#i found this little bee on the walkway :((

[bunnihearted]

[contentment-of-cats]

Observations on bees

Sometimes, for reasons know only to bees, they collapse on my walkway. Most times, if I find them alive, I wet a swab with honey water and let them drink. If they're really out of it, I put them in a safe place. I have a mesh dish cover, put them on clean toweling, with a little honey-water station. Most times it's just a bee that got too far from home, or is suffering from heat or cold. I get the joy of setting them free and watching them fly away.

Other times, it's a bee kicked out of the colony. Old. It's time of year for it. She hung on to the swab weakly, and when she fell, I caught her in my hand to bring her inside. I set up the 'bee hospital.' She ate and drank, but was so weak. She felt and tasted my pinky tip, buzzed her wings, and settled on the toweling. I figured she'd rest and I'd let her go in the morning.

Normally, when you find a dead bee, they've curled up and died, thrashing in unknowable sensations. I went to look in on her and found her in what I think of as a sleeping bee position. Until I noticed her wings spread and unmoving in final flight. Sometimes, as hard as you fight, as hard as others fight for you, there is not one more day. I've walked with my mortality for a couple of years now. Each day is one more gift, each day is powerful, what can you do, what would you do with one more day.

A little life, an almost invisible, and some would say an insignificant life. Still deserving of kindness, and a safe place to spread her wings in her final flight. It hit me hard, as things do.

Fly free, sister, to the Great Hive in the place of ever-blooming flowers, where it is always springtime, and you are always young and strong.

[darkshrimpemotions]

Trying to clean out my screenshots folder because it is way too big but I am coming across so many good tags from people in doing so!! Like the fact that Dean and Cas WOULD be the type to have a cluttered house full of knick knacks and half-finished projects and repurposed items, because Cas would see the beauty in it and Dean lived so long with scarcity that he can't just throw things away.

Cas has a lot of plants yeah but not a single flower pot. Instead he's growing flowers in old boots and chipped coffee mugs and cracked mason jars. Half the plants are actually plants. The other half are lovingly cultivated weeds. Dean made a little walkway that leads up to the house but it's out of salvaged bits of broken brick and cool rocks Jack brought home.

They put their Christmas lights up that first year and never took 'em down. The fridge is covered in photos held on with magnets they bought at gas stations on various road trips. The back yard is slowly accumulating car parts and other useful junk. There's a bath tub out there that Dean helped Cas convert into a frog pond, with a toilet bowl rigged up as a fountain. There's a windmill that used to be one of the wheels on a busted-up Camaro powering the electricity for Dean's workshop, which used to be a wood shed.

Cas keeps chickens and pigs and bees, all in sturdy but makeshift homes made out of salvaged junk. The porch railing is lined with wind chimes and sun catchers made out of random shit Dean or Cas or Jack found, anything that clinks satisfyingly or throws the light. None of their furniture matches and every room is painted a different color.

All their wash cloths are bits of flannel from shirts that couldn't be salvaged as shirts any longer. Their books are dog-eared used copies bought secondhand. Dean's taped the covers back on a few of them. They keep them on a shelf made of old apple crates. There are photos and mementos on every wall, every one in a different type of frame. None of their dishes or silverware match. There are wildflowers in a red solo cup on the kitchen table, left over from the supplies for their last cookout. The cup, not the flowers. Dean brought those home for Cas yesterday when he got back from yardselling.

[codes-and-stuffs]

thinking so hard abt tangtho and ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!! you should write smth with them or honestly anyone you want im just biased that's like. a Reunion. whether they thought the other was dead or they were separated for a rly long time or ANYTHING at all that comes between them for a long while, you should write a scene where they meet/find each other again and its just that sense of overwhelming gratitude and /relief/

hiiiiiii aly sorry this took so long i have been a busy bee irl but i have had this fic open and mid writing for so long :D

ao3 link HERE! fic below cut:

Tango was tired. Really tired.

It’d been a few weeks since he was anywhere he felt safe to rest, and even just sitting down for a few hours let the strange monsters following him get close enough to begin their whispers again. That was the worst part, really. All those creepy whispers, sounding so close even though he knew the creatures had never gotten closer to him than a few hundred metres away.

One thing that had always struck Tango as odd had been the language that these creatures spoke. At first, it all sounded the same: ominous, terrifying and in a strange tone that he’d never heard before. He had assumed it to be equivalent to the roaring of lion - that is, something he wouldn’t be able to understand, something inherent to the nature of the beast.

But it was, indeed, a language.

It was Etho who had first pointed it out - and goodness, did Tango miss him dearly - when two ice creatures had hissed at each other a little before seeming to decide upon which would go after which of the two humans. Their body language had been too minimal for their words not to mean anything. Since then, Tango had been keeping an ear out, hoping to pick up what he could to use for their survival.

Well. His survival.

Because he hadn’t seen Etho in nearly a month, and in a world like this one, his first guess was that the other was dead. Etho wouldn’t fall so easily, of course - if anything, it was Tango who often found himself the weaker link in terms of fighting - but Tango had very little reason to believe he would see him again. He’d been running on his own for too long. And -

The whispers struck up again, incomprehensible and threatening, and Tango got back up to his feet.

He had a long way to run.

*

Etho had been having some very mixed luck.

For one, it was a stormy day. Rain hurled itself down upon the paved slabs of the walkways, puddles forming in large gaps along the side of the paths. Most people here had decided to stay inside, gathered together by the small fireplaces in their dorms or training in the halls, but Etho found that he couldn’t quite settle. It looked like a dangerous storm to be out in alone.

But it did mean that the grounds were clear, which was what he’d been waiting for for quite some time, and so he donned his thickest coat and picked out his sharpest knife and headed out into the cold air of the morning.

The unit he was staying at was surrounded by a large rectangle of barbed wire, the fence tall and imposing and, altogether, likely useless against most of the threats that might arrive. Still, they kept out most of the nearest forces, and at least added to the overall atmosphere. It would probably be harder to convince themselves they were fighting if this place looked like the sanctuary he’d been at long ago.

He’d been having mixed luck for a while.

He was alive, for one, which was pretty lucky on its own. Statistically, he shouldn’t be. But here he was, and he hadn’t even had to survive those hardest first few months alone, and now he even had a solid place to stay. Besides all that, he’d found one of his friends, too: Doc, who ran this entire campus. And that was good. It was good that he’d gained someone by his side.

He didn’t really feel like ruminating on the things that had gone wrong.

As he approached the single gate in the fence, he pulled his coat just a little at the edges, as if somehow that might keep out the rain any more. It was particularly heavy at the moment, slamming down from the skies and shaking the fence minutely. Etho unlocked and unlatched the door with bare hands, watching as if from outside of his body as his fingers fumbled with the lock.

The gate opened and then shut behind him, and he began to make his way down the slope before him. He didn’t want to go far; he just needed to get out of the brighter lights here, to remember what it was like to know peace. He hadn’t appreciated it enough when it was there, and now…

Now he was here. And, despite having found one of his old friends, he still felt utterly alone.

A movement on the next hill over from him caught his eye. It was likely one of the very creatures he was meant to be keeping himself safe from, but something about the lack of fences around him and the sheer power of the storm bolstered his confidence. Besides, he knew he could fight. He understood his own strength. Whatever it was that was out there looked small enough to crush pretty easily.

Slipping his knife out, Etho began to make his way up the hill, eyes still tracking where the tiny movement had come from. It was still moving, he realised, though just barely, as if whatever it was had shallow breathing or was fidgeting where it sat.

He crested the hill and ducked behind a large, crooked tree, silently praying that it wouldn’t attack him while he took shelter behind it. Now that he was closer, he could hear the panting, the quiet muttering, the -

The world froze and then skittered forward jarringly as realisation set in. Etho knew that voice. He knew that presence . Heart almost beating out of his chest, he peered around the tree, eyes wide, searching desperately so that he could confirm that his mind wasn’t betraying him.

Sat on a rock, head bowed down against the heavy rain as he painstakingly wrapped his hand with a strip of pale cloth, was Tango. He looked exhausted, judging purely by his stance, but his breaths still stayed short as if he was in the middle of running from something. Etho watched him for a moment, almost disbelievingly. He was right there. He was right there .

And then his brain caught up with his body, and he near-stumbled out from behind the tree in his haste to catch Tango’s attention.

“Tango!” he half-shouted, half-whispered, still wary of the threats that were likely lurking nearby.

Tango’s head shot up to look at him, before his mouth fell open with surprise and he lifted himself to his feet.

“Etho, is that you?” Tango said. His voice came out as a rasp, like stone against stone, but he barely seemed bothered by it. “No way - there’s no way -”

Barely even registering what he was doing, Etho stepped out across the short distance between them, arms opening just enough to catch Tango as the other took off towards him as well. He was warm and solid and real in his arms. His head was tucked securely over Etho’s shoulder, and the rain felt a thousand miles away.

“I thought you were dead,” Etho murmured into Tango’s hair, and the other laughed wetly.

“I’m not that bad at surviving, give me some credit,” he said. Arms moved across Etho’s back slowly as Tango returned his close hug, his tone still purposefully light. “I don’t know how you found me, though. Even I didn't know where I was. Or where I am now.” Tango pulled back a little, just enough to meet Etho’s eyes. “Hey, Etho, where are we?”

“We’re - uh, we’re next to where Doc’s been hiding, actually.” Etho glanced back to where the fence was barely visible against the dark horizon. It was no wonder that Tango couldn’t see it; it looked as if it was part of the sky.

“Oh, you found Doc?”

“Doc found me,” Etho said with a small grin.

He paused for a moment, hovering on the edge of whether or not he should give himself away. And then Tango tilted his head a little curiously at his hesitant expression, and Etho was suddenly reminded of the long weeks he’d had to spend without him. Maybe he could allow himself a moment of weakness - just a moment. Just for Tango.

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” he admitted softly. “I thought I was fine to just look for everyone, bring them all together, but - I don’t know. I don’t know.”

There was a pause as Tango tried to scrutinise him, squinting through the rain. “You always give so much of yourself to everyone, Etho. You should let yourself have something.”

He had this sort of soft look in his eyes - the kind of look that made Etho feel like something loved. Something precious. Within that moment, Etho felt like the only thing he really wanted to have was this: the world for themselves, and Tango held safely in his arms.

He took Tango’s face in his palms, compelled mostly by affection and somewhat by instinct, before pulling them back sharply when he felt how cold it was.

“You’re freezing!” he admonished, unzipping his coat already so that he could throw it over Tango and try to warm him up a little. “How long have you been out in this storm?”

Tango gave him a tired smile and a nudge. “See, this is exactly what I mean. Never thinking of yourself, always others.”

“You’re avoiding the question.” Etho zipped the coat up and turned Tango around so that he could coax him over to Doc’s place. “We’re going to my room to warm you up, okay?”

“Oh, you have a room and everything!” Tango said. “Sounds like a great place, whatever it is.”

Etho huffed amusedly as they began their descent of the hill. He let the relief of having found Tango fade into a fuzzy warmth at the centre of his chest, glowing and warm in the cold night air. “Well, you say that now…”

*

Tango was tired. Tired beyond words - beyond even emotions, if he was being honest with himself.

Yet tonight, for the first time in weeks, he had a shelter to stay in. There were fences - terrifying and tall and functionally useless, but they were there . And somehow there was someone pressed close to him, re-wrapping his hands as he leaned against his chest and listened to his heartbeat, steady and present.

He was sure he could still hear the echoes of whispers in his ears. He still felt strange, letting himself curl up and lie comfortably. It didn’t matter so much, though, when he had Etho right here.

Shutting his eyes against the rest of the world, he bid his muscles to relax, and let himself pretend that it wasn’t the end of the world.

[bonesandlight]

Chapter One- Teaser Fanfic - Skyrim Brynjolf

“Seeing the lost once more.”

Brynjolf was at the stand. Again.

He didn’t mind playing the conman, that was really no problem. What he did mind, however, was that every time he had to sit there waiting for buyers, he got to thinking.

He frequently thought about the Guild. It was his responsibility to keep it going, especially with how busy Mercer is, and always seems to be. (Not that he could handle talking to people anyway. He’d be dead after one meeting alone with Maven, that’s for sure.)

But after he combed through most everything with the Guild, he started thinking about the past. He’s gotten used to those familiar faces flashing in his head, along with the stabs of grief. He could usually bury those before they became problems.

Not this time, though.

He felt heavy in his chest and leaned on the stand, nudging a few Falmer Elixirs away.

Ever since he found Mercer crying at the flagon, he’s been pretty unstable. And I mean, the way Mercer talked would’ve plagued anyone’s mind. He kept saying how much he missed Gallus and hated Karliah, even after all these years - how he didn’t know how much longer he could take care of the Guild.

He sighed.

Must've had too many drinks.

He quickly buried the pressure and dread he felt, looking for some sort of distraction. He observed his surroundings. The sun was setting, setting a warm golden glow across the town centre. The sale stands were set in a small circle surrounded by stone walls with little walkways.

The circle that made the town centre was built around a well, and the town around the centre was filled with dark wood houses and buildings. There was a direct walkway to the Jarl's palace.

This was something he'd seen a hundred times. Not an optimal distraction to be honest.

And right on queue, he saw a curious figure turn the corner of the Bee and Barb.

They looked strong- but kind. As they walked, they took some time to crouch down and admire the flowers around the bars’ entrance.

While he watched them, he had soft flashes of false memories, as if forgotten dreams or visions from another life resurfaced, then vanished as quickly as they appeared.

When he collected himself he saw them get back up, carrying some of the purple flowers, and look his way. There was a familiar gleam in their eyes, like they knew him… and were glad to see him.

His heart gave a happy jump, like he was seeing an old lover for the first time in years.

Oh I really wish I hadn’t said lover. He thought.

The person smiled at him, ever so slightly, and then turned to talk to Mjoll. He started to think if he knew them but quickly shut it down.

Remember lad, His conscience reminded, You just need to sell elixirs. Focus.

And recruit new members. Another piece of him offered.

Ah.

He looked at the way they held themselves. They were light on their feet, showing a very good knack for stealth. Their fingers had a delicate touch, indicating dexterity. They could be invaluable to the Guild.

A flash of one of those visions appeared, but he couldn’t make out what it was before it was gone again.

He did pull one piece of informat ion though.

Derivs. That's their name.

It's just your imagination. Stay. Focused. He insisted to himself. No more distractions.

You're right, you're right. No more distractions. I cant afford to go through all that again.

A memory of a face from 12 years ago, when he said the exact same thing to himself and immediately did the opposite.

He hated when his brain did that.

Ignoring that thought he analyzed the stranger, or Derivs, further while trying to smother whatever he was discerningly not feeling.

They did look quite rich, based on the armour they wore. The craftsmanship on said armour was top-tier, defining the persons’ chest and abs like a marble sculpture, not to mention the rings that glimmered like stars on their soft-looking hands. The gold and diamond necklace they wore draped perfectly, resting on their heart.

He couldn’t but imagine how accurately the armour contoured to their body.

Come on, lad, pull yourself together. He thought to himself again.

He steeled his nerves and thought up a plan to talk to them.

But it's just to get them to buy an elixir. He swore to himself.

Yeah, like they'd be stupid enough to buy it anyway. Another part of him scoffed.

They walked a bit closer, admiring the city, especially the temple of Mara. He momentarily wondered if they were a devotee.

Everything seemed all too familiar, just looking at them seized him with deja-vu, and his heart fluttered like the hundreds of butterflies that filled Riftens’ marketplace.

No. No no no no no. Brynjolf, we know how bad of an idea this is. Don't do this to yourself.

I'm not doing anything. I haven't even spoken to them yet. He retaliated.

He would think this is just the same feeling he had for one night stands, but people he just wanted to sleep with didn't make him all nervous. (In fact they usually made him arrogant.) So he could safely say this is going to be a relevant problem.

For a moment, he considered if he shouldn't speak to them at all, knowing it might save him the time and pain.

He looked back at Derivs, not noticing how easily he got comfortable with calling them that, and saw them take a deep breath and relax their shoulders.

He instinctively did the same, not realizing he was mimicking them.

The person then walked into the marketplace centre, and Brynjolf knew it was now or never.

Before he even said a word, in a split second decision, he decided to recruit them. In hindsight, it wasn't the best change of course to make with no planning at all.

He'd follow his usual intro with new recruits while he thought something up. The person was just standing there, looking around as if waiting for something.

"Never done an honest day's work for all that coin you're carrying, eh lass?"

Now, he'll admit, he had no clue if Derivs was a lass or lad, but it just felt right to call them lass. He couldn't explain it if he wanted to.

"I'm sorry, what?" They replied.

It was in a tone he couldn't discern, as if they were making a reference and not just in a conversation.

"I'm saying you got the coin, but you didn't earn a septim of it honestly, I can tell." Brynjolf said, trying and failing to keep the way he was looking at them subtle.

"What do you mean?" They asked, making Brynjolf feel like they were amused by his unwilling gaze.

"Look how you sniffed out my little scheme at the North Gate. You knew it was a shakedown and you called him on it. That's what I'm talking about." He replied, tonally indicating his impression.

"So the guard at the North Gate was your man?" They questioned again.

"Aye, that he was. And you sniffed him out because he broke one of the cardinal rules of our business... he got greedy." Brynjolf hesitated. "He was told to run the scam on merchants, but he smelled the gold on you and his judgement went out the window."

Brynjolf could absolutely understand judgement going out the window for a seemingly foolish ideal.

Another memory of a long lost face appeared, and he shut down that train of thought, diverting his attention.

"Actually, I… admire how you handled the situation. You kept your cool and you didn't kill him. That's the mark of a professional thief."

They smiled at him and even the sun seemed to shine a little brighter, taking his breath away in the meantime.

BRYNJOLF. His mind shouted. You better stop this before something really bad happens. You know how this ends, why cant you learn your damn lesson?

It took everything in him not to sigh. Of course, that was right. He really couldn't learn his lesson.

There was living proof right in front of him that he probably never would.

Bloody moons, everytime. His mind complained.

"So all it takes to be a master thief is to not take other thieves seriously?" They asked, jokingly.

He laughed. "Aye, if they're not on your side." He looked into their eyes, feeling a connection. It was awful he didn't know whether to feel dread or not.

They smiled again and took a deep breath, looking away. "Well, even though you're right, my wealth is none of your business."

Oh shit. He completely forgot to make up a test to recruit them.

He quickly spoke, mainly to stall but also to keep them around. "That's where you're wrong, lass. Wealth is my business."

After combing through a few other options he decided that Brand-Shei has been kind of a nuisance lately, and Maven wanted him out of her hair anyway.

The person hesitated for a second, studying Brynjolf in a way that almost made it hard for him to figure out a plan.

Now he knew every stand had a strongbox underneath (mainly because he'd stolen quite a few things from there) and that Madesi had a silver ring that was a family heirloom, covered with carved inscriptions of the family history. Seeing as it was entirely unique, everyone would know whose it was. It was perfect.

Well, perfect enough for a plan made up in 2 seconds.

"Maybe you'd like a taste?"

A smirk came across their face. "What did you have in mind?"

"I've got a little errand to perform, but I need an extra pair of hands. And in my line of work, extra hands are well paid." As he replied, he had a feeling they weren't here for money.

"What do I have to do?"

They stepped closer, being fully positioned towards him. He ignored his heart speeding up.

"Simple... I'm going to cause a distraction and you're going to steal Madesi's silver ring from a strongbox under his stand. Once you have it, I want you to place it in Brand-Shei's pocket without him noticing." He saw their eyebrows flick in an understanding manner and he barely withheld a smile.

"Why place the ring on Brand-Shei?" They asked, shifting their weight onto their other leg.

Uh oh. He'd only come up with the plan, not the why.

Of course lass would be too smart to take instructions for granted. He mused to himself.

"There's someone that wants to see him put out of business permanently. That's all you need to know."

They raised an eyebrow at him, he needed to shut this down. "Now, you tell me when you're ready and we'll get started."

He felt he dodged that question pretty well, but he kept it in the back of his mind for investigation anyway.

"I'm ready, let's get started." They sounded ready and eager, so he wasn't going to second guess them.

"Good. Wait until I start the distraction and then show me what you're made of."

He was prepared to be amazed. He had already studied their capabilities and found it likely they were proficient, now he just needed to see it.

He grabbed an elixir and launched into a speech, being momentarily stalled and argued by Brand-Shei.

