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hero-deserves-to-be-happy · 10 months ago

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300 Profiteroles [A Hero, Bowen, & Daphne Friendship Fic]

While visiting Faraway Town for a long weekend to work on his medical school applications, Hero runs into a frazzled Daphne and Bowen at the Other Mart bakery. Their unexpectedly request for his help brings up bittersweet memories, but it just might remind him of some important truths he had forgotten. After all, new dreams don't have to erase old ones.

Genre: Friendship Fluff, Slice of Life with the tiniest hint of Hurt/Comfort (because it's OMORI)

Characters: Hero (POV Character), Bowen, and Daphne. Mari is mentioned.

Relationships: Hero, Bowen, and Daphne Friendship. Past Hero, Bowen, Daphne, and Mari friendship. Past Hero/Mari is briefly implied.

Word Count: 4070

Rating: G

Warnings: Some very minor hurt/comfort. Some mild mentions of grief. Mentioned knee injury. Referenced Canonical Character Death. OMORI SPOILERS.

Link to work on AO3. Full text below the cut.

Thank you for reading! 🍞🍞🧡🧡

Hero tilted his head at the rows of aisles in the local Other Mart which was nearly empty this close to closing time. He wracked his brain—trying to remember if he or his family had needed anything besides the razor and can of shaving cream that had gotten him to finally leave his room where he had been holed up for the last few days frantically working on his secondary medical school applications. He felt somewhat guilty for coming home to work on them rather than to spend time with his family, but with a slew of parties being hosted at the fraternity house where he lived on campus, he knew he would never find a moment of quiet focus in order to work on them as long as he stayed at school, so he had driven home for a long weekend.

His family was thrilled to see him, even if they hadn’t really seen much of him at all. He felt particularly sorry for Kel who had wanted to talk his ear off about everything he had missed in Faraway Town since the last time he had visited and Sally who kept toddling into his room with a few of her favorite toys, a set of colorful plastic animals Hero had gotten her for her birthday, begging him to play “zoo” with her. He couldn’t say no to either of them for very long, so he had, instead, ended up staying up most of the night working by desk lamp light which even he could admit wasn’t very effective and had left him feeling groggy and tired.

With a yawn, Hero sighed. He should have known he wouldn’t get much work done at home either. Maybe he should have taken his roommate up on his offer to go study at his family’s remote ski lodge for the weekend. But he supposed it didn’t matter now, and he had plenty of time to finish his applications. He was thankful to have gotten any secondary applications at all and would rather just get them over and done with so he wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore. As it was now, the anxiety he was beginning to feel about actually getting into medical school was starting to become an all-consuming cloud that hovered over him making him forget important things like sleeping, eating, and shaving apparently.

Somewhat sheepishly, Hero rubbed his hand across his jaw—rough and scruffy. He had never felt stubble suited him and tried his best to stay clean-shaven, whenever he remembered and carved out time for it, that is—a difficult task given how consumed he had been recently with his heavy courseload, volunteer hours at the hospital, and, of course, trying to get into med school while trying not to worry about what would happen to him if he didn’t.

Hero swallowed hard, a queasy coiling in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want to think about that. No, he couldn’t think about that—couldn’t even imagine returning to a directionless life again. He’d finish shopping, shave his face, and then get back to work on his applications.

With a sigh, he turned to head towards the checkout counter when he caught a waft of something sweet emanating from the bakery. Hero sighed. He had always had a weakness for pastries. He supposed it wouldn’t be too much trouble to stop and buy one for himself, even if it was a luxury. If Kel was here, he’d likely say he deserved it for working so hard and rarely ever treating himself. Perhaps his brother was right.

Humming thoughtfully, Hero tilted his head towards the glass bakery case underneath the counter. There were so many delicious choices, Hero wasn’t sure how he would decide, but luckily Bowen and Daphne seemed busy so he’d likely have plenty of time to figure out what to order without them having to wait on him.

“This is ridiculous,” Hero heard a somewhat frazzled Daphne muttering under her breath. “There’s no way we’re going to get this done.”

Her brother nodded, running his hand through his hair. “It’s too much for two people in such a short amount of time.”

“Ugh! Mikhael,” Daphne groaned, pressing her palm to her forehead, but her eyes widened as she turned and seemingly took notice of Hero. She nudged Bowen in the elbow, until he waved at him with half a smile and a quiet, “Hey” which was mostly drowned out by his sister’s greeting.

“Hero, I didn’t realize you were back in town.”

“Yeah, just for a little while,” he replied with a breathy chuckle, a little embarrassed at having been caught unintentionally eavesdropping on their conversation.

Daphne, however, didn’t seem to mind and instead just playfully teased. “Did you break your razor? You’re looking a little scruffy.”

“Daphne…” Bowen scolded under his breath before offering Hero an apologetic smile, but Hero just laughed lightly, somewhat self-deprecatingly.

“No, I just forgot it back at school.” He paused, holding up his shopping basket. “I’m buying another one though so don’t worry.”

Daphne chuckled, but her brother quietly cut her off in a low voice, “How can we help you? Do you want something out of the bakery case?”

“Bowen just made a whole batch of peach tarts. They’re very tasty!”

Bowen’s face flushed, but he sighed. “I’m not sure if they’re that great…Daphne is the real pastry chef. And heck, Bebe is better than I am these days.”

“Don’t say that,” Daphne insisted, patting her brother on the head. “You’re great. We’ve had no complaints, and in fact we keep getting tons of orders so you must be doing something right.”

Bowen sighed again, but before he could say anything more, Hero gently interrupted. “A peach tart sounds wonderful. I’ll take two please—one is for Kel,” he added quickly so they wouldn’t think he was some kind of glutton.

With a chuckle behind her hand, Daphne reached into the bakery case, took out two peach tarts, then wrapped them up carefully in a box for Hero as she asked, “So how have you been? How’s life in the big city?”

Hero shrugged. “I’m doing okay. I’ve been pretty busy with school, but it’s good.” He sighed. The response was automatic at this point. “How are you? How’s everything at the bakery?”

Bowen wearily shook his head, and Daphne huffed. “We’re hanging in there. Our grandma broke her hip earlier this week and our parents left to go help her, so we’ve had to run things by ourselves.” Daphne shook her head with a sigh. “It’s a lot for just the two of us, and Mikhael has been no help at all.”

Bowen scoffed—a barely audible snort under his breath as he mumbled, “He’s been more trouble than help.”

Daphne rolled her eyes but threw up her hands. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with him. You know he took an order for 300 profiteroles and didn’t tell us. The customer just called and said he wants to pick them up first thing tomorrow, and we had no idea!”

“We’re going to be here all night…” muttered Bowen despondently shaking his head. “I don’t know how we’re going to get it all done.”

“It’s too much work for just the two of us on such short notice,” huffed Daphne. “And Mikahel has completely disappeared so he can’t help us.”

Hero’s brow furrowed, but he nodded sympathetically. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Daphne paused—her dark eyes widening at him. “Really? You’d help us?”

Hero fidgeted, but he nodded. “Yeah…I mean…if you need someone to go look for Mikhael, maybe I can ask Aubrey…She might know—”

“Can you still make a croquembouche?” interrupted Daphne before Bowen quietly scolded her under his breath.

Hero’s face flushed. He honestly didn’t know. It had been so long since he had worked in the bakery, and he had been so busy with school and preparing for his future that he didn’t find much time to cook or bake anything anymore. “Um…” he stumbled, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. “I…honestly haven’t made choux pastry in a really long time. I’m not even sure I know how anymore.”

“That’s okay. You wouldn’t have to bake anything. You could just fill the profiteroles or make the caramel or stack them”—Daphne smiled—“You used to be really good at that.”

Hero chuckled lightly, somewhat awkwardly. “Thank you, but…I really don’t think I’ll be of much help. I’m out of practice…”

“Don’t worry! Just having an extra set of hands would be a huge help,” Daphne explained, before she sighed again, pushing a long piece of dark hair out of her face. “We wouldn’t have asked if we weren’t desperate. And you really wouldn’t have to stay very long, and we would pay you.”

“Daphne,” Bowen quietly interjected, frowning pointedly at his sister. “I’m sure he’s very busy, and he’s visiting his family. He probably just wants to get home.” He paused then turned to Hero with the slightest twitch of a smile in the corners of his mouth. “Don’t worry. We’ll be okay.”

Hero sighed. He might regret this later, but he couldn’t say no to someone who needed him. With a conceding shrug of his shoulders, he replied, “You know what…I need a break anyway. Let me pay for this, and I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you!” exclaimed Daphne with a bright smile.

Bowen nodded at him gratefully, holding up the box of peach tarts. “These are on the house.”

“Oh no. I couldn’t—” Hero began to protest, but Daphne and Bowen wouldn’t hear of it.

After he had paid for his groceries, he returned to the bakery. It felt strange to be back in the kitchen again. Something twisted in his chest as he remembered the last time he had been back there—back when Mari had been alive and they had taken part-time jobs there to help pay for Sunny’s violin. The kitchen felt somehow different without her in it. Hero pushed the thought away as Daphne and Bowen led him to a clean counter where they set a tray of unfilled profiteroles and a bowl of pastry cream.

“You do remember how to pipe don’t you?” asked Daphne dryly, a twitch of a smile in her mouth. Hero nodded.

“I think so. It’s been a while…”

Daphne tilted her head. “Not much time for baking in college, huh?”

“Don’t worry,” Bowen reassured him quietly, handing him a filled piping bag. “It’s just like riding a bike.”

Luckily, Bowen was right. Everything came back to him as if he had never left the bakery at all. Within no time, he had filled all the profiteroles with pastry cream and started stacking them with caramel.

As he put the final touches on his very first tower, he heard a light chuckle behind him and Daphne quietly tease, “The Croquembouche King has returned.”

Hero’s face flushed. He wouldn’t have gone so far as to say that, especially given the way his tower of cream puffs was currently leaning. With a furrowed brow, Hero frowned, then sighed apologetically. “Sorry it’s a little lopsided.”

“It’s done, and it’s standing,” Bowen quietly interrupted. “That’s more than enough.”

“Bowen’s right,” agreed Daphne as she set another tray of unfilled choux pastry on the counter beside him. “We have to make six of these. They don’t have to be perfect.”

Hero froze. His hands began to tremble around the piping bag, and something ached in his chest as he remembered Daphne’s quiet but encouraging voice reassuring Mari of the same thing. Mari was always such a perfectionist. She needed those reassurances that her best was good enough. When they had worked in the bakery all those years ago, Daphne, Bowen, and their parents had been so encouraging and reassuring in that way—grateful to have the extra help and impressed by his and Mari’s baking skills, even if neither of them had thought they were particularly talented themselves. Hero knew Mari had deserved the praise, even if she couldn’t see it. She was so talented at so many things, baking included. Something panged and twisted inside him. He wished he had told her that more often—wished he had told her so many things he would never get the chance to say.

Hero shivered. The bakery suddenly felt cold, felt empty without her in it.

“Are you okay?” mumbled Bowen in a gentle concern, and Daphne tilted her head.

“You’re looking kind of pale. Do you need to sit down for a while? You can take a break.” She opened one of the blast chillers in the kitchen and pulled out a poppyseed muffin. “Here, why don’t you eat something?”

Wearily, Hero rubbed his hand across his forehead before he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. He fidgeted, feeling suddenly guilty. He wished people wouldn’t worry about him. “Yeah…uh…sorry,” he apologized quickly. “I was so busy working on my med school applications that I forgot to eat dinner.”

Daphne gasped, and Bowen’s eyes widened in horror. They shared a sympathetic look with each other before Daphne suggested, “Let’s get you a sandwich.”

A slight smile twitched in the corners of Bowen’s mouth. “You still like hero sandwiches, right?”

Hero nodded, but he insisted, “It’s okay. I’m sure this muffin will be enough to hold me over until I get home. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Don’t be silly,” Daphne cut him off with a shake of her head. “We’re in a grocery store. It’s no trouble at all.”

“We make sandwiches all the time,” added Bowen as he took some lunch meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, dressing, and a jar of mayonnaise out of a small refrigerator. Grabbing one of their freshly baked baguettes, he quickly assembled the ingredients into a sandwich and handed it to him before Hero could even begin to protest. It was honestly kind of impressive how quickly he had managed it.

“Thank you,” he said. “But um…you really didn’t have to—”

Daphne cut him off with a wave of her hand. “We won’t let you starve.” She chuckled lightly before she handed him a bottle of iced tea. “You still a tea drinker?”

“Yes,” answered Hero, though his face grew warm. He was surprised Bowen and Daphne remembered so much about him. It was very thoughtful.

The sandwich was excellent—and not just because it was his favorite and not just because he was, truthfully, extremely hungry. Hero hummed and thanked the twins again for their kindness and generosity. “I’ll have to make sandwiches for you next time. Though I’m not sure they’ll be as good as this.” He chuckled lightly, self-depreciatingly. “I do have a little more practice with that than the croquembouche though. I still make sandwiches sometimes at school, especially when we have parties.”

Daphne chuckled, and Bowen mumbled, “Can’t really imagine you at a college party.”

Hero laughed, scratching the nape of his neck again. He supposed he had a point. Truthfully, wild partying wasn’t really his scene, but he did enjoy getting to spend time with his friends and getting to cook for everyone while they were there. He had so few opportunities for that these days. “I’m not really…that much of a partier. I mostly just cook for people and clean up afterwards—make sure things don’t get too rowdy.” He chuckled lightly. “I spend most of my time studying.”

“You said you were trying to get into medical school…?” asked Daphne, and Hero nodded.

“Yeah. I thankfully had a couple interviews already, and they wanted my secondary applications so…” His voice trailed, and he stopped completely as he caught sight of Bowen and Daphne blinking at him curiously.

“When did you decide you wanted to be a doctor?” Instead of a chef…, is what Hero was certain Daphne meant, even though she didn’t say that part aloud.

He sighed heavily. He supposed everyone knew it hadn’t always been his dream. The truth was after he had lost Mari, there wasn’t a lot he wanted out of life or enjoyed anymore, as if all of the dreams he had had for himself and his future had died with her. He had felt lost, listless, directionless, but the idea of becoming a physician had become a real lifeline for him.

