this way with people to make them feel better about themselves.

Sophie sniffled and began to tear up smiling. She remembered when Lusamine was abusive to Gladion and Lillie. Lillie had been so scared and timid before Sophie showed any kindness to her. Over the years Lillie had grown up to be a confident, refined young lady and Sophie was so proud of her. She picked up Hau’s note next.

Sophie has been my favorite cousin since we were toddlers. Even for years when we were separated by a whole country and a whole ocean I’ve always felt she’s influenced me into the person of who I am. She’s adventurous, creative, and treats everyone she meets with kindness. Honestly, you’d have to do something stupid to her to not deserve her kindness. I feel so grateful to have her in my life.

More tears came from Sophie. To hear Hau say these words to her despite how long they’ve spent apart with only seeing each for conventions and holidays meant a lot to her. She always considered Hau someone she was close to despite most of their conversations taking place in letters. She knows this to be true now. Sophie picked up Snap’s note next.

What can I say about the buckette? She's adventurous, witty, and quite the little creator~ Man I wish I coulda introduciated her with Rudy. They'd really hit it off! The way she colors and draws and shapes, not just with chalk but paint and all this other stuff! Besides... is this what having a sister is like? I mean the Von Snaps are alright, and Blocky's my best friend. But she's like a part of my family now!

Sophie smiled and blushed a little at Snap’s comment of her being a great creator. Getting that comment from a LIVING drawing was a huge deal. She also started to tear up at him calling her his sister. Even though Snap had only been on the team a few short months they had grown very close to one another. She finally picked up the last note. Tak’s note.

I don't know where to begin. In the village all I ever had known family wise was Jibolba. I never knew my mom or dad. I think I'm an only child. They say my mom was a Juju and dad was Pupanunu. That's why I was born with the power of Juju. Never thought I'd feel like another could be family really. Sophie is special. She and me... we click well I guess. She's really cute, and I guess I show off sometimes... but she looks up to me too and I can't let her down. Last thing I would do is let her down or hurt her. It’s funny... of all the guys in the village, I think I'm the only one to have such a diverse family and probably the best sister the Jujus could grant. Her laugh is even super cute, why else do I tickle her so much~ I always keep that cat toy in case she needs cheering up. I think I'm rambling now but as far as Sophie goes... I love her a lot.

Sophie started to tear up even more and even sniffle a bit as she read Tak’s note. She felt so touched that Tak considers her special to him and that she could fill the role of his little sister. It gave her some comfort that no matter what he would never let her down or hurt like others in the past have. She had to admit she did blush a little when he mentioned how cute she was. She soaked in Tak’s last words like SpongeBob did with water. ‘I love her a lot.’ She felt a certain comfort when it came to those words and that was what arguably broke her. Maybe this is what the notes were meant for… to show her how cared for she is.

Sophie began to quietly cry. Not out of sadness or pain oh no. But out of happiness. She never imagined finding a place where she felt cared for or accepted and yet here she was in the presence of those who cared for her wellbeing. Who cared if she injured or sick. Who made sure she was taking care of herself by reminding her to eat or to rest. Who cheered her up when her regular life was abusing her very fragile feelings and physical body. Who supported her interests and wanted to see her succeed.Who wanted to give her a stable, safe place to be. Who just wanted to be there for her and to love her unconditionally. That’s all she could ever ask for.

She put the notes back into the box carefully and closed it holding it to her chest still silently crying. Xavier flinched seeing her cry. Had he made an error in suggesting this be good for mental health? “Sophie? Are you alright?” Xavier asked touching her shoulder gently. She looked up at him, her face still wet with tears and yet there was a big smile on her face. “I am now.” Xavier smiled and gave his girlfriend a kiss. “Happy Birthday Babe.” “Thank you, my love.”

His phone suddenly beeped signaling it was time to go home. “Ugh, I have to go. Mom wants me home for dinner. Have fun tonight okay?” He said kissing her cheek. “I will. Put this on my new desk please?” Sophie said handing him her most precious box. “I will. Bye guys! See you later!” Xavier called to The Vanguard and he was responded by a bunch of goodbyes. He went with the box as Sophie gave him a small wave as she watched him leave until he was gone from her sight. She spaced out a little until she was suddenly blasted with cold water. She shrieked loudly and looked to see Manny holding a water gun grinning at her. “Manny Rivera! You are so dead!” Sophie yelled as she grabbed a water gun and went after him joining the water gun war.

The water gun war lasted quite awhile. Of course, Sophie was targeted the most being the birthday girl but she didn’t mind. She had a blast. It would have probably lasted all night if Wanda hadn’t called The Vanguard in for dinner. All of them went in drying off and changing into their night clothes. Sophie changed into her new stitch onesie with a night shirt under it, blue socks, her glasses, and she put her hood up on her onesie putting the crown on top of her head.

