#i did have to find this out by buying a whole ass curtain pole and pair of curtains and then returning them again in the same day

[fingertipsmp3]

In some other news the home office is coming together and I am SO excited

[mnictasbcl]

I’ll be forever young (with you)

For #dbhcolorsofdeviancy, prompt:

June 13th: Forever young @connor-sent-by-cyberlife

Rating: Teen

Characters: Connor, Hank Anderson, Sumo

Relationships: Connor & Hank Anderson, Connor & Hank Anderson & Sumo

Additional Tags: Fluff, Birthday, First birthday, Presents, Detroit bridge, Swearing, Hank is the best dad

Summary: August 15th, 2039. Connor’s first birthday.

He doesn’t think Hank will do anything that big for his birthday…

 And is proven very wrong.

(The final prompt for this event! I’ve enjoyed it very much :) )

Story below! Or, read it on AO3

AUGUST 15th, 2039

TIME AM 07:40:02

 Connor awoke to a ball of brown and white fur catapulting itself onto his bed.

Opening his eyes and fully coming out of the stasis, he realised that this was Sumo.

He ran his hands over his soft fur, receiving the wet slobbery kisses over his face, smiling. The Saint Bernard seemed particularly affectionate and excitable, the reason why eluding him as he was distracted by the fluffy cuddles.

But then, finally pulling himself away from the great dog and scanning his surroundings, he found out the reason pretty quickly.

Loosely strapped upon Sumo’s head was a colourful party hat, the words ‘Happy Birthday!’ printed on it in bold letters. Deducing that it wasn’t Hank’s birthday, it wasn’t Sumo’s…

The only other person in the house was him.

He chuckled, moving to pull the hat off the dog but he grumbled and jumped off the bed before he could do so.

“I didn’t think you’d find that comfortable, Sumo.”

The only reply he was given was a snort as the dog sniffed at the floor, nosing slowly out of his bedroom.

Connor shrugged. It made sense. It was a year since his activation day. Strangely… he did recall Hank paying extra attention and asking questions when he had mentioned he was almost a year old since being activated.

But he hadn’t viewed it as a birthday. Merely the day after his testing was complete and he was finally activated and shipped out on the same day for his first mission.

Of course, with the development of android rights, birthdays had been allowed for androids, even encouraged. Markus had celebrated his, he remembered, as he’d created a painting for him as a gift. So had various other members of Jericho.

Still, it felt… different to view this as a human celebration, of him turning a year old. The body he was in was technically not even a year old because he’d fallen off the rooftop on his first mission. He shuddered. It hadn’t been a brilliant day of birth, if humans called it that, that was for sure.

However, with help from people like Hank and Markus, he was beginning to accept his new humanity. Perhaps embracing his birthday would allow him to really move into the next stage of his life.

Besides, it wasn’t like Hank would do anything massive for the day, right?

 He walked out of his room and was met with balloons tied to the curtain poles, a banner proclaiming ‘Happy birthday/activation day, Connor!’, presents piled up on the living room table and Hank standing at the kitchen counter, a birthday hat askew on his head.

“Here comes the birthday boy.” Hank chuckled as he walked in, taking in his bewildered expression. “I know I probably went a bit… a lot extreme on this, but it’s your first birthday. You got to have a nice first birthday.”

Connor continued to scan over the room. “It’s…”

“I know.” He took a step towards him. “I know you’re still getting used to all your new-fangled emotions. But this doesn’t have to be big and stressful. Just a nice day where you can open some gifts and eat cake.”

He quirked a brow. “Did someone buy me a biological stomach, Lieutenant?”

“Smartass. Fine, I’ll eat cake. You can watch and drink a thirium pouch.”

Connor nodded. That didn’t sound too different. He followed Hank into the living room, sitting beside him on the couch.

“Alright…” Hank hummed as he looked over the gifts. “We’ve got a few things- a lot of things- from your friends at Jericho. One or two from the guys at the DPD… and me and Sumo piled some stuff together.”

Connor looked over it all with confusion, hands reaching out before pausing, reassessing. Eventually, he looked over to Hank for help.

“What… exactly do I do?”

Hank smiled. “They’re for you. Open whichever you want, but make sure Sumo doesn’t eat the wrapping paper.” He threw a slightly dirty look at the dog who was laying in front of the table, waiting. Sumo glared back at him.

Connor nodded. That sounded reasonable. Picking up the first gift, which was from Markus, he found even the tingle of excitement building in his chest, wondering with gratitude what his loved ones had chosen for him.

Markus had gotten him a book about fish, along with a selection of classical piano sheet music for him to play. Seeing the care put in, the thought about what he was interested in… was touching.

Tearing through the next few gifts elicited the same feeling. Everything was so thoughtful, even the Saint Bernard plush Sumo had ‘bought’ for him.

“Full of himself.” Hank jerked a thumb fondly at the dog when he opened the gift.

“It is very sweet, Sumo. Perhaps not as good as the real deal…” He bent down to scratch behind the dog’s ears. “But very cute, thank you.”

