#i know i was barely a blip in his mind for more than 15 seconds but still | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

skelanonymous · 4 years ago

Text

Body Swap

The first part was done as part of kinktober, but I couldn’t let the idea go. There’s probably a bit more sex than a standard story as a result.

Pairings scenes in order: Kedgeup, Edgepuff(Fontcest), Kustard (Fellcest), Fellcest, Kustard

Warnings: It was written during kinktober, half the scenes are a little kinky.

Words: 16k

Sans came to flat on his back. His vision was hazy, but he could vaguely make out the shape of Alphys above him. She had a pretty serious look on her face, pointing at him very sternly, and gesturing over to something he couldn’t see.

“E-Edge! I didn’t c-call you here to cause a fight! You could have broken something! You got Sans caught up in this too! Look at him!” She pointed a claw over across the room and Sans turned his head to look.

His eyelights went out.

“Alphys...why is my body over there?” She did a double take, but Sans’s brain had already gone into a panic. His voice hadn’t sounded like his. He whipped himself up to sit and looked at his clothes. Black armor, with a red tattered scarf sweeping around his neck. His gloved hands went to clutch his face, but he even seeing them brought on panic.

“ALPHYS! EXPLAIN THIS INSTANT!” Edge had gotten up and walking menacingly over to her, but his lack of height and Sans’s usual attire dampened it heavily. Sans’s deep voice almost cracked under Edge’s use of it.

“Stop yelling. You’re making me sound as dumb as you.” It was kinda disturbing to watch his own head whip around to glare at him.

“YOU!” His body’s hands gripped at the scarf around his neck. “GET OUT OF THERE! THAT IS MY BODY AND NO ONE BUT I CAN USE IT!”

“Yeah, because I’m super enjoying this right now. Let go of me.” Sans flicked Edge back with a bit of blue magic. At least he still had that. He tipped his head back to glare at Alphys, who was admirably attempting to vanish into the wall. “So...Alphys...w a n t t o e x p l a i n ?”

Edge paced back and forth in front of her, much softer without his heeled boots. Slippers didn’t give him much presence.

“I...I don’t...know?” She hid behind her hands. “I need time to replicate it! Edge broke the machine and I can’t even pretend to fix this until I fix that.”

“AND HOW LONG WILL THAT TAKE?!”

“Let me inspect the damage…” And she vanished leaving them alone.

“YOU COMPLETE PIECE OF SHIT. YOU ARE AN IMBECILE AND-”

“I’M the imbecile? Who fucking lashed out like a little fucking kid and broke the machine that did this to us, because I’m pretty damn sure it wasn’t me asshole.” Sans put a hand on these unusually long legs and stood to his new full height. Damn he looked small. “Red’s gunna lose his mind.”

“PAPYRUS! GOD DAMMIT. WE HAD RESERVATIONS!” Edge shuffled around, fiddling with the hoodie around him.

“Because that matters right now. Who’s going to be a Royal Guard in Underfell tomorrow?” Sans sighed, exasperated and mind working overtime. It’s not like Edge could show up in his body. He’d be dust in minutes, and Edge was useless in the lab even though Sans could do his work in this body.

“YOU OBVIOUSLY. WE’RE NOT TELLING ANYONE ABOUT THIS.”

“Red will when I show up in your body. And then try to convince him it’s not a prank.” Sans pinched his nasal ridge, and Edge instantly stopped pacing.

“Unless I show up in your body.”

“What?” He turned to stare at Edge, his eyes distant and unfocused.

“I could be you. And go home to Red.” Edge had purposely lowered his voice, and it did sound much more like Sans.

“And why would you do that?” Edge’s face went blue.

“Do you not want to go home to Papyrus?” Sans didn’t answer, but did let his mind wander.

He could sweep in as Edge, take his brother out to dinner, have a good evening. They’d go back home and be comfy on the couch, cuddled up under a blanket in their home, and maybe Paps would turn his face up to look at him. All leaned against him, face bright orange and wanting...

“WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN MIND?”

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

In the end, Alphys gave them a week. A few days to fix the machine, and another few to match the previous conditions. Edge and Sans agreed to return in a week, told Alphys to keep this quiet, and walked out. After an hour or so, they met at Waterfall, in the quiet bench area.

“THIS PLAN IS PRETTY SHITTY.”

“You just need to put in more effort. I’m dying in this despicable hoodie, but I’m making it work.” Edge attempted to casually slouch, making a more lax face. The casual grin looked so off it was giving Sans anxiety.

“WELL, THEN ALL I NEED TO DO IS TALK ABOUT HOW GRAND AND TERRIBLE I AM. LET ME KEEP YELLING.” Sans was grateful this body was used to this. His voice would’ve been gone instantly. He glared at Edge, standing up straight and marvelling at the lack of pain. “THIS RUSE IS MISSING SOMETHING.”

“And what would that be, edgelord?” Edge winked. He chuckled and put on a pretty convincing contented grin.

“ARE YOU THIS INSUFFERABLE IN BED TOO?” Sans smirked at the flash of indignation.

“I don’t think that’s your business.”

“I’M SURE PAPYRUS WILL NOTICE IF I’M NOT AS ATTENTIVE AS USUAL. RED WILL NOTICE IF YOU TRY TOO FUCKING HARD.”

“...you could have a point. Maybe.” Edge looked unimpressed. “So how do you think we should share techniques?” He shrugged stiffly. “It’s not like it matters. One oddly active or lazy night shouldn’t be too off.”

“I DON’T MAKE A LOT OF NOISE.” Sans reached over, and quickly pulled Edge to him. His hand went directly into his own shirt. He grabbed his lowest rib, dragged the unusually long fingers two bones up, and scratched hard along the length of it.

“AHHHH!” Edge went bright blue. “THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!”

“IF YOU BREAK CHARACTER THIS EASILY, THIS WON’T WORK.” Sans went for another spot, stroking under the sternum. “I DON’T SCREAM LIKE THAT. I DON’T MAKE MUCH NOISE AT ALL.”

Edge fought against the urge to moan, biting down and growling. “I just needed a little warning.” He spun around and cupped Sans crotch. “You’ll struggle with Paps then. He likes vocals.” Edge pulled the pants down a way. He hooked some fingers into his pelvis.

“AHH. YOU’RE JUST NOT THAT EXCITING BASTARD.” And Sans watched him drop to his knees.

“Think of Paps then.” Sans felt Edge’s breath against his bare pelvis. “He makes the best sounds when I eat out his sweet pussy.” Sans eyelights blipped out the same time Edge pressed a tongue flat against his pelvis.

“FUUUUUUCK.”

“Language.” Sans glared down at his crotch, but Edge winked and licked up his forming magic.

“YOU’RE PRETTY GOOD AAAAAAAT THIS.” He trailed a hand over Edge’s (his own?) cheek. “I THINK I UNDERSTAND. BUT RED’S GOT A DIFFERENT THING HE WANTS TO HEAR.” Sans pulled Edge up, and into his lap on the nearby bench. He positioned Edge to straddle him and ground up with a purpose.

“Do you…top or bottom?” Edge held in the sound before continuing. “Paps and m-me switch it up sometimes, but I lead mostly.”

“WE’RE LAZY. IT’S WHATEVER EACH TIME, BUT SHUT UP AND PAY ATTENTION.” Sans gripped Edge’s hips and really rubbed their bones together. Edge hazed out a second, but tried to focus on the words coming out of his old mouth. “YOU’RE SO BEAUTIFUL LIKE THIS.” Sans leaned in to lap at the collarbone he could reach through the shirt.

“Narcissist.” Sans ignored him.

“YOU’RE SO GOOD TO ME. SO GOOD FOR ME.” The words were spoken against his throat. Edge wanted to scoff, but he held it in with everything else. “I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU.”

“He wants overly fluffy nonsense?” The lack of warmth startled him. The intensity of Sans’s glare almost knocked him over.

“YOU BETTER TREAT HIM LIKE HE’S AS GREAT AS ME, LAZY BASTARD. IT’S NOT THAT FUCKING HARD.” A hand gripped the back of his head to guide his eyes. “NOW, LET ME PULL DOWN YOUR FUCKING PANTS AND GET THIS OVER WITH.”

“Who said you’re fucking me, asshole?” Edge also didn’t stop him from pulling his pants down enough so they could fuck almost fully clothed on this bench. Thank god for neither being prone to summoning an ecto body. Fingers roughly crooked inside him.

“THIS PUSSY YOU SUMMONED.” Sans moved him a little cautiously, he didn’t want to make it wholly unenjoyable, but Edge was the last person he’d have chosen to do this with and he wasn’t feeling particularly giving. After some minimal fingering, he lined them up and dropped him.

“MMm!” Edge struggled but wiggled his hips until the ache dulled down. Sans may be smirking at him, but two could play this game.

“How’s your endurance?” Edge started a positively delicious pace, very quickly moving on the cock impaling him. He breathed through the pleasure, keeping him behind where Sans was, hopefully. The grip on his hips suggested success.

“F-FINE. YOURS COULD USE SOME WORK THOUGH.”

“Wha-” A hand slid between his fold, stroking his clit in time with the thrusts. Edge devolved to soft breathy moans. He looked up at his own face and the look he shared with Sans got to be too much.

“FUCK!” They both peaked within 15 seconds of each other, riding it out until they slowed down to lay against each other and the bench, exhausted and filthy.

“I think...we can handle it.”

“AGREED.”

It took them another five minutes to part, another three to tidy up and check on the plan specifics, and one extra to take one glance back before walking off in opposite directions of their homes. To their unsuspecting brothers’ waiting arms.

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

Sans strode confidently through Hotlands towards the city. Being in Edge’s body granted him access to Papyrus, but it meant trying to emulate the taller skeleton, and Sans had a hard time doing so. Confidence didn’t come to him naturally. More accurately, his brain was choosy about when to give it to him. The luxury of choice was gone; he had to fake it for his life and continued ability to look his brother in the eye.

The boots had taken precious time to master, and Sans still had to walk in a particular manner to keep himself from stumbling.

Edge had told him about the reservations at the restaurant, explaining it was a semi-regular date night (not a proposal, and Edge had glared and said he’d sooner propose in Sans’s body than give that up) so to act casual. He’d briskly walked in, slightly late, considering the circumstances, but his face lit up seeing Paps.

“Do you have a reservation sir?” Sans caught his casual answer at the last second.

“ACTUALLY, I’M WITH THAT HANDSOME SKELETON OVER THERE, THANK YOU.” Papyrus waved him over, face orange and adorable. Here we go.

“HELLO EDGE! YOU’RE LATE AND I WAS WORRIED. DID SOMETHING HAPPEN AT WORK?” Papyrus tilted his head. Time to test his impressions.

“UNFORTUNATELY. I HAD A...DISAGREEMENT WITH YOUR BROTHER, AND IT RESULTED IN A BROKEN MACHINE. I MOVED SOME HEAVY PIECES FOR ALPHYS AS IT WAS MY FAULT.” Sans reached out and held Papyrus’s hand. “I APOLOGIZE. I SHOULD HAVE INFORMED YOU.” Sans’s brain winced, hoping that adding more words and dropping contractions would work well enough. The only reason he had any clue at all was from knowing Papyrus.

Sans’s advantage over Edge was that he knew his brother very well by now. After the timeline convergence, Papyrus had taken him aside to talk to him. He was worried by Sans’s low energy and depressive tendencies he saw in many other skeletons, and felt that not addressing them directly was contributing. He didn’t know what the older brothers had seen, but it clearly affected him and he shouldn’t have to shoulder this alone.

It had shocked Sans, revealing that as much as he watched his brother, his brother watched right back. And when they talked, really talked, Sans had seen him in a much more accurate light, Papyrus expressing something similar.

They were far more open now, though Sans wouldn’t deny that this unconventional opportunity did tempt him into keeping one more big secret.

“I WISH YOU WOULDN’T FIGHT WITH HIM SO MUCH. HE DOES MEAN WELL.” He clasped Sans’s gloved hand back. “I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU HAVE SO MANY ARGUMENTS. HE USUALLY DOESN’T ENGAGE IN THAT KIND OF THING.” Sans held in a laugh. Edge reminded him of Papyrus, if he had been a brat his whole childhood instead of the coolest little brother ever. He didn’t understand how Red tolerated it, encouraged it, but he respected his boyfriend’s choices.

He mentally winced. He really hoped Red didn’t catch on.

“MAYBE I JUST HIT A PARTICULAR NERVE.” That was an understatement. He drove those thoughts away, he had a goal to accomplish. He smiled warmly at his brother, hoping Edge treated him at least this well. “BUT ENOUGH ABOUT MY DAY. PLEASE, TELL ME ABOUT YOURS.”

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

Edge shuffled through the front door of Sans’s house. Red’s shoes were by the door, but otherwise he was still fully dressed on the couch. He slipped off the slippers, and had to think out his approach before he reached Red. He settled on flopping next to him, falling half a foot sideways to lean on his brother. Then he looked up with a wink.

“Hey.” That sounded very Sans-like, like his brother but more judgey. Red put an arm around him.

“Hey yourself cutie. Get into a fight with my bro again?” Red leaned into him too. It was a cosy couch cuddle puddle. Edge tried to keep himself loose and focus on the comfort.

“Yeah. Tried not to. Know you don’t really like it, but something about him just gets under my skin.” Edge smiled at Red’s laugh. He rarely was this open with him.

Red had been the tough front of the two up until Edge got old enough to defend himself. Red always held him at arm’s length, not able to really act unguarded around ‘Boss’ for what felt like centuries. It didn’t help that Edge berated him for his non-murdering tendencies and his withdrawn demeanor. The few memories he had of Red laughing this easily near him were heavily split: a few blurry edged ones from childhood and a few in public gatherings after the convergence.

“I appreciate the effort but I know he’s got some rough edges.” Edge laughed, he could do this forever. The weight of this moment almost crushed him. At ease and happy with his brother, cuddled on the couch, it was something his soul desperately craved. It had been a long time since he felt lacking in any way, missing out on an entire half of his brother through stubbornness alone.

Red sensed Edge’s sudden seriousness, turning his head to stare at Sans’s face after the laughter petered out.

“Hey, you okay? I know weirdness is my deal, but I got you if you need it.” Well now he’d gone and fucked it up. He had no idea how to even proceed here. It’s not like their instructions to each other were this specific. Fuck it, he’d respond how HE felt, using Sans’s voice.

“Just realized how much I love you.” Red’s face went scarlet. He started shaking.

“I l-love you t-too…” Edge gently pulled Red forward, clanking their mouths together. Red clutched desperately at Edge’s hoodie. He didn’t deepen the kiss at all, sensing that Red was using this to hide, and when he pulled back, he got the full view.

Red’s face was still bright, eyes watering and clearly overwhelmed. His breathing was a mess, hunching his shoulders to make the hood trim cover more of his face. His hands shook hard along Edge’s (Sans’s) back. His brain traced back to his conversation with Sans earlier. He placed a hand on Red’s cheekbones, swiping away a tear that had managed to fall, guiding him gently to look him in the eyes. He prayed the sweet smile didn’t look wrong on this face.

“You’re so beautiful.” Red hiccuped and sniffled.

“Shut up…” He climbed into Edge’s lap, legs both off to one side, seated there and hiding his face in Sans’s hoodie. He wrapped his arms around his older brother.

“If you say so sweetheart.” Edge tilted his head forward, resting at the top of Red’s head. He rested against his shivering brother and felt his eyes start to droop. Maybe Sans’s body was accustomed to it; his soul pulsed happily at the idea of a nap. Edge hadn’t napped in years, but holding Red so close at true peace, he thought that perhaps, just for once, that Sans had it figured out and drifted off.

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

Sans and Papyrus had made it home after a very successful date. They had fun, Sans had kept character without straight lying, and holding his brother’s hand as they walked home made him feel happy and light. Papyrus’s happy humming suggested the feeling was mutual.

Their home ritual was neat and organized. They lined up their boots by the door, washing up and changing into pajamas in synchronized harmony. Sans did mess up one drawer pull, but their crazy ordered home was easy to follow.

“EDGE, I DID WANT TO ASK YOU SOMETHING.” Papyrus had been settled on the bed, after a brief hour of TV, and it seemed they were winding down to bed.

“WHAT TROUBLES YOU PAPYRUS? I AM HERE FOR YOU.” Sans tilted his head. He had to fight down his worried face. Edge wasn’t much for worry.

“IT’S NOT SO MUCH TROUBLE AS IT IS A REQUEST.” Papyrus turned to face him, kneeling on the bed. “I KNOW WE’VE DISCUSSED THIS A FEW TIMES NOW, BUT I ALSO KNOW YOU’VE PROMISED TO THINK ON IT AND I WANT TO REVISIT IT.”

Well, that could be a problem. Leave it to Edge to give him this conversation, even if on accident.

“I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT MANY THINGS, SO I NEED A LITTLE NARROWING DOWN.” Sans turned to face Papyrus as well, but did reach out and hold his hands. “I WANT TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE.”

