#either kaz would know exactly why chase did that or have no fucking clue there's no in between

[snove101]

has anyone written a kase/chaz fic about chase using kaz's hands as heating pads for menstrual pain. bc someone really should

[expiredfairydust]

best friends ~ bubblegum rock/kazuleon || ft. nb gay! kaz || pt. 2

//tw: self hatred, kinda internalised homophobia, uncensored F slur bcoz the author can reclaim it//

a loud gasp forced the two to pull away from their kiss quickly, both of them quickly moving to look in the direction of where the noise had come from.

kazuichi went red due to embarrassment, noticing the unmistakable blonde hair of miss sonia darting away.

she had poked her head around the door to souda’s room - they never locked it in case leon wanted to come and cuddle - meaning to ask the pinkette if they’d been given any homework as she had been in first aid for most of the day before, unaware of what was happening between the mechanic and their crush.

and now she was running off, trying to give the pair privacy. souda, panicking because their illusion of heterosexuality was likely being broken, ran after her, calling “miss s-sonia! wait!! i-i swear it’s not what it looks like i’m s-sorry miss sonia you’re the only one i love i swear!!” they were crying for real now at the realisation that they had just ruined the one thing that was theirs.

the blonde suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned back to kazuichi. her face had an odd expression that kazuichi couldn’t read.

she put a hand over the mechanic’s mouth. “you do not understand souda, i do not care about you and kuwata’s relationship! in fact, i am glad because now you can leave me and miss fukawa to our relationship in peace - i was and still am rather disgusted at your lack of knowledge on personal boundaries but now i do not have to worry about that because you have no reason to!” she spoke slightly forcefully without meaning to. when she was done, she took her hand away and started walking off again.

“miss sonia!! i-i-i-“ kazuichi couldn’t gather their words, thousands of thoughts racing through their head. “we’re not dating... it was.. it was only a kiss....” they would mumble, more tears streaming down their face with every word. “i-it was all my fault anyways... i-i.. i was.. i was the one who kissed him and it was so so stupid of me because he’s the only person i have left and now he probably hates me for- for-“

their voice cracked and they couldn’t go on speaking, their legs giving way underneath them. “for being such a disgusting fucking faggot!! and-and-and i don’t blame him because i hate myself too!!” they were practically shouting now. “but dammit i love him so fucking much! so much, it hurts! god it feels like my heart is being ripped apart and i can’t fix it and i don’t know what to do and i hate that! and even if i could ever tell him properly i just know he’d hate me because who could ever like such a pathetic little FAG”

they didn’t know why they were telling all of this to miss sonia, maybe it was because they didn’t want her to think leon’s standards were so low as to date them. maybe they just needed to let everything out, needed to rant. because the moment they opened their mouth the words seemed to vomit out.

and once they were done ranting they ran off to the loos so they could actually vomit, as they often did out of distress. they ran to the far away disabled loos, on the opposite end of campus - they were the only public gender neutral loos on campus - so they wouldn’t have to face leon again, who they assumed was still in their room.

key word: assumed.

because leon had actually heard every word, only a few paces behind kazuichi during their confession. he had ran to try and take the mechanic in his arms, to say that it was okay because he loved them that way back. he had ran, just as kazuichi ran off.

meanwhile the princess was just happily beaming to herself, knowing that leon heard every word. she had successfully wingwomanned for the creep and the punk! it was a double win, as leon tended to flirt with touko as well as kazuichi’s horrible attempts to look straight by chasing after miss sonia herself. she made her way to her girlfriend’s dorm to tell her all about what she did.

leon’s thoughts were racing, as he tried to figure out what was even happening. kaz was in love with him... kazzy loved him back... but they thought that kiss was all their fault? as if leon hadn’t chosen to kiss them too? and now they thought he hated them? why? why would he kiss them if he hated them? god kazuichi was a dumb bitch at the best of times...

leon couldn’t help but smile through his tears, which he hadn’t noticed either.

kazuichi really loved him back..!

him!

but they thought leon felt the opposite...

right...

well, leon would just have to change that, he decided as he started looking for his best friend. he knew the mechanic got physically unwell when they were unwell, so he’d just have to check all the loos until he found the right one!

except kazuichi was nonbinary and relatively androgynous, so the baseball star had no clue which loos they’d be in, and he couldn’t exactly barge into the women’s loos checking to find his friend.

so, that meant he’d have to find ibuki, who had joined his band, and ask nya to check the girls’ loos while he checked the men’s and disabled loos. nya was also non binary, but at least she passed as a girl enough to enter the women’s loos.

it wasn’t hard, seeing as the noise they made made all over on the other side of the campus-

(conveniently close to one of the only gender neutral loos on campus)

-was loud enough to be heard in another country. leon was regretting leaving his ear plugs in kaz’s dorm, as he plugged his ears with his fingers and ran towards the sound.

“IBUKI!!!!” he yelled once he was in the practice room mioda was in.

“WHAT?!?”

“WHAT???”

