#i guess technically i managed to chase the cat off before it finished the job but the baby is almost certainly going to die

[songofsaraneth]

i am FUCKING pissed about the feral cat situation yet again

[deadbiwrites]

a video of supergirl grabbing lena luthor's ass starts circulating and it's very embarrassing for sc but extremely funny to their friends

(I am SO sorry. Where do these hide? Why do I never see them? How long has this been here?!

Anyways, have some cute nonsense!)

The day starts like any other, honestly.

Like, sure, Kara’s never thrilled when she wakes up 20 minutes late and has to use superspeed to get through her morning routine and into the office on time, but it happens regularly enough that she’s just sort of used to it by now. Like, the sky is blue, the grass is green, she manages time poorly. Whatever.

But she does get to work on time, with just enough to spare that she can make a brief detour to Nia’s desk for the coffee her protege has already bought for her, thank her profusely (with perhaps minor promising of firstborn children), and slip into the morning meeting just as Snapper, James, and Lena start handing out assignments for the day.

“Well, well, good of you to join us, Ponytail. Let me guess, a family emergency kept you out all night again?”

‘I mean, that Abraxian wasn’t my family, technically, but someone’s family, so…’ “Something like that. Sorry.”

Lena catches her eye and quirks a brow in question, but Kara just shrugs easily and sips her coffee, pulling a silly face at her friend when Snapper’s attention moves away from her. When her eyes uncross, she can tell Lena is fighting not to laugh, eyes sparking with mirth as she bites her lip. Kara takes another sip of coffee, feeling a bit smug that she can get Lena to smile without even having to say anything to her. That’s real talent, right there.

Especially since Lena has to stand up at the front with James, who has been by turns cold, dejected, and surly toward her since their breakup (a big, real, final one) a few weeks prior. Lena had said that the whole thing was a mistake, that she should’ve never gone for it in the first place because she’d been right the first time- they’d had some chemistry, after all, but it certainly wasn’t compatible long-term. 

Which… Kara can certainly relate. Like, a lot.

Especially about the whole… James being kind of wounded about it part. That part had really sucked- when he’d done it with Kara, who he’d gone on like, a date with, it’d resulted in him deciding to become a vigilante. Rao only knows what he’ll do when it’s someone he dated on and off for over a year...

“Ponytail!”

Kara jumps, realizing too late that her wandering attention hasn’t gone unnoticed. “Yes, sir?”

Snapper rolls his eyes. “Great, now that you’ve stopped orbiting Saturn, you wanna go get that article started?”

Kara’s eyes widen slightly in a panic as she realizes that she has no idea what he’s talking about. “Uh…” Behind his back, Lena catches her eye and nods subtly. Thank Rao. “Yes. I super do.”

Lena snorts, James sighs deeply, and the meeting is adjourned.

**

“So what exactly am I supposed to be doing today?” Kara asks Lena as they stroll out of the conference room together.

“Well unfortunately for you, you have to interview a big-time CEO. You have a meeting scheduled with her in three hours.”

“You?” Kara asks hopefully.

“You’re very sweet,” Lena chuckles. “No, Elena Watts. She’s a real estate developer, and she runs a nonprofit organization for homeless youth. It’s one of the articles we’re doing for next month’s spread. Contrary to popular belief, Cat and I weren’t the only women with high-profile jobs in this city. ”

“Oh, that’s pretty cool! Have you met her?”

“Not personally, no, but I have donated to her charity- it’s a very good cause, especially the outreach they do with queer youth.”

Kara elbows Lena gently. “You’re such a softie.”

“Mmm, maybe. But if you tell anyone, you’re fired.”

Kara clutches a hand to her chest, feigning horror. “Why Miss Luthor, what a blatant abuse of power!”

Lena shrugs. “I’m a Luthor, darling, I have to keep up appearances somehow.”

“Ouch,” Kara laughs. “See you at lunch?”

“Only if lunch includes a milkshake- I have a teleconference with both boards today. Unless you feel like joining me?”

“Wow, well as fun as that sounds, I’m gonna go do literally anything else.” Her comms crackle to life, alerting her of a hostage situation downtown, and Kara sighs. So much for a work day. “Alright, well, I’m, um, gonna go… see what I can find on Elena Watts. Maybe over another cup of coffee at Noonan’s.” She widens her eyes a bit, trying her best to convey that she’s going to be on Super-duty for a little while.

Thankfully, Lena picks up on it and grins. “You just want sticky buns.”

“Lena, I always want sticky buns. They’re like, my second favorite thing to eat.”

“Oh? What’s the first?” Lena asks, voice just a bit lower than usual. 

Kara opens her mouth and closes it, flushing slightly as she averts her gaze and adjusts the laptop bag on her shoulder. Stuff like that has been happening more and more, and she’s not 100% sure what to do about it. Because on the one hand, it makes her stomach do flips and tie up in knots and makes her brain do this… staticky thing where nothing filters in or out, just a pleasant buzz of how funny and smart Lena is and how much Kara likes hanging out with her and being flirted with (because that’s definitely what’s been happening, even if neither of them is really ready to address it) and just generally looking at Lena.... who is currently biting her lip and grinning up at Kara, and that buzz makes her kinda dumb, which is just really unhelpful. But on the other hand, it’s also kinda awesome and Kara really enjoys it, and-

“Kara?”

She spaced out again. Crap.

“Um. What time are you free for lunch?”

Lena sighs, seeming slightly disappointed that Kara isn’t flirting back at the moment (and thank Rao Lena can’t read minds), but she smiles back easily enough as they step off of the elevator. “I should be done by two.”

Feeling emboldened, Kara turns so she’s walking backwards in front of Lena and grins. “It’s a date,” she says with a grin, ducking forward to press a quick “friendly” kiss high on Lena’s cheek. She whirls and jogs out the double doors, leaving Lena smiling exasperatedly after her.

**

It is genuinely baffling to Kara that people still commit crimes in National City. It’s not even an ego thing, really, since Kara tries to keep herself humble (even when she manages to wrap up a hostage situation within twenty seconds of arriving on-scene without injuring any of the criminals or damaging the building too badly). Like, yeah, she gets that there’s a certain element of crazies who just sorta gravitate to places with a local hero, the big-bads who have their own suits and geek-toys and abilities. Them, Kara gets. Kinda sorta. But the regular ones, who are armed with like, pistols? Or knives? Just regular man made stuff without even the benefit of magic or kryptonite or something?

Why? 

She’s sure that if she asked, Lena would have some sort of statistical thing about large cities and poverty and all sorts of other factors that would end up making Kara feel like a jerk for being uncharitable to the criminal element of her city, but at the moment she’s mostly too annoyed by the fact that she has to spend her weekdays chasing them around instead of chasing stories.

Once all the hostages are freed and the cops secure the scene, Kara departs, flying into the alley behind Noonan’s and changing into her regular clothes before she heads inside to do a bit of research before her meeting with Elena Watts in a few hours (just because she’d used it as a cover doesn’t mean it was a bad idea…). She finds her favorite little two-person booth tucked into a quiet corner, plugs in her laptop, and gets to work, asking the waitress to please keep both the coffee and the sticky buns coming.

She gets a surprising amount done by the time she needs to leave for the interview, having a good foundation for what she wants to write and who Elena Watts is.

Ms. Watts turns out to be a pretty nice lady around Eliza’s age, if a bit busy and distracted by the steady flow of people in and out of her office. She answers all Kara’s questions with aplomb, happy to elaborate on most every point and eager to draw attention to the rising issue of homelessness among children and teens in the US.

“When I was young, my dad lost his job at the auto plant. It was supposed to be a temporary layoff, but the factory never reopened. We ended up losing the house, and we lived so far from our extended family that staying with them wasn’t much of an option. We lived in our SUV for six months, sleeping at shelters every now and again, if we could find one that allowed families to stay together. We showered at the local YMCA. Five people and a dog, living and sleeping in an old station wagon- even now, it sounds ridiculous. Eventually, we got back on our feet, but I never forgot that. It was just six months, but it was- and remains- the scariest, most uncertain time in my entire life, and it shaped me in a lot of ways I didn’t expect. And there are kids and families who do that for years. I just want to help them the way I wish that someone had been able to help us.”

At the end of the interview, Kara thanks her profusely for her time and for sharing her story before hurrying off to CatCo to type up a draft for Snapper (“What’s wrong with you, Ponytail, why is everything you bring me sappy and sentimental?”), which she finishes an outline of just in time to send it off before running to Big Belly and L-Corp for lunch with Lena.

She greets the newest in a series of secretaries (Anna? Amy? Ava? Lena’s really missing Jess, these days, but from what she’s told Kara, Jess is kicking butt in her new role as VP of Operations and will probably take over for the COO when he retires in a few years), and the girl waves her in distractedly.

And that’s when Kara’s day goes from normal to not, because inside the office are two masked men holding a stone-faced Lena at gunpoint on her balcony and demanding… something, probably. Kara’s a bit distracted by the loaded gun aimed at Lena’s head.

“Hey!” she yells, attracting both their attention. They whirl on her and Lena’s eyes widen in alarm, and Kara suddenly realizes three things- 1) she’s in her Kara Danvers clothes, not the supersuit, 2) she can’t speed into the suit now that they’re both looking at her, and 3) she has no plan.

Crap.