“IT’S THE SAME CONVERSATION WE KEEP HAVING. I DON’T WANT YOU TO THINK I’M BEGGING, IT TRULY IS ONLY SOMETHING I WANT IF YOU WANT IT AS WELL, BUT I DO WANT TO DO SO, AND TO PRETEND I DON’T WANT THIS FEELS AKIN TO LYING.” Papyrus tightened their hands, knocking them together nervously. Sans ran his thumbs over the worried hands. He had no idea what conversation Edge was having, but he knew Edge hadn’t objected to marrying his brother, so anything else couldn’t be that big of a leap.

“I WANT TO MAKE YOU HAPPY. I AM HESITANT, BUT I AM WILLING TO DO THIS FOR YOU. YOU WILL HAVE TO LEAD ME THROUGH THIS THOUGH.”

Papyrus lit up with a wide bright smile. He didn’t know what he agreed to, but it seemed to have made his brother very happy.

“REALLY?! THANK YOU!” Papyrus leaned in for a brief kiss and stood directly off the bed. “WAIT HERE, I WILL RETURN WITH THE SUPPLIES!” He walked with a bounce in his steps straight out the bedroom door.

Supplies?

Papyrus walked back in with a long stretch of silken rope. He was bright orange, but obviously excited at the prospect of tying Edge up. Sans tried to hide his relaxation, Edge would be nervous right now to try something Papyrus had been talking him into for a while now, but Sans knew he’d be able to handle a little bondage. Hell, he’d even get to be lazy.

“WILL YOU BE JUST RESTRAINING MY ARMS?” Sans sat up ramrod straight, a little awkward in his forced nervousness. Papyrus pulled it taut.

“I WILL DECIDE THAT.” He averted his eyes, blushing, but turned back to stare at Sans’s (Edge’s) face, suddenly stern. “REMOVE YOUR CLOTHES...PLEASE.”

This was so precious. He dutifully undressed, refolding the clothes to almost the crisp lines he had found them in and set them on the dresser by the wall. He returned to the bedside to await further instruction. Papyrus pointed to the bed.

“LAY BACK ON THE BED. DO NOT RESIST ME.” Sans laid back, letting Papyrus take his arms and tie each one to the corner bed post. He tested the give when Papyrus had finished knotting them up. A quick little tug didn’t have them come loose, and he had enough wiggle room to keep from being uncomfortable. He had done some research.

“I HAVE DONE AS YOU ASKED. WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?” Sans stared over at him, Papyrus himself getting undressed much the same way Sans had done earlier.

Papyrus had long smooth bones the entire way up, a cute gangly frame that was cute before, but very attractive right now, doused in the light from the bedside lamp. His soul pulsed in fondness, his bones turning red thinking about what Papyrus had planned.

“WAIT PATIENTLY.”

He used his long fingers to start working himself up while Sans could only watch. He watched him open his mouth in pleasure. Sans felt his own hips buck along with his brother’s, gently tugging the bonds, but refraining from breaking them to keep playing along.

“IF YOU CAN’T BEHAVE, I’LL MAKE YOU WATCH THE WHOLE TIME.” Papyrus tried to look stern, but did it so shyly that it looked funny, but Sans held his tongue.

“I’M SORRY. I WILL...ATTEMPT TO KEEP STILL.” Papyrus looked satisfied. He’d have more confidence the next time he tried this, more able to deal with Edge’s inevitable complaints. He felt a finger trail along his sternum.

“NOW, JUST ENJOY.”

Papyrus spent a long time feeling up and down each of his bones, a slow build of feeling, an ebb and flow of magic that didn’t truly gather. It wasn’t enough to draw out whines, but his breathing did get much harsher. Imitating Edge didn’t come as naturally as he hoped.

Papyrus left him in this state of foreplay for much longer than he thought, he didn’t know his brother to be this patient. He had been slowly working open his own ecto while playing. His patience was starting to wane, in time with the rhythm of Papyrus’s fingers squelching inside himself, with his soft moans.

He must’ve heard his thoughts, because he did start to focus his attention. Sans’s magic summoned instantly, jumping out after the lengthy teasing.

“YOU’VE BEEN QUITE GOOD. I THINK I WILL REWARD YOU.”

Sans licked his lips, watching Papyrus’s dripping ecto hover over his hips. The touch of him against his cock felt like a holy experience.

“OOOOOOOOH…” He forced the sound a little, not wanting to be silent like he’d be in his own body. He didn’t have to fake the groans from Papyrus starting to settle on the tip, allowing a little bit of slide.

“THANK YOU FOR THIS EDGE. I AM AT MY LIMIT, SO LET’S END THIS TOGETHER.”

“OH MY STARS, PAPYRUS!” Sans barely kept from slamming upwards. His arms ached from the angle, but he’d reached his limit and dug in his elbow for a little more anchorage. He’d been patient long e-fucking-nough.

“EDGE! NYEEEEH!” Papyrus matched his pace, bouncing down right when Sans thrusted up. Everything got hot, body sliding into the downward spiral of pleasure, racing to a finish after hours of foreplay.

They finished breathlessly. Papyrus panted, openmouthed and tongue out, through the aftermath, wet and messy on top of Sans, still tied to the bedposts.

Oh yeah, his arms were feeling the strain now.

“Could...could you untie me?” Sans felt out of it, hoping that Edge didn’t yell constantly because he definitely gave the game away then. So much for berating Edge for his lack of focus.

“OH! SORRY EDGE. ONE MOMENT.” Papyrus made his way up to his wrists, pulled a string, and they fell loose. Sans let his arm collapse. His shoulders would feel that tomorrow. For now, he settled on holding Papyrus close, their warm bones comfortable against each other.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Papyrus laid against him. “I KNOW THIS WAS TOOK A LOT OF TRUST FROM YOU, BUT YOU WERE MUCH QUIETER THAN USUAL.” Sans tried to hide his nervousness, but they were too close to hide it completely.

“I WAS UNSURE OF HOW TO FEEL FOR A TIME.” Sans sighed. He hated lying to Papyrus, especially after the evening they’d had. “I...STILL PREFER BEING IN CONTROL OF MY BODY, BUT I DID ENJOY TONIGHT. I’M GLAD YOU HAD A GREAT TIME.” He held them close together, but after a short while, Papyrus pulled him up off the bed.

Apparently, Edge and Papyrus always showered and slept in pajamas every night. Felt unnecessary, though getting under the covers with P made it all feel worth the effort.

“GOODNIGHT EDGE. I LOVE YOU.” His heart melted when he held his hand as he fell asleep.

“I LOVE YOU TOO. GOODNIGHT PAPYRUS.” Yeah, definitely worth it.

---------

Edge woke up to a loud commercial on the TV. His arms and legs ached and he found he couldn’t really move them. When he looked down, it came back.

Red had fallen asleep cuddled against him. He frowned in his sleep, but kissing his head repeatedly relaxed him. It also started waking him up. He kept it up anyway. Edge had precious little time with this opportunity.

He didn’t expect the hand that swooped up and pulled his face down into Red’s.

Red kissed him softly, lapping at Edge’s (Sans’s) teeth. Edge let him in without hesitation. He’d usually try to dominate this kind of kiss, but the mood was wrong. Everything was soft, exploratory. It lit his soul up in all the right ways, just sensually stroking the tongue in his mouth with his own, and when Red had his fill, doing the same to Red.

“Evenin’.” Red whispered up to him when they parted. It felt like hours.

“My nap was contagious.” Edge kept softly clanking Red’s face, over and over, like they couldn’t be completely parted. Red slid his hands under Sans’s hoodie, and casually ran his hands over his body over the shirt.

“Sleeping with you is the best. Offer I couldn’t refuse.” Red yawned, still coming to.

“Could say the same about sleeping with you.” Edge smiled at his brother’s soft chuckle, breath hitching when Edge turned Red’s body to sit facing him on his lap. The kissing still hadn’t stopped, Edge’s mind lost in the mood. The living room was darker, shadows creeping in all the corners besides the soft light of the TV and the kitchen.

“I-I need you Sansy.” Red clung to him like a lifeline, pulling back to see ‘Sansy’s’ answer.

“Then ya got me.” Edge tilted Red’s head up and to the side so he could get at his neck. He nipped and sucked up and down what he could get at around the t-shirt. Then he slid his hands down Red’s arms, one in each sleeve, taking his brother’s infamous hoodie with it. By the time it fell off, Edge held both of his brother’s hands in his own. Red shivered and whined in his grasp. He pulled back to look at his handy work.

Red’s eyelights were blown wide, big red pupils making him look so much younger than he was. He looked fragile enough to be broken by a single word.

“Gorgeous.”

Red surged down to kiss him again. This kiss was more aggressive, Red wanted to be led to what he needed. Had his brother always been this sensitive? He’d always thought Red was weak, in mind if not in magic, but not like this. Calling him gorgeous did this, and calling him beautiful had made him cry. Did he rarely receive compliments? When was the last time Edge complimented him, outside of Sans’s body? He couldn’t recall.

“I love you, I love you so much.” Edge just wanted to keep talking, to see what put Red into those happy loving hysterics. He shed his (Sans’s) hoodie and removed Red’s shirt. He flexed his hips upwards, Red scrunching his eyes shut and grinding back. “Can I get a ride to bed?” Edge worked off his shirt, tossing it when the scenery changed. The unkempt bed didn’t even phase him.

“Too lazy to take us yourself?” Red kissed him fondly.

“Just like the feeling of your magic on me.” He’d barely remembered to keep his voice at Sans volume. He closed his eyes and focused on the task at hand. Red would be very upset if Edge slipped up. He explored Red’s entire rib cage under the guise of cherishing every inch of him (though he was appreciating him more and more by the second), but more particularly to get the spots that’d drive him wild that Sans would know by heart.

“Sansy...I still need it.” Red ground his hips down, and the conjured ecto under their clothes grinded up against each other. “Stop bein’ a tease.” He hid his shyness under bluster, but Edge didn’t give in.

“Maybe I just wanna admire you.” He traced one hand over old scars, the other to the inner spinal column. Red arched under the touch.

“Sto-op. You don’t gotta make up things to get me to f-fuck ya. Laying it on too thick pal.” Red blushed and turned away, pulling at his and Edge’s pants. The shorts tugged the boxers with them. His dick barely grazed Red’s pelvis before he felt his body move on its own.

Edge flipped them over. He lined them up and casually slid up and down his slick folds.

“Liar, you want it thicker.” Edge leaned down, tracing the scars he memorized and put his face right by Red’s neck. “All these scars, so many things that have tried to kill you…” Up and down, up and down. His hot breath tingled up Red’s spine. “You’ve lived through it all. You’re so strong love. Nothing compares.”

Red cried and hiccupped, keening when Edge finally slid inside.

“Saaaans.” Red whined into the thrusts, Edge peppered his face in kisses.

His mind was so far away. He loved Papyrus with his whole soul, but this intensity gave him pause. Did he love them both this way? Was he just caught up in the moment? Possibly both. How much he wanted this earlier today seemed confusing now. He must’ve been carrying this around a long time.

“Red, tell me that you love me.” Red fisted the sheets, staring into Edge’s eyes, completely overwhelmed.

“I love you.” He pumped in and out, forcing Red to follow him up towards the peak.

“Again.”

“I love you.”

“Again.”

“I love you!”

“Red.”

And he snapped to attention, orgasm building like a wave, seconds away from crashing over him. He stared into ‘Sans’s’ eyes and could see how badly he needed to hear this, for the words to reach him. Edge held on solely through force of will, waiting, waiting for Red to make him feel complete.

Red put his trembling hands on his (Sans’s) face. He peered into his very soul.

“I love you.”

The tidal wave crashed over both of them. Red moaned loudly, breath leaving him. Edge struggled to stay upright. He had to stomp on the urge to scream. The tide didn’t roll back until both were on the verge of collapse.

Red sported bright red tear tracks down his face. He felt emotional spent, along with physically. Edge (Sans) had collapsed on his side, shaking worse than Red had early on, clinging to Red as he himself had done to Edge not long ago. Red pulled him close and cradled his head against his ribs.

“You know you always have me, right?” Edge’s hands held fast onto his back ribs.

“Yeah. I just...needed to hear it.” A memory of the two of them huddled in the trash of Waterfall, scrounging for anything to get them through the week, when they were attacked. Red had fought them off, snarling after them while Edge cried in the background, a big gash on his face that had hurt so much.

“You’re gunna be okay, bro. I got you.” He had healed him, magic smoothing over the bone. He wiped up the blood afterwards. Edge had run right into his arms.

“THANK YOU. I LOVE YOU!” Red hugged him back, Edge still short enough to be fully encompassed in his arms.

“No, I love you.” Red kissed his little forehead. Edge insisted on sleeping near him that night.

“Let’s get some sleep.” Red pulled the sheets up over them, holding Edge while he just nodded against his bones. This was confusing, overwhelming. He didn’t have the ability to deal with this and be Sans. He got more comfortable, making sure Red could also easily drift off, and closed his eyes. Red held him close until he completely drifted away.

--------

Red woke up when he felt Sans shift awake. He instinctively tightened his hold, but relaxed when he heard the small groan of complaint at being smushed. He released Sans.

“Sorry.” Red mumbled. He flipped over onto his back. “You’re comfy.”

“IT’S…” Sans coughed, roughly and violently. “It’s alright. I’d rather be home with you too.” He took a deep breath, his chest rattling oddly. “Unfortunately, I doubt Alphys would be wild about it.” Sans pushed off the bed, shuffling towards the bathroom. Red closed his eyes. The footsteps stopped and came back.

Sans kissed him chastely on the cheek.

Red opened his eyes. Sans’s grin was pretty dopey, although...his eyes were more open than usual.

“And good morning.” Red could feel the blush creeping up his bones, smiling at his retreating form. The temptation to join him in the shower was high. But no, he wanted a little time alone to really think on the events of the evening.

Sans had been really really lovey yesterday. Not that he didn’t dole out compliments usually, but he’d been obsessed with making Red feel special and loved. His soul warmed up at the memory, but his mind could find cracks in the hearth. The best word would be...possessed? If so, this demon resembled Sans heavily, hitting all the right notes and beats, but something forced in the fluidity. Red was a naturally suspicious person, and last night, especially the end of it, hit every paranoia button he had.

Sans walked back in, heading to the dresser.

And opened the wrong drawer, multiple times.

Sans tried to play it off as being tired, and Red pretended to accept it. What the fuck was going on? Red hoped he was as good at convincing lies as he remembered (even if he felt guilty doing it to Sans), and decided to make a mental list of the things that didn’t work.

By the time Sans was leaving for work (HE WAS WALKING?!), Red’s list had gotten entirely too long to be a coincidence. So, with a significant amount of guilt, he slid into his sneakers and followed him.

Sans’s walk surprised lots of people. People waved and said hello, all ‘oh hey Sans! Been a minute!’ also not used to this. So he didn’t teleport to the walk usually then. The path was pretty direct, no silly detours, purposeful trips, just walking like he had no fucking other way to travel. And THEN, right before he made it to work, he walked purposely away towards a Hotlands alley, walking right in like it wasn’t a weird thing to do. Red took a shortcut to the top of the buildings surrounding the alley to keep up and almost fell off the fucking roof when he saw Sans meeting up with his brother.

Seriously, what the fuck?!

“I’m surprised you were able to successfully put my armor on this morning.” Sans sized up Edge, crossing his arms. “I hope you made up a decent enough excuse for Papyrus about being late.”

“YEAH. WASN’T TOO BAD, TOOK A SHORTCUT TO MAKE UP MOST OF THE TIME.” Edge’s arms hung weirdly at his side. Since...since when could his brother shortcut?

“HOW?! You can do that in MY body?!” Sans stomped his slipper down on the ground. “I tried to do that and it didn’t work!”

“It’s about knowing the way it works. Understanding the way space, time, and magical potency affect movement and I kept that when I...Wait.” Edge suddenly looked straight at Sans. “You walked here.” Listening to Edge drop his voice to something less loud, Red started to put together some pieces here.

“WHAT WAS MY ALTERNATIVE?! FLY?!” Sans never screeched like that. His...brother...did… His brother whose hands awkwardly hung as if they were usually sitting in…

Hoodie Pockets.

“Fuck.” Edge’s body looked up at him, spying him instantly from the alleyway. Sans would know exactly where to fucking look. “Red.” Sans’s body spun to look where Sans was looking. Sans was in his brother’s body. His brother was in Sans’s body. And of course Edge didn’t know what drawer Sans kept his clothes in, how to shortcut, or slouch in a way that didn’t look painful.

I love you. Red eyes shrank to pinpricks, frozen looking at the two in the alley. His brother had fucked him last night, and Sans LET him.

“Red, are you-”

“Don’t you FUCKING touch me!” Red slapped the red gloved hand away from him. And before he could be spoken to again, he zipped away, thrown at the foot of the school, right in view of Papyrus. He couldn’t breathe and everything felt too restricting. He looked up at Papyrus, desperately reaching to grab his hand.

“RED, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” He reached for Red’s hand back, and when he reached it, Red felt the whirl of magic behind him. Of course Sans would follow. Red wouldn’t let him.

“RED COME BA-” They were gone.

Papyrus pulled his hand away.

“RED, WHY WERE YOU RUNNING FROM EDGE AND WHERE ARE WE?” He sounded confused and Red envied this moment before he knew. Red glanced around.