Well, he can't impede on business in prison now, can he?

He watched Derivs out of the corner of his eye.

They just casually walked past Madesi and went straight behind his stand. Only when Derivs put the key in the lock that he realized he had pickpocketed it from Madesi in that passing moment.

He was startled into pure amazement by their skill and casual demeanor, but he knew this wasn't all.

Derivs emptied the strongbox, as a good thief would, and covered their tracks. They even re-locked the sliding door.

What a skilled lass I've found myself. He admired.

Next they walked along the stone circle wall, to right behind Brand-Shei. The dark elf was sitting on some boxes so it would be simple for Derivs to slip the ring in his pocket.

They leaned on the boxes left of Brand-Shei, leaving their right hand free to make the transfer.

And after not even a second, Derivs nodded to him, indicating they succeeded. He would've guessed they did this exact scheme hundreds of times with how quickly and easily they succeeded.

"Come back tomorrow if you wish to buy!" He shouted to the crowd as they dispersed.

He preemptively grabbed the payment for their help, reasoning it could save time and reduce suspicion.

Derivs immediately walked back to Brynjolf, and he couldn't help but praise them.

"Looks like I chose the right person for the job." He said with a grin.

They smiled back at him and his heartstrings tugged ever so slightly. "Oh, and here you go. Your payment, just as I promised."

Neither of them broke eye contact when he handed over the coins, and neither of them addressed the way they grazed hands and lingered a bit either.

"The way things have been going around here, it's a relief that our plan went off without a hitch." He said in an effort to break the tension.

"What's been going on?" Derivs asked.

"Bah. My organization's been having a run of bad luck, but I suppose that's how it goes." He saw the mildly grim look on their face and changed the subject, "But never mind that. You did the job and you did it well." Derivs stood a little taller and lost the grim look. He felt slightly satisfied at the way he changed their mood.

He momentarily considered asking their real name, but decided against it. He wanted to call them Derivs, he knew it was their name.

It felt right.

"Best of all," he continued, "there's more where that came from, if you think you can handle it."

"I can handle it." They said solidly.

He would've taken their word for it, just by the way they spoke, but he did want to see if those muscles weren't just for show.

"All right then. Let’s put that to the test."

[moonieshinesims]

Generation One - Chapter Thirty Four

It's finally time for River to make her way to Mt. Komorebi. How will the flight be? Will she be able to find Damien when she arrives at the station? And then what happens? She was frightened… but she couldn't let anybody see it… She was on multiple missions and would have to keep her head straight!

*And please let's ignore that River's luggage changes colors 3 times in this post... I clearly wasn't paying any attention lol*

River's family drove her to the airport the night of her flight. She was antsy the whole car ride over.

Bee caught the last thing her younger, stranger daughter said. It struck a nerve with her, given things that had happened to River in the past, but she wasn't sure she heard her correctly.

Mercy smirked and rolled her eyes. "Smooth."

They went into the airport and looked at the boarding time of River's flight. She had about an hour, so she decided to buy her family a coffee before she left.

She knew she didn't have to buy them coffees, she was still under the impression that she might not ever see them again. She wanted to have one last nice moment with her family before leaving, especially when she didn't know if she'd ever see them again.

They sat around for about 45 minutes, talking and joking, until the announcement was made that River's flight was leaving.

They made their way to the front desk so River could hand over her ticket and check her luggage in the scanner.

"You better give us hugs first!" Bee sounded so upset, although she was trying to hide it. River told her cousin Logan goodbye, and then gave her mom and sister hugs.

Bee was doing alright at keeping it together, but only because she didn't want to stress River out.

Mercy on the other hand whispered something into River's ear. Underneath that joking, mischievous personality, Mercy was also worried that River wouldn't make it back home...

"I'll be careful guys, and I'll keep in contact!" They said their final goodbyes, then River finally turned to leave her family behind.

River's luggage was taken on the little cart to the part of the airplane where all the bags were stored. She joined a short line of people getting onto the plane.

When she finally entered the aircraft, she was a little overwhelmed.

She didn't have an assigned seat, and wasn't sure where would be best to sit.

There were only a couple of seats that were left empty. The one with the most leg room was in between a bored looking woman with her face stuck in her phone, and a nervous looking older man. She realized that was the exit row, but perhaps, since she would be on the plane for over 10 hours, it would be best to sit there.

Somehow she was able to sleep through most of the flight and was only awakened when the landing announcement was made.

The nervous man was gone, probably in the bathroom, and the other girl was still looking at something on her phone. Either way, River was glad that they were about to get off the plane. She wasn't sure, if she'd been awake, if she actually liked flying.

Once everyone was ushered off the plane and were able to obtain their luggage, River found herself outside. Damien's messages from days earlier had said he would meet her on the walkway above the trains.

It took River a moment to see next to the airport where he was talking about. The entire town was quiet as River pulled her luggage along behind her across a small yard, towards the train station.

When she made it up to the walkway, she took a look around at her surroundings.

Again, it was so quiet that River felt eerie.

Suddenly, down the walkway, someone began calling River's name in Simlish.

*please ignore that the last name on this sign is NOT River's last name in Simlish... I forgot what I was writing and put another one of my OC's last name on the sign!!*

River turned around and saw that it was Damien holding a sign with her name on it.

"Damien! I was wondering where you were."

"But I actually can't wait to go to wherever I'm staying and get into a real bed."

River then followed Damien down the walkway towards the parking lot. Again, even though she slept a lot, it wasn't good sleep, and she was too tired to be excited or nervous.

When she woke up the next morning she would put energy into being excited.

[stuff-from-the-void-matron]

Laurel Wreaths & Animal Teeth

(c!Technoblade x fem!Reader)

