#gonna finish/post these & the other fic text post before taking another lil break so i don't burn out ^^

[pics-pizza-peace]

Marko Thompson & Ted Theodore Logan (Lost Colts!AU pony designs)

[rubylovessharks]

Their reaction to a sweet fic you made about them ♡

twst characters x gn!reader fluff (ortho not datebale)

reader is not MC/Yuu

ok this is hc stuff with twst characters but im trying to mix into it some actual scenes :3

some are written before an established romantic relationship and others are written in an established romantic relationship. :)

these are all different scenarios im trying to keep it interesting :D

might be ooc for some of them cuz im not fully capable of writing some characters :( ALSOOOO gotta give a bit of credit to @yourfavepookiebear cuz she helped me out a lil with ideas for some chars :p love u pook <3

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts:

conflicted feelings.

cuz he feels both weirded out and flattered.

what do you mean you've been writing sweet romantic stories about you and him?! that's super weird! but also really cute

he really likes them and wants more now-

You and your boyfriend were having a study date in his room and have decided to take a break. During said break you have been writing in your phone which left Riddle curious. Not long into the break you have accidently left your phone open before you left to the bathroom, which gave Riddle a chance to see what you've been writing. Of course he doesn't want to invade your privacy, yet his curiosity was stronger. What does he see? '-holding his hand as we sat on our picnic blanket ' and it cuts off. You weren't finished yet. When you come back from the bathroom you see that your boyfriend has become a blushing mess! What happened while you were gone, you wonder. You are about to hear from him exactly what he thinks <3

Trey Clover:

probably had a feeling you wrote fics about him but didn't expect that it'd be something romantic. especially about the two of you!

he may be a lil weirded out, but he's mostly just living with that knowledge.

he feels like a guy who'd actually enjoy reading through these imaginary dates of yours

maybe even take inspo for later!

You have no idea how this guy understood that the guy from your romantic stories was him. You didn't even use his name! Sure you posted these fics online but who could've actually understood you've been writing about Trey?! At first you just panicked. Trey literally liked your stories that you've been posting, so you were afraid that he's onto you. AND YOU WERE RIGHT. Cuz the very next day he asks you out to a baking date! At least he isn't angry :) Also now some anonyms person has been asking for more fics about this "mysterious" guy you've been writing about..

Cater Diamond:

he likes it :3

and already knows about it- you know he knows

definitely wants to take you out on dates like the ones you have wrote!

liked, shared, and makes sure to take you out on a date!

he's so into it in fact that he encourages it!

You randomly got a text from your boyfriend saying he wants to go out on a date that is similar to the one you posted in your last fic. Makes sense, he rebloged it, liked it, and talked to his besties about it in the last few hours. So now you and Cater were out on a date and it's even better then what you wrote! And that's gonna happen every time you write a fic about the two of you. You will write something sweet, and Cater will not shut up about it, and then you two are out on this specific date!

Ace Trapolla:

he says that he finds it silly but deep down he likes it

he also claims that it's a little bit weird, and even tho he does feel like that (just a wee bit) he still likes it.

he teases you though-

This guy knows your password, and you have given him permission to snoop around in your phone, so it's no surprise that when he looks into your notes he sees more then one weirdly titled notes. One that says 'Cheering him on' another that says 'Baking him a pie' and many many more. So what does he do? Look into it. Now you hear him cackling at something, but you have no idea what. So you ask him and he tells you about his findings. "Ya know I didn't know you had so many romantic ideas" he tells you and you turn red. Now you will never hear the end of it..

Deuce Spade:

i just know that the moment he finds those fics he turns red and just stands there-

he doesn't know what to say

but he's really happy :)

At first he wanted to be a supportive boyfriend, going online and finding your page to like your stuff and encourage you to write more! But the more he read the more this guy in your fic seems familiar... the way he talks, the things he likes, even his physical description seems to match himself. The moment this realization hits him he goes completely red. Just stands there until someone snaps him out of it. For a short while he'll be very blushy and all around you, but soon enough he'll tell you he really likes those fics and ask you to write more.

Savanaclaw

Leona Kingscholar:

he finds it a bit amusing.

and kind of cute

he'll tease you about it but he definitely reads that stuff and enjoys every second of it as if he didn't just call your fantasies stupid

Your boyfriend was laying in bed, but instead of his usual thing that is sleeping, he is using a phone.

wait...is that your phone?!

"Hey are you using my phone babe?" you call him out on his actions but he doesn't even move his head towards your direction. "Yeah and?"

"That's an invasion of privacy!" you tell him "what you write is an invasion of privacy." he answers.

Did you hear this right? Leona is snooping in your personal notes!?

"Don't worry I'll keep this private.. no reason to show this silly stuff to the world." he smirks to himself, and you notice that his cheeks are a little bit red.

Ruggie Bucci:

you're weird.

that's what he thinks

the thought of selling your stuff crossed his mind- cuz at first he didn't think it's about him..

but then it hit him

no thoughts about that now.. it's all for him now ♡

He's a snoopy guy so of course the moment he finds a notebook of yours he'll look into it! Sure he might be your boyfriend but he still doesn't mind selling stuff that is yours, not super important stuff of course but stuff.

Skipping through the pages he reads your stuff, not getting too into it but enough to understand what is written in a nutshell. As Ruggie reads through the pages thinking to himself what a good catch he has considering the fact that you are pretty skilled, he notices something he didn't notice before..

His name.

And with the genre that you write reading his own name is a shocker. Sure you two are in romantic relationship but he was not expecting this!

"This is weird.." he says out loud. "But this is kinda cute.." Ruggie smiles to himself, closes the notebook and puts it back in it's place.

He'll make sure to treat to you something tasty <3

Jack Howl:

wagging his tail but keeping a straight face

other than the pink tinting his cheeks-

he likes your stuff, not that he won't admit it tho.

he will say he likes it, but not as much as he actually feels.

Jack is reading through the fics you've been posting online, well more like forced to read because you just came over to him and asked him to read this new fics you just posted. He isn't someone who'd read stuff online but considering the fact that you asked him to, and it's a fic about your relationship in disguise of some fan service for others, he is willing to read it and give you his opinion.

Like many times you have shown him your fics Jack's face is getting pink and his tail is wagging a bit. "It's not bad." he tells you but the hesitation in his voice tells you he has much more to say, and it's true because al his thoughts right now are just thoughts about sweet this is.

"I'm glad you like it!" you tell him with a smile and he smiles back.

Octavinelle

Azul Ashengrotto:

super conflicted.

at first he thought it was dirt you got on him to blackmail him in the future but then he read your stuff and just turned red.

like super red.

now he's gonna have a talk with you ;)

Azul has had a crush on you for a while, but he's in total denial about it. So when Floyd told him that you write weird, sickenly sweet stories about romancing him he thought it was blackmail, for one reason or another..

So of course he starts reading your fics. And when he does slowly but surely he understands that this is no blackmail- it can't be because of how your writing shows so much love for him.

"Aahaha Azul your face is super red!" Floyd teases his boss who looks at him with no amusement in his eyes. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Azul says "now, I want you to go to (name) and tell them I request their presence."

Jade Leech:

giggles like a school girl

oh? you wrote silly fanfics about the two of you? together on a romantic date? several dates?

how fun!

get ready cuz this guy is about to scare the shit out of you and then immediately becomes a gentleman :)

"I heard you like to write in your spare time." that's the first thing he says to you. For no reason, just says that and smiles at you waiting for you to say something.

"Uhh yeah. I guess?"

"How nice." he beams "I'd like to read some of your works, if that's alright."

"I dunno... it's kinda private.." you can't show him your silly fic! They are all about dates with him!

He's face immediately shows disappointment "well that's unfortunate..." but that is not all he had to ask. "Onto another question. How would you like to go out with me? I could show you some of the stuff we do at my club."

something you don't notice is that that's literally the first date fic you ever wrote about this guy..

Floyd Leech:

oh so you are super silly!

he knew you were silly, but super silly? damn he's so glad you two are together!

after being super happy with this he immediately becomes upset and cranky cuz, why didn't you tell him you wrote such cute lil' things?!

Not understanding why, but out of nowhere your boyfriend comes and squeezes hugs you so hard you can't breathe. Not that it's unusual for him to do that, but right now it's actually super duper tight, more that normal.

He's kissing your face, and spins you two around and totally not biting you- so you have to calm him down.

"Floyd what's this all about?" you ask as your lover spins you round and around. "Ahaha I'm just soooo happy that I've got such a cutie as my partner!!" he practically yells-

"oof but-" he stops completely everything he was doing just now "you never told you wrote such sweet fics!" you can see he's facial expression change to something totally different than what it was two seconds ago.. "How dare you! Keepin your lil' stories all to yourself.. that's just ruuude" he frowns.

"Wait what-" "yeah I read your little fics about us!" yet again his tone changes to a more sing songy one "but now your gonna have to make it up to me~" and your face changes from total embarrassment to a 'I know where this is going' one. "What do you want me to do?"

"You are going to take me on eeeevery kind of date you wrote about in your stories, mmk?"

Scarabia

Kalim al Asim:

he's sooooooo happy!!!

finds all of your writings to be amazing!

so amazing in fact that he shares them with Jamil- without asking your consent-

but don't be mad! he was just so happy he couldn't help it!!

"Jamil! Jamil! Look at what (name) wrote this time!" Kalim practically jumps at his friendatleastinhisopinion and they both fall to the ground. "Kalim I only told you that these fics have an uncanny resemblance to you." Jamil says as he tries to get Kalim off of him "you don't need to show me every single thing they write!" "ohh but they write such cute things! You have to read this new one!" Kalim shoves his phone in Jamil's face as he's forced to read your fics about the guy he hates. "Isn't it amazing?!" Kalim's face is pretty much glowing "it's even better than the last!" "uhh yeah sure.."

Jamil Viper:

another one who's weirded out by this..

but he's a little bit weird too, so he doesn't mind too much :)

slowly finds it cute the more he reads.

but if anyone ever finds out about these fics other than him, and they ask how he feels about them he'll say that it's stupid but doesn't mind.

still totally loves these fics :)

Not long ago you gave your lover a notebook and told him that you've been wanting him to read the stuff that's in there. Of course Jamil is a very busy guy so it takes him a while to actually read what's in there.

So when he sits down to read whatever it is you wrote in there he was not expecting these to be romantic stories about him and you!

"I'm dating a total weirdo.." he moves his hand to his forehead and keeps it there as he reads more. The more he reads the weirder he feels this is, but he's enjoying these stories. The more he resds the wider his smile gets and from time to time he chuckles a little.