His brain had shortcut him to the dusty remains of the machine at Sans’s place. Sans would never think to look here, and it sat at the edge of his shortcut range normally. Two people were a magical strain, but desperation did some incredible things. He put the disturbing thoughts as far out of his mind as he could to get through this conversation first.

“Papyrus, did my brother do anything...odd in the last 24 hours?” Sans had often said that Papyrus and the younger brothers were more observant than they let on, but he knew Edge’s patience was short on a good day. The tall skeleton crossed his arms, thinking hard.

“...NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT...THERE WERE SOME ODDITIES. WHY? DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?”

“Yeah.” How to start, he wondered. “I followed Sans to work today, because he didn’t shortcut himself like usual after a morning of acting really weird.” He paced back and forth, anxiety building. “Then he met up with Boss in an alley, but it was all wrong. He belittled Boss about how to put on his armor, and Boss talked about the shortcut he took to sneak around.”

“WHAT?”

“I think they switched bodies...yesterday, at that work incident thing that made them run late.” Red took a deep breath. “So now that I say that, do you think you were with my brother yesterday, or Sans trying really hard to be him? Because I’m 100% fucking sure it was my brother this morning, and I was with him all night.” Red swallowed hard at that. Not the time.

“I MEAN, I…”Papyrus did look worried. He paced quickly and tapped his foot whenever he stood still. “THAT WOULD EXPLAIN ALMOST EVERY WEIRD THING THAT HAPPENED, YES.” He didn’t look happy about it though. “WHICH MEANS I SAW SANS YESTERDAY ON MY DATE THROUGH NOW, INCLUDING...INCLUDING LAST NIGHT…” There was the look. Red knew it. Papyrus played with his gloves, wringing his hands together.

“Did...you also have sex with your ‘boyfriend?’” Red pulled his hood up over his head. “Because I’m freaking out.”

“I THOUGHT IT WAS ODD THAT EDGE WAS SO VERY WILLING TO TRY SOMETHING WHERE HE GAVE UP CONTROL. SANS...WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS?” Papyrus glanced over Red’s retraction into his hoodie like he wanted to be eaten up by the carpet.

“I don’t know P. All I know is that I had a really private moment with who I thought was my boyfriend, and now my brother just has that. And Sans fucking let him do it. If one of them said no, they couldn’t get away with it. Both of them agreed to not tell us.” Red pulled the hood tighter and tighter over his face to shrink further. “Sorry about pulling you from work. I just needed you to know before they tried to hide it from you.”

Papyrus sat on the floor, leaning against the lab counter. He still didn’t look nearly as wrecked as Red though.

“I DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW TO FEEL.” He finally settled on the words. “ON ONE HAND, I AM UPSET THAT SANS AND EDGE KEPT SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM ME. I TRUSTED THEM, AND THEY KEPT THIS A SECRET, ESPECIALLY AFTER I’VE SPOKEN TO BOTH OF THEM DIRECTLY ABOUT SECRET-KEEPING.” Papyrus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “BUT I AM SURPRISINGLY NOT UPSET AT THE OUTCOME.”

“...what?” Red turned to face him. Papyrus turned orange.

“I KNOW HOW THAT SOUNDS. I HAD SEX WITH SANS, UNDER A RUSE, AND THEY BOTH LIED TO ME FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.” He met Red’s gaze head-on. “BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I HAD A VERY ENJOYABLE NIGHT WITH HIM.” He hesitantly shrugged. “AND A PART OF ME WISHES TO DO SO AGAIN, BUT WITHOUT LIES.”

“You’re serious.” Red slowly uncovered his bright red face to openly stare slack-jawed at Papyrus. “You’d willingly fuck Sans again? Is that what I’m hearing?” Papyrus averted his gaze.

“I DON’T APPROVE OF THE CRUDENESS, BUT I SUPPOSE IT IS.” He looked at Red. “DO YOU NOT WANT TO HAVE ANOTHER NIGHT WITH EDGE?”

Red jumped up and flung his arms out.

“No! I’m fucking pissed. I don’t even want to have sex with fucking Sans right now, definitely not Edge!” Red stomped around the small room, kicking up dust and debris from the unused room. “They fucking conspired to do this, and they weren’t gunna tell us about it, and Sans had to have given him fucking POINTERS on the best way to fuck me, and...and…” Red dissolved into tears. Papyrus went to touch his shoulder, and Red almost flinched away. He still didn’t ever believe he was truly safe.

“AND?”

“I trusted him.” Red sobbed sadly. “I-I thought it was Sans and I let him in.” He felt empty, ashamed. “If he had asked for anything, right then, I would have given it up. I was so in love and it was a lie.” He wiped off his face. “Those bastards weren’t thinking about anyone but themselves.”

“I’M...SORRY. I DIDN’T REALIZE IT HAD BEEN SO SERIOUS.” Papyrus sighed. “THOUGH KNOWING EDGE BEHAVED THAT WAY HAS MADE ME MORE UPSET WITH HIM.” He stood, and offered Red a hand. Red took it, drooping so hard it looked like he hadn’t gotten up. “SO WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE?”

“I think we should talk to both of them. The fact Sans didn’t try and pull anything that sketchy says a lot.” Red shoved his hands in his pockets. “Doesn’t change the fact that I’m pissed. But it’s leaning sixty-forty towards Edge.” Papyrus hesitantly laid a hand on Red’s head.

“AGREED. BUT THAT DOES REQUIRE BEING HOME, ACTUALLY HOME.” He glanced around the dusty room attached to his old one. “CAN YOU RETURN US TO YOUR HOUSE? I FEEL SANS WOULD TAKE THEM THERE.”

“Alright.” Red closed his eyes, pooling all the excess magic he could find, and sent them home.

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

“I have no idea where they are. I checked every spot we’ve come up with, and nothing.” Sans sat on his couch, much less comfy in the lanky frame. Nothing about the outfit was nice to wear.

“RED CAN BE VERY CRAFTY WHEN PUSHED.” Edge had his head in his hands. He’d gotten them caught, though part of it wasn’t his fault, but he really should’ve noticed a tail. “THEY WON’T RETURN UNTIL HE WANTS TO BE BACK.”

“I’m gunna be sentenced to the couch for life.” Sans sighed. “I really shouldn’t have let you tempt me into this.”

“So it was Edge’s idea then.” Red announced their presence loudly. “That makes sense.” He glared right at Sans’s body, Edge shrinking under the look. Red was furious. He hadn’t said this name to his face ever.

“I did agree to it though.” Sans stood up, not hiding behind the different face. He moved to sit on the floor in front of Red, mostly to put them back at eye to eye. He didn’t want to come off intimidating right now. “Shoulda stuck to my senses.”

“MY BIGGER CONCERN IS THE WHY RATHER THAN WHO. WHY WOULD YOU HIDE THE SWITCH?” Papyrus looked around Sans on the floor to Edge, still on the couch. Seeing him in Sans’s body brought back memories of conversations about secrets being kept long ago. But once again, Sans answered.

“It just seemed...fun. I had a unique opportunity to see more of you, and I took it. It’s not like I was looking to replace what I had.” He looked at Red. “Can’t blame you for being pissed, but know I wasn’t trying to find greener pastures.” He looked appropriately guilty, but Red hadn’t even reacted. He didn’t care about Sans’s answer.

“Did you sleep with Edge?” Red growled out. Papyrus whipped his head over for that one, and then confusingly looked between the two. Sans looked shocked but then shameful.

“Yes.” Edge looked like he wanted to complain, but Sans wasn’t interested in lessening the ire with half-truths. “We knew where we wanted this to go. We gave each other tips, verbally and physically.”

Edge’s face scrunched up at the phrasing; it’s like Sans wanted this to come off terrible from the start. Papyrus was sending over strange glances, Edge kept himself away from them. He probably should’ve been more attentive. He felt a hand roughly grab under his chin, forcing him to look at Red’s furious face.

“Did he tell you to sweet talk me Papyrus?” Edge’s soul plummeted, suddenly much more personal than his convergence name. “Tell me how fucking gorgeous I was and I’d just be putty in your fucking hands?” Sans was watching, but contributed nothing. “But you know, ya just had to take it and run away with the idea, huh? Compliment the scars, call me a survivor, say I’m strong. Did you just enjoy working me up or did ya like the idea of me fallin for you so goddamn completely that you couldn’t fucking stop yourself?” Edge didn’t even know where to start, but Red still wasn’t done. He felt pressure along his jaw where the hand gripped him. “And don’t you dare fucking lie to me Papyrus!”

Edge couldn’t tear his eyes away from Red’s. He was pinned to the spot, scrambling to find the right words. His boyfriend was a few feet away, and he didn’t want to leave him, he wanted to return to the before, before he could feel this thing living in his chest that he didn’t realize had been dying there for a long time.

“I-” Edge couldn’t stop the words. “I THOUGHT I WANTED FUN, BUT I...I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE.” Tears welled in his eyes. He hadn’t cried in front of anyone in years, his brother the only one to see him this way until now. “I LOVE PAPYRUS! I WANT TO SPEND MY LIFE WITH HIM.” He grabbed at his chest. “BUT THE IDEA OF LIVING WITHOUT YOU HURTS. NOT KNOWING YOU HURTS. EVERYTHING I DID, EVERYTHING I SAID, I DID NOT LIE. ALL I DID WAS WEAR ANOTHER’S FACE.” Red’s panic was setting in, but Edge couldn’t let him not know how he felt. He put his hand over the one holding his face. “I LOVE YOU SANS.”

“...why?” It came out as a whisper, shocked and horrified to hear the words from Edge’s mouth. So much of the night before rushed back to slap Red in the face. His soul ran hot, he pulled his hand free. He backed up until he hit the living room wall. Edge went to follow, but Sans laid a hand on his shoulder.

“SANS-”

“Get out.” Red covered his face with his arm, pointing at the door with his other one. “Take Papyrus and leave my fucking house.”

And the discussion ended, Edge dejectedly following Papyrus out the door, leaving Red and Sans alone.

“I don’t want to even start with you.” Red glared up at Sans, moving to the couch, energy knocked out of him. Sans sat by him, knowing the mood he was going to fall into.

“Then don’t. Use me for what you want.” His voice was scratchy, Edge’s voice not able to hit his deep tone, but he tried to make it less like the person Red was desperate to ignore. Red leaned heavily against him.

“Easy for you to say. You’re wearing his face.” Red sighed harshly. “He...he was never nice to me, not once he got big enough to defend himself. He’d call me weak most mornings, I’d get a daily berating during resets, and he constantly reminded me that I was nothing compared to him.” Sans hummed an acknowledgement, but didn’t want to interrupt. “When he was you, it was constant compliments. He kissed and touched every part of me, I was so relaxed and unguarded. I woulda…” Red let his head hang low.

“Woulda what?” Sans kept himself out of it. He was here for Red right now.

“Sans, I almost offered him my soul.” Red teared up. “If he hadn’t had a little breakdown at the end, I woulda offered it to him, thinking he was you.” He buried his face in the fabric between the black armor. “I’m sorry.”

Sans rubbed Red’s shoulder while he hiccupped and cried. Leave it to Red to be the one who got most hurt by this and then feel bad about something that theoretically could’ve happened that would hurt Sans. It would’ve been devastating to find out that Red had offered that to Edge in place of him (Sans had been steadily earning his trust for years now, which he threw away when he decided to trust Edge of all fucking people), but Sans wouldn’t have the right to be upset at Red about it. And if he had offered, and Edge didn’t take it out of respect for Sans, it still would’ve been awful because Red wouldn’t get over being rejected on that level by someone he loved that deeply.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about. This whole mess is my fault. If I had said no, it wouldn’t have happened.” Red sniffled.

“Why did you do it Sansy?” Ouch, the nickname hurt.

“I’m hoping this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I wanted to do something with it. Just being selfish.” He yanked the gloves off before pulling Red close. “It feels stupid to even say.”

“Was I not good enough?”

“God, love, no.” He rubbed his back through the hoodie. “You’ve always been more than enough. None of this was about not wanting you Red. I wanted a fun night with Paps and then to come back.” Sans sighed, hoping the tight hug would say it better than he could. “I thought Edge wanted something similar. I didn’t think he’d do something like that to you. I didn’t think he’d hurt you like this.”

Red mumbled something against his armor, but Sans couldn’t hear it.

“I can’t hear you Red.”

“Tell me about your time with P.” Red poked his face out enough to speak.

“Red, you do-”

“Please.” Red hadn’t pushed him away, so he had already forgiven Sans for far too much. He supposed the request wasn’t a high price to pay.

“It was fun. Went on a romantic dinner, went home, and he tied me up. Guess he’d been asking Edge for a while now, but he didn’t want to give up control. I don’t have that problem. Let him do whatever, he roleplayed a little; it was cute.” Sans leaned his head back, height making him hit the wall. Red clutched the side of the plate armor.

“Papyrus said he’d do it again. Even knowing who you are.” Sans stiffened on that one. He hadn’t expected that. “I know the thing with Edge was a means to an end. I’m still mad about it but I get it. But the minute Papyrus said he’d be down to do this again, I’ve got this bad feeling that it’s gunna become a regular thing and I’m gunna be the black fucking rain cloud dragging everyone down.” Red frowned, averting his eyes away from the couch, not wanting to be in Sans’s lap to say this, but needing the comfort.

“Red, it’s not gunna become a regular thing.” Sans shook his head, but Red didn’t look at him.

“It will. The other two will agree to it. And I don’t want to, so I’ll look like the asshole. Just watch.” Red climbed out his lap, and then stared Sans down (up?). “I wanna be left alone until you walk back in here with your face. Go stay with them. They’ll ask, just wait.”

“Red…”Sans reached for him, but Red didn’t budge.

“The fact I’m even letting you come back in your own body is pretty damn forgiving considering you cheated on me twice.” Red growled, and then turned around. “Well, twice for now. Whatever you do with those two idiots in that body is not my goddamn problem.” Then he shortcut away to the bedroom.

Sans hunched his shoulders, but just accepted fate, disappearing without another word.

---------

The walk home was tense, quiet. Papyrus honestly didn’t know where to start, and he didn’t want to air their “dirty laundry” in public, especially with Edge wearing Sans’s face.

His mind circled back to all that time ago, to that long uncomfortable chat with Sans about secret keeping. But he found that wasn’t what his mind wanted to actually focus on. Edge being in Sans’s body just brought back those memories, but the real issue was Edge, his behavior, his actions, their relationship.

They had not gotten along as spectacularly at first. Edge had a tendency to be crude, sometimes cruel, in his actions, and while Papyrus touted he was great, he stopped doing so as much when he was faced with it constantly from the others after the convergence, though Edge remained unfazed long afterwards. He and Papyrus had been put on many of the same patrols, guard posts, and while he didn’t appreciate lectures on language and naivety, he did appreciate perfect magic control.

After a few spars, Edge had invited him to a friendly outing.

One outing had turned to several, and they found a lot in common under the differences. They both were also adept at being upfront. It hadn’t taken long for either of them to admit their feelings for each other.

Papyrus thought they had been doing quite well, following along their plans of obtaining a home, a weekly date plan. At least, until he had admitted how much he loved Red in front of him.

They made it through the front door, but Edge was not the type to run. He turned to face Papyrus the minute they were alone.

“I’M SORRY.” Hearing the loud voice from his brother’s face was startling, but at least he was sure that this hadn’t been some elaborate prank. “I WAS IN THE SAME BOAT AS SANS, THOUGH I WAS THE ONE TO SUGGEST IT. I WANTED A NIGHT, PERHAPS THE WEEK I WAS TO BE STUCK AS SANS, WITH RED AND THEN TO COME HOME. IT WASN’T MEANT TO BE THIS.” Edge wiped at his face, remembering the tears from before. “I STILL WANT TO BE WITH YOU, BUT I WANT RED TO BE PART OF MY FUTURE TOO. I’M SO-!” Edge stomped his foot down.

“I...SURPRISINGLY UNDERSTAND.” Edge wrung his hands, anxious and confused.

“PAPYRUS, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BE UPSET WITH ME OVER THIS.” Edge stood tall, or he would, if he were in his body. “THIS ISN’T SOME NONSENSE FROM MY WORLD THAT I ASKED YOU TO UNDERSTAND. THIS IS A PROBLEM OF MY SINGULAR CREATION.”

Part of their early arguments had been over Edge’s LV and EXP, but Papyrus had agreed to not bring it up anymore after a long emotional night of reliving Edge’s past.

“I KNOW THAT THESE THINGS ARE NOT THE SAME, BUT I WILL REPEAT TO YOU WHAT I SAID TO RED. I DO NOT MIND THE OUTCOME, BUT THE LIES AND SECRETS ARE BOTH AGAINST DIRECT CONVERSATIONS I’VE HAD WITH BOTH OF YOU.” Papyrus crossed his arms, stern and accusatory. “I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CONVERSATION WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT, BUT I DO NOT STAND BY DISHONESTY.”

Edge looked down to the floor. The carpet patterns were very interesting today it seemed.