(a/n: if this gets some positive attention I guess i’ll continue it.)

~~~~~~~~~

It was raining when you woke up. 

And you…. were either in a coma and this was your brain’s way of making sure you didn’t go insane or maybe you were already dead and this was your afterlife?? You’re not sure. But either way you guess things could be worse??

Because you were currently in Minecraft? Like… the block game you played when you were… alive? Awake? Conscious? Before this. You played it before you got to here and now. Wherever and whenever that was. But regardless. You were here in the game now. Or at least somewhere uncannily like it. For better or worse. 

The world wasn’t a perfect replica of Minecraft, it was softer than that. But the similarities were so eerily similar that there was no way this wasn’t Minecraft. Things for the most part WERE blocky, just not harshly so like in the real game. Lots of stuff had soft edges and the animals and villagers especially had minimal ‘blockness’ to them. But it was still enough where you could look at them and think ‘minecraft’.

And speaking of, you weren’t your original game skin actually, nor were you blocky. You’d actually looked into some water after you first ‘woke up’ and saw you looked like you had when you were alive/awake. After finding a village you discovered you were taller than the villagers you’d encountered by a little bit. You even had to crouch to get inside buildings through the two block high doors.

But the only real startling difference from this ‘skin’ and how you’d looked before waking up here was your eyes, ears, nails, and teeth…

Your teeth and nails were… noticeably sharper. Like sharper than a person’s should be. And your ears had a point to them, like elf ears, that they didn’t before. 

And your eyes… lord, your eyes. They were an unusual WHITE. No pupils or irises in sight. Not even any veins like normal eyes have. Just the eerie glowing white. You didn’t really like them, looking at them made you feel weird, like you weren’t looking into your own eyes anymore. So you avoided it.

But aside from the absolute freakout you had when you ‘woke up’ or whatever you think you handled whatever this nonsense was with a decent amount of grace.

Meaning you only screamed loud enough to scare away all the birds in a hundred block radius the first few times you saw any hostile mobs. 

Which turned out to be sorta pointless because… none of them were bothering you. At first you thought they had somehow not seen you so… you stupidly inched closer. But… nothing! They could DEFINITELY see you, confirmed by the mini heart attack you had when a skeleton you were walking up behind turned around when it heard you step on some overgrown grass.

But.. that was it. It saw you and then just went about its business. 

Beyond confused you timidly tried to see if any other mobs were unbothered by you. Starting with zombies since they were slow moving, and then going on to more dangerous ones like creepers and endermen. And each mob you encountered did the same thing the skeleton had. Just saw you then went back to loitering around like they did every night you guessed.

Well that had been a MASSIVE weight off your shoulders. Though you continued to have mini heart attacks every time something new happened to you. Which was embarrassing to say the least since you’re not exactly a stranger to Minecraft. You’d played it a LOT when you were younger, but then you’d stopped for a number of years because adult life got in the way. 

Though recently, like maybe a few months before you ended up here, you’d gotten back into it. And boy a lot had changed in the game! There were bees, ‘Illagers’, different kinds of zombies and skeletons, and so much more. It was so much fun re-learning about your favorite game. 

And you only stumbled back a little when you somehow managed to open your ‘inventory’ thing. Which was really just this weird floating pop up screen you could pull stuff out of and put stuff into. It was hard to explain but after a while you got the hang of it. Also at some point you realized you had an endless inventory? ‘Creative Mode’ but… you can still mine and stuff. Which you don’t think is possible in real Minecraft Creative Mode. 

“Maybe they changed it in the updates?” you reasoned with yourself.

You honestly have no idea but you’re going with the flow regardless. There’s nothing else you CAN do. You just… play the game peacefully. The first day you had your freakout and then maybe 20 minutes before sunset you cobbled together a dirt hut and crafted a bed before going to sleep. After that you went on gathering supplies and stuff. 

You essentially wandered around aimlessly just collecting supplies and stuff until one day you didn’t feel like exploring and you boredly opened your inventory and actually started looking at it. You’d fiddled with it (just getting it to pop up and close and put stuff in it/take stuff out) when you first ended up here but for the most part you’d avoided it.. it was weird having a screen just appear right in front of you out of nowhere.

But now you just shrugged it off as another thing in this place you’d need to get used to. So you began messing with the buttons and in doing so you.. opened up the Creative Inventory…

You stared at it before silently sitting on a nearby grass block and face palming. 

“I never needed to gather any supplies… I had an endless supply here the whole time.” 

You’d sat there feeling like a total dumbass for a while. But once you stopped feeling so stupid you got up and just… kept going. There was literally nothing else here for you to do. Though you supposed you could keep gathering resources anyways, for something to do you guessed..

But a couple days later you found a village! You found it after just walking across a huge valley and petting some pigs. You caught sight of a roof first and after cresting over a hilltop you saw the messy but cozy little village.

You think this type is called a ‘plains village’? Or at least you’re like 90% sure. It’s a village in a plains biome so you’re probably right. You never really focused on what the different biomes were called and you knew there were a LOT. Like hills and plains and snowy places and stuff. 

Either way this one was super pretty, with flowers everywhere.

After nearly falling off the steep edge of a hill and having to wade across a river you got to the village. It was cute, not huge and not small. From where you were standing you could see maybe 12 houses? 

You also noticed… the village was poorly set up. Some houses' doors were obstructed by trees or stacks of hay bales, there were sheep everywhere, the walkways were overgrown with tall grass, and there was a shallow river going right through the middle of the village. With a sigh you decided you could spruce the village up. 

“Not like I’ve got anything better to do..” you said before seeing it was sunset. 

Deciding you’d done enough for the day you went to find a house you could stay in, quickly putting your bed down and tucking yourself in. 

You’d start your pet project tomorrow.

@salinesoot​ @lady-bee-fechin​ 

[emperor-palpaminty]

Cross and Kitten

This extremely short drabble is specifically for @space-b33 who came up with the AMAZING concept of crosshair and his lil cat! i have based this off of me and my lil cat, who has kept me going through countless ailments. Here is to you, Bee, you amazing artist, and to you Suds, my most precious feline. May I make you happy in this life and your next eight <3. (yes, that pic IS of my suds! He just turned 1 this month! :D)

also no this isn’t me putting my cat in the star wars universe why do you ask

Crosshair was a light sleeper- he doubted it came with being a clone, but it certainly came with his line of work. He could sleep in just about any place, and he had slept in just about any place- been there, done that. Currently, his location of rest was the floor of the gunship on the long flight across the planet to some god-forsaken base.

Something padded across his face, tickling him. Crosshair swatted at it, keeping his eyes closed. The feathery touch brushed his nose again, and Crosshair moved his hand more aggressively. He was greeted by a rather offended mrrp, and the scratching against his armor. Crosshair blinked, finally surrendering his sleep, staring down at two big brown eyes and a pink nose dangerously close to his. “Cat,” Crosshair muttered, watching the kitten.

The feline purred and tilted his head, tail swishing before settling around all four of his little socked paws. Mrowr.

“You’re real proud of yourself, huh?” Crosshair scratched his fingers over the kitten’s head and through his fur, between the comically large ears that jutted out from that sweet little face. The kitten pressed a fluffy cheek against his palm, purring loudly, pressing down onto all fours and closing his eyes.

Scowling, Crosshair narrowed his brows. “No, you’d better not fall asleep on me.” The cat purred, barely opening an eye, blinking lazily, and then closing it. “I know you can see me.”

Mrrp.

With an agitated grunt, Crosshair laid back down, feeling the cat settle down, somewhat resembling a black-and-white loaf of bread, if bread could be annoying and clingy.

And yet he couldn’t find it in him to move. The breathing of the cat was rhythmic, gentle, the crescent-closed eyes and the curled smile on the cat’s lips, slumping down and pressing his little jaw on Crosshair’s plastoid chest plate. If he was fully black, he almost would have blended in with Crosshair’s armor.

A white socked foot, with four perfect pink toe pads, stretched out, and the kitten stretched out across Crosshair’s chest with a yawn. Little pointed darts showed, white and sharp, but between those little lips they were practically harmless. The kitten collapsed on Crosshair's chest and purred satisfactorily, nestling against him.

Crosshair harrumphed, shaking his head, but he found a smile creeping onto his face as he stroked the cat's back again. "Stupid cat."

___

The kitten got along well with other members of the Batch, especially Omega, who would often subject him to horrid torture, particularly sticking little bows on his head. The cat didn't mind very often, and his favorite part was batting at Hunter's hair ties.

When they landed on site, the cat padded after Crosshair, examining his new environment couriously. After a moment, he sat down in the middle of the walkway and gave a singular meow?

Crosshair turned. "Cat. Come."

The cat blinked, then diverted its gaze at the sky.

"Cat," Crosshair added some force into his words. "Come." The cat did nothing, even when he added, "Now."

Mrrp.

Crosshair glanced back at the others, who seemed to all be watching in amusement. Wrecker had lifted up his helmet, watching with a gleeful grin on his face. With an exasperated sigh, he turned back to the cat, frowning. "Cat."

The cat leaned back, tail in the air, swishing couriously, and he purred. "No!" Crosshair frowned. "Now is not play time-"

The cat ran at him, full speed, a playful fury in his eyes. He pounced, landing on Crosshair's armored foot, glancing up at him and meowing.

Hunter chuckled from next to him, the tensity since Kamino lifting a little bit. "He's growing on ya."

"I could care less about this cat."

Mrowr? The kitten plunked down and rolled into his back, rubbing his face with his paws.

Crosshair smiled under his helmet where smiling was safe, and he leaned down, gently picking up the kitten, who crawled up around his shoulders. "Stupid cat." But good cat.

[im-really-confused121]

Ok so i've decided put all of my A03 works in one post, for ease of access or if anyone is interested (yes this is a blatant plug)

The format will be: Name / Link Word count/content warnings Tags/ships Description Any thoughts or comments from me

Completed works (as of DEC 2021):

Call The Doctor (I May Need Help)

Part 1 of the Joshua Fucking Minyard series

Words: 23372 Chapters: 8/8

#Andrew Minyard/ Neil Josten #Kid fic #Aaron Minyard / Katelyn #Angst #Happy ending #Explict discription of abuse #Mental Health #found family

Aaron's been a doctor for over 5 years now, and every once in a while he gets a patient that reminds him of his past.

Aaron gets a new patient, and it hits a little too close to home

cue the Minyard family

A/N Probably my proudest work but also could do with some major editing

UPDATE: There are is now a Russian translation available (wtf!?!? i'm so honoured)

Table Talk

Part 2 of the Joshua Fucking Minyard series

Words: 2693 Chapters: 1/1

#Family dynamics #Found Family #Kid Fic #Homophobic and ignorant comments #fluffy

Andrew gives some surprisingly helpful advice

OR

Andrew parents hard

A/N short and sweet, honestly just hadn't moved on from Call the doctor (I may need help) so I wrote this

First Impressions

Part 3 of the Joshua fucking Minyard series

Words: 11346 Chapters: 3/3

#references to mental health issues #trans character #polyamorous relationships #shovel talk #sexual references #kidfic #found family #fluffy

Andrew and Neil have found themselves with three kids, one adopted and two honourary. Nevertheless, when it's time to meet their children's significant others... well no one would like to be in that position

A/N I'm just milking it at this point, and desperately needed to stop procrastinating work and move on - I still Iike it tho

Bees Bagels

Bagel Cafe Meet Cute

Words: 5315 Chapters: 1/1

#Andrew/Neil #cafe meet #meet cute #Universeity / college au #genuinely very discriptive about bagels #oneshot #there is actually plot #shockingly

Andrew would arrive with a huff smelling of stale coffees and burnt bagels. He’d throw his bag on the ground in the middle of the walkway and in the way of everyone, he’d unwrap his bagel loudly, wrapper crinkling and crumbs dropping, and he’d smudge his chocolatey fingers all over everything he touched, leaving a trail all over Neil’s stuff, that leads right to the boy that seemed to make everything feel just a little bit better. ---- Neil's local bagel cafe with fresh hot bagels piled high on delicious overflowing fillings captures Neil's heart and stomach quickly. The Blond man behind the counter, who always knows his order, and helps Neil in a way no one else has before, captures his heart just as quickly.

A/N: honestly love this sweet summer child of a fic, short and sweet, but will also make you hungry ~I got so hungry writing this~ . Good bedtime story read, if i do so say myself

What it's like (dating Andrew)

Words: 2633 Chapters: 1/1

#Andrew / Neil #neil vs reporter #established relationships #dialogue heavy #fluffy #very very very light angst #slightly ooc #swearing

Neil is happy, he won his game, and he gets to go home to his boyfriend. First, he's got to speak to a reporter.

In which Neil gets sick of the questions, goes off at a reporter and defends Andrew. Andrew isn't impressed (or so he says).

A/N this was the first AFTG fic I wrote, and honestly don't expect much from it, it's short but sweet

It's a farty party

Words: 2159 Chapters: 1/1

#Andrew / Neil #fluff and humour #crack fic #slice of life #fart jokes #poo jokes #oneshot #bad jokes

Andrew refuses to accept he's lactose intolerant, but Neil's had enough of the farts ~ truly one of the most stupid fics I've ever written, but hopefully it makes you laugh.~

A/N this is a very stupid lighthearted and kinda gross fic, if you don't like fart or poo jokes this is truly not for you

Works in Progress (WIP) - as of AUG 2023

Interlaced

Words: 26K Chapters: 7/?

#Andrew / Neil #highschool au #mental health issues #explicit recreational use of drugs #andrew and Aaron adopted by Bee #Neil adopted by stuart #explicit sexual content #established relationship #twinyard dynamics #codependecy #more tags will be added

What happens when you only have one best friend and start dating him? your therapist gets concerned, and you have to make new friends.

Andrew and Neil are told to make widen their social circle (that consists of two, maybe three if you count Aaron), and as far as Andrew and Neil are concerned, they are not a fan of this idea, and would really rather not.

The Palmetto high school Exy team, however, are determined to prove otherwise (and maybe find some more team members along the way - but that’s not the point Kevin)

A/N my current WIP, I've been terrible with updating, but I SWEAR I will finish the story. Otherwise Its a high school au where they are already dating from the beginning, it has some pretty heavy content, but nothing worse than cannon.

[starsofatlantis]

Rivals

@sophitz-week day 1: academic rivals

Notes: this was a lot of fun to write and I enjoyed being able to play around with Sophie and Fitz’s dynamic! it ended up a lot longer than I expected but I’m pretty proud of it! hope you enjoy!

Relationships: platonic sophitz, pre-romantic sophitz, platonic sophex, platonic marella x sophie, platonic marella x dex, platonic, keefe x fitz

Word Count: 1986

Warnings: none!

_________________

"I just don't understand the issue," Dex said for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning.

Sophie scoffed. "The issue Dex, is that I am being forced to work with my sworn enemy."

"Sworn enemy's a little much," Dex replied, holding onto his backpack as he gave Sophie an amused look.

"Sworn enemy is perfect!" Marella exclaimed from Sophie's left. "It'll make it even more romantic when they finally confess their undying love to each other!"

Sophie deadpanned. "I can't tell if you're teasing me or just really really blind. There is no way I will ever fall in love with Fitz Vacker."

Dex laughed as Marella looked unconvinced.

"Please Soph, you both have been obsessed with each other since you first came to school in the sixth grade and beat him in the middle school spelling bee. You're like a modern day Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe."

Sophie gasped and held a hand to her heart. "Don't you dare insult my favorite fictional man by relating him to Fitz Vacker of all people."

"Favorite fictional man?" Dex questioned, quirking an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to Fred Weasley?"

Sophie glared at him. "So what if I simp for multiple fictional men? Who are you to judge Mr. 'I would lay down my life for Natasha Romanoff'?”

Dex chuckled. "Touché."

Marella grinned. "Ignoring the part where I said you two were obsessed with each other, huh?"

Sophie sniffed. "I'm not ignoring it. I'm choosing not to reply to something so ridiculous."

"Mhm."

"You're also ignoring the fact you had a crush on him when you first met," Dex pointed out.

"Dexter, my man! Always backing me up!" Marella exclaimed, and the two high-fived.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "A lack in judgment on sixth grade Sophie's part, I promise it will never happen again."

Dex snorted. "Whatever you say."

Marella gasped excitedly.

"Sophie's supposed sworn enemy 11 o'clock," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Sophie's head shot towards the boy in question as Dex just shook his head.

Fitz Vacker was tall and had broad shoulders from all the training he needed for football. His hair was dark and never seemed to fall out of place. He was kind and tutored the younger kids when he had free time. He volunteered with student council (his sister was the president) and as popular as he was, he didn't act like it.

Sophie hated his guts.

He gave her a small smile.

Subdued, she thought. She knew how bright his smile really was and she could only think he was holding himself back, which was odd. Fitz Vacker was anything but unconfident.

She stared back as he passed and out of the corner of her eye she saw his blond friend slap him on the back while chuckling.

"I love a good rivals to lovers romance," Marella gushed as they made their way into biology.

_________________

"You've got it bad, man," Keefe laughed.

"Shut up," Fitz grumbled, shrugging off Keefe's hand.

Keefe held his hands up. "Sorry, but it's way too obvious to not make fun of."

"Thanks Keefe, so grateful for your support," Fitz said, still thinking about the minor interaction he'd had with the girl he'd been crushing on for years.

"I am supportive bro," Keefe defended, "But there's only so much support I can give before the overwhelming need to make fun of you becomes too much."

"I can't stand you," Fitz said turning into his class.

"Aww how sweet," Keefe called as he walked down the hall to who knows where. "Too bad Sophie Foster thinks the same thing about you."

__________________

"Seriously, Marella, drop it. The only reason I'm going over to his house is to finish this stupid project," Sophie complained, pulling her keys out of the ignition.

She stared at the mansion the Vacker's called home, trying to work up to courage to walk to the front door.

"Ok, ok fine, just answer one thing," Marella said through Sophie's phone.

Sophie rubbed her temples as she got out of her car, already knowing this wasn't going to end well.

She grabbed the tray of mallowmelt out of the backseat, holding her cellphone between her shoulder and her head. "What is it?"

"Admit you think Fitz Vacker is the hottest man to walk the planet."

Sophie choked.

"Please, Sophie, be honest with me. I know you can't stand him for whatever reason, but you aren't blind and he's like, the blueprint of your type."

Sophie huffed as she walked up the grand walkway. She thought about his sparkling eyes and how they had always radiated comfort and safety to her, even when they were in middle school.

"I guess he's alright," she grumbled.

“AHA!” Marella cheered, and Sophie could practically hear her throwing a fist in the air. "I'll take it!"

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I've gotta go, talk to you later."

"Ok! Have fun, love ya," Marella said and made a kissy sound before hanging up the phone.

Sophie shook her head exasperatedly, stuffing her phone in her back pocket as she reached the double front doors.

She raised her hand to knock but before she could, the door opened, revealing a slightly flustered Fitz Vacker.

"H-hey," he stuttered.

"Hi," Sophie said plainly before holding out the tray of sweets. "This is mallowmelt from Edaline."

"Oh thanks!" he said excitedly. "My dad will really appreciate this!"

He laughed slightly and Sophie cracked a smile. Fitz's father had been the one to find Sophie her adoptive family when her own family had passed away in a car accident. Her adoptive father and Alden worked together so he'd asked him and his wife to take Sophie in, and they adopted her a few months later.

The two stood awkwardly in the doorway before Fitz started suddenly.

"I- y-you can come in," he said, moving out of the way to let her in.

"Thanks," Sophie replied, clutching her school bag as she walked into the gorgeous house.

Fitz mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'stupid', but Sophie didn't comment on it.

"My room's upstairs and to the left, I'm just gonna go put this in the fridge," Fitz said, gesturing to the tray.

Sophie nodded. "No problem."

She walked up the marble staircase, marveling and somewhat grumbling at the grandeur of Fitz's house.

To say Fitz's room wasn't what she was expecting and was also exactly what she was expecting was an understatement.

He obviously liked the color blue, as his bedspread was navy blue and so was the rug. The walls were white and most of his things were made out of dark wood. Tall bookshelves lined the walls and Sophie found herself jealous of his collection. A glass case on the wall held all his sports trophies, but mostly held photos of his teammates or friends winning something, and Sophie almost laughed at the way they were proudly displayed. It was honestly kinda cute how adorably proud of his friends he was that he hung up photos of their accomplishments in his room. He was like a mother hen.

"Ok so we have to pick a book we're required to read by the school district and analyze whether we think it's an educational read and why we think the book is required. I know you haven't read all of the same books as me cause we're in different grades so I thought we could make a list of all the ones we have read and go from there," Fitz said as he walked into his room.

Sophie was a little taken aback by the sudden proposition but nodded anyway. "Sounds good."

She was a little mad he was right about the books though. Sophie was only a sophomore while Fitz was a senior, so he'd been through more english classes than she had.

She went to pull out a sheet of paper when something stopped her.

"I-is that your second place ribbon from the spelling bee?" she asked and he looked up from his own paper.

Fitz scratched the back of his neck, following Sophie's line of sight in the direction of a blue ribbon hanging from his glass case with the worded '2ND PLACE' written distinctly on the front.

"Uh—," he chuckled nervously, "Y-yeah it is."

Sophie turned to him, confusion etched across her face. "Why would you keep that?"

She for one, would never keep anything that reminded her she had lost to someone.

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Guess it just reminds me of something."

"Of what?"

Briefly, it occurred to her this was the longest conversation she'd had with him since he beat her in the relay race at the end of sixth grade.

"Um, I- uh, I'm not sure."

Sophie looked unconvinced and Fitz blushed.

Sophie gave him another strange look before turning back to her bag.

"Why do we not talk anymore?" Fitz blurted out, and immediately had to resist the urge to slap his hand over his mouth and launch himself out the nearest window.

"What?" Sophie asked slowly, turning to fully face him.

Good going, Fitz, he thought. Now she's going to hate you even more and will probably end up starting a petition to send you to Timbuktu so that she never has to see you again.

"Um," he said smartly.

She raised an eyebrow and he sighed.

"Why don't we talk anymore? We used to be friends when we were in middle school."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know. We're rivals, and last I checked you aren't supposed to fraternize with your competition."

"Huh?" Fitz said, his turn to be confused. "Since when were we rivals?"

Sophie me jaw dropped. "Seriously? We've always been rivals."

"Uh no we haven't?"

Sophie looked incredulous and Fitz had the feeling he said something wrong. "Yes we have! You were the one who started it in the first place!"

"What?" Fitz exclaimed. "When did I do that?"

"In middle school? When you were always competing with me?"

"I- I wasn't doing that cause I thought of you as a rival! I was doing that cause I thought of you as my friend!"

Sophie's confusion and slight anger calmed down for a second. "What?"

"Yeah! I never had someone who could match me at everything I did and then some, so I thought it was fun to push myself to beat you. You made everything a challenge cause you were— are! —so good at everything!"

"Trust me, if I knew you'd stop talking to me for four years just cause I beat you in a lame race, I would have lost every single competition we ever competed in against each other."

They stared at each other as a blush formed on both of their faces. Sophie being confused on everything Fitz Vacker and feeling bashful over all he'd just said, and Fitz frustrated at himself for letting Sophie get that ridiculous idea that he didn't want to be friends with her in her head and feeling bashful over all he'd just said.