Of course being Jamil and having the fate to be stuck with Kalim he gets a call from he's most hated person and has to end his break. But he'll come back to this later and will praise you for your work as a good boyfriend should.

Pomefiore

Vil Schoenheit:

aren't you an amusing little thing?

of course you write silly fics where the two of you, aka THE Vil and you, are going on silly dates, or others where you two slowly fall inlove ♡

how can you not?

he'll fulfill your wish and go out with you.

(he's been waiting for a good opening for a while now :3 )

Classes were done for the day and you were invited by Vil to walk together. As you see Vil standing at your meeting point you notice that his face was much more series than usual. And the moment he spots you you feel as if you have committed a crime with the way his beautiful eyes look at you. Of course he is not mad, Not at all actually, he just needs to keep up with his 'perfect' self, and acting like a really in love high school girl who is giggling and kicking her feet would be far from it.. "Darling." he says, not an unusual nickname. He has been using it for a while "I have found something you've been keeping from me and I feel a little bit hurt by that.." you cannot figure out what he's talking about but the next thing he'll say will shock you. "I had no idea you had such a strong desire to go out with me, and yet still not ask me out. I must say I'm a little disappointed in your lack of confidence but we can work on it, on our date." You can't believe he just said that- a date with Vil? THE Vil!? But the date you two will go to will be very much real.

Rook Hunt:

don't think you are the only one with such fanfics..

he wrote so many things about you

cute date fics, poems about he's love for you

he even draws you!

so he's really happy to know you too write stuff about him!

Today was stressful.. not for school reasons, and not social reasons either.. it's because your personal notebook is nowhere to be found! You were about to take it this morning with you but could not find it, so now you are at the end of the day waiting for the bell to ring to go find it. Who knows where it could be! Maybe it was stolen? but who would steel a random notebook.. especially with a lock on it.. Perhaps you misplaced it somewhere that is not in your room? but that wouldn't make sense cuz last night you were writing in it! Maybe a dormmate accidently took it mistaking it as theirs? and just then the bell rings. Already the first one out you find yourself bumping into a familiar face, or should I say chest- "Oh my apologies!" you can hear the voice of the hunter you currently have a crush on. "I should be the one saying sorry- I was so caught up in my head I didn't even notice the world around me.." "non! It only makes sense that you would be so focused on your thoughts when a precious item is lost." he does a thing with his hands being.. well.. Rook. And as you are about to agree with him you immediately notice that his line is fishy... "Rook don't tell me..." he smiles at you as you get hit with the realization of your notebook's whereabouts "YOU STOLE IT DIDN'T YOU" it's not even a question, it's a statement. "You are correct! Although you wound me by keeping these stories for yourself.. I find them to be quite exquisite!" then he goes into his bag and pulls out a notebook, your notebook, and folder. a folder..? "As an apology for my actions I have made you a gift, and of course will give you your notebook back." he hands you your notebook and the huge folder "I hope you will forgive me, and will come meet me tonight in my room." Rook gives you a smile as he's about to leave, yet you still don't know what's in the folder he gave you, so the moment you are back in your room you open it only to see a bunch of poems, fics of his ownaboutyou, drawingsofyou and in the end of it there's a note that says 'there's more ;)'.

Epel Felmier:

at first he was scared that you wrote him as a 'cute wittle boy' who isn't manly at all

but then when he finished one fic he was almost crying(exaggerating here) cuz your wrote him so well!

really likes it :)

You told him you've got an account where you write stuff online and he decided to check it out. And the first thing he sees is the author's notes and it says 'this is inspired by my irl bf ........'

So you get inspo from being with him? How does that work..?

He starts to read the story and the first mention of 'his character', or at least the character that represents him, he's fears of being misunderstood get bigger and bigger. But the way you've written 'him' is right on point!

As he reads your fic Epel understands that this an idea for a date because you've never had this experience before. He now knows where he'll ask you out to ;)

Ignihyde

Idia Shroud:

HUH?!

you write WHAT???

and these are really sweet-

he is going to lock himself in his room and isnt coming out unless REALLY necessary.

ortho can get him something to eat after his food and energy drinks run out..

cuz what if he sees you? he will probably pass out cuz all he can think about is the cute little date fics you've been writing.

'Heyy love~' you send your introverted boyfriend a text 'Ive got something I want you to read!' you send another text. 'busy' he quickly sends a short text and doesn't even bother to stop his game. 'ohh but I worked real hard on this' you add a ':(' and he gives in. Pausing his game Idia looks at the messages you sent him and starts to read whatever it is you just sent him. As he does you send him a few more messages and then leave the chat. 'dont forget to tell me what you think!' Unfortunately for you the moment Idia reads the first line he will never (a few hours) come out of his room. He does finish it though! And he enjoys it as well. How can he not when you wrote him a romance story about you and him??? He feels so lucky to have you! In a few hours Ortho comes in just to check that his bro is alright and healthy, but the moment he comes in he sees Idia in his bed with the blanket around his shoulders and phone in his hands. This guy has been reading this fic for the last few hours- now Ortho is bringing you into Idia's room. Guess it's a date then?

Diasomnia

Malleus Draconia:

finds it fascinating.

so thats what you want? sure.

now you two are on the EXSACT date you have written.

like everything matches everything.

from the way the place looks, to how Malleus acts.

He just wants you to enjoy his presence, even if it's a little odd.. one day Malleus just asked you on a date and now here you are, sitting together on a picnic blanket with different kinds of food that seems oddly similar to the foods you mentioned in your most recent fic. And the location follows that too... the way Malleus sees your story is you trying to put in topics you wish people would ask, so that's his next move. "How have you been lately?" he asks and you tell him about recent things that have happened to you lately, then he asks you about more things that you are sure are too familiar. "what makes you ask that?" you question him and he freezes at that. "Do you not wish for me to ask such a thing?" he feels as if he messed up, as if his perfect courting plan has failed and that you won't wish to be with him. Of course Malleus is totally wrong, you just want him to be himself freely "I mean sure I do, but there's no reason for you to even know that about me." and you start to connect the dots. "Malleus did you read through my notebook!?" "You have left it open and my curiosity got the better of me. I'm sorry.." he quickly apologizes for his lack of keeping privacy but you quickly tell him it's alright, just odd. But you are no better considering the fact you write romance about a real person.. "Just don't try to follow my story and be free to do what you actually want."

Lilia Vanrouge:

also fascinated.

will also take you out to the place you wrote about

but instead of recreating it like Mal he just teases you-

Here you are with your beloved boyfriend at an aquarium looking at fishies and such. Lilia told you that he has read what you posted online and understood you've been wanting this for a while, so now the two of you are on a date just like you had wanted. But you should've been ready for his teasing.. "

Silver:

finds it sweet :)

when he doesn't have anything to do he'll read your stuff

defiantly dreams those fics :3

Walking into Silver's room you see him asleep on his bed like many times before. This time he fell asleep with his phone in his hand, and you won't know what he was doing before this with it. You decide to lay with him for a while until he wakes up, and as you open your phone you see a new notification. And from who? your beloved boyfriend. You smile to yourself since now you know what he's been doing with that phone of his, reading through your fictional stories about the two of you. You know Silver is smart, so you are sure he knows you write about him.

Sebek Zigvolt:

loud.

like always..

he's face is pink (i like to think that's as far as blush color can go) and he's yelling at you

good luck :(

he totally likes it tho-

You were just chilling in Diasomnia's lounge waiting for your friend and crush, Sebek. You two were going to meet up just for fun, but before this you have 'accidentally' left him a little surprise. Not long ago you put your notebook in his desk after so he'll take it with him. You are sure he noticed that it isn't his and that there is a big chance he won't open it. But you really want him to..

When you see him going towards your direction, his face with a pink tint over his cheeks, you know he definitely did read through at least a small chunk of what you have written.

And you definitely were ready for him to loudly scolding you.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE SUCH A PREPOSTEROUS NOTEBOOK ON MY DESK." Sebek pulls out your notebook and shoves it over to you "and to think I read through it!"

"Did you like it?" you smile at him "WHA- I-" his face is now completely pink at your response.

"yes..."

not romantic:

(this section is just a cute thing with no romantic intentions!!! you and ortho see eachother as good friends and/or family WITH NO ROMANTIC FEELINGS.)

Ortho Shroud:

he finds it sweet that you see him as a family member

it's nice to know the feelings are mutual :D

praises your writing as well :3

"This one is better than the last! You are getting pretty good at this (name)!" Ortho tells you after finishing reading through your notebook. "I'm also glad to know that the family feelings are mutual." if you could see his mouth you'd see that he's smiling. "I'm glad you like it" you sheepishly respond "maybe we could go to a similar place like this in real life." Ortho's eyes immediately sparkle "maybe we can take Idia too!" "I don't know if he'd like to go outside though" you think about how hard it will be to try to het him out of his room without him protesting. "But he's in your story too, that means you want him there as well! Right?" Ortho knows it'll be hard to get his brother out as well, but he's willing to try for a fun outing! "Oh alriiight. I'll send him a text." "How about you send him the fic as well?"

[kouomi]

Family Secrets

Summary: How long would you be able to keep your relationship with your brothers’ best friend a secret? (F!reader x Suna Rintarō)

Warnings: slight jealously (basically none!)

Word Count: 3,813

A/N: the beginning of this is a little rocky sorry about that(it’s explaining a lil background I didn’t know where to put it)! This is also my first fic for Haikyuu and on this account so sorry if anything is off!

Posted: March 3rd, 2021 6:26 am EST

Having two older brothers isn’t easy for any girl. Especially if those older brothers are twins and especially if you were all in the same year at school.

Everyone at your school knew you as the Miya twins little sister and while you hated the title it was one that you’d had since you were born so overtime you grew used to it. You constantly lived in their shadow, especially when they started playing volleyball so in an attempt to gain your own title you started playing as well. You’re a setter for the girls team at Inarizaki, set to take the position of captain next year once your current third year captain is out of high school.

Your practice had just ended and after taking a quick shower in the locker room you headed to the other gym where the boys team was still practicing, silently slipping in the door and sitting on the bench.

“Little Miya is here!” Akagi exclaims, a few heads turning to face you. You give a small wave without looking up from your phone, rolling your eyes at the familiar sound of your brothers starting a fight.

“Why are you here?” Osamu asks on one of their water breaks, staring down at you from where he stood.

