#i have to stop drawing devnny so much

[snappedsky]

Fanatics 87.3

Awkwardness abounds as Squee and Johnny and Devi spend time with their younger selves.

AU is Johnny the Recovering Maniac by the marvellous @devnny Check them out! 

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

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Lost in the Multiverse Part 3

           Squee scrambles backwards, tripping over the edge of the crater he created when he crashed into the ground. As his head hits the dirt, he spots the large, purple rift hanging in the sky and stares at it with surprise.

           “Okay,” he breathes and sits up. The young Todd Casil stands on the other side of the crater, clutching his Shmee and staring at Squee with wide eyes.

           “O…kay…” Squee grunts and stands up, looking around. He’s on Grave Road. If it wasn’t for his younger self standing a couple feet away, he would almost believe he didn’t go anywhere. But he starts spotting small differences. Johnny’s house doesn’t have any glass in the boarded windows; the house that Colton’s family would be living in doesn’t have any of the flowers his mother plants. Instead it would be Todd’s family there now.

           “Okay,” Squee says a third time. “So I’m in…the past? But where is everyone else?”

           He looks at Johnny’s house. It looks dark and quiet and his car isn’t parked on the street. He hesitates for a second before crossing the yards and knocking on the front door. There’s no answer.

           “Hm,” Squee hums and scratches his head, wondering what he should do, when a shiver runs up his spine. He looks up at the rift in the sky just in time to see a bunch of figures flying out. Two of them head right for him.

           A pair of demons land on the ground between Squee and Todd. Their bodies are mostly human, but they have wings, tails, horns, and claws. They chortle excitedly as they glare at Squee and he flinches back.

           Todd squeaks fearfully and one of the demons turns towards him, licking his fangs. Squee scowls and draws his knives.

           He strikes first, startling the other demon as he charges. He barely dodges Squee’s swinging knife, the blade just grazing his nose.

           The first demon turns his attention away from Todd as his partner stumbles back. But before he can react, Squee drives his knife into the demon’s ribs.

           The demon roars in pain and tries to swipe at Squee with his claws. He lets go of his knife, leaving it in the demon’s chest, and jumps back to dodge.

           The other demon charges in and swings at Squee. He sidesteps it and swings his other knife, slicing the demon straight up the chest. As his blood sprays out, the demon chokes and falls backwards.

           The first demon rushes Squee and swings at him furiously with both claws. Squee dodges each strike and lifts his knife. The demon slices his hand on the blade, ceasing his attack, then Squee swings and slices open his throat. The demon collapses next to his partner.

           Squee pants as he removes his other knife from the demon’s chest, then wipes both blades off on their clothes. As he sheathes them, he spots Todd staring at him with a mix of fear and awe, and he suddenly feels very bashful.

           “Um,” he croaks, rubbing the back of his head, then clears his throat. “Are you…okay?”

           Todd nods wordlessly.

           “Good,” Squee nods and glances at Johnny’s house. “Um…where’s your neighbor?”

           “He…moved away,” Todd replies.

           “He did?”

           “I think so? At least for a little while. He said he’s staying with a friend; a girl, with purple pigtails.”

           “Devi?” Squee questions. “They’re living together? That’s…different. I wonder if she’s in the same place.”

           “Um…” Todd squeaks and carefully approaches Squee. “Are you…me?”

           Squee smiles awkwardly. “I think so.”

           He stares up at him with wonderstruck eyes and Squee looks away uncomfortably.

           “Um, I gotta go,” he says as he steps back and nearly trips on one of the demon’s bodies. He looks at them, then the rift in the sky, then back at Todd. “Uh…do you…wanna come?”

           Todd looks at the demon bodies, then at Shmee, then back at Squee and nods. “Shmee says you’re safe.”

           “He does, huh?” Squee grins and pats the bear’s head. Physically, he looks like a smiling teddy bear. But he can feel Shmee’s presence inside. And he smiles. “Okay, let’s go.”

           “Where’s your Shmee?” Todd asks as they walk down the street.

           “He’s back home,” Squee replies, “at least, I think he is. I’m not really sure. But I hope he’s enjoying himself.”

           “So where are we going?”

           “To find my friends. I think I know where to look.”

           Meanwhile, Johnny and Devi make their way through younger!Devi’s apartment building, younger!Devi, younger!Tenna, and younger!Johnny at their heels. As they go up the stairs, Johnny glances back at them, unnerved.

           “So, this can’t be like our direct past, right?” he questions, “cause I’m like eighty percent certain we never lived together. Also, there’s no fucking way I’d let you put a leash on me.”

           “Hey! It’s for his own good!” younger!Devi snaps, tugging on the leash that she has around younger!Johnny’s neck as he looks at her awkwardly. Johnny just scowls with discomfort.

           “I don’t know,” Devi replies, “are there like multiple pasts?”

           “I don’t fucking know,” Johnny grunts.

           They arrive at younger!Devi’s apartment and she lets them all in. It looks about the same as Devi’s apartment, but with more drawing stuff cluttering the coffee table and couch.