They had pizza for dinner, one of Sophie’s favorites, and as she went to get a slice of cheese pizza and put it in her mouth she was met with stares from her family. “What?” She asked her face stuffed with pizza. Timmy was already snickering at her as he said: “What are you wearing?” “It’s a onesie I got from Marshall for my birthday. It’s Stitch from Lilo and Stitch.” Sophie explained. Manny was also snickering “Why is it so baggy, though?” He started to play with her sleeve. “Because it’s comfortable! Say what you want but I could literally lay down anywhere and sleep!” Sophie defended. Tak chuckled “Alright guys leave her alone. Besides she looks adorable!” He cooed laughing a bit playing with the onesies ears. Sophie narrowed her eyes and facepalmed as some of the other guys laughed.

Soon after they ate they all settled down to watch some movies with the leftover snacks they still had. Jimmy sat in his chair with Goddard in his lap, Timmy and ZIM both laid with pillows on the floor, GIR settled down on top of ZIM, and Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof turned into a pillow, blanket, and a teddy bear for Timmy. Danny and Sam sat on the couch with Manny in between them, SpongeBob and Patrick curled up on the floor as well, Jenny laid on her stomach with her legs kicked back and with a pillow, and Blik took the fluffiest pillow he could find and laid on top of it. Gladion and Lillie laid against Null with Nebby cuddling in her lap, and Hau set Ari in his portable cage for the night and laid close to Sophie’s feet as she set her feet on his back almost like a footrest. Finally, Sophie laid against Lion with her holding Bambino tight and close with Tak on her right side and Snap on her left.

They watched several of Sophie’s favorite movies like Lilo and Stitch, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Ponyo, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. They also watched a few videos from when Sophie was little exploring the world around her. Half of them were really sweet while the other half just made The Vanguard laugh and coo at Sophie making her regret ever bringing them. Although she was glad she showed them these. It made them see more of what she used to be and how she became who she is.

Eventually, though everyone got kind of sleepy and started to drift off including Sophie herself. Before she did though she took off her glasses and put them in Lion’s mane careful not to wake Snap as she drifted off herself.

It was the middle of the night when Sophie woke. It had been happening for the past couple of weeks now. She had wakened from the same nightmare of being alone again without her friends… No… they were her family now.

She breathed slowly as she looked around from laying down on Lion. Her vision was blurry without her glasses or eye drops but everyone was close enough for her to see. Jimmy laid his head on the desk, probably working on a new invention, Goddard placed firmly in his lap. At his feet, three boys laid there in a sorta dogpile.

Timmy was holding Teddy Bear Poof close to him with Cosmo covering his sons as a blanket while Wanda as a pillow was under Timmy’s head. Manny laid next to him snoring and ZIM was spread out by them with GIR sleeping on his back using his PAK as a pillow.

Little ways away from them laid SpongeBob and Patrick sharing a blanket sleeping comfortably snoring in sync. Upon the couch is where Danny and Sam slept. Sam cuddled into Danny’s chest cozily while Danny had an arm wrapped around her for safety.

Next, to the couch Danny and Sam slept on, Jenny slept/recharged with her laying on her stomach and laying her head on a soft pillow. About a foot away from Jenny Mr. Blik was sprawled out on a very expensive pillow probably dreaming about root beer. Or money. Or both.

Gladion laid against Null snoozing sweetly with Lillie lying against her brother’s shoulder Nebby laying her lap. She looked to Ari’s cage noticing it had a tarp placed over it. Hau must of put it there a little before he fell asleep. Speaking of Hau he was sprawled out at her feet, a little bit of drool coming from his mouth.

She looked to her left as the smell of chalk dust mixed with soda and sub sandwiches filled her nose. Snap was snuggled up to her side looking peaceful as he slept to contrast his normally playful look on his face. As she looked to her right her nose was filled with a much different scent. The smell of the jungle mixed with dirt to be exact. Tak laid with his arm wrapped around her protectively like a big brother. Sophie let a smile as she settled back with her head on Lion’s torso. Despite them all being asleep she still felt the warmth from her new family. She slowly fell back asleep feeling safe and warm. This is where she was meant to be and nobody was going to take that away from her.

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hongism · 5 years ago

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aphelion - ch. 1: I Remember the Night Sky when I was Young

the first chapter of this series has finally come into existence, and i am very excited and NERVOUS to share it with you all~ wow this story has been in the works for so long and never had a first chapter until now >-<

Genre: Angst/Fluff/Slice of Life??