“Mom won’t let me walk home alone after practice and Yaku wasn’t here today.” You explain with a sigh, “So I have to wait for you two.”

“I forgot we’re going home today.” Atsumu groans, “She’s gonna kill me.”

“Why?”

“He failed the maths test.”

You can’t help the laugh that bubbles past your lips, Atsumu glaring at you and your other brother as you laugh at his expense. He starts going on about how it wasn’t his fault but you don’t pay much attention, instead your gaze meeting another a few meters behind him. Almost as soon as you lock eyes they look away and you do the same, resisting the blush that tries to rise up your face.

After another thirty minutes of their practice they’re finally let go, everyone else on the team heading towards the dorms while you, Atsumu, and Osamu make your way towards the front gate.

“There’s at least two girls on my team that have a crush on you guys.” You add to their conversation after listening in on them talking about their fan girls for the past ten minutes.

“Eh? Why would someone like ‘Samu?” Atsumu asks.

“You literally have the same face.” You blink, watching as he goes to argue but can’t seem to find any words that work in his favor.

While the twins on either side of you kept talking you pulled out your phone, a small smile crossing your face as your fingers danced across the screen to reply to a text. You’d turned down your brightness and tilted your phone closer to your face so your brothers wouldn’t be able to read anything but they still eyed you suspiciously, silently sharing their questions with each other over your head.

“Y/n? What’re ya doin?” Atsumu asks, making you turn off your phone and shove it in your pocket.

“Texting my team.” You answer coolly, “Some of us actually have to put work in outside of practice.”

“Oi it’s not my fault yer a vice captain and we’re not!”

“What about organizing makes you smile like that?” Osamu asks. You cringe at his words; of course he’d be the one to pick up on that.

“When did this turn into twenty questions?” You ask, voice slight squeaking as you spoke.

“Does our baby sister have a boyfriend?” Atsumu grins, resting his arm on your shoulder.

“No, and don’t call me that! You’re not even a year older than me!” You exclaim, shoving his arm off and picking up your pace so you walked ahead of them instead of between.

“Hey, get back here!”

After dinner with your family you sat in your room, repeatedly setting a volleyball into the air above you and occasionally groaning as you hear your brothers through the thin walls of your home. While you were practicing your mind wandered to how close you’d come to being found out by the duo all because of a stupid smile. You’d managed to hide your relationship for nearly five months now but it was getting harder and harder, especially considering your boyfriend was one of your brothers close friends and teammate. You’d wanted to tell them before but it would just cause unnecessary awkwardness and maybe even distrust among the four of you so you decided to keep it secret. It did make things more interesting sometimes but also immensely difficult to find places you could go on dates without risk of being caught, as things as simple as texting nearly exposed your relationship.

Your train of thought is interrupted by a knock on your window, the volleyball above you coming crashing down on to your face when you turn to look at the source of the noise. Rubbing your nose you stood up and crossed the room, gasping lightly when you see the main topic of your thoughts standing on the branch of the tree outside your window.

“Rin?!” You whisper yell after pushing open the glass, sticking your head outside.

He flashes you a small smile as you reach out to help him inside, leaving the window open behind him in case he needed to use it as a quick escape route.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Thought I’d stop by.” He responds, reaching out and pulling you towards him with one of your hands before his arms snake around your waist, “We haven’t hung out in a while.”

“Ya could’ve just waited til tomorrow.” You say though find yourself melting into him, “‘Tsumu and ‘Samu are literally on the other side of that wall.”

“Well I was on my way to the store and thought I’d stop by.”

You shake your head with a sigh as your arms move around his back, one of your hands between his shoulder blades and the other on the back of his neck. He leans down, face hovering in front of yours for a moment before you close the space between you and press your lips to his.

“You really can’t stay.” You mumble, pulling apart momentarily to talk.

“Just for a little bit.” He says, pecking your lips again before lowering his head to the crook of your neck.

“Rin.” You warn though your words lose any authority when he presses a delicate kiss to your jaw making you subconsciously lean closer into his grasp with a slight intake of breath.

“Okay, maybe just a bit.”

You feel him smile before he peppers your neck in kisses, one of his hands moving up to lightly hold the side as his thumb gently pushes up your chin. You turn and press a kiss to his temple before you angle your head up and to the side, giving him more access as you both take a few unstable steps back until the back of your legs hit your bed. Slowly you fall back on to the mattress, Suna following and hovering over you with one of his hands hooked under your lower back.

“Hey Y/n?” He asks quietly, thin eyes baring into your own.

You hum, eyes flickering away for a moment to brush some of his hair out of his face.

“Can we take a nap?”

Your face falls at his question before a small laugh bubbles past your lips, “We can’t, my brothers might walk in.”

The middle blocker gives a disappointed groan before he lays down on top of you, his head resting on your chest as his arms encircle your waist.

“Just five minutes.” He mumbles.

Before you could respond you heard a loud crash from the wall next to you followed by shouting and a yell of your name. The color drained from your face as footsteps approached your room, Suna quickly jumping up and scanning the room for some where to hide. You jester towards the window and he narrows his eyes before climbing out, nearly slipping as he steps on the branches of the tree.

“Y/n!” Atsumu yells as he throws open your door, “Help!”

“What do you-“ Before you could finish your sentence the boy in front of you is tackled to the ground by a flash of grey hair, the two rolling around on the ground of your room.

“Give it back ya asshole!”

“I can’t! I already ate it!”

“What?!”

You watch with wide eyes as they fight, neither paying much attention to you as they carry whatever they’d started on in your room. Even being their sister you had a hard time distinguishing between them with how fast they were moving around, flashes of grey and blonde the only indicator of who was who.

“Stop! You’re gonna knock me over-!” Your words are cut off by the heavy sound of you being sent to the floor, yelling as you’re unwillingly dragged into their fight.

“What is wrong with you two?!”

“He ate my Onigiri!” Osamu exclaims, narrowly missing a punch to the gut, “I spent two hours making that!”

“It’s not my fault ya left it out!” His twin yells back, using his knee to keep down one of his opponent’s legs.

“You’re fighting over food?” You ask exasperatedly, hissing when your hair is violently yanked to the side. As you tried to pull yourself free from their tangle of limbs a swift fist swings into your eye, a yelp of pain leaving you as you reach up to cradle your face.

“Look what ya did now!” Osamu says, reluctantly pulling away from your brother and kneeling in front of you.

“Yer both stupid ya know that?” You hiss, cowering away when a hand reaches out towards you.

“Shit- Y/n I’m sorry, are you okay?” Atsumu asks, any previous fight now long forgotten as they both crouch in front of you with concerned looks.

“Is it bad?” You question, lowering your hand and cringing when you notice their eyes widen.

“Ya think you could pull off purple eyeshadow?”

You groan before taking his hand and letting him pull you up, walking towards the small mirror on your desk and withering at the sight. The area around your right eye was already red and starting to turn purple and swell, reminding all three of you of the strength the brothers had that they often forgot about.

“‘Tsumu, stop eating everything you see, ‘Samu it’s kind of your fault for leaving it out.” You sigh, watching them both deflate and go to argue with you before looking back at your eye, “Now get out.”

“Are you sure? I can getchya an ice pack or somethin?” Atsumu asks but you shake your head.

“Just go, I’ll be fine.”

They reluctantly walk out of your room, flashing you an apologetic look as you trail behind them and close the door with a heavy sigh.

After inspecting your eye a little while longer you pull out your phone, scrolling through your contacts for a moment before finding Sunas.

You roll your eyes but still do so, cringing at the sight of the ugly purple that’d started to develop before you hit send.

-

The next day you after you’d gone back to campus you’d gotten a lot of questions about your eye, especially once you went to your morning classes. You’d started to grow annoyed with the persistent, never ending same question over and over and by the time your free period rolled around you were ready to spend the rest of your day in your dorm. On your way to the front of the building you stopped at your locker, unable to resist the smile that pulled at the corners of your lips when you saw your favorite food sitting in a bag next to your books, a small note attached to the top.

Hope you can see this with one eye

-Rintarō

You tuck the note in your pocket before pulling the food out of your locker, making your way towards where you and your friends always met up for lunch. They seemed surprised about your black eye and thankfully didn’t bring up the topic after you explained the story behind the ugly mark.

“You know, some of the boys on the boys volleyball team are pretty cute.” You hear one of the girls say, effectively gaining your attention.

“Especially the second years.” The girl next to you say, “No wonder the twins have so many fan girls.”

“You guys are gonna make me throw up.” You groan, wrinkling your nose at the thought of seeing your brothers in that light.

“Hey, you can’t deny that they’re cute!” She giggles, shoulder bumping into yours as she does so, “Maybe you could set me up with one of them.”

“In your dreams.” You scoff and she frowns.

“What about Suna?” Your other teammates speaks up. You have to resist the urge to shut down the conversation, not wanting to hear other girls talk about how attractive they found your boyfriend.

“Hm, now that you mention it he is pretty handsome.” Another girl weighs in, “His eyes are kind of hypnotizing.”

“What do you think Y/n?”

“I guess he’s cute.” You shrug, trying to seem nonchalant as you refused to make eye contact.

“We should go to the boy’s practice after ours.” Your friend suggests, “We can just watch for pointers.”

“Kori is trying to pick up a new boyfriend!”

As the rest of your team continues laughing and talking about the boys team you find yourself pulled into your own thoughts, worries and insecurities already working their way into the confidence you had in your relationship. What if one of the other girls made a move on Suna? Would he play along with it just to keep the guise of being single? How far would he let her go? Would he realize that he wants to be with someone other than you? Perhaps someone prettier?

By the time you were brought back to reality everyone else was already packing up their things, forcing you to shove the thoughts in the back of your mind though they whispered to you through out the rest of your classes.

-

“Alright you girls can pack up, we’re done for the day!” Your coach announces. You walk with the rest of your team towards the locker rooms with a towel wrapped loosely around your neck, your breathing heavy from the effort from practice. You were excited for it to finally be over and be able to spend the rest of the night with your boyfriend, though your plans are quickly thrown off when someone calls your name from the other side of the gym.

“Y/n, I need you to stay behind with the third years.” Your coach says making you inwardly groan though you still nod and jog towards the small group.

“You know where we’ll be Y/n!” Your friends call out, waving as they close the door to the gym behind them.

The extra practice goes by painstakingly slow, another half hour passing before you were allowed to shower and leave. You practically ran to the other gym, internally panicking at the thought of what you might walk into when you pushed open the doors.

