#but. what the heck. to think that all of this [gestures at the chapter] takes place when chizuchan was just a first year in middle school

[deus-ex-mona]

also!! it looks like these two have names now!!

space buns is airi and bob cut is moeka!!

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Atychiphobia

Masterlist

Chapter Seven:

The second after Ford hears the crunch and breaking of metal, everyone in front of him moves like a sea parting, splitting in two to reveal Stan, standing at the base of the display, with the shattered machine at his feet.

He’s glaring around at the others, but as soon as he sees them move, he switches to glare at Ford instead.

“What the heck is wrong with you?” he snaps.  Ford can’t breathe.

“Why are you wasting time on this stupid thing,” Stan gestures wildly at the broken machine, “when I’m trying to talk to you?  Do you have any idea what’s going on outside?  People are in danger!  Grunkle Dipper is in danger!  I came here to rescue you, and you just want to give some stupid presentation about a stupid science-y gizmo that isn’t even real?  Why are you—”

Ford turns and runs.  He leaps off the stage, sprints through the chairs in the audience, that are shifting as he runs, and tries to get away from the screaming in his chest.

He wants somewhere safe, but he’s not sure where exactly that is.  Nothing here has been familiar enough to count as safe after Stan says something like that.  The world around him continues to shift as he runs, however, and after running a couple feet through a white void, the ground under his feet turns to wood, he hears the splashing of waves, and he nearly trips off the side of the Stan-o-War.

Ford takes a step back, looks around to find himself on a fully completed version of the ship, floating attached to the dock of Glass Shard Beach.

He takes a shaky breath, stumbles back over to the pole of the main mast, then sits at the base of it and buries his head in his knees.

It’s not long at all before he hears other footsteps on the deck.

“Sixer?”

Ford doesn’t lift his head.

“Hey, I’m sorry I snapped, okay?  I didn’t know how else to get your attention.”

Ford feels Stan sit down next to him, and he turns his head to the side while keeping in tucked into his knees.

“Those stupid scientist guys wouldn’t let me through to talk to you,” Stan says.  “I needed to talk to you.”

Ford finally pulls his head up, and stares at Stan incredulously.

Stan blinks at him.  “What?”

“You broke it,” Ford says.  Obvious tears come through in his voice, and he looks away in shame.

“What, the stupid machine?”

“It’s not stupid!”

“Sixer, it’s not real.”  Stan gestures at the space around them.  “None of this is real!  It doesn’t matter!”

“Of course it matters!  Stop saying that!” Ford snaps, and when he feels tears start to build up again, he just drops his head back into his knees.

There’s a pause, and when Stan speaks again his voice comes out much softer.

“Okay, okay, fine, it matters.  Why does it matter?  You know it’s not real, don’t you?”

“I couldn’t get it to work when it was real,” Ford says miserably.  “I thought— here I can make it work, I thought—” he groans.  “Nevermind.  It doesn’t matter.”

“Hey, yes it does,” Stan says.  Ford feels a hand wrap around his shoulders, pull him against Stan’s side.  “I want to know what you think, Sixer.”

Ford grumbles something, though it doesn’t come out as anything intelligible and he’s not even sure what he means.

“Hey, come on,” Stan says.  “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing.”

“Liar.  Come on, dummy, I know you better than that.  Something’s been bothering you for ages.  Tell me.”

Of course Stan realized.  God, Ford is such an idiot.  Which is the whole problem, isn’t it.

Ford pulls his head up and drops his chin miserably onto his knees.  “I’m not smart enough,” he mumbles.

Stan snorts.  “Oh, come on,” he says, “of course you are.”

“No I’m not,” Ford insists.  “I’m not smart enough to make the perpetual motion machine work and I’m not smart enough to protect Fiddleford from monsters and I’m not smart enough for you to want me around.”

“Woah, what?  What are you talking about?”

Ford doesn’t say anything for a moment, and eventually Stan taps the side of his face, moving it over just enough so that Ford can see the concern in his gaze.

“What are you talking about?” Stan repeats.  “Why wouldn’t I want you around?  Of course I want you around.”

“Well yeah, right now,” Ford mutters, dropping his gaze to the deck in between them.  “But you won’t when you realize how useless I am.”

“Hey.  Don’t talk like that about yourself,” Stan snaps.

“It’s true!  I can’t make anything right, and I don’t have anything to offer you, and— and Bill showed me.”

“Bill showed you what?”

“The night after we defeated Bud,” Ford says, reaching down to pull at a loose string on his lab coat.  “He says that there are other dimensions where we’re already grown up, and that in all those dimensions you eventually realize that I don’t have anything to give you and you leave, because I’m not good enough.”  Ford sniffs and shakes his head.  “And he’s right.  Because I can’t make one stupid machine work.  I’ve been trying all summer and I can’t do it, and you and Fiddleford were already hanging out without me because of it, and you’re right to, because Bill’s right, I’m not good enough.”

“Ford—”

“I just get you both in danger I can’t get you out of and then you get hurt ‘cause of me, and why would you want to stay with someone who only ever makes things worse for you, that’s just common sense, and I don’t want to trap you with me, if I only ever make you miserable you should leave—”

“Stop it!”

Stan’s grabbed him by the shoulders with that, and he ducks his head underneath Ford’s once, twice, until he finally catches his gaze.

“Stop,” Stan repeats.  “I don’t let anyone talk that way about my brother, you hear me?  If Crampelter said all that stuff, he’d get a knuckle sandwich for dinner.”

“But—”

“Sixer,” Stan cuts him off.  He lifts his head up and gently nudges Ford’s up too.  “Do you know what my favorite thing is that you’ve ever built?”

Ford blinks at him.  “What?”

“My favorite thing.  You know what it is?”

Ford shakes his head.

Stan reaches behind him, and drags forward a backpack that Ford hadn’t noticed until now.

Stan pulls out the size-changing flashlight, and Ford’s about to point out that he didn’t even make that, not really, when Stan pulls out something else, sets it on the deck in front of them, and grows it with the flashlight.  It’s his perpetual motion machine, the real one.

Ford reaches out and pokes at one of the metal balls that are supposed to be spinning.  “It doesn’t even work,” he mutters.

“Well, no,” Stan agrees.  “But I hear you up at night working on it.”

Ford turns to him in surprise.  “You what?  You knew?”

“Sixer, you’ve gotta work a lot harder than that to get a secret project past me,” Stan says, rolling his eyes.  “I saw your plan for it, and I know how hard you’re working on it.  Dude, you’ve put so much effort into this thing!”

“But it doesn’t work,” Ford repeats.

“So?  It’s still really cool!  And you made it, which gives it a great head start in my book.  Even if you never get it to work, it’s still cool.”

Ford shakes his head.  “But—”

“Hey.  Look at me.”

Ford manages, barely.  Stan’s smiling warmly at him.

“I don’t know what happened in some other dimension that I don’t live in,” he says.  “But I’ll tell you what I do know.  I am never, ever going to ditch you because you tried something and failed.  I mean, that’d be hypocritical of me, right?  I fail all the time!  It’s great!”

Ford laughs, just a little, and it makes Stan smile wider.

“You know Sixer, you’re my favorite person in the whole world,” Stan says, crossing his arms with a firm nod.

“I am?” Ford whispers.

“Yeah!  But you know something else?  It’s not ‘cause of all the amazing stuff you can do.  The stuff you do is amazing because you’re my favorite person.”

Ford sniffs, and ducks his head to wipe at his eyes.  “Then— you’re still gonna want me around?” he asks.  “Even if I’m not a super smart successful genius?”

“Stanford Pines, I would want you around if you had to drop out of high school and make a living scraping barnacles off the boardwalk.”

A startled laugh bursts out of Ford.  “I don’t think I’m gonna do that,” he says, wiping at his eyes.

“Me neither.” Stan’s face appears upside down in Ford’s gaze as he leans over, smiling.  “The point still stands.”  He pulls back, and as soon as he’s sitting upright again, Ford launches himself forward into his arms.

Stan wraps him tightly in a hug.  “You’re always gonna be good enough for me, Sixer,” he murmurs.  “Don’t you know that?”

Ford sniffs, but he’s starting to smile.  “It’s nice to be reminded sometimes,” he whispers.

Stan gives him another tight squeeze.  “I can always do that,” he says.  “Just tell me next time a demon shows you scary things about the future?  We’ll take it on together, okay?”

Ford nods.  “Okay.”

Stan pulls back, while keeping his hands on Ford’s shoulders.  “Good,” he says.  “Now, are you ready to go find Fiddleford and stop the apocalypse?”

Ford blinks.  “Stop the what?”

[void-ink-studios]

Myth of the Wishmasters - Part 2

Alright, here we go Part 2 babyyyyyyy!

And thus, we've reached the ending of Wrath of the Wishmaster, at least for now. 50,000 words, 164 pages, and 20 chapters. Damn.

I hope this is an ending y'all can be pleased with. Your kind words, comments, and reblogs have honestly meant the world to me,

Thanks for getting me to accidentally participating in NaNoWriMo, ya hecks.

If you started following me for this fic, I hope you stick around. I do some other pretty neat stuff, writing included.

So, without further ado, here we go. Enjoy, y'all.

*psssst*

Hey!

There's also art under the cut!

Word Count: 3,300

Scarab carefully watched Prismo's face flip through... several colorful emotions.

Confusion, shock, befuddlement, all within a beat of very loud silence.

"...Wh-What...?"

Scarab tried to stand up a little straighter. He could do this. He had to do this.

"I asked... What would you wish for?"

"...Like, hypothetically?"

Scarab huffed, gracefully resisting the urge to facepalm. Glob, his love was a bit dense sometimes, wasn't he? "Prismo... I want to grant you a wish."

That just seemed to further baffle the Wishmaster, looking at Scarab like he'd grown a second head.

"But... what? Scarab, you know you can't grant my wish, right?"

Now it was Scarab's turn to look confused. He tilted his head at Prismo. "And why not?"

"Well... Wishmasters don't get wishes? Like, I can't just grant my own wish, I thought that was kind of obvious."

Scarab chirped, considering. "Well, sure, you cannot grant your own wishes. But... well, I'm not you, am I? There has never been two Wishmasters before."

Prismo blinked dumbly at him, like Scarab might as well be talking gibberish.

"Scrabby, Lovebug, I get what you're trying to do but... I don't think that's how this works...? I don't get to... y'know want things? I grant wishes for others!"

He laughed nervously, looking at almost anything in the Time Room other than Scarab. Until the beetle took his hand into his talons, giving his hand a tender squeeze.

"Prismo... You know you're allowed to want things, yes? I though you were finally... realizing that." Scarab gestured around the Time Room.

Prismo made an uncomfortable noise, looking at the floor.

"Not really...? Well, I mean, it's different. It's... It's one thing to, like, decorate the Time Room. It's simple. It doesn't... I dunno, rewrite reality. Me wishing for something could... could...."

"Could what?"

"I don't know Scarab! Break the multiverse?!"

"Prismo. You exist outside of time. Outside of most of reality itself. It's true, we don't know what might happen if you wish for something... But..."

Scarab made his way up Prismo's arm, onto his shoulder, to nuzzle his face sweetly.

"...You have done... so much for me, Prismo. You've done everything. My life, my eternity, is infinitely better with you in it. So... I'd be honored to do this for you. Let me have the honor of being the one to grant you your wish."

Prismo sputtered for a second, Scarab could see his brain stalling for a moment.

"I-I dunno, Scarab... It could just... not work. I wouldn't want your first granted wish to be a dud. And... what if this wish... takes us away from each other...?"

"If it does, then..." Scarab hesitated. "Then... I'm am thankful for being at least a part of your eternity. I would be happy, knowing I gave you something no one else could."

Prismo sniffled, shaking his head. He let his head fall into Scarab's side as he thought.

"...I..."

Prismo started and stopped a few times, trying to find the words. Scarab lets his talons run through the Wishmaster's curly hair.

"...Can I... think about it?"

"Of course, love. Take all the time you need."

Prismo gave his side a kiss, Scarab relishing in the close contact. He knew his Wishmaster had... quite a bit to think about. And that was okay.

It was a big shift for Prismo, him wanting things.

The two returned to a comfortable routine, thankfully in an unusual doldrum of Wish Makers. Prismo spent a lot of time staring at a blank lap top screen, thinking quite loudly.

Scarab made no attempt to ask again. He knew Prismo. He'd come forward when he was ready. If he was ever ready.

"...Scarab...?"

Prismo broke the silence one day, hesitant and unsure.

"Yes love?"

"...I think... I think there's one thing I could wish for..."

"Oh?"

Scarab put the book he was reading down, giving the Wishmaster his full attention.

"It's just... I like my life. A lot. I don't want what pretty much everyone who comes here would wish you. More responsibility would give me headache. I don't want money or wealth. I have you, and the life we built here, and that's perfect for me. But..."

"But...?"

"I've just been thinking... What happens when your... tenure here is over? We don't know when or if the Organizer might pull you back as an Auditor, and... well... I... I don't think I could stand it if I couldn't... If I couldn't be with you. But, I'm here, on the wall, except for extremely specific circumstances. It's never... bothered me before. But... Well, I wouldn't be able to hug you. Or kiss you. Or even just touch you."

Scarab listened, intensely.

He'd admit it, he didn't consider what would happen if he was ever called back. If he was ever made Auditor again, even if it was only part of the time, what would happen to his contact with Prismo...?

"So... I think I've got my wish, Scarab."

Scarab nodded, standing up, ready to listen. "Go ahead, love."

Prismo closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, steadying himself. Scarab could only imagine how strange it must've been to be on this side of the transaction for the Wishmaster.

Prismo mouthed something to himself, possibly double checking his wording. Now or never.

"I wish... I wish for those who hold the title of Wishmaster, as granted by the Dreamer... to have the ability to choose the form they take while in the Time Room."

Scarab felt the magic wash over him. It felt like it his body was emptied and refilled with something wild, chaotic. His thoughts raced, trying to fill in the gaps, just like how Prismo said. He looked at his partner, bracing himself, taking a breath.

"...Wish granted."

At first, nothing happened. A few beats passed, and nothing happened.

At least the multiverse didn't instantly delete itself!

Prismo blinked, looking at his hands, hesitant.

And then he reached forward.

The two sat in stunned silence as... a hand emerged from the wall.

Neither breathed for a long moment.

Prismo experimentally flexed... his hand. That was his hand. The fingers twitched as he turned it in all directions. It looked almost like it was made of gas, something fluid and constantly moving. It shimmered a deep, rosy pink, flecks of sparkling stars scattered across the knuckles.

The Wishmaster pushed further. A hand, then an arm, then a shoulder. A gradient from rose to his signature light pin, the flecks of stars traveling up the arm like freckles.

"S-Scarab...?"

"It's okay, love. Come on out."

Prismo took a deep breath, closing his eyes tight before stepping out.

Scarab felt his breath hitch. Oh dear Glob... Prismo was beautiful. So, so beautiful. His skin swirled and shimmered like a pool of water, looking far more ethereal than the beetle was expecting. Sitting in his chest was a glowing star, it's gravity holding the body together. Two shooting stars orbited around his chest, one a bright gold, the other a deep blackish-purple.

He was still mostly human shaped but... there was still something surreal about him. Alien. Otherworldly.

Prismo shook his head, seemingly getting used to the sensations of his own body.

"S... Scarab...?"

"Oh, my love... How do you manage to look more gorgeous every form you take?"

Prismo gave him a shaky smile, standing on shaky, uncertain legs. He looked at himself, really looked at himself, in wonder.

And then let out an undignified squeak at the realization that he was nude. He dove into the blanket pile, emerging with a pout as Scarab had himself a hearty laugh.

"Oh ha-ha, yeah, laugh it up." The pout wasn't serious, Prismo seemed far too enthralled with the prospect of his new dimension.

"Scarab! Scarab, come join me!"

"Me?"

"Yeah! I did say "anyone with the title of Wishmaster" didn't I? That's you too!"

Scarab seemed to only just register that that now applied to him. He made an excited chittering sound, hesitantly emerging from the wall. He felt odd, like he was on the verge of floating away, yet distinctly there. He was the same pale blue as his projection, but otherwise resembled his physical body pretty closely, just with the same swirling cloud appearance to his shell.

Scarab eagerly dove in to join the blanket pile, holding Prismo close, nuzzling and kissing him sweetly, lovingly.

"This is wild, man... Like... I'm sitting. Sitting in the Time Room."

"Right... quick point about that..."

Prismo cocked his head as Scarab climbed up to the entrance to the Time Roon and tried to stick his arm out. The gas that seemed to compose their bodies dissipated and faded up until his elbow.

"These forms extend only within the confines of the Time Room."

Prismo thought for a moment, but nodded. That was fine. He could requisition a body if he ever needed to leave the Time Room.

"Lovebug. Thank you... Thank you so much."

Scarab smiled, quick to rejoin his beautiful Wishmaster.

The two fell into a new routine soon after. Prismo found out pretty quickly he could dive in and out of the wall as he wished, change sizes, and float around the Time Room. He took a delightful amount of glee in dressing himself, finding himself a collection of loose robes, ones that hung off his shoulders lazily. Scarab was honestly a little surprised at the how conservative Prismo decided to approach jewelry. Unlike his usual routine of making himself sparkle like a treasure chest, he opted instead for simple earrings, a necklace, and arm bands.

He looked like something truly divine. Something awe inspiring.

And Scarab, of course, took to making some new additions to the Time Room. Specifically, a designated seating area, a luxurious spread of couches with pillows and blankets.

And boy were the looks they got from Cos and Death something else.

The Organizer seemed to pause for the first time in the eons Scarab knew her.

"...Hey Scarab?"

The beetle chirped, cracking an eye open to look at the Wishmaster. They were piled onto the couch, Scarab lounging on Prismo's chest, content.

"Yes, love?"

Prismo adjusted the hold he had on Scarab, nuzzling his neck. "I was wondering something."

"That's often worrying."

"Hey" Prismo scolded, unserious.

"Fine, fine. Carry on."

"...What would you wish for?"

Scarab froze for a second, thinking. It's not like he hadn't thought about it before. He's thought about it for centuries. Obsessed over it, even.

But that was before he would ever go to Prismo for help.

And... when he did finally understand that Prismo was someone he could trust... he shoved that wish down into his gut. He would never want Prismo to think he only got close for a wish...

"...I've thought about it before..."

"Really? How come you never made a wish then?"

Scarab made an uncomfortable chirping sound. He head swirled. He... he felt pathetic for feeling this way, but... he didn't feel he deserved it.

Not after this long...

"...It's... complicated."

Prismo hummed, rubbing Scarab's back softly. "...Would you want to make a wish?"

"...I don't know. I..."

Scarab sat up, sighing softly. Prismo followed him up, cupping his cheek reassuringly.

"...For... for the longest time, I had... convinced myself I didn't deserve it..."

"...Deserve what, Lovebug?"

Scarab nuzzled into Prismo's hand as he sighed.

"...My wings and antenna."

Prismo nodded in solum understanding.

"I... I spent so long convincing myself that I deserved what happened to me. That... I broke the rules, so it was the natural and deserved outcome. I used... so much reasoning to try and make it stick. That... that it was better that that had happened, since no one liked bugs. So, the less I looked like a bug, the better... I told myself if I couldn't remember the homeland, who was I to demand my heritage back. I told myself it made me stronger..."

Scarab blinked a few times, willing away the tears.

"But... Glob, Prismo, you've been tearing it all down. You made me realize how... terrible what happened to me was. You like my... less conventional features. You made me remember my home more in the past year than in the last hundred thousand. But..."

"But?"

"But... I don't want to... erase what happened. As much as I hate it, it shaped me into the person I am now. And that's the person who loves you, who has this life. If I knew this was waiting for me at the end, I'd do it all over again."

Prismo nodded, pulling Scarab into a soft hug. "...Regardless of the decision you make... If you want to make a wish, I would be honored to grant it for you."

Prismo kissed his neck, making Scarab chirp happily. He purred for a long time, taking the moment to think. To process.

"Prismo."

Scarab sat up, looking the Wishmaster in the eye.

"I wish... without altering my history, and without depriving anyone else of their body or body parts... to restore my wings and antenna in a way I can control, dismiss, and alter."

Prismo seemed to take a moment to think. Then he smiled.

"Wish granted."

Scarab felt his back tingle. His head itch. The torn ends of his wings felt... ticklish almost. The beetle took a moment to examine the feeling, taking a few steps back from Prismo to kneel.

"Go for it, Scarab. You can do it."

Scarab still hesitated. He'd never felt more scared to open his elytra, not ever since his wings were taken from him.

"You deserve it, Lovebug."

Scarab took a deep breath and let his shell open.

He felt something whoosh across his back. He kept his eyes frozen to the ground. There was something... strange on his back, a strange... heavy weightlessness? He didn't even know if that made sense, but that was the best way the could describe it.

"Lovebug... Look."

Prismo sounded in awe. That probably a good sign, yes?

He turned his head, slowly.

And he felt breathless.

He could see where his real wings ended and these new ones began. They were detached almost, floating an inch or two off the tattered ends. He gave them an experimental flap, chittering in delight as the motion flowed nearly seamlessly.

They looked gorgeous. They weren't his wings, but that was okay with him. They reminded him a bit of the false wings he made for the Gala, with the hand and eye patterns, now with the addition of star motifs.

He took a moment to experiment. He could summon and dismiss them. His fingers could trace the edges, but phase through the membranes.

He took a long look at Prismo before bursting into happy sobs. The Wishmaster was quick to scoop him up and hold him close, running a gentle hand between the base of his wings.

"P-Prismo..."

"I know Lovebug. I know. They're so gorgeous. You're so gorgeous. I'm... sorry they're not attached, or that they don't look like yours but... I dunno, think of them like prosthetics."

"They're perfect, Prismo. You're perfect. Wait, hold on, I need to try something..."

Scarab followed the tingling itch on his head, feeling a ghostly pair of antenna uncurling over his head. Again, they didn't quite feel right, that same heavy weightlessness, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the smack in the face the smells of the Time Room hit him with. The perfume of the flowers, the vinegar of pickle brine, and...

Oh.

Oh.

That was Prismo's smell. Scarab dove his face right into Prismo's cheek, nuzzling, antenna finally able to card through his hair and touch his skin. And he could smell him, he could smell Prismo, a combination of spice and ozone, and he could smell himself all over the Wishmaster's skin.

There was something intoxicating about that, something that made Scarab not pick his head up again for quite a while. Prismo held him all the way through it, humming and rubbing.

"Prismo...?"

"Yeah, Lovebug?"

"...Thank you. For everything."

Prismo hugged him tightly.

"You can thank me" he started, kissing his neck and jaw sweetly, "by being mine. For the next eternity."

Scarab's face flushed blue, but he nodded eagerly.

"Yes. Yes, I am yours. You are mine. For the next eternity, my love."

Prismo nodded back. "For the next eternity."

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

They speak in legends, in tomes, in myths, of the Wishmasters.

At the beginning of it all, in the Age After Nothing, there emerged the one called the Wishmaster.

In the center of everything, in the center of nothing, there is the Time Room, domain of the Wishmasters.

In a place at the center of time, in a place where time cannot touch, there is the one called the Wishmaster.

