#everyday I’m adding more and more stuff to this rat

[rockhousejai]

Mickey and Pluto idea I had

Bonus stuff

[jennamoran]

The Far Roofs: Systems

Hi!

Today I’m going to talk a little bit more about my forthcoming RPG, the Far Roofs. More specifically, I want to give a general overview of its game mechanics!

So the idea that first started the Far Roofs on the road to being its own game came out of me thinking a lot about what large projects feel like.

I was in one of those moods where I felt like the important thing in an RPG system was the parallel between that system and real-world experience. Where I felt like the key to art was always thinking about the end goal, or at least a local goal, as one did the work; and, the key to design was symmetry between the goals and methods, the means and ends.

I don't always feel that way, but it's how I work when I'm feeling both ambitious and technical.

So what I wanted to do was come up with an RPG mechanic that was really like the thing it was simulating:

Finding answers. Solving problems. Doing big things.

And it struck me that what that felt like, really, was a bit like ...

You get pieces over time. You wiggle them around. You try to fit them together. Sometimes, they fit together into larger pieces and then eventually a whole. Sometimes you just collect them and wiggle them around until suddenly there's an insight, an oh!, and you now know everything works.

The ideal thing to do here would probably be having a bag of widgets that can fit together in different ways---not as universally as Legos or whatever, but, like, gears and connectors and springs and motors and whatever. If I were going to be building a computer game I would probably think along those lines, anyway. You'd go to your screen of bits and bobs and move them around with your mouse until it hooked together into something that you liked.

... that's not really feasible for a tabletop RPG, though, at least, not with my typical financial resources. I could probably swing making that kind of thing, finding a 3d printing or woodworking partner or something to make the pieces, for the final kickstarter, but I don't have the resources to make a bunch of different physical object sets over time while I'm playtesting.

So the way I decided that I could implement this was by drawing letter tiles.

That I could do a system where you'd draw letter tiles ... not constantly, not specifically when you were working, but over time; in the moments, most of all, that could give you insight or progress.

Then, at some point, you'd have enough of them.

You'd see a word.

That word'd be your answer.

... not necessarily the word itself, but, like, what the word means to you and what the answer means to you, those would be the same.

The word would be a symbol for the answer that you've found, as a player and a character.

(The leftover letters would then stick around in your hand, bits of thought and experience that didn't directly lead to a solution there, but might help with something else later on.)

Anyway, I figured that this basic idea was feasible because, like, lots of people own Scrabble sets. Even if you don't, they're easier to find than sets of dice!

For a short indie game focused on just that this would probably have been enough of a mechanic all on its own. For a large release, though, the game needed more.

After thinking about it I decided that what it wanted was two more core resolution systems:

One, for stuff like, say ... kickstarter results ... where you're more interested in "how well did this do?" or "how good of an answer is this?" than in whether those results better fit AXLOTL or TEXTUAL. For this, I added cards, which you draw like letter tiles and combine into poker hands. A face card is probably enough for a baseline success, a pair of Kings would make the results rather exciting, and a royal flush result would smash records.

The other core system was for like ... everyday stuff. For starting a campfire or jumping a gap. That, by established RPG tradition, would use dice.

...

I guess technically it didn't have to; I mean, like, most of my games have been diceless, and in fact we've gotten to a point in the hobby where that's just "sort of unusual" instead of actually rare.

But, like, I like dice. I do. If I don't use them often, it's because I don't like the empty page of where to start in the first place building a bespoke diced system when I have so many good diceless systems right there.

... this time, though, I decided to just go for it.

--

The Dice System

So a long, long time ago I was working on a game called the Weapons of the Gods RPG. Eos Press had brought me in to do the setting, and somewhere in the middle of that endeavor, the game lost its system.

I only ever heard Eos' side of this, and these days I tend to take Eos' claims with a grain of salt ... but, my best guess is that all this stuff did happen, just, with a little more context that I don't and might not ever know?

Anyway, as best as I remember, the first writer they had doing their system quit midway through development. So they brought in a newer team to do the system, and halfway through that the team decided they'd have more fun using the system for their own game, and instead wrote up a quick alternate system for Weapons of the Gods to use.

This would have been fine if the alternate system were any good, but it was ... pretty obviously a quick kludge. It was ...

I think the best word for it would be "bad."

I don't even like the system they took away to be their own game, but at least I could believe that it was constructed with love. It was janky but like in a heartfelt way.

The replacement system was more the kind of thing where if you stepped in it you'd need a new pair of shoes.

It upset me.

It upset me, and so, full wroth, I decided to write a system to use for the game.

Now, I'd never done a diced system before at that point. My only solo game had been Nobilis. So I took a bunch of dice and started rolling them, to see ... like ... what the most fun way of reading them was.

Where I landed, ultimately, was looking for matches.

The core system for Weapons of the Gods was basically, roll some number of d10s, and if you got 3 4s, that was a 34. If you got 2 9s, that was a 29. If your best die was a 7 and you had no pairs at all, you got 1 7. 17.

It didn't have any really amazing statistical properties, but the act of rolling was fun. It was rhythmic, you know, you'd see 3 4s and putting them together into 34 was a tiny tiny dopamine shot at the cost of basically zero brain effort. It was pattern recognition, which the brain tends to enjoy.

I mean, obviously, it would pall in a few minutes if you just sat there rolling the dice for no reason ... but, as far as dice rolling goes, it was fun.

So when I went to do an optional diced system for the Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG, years later, to post here on tumblr ... I already knew what would make that roll fun. That is, rolling a handful of dice and looking for matches.

What about making it even more fun?

... well, critical results are fun, so what about adding them and aiming to have a lot of them, though still like rare enough to surprise?

It made sense to me to call no matches at all a critical failure, and a triple a critical success. So I started fiddling with dice pool size to get the numbers where I wanted them.

I'm reconstructing a bit at this point, but I imagine that I hit 6d10 and was like: "these are roughly the right odds, but this is one too many dice to look at quickly on the table, and I don't like that critical failure would be a bit more common than crit success."

So after some wrestling with things I wound up with a dice pool of 5d6, which is the dice pool I'm still using today.

If you roll 5d6, you'll probably get a pair. But now and then, you'll get a triple (or more!) My combinatorics is rusty, so I might have missed a case, but, like ... 17% of the time, triples, quadruples, or quintuples? And around 9% chance, for no matches at all?

I think I was probably looking for 15% and 10%, that those were likely my optimum, but ... well, 5d6 comes pretty close. Roughly 25% total was about as far as I thought I could push critical results while still having them feel kind or rare. Like ...

If I'm rolling a d20 in a D&D-like system, and if I'm going to succeed on an 18+, that's around when success is exciting, right? Maybe 17+, though that's pushing it? So we want to fall in the 15-20% range for a "special good roll." And people have been playing for a very long time now with the 5% chance of a "1" as a "special bad roll," and that seemed fine, so, like, 20-25% chance total is good.

And like ...

People talk a lot about Rolemaster crit fail tables in my vicinity, and complain about the whiff fests you see in some games where you keep rolling and rolling and nothing good or bad actually happens, and so I was naturally drawn to pushing crit failure odds a bit higher than you see in a d20-type game.

Now, one way people in indie circles tend to address "whiff fests" is by rethinking the whole dice-rolling ... paradigm ... so you never whiff; setting things up, in short, so that every roll means something, and every success and failure mean something too.

It's a leaner, richer way of doing things than you see in, say, D&D.

... I just didn't feel like it, here, because the whole point of things was to make dice rolling fun. I wanted people coming out of traditional games to be able to just pick up the dice and say "I'm rolling for this!" because the roll would be fun. Because consulting the dice oracle here, would be fun.

So in the end, that was the heart of it:

A 5d6 roll, focusing on the ease of counting matches and the high but not exorbitant frequency of special results.

But at the same time ...

I'm indie enough that I do really like rolls where, you know, every outcome is meaningful. Where you roll, and there's never a "whiff," just a set of possible meaningful outcomes.

A lot of the time, where I'm leaning into "rolls are fun, go ahead and roll," what it means to succeed, to fail, to crit, all that's up to the group, and sometimes it'll be unsatisfying. Other times, you'll crit succeed or crit fail and the GM will give you basically the exact same result as you'd have gotten on a regular success or failure, just, you know, jazzing up the description a bit with more narrative weight.

But I did manage to pull out about a third of the rolls you'll wind up actually making and assign strong mechanical and narrative weight to each outcome. Where what you were doing was well enough defined in the system that I could add some real meat to those crits, and even regular success and regular failure.

... though that's a story, I think, to be told some other time. ^_^

[unnecessarywriting]

Him? That’s My Dad - Fred Weasley

Requested: Hi! Can I get a Fred x reader where the reader is Sirius’ child and is best friends with the twins and when he first sees them they are maybe pranking snape and maybe they reunite in the shack cause they are protecting Harry and just fluff really? A/N: Thank you for requesting. First I want to apologize for the wait, but I had some personal stuff going on and I needed some time off. Also, I was a bit confused by your request, so I took it into my hands and tried to match it to the best of my ability, but if you want me to write something else (More of what you wanted) just let me know and I'll write something new! Requests are still open of course, and I hope you all enjoy!!!

ITALICS ARE FLASHBACKS

Him? That’s My Dad

Fifth year at Hogwarts meant that there was a lot of chaos, not to mention that you were dating one of the biggest pranksters in Hogwarts history. Fred had been there in your life from the beginning of your Hogwarts experience. Despite your last name and the reputation that comes with it, you were able to have a decent time with Fred and George by your side. By third year, you had become very close with the twins, and they even began to include you in their schemes. When Fred asked you out in fourth year, you began your work at becoming one of the masterminds behind some, if you dare say, epic pranks. Then, fifth year came around, and well, the chaos of OWLs ensued, and so did your more personal issues. 

You had been aware of the return of your father, or rather the escape of the murderer who just so happened to share your DNA. Were you happy that he was out? Well, that question was difficult for you. On one hand, he may have murdered a whole lot of people, and he may have been involved with the dark lord, resulting in making an orphan out of Harry and you. On the other hand, he could be innocent and have a real reason for not making more of an attempt to get out of Azkaban.

Before Sirius was sent away for the murder of the muggles and Peter, your mother had died. Luckily for you, Remus was made your godfather, which gave you a home, but Remus was sure to never overstep his role. He had never wanted to imitate a father to you, but there were times in which you wished it had happened. When you found out that he would be a professor at Hogwarts, you couldn’t tell if you were happy to spend more time with him, or worried that he would become too involved in your personal business. You knew Remus found education very important, as did you, however, spending time with Fred and George was sometimes prioritized. Not to mention, Remus was not familiar with your relations to one of the twins. 

You were sitting in the great hall with the twins trying to study, but you couldn’t help but overhear some of the murmurs from around the room. There was a lot more hatred pointed towards you because of the Sirius situation. It was hard to focus on too much that was meant to be actually important to you. Fred saw this, and he was right by your side to remind you of how amazing you were, and not to let the actions of your father define.

“You’re not like Malfoy. Who your father is, and what he has done is not a reflection of who you are. Now, let’s do something to get your mind off of all of those gits.” He motioned to where some other students were loudly whispering. You smiled at him and turned your attention to what George was working on.

“Who’s it for?” A simple question, but the answer would be the secret to your happiness.

“Snape.”

~ A Dog Tale ~

Sirius had his reasons for escaping Azkaban. When he visited Harry, he was in emotional turmoil. He felt terrible for being trusted by his best friend to take care of his son, and yet he failed. Then Sirius thought of you. He was never ready for a child of his own, but he was ready to give anything for your well-being. Him and your mother were not in a real relationship at the time, but he was heartbroken that she had died. He worried about his daughter and the lack of a mother figure, but he was sure that he would do everything he could to give you the life you deserved. When he was sent to Azkaban, however, he didn’t know how to react.

While he was not the one to sell out his friends, he was guilty for wrongly putting trust in someone. He spent his time repenting for making those choices. He reminded himself of his innocence, but there was a part of him that believed that he belonged there. Often, he would find himself thinking about you. He wondered what you looked like and what your personality was like. Did you take after him? Were you happy? Did you miss him? These questions lived in his head everyday, but he needed to grieve and take accountability for his crimes. 

When he got out, he wanted to go and find you, but he knew you were with Remus, and he was aware that Remus was very careful. His old friend knew about Padfoot, and for certain, he was keeping a close eye for any dog that came near you. He knew that he needed to go to Hogwarts to get to the rat he once called a friend, but there was a part of him that was convinced his main reason for returning was to answer those questions that had been eating away at him. 

When he first saw you, he knew exactly who he was looking at. You were the spitting image of your mother. Despite his dog form, he couldn’t help but feel a smile come on. Without thinking, he let out a bark and a whimper. He watched as your head whipped around to look at him. You stared at him with confusion written on your face, but you quickly returned to the twins that were beside you. He whimpered quietly to himself, but he refused to take his eyes off of you. You had grown up so beautifully, and from the looks of it, you were a bit mischievous yourself. 

He recognized the sound of a particular person he wished that he could remove from his memory. Snape. The git himself was a professor at Hogwarts. Of course. He pointed his gaze at your sudden change in demeanor. You got down and cast a spell. One of the twins towered over you as they cast another one. The other twin seemed to be the lookout. After hexing the greasy professor, the three ran off in a direction that would allow them to watch the mayhem ensue without getting caught. 

He also watched on the sidelines. He saw the obvious immediate spell cast. It was simple. A color change to the hair. He was concerned that this was the best that the three of you could do, but then he thought that there had to be more to it than what meets the average eye. He hoped that if he got to meet you, he would be able to ask you about it. Then he saw Snape’s legs start to falter, and he ultimately collapsed to the ground with an angry grunt. Sirius did everything he could to keep the laughing quiet, but it was riveting to see his old rival take such a nasty fall, especially at the hand of his daughter. His heart filled with pride knowing that she may not look like him, but she definitely took after him.

Sirius looked over at where you were hiding and watched as you hugged the twins. Then he watched you do the unthinkable.

~ What did you do? ~

When Fred and George had a plan, you liked to add a little bit of your own spice to the mix. You liked adding something that could only be thought of by you. Nothing was different with your prank with Snape. It was simple really. The twins had this new, altered version of the hair color changing spell. The plan was to make it near impossible to get rid of it. In fact, there was a particular potion that was needed to remove the effects of it, however, they weren’t planning on giving it to Snape too soon. The counter jinx would only change the color on Snape’s head. You thought it was genius, but there was a part of you that wanted a bigger reaction.

“Okay, I think that it’s great, but what if, and just hear me out, we change his feet.”

“What does that mean?” Your boyfriend looked at you intrigued by your suggestion.

“It’s easy really, there is an opposites spell that I found, and it would allow me to change his left foot to his right and his right to the left. It could be reversed, but there is a specific spell to do it, and I doubt Snape would know what it is.” George laughed at the idea of Snape trying to stand up without knowing how to fix his issue.

“This is one of the many reasons I love you,” Fred said as he placed a peck on your lips.

The three of you had learned which hallway Snape would be in, and you made your way in that direction. The three of you stood in the hallway chatting, so as not to raise any particular suspicion to your actions. You heard a bark from behind you, and you turned your head in that direction. There stood a large black dog. He looked as though he was trying to smile, but he also looked like he was punched in the head. You gazed at the dog to see if it was deranged or just a strangely happy dog. Eventually, you turned your attention back to the twins.

You heard the slow footsteps of the annoying professor, and you all got into position as you awaited with a nervous excitement. You ducked down to get a more accurate aim at his feet, and Fred towered above you where he focused his attention to the top of the greasy haired man. You both carefully cast your spells and retreated to a nearby space to watch the chaos unfold. As Snape fell, you laughed quietly. When he angrily struggled to stand up, the three of you had to move slightly to avoid bringing attention to how much you were enjoying his struggle. You hugged George, congratulating him on a good idea and a successful prank. Then you hugged Fred and pulled him in for a joyful, passionate kiss. You both pulled away and smiled at each other, while George awkwardly evaded his gaze. You felt eyes boring into you, so you turned your eyes to the culprit. The dog from before looked furious. Then, he began to run away.

“Hey, I’m gonna go for a walk, but I’ll catch up with you two later. Alright?” The twins nodded, but Fred was a bit suspicious of your sudden change in behavior. He kept his eyes on you and watched the direction you walked towards, but he kept his distance. He didn’t want to intrude on your time to yourself.

You followed the dog and watched as it ran into the Whomping Willow. You had a feeling you knew what was going on. You had often referred to Remus as Uncle Moony. When the twins showed you the map, you had a feeling that there was a connection. Cue you Sherlock skills. You thought about the other names on the map and tried to connect them to Remus’ friends.

“Uncle Moony?”

“Yes?” His gaze lifted from the Daily Prophet to your inquisitive face.

“When you were in school, did you ever feel connected to the animals there?”

“Why do you ask?” You needed to cover your ground otherwise he wasn’t going to give any information. 

“Well, I know that you don’t remember the events of what happens when you change, but I just wondered if there was ever some sort of connection with the animals on the grounds. I have found that there are some friendly deer around. I’ve also seen a few rats and mice wander around the castle.” You were trying to hint to some of the hints from the map. Prongs being a deer and Wormtail being a rat. Remus chuckled at your words.

“Yes, the deer and rats can be quite kind and they can often invade your personal space. Not to mention the wild dogs. Those can be the most intrusive creatures on the grounds.” A dog. That was the last detail you needed. Padfoot. Now you just needed to figure out who was who. 

In your years at Hogwarts, it was relatively rare to find a dog on the grounds. That didn’t mean that it never happened, but this dog seemed different, and you had a hunch as to what was going on. You stood far away from the tree and contemplated going into the whole that the dog ran into. If you were right, then you could easily be heading to your one way trip to the afterlife, but you wanted to protect the people you cared about at all costs. You didn’t trust the professors with this information, and Remus was no exception. Harry had become a friend to you over the years, and if the disgusting rumors held true, this could be your chance to help him. Afterall, this was your father who was trying to kill Harry. The least you could do is fight this man and prove that you were capable of not being like him. 

You ran by the swinging branches and launched yourself into the whole. You found yourself in what appeared to be the shrieking shack. The floorboards creaked all around you. You pulled the wand out from your pocket and pointed in the direction you were walking. Eventually, you found yourself face to face with the dog.

“You know, I had a feeling you were the dog. Remus never admitted to anything, but something about all that he told me about you just reminded me of a dog. You don’t have to stay in that ridiculous form since I know it’s you.” You were surprised by your own confidence, but twelve years of anger can spark a lot. Suddenly, you were met with the man you thought you would never see again. You raised the wand up to his face, and locked your jaw in anger. 

“You look just like your mother Y/N. I know you think I’m a murderer, but that’s not the case. I’m innocent. Why don’t you lower your wand and we can talk this through.” He spoke carefully and clearly so as not to push you to hex him into another life.

“I don’t know why you came here, but I’m not going to let you hurt Harry, and I sure as hell am not going to let my guard down. You escaped from Azkaban for murder. Did you really think that I was going to believe you? Honestly, you must really be an idiot. Even if you are innocent, you let Harry and I live without you. You were supposed to be there for us.” You yelled the last line with an anger you didn’t know you had. “You were supposed to be there for me.” Your voice was low and full of pain. Sirius felt everything you said to him.

“I know, but allow me to explain.” You kept your wand in place as Sirius told his story. He explained how he was framed by Peter, and his reasoning for returning to Hogwarts. “You’re right. I should've done more to be there for you, but I can’t change the past. I sure as hell am never going to forgive myself for allowing you to grow up without me. I’m here now though. I know that I cannot make up the lost time, but I can try like hell to be there for you now. I have no right to ask for anything but I beg you to give me a chance to be in your life.” 

You lowered your wand and sat down on the nearest surface. Sirius sighed at the removal of the threat. He stayed silent as he watched you think about everything he said. He knew it was a lot for you to handle. It was a lot for anyone to handle. Neither of you were aware of how long you both sat there, but when you heard a distant creak and the familiar call of your name, you both launched into action. Sirius transformed into Padfoot.

“Y/N? Are you in here?” Fred appeared in the doorway and sighed at the sight of you. “George, she’s in here. Darling, what are you doing here? We've been looking for you for hours. You had us both worried.” He pulled you into a tight embrace and kissed the top of your head. You breathed in his scent and smiled. Maybe having your dad in your life wouldn’t be so terrible. You thought about Fred and your future together often. You thought about what it may be like to have someone that you could call your dad be there to watch you achieve all of the milestones in your life, and be there for any future children you may have. You thought about how happy Fred and George were with their family, and how jealous you were of their parents.

“Were you just here with a dog all of this time?” George asked as he walked into the room. Fred moved his gaze to the big, black dog in the room. You giggle quietly.

“Oh him? That’s my dad.” You smiled and sat next to the dog and gave him a reassuring look. “And judging by the way he’s looking at you Fred, he doesn’t seem too happy that his only daughter is dating someone.” Padfoot offered a small growl at your boyfriend who was both confused and slightly scared. 

“Y/N. I think you might be losing it.” George muttered. You laughed and motioned for Sirius to regain his human form. The look of fear and shock on the twins’ faces were priceless.

“Mr. Weasley I presume.” Sirius held out his hand. Apparently the Weasley hair was something that exceeded generation. Fred reached out his hand to meet your dad’s and he muttered his response. “I understand that you are dating my daughter. I will allow this, however, after I am proven innocent, and we can have a word alone, I think we should get to know one another. Thoroughly.” You watched the interaction with joy. You knew that sirius was pranking Fred, although there was a bit of seriousness in his tone as well.

“Boys, I assume that I don’t need to tell you that the knowledge of Sirius should remain a secret. I will also say that he is of no threat to any of us, so there is no need to worry.” You grabbed Fred’s hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “I think that you two should return to the school. I’m going to stay here a bit longer, but I am perfectly fine.” You kissed Fred’s cheek and gave a side hug to George as they wandered out of the shack. They weren’t happy that you were left alone with someone who was notorious for mass murder, but they understood that you wouldn’t put everyone in danger.

“So, you’ve taken to pranking old Snivellus eh?” You laughed and nodded. You wouldn’t have expected your day to go from terrible to one with an amazing boyfriend, and a supportive dad, but fate works in mysterious ways.

[glitxhwayventeen]

A Different Kind Of Love…

Wonwoo: Chapter 3 (Save Your Tears)

Characters: Wonwoo x female reader

Genre/Warnings: multi-member au (different scenarios), werewolf au, fantasy, angst, fluff, cheating (again, sort of), FOOD mentions, Mood Swings. Any others will be put as warnings when future chapters are thought up/written.

Author’s Note: Here it is friends! A chapter with almost complete fluff. Who would’ve thunk huh? Anyways I hope you guys like the chapter. I had quite a bit of fun writing it for some reason…

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

Bold= Dialogue Italics= Thoughts

Mostly domestic ☁️ & barely any 🥀

A Different Kind Of Love… Master List

Chapter 3: Save Your Tears

It had been exactly three months since you had been marked by Wonwoo and finally completely integrated yourself into your new pack. You hadn’t seen or heard from Song since that night, but you still felt VERY uneasy about the whole situation. People didn’t just get together the way you and your mate did and get a sweet happy little ending.

Wonwoo and you were doing great personally though. You now slept in the same room, ‘slept’ together, and just all around loved each other. You were starting to have a hard time remembering what life was like before you had gotten attacked by that angry mob now that you were with him. He made time stop and fast forward all at once. Everything seemed to go on forever and yet so quickly when you were with him. And you loved every single second of it. Even if you had a hard time showing him that sometimes.

You were downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast for all the boys, someone had to. They literally could not seem to take care of themselves even if they were grown ass men. So you kind of took on the part of den mother to them, you were the only responsible girl they had around after all. None of the Alphas had mates yet, in fact, no one older than Jihoon had found theirs yet. It was only the younger ones. And while their mates were great, they just very much acted like their wolf counter parts, which meant fun all day everyday without a second thought. So that left you being one of the few, other than Seungcheol and Joshua, who knew when enough shenanigans was enough. You didn’t mind, you liked having a big family again.

Many of the boys reminded you of your brothers. Especially Mingyu, who ate and played just as much and as rough as they did. It caused the both of you to become very close, even to the point where he felt like one of your biological brothers, he reminded you a lot of Mako. And of course, Wonwoo was absolutely delighted that the member he considered his best friend and his mate got along so much. He trusted Mingyu around you more than anyone else, so much so that he refused to even let you leave the house without either Gyu or himself by your side.

You had been having your nightmares again which was relatively normal for you. However, Wonwoo had started having them himself, which as a seer was very much not normal or good in meaning in anyway. He wouldn’t tell you what they were about, he always said you didn’t need to worry or be bothered with them as there was nothing to mention. But the way he clung to you, and the way he forced Mingyu to stay with you when he couldn’t, started having you think that maybe things weren’t as alright as they seemed…

You still just brushed it off, trying your best to just enjoy your little honeymoon bliss with your mate and continued to flip pancakes. Everything would work out. That’s what your voices said, so that’s what you believed. Soon enough, your mate had woken up to an empty bed and marched his way downstairs with a pout adorned on his face.

“(Y/N), why are you downstairs stirring batter instead of upstairs snoring in my arms?” He let out in an annoyed huff as he came to stand beside you, watching your actions with playfully narrowed eyes.

“Because Wonu, 1.) everyone will need breakfast soon and I hate that Seungcheol’s always left to be the one to do it and 2.) you take forever and I hate waiting for you to wake up. And HEY I do NOT snore!” You ranted, smacking his toned chest with your free hand in the process, the other firmly gripped onto your whisk as you made more mix for more pancakes.

You had gotten comfortable with him to the point of joking. Which not only made you proud, but made Wonwoo’s heart soar. He was glad he could coax you out of your shell a bit.

“Yeah yeah sure. And Soonyoung isn’t a little sexual deviant.” He chuckled and kissed the top of your rat’s nest covered head.

“Hey! I heard that!” Soonyoung shouted from his room in the higher portion of the house.

“Yeah I know.” Wonwoo smiled, dipping his finger in the batter you had just added some strawberry syrup to to add more flavor and plopping it directly into his mouth.

“Whatever that weird stuff is is good. But don’t think I’m still not upset that my mate left the bed without me this morning.” He assessed, sitting himself down on the counter next to you while you started pouring batter onto your skillet.

“Well get over it my love. It’s not the first time it’s happened and we both know with the way you sleep, it’s not gonna be the last. And my pancakes are not weird! They are delicious.” You declared, flipping a newly heated pancake over so it’s other side would begin to cook.

That’s something he had come to realize about you: you were always very prideful of being able to do household things well. And certain things like your hair for that matter. You always had high personal standards, though you only seemed to hold yourself to them as you didn’t care if anyone else lived up to them, just you. He chalked it up to your tribe’s old family centered traditions. He thought it was cute, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t tease you a bit about it.

Wonwoo smirked and bit his lip at the gratification you showed in your cooking, “They are. They’re still weird as shit though. Who puts the syrup INTO the batter?”

“I do. It makes them taste better” You insisted before you put the finished pancake with the rest of the cooked stack you had managed to create before your mate came to bother you.

“You know maybe you just don’t know how to cook.” You pointed at him with your spatula in a teasing manner.

“Maybe not” He shrugged, ducking his form down a bit to get closer to you, “But I DO know that when you’re done cooking them, you’re just gonna eat them plain like a freak.”

Just as he finished his sentence, half a dozen wolves made their way into the kitchen. You hadn’t even realized anyone other than Soonyoung was really even up yet do to you focusing all your senses and attention on your mate. That had taken you a lot of practice as, in the wilderness, you had to pay attention to everything and everyone around you.

“Mmm smells good (Y/N), what’s cooking?” Seungkwan questioned as he fought Soonyoung for a seat that was positioned closer to the food.

“Pancakes. I made loads of them” You stated, looking towards the two bickering werewolves before you and turned the stovetop off.

“And it is NOT freaky to eat them without syrup. Lots of people do it. Plus, the extra syrup’s so sugary it’s been making me feel sick lately so I would rather just eat it without to avoid it.” You spoke to Wonwoo, who had finally brought himself down from the counter and sat himself down on a chair to grab food with the other boys.

He just laughed in response to your stubbornness and pulled you to sit on his lap with a kiss to your cheek, “Whatever you say baby. I still think it’s weird to eat a plain pancake.”

It had taken you quite a while to warm up to this kind of PDA. When you first came to them, something like that would have you wiggle your way to sit alone and have to hide your burning cheeks. You’d really come a long way. Well, at least with Wonu

“Oh yeah no that’s suuuuper weird (Y/N). You may be a sociopath.” Jeonghan chuckled as he plopped another large bite of a pancake into his mouth, smiling.

“Yeah that’s weird as shit. Who the hell eats a plain pancake?” Soonyoung snickered, shoveling a whole syrup filled circle into his mouth.

“Look, what do any of you know? Most of you had never even eaten a pancake before I came around because Koreans don’t typically eat them for breakfast. So shut up!” You spit out, your feelings starting to get hurt at the constant teasing of the others.

“Who’s the weirdo eating plain pancakes?” Joshua, the American, asked from the stairs as he slowly made his was down towards the rest of the pack to eat.

“Well the Westerner thinks it’s weird so…” Chan said with a shrug and a shit eating grin.