Finally you made it, wasting no time in stepping into the familiar room and quickly scanning the people littered through out. You notice a few groups split off talking to each other, rolling your eyes as you see Atsumu flirting with the girls around him while Osamu stood next to him with an unamused expression. Moving on from them you looked on the other side of the gym, finding your boyfriend standing on the corner of the court.

Relief floods you as you begin to approach him though it’s short lived when you see the girl standing a little too close for comfort. Suna had his signature neutral expression as he spoke to her, not even flinching when she lays a hand on his bicep and steps closer, looking up at him with a coy grin. A sick feeling makes it’s home in your stomach as you watch them and how unbothered he seemed by it all, even giving her one of his rare smiles. You find it harder to believe it’s all an act, that his actions weren’t genuine and he wasn’t actually entertaining her advances. Maybe he was thinking about other options; he had to be tired of how secretive and sneaky he had to be with you and was looking for someone else, someone he could be public with. Maybe you were losing him.

The final straw for you is when you see her hand trail up to hold his face, the action chilling you to the bone and sending you across the room. You’re quickly within range of the two as you approached from behind the girl, Sunas eyes meeting yours and lighting up slightly.

“Oh hey Y/n, I didn’t know if you were going to make it.” Your teammate smiles, her hand still resting on Sunas arm as she turned around to talk to you.

“Yeah. So, what’s going on?” You respond, getting straight to the point as you shift your weight uncomfortably.

“Just having a little chat with Suna here.” She responds, turning towards the man in question so she was practically shoved against him now. You not so subtly cringed at the action which he took notice to, finally taking the opportunity to throw the girl off.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Suna says, peeling himself away from your teammate and stepping closer to you, “Ready to go?”

He tightly loops an arm around your waist, his thumb running up and down on your uniform clad hip. You’re caught off guard by his sudden public display but quickly cover it with a smile, feeling relief flow through you as he distances himself from the girl.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.” You say as your arm goes behind his back, “Coach had me do extra practice with the third years.”

“It’s fine, Kori was here to keep me company.” He responds, both of your gazes flickering to the girl who stood almost dumbfounded next to you.

“Wait are you two...?” She asks, neither of you quite answering though the answer was heavily implied, “Miya? With someone like you as a boyfriend? Either you’re lying or-“

You notice Suna roll his eyes before he pulls you flush against himself, leaning down and pressing his lips to yours in one swift motion. You melt into him as your hand reaches up to cup his face, pulling away with an ethereal smile.

“Or you’re really good at lying.” Kori finishes, blinking at you both as if she’s trying to catch up to the sequence of events. After a few moments of the three of you intensely staring at each other she gives a smile and walks off to your other teammates by the door, a rapid conversation bursting out amongst them complete with constant glances and gasps.

“Y/n?!”

You cringe at the sudden, all too familiar yell of your brothers as they quickly push through the girls around them and rush over to where you stood. Suna tenses slightly and turns towards them, his arm loosening so you could stand beside him though it still stays comfortably wrapped around your body.

“What was that?!” Atsumu exclaims, eyes dancing back and forth between you and his friend, “The two of you just...”

“Are you... dating?” Osamu asks, narrowing his eyes slightly as he spoke.

“Yeah.” Suna answers, watching as their expressions fall and they look at each other before back at you.

“How long?” The blonde questions.

“Five months.” You respond this time.

“What?!”

“Well it was great talking to you but we better get going.” You say, gently pushing Suna towards the door in an attempt to escape your brothers.

“Hold on a minute,” Osamu says, as they work their way between you and your boyfriend, “Suna, do ya really think ya can get off that easy datin our precious little sister?”

“Didn’t you give her a black eye?”

“That’s besides the point! Ya know if ya do anythin to hurt her I’m gonna-“

“Why would I hurt her?” Suna interrupts, the three Miyas turning to face him, “She’s my girlfriend, I care about her.”

It’s silent for a moment as your brothers stare in surprise, their minds finally catching up as they search for something else to say.

“Tsumu if you keep this up I’m gonna tell em about your little crush.” You say before they can start again, watching as his face loses color and his expression falls, “And ‘Samu I’ll take all of your cookbooks.”

“... Yer safe for now Suna.” Atsumu says quietly, giving his friend a soft glare.

You take this as an opportunity to escape the twins, wasting no time in quickly making your way across the gym and out the double doors. A breath you didn’t realize you were holding finally leaves your lungs, Suna looking down at you and noticing how exhausted physically and mentally you seemed. Silently he laces your fingers together and gives your hand a gentle squeeze in an effort to help you relax even if it were only slightly.

“We don’t have to hide anymore.” You say quietly though it’s loud in both of your ears, the sentence one you’ve been wanting to say for a long time. Suna responds by pulling your hand up to his face and pressing a kiss to your knuckles before letting your interlaced hands dangle between you. It was a luxury you hadn’t yet been able to experience, holding his hand out in public. Something about the simple action made your heart flutter, your eyes flickering towards Suna momentarily before back towards the path. It was as if you were confirming your relationship, announcing to the world and more importantly your brothers that Suna was your boyfriend.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Suna asks, pulling you out of your thoughts.

“Just admiring.” You answer, smiling as he gives you a weird look before squeezing your hand.

“I think I’m gonna like this.” He mumbles, abruptly pulling you into himself by your hand.

You stumble for a moment before relaxing against him, your arms finding their place wrapped loosely around his neck while his hold you firmly in place by your waist. Your hand cups his cheek as you lean closer, stopped centimeters away close enough for his breath to dance on your face and lips to barely graze your own.

“Me too.”

[debbiechanclub]

Best Two Out of Three, Part 18

Well it’s still a decent hour for me, but I think I failed to get this posted before @what-does-mine-say fell asleep. She’s been the real MVP of these last couple parts, too, just saying.

Anywho, no long note this time. All I have to say is thank you to everyone who continues to read and support this lil fic (that’s not so lil anymore), and I really do hope you enjoy :)

Best Two Out of Three

Part: 18/26

Pairing: Kenny Omega x OFC x Cash Wheeler and Adam Page x OFC

Word count: 5.7k

Warnings: Language; angst.

Catch up on previous parts here.

Adam spent the entire fifty-minute drive home bracing himself to face Callie. He knew she’d be upset; she had every reason and right to be upset. He’d turned her down, pushed her away, disappeared and left her to find out when she woke up, alone. It was cold, what he’d done. Heartless. And someone as warm and loving as Callie shouldn’t have to put up with it. She deserved better—better than what he could give her; better than him. And the longer he drove, the more he felt like that was all he could say to her.

His stomach twisted in knots as he turned down the road to his house. It only got worse when he pulled into his driveway and saw that Callie’s car was gone.

He put the gearshift in park and cut the ignition, but he didn’t get out of the truck. He sat there in silence, staring at the spot that Callie’s car usually occupied. He had a sinking feeling that she hadn’t just run around the corner or gone for a drive herself. This felt like a more permanent absence.

He got out of the truck and walked to the front door. It was locked. He fumbled with his keys to get it open. When he stepped inside, he found a note waiting for him on the kitchen island.

He could guess what it said before he read it.

              I decided to head to Florida early and stay with Britt for a while. You need space to figure out what’s going on in your head and in your heart. It breaks my heart to write this… but we can’t go on the way we have been. I hope you’ll figure it out soon. I’ll miss you. I love you. x Callie.

Adam read the note over and over, until the words started to warp and blend together. There was a crinkled spot on the paper from where a tear had fallen as she wrote. He set it back down on the island, numb. It had to be a ten-hour drive to where Britt and Adam Cole lived outside Orlando. If Callie would rather take on that than face him, Adam had a feeling she wouldn’t be coming back. She was gone.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Imagine that it’s Tag Team Appreciation Night, and the number two ranked tag team in all of AEW doesn’t have a match, not even on Dark. Oh wait—we don’t have to imagine it, because we’re fucking living it!”

Alex frowned across the locker room at Chuck. She didn’t blame him for being upset; she was upset for him. Outside the Young Bucks, Best Friends were the most established tag team on the roster—and yet, they’d been completely left out of this so-called “Tag Team Appreciation Night” that FTR was hosting on Dynamite that night. It was a slap across the face. And, in the back of her mind, Alex couldn’t help but wonder if her situation with Cash was to blame for why Chuck and Trent had been excluded.

“They’re not even gonna interview us about who our favorite tag team is,” Trent lowly said. “They interviewed Kenny and Hangman.”

“Of course they did,” Chuck said with a roll of his eyes. “No offense, Alex,” he added.

Her eyebrows arched. “Why would I be offended?” she quickly asked—maybe a little too quickly. She’d been paranoid ever since Saturday that Chuck somehow knew what she’d done with Kenny on his balcony. Granted, she absolutely would have heard it by now if he did… but still. Just the thought of him ever finding out made her want to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment.

He gave her an odd look. “Because Adam’s your friend. And Kenny’s… whatever.”

Alex swallowed. That answer didn’t help her paranoia. “Oh. Well, none taken. I don’t blame you for being upset.” She looked sheepishly down at the floor. “I wish there was something I could do about it.”

“It’s not your fault, Alex,” Trent assured. “They’re just trying to hold us down because they know we’re better than them.”

A corner of Alex’s mouth turned up. But she didn’t know if it was sweet or just pathetic that Trent knew she needed to hear that they didn’t blame her. “I’m gonna go to catering,” she said as she stood from her seat. Another thing she needed was coffee—and probably a chocolate chip cookie or two. “Does anyone want anything?”

Trent and Chuck both shook their heads no; James didn’t even respond from where he sat on the couch, leaned back with his arms spread out, one ankle crossed over his knee. It looked like he was asleep. He had a match against Chris Jericho that night and he was completely unbothered. Alex only wished she could be so carefree.

She pushed her way out of the locker room and pulled her phone from her pocket, her thoughts turning to other things. She hadn’t heard from Callie in days, not since she’d tried to text her when she was in Philadelphia; since she’d left her on read Saturday morning. It was obvious something was wrong—she just wasn’t sure what. Adam hadn’t really talked to her since Saturday, either. And Alex didn’t know if she should ask or just mind her own business.

Catering was just around the corner now. She turned it and slowed to a stop. Dax and Cash were right in front of her. Her eyes met Cash’s. Her heart jumped into her mouth.

“Alex,” he said. He looked just as unprepared to see her as she felt to see him. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she returned. She flashed back to the middle of the night in Philadelphia, to the balcony underneath the moonlight. Guilt gripped her so tight that she struggled to breathe.

