#hallmate sides

[casiavium]

you know the guy asking me to do his totally-not-a-sex-thing probably wanted me to do the weird thing as Zelda or possibly Link, as has happened before, but I almost want to do it in Ghirahim because that cosplay is off putting

can PEOPLE be NORMAL to COSPLAYERS

[a-kaash-me-outside]

the walls are thin - ch7.5

in which maki was your college boyfriend with whom you shared everything. previous | ch7.5 | next (coming soon) [masterlist]

// passionate, silently perfect romantic, unwavering platonic ~ ᴍᴀᴋɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ~ 3176 ᴡᴏʀᴅs

a look into this chapter: 18+ minors dni, absolutely not necessary to read for the plot, just some maki background for my maki bitches, backstory, light angst (they break up that's not a spoiler), flirting, cute scenes, she/her pronouns

join my taglist here!! ~~ (last ch tmrw,, and an epilogue nxt wk) ♡ ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢs ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs ᴍᴇᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ♡

falling in love with hanamaki takahiro was like waking up to soft sunlight and a gentle morning breeze. you weren’t expecting it to happen, were expecting to wake up to your alarm clock or a frantic knock on your door, didn’t know it was even happening until you were awake. it happened sooner than you thought it would, but it wasn’t jarring, wasn’t abrupt, was slow and patient, unfolded overtime, piece by piece, until one day, it just was. 

you had had relationships in the past, high school crushes and senior year flings, but hanamaki takahiro taught you what love was, what it was like to trust a person so deep in your bones that it practically felt like you carried them along with you wherever you went. 

but before it was this passionate, silently perfect romantic love, it was an unwavering platonic love, a friendship that didn’t just make sense to the two of you or your closest friends, but anyone you came into contact with. former classmates, semester-long friends, professors, and hallmates, everyone that knew you, knew maki, and everyone that knew maki, knew you. 

on your way to class, eating lunch alone for a change, in the grocery store with him an aisle away, you were always met with, “where’s maki?” as if he was a defining characteristic of your personality, as if being without him was life-threatening to you. and the weird thing was that, you didn’t mind the questions. you didn’t feel lesser because a part of you was attached to this incredible person who just made your life better. besides, you did always know where maki was. 

hanamaki takahiro was the first real friend you made on campus, not just a college friend that lasted within the confines of your school and town, but someone you instantly knew was going to be in your life for a really long time, no matter what form.

</3 </3 </3

about halfway into the second semester of freshman year, hanamaki takahiro made the only somewhat, maybe it should’ve been a bit more difficult decision to go out of his comfort zone in the name of shifting the labels of your incessant flirting and weekend long hang out sessions. 

you were on the way out of his dorm, bag thrown over your shoulder already, shoes already on, goodbye already dissipating from the room, hand reaching towards the door handle when he blurted, “holy shit this is going to be so embarrassing if i read this situation wrong, but would you maybe want to like… go get a drink with me?”

your motions halted, slowly turning to face him as you narrowed your eyes, head tilting to the side out of caution. “like now?” you asked. it was one out of a million other questions you could have asked to understand the exact connotation of the question.

“i mean, sure? that’s not necessarily what i meant,” he said, hand on the back of his neck sheepishly for just a few moments before turning his palm to the sky in a half shrug. 

this side of maki wasn’t one that you got to see often, somewhat shy, a little unsure, and you were really loving the way you could see the subtle blooming of a pink tint on the highs of his cheeks. even when you were ruthlessly flirting with him and he was perpetually flirting back, you never got to see this amount of fluster. it was quite adorable. 

you leaned your shoulder against his door frame. “then what do you mean, maki?” you asked him, crossing your arms over your chest, only somewhat nervous that he was going to call your bluff. you absolutely knew what he meant. 

“i meant, like- like a date?” he clarified. 

“you want our first date to be at a bar?” you asked.

his cheeks got even pinker, eyes slightly widened as he tried to recover a bit, “not necessarily, just thought it might be a casual way to ask you out, like we get dinner all the time. we’ve never just gotten drinks as friends, so i thought it would be a bit easier to just-”

“i’m literally fucking with you, maki,” you said, sentence barely leaving your mouth before the corners of your lips turned upwards into a devilishly sweet smile. you didn’t torture him any longer, “of course i’ll go on a date with you. a drink sounds nice.”

“you’re the worst, y’know that?” he replied, exhale of breath expelled as his shoulders relaxed. he ran his fingers through his hair, exhaled once more, and then smiled at you so absolutely genuine with heaps of adoration that you could’ve kissed him right there. 

“you’re smiling pretty big for someone who’s going on a date with the worst,” you teased, leaning forward onto the tips of your toes. your chest felt light, skin felt tingly, stomach felt fluttery. how were you supposed to just live like this until you went on your date? “so, are we going now?” you blurted.

he quirked his head. “you- you want to go now? it’s like, 9pm on a wednesday, don’t you have classes tomorrow? and i look like this.”

“what? cute?” you asked, and the funny thing is that it wasn’t any different than you’d normally reply. maki knew that too. “i just think that if we don’t go now, how are we supposed to act tomorrow when we get lunch? like friends? like another date? like friends who are about to go on a date? it’s just easier this way.”

“you want to just get our date out of the way?” maki poked. 

“sure,” you replied as if it was a real question. he almost looked slightly taken aback until you followed quickly with, “that way we can set the tone, y’know? figure out that we really like each other sooner, keep flirting with each other, schedule another date, that kinda thing.”

“alright,” he said, walking to the corner of his room to get his jacket, shoving his wallet into his pocket, grabbing his keys. “let’s go then.”

“really?” you asked, eyes bright, standing up straight off of the door frame. he reached past you to open the door, instantly ready to go on your explanation. 

“well, yeah, you think i’m going to say no to you?” he asked, smiling, one hand sliding down to slot his fingers with yours. you took his hand quickly, squeezing hard enough that he could feel your heartbeat against his palm. he stopped for a second, looking at you fondly, smile growing even bigger, eyebrows furrowing together “you think i’m going to say no to going to get a drink right now with the person i’ve had a crush on for months?”

</3 </3 </3

it didn’t take long after that for the two of you to become inseparable. you were exactly right, just as maki expected you to be. your first date was flawless, easy. he bought your drinks and he let you buy his and the two of you ended up spending the same amount of money, but it was the gestures that really mattered. 

the only fear that you had going into the date, the only thing you could come up with walking down the cold downtown streets was what if it just felt like you were having a drink with your friend, what if the date label didn’t make it any different, but while you were there, drinking at the quiet end of a quiet bar, it didn’t feel like you were just having a drink with your friend but it didn’t feel like you were on a date either. it felt like you were spending the night at a bar with maki and it was really nice. 

a few minutes after you finished your first drink, maki put his hand on your knee, scooched his chair closer to yours despite the fact that there wasn’t really a need to, no driving factor, no small space to take up because of a crowd or closeness needed because of the noise. you barely noticed it when it happened. it wasn’t weird or out of place. you only really clocked it when he pulled his hand away to pay the bartender for the next round because of the lack of warmth against your leg, a warmth that you quickly realized that you wanted in your life forever. 

you leaned in closer, knees against his as you nudged it under his hand. his fingers wrapped around the top of your thigh, smiling at the contact again as he continued to tell you about his first kiss only because you asked. when you told him about yours, his eyes kept flickering down to your lips, distracted for a few moments before looking back up into your eyes again. 

he didn’t kiss you that night, walked you back to your dorm despite your protests and thanked you very sweetly for agreeing to go out with him and for suggesting that you went out tonight. “i’m not sure how i would’ve lasted until this weekend to go out on a date with you, honestly,” he admitted. 

you didn’t mind though, that he didn’t kiss you right then and there, that he gave you a night to digest what all had happened, to let you sit on it and savor the feeling of transition between friends and something more before making it quite to that something more. 

the following day at lunch was only slightly different. the conversations were the same, the lunch table was the same, the flirting was the same. the only difference was warmth on your knee, the soft touch throughout the hour that didn’t waver for a single second. 

</3 </3 </3

the second date came quickly, a movie on friday night in your dorm, which to be fair, was not an altercation of what your current plans had been anyway, but that didn’t matter. you labeled it as a date and it felt just like watching a movie with maki. the two of you fell asleep in your bed, curled up against each other with soft murmurs of scripted chatter droning in the background. 

the third date came quickly after that, and so did the fourth and the fifth, and somewhere along the tenth or fourteenth date, you started losing track of the count and the lines between you and maki hanging out and you and maki going on a date were super blurred. but by then it didn’t really matter. by then it was just you and maki, the rest didn’t matter.

he didn’t need to ask you to be his girlfriend. the label didn’t mean much, not when the relationship between the two of you was going to stay the same anyway, but he just wanted to be able to call you his girlfriend. that was a good enough reason for you.

“cool, yeah, girlfriend,” you said, nodding along, “sounds cute.”

“sounds cute?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows, “not oh, maki, how romantic or oh, maki, yes, i’d love to be your girlfriend or oh, maki, i can’t wait to be committed to you and only you.” 

“is that what that means?” you asked, stretching your arms upwards before falling backwards onto his bed, head on his pillow. “maybe not then, wanna keep my options open.”

“oh, you’re the worst, you know that?” he said, both arms bracketing your shoulders as he hovered over top of you. he leaned down and pressed a kiss into your mischievous smile. 

“what! what if iwa and oikawa ever break up? gotta catch that rebound,” you teased. 

“i’m gonna tell oikawa,” maki said, chest already lifting to turn and storm out of the room. you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulled him into you, kissed him again.

“don’t you dare,” you warned, kissing him again. he kissed you back, laughing against your lips. “not funny.”

“pretty funny,” he said, brushing a stray strand of hair out of your face, leaning down to kiss the spot where it used to be. when his laughter ceased, he took a breath, smile constant, but more serious now, “so, will you? be my girlfriend, i mean.”

“oh, maki, how romantic, i’d love to be your girlfriend and be committed to you and only you,” you said, voice low, and despite the fact that it’s supposed to come out as a joke, you can’t help yourself from saying each bit genuinely, sweetly. 

you were, quite honestly, ready to be with him forever.

</3 </3 </3

over the course of two years, you learned to read maki really well, disgustingly well, actually, so well that you knew something was wrong the second that you heard the knock on your dorm door. you wanted to greet him with a, hey, what’s wrong? but he beat you to the first sentence. 

“hey, can we talk?” he asked, standing in your doorway with enough anxious energy to shut down an entire city. 

“hanamaki, you’re terrifying me,” you admitted, honestly, stepping into your dorm room and letting the door fall fast enough for him to catch it. he walked in behind you, locked the door as it closed. 

he let out a light laugh, “well, hey, don’t go throwing my name around like that.” you didn’t laugh back. he didn’t blame you. you sat down on the edge of your bed and he joined you, unsteady exhale leaving him, and then he looked at you.  

if he didn’t say anything else, just looked at you like that for a few more handfuls of seconds, you might not have needed to hear whatever he was going to say. his eyes were soft, features were gentle, and your heart was beating so furiously in your chest that you felt like you were going to pass out. 

he didn’t beat around the bush, didn’t prolong the reason that he came or the thoughts that he had been trying to combat for the past few days. “i’m really so in love with you, but i think that i can’t be in a relationship right now.”

you were quiet, didn’t say anything, just waited for him to explain further, something, anything to calm down your nerves and heart and confusion. “classes are kicking my ass in ways that they weren’t before we started dating and my internship hasn’t even started and i’m really scared that if i keep going like this that i’m going to fall behind for real,” he explained, eye contact steady in a way that his voice isn’t because he knew that you deserved it. 

“i’ve gone through this a lot in my head, on how to do this without breaking up with you, but i can’t. if we’re together, my number one priority will always be you, no matter how hard i try for it not to be, so i think i have to do this,” he said, and he sounded eerily unsure and very sure at the same time. 

you were quiet again, still not saying anything, but not because you needed any further explanation, just because you were waiting for the words to seep into your skin. when they did, when they settled in next to your self-doubt and biggest fears, you could only muster one sentence, “does this mean you’ll just be out of my life?”

he shook his head, hand reaching upwards to cup your face, thumb smoothing over your cheek. “i really hope not,” he replied. “i get it, if it’s too hard to just be friends or if you don’t want to see me for a bit or-”

you shook your head, forehead resting against his as you put your hand on the back of his, fingers curling around his knuckles. the words nearly fought you, clawed at the inside of your throat as you forced them out, “i don’t really want to be without you, hiro.”

he started to say your name, but you shook your head again, harder this time as you finished your sentence, “i get it. i’m not going to fight you on this. if you think this is the only option, i trust you. i can just be your friend. i’ve done it before, y’know?” you were crying, then, as the words left you, because it was really hard not to fight him on this, to just trust him, but you did. 

trusting someone in this capacity hard, but with hanamaki takahiro, everything’s a little bit easier. still, you couldn’t help yourself, couldn’t stop the sentence as it slipped out with a shaky breath, “are you sure?”

it took a few seconds, but he nodded against you, slow as to not disrupt the places where your body was pressed against his. he moved towards you, no longer a few inches separating the two of you, knees bumping against yours, one hand on the top of your thigh. he nodded again, maybe just for him that time.

you took a deep breath. “will you at least stay with me tonight?”

he didn’t hesitate. “of course.”