It is a god of no equal. It is a god of many names, in many forms. But it is always the one called the Wishmaster.

And in this era, the one called Wishmaster is of two beings.

How one meets the Wishmasters may very. It takes something powerful, something capable of building a bridge into the void. But all require a piece of the Eternal Dream, for it is the Dream that is the threads of the Void. Objects with fragments of the Dream are the most reliable vector to crossing into the Void.

It is two beings one might be greeted with.

The Living Dream known as Prismo, and his protector The Star Auditor known as Scarab.

Prismo is always there. He is aloof, but a comfortable being. He is a creature of comfort, lounging in a self made sanctuary of pillows and blankets, surrounded by perfumes of the Dream Lilies hanging from above. Leaving him gifts of crystals and jewelry may earn you his favor, although even then, that is not given liberally.

The Time Room is his Domain. He can freely move between and from the walls, for the walls are at his command.

Scarab is a feature only on occasion. One should rejoice if they commune with the two Great Wishmasters. He is orderly, precise. One might think this sparks conflict between the two, but instead it brings harmony. He is a god of intimidating disposition, but reasonable if approached without fear. He is even less liberal with favor than the Almighty Prismo, but offerings of fruits and rare teas may give you a chance.

The Scarab and Prismo are protective of each other. When approaching, do not offend either. Do not disparage the other. They are a pair, equal in all things.

The Almighty Prismo and Scarab, the ones called Wishmasters, offer the same bargain to any who find his domain, his domain of the Time Room.

One wish, anything your heart desires, you may ask of him. And he will make it so.

But do beware, wish makers.

Realities may warp or split or merge, people and objects may shuffle through time and space, memories, lifetimes, erased or rewritten forever. But they will make it so.

For the Almighty Prismo is not cruel, he is a tricky one. For the Almighty Scarab is not deceptive, he is percise.

Any wish lacking detail, they will fill the gaps. And lapse in thinking, and forgotten factor, and unforeseen consequence, they shall consider. To those they favor, they may advise. To those they don't?

Well, you will receive what you wish for.

Whether or not you can live with that is not a trouble for the Almighty Prismo and Scarab.

They are the crossroads, the boundary, the space between it all.

If one is lucky, they might hear the song of the Wishmasters. One might bare witness to the great wings of the Almighty Scarab, as they two circle each other in a cosmic dance. Do not disturb them if you find this majesty. Consider yourself blessed, and listen to the strange song of the divine.

For this is the nature of the Wishmasters.

Mismatched, yet incomplete without each other.

Together for eternity.

Thus is the myth of the Wishmasters.

[starrattlerofprydain]

Favorite Place (Roxas/Kairi drabble collection)

AO3 / FF.net

Chapter 9: Try For the Hell Of It

The rowdy sounds of the New Year’s Eve party were quickly drowned out as Roxas made his way upstairs. All he needed to do was use the bathroom, but the closest one was occupied, so the one in the bedroom upstairs was his only option… that is, if that one wasn’t occupied as well.

As much as he enjoyed the festivities, along with the loud music blasting through the walls, it was actually nice to have a brief moment of peace, so he couldn’t complain.

The blond eventually reached the bedroom and noticed the door was slightly open. He knocked just in case before slowly pushing the door open.

The room was empty.

Good.

From there, Roxas made his way to the bathroom, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he noticed someone just outside the window across the bedroom.

“Oh, hey Roxas.”

Roxas froze up, not realizing who was calling his name until the figure moved closer to the dim lighting in the room.

“Kairi?” He questioned, still remaining in place… as well as wondering what the heck the girl was doing. “Uhh… hi?”

Kairi giggled softly as she gestured for Roxas to come over.

“Wanna come here for a bit?”

Despite being completely caught off guard seeing the auburn haired girl at an awkward time, he couldn’t help but accept the offer.

“Yeah, I guess. Just uh… give me a sec.”

He finally stepped inside the bathroom before making his way back out moments after, noticing Kairi was resting her arms on the window sill, patiently waiting for him.

She looked pretty.

Though, that still didn’t explain why she was here by herself out on the roof.

“So… any reason you’re here and not with everyone else downstairs?” Roxas asked, carefully climbing out the window to join the girl.

“Mmmm,” the girl hummed as she turned to look up at the night sky, “No real reason. I just wanted to get away from all the noise for a bit.”

At that moment, a lone firework went off in the distance and echoed through the air.

“I don’t think it’ll be too quiet out here once midnight hits,” Roxas chuckled.

“Yeah, but at least we’ll have front row seats to watch the fireworks,” Kairi smiled.

“What time is it anyway?” The blond wondered.

The girl pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen.

“It’s 10:23. We still got a little while to go.”

“So you’re just gonna stay here until 12 am?”

Kairi looked up at Roxas and shrugged nonchalantly, “I mean, you can leave if you want.”

Roxas tilted his head slightly before letting out a small laugh. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.“

“Wanna see about that?”

The red head reached her arms out and made it seem like she was about to push Roxas off the roof, but he quickly took ahold of her wrists.

“Whoa hey! Take it easy!” He laughed, pushing her arms away. She giggled in return and tried to fight back for a moment before gazing at the young man.

“You’ll stay with me then?”

Roxas locked his eyes with hers and smiled softly before letting her wrists go.

“Yeah, I’ll stay… everyone’s gonna be wondering where we are though,” he added, rubbing his neck.

The girl giggled as she shifted closer to Roxas’ side. “With how crazy things are downstairs, I doubt it.”

And there they stayed.

With just about an hour and a half until midnight, the two spent the night getting lost in conversation, as well as occasionally exchanging glances that made Roxas’ heart skip a beat. He wondered if she felt the same way too, but he thought it’d be a dumb thing to ask.

He peeked over to see her looking at her phone for the time.

11:55 pm.

Even though midnight was finally just around the corner, Roxas didn’t want the night to end.

“So I guess the countdown starts soon, huh?”

“Mmhmm…” She remained quiet for a moment, keeping her eyes on her phone before speaking up again.

“I guess that also means I’ll be sharing my New Year’s kiss with you.”

Roxas froze up.

Kairi looked over to him and laughed, “I’m kidding.”

The blond let out a small, nervous chuckle and looked down to his hands, timidly twiddling his fingers.

“Doesn’t sound all too bad,” he shrugged.

Kairi kept her gaze on him, realizing her cheeks suddenly felt warmer than it did moments ago. She briefly looked down at her phone again before shifting around to face Roxas.

“Okay, one little kiss then.”

Roxas curiously watched her for a moment, slightly adjusting himself as well.

“That’s all it takes to convince you, huh?”

Kairi playfully pouted and suddenly turned away from him.

“No kiss for you then.”

Why is she such a tease?

And why can’t I learn to keep my mouth shut..?

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t think you’d actually wanna do that with me.”

Kairi stayed silent for a moment and shrugged, turning back to face Roxas.

“You’re cute.”

Roxas opened his mouth to say something but the voices downstairs began the countdown to midnight.

He didn’t hesitate to wait any longer and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers.

Though, he pulled away almost immediately, unsure if he should keep it going. Not to mention, the countdown was still not even finished.

“Uh… should we wait?” Roxas asked timidly.

Kairi smiled softly and gently tugged on his shirt, pulling him towards her to kiss him again.

Before they knew it, it was finally 12 am and the fireworks started going off in the distance. Though, despite having the perfect view to watch the show in front of them, the act of kissing just seemed much nicer at that moment.

And the fact that it was just the two of them alone…

Roxas pulled away after a few moments to take a breath, as well as just not wanting to get too ahead of himself.

Kairi bit her lip and curiously watched him as she tried to regain her composure. “Are you okay?”

Roxas chuckled to himself and nodded. “Yeah, that was… wow.”

The red head blushed as she kept her hand on his shirt, quietly watching the fireworks.

“Can you stay with me a bit longer?” she asked quietly, timidly tugging the hem of his shirt.

Roxas wasn’t sure what it was but something felt different as he looked at the girl beside him. Almost like a fire ignited in his chest.

“Yeah, I’ll stay,” The blond smiled to himself and took her hand, implying to head back inside the room. Once they were back inside, Roxas turned to face her.

“Oh yeah, happy new year by the w–”

He was cut off by Kairi’s lips pressing against his, causing him to lose his footing which nearly sent them stumbling to the ground.

Thankful there was a bed in the way.

The auburn haired girl couldn’t help but giggle, which made Roxas laugh in return.

Once they composed themselves, Kairi kept her gaze on the blond, who was gazing back at her with a longing stare. She smirked as her eyes briefly trailed to his lips, then back up.

“Happy new year, Roxas.”

[antlersofthevoid]

Dust From The Past: Chapter 1 - Conspiracy

//SURPRIIIISEE It's here!! Song from the Act 1 Playlist is: 'Kara Main Theme'

CONSOLIDATED ANDROID NO 001

SYSTEM START….

Initializing…

.

.

.

Complete.

Data Blackbox : ONLINE

Audio Processors : ONLINE

Adjusting Optics…

Internal Systems : OPERATIONAL

.

.

Its eyes opened—not smoothly, but with the sharp precision of a camera shutter snapping into action, introducing it to the world for the first time. For a moment, it’s vision was a blur of bright fluorescent lights and pristine concrete walls to match.

But just as quickly as the shutter had snapped, the world came into focus.

The room was cold and quiet, save for the humming of the lights above it, and a distant conversation a few rooms over.

Cold air hit the few parts of it’s metal arms and legs that remained exposed by the strange article of gray clothing that covered most of its body, and the robot wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

…It could feel..?

It could….think…?

An involuntary twitch moved the digits of its left hand as an android on another table awoke.

It wasn’t sure how just yet, but something told it that they were different from each other. This one was taller, and based on the few strands of synthetic black hair that it could see curling around its face in the corner of its optics, as compared to the cherry red hair of the new one, the differences were intentional.

“Are they going to work, or not?”

A new sound made both of them turn their attention to the only way out of the room, staring with pure curiosity as two new figures entered.

Humans. A short one in a lab coat with glasses and long, scruffy black hair that had been tied back in a ponytail, and a tall one, a brunette with neatly trimmed hair and a fancy business suit.

“I told you they will, you just have to give them time-��

And then they stopped. Both androids made eye contact with the men.

“...Francis, what is this?”

The tall one glared at the shorter one- who the two androids assumed was Francis.

“Sir, I told you.” The shorter one pushed his glasses back onto his nose. “I took some creative liberties with the project-”

The tall one stepped towards the two androids, a displeased expression on his face. The two androids shared a look of confusion. Had they already done something wrong?

Francis pointed towards the red-haired one.

“These are the two prototypes. That’s Vex.”

The displeased taller human rolled his eyes.

“You NAMED them?”

Francis ignored him, gesturing towards the black-haired one.

“And that’s Jamie.”

“I didn’t ask you for PETS.”

The tall one spun on his heels to face Francis.

“I asked you for MACHINES. TOOLS. Not dress-up toys!”

Jamie. So that was its name!

Jamie…

…Yeah, it liked that name.

“These ARE your machines. I just took us a step further in the project and put us in a brand new direction.”

Jamie glanced at Vex, who had turned their attention to something in the corner of the room. A bug, maybe?

“What the hell are you talking about, Francis?”

Francis moved to Jamie’s side, waving a hand in front of the android enthusiastically.

“Just think! First, we start with clearing out the mine- show everyone what they can do-”

“And?”

“And then, we move UP! Think of all the jobs these guys could take! We could reduce the rate of unnecessary work deaths! If there isn’t a REAL person working the job, there are no liabilities!”

…what the heck were they talking about?

The tall one thought for a moment, before nodding and flashing Francis a smile. Jamie wasn’t sure if it was a genuine one, or a sinister smile.

“I like your thinking, Francis.”

“Here, and you can even take one of the prototypes! Test it out, let it work around the office- send it to go fetch papers or something. Your choice.”

..what was going to happen to the other one?

“Give me the red one.” The taller one spoke without hesitation. “You can put the other one in storage for now. We’ll keep it for the showcase.”

The two androids shared a look of confusion and…another emotion that neither really knew of yet. Had Jamie done something wrong? Had Vex done something? What was going to happen to Jamie?

It felt a hand brush against the sensors on it’s face before it’s vision focused again. Only Francis and Jamie remained in the room.

It stayed perfectly still as his hand moved to the back of it’s neck, doing something with the control panel between it’s shoulders.

And then it finally spoke. It took a few crackles and confused attempts at words, before Jamie finally got the words out of their processor.

“....Did i…..do something..wrong..?”

Francis shook his head, smiling at the robot.

“No, no, sweet girl, you’re just..”

It- no.. she, tilted her head.

“It’s just not your time to shine yet, is all.”

SYSTEM POWER SWITCH OFF.

10 SECONDS TO SHUTDOWN.

“You’re alright.”

She found his words oddly assuring, a confirmation that her simple existence hadn’t been an immediate failure.

“You’ll get your chance again, Jamie.”

5 SECONDS…

The camera lens closed again. She didn’t want to fade back into nothingness again, but she had no choice.

“...They’ll love you. I know they all will.”

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Y̵̴̷̵̵̡̧̧̛̼̱͎̠̜̘͍̘̥̣̩̰͔͉ͣ̑ͩ͒ͣ̐̍̾́̈́̅͊̎̀̽͐͊͟͡͠ͅͅơ̧̨̝̼̦̱̰͈͍̙͆͋͒̔̂ͭ̎̑̿̈́͋̂̓̀̐̀̋ͤ͗̑̆̄̕͢͢͠͞ͅụ̷̵̢̭̠͕͈͚̾͋̆̾̿͗͑̌͒̽ͨ̇͒ͦ͞_͕̘̗͔̻̽̓̎͊̊ͯ̂'̪͈̞̙͛̀ͪͬͦ̚r͓̝̖̈́̔ͦ́͌_̡̨̪͍̩̳͙̲̤̳̰ͤ̂̒ͥ̊ͭ͛ͫ͘_̡̼̝͇̘͙̟ͥ͊͋ͤͥ͌̇̕͠͡e̷̸̢̢̜̦̝̝͎͔̩͍̤͍͍͔̹͔̞̯͋͆͐͆ͯͮ͊̋̂̌ͫ͋̿̀́ͮͦ͌̑ͩ͆͟͜͞ͅͅ d̴̸̢̻̙͚̬̩̳̳͍͕̪̗̾̐̓̒͛̑̀ͮ͠ͅͅŗ̵̷̷̴̶̡̱͉͚͉̠̹̟̘͉͖͉͙̍̈̋ͦ͗̔̋́̈̋ͩ̑ͮ̒̏͌͋͐ͥ͌̕͘̕̚͟͡ͅͅe̵̷̶̝̭̭͈̦̜̟̺̮̻̠̦̲̩̫͍ͪ͊̃́̉͆̊͛͗̌̎̃̐̿̂́̏̔̚͘ą͕̯̭͎ͧ̌̃͐ͭ̊ͫ̋͊ͫ̚͢͝m̵̴͇̜̟̠͊̀̕ͅi̴̠̫̼̻͎ͦͥ͛ͩ̔̊ͩ̕͟͠n̗g̷̴̗̖̖̗̦̻̲͕̺̜͕ͯͩ̄̂̈́̉̈̽̅̾̈́͊̃ͩ̋̾ͧͭ̚̚͜͞ͅ a̴̭͇̤̦̻̜̼ͦ̌ͫ̇̾̚ͅ_̶̢̰̦͉͍̙̙̭ͨͨ̾ͣ͂͒ͥ͋̋́̿ͦ͘͟͡g̶̨̝̖͍̰̹̥̦͎̬͍̼̰̯͎̒̏ͦ̑̊͗̽̒̊ͪ̃ͧ͛͢a̝͙̮̎̑̽̚ì̧̺̲̼̤̏ͦͮͥ͛ͩ̕ņ̰̫̰̯̪̦̲͇̺̺̗̲̙̲̹̳ͬͮ̀̏ͩ͂̄ͭ̽̍͊̓͑̀͒̉̄̉ͣ̒̚̕̕͘͜͡.̴̸̞̪̥̭͇̥͔͖͖̬̻͈̮ͥͤͥ̋̇ͮ̓̄̆ͣ̊͘͜͜͟͟

W̫͖͎̝͇̮ͬ̅ͪ̄̍̀̎̋̌ͬ̕ͅa̷̖̣ͯ̃͌k̷̰̦̤̳̖̮̥͔̽ͯ́̈́̈́ͧ̂͛̑̔̋͂ͭ͊̕͝ẹ̙̯̬̘̠̙̘̰͕̒̌ͣ̊̃ͮ̃̇ͥ̈_̱ ṳ̸̧̩̘̙͍̱̋͋̀_̲͊̾̑̕͜p̮̰̦̟ͮ̿̈́̅̏

W̫͖͎̝͇̮ͬ̅ͪ̄̍̀̎̋̌ͬ̕ͅa̷̖̣ͯ̃͌k̷̰̦̤̳̖̮̥͔̽ͯ́̈́̈́ͧ̂͛̑̔̋͂ͭ͊̕͝ẹ̙̯̬̘̠̙̘̰͕̒̌ͣ̊̃ͮ̃̇ͥ̈_̱ ṳ̸̧̩̘̙͍̱̋͋̀_̲͊̾̑̕͜p̮̰̦̟ͮ̿̈́̅̏

W̫͖͎̝͇̮ͬ̅ͪ̄̍̀̎̋̌ͬ̕ͅa̷̖̣ͯ̃͌k̷̰̦̤̳̖̮̥͔̽ͯ́̈́̈́ͧ̂͛̑̔̋͂ͭ͊̕͝ẹ̙̯̬̘̠̙̘̰͕̒̌ͣ̊̃ͮ̃̇ͥ̈_̱ ṳ̸̧̩̘̙͍̱̋͋̀_̲͊̾̑̕͜p̮̰̦̟ͮ̿̈́̅̏ W̫͖͎̝͇̮ͬ̅ͪ̄̍̀̎̋̌ͬ̕ͅa̷̖̣ͯ̃͌k̷̰̦̤̳̖̮̥͔̽ͯ́̈́̈́ͧ̂͛̑̔̋͂ͭ͊̕͝ẹ̙̯̬̘̠̙̘̰͕̒̌ͣ̊̃ͮ̃̇ͥ̈_̱ ṳ̸̧̩̘̙͍̱̋͋̀_̲͊̾̑̕͜p̮̰̦̟ͮ̿̈́̅̏ W̫͖͎̝͇̮ͬ̅ͪ̄̍̀̎̋̌ͬ̕ͅa̷̖̣ͯ̃͌k̷̰̦̤̳̖̮̥͔̽ͯ́̈́̈́ͧ̂͛̑̔̋͂ͭ͊̕͝ẹ̙̯̬̘̠̙̘̰͕̒̌ͣ̊̃ͮ̃̇ͥ̈_̱ ṳ̸̧̩̘̙͍̱̋͋̀_̲͊̾̑̕͜p̮̰̦̟ͮ̿̈́̅̏ W̫͖͎̝͇̮ͬ̅ͪ̄̍̀̎̋̌ͬ̕ͅa̷̖̣ͯ̃͌k̷̰̦̤̳̖̮̥͔̽ͯ́̈́̈́ͧ̂͛̑̔̋͂ͭ͊̕͝ẹ̙̯̬̘̠̙̘̰͕̒̌ͣ̊̃ͮ̃̇ͥ̈_̱ ṳ̸̧̩̘̙͍̱̋͋̀_̲͊̾̑̕͜p̮̰̦̟ͮ̿̈́̅̏ W̫͖͎̝͇̮ͬ̅ͪ̄̍̀̎̋̌ͬ̕ͅa̷̖̣ͯ̃͌k̷̰̦̤̳̖̮̥͔̽ͯ́̈́̈́ͧ̂͛̑̔̋͂ͭ͊̕͝ẹ̙̯̬̘̠̙̘̰͕̒̌ͣ̊̃ͮ̃̇ͥ̈_̱ ṳ̸̧̩̘̙͍̱̋͋̀_̲͊̾̑̕͜p̮̰̦̟ͮ̿̈́̅̏

Junebug gasped as she jolted upwards, digging her hands into the blanket around her.

It was dark. She could see, she knew she could, it just took a minute for her optics to adjust- something about cameras and exposure and…yeah, something like that.

Where was she, again..?

The weight beside her finally registered. Johnny lay peacefully sleeping on his side beside her, arms curled to his chest and his face buried in a pillow.

Spare bedroom, basement, tv…couch…

Right, Clara and Cyrano’s house. She and Johnny did a set at a bar nearby and asked to stay with them for the weekend. The bike was outside, the keys were on the table.

Well, there was no chance of her going back to sleep, not after that nightmare.

Junebug moved slowly and quietly, not wanting to disturb her Cricket, taking careful steps up the stairs and into the kitchen.

She’d made up her mind about halfway up the steps, deciding that she’d snag one of the leftover donuts from the box on the kitchen table, and then maybe..go for a late night swim. Surely they didn’t get a pool put in outside just for it to be a decoration, and she was waterproof anyway, what would it hurt?

Ⱥꞥđ ⱳħⱥⱦ īꞩ īⱦ ɏꝋᵾ ⱦħīꞥҟ ɏꝋᵾ'ɍē đꝋīꞥꞡ?

It was too early to be fighting her inner demons.

She brushed off the nagging feeling of impending doom as she licked a stray fleck of caramel from her chin, making sure not to accidentally trigger the chime that Clara had installed near the back door.

Łꝋꝋҟ ⱥⱦ īⱦ. Īⱦ ⱦħīꞥҟꞩ īⱦ ȼⱥꞥ ēⱥⱦ łīҟē ⱥ ħᵾᵯⱥꞥ. Īⱦ ⱦħīꞥҟꞩ īⱦ īꞩ ħᵾᵯⱥꞥ.

Warm weather, clear skies, perfect conditions for a night swim.

Junebug always preferred to swim in shorts, never a swimsuit. She could never really decide why, and everytime someone asked, she gave them a different answer. She could never find one she liked, or one that fit her, or she didn’t like how they were made, or-

..Or maybe she just didn’t like people seeing the wield marks in her plating.

Ⱦⱥҟē ⱥ ꞡꝋꝋđ, łꝋꞥꞡ łꝋꝋҟ ⱥꞥđ ɍēᵯēᵯƀēɍ ⱳħⱥⱦ ɏꝋᵾ ⱥɍē

The water was perfectly still. The moon provided just enough light for her to see her own reflection as she moved to step into the water.

Her mismatched eyes, the scratches in her plating, uneven wield marks on her neck.

The plating. Her skin.

Łꝋꝋҟ ⱥⱦ ɏꝋᵾ, ꝑɍēⱦēꞥđīꞥꞡ ⱦꝋ ƀē ⱥ ħᵾᵯⱥꞥ. Ɏꝋᵾ ȼⱥꞥ'ⱦ ēꞩȼⱥꝑē ⱳħⱥⱦ ɏꝋᵾ ⱥɍē.

Her breath caught in her throat. She forgot it was possible, artificial lungs, yet another curse-within-a-blessing given to them by the company.

₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮₴₮Ø₱ł₮

“...Junebug?”

She hadn’t realized how close she’d gotten to the edge before she lost her footing and fell in at the jolt of surprise.