Dax looked awkwardly between them. “Okay. Well, I’ll let y’all catch up.” He made a hasty exit. Cash watched after him as he disappeared into catering. Alex couldn’t tell if he was annoyed with him for bailing or not.

She awkwardly cleared her throat before the silence could drown them. “Um, how are you?”

He let out a wry laugh. “I didn’t hear from you all week, Alex.”

His tone implied a follow-up statement: How do you think I feel? She knew the answer: hurt, forgotten, cast aside. But she felt all those things, too. “I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me,” she said.

His brow puckered. “What? All I wanted was to hear from you.”

That surprised her. “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because—” he cut himself off with a frustrated huff. “You need to figure out what you want, Alex. Not me. And the fact that I haven’t heard from you at all… it feels like you’ve made your decision.”

Alex’s eyes burned and her stomach turned. She could almost feel the hot summer air on her skin, hear Kenny’s voice in her ear. Her actions that night spoke louder than her silence. But she’d been drunk and emotional. She’d given in because she was hurt that she hadn’t heard from Cash. Right?

He let out a sigh and moved closer. She didn’t expect it when he reached out and took her hand in his. Her skin tingled at his touch. “I want us to talk, sweetheart. But not here. Maybe we could go somewhere after the show? I know you have a Dark match, but—”

“Wait, what?” she cut him off, suddenly confused. “I don’t have a Dark match.”

He gave her an odd look. “I just saw it on the card; you have a match against Anna Jay. Did no one tell you?”

Alex bit down on her jaw, frustration bubbling up inside her. No, no one had told her. And she had a feeling she’d been left in the dark on purpose.

She gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” she said, and she pulled her hand from his and marched toward production. Her anger built with every step she took. It was near boiling-point by the time she found the match card taped to the wall. There it was, printed on the paper as clear as day: Alex Hawthorne vs. Anna Jay, slotted as the second match after the end of Dynamite.

She ripped the paper from the wall, crinkling it in her clutched fist as she marched back out of production and through the halls of the arena. She knew exactly who was responsible for this, and he had another thing coming if he thought she’d just lay down and take it.

She arrived at the EVP room and knocked hard and fast on the door. Someone called, “Come in”; she barged in before they even finished. Adam, the Bucks, and Brandon Cutler stared up at her, matching looks of wide-eyed surprise on their faces. Alex walked right up to Matt Jackson and slapped the paper down on the table in front of him.

“What the hell is this?”

The entire room went still. Matt’s eyebrows arched, obviously stunned by her nerve. He glanced down at the paper. “Well, it looks like the match card. Did you take that off the wall?”

Her eyes narrowed. “And when were you planning on telling me that I have a Dark match against Anna Jay?”

“Oh.” He looked her right in the eye and said, “You have a Dark match against Anna Jay.”

Alex’s other hand curled into a fist at her side. She could have hit him she was so angry. Knocked that indignant look right off his stupid face—

“Alex,” Adam stood and put a hand on the small of her back, trying to diffuse the situation, but she ignored him.

“Is this about Cash?” she charged. “Are you punishing me for what he did?”

Matt’s brow lowered. “I didn’t realize giving you a match was punishment.”

She gaped back at him. “I didn’t know I had it until two fucking minutes ago!”

“Alright, come on.” Adam took her gently by the arm and whisked her out of the room. Alex let him lead her down the hall and around a corner into a private corridor. She started to shake as she leaned back against the wall. Adam gripped her shoulders.

“Take a deep breath,” he said.

She took his advice, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Her anger started to give way to embarrassment and shame. Had she really just done that?

“That was ballsy,” Adam commented. She breathed out a rueful laugh. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Alex tilted her head back against the wall as she looked up at him. She was tired of everyone asking her that. She was just tired all around. And that was exactly what she told him.

“I’m tired,” she breathed. “I’m tired of feeling like everything is falling apart around me. I’m tired of doubting myself and feeling like I have no control over anything. I’m tired of trying to do the right thing just to have it backfire in my fucking face.”

Her voice cracked, and Adam pulled her into him. She looped her arms under his and buried her face in his shoulder, drawing in another deep breath. She didn’t want to cry. She was tired of crying, too.

“I know exactly how you feel,” Adam said. “More than you realize.”

Alex pulled back and looked up at him. That was her opening to figure out what was up with him and Callie. “Why?” she asked. “What’s going on with you and Callie? She hasn’t said a word to me since she tried to text me when I was in Philly.”

Adam let her go. His arms fell to his sides as he took a step back. It looked like the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders. But she couldn’t have predicted what he said next.

“Yeah, you and me both. She left.”  

“What?” Instinctively, Alex reached out and clutched one of his hands in both of hers. “What do you mean, she left?”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” he returned. “When I got back from driving to your place, I found a note in the kitchen. She’d just gone.”

Alex squeezed his hand. “What did it say?”

He shifted, avoiding her gaze, but he didn’t let go of her grip. “That I need to figure out what I’m feeling. That she’s gonna stay with Britt for a while.”

His eyes finally met hers, and she swore she felt every emotion coursing through him herself. She’d already felt all of it, for days now. Pain. Guilt. Hopelessness. They were stranded in the same fucking boat, up shit creek without a paddle. But even though misery loved company, Alex didn’t want Adam to be stuck there with her. She’d push him out and make him swim if she had to. She wanted him to be happy.

“I’m so sorry, Adam.” She reached up and pulled him into a tight hug. “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“I wanted to,” he said into her shoulder. “But you’re dealing with your own shit. I didn’t want to bother you with mine.”

“You wouldn’t have bothered me,” she assured. He hugged her tighter. She did the same. “She hasn’t said anything to you since she left?”

“No,” he said. “I haven’t even seen her today. I don’t even know if she’s here.”

The resignation in his voice broke Alex’s heart. But before she could think of anything to say in return, he flipped the conversation on her.

“What about you? Have you talked to Cash?”

She pulled back and unwound her arms with a heavy sigh. It was only fair that she fill him in on her shit, too. “I ran into him before I burst in on you guys. But no.” She chewed on the inside of her mouth. “I think he wants to talk after the show.”

“Well, that’s good,” Adam offered, hopefully. “Right?”

She looked away, down the hall. “I honestly don’t know.” She thought back to the look on Cash’s face, to how he’d taken her hand and called her “sweetheart.” But she shook her head, snapping herself back to the present before her overthinking could carry her away. “Right now I just need focus on getting through this fucking match I just found out about.”

“You’ll be fine,” Adam said. “Just don’t let Anna or any of the other Dark Order freaks get in your head.”

His eyes turned dark; introspective. Alex frowned. It seemed like he was speaking from experience. But it wouldn’t benefit either of them to go there right now. “You’re defending the tag titles tonight, right?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, against Jurassic Express. I need to focus on getting through that fucking match. Although Kenny seems to be in a better mood this week, so that helps.”

Alex’s cheeks flushed when she heard that. “Oh? I haven’t seen him.” She and Kenny had talked since Philly—of course they had. But if Adam wondered if she had anything to do with his tag team partner’s improved mood, he thankfully didn’t ask.

“I guess I should get back in there,” he said. “We were going over some stuff for BTE when you burst in and bit Matt’s head off.”

“Jesus.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m probably gonna pay for that, aren’t I?”

But, surprisingly, Adam waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on winning your match. And not joining a cult.”

A corner of his mouth quirked up. It was small, but it was nice to see him smile; hear him joke. They needed to do more of that, like they used to. “I don’t know,” Alex returned with a sarcastic laugh. “Joining a cult might be a nice change of pace at this point.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Dynamite wasn’t over yet, but FTR wasn’t sticking around for the rest of the show. They’d done what they’d set out to do with Tag Team Appreciation Night: prove that they were the best tag team in the business. It wasn’t their fault that Rock ‘N’ Roll Express had gotten in the way. Those old-timers should have hung it up a long time ago, anyway.

They burst back into their dressing room to grab their things and get the hell out of dodge. As Cash waited for Dax to finish packing up, he pulled his phone from his pocket and looked down at the lock screen. He still hadn’t changed the background; it was a picture of him and Alex from the night they’d gone out with Adam and Callie, at that fancy restaurant downtown. She smiled wide at the camera as he held her close, his arms tight around her waist, his face nuzzled against her cheek. That night had only been two weeks ago. But it felt like a lifetime.

“Hey.” Dax got his attention and he looked back up. He nudged his chin at his phone, at the photo on the screen. “You sure you don’t want to stay for her match?”

Cash looked back down at the picture. The screen went dark. “Yeah,” he returned. “She can find me if she wants to see me.”

He pushed the phone back into his pocket. And then he grabbed his bag, and he and Dax left the arena.  

* * * * * * * * * *

Smack!

Alex saw stars and fell backward to the mat, stunned by the unexpected bicycle kick from Anna Jay. She covered her and hooked her leg. It was only on instinct that Alex was able to kick out. Her head hadn’t been in the match from the moment it had started.

She knew Cash had left. She’d gone to talk to him after the melee in the ring with the Young Bucks and Rock ‘N’ Roll Express only to find FTR’s dressing room empty. It cut deep that he’d just up and gone without so much as a text, especially after claiming that he wanted to talk. It made her wonder if he’d really meant it.

But Alex had no choice but to focus on Anna when she climbed on top of her and started choking her.

The ref counted as she struggled to breathe, clutching at Anna’s wrists. “1! 2! 3! Come on, Anna, let her go!”

Anna let out a sadistic chuckle as she released her. Alex had barely managed to gulp in a breath of air before Anna pulled her up by her hair and threw her hard into a turnbuckle. She let out a cry and charged; but Alex threw up an elbow, hitting her in the jaw and stunning her. She climbed to the top rope as quickly as she could. When Anna stumbled back around to face her, Alex launched herself into the air and hit her with a missile dropkick.

She scrambled to cover her; Anna kicked out at two. Alex clutched her throat as she glared at Anna.

That crazy cult bitch had choked her.

That crazy cult bitch had made a terrible mistake.

Alex grabbed a fistful of Anna’s long blonde hair and sat her up. She didn’t let go of it as she kicked her hard in the back with a resounding whack that made the people watching in the audience wince. Anna arched her back, bending her knees and fingers in pain, and Alex ran toward the opposite ropes, rebounded off, and nailed her in the jaw with a running knee. She sat on top of her and hooked her leg. She kicked out and powered her shoulder up at the last possible second, sending Alex tumbling off of her. She stared at the ref in disbelief. “It was two,” he confirmed, holding up two fingers. She bit down on her jaw in frustration.