Pairing(s): None for the time being (will change in the future)

Word Count: 9421

Rating: PG-13/T (subject to go up or change in the future)

Warnings: None for the time being

Summary: The ups and downs of life come in many forms. Jimin considers himself lucky some days, and on others, he only sees the ugly bits in front of him. Taehyung lives life with a white sheet of positivity over his eyes even when bad things happen and life crumbles around him. Yoongi lets his patience run too short. Then again, he thinks life is too short to waste time on people or things that aren't worth it. Seokjin finds it best to be there for everyone else before he takes time for himself, and that has serves him well each day (or so he tries to tell himself). Hoseok has a porcelain mask he wears to hide any negative thoughts or the ebbing away of his confidence, but as long as he wears it, no one can tell, right? Jungkook finds worth in his hyungs, sees a responsibility to be strong for them and listening to their struggles before sharing his own. Namjoon wishes his position as leader could be less of a struggle but convinces himself that the outcomes of his job are better than the burdens along the way. Where does the puzzle piece that is Do Soojin fall into place? Well, she is only trying to live life with the cards dealt to her, the struggles being opportunities for growth for not only her, but the people around her.

this is the long version of the summary, but on my masterlist, i will only have the short version because it is so long. without further ado, here she is! i wish i had a pretty banner for her, but sadly i do not right now, so ;-; she looks a bit plain for now!

check out my preface before reading if you’d like! it just gives a bit of background and insight into my process and hopefully clears up any possible confusion for now!

...

Chapter: I Remember the Night Sky when I was Young (mikrokosmos - bts)

“At long last, he is content with that fact.”

...

“That one is my favorite!” Jimin looks in the direction his friend is pointing, seeing a mass of glittering stars above him.

“Which one?”

“That one!” She points with more vehemence now. Jimin laughs.

“I like it,” he tells her, even though he still can’t tell which one she is talking about.

“And that one! Those three that look like a shape too! And the two on top of them are like crystals, so those are my favorite too!” His friend sits up as she gets more excited, motioning at the cloudless expanse about their heads with a wide smile on her lips.

“Soojinie, you can’t have so many favorites!” Jimin laughs again and tugs on her shirt sleeve. Soojin pouts back at him, pulling her arm away from his, and turns to someone else.

“Grandma! I wanna see the stars closer!”

“I’ll ask your grandfather to get the telescope, honey.” Soojin claps her hands together before sitting back down on the cool grass beside Jimin.

“I wish I could touch the stars. They’re so pretty. Can you imagine holding one in your hands?” She tucks her knees to her chest and rests her chin atop them. Jimin stays on his back, watching the sky.

“It would be the most beautiful thing, yeah?”

“I’ll reach them one day and hold one for you!”

“You won’t need to do that, because I’ll be right there with you. Then we can each have a star of our own.”

Soojin spreads her arms wide and beckons to the galaxy. “I want to hold all of them. They look so lonely up there. I’ll hug every one of them!” Jimin giggles, and through the squinting of his eyes, he spots a flash of light dancing across the sky.

“Hey Soojinie, there’s a shooting star! Quick, make a wish!” The girl shuts her eyes and clasps her hands together. Jimin mimics the action, holding his hands over his face as he whispers his wish to himself. When he reopens his eyes, Soojin is already back to staring upwards. “What’d you wish for?” He nudges her side with his foot.

“Hey, I can’t tell you that! It’s a secret. If I tell you, then it won’t come true.”

“Aw, fine. You don’t have to tell me now, but promise that you’ll tell me if it comes true!”

“Pinky promise. Only if you tell me yours too!” Soojin extends her little finger to Jimin. He links his with hers, tightening his grip with a grin.

“Pinky promise.” A few moments later, he releases her hand with a sigh. “I hope our wishes come true.”

“I know they will. The pretty universe always listens to wishes, because the person behind it makes them come true!”

Thinking back on it, Jimin wants to laugh at her hopeful words. Do wishes really come true? As a child, things were easy and carefree. His naivety was stupid. Maybe his dreams were too. Nowadays, it seems like his dreams are drifting further away, and the certainty of achieving everything he hopes to is a distant ambition. He huffs at his spot by the window, watching the yellow light of the city blend together with the dark sky and dim the shine of the stars. Maybe it's a sign, and it's telling him that his wishes made as a foolish child will never come true.

"Had a lot on my mind tonight."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Namjoon nudges his shoulder as though prompting him to explain his thoughts.

"It's hard to believe that Jungkook is going to be in secondary school at last." Jimin snorts under his breath as he thinks of the youngest of the group.

"Definitely weird. I'm sure Soojin's entrance is weirder for you though?" Jimin holds back a frown as Namjoon broaches the subject.

"Yeah...All I can seem to think of tonight are times when we were younger. I mean, secondary school? It seems like yesterday when I saw her and my brother enter primary school."

“It can be strange to watch someone grow up before your eyes.”

"Do you miss it?" Namjoon asks, glancing out the window and at the sky as Jimin does.

"Miss what?"

"Times when you were younger?"