Sophie took in a quiet breath. "I- I just thought you wanted to beat me because you didn't like me."

"No!" Fitz exclaimed frantically, waving his hands, as if trying to ward her words away from the air around him. "Not at all!"

Sophie laughed slightly, and Fitz reveled in the sound of it.

"I want us to be," he stumbled, "…f-friends. I've always wanted that."

Sophie looked into his eyes, saw the pure sincerity there, and felt herself melt a little bit.

"I think I'd like that too," she said quietly. "Friends."

Fitz smiled brightly and it felt like the morning sun after a long night.

She paused.

"I'm still gonna try to beat you in everything we do though."

Fitz laughed loudly and it echoed around the room.

Sophie never thought she'd be glad he didn't subdue his smile.

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

Today have two writing ideas, pick your favorite! 1) HCBBS fluff! Every hermit when swapping bases as like "you mean MY base", but Impulse and Stress just act like they're babysitting each other's children. (I basically just want Dadpulse and Stressmom :>) 2) More Hermit Among us! This time a fictional scenario, where Zedaph joins in one of the games. Impulse and Tango get impostor, and Zed third impostors just for them. Maybe he even finds a way to kill someone, who knows?

I decided to go with the first one (though I definitely do want to write Zed in Among Us soon), mostly because I had been wanting to do something similar for a while! I apologise that Stress’s section is a little lacking but I’m not as familiar with her. I hope Impulse’s part will make up for it! :D

...

  It was fair to say that StressMonster101 had been fairly apprehensive about the big move at first. After finding out another Hermit was going to have her base for a while and vice versa, she hadn’t been sure who to hope for. But it was also fair to say that once Stress had found out she would be swapping with Impulse, her excitement levels skyrocketed. 

  After giving each other a quick tour of their bases, Stress and Impulse separated. Her mind already racing with ideas and plans, Stress returned to her new base and went straight to the storage area, gazing down through the floor at the unfinished cactus farm as she did.

  “Right!” She beamed. “This place is a little lacking in something very, VERY important: pink. Everyone needs more pink in their lives, especially Impulse.”

  So the very first thing she did was swap out the blue concrete highlights around the base to bright pink concrete, followed by replacing the blue stained glass lining the walkways with pink stained glass. 

  “Perfect,” she said proudly, admiring her work. “Impulse could definitely use more pink in his life.”

  As she went back into the base, she could almost feel the energy inside the pyramid changing, as if the whole base itself was complaining about her decision. 

  “Don’t you give me that,” she laughed aloud, to nobody in particular. “I’m not gonna do anything TOO drastic. I’m just babysitting you for Impulse, yannow.”

  The base seemed to object to that statement too. 

  “You know what Impulse needs now?” Stress proclaimed to the base. “A lovely little indoor park. Working on that cactus farm has gotta be so monotonous; he needs somewhere to relax, surrounded by flowers and- OOH, I SHOULD GET HIM SOME BEES!”

  She dashed off immediately to root through Impulse’s chests for flowers, mumbling to herself about how happy he would be when he saw the changes she was going to make to his base. Nothing too drastic, just some little things to improve Impulse’s daily mood and bring some more life to the place. While she couldn’t deny that the build itself was fantastic, it just lacked a certain spark that made it truly feel alive. 

  Stress vowed to bring this spark to the base. 

...

  Waking up after his first night in his new base, Impulse momentarily didn’t know where he was. Then he registered the decor and remembered what had gone on the day before and why exactly he was sleeping in a pink bed surrounded by stark white walls. 

  He gingerly got out of bed and smoothed down the covers. Normally he wouldn’t bother making his bed, but it felt weird not to do so here in Stress’s base.

  No, not Stress’s base, he corrected himself reluctantly. My base.

  He shivered. Even just thinking those words felt wrong. 

  After he had left the bed as presentable as he had found it, Impulse headed into the main part of the skull base and stood in the middle of the room, trying to think of ideas that weren’t too invasive. The last thing he wanted was to change something big and then have Stress hate it. 

  And it really didn’t help that the style of this base was so different to his own. 

  Glancing to his right, he spotted a slightly raised section of the floor that looked almost like a stage. Recalling that Stress, like himself, was a drummer, he got an idea. 

  Half an hour later, he put the last block back in place and dusted off his hands. It was time to test out his invention.

  He flicked the switch in front of him and grinned as a funky beat started playing. As he stood up, he couldn’t help bouncing from side to side in time to the beat, even going so far as to incorporate some dance moves. 

  “She’ll like this,” he said confidently to himself. “She likes music. Ooh, maybe I should order a drumset from Beef’s shop to put around it? That’d be pretty cool.”

  As he turned the lever off, he spotted the chicken Stress had spawned randomly in her base, staring at him from a few blocks away.

  “Hey,” he said slowly. “Uh… you wanna dance?”

  He turned the drumbeat back on and awkwardly shuffled through some dance moves. 

  The chicken just stared back at him.

  Impulse sighed and switched off the beat. “What do you want from me? Why do you hate me so much?” He paused. “And why am I so insecure about being judged by a chicken?” 

  He strode past the chicken and started looking through the chests stacked by the wall, looking for anything that might spark a new project idea. All he found, however, was stacks upon stacks of building materials that only served to remind him of the base he had left behind and all the plans he had been itching to get started on. 

  Closing the last chest, he stepped back in disappointment. No inspiration whatsoever. Stress probably had loads of ideas for the pyramid, so Impulse felt bad that he couldn’t think of a single thing to improve his new base. He was letting Stress down already.

  Something rubbed his leg, causing him to yelp and leap to the side, expecting to see a monster.

  “Ugh,” he groaned, nudging the chicken away with his foot. “You scared the crap outta me, you-.” He broke off before he inadvertently called the chicken a horrible name. “Buddy, don’t scare me. Please. I’m still not comfortable here.”

  The chicken cocked its head and continued staring at him.

  This time, Impulse gazed back. “Are you hungry? Is that why you keep staring at me?”

  He dug out some seeds from one of the chests and hesitantly held them out to the chicken, which approached him immediately and pecked them out of his hand.

  Impulse chuckled and watched the chicken gobble up the seeds. “You really WERE hungry, huh? Well, maybe you’ll stop bothering me now.”

  Once the chicken had finished the seeds, it turned and waddled back into the main room. It stopped in front of the lever and pecked at it.

  Impulse curiously followed the chicken and flicked the lever on. “Is this what you want?”

  The chicken jiggled back and forth in time with the drum beat, its little head wiggling from side to side. “There you go, you little drumstick,” Impulse laughed. “Now you’ve got a full belly, you wanna dance.”

  He paused. “Hmm. That’d make a good name for you. Hey, you wanna be called Drumstick?”

  The chicken looked up at him and clucked happily. Or rather, Impulse assumed it was a happy noise. 

  “Then I guess your name is Drumstick now,” Impulse chuckled.

  Drumstick responded by laying an egg. 

  Impulse couldn’t help laughing at the comedic timing of the event. “Oh dear. You’re a funny chicken, aren’t you? Shall we see if we can get you a little friend?”

  He picked up the egg and threw it at the wall. It burst open and a tiny chick fluttered down to the ground.

  “Heeeey, you’re a mommy, Drumstick!” Impulse beamed and picked up the little baby from the ground, before bringing it over to his feathered friend. “Look. This is your baby. And I guess I hatched it, so would that make me her dad?”

  Impulse blinked as he fully registered what he had just said. “Nope, don’t wanna open that can of worms today. So what should we call you?” He gently tickled the baby under its neck with the back of his finger. “You’re just a little nugget, aren’t you? Shall we call you Nugget? Drumstick, should we call your little baby Nugget?”

  Drumstick clucked and bobbed her head.

  “Great! Impulse, Drumstick, and Nugget, the three musketeers.” A smile spread over Impulse’s face. “Hey, you know what? You two can be my project. I’ll build you a nice little area to live in and make it look all pretty. Stress would really like that. Would you guys like that?”

  Nugget responded by chirping quietly and snuggling into Impulse’s neck.

  He chuckled and gently stroked her feathers. “I hope I don’t get too attached to you guys. You’re both gonna have to stay here when I move back to my base.”

  Drumstick made a sad noise, as if she had understood his words. And perhaps she had. 

  Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Impulse lifted Drumstick onto his left shoulder and Nugget onto his right, ignoring the slight twinge as their claws dug into his skin. 

  “C’mon, gals,” he said, unable to stop grinning. “Let’s get started.”

[imnotwolverine]

The Accidental Family - I am..WHAT?!

Henry Cavill x OFC Phoebe (Bee) 

Warnings: mentions of smut, strong language, unplanned pregnancy, sad fluff

Word count: 2.414

Author’s note: OKAY..one more to finish the year. I’m writing this while frying oliebollen (Dutch dough balls we eat during festivities) and my fingers are all sticky and sweet, but hey; I can’t leave you readers hanging on the last day of this miserable year! Kisses 😘

(Link to my Masterlist)

--

Phoebe was done with it all. Done with this week; done with the slump that was her life right now. She just worked through a week with three over-time shifts at the hospital, some annoyances with her new IUD and Leon. Fucking-fucktard Leon. 

But tonight she was going to be a big girl and suck it up, because heck; she was a good friend and tonight was Megan’s night. After long years of hard toil and shitty side-jobs, Megan had MADE it. She had gotten her first serious acting gig and tonight was the premiere, to which Phoebe would be her +1. 

Single girls unite. 

Sighing, Phoebe leaned into her make-up mirror, applying a coat of lipgloss to her pursed lips, heavy eyelashes fluttering. She never wore this much make-up, but it seemed like a thing you did when you went to such a fancy party. An A-lister party. Would Meryl Streep be there? She always had wanted to meet Meryl Streep. 

Smacking her lips to feel the stickiness of her lipgloss - why did people like wearing this crap? -, she moved out to the hall of her small apartment where she heard the intercom buzz. Alright. Showtime. 

‘Coming!’ She called to nobody in particular, hastily looking over the rows of shoes that were messily stacked by her door. Heels - heels - heels. And that scarf. Leon’s scarf. “Accidentally” left behind after he had come over to finally pick up the last of his things. She couldn’t stand the sight of it, and if it were a “good girl thing” to do, she’d shove it down the trash right now - like the trash he was. Cheater.

*tringgg* 

Hurry! -- Okay, shoes! Purple, brown, practical, no - no - no.. And then her eye fell on the perhaps a bit painful, but very much sexy heels she had once bought to wear for her 6th anniversary with Leon. Fuck-Me-Pumps. With silvery diamond straps and all. He hadn’t given two damns about them, about her dreams she had tried to talk about during that dinner - kids - but then again, Phoebe learned a year later why that was; CHEATER. 

‘Please bring me luck, babies.’ Phoebe mumbled, picking up the intercom that buzzed again. ‘Just putting on my shoes. Down in a minute.’ 

‘Alright m’am.’ A deep voice responded politely. 

Was that the driver? It must be the driver! They had a driver?! OH MEGAN, YOU! 

Excitement started to bubble in Phoebe’s tired bones as she realised that perhaps for tonight, things could be fun - painful shoes and all. 

Show-time. 

--

The water boiler gurgled lazily on the countertop, two pairs of eyes staring down at it, willing it to go faster. 

‘You didn’t respond to my text.’ Henry tried to keep a casual tone, but even with all his acting experience, the hurt was evident as his blue eyes swiftly moved over to Phoebe, who that had just knocked on his door after 3 months of radio silence. 

‘Yea...’ Phoebe cleared her throat and awkwardly leaned into the opposite kitchen counter Henry was leaning into. The tension was tangible and for a moment she scolded herself for pushing Megan to find out Henry’s address. 

‘..some..stuff happened.’ 

‘Is this the point where you’re going to tell me you’re married and your husband found out?’ 

Phoebe’s eyes widened and a chuckle escaped her lips, making Henry frown. ‘That might have just made all this a bit easier. But eh..no. I ..’ 

--

‘FEEEEBBsss where WEREEEE youu. Oh my god. Have you met..’ Phoebe could barely manage to stay balanced on her high heels as Megan’s hand dragged her away from the toilets - away from him - and onto one of the far corners of the crowded room where some mildly creepy man was waving at Megan. Megan waved back, but Phoebe could only focus on the burst of white camera flashes behind her, her eyes wishing to look if he followed. 

But Megan’s grip was tight and Phoebe was perhaps three shot glasses too drunk to stay on her feet AND look over her shoulder - the deep pink blush on her cheeks betraying that something was going on. 

‘..so I had this super fun chat with Michael. You know Michael right? I mean he was crazyyy excited about..Phoebe? Earth to Phoebe!’ Megan’s neatly manicured nail prodded into Phoebe’s silvery dress, awakening the blond woman from her over-shoulder stare when they finally had halted. 

‘Wh-what? Hi! Sorry. Eh..’ Instantly the deep pink worsened on Phoebe’s cheeks as Megan shot her one unbelieving wild eyed stare - she knew. Oh fuck, she knew. 

‘You know what - if you’d excuse us for a moment.’ Megan smiled charmingly at the old man that was checking her out for all the wrong reasons. 

Again Megan’s hand pulled on her arm, but this time they travelled less far, walking out to a more quiet area guarded by some heavy red curtains which offered a walkway for the staff who much resembled an army of tuxedo clad ants moving large trays of fizz around. 

‘You are 50 shades of red, hun.’ Megan chuckled, wiping some mildly smudged lipgloss from Phoebe’s chin. 

‘Oh, woops.’ Phoebe quickly mimicked the wipe on her chin, but the sticky residue was already gone - though other sticky residue on some other lips were most definitely still there. 

Shit, she had to get cleaned up fast. She wasn’t even wearing any PANTIES. DAMMIT. Oh my...how..why..Wobbling dangerously on her heels again, Phoebe lurched for one of the walls, a sudden wave of nausea coming over her as her red cheeks turned bitter green.

‘Awh shit Feebs. You OK? Eh..Ehhhhh...’ Nervously Megan looked around the stretch of the hallway, black and white tuxedos cruising deftly around with the patterns of a well-practised champagne carrying dance. 

‘Pfff...’ Phoebe tried to breath in deeply, inhaling whatever air she could muster in her suddenly claustrophobically tight lungs. Oh what did she do?!!! OH NO. Oh Christ. Good girls don’t shag in toilet stalls. Good girls don’t... ‘Pff - pff -pff’ With short little puffs she let out the air, but the nausea didn’t fade. How did pregnant women do that? Damn. 

‘I gotta go home.’ 

‘Yea-yea. Let me fix you a cab.’ Megan clipped her fingers and in a few minutes Phoebe was loaded into a cab, away from the bustling bubble of Hollywood A-listers and hot shots. 

The fairytale, was over. 

--

‘I got scared.’ 

‘Of me?’ Henry’s face pulled into one of agony, making him look even more disheveled with his wild curls, crumpled white shirt - which looked much too good on his large chest - and loose hanging grey sweatpants. 

‘No. I mean. Eh. Well. I lost my phone and..I called..and..someone picked up.’ 

‘Lea? Miranda? What someone?’ Henry stepped a little closer as the water cooker started to come to a slow boil. 

‘I don’t know. I -- They said they never heard of me, so I explained what..happened - oh fuck I shouldn’t have..I...pfffff. I panicked.’ A heavy blush crept over her cheeks as she nervously eyed the water boiler, the little lever moving back to “off” as the water danced in a heavy boil within.

‘Gr-green tea? English tea? Mint? I got some..’ Henry’s voice trailed off.

Phoebe shrugged and brushed a hand over her cheek, willing herself to stop blushing as the large stranger of a man brushed passed her to reach for the tea bags that were located just beside her head. 

‘Oh sorry.’ She quickly tried to get away, but Henry could only grin. 

‘It’s not funny, Cavill.’ Phoebe pouted shyly. 

‘Well you stood me up. I’m allowed to..smile, no?’ 

Phoebe opened her mouth to say something. Perhaps ask for forgiveness, or further her explanation to why she chickened out to trying again - and how she had even gotten his address. But no words came and so she just watched as Henry turned back to the task of making tea, bunching a few mint leaves in the two grey mugs that were settled on the smooth grey kitchen counter. 

This man sure liked his greys. 

‘I eh..actually ..had to tell you something.’ 

Even Phoebe herself wasn’t prepared for the words that had just escaped her lips, but there they were, earning a surprised quirk of Henry’s eyebrow. 

‘You don’t say.’ His lip curled into another cheeky grin and Phoebe couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. Henry chuckled and hinted in the direction of the kitchen table. ‘Let’s sit.’ 

-- And that was a very good idea -- 

--

‘Meg..oh I’m in deep shit.’ Phoebe paced her small hallway as she waited for her friend’s voice to soothe her stomach fluttering nerves, her new smartphone clutched tightly in her hand. 

‘Oh- oh- wait a sec. Baby..yea..mommy is gonna be righttt there. Just a moment okay?’ A short pause followed and then Megan finally answered. ‘HEYY booo. What’s cooking goodlookin’?’ 

‘A baby, that’s what.’ 

‘W-what?’ 

--

Why didn’t he say anything? Phoebe nervously fingered the ear of her mug, waiting for Henry to give any kind of response to what she had just explained, and for the slightest moment she considered fleeing again - like she had numerous times when she tried to find the courage and call him, text him - anything. But that just hadn’t sat right, felt right. And then for long weeks she just pushed the reality of it all away. How could she be pregnant?! HOW?! 

The new IUD, that’s how. But, Henry had used protection; how much bad luck could one have?! So much for accidents that happen in cramped little bathroom stalls. 

Finally Henry made a noise, but it was more like a surprised squeak, then any normal sound a man his size would make. 

‘I’m sorry.’ Phoebe lowered her eyes a little more, taking it up as a; yea, this is not cool, girlfriend.

No, scratch that - she was not even his girlfriend. Ha! They were strangers for fuck’s sake. 

‘O-okay.’ Henry inhaled deeply and nodded, brushing a hand over the head of his dog, who was pushing a curious nose into his lap. ‘Okay. Wow.’ 

‘Yea..’ Phoebe swallowed thickly. ‘I..I’m keeping it either way. But..I thought..’ Her fingers had apparently curled around the mug so fiercely that it right about screamed as its small ear broke off. ‘OH FUCK.’ Her eyes widened as her lips turned into a shocked little “o”. 

Henry laughed. ‘Well, we better get new mugs before that baby is born.’ 

Was he being sarcastic? Phoebe felt like she was close to tears as the man before her cracked out the mug joke. Oh, why did she always ruin things?! 

‘Oh don’t cry. Please don’t cry. It’s just a mug.’ Henry’s smile turned into a pained lip bite as he saw the silvery tears rim Phoebe’s eyes. But Phoebe couldn’t help it, her lower lip already shivering as she looked down at the broken little tea ear in her hand. 

‘I’m sorry..’ She whimpered pathetically, the first tears already beading down her cheek before Henry could push away his chair and squat down beside her. 

‘Hey-hey. It’s okay. It’s..hey, come on now.’ 

‘I’ll *sniff* g-get a new..ha..new one *sniff*’ 

Henry smiled, slowly shaking his head before he carefully brushed his fingers through her golden locks, hooking them behind her ear so he could properly see her face. 

‘Bee..’ His voice lowered to a gentle hum.

‘It’s Phoebe by the way.’ She sniffled. 

‘Okay. Hello Phoebe.’ His hand folded around her hand that was carefully holding onto the broken off mug ear. Hesitantly, Phoebe looked away from her hand, right into the blue ocean that had drawn her in some three months ago from across the crowded room. She now too noticed a little fleck of brown in there - a little accidental mutation. Would the baby have his eyes? 

‘H-hi.’ She sniffled, trying her best to turn her lips in a smile, but it only worsened everything, more tears bursting from her eyes as the stress and chaos of the past months came crashing down. In an instant she felt herself be enveloped by large warm arms, a hot breath fanning over her head as Henry nuzzled her hair, his lips brushing over the shell of her ear as he spoke: 

‘It was just an accident, okay? No harm done.’ 

Phoebe nodded, but scolded herself anyways. Sure enough he was just talking about the mug. The stupid fucking mug. But what about the fucking baby?! Her..- his - baby. 

‘Phoebe? Bee?’ He settled back a little, his fingers brushing through her hair again. ‘How about we go sit on the couch and I make you a new cup of tea and we..’ He licked his lip as his eyes quickly flew over her heart-shaped, tear bruised face. He had to try hard not to unnecessarily coo over her. He didn’t want to chase her away this time. Especially not now. Not with this..situation.

A..baby?!

‘You don’t have to be so nice you know.’ Phoebe muttered, looking back at him. 

‘Well, too bad I’m a nice guy then.’ -- Who is going to be a dad!!! WOO! --  His lips curled in a sweet smile. 

‘Nice guys don’t shag women in bathroom stalls, do they?’ 

Henry cleared his throat at her sharp words, quickly looking down at his hand covering hers. ‘Yea..that was a ..bit uncharacteristic of mine. Ha..fuck..You know I scolded myself so hard for doing that. I-I sent you a pretty long Whatsapp message after, but..’ 

‘I never got that. Must be some syncing issue when I got my new phone.’ Phoebe’s lips curled in a watery smile. ‘The couch is fine.’ 

‘Okay.’ Henry’s smile grew a little. ‘Can you walk?’ 

‘Pff..Of course I can walk.’ She huffed, before she all but flew up into Henry’s chest in surprise when she was nuzzled by a very wet nose. 

‘Oh, I forgot to mention, this is Kal. My dog. And he likes the word “walk”’ - the dog borked softly - ‘very much.’ 

They both laughed and Kal’s ears perked up, his wet nose pressing in Phoebe’s elbow again, pushing her further up into Henry’s welcoming arms. 

The whole situation was weird, but as Henry felt how naturally they somehow melted into an embrace, her arms wrapping around his back, he could only smile. 

Sometimes accidents simply offered you the little push you needed all along. Be it in the form of broken mugs or babies. 

--

General Tagsquad: @harrysthiccthighss @tumblnewby @magdelen69 @thereisa8ella @mary-ann84 @darkbooksarwin @summersong69 @madbaddic7ed @luclittlepond @maroonmolly @just-a-normal-fangirl18 @hell1129-blog @agniavateira @tillthelandslide @elinesama

@tryingtoliveonmywishes @ceilingfann @do-youseeme

[corancoranthemagicalman]

💜💜🌻💜💜🌻💜💜

Thank you so much 💜 my day was stressful and mentally taxing but overall it was fine :) i am so so flattered/flustered that you want to gift me something in return- i never expect anything when i'm penguin anon. And irl i'm trying to be better at accepting things from people. so if you really would like to gift me something here are some tropes i like: cas gardening (sorry i can't get away from flowers/plants!), dadstiel with baby or toddler jack, general domestic fluff, anything that explores cas & dean healing/character growth 💜 but i honestly don't expect anything in return for my hearts and flowers. They are freely given 💜💜🌻💜💜🌻💜💜

-🐧🌻

I’m sorry to hear it was stressful for you, dear. I’m glad that overall it wasn’t too bad for you, though. I hope this cheers you up? I’m a few hours later with it because I get distracted big time in research. Like figuring out that Dean was 22 when Shrek came out. Which had literally no bearing on this, but was fun to figure out. The hearts and flowers are more than appreciated. 💕🌺🌺💕

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

When Dean was four, he watched his mother hold his baby brother to the blooming sunflowers she kept in the backyard. Mom said they were called Sunriches. They were named that because they were like golden suns. Dean thought the sun was golden, but when he tried looking at it, the sun was just a bright, white color. Blinding. Dad said he couldn’t look at the sun without hurting himself, so he stopped trying.

What he could look at was Mom holding Sammy. He was only a couple of months old, but Mom was excitedly talking to him as if he could talk back. Dad said he wouldn’t be able to talk for a while. That didn’t seem to bother Mom. She was content to describe the flowers to Sammy. They were taller than Dean was. Mom said they wouldn’t get any bigger, but one day Dean would be tall enough to hold Sammy up to the flower petals. He looked forward to that.

Mom looked pretty in her dress, from Dean’s memory of the time. Her skirt swayed in the autumn wind in time with the petals dancing in the breeze. It was ethereal, like a princess talking to animals. Except instead of a squirrel on her shoulder there was a baby in her arms. Dean thought it looked like magic.

A few months later, when Dean was finally trusted with holding Sammy in his arms, he was running out of his burning home.

He didn’t think about the sunflowers they left behind.

Read more undercut or check it out on AO3!

Later in life, when Dean was flirting too close to a stable relationship with a reporter, he idly thumbed at the petals of the Suntastic Yellows. He remembered his mom telling him that they were the tiniest sunflowers. The type they used in bouquets. Cassie had a small pot resting on her windowsill.

Cassie’s hands drew around his waist from behind him. Humming into his neck, Cassie drew him backward with her. He thought about it in an absent sense, walking away from the sunflowers.

“You know,” she whispered against the shell of his ear, “they say that sunflowers track the sun all throughout the day.”