The boys all busted out laughing, some so hard they had to hold their sides. Wonwoo started to choke a laugh back into your shoulder as you sat there and folded your arms over your chest.

“You guys suck. I try and be NICE to you and I get laughed at for my eating habits. I don’t want to have to sit here for this” You huffed, getting up from your mate’s lap and walking upstairs to your shared bedroom, closing the door a bit louder than you probably should’ve when so many people were still sleeping.

“Damn, what crawled up her ass?” Hansol, who you had stomped past on the way to your room said, finally getting himself situated in the kitchen.

Wonwoo let out a frustrated sigh before he stood up from his place, grabbing a plate of pancakes in the process. He was still trying to figure out when his teasing was too much for you. And he probably would’ve been fine had the others not decided to join in. You liked them, you did, but you weren’t as comfortable around them just yet. Them taunting you probably really upset you and he was just the dumbass who let them continue to do it.

“Me. I’m an idiot. I’ll go talk to her and see if I can get her to come back down.” He said as he begrudgingly made his way to the stairs, slightly kicking himself internally for upsetting you over something so little and stupid.

-

Once he made it to your bedroom door, he tried to turn the handle, only to realize it was locked.

“(Y/N)? Baby? Can you please open the door?” He whined out, not realizing he had upset you to the point of you wanting even HIM to leave you alone.

You always wanted him around you. Even when you first came to the pack, you still would rather be near him. Even when he was with Song, you still liked having him close by. Even when you were angry at him, you’d rather be angry at him with his arms wrapped around you than be angry at him alone somewhere. You never locked the door. His inner wolf groaned at the thought.

“No.” You bluntly spit out, wanting him as far away from you as possible and trying to suppress a stomach growl all in one go.

“I brought pancakes…” Wonwoo all but sung out, having heard your angry stomach and knowing damn well you would give into him if he had food.

After hearing a small groan from the other side of the barrier, he heard a little click of metal before the door swung open. In front of him was a very angry looking you, your cheeks were stained with tears and it caused a small whimper to emit from his chest. He had caused you to cry and it crushed him.

You had your hand out in expectancy as he had promised sustenance in exchange for entry. He dutifully handed you the plate and closed the door behind him. He watched as you scarfed down a full pancake in one go. Damn, you were more hungry than he thought.

“What do you want?” You sniffled at him once you had cleared your airway of food.

You sat the plate down on the nightstand before you stood and turned your attention back to your mate, grabbing another pancake and taking small bites in the process. You were never really this hungry or ate this much, but when you got sad lately, you just felt like eating. Probably not the best habit, but you weren’t that good with your feelings, you always just followed your instincts instead. They always kept you alive, and right now they were telling you to eat, so you ate.

“I wanted to apologize baby. I didn’t mean to upset you. It really was just a joke. I didn’t mean to make you cry. You’re not weird. Plain pancakes are fine. I should’ve just kept my big mouth shut.” He groveled, wrapping his arms around your small frame.

“Yes. Yes, you should’ve.” You agreed, finally swallowing the remains of your food and crossing your arms in annoyance, slightly leaning away from his touch to wipe your tears away.

You wanted him to touch you. God, you wanted him to touch you. But you didn’t want to give in so easily, because once you gave in, you knew he’d get all smug and then you’d want to punch his smug face. You wanted him to genuinely feel bad before you crashed your lips to his and ripped each other clothes off. It was only fair.

Wonwoo could smell the wetness already beginning to form between your legs. He suppressed a smirk threatening to appear on his face for getting you this worked up by literally doing almost nothing, but he knew being cocky wasn’t a good way to get you to stop being mad at him. So he stuck with his original plan: begging for forgiveness.

He easily lifted you up and secured your legs around his waist, holding onto your back so you wouldn’t lose your balance and fall, “I really am sorry. I won’t do it again baby. I promise.” He spoke as he leaned his forehead against yours with his best pout, tugging at your heartstrings.

You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to contain your excitement for what was about to come, but failed miserably and let a happy smile creep up on your lips. You locked your hands behind his head, giggled at him and bit your lip.

“You’re forgiven. This time. BUT you have to make it up to me.” You decided, eyes looking up for a moment in thought to tease him. He slowly started moving towards the bed that was in the center of the room before he spoke up.

“And how would you like me to make it up to you baby?” He said as he began kissing your neck softly, trailing around your mate mark with a grin plastered on his face.

“Well for starters, you can fuck me senseless until I forget what I was even mad at you for to begin with.” You confirmed, tilting your head to the side to give him a bit more access to your exposed neck.

“With pleasure my love.” And with that, he fell to the bed with you in his arms, careful not to crush you in the process before he got to work on his promise.

(Updated 8/23)

[sentofight]

faty i lov u so much im SO eternally glad we met & that we still are mutuals & write & all that, because knowing u has been an absolute blast and i ADORE the way u come into ppls(my!) ask boxes with random stuff or just to expand on some other post, i think its all soooo endearing and each time u pick up a muse im always HEART EYES and im so happy for each dynamic...like gran&chrom??? leaders who can be so childish?? i think its EXCELLENT and is so needed for gran... hinata&machina are SO funny, and im rly glad theyre (somewhat) hitting it off, cuz i think at the end of the day hinata would kind of understand machina (WHICH i also love how eights like "dude its ok if ure not feeling good, but u should get help & not just disappear", i love eight. thank u for also loving eight). AND IM LOSING MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT but. thank u for all of this, its such a delight to know u and im always so so grateful...u make writing SO fun and i appreciate that everyday

????????????????????????????????????/

im legit confusion atm. this is so sweet my brain dysfunction and unresponsive. 

uh im not crying. ninja cutting onions are back at it. god who to pay to get rid of them haha ...

uuuh ... this is really ...sweat. really. and honestly i needed it ;u; it blows my mind that we know each other for that long and just you didnt give up on me because time and different fandom we got into. i’m happy u got me into writing ch/rom, you and arph tbh. i still think about how i only wrote chrom for the risen king shenanigans then he is forever rotting in my brain now. so thank you for this curse lmao seriously thank you for always being the one to watch my shitty posts and press the like button to them and supporting my ted talk endeavors even though they are 90% me crying about one thing or another.  type0... type0 dude is a fandom i thought i would give up on when everyone just disappeared but welp. rent free class zero in my brain weee. i did give up for a bit but then eight came back like henlo i require attention yes bring me back. then i added machina for the sole purpose of shenanigans then ..hahaha here comes the boooy~ hello boy~ welcome~ he’s never gonna give anyone up haha before them our ocs ... i love them so much. i love how einar, hinata and arph’s oc..im sorry i cant remember his name because einar refused to remember his name and kept calling him suzaka’s rat ...im sorry arph. but he is suzaku’s rat so where is the lie. hinata being the smol boy among them lmao. lays on the ground...final fantasy type 0 ocs..i will love them as if they were my own flesh and blood hand them all over to me. might frick up and work on more if it weren’t for the dead sign over the fandom but haha when did that ever....stopped me hohoh ....aaaaaaaaaa words words...words...i really dont know what to write????????/how to write??????? to express how much i want to squish your face and give you all the love you rightfully deserves???????????? ????? 2022 virtual hugs when??? i really really appreciate you sticking with me on every blog, on every whim i make and just roll with it and provide me with chef kiss asks when i need them. thank you so much for existing and love THE poteighto.

[firewoodfigs]

a smorgasbord of unbidden thoughts / highlights (long post ahead!): 

we’re slowly creeping out of the lockdown, and we’re allowed to go out for meals now! I got to meet a friend for dinner on Monday and he treated me to some amazing Italian fare as a belated birthday gift :’) I was really craving Italian after watching Luca and I haven’t had good pasta in a long while, so that was really nice. I also met a friend for dinner today after work, and we’re just glad to have made it to Friday tbh lmao. it was nice catching up again after so long and talking about everything under the sun (in this case, under the moon). I love spending time alone and having time myself, but I can’t deny that I’ve also missed interacting with other sentient life forms lmao. 

I managed to re-schedule my vaccine slots, and I'm getting my first shot tomorrow! fingers crossed it won’t be too bad (I still wanna be able to type through the soreness 😩). I'm a little nervous tbh because I absolutely detest needles, but I feel like at this point I just don’t care anymore LMAO. it also helps that my bf and I got the same vaccination slot, so I guess I'll just make a ruckus and be a nuisance if things go south. jk 

next week’s my last full week of work before my two-month break begins! I'm really excited to finally get a breather from work (although to be fair I've only been working for like... 6 months lmao rip) before things get real hectic in September haha. I'm definitely not looking forward to the added responsibilities, and i’m honestly not sure how to feel about getting called to the bar because everyday is just a flurry of shit, am I really cut out for this and help, work is dulling my * sparkle * and yo, you think I can just move somewhere west and be a country singer? but oh well. too late I guess. I'm too deep in debt to get out now LMAO. jk 

on the bright side, though, I received news today that I’ve been designated to my preferred area of practice for my next seat :) and i'm pretty excited about that! I've honestly been feeling pretty desiccated about the law ever since starting practice because it’s so different from whatever I've studied and something that college couldn’t have possibly prepared me for lmao (many thoughts but I don’t want to turn this into an essay so I will simply project my feelings onto my favourite war criminals)

it’s been a struggle to create lately, for various reasons. these days it feels like anything I make is woefully inadequate and subpar and mediocre, and i’m just. constantly torn between striking everything out altogether and desperately wanting to be better, to feel better. I felt a little burnt out after royai week because  I was rushing to complete so many projects and ideas on time (I do tend to get a little overambitious and overzealous that way, haha), and so I tried to take a break, but I couldn’t properly rest, either, because these days I only feel alive when I'm... creating. LOL. it's like an unresolvable paradox where I slog to feel alive and then feel like death, and then feel like I'm wasting away and wasting time when I'm being unproductive and fruitless. idk, man. it’s probably the productivity guilt acting up or something. it doesn’t help that my mind is an unholy mix of anxiety and imposter syndrome and perfectionism, either, or that inspiration only strikes me at the ungodliest of hours. I find that it’s easier to write when I've cleared everything else on my plate, but sometimes it’ll be midnight by the time I've done that because there’s just so much to do. I end up writing at two in the morning and/or recording snippets of a putative song while half-asleep (the result is usually pretty dang awful, because I have no idea what I was saying when I listen to it the next day lmao).

I also find it to difficult to alternate between so many forms of writing. my job mostly consists of reading and writing (mostly boring and terribly dreary stuff, because lawyers have apparently never heard of punctuation or one-liners, and I am 100% proving this right now with my streams of consciousness), and my hobbies primarily include that, too. I've also been struggling to switch between writing prose/fic and poems and songs because i tend to focus on different things. (I also have the attention span of a goldfish. or a confused rat.) like, I focus a lot more on how things flow for the first, how things look for the second, and how things sound for the third, if that makes sense? but I also literally cannot focus on one thing at a time so everything is just a half-written mess and a smattering of my illegible scrawls tbh 😞 I'm hoping that I'll have more time to sit down and properly sort these out one at a time during my break hahaha. 

that being said, I read something this week about the four stages of learning a new skill LOL iirc it goes (1) unconscious incompetence (2) conscious incompetence (3) conscious competence (4) unconscious incompetence? I find that I'm stuck at (2) atm for a lot of things, which is probably why it’s so hard to go forth and do the damn thing without descending into a spiral of self-doubt haha. the truth is I rely on external reassurances and validation a great deal to tide me through, because my mind is just so used to criticising myself for everything and being my own harshest critic that it’s become a challenge to objectively assess my own work. it’s probably a defence mechanism to feeling like failure is not an option and/or my upbringing or something, and it’s how I’ve coped with a lot of things, but I'm also coming to realise that it’s not always the healthiest way to live haha. 

BUT, you know. at the end of the day it’s a hobby and it’s supposed to be fun and joy-inducing and. it’s so easy to ruin all of that in the process of pursuing perfection so. I think i’ll just work on attempting the damn thing and worrying about it afterwards 🤠 (and also being less exacting on myself haha) 

ending things on a lighter and brighter note - I received a lovely surprise from a friend this week!! I ordered some earrings from her (the stuff she makes is the stuff of DREAMS) and she tossed in a necklace for me and it’s just. it’s beautiful. it’s handmade. it’s astounding. I'm weeping. 

[tarunsaravana]

Fast Food addiction Scary Stories

All things said here are just theories they are not meant to hurt anything/anyone.

Listen I’m a fast food fan. Clearly I gained a lot of weight that comes from fast food. So ,I am not insinuating that you shouldn’t have fast food. I went to store after store for fast food when I was ten. Like kfc , McDonalds etc. and I noticed always there wasn’t any bad thing with fast food. But it doesn’t change the fact that there are some scary stories about your favorite fast food. Now I am not the only one that loves fast food , over In united States almost 500,000 chain restaurants are there. Everyday millions of people are going to fast food places just to eat fast food buying ingredients they don’t even understand. Even though we all know fast food is bad for us , it causes obesity even scarier than that some fast food situations that involves poisoning, cannibalism, conspiracy behind it ,mass murder and gambling.

CONSPIRACY

Of course the biggest conspiracy of them all , is fast food is created to keep all of us unhealthy, easy to manipulate. Now it is not a secret that fast food that major corporations have been using fast food to profit off of obesity. They also work extra hard to make us bigger. Now why would the corporations want us to be fat.

WEIGHT LOSS INDUSTRY

I mean go into any store , drive down any street and tell me how many weight loss products companies you see, Jenny Craig ,weight watchers , slimfast , slim pills, lean cuisine , 24 hour fitness and every restaurant has a menu of new diet trends , juice cleanses ,literally any you could think of ,people are making money and profit of us being fat. Now the weight loss industry in America are almost eighty billion dollars.and they like the cycle , the cycle ,is you go to fast food restaurant , gain bunch of weight and then you go to the weight loss industry, lose weight. And then you go back to the fast food restaurant , I mean its a one big cycle. and trust me I also going to be in that cycle anyways. Now I want tell you something I saw on the internet (TRUE FACT) about Jenny Craig ,the infamous weight loss company working for a another company called NESTLE. You know it, the same company that makes chocolate. I mean you are telling me , one of the biggest chocolate company is promoting a weight loss company. That proves that These companies work together , to make you fat and then make you lose weight and then repeat. Once again all of these are just theories , not “facts” and they are not meant to hurt anything/anyone. Now when it comes to drugs the United States alone, its worth 600 billion dollars. Which means if you lose all the weight and you don’t need these drugs anymore. And then suddenly they are not making money off you anymore, and they want to keep you fat which means you eat fast food again to gain a bunch of weight.

REAL FACT

Another thing is, have you ever wanted fast food so bad ,like you were craving its because, in fast food they have added chemicals that stimulate your brain to want even MORE fast food. Now we all know that (msg) Monosodium glutamate is a common practice to make food addictive to ourselves even casein. These two chemicals stimulate your brain , and make you addicted. And these chemicals enhance the favour of the food. And this is not a theory its very real.

Just read into what this food executive says “if they replicate that chemical reaction on your tongue, they can stimulate your brain without it being real”.

CONSPIRACY So this is where it gets scary, but its real so, if corparations or who ever in charge of the world ,want us to be fat, unhealthy and easy to manipulate ,you think that they will start while the person is young. Billions of dollars are put into commercials and advertisements FOR EXAMPLE the sponge bob , a children cartoon is promoting a fast food place. If makes you to believe that a kid wants fast food , which we all knows its bad for them, and then the parents are like “alright the kid won’t shut up , lets take them to the fast food place , the kid gets fat , the kid gets obese and then the corporation gets exactly what they want. And its not just about commercials and advertisements , fast food restaurants like McDonalds, litterly create an environment to intice kids . I mean, think about it ,why there are actually ball pits and playground where kids can play. But we are so used to it, when we were kids we enjoyed fast food commercials and advertisements and we enjoyed all the crazy colorful ads. There are some fast food chains that don’t add chemicals and then don’t produce (msg) and casein. And the major corporation don’t like that.

CHIPOTLE

Chipotle is a another food restaurant that doesn’t add any chemicals to it. And the theory is that the major corporations trying to get rid of chipotle. And yes, chipotle unlike other restaurants ,it looks little bit healthier and they said themself that there is no chemicals added to it. They even released a short film starring a scarecrow walking through the factory and seeing the cows , chickens getting pumped and of course the short film has a happy ending. Well two years later after the short film came out something happened, there was a e.coli break at chipotle which made 350 people sick. And this is where things get messed up, a lot of people think that chipotle was a victim of bio terriost attack. A lot of people think one of the biggest multi billion dollar industry poisoned chipotle meat to change the people opinion and public services.well it kinda worked , even I after reading the article I thought chipotle is bad for me and I needed to skip it.

WORST THINGS FOUND IN FOOD (WARNING GRAPHIC EXPLANATION)

A women found two worms at McDonalds sandwich

Even in India we all know that people have found worms on kfc chickens.

Now even scarier than, that sometimes ,an employee puts purposely puts some weird stuff in food like gum, this employee puts a prescription pills. This one gave me the chills ,a boy in arby’s he bite in a sandwich and there was a freaking full blood finger.he described it seemed rubbery and when he spit it ,out it was a employee’s finger who she accidentally cut in the meat station.the employee was treated at a hospital. The boy had a blood test and Arby’s is calling this a isolated incident.

A little girl bite in her Wendys burger and it was full of glass.she munched and “it wasn’t a normal munch states the mother”

As the mother was picking the burger out of her mouth , she was exploiting blood and full glass on her finger.

WORST MOMENTS IN RESTAURANTS

There is a video live leak of a fighting going on in the restaurants like the ice cream caravan. And the craziest part it happened outside of a sheriff’s office. And there is so many videos like this. Even scarier a couple beating up a recipient because the food was cold.

FAST FOOD KILLER

There was a man named Paul Dennis Reid , he was executed in 1997 after a killing spree and a robbery .he killed seven fast food employees. Now Paul Reid committed some of the most violent crimes in American history . His plan was to commit execution style murders at different drive throughs , it started in captain seafood in 1997 and then he pretends to apply a job and he told two employees to walk through the freezer. And then he made them turn around and shot them back in the head. And then he took all their money and left. And then sometime in McDonalds that was only few miles away from the restaurant, their he stole 3000 dollars and then shot three employees in the head. And then he went out of gun ammo and stabbed the last employee. Now the man who got stabbed actually survived he’s name was Antonio Gonzalez, and he testified against Reid and sent him to jail to life. And in a more crime scene he was involved in more murders where he stabbed some employees to death and slashed their throats. He did the death penalty and he died in 2013 from complications.

GAMBLING

After digging into a little bit of reasearch I found a videos of people calling out Chuck E cheese for spoiling kids to gambling. A lot of people talk about the gambling casino hall in chuck e cheese.where a kid can gamble like an adult ,even though we know its bad for them , but no , kids these days are with What with all the flashing screens, dinging bells, and glazed-over customers absorbed in the games at hand, a Chuck E. Cheese arcade bears quite a resemblance to the slot machine section of a casino. Are kids, in fact, gambling in between their pizza and soda?. A youtuber who went by the name of Milly web made an exposing video on chuck e cheese titled “EXPOSING CHUCK E CHEESE.... do NOT trust the rat” that video got a lot of attention and views. Even a man named bob plachno made a video on titled CHUCK E. CHEESE'S PROMOTES UNDERAGE GAMBLING...

He even said that “imagine giving beer to kids , that’s how dangerous chuck e cheese is

Tarun

[phonecallwithsatan]

just look for my owl (three)

a.n. : I am in awe that there are TEN of you that follow me. I don’t even care if I get bullied for geeking out over ten followers. I’m so happy and glad you all enjoy what i’ve written. My lovelies, here is chapter three of this series. I think its getting interesting but im too scared to add mature stuff in here because i dont know how you all will react. Look at me, speaking to my ten followers. It’s a press conference at this point. Chap. four is soon to follow tonight so please keep out for that! This fic is a they/them reader, so  I will only refer to you as they/them. 3k words, fred weasley x y/n, enjoy!<3

Our beloved Fred Weasley falls for Ilvermorny student [y/n] [l/n]. He’s determined to get to them, but the only way he can is through post sent through the two. The only thing left for the pair is to just look for an owl.

Check out chapter two before you read this!

☾

It had been four days since that owl came in to deliver Fred Weasley’s Professor a parcel from [Y/n l/n]. 

It had been four days since Fred hadn’t stopped thinking about [y/n].

Luckily, no suspicions from his professor were brought up about the missing photo, and he was glad. The professor even came in during his quidditch practice to chat with the students cheerfully, even taking a few photos of the team as a whole and separately. 

Today was the 31st of October, and the Triwizard champions were chosen shortly after Fred began to dig into his food, irritated at the interruption that faced him.

Or maybe he should say the Quartet champions now that Harry was facing the tournament too.

Dinner wrapped up a bit after that, and the two twins carried on to their dorms surprisingly silent the whole way. Not causing any ruckus or speaking even.

Perhaps it was because they were disappointed at the selection of Harry even though he was younger than the two twins. They could have had a chance now that he was chosen, but Fred knew that it wasn’t about that.

He didn't know about his twin at the moment, normally he does, but Fred was in a hurry to get to his dorm and sleep, as he had no homework.

Everyday for these past four days, Fred has dreamed about [y/n]. Dreaming, thinking, pondering, it was all connected to them. Not a particular storyline, not at all, his dreams were more of the idea of a real-life physical them.

[y/n] in his jumper, [y/n] in Hogwarts robes, their hand in his under the table during dinner at the great hall, how they would say his name in any context. His thoughts were severely occupied with them and Fred was okay with that.

These ideas followed their way through the portrait hole, into the Gryffindor common room, and up the stairs to the boys dorm. 

He had yet to wash himself off after his long day, so Fred went off to the left side of the dorm to access his trunk at the end of his bed. He takes out a simple orange towel and closes the chest up. He then takes off his sweater vest only to place it on his bedspread.

Walking over to his bedside table, Fred decides to let [y/n] take a dip into his daydreams as he looks in his drawer for the photo of them.

No, thinks Fred. No, no, no, no, no, cascading words now fill Fred’s brain as he panics about the fact that his polaroid was missing.

The polaroid of [y/n] was now missing from Fred’s bedside table, confused as to how exactly he misplaced something so golden.

His whole dresser was obviously rummaged through. There were a few sickles missing along with an extra jar of ink and- his stash of Fizzing Whizzbees and Jelly Slugs. He genuinely frowned at the candy more than anything else, but then he remembered about the photo that was missing- stolen now.

Fred whipped his head back to see who was in the boys’ shared dorm, and the only person he saw was his twin chatting with a visiting fifth year student. 

Now completely turned, Fred walks to the front of his bed and pulls out his trunk, wondering if he had left it in there by accident, but it was no luck.

“George,” started Fred with his back to his twin.

George turned to his brother. 

“What is it, Fred?” He asked with confusion. He noticed the drawer hanging on by a thread off the rest of the table and decided to completely disregard his conversation at that point. “I’ll catch you later.” 

As the friend walks out of the boys’ dormitories, Fred begins to explain what had happened, hand motions waving around. They usually appear when there is something wrong.

“Someone rummaged through my stuff,” Fred motions to his dresser, “did you let anyone else come in here and mistake it for yours?” 

George looked at his twin with furrowed brows until his face lightened up a bit from the clarity. 

“Yeah, actually. Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff was in here and he asked me for some ink.”

“George, what the hell.” Fred was beyond confused as to what, first of all, Cedric Diggory, one of the Triwizard champions, was doing in the Gryffindor common room. Why he was needing ink in the middle of the day and why his drawer. “You let him go through it? Half of my items are missing.” Fred was furious at how irresponsible his brother was at the moment.

“He was desperate and I felt bad.” A simple response from a boy with little to no empathy when it came to using a twelve-year-old student as a lab rat for their inventions. A particular unnamed candy that is still a work in progress gave her severe diarrhea for weeks straight.

“George, he stole money, candy, and t- What is wrong with you?” He cut himself quick before he could expose [y/n] to his brother. He was mad at him and now was not the time to gush about them.

“It’s fine, we’ll talk to him tomorrow.” George laughs at his twin for being unmanageable, but Fred is unamused.

“Piss off.” Fred takes his towel and goes town to the bathrooms, bringing a change of clothes with him.

☾

Fred was a bit after hours for students, but he couldn't wait to get the bath located in the prefect's bathroom.

Yes, Fred had snuck in there, but that's because the boys’ dormitory bathroom was disgustingly filled with too many boys in one perimeter. So with this in mind, Fred knew exactly where to go to relax from the fuming that happened between himself and his brother.

Fred dropped his towel by the edge of the water and took off his shoes. Setting them neatly by the towel, he began to work on his shirt. He loosened his tie but not all the way so the loop in it would stay. He began to unbutton his shirt, hands working a bit slower than normal. He did not come here often, nor was he a prefect, so he took his time.

He looked up from his hands and Fred looked at the mermaid mural on the stained glass, thinking of [y/n], the beauty remarkable from either photo. Not that Fred was comparing physical features from the mermaid and from [y/n], he was rather just acknowledging how both were, to put it literally, breathtaking. 

The colors from it shaded his body in colors of pinks and blues, diluting a bit now that the white shirt was shrugged off his body. The color was not as vibrant now, but his light skin and freckles that were splattered all over his chest created a new palette of shades.

He dropped his shirt on top of his other items and he undid his belt, leaving it on the belt loops of his pants as he takes them off as well, folding them up unlike his shirt and dropping them on his pile of clothes. All he had left were his boxers, and they were soon added to the tower of items on his right side.

He stepped into the water while simultaneously checking for any other visitors. It was a bit late for that, though, considering that he was completely exposed at that point. 

The moonlight shone through the glass, some areas of the floor painted colors with the light. The water was flowing from a few taps and bubbles were flying everywhere. Fred shifted a bit from his old placement in the giant pool so his arms were now propped on the edge.

Now with the photo in the hands of a certain someone he considered a snake, even though they were in Hufflepuff, Fred needed to confront Cedric for not only his money, his candy, and his ink without consent, Fred needed to confront him about [y/n]. What kind of a freak just steals a photo? 

Oh, thought Fred. 

What if, somehow, Cedric gets a hold of [y/n]? Impossible, he reassured himself. Cedric doesn't even know their name. He knows nothing. He's a loathsome rat who steals money, candy, ink, and photos. 

Smiling to himself for coming up with that description, Fred quickly goes down the same road again.

What if, somehow, [y/n] likes him, instead? What if- His mind was filled with ‘what-ifs’ and ‘somehows’ that clouded his brain. Cedric shouldn't have been running through his mind regardless. There’s just no possibility where [y/n] would even meet him.

He was consumed with someone who did not know he existed Fred was jealous that someone else was in possession of that photograph.

The only way to eliminate Cedric was to get to [y/n] first, and he knew his plan from the moment he saw their photo.

He was going to catch his professor at the owlery in the castle, and sneak his own letter in there. This way, both parcels would miraculously be carried over the Atlantic ocean.

His professor wouldn't notice and hopefully [y/n] wouldn't be too freaked out.

The tap finished spewing water and the room went silent except for a few drips coming from one of the spouts. Fred estimated his time and decided to waste none of it, so he dunked his head underwater out of impulse and came back up with his hair sticking to his forehead. 

He needed to write.

☾

Fred was now back in his common room sitting on a couch with his parchment spread out over his legs and couch, and his wet hair slowly dripping on it, making the ink smear a bit. He had crumpled up at least five different drafts of a few sentences while sitting there.

He was wearing grey pants and a gryffindor jumper, keeping him warm on the first day of November. It was about one at night and he could hear his brother, Ron Weasley, snoring from the upstairs dorms.

He dug up a few polaroids he had taken with his brother at the beginning of the year to drop in the parcel. Fred had decided to make this out to his mother, Molly Weasley, hence the photos would have been for her. Molly wanted photos taken with their new camera and photos of their new brooms for Quidditch being put to use properlly.

Normally, Fred didn't really use muggle instruments, but he did have a shared camera with his twin, George. Luckily, a shop in Hogsmeade sold refills for it.

And they would have, Fred and George ended up taking photos of themselves during Quidditch practice, making sure to hide the camera from teachers and spectators so it wouldn't be taken away. Snape would make it his life goal to snatch it away from them when really it did no harm.  They took photos of their jerseys, the field, a few separates, a few with the team, and two separate ones of the twins. They were planning to give them to their mum, but these photos would be put to use differently.

It was a brilliant plan in his eyes. [y/n] would surely respond to his so-called mistake, right? Hopefully they would send a letter back, and maybe a few polaroids for himself to keep. It’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Fred began his sixth attempt at writing out a letter to his own [y/n].

Mum,

We miss the burrow. And you and dad, of course. 

As promised, the photos. We think you’ll really enjoy these, since you probably miss our ravishing looks.

There’s not much to write about, mum. Ginny is okay, Ron is alright, and George is asleep somewhere right now. Otherwise, they would have scribbled something on here.

Fred

It was too short but he couldn’t think of anything else to write to his mum. She had written to Ginny a few days prior so he had given all viable information to Ginny’s response letter.

He reacted quickly to the water that dripped off his hair and snatched the parchment before it could bleed and combine with the ink. The script was perfect, absolutely incomparable to his other drafts.