“YOU ARE RIGHT. I WOULD DO THIS DIFFERENTLY IF I HAD THE CHOICE AGAIN.” Edge hugged himself, looking up at his boyfriend. “I DO NOT EXPECT INSTANT FORGIVENESS, BUT IS THIS SOMETHING WE CAN OVERCOME?” If he could work to earn his trust back, he would do so. He loved Papyrus, his spirit, his strength, and his kindness, but he knew that he hadn’t behaved in a manner deserving of such a great datemate.

Papyrus stooped down to hug him.

“OF COURSE WE CAN. THOUGH THIS WILL NOT BE EASY, ESPECIALLY FOR RED. HE AND I DID NOT AGREE ON SUCH EASY FORGIVENESS. I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO FIND SANS AT OUR DOOR WITHIN THE HOUR.” Edge hugged him back as hard as he could.

“I DO NOT DESERVE IT, BUT I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE COMFORT.” Papyrus patted him on the head, backing up to smile.

“I AM HAPPY TO HUG YOU ANYTIME.”

Edge took a steadying breath. That was one conversation out of the way, one relationship mended. The others still needed work though.

As if summoned by their reconciliation and Papyrus’s forewarning, Sans appeared in their living room. His hard face looked correct on Sans for once. He didn’t speak before dropping down onto the sofa, head in his hands while Edge and Papyrus waited patiently. Out of all of them, Sans probably had the worst conversation to have, as Red wouldn’t talk to Edge right now.

“Red told me to stay here. Didn’t want to see me.” Sans sighed, unhappy but unsurprised. “He’s pissed.”

“I...GATHERED.” Papyrus sat beside Sans, figuring he’d be the best at diffusing the situation. “HE MENTIONED AS MUCH BEFORE WE ARRIVED AT YOUR HOME.”

“He said you weren’t upset at finding out I was in E’s body.” Sans looked up at his brother. He didn’t know how many people he could handle hating him right now.

“I AM UPSET YOU LIED AND KEPT IT A SECRET. I AM NOT UPSET AT THE REST.” Papyrus laid a hand on his back. “WE’VE DISCUSSED IT BEFORE, AND WHILE I DO WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT NOT ALLOWING SECRETS WASN’T A SUGGESTION, I CAN SAVE THAT CONVERSATION FOR ANOTHER TIME.” He pulled his brother into a hug. “FOR NOW, TELL US ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED.”

Sans couldn’t hold his body up anymore. Papyrus held him while he sat there, miserable. Edge wanted to walk away and hide from this, especially in this body, from Sans, but it wouldn’t be fair to him.

“He doesn’t want to see me or E. He’s convinced that we’re gunna start some type of love triangle or square or something.” He turned to look at Edge. “And you wanna explain the shit you pulled with him? Red thinks you were fucking with him since you were such an ass pre-convergence, and you changed your tune pretty quick. I know I said to compliment him and treat him well, but if you blame me for your bullshit-”

“IT WAS MY FAULT. ONLY MY FAULT.” Edge didn’t flinch away from the glare. “MY BROTHER STOPPED BEING CLOSE TO ME SHORTLY AFTER I GOT OUT OF STRIPES, AND WHEN I WAS YOU, I REALIZED HOW MUCH I WANTED THAT BACK.” He approached Sans, ready to accept whatever punishment he deemed appropriate. “HE IS THE BROTHER I REMEMBER WITH YOU. THE ONE I LOVED WHEN I WAS SMALL.” He bowed his head before Sans. “I DIDN’T KNOW HOW MUCH I MISSED HIM UNTIL HE WAS IN FRONT OF ME. AND IN YOUR BODY, I FELT LIKE I COULD JUST FULLY ENJOY IT.”

“Well I hope you enjoyed it enough to last a lifetime, because he doesn’t want to see this face again.” Sans gestured to his stolen countenance. “Then again, I’m not sure he’ll take me back with my face either.” He sighed, sounding defeated.

“HE IS ANGRY, BUT NOT UNREASONABLE. I DO NOT KNOW IF HE’LL FORGIVE EDGE, BUT HE LOVES YOU. I DOUBT YOU’LL BE TURNED AWAY FOR TOO LONG.” Papyrus held him in the half hug gently. He cocked his head to the side. “THOUGH I AM CURIOUS. HE BELIEVES THIS WILL BE A REGULAR OCCURANCE?” Sans closed his eyes, relaxing as much as the stiff armor and stress would let him.

“He’s under the impression that since we didn’t mind being with each other, you and E being a thing, and with him and I being a thing, that we’d make it a regular deal. Though that falls apart if he and E aren’t a thing, so it doesn’t matter.” He looked up at his bro. “I love you, but I need him. I wanted…” He hunched his back. “I wanted to share my soul with him.” He sat up, leaning out of the comfort to curl in on himself. “I fucked up.”

“I...KNOW IT DOESN’T MEAN MUCH, AND I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO FORGIVE ME FOR IT, BUT I AM SORRY.”

Sans laughed humorlessly.

“Me too.”

Papyrus was the only one not forlornly staring at the floor. He stood briskly, placing his hands on his hips, calling for both of their attention with a heavy step.

“THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! RED WILL NEVER FORGIVE EITHER OF YOU WITH THAT ATTITUDE.” He pointed at Sans. “IF YOU WORK TO WIN HIM BACK, HE WILL BE YOURS SANS. YOU JUST NEED TO TRY. IS HE NOT WORTH THE EFFORT?” Sans’s eye sockets glowed bright with yearning.

“He’s worth a lot more than I got. But I’ll work at it until I can look him in the eye again.” Papyrus turned to point at Edge.

“YOU SAID YOU LOVED HIM, AS MUCH AS I LOVE SANS AT LEAST. DO YOU NOT WISH TO CHASE THAT DOWN, TO MAKE HIM, IF NOT RETURN YOUR LOVE, THEN ACCEPT IT?” He got down on his knees to hold Edge’s small hands in his own. “I DO NOT KNOW WHERE I WOULD BE WITHOUT MY SANS; I KNOW YOU MISS YOURS. BUT HE MUST BE CONVINCED YOUR FEELINGS ARE SINCERE. CAN THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE RISE TO THE OCCASION?”

Edge shook in Papyrus’s grasp. He had risen so high, accomplished so much, with a mountain of his own blood, sweat, and tears to get to where he was. He’d stood on his own two boots and ran forward to create his own path. But now, the memories of the past were coming back to haunt him. Before he could stand alone. Red had cared for him selflessly, defending his tiny soul from scavengers without complaint. And now that he sought them out, he couldn’t recall Red ever throwing that in his face while he’d screamed Red down for all his mistakes.

He’d been selfish, and his soul trembled thinking of the monumental task ahead. If he failed…

But he had never failed! He was the great and terrible Papyrus! Even if he went by Edge now, HE himself had remained unchanged. He stared up into his love’s face, bold and determined.

“I’M GOING TO WIN HIM BACK, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!” He gently clanked Papyrus’s face. “THANK YOU LOVE. I HAD ALMOST FORGOTTEN MYSELF.” He hugged him tight.

“NOW LET’S FIX THIS!”

---------

“T-there! Back to n-normal!” Edge could feel the heavy press of his armor on his chest. Sans woke up in his hoodie and coulda cried with how much he had missed it. They looked over at each other.

“I APOLOGIZE FOR EVERYTHING SANS.” Edge needed to say this with his own face. This mess was his idea and the failure of it was his own fault. This experience had humbled him to many things, and this apology was a warm up of sorts. The bigger one was to come later tonight. “THANK YOU ALPHYS.”

“You’re welcome. Please d-don’t cause anymore trouble in my lab.” She shook her head and walked back to the other side of the lab. Sans scratched his skull.

“I mean, takes two to tango. Besides, I’m not the one you really need to see.” Sans straightened out his back, familiar popping instead of Edge’s smooth unfurl. “Not gunna give you tips though. Saw how that worked out last time.”

“THAT IS LIKELY BEST.”

“Good luck. We’re cheering for ya.” Sans winked at him.

They exchanged a few more words, but Sans waved him off to wait with Papyrus. Witnesses would complicate this.

He walked into the door, and Red was sprawled on the couch, shoes by the door, exactly as he had been when Edge had come in as Sans forever ago. Red growled from his spot, not looking at him.

“I told you to leave me alone until you were in your own fucking body Sans.”

“I WASN’T PRESENT FOR THAT, BUT I SUPPOSE I FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS ANYWAY.” Edge sighed, Red flinching and already turning red with anger.

“I don’t wanna see you, no matter which fucking body you’re in Papyrus.” Red snarled, throwing a remote that Edge easily caught, ready to snap his fingers and vanish.

“SANS, PLEASE.” Edge crossed his arms. “REGARDLESS OF THE RESULT, THIS CONVERSATION HAS TO HAPPEN. LET US HAVE IT AND NOT HAVE IT HANG OVER US.” His body un-tensed when Red lowered his hand, shaking his head.

“Fine. Let’s have this stupid conversation.” Red pulled his hoodie up tighter around him. His eyes were already glowing, anger flaring up his magic. “So, go ahead. Try to fucking talk your way through this. I’m fucking listening.”

Edge didn’t know how to begin. How could he even begin to describe the complex emotions he had? Maybe he could start with the obvious?

“I LOVE YOU SA-”

“No you fucking DON’T.” Edge felt blue magic drop him to his knees. Red was in his face an instant later. “Don’t start with the fake ass sweet talk. I’m not gunna be fooled into sleeping with you aga-”

“FUCK YOU! IT ISN’T FUCKING FAKE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Edge grabbed the front of Red’s hoodie like he’d done a million times before. “DO YOU THINK THIS IS EASY FOR ME? THAT I DIDN’T HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH THIS FUCKING OVERWHELMING FEELING THAT I DIDN’T ASK FOR?!” Edge hoisted him up, toes barely dragging the floor. “IT WASN’T A FUCKING CHOICE!”

“CONGRATU-FUCKIN-LATIONS PAPYRUS! How do you think I fucking feel?!” Red clawed at Edge’s arm, glaring at him with so much vitriol. “You called me a useless, lazy, no better than dust piece of shit for YEARS! Then you fucking show up wearing SANS’S face, and suddenly it’s ‘you’re so strong love, nothing compares,’ fucking me like you haven’t been embarassed by me being ALIVE since you were taller than me!” He scratched harder, starting to dig in. Edge held even though his arm shook. “Now you want me to believe you love me when it conveniently makes you look less like an asshole?!”

“WHERE WAS THIS?!” Edge shook him until he rattled. “WHERE WAS THIS FUCKING ENERGY WHEN WE WERE LIVING IN OUR HOME?!”

“The fuck do you mean?!” Red kicked Edge, toes bouncing off Edge’s front plate.

“GOD DAMMIT SANS! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE!” Red just looked confused, sneering disbelief, not understanding his point. “YOU WOULDN’T WAKE UP. YOU WOULDN’T EAT. YOU ACTIVELY SLEPT OUT IN THE OPEN. IT WAS LIKE THE SECOND I COULD DEFEND MYSELF, YOU MADE YOUR LIFE MY PROBLEM ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE!” Edge felt a claw draw blood, he tossed Red back a few feet, stumbling on the carpet before falling on his ass.

“I was never your fucking problem to keep alive! You only needed to defend yourself! You’re the one who made my life YOUR problem!” Red coughed hard, growling Edge’s way.

“WHAT DID YOU WANT ME TO DO SANS?! JUST LET MY BROTHER FUCKING DIE?!”

“YES!” Red shouted, tears only gathering in the corners of his eyes. He wouldn’t let them fall. “You shoulda just let me die! You were fine on your own!” Edge felt something in his chest explode.

“What?” Edge tried to look at Red, but his gaze kept sliding away, unable to really contemplate what that meant. “You wanted to die?” He sounded lost.

“Wasn’t that obvious?!” Red scrunched up his nose. Edge’s gaze was still very, very distant.

“But...why?” Edge’s chest felt heavier than fifty armor plates. “I-” He cut off, unsure of how to continue.

“I killed our dad.” Red’s body drooped hard. “He was gunna kill you, so I killed him and ran. I was terrified; I was just a kid, and most kids died, much less kids looking after kids. But I had killed G, so I had enough LV to scare off other scavengers.” Red couldn’t look at Edge. “But it felt so bad. It felt wrong, LV didn’t sit right with me, and I could feel that sin crawling on my back all the time. I still feel it now.” Red had never looked more tired, Edge’s eyes watered, building up to tears. He didn’t fight Red grabbing him by the scarf. “But I couldn’t fucking quit on you! I wanted to die every damn second, but you were defenseless and I had to tough it out for you! So of course I checked the fuck out when you could fight on your own without help! You’re the great and terrible Papyrus, and I was a damn nobody.” Red let go of the scarf, holding Edge’s skull, wide tear filled eyes and all, with both hands. Edge still had no words.

“If you’d let me die, you would’ve been unstoppable.” Red sighed, rubbing off the tear tracks with his thumbs. Edge’s mouth was hanging slightly open. “You woulda been a hotshot Royal Guardsman with no weaknesses, and all it would cost you was a worthless sinner who wouldn’t kill in a world of kill or be killed, just waiting to be killed and holding you back.” Red laughed mirthlessly. “I couldn’t even do that right. Refused to kill but killed Gaster without hesitation.”

Edge could barely see, overwhelmed, like he had never seen his brother clearly before. The shock was wearing down with Red running his thumbs over his cheekbones.

“WHY...DID HE WISH TO KILL ME?”

“You weren’t a child prodigy. I could help him in the lab super young. You were a normal babybones. He didn’t want to deal with you. Was gunna dust you and try again.” Red let his face go. “Go ahead. I can hear you thinking from here.”

“WHAT I SAW WAS SOMEONE WHO ABANDONED ME THE SECOND I COULD CARRY BOTH OF US. I HATED IT, HATED YOU, FOR WANTING ME TO DO EVERYTHING INSTEAD OF HELPING ME. AND YOU MADE IT SO DAMN DIFFICULT BY NOT DOING ANYTHING TO KEEP YOURSELF ALIVE.” Edge laid his arms on Red’s shoulders, red scratches lining the bones. “I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY.”

“Who says shit like that to a kid? I raised you, I’m not gunna say that and fuck you up, thinking it’s your fault I’m screwed up in the head, like I regretted keeping you.” Red looked at his socks. Edge’s soul shook with anxiety.

“YOU DON’T?” Red snapped his gaze up to Edge’s face.

“The fuck? I’ve loved you since day one Papyrus. I’m pissed at you, but it’s not something you can lose.” Red said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Edge pulled him into the tightest hug he could, burying his face in the fluffy trim. Red’s arms hovered hesitantly, before laying them onto Edge’s back, hugging him back with a full body sigh. “You’re the one who had no reason to love me.”

“I THOUGHT YOU HATED ME. HATED THE FACT THAT I TOOK YOUR CHILDHOOD AWAY.” Edge cried into his shoulder. His bones rattled loudly, breath scraping in and out, half out of breath and half full of heartache. “I WAS SO ANGRY. I ADORED YOU SO MUCH BEFORE I GOT STRONGER, THEN YOU TURNED INTO SOMEONE WHO HATED ME.” So far, it’d all been the past, but Edge couldn’t stop the flood of words. “WHEN I CAME HERE AS SANS, AND WE LAUGHED ON THE COUCH, ALL I COULD REMEMBER IS THAT YOU HADN’T LAUGHED WITH ME IN DECADES.”

“I distanced myself as hard as I could. I didn’t want you to miss me when I died.” Red stroked the back of his skull. “I thought I had finally made you fucking despise me, and then of fucking course the convergence happened, and I had to live with that choice.” Part of Red still didn’t want to let any of this go, but he had always been soft on his bro.

“I THOUGHT YOU HAD SUCCEEDED AS WELL, BUT I THINK I HAD JUST GIVEN UP ON YOU LOVING ME. AND WHEN I COULD SPEAK AS SANS, SOMEONE YOU CHERISHED, I WAS SO JEALOUS. YOU LOVED HIM, BUT NOT ME.” Edge shuffled his legs around, Red suddenly seated in his lap.

Red leaned against his brother’s long chest, then grabbed Edge’s chin. He directed his view down to him.

“I love both of you. It’s not a competition.” Edge’s eyes went wide.

“SANS, PLEASE, TELL ME YOU LOVE ME.” Here he was, on the edge again, absolutely needing Red to do this. Red felt his soul skip a beat, he knew exactly what would happen when he said those words, and all that was left was to say them or not. He stared directly into Edge’s eyes.

“I love you Papyrus.”

Red closed his eyes before it happened. Edge pulled straight out of his grip and swooped down to kiss him.

Red groaned when Edge shifted him in his lap to get a real good angle to sneak his tongue in. His hands snuck up around Edge’s neck, locking him in until Red was good and ready to let him go.

When they parted, they were both blushing.

“I LOVE YOU SANS. I CANNOT UNDO THE PAST, BUT I MEAN IT NOW.” Edge ran his hands over each rib through Red’s jacket. “I’D TELL YOU WHAT I’M THINKING, BUT IT MIGHT UPSET YOU.”

“Say it anyway. We’re starting a no secret policy like those other two dumbasses.” Red hummed into the contact. The tension he’d been carrying all week was just starting to loosen.

“YOU’RE QUITE HANDSOME.” Red jolted up, pressing his face directly into Edge’s shoulder. Edge stroked the back of Red’s skull happily.