</3 </3 </3

it was hard slipping back into what you used to be after being what you were for so long. the touches still felt comfortable, warm, like no one communicated to your bodies how different it was supposed to be again. it took a few lunches for your picnic table to not hold as much weight anymore, for both of you to stop glancing over at the initials you had carved into the side.

but you did.

it took a few lapses of judgment for the two of you to stop hooking up after the breakup was official. it took even longer for the two of you to stop stealing kisses behind closed doors in tiny spaces that you would’ve before. neither of you regretted a single instance or a single kiss. 

but you did stop eventually.

hanamaki takahiro taught you not only about love but about letting go in micro doses, about hanging on to certain aspects of your relationship despite changing the makeup of it, about care and closeness that transcends labels. you’re not exactly sure when your relationship slipped back into the way it used to be, or if it ever completely did. 

there were still parts of your relationship that you held onto from your time dating like buying each other’s drinks and holding hands under the picnic table, but there were things from your time dating that you let go of when you let go of the labels like pet names and kissing in public. the you and maki that exists now is different from the one that existed before or the one that existed before that, evolved and bettered by time and mutual love. 

the you and maki that exists now will be different from the one in the future or the one after that or the one after that. different forms and different labels and different people in different situations, but constant, in your life for a really long time, no matter what form. you knew that then. you know it even better now.

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[m-jelly]

Learning to blossom - Chapter 1

Stunning banner created by the wonderful @ladycheesington 💕

Pairing: Levi x Fem!Reader

Genre and tags: Romance, fluff, modern AU, Uni AU, confessions, tattooed Levi, drama, flustered Levi.

Fic concept: You and Levi fall in love after spending so much time together in lectures. As the two of you date, you experience a lot of firsts together such as this being Levi's first-ever relationship and you both are virgins. You face a lot of difficulties, such as a guy who won't leave you alone and spreads rumours about you. A few girls want to be Levi's girlfriend instead of you. A professor of yours seems to be a bit too handsy with you. You both go through different phases of your relationship during your three years at university such as getting a house with friends, graduation, what the future holds, and what you want in your relationship. You both grow together and throughout everything that happens, you love each other so deeply and stay strong.

Chapter: You meet Levi at a party and feelings spark away. You and Levi meet again in a lecture and hit it off. Levi saves you from unwanted advances again and takes you to lunch. You and Levi get closer to each other as sparks fly again. After a month of spending every day together due to doing the same subject as Levi, you both take the plunge and go with your feelings.

Notes: Due to my living in the UK, a lot of university life is inspired by the subjects I took and the life there for me and others. I will sprinkle a bit of USA university life in, but due to my knowledge and experience of that side being from movies and TV shows, I don't want to misrepresent it. Also, Levi plays a popular sport in the UK called rugby, I chose this because I know about it and know nothing about American football. Note for American readers, when I mention football I mean soccer for you. Hope all this helps! If you have questions place them in my comments.

AO3 link

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 The end

You were not too sure about this all, but your hallmates were adamant that you had to go. So, you were trying your best to dress nicely and put on some makeup. You were just going to go, socialise a bit and then go home. You just really weren’t in the mood for it all, but you needed to make some friends.

You perked up when someone lightly knocked on your room door. You opened it to reveal your neighbour across from you. Athena was so tall compared to you and had muscles too. She had a cheeky smile, always had plasters on her from cuts and her hair was a beautiful orange with the left side shaven and the right side long. She was a beautiful woman and could break anyone easily.

Athena grinned at you and leaned in your doorway. “Sup little cupcake. Woah, you look hot as hell. You aiming to impress?”

You gasped. “Is it too much?”

“Nah, cupcake. You look sexy.” She winked at you. “You’re bell of the ball. Maybe I should run off with ya.”

You giggled. “That’d be fun. Knowing you we’d get up to no good.”

“You’re right.” She shoved her hands into her baggy trouser pockets. “You ready?”

You hummed and checked. “Yeah, I’m good.”

She pointed to your bag. “You ain’t gonna need that. All the drinks are there. Unless you need it?”

You released a long sigh. “Call it a safety blanket.”

“Ah” she tapped the side of her nose “I get ya.” She stepped out of the way as you locked up your room. “You wanna grab coffee tomorrow and explore?”

You nodded and hummed in response. “Please.” You turned to Athena and smiled. “Hey, thanks for being so nice to me and supportive. It means so much to me that you’ve been a friend.”

She slung her arm over your shoulders and smiled. “Don’t mention it. You’re the only interesting person on this floor. The rest of these people are idiots.” She smiled. “You’re cool. You play games and you’re studying criminology.”

You blushed a little and smiled a bit at the annoyed-looking girls living in your hall as you passed. Athena told it like it is and didn’t apologise for anything. You felt safe with her, so you were more than happy to go to a party with her. You knew you were going to have a good time and at least there was someone to talk to. A lot of the time you’d go out with people and they’d just abandon you and you’d get lonely.

You winced a little at the heavy base music getting louder as you approached the halls filled with guys. You saw people hanging around outside the bottom floor halls, along with others sitting in windows. You felt your nerves seeping in as you got closer to the party. The closer you got, the more you didn’t want to be there.

Athena gave you a wiggle. “Cheer up cupcake. We’ll have a few drinks and then leave.”

You released a long sigh. “Yeah.”

She pulled you inside and past the crowded halls until you slipped into the communal kitchen. “Drink?”

You hugged yourself and nodded. “Sure.”

You looked around the room and felt a few stares. You felt as if you were meat up for grabs. You hated it so much. You noticed a guy with arched primed eyebrows, neatly tamed hair, sly eyes with an amber colour, and a thin smirk. He was handsome to most people and likely rich by the looks of his clothes. He was tall and lean with muscle and kept talking to the women around him that he was playing for the university football team.

You wrinkled your nose up in response and only felt irritated by him. You didn’t really want anything to do with a guy like him. You knew the type. He’d sleep around with as many women as possible and didn’t give a shit about them. You hated his kind and just wanted to keep to yourself. Guys like him equalled drama and you just wanted to have a nice three years at uni.

Your blood ran cold when he kept glancing over at you. You were beginning to panic and you were trying your best not to lock eyes. You glared at Athena, but she was still waiting to get drinks. You were slowly leaning towards full panic mode. You fiddled with your clothes as you felt him moving closer to you. You closed your eyes tightly and prayed to whoever was listening to help you.

“Tch, oi?”

You opened your eyes and gazed up at a man in a tight white top, leather jacket and tight black jeans. Your cheeks burned at his slightly tamed messy thick raven hair that was long on his neck. He had little earrings in his ears and you saw a bit of tattoo showing under his jacket. His grey-blue eyes were piercing as they took you in. You shivered when you saw how muscular he was due to his white top stretching over his chest.

He reached up and rubbed the lovely raven locks on the back of his neck. “You wanna come over to the side with my friends?” His cheeks burned a little as he got nervous. “So you uh don’t feel alone.”

You nodded. “Please. I just don’t want to be jumped on by some weirdo.”

He walked with you to the corner of the room where two people were hanging out. “I’m guessing you’re referring to the guy who has a rod up his ass? He’s Reuben and he’s on the university football team. He likes everyone to know. Tch, guys got a personality of football and law.”

You stopped walking and hummed. “He seems like an asshole to me.”

“He is.” He offered his hand. “Levi.”

You shook his hand and gave him your name. “My friend over there is Athena. We won’t be here long because I’d rather be at home wrapped up in a blanket.”

“Sounds nice. I’d prefer that.”

The woman next to him smirked. “He’d prefer to join you!” She offered her hand as Levi shouted at her. “HI! I’m Hange.”

You laughed and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

She winked at you. “You too.”

The big blonde offered his hand. “Mike. Our friend Erwin couldn’t make it tonight, but he’d love to meet you.”

You smiled softly. “Nice to meet all of you.”

Athena strolled over. “Fuck me that took forever. Here you are cupcake.”

You took your cup and smiled. “Appreciate it.” You sipped your drink as everyone introduced themselves. You smiled at your new tall friends chatting away. You felt a gaze on you and noticed Levi kept looking at you. You smiled at him making him blush and look away. You tugged on Athena’s shirt and smiled. “I’m going outside for five minutes.”

Athena winked at you. “Sure thing. Text me if you need me.”

You waved to her and moved through the massive crowds until you got outside. You released a sigh and shook off your anxieties as best as you could. You ruffled your hair and looked around you. You glanced to the side to see Reuben was outside too. You turned away and groaned in annoyance. You pulled your phone out and checked it. You pouted a moment but someone walking over to you made you stiffen up.

You turned and stared up at Reuben. You wrinkled your nose up at the strong cologne coming from him. “Can I help you?”

He lit a cigarette and blew the smoke to the side away from you. “You looked lonely.”

You wafted the air around you. “Just needed fresh air, but you’re kind of making it not.”

He sucked his teeth a little. “My bad. I can’t smoke inside so I have to do it out here.”

You hummed as you stared at the cigarette between his fingers. “Maybe you should quit? It’ll be better for you and you won’t be messing with people’s nice air.” You coughed a little. “Plus, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t smoke if you’re a footballer.”

He smirked at you. “You know I’m a footballer?”

“Well, it’s hard to miss when you’ve been telling everyone at this party.”

He chuckled. “You’re a spunky little thing, aren’t you?”

You let out a long sigh. “I don’t want to sound rude, but I kind of want a moment to myself.”

He flicked his smoke making the ash tumble. “Am I that bad? Come on, I’m a handsome guy. Just talk to me a bit.”

“No thanks.”

He moved closer. “Come on, let’s talk.”

“No thank you.”

He reached for you. “Come on-. AH! Ow!”

Levi had grabbed Reuben’s hand and bent it backwards causing the cry of pain. “Tch, she said no.”

Reuben winced. “All right! Now let go of me you animal.”

Levi released Reuben and stood between him and you. “Back off and accept the no.”

He chuckled a little and flicked his cigarette at Levi. It bounced off Levi’s incredible chest and dropped to the floor. “Whatever man. You can have her for now.”

“She doesn’t belong to anyone. Fuck, you’re a dick.” Levi flipped him off as the rich pretty boy walked away. “Fuck him.” He turned to you. “You okay?”

You nodded shyly. “Yeah.”

He pulled his leather jacket off and put it around your shoulders and revealed his left arm had tattoos on it. “I’m glad. Try and stay away from him. I know we all started uni a few days ago, but we’re all aware of him.” He blushed. “Not that I’m telling you what to do…”

You reached over and held his soft warm hand with rough parts. “Thank you.”

Levi blushed hard at the sweet contact. “Y-You’re welcome.”

You squeezed his hand and held it for a moment before releasing it. “You’re a nice guy. Thank you for your kindness.”

“CUPCAKE!” Athena ran over to you. “You all right? Do I need to break a face?”

You shook your head. “Levi helped me.”

Athena smirked at the man. “I appreciate it. There should be more guys like you.”

Levi cleared his throat. “I just…I wanted to help.”

Athena pulled you against her body and held you with one arm. “Thank you. You know, we might head back.”

You wiggled out of your friend’s arms and pulled the jacket off. “Here Levi, thanks.”

Levi took his jacket back. “Any time. Do you want escorting back?”

Athena shook her head. “I got this.” She waved and walked with you. “See you soon!”

You waved shyly to Levi. “See you soon.”

Levi waved to you. “Yeah, see ya…” He sighed and mumbled. “Hope so…”

You gripped your bag strap and ran as fast as you could through the halls as you looked at the doors with the room numbers on. Your heart was racing and you were filled with panic at possibly being late for your first lecture. To be late on your first day was a nightmare for you. You could feel the lump in your throat forming ready for a cry.

You’d gotten up on time, but you had gotten distracted by some drama in your hall between some girls. You settled everyone down but realised you needed to get to the lecture fast. You hurried to lecture and realised you didn’t have your phone on you, so you stopped and thought if you should go back, but then you chose to keep going. Your lecture was more important than having your phone for the day.

You carefully pushed the door open and peeked inside the small lecture room that had only ten rows of seats. You blushed a bit when you saw people chatting and the lecture hadn’t even started yet. You hurried inside and walked up the stairs and down an empty row. You pulled your seat down and plopped yourself down as you sighed in relief.