After everything was placed neatly back on the table, he thought they were finished. But Hank looked to him and proclaimed:

“Okay. I have one last gift for you…”

Connor tilted his head. “But I appreciated the things you have already gotten for me, Lieutenant. They were very generous.”

“This isn’t a thing.” He replied, getting up off the chair. “Come on, follow me.”

The android was intrigued as he was led out to the car. Sumo was put in the back, so he assumed it couldn’t be another vacation or they would have left him with the neighbours.

Still, it seemed like Hank wished this to be a surprise, so he looked down at the mini Sumo plush he had brought with him, stroking his fingers over the soft fabric. He chuckled to hear Sumo whining with jealousy from the back.

Connor managed to distract himself as such until the car pulled to a stop. Looking up, he found they were in the park.

Hank strode ahead of him once Sumo was on the leash, and he hurried to catch up. It didn’t seem like they were in the mood for sightseeing today, the scenery rushing by as Hank continued on.

But, just as Connor was about to inquire where they were going, he found himself at a familiar place. Looking out over the Detroit bridge.

Hank sat down on the bench, holding Sumo’s leash and patting the spot beside him for the dog to hop up.

“I remember this place.” Connor mused, standing beside the bench. Earlier in the day now, he didn’t look out at the stars twinkling overhead but instead the crisp summer sky. “You almost shot me here.”

Hank laughed. “If that’s what you’re asking; no, I’m not going to shoot you. That would be a shit birthday present.”

“It would indeed be rather unpleasant.”

“And illegal.” Hank added. “But… that is partly the reason I brought you here. Not the almost shooting thing. Maybe just the… almost.” He sighed.

“I wasn’t even gonna think about it; you were getting on my nerves, there was too much going on in my head… I was just going to shoot you. But then- you didn’t kill those tracis. And you stood there and told me you were afraid to die. This was the first place I realised that you were actually alive… and all the better for it, otherwise, where would we be now?”

Connor mulled it over. If Hank had shot him, it would have… well, severely halted the growth of their relationship.

“But I don’t want to think about that.” Hank continued on. “I didn’t shoot you. You had a heart. And now it’s your first birthday. In that year, you helped the leader of the android revolution… You pulled me out of whatever rut I’d fallen into. And honestly? I couldn’t see my life without you right now, son.”

Connor glanced to Hank as he paused. He didn’t comment on the way his voice had choked up, instead placing a hand gently on his shoulder, a sign of comfort.

“It’s really helped me, living not on my own again—no offense, Sumo. But just having someone in the house, you… Even if you are a pain in my ass sometimes.” He chuckled.

“What I’m trying to say is… Well, I know you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. A long life. A life where you’ll always look like that, where you’ll be forever young- and a while from now, you’ll be living a new life, without—” he looked up to Connor. “But right now, where we are? I like that. I don’t want it to go away. So that’s why…”

It appeared Hank had hit his quota for sappiness, as he simply held out a piece of paper to Connor wordlessly.

Connor took it off him, quickly scanning over it. It was a form. Official looking, with Hank’s signature at the bottom, and room for his…

“An adoption form?”

“If it’s too much, just tell me. I don’t want you thinking I’m some clingy old man but—”

He handed it back to Hank, his signature printed on it. “Thank you… dad.” The word was strange. It wasn’t likely he’d always use it- but the meaning then, the feeling it brought… it was the best birthday present he could have asked for.

Hank smiled back to him. “Great. Now, what about we get out of here? The view’s pretty, but it’s gonna get hot as hell later in the day and that cake back at home isn’t going to eat itself.”

Connor followed after him, back to the car. “Of course. I have heard, however, about this new android update which can install human mechanics such as eating…”

“I’m not saving you any fuckin’ cake, Connor. It’ll go old.”

“Like you?”

 Connor wouldn’t have it any other way. The small moments of genuine affection and feelings let out into the air… The regular day-to-day life of working at the DPD and bantering with Hank… Being forever young, one day, that all might end. But for now, he would live in the moment, and he would embrace it. All the emotions that would come with deviancy, whether good or bad, or even a mixture of both… He couldn’t ask for a better Lieutenant turned father-figure to help him through it.

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

NOTE: Here we go. Little bit of a shift in this chapter... you'll see. Thanks for keeping up with this fic and all your comments!

------------

Everything was rather quiet for a couple of days. Rise threw herself into practicing her vocals with every spare moment, meeting with her manager and conferencing with her record label over the phone. She needed the distraction. Without any clear course of action with Ai, she had decided to let that matter fade into the background. Maybe something would come to her eventually.

On Sunday, she and the gang decided to go fishing, since that was one of Narukami's favourite activities and they were all missing him lately. For most of them, it simply meant getting to wave around poles and wade into the water, splashing each other. Kanji and Naoto resented this because they were much more serious about the matter, but the others didn't pay them too much mind.

"Hey, why didn't you invite Ai?" Chie suddenly asked as they re-baited their hooks. "She too snobby to get down here in the river with us?"

Rise laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah," she responded, giggling right along. "No way would she be caught dead touching a fish that's not cooked."

"No… I meant that she wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore."

"Why not?" Yukiko asked. "I thought you were becoming sort of close with her."

Wow, how oblivious could they be? "Not anymore."