“Ya’re on thin ice asshole…” He mumbled into Edge’s armor, then mumbled again. “‘Sides, you’ve been the handsome one our whole lives.” A shiver shot up Edge’s spine. His soul hummed with the praise, pulling Red’s legs to straddle his lap, and going in for another kiss while Red was still wearing his cute blush. He moaned softly and Edge ate up every sound.

“CAN I TOUCH YOU SANS?” His hands hovered over the hoodie zipper, but he wouldn’t betray Red’s trust a second time. Two chances were rare from him.

“I dunno. Can you?” Red’s eyes were half lidded, lazy smirk tilted up at his brother’s face. Edge dropped his head on his brother’s shoulder.

“YOU’RE INSUFFERABLE. MAY I TOUCH YOU?”

“I...I don’t know.” Red laid his hands on Edge’s skull. They were shaking. “I’m feeling a little self conscious after last time.”

Edge gently traced over where he knew the scars were, completely clothed.

“YOU GOT MOST OF THESE DEFENDING ME.” He hugged him closer, slid completely up into his lap, pressed together. “YOU’RE THE ONLY REASON I MADE IT THIS FAR. THERE IS NOTHING I COULD SEE THAT WOULD MAKE ME THINK LESS OF YOU.”

“It’d help if you weren’t still trying to be so over the top with this lovey stuff…” Red leaned into the hug, slotting them as close together as he could manage. He pressed his face into the armor, breathing in the familiar scent of his brother. “I don’t need to be buttered up so much for a good time.”

“YOU CLEARLY ENJOY IT THOUGH.” Edge toyed with the tip of Red’s tailbone through his shorts. Red huffed into Edge’s chest, wiggling in his lap. “I ENJOY IT AS WELL.”

“Papyrusssss.” Red’s fingers stroked along Edge’s neck vertebrae. He pulled himself up enough to breathe right onto the sensitive bones.

“LET ME MAKE YOU SCREAM SANS…”

Edge slotted their pelvises together just right. Red whined into it.

“Fine. You can touch.” Edge captured his mouth in a kiss almost immediately. His hands pushed the hoodie off, and went for the shirt just as quickly. He broke the kiss to remove the thing before diving right back in. Red whimpered right into his mouth while his hands pulled which ribs were more sensitive than others from memory.

Red clawed at the armor, hands shakily undoing the belts holding it in place. Red had never forgotten how to put it on and remove it. He’d seen it done a million times. Edge removed the shirts underneath without needing to be asked.

Red pushed their chests together, scarred bones rubbing up against one another. Edge dipped a hand into Red’s pants to hold his pelvis and forcibly grind up against him.

“AAAAAH!” Red cried out. The harsher ministrations fit so much better. Edge wouldn’t be as gentle or lazy as Sans. His honesty was crude and cutting, and he didn’t do soft very well, but the meaning behind the acts were clear; Edge loved him, in his own way, and needed Red to know.

“SUCH WONDERFUL SOUNDS, I THINK I CAN GET YOU LOUDER THOUGH.”

“I’m gunna make ya work for it.” Red slid out of his pants when prompted, keeping to low gravelly moans and pleased hums. Edge kept trying new bumps, different techniques on the spots Red really responded to. Red didn’t increase in sound, purposely teasing him.

Then he gave up and bit down with his sharp teeth on Red’s collarbone.

“FUCK!” Red dug scratches into Edge’s back. Edge went to pull back and apologize, but once he let go, Red tilted his head the other way. “You bite your fucking boyfriend like that, you vampire?” Edge grinned ferociously.

“HE’S NOT INTO THAT, UNLIKE YOU, YOU MASOCHIST.” Edge bit down on the opposite shoulder. Red cried out, his ecto summoning without a thought.

“If you know I’m a masochist, what’re ya waiting for?” Red pushed down Edge’s pants, undoing the belt with a single hand, taking hold of Edge’s cock and freeing it from his loose pants. With skilled ease, he slid all the way down in one motion, whining at the bite of pain from going so fast. Edge forgot how to breathe. Red bounced, panting at the stretch and the soft pounding at the back of his pussy.

Edge gripped his hips to stop him. He adjusted their angle, did one slow slide inside of Red to make sure he’d bottom out each time, then proceeded to smash him down. Red gasped the first time. His moans increased in volume when Edge refused to let up.

“I WANT YOU TO FEEL THIS WHEN HE RETURNS HOME TO YOU.” Edge growled at Red’s bright face, overwhelmed and enraptured by him. “I WILL NOT LET YOU FORGET THIS, FORGET ME. I LOVE YOU, AND WHILE I AM DEIGNING TO SHARE WITH SANS, IF HE CAN HAVE BOTH OF YOU, I WILL AS WELL.” He could feel Red’s building orgasm in the clench of his fingers on his rib cage, the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, the pitch of his whines.

“I love you too.” Red cried, pain completely melted away. Edge clanked their foreheads together.

“Then come for me.” Edge came kissing Red.

They came down together, passionate kissing devolving into soft clanks until they collapsed against each other. Red hid his blushing face.

“I have no idea how this is gunna work.” Red shivered without his warm hoodie. “You and Sans agreeing to share, considering how much you argue, is really fucking weird.” Edge reached a long arm over to grab the hoodie and wrap it around his brother.

“WE BOTH CARE ABOUT YOU AND PAPYRUS. I CONSIDER IT MORE OF A TRADE, AS I GET SOME TIME WITH YOU IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS TIME WITH PAPYRUS. I AM NOT AGAINST FAIR TRADES.” Red stood on shaky legs, looking around for his clothes. He tossed back any of Edge’s he found on the hunt.

“And what about you and Sans?” Red stood up straight, wincing when he put a hand on his lower back. Edge tilted his head.

“WHAT ABOUT HIM AND I?” Red raised a brow.

“I mean, you did have sex with him. I just want to know what that arrangement looks like going forward. This kinda complex shit only works when we’re all transparent.” Edge stood to his full height. He adjusted his clothes and then grabbed his chin.

“I ADMIT, I HADN’T CONSIDERED THAT. WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST, AS YOU WERE LEFT OUT OF PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS?” Edge thought on the idea of him and Sans doing anything again. The first time had been for a direct purpose, but there was an allure to having a liaison with a partner who he was constantly at odds with.

“I’m not really that interested in him, but I guess if you wanna have Sans, then if P and I decide to do anything, ya can’t complain.” Red shrugged. “Not that I expect that it’ll happen a lot. It’s not like I’m giving up Sans as my partner. You aren’t exchangeable. I’m pretty sure you still want to marry P.”

“OF COURSE. I LOVE HIM. OUR DATE NIGHTS ARE SOME OF THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE. MAKING A HOME WITH HIM IS STILL MY PRIORITY.” Edge kneeled and took one of Red’s hands. “YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO ME, AND I KNOW THAT YOU CARE FOR ME. SANS IS JUST A MORE DIRECT MATCH.” He looked towards the bedroom knowingly. “I DO PREFER NOT TO LIVE NEXT DOOR TO A TRASH TORNADO NOW THAT I HAVE THE OPTION.”

“Come on Boss, it makes cleaning a breeze.” Red smirked, Edge squawking in indignation. He bopped him on the skull, but Red finally felt his body fully relax. Everything felt right again. With a smile, he led Edge to the front door.

“Go on, send home my idiot when you see P. You know where to find me.” Red leaned on the door frame as Edge stepped out. He stooped down to kiss Red on the forehead fondly.

“I WILL SEE YOU SOON SANS.” And off he went.

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

“How was the sleepover?” Red looked back over his shoulder when he heard Sans come in. He’d been trying his hand at cooking lately, as having all their meals at Grillby’s was getting a little old. He heard the rustle of a bag and then a sheet behind him. Then something dropped over his head.

“Pretty good. You clearly got the movie taste AND looks in the family though.” He felt a kiss on the cheek.

The item dropped on him fluttered into view. A “Kiss The Cook” apron.

“Thanks Sansy.” He turned to face Sans, stirring the stew with one hand, pulling Sans into a better kiss.

“Mmmmm. Knew you’d like it.” Sans sat down at their kitchen table, patiently waiting for Red to finish cooking. “Your bro asked for help picking out an engagement ring for Papyrus. He’ll probably be out of touch for a bit.” He leaned back against the chair. “He offered to help me find one for you, but I turned it down.”

“Why’s that?” Red set down two plates of food. He settled into his chair, getting ready to take a bite.

“We both know we don’t wanna plan a whole shindig.” Red chuckled at that, blowing on a bite before chowing down. Pretty good this time, maybe sear the meat a little less, and almost too lost in his musing to hear Sans whisper to his plate. “That’ll never happen.”

Red couldn’t get the food down at that. It’d been months since the body swap thing, and while it took a bit to really get used to it, they were all better off for it. At least, that’s what he thought. Apparently Sans didn’t think so.

After a very awkward dinner, and a quiet clean up, Sans hugged him from behind while he put up the dishes.

“I’m feeling pretty beat. Think I’m gunna turn in a little early.” He felt so quiet, so distant. Red hugged over the arms.

“Wait up for me? Gunna shower, been stewing in sweat all day.” It barely pulled a chuckle. He did feel a slow nod against his back, then empty air. Red chest crushed under the weight of his heart. He quickly cleaned himself off, walking into their bedroom in his boxers and a t-shirt. Sans smiled, but it was tight and tired, not even reaching out to pull him closer for them to sleep. Red trembled and turned away when they turned off the light.

Sans would never marry him. He’d never be marriage material. He tried to keep his sniffles quiet, not wanting to disturb Sans while he slept. Who knows if he’d even stay boyfriend material if he was annoying on top of everything else?

“Red?” Sans had the light on in an instant. He turned Red over to look at his face, full of concern, pulling him into a hug without a thought. Sans was too nice to him. “What’s wrong, love?” Red leaned his head against him, miserable. “I shoulda noticed. I’m sorry, whatever you need, I’m here.”

Red clutched at his back, face buried in Sans’s shoulder while he hiccupped. He was such a crybaby. So easy to upset, no one would want such a sensitive spouse, always causing problems just by existing.

He would’ve kept wallowing if he didn’t feel tears falling on his skull as well.

When he pulled back, he stared at Sans’s unusual tears, confused.

“W-why are you crying?” Red winced at the stutter, caught between wanting to hunch in on himself and hold Sans. Sans kissed him gently.

“Because I love you and I’m still so bad at helping you, knowing what you need, being there when you need it. I’m such a damn failure.” He rested a hand on Red’s cheek. “You’ve been quiet since dinner, and I got too caught up in how I was feeling to be there for you, just being selfish as usual. I hate seeing you cry. What happened?” Red placed a hand over Sans’s, staring into his eyes. They had all agreed to no secrets, so he just quietly confessed.

“I heard you at dinner, that we’d never get married. I know I’m not that great of a boyfriend, but it hurts to hear it.” Sans’s eyes just got wider and wider as Red spoke. “I’m trying so hard to not be worthless. I love you so much Sansy, I don’t want you to leave.”

“Red, no.” Sans kissed his entire face, finishing by resting his forehead against Red’s.

“But you said-”

“I meant me. You’d never marry me.” Sans tired eyes wouldn’t meet his. “I caused that whole mess, and you were the one who got screwed by it, all for my selfishness. When you told me that you almost offered your soul to E in my body?” Sans laughed, humorless and tearful. ”I knew it was over. I fucked that up. I had you, and I threw it away, and I’ll never get that back. That trust is gone, and there’s no one to blame but myself.” Sans closed his eyes. “Everything fell into place but this, and I don’t think it was worth the trade.”

Sans certainly didn’t expect the soft kiss. For all their similarities, they sure could be blind.

“Sansy, I love you. I didn’t stop, even when I was mad at you. Don’t you love me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then what’s not falling into place? We got each other and all the time in the world.” Red held Sans’s face, gently rubbing his cheeks. “Is this because of the soul thing? Do you think I don’t trust you?”

“Yeah...I just felt before, we were building up to that, to sharing each other that way, and now, it feels like none of that matters anymore.” Sans sighed. “I guess I coulda just been too focused on it. I wasn’t appreciating what I had again…” He sagged in Red’s hands, leaning forward until he rested his head on Red’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Sans could feel Red’s body tense under him. He really was the worst sometimes, causing his boyfriend this much stress over his own inadequacies. He felt one of Red’s arms drop off his back, feeling the deep breaths in his chest, and then a hand by his own.

“It stressed me out and I was building up to it because I was nervous. I’ve never let anyone see it after we ran away from home. But after everything else, it just took a back seat. If I had known how important you felt that was, I wouldn’t have let it slip through the cracks.” Red leaned his head onto Sans’s. “If this is as meaningful as marriage where you’re from, then I’m sorry for making ya think I didn’t want that with you.”

He felt a weight transfer from Red’s hand to his own. Sans adjusted his head to see.

Red’s soul, floating above his palm. His eyes teared up again. He sat back up slowly, trying to not jostle the little thing, pulling it up closer to his face. It magically hovered a few inches above his hands, but he could reach out and touch it if he wanted.

“Wow.” It gently twirled in front of his face.

“It’s nothing special.” Sans didn’t glance away to respond to Red. He chastely kissed it, so very happy. “Aaaaah. That feels...nice.” Sans nuzzled against it like he would his boyfriend, happily humming into the warm soul. Red purred into the contact, laying back onto the headboard. He stretched out, bones warming up from the breath from Sans’s nose. “This is like getting the best massage of my life. I love you.” Sans smiled at him.

“Love you too. Wonder if you’ll like this more.” He took a long, languid lick right between the dip of the soul.

“Oh fuck.” His body arched off the bed.

“You taste like sugar. Always knew you were a sweetheart.” Red laughed, but it was short, breathless, while Sans traced the edges of his soul. Red tore off his shirt to cool down, but the sensation was deep into his marrow.

“You sure-” Red groaned. “-got me fired up.” His bones were starting to glow crimson. The magic in his body pulsed awake, craving Sans, wanting to share this feeling with him.

Sans was too focused on the tasty soul in his mouth, enjoying Red’s sounds, not noticing the scrambling hands at his boxers until Red had pushed them down.

“Hey, relax. This is about you.” But Red had pushed him backwards. He fell softly onto the bed, Red removing the pants with extreme prejudice.

“This is about us.” Red’s talented hands stroked and teased. His warmed hands made quick work of summoning Sans’s cock. Sans felt Red’s tongue on him in seconds, eyes hazy from all the soul teasing.

“Fuck Red, babe, I-” Sans sucked on the pointed end of Red’s soul, his boyfriend moaning around his cock. “-was gunna give you mine too.”

Red paused his work to look at Sans face.

“Your soul?” Sans nodded. With a little concentration, he summoned it to the front of his body. Red hesitantly reached for it. Sans kissed Red’s soul, trying to impart how much he wanted to share this with him with the simple touch. He plucked it from its summoning place with a look of reverence.

Sans soul pounded in his love’s warm fingers. Holding Red’s soul, the connection between them opened like a path, familiar but strange, like a trail only taken at night suddenly visible in the day.

Red kissed the soul softly, Sans doing the same, and the emotional feedback magnified.

“I love you so much.” It had come out of Red’s mouth, but they felt the echo of those words across their entire bodies. He laid forward, Sans’s ecto barely under his chin, licking at the soul while desire took over all his senses. His own soul was getting a similar treatment.

Once he’d gotten his fill of the flavor, however, he took the warm heart and moved it out of sight. Sans only knew because of the sudden mouth on him instead.

“My soul too gross for you?” He was kidding, Red could feel that, but he did sense the little spike of curiosity. He didn’t answer, keeping up his slow work on Sans’s cock with his mouth and single hand. His own ecto pussy had summoned ages ago, wet and dripping, and Red did flick his gaze upwards for that first little attempt. “Holy shit what are you doing ahhhhhhhhhh.”

Red continued working Sans’s hot soul up against himself, it sinking a little further each time. Sans tended to Red’s soul between dazed choked gasps.

“What’re you-hnnnnngh-doing to me?” Sans’s licked stripes got sloppy, feeling confined and hot, incredibly turned on. “I can see your mouth, so where’s this feeling-god DAMN!” Red finally managed to work the soul into himself enough for it to sink, his body swallowing it down his tight wet pussy. The first squeeze around it drew gasps from both of them.

“Being-mmmmmmm, ah!- double teamed by one person is new.” Red writhed, working to get Sans’s cock as far down his throat as the soul was up in his body. He used the free hand to rub over his sensitive nub, almost overwhelmed instantly from the soul feedback. He switched to fingering himself around the soul instead.

“Reeeeeeeed!” Sans’s attention became razor focused. He sucked and dragged his teeth across every piece of Red’s soul, singlemindedly trying to escape the inferno blazing through his body by igniting an even hotter one in Red, if it was even possible. His bones were glowing too, and where they touched steamed up the air, magic heavy and charged like a battery. His mind, Red’s mind, there wasn’t a difference anymore as they built up hotter and hotter bodies. Sans wasn’t sure he could even withstand the feeling of Red clenching down around him twice at the same time.