“Tch, you’re late.”

You turned your head to see Levi was sat in the row behind you. “Oh, hello Levi.”

He leaned his chin on his hand and covered his mouth a little. “Surprised you’re here. You in the right place?”

You gulped hard. “Ethics?” You stared at Levi as his gaze bore into you. “Am I in the wrong place?”

Levi smirked behind his hand at how adorable you were. “You’re in the right place. This is ethics.”

You let out a long sigh. “Thank goodness. Jeez, you are a tease.”

“I like to joke around.”

You giggled. “You got me.”

He hummed as he studied you in your cute jumper. “What are you studying?”

“Uh, criminology.”

Levi blushed a little. “Same. Tch, means I’m stuck with you.”

You laughed. “I guess so.”

He frowned in thought. “Why were you close to being late?”

“There was some drama in my hall and I helped sort it out. However, it meant I was delayed and I forgot my phone.”

Levi hummed and felt a bit sorry for you. You were too nice for your own good, so he was thinking he needed to protect you as much as possible. He flicked his gaze around the room to see Reuben casually walking in and had his eyes on you. Levi needed to act. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

You shook your head. “No, I don’t mind.” You squeaked when Levi jumped over the seats and sat next to you. “Oh wow.”

He grabbed his bag and put it next to him. “Tch, thanks.”

You got what you needed out and smiled at Levi. “So, what are your plans?”

“For today or life?”

You blushed as you felt embarrassed. Levi was too hot for his own good, he was funny and rather kind. "I uh...I meant...well...”

He pulled his leather jacket off and sighed. “Well, for today I just have this lecture and then later I have training.”

You perked up at his words. “Training?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he blushed. “I play rugby.”

You gasped in delight and shuffled closer to Levi. “You play rugby? That’s so cool! I enjoy watching it and played a bit in secondary school.” Your cheeks burned. “Oh, sorry I’m getting a bit…sorry…I’ll be quiet.”

Levi frowned at your response. “Why?”

You cleared your throat. “I was told once that I talk too much.”

He shook his head. “Tch, don’t listen to that piece of shit. You’re perfect.” He inhaled quickly and blushed hard. “I uh…what I mean is…”

You reached over and placed your hand on his. “Thank you.”

He gulped hard and squeezed your hand back. “You’re welcome.” He looked up to see Reuben moving over and taking a seat in front of you. “Tch, what do you want?”

Reuben smirked at Levi. “Simply taking a seat in front of my new friends.”

“You’re not my friend.”

Reuben narrowed his eyes at Levi before turning his head to you. “What about us? We’re friends, right?”

You clenched up a little. “I ah.”

Your professor entered the room and introduced himself. He asked all of you to refer to him by his first name from now on. He smiled and looked at everyone. “Now, I know the first weeks of university are a bit awkward. So, I want you to make friends. I want you to have a study and work buddy. The person next to you will be your partner for the rest of the semester.”

You looked over at Levi and felt bad. “Sorry, you’re stuck with me.”

Levi covered his mouth with his hand and hid his smile. “Don’t be sorry. I’m happy to work with you.”

“Really? I’m glad.”

Reuben raised his hand. “I think our class isn’t even. So, could I join a pair?”

The professor sighed. “I suppose. Pick anyone.”

He looked at you. “These two. I’ll work with them.”

“All right! Now we have our groups, let’s get to the lecture.”

You made notes as your professor chatted and informed you what the plans were for the semester. You sat there for a while and enjoyed yourself, you were looking forward to your three years at uni. You glanced over at Levi now and then and saw he was transfixed by the lecture as well. You’d both blush when you caught each other’s gazes.

Near the end of the lecture, you huffed a bit causing Levi to look over. “I’m hungry.”

Levi leaned over and whispered back. “Hungry?”

You nodded. “I was planning on bringing like a little bag of snacks with me, but I got so sidetracked with the girls that I just…” You hugged yourself. “I need food.”

“Did you have breakfast?”

You pouted a little. “No…you gonna tell me off?”

He shook his head. “No, why would I? I didn’t have breakfast either.” He blushed hard. “Do uh…”

Reuben turned to you as the lecture ended. “You, me and a lunch date.”

You strained a smile. “I ah…well…”

He looked your up and down and smirked. “You will be having the salad and water, of course, nothing else. What do you think?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re not?” He tilted his head and eyed you again. “Really?”

You hugged yourself a little. “Y-Yeah.”

He hummed and pulled his phone out. “How about I get your number then?”

You packed your things. “I don’t have my phone on me.”

“Look, if you aren’t interested and don’t want to, just say. Don’t lie and beat around the fucking bush. God, you women can be frustrating.”

Levi growled. “She forgot her fucking phone. She was late to this lecture because she forgot it. I bet you were late because you were busy kicking out that girl you took back to your room last night!”

Reuben went white. “I…you…you’re a dick.”

You stood up with tears in your eyes. “I’m…bye.” You ran off away from both men. Levi was wonderful, but Reuben was so judgemental. You leaned against a wall and wiped your tears. “Fuck.” You heard someone getting closer to you. You sniffed back your tears and smiled at Levi. “Hey, Levi.”

Levi leaned his side against the wall and shielded you from others. “You hungry? I want to eat something massive. We can go for ramen, dim sum, tacos, sushi, burgers or pizza.” He frowned. “No fucking salads, okay? I don’t care much for them.”

You sniffed and laughed a little. “That sounds nice.”

“I’m going to be eating a lot, so I need an eating buddy.”

You cleared your throat. “I can do that.”

He pushed from the wall. “I’m letting you choose this time, but next it’s my choice.”

You walked with Levi through the halls and out of the building as you thought. “How about sushi?”

“Sounds great.” He put his hands in his pockets and walked with you across campus to the sushi place. “This will be my treat.”

You sat down next to the little conveyor with sushi on. “Treat? Oh, but I can pay.”

Levi grabbed some sushi off the belt and ordered some tea for two. “You’ve just had a shitty conversation that made you cry, so I want to cheer you up.” He blushed a little. “You don’t mind, do you?”

You shook your head. “No, I don’t mind. I’ll accept this nice offer.”

“Good.” He waited for the tea to be put down before pouring you a cup. “Go ahead, grab the sushi you want.”

You hummed as you looked at went past and grabbed a few things. “Thanks.”

Levi ate in silence for a while before speaking to you. “Why did you lie to him?” He gulped when you locked your pretty eyes with his. “About being hungry. Most girls have been falling all over him.”

You shrugged. “I just got this vibe from him. When I first saw him I knew he was the type to sleep around, brag about it and spread rumours. I just want my time at uni to go well. I don’t want drama and he’s like drama central.”

He wiped his mouth and hummed. “I couldn’t agree more. A nice relaxing time at uni would be good.” His cheek burned as he went for it. “So, how is your boyfriend coping? You know with you being here?”

You laughed as you poured two new cups of tea. “I have no boyfriend, but it’s cute of you to think. I’m single and no, I’m not recently broken up either. It’s been like a year since my last relationship.” You downed some of your tea. “What about you?” You saw Levi’s cheeks burn bright red. “Levi? Have you never been in a relationship?”

He groaned and looked away from you. “Is that bad?”

You shook your head. “No! No, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

He released a long sigh. “I just…I have a single mother and we’ve never had much money, so I often worked part-time while studying at school. I was so focused on helping out that I never got the chance to date.”

“Well, you’re a handsome guy who is smart, kind, funny and caring. I know for sure you’ll find a lovely…” You stared at Levi for a while.

Levi flinched a bit. “Girls, I like girls.”

“Just checking.” You cleared your throat. “Anyway, you’re the total package. Any woman will be lucky to date you.”

He hummed and looked at his sushi. “Thanks. M-Maybe I’ll g-give dating a chance here.”

You blushed a little. “It’s getting a bit late and you have training. I’m taking too much of your time.”

“You’re not taking up my time, but yeah I do have training.” He stood up and paid for lunch.

You hurried next to Levi and walked with him. “Hey, so could you escort me back to my room?”

Levi blushed at the thought. “Sure.” He put his hands in his pockets and walked with you. “Are you warm enough?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

He hummed a little. “Good.”

You smiled at Levi. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself.”

Levi perked up and started talking about his mother, his two friends back at home, his friends that came to university with him, his past rugby teams with schools and the things he was into. You both discovered you had a lot in common and you made each other laugh. Your chat went so nicely that when you got to your room Levi walked in and you offered him a seat at your desk.

Levi looked over at your tv and gaming set-up. “A nerd, huh?”

You blushed. “A bit.”

He hummed and smiled a little. “I could never afford my own, but I would play on one at my friend’s place.”

You grabbed your phone that had been charging this whole time. “Well, if you ever want to play games again, you can come over and play something.” You blushed. “Th-That’s if you want to.”

Levi gave you a tiny smile. “That’d be cool.” He looked at the phone in your hand. “Can I have that?”

“Huh?”

He reached towards you. “Your phone.”

You looked at your phone. “What about it?”

He blushed. “I ah…I got this wrong. Let me word this better.” He cleared his throat. “C-Could I-I have your n-number?”

You smiled. “Yes. Oh, wait!” You unlocked your phone and changed your lock screen and background picture to not be a character you simped for. “Here.”

Levi took your phone and added his number. “Thanks.” He gave you his phone. “Only add your number if you want to.”

You tapped your number in and saved it to his phone. “There, you have my number.”

He took his phone and blushed hard. He waited a bit as he processed his feelings. He was nervous but relaxed. He was excited but calm. You made him feel so many things and he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He looked up at you and blushed hard at how cute you were. He ruffled his messy hair as he tried to think of something to say to you. He frowned when his phone pinged to see you’d texted him. He opened the text and smiled at the little emoji you sent him.

Levi hummed a laugh. “Thanks.”

You blushed. “So, do you want me to walk you to your training?”

Levi stood up. “Ah, no I can walk there.”

You stood up and gazed into his wonderful steel-blue eyes. “I’ll walk you out then.”

“S-Sure.” He walked at your side as girls in your hall watched. Levi thought it was because of the stern look he had that people were staring at, but really it was because he was a muscular bad boy. He stopped by the outer door and turned to you. “I’ll see you in lectures tomorrow.” He gulped hard. “T-Text me?”

You nodded. “I will. When does training end?”

“In about two hours.”

“I’ll text you then.”

Levi waved to you and walked towards the locker rooms. He frowned when his phone pinged again. He looked down and smiled at your text saying good luck at training. Levi felt his heart flutter and worked extra hard during his practice because you gave him a spark. After he was done you texted him again asking if everything went well. He texted you right back with a gentle smile on his face.

Athena smirked as you sat on her bed smiling at your phone. She was happy that you’d been at university for a month and you were smiling happily at something. “You texting Levi?”

You dropped your phone and blushed hard. “N-No.”

She hummed a laugh. “I don’t know why you two haven’t been on a date yet. He takes you out to lunch after lectures.”

You released a long sigh. “He’s been busy with practice and training. So, all his free time is gone.”

“Oh and he spends all the time he does have with you! So romantic.”

You groaned a little. “It’s not like that…he’s just…he’s nice and we both do criminology. It’s just that.” You nibbled your lip as your bad thoughts seeped in. “Besides, he wouldn’t be interested in a girl like me.”

Athena turned her chair around and glared at you. “You really have no clue how cute you are, do you?”

You gulped hard. “I just…I don’t know…”

She stood up and smiled. “I think you need a drink. Why don’t you ask Levi if he’s free and we’ll all go for a drink?”

“But.”

She leaned down and looked you in the eyes. “I’ll be there. We’ll make it a group thing and it’ll mean you’re not alone and you can relax a little.”

You nodded and picked up your phone. “I’ll text him.”

“Nooo, you’ll call him.”

You gripped your phone tightly before selecting Levi’s name. “Okay, I’ll call.” You dialled Levi as your heart raced in your chest. “H-Hi Levi?” You winced at your voice catching. “Sorry, so umm…are you free?”

Levi walked around the locker room in just a towel as his friends laughed and shouted. He ruffled his hair and felt his heart race at your cute shy voice. “I’m free. I just finished practice. Are you okay?”

“I’m great.” You nibbled your nail. “I uh…how was practice?”

Athena smacked your arm a few times and angrily whispered. “Ask him damn it!”

Levi walked to a quiet spot. “It went well, thanks.”

You smacked Athena back. “Do you have any plans tonight?”

Levi’s cheeks burned red. “N-No. I-I don’t.”

You locked eyes with Athena as she mouthed to you what to ask. “Well, how about we go out for drinks? You know, all of us?”

Levi looked at his friends and winced a little at how annoying some of them might be, but he also really wanted to spend time with you outside of uni. “Sure. We’ll meet you at the university-run bar in about an hour.”