Once she had explained properly, which took the better part of half an hour, most of the joy had been sucked out of their springtime activity. Rise did feel a little bad about that, but it was as much their fault as hers, so she didn't spend too much mental energy on sympathy for her friends.

"Gosh, that is so sad," Teddie said with a pronounced pout. He really did seem genuinely disappointed not to have another friend. "I know you guys didn't really mean to hurt her feelings."

"Guess I thought he'd be over that by now," Chie confessed quietly.

"Yeah," Yosuke added. "Like, as long as he stays away from my butt, I don't really care what he does with his time. And man, he looks way better in drag than even Teddie did, so…"

While Teddie was harrumphing as if genuinely offended, Kanji chuckled harshly as he twitched his line in the water the tiniest bit. "What is it with you and that gay panic, bro? I'm surprised your Shadow didn't look more like mine."

"H-hey, I'm just a healthy, red-blooded Japanese male! I like girls who are actually girls! Is that a crime?"

"I'll buy you a butt-protector to keep all the dicks out," Chie cackled bemusedly. Yosuke just grimaced.

"I'm… starting to get why she didn't want this getting out," Rise sighed.

"Hm?" Yukiko said as she turned back in her direction. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"No, that sounded important. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings…"

Which she appreciated. Even if the others were a little oblivious sometimes, Yukiko genuinely meant well all the time. Every minute of every day. "It's just… I'm no big expert on this subject, but you guys can see how much work she put into being taken seriously as a woman. Because she looks like one! Nobody could tell! And I think I haven't paid much attention to how hard that must have been for her… I'm… wow. And I really did almost ruin her life."

Not that she had been unaware of that before. She thought she understood, and she did — better than her friends did, for sure. But listening to them casually treat her like a drag act, a joke, a source of anxiety for Yosuke's extra-fragile masculinity, peeled back just enough of the curtain. Now she knew that she really didn't know anything at all.

"Don't be so dramatic," Chie sighed. "Like you said, he was able to play it off, and he's giving you a lot more shit now than is necessary compared to what you did on accident. Like, scales balanced. If he wants to keep being a dick then that's on him."

Rise shrugged helplessly as she tossed her fishing pole back onto the shore. "You're not wrong about that part. I'm not saying her trying to get revenge on me is right. I'm just saying I understand why she feels so betrayed. Didn't really get it before, but…"

"I still don't get it now," Yosuke grunted. "The whole thing makes me super uncomfortable. But it sounds like he already had the surgery, so… doesn't that mean he's a girl anyway?"

"What? No, it's… nevermind that part." She had been about to insist that Ai did not have "The Surgery" yet, even though she had probably undergone several other minor procedures. But that was the kind of detail that would get her even deeper in trouble than she already was, so she cut herself off.

"Well, I'm with Chie," Yukiko said cautiously. "You have apologized for hurting her, you didn't intend to in the first place. If she were a true friend, she would accept your apology."

"I'm not sure it's that simple."

They all turned to look at Naoto, not having expected her to speak. The girl was wearing a very thoughtful expression underneath her newsboy-casquette cap. "What isn't?" Teddie finally prompted when everybody had been quiet for a little too long.

"This situation with Ebihara-san. She's living her life as transgender, and you have jeopardized that life. Even if on accident, I can see how she would interpret that as an attack."

"Come on," Chie sighed. "Any idiot knows the difference between on accident and on purpose."

"Not necessarily. In law, there is such a thing as 'gross criminal negligence'. This means that even if it's an accident, even if you did nothing with the premeditated intent to do harm, you can still cause harm and be held accountable for it. At least, partially."

"So you're saying it's okay that this asshole is trying to frame our friend for cheating?!" Yosuke burst out.

"Hm? Oh, no, not at all," Naoto insisted, a slight crease in her brow. "But this is a matter of criminal pathology. Even if Ebihara-san is not a criminal, she is perpetrating criminal acts; understanding them requires the same skill set. Motive. Means. Opportunity. We already know the last two, more or less; security isn't especially tight at Yasogami High. I'm sure it was a simple matter for her to sneak into the classroom and pilfer the answer key, then sneak it into Rise's bag when no one was looking. So all that's left is… why?"

"Because he's a petty jerk," Chie provided immediately.

"It's not that simple."

"No, it really is. Maybe you guys get something about how serious us gossiping about him was that I don't, but I don't care. You don't treat a friend like that. Period! Even if he's really pissed at Rise, she did apologize, she's trying to make it right. He's not acting like a friend at all. So I say, screw him! Just let him self-destruct and be alone. And if he won't stop being a jerk to you, we will be jerks right back. I'm not going to sit around while he drags you down for something you didn't even do on purpose."

Rise felt a rush of affection toward Chie Satonaka. Even if she couldn't completely agree with everything she was saying, it was nice to know her friends had her back — that these were true blue friendships that had lasted beyond being part of the same Investigation Team. The passion with which she spoke, and the anger she clearly felt toward Ebihara because she was attacking her friend, made the existence of those bonds unmistakable.