He could admit, somewhat embarrassedly, that in the beginning he had latched onto the idea mostly because it would make his family happy and was a way he could be useful, helpful to the world. He wanted that, of course—had always wanted to help people, but, he was sorry to say, he mostly saw becoming a doctor as lifelong built-in distraction and busyness. It was meaningful lifelong built-in distraction and busyness, but the end result was the same: years of difficult classes and constant studying, followed by years of unreasonably long hours of work as a medical resident, followed by a lifetime of doing practically nothing but work: essentially living at the hospital and constantly taking calls from patients all through the night when he couldn’t legally be there anymore. Nothing terrified Hero more than being idle, than being alone with his thoughts and feelings. He chose this path in the hopes that he would stay so busy for the rest of his life he would never have to face that again. Somewhere inside him he supposed he believed that there was a certain level of busyness that he could someday reach where he would be so consumed with all the work he had to do that he just wouldn’t feel anything anymore.

But then his roommate, an aspiring future physical therapist, and Sunny who had always encouraged him and believed he could do anything, had helped him to find a sense of purpose in it, until ultimately it was something he wanted: a new dream.

“I’ve been a pre-med major all along, but I guess, I got really serious about it in my sophomore year…” After learning the truth… he finished, but he didn’t say that out loud. “And then there was the MCAT and my volunteer hours and all the applications so it’s a little too late to turn back now, I guess.” He laughed quietly, lightly behind his hand. “My mom’s pretty happy about it. She always wanted me to be a doctor.”

Chuckling, Bowen and Daphne shared a look with each other, before Daphne nudged her brother and teased, “We can understand that. Our mom’s been bothering me about taking over the bakery and Bowen becoming a priest since we were like five.”

Bowen’s face flushed, and he buried his head in his hands. “I really don’t think it’s for me, but she’s very insistent.”

Hero nodded sympathetically, but before he could say anything in response, Daphne asked, “Do you know what kind of doctor you want to be?”

Hero hummed, he could feel his face lighting up as he answered, “Um…well…it could change, but I’m really interested in PM&R.” He paused, then clarified, “That’s physical medicine and rehabilitation or physiatry—helping people to recover from injuries and to manage their long-term effects, but you don’t have to do surgeries like an orthopedist. I’d be really nervous about that—really don’t want to be a surgeon. But I am really interest in rehabilitative medicine.”

“Because of Mari’s knee?”

Hero froze. Had it really been so obvious?

“Daphne,” scolded Bowen under his breath, and Hero swallowed hard.

Daphne’s eyes were wide, sincere, but she stared down at her hands, twisting them. “She was on crutches for such a long time…” she quietly continued. “And even after that, it just never really healed right. She had that brace and…it still bothered her.”

Hero sighed. His chest ached just thinking about it, especially knowing the role in had ultimately played in her death, but his expression softened at the kindness and sympathy in Daphne’s face. He hadn’t ever realized how observant she was or how concerned. He supposed it really was true that everyone had loved Mari. She was just that kind of person.

“Yeah uh…” his voice hitched. “I thought maybe I could stop that from happening to someone else or…at least help a little. Sometimes there’s not anything you can do about that. My roommate has a bad knee too—got injured playing football and will never be able to play again, but PM&R helped him to walk again. He wants to be a physical therapist now—to give back. I guess I just started thinking that maybe I could do something like that too.” Hero stopped, feeling a bit flushed. He hadn’t meant to say all of that, but Daphne met his eyes with a gentle smile and nodded.

“That would be really nice, Hero.” Pausing, she sighed, then shrugged her shoulders and twisted her mouth to one side. “And hey, if the whole doctor thing doesn’t work out, you can always come work in the bakery. We’d love to have you.”

Bowen nodded in agreement. “You can come any time. It’s nice to have you back.”

A smile tugged at Hero’s mouth. It was nice to be back.

*-*-*

2 Weeks Later…

Hero sighed in relief as he put the finishing touches on his final secondary medical school application. It was almost surreal to think that after several weeks of work, he had finally finished all of them. He could only hope that would be enough.

He sighed again—absent-mindedly scratching his cheek and rubbing his palm across his jaw. It was prickly, scruffy again. He really needed to remember to shave.

Before he could gather up his razor and shaving cream and take off towards the bathroom, however, his roommate burst into the room with a large box and a teasingly exuberant, “Special Delivery!” as he plopped the package on Hero’s desk.

Curiously, Hero tilted his head at the box. His mouth twitched in the corners as he read the return address.

“Who’s it from?” asked his roommate, poking him in the arm.

“Just some friends from back home,” Hero answered with a shrug though his smile widened. As he cut through the packing tape with scissors and opened the cardboard flaps, he couldn’t hold back a chuckle. As he would have expected, it was filled with tons of carefully wrapped baked goods. There was also a card in a bright yellow envelope. It read:

Dear Hero,

Thank you so much for all of your help with the profiteroles. We know how busy you are so it really meant a lot to us that you took the time to help us while you were visiting from out of town. The client loved your croquembouche and had no idea they had all been made in the very last second (please don’t tell).

We know it’s not enough but please accept these pastries as a symbol of our thanks. We hope you will enjoy them.

Hope everything is going well for you at college and that you’re finding plenty of time to make sandwiches even though you’re so busy with your classes and medical school applications. We know you’ll be a great doctor, but we hope you won’t give up on your love of cooking either. New dreams don’t have to erase old ones. You might not want to work in a restaurant or bakery anymore, but we think that anyone who cooks is a chef, especially if they’re as talented as you.

You’re welcome at the bakery anytime. Please come see us when you’re in town again.

Your Friends,

Bowen and Daphne

P.S. Treat yourself to a pastry every once and awhile. You deserve it!

Laughing, Hero’s face lit up in a bright smile. He supposed Daphne and Bowen were right—about a lot of things. And as he reached for one of the peach tarts his friends had carefully packaged into the box, he knew they were definitely right about this: he deserved a treat every now and again.

He was so grateful for their kind and thoughtful care-package, and he couldn’t wait until he was back in Faraway Town again so he could return the favor. His smile widened. He’d have to start practicing his croquembouche recipe.

#omori hero #hero omori #omori daphne #omori bowen #omori unbread twins #daphne omori #bowen omori #omori fanfic #omori spoilers #hero fic #hero ficlet collection #hero month 💙#thank you for reading

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theoceansluvr · 2 months ago

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⋅˚₊SO HIGH SCHOOL . . .

my loves

media: percy jackson, how to lose a guy in 10 days, clueless, heroes of olympus, the bell jar, no longer human, tsoa, omori, dc, the odyssey, toa, heathers, hairspray, tpobawf, chasing mavericks, surf's up, isle of dogs, the grand budapest hotel, waitress, princess and the frog, legally blonde(musical + movie), la la land

music/songs: taylor swift, laufey, mitski, childish gambino, beach house, arctic monkeys, frank ocean, i wanna be yours, eyedress, faye webster, tv girl, suki waterhouse, the backseat lovers, kilby girl, pool house, c.a.s, gorillaz, lana del rey, the nbhd, alex g, chole moriondo, london boy, our song, surf curse, rob zombie, the smashing pumpkins, the smiths, my chemical romance, cemetery drive

fun facts: summer + beach lover x1000000, i speak a small amount of greek + creole, i surf(i live nowhere near an ocean tho..), 8/10 singing skills, an expert jewelry maker, writing a book at the moment, leo's biggest fangirl(not clickbait), some what of a seamstress, the world's biggest theater kid, future actress or film maker.. or pro surfer.. or anthropologist, fashion icon of the year, can and will talk for hours on end about hyperfixations, i have the world's WORST chronic pain + hearing, part time crutch user + full time hearing aid wearer, i play piano, ethan nakamura forgiver

⋅˚₊YOU KNOW HOW TO BALL, I KNOW ARISTOLE

#songs of the coral !#sea foam kisses #poems from the sea

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star-fandoms · 4 months ago

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i did ONE Danganronpa redesign before hyperfixating on cookie run...SIGH

I have been having so much fun though thinking about mine and my friends cookie run ocs. I gotta share them!

Freaking GAMER cookie my beloved

This ref and design is pretty old, I gotta redesign her. Gamer x Sandwich x Pizza cookie poly relationship real. She's a recluse who stays inside most of the time. She streams her playing games and that's how she gets her money. That said since she refuses to leave her house she often orders takeout(Although another part of it is to see Sandwich and Pizza cookie outside of college)

LOL YOU CAN TELL WHICH IS A MORE RECENT DRAWING

Anyways, G x S x P before their official friendship to after their friendship. They have sleepovers often(since they just go to the same school anyways) and they just kinda listen to Sandwich cookie ramble about anything and everything. Btw it doesn't look like it in the drawing but i prommy they are in fact listening to her. Anyways Gamer has just always been a recluse and shy person and so when Sandwich cookie talks to her and is nice to her, Gamer kind of develops feelings fast since she's never had that before. Gamer really admires Pizza cookie for her hard work, she can't help but wonder what drives Pizza cookie to work so hard. Gamer has stopped putting in a lot of effort because no matter what she's never lived up to anyone's expectations, so to see someone who works so hard no matter what, she really admires that. That said she does worry about Pizza cookies health and tries to get her to relax as much as possible. When she order's pizza and Pizza cookie delivers, she feels bad but she also takes this as an opportunity to give her a large tip(she gives her like $50-100 every time LMAOOO she is down horrendous) She does also tip Sandwich cookie a lot of money too!!

Epic Gamer cookie and Gunpowder cookie art done by yours truly. Also Gunpowder belongs to @muddymcmeatz, my bestie! Check him out!! Anyways, Gamer and GPC have a silly dynamic, they're friends, Gamer questions every day how it happened. Anyways, Gamer likes to cosplay and went to GPC for a weapon made for one of her cosplay, and they've been in contact since.

Jawbreaker Cookie!!

JBC x Roguefort Cookie as the one mlp meme LOL, im not really proud of this piece so i gotta redo it eventually LOL but this meme is literally them to me

JBC and Gunpowder are in the same gang and they have a silly sibling bond. They constantly play fight and tease each other. They have ruined each others hair more times then they can count which has made Salty Dog Cookie(Made by @/muddymcmeatz again lol) shave their heads. They constantly pull pranks on each other, they are very annoying, but they care for each other deeply, just as they do the rest of their gang!

Finally, Blue Rose Cookie!

Guh BRC and Rockstar Cookie my beloveds. Im doing a whole ass animatic with Blue Rose's relationship with her, Mint Choco, Hot Cocoa, and Rockstar to Duet, from the Omori soundtrack. Blue Rose plays the piano and her and Mint Choco would often duet together, but the Duet animatic im working on is their final duet together because BRC is aware she has no chance and just wants to move on, shes tired of chasing after someone who likes someone else. Anyways BRC and Rockstar cookie have been friends since high school and he's liked her since and she's always been a huge fan of his, they support each other! Anyways Rockstar will get his happy end with her

Here's one of the drawings from the Duet animatic!

I have some other design ideas that I'm really excited to work on!

Rose Water cookie: She's shipped with Peach Blossom cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom! They'd be so pretty and majestic together fr fr I gotta draw them soon!

Apple Bunny cookie: She's shipped with Onyx Cream cookie from Cookie Run Witches Castle.

Gummy Shark cookie: I don't have her shipped with anyone as of now. She's a cruel loan shark who's enemies with Salty Dog's gang. She's always accompanied by her two body guards Baja Blast Cookie and Mtn Dew Cookie.

Firefly cookie: Shipped with Amber Sugar cookie, i don't have too much info for her rn

#oc #cr oc #cookie run oc #crob oc #cookie run ovenbreak #cookie run ovenbreak oc #Gamer cookie #gamer x sandwich #gamer x pizza #Jawbreaker cookie #jawbreaker x roguefort #Blue Rose cookie #blue rose x rockstar

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bookiezzz · 6 months ago

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Fic Collection / Masterlist

a collection of all the stories, headcannons, oneshots, and fics i’ve written.

my requests

OMORI:

— Mari with a pessimistic, depressed Reader attempting to self-harm Headcannons

— Sunny X overly sleepy Reader Headcannons

— Aubrey, Sunny, and Kel in an H-Mart (Asian Supermarket) Headcannons

— Kel x Reader Platonic Headcannons

— Omori Characters with a Pet lover/owner Reader Headcannons

— Mari with a Reader who plays xylophone/bells Headcannons

— Kel and Basil with a cheerful, positive Reader Headcannons

— Kel with a younger brother who likes painting Headcannons

— Aubrey and Mari with a boxer s/o

• Vocaloid / Project Sekai:

— Our Song / An Shiraishi x Reader (oneshot)

— possessive bf akito

— bully akito !!

— possessive bf akito the squeakquel

— vampire akito

— vampire toya

— ramune: akito + vbs ver.

— fighting by alex g - akito ANGST

— Sick Girl Trilogy - Akito Oneshots

— wearing akito’s clothes

— akitoya x reader manipulation arc

— tutor toya! fluff

— Ena and Akito with a cheer/royalette reader

— mean akiena

— An x Reader Phys. Contact Hcs

• World’s End Club:

— Pochi x Reader Platonic Headcannons (Part 1)

— Pochi x Reader Platonic Headcannons (Part 2)

• Splatoon:

Nothing

• Deltarune:

Nothing

• Undertale:

— Asriel, Papyrus, and Mettaton with a stressed-out male Reader Headcannons

— Asriel with a younger brother who likes painting Headcannons

• Choices That Matter (And the Sun Went Out):

Nothing

• Inside Job:

Nothing

• Outer Banks:

Nothing

Owl House

— Hunter with a positive, cheerful Reader Headcannons

• Amphibia:

Nothing

• Kpop girl groups:

Nothing

• Steven Universe:

— (Rose Quartz’s) Pearl X Reader

— Steven with a gem-human!reader platonic headcannons

• Friday Night Lights:

Nothing

• Ace Attorney:

— Gumshoe and Larry getting in and out of bed with reader headcannons

Batman / Dark Knight

— Fragile (Bruce Wayne oneshot)

Dungeon Meshi:

— Falin x Marcille (onesided angst)

— Letter To My 13 Year Old Self, Marcille

— Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, and Falin (Touden Party) with a reader who has a headache

— Laios, Marcille, and Chilchuck with a reader who sings

— Chilchuck x Reader Fluff Headcannons

— Laios x Monster Enthusiast Reader Headcannons

— Laios with a younger brother who likes painting Headcannons

— Marcille and Izutsumi with a TallMan s/o Headcannons

• Total Drama:

— AleHeather Headcannons

— Duncney Headcannons

— Dott Headcannons

— Travel with Me? (Duncney one shot)

— Cotie Headcannons

— Beth and Noah Friendship Headcannons

— Bridgette and Ezekiel Friendship Headcannons

— Noah + Siblings Headcannons

— DJ with s/o meeting his mama Headcannons

— Gweather Headcannons

The Outsiders:

Nothing

please don’t hesitate to DM/send me an ask if anything is wrong/not added!