You gave Athena a thumbs up making her dance around her room and shake her bum in your face. “Great. We’ll see you in an hour.” You ended the call and flopped against the bed. “This is a disaster! I don’t know what to wear!”

Athena rubbed your back. “It’ll be okay cupcake.” She slapped your bum hard making you scream. “Come on sexy! Let me help you out.”

You sat up and huffed. “Fine, fine.”

She yanked you against her buff frame and grinned. “Let this stylish nerd dress you!”

You let your computer science nerdy friend drag you out of her room and into yours. You watched her rummage through your wardrobe until she grabbed the things she wanted. “I’m not sure about that dress.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s a bit revealing with the boobs.”

She walked up to you. “You have incredible boobs. So, flaunt them.”

You released a long sigh. “Okay. I’ll trust you.” You changed into the dress and you blushed a little. You picked thigh-high socks instead of tights and a nice little cardigan. “This okay?”

Athena purred at you. “Looking like a little cupcake I wanna eat.”

You blushed. “Athena…”

She hummed a laugh. “Trust me. If I wanna devour you then Levi totally will.”

You grabbed your bag and sighed. “Are you changing?”

“Nah, I’m good. You’re the one who should impress.”

You blushed and walked with your friend. “You think he’ll like this?”

She put her arm around you. “I think he will love it so much he’ll kiss you.”

“A-Ah no! I d-don’t think so.” You walked outside with her and towards the bar. “He’s probably not into me. I’m just a friend to him. We sit next to each other in every lecture. We get lunch every day.” You saw Athena grinning. “Friends do all that!”

“Uh-huh. Oh, and friends totally drop everything to text you back too even when they’re busy.”

You sighed as she opened the door. “I really think you’re reading too much into his actions.”

“So why is the grumpy guy smiling and waving?”

You blushed as Levi stood in a booth with a gentle smile as he waved to you. You waved back as your heart throbbed. “He’s cute.”

Athena pushed you along. “You two are cute together. Just go for it, okay?”

You nodded and moved over to Levi and his three friends. “Hey.” You smiled at another tall blonde. “You must be Erwin! Lovely to meet you finally.”

Erwin shook your hand. “You too. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Levi blushed hard. “Tch, oi eyebrows, stop.”

You giggled. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Can I get you a drink?”

You nibbled your lip. “I’ll get it.”

He put his arm around you. “Let me treat you.” He blushed and locked eyes with a grinning Athena. “Can I get you something?”

Athena held her hands up. “I’ll get mine. I just want to chat with your friends for a bit.”

Levi gulped hard as he took you all in. He thought the dress looked incredible on you. “You uh…you look cute.”

You smiled a little as your heart fluttered in your chest. “Thank you.”

Levi moved you to the bar. “What would you like?”

You blushed a little and looked at the menu. “I uh…a cocktail? I’ll have the pina colada.”

Levi nodded. “Can I get a pina colada and a black Russian?”

You smiled as the bartender made the drinks. “I like white Russians.”

Levi looked down at you. “They’re pretty good. So, you like cocktails then?”

“I do.” You frowned a little. “Didn’t think you were a cocktail drinker.”

“I am. That bad?”

You shook your head. “No, it just means I have someone to take with me to a cocktail bar.”

He smiled a little. “I’d be happy to go with you.”

“Awesome.” You gazed at Levi as he blushed. “You have a mark on your cheek.” You reached over and lightly touched his cheek. “Are you okay?”

He hummed in response. “I’m okay. I got knocked by someone’s elbow.”

You moved closer and gasped. “It must hurt. Have you put anything on it?”

Levi blushed at you worrying about him and tending to him. “I ah…yeah. I put some ointment on it.” He leaned his cheek against your hand. “Thank you for worrying about me.”

You smiled a little as your heart raced. “How can I not worry? You’re important to me.”

Levi’s eyes widened. “I am?”

The bartender put the drinks down. “You two are a cute couple! What a lovely thing to see!”

You grabbed your drink. “Th-thank you.”

Levi blushed at you not denying anything. “Y-Yeah, thanks.” He cleared his throat and paid before walking with you back to the booth. “After you.”

You slipped in first and pressed up against the wall. You blushed as Levi sat next to you. You fiddled with your glass as everyone chatted. You joined in a bit but all you could focus on was Levi’s warm body next to you and the wonderful lemon scent that was drifting from him. You looked over at him to see he kept looking down at you.

You moved your gaze to his lap to see his left hand resting on his thigh next to you was clenched and twitching, almost like he wanted to do something but stopped himself. You took in a deep breath and bit the bullet. You reached over with your right hand and placed your hand on Levi’s. You blushed when he flinched at your touch, so you pulled your hand away.

Levi had been desperate to hold your hand this whole time. Your smell was intoxicating and sweet. He was so flustered by you and wanted so badly to hold your hand. He flinched when he felt your feathery touch on his hand. He saw you looked embarrassed and sad at his reaction. He panicked at possibly losing his chance. He reached for you and grabbed your hand before you pulled away for good.

Levi blushed as he held your wrist tightly. He felt like a deer in headlights. He ran his hand down your palm and then entwined his fingers with yours. He gave you a side glance to see you were smiling with an adorable blush on your cheeks. He gave your hand a little squeeze before running his thumb over your skin. He felt soothed by your touch even his heart was racing just a little bit.

Erwin and Athena got the drinks for everyone due to being sat at the end of the booth. You passed your card down when needed. Levi paid mostly for your drinks, but you managed to twist his arm and let you pay. Eventually, you needed the toilet and Levi said he did too. He let go of your hand and walked with you to the toilets. When you left Levi was waiting for you and looked a little nervous.

You smiled as you approached him. “You okay Levi?”

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “So uh…about the umm hand holding…”

You blushed as you played with your dress. “R-Right.” You looked up as Levi leaned closer to kiss you, but you both ended up banging your heads. “Ow.”

Levi rubbed his head. “Tch, shit s-sorry.”

You giggled. “It’s okay.”

“I was trying to kiss you and fucked up.”

You blushed. “You wanted to kiss me?”

He stopped rubbing his head and blushed. “Y-Yeah.” His eyes darted around as the nerves seeped in. “I uh…I like you. I like you more than a friend. I-I’ve never liked someone as much as this before, so this is all new to me. A-All I know is I want to be your boyfriend a-and spoil you, t-take care of you, h-have a lot of firsts with you a-and um…just be with you.” He held his hands up. “O-Only if y-you want to.”

You walked up to Levi and held his hands. You squeezed them tightly and smiled softly. “I like you more than a friend too. I would like to be your girlfriend if you’ll have me.”

“I would really like that.”

You giggled. “Well then, I guess we’re a couple.”

He hummed a laugh as he lightly smiled. “I want to do this better, so…may I kiss you?”

You nodded shyly and leaned up to him. Your lips softly grazed his causing a tingle to begin in your lips. You shivered at his warm breath against your sensitive skin. You hummed as he kissed you gently, as if he was a bit scared you might break or run. When Levi realised you wanted this, he pressed his lips against yours with more purpose.

He tilted his head to the side and released your hands. He slowly slid his hands along your back and tugged you against his muscular body. You ran your hands up his chest and clung to him a little bit. He felt his heart race in his chest at kissing you. He’d never really kissed anyone before except for when a random girl kissed him when he was a kid, but he’d never had a real kiss. You were truly his first in everything.

You felt so adored in this kiss. It seemed so innocent but with a hint of desire. You felt truly cared for by this sweet man. He might have looked like he was a beast of a man, but really he was a sweet stuttering sweetheart who’d barely had romance in his life. You felt so much love from this man. You felt special and you knew you were going to do everything in your power to treasure this adorable bad boy.

You pulled from Levi’s lips and blushed a little. “Wow.”

Levi sighed. “You can say that again. That was my first real kiss.” He gripped your waist. “W-was it okay?”

You nodded. “It was more than okay! It was perfect.” You nibbled your lip. “Do…do you still want me? I mean, a kiss can change things.”

“I really want you.” He tapped his forehead against yours. “I-I want to take you on a d-date. I-I was thinking this S-Saturday? I uh have n-no practice.”

You smiled. “I’d love that. Oh, um…could I come to practice sometimes? I would like to watch.”

Levi groaned as his heart was close to bursting in his chest at how adorable you were. “Y-Yes. You can come.”

“Thank you.” You hummed a laugh. “I can’t wait to watch. I will come to your matches as well.”

“You’ll be my lucky charm.”

You laughed a little. “I don’t know about that.”

He held your hand and walked with you back to that table. His friends and Athena noticed the hand-holding but never said a thing about it and let you be. You all joked and laughed together and had a few more drinks before you decided to make the five-minute walk back to the halls. Levi waved to his friends and took you to your room.

Athena leaned against her door opposite yours. “Night you two! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t doooo.”

You blushed a little as she fell into her room. “I’m sorry about that.”

Levi ruffled his hair. “My friends will rip into me when I get back.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be” he leaned against the door and smiled at you “they’re happy for me most likely, they’re just a joking bunch.” He blushed when you gave him a little peck on the lips. “Ah…uh…thank you.”

You blushed. “Kiss of courage.”

“I feel brave already.”

You hummed a little laugh. “Thank you for walking me back. You didn’t need to.”

He reached towards you and shifted your hair. “I wanted to.”

“I should walk you to the door.”

“Oh, but I walked you to your room door.”

You held his hand. “Maybe I want to spend more time with you.”

He led you to the door out of the hall and smiled. “I’m glad.” He stopped by the door. “Tch, this damn hallway should be longer.” He turned to you and kissed you. “I’ll text you.”

You nodded. “I’d like that. We uh, have lectures tomorrow, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He squeezed your hand before releasing it. “See you tomorrow.”

You waved to him. “Bye.” You hummed a laugh when he didn’t leave. “Levi.”

He leaned closer. “Sorry, one last kiss.” He kissed you and smiled. “Better. Okay, see you.”

You waved to him and watched him go down the stairs to the outside door. “Bye.”

[themuse-if]

The non-RO hallmates are too pretty, why have you done this to us!???!!!!?!??!??

I know! I'm sorry...no I'm not🤭

Remember just because they aren't end game romance options doesn't mean there won't be opportunities to interact with them. I plan to leave lots of room for MC to flirt and go on dates with these side characters, not as many or as serious as with the main ROs though.

I think it will be a lot of fun to explore friendships and situation-ships with these characters and see how it impacts your MC and their relationship with other characters.

[gamesception]

let's read rgu chapter 20

Sorry for the late, late update, got a bit distracted today. I'd just push it back to tomorrow, but this liveblog turned into a sort of accidental pride month project, and I don't want to miss the last day of June.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but somewhere along the way, probably the same time the scans went to all two-page-spreads, we went from a fan translation to what seems to be the official English localization, and, as much as I respect the hard work and dedication of fan translators, the professional translation work is greatly appreciated.

Anyway, last time Utena won her rematch with Touga. New Hallmate? wait, have they moved into Akio's building, like in the manga's 3rd arc?

Psh, oh yeah. I guess Touga lives here now.

This is ridiculous, and I love it.

Oh, yeah, why don't you be useful for once and dump some exposition?

Did we skip over the exposition, or?

You know what, I don't care, this whole development is hilarious. The entire student council defeated, now following Utena around like imprinted ducklings. And Utena, embarassed, just stomping forward, her fists clenched at her side, just trying to ignore them. God, these nerds. This is great. Manga redeemed.

At least this domesticated Touga has the courtesy to ask Anthy to leave the room first instead of just talking about her like she isn't there.

Anyway, now we get the exposition. I guess Touga just wanted a full audience first. Key points of the exposition:

The duels are over. Utena won.

The point of the duels was to gain the power of the Sword of Dios

Because the Sword of Dios somehow grants access to the castle/Dios itself

Dios may or may not be a real person, but regardless has power over the movement of the stars, and can therefore change fate/destiny and thus 'revolutionize the world'.

World's End organized the duels to gain this power for himself, and Touga believes he will take action to manipulate or control Utena.

We also get a much more overt warning to Utena not to trust Anthy. Something Touga tried to say in the anime, but with far less explanation and far less reason to listen to him since it was only after his final defeat in the duels and thus easy to dismiss as sour grapes.

Touga's clearly still trying to get access to the power of Dios himself by getting close to Utena, he basically says as much, so still hard to take the warning seriously.

Despite being sent out of the room, Anthy heard everything, and she urges Utena not to team up with Touga against World's End, and Utena, in an uncharacteristic show of interpersonal insight, picks out that Anthy has been betraying this mysterious organizer of the duels rather than the duel champion the entire time.

Anthy is showing quite a bit of fear towards her brother here, something we didn't really see earlier. I guess it's more fear for what he might do to Utena, which I guess makes sense.

The next day Anthy's warnings start coming true, as Akio's first warning shot comes in the form of a fire at Wakaba's dorm.