However… she also couldn't ignore the way Naoto's brow furrowed further. Kanji also rested a hand on her shoulder. Was she simply upset about losing an argument, or was there more to that?

"I can't disagree with what you say. I was merely trying to point out that in Ebihara-san's estimation, Rise may deserve vengeance more than she does in any of our estimation. She is viewing the situation differently than we are."

"Well his 'estimation' sucks," Chie grumbled.

"Maybe," Rise finally cut in with a discomfited sigh. "But can you guys… can you promise me you won't do anything mean to her without asking me? At least that? I know she's being a jerk, but it's because I messed up. Huge. So this has to be between her and me."

None of them looked too thrilled with that. Yukiko nodded immediately, seemingly satisfied right away that she was doing what was asked of her by her friend. The others were a little slower to agree but they still all did at some point or another, dissatisfied as they were.

"Thanks. And I'm so happy you have my back, I can't express that enough. But I have to figure this out on my own."

"You got it," Kanji grunted as he started reeling in a fish. "Shit… it's a big one… but I'm not gonna forget how you looked when that old bag accused you of cheating. That ain't right. Ebihara better make it right eventually, or his ass is grass."

What an ominous threat. Well-meaning, but ominous. Rise knew she would have to sort this matter out post haste — before she had to find out just how far her friends were willing to go to come to her aid.

                                          ~ o ~

All of this gave birth to a very determined Rise Kujikawa, and this was the one who walked into school on a foggy Monday morning. Ai had done enough damage; she had to forge ahead as if everything was fine. Her new tactic had to be not to let the bullying get to her, because she better understood it was just her friend being hurt by her own actions. And if she wouldn't accept her apology… there was nothing more she could do.

But she didn't have it in her to give up. That option was stricken off the list. Rise was no quitter.

Everything was fine until her second-to-last class of the day. Rise had mostly focused on schoolwork and chatting with her other friends, taking her mind off more depressing matters. Gearing up for a promotional video she was supposed to shoot soon; that would be a first step toward reestablishing herself as an artist, even if she still didn't intend to go back to singing full-time until she graduated. And the class with Ms. Sofue was fine in and of itself… for the first ten minutes or so.

That was when she noticed the smell. At first, she was looking around the room to try and figure out who had lost control of their bowels in such close proximity to other students. Maybe it was something they had for lunch?

A brief investigation ten minutes later revealed the true culprit, once everyone was looking at her like she was being most unladylike. Deep in the recesses of her desk, which she never used to keep anything since she would just have to move it again after class, someone had stuffed an old sandwich. Unless she missed her guess, there was natto and egg on it, among other things. But there was too much mold growing inside the sandwich bag for her to be certain.

"Oh GOOD GOD!" cried one of the boys nearby, covering his face with his arm. "What's in that thing?!"

Waving at the air with her crooked heka, the teacher coughed and demanded, "Please dispose of your lunch in a proper manner from now on, Miss Kujikawa! Make no mistake, even I have no interest in mummified food!"

A few of them were able to wrap it in some paper and drag it to the trash can, amid Rise's protests that she had never seen it before. Nobody believed her, because the natto tended to make it seem obvious that it had come from Marukyu — even though their speciality was tofu, not other soybean offerings. A lot of bickering back and forth broke out until the teacher banged her cane on her desk.

"Enough! Miss Kujikawa has technically broken no rule, even if it was her sandwich. So we'll say no more about it. Please, open your books again and turn to page…"

But the entire class period, Rise couldn't stop thinking about the sandwich. She already knew who it was; only one person at that school was stupid enough to actively mess with a famous pop idol. The instant the bell rang, she pelted out of class so fast that quite a few students gasped. By now, she knew what class Ai was supposed to be in around this time… and where she could find her.

                                          ~ o ~

"Oh!" gasped one of the girls in the locker room when Rise barged past her. "Do you even have this class? What are you doing in the-"

"Ebihara?" she asked. Some girl with a towel wrapped around her hair pointed further into the room. Rise stormed over there to find a towel-clad Ai preening at the mirror hanging on the inside of her locker, running the brush through her hair over and over. "Thanks for your present."

Smirking a little, the girl didn't even glance over. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah? You don't recognise it?"

Everyone gasped when she threw it onto the bench nearest Ebihara. That was nothing compared to the chorus of disgusted noises that followed once its foul stench began to pervade the air within the steamy room. Even still wrapped in the plastic bag, it was horrendous.

"Oh, GOD," Ai joined in, though she was chuckling just a little. "Why would you be carrying that thing around? Just to throw at me like that?"

"Why?" she demanded. "This has crossed the line from mean to just… weird! What's the point of stinking up the classroom?"

Full of false innocence, she pressed a hand to her chest as she said, "Why, I don't know. Sounds to me like someone just forgot to throw away her lunch. Maybe you should be a little less wasteful. Then again, as rich and famous as you are, I bet you don't care at all."

A ripple of murmurs spread throughout the room. Rise knew that they didn't really care about the sandwich, or about wastefulness, but they were highly concerned with this argument between two students playing out right in front of them. Gossip fodder. So she decided not to give them any more ammunition.

"Okay. We'll just throw it away." She snatched it off the bench and flashed Ai a poisonous smile. "Have a lovely day, Ebi-chan."