"Don't we all? Things were so much easier back then." Again, Namjoon's hand finds his shoulder, remaining there this time for more than a couple seconds.

He decides to check his phone one last time before trying to fall asleep. More than anything, he wants to send a final text to Soojin telling her that he’ll be looking for her tomorrow and still has dibs on taking her to dinner later as well. She’s texted him already though, to his surprise, because he was expecting her to go to bed earlier.

Soojin: I’ll be looking for you tomorrow! My grandparents are in town too, so they want to treat us to any early dinner.

Jimin laughs under his breath, not at her message, but rather the fact that they had such similar thoughts about texting. He rolls onto his side as he sends a text back before placing his phone to the side, deciding to try to rest so he won’t feel miserable tomorrow.

The lull of sleep does not come quickly, and Jimin finds himself staring at the ceiling for an uncertain amount of time. The stars hang at the forefront of his troubled mind, the indigo universe before him, and his best friend making silent wishes at his side. I wonder, did your wish come true? Jimin knows they were too young at the time to make any sort of serious wishes, he may have been thirteen or fourteen at the time so Soojin would have only been eleven. Knowing her, she probably wished for a new pair of dance shoes. Then again, that was right before she left for Seoul...Maybe her wish did come true. Jimin allows his head to fall to the side, gaze lingering on the muted form in the next bed over through the shroud of darkness.

“Hyung, five more minutes,” he whines in response. Hoseok laughs, hand contacting Jimin’s shoulder.

“Did Jungkook already leave?” Jimin asks as he starts to climb down to the floor.

“No, his parents came by to see him a few minutes ago, but he said he wanted to ride with us to the school,” Hoseok explains. Jimin hums in acknowledgement of the older’s words. “Are uh, Soojin?” Hoseok passes a look Jimin’s way to double check that he got the name correct, at which point Jimin nods in approval. “Are her parents coming for the ceremony?” His hands near the dresser, but once Hoseok’s words process in his still sleep-hazed brain, he freezes, lips falling into a frown. The older man notices the hesitation within a second. Jimin senses the heat of the stare on his back and tries to shake off any signs of his emotions so that Hoseok doesn’t ask questions. He clears his throat, then looks in Hoseok’s direction.

“Her grandparents came all the way from Busan! She hasn’t seen them since 2009, so them being at the ceremony means the world to her. I saw them right before I came to Seoul, and they said they were trying to save up money to visit, so I know this is what all of them want most.” None of his words are false; perhaps, he is merely hiding the whole truth. Jimin honestly does not know much about Soojin’s parents or family, except that she has lived with her grandparents for as long as he can remember and that her cousin became an idol in 2012. It has been a topic that he was curious about when he was younger, and he even asked his mom if she knew why Soojin lived with her grandparents, but she had told him that she knew nothing about it. When he questioned Soojin about the topic, she was open to telling him the things her grandparents shared with her. He knows about her mother, but as far as information about her father, he has none because Soojin had none herself the last time he asked. Quite a bit of time has passed since then though, so perhaps he should ask again to see if there’s anything else he should know.

“Ah, Namjoon-hyung. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I just need to drop the clothes on my bed, then I’ll be good to go.” Jimin holds up the wad of pajamas, a sheepish smile decorating his lips. Namjoon laughs in response rather than saying anything and steps away to check his phone. Once he tosses his clump of clothes onto his bed, he rejoins his fellow members in the cramped living area. There is barely enough room for the six of them, so it is a wonder how they can manage to fit all seven of them in the room at one time, but they’ve done it before so obviously it’s not impossible. That being said, Namjoon, Hoseok, and Taehyung are pressed together on the couch that is barely big enough to fit two people on it. “Are we leaving now?” Jimin asks. Despite his gaze being on Namjoon, someone else responds with a typical drawling tired tone.

“We were waiting on you.”

“Oh you were? Sorry, hyung, I went to bed late last night.” Namjoon clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he stands up, bumping Taehyung and Hoseok on the way up.

"Aren't you cold?" Jimin asks, trying to avoid the uncomfortable scrutiny.

“Taehyung and I stopped to get some yesterday. I meant to ask you if you wanted to come, but you ended up staying late at the studio practicing with Hoseok.”

“Yea, I should’ve gotten flowers for Soojin…” He trails off, shifting his attention to the school building before them. A sigh, then he continues. “I feel bad. She always makes time to come see me and support us even though she has a busy schedule too. I wasn’t able to be there for her last year because I was so focused on debuting and trying to put myself out there.” His words are turning into a rant. Maybe he should be quiet, but these are things he has never gotten off his chest and to be able to release all the pent up emotions now is worth it to him. He catches the sideways look that Seokjin passes his way. The emotion in his eye sends a surging sensation through Jimin, one that threatens to cause his eyes to blur, but he manages to hold it back.