Time moved fast and it was now two in the morning. Fred took his parchment and placed it neatly in the parcel. He took his stack of polaroids and placed them in the parcel.

Almost forgetting, Fred searched through the polaroids and found the two individual snapshots of the twins in their uniforms. Molly constantly mixed the two up when they wore their quidditch uniforms, always forgetting who was #5 and who was #6. Their own mother. It severely got worse every year.

From totally forgetting to absolutely forgetting, Fred forgot that this letter wasn’t even going to reach his mother. He had already marked up the photos though, that was just an afterthought.

He looked at the photo of himself and his twin standing in front of the center field, astonished as to how clear it was. He could see his features perfectly unlike the photo he previously had of [y/n] that was blurry but nonetheless readable.

Shoving the photos back into the parcel, he wrapped it up nicely and carefully wrote the address of the burrow on it.

His plan was slowly coming into action, and Fred was just excited to see it play out.

☾

Fred had ended up spilling everything to his twin the day he planned to sneak his letter along with McGonagall’s.

“So you have no clue who [y/n] is, and you’re providing photos of you and your friends to this person, might I add again, who you don’t know? Fred, this is ridiculous.” George was talking to his twin in the corridor right before the owlery as they were both waiting for the professor to return with a response letter. Fred had been holding onto the parcel for a few days now, and yesterday, he saw that familiar brown owl arrive again.

McGonagall greeted the owl mid-class and took the letter in hand to place it safely in her desk. The owl remained on the window perch for the rest of class.

Fred wasn’t able to see who sent it, but he knew that owl all too well to be mistaken for someone else owling his Professor.

Just as Fred was about to respond to his brothers snarky question, they heard footsteps down the hall and they began to walk up to the owlery.

They had decided to distract McGonagall with a familiar owl, Hedwig. Harry had been complaining how she had been squawking too much for normal. Harry wouldn’t mind, though, because he never had to know that his owl was involved in a hopelessly romantic ploy.

Fred and George were now in the owlery next to Hedwig, feeding her snacks they had brought for compensation. It was only fair to her that she got something in response. A few strange squawks escaped her beak.

“Good morning Mr. and Mr. Weasley. Are you writing someone?” McGonagall was an expert at knowing who was who just off the back of their heads. Granted, she could probably tell the two apart without them turning around. 

“Just paying a visit to Hedwig here, professor. We need to get going soon.” George glanced at Hedwig mid-sentence and gave the professor a small smile.

Their plan was failing terribly. McGonagall was getting her owl ready for the journey by winding the ribbon around its leg to hold the letter more in place. 

Normally, Fred and George would just place a note in Errol's beak, but since it was a longer distance they would have to find a way to tie it around the owls leg.

Luckily, Hedwig served as an amazing distraction as she began to choke and squawk on the snacks they were giving her. It was a time of crisis but the twins had to act fast.

McGonagall turned to the twins and quickly discarded her owl to help them. She pushed them aside and began to aid the choking owl, George began to laugh a at the visual of an owl choking, but quickly put it away as he got a scolding look from McGonagall, who was now shaking the owl. 

Fred used this distraction to run over and tie his letter to the owls leg, attaching his and his professors letter to the owl. The animal began to flap its wings, confused as to why an unknown ginger was picking at his feet, but Fred was too busy to yell at it.

By attaching his letter to McGonagall’s owl, Fred didn't need to get authorization from someone to send it. He also did not have to get it searched, as he was sneaking it through.

He turned to see George motioning him to hurry, laughing at the same time because his professor was still talking to the bird, trying to get it to stop choking. 

Fred was able to tie the letters successfully and shooed the owl quickly, noticing how the two letters weighed it him down a little, making Fred laugh too. He didn’y understand how he pulled it off, but he was happy it worked- somewhat. The owl was steadily flapping it’s wings but Fred could see that it wasn’t used to that type of weight on its feet.

He speed walked back to his professor who was oblivious as to what happened behind her back. The twins were wrong for laughing at the McGonagall who wanted to just help them deal with the animal cruelty they put on Hegwig, but it was a visual they would never forget. And truly, it was a little funny and dramatic.

Fred wondered again how the hell his absurd plan worked, but he was glad that he was able to send out the parcel, and avoid murdering his friends owl with food.

“There, girl. You’re alright. You spit out.” McGonagall consoled the owl by patting her head. She turned to the twins and scolded them for being so irresponsible with someone else's owl.

“Potter doesn’t know, does he?” She asked.

The two twins looked at eachother and ran off laughing, leaving McGonagall clueless to everything that just happened. 

Soon after that, Fred realized that he had just created the beginning of something new in his life. Something that he had yet to receive not in person, but rather in a form of a letter.

All he had left to do was look for that Brown owl.

[angelofthequeers]

Not a Good Look: Chapter 3

@thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @lady-charinette tagged as requested :)

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 | AO3 link

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

“Should I use my power now?” Aspik says when he and Multimouse are by his bedroom door, ready to slip out into the house and gather intel on this possible deal between Gabriel and Lila. “Here’s probably the safest place to reset to, and I can always refuel and give us another save point after five minutes once we get to another safe space.”

“Smart!” Multimouse blurts out. With cheeks as red as Ladybug’s suit, she adds, “Sorry! Just…yeah, that’s a good idea, Ad – Aspik. It’s probably not a good idea to wait till we’re caught before setting the save point.”

“Second Chance!” Aspik swipes his fingers over his bangle, setting the snake head back and revealing five teal bars. Then he holds up a finger, rests his other hand on the doorknob, turns it, and pushes it open. Thankfully, the hallway outside is empty, so Aspik gestures for Multimouse to slip out with him.

“I can’t believe I get to do a superhero mission with you!” Multimouse is practically vibrating as she walks. “I mean, it was really cool doing it with Ladybug, but…she’s Ladybug, you know?”

Aspik’s about to respond but they round the corner at that moment and stumble across the maid, Marie Durand. Marie takes one look at them and lets out a piercing scream, and Aspik yelps and fumbles for his bangle as the sound of footsteps from downstairs reaches his ears.

“Second Chance!”

Once more in his bedroom, he heads out with Multimouse again, though this time, his senses are more finely tuned so that they can avoid Marie and anyone else who might be around.

“For the record, it’s awesome doing a superhero mission with you too, Mar – Multimouse,” he whispers. Multimouse jumps.

“O-Oh! I really said that?”

Aspik grins at her and she turns beet red. “Yep. As much as I loved working with Ladybug, I feel like there’s a little less pressure with you. I’m not trying to impress you.” His eyes widen when Multimouse reels back as though she’d been slapped. “Um, not that I don’t – I mean – Second Chance!”

God, why can’t he have Second Chance as a superpower in his everyday life? He’d sell his soul to be able to get out of awkward situations like he just had; and this time, when telling Multimouse how he likes working with her, he makes extra sure to leave out the part about not trying to impress her. He hadn’t meant it like that! He just meant – well, it’s so much easier to relax with Marinette! She puts everyone at ease!

Unfortunately, his confession of enjoying working with her also makes her squeak and trip over her own feet, crashing to the floor so loudly that Marie is summoned to investigate. Just like the last time she’d caught them, she screams, and Aspik is forced to hurriedly use his Second Chance again to avoid being caught.

Okay. Avoid any topic that involves heaping praise on Multimouse. As much as she deserves it, now is not the time for her to be flustered. Really, that one was all on him.

Fourth time: Aspik got so distracted by Multimouse’s twin buns and wondering how to get Marinette to wear them normally that he completely forgot about Marie. Oops.

Fifth time: Multimouse slipped past him as they crept down the grand staircase and her smell of strawberries and vanilla invaded his nose and knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing head over heels and bringing Multimouse down with him. Nathalie had been decidedly unimpressed, but he’d reset before she could snarl out whatever she was going to say.

Sixth time: minor love crisis over how hard it would be to just go out with Ladybug and Kagami and Marinette all at the same time. A close encounter of the Marie kind once more.

Seventh time: Just a dizzy spell. Definitely not distracted by wondering what Multimouse’s lips would taste like and if she’d taste any different when detransformed. Thank god no one else remembers what happens but him.

Eighth time: At least made it past Marie before remembering Ladybug holding Marinette close and devolving into a primate with his single brain cell dedicated to fantasies involving both girls that he’ll never divulge even under pain of death. Caught by Nathalie again.

Ninth time: Got distracted by the way Multimouse’s jump rope tail moved as she turned the corner and then couldn’t look away from her butt. Here lies Adrien Agreste, struck down by the heavens for perving on the butt of one of his best friends. (The superhero suits definitely do their wielders some favours, though).

Tenth time: finally made it all the way to the atelier, quicker this time so Nathalie wouldn’t catch them. Scarred for life when Multimouse divided to make the door opening look like a breeze and Nathalie had been hugging Gabriel from behind and burying her nose in the crook of his neck with one hand splayed across his stomach. Gabriel Agreste in any kind of sexual context? Eww, eww, gross.

Eleventh time: quickest reset yet when he told Multimouse what he’d seen last reset and she’d let out a shrill scream at the thought. Lesson learned: don’t let Multimouse imagine Gabriel Agreste in any kind of situation like that. Good thing Aspik had taken the Snake instead of her.

Twelfth time: took a more moderate pace; not too quick that they’ll catch Gabriel and Nathalie banging or whatever it is they were doing, but not so slow that she’ll catch them downstairs again. Unfortunately, this is the most skewed timing yet.

“– not with Ms Rossi. And Tsurugi-san swears that he isn’t –”

Aspik and Multimouse freeze, but it’s too late to duck back around the corner or into another room hide from Nathalie, who’s frozen at the sight of them. For a moment, both sides stare at each other, mentally daring the other to make the first move, and Aspik might have been faster to react if the previous two cycles hadn’t left him flustered, so it’s Nathalie who breaks the silent game of chicken with a snarl of determination.

“Duusu –”

“Second Chance!”

The world around Aspik dissolves and reforms to place him back in his bedroom. He shakes his head and grabs Multimouse by the wrist when she reaches for the doorknob.

“We should wait ten minutes or so. The timing’s always wrong,” he says, deliberately not mentioning all their failed times when he’d been distracted by her, so Multimouse nods and steps away. They fall silent, waiting until Aspik’s sure that it’ll be a good time to sneak down…but there’s something that’s eating at him from the last cycle. Something about Nathalie’s reaction. Every time, she’s snarled at them and looked like she was going on the attack, but Aspik had always reset before she’d been able to speak. That time, though she’d gotten a word out. What had she said? Duusu?

“Duusu? What does the Peacock kwami have to do with this?” Multimouse says. Oh. He’d said that last bit out loud. But wait, how does Multimouse know who the Peacock kwami is?

“Uh, how do you –?”

“Ladybug told me!” Multimouse blurts out. “But how do you know?”

A terrible thought occurs to Aspik, making his stomach twist and coil like a snake that’s tangled itself in a knot. He swallows around the lump in his throat and rasps, “Nathalie. She said it before I reset.”

Multimouse’s eyes bulge, and she shoots a look at the door and then back at Aspik. “You should detransform,” she murmurs. “We need to come up with a plan now that we could be up against Mayura, so you may as well let Sass refuel.”

“Right. Um, scales rest.” Although Adrien’s got no idea what’s going on with Multimouse, he can’t help but instantly follow her instructions as though Ladybug herself had given them. He directs Sass to Plagg’s Camembert fridge and then sinks down on the end of his bed, watching Multimouse wear a hole in the floor with her pacing and fidgeting and mumbling. She’s so like Ladybug in this moment, just like when his lady is coming up with a convoluted plan…but that’s not fair to Marinette. It’s not fair to compare her to Ladybug just because he loves both girls and it would solve all his problems if they were the same girl.

“No, no, that won’t work,” Multimouse mumbles, toying with a lock of dark hair that frames her face. A momentary gap in the hair reveals the black stud in her ear, the only feature from her civilian self to carry through to her transformation, although Adrien hadn’t been aware that accessories could carry over. Maybe it’s just him.

But…wait. Except…

“That’s very sweet of you!” Multimouse turned her head to show her bare earlobes. “But I’m not Ladybug! I’m Multimouse!”

Then how does Multimouse have earrings now? Unless…no way. There’s no way. Adrien freezes as the fabric of his mind starts to unravel. She’d tricked him! Maribug tricked him! His lady’s been right here in front of him the whole time, and he’d been right to suspect her of being Ladybug, he’d been right, but she’d thrown him off like the devious girl she is! How? The Rat can only divide its wielder. It doesn’t have any powers of deception.

But…the Fox does. And it’s perfectly possible to unify Miraculouses; Dragonbug and Snake Noir had proved that in the battle against Miracle Queen and her henchmen. And theoretically, if there was a Multimouse that had unified with the Fox and hidden away, in the perfect position to create an illusion of Marinette and Ladybug next to each other to throw off Chat Noir…

“Adrien?” Multimouse says when Adrien exhales and runs a hand through his hair. How is he even supposed to process this? He’s loved Ladybug for so long that it’s become as much a part of him as breathing, and Marinette’s crept up on him so slowly with each day that’s passed…but they’re the same person! He’s fallen for the same person twice over! “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Just…deep in thought about implications and stuff.”

Multimouse blanches. “Oh. I didn’t even think…if Nathalie is Mayura, and the Butterfly and Peacock were lost together…oh, Adrien, I’m so sorry.”

Oh. His father could be Hawkmoth. It’s not the first time Marinette’s suspected it – after all, there had been that time that Ladybug had had her suspicions, just before his father had been akumatised – but Adrien’s brain hadn’t even connected the dots from Nathalie’s attempt to summon Duusu until now. And that thought is enough to twist a new snake in his gut, except that this one is one of bubbling nausea.

“But he was akumatised,” Adrien rasps, raising a hand in case he needs to clap it to his mouth to hide a gag. “Can the Butterfly akumatise themselves? Did he do it to throw you – uh, Ladybug and Chat Noir off his scent? If Hawkmoth’s my fa – if he’s, you know, then he must’ve panicked when I lost the book and thought that you were on his tail.”

Multimouse shrugs rather helplessly. “I wish I knew what to tell you. But I hardly know anything about the Butterfly.”

Yeah. But she knows plenty about all the others. “No, I get it,” Adrien croaks. “You wouldn’t know. What do we do?”

“We need a plan,” Multimouse says. “We should find Ladybug and Chat Noir and tell them –”

“We don’t have time for that,” Adrien immediately counters. Multimouse blinks and shuts her mouth with an audible clack, and Adrien vows to apologise later for being so harsh now, but there’s no way he can just sit back and let Gabriel keep the Butterfly for a moment longer than necessary. “I am – I could be the son of Hawkmoth. If anyone else gets akumatised after this…that’s on me. I could’ve stopped him.”

“Adrien, no.” Multimouse crosses over to sit next to him and she rests a gloved hand on his bare one. Adrien’s not sure whether the warm tingles that dance across his skin come from Ladybug or Marinette, but does it really matter when they’re the same person? “The only way you could be guilty in this is if you were willingly helping him. And I know you. I know you’d never help that scum. I’ve seen how you interact with him, remember?”

Adrien ducks his head to hide his warming cheeks. Marinette’s always had such faith in him, whether he’s Adrien or Chat Noir, and even though he can’t figure out exactly what he’s done to deserve such staunch faith from the most incredible person in the world, he’s not going to complain about it.

“But I’ll be guilty of letting him get away with it if we don’t do something now,” he says, praying that there’s no sign of his inner turmoil visible to Multimouse. “If you divide, you should be able to get the Miraculous, right?”

“Yeah but…” Multimouse bites her lip. “We should have more of a plan than that. What if something goes wrong? This is more of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s thing.”

“And like you said, they wouldn’t be able to even get near this place without everyone knowing,” Adrien says. Technically, they’re Ladybug and Chat Noir, but he’s not lying when he says that they could never get near Gabriel as their true superhero identities. “But Multimouse and Aspik? I can keep resetting and tell you where we went wrong. And you can sneak the Miraculous away.”

“I suppose…” Multimouse says. “And we could also get Mayura’s if we knew where it was kept.”

“I think it could be in the vault in my father’s office. That’s where I got the book from, so it’d make sense for him to keep it in there.”

“But we still need proof. We could grab the Miraculouses and give them to Ladybug and Chat Noir, yeah, but it’d be our word against his. I don’t want him to have any chance of getting out of this.”

“Why do we need all these convoluted plans?” Adrien throws his hands up and jumps to his feet, making Multimouse jerk away. “We just need to go in there and get the Miraculouses! This isn’t an akuma battle!”

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Multimouse wilts. “I just want to make sure that we cover every possible angle. I mean, if your father is Hawkmoth, it’s not going to be easy for you. There’s going to be fallout, from the police and the legal system and the news and everyone. Considering how much your father controls your life, things are gonna change completely for you. And if he somehow manages to slip out with an innocent verdict because there wasn’t enough evidence…”

Oh. He hadn’t even considered what would happen to himself, but of course Marinette’s concern would be him and his welfare. “No, I’m sorry,” he says, once more wondering what the hell he did to deserve someone as amazing as Marinette. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you when you’re just trying to make sure that everything goes smoothly. I’m just…dealing with a lot, but I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

Multimouse smiles. “Apology accepted. I know that learning your father could be Hawkmoth can’t be easy. But I do think we should do this later. Maybe at night when he’s asleep and we can just grab the Miraculous? You said that Nathalie’s out there, and we don’t want to risk Mayura jumping in and making things messy. And we can’t go to the police and get their help to take him down. Even if we had proof, we can’t trust anyone but Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Ladybug said that she trusts us.”

“You really are brilliant,” Adrien breathes. Multimouse’s face stains scarlet in response,

“Yank – um, thank you!”

“But how do we get proof? Unless we stalk him and wait for him to transform, I don’t see how – oh, and we need proof that he’s made a deal with Lila!”

Multimouse is quiet for a long moment. “Do you think…Lila knows?” she says in a hushed voice. “Or at least suspects? I mean, it makes sense for your father to make a deal with her, but…”

Adrien swallows around the lump that suddenly forms in his throat. If Gabriel really is Hawkmoth and he has made a deal with Lila, a lot of things will start to make sense, such as why Gabriel would so heartily endorse a dangerous liar. And if they have made a deal, was it in place as far back as when Kagami was akumatised? Is that why Lila had tried to get Ladybug killed?

“I hope that Lila doesn’t know,” he finally says. “For my own sanity. If there’s a whole plot around using me like – like a piece of meat, like I’m something that can just be exchanged like money…”

Multimouse’s eyes soften. “Let’s go,” she says. “We can fill in the others and then take your mind off it. I’ll tell Ladybug everything when she comes by to get the Miraculouses.”

Adrien just nods numbly, his chest like a lead weight as he struggles to draw in precious oxygen. What else can he do? It’s not like he’s a stranger to being treated like an object – like all he’s good for is smiling and showing himself off for the good of Gabriel – but the thought of being passed around like a shiny object, being used to seal a deal and purchase loyalty in a potential terrorist plot…well, it’s enough to make his stomach try and yeet itself up his throat.

He’s so lost in his daze that he only just notices Multimouse leading him towards bright blue, before his surroundings turn soft pink. There’s a buzzing sound that could be talking but his one remaining brain cell is currently trying to process just how entangled he is in this whole Hawkmoth-Lila plot, how little agency he even has anymore, that it’s all he can do to not break down completely on the spot.

But when his fuzzy vision clears and he’s met with the sympathetic faces of Marinette and Alya and Nino and Kagami, any remaining power he might have over his body dissipates and his legs give out beneath him, depositing him on Marinette’s cool wooden floor. There’s a flash of black and pink and the soft scent of strawberries and vanilla, mingling with the sharp smells of earth mixed with sports deodorant, of warm cinnamon spice, of fresh men’s deodorant. It all anchors him, stops him from floating away, fills his lungs in place of the air that he can’t breathe, and he finally allows himself to break, surrounded by the safety net of the people with whom he’d trust with his life.

[riotfuckery]

Shattered hearts and clean shirts pt 2

Sero Hanta x F!reader

A/N: Hello my beautiful readers! It’s your friendly neighborhood big tiddy goth gf here with shattered hearts and clean shirts pt2! It’s all fluff this time with some tones of flirting so please enjoy!

Taglist: @thedreadthread @queensynderella @trafalgar-temptress @kingtamakimurder thank you for all the love and support senpais 💖🥺💖

»»————-　♡　————-««

It’s been a few months since things ended with Bakugo. The sharp pain in your heart now down to a rush of anger whenever you were near him. The squad (formerly known as the bakusquad) was still there for you. Always being their friendly and cheerful selves while comforting or calming you down when it was needed. The grinning boy being the main reason you didn’t go ballistic on the blonde during class at the regular rude comments he yelled.

All the stages of grief went through normally but you were still stuck on anger. You pulled yourself together after getting played by the blonde toilet brush with a bad attitude. Including going to train more, eating healthier, and healing your heart with the help of your lovely friends. You could rely on Sero the most when it came to emotional stuff.

‘HOW DARE HE PLAY ME LIKE THAT? LIKE I WAS SOME STUPID PRIZE TO BE WON. I AM A PERSON GODDAMNIT. I AM A PERSON WORTHY OF LOVE AND CARE LIKE MOST GOOD PEOPLE. I HOPE HE ROTS!’ you angrily yelled in your head as you took out your frustration on a training dummy.

Letting out all of today’s anger out on the dummy with the last slice of your blade like thorn, you sliced it so hard at the neck that you decapitated it. ‘Oh shit, went a little too hard I guess.’ You thought with a shrug while breathing heavily from your workout.

“WOAH! THAT WAS SO MANLY (Y/N)! YOURE SO STRONG!” Kirishima exclaimed loudly from the other side of the room where he had his own training dummy. He was your workout buddy now, everyday you met him at a small gym down the street from the school to hone your skills and practice your hand to hand combat. You smiled at him brightly and gave him a loud “THANK YOU KIRI, BUT I CAN’T COMPARE TO THE MANLIEST MAN IN THE WORLD!” You shot back at him.

He blushed at the compliment, stopping his own workout to catch his breath. He shyly put a hand to his neck for a moment before walking over to where you were. His eyes widening at the damage you caused and sweat dropping.

He lowly whistled before he spoke. “Woah, that’s a lotta damage. You really tore into that thing like a wild animal. But that was super manly (y/n)!” Kiri commented excitedly as he did his signature red riot pose to emphasize on the manliness. The sweat on your skin started to become sticky and you wanted nothing more to take a shower.

“That’s the 3rd one this week, I’m broke from how many dummies I beheaded!” You moped dramatically. “Hey, at least you’re getting super strong!” Kirishima replied with a smile and a pat on your shoulder. You smiled at the statement. After training for another 30 mins, you and Kiri packed up your stuff and headed to the dorms.

The walk home with Kiri was always filled with laughs and smiles. He was such a nice boy that you couldn’t help the happiness that filled your heart. The two of you arrived at the door and keyed yourselves in. You both were walking through the common room when you heard Sero speak up.

“Hey gym rats, how was training?” He jested with his signature smile. You rolled your eyes at the nickname but smiled nonetheless. You each had your thing with the squad. Kiri had training, Sero had study sessions and movies, Mina had a few days of the week allotted for girl time and gossip, and Kami would just join in whatever he felt like. Some days it was study sessions, other days ‘girl time’ but very rarely training. (Damnit Denki, you could be the next ZEUS if you put enough work into it bby!)

“It was good, decapitated another dummy today, ya know the usual. I’m gonna take a shower and then we can study yeah? ” You spoke nonchalantly while walking towards your room. You took a glance at Sero who gave you a bright smile and a loud “Yeah”.

You set your stuff down and grabbed a change of comfy clothes to wear after your shower. Pulling out a random shirt and a pair of (f/c) sleep shorts. You folded them nicely before grabbing your shower basket and towel. On your way down the hall to the girls showers, you realized it was the shirt you accidentally stole from Sero. Your face heated up intensely as you tried to shake it away.

You developed a crush on the dark haired boy during those months of healing. The first few weeks, you tried to isolate yourself from everyone. Keyword: TRIED. Sero wouldn’t let you though. He always seemed to find you and he always seemed to soothe the ache in your heart.

The reassuring words spoke softly to you during lunch on the rooftop of the school and the comforting little touches he would give made the small spark of comfort turn into a small flame. That little flame he unknowingly added to until it became a full fire coursing in your veins. The thoughts about your crush continued even while you were showering.

‘He’s so kind, patient, and smart. Plus he just smells so GOOD! He’s cute and gentlemanly while still being fun and exciting. Heavenly beings only knows we have enough excitement in our group so I’m thankful he’s so chill and rational. He’s like the balance between everyone. I don’t see why he doesn’t see himself as special! He’s the most special out of all of us! He’s got a useful quirk (not that it matters) and a good heart! Plus he’s handsome! What more could you want in a guy?” The monologe continued in your head while you scrubbed away all of today’s dirt.

You soon finished, your body and hair now smelling like (f/s) and being squeaky clean. You stepped out of the cubicle (?) and wrapped your towel around yourself. Humming a random tune as you got dressed and brushed your hair, putting in all the usual products. Exiting the girls shower and making your way up to your room. You did your skin routine before swiping on your deodorant and spraying a bit of perfume after blow drying your hair.

Taking a good look in the mirror you have on your door, you gave yourself a smile and a approving nod before grabbing your bag and heading to Sero’s room. Nervousness was setting in as you neared his dorm.

‘You were wearing HIS shirt to your weekly study sessions! Did you want him to notice? Is it too late to go back and change? Oh god why didn’t you think about this earlier! Why did your stupid butt only remember this after you did everything?!?!?’ The little voice in your head scolded.

You knocked on the door three times, the nervousness weighing on you like a heavy blanket. Taking a deep breath, you tried to clear your mind of any nervousness and worry while putting on a small smile to keep up appearances. The door opened to a brightly smiling Sero, which made you internally scream.

‘Oh god that smile! I’m already nervous about wearing your shirt around you and then you have to greet me so happily I feel like I’m going to have a SEIZURE!’ The same voice in your head was screeching.

“Hey Sunflower! You ready to study?” He asked happily. You could only manage to give a nod while you felt your face heat up. ‘God why does his voice sound so good’ you whined internally.

He stepped aside to let you walk through the door and left your slippers next to his at the entrance. You made your way to his hammock and set your bag down beside it while you made yourself comfy in the oversized sling. He went and pulled out all his materials before making himself comfy next to you.

You studied like you would normally with him, taking notes and him asking you questions. Always answering them with a smile and explaining them thoroughly. He was surprisingly smart, but he just needed it explained differently than teachers and textbooks showed. That was another thing you loved about him.

The nervousness you felt was gone by the end of your study session, mostly thanks to his jokes, memes, and overdramatic whines of why math was needed to be a hero. He made you laugh so easily, the thought popped up that he might have a second quirk. Another thing you added to the list of why you had a crush on the dark haired boy.

“You did great today Sero, lets pack up and then we can watch whatever movie you want!” You happily said as you gave him a pat on the head, a habit you picked up from All Might. ‘His hair is so SOFT! I don’t regret doing it but I know I’m gonna think about playing with his hair all the time now’ you scolded yourself.

“Sure thing Sunflower! How does a bad horror movie sound? We can roast the hell out of those dumb teens......” his tone turned from his normal excited friendly to silence accompanied by a contented sigh leaving his lips. He felt like he was in heaven. Your smooth voice humming a sweet song he didn’t know just added to his fantasy. Your hands were so soft and felt so good, that his body melted as his dark eyes fluttered close.

Your hand was now playing with his hair, focused on feeling it now while you still could. You softly pet his hair, moving your hand down to play with the baby hairs on the nape of his neck. The short nails on your hand lightly scratching his scalp on instinct. You hummed a song, “Can’t help falling in love” cover by twenty one pilots. The song subconsciously chosen purely for the fact that you were so in painfully love with him.

You both sat there for a moment, wishing it wouldn’t end. Then your love dazed state was blown away and your actions hit you with like a BUS. You stopped humming and pulled your hand out of his hair as gently as you could while you were panicking. The embarrassment and guilt creeping in your body like a unsuspecting wave.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t ask and my hand just moved on it’s own, I-i...” you waved your arms around wildly, as if trying to make yourself fly away from this painfully awkward situation. The heat on your face climbed up to your ears in embarrassment. You were cut off with a chuckle from none other the man himself.

“It’s fine sunflower! It actually felt like- uhhh really nice.” His normal friendly grin returned also with the addition of a light pink blush on his cheeks as he shyly put a hand to the side of his neck while looking the other way. Your heart that was beating wildly calmed down at the friendly tone but picked back up when he said he liked it.

“O-oh! So it’s okay?” You questioned shyly. You received an equally shy look and nod from Sero in reply and sighed out a breath in relief.

“Go and pick out the movie while I clean up, and then we can watch while I play with your hair. If that’s okay with you?” Your shy tone never leaving as you took another shot at being closer to your crush.

“That’s sounds great! Bad horror movies still good with you?” He asked. You hummed in reply as you cleaned up both of your stuff. The excitement heating up your body as you neatly stacked his books and papers and set them on his desk.