"Don't you mean Ebi-kun?"

Rise stopped dead in her tracks. She actually looked around for what assholes had said it, determined to give them a dressing down. Even if they were fighting, nobody got to talk about her friend like that. But she realized it had come from Ai herself. "What?"

"You were one of the people that started the rumour, right?" She looked so haughty, arms folded over her chest and hip cocked to one side. "So I'm surprised you let it go that easy."

Deciding to play along, she smirked and shot back, "I heard you showed off the goods to some other girls and it proved it was false."

"Yeah. But since when do people like you care about facts? You would much rather be right than the truth prevail."

"People like- okay. Whatever this is, whatever you want from me, I'm done with it. I thought we could try to be adults and move on, but all you want to do is start a war — one I'm not interested in fighting. Just leave me alone if you really can't stand me this bad, okay?"

Ai laughed and took a step forward. "Rise-Risette, the gossip-monger. And now, the cheater! What terrible thing are you going to do next?"

"I didn't do anything in the first place!"

"You know you did." The smile disappeared for a second, leaving her friend's features full of cold fury. But it was so brief that most of the other girls probably wouldn't have noticed; then she was smiling like rainbows were shooting out of her ass again. "And hey, if you want to try to blame me for all of it, go ahead. You might as well."

"No, that's not necessary. Maybe it's just a series of tragic coincidences."

"Uh huh. Or maybe you're just a self-destructive pop idol, a little brat who couldn't hack it in the entertainment industry, and now that you're stuck in boring old Inaba, you want attention again. Don't you see you're going about it all the wrong ways?"

So that was her game. Now Rise could see this for what it was: it wasn't just any one incident meant to slander her and give her a bad name. All of them together were supposed to paint a picture of a celebrity spiraling out of control. Rise was going to turn into the Japanese Britney Spears if Ai Ebihara had anything to do with it.

"You really want to destroy me that badly?" she hissed now that they were so close their noses were almost touching. All the girls around them were whispering and chattering, watching the drama intently. The rub was, they were gossiping so much about what they were saying that they couldn't even actually hear what they were saying.

"You can bet on it. I told you I was going to, unless you destroy me first. And I think you will. I think you are exactly the kind of person who will shoot in self-defense."

"That isn't me," she breathed, glancing down at Ai's body. It was so close to her own… she couldn't help looking, couldn't help feeling flustered even though they were fighting right now. "We both know that. You're just mad I messed up, and you won't let me apologize, and you won't leave it alone. There's nothing else I can do."

"Yes there is." Then she hiked an eyebrow slightly, lowering her voice to barely a whisper. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just… trying to figure out what to-"

"You were trying to figure out if you could see my dick. Weren't you?" As Rise felt her brow furrow, Ai chuckled and pressed on, "Do it. Go looking."

She could feel her temper flaring hotter. It was getting hard to control. "Stop being so gross. I wouldn't do that, I haven't done that, and I'm not going to do that."

"Why not? Come on… all you have to do is rip this towel off me. Show the world. Maybe I'm tucking again, maybe I'm not. But wouldn't that be great if you exposed a scandal in the women's locker room? Risette the Hero, saving all these poor girls from the freak."

"You know — you know I have never once in my life called you a freak, why do you want me to hurt you so badly? What do you get out of it? Are you some kind of psycho masochist?!"

"Sure! Go with that. Even more reason to save everyone. Do it." No movement. "Clock's ticking. The longer you wait, the weirder it's going to be that we're standing here whispering to each other."

But Rise's mind was racing. She still had no idea really why she was pushing so hard for her to attack, to be so vicious. She thought back to the revelation she had when walking home — about Ai, about what these attacks meant for their relationship. And when she thought of it that way…

Everything came together. Of course, nothing was for certain until she heard it straight from the horse's mouth, but now Rise thought she understood the reason her former friend was trying so hard to get her to treat her like vermin.

"No," she whispered with a small smile.

"No? Aww, I guess the games continue then," Ai said with a fake, exaggerated pout. "You're going to have to be a lot tougher than that to make it as a star."

"Actually… let's play a new game. Unless you want to give up now?" Her pleading face returned. "Please, please just stop. I'll leave you alone if that's what you want, or we can go back to being friends and… try to put this behind us. But I'm not giving up, not going away. So…? Maybe?"

Ai shook her head. "This isn't your game, you don't get to change the rules, princess. So nice try."

"Fine," she sighed… before sliding her arms tightly around Ai.

"H-hey!" she burst out. Then a little louder, "Oh my GOD, now Risette is trying to molest me!"

Before the gasps really had a chance to deepen, Rise sobbed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, I just… I just love you so much Ai, a-and when you… when you pulled away, I didn't know what to do! Can't you forgive me?"

Even the girls who weren't watching before were glued to this scene now. And even though she could tell Ai didn't like losing control of the situation — hated might have been more apropos — she still drew back to gape at her.

"What… did you just say?"