“WHAT?!”

this was going to be tedious, leon thought, as he moved towards where everything was plugged in and unplugged the speakers.

ah, silence,,, at least it would’ve been if mioda wasn’t screeching at leon for what he did. “jesus christ calm down ibuki! i need you for something important” leon hissed, ibuki going completely quiet at the word “important” - void loved being helpful!

the bubbly musician sped off to search once leon explained what he needed. knowing nya, she’d probably check all the men’s loos too, void didn’t seem to get what made people so iffy about not sharing a bathroom with different genders.

but with that, leon got to looking too. and it wasn’t long before he heard the sound of sobbing in the disabled loos, accompanied by the sound of vomiting. well, there’s kaz...

he knocked on the door “kazzy?” he tentatively spoke. there was the click of the door being unlocked for leon to enter. he soon dropped to the floor, next to the pinkette, pulling them into his lap and holding them tightly. “shshshhh... i’m here kazzy...” the ginger would whisper sweetly into souda’s ear.

he held the younger student’s hair back as they puked again. “now how about you tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours?” he whispered, despite knowing already. he wanted kazuichi to say it again. to him, not to miss sonia.

but kaz didn’t want to talk. “it’s stupid” they said, snuggling against leon.

“if it’s stupid why don’t you say it?”

“coz you’ll hate me even more than you do for kissing you” their words were hard to understand through their tears.

“what makes you think i hate you? if i hated you, would i be here with you now? c’mon how about you wash your mouth out? all that puking must have left a horrible taste” leon spoke with a gentle tone, which was unlike him but comforting to the sobbing boy in his lap.

once almost all traces of puke had been ridden from the mechanic’s mouth, leon sat them on his lap again, holding them tightly. “how about you tell me what’s wrong now, eh kazzy?” he said sweetly, wiping his best friend’s tear stained cheeks with his sleeve.

“promise you won’t hate me?”

“pinky promise”

the pinkette drew a deep breath, getting ready to speak. then shook their head. “i-i can’t”

a realisation dawned upon leon then. this was his chance to reveal his own secret! “i’ll tell you something about me that i’ve been hiding if that would make you feel any better” a slow nod gave him the ok to speak.

“i’m intersex. when i was born the doctors told my mom and dad and they were.. well, i don’t know how they felt but i was forced into an opporation to make me “fully” male as a baby and all my life i’ve had to take medication to keep my hormones at a “normal male” level, which is odd coz i was never actually told that’s what it was for until recently” the ginger spoke, resting his head on kazuichi’s shoulder

“but, i want to stop taking my meds, i don’t want to be 100% a boy, and that decision kinda scares me in case people won’t accept it. in case you don’t accept it” he added after hesitating. “now do you wanna talk about your problem?” he wanted to change the subject.

kaz had gone quiet. then, after a few seconds they said. “it sounds silly now that you’ve told me how serious yours is... but- but-“ they paused to figure out the words they wanted to say. “i-i- i’m so sorry for kissing you! i had no right to do it and i-i- i didn’t even take the time to ask you if you wanted a kiss and- and- and- i’m so sorry i know you hate me for it and i don’t blame you because i totally deserve it” the words seemed to fall out quicker than kazuichi could think of them

“and i know you probably never want to see me again but if you could ever forgive me i’d really appreciate it because you’re the only friend i’ve got and i love you dude!” as those words came out, the pink haired mechanic started tearing up again. “i-i love you... i love you so much it hurts and i don’t know what i’d ever do without you but i totally understand if you hate me because how could you ever love someone who’s such a disgusting f-“

their words were cut off by leon kissing the shorter mechanic. it was a brief kiss, even shorter than their first, but the pure, raw emotion behind it was clear. love. reciprocated love.

“if i thought you were disgusting, why would i choose to kiss you twice? because now you know it sure as hell weren’t just you who wanted that first kiss” leon said simply, wiping the shorter guy’s tears away. “but i don’t still want to be friends,” he said, suddenly going cold, making the pinkette’s face drop. “i want to be boyfriends!” he said, making kazuichi start laughing with relief.

just as they were about to share another kiss, in barged mioda, yelling about how nya had found the pink haired mechanic, then once void noticed the ginger sat next to them and started yelling about how unfair it was that she had been looking all over for kazuichi for leon when the ginger was probably with them the whole time.

the couple smiled and sheepishly promised to make it up to the ultimate musician. the end.

[breakingsomething]

the fall part seventeen - the sky is falling

basic summary: exactly what is says on the tin.

trigger warnings: stabbing, hypnotism

tagslist: @synonymsforzombie @spicydanhowell @skyewardlight @dreaming-of-stories-and-stars @cest-mellow @graveyardlettuce @lower-your-expectationss (i got so fucking close to forgetting the tagslist again but!! i remembered are y'all proud!!)

well, this certainly wasn't normal.

it looked like the sky was made of colourful lava. that was the only way marvin could think of to describe it. trails of thick magma looking chunks falling and hitting the ground, almost glitching but never actually harming anyone. it seemed that none of the nomags could see it, which wasn't surprising, given the veil, but with the way it had been collapsing recently, it had affected them in other ways. the nomags were starting to glitch the same way that anti did, the way everything seemed to do now that jackie has fucked things up. nothing stayed still anymore. marvin was really beginning to worry.

"if it's not hurting anyone, then we're ok," chase said to him uncertainly, holding louise and connor close to him. "right?"

chase had called stacy already, but she had no clue what was going on, the veil seemingly shielding her too. "why can't mama see the falling sky?" connor had asked him, and then the lot of them had tried to figure out why louise and connor could see through the veil when no other nomag's could. chase was certain it was just their blood relation to him, and the reason he could see it was his blood relation to marvin, jackie and henrik. none of them were quite certain how that worked, but they honestly had bigger problems to deal with right now.

the first call marvin had received was from naomi. "have you seen the fucking sky?" she shouted immediately, and marvin pulled the phone away from his ear, wincing. "it looks - it looks like -"

"sky lava?" marvin guessed. "and there's no need to shout, i'm right here."