Sero couldn’t tried picking out a movie if his life depended on it right now. His focus only on you as you gracefully moved around to clear the space you were both previously in. His mind drifted back to how you were so warm and inviting, like a freshly dried fluffy blanket on a cold day. How you cute you looked as you wildly flailed around when you apologize, not that you needed to. Plus the adorable blush on your face kissed the tips of your ears.

He shifted back his focus to movies and picked a random one while he put in the DVD player. When he turned back, he saw his floor clear and you laying down on his bed. The red on your face dimmed down to a soft pink that scratched at your cheeks. He made himself comfortable as you watched the start of the movie.

He decided to lay on his side with his hand supporting his head. His pining heart sang in joy because of the closeness and thumping in his ribcage like a overjoyed bird. He wanted to be closer, fuck he needed to be. Alone time with you was rare and he needed to take advantage of it. He summoned all the courage in his body and slung his free arm over your waist, pulling you closer.

You jumped at the sudden contact and then melted into his embrace. Platonic cuddling wasn’t new to you and the squad, always cuddling up with someone while the whole group watched a movie until all of you passed out on the common room couch. This felt different from all those other times. It’s because both of you were ALONE TOGETHER.

The movie playing on the small tv in his room was the farthest thing from your minds right now. The thumping of both your synched heart sand the pink blushes on your face were the only thing on them as you hoped the other couldn’t see it. You were just struggling to breathe normally.

Sero was feeling the same way, his brain tunnel visioned on you. There you were so painfully close to him. The smell of your perfume mixed with the floral scent of your shampoo drove him absolutely insane. He took his position behind you to his advantage, his eyes trailed your body slowly.

His dark eyes started at your plush thighs, they looked so soft and so warm that he had to hold in a groan. The sleep shorts you wore just accentuated your hips and backside, the tight shorts with yellow and white stripes on the side tempted him sinfully. He moved his gaze to where his arm was, slung over your tiny waist.

‘It fit so perfectly, it was almost like you were made for him.’ He thought with dazed sigh. His mind stopped dead in its tracks when he realized you were wearing his shirt. His heart kickboxed in his chest, his subconscious screaming at him to make a move now or get over it.

“Sunflower?” He tried. You gave a hum in reply, not trusting your own voice. He paused for a moment, trying to decide if he should ask you why you were wearing his shirt. He loved you wearing his clothes so he just decided to spit it out. To see if he wasn’t just imagining things in desperation for you.

“Is that my shirt?” He teased, pulling your back closer to his chest. His deep voice was right next to your ear as his breath tickled your neck. He knew what he was doing, the cheshire grin overtaking his handsome features as his eyes twinkled mischievously.

You’ve been caught red handed. The muscles in your body froze as a burning hot blush erupted from your cheeks. The organ in your chest nearly ripped itself out when he pulled you closer and it stuttered when he spoke.

“Y-yeah, it is. I just threw it o-on after taking a shower. I can give your clothes back after I do laundry.” You managed to speak out in your overwhelmed state. He was so close to you and the way his voice dropped had you nervous.

“Keep it sweetheart, it’s looks better on you than it ever did me. Plus you look so cute in it, how could I say no?” His friendly causal tone was back, but the impish grin on his face never left. ‘When did he get so smooth? And sweetheart? He called me cute!!!!’ Your brain scrambled trying to comprehend what just happened.

Something ignited within your spirit. A mischievous grin spread across your face as you thought of a battle plan. ‘Oh he wants to play like that does he??? Aight bet. Let’s see if he could take what he dishes out.’ You smirked at the thought.

You turned so you were facing him. Mustering all the innocence in your being, you pushed your chest against his and craned your neck up so your noses were brushing. Your eyes peeked up at him through your long lashes and a playful grin overtook your face.

“Sweetheart huh?” You teased as you ever so slowly got your plush lips closer to his. You felt his breath hitch before it stopped completely, the rapid beating of his heart thrumming against your chest. His dark eyes were locked on your soft lips and you decided to test his patience by biting your bottom one softly. The strong arm around your waist tensed and you felt his body freeze.

“If I’m so cute and your sweetheart then why haven’t you made a move yet, cellophane~?” You spoke softly before you actually reached his lips. You heard a strangled groan from the back of his throat and smiled playfully before you moved away and back to your original position. An evil smile on your face as you pretended that you didn’t even do anything.

A soft and frustrated “fuck it” came from him and suddenly and you were pinned down on the bed by your wrists. Sero was straddling your hips as he held your wrists down with a tight grip. You looked up at him and saw the bright red blush on his face as he breathed heavily. The shocked and doe eye look you gave him only seemed to make it brighter.

“f-fuck, I’ve liked you for the longest time sunflower so will you be willing to go out on a date with me sometime soon?” His tone and gaze was nervous despite his dominant position over you. He let go of your hands and moved so he was sitting in front of you with his leg folded.

He shrunk a bit under your surprised gaze, but despite his feelings his eyes stayed stayed on yours. You propped yourself up and sat in front of him in the same position. A wide grin and the shine in your eyes ever present as you looked back at him.

“Of course I would love to go out with you Hanta! I’ve liked you for a bit now but was nervous asking you out after that whole ‘situation’.” You grinned brightly, cheeks flush pink and eyes slightly crinkled from how happy you were. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back as you just as brightly.

He tackled you into a hug, the joy in his heart keeping him from being polite with you. The sweet giggles that rang around the room just made his love for you shine brighter than ever. With his face buried in your neck and his arms snaked around your waist, he squeezed you like a teddy bear.

You audibly let out an “awwww’ at the boy. He just so sweet you couldn’t help it. Your hand found it’s way to his hair once again, running your fingers through it and lightly scratching his scalp while the other rubbed his back soothingly.

Both of you spent the rest of the night cuddling and making plans for your date. Laughs and the soft sound of whatever movie playing in the background just made everything feel so warm and comfortable. It felt like all the pieces had come together and placed you with Hanta Sero.

He was feeling just as warm and fuzzy with you. As he cuddled and snuggled you through the night, he couldn’t help the adoring smile plastered on his face.

Who knew he would not only tape the last pieces of your shattered heart together but made it feel full as well?

[idyllicstarker]

So, me and @kimmykawaii got talking about a next or new chapter to my Starker Tattoo AU and of course I couldn’t hold back from writing this. 

You can find part one here, with the original prompt.

I couldn’t quite figure out how I wanted this to go at first, and how I was going to adjust this with the original timeline. I eventually chose to begin it somewhere after their happy ending in part one. I’m letting you know here as I didn’t exactly make it clear.

Warnings: Slightly!fem Peter, foul language, smut, angst, cheating, daddy kink, explicit mentions of depression and antidepressants 

The Café was nothing less than Peter’s refuge. Everywhere he went the whispers followed: “Is that Tony’s Stark’s boy?” He pretended not to hear but he always heard, no matter how quiet they thought they were being it always got back to him. And their words hurt. 

Many claimed he was with Tony just for the money, a sugar baby of sorts, begging off Tony’s wealth and living a lavish life, but no one realised he was there before all of that. For two years he struggled with Tony as he ran his small tattoo business, when Stark Industries wasn’t even in the older male’s head let alone a far off dream. It was never going to happen. But then it did. Others added on theories such as that Peter left behind his family name for something bigger; Peter Stark, it had a nice ring to it after all but Peter wanted it because he loved Tony, not for the fame and fortune attached to it. No one ever stopped to consider that the two actually shared a genuine love - it was only ever money and status, two things Peter couldn’t care less about as long as Tony was in his arms. 

If he really cared about having the most expensive brand of clothes, being chauffeured in the best cars and having an abundance of wealth lying around he never would have told his mother and father to shove their opinions up their ass as he left to go and make a life with the so-called ‘street rat’ that was Tony. He left that life because he didn’t need it, and he especially didn’t want it, not as much as he wanted to be with Tony. It was only pure luck that he ended up back in it. But this time it was more bearable, because not only was he sharing it with the man he loved, it was gained based off of pure hard work and determination not heritage. Granted, it was Tony’s business, not his, but at least he knew it was built with the right intentions and would be run under the right intentions - It made enjoying the luxuries of it all that easier. Besides, Tony wouldn’t ever let him believe that he didn’t deserve none of this stuff as it wasn’t Peter’s genius that built it, as to Tony, Peter had been the brightest light in his life. And if it wasn’t for him, SI would never have come about, Tony would still be working in the lousy tattoo shop, living for nothing but survival. How he managed to get Peter to fall in love with him, he never knew, but of course, he was grateful, confused but grateful. 

And yet the whispers still carried in the wind. And despite how hard Peter tried not to listen they’d scratch at his skull and send static in his ears before he was having a breakdown in the middle of the street because two women couldn’t keep their mouth’s shut. Which is why Peter tried to avoid them. But being stuck in his house because he was afraid of words was not only undesirable but also impractical. He tried it for a week and went crazy after two days. He enjoyed going outside, and no, strolling over the grounds around the mansion didn’t help fulfill that. He liked seeing people, being involved in the busy city life, and just experiencing the raw nature of a society. He didn’t realise that Tony’s amazing achievement, would strip that all away from him. 

He guessed, it was like the saying: ‘Old habits die hard’, it was something Peter was so used to that when his life changed, he couldn’t help but for it again. 

But that’s where the Café became Peter’s newfound favourite place. He used to say that was in Tony’s bed but not even sex could compare to this cofee and cakes in this place. It was just around the corner from the tattoo shop, so back when life was a little harder but no less perfect, Peter found himself in there quite a lot. Although back then he couldn’t afford much, often just asking for a glass of tap water and sitting by the window as he observed the people, they were more on the elderly side as they didn’t really have much to do at this time of day but no less interesting. Sometimes you’d see a college student crammed into a table by the wall, tapping away at their laptop or hunched over textbooks for hours on end. And if you were really lucky, you’d get to see couples, all different people, mixed and matched so beautifully under cupid’s watchful eye. Peter never truly appreciated his moments of peaceful people watching until he stepped in there one of the days after they’d move far from their apartment.

It had been the first time Peter had left his home in months, too scared without Tony who had been way too busy for Peter to even explain his fear. But he didn’t blame him, not at all. He was so proud of Tony for all that he’d achieved. But as he stepped into that Café, with his new seasonal winter coat done up to his neck, and fluffy hat pulled over his ears, he was instantly greeted with smiles and questions of where he’d been from the baristas. He felt normal for the first time in a while. The only difference was, when they began to prepare his tap water he shook his head, ordering a gingerbread hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, and one of the cream pastries he’d been dying to try for the longest time. He was back almost everyday after that. It wasn’t that Peter was lonely, because he wasn’t. He wasn’t exactly attention starved either (because the breaking in of the new home sex had been amazing - Tony wasn’t stopping until they’d christened every room) but he just craved a sense of normality he couldn’t get anywhere else. Tony was busy, but he was never too busy to send Peter messages throughout the day to check up on him. Because as Tony struggled with his newfound workload, Peter struggled to settle into being rich… and he didn’t think he’d ever felt more selfish. But it was okay, because eventually he got used to it. But of course he never stopped visiting the Café because it was a big part of his life. Sometimes he’d go in simply to buy a coffee and a pastry for Bucky down at the tattoo shop and drop in and say hello. Sometimes, he’d go in to grab Tony a cake knowing the man loved them as much as Peter. But other days, he would stay, enjoying the peace and quiet and just basking in the warm buttery lights of Peter’s miniature heaven. 

Like today.

Peter had tucked himself into the corner, knees up against his chest, feet teetering dangerously on the edge of his chair. His hot chocolate sat half drunk - and quickly turning cold - on the unsturdy table before him. He opted to sit away from the window, the cold draft too much for today (he half wondered as he sat down if bringing a blanket next time would be too much). His book was clutched in his hands, blueberry muffin crumbs down his shirt, looking ever the adorable mess that Tony would have loved to see. It was Peter in his natural element, uncaring of the people around him, or what he looked like, finding he had to do more of that these days.

Gnawing on his bottom lip, his chest seemed to rise and fall more rapidly as he got to a particualry erotic part in his book, before he was quickly snapped out of his aura by an unwelcomed interuption. It took a second to recognise the blonde that had sat himself down without so much as a care, on the opposite side of Peter’s table. But as he took in the well-built body, and the soft kind blue eyes, he realised there was no need to be afraid. “Steve”, he spoke softly, slowly closing his book and setting it on the table. He’d met Bucky’s boyfriends a couple of times, as he’d swung by the store, and took to the man well. He was nice, and charismatic, and Peter had become good friends with him, he just wasn’t in the mood with social interaction right now. 

“Hey Pete, I won’t be here long I promise, I just saw you sitting here and I actually have something to give to you”, Steve said, rustling around in his backpack. Peter raised an eyebrow, but didn’t have to ask as already Steve was continuing. “Bucky said it was dropped round the shop this morning. A woman, saying it was urgent it got to you. It doesn’t seem dangerous, It’s just a letter after all, I was just on my way to drop it round, you saved me one less job.”

Sure enough, Steve had pulled a white envelope from his backpack and passed it to Peter. It didn’t have any address, it simply had Peter Stark scrawled on it in messy writing. Odd - they weren’t married, engaged, but not married.

“I gotta run kid, but I’ll see you sometime soon, tell Tones I said hi”, Peter’s confusion melted as he looked up at Steve and nodded. 

“Will do, tell the Bucky the same!”

They shared a quick hug, before Steve was taking his to-go cup and retreating outside into the cold bitter air. Peter looked down at the letter, a soft breath falling from his parted lips. It was obvious it wasn’t something official, no bills, nothing like that; but that only made his curiosity more prominent. It could have been a fan of Tony, you had women and men like that, doing anything to try and grab his attention, but then why would it be addressed to Peter specifically? A death threat maybe?

He tried not to think about it, he wanted to wait to open it with Tony, so pushing the letter away he opened his book back up and began to continue. The main character began thrusting balls deep into his wife, vivid depictions of dirty talk on the page, and yet Peter could no longer concentrate. Not even minutes later, childish eagerness won and he was throwing his book down and reaching for the letter. Tearing it open he half expected to be met with a threat to his life or maybe a poem addressed to Tony, but as he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, his eyes scanned not over a letter, but of a scrawl of two words only. 

‘You’re welcome’

Peter’s body turned cold, slowly tilting the paper to check if anything was written on the back but there wasn’t, it was blank. He peered into the envelope, noticing nothing else but what looked to be a photograph taken on a security camera footage of sorts. It was grainy and dark, Peter had to remove it to see but he really wished he hadn’t when he did. 

As soon as his gaze settled on the image, he couldn’t breathe. If he’d been standing his knees would surely have buckled.

Tony. His Tony. Laying down on a bed with a woman on top of him. It was taken from a height, so although he could only see the back of the woman, her long hair flowing down her naked body, he could see a perfect view of Tony’s face. It was clear it was Tony, he had his face mapped out in his head; and not like Peter needed it, but the tattoos on his arms were the exact same on HIS Tony’s body. The Tony in the picture had his head thrown back, his adam’s apple protruding from his throat, and Peter could practically hear the sounds. Not her’s, but his. The way his moans would get louder when he was close. His legs were strong, propped up, probably to help himself thrust upwards into her as she came down on his length. His hands were holding onto her sides, and even Peter could tell he was being careful not to hurt her. His heart ached at the sight. He knew what that was like which made it all the more vivid. He knew the way sex smealt with Tony, sweat and colonge mixed. He knew the passion, and the… and the love. 

Peter let out a sob, his hand flying to his mouth as he dropped the picture onto the table. Everything hurt. 

His vision blurred as tears began to fall but he knew if someone was to see him like this, it would be in the tabloids by tonight. So he furiously wiped at his eyes, but the image was burned into his fingertips. And even when he stopped, and his red blood-shot orbs opened, it’s all he could see in front of him. With a shaky breath he moved to gather his stuff, shoving his book into his satchel and gathering the letter and the photo. But as he moved to push it back into its envelope, he froze, his eyes catching onto a time stamp in the corner. It read the day before yesterday’s date, and 13:19 as the time. Sure enough, after checking his phone, it was two days prior, and sure enough Tony would have been ‘working hard’ in his ‘office’ at that time. Peter tried desperately to blink away the tears as he shoved everything carelessly away. And as he ran out of the Café, legs heavy with emotion and the need to be home, Peter swore, this is what it felt like to have your heart break.

Upon returning home (he’d practically ran) Peter threw his bag onto the floor and was curled up on the large bed within seconds. He cuddled one of their many pillows to his chest, crying into another until he had nothing left to leave his body but occasional, dry sobs as he closed his eyes, and the image appeared in his head. He’d cried until his eyes were swollen, his cheeks red and blotchy, and his head pounding. He needed water.

He stood slowly but his tired body still stumbled dizzily as he moved from the bedroom. He took staggered steps down the hallway, but was stopped by FRIDAY announcing that Tony Stark was entering. His stuffy nose and heavy head couldn’t take it and at the mere mention of his name, Peter cried out, falling to the ground on his knees and beginning to shake and sob, more tears, that he didn’t think possible, were running down his cheeks. 

He didn’t register the familiar figure running towards him. He didn’t register the confused and worried shouts of “Baby? Peter Baby, What’s wrong?” He didn’t register the strong arms wrapping around his waist and pulling him to his chest. He didn’t register Tony carrying him to their bedroom and holding him in his lap, rocking him slowly and trying to soothe his cries as he ran his fingers through his hair, unaware of what Peter knew.

It was half an hour later before Tony would get any sort of response from Peter. Although he was laying against his chest, he didn’t seem to sink into Tony like he usually did. His sobs were reduced to hiccups and he was positive that this time he had nothing left to cry out. He needed water now more than ever but he wasn’t about to ask for it. 

He tried to struggle from Tony’s lap but affirmative hands on his waist told him no without Tony even having to say it.

“What happened Peter?”, Tony’s voice was as soft and as caring as it always was and it made his stomach churn. Peter’s bottom lip trembled, he knew how much of a state he must look right now. His face stained with salt, lips chapped, eyes small and his hair every way possible because what even was gravity. “Peter?”, came the more urgent question. “I came home to you sobbing on the floor, you need to tell me what’s wrong my love-”

“Don’t call me that”, the first words to leave Peter’s mouth were pained. His dry throat couldn’t take it and they came out hoarse. But they were also full of emotion, pain and hurt and it was obvious in the way Peter’s breath hitched before he let it out slowly.

He noticed the confusion on Tony’s face and scoffed. “Don’t look like that! Don’t call me your love if I’m not”, Peter was slowly becoming more worked up. His pain and anger coming together and if he started ranting now he wouldn’t stop. 

“What are you talking about hun, you know that you’re my love, you’re the only one I ever want!”

There was a beat of silence, in which Peter blinked before he laughed. It was a deeply pained laugh, one that needed no explanation of a joke because Peter wasn’t laughing because it was funny, he was laughing because everything felt so numb.

“Shut up! You Liar!”, he screamed, standing from Tony’s lap as he stumbled to the door wanting as much distance in between them as possible. Tony’ s eyes went wide, sitting up straight. He was clueless to where this was coming from, but he knew it was going to be hard to fix.

“You can’t love someone and then go and fuck someone else. You can’t love someone and leave them to walk home with their sex full with your cum and then come home to me and dump another load”

He ignored Tony’s protests of “I didn’t cheat, I haven’t”, simply choosing to speak louder over him. 

“You disgust me Tony! So how many sluts have you fucked whilst you’ve been at work? I bet she wasn’t the first because you didn’t look guilty at all-”

“Look?”

“-No you looked like this was just normal to you. Making love to them and then coming home and fucking me in the ass acting like I’m you’re one and only-”

“I. Didn’t. CHEAT. Peter.”

“-Well maybe it wasn’t making love to them, but you were still doing something that you should only be doing for me, something that’s sacred, cherished and loving and you’ve just RUINED it-”

“Peter will you listen to me. I have never and will never cheat on you. I love you, and only you”

“-You don’t hurt the people you love Tony”, he screamed, chest rising and falling as he panted, trying to catch his breath. “But then I guess I always had this coming didn’t I? I was never going to be able to keep your attention for too long-”

“Peter no”

“-Especially now with all you’ve got. It would be hard to keep your hands off someone new-”

“I love you and only you”

“-But you don’t Tony because you wouldn’t have cheated if you did. And I don’t blame you. I’m too used for you now. Before I was just a virgin. That’s a kink isn’t it, deflowering a virgin. And then I just wasn’t tight enough for you anymore. My name has a check by it now, done and used. Because that’s all I am to you. A little whore that was fun for a while because that’s what people like you like. Tight little holes, to fuck into, and fuck up, until you’re ready for them to just be discarded. Inadequate for any kind of long term. But you act like like you love them for a while and when you get bored, you’re done with them-”

“You’re jumping to conclusions that aren’t even there Peter. Where did you hear this from huh? What article?”

Tony was confused by the words that just came out of Peter’s mouth. Confused and hurt at the accusations being placed against him. Of course it wasn’t like that at all, but Peter just didn’t want to listen.

The boy scoffed, marching over to his bag and taking out the envelope. “Not there Tony, huh? Then what’s this?”, he shouted. 

“You cheating-”, he paused to catch his breath, “Lying-”, he threw the letter at him, “Piece of shit”, and finally he threw the photograph. “Dirty old man”, he screamed, stomping his foot to the floor (Tony was glad that they didn’t have neighbours out here), as Peter stomped his foot to the floor. 

As Tony silently moved to take a look, Peter clutched the envelope to his chest. At his feet, a black memory stick fell as Peter leant down to pick it up. He swallowed tightly, he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed it before. He turned it around in his hand curiously. What was this going to be - a sex tape? With a shaky breath he took slow steps to the laptop but stopped at Tony’s voice.

“That’s not me Peter”, he said quietly, yet the excitement at proving himself innocent was clear. He was hurt by everything Peter had said, especially since Tony loved him more than anything but he understood his pain, it did look awfully like Tony.

“Why are lying when the evidence is right there”, Peter spat, causing Tony to shake his head and move closer. 

“I’m not, baby, just look, please”, he didn’t touch him, he respected Peter’s boundaries and didn’t want to upset him more, but he stayed close. “Look, think about it. Whoever did this has some pretty good photoshop skills, and I’ll admit, the man looks like me. But It’s not me. They forgot one vital detail, and how you missed it is beyond me considering you had such a fuss about it”, Peter’s eyebrows furrowed and Tony smiled softly. “My side Peter, if this was taken two days ago, where’s our tattoo on my side. In the exact same place as yours. It’s not there baby, it’s not there”, Tony’s happiness rang through, he’d never felt so relieved. 

Peter swallowed nervously, licking at his lips. Sure enough the tattoo wasn’t there, Tony was right, and Peter was stupid for missing it. He coughed slightly, his throat still hoarse and worse now from all the shouting. “The time stamp could have been altered”, he eventually said, turning the memory stick around between his fingers before finally clenching it in his fist. Slowly guilt was setting in for everything, he’d said.

“Maybe, but what need would anyone have to try and prove i'm cheating on you before i got that tattoo, no one knew who I was a year ago”, Tony said soothingly.

“One of my friends might, for all we know it could have been Bucky or Steve. They said a woman dropped it off, it could have just been them”, he said defensively. 

Tony shook his head. “They wouldn’t have left it a year to try and tell you baby”, he justified, and honestly, Peter knew they wouldn’t. 

“Baby, if I was going to leave you because you were used or some shit like that, I would never have proposed to you. I would never have spent months planning the perfect proposal and still manage to fuck it all up and end up clumsily getting down on one knee as we walked back from the ice cream shop at that night you couldn’t sleep.”

Peter giggled softly at the memory. It was true, he remembered it so clearly. Tony had planned the perfect proposal on their anniversary (which Peter did actually end up seeing as Tony wanted to do it properly), but the first time Peter got proposed to was far more adorable, and so much more like his Tony. It was an accident, three days prior to their anniversary. It was a humid night, and neither of them could sleep, and so Peter insisted that they go down to the midnight ice cream store. Of course Tony could never deny his baby of his desires, not anymore at least, and they walked hand in hand under the stars. It was on their way back, the sun just starting to rise, an orange glow falling over the city. Some were just waking up ready for the day to come, others were still tucked up under their covers. Tony and Peter, well they were ready to sleep for the day, never conventional to the rest of society. But as Peter giggled at something Tony he said, swinging their arms gently as they padded down their street, Tony let the sound fall to his heart. The angelic melody causing his smile to drop. He tugged on Peter’s hand, pulling him to a stop as the confused boy turned with a small smile. Tony moved in to kiss him, arms wrapped around the smaller boy’s waist. Sliding under the soft material of his shirt that was far too big on him because it was Tony’s. He still had the taste of cookie dough on his lips, and as Tony pulled away he didn’t think he'd ever felt so overwhelmed with love then in that moment. Everything was warm, soft and gentle, and he knew from now on he wanted this, nights like these. He wanted Peter, forever until the end. As he pulled away from his lips, he pressed their foreheads together, but kept his eyes closed. “Marry me?”, he had muttered quietly.

 Peter’s eyes flew open, wide and surprised, but hopeful. “What?”

With a gentle laugh Tony pulled away, getting down on one knee and grabbing Peter’s hands gently. “Peter Parker, I love you with all of my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t have the ring on me right now, because I didn’t plan for it to happen this way. But I just.. I couldn’t hold back. Please Peter, will you marry me?”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that Peter’s answer was yes. Pulling Tony into a hug as they shared teary confessions of love. Peter really did remember the moment like it was yesterday. And Tony was right he guessed. He wouldn’t propose if he didn’t want to actually spend the rest of his life with him. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat, refusing to look at Tony as Peter shakily sat down on the edge of the bed. Tony closed his eyes, willing his heart to slow down. He didn’t think he’d ever felt true fear until these last few moments. He began to rip up both the note and photograph, before letting out a sigh. He threw them with a grunt and mumbling something about stupid lies. He turned back to Peter, he wasn’t even mad anymore, he just wanted the boy in his arms. He looked so sad, so vulnerable. He was in sweatpants and a large oversized hoodie, his tears were still stained on his cheeks and he just wasn’t a pretty sight. But to Tony, he was beautiful. “Can I have a hug now baby please?”, he begged. But Peter licked his lips, looking up at him with a hollow expression. 

“I want to see what’s on the memory stick first”

Tony’s gaze flicked to the small black box, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t know what’s on it?”, he asked. As Peter shook his head, Tony licked at his lips. “It’s probably just more photoshopped images baby, they’ll only hurt you.”

But Peter clenched his jaw, standing from the bed and walking over to the laptop. “I’m looking at it”, he let out, a shaky breath falling from his lips as he bought it over to the bed. Sitting down, he set it down in front of him as Tony sighed and sat beside him.Taking a deep breath, Peter almost prayed this wouldn’t work, before plugging it into the laptop.

Shaky hands came down from where they’d been clutching at knees. Peter clearing his throat as he moved to open it up. He blinked seeing that it contained only a single video. There was no thumbnail, and the file was simply named ‘TONY’. Peter felt his love stiffen beside him. He watched Tony through the reflection in the screen, watched the way he shook his head and opened his mouth to speak. Already knowing he was about to discourage Peter from watching it, he clicked on it before he could get there. Tears filled his eyes before the video even began to play because he was so scared, so, so, scared-

The video played for a total of three seconds, Peter’s eyes ficking over the screen confused and pained, but not quite able to piece together what he was seeing. It played for three seconds, in which Tony dived forward and snapped the laptop closed. The grainy audio came to an abrupt stop, and silence fell over the room.

“What the fuck Tony?”, Peter questioned.

“It’s only going to hurt you Pete…”

“I didn’t even get to see it-”

“It will hurt you-”

“Tony open up the laptop”, Peter said carefully and steadily. He was still trying to keep calm., holding onto hope. Tony proved his innocence the first time. He said he didn’t cheat. “If you have nothing to hide, you’ll open up the laptop!”

Tony hesitated, but he knew if he didn’t there would be a whole different argument. And Peter would see it eventually with his determination. His hands had gone clammy, he almost seemed scared. But he opened up the laptop and pressed play.

Peter’s eyes settled on the screen, and as they did, as he watched and listened, his heart seized.`

It was undeniably Tony this time. There was no missing it. The camera person panned up, settling on Tony’s face, half way to orgasm, a face Peter saw often. His hands shook as he moved to turn the sound up, and the weight on the bed grew lighter as Tony stood, but Peter’s face never left the screen. Tony was there, straddling someone, a man, legs squatted, as he bounced himself on someone’s length. Peter’s eyes filled with tears as he heard Tony’s moans fill the room. His mouth forming curses, strained curses. Maybe if Peter could concentrate long enough he’d realise Tony looked so uncomfortable. So in pain, and so, so guilty, as if he was trying to hold back. But Peter couldn’t concentrate on anything except for that it was his Tony - letting someone make love to him, fuck him whatver, something he wouldn’t even let Peter do. A sob fell from his lips, his hands flying to his face to cover his mouth as the camera panned back down. The tattoos on his arms, check, the tattoo on his side… check. There was no doubt it was Tony and some other man. Peter’ eyes flickered over the screen, vision blurry from the tears but he couldn’t force himself to look away. Tony, real Tony, had begun to pace. Guily, he was guilty, and Peter knew it. Video Tony, well to Peter he looked like he was having the time of his life, letting out broken sobs of ecstasy. His hard, red aching cock lay on the man’s stomach, leaking from lack of attention. Why this was recorded, Peter would never know, but it was clear Tony wasn’t being forced. His eyes looked straight at the camera, but Peter couldn’t look into them. Tony’s movements were getting more frantic, the way they always did when he was chasing euphoria, grinding himself down, rocking back and forth as his moans grew louder. Mixing with that of whoever this man was. For a while, it was the only sound that filled the audio, the sounds of pure sex. But then, Peter’s heart broke as he heard them begin to speak.