“I’m sure Soojin will be glad that you came. I may not know her well, but I doubt she’ll care if you bring her flowers or not. Besides, Taehyung got a bouquet for her. We aren’t coming empty handed at least, right?” Seokjin offers a smile, and it’s meant to comfort Jimin. The revelation that Taehyung thought to get her flowers and Jimin did not, however, arouses a foul taste in the back of his mouth. How long have I known her? He pushes those thoughts and feelings to the back of his mind, attempting to focus on the good side of the spectrum.

“You’re right, hyung!” A smile spreads across the older’s lips as Jimin says the words. “Maybe I’ll have a chance to talk to her before the ceremony starts too!”

“Don’t be so nervous, Jungkookie! Everything will be fine!” Jungkook’s cheeks flush with color as Jimin rubs his hair and tries to shy away from the mothering of Jimin.

“There’s just a lot of people here. It makes me a bit nervous…”

“Thanks, hyung. I’ll be looking for you guys on the balcony, okay?”

As they get closer to the main doors, more students come into view along with parents who fuss over the tidiness of the uniform or loose hairs that hang a bit too far into their child’s face. First instinct is to scan the crowd in search of Soojin, but Jimin soon realizes that he cannot do that given the amount of people in the hallway. Seokjin tugs the sleeve of his sweater as he attempts to drag Jimin to the nearest staircase, saying that it may be easier to find Soojin once they are up on the balcony. Despite those hopeful words, Jimin has the same amount of struggle in finding the teen when looking down from the balcony. Although Hoseok made it sound as though there weren’t going to be many spots left, the balcony remains relatively bare compared to the auditorium floor below, where students line up in their matching black and yellow uniforms. That mass of color doesn’t allow any single student to stand out, so finding Soojin would be a nightmare of its own.

Taehyung joins Jimin at the railing, looking down at the crowd with the same amount of awe. “Wow the class seems so big compared to ours, doesn’t it?”

“Yea, I didn’t realize this school took so many students for first grade. I mean, when you see the graduating class, it seems a lot smaller than this.” Jimin scans the crowd still in search of his friend. The presence of cameras behind them should be more of a concern, but seeing as Taehyung makes no move to talk to them, Jimin doesn’t put much thought into it. Namjoon and Hoseok take over on their own, and as they do, Taehyung looks back over his shoulder to laugh along with his hyungs.

“Soojinie!” He clasps the bar in front of him and leans forward.

“Where?” Taehyung throws his body at the bar too, squeezing back between Jimin and Seokjin to catch a glance of the aforementioned girl. Jimin points in the girl’s direction. As though sensing the sudden attention, Soojin lifts her chin, eyes finding the balcony, and then she locks gazes with Jimin. Her black hair hangs loose for once, not confined to the band that keeps strands out of her eyes. He is almost positive that her grandmother requested the choice for her since she despises wearing her hair down so much. When she finds him, a grin stretches her lips. Even with the distance, Jimin feels certain that he can see the soft crescents her eyelids form when she smiles. Proud. Proud that he brought that smile to her face, proud that his mere presence gave her so much happiness. Validated. Yes, he feels very validated by the sight of it. Waving, Jimin beams back at her, and Taehyung joins him once he spots Soojin. “Ah, she looks so different with the uniform on!”

“So does Jungkook. I can’t believe they’re both already in secondary school.” Jimin huffs as he rests his arms on the railing.

“She’ll love them. She always went straight for daffodils when we were younger.”

“Thank goodness! I’m gl—”

The air chokes Jimin, holds his throat in a tight grip, and makes the world seem a lot slower than before. Every motion comes in slow motion. He shifts his gaze away from the group, allowing it to fall back down to where Soojin smiled up at him minutes ago. Gone. Not the girl, but rather, her smile. Now no longer directed at Jimin, at least. Instead, she fixates it on the group of newcomers who wave down at her and call her name.

“Yea...I think those are EXO members too, right?” The grip on his wrist tightens. “I didn’t think they would be here.”

“Well, Soojin must know them from trainee days, right Jimin?” With the attention now on him, Jimin clears his throat. Words refuse to come out though, and his voice produces no sound, so he resorts to a weak-willed nod. None of it is a secret to him; she told him all about it before, never failing to lengthen the list of high-profile names she has the pleasure of knowing. While Jimin knows that the names exchanged over those late night phone calls were never meant to spite him or be a brag, he also is well aware of the effect it has on him. When he reflects on it, those doubts come without want or warning. Compared to them...who is he? Jimin raise a hand to his face, fingers snagging the skin on his cheeks and pinching it tight. “—her cousin, remember?” He processes the fact that Taehyung speaks again, but the words fade in and out of existence. It takes too much will to tear himself away from the railing. And once he faces that intimidating group of idols near them, one familiar face in the distance eases his soul of worries.