           Younger!Devi removes younger!Johnny’s leash and heads deeper into the apartment. As Devi and Johnny look around, they find themselves standing next to younger!Johnny. Both Johnnys flinch away from each other in disgust and younger!Johnny follows younger!Devi while Johnny moves over to the other side of Devi.

           “I hate this,” he growls, “I had a hard enough time learning to tolerate my physical being. Now there’s another one and on top of being another me, he’s a younger version, which just serves as a reminder of my…worser days.”

           “He seems to be doing okay,” Devi remarks as she watches younger!Johnny hang around younger!Devi in the kitchen. “Kinda…clingy though.”

           “And how are you doing?” Johnny asks.

           “Huh? Oh, well, you know, I mean…” she stammers awkwardly. “It’s…definitely weird. But I’m okay. I mean, who cares that she’s a few years younger than me and I clearly haven’t progressed at all in my art career. I’m still working at it. And that takes time, right? So…so yeah. I’m okay.”

           Johnny watches her worriedly as she looks away, rubbing the back of her neck.

           “My hair looks good though,” she comments.

           Johnny cracks a grin. “Yeah, it does.”            “Thanks.”

           On top of just looking a bit older, there a few more differences between the two pairs of Johnny and Devi. Devi’s hair is the most noticeable. Younger!Devi still has purple pigtails, while the older Devi has her natural black colour and wears it down, with one side cut shorter than the other. Johnny’s hair is scruffier than younger!Johnny’s and he seems less volatile but somehow more grumpy.

           The biggest difference however is how the two of them act together. While younger!Devi and younger!Johnny are comfortable around each other, they still seem very aware of each other’s presences. For Johnny and Devi, it’s the exact opposite. They’re standing much closer together, in each other’s space and brushing up against each other without even noticing.

           These are all things younger!Tenna notices as she observes the older pair from the couch.

           “Are you two dating?” she asks.

           “What!” Johnny and Devi exclaim in shock.

           “I just thought because it looks like you spend a lot of time together,” she clarifies.

           “Well…we do…but we’re not-we never-it’s not like that-,” they both stammer awkwardly. Then they stop as they realize how close they’re standing, and they step apart.

           “Um, okay,” younger!Devi says, mercifully interrupting the awkward situation as she walks in carrying a plate of crackers and cheese and a bag of chips while younger!Johnny carries two glasses of soda. They rest them on the coffee table. “I don’t have much food to offer but uh help yourself.”

           “Wow, younger!Devi’s a better host than you are,” Johnny comments as he sits on the floor by the table and takes a glass.

           “Fuck off,” Devi grunts as she follows suit.

           They also bicker like siblings or an old married couple, younger!Tenna observes.

           “So,” younger!Johnny says as he and younger!Devi sit on the couch. “Are you two just gonna…stay here…?”

           Johnny and Devi glance at him then look at each other questionably.

           “You’re the one who wanted to guard them,” Johnny points out.

         “Yeah, because it wouldn’t be fair if those demon fucks killed them because they’re after us,” Devi retorts, “but, I don’t know. I don’t know where the others are. Should we look for them?”

           “Where would we start?” Johnny shrugs.

           “Then maybe it would be better if we stayed here, at least for the night,” she muses, “maybe they’ll come looking for us. Then it’d be better to stay in one place.”

           “So you’re gonna stay the night?” younger!Johnny asks with obvious disgust.

           “I mean, if that’s okay,” Devi adds.

           “Well, you did save us,” younger!Devi says, “and I guess I can’t just kick you out since you’re…me. But I don’t know where you’ll sleep.”

           “I don’t need to sleep,” Johnny states.

           “Where do you sleep?” Devi asks younger!Johnny.

           “On the rare occasion I do, the couch,” he replies, “but you can have it.”

           “Thanks,” she smiles and younger!Johnny feels his cheeks flush.

           “So you two really live together?” Johnny questions.

           “It’s temporary,” younger!Devi replies.

           “How did that happen?”

           “I’m helping him recover.”

           “Huh. So kinda like what Squee did for me,” Johnny muses, “I’m surprised though that you’re so…forgiving.”

           “Yeah,” younger!Devi says, “it took a while for me to…get past all that. To be honest, I’m still not sure if I’m completely past it. But he did apologize.” She looks at younger!Johnny and smiles. “Which I appreciate.”

           Younger!Johnny smiles awkwardly and fidgets in his seat.

           “Hm,” Johnny grunts thoughtfully and glances at Devi. “Did I ever…apologize to you?”

           “Not in so many words,” she replies.

           He looks away, rubbing his head. “I’m sorry I tried to kill you.”            Devi smiles warmly and leans into him so their shoulders touch. “I know.”            Tenna glances between the pairs of Johnny and Devi. “Wow, I’ve never been a fifth wheel before.”

           Both pairs quickly look away and move away from each other, feeling very uncomfortable and aware. Awkwardness fills the air and Johnny grumbles, “I hate this.”