#bookie writes

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secretagent9 · 10 months ago

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WOW

so the concert was G R E A T; unsurprisingly, i saw a lot of omori fans and got to talk to a few (shoutouts to you, girl with the aubrey tattoo, you were really funny and cool)! it was the perfect opportunity to wear one of my own omori shirts, but i didn't and i regret it. OH WELL, i got a kikuo shirt to make up for it

highlights down below:

bo en let his cousin "montgomery bo en" come on stage to talk a bit and play his guitar (he definitely wasn't just bo en in a cowboy hat)

my time

kikuo constantly telling the audience to CLAP CLAP CLAP KEEP CLAPPING DON'T STOP CLAPPING NEVER STOP CLAPPING NOW CLAP FASTER-

one person randomly saying "YIPPEE!" when it got quiet and then even more people repeating it. yes exactly the way you're imagining it being said. this happened multiple times toward the end, lol

cosplayers!

at one point bo en snuck through the crowd and was right behind me, but i was distracted so i never noticed; tattoo girl's aunt said she saw him and spoke to him but had no idea who he was; dude's a MASTER of stealth

bo en saying he took kikuo to his first dunkin donuts

gus bonito/kane west singing this song:

i've got some more videos and pics to share, but this post is long enough, soooo next post, then!

#kikuo #bo en #concert #agent babbles

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acacia-may · 1 year ago

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See What It's Like To Be Loved (Kelbrey Fanfiction)

Description: Sunny's plans to propose to Cris prompt Aubrey and Kel to discuss the future of their own relationship.

Relationships: Established Relationship Kelbrey (Romantic Kel x Aubrey)-Centric, but Established Relationship Sunfish (Romantic Sunny/Cris) is also mentioned.

Characters: Aubrey (POV Character), Kel, and Sunny. (Cris, Hero, & Basil are mentioned).

Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Established Relationship, Aged-Up Characters, Pre-Proposal, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Good Ending, Aubrey Has Family Issues and Abandonment Issues, Some Fluff, Declarations of Love, Some Angst But With A Happy Ending,

Word Count: 4,071

Rating: G

Warnings: Some Spoilers for OMORI! Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death, and Implied/Referenced family issues & abandonment issues. Kissing.

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another website. All other interaction (likes, reblogs ect.) appreciated!

A/N: The title is a reference to a line in the song "Strawberry Sunscreen" (YouTube) by Lostboycrow (which is on my Kelbrey playlist 😉).

Story below the cut. Thank you so much for reading! 💕

“It’s beautiful, Sunny,” sighed Aubrey with a kind smile as she stared down at the ring glistening in the small velvet box Sunny had set on the table in front of her and Kel. She blinked at it in shock and surprise that she tried her best to hide. When Sunny had asked if he could get their opinion on something before he headed out for the evening, she had not been expecting him to pull an engagement ring out of his pocket. After all, Sunny and Cris had started dating almost a year after she and Kel had, and they certainly weren’t engaged yet. She supposed every couple took things at their own pace, but since Sunny was usually so shy about his relationship, she had, albeit wrongfully, assumed he and Cris were taking things very slow.

Kel, it seemed, had not made this assumption, however, as he enthusiastically exclaimed, “Congratulations! This is great!” and quickly pulled Sunny into a tight hug and gave him a congratulatory pat on the back with not even a hint of shock or surprise.

With a curious tilt of her head, Aubrey wondered if Sunny had given Kel more of a heads up about his plans to propose. It was difficult to imagine since Sunny didn’t talk much to begin with and, as far as Aubrey knew, was usually very shy about his relationship, and even if he wasn’t, Kel had assured Aubrey multiple times that they never really discussed their love lives with each other. She wouldn’t have minded if they did, as long as Kel didn’t share anything too personal or private about her. Seeing as they were all mutual friends, it would be awkward both for them and for Sunny if he was privy to a lot of intimate details about their relationship, and to be fair, she didn’t feel it was her or Kel’s place to know a lot of intimate details about Sunny relationship either, even if, at least according to Sunny, Kel had, supposedly, set him up with Cris in the first place. The details were all a little fuzzy since Kel swore he hadn’t been setting them up on purpose and didn’t even know that’s what he had been doing, but Sunny was very insistent and very grateful that Kel had played a formative role in their relationship. Aubrey shrugged. Maybe he had involved Kel in proposal plans, if only for that reason. Still...Aubrey had to admit it was surprising that he was showing off the ring to them.

Sunny’s mouth twitched in the corners as the lightest tint of pink flushed in his pale cheeks, but he managed a nod at both her and Kel in turn and a quiet, “Thank you.”

“Cris is going to love it!” added Kel practically beaming at them.

Thoughtfully, Sunny pursed his lips together, but it seemed he couldn’t hold back his smile. Aubrey’s expression softened. It was nice to see him so happy.

“I hope so…” he said.

“Of course she is,” reassured Kel, draping an arm around Sunny’s shoulders. “I mean it looks like a seashell—it’s perfect!”

Aubrey’s jaw fell a bit slack as she tilted her head at the ring again. She hadn’t realized it before, but now that Kel had mentioned it, she could see that the jewels were cut and arranged in such a way that actually did look like a seashell—a gold and diamond seashell with a beautiful pearl in the center. Wow, thought Aubrey. It must have cost Sunny a small fortune, and where would he even find a ring like that? Did he have it custom made?

“I went to that place you told me about,” said Sunny turning to Kel who just smiled. Aubrey blinked at them. Wait…what?

“Ah, cool! I’m glad it worked out.”

“Hold on,” Aubrey interrupted. “You told Sunny about a jewelry store?”

Kel shrugged with a laugh. “Hey, don’t look so surprised. You don’t know what I do in my free time,” he teased shooting her a wide, toothy grin, but Sunny’s eyebrows twitched and the blush in his face deepened. Aubrey’s brow furrowed, and she swallowed hard. Oh no. No. There was no way…

Aubrey took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down. If this really was what she thought, that would mean Kel had ordered his ring before Sunny, and there was no way that Kel would have been able to keep that a secret for so long. He would have told her or at least given some indication that he was planning to propose to her…right?

“You okay?” asked Kel with a concerned tilt of his head. “You’re looking kind of pale. You need to sit down or something? I can get you some water…”

“Uh, no,” she stumbled over her words, rubbing her hand across her forehead. “No. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure? You don’t look fine.”

“Kel—” she began but stopped abruptly. She knew the answer to the question she wanted to ask as soon as she met his eyes. Her heart raced, but her insides coiled and twisted. She didn’t know how she felt—shocked, happy, worried, excited, terrified, overwhelmed…angry? No, that wasn’t right. That last one was unexpected, especially given how much she loved him. She was mostly just…scared. Her hands began to tremble, but she rose to her full height on shaking legs.

“Do you…have a ring?” The question just slipped out before she could stop it.

“Huh?” Kel’s eyes widened, and he blinked at her dumbfounded, before a sheepish smile tugged at his mouth and he rubbed his hand across the nape of his neck. “Oh…uh…well…”

“I’m sorry,” mumbled a particularly red Sunny who Aubrey was sorry to say she had completely forgotten about.

“No, it’s fine, Sunny,” Kel awkwardly reassured him before turning to her in confusion. “Aubrey, uh…” He stopped. “Do you really want to talk about this now?”

She took a shaky breath, and her face grew hot. “Right…Sorry, Sunny.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, but he wouldn’t look at her. He added hurriedly, “I’m actually supposed to meet Cris.”

“Are you gonna propose tonight?” asked Kel, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere.

Sunny shrugged. “I dunno.” He stumbled around, awkwardly gathering his things, and Aubrey could have sworn she saw him glance over at her before he added, “I think I’ll ask if I can first.”

Aubrey cursed under her breath, then started to trip over her words. “Sunny…Cris loves you. If you want to propose you—” She stopped. “That’s not what…”

As her voice trailed off, Sunny just blinked at her then mumbled. “Okay.” He paused, and his expression was frustratingly unreadable. “Thanks. Bye.”

“Sunny…” Aubrey called after him, but within moments he had darted out of the front door. With a heavy sigh, Aubrey buried her face in her hands and wondered if she had ever seen him run out of the house so quickly. She cursed under her breath again.

“It’s okay,” Kel reassured her gently running his hand across her back. “Sunny just hates conflict—almost as much as Hero,” he added with a chuckle. “We’ll just apologize to him later. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“I feel terrible,” she mumbled, mentally kicking herself at her outburst.

“You want that water?”

“That’s not what I meant…” Aubrey sighed, but Kel disappeared into the kitchen anyway. While she waited for him to return, she glanced over at the clock. Hero would probably be walking through the door any minute, and she had no idea where Basil was but he could be home soon too. Aubrey sighed again. They needed to save them from also being unwitting witnesses to this…personal discussion—an unfortunate side-effect of them being roommates with Kel, she supposed.

“Do you think we could talk outside?” she suggested, gesturing at the sliding doors to the deck Kel had built on the back of the house.

“Okay,” said Kel with a nod as he handed her a glass of water. “Do you want me to get it?”

Confusedly, Aubrey tilted her head. “Get what?”

“The ring.”

Her chest tightened, but she opened the sliding door and stepped out onto the deck. “You have it here?”

“Yeah, uh…Hero said I could keep it in his safety deposit box at the bank, but I dunno, I just didn’t feel right about that. I’ve been keeping it in my sock drawer,” he chuckled. “With my clean socks, of course.”

“How long have you had it?”

Kel shrugged then closed the sliding door behind him and took a seat next to her on the outdoor sofa. “A couple of months. I had to special order it, so it took a while to come in.”

“Were you going to tell me about it?”

“Eventually…” Kel teased, but his smile faded, replaced by a certain helplessness in his eyes that made her heart ache. “Are you unhappy?”

Aubrey sighed, then evaded the question. “I just thought we talked about this—decided it was too soon and we weren’t ready.”

“No,” he gently corrected. “You decided it was too soon and you weren’t ready, and I said that was okay and I can wait until you are…which is exactly what I said the time before that and the time before that and the time before that.” Kel stopped and let out a heavy sigh, before he tilted his head towards her and gently teased, “You can’t be surprised I want to marry you. I keep bringing it up.”

A smile twitched in the corners of Aubrey’s mouth, and she stifled a chuckle in spite of herself but sighed. “I just…I didn’t expect you to have a ring already. I thought we’d…talk about that before you actually bought one.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I just wanted to surprise you, and the last time we talked about it you said that you knew you wanted to marry me someday, so I guess I was just hoping it was someday soon. I wasn’t going to ask you until you told me you were ready… I just didn’t see the harm in having it for whenever that was.”

Aubrey supposed he had a point. It was very practical, but… “That’s just such a big step, Kel. I just don’t want to rush it.”

“Aubrey, we’ve been together for years now, and we’ve known each other most of our lives. I don’t know how we could possibly take things any slower,” he chuckled lightly, but his expression softened. “I think at this point you know me better than anybody else on this planet—maybe even better than I know myself. If after all of that, you still don’t know if you want to marry me, then what are we even doing?”

“Kel, I…” Her voice cracked. That wasn’t fair. “You know that I want to marry you eventually. I just…want make sure that we’re ready.”

“Yes, you keep saying that, but what do you mean by ‘ready’?” he asked with a long exhale and an almost helpless shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not sure anybody can be completely ready because it’s always going to be a little scary but mostly exciting. If you’re waiting to feel 100% sure, I’m just not sure that’s ever going to happen.”

“Kel, I don’t think you’re thinking this all the way through. It’s a big decision. It means forever.” Swallowing hard, Aubrey curled her trembling hands into fists. “I just want you to be sure about this—sure that you aren’t going to change your mind.”

“I’m not going to change my mind. I already spent three months’ salary on that ring.”

Aubrey gasped. “Wait…you spent how much?”

“I read about it online,” shrugged Kel with far more nonchalance than Aubrey felt the situation warranted. “It’s a tradition.”

“Kel, you didn’t have to…” she began, but he cut her off.

“It’s really pretty. It doesn’t look like a seashell or anything, but I got it in rose gold so it’s pink—your favorite color, like your hair used to be.” He playfully ruffled his hand through her hair with a warm, affectionate smile. “You sure you don’t want to see it?”

“No, I…” Aubrey turned away from him, staring intently at her hands. “I wasn’t talking about the ring, Kel. I meant the marriage—our marriage. What if you wake up one day and realize you’ve made a huge mistake? And decide you don’t want to be married to me anymore?”

“Aubrey…” He pressed his palm to her cheek, tilting her head until she was looking up at him again. “I love you. I’m not going to change my mind about that.”

Her heart raced, but she clinched her hands into fists. She wanted to believe him. She wished she could, but… “Talk is cheap, Kel.”

He tilted his head at her in confusion, and before she could even think to stop them, the words began to race out of her mouth, “Sure it’s easy to say that now when things are good and you want to get married, but what about when things get hard? Have you even thought about that? It’s not always going to be like this—life is hard, Kel, and things will eventually get difficult. And when that happens, actually sticking around will be really hard, and it’ll just be easier to pack up your stuff and leave.” As her eyes burned, tears began to prickle behind them. “And those words—those ‘I love you’s—they can’t change that. They can’t stop someone from leaving. Believe me, if they could, my—” Her voice hitched, and she stopped abruptly. She had already said much more than she had meant to.

“Aubrey”—he said her name with such an aching sadness, a helplessness that made her chest pang—“Aubrey, please don’t cry.”

With a gasp, she held her hand up to her face, catching the tears which had somehow struggled free from her eyes. She hadn’t even realized she was crying. Sniffling, she resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. It was by no means the first time she had cried in front of Kel, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last.

