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ladydorian05 · 3 months ago

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A Home for Broken Hearts ~ Chapter 8

Co-written with @made-ofmemories!

Hi, Ladydorian here!! Nope, this fic hasn't been forgoten. Yes, it will be completed. When? … Someday and I really hope it happens soon.

Anyways, I'vee been editing the last chapters, but I've been lacking motivation, not just to finish this one, just in general, real life sucks. So it's a really slow process and I actually wasn't going to update untill the rest of the chapters were ready to also be updated but it's been a while since the last update.

Hope you guys enjoy this new chapter!

Masterpost

AO3

Chapter 8: I Had the Time of My Life

A few days after Max and Dustin have left, Eddie brings up the gig. It ends up being a last minute plan. Steve isn’t even sure if Eddie was being serious when he first brought it up. He sounded as though he was half joking when he asked if Steve and Robin wanted to watch his band play, just enough that it’d be easy to backtrack if they turned him down.

They’re playing at the hideout, which according to Eddie, is what the dive where they first met is actually called. Steve agreed much too quickly and Robin wasn’t far behind him. And now here they are.

“Your hair looks fine, will you stop?” Robin is in his room perched on the edge of his bed watching him fuss over his appearance in the mirror.

The air is heavy with the extensive collection of hair products he’s been spraying for the past 20 minutes. He hasn’t put this much effort into his hair since highschool.

“Ok, ok I’m leaving it.” He raises both hands in surrender and does a final once over in the mirror. He looks good. There’s a smattering of stubble covering his jaw and upper lip, his hair is coiffed to perfection, and he’s wearing his favorite pair of jeans, the tight ones that hug his ass just right.

“This is why people used to call you Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington.”

“You’re the only person that’s ever called me that,” He quickly tucks a rogue strand that has flopped down in front of his eyes back into place before she can notice and chastise him for fussing again, “and you never stopped.”

“Details.” She waves a hand through the air, brushing the conversation away. He can see her reflection in the mirror and pinpoints the exact moment her eyes lock onto the little glass tube of clear gloss on the edge of his dresser, “Is that my lipgloss?”

“No.”

She’s on her feet now, stalking over to him and squeezing both of his cheeks together with one hand forcing his lips into a pout, “It totally is, I can’t believe you stole my lipgloss!”

“You’re literally wearing my jacket right now.” His words are muffled by Robin’s hand still gripping his face.

“It’s not yours.” She lets go of him, wrapping her arms around herself instead, pulling the jacket close to her body as if he’ll try to take it from her.

“Yes it is.”

“It’s our jacket.”

Steve sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He can’t count the number of times his shirts, jackets, even his jeans have gone missing only to show up in Robin’s laundry. It’s usually a bigger surprise if he walks up to his wardrobe and finds everything where he expects it to be.

“You know Eddie’s still going to think you look good even if you turn up bald, right?” Oh so they’re talking about this again. He gives her a look, “I’m just saying, he likes you. Really, really likes you. Which is probably a good thing because it’s the only way someone would put up with all of the blatant ogling-”

“I do not oggle!” He definitely does.

“And I know it’s not my place to meddle.” Like that has ever stopped her. “And I know you said all that stuff about getting over Heidi, but it’s been nearly two months since you two broke up. Seriously, Steve, how have neither of you made a move by now? If I have to spend one more day watching you both pining over each other I’m going to lose my mind!”

“I do not pine either!” Who is he kidding, he definitely does, “And it’s not as simple as just ‘making a move’, what if I do and he doesn’t reciprocate? Then I’ve made things awkward and he’s never going to speak to either of us again and we lose our gallery space.”

“First of all, stop catastrophizing. Secondly, have you seen the way he looks at you?”

Robin has perched herself on the edge of his bed again and he lowers himself to sit beside her with a heavy sigh.

“I can’t risk it. Even if he does feel the same way, what if it makes things awkward between us in the long run? It’s better if we’re just friends, every other relationship I’ve had has blown up in my face. I don’t want to lose him too.”

He’s afraid. The realization hits him like a punch to the gut. He thinks Robin knows it too, maybe even figured it out before he did, her expression softens.

“Ok, I won’t mention it again, unless you do it first.” She pats his shoulder, “I’m going to book our Uber so you have about ten minutes to finish getting ready.”

“Ten minutes? Ten minutes isn’t enough, Robin!” He calls, but she’s already gone and the door is left open behind her. “Shit,” He curses to himself as he scrambles to his feet.

–

Chrissy is waiting for them when they get to The Hideout. She’s sitting on her own around a table much too large for just one person and waves to them when she sees them in the doorway. She stands to greet them with a hug and a bright smile.

“The boys are backstage getting ready, they’re on in a minute.” Her voice is raised, fighting to be heard over the din of the bar.

“Alright, I’m going to go grab a drink. Do you want another?” He gestures to the empty glass on the table and Chrissy nods.

“Just a beer.”

“Same,” Robin chips in, not needing to be asked as she takes a seat next to Chrissy at their too-large table.

It’s busy and it takes much longer than he anticipated to finally make his way to the front of the bar. Corroded Coffin are making their way on stage right as he returns to the table with 3 beers balanced carefully in his hands.

Eddie’s eyes find him in the crowd almost instantly and stay locked on him as he introduces himself and the band. He sends a wink Steve’s way right before they start their first song. He finally breaks eye contact only to bang his head back and forth in time to the beat of the drums behind him before returning to the microphone to roar out the first line of the song.

Steve is mesmerized for the whole show, Eddie on stage is a sight to behold. He belongs up there, guitar in hand, microphone in front of him, it’s hard to imagine him being anywhere else as he bounces around the stage somehow just as full of energy at the end of their 45 minute set as he was at the start.

“They’ll be packing up the van if you want to go find them.” Chrissy leans over, her shoulder bumping against his and a knowing smirk on her face when she pulls away again. Clearly she’s noticed Steve’s gaze which has not so subtly been fixed on the empty stage ever since the band left.

“Oh- no it’s ok I don’t want to bo-”

“Steve. Just go.” Robin interrupts.

He raises both hands in surrender and shuffles to his feet as he heads out the front door and around the side of the building to the back parking lot to the jeering of a slightly tipsy Chrissy and Robin.

One of Eddie’s band mates is the first to spot him, the drummer if Steve remembers correctly, though admittedly most of his attention had been focused on Eddie for the majority of the performance. The maybe-drummer elbows the guy standing beside him, turns his back to Steve and leans in to whisper something before they’re both whipping their heads around to look over their shoulders. Real subtle. Steve gets closer, still no sight of Eddie and he’s starting to feel a little self conscious when he sees them glance in his direction then lean in to whisper something again.

“Hey, is Eddie with you guys?” He decides it’ll be better if he just approaches first.

“Are you Steve?” The drummer says at the same time as the taller one points towards the open door leading backstage.

“Um, yes.”

“I knew it!” Drummer turns to his bandmate, “I freaking told you, Eddie was staring at him the entire show.” He continues as if Steve isn’t there, “You owe me 5 bucks.”

“Hey!” Eddie yells and all three heads snap in his direction. He’s heading out of the stage door followed by their fourth and final band member, “Gareth, leave him alone.”

“What? I didn’t even do anything!” Gareth throws his hands up into the air and Steve fights back a smile.

“What’re you doing out here?” Eddie asks, his attention focused on Steve again as he pulls him into a hug. He’s damp with sweat after spending the past 45 minutes jumping around a stage in a stuffy bar. Steve should find it gross, but he really can’t find it in him to care about anything when Eddie’s arms are wrapped around him.

“Chrissy said you guys would be out here, figured I’d see if you needed any help.”

“We’re just about done.” Eddie smiles, eyes locked with Steve’s. Gareth clears his throat, breaking whatever moment they were having and causing Eddie’s head to whip over into his direction as if he’d forgotten they’re currently surrounded by his bandmates who are staring at him expectantly.

“Oh, how rude of me.” He rolls his eyes in the direction of the 3 pairs of eyes currently boring into him awaiting a proper introduction, but it’s playful and Gareth flips him off in response, “This is Jeff.”

Eddie gestures to the one who had followed him outside just a moment ago. Jeff offers a small smile then holds out his hand for Steve to shake, “Nice to meet you.” Jeff says. Polite, Steve likes him, he decides.

“And it looks like you’ve already met Gareth and Carl,” Eddie adds. Gareth, arms crossed and with a hard glare on his face, juts his chin up in greeting. Carl offers a friendly little wave and smile.

“Nice to meet you guys.” Steve nods at them.

Jeff falls into step with Steve at the back of the pack as they make their way inside. Carl and Gareth are ahead, flanking Eddie at either side and from the pieces of conversation Steve can overhear, interrogating him.

“Don’t worry about Gareth.” The sound of Jeff's voice pulls Steve's attention away from the trio in front of them and over to the boy beside him, “He’s kind of like a feral cat. You’ll get used to him.”

“You know I can hear you right?” Gareth turns to walk backwards a few steps to look at them as he speaks and almost trips over his own feet in the process.

Jeff takes the seat on Steve’s right when they return to Chrissy and Robin at the table. Gareth moves to take the seat on Steve’s left but pauses and moves to the next seat over when Eddie’s hand clamps down on the back of the wooden chair accompanied by a look.

There’s another round of introductions as the band gets acquainted with Robin followed by a brief lull in conversion when Chrissy drags a reluctant Eddie off to the bar to help her with the next round of drinks. It’s Robin who breaks the ice.

“How did you guys meet?” Robin asks after downing what’s left of her beer.

“Highschool, DnD club,” Carl informs her.

“Yeah, Gareth here is the youngest,” Jeff continues to explain. Carl ruffles Gareth's hair, but quickly gets his hand batted away followed by an angry stare, “He moved out to Chicago for college about three and a half years ago now and we all followed.”

“Eddie likes to think Chigago was his idea,” Gareth pipes up, “but it was really because they all know the band sucks without me.”

That gains a reaction, playful jeering from Carl and Jeff and laughter from Robin and Steve.

“You wish, Emmerson!” Eddie’s voice booms above the others and Steve cranes his neck to see him and Chrissy returning to their table with as many drinks as they could carry between the two of them balanced in their hands.

Eddie places two beers onto the table and uses his free hand to tousle Gareth's hair. Just like with Carl he bats the hand away and gives him a scowl even more fierce than the first, Steve is a little surprised that it isn’t accompanied by a hiss. He’s starting to understand Jeff’s ‘feral cat’ comment more with every second that passes.

Eddie’s bandmates are surprisingly easy to get along with, so much so that Steve is left wondering why he was ever worried about meeting them in the first place. Jeff has known Eddie the longest and has the juiciest gossip, Carl has a great sense of humor seemingly without realizing just how funny he actually is, even Gareth starts to warm up to them after a little while.

“I swear! His guns aren’t just for show, those arms are strong!” Robin shouts, “When Max and El first watched Dirty Dancing they made it their pastime to run to Steve and get him to lift them like the characters in the movie for weeks! They still do it sometimes.”

“Bullshit! You can’t do the Dirty dancing lift!”

“I so can!” “He so can!” Steve and Robin chime in at the same time.

“Prove it Harrington,” Garreth challenges, “Twenty says you can’t!”

“Easiest twenty bucks I’ll make,” He stands up from the table and claps his hands once looking around their table, “Alright, I need a volunteer. Chrissy?”

“Why me!?”

“You were a cheerleader, it’ll be a piece of cake for you. Besides, Robin moves too much, and she’s ticklish.”

“Oh fuck you, Dingus!” Robin was definitely more drunk than Steve had thought, she normally doesn’t cuss that openly, “you just revealed my number one weakness to everyone here!”

“Hate to break it to you, Sir. Robin, but it wasn’t a secret,” Eddie points out, “What do you say, Chris? Want to fly again?”

“Only if I get half of the money.” She leans back in her chair, watching him from across the table, “And you better not drop me.”

“Sure. I promise I won’t drop you.” Steve lifts his left hand, palm facing forward and makes a cross over his heart with the right one, “Cross my heart, scouts honor and all that.”

“You were never a scout, Steve!” Robin slurs, her brow furrowed with confusion.

“Oh shush you, everyone makes promises like that.”

“Okay, I trust you.” Chrissy nods then pushes back her chair and stands, “Well come on then, what’re we waiting for?”

It’s still busy even after the live music has ended, and the place wasn’t the biggest venue to begin with, but they manage to find an empty space big enough to give Chrissy a running start. Carl and Jeff deal with moving an empty table to the side to give them more room as the others form a perimeter around them. Steve doesn’t miss the cautious looks they’re getting from the staff behind the bar, but so far they haven’t been kicked out and that’s good enough for him.

“I’ll count to three! On three, you run up to me, okay!?” Steve shouts over the music, he waits for Chrissy’s answer before starting to count, “Three!”

Chrissy runs to him, jumping when his hands find her waist giving him a helping hand as he lifts her up above his head. Her hands grip his shoulders for a moment until she feels secure enough to let go and stretch her arms out to the sides. He turns twice, pivoting on his feet and keeping Chrissy balanced carefully in the lift the entire time. She’s giggling by the time he sets her down, but it’s difficult to hear over the cheer that erupts from their friends and strangers alike. The commotion had drawn quite the crowd, but it soon dissipates once the show is over.

“Oh my god!” Chrissy is still giggling as she pulls him into a hug, “That was fun, I get why Max and El liked it so much.”

“Nah, nah, nah! That doesn’t prove that Harrington is strong, Chrissy is tiny, she’s easy to lift,” Gareth argues.

“Don’t be a sore loser, Garebear.” Jeff teases.

“I’m not a sore loser! It’s facts!”

“Wanna try yourself Gareth?” Carl taunts.

“No way, I’m not about to volunteer to get dropped on a dirty bar floor.” Gareth’s face scrunches up in disgust.

“You should try lifting Eddie.” Robin is smirking at him and already pushing Eddie forward with both hands.

“What?” Eddie asks, looking bewildered as he’s shoved into the center of the circle that has formed around Chrissy and Steve, “Why me?”

“You’re the tallest.” Robin shrugs. It’s a blatant lie, Steve knows exactly why she picked Eddie; she isn’t as slick as she thinks, especially not when she’s so drunk she can barely walk in a straight line.

“You up for it?” Steve asks, but Eddie hesitates.

“I don’t know, man.”

“Come on, I won’t drop you I promise.”

“Wait!” Gareth announces, mischief painted across his features as he disappears in the direction of the bar. If he cranes his neck Steve can just about make out the mop of brown curls as he leans over the counter talking to one of the bar staff.

Jeff and Robin have ganged up on Eddie, trying to convince him to go along with it, when the music stops abruptly and the song changes. Chrissy’s face lights up instantly and it only takes Steve a second longer to realize what he’s hearing when the lead singer croons out ‘Now I’ve had the time of my life’.

“Now you really have to do it, Eds.” Chrissy says excitedly followed by an enthusiastic nod from Gareth as he returns to them.

“For the record,” Eddie sighs as he shoos Carl and Jeff out of the way with a wave of his hand to create some space, “I still think this is a bad idea.”

Chrissy goes to stand with Robin, they’re leaning close whispering something between themselves that’s too quiet for Steve to hear over the music.

“Ready?” Steve asks, raising his voice so Eddie can hear from where he’s positioned himself a little further back than Chrissy had been for the run up. He gets a nod in response, “Alright on 3 again.”

Eddie isn’t as balanced as Chrissy had been, his hands don’t leave Steve’s shoulders and he wobbles as he tries his hardest to keep his legs stretched out behind him. They hold the pose for a few seconds before Steve lowers him to the ground carefully, his hands lingering on Eddie’s waist.

“See, told you I wouldn’t drop you.” He leans in, his voice as hushed as he can make it while still being heard.

“Didn’t doubt you for a second, big boy.” Eddie grins. They’re so close Steve thinks Eddie might lean in and kiss him right there in the middle of the bar in front of all their friends. Gareth clears his throat, obviously taking extra care to be as obnoxiously loud as possible and Eddie jolts away as if he’s just remembered where they are.

The first round of shots comes from the table of women to their right who had been cheering on Steve during his impromptu dirty dancing routine, the second round comes from the two guys sitting at the bar. He loses track after that, isn’t even sure how much he’s had or how far gone he is until a shot is placed down in front of him only to be swiftly removed by Eddie.

“I think you’ve had enough, don’t you big boy?” He’s leaning in so the others don’t hear as he sets the shot aside. His words slur slightly and Steve can smell the alcohol on his breath but he’s one of the more sober members of their party at the moment.

Steve nods, not trusting himself with words as he starts to realize just how much his head is spinning.

“Steve, hey, you good?” There’s that husky voice again, the one that has been the star of every inappropriate dream he’s had for the past month. He almost forgets he’s meant to reply until Eddie raises an eyebrow and he realizes he’s been staring.

“Oh, yeah I’m good.” He says in a rush, “Think I just need to get some fresh air. Yeah, fresh air good.”

Thinking he can balance on his own two feet is his first mistake, his second is throwing an arm out toward the table to catch himself when he wobbles unsteadily flopping back down into his seat at the same time as he sends the discarded shot and an almost full bottle of beer toppling over soaking his shirt and pants.

“Shit.” He hisses, fueled by adrenaline and jumping to his feet with much more ease.

He looks down at the mess he’s made, too shocked and too drunk to feel any embarrassment about it. Jeff is already picking up the toppled glasses and making a futile attempt to clean the table up with a napkin. Eddie is by his other side now also standing, one hand hovering near the small of his back.

“When I stopped you from drinking that shot I didn’t expect you to start wearing it instead,” Eddie jokes, a wide goofy smile appearing on his features, “Go clean yourself up I’ll see if I’ve got a spare shirt or something in the van.”

Eddie leaves looking much more steady on his feet than Steve feels as he heads toward the restrooms with wobbly steps. Both Jeff and Robin offer to accompany him, but he waves off the offers, he’s pretty sure Robin is even drunker than he is at this point and would be more of a hindrance than help anyway.

The restroom is thankfully empty, but just as grimy as expected with graffiti covering most of the tile and the cubicles. He splashes some cold water onto his face and rests a hand on either side of the sink as he looks at himself in the mirror. His hair still looks pretty good despite the fact he has been running his fingers through it for most of the night, his shirt wasn’t so lucky. He grabs a wad of paper towel, scrubbing hopelessly at the mixture of alcohol staining his now ruined shirt. There’s a thud when the door swings open and hits the wall.

“Alright,” Eddie is striding over, leather jacket in hand, “This is all I could find, but it’s better than nothing right?”

“Yeah, yeah that’s good,” Steve says, only half paying attention as he returns to frowning at his shirt.

Eddie sighs and Steve hears the leather jacket being set aside, one of the metal buckles clinking against the porcelain sinks, “Come here, you’re not going to get anywhere scrubbing at it like that.”

He hands over the wad of paper towel then quickly realizes he is not mentally prepared for this when Eddie steps closer, right into his personal space, resting one hand on Steve’s hip as he uses the other to gently dab at the fabric covering Steve’s chest.

Eddie’s tongue is poking out of the corner of his mouth the way it does when he’s concentrating. He should look away, fix his gaze on the ceiling tiles, or the graffitied wall behind Eddie’s head, anything except Eddie’s perfectly plump lips. Maybe if he were sober he’d be a stronger man but right now he just can’t pull his eyes away. They really are very pretty lips, Steve thinks they would look even better wrapped around his-

“-Are you listening?”

“Huh?” He blinks slowly, forcing himself to meet Eddie’s eyes and pull his thoughts out of the gutter.

Eddie chuckles, the hand on Steve’s hip gives a firm squeeze, “I said I think the shirt is a lost cause.”

Right. The shirt, the whole reason they’re in this situation in the first place. He tries to come up with a response, pretend he still cares about the shirt, but his eyes are on Eddie’s lips again and any shred of self control he had been holding onto dissolves into thin air.

The kiss takes Eddie by surprise and Steve uses it to his advantage, pushing forward until Eddie’s back hits the counter where the discarded Jacket had been placed. It’s desperate and messy, a hurried clash of lips and teeth combined with the taste of cheap beer on each other's tongues. Eddie’s hands are gripping Steve’s waist as if he’s scared he’s going to float away if he lets go.

Steve lets one hand tangle in Eddie’s hair and tugs, earning him a breathy moan that he’s sure he’s going to be hearing in his dreams for the rest of his life. He tugs again, a little firmer this time and he’s rewarded with another pretty noise. Eddie presses himself impossibly closer, one of his legs slots between Steve’s and Steve ruts forward involuntarily, craving whatever friction he can get.

Eddie pulls away abruptly. Steve whines, chasing after Eddie’s lips, but Eddie shakes his head, dodging Steve’s lips and letting his forehead rest against Steves. Eddie’s eyes are screwed shut as he takes a deep breath then lets it go and opens his eyes again.

“You’re drunk.” They’re still standing tangled together, Eddie’s hands on Steve’s hips, one of Steve’s hands gripping the back of Eddie’s neck and the other resting on his chest, “I’m drunk.”

The reality of what just happened hits him in a rush. He just made out with Eddie in a grimy public restroom, practically threw himself at the poor guy until Eddie put a stop to it.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I- I shouldn’t have done that I thought you felt the same way and-”

“I do,” Eddie says firmly, no room for argument, “But if we’re going to do this I want to do things right and you’re way too drunk to consent to anything right now anyway.”

It takes Steve a moment to process Eddie's words, to realize that no he has in fact not screwed this whole thing up, Eddie is just a decent person.

“Ok.”

“We can talk about things tomorrow, yeah?” Steve nods and Eddie smiles at him, pressing a chaste kiss against his cheek. He grabs the forgotten leather jacket from behind him, holding it out for Steve to take, “Put this on, I’ll be with the others when you’re ready.”

He emerges from the restroom with his shirt balled up in one hand wearing Eddie’s leather jacket zipped up to cover his bare chest. He can feel Eddie’s eyes on him as he sits down and he resists the urge to squirm in his seat. His face is still flushed from their restroom encounter; he just hopes the others are either too drunk to notice or put it down to the alcohol in his system.

They unanimously agree that it’s time to call it a night after that. They’re waiting outside for their Ubers, Robin is with Chrissy and Gareth laughing about something or other, Jeff and Carl are sharing a cigarette and leaning on the wall by the door leaving Eddie by Steve’s side. They don’t speak, Steve isn’t sure what to say and he doesn’t trust his drunken mind not to say something stupid anyway.