“Oh, really?” Dean smirked, taking her lips in his own. She was wonderful, really. Too wonderful. Wonderful enough that Dean thought about confessing everything to her. Cassie would understand. She was clever and understanding. Hell, maybe she’d even accept him.

It was too bad, then, that when Dean told her what he did—what he was—that she didn’t believe him. Dean wouldn’t have believed himself either. Walking away with his keys in his hand and his heart at his feet, Dean wondered if this is what it would always feel like. If he would always have to walk away from the place his heart was trying to make into a home. Maybe it was something about being a sunflower. Always tracking the sun throughout the day.

Too bad Dean couldn’t find the damn sunlight.

“Dude, look!” Dean grinned during another part of his life, pointing at some old lady’s front garden full of Taiyos. “It’s like Shrek.” He teased his brother, elbowing Sam who only rolled his eyes in return.

“Shrek? Really?” Sam scoffed. “How old were you when that even happened?”

Dean huffed a laugh. “What? You’re telling me you didn’t go watch the cinematic masterpiece known as Shrek with all of your college buddies?”

Sam rolled his eyes again, huffing with a shrug of his shoulders. “Sure, Dean. And then we watched Holiday in the Sun right after, too.”

“Never took you for a Mary-Kate and Ashley fan, Sammy.” Dean grinned, watching the sunflowers swaying in the breeze from the corner of his eye.

They looked peaceful in the witness’ front yard. Untouched by the grueling werewolf that was lurking through the small town. Dean could hear Sam’s sharp inhale from beside him.

“I always thought sunflowers were… homey,” Sam confessed, watching the sunflowers dance with a furrowed brow.

Shooting Sam a crooked grin, Dean stepped forward toward the sunflowers but he didn’t dare touch them. “I’m not surprised,” he began. “Mom used to grow them. She started taking you out into the garden as soon as you stopped crying all the time.”

Sam was silent for a moment, causing Dean to look at him with concern. It wasn’t often that Sam was quiet, but when he was it was always a contemplative silence. “I didn’t know that.” He spoke softly.

“You wouldn’t have remembered.” Dean shrugged, stepping onto the witness’ walkway to begin making their way up to the door. “These are a bit taller than hers were. But then again, everything seemed taller then.”

There was another moment of contemplative silence, but it seemed Sam had nothing left to say. He knocked on the witness’ door, taking care not to meet Dean’s eye. Dean wondered what that meant. Wondered if Sam felt the same way when he saw sunflowers.

Then again, Sam had always been larger than life. Tall and proud.

When Dean was on the aching side of forty, he watched Castiel hold their four-year-old son to the blooming sunflowers he kept in the backyard. Cas had been enchanted by the Little Beckas when he had seen them. While they might not have been the tallest—or the smallest—of sunflowers, he had thought they were lovely. Dean had made a quip about their halo and bought Cas seeds the same day.

Watching Cas and Jack reminded Dean of being four and trying to see what color the sun was. It was blinding, something he felt he should look away from lest it hurt him. But he found that he couldn’t look away. He didn’t want to. He just wanted to watch Cas answer every question Jack had.

He was beautiful, Dean often thought, but especially in moments like these. The cuffs of his jeans were muddied and his bare feet were buried in the soil where he sat with Jack in his lap. Dean hated how Cas refused to wear shoes outside, but he had claimed to like being closer to the Earth. Dean couldn’t argue with him. He wouldn’t argue with him; not for what made him happy.

Cas turned to look at him, catching his gaze and drawing him closer with just a look. Dean moved without hesitation, standing beside Cas and kicking at his knee with his booted foot. His approach drew Jack’s attention away from the flowers, who clapped excitedly the closer he got.

“Whaddya think, Jack? Do you like the colors?” Dean hummed, watching Jack’s gummy smile as the kid waved up at him.

“Daddy says that sunflowers face East!” He pointed enthusiastically, laughing and reaching for the blooms in front of him.

Dean frowned, looking from Cas to the flowers. “I thought sunflowers rotated with the sun or whatever.”

Cas hummed, tilting his head with a nod. “They do, in their youth.” He pressed a kiss to the top of Jack’s head. “But when they mature, the sunflowers learn that they get the most light during the morning hours when the sun has just risen from the East.” Bouncing Jack momentarily and causing the boy to giggle, Cas turned to face Dean. “They just learn what’s healthiest for them. It just takes time.”

Inhaling sharply, Dean wondered if this was it. If this was his East. Watching a smiling Jack and Cas whispering about sunflowers that—while not the tallest or the smallest—were a halo of colors. Two colors that came together, that never faded, that bloomed to life in this tiny garden he called home. He was a dark heart and a bright halo, smiling toward the bright, white sunlight of a gummy smile and clapping hands.

With a grunt, Dean lowered himself to the soil, sitting beside Cas and wrapping his arm around Cas’ shoulder. “These little guys are pollen-less,” he spoke to Jack. “That’s why we got the honeysuckles.”

“Honeysuckles stand for devotion.” Cas’ voice rumbled gently. “In the ancient Celtic alphabet, the symbol that the Ogham carved into stone to represent the honeysuckle stood for following one’s path.”

Dean snorted a laugh, shaking his head. “Sort of counterintuitive. Since, yanno, Free Will.” He quipped, raising a curious brow toward Cas.

Bowing his head in concession, Cas continued. “Yes, that is true. The Druids meant it more like… trusting one’s gut. Rather than sticking to the story.” He grinned, rocking with Jack in his arms for a moment. “But the honeysuckle is rather hard to kill. That is why it means everlasting devotion.”

“Deaths don’t stick, huh?” Dean hummed, squeezing Cas closer into his side. “Sounds like someone I know.”

Cas exhaled a laugh, resting his head atop Jack’s. “The Chinese valued the honeysuckle for its healing properties. It can be a cooling herb to remove toxins.”

Dean pressed a kiss to Cas’ cheek, keeping his lips there for a moment longer before pulling away. “Even if the honeysuckle can’t heal ‘em, the sunflowers like the company anyway.” He smiled softly, watching as Cas’ eyes turned dewy toward him. “And ‘sides, the honeysuckle brings all the bees to the yard.”

Snorting laughter that Jack joined in without knowing the cause, Cas shook his head. “I suppose so.” His attempt to suppress a smile made Dean’s own grin widen. “But the sunflower is more than enough company.”

“Damn straight,” Dean whispered against Cas’ lips, kissing him slowly and savoring the moment.

Between them, Jack made exaggerated kissy faces, causing them to pull apart and watch him with amusement. He grinned, reaching up and holding Dean and Cas’ cheeks in his palms.

“Daddy and Poppa sittin’ in a tree!” Jack sang, giggling as he smushed their heads together.

Mocking a frown, Dean held his other hand out behind Jack’s back. His palm felt so large in comparison to how small Jack was. “Did Uncle Sam teach you that?”

“Yup!” Jack nodded enthusiastically, head bobbing as he continued to hum the song under his breath.

Cas gave another chuckle under his breath, looking from Jack to Dean. “I suppose we should head inside. We're still expecting Sam and Eileen for lunch.”

Dean stood with a groan as his knees ached. He reached out a hand to help Cas and Jack up, standing tall with his family in their little garden. Keeping their fingers intertwined, Dean didn’t have to think about the sunflowers they left behind.

They would be there as long as the sun was in the East.

[baepop]

J’aime III [final]

After meeting Jungkook again years after your heartbreak, letting him in proved to be harder than you both expected.

Word Count: 13k

Pairing: You x Jungkook

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed writing it ;___;

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

You could not help the feeling of relief and overwhelming emotion that overtook you as you searched amongst the ocean of attendees for your family. Tears sprang to the corners of your eyes while shimmying past a couple of graduates embracing. You recognized your mother’s graying hair peeking through the crack of limbs before you. With a final push, you cleared into the field to greet your cheering family members. The first thing you noticed was the beautiful bouquet of flowers in your father’s arms. The next thing was the presence of your grandmother, which ushered in a fresh wave of tears. You hugged as many family members at once as you could, your shiny gown billowing behind you in the warm spring wind. You finally made it. These had been the most taxing 4 years of your life, but you finally graduated college with your criminal justice degree.

“Ahh, stop crying! You’re going to look ugly in the photos!” Your mother wiped the dripping mascara from your under eyes carefully. Normally, a comment like that from her would have you sneering, but you couldn’t be bothered as the overwhelming happiness painted everything in rosy hues.

After taking turns posing with every single one of your supporters, you all piled into cars and drove off towards your house where a family barbecue was already underway. You smiled giddily at the cheesy hand painted sign that read “Class of 2020” hanging on your porch, no doubt the messy scrawl of your uncles. In true family fashion, it seemed they had started partying long before the guest of honor should arrive. Your heels clicked against the pavement as you made your way to your backyard where children chased each other around and adults lounged around the grill, sipping from their cold beer bottles and talking loudly over the booming music that blared from your dad’s speakers. The sun shone brightly over your neighborhood in the vast and cloudless blue sky, so much so, that you had to squint and use your hand as a visor as you took everything in.

Your ample state of serenity would have been enough to carry you for the rest of the summer, if you hadn’t been startlingly cognizant of the unexpected presence standing awkwardly by your fence. Your body stiffened, your wary eyes squinting at his equally uncomfortable figure. Your mother patted your back as you turned to her, your eyes urging her to explain.

The expanse of time in between you having quit your job at the café and your graduation had been a blur. You had already known heartbreak prior to the crushing blow of those vile text messages, so your body was equipped with the sort of numbness you needed to survive that pain again. You threw yourself into your studies, even retaking classes you had gotten low grades on before. You were determined not to worry your parents like you had when Jungkook left. You were also determined not to repeat your mistakes in a moment of weakness, so you spent most of your time out of the house. And you had done a damn good job at it too since being on a first name basis with your school’s librarians served as tangible proof.

It was by no means an easy feat, however. Anytime you’d see Hobi’s or Jungkook’s name flashing on your phone screen, it’d take you back to the night you couldn’t sleep, and then to various other nights when you didn’t even realize the sun was rising because you had been having so much fun hanging out. You missed the days where the only pain you knew was the one at your sides from laughing so hard and not the one in your heart.

Mr. Kim had been flustered when you resigned over the phone, urging you to reconsider and wondering if everything was okay at the sound of your sullen tone of voice. You refused to elaborate, simply telling him that you needed to focus on your studies. It wasn’t exactly a lie, after all. But you knew the boys wouldn’t accept such an explanation, and you weren’t inclined to inquire about their little bet for fear of being manipulated again. You simply wanted a clean break, and that meant acting as if you all had never even met.

It was hard at first. Whenever your phone would ring nonstop, you knew it was because one of them was parked outside of your house waiting for you to come down. You allowed yourself to peak out of your window whenever that was the case, believing yourself to be a masochist above all else. The sight of Jungkook twirling his keys in his hand and holding his phone up to his ear, waiting for you to answer him, never quite left you.

Eventually, the calls and text messages stopped coming. Eventually, there was no need to look out of the window anymore, much to your relief but also disappointment. They had both given you exactly what you wanted in the end, a clean break. It had since been so long that you had seen any of them, that seeing Hobi regard you warily from the limit of your backyard was enough to stop you in your tracks.

“I invited him, dear. You two used to be so close! Go say hello, don’t be rude!” Your mom offered you a tentative smile as she pushed you in his direction before heading over to the grill. Ruby crescents formed on your sweaty palms. You cursed yourself for not being transparent with her about what really happened, but how were you to know she would ambush you like this? You pursed your lips while holding prolonged eye contact with your unwanted guest. Eventually, he offered you a small wave before shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders. You took a deep breath and removed your heels, knowing they wouldn’t fare well against the soft terrain that spanned past the concrete walkway.

You approached the boy with your hands on your hips. He offered you a coy smile but waited for you to speak first as you eyed him incredulously.

“What…are you doing here?” You tried to keep the venom out of your tone, since you truly wanted to know his logic behind his sudden appearance.

“Couldn’t say no to your mom. She insisted and, I’ve been wanting to see you, so… here I am.” He peered at you through his lashes, but it still wasn’t enough to demolish the emotional wall you had built and reinforced these past few years.

You sighed, not feeling satisfied in the slightest. “Well, you really shouldn’t have come.”

Hobi nodded in a morose fashion, looking down at his feet while kicking small rocks into the dirt.

“Hoseok! Honey, come eat!” Your mother waved him over with a huge plate of food in her hands. Your head snapped in her direction as internally screamed at her audacity.

Hobi rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment but conceded to her request as he approached the food table with you closely in tow. Your mother handed you a plate as well, and you both took seats near the playing children.

Neither of you ate for a while, letting the upbeat music fill the heavy silence in between you two.

Eventually, Hobi cleared his throat to congratulate you on your big day. “Criminal justice, right? So, are you going to be, like, a cop or something?” Hobi took a bite of his hot dog.

“Not exactly. I have a job in the city waiting for me once summer is over with a small PI’s office.” Hobi nodded, clearly impressed by how together your life was.

“That’s awesome. I fucked my credits up, so I still have a semester left until I graduate.” Hobi chewed on his food thoughtfully.

You nodded along, finally paying attention to the plated food on your lap. You could only spare a few curt responses in between bites. “Music studies?”

The excruciating small talk continued until your plates were empty. As you sat and watched your two baby nephews wrestling on the grass, you heard Hobi finally speak up softly next to you.

“Can I at least know…what I did?” You turned to him, his eyes melting into yours in a moment of true affliction. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss you like hell. If there’s anything I can do to get you back, consider it done.”

Your eyes glossed over as a sudden wave of emotions raged beneath the surface of your cold demeanor. You broke away from his gaze to watch something, anything that would cut the intensity of the moment.

You shook your head, not wanting him to say anything further. When you spoke, your words came out small and strained. “I…know I shouldn’t have…but I read your text messages that night we fought, the ones between you and Jungkook. I know everything so…before you try and backtrack, please just don’t.” Your face hardened before you turned back to him, though your glistening eyes betrayed you.

His face was grave, nodding after you spoke and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees in contemplation. A resigned sigh was his only response for the next few minutes.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry we were such douchebags to you. We just got so caught up and competitive and put you in the middle of it. That was wrong and…I…we never meant for you to get hurt,” He turned back to you to convey his adamancy further, “but I really am sorry, Y/N. You don’t have to forgive me, I just need you to know that I am.”

You sighed too, already feeling drained from the day’s events. This was the last thing you were expecting today of all days. Hobi’s admittance would have wreaked much more havoc in your life when everything was still fresh, but now, it was easier to bear. You weren’t in the business of turning back the clock on your friendship with him, but you were no longer mad enough to kick him out of your party. When he got up to leave after you didn’t offer any more, you watched his receding figure approach the entrance of your backyard before you called out to him. He turned around and found you coming after him much to his surprise.

“You don’t… have to leave,” You sighed heavily, releasing the tension you had been holding in your heart after all this time, “I accept your apology. I’m not sure we can go back to how we were, but I could never hate you. You were my best friend after all. Just…stay for a while. And eat some more before my mom complains about how skinny you’ve gotten.” You smiled at him weakly, wondering if he might start crying with the look of surprise on his face.

Hobi’s eyes turned into crescent moons as his brilliant answering smile bunched up his cheeks. He agreed and followed you back to the food table. You made him another plate while he joked around with one of your uncles, unable to fight off Hobi’s infectious laughter for long. The rest of your afternoon spent together was reminiscent of the fun times you used to have, except this time, you were both older and aware of how fleeting wonderful moments could be. The serenity from before found its way back to you tenfold in the end.

What succeeded your graduation barbecue were some of the most carefree days you had had since you were a kid. It felt so good not to have to worry about deadlines or even wearing pants for that matter. You relished in the feeling of not having any responsibilities as long as you could, knowing you’d be entering the working world in only a few months.

You often thought about what your coworkers might be like, and if working in the city was really as cool as everyone made it out to seem. Taking the subway was a daunting idea that you tried not to dwell on too much, knowing it was unreasonable to fret being the only person out of millions of commuters to not be able to figure it out.

Another idea that both excited you and made you nervous was the thought of living on your own for the first time in your life. Your parents had helped you secure a small apartment near your job since commuting from your house was out of the question. You had taken the time to purchase cheap furniture and appliances from the little savings you had as well as something professional to wear for your first day. You had spent much time wondering what working at an office might be like and stupidly hoping it’d be more exciting than just fetching coffee for higher ups all day. Sadly, that’s exactly what awaited you, but you wouldn’t find that out until the Monday after your family helped you move into your new place. After hauling the little furniture you had up six flights of stairs, they stayed for a while to help you get your things put in place and order pizza.

You assumed you were so tired from the days’ events that you fell asleep on the couch, since you awoke the next morning to an empty apartment and your internet fully hooked up. As you finished arranging your clothes into your drawers, you couldn’t help feeling pathetic at the wave of homesickness that cast a dark shadow over your exciting new endeavor. Figuring it was doing you harm to stay in on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and dwelling on the many miles that now separated you from your family, you decided to take a walk and get to know your new neighborhood.

You quickly found the city to be a much hotter and more humid place than you were expecting it to be as you sauntered down the block in flip flops, shorts and your favorite pair of sunglasses. There was no alleviating breeze to be had around any corner you passed, and as perspiration began trickling down your back, you kicked yourself for having the bright idea to leave your air conditioner’s side willingly. Still, you had to admit, the constant traffic of people in a rush and the endless line of businesses that caught your attention for miles on end was exciting enough to get your mind off of the fact that you were utterly alone now.

When you got tired of fanning your sweating face with your equally sweaty hand to no avail, you decided to stop into a café only a few blocks from your apartment for an ice cold drink and, at the very least, to get out of the sun for a while. As you stepped into the quaint shop squeezed in the middle of an entertainment store and a pet shop, you were grieved to find a distinct lack of cool air welcoming you, no doubt a result of the packed crowd awaiting you indoors. I guess everyone had the same idea, huh? Still, the small florescent bulbs that hung over small wooden tables without chairs was much more favorable to the beating sun shining on everything just outside of the shop windows.

Finding the idea of waiting in line with the rest of the hot and sticky people in there unappealing, you settled for taking stand at one of the tables and waiting for the shop to clear out a little. You didn’t mind in the slightest, since you didn’t have anywhere you needed to be per se. Besides, you loved people watching. Looking around the tiny room, you realized just how true the stories were about people creating businesses under a desk in the city of you’d let them. This café was a fraction of the size that J’aime was, but you could already tell it saw an exponentially larger number of customers. It had a charming minimalist vibe full of potted plants that hung along exposed ceiling pipes, abstract pictures on the walls, and a ton of wood accents to compliment.

You caught the looks of other wondering eyes and out of politeness if nothing more, shot a smile back before continuing to let your eyes wander. You idly thought about what the workload must be like for the employees there, reminiscing about your own time working at a café which was filled with tons of downtime. Looking behind the counter, you observed two girls who reminded you of the boys. While one wrung up orders diligently, the other sped around the bar making orders, though they lacked the charm and people skills your ex coworkers had to ease peeved customers in this irritating climate. Deciding it’d probably be best to just head home and take a cold shower, you slipped past the crowd and ventured into the unrelenting sun once more, vowing to visit the shop at a less busier time and get that iced chai you craved.

“Come in!” A grumpy voice beckoned you in from the other side of the door. You looked around the small studio before opening the door to your manager’s office. Your company was small given the nature of its work, renting out a room on the ninth floor of a much larger building full of other small businesses of the same size. Apart from yourself, there was an older woman who sat at her desk and didn’t pay your arrival any mind, and a slightly older woman that chewed on an apple and eyed you enough to make you uncomfortable.

With a resigned sigh, you turned the doorknob and entered, closing the door behind you. “Good morning.” You stood at the door regarding the blonde at his desk while fidgeting with the zipper on your purse. You were expecting to find a much older gentleman with a five o’clock shadow and a lit cigar in his hand waiting for you. Looking at his pale and slight figure and shiny platinum locks that hung over bored eyes caught you off guard to say the least.

“Well? Are you just going to stand there?” He couldn’t be bothered to give you his full attention. Realizing you probably looked like a scared calf in his office, you rushed to take a seat and tried to seem less nervous. This definitely wasn’t the welcome party you were hoping for.

“Y/N, right?” He spoke as he shuffled through some loose papers on his disheveled desk, a gold plaque at the edge that read “Min Yoongi”.

“Uh, yeah.” You watched everything he did like a hawk, wanting to be ready for whatever he’d throw at you.

“You had to think about your own name?” You gulped and blushed, feeling flustered already.

“N-No. I—" His hands stilled while organizing the papers, his eyes meeting yours sharply. After a moment, good humor seemed to find him.

“How are you liking the city so far?” You had to take a second to process his attempt at small talk.

“It’s um…well, it kind of sucks.” You swallowed thickly, praying he wasn’t an avid city boy.

He paused again, maintaining eye contact for a couple seconds before his eyes squinted into a disarming gummy smile. He chuckled as he finished clearing his desk. “Yeah, not many people like the city at first but,” he reached into a desk and gathered a clip board and pen, “it’ll grow on you, I promise.” You sighed with relief, taking the documents from his hand and eyeing them carefully. You recognized the non-disclosure forms immediately. “Welcome to the office. This is your first job out of college, I’m assuming?” You looked up and nodded. “I won’t give you a ton of stuff to do, I mainly just want you to get a feel for how we do things around here. Sound good?” You nodded eagerly. “You do speak, don’t you?”

“Y-yes! Yes, I do, that sounds great.” You both chuckled lightly, you with a twinge of embarrassment and him getting a kick out of messing with the new hire.

“Byulyi, get in here!” He called out to one of the women just outside the door, though you weren’t sure whom. In a split second, the door burst open and in sauntered the brunette with the apple. “That was way too fast, were you listening outside of the door again?”

“I sure was, boss.” She smiled cheekily and took turns looking in between you and him. You couldn’t help but smile at her antics, wondering if she had been working here for long. She seemed to have an immunity to Mr. Min’s intimidating persona.

“Mhm. Well, take her and show her around. And for the love of god, don’t scare her off like you did the last one. Now get the fuck out of my office, both of you.” You got up quickly and exited the room, waiting nearby for the girl who lingered behind.