"sorry," she said, much quieter. "and i was gonna say "fire clouds," but lava i guess i can see. anyway, what the fuck is this shit? is it to do with jackie again? i'm trying to contact lucas, but he won't pick up."

marvin sighed, listening to chase and henrik attempt to reassure connor and louise about the sky. difficult to do when none of them knew what was going on. "lucas was round with us for a while, but he left a few hours ago. he was texting chase not long ago too, so don't worry. i'm gonna try to contact kazuki or someone else from hecate, katy or charlie or mateo, just someone. hopefully we can somehow sort this."

"ok, ok," naomi said slowly. "ok. unrelated, but - i think anti was just round at my shop? asking for your address?"

marvin frowned. "when was this?"

"like, five minutes ago, not even. he left before i saw the sky and called you." something clattered on her end. "shit. so what's up with him? he was acting so weird."

marvin was about to answer when he saw a sleek white car pull up outside, and blinked when he saw who was inside. "naomi, i think i might have to call you back. i'm pretty sure kazuki just drove to our house."

"kazuki?" naomi asked. and sure enough, a tall woman in jeans and a perfectly sized white hoodie had stepped out, making eye contact with marvin through the window. marvin furrowed his brow, throwing both hands up in a what the fuck? gesture.

"yep, it's her," he said, stepping away from the window and marching towards the door purposefully. "i'll call you back soon. love you."

he clicked off and threw open the front door. kazuki was already there, chin lifted and a serious look on her face. "mr mcloughlin," she said. "i take it you've seen the sky."

"i have, yes," he said, raising an eyebrow. "never seen you dress so casually, kaz. the world must be ending."

"ha, ha," she said dryly. "i got dressed quickly. and don't call me kaz. now, the main problem." she waved a hand upwards. "i believe this is -"

"- to do with jackie?" marvin sighed. his eyes flickered to the ground. "it always is, isn't it."

kazuki nodded grimly. "may i come inside? the clouds are on fire and i have gotten three hours of sleep. i may need coffee."

marvin stepped aside to let her in. "i was just on a call with naomi. she actually said the same thing about fire clouds. personally, i think it looks like sky lava."

"naomi who?" kazuki asked, marching briskly through the kitchen. chase, connor and louise looked up in shock, and marvin shrugged, grimacing. "also, that's ridiculous. fire and lava don't even look the same."

"uh, hello," chase said faintly, blinking. "nice to see you here, uh - connor, louise, this is miss kamata. she's a magician like uncle marvin."

at those words, connor promptly leapt from his papa's lap and bounced up to kazuki excitedly. "oh, oh, you do magic too?" he squealed. "can i see? uncle marvin does such cool stuff, he lights his hand on fire and makes cool shapes appear in the air like uncle jackie does, only uncle jackie is way better at it and he can draw glowing dragons in the air!"

kazuki raised an eyebrow at the boy, who was practically vibrating with excitement. "well… i do air magic. i make things fly."

connor's eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped so far his mouth formed a perfect o. "no! way!" he gushed. "that's - that's so, so cool!"

chase chuckled, tapping the table to get his son's attention. "come on, con. miss kamata is busy right now. maybe you can see another day, but not now."

connor deflated. "these fire clouds are ruining everything," he mumbled, slinking over back to his father's lap.

marvin took that opportunity to restart his conversation. "it's naomi gudmundson," he explained. "agrokinesis magician? she's with hecate? how can you not know your own members?"

kazuki had recovered from connor's brief word dump, and was now leaning against the washing machine, shrugging. "i may know her. i recognize the last name, and i doubt it's all that common here. anyway, that's not what i'm here to talk to you about."

"are you here to talk about the the fire clouds?" louise piped up, to everyone's surprise. as soon as she'd said it she snuggled back on her father's lap, watching her legs swing under the new kitchen table. kazuki smiled at the child softly.

"i am," she said. "i do believe your… uncle jackie may be involved in this. are you…" she hesitated, and glanced towards marvin. she lowered her voice. "what do they know?"

"they think he's moved away," marvin whispered. "chase panicked. we couldn't just tell them - it would fucking kill them to find out what he did, so we told them he went to ireland for a while."

kazuki nodded, then turned back to the kids and smiled again. "your uncle might have come back. but… he's a little bit different now."

chase shook his head suddenly. "hey - hey, we don't know that," he said weakly. "he might not be - we haven't seen him since the incident at hecate, how would we know if he was coming back?"

kazuki gestured towards the window. "fire clouds," she deadpanned. "this isn't normal weather magic. it's something to do with the veil and we only know of one person who's been involved in that."

"jackie can't have anything to do with this," chase said firmly, seemingly having forgotten about the kids on his lap. "i've seen his magic, me and henrik both, it was nothing like this. i don't give a fucking shit about the goddamn veil. this is all -"

he suddenly remembered himself and flushed, shoulders shooting to his ears. "uh… don't use any of the words papa's using right now," he said quietly. connor and louise just looked at each other and giggled, bouncing on chase's legs and making him wince.

"i'll take them," henrik said, getting up quickly and clapping his hands. chase smiled gratefully, and the kids happily bounced to their feet to follow their uncle out into the hall and up the stairs to the kid's room, leaving marvin, chase and kazuki alone. a short, awkward silence followed.