The temperature has dropped since the afternoon and the cool air sobers him slightly. Eddie has his arms crossed against his chest hugging himself and trying unsuccessfully to hide his shivers.

“Do you want your jacket back?” Steve asks. It’s quiet out in the parking lot, the only sounds breaking the silence are the idle chatter and laughter from the others and the faint thrumming of music from inside the bar.

Eddie shakes his head, his hair falling down into his face with the motion, “Keep it. For your modesty.” He jokes, gesturing to the sodden shirt balled up in Steve’s hand.

“Yeah, ok, you have a point.” Steve laughs.

Eddie dropping his head onto his shoulder takes him by surprise. He responds by letting his arm wrap around Eddie, rubbing his hand across the cool, tattooed skin of his bicep.

“Much better.” Eddie hums.

They stay like that until their first Uber arrives and Steve realizes he has to leave.

“I’ll uh, see you.” Steve says before he heads over to the Uber where Gareth and Chrissy are drunkenly trying to help an even drunker Robin into the back seat.

“See you.”

Robin is asleep on his shoulder before they’ve even left the parking lot.

< Chapter 7 ~ Masterpost ~ Chapter 9 >

#steddie bingbang 2023 #a home for broken hearts #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #teacher! Steve Harrington #bartender! Eddie Munson #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #the rest of hellfire #hellfire club #stranger things

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starstruckloves · 8 months ago

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BET okay this is based off HEADCANONS ‼️‼️ so don’t get mad if u know this character n u don’t feel the same /lh

1. Jax

He probably gets a good amount of sleep but possibly too much JSBDJS like i feel like he’ll be gone for hours n then just randomly appear like “hey :)” as if he wasn’t asleep for the past 12 hours (i know u don’t need to sleep in the digital world but tbh what else can ya do 😭)

2. Moon

(and Sun probably but mostly moon) i mean, c’mon, he literally advocates for sleep. ofc he would get a good amount of it if possible

3. Mycheal

idk probably gets a good, healthy amount. i don’t really see why he wouldn’t yk?

4. Peasley

she probably gets a great amount of sleep. definitely the type to keep herself healthy n hydrated

5. Kinito

same as Mycheal, i just don’t really see a reason why he wouldn’t get enough sleep

6. Lucifer

a kings gotta get his rest of course ! the only reason i can see him staying up is to work on a duck design or uhh crying i guess </3

7. Pest

i feel like im repeating myself but i dont know why he wouldn’t get sleep (honestly i dont know too much abt him other than his wiki yet but DW i will soon find out considering im so hyperfixated on this game rn JDHSJD)

8. Bittergiggle

uh. can he sleep?? i mean, i assume so but sjbdsjsb idk man if he can, he’s here on the list okay 😭😭

9. Announcer

i know for a fact that man stays up too late. ESPECIALLY when he was still working on his obby. he claims he’s worked hard n that doesn’t just happen without an all nighter or two. but i feel like he’s just up too late possibly out of habit

10. The Spot

i feel like he possibly has nightmares keeping him up. like he went through a pretty traumatic experience so he’s probably suffering just a bit yk ? plus i still feel like he tinkers with little machines n stuff !!!

11. Darly Boxman

look at that man. no, i’m serious, look up that man on youtube/google n you tell me if u think he’s gotten a day of sleep in his life. bc the answer is no. plus he deals with kids n producers so that probably sucks. i’m sure some of the things he’s seen on his show has kept him up at night

12. Mr. L

okay so listen. it might be weird to put him at 2nd to lowest but hear me out. i feel like he gets bored, like very bored, in my AU. (for context, Mr. L was all evil but his partner is a hero so now he’s gotta be all nice) so he still invents robots every now n again n he probably stays up for hours. also as soon as this man discovered what energy drinks were, he inhales them like water. i feel like the only time he gets good sleep is when he eventually crashes. i imagine Nellie lying in bed one night n Mr. L just shuffles in. they both make eye contact then he immediately flops onto the bed n snuggles into her to fall asleep <33 ANYWAYS got off track teehee

13. John Doe

(this is an +18 game btw i think so yk minors don’t look it up dude) this man. this creature. i refuse to believe he has to sleep AT ALL. he probably doesn’t get tired like humans do n maybe only sleeps when actually exhausted (but it would probably take a lot to get there) i feel like he’d rather just watch his partner sleep to make sure they r safe. or at least until he’s told thats creepy n he starts finding other things to do while his partners asleep

Rank your main f/os from who gets the most to least sleep

#this took longer than expected sorry for the yap #weird ramblings ☆#self ship #f/o #self ship community

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doverstar · 2 years ago

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I love your hellcheer fic! I saw a question you answered about Jason and I totally agree with your every word.I also don't like it when Jason is portrayed as abusive just to justify why Chrissy wants Eddie. I wanted to know how you see Chrissy and Jason's relationship? Why do you think she never mentioned her problems to him?

Hi! Thank you very much! :D This’ll be another long-ish answer if you’re okay with that!

I don’t like that either. Chrissy should want Eddie because they gel better. Because she genuinely likes him better as a person, as a friend, as a partner. Because her feelings for Eddie run deeper than her feelings for Jason do. And that should happen slowly in my opinion, with good reason. None of this Nancy Wheeler fish flip-flopping. It shouldn’t be because he’s the only other option who’s potentially nice to her, or because he lets her get high and makes her feel ‘free’ (even though we had zero evidence canonically that her life didn’t make her feel free; her mom sucks and she has body image issues - everything else is conjecture by fans), and worst of all, Chrissy shouldn’t get with Eddie solely because Jason is sexually/emotionally/physically abusive in any way, and Eddie just isn’t and he’s cute and ‘bad’ and that’s somehow enough.

Jason doesn’t have to be horrible for Chrissy to justify leaving him. Jason can be an okay or even a blah boyfriend and Chrissy can find she wants Eddie more or likes Eddie better over time, no abuse anywhere, and she’d still be within her rights to dump Jason. If she doesn’t want to be with him, she shouldn’t be with him. That’s unfair to him and unfair to herself. Who says he has to be abusive for Eddie/Chrissy to work? Who says that’s the only way? Jason was egotistical and unhinged and hurting in canon, and his actions are inexcusable, but they do not automatically mean he’s abusive. He just seems a little manipulative.

But why would he manipulate Chrissy pre-Vecna? Realistically? He cared about her to some degree. He probably never had to trick her or play some part for her. He’s self-assured, overprotective, talented, a natural leader, he’s got a nice smile and comes from a good family and he’s probably nice to her. Why would Chrissy ever see that unhinged side of him? She had to get her bones snapped and eyes burst before Jason ever acted that way. He had an intense reaction to an intense loss. You don’t know what you’ll be like when something like that happens. Maybe I’d go buy a gun too. (Definitely. I’d definitely buy a gun are you kidding me yikes-)

Anyway. As to your question (so sorry, went on a tirade!) I answered a little of it up there - I think Chrissy and Jason had the usual on-fire, blushing, sweet love story when they first got together - they both crushed, he asked her out, they immediately went steady because come on, it fits - then they’re together all the way into senior year. They know each other well. They were probably friends before dating. His friends are her friends, probably go to the same church and everything. Each set of parents adores the other’s S.O. It’s all easy, it’s all normal. Then it would get into a lull toward graduation, where it’s routine, but neither of them really think about why they’re together and what they actually want out of this relationship/life. It’s just the norm.

I don’t think they’re right for each other deep down - Chrissy, if she’d lived and survived the Upside Down with the Scooby Doo gang, would probably grow a bit more of a spine and realize she doesn’t want to marry Jason. In fact, she doesn’t even have really strong romantic feelings about him and hasn’t for a while - so why continue to date him? And Jason definitely wouldn’t want to get dumped, because pride, but when he matures a little he’ll see, too, that it wasn’t the right match. Maybe they’d even keep in touch after the soreness wears off.

As for if she’d tell him about struggling with her mom/body image/Vecna, I tried to show in the fic a little - I don’t think she was telling anyone how bad things were. That’s the kind of stuff you hide naturally. When you’re a teenager, the idea of revealing to anyone that you don’t like how you look is mortifying - especially your boyfriend - because then you’d feel like if you point out your flaws, they’ll suddenly notice those flaws, and you’re screwed. Plus it’s just embarrassing. And how do you tell people your mom makes you feel like crap all the time? She’s your mom. Your first instinct would maybe be that they won’t believe you, or won’t believe it’s that bad. Second instinct might be that you’re wrong about your mom and you’re just too sensitive and you tell yourself to shut up. Third instinct - again, it’s embarrassing. Chrissy seemed like a cinnamon roll from what we saw of her. (Yes, I definitely pay close attention to what Grace Van Dien tells us she believes about her character, because that’s as close to canon as I think we’ll get.) She’s sweet, she’s a lil introverted, she has body image issues. That seems like a girl who would hide her problems, not want to cause trouble, not want to stand out. She wouldn’t tell Jason. She wouldn’t complain about her mommy to her boyfriend, and she wouldn’t whine about her weight (he might notice her ‘weight’), and she definitely, absolutely, would not tell anyone she’s seeing things and hearing things.

Not only are the Vecna visions scary, they’re unbelievable. It’s weird to see a clock everywhere. It’s weird your mom’s voice is attached to rubbery clawlike feet under the bathroom stall door. Spiders in the woods. You feel like you’re going crazy. Headaches, nosebleeds, nightmares. All of that is scary and you’d want to tell someone, but it clearly wouldn’t be her mom and she doesn’t tell any of her friends. So she wouldn’t tell Jason unless it’s absolutely necessary - and unless he saw actual Upside Down proof in front of him, let’s face it, he wouldn’t believe it. Lots of people wouldn’t unless they had evidence.

The only time she ever talks about what’s going on with her [that we see] is when she asks Eddie for drugs and if he ever feels like he’s losing his mind. I don’t think Eddie gave off a comforting vibe by the time she asked him that. He was obviously irritated that she was jumpy (he seemed to think it was because of him and his reputation and what might happen if someone saw her talking to him, but we know she was jumpy because Vecna visions). I think Chrissy asked him that because they were alone in the woods, she was probably never gonna talk to him again outside of this transaction, why would he tell anyone, she has to talk to someone - it’s a relatively safe space to vent. Not because he’s cute or special or made her feel comfortable right away. Because he was there and saying that, then, to him, was safer socially than telling anyone else. She doesn’t even go into detail for what is (for all intents and purposes) a stranger. Why would she unload to her boyfriend?

Those are my thoughts. I love these questions/responses! Makes me wanna write.

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thekingslover · 3 years ago

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Jetski For Sale (Lokius fic)

He stops riding the jetski.

He keeps it on the small trailer at the end of his driveway beside his modest split-level home and covers it with a blue tarp.

Every morning, in his brown button-up pajamas and a bathrobe, he walks to the end of the driveway and collects the morning paper. He’s careful to hold his coffee mug steady as he leans down, but he always manages to spill a drop or two. His slippers are covered in tiny coffee spots.

He tucks the newspaper under his arm and turns back toward his house. He left the television on; through the window, the screen flashes with the bright white letters, Breaking News! Two houses down, his neighbor is already out mowing the lawn. Further away, a dog barks.

Though he lives alone, it’s a perfect life. Everything’s simple. His mortgage is affordable. His brown sedan is paid off. And the jetski...

He doesn’t remember buying it. He always wanted one, dreamed of it. He had a savings set aside for someday. Yet... his savings is still there, and he still has this jetski.

He looks at it now, at the way it bulges under the tarp. A shame to leave it like that. He should take it out again. But the last time he did that...

Shaking his head, he walks back to the house. He drinks his coffee and reads his newspaper. He goes to work, comes home, goes to sleep, and does it all again the next day.

“Something’s different about you,” his sister says on the phone, their weekly call. “You sound different.”

“Same old me.” He’s good at keeping back his feelings and pushing forward the cheer.

She knows, though. Older sisters always seem to. “Are you sure you haven’t been seeing anyone lately?”

This sends him laughing. “A secret boyfriend? Come on, you have quite an imagination on you.”

“Laugh all you want,” she says, stern. She’s not backing down, though her voice does soften as she adds, “It’s only that you... Well, you sound... heartbroken.”

“That’s...” He should deny it. He hasn’t dated anyone in a good long while, but, well, now that she mentions it... He’s had his heart broken before, long ago, and it felt a little something like this. Like something crucial is suddenly missing. Like you spent so much time learning someone and adapting to them, shaping whole parts of your life around them, and then they are just... gone.

There’s a person-sized hole in his life now, but he can’t quite remember their shape.

No, that can’t be.

“That’s crazy,” he says, thinking, maybe I’m crazy.

“Why don’t you come visit us for a while?” she says. “The kids would love to see you.”

“Yeah,” he says, shaky. “Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea. Tell them I love them. Love you too.” Then he hangs up.

That night, he lays on his back in bed and stares at the ceiling, afraid to look to his right. He used to sleep sprawled across the entire width of the bed, a true bachelor enjoying his bachelorhood. When did he start picking one side?

He turns over, facing away from the barren expanse of the rest of the mattress, but the bookshelf offers little comfort. Most of his books are about history, biographies on interesting characters from the past. There’s a couple of jetski magazines wedged in, too. But what catches his eye... He remembers buying it, knows he did, the morning after watching a documentary on the perception of time and space. The documentarian had written a book. The Mobius Strip.

Frowning, he doesn’t find any sleep that night, no matter how many long minutes he closes his eyes, or how many sheep he tries to count in his head.

Mobius.

It’s a mathematical theory. Not a name. But it wedges between his ribs and stays buried behind them.

He’s not even a maths guy! But he can’t shake it. It feels heavy, too important.

He tosses and turns. He reaches out to the other side of the bed, realizes its empty, and snaps upright, dread overtaking him for one sharp moment before he remembers that its supposed to be empty.

This is normal. This is his perfect little life.

He flops back into bed and runs a hand down his face. Maybe he should go visit his sister, before he fully loses his mind.

His hands shake the next morning when he walks out to get the newspaper at the end of the driveway. Half his coffee spills when he leans to pick it up, but its fine. Maybe he should give up coffee entirely. Maybe too much caffeine is his problem.

He doesn’t know what’s wrong with him.

Turning towards the house, he spots the jetski, there under the blue tarp. The mysterious jetski that he doesn’t remember buying. The one, when he’s out on it, he sits too far forward, like he’s making space for someone behind him. But there’s no one there. There’s never anyone there.

The jetski, he decides, was the start of his problems. Maybe if he... If he...

Storming back into the house, he leaves what’s left of his coffee in the sink and the newspaper forgotten on the counter, and hurries into the office. He rips off a long sheet of dot matrix printer paper. Biting off the cap of his pen, he scribbles on it in large block letters, all caps, FOR SALE.

Back in the driveway, he removes the chocks from behind the wheels of the trailer, and flips off the tarp. He wheels the trailer and the jetski to the end of the driveway, right up against the road.

He must look like a mad man, out there in his brown button-up pajamas and coffee-stained slippers. The neighbor’s mowing the lawn. The dog’s barking further away. Everything’s perfect in this perfect little neighborhood, this perfect little life. But he feels like he is going insane.

He slaps the for sale sign on the front of the jetski, and starts back for the house. The sooner that thing is out of his life... Maybe... Maybe things would go back to normal.

His heart pangs in a way he doesn’t understand. Heartache. So much heartache. Why?

Does he even want normal?

But if not that, then what? What is he missing?

He’s at his front door, hand on the doorknob, when someone politely coughs behind him. He pauses a moment, there’s no way someone is there... But when he glances over his shoulder - yeah. Someone’s behind him, only a few feet away.

Not just someone. The most gorgeous person he has ever seen, wearing a sleek black suit and a pair of sunglasses. Long dark hair is slicked back and pushed behind their ears.

He should probably feel self-conscious, standing there in his brown pajamas in front of this god of a person - probably a model - but he doesn’t. Strangely, he feels more at ease now than he has in weeks. His whole body relaxes like he finally exhaled a held breath.

But that doesn’t make sense. They’ve never met. He would remember.

He would never forget a face like that.

“Hello,” the person says, and the word tremors slightly.

“Hello.” It tremors when he says it too.

There’s no car on the road. No bicycle on the sidewalk. However this person got here, it’s like they dropped down from the sky.

The person clears their throat. “You’re selling the jetski?”

“You...” He blinks. He knew jetskis were popular - hell, they are the best - but he hadn’t expected an offer before he even got his pants on. “Yeah. You interested?”

“Yes, I...” They drop their head a moment, taking their time to think. When they lift their head again, their shoulders lift too, like they are preparing for a battle.

He supposes negotiations can be seen as a battle, but he can’t bring himself to match the person’s pose. He’s ready to give up the jetski for free at this point. Whatever gets it gone.

The person asks, “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it. It runs like a dream.”

“Then why get rid of it?”

His heart hurts, so he laughs through the pain. It’s silly, but he can’t help feel his sister was right. This person wouldn’t know either way, so he finds himself telling them, “I’m heartbroken.”

The person goes very still. Their mouth opens and they take in a shaky, noisy breath. When they say, “What?” the word is bone dry and crumbling.

“It’s something we did together... I think.” He’s making it up, but it feels right. So he keeps talking. “And now. Well. It kinda reminds me of... I’m pretty sure I forgot a lot of things, but I can’t forget that. There’s supposed to be someone else. And I can’t... I can’t...”

He’s not making any sense, but the person is hanging on every single word.

“Anyway,” he says. “I’ll let it go cheap. Too many memories... or... I don’t know, feelings?” He sighs. “Just make me an offer, okay? I have to get ready for work.”

He wants nothing more than to keep this beautiful person on his doorstep, but... well, life isn’t always about getting what you want. This person wants a jetski, he has one. A transaction will occur, and this person will move forward like he never existed.

He’ll be left behind again.

Again?

Now, he’s the one to stand a little straighter. “Do you ever get deja vu?”

“Deja vu?”

“You know, where you feel like you’ve lived an exact moment already, once before. I’ve been reading this book about mobius strips and...” There’s that pang again, in his chest. A subtle ache that is swelling. He wants to ignore it, like he always has, but he’s finding he can’t really anymore. “Don’t you think that’d be a cool name? Mobius. Mobius M. Mobius.” He laughs, and it hurts. It hurts.

The person doesn’t laugh. Instead, they take a small step back. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

His laughter dies quickly. It wasn’t real anyway. “You don’t want the jetski?”

“I do,” the person says with naked longing. “More than anything.”

“Then its yours.” He shrugs. “You know, it kinda feels like it was already yours? Like, maybe its just been waiting around for you to show up and claim it.”

The person shakes their head. “It’s better off without me. It finally has a chance to... to... live the way you - it deserves...”

“I mean, that’s a nice thought. But in practice... wouldn’t it be better for jetskis to decide for themselves the kind of lives they want? Whose to say that their life before was all that great? Because let me tell you, this perfect little normal life I’m living? Kinda sucks.” He doesn’t really understand what he’s saying, but the words still fall out of him, like ripping a scab off an old wound and all the blood starts running again.

The person takes another step back, but this time, he follows, taking a step forward. Somehow, it feels crucial that he not let this person leave him behind again.

There, another again. What is he not remembering?

“There’s something terribly wrong with all this,” he says. “I’m forgetting something important, but whatever it is - whoever - I don’t think I can be happy without them. Not really. Not in any way that matters.”

“Mobius...” the person says, soft, under their breath. Stronger, “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

And the dam breaks.

“I know exactly what I’m saying, Loki.” The name, that name. How could he forget that name?

The person - Loki - exhales again, watery this time.

“Maybe if we never met, this would be enough. Maybe it was once. But not anymore. Never again. Not since you. And not even your little mind hocus pocus could change that.”

Mobius takes another step forward. This time, Loki does not move back. They stay just as they are and let Mobius close the distance. Mobius lifts his hands to Loki’s face and slowly removes those sunglasses. Loki’s eyes have always been the most expressive - the easiest to read. No wonder they would try to hide them. Because now they shine with sorrow and regret and... love. So much love.

And that, Mobius knows, is exactly what he’s been looking for when he reaches out to the empty space beside him on the bed. When he sits in his kitchen and stares at the pulled-out chair across the table. When he rides his jetski and turns, ready to laugh with the missing person behind him.

“I’m not angry,” Mobius says, tossing the sunglasses aside. He takes one of Loki’s hands in his. Loki grips hard onto his fingers. “I understand why you did it. It’s kind of flattering really, to know you’d give up your own happiness to try to give me mine. But there was a very big problem with this latest Loki scheme.”

“What’s that?” Loki asks in a whisper.

Mobius gives them a smile. The first real one since they parted. “You’re unforgettable.”

Loki laughs once, a burst, like they’ve been holding something in and now its escaping. The hard lines of their face smooth out. And they look less like a frightened, broken shadow and more like themselves, god of mischief, with a small but growing smirk. “Of course. I suppose I should have considered that.”

“Big flaw. Ruined the whole thing, to be honest.”

Loki leans closer. “I hate to admit to fault, but I fear there was a second issue that I had not considered.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“Your absolute stubbornness.”

“Stubborn? Me? You should look in the mirror, pal.”

Loki closes their eyes a moment. Mobius studies the planes of their perfect face, and wonders how, in all the infinite timelines, he ever forgot it.

“Loki,” Mobius says. “Do me a favor, though, huh? Don’t do this again. I... uh, well. It wasn’t the most fun for me.”

“Me, either.” Loki presses their forehead to Mobius’s. “I regretted every moment, but I... The TVA stole you from your life. I wanted to -”

“I know, I get it. I’m not mad. But communication is key to a relationship, yeah? So maybe next time you want to do a grand gesture of love for me, we should talk about it first?”

Loki leans back. They blink. But it’s not the love that trips them up, it’s, “Relationship?”

Mobius runs his hands along Loki’s arms, up to the shoulders and back down to the elbows. “Yeah. I mean, we’re partners, right?”

“Partners.” Loki doesn’t say the word with disgust, more... intrigue.

“Boyfriends?” Mobius tries.

“Boyfriends.” Loki frowns at that one.

“Lovers?”

Loki’s eyes are bright and full of wonder. How they could look at Mobius, someone so normal, like that... well. Loki makes Mobius feel like a god himself, no wonder he couldn’t go back to his old life.

“Lovers,” Loki says and kisses Mobius. Mobius smiles against their lips. Lovers, it is, then.

Kiss turns to kisses, and they linger. It’s right, so right that it further amplifies how wrong everything else was before. Mobius belongs here. Right here. With Loki. Forever, if possible.

When they break, they both laugh, and it’s light and true this time, for both of them.