“Ah, Grandma!” Even though he is not speaking to any of the people in his general vicinity, they all turn to him nonetheless. Jimin does not have it in him to care, because he finds himself midway across the balcony to greet the familiar faces. Two of the people he grew up alongside, two who helped raise him when they had no obligation to aside from Jimin simply being friends and neighbors with Soojin. Even though they aren’t blood-related, Jimin feels as though he seeing his family.

“Grandma, you saw me less than a year ago! Why can’t you fuss over Soojinie instead?” At the mention of the girl’s name, the woman halts her movements and starts to look around.

“Oh has she? Minjoon-ah, dear, did you hear that?”

“Where is she, Jimin-ah? Help point her out for me, my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.” Jimin laughs and points to where Soojin stands with his free hand.

“She has her hair down too. Doesn’t she look so grown up with the uniform on?” Her grandmother grips his arm tighter when she spots Soojin.

“Oh, look at her! She got taller, didn’t she? Minjoon-ah, honey, do you see her?” She taps her husband’s arm despite the fact that he is looking in the same direction that she does. “Did she tell you that we’re taking you to dinner, Jimin-ah?” He nods and hums in response to her question, eyes scanning the people below in search of Jungkook. “Kyungsoo dear, are your friends going to join us too?” Jimin halts his search in favor of looking at the person in question. Please no. Can he handle being surrounded by that many intimidating people? With Soojin no less? Doubt builds in Jimin’s gut like a tower.

“Thank you. Enjoy it while it lasts though, because you guys are on an upward trajectory. I know you’ll start getting similar schedules soon enough.” Kyungsoo rubs his neck, trying to hide the embarrassment of the compliment. Grandma leans over and tries to grab hold of his cheeks. “Ah, grandma, please!” Jimin laughs at the sight, a familiar warmth filling his chest. He faces forward and props both arms on the railing rather than saying anything in response to Kyungsoo’s hopeful words about his future. He finds Soojin in the crowd one more time, a slight upturn to his lips even though she doesn’t look at him. Jungkook stands a couple feet away, tugging on his jacket and trying to make his collar sit flat.

"Ah, excuse me, ma'am!" Jimin jerks his head to find Taehyung standing nearby. Hands clasped under his chin, the younger boy grins wide at Grandma, who smiles back despite the fact that she has no clue who Taehyung is. "I know we haven't met, but…you're Soojin's grandmother and grandfather? Is that correct, ma'am?"

"Yes, dear! Are you a friend of hers?" Grandma's eyes seem to light up at the prospect, and Jimin can't blame her, considering how long she has been apart from her grandchild and hasn't met many of Soojin's friends aside from Jimin himself. Taehyung offers a bow at her confirmation, speaking as he straightens his back.

"I'm one of Jimin's same-age friends, and we are in the same group actually. I know Soojin through him!" The smile never leaves his lips, and he motions to Jimin with enthusiasm. "I wanted to introduce myself. I've heard a lot about the two of you through Jimin, and a bit through Soojin. I don't talk to her much, but she always speaks highly of you when we do talk." Grandma reaches out to Jimin, grabbing hold of his bicep and squeezing it as she lands a gaze full of warmth on him. "Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kim Taehyung!"

“Oh, is it starting now?” Taehyung asks.

“Seems like it is. Jungkook won’t stop messing with his uniform.”

“He must be nervous. Soojin doesn’t appear to be having any trouble though!”

“Hold on, look here! Let’s get a picture before it starts.” Jimin grins at the camera of Taehyung’s phone while the other boy brings two fingers in the shape of a ‘v’ to his cheek. He snaps two, three, four pictures before being satisfied with the outcome. “I’m gonna take some pictures of Jungkook and Soojin too.” Taehyung giggles as he zooms in on Jungkook’s back, the youngest completely unaware of the shuttering of the camera.

Jimin waits until he snaps a few pictures of Soojin as well to say something. “Neither of them know you’re taking the picture!”

“Ah, I promised to go to dinner with Soojin.”

“How about you just come to the same place? Then you can just switch between tables so you don’t miss out on the vlog. Wait, shh! They started talking.”

Sure enough, the man in the crisp black suit has begun a speech about the school and what a privilege it is to have such a group of new students. Jimin doesn’t stay tuned after that though, thanks to his mind drifting off into thoughts of his own family. Soojin happens to be the harbinger of those thoughts, though it is not inherently her fault or doing. Moreso, it’s that Jimin grew up alongside her, and his younger brother shares a similar age with the girl, thus he entered high school recently too. Thanks to his profession and schedule (even though not nearly as chaotic as someone like Kyungsoo’s), Jimin missed his brother’s entrance ceremony, and he missed a number of other special family events as well. Even though the move to Seoul was in pursuit of his dreams, the slight sting of dejection arises every time he thinks of the family he hasn’t seen in awhile.