The water hit her senses before she could even process what was going on, body twisting and flailing in the water as she tried to move in whatever direction she could perceive as up.

A hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her up, and she found a shoulder to rest her head on as she caught her breath.

𝗔⃥𝘳̸𝗲⃥ 𝘆⃥𝘰̸𝘂⃥ 𝗼⃥𝘬̸𝗮⃥𝘺̸?⃥!̸ 𝘑̸𝘂⃥𝘯̸𝗲⃥𝘣̸𝘂⃥𝘨̸?⃥!̸

… Ɉᵾꞥēƀᵾꞡ?!

Johnny. It was Johnny. He had her.

“June! Jesus, answer me!”

After realizing whose arms she was in (And who had accidentally scared her in the first place), she tightened her arms around his shoulders just a bit more.

“I’m fine. I’m fine, Cricket.”

Well, that was one way to get in the pool. They were still in the shallow end, so they could both stand, even though Junebug was using Johnny for support as she rebalanced herself and coughed up the small amount of water she had accidentally inhaled.

“You just scared me, that's all.”

Johnny frowned and furrowed his brows as Junebug pulled back.

“You scared me. I woke up and you weren’t there, and then I came out here to see you hyperventilating beside the pool.”

Shit.

“Just couldn’t sleep.”

Johnny kept his hand on her arm, keeping her close to him.

“Is that really it?”

She tried to pull away as he pulled her into another embrace.

“That’s it, Cricket. Nothing else to talk about.”

“Talk to meeeeeeee.” Johnny pouted.

“There isn’t anything else to talk about.” Junebug stared over his shoulder and into the water. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was making the “alright, I guess we’re doing this” face.

Especially when he started drifting backwards, pulling her towards the deep end of the pool.

“CrICkET”

“What?” Johnny teased, snickering as she wrapped her arms and legs around him this time.

“If there isn’t anything to talk about, surely you don’t mind-”

Junebug playfully swatted at his face. “You know I hate being in the deep!”

It was true, and he knew it. They were both originally built to maneuver in water, meaning that taking a swim in a pool, or even in down in the echo river at the rum colony, was no big deal, but Junebug absolutely DESPISED being where she couldn’t touch the bottom.

“Do I?”

“If you’re trying to get me to talk, this isn’t going to work.”

He planted a kiss on her cheek. She stuck her tongue out and retaliated by nipping at his ear.

“C’mon, June. You know you never win this fight.”

Junebug let her chin rest on his shoulder again. “I’ve told you about my dreams before. There, that’s it. I had a dream and couldn’t go back to sleep so I came out here. Happy?”

Johnny’s playful look turned to a look of concern.

“And you decided to come outside and have a staring competition with your reflection?”

Junebug stayed silent. Johnny knew, they both had their insecurities, despite how hard they tried to act human, how they rebuilt themselves and colored in the empty spots, how they could never get the paint to fully cover up the seams on their limbs.

“....Can you put me down now?”

She immediately realized her mistake, and kicked herself for her words.

“Right here?”

She wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, He was always the better swimmer.

“Right here?”

“JoHNNy DoN’T YoU DArE”

He only released his grip just a little bit, but she still frantically tried to pull herself closer to him.

“CRICKET.”

“What? You told me to put you down-” He shrugged. “I’m just doing what my Junebug wants.”

“YOUKNOWDAMNWELLTHATSNOTWHATIMEANT.”

She only stopped her frantic attempts to stay as close as possible to him when she felt his arms wrap tightly around her waist again.

“Request rescinded?” Johnny got her on the chin this time.

Junebug buried her face in his shoulder to hide her embarrassment. Thank god it was only her and Johnny, for her own sake. He was the only one that ever got to see her like this, that ever got to truly make her laugh or be there when she needed comfort. Those quiet, private moments were the only moments they dropped the act and got comfortable.

And they liked it that way.

୧‿̩͙ ˖︵ ꕀ⠀ ♱⠀ ꕀ ︵˖ ‿̩͙୨

“....Gross.”

The Blue-haired one stuck out her tongue.

The purple-haired one shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Shut up, you’ll blow our cover.”

“I don’t see why we can’t just take them now.” The blue-haired one whispered to the other. “They’re right there, there’s nobody else around-”

The purple-haired one pointed towards the house, making sure not to move past the shrubs they were using to hide behind.

“And there are houses with god knows how many security systems. Do you know what would happen if we got caught?”

The blue-haired one rolled her eyes and replied mockingly, “The boss will get in trouble and then we’ll get scrapped because yada yada bad company publicity.”

“Finally, you’re using your processor.”

They sat in silence for a moment, before the blue-haired one spoke again.

“...but they’re right there. We could get this done now-”

The purple-haired one turned to face her, a hand on his hips as he snarled.

“Do you have the narcotics on you?”

The blue-haired one glared back in an angry silence.

“Hey, Tempest?” She cocked her head. “How about you kiss my-”

The collars around their necks beeped quietly before she could finish her challenging insult. The blue-haired one groaned in annoyance.

“We’re done for tonight anyway.”

The blue-haired one snuck one last glance at the two oblivious bodies down the hill, only turning her attention away when Tempest quietly called for her.

“Surge! Leaving now!”

An excited, absolutely wicked smile crossed Surge’s face as she trailed into the woods after Tempest, cackling under her synthetic breath.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun.”

[its-in-the-woods]

The Woman Who Couldn’t Die Part 10

master list

Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9,

Pairing: The Ghoul/Cooper Howard x Original Character

Synopsis: An eerily familiar call rang into the woods. Her whole body stiffened at the call, the missing digit on her left hand screaming like they were fresh.

MINOR GET OUT. Rating/Warning: This is based on Fallout expect typical horror as well as: Blo0d, G0re, Death, Bodily injury, mentions of SH, death, drugs use, soft!cooper, angst, slow burn, hurt/comfort, Dead dove,

Note: that I will not be spoiling any of the reading. I will keep my tags relevant without spoiling what is happening in the story.

*here we are ten chapters in, think we've hit our halfway point.

*lots of angst, can't say there won't be more

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

By the time they found the small shack to hole up in the sun was nearly gone, the Ghoul kept himself busy making a fire. Trying his best not to think too hard about his breakdown with Jade, avoiding the emotional turmoil that had been ringing in his ears. No amount of chem was going to take the edge off of that. Jade hadn’t said much, just walking beside him, heading west. Her words banging around his head, ringing the bell over and over. 

It had been too many years since he had let someone in, too many years of walking this place alone. All for it to be turned upside down by this tiny killing machine, who liked to hold his hand, and lean into his side. Who refused to back down from just about anything put in front of her. He had half a mind to try and knock her out, and leave. The thought of leaving her here was worse. How do you leave someone? How had he ever left anyone? He was getting too old for this bullshit. At least the fire was going, maybe some warmth and light would make the future look less bleak.  

Turning to look at Jade he saw that she had dug out a sewing kit, a small knife, and metal tweezers on a somewhat clean piece of cloth. His brows furrowed at the sight, wondering what the heck she had planned for the evening. He’d never been much of a masochist, even in this world.

“What’s that for?” The Ghoul gestures at the layout of implements. Jade looking back at him confusion written in the lines of her face. 

“You got shot several times, I figured I could dig them out for you,” Jade said, moving over so he could sit beside her. “It’s got to hurt.”

He stood for a moment longer, before looking down at his chest, there were, in fact, a dozen new holes. He had felt it when the bullets had impacted him, but after that, it was just numbed by the chems like everything else. 

“Ahh-” He sighs, sitting beside her, the fire providing enough light for her to see what needed doing. “Usually the bullets come out on their own. Or I dig them out when they get itchy.” 

Jade’s mouth fell open, eyes narrowing at him.“They just come out on their own?” 

The Ghoul shrugs, pushing his jacket off, dropping the bandoleer on the ground beside him. Noticing how her eyes followed the movement of each piece, trying not to think too much about how it made his teeth clench. “Yah, the Ghoulification process speeds up regeneration. So the shrapnel comes out eventually.”

Her brows scrunch, her eyes going to his vest that was dotted with holes. “Would it heal faster if they were taken out?”

She wasn’t going to let it go, Cooper sighing as he nods, if the shrapnel was out they'd be healed by morning. He still didn't move to remove any clothes, he doesn’t have to. Jade is moving watching him with those brown eyes. Her hands work surprisingly well considering she is missing two on one side. He’d needed to return the favor and check the stitches on her hand. Stim-pak worked incredibly well, but she had still lost two fingers. His stitch job was good, and they should heal fine, but it didn't hurt to check.

“There is nothing pretty under there,” The Ghoul swallows, his heart pounding in his chest as she pushes the vest open, moving to work on the button on the worn blue shirt underneath.

“I would be sorely disappointed if there was,” Jade jested, the firelight making the yellow in her eyes sparkle. The Ghoul’s skin itches to get up and walk away from this situation, to ignore the way his stomach got hot as she moved the clothes off of him.  

The Ghoul stops her on the third button, “I mean it Jade, I’ve been walking around this world for a long time.”

Jade carefully grabs his hand, moving it away from the other buttons, and placing them on the dirt beside him. Continuing to undo the rest, she doesn’t flinch when she peels it open. He’d expected some kind of reaction, something that would make it easier for him to push her away. Instead, she looked more curious than not, his skin underneath isn’t as red, more a marbled mix of tans, pink, and deep red streaks. A patchwork of scars covers his chest, dotted with many new holes. Her fingers run over each, eyes never straying from the work ahead of her. 

His mind wandered to that night she had crawled onto his lap to dig radroach guts out of his nose hole. How she had pressed her body against his, the way she had looked down at him before kissing him. How he’d taken off like a bat out of hell, leaving her there in the dirt. Yet she was still there, reaching for tweezers to work out the shrapnel. 

Cooper dug into his bag and pulled out a small flask of moonshine he kept for occasions like this. Taking a swig he offered some to Jade. She took a small sip, looking directly at him without flinching, before going to work. 

It hurt like a son of s bitch, Jade was careful doing minimal cuts, mostly using the tweezers to grab metal and fabric out of the holes. The Ghoul had less nerves, skin hard and calloused, but the cutting still hurt. Her hands worked steadily as if this was a nightly ritual. He wondered how many times she’d sewn herself up over the year. The Waste is awful, but most still squirm at the sight of bleeding wounds, not Jade. Jade never seemed bothered by anything, wise and hardened well beyond her years. 

Each wound would bleed, Jade instructing him to hold a clean piece of cloth against the hole, before going to the next one. The Ghoul does as she asks, even if it wasn’t necessary. She was bound and determined to care for him, and at the end of the day, he really didn’t mind. He couldn't remember the last time someone took the time to make sure he was okay. As she pulled out the final piece, Jade reached for the sewing kit. 

“No need for stitches, it’ll be closed by mornin’.” The Ghoul states, tossing the cloth onto the fire, before starting to button up his shirt. 

Jade stops him, her hand firmly on his chest. Eyes glancing up at him, he can’t help how he licks his lip, she is pushing him back down. He ain't stopping her, watching as Jade crawls onto his lap, looking down at him. Feeling the weight of her thighs on either side of his hips, the flush of her face made his whole body heat up. Could feel the heat radiate from the center of his body, making him yearn to feel just how hot she was. His hands go to rest on her covered thighs, as her fingers push the material further off his chest. Trying not to move, to not take her the way he wanted to.

The tiny shack they were in wasn't being heated by the fire anymore. Jade leaned down to kiss him again, her lips pressed against him as her fingers moved over the wreckage of his body. Cooper opened his mouth just enough to suck her lip into his, Jade keening, her hips rolling as he licked at it. He tried not to react, letting her set the pace for whatever the hell they were doing. Could feel the way he was reacting, her hips grinding down as she felt him underneath her. Her tongue teases inside his mouth, it felt so good, too good.

The Ghoul pulls away, chest heaving from the sweet taste of her on his tongue. “Jade,” He tries to warn her, but she is more than a little persistent. “Stop.”

He can’t do this, it’s too much, despite the fire brewing in his stomach, he couldn’t let her continue. Being what he was, who he was, they were already in a dangerous spot. There wasn't even a proper bed for either of them. He’d drawn a line, kissing, cuddling, holding hands. Sure. But being intimate, he wasn’t going to cross that. Not here, not in this shitty little shack. Jade might have been made in this land, but she deserved something a little nicer than this. 

“I told you,” Jade said quietly, “I am not a child, you don’t get to make choices for me.” 

Cooper looks away, his hands still lying on her thighs, her hands still warm on his chest. His words were lost somewhere under her fingertips. 

Jade nods, lips tight as she looks away, moving off him. To lean her back against the wall. She looks defeated, bags under her eyes prominent in this lighting. She looked both older and younger at the same time. The Ghoul immediately regretted pushing her away, but at the same time, he didn’t. Whatever was going on between them, now was not the time to move that forward.

“It's okay.” She says quietly, fingers rubbing over the bandage of her hand. “Probably safer not to.”  

He sits up, feeling strangely empty without her at his side. He wants to button up his shirt but doesn’t. Jade had pulled out a sweater making a makeshift pillow from it, before rolling away from him. Her back turned to him feeling like a slap to the face. A slap would have been better than this. Cooper wants to touch her desperately, to pull her back against him, to say he was sorry. That he just needed more time or something. 

Instead, he kicks the fire out. His hand moves to grab his inhaler, they falter and he drops them. Rather he reaches for his jacket instead and covers Jade. She thankfully grabs it and pulls it around her, as he sits beside Jade staring into the black void of the space. 

***

Jade wakes to the early morning light, her sleep having been restless without the comforting heat of the Ghoul. She rolls onto her back, staring at the hole-filled ceiling, at least it hadn't rained on them.  She pushes herself up, doing her usual stretches checking that all her bones and joints are still moved. It's just light enough for her to see what she was doing, the sun’s red rays cutting through the green leaves outside the building. 

Satisfied, she lets herself look around the space more. It was empty of any sign of the Ghoul, beside his jacket that had covered her. Letting out a huff she shoves her sweater into her overflowing pack. Before taking a swig of water as breakfast, pushing herself onto her feet. Jade draping the jacket over her arm to give back to the scar-covered asshole that was her companion. 

Slowly moving herself outside, joints still aching from the ordeal and endless walking. Jade figured that the Ghoul was probably outside sucking chem or checking the path for any activity. Rounding the corner of the shack she checks the narrow pathway, the outside is just as empty as the inside was, Jade looks around the whole building twice just to be sure. He isn't there. Looking left and right trying to see if he is off in the distance somewhere. Nothing. Her heart twists as if she has been stabbed. Mind reeling at the realization that she was alone, the Ghoul was gone. 

Jade is paralyzed with fear, heart trying to bang its way out of her chest. She’s paced up and down the walkway a dozen times now. Nothing. No signs of him, the ground too hard to leave tracks. The birds were too loud to hear footsteps. It all felt so wrong. The morning light is now bright enough to see everything around her.

“Okay Jade, got to pull yourself together,” She says to no one, “How far could he have gone?”

Pacing twice more Jade is torn as to which direction she should be heading. Go back to the crossroads and go south? Would he have gone back that way? She had no idea how far she was from anywhere. This was the furthest she'd ever traveled, it wasn't like she could pull a map out of thin air. The Ghoul had always known these things, he had probably walked these paths hundreds of times considering how old he was. 

A panicked voice in the back of her head screamed that she was being dumped on the side of the road. Jade forced herself to stop moving and really think. Had she been duped? Even after traveling together for two weeks, would he dump her on the side of the road?

“So do I go that way? Do I hole up here? Go back?” None of the ideas appealed to her, none of them made a lot of sense either. 

Why would he leave her here after everything they'd been through? He had ample opportunity to ditch her. The Ghoul could have left her for dead a dozen times, there was no good reason for him to disappear. 

Jade’s mind wandered to the bounty, she'd seen how upset he was last night. The way he'd pinned her and kissed her like he'd never get to again. Tears pricked at her eyes, she wiped at them angrily. Hoping that he hadn't left her out of some form of chivalry, trying to put her out of danger. Which sounded just like something that stupid asshole would do.

An eerily familiar call rang into the woods. Her whole body stiffened at the call, the missing digit on her left hand screaming like they were fresh. The woods silence had her hair standing on end, as gooseflesh rippled over. The creature. Another call, the ringing echoing in her ears. It was coming from southeast of where she stood. Looking ahead of her, Jade realized with a twisting stomach that she needed to head west. She could not risk running into it again, Jade needs to leave. Now. 

Jade stood unsure of what to do or where to go. Her whole body screaming at her to stay. Even though she knew she didn't have a choice. So she heads in the opposite direction of the sun and the scream. West. Their body protested as Jade started to move as fast as she could away from whatever it was. 

***

The Ghoul stood in the doorway staring at the empty space confused. Jade was gone, he’d searched the area, and called out her name several times. There were no signs of struggle, but that didn’t mean shit. She’d taken her stuff and took off, or worse someone had taken her. He kicked some rocks at the thought, feeling stupid that he’d left her here alone.

“Fuck.” The Ghoul breathes out, “No, she’d have fought back. Woulda put up a struggle.”

Rubbing his gloved hands over his face he sighs, realizing that she probably left when she woke up and heard that damn thing shrilling out its call. Or maybe she was just fed up with being turned down by him and took off. He grits his teeth, despite everything he knows, somewhere in the hollowness that is his body, Jade won’t have just left. Staying wouldn’t have been wise either, moving was the best choice. Jade was smart, he just now needed to catch up to her. 

***

The Ghoul had left hours before the sun had come up, after Jade had sat on top of his lap he hadn’t been able to sleep. He also refused to wake her just because he couldn’t shut his eyes for more than five minutes. So he had left, deciding to go back to the crossroad to see if his instincts were tingling in that direction; it had bothered him that Jade hadn’t sensed it when he did. She wasn’t a Ghoul, but she often felt the same things he did. Maybe it was medication, even if it had been a few days since she’d had any. 

As he stood there looking south, the sun starting to light up the endless sea of green, the Ghoul wasn’t feeling much of anything. He was about to turn and go back to tell Jade that he was wrong. When everything went silent. The long eerie call of the creature shook the earth underneath his feet, the distinct sound of trees parting ringing out along the sun's rays. He stayed long enough to try and see if it was close, when he saw nothing he’d turn and go back. Determined to keep putting a large space of distance between him and whatever that thing was. The Ghoul desperately needed to get him and Jade out of this forsaken place. 

***

Jade had started to cry, she wasn’t sure exactly when, but at some point walking along this dust-barren dirt road a damn had broken, She rubs at her eyes feeling ridiculous for the tears that fall. It wasn’t just because she’d left without the Ghoul, it was tears for everything that had happened over the last two years. She missed her Mom, her Dad, her Brahmin, she even missed the old drafty house. Swallowing she did her best not to make too much noise, the last thing she needed was to draw attention to herself. So they rolled down her face, into the dirt and grim from travel making her eyes sting. 

She felt stupid, but Jade couldn’t stay and she couldn’t go towards it either. Instead, she just had to walk away. Maybe she’d stumble across a town, do bar work, or maybe grow things. She rolls her eyes at the thoughts like she’d last a season growing anything. What Jade wanted was the Ghoul, to have him show up, and catch up. To keep being her companion, and teaching her how to bounty hunt.

Pushing her finger against the side of her nose she shot snot onto the ground, it was a gross habit but at least she could breathe now. She wiped at her eyes, pushing down the rest of the sorrow, nothing good would come from the tears. Adjusting her bag she kept moving, even if her footsteps frustrated her. They were loud and uncomfortable. Her mind wandered to the first few days with the Ghoul, and how grumpy he was about everything. How she was sure he’d have left her once they hit the town. Her heart ached at the thought, that crooked grin, the way his eyes shone first thing in the morning. Or during the night as the fire cracked, leaning against his warmth.

She clenched her fist against the straps of her bag. Cursing her own sappy nature feeling like she had made another bad choice in a string of bad choices. Jade’s head is too muddled to make sense of any of it. She kicks at some rocks watching them fly down the road. Listening to it clatter, the noise bouncing off the trees. Almost stopping when she thought she heard her name. Jade kicks another stone down the road, maybe a creature would jump out and eat’er least she won’t be alone anymore.

Jade

This time she did stop, feeling her pulse speed up. It couldn’t be, right? Turning she initially saw nothing, then far off through the filtered light of the trees she saw the unmistakable outline of the Ghoul. The unmistakable outline of that stupid hat and long jacket.

“Jade,” He hollered at her, Jade freezing in place as she heard her name for the third time.  Wondering if maybe this was all a messed-up dream.

He was moving quickly, stride nearly kicking up dirt as he moved towards her. Jade finally found her feet and started to move back towards him. Briefly, wondering if she should draw her weapon and shoot his ass. Not that it would do much, she’d witnessed his regeneration abilities firsthand. The shot would probably piss him off more than anything. Maybe she wanted to piss off, wanted him to snap a little, instead of being this unemotional mass of stone

He was in front of her before she had a chance to pull out a weapon. He stops a few feet away from her, chest heaving under the many layers of clothing. She could make out his eyes, the stupid hat in the way of his face as always. 

“Jade,” He said again, voice fused with warmth around her name as he moved forward, Jade’s body shaking as his arms caught her. Dragging her against his chest. “Fuck, why'd you run off on me.”

Jade pushed back tears burning her eyes, “Me? You’re the one that was gone this morning.”

The Ghoul’s eyes narrowed, “I went t'check on the southern path. To see if we could go thatta'way.”

“So you just left me in the shack? That thing started howling again.” Jade cusses out getting right up into his face. She was pissed, this whole ring around the rosy bullshit was getting old. 

“T'was in the middle of the night,” The Ghoul huffs back, not backing away from her advances. “You can’t see in the dark.”

“So you tell me you’re leaving!” Jade hollered back, not caring what came out of the woods, "You don’t just walk away, what was I s’pposed to do wait to get eaten?”

The Ghoul threw his hands up, “I don't know, maybe the dude who dragged you across a goddamn hallucination-inducing forest would come back for you?”

Jade folds her arms over her chest, still glaring back at him, “This isn’t the first time you ditched me.”

Letting out a breathe, looking away from her, the Ghoul's face tightened with anger at her dismissive, but true, words, "Fuckin christ Jade,” 

“I don’t know who the fuck Christ is, but I am not fuckin'im,” Jade was nearly vibrating with anger at this point. He could make up all the excuses he wanted to, but he had still left there alone.

The Ghoul’s head tipped back, a real laugh rolling out of his chest at her comment. Jade was taken aback by the laughter, her anger breaking at the genuine noise. 

“What the fuck you think is funny,” Jade tries to glare at him, but fails, a smile touching the corners of her lips. 

“That’d think Christ would fuck you, I hope some preacher is rollin; in his grave,” The Ghouls smiles, his shoulders relaxing, before he places a finger under her chin and looks right at her. “I am sorry.”

Jade is surprised by the words, looking at him, and feeling like he is being truthful to her. He was sorry, the pain flickering at the corner of his eyes as he watches her. She leans against the leather gloves, soft against her face, the feel softening her even further. 

“You’re right,” He whispers, “Should have woke you, told you I was going.”

“Promise me you will tell me next time,” Jade says equally as quiet, her hand touching against the wrist of his hand that was cupping her face.

He nods, “I promise. Also. Don’t leave me. Kay?”