"sorry for - that," chase mumbled, not looking up. "i'm stressed and being an asshole. god, i think i'm getting a fudging migraine too, christ."

"it's alright," kazuki said, also not looking up. "this is a lot. i have hecate members attempting to track the source of this whole sky thing, but there… doesn't appear to be one. it's everywhere. although, a few people have told me they are detecting some sort of magic signal somewhere. but apparently that's untraceable too, because of course it is." she sighed, flexing her hands and blowing hair out of her face. "i… i don't know what to do now. and i don't say that often."

marvin bit his lip, clicking his tongue softly. "mm. i - don't know either. i mean… i guessed we just have to wait and see what happens."

and they did. about fifteen minutes of small talk and awkward tea/coffee drinking passed, the three of them politely discussing everything but the weather as, funnily enough, that wasn't a great topic to help distract them from the issue at hand. however, they were all surprised to hear someone knock at the door, breaking the silence. marvin looked to the others for confirmation on what to do. both of them shrugged. marvin rolled his eyes and cracked the door slightly, startling when he saw who it was on the other side.

"anti," he sighed, breathing out slowly. "not sure who i was expecting. this is a bad time, man."

anti just raised his eyebrows. he looked worse off than when marvin had last seen him: hair yanked behind his ears, a bruise on his cheek, yellow scarf even more dirty looking. "i take it you've seen the sky lava?"

marvin gave a small, disbelieving laugh. "i fucking knew it looked like lava! kazuki, chase and henrik are saying it looks like fire -" he caught himself. "anyway. yes, i've seen it. kinda hard not to, wouldn't you say?"

anti shrugged. "i don't know, i'm partially colourblind and didn't notice until the bloody meteors or whatever started falling. speaking of, the things might not hurt, but they are very annoying. can i come inside?"

marvin threw his head back and sighed. "this shit again? seriously? i said it was a bad time." he wasn't sure letting anti in while the kids were here was a good idea, even though they were upstairs with henrik and most likely wouldn't hear or see anything. "can't you… i don't know, go bother… whoever it is that you bother when you're not fucking with us?"

"whatever people i bother when i'm not fucking with you are dead," anti signed flatly. his eyes flickered from an orangey brown to a dark blue, and marvin resisted the urge to step back. for a moment, he looked just like jackie. "i don't have shit else to do, and as much as i despise coming to you for help, i don't have much of a choice these days, do i?"

marvin suddenly frowned. "man, are you ok?"

anti blinked. "why?"

"i - you're shaking," marvin pointed out. "i don't know, you just… kind of look like you're in the middle of a panic attack."

anti scoffed and rolled his eyes despite how pale he had gone. marvin could hear his quick, laboured breaths from where he was standing. "no," he signed, like marvin was being ridiculous. "i'm fine. let me in, bitch."

marvin didn't believe him. but if henrik was upstairs, he figured it should be ok. first, he had a question. "why were you bothering naomi?"

anti frowned. "i... wasn't?"

"yes you were," marvin said. "she said you were just round at her shop."

"was not," anti scoffed. "i was halfway across town. walked all the way here. now let me in, i'm not used to feeling human temperatures and it's bloody baltic out here."

marvin sighed and finally stepped aside to let him in. anti slipped past and immediately froze, eyes wide and pupils dilated, fixed on kazuki still leaning on the sideboards. his hand immediately flashed to his side, bringing out a small switchblade and holding it out in front of him.

"woah - woah, anti, put it down!" marvin cried, jumping between him and kazuki. "she's not here to hurt you, we're just trying to figure out what's wrong with the sky, nothing more, ok? let's just - calm down, ok?"

anti didn't move. despite his uninterrupted trembling, his hand was steady on the knife. kazuki had barely flinched at his reaction, and stayed very still so as not to alarm him. "i'm just here to help marvin, anti," she said gently. "i'm not planning to hurt you, even after your little escape. i swear. i know you've been through a lot, and i'm not going to make it any worse for you. if it helps any, i'll stay right here so i won't scare you."

anti's face contorted with anger, but he couldn't sign while holding the knife, and after a moment he flipped it closed and put it back in his pocket, not blinking. "you don't fucking scare me," he spat once he'd freed up his hand. "you're just another pathetic fucking magician who relies on others to do your work for you. i could kill you even without my magic and the use of one of my hands."

marvin didn't translate any of that. "ok, so now what?" he said instead, glancing out the window behind kazuki's head. "sky's still going and we don't know why. kaz - kazuki, are you sure you don't know anything?"

she sighed, closing her eyes for a second. "sit down," she said, gesturing towards the table and pulling out a seat for herself. "i might be able to try and explain."

marvin sat down across from her and chase, who was on his phone and had been silent this whole time. he turned round to see anti still hovering hesitantly, hands hanging in the air. marvin pat the seat next to him. "you can sit down," he said, trying to keep his voice light. anti slowly shook his head, eyes darting back and forth to the door behind him, and marvin decided it'd be best to leave him be.

kazuki cleared her throat. "so. that necklace your brother has… i recognized it before i even saw it for that split second in new romney. i'm not sure of its actual name, but i am aware of its uses. i believe… it's some kind of soul holder."

everyone went very quiet for a moment, until marvin spoke again. "ok. please elaborate."

kazuki took a breath, tapping the table with her fingernails. "well. many years ago, there were all sorts of black magic artifacts that were used to enhance, give or take power. those who later split from hecate wanted to use that magic. we - the rest of us told them it was a bad idea. eventually, when the split happened, we took as many artifacts as we could and destroyed them." she let out a small sigh, closing her eyes. "it seems that some were… left. i'm not sure how many they still have, but jackie has gotten a hold of one and given his lack of previous black magic use, it seems that it's becoming too much for him to handle."