Fuck you, Akio. Wakaba is a saint, if anything happens to her.

Wakaba's trapped inside and Utena rushes in to save her, but the doors are jammed and both girls are trapped by the fire and smoke.

Akio rescues Utena, of course, and she starts to suspect he's her prince. Rightly this time, unlike with Touga, but Akio is just there to exploit it all the same.

Most important panels of the chapter: Wakaba is OK.

The chapter ends with a confirmation that yes, Akio set the fire. Oh, and he's World's End, just in case anybody missed that. Threatening Wakaba does draw some heat, if you'll pardon the pun, but honestly I half expected that he would have made Anthy set the fire. Doing his own dirty work seems a bit beneath the Akio I know from the anime.

But still, we have a proper villain now, since the manga really never wanted Touga to fill that roll. We're still seeing new stuff happen, so I'm excited to see where the manga goes next.

[thecaptainsgingersnap]

Oc Ask Game - The Basics: Hannah Kentworthy

1. What is your ocs full name? Does this name have any special meaning/history?

Hannah Louise Kentworthy, I just liked the way it flewed

2. Does your oc have any nicknames? How did they get these nicknames?

Han, Hannah Lou, and Hannah Banana are all obvious. Floor 19 calls her Ice Queen and her Boyfriend TJ casserole her Snowflake because her mother is the goddess of snow and ice.

3. How old is your oc?

Eternally 17

4. Does your oc have a defining physical trait? What makes this feature unique?

Her eyes, they're big and wide and ice blue

5. Does your oc have a defining personality trait? Why does this trait define them?

She's protective. She spent her last few years alive protecting her brother. She died protecting her gang of street orphans. Now in her afterlife, she's Floor 19's resident mom friend making sure her friends are mildly safe and their emotional and mental states are well taken care of.

6. What’s your oc’s current job and what’s their dream job? Do these jobs differ?

Well as a dead eternal teenager, she doesn't have a real job, but Blitzen let's her help at his shop sometimes. She wishes she could have owned a bakery.

7. How would you describe your oc’s style? How would they describe their style?

I'd call it cute, but functional. Hannah would call it I can wear this to combat training or on a date or dating to the death (a real thing at the Hotel Valhalla believe it or not.

8. What is your oc’s relationship status? Are they content with this?

She's in a long term relationship with her hallmate Thomas Jefferson Jnr. asks she is very happy with that.

9. How would you describe your oc’s personality? How would they describe their personality?

We would both say she's the mom friend with a sarcastic side

10. What’s your oc’s greatest weakness?

If she leaves the Hotel, she can die, but permanently this time

11. What’s your oc’s greatest strength?

She can control ice and snow

12. What is your oc’s biggest fear? Why?

Giant squirrels, you get chased through Yggdrasil by one and tell me you're not terrified afterward!

13. What is your oc’s most prized possession? What’s the importance/meaning behind this item?

Hermagic arrow, Willow, was the only gift her mother had ever given her. Her aim is always accurate and she always returns to Hannah's quiver. Plus like any good magical weapon, Willow can talk.

14. Does your oc have any hobbies? How did they get involved in these?

She sews and bakes. She uses them as excuses to make stuff for her friends.

15. What’s your oc’s favorite color? Does this color have any special meaning/symbolism?

Blue, it gives her wintery vibes and reminds her off her mother.

16. What’s your oc’s favorite food? Why is this their favorite food?

Yorkshire pudding was the first thing Hannah learned to bake and it reminds her of growing up in London.

17. What’s your oc’s biggest aspiration in life? Why?

She wants to delay Ragnarok as long as possible. She didn't get long to live her life and she's happy as an einherjar. She's in no hurry to give that up.

18. What’s your oc’s relationship like with their family?

Well her mother doesn't really talk to her but Hannah knows she cares from a distance. Her father and her brother are both dead and apparently in some other afterlife so she doesn't really have a relationship with them anymore.

19. Does your oc have any defining skills? How did they acquire/learn these skills?

Outside the typical einherjar abilities, Hannah is kheimo and frigokinetic. She inherited these skills from her mother Skadi. She's also an amazing archer. Part of that is also inherited talent but most of it comes from a lot of practice.

20. What does your oc’s bedroom/house look like? How does this reflect their personality?

Her room at the Hotel Valhalla looks like the inside of a cozy cottage. Her main atrium is divided between a large living area with comfy couches and chairs around a huge roaring fireplace with shelves full of books on the walls all around it and an enormous kitchen fully stocked for baking. To one side, there's a nook for maintaining her archery equipment. On the other is a nook with sewing supplies.

Basic Asks

[simplywhytney]

Back to school for Melinda which includes studying at home and at the library with Royce.

But the roomies make time for some fun with friends! This reminded me of my undergrad days playing board games with my roommate & hallmates.

Building snowpals with friends, and side-eyeing the Foxbury student neighbor are all important aspects of that college life!

[emathevampire]

It is HILARIOUS to see that happen from the other side, because it happened to ME. @starlitskyes​ introduced me and @arathergrimreaper​ on tumblr... but it turned out we were hallmates in college a few years prior. who had pretty much never talked except at a con in cosplay. tumblr is VAST... but also, the smallest fucking world. incredible.

so my apartment building got a notice board to post fire alarm tests and maintenance announcements and such. the building is pretty well-maintained, so we rarely get notices. the board is big and grey and to think it would be empty like that 99% of the time was a bland boring sin i just couldn't bear, so i vandalized the corner of its empty canvas with a teeny tiny Guy

and within a few days, there was a sudden addition from my one of my neighbors along with a Bunch of thumbtacks. this was an unexpected, but welcome surprise!

well there was still so much space, i figured i'd add another crumb to the art hoard. i'd been playing genshin that day so i drew my favorite grandpa

and like clockwork, new art manifested!! this person is gonna grow to be a great artist i know it. the detail in those stones? hell yeah that's cool.

we're two weeks into it. more neighbors have joined in with their artwork. who knew there were so many artists in my building?? we're onto somethin great here i just know it.

[sideways-writes]

To AU or not to AU?

That is the question

[hua-fei-hua]

IZCH ROAD TRIP AU...... PLS

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ insp. by this rlly good snk aruani fic c; tho i think that the main thing it resembles is just “hey we’re going on a road trip and we’re just gonna meet random people along the way” but it’s fine that’s just how inspiration works

so BASICALLY you have deku the city boy and ochako the country girl, right? this sounds like a kimi no na wa au but it’s not i swear and anyway, they’re internet friends who eventually start liking each other (but obviously they don’t like,, tell each other and do the mutual pining thing for a while) until finally one day deku’s just like “you know what fuck it. road trip across the continent/country to meet up with her. TODOROKI COME HITHER WE ARE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP”

and even though it’s like half past midnight and deku looks like he’s off the rails and tddk are like ride or die and all but todoroki’s still like. “hold up. what the fuck”

half feral and sleep deprived deku: “no time to explain just grab a change of clothes, your toothbrush, and anything else you think you’ll need to live”

and todoroki’s just like “yeah okay but we’re bringing momo along bc she’s like 85% of my impulse control” “yeah sure just hurry”

and so then those three head out on a road trip. meanwhile, out in the boonies, you have uraraka hanging out w/her bff iida just kind of wondering what happened to deku bc he’s been replying at really odd hours lately, and iida just gives her the most straightforward advice to her lighthearted romantic daydreams lmao

anyway she does eventually learn he’s on a road trip after deku finally realizes that he never told her what he was doing but fails to realize he’s doing it specifically to meet her irl and is just like “oh hey cool”

anyway, deku, todo, n momo have some adventures meeting people across the country. they definitely spend at least one night sleeping in a jail cell bc hey it was offered to them and it’s free and safe and warm and it’s a thing that happened to one of my teachers when he biked across america like thirty years ago or something lol

anyway i don’t have a whole lot of details as to what would happen along the way tbh, but i do know that izch meets in (get this) the grocery store in uraraka’s town bc the trio is freaking starving and then they get kicked out for making too much noise. Owner shakes his head at uraraka bc he’s known her since she was a kid can’t believe her.

and then from there i really don’t know what would happen but yeah!!!! ROAD TRIP AU!!!!!

[collegetennisoriginstory]

monthly (ish) progress update CT:OS

Hi everyone! I’ve been pretty quiet on tumblr the past few days, but active on the coding/writing side of things :) Just wanted to give a short update on how things are going :) 

(As a rough gauge, I edited almost 50k words, and wrote + coded another 25k. P.S. My editing process is super important - ‘cause it’s where I do really major rearrangements/re-writes + add ideas + polish + brainstorm the next few scenes - basically, CT:OS would be so very, very different if I stopped at my vomit draft (yes, this is what I call my first draft). So it’s not just me wasting time, I promise!) 

Writing/Coding/Editing

Day 1 of freshman orientation (Sat) 

Meet D (and G) in the morning (Edited) - choose your fave beverage 

Meet your hallmates/orientation group (Edited, rearranged some scenes) - play a short icebreaker game, choose your major

Amazing race (Edited) - achievement up for grabs

Go ‘waterfalling’ (Edited) - added a short alternative scene 

Day 2 of freshman orientation (Sun)

Morning of the activities fair (Started editing) - options to hang out with hallmates at the fair, or alternatively, with Rayyan or Tobin

Laser tag (Written - raw draft) - tested + brainstormed some edits/improvements to the gameplay; achievement up for grabs

First day of classes (Mon)

First class (Written - raw draft) - tested + brainstormed some edits/improvements 

Training session- short scene (Written - raw draft) 

Rest of the week (Tue-Thur)

Short class scenes (Planned - skeleton) 

Friendly doubles match on Thu (Planned - all choices and scenes charted out, to code and write text) - long tennis gameplay scene, plus some Tobin interaction (finally!) 

Poll/Beta-testing/Asks

Poll

Conclusion: Y’all are frikkin hilarious. AND so very, very kind. Thank you for the awesome responses, I read every single one in detail (sometimes multiple times), and they all made me grin. 

Also, it’s hilarious how many people are into Valentina/woman at the chinese restaurant (she doesn’t even have a name yet! oops.)

Finally, yes, I have created dedicated blogs for CT:OS and Merry Crisis (for the purists in the poll!) 

Beta-testing

BIG BIG thank you to everyone who’s left their contact information, and details about your background and interests, or even suggestions for some of the routes! They were an absolute delight to read, and I am so excited for the next chapter of CT:OS. Can’t wait to bring you guys on board! 

Unfortunately, because I hope to get out the next chapter of CT:OS, so I can send it over to you guys to test, I’ve been prioritising writing before contacting everyone who’s reached out. 

I will be reading everyone’s applications again, organising/sorting them by routes/interest, and reaching out to those I have contact info for. If you indicated interest, but didn’t type in your email address, do note that the poll did not display/collect your email address (as I wanted it to be fully anonymous), so you’ll either need to drop me a DM or ask with your tumblr handle/email. But you can also wait for my official post in the next month or so. 

Asks

SORRY for being really bad at answering asks the past week/weeks, I’ve been concentrating on writing, planning, coding and editing. 

I’ll be heading off for a long holiday in <1 week, so things have also been super busy for me at my day (real) job + trip planning + trying to write as much as I can at night. So: If I don’t get the update out to beta-testers in a week, before I go hiking (most likely), it looks like an update in End July or Aug seems probable. 

Thank you to everyone who’s played CT:OS :) Sending you all much love, and hope you have an awesome summer!! 

[taengent]

[mallorykeen]

OKAY BUT IMAGINE THE ANGST IF ALEX WAS A TRAITOR. Any HC for this idea ? 😳💖

ooh okay

it's in skadi's castle and magnus has the mead and alex comes to visit him and he gets all his hopes up because they kissed and then he wakes up from being knocked out and they've lost the mead and now they're going to lose

blitzen is furious that he let alex in, they really bonded over fashion and he even taught her some asl along with hearth and thought they were good friends to the point they all considered alex another empty cup and now they're all going to die because of her

hearthstone is preparing all his contingency plans even though he never has any and won't even let himself think about it because he knows if he does he's going to do something stupid and/or get everyone killed

tj mallory and halfborn have seen this shit before but it really hits different when it's your own hallmate and they're all stuck at the anger stage of grief

honestly, samirah is the most betrayed, she feels guilty for picking alex in the first place and that was her sister who doomed the nine worlds and alex and samirah were really close at this point so she's really confused and in denial but also kicking herself

magnus is just like "huh? alex wouldn't do that." until they see her again at loki's side and she has kvasir's mead in her hands and he just breaks

send me asks

[the-stray-storyteller]

2, 30, 96 for whichever OC is currently on your mind!

Ah-dainn from Defenders.

2. Do you think you would get along with your oc if you could meet them? What things would you talk about?

Yes, I would get along with Ah-dainn, everybody gets along with that alien. No talking only hugs.