"I asked you to forgive-"

"Cut the bullSHIT!" she snapped loudly enough that one smaller girl yelped and fell back on her ass, scrabbling for the nearest bench. "You can't mean that. Not in front of all these people, you… they'll know you're- if you say how you feel, that's…"

"I don't care about them! I love you, Ai, I… I didn't mean for us to end up this way!" Her bottom lip wobbled hard as she took a shaky breath. "But if you really can't forgive me, I'll understand! I just… I can't go on with us hurting each other like this!"

"Oh, this is so not going to work," she scoffed… until she saw a few of the girls putting their hands on Rise's shoulders, comforting her as the big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Offering tissues, petting her hair. "Are you- wow, you guys can't be buying this! It's an act!"

"Hey, don't be so mean!" said some girl with bobbed hair; Rise thought her name was Matsunaga, but she couldn't remember at the moment. The moment Ai's gaze was on her, she said much more quietly, "S-sorry."

"Oh my GOD. Fine. Whatever, I'm out of here."

But a wall of girls blocked her way. They were all glowering at her now, looking ready to throw down; they would never have challenged alone but there was safety in numbers. Ai's eyebrows shot up, unimpressed… but the more she looked at all of them, the more anxious she appeared. Not frightened, just uneasy from the attention. The constant attention, while wearing a towel… prospect of a fight… she backed into a corner and they started to advance on her. This would get seriously out of hand if someone didn't step in.

Someone stepped in.

"Please, just give me another chance," Rise provided smoothly as she slid forward through the throng of girls, taking up Ai's hand — which was immediately yanked out of reach. Her voice was taut with emotion as she pleaded, "That's all! I'll show you I can be a better friend, a-and those pranks? Forgotten! And I won't ever tell another lie about you again, I promise!"

Ai took another good look around at the student body standing in opposition against her. The wheels were turning behind her eyes. Then she glared down at Rise with a shake of her head. "You… conniving… snake," she muttered.

Some of the girls heard it, and looked more scandalised. And because now everyone else was behind her… Rise felt comfortable allowing a smug, triumphant smirk to take over her features. Just for an instant. She even mouthed a few choice words:

"You only have one way out."

Oh, she had never seen Ai look that angry before. This wasn't just annoyance or rage. She looked murderous. But it only lasted a second before she sighed, shut her eyes, took a breath.

"Rise… fine. I know… I went too far. Can you forgive me?"

"Wow, really sounds authentic," one of the others closest to the lockers scoffed.

"No, really." When Ai opened her eyes again, she was smiling weakly. "I have missed you. I just didn't know… I was so angry when you started that nasty rumour."

"I know. It was a stupid mistake! And I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you just… take me back! That's all you have to do." She took both of her hands, ignoring the way nails were digging into her own. Petty little revenges were par for the course now. "Just be with me."

One could hear a pin drop in that locker room. Ai pulled her close and whispered softly, "You want to play this game? We're playing it on a national level."

"Bring it on," she replied in kind, smirking again — even while her heart pounded in her throat from the closeness. "But c'mon, I beat you this round."

"Shut up."

Such a chorus of "WHOOOOO" went up when they kissed that it felt like they were shaking the foundation of Yasogami High. Probably because, metaphorically as well as literally, they were. Game-changer indeed.

                                          To Be Continued…

[itmakesyoulooklikealoser]

Pynch Week 2017 Day 6: Fireflies

So I decided to fit chapter 2 into the fireflies prompt! Hope you enjoy! 

********

Ronan couldn't stop thinking about Adam. They had had such a good time until fucking Trae interrupted. Of fucking course Adam hadn’t been his actual date. That would mean that something good would have to happen to Ronan.

Ronan knew he was moping but he couldn’t get himself to snap out of it. He hadn’t left Monmouth in three days and had barely left his room. Gansey had attempted to find out what had happened a couple of times but Ronan had always shouted at him to leave him the fuck alone and mind his own fucking business. For once, Gansey listened and dropped his attempts at getting information, but that didn’t stop him from checking in on Ronan every few hours like an overbearing mother.

On the fifth day, Noah burst into Ronan’s room and went straight to the window. He pulled the curtains open dramatically, letting in the sunlight and threw the window open.

“Rise and shine, buttercup! We are going out today!” Noah sang cheerily.

Ronan glared at Noah and threw his pillow directly at his face. Noah batted away the pillow and made for Ronan’s dresser. He started pulling open the drawers and pulling out random clothing, muttering under his breath.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” Ronan growled at Noah, who now was going through Ronan’s underwear drawer. He held up a pair of neon green underwear and raised an eyebrow at Ronan.

“This doesn't match your aesthetic,” Noah said giggling.

Ronan shot up from the bed and grabbed the underwear from Noah and shoved them back in the drawer.

“Noah, get the fuck out of my room. I am not going anywhere with you asshole.”

Noah pouted at Ronan, eyes looking like a sad puppy. Ronan never could tell Noah no.

“Fine,” Ronan huffed, “where are we going?”

Noah’s face lit up, a huge smile spreading across his face.

“I have the whole day planned!”

————

Ronan was regretting giving in to Noah’s request so easily. When he said he had the whole day planned out he was not kidding. Ronan had thought he meant to keep him out a few hours at most, maybe a movie and some food. He clearly had been planning this day since Ronan had come home the first night upset from the date, probably with Gansey’s help.