“Hey, Loki,” Mobius says. “Want to buy a jetski?”

Loki pulls an annoyed face, but its all an act - Mobius sees right through it, and Loki’s not trying that hard to hide it. “I believe I’m the one who acquired that jetski for you. You have no right to sell it.”

“It was a gift,” Mobius says.

“It remains a gift. One I insist you keep.”

“Alright, alright,” Mobius laughs and Loki kisses him at the corner of his smile. “But only if you promise to keep me.”

“Oh, dear Mobius.” Loki brings their mouth to Mobius’s ear. “I hope you appreciated this display of selflessness, because I will not be repeating it.”

“Good.”

“I am a selfish god.”

“Uh, huh.”

Loki’s arms grip tightly around Mobius’s waist. “And from here to eternity, I will be keeping what’s mine.”

The last remaining knots in Mobius’s chest untangle. “And the jetski.”

“And the jetski,” Loki says and kisses him again.

#lokius #loki x mobius #post-canon #established relationship........ >.>#mobius pov ////#hey its another one of those loki enchants mobius to forget him and sends him back to his old life fics #angst with a happy ending #mcu ts ///////////#i wrote something else

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silhouetteofacedar · 4 years ago

Text

Fox Mulder, Closet Romantic Ch. 4: Man Pouts on Couch

Previous Chapter - AO3 - MSR, rated E

Mulder is not feeling lucky.

In hindsight, he should have suspected something was off today; Scully kept looking at her watch.

It’s Friday, March 13th, and he thought it’d be cute to invite Scully out for a drink again, make a little joke about it becoming a Friday the 13th tradition. This could work, he thinks. His plan is simple; ask her out every once in a while, for some reason or another, with the intention of eventually coming clean and setting up a proper date.

At five o’clock he stands up and stretches with performative nonchalance. “Buy you a drink, Scully?” he asks, cocking his head towards the calendar pinned to the office wall, surrounded by newspaper clippings and grainy photos.

She pauses with her arm halfway into the sleeve of her coat. “I…” She falters and presses her lips together, looking suddenly guilty.

“What is it?” he asks quietly, a pit growing in his stomach.

“I’d love to, Mulder, but I actually have a date tonight.”

The earth stops spinning and Mulder is thrown off balance, hurtling through the atmosphere.

“Oh,” he says softly. “That doctor guy?”

Scully nods, not meeting his gaze. “His name is Mark,” she says. “We’re getting sushi.” She looks up at him then, big blue eyes soft. “A rain check?” she asks hopefully.

She owns him; one look like that and he’d sell his soul to buy her a cup of shitty coffee. “Sure. Another time, then,” Mulder says, gathering up every scrap of composure he has left, patching together a smile for her. “Have fun.”

He goes home and throws himself face down onto the couch.

She has a date. A real date, with a presumably mentally stable human man with a high-value job. And a daughter. A ready-made family, just add water and stir. This Mark guy probably calls her Dana, asks her how her mother’s doing, feeds her bits of sashimi with no threat of aliens or shadow governments in sight. Maybe he’ll kiss her at the end of the night, softly with closed lips like a gentleman.

What stings the most is the fact that this Doctor Mark had the balls to tell Scully outright that he’s interested in her romantically, something Mulder has yet to do.

Mulder knows he should eat, but his stomach is churning and the idea of food sickens him. He’s being dramatic and irrational; it’s just one date. But the implications are weighty, the potential enormous.

He feels bad for being upset. This is good for her; she needs to get out of the basement, connect with other rational people, find some normalcy and balance in her life.

You need those things too, he hears her say in his head.

He brushes it aside. It’s different for him; he created this life for himself. He’s a collapsed star, a black hole of conspiracy and paranoia that sucks in everything that gets too close. The last thing he wants is for her to get lost in his darkness, swallowed by the void like some interstellar debris.

She’d told him that night in Rock Creek Park that she does’t blame him for what’s happened to her, but that doesn’t assuage his guilt. He carries the weight of what she calls her choices, a load she has no intention of sharing with him, awaiting no acknowledgement or thanks.

He’s doing it to himself.

Mulder whiles away the hours on the couch, gazing up at the constellations of pencil marks on his ceiling, tossing his basketball above his head. He drops it on his face twice.

He knows it’s probably only going to make him feel worse, but he’s a glutton for punishment; so at eleven-thirty that night he picks up the phone and calls Scully.

He waits for her to answer, his heart sinking lower with each ring. She’s not picking up. Is she still out? he thinks anxiously. The guy has a kid, so it’s unlikely that they’d stay out too late unless he’s arranged it with his babysitter…

“Hello?” Scully’s slightly husky voice cuts through his thoughts.

“Scully,” he says, tentative relief creeping into his body.

“Mulder, what is it?” she asks. “It’s late. For normal people, anyway. Are you alright?”

“‘M’ fine,” he assures he. “Just couldn’t sleep.”

He hears her hum in understanding. Late night phone calls between them aren’t uncommon, after all. “Have you tried counting sheep?” she asks, not unkindly. “Or slowing your breathing down, focusing on the cadence of inhales and exhales like I showed you?”

He’s wide awake, sitting upright on his couch, still in the slacks and wrinkled button-down he wore to the office that day. “Yes,” he lies. “It’s not helping. There’s too much going on in my head right now.”

“You work too much,” she says gently. “And yet not enough, when deadlines are involved. We’ve got an impressive paperwork backlog-”

“Can we not talk about work right now?” He reaches down and unties his shoes. “Otherwise I’ll never get to sleep.”

“Right.” There’s rustling on her end. She’s in bed, he realizes.

“Did I wake you, Scully?” he asks, trying to hide his surprise.

“It’s fine, Mulder, I was only dozing,” she replies.

“Oh, how was the date?” he asks, as though it only just occurred to him, instead of being the only thing he’s thought about all night.

“It was nice,” she responds, and he drops his head onto the back of the couch in defeat. Shit. Shit shit shit shit-

“We talked about medicine, about cancer, loss. His daughter’s name is Amanda,” she continues. “Her mother - his wife - died when Mandy was only two, so he’s mostly raised her alone.”

“That’s rough,” Mulder says softly. Please don’t make me feel bad for this guy, Scully, I can’t bear it, he thinks.

“Mhm,” she agrees. “And his work at the hospital is pretty grueling, so his mother helps out a lot. I… I told him about Emily.”

“How’d that go?” Mulder asks, concerned. “It’s not the most… plausible-sounding story.”

“I was vague,” she replies. “All I really said was that I had recently reconnected with a child I’d been separated from, right before she died. He didn’t ask for details; he could probably tell it was a fresh wound.”

They’re silent for a moment.

“Do you think you’ll see him again?” Mulder asks quietly. Somehow he already knows what she’s going to say, and he braces himself for the sting of her words as they pierce his heart.

“I… I think I will,” Scully says, sounding distant. “I mean, it’s worth a shot, right?”

She deserves this. She deserves a chance at something ordinary, safe, comfortable.

“Maggie Scully didn’t raise a quitter,” he says with a watery smile she’ll never see.

She chuckles. “No, I suppose she didn’t,” Scully muses. He hears her yawn. “I’m tired out, Mulder. Think you can sleep now?”

“I’ll try,” he says. He’s surprised to feel his eyes beginning to burn with unshed tears. “Thanks for talking to me,” he adds.

“Anytime. Sleep well,” she says warmly, and the line goes dead.

He supposes he brought this on himself by keeping his feelings hidden. He waited too long, playing it safe. He wanted to gauge her feelings before he made any overt moves, and someone else beat him to it.

It’s just one date. But there’s going to be more. By the sound of it, she wants there to be more.

There’s no way he’s going to sleep well tonight.

He’s in a sour mood when he’s summoned to the Gunmen’s… den? lair? headquarters? the next afternoon, by way of one of their patented cryptic phone calls.

Byers unfastens the dozen locks on the door and lets him inside. “Mulder,” he says, ushering him in. “Good to see you.”

Mulder flops down in a rickety desk chair, exhaustion permeating his muscles. “I’m not up for being social today, boys,” he warns. “You said you had information for me?”

“We took the liberty of looking into Agent Scully’s new�� uh, friend,” Byers says.

“For safety reason,” Langly adds, seeing Mulder’s lips purse.

“She’s precious cargo,” Frohike says, wiggling his eyebrows.

“How did you find him?” Mulder asks. “I didn’t even know his first name until yesterday.”

“Don’t insult us with your surprise,” Frohike mutters. “We’re experts.”

“We knew he’s a part of the parish Scully attends-“ Byers begins.

“And we knew he’s an ER doc, has a 6 year old daughter, and a dead wife,” Langly cuts in. “That’s plenty to go on.”

“I don’t need to know more than that,” Mulder says, suddenly feeling guilty. “It’s not my business.”

“Maybe not, but we have the info,” Frohike says. “Look, all you need to know is that he seems legit. Name’s Einolander, if you were curious.”

“I wasn’t,” Mulder lies, taking a sunflower seed out of his pocket and biting it pensively.

“Of course not,” Byers says, sounding completely unconvinced.

“You alright, Mulder?” Langly asks. “You look rough.”

“Of course he does,” Frohike hisses in the least subtle whisper of all time. “Scully’s dating someone that’s not him. Cut the guy some slack.”

“You guys don’t know shit,” Mulder grumbles, then backtracks, running his hands over his face. “I’m sorry. I, uh... didn’t sleep well.”

“It’s okay, man,” Langly says.

Frohike nods sagely. ”We know how you feel about her. This can’t be easy for you.”

Mulder wilts in his chair. “How did you know?” he asks pathetically, realizing the jig is up. Has he really been so obvious this whole time? Fucking hell.

“Look, knowing things is our business,” Byers explains. “And we know you. We’ve been around the block with you a few times, and nobody’s meant this much to you. Not even Diana.”

“Plus, Agent Scully is a smokeshow, and you have eyes,” Frohike adds. Byers gives him a jab with his elbow. “Hey, I stand by that,” he declares, rubbing his arm.

“Well thanks anyway, fellas,” Mulder says, standing. “I should get going. The walls in my apartment won’t stare at themselves.”

“Do you want the file we put together on the guy?” Byers asks. “We can make copies.”

Mulder shakes his head. “Keep it. Draw a mustache on his photo or something.” He picks up his coat and slings it over his shoulder. “You kids have fun.”

“If you need anything, just flag us down,” Frohike says, patting Mulder’s back before unlatching the door.

Mulder steps out the door, then turns back. “How old is this guy?”

“Forty-one,” Byers says, flipping through the file. “Five-foot-ten, dark blond hair, brown eyes. Blood type-”

Mulder holds up a hand. “I don’t want to know. Bye, guys.”

He gets a petty, juvenile satisfaction from the fact that he’s two inches taller and four years younger than Dr. Einolander. It’s short-lived, but at this point he’ll take what he can get.

Because he can’t get Scully.

#my fic #txf fic #msr #xfiles #fox mulder closet romantic #fmcr #OH SHIT YALL THE ANGST TRAIN IS PULLING INTO THE STATION #had to do it to em

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maybeimamuppet · 3 years ago

Text

you happened

hey darlings!! happy wednesday!!!

let’s get right into it shall we?

tw for

discussion of canon events in mg (outing, etc)

discussion of canon events in the prom (homophobia, etc.)

this was requested by @spidy-nugget like forever ago so thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy!

—

“Oh!” Cady says, interrupting herself in the middle of a sentence. “I just remembered! My cousin is coming to visit next week, do you guys want to meet her?”

“Emma?” Damian asks excitedly. Cady nods. “Yes! Is she bringing the-her… Broadway friends?”

“I dunno, she didn’t tell me,” Cady giggles. “But probably, she said they usually visit her at some point every summer.”

“I should probably be there to stop him from combusting if they do come,” Janis huffs. “But also, yes, I want to meet her too.”

“She’s an absolute icon,” Damian says happily. “God, her song. Still makes me cry.”

“You cried watching Finding Dory yesterday,” Janis retaliates.

“It’s a sad movie! Sometimes!” Damian defends. “Anyway, tell me all about Emma.”

“Okay,” Cady giggles again. “She’s a year older than us, and she’s my cousin on my mom’s side. Um… you know her whole… prom fiasco. I’ve only met her in person once when I was ten, for Rhys’ funeral. But we were pen pals when we were really little. And now we just text and stuff.”

“Cute,” Damian says. “And is her girlfriend coming?”

“Oh! Yeah,” Cady says around a mouthful of Janis’ milkshake. “Her name is Alyssa, she’s, like, super smart. Did every possible activity in high school, that kind of thing. But she’s been with Emma when we’ve Facetimed and stuff before and she’s super sweet.”

“Aww,” Damian coos. “I can’t wait!”

————-

Luckily for him, Damian doesn’t have to wait too long. Emma and Alyssa arrive the following week in Emma’s pickup. Damian has been pressed against the window all day, like a small child watching for the ice cream truck. He gasps dramatically when four people in matching sequined tracksuits also hop out of the backseat, grumbling about being cramped together for such a long trip.

Cady opens the door to let everyone in, and is quickly swamped by a crowd of people much taller than her. Janis pops up on her tippy toes to try and find her girlfriend to save her, but doesn’t succeed.

Everyone heads into the living room, and Janis laughs when she finds Cady being carried in like a sack of potatoes by one of the men that came with Emma.

“Emma, why didn’t you tell me your cousin was so adorable?” He demands. “Look at this, she’s so small.”

“Please put me down,” Cady squeaks. Janis heads over and reaches for her.

“Can I have my girlfriend back, please?”

“And she’s gay!” The man says happily, passing Cady over like she’s a small dog. Janis holds her close and smoothes her hair back to where it was.

“Bi, actually,” Cady grumbles.

“Well, aren’t you something. Oh, my name is Barry, by the way. As if you haven’t heard of me.”

“Barry, we talked about this,” Emma chides. “They haven’t. Except Damian.”

“And where is this Damian? I want to meet him,” one of the ladies says. “Oh, and my name is Dee Dee.”

Damian enters shyly and gives a little wave. Janis cackles, “Dude, you’re totally starstruck, look at you!”

“Uh-hi,” he stutters. “I’m Damian.”

“Aww!” The other lady says. “Look at your little cheeks, what a sweetheart! I’m Angie.”

Damian blushes violently as he’s cooed over by Angie. Barry hauls her off to get a good look at him.

“I like this,” he says. “It’s like a mini me.”

“Just don’t break him,” Emma pleads. “Damian, can I trust you to babysit for a while?”

That prompts a, ‘Hey!’ from all four adults, and an eager nod from Damian. “I can show them around town.”

“This is not a town, darling,” Dee Dee says gently. “But what is there to see?”

“We have… uh-“

“There’s an IHOP!” Cady chirps. “And the mall. That’s kind of it until you get to Chicago. Or the lake.”

“This is the most precious soul,” Barry says happily.

“Dame, we did it. I never thought I’d see the day we found someone gayer than you,” Janis laughs.

“Oh, I like this one too,” Barry says. “Funky little lesbian. She dresses like Emma but goth.”

“I do love the hair,” Emma agrees. “I’m dressed more like Cady today though.”

They both look down at their almost-matching flannels and jean shorts, then back at each other with a nod.

“Same boots though,” Janis cheers, lifting a foot. Emma laughs and nudges it with one of her own doc martens. “Nice.”

“Precious,” Angie says. “Okay, we’ll leave you gals alone now. Damian, show us the sights.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Damian says, leading the adults to the door.

“Yes, show us to the… hopping eyes,” Dee Dee says, sounding both bored and intrigued at the same time. Damian waves goodbye to Janis excitedly and closes the door after him.

“Well,” Emma chuckles. “Oh, I hope he’ll be okay.”

“I think he’ll be fine,” Alyssa soothes. “He’s in good company, and he’s a theatre kid, he gets their… vibes.”

“Theatre kid is an understatement for that boy,” Janis tuts affectionately.

“True,” Cady giggles. “Anyway, we can hang out in my room, if you want?”

Emma and Alyssa nod, so Cady leads everyone up to her bedroom. Janis flops onto the bed and Cady crawls in behind her, lifting her head onto her lap. Alyssa and Emma look around curiously for a second before joining them.

“Who did these?” Alyssa asks, pointing to the paintings and collages adorning the walls. “They’re incredible, especially this one. It looks just like you guys!”

Janis flushes as she points to the one she won her art contest with, of she and Damian and Cady all together. “I did.”

“Dang,” Emma breathes. “You have some serious talent, Janis.”

“Thanks,” Janis squeaks.

“No, seriously! Do you have stuff here?” Emma insists.

“A few things, yeah,” Janis says confusedly, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

Emma lifts her guitar case onto the bed and flicks the latches open, pulling out her famous instrument. It’s covered in stickers and little doodles, much like Janis’ jackets.

“Will you do something on this for me?”

Janis’ eyes go wide. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course!” Emma chuckles. “There’s room down here if you want it visible, or on the back.”

Janis carefully takes the instrument and assesses the material, trying to put an idea together in her mind. She runs to Cady’s desk when one comes to her, where she keeps a supply of basic colors and brushes in case of emergency. Cady doesn’t mind keeping them, they remind her of her girlfriend.

Cady grins affectionately as Emma and Alyssa cuddle in together. “How did you two meet?”

Her cousin turns to smile at her girlfriend. “I kind of always knew of her from school and stuff, but we didn’t really get close until sophomore year.”

Alyssa nods in agreement. “My mom wanted me to be more creative and have another skill or whatever, so she signed me up for guitar classes. Just so happens she was my teacher.”

“You really sucked,” Emma teases. Alyssa scoffs, aghast, and shoves her so hard she nearly falls off the bed. “Ack! Hey, I was kidding!”

“I know,” Alyssa giggles. “I did suck, I’ve never been much good at artsy stuff.”

“I was never good at art either,” Cady chuckles at their antics. “Jay’s tried to teach me to paint a couple times and it hasn’t gone too well.”

She peeks around the other couple to where her own girlfriend is sitting cross-legged on the ground, tongue poked out to the side as she carefully brushes a stroke of paint onto Emma’s guitar. Janis looks up when she feels her gaze, and grins happily when she sees Cady.

“You have the right instincts, I keep telling you,” she says. “You just get cranky too fast and then start attacking me with it.”

Everyone else bursts out laughing. Emma says, “I don’t blame her, I hated art class. What were we talking about?”

“How we met, dummy,” Alyssa huffs, kissing behind Emma’s ear.

“Oh yeah! So, we started off with actual lessons, but then we started getting to know each other more,” Emma explains. “And then I came out and got kicked out, which… a lot of people heard about, so Lyss figured I was a safe person to tell that she was questioning.”

Cady nods, listening intently to the story.

“I came out to her that summer,” Alyssa says. “And she said she’d had a crush on me all along, and asked me out. So we went on a walk and then got coffee and the rest is history.”

“We forgot to mention the serious gay panic I had during our first lesson,” Emma chuckles. “But that’s the gist of it.”

“How cute,” Cady coos.

“What about you two, how long have you been together?” Alyssa asks kindly, flicking Emma’s ear gently as she aggressively plops down onto her lap.

“Four months,” Janis pipes up immediately.

“Man, you crushed on her for that long without saying anything, Cades?” Emma says, impressed. Janis pops her head up and listens in.

“Oh?”

“She never shut up about you for, like, almost a year,” Emma laughs. Cady flushes scarlet and looks down at her lap with a flustered squeak. “I’m assuming it was you, she never gave a name. But it was always a tall, hot artist with cool hair and nice muscles. And I think she mentioned your butt a few times, she thinks that’s cute.”

Janis cackles as Cady flops facedown onto her bed and groans into a pillow. “How cute, I didn’t know that. But I shouldn’t laugh, I definitely wasn’t any better.”

“How did you get together?” Alyssa asks, patting Cady’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Janis snorts from the ground and Cady gives another groan into her pillow. “What?”

“You tell them,” Cady grumbles, poking her face out just long enough that it’s not muffled.

“Baby, it’s cute,” Janis coos.

“No it’s not!”

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell it in a way that makes me look just as dorky,” Janis compromises. “Caddy came to my school in September from Kenya, and she had these adorable little cargo shorts and socks with sandals on, and-“

“Hold on, what?” Alyssa insists. “Kenya?”

“Cady grew up there, her parents are zoologists,” Emma explains.

“How many conversations have we had with her? And you never thought to tell me she’s from Africa?”

“It never came up! We both had a lot going on the first year and then we just didn’t bring it up,” Emma defends. “And now you know.”

“Sorry,” Alyssa says. “Keep going.”

“It’s all good,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, I fell for her so bad the first day that I dragged Damian into the bathroom at lunch and made him let her join our group.”

Cady pops her head up and looks to her girlfriend. “You did?”

“Yeah, duh,” Janis says. “We’re not known for socializing with the new kids, I just thought you were cute.”

Cady blushes again, but doesn’t return to her pillow. “Keep going.”

Janis chuckles and continues telling the story as she finishes her small painting on Emma’s guitar. “So we became friends that day, and then had… an ordeal, through the rest of junior year and didn’t really reconnect until spring.”

Cady’s told Emma and Alyssa the whole story, so they both nod at Janis’ quick explanation.

“We got really close over the summer, and apparently we were both crushing on each other. But we didn’t notice, somehow. And then I sorta snapped on her birthday this year and decided to fess up, so I made that,” Janis points to the black and white collage hanging next to one of her paintings on the wall. “But before I could give it to her, this little firecracker got wasted and started crying in my lap about how much she loved me.”

“I wasn’t that drunk!” Cady huffs.

“I found you lying on the ground singing yourself to sleep,” Janis giggles. “And you didn’t recognize me, clearly. Just climbed into my lap and spilled your guts. I was lucky it wasn’t literal.”

“Janis Sarkisian,” Cady grumbles. “Behave.”

“Fine, fine,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, once she sobered up a little bit we had a chat and realized we both had feelings for each other, so we started dating. And now we’re here.”

“That did not make you sound anywhere near as dorky as me,” Cady huffs. “But yeah, that’s… that’s it.”

Emma snorts once the story is done. “That does sound like Cady. But if that’s what it took, then I guess it was worth it.”

Cady turns to look at Janis again. “It was. But you guys went through a lot more than us, that must have been tough on both of you.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Emma chuckles, trying to sneak a peek at Janis’ work. The angle isn’t quite right, so she gives up before she falls off her girlfriend. “You guys went through a lot. But yeah, it was really tough. I’m so lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Alyssa murmurs back. “You guys know the story?”