HUGS.

30. How caring/empathetic is your oc? Are they the type to immediately adopt and protect others, or are they a true sadist?

He is very caring and empathic. He understands people and can form emotional bonds with them. He tries to protect and be there for his friends and sometimes this causes him to be a little overbearing.

69. How energetic is your oc? Are they constantly tired, or constantly bouncing off the walls?

Ah-dainn is somewhere in between but leaning more towards the tires side because being hallmates with Jay and Skyler (who fight a lot) can be very draining. He is also Skyler's bestfriend, that itself is something else. Their whole relationship is literally :

"Sklyer, no."

"Skyler, yes."

[themuse-if]

A Few Things

Hello everyone!

I've really been enjoying reading all your asks and I'm still trying to get caught up! I'll try to do at least 2 a day!

I've been trying to think more about side characters lately, since the ROs won't be the only other students that MC interacts with.

On MC's hall in their dorm there is 1 single room that with be Silas' (the RA), and 7 double rooms. There are 14 beds total for freshman 6 will be taken by ROs and 1 by MC, so that leaves 7 more spots.

I've gone ahead and created these other hallmates and plan to post them sometime this weekend or next week.

These characters won't be ROs but they will definitely add to the drama! Just because they aren't main love interests doesn't mean MC can't go on a date or two. Or maybe kiss one of them during a silly little game of spin the bottle.🤭 🤭🤭

Also thank you guys for all the well wishes! I really appreciate all the support! Check out the extras tab on my page to get caught up with any fun asks you may have missed!

[greenninjagal-blog]

Trouble

Hi yeah its me, and look I’m already back with a new fic for the new year :D cherish this moment I don’t think i will have have this turn around so quick again. For the TSS Fanworks Secret Santa Exchange because I was a pinch hitter :DD @nerdywriterhaven I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Patton has a thing about boardgames and Virgil has a thing about Logan. Together they figure it out. 

Word Count: 7900

Quick Taglist: @alias290​ @chelsvans​ @coyboi300​ @dante-reblogs @dwbh888​ @glitchybina​ @faithfulcat111​ @felicianoromano​ @harrypotternerdprincess @holliberries​ @jemthebookworm​ @killerfangirl3​ @mrbubbajones​  @musical-nerd18​ @nonasficcollection​ @stricken-with-clairvoyancy​ @the-sunshine-dims​ @themagicheartmailman​ @themultishipperchild @thenaiads​ @treasureofpriam​ @vianadraws​ @welovelogansanders​  

Read on Ao3 || My General Writing Masterlist

Patton shows up at Virgil’s dorm room just slightly after six pm on a Tuesday with two thermoses of soup that are still warm to the touch, a halloween tupperware of chocolate chip cookies that had been passed between him and Virgil so many times that Patton really doesn’t remember whose it was originally, his laptop, phone, the chargers for both, and the board game Trouble.

Virgil, predictably, shuts the door in his face the second he sees the game box hidden under all the other things in his arms. Patton also thinks that Virgil tells him to go away, but it’s muddled by the door.

Instead he shuffles all the supplies to his left arm and knee, and knocks again on his door just below the leftover tape from the nametag that his RA keeps putting up and Virgil keeps ripping down because he doesn’t want anyone knowing where he sleeps. His knuckles hum with the rap, datatata dat dat! And he smiles even when there’s the sound of something being thrown at the door from that side.

Patton chooses not to hear it because he’s a good friend and an even more stubborn houseguest.

The door a little bit down the hall opens up with the usual fanfare of someone who is running late to a night class-- which of course is the charm of Roman Prince. He looks nice, as usual, and Patton even thinks that if he hadn’t been wearing two different colored shoes, no one would even know that he had probably just woken up from a nap. The music of his room blares out into the hall with a rap song Patton thinks is Hip With the Kids these days, but Patton himself can’t make out any of the actual words.

All the much better because he’s pretty sure it’s Remus’s music and Remus likes his songs like he likes just about everything else: dirty, scandalous, and offensive. Not that Patton is good friends with either of the Prince siblings, but he’s heard the rumors floating around about both. Roman smiles at him, with glittering white teeth and dimples and soft warm brown eyes that could have been made of melted chocolate.

“Oh! What a spectre!” Roman says, seeming to forget that he’s on the way to a class at the sight of Patton standing at Virgil’s door. “Tell me, angel, what brings a glorious sight such as you to our dorm buildings on this amazing day?”

Virgil’s door swings back open before Patton can answer and Virgil hisses from the darkness, the way he’s usually prone to do whenever Roman or Remus or their blatant disregard for the rules about music volume at two AM is brought up.

He looks not much better from the glimpse Patton got before the door was closed in his face earlier: he’s still pale to the point of looking sickly and dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, with his eye shadow smeared and his hair not brushed at all. There’s a red imprint on the side of his face that Patton thinks matches a crease in his blankets or pillows from where he probably tried to suffocate himself on and off all day between anxiously texting Patton all about “the absolute worst day of my entire life and no I’m not even exaggerating this time Pat”.

“Hi Virgil!” Patton says, as Virgil reaches forward and to take a thermos and the tupperware from his arms and glare unbidenedly at Roman. “I brought dinner!”

“I hate you,” Virgil says, and does not mean because he loves Patton’s Broccoli Cheddar Cheer Up Soup and he’s been in need of cheering up since Patton had seen his messages at noon on his way to his second class of the day.

Roman gasps like he’s offended on behalf of Patton who is not offended as much as endeared to his best friend of several years. “Virgil! How could you act so callus towards a beautiful muse such as this?”

“Get lost, Princey,” Virgil tells him firmly, grumpily, Virgil-ly. “He came here specifically to make a pun about my pain.”

“I do it with love,” Patton adds. “And I brought cookies to make up for it.”

Roman looks like he doesn’t know what to do with that information and Virgil doesn’t give him time to find out because he kinda hates Roman-- although Patton always tells him that “hate” is a strong word and Virgil always says he means it anyway. Patton supposes that if he, too, had hallmates that played music louder than life up to the early hours of the mornings during Finals Week, and then cranked it higher when he knocked on the door to ask them to stop, he might also strongly dislike them.

Virgil ushers Patton into the dark room and then kicks the door closed while Patton is waving goodbye at Roman.

It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light level: Virgil was certainly making use of those thick blackout curtains! It made the whole room look like it was three AM, rather than six PM! There are blobs of stuff all around the room, piles of clothes and blankets that Virgil prefers to have on the floor rather than put somewhere where he’s not going to trip over it in the middle of the night, but Patton supposes that’s just how Virgil’s always been.

“If someone breaks in, they’re gonna trip over this shit and I will be out of here long before they can get back up,” Virgil had said the first time Patton had suggested maybe, possibly cleaning something until they found the floor.

The desk where Virgil did his school work is empty and the textbooks and computer that normally covered it are all on the ground like a massacre from what Patton can make out. Virgil shuffles through the room and ends up turning on the purple lava lamp that Patton got him three years ago so that they could at least see each other and the faux-floor, and even then he doesn’t look happy at needing that much. The elevated bed had the blankets ripped up from it and turned into a nest with Virgil’s phone light peeking out from the depths like some underwater cave with a sea monster in it waiting for an unsuspecting diver.

“Remind me, how you got into this building?” Virgil says, tiredly as he pries open the cookie container. “It requires a key and last time I checked, you don’t have one of those, Pat.”

“As if a key would stop me from checking on you!” Patton replies. He plops himself on a pile of clothes and clears away another spot for Virgil to collapse next to him, so that Virgil can’t exactly escape. “Now, what is this about Logan again? You were being kinda vague and world-ending-y again. ”

Virgil lets out a moan around the cookie he shoved in his mouth and drops to the floor next to Patton, to munch angrily or just upsetly without actually offering an answer, because he’s Virgil and he’s allergic to talking about things that upset him. Patton sets down his other thermos, his laptop, and his own phone to make room for the game between them.

“Must we?” Virgil asks as Patton sets up the board with a practiced hand. Even in the near darkness of the room he knows exactly what he’s doing, and could probably figure it out with no light at all.

“Of course!” Patton says. “You sounded like you were in Trouble.”

“ Sorry to disappoint.”

“It’s rather Risk -y of you to be self deprecating while within hugging distance.”

Virgil doesn’t say anything for a moment, just swallows the bite of his cookie and stares at the colored pieces in front of him. The board game is well worn and well loved-- one of the first ones Patton had ever gotten and one of the first ones he ever convinced Virgil to play with him. Although “convinced” is a strong word for how Patton had just been staring at the board numbly with red rimmed eyes when his father had asked Virgil to come over and try to coax him into eating something, anything, please .

They’d lost three pieces of the red team and one of the yellow and two of the green, but that’s okay because Patton generally played blue and Virgil had custom ordered four purple pieces for just the two of them a few years ago.

Carefully, placatingly, Virgil reaches a hand forward and pops the dice bubble for his number. He gets a four.

Patton gets a five.

“How many times have we played this one, Pat?” Virgil asks, in a voice much softer than before. In the faded purple light and the shadows, it’s hard to see the number on the die, and harder to see exactly what Virgil is thinking about with his eyes hidden like that. His nails are bitten down to the quick, ruining the black nail polish he spent an hour applying last weekend over their shared Biology notes.

Patton shrugs as he reaches forward to take his turn and pops the bubble. Honestly he didn’t think he could calculate the answer if Virgil pressed: this was their go-to game, this was his go-to pun, this is what they did even when the world was falling apart at the seams. It was easier to focus on moving playing pieces a couple pegs than it was to focus on the sound of a heart monitor or raspy breathing or bony pale fingers that shook when they tried to hold anything.

It was easier to find a way to win when the instructions were so clear, and the rules were so fair, and the consequences of losing were just having to put the game back in the box.

Virgil doesn’t say anything more and Patton doesn’t force him to, although he desperately wants to. He wants to reach out and catch Virgil’s hands in his own, he wants to give him a squeeze, he wants to wipe away the tear tracks in his makeup and he wants to tell Virgil that whatever it is, Patton will be there for him.

He wants Virgil to look at a game for once and have fun.

But the only sound in the room is the popper when they roll the die back and forth.

Patton gets the six first. He moves his second leftmost piece to the start and hits it again for a three.

Virgil stares his blue piece on the board for a long moment, without blinking. His hands lie limply in his lap and the tub of cookies sits at his knee. The purple light makes his eyes glisten sweetly, wetly, sadly, with a resignation that Patton knows and wishes he doesn’t. The lump in his throat swells up.

“Virgil?”

Virgil blinks. And then blinks again.

“Why should I even bother at this point?” he asks. He runs a hand up to his hair and tugs at the locks.

“Virgil, this is the opening of the game,” Patton says. “You can’t give up alrea--”

“But it’s not like I’m going to win,” Virgil says and Patton sucks in a breath sharply.

Oh. It was one of those days.

Patton thinks that he should have been expecting this; it had been a decent amount of time since Virgil last had refused to finish a game, and Patton had almost thought that maybe they had kicked those thoughts for good! That through sheer willpower and perseverance and proof to the contrary, they might have managed to rework how Virgil approached a challenge. That at one point Virgil might laugh and smile even when he wasn’t in the lead--

And yet, Patton’s sitting with one piece three spaces ahead of Virgil and Virgil is ready to call it quits. The game had just started. Patton had only been sitting in the room for a total of five minutes. Virgil hadn’t talked for more than a couple sentences.

It’s one of those days, except that Patton doesn’t think that it’s ever been this bad before, because usually they at least made it to the one piece around the board in Trouble , through to one check in Chess , through to one hotel being built in Monopoly , or one train ticket completed in Ticket to Ride .

“This is a sign, isn’t it?” Virgil continues. “I’m just being stupid even considering it. Of course I am. I always am. Nevermind, I don’t want to do this today Pat. Thanks for the soup and the cookies and I’m sorry that I made you walk all the way--”

Patton reaches out and snags Virgil’s arm before he can get all the way off the ground. The board nudges to the side dislodging several pieces into the surrounding void, but Patton thinks that he can replace a hundred playing pieces.

He cannot replace his best friend.

Virgil’s skin is cold, even though the room was comfortably warm, and he’s soft to the touch-- which is never what Patton expects when he gets those lightning quick hugs, when Virgil rests his head on his shoulder during movie nights, when they go shopping and there are crowds that make Virgil want to run for the hills and only Patton’s hand in his keeps him grounded there. Virgil is soft despite the jagged persona he puts on to drive away other people, and he hasn’t gotten any sort of touch in a while because he shuts up the moment that Patton’s own warmth floods over him.

The room holds the silence for an eternity: Virgil frozen halfway up from the ground, and Patton latching on to him like he can pluck all the reasons Virgil is upset out of his mind through osmosis. The lava lamp makes him look unreal, makes the silence ring louder, makes the lump in Patton’s throat grow larger.