As Kel wrapped his arms around her, she pressed her chin to his shoulder and began to tremble, tightly closing her eyes, trying to will herself not to cry anymore. “I’m sorry,” he said, running a comforting hand through her hair. “I’m really sorry about your parents, but I’m not your dad. I’m not going anywhere.”

“He wasn’t the only one who left.”

Aubrey hadn’t realized she had said those words aloud until she felt Kel’s shoulders stiffen as his arms turned rigid, his hands recoiling from her. The pain that crossed over his stormy eyes as he pulled away from her made her insides twist—a lump forming in her throat. She wished she could shove her thoughtless words back into her mouth.

“Is that what this is about?” he asked, the hitch in his voice betraying that he was far more sad than angry. “You know how much I regret that—how sorry I am that I wasn’t there when you needed me. I was a stupid kid, Aubrey, trying to deal with things way too complicated for a kid to have to deal with. I never wanted to hurt you. I just felt so useless.”

His voice cracked, and he paused, catching his shaking breath before he said apologetically, “I know that’s not an excuse, and if I could do it all over again, I would do everything differently—not just with you but with Hero and Sunny and Basil too. But we don’t get that option, and I don’t think it’s fair for you to hold me to that one mistake, even if it was a big one.”

“Kel, I’m sorry. I’m not…” she began, but she didn’t even know what she was trying to say. She took a long deep breath then admitted, “That hurt me, but I’m not still angry about it. I mean, that time after Mari’s death was…” Something panged and twisted in her chest, even after all this time. She couldn’t find the words to describe it. There were some things in life that were too painful to name. “A really bad time for all of us. It definitely brought out the worst in me, and then after my dad left, I just…I started taking all that out on everybody else, including you, and I’m sorry about that too.”

“It’s okay. I have no hard feelings,” he reassured her, running his hand across her back again. “Things are different now. I’m different and so are you. That was all I was trying to say. We’re not going to make the same mistakes again—at least I know I’m not.”

“I don’t know, Kel…” sighed Aubrey, sniffling with burning eyes. “Sometimes I feel like that angry girl with a nail bat is still in me—still hating the world, pushing everybody away, and trying to protect herself before…” Her voice trailed, but the look in Kel’s eyes told her that she didn’t need to finish that sentence. She fidgeted in her seat, feeling suddenly exposed, vulnerable. Swallowing hard, she changed directions. “I just…I feel like if you knew that, if you really knew that, you wouldn’t want to marry me.”

“That’s not true,” Kel insisted, but Aubrey sighed, tilting her head at him questioningly.

“You’re sure you want to marry a nail-bat girl?” she teased, but her voice hitched and wavered.

“You know I always kind of thought that nail bat thing was badass—even if you did hit me with it a couple of times.” He gave her a reassuring smile before he bantered with a teasing grin. “Wouldn’t it be funny if we got married in that church where we had that fight? Like you’re walking down the aisle, and it’s the same aisle where you—”

“Kel,” she interrupted with a pointed glare, but he merely shrugged as he watched the smile twitching in the corners of Aubrey’s mouth. He always did this—tried to make her laugh with they fought. She twisted her mouth to one side with a somewhat begrudging concession. It usually worked.

“Made you smile though,” he said before his expression softened, and he tilted his head towards her. “I think you’re looking at this the wrong way, Aubrey. Yeah, I mean, I know all about your nail-bat delinquent phase—I was there, so don’t you think that if I really wanted out, that would’ve been it? I mean, if I didn’t really love you, I’d just be like ‘yeah, this girl fought me in a church with a nail bat, so she’s probably not the one…’” he teased with a laugh, and Aubrey stifled a chuckle of her own in spite of herself.

“Would it kill you to take this seriously?” she bantered dryly.

“I am being serious,” he insisted with an expression that was so affectionate and so sincere, it brought a blush to her face. “I love you, Aubrey, and I’m not going anywhere and I’m not changing my mind. I’ve wanted to marry you since like our 5th date.” He laughed, but her brow furrowed. She couldn’t be entirely sure if he was joking or not.

“Our 5th date?” she repeated, quirking an eyebrow at him. “I don’t even think I remember our 5th date.”

Kel chuckled, but his face seemed to light up. “We went to the movies—I don’t remember which one, but afterwards we went for a quick walk in the park. You still had some of your soda left so you were finishing that off on our walk, and I made you laugh so hard that soda came out of your nose.”

Aubrey pressed her palm to her forehead and shook her head as her cheeks burned. “Oh, I remember that. It was so embarrassing.”

“No, it was adorable,” Kel insisted with a bright smile. “And I just remember thinking: ‘I want to make you laugh like that forever.’”

He paused—something ardent and wistful in his eyes. “It was just the first time I really thought about that—us being together forever. I didn’t dwell on it too much, but as time went on, I thought about it again and again, until finally I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.” Reaching out to her, he gently stroked his hand across her damp cheek, catching one of the lingering tears with his thumb. “And I do, Aubrey. I want to spend forever with you—want to settle down and have family, grow old together and someday when we’re both gray and wrinkly, I want to make you laugh so hard that prune juice comes out of your nose…”—he chuckled—“or whatever it is that old people drink. I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

Aubrey laughed, and the words slipped out without her even needing to think about them. “I love you.”

His warm eyes lit up—beaming at her as he gently pushed a piece of hair out of her face, “I love you too, and I will love you forever. That’s why I want to get married. I want to promise you that, promise you that I’m not going anywhere, so we can start the rest of our life together. I know forever is a long time, but I’m not scared of it. Honestly, it really can’t come fast enough.”

“Kel…” She pressed her palm to his cheek, the tips of her fingers tangling in his hair.

“I don’t know what else I can say or do to convince you that I love you and that that isn’t ever going to change. I’m always going to be here—you’re probably going to get sick of me,” he joked with a bright grin before his face softened, something so ardent, so sincere in his eyes as they met hers. Aubrey’s breath caught in her throat. The way he looked at her… She didn’t know what it was that he saw. “At a certain point, you’re just going to have to trust me.”

He let out a breathy chuckle as Aubrey’s hand tangled in the hair on the back of his head. She pulled him towards her, watched as his eyes fluttered closed and he gently cupped her face in his hands. He leaned forward and kissed her, slow and gentle but longing. As her eyes closed, she sighed against his mouth—finally letting go of a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

When they broke apart from each other, Aubrey lingered mere inches from his face. “I do trust you, and I love you, Kel.”

She could feel the warmth of his breath as he laughed. “Enough to marry me?” he teased, and though she could feel the blush in her face, she pressed her palm to his cheek.

“Yes.”

He pulled away sharply, and his eyes widened. “Woah, seriously?” Aubrey’s blush deepened, but she shrugged her shoulders. “You want me to get that ring, now?”

“You really want to propose in your backyard?” she bantered.

Kel’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Usually it’s somewhere more…” She paused trying to think of that right word. “special.”

“Okay, princess,” he teased, rolling his eyes though there was something playful and affectionate in them. “What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know…it would be nice if somebody could get a picture of it.”

“Basil, maybe?” hummed Kel. “But then we’d probably have to invite Sunny and Hero too so they wouldn’t feel left out, so we’d have to find some place that was big enough for them all to hide.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why would they have to hide?”

“Because I want to surprise you.”

Aubrey laughed. “Good luck with that. I already know it’s coming.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know when. Now that you’ve given me the greenlight, I can propose whenever I want,” he bantered, but he beamed at her. “I won’t wait too long though, don’t worry.” He ruffled her hair before she laughed, and he wrapped his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder watching the sun disappear below the trees at the edge of the yard.

“I’m not worried,” she said. And she wasn’t. Not anymore.

#kelbrey #omori baseball #omori baseball bat #omori sunfish #sunfish omori #my writing #i wrote this instead of sleeping #thank you for reading!

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tinylittlepolly · 8 months ago

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First 2 chapters of the OMORI Observer AU are now up to read!

I haven't really talked about this here due to me mostly using this account for g/t, but this is MY AU and it has g/t elements to it so IT COUNTS!!

Earlier today i finished the first 2 chapters of my very own, very first OMORI AU! It does have some g/t themes to it, but the main focus in this AU is on OMORI, who gains the ability to stay present even after SUNNY wakes up. I'm currently working on writing the 3rd chapter which is very close to completion, if you're a fan of OMORI or g/t fanfiction, I definitely recommend you to give it a shot! (Although please don't read it if you haven't played OMORI before, this fic contains heavy spoilers for revelations made near the end of the game.) Thank you for reading, let me know what you think! (Please use the tag "#omori observer au" when posting about it so i can find it more easily!)

(Also thank you to the "now you see me" stanley parable AU for inspiring this in the first place! If you enjoy reading this, you might want to go check it out, it has very similar themes and very nice drawings to accompany them! (the nysm au was made by https://steampoweredwerehog.tumblr.com, go show them some love!))

#omori #omori aus #omori observer au #g/t #sfw g/t #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #omori sunny

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kokichi-tamari · 1 year ago

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I updated this , it’s way more accurate now ^^ 9/24/23

hi there !!

im kokichi or cass or tamari :33

i use they / xe / kit prounouns and im neptunic , happily taken as well <33

im 14 but im fine with any1 intercting , as long as u arent weird.

here’s my card for you guys :33 it’s like super outdated though…

https://cazz13.carrd.co/

MY FANDOMZ / HYPERFIXACTIONZ ;

; danganronpa v3, ghost and pals , project sekai , thorne baker or teenage disaster , the mandela catalouge , lemon demon , roblox myths (specifically selozar , alonetraveler and circus in the sky!) , twf , south park , omori , plush star fever and cloudjumpers comic and pierce the veil !!

i am diagnosed with autism , adhd , spd , bpd , schizophrenia , paranoia and a general depresion n anxiety disorder ! also an undaignosed osdd system of over 50+ alters :)

HOBBIEZ ;

; i write and read fanfic a lot ! i also sing and play guitar :D i watch flamingo on youtube sometimes n ofc i hang out with my friends !!

MUSIC ARTIST WE LIKE ;

ghost and pals , the crane wives , lovejoy , peirce the veil , teenage disaster or spidergang , miracle musical , lemon demon , will wood , odetari , the front bottoms , wilbur soot , penelope scott , carseat headrest , mitski and alex g !! B))

BFI ;

i have extreme paranoia and schizophrenia and gabe (tmc) along with preacher n alternate adam are triggers for me since their all major hallucinations i have.

im a very socially akward person , i find it difficult to start conversations n i always assume ppl are mad at me if they arent using tone tags so PLEASE use them while messaging me :) /nf

we are a system however we will NOT be a circus for u. meaning , we wont force alters to speak to you jst because you like them.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE MOOTS ;

not be a proshipper or comshipper

not racist , abelist , homophobic or anythin along the lines

will be respectful of my bounderies and not comment or send us starnge or gross stuff.

OUR SOCIALZ ;

discord ; kichi.yippee.version

tiktok ; tongues.n.teeth

pintrest ; kichilovezptv

twitter ; cassissilly

ao3 ; hug_all_your_friends

wattpad ; cassyissilly

spotify ; kichi (cringe era XD)

thank ya for reading !! /pos :DD

n if i spelt anything wrong , shh ....

#roblox myths #the mandela catalogue #thorne baker #teenage disaster #flamingo albert #omori #selozar #alonetraveler #looking for friends #ghost and pals #danganronpa

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seven-symbols · 1 year ago

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hey there, I'm only recently migrated to Tumblr from reddit and I'm still learning, so be nice if I do something dumb pls

- 18 years old

- 6 foot / 182 cm tall

- a large amount of shitposting and a bit of horny (okay more than a bit at this point)

- switch I think uhh

- I'm pan but I like boys a lot

- I like being choked but also cuddled?

- petplay, degradation, bondage, biting and stuff, cnc :3

- praise kink and incredibly touch starved

(I need just one hug so bad please)

- I will sex anybody who actually takes interest in my unhinged rants about linguistics/history/video games lmao

hobbies and stuff

- conlanger and languager

- I speak English, fairly good German, Interslavic, Dutch, Norwegian also toki pona and a bit of spanish :3 PIE is yummy too

- several unnamed conlangs of various stages of development

- I like to play Rain World, rdr2, Omori, Project Zomboid, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. & Metro games, Minecraft, and occasionally Terraria, Factorio, The Forest

- I play guitar and drums pretty okay

- otherwise I sometimes like to (try to) cook and I skateboard occasionally

music

- cavetown is probably my favorite musical artist, but I also like:

English:

femtanyl, maidcore in general, fox academy, sipper, Lovejoy, Alex g, Rex orange county, cage the elephant, the front bottoms

Russian:

ssshhhiiittt, buerak, небо над головой, дайте танк, где фантом

German:

AnnenMayKantereit, Cr7z, Edwin Rosen, Die Fantastischen Vier, Rammstein sometimes, Pisse

(why is this the most comprehensive thing of the entire post lmao)

- :3

I hope whoever reads this has a nice day :))

(einen schönen Tag / dobry denj / geniet die dag / tenpo suno pona tawa sina! :3)

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hero-deserves-to-be-happy · 10 months ago

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Under The Weather (A Hero-Centric Sick Fic)

When Hero has to cancel his visit home due to illness, Kel gets worried and calls in some reinforcements to take care of him. Kel knows there is nothing that upsets his brother more than being fussed over and worried about, but maybe he'll let himself be taken care of just this once...

Genre: Sick Fic, Slice of Life and Hurt/Comfort. Friendship and Kel & Hero's Brotherly Love. Post-Good Ending. Self-Indulgent. Hero Deserves To Be Happy.

Characters: Hero (POV Character), Kel (POV Character), and Zoey (OC). Sally and the parents make brief appearances. Mari and Sunny are mentioned.

Relationships: Hero and Kel's Brotherly Bond. Kel and Zoey (OC) Friendship. Hero and Zoey (OC) Friendship [Could be Hero/OC if you really wanted, but this story take place mid-extremely slow burn so they'd swear they're just friends here]. Past Hero/Mari is implied, referenced, and mentioned.

Word Count: 11,886

Rating: G

Warnings: Some hurt/comfort. Some mentions of grief. Mentioned flu and flu-like symptoms. Sick Character. Referenced Canonical Character Death. OMORI SPOILERS. There is a little angst, but it wraps up with brotherly love and Hero actually being happy and taken care of after the good ending (who knew we'd live to see the day...)