“I do,” Cady says. “I think Jay and Damian just know the bare bones. It’s your story to tell, I didn’t want to give too many details away.”

Alyssa gives her a grateful smile, and Cady grins back. “Do you want to hear it?”

“Of course,” Janis pipes up. “I finished, by the way. Um, here.”

“Hey, you stole my idea!” Cady jokingly whines when she sees what Janis has done.

“But it’s so perfect!” Janis defends. Emma takes her guitar to see, and smiles at the new lion with a rainbow mane in the spot they’d picked. “And it’s kind of for both of us.”

“This is awesome,” Emma says. “Oh! I get it, it’s a pride thing! Pride of lions, and then… oh. Clever!”

“It was actually Caddy’s idea, she made me a rock with it at pride last week,” Janis says. “I thought it fit.”

“It does, you’re really talented!” Alyssa says, leaning over her girlfriend’s shoulder to see it. Janis’ text tone goes off, so she pulls her phone out of the pocket of her shorts to check it. Cady peeks over to see what it is too as Janis bursts out laughing. It’s a picture of Damian surrounded by his new friends, now in a matching tracksuit all of his own.

jamian: Sent a picture: JAN LOOKIT

danis: nice outfit

jamian: Thank u it really suits me doesnt it

danis: honestly

danis: yeah kinda

jamian: Sent a picture: Thank u

jamian: Anyway we’re going to ihop next yall should meet us there

danis: kk love u

jamian: Love u too

“I think your little crew adopted Damian,” Janis chuckles at Emma and Alyssa, showing them the photo of a very excited Damian.

“Aww,” Emma chuckles. “I’m glad they didn’t kill him, they can be a lot to handle.”

“He seems fine,” Janis shrugs. “Whose truck are we taking?”

“Oh, is that one in the driveway yours?” Emma says excitedly. Janis nods. “It’s nice!”

“We’ve been in Em’s all day,” Alyssa chuckles. “Probably best to take yours.”

“I call shotgun!” Cady yells, already tugging on her shoes and running downstairs.

“As if I’d let anyone else,” Janis mumbles affectionately under her breath.

————-

The waitstaff at IHOP look more than a little frightened at the size of their group, and especially at the crew in tracksuits.

“Ey, yo!” One of them calls. “Guys, come here! It’s that guy from the thing! That show!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Trent grumbles under his breath. “Why is it always that? I played Hamlet!”

They’re quickly escorted to a large table near the back, and Trent signs a few menus as a little gift to the now very excited waiters.

“Was Juilliard worth it?” He mutters to himself. Angie, who’s sat next to him, nudges him with an elbow to shut him up.

Janis and Emma both order for their girlfriends, and also order themselves the same meal of chicken and waffles. Dee Dee gets french toast, Angie gets an omelet, Trent gets some crepes, and Barry gets the most horrifically sweet looking pancakes anyone’s ever seen. Apparently they’re cupcake flavored.

Alyssa looks very content with her large Belgian waffle, and Cady seems delighted with her chocolate chip pancakes decorated with whipped cream to look like a face. It’s definitely from the children’s menu, but nobody says anything.

“So tell us about you guys,” Dee Dee says once their food gets delivered. She looks eagerly to her friends, as if to say, ‘Look how nice I can be when I want to.’ Barry claps quietly for her.

“What do you want to know?” Damian asks. Dee Dee puts her head in her hands, clearly not knowing how to continue. Trent takes over for her.

“How do you guys know each other?”

“Oh!” Damian says excitedly. “Janis and I have been friends, like, forever. We met in tap dance class when we were three.”

“And you knocked my fucking teeth out in that class when we were five,” Janis grumbles.

“By accident!” Damian defends amidst the giggles of their whole group. “I got really into it. Anyway, so we’ve been friends forever. And then little Caddy happened along in junior year, and we kind of kidnapped her for a while.”

“No, I needed to be kidnapped,” Cady laughs. “I was a total wreck. They actually sort of rescued me from the school bathroom at lunch.”

“You were eating in the bathroom?” Barry asks, sounding both empathetic and disgusted. “Oh, you poor sweet thing.”

“I was the new kid, y’know?” Cady shrugs. “Nobody wanted to eat with the dork from Africa.”

Angie chokes on a bite of her food, and Trent thumps her on the back. “From what now?”

“I’m from Kenya,” Cady giggles. “Well, technically I was born in Oregon. But I lived in Kenya for thirteen years.”

“Just, like, in the wilderness?” Barry asks in shock. “With the lions and tigers and… bears and stuff?”

Cady laughs out loud. “Pretty much. But there’s no tigers or bears.”

“But there were lions?” Trent insists.

“Oh, yeah,” Cady says like it’s entirely normal. “That’s mostly what we were studying. They were kind of my only friends.”

“And they never showed any interest in… consuming you?” Dee Dee asks worriedly. Cady laughs again.

“Lions are just big cats, you know, guys? As long as you’re careful and respect their boundaries they won’t hurt you,” she chuckles. “I got swiped at a few times when I was little, but I never needed more than fifteen stitches.”

“Fifteen?” Angie yelps.

“That is kind of a lot, Cades,” Emma chuckles. “I never had to get more than three as a kid.”

��Oh. Well, I was kind of asking for it, I was playing too rough,” Cady hums.

“With a lion,” Alyssa insists. “Do you have pictures?” Cady nods and passes over her phone for them to scroll through her camera roll.

“Anyway, please keep going,” Angie says, leaning across the table to try to see.

“That’s basically it,” Janis shrugs. “Until you get into the whole mess that happened junior year.”

Cady and Damian nod in agreement. The adults all look very excited at the prospect of some new drama. “Do tell.”

The art freaks all look to one another warily, wondering who should begin. Cady decides to after a second of back and forth.

“Well, um… I sat with these two on my first day,” she begins. “But then just before lunch ended I met these three girls. We called them the Plastics.”

“Why?” Angie asks curiously. Damian shows them all a photo. “Oh. I already don’t like this one.” Janis snorts quietly as she points to Regina.

“Anyway, they said I should sit with them, and Janis and Damian wanted me to so I could spy on them,” Cady says sheepishly. “They have some… personal history.”

“Oh?” Trent asks. Cady looks to Janis, this bit is her story to tell.

“Regina, the one in the middle, outed me in eighth grade,” Janis says. “Carved slurs into my locker, that kinda thing.”

“Oh, honey,” Barry says sadly. “That bitch.”

Janis chuckles weakly. “Yeah. The other two just kind of went along with it. They were just generally bitchy to everyone. But I didn’t have many friends because of her, and I went through a lot of counseling and stuff because of it. Spent some time in the hospital for… reasons, but that’s not… something we need to discuss right now.”

Everyone nods, respecting her privacy. Cady continues telling the story. “So, I pretended to join them and would kind of report back to Janis and Damian. I learned that they had this book, called the Burn Book, where they would write mean things about people from the yearbook and stuff. And at the same time I was crushing for a long time on this boy named Aaron, but he was Regina’s ex. She had dumped him earlier for another guy. And she was actually cheating on him with the other one.”

“Oh, can I tell this bit?” Janis asks. Cady nods and gestures for her to keep going. “So, around Halloween, Cady went to Aaron’s party, and I don’t know exactly what happened, but he basically got back together with Regina.”

“What kind of idiot-“ Trent begins, getting cut off by a stomp on the foot from Dee Dee.

“So poor Caddy came to my house,” Janis says, trying to keep down giggles at the memory. “Fucking slams my basement door open, but Dame and I were watching horror movies. Caddy was dressed as some corpse bride with a knife in her back and everything, and Damian screamed so loud, like, higher than I’ve ever heard. But she was crying, so we helped her and then came up with a revenge plot.”

Dee Dee suddenly looks very interested, leaning forwards slightly and resting her head on her folded hands.

“Caddy had these snack bars from Kenya, they’re… Swedish, I think?” Damian says. Cady nods. “They make you gain weight, like, really quickly. Regina was kind of obsessed with her weight and image and stuff, so we got Caddy to tell her they were actually a diet bar to help lose weight.”

“No,” Angie gasps. Everyone laughs at her reaction.

“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “I don’t think anything major happened until around Christmas. The Plastics did this dance every year at the winter talent show, and we had to wear these skimpy little Santa outfits. But Regina had already gained a fair bit of weight, so her skirt didn’t fit…”

“It fell off in the middle of the routine in front of everyone,” Janis cackles. Emma and Alyssa both look slightly scared of her. “Sorry. Personal vindication. But yeah, that was kind of the beginning of the end for her. Cady kind of… got lost in it, by that point. It was hard to tell if she was pretending or not.”

Cady looks down at her lap in shame, so Janis takes her hand under the table and kisses the side of her head a few times to comfort her. Damian keeps going with the story.

“So, Caddy basically overthrew Regina as Queen Bee of the school. She threw a little party and didn’t invite us or Regina, so she kind of was attacking both fronts. We got pretty mad and stopped associating with her, and Regina was obviously furious,” he says. “And so as revenge for that, Regina photocopied the Burn Book and spread all the pages around the school. I saw, like, seven fights before first period even started that day.”

“But didn’t they know that she had written it?” Trent asks.

“That’s the thing, she put herself in it,” Janis adds, now holding Cady on her lap. “So nobody suspected her. She went to the principal and blamed Gretchen and Karen, they’re the other two, and Cady.”

“I don’t like this story,” Barry whines. “Tell me something good happens.”

“Oh, just wait,” Janis chuckles darkly. “There was an assembly called that day, and they tried to make us apologize to each other and do trust exercises or something like that. I kind of went rogue and only apologized to myself and rallied the rest of the girls in our grade.”

“Go Janis,” Angie says, sounding impressed. “Stick it to the man.”

“Thanks,” Janis laughs. “But it only lasted a few minutes.”

“Damn it,” Barry groans. “What happened?”

“Regina got hit by a bus,” Cady says. Angie spits her mouthful of lemonade over Trent.

“She what?”

“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “So, that time kind of sucked for both of us. She was in the hospital recovering, and everyone was saying that I pushed her in front of it or that she jumped in front of it on purpose because of me.”

“She didn’t die?” Dee Dee clarifies. Everyone is more than a little concerned at the disappointment in her voice.

“No,” Cady chuckles. “Well, she died for, like, fifteen seconds, but she was resuscitated and she’s fine now.”

“And did you push her?” Barry asks. “We’re all friends here, you can tell us.”

“No!” Cady huffs. “I may have been a raging bitch, but I’m not an attempted murderer.”

“You didn’t feed anyone to a lion back in Kenya?” Janis teases gently.

“I’ll do it to you if you’re not careful,” Cady retaliates with a laugh. “Where did we leave off?”

“Regina got hit by a bus and you didn’t push her,” Trent says helpfully, still dabbing some lemonade out of his sweater with a wad of napkins.

“Oh,” Damian says. “Okay, so, I don’t… totally remember what happened in between that and Spring Fling, but it’s really not important.”

“I was suspended for the Book, that’s kind of it,” Cady says, gesturing for him to continue.

“Oh, yeah! Anyway, Spring Fling at our school is basically prom but for underclassmen, prom is just for the seniors. Jan and I were each other’s dates, she decorated our outfits and stuff, we looked killer if I do say so myself.”

Janis rolls her eyes lovingly and whacks him with an elbow.

“And Caddy was banned, so she wasn’t supposed to be there, but she showed up towards the end with the Mathletes,” Damian continues. “And she had been nominated for queen, and she won. So she went up on stage and gave the most beautiful speech I’ve ever heard and broke her crown, and we all got a piece. So now we’re all friends and life is good.”

“Nice ending, Dame,” Janis laughs. “Hasty conclusions. But that it is basically how it happened.”

Everyone blinks at them. Trent says, “That was like being in a war zone. Just one bombshell after another.”

“It kinda was, our math teacher got stabbed in the leg at one point,” Cady hums. “Anyway, what’s your guys’ story? If you want to share.”

“Oh, yeah, I’d like to know more,” Damian says. “Jan and I really only know the bare bones. What was in the news, and stuff.”

“You guys can start,” Emma says, pulling a face as Alyssa gently dabs some syrup off her lip. Alyssa giggles when Emma tries to bite her hand and kisses Emma’s cheek.

“Ooh, okay!” Barry says eagerly. “We were in a show. Well, Dee Dee and I. We were in a delightful little show called Eleanor.”

“As in…” Janis says confusedly.

“Eleanor Roosevelt,” Dee Dee explains. She seems surprised when the kids all nod in understanding. “You’ve heard of her?”

“Yeah?” Cady says, tilting her head. “She’s one of the most famous first ladies of all time, we learned about her in our history class.”

“Not nearly enough,” Janis grumbles. “Gotta make time for the men.”

“Amen sister,” Angie huffs.

“Really…” Dee Dee hums interestedly. “Anyway, it was… not a success. Poor advance sales, and then…”

“We bombed opening night,” Barry grumbles. “Apparently. But it wasn’t the show, it was… it was us. The media panned us as aging narcissists and we had to close.”

“On opening night?” Damian gasps in horror. Dee Dee and Barry both nod sadly.

“Regretfully, yes. So, we had to try to change the narrative,” Dee Dee says. “We decided to find a good cause and do something. So we were going to build houses for Habitat for Humanity.”

“But Barry has a bad back,” Trent pipes up. “So then we thought about, like, recycling or fixing poverty or world hunger.”

“But that was all too much for us to handle,” Angie says. “So I went on Twitter and found-”

“Me!” Emma says. “Apparently that all happened on the same night as the first assembly where the PTA cancelled prom in the first place. I guess we were trending.”

“And they only cancelled it because you two wanted to go together?” Janis asks sadly.

“Yep. Well, nobody knew about Alyssa, but they cancelled it because they knew I wanted to bring my girlfriend,” Emma explains.

“Those bitches,” Janis grumbles. “Sorry.”

“Believe me, we get it,” Emma laughs. “But my bit of the story isn’t quite here yet.”

“Oh, yes!” Dee Dee realizes. “So, we decided to help Emma, but we were completely out of funds and had no way to get all the way to Indiana from New York.”

“But I had just booked a non-equity tour of Godspell,” Trent half-brags. The other half seems rather depressed at that statement. “So we came on the tour bus.”

“Can I start our part?” Alyssa asks. Emma nods and squeezes her hand under the table. “So, they obviously gave no indication that they were coming. Emma and Principal Hawkins had gone to the State’s Attorney by that point and put some legal pressure on the PTA, so we had another assembly to discuss options.”

“We?” Damian asks.

“Oh, my mom was the head of the PTA,” Alyssa says casually. Damian chokes on his drink and Janis nearly drops Cady on the ground.

“Your mom cancelled your prom?” Janis asks in shock. Alyssa nods sadly. “Oh, because you… she didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It was what it was. She knows now,” Alyssa hums. “Anyway, I was there to speak for student council. I was mid-sentence, and then they come barreling into the gym with signs and yelling at everyone.”

“Educating everyone,” Barry corrects. “Loudly and with signs.”

“Right, educating. Sorry,” Alyssa laughs. “So my mom totally loses her shit. It’s chaos. I think Trent had a cowbell at some point?”

Trent reaches into a messenger bag next to him and pulls out a cowbell, resting it on the table with a quiet thunk.

“You just keep that with you?” Janis chuckles.

“For emergencies,” Trent explains. “You’d be surprised.”

Janis tries to think of what emergencies she’s faced that would either be helped or solved with the addition of a cowbell, and surprisingly, she can think of a few.

“Of course he keeps it all the time,” Emma chuckles. “I don’t remember… most of what happened that time. But after a few days they announced that the prom was back on.”

“Because of you?” Damian asks, looking to the stars.

“No,” they all say at the same time Emma says, “I think so.”

Everyone looks her way. “I told you this at the time, but you guys really scared people! I think you at least had a part.”

“How sweet,” Dee Dee says. “Let’s say we had an ensemble part in getting it back on.”

That gets a chuckle from everyone at the table, before Barry continues with the story.

“I, obviously, had to take Emma shopping,” he says. “She only had one dress and it was… a travesty would be an understatement.”

“I’m honestly not sure where it came from,” Emma chuckles. “Just think Little House on the Prarie but somehow so much worse.”

“So we went to the mall, and found this lovely blue dress and some good shoes,” Barry says. Emma looks like she would disagree with his choice of adjectives, but nods. “Did her hair and makeup all fancy, and bought her a corsage.”

“Aww,” Cady coos. “How sweet.”

“That part was fun,” Emma agrees fondly. “But…”

“When we got there,” Barry says. “Poor thing was so excited, but it was-it was just-“

Dee Dee continues for him, as Barry gets too emotional to keep going. “It was totally empty. Barry took Emma into the gym, and it was just horrific. There were barely any decorations, and they were just thrown up. I would be stunned if they spent more than ten dollars on the whole thing.”

“Oh god,” Damian says sadly. “I heard it was a fake, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“It sucked,” Emma chuckles sardonically, trying not to get too heavy in the middle of an IHOP. “More than anything. I didn’t care about the decorations, I just… it was so lonely, you know? I realized then that so many people I thought cared about me just didn’t. So many people I thought were my friends, weren’t. I had never felt more alone.”

“It sounds awful,” Janis says.

“It was,” Emma mumbles. Alyssa takes her hand under the table and gives it a gentle squeeze. Emma looks up and gives her a sad but grateful grin.

“I was at the… other prom. The real one,” Alyssa continues, seeming ashamed. “I had no idea what they had done, everyone on student council and the PTA hid it from me too. Some of my friends had seen us together and realized I was the ‘secret girlfriend’ and were trying to break us up.”

“Which worked,” Emma admits sadly. “I called her to try to get her to come to my own personal prom so I could at least have her there, but her mom was at the real one with her and she couldn’t leave. And I just sort of… lost it. I hung up and we didn’t talk again for a week.”

“I never blamed you for that,” Alyssa murmurs gently. “You were still trying to process everything and I just added to it.”

“No, you didn’t,” Emma insists. “We can talk more later. Anyway. I ran out, obviously. And Angie actually came after me, which was nice. She just let me cry and didn’t make me do anything. Helped me get my makeup off and stuff. She even slept on my bedroom floor in case I needed something. It was kind of like having a mom there, which I really needed.”

“How fucking old-“ Angie begins, but Trent claps a hand over her mouth. Emma laughs and continues.

“And then the rest of them came by the next day even though I yelled at them,” she says.

“With ice cream!” Barry butts in. “That’s an important detail.”

“Oh yeah, they brought me Häagen Dazs,” Emma laughs. “It was cute. Especially because they thought I wouldn’t know what it was.”

“Can you blame us? You live in the most yeehaw hick town in Indiana,” Trent says. “And that’s saying something.”

“It’s not that bad,” Emma tuts. “Anyway, they brought ice cream and were trying to convince me to do something to bring more attention to what was happening. Dee Dee actually got me on a talk show at one point, but I knew I would never be able to do something like that.”

“You still owe me a house,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath. “But what she wound up doing was much better anyway.”

“The song?” Damian asks. Emma nods.

“I had it sort of in my head for a while, and I managed to piece it together in about a week,” she replies. “I was terrified, but it was just an overnight thing. I woke up the next day and it already had two million views.”

Alyssa squeezes her hand with a proud smile. “Half of them were me.”

“The other half were Damian,” Janis chuckles. “He made me watch it at lunch one day and we both watched it so many times we knew all the words by the next day.”

“Aww,” Emma says. “You guys are so sweet.”

“We try,” Janis and Damian say at the same time, locking eyes and glaring at each other once they notice. Cady giggles at their antics.

“Anyway,” Emma laughs. “I wasn’t expecting even that many, but people just kept watching, and then I started getting all these comments on it that were so precious. All these other queer kids all over the world sharing their stories too. Eventually it got back to Principal Hawkins and all of them, and they helped figure out how to set up an inclusive prom. And funded it, which was very helpful.”

“Yeah, helpful,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath.

“Once we saw where the money was going it was so worth it,” Barry says, gently kicking Dee Dee under the table. “It was beautiful.”

“It really was,” Emma agrees. “But god, it took forever to set up.”

“God, yeah,” Alyssa says. “Oh, and we got back together, like, as we were setting everything up, we forgot to mention that.”

“Oh yeah,” Emma says. “Her mom came when she heard what we were doing in the gym because we never got PTA approval-“

“So she was mad,” Alyssa butts in.

“Very mad,” Emma chuckles. “But you came with her and told her to stop talking, which was both hilarious and terrifying. And then you told me you loved me in front of everyone. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”

“Me either,” Alyssa says quietly.

“Aww,” Cady says, even though she’s heard the whole story before. It’s always a good one to repeat. “How sweet.”

“So after that whole thing we finished setting everything up,” Emma continues, smiling at her girlfriend. “And it was beautiful, even I was impressed.”

“You looked so happy when everyone started showing up,” Alyssa says fondly. “I was so proud of you. I still am. You gave so many people an incredible night they wouldn’t have had without you.”

Emma flushes slightly and looks down at her lap. Alyssa squishes her cheeks in her hand to get her to look back up.

“It really was an incredible night,” she says. “And we finally got to dance together, I think that was my favorite part.”

“That was good,” Alyssa nods. “But you’re a terrible dancer.”

“Hey! Just because I didn’t take dance classes for years,” Emma pouts.

“Oh, hush, I’m joking,” Alyssa says, kissing Emma’s cheek.

“You missed,” Emma continues pouting. Alyssa frowns in confusion and kisses her cheek again, but in a different spot. “You missed.”

Alyssa gives her a chaste kiss on the lips this time, and Emma finally smiles. Alyssa rolls her eyes lovingly. “You’re such a dork, goodness gracious.”

“You guys are almost as cute as Caddy and Janis,” Damian says, trying to snap them out of it and get them to remember the presence of the group.

“Almost?” Alyssa says, her competitive side making a slight appearance. “I think you’re biased.”

“Oh, definitely,” Damian agrees. “We don’t really have any unbiased judges though.”

“True. We’ll say it’s a truce for now,” Alyssa says. “Are we all done? I need to get up for a bit. I’m stuffed.”

“I think so,” Cady says, looking around at all the empty plates around. “We could go to the beach for the sunset, if you guys want. It’s not too far a drive.”

“Ooh, yes please,” Emma says excitedly. The adults play rock paper scissors to work out payment, and Dee Dee grumbles under her breath when she loses.

“Hungry kids. Why are pancakes so expensive?”

————-

“Oh, guys, look!” Damian says, pointing to a window of a thrift shop nearby. “We could go try on dresses!”