“Who the hell are you?!” one of them demands.

Kara… doesn’t have a good or snappy answer for that, and instead does the only thing she can think of- she throws the large milkshakes she’s carrying at them as hard as she can.

Which, in retrospect, is too hard, apparently because while yes, it is both funny and gratifying to see two grown men get absolutely leveled by a tasty dairy treat to the face, the one closest to Lena manages to elbow her in such a way that she falls backwards over the rail with an instinctual scream that makes Kara’s heart fly into her throat. She whips off her glasses, and by the time she’s out the window and speeding toward Lena’s flailing form, the suit is materialized. She gets under Lena, catching her carefully and dropping a bit further before slowing down (because she’s been made aware that when she doesn’t, the people she’s saving may as well be hitting the pavement), finally coasting to a stop about 20 feet from the ground.

Lena’s face is screwed up in a forced sort of focus, her hands clutching tightly at Kara’s shoulders and cape as she holds her breath.

“Are you okay?” Kara asks quietly.

Lena swallows thickly and nods, eyes still firmly closed. “I’m alright. Thank you- I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure how to get out of that one.”

“What was that? What did they want?”

Lena cracks an eye open. “Oh. you know, just my quarterly assassination attempt. I think my mother was starting to miss me, so she wanted to reach out.”

Kara snorts. “That really shouldn’t be funny.”

“Maybe not, but here we are.” Lena shifts a bit in Kara’s arms, cheeks a bit flushed from the adrenaline rush, and clears her throat. “Not to be rude, Supergirl, but do you think that perhaps we could continue this conversation… on the ground?”

“Oh. Oh! Yeah, sorry. I forgot we were, uh, flying.”

Lena chuckles as they ascend slowly back up to her office. “You forgot you were flying?”

Kara shrugs with an easy smile. “I guess you have that effect on me.”

Lena huffs a laugh against Kara’s neck, eyes squeezed shut again. They alight on the balcony, finding the two men still unconscious, covered in Kara and Lena’s lunch. Lena sighs as Kara sets her down, pinching the bridge of her nose. “What a mess.”

“Yeah, sorry, I sorta… panicked.”  

“I was so looking forward to a milkshake too…” Lena laments playfully.

“Well, then I have good news and bad news,” Kara says. She reaches out and gently wipes a bit of her own chocolate shake from Lena’s cheek with the pad of her thumb, tucking it into her mouth on instinct to get a taste of it. “The good news is, you do, in fact, have some shake on you!”

“Whats the bad news?” 

“Also that you have some shake on you.” Kara laughs, gathering the two men in her arms and hefting them a bit so they’re easier to carry. “I’ll get you another one. Be right back.”

She drops the men at the police station with a brief explanation before flying back into the office. Lena hands over her discarded glasses with a wry grin.

“I figured you’d need these before the police arrive.” She’s putting on a brave front, but she’s clearly still more than a bit rattled, if her too-bright eyes and thundering heartbeat are anything to go by. Kara steps closer and opens her arms in invitation, and Lena doesn’t hesitate to step into them. “Thank you,” Lena says fervently, tucking her face into Kara’s shoulder and wrapping her arms tight around Kara’s waist. 

“Always,” Kara promises, daring to press a reassuring kiss to Lena’s temple (and getting a bit of Lena’s strawberry shake for her troubles) before wrapping her up even tighter in her arms. “Are you actually okay?”

“I mean, my fear of heights has been reaffirmed,” Lena jokes, ��but aside from that, I’m not hurt.”

“Good. I don’t like, love people pointing guns at you. Just so you know.”

“I’m not a fan either, for the record,” Lena drawls, burrowing even closer. “Even though I know you’ll save me, it still puts a damper on my day.”

Kara huffs a laugh. “Same.”

They stay like that for a few minutes, until Lena’s calmed down enough to stop shaking and calls her assistant (Audra, apparently) in, telling her what’d happened and that the police would be arriving shortly to take her and Kara’s statements, and please advise the security team to let them up discreetly. After the cops arrive, it’s a blur of questions, and Kara has to concentrate on telling the story of how she’d panicked and thrown the milkshakes at the men, and one of them had knocked Lena over the balcony (all true), and Kara had yelled for Supergirl, who had knocked the men out on her way to Lena (also technically mostly true. Technically. Mostly.). The police are sure to tell Kara that next time, she shouldn’t throw things at people with guns, and also to tell them both how lucky they are that Supergirl had shown up when she did.

“She’s always there when I need her,” Lena agrees, throwing a sly wink over the officer’s shoulder at Kara.

Kara just shakes her head and smiles. Even almost dying isn’t enough to make Lena not flirt with her. The woman is truly a marvel.

Kara’s comms crackle again, accompanied by Alex’s custom ringtone on her cell, and after assuring the police that she has no issue with giving another statement if they need her to later, hurries over to the DEO (making a quick stop in the back alley to change into her suit).

**

When Kara arrives, she’s told that J’onn and Alex are waiting for her in the Directors’ offices. She makes her way there, waving to the agents and scientists she knows. But it’s very weird, because every time one of them sees her, they start giggling before quickly hurrying off in the opposite direction. Like, literally everyone is whispering and pointing and giggling, and it’s giving Kara such visceral flashbacks to high school that it’s all she can do to not check her cape for a taped on sign that says ‘Kick me’ or ‘Freak’.

(Kids are mean.)

By the time Kara gets to her destination, she’s fully paranoid, sure that someone’s playing a prank on her, somehow, and that everyone but her is in on the joke. She opens the door with more force than intended and catches it just before the handle puts a hole in the wall, throwing Alex and J’onn a sheepish smile. She closes the door extra gently and leans against it heavily. J’onn and Alex just stare at her, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“Busy day, Supergirl?” Alex asks, and after half a lifetime of spending time with her, Kara recognizes that she, too, is trying not to laugh. 

Kara’s had enough. “Okay, do I have something on my face? Or on the suit? Is someone messing with me?”

J’onn’s brow furrows. “No.”

“Then what’s the deal? Why is the entire DEO like… laughing at me? Did someone accidentally vent the lab fumes out into the main hub again?”

“No.”

“Did someone see me crash into that billboard last week?”

J’onn’s frown deepens. “What?”

“No,” Alex answers.

“Then why is everyone laughing at me?!”

“I mean, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because of that,” Alex muses, nodding toward the big TV on the wall beside Kara.

She steps back to watch the news coverage of her dealing with the hostage situation this morning and frowns. “What, those guys? That was routine, what’s so funny about tha-”

“No, no, not that. That,” Alex clarifies, cranking up the volume.

“...reports are saying that the CEO of L-Corp, Lena Luthor, experienced an attempt on her life early this afternoon. Sources claim that she fell from a considerable height-”

“Hey, she was pushed,” Kara corrects.

“Shh!”

“...caught by Supergirl, who may have gotten a little… familiar with her.”

And there’s a video (clearly recorded on a cell phone but not the worst quality Kara’s ever seen) of Kara catching Lena and slowing to a stop above the sidewalk, of them talking quietly, of Kara’s hand definitely on Lena’s-

“Oh. Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Alex drawls, clicking the TV off with relish, a large, evil-big-sister grin spreading across her face. “Congratulations, Supergirl- the world just watched you grope Lena Luthor’s ass.”

“But I’m not- I wasn’t groping, I was catching! My hands weren’t… If it was groping, I’d be all up on her, and I wasn’t!”

“Camera begs to differ. It’s already trending on Twitter in National CIty.”

Kara puts her head in her hands and groans. “Why?! I was trying to save her!”

“You were definitely trying to save part of her,” Alex agrees. “Granted, it’s a very nice part...”

Kara’s head pops up, and she shoots Alex a look that’s between a pout and a glare. “You’re not helping.”

Alex feigns confusion. “Am I supposed to be helping?”

“Alright, enough,” J’onn cuts in before Kara can retort. “We just wanted you to be aware. I don’t think that this is going to be taken for anything more than it is- a humorous moment in the middle of a successful rescue. You shouldn’t worry about the press.”

And truth be told, Kara isn't worried about the press- she’s worried about the fact that she’s going to have to face Lena after this. Lena, who she knows for a fact has google alerts set for herself, Kara Danvers, and Supergirl, a gesture which is normally actually sweet and kind but is right now definitely gonna bite her in the-

“Okay! So, is that all?”

Alex blinks, looks over at J’onn, and shrugs. “I mean, yeah. Try not to make a habit of groping your crush when you’re in the suit.”

“I wasn’t groping her-”

Alex grins. “So you admit you have a crush? Interesting…”

“Alex!”

**

J’onn’s prediction is mostly right- no one seems to be taking the shots of her grabbi- saving Lena as anything other than a funny blip of a moment in their coverage of it.

He was wrong about the sheer scale. The clip had gone totally viral in a matter of hours, and seemingly every major network in the country has run the clip at least once as a bit of filler-fluff, and almost every major network anchor (including the ones at CatCo, the traitors) has made at least a passing joke about Supergirl being ‘Super-Handsy'.

Which means that Kara is very late getting back to Lena’s office with replacement food. But like, she’s been busy, okay? It’s not like she’s avoiding Lena, or something, because she’s embarrassed- which she isn’t, because she didn’t do anything bad or wrong and-

Anyways, it’s well past sunset by the time Kara gets to Lena’s office door again. She hesitates outside it for just a moment before shouldering the door open and knocking tentatively.