⛅This story is part of the "When Sun Shines Again" universe & includes specific references to "Am I Ready For Love? Or Maybe Just A Best Friend" but it should stand-alone and make sense without reading any of that.

A/N: It's my birthday and this is my (Acacia's) self-indulgent present to myself. 😁Thank you for indulging me!

Link to work on AO3. Full text below the cut.

Thank you for reading! 🧡💙☂️

Kel glanced over at the clock, watching as the second hand barely ticked away. He generally wasn’t this distracted or antsy at basketball practice, even when his coach called an emergency practice after school on a Friday when everyone was naturally jittery with anticipation for the weekend. But he couldn’t seem to focus on anything today—found himself zoning out until something collided with the back of his head.

“Ouch!” he yelped, rubbing his hand across the spot the basketball had just bounced off of him. That was definitely going to leave a mark. Some of his teammates snickered while a few offered shrugs of apologies. His coach huffed, crossing his arms clearly unamused.

“What is going on with you today?”

“Sorry, coach,” he mumbled sheepishly—scratching the back of his neck. “My brother’s coming home from college for the weekend, so I guess I’ve been a little distracted.”

His coach frowned. “Well you can run out that distraction by running laps around this gym. 10 laps—go!”

Kel sighed, but he sprinted off for his laps. If he was being perfectly honest, he didn’t mind. If he was lucky, maybe running laps would help time pass faster. He’d try anything that would help time pass faster. Hero was coming home, and he couldn’t wait to see him.

When practice finally wrapped up, he practically sprinted out to his car and, though it likely would have worried his mother, he sped home at, at least, a solid 10 mph above the speed limit. He hoped he hadn’t missed Hero’s arrival—though he knew he had a class this morning and wouldn’t have been able to leave until later in the day, then he had what was probably a 3-hour drive taking traffic into account, so maybe time was on his side.

When he pulled onto his street, he was relieved to see that Hero’s car was not in the driveway, and as he ran through the doorway into the house, he called, “Have you heard from Hero at all?” Do you know what time he’s coming?”

With an affectionate chuckle, his mom looked up from the block structure she had been building with Sally. “Well, welcome home to you too, Kel. Did you have a good day at school? How was basketball practice?”

“It was fine,” he said with a shrug, trying to ignore that lump on the back of his head. “But have you—?”

“Wanna play ‘zoo,’ Kel?” Sally interrupted with a bright smile as she held up some of the colorful, plastic animals he and Hero had bought her for her birthday. “You can have any ammimals you want.” She stared up at him with wide, expectant eyes as she handed him an elephant. Kel smiled, patting his little sister on the head.

“Thanks, Sally. We’ll play in a minute, okay?” He paused, turning back to his mother. “Mom—”

“I haven’t heard from him since this morning. He was supposed to call before he left, but maybe he got busy or forgot,” she cut him off with a slight shake of her head. “I hope he’ll make it back in time for dinner.”

“I’ll call him,” exclaimed Kel reaching for the telephone receiver. As Kel began to dial the number he knew by heart, he stopped—wondering if it would be better to call Hero’s cell phone. They were all still adjusting to the fact that he had gotten one. It made their mother feel safer and more secure, knowing that Hero had a way to call for help in an emergency, but since he had limited, prepaid minutes, they all still usually communicated with him by calling the landline at the fraternity house where he lived. In this case, however, Kel was hoping that Hero was already on his way, in which case, his cell phone would be the best way to get ahold of him.

“What if he’s driving?” sighed Mom as Kel began to flip through the address book they kept near the phone. When he found the number, Kel shrugged.

“Then he won’t answer, and I’ll just leave a message.”

“Tell him about my zoo,” giggled Sally, and Kel nodded. As he held the phone to his ear, the ringing of the telephone mingled with Sally’s best impression of a lion. A smile tugged at his mouth as he watched as his sister began to set her animal toys in the block zoo she had been building with their mother.

He was so distracted he almost didn’t hear the slow, heavy breath followed by a hoarse, groggy, “Hello?”

Kel’s brow furrowed. “Hero? Uh…it’s Kel…” He stumbled over his words, worried he had dialed the wrong number. The person on the other line barely sounded like his brother at all. There was more wheezy breathing as if Hero couldn’t catch his breath, followed by an audible gasp and a stumbling, almost panicky, “Kel? Oh my gosh—what time is it?”

“Um…around 6:00, I think.”

“I’m so sorry,” apologized Hero, sounding like himself again besides the hoarse breathiness of his voice. “I wasn’t feeling well so I lied down to take a nap before I left, and I must have completely lost track of time.” His voice cracked and hitched—raspy and wheezy before he finally burst into a fit of nasty, phlegmy coughing.

“You sound terrible. Are you sick?”

“He’s sick?” interjected their mother bustling around him in a fidgety panic. “What’s wrong? Did he see a doctor? Does he have a fever?”

“I don’t know, Mom,” huffed Kel, but he was promptly cut off by Hero.

“Mom’s there?” There was something concerned and guilty in his already weary voice. “Tell her not to worry. I’m fine. My friends have been passing this bug around. I’m the last one to catch it. I’ll probably be better in a couple days.”

Kel nodded before he realized his brother couldn’t see him; then, he turned to his mom giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “He says all his friends have had this bug. It only lasts a day or two. He’s gonna be fine.”

“Tell him to take medicine, get lots of rest, and drink plenty of water and to keep checking his temperature,” his mother began rambling. “If it reaches 103, he needs to call a doctor or go to urgent care.”

“Mom,” sighed Kel. “Hero’s gonna be a doctor. I’m sure he knows all that.”

“You can hand the phone off to Mom If you want. I’ll talk to her,” Hero weakly interjected before he started coughing again. “I’m really sorry I’ll have to postpone my visit, but I’m not well enough to drive and I wouldn’t want to get you sick.”

“It’s fine, okay? Don’t worry about it. Are you sure you’re alright? That’s a really nasty cough.” Kel bit his lip, trying not to sound nearly as concerned as he felt. His fingers trembled as they gripped onto the receiver. As he looked in his mother’s face, he knew she was worried too and likely for the same reason: Hero never got sick.

“I’m fine,” he insisted but his raspy voice and coughing fit seemed to imply otherwise. “Don’t worry about me. I’m probably just going to make some instant ramen and go to bed.”

“But you hate instant ramen…”

“He’s making instant ramen,” interjected their mother. “Tell him to try to eat something healthier—more hearty like soup.”

“Mom—” Kel began to protest before Hero cut him off with a weary sigh.

“I just didn’t have the energy to make anything else…” Hero’s voice trailed, and Kel swallowed hard.

“Is there someone there who can take care of you?” he asked, and Hero sighed again.

“I don’t want to bother anyone or get them sick. Besides they’re all heading out to this party tonight.” He paused, coughing again. “But it’s fine. I’m really okay, Kel, just a little under the weather.”

Kel sighed heavily. He wished he could believe him, but Hero had always had this way of deflecting and belittling his own problems because he didn’t want people to worry. This had gotten especially bad over the past couple of years. Ever since their fight, it seemed like Hero would never tell him that anything was wrong ever again. Kel’s chest ached. His brother could be dying right now, and he’d have no idea.

“Hero—” He stopped abruptly, unsure of what he even wanted to say. It would probably just be the wrong thing anyway, so it might be better if he just didn’t say anything at all.

“I’m okay, Kel,” Hero gently insisted again. “And I’m sorry…but we’ll see each other another time. Maybe next weekend or the weekend after? Whenever I’m not contagious anymore.”

Kel sighed, but he finally answered, “Yeah…You just take care, okay? Do you want me to put Mom on now?”

Hero hummed, and Kel handed the phone off to their mother who started blustering and prattling away about cold medicine, sponge baths, and electrolytes. Kel didn’t catch most of it, but he did clearly hear, “I wish you had someone up there to take care of you.” Kel let out a long, heavy sigh. He certainly felt the same way, but that definitely wasn’t going to happen. Hero hated asking for help more than he hated instant ramen.

“Is Hero gonna be, okay?” asked Sally, tugging on his arm. Kel gave her a reassuring smile.

“Yeah. He’s just a little sick right now, but he’ll be fine. Then he’ll come visit and see your zoo.” He took Sally’s hand and led her back to the blocks and toys. “Here, I’ll help you with it.”

Helping Sally with her zoo project did not distract Kel nearly as much as he hoped. He was constantly distracted by worries about Hero and how bad his health was—if he was really telling them the whole story. He didn’t usually get sick after all, and he sounded horrible. What if he had a flu or something and needed medical attention? He could at least use someone who could check in on him and make sure he was getting water and enough to eat that wasn’t instant ramen. But Kel wasn’t sure who that would even be. Unless…

Impulsively, Kel raced upstairs to his room to grab the notecard where he had written Hero’s friend Zoey’s phone number after she had offered to let him call her whenever he got stuck on his math homework. Kel had used to call Hero with all his homework trouble, but after Hero himself was stumped by a particularly difficult math problem, his brother had suggested they ask his friend who was an engineering major and, Hero insisted, a math genius. Best of all, she had just so happened to be hanging out with him when Kel had called. Zoey had quickly solved and walked him through the problem, then several others. Then she generously offered that he could call her with any other questions—which he had multiple times. Honestly, he’d probably be failing math right now if it wasn’t for her.

He talked to her all the time, sometimes it seemed, even more than Hero, though Kel often thought he probably got a more accurate account of how Hero was actually doing from her than if he had just asked his brother himself. He could only be told ‘I’m fine, just busy’ so many times before it started sounding automatic and rehearsed. Zoey at least told him the truth: he’s stressed about upcoming exams, busy cooking food for a party his fraternity was hosting, or groggy from staying up all night studying. Kel sighed. He understood if his brother wanted to keep a lot of his life private, but, he’d be lying if he said it didn’t hurt a little to be cut off from his reality by dismissive ‘I’m fine’s. He knew Hero didn’t want him to worry and was likely just trying to protect him from that, but still…he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was his own fault. Hero probably didn’t want to tell him he was stressed out, overwhelmed, or sick because he was worried Kel would just say the wrong thing, just like he had when Hero had gotten so depressed after Mari had died.

Neither of them ever wanted that to happen again so they just didn’t really say much of anything anymore—at least not much of anything that mattered. Sure, they still talked—so much and so often that Kel knew the phone number to Hero’s fraternity house by heart, but it barely scratched the surface, never touched anything deep or meaningful. In a way, it felt hollow, distant—like Hero was only showing him a hazy impression of his life, enough to reassure Kel he was doing okay but not enough that he could feel like he actually knew him anymore, at least not like he had when they were younger and Hero had told him everything. It was getting better—had been over the past two years since they had learned the truth, but…Kel knew things would never go back to the way they were. He should probably be used to that by now. His brother was a very private person, and he probably always would be.

And by the time Kel had dialed the number and listened to two rings of the telephone, he realized with a somewhat sheepish sigh that he probably should have been a little more respectful of that. His hands began to tremble as he clutched onto the receiver—genuinely starting to worry he was crossing a line. Zoey was one of Hero’s best friends, and Hero might be embarrassed to know his younger brother had been calling her to ask if she’d check up on him.

Before he could even begin to consider hanging up, however, someone answered the phone with a “Hello?”

“Hey, uh, this is Kel. Is Zoey there?”

The young woman on the other line laughed. “Scotty, how are you?” she asked, and Kel’s mouth curved into a bright smile. He knew immediately it was her. She was the only person in the world who called him ‘Scotty.’ Zoey had explained to him once it had to do with his talent for fixing things, just like “Scotty the Miracle Man,” a reference to some old tv show Zoey said she had used to watch with her dad. It didn’t bother Kel that he didn’t get the reference. He was honestly just kind of excited to have a nickname. After all, he had never really had one besides ‘Kel’ before and that was just a shortened version of his name. He had always kind of wanted one, just like Hero, but he had never told anyone that before.

“I’m good,” he replied with a chuckle. “You?”

Zoey hummed. “I’m doing okay—been kind of busy. You stuck on your math homework again?”

“Well yeah,” Kel admitted with a shrug. “But that wasn’t why I was calling. Is this a bad time?”

“Nope. Most of my sorority sisters are headed out to this party, so that’s probably what you’re hearing in the background.”

Kel’s brow furrowed. He heard some background chatter and rustling noises, but it was all kind of faint—nothing he would have thought was worth mentioning if Zoey hadn’t brought it up herself. “You’re not going to the party?”

“I have a project due next week, and honestly, parties aren’t really my scene. Don’t tell your brother, but I really don’t think I’d have a good time without him there anyway. We’re usually the only sober ones, and drunk company’s really not all it’s cracked up to be,” she replied dryly, and Kel laughed but shrugged his shoulders.

“Have you talked to Hero at all?”

“Not since yesterday. Did he make it home okay?”

Kel sighed. “He’s not coming. He’s sick.” Kel paused—sighing again and trying not to sound too disappointed. “He called like 45 minutes ago—has this terrible cough. He says he caught some bug or something and isn’t well enough to drive.”

“I knew this would happen,” huffed Zoey though she sounded more guilty than upset. “We’ve all been passing this flu around, and Hero’s been trying to take care of everyone so, of course, he got sick himself.”

“A flu?” interrupted Kel. He shook his head. So Hero had been underexaggerating again…? He should’ve known.

“I’m sure he’s going to be okay,” Zoey reassured him. “He has a really strong immune system—barely ever gets sick. It’s one of the reasons he’s going to be a great doctor. Don’t worry. I had this flu too—got over it in a couple days.”

“He got it from you?” teased Kel, and Zoey laughed.

“Probably from Kyle. They are roommates. But we’ve all had it. Hero’s the last one.” Zoey paused, sighed. “We really didn’t think he was going to get sick.”

“Yeah he uh…usually doesn’t, but he sounded pretty miserable when I talked to him earlier today. Said the only thing he could eat was instant ramen.”

“He hates instant ramen,” Zoey interjected, and Kel shook his head with a sigh.