“We?” Janis chuckles, carrying Cady on her back. “You gonna get into a ballgown, D?”

“Why not?” Damian asks. “I have the figure for it, shut up.”

“I thought we were going to the beach,” Angie says.

“We can do both,” Barry says, seeming strangely excited. “Wear dresses to the beach.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Cady says eagerly, squeezing her legs together a bit to get Janis to go in, as if she’s riding a pony. “Please?”

“I am not paying,” Dee Dee says immediately. Everyone else nods, that’s only fair.

“Fine, fine. Come along,” Trent says, leading them into the shop as their gaggle of children follow like ducklings.

—-

The employees look a bit concerned as all nine of them parade to the discounted gown section and start looking for ones in their sizes. Damian finds his first, a royal purple gown with a high neck and a slit that would reach about to his knee. He takes it off the rack and heads over to the changing room, rapidly followed by Barry with his silver gown.

“How did-“ Emma stutters. “I guess they knew what they were looking for.”

Angie helps Trent find one that would fit him, an emerald green dress with long sleeves and a nice v-neck collar. He shrugs and follows Barry and Damian. Angie then moves on to find one of her own, and picks out a sleek black dress made of lace and with a shorter skirt, about to the knee. Dee Dee follows with one she seems to have grabbed at random, a nice yellow gown complete with a cape.

Alyssa picks a pink dress with a longer train, since she wore a short dress to both of her real proms and wants to experiment a little. Cady picks a yellow one, with longer sleeves and a bow in the back. The skirt is short, which makes her a little nervous, but she decides to give it a go.

Janis and Emma both look a bit lost, staring aimlessly at the racks and flicking through them weakly.

“Jayjay, try this one,” Cady says, offering a long, red, short-sleeved gown that looks like it would have a rather tight fit. Maybe Cady has some selfish motivations here, but she’ll never admit it. Janis raises a slightly suspicious eyebrow, but takes the dress and hauls her girlfriend off to the changing rooms.

“They all look so itchy,” Emma shudders slightly. Alyssa laughs and takes one of her hands.

“If you got one made of something like this it wouldn’t be too bad,” she says, showing Emma one made of an almost satin-like material. “And it’ll only be a couple hours at most. We’re going to the beach, sand is itchy anyway.”

“True,” Emma agrees with a little nod. “I like this one.”

“So try it,” Alyssa chuckles as Emma grabs an amethyst colored ballgown with a big poofy skirt. “Come on.”

Most of their group is waiting outside the rooms, clad in their ill fitting gowns. Trent’s is a bit too big, Barry’s is missing some sequins, and Angie’s has a small hole in the sleeve, but none of them complain.

Cady and Janis open the curtains to their respective rooms, revealing their dresses to one another. Janis is somehow not tall enough to fill her dress out, which makes her look a bit like Morticia Addams, but she doesn’t mind. Cady’s is almost perfect, but the skirt clings to her legs in an odd way.

“You look nice!” Cady says, gently adjusting Janis’ sleeve as Janis tugs at her collar.

“It’s a bit tight,” Janis says, sounding rather choked.

“I can fix that once we buy it,” Barry says, looking at himself in the mirror. Everyone looks at him in concern. “What? I have a stitch kit, I’ll just cut the collar off it.”

“Oh,” everyone says. Alyssa and Emma exit the changing rooms then, prompting coos from everyone.

“Emmy, you look beautiful!” Alyssa says, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. “The color really suits you.”

“Does it?” Emma says, sarcastically striking a pose. “It feels very… purple.”

“I like purple,” Alyssa hums, adjusting Emma’s skirt.

“You look really nice,” Emma replies, looking at Alyssa’s long dress. Hers is the closest to fitting correctly out of everyone’s.

“Thanks!” Alyssa says, putting her hands on her hips and popping out a knee. Emma laughs and kisses her gently.

“Okay, let’s go!” Angie says happily, having been taking pictures of everyone like a proud mom taking photos for her Facebook. Angie, Trent, and Barry split the cost among them, and they unleash their prom-ready selves onto the public.

—————-

“So you guys just graduated, right?” Alyssa asks, strolling down the shore holding hands with Emma. Cady and Janis are also hand in hand walking next to them.

“Yep!” Cady chirps.

“So you must’ve just had your senior prom too, what was yours like?”

“It was so fun! Damian took me shopping and I had the most beautiful dress,” Cady replies eagerly. “And Janis had a suit to match and it was… she looked… so hot.”

“Ooh,” Emma teases. “Scandalous.”

“Hey,” Cady says. “I’m allowed to think she’s hot.”

“Fair enough,” Emma shrugs.

“What about you guys, how are you handling your post-prom fame?” Janis jokes.

“Pretty well,” Emma chuckles. “Or at least I think we are.”

“You certainly are,” Alyssa murmurs.

“Oh yeah, aren’t you starting a nonprofit or something?” Cady asks.

“Wait, what?” Janis asks.

“I’m trying,” Emma laughs again. “Lyss’ mom is actually helping me. And trying to start a charity looks, like, super good on college applications, so that’s nice.”

“I thought your mom started this whole fiasco,” Janis says confusedly.

“Oh, she did,” Alyssa confirms. “But she’s cool with the gays now. She had a lot of questions and stuff, and she’s still having to work pretty hard at it. Changing opinions and thought patterns that were instilled in you from

childhood is tough. But she’s trying.”

“Yeah, she came to pride with us this year,” Emma says. “It was cute, she had a rainbow pantsuit and everything.”

“Go mom,” Janis chuckles. “I’m glad she turned things around.”

“Me too,” Alyssa murmurs quietly.

“Me three,” Emma says, squeezing her hand.

“So what’s this charity you’re getting going?” Cady asks.

“It’s called the Unruly Hearts Foundation,” Emma explains. “It’s a nonprofit that takes donations and stuff to throw other inclusive events around the country. Create safe spaces. And we also donate a fair bit to LGBTQ+ shelters and stuff, too.”

“That’s awesome,” Janis says. “I’m broke but I’ll donate a bit once I get my commissions business going.”

“Thanks, Janis,” Emma chuckles. “You know, we could use some branding. A logo, stuff for our website. If you’re interest-“

“Yes,” Janis interrupts. “I’m interested. Please.”

“Groovy,” Emma laughs. “I’ll be in touch, get Cady to give you my number.”

“You say groovy too?!” Damian asks eagerly as he makes an appearance. “These two always make fun of me for it.”

“Hell yeah I say groovy,” Emma says, giving Damian a fist bump. “Sometimes it’s the only word that fits the vibes, you know?”

“Yes!” Damian says. “See? Emma gets it.”

“I think ‘tits’ is pretty versatile,” Janis says. “You kind of look like Ursula, by the way, Dame.”

“Thanks,” Damian says, swishing his purple skirt around. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”

“It was,” Janis huffs. “As if I’d ever insult you.”

“You called me a ‘fucking deplorable kneecap’ on the way here,” Damian retaliates. Emma and Alyssa rode separately and burst out laughing.

“And now I have grown as a person. Developed myself.”

“It was ten minutes ago!”

“And? I’m not the same me I was two minutes ago, let alone ten,” Janis defends.

“Thank god,” Damian grumbles jokingly.

“Hey!” Janis says, breaking away from Cady and running after him. Damian shrieks and holds up his skirts to run away.

“Do we need to intervene here, Cades?” Emma asks with a slight chuckle as Damian and Janis sprint up and down the shoreline in a sort of oval.

“Nah,” Cady shrugs. “They do stuff like this about once a week. Janis knows she needs him, she won’t actually do anything.”

Just as she says that, Damian takes a hard left and runs full tilt into the lake. Janis pauses for a second before shrugging and running after him.

“Or maybe she will.”

“That water must be cold,” Alyssa chuckles in concern.

“Let’s find out!” Emma says boldly, tightening her grip on Alyssa’s hand and running them towards the water as well. Alyssa shrieks as they leap into the lake with a splash. Cady realizes she’s alone and also runs in, managing a cannonball into the water.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Barry yells, walking up on a sort of puddle of teenagers in soaking wet dresses.

“They’re being kids, let them live,” Dee Dee says. “Unrelated, can you swim?”

“Yeah, wh- don’t you dare,” Barry says, turning to face her.

“Oh, I would never,” Dee Dee says, aghast at the mere suggestion. Trent then comes sprinting up and tackles Barry into the lake. “But he would.”

Angie cackles and high fives her. Dee Dee crosses her arms over her chest and smiles down as Barry pops back up with a splutter.

“Dee Dee Allen!” Barry demands. “Get your ass in here.”

“No, I don’t think I will, thank you,” Dee Dee says casually, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet.

“Oh come on,” Angie coaxes. “It’s only fair.”

“I didn’t push him!”

“You had a role.”

Dee Dee ponders this for a moment before she begrudgingly reaches to take Angie’s hand, and they leap in together.

“Yay!” Emma cheers, delighted that all her friends made it into the lake one way or another. Some of them are significantly less happy about this, but everyone is laughing eventually.

“Hey, Caddy,” Janis says. She swims over to her girlfriend and kisses her gently, before booping her nose. “Tag. You’re it.”

Cady laughs as Janis swims away as fast as she can, rapidly followed by the rest of the group. Cady swims around for a second while she ponders her options to decide who to go after. Emma is a strong swimmer, being on her high school swim team and all. Alyssa is okay, but a bit weaker.

Barry seems to be the slowest, and gives her the best chance of success. He looks very anxious as Cady stares him down before lunging for him. He shrieks as Cady manages to snag his skirt and tap his arm under the water before she backstrokes away.

“Damn it,” he puffs. “I’m having elementary school flashbacks.”

“Better than middle school flashbacks,” Angie calls.

“Amen,” Janis says. She screams as Barry goes for her and swims away, huddling behind Damian for protection.

“Hey!” Damian whines, swimming away from her and creating a sort of three-way chase. Janis quickly gives up on Damian’s protection and swims to Cady instead.

“Protect me,” she pleads. Cady smiles as Janis hides behind her, peeking over her shoulder to check where the threat is.

“You’re so cute.”

“No I’m not,” Janis pouts. “I’m being stealthy.”

“Uhhuh,” Cady says as Janis clings to her like a precious little octopus. “If you get me tagged again I’m breaking up with you.”

“That’s fair,” Janis agrees with a shrug. Alyssa suddenly gives a shriek as Barry taps her leg under the water. “Uh oh.”

————-

After an hour or so of tag, the sun begins to set for the day. The water temperature plummets and everyone swims to shore to watch the sky be painted beautiful shades of pink and orange and purple. The adults and Damian head back to the car to go hunt for towels and dry clothes somewhere.

But Cady, Janis, Emma and Alyssa stay behind, deciding they don’t mind so much if they’re in heavy, cold dresses and getting covered in itchy sand. Cady holds Janis on her lap and Alyssa has Emma in hers, all of them staring out over the expanse of the water before them together.

“You guys should visit more often,” Cady says quietly as the first stars begin to make an appearance.

“Absolutely,” Alyssa says, looking down at her girlfriend. “This was an awesome day.”

“And we’ll have more,” Emma says.

Together.

—-

thank you so much for reading! hope you enjoyed!

lots of love,

ezzy

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tainted-wine · 4 years ago

Note

What is Hawks meets someone with a mer-quirk (mermaid-esque)? Like during a small outing to the beach or flying over a pool. I mean birds of prey do eat fish ;).

(What’s the point in a list of headcanons when you’re going to make a hundred and tell a story through them WHY DIDN’T I JUST WRITE A FIC)

Having a permanent mermaid quirk sucks.

What’s that? You have the head of a bug? You don’t have opposable thumbs? Your talons prevent you from wearing shoes? Fuck outta here with that weak shit.

When there’s a fish tail where your legs are supposed to be, you get a loooong list of inconveniences.

Getting around in what’s basically a fish-bowl-on-wheels may sound cool to the kids around you, but it’s really a pain.

Speaking of kids, you still remember that day in your childhood when those bullies pushed your tank over and laughed as you flopped about. Assholes.

So, you’ve grown into a pretty salty lady.

Your house is near a lake. No, it’s not because you want to look like an enchanting beauty. The freshwater is just good for your scales and keeps them from fading or cracking.

You had no idea that the winged hero Hawks even hung out in your area. Maybe he was heading somewhere, and your presence distracted him.

From Hawks’s perspective, the glittering scales moving so elegantly in the water below had put the birdman in a trance.

Not that it’s a valid excuse for him swooping down and snatching you right out of the water.

One moment you were enjoying a refreshing dip after a hot day, the next you were being grabbed by the end of your tail, your world spinning as you’re lifted into the air upside down.

Luckily your screams of terror snap him out of his strange daze, and the sight of you hanging in his grasp instantly makes him let go so that you can gracefully fall back into the lake.

And by gracefully I mean flapping your arms uselessly as you continue to yell obscenities until you make a huge splash.

Hawks takes your rapid fire insults in stride, shrugging apologetically and waiting for you to simmer down.

“Sorry, Ms. Mermaid. I guess for a second there, I thought I was about to catch the prettiest snack.”

You had so many questions. Such as: Why the hell did his dumbass think there are fish the size of people in this lake? What does he mean ‘catch a snack’? Is he really trying to tell you that he hunts and kills his own food?

“Here. How about I make it up to you?” He whips out a pen and something else, scribbles on it, and lowers himself to show you a photo of himself with his signature.

“A free autograph from yours truly.” He looks so proud of himself.

This little bastard…

You answer by whipping around and slamming your tail into the water, soaking him and his stupid picture.

You swim back home without looking back.

At first you’re angry that he returns the next day with a large box in hand. It’s a colorful and mouth-watering sushi platter.

“Thought this would make for a more proper apology. You’re a water gal, so I’m guessing you like seafood?”

You eye him suspiciously. Genuine or not, you’re not going to pass up on such an expensive looking meal.

You both enjoy the fresh fish while sitting at the edge of the lake. You’re trying to not look like a total glutton as you swallow piece after piece with just a few bites.

Hawks watches in amusement as he casually eats his own small portion. He prefers meat that walks on land, but that doesn’t mean he’ll say no to a nice fish.

He tries to explain the incident that occurred yesterday. Turns out that his animal quirk runs deeper than you would’ve guessed. You always assumed that his quirk was only his wings, with no side effects to the rest of his body.

“Sometimes the bird part of my brain gets the best of me, like when I spot a big shiny fish from high up.”

It sounds like a real drag, honestly. You don’t have to deal with any innate fish behavior, just your dumb tail…and the sensitive gills on your neck.

It’s hard to imagine suddenly being overtaken by baser instincts as you try to go on about your day.

Hawks leaves the rest of the platter with you, ignoring your shocked stammers about how much he probably paid for this delicious meal as he takes off.

The visits become regular. Sometimes you share food, sometimes you both just enjoy the view. Sometimes he watches you swim.

Maybe you’re just a simple girl that’s easily won over by food and gifts. Whatever it is, Hawks grows on you very quickly.

He shares the many occurrences over the years, the many times that his primitive urges have endangered him or someone else. Some stories are hilarious, some are rather disturbing.

In exchange, you talk about all of the annoyances you deal with in your life thanks to your fish traits.

The two of you don’t compete or claim that one has a worse time than the other. You just…keep sharing problems.

You’re enjoying Hawks’s company. You stopped denying it when you noticed how much you perk up whenever you see those large wings fly over the lake and towards you.

“You may not be able to walk, but I can help you fly.” He offers it out of nowhere one day. It sounds a lot like a date, honestly, but he shakes his head innocently. “I just want you to see what the skies are like. Walking’s overrated, anyway.”

Hawks wraps his arms around you from behind and pulls you into his chest. The closeness has you so hot and flustered that you might start steaming.

But there wasn’t much time to take that in, because your feet are suddenly off the ground, the ground that is getting further away waaay too quickly.

Hawks feels your panic and slows down to a calm, levelled flight.

It’s scary and exhilarating, being carried so high up. Your tail fin flutters and shines beautifully against the winds as you watch the scenery below you pass by.

Once he thinks you’re comfortable enough, he speeds up, descending on the approaching city.

Zigzagging past buildings and billboards is the greatest adrenaline rush you’ve ever felt. It terrifies you how close he sometimes gets to crashing into an oncoming structure, only to swerve out of the way at the very last second. But you don’t ask him to stop, the thrill feels too damn good.

Everyone walks. Few people have felt the freedom of flying.

You hear some of the surprised comments below. “It’s Hawks!” “Wow, he’s so fast!” “He’s holding someone! Who is that?” “Is that a big ass fish?”

It makes you smile. You wonder how jealous some of the spectators are. And as the winged hero carries you into the sunset, you wonder how breathtaking the two of you look from below:

#bnha #hawks #hawks x reader #keigo takami x reader #i'm sorry if you wanted smut #but I was in too soft of a mood with this #i wrote such a long scenario #and they don't even fuck in the end #shame on me

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onlydreamofmysoul · 4 years ago

Text

The Prize (Ficmas #3)

The gymnastics au is here!!!! I’d love to revisit sometime and make it a multi-chaptered thing but for now... here we go!!!!!!

(This one is just wolfstar, it’s not set in the SW or C2C worlds :))

Remus looked up from where he was chalking up his grips to see Sirius just beginning a run up on the track. He let his eyes follow the other man for a moment as he took a couple of powerful strides before launching himself into a series of flips and somersaults, sticking his landing beautifully.

“Damn,” Lily whistled from his side. “He’s looking good this year.”

Isn’t he always, Remus thought, but he didn’t say that of course. Instead he just nodded. “Yeah, he’ll be tough competition, that’s for sure.”

“At least you’ll be competing as a team as well as individually.” Lily pointed out. “So hey, guess you can use him.”

Remus smirked and rolled out his shoulders before walking back to his bar, jumping to catch it before pulling his body up and around in a circle so he could support himself with his arms while his waist rested against the bar.

“You better get back to A-bar before McGonagall comes to find you again.”

Lily shuddered. “Yeah, damn she’s already salty that I forgot my chalk, she’ll murder me if I stay here too long.”

Remus chuckled as she walked off before taking a breath to refocus himself and setting back to work.

He was trying to perfect his dismount - a triple back tuck, but no matter what he was trying, he kept seeming to land on his ass. He grit his teeth, annoyed that his coach was missing today. He had a stand in of course, but the new kid Peter had never coached anyone at Remus’ level and was really just there to put safety mats in place when Remus needed them mid routine. He was just setting up the iPad to record (if no one was teaching him, then damn he would try to do it himself), when Sirius wandered up to his side.

“Want me to take a look?”

Remus nodded. “Please,” He glanced over at Peter, lowering his voice, “He’s nice and all but…”

“He doesn’t know shit.” Sirius finished and they both laughed. “Yeah I know, he was working with me a few days ago.”

Remus got back on the bar and immediately set into his rotations, ignoring his routine and just circling the bar a couple of times before his dismount. When he let go he tucked in tight, pulling his knees into his body as his chin tucked into his chest, tumbling once, twice, three times before… falling back on his arse.

He flopped back on the mat, covering his face with his forearm for a moment. “Ugh I swear this is gonna kill me.”

He could hear Sirius’ smirk, but he peeked at the other man anyway because damn, if he didn’t like that smile. “You’re actually pretty close.”

“Yeah?” He asked, standing up again.

“Yeah, c’mere I recorded it so you can see.”

They stood much closer than polite societal rules would usually expect, Remus getting to use the excuse of watching the iPad. Remus watched himself on the screen, it started okay, his swings were good, he had enough power between them and then-

“Oh.” He said. “I’m letting go too early.”

Sirius grinned up at him. “Yeah! I wasn’t sure if you’d see it, but yeah that’s your issue. You only need to hold on maybe half a second later.”

Remus bit his lip, trying to figure out how the hell he would work that out. Time measurements were never quite his thing. Sirius seemed to get that though and instead pointed up at the ceiling.

“You’re letting go here.” He said, pointing at a 45 degree angle. You need to let go when your toes point up there.” Moving his hand so his arm made more of a 60 degree shape.

Remus nodded and smiled. “Yeah that makes more sense.” He chalked up his hands again and got back on the bar. He always liked dismounts. They had never been his strongest feature, but they were often his favourite. The feeling was about as close to flying as humans could come. He really focused as he swung this time, envisioning the place he’d let go with every rotation. On the fourth swing, he let go, feeling himself fly higher into the air than he ever had today. He tucked in, already knowing it was going to work before his feet landed on the mat, without even a little stumble.

“Oh my god!” He exclaimed, beaming at Sirius. “Thank you!”

Sirius smiled and made a gesture that looked like he was going to run his fingers through his hair before realising his hair was tied up. “No bother.”

He glanced back at the track. “I should uh, probably get back.”

Remus smiled at him ruefully. “Probably. Hey, thanks again.”

Sirius winked at him cheekily. “Anytime.”

A week later Remus was just finishing on vault when Sirius came up.

“Hey, do you mind if I join?”

Remus looked up at the sound of the other man’s voice and smiled. “Yeah of course. I’m just finished anyways so it’s all yours.”

Remus wasn’t sure if it was just him or if Sirius actually looked a little disappointed at that.

“Oh yeah, cool.” He looked down and pointed at the springboard. “Mind if I change that?”

Remus shook his head. “Work away.”

Sirius grinned and grabbed the equipment, pulling it several inches closer to the vault.

“Is that close enough for you?” Remus teased.

Sirius looked up at him, a strand of hair falling in front of his eyes as he made sure the board was at the right measurement. “Oh fuck off, it’s not my fault you’re freakishly tall.”

“Hey, six foot two is not ‘freakishly tall’! You’re just freakishly short.” He protested.

Sirius stood up, a good head shorter than Remus. “And five foot ten isn’t freakishly short.” He opposed, his bottom lip pouting slightly before he grinned again.

“I suppose we’-”

“Oi Lupin!”

Remus winced at Moody’s summons. “I’d better go.” He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sirius’ eyes widened. “Yeah you do not want to get on Moody’s bad side. I accidentally made him tea instead of coffee once and I don’t think he’s forgiven me yet.”

Remus snorted a laugh. “That sounds about right.” He shuffled a little, not really wanting to leave. “He’s not too bad though.”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah,” He looked across the gym and spotted his own coach, Arthur Weasly, making his way across to them. “I like my coach too.”

Remus followed his gaze and smiled. “Oh Weasly’s lovely, I’ve always liked him.”

“You do know I’m timing you, right Lupin?” Moody called and Remus’ eyes widened.