Lena’s attention jerks from whatever she’d been absorbed in to Kara, and a relieved smile blooms across her face. “Hey there.”

Kara finds herself equally relieved to not experience a repeat performance of earlier scary situations. “Hi,” Kara says, unable to resist smiling back. She raises the bags and cup carrier. “I bring grease and milkshakes. Again.”

“Oh thank god, I’m starving,” Lena says, rolling her chair away from her desk and rising into a deep and probably much-needed stretch. Kara very determinedly does not stare at the slight sliver of soft tummy that appears between her blouse and skirt at the motion. “I’ve been staring at this screen for several hours. And Sam called to yell at me- she says hello, by the way- she and Ruby are in town next weekend.”

“Good!” Kara crosses the room to the couch as Lena does, easily spreading out the veritable buffet of fast food she’d brought over the coffee table. “I mean, not good that she yelled at you, or that you’re still at work, Miss Luthor,” she says pointedly, receiving only an unapologetic shrug in response. “But good that, um-”

“I get it,” Lena chuckles, resting a hand lightly on Kara’s knee and boy, if that doesn’t make Kara’s brain go fuzzy and dumb again… “Thank you, for checking in.”

“Of course I was gonna check on you, Lena,” Kara huffs. “Plus, I know you probably didn’t get lunch, so…”

Lena hums around a mouthful of burger, chewing until she can politely speak again. “Well it’s delicious. Did you make it yourself?” she teases with a sly grin.

“Oh, yeah, totally. Slaved away over a hot stove for this- I just wrapped it in Big Belly wrappers so you wouldn’t feel bad about it.”

“Very clever.” Lena pops the lid off of her milkshake and drags a fry through it (an advanced culinary delicacy Kara had horrified her with initially but had eventually become a bit of a guilty pleasure). “Although I have to say, traditionally you’d have to buy me dinner before you grabbed my ass.”

Kara chokes on a pickle. “Oh no,” she groans, dropping the burger onto the wrapper on the table and dropping her very red face into her hands as Lena laughs beside her. She peers out from between her fingers. “I am so sorry, I was just worried about you hitting the pavement and like, catching you in the least jarring way and I wasn’t paying attention to where my hands were and I didn’t even notice until I got back to the DEO and-”

“Well I have so say, I feel a bit offended that you didn’t even realize you were copping a feel...” When the only response is another groan and a deep flush spreading from Kara’s neck to the tips of her ears, Lena relents. “Kara, Kara, it’s fine!” she laughs, pulling Kara’s hands away from her face and giving them a grounding squeeze. “Nia’s been sending me memes about it all day, which has improved my mood significantly. On the grand scale of fallout from assassination attempts, this one was at least funny.”

“I know that’s supposed to be comforting, but all it makes me wanna do is wrap you in bubble wrap forever,” Kara informs her.

“Pass on that. But seriously, don’t worry about it- I know it wasn’t on purpose- unfortunately for me, you’re too noble to do something like that,” Lena laments playfully.

And whether it’s the knowledge that Lena is not, in fact, upset, the overall weirdness that has been this day, or this delicious burger fueling it, Kara feels a bit emboldened. “Hey Lena…”

“Yes?”

“What if I wanted to grab your butt? Just, y’know, as a hypothetical. For future reference.”

Lena quirks a brow at her, fighting a smile as she contemplates this. “Hmm. Strictly hypothetically?”

Kara scoots a bit closer on the couch. “Sure.”

 “Well, you’ve already bought me dinner…”

“And lunch, technically. Even if I gave it to the bad guys.”

“True. Plus you saved my life, so that gets you some points, probably.”

Kara pauses in her sly scooching. “Oh, hey, wait, no, that’s not-” 

“Kidding, Kara. I know you’d never use that to your advantage. I, however, have determined that strong moral fibre and nobility do, in fact, earn you more points, which is my choice on the matter and you get absolutely no say in it.”

“Oh. Um, alright, I think.”

Lena stares off into the middle distance, tapping her forefinger thoughtfully against her chin. Finally she shrugs. “Yes, I think you’re fulfilled the prerequisites for a bit of grab-ass today.”

Kara snorts, Lena laughs, and soon enough Kara takes her up on the offer.

**

“Hey Kara, remember that time you grabbed Lena’s ass and it made international news?” Nia asks around a mouthful of mushu pork.

“You mean last week? Yes, I remember,” Kara drawls. Beside her/halfway sitting on her lap, Lena snorts.

“That was the best.”

Alex glares. “Um, excuse you, no. No it was not. I had to sift through so much thirsting over my sister on like, every social media platform. It was the worst day of my life.”

Brainy’s brow furrows. “Surely that cannot be correct, Alex. Statistically speaking-”

Alex holds up a hand, cutting him off. “Trauma can’t be measured, Brainy.”

Kelly chuckles and presses a consoling kiss to Alex’s cheek, and it makes the tough agent melt into a doe-eyed puddle of mush that Kara snorts. And she says they’re gross... Kara sneaks a glance at Lena from the corner of her eye, and she catches Lena looking at her. She leans close and jostles her gently as she drops her head onto Lena’ shoulder. “We’re never gonna live that down, are we?”

“Probably not.”

“We have the worst friends.” When this elicits nothing but a chuckle, Kara tips her head back to see Lena still looking at her, a soft smile playing at her mouth and shining in her eyes. And like, this whole thing they’re doing is new, with the kissing and the actual dates and the... everything else. But the thing where Kara catches Lena looking at her and she doesn’t look away? That freakin’ knocks her out, every single time. “Hey,” she manages.

Lena grins down at her. “Hi.”

So yeah. Maybe the initial circumstances weren’t ideal, and she doesn’t love the mockery that’s been heaped upon her by all of her friends and loved ones (including Winn, who’d sent a missive from the future that literally just said ‘LOL’). But the fact is, Kara muses as she surges up just enough to kiss the corner of Lena’s mouth, that she doesn’t regret a thing.

[maximum118]

Sitcom

Yang: Oh something that isn’t RTS. Wait am I here alone?

Yin: nope. 

Yang: Oh it’s my twin

Yin: You should stop fucking a psychopath. 

Yang: BITCH YOUR GIRL IS A PSYCHOPATH

Yin: At least we’re in a healthy relationship

Yang: Points at him* You sir have a good point.

Yin: smiles* I know I do. 

Yang: Fucker.

Yin: I only fuck Zen-OH SHIT! *Runs*

Kouten: COME ‘ERE PRETTY BOIIIIIII *Chases Yin*

Yang: . . .What in the world did I see?

Episode 3- Karens and obession pt 1.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4

              A few weeks after, the siblings moved into the penthouse together. They all finally had a week off. So, Haruki asked if they could go to the mall, and all the emo chickens couldn't resist, so they all decided to go. Sai goes with Haruki, Kouten goes on his own, Zen, Hato, and Satori go together, then Riku and Heisu go together. Let's check on them, shall we? 

           ~Saisho~

           Sai waits outside a game stop as Haruki tries to find a new game for his switch. While waiting outside, Sai hears his phone ring, "My anaconda don't, My anaconda don't, My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hun" (Mal if you ever see this, I am so sorry.) Sai blushes and picks up quickly.

           "yes, Kaoru?" asks Sai trying to regain his posture. 

            "Hey, You're in the mall, right?" asks Kaoru. 

           Sai arches his eyebrow "Yea? What about it?" Sai asks. Hands cover his eyes. "Guess who?" asks a voice.

           Sai chuckles and hangs up. "Hmm, is it my sufficient other? Or a fan?" asks Sai jokingly. 

           The hands move from his eyes, and Sai looks to see a tanned green-haired person. Sai kisses their cheek. "I see that you're in your male form today, Kaoru." Says Sai. 

           Kaoru smiles. "Yea, I wanted to be a guy today. Besides, I wasn't expecting you to be here." They say. 

           Sai smiles. "Heh, Haruki is too cute for his own good. We all got talked into going the mall." 

           "How's sibling life anyways?" 

           "I didn't expect two pyromaniacs, a spunky child, a good boy, an innocent child, and two anxiety-filled kids."

           "…How are you alive..."

           "I have no idea." 

           "Let's go sit down. Haruki is going to take forever," says Sai as he holds Kaoru's hand, leading them to a bench. After the two talked for a bit, Sai kisses them. Kaoru blushes and looks away. "We're in public, Sai!" they say. 

           A woman walks up to the couple. . Kaoru arches an eyebrow. "Do you need anything??" asks Kaoru. 

           "You are exposing my little boy to homosexuality. Guys shouldn't be with guys. Girls shouldn't be with girls. God didn't make us be like this." 

           Sai blinks at her, Kaoru stares at her. "B-But I'm both genders." Says Kaoru looking down not enjoying the attention they were getting.

           The woman gasps. "Are you forcing this poor man to be with you?!" she asks, shocked. 

           Kaoru shakes their head. "N-No. He's 100% consented to it." They say. The woman looks at Sai. "Is this man forcing you to be with him?!" she asks. 

           Kaoru hears glass break, and they look at Sai, who has a shadow over his eyes "Sai don't…" Kaoru says. 