"you said soul holder," chase suddenly said, the first words he'd spoken since anti had arrived. he rubbed his temple, wincing. "are there… different types of these artifacts? and how do you know this one does, uh, whatever you think it does?"

she nodded grimly. "there's a few types, yes. some destroy. some kill. and some… do what your brother's one does. i believe that it takes souls into the necklace and, well, holds them there." she leaned her head back, sighing. "i can't think of a better way to explain it except that it's… hundreds of years old. who knows what types of magic has been contained in it? what people? we have no idea how powerful he could be."

anti suddenly clapped his hands, drawing their attention to him. "so hold on," he signed, still using the one hand. "this bitch has stolen a part of my fucking soul and that's how he's using my magic?"

kazuki looked to marvin, who loosely translated for her. once he'd finished, she sighed and glanced up to anti again. "i'm afraid so," she said. "from what i've seen, that's all it could be. i'm very sorry."

"motherfucker," anti signed, which marvin chose not to translate.

just then, they heard loud yelling from upstairs, and two sets of pounding footsteps racing down the steps above. "papa, papa!" the voices of two children cried, giggling all the while and getting louder as they got closer. "papa, uncle henrik just showed us something super cool, look, look -"

the children ran into the kitchen, laid eyes on anti, and froze.

anti didn't move.

there was a long moment where connor and louise just stared at him, confused looking. marvin held his breath, making eye contact with chase across the table. neither man said a word.

it was connor who eventually spoke. "uncle jackie?"

henrik appeared in the doorway behind them and also froze. "christ, him again?"

"oh!" louise suddenly shouted. "it's the london man!"

"oh yeah!" connor cried, grinning. "the man who wasn't papa who took us to london!"

"took you to london?" kazuki said, frowning. "what do you mean?"

"we're seriously just going to let him in yet again?" henrik said angrily, glaring at marvin. "seriously? after all the times we agreed not to trust him?"

"listen, i didn't want to," marvin argued. "but in case you hadn't noticed, circumstances are slightly different now -"

"can everyone just shut up?" chase suddenly cried, clutching his head and leaping to his feet. "i have a bloody migraine and god, you're all so fu- so loud, christ, i'm…" he shook his head and marched over to the door, grabbing a brown jacket off the coat rack. "i'm going for a walk or something, fire clouds and sky lava be damned. i don't… i'm done with this." he turned to face the room, which had gone very quiet. his eyes landed on henrik. "henny, will you come with?"

henrik hesitated, glancing at the kids. "it's - i don't know if it's safe, and -"

"i'll look after the kids," marvin said quickly. he smiled at chase reassuringly, who smiled back. "be safe out there, if you really have to go out. and be back within, like, ten minutes, preferably. please."

"we will," chase said gratefully. he opened the door and stepped outside. "thanks, marvy."

marvin flinched at the name. only jackie calls me that, he thought, but chase and henrik were gone before he could say a word.

-

"so where are we going?" henrik asked, practically jogging to keep up with his brother. chase was walking very quickly, which worried henrik slightly, especially given that he'd said he had a migraine. however, he brushed off his concerns with a small laugh. "slow down, chaser. i'm not in the mood to - ha, to chase you."

he could tell something was wrong when chase didn't laugh at his pun. "sorry," chase mumbled instead. "i'm just… feeling weird. i don't know… it's too much."

henrik slowed, heart suddenly racing. "uh, chase? i think we should go back. if you're feeling this unwell -"

"no," chase interrupted, and it sounded almost like a sob. his eyes were oddly dark. "no, i can't. don't - leave me."

he sped up the pace, leaving henrik to race after him. "chase - wait!" he cried. what was happening, why was he acting so strangely? he got the feeling this wasn't a normal migraine at all. "chase, slow. where are you going? chase!"

they rounded a corner, and chase suddenly stopped dead. his expression had gone totally blank, eyes wide and unfocused. his mouth was hanging open very slightly, hands dropped by his side.

henrik waved a hand in front of his face, breathing quickening. "chase? bruder? hello, are you -"

"henrik," came a voice from behind him. henrik's blood suddenly ran cold. "you're just in time for the show."

-

this was beginning to get very awkward.

marvin had attempted to usher the kids back upstairs, but that would leave kazuki and anti alone in the kitchen, which not only was a horrendous combination of people to leave alone, but was very rude to do. so they were now sitting in the living room watching octonauts on the tv, with marvin dithering in the doorway between the kitchen and the hall, trying to keep everything and everyone together. thankfully, connor and louise had stopped questioning anti's presence as soon at the familiar theme tune had started playing, leaving marvin to mostly focus on the other two. anti was pacing the kitchen ignoring kazuki, who was trying to talk to him. it was starting to become slightly annoying.

"is your arm still hurt?" kazuki was saying, as anti pretended he was suddenly deaf. "i can try to help if you'd show me it. we have healers in hecate - in fact, isn't your brother a healer? the doctor?"

"not my brother," anti suddenly signed. he flipped his hood up over his head, turning his face away from them. "fuck off, gods. always in other people's business."

there was a sudden noise from outside. a bang, like an explosion. kazuki stood and followed marvin to the window, looking outside to try and figure out what it was.