“Fuck, see you later!” He half yelled as he ran off, Sirius laughing in the background.

Remus was stretching out his splits the next time Sirius found him.

“Hey.” Sirius greeted as he slid into his right leg split next to Remus.

Remus glanced over at him, eyeing the other man’s form. “Hi. You need to turn your back knee under more.”

Sirius did as instructed then winced. “Ouch, I can feel that stretch.”

Remus smirked. “Ha, sucks to be you.”

Sirius stuck out his tongue. “Oh fuck off, not all of us are naturally flexible.”

“Okay we both know you’re the power gymnast and I’m the flexible one.” Remus said as he twisted slightly to sit in his side splits. Sirius followed his motions so they were now face to face.

“You ready for regionals?” Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged a shoulder. The regional competitions were two weeks away. “I suppose? As ready as I’ll ever be anyways. I’m not too sure about my pommel routine but I suppose there’s always something that’s not perfect.”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah, I hate the rings. I mean I like them, but they’re my least favourite.”

“It’ll be nice to compete again though.” Remus admitted. “I missed the last season with my injury.” He said, nodding to his taped knee.

Sirius winced. “Yeah, how’s it doing?”

“Oh it’s fine now, I just like to keep it supported.” Sirius met Remus’ eyes. “Better safe than sorry, am I right?”

Sirius nodded seriously. “It was a dislocation right?”

Remus nodded. “Yeah, but I damaged the ligament, that’s why it took so long to recover.”

“Fuck that’s a tough one.”

Remus nodded as they both twisted into their left leg splits. He reached back and patted his right knee fondly.

“It’s okay now though.”

Sirius smiled softly. “It’s nice to have you back.”

A week before the regional competitions, Sirius found Remus in the locker room.

“Hey.” Sirius greeted, still in his shorts and a t-shirt while Remus was still shirtless after his shower, towel drying his hair. He peeked out at Sirius from under the white cloth before lowering his arms.

“Hey.”

Sirius seemed to freeze for a moment, his eyes following Remus’ arms to where they rested by his side, his gaze snagging somewhere around Remus’ midsection.

“Sirius?”

Sirius seemed to snap back into himself, shaking his head. “Shit sorry.” He mumbled, his cheeks flushing. “I uh, I zoned out for a second.”

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Did you need something?” He asked, amused as he shrugged on his shirt.

Sirius blinked a few times before coming fully to his senses. “Oh yeah, right, yeah.” He blinked again and Remus had to bite back his laugh. “Are you staying overnight at regionals?”

Remus cocked his head. “They’re six hours away and we begin at six am. I’m staying the night before and the night of the competition.”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah.” He breathed. “Me too, that’s what I’m doing.”

Remus waited a beat, but Sirius didn’t seem to have anymore to say. Remus put on his denim jacket, checking his watch - he had twenty minutes before he needed to be in class.

“Okay well, if that’s it I’d better go - I have class in a bit.” He said, smiling at Sirius and beginning to move towards the door.

“Wanna share a room?” Sirius blurted out just as Remus was opening the door.

Remus froze, then turned to look at Sirius, his hand still resting on the door handle.

“It’s uh, cheaper.” Sirius continued, rambling a little. “And I figured it might be easier? I don’t know, I don’t like going myself, plus it’s nice to spend time with your team and-”

“Yes.” Remus laughed, cutting Sirius off. “That sounds really good.”

Sirius’ eyes lit up. “Yeah?”

Remus nodded, smiling. “Yeah.” He glanced towards the door then looked back at Sirius. “I’ve gotta go now because I have a class, but I’ll text you and we can work it out?”

“Yeah.” Sirius breathed. “Text me.”

Remus smiled and went out the door, falling back against the wood the minute it had closed. Had that just happened? Was he really going to share a room with Sirius Black? This was quite possibly the worst decision he had ever made.

(And yet his heart seemed convinced it was the best).

He glanced at his phone again. Fifteen minutes to get to campus. Remus cursed under his breath and ran out the door, he could think about this later.

“Hey Re, can I get a lift up to regionals?” Lily asked as they ran around the floor warming up the next day.

“Sure. Sirius is coming too.”

Lily side eyed him. “You’re giving Sirius a lift?”

Remus could feel his face reddening, and it wasn’t from the exercise. “Um, we’re kind of going to share a room.”

Lily stopped running and stared at him. Remus had to jog back a couple of paces to get back to her.

“You’re sharing a room with Sirius?” She asked, her eyes wider than saucers. “What? How? When did this happen? How did I miss all this?”

“Maybe it was when you were off getting serenaded by that swimmer.” Remus teased, talking about James - Lily’s new boyfriend. “I’m just kidding. It wasn’t a big thing, we’re… friends now? Yeah I think we’re friends.”

“You’re sharing a room but you don’t know if you’re friends.” Lily deadpanned. “Remus Lupin you are a useless lump of a man.”

Remus burst out laughing as they began running again. “Hey, give me a break, I’m just glad I’ve been able to actually talk to him, believe me there were a few times where I barely even functioned.”

Lily gave him that knowing look again. “Oh I’m aware. It took you this fucking long to talk to him in the first place, and then he was the one to make the first move.”

“Okay you can't call it ‘the first move’, we’re not dating or anything.”

“Yet.” Lily snorted and Remus just rolled his eyes, smiling. “So, can James come up with us?”

“Ooh, your boyfriend’s coming to the competition huh?”

It was Lily’s turn to flush. “Hush.” She admonished. “Maybe I just want him to show the other ways my flexibility can come in handy.” She said, smirking.

Remus wrinkled his nose. “Ew, imagery, Lily why would you do this to me.”

Lily jumped and kissed him on the cheek. At five foot one she was more than a foot shorter than him. “Cause I love ya.”

Remus smiled. “Love you too. And yeah, James can of course come too.”

“You’re the literal best, Remus Lupin.” Lily said seriously as they slowed down to stretch. “I’ll let him know. You know, I have this feeling he and Sirius are going to get along really well.”

Remus grinned at the image. He had only met James once or twice, but he knew what Lily meant. “I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.”

James and Sirius got on so well Remus was half worried they would ditch Lily and Remus altogether and just ride off into the sunset. They arrived in the hotel lobby and Lily tucked herself under Remus’ arm sleepily for a moment as Sirius and James got the room keys.

“This is really nice.” Lily sighed, looking at the boys fondly.

Remus had been surprised at how well everyone had melded together. It felt like they had always been friends. Platonic puzzle pieces. They had left fairly late - everyone needed to finish classes and work and they had driven in the dark. It was possibly the best road trip Remus had ever been on.

“Yeah.” He agreed, kissing the top of her head as the other two returned and the group split up, having rooms in different parts of the hotel. “Yeah, it is.”

“Which bed do you want?” Remus asked as he opened the door, his bag slipping off his shoulder awkwardly.

“I don’t care.” Sirius replied, following Remus in, laughing as Remus struggled to adjust his bag and just flung it on the closest bed in defeat.

“Guess this is mine then.” Sirius said, throwing himself on the second twin bed in the room. His hair was down and it fanned around his face like a satanic halo. Remus couldn’t look away. This had to be the worst idea he’d ever had.

“I am so tired.” He mumbled as he zipped open his suitcase, ignoring his gear to grab his pyjamas.

“Me too.” Sirius agreed, standing up and kicking off his shoes before padding to the bathroom. The room was filled with the hum that always accompanied hotel bathrooms when the light was flicked on. Remus could hear Sirius shuffling around, brushing his teeth as Remus slipped into his pyjamas, sighing at the comfort they brought. Sirius came out of the bathroom and Remus took his turn washing up before flicking off the bathroom light.

“Can I turn this off?” Remus asked, pointing to the main overhead light, Sirius already under the covers.

“Yeah go ahead.” Sirius said, his voice slow and honeyed with sleep. Remus flipped the switch and made his way to his bed in the dark, sinking under the covers, only just remembering to set his alarm for the morning before he let sleep take hold of him.

“G’night Sirius.” He mumbled. He was asleep before he even heard a reply.

Remus didn’t see much of Sirius the day of the competition, bar when they woke up in the morning. But they had both been quiet, readying themselves for the day. They both had their routines and they worked around each other in sync. Remus had never gotten on with someone so seamlessly aside from Lily.

Sirius bit his lip before they left the hotel room, looking like he wanted to say something.

“Remus?”

Remus had paused where he was tying his shoes, his tracksuit immaculate. “Yeah?”

Sirius seemed to battle with something in his head for a moment before letting it drop. “Good luck today.”

Remus smiled at him. “Thanks.” He breathed. “You too.”

“See you on the podium?” Sirius teased.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “I’ll be the one in the middle.”

Sirius had been right, they did see each other on the podium. Sirius was the one in the middle though, Remus at his side winning the silver medal.

“Well if it isn’t the golden boy.” Remus muttered under his breath as they smiled for the cameras. Sirius burst out laughing next to him, much to the confusion of the bronze medallist.

“Told you so.”

“I suppose you did. The winner of more than one thing today.”

“Do I get a prize?” Sirius asked and Remus’ heart stuttered. It almost seemed… Flirty.

“What do you call that big heavy thing around your neck?” He retaliated, smiling one more time before they were allowed down from the podium.

Sirius smirked at him. “Validation.”

They all went out for dinner that night, celebrating a series of medals - Lily looking dazzling with another gold medal.

“Aw look at poor Remus.” She and Sirius teased. “What’s it like so far down?”

Remus looked down at her, still miles beneath him even in heels. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

James choked on his drink as he laughed and Sirius cracked up beside him. They didn’t stay out late - they were all exhausted so as soon as they had dinner they all retreated back to their rooms.

“Onto nationals next.” Remus commented as he and Sirius strolled down their corridor after exiting the elevator. “Think we’ll make the team?”

Sirius didn’t have to ask what team. There was only one Remus could possibly be talking about, they all only had one goal in mind at this level - the Olympics.

“I really fucking hope so.” Sirius admitted, then bumped his hip against Remus’. “It’s looking good so far.”

Remus smiled and unlocked their door. “I suppose it is.”

They filed into their room, taking a moment to move their stuff from where they had been flung on the beds in the chaos that had been them trying to get changed quickly for dinner.

“I still don’t have a prize.” Sirius said, his voice a little shaky.

Remus glanced up, his bed now clear. “Well, you never said what you wanted.”

Sirius flopped back on his bed, covering his face with his forearm. Remus couldn’t help but think of the first time Sirius had helped him - Remus had been in the same position.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to, but it would seem you don’t do well with subtlety.”

Remus huffed a laugh. “My sincerest apologies.” He said, a little sarcastically before throwing caution to the wind and lying down on Sirius’ bed next to him.

“What is it you want?” He asked, his voice soft in a way he had never heard it before.

Sirius moved his arm so Remus could see gorgeous grey, surrounded by those long, dark eyelashes.

“I want you to kiss me.”

Remus froze. Sirius wanted Remus to kiss him. Remus. Remus Lupin. Kiss Sirius Black. He was fairly sure his brain had short circuited.

Remus must have frozen for too long, because Sirius sat up, swallowing as he moved away. “Um, sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I thought-”

Remus caught his wrist gently, his long fingers circling it completely.

“Please never try to be subtle again.” He said, as he pulled Sirius down to his level. Chest to chest, they stared at each other for a moment, both of them barely breathing.

“Wait.” Sirius croaked. “You mean-”

Remus didn’t let him finish, kissing him instead. All he could think was that this was what had been missing from his life. Sirius’ soft lips against his, Remus caressing that ridiculously silky hair as Sirius melted into him.

Sirius pulled away for a moment to readjust himself - his arm had begun trembling under his weight, so Remus rolled them over, hovering over Sirius so he could kiss him sweetly.

“I hope you like your prize.” He muttered and Sirius laughed against his lips before wrapping his arms around Remus’ waist and pulling him closer.

“God yes.”

#12 days of ficmas #wolfstar #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Lily Evans #James Potter #wolfstar gymnastics au #wolfstar au

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lemonyellowlogic · 4 years ago

Text

another broken kid

-o-

phil discovers ranboo in shock after the truth behind the disc was revealed.

-o-

He did it.

He was evil, he betrayed everyone. He destroyed the community house, the first-ever building on the server, the first home of the god of this world, all for what?

If he destroyed the community house, then it was his fault Tommy betrayed Techno, his fault Dream destroyed L’Manburg. It was all his fault, and he doesn’t even remember.

Ranboo felt frozen, the destroyed landscape of his home all around him.

The air tasted cold and stung his nostrils as he struggled to breathe. He knelt in front of the chest that held the disc, but his trembling hands could only hold it open as he stared at the plastic. He shook harder as his tears began to burn his skin, sizzling and hissing as he stayed frozen there.

How could anyone trust him if he knows he can’t trust himself? He blew up the community house, had been Dream’s little spy on the inside for who knows how long, and once Dream finds out that he knows the truth, he’ll kill him with no remorse.

Just by living, he’s putting everyone he cares about in danger. He can’t move, he can’t breathe, he’s evil, he’s the one thing he never wanted to be.

He hears the crunching footsteps of boots in the snow approach the pit he dug and stop suddenly.

“I-Ranboo, what the hell happened?”

Ranboo couldn’t move, he just shook harder, the sense of danger creeping up his back as his eyes began to blur.

“No, no,” He could tell he was turning, he could tell his stress and fears were catching up on him and he was changing, but he didn’t want to. He whined loudly as he dropped the lid of the chest, clutching at his hair and pulling as he felt his claws grow sharper.

“Ranboo?”

Phil jumped down into the hole, spreading his wings out to help ease the fall, and began to walk closer to Ranboo’s form.

Ranboo whimpered, turning around in panic towards Phil. The winged man’s eyes grew wide and his mouth popped open at the site of the hybrid teen. Deep tunnels eroded by tears were dug into his cheeks, the skin splitting to allow his jaw to widen beyond normal, his heterochromatic pupils pinning at the site to the man.

“I...Ranboo?”

The boy flinched, curling in on himself, spindly tail wrapping tightly around his thigh and his claws digging into his jacket sleeves, pricking holes into the fabric and then his skin. He whimpered, “Phil, go, I don’t-I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You won’t, you won’t.” Phil walked closer, arm outstretched.

Ranboo sobbed, shaking his head furiously as he leaned on the chest, “No, no, no, I’m not safe, I don’t know what’s going on, I’m bad, I’m bad, I’m bad, Phil. I’m dangerous, I’m bad, I’m-”

Phil cut him off with a hug, holding the tall, lanky enderboy close to his chest as he continued to weep, his long arms wrapping around the winged man. Phil cupped the teenager’s head as he gazed around the scenery.

The pit was dug frantically, looking more like an unfinished and messy explosion than a manmade hole, but, by the dirt-covered enchanted shovel he spied near Ranboo, he could tell that the boy had dug it himself. There was a chest, and something in it caused this spiral, this panic that rippled so deep in the boy that he began to change.

“I’m a monster, Phil,” The boy whispered, shaking harder and harder as his tears burnt his skin.

Phil sucked in a breath, the boy in his arms looking the same as the one reading inside with pink hair and tusks. Techno had sobbed in his arms when he was a teenager over the voices, about his race, about how different he was and how monstrous he appeared.

“No, you’re not. You’re a child, Ranboo.”

Ranboo pushed Phil away, “No, I betrayed everyone, Phil!”

“You didn’t betray us,” Phil reached out.

“I did!” The enderboy shrieked, the common language he spoke becoming warped with ender as he sobbed harder. Phil felt chills ripple up his back and he swallowed, grabbing the boy's hands to force him to stop scraping at his scaled skin.

“What happened, Ranboo?”

A beat passed before he whispered, “I blew up the community house, Phil.”

Phil’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead but his voice remained steady, “You did what?”

Ranboo flinched, “I did it, but I didn’t know I did. I...I kept losing my memory book and I didn’t know I did it, but the voice...he told me I did it and I didn’t believe him but-”

“The voice?”

Ranboo bit at his lip and broke the skin, “I...have a voice...in my head…”

Phil could only see his eldest son as he listened to the young hybrid.

“He...he sounds just like Dream...but it’s not him...it’s me...it’s my head telling me things I don’t want to believe.”

Ranboo swallowed, gnawing on his bottom lip and whining as tears continued to carve lines down his cheeks. Phil reached up and tried brushing away the tears but Rnaboo just hissed, flinching away from his touch.

“I’m sorry,” Phil apologized and Ranboo hiccuped, shaking his head side to side, his hair flopping in front of his eyes as he wept harder, “It’s...Phil, he told me that I was evil, that I destroyed the community house.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s real,” Phil tried to say, But Ranboo shook his head again.

“No, no! He’s right, Phil! I found-I found a disc. A disc Dream gave to me to hide and I didn’t even know. It’s-it’s here, Phil, that’s why everything is bad and broken, it’s because of me.”

“The backyard can be fixed, it’s not-”

“Not just the backyard, Phil! Everything! Everyone’s homes, everyone’s lives, they’re all ruined because of me and my dumb memory! I ruined it all! It was my fault Tommy got exiled! Then he hurt Techno and then the Community House got blown up and then L’manburg was destroyed! It’s all my fault!”

He collapsed into Phil’s arms a second time, and Phil just sat there holding the boy. His mouth was set in a tight line and he stared at the chest behind the boy, filled with one of the most valuable things on the server.

“K-kill me, Phil.”

“What?” Phil jumped, pulling away from Ranboo.

“Just kill me, I don’t want to keep hurting people. Maybe I’ll-I’ll respawn far away and not remember anything again, maybe I can start over, Phil.”

“I’m not...Ranboo, I won’t kill you,” Phil’s voice was hard but watery, his broken boy collection just keeps adding and adding.

“...Please.”

“I refuse to kill you, Ranboo.”

“You should.” His voice was quiet and weak as he shook harder, fear gushing through him again.

“I won’t,” He grabbed Ranboo’s hands, on which the claws had receded, “Look at me, Ranboo.”

The boy sniffled but looked up, staring at Phil’s nose and Phil ignored it, knowing how difficult eye contact was for the ender hybrid.

“Whatever you did, you still don’t deserve death, okay?”

“...But I do.”

“No, you don’t, Ranboo. I-” He cut himself off, running a hand through his hair roughly before picking the boy up. The enderman hybrid yelped, confused as Phil adjusted him in his arms, wings pushing out to balance himself as he walked back to Techno’s house.

“W-what’s happening?”

“You’re gonna stay with us for now. We...we’ll discuss everything tomorrow, okay, mate? But for now, I don’t you to have to think about..things like that. You’re a good kid, Ranboo. No one deserves death, but you the least, okay?”

The boy hummed quietly, snuggling down into Phil's arms as he walked up the stairs and pushed open the door with his foot. Techno looked up from his book, eyeglasses low on his nose. He rose an eyebrow at the site and Ranboo reddened, looking away as Phil cupped the back of his head.

“Why’s he here? Doesn’t he have his own house?”

“It's a bit of a mess right now and not the safest. He’s going to stay here tonight and we’ll work on it tomorrow.”

“What do you mean ‘it’s a mess’?”

Phil sighed as he placed the tired boy down on a chair and opened up a window, pointing it out. Techno’s eyes grew huge as he saw the yard torn up, looking as if an explosion had racked through it,

He turned quickly towards Ranboo, pointing a finger, “What did you do?”

The boy jumped, tears wellington up in his eyes again, “I’m-I’m sorry, I-”

“Techno, quit it.”

“But he-”

“We’ll discuss it in the morning.” Phil’s voice was stern and final, “He’s still panicking, Tech. Just give him time.”

Phil’s words forced Techno to notice Ranboo’s burned cheeks and shaking shoulders and he blinked, mouth forming a thin line, “Oh...fine. But just for tonight.”

“Just for tonight,“ Phil smiled, “Can he sleep in your bed? We have things to discuss and you barely use it anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Techno waved his hand, “Sure.”

Ranboo blinked as he looked at the conversation between the two, and he coughed, “I-I’m okay, you don’t need to-”

“I know I don't need to, kid, but I’m choosing to be a good persona and not force a kid to lay on the ground after he exhausted himself. Just let us do this, ‘kay?”

Both Phil and Ranboos seemed confused at Techno’s statement, but Ranboo slowly nodded, looking down and picking at his nails, “Okay...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Phil, you got something for those burns?”

Phil pursed his lips, “Maybe. Ranboo, do you think regeneration or fire resistance would be better?”

“I...don’t know. I’ve never really done anything to treat them before...probably regen, since they aren’t technically caused by fire…”

“Right,” He turned and opened a chest next to the fire palace, searching quickly before pulling back with a half-filled bottle and some bandages.

He bent down over Ranboo’s face and gave him a sheepish smile, “This might sting for just a moment.”

“It’s okay.”

Phil folded over a bandage and pressed it to the opening of the bottle, tipping it over for a few seconds before flipping it back right side up. He then dabbed the dampened bandage onto the burns, squeezing Ranboo’s shoulder as the boy jumped at the cool touch of the potion.

He coated the burns thinly before grabbing two squares of bandages and pressing them onto Ranboo’s face, pulling out a spool of medical tape and affixing the bandages to the boy’s face.

“Done.”

Phil went to move his hand away but Ranboo leaned into it, eyes closed and head heavy. Phil smiled, picking the tired boy in his arms and managing to get him onto the next floor.

He laid him onto the small cot that Techno slept in and pulled the covers up on him. The boy’s shoes were loose on his feet and they were easy to remove, as well as his tie and suit jacket. The boy turned over, facing away from Phil, but Phil couldn't help but softly smile, cardigan a hand through the boy's multi-colored hair.

“You sure are attached to another kid, huh?”

Phil flinched, looking at his eldest son, who smiled at him grimly.

He sighed, “Maybe. You didn’t see him earlier, Tech. He was shaking in a pit of his own creation, crying and shaking. He asked…”

“What? What did he ask?”

“...He asked me to kill him, Techno.”

The piglin sucked in a breath and Phil kept speaking, “He had a disc, gifted to him by Dream. Tommy’s cat disc. He’d been being used by the man for a long while now, maybe even destroying the community house, and he thought he deserved death for it. I couldn't leave him be, leave him alone there to do something drastic on his own.”

“I get it.” Techno’s eyes gazed somewhere Phil couldn't see, but he recognized the guilt starting to pool in the eyes of his son.

“Wilbur and Tommy weren't your faults, Tech.”

He laughed bitterly, “You sure? Wilbur destroyed everything and forced you to kill him because I couldn’t help him enough. Tommy betrayed me at a moment’s notice the second I wasn't useful to him. I...Phil, please...don't adopt this kid too. I can’t handle another broken kid hating me.”