“Virgil,” Patton says, “please.”

Please tell me what I can do. Please allow me to help. Please let me in.

“It’s stupid,” Virgil says.

Patton wants to laugh, because nothing that ever hurts Virgil has ever been stupid. “I don’t think so, kiddo.”

Virgil bites his lip and inhales with all of his chest.

“You didn’t go to any classes today. You’ve been crying. You’re still wearing yesterday’s clothes.” Patton says. “Something happened. And it can’t possibly be stupid because nothing that affects you like this is can be anything less than something huge.”

Patton feels Virgil’s hand curl into a fist like he can hide his shaking when Patton is right there .

“Do you remember Logan Ackroyd,” Virgil says. “The senior a year older than us who I had Sociology with last year?”

The same Logan who took extra notes for when Virgil missed class and emailed them to him. The same Logan who offered Virgil a granola bar when he overheard that Virgil had missed lunch. The same Logan who helped Virgil break into the auditorium after school hours to search for his missing earbuds.

The same Logan who has eyes more knowledgeable than the entire galaxy, who wears a tie to class, who smells like coffee beans and pen ink and looks like he’d give really good, safe hugs.

The same Logan who Patton has never once met, but feels like he knows intimately thanks to Virgil’s starstruck rambles.

Logan must be something great and amazing. Patton has known that for a year now, from watching the months slip away and suddenly the ghost of Logan joins them on every outing, summoned by the blush over Virgil’s ears and the soft smile on his lips and the way that Virgil steadfastly won’t meet Patton’s eyes like it will prevent Patton from noticing the way that the senior is always on Virgil’s mind. Logan is kind. Logan is smart. Logan has a new book every day. Logan has a voice like the ocean waves.

Logan, Patton thinks, should have been more careful if he caused Virgil this much distress. Because there are things that Patton would do for Virgil that not even a cold blooded killer would consider doing.

“Yeah,” Patton says, with a smile soft and dumb and innocent. “You guys have Analytical Science together this year, right?”

Virgil lets go of his lip, and breathes out a breath that sounds like more relief than Patton is supposed to hear. “Yeah. Yeah. He, uh… yeah.” Virgil shifts back down, shifts so that he’s on his knees and Patton is right next to him, and they’re still touching and that warmth is stronger than the shadows made by the blobs in the lava lamp.

“Janus… Janus asked him out yesterday,” Virgil says, using his other hand to pluck at a thread in his jeans.

Oh. Patton doesn’t think cookies and soup were enough.

And golly, Patton doesn’t think Logan is as smart as Virgil is always saying he is either, because if he said yes in front of Virgil, he must have been the stupidest person on the planet.

Virgil is quiet, dismissible, a shadow in his own skin even on his best days. But he is not un-noticeable.

He carries an aura around himself that storms and thunders and promises danger to those that get too close. His laughter is a threat first and a comfort second. His smile is a knife blade that even Patton sometimes wonders if he might find in his back one day. Virgil was someone that you noticed and you stayed the fudge away from.

Unless you were Patton, who hadn’t been afraid of Death from the moment he watched his mother cough up blood over the cards to CandyLand, watched his mother turn into a real-life game of Operation, watched her breathing get ragged and her fingers struggle to hold playing cards between them.

Logan hadn’t been scared away by Virgil’s thunder, and somehow he had weathered the storm that Virgil put up to protect himself and lived securely in the eye of the hurricane. And somehow he hadn’t noticed, hadn’t cared, had taken advantage of Virgil’s softening heart just to shatter it.

“He didn’t…” Virgil says. “Janus… he didn’t really mean it. I don’t think. It might have been a joke because they’re friends but Logan told everyone that he would only consider dating someone who could… could…”

“Could what?”

Virgil’s eyes flick down to the Trouble game board, to the pieces lost in chaos of the floor, to the box they hadn’t needed except for transport. Patton feels his heart thud in his chest before he crawls up his throat and he tastes it in his mouth along with the remains of the raw cookie dough he licked off the spoon while cleaning up.

Virgil’s words come back to him in whispers. But it’s not like I’m going to win. This is a sign, isn’t it? I’m just being stupid even considering it.

“Someone who could….” Patton says, “beat him in a boardgame?”

Virgil yanks the thread on his jeans sharply and nods without meeting Patton’s eyes. “I told you it was stupid.”

“Virgil,” Patton says. “This is great! We’ve been playing games together for years! You can beat--”

“That’s the thing!” Virgil says with his shoulders curling up to his ears and burying him in layers of excess fabric. “Pat, I can’t even beat you in a board game and I know all your strategies!”

“I don’t think that Trouble actually has any strategies. It’s really luck of the roll--”

Virgil peeks out of his hood enough to give Patton a miserable glare. “When was the last time I won against you, Pat? Be honest.”

Patton purses his lips. “I don’t think that’s fair, kiddo. I’ve been playing games since I was able to understand the rules--”

“You don’t even remember, do you.”

“It was Dominos and you won by twenty points.”

“Nice try, but you purposely miscounted and you actually won by two.” Virgil reaches out for another cookie and offers it to Patton without making any move to pull his other hand from Patton’s hold.

“You would have a lot more wins if you didn’t insist on not finishing games sometimes!” Patton says. “You never know the ending of a game until you play it out!”

“I could tell you that Logan was going to beat Janus in Chess the moment the opening moves were made,” Virgil counters. “He won in twelve moves and then the next game in six.”

Patton opens his mouth, but Virgil shoves the cookie in before he can actually say anything.

“And God Rest Remy’s soul because Logan obliterated him in Trivia Pursuit.” Virgil continues, “He turned Roman to mincemeat over Scrabble, and not only beat Remus in Poker, but won one hundred dollars off him too. I also watched him win in Othello against some kid he tutored in Calc, a game of Mancala with an art kid who was doing it for clout, and Stratego which he won before I finished reading the fuuuuuudging rules and made his opponent cry over it.”

Patton swallows down a bite of cookie that he didn’t not chew well enough because he feels it tear up his esophagus as it goes. Virgil politely ignores him dying for a second and offers him his own thermos of soup to help it down, before remembering that he’s supposed to be brooding and staring at Patton for too long makes him soft.

“Not to make a pun here, but no dice; I legitimately cannot beat Logan,” Virgil says. “He’s just… so good. At everything. What is the point in humiliating myself with this? Even if I find a game so obscure that he’s never heard of it and doesn’t have a strategy built for it, just going up to him and putting the board between us is like-- that’s telling him that I’ve had this massive stupid crush on him for ages and what if he doesn’t even like me? What if I win and then he has to date me because he said so but he actually hates me? What if--”

Patton coughs so hard he thinks he might have dislodged his own lung, which is fine!! Because at least it got Virgil to snap back to him and table his panicky spiral for later.

“Weren’t you,” Patton croaks, “Weren’t you already going to confess to him? You bought the chocolate kisses and you sent me pictures of them in your bag right before class last week.”

Patton can’t see Virgil’s ears because of his hood but he knows that they’re glowing red from the way that Virgil can’t meet his eyes again.

“I just….I did but then he….” Virgil nudges a pile of questionably clean band t-shirts with his socked foot. “He said he wasn’t interested because class was starting and I still don’t know if he meant an actual kiss or a Hershey kiss because he had to leave class early to pick up his kid brother from his middle school because he was sick with a fever and then I was too mortified to bring it back up-- See Pat, I can’t even come up with a creative way to tell Logan that I wanna listen to him ramble about jellyfish immortality and play with his hair or tell him that I wanna know what the flavor of his chapstick is-- which, by the way, I did say to him and he told me was cake batter and that I could find it at the corner drugstore because he thought I was looking for recommendations-- There is no way to subtly tell him that I want to date him.”

“Then maybe… don’t be subtle?” Patton suggests, and then points at the game between them. “Boardgame?”

Virgil scowls at the game like it had personally offended him. “But I can’t beat him. And if I lose and by some miracle he still wants to be seen with me, then he’d be breaking the very rules he set up and everyone else who lost is going to be pissed at both of us and I can’t do that to Logan.”

Patton bites back the then don’t lose that he wants to say. It seems so obvious to him. He doesn’t really see why Virgil doesn’t think he can win one single game. There isn’t even a rule that says Virgil can’t come back and play again-- which isn’t that the point of games? That you can play them for a little while, pack them up, and then come back to them later? That you sit down with friends-maybe-more and you play and have fun ?

Not for the first time, and not for the last time, Patton wonders why Virgil ever played games with him at all. He knows the first time was pity because he found Patton sitting on the floor of his bedroom with Trouble on the ground in front of him and staring at it numbly because he had cried all the tears out of himself already at the hospital, at the funeral, at the everything that had come after that he couldn’t remember. The first time it had been to get Patton to react because he had been so lost, but every time after that Virgil had made the conscious decision to pick up the pieces.

Even if sometimes he had put them back down halfway through and Patton hadn’t figured out how to convince him that the point isn’t to win as much as it is to have fun.

Virgil twists his wrist loosely in Patton’s grip so that he’s holding Patton back, his cold fingers somehow feeling comforting rather than startling. Patton has always loved that about him, although he’s never sure how that works. The coolness of his touch is familiar, but the vulnerability of Virgil reaching out is something newer, something special, something fragile and Virgil holds onto him like he’s expecting Patton to let go at any moment and Patton steadfastly refuses to let him drift off. Patton squeezes his wrist gently, lightly, softly.

I’m here. I’m not leaving. We’re in this together.

“I think that Logan can make decisions for himself,” Patton says with words so featherlight they barely move the air. “Remember the dominos? Any player can choose to lose, whether it be miscounting or it be refusing to finish the game in the end. But if you never even offer to play with him… Logan can’t make that choice, Virgil.”

Virgil holds his gaze for a moment, two, three, and there’s something in his eyes that shies away from the glow of the light, something slippery and weak and scared. Something that Patton is afraid to put a name to, lest it disappear from him forever.

Something that causes Virgil to squeeze his wrist back.

Together. Us. We’ve got this.

“So what game do you want to play with Logan?” Patton asks. “We can go look at my collection if you want? I loaned out Backgammon to a girl in my Shakespearean class, but other than that I have the usuals with me.”

Virgil takes a deep breath. “Can we…” He says. “Do it tomorrow? I don’t want…” He squeezes Patton’s wrist again and Patton can fill in the rest of the blanks with his own interpretations. He is, after all, fluent in Virgilese, as much as Virgil is fluent in Pattonish.

“Yeah, yeah,” Patton says and shifts through the piles of clothes that act as cushions so he’s right next to Virgil, pressing their shoulders together, leaning his head on Virgil’s collarbone, and reaching around him for another cookie. Virgil moves the tub between them and then pulls the Trouble game board in front of that.

He hesitates for another moment-- they’re missing two of Patton’s blue pieces to the floor, and one of Virgil’s purples to a pile of sweatshirts-- but the fact that Virgil drops forward and presses the bubble to roll the die makes Patton’s chest warm.

He gets a six, and then a four and that thing in his eyes seems to grow just a bit stronger.

That is, of course, when the rap music from next door starts up loud enough to shake the entire room and Patton wonders if Logan would still be up for playing a game with Virgil when he’s incarcerated for second degree murder.

Patton, at least, gets a hug out of it, when he tackles Virgil to the ground before he can get to the door, and he manages to coax Virgil back to their area, back to the floor, back to the game, and then later into the blanket-fort-and-movie-night that they watch with one earbud each and their foreheads pressed together late into the night.

***

Patton’s mother developed lung cancer when he was seven. He remembers it in vague flashes: the blood, the shakiness, her fall to the floor because they had never had any sign of it happening until it was too late to do much about it. He was told it was because his maternal grandparents both smoked a lot when she was growing up and she spent the weekends helping them around the house still.

The doctors said she had a year. She got eighteen months.

He barely remembers her face from his own memories anymore, all of them blurred and twisted by the passage of time that he almost got swept away in entirely. Her picture still hangs around the house, though, and he guesses he’s lucky in that regard. He liked how he could see her every time he passed by the stairs, even after his dad remarried and he had grown up and the telemarketers stopped calling the house to tell her that there was an interesting charge on the credit card she didn’t have anymore.

He still wakes up sometimes with his heart beating in his ears and his eyes blinded with tears and his lungs refusing to cooperate because of nightmares about forgetting her entirely, of seeing her stand up to call out to his dad, of seeing her cough out blood and then fall to the floor right in front of him as his dad is running down the stairs. He still wakes up and feels his heart aching where she might have once been if everything had gone just a little bit different. He still wakes up and wishes that he could go back to sleep because at least in his dreams she’s still there waiting with a deck of cards and a smile that says, “Alright, Buster, don’t think I’m going to go easy on you this time!”  