"i don't see anything," marvin muttered. the sky looked the same, and nothing seemed to be out of place. "what the fuck?"

"uncle marvin?" connor called from the other room. "what's going on?"

another bang sounded, and this time they could see a plume of black smoke rising over the buildings not far off from where they were. "ah, crap," marvin hissed, hands flying to his hair. "chase and henrik - we have to go after them, they could be in trouble."

kazuki shook her head. "the little ones," she reminded them. "we can't leave them alone."

connor and louise had padded into the hallway to see what was happening, eyes wide. marvin hesitated. he needed to make sure henrik and chase were safe, but he could need kazuki's help, and anti obviously couldn't stay with them. "oh - i don't know!" he despaired. "i - i have to see they're ok."

"papa and uncle henrik?" louise said softly. she was clutching her sonic teddy in her hands, her bottom lip quivering. "we wanna go make sure they're ok too! did the sky dragons get them?"

marvin glanced back into the kitchen at anti, who had stopped pacing and was staring out the window in there, and then back to kazuki, who looked slightly worried. he hesitated. "kazuki - can you stay here with them?"

"me?" she sounded shocked. "i - i am the leader of hecate's international network of magic, and right now there is magic related events happening that i need to -"

"please, kaz?" marvin turned to her with wide eyes, pleading. "just for a little bit? please, i'd owe you so so much, i just can't leave them alone, kazuki…"

kazuki inhaled sharply, then blew the air out her cheeks, groaning. "fine! you better not be long. i don't think i'm all that good with kids."

marvin threw his arms around her briefly, grinning. "thank you so much, kaz, i owe you!" then he turned to the confused looking kids, smiling at them. "kazuki is going to look after you two for a little bit, ok?"

"can we see the magic?" connor gasped. he grabbed louise's hand, squealing. "louise, we get to see the magic!"

kazuki laughed nervously, making a face in marvin's direction. "yes, i can show you some magic. let's go in here, uh - the living room, yes? what's this playing on the tv?"

marvin took the opportunity to leave, pausing at the door to look at anti. "well? are you coming?" he asked. anti jumped, and marvin raised an eyebrow. "come on, i'm not leaving you here alone."

anti shrugged, but followed him out the door, marvin locking it shut behind him. the smoke plumes were rising even higher, and the resounding booms were still sounding from not far off. "fucking hell," marvin muttered. anti glitched in agreement. "let's hurry up and -"

"marvin! marvin!"

he recognized the sound of chase's voice immediately. "chase!" he raced down the pavement, struggling not to slip as he followed his brother's voice. "chase, chase - shit!"

because fuck, jackie was standing in the middle of the street with aaron by his side, henrik and chase standing in front of them and staring blankly, eyes black and unfocused. it was such a scene that all marvin could do was stare. taking it in. his brothers, hypnotized, standing in the street, just… here. he couldn't breathe.

anti made a loud choking noise at the sight of jackie, taking an unwittingly step away. jackie smirked at him. "aw, anti, good to see you again. are you seriously afraid of me now? i thought you were above fear, isn't that what you told me once?" he laughed, and turned to marvin. his black eyes flashed coldly. "hello, marvy."

"jackie," marvin blurted. his chest tightened, taking in his older brother's form. his hair was shorter, almost as short as henrik's, and he was wearing a black jacket over a dark grey hoodie. so unlike his normal colourful clothing. it made marvin's head spin. "jackie, what have you done to chase and henrik? let - let them go, please."

jackie inhaled, dragging out his breath and tilting his head back. the silence was fucking deafening. all marvin could hear was the blood rushing in his ears and the silent, agitated hum of static rising from anti's direction.

"i can't do that," jackie said softly. "i have to protect them. from him, and apparently... from you."

marvin's heart stopped. "what do you mean?"

jackie laughed harshly. "look at you. you're with him, aren't you?" he nodded towards anti, a look of disgust crossing his face. "this pathetic, glitching mistake of a being who's brought nothing but harm on our family, and you want to befriend him. clearly, henrik and chase aren't safe around you if you're willing to put them in such constant danger."

"you're - you're more of a danger to them than anti is right now," marvin stammered, trying to keep his voice steady. "jackie, this isn't you. you're not like this. please, listen -"

"i don't think it's up to you to decide who he is, magician," aaron interrupted. he was leaning on a bright blue bat, grinning cheekily. like this was a game. marvin didn't spare him a breath, keeping his eyes trained on jackie.

"this is… the black magic talking," marvin faltered. his hands felt very warm. he hadn't used any magic since he'd nearly hurt chase, and he was suddenly scared. "jackie, this is the black magic talking. we - we can get it out of your head! we can! you - we - this can be fixed, ok? just let our brothers go and we can help you."

jackie's expression softened. "marvin," he murmured, and marvin took a shaking breath, hope rising in his chest. "oh, marvin. i'm so sorry. you… you really believe in me, don't you?"

anti growled, the sound of static spiking. jackie grinned at him, and for a moment marvin couldn't see him any differently than the man who had always been so sweet to him, the man he'd called his brother. then it vanished, and jackie was a stranger, sneering at anti's rising rage. "i did miss you, aiden. five months is a lot of time to bond! we were so close, wouldn't you agree?" he laughed, a real, loud laugh. "and put the butter knife away, unless you're planning to make toast."

marvin had been so thrown by the "aiden" comment that he hadn't noticed anti taking out his switchblade again. it took a second for marvin to register what anti was about to do, and by then it was too late. "anti, no!"

the knife was flying towards aaron's face before marvin could blink. but the man was ready; his bat was raised to his face to block the blade in an instant, a swoop of magic covering his body. jackie stepped forwards and threw his arm up, creating a black shield to cover for anti's sudden attack.