Alex pulled Anna to her feet. She grabbed her forearm, pushed her back to the ropes opposite the ring entrance, and Irish-whipped her to the other side. Anna rebounded and Alex ran toward her—but someone caught her eye as they appeared on the entrance ramp and she stumbled, rolling her left ankle. She managed to lift her right knee at the last second and hit Anna in the gut, sending her flipping to the mat, but Alex fell with her. He ankle throbbed as she looked back at the ramp. Brodie Lee, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson stood in a line. Watching.

Alex knew she needed to act fast. She crawled over to Anna and locked on her finishing submission maneuver, the ’88 Sleeper. Her ankle screamed in protest as she put weight on it, but she channeled the pain into wrenching Anna back harder. It wasn’t long before she tapped.

The ref called for the bell. Alex threw Anna aside and fell back onto the mat. She reached for her left boot, fumbling to undo the laces and loosen the pressure on her ankle; but she stopped when a pair of brown dress shoes appeared in front of her. She looked up, and up, until her eyes connected with the cold, dark stare of Mr. Brodie Lee.

He grinned down at her. “Hello, Alex.”

She froze. Grayson and Uno flanked his either side. She was surrounded.

“That’s a helluva submission you have there,” Brodie complimented. “Granted, I’m not happy Anna lost…” he cast a glance at Anna Jay, who laid still clutching her back on the mat. “But you impressed me.”

He held out his hand. People throughout the arena shouted and booed, but Alex didn’t hear any of them; Brodie’s eyes were arresting. Haunting. Inviting. She didn’t even realize that she’d reached up and slid her hand into his until he gripped it and pulled her to her feet. Her ankle smarted and she stumbled; Brodie put his other hand on her waist to steady her, and Alex grabbed his arm. She couldn’t look away from his eyes. They were so dark that she almost couldn’t tell the pupil from the iris. Two black bottomless pools. She wanted to jump in and see how far she’d sink—

“Alex!”

Someone wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her away from Brodie, breaking the spell. Chuck. Trent and Adam were with him. They stood between her and Dark Order like a barricade.

“Keep moving, pal,” Trent warned. “She’s not available.”

Brodie let out a laugh, slow and deep in his chest. He looked back at Alex. “Do they think they own you?”

Adam shoved him then. “Get the hell out of here before I make you.”

Grayson took a threatening step forward; but Brodie held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t bother,” he said. “The inner demons will take care of this one.”

Adam bit down on his jaw; but Trent put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s not worth it, let’s just get Alex out of here.”

Alex’s eyes stayed glued on Brodie as Chuck helped her hobble to the ropes; Trent held them open so she could gingerly duck through. When she was on the other side, her gaze connected with Brodie’s again. He smirked.

“Think about it, Alex.”

It wasn’t until Chuck draped her arm over his shoulders and turned her away that she was able to pull her eyes from his.

“Can you put weight on it?” Chuck asked as they started to walk.

Alex winced, but nodded. “Yeah, but it hurts.”

“It’s probably just a sprain, then.”

He helped her through the tunnel into the back. Trent and Adam were close behind. “Jesus, Alex, I thought I told you to focus on not joining a cult tonight,” Adam quipped—but Alex didn’t hear him. Kenny had just run into Gorilla.

“Alex!” He hurried toward her, worry etched on his face. “Are you alright? What happened out there?”

Alex didn’t answer; she couldn’t. She was too overcome with emotion at just the sight of him. Cash had left—but Kenny was still here.

She removed her arm from around Chuck and limped over to him. She practically fell into his arms. “Hey, it’s okay,” he soothed as he hugged her. “Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I got distracted when Dark Order came out and I stepped wrong and rolled it. And then Brodie was suddenly there and—”

“It’s okay, forget about him,” he gently returned. “Come on, let’s get you to the trainer.”

He took her by the waist and helped her out of Gorilla and down the hall toward the trainer’s room. And as they walked, Alex couldn’t help but think, over and over: Cash left, but Kenny’s still here.

* * * * * * * * * *

Callie had left Daily’s Place right after the tag title match. She’d wanted to stay and watch Adam; she was happy that he and Kenny had retained the titles against Jurassic Express. But after that, she caught an Uber back to the hotel. Even though she’d wanted to see Adam wrestle, she still didn’t want to talk to him.

Besides, she needed some time to herself. While she was beyond grateful to Britt and Adam Cole for letting her stay with them, Britt had been, for lack of a better term, smothering her ever since she’d arrived at their house late Saturday evening. And because she and Britt were sharing a hotel room, too, she decided to take the opportunity while the doctor was still at the arena to grab some dinner and air to breathe.

She pushed the down button for the elevator. When it arrived several seconds later and the doors slid open, she was surprised and confused to see Cash standing inside.

“Hey.” His eyebrows arched, obviously surprised to see her, too. “What’re you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same,” Callie said as she stepped onto the elevator. She pressed the button for the lobby. “Aren’t you supposed to be hosting Tag Team Appreciation Night right now?”

He laughed lightly to himself. “Dax and I did what we needed to do and then left. I’ll just put it that way.”

Callie arched a curious brow, wondering what exactly he meant by that. But before she could ask, he asked her, “Why aren’t you back at the arena with Adam?”

The elevator arrived at the lobby with a ding. Callie drew in a deep breath as the doors slid open and she and Cash stepped out. She was both surprised and not that he didn’t know what was going on with her and Adam. But he’d find out eventually—the entire locker room would—so she might as well take the opportunity to tell him herself.

“Actually, Adam and I are kind of on a break right now.”

He stopped walking and turned to face her, his brow furrowed in confusion and disbelief. “What? Are you serious?”

She nodded. “Yeah. He doesn’t want to talk to me about anything anymore, so I left him a note and drove down to Britt’s Saturday morning. And… yeah. We haven’t spoken since.”

It didn’t hurt as much to tell him as Callie had expected it would. After four days of no contact with Adam, she’d resigned herself to the situation. She’d tried to help him. But only he could help himself now.

“Shit,” Cash breathed. He ran a hand through his hair, still obviously thrown off by the news. “I had no idea. I mean, Adam did seem pretty distracted tonight, but that’s honestly not that unusual.”

“Exactly,” Callie returned, more firmly than she intended.

Cash’s brow puckered in sympathy. He looked down at his phone, as if considering something. “Well, I don’t know where you were heading; I was just gonna go to the bar to get a drink,” he said as he pointed a thumb in the direction of the hotel bar. “But I could eat, if you want to go grab something. Misery loves company, right?”

Callie blinked, surprised at the offer. But then she realized: if anyone could relate to what she was going through right now, it was Cash.

She nodded. “Sure. But I get to pick the place.”

* * * * * * * * * *

They ended up walking to a bar and restaurant not that far from the hotel. It was a nice night, and they opted for a table outside on the patio. It was tucked away in the corner; intimate. The hostess had probably assumed they were on a date. Callie had been grateful when her cocktail arrived.

“So, if misery loves company then I guess that means you and Alex still haven’t worked it out?” she asked as she grabbed her straw and took a long sip. The drink was already halfway gone and their food hadn’t arrived yet.

Cash reached for his beer, shaking his head. “No. Back at the arena I told her I wanted to talk with her after the show, but she freaked out about her Dark match and ran off without saying anything.” He took a sip, swallowed it down. “The ball’s in her court. She knows how to find me if she wants to talk.”

Callie frowned. The part of her that had come to value Alex’s friendship wanted to know how she was feeling about all this, what she was thinking. But the jealous part of her still resented that Adam seemed so willing to open up to Alex instead of her. “Kenny practically bragged about what happened,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and gave a sarcastic laugh. “Of course he did. You know, after the first fight with Kenny, I admitted to Alex that I was worried he could steal her back. I wish I’d been wrong.”

His forearm flexed as he gripped his beer glass in frustration. Callie’s brow furrowed. “You think she’s gone back to him?”

Cash shook his head again. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Sometimes I feel like I made a mistake telling her to choose. But I can’t be with someone who obviously has feelings for someone else.”

Callie reached for her straw again. And before she could stop herself, she muttered, “That’s how I feel about Adam.”

The comment obviously took Cash by surprise. “You think Adam has feelings for someone else?”

Callie bit her lip. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she thought Adam had feelings for Alex. So she danced around it. “I practically offered myself to him on a plate the other night, and he literally pushed me away to get another drink. So that really helped with my self-esteem. I don’t know; I guess there’s someone else he’d rather see in skimpy lingerie.”

Her cheeks suddenly burned, realizing what she’d said. She needed to slow down on the alcohol. But when she glanced at Cash and saw the look on his face, she wanted to down the rest of her drink in a single gulp.

“What?” she asked.

Cash laughed to himself as he shook his head. “Nothing. Just something’s wrong with him if he turned you down.”

Callie’s face flushed again. The waiter couldn’t have arrived with their appetizer at a better moment. She pointed to her drink as he set the dish on the table. “Can I go ahead and order another?”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Why didn’t you go get dinner with Kenny and the Bucks?”

Alex took a sip of her water as she sat next to Adam at the hotel bar. Filming had wrapped not that long ago, and while Alex had come back to the hotel with the boys, Kenny had gone with Matt and Nick to grab a late dinner. Alex had hoped that maybe—maybe—Adam would go with them; but her hopes had been dashed when he’d texted her asking if she wanted to get a drink. She’d agreed to meet him, but she didn’t feel like drinking tonight.

“Please,” Adam scoffed. “They didn’t ask me.” He swirled his whiskey and took a sip. He gave her a sarcastic look as he set the glass back down. “Why didn’t you go with them?”

She pursed her lips. “Really?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. You two seemed pretty cozy when he took you to the trainer after your match.”

Alex’s cheeks burned and she shifted in her seat. Kenny had stayed with her in the trainer’s room the entire time, holding her hand as it was determined that she’d—thankfully—only suffered a bad sprain. She’d be out of action for two-to-four weeks, but it could have been a lot worse. Afterward, he’d kissed her and told her he was glad she was alright. She hadn’t said anything, choosing instead to kiss him back deeper. But she didn’t have to tell Adam that.

“He was there for me,” she said. “And I appreciated it.”

“Didn’t you say Cash wanted to talk to you after the show?”

Alex blinked, caught off-guard by the sudden interrogation. “Yeah, but he left the arena after he and Dax attacked Ricky Morton and didn’t even say anything to me.”

His eyes hardened when she said that. “I can’t believe they fucking did that.”