           Sai stands up. "First off, my sufficient other goes by they/them/their pronouns. NOT he/him or she/her. Second off, I am with them, and I AM with them willingly. Third off, I am pansexual.” Says Sai rather aggressively. 

           "You…assaulted me! Security!" she says, the person looks at her. 

           The woman glares. "Pansexuality isn't a thing!" she argues, then she glances at Kaoru. "Neither is switching genders!" she adds. Kaoru looks down, growling. Sai takes deep breaths.

A tail with multiple hearts (Yellow, dark purple, and green) wraps around her leg and trips her. A blonde with green and purple streaks in a long braid was sitting next to the couple with a crop top with a white heart, a short grey leather jacket, skinny black jeans, and 5in high-heeled boots. The woman looks at the person. 

           "Oh, sorry, Hun. I didn't see you there. The tail acts on its own sometimes." Says the person cheerfully. 

           "NO, IT DIDN'T!" shouts the woman. The person smiles and leans down to her ear "Hun. You shouldn't have said pansexuality isn't a thing, nor is switching genders…" The person's smile disappears. Their pupils become like cat's when light hits their pupils. "I'll remind you, this is a world of quirks. I suggest you leave or somethings you shouldn't harass." Says the person darkly. 

           At that moment, a kid came running crying to the fallen woman. The person gets up and moves out of the way. The woman and the kid ran off shortly after that. Sai and Kaoru look at the person. 

           "thank you…er…" says Kaoru. The person turns to them and smiles. "Mochizuki. Mochizuki Tsukiya." They say, "Oh, and anything for a fellow gender switcher and pansexual." They add on.

           "You can switch bodies too?" asks Kaoru as they go up to Tsukiya. 

           Tsukiya nods. "Yup. Concubus is my quirk. Depending on my partner's sex preference, top or bottom, male or female, etc." they explain.

           Sai looks at Tsukiya. "Thank you. Can we pay you back?" asks Sai. Tsukiya thinks for a bit looks at the couple "…Names and numbers?" they ask.

           Sai smiles. "Saisho and Kaoru. A pleasure to meet you." Says Sai. Kaoru begins to write their number and Sai's number down on a piece of paper. Handing them the paper. 

           "Call us when you can," says Kaoru as Tsukiya's smile shifts into a smirk. "Oh, I will~ See you hotties around~," they say, leaving. 

           Sai looks at Kaoru. "Poly?"

           "Poly. Also, is my ringtone on your phone, Anaconda?" asks Kaoru, eyebrow arched. 

           Sai blushes and sees Haruki. "HEEEEEYYY HARUKI!!" he shouts. 

           Haruki skips over. "Hello!~ whose that?" he asks. 

           "This is my lover. Kaoru. Kaoru meet Haruki…" introduces Sai.

           Kaoru smiles. "Nice to meet-HEY DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT SAI!" they shout, looking to Sai, whistling, looking anywhere but at Kaoru.

           He, Kaoru, and Haruki walk from the game stop to the next shop talking. 

           ~Kouten~ 

           Kouten waits impatiently for his coffee. If he stands here for a while, reporters will notice him quite quickly. He pulls his phone out, reading something when he sees a familiar glow next to him.

           Turning, Kouten notices Inoue Eita. The lavender-eyed, ginger-haired, lantern-tailed male from the café a few weeks back. A smile comes across his face. "You look familiar." He says. 

           Eita looks up and notices Kouten "oh, you're the guy from the café…Todoroki Kouten, right?" 

            "Yup. That's me. The one and only at your service ginger." Says Kouten.

           Eita chuckles. "That's a creative one, redhead." He says. 

           "Heh, thank you. So why are you here at the mall today?" 

           "Spending some cash and relaxing from work." 

           "What do you do?" 

           "Well… it's technically two jobs. One for money and the other is a hobby…" 

           "Which are?'

           " I'm a journalist and occasionally an astrologer. The hobby is fortune teller…people tend to trust me more…" 

           Kouten pales but stays calm. He might be here to interview me. No matter how cute he is, He can't come ne- Oh damn, he has cake. Kouten glances at Eita’s ass and mentally slaps himself Kouten no. do not get distracted. He thinks. He looks at the lightly tanned male.

           "Really? That's interesting. Why do people trust you more than normal?" asks Kouten.

           "Well… I'm a Japanese Romani or what's usually called gypsy…through it's offensive to call Romani that…" 

           "Cool…that explains the tanned skin and the red slash and headband. No wonder your cute." 

           Eita blushes, and the lantern goes bright for a second "Huh?" 

           Kouten realizes, "HUH? What? Sorry, what did I say?" he says. 

           Two drinks are slid next to the "Large Coffee for Todoroki. Large chai tea for Inoue!" says the person. 

           Kouten grabs the coffee. "Huh, they actually said the name this time." He says. Eita holds the chai tea. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Todoroki…"

           Kouten looks at him. "Er…I don't have anywhere to be…Want to hang out until my siblings finish?" he asks. 

           Eita takes a sip from his tea and blushes. "S-sure…" he shutters out.

           Kouten walks to a table as Eita follows. The two sit. Eita looks at Kouten. "What do you do for a living?"

           "Executive Editor is one. The other is modeling. Make a few television appearances here and there." Answers Kouten as he sips from his coffee. 

           "Oh, wow, you must be well known then…" says Eita as he looks to the side. 

           "Eh. Being the former no.2 hero's kid is a big impact too, you know?" 

           Eita almost chokes on his tea. "Huh. What? Like Hawks? Hawks. Is your parent?" 

           "er, yea…why?" 

           Holy Shit…Hotaru wasn't lying. This man is a celebrity…I should back off before rival reporters invade my personal space…thinks Eita as he looks to the side. 

           "Oh… That's…amazing…" says Eita sufficiently quieter.

           Kouten notices and places his coffee down "what's wrong?"

           Eita looks at him. "Why would you want to talk to me?"

           "I have my reasons, Inoue. You sat with me. Plus, you interest me." 

           Eita's tail glows with Eita's initial shock "interest you? I don't want reporters in my face." 

            "I mean, I want to hang out with you more, Inoue. If any reporters came, I would simply say that you're a client for my manager, a fellow editor, or I can simply drag you off. Then they'll possibly leave you alone." 

           "Possibly?!" 

           Kouten stands up. "Yup. Now come on, there could be undercover reporters around." He says and throws his coffee cup away. Eita follows him. "Where are we going?" asks Eita.

           "I heard there was a dog place around here. Where you can play with puppies, I want to possibly adopt one or two." 

           "That's a, you thing…Why do I have to join you?" asks Eita throwing his tea away. 

           "It's awkward to go alone. You don't look busy either." 

           Eita sweatdrops. "Am I your lacky now? I don't want to see dogs." 

           Kouten smiles, then drag him into a store with many cribs with plastic walls inside with at least three different breeds of dogs. "Want to rethink that, Inoue?" he asks. 

           "…Oh my god their so cute." Says Eita as he looks into a crib where three puppies roughhouse. 

           "Rethought it? Adorable, aren't they?" asks Kouten. 

           Eita smiles. "Very…" he looks at a puppy moving away from the roughhousing of the other two. A worker comes over. "Hello. Do you want to play with a puppy?" she asks. 

           "Oh…we don't-"

           Kouten points to the puppy moved from the roughhousing "Can we check that one out?".

           The worker picks the puppy up and begins to lead the duo to one of the pens. 

           "…Why did you do that?" Asks Eita looking at Kouten. 

           "You looked like you wanted to play with it." 

           Eita looks down. "Was it that obvious?" 

           The lady lets them in and puts the puppy in a pen. The puppy runs up to the both of them. The worker smiles "She's a Papillon puppy. Very energetic. You two enjoy playing with her!" says the worker leaves.

           Eita looks down at the puppy and picks her up. The puppy begins licking Eita's face evoking giggles. "Awww, stop it! That tickles!"

           "Can I hold her now?" asks Kouten. Eita hands her over to him. The puppy yips and licks Kouten's Face. 

           The duo was having a good time when a woman stomps into the store. The woman walks up to the pen where the pair was. 

           "Uh, excuse me, that dog is mine." She says. 

           Eita looks at her. "But she's in the store??" he asks. 

           "Duh. Because I want it." Says the woman.

           Kouten hands the puppy to Eita. "Well, too bad I'm adopting her." Says Kouten.

           The woman looks at him and Eita, then she gasps, "Eee! Your Todoroki Kouten! Why are you hanging with a nobody slut?" Asks the woman. 

           Eita winces at that, petting the puppy; looking down, he hands the puppy to Kouten. "Here, Todoroki…" he gives the puppy to Kouten. He then proceeds to leave the pen. 

           "Hey! Inoue! Where are you going?" asks Kouten.

           Eita goes to the front desk and fills the paperwork up. Then proceeds to "accidentally" whack the woman with his lantern tail. "home." Answers Eita leaving the store. 

           The woman rubs the back of her head. "Ack! Slut! Anyways~ Are you seeing Anyone?~" she says. 

           Kouten glares at her "Bitch please, you look like a stripper. No way in hell would I go out with you." He says, glaring at her, "The one I currently wanted to know better is gone because of you." He adds, compressing the urge to kill her.

           The woman gasps, "you're a homosexual?!" She says then she pretends to puke. 

           Kouten glares at her. "I'm bisexual." He says. He then leaves the pen and gives the puppy to a worker. "W-Wait, sir!" Says the woman. 