Jade nods, before wrapping herself around him, not caring anymore that she was now sobbing into his chest. The last two weeks had tested every bit of her, and right now she needs to let it out. The Ghoul hesitated, for a moment, before holding her against him. His hand rubs at the back of her head. She is not sure how long they stay there, but the Ghoul’s shirt is soaking wet, and her face is covered in fluids.

The Ghoul pulls out a mostly clean rag and carefully cleans her face. His brows furrowed as he does so. She sniffles a little, feeling better now that it's out of her system. He tucks the rag away, Jade tries not to think about when the last time it was cleaned. 

He leans down cupping her face with his hands, before leaning down to kiss her, Jade is taken back but doesn’t pull away. If this was the way he said sorry she wasn’t going to complain. He broke away, leaning his forward against hers. 

“Thought I’d lost you,” He whispers against her, eyes closing before he moves away. 

Jade hates him a little for moving, but she lets it go, following behind him, never more happy to see that stupid coat billowing behind him. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter Eleven

*likes, reblogs, and comments are greatly appreciated. It helps more people find me <3

@pixelatedprofilepic @hiddlebatchedloki @toogaytofunctiondangit @dionneroyal49 @dichromaniac

@whatsorceressisthis

[chaosduckies]

Restoration (Chapter 6)

I had no idea what to do with this chapter, but it’s going to mostly lead up to something that’s going to happen later on! So mostly a filler chapter just because why not?

Word Count: 5.1k

CW: Slight mentions of suicide, slight trigger warnings, serious overthinking

6-Nathan

A week has passed since that night. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how I just hugged him. How embarrassed I’ve felt since then. How awkward I feel when I’m near Ryker. Even though he wasn’t at all bothered by it. It hasn’t left my mind. I just feel so embarrassed by it. I mean, we barely knew each other and I just went up and gave him a makeshift hug? Not something people do on an ordinary basis. But still, I haven’t forgotten the way he gently pressed one of his fingers against my back to return the gesture. Somehow I was terrified, but also… grateful? Happy? Whatever the word for it was, it just felt nice. 

I spent that entire week trying to talk to him again, but I guess the adrenaline rush was the only reason I could get those few words out to him. Of course, because I can never get anything to work out in my favor. Typical Nathan. 

Well, during that week, my mom had taken off from work to be with me, since she’s apparently realized that I’ve “been in and out of it,” This entire week. Which I have, I just didn’t think she’d really notice. But of course she does, because she’s a parent and a nurse. How could she not notice? 

She asked me everyday for the past five days after school how everything was going. I would always reply with a smile and say, “It’s good.” Even though in some cases I was lying. Sometimes at school I would stare off into space, not paying attention to anything anyone ever said. Or sometimes when Ryker was talking I would just cave in on myself and ask: Why am I even here? What was wrong with me? Heck, even Ryker has noticed and tried confronting me about it. He told me I didn’t have to answer, and I didn’t. Afraid that I would ruin whatever friendship we’ve made. Or if he even considers us friends. Though, I doubt that was a possibility. 

I had no idea what was wrong with me. Ever since that… hug, I’ve been nothing but a mess. Was it the unbelievable act I thought I could never do again? The way I felt about it afterward? Was it the fact that I wanted to talk so bad, but I couldn’t? Mom can’t know about any of this. She’s already heartbroken enough, and I’d hate myself even more if I dropped this bombshell on her. This is why I needed my dad. Even when I was younger I was always timid and shy and I overthought plenty of things. He’d help me by saying that I should put all of those bad thoughts into a jar and throw it far, far away. But that was when I was a kid. What about now? 

Mom was really worried about me. I could tell. But I was fine. I think. Probably not. Either way, she called the school counselor in hopes that whatever was going on with me would go away. I knew she hated seeing me so sad. I remember when we were still… trapped she used to try to keep my happy by playing little games, or telling me made up stories. As I grew older she tried her best to keep me from crying, trying her hardest to keep me happy. Even after dad died. 

So, this was the week I had started to take counseling after school every Monday and Thursday for forty minutes a day. On top of that, she also contacted Mrs. Kay for whatever reason, and she’s told me that she wants to work with me for at least twenty minutes everyday after class. Great, right? So much for a normal life. I thought I could give it another chance and all of a sudden people are just trying to overwhelm me when I wanted to solve this mystery on my own. 

It was a grueling morning. It was raining, hard. Thunder had sounded above the entire city, making me jump. Stupid right? A seventeen year old scared of thunder? I have a good reason. I think. Didn’t matter. 

I groaned, forcing myself out of bed. This was going to be a long day. I already knew it. It was raining, mom was passed out on the couch, and my body felt like it was going to give up on me at any moment. And luckily that stupid little project thing was over so I could finally take my regular classes. I just hoped Mrs. Kay wouldn’t assign anything crazy again. She probably would though.

I didn’t bother eating breakfast. Just grabbing my backpack on the way out and making my way to the bus before I was late. Nothing to it. The same routine as the past month. 

The school looked as gloomy as ever. Of course it did. It was Monday. The halls were filled with people talking by their class, or running down the hall like there was no tomorrow. Isn’t it too early in the morning to be doing all of that? I was barely waking up. Either way, I went by unnoticed by the crowd of people and made it to class. 

I admit it felt weird not having a looming presence above me at all times. Was that a good thing? I have no idea, but it makes me kind of miss the one-sided conversations Ryker likes to start up. I miss it a lot. Even though I never talked, I loved listening. I was so weird. Before all of this mess, I wanted nothing to do with him, and here I am wishing for his company. Why couldn’t I just be normal? 

The classes were the same as always. Nothing new to it. Then it was lunch. The time period in school where anything can happen. Especially with that encounter a couple weeks back… I shuddered at the thought, reaching the cafeteria. So many people. Too many people. I forgot how crowded it was being on this side. 

Searching for the table I sat at before I had met anyone, I found that it was taken by a group of girls. Nope. Not getting that back. Especially since I know that no one would willingly sit in the far corner. I sighed, searching for a table that was open, and not finding any. Could I just sit with Ryker again? I asked myself. It would be nice, but I don’t think he wants to see me. At least not until last period. I wouldn’t want to be bothered by me either if I were him. 

“Boo.” I jumped, catching my breath while Lucky was laughing so hard he starting coughing. I was not expecting that at all. I thought he would just forget about me. Especially since the “project” was over. I just thought I was another name to be remembered once they all graduate. 

“Sorry, sorry, but you’re so easy to scare,” He chuckles, “Wanna come sit with us?” 

It takes my mind a while to process what just happened, “Wh-who’s ‘us?’” 

“Just Ryker and me. Dylan had a basketball game so I’m all alone.” Lucky shrugged casually. Did I want to sit with them? Yes. Of course I do. I was just afraid I might zone out like I have been for the past week. What if I get scared again? What would happen then? They would all drop me and I’d be all alone again… 

I was about to shake my head before Lucky grabbed my wrist and guided us through the cafeteria to where Ryker always sits. Away from everyone else… I gulped, seeing him stare bored at whatever was playing on his phone. This was a bad idea. Who told me I could even do this? No one. Lucky just dragged me here. And there was a tiny feeling of gratefulness that he did. 

Lucky guided me into the elevator with him. It was silent on the way up, and I couldn’t help but notice the way Lucky looked at me like he was worried. Was it because I kept fidgeting with my hands? Was it because I couldn't look straight ahead? Or was it because he’s noticed something was wrong with me just like everyone else has? Probably the last one. 

“Why do… you look nervous?” Lucky had asked before the elevator made that same ding sound it always does. I didn’t take a step forward, and neither did Lucky. Nervous? I have no idea. 

“I-um… I don’t know.” I let out a sad chuckle, trying my best to give a genuine smile. Lucky gave a skeptical look, “If I promise not to tell will you tell me?” 

Do I trust that? I do. I really, really do. I had no reason not to trust Lucky. Even if I didn’t know what I was so nervous about. I don’t get why everyone was so concerned either! I was a nobody. Just another person trying his hardest to live an impossible normal life. Maybe I should have stayed at the hospital… 

“I really don’t know though.” I muttered, looking down at the ground. Lucky gave another skeptical look before guiding me out of the elevator. I still almost ended up tripping over my own two feet per usual. What was going on with me lately? 

“Hey Ry.” Lucky greeted, smiling and heading over to watch whatever Ryker was watching on his phone like it was nothing. What was I supposed to do now? I can’t… What? My thoughts were a jumbled up mess. I don’t even know what I was thinking at this point. Does Ryker even want me here? No, no he doesn’t. He’s tired of me. I already know it. Everyone gets tired of me eventually. I’m either “Impossible to deal with,” or, “Not worth the time.” A messed up system, right? 

“Hey,” He sighed, his eyes wandering towards me and flashing a soft smile, “Hi, Nathan.” 

I didn’t know what to do. Was he acting? It didn’t really seem like it. He also didn’t seem like the kind of person to act in a situation like this. Still, there was no telling. Maybe he just didn’t want to break the news to me like this? Yeah. Most likely. 

I raised a shaky hand, giving a wave and a nervous smile in hopes that Ryker wouldn’t catch on. He didn’t, but that didn’t stop him from giving a confused expression as if he was trying to put together a puzzle. Hah. As if you could solve my puzzle. I’ve lost so many pieces it’s practically impossible. I’ve tried to solve it myself many times and failed miserably. 

Ryker dragged his attention back to the movie on his phone, looking bored. What was I supposed to do now? We used to watch that hilarious cop show, but I think he only put it on to keep me from being bored and bothering him at this point. Was it all an act? Did he just play along with whatever happened? He didn’t hug me back because he wanted to? He forced himself to do all of those things just so he wouldn’t be bothered? Was I tricked again? 

I’m overthinking.

One step at a time. I said I wanted to give life one more chance, so that’s what I’m going to do. Even if this was all some kind of sick act. Even if I get hurt. I sucked in a deep breath, and sat next to Lucky, watching the events on the theater-sized screen in front of me. Usually I sat further back, but I was afraid of being alone at the moment. 

Even though I was scared out of my mind, there was also some other kind of feeling lingering in the back of my mind. I felt comfortable. Surprisingly after everything that’s been going on inside my head. I was too used to being around Ryker. That doesn’t mean I was comfortable being around any giant though. I had nearly an entire month of forced contact with him. Of course I’d be more lenient towards him. Especially after he’s made no move in those past four months to imprison me and keep me as some kind of pet or entertainment. 

“Bell’s gonna ring.” Ryker grabbed his phone from in front of us, stuffing it back into his pocket and holding his hand palm-up. Why though? We can just take the elevat-

Lucky quickly pulled his backpack on and climbed on, waiting for me to follow. I guess I didn’t have any other choice. Lucky helped me on, and we both managed to fall over on top of each other somehow. Lucky laughed while I hurried to get up, muttering quiet apologies to him. 

“It’s nothing. It happens with Angela all the time.” Lucky smiled. Ryker cupped his hand a bit and started walking towards the doors to get out of the cafeteria. Just in time too, because the bell rang and everyone was now rushing to get to class all of a sudden. I stopped looking back, afraid that the panic attack I’ve been fighting back for the past month would suddenly resurface. Nope. Everything will be okay. I think. Hopefully. 

Ryker crouched down at the part of the hallway that leads back to the human side of the school, letting us down. He barely even talked to me. In fact, the only time he was even talking to either Lucky and I was when we arrived at the table. Was he okay? I couldn’t tell anymore. I just hope that I’m not the cause. 

———Ryker———

Today was not a good day. For more than one reason. One reason being that I had work afterschool today. Another being that I woke up late today due to staying up until about two in the morning because I needed to finish cleaning. And my third reason was the fact that I’m ninety nine percent sure I messed everything up with Nathan. 

In the last week of that “project” I noted that Nathan didn’t really seem to be… himself? Of course I barely knew him and he could have something going on at home, but something just felt off. Maybe it was just that one tiny moment that Friday? Did I do something wrong? Was I not supposed to hug him back? Did I do or say something wrong to upset him? It didn’t really make sense in my head. I thought everything was going good. So why all of a sudden did he seem timid and nervous around me? 

It was that entire week. I asked him if he was okay and if he wanted to talk about it. Nathan just shook his head and gave the best makeshift smile he could manage. I knew something was wrong and that it had something to do with me. And today proved it. It seemed like we were back at step one. 

Was Nathan okay? I remember asking one time and receiving a shake of his head, but I never once thought if he did it just to answer or if he really meant it. I guess I have my answer now. I don’t know why I was so worried honestly. Maybe because in my brain I pretty much consider Nathan and I friends? I have zero idea if he thinks the same, but I hoped so. 

I forced myself through these next grueling classes, waiting for last period. I hadn’t talked to Nathan at lunch because it really didn’t seem like he was up for it at the time. I don’t want to overstep his boundaries either. What if he just wants to be left alone? I have no idea what was going on in his mind as I’ve said before, so that could be a possibility? 

Mrs. Kay had nothing being projected on the board today, which meant it was either a free day or it was some kind of lecture on relationships between human and giants. Something that this world apparently is so focused on. I guess that’s a good thing though. 

After a couple minutes of waiting, I heard the faint ding noise that comes from the elevator and watched as Nathan stumbled out, figuring out a way to trip once again. I’ve wondered for a while why he had always found a way to trip over thin air, but I could never figure it out. Maybe he was just clumsy? It would make sense, but that can’t be the only reason, right? Still, every time he fell my hand twitched to try and help, but I already knew that would tumble everything downhill. Especially now. 

Mrs. Kay had announced that today was a free day since she still had to put in some grades. Would it be overstepping if I asked if Nathan was okay again? Maybe to him, but I was already feeling guilty for being the cause of why he seems so upset. 

“Are you finally glad that you don’t have to be carried around by me anymore?” I nervously laughed, hoping for him to answer. Just build up. That was the way to do this. 

Nathan turned around, thinking about the question before rotating his hand sideways. Kind of? Honestly, that was expected because even Lucky gets tired of being carried around everywhere. Speaking of… Lucky told me something about Nathan making brownies? I’m pretty sure that was on Friday, I just don’t know when he did. But Lucky and Angela absolutely loved them. And Angela had showed me a new stuffed animal that Nathan had bought for her too. In return, she drew a picture of Nathan with some of her crayons and my heart practically melted. 

“Oh, um, Angela has a gift for you. Y’know… for the stuffed animal you bought her?” I smiled. I think it was sweet. I don’t know why he thought he needed gifts though, everyone already thought he was nice already. I guess he just wanted to make sure that no one thought bad of him? 

Nathan’s eyes widened and pointed to himself with an unsure look. Was he confused why? I don’t even know why either. I shrugged my shoulders. Nathan brought his knees up to his chest and stared at the ground, deep in thought. Did I do something wrong again? I guess now would be the time to bring up the topic. 

“I know you’re probably not going to answer me, and that’s okay! But, do you wanna talk about something? You just don’t… look okay.” I bit the side of my cheek in hopes that he’ll give me some kind of a response. He probably thinks I’m annoying at this point. Even I think I am at this point. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have even asked. 

Nathan shook his head, putting on a makeshift smile. He was lying. But, if he doesn’t want to talk to me then I won’t force him to. There was nothing I could do. Although, I’m sure a teacher or even his parents would have noticed this. If they haven’t already, then it would be soon. Most likely they’ll just get a therapist or he’ll eventually tell someone about whatever was going through his mind. 

The rest of the time was spent asking him how his weekend was. How it felt to be back on his schedule. You know, questions to keep his mind off of things. I think it was working. At least for a little before the last bell of the day rang. I gave a two fingered wave to Nathan, receiving a shaky one back and left the room. I still felt bad. 

———Nathan———

Remember when I said today was going to be a bad day? I wasn’t kidding. The one-sided conversation with Ryker helped get rid of the uneasiness of going to the counselors office. But as soon as the final bell rang it all came flooding back. Last period wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Not bad at all. Not until that loud bell rang, and the entire classroom rushed to get out. 

On my way down the hallway to the counselor’s office, I couldn’t stop thinking about what could possibly go wrong. They might give up on me too. They might tell me to just go home. Or they might send me back to the mental hospital. I mean, it’s not that bad of a place when you don’t have any friends waiting for you, but there were some things that I hated. No contact with the outside world, they make you take these dumb classes to help “calm the mind.” Like yoga or where you would pass a foam ball around and tell everyone your name and what you were there for. I never, ever took part in that exercise. 

Sucking in a deep breath, I knocked quietly on the door that read, “Counsellor Office. Mr. Smith” I didn’t exactly know how these kinds of things worked. All I knew is that no one liked them. 

“You must be Nathan! Please take a seat. Anywhere is fine.” Mr Smith was a tall man. He look about in his late thirties early forties, but he looked so friendly and calm. His voice was trusting and soft as well. I can’t wait till he starts talking behind my back about how impossible I was. 

His office was like any other office I’ve been in. Other than the two different colored bean bags that sat in the corner by a small book case that had a tiny tv above it with movies on the side. This room was nothing like any therapist room I’ve been in. Usually they’re cold and only have a singular couch with magazines about eating healthy and being mentally healthy. Not that those ever helped me. 

I decided to take a seat in the chair in front of his desk, fidgeting with my hands the entire time. Mr. Smith walked over to his own chair, taking out a notebook and gave another soft smile. 

“Nervous? Most students are when they walk in here,” He chuckled, grabbing a pen, “Do you mind telling me your name and how old you are?” I thought he knew that already. 

I opened my mouth to speak, “N-Nathan… I’m seventeen.” Curse the stuttering. Today was already hard enough, why does everything go downhill after I feel good about something? 

“Nice to meet you, Nathan. I’m Garrett Smith, thirty-seven years old, and I have a PhD in psychology.” PhD? Then why is he working as a school counsellor? He could be an actual therapist and won’t have to deal with so many kids. This guy was confusing, but I feel somewhat comfortable around him. Even though we met barely three minutes ago. 

“Now, your mom was worried about you. She says that you seem to be having more nightmares lately. That you seem more tired and sad lately. Would you wan to start there or talk about something else bothering you?” He asked, waiting patiently for my answer. My heart was racing. What was I supposed to answer? I didn’t even know at this point. I haven’t taken therapy for a couple months now, and usually they started with talking about the excruciating events that had happened while we were kidnapped. Instead, Mr. Smith just wants to start with this? Why was that? 

“S-sure.” I nearly squeaked. I never did good at any sort of therapy. I was always too nervous. And then they’d pressure me to answer when I couldn’t. I was afraid that he might do the same. 

“Alrighty then,” He tapped his pen on the notebook, “Would you mind telling me when you started feeling this way?” 

“Last weekend? I th-think.” I started silently tapping my foot on the carpeted ground. Just another thing I do when I was nervous. Mr. Smith didn’t seem to mind or notice. 

“Hm. Did anything… happen around that time?” He wrote something down and I had no idea what it was. Was it bad? Was it good? Did I somehow say too much to get me placed back into the hospital? Please say no. I don’t want to go back there with a bunch of screaming kids throwing the plastic chairs while I was just trying to make some cookies. 

“U-um, just this project thing for Mrs. Kay.” 

“The project where you spent two weeks with a giant in school?” He asked, his face full of curiosity. I nodded my head, playing with my hands again. I’m pretty sure he wrote that down. 

“May I ask who your partner was then?” Oh. Not a question I was too prepared for. I slightly turned to the door, the window peaking inside covered by a piece of cloth. Did it really matter who my partner was? I don’t think it did honestly. 

“Ryker…” His eyebrows shot up in shock as he chuckled lightly, “Ryker Stone?” I nodded. I’m pretty sure that was his last name. How did he know who he was though? There was no way he could know all eight hundred people in this school. That seem a bit over-the-top. 

“From my understanding, you went to his house last Friday and something happened over there?” I nodded. I shouldn’t have hugged him. I shouldn’t have hugged him. I shouldn’t have-

“Was it bad thing?” His eyebrows were scrunched up like he already knew what my answer was going to be. Nothing bad happened. It’s just that my thoughts like taking over me sometimes. A lot of times. I make a good situation and turn it into a bad one. I shook my head at his question. 

Mr. Smith laughed, “That’s Ryker for you. Not a dull moment with him.” He said it like he knew him personally… maybe he did? I mean he is the counsellor. I just didn’t think he worked with giants as well. So if he knew Ryker… does that mean Ryker knew him? Of course that’s what that meant.  

“Back on topic though, I did some looking around on you. I found some… interesting things, but also a record from past therapists. All different notes on you, except for one. That you’re known to overthink situations. Do you think that’s why you’ve been so upset lately? You have a thought on your head from the event that happened?” He wasn’t going to ask what happened? I mean, thank goodness because I don’t think I could answer, but he really wasn’t going to ask me? This guy has a weird way of getting people to open up, but it’s working. It’s working amazingly. 

I nodded my head. Ryker doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore. I couldn’t stop thinking about this. I knew it was true. I messed everything up that Friday night ruined things between us. The worst part is that I was actually warming up to him. He really did feel like friend even though I was deadly afraid. 

“Do you mind telling me what’s been on your mind? It’s alright if you can’t.” He asked softly, already knowing that this might be hard for me. It is. It really, really is. I didn’t want to lose the only friend I’ll ever make in my entire life. Even before I was kidnapped, all of the other kids didn’t bother talking to the shy, timid kid who sat alone by himself at lunch and never had a friend to play with on the playground during school. 

Now I was in high school where people still look at me the same way. I didn’t want to lose someone who was so nice to me. Who actually takes the time to talk and hang out with me. Is that what’s wrong with me? I didn’t want to see someone I care about leave me? 

That stupid cage had ruined me. 

“I-I don’t think Ryker w-w-wants to be around me,” Tears stung my eyes, and I tried my best to blink them away while sucking in a deep breath, “I-I like to think we’re f-friends… but I d-did something stupid and now that this project is over I think he’s just done with me.” A couple tears fell down my face. I wiped them with the back of my sleeve, looking down at the ground. I really didn’t want to lose the one potential friend I’ve made in my entire life. 

The room was quiet except when I heard Mr. Smith pass the box of tissues my way, showing a sympathetic face, “You don’t want to lose a friend?” I shook my head, calming myself down before I make this even more embarrassing for myself. I haven’t cried for a while. It felt good for some reason. Too bad I wasn’t going to let it go any further than a couple tears. 

“And what if Ryker still wants to be friends? What would you think then?” 

That he’ll eventually grow tired of me like everyone else. That it’s only short lived. He’ll eventually forget about me. 

“I’d be grateful… but I doubt he’d remember me after graduation.” I sadly answered. Mr. Smith wrote something down, ripping out the page he was writing on and handing me the paper. I grabbed it with shaky hands, looking over the paper. My name, age, things I’ve done while sitting in his office, and some squiggly lines. He didn’t write down questions? No notes on what he should do next? 

“I don’t like writing down the questions I ask. I think people would prefer to keep them said and not on paper,” He chuckled, “And as for your tiny piece of advice, you and Ryker aren’t so different, and I doubt he thinks ill of you.” That was it? No other questions? He wasn’t going to pry me open? He wasn’t going to force me to spill my guts to people who didn’t want waste their time anyways? No words could describe how confused and happy I was at the same time. 