The three of them had started at the mall because Noah had insisted that Ronan needed to freshen his wardrobe up and buy something that wasn’t black or any variation of gray. Ronan had laughed until he realized that Noah wasn’t joking. After spending two hours at the mall and visiting several stores Ronan finally just grabbed the first non-black or gray shirt he could fine in his size and purchased it without trying it on.

After the mall they stopped and ate pizza at Nino’s. Ronan had never eaten at Nino’s, but Noah and Gansey had been on several occasions and had promised it was good.

Once they were sat at a booth Ronan started scanning the menu. As he was trying to decide what he wanted he heard a female’s voice addressing Gansey.

“You’re not here to call me a prostitute again are you?” the girl said with humor in her voice.

Gansey’s entire face went a deep shade of red as he looked up at the girl.

“Blue! Hello!” Gansey’s face now plastered with a ridiculous smile, “It is lovely to see you again!”

Ronan stared at the girl, Adam’s laughter echoing in his head. There was no way this was the same girl that Adam had told him about. He would have known if Gansey called someone a prostitute and he would have never let Gansey live it down. He would need to drag Gansey’s side of the story out of him later.

“What are you staring at, Snake?”

It took Ronan a few seconds to realize that Blue was talking to him. He hadn’t realized he was still staring, he had been too stuck in his head. Normally Ronan would have shot back with something nasty, but he wanted a real answer to his next question, so he decided to ignore her.

“Are you friends with a guy named Adam? Dusty hair, really tan with freckles?”

Gansey and Noah were looking at Ronan bewildered, surely surprised that Ronan hadn’t bitten this girl’s head off.

Blue squinted her eyes at him and recognition spread across her face.

“You’re him aren't you? The guy from last week.”

Ronan could feel Gansey and Noah trying to catch his eye to get answers. Ronan looked down at the menu, trying to hide his emotions. He was feeling too many emotions at the moment.

He was feeling angry and hurt that Adam had lied to him and pretended to be someone he wasn’t. He was feeling jealous that this girl knew Adam and spent enough time with him that she knew who he was. He was feeling hopeful that maybe he would be able to reconnect with Adam through Blue. He was feeling betrayed by himself that he even wanted to find Adam again. He needed to get his emotions in check before he exploded. He took a deep steadying breath and told his order to Blue.

Blue hesitated a moment, thrown off by the sudden subject change, but seemed to sense that the conversation was over. She took the two other’s orders and left.

Without a menu to keep him occupied, Ronan had to face the other two. Before either of them could bombard him with questions he went ahead a told them what had happened the other night. By the end of the story, Gansey and Noah were both looking at him sadly.

“You should ask Blue if she has his number or contact information.” Gansey suggested helpfully.

“Hell no! And neither of you are going to ask either.” Ronan warned.

Gansey and Noah tried to argue with Ronan but Ronan ignored their attempts and changed the subject. Once they finished, Noah went to pay the bill at the register while Ronan and Gansey went to wait in the car. Once Noah arrived in the car he directed them to their next destination.

After several more hours of “fun” activities Ronan just wanted to go home and wallow in his room some more. The run in with Blue, and knowing she was connected to Adam, had left him emotionally drained. He told Noah he wanted to go home, but Noah said there was one more place that they HAD to go before they headed home. Ronan had closed his eyes and put his forehead against the back of Gansey’s seat, muttering curses under his breath.

When they arrived at their final stop, Ronan was not happy. They were in the middle of a field, little tents dotting the perimeter. There were kids running around and families camped out on picnic blankets. The sun was just starting to go down behind some trees in the distance. There was a handmade banner hanging between two poles that stated they were at the “Henrietta 25th Annual Lightning Bug Festival”. Ronan turned to Noah, scowling.

“Are you fucking serious, man? I’m not staying for this shit.” Ronan turned to walk back to the car.

“Ronan wait! Please! Can we stay for a few minutes?” Noah was pulling out his pout and puppy dog eyes again. “I used to come here with my family before….”

Fuck. There was no way Ronan could say no.

“Fine. Twenty minutes. Then we leave.”

Noah nodded enthusiastically as he led them through the smattering of people to the center of the field. He kept glancing around like he was looking for someone until his gaze settled somewhere to the left of them. Ronan started to turn to look where Noah was looking but Noah quickly redirected his attention elsewhere.

They finally came to a spot that Noah deemed worthy and sat on the grass. Just as Ronan’s ass hit the ground Noah pulls out some money and asks Ronan to go and get him a funnel cake.

“Are you fucking serious? You can’t even eat it!”

“I just want to pretend that I can. My mom always…”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ronan cut him off, “Fine I’ll go get it”

Ronan snatched the money from Noah and headed to the funnel cake tent. The line was about 15 people deep. Ronan was cursing Noah under his breath when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around, ready to snap at someone, but was stunned to find Adam standing there.

“Hi, I’m Trae.” Adam said with a smirk on his face.

Ronan opened his mouth to say something and nothing would come out. He looked at Adam for a few seconds and then turned back around to face the front of the line.