"stop it!" marvin screamed as anti kicked out at jackie's shield, knocking him off balance. aaron immediately lunged for anti while his back was turned, and marvin made the split second decision to throw out a burning hand and shove aaron back, standing between the two of them.

aaron flashed a white grin. "you don't have to be involved in this fight. really, just let us take the glitch and you and your brothers are free. why is that such a hard decision?"

marvin gave a breathy laugh. "oh, i wish i knew," he said, and let the magic in his body loose.

he had been so afraid of this. of his magic exploding the way naomi's had. but now, he suddenly hated everything about this man, this smirking blonde idiot who'd helped take jackie away from them. he hated him and his magic reflected that. great swirls of concentrated power that wrapped around aaron and squeezed him, making him gasp. but it didn't last. aaron lashed out, and a solid black whip hit marvin in the face, burning into his skin. he screamed in agony, dropping his own magic to fight against the pain. aaron laughed and knocked marvin's legs out from under him, kicking him down to the ground.

he could see anti fighting - trying to fight - against jackie above him. jackie had seemingly overpowered him easily, lifting him into the air without even touching him. "pathetic!" he giggled, darkness trailing down his skin from his eyes and hands. "aiden, aiden, you used to be so powerful. what happened to you? oh, wait." he tossed back his head and roared with laughter. "i did, didn't i? it's funny, cause i'm powerful enough without your weak ass magic in my body. i don't even need it. but i truly do enjoy the irony of being able to do - this!"

a glitch ran through jackie's body and through his wall of magic, reaching anti and throwing him to the ground like a ragdoll. he slammed to the road beside marvin, crying out as his back cracked. aaron turned to jackie and straightened, his boot digging harder into marvin's chest.

"well, that was easy," jackie joked, grabbing aaron's hand. the two of them laughed for a second, and marvin managed to slowly turn his head and make eye contact with anti. turquoise eyes meeting brown. it reminded marvin of the day he'd freed anti from the music shop basement, of the exact moment jackie had discovered that marvin knew. the shared moment, the single shared thought.

we're fucked.

but they'd gotten out of that situation. and how had they done that? oh, oh, shit. he remembered. he remembered.

"now what?" aaron said, as he and jackie leaned over them. anti weakly tried to get up, and aaron whacked his chest with his bat to make him fall back. jackie grinned at him, the two sharing a knowing smile.

"well, now i take the glitch and…" his expression wavered as he looked at marvin. "well, he can go, i guess. all we need is this guy!" he kicked anti's side again. "hear that, marv? you're home free."

he clicked his fingers, and marvin heard chase and henrik both gasp, collapsing to the floor. he'd almost forgotten they were still standing there, black eyed and hypnotized. hopefully they now wouldn't be conscious enough to see what he was about to do. "come on, anti, up you get!" jackie said cheerfully. he reached down and grabbed anti's right arm, delighting in his pained cry. "oops, almost forgot you were still injured! almost. right, let's go -"

"you forget a lot," marvin spat. jackie's head snapped round to look at him, and marvin scowled. "you get on at me for not noticing shit, but hey - i can at least remember what types of magic my brothers specialize in."

jackie didn't manage to get another word out before marvin unleashed a wave of the magic he said he'd never use again. his own black magic. not as strong as jackie's, but he knew how to control it better, and it was just enough to shock him and aaron away, leaving marvin a gap to leap to his feet and fight back again.

a second chance, he thought. don't waste it, marvin.

aaron made an instant dash for anti while jackie went for marvin, but he was too quick for them this time. a fiery shield rose up in front of him, and marvin managed to reach out a hand to yank anti up before one of them got to him again. "you ok?" he asked quickly, and anti managed a nod despite the clear pain he was in. marvin nodded back. "good. stay back."

more magic. so much of it, marvin wasn't sure whose was whose anymore. aaron was the one he was concerned about; he clearly had far more control and practice with his magic, and was forcing marvin back with hit after hit of his crumbling black whips that arched from his bat like a wicked extension of himself. marvin couldn't seem to take him out. he panted, cursing under his breath, beads of sweat dripping down his face from the exertion of the fight. he couldn't take them both at once. he wasn't sure he'd even be able to just take jackie if he had to. he couldn't do this, he couldn't, he just couldn't -

and then aaron fell back with a gasp, all his magic dropping at once. and anti, pale and shaking but grinning smugly, yanked the knife he'd picked up out from his back.

"butter knife," he signed painstakingly with his bruised right hand. "how's that for butter knife?"

"shit -" jackie gasped, but marvin hadn't let the distraction pass him by, and cried out a spell that froze jackie to the spot, wrapping him in a tight rope of magic. the spells were so exhausting that he almost passed out then and there - he hadn't used dark magic in so long, and it had really drained him. luckily, anti scrambled to his side and grabbed his arm, keeping him upright. his hands were stained with blood. marvin watched as aaron fell to his knees, clutching at his chest in pain.