“Th-that’s it?” I muttered, trying to figure out if he was playing a trick on me or not, but he nodded his head and opened the door for me. I grabbed my backpack, stuffing the sheet of notebook paper in it and walked out of the door. 

“Thank you.” I mumbled. 

Mr. Smith smiled, “Come anytime you want to talk. Just remember after school on Thursday, okay?” I nodded, thinking hard about how Mr. Smith believes, in all honesty, that Ryker won’t just leave me. He could be right. I just have to trust in his word. 

—————————————————————-

Yup. Nathan’s afraid that Ryker will leave him now that their little project is over. I wonder what happens next?

I don’t know how I feel about this chapter. I like and I don’t at the same time. We’ll see. Thank you for reading! Love you guys ❤️

[itsnothingofinterest]

So I'd normally like to do a quick prediction post for 397 after Hori's week off, but I don’t think we’re deep enough in the fight for any kind of major upset or development worth predicting.

So in lieu of that: maybe it could also be fun to guess which students All Might will use gadgets based on in the upcoming chapters and what form those inspirations would take.

Maybe some Koda themed bird-drones for cover, distractions, and other useful things.

A Todoroki themed flamethrower seams easy enough to make,

As does an Aoyama themed chest laser like Iron Man (there's even an indent in the Iron might armor for it),

And some Iida themed jets for speed...more jets than he's already using to fly I mean

Some Shoji themed extra robo-arms for extra punches could be fun.

He's already got the super legs for some Tsuyu-based super jumps,

And the wires to transfer Jirou themed sonic attacks through.

An Ojiro themed robo tail seems easy enough, even if I'm not sure what use it'd have,

But it could shift into something Dark Shadow shaped, maybe some kind of capture device.

Mina themed acid attacks are as simple as having acid stored somewhere, and his whole set up is detailed enough that they could be anywhere (maybe to slow regen down some more),

And some similarly stored balls covered in purple glue could work for an attack themed on the one who must not be named.

The Tooru function could be as simple as any kind of stealth function; which I think would be really useful,

And similarly, the Bakugou function could simply be some kind of explosives, preferably (but not necessarily) launched from his palm.

(Sadly I can't really come up with anything for Uraraka or Momo; their quirks are either to all-purpose to name one thing or seem beyond the realms of technology even in this sci-fi setting. Also I'm just gonna call Hercules Red the Kirishima move. Sound good? Good.)

Man listing all these possibilities out; I’m excited to see what he uses.

...Ah what the heck; some quick general prediction wouldn't hurt: I still aminly think it’ll mostly just be All Might & AFO fighting some more, but a bit or backstory or something's not off the table. But I think the most likely kind of upset we're looking at is maybe the chapter ending with All Might looking like he's on the ropes. (He'll get past it though, don't worry.)

Though if I may give one crazy prediction for the road: I do wanna gesture vaguely at my hope for the two of them to get warped to UA to turn the finale into a cool Deku & All Might vs AFO vs Shigaraki show-down. Because I still think it would be really cool for all of them to be in the same place to talk, fight, or beat up AFO together.

[cherry-bomb-ships]

Earthly Encounter

Pairing: Q x Counselor Ruby (s/i)

Word Count: 2,797

Warnings: Very light spoilers for Star Trek: TNG S4 E20, none otherwise

AO3 Link

Author's Notes: Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? It feels very nice to be posting a fic again, to be honest. This is just a cute fluffy story that I started like 3 years ago and abandoned because I didn't like the way it came out. I came back to it recently and kinda wondered what the heck I was thinking. Maybe my self esteem is just better! Either way, this was very fun and very cute to write and to perfect, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

Tag list below the cut. Click here or DM me to be added or removed. Reblogs are all seen and very appreciated!! ❤️

@ava-ships, @bee-ships, @beetleboyfriend, @canongf, @clawfull, @cloudyvoid, @discountwives, @dissonantyote, @edencantstopfallininlove, @final-catboy, @gible-love-nibles, @halsdaisy, @hoppinkiss, @hotrodharts, @hyperionshipping, @iyamifucker, @lex-n-weegie, @little-miss-selfships, @little-shiny-sharpies, @loogi-selfships, @lovebugexe, @mintpecks, @mrs-kelly, @nameless-self-ships, @nerdstreak, @paper-carnation, @patches-and-her-selfships, @reds-self-ships, @rexscanonwife, @ship-trek, @spacestationstorybook, @squips-ship, @tiny-cloud-of-flowers, @toogayforthistoday, @p-i-t-s, @winterworlds, @scroldie

Speckles of dust danced in the beams of light shining through the window of the bookstore that Counselor Ruby Ramirez had found herself in on that peaceful afternoon. She fondly ran her fingers across the spines of the books atop the store’s shelf, remembering all of the journeys she’d been on with those stories as a child. It was no wonder this section was labeled as “classics;” even though the shelf stretched to the ceiling and was filled to the brim with books, she hadn’t seen a single title that she didn’t recognize. She spotted a favorite novel of hers, and she was quick to pull it off the shelf and flip to the first chapter. She remembered it all so fondly: the prison and the rose bush, the first piece of literary symbolism that had truly taught her to analyze…

“Oh, what have you got there? Something actually worthwhile, I hope.” The sudden voice in her ear made Ruby snap out of focus with a startled jolt, but even as she whipped her head around to look behind her, she already knew exactly whose smug face she was going to see staring down at her.

“Q! I’ve told you a hundred times not to sneak up on me like that,” Ruby exclaimed as she playfully tapped his chest with the book.

“Hmph, you've hardly said that more than fifty times, actually," Q said with an exasperated eye-roll. "Besides, you can't really call it 'sneaking up' if I’ve been standing right beside you this entire time, my dear.”

Ruby let out a sigh and turned her back to her partner, putting her attention on the book she'd picked out as she leaned her weight back against him. “Well, then, that’s a problem, isn't it? The point of coming here was so you could explore some of the culture that humanity has to offer,” she explained, gesturing to the shelves of books surrounding them. “That meant exploring the selection here by yourself, sweetheart, not just staying glued to me the whole time.”

Q knew this already, of course; this was the second of a four-day vacation that the couple had agreed on taking together, albeit one more reluctantly than the other. He still remembered when Ruby excitedly came up with the idea months ago, the way she had been beaming about how much she could show Q about what it's like to be human. Although he had protested to the trip's merit, the reality was that Q would have taken any excuse to be with his beloved in a way that wasn't disturbing her duties, so he hadn't needed too much persuading.

When Ruby had brought the request for shore leave to Captain Picard, she had described it as "less of a vacation, and more of an experiment.” She had explained, “We've seen already that Q has a sliver of humanity, a seed of compassion nestled deep within him. Perhaps all that it needs to blossom is the right kind of earth?"

While the captain didn't quite agree with the scientific basis of the proposal - or appreciate the wordplay - the Enterprise would already be making a rare orbit of Earth for a routine crew exchange. Many aboard the Enterprise would be taking a few days to visit their families, so there was no reason to deny the counselor the same privilege.

Back in the bookstore, Q was still doing his best to convince Ruby that their time would be better spent, well, anywhere. He placed both his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady against him as he dramatically nuzzled his face into her hair. “But darling, you’re the only thing worth any of my attention on this entire dreadful planet,” he whined.

He suddenly dipped her backwards, making Ruby balance on her heels as he leaned down a great deal to place his face right next to her own and speak in a provocative whisper, “What do you say we just forget about all this and head back home now instead? I'll even indulge you with that ‘cuddling’ nonsense that you enjoy so very much.”

Ruby could already feel her cheeks getting warmer as she failed to fight back a flustered grin; even after all the time she’d been with Q, she had to admit that she was far from being immune to his charms. It wasn’t only what he was saying, but also the eloquent cadences of his voice and the way he was able to stare her down with that alluring gaze that made her fall so hard for him in the first place. Luckily, by now she was at least able to save his suggestion for later rather than give in right away, and she leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before replying with a simple, “Very tempting, but no.”

She chose to ignore the way Q rolled his eyes in annoyance for a second time as he pushed her forward again to stand up straight, and instead she showed him the cover of the book in her hands in an attempt to catch his interest. He glanced over the title: The Scarlet Letter. "Look at this, hunny," Ruby said with fondness in her tone, "this was one of the first books I read as a child that sparked my analytical side. I remember the way it made me think about why the author chose to include certain details that might seem pointless, and why the characters would make the choices that they do." She turned her head back up to him and nudged her shoulder against his chest. "It was also the first book that really invested me in romance," she purred with a wink.

Q was not impressed. "It really does sound like a joy, starlight," he huffed sarcastically, "but you have no idea how difficult it is for an omnipotent being like myself to force his imagination to be confined to words on a page."

Ruby had already turned her attention back to the novel at hand. She knew that Q was fond of the sound of his own voice, so allowing him to rant on about the pettiest of inconveniences was the only way he ever felt better about the situation he was in.

Unaware - or just uncaring - that Ruby had turned her attention away, he continued, "Truly, think about it from my perspective. Why would I bother to 'visualize' the events of a novel in my mind, like you lesser beings have to do, when I could simply rewrite reality to bring these events to life? Or better yet, I could probably imagine my own story with a more gripping narrative and satisfying conclusion. In fact, if I may speak honestly, it seems to me that-"

Q's holier-than-thou speech was cut short as he felt a gentle tug on the leg of his trousers, just below the knee. He looked down to see a small child, a boy likely no older than five, staring back up at him with wide hazel eyes. Q grimaced and immediately recoiled his leg, the sudden shift in weight catching Ruby's attention as well. For a moment, there was an intense staredown between the disgusted immortal and the innocent toddler, until at last Q broke the silence and sneered, "Can I help you?"

The child pointed to the top shelf high above his own head. "Can yew get the Robin Hood book for me, mister?" he said politely, a slight lisp to his words as he spoke.

"If I do, will you leave?" Q asked bitterly. The boy's only reply was a thoughtful stare to the side, followed by a smile and enthusiastic nod of his head.

Q hastily located the book on the shelf of the bookcase in front of him, and he didn't hesitate to yank it from the shelving, pinching the very corner of the book between two fingers as he dangled it over the child's head with an outstretched arm, trying to distance himself from the boy as much as possible. "There you are, now please, begone with you."

The boy reached up and took the book into his small hands with a quiet "thank you" as he marveled at the green hardcover and golden cursive lettering. He then looked back up at Q, who had already turned his attention away, hoping for the interaction to be over.

Despite those hopes, the boy suddenly spoke up again. "I like Robin Hood," he lisped.

Q glanced back down with an eyebrow quirked, not even bothering to turn his head as he dryly replied, "Yes, I'm sure you do. Now don't you have somewhere to be?"

The boy shook his head with the same earnest smile on his face, clearly not taking the hint. Before the conversation could continue, though, Ruby - who had been watching this interaction unfold and barely stifling a laugh - stepped forward in front of Q and kneeled down to meet the child's eye level. "You're a fan of Robin Hood, you said?" She asked him with a gentle smile.

The boy gave her another enthusiastic nod and said, “Yeah, my dad tells me the story a lot for bedtime, but he has to go away on a starship, so my mommy said I should read the or… the orange-inal book while he's gone.”

Ruby smiled at his story and adorable mispronunciation. “That's a very good choice. You know, young man,” she said as she reached up behind her to hold onto Q's hand, “my partner Q here is a big fan of Robin Hood too. One time not too long ago, he even made all his friends dress up to act out the story!"

The boy's eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked back up at Q. "Wow, really? Did yew get to be Robin Hood, mister?"

Ruby smiled widely, both because of the boy's reaction and because behind her, she could hear Q faintly saying, "Starlight, what do you think you're doing?" as he recoiled his hand from hers.

But his Starlight wasn't listening; her mischievous side had quickly taken over, and she placed both hands back on her knees as she said with her bottom lip pushed out in an exaggerated pout, "Actually, Q decided to be the big bad Sheriff of Nottingham that taxes all the poor people and makes everyone sad.

"But… that's the guy who Robin Hood fights with," the boy said, staring up at Q curiously. "Why did you wanna be the bad guy, mister Q?"

Ruby turned her head around to meet her partner's eyes. "Yes, why did you want to be the bad guy, Mr. Q?" she parroted the question to him with a cheeky smile.

If all-powerful beings could blush, Q would have been bright red. "Very amusing, Counselor," he huffed, crossing his arms, "but I'm above engaging with this little mindgame of yours. Especially not with this," he gave the small boy a stern glare, "… creature involved."

The boy let out a giggle, making Q arch his eyebrows in shock. It has the audacity to laugh at me?, the immortal brooded in his expansive mind. What could it possibly find so amusing?

"Yew talk funny, mister Q," the child laughed. "I think yew'd be a really funny bad guy."

Ruby chuckled along with him. "Oh, you have no idea, young man."

From around the corner, a soft voice was heard calling out. "Lance? Did you find the book you wanted?" A woman not much older than Ruby stepped forward from behind another aisle of books, and the boy ran to her with his selection brandished above his head.

"Yes, momma! I picked out this Robin Hood book! Mister Q here got it off the shelf for me."

The mother reached down to pick up her child. "Not even gone five minutes and you're already making new friends?"

Q sneered under his breath, "Not quite the word I would use, but-" "That's right!" Ruby addressed the mother, thankful that she hadn't overheard Q's snide remarks. "He's a very sweet boy, he told us all about how he's a big fan of Robin Hood."

"Yep!" The boy beamed proudly. "And, and she said that her partner mister Q played Robin Hood with his friends and, uh, he got to be the Sheriff of Naughty-ham."

"That's Notting-ham," Q enunciated spitefully as he gleaned down at the child. Even if he desperately wanted the interaction to be over, he still would never miss an opportunity to be right about something.

Ruby paid him no mind, in the hopes that the woman would do the same, as she gave both the mother and child a kind grin. "Well, it was lovely to meet you, Lance. I hope you enjoy your book." She took on a tone akin to an ancient English knight as she thumped her a closed hand to her chest theatrically. "Never stop protecting those who can't protect themselves, and fight for justice and truth, just like your Robin Hood."

And unlike Q, she had wanted to say, but she decided that Q had had enough teasing for one day.

Little Lance beamed proudly and copied her motion as he put his own small fist over his chest, clearly taking the words to heart. His mom wore a similar warm grin as she and her son bade the couple farewell and headed toward the checkout counter.

Ruby turned back around to face Q, grinning cheekily up at him as he firmly kept his arms crossed and refused to meet her eye. "That was absolute torture," he groaned, "you know that, right? I'm not sure why I ever agreed to this trip." His partner let out a small laugh at how easy his disposition was to sour, and upon hearing that delightful little giggle of hers that he so dearly adored, he couldn't stop a smile from tugging at the corner of his mouth as he looked back down at her.

She chirped, "I'm sorry, my darling, but you know I can't resist teasing you.” A smirk overtook her face. “Besides, I believe I remember someone very intelligent once saying that one creature's torment is another's delight."

Q's eyebrows shot up in surprise before lowering in satisfaction, a grin snaking its way across his face as he pulled Ruby in close by her hips. If he had to make a list of all of his favorite things about her, the way that she was able to match his wit so effortlessly would easily clear the top three. Q was more than used to looking down on mortals, feeling superior to them, and he was somewhat justified in feeling so; even when encountering creatures cognitive enough to communicate, it was hardly ever that he came across one that didn't immediately bore him. Even with humans, as fascinating as the species itself was, the individuals were hardly worth stopping for. But there were always exceptions, and no exception has seized his attention, gained his respect, and retained his adoration more wholly than his Ruby.

Indifferent to who around may be watching, Q leaned forward and pressed his lips to Ruby's, allowing her to reach up and hold his face as he kissed her slowly and deliberately.

He just barely pulled away to groan against her lips, "I hope you appreciate my generous patience with you in situations like this." Ruby felt a shudder go through her body; as much as she saw and treated Q as an equal, she couldn't deny that, on occasion, she was exhilarated by the power he always had the capability of holding over her. She brushed any growing stimulation aside as she slyly retorted, "Only if you can appreciate me holding back in situations like this."

That comment earned her another kiss, this one much more brief but still holding just as much admiration, before Q stood up fully again. “Well then,” he sighed, “are we done here?”

Ruby chuckled. “Okay, you’ve been very good today. I’ll check out this book, and we can head back home.”

Q watched his partner as she headed toward the counter, an odd - but not unfamiliar - feeling washing over him as he replayed her words in his mind. He’d been very good today. It was still strange to him that such words of affirmation had any effect on him, even if. He’d never needed anyone else’s approval, or encouragement, or affection before meeting Ruby. He still didn’t need it, he supposed; he already knew that he was the most intelligent and powerful being in the universe. But something about hearing those things from her, the confirmation that there was one person who genuinely thought good of him, cared for him, loved him…

It was quite a wonderful feeling.

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 16- Spending White Day With BTS

Chapter Summary: Jennie underestimated Yoongi's words when he said she would get spoiled for White Day

Words: 3,000+

Genre: FLUFF!! Jen with all the members! 

-----

“Watch your step.”

“Don’t trip on anything.”

“Ahh, Munchkin’s going to freak!”

“Shh! Don’t wake her up!”

“Be quiet!”

“You sure this is enough?”

“It’s all over the room, it’s enough.”

“More than enough.”

“Shh!”

“I hope she likes it.”

“She will, don’t worry.”

“You think she’ll faint?”

“Haha, maybe.”

“Stop talking, you’ll wake her up.”

“Shh!”

Hushed whispers from the members were heard faintly from Jennie’s ears as she continued to sleep soundly. She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying and didn’t think much of it as she slept comfortably in her bed. She honestly thought she was dreaming. When morning came, Jen’s eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the sunlight from the window. Closing her eyes again as she groaned while stretching, she turned to her side. But suddenly pressed her body against something big.

Soft.

And fluffy.

Very fluffy.

It felt like fur, as she flickered her eyes open, only to see a huge white bear, next to her.

“HOLY!”

Shrieking in surprise, she rolled over and ended up falling out of her bed. Expecting a hard thump, she braced herself. But she ended up falling on top of dozens of teddy bears, all in different colors and sizes.

“What the heck?” She sat up, looking around her teddy bear infested bedroom. “What is going on!?” She frantically looked around.

What was this?

Why were there teddy bears all over her room?

Grabbing a tiny teddy bear that read on its shirt, ‘Happy White Day!’, a smile came across her lips.

It was so adorable. Letting out a soft laugh, she grabbed a few more teddy bears and looked at them. 

“This cannot be happening...I gotta take a picture of this.” She grabbed her phone off her nightstand.

She snapped a photo of the teddy bears in her room and tweeted on the shared BTS account, ‘WHAT.IS.GOING.ON!? This is too much cuteness! #WhiteDay’

Managing to walk around the teddy bears, she headed for the door. Before she opened it, she noticed a sticky note.

‘Good morning, Sweetheart! Ready to spend the day celebrating White Day with Bangtan Boys? Get dressed and ready for the day. Breakfast will be waiting~’ Signed Jin.

“Yoongi really wasn’t kidding.” She let out a chuckle.

Excitement filled her body as she eagerly got ready, putting on her dance practice clothes and hair in a high, messy bun, with some curls falling out. Walking out of her room, she was greeted by Jin, who was patiently waiting for her with a bright smile on his face.

“You’re awake!” He beamed and pulled her in for a warm hug.

“D-did you guys put all them teddy bears in my room?”

“Uh huh.” He giggled at her shocked expression and gestured for her to sit down with him.

“H-how many teddy bears are there?!”

“We each got you three teddy bears.”

“How did you manage to hide all the bears!?”

“That’s for us to know and you to never find out.” He teased and placed a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of her. “Here you are. I hope this tastes like home. Your sisters told me you love this.”

Jaw dropped, she snapped her head up to Jin. “B-blueberry pancakes!?”

“Hm, hm. Namjoon talked to your sisters.”

First, it was the teddy bears, now it’s her favorite breakfast that her mom would make for her back at home. She was so happy they took the time to do this.

“I can’t thank you guys enough for this. This is so special.” She murmured, shaking her head in awe.

Jin watched her every expression as she took a big bite. “So...?”

Setting the fork down, she exclaimed, “Why is this so good!?”

He sighed out of relief, feeling proud of his cooking skills as he dug into his plate of pancakes. “Ah, just thanking our sweetheart for those delicious cupcakes. Please, make more. I brought the ingredients.” He hinted as the big grin on his face wouldn’t go away.

“I will, soon. You keep smiling, are you planning something else?”

“I’m just very excited, that’s all. You have a big day ahead of you.”

“I do?”

“Uh huh.” He slid her a note.

Opening it quickly, it read,

‘Munchkin~ are you ready to dance!? Meet me in the practice room so we can practice one on one for Just One Day.’ Signed Hobi

After finishing breakfast, Jen made her way to the practice room, opening the door to reveal Hobi, stretching out his limbs, and getting himself ready.

“Good morning~” She happily greeted, setting her bag down on the floor.

Turning his head to the door, a bright squeal came from his lips as he rushed over to her, pulling her in for a tight embrace. “Munchkin's here~. Happy White Day!”

“Thank you! And thanks for the teddy bears. You guys really went all out.”

“There’s plenty more where that came from! You and I are going to have fun, today.”

“All right! What are we working on?”

“I want to clean up a little bit of our dance in Just One Day.”

“Fine by me!”

After stretching, they practice the Just One Day dance with chairs. Giving her pointers and making sure her movements were sharp and in sync with his, Hobi had a blast with her. After taking a 15 minute break once they danced 8 times, they decided to dance, again.

neowa naega hamkke hago itdamyeon, let’s go time

24 hours neowa danduri itdamyeon

Hobi made her stand up from her seat, grabbing her hand as he spun her around.

Achimbuteo ibmatchumhae

Feeling his familiar lips against her cheek for the dance, she cracked a smile as they continued to dance in sync. Suddenly, he decided to spin her around and dip her.

Letting out a laugh, she held on to him before he brought her back up. “Looks like our dance session is over. On to your next destination~.” He took out a note and handed it to her.

“Thanks, Hobi, I had a blast.” She said as he gave her a big hug.

‘Ennie~ are you hungry from dance practice? Let’s eat lunch together! Take a shower and get situated. I’ll be waiting for you!’ Signed Tae. 

He gave her a destination and time they would meet for lunch.

After showering and putting on casual clothes, she entered the restaurant to see Tae grinning and waving at her.

Giggling at his goofy grin, she sat in front of him and he grabbed her hands. “Happy White Day! I already ordered for you.” He giggled.

“Oh really? And what if I don’t like it?” She teased.

“You will, trust me! How was dance practice with Hobi?”

“So fun! We cleaned up our dance for Just One Day. I still can’t get over the teddy bears you guys put all over our room.”

“I wish I could’ve seen your face. Did you cry?”

“No, I was so baffled, I couldn’t even say anything for a while.”

“Hehehe. We’re going to watch more Dragon Ball Z, soon!”

“Are we now?”

“Uh huh! Jimin and Jungkook won’t take away my hang out time with you.”

“Tae, we see each other every single day, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

“I-I know but you know what I mean.”

“I dunno, do I?”

“Jennie!” He whined.

“Okay! Okay!”

“Woo hoo!”

“Not so loud!”

“Woo hoo~” He repeated in a hushed tone. The two ended up laughing with each other as Jennie set her head down.