“Who’s lying at home waiting for you Tony. Who’s waiting for his daddy who couldn’t give a damn as he fucks himself on my dick?”

There was a choked sob, and Tony answered, “Peter”, he muttered before he sunk himself one last time down, as he began to come, thick white spurts painting the man’s stomach. 

Peter began to shake, and this time it was him who moved to slam the laptop shut, eyes trained on where the screen used to be, unable to move.

“Peter..”, Tony muttered, having stopped his pacing to stand at the foot of the bed.

Peter didn’t reply, he couldn’t. His lips were slightly parted in shock, eyes glazed over, body tense. 

“Peter baby, you have to let me explain, please-”, Tony begged. He couldn’t come up with an excuse, he had to explain himself. But Peter was having none of it. With shaky legs he pushed himself up from the bed. He was completely silent, it was scary. He left the room, Tony trailing behind him like a puppy still begging Peter, but the younger male had completely toned him out. He moved over to storage, grabbing a suitcase, and carrying it back to their bedroom. The sight only made Tony more frantic, more emotional and desperate. He was the one crying now. Peter felt nothing.

He shoved whatever he could grab of his clothes into the suitcase. Anything he needed or was of value to him he shoved in too, all whilst ignoring Tony’s pleas. As he moved to zip up the case, his eyes caught on the flashy ring on his wedding finger finger. A shaky breath left his lips as he stood up straighter, closing his eyes. His bottom lip began to tremble as he sniffled.

Although Tony wasn’t proud of making his baby cry, he was glad in a way because Peter was finally showing some sort of emotion. Taking a cautious step closer Peter almost seemed to growl, blinking away the tears in his eyes. Tony held his arms up, as if in surrender. “Okay, okay, I won’t touch you”, he said softly, slowly lowering his hands.

Rather than make a move to take Peter into his arms, he took the suitcase off the bed, moving it from Peter’s reach. The boy didn’t even make an attempt to get it back. He didn’t want to leave.Instead he just stood there, still. His left hand cradled in his right, thumb brushing across the beautiful ring. “Only the best for the man I love”, Tony had said - but there could be no love, not after that.

“Tony you cheated on me”, Peter finally whimpered,  his voice cracking as he collapsed on his knees. He was in Tony’s arms within seconds, the older man pulling him to his chest and holding him close. This time he didn’t fight it. He didn't fight because he was weak. Weak for Tony.

He was weak for Tony when Peter grabbed his face, to stop him from saying that he needed to listen and let him explain.

He was weak for Tony when he pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He was weak for Tony when he turned needy, climbing onto his lap and pushing their hips together. He knew he’d confused the man at the way he froze, but still he carried Peter to the bed, because who was he to deny his baby of his desires. 

He was weak for Tony as they stripped their clothes, and moulded their bodies together so perfectly. 

He was weak for Tony as he cried out softly as the man pushed inside of him.

He was weak for Tony as their bodies rocked together in an unspoken melody until they were both panting in each other's arms, until they fell asleep. Sweaty bodies entwined together, Tony still inside Peter, his juices flowing down his thighs and Peter’s sticky on Tony’s stomach.

Yes, Peter knew he was weak for Tony, but he wasn’t a weak man. He just needed to feel their connection, one last time.

When Tony woke up in the morning, he was alone. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat, but the other side of the bed was completely cold. The bedroom door was cracked open a small amount, and his clothes still lay on the floor, where Peter had thrown them last night. The large house was silent, but that meant nothing. After all, if Peter was in the kitchen he wouldn’t hear him from here. He was praying to any god out there that Peter was in the kitchen. Please, please be in the kitchen-

As he ran from the room, tugging on only his underwear, his gaze caught on the corner of the room. Where he’d put the suitcase yesterday, it was no longer there. And where Peter had put the laptop on the dresser, it was, but the memory stick was gone. Tony let out a sob, running, screaming Peter’s name as he bolted it down the halls. He wasn’t in the living room, nor the kitchen. Tony ran desperately to each room, still frantically screaming the name of his love. He knew what he did and he wasn’t proud of it but all he needed was just five minutes, five minutes to explain. But as he ended back in the bedroom, no sight of Peter anywhere in the house, Tony collapsed on the floor. He was shaking, hands tugging and pulling at the skin on his chest because God why couldn’t he breath. Five minutes, that’s all he needed but Peter was gone, and Tony didn’t even know where. He was hitting at his chest as if willing his heart to restart. Tony wasn’t one to get anxious but he was sure that this is what it felt like. He understood Peter’s pain and emotion yesterday because Tony had never felt anything like this. It was as if his whole world had collapsed around him and his heart, well his heart had shattered, it’s remains spilling across the floor. He could feel it, he could feel it so vividly that he could almost see it.

“FRIDAY”, he called out, his voice barely above a whisper, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to take in as much air as he could but it wasn’t enough. His lungs were constricting and no matter how hard he tried to breathe normally he couldn’t. This had never happened before.

“FRIDAY, what time did Peter leave?”, he gasped out between wheezing pants. His head fell back against the wall with a dull thud, Tony’s body growing heavier. 

“4am last night sir, he left you a message… sir would you like me to alert someone of your ill health?”

“No FRIDAY, I’m fine… what did Peter say?”

FRIDAY didn’t speak, instead in her place, a recording of Peter’s voice: “Just tell him that I love him, but I couldn’t stay with someone that doesn’t love me, that didn’t think I was enough. Tell him there’s no use in trying to find me because I won’t go back to him. He won’t find me anyway, and that’s a good thing…”,

The recording stopped, but Tony couldn’t take it. He doubled over letting 

out the most anguished cry. His arms were wrapped around his chest. He wasn’t just sad, he was in genuine pain. His chest hurt as if he’d broken a rib. It hurt, it hurt so bad. He’d lost him, he’d lost his baby, his best friends, the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but most importantly, he’d lost his soulmate.

The next few days passed by and honestly Tony didn’t remember any of them. Eventually, FRIDAY ended up alerting Rhodey (Tony’s best friend since they were young) about his state. It was a protocol Peter had himself set up, but before he left, he changed it, so that rather than alerting him of Tony being in a bad state, it was Rhodey. He knew that if he was told Tony was struggling he’d be back there within seconds. Because he cared for the man, more than anything, and despite the pain and hurt he was in, he still loved him. Tony was his first love, and as much as he hated to admit it, would probably be the only man he could ever truly love. But he refused to go back. He didn’t stand for false promises. And he didn’t stand for cheaters. Tony knew that, and yet still he went and did it. In Peter’s head, he guessed that just proved that Tony never really loved him.

Rhodey had ended up at their home - Tony’s home within fifteen minutes of the text alert. He charged to the bedroom, hearing Tony’s agonising cries the moment he stepped through the door. It didn’t take long to piece two and two together, Tony couldn’t breathe, and Peter was nowhere to be seen. It was hard trying to get him out of his panic attack, anf for a moment Rhodey thought he’d need to call a private doctor. But eventually Tony calmed down enough to stumble to the bed. He fell into it in seconds, shaking and letting out dry sobs because no more tears would fall. He ended up asleep, and when he awoke Rhodey was making soup in the kitchen. 

For the next few days he left Pepper in charge of SI. Rhodey would come and go making sure Tony was still alive, feeding him, making him bathe and brush his teeth. But although Tony was alive, he didn’t feel it. He just felt like dead weight, like nothing mattered. And in a way it didn’t. Because a life without Peter was pointless. 

After four days, he tried to get in contact with him. But everytime he rang, he was sent to Peter’s answerphone, and every text was left on delivered. 

“Hi baby xx”

“I guess you’re ignoring me, I don’t blame you”

“I fucked up Peter”

“But you’ve gotta let me explain, please”

“Peter”

“Please reply, I can’t take this anymore”

“At least let me know you’re safe xx”

“Tell me where you are so I can at least sleep at night”

“Fine… I just hope wherever you are you’re happy xx”

“And safe, safe is important”

It became borderline obsessive, He was spamming Peter’s phone every hour with messages .Pleas and declarations of love just holding onto this small string of hope that Peter would read them and reply. When he went to bed he would text him goodnight, and when he woke up he’d always send him a good morning. Complete with hearts and kisses and smiley emojis. 

It lasted for weeks. And each day that passed Tony would only work himself up more because where was he? Was he okay? That’s all he needed to know at this point. He’d never felt worry and fear so prominent before. Everyone he asked didn’t know where Peter was. And it wasn’t just a case of the, covering for the boy. No one had heard from Peter since the day he went missing. Not Bucky, nor Steve, not even his friends, MJ or Ned. He asked everyone he could and no one could give him an answer. It got to the point where Tony went to the police. But Peter was an adult, and since he’d left Tony, they weren’t surprised that they’d cut all contact with him. They weren’t going to file a missing person’s report. A lot of officers lost their job that day, and slowly Tony was losing his sanity. He didn’t know what to do anymore. Where to look or where to go. He felt so lost and everyday he just felt less and less. 

When he started work back up again the only thing that got him through the day was alcohol. He couldn’t get the warmth from Peter’s love and happiness, and so he looked for it in his empty scotch glass. He wasn’t an alcoholic. The support system around him made sure of that. But he had become dependent. It made him feel alive. Something he desperately needed. Because he wasn’t living right now he was simply just existing. Without Peter he was nothing. Peter was his rock, his light, his happiness. The reason Tony would get out of bed on bad days, the reason he went into work smiling because Peter woke up him clinging to him like a koala and kissing every inch of his skin. On days when Tony wanted to give up Peter was right beside him, reminding him why he was doing this. Tony didn’t have that anymore so why should he even try. The only reason Tony ever felt real emotion was because Peter loved him. Without his love there was just nothing. They’d planned their family, their days of growing old together. Tony wanted nothing more than to have Peter with him when he took his last breath. They had begun planning their wedding. Spring time because everything’s “just so pretty” in spring time, as Peter had said. They hadn’t gone as far as planning their honeymoon but Peter had been so excited. It would be their first time out of New York together, and it would only start the beginning of so much more. Peter had been so excited. And now it would never come to be.

Tony knew deep down this was all his fault. He knew he messed up and he knew he lied. What he did wasn’t exactly better than cheating, but it was better then Peter thinking it was solely cheating. Tony wasn’t like that. He loved Peter and only Peter, no one else.

These bad thoughts consumed Tony. Ate away at him from the inside. They never stopped and everyday he lost a small part of the hope he had left. 

It was Pepper that forced him to go to the doctor. “You’re throwing yourself into your work too much in order to try and fill the hole, but you’re only exhausting yourself”, she had said. Tony liked her because she was honest, but this time he hated her for that very honesty. The doctor made him see a therapist twice a week. He was put on antidepressants. They still didn’t make him feel anything, especially now that he couldn’t drink. But he told them that they did because he hated the attention. He just wanted Peter back. That’s the only thing that could help at this point.

It was exactly five months and three days since Peter had left. And it was on that fifth month and third day in which he returned. 

Tony, having still been clutching at that last shred of hope, had completely overridden FRIDAY’s system, so that if Peter returned he couldn’t tell her not to notify Tony that he was there. In fact the moment he unlocked the door a text message was sent to Tony, and Peter never knew anything. 

The older man had been in a meeting, a meeting he wasn’t happy to be in at all. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket so like a naughty school boy, he slipped it out to take a look. For a moment his heart stopped, blinking, once, twice, three times to make sure that he’d read it right. When he’d established that it wasn’t his mind playing a horrible trick on him he was up out his seat in seconds. He took the elevator down, pushing past people mumbling apologises. He didn’t wait to explain leaving Pepper to deal with the angry businessman and making a mental note to deliver flowers to her office as an apology. But Peter, Peter was so much more important. 

Poor Happy was driving at illegal speeds once Tony was inside the car. How they never got stopped by police, Tony didn’t know. They’d ran through four red lights and almost knocked a kid off his skateboard. The car hadn’t even fully stopped outside his- their home before he was opening the door and jumping out. He slammed through the door, panting as he came to a stop in their hallway. The house was quiet. He let out a shaky breath, was he too late? Was Peter already gone?

“FRIDAY?”, he whispered. His girl knew what he was asking, but Tony dreaded to hear the answer. “He’s in your bedroom, sir”, came the reply. Tony’s eyes flashed with emotion, the first time in five months in which Tony reacted positively to something.

His movements were slow, hesitant. He had one shot at this, he couldn’t mess it up. He moved his hands up to loosen his tie, he couldn’t breathe again. And he needed to be able to, one chance, that’s all he had. 

Peter was standing peacefully in their bedroom. He was folding clothes neatly and placing them into a suitcase. Tiny came to a stop at the doorway, his eyes softening the moment he laid eyes on Peter, his Peter. 

“You’ve lost weight”, why that was the first words from his mouth he didn’t know. He’d planned this better in his head but his plans never usually worked anyway. 

The sudden voice scared Peter. He let out a yelp, swinging around to the door as he placed a hand over his chest. “You scared me!”, he breathed out, and Tony nodded his head slowly. 

“I’m sorry”, he said simply. It seemed he wasn’t going to say much else until his statement was acknowledged. 

Peter sighed, placing the jeans he’d just folded into the case. “Mom said I’d put on too much weight. That I was letting myself go by being with you. It’s funny isn’t it? They were never going to be pleased. You make a name for yourself and they still weren’t happy”, he laughed quietly. Tony didn’t.

“That’s where you’ve been, with your parents?”

Peter nodded in response. 

“No one knew. I’ve been so worried Peter-”

“I don’t think I owe anything to you”, Peter cut him off sharply, His eyebrows were furrowed in anger, as he turned to grab some socks for the case. 

“I still care about you Peter. You can ask anyone and they’ll tell you bad it’s been. I’m not trying to play victim but… It’s been so hard without you. Not knowing where you were. It hurt so bad”

Peter sighed, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. His legs felt weak. “I saw your pills when I went to go to the bathroom”, he said quietly. “And I’m sorry, I really am, but you’re the one that cheated on me Tony”, he reminded..

“I didn’t cheat!”

“Do we have to play the video again?”

Tony sighed. Pushing himself away from the doorframe He took heavy steps over to the boy and knelt down in front of him. Reaching out a hand he placed it over Peter’s. The boy didn’t flinch, nor try to move away, which Tony saw as a good thing.

“I love you. So much. Nothing has, or will ever change that. What you saw in the video was true. It was me. But I didn’t want to do it-”

Peter scoffed.

“-please just listen baby. Please. It was cheating yes, but it wasn’t my choice to make. I did it for you, for us. To be able to get that better life”, seeing Peter’s confusion, he carried on. “The video you saw was me and a man named Tanner Gage.He had close relations with my father. I never really told you how exactly I managed to build an industry from nothing. And I didn’t because it was only going to hurt you. Tanner wanted money, money that I didn’t have to offer him. He had all the plans prepared as the go ahead, but he wanted something from me. I didn’t have the money at the time. This was in between us getting the tattoos and me beginning to go out to meetings and whatnot. You remember don’t you?”, Peter nodded.

“When he found out I couldn’t give him the money straight away, he said he’d let me give it to him once we were back on our feet and making money from the business. On one condition. Why he wanted to have sex with me so bad, I don’t know. But I did it, because I wanted to be able to give you that better life. It was so close, I couldn’t not do it. And look, look around Peter. I got you a better life. It was once, one time that was it. And we still have everything I’ve ever wished for you and more. I’ve touched no one, spoke to no one, done anything with anyone else but you, apart from to give him what he wanted.”

Peter’s mouth was wide open in shock. Whatever he’d been expecting as Tony’s excuse, it wasn’t that. He didn’t know what to say. Tony could see the emotions running through his head, and gently he squeezed his hand. 

“I get if you’re still mad and upset with me. I would be too, I just never wanted to tell you because it would only hurt you. It’s wromg, and it’s disguting and I’m guilty as fuck, but i can never regret it, because it got us to here”, Tony said softly.

Peter’s mouth was dry. For a while he opened and closed his lips, no sound coming at because he was still trying to process everything he was just told. Tony was always one step ahead, answering questions before Peter even got to ask them:

“I’m not lying Pete, I promise you, I know it’s absurd but I wouldn’t lie. Not when our relationship is at stake. His wife was the one that wrote the letter to you and dropped it off in the shop. We got fingerprints sampling from the envelope, and checked the cctv of the shop. We can get in contact with her so that you can ask her in person.”

“I don’t know why he recorded it, I guess he got some kind of kick out of it. I hated every minute of it and all I could think about was you. I cried the entire way home after. You remember that night, I know you do. You got upset because I didn’t kiss or touch when I came home. But I couldn't, I didn’t want my tainted touch on you until I’d showered. You just didn’t know it then..”

“Yeah I guess that’s basically prostitution. But, I don’t want to sue him or anything because I owe all of this to him.”

Eventually even Tiny ran out of things to say. His head was bowed, gaze low at Peter’s feet. Seconds later arms were wrapped around his neck, a small body clinging onto his. “Oh Tony- Tony- you should have just told me. I would have understood. I feel so bad now, you did nothing wrong. I love you so much and I’m sorry I ever doubted you. I’m sorry he made you do that, I’m sorry Tones, I’m so sorry. I came to get some more of my stuff I didn’t know you were going to break my heart and yet mend it at the same time!”

Tony began to shush him gently, holding him close and rubbing his back gently in small circles. “It's okay baby, It’s okay. It’s over now and I promise nothing like that will ever happen again”

Peter was sobbing quietly in his arms, and Tony’s own eyes filled with tears. 

“I love you so much Peter, please don’t leave me”, he begged softly.

Peter shook his head. “I would never, not now that I know the truth. You’re my brave, strong, beautiful husband and I’d be damned if i let someone take that away from me!”

For the first time in a long time, Tony let out a laugh. There was still a lot they needed to talk about. He knew Peter was still hurt, and honestly he didn’t blame him. But this was a step in the right direction for sure. And Tony had never been more glad. 

“Thank you”, he muttered hoarsely, and the reason behind it was unclear. There was a lot he was thanking Peter for. Too much in fact because he didn’t deserve his angel Peter, not at all. 

But Peter simply shook his head, suitcase forgotten as he pressed a gentle kiss to Tony’s head, and hugged onto him, a little bit tighter.

[toysoldiers-rwby]

[SYT] 5. the leading lamb

Show Your Teeth

Characters: Fiona, Winter, May, Robyn, Joanna Rating: Mature Tags: implied abuse, hurt/comfort, parental sibling, confessions, fluff Word Count: 7,219

Summary: Three Mantle Rats are invited to an Atlesian Party. What can go wrong?

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A/N: as a survive it’s very important for me to NEVER focus on the abuse itself. I try very hard to imply it and show the damage it can do but honestly I’m tired of reading stories where it’s just pain. So I try very hard to focus on the recovery and healing. I’d love feedback on this. Also check Ao3 for NSFW art lol. i forgot tumblr hates links so i think i’ll just edit it back in after a week or something to keep things organized.

Some how a shopping trip also turned into a raid on the local arcade. Fiona was winning despite what all the leaderboards was saying. Winter was cheating, she had to be. Robyn and Joanna was the better shot, they were the only ones that used range weapons a regular basis! Still Winter came in first. May should have won the batter’s game, her favorite weapon was a staff. Number One? Winter Schnee. The other three loudly cheered Fiona on as she adjusted her grip on the hammer.  

The last game was a the gold on ‘Test of the Strength.’ Sure, some of was actual strength but almost all of it was leverage. Fiona loved stealing… borrowing! Loved borrowing heavy weapons. Axes… Elm’s hammer. She almost got Marrow’s boomerang and still had two years to do it. A worker quickly stepped in as Joanna was some how about to convince the man they’ll settle the matter like adults.  

Several minutes later they had enough tickets to buy all the giant stuff animals on display. Like adults, everyone gave their tickets to the children nearby.  

Like an adult, Fiona slammed her fist on the counter and demanded the giant lion.  

“By the brothers, Fi…” Robyn mumbled a little embarrassed.

It was the fifth time she’d manage to surprise and fluster the women. Fiona wasn’t counting the smirk tugging at her lips and cute mole on her chin. The fluttering in her chest wasn’t getting worse and her hands didn’t feel cold and empty when she looked at Robyn. Fiona only hugged her stuff animal tighter.

“I won and Winter cheated! I deserve a trophy!” Fiona argued sticking her tongue out at them. In truth she just needed something to desperately keep her hands occupied. Joanna was the only one that smiled fondly at her and ruffled her hair. The other three acted disappointed.  

And to be extra annoying she refused to absorbed it and forced the group to return to Robyn’s apartment. Fiona dumped several bags of clothes onto the living room floor and then took the couch with her new best friend. May took the time to choose to pick out everyone’s outfit and will most likely buy a few more accessories when they head up to Atlas.  

“What should I name it?” Fiona asked with a grin, ears wiggling happily.  

“Childish,” Robyn said with a soft teasing bite. Fiona didn’t notice the way her eyes light up, all bright and unguarded. Or noticed Robyn’s habit of blowing her fringe out of her eyes.  

“Deviant,” May said slowly shifting through the bags. Eventually the others helped her but Fiona stayed on the couch.  

“Selfish,” Joanna added.  

“You all suck,” Fiona mumbled. She fell back, laying down on the couch and not even taking up all the space. She held up the stuff lion above her, playing with its tiny round ears as her own fluttered happily.  

Today was the most fun she had in years. And not because of the sex. A sudden shiver rolled through Fiona’s body, a flash of heat dried her mouth and warmed her cheeks. The sight of Robyn stretched out before her… The sweetness rolling off her tongue and down her chin and neck. Her ears fluttered, remembering how Robyn screamed Fiona’s name.  

Fiona buried her face against the muzzle. Trying not to groan at the memory. Robyn was her teammate, going to be her huntress partner. Not… Fiona tried to shelved her dancing heart. It was just… stress relief between friends. Casual hookups and friends with benefits weren’t unheard of when majority of Atlas’ population was asexual.  

Robyn will be her new partner. They’ll pass their combat final with flying colors and… and ideally Robyn will stay. Fiona swallowed her racing heart back down to her chest. She’d get to see those stupid eyes everyday.  

“I’ll name you… Spring.” Fiona said cuddling her trophy. Robyn glanced at her with a smirk and raised brow. “For new beginnings!” Fiona huffed and pouted at the women. Robyn’s smile eased the tension from her shoulders, looking… a lot how like Winter looks at May. Stupidly fond and earnest and Fiona had to look away with ears fluttering about.  

“You have competition now,” Joanna teased, elbowing her partner. Fiona saw a light blush on Robyn’s tanned cheeks for a second. They all turned back to the elites, noticing May holding up an outfit that wasn’t for any of them.  

“They won’t be able to do any compression for awhile,” Winter said. They, meaning the Thief. Fiona sat up, resting her chin on her trophy’s shoulder. The two elites picked out an outfit for the Thief on their last shopping trip. May shifted a little more, looking away uncomfortably.  

Fiona realized that she never saw May in anything that she didn’t want to wear. She switched between the boy’s and girl’s uniform according to her mood, wore makeup whenever she felt like it and never because it was required. Fiona always thought it was May being May, a rebellious brat tired of all the rules… the rules just never applied to her in the beginning.  

Fiona touched her ears, only being able to relate on a different level. “Scarf’s are good too,” Fiona said. Her teammates gave her a pointed look with a soft sneer. Fiona pouted at it back before Robyn playfully sat down next to her and tugged at the scarf around her neck.  

“Are you ever going to give it back?” May tried to be teasing but was still a little tense.  

“Maybe… not?” Fiona mumbled, an idea hitting her. She blushed and looked away. It was stupid and humans always got the wrong impression but it was true. “Maybe we should give it to the Thief-”  

“Glade,” May gently reminded.  

“We should give it to Glade,” Fiona corrected. “They responded pretty well to me and May so it might calm them down.” Joanna and Robyn glanced at each other a little confused. “Um… Faunus are wired differently,” Fiona answered, fidgeting a little in her seat. She never actually had to explain it to May and Winter. The pair picked up on it because they’re secretly super attentive and sweet. “We’re not hunting dogs, it works on a subconscious level and we don’t really notice it.” Fiona said. She was dancing around the subject a little because her nose was a little more sensitive than the average Faunus. Everyone had their own unique scent. Winter smelled of cool fresh air, like fresh dawn and a new beginning. May smelled of flowers, so soft it wrapped and cuddle Fiona from the inside.  

Robyn and Joanna smelled like the forest of Mistral. Deep and rich, the kind of ground you could really set roots in and grace with flowers. Every bit of them was different parts of a home Fiona would like some day. No wonder Glade snuck in earlier.  

Robyn and Joanna raised a brow. The slight movement helping Fiona realize she was quiet a little too long, “People just smell nice,” Fiona blurted out with a blush. “Familiar smells are calming while strangers are…”  

“Upsetting?” Robyn asked.  

“Kinda? It’s why May cuddles me when we need to sleep in hotels.”  

“And why they practically dragged you into Robyn’s room last night,” Joanna said with chuckled, “That’s adorable.” The three students blushed softly.  

The little lamb grumbled and shifted in her seat. Fiona didn’t tell them it was a sign of trust and acceptance in Faunus culture. So when they dropped off the clothes at the clinic and the Thief- Glade, walked into the clinic’s staff lounge with the scarf wrapped around their neck, Fiona smiled brightly, ears wiggling happily.  

They chose the grunge outfit her elites bought, subtly turtling into the scarf as they tucked their wavy pale green hair into beanie… Keeping their eyes closed until they slipped on the dark reflective shades. Was their Faunus trait their eyes? Where they nocturnal or did they have non-human eyes?  

“Thanks,” The Thief. said with a soft smile.  

“Yeah, of course,” May tried to act like Winter, stoic and aloof. It was an adorable failure that had Fiona and her group of mismatched friends snickering. She grumbled at the mismatch group and looked focused on Dr. Pietro, “Are you attending the Schnee recital tonight?”  

“Perhaps, Young Glade here has offered to help me finish my work but I will definitely attending Silvio’s birthday later this week,” Dr. Pietro said with a smile while the Thief frowned a little.  

“Glade? What am I a stray dog?”  

“We even got you a collar,” May taunted, pulling at collar of their flannel shirt. Glade only scoffed and quickly retreated back into the clinic, favoring one side over the other. Everyone noticed and gave Dr. Pietro a worried look.  

“A broken leg that never healed right. Completely unrelated to what happened this morning.” Dr. Pietro said. " We had a close call with Ms. Goodwitch and Silvio earlier but they’ll be safe. If they stay here," He stressed the last bit loudly and pointedly.  

“I promise I’ll keep you all out of trouble,” Glade yelled somewhere in the clinic.  

“Not reassuring!” Fiona yelled back as they left. She took a few dancing steps in front of the group, smiling up at her friends, “So we ready to head back to Atlas?”  

“Let’s see… Glade? Treated and recovering. Window. Fixed. Weapons?” Robyn asked.  

“Check!” Fiona smile with a flick of her wrist, a switchblade was suddenly in her hands and flicked open. The others seemed to falter a little, a quick blush appearing on everyones face and Robyn looking particularly… bothered. Fiona only brightly smiled at her until Winter cleared her throat.  

“Atlesian lesson 101?” The Schnee asked next.  

“They’re bitches,” May and Robyn answered at the same time. Fiona giggled as Winter lightly glared at them both. “Public opinion is everything,” Robyn answered. “And 102, deliver what they think they want.”  

What the Atlesians wanted from Robyn wasn’t far from who she actually was.  

Joanna cleared her throat, “An average civilian, rising to the occasion to save a brilliant mind during a sudden attack on Mantle, the charismatic hero who always gets the girl in the end,” she narrated the hard-light poster dramatically before throwing her head back and laughing.  

Thank god Winter had the foresight to drag them to Schnee Manor before the actual recital started. The only people around were servers, security, and fiends. It gave time for the Mantle Rats to get used to the environment, to the disgusting show of wealth. They had space for real trees in the city. Gated behind a wall with security cameras pointing out in every direction. Marble, chrome, rich dark oaks constructed the building and hard-light lamps advertised the Schnee emblem and tied it all with a soft blue glow.  

Then there was the hijacked hard-light poster.  

It was suppose to be displaying the poster May showed them earlier today, Weiss sinking on stage. Instead it was Robyn. Valiantly fighting Grimm in the foreground, fending off those creepy long fingers and giving Fiona time to grab Silvio as the ground erupted beneath them. Fiona tilted her head.  

It looked like a movie still.  

A very hot one Fiona would probably take for herself later but it didn’t feel right. “Is this what people see when they watch Huntsmen and Huntresses fight?” She asked softly. “Just action and adventure? Not, y’know… helping people?”  

“It always seems like saving people is the ultimate form of help. It gets rather tiresome.”  