“Sansy. I’m so full of you Sansy.” Red kept up fast hand strokes when he came up for words. His tongue could scarcely keep away. “Hheeeeeeeelp me come AHHHHH!” Red took Sans’s cock to the base in one head bob, pushing the soul even deeper into himself with his fingers at the same time.

Sans could barely move, but he did have an idea. He pulled the entire soul in his mouth. His tongue wrapped around it, wet and warm, and swallowed.

“FUUUUUCK!”

Sans came right down Red’s throat at the same time Red spasmed around his soul.

It took so long for the aftershocks to leave Sans coherent. He could barely sit up, but he forced himself to tend to Red, who still hadn’t come down. His soul was still inside of him, and Red kept whimpering with his legs spread open. He put Red’s soul back first; he had pulled it out of his skull trying to stop the sensations.

“I-I-I think I go-ot t-too excit-ed.” Red curled his chin down, trying to push the soul out, but not making much progress.

“First idea after getting my soul is to put it in your pussy. Pervert.” Sans chuckled, hiding just how sensitive his body still felt. He gently slid his fingers into him. Red threw his head back, bucking up against them. “You gotta try to relax, or I won’t be able to reach it.”

“E-easy f-f-for you to say.” Red struggled to keep his hips still. Sans’s fingers could barely touch the bottom; he’d have to fit more of his hand inside. Red was still soaked from the stimulation, so the fingers did start to slide in.

“I’m gunna have to get deeper in there.”

“F-fucking fist me why don’t ya.” Red whined at Sans trying to work his hand up there.

“I almost have to.” When the widest part of his hand sank in, he finally got a grip on it. Holding onto it while pulling it out did make his hand too wide to pull back out easily. It was gunna hurt if he just yanked. With a hold on his own soul, the sensations on his end were dulled enough to focus, so he started stretching him from the inside, gently pulling and pushing while Red bit down to keep from getting too into it.

“S-sorry.” Sans heard it just before Red canted his hips with reckless abandon.

Well, this was about him.

Sans worked his hand harder, taking advantage of Red’s enthusiasm to work him wider. His overwarm bones complained, but he was so close. Deeper, almost out, faster, tightening around his arm, and when his hand was almost free, he used his free fingers to get Red off in time with him pulling free.

Sans fell back, soul finally free, already desummoning like Red’s ecto, and they collapsed against each other, their touch finally absent of feedback.

After centuries, Red spoke.

“Are we married now?” And Sans laughed hard enough to catch Red in it too, two silly boneheads rattling in the night.

“I think so.” Sans closed his eyes, and sought out his hand. Red settled in next to him, covering them in a mostly clean blanket, then clasped it right back.

“I love you husband.” The night covered them, only the glow of their eyelights left after the lamps were off. The air was light and happy, and Sans could finally breathe easy again after all this time.

“I love you too. Til death do us part.” His grin was sleepy and crooked, Red’s was fond and tired. And with everything right again, sleep finally took them.

-----

Holy shit, it’s posted. Have fun with that.

#kedgeup #fontcest #fellcest #kustard #sanscest #apologies to cherryblossom #the idea of writing that sex scene was stressing me out #it would've been a bonus if it didn't #story time

80 notes · View notes

chiseler · 3 years ago

Text

Peleshian: Life & Nothing Less

For over sixty years, Artavazd Peleshian—Артавазд Пелешян; Արտավազդ Փելեշյան—has been slowly sifting through the mountain of debris that has built up around the cinema. His films seem to intrude upon a present which smugly believes that it has solved all the old problems from a static horizon, that all is over and done with, that everything has been settled. What is left is merely the production of ghosts.

In Kyanq (“Life”), made in 1993, Peleshian ignores the diegetic revolution which followed the discovery of the power of cutting within a single sequence. Cross cutting has become another prison, and making a film seems almost unimaginable without recourse to its seductive shifts and its promises of infinite simultaneity. But passing through Eisenstein and Dovzhenko, starting again after the hard-won miracles and defeats of the past, Peleshian has come out from the other side. He has made a second beginning for cinema by rearranging ideas of the past.

The film opens with a beautiful woman in close-up profile, apparently in the throes of ecstasy. Soon, an arm in scrubs enters the frame and we see that she is actually in a medical theater (the hand is a doctor or relative’s; blurred vertical planes are parts of the metal delivery bed; a glowing orb is hospital lighting). She is in labor, which is a mundane and sentimental subject for a film. The use of the close-up in film, crowding the screen with sweat and ‘emotion’, is an easy manipulation of the viewer’s emotions. It also bares the chill of forensic pathology, which seizes the living as if the body were a puzzle useful only for illustrating hazard or solving its own crime. The soundtrack is music by Verdi, which stops and starts fitfully until it is finally freed from the film’s editing, adding a skipping unreality to the formal ‘realism’ of Life. The only other sound is a heartbeat amplified over the beginning (and note, not the electronic blip of a monitor), which remains slightly audible under the requiem mass.

Though the film follows the simple timeline of a woman giving birth, the editing follows the inward time of a mother. The use of extreme close-up is now clear: in the epochal scheme of a general, universal time, the close-up is used to make myths into statues or it captures momentary passions as if these passions or myths were the only ones in the world. But through a subtle use of jump-cuts, the viewer starts to feel an odd remove from the girl’s lovely features. She begins to resemble a landscape, as in those old enigmatic Dutch paintings where hills and rivers form a great human face. We have returned to painting, the first inspiration of filmmakers, but the laws of perspective and the order of objects are far less important than the alternation of internal and external time. Filming and watching take time, are revealed in time, try to trick time by poking it full of holes (visible first in the sprockets of exposed film, as it feeds and moves in light projection). Life is made of different times, a fact which seduces us into believing that time is all that governs life and that all time is reducible to the power of a dominant course.

Rembrandt said: Life etches itself onto our faces as we grow older, showing our violence, excesses, or kindnesses.

Do not children kill their mothers in childbirth, all or in part, with the violence of birth, with the all the terrible duties that child-rearing demands? And one of the last taboos—maybe also the first, if we accept that the horror of incest is inseparable from it—the link between orgasm and birth is also the possibility of dual death and the ruthless affirmation of Life over death which dictates that the life of the child is a supreme right against its mother. Life at all costs—the greatest of tyrannies, a monstrous physical drive which unleashes a tsunami of living over the earth: the atrocious flood of total creation. Life as something that equals what is most terrifying within it—of it—the blank face of a genetic machine wanting itself and nothing else, consuming itself via the temptation-engines of a chattering god of sheer velocity (this is also the god of information, beloved of the tech wizards). It is not the phantom of Death that haunts the living, but the phantom of Life. And the individual life strives to fool this specter, to shock it in its own wild onrush by producing a single life in the monolithic barrage of limitless coming-to-be. Bearing witness against this crude biological nihilism which William Blake identified as The Beast, the machine mills of the slavers’ empire, one single life then occurs as many—each without repeat, yet each one the selfsame in the body of the swarm.

Against this omnivorous shadow—a cellular destiny which rises out of the solitary reflections given us by our vague notions of science, by a primary education that teaches biology as fate and terror only—Peleshian projects a woman in contortions, giving birth down by the walls of the hegemon. Things get smaller in the film. Life shrinks down to a mouth, a hand, a slight bewitching smile, ringlets of hair and beads of sweat. And here we realize that exaltation—accompanied by an Italian death mass and the heart’s regular drum—is always done alone, and that its joys must be betrayed by the world from which each ecstasy severs it time and again. Entering back into the crowd (via the film, via an audience she cannot know), what is unique returns in this disorder of movement and gesture—which is everyone’s autobiography. Just as when ‘something strikes you’, striking the eye with an immense force: a face on the bus, corner stoop faces, faces and faces from whose vast gallery one singular expression comes into clarity for an instant and then returns—on the verge of life or leaving life, there is nothing else at this hypothetical moment—almost caught at the corner of the eye.

It is strange that in extreme close-ups, faces seem at their most indistinguishable but also at their most familiar (you mistake someone for someone else and stare at them to be sure, staring ever more intently until you are far more than unsure—you are lost in that other face). The film’s other close-ups are of hands. The human hand is midway between the features of the face and the wild movements of the limbs. Hands riddle and grasp, make knots, then relax for a split second; they curl like mites, tree branches, or Chinese brushstrokes; hands touching, climbing, cradling, joining. Think of those famous handprints in red ochre found on cave walls—and finding that which is before art in these images, we still foolishly call this act which far outstrips any cultic or imaginative art, just as erroneously as we do the images made with hands, an ‘expression!’—palms measuring breadth, and not just the span of vital time but the time of an imprint that will remain for an accidental 80,000 years. The Peleshian-captured hands clench and constrict life, that nothing be left undone. It does not matter whose hand the woman in the film clasps—anyone, someone, for a moment the only one (perhaps all together, all those she has met, summed up in a stranger’s hand). Dark supposition: that everyone only knows life by their separation from life, lives peering at Life across an impenetrable gulf. But life is also the work of hands.

She raises a finger to the corner of her mouth with its intricate sloping shadow, touching the ghost of a smile. The woman is lost in some reverie and giving birth would seem a strange time for letting the mind wander. But from the jump cuts, we know that Peleshian has edited this sequence internally, so it is far from certain when moments like this actually occurred (I counted 15 cuts in a sequence which accounts for about 5 minutes of the film’s 7-minute running time). At the end, the child is tossed to her mother like a bag of apples, after being bathed in torrents of spurting water (there is no afterbirth or blood, another conscious omission). The young woman and her child then stare at the camera in freeze-frame. I can think of a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t have, but you did, despite all—and I now understand why in the flood of existence you added one more as if you were adding nothing at all. This is Peleshian’s only film in color, which ads credence to the rumor it was to have been his last (Happily, it was not). Color is the first sight of a guileless world seen by guileless eyes, eyes soon to fall upon the architecture of black and white and the gridlines of working rooms.

“Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam…” Verdi’s Requiem Mass, 1874: deliverance (and delivery, “Libera animas omnium…”) and liberation (from life, from hell, the lion’s jaws), faithful souls, holy light, deepest pits. “Grant O Lord that they might pass from life death…” Thus is the connection between life and the freeing from life, death and multiple birth sealed (Verdi’s Offertorio is cut and partially repeated on the soundtrack). Now the hand at her mouth, in her hair, rack of contractions. Take and in taking, receive, “Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus.” The others—all souls—hostias, “we offer...”

Endnote/ Links:

Artavazd Peleshian’s entire completed work takes about two hours to view (his longest is his latest, the 63-minute La Nature, 2019). Kyanq and many others can be seen here: https://www.ubu.com/film/peleshian.html

Peleshian and Godard: https://kinoslang.blogspot.com/2013/07/before-babel.html

Peleshian speaks: http://www.movingimagesource.us/articles/going-the-distance-20120106

1 note · View note

tameila · 5 years ago

Text

to kiss is religion.

Characters/Pairings: Pike & Scanlan, Pikelan

Summary: [~1.5k words, TSAR ‘verse] that scene in chapter 10 where Pike tells Scanlan where upon her body he may kiss except it’s Scanlan’s POV. Warnings: mostly PG but mildly PG-13 because Scanlan’s mind can go places so fast

Notes: thank you @thesylversmyth for this suggestion! This one was particularly fun, because I’ve always had a pretty clear map of what Scanlan’s mindset was during that scene. It was a joy to bring it out!

Pike turns her head from his kiss, and Scanlan sighs. “I understand,” he mumbles, though his eyes stay glued to the corner of her lips he can still see. He can wait. He’s waited a decade already and spent half of it restless and breathless and aching for her. To have her in his arms, smiling at him, the bluest eyes shining above the most adorable flushed cheeks. That’s enough. She wants him at all. That’s more than enough.

He can wait.

Still — “Is there anywhere I may kiss?” Her blush-pink cheeks. Her freckled nose. The scar that bisects her left eyebrow. There’s so many nuances to her that he longs to touch. The delicate curl of her hair around the shell of her ear. Her adorable chin and the tempting dip just above it. Words and poetry and songs are one thing. To touch is another. His hands are rough and calloused, could never be as soft as she deserves, but if he could press his lips to her loveliest details...

Pike laughs and gives his ear a playful tug. “You’re awfully bold considering we’ve only been dating for 15 minutes.”

Dating. What a rush. Scanlan grins; he can’t help it. He’s dating Pike Trickfoot, and he feels freer than he has in years, free to give himself up to the bubbling glee in his gut — slightly manic and too much but maybe that’s just what happiness feels like.

“Well, I can tell you I certainly didn’t make it in the business by being shy, baby,” he says with a wink, living for the laughter it wins from her. He’s glad that he can still be this way with her, reckless with his flirtations and charm. He’s glad that she wants him this way and that she wants him this way just as much as she wants him when he’s disgustingly sincere and mushy.

She wants him at all.

How did he get so fucking lucky?

With her chin aloft in play, Pike presents him the back of her hand.

“Ah, yes! A kiss upon the hand.” Scanlan falls easily into his part. “Chaste. Perfect for our Victorian wooing.”

He grasps her fingers delicately in his and pulls them to his lips. He only means to kiss once, but his lips meet the soft skin just above her knuckles and he’s memorized. Treacherously, he thinks of her lips. Will they be as soft, if he’s ever lucky enough to kiss them? He lets his lips move along the dips between her knuckles. The skin there is smooth and cool from the evening air.

If he closes his eyes, if he lets his mind wander...Are her lips as wind-chilled?

Gods, what he wouldn’t give to warm them.

A frantic wash of want builds in the back of his throat and, in a meager show of self-control, he pulls back a breath — a shaky, heavy breath — only to return his lips to her skin once more. And, he understands in that moment, in that wondrous blip of time that his lips linger upon the back of her hand, how repression can breed sexual depravity. He gets it. Where they connect, hand in hand and lips to skin, he tingles. Hyper-sensitive. Hyper-aware. Remember the way she feels, a voice in the back of his mind speaks amongst a swirl of fragmented verses and bars. I could get off to the high of this kiss alone for weeks.

Yeah, he fucking gets it.

Reluctantly, he relents, letting his lips enjoy one last drag as he lifts his gaze to hers.

Her eyes are wide, a cloudless blue sky amongst the darkness around them, and her lips are temptingly parted. He knows that look. He’s seen it on the face of every lover he’s taken to bed or, at least, the ones whose faces he can still remember. She’s charmed. She wants him and, if he worked that much more, he could have her.

A shiver runs down his spine, feeling far too much like a spark rushing towards the gasoline-soaked desire in his gut, and yet he finds the voice to speak:

“Anywhere else?”

Pike turns shyly from his gaze, shuffling and dropping her chin to her chest. Scanlan sees her play and, breathing back the push in him to chase the crack in her resolve, he resumes his playful part. He gasps. He ‘oh’s. He gives his review.

“A kiss upon the top of your head? Of course! A classic. Underrated, if you ask me, and – ” He curls a hand around her shoulder, pulling her more securely into him and pressing his lips to her hair. She overtakes him. Her shampoo, bright and sweet, like the first bite of a ripe fruit. Her warmth, legs over his lap, body curled into his side, infectious and tucked around him, like a handmade quilt that smells like home. He feels dizzy with the weight of her against him, on him, deep within him because every second more she’s in his arms, he can feel her settling further into his bloodstream.

Scanlan pulls away, slowly, breath quivering, only to bump his head back to hers, nuzzling where he once kissed. His lips brush close to her ear. Not quite touching but enough to tease her. When she giggles, just as he hoped, he smiles and whispers, “...and...best paired with a bit of a snuggle.”

Pike places a hand over his on her shoulder, and something in Scanlan loosens and falls away at the touch. A restraint done away. A weight lifted. Like she cupped some unseen, hidden burden in him, cradled it as if it were a bird and told it, “It’s safe now. Be free. Fly,” and it did.

When she pushes her forehead to hers, he can see in her eyes that, in some small way, he’s done the same for her.

No one’s ever looked at him in that way.

No one’s ever seen him as a source of comfort. No one’s ever lain in his arms and trusted that he would take their burdens and make them something beautiful, something that flies away.

He could kiss her now, and she’d let him.

She’d let him, and she’d cherish him.

No one’s ever done that.

Again, he asks her: “Anywhere else?”

He needs to hear her say it. Kiss me. Better yet, he needs her to take that first leap, that little lean towards him, that subtle, not-subtle look towards his lip as she waits for him to meet her in the middle. He needs it to be her choice. A decade he’s waited for her to want him. He could not live with their first kiss being something taken rather than something gifted and shared.

But, Pike does not ask. She presses her forehead more resolutely to his and, in turn, he falls fully into his part. He laughs and singsongs and kisses her forehead — a quick, simple kiss. When Pike stays shy afterwards, hiding her gaze and toying with the collar of his shirt, he becomes the resolve she needs to stay true to herself.

“You may kiss me wherever you please,” he says, his smile like a mischievous curl of a fox’s tail. When she peeks up at him, nose scrunching, he knows he’s done the right thing. There’s a softness to her blue eyes, and he chases it, waggling his eyebrows and adding, “In fact, I am a big proponent for exploration.”

When Pike joins in with his act, teasing and encouraging his dramatics, the early tension that hung between them shimmers away.