The emotion dissipates for some time, that is until dinner comes, and they arrive at the restaurant of Jungkook’s choosing. Jungkook’s family delivers the younger to the restaurant, letting their youngest sit at the table alongside the other members. Their presence brings Jimin’s distress back, because seeing them smile and laugh together as a family hurts. Soojin’s presence — or lack thereof — doesn’t do anything for his mood either, so he’s left wearing the mask of a smile directed at the camera that records a new vlog for their channel. Although they don’t have to do much talking, Jimin finds his spot at the table to be an ill-placed one, because the leader sits across from him, and those perceptive and concerned eyes that fell on him last night have made another appearance here. His phone vibrates within the confines of his pocket, and he hastens to fish it out and check the screen, finding a text from Soojin there.

Soojinie: i’m sorry jimin but we have to take kyungsoo over to the company building for his schedules >-< are you guys already eating???

Jimin: yea…

Her response is an immediate one, and the sight of it causes Jimin’s heart to plummet further.

Soojinie: ahh don’t wait on us please!! go ahead and eat! i’m sorryyyyy, i was really looking forward to this ugh. do you wanna meet up at the park after dinner??

Jimin: let’s do it!! we haven’t gone in a long time, so that’ll be fun! text me when you’re ready to meet up!

Soojinie: will do!!! see you in a bit!

“Everything okay, Jimin?” Namjoon proposes the question.

“Yes, hyung.”

“Is Soojin on her way?”

“Ah, no, actually.”

Taehyung cuts in, “She isn’t?”

“It’s fine!” He grins across the table. “I at least got to talk to her right after the ceremony and give her the flowers! Plus, since Jungkook and her share the same classes, we might get to see her more, right?” Namjoon drags his tongue over the front of his teeth, eyes shifting between Taehyung and Jimin. When he meets eyes with the latter, he shakes his head ever so slightly. Of course, Jimin understands the concern. More time spent with Soojin equals higher possibilities of rumors spreading, then a detrimental article surrounding the group. At the end of the day, Jimin would never want to be the cause of such misfortune. Yet Taehyung keeps grinning, squeezing his hands together and bringing then under his chin. Jimin’s heart clenches in his chest. How many people do I have to push out of my life? And for what? A failed dream?

“Sure thing, hyung. Anything on your mind?” Jimin suspects what the topic might be, but humors the question anyways.

“It’s okay, hyung! I get it, I do. I understand, um, it makes sense.”

“One day, hyung.”

“Oh, it’s okay!” Soojin insists, voice bright, and Jimin can envision the smile on her face as she speaks. “Don’t worry about it! I just got to the park, do you know when you’ll be available?”

“That sounds great! See you soon!”

“Was that Soojinie?” Taehyung inquires as soon as Jimin hangs up the phone. Nodding a few times, Jimin crawls into the van behind Namjoon, sitting in the only seat available beside the window.

“Are her grandparents gonna bring you back to the dorm? It’s a bit far to walk,” Namjoon mentions.

“I’ll ask her when I get there. I’m sure her grandparents will take her back to her apartment, and I don’t think they’ll mind dropping me off at the dorm. It’s not a far drive either.”

“Sounds good, just text me or one of the others so we at least know you’re safe.”

The ride takes little to no time, only a few minutes passing between the time they climb into the car to when Sejin pulls up next to the sidewalk to let Jimin get off, and he waves goodbye to his fellow bandmates for the time being, waiting for the van to pull away safely before turning to examine the park. He and Soojin have come to this place a few times since he got to Seoul, but the beauty here cannot hold a candle to the beauty back home on the hill under the stars. Even glancing up at the few stars able to peek through the golden shroud of city lights are nothing in comparison to the ones back home.

Something slams against his shoulder, sending him reeling and startling him out of his home related reverie.

“Hey stargazer.”

Jimin scoffs as he faces the offender, recognizing the voice in an instant. “Wow, how cheesy can you get?” Soojin pokes her tongue out at him. The younger girl still wears her uniform, the yellow appearing even more like mustard under the streetlamp.

“I could’ve called you a loser or a nerd instead, but I was nice.”

“Gah, you don’t get to call me that! I’m older than you.” Jimin punches her shoulder lightly, and she fights back immediately, slapping away his fists whenever they get close to her.

“Can we please just go sit down? I’m tired,” she whines in the middle of an attack.

“Wow, Soojinie. You’re tired? Tired? How dare you be tired?” Jimin loops an arm around her shoulders, dragging her along as he walks towards the grassy parts of the park. “Tired from all that standing you did? Is this what you’ve turned into without training?”

“No! Tired from all those people and all the talking.” Jimin snickers behind his hand, releasing Soojin so that he can collapse on the grass. The icy touch seeps through his clothes and chills his skin even with the layers. The ground beside him crunches, giving way to his companion sitting cross-legged beside him. The sound of her sigh hits his ears before he sees her lips part.