“Let me see your face~” He picked her head up and rested her chin on his palms, staring at her with a smile. “Smile~”

“I can’t, my face is hurting. You guys keep making me so happy. Happier than usual!”

“Okay, okay, let’s relax our faces.” He kept a straight face with her as they continued to stare at each other once he removed his hands from her face. 

Sipping on some water, she couldn’t help but notice him making funny faces at her. Swallowing the water in her mouth, she almost choked as she covered her mouth, letting out giggles.

“Stop~”

“What? I’m not doing anything.” Tae looked around innocently with a straight face.

Rolling her eyes playfully, she continued to watch him as their noodles arrived. Handing her chopsticks first, Tae dug in, watching her with a serious expression.

After taking a few bites, she looked back up at Tae, who had another goofy expression on his face. The two of them end up laughing once again.

After their lunch, he slipped her a note.

‘U, Me, hot chocolate? I’m waiting for you at the entrance.’ Signed Jimin

Saying her goodbyes to him, she left the restaurant to see Jimin waiting for her.

“Ennie~ come on! Let’s go!” He said excitedly.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” She giggled at his enthusiasm.

Sitting at a nearby cafe, they both ordered cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream and pastries to go with it. 

Sighing at the familiar taste, she took a few sips, enjoying the chocolaty goodness. “It’s been so long since I had this. This is so good!”

“I know right, I remember you telling us almost every day, last month.”

“I-I did? Sorry. I must have been so annoying.”

“Not at all, I thought it was cute.” He handed her a napkin. “You have whipped cream on your lips.”

“Ah, you’re such a gentleman.”

“Kissing it away wouldn’t be so gentleman like. Unless you want me to~.” He teased, nudging her on the arm with his trademark eye smile.

“Oh, cut it out!” She nudged him back, wiping the cream off her lips. She had gotten used to his harmless teasing these days.

“Hehehe, I’m just kidding. You’re easy to tease. You should get used to it. Ah, but Jin won’t be so happy about it.” He chuckled at the memory of Jin coming to save her from his teasing, during the Boy In Luv filming. “Seems like Jungkook claimed you as his best friend.” He pointed to the black ring on her finger.

“Yep! Happily taken!” She proudly announced. “Jungkook is the bestest best friend I could ask for.”

“Aw, I’m disappointed! Jungkookie always beats me to everything.” He playfully huffed. “It’s not too late to dump him so I can be your best friend instead.”

Pondering for a few seconds, she smiled. “Thanks but no thanks. I’m his.”

“Ah...it was worth a shot.”

“Drink your hot chocolate!” She scooped up some whipped cream on her index finger and placed it on his nose.

“Hey!” He placed some whipped cream on the side of her face.

After continuing to bicker back and forth, and enjoying each other's company, he slid her a note. 

‘Let’s take a walk together, talk about life. I’m waiting for you, outside.’ Signed Namjoon

Putting her hoodie on her head, she walked outside and was greeted by Namjoon who had his hoodie over his head, too. “Hey, Happy White Day. You mind taking a walk with me?”

“How could I ever turn down my leader?” She playfully punched him on the shoulder. Earning a deep chuckle in response, they both strolled through a park. “I gotta say, you guys are unbelievable, doing all this for me.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the day, so far. It’s not over yet. Hope you’re not tired.”

“I was wide awake ever since I fell out of bed and onto all the teddy bears.” She admitted. Namjoon started laughing, thinking about the sight of her falling out of bed. “Go ahead, laugh. Whose idea was this, anyway?”

“Yoongi’s. Then we all decided to talk about what we should do with you, today. It was Jungkook’s idea to give you all the teddy bears. I thought it would be a good idea to contact your sisters about what you like to eat.”

“Amazing...thank you.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. I want you to get real with me for a moment.”

“Shoot.”

“How are you? Here with BTS? In Korea?”

“I’ve adjusted well, thanks to you.” She answered immediately. She enjoyed working here, performing, meeting fans, and eating the food. It was great. “There’s still a lot I need to work on, when it comes to performing, though.”

“So does everyone else.”

“I know, I know, it’s just that...I just want to perform for people.”

“And you’re doing that.”

“But I want to get better at my performances. My stage presence is still weak and so are my vocal skills.”

Stopping, Namjoon turned to her, staring down at her with reassurance. “And we’ll work on that. And you will get better. It won’t happen overnight but we know what you need to work on. When we make our full album, we’ll work on it.”

“I know we will.”

“But Jennie, when you feel like you want to give up, I want you to ask yourself, why you started this in the first place.”

“I felt like I had a great chance, to perform here. I always wanted to.”

“And what do you think?”

“It’s going well but I still don’t think I’m well liked.” She let out a sigh.

“Still reading the hate comments, huh? I thought I told you to not read them and let it get to you.” He said with a stern tone, crossing his arms. He hated seeing her so bummed. He enjoyed it when she was glowing and happily doing her thing.

“It just kind of sucks, you know...” She grumbled.

“Ignore that bullshit. Don’t even waste your time.” He pushed the negative thoughts she had, away. 

Nodding, she muttered, “I will.”

“No.” Shaking his head, Namjoon’s expression changed into a serious one. “I want you to say it and mean it. Now what are you going to do?” He raised a brow.

“Ignore the bullshit.”

“And do what?”

“Not waste my time.”

“Say it again. What are you going to do?”

“Ignore the bullshit and not waste my time.”

“One more time, loud and proud!”

“I’m going to ignore the bullshit and not waste my time on the haters!”

“Atta girl.” He nodded in approval with a smile. “We’re all going to get hate, it’s inevitable, but don’t let that control you. Don’t let that fear and negativity take over. I want you to keep your head up high.” He lifted her chin with his hand. “As a leader, I want to let you know that I see that you’re working hard and improving. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of what BTS has accomplished so far.”

His words began to light a fire in her as she continued to listen to his words of wisdom.

“I want you to know that, I got you, Jennifer. I’m not giving up on you. None of us are. Things are going to be fine. Relax. Breathe and follow your heart. There are going to be people out there who won’t believe in you and will make things difficult for you. And when you feel like you made it through something, something else happens and you have to overcome that. Things aren’t going to be easy, but don’t be discouraged. Believe in the greatness that lies within you. In here.” He pointed to her heart. “Prove to everyone that you can do it.”

Words couldn’t describe how grateful she was to have someone like him in her life. He was always known to be so deep, but witnessing it right now, got her in higher spirits.

“Always. Thank you, Namjoon. I don’t know what I would do without you, to be honest. I’m grateful to you.”

“I’ll always be there for you. Keep smiling.” He pulled her in for a comforting embrace. Pulling away, they continue to walk together. “Oh, good news, your food is still in the fridge. I didn’t eat it...yet.”

“Oh, so just because it’s White Day, you won’t eat my food? I need to find a hiding spot so you won’t munch on my stuff.”

“You know that I’ll find it.” He joked.

“Blah, blah, blah...”

“Oh, here.” He took out a bag of chewy sugar cookies. “They uh, got a little mushed because I fell, but they still taste good.”

“Of course, the cookies are mushed, you always break everything.” She poked fun at him, taking the cookies. “But them being broken makes it special because I know it’s from you. Thank you,”

“H-hey I’m not that destructive. Anyway, you're welcome. One more thing, can I borrow your phone charger?”

“You broke yours, didn’t you?” She deadpanned.

“K-kind of?”

Letting out another laugh, she agreed and told him it was in her room. “Great, I’ll get it later. I’m off, the kid is probably getting impatient. He’s so eager to see you.” He chuckled and handed her a note.

Saying their goodbyes, Namjoon left the park while Jennie opened the note.

‘Got time for your best friend? Let’s game. I’m waiting for you at the park entrance.’ Signed Your Best Friend, Kookie.

Running to the entrance of the park with excitement, she saw Jungkook waiting for her with his hood over his head. Hearing someone running to him, he looked up and broke out into a huge grin, opening his arms for her.

“I’ve been waiting to see you, all day!” She collided against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, tightly. He let out a soft chuckle and held her close.

Pulling away, he complained about the members, “Really? I feel special. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to see you. It was so annoying. I wanted to see you first, but the hyungs told me that I would hog you all day and they wouldn’t get a chance to see you at all, today. I was upset that I would be one of the last ones to see you. But it was worth the wait.”

“It really was. So buddy, what’s on the agenda?”

“Milady, would you do me the honor of gaming with me?” He bowed dramatically.

Playing along, she mirrored his movements. “I would be honored.”

“Let’s go. An arcade isn’t too far from here. I won’t go easy on you just because it’s White Day. Prepare to be schooled!”

“You wish!”

Arriving at the arcade, they immediately head to the Dance Dance Revolution game. “Jungkook, let me show you how it’s done. This is my favorite game. Watch and learn.”

“I’ll watch. And then once you had your fun, I’ll beat your high score.” He responded in a competitive tone. No way in the world she was going to be able to beat him.

“We’ll see!”

As she danced, Jungkook analyzed her movements, thinking of strategies for beating her. Staying calm, he was confident in his skills and that he had no problem getting a higher score.

“Your turn.” She gestured after she was done.

“I can beat that.” He smirked, making his way to the game.

“No, you can’t.”

“Yes, I can. Watch and learn.”

She watched and learned all right. Her smile turned upside down as she gaped at the score. “...Are you KIDDING me!?” She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. He laughed out loud at her outburst. “How!? That’s not possible!”

“You know what they say, don’t hate the player, hate the game.” He managed to escape her hits, aiming for his arm as he continued to laugh.

After bickering, the both of them went all around the place, furiously button mashing on various games, with mostly Jungkook winning everything. 

“Basketball. You, me, let’s go!” She grabbed onto his wrist and took him to the basketball courts.

As soon as the timer went off, the two began to shoot baskets quickly, trying to make it in the basket more often than one another. Jennie stayed focused, ignoring his goofy comments.

“Oh look! I got another basket! And another one! Score! In your face, Jennie! Wow, another basket!”

“Shut up!” She shouted as he laughed wholeheartedly, enjoying driving her crazy. As soon as the bell rang, she looked at the score and started jumping up and down. “WOO! I did it! That is what I’m talking about! In your face!”

Staring at the score in disbelief, Jungkook turned to watch her celebrating happily, dancing around. He couldn’t help but gaze at her with his bunny smile across his face. 

She was something else.

“You want to take a picture?” She caught him staring.

“S-sorry.” He looked down, feeling his face heat up.

“I’m just teasing. But seriously, let’s take some pictures together.”

After goofing around, taking goofy selfies on her phone, they gathered up their tickets and Jungkook picked out an Iron Man plush for her. 

“Treat it with love and care. Iron Man is my favorite.” He dramatically presented it to her.

“I’ll add it to the numerous teddy bears all over my room.” She let out a laugh and happily accepted it. “Thanks, Kookie.”

Looking at the time, Jungkook sighed. He really didn’t want to leave her, but it was Yoongi’s turn. Handing her a note, she read it.

‘Head back to the dorm, Smartie.’ Signed Yoongi. Short, sweet and simple.

Walking inside the dorm, Jennie was met by Yoongi sitting on the couch, wearing dressy casual clothing.

“Smartie. Happy White Day. Get prettier. We’re all taking you out to dinner. I’ll be waiting for you in the living room to escort you.” He said out of nowhere with a smile.

“D-dinner?”

“Yes, dinner.” He stood up and sighed when she pulled him in for a tight hug. “Don’t squeeze me to death!”

“My bad. I’ll get ready. This is great! I’ll get done quick!” She ran to her room.

After 30 minutes of getting ready, she wore a sweater dress and had her hair out of her messy bun and neatly down. Walking out, she announced that she was ready.

Turning around, Yoongi looked at her and shook his head. “Jennie, I said prettier, not beautiful-er.” He teased, earning a smile from her. “You look nice, Smartie.”

“Really? Thanks, Yoongi.”

After the short car ride, they see the rest of the guys sitting at a table, waiting for them. “Miss Bangtan has arrived,” Yoongi announced with her hand on his arm while the guys happily stood up and applauded.

Giggling at their energy and enthusiasm, Jennie was overwhelmed with happiness.

“Come on, sit! Let’s eat!” Jin eagerly gestured for her to sit down.

“I have a seat, right next to me,” Jungkook said, pointing to the empty seat.

“I feel like Jungkook is trying to hog Jennie. It’s my turn to be with her. Jennie, sit next to me.” Jimin pulled out a seat for her.

“Hyung!” Jungkook shouted, shooting him a look of annoyance as Jimin couldn’t help but giggle.

“Hey! Behave!” Yoongi scolded. “She’s sitting next to me, so be quiet.” He pulled out the seat for her and let her sit down. He then gently pushed the seat in for her and sat down next to her. 

“Before we eat, I just want to express my gratitude for all of you planning this special day for me. Today was really fun.” Jen smiled.

“Hey, I told you that you were going to get spoiled on White Day.” Yoongi nudged her.

[obxone]

Marmoris (Chapter Five)

Edited-ish. ~1.8k words.

Master Page

It feels good, and freeing after you ride your third wave in. The water feels cold still, but good as you kick to the surface and tug your board back to you. Cheers erupt from the shore pulling your attention, and you see Sarah, Topper, Kelce, and Rafe standing at the shoreline. A few other kooks behind them jump up and down while screaming in excitement.

“Sarah?!”

“That was amazing!” She hops in excitement once you are almost to the shore. Your hands push your dripping hair back over your shoulder while she rushes to you and nearly knocks you down. She squeezes you in a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you!”

“Thanks,” you giggle before turning to your brother and his friends. “This is a secret, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kelce smirks, dragging his gaze over you, but you ignore him and turn your attention to your bother. 

He is smiling, wider than you have seen in a long time. “Not bad, Little Sister.”

You roll your eyes at him before Topper grabs you in a hug next. “Heck yeah! That was awesome.”

“It’s all Kie’s doing,” you say, gesturing to her. You spy her moving into the shore, an irritated look on her face. A large part of you feels bad knowing how much she is not comfortable with this crowd, but another part of you is determined to sing her praises. The first feeling of freedom vibrates deep in your bones. “She gave me some pointers.”

“Yo, Kie!” Topper grins at her once she is back on shore and comes to a stop next to you. 

“Yo, Top,” she responds, and you can tell she is not happy with their presence. Her tone mocks him, but he does not notice. His smile never slipped despite her mockery.

“Everything okay, Kie?”

All of you turn to see John B, Pope, and JJ move through the small cluster to be beside their best friend. JJ’s gaze drags over you, his eyebrows raising when he sees the familiar board tucked under your arm. 

“Fine, we were surfing, and they showed up.”

Pope smirks at you. “Surfing, huh?”

“Only a little,” you supply. 

“Are you any good?” JJ asks while throwing his arm over Pope’s shoulders. 

“What’s it to you, Maybank?” Rafe snaps, glaring at the blond, aware of how his blue eyes keep running the length of you and you are completely oblivious to it. 

JJ smirks, rolling his tongue across his bottom lip. “Rafe…”

“Don’t,” Kiara warns, taking a step forward. 

“Freaking pogues, man,” Kelce mutters with a shake of his head.

“What was that?” JJ asks. 

You tense, aware of how quickly this can turn into something more than huffing and puffing from them. 

“I thought you guys were at a party?” You ask, redirecting the conversation. 

“We are, down the beach,” Kelce points, stepping too close. You step back, angling it so Kiara is between you. She notices and shifts the board to block him further. And she is not the only one that notices. JJ’s arm falls from Pope’s shoulder as Pope steps closer to Kiara. His dark eyes focused on you, but you ignore him, not wanting to draw attention to it. “Thought you were coming?”

“Never said I was going.”

He frowns. “You could come now.”

“No, thank you.”

“Why not?” He asks, his jaw ticking. “Too busy with these pogues?”

“Dude,” John B sighs.

“What?” Kelce snaps, but Rafe stops him. His hand presses to Kelce’s chest as he glares at the pogues. “Do you really think a kook wants to slum it with you losers?”

“Kelce!” You glare at him. 

“What, Princess?” JJ starts then. His cold blue eyes are on you. “What would the kook princess be doing with dirty pogues like us?”

Kiara warns. “JJ.”

“No, Kie,” JJ snaps. “She needs to realize; they don’t want her with us, and we don’t either.”

“Asshole,” you snap back at him. The feelings from your argument a few days ago flare back to life. He rolls his eyes. “And for the record, I was hanging out with Kiara, not you. No one special enough wants to hang out with you, Maybank.”

Kelce and Topper bump fists and laugh at your response.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Kiara says, her gaze on you. “Ready to go? Or do you want to surf some more?” She glances at her friends. “Isn’t that why you are here?”

“Yeah,” John B and Pope agree. 

“I’m not surfing with her,” JJ responds, his jaw clenched as he continues to glare at you. 

Rafe takes a step towards JJ. “Maybe she doesn’t want to surf with you, Pogue.”

“Rafe!” You and Sarah, both warn him. 

“No, Princess, let him talk,” JJ says, stepping closer to Rafe. You groan, aware that Rafe will take the bait and lash out if JJ keeps pushing. “This is our side of the island after all.”

“Barely.”

JJ chuckles. “Go back to your side then, Kook. We all know you only come to this side of the island for co-.”

JJ does not get to finish his sentence as Rafe lands a right hook against his jaw. 

“Rafe!” You yell again, but he lands another punch against JJ’s face when he shoves Rafe with a maniacal laugh. “Stop!” 

JJ hits the sand, and you wince, seeing a busted lip and bruising jaw. Rafe reaches for him, his long fingers fist the front of JJ’s shirt. He lifts him up before swinging again, another hit against the left side of his face. Sarah yells at him to stop and begs Topper to intervene, but Topper is busy staring at Pope and John B, daring them to jump in. 

You exhale and push past Kiara and Kelce after discarding your board in the sand.

“Stop it!” You glare at your brother. “He is baiting you.”

“Get out of the way.”

“No! Go back to your party. I’m sure your date is looking for you.”

Rafe glares at you before shoving JJ back down into the sand so hard you hear the air expel from his lungs. 

“Rafe,” you warn again, your hardened gaze directed at your older brother. He glares back at you, his hand reaching for you, but you step back already knowing what he is going to attempt. “No. You go.”

“You are coming with us. I’m not leaving you here.”

Kiara is behind you, helping JJ to his feet and asking if he is okay. You hear his clipped assurance. 

“The only way I’m going with you is if you drag me kicking and screaming.” You spit out. “And we both know if you even lay a hand on me that Dad would send you to The Cut for it.”

Rafe glares, his eyes darkening with rage as his jaw sets. But you know that is his only response. Ward’s overprotectiveness of you coming as your saving grace for once. Topper and Kelce, both turn and leave with him after Sarah tells Topper she wants to stay with you. 

You turn to JJ and reach to check his injuries, but he brushes your hand to the side. Annoyance is clear on his face that you had to be the one to stop him from getting his ass handed to him. 

“I have a first aid kit in the car,” you offer. He rolls his eyes. “JJ, don’t be a stubborn asshole.”

He smirks, glancing at Pope as he tries to check out JJ’s injuries after seeing JJ would not let you near him. 

“Jay, let her patch you up,” Kie says, encouraging him. Her gaze is on the still bleeding cut on his swelling bottom lip. 

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not,” John B argues. But you notice he is not looking at JJ. Instead, he is looking at your sister and she is staring back at him. An unspoken communication between the two.

“Come on, I promise not to bite too hard,” you joke, and he rolls his eyes, but caves. You lead the way to the parking lot. JJ follows with Sarah and John B close behind. Pope and Kiara stay on the beach, collecting the surfboards and your stuff. You pop the trunk and grab the first aid kit that Ward made sure you all carried in your vehicles. “Sit,” you direct him to the lip of the trunk space. He sighs and drops onto it. 

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t say you’re fine. You are bleeding.” You point to his lip, and his tongue flicks out to drag the tip over his busted lip. “You know the best way to keep this from happening again?”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t provoke my brother and his friends.”

JJ scoffs, running a hand through his hair as you tear open an alcohol wipe. 

“This will sting.” You warn him before gently dabbing at the cut on his lip. He hisses but stays still as you lean into him. “Look at you, tough guy.”

He chuckles, his gaze sliding past you to the pair in the background. “What do you think they are talking about?”

You glance to see Sarah and John B lingering by Kiara’s truck. 

“Probably about you getting put on your ass,” you joke. JJ scoffs, rolling his eyes. “You know, I never understood this whole kook against pogue bullshit.” 

He shrugs. “It’s the way of life.”

“It’s dumb,” you mutter, pressing the emergency icepack to his jaw. He winces but replaces your hand with yours. You shiver and he notices even as you try to play it off. 

“Cold?”

“Yes, still kind of wet from surfing,” you whisper, ignoring the other reason.

“Where is your coverup?”

“Beach. Kie should bring it soon.”

“Probably not,” he mutters. “Pope is flirting with her, and she is probably watching to make sure your brother does not come back to finish the job.”

“You just broke the bro code,” you gasp. 

JJ laughs, and you smile at him. “Here,” he says after putting the ice pack down and reaching to pull his sleeveless shirt off. “Keep it on until they get back. Can’t have you getting sick and Rafe trying to punch me for it.”

“Such a gentleman,” you tease, but take it and pull it on. The smell of the ocean and his cologne clinging to it. “Thanks, Jay.”

“Anytime.”

You sit beside him, legs curled under you while you wait for the others. “Keep the ice pack on your jaw.” You instruct him while handing it back to him. “Hopefully the bruise will not be as bad.”

He mutters something about Rafe under his breath, but you ignore it. Instead, your attention fixates on Sarah and John B. 

(Chapter Six)

[anjumzm]

Midsummer Night

A Legacy of Gods Fanfic

JerCes Daughter x LanMia Son

Chapter 12

Aanya Volkov

The moment I stepped out of Theo’s office, a rush of cool air washed over me. My heart pounded with a mix of borderline excitement and thrill, similar to that first illicit sip of alcohol as a teenager. I couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but I felt something different—a strange, unsettling feeling that I couldn't shake off.

Jasper was already waiting outside, his face creased with worry. “Aanya, did something happen? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, let’s get out of here. You can grill me for answers on our way back home.”

“Sure, but…”

“I said, ‘On our way back home.’”

We walked to his McLaren, a sleek car that screamed power and speed. I asked, “Can I drive?”

“No way in hell. This is my baby, Aanya. No offense, but I don’t trust anyone but myself when it comes to driving it.” He hesitated for a moment, then tossed me the keys. “Only halfway to the house. I’ll take it from there.”

My face broke into a grin. I needed an outlet—anything to keep this strange energy at bay. Once buckled up, Jasper asked, “Before we move an inch, I want answers. What’s exactly going on? Heck, I’d believe unicorns exist, but not this. Theo is not capable of showcasing any emotions. Even if you do love him, he won’t be able to reciprocate. Trust me, everyone in our family knows this. Gina and Rebecca are skeptical too. Gina literally laughed out loud, thinking it’s a prank, while Rebecca threatened Theo with bodily harm if she finds out he’s forcing you. We can take him down as a team, if that’s the case. Or we could ask Grandpa Aiden. Since Rebecca is on our team, he’ll be on our team too, and the team with Grandpa’s support always wins.”

I wished I could ask Jasper for help, but the stakes were too high. My brother’s and my dad’s lives were on the line.