A decade — That’s how long Scanlan has waited for Pike to want him. A month ago, he could only hope she felt the same. A day ago, he could only dream that she’d at least be kind in her rejection. Now, he’s here within her space, held by her, holding her, hands intertwined and smiles matching. She touches him so gently; he could cry. As he falls back against the stone of the porch, head smarting but laughter no less sincere, he swears he almost does. Her hand is warm on the back of his head, and he’s waited so long to be wanted by her at all; he would wait twice as long for some silly kiss. Just let him have this, and he’d wait forever.

May she always want him.

May he always deserve it.

He prays.

As the night goes on about them, bugs buzzing against the porch light, sky darkening with every blink, the breeze barely able to slip between them, Scanlan gazes up at Pike and her adoring eyes and pretty smile. Adoring him. Smiling because of him. She dips her forehead to his, and he can barely dare to breathe, to blink, to be anywhere but there in that moment with her. As hers.

He prays.

#Critical Role #Pike Trickfoot #Scanlan Shorthalt #Pikelan #The Sun Always Rises #my writing #my friends!! we're thriving on this fine evening!!#happy third b-day TSAR!!!

48 notes · View notes

actuallyrandomperson · 5 years ago

Text

My thoughts on the Sanders Sides Spotify playlists- Virgil Edition!

Note: this is Purely me saying whether or not I like the songs, not theorising about any deeper meanings. I’ve done them all, so just click on the names to see my reactions to the others: Patton, Roman, Logan, Janus

Impressions from looking through the playlist: I don’t specifically know most of the songs (I know more of the bands), but I feel like that’ll be a recurring theme as I tend to stick within my very specific music taste and only add songs to my playlists if I hear them while I’m out and about and like them enough to find them on Spotify, which means my horizons aren’t broadened very often. The ones I do know do not surprise me that much (neither do the bands, for that matter), as they feel very Virgil

1: ‘Sunrise, Sunset’, by Bright Eyes. I didn’t mind it at first? But the chorus was a bit too,,, shouty for me. Probably Definitely a song I’d skip if it came up on a playlist in the future, as much as I liked the tune(/melody?). Not surprised to find it on Virgil’s playlist though, it gives off Angst. Was very in my face as I tried to continue reading fics.

2: ‘Lets Kill Tonight’, by Panic! At The Disco. One that I have probably heard before, as while I myself didn’t have an emo music phase, an ex friend did. I liked it more, as I expected to as I tend to like p!atd’s songs. Not one that I’d go out of my way to listen to again, but has been added to my 32 hour long playlist on Spotify (not my slightly more curated 10 hour one tho, but I mostly play the 10 hour one while doing work or while others are around soo). Once again felt like it suited Virgil, (as I imagine all of them will, so I might just call out ones that feel Odd if any do.)

3: ‘Sally’s Song’, by Amy Lee. It might shock some of y’all, but not one I’ve really heard before! I live in Australia so Halloween’s not a massive thing and I actually don’t know that many people who’ve watched The Nightmare Before Christmas. Thomas is actually one of the main reasons I know that the movie exists. I really liked it, unsurprisingly, so it too made its way to my 32 hour playlist (not the ten hour one, but only because I try to keep mostly ‘normal’ songs on there so there’s not that many songs from movies in it)

4: ‘It Ends Tonight’, by The All-American Rejects. I recognised the band, but not the title. I think I’ve heard this before though- I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it. I wouldn’t skip it if it popped up in a playlist at some stage in the future, but I haven’t added it to either of my playlists.

5: ‘I’d Hate To Be You When Everyone Fonds Out What This Song Is About’, Mayday Parade. Very long title (ok, I know in emo song title standards it’s not even that long but as I said I didn’t really have an emo phase so these sorts of titles always shock me) that slightly confuses me (who’s you? why is what the songs about bad for them??), but I liked it! Is now on my 32 hour playlist. I suspect that at the end of listening to all of these it will be longer than 32 hours.

6: ‘A Decade Under The Influence’, Taking Back Sunday. Another one that I liked enough that I wouldn’t skip it in the future, but didn’t add to my playlist. I just didn’t vibe with it enough. Happened to line up with Roman having a Bad Feeling™ in the fic I was reading tho so that was entertaining

7: ‘Thks fr th mmrs’, by Fall Out Boy. This was the first song to invoke feelings of Nostalgia™ in me, and I’m kinda shocked it’s not already in my 32 hour playlist. That has been remedied. This song was played a fair bit in my childhood, both on the radio and by an older sister. I imagine a lotta people my age had a similar thing. Obviously one I Love. Got me to stop reading in favour of being a doofus by lip syncing and dancing around while lying in bed (and deafening my eardrums as I turned it up louder) during the chorus.

8: ‘Be Calm’, by Fun. This was the second song that I didn’t recognise either the title or the band for. I liked it, even though the initial warped carnival-esque tune thing made me think of Pennywise. Pretty much as soon as the singing started I added it to the 32 hour playlist. It might make its way to the shorter one one day, as I actually really like it. It’s just a bit odd, and as I said I try to keep that playlist to more ‘conventionally normal’ songs as it’s designed for me to be able to play around other people without getting weird looks.

9: ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’, by My Chemical Romance. Let’s be real. I would’ve cried if this song wasn’t included in the playlist. You would’ve cried if this song was not included in this playlist. If all of their songs aren’t in their respective playlists I’ll be disappointed. This song being in the playlist prompted me to go back and rewatch that episode. so many jokes originate in that ep. also we only knew one name back then? and the dark sides were barely a blip on our radars??? how????? ok back to the song- not my favourite, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. Probably won’t skip it every time it comes up in the future, but it’s definitely not my cup of tea.

10: ‘Imaginary’, by Evanescence. I laughed when I realised this was next up, as rewatching the q&a reminded me that Virgil said they were his favourite band so I’d noted that I had to look out to see if any of their songs were on the playlist. I liked it enough to add it to the 32 hour playlist, but wouldn’t go out of my way to play it in the future.

11: ‘Soft Shock- Acoustic Version’, by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. When this started my first thought was ‘oh, I think I’m gonna really like this one!’ and my second was ‘I’m kinda surprised it’s on Virgils playlist, but it feels right somehow.’ (It made more sense as I listened to the lyrics, I think I was just massively caught off guard by it being acoustic). I hadn’t heard of either the song or the band before this, but my initial instinct was Correct and it has in fact.... made it onto the ten hour playlist!! Hell yeah!! I actually liked it enough to listen to the og version as well, which I still liked but slightly less. (Also I have heard some of their music before as I realised looking at the album this came from that my one of my sisters used to listen to them, which I’m not that surprised about as we have Similar tastes in music)

12: ‘The Good That Won’t Come Out’, by Rilo Kiley. I liked this enough to consider adding it to my 32 hour playlist, and the lyrics were interesting, I just didn’t vibe with it that much. 🤷‍♀️

13: ‘Sick Sad World’, by Nervus. The bands name feels very apt for Virgil. I liked the rhythm of this one, and it was also a Certified Mood tbh. Got added to the 32 hour playlist!! Also made me wanna hug Virgil.

14: ‘Ignorance’, by Paramore. I wasn’t expecting to love this, as I don’t remember really liking much of Paramore’s music in the past even though I know I must’ve heard some, but I didn’t hate it. Didn’t get added to either of my playlists, but I probably wouldn’t skip it in the future.

15: ‘The Ice Is Getting Thinner’, by Death Cab for Cutie. I was expecting to like this one, as one of my favourite youtuber’s fave songs is a death cab for cutie song and I really like it as well. I did like this one quite a bit, but it only made its way onto my 32 hour playlist.

16: ‘Overkill- Acoustic Version’, by Colin Hay. I didn’t mind this, but didn’t like it enough to put it on the 32 hour playlist. I possibly would like the original version more, but I can’t be bothered finding it especially given my first impression is just meh

17: ‘Under Pressure’, by My Chemical Romance. I didn’t love it as much as I love the original, but it did prompt me to check if I’d added the original to my two playlists. Apparently I didn’t, even though I was listening to a Lot of Queen when I was deeply entrenched in good omens.

18: ‘Everything is Alright’, Motion City Soundtrack. I liked this one! I think I might’ve heard It before, but it’s been a while. It got added to the 32 hour playlist.

19: ‘The Middle’, by Jimmy Eat World. I didn’t recognise the title b u t I did recognise the song. Obviously. Because I’m a gen z with older siblings. It was the second big nostalgia feels song, which was made even stronger by me not immediately recognising the title (unlike thks fr th mmrs). Was added to the 32 hour playlist as soon as I realised what song it was

20: ‘Vindicated’, by Dashboard Confessional. I knew this, but mostly from a music podcast called Punch up The Jam so hearing it in full was weird. Added it to the 32 hour playlist but wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it again.

Final thoughts: I know I said I never had an emo phase in music, but I do actually like a lot of it even tho I was never That Kid, so I was kinda expecting to at least like a lot of these songs. My favourite song was definitely Be Calm, closely followed Soft Shock and Thks Fr Th Mmrs. 12/20 got added to my 32 hour playlist, and 2 (I eventually decided my love of Be Calm was strong enough for it to be an exception) to the 10 hour one!

@thatsthat24

#sanders sides #sanders sides playlist #virgil #virgil sanders #thomas sanders #sanders sides spotify #virgil's playlist #virgil’s playlist reaction #spotify #virgils playlist #virgils playlist reaction #virgil’s spotify #virgils spotify

22 notes · View notes

silyabeeodess · 5 years ago

Text

FusionFall Headcanons: Character Ages

From taking the canon ages of the various CN characters within their own shows into account to people noticing the... liberties, the game took to some of the designs for them in the game, I’m well aware that this is going to be a point of debate. Still, after some consideration, I’d like to cross reference some of these points to come up with at least a general sense of where these characters may be/have been in their lives. I probably won’t come up with specifics--moreso early/late this or that--for the ages. Now, I will bring up puberty a bit in this--definitely not heavily, but it is mentioned--so keep that in mind.

Dee Dee, Dexter, and Mandark

For these characters, I view Dee Dee, Dexter, and Mandark being in their late teens-early 20′s. We already know based on evidence from the show that Dee Dee is Dexter’s older sister by just a few years while Dexter and Mandark are only about two years apart themselves (as implied by concept art for “Ego Trip” as explained on the Dexter’s Laboratory wiki). It’s possible that Dee Dee might have at least a year over Mandark and/or for Dexter and Mandark to be the same age, since he is in Dexter’s class as far back as elementary school, but we also have to consider the high possibility that he was held back due to his parents’ lifestyles keeping him from going to school during his early childhood.

Since Dee Dee lives alone at their old family home and it’s already established that her and Dexter’s parents live up on the house on top of Dexlabs, she’s likely already an adult. She probably looks after the home not only for security purposes, but due to the massive success of Dexlabs making their family wealthy enough to maintain it and for her to live there despite being fairly young--meaning she wouldn’t have to get a dorm if she chose to go to college or something similar, but still has the liberty of living on her own. Based on how she continues to wear her dance outfit, her maintaining a slim physique similar to professional ballet dancers, and that she still goes to recitals as evidenced in “Dee Dee’s Dilemmas (Part 3)”, it’s also likely that she either studies dance or may even teach it to small children.

What makes me think Dexter and Mandark are in their older teens is how much of a foothold their companies have during the events of the game, enough so for their tech to be everywhere. It’s possible that their genius gave them a leg up enough to quit high school and form their companies early, but they’d still need a few years to build and develop them to the extent we see.

Numbuhs 1-5

For the operatives to still be viewed as official members of the KND (at least to public knowledge), this would mean that they’d have be younger than 13, so they’d be in their tweens. Given the extent to which the war has altered the KND’s operations, however, they may even be a little older--just with their decommissioning being the farthest from anyone’s mind at the time. We also know that at the group would remain a part of the KND well into adulthood based on the series finale as the issue stands, supporting this.

Furthermore, for Numbuh One to lead an operation in the war so far from the rest of not only his team, but other parts of the KND, as well as seeing him work with Plumbers like Grandpa Max, it’s possible that the war may take place after the events of the KND finale would--after Numbuh One would’ve experienced space-travel for himself through the G:KND, an expansion of the KND in sequel series that was never aired. What could also hint to the war being post-G:KND is the mention of bases within Earth’s solar system besides the moonbase--which the KND lose contact with in the official FusionFall comic, but were never mentioned in the actual show. All of this further points to a passage of time at which the operatives would be a little older than their original depictions, which already averaged at around 10 years old.

The Powerpuff Girls and the Gangreen Gang

Well, I’m gonna go ahead and say that the girls aren’t five unless the developers of FusionFall took a page from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure in their character designs. We also have the presence of Pokey Oaks Middle School in-game as opposed to Pokey Oaks Kindergarten from the show, acting as a subtle clue that the girls are at least middle school age within the FusionFall universe, but I’d like to take that a step farther:

In the show, we were given a general age range for the Gangreen Gang at 14-17 years, with Ace being the oldest and Lil’ Arturo extending that approximation according to his wiki page with a personal age range of 10-14 years. In FusionFall, we’re given aged-up versions of the girls, but not from what we can tell of the Gangreen Gang. Still, even if the ages are different, we have to take into the account the likelihood that the group is at least slightly older themselves as, in a sense, they have grown up a bit: They’ve moved on from most of their criminal ways to form a successful band, which couldn’t have happened in too short a time.

The point above, combined with the possibility given of Buttercup and Ace being in a relationship despite the massive age gap between their TV Show counterparts unless the OG developers had a, ahem, questionable idea of relationships like the kind the PPG reboot has gained attention for, make me think that the girls might be at least in their mid-teens in Fusionfall while the Gangreen Gang and in their late-teens or early 20′s.

Samurai Jack

Following the route the fifth season took, even if it was made after the game, I’m going to say that Jack is ageless due to the effects of time travel. Whether or not Season Five can be taken into consideration as far as Jack’s backstory would go in Fusionfall, it works more for the game that he be this nigh-immortal adversary to match Aku. First off, let’s say that the events of S5 were a part of the game lore: That would mean that, at some point, Jack did defeat Aku, went back to the past, and eventually time passed to reach the events that FusionFall would take place in with Aku potentially coming back in that timeframe similar to how he did after the Emperor first defeated him--only this time, Jack’s constantly ready to take him out again before he can reach full-strength. More likely though-- given that people still remember how Jack defeated Demongo--the timeline hasn’t been altered (barring that he didn’t defeat him a second time within the new timeline that we’d be unaware of).

Now let’s talk about it without S5: We already know that Aku isn’t the main villain here: Fuse is. Aku’s barely a blip on the radar in the game, mentioned moreso as a potential threat if he ever came out of hiding. Emphasis on if. This is weird given that, in Jack’s show, Aku’s already taken over the world. There is no ultimate evil beyond Aku, but that’s just not the case in FusionFall’s history. Instead, Jack takes both Fuse and Aku as serious threats, placing his priorities on the former only because he’s the most present. For Jack to set aside his life’s purpose to help battle Fuse, that has to mean he feels comfortable enough with his chances against Aku. Not to mention the state of the world looks pretty ok beyond the threat of Planet Fusion, meaning it’s more likely that Jack has already defeated Aku at some point prior to the events of the game, but for some reason chose to stay in the future and continue his long-standing battle with him. I know this cuts out S5′s rationale behind Jack himself being ageless, but bringing that idea into this as well fits with the context of this eternal battle between a hero and villain, two people who can embody an ultimate good and ultimate evil.

Ben 10 Trio

Given that the gang looks exactly like their Alien Force counterparts, this is pretty much a given. I doubt they’re that different in an age range with the exception of maybe a couple year: It would depend on how much context you’d take from Ultimate Alien. That would put Ben and Gwen at 15-16 while Kevin would be 16-17 years old.

Ed, Edd, and Eddy Characters

The characters in Ed, Edd, and Eddy already went to junior high in the show, placing them at least in their tweens. Granted, they still look like kids in the show while some of them seem to be a little older in the game. For example, the Kankers look more aged up than the Eds do, fitting both a passage of time and following the fact that girls tend to develop at a faster rate than boys (growth spurts, brain development, etc.) during puberty. It’s possible that they’re still in their tweens or early teens, with some of them being in their first year of high school within the world of FusionFall.

Billy and Mandy

Although Billy and Mandy were still in elementary school in their show as opposed to middle school, I’d place them in their tweens following the same logic I pointed out with the Kankers and Eds regarding development. Mandy looks like she’s still young, but has hit puberty, while Billy looks very much like a kid. They’re likely in middle school.

Frankie and Mac

Considering that Mac was only 8 in the show and still looks pretty young in the game, he’s probably still a kid. Maybe he’s aged up a little, but definitely hasn’t reached his teens just yet. He’s still got his baby face.

In the show, Frankie was 22 years old, and like Mac I don’t think she’s aged much, so still in her early-mid 20′s. She’s probably devoted herself to running Foster’s Home much like her grandmother.

Juniper Lee

While she was 11 in the show and the game doesn’t seem to have altered her design too much, I still get a feeling she’s more of a teenager--early-mid teens--in the world of FusionFall. She just strikes me as being a little more mature, more experienced with her powers and all of the forces she’s dealt with after a while as a the Te-Xuan-Ze.