The group turned around to see Goodwitch approaching. Her usual wear was formal enough, a lot more than the group’s casual suits and dresses. Robyn’s tie was purposely loose the top two buttons left open for that perfectly clean your-not-important-enough-for-me-to-care persona the group decided on. Just thinking about it made Fiona’s hand twitched. She wanted to pull at it for a while now. She enjoyed Robyn’s shock and flustered face and that tie… Robyn’s her teammate, not a casual fuck.  

Fiona took a slow breath and looked back up at Goodwitch who eye did bounce between the gold bird pin everyone wore on their body.  

“I’d like to formally apologize on Qrow’s behalf,” Goodwitch said a bit reluctantly. “Though I do not apologize for his absence. He’ll probably just puke all over the floor or hassle the servers.”  

"If you want to apologize stop bringing up that drunk," May said, her arm leaving the small dip of WInter’s back. Winter tried to stay relax but was glaring hard up at the Vale huntress.  

Goodwitch smile, “Best idea all day. Worse being people sneaking Grimm into the city,” She finished looking at Robyn and Fiona. The words made Fiona’s heartbeat leap into her throat. There… that was one explanation. The only reasonable. May did say something about a greater plan. Glade was the only one that acted- No. Fiona looked at Robyn, Glade was the only one that had the skill and resources to act. “James has told me you’ve looked into previous cases, Detective Hill?”  

Detect… Detective?! Fiona tried not to sputter at the title. She tried to relax her ears, stop them from sticking straight out from the sides of her head. Joanna chuckled softly beside her and ruffled her hear, unfreezing her muscles.  

“Fighting rings have started to bring in small non-Atlas Grimm to spice things up,” Robyn said. Fiona pulled her head out of the gutter, trying to focus on the conversation. Joanna set a hand on her partner’s shoulder, calming her down enough to continue civilly. “We’ve been trying to get the military involved for months.”  

“Do you think these events are related?” Goodwitch asked.  

“We put a dent in the major rings so I hope not,” Joanna whispered. “If Atlas gangs figure out how to turn Grimm into weapons…” Fiona didn’t want to think about those Imps agains.  

“We’re already seeing some bandit tribes in Anima use similar tactics,” Goodwitch informed. One reason why Atlas was so crowded and industrialized was that Solitas made living outside of proper settlements difficult. Normal citizens without a protective Aura can’t even leave the kingdom without expensive equipment. “Extort them for protection by leading the Grimm to them and leave them once the main horde arrives.”  

“They can’t all be connect,” Robyn said firmly shaking her head. “Twisted mines follow the same path every now and then.”  

Goodwitch stared at the group for a long while, then smiled sadly, “I don’t suppose I can steal you from Atlas, can I?” Goodwitch asked.  

“She’s mine,” Fiona blurted out, heart skipping a few beats as panic filled her for a second. She was so close to making things up to Winter and May. Just one last thing before they all continue with their training and studies, two years until they graduation. Robyn nudged her out of it a playful smirk comforting the little lamb. “She’s my partner for our combative final.”  

“Ridiculous,” Goodwitch said with a deep scowl, “With how you all fought, I’ll see ensure James pass the three of you and accept you two into the Academy,” She looked at the students then at the detectives. The group blinked stunned until Goodwitch raised a brow.  

“Thank you… ma’am,” Winter said softly. Even her eyes were wide.  

Goodwitch only nodded. She turned on those high heels and practically marched away, “I look forward to working with you ladies again.”  

“As long as that creepy as bird doesn’t break my shit!” Robyn called out after her. Robyn was practically bouncing, a large smile on her face as grabbed Joanna’s hands and practically bounced, “Heard that Joan! We’re Atlas students-”  

“Your an Atlas student.” Joanna said pulling her hands free and pushing them firm on Robyn’s shoulders to stop her small bounce. " We don’t have the money for both of us to attend."  

Fiona winced in sympathy, “I’m on almost five scholarships and it’s… not easy,” Fiona said softly. She needed to write essay’s attend tournaments, her workload was nearly tripped the average student’s. Another reason why she was so desperate to stay with Winter and May, another team would just hold her back. “I’m lucky i got teamed up with a perfectionist and a competitive idiot.” She nodded to Winter and May, both avoiding their gaze with an uncomfortable look. This wasn’t a conversation her elites usually hear.  

Robyn scowled, gritting her teeth. Joanna smiled and patted her head like a she was pouting puppy, “We’ll figure something out Rob… Today is still our day off, right?” She looked at May who nodded.  

“Would you two like a small tour of the manor?” Winter ask, already leading the group out of the foyer. They headed to the kitchen first, trying to walk past all the giant paintings of her family but Robyn stopped at the giant portrait. Winter tried to encourage the group to walk past but Joanna eyed the giant suit of armor and sword next to it. “My grandfather, Nicolas Schnee.”  

“I read about him,” Joanna said, “When Robyn first suggested we go to Atlas Academy I laughed at her.”  

“Yeah, I was so hurt I almost kicked you out,” Robyn mumbled. She turned towards Winter, “But you three know why we want to become Huntresses now.”  

Fiona looked at Winter who pressed her lips tight. She only turned and walked deeper into the manor, forcing the group to follow. May didn’t leave her side, pressing into her shoulder every time a server passed with a tray of empty wine glasses. Their hands brushed every so often but neither of them made a move to hold on.  

It was obvious why May joined. Winter was hung up on the fact that they only met their new friends yesterday.  

“Same as you but a little different,” Fiona said, wiggling her ears for effect. “To help everyone, Mantle is just the start-” Suddenly hear ears perked up, flicking in the direction of the private area of the manor. It sounded like glass breaking.  

“Damn it…” May mumbled. This time her hand finally slid into Winter’s, “I’ll check, you stay.”  

“No.” Winter said, voice brittle and body so taunt it was ready to snap. Fiona hung back, letting May try and calm her not-girlfriend teammate. She also stopped Robyn from springing into action.  

May stepped close, their heads leaned together to whisper as soft as possible. Fiona tried to ignore it but it was impossible with how quiet the hallways were. “You come, they come.” May said. Then her voice soften, “Please… Don’t put this all on me, Win.”  

Winter blinked. Blue eyes shinning and cracking. Fiona would never say tears were in her eyes. After another squeeze Winter finally relaxed and let go of May’s hand. “Alright… Let’s go-”  

“Stop! Please!” Silvio’s voice broke through the thick walls.  

Immediately the group broke into a sprint. Winter was the fastest and Fiona was trailing behind her after absorbing her heels. A Glyph light the hallway. Before Fiona could stop her, a Beowolf roared, crawling out of it and slashing the door opened. She could hear two kids scream and another glass breaking.  

Fiona only had a moment to take in the scene before the two kids ran towards them. Three adults and thanks to Fiona’s sensitive nose she could smell some alcohol on all their breaths. Weiss was in Winter’s arms in seconds and once Silvio stumbled out of Author Watt’s slacken grip, he was behind May.  

“Let’s go.” May shoved Winter out of the room. She fought it, eyes on her mother and father. The Beowolf slowly growling.  

“Please,” Weiss whispered. That finally broke Winter’s furious trance. She stepped back but left her Beowolf growling viciously it made Fiona’s ears twitch painfully low.  

May lead them back to kitchens, Fiona could tell by the delicious smell and the clanking pots. It was the only life in the manor, the staff singing loudly and enjoying their work until the rich snobs came in and they’d have to act pleasant. When the group came in they immediately froze, nervous. They took one look at the kids and quieted down. The singing wasn’t as loud but still lively and cheerful.  

Fiona watched some energy and return to the kids, a small weight lifting off their shoulders as Klein quickly appeared. His light brown eyes shifted from them to Winter, “Oh dear… what happened now-”  

“Nothing.” Weiss said softly.  

“Nothing new,” Silvio said with a scoff. He sat at the table, taking a dessert and stuffing it in his face before retreating into his Scroll. Klein sighed and replaced it with a fresh treat from the counter.  

Fiona looked at Winter and May who gave her a gentle pleading look. The little lamb grabbed both Joanna and Robyn’s hands, leading them out of the kitchen. “Come on, their garden has real flowers in them,” Fiona said, trying to sound cheerful for the sake of the kids. Weiss didn’t smile and Silvio didn’t look up from his Scroll.  

No one wanted to speak until they got the garden. Even then the heavy silence lingered, growing heavier as the trio watched the sunset on a bench. Finally Joanna sigh let out a loud sigh, leaning heavily into Fiona and pushing her into Robyn who easily bore the additional weight of two people.  

“Maybe we should take Goodwitch’s offer and go to Vale?” Joanna mused softly. “It’d be cheaper too. Warmer. Friendlier.”  

“But they don’t need us,” Fiona said softly.  

Robyn came back to reality. Fiona and Joanna had to right themselves as she leaned forward and rubbed her face. “That is so messed up… Not even the rich has it easy in this fucking kingdom,” She was trembling. Voice on the verge of breaking and so damn angry. When Fiona tried bending down Robyn harshly turned away.  

“I can smell you crying… sensitive nose remember?” Fiona whispered. She moved, taking Robyn’s other side so her and Joanna could sandwich Robyn in. Her hand hesitated, hovering above Robyn’s knee. Just as she was about to pull back Robyn uncurled and grabbed her hand. She held onto tightly as she leaned her head on Joanna’s shoulder and whipped away the tears with her other hand. “Now you know why they’re so protective of me… And why Winter wants to become a huntress.” Fiona said softly, rubbing comforting circles on Robyn’s skin with her thumb.  

“What’s good is being an officer if I can’t even arrest a drunk huntsmen, let alone those three,” Joanna growled. She took a deep breath. Her arm was long enough to rest heavily on Robyn and Fiona’s shoulder. It was like a loose hold, so Fiona snuggled into both of them. For a long moment they all just sat there, letting their brains turn off.  

Winter was the first to find them with a tray of food and drinks. She looked guilty but smiled seeing Fiona’s and Robyn’s hand tightly intertwine. Fiona haded how soft Winter’s voice came out, “I’m… I’m sorry you three had to see that.” She said. Fiona got up, passing the tray to Robyn and wrapping her arms tight around Winter.  

“I’m sorry we can’t do anything they deserve,” Joanna said back. The three Mantle Rats invited Winter to sit with them on the bench but Winter politely refused, withdrawing a little instead. But she was here… and May asked her not to put it all on her anymore.  

Fiona extruded a picnic blanket for them to sit on. Joanna and Robyn looked comfortable on the bench looked relaxed stretched out on the ground. After some thought, Robyn dropped her head onto Fiona’s lap. The little lamb smiled down at her, both enjoying and needing a sense of touch. Fiona selfishly let her heart beat faster, eyes wandering to Robyn lips and eyes as she played with the platinum strands of hair.  

The cowardly part of Fiona wished Robyn didn’t relax the way she did, closing her eyes and humming softly in approval. At same time she’d hope to see it more. No wonder her two elite always got grumpy whenever their morning routine was interrupted.  

“We’ve dealt with families with… similar situation,” Robyn explained, slowly turning her brain back on. “I can recommend some good therapist for your sister. Silvio too.”  

“That’d… that’d be much appreciated. You’d have to talk to May about Silvio, she’s already helping him with… other things.” Winter said softly. She hide half her face behind a drink, her eyes meeting Fiona’s for a moment then down to Robyn and Joanna. “Thank you,” She whispered into her drink.  

“Don’t thank me yet,” Robyn said with a small smile. She rolled onto her stomach and Fiona missed the warmth of her scalp and softness of her hair. “One more thing. Just pin May to the wall and fuck her already.” Winter blushed hard, coughing softly and trying to clear her throat. Joanna patted her back while Fiona giggled.  

“I… I can’t-”  

"Can’t? You practically fucking her through me," Robyn continued to press. Winter blushed harder, completely off balance and embarrassed by the topic. It was rare a sight, one that only May pulls off on a good day so Fiona jumped in.  

“Technically, I was fucking you,” Fiona corrected, lightly flicking Robyn’s nose. “Because Winter’s too sweet on May to actually fuck another person,” She leaned forward and grinning at the Schnee. Winter tried to get Fiona to submit with a hard look. When Fiona started wiggling her brows a little Winter was forced to set her drink down or risk spilling it all over their semi-formal clothes. She barely remembered they were here for an Atlesian party.  

“I don’t know if I should be upset that you two noticed before May did,” Winter grumbled softly. “But I didn’t think she liked me back until this morning.”  

Fiona tapped her chin thinking back on their years together. “Honestly… I didn’t either. You? You were so obvious! The morning routines with the hair, how protective you were over her!” The pair might have edged each other to the extremes but that also meant they were always softer and much more relaxed when together.  

“I have been hinting at it when since we were young,” Winter confessed. All the Mantle rats flinched. Joanna ran a hand through her hair, messing up the gel the Marigold styled it with.  

“Well of course May don’t realize it!” Joanna said with an annoyed sigh. “You’ve been giving her mix signals-”  

"How was this morning mixed signals?!" Winter hissed with a deepening blush.  

“Just tell her,” Robyn said waving her hand.  

“Tell who what?” May asked rounding the corner of bushes with another tray of food. “Klein wanted to make Fiona’s favorite since we haven’t snuck back in awhile.”  

“Yes!” Fiona cheered taking the tray of fruits and sweets, strawberries covered in chocolates to fluffy cream stuffed puff. After throwing one in her mouth she teasingly dangled one in front of Robyn’s face. The women rolled her eyes, taking a bite of the strawberry and watching as Fiona finished it off.  

May sneered, “Glad I haven’t missed much.”  

“They’re trying to convince me to tell you about my undying love for you,” Winter said, in her default tightly controlled and dry tone. Before anyone could act surprised May threw her head back and laughed so hard her face went a little red.  

“Yeah! Do it after Weiss’ performance.” May said with a bratty cute grin. Fiona tensed, a smile plastered to her face as she tried not to scream. Damn it May! “Announce our engagement so your father and my cousin can die of a heart attack!” She bent down, taking Winter’s hands and gently pulling her up, “Come on! Show’s starting soon and Silvio wouldn’t shut up about us grabbing front row seats.”  

Within a few minutes the the theater was full and the lights dimmed to darkness. Fiona looked around. Her eyes spotting most of the military in the booths above the crowd. Goodwitch sitting irritably next to General Ironwood. Across from them senior Clover Ebi was sitting next to the freshmen Marrow. The other Faunus was busy looking around the theater too, a determine look on his face.  

“There’s a lot of Atlas students here…” Fiona whispered a little uneasily.  

“We do have two Atlesian scientist and the one visiting from Vale with his family,” Robyn said. Fiona looked back up the balconies. Sure enough she spotted the Vale scientist with his Faunus wife and daughter.  

Unfortunately due to May and Robyn’s hassling each other, they didn’t get center seats, but from this angle Fiona was able to see just behind the curtains. At the side of the stage was a hooded figure in robs… Weiss next to them with Silvio a little ways off. Fiona strained her ears but it was too far.  

The hooded not-Schnee figure took the center of the stage and from his Scroll Silvo activated the music. A slow piano piece fitting for the rich audience. Slowly the stage lights turned on, letting Fiona’s sensitive eyes adjust while gradually getting brighter for the humans to see, piano growing louder, picking up tempo.  

“You are an ocean of waves, weaving a dream like thoughts, become a river stream,” the mysterious stranger sang. Her voice was lower than Weiss. A shock mummer spread across the crowd but the opening act wasn’t phased even as Fiona watched the military in the booths grow a little tense. They only relaxed when they realized another voice would join occasionally, Weiss standing beside Silvio, harmonizing into her mic. “Yet may the tide every change, flowing like time to the path, yours to climb.”  

Fiona turned back to the stage, ears flinching a little whenever the music was too high for her sensitive ears. Whoever the mysterious singer was, she knew how to entertain walking the stage, posing and gesturing to the audience until the easily swayed like Marrow was at the edge of his seat and the reserved ones like Vine was absolutely enthralled. Robyn looked amazed, beautiful lavender eyes wide.  

“Thou seek the light with an outstretched hand,” Slowly the opening act’s voice faded. Weiss’ voice growing louder but she hadn’t walked on stage yet, “A divine blade lies before you so command the wake of dreams, to restore the world, cut 'way the seams,”  

Then the tempo picked up yet again, a drum encouraging Fiona’s heart into a powerful and steady beat. The mysterious singer reached out the audience, “Join in our prayer, in our song of birthrights and love,” She sang loudly. Weiss’ voice slowly appeared again, matching harmonizing so perfectly it had Fiona’s ears shuttering in pleasure, “Come the sun, illuminate the sky. Pray that we may quell the dark. Light take the throne. Lost in thoughts, all alone.”  

Then the lights dimmed, the music slowed to pause. Fiona heard Robyn and Joanna catch their breath next to her. Fiona saw the mysterious singer rush to the side, encouraging Weiss onto the stage. She vigorously shook her head for a moment until Silvio whispered his own words of encouragement, gesturing to where Winter was sitting.  

With a huff and a stomp she rushed to her position, the opening act helping her on the left and then rushed to their own position on the right side. It was then she noticed the slight shaking in her hands. As Silvio increased the lighting, Fiona could see the redness in her eyes she missed before.  

Poor kid. Still having to preform after the bullshit three adults put her through. Fiona heard Robyn gasp softly, “This is all improved…” she muttered.  

The verse repeated but this time the music didn’t slow. The drums became louder, drums and violins filling Fiona with a rush as she listened to every word, “Thou seek the dark with an un-sheathed blade,” Weiss’ voice was beautiful, it sent chills down her spine and the haunting familiarity of her assistant pulled everyone in like it was story, “Now a white ivory throne beckons so obtain the fate you sow on this path be wary friend and foe.”  

The way they moved on stage, circling each other or stepping close and matching their steps was almost poetic. “May thy chosen path lead way, and grace you with virtue but surely balance awaits,” Slowly Weiss took the lead, the opening act smiling as Weiss’ hands stopped shaking. She looked directly at her sister in the front row, “So be it bliss or pain you gain beyond the route-way’s end. You’ll gain resilience and weakness. The trials, the thorn in your side becomes the greatest strength, in you.”  

The song was a message to her sister, Fiona realized with a happy smile. She looked at the older Schnee. Winter looked proud. She reached over to her partner, grabbing her hand giving it a thankful squeeze. Fiona glanced at Robyn her own hand feeling stupidly empty. Until she notice Silvio and the hooded singer nodding at each other.  

“Descend into the abyss thou see- Hey!” Weiss screamed as she was suddenly shoved into the orchestra pit. One of the musicians threw their instrument aside to catch her. The crowd gasped, all the military huntsmen and students shocked in their seats. The music changed, suddenly blaring through the speakers but the volume wasn’t enough to make Fiona flinch.  

“The future is bulletproof the after is secondary!” The opening act sang. Finally the hooded opening act ripped off their hood. Fiona’s mouth hung open as a familiar helmet and gold horns standing on stage. I promise I’ll keep you all out of trouble, Glade said before they left Mantle. “It’s time to do it now and do it loud!”  

“Are you serious!?” May screamed in the theater. Fiona looked at her elites. May was almost pulling her hair out and Winter jumped into the orchestra pit to check on her sister. Glade grinned, hard-light ears taking shape and floating above their helmet.  

They pointed at May, “Kill joys! Make some noise!”  

“Your fucking dead-”  

“Na, na, na, na, na!” Glade stomped their feet in time with the rock music. Fiona barely pushed May back into her seat as the military moved in. Thankfully it was the students first. Vine swinging in with his semblance and Elm’s massive thighs launched her off the balcony and towards the stage. But Glade only smiled, never missing a beat, “Drugs, gimme drugs, gimme drugs, I don’t need it but I’ll sell what you got,” The pair was only able to make an entrance. The Dust in Glade’s clothes glowed a bright purple. A low warping sound ran deep in the room. Vine gasp a sudden weight pulling him down with Elm. It was enough force for the pair to crash through the stage.  

The crowd sneered and laughed. “Bring what Rat in and they all come,” Someone said behind them. Fiona was pretty sure it was May’s cousin but she wasn’t about to ask the Marigold to check. Fiona only kept watching. Winter had snuck Weiss back behind the curtain and was now glaring at Silvio. It looked like she was trying to lecture them but the kids were smiling, busy watching Marrow clumsily climb onto the stage while Harriet appeared with a trail of lightning behind her.  

Fiona laughed at the nervous looking boy, “Come on Marrow!” She cheered. Glade has yet to attack anything sentient and alive so he won’t get his ass beat but humiliation can be just as painful.  

“You’re looking good for someone who almost died this morning,” Harriet taunted.  

Glade only smirked, “But I’ll take what I want form your heart and I’ll keep it in a bag, in a box, put an X on the floor!” They continued to sing. Glade bounced around, light on their feet and motioned for the pair to come at them, “Gimme more, gimme more, gimme more! Shut up and Sing it with me!”  

“Marrow…” Harriet ordered the kid.  

Marrow took a deep breath, tail straightening as he concentrated, "Stay!" He hasn’t perfected his semblance yet but Glade’s singing paused, body moving slowly but still moving.  

Harriet grinned cracking her knuckles before running forward. Just as she was about to reach them, the gravity Dust glowed bright. Harriet lost her footing but the momentum continued until she crashed into the wall. The audience laughed even harder. Robyn and Joanna roaring next to her.  

The poor freshmen couldn’t hold his semblance and dropped it, panting heavily. Just as Clover was about to step onto the stage the lights shut off. Glade reach over, throwing Clover at Marrow. With a sharp whistle a wall of ice rose up, blocking all of Ironwood’s favorite students on stage. Glade ran to the side, grabbing the blind Schnees and Watt and running out of the theater. Before they disappeared they gave Fiona a pointed look.  

The little lamb grabbed everyone and ran to the nearest side door. Klein gasped, semblance activating with a small scared sneeze and red eyes was looking at them. “Good, good, I was worried ya’ lot wouldn’t catch on,” Klein smirked, voice gruff and a little aggressive. Fiona giggled, she always like this one the best. “You… I can’t believe you’re in on this too!”  

“Don’t blame me lil’ miss,” Klein scowled and growled back up at May, “Originally we were just gonna turn off the lights and sneak Weiss out, but the lil cunt made a friend and well…” Klein gestured to the theater and the loud shouts and yells. Ironwood was demanding the lights be turned back on and the crowd was starting to panic a little, “Best get ya’ out of here, eh? Rides out back, hurry on, now.”  

Fiona new the manor well enough to get the group there. Robyn tried to stop laughing. It was a good thing Fiona was still holding her hand because she was sure Robyn would have been several halls behind them. There were other security guards around but they would see a server accidentally stumble into them or slow down the cart of food or equipment.  

“I’m glad Weiss is still being look after.” May muttered softly under her breath. That finally got Robyn to stop laughing a sobering smile aimed at her elite.  

A chauffeur waited patiently with the door opened for them. Winter didn’t jump, only gave them a small smile while the kids giggled to themselves. May was the only one still furious, “Where’s Glade?”  

“They ran off while I was lecturing Weiss and Silvio,” Winter explain. “Said something about, 'How they weren’t paid enough for that,” She finished looking pointedly at the young adopted Watts. “How long have you two been planning this?”  

“Sneaking out in the middle of the performance…” Weiss blushed and looked away. “A few… weeks?”  

“It was suppose to be during my party but… then… fuck my uncle,” Silvio huffed. The mood died a little but Silvio was still grinning. “It was so worth it.”  

“You two should have told me,” Winter said.  

“You should come around more often- Ow!” Silvio winced as both May and Weiss punched him.  

Winter took it in stride. She closed her eyes, as if concentrating to break the aloof and cool facade. She smiled, gently and earnestly leaning towards her sister and the young genius, “I guess you two will need to fill me. How exactly did two brilliant kids made a fool of the military? Hm?” They both grinned up at her.  

May acted like a grump rolling her eyes but leaning heavily into her partner side. Fiona grinned at the scene, ears fluttering happily. Robyn sneered and chuckled, fingers playing with the tips of her ears while Joanna had an arm slung around both their shoulders again.  

Fiona hadn’t realized she didn’t let go of Robyn’s hand until she was swinging their joined hands in the elevator. May set the kids up in another suite, talking a little more with the kids. Fiona and Robyn naturally gravitated to the balcony while Winter and Joanna collapsed onto the king sized bed with a deep sigh.  

“What a day…”  

“I’ll say. Fighting Grimm, sex in the changing room, a picnic and a show,” Joanna teased. The trio blushed hard and Robyn still made no move to pull their hands apart. This time she caught the women glancing at her lips. Fiona tighten her grip, fighting the urge to pull at the loose tie.  

“I’m going to live variously through you two again.” Winter said. Fiona nearly jumped and the pair looked at Winter, lounging like a cat next to a bear that was Joanna. The Schnee looked pointedly at their hands, “Just make out already.”  

“Yes, ma’am,” Robyn whispered, voice husky and slow. It sent a shiver down Fiona’s spine and she realized the women was quiet for awhile now. Fiona could almost feel just how long Robyn was holding herself back. At first the kiss was desperate and almost vicious. Fiona gasp softly when Robyn bit her lip and her tongue danced against hers. Both of Fiona’s hands was held in Robyn’s against the railing, as if this is how she wanted to take Fiona during their two rounds this morning.  

With a dazed heart Fiona followed whatever mood Robyn wanted to give. Meeting her energy as best as possible. The frenzy kiss slowed to a passionate one. Finally Robyn let her hands go and Fiona let them wrap around her neck. The kiss might have slowed but it didn’t die. Fiona only felt the warmth in her chest spread, the cold metal of the rail worth the feeling of Robyn pressed against her.  

“There’s no way you’d kiss May like that,” Joanna mumbled next to Winter. “It’d be a lot more sweet and chaste.”  

“Shut up,” Winter mumbled softly. Robyn and Fiona broke apart giggling at their banter and at each other. Fiona swallowed trying not to think too much about how she wanted to keep those lavender eyes for longer than their academic years. How Robyn’s sweetness reminded her for her elites or how that Mantle attitude reminded Fiona that she wasn’t alone in their fight.  

She didn’t want to fall but Robyn and the others were making it tempting.  

Robyn leaned in again but not for a kiss, her nose nuzzled Fiona’s cheek trying to push her head to the right but Fiona fought it for a second and took a deep breath. Lavender and a fresh spring fields filled her nose, clouding her mind in a happy daze and settling her heart into a slow dancing rhythm. When Fiona finally opened her eyes she saw May on the balcony next to them. Face red and gold eyes wide.  

“I want to do it right because…” Winter’s soft words floated through the open air. Robyn and Fiona giggled, watching May blush so hard it must have been painful but the smile on her face didn’t make her worry. Instead Fiona pulled gently pulled on that loose tie around Robyn’s neck and pull her down for a kiss.  

This kiss was slowest yet. A practiced and gentle dance as Winter continued to speak, “Because I’ve loved her since I can remember.”

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 8

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 6,473

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

It was dawning on me that I hadn’t fully thought this through.

This whole “having friends” thing.

There were so many factors I hadn’t even considered. Like, once you’ve made a new friend…

...what the frick are you supposed to do with them?

One would think I’d have this figured out by now. After all, I was friends with Rayne, wasn’t I? But Rayne was different. There hadn’t really been much to think about there, we’d just sorta clicked. Besides, we’d met when we were children - a time when the hot topics to talk about had been our favorite toys to play with or which of the boys had cooties or our latest masterpieces made during Arts and Crafts time involving gluing popsicle sticks and sequins to pine cones. You know, kid stuff.

But now I was an adult. An adult who had just made new adult friends who probably expected adult conversations.

And unfortunately I just didn’t think cooties and sequins were going to cut it anymore.

Which is why I could now be found on this fine Friday afternoon shift at the Ice Palace having borrowed Kristoff’s phone, making use of the current lull in customer traffic to carry out some important research. And how, one might wonder, was this important research being gathered?

By googling the phrase “how to friendship.”

Genius, I know.

Thousands of articles and tutorials had come back in the search results, not all of them useful, but I’d landed on a couple that could maybe help a little bit. I gnawed on my lower lip as my eyes quickly scanned over the words. Then with a nod, I used a pen to transcribe the cliff notes version over to my palm, adding on to the ever growing list of useful tidbits that could now be found there.

Call it my Chit-Chat Cheat Sheet. That’s right, folks, you’re witnessing a crucial life hack in the making. This handy-dandy little list was going to be my one-stop shop to social butterfly success. Look out, new pals of mine, you were about to be friended so hard. I was going to friend your butts off! This was-

“Hey, I also like to doodle on my hand whenever I’m bored outta m-”

With a half gasp, half yelp, I jolted up straight, wide eyes discovering Lea now standing on the other side of the counter from me. He brought up his hands, “Woah now, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you.”

My own hand flew up to cover my pounding heart as I breathed out and shook my head. “No. No, it’s fine, I should’ve been paying more-” My fingers flexed, closing around empty air. My brow furrowed. “Wait…” Where did my-? Did I drop it? “...I had a pen.”

It suddenly blurred down from up above to crash land into the countertop, making us both flinch and jerk back slightly.

Oh. Heh. There it was.

“Sorry about that,” I gave a weak laugh, retrieving the writing implement and giving it a little waggle as I held it up. “I… guess I still got a few kinks to work out before I can successfully launch the first unmanned pencraft into orbit.”

...wow, did that stupid joke really just come out of me?

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Wince.