“It’s not my fault! You’re just not hiring the right people!” She yelled as she closed the door quickly before an incoming projectile in the shape of a paperweight could strike her. A thud was heard from behind the door making you flinch. She turned to you and smiled, “Uhh, not you, though! I’m sure you’ll be great.” She gave you a thumbs up before leading you over to her desk. “This is where I do important bad guy business,” She pointed to her computer and keyboard, “This is the immense documentation that needs to be processed, necessary for me to do my job legally, “She pointed at the overflowing stack of papers shoved off to the side, “Oh and, that’s Gladys over there. She’s the real sunshine of the office, the absolute light of my life. Gladys, I love you.” You both looked over at the older woman who sat typing away on her keyboard too busy to acknowledge your inquisitive stare.

“Fuck off Moon.” Glady’s grumbled with her eyebrows furrowed towards the screen. The brunette turned to you while holding back a laugh.

“See? Isn’t she the sweetest?” You grinned and wondered if she was this hyper all of the time. She continued, “Now that you’re acquainted with everything, take this,” She handed you a debit card, “and get us some coffees. Run along now!” She watched you with amusement as you struggled to form words. You felt whiplash at trying to keep up with everything and everyone.

You looked down at the card in your hand, realizing your fears were coming true. “Um…how do you all take your coffees?”

“Surprise me.” She responded absentmindedly, already absorbed in the contents of her computer screen. You hurried out and took one last look back, hoping you didn’t get lost on your way back. Once you descended to the first floor via the elevator and stepped out into the late morning atmosphere, you shrank against the bricks that lined the building’s walls. You had been so nervous before you got there, and somehow you were even more so now. Part of you expected to have your nerves quelled once you got settled in, but that was definitely not going to be the case. Finding your footing would prove to be difficult when every single one of your coworkers was intimidating in their own way. It made you think about your first day at J’aime and how intimidating Jungkook seemed. The memory made you smile, lifting your spirits enough to get your small task done. You sighed and sprang up to your feet in the direction of that café you had visited the day before, not wanting to take too long and risk seeing anyone’s bad side just yet.

You played with the debit card in the pocket of your blazer as you crossed the busy intersection. The shop was now in plain view, so you decided to think about what order. Upon arriving, you noticed how the shop was way less busy than it was before, thankfully. There were a few people dressed in professional attire, similar to yours, standing in line as you took your place behind them. By the time you reached the cash register, you had settled on getting one black coffee, one with cream and sugar, one with dairy-free milk and a dirty chai for yourself.

“Will that be all for today?” The cutesy cashier chirped as she plucked the card from your extended hand.

“Yes, thank you!” You headed towards the bar area to wait for your order, pulling your phone out to keep track of the time as you waited. You weren’t sure how long they expected you to be gone, so you didn’t want to lag behind in the slightest.

“Jungkook! We’re out of chai…yeah…and matcha too! And bring more cup sleeves if you can, we’re running low…yeah…” You were startled out of your reverie at the sound of your ex-lover’s name. Your head snapped up to see the barista chatting away on her cell phone, balancing the device between her shoulder and her ear and a coffee in each hand. She turned around and handed you half of your order, startled to see you had already been watching her. She hung up and put her phone away, looking at you with evident frustration on her face. “I’m sorry but we’re out of chai. Can I get you anything else?”

“Um, I’ll just take regular black tea if you have it.” She nodded enthusiastically before busying herself with the rest of your order. How many people have the name Jungkook? You refused to believe she could’ve been talking to the same Jungkook from your hometown. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel.

When you arrived back at the office, you found the brunette perched on top of her desk as she had been before, scrutinizing her watch. You shut the door behind you with your leg since your hands were full of drinks. “Seventeen minutes. What the hell were you doing, new girl? Getting coffee from downstairs definitely does not take seventeen minutes.” She crossed her arms and waited for you to speak, quirking her brow when you didn’t respond right away. As you looked around the room speechless, you saw that your boss and the older woman had stepped out, leaving just you two present. “Well?”

You sighed and put the drinks down on her desk, turning to her and holding out the debit card for her to take. When she reached for it, you drew your hand back. She scoffed at your audacity, but you were determined not to let your coworkers intimidate you anymore. “I have a name, I’m pretty sure you know it too, yet you insist on treating me like a pet. Please stop. Also, I didn’t know there was a place to get coffee that’s closer, I just moved here and you didn’t specify. I’ll be quicker next time though.” You placed her debit card on her extended palm with a huff.

Her eyebrows shot up and a slow smile crept across her face. “Ah, so you do have a backbone! Good to know, you’ll need it to be able to handle the kind of work we do here.” She gave you an encouraging smile, “Trust me, I’m a fluffy puppy compared to our clients. And the fact that you’re a woman means you’ll have an even harder time in this field, take it from me.” You blushed and nodded thoughtfully, your irritation dissipating into momentary embarrassment for losing your temper so quickly. She motioned towards the empty chair next to hers, “Sit down, I’ll show you some basics today in terms of paperwork. You’ll be doing a lot of the tedious work since you’re new, but it really helps us out when we get new cases.” Her mood seemed to be instantly lifted despite your slight overstep. Regardless of the oddness of it all, you were relieved she hadn’t fired you on the spot and hurried over to learn as much as you could.

From that day forward, you had an easier time at work. Moonbyul had taken you under her wing and taught you a lot on your first week, even showing you her more patient side anytime you had a question which was few and far between. It wasn’t long before you two were joking the same way she would with Yoongi and Gladys. You rarely got to work with the former since he did most of his work out on the field and would sometimes have to travel for days on end. Gladys was grumpy and anti-social but really good at her job, so you tried to help as much as you could but mainly kept out of her way. They had set you up with your own workspace two weeks after getting hired, and by the third week, you had already established a routine during the weekday. You’d arrive bright and early, fetch coffee, start on any paperwork left on your desk the day before and get distracted multiple times a day whenever Moon decided to saunter over to your area and annoy you for fun. Whenever it was time for lunch, you’d pull out a homemade pb and j from a brown paper bag and a banana like clockwork. You were still waiting on your first check to arrive in the mail, so you didn’t have the luxury of eating out just yet.

However, on one hectic morning when you forgot to set your morning alarm the night before, you found yourself without a packed meal come lunch time, the fear of arriving to work late making you forgetful. When your empty stomach became too hard to ignore, you begrudgingly headed out in search of a place you might find something to eat that wouldn’t cost you all of the money in your bank account. You took a stroll in the direction of your apartment and observed all the shops along the way, even stopping to look inside the quaint café you had been inside a few times but decided against stopping there since it didn’t look like they had much food options. You continued down the block, deciding to stop in at a pizza place with only a few customers in line.

As your eyes scanned the menu above the register, booming laughter kept distracting you from your inner monologue.

“You’ll get your slice when you bring me my coffee!” The older gentleman in an apron spoke aloud while shoving a fresh pie into the brick oven with ease.

“I’ll bring you your coffee when I get my pizza!” Your eyes landed on the boy he was talking to. His back was turned to you, but you’d recognize him anywhere. They both laughed in unison. You were next in line, but you hesitated to step forward, knowing he’d see you if you did. Yet somehow, you couldn’t find the resolve to bolt out of there, despite your subconscious screaming for you to do so.

“Hellooo,” The older man waved a palm in front of your face to get your attention, “Miss, are you ready to order?” You couldn’t rip your eyes away from the back of Jungkook’s head to address the pizzaiolo, and subsequently, you watched the boy turn towards you in slow motion, the curious look on his face morphing into one of clear shock.

The older man grew impatient, so he called for the next person in line to step forward. You sobered up at the feeling of someone pushing past you, so you quickly hopped out of the way then turned back to Jungkook. He, too, stepped away from the counter and towards you, not knowing what to say. You both stared at each other awkwardly, laughing halfheartedly when neither of you could manage to break the ice. You clutched your bag to your shoulder with both hands, feeling both butterflies and a pit at the bottom of your stomach.

He seemed impossibly older, despite it only being a few years since you’d last laid eyes on each other. His hair was straightened now and had highlights, and his tattoos had grown in number. You ogled at his sleeve of artwork that trailed up and under his short sleeve shirt that clung to every muscle in his torso. It seemed he had gotten stockier over time, though he still wore the same dangly earrings and ripped jeans that you remembered he loved so much.  

“Y/N…what are…you doing here?” He smiled and crossed his arms observing you in the same way you were him.

“Oh, I…work not too far from here. I’m on my lunch break so…” You avoided eye contact, finding it strange how you two felt like strangers, despite all the history you both shared. “What are you doing here?”

“I actually work here too, in the city now, I mean.” He rubbed the back of his neck, a shy smile blooming on his facial features. “I manage the coffee shop a few stores down. It’s the small one by the pet shop, you can’t miss it.”

You giggled, “I think I’ve been inside once or twice, actually.”

“Oh yeah? What’d you think? Not bad huh?” He leaned against the soda machine cheekily, which had you giggling even more so.

“Well, considering you don’t keep it stocked with chai, I’ll have to deem it subpar at best.” You childishly stuck your tongue out at his crestfallen expression.

“You just happened to catch us at a bad time!” You both laughed heartily at his attempt to defend his store. “Seriously though, you should come by soon. I’ll give you anything you want, on the house.” You blushed and smiled down at your shoes, not knowing what to say. Is he flirting with me? Your heart skipped a beat at the idea, but the high didn’t last long once the memory of who he actually was came knocking.

You looked back up at his hopeful doe eyes and smiled weakly, “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. But um…I should get going now, don’t want to be late and all.” His expression fell as you quickly waved and jetted out of the shop. You didn’t make it halfway down the block before you heard heavy footsteps running to catch up to you. When you turned around, Jungkook was behind you, keeled over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath momentarily.

“Wait! You can’t just leave without letting me know when I’ll see you again.” When he stood up, you noticed the sad look in his eyes. “Do you still have the same number? Maybe we can meet up some time, I can show you around?” You bit your lip, contemplating the idea.

“That sounds nice and all but…I don’t know, Jungkook…” You scratched your head, kicking yourself for not having a better excuse on hand. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t missed him all this time, but still, you had to be careful with your heart from now on. Hanging out with him as friends might feel good platonically for old times sake but, you didn’t want to risk getting caught up again.

“Well, I’m not taking no for an answer. Say you’ll come see me at the shop some time! C’mon, you know you want too…” You smiled, remembering how cute he is when he begs. Finally, you sighed and agreed, making plans to have lunch together the following day around the same time. He was overjoyed to say the least, finally releasing you so you could hurry back to the office before being late. You hadn’t even noticed your lack of food, your stomach being full of butterflies instead.

The next day at work was oddly hectic. You barely had a moment to breathe, let alone check your phone for the time. You had even forgone the retrieval of morning coffee in favor of making headway on the mess of paperwork that had awaited you at your desk upon arrival. After sending out a retainer agreement and getting started on a surveillance report, you noticed your phone buzzing in your bag. By the time you had rummaged for it, you saw five missed phone calls from an unsaved number. Finding it strange since you never give your phone number out, you realized it might’ve been Jungkook, your lunch date having been long forgotten. You quickly checked the time to see it had been 20 minutes past when you agreed to meet up. You jumped up from your desk and announced you were taking your lunch on your way out of the door. You could hear Moon protesting from down the hall, but you resolved to deal with it later, needing to focus on putting out one fire at a time.

As you jogged down a few city blocks and turned the corner, you noticed Jungkook staring down at his phone while standing in front of his coffee shop. You were littered with guilt at the site of him thinking he had been stood up. Realizing he was calling you again, you answered your phone while walking towards him.

“Y/N!” You observed him begin pacing back and forth nervously, “I was worried I had the wrong number or something…did you forget about today? It’s cool if you did…” You bit back a giggle at his attempt to play it off. By the time he had finished talking you had already reached him, so you hung up and tapped on his shoulder. He lowered the receiver and turned around only to find you staring up at him apologetically.

“So sorry. I lost track of time at the office. Are you still able to hang out?” Jungkook laughed and slipped his phone into his back pocket. Is he blushing?

“Yeah, of course! Would you care if we had pizza?”

“I’d love some, actually.” You two walked down the rest of the block in silence. It was clear there was an elephant in the room that needed to be addressed before you could both chat like old friends. As soon as you both sat down with your food, he began poking fun at you for gingerly dabbing the grease off your pizza with a napkin.

“What are you, too good for us now?”

You rolled your eyes yet your persistent grin only grew in size, realizing it was a habit you had picked up after you two had stopped seeing each other. “Shut up! It’s a good habit to have. You should do it to actually.” You picked up the sliced and took a bite of the tip, eyeing him sternly. He held the eye contact as he shoved half of the slice into his mouth, grease and all, to spite you. You almost spit out your food while struggling to hold back your laughter. His distinct high-pitched giggle was music to your ears, fond memories of hanging out together pre-drama rushing back to you.

Once he finished chewing, he sat back and eyed you carefully. “So, I take it you graduated then? What made you move to the big city?”

You chewed thoughtfully before responding. “I don’t know…I wanted the experience, I guess. What about you though? I didn’t know you had plans to stay in the coffee business.” He flashed you his crooked smile and you could swear your heart stopped in that moment.

“I didn’t, actually. It just kind of happened. The opportunity presented itself when my lease was up, so I took the plunge. Wanted a change of scenery too I guess, lots of memories I couldn’t get away from back home.” He looked at you meaningfully before taking another bite of his pizza. You looked away, unsure of what he really meant to say.

“I’m surprised you had the heart to move away from Hobi to be honest. You two were thick as thieves.” His eyebrows shot up at the mention of your ex bestfriend’s name, a sour pucker lingering on his lips.

“Were. He quit the café shortly after you did. I ended up helping Jin run it for a while and hired a whole new staff. That’s where I was really able to get the management experience I needed…anyway…I haven’t really talked to him since. You two just kind of disappeared, it was really lonely for a while to be honest.”

You didn’t know what to say as he spoke so nonchalantly about the matter. On your loneliest nights you had always assumed they were off finding some other girl to play with, even going as far as to hurt your own feelings by imagining Jungkook playing pool with someone else. Never had you once imagined they might be as lonely as you were.

“I actually hadn’t seen Hobi after that either, at least not until a couple months ago. He crashed my graduation party. I was really mad at first but, I’m glad he did. I really missed him, and you, even though you both didn’t even deserve that much from me.”

Your jab made Jungkook smile. “Man, things got really fucked up between us, didn’t they?” He sighed, looking out of the window in thought.

“Yeah, they did…” Neither of you spoke for a while. You picked at your pizza, your appetite long gone.

“You found out about the bet, didn’t you?” His question caught you off guard.

“Yeah, I did. But we don’t have to talk about that, really. It’s in the past, right?’ You smiled at him then checked your watch, realizing you only had a few minutes to get back to work.

Jungkook watched you collect your belongings dejectedly. “It is, but at least let me show you I’m not as stupid was I was before? We used to have fun together, you have to admit.” You didn’t respond to him as you were in a hurry to dash out of the pizza shop as you had the day before. Jungkook hurried to your side and grabbed your arm before you could yank the glass door open. You turned around to find him inches away, his tormented eyes searching yours.

“Jungkook—”

He cut you off before you could protest fully. “Y/N, I’m truly sorry that I hurt you. You didn’t deserve it.” You tried to wrench your arm out of his grasp but failed. He was determined for you to hear him out. “Look, we were colossal assholes, I know this. And you don’t have to agree to be my friend again or even forgive me, but just… let me see you again. I really fucked up with you and I want to make it right.”

You sighed as he finally let you go, slinging your bag over your shoulder and blinking tears away. “Jeon Jungkook, are you ever going to stop reappearing into my life and having to apologize every time?” You watched him rub his neck before looking down at you with those big doe eyes again. You smiled, feeling like the worst was over.

“This’ll be the last time, I promise.” The resolve in his voice and stare shook you, the notion striking you as both genuine and romantic as hell. Still, you had to admit you might’ve been inclined to think any grand declarations on his part were less than innocent.

You sighed and pulled the door open to the pizzeria, but before you left, you told him to give you a call sometime.

Jungkook didn’t waste any time in giving you a call. In fact, your phone began vibrating on your way home that same day. You thought it odd that he’d know exactly when to call you, but a second of clarity had you looking across the street and meeting his eyes. He waved at you from the coffee shop windows and you couldn’t help the goofy smile on your face as you crossed the street.

“Hey!” You greeted him breathlessly upon entering the small establishment.

“Heading home?” he busied himself with checking off items on a keyboard.

“Yeah. I just got done work so…”

“I’m actually wrapping up here now so, I’ll walk you. Give me a few minutes.” His proposition made you nervous but you agreed nonetheless, waiting for him outside of the shop to avoid the curious stares of his employees. Within minutes, you were both walking in the direction of your apartment in the most painstakingly slow pace. The sun was casting a fiery golden glow on everything it touched upon its descent, including Jungkook’s stunning features. You tried not to look at him too much, afraid you might give away what was lying beneath the surface of your hesitation to let him in again. It eluded you how you could still be so into him after all this time and after so much history. You remembered something your mom had told you long ago, about long-time crushes being signs of love. You scoffed at the idea of being in love with Jungkook.

“What’s wrong?” Jungkook turned to you, mirroring the humor on your face. The thought of telling him what you were truly thinking had you chuckling aloud.

“It’s nothing. Just something funny that happened at work. Anyway,” You looked up and saw your apartment building come into view, “Do you want to come up really quick and see my new place? Normally I don’t invite people up but, it’s only fair given that you invited me to your housewarming.”

“Wow, I am honored. Truly.” Jungkook’s sarcasm had you shoving him playfully, earning a fit of laughter from the boy. As you two paused in front of the steps to your place, you both turned to each other. You were taken aback at the look of indecision on his face. He pressed his mouth into a hard line as he took turns looking at you, then at the entrance to your building, then down the block. “I uh, can’t. I’m sorry…lunch tomorrow though? We’ll go someplace new.”

“Oh, um, sure.” You weren’t sure what to make of his refusal to come up with you, but you decided not to pry, although you were feeling a little rejected deep down.

“You won’t forget me this time?” He smiled at you cheekily and bit his lip, looking at yours for a brief moment then focusing on your eyes with a gulp.

You giggled and tucked some hair behind your ear. “I won’t! I promise.” He watched the door close behind you before setting off down the block and away from view.

As you threw your bag and blazer onto the couch and flung your shoes off, you immediately skipped gleefully towards the bathroom to run a bath.

You and Jungkook had made it a habit to have lunch together every day at the same time after your pizza date, much to Moon’s amusement.

“Heading out?” She spoke up as you passed her desk on your way out. You turned on your heel to look at her curiously.

“Uh, yeah. On my lunch break. Did you need anything?” She got up from her chair to sit on the edge of her desk, eyeing you with a mischievous glint in her stare.

“So, you’ve started wearing perfume every day to eat pb and j sandwiches on the bench outside, alone?” She lowered her glasses and tipped her head towards you, knowing exactly what to do by now to push your buttons.

You rolled your eyes then perked up. “Wait, how do you know that’s what I used to do for lunch?” The girl laughed at your innocent question.

“We have windows, you do know that, don’t you? And I’m assuming this is the same person you’ve been texting nonstop with a big smile on your face?” She turned to Gladys who was surprisingly paying attention to you two bicker, for once. “I think someone’s got a boyfriend, don’t you?”

“I reckon she does!” Both of them started hollering in laughter. You blushed, checking the time and avoiding their patronizing stares. You began opening the door before Moon piped up again, causing you to pause at the door one last time.

“Go get ‘em tiger! Don’t let him get away!”

Just as any other day as of late, you exited through the downstairs doors and began merrily walking towards Jungkook’s café. You two certainly weren’t completely back to the way things were before, but you felt a great deal of joy in his company as you had before and even looked forward to your time with him every day. It was nice to have someone to explore the city with, even if it was at short intervals. But it was also nice to have a friend in such a big lonely place. Having Jungkook nearby was great. For instance, just last week the weather began to drop dramatically since it neared October. Your air conditioning was still installed and making your apartment cold at night, so you convinced him to come over after work and remove it. It didn’t take much coaxing on your part, but as soon as it was done, he all but flew out of your apartment, much to your confusion and disappointment yet again. You were starting to think something was up, but you didn’t want to come off as whiny or anything, so you never brought it up. Besides, you two weren’t exactly dating or even officially friends, simply old acquaintances catching up. It felt out of place to bring up something like that. Still, you couldn’t deny how things had started to feel as of late. It was odd at first, interacting with Jungkook regularly completely devoid of sexual tension, given how you two started all those years ago. But lately you’d catch him looking at you in a way that was anything but friendly, to which he’d get flustered and pretend it never even happened. You weren’t used to this version of Jungkook, being well acquainted with his overly cocky and flirtatious mannerisms. You wondered if he assumed you were still mad at him, and if that’s why he was going out of his way to be respectful and not hit on you in the slightest. You couldn’t lie and say the idea of him flirting with you again like he used to didn’t excite you, but you also wanted to keep a level head about the situation. You hadn’t been with anyone since that fateful night, and you were homesick above all else, so you didn’t want to jump into Jungkook’s arms and regret it afterwards.

But what if Moonbyul was right? What if you didn’t take the risk of talking to him about your feelings and end up losing out on an amazing guy?

As you turned the corner, you saw Jungkook waiting outside of the shop as per usual. He was already facing your direction, so he instantly saw you from afar and waved shyly at you. You smiled, feeling how warm he made your heart feel, and resolved on making a move, somehow someway.

“Hey, you.” Jungkook beamed as he looked down at you, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Hey,” You smiled back, looking down to hide the blush forming on your cheeks, “What’s on the menu for today?” He was wearing the same leather jacket you often saw folded up in his work cubby and it made your heart palpitate.