“I know.” He paused thoughtfully then tried to ask as nonchalantly as he could manage, “Hey…uh…do you think you could bring him over some food or something? Just so he wouldn’t have to keep eating instant ramen. I wouldn’t want you to get sick or anything, but since you already had it, maybe you could just drop it off and maybe check in to make sure he’s doing okay…?” His voice trailed, and he bit his lip as he waited for her answer.

“I’m not much of a cook, Scotty,” chuckled Zoey. “But I could stop by a restaurant or Other Mart to pick up a couple things and drop them off for him. You know it’s only going to make him feel guilty though. He’ll help anybody that needs him without batting an eye, but the minute you try to turn it around and return the favor, it’s suddenly a big deal.”

Shaking his head slightly, Kel sighed. “Yeah…that’s just Hero for you.”

When Zoey sighed herself, Kel imagined she was shaking her head with the same somewhat affectionate exasperation, but she hummed thoughtfully. “I’m sure he’s feeling pretty miserable right now, and not just because he’s sick. He’s been so excited to see you—talked about practically nothing else for the past couple weeks.”

“Really?” The question slipped out before Kel could stop it, and his face flushed. Luckily, she couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, of course,” Zoey chuckled like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I don’t know if I’ve ever known anyone who’s so excited to see his brother. I mean, I love my brother, but the way Hero talks about you—it’s like you’re the most important person in the whole world, his best friend.”

“I don’t think I’m his best friend anymore,” mumbled Kel without thinking.

“Hey…” Zoey’s tone of voice softened—something gentle and sympathetic in it. “If you’re talking about me or Kyle or Brandi, C.J., Lorraine, Tamra…yeah, we’re all Hero’s friends and we all care about him, but none of us are you. And we’re never going to be you, Scotty. You’ll always be number one.”

“I dunno,” sighed Kel. He was pretty sure he lost that spot when he was insensitive, said all the wrong things after Mari died—when he hurt his brother, broke him.

“I don’t really know if it’s my place to say but…” Zoey began tentatively, but she let out a conceding sigh. “You know the only time I ever really see Hero happy is when he talks about you—about how amazing you are and how proud he is. His face just lights up, and he smiles for real—it actually reaches his eyes.”

Kel’s face grew warm, but he stifled a chuckle. It was funny to hear her say that considering he would have said the exact same thing about her. They all would have. It was Sunny who had noticed it first, actually, on account of the fact he lived in the city and Hero often invited him to hang out with him and his friends. Kel would never forget how he had excitedly told him, Aubrey, and Basil all about what it had been like to see Hero smile again. They almost hadn’t believed him, but then Hero had come home on a break and told him about how he got caught in the rain with some friend of his, a spunky engineering major who thankfully had a red umbrella. In the middle of his story, Hero’s face had lit up and he had smiled just like Sunny had said, a real smile that actually reached his eyes. Kel’s chest ached just thinking about it—about how much he wished his brother would smile like that all time, about how much he wished he would be happy again.

Kel took a long, deep breath. Could it really be possible that Hero smiled like that when he talked about him too? He couldn’t really believe that. Not after everything that had happened.

“He really loves you, you know?” Zoey continued quietly, and Kel fidgeted. Could she read his mind or something? “If the situation was reversed and you were sick and he was hours away, he’d be calling your friends too—having Aubrey and Basil go check up on you and make sure you’re doing okay. He’d probably be calling your parents all the time for updates too. Everyone in Faraway Town would be keeping an eye on you for him.”

Something twisted in Kel’s chest, and his eyes fluttered closed as he took a deep breath. “Please don’t tell him I’m worried.” His voice hitched over his words—quiet, small, like he was that little boy cowering in the corner watching Hero break again.

“You can tell him yourself,” Zoey gently encouraged. “I’m sure he—”

“You know about our fight, right?” Kel interrupted without thinking. He swallowed hard—the only sound during the long, heavy pause which followed. It probably crossed a line to ask that. He didn’t even know if she knew, but Hero had told him he had told Zoey about Mari, had told her a lot of things that he didn’t think he’d ever tell anyone. It wouldn’t have surprised Kel if their fight was one of them.

“Yes,” Zoey finally admitted—quiet, matter-of-fact. “He told me.”

Kel huffed lightly, breathily almost a disbelieving laugh. “Then you know why I can’t just call him up and tell him I’m—” His voice hitched, and he stopped abruptly.

“Kel—” she began to protest, but he cut her off.

“And you also know that it’s all my fault that we’re not—” He stopped abruptly—the words getting caught in the back of his throat. He shut his eyes tightly and swallowed hard.

“That’s not the story he told me.”

Something twisted in Kel’s chest. He couldn’t imagine what else his brother could have possibly said. Even if Hero had tried his best to protect him with his account and paint him in a better light so Zoey wouldn’t hate him, he couldn’t change the fact that it was his pushy and insensitive words that had broken him, right? He was the one who had made him feel guilty, made him feel like it was his fault he was so depressed, like he could just snap out of it somehow, like he wasn’t doing enough, and worst of all, like he was disrespecting Mari. He was the one who had said all the wrong things, who hadn’t been sensitive or kind enough like Hero himself would have been if the situation had been reversed. He was the one who said this wasn’t what Mari would have wanted, and he was the one who watched while those words broke his brother. He was the one who had broken him.

No version of the story Hero could have possibly told anyone could have changed that, but he supposed it was really none of his business.

“You know, Kel,” Zoey continued with a heavy sigh. “Sometimes we put up walls between ourselves and the people we love because we’re afraid of hurting them. It doesn’t mean we don’t love them—it just means we don’t know how.”

Kel’s chest ached, but he swallowed hard. “And you’re saying Hero’s like that?” He paused, and the words slipped out before he could stop them. “With you?”

“With everyone.” She hadn’t missed a beat. Kel supposed he admired that about her. She could be so honest but so kind too, and she knew Hero so well. Kel could tell that she cared about him and was a good friend. Both she and Hero vehemently insisted they were nothing more than that, and Kel believed them—which is why his question probably crossed a line, why Zoey felt compelled to add, “Not just me. You know that we’re not—”

“Yeah, sorry,” stumbled Kel interrupting as he shifted and fumbled around with the phone in his hands. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I just—”

“It’s okay,” she thankfully cut him off. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t getting the wrong idea. We get teased enough as it is by our friends—I can tell it bothers him. He won’t say, but I know it’s a touchy subject…”

“Do you think he’ll ever…uh…you know…?” he stumbled over the question, feeling guilty for even asking though he was desperate to hear another opinion that wasn’t the dismal ones he, Aubrey, Basil, and Sunny could generally come up with. Given the way he had tripped over his words, he wasn’t sure she’d even understand what he was trying to say, but she sighed.

“Honestly…I don’t know.” She paused thoughtfully. “But I do know that he’s not ready right now.”

Kel’s brow furrowed. That wasn’t exactly the answer he was expecting. “He told you that?” he asked before he could stop himself.

There was a long pause before Zoey answered, “Yes.” Her voice was matter-of-fact, pragmatic, and unreadable, but she sighed heavily. “Scotty, if you want to talk to Hero I feel like you should. He’s your brother. You should be hearing all this stuff from him—not me. It’s really none of my business.”

“He won’t talk to me.” Kel’s face flushed. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Zoey sighed.

“Kel…”

“It’s fine. It’s just…the way it is, you know?” he shrugged, swallowing hard. “He wouldn’t even tell me how sick he was.”

“He didn’t want you to worry.”

Kel huffed. “Well, I did anyway.”

“I’ll go check on him, okay?” Her voice softened—kind and sympathetic, almost reassuring. “But he’s going to be fine. Don’t worry. Then, I’ll call you later and tell you all about how he’s feeling better already.” She paused chuckling. “Okay?”

Kel sighed, but he shrugged his shoulders conceding, “Okay.”

“Good. Now what’s that math problem you’re stuck on?”

Kel snorted a laugh in spite of himself. “You think we have time for that?”

“Unless you want me to tell your brother you called specifically to ask me to check up on him, then yeah—I’m gonna have to actually help you with your homework,” she quipped dryly. “I think there’s a special place in hell for the kind of person who’d lie to Hero.”

Reaching for his math textbook, Kel laughed. “Alright…Well in that case, it’s another one of those functions…”

*-*-*

Wearily rubbing his eyes, Hero groaned. He was so exhausted it took all of his strength just to roll over onto his side so he could reach his bottle of water. He knew it was important for him to stay hydrated, even without his mother reminding him, and was truthfully desperate for something to drink given how hoarse and sore his throat was after he had just woken up.

Coughing, he managed to take a few sips before he sunk back down into his bed. Sunny had once rated it a 9 out of 10, but now Hero would probably rate it an 11, the most comfortable bed on earth. He never wanted to leave it ever, ever again—but that was probably just the flu talking.

Hero couldn’t remember the last time he had had the flu. He rarely ever got sick. Contracting what he had originally thought was a cold was a surprise enough, but he had just chalked it up to being a little under the weather and tried to push through it—until he had crashed that afternoon after a coughing fit—chilled, aching, and too tired to even move. By the time he woke up to answer Kel’s call, he was honestly miserable—phlegmy, wheezy, shivering, and so feverish he could barely put a sentence together. Even now, his head throbbed, and his thoughts were cloudy and muddled. He felt disoriented and too exhausted to even think too hard.

Hero sighed. He should probably take his temperature again—make sure it wasn’t too dangerously high. It barely took any time at all for the thermometer to ding—flashing a whopping 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Hero took a long, deep breath, or at least as deep as he could manage given his nasty cough. A fever that high certainly explained why he felt so crummy. He reached for some tissues and blew his nose before he coughed again. It would probably be best if he just went back to sleep.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they finally started drooping closed, but Hero was distracted by rustling noises he heard downstairs. His brow furrowed. He thought his entire fraternity was out at a party. Had someone come back early?

The sound of footsteps walking up the stairs echoed through the hallway, followed by a knock on the door to his room.

“Uh…Come in…?” Hero mumbled unsurely in a hoarse voice before he coughed again. He tilted his head at the door as it swung open, and Zoey walked in with two bags—one paper, one plastic.

“You look terrible,” she teased dryly, but her freckled nose wrinkled as she smiled at him brightly enough that it reached her green eyes.

“Zoey?” Hero stumbled slowly, breathily. He rubbed his head—unsure if he was seeing things. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were sick so I brought you some soup and a Hero sandwich but I put that in the refrigerator since I thought you probably weren’t up for solid food yet.” She reached into the paper bag and took out a plastic spoon and a to-go container of soup from his favorite soup and sandwich place in the city.

“Thank you…” Hero’s voice trailed as he struggled to catch his breath.

“It was nothing, especially compared to the homemade soup you made me when I was sick.” With a thoughtful hum, she ran her hand through her short, red hair and began fumbling around in the plastic bag. “I’ve also got you some sports drinks, water, cough drops, tissues, tea, and VapoRub.”

“You really didn’t have to do that…” Hero insisted in a raspy whisper. “How much do I owe you?”

Zoey waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. It’s my co-op semester so I’m basically rolling in money.” She chuckled lightly. “Plus, I wanted to do this for you. What are friends for, right? And I mean, I’m the reason you got sick.”

Hero shook his head weakly as he took a long breath. “No, you’re not.”

“Right. Sorry. It was all of us,” Zoey corrected with a lopsided twitch of her mouth. “And your lack of boundaries.”

Hero chuckled lightly in spite of himself, but it quickly turned into coughing. As Zoey scrambled to get him some water, he managed to choke out, “Sorry…”

Zoey tilted her head handing him the water to drink. “For what?”

Hero shrugged, but he took a few sips. “I don’t want to get you sick.”

“I’ve already had it. I’ll be fine.” She sighed with a pointed tilt of her head. “You take this ‘hero’ stuff way too seriously, you know? It’s not gonna kill you to let someone take care of you every once and awhile.” She pushed his desk chair next to his bedside and took a seat. “Now you just sit back, relax, and take easy, okay? Mama’s here.”

“I thought I was ‘Mama’,” he teased—dry and breathy. He wouldn’t have had the energy to argue with Zoey on the best day but especially not when he was so rundown and miserably ill like this, so instead he chose to banter. Mama was the nickname his roommate and Zoey’s long-time best friend Kyle had given him back in their freshman year, after all, so it seemed appropriate.

A smile tugged at Hero’s chapped lips as he watched Zoey laugh. Something warm spread through his aching chest knowing he had made her smile.

“Hey, I was ‘Mama’ before you were,” she bantered back. “But don’t worry I won’t tell Kyle.” She twisted her mouth to the side, but her expression softened as she reached out to take his hand. Frowning, she shook her head. “Your hands are so clammy.”

“Sorry…” mumbled Hero as she pushed some sweaty hair out of his face—pressing her palm to his forehead.

“You’re burning up. You have a thermometer?”

Hero nodded—then weaky motioned to his bedside table where his thermometer was sitting amongst a bunch of tissues. “I just took it. It’s 102.2.”

Zoey’s brow furrowed. “When do we call a doctor?”

Hero shrugged. “Probably if it’s over 103…” His breathy voice trailed wearily. “But there’s things you can try to bring it down before then.”

“Like a cold sponge bath like in a movie?” asked Zoey, her mouth quirking to the side. Hero shook his head.

“You want it lukewarm—not cold. If it’s cold, the blood vessels will constrict, and the body will hold onto heat…” He sighed then coughed into his elbow. After he managed to catch his breath, he added, “But tepid water is good. You can take a wet rag and use it to sponge the back of the neck or the forehead—the arms and torso would help too.”

“You want me to go get one?”

Hero’s face flushed, finally realizing what he had said and that it had come out in a way he hadn’t intended. “No, uh… I meant ‘you’ in the impersonal sense. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

Her mouth curved into a slight smile. “I’m happy to help.”

“I know,” he said, but he fidgeted, something almost bashful in his expression. “But I uh…I wouldn’t want you to have to see me…uh…”—his voice cracked and he mumbled—“shirtless.”

Zoey chuckled. “You’re adorable, you know that?” she teased. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. We’ve been to the beach how many times and you’re a lifeguard for goodness sakes. You can’t possibly be that self-conscious.”

“That’s different. That was the beach or the pool—this is…” He could feel his ears burning. “my room. We’re alone here, and—”

“And you’re sick. It’s all medical. Surely, I don’t need to explain that to you, future doctor.” She crossed her arms with a pointed look, before she clicked her tongue and bantered, “Yes, we all know you’re very attractive, Mr. Prince, but you kind of look like death warmed over right now. It’s nothing to get worked up over.”