"bastard," jackie spat, writhing to free himself of marvin's bonds. his eyes had melted back to their original blue, and they were wild, focused on aaron now groaning on the ground. "bastard, bastard, let me go, don't you dare hurt him! you have no idea what you've done! no i̢d̸ea ͝at all!"

jackie let out a frustrated scream, tearing at the ropes with both restrained hands. anti and marvin glanced at each other, stepping back silently as blackness seeped out from jackie's chest and began to form into a solid shape in front of him. marvin held up a protective arm in front of anti as something began to create itself, the magic knitting into the shape of what looked to be a person. over the roar of magic, they could hear jackie laughing. "this one's for you, anti!" he cackled. "have you missed him?"

and oh, oh, oh shit. it was a person. a real person who had formed from jackie's magic, a man with curly black hair and blank brown eyes, staring ahead at nothing. marvin heard anti's breath hitch at the sight of him, and a single look at him showed he'd somehow gone even paler, mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief.

"that's right!" jackie cried, looking pleased despite his current situation. "i've seen your memories, anti, i've seen -"

and then marvin saw -

"you're… you smell like magic," came a voice. it was him, the curly haired man, speaking with a warm scottish accent. "harsh, like fire, or an overheating computer." he snorted, trying to keep eye contact with - with anti, because anti was there, different looking. no scars on his face, no scar on his neck, hair much shorter and a dark green colour. "do you do magic?"

and then both of them were sitting in what looked like a park, eating sausage rolls out of paper bags, two guitars abandoned on their laps as they talked faintly, eyes sparkling. "you're a dumbass!" anti laughed, and marvin had never seen him smile so genuinely before.

and then they were sitting very close to each other on the floor in a dark room, a song playing in the background as their faces touched, eyes closed and lips brushing -

"stop!" marvin yelled, struggling to shake himself from the memories. anti had all but collapsed, clinging to marvin's arms and shaking badly, terror and anger both making rounds on his face. "stop, how - jackie, stop, why are you doing this?"

marvin's magic had faltered, leaving jackie to step out of the bonds and fall to aaron's side. he lifted him in his arms, looking worried, feeling the blood on the man's back. "because he ruined our lives!" jackie screamed, and his eyes had turned black again, tears gathering in them as he clung to aaron's unconscious body. "how, how can you stand to be near him? he deserves to be hurt!"

the curly haired man hadn't moved since jackie had formed him, but now he was crumbling, dissolving into black dusty magic and retreating into jackie's body. like he had been there for nothing but show. through it all, marvin could still see chase and henrik, passed out on the road. at least they were safe. at least there was that.

"please," marvin croaked in a weak last ditch attempt to stop this. "jackie, you're my brother, i love you, i don't want to hurt you."

"you see good in anyone," jackie whispered. the sky above was almost screaming now, the colours beginning to whirl above jackie's had. despite the noise, marvin could still clearly hear his brother's voice. "even him. even me."

marvin was about to say something - something, anything, he wasn't sure what - when he stopped, listening, smelling the sharp scent that was suddenly filling the air. like a storm, like rain. judging by the look on jackie's face, he could smell it too. he stood unsteadily, lifting aaron in his arms. "what the fu-"

the black magic still lingering in the air parted. silver sparks clearing the air, even clearing the sky above, warming everything and bringing about that smell, the smell marvin realized was familiar. he gasped, almost laughing as jackie whirled round, looking to see who it was who dared to challenge him.

a man. messy dark hair and freckled skin, a mustache underneath his nose. a dark blue hoodie hanging off of him. eyes that glowed silver, hands that glowed silver, magic that stayed suspended in the air, silver. the world seemed to stop.

jameson jackson.

"you again," jackie spat. he couldn't even raise a hand to defend himself with both arms wrapped around aaron, who had stirred slightly and was moaning in pain. "my god, don't you get a hint?"

jamie raised a hand in front of him, not saying a word. the threat hung in the air along with the silver particles of solid magic that carried the weight of time in them. he looked so tired. he looked so powerful. marvin almost wouldn't have recognized him.

jackie growled softly, looking back and forth between marvin, anti and jamie. he seemed to realize how outnumbered he was, and shrank back, hoisting aaron higher in his arms. "watch your backs," he hissed angrily, eyes blazing. then he was gone, really gone.

anti pushed himself off of marvin, swaying on his feet. he couldn't take his eyes off jamie, who had lowered his arm and let his eyes return to their usual grey. he was staring back. for a long moment, the two just stood there, unmoving. afraid to break the year long silence.

"jamie," marvin suddenly said. and it was hitting him now that this was really him, his little brother, the artistic time traveler who he hadn't seen in so long, who had just disappeared without a trace. "jamie, oh my god, jamie!"

he raced past anti and threw his arms around jamie, muffled sobs escaping his lips as he buried his face in the smaller man's shoulder. jamie hugged him back tightly, and then pulled away with a huge grin. "marvin," he signed. "it's you."

he looked over marvin's shoulder and frowned, pulling the magician over to chase and henrik, who were now starting to regain consciousness, eyelids flickering. "jackie did this?" jamie signed, concern flickering across his face. "help me, we have to take them home. they should be ok, but just to make sure."

marvin had so many questions he suddenly wanted to ask. but he instead lifted chase into his arms, helping him stand while jamie did the same with henrik. questions could wait. jamie was home. nothing else mattered.

and when marvin turned to say something to anti, he had disappeared.

end act three - mind games.

[love-laugh-daydreamarevolt]

I wish I had any semblance of writing motivation because this would fit so well Into a preexisting chaz wip I have and now I need it so badly

has anyone written a kase/chaz fic about chase using kaz's hands as heating pads for menstrual pain. bc someone really should