“How’s Korean barbecue sound? I know a good spot not too far from here.” You perked up at the proposition and began walking together towards the restaurant while making light conversation. By now, you had both gotten into the rhythm of taking turns talking about work or what new Netflix anime you had discovered that week. Since it had been so long since you’d seen your family or friends from school, hanging out with Jungkook like this was especially nice.

As you sat at the restaurant and listened to Jungkook talk animatedly about some new coffee beans he had ordered for the shop, you decided to cut him off, Moon’s words of encouragement echoing in your mind.

“Jungkook…” The boy looked up at you with wide eyes and a mouth full of food. You smirked at the sight, feeling calmer somehow. “Why…don’t you ever want to hang out at my house? Or invite me to your place for that matter?” Jungkook finished swallowing his food and put his chopsticks down, realizing what you were getting at. “N-Not that it’s a problem or anything! I just, wanted to know…” You tried to backtrack after watching his expression turn grave.

“I’m actually seeing someone and I’m…I don’t want to—”

“Oh... Okay,” You began stabbing at your noodles with your chopsticks to dissimulate from the sheer shock. You hadn’t considered he was taken in the slightest. I’m so stupid.

Jungkook watched you warily, his own eyes wide as he hurried to do damage control. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s just casual sex, but still I---”

“You don’t have to explain, really! I understand. It was just a question, Jungkook.”

“Y/N…” You finally looked up at Jungkook to see the pity evident in his gaze which somehow cut deeper than the realization that you had already lost him. You felt your eyes begin to water, so you started grabbing your purse and jacket to leave. As you sprinted towards the door, you heard Jungkook calling out to you and garnering the attention of the entire restaurant. You couldn’t stay behind to listen to what he had to say. You know he wasn’t the bad guy, but it made you feel better thinking that he was instead of admitting that you had started to foolishly get your hopes up again. You sped walk back to work, tilting your head up to deter tears from falling and ruining your eyeliner. As a result, you bumped into someone at the corner in front of your office building and dropped your purse, spilling all of its contents onto the pavement. Squatting down and apologizing profusely, you began to cry. A pale hand began helping you pick up your things amongst the crowd of pedestrians.

“Jesus new girl, I take it your date didn’t go so well?” You paused to look up, realizing it was Moonbyul you had bumped into. You began full on sobbing as she patted your head and helped you up. She held you close to her as you two entered the building, not saying anything more on the matter but handing you a tissue once you got back to the office and leaving you alone for the rest of the day to sniffle at your paperwork in privacy.

You hadn’t met up with Jungkook again after your embarrassing display of emotions that afternoon. It had now been weeks without so much as a text from him and just as before, you were both grateful and dejected about the current state of affairs. As a result, you found yourself on the couch with a pint of ice cream in your hands on a Friday night, watching the same romantic comedy you always did when you were feeling bad for yourself. It was a bit of a ritual at this point. You weren’t proud of it, but it brought you too much comfort to quit it, especially when you never had any plans on the weekends anyway.

As you shoved a spoonful of rocky road into your mouth and lip synched to the script of the movie verbatim, the buzzing of your phone caught you off guard. When you flipped it over and saw Jungkook’s name on the screen, you nearly choked on your desert. What the hell!? Feeling oddly suspicious, you grabbed your phone and headed over to your window only to find that Jungkook was, indeed, outside. Your heart sank, feeling déjà vu mixed with panic. You weren’t ready to see him again after your last catastrophic encounter, and certainly not while wearing a ratty old hoody and a sad topknot. As you let the phone ring in your hand and watched him from above, he looked up and made eye contact with you. You cursed yourself for not drawing the curtains as he mimed towards his cell phone. You picked up the call and held it to your ear but didn’t say a word.

“Buzz me in.”

“No, go away Jungkook.

“I want to see you. Buzz me in right now.”

“NO!”

“Yes! Or else I’ll stand out here all night, I swear I will Y/N.” You groaned and hung up, trudging over to the intercom box on your wall. With the push of a button, Jungkook was ascending the stairs three steps at a time, giving you no chance to change or even tidy up your apartment. Three loud knocks disturbed the solitary peace in your small studio apartment. You groaned again, hesitating on opening the door. When you finally decided to do so, you put the chain on the door so that it could only open a few inches.

He held back a grin when he saw what you did. You peaked through the gap in the door with a quirked eyebrow. “Why are you here Jungkook?”

“Why are you mad at me?”

You rolled your eyes and sighed, this conversation not getting any less painful than it would’ve been weeks ago when the embarrassment was still fresh. ”I’m not! I’m mad at myself. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? So, you can go now.” Jungkook stopped you from attempting to close the door, keeping his hand above the bolt and leaning in so his head was close to yours.

“Then why does it feel like I fucked up somehow? Please just let me in so we can talk properly?”

“What part of no don’t you understand?! You should go now, she’s probably waiting for you.” Jungkook sighed and bumped his head against the side of the door, already exhausted with the conversation.

“I told you, it’s not like that! It’s not like…” Jungkook stopped himself, looking down at the floor but you weren’t going to let him get off that easily.

“Like what? Like us? Is that what you were going to say?” Jungkook looked back up at you, torment evident in his eyes.

“Yes! Okay? Like us! We were the real deal, whether you want to admit it or not. You may not have thought it, but I sure as hell did.”

Your lips quivered as you stared at him, your eye contact hard and emotional. “Are you implying that I didn’t care about us?! Are you serious!? Jungkook I was so broken up about everything! Hell, I still am! But I’m a real idiot, falling for the same person over and over again despite it ending the same way each time.”

“Oh please,” Jungkook scoffed bitterly, fighting with himself for finally saying everything he had always wanted to but couldn’t, “Y/N you broke my fucking heart into a million pieces when you just dropped me from your life like nothing. Without giving me a reason, you just moved on and left me behind. I was so fucking in love with you, since before I had to move away. And the crazy part is that I still am!” Jungkook’s voice began breaking as tears silently spilled down your cheeks. You pressed your hand against your mouth to stifle your sobs. “But just when I finally start to move on, you show up again and make it impossible! Even though I tried hard to keep things platonic, I can’t help myself. I’m the real fucking idiot here.”

Your fingers shook as you undid the chain from the door. You opened it and took a second to speak so your voice wouldn’t waver. “Don’t say you’re in love with me if you’re not. I can’t take it if—” Jungkook pushed the door open and crashed his lips onto yours in one motion, effectively cutting off your sentence and taking your breath away all that once. He held your face with both hands as your tears continued to spill, your knees giving out from the intensity of the kiss. Thankfully, Jungkook reacted by taking hold of you by the waist and carrying you over to the couch. He sat down and placed you on his lap. You refused to break the kiss, relishing in its sweetness as your fingers knotted themselves in his soft hair.

“Stop crying.” Jungkook spoke in between kisses, wiping your cheeks only to find fresh tears spilling anew.

“I can’t help it!” You sobbed which made Jungkook chuckle softly. He kissed your forehead and laid your head on his shoulder, rubbing your back and your head to soothe you until you were only hiccupping.

After a while of laying on him and listening to his heartbeat, you sat back on his lap to face him, knowing you probably looked like the hottest mess to ever walk the earth, but decided nonetheless to throw caution to the wind. “Is it really okay that we’re doing this? I mean, you’re seeing someone…”

“I was. I broke things off weeks ago after you ran out on me. I figured that wasn’t the reaction of someone who didn’t care, and if I had any chance of getting you back then I didn’t want anything to ruin it.”

You nodded thoughtfully and continued on. “Why did you make that stupid bet?”

“Because I didn’t want to lose you. I was stupid enough to think you might wait for me when I left, and when I found out you were with Hobi…I don’t know… It made me absolutely crazy. I didn’t want to risk driving you away by confessing how I felt, especially since I was under the impression you weren’t that into me, so I tried to act cool about the whole thing. I should’ve never accepted that bet.” Jungkook let his head fall onto the back of the couch with a thud.

You took both of his hands in yours and squeezed them. “I think I get it now…but from now on, let’s just be open and honest about how we feel, yeah?” Jungkook smiled and nodded, looking back up at you with that dreamy gaze you loved so much. You couldn’t help kissing him again, but this time, you didn’t cry. You two continued making out on your couch, feeling no need to talk or interrupt for any reason. It was as if you two were making up for all the lost time, sharing sweet and tender kisses that mended your broken hearts. When you grew sleepy, he carried you to your bed and let you lay down on his chest until he heard your breathing even out. After checking to make sure you were actually asleep, he slipped out of your apartment quietly, leaving you to awaken the following morning to an empty bed. You almost started to believe it was all a very cruel dream since there were no signs of him being in your apartment last night, that is until you received a good morning text from him explaining he had to be at the coffee shop for shipment early the next day. Your heart was instantly full, realizing that Jungkook loved you after all. You finally felt ready to admit to yourself that you were in love with him too, and for the first time in a long time, you felt like you could breathe again. You buried your face in your pillow and screamed. You just couldn’t believe it.

You spent the rest of the day humming and prancing around your apartment while doing chores. Never in your life had you ever been in such a good mood while scrubbing floors on your hands and knees. You knew it was lame to be this excited about Jungkook coming over after the shop closes, but you couldn’t help yourself.

However, by the time you buzzed him in, you had deep cleaned your entire apartment, washed your sheets, placed lit candles on every surface in your apartment, painted your nails and watched them dry, watched a movie, and took a nap on your couch. He was 3 hours late and it was enough to put a damper on your wonderful mood.

As you heard him running up the stairs, you yanked the door open and instantly began berating him, but it didn’t last long since he didn’t waste any time on kissing you as soon as you began.

“Jungkook, wtf! Mm… It’s 1:00 in the morning! Mmm…Where—” He took you by the waist and pressed his lips against yours, walking you back into your apartment and kicking the door shut behind him. You tried to protest in between kisses, but each one was sweeter than the last, ultimately resulting in you melting in his arms and letting him have his way with you.

Eventually, he broke away and looked around at the dimly lit setting. “Wow, it smells really good in here!”

“Jungkook!” He laughed childishly as he watched you struggle to maintain a pout. He knew you were no match for his charms.

“Don’t be too mad! I’m really sorry. I had a ton of coffee spill on me right before close, so I had to go home and shower then come back. I ran as fast as I could.” He brushed his nose up against yours, coaxing a smile out of your stern face in the cutest way possible.

“Don’t you live around here?” You stared up at him in confusion as you ran your fingers through his damp hair.

“No, I live in another borough. Nothing was available within price range in this neighborhood when I first got to the city. Now can I continue kissing you?” He flashed you his crooked smile as his arms tightened around your waist. You pretended to be in deep thought about the proposition, so he tickled your sides as punishment for keeping him waiting. You squealed and laughed, struggling against his immovable hold on you.

“Okay, Okay! But, kiss me where though?” You giggled at the boy’s theatrics. He paused dramatically mid assault on your squishy sides, then looked up at you questioningly. When you quirked a brow at him, he reached down and picked you up from your thighs, hooking your legs around his waist as he carried you both to your bed. You laughed as he threw you down onto the bed, making haste to remove his shoes and shirt. It was genuinely entertaining to watch him so excited to have sex with you, but when you observed the way his body had changed under his clothing since the last time you saw him naked, your laughter died in your throat. He shot you the cockiest smile as he undid his pants and let them pool around his ankles. You watched him climb onto the bed in between your legs in nothing but his Calvin Klein underwear.

“Do you need help with this?” He bunched the bottom of your oversized shirt in his hands. Your mouth went dry at the feeling of your arousal pooling in your underwear, so you bit your lip and nodded. He carefully pulled your shirt over your head and removed your shorts. Once you were both in your underwear, he placed both hands on either side of you and leaned down, attaching his lips to yours once more.

Your heart was beating furiously in your chest, your fight or flight instincts trying to kick in. You closed your eyes, trying to stay in the moment with him. Jungkook could feel you stiffening at every touch, so he took a moment to look at your face and ask if something was wrong.

“Nothing, I’m just nervous. I know it’s dumb, since this won’t be our first time…but it kind of feels like it is, you know?” Jungkook sat back on his heels and thought for a moment.

“If you’re nervous I’ll leave again, I won’t. I’m here to stay, if you’ll let me.” He took your hands in his and kissed the back of your palm softly. Your heart squeezed at the display of affection. “I want to be with you, for real this time. And if you’re not sure how you feel about us yet then we can take our time. We don’t have to—”

“If there’s anything I’m sure about right now, it’s that I love you, too. And I want this just as much as you.” Jungkook froze again for the second time. He seemed to need help on maneuvering the situation going forward, so you got on your knees and placed a tentative kiss on his lips. He responded immediately, dwarfing your cheeks with his large hands as he kissed you back hungrily. You pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him, having found the confidence you needed to finally open your heart to him. He glowed in the aftermath of your confession, unable to hold back his bunny smile no matter how much you kissed him. His joy was contagious, causing you to plant cheerful and impatient kisses down his chest. Before you could reach his navel, he flipped you over and took hold of both of your hands.

“Mm, no. You first, I want to make you feel so good for making me the happiest man on earth just now.” You blushed as he spread your legs apart, feeling how sticky your underwear already was. He looked at you as he took hold of your panties, waiting for you to nod before he slid them down your legs. When he opened your legs again, Jungkook whistled at the sight of you dripping for him which made you want to close them but his overpowering strength didn’t allow it.

He palmed your sex, watching you lustfully as he did and with a tentative finger, began massaging your folds to feel just how wet you were for himself. He hissed as his fingers glided effortlessly up and down, spreading your juices around. You blushed even further, biting your lip to stifle a moan.

He pulled your worn-out lip from your teeth with his thumb. “Don’t hold back, I want to hear you.” You nodded silently, bucking your hips towards his hand for more. He smiled, sliding a finger into you. He circled around inside of you as you moaned, stretching your walls out a bit. He slid his finger in and out of you a few times before adding a second, earning a louder moan on your part. You loved his ministrations, losing yourself in the assembly of pleasure building up as you threw your head back and closed your eyes. When he curled his fingers inside of you in a ‘come hither’ motion, he leaned in, focusing on the way your facial expression contorted with pleasure. You grabbed onto his shoulder for dear life as your orgasm snuck up on you with just a few flicks of his wrist, causing your legs to shake under the steady hold of his hand. His fingers were drenched as he pulled him out of your sensitive core. You lay panting in a sheen of sweat as you watched him sink down in between your legs and plant a few kitten licks on your clit.

“Ah, fuck Jungkook!” You twitched with each lick, but overstimulation and all, it felt too good to ask him to stop. You muscled through the discomfort since his sloppy wet kisses to your core fueled your desire for more. Your walls eventually began clenching as fresh arousal began pouring out from you. You would have stained the bed sheets if Jungkook wasn’t lapping every bit of you up with his tongue. “I want you to fuck me.” You looked down at him expectantly, but he simply shook his head and eased his tongue into you. You fell back onto the bed with a plop, deciding that he was getting off on making you exceedingly needy for his dick. You pleaded in between moans, their succession increasing with every flick of his tongue. You no longer felt sore but rather ready for more, longing to be filled up. Your pelvis twitched, a telltale sign that you’d be cumming in a matter of seconds. Jungkook’s lips sealed themselves to your clit as she sucked on you eagerly. You grabbed handfuls of his hair and squeezed his head with your thighs as you came impossibly harder than you did before. He licked at your folds throughout your convulsions, lapping every last drop until your legs sank onto the bed. You rested your hands on your heaving chest, smiling sleepily and thanking him. The last thing you saw and felt before you drifted into unconsciousness was Jungkook coming to lay beside you and softly sifting strands out of your face.

When you awoke, it was three in the morning and you were sprawled out in the middle of the bed, leaving Jungkook to curl into a ball at the corner and fall asleep. Your chest tightened at the sight of him, feeling bad for not having made room before dosing off. You gingerly nudged him until you heard him breath extra deeply and stretch out. He looked up at you and smiled. How he looked so sexy with bed head and sleepy eyes, you’d never know. You brought him to the center of the bed with you, planting a kiss on his lips though it evolved into something more, his raging boner from before pushing up against the fabric of his briefs and into your thigh. You broke away from the kiss and looked down, bringing your hand down to his clothed erection and palming it sensually. He bit his lip and pushed his boxers down his muscular thighs, not wanting to waste any more time not being inside you.

You massaged his leaking cock as he positioned himself above you, rubbing the head of his member along your folds for lubrication. When you began leaking again while squirming underneath him. He pushed against your entrance, meeting a bit of resistance but not stopping until he reached the hilt. You both sighed in contentment as your walls hugged him tightly. He looked down at where you two were connected, then up at your face, smiling groggily.

“What?” You couldn’t help but smile too, reveling in the intimate moment in the early morning between the sheets with your dream guy.

“Say it again.” He looked down at your lips then at your eyes, holding his position without moving an inch out of you.

You furrowed your brows, unsure of what he was talking about at first. After looking at that bunny smile forming on his face, you realized exactly what he was asking for. “Ohhh, you mean the L word.” You giggled teasingly. “Hmmm…nah, I don’t think I will.”

Jungkook’s mouth set into a hard line before resolve set his eyes ablaze. “That’s okay, I can always make you.” Your eyes widened as he threw your legs over his shoulders and leaned down, bringing your knees to your chest. The new position allowed his cock to pump into your g spot perfectly. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing.

You held onto his biceps tightly, your mouth in a permanent “o” as you deeply felt every little movement of his hips. After carefully pulling out of you almost all the way, he thrusted back into you roughly. Your answering cry was music to his ears, inspiring him to set a torturous pace in his mission to get you to say the four-letter word. When he noticed tears forming in the corners of your eyes from sheer pleasure, he ceased rocking into you and dropped your legs in favor laying on top of you and kissing your tears away. His arms caged your head as he brushed your hair away from your face again. You smiled and wrapped your legs around his waist, rubbing his cheek with your thumb.

“You’re really beautiful, you know that?” He spoke softly as he looked at you in earnestness, almost with a sadness that caused his features to sag in the dim lighting of the streetlights shining in through your window. You were speechless, your heart feeling so full in that sweet moment. You looked into each other’s eyes for a while before he leaned down and began kissing you again. His lips were saccharine and addictive as they molded around yours like puzzle pieces. Your tongue slipped into his mouth and he readily accepted it, swirling his own around it in a seductive dance. When the steaminess of the kiss got him sufficiently riled up, his body responded by thrusting into you. You both moaned in unison at how easily he slid from your increased wetness. He looked down again and watched his dick disappearing and reappearing at your core. The fact that Jungkook wasn’t holding back his own moans only served to turn you on more. A symphony of groans filled the room as he picked up the pace, pounding into you without mercy. You watched his muscles contract with each movement before you fell back onto the bed to give into the rising sensation in the pit of your stomach. He turned his attention back to your closed eyes and gaping mouth. His name spilled from your lips repetitively and with conviction as you felt yourself climbing higher and higher.

“Fuck, Jungkook. I love you…I love you… I love you…” You repeated the words he wanted to hear as you came for the third time that night. You encouraged him to cum inside of you since you had long been taking birth control responsibly, and so he did, both of you thoroughly enjoying the feeling of him filling you up inside. When he pulled out and collapsed beside you, you both caught your breaths for a while, eventually turning to your sides to peck each other until you both fell asleep.

Morning came all too quickly, and with it, the departure of the man you were finally able to call yours. However, you didn’t let him go until you had asked him to move in with you. He agreed excitedly to the proposition, marking the start of many milestones you’d eventually reach with the love of your life. Afterall, the considerable loss you both felt in the name of love meant the rewards you’d reap were worth the risk. ♡

[angelofbenignmalevolence]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Gordon Tracy, John Tracy, Lucille Tracy, Scott Tracy, Virgil Tracy, Alan Tracy Additional Tags: Humor, natural history museum, Child Tracys Series: Part 3 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:

Gordon can handle all manner of sea creatures. But lizards? That’s a whole other ball game. Sometimes, you have your brothers to thank for your fears.

I have a few things that I just want to get out of the way. I know that there is some question of whether Virgil or John is the second child of the Tracys based on a couple of different sources. I know that the most widely accepted birth order puts Virgil before John. For the purpose of this story, I have written John as the second oldest, meaning the birth order will look like Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon, Alan. Based on the dates for the boys that I was able to find regarding ages, I’m looking at an 11 year gap between Scott and Alan. I’m looking at Scott as 16, John as 13, Virgil as 11, Gordon as 8, and Alan as 5 years old. Prompt requested by @misssquidtracy​ for @badthingshappenbingo​

----

Lucille Tracy was an excellent mother. Everyone knew it. Everyone except Lucille Tracy herself. The other families in the small Kansas town where they lived knew that she had her hands full with five boys, especially with their father deployed by NASA for much of the year, if not a year or more at a time. Lucille ran a tight ship, and there were never any complaints about her young boys from those around the town.

The boys often spent time on their mother’s family ranch at Gran Roca, but more often than not on the hot summer days where the weather was too oppressive for riding or running or any other manner of outdoor play, Lucille could be seen with her brood in tow headed toward some kind of educational opportunity. Lucille wanted to make sure that her boys were never letting their brains rot over the summer by spending too long in front of the TV or playing too many video games, and so once a week, the boys could be seen spread out across the library. Each boy had their own library card, with the exception of the youngest, who wasn’t yet old enough for his own. The boys were expected to bring home at least one book on their weekly trip to the library, and John was often seen lugging home a number of them in the messenger bag his mother had given him.

In addition to the weekly library trips, there was also a weekly excursion as a family. Some weekends it was to the zoo, because little Alan loved to go and watch the animals. Sometimes it was to the aquarium so little Gordon could watch the fish and the sharks with wonder in his eyes. Sometimes it was to the art museum so Virgil could spend an afternoon practicing his painting skills by copying the masters in the museums. Sometimes it was to the planetarium to sate John’s curiosity about everything in space. Sometimes it was to a sports hall of fame to satisfy the desire for everything adrenaline for Scott. And sometimes….well….sometimes it was to the natural history museum because that was what Lucille enjoyed most.