Usually those types of days he labels as “Bad Ones”, and he finds it harder to crawl from under his blankets to do pretty much anything.

Virgil knows immediately when he sees Patton staring at his black laptop screen that it’s a Bad One.

Patton loves that he knows not to ask, hates that Virgil can read him so easily, wants to cry because it’s been so long and shouldn’t the edges of that pain have gone away by now? He wants to pull Virgil’s purple comforter back over them and drift back off into the blissful warmth while pretending that the idea of a game right now didn’t make his hands shake.

She hadn’t left Patton specifically a lot of things, but the things that she had left him had been boardgames. Things that she had collected over the years and kept on a shelf in the study for them to play after work and school: Candyland, Trouble, Snakes and Ladders. She had a whole shelf for him when he got to an age where he could understand more complex concepts: Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Mysterium, Star Realms, Settlers of Catan.

After she was gone… Patton had stared at that shelf and wondered if she had ever thought that maybe she wouldn’t get a chance to play some of them with him.

He wonders how many of them he could have beat her at, how many of them she might let him win in, how many of them they would love to play together and how many of them they would both play through once and then wrinkle their noses at because it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be.

He wonders and maybe it’s a bit too much because he’s stomach is rolling nauseously and he thinks that if he has to look at a game he’ll actually throw up this time.

Virgil doesn’t say anything, even as he gets up and Patton remains buried under too many blankets and the alarm on his phone goes off again for his morning class. The darkness is safe and warm and Patton thinks he understands why Virgil likes it so much as he closes his eyes and tries not to think of a woman who is long gone and in the ground.

“Breakfast?” Virgil whispers at some point.

“Cookies,” Patton mumbles back.

Virgil had carted a hand through his curls and then the door to the room had opened closed and locked behind him. Patton thinks that was nice of him-- to lock the door like he was protecting anyone from coming in and stealing his valuables even though Patton was there. Or maybe since Patton was there? Patton presses his head into a pillow that smells vaguely like chocolate cherries and black licorice and other things that screamed Virgil, and thinks that Virgil might consider Patton a valuable that needs to be protected and kept safe.

Sometime later Patton wakes up with Virgil lying beside him, headphones on and typing on his computer with one hand while dragging fingers through Patton’s curls with the other. It’s impressive of him by itself, but not nearly as impressive as the fact that Virgil’s hood is down and the blackout curtains are parted enough to bring in a decent amount of light.

Virgil blinks at him and removes one earmuff. “I read that flowers need sunlight to grow,” he says in lieu of explaining the rays of light cascading into the room over the two of them.

Patton wants to laugh, and thinks he might if it were any other day and not this one. He settles for a somewhat bent smile and Virgil reaches to somewhere he can’t see and brings back a muffin from the Campus Cafe.

“Chocolate Chip,” he says. “Which is like a cookie, but better because it’s a muffin and I said so.”

Patton can’t really tell if the tears that prick in his eyes are from the lingering sadness or the softness of just a simple gesture from his best friend. Maybe it’s both. Maybe it’s neither.

It’s a muffin, not something he should be crying over, and he repeats it even as he takes a bite from the top and Virgil pretends like he doesn’t see Patton scrubbing his cheeks as he chews. It’s a muffin, but Virgil got it just for him and Virgil came right back here and sat with him so he wouldn’t wake up alone and sad and and and--

And if Patton liked anyone romantically like that(™) he thinks he would have fallen straight into love with Virgil.

“Did you miss class?” Patton whispers.

Virgil shrugs. “Nothing important. I sent an email to my teachers saying that I wasn’t feeling too good and didn’t want to risk accidentally spreading anything to anyone, which already helps because I didn’t go to class yesterday and I’ve already turned in all my work for the week for most of my classes. Besides, you were here and I didn’t want to just leave you all alone-- what if Roman started playing his Disney compilations at 160 decibels again?”

“You like Disney, though.”

“I also like my hearing and my best friend,” Virgil says like it’s nothing, like it’s obvious, like it shouldn’t be making Patton tear up again because Virgil is just so nice.

“I’m sorry,” Patton whispers.

Virgil moves his computer and jostles around on the bed until they’re lying side-by-side even though the bed was definitely not made for two persons. He presses his head to Patton’s, and he’s cool and soft and safe.

Together. We got this.

“Your mom?” He asks.

Patton nods, with a lump in his throat that makes all the words he wants to say crumble to ashes on his tongue. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Pat,” Virgil says.

“But… Logan…”

“He’s not going anywhere,” Virgil says. “And, full offense, but no boy is going to be more important to me than you regardless of how fuuuuuuunkily hot he is. Funkily, yeah, sure, that’s a word that I definitely was going to say right there.”

Patton feels the laugh build up in his chest, against all the odds in the world, and it tastes like chocolate when it rolls out of his mouth.

Virgil bumps his shoulder, and grins. “Look, I’m trying here. Cursing is in my nature!”

“Thank you,” Patton says. For everything.

“No prob, Bob,” Virgil says. I would do it all all over again and never change a thing.

“I’m not Bob! I’m Pat!”

Virgil’s laugh is like the sun breaking through the clouds after a rainstorm, like a rainbow cascading through the sky, like being caught after a fall. Patton gets the energy to smile back when he hears it and that alone nearly makes him want to cry again.

Patton twists the blanket under him between his fingers and takes a deep breath. “Did you…” He says before pausing to swallow back the taste of his own stomach acids he’s not sure is entirely imaginary. “Did you pick a game? For Logan?”

Virgil’s nose twitches, which means the answer is a sound no. “It’s not that important right now. You’re not feeling up to--”

“ Vir -gil,” Patton says and Virgil’s nose twitches again.

They share a look for another minute, two, three, before Virgil exhales and looks away.

“Fine, fine,” he says. “I didn’t pick out a game yet. I actually saw him in the Cafe earlier with Janus and he waved, though, which was awesome until I waved back and forgot to look where I was going and walked straight into a glass door. At this point it’s going to be a miracle if Logan doesn’t laugh in my face when I ask him to play anything with me.”

“He won’t laugh at you,” Patton says and Virgil slides his arms up and crosses them so he can bury his chin in them like he doesn’t believe Patton at all. “From what you’ve told me, Logan is really nice isn’t he? And the other day didn’t you say that he went on a rant about Pluto being a planet? I think that’s just as silly as you walking into a door.”

Virgil hums to show he’s listening, even if he isn’t taking the words to heart as much as letting them filter through his ears. Patton licks the last of the chocolate muffin from his fingertips and blinks away the urge to hide away from the rest of the world when he spies the box for Trouble on the ground next to Virgil’s desk trash can.

Virgil follows his gaze to the box and he purses his lips, although Patton isn’t sure if its from the fact that he’s remembering that neither of them won last night, or if he’s thinking about odds of beating Logan again or if he, too, is thinking about ghostly fingers trying so hard to move playing pieces that they can no longer touch.

Patton rolls over and stares at Virgil’s ceiling instead, counting his breaths until he feels like the static between his ears isn’t going to overwhelm him.

“What game do you want to play?” Patton asks.

“I won’t win.”

“I didn’t ask what game you wanted to win,” Patton points out. “What game do you want to play against Logan?”

Virgil is quiet, but he sighs so heavily that Patton can see his bangs flutter out of the corner of his eyes.

“This is going to sound stupid,” Virgil says, and again Patton remembers that nothing Virgil ever says has ever once been stupid. “But I don’t want to play against him at all.”

Patton frowns, rolling his head to the side to take in Virgil’s gaze that is already looking at him. His dark eyes are there and the something in them that Patton doesn’t want to put a name to is there again, shining just like the rays of light between Virgil’s blinds.

“I mean I want to play a game with Logan, just not against Logan. It’s stupid, okay? I was just thinking about the cooperative games back at your house that we used to play with your dad and step mom-- you know like the Unlock , Escape-room-in-a-box games? Or maybe Flashpoint? Or Forbidden Island? I was just thinking how shit I am at making my own decisions in Pandemic and Logan is really good at strategy so I bet that working together we’d be able to beat any game.”

Patton breathes deeply, sharply, and tries to ignore the piercing pain in his chest at the mention of the games. Virgil winces like he wants to take the words right back out of the air and hide them somewhere where neither of them have to face them at all.

“I don’t…” Virgil says, “I don’t want to play against him and lose. I’d rather play with him and win. Again: it’s stupid.”

Patton closes his eyes, and sees the shelf his mom left him full of boardgames she picked out long before he was past chewing on building blocks, of him at eleven years old finally getting the courage to drag a kitchen chair to the case and pick out a game while Virgil stood by to make sure he didn’t fall and to remind him that it was okay if he didn’t didn’t feel strong enough to try, of the two of them sitting at the kitchen table with the game directions between them that don’t really make any sense because it there’s no directions on how to attack each other when his dad comes home early and freezes at the sight

He might not remember his mother’s face outside of photographs he doesn’t remember being taken, but he remembers clearly the softness of his father’s expression when he dropped into the seat next to them and asked if they knew how to play this one yet.

“It’s a cooperative game,” his dad said, with a voice shaking and eyes wet. “That means we all work together to get to the goal at the end. Each player is going to have a different superpower-ability-thing that they can do that will make it easier for us to win as a team.”

So no, Patton doesn’t think that it’s stupid at all. It’s hard to do things by themselves, it’s scary, it’s difficult, it’s frustrating. That’s why when Virgil is texting him that the world is ending because of a boy, Patton will always show up at his dorm with soup and cookies and a game for them to play together instead of telling him that he’s being dramatic and silly. That’s why when Patton is missing a woman who hasn’t been in his life for twelve years now, Virgil will always stay with him to remind him that he’s going to get through it, instead of telling him to suck it up.

It’s much easier to win when they’re on the same side.

And Virgil has only ever had fun when playing games that he wins, hasn’t he?

“Why don’t you?” Patton asks suddenly.

Virgil must have nodded off because he jerks suddenly when Patton speaks up, “huh?”

“Why don’t you play a cooperative game?” Patton asks. “What did Logan say specifically about the whole dating thing?”

Virgil rubs an eye and squints at him tiredly. “I told you, he said he would only date someone who beats him at a game. I don’t--”

“Did he say beats him, or beats the game with him?”

“Neither?” Virgil says. “He literally said to Janus very loudly, “I will only consider someone a viable romantic partner if they can win in a game with me.””

“In a game with me,” Patton repeats. “ In a game with me. Not in a game against me!”

It takes Virgil a long, breathless moment to comprehend it, but it’s clear the moment it hits him. Virgil jerks so hard that he tumbles off the bed entirely and to the ground in a fumbling of long limbs, blankets, dubiously cleaned clothes, and his computer-headphones combo. Patton yelps and leans over to check on him but Virgil doesn’t even look like he noticed.

“Holy Shit,” He says, “holy shit, Pat.”

“Language.”

“ HOLY SHIT!” Virgil yells, and then he laughs and covers his mouth like he’s trying to bottle up the sound. “Patton! Patton! He didn’t say against!”

Virgil’s eyes sparkle, the light through the window makes his dark hair shine and just looking at him Patton thinks he’s never once seen him so happy before, so delighted, so excited.

So full of hope.

The next thing he knows is that he’s sitting up and Virgil is wrapped around him in a hug so tight, so soft, so cool and wonderful that those pesky tears come right back to his eyes. Virgil hugs like he’s unafraid of anything for just this endless moment, like he’s never been unsure of physical touch before, like he’s done it a million times before and Patton shouldn’t feel his breath catch in his lungs lest he shatter this dream with an exhale.

He’s standing at the eye of the storm that is Virgil, and he’s never felt so safe before in his life.

“Thank you,” Virgil whispers, “I, uh, I’m sorry for the sudden hug--”

And then, of course, Remus’s music comes back with a vengeance that rattles the ceiling tiles overhead and makes Virgil hiss and break the hug. Patton thinks that he could forgive it, if it weren’t for the unmistakable sound Disney’s Mulan soundtrack also ringing in the air, like it was trying to be heard over the rap music. Dust sprinkles from the tiles overhead.

“I’m going to kill them both,” Virgil vows, but Patton is quicker. He lunges forward before he even knows what he’s doing and coils around Virgil as tightly as he can, and just hugs him, his best friend, the guy who’s always been there for him, and who deserved all the happiness that he could get.

“Pat?” Virgil says.

“If Logan doesn’t treat you right I’m going to make sure no one finds his body,” Patton says.

And Virgil’s laughter makes it sound like he doesn’t quite believe Patton, but that’s okay. Virgil is still looking for reasons to play a game if not to win, and Patton is still trying to find a game that makes him smile, and together they’re going to figure out how to get Virgil to win with Logan.

But for now the hug is good, and the company is nice, and they have the game Trouble packed away ready for the next time they want to play.