           Kouten leaves the store and looks for the tan ginger. Who seemingly disappeared, the worker runs up to him with the puppy. 

           "Thought you put her back?" asks Kouten, confused.

           The worker smiles. "Why would I? Your friend adopted her for you. Paid and everything." Explains the worker. 

           "How…? My information is with me." 

           The worker shows the paperwork and his information. "Guess he stole your information when he left." She says. 

           Kouten takes his information back and his newly adopted puppy. Kouten smiles softly. "Guess I'll have to get some things and give you name," he says. 

           Waving farewell to the store, Kouten makes his way to a pet supplies store. The puppy in a kennel was given to him. 

           Meanwhile~ 

           Eita walks over to Hotaru, sipping tea. Hotaru arches an eyebrow. "The fuck you been?" he asks. 

           "I was dragged to a dog store," answers Eita as he sits next to him. 

           Hotaru laughs "really?" He asks.

           Eita doesn't respond and notices pale blonde hair and teal eyes, blonde hair and red wings, white hair and wings walking into a store.

            "Isn't that your…fuck buddy?" asks Eita. Hotaru smiles. "Ah. Hato? He can do what he wants for now. I have another fuck toy." 

           Eita glares at him, disappointed look "You can't just throw people away like toys." Says Eita disappointed. 

           Hotaru glares at him "that's rich coming from a guy who ditched his birth name." he says. Eita freezes. "I thought we wouldn't talk about this…" 

           "Well, we are now, aren't we bitch." Says Hotaru.

           Eita stands up. "I'm leaving." He says, "I will tell cops that you're the one killing people…" 

           "H-Hiroshi! K-Kouten! I-I won't tell! I promise! Please just…come back…" Says Eita. Hotaru pats his shoulder, and the darkness goes away. Eita immediately looks at his tail then looks up to Hotaru with tears in his lavender eyes. 

           Hotaru walks behind Eita, touching his shoulder. His smile widens. "You forget Eita. Unlike a good amount of people I torment, I know your fear." He says, snapping his fingers. The two were enclosed in a dark area the same size as where they are, creating the illusion that no one was there.

         Eita's eyes shrunk. He quickly moves his tail to his chest. His tail, though, isn't giving off the glow and dims. Then it goes out completely. Eita began hyperventilating, falling onto his knees, tears running rapidly down his cheeks. Please no! I-I don't want to die!!! Please! Give me a light source! Now! I want to be alive! I-I don't want to be alone! He thinks

           People look at the duo, and Hotaru smiles, helping Eita up. People go back to what they're doing. Leading Eita out of the mall, Hotaru thinks back to what name came out of his adoptive elder brother's mouth.

           "…K-Kouten!" Hotaru growls Why do these…chickens…keep getting into my family and business? First, Hato… a pretty little thing. Nice Lil fuck toy too. Then that blue-winged one…Librarian if I remember correctly. Insecure but didn't want me anywhere near Hato along with his boyfriend. Don't get me started on the pale blonde chick. She's crazy same with her boyfriend….

           Once outside the mall and into the car, now…this! Eita is befriending the what 2nd oldest? No. I won't…allow it.  I CAN'T ALLOW IT. I… won't lose Anyone…not again. Thinks Hotaru looking to Eita whose curled up in a ball.

           Hotaru rests his head on the wheel. I can't lose to these…these…emochickens! He looks up, changing his purple eyes to slits I WON'T ALLOW IT. If I fucking have to… I'll kill them…

They 

Won't 

Win

Saisho/Sai belongs to  @ulti-mal

Kouten belongs to @hairuko

Hato belongs to @juniperarts

Satori belongs to @fioresacros

Haruki belongs to @/_falyy on twitter

Riku & Hotaru to @diizaren

[prettykissesuglylies]

Fair warning. This is a mess and I didn’t edit it. Enjoy.

—-

You didn’t get the strangers name, but Captain America might not have been your first guess when you took an attractive man back to your rented for the semester apartment. He had a frankly ridiculous haircut and a cheesy line about missing American accents while abroad, but he was obscurely fit and didn’t give off any creepy vibes, so you took him home with you on a Monday night after a none too subtle remark about eating you out.

It was a really great decision, as it turned out.

Except for the part where he was a national fugitive, but he had a beard and a bad haircut, so no one would notice, probably. If they did death would be a small price to pay for the amazing (three) orgasms he gave you. And you didn’t even have to tell him not to choke you.

Laying in bed next to Captain America while on your semester abroad was probably one of the best moments in your life that you’d never be able to tell anyone about.

“So I figured it out.” You finally said when your breath returns to a steady pace and you’re still wallowing in the afterglow. “It kind of sucks that I’m never going to get to brag about this, but I guess that’s how it goes.” You turned onto your side when you felt him tensing up beside you. You sigh and run a soft hand over his abs, both to calm him and to be gluttonous. “I’m not going to say anything. We’ve all got our secrets.”

“I shouldn’t have done this.” He starts to get up but you grab him by the cock and he hisses, staying still.

“Way to ruin the afterglow honey. Stay a minute. I’m not going to be any more unsafe to you if you let yourself relax a while longer.”

“You don’t understand, it’s not safe for you, it was selfish and-“

“And I probably made you homesick.”

He looks at you from where he’s half sitting up and half laying back, your hand still has a firm grasp on his cock. His eyes are sad you take pity on him, letting go and sitting up to kiss him on the lips.

“Be a gentleman and make me breakfast in the morning before you go.”

He watches you even as you let go of him and lay back down, one arm held out in a silent invitation to cuddle against you.

It takes him a few minutes of internal warring before he finally lays back down and sets his head against your chest. You run your fingers through his hair and let your eyes drift closed. He won’t be there when you wake up, but you’re alright with that.

——

He leaves you the mixing for an omelet in a bowl in fridge, attached to a note that says, “Thank you.”

You roll your eyes and make the omelet. It’s actually pretty well seasoned with a good variety of veg. Who knew Captain America could cook. It makes you a little sad when you think about him cooking just for himself.

Maybe he’s got some of his fellow fugitives with him. It probably wouldn’t be safe and he wouldn’t be missing American accents if he did though.

——

Three weeks later you’re starting to feel like shit but you put it up to the flu.

——

Three months later you admit that it’s not just a couple missed cycles and you go to the doctor.

——

Three years later Captain America is less a fugitive, half the world is dead and you see him in leading a support group while you’re on your way to pick your kid up from a babysitter. You stop in to say hi.

He stares at the kid on your hip who is more or less uninterested in him while he plays with your phone.

“Who’s this?” He asked, and you smiled, a little awkwardly.

“Can we do this in private?”

——

“I’m so sorry.” He groaned, head in his hands while your baby, toddler really, is chasing a ball around the room. It’s kind of like a cat, which you’ve always liked. Equally needy, equally bitchy, equally cute.

“Steve, you don’t really have anything to be sorry for. By the time I went to the doctor you were probably three countries gone, and I didn’t exactly have your number.” You huffed a laugh. “My girlfriend and I manage fine.” Your kid screams in triumph when it finally catches the elusive ball, holding it up high above his head in both hands for you to see. It’s bigger than he is, but that doesn’t bother him.

“Good job honey.” You tell them and they scream and throw the ball to chase it all over again

“Kids.” You tell him with a shrug.

Steve is just watching him with fascination, and it’s kind of endearing.

“I’m not gonna ask for child support or anything.” You finally tell him when he’s been staring at your kid for long enough. “I just saw you and thought you’d like to know. My girlfriend and I are a double income household and with all the assistance programs we qualify for, we make it work.”

“I- Thank you for telling me.” He said, hanging his head again. “I should’ve stayed and cooked you the omelet myself.”

“You did your best. Did you pack up and leave that night?”

He looked up at you and smiled sheepishly, telling you everything you needed to know.

“It was a difficult time, I don’t hold anything against you. I kind of always wanted a kid anyway. We call it our little miracle.”

“You and your girlfriend?” He asked and you nod.

“Yeah.”

“Were you... with her when-“

“Yup.” You say before he has to finish. “We’re pretty open. I like to...” you glance at your toddler and decide to use a euphemism, “Date casually. Just for the night, or two, you know? We’re not really into denying yourself carnal pleasure for the sake of monogamy.”

“I see.” He said, not as surprised as you expected him to be, which was nice. “I just can’t get around it though. I mean, you say he’s mine and I believe you, but we used a condom, how can-“

“Super sperm.” You say with a shrug, “I think one of us would’ve noticed if it broke, but maybe there was some microscopic hole that let something through? I mean, technically they’re only 98% effective, but I always assumed they just said that to cover their own asses. Jay!” You called when you saw your toddler getting dangerously close to a snack table. “Allergies.”

“Mooooom.” Whine. Stamp foot. Throw ball.

“That’s my queue.” You sigh and stand up, digging in your purse for a scrap of paper. You put your number down and hand it to Steve. “Call if you want to see him. I prefer calls. Texts... Don’t text.” You laughed and reached a hand out toward your pouting toddler. “Come on, Jay, Mama’s waiting for us at home.”

“Mama!” He screamed, the nice ear piercing scream that you loved so much, and ran towards you, ready for you to pick him up and carry him all the way to Mama. “Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama!”