Alex frowned. “I know,” she agreed. But she didn’t want to go down that road, so she took another sip of water and changed the subject. “Have you talked to Callie?”

Adam shook his head. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think I want to.” He downed the rest of his whiskey and set the glass on the bar. He glanced at her as he signaled the bartender for another drink. “You sure you don’t want a drink?”

Alex put a hand on his arm. The muscle tensed underneath her touch. “Adam,” she said, urging him to look at her. But he kept his eyes fixed on the empty glass in front of him. “Don’t throw out what you have with Callie.”  

The bartender swapped out the empty glass for a full one, but Adam didn’t reach for it. He looked down at her hand on his bicep. He reached across and placed his hand on top of hers. “Alex…”

But Alex’s attention was suddenly drawn to the lobby. “What the fuck?”

Adam’s brow furrowed and he turned to look where she stared. Callie and Cash crossed through the lobby—and judging from the carefree looks on their faces, they’d been drinking. Adam and Alex watched as Cash put his hand on Callie’s back, and then they disappeared out of sight toward the elevators.

Adam turned around to face forward again, his eyebrows high on his forehead. “What the fuck,” he repeated. He grabbed his whiskey and took a long drink.

Alex laughed wryly to herself. She wanted to believe it wasn’t what they thought it was. But she didn’t know what to believe anymore. “Yeah… I’ll take that drink now.”

[sonatanotwo]

Well... I barely slept. 😂 Least I’ve got coffee... Gonna try to fumble out some words... (Spoilers ahoy!)

I didn’t quite expect the emotional roller coaster this has turned into... and not entirely cause of the episode itself. 😂 It’s feeling ever so bitter sweet... mostly in that experiencing something so emotional without a lot of the people that made up this sorta... fandom home? that it was to me. All the friends I love and care about. It’s... been feeling kinda lonely... Even though I’m not alone of course, but... yeah. It’s hard to explain. 😂 And then with this looking like the end (...though I kinda doubt ITV is gonna shelve the franchise for another 10+ years... least I sure hope not. That’d seem VERY dumb to me. But what will they do with it? That’s the real big question, ain’t it? XD I was a bit agape after attaching ‘Season’ to every time they spoke of ending that today they finally changed their tune and was like THE END. What the ever loving heck, ITV. Seriously. 😂 BUT I digress...) ...IDK if any of that feeling will ever come back now. Shit changes... god, do I ever know it does... but I guess... I just wasn’t ready for it yet. ;A;

...And boy is my body telling me that. 😂 Anxiety is such an asshole.

ANYHOO.

SO.

This ep.

As I mentioned when I gif’d it (opening my gif making stuff was first thing I did XD) that HUG man. That old hug art I did, the original version (the one you see commonly around now is the tweaked one) was one of my first finished (ish) TAG piece (only few rough doodles and half coloured things were before that lol) that I posted June 10th 2015.... so long ago. (My first post that was some sketches was June 2nd XD Yeah, I’ve been around a long while now, blimey. Not quite the VERY very start, but nearly!)

BUT YEAH. I was wanting this hug for a VERY, VERY long time. XDDD Just, back then, didn’t think it’d involve their Dad too. lol

And then, gosh... Scott in this ep... Last ep was def more Scott heavy... to balance he was stepped back a bit, but... it did make sense? Scott just seems quietly basking in the feeling of having his Dad back. Him hanging back from the hug for a moment having that exchange with his Dad feels a bit like a... passing back the torch? Here they are Dad. I took good care of them. :Db Does that make sense??? IDK. I’m so tired you guys. 😂 But it didn’t feel like Scott needed to say anything. It was written all over his face. He must have been so happy... and relieved. It’s pretty overwhelming in all the best way to hear from someone you haven’t in awhile... so... in this case, it must be turned up to like... an 11. ^^a

Man, I don’t think I can go through this in order so, bear with me if I bounce around.

There’s been so much wondering what this version of Jeff would be like all these years... and in such a short time, we definitely got a LOT to go off of. He’s a Dad who definitely doesn’t hesitate to hug his sons. :3 Fears Grandma as much as the boys, lolololol HUGS HIS ENGINEER. I actually really just... LOVED that scene with Brains. That casual, ‘Hi Brains.’ And then just calling him PARTNER and going right in for a hug... and lol Brains’ lil happy sound. Jeff and Brains were certainly friends in TOS, but there was still a kinda distance between them in that Brains is working for Jeff, but that was definitely laid out to be much different in TAG. I’m not surprised by it, cause Brains is def part of the family, but it was lovely they took the time to show it.

ALSO just how he picked up Virgil was dwelling on something... we don’t really get a window into what exactly... but after all those years, he just... picks right up on Virgil’s in some turmoil. (As said in a tag... MAYBE MOM RELATED? He seems to think Virgil’s worried if he’ll really be okay, which is why I wonder... GONNA DEF WRITE SOME FIC THOUGH. XDb) Like. GOSH. I’m sad we aren’t likely to see more of this Jeff, cause with this single ep, he was absolutely sold on me. And I love he was a total presence... but he did sit back quietly and other than dealing with ‘Brains’ and largely just *watched*. Scott was still in charge here.

So as for the end and what role Jeff is gonna play... WELL... I mean. To be fair here at the end, John is probably changing and heading to the elevator... and I mean, we’ve seen Grandma fill in several times for John... he can’t be awake CONSTANTLY, so I’d always felt a bit like maybe they’d gradually gel into a team with just... one more member. And that seems more likely now that we’ve seen he didn’t just... jump to take command. He sat back and let them do their thing.  

And now we can see Jeff is def a bit younger... and as kinda already implied, is definitely one to get his hands dirty, so sometimes (once he’s recovered a bunch) maybe he’ll even go out with the boys. That’d be my guess. ^^a I mean, might be a little kinda jostling at first to settle into a new routine... but while he certainly has a strong presence... he’s also did kinda feel... a bit gentle too? He’s not nearly as stern as TOS!Jeff. It felt like a good balance??? IDK. I’m rambling up a storm. XDDD (...and making walls of text... I should... break these up more lol...)

OKAY ALSO...

WAIIIIT wait. WAIT. This looks familiar. V E R Y familiar... Bridge... rockety thing at bottom... explody warning? Two people inside... *squints* DAY OF DISASTER? IS THAT YOU?

I HAVE A FEELING... If so... //CHEF KISS//  VERY NICE. A+ XD

OKAY. WHAT ELSE. Uh. Glad they did end up using Fuse’s (or I guess I could say Clarence’s :D) mixed feelings, which was good and gave Grandma a heck of a moment of awesome. They also served to give some action for Kayo, Penelope and Parker which was good else I suppose they’d have been standing around worriedly. lol Which isn’t really suited to their characters. XD YEAH just lotta nice moments, especially with Kayo and Grandma. ANd just. YEAH. GRANDMA MAN. YOU TELL HIM. and also OMG she was a doctor?! THAT sure explains some things. XD And that’s awesome, gosh.

ALSO the number of HUGS in this ep were A+ Getting a moment with Jeff and Grandma was lovely. :D

LIKE REALLY. LOOK HOW HUG HAPPY THIS DAD IS. I AM PLEASED. A+

And just lol... ‘I don’t even have a car yet.’  ‘You have a rocket.’ ‘...oh yeah. That’s true.’ LOLOL SUCH ALAN. He is too cute.

...AND yeah. IDK. I feel like I’m forgetting things. I’ll ramble them into another post if I think of things. I gotta pop out for a bit. 😂

BUT YEAH. Yeah, there’s few things they didn’t get to addressing, but there were hugs and emotions which was what was really the important thing, right? :Da I don’t really feel like nit picking when had all that. XDDD

(It is kinda interesting how in a way the ending reminded me of Legacy’s a bit with a ...Oh we got an emergency. It’s a good note to leave off of... but goes to show when maybe S1 was written, it was largely on the assumption that it could be the only season... but then were able to hint of S2 in an additional scene. But if S2 hadn’t been commissioned, it was sorta ready to be a finale if it had to. In a way S2 was the same, though with bit more hints of S3 were there so... Just kinda interesting. =Oa But also nice that Rob has left it in a way that NEVER SAY NEVER (to quote Rob) is definitely open. ^^)

ANYHOO. That’s all my rambling for now. ^^

[fluidityandgiggles]

Dalton Big Bang day 1 - The Canadian Girlfriend Experience

Writing Masterpost, AO3 Link

Notes: So... y’all. Dalton fam. Hear me out.

I understand that y'all are gonna be mad at me for staying up until (four? five?) five in the morning to post this, but I'm something like 90% sure I'd forget to post it in the morning (afternoon), and I have to write tomorrow's fic anyway, so... here's an extra early fluffy mess. Hope y'all like it.

I had to write this one... I really really had to. Han's girlfriend is a big deal to me. I hope you understand it.

(And for the uninitiated in pathfinder - the rank system is wild, feats are taken every two levels or so, Logan’s character is basically invincible, defeated only by Dwight’s monk and the absolute insanity that creating a monk in pathfinder can end up being.)

—————

"I really have to go to sleep," the familiar (by now) high-pitched voice said through the headphones, stifling a yawn. "My drama class is moving props to the auditorium tomorrow for our exam and my mom would be mad at me if I don’t go to sleep in the next thirty minutes."

"So go to sleep, Lils. I won’t be mad at you."

"Okay! I’ll text you in the morning! Love you, bye!"

"Good night."

Han finally let himself snort a bit after his girlfriend hung up, watching as she disconnects from the game a few moments later. He did say he’ll only play Starcraft today so long as Leah is available, and now that she’s offline…

He just closed the game and went back to working on his Pathfinder session prep.

Han met Leah at the San Diego Comic-Con last summer. On day one, she approached him because she thought the Westwoods’ Bat family cosplay was really cool. On day two, he approached her because her Arwen cosplay was flawless. By day three they’d already ditched the con to have a not-date lunch at In-N-Out, found out they’re in the same guild in World of Warcraft, Han found out Leah has a voice acting channel on youtube, they exchanged phone numbers, and by day four they may have not spent the whole day together but they certainly went on a date-date at the end of the day.

They’ve been rather inseparable for the following three weeks, but by then Han had to face the reality of it all. Leah’s phone number was weird to him from the start, sure, and he was willing to pass off her accent as a speech quirk, but it wasn’t until those three weeks ended that it finally sunk in that she’s not American. And like most good things, her visit too has to come to an end.

Maintaining a relationship online just… didn’t feel the same.

1 Unread Message

‘Merril: Can I suggest an idea for Mishka’s character arc?? You can say no, I just had an idea is all!’