“Did you enjoy it though? Think you’ll like the school?”

“Yea, it seems…a bit overwhelming but, I think it’ll be a good fit for me. I don’t know. I’m excited. I think. Scared? Yea, scared too.”

“That’s normal! Everything will start balancing out and getting easier as time goes by. You’ll have tons of fun too.” The cold hits his hair as he falls onto his back, eyes finding the sky. Soojin remains sitting up, but her gaze also goes upwards.

“I hope so…I want to meet new people and make friends, but at the time it terrifies me. I guess it’s just scary that I don’t know anyone yet.”

“Well, almost all the other students are in the same boat! And you know Jungkook! You guys will have some of the same classes.” Soojin scoffs, facing Jimin with narrowed eyes.

“It’s just the exercise regimen, Soojinie. I’m getting more muscular nowadays.” The girl bites her lower lip, head tilting to the side as his words register. “Honestly, I’ve been feeling a lot of stress. I worry that we won’t get much attention for our next comeback, or maybe we won’t even have one. It isn’t fun to think about, but those are the thoughts that return day in and day out.”

“You’ll have lots of comebacks! I know your company won’t give up on you so soon, and you all deserve this chance more than anything.”

“Thanks for saying that but…” Jimin doesn’t finish his train of thought; instead, he links his fingers and cradles them under his head. “Hey, can I ask a random question?”

“Fire away.”

“When you decided to quit training, how certain were you?”

“Certain about quitting?” She clarifies, then hums. “I would say fifty percent certain. I didn’t want to quit, but at the same time, I didn’t see it as my future. That was the deciding factor. Well, after talking to you and Kyungsoo and others, that is. I know I couldn’t have decided that alone. It’s too much to ask. I’m still young, right? I shouldn’t have to decide my future now.”

“Would you ever change your mind?” The question comes through the hesitance in his tone, but she doesn’t waste any breath in responding.

“Never.” Despite what she said about uncertainty, she speaks in a firm tone.

“Being confident in my decision to walk away from that future doesn’t mean I have everything figured out. It just means I chose to prioritize living my life the way I wish to rather than letting someone else decide for me.” The heat of her gaze hits his face, and he knows that she tilts her chin to look in his direction. Instead of responding, he opts to blink at the night sky and tries to find the horizon through the hazy yellow film the city creates.

“I want this. I really do.” He whispers the words more to himself, but his companion hears them nonetheless.

“Then you shouldn’t let anything stand in your way,” she says in a soft tone, “and I know you, Jimin. Four years of training at a company that produces some of the biggest groups, and I never once met someone with your determination, your passion, or your energy. You’re already one of the best out there, the world just hasn’t woken up and recognized that yet. It must be hard for you right now, but please don’t give up like I did. Even though I don’t want to go back, I regret leaving a piece of myself there.” Jimin turns to her at last. The smile that graces her lips is as quaint as ever, still the same as it was the day he met her all those years ago. The only difference between that child and the girl next to him now is the growth of going through the harsh reality of this business. He smiles back, and as he does something catches his eye in the sky. A quick flash of light. He laughs at its appearance among the stars.

“Hey Soojin, there’s a shooting star. Make a wish?”

“I guess we’re never too old to hope for a little luck, huh?” She squeezes her eyes shut, holding her hands under her chin as she used to, and Jimin joins her. He mutters his wish to himself, the same one he has always had. “What’d you wish for, Park Jimin?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Pinky promise you’ll tell me when it comes true then?” Her outstretched pinky finger and the grin on her lips coerces him to link his finger with hers. That typical breathy laugh of hers fills the air around them, dulling the night noise some and taking Jimin back home to a similar scenery and position. It echoes through his soul, capturing the air in his lungs and sending it out to the world in the form of a breathy sound.

He laughs.

The universe around him shifts, and stars that glisten in her eyes reflect back at him. He holds the sensation close, cradles it against his heart, and allows the warmth of it to fill his whole body. The distant dreams, naive wishes, and foolish promises come back to him all at once, striking with the force of a typhoon, and he finds himself falling back against the grassy floor. Indigo hangs above his eyes, an indigo littered with millions of shimmering lights. Reaching out, he stretches onwards, striving to grasp that elusive dream which hangs above him. Reaching out, he touches it, and with that touch, serenity finds him for the first time in over two years.

...

written by: jungtaeyoongles

p.s. please let me know what you thought about it!! i’d love some feedback before i get working on chapter two. with school starting back up soon, i’m not sure how often i’ll be able to update this, i can probably do reactions/imagines here and there bc those are a lot shorter, but this story is definitely a big commitment for me.

p.s.s check out my aphelion tag for everything that i’ve posted thus far about this series!

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