“I’ll see you around, Steve. Say bye to Steve, Jay.”

“Bye Steve!” Your baby says without even looking at Steve, but you’re looking at Steve and you see the very subtle glassiness forming in his eyes.

“Bye Jay.”

——

“You found the baby daddy?’

“Crazy, right?” You ask your girlfriend while you’re in the kitchen cooking, Jay sitting (for now) with a coloring book. “I didn’t think I’d ever see him again, turns out he runs a group in the same complex as the gov sitter.”

“Wow. Weird you haven’t run into him before.”

“I usually don’t pick him up this early. You do.” You finally say, and you look at her. “Babe, you didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” But she’s working too hard to look innocent.

“Babe, you didn’t!” You throw a crouton at her and it hits her in the shoulder. “You knew!” You’re yelling, but it’s more shocked than angry. You could never be angry at your girlfriend, even if she was definately doing bad things.

“I mean, I knew he was there, but I didn’t purposefully not tell you, I just... Okay, I didn’t tell you on purpose.”

“Babe, that’s fucking rude. I had a right to know.”

“You’ve never talked about looking for him.”

“Well I wasn’t going to, but if he falls into my lap I wasn’t going to keep it from him.”

She’s cutting vegetables solemnly and you sigh, wrapping your arms around her waist. “This doesn’t change anything. Maybe Jay gets an Uncle Steve, maybe he doesn’t. Who cares? We’re what matters. We’re what’s left.” You kiss her on the cheek and she smiles sadly.”

“We have to keep going.” She finally says.

“Because they can’t.” You finish just as Jay runs in with a new coloring sheet for the wall. It’s 100% scribbles and you love it.

——

“Um, hey, Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave this in a voicemail, but I just. I wanted to see Jay. If that’s alright with you? Maybe we can set something up? Um. call me back. It’s Steve.”

——

“So my girlfriend has put a haitus on our one night stands rule.” You say while Jay climbs the McDonalds jungle gym.

Steve chokes on his sandwich and it’s kind of funny.

“You mean-“

“I mean if you want we can totally have the round four I definately deserve. But no pressure if you don’t want.”

He looks at Jay and then at you. You roll your eyes. “What’s the likeliness that it’ll happen again? It’ll be fine.”

——

“Shit.”

——

“Gee!” You yell at your youngest child while they’re running after your oldest. “Gee, you need to put your shoes back on or I’m sending Daddy after you.”

“Steve can’t even catch us.” Jay says with more self-assurance than the average five year old can muster.

“Is this my cue to get the kids.”

“Obviously,” your girlfriend said, slinging an arm around your waist. “We sure as hell aren’t running after them. Serum goes.”

“She’s right.” You smile and shrug tilting your head back for a kiss as he stands. “Sorry, babe. I don’t make the rules. I’m the bottom in both of these relationships.”

“Excuses.” He grins and plants a kiss to your lips. Before he even pulls away his phone is ringing and it’s not a ringtone you recognize. He looks at you, the kids and then at the phone he’s pulling out of his pocket. “This is an emergency number, I have to take it.”

You sigh and stand up. “I guess I can chase my own kids, this once. Get over here you little road runners!”

——

“I can’t believe you did this. You selfish bastard.” You whisper at the old man standing in front of you. “You have kids, you have me. You had a life here.” He starts to speak but you hold up your hand. “I don’t want to hear it. If you weren’t happy you didn’t have to say. Gee is going to be devestated. She loved you.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t-“

“If you ever come anywhere near my family again I will file a restraining order against you. I don’t know what possessed you to do this, Steve, but I hate you for it. I hate you.”

——

You’re sitting in the second row, next to Sharon Carter of all people. You were pretty sure she was dating Steve, before she left, so it makes sense that she’s there. Gee and Jay are wriggling and generally being restless children and you try to manage them as well as you can on your own. Your girlfriend refused to attend. She wasn’t dating Steve, but you think that Steve leaving hit her more than she ever let on.

Sam Wilson gives the Eulogy. It’s very sweet. You throw dirt into his grave and you encourage the children to do the same, even if they don’t quite understand why. One day they’ll understand.

“For what it’s worth.” Sam said when you tried to leave before the funeral was over. He puts a hand on your shoulder like that might comfort you. “He regretted hurting you.”

“Regret won’t give my children their father back.” You tell him, shrugging off his hand, “So it’s not worth much.”

——

Jay is twelve when the truth comes out. Steve Rogers isn’t really dead. It was all just a show, a part of a black op so secret even Captain America didn’t know about it.

He doesn’t come by the house. He doesn’t call. He doesn’t text. He knows you don’t like texts, that texts remind you of ashes, even after everything.

He doesn’t make contact, and Jay starts to get antsy, asks when Steve is coming back. Gee is nearly too young to remember, but Jay explains when you aren’t looking, and wants to know when her Daddy is going to come back already.

You break down and call Steve.

“LIsten you asshole. I don’t give a shit what your reason is, but you get down here and you explain to these kids why you’ve been gone and tell them you fucking love them or so help me god I will raze this earth to find and slaughter you.

He’s on your doorstep the next morning.

——

Things don’t go back to how they were. They can’t. Even after Steve tells you that he was actually stuck in an alternate dimension, raising a child in some of the harshest terrain imaginable, things can’t go back to normal between the two of you. When you find out Sharon knew you were livid. You still don’t talk to her two years later. Steve makes weekly visits, and shows up for dinner every Wednesday like clockwork. Gee is ecessatatic until she’s not. Jay clings to Steve like a lifeline. Gee doesn’t really know her Daddy. She calls him Steve, just like Jay. You see the way it breaks Steve’s heart, but you don’t force her to say something she’s not comfortable with just to make him feel better.

“She loved you.” You hear your girlfriend tell him. “Even after that first time, there was always a wistfulness to the way she talked about you. You went on a black op, whether it went wrong or not is not the point, you went on an op that you didn’t intend to come back from, knowing what you were leaving behind, and you didn’t even say a proper goodbye. If she ever forgives you for that she’s a better person than I am.

——

Jay goes to high school and is completely dissilusioned by all three of his parents.

——

Gee comes home after being bullied for the first time and cries into Steve’s shoulder. It breaks your heart.

——

You go on a date with Steve, but it’s too awkward, there’s no spark anymore. You stay friends.

——

Gee gets a drawing tablet for Christmas that year.

——

Jay runs away for the first time that May. He runs again in August before school starts. Steve blames himself. So do you.

——

You come home and Steve is there, having watched the kids for you while you and your girlfriend both worked overtime to make up for all the time you’d taken off looking for Jay in August. He’s laying across your couch and you’re exhausted so before he sits all the way up you sit down in his lap, straddling him, and lean your entire weight against him until he’s laying down again. You don’t say anything, just lay on top of him and soak in his warmth and presence. If he feels the tears that fall on his shirt he doesn’t say anything.

——

The first time you sleep together in over fifteen years it’s slow, soft, like Steve thinks you might break. You do break, but it’s in all the best ways. If the other hotel guests hear you, they don’t complain. Steve takes you apart piece by piece and you feel like you can trust him to put you back together again. You let him slip his tongue into your mouth while he still tastes like you, and he wipes away the tears that fall down your face.

“I don’t deserve you.” He whispers against your cheek and you nod.

“You really don’t.”

His laugh is wet and tears fall from his nose onto your bared skin.

——

You’re laying between your two lovers when Gee comes knocking on the door. “Mom, Ma, Steve, we’re supposed to at the school at 7am and you won’t let me drive myself so get the fuck out of bed.”

“Language,” Steve says, and you snicker. Your girlfriend sighs and gets up.

“No,” you tell her, pulling her back down. “You took her last time. I’ll take her. You stay.”

“Take Jay with you and we can have some quality time.” Steve suggests raising an eyebrow at your girlfriend.

The possibility of a triad has only recently been put on the table, but it excites you to no end. You bounce out of bed, suddenly full of energy at 6:30 in the morning.

“Yes. Perfect. Wonderful. Please do!”

——

The three of you are dressed in soft blue on a beach. Gee just graduated and Jay has come home from Boston to be there. You all three stand in a circle and say vows that aren’t legally binding, but they’re important to the three of you.

——

[etherealxch]

something like this

word count: 4078 

[a/n] : im baaaaaaack. ok. started this on a whim and it kind of ended up being so long. sorryyyyy. anyways, this is my first scenario of 2019, the first of *hopefully* many to come. as always, i’ll be glad to hear your comments, just hit up my inbox! ps. if you guys reblog this don’t be shy to add something cute in the tags❤️❤️! alsoooo don’t forget to support ASTRO on their comeback guys! 

The frozen yoghurt shop is unusually quiet today. It’s 1:32 pm and there’s only been 6 people in here. I check the containers, making sure the cubes of fruits are properly cooled. I wipe a few stray drops of yoghurt from the machine with a cloth and thoroughly rinse that too.

My co-worker, Kailo, looks up from her phone to ask me a question, “Hey, did you know that there’s a new flavour for toothpaste?”

I look at her, wildly amused. “No, I do not.”

Excitedly, she nudges up to my side and shoves her phone in my face.

“But please, enlighten me.” I deadpan, taking the phone from her. I can barely hide my disgust as I read the article. “Oh, that’s just very wrong.”