Caterpillar: I’m all ears

———

"While this mess of a… bargain is happening," Logan called as Merril and Reed tried to catch their breaths from laughing. "Can Dwight and I get to the diplomatic debate?"

"Sure," Han sighed, watching his party quickly derail the session. "But let’s take a break first."

The first to disappear at the sound of "let’s take a break" was Lucy, who ran to the bathroom, accidentally knocking off Logan’s dice tower in the process. Merril got the brownies out and on the table, everyone pulled their phones out…

Han could take a couple moments to look at the pictures Leah sent him earlier. According to her, they were not yet done with lighting cues, and she was going crazy, but seeing her in her period piece of a costume and leg brace prop made him feel excited for her, somewhat.

Caterpillar: wish I could been there to see it 

Jabba the Hutt: Oh no! Don’t say that! Jabba the Hutt: I’ll send you the filmed version when I get it, but it’ll probably be really bad anyway.

Caterpillar: im sure it cant be that bad 

Jabba the Hutt: Han, it’s a high school production of the Glass Menagerie. Jabba the Hutt: My class is also doing the play version of Spring Awakening. Jabba the Hutt: It *can* and *will* be that bad. Jabba the Hutt: Trust me. 

"Han?" Merril called before he could answer that one. "Hansel, are you listening?"

"No, I wasn’t. What was it?" He grabbed a brownie, leaving his phone aside for a second.

"Wizards of the Coast announced a new edition of D&D," she said again, smiling gently. "Do you think you’d want to try it?"

"I’m already one step ahead of you there. I’m going to playtest it when it— excuse me…"

Jabba the Hutt: WE FINALLY FUCKING FINISHED THIS Jabba the Hutt: I’ve never been happier to say I’m getting offstage, I need someone to punch me!

Caterpillar: dont you mean pinch?

Jabba the Hutt: I meant what I said and I said what I meant.

Han tuned back in time to hear Logan say "I just really don’t want to have to mess with the power system again", which resulted in Dwight throwing a bag of chips at his head.

"Fourth edition has a very special place in my heart, Wright. Don’t talk shit about it around me."

"Yeah, why all the hate for the power system?" Lucy frowned (when did she get back from the bathroom?). "It’s not all that different to how feats work. Would you complain about getting a new feat every odd level once we switch systems?"

"Not going to happen, Lucy."

"Aw man, but I wanted to play Vampire the Masquerade next!"

"And we already said Merril is going to run it," Han reminded her, checking his phone one last time. "But we’re not switching our current game to another system. Not gonna happen."

There was a quiet "hell yeah" from Merril as Han’s phone buzzed with a new message, but before he could even read it, it was snatched by Lucy.

"Wha… who are you talking to, Han?" She laughed a bit, scrolling up, and then her eyes went wide open. "Well… damn."

"Don’t act like you’re surprised, that’s my girlfriend. You met her before."

The silence in the room was so tense, Han swore he could hear a pin drop. 

"...a girlfriend?" Dwight was the first to ask, raising a brow. "Since when?"

"You know, I honestly thought she would’ve forgotten all about you after two weeks…"

"Since a few months ago," Han told Dwight, taking his phone back. "Can we continue, please?"

"No! It’s interesting!" Merril joined in, resting her chin on her hand as she got closer, pushing some papers a bit. "How did you meet? Where is she from? Can we meet her?"

"We met at Comic-Con and no, you can’t meet her. She’s… not from here."

"...is she Canadian?" Logan raised a brow too, starting to laugh.

"Noooooooo…?"

"Oh yeah, Han’s Canadian girlfriend."

"She’s not— let’s start to fucking play, this session isn’t going to end itself."

By the end of the session, Han couldn’t say he’d be surprised if the whole school found out by tomorrow. And if anyone (namely the twins) made fun of him for his "Canadian girlfriend"... so be it. 

———

"Is this Canadian girlfriend of yours coming to prom?" Julian’s tired voice came through the phone, sounding like he was about to pass out. He just arrived at school earlier today, already tired from the flight, and immediately got coddled by Logan.

"She’s not Canadian, Julian. You’re the twenty-fifth person I’ve told this already."

"So where is she from? Would you please tell just one person?"

With a quick glance at the security footage, to make sure Logan wasn’t listening, Han whispered "her name is Leah, I met her at Comic-Con in San Diego last year, she’s from Israel and no, I doubt she can come to prom. She has her own prom to attend."

"...okay, so this Israeli girlfriend of yours. Got it."

"Thank you."

"Are you sure you want to keep her a secret…?" He clicked his tongue. His laugh sounded a bit rougher than usual. "You know how things can end up. You of all people."

"I… I’m just not sure I’m ready for… dude. Is Logan drooling on your shoulder…?"

"Give him a break, Westwood. He’s adjusting to his new pills."

"I asked about the drooling."

"He does that sometimes. I just let him be."

"...why is everyone so interested in my girlfriend? Is it really any different from David and Katherine?"

"I don’t know how to break it down to you, Westwood, but you’re not exactly the type anyone would expect to even have a girlfriend."

A shift in the camera footage made Han cuss silently, covering his microphone.

"...she said she’ll be here for graduation. Hers is in late June, but she finishes school in May."

"Yeah. May. When prom is."

"Do you want to talk to her yourself?" He could hear Julian snort. "I’m not kidding. I’ll give you Leah’s phone number and you’ll convince her yourself. I can’t."

"Because that totally won’t be crazy."

"Julian."

"Hansel."

"Just fucking ask her, you absolute nerd!"

"Can you stop ordering me around? This isn’t Hollywood. This is my girlfriend we’re talking about."

"Can you at least send me a picture of her? So I’ll know she’s real?"

"...fuck you, Larson."

Han sent him a picture anyway. A picture of the two of them that Lucy insisted to take while they were in San Diego. They coordinated somehow, Han with his LOTR shirt and Leah with her whole Arwen cosplay. It was the happiest day he could possibly remember.

And then, a snort through the phone.

"...so you’re Leah Appelbaum’s mysterious Maryland boyfriend? Huh. Didn’t know you lived in Maryland."

"...you know Leah?"

"We had auditions in the same building two years ago and she approached me because she’s a fan of Something Damaged. She insisted on keeping in touch. How did you meet her?"

"At Comic-Con… please be gentle about this, Julian."

"Okay! I just… wow. I know where you live now. Sweet."

"Don’t you dare try to blackmail me with that information, Larson."

"I won’t. There’s nothing to worry about."

———

"...you know what?" Han sighed as the last session before prom was about to close off. "Roll sense motive."

The clatter of dice hitting each other and everyone cussing filled the room, quickly picking up their dice and looking.

"Fifteen!"

"Seventeen!"

"Five!"

"How’s you get a five, Lucy?"

"I’m a barbarian, what do you think—"

"Thirty-four."

Dwight practically glared at Logan. "What the fuck, dude?"

"I play a half-elf cleric, Dwight," Logan answered, straight-faced. "Plus two to wisdom straight away, rolled extremely well, I have a plus five modifier to wisdom and the alertness feat. I took a single rank in sense motive every time we leveled up and now I have ten ranks. On the tenth rank in sense motive or perception, you get a bonus four to the skill instead of the usual two. Thus, ten plus four plus five equals nineteen, plus the fifteen that I rolled. That’s thirty-four. Do I sense motive?"

"...everyone who rolled above a fifteen, and that definitely includes Flint—" Han could see Logan smiling smugly. "Everyone who rolled above a fifteen can see that this woman is telling the truth. Anyone who rolled a twenty or above, Flint, can also sense that—"

There was a knock at the door. There was never a knock at the door. But now there was. And as Reed got up to open the door, Han silently hoped it wouldn’t be anyone who shouldn’t be there—

"And this is your boyfriend’s room," Julian’s voice came through as Reed’s jaw dropped. "Thank you for picking Julian Larson to be your tour guide, we hope you enjoyed the trip."

"Very! Oh, hello!" The girl at the door waved at Reed, who waved back. The whole party waved back. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, those nerds are just playing dungeons and dragons. You have nothing to worry about." Reed finally returned to his seat as Julian kissed the girl’s cheek, chuckling at the shock. "Logan, I’ll be expecting you to pick me up at six. I want my pre-prom sushi."

"I promised you I will, Princess, don’t panic."

"Okay, just making sure."

As Julian left, the girl went to sit on Han’s futon and look at everyone. Long brown hair, half of it bleached; dark eyes behind a pair of green plastic-framed glasses; a bit on the heavier side, like Han himself, and wearing a floral summer dress and a pair of short leggings. Her face was flushed red, her lipstick a dark blue, and her nails painted black that just started to chip.

Han missed her so much.

"So… hi." She waved around again, a bit confused. "What’s up…?"

"Who’s this?" Dwight was the first to speak.

"My girlfriend," Han replied, sounding rather insistent. "We were just about to finish our session, Lils. Can you wait?"

"Mmhm! Absolutely! I’ll be so quiet, you’ll forget I’m even here!"

Nobody forgot she was there. Merril kept looking over to her, Reed and Dwight seemed skeptical as ever, and the only person who was normal about it was Lucy. But it wasn’t news for Lucy, she’s met Leah before after all. All the while Leah sat there, chuckling at the game and waiting patiently for Han to finish, which he did twenty minutes later. Dwight practically ran out, followed by Logan who needed to pick his own boyfriend up for dinner, but…

"So where are you from in Canada?" Merril asked first, making Leah smile. 

"I’m… not Canadian. Did Han tell you I’m Canadian?"

"Where’s your lipstick from?" Reed asked next.

"Umm… it’s, it’s from NARS, I picked it up on the way here, I forgot to pack my own makeup and—"

"Is Han taking you to prom?"

Han choked on his water at that. "I can’t leave my room for prom, Merril. Health risks."

"You can have an indoors prom."

"We planned on watching Battlestar Galactica and ordering takeout," Leah admitted. "But… an indoors prom would be nice. I’m not going to mine anyway. My class is writing this… really offensive skit about one of the math teachers and I don’t want to be a part of it."

"What’s your prom even like…?" Reed squinted, sitting back down. "That you do skits."

"It’s… not really a prom. Israel doesn’t really have the promenade culture, it’s just like a showcase the whole class does for family and friends before graduation… I’ve never liked this practice, you know, I think it’s just…"

As Leah rambled on, Han took his time to clear the table and silently hope Merril and Reed leave soon. Those two have prom dates after all. And neither are a Canadian girlfriend.