“As much as I’m touched by your gesture, it’s not necessary. I really like Theo. The only reason I wasn’t comfortable sharing this with you guys is because I didn’t know how to put it in front of you, especially Gina. But when he proposed last week and I said yes, I knew we’d have to come clean to our families. If you think your family’s skeptical, mine’s out for Theo’s blood. The only reason Dad and Aaron aren’t acting on their instincts is because Mom’s threatened to leave and live with Grandpa Xan in London. Even Caleb’s having a headache with all the drama that’s unfolded.”

“Gods, I wish you’d change your mind, but if you don’t and still want to marry that wanker, you’ll always have mine, Rebs’, and Mom’s support, no matter what. Aunt Mia has been ecstatic since Theo dropped the news. She’s the sweetest and kindest soul besides my Mom. You already know how lovely and kind Grandma Astrid and Grandma Elsa are. They’re already planning changes to Theo’s room to suit your tastes and as for my Dad, he's been your number one fan since you helped him gain points in Grandpa Adrian’s book. You know Aunt Ava even better than I do, she literally looks out for you as a daughter, but I'm not sure how she views your relationship with Theo at this point, given that she's well aware of Theo's...aloofness. And Aunt Ava's opinion would be Uncle Eli's opinion too. Guess we'll have to wait and find out"

He leaned back, closing his eyes. “Grandpa Aiden and Grandpa Levi will ask you questions, though. Don’t know how Uncle Landon sees your relationship, but it’d definitely be something for him to rub in your father’s face. The days to come will be tough.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll try my best to convince your and Theo’s grandpas that I mean no harm. Besides, you did say Aunt Mia and Aunt Anni are on my team, and by extension, so are Uncle Lan and Uncle Creigh. I’m sure Aunt Mia will handle Uncle Lan.”

“You sound like you already have all this planned.”

“You know me. I’m always prepared.”

“That you are.”

After a lot of bickering, gasps, and shouted directions from Jasper, we finally reached his and Caleb’s house. Jasper made an excuse and left, clearly avoiding a confrontation with Caleb. I saw Caleb standing at the door, arms crossed.

“I know you feel rebellious these days, but trust me, this is the worst time to act like a brat. This isn’t you, Aanya!”

“Just because, for the first time in my life, I’m trying to choose something for myself doesn’t make me a brat. Why is it so difficult for you all to just accept my wishes for once?”

“Oh, the choice where you willingly submit yourself to the Devil’s Spawn? Sue us for actually caring about your well-being!”

“I’m not a kid anymore! You, Dad, or Aaron don’t need to ‘protect’ me all the time. Have you ever thought about how tiring it gets, having your every move monitored and reported back? Or why am I only friends with Gina, Rebecca, Jess, Sierra, and Zoey, who all happen to be either my cousins or somehow related to Dad or Mum? Everyone literally thinks over and over before speaking to me, as if I’m made of glass! So I had to go out of my way and be absurd for once. And by God, am I loving it! At least Theo doesn’t pretend like all of you do!”

I said that in one breath, panic coursing through me. No... no, no, no. I couldn’t lose it, not after I’d been in control for so long.

Caleb sensed this and took my hands in his. “Aanya, Angel, look at me. Deep breaths.”

I breathed in and out, feeling calmer. Caleb held me through all of it, then rushed to the kitchen, returning with my meds and a water bottle. I took the meds and gulped down the water in one go.

“Aanya, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Knowing you, I’m sure you wouldn’t go through with your engagement without thinking it through. But you also need to know that Dad and Aaron are still super pissed. They will never agree to this.Not to mention Grandpa, I'm not sure if they broke the news to him, you know how protective he is. And me... I won’t stand by and watch my little baby sister throw herself into a pit of darkness. I don’t trust Theo King even a bit. He’ll have to work very hard to gain all of our trusts.”

“I understand and respect that, Cal. I know you’ve always been supportive of my decisions, but I’d appreciate it if you could trust me one more time. I promise I won’t let you down.”

I had to get back the book before the next Bratva meeting. I knew how crucial timings were in our world. One wrong move at the right time and we’d all be looking for shelter. I couldn’t risk my family’s legacy. I’d get back the Black Book no matter what. And once that’s done, I’ll sweep Theo King off his feet, so he knows no one messes with a Volkov—not even the Kings.

The next day, a parcel awaited me at my doorstep, containing an elegant dress, with a note attached.

"Will pick you up around 6 pm today. Hopefully, you’ll be ready till then. Your kingdom awaits their soon-to-be queen. Make sure you make quite an impression.

Your soon-to-be fiancé, ~Theodore King"

Oh, I'll make sure to leave a mark this time, Mr. King. Just you wait.

[inkabelledesigns]

for your ask game! is there anything with my favorite little guys (you know who XD) in Searching the Depths? If not I will happily accept a Richard section, he's an honorary little guy.

Oh Victor, you spoil me. XD Y'know, I think I do have a little bit I can hand you with one of your favorite guys. We're gonna throw you some of Depths and some of Richard, since this is the only Bendy ask in my box. (Warning, spoilers ahead for both)

Searching the Depths - The Heart of the Studio: Chapter 18 - Hell's Bell

The screaming voices in her mind only got louder before they were reduced to whimpers. The man carefully took a handkerchief from her breast pocket and wiped away at the ink on her mouth and cheeks. She was trembling in his grasp, her breathing unsteady, shaken, unable to stop hyperventilating. 

"What…the HELL was that?" She looked him dead in the eyes, tears pricking her own. 

"My sheep…" he sighed. "I'm so…I'm so sorry." He looked up to the railing. "My flock, give me a moment, will you?" 

No sooner had he asked, the monsters hurried out of the room, and the ominous light of the projector flickered to life. He let go of her, hurrying to the instruments left behind. A pluck of a note on the banjo, drum, violin, and cello, and the next thing she knew, a door had opened up. 

"Let us speak somewhere more…private. Where prying eyes might grant us peace." He grasped her by the arm and dragged her in. She nearly tripped over herself at the pace he was taking her. As soon as they were inside, the door snapped shut, and the man let out a breath she hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Oh dear god we're in for it now." He held his head in exasperation as she yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"Listen buddy, you owe me some answers." Bella coughed and leaned against the wall, struggling to stay upright. "What the heck is going on here?" 

"You really aren't Henry, are you?" No emotions betrayed him, she could hardly believe he could say that with a straight face. Then again, maybe he wasn’t. How could a being with no face even have a straight one? But he seemed sincere!

"Not in the slightest. I'm five foot nothin', at least a few decades younger, and as much as I'd like to think I make a convincing man, something tells me that's not what led to your confusion." She let out a deep breath. "My name's Bella. Bella Ewe. And you are?" 

"I am the prophet of our Lord and savior, the ink demon." 

"The prophet of-" That title, oh dear. No, it couldn't be, could it? Just like Joey's story. Just like… "Sammy Lawrence?" She raised an eyebrow. "No, you can't be, that's not possible!"

"Hard to believe, isn’t it?" He sighed. "That name hasn't been mine in…I don't know how long." 

"You can't be the real Sammy. He died in the forties, he's not some-some prophet for a bunch of monsters!” She threw down her arms in frustration. “He's a brilliant composer with an amazing legacy!" 

"As flattered as I am to hear such praises, I'm sorry to disappoint you, little ewe." He leaned against the wall, gesturing rather matter-of-factly. "But I am no liar, that would go against my cause. The people that once worked here have all met with a terrible fate. And if you're here, I'm assuming you have too." 

"I…I suppose that's one way to put it." She winced as she held her side. "But…how? Why? I thought…I thought this was just a story. How is this real? How am I here?"

"Likely the same way the rest of us came here: the ink machine." His voice was so cold, she could see how tightly his fists were clenched. Almost made her afraid they'd burst.

Richard the Keeper: The Studies of 214

Chapter ??? - Naming Convention

“This is a waste of time-”

Bella held her hand up in front of him as she faced the other keepers. “Wait a sec Rich, they might be onto something.” 

“What?!”

“Well no offense, but to us, you all look the same. A name tag might be helpful in telling you apart.” 

“You can't be serious-”

“Oh I'm very serious!” She laughed. “Come on, it'll be fun! There are so many wonderful names to choose from, they've all got different meanings, it's great!” 

The snobby keeper snorted. “Oh yeah? What's Richard mean then?”

Richard was about to spit back at him, but Bella held up her hand again. “Depends on where you come from. In some cultures, it means ‘mighty ruler’, in others it's simply ‘rich’. In others still it's ‘powerful and hardy’. Though I remember one old friend…he said it meant ‘helper of humanity'. I don't know how true it is, but…” she turned and smiled at Richard, “seems fitting for someone trying to make a better world.” 

Richard froze for a few seconds before quickly pulling his clipboard closer to his face. “We have a schedule to keep-”

“Yes, and we will keep it.” She patted his arm gently. “But let's be honest, we're getting nowhere fast. I think this could help.” 

“How-”

Another keeper interrupted. “I didn't know names could have such meanings. Do they all have so much depth?” 

Bella nodded. “Oh yeah. There was this old baby names book in our local library. I had a friend who checked it out all the time, helped him pick out so many names for his characters.” She chuckled. “Probably not a flawless method, but it's what we had, and it was all in good fun. But some people don't care much about name meanings, just use whatever sounds good.” 

“What about you?” They asked. 

“Me?” She held her chin in thought. “Well, Bella means beautiful in most languages.” 

Richard raised an eyebrow. “But that's a nickname, not what was chosen for you. What does Isabella mean?”

[rearranged-fanfic]

New Chapter, Ah Yeah!

Excerpts below the cut

(Spoilers, duh)

Excerpt 1:

“What’s going on?”  Honestly, I’m not sure I want to know. Akemi smiles pleasantly.  “Settling a difference of opinion.” “On my front porch?” I inquire dryly. At that moment, Takuma’s eyes get wide and he points at me, excitement coloring his tone.  “Oh, you’re outside by yourself!  Heck yeah!” “My wardens decided to lessen my sentence a bit.” “’Bout time!” he crows, delighted.  “Thought you were gonna die of boredom if you stayed locked up much longer.” “Well, it was either that or killing them for entertainment.”  I shrug nonchalantly, like I hadn’t just inserted murderous intentions into a normal conversation.  I wait for them to take that as a joke and laugh, but they just kind of look at the ground awkwardly. …Okay?  They’re acting weird. “Don’t you attract Spirits, though?  Are you safe?” Akemi points out. And when I pull out the charm that Gojo gave me, Takuma elbows forward to take the glass bead in his palm.  His eyebrows scrunch up cutely and he leans in super close.  All Sorcerers apparently abhor personal space. Which is all well and good until Beans launches herself from my cleavage in a sneak attack, clasping onto the younger teen’s face with her wings.  Takuma lets out an undignified ‘eep’, scrambling backwards.  That’s what he gets for muscling his way into my bubble.  If only Beans could do that to Gojo—I’d have the ultimate protector, saving me form touchy-feely weirdos. He pulls the Shiki off, sucking in air and fanning himself like a dainty woman about to faint. Beans comes back to rest on the top of my head, planting herself on my crown and letting out a tiny, angry roar.  I reach up to stroke under her chin with my finger.  Good beans, I think affectionately.  Takuma finally collects himself, even as his sister has to hold her gut form laughing at his misfortune. “You have a charm like Ieiri,” the young Sorcerer notes.  I immediately note the lack of honorific, but don’t really think much of it.  Instead, it’s his words that get my attention. I peer down at the blue bead.  “She has one too, huh?”  I guess that makes sense; Gojo is all about fiercely guarding the two people he actually cares about in this world.  And now he’s offered the same protection to his precious little informant.  I should feel privileged, but him walking in on my masturbation session because of this little charm still lives in my head rent free. “It’s on her wrist,” he says, gesturing to his own. I think back and try to remember if I’d noticed a bracelet before, but I’m not really that observant.  At least I know to ask about it next time she pops up, I guess.  It’d be nice to know exactly what this charm can do, beside allow Gojo to be the world’s most efficient stalker-slash-cockblock. I shake my head to clear out the fuzz and offer my guests a little grin.  “So, what brings you guys here?” “Oh, Ma told us to come check—” Akemi throws her hand over her brother’s mouth, cutting him off.  “To check to see if you could help me with something!” she says a bit too excitedly. “What do you need help with?” I ask, distrust laced through my words. “I’m having trouble in English class, and I know that it’s your first language.  Do you think you can help me?” Uh huh.  Well, that’s not suspicious at all.  They’re clearly here to appease their mom.  And they’re fibbing about it. I cross my arms and raise a single eyebrow questioningly, doubt painted over my features.  Akemi holds up what looks to be a backpack, shaking it as though in offering.  Clever, bringing an item to use as an excuse.  The other young woman puts on her best puppy dog face, making her green eyes appear large and watery all while her lower lip quivers ever so slightly. I’m a sucker, I think with resignation as I step aside to welcome them in.

Excerpt 2:

I pinch off a section of cake, offering it to her as tribute.  The sweet treat is quickly gobbled up, and she sniffs at my fingers for more.  I roll my eyes at the gluttonous Shiki and give her another sizeable chunk.  This one, she eats a little slower.  And when she’s done, she gives me a friendly nip at the tip of my thumb and a sweet chirp.  Content with the cake for now, she curls up around my throat and prepares to sleep.  I note that she bites her own tail so that she doesn’t slip off backwards. I have a living necklace, I think.  When I pat her, she wriggles to get closer to me, letting out a contented sigh. Somebody’s affectionate today. Then again, she’s been clingy since this morning for whatever reason. Rolling my eyes at the silly creature, I peer down at my phone.  Time to see what’s up next on my adventure.  I scroll for a few minutes, listening to the whistling snores that my Shiki puts off like it’s the most soothing music known to man. A shadow falls over me, blocking the light, but I ignore it.  Until somebody clears their throat. “Excuse me, Miss.”  I think I’ve heard the voice before, but I’m not quite sure where.  Maybe he’s another friendly character from the manga? Then I roll my eyes at the thought.  Yeah, right.  What are the odds of meeting another manga character in a city as bis as Tokyo?   He’s probably just some dude that I’ve met in passing—maybe the clerk at the hotel I stayed at my first night here?

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: And we're back to not having a break! -Danny Words: 1,945 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Young Love' -by Phillip Vo

XL: Please Say Sike Right Now

Everyone knew about Leo's curse by the next morning. Jason told Piper, Nico told Hazel because Hazel already knew half of it, and then Hazel told Frank because Leo knew about his curse anyway, so it was fair. At least they all had the decency to pretend not to know and treated Leo and her like usual, though they'd started to look at Leo like he'd predicted. 

Ara's recovery is tough throughout the day. If she does things that take a lot of effort she feels something like a heart attack and has to sit down for a moment. Next time she runs into Eros, she'll snap his bow in half.

Things are changing, Nico isn't a sweetheart, but now they've been able to train together without any major fights. More so, they can sit and have a civil conversation without having to be half a mile from each other. Nico is polite when Ara asks what to expect from the House of Hades, and he makes a few suggestions for the best way to tackle the mission. Ara listens and together with Hazel, they make a solid plan.

Leo trains hard, but by the third day the weather gets too unpredictable to stay on the upper deck for long periods and he gets worried about Festus malfunctioning like he did during their first quest, so he takes the day to do a full check-up of the ship.

"So much for the big team meeting," he glares at the gray sky, they were supposed to be holding up a session to talk about their new plan, but there was much to be done. "Looks like it's just us again."

Ara can't help but stare while he works, removing the Archimedes sphere and turning off Festus. He gestures at her to get closer and she does, now he's ready to teach her how to use it, the problem is that she isn't paying attention at all.  She is so in love there might as well be little 3D hearts floating around over her head while Leo points at the symbols around the sphere and talks nonstop about their functions.

All her life she'd been stressing over being the nice, adjustable girl so people wouldn't leave her, all to find out she'd never been the problem, she just had to find her people. Percy, Annabeth, Lily, Leo—heck, even Nico has proved to her that she's valued. Hercules's words don't sting as much now. 

All these kids that are used to moving on and never staying in one place, keep coming back to her. Especially Leo Valdez, and man, she's crazy about him. She can now admit that with a smile on her face. "You're so cute," Ara blurts out, leaning against the control board with a smile on her face.

Leo looks back up at her, eyes slightly out of focus after being interrupted mid-sentence. To Ara's surprise, he frowns at her compliment. "You didn't hear a word of what I just said, did you?"

"I'm sorry," she grins and blushes, feeling like her old Aphrodite self for a moment. "I think I'm sick."

"Sick?" Leo touches her forehead. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm lovesick, Admiral," she continues with a silly smirk. "It has no cure."

The boy looks at her in amused defeat. "Who are you? My girlfriend doesn't flirt like this—she rolls her eyes and pretends to be annoyed at my bold moves until she gets tired and kisses me."

"I flirt!"

"No, you don't."

"I flirt all the time."

"This is genuinely the first time in seven months I hear you say something so wack," he laughs. "Sunshine, Eros did a number on you."

"I literally proposed to you like what, a week ago?"

"I proposed first! You can't flirt by reusing my moves!"

"Guys," Jason interrupts their banter. "Hate to interrupt your argument on who's the smoothest, but we want to know how long 'til we reach Epirus."

Leo has the answer at the ready, of course. "By tomorrow morning, we'll reach the western coast of Greece. Then another hour inland, and bang—House of Hades! I'ma get me the T-shirt!"

"Yay," Piper sighs. 

"Pipes, can you tell your sister I'm the one with the rizz in the relationship?"

"I'm not saying that."

"Of course not," Ara nods solemnly. "Because it's a lie."

"Come back when you get a fanclub of nymphs," Leo snorts.

"I have a satyr fanclub," Ara shrugs.

"Satyrs are easy to charm, though—!"

"Guys," Piper interrupts them again. "I've been thinking about the Prophecy of Seven."

They share a look and then Leo turns to Piper. "What about it? Like... good stuff, I hope?"

"In Katoptris," the girl starts explaining, adjusting the cornucopia over her shoulder. "I keep seeing that giant Clytius—the guy who's wrapped in shadows. I know his weakness is fire, but in my visions, he snuffs out flames wherever he goes. Any kind of light just gets sucked into his cloud of darkness."

"Sounds like Nico," Leo jokes. "You think they're related?"

"Hey, man, cut Nico some slack," Jason scowls.

"He's joking," Ara intervenes, giving Jason a look that means 'drop it'. The point is to not bring attention to Nico, and if they try to protect him from random and harmless teasing it's going to look suspicious.

"Piper, what about this giant?" Jason makes a fleeting face of discomfort before looking back at his girlfriend. "What are you thinking?"

Leo and Piper share a look of confusion, not knowing why Ara and Jason suddenly seem slightly upset with each other, they usually get along just great.

"I keep thinking about fire," Piper continues. "How we expect Leo to beat this giant because he's..."

"Hot?" Leo smirks.

"Um, let's go with flammable," Piper raises a brow. "Anyway, that line from the prophecy bothers me: To storm or fire the world must fall."

"Yeah, we know all about it," Leo glances at Ara, but he doesn't say anything. "You're gonna say I'm fire. And Jason here is storm."

"So you're worried one of us will endanger the quest, maybe accidentally destroy the world?"

"No. I think we've been reading that line the wrong way. The world... the Earth. In Greek, the word for that would be..."

"Gaea." Jason tilts his head. "You mean, to storm or fire Gaea must fall?"

Leo tries to look cheery when she mentions it, once again giving Ara a look that it's meant to say 'I told you so'. "You know, I like your version a lot better. 'Cause if Gaea falls to me, Mr. Fire, that is absolutely copacetic."

"Or to me... storm." Jason kisses the girl's cheek. "Piper, that's brilliant! If you're right, this is great news. We just have to figure out which of us destroys Gaea."

"Maybe. But, see, it's storm or fire..." She draws out Katoptris and places it on the console.

Leo hooks his fingers on the waist of Ara's jeans, pulling her away from the blade. He scowls at it the same way Ara does all the time, neither Piper nor Jason notices, but Ara feels a warmth spreading on her chest at the boy's gesture. It's nonsense because the dagger on itself can't hurt her, but still, Leo trying to keep her away from the things that make her uncomfortable is sweet.

"I'm worried about Leo and this fight with Clytius," Piper continues. "That line in the prophecy makes it sound like only one of you can succeed. And if the storm or fire part is connected to the third line, an oath to keep with a final breath..."

Ara feels a weight dropping on her stomach at those words. An oath. She hadn't thought about it nearly as much as she should've. 

"I think my prophecy overlaps with this," she confesses.

"Ara." Leo says warningly.

"No, listen—I'd forgotten that line," she tells him. "That doesn't sound good for us."

"Ara." The boy insists a little more sternly.

"Wait, what?" Jason frowns. "What do you mean? Your prophecy is about Leo's curse?"

"Yes."

"Guys, wait up," Leo stands between her and Jason to stop their exchange, still holding the Archimedes sphere in one hand. "Don't freak out yet."

"Yet? I've been freaking out a whole month!" She exclaims.

"Leo's right, Ara," Jason tries to reason. "We'll drive ourselves crazy overthinking it. You know how prophecies are. Heroes always get in trouble trying to thwart them."

"Yeah," Leo agrees ironically. "We'd hate to get in trouble. We've got it so good right now."

"You know what I mean," Jason insists. "The final breath line might not be connected to the storm and fire part or your prophecy. For all we know, the two of us aren't even storm and fire. Percy can raise hurricanes."

"And I could always set Coach Hedge on fire," Leo suggests. "Then he can be fire."

"I hope I'm wrong," Piper turns to her. "But the whole quest started with us finding Hera and waking that giant king Porphyrion. I have a feeling the war will end with us too. For better or worse."

"Hey," Jason comments, "personally, I like us."

"Agreed," Leo reaches for Ara's hand. "Us is my favorite people."

Ara squeezes Leo's hand and looks at Jason and Piper. She has a weird relationship with this trio, she's protective of them because they were their first quest as a guardian, like an older sister, even though she's the youngest of the group.

She remembers their time bonding inside a sewer, when they went to a cafe all dressed up for different parties, and their fight to free Hera. The first time Ara felt like a real hero, even if she was beaten, cold, and so scared and angry...

She wants to tell them about the prophecy but Leo is stopping her, knowing it's better to have a clear view of things before jumping to conclusions. She's spiraling and thinking Leo will die if he decides to take matters into his own hands, and he doesn't want her to push him out of this again.

The girl shivers just thinking about what would happen to her if Leo gets hurt again. Then she shivers again and realizes the temperature has drastically dropped. The smell of snow increases, the clouds are thickening above them, and the air... It doesn't matter how crazy the weather can be, there is no way a snowstorm is likely to happen in the middle of July, near the coast of Greece.

"Leo," Piper seems to have noticed something's up at the same time as Ara. "Sound the alarm."

Leo tenses and slams his fist on the button, then the charmspeak wears off and he frowns. "Uh, it's disconnected—Festus is shut down. Gimme a minute to get the system back online."

"We don't have a minute! Fires—we need vials of Greek fire. Jason, call the winds. Warm, southerly winds."

Ara looks for Almighty in her pocket and drags her Octopi bag from under the control board, looking for her flintlock. "Wait, what?" Jason watches them in confusion. "Girls, what's wrong?"