“Eh, I guess.” She shrugs one shoulder, back to scrolling through her daily newsfeed. That figures; Kailo is the kind of person that would come into work wearing the weirdest things and is still able to pull it off. She is very adventurous and likes trying new things. She told me she once tried kale ice cream and actually liked it.

The front doorbell tinkles, signalling a customer. Kailo takes her order, tapping at the computer screen. I grab a small cup and fill it with fresh frozen yoghurt, then with languid strokes, drizzle cookie sauce over the top and hand it to the customer with a napkin.

“Enjoy.” I offer a smile, handing her the yoghurt. The doorbell tinkles again and Moon Bin enters this time. He waves hi to both me and Kailo.

“Hey. Class finished?” I ask as he walks over to my side of the counter.

“Yeah,” He nods. He sighs. “I kind of need to talk to you about something.”

“Is everything okay?” I look at his expression. He briefly glances at Kailo.

“Not really.” He looks at the clock behind me. “Your shift ends at 2, right?” I nod.

“Then, I’ll just wait here for you.” He orders a medium sized yoghurt and takes his usual spot by the window at the very end of the room, like he always does when he comes here to wait for me. When I had just gotten this part time job, my manager, Sammy and Ji Ah, two other part time workers, and Kailo would always ask me if he was my boyfriend because sometimes if I worked the late night shift, he would swing by and wait for me until my shift ended. He would walk me back to campus then, making sure I safely gotten into my dorm.

They soon got used to me denying me and Moon Bin dating and stopped asking questions. Although Kailo occasionally comments on how she thinks he’s pretty hot. I teased her once about it, offering to help set her up with him and her exact answer was, “Honey, please, he’s not my type.”

I’m pretty sure she doesn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just he’s really not her type. She usually dates really quickly and the longest I’ve ever her date was with a guy who had his own pet hedgehog. To think of it, I’m not even sure what her type is.

The two hours tick by, with a large group of sleep deprived students walking in and demanding we serve them coffee in between, until I pointed out that the cafe is next door. They eventually ordered frozen yoghurts, apparently too tired to even walk to next door. Sammy enters just in time, to take over my shift.

She clocks in on Moon Bin immediately and then gives me a knowing look.

“Honestly.” I shake my head. Sammy is the only who won’t stop pushing me and Moon Bin together. Sammy has classes with the both of us so she knows Moon Bin as well.

I clock out and grab my staff from the back. Moon Bin is already standing by the counter, waiting for me as I come out from the back. We go outside, the heat of the afternoon blasting from the ground.

“So, what’s wrong?” I ask, as we come to a bench under a shady tree. I’m still in my white cotton collar shirt which is the uniform and am sweating down my back. Moon Bin notices my discomfort.

“D'you want to go home and change first?” He asks.

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry.” I shake my head. “What’s up?”

“You know the show I have to do next Friday?” He says. I nod in response. “Yeah, that’s also the same day my parents are coming to see me.” He waits for the ball to drop.

“Oh. Oh.” I raise my eyebrows in realisation. Moon Bin’s dad doesn’t know that he is enrolled in the Performing Arts Major. His dad wasn’t really supportive of his choice but his mom covered for him and then told him to choose whatever he wanted. If they come this Friday…

“Yup.” He nods gloomily.

“Well, your performance is at night. Maybe they’ll have left by then?” I suggest.

“I…I want to tell him.” He exhales.

“What?”

“I don’t want to lie to him anymore.” He says, turning to me. “I keep having to think of answers to questions about aerospace.” He looks so positively terrified. In spite of myself, I give a small laugh.

“That’s what you told him you were studying?”

“I panicked.” He says defensively.

“Bin, I think that it’s great that you want to tell him the truth but are you sure?” I ask him.

He looks down at his fists. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Well, okay then,” I bump my fist at his arm. “I have your back. If there’s anything you need me to do, just tell me.” I smile at him.

We move on from this subject and talk about how rehearsals are going. He digs out the tickets from his pocket and hands them to me, one for me, the other for Sammy, my roommate and Jin Woo’s girlfriend.

“Don’t lose them. You know what, just ask Sammy to take them.” Moon Bin has zero trust in me.

I roll my eyes. “Just because that one time I lost the train tickets–”

“And we had to run all the way back because you’d lost yours and everyone had to re-buy their tickets for the later train.” He reminds me darkly.

Ignoring his words, I tell him that I’ll keep them safe no matter what. It’s his first performance with his parents there, I’m definitely not missing this for anything in the world.

*** “That will be all today. Thank you class.” Our lecturer switches off her slide and packs her laptop up all in one swift movement. Everyone else is either leaving the class or talking to their friends. I check my phone, slightly frowning. Why isn’t he replying?

I flop my bag on the desk, putting my notebook and textbook inside. I check my phone one last time before shoving it in my jacket pocket. As I walk along the hall, passing some students taping a poster on the wall, I spot Rocky and Jin Woo among the crowd.

“Hey, guys,” I catch up to them. They turn, surprised.

“Hey,” They both say, smiling.

They should know where Moon Bin is. “Do you know where Bin is?” I ask. “He didn’t come to class today. And I can’t get hold of him either.”

Rocky glances at Jin Woo before answering. “Oh, he’s probably practising again.”

“Um, see the thing is,” Jin Woo sighs. “He hasn’t stopped since 3 in the morning.”

“What?” My tone is sharp and the two guys in front of me visibly straightens up. “He hasn’t slept?”

Rocky winces. “We rehearsed last night and finished at 10. We went back to the dorm at 10:30–”

“He went out at 3 in the morning to practise by himself again.” Jin Woo explains.

“So, technically, he did sleep for about 4 hours–” Rocky stops when Jin Woo nudges him. I sigh.

“It’s his dad, isn’t it?” I look at them. They both nod slowly.

“He was really stressed out before and now he’s even more stressed than ever.” Rocky says.

“Maybe you should go talk to him. At least get him to stop for a few hours to get some rest.”

They tell me which of the building to go to and what practice room he is in. Two girls and a guy look at me suspiciously as I walk down the corridor blindly before finally giving up and asking them for directions. Standing outside the door, I can hear the thump of the music and someone’s feet moving rapidly. They don’t stop even when I knock on the door.

Moon Bin finally looks up as I enter the room. “Ae Ra.” He stops dancing. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to check up on you.” I say. I watch as he turns off the speaker and plops down on the floor, exhausted. I grab his towel from a chair nearby and toss it at him, landing on his head.

“Bin–” I start, sitting down in front of him. He wipes at his face, refusing to look at me.

“I know, you want me to get some rest. But the show is two days away. I can’t afford to waste any time.” He finally says, lowering his head while fidgeting with the corner of the towel.

“You’re exhausted, Bin.” I say. “Did you even eat breakfast?”

When he looks back at me, his eyes wet around the rim. “I’m just so scared.” He says. “I mean, it’s my dad. He’s never approved of my interest in performing on stage, says it’s a waste of money.

How am I going to impress him, Aera?” His voice cracks slightly. I scoot closer to him to hug him. He leans his head on my shoulder, taking a deep breath.

“You don’t have to impress him, you know?” I say softly. “Just show him what you can do. You may disagree on somethings but in the end you’re his son, he’ll love you no matter what.” I pat his hair, slick with sweat, wince a little and try to discreetly wipe it on my pants. He gives a soft chuckle.

“I can see you through the mirror.”

“You’re disgusting. Please go take a shower.” I deadpan. He laughs as we pull apart.

“Thank you. You seem to always find the right things to say.”

“What? Like asking you to take a shower?” I joke.

He chuckles and absentmindedly pecks the top of my forehead. I stare at him, startled by this out of the blue yet affectionate action. His eyes shift; contemplating something. He slowly leans in and to my surprise, I do too.

“HEY BIN–” Our lips barely touch when Rocky bursts through the door. We pull away with the urgency of a dog chasing after a cat. Rocky stares at us, speechless.

I stand up abruptly. “I have-have a, um, shift.” I say to no one in particular. “So I, yeah, um, okay, byeeee.” Shit, I sound like Jake Peralta. But there’s no time to dwell on that as I leave the room at top speed. I’m so concentrated on leaving that I almost knock down Sammy by the stairs.

“Woah, hey,” She says. “Have you seen Jin Woo?”

“Uh, um,” I clear my head, trying to think of an answer. “No.”

“Oh-kay,” She frowns. “Are you alright?”

“Me? Yeah, yeah, totally fine.” I swallow. “Listen, I gotta go. I have….a class.”

I scurry down the stairs and out of the building. I walk and walk with no actual sense of direction. Walking keeps me occupied. If I stop, I keep thinking of…that. Eventually, my legs tire out and I plop down on a bench. How did that happen? My face heats up even at just the thought of it and despite myself, I feel a bit giggly on the inside. He’s my friend! I shouldn’t be having thoughts like this.

We barely talk on the phone, our usual routine, for the next few days until the show. I’d like to say it’s mainly because he’s busy practising and I’m busy with my shifts and assignments. We do text back and forth, but avoid talking about what happened. Texting is easier, because we don’t sound awkward at all. We still sound the same, playful banter, some nagging.

“Lighten up.” Kailo hisses at me. I’m slumped behind the counter, playing with a plastic spoon. The doorbell rings and a couple of people walk in chattering. I get up from my seat and grab a cone to fill. I drizzle cranberry sauce on it and wrap a napkin around half the cone before handing it to the customer.