Hero choked, then coughed repeatedly—phlegmy and guttural, definitely not attractive in the slightest. As he hacked and lurched forward, Zoey patted him on the back, firm but gentle before she rubbed her hand across his shoulders.

“Woah. Woah. Take it easy. I was just teasing you.” Her voice was soft and kind, and there was something so gentle in her eyes as she met his and apologized. “Sorry.”

Hero’s insides twisted. He could tell he had worried her, and he couldn’t stand it. He never wanted anyone to worry about him—especially not his friends.

“No. It’s okay,” he insisted when he finally caught his breath, but his words got jumbled and muddled in his foggy brain and scratchy throat. “I…I know you were... It’s just…that’s not what I meant. I was just…embarrassed. I mean you’ve already had to see me in my pajamas.” Hero stared down at his pajama shirt and pulled on the collar as his face burned and not just from the fever.

“Your grandpa pajamas?” Zoey teased dryly. His face flushed, but he nodded. Chuckling lightly, Zoey shook her head. “You do realize I’ve seen Kyle in his underwear more times than I’d care to admit, right? This is nothing. And besides, I’ve already seen them before.”

“You’ve”—Hero’s voice cracked—“seen my pajamas?”

“Well not in person, but Sunny drew me a picture of you in them.”

“Sunny drew you a picture of me in my pajamas?” Hero repeated incredulously in a disbelieving, hoarse voice.

Zoey shrugged but answered matter-of-factly. “He only draws you in your pajamas. He draws everybody in pajamas. You know, the last time I saw him he asked me about my pajamas so he could draw me in pajamas too.”

“Why—?” Hero’s voice hitched—cut off by an awkward laugh and wheezy coughing. “Why would he do that?”

“No idea. You tell me.” She paused, but Hero could only shrug his shoulders. Sunny was a talented artist, but Hero would be lying if he said he understood a lot of his abstract pieces or the reasoning behind them. Zoey’s guess as to why Sunny wanted to draw everyone in pajamas was as good as his, he supposed. “But I’m pretty sure he always draws you in these exact pajamas—long sleeves, button down shirt, stripes. I remember thinking ‘why does Sunny think Hero wears grandpa pajamas?’ but clearly it’s because you do.”

Hero chuckled lightly but tilted his head at her. “What’s wrong with my pajamas?”

“Nothing—if you’re over the age of 70,” bantered Zoey. “If you’re not, I don’t think anyone’s worn pajamas like these since the 1950s, but I guess you were always a Wally Cleaver type, huh?”

As his face burned, Hero sighed. “I don’t think I’m as charming as Wally Cleaver, and I’m definitely not as athletic as him. And he had all those girlfriends…”

“That’s a moot point,” Zoey interrupted, waving her hand at him. “Wally wanted all those girlfriends—you don’t. If you did, you absolutely could have them.”

“I’m sure that’s not—” Hero began as his blush deepened, but Zoey cut him off again.

“No, it is. Every girl in my sorority house would date you in a heartbeat,” she replied bluntly—pragmatic as if it was a well-known fact, but her mouth curved into a lopsided grin as she dryly teased. “You are Mr. Prince, after all.”

“Tamra has a boyfriend…” Hero protested—weak but somewhat playful.

Zoey sighed, rolling her eyes. “Well okay…not Tamra then...”

“Or you,” he quietly added, but Zoey’s mouth twitched into a lopsided smile.

“I don’t know, Mr. Prince. If you were actually interested in me, I think I’d have to seriously consider it—especially now that I’ve seen you in your grandpa pajamas.” She beamed at him with a bright, teasing grin before she let out a short, playful whistle.

Hero blushed before he buried his burning face in his hands. “Zoey…”

Before either of them could say anything more, however, they were interrupted by a distant, shrill whistling sound.

“That’s the kettle,” said Zoey. “I’ll be right back with some tea for you.”

“You really don’t have to—” Hero began to weakly protest, but she cut him off with a pointed stare.

“I don’t want to hear it, Henry.”

Hero paused. It still caught him off guard every time she used his real name. It wasn’t too often that she did—only when she wanted to tell him to stop being a ‘hero.’ It was her way of reminding him to take care of himself, reminding him that it was okay if he was just ‘Henry’ for a while. If Hero was being honest, it meant a lot to him to know someone cared enough to tell him that. Zoey had been telling him that for years now, but she only started calling him ‘Henry’ to do it after he had told her about Mari.

To this day he wasn’t sure why exactly he had told her in the first place besides the fact she had sort of figured it out on her own, but he was grateful that he had told her the truth, had finally been able to share that with someone. He would never forget the way she had cried for him—held him, told him that she wished he and Mari had gotten their forever. He had been so stunned, so moved by her empathy and kindness, that he had just panicked—trying to apologize for making her sad, for making her cry. After a lot of back and forth of him apologizing profusely and her gentle reassurances that it was okay, she had finally just cut him off in that spunky little way of hers. “No. None of that, Henry,” she had said with a pointed emphasis on his real name, trying her best not to smile as she said it for possibly the first time. Even so, she had insisted, “I’m serious. I’m going to keep calling you that until you stop that. Stop being a ‘Hero’—stop worrying about everybody else for just a second. It won’t kill you to be a little selfish for once…and it’ll honestly make the rest of us look better.”

Hero chuckled lightly to himself just thinking about it. She certainly kept her word—pulled his real name out for that reason whenever she felt he needed reminding of that. There was always a certain warmth and a flutter in his chest whenever he heard her say it.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he stifled a laugh, and the way her lips twitched in the corners made him realize she was trying not to laugh now too. Could it be that even after all this time, it still felt a little unnatural, a little awkward for her to call him that? After all, she generally called him ‘Hero’ or if she was feeling playful or cheeky ‘Mr. Prince.’

Hero’s chuckling was soon drowned out by coughing again, and Zoey patted his back and handed him tissues, water, and a cough drop until he finally calmed again.

“Still think you don’t need me?” she quipped, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he admitted quietly.

Her smile widened before she gave him one final pat on the back then took off down the stairs. “I’ll be right back with the tea.”

Hero took a long, shaky breath, trying his best to stay awake as he waited for her to return. His mind was feeling hazy again—sluggish and foggy from fever and exhaustion, but a question nagged at him. How had Zoey known he was sick? Yes, she was very perceptive, and there had certainly been times he was almost convinced she had to be a mind reader but…he hadn’t been that ill when he talked to her last. He supposed Kyle could have said something, but as far as Hero knew, Kyle had just assumed he was napping not battling with a flu.

“Here’s your tea,” said Zoey, swiftly reappearing with a warm mug, a gift from his fraternity brothers that read ‘World’s Best Mama.’ Hero laughed every time he saw it, though this time it came out more like a breathy wheeze then a cough. “It’s lemon and echinacea since you’re sick. I put a little honey in it for you too.”

Hero smiled as she handed him the cup. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised. Zoey was one of his best friends. She probably knew more about him than anyone else—of course, that would extend to knowing how he took his tea. But it wouldn’t extend to knowing he was sick, would it?

“Thank you,” he mumbled, taking a sip of his cup of tea before he took a long, shaky breath. “Hey…Zoey?”

“Yeah?”

“How did you know I was sick?” Hero swallowed hard—then coughed again. Zoey tilted her head pointedly at him.

“It’s kind of obvious,” she quipped—deflecting. Hero sighed. He knew a lot about that himself.

“Yeah…but did someone tell you? Ask you to check up on me?”

Zoey sighed heavily, but she finally admitted. “Yes. Scotty mentioned it when he called me earlier. He said you were too sick to drive home this weekend so you had to cancel your trip.”

Hero blinked at her. It took a minute for the words she had said to register. Scotty was her nickname for Kel, some reference he had never quite gotten himself, but it seemed to make his brother happy to have a nickname. Hero’s head ached. His brother…? “Kel?” he asked in a weary confusion. “Kel called you?”

Zoey nodded. “I helped him with his math homework.”

Hero swallowed hard. Somehow he knew that wasn’t the entire truth. The thought made something twist in his chest. He bit his lip as he quietly asked, “Is he worried about me?”

“What do you think?” Zoey paused, but from the look she was giving him now, Hero knew the answer, if he hadn’t already. “You two are a lot alike you know—you both worry about each other but won’t really say.”

“I don’t want Kel to worry...” The words slipped out without him really thinking about them—honest, vulnerable, real. The feverish haze was loosening his tongue, it seemed. Hero’s brow furrowed. He didn’t like it for the same reasons he didn’t like drinking. It felt like losing control—only this time, he didn’t have the energy to care too much.

“Then I don’t think not telling him anything is the answer,” Zoey replied. “Kel’s pretty smart, you know? He knows something’s wrong even when you won’t say—knew you were way sicker than you let on. He asked if I could stop by and check on you.”

Hero’s face flushed. He couldn’t really process what she was saying, “Kel did that?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

Hero swallowed hard. He met her eyes—hoping the look in them would say louder than any words that she already knew why. Ever since their fight, he had felt Kel slipping away—walking on eggshells around him like he was scared he was fragile and would snap again. No matter what he did to try to reassure Kel that he was okay and that he would never lash out at him like that ever again, Hero couldn’t shake the feeling that he was losing his brother. He tried his best to stay connected—talking to him all the time, planning trips home to visit him, even letting him stay with him in the city, and even though things had been getting better since they had learned the truth two years ago, Hero knew that they would never be the same. They could never be the same, not anymore. Not after…

“I really hurt him…” Hero’s voice cracked—breathy, dazed, but heart-wrenchingly guilty even all these years later.

He hadn’t realized he had said that aloud, until Zoey gently reassured him, “And you apologized and moved on. That’s all, in the past now. I don’t think Kel holds it against you at all.” She paused, sighed. “What if he’s sitting around, saying the same thing—worrying the same thing…?”

Hero’s chest ached, but he shook his head. “No, I…”

“Hero,” Zoey sighed, cutting him off. “If there’s distance between you and Kel, it’s only because the two of you won’t just talk to each other. If you did, maybe you’d realize you’re both scared of the exact same thing, and that it’s not worth being worried about. You had one fight. It doesn’t mean your relationship is just broken forever.”

“It was a really big fight,” Hero gently protested, swallowing hard before he tried to catch his breath. “There are some things you just can’t come back from.”

“And I can promise you, this is not one of them.” She reached out and took his hand again, holding it tightly until he looked up at her and her reassuring green eyes. “You should hear the way Kel talks about you. It’s constant—all the time, no matter what we’re talking about. We’ll be working on polynomial functions and suddenly he’ll just start going on and on about how you always got all As on your report card or how you jumped into a lake to save Sunny and Basil or how you won some hot dog eating contest. He polishes all your trophies while you’re away at school. He’d be the first to tell you that you are the kindest, most amazing person he’s ever known, and he wants to be just like you. You’re his hero—no pun intended. And nothing you could possibly say could change that—could change how much he looks up to you.”

Hero’s face flushed red—he could feel the tips of his ears burning as he turned away from her staring down at his duvet. “He…he said all that?”

“He didn’t have to. Scotty wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s obvious, and honestly you only have to talk to him for five minutes to know how important you are to him. It honestly makes me wonder a little about what Jared and Lorraine say about me—probably nothing nice,” she chuckled teasingly with an affectionate roll of her eyes. “I can almost guarantee you; most people are not talking about their siblings like they’re actual saints behind their backs.”

Hero chuckled lightly, but his expression softened—something warm spreading through his chest as he thought about Kel. Could that really be true?

He sighed, pushing the thought away—grateful for the opportunity Zoey had given him to change the subject to her own family. Hero knew that wasn’t her intention, but he was taking the opportunity anyway. No matter how easy Zoey was to talk to and how many private and difficult things he had told her about himself, he still didn’t like to be the center of conversation and would never enjoy talking about himself. Zoey didn’t enjoy that either, so he wouldn’t want to put her on the spot, but this was about her siblings, right?

Hero didn’t know Zoey’s younger brother Jared very well, but he didn’t really seem like the type to have many nice things to say about anyone, but her twin sister, Lorraine, was also a good friend of his. They often knitted or did arts and crafts together during which time Lorraine tended to gush about her sister in a way Hero found very sweet and endearing. He hoped Lorraine wouldn’t mind if he told her that.

“Lorraine has nothing but nice things to say about you,” he admitted with a slight smile. “She’s always telling me how smart, driven, and beautiful you are. How you’re strong and honest but so kind, so much softer than you want people to know. She says you’d make a great girlfriend.” Hero blushed. That last part had just slipped out—he probably wouldn’t have said it, if he wasn’t so feverish, but Zoey just laughed.

“Lorraine said that to you?” She sighed, rolling her eyes somewhat affectionately but the look in them was genuinely guilty. “Sorry. I’ll talk to her.”

As he coughed, Hero shook his head. “No, it’s…it’s okay. She’s right…” His voice trailed, distant and breathy, but he couldn’t stop the words that tumbled out of his mouth, “You are all of those things, and if you did ever want to date someone, that person would be very lucky…”

“Not nearly as lucky as the person who gets your heart, Mr. Prince.”

Even though Hero was sure she was only teasing him, his face flushed anyway—burning to the tips of his ears. He pursed his lips together, then stared down at his hands on the duvet. “It’s pretty broken…I’m not sure it’s much of a prize anymore,” he mumbled, trying his best to play along despite the sadness that crept into his words.

He bit his lip, but he felt her warm, gentle hand reach out to take his. He couldn’t look at her face, but he felt her squeeze his hand, heard her voice—quiet but sincere. “I don’t think that’s true.”

As he took a long, shallow breath, Hero shivered, but he wasn’t sure it was from the fever. Zoey let go of his hand immediately.

“You’re trembling. Let’s get you another blanket,” she said, turning towards Kyle’s bed. “You can have Kyle’s. He won’t mind.”

“It’s okay. I have a quilt…It’s under the bed.” Hero struggled to catch his breath as he leaned forward, trying to pull himself out of bed to look for it, but Zoey gently reached out her hand to stop him.

“I’ll get it,” she insisted; then she pulled the quilt out of one of the plastic bins under Hero’s bed—unfurling it then tucking it around him, all the way up to his chin. With a sigh, she ran her hand across the carefully stitched pattern of bright orange and yellow marigolds. “It’s beautiful.”