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Might I suggest waiting for a day when the weather forecast reports zero chance of ceiling?” he pointed up.

I nodded, “Good note. Excellent observation. Prime example of one of my kinks.” I blanched, then hastily stammered, “I mean the… one of the kinks that, uh, needs to be, er… worked... out.”

Ugh, what’s wrong with me? Why am I like this?

This is why I needed the list.

...crud! The list! My eyes darted to my palm where it was scrawled in plain view for all the world to bear witness. Then my gaze flicked to Lea, looking at me with an eyebrow cocked and one side of his lips turned up. Then I balled my fist and jammed it behind my back.

Had he seen?

He mustn’t know about my secret hacks!

That’s when I spotted it. Kristoff’s phone. Still on the counter between us. Still open to the WikiHow I’d been taking notes from. My other hand shot out and swatted the device away, sending it slamming into the wall on my right before clattering to the ground.

Oopsie. Sorry Kristoff!

Luckily he was currently out and about taking his ten. He’d never have to know. This could just be our little secret between the phone and me.

“Shit, what’d that poor thing ever do to you?”

...rather, between the phone, me, and Lea.

What had it done to me, he asks? It’d tried to rat me out, that’s what!

My eyes darted to one side. “...let’s just say the crime fits the punishment.”

Snitches get stitches.

He glanced to where the abused phone still lay abandoned on the tiled floor, then snorted and crossed his arms with a shake of his head, “If you say so.”

Alright, so this exchange so far? Could be going better. Not exactly textbook. Lot of room for improvement. But that was okay because (ba-dum ba-dum!) Chit-Chat Cheat Sheet to the rescue! It could salvage any social catastrophe! Let’s just watch it work its magic, shall we?

I shifted to bring my hand out in front of me once more, casually resting my palm face down against the countertop. Then I lifted it just barely enough to furtively peek at the first couple lines I’d written there.

Start with a warm, friendly greeting. Examples include…

I locked eyes with him. “Whassup.”

He blinked. “Um… hi?”

Nailed it.

Alright, now that a proper line of communication had officially been established in the most cordial manner, on to the next step: small talk. After sneaking another quick look at my notes, I pressed my hand back down again and recited the words I’d just glanced at, “So nice weather we’re having, huh? At least it’s not raining like last week.”

This list was a god send. Pure gold.

He squinted upward, scratching the back of his head. “Hasn’t it been sunny for months now?”

...fudge.

Abort, captain, abort! The first one was a dud! Quickly, lock and load the second one and fire!

I anxiously checked my palm again and latched onto the next line, reading out, “That’s an awesome shirt you’re wearing!”

He frowned down at it, eyebrows knitting together. “You mean my work polo? Not… really, but okay.”

Aaaaaaaand another swing and a miss!

Oh wise and powerful Chit-Chat Cheatsheet, why hast thou forsaken me here, now, in my greatest hour of need? Me, your most devout and faithful of followers? Me, who loved and worshipped you so?

Feeling my panic spiking, I looked to my hand again to find one more line I had yet to try. One final chance for salvation. This was it. My ace in the hole. List, don’t fail me now!

Desperate, I didn’t even register the words as my eyes snatched them from my palm, handed them off to my brain that then shoved them down the pipeline to my mouth which proceeded to blurt out verbatim, “So what do you do in your flamingo?”

...the list had failed me.

“I’m sorry, what does who do in the what and where now?”

And we’re talking like… epic failure.

I was just now realizing this was the one I’d been in the middle of jotting down when Lea had startled me. So chances were good that that sloppy mess of a scribble at the end of the sentence? Wasn’t actually the word flamingo.

At least, I hoped it wasn’t.

Whatever. I give up.

Puffing out a sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose, I muttered, “You know what, forget it. I’m just… having a bit of a malfunction. One of those days, I guess.”

“Oh,” he chuckled, “no worries! Those come up all the time working customer service, so I totally get it.”

This guy was too nice. Here I was, spouting off nonsense like a gibbering baboon and he was just brushing it off like it was no big deal. Like it was an everyday occurrence for a person to ask him if he did lord only knows what to a neon pink bird. I should get on with assisting him with whatever he’d come over here for. It was the least I could do in exchange for him putting up with the trainwreck that was me. Taking a deep breath and putting on a smile, I asked, “So what can I help you with today?”

He returned the smile, “Take a wild guess.”

I glanced around my work space. “Ice cream?”

“Got it in one,” his thumb went up. “I’m a total addict by the way, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me.”

“I’m sure your dentist says the same thing,” I deadpanned, pressing my finger to a button on the cash register. “Sea Salt, right?”

“You’re on a roll today!”

My grin twitched wider. He was so much better at this small talk thing than me. “How would you like it?”

“I like my ice cream like I like my women: swirly and in a waffle cone,” he winked, tossing out some finger guns.

...I take that back, this dork was just as clueless as I was. Had to be if he thought that was funny.

I merely arched an eyebrow at him as the silence stretched. Then he pouted, “Aw c’mon, kid, these are the jokes! Don’t leave me hanging here.”

I snorted, tapping a couple more keys on the register. “Sorry. It’s just that after the other day, I would have thought your answer would’ve been more along the lines of ‘frozen solid and on a stick.’”

“Oo, dirty,” he chirped, his eyebrows bouncing.

Welp. That’d teach me for trying to play along.

“But no,” he waved off, “that was more out of necessity. Only the ice cream bars can survive the long trip up the clocktower without melting first. Otherwise, give me creamy, fluffy, and with a twist any day!”

“Duly noted. Just a sec.” I turned, plucking one of the cones off the top of the stack as I walked past, approaching the soft serve/milkshake machine.

Ah, my old nemesis. We meet again. One could almost hear the Old West face-off tune whistling in the background. But thankfully, there would be no drawing of pistols this day. 

I liked to think there was a grudging, mutual respect between us now.

Being super mindful of the Anger Button, I switched it to the appropriate flavor and pulled down on the lever. As I moved the cone in small circles while it slowly filled with blue, sugary goop, I heard Lea ask, “Snow Bear?”

I looked back at him, a crease forming between my eyebrows as I tipped my head to one side.

...what’d he just call me?

He was hunched forward now, elbow on the countertop and chin propped in hand, fingers drumming against his cheek as he squinted at me with a frown. Then shook his head, “Nah, too healthy, even for a goody-goody like you. Tofu has no business being anywhere near ice cream.”

Then it clicked. Snow Bear was one of the flavors we offered.

“Big Bad Pete?” he pursed his lips to one side, then crinkled his nose. “Nope. Too nutty. Thinking you like a crunch, just not that kind.”

I returned my attention to the machine, making sure the cone wasn’t too top heavy. “Are you… trying to guess the type of ice cream I like?”

“Yup! Since Sea Salt clearly wasn’t your thing.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that.” I released the lever, completing the stacking spiral with a nice little curl at the top and turning to face him once more. “But it is… shall we say, an acquired taste?”

Lea smirked and scoffed, “Blasphemy! Don’t worry though, I won’t judge you too harshly for your dirty, heathen tastes.”

“You’re too kind,” I rolled my eyes as I handed him his purchase.

Taking it in one hand, he used the other to give me the munny due. “Consider it my one good deed for the century. It’s a doozy though. I’m expecting my sainthood any day now.”  He then lapped off a big blue chunk as he eyed me thoughtfully. “Donald Fizz maybe?” Then he pulled a face with another shake of his head, “Nu uh, too close to Sea Salt.”

“If you really want to know that badly, it’s-”

“Buh buh buh,” he pressed a finger to my lips, cutting me off. “Yeesh, don’t spoil my fun like that, let me guess! This is like my mutant power, I can always tell a person’s fave ice cream.” He narrowed his eyes on me as he took another bite, licking some of it off from the corner of his mouth. “You’re a tough read though. Gonna need more time, gather more intel.” A grin broke out again, “But I do oh so love a challenge.” Then he snapped his fingers, “What about-”

“Elsa?!” 

My blood ran cold at the voice that cried out from across the food court.

A very, very familiar voice.

One I had not expected to hear again for a while yet and certainly not here, at the Dusk Town Center mall, at my sanctuary of all places.

Lea glanced over his shoulder, looking for who’d interrupted him before yelping and leaping out of the way so as not to become roadkill to an auburn and blue blur zooming straight for me. It crashed up against the other side of the counter, lashed its limbs out over the top and seized me in its vice-like grip, yanking me forward into a bone-crushing embrace and squeezing the absolute life out of me as it once more shouted, “Elsa! I found you! At last, I found you!”

Or rather… not it, but her.

Anna Fryse.

My sister.

...who, as I was just now discovering, might also be part boa constrictor. Good lord, this girl did not know her own strength!

“Anna,” I wheezed, feebly patting at her elbow. An extraordinary feat, given that her bear hug was practically super gluing my arms to my sides. “Can’t. Breathe.”

“You’re okay! I was so worried! I thought you might be hurt or trapped or drugged or kidnapped or amnesiad or dead or, or, or- but you’re not! You’re really, really not! You’re alive!” 

“Won’t be for much longer if you don’t let go,” I croaked out, starting to see spots. Finally she released me and I gasped for breath. Ah, oxygen. Beautiful, life giving oxygen. I coughed, “Did you seriously just use ‘amnesia’ as a verb?”

Completely ignoring my question, her hands still grasped tightly at my shoulders as sharp, blue eyes set in a freckled face looked me over. Her red hair was done in pigtail braids and she was in a dark cobalt sundress with a black bodice.

Then she opened her mouth.

“Woah, Elsa! You look different! It’s a good different! I love everything about it!” She grabbed me by the cheeks, “Your face, the outfit, that hat - oh gosh, that hat! I never thought I’d see you in a friggin’ baseball cap! It’s too friggin’ cute! And a ponytail! How many times have I said you’d look totes adorbs in a ponytail, and you know what? Told you so! And- oh. My. Gawd!” She bellyflopped onto the countertop, pointing down, “I just saw the mini skirt! Friggin’ you! In a friggin’ mini skirt! Damn girl, you hawt!” She fell back onto her feet once more, looking up at our sign, “And this place! What is this place? This place is amazing! Do you work here? Please, please, please tell me you work here! Oh my gawd, you do! You have a friggin’ job! What do you do? How much do you make? Do you pay taxes? Do you pay rent? Do you have a 401k? What is a 401k?” She pointed at an ice cream spade, “What’s this thingie do?” Next at the soft serve/milkshake machine, “How does that work?” Up at a dangling Sven plushie. “What’s up with all the friggin’ deers?” Then at Lea standing off to one side, slowly eating his ice cream and watching on with one curious eyebrow quirked. “Who’s the hottie with a body?” She started to wave, calling out, “Hello, Mr Hottie-With-A-Bo-”

“Anna!” I hissed, cheeks roasting as I snatched her hand back down. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Lea returning her wave with a tiny one of his own, to which I shot him a dull stare. He just grinned and shrugged. Shaking my head, I asked him, “Could you, uh… would you mind giving us a minute alone? Please?”

“Sure, no problem. I should be getting back to work anyhow. Laters, El!”

...El? Who’s El?

“Nice meeting ya, El’s friend!” he gave a two finger salute to Anna with a wink before sauntering off.

Huh. Guess that’d make me El. I’d earned a nickname. Had our friendship leveled up? Wow, I was so good at this friends thing! Without even understanding it, I had somehow already mastered it.

Bravo, me!

Anna watched him go, then turned back to me with a low whistle. “Okay, seriously, who was the sexpot and please, for the love that is all that is good and foxy, tell me you are tapping that.”

“Oh my god, Anna!” I facepalmed. I wasn’t going to dignify that with a response. “What are you even doing here?”

“I told you already, I was worried!”

My forehead wrinkled. “But you knew I wasn’t abducted or anything, you were the one who helped me run away. Besides, didn’t you receive my text telling you I was okay?”

“Yes, weeks after you disappeared!” She smacked me in the arm with a glare. “You could have contacted me sooner, brat! And what the frick was up with your stupid text?!”

“Stupid...? What was wrong with it?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry, don’t come looking for me,” she flatly recited the words from my message before looking away with a huff. “Please, have you never seen any kidnap movie in the history of like friggin’ ever? That’s like classic code for ‘help me, help me, I’ve been taken hostage and am being forced to tell you these things under duress.’”

“Ugh, the way your mind works,” I grumbled, massaging one temple. “How did you even find me anyway?”

Anna snorted. “What, you think just cuz you blocked my number that I wouldn’t be able to track you down? Sis, please, we live in the golden age of technology. Trust me, I have my ways. There’s a lot a girl can do with just a phone number and this little thing called the internet.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but then froze with a gasp as another thought struck me and nearly stopped my heart. My eyes darted about, searching the food court while I fidgeted with my fingers. “Wait… oh god, does… do Mother and Father… do they know? Are they also here? Did you tell-”

She gently shushed me, reaching over the countertop to rub my arm. “Sis, Sis, it’s okay, they’re not here, don’t stress! I did tell them I got the text from you so they’d know you’re okay, but I didn’t tell them I’d figured out where you were. They don’t know that I came here looking for you. You don’t have to talk to them until you’re ready.”

“Oh thank god,” I sighed, slumping against the counter. That… was a talk I was in no way prepared for. Not just yet. I gnawed on my lower lip for a second, glancing back up at Anna. “What about-”

“He’s fine too,” she said softly.

I frowned. “...really?”

Her face pinched into a tiny grimace. “I mean, he’s not great. He got dumped at the altar, what do you think? But he’s a big boy, he’ll survive.”

Well that was a load off my mind.

Not. 

“Ugh, I feel terrible,” I buried my face in my hands. Then I peeked out between my fingers at her. “Could you… I don’t know… maybe do damage control with him for me or something?”

“Was already on it,” she beamed with a thumbs up. “But enough about all that, gah, so friggin’ depressing! I wanna hear more about you and your new life and this whole job thing and that redheaded Hunky McHunkface and all that’s happened to you since you flew the coop! Tell me everything!”

A tiny smile crept up onto my lips. I knew I’d been missing my little sister, but it was only in that moment... seeing her here in front of me, hearing her voice again... that I was realizing just how much. “I’d actually really like that. But uh…” I looked past her, noticing more shoppers wondering about amongst those tables out there now than there had been just moments ago, with even more trickling in by the second. “Looks like we’re about to get our afternoon rush, so it’s not really the best time.”

Anna tapped her chin with a low hum before her face lit back up. “Are you free tonight?”

My head tilted to the left. “I’m working closing, but I should be out of here by nine I think.”

“Perfect! Let’s do dinner! Then we can properly celebrate your new found freedom as you tell me all about it! Whaddya say? Pleeeeease?” Puppy dog eyes initiated.

I laughed and nodded. “Yeah, okay. That sounds nice.”

“Yay!” she bounced on her heels, rapidly clapping her hands together with a tiny squeal. “Ahhhh! Can’t wait! Okay, you said nine, right? Right! I’ll be waiting in my car right outside those doors over there, got it? Good! I’ll leave you to it then!” Then she was snatching me into another hug over the countertop and planting a kiss on my cheek with a loud mwah! “Love ya, Sis! See you then!”

And just like that, Typhoon Anna whooshed off once again, disappearing into the ever growing crowd.

Not a second later, I heard the door open behind me. “Hey, I’m back, sorry it ran a little long, I- hey, why’s my phone on the floor?”

I winced.

Heh… woops.

One tiny detail may have slipped my mind in all the mayhem that had been the last ten minutes.

I turned to see Kristoff stooping down to pick it up before he graced me with a scowl.  I chuckled sheepishly, “So… funny story…”

I got the feeling Kristoff hadn’t found my story all that amusing.

Don’t think he’d found it particularly believable either.

Not sure why. I mean, wasn’t it totally plausible that a strong gust of wind had blasted through the entire mall, causing one of the bigger reindeer dolls to fly off its hook and rocket straight into my hands, knocking his phone free from my grasp and sending it slamming into a wall where I had then left it for fear that moving it could cause more damage and trauma to the poor little device that had already been through so much?

No? Not plausible? Not even remotely or in the slightest?

Drat.

I'd never really been good at the whole lying thing.

But it'd been the best I could come up with on the spot. I mean, I wasn’t about to tell him the truth about how I was a total, pathetic dunce when it came to making friends which in turn caused me to do idiotic things like fling other’s people’s fragile property at hard surfaces.

In any case, Kristoff and I were currently not on speaking terms.

At least, I’m pretty sure we weren’t. That was my best guess anyway, given he hadn’t spoken two words to me since I’d spun my little tale.

Eh, he’d get over it.

A couple hours of the silent treatment later and he’d clocked out without so much as a goodbye. Then a few more hours brought me to the here and now of closing time. I was almost done wrapping everything up, just needed to finish wiping down all the surfaces. Having already ensured the inside of the little shop was pristine, I’d stepped out to be on the food court side of the counter, using a cloth to remove any fingerprints and other smudges that’d been left by customers on the display glass.

As I finished cleaning the last of it, I exhaled heavily and straightened up, planting my hands on my hips as I inspected my work. Nodding in approval at a job well done, I then looked to the clock on the wall to see that it was a quarter to nine. Perfect. Plenty of time to grab my things and lock up before heading out to meet Anna. Stretching my back to loosen some of the stiffness that had settled in there, I then took a quick glance over my shoulder.

It really should come as a shock to no one at this point that Lea could once again be spotted across the way from me. I was beginning to think the people in charge of scheduling our shifts met up for weekly tea and crumpets or something while they made sure the hours the two of us worked almost always lined up exactly. What nefarious scheme was being cooked up by the upper management of our two separate companies? What could they possibly hope to gain by it? Only time would tell.

In any case, he too looked to be almost done with all of his closing tasks. He was currently out in the food court area as well, using a broom to sweep up the area in front of Pizza Planet. Or so I’m sure the intent had been.

Except... he wasn’t really so much in front of the pizzeria as he was on top of one of the tables.

And it wasn’t so much a broom as it was an impromptu mic.

And he wasn’t so much sweeping as he was in his own little world, enthusiastically lip-syncing and dancing away to the song blasting out of his phone in the back pocket of his pants. I Believe In A Thing Called Love by the Darkness, if the wild electric guitar, high falsetto vocals, and cheesy lyrics were anything to go off of.

Wow, he really was a complete dork.

A splutter of a laugh burst out of me before I was able to clamp both my hands over my mouth in a vain effort to stop it.

I’m not sure how he heard me over all that explosive glam rock, but it seemed he did somehow for his head suddenly jerked in my direction. Then he beamed and started hopping across all the tabletops towards me. That couldn’t be sanitary. His feet at last touched ground in front of the Ice Palace as he crouched low before springing back up into a half-turn, landing himself in a seat atop the counter right between the ice cream display case and a cash register.

Still directing that ear-to-ear smile my way, he pulled his phone out long enough to hit pause on his music. “So whadja think? Do I put on one hell of a show or what?” 

Oh dear. Not only a dork but no shame to boot. A deadly combo, that.

I snorted, eyes on the glass once more as I went back to scrubbing it for the now nonexistent spots. “For sure. You should hurry up and get on becoming a bigtime rock star already.”

Broom balanced on the floor between his knees, he folded his hands over the handle point and rested his chin on his knuckles. “Nah, all that fame and fortune I’m guaranteed to get cuz I’m so loveable, awesome, amazing and cool would go straight to my head.”

I bit back a grin. “Because you’re so modest now.”

“Oh yeah, I’m humble as fuck!” he declared brightly. Then he shrugged and sighed, “Guess I’m just kinda perfection that way.”

My eyelids drooped. “...clearly.”

“So,” he lifted his head off its perch, freeing up one hand to scratch behind his ear, “everything okay? Between you and your sister, I mean.”

I looked at him, blinking a couple times. “How’d you know she‘s my sister?”

“You two got the same nose,” he smirked, tapping a finger to the side of his. “But seriously, you all good? She seemed pretty frantic.”

“Oh, that’s just Anna for you. The Looney Toons Tasmanian Devil personified. Pretty sure she doesn’t even know the meaning of the word ‘calm.’ But no, she’s fine. We’re good.”

“Glad to hear it!” A pause. “So…” he said again, this time stretching the word out as he bounced the broom handle back and forth between his palms now. “...you eat, right?”

Hand still absently running the cloth along the glass, I raised an eyebrow at him. What kind of question was that? “...I have been known to on occasion, yes.”

“Good. Any dinner plans tonight?”

I froze, eyes round.

Oh.

...was he asking what I think he was asking? I think he was asking what I think he was asking. Why would he ask that?! Wait... oh no… did he think that I was thinking that he should ask what I think he was asking? Because if that’s what he thought I was thinking, I most certainly was not thinking that!  Not even close! Unless… did this here right now count as me thinking that?

...hold up, now I’m confused... what was I thinking again?

Oh that’s right.

I was thinking about him.

Asking.

Me.

Out.

Which I was so not ready for! I mean come on, I had just gotten out of a long term relationship! What was that rule? The one about how long after a breakup before you should start dating again? Something about waiting at least thirty minutes before getting back in the - 

Wait no, that had to do with eating and pools…

Whatever, gah! However much time it’s supposed to be, pretty sure it’s more than just a few weeks if you’d not only been together for years, but also frigging engaged to your ex! 

Current relationship status aside, let’s just be real here... I’m not sure if this was something I would ever be ready for. Hello, Mayor of Hermit Island here! They throw hermit parades in my honor. Those parades have zero spectators and consist of one (1) person marching, that person being me, all alone, by myself, because it’s Hermit Island and kind of the whole point! It was sort of a miracle I’d ever started dating in the first place, much less wound up with a fiancé of all things! When you think about it, and I mean really think about it… how the frick had that even happened?! I’d been there, heck, I’d lived it and even I was still scratching my head over that one. I mean, how had I ever-

“Hey now, what’s with the-?” Lea’s words broke me out of the word jumble that was my brain and my eyes darted over to him. His furrowed brow suddenly went slack and he blinked, heading rocking back. “Hold on, you don’t think that I- That I’m asking you out on a- No! God no! No, no, no, that’s not what this is!” 

Oh thank goodness!

Wait… how did he know that’s what I’d been thinking?

...could it be the fact that all the color had drained from my face and I had stopped breathing?

Speaking of which, I should really start that back up again.

Okay, all together now, one, two, three annnnnd sharp, deep inhale.

Whew, much better! Man, oxygen and I were having a real on-again, off-again relationship today.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with y- I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to- that is, uh… aw, crap,” he groaned, bonking his head against the top of the broom handle. “Forget it. Look, what I was trying to say was we - that is, the kiddos and I and a buncha other people who work at other stores 'round the mall, all of us get together every Friday night for food and drinks at the 7th Heaven. It’s this nice little pub not too far from here and I dunno if booze is your thing or what, but the grub’s pretty good there too, way better than your average bar food and so I was just wondering if you’d like to, I dunno… come join us and just hang out for a bit, have some fun. Interested?”

Ooooooooooh, got it! Well that was a relief!

...wait, was it?

Oh dear, just the thought of me having to interact with that many people all at the same time was enough to make my soul leave my body. Because once again, I have to play the President of Hermit Island card here. That’s right, I’d promoted myself from mayor to president within the last five minutes. I like to think I’d earned it after all my years of exemplary hermit service.

The point was, this little get-together sounded precisely like the kind of situation that I wanted to be on the polar opposite end of the planet from. Seriously, the Devil himself could not have designed a more fitting hell for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was sweet that Lea had thought to include me and I’m sure all the other people going would be nice and everything, but... I just couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. Not with the cold, stabbing pangs of anxiety already coursing throughout my chest at even the mere mention of going to such a thing.

Luckily, I didn’t have to. I had an out. A beautiful, glorious escape route courtesy of the one, the only, my savior (queue angelic choir singing)... Anna.

Clearing my throat, I managed a small smile. “Thank you, I appreciate the invite, I really do and I’m so sorry but I’ve already made plans with my sister. Speaking of,” I glanced at the clock again before hurrying past him and back into the Ice Palace to drop off the cleaning rag, “I really should be going now, she’s probably already waiting for me.”

He slid off the countertop, spinning around to face me with a frown. “Aw, ya sure? Why don’t you just bring her along too? We won’t mind, the more the merrier!”

Still with the smile, now accompanied by a slight scrunching of my nose, I shook my head. “Mm, no, I don’t think that’ll work. But maybe next time, okay?” Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I stepped out from behind the counter once more and stretched up on my tippy-toes, reaching for the pull-down gate. Crud, why was I always so stupidly short?

“Let me.” Him being the absolute Ent that he was, Lea had no trouble whatsoever reaching it and yanking it down for me.

“Thanks,” I murmured before locking it up for the night, then turning and making my way towards the double doors leading outside.

“Hang on, I’ll walk you out,” he said, bringing me up short.

Turning my head back towards him, I held up a hand, “Oh no, that’s fine, you don’t have to!”

“I’m heading that way anyway.” He started walking away backwards, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the Pizza Planet, “Just let me close up shop real quick.”

“Really, it’s not necessary. I’m just going to-”

“Be back in a sec!” he spun one-eighty, jogging off.

“...go,” I finished weakly.

Well now what? I guess maybe I should wait? My eyes shifted to the doors longingly.

...well, I did tell him he didn’t need to walk me. Not my fault he couldn’t hear me over the sound of his own chivalry.

Screw it. I’m leaving.

With a small grimace and one last peek back to where Lea had just disappeared, I turned away, squared my shoulders and strode off.

Pushing through the exit doors and out into the night air, I spotted Anna parked at the curb right in front of me in her bright red Porsche convertible, its top already folded back. She honked at me, calling, “Hey, hot stuff! Looking for a good time?”

I merely grinned and shook my head at her as I approached the vehicle. However, just as I was reaching for the car door, a voice called out behind me, “Wait up!”

I winced, screwing my eyes shut.

Fudge.

Lea came to a stop next to me, panting and hunching forward, planting his hands on his knees. He must have been running the whole way to make sure he caught me before I could esc- erm, I mean, before I left. He lifted his head, blasting us with the full force of those dimples of his as his gaze flicked back and forth between me and Anna. “You sure you ladies can’t join us tonight?”

“Thanks, but-”

“Join you for what?” Anna cut me off, scooting closer by shifting from the driver's seat to the passenger, arms folding across the top of the door.

This. Right here. This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted him to walk me out.

“Nothing big,” Lea straightened up, placing a hand on the car door as well and leaning against it. “Just drinks and food with some friends from work. If you can’t change your plans though, that’s totally cool, I just wanted to-”

Because once Anna found out...

“What are you talking about?!” she laughed. “Of course we can change our plans! That sounds so fun, count us in!”

…there was no way I was getting out of it. Ugh.

“Wha- really?” No doubt about it. He was quite pleasantly surprised. “Great! The place we’re meeting at is called 7th Heaven. Short drive from here.” He waved to another car parked a few spaces further down the curb, which responded by flashing its blinkers, “That’s Xion. She drew the short straw for designated driver tonight. Just follow her car and she’ll lead you right to it!”

“Sounds good! See you there!” she waggled her fingers at Lea as he dashed off to get into the other car. Then she scooched back over behind the wheel, making room for me. Face pinching just a smidge, I sighed and got in, slamming the door shut behind me. Bouncing in her seat as she started the engine, she chirped, “Wow, we lucked out! This is gonna be a blast! You excited?”

“...thrilled,” I said dryly, buckling myself in.

Welp. Let’s get this over with.

Personal hell, here I come.

Author’s note: Ahhhh, there she is! Elsa’s feisty-pants lil sister makes her debut! Also, notice how much Anna says friggin’? Now those sound more fitting coming out of her, but Elsa grew up hearing those friggin’s (and fricks) coming out of her sis for years now, so it may have rubbed off on her a lil. Also the last name Fryse? Norwegian for ‘freeze’... yeah, I got a lil punny in coming up with Elsa’s family name, ignore me and my silly lil pleasures xD And more BBS ice creams sneak into this chapter - and I was mindful of their in-game descriptions too, so yes, it is in fact canon in the video game that the Snow Bear flavor has *shudders* tofu in it. TOFU. In ICE CREAM. Thanks, but no thanks!

Anyway, moving on! Now Anna drags our dear antisocial hermit off on an unwanted adventure! What’s next for our intrepid heroine? Will she survive this dreaded night of socializing? Just who exactly will be at Friday night drinks anyway? And with the sheer volume of ice cream Lea probably consumes daily, just HOW massive must his dentist bill be at this point, I mean really?? We may never know the answer to that last question, but as for the rest, stay tuned to find out next chapter!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to any new followers out there (hello! :D) and to those of you who hit that like button last chapter, seeing that always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[midweekupdate]

04/09/14

I don't like my family. I mean, I don't know too many people who are overly fond of their families but between my mother's gambling problem and my father's fondness for sleeping with women who aren't my mother without her permission, family reunions are a nightmare. It's not even their proneness to addiction, it's the fact that I am the only family member who hasn't gone to some form of therapy or rehab to try and "fix" their "problems". I don't look on addiction as a problem; I look on it as a character flaw, one that doesn't need to be fixed. It simply needs to be controlled. That's what my parents never understood - still don't understand - about me or my sister. They were always trying to fix us like we were broken and it was torture.

But at least we always had each other. This was my first family dinner since my sister was arrested and I had to face the two of them alone. Really, I think it was just rude of her to get caught and I could easily make an argument to the effect that she did it on purpose specifically to avoid dad’s birthday dinner. But I know that's not true.