After giving the customer her change, Kailo turns to survey me. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing. Assignments,” I reply automatically, back in my slump seat.

“Something happened with Moon Bin?”

I sit up, alert and suspicious. “How did you know?”

She puts up both of her hands, her eyes wide. “I didn’t. I guessed.” She says.

“Oh.” I mumble.

She looks at me. “Whatever it is, it’ll eventually work its way out.”

I wince. “I’m not so sure about this.” She moves her attention away from me when the doorbell tinkles. She urgently nudges my arm and I’m about to give her an annoyed look when I see the people standing in front of me: Moon Bin and his parents.

I scramble up, face red and unable to look at anything except for the countertop. I can feel Moon Bin’s eyes on me but I resolutely stare at the cup and cone model that shows our customers what the different cup sizes look like. I start making their orders, three cones. As I hand it over to them, I smile politely at his parents; over the five years I’ve known him, I’ve seen his mother more than his father. I surreptitiously glance at his dad’s expression, which is hard and realise he must have told him already.

As they leave to take a seat, I grab my phone. There are 5 unread messages all from him.

‘I’m having lunch with them now.’

‘Probably going to tell him now.’

‘Going to find somewhere to talk.’

'Headed to the yoghurt shop.’

'You busy?’

These were all sent before they came here.

I look at them talking by the window. It seems like Moon Bin has got everything under control, although his father doesn’t look too happy. I look worriedly in the direction of the washroom; Kailo’s been in there for a long time. As they get up to leave, I shoot a questioning glance at Moon Bin, who nods slightly at me.

I don’t really understand but it must mean that his dad is willing to give him a chance. Kailo emerges from the washroom looking pale with one hand clutching her stomach.

“Kailo! Are you okay?”

“Ohhh, I think something went wrong with my lunch.” She sits down heavily. Her expression is pained as she drinks from her water bottle.

“What did you have?” I ask.

“Sushi.” She pauses as her stomach makes a weird sound. I offer to go the pharmacy to buy some medicine but she shakes her head, saying it’s all out of her system. That doesn’t seem to be the case even after two hours, I’ve been manning the cash register and making the orders for the customers while she sits weakly behind the counter, out of sight from customers.

“Kailo, I think you need to go to a clinic.” I frown, getting her a cup of warm water. Her hair plastered to her forehead from all the cold sweat.

“But, you have to leave soon and if I do too, no one is going to be here.”

I check the time. The show starts at 7. If Ji Ah makes it here by 8, I can still make it. “I can stay until Ji Ah comes. Just go to the clinic Kailo.”

She doesn’t even bothering protesting anymore. Before leaving, she gives me an apologetic hug. I tell her to tell me when she’s at the doctors to be safe. I look at the clock. I won’t have time to go home and change now. Business is slow between dinner hours so there’s really nothing much I can do, except pray that Ji Ah arrives here as soon as possible.

8:11 p.m. I am about to scratch the walls with frustration. Where is Ji Ah? I text Sammy to check if Moon Bin, Jin Woo and Rocky has performed yet.

'Almost. Where R U???’

I sigh and shoot off a quick reply. Ji Ah rushes through the door, out of breath. “Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry.”

“Okay, I’ve got to go, bye!” I’ve been ready ever since 7:45 so I just grab my bag and hurry out the door. Sammy comes out to meet me when I arrive at the auditorium. She grabs my hand, pulling me inside. We pass rows and rows of seats in the darkness. I glance briefly at the stage just as the three of them emerge on stage. The music starts as I take my seat, trying to catch my breath. Moon Bin’s eyes flicker towards the crowd and then spots me. He gives the smallest smile and then resumes his performance.

The three of them work in perfect harmony, moving to each beat. I look around and see his parents a few rows over. His mother looks positively proud while his dad leans back against his seat, an unreadable expression on his face. The audience gives a loud cheer when Rocky does a spin mid-air, earning a bashful smile from him.

The performance ends with the crowd hyped up. After two vocal performances and a small skit, the show ends. There’s the sound of people talking and feet shuffling as they get ready to leave. Sammy and I make our way out and manage to find our way to backstage. We find the guys, with three of their other friends, Sanha, Eun Woo and MJ already with them.

“You guys were awesome!” I say, while Sammy gives them the thumbs up.

“I honestly thought I was going to trip and fall at one point.” Rocky says.

“That’s because you almost stepped on my foot.” Jin Woo shakes his head. As they bicker on, Moon Bin’s focus shifts to behind us; his parents. He excuses himself to walk over to them. We move farther away so as to give me some privacy in all the hubbub at backstage. MJ starts showing them the video he took of them on stage.

“That’s so unflattering.” Sanha comments. He whips out his phone. “You should look at the one I took.” They argue who recorded the best video with Jin Jin exasperatedly chiming in to say at one point, “None of you are Steven Spielberg. None.” and Rocky saying, “You should’ve taken it from my left.”

I look away from their tirade as Moon Bin hugs both of his parents, who leaves and walks toward us, a look of relief on his face. “Everything okay?” I ask, as he nears. Everyone turns their attention to him.

“Yeah,” He exhales a little shakily. He gives a smile. “He doesn’t get the dancing.” We pause, unsure how to response.

“And you’re smiling because…?” Eun Woo asks.

“Because he said I could continue my major, even though he didn’t understand it.” He gives a small laugh. “He’s letting me stay on!” We cheer, hugging him all at once, ignorant to the other looks in the room.

My phone vibrates a message from Kailo who tells me she’s at home now. I see another one from her when she was at the doctors. I tell them I’m going out to make a call where it’s quieter so I can actually hear what someone is saying.

“Hey, are you feeling better?” I ask. “What did the doctor say?”

“I’m feeling sooo much better now.” Kailo’s voice, although not yet back to her normal tone was sounding much more alert than a few hours ago. “It turns I have a very weak intestine and I’m technically not allowed to eat anymore raw fish.”

“I told you, 'Fish are friends not food’.” I quote 'Finding Nemo’ to her.

“That’s just because you don’t eat raw fish.” She says. “Say that again when you’re eating battered cod with chips. Maybe then I’ll believe you.”

She yawns and I tell her to go to bed. She says she will but not before watching an episode of Kim’s Convenience. I hang up, turning to go back inside when I see Moon Bin waiting for me.

“Where are the others?” I walk up to him.

“They went to celebrate. I told them to go ahead first.” Moon Bin says.

“Oh.” Awkward silence. Not wanting to feel weird around him, I hold up my phone.

“I just got off the phone with Kailo. She was feeling unwell just now. Ate some sushi. She had to go to the doctors and there was not anyone to stay at the shop. That was why I was late to the show.”

He lets out a breath that I didn’t know he was holding. “Oh. That’s why.” He scratches his neck. “I thought you weren’t going to come.”

“Why would you think–” I pause as realisation hits me. “Oh.”

“Is she feeling better?” I look up at him, confused, then realise he means Kailo.

“Yeah. She’s okay now.” I nod. There’s another pause where neither of us says anything, then as if he can’t stand it, he says, “Should we talk about what happened the other day?”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “Yeah, I think we should.”

We walk around, finding some place to sit, heading towards the campus park. Not for the first time ever, I marvel at the size of this entire university. It’s like a small village could literally just live here. We walk along the path, lined with small grey pebbles and small lights installed on the ground, so that it looks like one of those airplane runways.

“So, I guess I should apologise first.” Moon Bin says, as we take a seat on one of the park benches.

I open my mouth to protest but he stops me. “Just–let me finish.

What happened the other day. I shouldn’t have done it. I was feeling helpless and you were there as a friend and I shouldn’t have kissed you,” He continues. “That wasn’t how I…” He trails off.

“You what?” I ask, catching his hesitation.

“It wasn’t how I…,” He scratches his neck again, an action he does when he’s embarrassed. “…imagined I would kiss you. Not in that situation.”

I stare at him dumbly, too stunned to speak. There’s so many parts to his explanation that needs more explaining.

“I-I….” I swallow. “Um, okay.”

He lets me take my time, albeit the concerned look on his face is kind of endearing. “Moon Bin, what do you mean it was how you imagined?”

“Oh. That.” He says, as if he hadn’t thought of explaining that part to me. “Um, see, I kind of, really like you.” He fixes his eyes on mine. I think I can fully comprehend what the phrase 'heart beating against ribcage like a freaking earthquake’.

“Well,” I find my voice again. “In what situation would you have wanted to…kiss me?”

He gives the cutest/ most bashful smile ever and leans in to peck me on my lips. “Something like this?”

In spite of myself, I smile, feeling giddy. “Could you do that again?”

He smiles, leaning in again but this time I do too. This kiss lasts longer than the former and when it ends, he gently kisses my forehead. “Thank you.” He chuckles softly that my heart does a small skip.

“For what?” I laugh, even if it isn’t that funny.

“Just.” He shrugs. “Thank you.”

“You know, if you’re trying to be all mysterious and romantic like in dramas and stuff, it really isn’t going to work on me, because I won’t understand a thing you’re doing.” I joke, smiling.

You just never know when you’re going to open your eyes and fall for someone who’s been by your side this entire time.

BONUS :

“DID YOU GUYS MAKE A BET ON US GETTING TOGETHER?!”