So when the young family found themselves together at the Natural History Museum, it was just another family field trip. Lucille flashed the membership pass at the admissions desk and they smiled and waved her along. They were well known and beloved by most of the staff, as the boys were usually well behaved, and everyone that had been around for the “diorama incident” with Virgil and Gordon a few years ago had either left or completely forgiven the young boys.

Alan began to fuss, having not been cooperative for his nap before coming to the museum and Lucille knelt down to try to figure why Alan was upset. John walked over to the map of the museum, regardless of the fact that most of them knew the layout by heart, having spent so many summers in and out of the museum. Scott and Virgil joined him at the map.

“Think they’ve got that new exhibit on flight up?” Scott asked, not wanting to sound too excited. A young man just entering high school couldn’t be seen to be too excited about an educational trip, after all.

“I doubt it,” John said softly as he looked over the map. “They were saying that it was going in sometime late this year. I imagine it will be up in the fall.” Scott frowned, but John didn’t seem to take any notice.

“Well, last time we came we spent a lot of time in the geological area for Alan,” Scott said. The youngest had loved playing with the little rock samples that they had out for the children to touch and had cried loudly when they tried to pull him away.

“There’s always the hall of biome dioramas,” Virgil offered. He’d taken to bringing his sketchbook to practice sketching the dioramas. Every time he came, he improved just a little bit more, though he did notice that security kept their eye on him after the ‘incident’ with Gordon a few years ago.

“But they never change!” Scott protested. “It’s the same old lion jumping on its prey and the same polar bear who is never going to catch the fish.”

“They’re museum exhibits, Scott,” John said. “Sometimes the big dioramas like that don’t change.”

“They’re museum exhibits, John,” he said in the same bored and tired tone. “They’re old and stuffy and full of things that people don’t care about anymore.”

“Some people care about them,” John said. “Their traveling planetarium show was pretty incredible.” Scott rolled his eyes, ruffling John’s hair and earning him an indignant squawk from the red-head. “Hey!”

“You’re such a nerd,” Scott said, nothing but love and affection in his voice. John gave him a glare as he fixed his hair.

“I’m aware,” John said dryly. “Look, you don’t have to stick around and follow me. We can all appreciate different areas. Most of us are old enough to not be tied to someone’s apron strings.”

“What about Gordon?” Virgil asked, looking to the sandy haired blond who was currently making faces at their youngest brother to help him stop fussing. “I want to go to the dioramas and the security people don’t like it when he’s in there.”

“I’m thinking about going to see the bee exhibit,” Scott said. “You know, with the live hive? I don’t think it’s a good idea to put Gordon anywhere near a live beehive.” John rolled his eyes.

“You two are such babies. The diorama incident was a one time thing and I think Gordon has enough sense to know not to go anywhere near where there are live bees,” John said. “Our brother can’t get in that much trouble.” Scott and Virgil exchanged a look and a knowing smile.

“Alright then, John, you watch him for the afternoon,” Virgil said. John opened his mouth to protest, but realized that he had walked himself right into that. He let out a defeated sigh.

“Yeah, ok. I’ve got him,” he said. “Maybe I’ll go take him to see the dinosaurs.” Scott grinned, happy enough to be relieved of babysitting duty. He gave Virgil a high five before they wandered off in the direction of their respective favorite exhibits. John took a deep breath and then made his way over to his mother and little brothers.

“Hey Gordon, you want to go look at some dinosaurs with me?” John asked, smiling and holding out a hand to entreat the young one. Gordon grinned and jumped down off the bench where he was sitting next to his mother, running over and taking big brother’s hand. Lucille offered John a grateful smile which John returned.

With a quick wave back to Lucille, John led Gordon through the crowd of people heading into the various exhibit halls. Gordon raced forward as they approached the wing with the dinosaur displays, tugging John behind him.

“C’mon John! You have to tell me everything about all of them!” Gordon said excitedly. John smiled at Gordon’s eagerness. His curiosity sometimes got the better of him, but John was happy to still see wonder in his younger brother’s eyes. As they entered the exhibit hall, John had to maneuver Gordon around a team of workmen were doing some needed maintenance around one of the dinosaur skeletons.

“Did you know that the word dinosaur comes from Greek meaning ‘terrible lizard?’” John asked. Gordon’s amber eyes went wide and he shook his head.

“But we don’t have to worry about them, right?” Gordon said.

“That’s right,” John said. “They died out a very long time ago.” Gordon grinned, running up to one of the skeletal figures and pointing at it eagerly. “John! John, what’s this one?” John walked up to it and looked at the placard detailing information about the skeleton.

“According to the sign here, this skeleton is a full-scale replica of a niobrarasaurus. It says here that it was an armored dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period with thick plating and a tiny head,” John said. Admittedly, dinosaurs weren’t really his thing, but his younger brothers seemed to think that John had all the answers in his head. Gordon nodded and then turned to look at another skeleton, cutting across the walkway and nearly tripping up a couple who were wandering the museum as well. “Gordon! Careful!”

“Sorry!” Gordon said, his enthusiasm for learning making the couple smile and laugh good-naturedly before they moved on to another exhibit. “This one looks like it’s got a duckbill. What’s this one called?” John moved over and looked at that sign as well.

“Looks like this one is a claosaurus,” John said. “This one is also from the late Cretaceous period.” John looked like he was going to read more from the placard but Gordon had already moved on to another fossil. John let out a sigh.

“Gordon, slow down,” John said. He could see why Virgil and Scott had foisted the responsibility of watching over Gordon onto John. You didn’t actually get to see the museum with him. Gordon paid little heed to his brother’s chiding and continue to bounce from display to display.

“Ooooh! This one has big, sharp teeth!” Gordon said. John nodded.

“Yep. It means that this guy probably ate meat primarily,” he said. Gordon frowned.

“Lizards eat meat?”

“Some of them do,” he said. “But again, you don’t have to worry about lizards this big anymore. They went extinct millions of years ago and most of the lizards that are around today are too small to take a bite out of you.”

“Most?” John ruffled Gordon’s hair, earning a squawk of indignance.

“Don’t worry about it, squiddo,” he said.

They had gone through nearly every display in the exhibit hall when John started to herd Gordon back towards the lobby where they were going to meet the rest of their family to figure out lunch. Gordon skipped forward, rushing forward to take one last look at some of the skeletons before they left. John rolled his eyes and followed more sedately.

“Gordon! Be careful! Wait for me!” John said. Gordon paid little attention, turning around to stick his tongue out at his brother. John gave him a look before his eyes went wide. “Gordon!”

“Wha-OW!” Gordon said as his tiny body connected with the ladder on which the maintenance man was standing. There was a panicked cry as the ladder began to teeter dangerously. “Uh-oh….”

John was frozen in place and time seemed to slow down as the man began to fall. The man’s arms flailed, grabbing for anything that would stop him from plummeting from his previous perch. His hands found purchase on the dinosaur skeleton that he had been working next to.

His arms wrapped around the neck of the dinosaur, the display wobbling dangerously as the man scrambled for purchase. Several of the adults moved to get the ladder to a position where the man could regain his footing. Gordon began to back away slowly, his eyes wide with the situation currently unfolding in front of him. The well-meaning bystanders were able to get the ladder underneath the struggling man, who released the display as he regained his footing.

There was a terrible creak and groan as the display began to shudder and tremble. John felt his body moving in slow motion as he saw the dinosaur skull begin to give way from the display. He tried to move forward, tried to grab Gordon out of the way. Gordon remained rooted to the spot as the giant skull above him opened its gaping mouth wide and began to descend in his direction. He hunched into a ball and there was a great clatter as the whole display came crashing down around Gordon.

John stopped where he was, his heart skipping several beats as security and museum professionals began to make their way to the scene of the accident. John rushed forward, only to be stopped by a security person.

“That’s my brother!” John insisted.

“It’s ok...we’re going to make sure he’s safe…” he said. John looked uncertain. What was he going to tell their mother? How could he look her in the face when she had trusted Gordon to him and he had let this happen. His mind began to spin with all of the terrible thoughts of a child who knew that this would be the end of their parents’ love.

The museum professionals began to move the pieces of the skeleton and there was a soft murmur of relief when inside the mouth of the skeleton, Gordon was hunched into a ball, shaking irrepressibly but miraculously unharmed. They began to move the pieces of the exhibit around and the security guard pulled Gordon from his hiding spot.

“You’re one very lucky little boy,” the security guard said as he scooped Gordon up onto his hip to bring him over to John, whose heart was skipping beats in relief as his little brother was returned safe to him.

Lucille came around the corner and saw Gordon nearing tears in John’s arms. She moved over to them quickly, Virgil following close behind her. Scott stood away from the event with Alan on his hip, though it did nothing to hide the worry on his features. Lucille fussed over Gordon and pulled him into her arms, relieved that he was ok.

Lucille began to pack up the boys as the museum began to apologize profusely to her. She waved off their apologies, wanting to get her boys home where she could hold them and make sure they were truly safe. She pulled Gordon against her side and began to usher him out, John under her other arm. Virgil looked down at his younger brother and he gave him a calming smile.

“You know what I think, Squid?” he asked. Gordon looked at Virgil questioningly, his amber eyes brimming with tears. “I think you just became the coolest kid in school.”

“I did?” Gordon asked with a sniffle. Virgil nodded.

“You betcha,” he said. “I mean, it’s not every kid that can say they survived being bitten by a dinosaur, right?” Virgil asked. Gordon took a moment to consider the question, then a small smile broke out on his features.

“Yeah…I guess you’re right Virgil. I am pretty cool, huh?”

[musical-in-theory]

Caught in the Crossfire

Chapter 5: Setting Up Dominoes (just to watch them fall)

Previous chapter

Tommy walked through the trees in the forest surrounding Pogtopia. He made sure to keep an eye out for stray leaves or twigs like Wilbur had taught him. He used to sneak out pretty often to see Tubbo when they still lived with Phil, and Wilbur had given him tips on how to not get caught. Those lighthearted lessons were coming in handy more and more now. 

The sun filtered through the trees as he made his way to the designated meeting spot. Tommy hoped he wouldn’t be alone when he arrived. He’d left a note for Tubbo the day before on their bench asking to meet up. He didn’t want to think about what it meant if Tubbo either hadn’t gotten it or ignored it.

It was nearly sunset as Tommy approached his bench again. Luckily it was already occupied by the person he’d been wanting to see the most ever since the disastrous election. Tubbo saw him out of the corner of his eye and smiled at him. Tommy sprinted the rest of the way and gave him a quick but tight hug, ignoring the alarm bells ringing in his head. Tubbo was working for Schlatt. Tubbo was meant to kill him. 

Tommy broke the hug off and scoffed, “God you’re so fuckin clingy, big T.” As hard as he tried, he couldn’t completely wipe the grin off his face.

Tubbo laughed and sat back down on the bench, looking at the sunset. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.” He swung his feet back and forth as Tommy took his seat next to him. It felt almost normal, which was a rare feeling these days. They both just wanted to pretend for a little while that they were back to the days before the election, before the L’manburg war, before everything. It was just the two of them together like they always should’ve been.

They wanted to pretend, and so they did. The duo talked about everything and nothing. They ignored the real reason the meeting was called. They didn’t bring up Manburg or Pogtopia or really anything to do with the pressing situation. Tubbo talked about his bees and his house and a funny joke Jack Manifold told him the other day. Tommy listened and laughed and of course made fun of how Tubbo could get excited about pretty much anything.

A few people trickled by, but if any of them saw the pair, they averted their eyes and made note to keep Schlatt and Dream away from the area. They were kids after all. They deserved a bit of time to be just that.

However, all good things must come to an end. Night fell and Tommy sighed. “Hey Tubbo?” Tommy tried to keep a brave face, but his nerves pushed through the facade. 

“It’s time, isn’t it?” Tubbo sighed as well. His shoulders sagged under the pressure that suddenly pervaded the area. “Your note said you had to talk to me about Wilbur’s plan. Does that mean you guys are gonna sneak me out of here?” There was a hopeful lilt at the end of the question. Tommy was both relieved and hurt to hear it.

It meant that Tubbo didn’t really want to stay or work for Schlatt, but on the other hand that was exactly what he was about to ask him to do. “About that… you’ll be on Pogtopia’s side-”

“Pogtopia?”

“Shut the fuck up, Tubbo.” Tubbo laughed. He really had missed this.

“So you’ll be on Pogtopia’s side, but you’ll kinda have to stay in L’manburg,” Tommy continued. When he’d first heard of Wilbur’s idea, he was excited. If Tubbo agreed to it, they’d get to see each other again, and Tubbo would have a cool job. Tommy could give him a bunch of secret missions to pass the time!

Now, though, after seeing the disappointment on his best friend’s face at the idea that he would have to stay at Schlatt’s side, he realized just what being a spy meant. It meant that he’d be in danger of getting caught by the enemy at all times, even more so than either Wilbur or Tommy. It meant lying to everyone around him, even people he might’ve cared about at one point or another.

The question nearly caught in his throat. “Will you be our spy on the inside?” Tommy infused as much of his usual Innit brand of confidence into his voice as possible. As much as he didn’t like asking, this was Wilbur’s plan, and Wil was almost always right about these sorts of things.

Tubbo looked down at his hands in his lap. Tommy could almost physically see the gears turning in his head as he weighed his options. After a minute or two of deliberation, he squared his shoulders with determination lining his face. He nodded swiftly and smirked. “Schlatt won’t know what hit him.”

It was then that Tommy remembered Tubbo’s greatest strength. He was far too often underestimated. For as chaotic and brash as Tommy was, Tubbo was always there by his side more often than not finding ways to make their schemes more effective. Everyone always assumed that Tubbo was merely a sidekick, and Schlatt was no different. That would be his downfall.

They both got up from their bench and nodded at each other before heading their separate ways. Neither said goodbye. Goodbyes made everything seem final, and they knew that this was only the beginning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Techno lifted his arm up to wipe the sweat from his brow. His mask had long been discarded to the side as he finished the final touches on his potato farm. It was nearly as impressive as the one he’d just left, but with a bit of redstone he found at least this one was self-harvesting. All he had left to do was to just make sure it worked correctly and “report back to Tommy.” Neither Tommy nor Techno really cared about the hierarchy of it, but if it put Wilbur even a little at ease then they’d go along with it. 

However, based on the choppy, fast paced whistling echoing through the ravine, Techno couldn’t say for certain that the tension had dropped. Techno dropped his tools and stuck his head through the doorway of the underground farm. Sure enough, Wil was strolling down the stairs. As he got closer, Techno saw how his eyes seemed the slightest bit unfocused and the tell-tale dark spots on his lips from where he’d been biting them. If stress was a person, its name would be Wilbur Soot. 

Techno took a breath and walked through the small opening. Even when he’d been little, he hated conversation. Actions always spoke louder than words in his opinion, so he didn’t understand why saying the right things was so important. Luckily he had a twin by his side that could weave his words with ease. Wil did the talking for him, and when they were alone, reassuring pats on the back or the squeeze of their hands were their language of choice.

Now that the twins were reunited, none of that was anywhere to be seen. Trying to talk to Wilbur had become like drowning in an ocean. Wil had the means to pull him to shore, but he only seemed to watch Techno sink further. He was on his own to either sink or swim, and he knew what to choose.

“Wilbur.” The other’s eyes focused on Techno and lost whatever haziness has been there previously. He could only hope this was a good sign. “I, uh. I finished the farm. Made pretty good time on it.” Techno tried not to let the tension in his body show. Conversation was a battle, and the first thing he did was trip.

Wilbur nodded his head to signal him to lead the way. Techno thought that maybe he’d see a bit of pride show on the usually expressive man’s face, but it was blank. That was one of the strangest things he’d noticed. Wilbur exuded a sort of pride and determination that fueled his own brand of charisma. It was the sort of mannerism that they both shared, something to tell others that they were in fact twins. But now that pride was seemingly gone. 

They both entered the farm area once again. Techno stood back as Wilbur took the time to scan over and judge the work done. He hummed, “Well done, I suppose.” Wilbur looked back at Techno. “Tommy must’ve helped more than I expected. I didn’t actually think you two would be able to get this much done in such a short amount of time.”

Techno coughed, “Tommy didn’t really do much. He’s been off mining cobble for… well that part’s not important.” He pretended not to notice how Wil’s eyes narrowed in suspicion at that last statement.

Fortunately, it seemed Wilbur was willing to let it go for the moment in favor of a different line of questioning. “Wait, if he hasn’t been helping- how long have you been working on this?” There was a hint of surprise in his voice, like he already knew the answer but didn’t really think it to be true.

“Only about 16 hours, give or take,” Techno said bluntly. 

Wilbur blinked at him. “Tech- Technoblade. You got here yesterday.” A small smirk pulled at his lips. “You didn’t sleep at all last night, did you?”

Techno couldn’t help the minute smile that found its way onto his face as well. “Me? Of course not. My sleep schedule is in peak condition.”

“Tell that to the bags under your eyes.”

“Only if you tell yours the same.”

The two both fell into muted laughter, but the echoing in the ravine made it sound just as boisterous as it had been years before. Techno wanted to just stay in this moment. It had been far too long since he’d been able to simply enjoy any of his family’s presence, and here Wilbur was, back to acting like the brother he’d grown up with.

Techno wanted to savor the moment, but too soon it turned sour. Wilbur cut off his laughter abruptly, dawning realization slowly filling his eyes. “I can’t do this.” Wil’s voice sounded clipped and like he was trying to convince himself of something. 

He tried to leave, but Techno followed him out. “Did I just miss something?” Techno was starting to get an idea of what happened. He only wished that for once, he was wrong.

“Stop. I don’t… just get back to work. The farm looks operational. Go operate it.” Wilbur stated without looking back at him. 

“You’re hearing it again, aren’t you?” That got him to turn around. “That’s what suddenly got your attention back there.” It wasn’t a question. Pogtopia was a land of silence. It was a place of water droplets and creaking walkways and the sound of steel against stone, and yet it was quiet with a man trapped inside who couldn’t stand to be mute. It made sense that Wilbur was filling it with sounds only he could hear.

Techno looked from the floor to his twin’s face only to find anger lining it. “I said stop. You have no idea what’s going on. How could you when you haven’t been around for the past 7 years?” Wilbur walked up to him and nearly spat in his face in rage. It was such a turn from the previous mood, Techno almost took a step back in surprise. He held his ground, though. Wilbur had always been able to bounce from one emotion to another so easily.

“You’re wrong anyways. We aren’t brothers. We aren’t family. So we shouldn’t act like it. You forfeited all of that when you walked out of mine and my little brother’s life. I let myself forget for a minute. I can promise it won’t happen again.” Wilbur glared at him.

Techno stared at him for a minute. What once was hearth in Wil’s eyes, welcoming and warming all who came near, was now a blazing wildfire, ready to burn and destroy anything that ventured too close. Techno was too close, but he didn’t dare turn back yet.

“Wil, I left for you. For the both of us! I couldn’t stand seeing you in pain when it got too loud, and I was terrified that one day my voices would make me hurt you! I left to go get answers. I wanted to find a way to get rid of it all. So don’t stand there and pretend like I left for no good reason.” Techno could feel himself start to shout, but he couldn’t stop it. Damnit, he cared. There weren’t too many things he let close enough to care about, but Wilbur, his family, there wasn’t anything they could do to get him to stop caring. And that could be a very dangerous thing.

Shouts ripped from Wilbur’s throat, “Don’t you get it yet? I don’t give a shit about why you left! You left when I needed you most, and of course Phil had to go and follow you! For 7 years I had to take care of Tommy and then Tubbo on my own. I had to live with this fucking curse. On. My. Own. At least it was fucking bearable when you were there with me. Once you were gone, the music got so loud. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. Nothing.” Tears pricked at the corners of Wilbur’s eyes.

His voice dropped to a whisper. “You left me to that misery. And the worst part? I really believed you’d come back for me. I sat by the front door, everyday for a year, looking at the horizon for any sign of you. I genuinely believed that I was worth enough for you to at least visit. But after all this time, you came back just because Tommy asked.” He took a deep breath. “So fine. If you came to us under the premise of supporting the cause, then I will treat you like the soldier you joined as. I’ll only repeat myself once more. Get to work.”

Wilbur turned around and retreated back to his room with the finality of a last nail in a coffin. Techno was left to stare after him. He’d forever deny the tears that ran down his face and landed upon the rough stone beneath his feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second Wilbur knew he was out of view of Techno he collapsed against the wall of his room. The bastard just had to bring up his curse. He hissed through gritted teeth as he brought his hands up to his ears. Wil knew it wouldn’t- couldn't- shut anything out, though. It was coming from inside his own head.

That was the difference between the twins. Everyone knew about the voices Technoblade possessed. He’d even gone as far as to name it, humanize his curse, almost owning it. He made no attempt to hide it. Wilbur, on the other hand, worked hard to keep his own a secret. People simply assumed he was the “normal” twin of the two. 

The truth was… he heard things too. He heard the haunting music constantly, the main source of many of his sleepless nights. Not that he’d ever admit it. Repeating melodies that would go on and on forever, driving him off the deep end if he let them. He’d long since learned how to push it to the back of his mind and take control of his thoughts, much like Techno had. Although they had to learn how on their own. It was a lesson learned only after Techno left on his expedition. 

However, with all the stress of recent events it had gotten much harder to keep the distracting tunes at bay. Just the mention of them a minute ago riled them up so much that Wilbur had a hard time keeping up with the words flying out of his own mouth in a cruel rhythm. He meant everything he said. Every single word. It was just that the music had flooded in, cascaded through his mind, and washed away any filter he might have had. 

He hated Techno. A three word lyric to weave through the ongoing notes. He hated his twin. At least his voices were helpful sometimes. He could reason with them. Wilbur had no choice but to let the music smother him, to shatter him. If Wil was breaking, it wasn’t fair that Techno refused to crack.

Which brought him to where he was now. Merely a pathetic excuse for a leader falling against a wall and unraveling under the maddening crescendo of an unfinished symphony. The history books might later state how the exiled president went mad in the dark shadows of this ravine, but Wilbur knew better. His insanity started far, far earlier. 

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Thanks for reading!! Sorry it took such a long time, but I had so much classwork to do. Hopefully the longer than normal chapter makes up for it haha. Anyway, I hope y’all enjoyed it. Our boys have a long way to go before anything can start to get better, but there’s a certain beauty in the fall. If you have the time, I’d love to know what you think! Reading your comments absolutely makes my day!

Once again a huge thank you to @the-ruler-of-rabbits for being such an amazing and patient beta reader. They’ve been a big help in the creation of this entire fic and I couldn’t do it without them.

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