If I’m being honest, I could have gotten the family reunion over with a few years ago but I always had an excuse available: I have a work function, I have a custody hearing, I’m trying to figure out how to stuff a body into a pizza oven while my husband’s at work. They still laugh at that last one. One day I’ll tell them it wasn’t a joke. Maybe at Christmas.

Thank god for my two little terror’s at home, though. If it weren’t for them I’d be forced to visit my parents at least once a month. I’m so glad they saw reason and blamed their grandparents for what happened to their mother. Now I don’t even need to come up with an excuse, I just tell them that I can’t find a babysitter and wait for next year when they try to call. It’s a beautiful system.

Until this weekend.

I told my mother that the kids were here for the weekend when, in fact, they were both away (Jason at a friend’s house, Sandra touring universities with James). The peace and quiet was so welcome I didn’t think twice about lying to my mother.

And then she showed up at the door. Apparently she called James and he had foolishly told her the truth, thinking I had also told her the truth. I already scolded him so there’s no need to make snide remarks in the comments, dear readers.

So in burst my mother on Saturday morning insisting that my father would be here later in the day and we needed to clean the house for supper with the three of us. Great.

To her credit, my mother taught me some very valuable things: how to get stains out of carpet, and her desire to take risks in everyday situations. Mostly her cleaning skills, though, that woman could spark a blood bath in the kitchen and you’d never know it an hour later.

Huh.

Now I’m very careful about the cleanliness of my home. Too clean and the police become suspicious but too messy and I get these weird rashes all over my body. It’s not pretty. But my father has never been able to stand anything less than perfection when it came to the cleanliness of his home. When we were growing up we wouldn’t be allowed to eat a meal until the entire house passed inspection. I admit that in university I rebelled against him by living in an absolute pigsty but I slowly grew to appreciate the values of living in cleanliness. And having bleach on hand at all times.

Yes, for all my parent’s flaws, I can honestly say that they have shaped me into the woman I am today.

That still does not mean I want to see them on a regular basis and that certainly does not excuse them from acting like assholes at dinner. From the moment my mother stepped into my house she had to comment on everything, comparing it to her precious little condo that she and dad had bought now that they “didn’t have to entertain”. Of course that didn’t stop her from complaining about the fact that I never visit and that they were forced to move to a smaller house since their grandchildren were brainwashed into thinking they were the villains.

They say brainwashed, I say logically persuaded.

In any case, my mother spent more time criticizing my furniture choice, my choice of colour and even my choice of dish soap than she did cleaning which is odd even for her. Usually she’s much better at multitasking.

And then, like good little women, we had to make supper before father dear returned from chopping wood or selling women’s dresses or whatever he does now in his old age. It’s not that I minded cooking, it’s that it was expected of me. I hate when people just assume that I’ll do something. It irritates me to no end and if it were anyone else they would have found the body the next morning and I would be adding their information to my notebooks. But since they’re family I made an exception. 

Mostly because it would have raised too many questions.

Like clockwork, dad showed up as we were putting the food on the table and immediately made a beeline for the basement. He always liked to start at the bottom and worked his way up when he made his inspections. Thank god I remembered to change out my load of laundry. He has a nasty habit of airing out people’s dirty laundry and I doubt blood stains on my nice white blouse would have made him particularly excited. One habit I was glad to break was waiting for everyone to be seated before we ate. Sometimes dad’s inspections could take hours and I was not about to let his invasion of my privacy stop me from enjoying a good home-cooked meal. Even if my mother was glaring at me as I ate in silence.

That’s the thing about my family. Even when we were growing up, I can probably count on one hand the times when we’d had long, serious conversations. We rarely spoke to each other. Everything we said was silent. Glaring or disapproving looks were sometimes indistinguishable from disappointed or disturbed looks but after a while they all meant the same to my sister and me: you’re not good enough. I remember that look always made my sister cry. Even after all these years – in my own home no less – I still get an uneasy feeling in my stomach when my mother glares at me like that. Like she’s trying to burn me from the inside out. Like she knows my dark secrets. Of course she doesn’t. If she did I would have been arrested by now. My mother would literally turn in her own daughter if it meant making herself look good.

Which brings me to dinner - or at least the moment when we all sat down together. I have never believed my mother to be a good woman – nor would she want me to – but there’s a certain level of loyalty even criminals and low lifes have. She brought it up so casually like it was every day conversation. My father, to his credit or cowardice, remained silent as my mother recounted her tale.

I am not known for my calm attitude or my ability to forgive so it is out of sheer preservation that my mother is still alive today. I want you to understand that, dear readers. I am being purely selfish.

My mother turned my sister in to the police. She wasn’t caught by chance. She was ratted out. Four years and she finally got up the courage to confess to a crime I didn’t even know she committed.

After I heard the news, I honestly don’t know what happened or how dinner ended but when I next found myself it was later that evening and James was holding me back from attacking the washing machine with a hammer. Thank god he found me; that was an expensive machine.

All jokes aside, I have never blacked out like that. I’ve had moments where rage has overtaken me with a victim and they’ve ended up more guts than flesh but never for this long and never without supervision. I had James call my father to make sure they’d made it home safe and sound. He sounded so calm as he talked to my parents but I could tell he was scared.

That’s what my mother does to people. She brings out the terror in them. It comes in many forms but it’s like her super villain power: drawing the nightmares from people. I would think it was a gift if it didn’t affect me so much.

Instead it’s a curse. A terrible plague.

In a lot of ways my parents are well matched in that manner. Though my father’s terror is more silent but deadly.

Four days later and I’m still trying to fathom how someone can do that to their daughter. You don’t just drop a bomb on them like that in the middle of dinner. It’s so rude.

I’m hoping I scared them enough that they won’t want to have another impromptu family dinner for at least another year.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

[percywinchester27]

About a boy (Part-3)

Word count: 3.3K

Warning: Suspense, feels, mention of physical abuse and bullying

Characters: Dean, Cas, Gabriel, Benny, Michael, OCs and… Sam?

Summary: Dean Winchester has a secret. A secret that could really land him in trouble. He never expected to connect with anyone when he walked into the ‘Blue Stone Orphanage for Boys,’ but even then, the walls he has put up are slowly coming down. Now, a series of strange events are threatening to expose him. When everything starts falling apart around him, will he still be able to save the one person that matters the most?

A/N: Many thanks to @thing-you-do-with-that-thing and @deanssweetheart23 for beta reading this story. I love you guys <3

Part 1 Part 2

Cas prayed. Every day. He woke up each morning, sat on the bed with his feet folded Indian style and hands joined in a Namaste. Dean would just look up from his bunk and there he would be meditating on the top in his boxers and a loose tank, eyes closed, back ramrod straight. It was funny, Dean actually cracked a smile.

For the next few days he stuck to Cas. Going around with him to the school which was about a mile and a half away, and then back. Cas didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to enjoy Dean's company. Dean would be lying if he said he had been used to something like that before.

On the outside, it looked like Cas was taking him around the place, showing him the ropes and such, but in the few minutes they managed to snatch away from the prying eye, they were always plotting.

Dean realized one thing. It was hard. Finding Sam was going to be hard as hell. Even harder than what he thought it was going to be. 

Sam had been 6 months old when he was thrown into an orphanage, and as Cas pointed out, it might have been completely another orphanage. He might have been transferred here and it could be as recent as a couple of months ago or as old as a few years. 

Dean was also curious about his fellow roommates. Cas said they were nice boys, but Dean had his reservations. Gabriel, or Gabe, as Cas called him, was loud and obnoxious, he had the cheesy behavior, but his whiskey colored eyes were always full of mischief, like he knew something about you that you didn't know yourself. His brown hair was on the longer side, and his smile dripped cunningness. Gabriel's bed was always littered with chocolate wrappers. Even though it was against the rules to get stuff like that from outside, no one seemed to rat Gabriel out. It was as Cas had said, he had one up on everyone. Gabriel didn't show any particular interest in wanting to get to know Dean, and Dean was thankful for that. Gabriel smelled trouble, and he didn't want any of it.

The other roommate was silent and kept to himself, but that made Dean even more wary of him. Benny wasn't in the face like Gabe, but he was just there, observing everything quietly. It was unsettling, like everything he did was being watched, was being noted. To add to that, he never seemed to sleep… like some sort of a vampire. It was disconcerting enough that he was now confiding everything in Cas when he had promised himself that this was going to be his own battle to fight. Now he had gone ahead and included Cas in it.

But, boy, it relieving. 

Cas was just as excited to find Sam. He went over the whole management system with Dean. The place was owned by a Styne family. The head, Eldon, barely ever showed, about twice or thrice in a year. Andy was the one who managed everything. He knew that Michael and his little parade of goons were up to something, but as long as everyone remained scared of Michael, it maintained the place in order, so he turned a blind eye towards that, until something brought it to glaring attention, like Gabriel's little stunt the other day would have.

In the coming week, Dean learnt the hierarchy. Michael's two main supports were Gary and Raphael. Cas had warned him to not cross paths with them, because after what had happened, they wouldn't waste a second before ratting him out.

It was Cas' brilliant plan to sneak into the record room in the evening when everyone was out in the grounds playing and having fun. It would have worked well, but just as they were about to sneak into the record room, Andy called out to them.

"Winchester!"

Dean stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes, praying that he wouldn't get caught. 

"What're you doing here?" Then Andy realised that Dean wasn't alone. "You're hanging out with Castiel?"

"Is that a bad thing?" Cas asked, voice feebly brave.

Andy smirked. "Not really. Didn't expect you to hang out is all. What're you doing inside at this time?"

"Thought I'd take Dean around the library," Cas managed, effortlessly.

The older man eyed them, especially Cas, then shrugged. "Fine, if you're gonna nerd out together. Just lock the door when you're done. I'm not waiting back till you two are done. I have a hot date."

That was too much information, but the moment Andy turned, Dean exchanged an excited look with his friend. They were alone now. 

Ascertaining that Andy was truly gone, the two of them rushed to the record room and shut the door behind them, facing the rows and rows of filing.

"This is going to take ages, isn't it?" Dean mumbled.

A corner of Cas' mouth pulled down. "Guess so."

They set to work anyway, trying to figure out the system of filing. After half an hour of going through the pile, Dean finally said out loud what was on his mind. "Why did Andy sound like he wasn't expecting me to hang out with you?"

Cas wasn't visible to Dean, as he was working on the rack after his, but his hushed voice was still audible. "Let's just say I'm not the most sought out kid here."

"What does that mean?"

A sigh.

"This place is like the jungle. Survival of the fittest and all that… You look like you could fit right in with the predators."

What Cas meant was pretty clear. Dean gave off that vibe, what with the sullen looks and his dad's overlarge leather jacket, he would be expected to hang out with idiots like Michael and his gang. He would be expected to give in to their stupid initiation test, lick Michael's ass and raise to the ranks of the bullies instead of being bullied.

"I'm the nerd of sorts. I let people be," Cas added.

Something still didn't add up. From what Dean had seen, Cas wasn't a bully, but he wasn't bullied either.

"That first night," Dean said slowly, weighing his words, "Michael could have easily hurt you, or his guy Gary, instead they just restrained you and shoved you around. Why?"

Another sigh. Apparently Dean was asking all the questions that Cas didn't want to answer… but he did anyway.

"Michael and I… Well, we go back a long way. We come from the same orphanage. I've known him as long as I remember… He's the closest thing that I have to a…"

"Brother," Dean completed. The word hung awkwardly between them.

"He's not a bad person," Cas said, "Just angry and bitter. Life hasn't been fair to him."

Who had life been fair to? Dean thought. If that had been the case, none of the 712 boys would be rotting here at the home. He didn't say that out loud though.

"I figured it out!" Cas exclaimed, all of a sudden. "I figured out the filing system!"

He bent around the rack to see Dean, blue eyes wide with excitement. "These are stacked according to the year. That means the one who came first, the box would be at the very end."

"Great!" Dean groaned. "Now we have to find out when Sam got put into this one, too."

*******************************

It took more than a couple of weeks.

Mostly because Andy didn't have a date everyday to abandon his post, but also because Dean had his share of duties, too. The cleaning, the washing, the babysitting duties for the little kids. 

Sometimes, Gary and Raphael would cross him in the corridors, a few more of the older kids would give him looks, but for the most part everyone just ignored him. Who was he but another sheep added to an overly large flock? No one cared.

He quickly realised one thing though, if it hadn't been for Cas, it would have been a lonely existence. Gabriel, he learned, had been from the same orphanage as Cas, too. They had been transferred here about 8 years back. Benny was new, but Benny also didn't care. The place could go down in a tornado and he still wouldn't care.

Through the chores, the school and the scheming, Dean couldn't help but look around the kids bunking on the 4th floor, searching for eyes that looked like his, a gait like his or a crooked smile here and there. There were at least 100 of them aged 11 to 14. How was he ever going to find Sam.

"Tell me what you remember about him most clearly?" Cas asked one evening as he dumped the contents of pale brown box on the floor of the record room.

Dean thought for a second before replying. "I think it's the smile."

"Smile?" Cas asked pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah. I'd tell him that we could practice ball when he grew up and he'd recognize my voice and smile."

That wasn't a helpful detail. Cas knew all the kids, but that didn't help if Dean couldn't remember how to pinpoint it. There had to be something distinctive about him that Dean could remember. Something that would help.

"Tell you what? If you keep going at it, you'll remember something helpful I'm sure."

The comment was encouraging but Dean wasn't sure if he had it in him.

"So, what's your story?" Dean asked, more to distract Cas from the conversation.

"My story?"

"Yeah."

Cas scratched his black hair. "There is nothing to it. My memory begins in an orphanage. Seems like my folks weren't interested in me from the get go."

Must be hard, Dean thought, to know that you were never  loved enough. Sure he had to deal with the searing pain of losing his mom and dad like that, but at least he knew it in his bones that they had loved him. Did that make losing them worse? Probably. But was the possibility of love better than never having been loved at all?

"So who gave you your name?"

Cas surprised Dean by grinning sheepishly. "Someone at the old orphanage was a bible freak. They named all the kids after angels. Michael, Rapahel, Gabriel, Castiel… see where this is going? Basically, if you find a biblical name around here, you know where the kid came from, yeah? Kind of makes the distinction easy. Right, Dean… Dean?"

Dean had gone shock still.

"Dean, you okay?"

"How old were you when you came here?" Dean asked, urgently, dread growing in his chest.

"4 months," Cas answered, "We found my file the other day, didn't we?"

"Yes! But we went through all the files from that year and we didn't find Gabriel's. He was put in the same year, too. That means-"

"There are missing records?" Cas completed, voice hollow. 

Dean stumbled back into the cabinet, the file he was holding slipping out of his hand. If Sam's records were misplaced, they could go through these files their whole life and never find Sam.

"Don't give up, Dean," Cas whispered, but the words fell on deaf ears. He should have known that this was too good to be true, too easy. As if just by looking at all these folders he was supposed to find his brother.

As if after everything, things were just going to go back to normal.

Dean skipped dinner that night. Cas called him, but he just pretended to be asleep, till Cas had gone away. The darkness of the room wasn't enough to shroud the hopelessness that he felt within. What was he doing in this alien place. Dean didn't belong here. He missed the dry heat of the place that he thought of as home, now. Missed the stains of dark grease, the damn smell of a garage on rainy thundering nights. 

It was thundering that night, too.

The sky cracked and lightening thundered in the dark sky. Dean held on to the crib tighter.

"Shhhh… Sammy," he said running his fingers over his brothers forehead. "It's gonna be alright."

"C'mon, let's say goodnight to your brother," his mom reminded him lovingly from behind as she turned the lights off. 

Dean leaned over and kissed Sam on his forehead. "Night, Sam."

"Good night, love," his mom said, lightly brushing Sam's brown hair back, and following Dean's suit and kissing him, too. Dean pushed back into her. He loved the way his mom smelled. Tangy like apples.

"Hey, Dean."

Dean turned to see his dad standing in the doorway, a light smile playing on his lips. Dean immediately rushed over and threw himself at him. "Daddy!"

His dad scooped Dean up. "Hey buddy!" Then he raised his hand, which Dean high-fived.

"So what do you think? You think Sammy's ready to toss around a football yet?"

Dean turned back to look and his little brother, then shook his head, laughing. "No, Daddy."

Dad laughed. "I don't think so, either."

Just then mom passed them both, ruffling his hair. "You got him?" She asked dad.

"I got him," dad winked at Dean, then looked over at Sammy. "Sweet dreams, Sam."

He's asleep soon. Then awake. Too suddenly.

His mom screamed.

"No! Mary!" His dad yelled "No!"

Dean jumped out of bed and ran towards the noise. His mom and dad sounded scared. It was too warm… hot.

There was a fire in Sam's room, Dad was there… no mom.

"Dean!" His dad called.

"Daddy!"

His dad was scared, sweating and hurt. In his hand was a little bundle. Sammy.

He thrust Sam into Dean's hands, his back to the blazing fire. Dean's eyes were burning. He couldn't see mom.

"Take your brother outside as fast as you can and don't look back! Now, Dean, go!"

Dad pushed him hard, towards the stairs. He held Sam tightly and made a run for it, till he was outside the door and into the lawn.

"It's okay, Sammy," he whispered. "I gotcha."

Then the window blasted and the whole house exploded in fire.

Dean sat up bolt in his bed, sweating, heart trying to beat out of his chest. He blinked his eyes not just to be rid of the moisture there but also to figure out where the hell he was. It took a couple of seconds, but then it all came to him. He was at a boys' home. Cas was snoring lightly above him. Gabriel not so lightly next to him.

The tiny digital clock on the rickety table read 00:17.

Dean tried to breathe normally, but gave up after a couple of minutes. He wasn't going to get any peace with the rate at which his heart was going, or how clammy he suddenly felt. The very dread he had been trying to run away from all evening, had finally caught up with him and how.

Denial was a crappy coping mechanism. He knew that, he had always known that. But what else did he have?

Getting up, he made his way to the bathrooms at the very end of the corridor, and splashed water on his face. Dean immediately felt a little better. The cold water seemed to help with frayed nerves. So, he splashed his face once more, running the water over his hands too. Not knowing what else to do, he strolled along the long passageway and came to rest in front of the staircase grill that locked everyone on to the floor. The light breeze coming in from the window opposite to the grill was calming. Dean slid down along the length of the grill to the floor, staring up at the dark sky, barely illuminated by the crescent shaped moon.

"Can't fall asleep?" The quiet voice made him jump out of his skin.

"What the fuck!" Dean swore, his barely in control heartbeat accelerating again, as he tried to look for the person in the dark.

"Sorry," the voice apologized sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

Dean squinted in the darkness, finally spotting the person. On the other side of the grill, on the opposite end from him was another shadow, mirroring his exact pose, huddled with his back against the grill.

"I can't sleep, either," the kid said, not deterred by Dean's lack of response. "Still, sorry for creeping up on you."

"That's okay," Dean said, not wanting to give away that he actually had been frightened.

"You new?"

Dean shrugged, then remembered it was actually too dark to see anything. "Yeah."

"It can be hard," the boy said. "Lot of new admits find it  tough to adjust."

Was the kid patronising him?

"Not much of a talker, I see," said the kid. "I'm gonna shut up now."

It made Dean smirk despite himself. "What're you doing up?"

The voice perked up at some response. "I got a math Olympiad, tomorrow. I suck at it."

"You're up because you're nervous about a silly test?"

It brought Dean up short. It shocked him that there were kids here with normal fears, like tests and exams. Not everyone was on a mission to find long lost brothers. How stupid of him to just overlook that? It made him feel out of place.

"Like you've never been worried about an exam before? And it’s not a  silly test, It could be my one way ticket into a University." He'd offended the kid. Must be what? Around 11 or 12 years of age. Couldn't be less than that since he bunked on the 4th floor.

"You're just like the other big guys," the kid muttered. 

"It's not like that," Dean said. "I'm just distracted." Why was he explaining this to the kid anyway?

"That's fine," came the reply, chirpy again, apparently satisfied with Dean's half-hearted explanation. "I know the sort of crap that goes on up on your floor."

"Know something about that, huh?"

"Everyone does."

Fair enough. "I'm not a favourite," Dean warned. "It'd be better for you to not be found chumming up with me."

"I don't care." The answer was firm. steely. "I hate bullies."

The word 'hate' somehow sounded harsh coming from a soft voice like that. Dean had to raise an eyebrow.

They sat in silence for a while. Dean let his mind wander through all that had happened today. Sam's smile kept invading his mind. His light eyes, his brown hair.

"Brown hair!" Dean yelped.

"What?" 

"Nothing," Dean said, more to himself than the kid. "He had brown hair." Like their dad's… lighter, but still definitely brown.

Dean couldn't give up now. Not when he was already in here. He couldn't stop looking for Sam. If he didn't give it his best shot, he'd regret it all his life. He would go through every damn file, tear the place apart if it means that he could find his brother again.

"Are you alright?" The voice on the other side sounded vaguely concerned, as if not anxious about Dean per se, but doubting his mental health.

Dean didn't care. At last, he could actually breathe. Freely.

"Hey, kid, thanks!"

"For what?" Perplexed.

"Nothing," Dean almost grinned. "Good luck with your test… uh Olympiad tomorrow," he said, getting up and dusting his clothes.

"Thanks, I guess?" The voice trailed behind him as Dean walked back to his room. He fell on the bed fully clothed.

Tomorrow would be a new day, and he would try again… and again and again till he succeeded.

******************************

A/N 2: I really really hope y’all like this story!! Please let me know what you think… the feedback is what keeps me going :)

If you wanna be tagged, please send me an ask

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[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu fanfiction: Dating… With Children - BONUS DRABBLE #5

(Also available to read on AO3)

Just something quick and silly based on something my dad used to do to me and my brother, lol. Enjoy!

Also, do you ever wonder what Lou would look like with the beard he grew once he became a rat? Because I do, all the time.

Dad-Dad-Dad-Dad-Dad-Dad-Dad-DAD!”

Lou smirked, setting his cup of tea down the moment he heard the boy’s excited voice. “Hello to you too, Donnie.” He caught his purple son with ease as Donnie all but launched himself at his father. Leo came in right behind him, slow enough to allow his twin to have his well-deserved spotlight but still smiling just as much.

Draxum was also smiling at the sight. “Well now, someone’s happy.” Despite remembering Donnie’s plan very well, he feigned ignorance. “I wonder what brought on such a good mood. What do you think, Lou?”

“No idea,” Lou shrugged, playing along, “Why don’t you tell us, Donnie? Why are you-?”

“My show and tell went GREAT!” Donnie yelled, still grinning ear-to-ear, “Everyone loved Shelldon an’ told me how cool he was! Everyone clapped, and all my new codes worked perfectly, and Mr. Suranio gave me a gold star! It was the best show and tell presentation EVER!” Noticing his dad and Draxum’s amused expression, Donnie cleared his throat and calmed himself down a bit. “So yeah, that’s why I’m so happy.”

“Aaaaand also ‘cause he’s the smartest kid in our class,” Leo commented, his tone genuine. He occasionally heard other kids in their second grade class complain about Donnie being a nerd and wondering when he’d take his annoying big brain to college already, but usually a glare from him or Raph or a calling out from April would shut them up. There was no denying that Donnie was a nerd and a smartie, but Leo didn’t mind. (Besides, he knew he was still the coolest kid in class.)

“Well, I for one am very happy for you, my son, and very VERY proud,” Lou said, pulling Donnie close. The purple-dressed boy happily accepted the hug. …Though only for a moment. Because only a second or two later, Donnie’s smile became a scowl, and he pushed his father away, hopping off his lap. “Huh?” Lou raised an eyebrow. He knew Donnie wasn’t always up for hugs, sometimes just feeling too sensitive for them and wanting his space, but he had seemed like he had been enjoying it a moment ago-

Figuring that he couldn’t just leave his father in the dark, Donnie said bluntly, “Your face ruined the hug.” Draxum nearly choked on his badly timed sip of tea while Lou just blinked, too confused to be offended.

“He means your face hair,” Leo flatly added, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Donnie nodded, still pouting slightly at his ruined hug.

At that, Lou got a bolt of realization. “Ohhh, you mean my stubble?” he asked, stroking his chin a bit.

“Yeah, that stuff! Like, geez Pop, it’s like trying to hug an itchy cactus or something!”

“Oh really now…?” Leo stiffened slightly, recognizing the mischievous glint in his father’s eyes. He tried to escape, but the Great Lou Jitsu was just too quick for him!

In one swift motion, Leo was picked up and hugged, with Lou’s seemingly-spiky cheeks rubbing right up against his face. “NOOOOO!” he yelled, squirming as he tried to push his father and his annoying, itchy stubble away. Lou could only laugh, letting the boy go after a couple seconds.  “Gah, you’re so weird!”

“Oh, let your father have a bit of fun,” Lou said, still chuckling to himself. Leo just stuck his tongue out at him before running out to the TV room to join his other brothers, with Donnie right behind him.

Draxum shook his head slightly at his prankster of a boyfriend. Lou might have been in his 40s, but he still acted like a big kid sometimes. Still, at the very least, it was endearing. “Guess you’ll have to shave again soon, lest you ‘ruin’ any more hugs.”

“Eh, we’ll see.” Lou stroked his chin again. “I really do want to try and grow a beard…”

Draxum raised an eyebrow at this. He had noticed Lou’s stubble as well, but didn’t think it was a big enough deal to bring up, it most likely being caused by a lack of time to shave in the mornings or a broken and not yet replaced razor. “Seriously?”

“Yeah! Why not?” Lou shrugged, “I’ve always sort of wondered what I would look like with one.” He wasn’t too bothered by the prospect of aging, having simply put himself in the category of ‘distinguished’ actors once he found his first grey hair rather than freaking out about it. So, if a beard made him look older, so be it. He was curious, and shaving everyday was a pain anyway. “Don’t you think I’d look good with one?”

Draxum hummed, leaning forward a bit as he took a good, long look at his boyfriend’s face. “…I can’t see it,” he finally answered after several seconds of suspense.

Lou huffed, waving him off. “Maybe you can’t see it now, but trust me. When it grows out, it is going to look good.”

“If you say so,” Draxum conceded, giving neither approval or disapproval, “Though I doubt the boys are going to agree.”

“They can disagree if they want, but this-” Lou pointed at his chin- “is still happening.” With that, the subject was changed and subsequently dropped.

For the next week and a half, it seemed like Lou was sticking to his goal, his stubble getting longer each time Draxum visited - though he did try to at least try and keep his eventual beard from getting too scraggly, shaping it slightly and keeping it clean.  

One Monday night, Draxum managed to make it over for supper after work kept him away for the whole weekend. He knocked on the door, just as he normally did… and a clean-shaven Lou opened the door. “Oh,” he said, slightly surprised, “Changed your mind on the beard?”

“No…” Lou mumbled, pouting as his eyes squinted in a scowl, “Those little punks of mine staged a ‘hug protest’.”

Draxum brought his hand to his mouth, trying and failing to hide his snickers. “I’m sorry, a hug protest?”

“Yeah! They told me they were doing it Friday night - no more hugs from me until I shaved.” At first, Lou had sort of smirked, accepting their ‘protest’ though not expecting it to last long. This expectation changed however after he had tried to tuck them in that night. Every single one of his son’s refused a good night hug, and then would overdramatically whine about how they had just gotten the ‘worst sleep ever’ the next morning, all because they hadn’t gotten their good night hug.

When the same thing happened the next night and day, Lou simply bit the bullet and shaved out of a mix of guilt and annoyance. At the very least, his boys all gave him a group hug the moment he stepped out of the master bathroom. “It was just too much of a hassle at that point to keep it,” Lou said, concluding the explanation with a bit of a sigh, “When they are all in their teenage rebellion ‘too cool for hugs from our dad’ phase, THAT is when I will grow my beard.”

Despite still being way too amused with the whole thing, Draxum just sympathetically patted his boyfriend’s shoulder, silently wishing him the best of luck with his goal. With it still being a while until supper and the boys upstairs playing, the two settled down on the couch, half-watching local afternoon talk shows as they talked about their day.

Lou snuggled up to Draxum’s side as his boyfriend wrapped an arm around him. With his smile softening a bit, Draxum kissed his cheek.

He would never try to control how Lou decided to look - boyfriend or no, that was Lou’s business, not his. Still, Draxun had to agree with the boys: he definitely preferred cuddling up next to a shaved Lou.

((I had been thinking about writing something based on ‘Jupiter Jim Ahoy!’ but uh… yeah the implications would’ve been wayyyyyyyyy too dark even if I was never planning on actually writing anything bad. So, silly drabble it is.

As for the next big chapter, it’s finally time to write two of the things I had been thinking about the most when I first started this fic: Christmas at the Jitsus, and TANG SHEN! Yep, Draxum finally gets to meet Shen and you’ll see the boys interacting with their auntie ^v^

So yeah, expect that probably sometime in December. …Also, with the finale three days away at the time of me writing this, just wanna say: If Draxum dies for real at the end of S1, thaaat’s probably gonna kill my inspiration to write anything after the Christmas chapter. So, yeah, just a heads up. Anyway, see ya’ll in December, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!))