“My Tía Gloria made it for me after Mari died.” The words just slipped out—automatic, unfiltered. Hero flushed. He hadn’t meant to say that—probably wouldn’t have to anyone else, maybe not even to her if he was a better state.

“Oh Hero…” Zoey began quietly, but Hero cut her off with a fit of coughing that upset his blankets. Zoey pat his back again, but he could feel her tender hand running across his shoulders long after he had stopped coughing.

“Zoey…I…” he began, hoping the words would come to him if he just started talking, but thankfully she cut him off.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything—unless of course, you want to,” she paused, blinking at him with a soft expression in her eyes. “But I don’t need explanations, especially not now when you’re sick.”

Hero sighed in relief, and hoped the look in his eyes would convey the gratitude he didn’t quite have the strength to express at the moment. “Thank you...”

“Don’t mention it,” shrugged Zoey. “You look tired. You want me to go?”

“You can stay if you want—maybe watch a movie…?”

Zoey smiled, but as she glanced over at the tv and shelves of tapes which, naturally almost all belonged to Kyle, she teased. “Let me guess: the choices are raunchy comedy or sports biopic?”

Hero chuckled, lightly, breathily. Zoey certainly knew Kyle and his movie collection very well. He supposed he would expect that given how long the two of them had been friends. “We rented The Godfather from Blockbuster.”

“That’s not bad,” hummed Zoey. “But if we’re talking about Brando’s mob movies, On The Waterfront is better.”

A smile twitched in the corners of Hero’s mouth. “I have that one.”

“Really?” Zoey asked, her brow furrowing, and Hero nodded. “So you really do like old black-and-white movies after all, huh? Here I was thinking you were all talk.”

Hero let out a few chuckling heavy breaths, then swallowed hard. Finally, he took a sip of water trying to cool the burning of his hoarse throat. “I only have a few tapes. Most are in color, but I have some black-and-white.” He paused—shutting his eyes as he tried to clear his head—sifting through the fogginess to focus on his tape collection until he could picture it in the feverish haze of his mind. “Casablanca, Roman Holiday, It’s A Wonderful Life, 12 Angry Men, Christmas in Connecticut…”

“You do not have Christmas in Connecticut over there,” Zoey interrupted in disbelief.

Hero took a deep breath, but he nodded. “It’s on the bottom shelf.”

“I’ve never met another person who has even heard of that movie,” laughed Zoey, but Hero just shrugged, pulling the quilt up around his shoulders again.

“It’s one of my favorites. Always makes me laugh. I love the scene where she tries to flip the flapjacks and the pancake sticks to the ceiling.” Hero laughed then, par for the course, coughed.

“It’s one of my mom’s favorite movies too,” Zoey said as he handed him his water, giving him a firm but gentle pat on the back for good measure. “I used to wonder if that was because the main character falls in love with a navy guy.”

“Like your dad…?” asked Hero, worrying only after the fact that it was a prying question. He didn’t know much about Zoey’s father except that he was an admiral in the navy, and, according to Kyle, particularly stern, serious, and somewhat frightening. Zoey, however, only shrugged.

“I don’t know. I think my dad is a lot rougher around the edges than Jefferson Jones.” Her lips curved into a smile. “Jefferson’s pretty soft—quite the catch actually: sincere, generous, kind, domestic…and he can play piano.”

Hero’s brow furrowed, and he stumbled in confusion, “Is…that a…?”

“Perk?” Zoey finished for him. Then she chuckled dryly and nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Are you just saying that because you know I can play?” asked Hero dryly, but his mouth twitched in the corners.

“You know I’ve never actually heard you play before,” she teased back. “You could be terrible. In which case, it wouldn’t be a perk at all—more like a deterrent.”

Hero chuckled lightly. “I probably am terrible. I’m really rusty, and out of practice.”

“Well, we’ll never know for sure will we.” Her mouth curved into a lopsided grin before her expression softened. “Though Scotty told me you used to be quite the pianist—had a lot of fun with it. What did you used to play when you were in practice?”

“Nothing too complicated. I…I think my favorite song to play was ‘Vienna.’”

“Billy Joel?” asked Zoey, and Hero hummed. “That has a great piano part.”

“Yeah it’s pretty fun. I’ve always been a fan.”

“I can see that…” teased Zoey glancing over at the stack of CDs on Hero’s bedside table. Cold Spring Harbor was on the top—probably because Hero had been listening to a particular song on it on repeat. His face flushed as he thought about why, but he swallowed hard and shrugged his shoulders, trying his best to push the thought away.

“I used to annoy Kel with it a little, I think,” he admitted. “I played it over and over. He once threw a pillow at me while I was practicing and yelled ‘Don’t you know any other songs?’” Hero chuckled breathily, and Zoey laughed.

“When was the last time you played it?”

“I dunno. It’s been years…had to have been before Mari died.” He paused—catching his breath, but he kept talking, almost like he couldn’t stop. “I haven’t really played anything since then. I played a few bars on her piano before her family moved away, but…” His voice hitched, and his chest ached—panging in that all too familiar space in his heart that Mari had left behind. “You know I…honestly I learned to play piano because she loved it. I enjoyed it sure—it was fun, but Mari…Mari was the one who had real passion for music and I guess…I just wanted to be part of that. After she died, I just…I didn’t want to play anymore—didn’t want to play without her.”

Hero stopped—his face flushing. He hadn’t meant to say all of that. Talking about Mari with Zoey was getting easier—clearly, but he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, just like he wasn’t sure if he would have even said all of that if he hadn’t been sick or feverish. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her, to know that he made the smile disappear from her face, made something sad pass over her eyes.

“I’m sorry…” he began to apologize. “I keep talking about her…” Swallowing hard, he stared down intently at his quilt—running his hands over the thoughtfully embroidered orange and yellow marigolds—a symbol of hope, remembrance, a connection that endures even after death.

“It’s okay, Hero…” said Zoey, quiet, gentle as she reached out to pat his hand. “And it’s okay if you never want to play piano again either. You don’t have to. It’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

Hero took a long breath, watching as Zoey’s fingers slipped between his. He curled his hand catching hers—intertwining their fingers, holding on tightly to her. “I’d play for you if you wanted…”

“I know you would,” Zoey replied with a tilt of her head and a kind smile. “And as much as I would love to hear you play piano, I’d only want you to play because that’s what you wanted—not because you felt obligated. Someday if you see a piano and you just feel like playing, I hope you will and then you can call me and play for me, but don’t force yourself. It should be something that makes you happy, like it used to.”

Hero’s chest ached, but he managed the twitch of a bantering smile as he asked dryly, “How else will I pay you back for taking care of me when I was sick?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Our debts are paid,” she insisted with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You took care of me first remember, and besides I’ve already gotten my reward which is getting to see you in your grandpa pajamas,” she teased winking playfully at him.

“Zoey!” Hero burst into a fit of laughter mixed with intense, nasty coughing.

“If you’re going to have a coughing fit every time you laugh, do you really think we should watch this movie?” she quipped, but Hero shrugged.

“It’s fine. I’m probably just going to fall asleep anyway.”

Chuckling, Zoey got up from her seat and put the tape into the VCR with a “Okay. Whatever you say” then she curled up on the edge of Kyle’s bed—pulling her knees to her chest as she leaned back into his mountain of throw pillows.

Hero chuckled a little himself before his weary eyes started drooping again. He had been right, of course. He started nodding off during the opening credits and was sound asleep before he even got anywhere close to his favorite flapjack scene. He wasn’t sure if he had dreamed it or imagined it in a half-asleep daze, but he could have sworn that once the movie had ended, he had felt gentle fingers tangling in his hair as it was pushed out of his forehead and Zoey’s voice whispering, “C.J.’s back now and will keep an eye on you, so I’m going to head out. You take care of yourself, Henry…”

*-*-*

Two Weeks Later…

“You made it!” exclaimed Kel excitedly as Hero walked through the front door with his suitcase. Kel threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“Sorry it took so long,” Hero chuckled lightly as he scratched the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly.

“Are you feeling better at least?” asked Kel with a kind smile, and Hero nodded.

“Yeah…I was only sick for a couple of days, and my friends looked after me.” Hero paused, meeting Kel’s eyes with an expression that said more than his words, “Thanks for that, Kel.”

Kel flushed a little, but he laughed. So Hero had figured that out after all? He should’ve expected that from his brother. He was always so smart. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind too much that Kel had meddled, not that he’d really tell him if he had. Still Kel smiled and teased, “Hey, no problem. You’re lucky I didn’t drive up there myself.”

“Your father and I almost drove up too,” said their mom before she pulled Hero into another hug herself. “It was horrible thinking of you so sick in the city all alone.”

Hero’s face softened, as he pulled away from their mother to look her in the eyes. “I was fine, Mom. Please don’t worry.”

“Hero! Hero! Wanna play zoo?” exclaimed Sally, twirling around him with her favorite plastic animal toys until he scooped her up into a hug.

“Of course, Sally, but uh…”

“Give him a minute,” Kel interjected with a good-natured laugh. “He hasn’t even taken his coat off yet.

“Oh let me take that,” said their dad—patting Hero heartily on the back as he slipped his arms out of his coat. “It’s good to have you home.”

“Good to be home, Dad,” Hero replied with a kind smile.

“Let me take your bag upstairs,” exclaimed Kel reaching for the suitcase Hero had brought with him, but his brother reached out a hand to stop him.

“Oh…you don’t have to do that. I can get it.”

Kel waved his hand at him. “Don’t be silly. It’s just upstairs. Come on. You can freshen up for dinner too.”

“I made all your favorites,” said Mom. “And I even ordered a hero sandwich for you from Gino’s.”

Hero scratched the back of his neck—the slightest tint of pink in his cheeks. “Thanks, Mom, but you really didn’t have to go through all that trouble.”

Kel snickered and was still snickering as Hero followed him up the stairs. “You know Mom’s just going to make a big deal out of every time you visit even if you tell her not to, right?”

Hero sighed conceding, “Yeah…”

As Kel opened the door to their room, he set Hero’s suitcase down on his bed—still perfectly made from the last time he had visited, but as he turned back to his brother he paused, tilting his head curiously as he watched Hero staring wide-eyed at their old keyboard, pushed up against the wall next to the door.

“Oh uh…yeah…we found that when we were cleaning out the garage—” Kel shrugged, scratching the nape of his neck. “Thought we might as well set it up again.”

“Are you going to start playing again?” Hero asked, and Kel laughed.

“Nah. I don’t think I can even read music anymore, but maybe Sally will want to. She likes to come in here and bang on it sometimes—doesn’t sound much like music though.”

Hero chuckled, but before he could say anything, Kel said, “Or you could…if you wanted. I found a bunch of your old books and sheet music and stuff.” He motioned to a box on the ground near the keyboard, but he twisted his mouth to the side. He didn’t want to seem pushy. He knew Hero hadn’t played since Mari had died, and he probably wouldn’t want to ever again. Kel supposed, it was just one of those things his brother just couldn’t bring himself to do without Mari.

Kel sighed—blinking at Hero’s unreadable expression. Had it made him sad? He couldn’t tell. Maybe he should have given him a heads up about the keyboard or hidden it in the garage or something while he was visiting?

“Yeah. Thanks, Kel,” shrugged Hero, clearly putting this conversation to rest.

“Well uh…” Kel began to stumble before his mother’s voice called for him.

“Kel, can you come give me a hand for a minute?”

“Sure, Mom!” he yelled before turning back to Hero with a somewhat helpless shrug of his shoulders. “Hey, uh…I’ll be right back okay?”

Hero nodded, and Kel disappeared through the doorway. He shook his head. Why did everything have to be so awkward?

Kel sighed, and his chest ached. He knew why. But he swallowed hard—pushing the thought away, focusing instead on helping his mom set the table. As he was setting out some silverware, he stopped abruptly—his ears perking up at the sound of distant music, a familiar progression of notes he recognized.

“Do you hear that?” gasped Kel in disbelief, but it seemed his mom could only blink at him with wide, surprised eyes as Sally gushed and giggled.

“So pretty!”

Kel nearly dropped the silverware he was holding—fumbling around with the forks and spoons until he finally dropped them in a disorganized heap on the table and raced up the stairs—that all-too-familiar song growing louder and louder. As he burst through the door of his room, he could scarcely believe his eyes. Hero was sitting at the keyboard—his hands gliding across the keys playing music again.

“Hero?” Kel choked in a breathy disbelief which must have startled his brother because he stopped playing abruptly—clearly bumping the wrong keys in surprise creating a dissonant chord.

“Oh uh…sorry…” he mumbled, his face flushing somewhat sheepishly as he fidgeted—recoiling his hands away from the keyboard. “I just uh…I saw the keyboard and…wanted to play…”

Kel could only blink at him with wide, dark eyes. “You wanted to play piano?”

Hero’s blush deepened, but he nodded. “Yeah…uh…” He scratched the back of his neck. “I know you don’t really like that song but the music was on the top of the stack and…”

His voice trailed, and Kel’s expression softened, brightening into a wide smile. He supposed Hero was right. Once, what felt like a lifetime ago, he had given his brother all kinds of grief for playing that particular song over and over, but in the years that had followed, he would have given anything to hear him play it one more time, would have given anything to hear him play again. And now that he hadn’t heard it in so long—now that their room, their home had been quiet and empty for so long…

“I…I can try to play something else…” Hero chuckled awkwardly, but Kel cut him off.

“No, I’ve never been happier to hear anything in my whole life.”

Hero laughed lightly, and his mouth curved into a smile—a real one that reached his eyes.

Kel’s chest ached. He had missed that even more than the music. He rushed forward—throwing his arms around his brother and hugging him tightly, hoping that gesture would say more than his words ever could.

“Kel!” Hero gasped quietly, leaning backward in surprise, his shoulders stiffening a little before he relaxed. He wrapped his arms around his brother, running his hand across his back as Kel pressed his chin to his shoulder.

Kel shut his eyes tightly, but he whispered with the brightest smile on his face, “It’s so good to have you back.”

He could feel the chuckle reverberating in Hero’s chest before his brother patted him on the head and whispered, “It’s good to be back.”

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