“Techno,” Phil’s eyes softened and he raised an arm to hug his son as he continued to soothe the boy on the bed with the other. Techno nuzzled up to Phil’s side and sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not planning on adopting him, Techno. He’s just a kid in need and we’re here to help. He doesn’t have to be family, but he’s here, so don’t force yourself to not even attempt to trust someone new, okay?”

Techno swallowed, “We don’t even know if he’s a puppet for that green bastard or not.”

“We’ll discuss it with the kid tomorrow, we’ll learn the truth directly from him. But for now, get yourself some sleep too, okay? I’ll still be right here when you wake up.”

Techno's eyes were narrowed but there was something soft and nervous behind the projected uncaring, “Promise?”

“I promise,” He wrapped a wing around his boy and the piglin shivered at the warmth, leaning harder onto Phil's side. Phil watched the enderboy’s sleeping form while he also spied on his son slowly leaning heavier and heavier on him.

Things weren’t good and hadn't been for a while. They still may not be even fine for much longer, but they were on the right path, and that was what mattered.

#lemon talks #lemon writes #ranboo #c!ranboo #c!philza #c!techno #c!technoblade #sbi #dsmp #dreamsmp #dream smp #dsmp fic

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ashintheairlikesnow · 4 years ago

Note

4: numb, for Kauri?

(going through some old prompts just... collecting cobwebs in my inbox)

CW: Drunk whumpee, trauma references, trauma memories, past abduction, past noncon, past abuse, very brief emeto reference, nausea reference, BRIEF pet whump reference, this is Kauri at his most fucked-up but it ends nicely I promise, content warning for some serious fucking yearning

The walk back in the dark is a little... wobblier than usual, but Kauri doesn’t care. He stepped off the bus and stumbled when his ankle turned as he hit the sidewalk, rolling forward and finding himself in a bush, a bit of landscaping carefully kept up by some guy who drives a truck around cleaning up the bus stops.

Kauri giggles, then pushes his hands over his mouth to quiet himself, fails, giggles some more. His hair gets caught in a little bit of branch and he winces as he yanks it free and loses a curl.

The bush gets to keep that one. Maybe the guy who trims the bushes will find it tomorrow and fall madly in love with him, like Cinderella’s glass slipper. Kauri starts laughing at the idea of the guy in his big neon orange-and-yellow reflective vest and his stupid button-up shirt with the city seal embroidered on it holding up a curl of black hair to this person or that, looking for its match.

“Hey, man,” A woman says, crouching in front of him. She’s older than he is, maybe by ten years, maybe less. Kauri can’t tell and she’s lit only by the harsh pale streetlight, adding definition to beginning wrinkles around her mouth. Or he’s making that up. Her face is kind of blurred anyway, spinning a little like everything else. She’s wearing hospital scrubs under a coat, her hair pulled into a no-nonsense bun at the nape of her neck. She reminds him of Nat’s neighbor lady, only a bunch younger. “You gonna make it home?”

Home. What the fuck is a home? Home is where they lock the doors, home is where you get the shit kicked out of you for trying to leave. Home is where he holds you down on the bed until you cry because it hurts, and it’s always going to hurt unless you want me, Kor-Bore, you know that-

Kauri’s giggles hiccup into something like a sob.

The bus is still idling along the curb next to the stop, and the bus driver knows Kauri - sees him two or three times a week in variations on drunk or high or scared or elated. She leans down and calls out, “You gonna be okay, Kauri?”

Maybe one day he won’t. Maybe one day someone will murder him in a dark alley instead of hooking up or shove him into the trunk of a car or-

into a white van with no windows and the needle’s in his skin and his sister is screaming and there’s a hand over his mouth wearing black leather gloves and a man smiles at him and there are other men and zipties on his wrists and they tell him sucks to be you, gorgeous, but you couldn’t hide a face like that and then his head drops as whatever they gave him hits and Liam’s head drops onto the plastic mat that lines the van’s floor, his eyes close, and he’s gone-

Kauri lays there staring up at the spinning stars with his had pounding at the memory, but not enough to make it stop. When he’s really drunk, sometimes he can roll with the pain, let it wash through him and change nothing, mean nothing, do nothing at all.

He feels the way the earth rotates around the sun, every motion of the giant planet but it’s not big - it’s tiny, really, the Earth and all its purple mountains majesty, and Kauri is tinier, and whatever life lives in his head, somewhere underneath the layers of pain and fear, never mattered at all.

“‘m fine,” He slurs, trying to focus on one single star. Just one.

Please, just one star.

“No, you’re not,” The woman says with a soft sigh. She glances back at the bus driver. “I’ll figure something out, Virginia,” She says, and waves one hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“G’night, Sadie,” The bus driver calls out over the low rumble of the big engines, then adds, “Get home safe, Kauri.”

Kauri closes his eyes. Why does everyone always want there to be a home?

“Where’m I taking you, then, Mr. Whiskey Breath?”

“T-Tequila,” Kauri corrects her, then gives a pale shadow of his effortless, airy smile. She takes him by the arm and pulls him to his feet and he overcorrects as he stumbles again, smacking into her side. She stays standing, if only just, and holds him more firmly. “’S... tequila. Good, good stuff, too, good...” His head drops against her shoulder, and he giggles again.

“Oh, honey,” She murmurs. They stand for a second while she thinks this through, and Kauri sees himself through her eyes - gorgeous and hammered, barely able to stand on his own, a piece of shit who can’t take care of himself or won’t or chooses not to, anyway.

He tries to feel something, like maybe shame, but nothing happens.

He’s too numb for that.

“D’you have a phone?” Sadie asks after a pause.

“Mmmmnyes,” Kauri responds, suddenly aware he hasn’t lifted his head off her shoulder yet. “I do have a phone. ‘s a very nice phone, too.”

“No doubt. Is there anyone we can call for you? I don’t-... I don’t think you’ll make it far on your own, um, Kauri? Did you say your name is Kauri?”

Kauri tilts his head back to look at her, and the world suddenly crashes hard to one side. His knees buckle and she quickly throws an arm around his waist to keep him up. He starts giggling again, shaking his head, mumbling what he hopes are apologies until he manages to locate his cell phone and pull it out of his back pocket. “M’name’s whatever you want it to be,” He says with his most charming, beautiful smile.

Sadie quirks an eyebrow as Kauri struggles to unlock his phone, then takes it once he manages, tapping over to his contacts list and scrolling. “Who do I call?” She asks, looking at the photos Kauri uses to identify everyone instead of names. “Who can I call to come get you?”

A wash of sadness so strong it feels like being hit by a wave made from bricks hits him and tears prick at his eyes, burning hot behind his eyelids. He feels a sudden wild urge to say Owen Grant, call Owen Grant, just take me back where I belong, this is too hard and I don’t want to do it anymore, being a person is just too hard but fights it off and instead, shaky and uncertain, he offers, “Th’ photo of th’ guy in th’ blue, blue shirt. That’s... thassss... Jake.”

“And he’ll come get you?” Sadie’s thumb hovers over the image, a picture Jake took of himself and sent to Kauri once, smiling over his iced coffee studying at school. “This guy will come get you, this Jake?”

Kauri whispers, “I hope so.”

Sadie looks at him, tilting her head. “Did you guys have a fight or something? Is that why you’re out here like blackout drunk?”

“No,” Kauri mumbles. “Fight... I fight with m’self.”

Sadie gives a soft sigh and a nod. “Well, I’ve been there done that. Okay.” She taps the photo of Jake, gives a low whistle and mumbles a soft damn, that guy’s hot, I see why you’re out here being schmoopy about him, and before Kauri can correct her that it doesn’t work that way, she’s got the phone up to her ear and Kauri can hear it softly ringing.

Jake must pick up because the ringing stops and Sadie says, “No, this isn’t-... I’m Sadie Williams, I’m on his phone. We’re at the bus stop on Penntuck Drive, do you know where-... oh, okay. Yeah, I live a couple blocks from here and this, uh, Kauri is way too drunk to go anywhere.”

“Am not,” Kauri protests, and his stomach suddenly flips and he swallows, eyes slightly widening. Oh no.

Sadie sighs and says wryly, “Trust me. Too drunk to get home on his own. Can you-... oh, okay. Cool. We’ll be here.” She hangs up the phone. “Okay, your buddy’s coming to get you. Let’s just sit on the bench in the bus stop, all right?”

Kauri nods, not trusting himself to speak, and lets Sadie maneuver him, fighting ripples of nausea that follow every movement, to sit down on the cold metal bench inside the shelter at the bus stop. As soon as she lets go, Kauri flops onto his side on the bench, letting the metal chill the sudden heat he feels, the sweat breaking out all over his body.

“There we go. Just stay here for a while.” Sadie pats him on the shoulder and he wishes she would pet his head, suddenly, tell him he’s a good boy, good pet, and he turns his face to the bench to hide the tears that finally escape and drip down to pool there. Sadie stands and leans against the side of the shelter, scrolling through her own phone. Kauri twists to look at her and, after his dazed vision stops spinning and settles enough to focus, he thinks... she’s tired.

She’s tired, because it’s two o’clock in the fucking morning, and she probably just got off of work and rode the bus home in her scrubs still under her coat, and watched a drunk boy fall laughing into a bush, and decided to stay with him and make sure he didn’t get found there in the morning by a cop or the bus driver who does the early morning shift, Andrew something, and...

“‘m okay,” Kauri says, and she doesn’t look up, but one eyebrow slowly quirks upward. “You could... go home. He’s comin’. I’m okay.”

“Oh, you are the exact opposite of that,” She says without looking at him. “Whatever’s got you fucking yourself up, I’m not gonna be the one who walks away from you. I’ve seen too many people like you wind up in the ER.”

Is it his imagination, or do her eyes briefly drop to the thick leather bracelet Kauri always wears around his left wrist to cover up his barcode?

“You don’t know me,” He protests.

“I know enough,” She says, flatly, and he stops trying to argue. He knows that voice - Nat uses that voice when she’s getting you to do things, a voice that brooks no appeal. Kauri calls it her mom-voice, even though she doesn’t have kids and never will. It makes him think of TV moms, and maybe of his own, who must have existed, and is maybe still missing her dead son, whoever the fuck he was.

Kauri winces at the headache that pings around his skull and curls up on the bench on his left side. There’s silence, for a while, and then the sound of a car engine coming closer, the bright flash of headlights against Kauri’s closed eyes.

Jake’s new beat-up four-door - well, new to him, but it’s a Subaru that has seen better decades, not just better days - pulls up alongside the curb, idling as he opens the door and unfolds himself. Sadie, Kauri sees from the bench, tenses slightly at the sight of him, and Kauri wonders if she’s got her phone ready to dial for help.

He wouldn’t blame her - if you don’t know Jake and just see all that height and muscle alone with you in the middle of the night, you could see the threat, in that. If you didn’t know that Jake’s the guy who beats up your attacker, not the attacker himself.

Jake seems well aware of her tension and puts up both hands. “I’m Jake. You’re Sadie? You called for Kauri?”

Some of Sadie’s tension dissipates. “That’s me. Mind if I get a little distance while you pick him up?”

“Yeah, no problem. Go ahead.” Jake waits for Sadie to step away, and Kauri watches her hand move to her purse. He never thinks about stuff like that - she probably has pepper spray or a gun in there, and here is Kauri blackout drunk half-passed out on a bus bench, here is Kauri who passes out on park benches and underneath that big black box that doesn’t do anything over by downtown, Kauri who sleeps in alleys and grassy lawns and anywhere he thinks he’ll get a couple hours, here and there.

She’s careful - and Kauri is lucky.

“So fuckin’ lucky,” Kauri mumbles, then coughs out a bitter laugh, and Jake sighs as he moves over to him, sliding big arms gently between Kauri’s body and the bench. The world spins again as Jake picks him up and Kauri’s arms go around his neck, suddenly terrified he’ll fall and not hit the ground but fall up, up and up and up, and end up somewhere high above the clouds.

“D-don’t, don’-... let me-”

“I got you, Kaur,” Jake says, and his voice is low and it rumbles against Kauri in his chest and he relaxes, a little, but his hands tighten behind Jake’s neck. “Thanks for waiting with him,” He says to Sadie, moving Kauri to the passenger side of the car and leaning over to help him slide him in. Kauri flops to one side, eyes sliding closed.

“No problem. I’m going to head home. Take care of him.”

Jake gives a huff of laughter as he closes the door for Kauri. “I always do,” Kauri hears him say, a little muffled. There’s a pause and then Jake sits back down in the driver’s seat, leaning across to buckle Kauri’s seat belt for him as he half-sits, half-lays limp against the seat.

“We’re going to get you home and you’re gonna drink some water,” Jake says firmly, slipping a hand behind Kauri’s head to help him reorient himself. Kauri shivers at the simple pleasure of the affectionate touch, eyes sliding closed, and turns his head, just barely pressing a kiss to Jake’s wrist.

Jake doesn’t pull away - Kauri will lose his balance if he does - but he goes still. “Hey. No, Kauri. The answer is still no.”

Kauri sniffs, nuzzles at his arm, and then pulls away, turning away from Jake to clumsily curl up against the car’s door, as far as he can get. “I know. But-... I just-...”

“I know. But we can’t, ever, not like this.”

Kauri tries to feel something other than the spin of the earth, his stomach flipping at the motion of the car as Jake slowly pulls his hand back and drives down the dark street, every house silent, everywhere around them still and quiet.

Jake’s speakers play music, softly, a man’s voice singing, well, let that lonely feeling wash away - maybe there's a reason to believe you'll be okay over the press of piano keys and hint of strings.

"What is this?” Kauri asks, tries to point, fails.

“Um, Chris’s shit,” Jake says, but he doesn’t change the song. “I drove him to get some hair dye today, he must have put his playlist on. Musical shit.”

And oh, someone will come running and I know they’ll take you home

“When can it?” Kauri asks, softly. “When can it happen?”

“What?”

“Us. When can us happen, Jake?”

Even when the dark comes crashing through, when you need a friend to carry you and when you're broken on the ground, you will be found

“I hate this song,” Kauri mutters.

Jake doesn’t look at him as he signals a turn - Kauri fights a laugh at the sight of Jake, totally and utterly alone on the road in the earliest hours of the morning, fucking putting on his turn signal a careful distance back from the intersection - and takes a right.

“Jake-... I want you,” Kauri says, the last vestiges of tequila pressing the words onto his tongue, rolling them off and out into the soft air between them. “When can I stop wanting and-”

“Kauri.” Jake’s voice goes softer, not harder. It’s not chiding him, it’s not angry, but laced with something very different.

He wants me, too, I know he does, I know it.

“Jake, I-”

“It can’t ever happen,” Jake says in that same soft voice, lost in something that some dim part of Kauri recognizes as an echo of his own feelings, “until it’s not like this.”

Jake reaches down to grab his phone, hits a button, and the song changes. Kauri fights back a laugh when he realizes it’s just a different song from the same fucking musical.

“Fucking Chris,” Kauri says, trapped between laughter and tears.

Jake’s hand moves to rest on the console between the seats, and after a second, Kauri’s hand remembers how to listen to his brain and he lays his cold, thin, long fingers over Jake’s larger, warmer ones.

Jake doesn’t pull away from him.

By the time they get back to Nat’s house, their fingers have wrapped around each other, and Kauri feels a little warmer than he felt before.

When you’re falling in a forest and there’s nobody around, all you want is for somebody to find you

“Next time, can it be your music playing?” Kauri asks, voice a little huskier and rougher than he means it to be. All the numbness that came with the drinking is gone, and Kauri hurts, inside himself, in a way he’s almost grateful for.

When you’re falling in a forest and when you hit the ground, all you need is for somebody to find you

“Uh, um, yeah,” Jake manages, and his voice is rough, too.

No one deserves to be forgotten, no one deserves to fade away

“I can get better, Jake,” Kauri says, voice low. “I can. But I’m never-... I’m never gonna be whoever was me before.”

No one deserves to disappear

“I know,” Jake says. “That isn’t who I care about, anyway, Kaur... I care about you.”

No one deserves to disappear

They sit in the driveway until the song ends. And through the next song, and the next. The streetlights shine down and the dark is otherwise total and the world slowly steadies in its constant spin around the sun. Kauri lets his head slowly lean back against the headrest.

“I’m-... so fucking lucky you found me,” Kauri whispers. Jake’s fingers twitch in his, and his eyes are locked on Nat’s front door, up on the porch.

“No,” Jake says, softly. “We’re-... I’m lucky you found us.”

Neither of them wants to be the first to let go of the other one’s hand.

---

@maybeawhumpblog, @pepperonyscience, @haro-whumps, @18-toe-beans, @burtlederp, @finder-of-rings, @giggly-evil-puppy, @whimpers-and-whumpers, @moose-teeth, @whump-it, @lumpofwhump, @pumpkinthefangirl, @slaintetowhump, @astrobly @whumpiary @whump-tr0pes @raigash @cubeswhump

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obxsummer · 4 years ago

Text

Our Secret // John B. Routledge

word count: 2.6k

pairing: john b routledge x maybank!reader

warnings: lots of cursing, descriptive physical child abuse, mentions of sex, angry!JJ, angst

summary: you thought you were doing so well hiding your relationship from your brother. after an amazing day with your boyfriend, you come to realize that jj’s not as oblivious as you predicted which ends in the worst argument you’ve ever witnessed.

request: hiiiii a request where you’re seeing john b in secret because you’re jj’s sister and then jj finds out?

masterlist

ask me anything

“I swear to God if you leave a hickey, JJ’s going to murder your ass.”

John B laughed, his lips pressed against your neck as he hovered over you, one hand holding him up as the other rested on your cheek. “I’m not that dumb. Plus, he can’t murder someone if he doesn’t know who to murder.”

This isn’t the typical post-sex conversation most couples had but for you and John B, it was normal. The past five months had involved a lot of lying, skipping plans, faking sicknesses, and a lot of concealer to keep your relationship hidden from prying eyes. There were two main reasons everything was secret: one, no Pogue on Pogue macking and two, your brother would literally punt John B into another country.

It wasn’t that JJ was against you dating anyone, but he definitely wouldn’t appreciate the fact that at the end of the day you were crawling under the sheets with his best friend. You couldn’t help it though. Being with John B was literally intoxicating and you found yourself needing more every single moment you were with him.

There had been many close calls, but somehow, you had managed to keep your secret thus far and you weren’t planning on spilling anytime soon. Although it sucked to keep your hands to yourself when you were with your other friends and your brother, it was worth it when the two of you spent time alone.

“John B? You here?”

John B’s hand was over your mouth before you could even scream in surprise. He held a finger to his lips in a sign to be quiet as he pushed off of you. You quickly got up, pulling a shirt over your head as you snuck into the bathroom.

While your boyfriend left the room to confront your brother, you took a moment to adjust your appearance in the mirror. You rolled your eyes, spotting an already darkening mark on the dip of your collarbones where John B had definitely ignored your warnings, not that you minded, it just took a little additional effort to cover up.

Sighing, you leaned against the wall as you listened to the muffled conversation going on through the wall. After a few brief minutes, there was a knock on the door before it opened, revealing John B’s exhausted figure.

“He’s gone,” He mumbled as he walked towards you. “Sorry about that.”

You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck before kissing him softly. “It’s my brother, my problem. I probably should be going anyway. He’ll get suspicious here soon.”

“Yet you’ll end up back on my couch around midnight,” He mumbled against your lips, hands rubbing your back. “I wish I could do more for you guys.”

“Letting us crash here is more than enough,” You responded, “It means I get to see you even longer.”

John B hugged you tighter to his chest and rested his chin on your head. He hated knowing that you and JJ feared going home. Even before the two of you were dating, he couldn’t stand the fact that you could possibly end up with a black eye or a bruised rib. Your dad always blamed harming JJ on the fact that he looked like your mom, but at the end of the day, you were her splitting image. Sometimes he couldn’t tell if it was actually her again or just you hiding in the shadows.

It freaked JJ out. Knowing that you weren’t safe from the hands of your own dad was hard, but for your brother, he couldn’t stand it. There were countless times JJ would walk through the front door so you could sneak in the window, or he would take the blame for a broken dish with the idea that your dad would react even worse if he knew it was you. You were overwhelmed with guilt knowing that your brother put himself on the front of the battle every single time to keep you safe. You hated knowing JJ was bruised and bleeding because of you.

“Be safe, okay? I’ll be here if you need me.”

Once you had all of your stuff and clothes were returned, the walk back to your house was one filled with anxiety and nerves. You knew JJ was home from the bike outside and you managed to sneak in without a peep, your dad crashed on the couch completely asleep. You exhaled and tiptoed to your room without another word.

“Where the hell have you been?” JJ hissed as he stood in the doorway of his room. “I’ve been looking for you.”

You rolled your eyes. “I told you I was going to the beach for a walk, chill. And what exactly do you want?”

“Did the horny seagulls give you a hickey?” His finger pressed against the dark spot on your neck. You rolled your eyes and shoved his hand away. He wasn’t actually looking for you, he just wanted to give you shit.

“Fuck off, JJ,” You mumbled before going into your room and shutting the door without another word. You weren’t in the mood to deal with him, nor were you up to covering your tracks. You flopped on the bed with a groan, still sleepy from your day with John B. You closed your eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

Waking up was a whole new adventure. Voices were shouting, glass broke somewhere along the lines and it had you on your feet in seconds. Throwing open your door, you walked straight into someone’s back causing you to stumble slightly.

“What’s going on?” You mumbled, still half asleep. You had run into JJ, who turned to glare at you with an anger you haven’t seen before. You stood next to him so you could get a clear view of the scene.

“What’s going on is your brother is screaming like a maniac for no goddamn reason!” Your dad shouted, pointing at JJ who was already sporting a black eye. He had clearly been woken up from his nap early and one of you would pay for it with more than a bruised eye.

Your brother ignored your dad, however, and instead was still attempting to murder you with his eyes. “Wanna explain this?” The dark blue piece of fabric dangling in his hand sent a chill through you as you recognized John B’s bandana in between his fingers.

“It’s John B’s? So what?” You tried to play it off but deep down, you knew you were screwed. “We’re with him all the time, JJ. That’s not abnormal.”

“No, but it is abnormal that I’m finding his clothing in your room, hickeys on your neck, and you’re both coincidentally ‘busy’ at the same time on most days. So what the hell is it, Y/N?” JJ was yelling now and you were becoming increasingly terrified. Your brother never got angry with you, not like this. “What are you hiding from me?”