He felt Adam tapping him on the shoulder again. He pretended like he couldn’t feel it, although it was pretty obvious he could. His shoulders tensed as he felt Adam move to stand beside him.

“Okay, that was a dumb joke to make. I’m sorry.” Adam turned to better face Ronan.

Ronan kept his eyes forward and answered through clenched teeth, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

From the corner of his eye he saw Adam’s brow furrow.

“Blue called me and said you wanted to meet up and talk. Said to meet you at the lightnin’ bug festival at 7:00.” Ronan tried not to focus on the adorable country twang that slipped into Adam’s voice when he said lightning bug.

Ronan turned to finally make eye contact with Adam. He should have stayed facing forward. Adam’s blue eyes looked so hopeful that it hurt Ronan’s heart.

“Well I didn’t tell her I was going to be here because I didn’t even know I was going to be here. Noah has been….” Realization hit Ronan. He really didn't like people playing with his life like this. He let out a groan.

“Little fucker. Look I don’t know what Noah told Blue to tell you but I’m not interested. I don’t date people who I can’t trust not to lie to me.”

Adam’s face fell.

“Oh…I see.” Adam stammered as he broke eye contact with Ronan. “I just assumed since we hit if off so well…but okay. I can take a hint.”

Adam started to walk away, but before he got too far he turned back to Ronan.

“But for the record, I never lied to you about who I was.”

Ronan rolled his eyes. He had already explained this to Adam, but he realized he never let Adam explain.

“Then why did you go along with me calling you Trae?”

Adam let out a soft laugh, “You keep saying you called me Trae, but I have no memory of that happening. I’m sure I would have corrected you if you had called me someone else’s name. I thought it was odd that you wanted to sit with a complete stranger to begin with, but I humored you. And I’m not sorry I did.”

Ronan scoffed at Adam’s response.

“I walked up to your table and said ‘Hi Trae’ and you pretended to not hear me for a second and then finally acknowledged me. I should have known right then that something wasn’t right.”

Understanding flitted across Adam’s face.

“You came up on my left side that day, right?”

Ronan thought back to that day and nodded.

Adam let out a joyful noise.

“Well that explains it! I’m deaf in my left ear. I never heard you say Trae.” Adam explained, sounding a little too happy for someone talking about their own deafness.

Ronan’s eyes went to Adam’s left ear like he would be able to be physical evidence that Adam was telling the truth. Adam must have caught this because his hand came up to his ear and a slight blush spread across his cheeks.

“Look, Ronan. I like you. I had a surprisingly good time with you last week and I’d like to see you again.” Adam’s face had gone very serious. “But I don’t want to force you into seeing me. This was obviously a set up. If you don’t feel comfortable because you feel like I lied to you I will understand. Just say the word and I will leave and tell Blue not to interfere anymore.”

Adam waited patiently while Ronan considered what he had said. The line had moved up and Adam nudged Ronan to move forward. Ronan brought his wrist up to him mouth and started chewing on his leather bracelets.

Ronan was having a hard time deciding on what to tell Adam. On one hand, he had had a great time with him last week and wanted to see him again too. On the other hand, he was still embarrassed from the mix-up.

Adam must have been able to see the indecision on Ronan’s face.

“Okay, how about this. We hang out, as friends, during the rest of the lightnin’ bug festival, and if by the end of the night you decide that you still can’t trust me I will leave you alone.”

Ronan considered Adam’s offer. It wouldn’t be too bad to hang out with Adam for a little bit. He didn’t want to go back to where Noah and Gansey were right now. If he didn't enjoy himself he never had to see Adam again.

“Fine.” Ronan grumbled.

Adam’s face lit with a smile again.

“Great! Once we’re done here, we can go find a spot.”

“Fuck, Noah. He can get his own funnel cake. I doubt he really even wanted one anyways.”

Ronan turned and searched the crowd for Noah and Gansey. When he spotted them they were both watching him and Adam eagerly. Ronan flipped them off and turned back to Adam.

“Lead the way.”

————

Adam had come prepared. He had a few small blankets and a few snacks and drinks for the two of them. They sat a little ways from the crowd so they could have some privacy. Adam was beaming at Ronan the whole time, telling wild stories and asking Ronan questions about himself and his friends. Ronan found himself laughing more than he had in a long time.

Slowly, the two boys moved closer to each other. Neither had intentionally done so, but they seemed to gravitate towards each other. Ronan made eye contact with Adam and was breathless. He was so beautiful. His eyes sparkles in the dim light and he seemed completely at ease with Ronan. Ronan couldn’t believe that this smart, clever boy was actually enjoying his company.

Adam broke eye contact first and gestured for Ronan to look around. There were thousands of lightning bugs lighting up the field. Ronan was awed by the beauty surrounding him. He glanced back at Adam and saw the wonder written on his face as well. Ronan inched a little closer to Adam and grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. Adam turned to look at Ronan and then back down at their hands with a smile. When Adam raised his eyes back to Ronan’s they were full of relief. Ronan was sure the safe thing was mirrored in his. The boys smiled softly at each other and turned back to watch the lightning bugs light up the world, hand in hand.