"It's her!" Piper seizes her dagger. "She's back! We have to—"

It happens too fast to understand it: The ship freezes in place and ice quickly covers every surface, Jason draws out his sword and he gets turned into an ice statue like Thalia all those months ago.

"Leo! Flames! Now!" Piper calls desperately.

Something tries to snatch the Archimedes sphere out of Leo's hand and he holds onto it tightly, getting lifted along with the object and he starts to struggle in the air. "Hey! Hey! Let me go!" Leo yells at the wind.

"No!" The moment Ara tries to move, her feet get frozen in place.

"Yes, Leo Valdez... I will let you go permanently."

The boy gets thrown out of the ship so violently that all Ara hears is a brief gasp before he's out of sight.

"Hi again, Arae Jackson. We didn't properly introduce last time, daughter of Olympus," Khione speaks to her. "And unfortunately, there is only enough time to kill you now."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[havin-fun-imagining-twd]

The first Christmas “without,” Pt. 1

Hey now, traditionally Christmas was still celebrated until Candlemas, which is February 2nd. Just doing my part to keep the season bright with my lateness!

When - 35ish minutes after A fu---n’ great Christmas. It takes place in between season 2 and 3. That means heck yes, we’re doing a time skip after souls stripped bare

What - the first major holiday without loved ones is hard. The first major holiday without loved ones because one of your loved ones was killed by another loved one is somewhat harder. (for those who are newer Slowpokes, Shane was your older brother. Remember, he was at most your half-brother by blood. Imagine yourself as you are!)

**Note that some plot points haven’t actually been published yet, they are  merely discussed or alluded to because the series is non linear**  

Relationships - slow burn Daryl x Reader always, but this chapter’s Part 1 is focused on the found-family aspect of the TWD, specifically platonic Glenn x Reader. Part 2 will be focused on familial Rick x Reader. You’re still snuggled in the mangy hick’s poncho and wishing he didn’t smell so good, though

Perspective - 2nd person You

Pronouns? - ain’t even needed, y’all, but in Part 2 they/them

TWs? - discussion of respiratory percussion, some foul language, crying, discussion of grieving, and you and Glenn being nerds and quoting LOTR.

Word count - normal, but if you wait for Part 2 (arriving tomorrow), set aside some downtime and get comfy and snuggly in something cozy, dare I say a poncho, perhaps?

What stories to read or reread - “All of them!” the author cackles A fu--in’ great Christmas, The Chicken Swim, Too much thinking before bed, Part 2 and Ain’t nothin... are the ones most pertinent to this chapter.

Check out the Masterlist if you’d like to read all about your Slowpoke self :)

35ish minutes later

Glenn calls out “Time!” and promptly hoists Hershel back up and onto the bench. He starts smacking the pillow the way you’d just been smacking the poor man’s back, then places it behind Hershel so he can relax. “There we go.”

“Thank you, son,” he coughs out. You’re worried that him getting the night off last night in honor of Christmas Eve was the wrong choice, but that’s by the by.

And it should be noted that postural positioning with gentle respiratory percussion isn’t quite ‘smacking’ in the usual sense of the word and isn’t violent in the least, but you still sort of want to cry every time you do it to him.

The last position requires Mr. Greene to angle face-downward with his hips above his lungs; it’s that position that gets people emotional sometimes because y’all achieve this by his laying belly-down with his hips on a couch while the forearms brace against the floor. But you use pillows, and Glenn or T-Dog or Lori or Maggie or Beth or Carol or Rick or you tend to brace him, too.  

Still, it simply feels a little cruel to see a man of his age maintaining such a position, even with support — especially when the whole point is to help him cough, therefore, he ends up coughing a lot.

He’s fully on board, though, you aren’t being a bully, Glenn.  

In fact, perhaps 10 minutes after you and Daryl settled by the fire following you gifting him the nicotine gum and pickles (those gifts sound so weird when you say them out loud, don’t they?), Hershel had made a particularly wet cough. You, of course, straightened up and turned your head like a ’lil prarie dog and watched as he raised his eyebrows as if considering something.

Then, he gestured to the little water department building and said directly to you: “Shall we?”

It was so scary how sick he’d gotten and how quickly he’d become so a few weeks back, good Moses. All you’d wanted for Christmas had been an expectorant (and that elusive peak-flow meter) because you’d been convinced Hershel was gonna develop pneumonia and slowly suffocate to death. There weren't that many nebulizer doses in the tinfoil packet you and Glenn found a few weeks back, so while it was amazing that you could offer Hershel treatment with a nebulizer (by plugging it into the jack of the crank radio and having someone crank away to power it up), it wasn't enough and wasn't the right medicine to thin and expel the mucus from his lungs. What it did was open up his airways via mild steroids.

Not two hours ago, you were gifted with four boxes of the stuff, plus one, beautiful, unopened peak-flow meter that your sweet Carl had found because this year, he wanted to be Santa. That little punk surprised everyone.

The treatments y’all were able to give Mr. Greene before did help a lot, but that medicine is 100% how he’s improved so fast and so much since yesterday.  

Daryl was spot on when he said it was a fuckin’ great Christmas.

Anyway, Hershel found the fact that most of you got so up-in-arms and oft times emotional about the positioning and percussion somewhat amusing. Quote: “You’d think I truly was a small child, the way you’re all coddling me after a simple pulmonary treatment.”

He said all that while darn near hacking up a lung following his second day of the regimen a couple of weeks ago.

Okey dokey, all that’s left of the regimen for now is the deep breathing, and the last set will be done closer to bedtime.

“We are blessed to have found a place like this —” Mr. Greene cuts off to cough several more times. “It may be smaller than that lovely house we had for the past two weeks, of course, but this feels much safer, in my opinion —” He cuts off with more coughing, but you can hear how much mucus is getting kicked out, it’s great!  

Good Moses, the things you get excited about now that you’re taking on the group’s medic role to a more official extent.

“It’s small, but yeah, we could camp out for a while here,” Glenn hopes.

“The water from the reservoir seems clean enough,” Lori agrees, adding honey to the mug of tea she’s heating up on top of the woodstove. She chuckles to herself and mumbles, “We’re living on waterfront property now.”

Cool story about the tea: Glenn found the exact same tea that his family swore by for lung issues at this crunchy, holistic type of hole-in-the-wall market tucked away in a corner plaza in the middle of nowhere in between Clermont, Cleveland, and Dahlonega. It had this cool ingredient(s?) you’d never heard of called pyungang—no, pyung…tang…shoot, you don’t remember. And Glenn had pronounced it so nicely. 

Hershel now swears by it. He’s big into naturopathic stuff, too, very pro-elderberry (if only it wasn’t December, you’d hunt some down for him). He was pleased to discover that you had a few of those plant books. ‘Backyard Medicine’ was on his bookshelf back at the farm, turns out.  

“I’ve just psyched they’ve got a woodstove here, guys, like, that’s insane! The chimney is so tiny, we can keep the fire going all day and night,” Glenn goes on. “No more building a campfire and hoping it’s not wet outside. No toilet here, granted, but…”

Mr. Greene chuckles. “But there is toilet paper. We’ll have to get started on a good, old-fashioned hole. The ground hasn’t yet froze.”

You groan.  

“Here you go, Hershel.” Lori carefully walks over holding the mug of steaming tea handle-side out, using the ends of her scarf as oven mitts.

“Wanna do your deep breathing exercises now while that cools down, Mr. Greene, or later?” you question.

Uh-oh.

Glenn is doing his jaw clench.

“He needs a break, Y/N.”

“Sorry,” you apologize. You know you tend to go big or go home when it comes to medical stuff, and you’re working on toning things down. He does seem a little off today, but Glenn is your strongest ally in terms of reminding you, but one time, okay, this is gonna sound stupid, but he name-called you “Nurse Ratched” one of the first times you two had a genuine argument about Hershel’s treatment and it was such a slap in the face to the extent that you’d accidentally blurted out “fuck you!” in your shock and had a solid two days of being convinced that everybody secretly hated you because you must’ve been a cruel, nasty person, anyway that’s the story of your first real fight with Glenn.  

So, you defend your question as delicately as you can when you start to reexplain how “All them pulmonary exercises build on one other —”

“— So wouldn’t it be better to wait a few hours so he’s better able to do them?”

Lori places her hand on your elbow and softly voices to the two of you, “It’s up to Hershel.”  

“Seems Lori is still the only one in here with sense,” the man himself grumbles.

Neither you nor your best friend heed any of that.

“After a few hours, a whole ’nother set of all the exercises would need doing, Glenn.”

“Y/N, you’re going too hard on him,” he warns, “that could make him worse.”

“Might could make him tired, sure, but I’m not goin’ too hard — he would speak up if I were. And he had the night off yesterday!”

“Coughing too much can break someone’s ribs, man, he’s old! Too much exertion could, like, give him a heart attack!” He quickly adds, “No offense, Hershel!”

“He ain’t that decrepit yet, Glenn!” You quickly add, “No offense, Mr. Greene!”

“If I, the old but not-quite-yet decrepit patient as well as individual with the most medical training here, may interrupt,” the old but not-that-decrepit-yet Hershel who has the-most-medical-training-here begins with a serious, firm frown at the two of you, “I would like to use my lungs as much —” ohp, and he’s coughing again.  

Lori rubs his back while you and your friend wait like two schoolkids outside the principal’s office.

“Pardon, excuse me.” He clears his throat and continues where he left off. “I would like to use my lungs as much as possible right now, because,” he pauses to look at Glenn in particular, “I don’t know how long until the turkey Y/N and Daryl bought home will be safe to eat, but I do know I intend to enjoy a very large helping or two of it without worrying about a coughing fit emptying the contents of my stomach.”

Oh poop, now you’re welling up.

That happened a few weeks back when you’d first begun the regimen with Hershel. Lesson learned: lung drainage and smacky-smacks should take place either before a meal or well after. Ugh, the poor man had gotten so ill, then he went and coughed so much he couldn’t even keep his tiny meal down…

“You okay?” Glenn whispers.

“M’good.”

“It also is better to let the exercises build upon each other, son, your friend is correct,” Hershel affirms. “Everything’s warmed up, so to say, which makes it the ideal time to continue. The whole purpose, even.”

The door opens and cool air whooshes in.

It’s Maggie, who correctly guesses within a few seconds: “Were they buttin’ heads about you again, Daddy?”

“Only a little. I was referred to as ‘old’ and ‘not that decrepit yet’ this time. But they resisted name-calling each other, so haven’t broken their two-week streak on that yet.”

Back to using those terms likening you and Glenn to schoolchildren, this is the equivalent of the principal calling your grown-ups and telling them you were fighting.

Also, you think you need a nap.

“Allow me to finish scolding these two, sweetheart,” Hershel says to his daughter, coughs twice, then clears his throat.

Looks at you. Here we go… “And Y/N, Glenn was entirely correct in understanding that I do require a break. Doing too much of a good thing can and often does backfire, your shoulder therapy, for example. I know you know this and are working on remembering it.”

He blows lightly on his drink and goes to sip but it’s still too hot. Kinda like how your face feels. “Thus, I am going to sit here, take my time enjoying this very beneficial tea — which will further help my congestion break up — and then, once I’ve finished, I will utilize the new peak-flow meter to do the breathing exercises.”

The door opens again and more cool air whooshes in.

It’s Beth, who almost shuts the door, but first turns around and calls to the group “He’s all done, we can go in!”

After this, yes, she is just as sharp as her sister when she sees you and Glenn.

And you knowwww she doesn’t mean to embarrass the living daylights out of you and him, but as everyone but Rick and Daryl pour into the little building, she innocently guesses: “Daddy, did you scold them about babyin’ you again, going too hard, or about name-callin’ each other this time? Glenn and Y/N look like they just got grounded.”

Was that T-Dog who just snorted?

Hershel seems amused, so you suppose that’s good. “I think it’s remarkable that I have that effect on them. Margaret and Shawn tended to be unperturbed.”

“Mostly Maggie,” his youngest daughter agrees.

“Beth!”

The attention mercifully is now directed at the sisters, so you unplug the mp3 from the crank-radio charging port (poop, only ¼ charged), throw on your new camo scarf and hat, and slip outside.

Carl whispers to you, “You’re taking good care of him.”

You love that kid so much, it hurts.

You give him a peck on his forehead, and before you’re even out the door, you’ve started to fiddle with Shane’s ‘22’ pendant around your neck.

A nap won’t work right now, you’re thinking too much, so you head over to the water to take a quick walk around the small reservoir to shake it off.

When you and Glenn fight, it gets to you. Especially when he’s of the mind that you’re being too hard on Mr. Greene. It frightens you. What if you’re losing your capacity for mercy and compassion like Shane was losing his?

Well, the ground might not be frozen yet, but it sure is nippy out. You snuggle deeper into Daryl’s poncho while you still get to wear it, and try to wish away the stupid, annoying crush you’ve got on your that mangy hick. Why did he always have to be working on bettering himself and smell so darn good to you is all you’re asking.  

From behind, you hear rushed footsteps.

Mid-way through unsheathing your knife and whipping around, you hear, “Hey Y/N.”

You swivel fully, sheathing the knife. “Hiya Glenn.”

“You okay?”

“I’m chill. You okay?”

“I figured we could go on a quick jog.” As he finishes putting his gloves on, he lowers his eyebrows at something on you. “You’ve got the necklace out, are you sure you’re cool?” he hints.

You pause, then sigh. Fiddling with Shane’s old necklace has become something of an unintentional billboard for how you’re feeling. Like how a baby rubbing their eyes a lot is their unintentional signal that they need sleep. Glenn’s worried he’s hurt your feelings or whatever.

“Wanna jog around with me?” he asks.

“Let’s do it. We’ll need go up into the wooded area to get around the far left edge, by the shed and the old boat.”

“There’s a boat? Oh heck yeah, I wanna check that out, c’mon!”

And so, an impromptu run begins (ew). Unusual outfits for it, ordinarily you and him will at least change into sneakers.

He’s thinking the same thing, so you discover, once he cracks up. “Dude, can you imagine seeing people jogging in outfits like this in the before-times?”

You laugh, but it blends in with how heavy you’re already breathing. “How many laps you plannin’ on doing? I’m wasted on cross country.” (Yes, you said that part in the Gimli voice. You couldn’t help it).

But he finishes the quote! “We dwarves are natural sprinters!”

“Very dangerous over short distances.” (Okay, you’re done, you promise.)

Cracking up, he tells you “Just one lap. Wanted to apologize for earlier.”

“So you’re makin’ me exercise?” you play-whine. Move those arms, inhale, exhale, keep that posture upright. Ugh, running is the worst.

Glenn clears his throat. “Wanted to give you a chance to beat me, natural sprinter.”

“Huh?”

“In the race.”

And just like that, he takes off sprinting like—OH, that sneak!  

Go, go, go, go!

“Cheaters never prosper, buttface!” you squeal after him.

“But they win!”

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

     about 18 seconds later

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

The race ended faster than intended when he ran into half of a spiderweb, and you, while razzing him, ran into the other.  

After some wild shaking like y’all were getting electrocuted, as well as repeatedly shouting that you were both fine to the group’s calls of alarm (“Ain’t walkers, we ran into a spiderweb!”) you’re now taking turns brushing each other off and trying not to yelp too loudly whenever you swear there’s one crawling under your clothes.

Speaking of, you grab your scarf, hat, zip-up hoodie, and Daryl’s poncho from where they were unceremoniously strewn about and give them a final shake so you can bundle back up.

“Let’s call it a tie?” Glenn shivers, putting his own coat and gloves back on.

“A tie. And worst-case scenario, we get spider powers.”

“Or gangrene.”

“Glenn,” you giggle. The fear of having spiders nesting in your hair notwithstanding, you’re feeling much better than before. A quick walk to ‘shake things off’ took a very literal turn, you must say.

“Dude, can you, um,” he starts, then stops. Scratches his neck. “Sit with me for a while?”

“Of course.”

In the hopes of avoiding any more spiders, you both hop to a fairly large rock that’s about two feet out on the water from the treeline. It’s a nice spot even thought your butts are gonna freeze on it.

“Y/N? Sorry for picking a fight again.”

“Friends and family fight,” you’re quick to say. “Besides, Mr. Greene is worth it.”

“But I overreacted again, I know I did.” He’s got a stick in his hand, which he’s snapping off tiny piece by tiny piece. “I think T-Dog was right, the day is getting to me, I guess.”

“That thing about the first holiday ‘without?’”

“Yeah.”

A soft, cold breeze rushes through the air and whips up old, dried leaves. Yeah, T-Dog was concerned that the first Christmas without normalcy and loved ones might hit people hard. And because you wear Dale’s watch, Rick wears his, and Hershel has his calendar book, the time and date is something about which your group keeps track. So far, at least.

Speaking of Rick, you notice Daryl and him out on the far side of the small lake. Rick is facing away, to your relief. You just — you don’t want to think about or look at him right now, and you don’t want him to see you, either.

Which isn’t a good sign, you know, because it means you’re sinking into a bad headspace again. Ugh.

...I don’t hate Rick, I don’t hate Rick, I love Rick, he loves me, he is family, he’s not a bad man, you repeat in your head.

Rick still isn’t facing your direction, but Daryl almost is, still filling out Shane’s old coat so nicely.

You give a small wave, and your stomach makes a delicious but very annoying flutter when his hand goes up in return. Is he smiling? you wonder.

The moment passes, and you’re back to fidgeting with the ‘22’ pendant.

“Your baby sister always danced in The Nutcracker this time of year, right, Glenn?” you say to your friend.

That’s when you hear sniffling, and look to see him crying very quietly. Glenn used to go hide to cry. It’s good that he’s comfortable getting his stuff out more openly now.  

The group’s protocol is mainly that when somebody needs a cry, let them get it out without making a big deal.

“I couldn’t stand going to see that dumb ballet, oh my God,” he groans, trying but not really succeeding in not blubbering when he tries speaking. “The plot of that show is just so weird!”

“It is strange.”

He’s gonna need to blow his nose soon. “Last year, I —” he pauses to make a big sniff, “— I had just got back to Michigan, and I snuck in a pocket radio, I —” Again, he cuts off.

He swallows, tugs his hat down, and admits as if he were confessing to murder, “I listened to the Wolverine post-game with earbuds during the show, I w-was such an asshole!”  

“Don’t name-call my best friend,” you murmur.

“And Bri, she snuck in a three pound bag of M&Ms, so we —” he pauses to cry heavier remembering his middle sister. He blows his nose. That he took to carrying a handkerchief like Hershel does is convenient at the moment. “We had a contest to see how many w-we could fit in our mouths.” He laughs for a second as he remembers it, then stares down at his feet dangling off the rock. His tears seem to have slowed.

After a several moments pass and his breaths even out, you ask “How many did you fit?”

“51.”

“And Briana?”

Rubbing his face, he sighs, “49. And Umma got to —” a quick inhaled shudder as he talks about his mom, “— She noticed the candy and made it to like 30 before my baby sister finally got onstage. She l-loved watching her dance, we all stopped what we were doing to watch her.” His tears are back to streaming. “She’d gotten so skilled, Y/N.”

“What was your Dad up to in all this?”

Glenn starts to smile again through his tears. “He would watch ballet like it was a basketball game, so he was eating the M&Ms like popcorn with his eyes glued to the stage. He’d do this whenever one of the students aced a move.” Your friend demonstrates a subtle victory pump with his fist.

He snaps the stick in his hand into smaller and smaller pieces.

Once he’s breathing normally again, you offer, “My eldest sister put The Nutcracker on her mp3. Wanna borrow it for a while?”

First, he blows his nose again with what space on the handkerchief is left, then nods in agreement. “She put everything on there, didn’t she?”

She really did, though. You pull the music player out of your pocket and head to the T section to find ‘Tchaikovsky.’  

“My baby sister was in so many of the dances last year. Ever since she was old enough, she was put in the Chinese dance, obviously,” he grumbles with a slight eye roll. “So last year, she’d practiced and auditioned for the dude’s role. You know, the guy with the hat who comes out of a box and does all the jumping up and down?” Wiping away more tears, he smiles through it and declares, “She kicked ass.”

“Heck yeah, she did.”

“And th-this—” his voice hitches, rises, and he’s back to heavy crying. “This is the first Christmas without, a-and—”

Oh man, he’s holding it back best he can, but it’s rough.

“— I can’t go see that weird, boring show with them anymore! I-I’d pay attention to every dumb plié and be so,” more sobs, “so f-fucking happy to just be with them again, I just wanna see them again! I don’t h-have any photos or-or—” another sob interrupts and he stops trying to speak.

Even with the sobs, still, he’s somehow a very quiet crier.

He lets it all out. You wait with him.

The tink, tink, tink of the pendant rubbing against the chain as you pull and tug, pull and tug your necklace mixes in with the soft sounds of the breeze, what few birds are still chirping, and the occasional hint of conversation from way over around the fire.

After maybe three or so minutes, Glenn’s calm. He tosses the mini bits of broken stick that he snapped into oblivion into the water. “I wanna chuck rocks in here like we did at the douche car.”

“Me, too.”

“Let’s do that in a while, I think I’ll need to sleep for a bit. I’m just thinking too much right now to want to do that.”

True that, too much thinking before bed doesn’t often result in peaceful dreams.

He seems up for a dumb joke, and he’ll get the reference, so when he goes to toss more of his itty bitty stick nubs, you grab a hold of his wrist and hush in your (it’s not good) best Aragorn impression. “Dew not dis-terb the woh-terr.”

It has the intended effect, his neck relaxes and he grins. “When we find a place with a generator, we’re wasting all the power on the TV so we can watch the extended editions. I don’t care what the dick-tator or anybody else says, we find that house with a gennie, we’re watching Lord of the Rings.”

“Maggie almost grabbed the One Ring replica at the GameStop for you for Christmas, actually, but she settled on the Portal book.”

“And after we’ve watched all like, 12 hours of the movies and the special features, we’re gonna find a PS3 watch you play that cowboy game.”

“Yes! I just wanna rescue that guy’s family and ride my horse.”

While you were there with Maggie, you’d grabbed a copy of this new game you’d been excited for, it had just come out like one week before the world started going downhill. You’d barely gotten passed the first few missions when SHTF. (You two also grabbed a copy of the actual Portal game, but that’s being saved for Glenn’s birthday, so shh!)

Imagining finding an empty place with a generator is a silly way to keep positive, but sometimes silly is best for keeping positive, right?

Glenn’s looking like he’s on the up. Tired, but he seems like he’s gotten most of his tears out. You hand him the earbuds, then show him The Nutcracker score so he can choose which of the 24 songs he wants to remember his family with.

“Want me to get Mags?”

“Yeah. Wait, no, I just need some time alone for a while, I think. When I get some sleep, I’ll see if she’s cool with me holding her.” He cleans off and positions the earbuds. “Thanks for doing this, dude. And hey, I won’t drop it in the water,” he promises, wiping his eyes again. Then they grow big.

He bumps your arm with his knuckles. He gestures to the lake and to the rowboat by the run-down shed next.

Then, he says two terrifying words you hoped you wouldn’t hear again:

“Chicken swim.”

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

> Part 2 here <

> Masterlist link here <

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