“Great, now I’m letting a whore live in this fuck up of a house!” Your dad reentered the conversation to give his two cents. “I fucking knew I shouldn’t have let your mother talk me into keeping you. You’ve turned into nothing but a worthless piece of shit who just takes up space and wastes money!”

His hand clamped around the collar of your t-shirt as he shoved you against the wall, his saliva landing on your cheeks as he continued to scream. A large hand tightened around your throat, cutting off your airway as he held you off the ground. “You’re a slut, you hear me? Fucking your brother’s best friend like the piece of trash you are.”

“Dad!” JJ’s voice echoed in your ears as you struggled in the harsh grip, your vision spotty as you tried to kick your way to freedom. Your brother was pulling against your dad’s shoulder to get him to let go, a panicked look in his eyes at the image before him.

“Stop,” You gasped as you shoved your hand out, barely hitting your father’s chin as you attempted to get any air. “Please.”

Your weak body collided with the floor where you choked for oxygen. The battle wasn’t over until multiple harsh kicks were landed on your ribs and back. You cried out and curled into a ball. The world slowly became still as you managed to get to your feet before darting out the door without another look. Knowing running wouldn’t help your already damaged situation, you threw your leg over the seat of JJ’s bike, thankful that he left the keys in the ignition before speeding away towards the only place you could find help.

John B was swaying in the hammock when you pulled up in a frenzy, leaving barely enough time to kill the engine before you were scrambling towards him. “Y/N?” He was pushing himself out of the hammock to meet you halfway when you crashed into him, heavy sobs leaving your chest as you held on to him tightly.

“I’m sorry! I tried to stop it a-and-”

“Shhh,” John B held your head against his chest as he rubbed your back in an attempt to calm you down. “You’re okay, baby. I’m right here. Calm down.”

You weren’t sure how long you stood there, but it was enough time for your breathing to slow and JJ to get his ass over to the chateau. His heart broke as he watched you stand there and cry in his best friend’s arms. JJ never wanted to hurt you, and he never wanted to set you in a situation where your father could hurt you, yet that’s exactly what he did. He felt awful and seeing the already forming bruises around your throat made him want to throw up.

“Little?” The nickname left JJ’s lips unconsciously. He had called you that for years ever since someone said you looked like the smaller version of him as a kid. He never let you live it down, always calling you “little” or “mini-me”. JJ was so grateful to have you in his life but he hated that it took until now for him to realize how much he needed you.

At the sound of your brother’s voice, you hugged your boyfriend even tighter causing John B to look at the new presence. Seeing your brother, he frowned yet didn’t shift to remove you from his arms. Whatever happened upset you severely and if this was how JJ found out about the two of you, then this was how JJ was going to find out.

John B’s fingers tapped the side of your thigh, a signal between the two of you that was unspoken but simply understood. You jumped from the ground into his suspecting arms as he carried you like a koala back to the hammock before settling in. It took some adjusting before you both were comfortable with him laying on his back and you resting on his chest. His lips pressed against your forehead as he continued to rub your back in a calming manner.

JJ stood in shock as he watched the interaction between you. Never would he imagine this, but watching you and John B was like watching a cheesy rom-com. It looked so right, and it was this moment when JJ realized how badly he fucked up in reacting out of anger.

“Hey,” John B mumbled as he watched JJ lose his control on his emotions on the steps of the chateau. “Pretty girl, you gotta let me see what happened.” The bruises on your skin didn’t go unnoticed to him but he wanted to wait a bit before talking to you about it. With a shaky breath you sat back on the hammock and let John B pull your t-shirt over your head to reveal your bruised stomach and chest. Some spots were red where skin was torn and your neck clearly revealed the outline of a hand.

“Fuck,” JJ cursed at himself as he ran a hand through his messy blond hair, tears of his own falling from his eyes as he realized what just happened. At the sight of your injuries, he lost it. He swore to protect you, to keep you out of his father’s cruel hands if it was the last thing he did and he failed. He failed because he was so pissed over you having a relationship and not telling him. “Little, I’m so sorry.”

You forced yourself to look over at your older brother before carefully stepping down from the hammock. John B followed you, handing back your t-shirt as you walked over to JJ and wrapped him in a hug. “It’s not your fault.”

“But it is!” JJ argued as he let you hold onto him. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up in front of him, that’s so fucked up, Y/N! I stood there, a-and I just let him because I was so pissed that you were fucking John B behind my back. Fuck! I’m so stupid!”

You shook your head, tears falling again as your brother finally broke in your arms and hugged you back, the two of you crying together. “I should’ve told you,” You mumbled into his shoulder. “It’s not just fucking around, J. I promise. He makes me really, really happy, and I should’ve just told you from the start.”

“We both should have,” John B interrupted as he stood a few feet away and observed the scene. “I’m sorry, JJ. I promise you this isn’t just some hook-up thing. I really love her, man.”

You smiled slightly at his words. The two of you had yet to say I love you to each other, as cheesy as that was, but standing here in the moment, you knew you loved John B. You loved him more than anything, enough that you were willing to risk your relationship with your brother because of it.

“It’s okay, man,” JJ sniffled as he pulled away from the hug, instead adjusting to hold you to his chest so he could have the small bit of comfort knowing you were okay. “It’s not worth an argument over. I’m really happy for you, trust me. Just wish this could’ve been in different circumstances.

“And I’m so sorry for letting that happen, Little. I never ever want to see you in that position again, and I’m sorry I let it happen in the first place like. Fuck!” JJ pulled at his hair in frustration. “I’m such a fucked up brother!”

“You are not!” You defended as you stepped away from him. “JJ, there’s been so many times where you take the damage instead of me, even if I deserve it. You can’t blame yourself for our shitty dad. It’s not your fault, it never will be your fault.”

John B shook his head. “You never deserve it. Neither of you do. Just stay here, yeah? You don’t have to go back.”

JJ wrapped an arm around your shoulders and kissed the side of your head. “I’m sorry.”

You shoved him away and gave him a light punch to the arm. “Would you stop apologizing? It’s nobody’s fault. Look, let’s just go inside and chill, okay?”

“Fine, but if I find out that there’s more hickeys on your neck tomorrow, I will bust someone’s ass, you hear me, John B?”

“JJ! Shut up!”

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leo-gold-hotchner · 4 years ago

Text

All I want for Christmas is You

Tbh, I don’t celebrate Christmas, so I don’t really know what people do. I’m just lazy to celebrate anything really... I guess I’m not the type to mingle with others

I wish everyone be safe and healthy, and COVID to finish soon!

Aaron Hotchner X Male Reader

AU: I kissed a boy

Words: 1200-ish

You flopped down on the couch with your face. Man, it was a tough shift in the middle of Christmas day. Your boss was apologetic when she called you in, but it meant double pay. You then looked up at your phone and smiled at the background of your phone. The photo was you, Aaron and Jack all beaming at the same time. Jack was really happy when you told him you gonna make the photo as your background. You nearly jumped as your phone rang and Aaron’s photo sprang up. Sometimes you think Aaron knows when you are thinking about him.

“’allo,” you answered playfully.

“Merry Christmas, F/N. You feel okay?”

“Better than being on the ambulance on Christmas,” you shook your head as you thought about people heading to the hospital. “Merry X-mas, Aaron. What are you and Jack’s plan today?”

“I’ve got a plan, but need your help.”

“Yeah? What’s the great BAU agent need help for?”

“Come over my place?” You could just sense eagerness and pleading in his usual strong and authoritative voice. And damn, the gap between an agent and a man made you shiver. Aaron giving you a puppy look, even the thought made you happy.

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

Thank goodness you bought presents before holiday season. It would’ve been a disaster with no shop being opened. With presents in your arms, you couldn’t rub your hands together for heat. It was damn cold, and you were waiting for green light to cross the road. You would’ve brought your car if the weather was okay, but with snowing when you didn’t chain your tyres, you didn’t want to drive one bit.

You sighed in relief as you entered Aaron’s apartment entrance. You tucked one of the presents under your arm to press the number. As soon as you heard a beep, with a hyped voice the main entrance clicked. Aaron must’ve told Jack you were coming.

-Hotch-

Aaron raised his eyebrow when he saw all the wrapped boxes in your arms. Jack was jumping around as soon as he saw all the presents you brought.

“Not much.” You shrugged nonchalantly as possible.

“Not much,” Aaron repeated slowly.

“C’mon, it’s Christmas,” you rolled your eyes. It’s not like you have someone to spend your money on. Other than your friends from your work, Aaron and Jack could be the only one you could say family. “Now where do you put all your presents?” You asked Jack who led the way to the small living room with a little Christmas tree blinking in colourful light.

“So many of ‘em! What did you buy?” Jack asked eagerly with his puppy look, wanting to know what have you brought. You laughed and heard Aaron laughing from the kitchen.

“There are yours and your Dad’s and you’ll open them tomorrow, yes?”

“Yes!” Jack happily chirped. “Dad and I bought your presents too! You gonna open it tomorrow too!” He pointed a green and red wrapped box under the tree.

“Of course! Unlike someone I can wait till tomorrow.”

“I can too!” Jack huffed and you ruffled his hair. “Are you gonna stay?”

“I was planning to...,” you locked your eyes with Aaron’s.

“I don’t have to work today and tomorrow.” Aaron smiled. “You?”

“Nope. I already finished my shift today and nothing tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

“Hooray!” Jack threw his hands in the air excitingly. “I got a puzzle from Uncle Spencer, can you help me with it?”

“Sure, bring it kiddo.” You watched Jack running off to his room and you held your finger towards Aaron who sent you a worried look. “I’m fine, I had a bit of sleep. Not tired at all.” The tall man opened his mouth but closed it, shaking his head. “Now I’m here, what’re you serving me?” You asked mischievously as you walked to the kitchen. “You’re the host, you must’ve thought about eating something.”

“You know I suck at cooking.” He gave you a sly smile.

“And I suck at cooking too, mind you.” You emphasised ‘suck’, challenging your boyfriend.

“Hmm,” Aaron grinned and gave you a kiss. You pouted as he removed himself from you, but he shrugged lightly. “Jack’s coming.”

In a second Jack’s running footstep echoed and appeared with a box.

“I can’t believe Reid bought him a 1000-piece puzzle.” Aaron groaned as he brushed his hair. With a hung mouth you stared at him. “It’s true, I was going to say that but you already agreed Jack to help him. We might be doing that whole night.”

“We have to finish this and show it to Uncle Reid!” Then Jack started to open the box on the floor. “Let’s do it on the floor! The table is too small!”

“RIP my back.” Both you and Aaron sighed simultaneously.

-Hotch-

Oh my fucking back’s hurt, you stretched your back like a cat. You then stood up to stretch your legs too.

“You know you can just give up,” Aaron said without looking up. His hands were keep moving to find a rightful place for a puzzle piece. The puzzle was barely its half done. You glanced at the sleeping Jack on the sofa.

“I could say the same to you.”

“You worked today,” Aaron finally glanced up at you, “I didn’t. I can finish it alone. You go have some sleep.”

“It’s Christmas, Aaron.” You said shortly if that could explain everything.

“I know, and we’re doing a jigsaw puzzle.” Aaron snorted.

You slid down to the floor once again, your back on the sofa. “I’m here to be with you, not sleep alone.” You huffed indignantly.

“I was thinking about watching a movie together, never intended doing this whole evening. Maybe even some wine after Jack goes to sleep, then just spend time together a bit.” Aaron sat back, his hands on the floor and looking up at the ceiling. That might’ve been his plan in the first place, but well, it’s gone now.

“We’re nearly done, we can finish hurry and go to bed.” You chuckled as soon as imagining Jack seeing a finished puzzle. “Jack’s gonna love it when we actually finish this before he wakes up.”

“He’ll,” Aaron concurred, “but what about our backs?” He twisted his waist making a sound of cracking. The man pouted at you. He probably wanted to give up, but his stubbornness won’t allow that.

“I love your pouting,” you blurted out, laughing and drawing out rolling eyes from your boyfriend. “Anyway, let’s just finish this as I said.”

“Give me a kiss then I’ll try to finish this tonight.” Aaron stuck out his lips.

“Who said this is the notorious BAU Unit Chief? Infamous among criminals?” You laughed as you crawled a bit. You gave a little pack on his lips and withdrew yourself from him. Then his hands grabbed your face and gave you a proper deep kiss.

“Now that’s the kiss.” Aaron licked his lips like a predator.

“We have a kid here, Dad,” you said drily, but your face hot with heat.

“Don’t worry I’ll take Jack his room and finish the puzzle.” Aaron gave you a confident smile. “You just wait.”

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #Criminal Minds #criminal minds imagine #male reader #I kissed a boy au

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rmjagonshi · 3 years ago

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Fanfic Ideas I am trying not to write - Piccolo/Krillin Edition

In a fit of desperation, piccolo and krillin are able to fuse, and once the battle is over, Prillin drops to the ground before splitting. Krillin sitting in Piccolo's lap and upon realization at what happened, tackles Piccolo in a hug and a shout of elation. Piccolo sways a bit, but right's himself. Krillin pulls away a bit, one arm still wrapped around piccolo's neck to raise an arm and call out to the others with a laugh. Once he realizes they see them, he lowers it, to rest on Piccolo's chest. Piccolo, having had never fused and separated before, sees the event as an emotional experience. Staring at Krillin with a look of adoration, one arm wrapped around his waist. Later, they talk about it sitting on the balcony of Krillin and 18's penthouse. Krillin laughs and asks if it's weird that he wants to try it again. Not to fight or anything, but because it felt different. It felt good. (it's the only word he can use to describe it.) Piccolo just kind of looks at him, before saying his name. Krillin looks up to find Piccolo holding his chin/face for a moment before leaning in to kiss his cheek, corner of his mouth. Krillin goes blue screen of death with his whole face blushing up to his ears. Piccolo smirks, but sadly. And goes to pull away, but Krillin leans forward, hovering up to yank on Piccolo's gi and drag him down into a real kiss.

Piccolo leaves the 23rd tournament, but kidnaps one of Goku's friends to ensure he won't be attacked. He picks Krillin, one because he's small, two because Goku seems protective of him, and three because Piccolo seems to be impressed with Krillin's strength. He knocks Krillin out an takes off, saying he'll release the runt when he's sure Goku wont come after him. Went Krillin wakes up, he's tied to a ginormous bed in an abandoned tower/house/castle. Piccolo is nowhere to be found. He tries to pull loose, but he finds he can't, despite his strength. It's because the rope/chain is made of magic and only Piccolo can break it. Krillin sits for a while before falling asleep out of boredom. Waking to find Piccolo flopping into the bed, bruised and beaten (training/self-flagellation). Krillin asks what he's planning to do with him. Piccolo says nothing, for now. It's been about 12 hours since Krillin was taken. He's thirsty, hungry, and really needs to pee. Krillin says as much, and piccolo tosses him a chamber pot. "fine, if you like the smell of pee." He uses it and pushes it as far away as he can and still be able to reach it. The rope is only about six feet long. He can wander in an arc around the bed, and with some stretching, was able to pull a side table near him. The room is a king suit in an abandoned castle, 4 poster bed for someone like ox king or bigger. Piccolo, after krillin reluctantly uses the chamber pot and returns to the bed slowly crawling onto it to sit next to Piccolo at a not so far distance. Piccolo is stretched out just soaking up the soft bed, and Krillin is just staring at him, swallowing and trying not to cough. Piccolo leans over and tosses him a water skin and Krillin drains it. He falls asleep again, though this time from lack of food and energy. He wakes again to Piccolo tossing him an apple/other fruit and krillin devours it, core and all. Piccolo puts a basket of food on the table krillin pulled to himself earlier. Krillin is cautious, but consumes nearly everything, bread fruit, and dried meat/sausage. By now Krillin really needs the bathroom, and Piccolo leads him there like a pet on a leash. Krillin has to leave the door cracked due to the rope/chain. He tugs on it bindings and really tries to get away, and Piccolo just yanks on the rope and tells him he can’t break it. After a few days of not really talking, though Krillin does get a few responses out of him. Krillin begins to stink and Piccolo drags krillin to a giant tub to scrub him clean (forced removal of clothes and all). Krillin finally begrudgingly lets Piccolo bathe him. It becomes a bit intimate and Krillin fights back arousal (since he's being touched). Piccolo, having torn Krillin's clothes off, makes him a new set that looks like Piccolo's "ma" surcoat, with hip height slits. They've been sharing a bed since the start. Krillin wakes sometimes trying to curl up to Piccolo, who allows it. Krillin has asked for something to do "since you're intending to keep me as a pet". Piccolo first starts by image training with him, but Krillin really begs for something else. Piccolo drags him to a decrepit library and Krillin spends a good hour grabbing all the books he can carry. It becomes a habit for them to fall asleep to Krillin reading from the books he's found. Piccolo attempts and experiment and leaves the rope undone from the bed to see if Krillin will flee. When he returns, Krillin is gone, but later only finds him in the library with a snack. That night, Piccolo takes him, Krillin being weirded out at first because, piccolo is evil, and a guy and krillin has never had anyone interested in him before. He finally gives in when Piccolo sucks on his neck/bites. He becomes willing, giving just as good as he gets, rutting against piccolo's 'demon' genitals and learning that Piccolo's antenna are sensitive. They both cum. It's been about a month. Piccolo has done his best to make himself difficult to find by kami, but his shielding comes down while he's distracted and Kami finds them. He sends Goku to find Krillin and Goku does, charging in and finding Krillin and Piccolo curled together naked. Goku doesn't really know what's happened, but knows it's wrong/bad and tries to attack Piccolo who has just woken up. Krillin tries to stop him. "Look, alright, I'll come with you. But I said yes. I'm not hurt." Krillin gathers his clothes, (outfit that piccolo made him) and leaves with Goku. Krillin waits maybe a few weeks before seeking out Piccolo again. They have sex often, Piccolo purposefully keeping his shield down so Kami can see them. By the time raditz shows up, Krillin and Piccolo have been having an affair and working on the castle for four years. Krillin not really talking about it, but Piccolo starts to have doubts about killing Goku. Is it worth it? Goku arrives at Kame house with Gohan, and learns that Krillin and Piccolo have had a kid. She's 6 mo. She and Gohan become close friends during his training.

Krillin writes a fanfic about a hero and a demon and how the hero befriends then seduces the demon to be good. Or rather how the hero's sidekick seduces the demon. It's all samurai era Japan setting with Ronan and emperors and warring factions and magic (like journey to the west) and it ends with Yamcha and oolong and puar and choutzu finding it and reading it and making bets on whether the 'hero sidekick" will do the do with the demon or not. And it's smutty. But good in the old legends sort of way. Krillin is mortified that they've read it and they make fun of him for his crush on Piccolo. (this is after namek but before android saga). Roshi is just disappointed in him for his choices. (DON"T KNOW HOW THIS ONE ENDS YET)

After the garlic jr saga, Piccolo has an urge to bite krillin again. He pins Krillin to the bed in Kame house and bites him, sucking on his neck and letting Krillin rut against him.

Krillin having a crush on Piccolo right from the beginning. And Piccolo, kind of understanding human behavior, pick up on it and is weirded out by it because, hello, he's a demon. When they fight, Piccolo tries to intimidate Krillin by getting right up in his face, but kriilin can only stare at his lips. Piccolo grits his fangs but Krilin just blushes more. When Piccolo says Krillin has surprised him. It's in reference to krillin's crush. To piss off Goku, Piccolo kisses Krillin/manhandles him while maintaining eye contact with Goku.

During the hunt for cell and hiding from the androids when their all camped out at Kame house, Piccolo hasn’t slept in days. Krillin convinced him to sleep, or at least let his body rest. Piccolo concedes to meditate/sleep, but Krillin insists on real sleep. Yamcha and Tien are a little surprised at it, and that Piccolo accepts. Finally stripping down and trying to sleep. He's out in a matter of moments. Yamcha and Tien marvel a bit at Piccolo sleeping. (its night and everyone is trying to sleep anyway). They wake to find Krillin and Piccolo curled together. He'll never admit it, but Piccolo, when he really sleeps, cuddles whatever he finds near him. (At kami's lookout, it was a pillow, on his own it was his cloak that he removed to sleep. Occasionally gohan while they were training. But Krillin is a cuddler too. They wake to Yamcha and Tien snickering at them.

Krillin approaches Piccolo in the HTC in the days before cell and after some beating around the bush, admits he's scared they're all gonna die. Piccolo agrees that it's probable, and krillin asks how piccolo deals with the fear. It evolves into a convo about regrets, Piccolo's being that he want's able to protect gohan. Krillin admitting it was never having a family. Note that it's like two months in. Piccolo asks what the point of a wife is, after seeing chichi and bulma be the way they are. Krillin talks about his ideal and tells piccolo that maybe it was largely his physical need pushing him to feel real regret. I've gotten this far in life and I've never had someone to love. Blah blah blah, I meant sex. But I guess that's not something Namek's do, I don't even know why I'm talking. That's not entirely true. (they've pushed the beds together so Piccolo has a bed large enough for him and have been sharing.) On a whim, and because Kriilin is obviously pent up, Piccolo rolls over and tells him not to speak/this never happened/something where they don’t talk about it. They have sex, Krillin not asking about the non-human genitals and just rolling with it, letting Piccolo direct him and enjoying themselves. They do it often, sometimes Krillin initiating, sometimes Piccolo. But they never talk about it beyond Piccolo saying not now rarely. The first time Piccolo sucks Krillin off, he does it twice in a row, waiting until krillin gets hard again and letting him cum again. Kriilin, by the 2nd time is exhausted and says he can’t anymore. Piccolo, who is HORNEY, fucking him into the mattress, busting the springs. A week later, as piccolo has repaired the bed with magic, he wakes (they've had sex and fell asleep naked) to cough up and egg. They sheepishly leave the HCT three mos later with a baby. To everyone's shock and surprise and disbelief. Goku is kind of huh, Gohan a mix of huh, wtf and congrats. Tien and yamcha are WTF WTF WTF why? Bulma just gives him a hairy eyeball, ChiCHi is all weirdly congrats. Roshi is all I've disowned you, you have lost your honor, but not really. Vegeta just manically laughs. And trunks kind of just laughs nervously and raises an eyebrow.

#krillin x piccolo #krillin/piccolo #fanfiction #ideas #fanfiction prompts #I need to turn my brain off #Can't seem to #but can't actually write

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