Coop

Probably mid-late 20′s. He was already an adult in the show, but he doesn’t seem to have matured enough to have passed far into his 30′s.

Flapjack

He’s 7 in the show and based on his personally and appearance in the game, he’s still probably close to the age. Maybe just a little older, but the same situation as with Mac.

Ami and Yumi

(Mentioning them since Retro gave them a cameo and I loved this duo as a kid) The show’s wiki places them both at 13. Their FusionFall counterparts don’t look much older, so they’re probably still in their teens--possibly just a few years older in we wanted to account for time for them to develop as young teen idols.

25 notes · View notes

darthspideys · 5 years ago

Text

something about you

this is based on an anon request I got last night, and it kind of spiraled into this long thing that I’m proud of. THERE ARE FFH SPOILERS so don’t read if you haven't seen the movie and or don’t wanna be spoiled :) Also this fic has given me the chance to write out my personal headcanon that Michelle uses Dude a lot so yeah....

Prompt: AU Where Peter was actually sick at the Opera and MJ took care of him ???

~Requests are still open~

~Read on Ao3~

----------->

“Hey, where’s Peter going?” MJ turned to Ned, who seemed very preoccupied gazing into Betty’s eyes lovingly. The whole thing was making her very uncomfortable, but it made her think of Peter somehow and the quick moments of eye contact they’d shared lately. Okay well, less eye contact more ‘I was staring at you when you weren’t looking and now you're looking at me and I don’t know what to do’.

“He’s sick.” Ned said quickly before turning back to his girlfriend.

“Sick how?” She asked, and Ned didn’t answer. “Dude-”

She heard a shuffling sound next to her, and the next thing she knew Brad Davis was seated in the seat to her right, the one she thought she'd saved for Peter. “Hey MJ-”

“You can call me Michelle.” She deadpanned, sighing and leaning into her seat. Four hours of opera seated between the happy couple and the most annoying guy she’d ever met, this trip was shaping up to be a complete disaster.

“Are you excited to see the show?” She didn’t answer and he leaned closer to her intruding on her personal space in more ways than one. “Maybe we could-”

“Nope.” She stood up abruptly, she wanted to yell at him to stop talking to her forever but she didn’t have the energy. “I have to go to the bathroom.” She said, starting to walk past Ned and Betty.

“I’ll come with you-” Brad started, god he did not know how to take a hint? “That’s super creepy. Just stay here.” She told him, scurrying to get out of her seat before the show started. She didn’t know what she was going to do at first but she knew she was not staying for the show, maybe she’d just hide out in the bathroom and write until the four hours were up. When she made it to the bathroom she glanced at the men’s room and remembered Peter. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and then silently hoped no one was in the bathroom before opening the door and going in.

The bathroom was eerily silent. She looked under a couple of stalls, to see if anyone was there but she didn’t see any feet, and she was starting to feel very predatory. “Peter?” She called, the sound of her voice echoing off the walls, “Are you in here? Ned said you were sick, are you okay?”

“I’m-” A voice sounded out, but it was interrupted by the haunting sound of someone gagging and then throwing up. It stopped after a couple seconds and then the person coughed. “I’m in here.” She recognized Peters voice, and walked over to the stall where it came from. She opened th door and found him crouched over the toilet, panting.

“Dude.” She leaned down, and just stared at him for a while. “Are you okay?”

He turned over, and sat on the floor, leaning up against the toilet. “Yeah, Yeah totally.”

“I’m going to take that as a no.” She sat down next to him, her body keeping the door open. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.” He admitted, wiping some sweat off his forehead. “I just got sick all of a sudden.”

“Maybe it’s food poisoning.”

“I’m kind of under a lot of stress right now.”

“Because your spiderman?”

Peter’s face went red, “What-?” He started, before his face turned a shade of green. “I’m gonna-” He turned back the toilet and puked again. This time MJ moved closer, and rubbing a soothing hand up and down his back until he was finished, she didn’t quite know what to do but at least then she felt like she was doing something. Peter turned back towards her with a panicked expression, “What makes you think that?” He asked, not skipping a beat.

“The fact that you leave all the time with no explanation, you're stark internship which by the way doesn’t exist, I looked because I wanted to apply and-” She stopped, noticing the pained look on his face, she knew it wasn’t from him being sick but it took her a minute to realize that it was about tony stark. “You worked with him a lot didn’t you?”

“No!” He raised his arms defensively, “Look MJ I’m not spiderman-”

“Oh so your a male escort then?”

“What?”

“Kelsey thinks your a male escort, you know you leave class a lot to do that stuff, and your so secretive because you're embarrassed.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Peter facepalmed. “Does anyone else think I’m spiderman?”

“No just me. I mean it’s kind of hard to believe, Peter Parker the kid who used to have four inch thick glasses and can barely do a pushup being spiderman?”

“Hey!” He smiled a little, “Well it’s hard to believe because its not true.”

“Look Peter your hiding something. Your probably embarrassed about it but we’re on the floor of the mens bathroom right now, so now's as good a time as any to come out with it because it doesn't get more embarrassing than this.” She shrugged. “It’s time to decide, are you spiderman or are you a male escort?”

“I only get two choices?!”

“Yep. Now spill.”

“Fine-fine.” He took a deep breath, partially to push the liquid bubbling up his throat down. For a second he thought about saying that he was a male escort but he decided against it. “I am spiderman, and I have been since I was 15.”

“Wait seriously?” Her eyes went wide, “Your dead serious?”

“Uh yeah.” He asked, with a confused expression. “Wait didn’t you just confront me about it-?”

“I was messing with you I thought you were gonna say that your aunt has some terminal disease-”

“You saw her at the airport!”

“Looks can be deceiving it’s what makeup is for! You have got to be kidding me-you are spiderman-”

Peter rolled up of the sleeve of his shirt to reveal one of his web shooters. “I am not kidding. But you have to promise not to tell anyone because it could put people in danger-”

“I promise. Duide, this is crazy. I have so many questions, how did this happen? How-”

“Well, I uh-” Peter stopped mid sentence, and rolled over so that he was facing the toilet again, and threw up for what they both hoped would be the last time. MJ rubbed his back again, and wiped some of the sweat off his forehead. When he was done, he fell back right into her, and for a moment she thought that he had passed out. “Can we do this later when I’m not like throwing up?” He asked.

“Yeah, good idea.” She sighed, they were in a pretty award position, MJ leaning against the now clothed stall door and Peter leaning up against her for support, but neither of them moved partially because they had never been that close to one another before and they liked it and partially because Peter couldn’t really move as he was very dizzy. “You okay?”

“Dizzy.” He replied.

“Just relax.” She told him, position herself and him so that he could be more comfortable. “You just lost a lot of fluid, and you're probably just really dehydrated, but then again your part spider I guess so maybe that’s not true-”

“No I think your right.” He told her, “You sound like a doctor.”

“Yeah well I watch a lot of medical TV shows, and I kind of want to be one.”

“Really? That’s cool.”

“You think so?”

“For sure, and that you know what you want to do. I have no idea.”

“I thought you’d want to build stuff, like do science-be an engineer, like Tony-” She stopped herself, remembering what had happened last time she’d mentioned him.

“That’s kind of why I don’t want to.” He admitted.

“Do you miss him?” She asked, not thinking. “Sorry-you don’t have to answer that.”

“No is fine-” He sighed, “I miss him a lot, he wasn’t my dad or uncle or anything but I miss him so must it makes my chest hurt sometimes, I’m just minding my own business, and suddenly it feels like I can’t breathe.”

“That’s a panic attack, Peter. They happen, especially after everything that's happened.” She paused, debating whether or not to tell the truth, “I have them too sometimes. I wake up in the middle of the night crying and shaking because I think I’m going to disappear again.” She waited for his response for a few nerve wracking seconds, “I’ve never told anyone that.”

“Thank you for telling me.” He replied, “It feels good to know I’m not alone.”

“Something tells me that Tony Stark and the blip are contributing factors to why your throwing up right now. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t want to saddle you with all my emotional stuff, I’ll handle it on my own.”

“You don’t have to though.” She said, “I mean I know your secret now, and I'm pretty good listener.”

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t.”

“I’m just under a lot of pressure right now. Everything is different now, some people are older some people aren’t, I had to move and start school over. And now people are asking me if I’m going to be the next Iron Man, and I don’t know how to answer that, how am I supposed to be the next iron man? He sacrificed himself to save the universe, how do you ever live up to that?” He sighed, “I’m trying to pick up the pieces of my own life, and I’m not ready to save the world yet. I just want to be okay at first but now I have all this responsibility and ‘ all coming at my too fast. I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders and it’s crushing me.”

MJ Nodded.

“And on top of all that-” Peter trailed off, tears falling down his face. “I miss Tony. I miss him so much, I want him to be here right now to tell me what to do, or give me a hug and tell me that everything is going to be okay. I need him to be here because I can’t do this on my own. I’m not strong enough.”

Instead of saying anything, MJ pulled him into a hug. Both of them stood up, and she pulled him tightly to her chest, as he cried and the two of them stood like that for what felt like forever. “Very valid reasons, to be throwing up in the middle of the opera.” She said, not letting go. “Look Peter, I don’t my opinion probably doesn’t mean much but you are one of the strongest people I know, I mean everything you’ve been through already-when there’s a problem in front of you you always know how to solve it. Your going to be okay. And I’m here for you.”

“Thank you.” He pulled away from her, and wiped his eyes. “Sorry I’m kind of a mess.”

“We’re all a mess, it’s just no one wants to talk about it. Grief is complicated Peter, when my mom died I was a wreck and if we’re being totally honest here I haven’t been really able to connect with people the same way since. I feel like everyone I get close to is just going to slip through my fingers, and I'm going to be left alone. And then we all died, and I’m scared of leaving again and I’m scared of people leaving me-” She said in rapid succession, “Woah, I have never said any of that out loud before.”

“Sorry about your mom.” Peter said, “I didn’t know that, Just for the record, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here for you no matter what happens, I’m not leaving.” He paused, and debating revealing his other secret, “Look MJ there’s something I need to tell you-”

“Peter-”

“Something you probably can’t guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “I like you, I like you a lot. You are funny, and so much smarter than me, and you are a great friend and an amazing listener. I just needed to say that. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way-”

MJ grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “I don’t make it a habit of getting close to people, but I like you too, and I’d kiss you but you just spent like ten minutes throwing up.”

“Oh yeah totally forgot about that.” Peter smiled awkwardly. They stared at each other for a while, “So what now?”

“Do you feel any better?” She asked him.

“Yeah.” He nodded, “I feel a lot better, I think talking about it really helped my stomach.”

“Well we’ve got some time left in the show so we can just sneak into the back, you can get some sleep and then when we get back to the hotel I’m going to watch you drink at least two bottles of water to make up for all that puking.”

“Yes ma’am.”

183 notes · View notes

aka-indulgence · 5 years ago

Text

Why Oh Why

Woops, got sick from lack of sleep and made the wonderful decision to go to work on a cold, autumn, rainy morning… and now that I get the chance to sleep my body’s just… up kfjdks

sorry bout any typos if they are any -u-

Summary: You can’t sleep… And Sans’ not leaving you alone like that.

You groaned.

You’ve slept a grand total of 1 and a half hours today- sleeping at sunrise and waking up soon after. You had work that day, after all.

And while you were there… Good lord you were tired. So ungodly tired- you fell asleep while you had one of those sessions where a boss would come in front of everyone to teach a business strategy- which, honestly was quite helpful but… Not with your state of mind like that today. You fell asleep for god’s sake- that barely happens with you. It was only 15 minutes or so but still. Rare.

You were lucky you went to a forgiving workplace because oh man- you had started to dream while Mr. Camber was explaining about persuasion and succession and pizza and beds… Wait.

There you went again, your mind felt like it was more of a… Weird malleable goop instead of the solid mass of brain it was.

Coming home you feel that sleep deprived mind struggling to keep up with the wind brushing your face as you cycled home- wishing you were driving instead. The autumn winds had seeped through the fabric of your clothes and with your heating up body, that was anything but pleasant.

When you got home you found that Sans hadn’t turned home yet, so you took a quick hot shower and quickly changed into your nughtwear, eating carbonara pasta at the table when Sans came home from his work at… The hotdog stand?

“end of the day… i gotta get my rewards.” he’d explain.

“baby, you practically didn’t sleep yesterday. let’s go to bed soon, ok?”

You’d agreed, you had been wanting to sleep since the moment you cracked your eyes open from the blarring alarm that summoned you to work… How you wish you’d have called sick today. Sans had told you you should just call… And you did promise him you would… But your weak mentality had stopped you from pressing that call button after you pressed the contact on your phone… And you’d hastily rushed to work.

Without eating or even cleaning up your face…

Needless to say, you were happy to be back on your bed with your skeleton snug beside you, giving you a goodnight kiss and settling beside you. You had smiled, snuggled next to him and…

… here you were, about an hour since you’d gotten to bed, watching the clock of your phone and groaning as the seconds ticked by and your sleep deprived mind making your mood go all the more worse.

You’re goddamned tired, exhausted, and aching al pver from the weird position you’d slep the morning earlier- but your body was just. Not. Going to sleep.

What the hell- I’m in bed with Sans what’s wrong with me?!

… and while you were at work, where you needed to keep your eyes opened, you felt like you coul sleep if you’d just close your eyes for a quarter of a minute. And now- why can’t you switch the two with each other?! You wanted that head drooping-heavy eyelid sleepiness you had this afternoon. You hated thinking of tomorrow and the fact you’re going to sleep less than what you wanted to- namely 12 hours if you could. It wasn’t healthy but it was just one night and you really felt you needed something like that for now…. while you saw the hour ticking past 9 PM… 10 PM… 11…

Argh… it was still a weekday tomorrow… please PLEASE let me sleep.

You sighed for the 10th time after checking your phone for… anything, you weren’t even sure what, peeling the covers off you a little and turning over to-

“Gah-!”

… Sans was awake. His white lights trained on the ceiling, arm folded on top of the covers. He didn’t even make a sign that he’d noticed you like that.

“… Sans?”

“yeah sweetie?” He raised his brows little, still looking at the ceiling.

“… Why are you awake?”

“why are you awake, love?” He finally took his eyelights away from the ceiling to give you a gentle,, loving look. “thought i told you you should sleep earlier… after that stunt you pulled behind me.”

“I… I’m sorry, I got nervous ok??” You argued, even if you inew he’d win mst of the arguments when he thought it came to your health. “You remember when they didn’t let me take a sick day off last spring.”

“that was last spring, (y/n). and you’ve called in sick to work after and before that, without problems, right?”

… well yeah, but-

“I’m scared if… he ’s going to answer the phone though.”

Sans’ soft grin twisted at the notion of him… a crab monster named Red Claw (wow, how creative!) That’d always be hard on you, pushing you around when he had more work and not holding back when he had an ‘opinion’ to tell you- often gicing some racist remarks to you.

Now Sans understands the tiny albeit uncomfortable rift that settles between humans and monsters- most of everyone doesn’t feel it but some people do… and Sans has gotta be honest, humans have done some pretty shit things…

But at least, don’t look for trouble when there isn’t one. You were a sensitive, soft little human that never had anything against his kind- even when Sans had been hesitant to get to know humans- and you, more.

“ah, is he bothering you again, baby?” San asked, though the both of you were pretty sure of what he was planning to do, “because i’m going to have a little… talk with him if he is.”

“W-waight,” you fussed as soon as you heard the words leave his mouth, “You’re not going to do anything to him, right?”

“what do you mean, sweetie?” Sans lidded his sockets as he looked up again, the image of Claws appearing in his mind’s eye and a dangerous look on his face “i said i’m just gonna… talk with him. nothing more, nothing less.”

Hm… you knew Sans was twisting around his intentions but… you couldn’t exactly stop him. He’d always think you as one of his top priorities.

“if you’re nervous of calling work, i’ll do it for you, love, if it makes anything easier for you.”

“What- Sans you don’t have to di that-”

“-oh fuck it, i’m just gonna do it. (y/n), you’re not going to work tomorrow. you got it?”

“Wh-huh-”

You felt a blip in your hand, like a bit of untouchable gel enclosing around it and- your phone was in his hand.

“W- Sans give it back!”

“nope.”

“Saaaaaaans!”

“not happening.” He made it a point to tuck your phone somewhere behind him, out of reach from you.

“Sans, why?”

“because you slept only an hour today, love, and right now i can see you’re having trouble sleeping, and i’m not letting insomnia and work mess your health up.”

'I- uh- grh.“ You slumped your hands in defeat in frontof you. "Fine, Sans.”

“now that’s my good girl, hm?” Sans lifted a brow at you a he fixed the covers arouns, turning his body o he was facing you, leaning his skull on one of his hands, elbow propped on the bed.

“'Good girl’, yeah yeah…” you mumbled, turning to him and crossing your arms in mock anger, looking away from him. He’d open his arms out at you, making grabby motions.

“c'mon.” He said in a whisper, eyesocets lidded at you. God.. he looks so handsome (And sexy???) like that.

You sometimes really want to slap him across the cheekbone when he looked so smug like that, like you would listen to him amd 'give it’ to him…

… but unfortunately (fortunately) for you, tonight you wanted to be held by your skeletal husband and lulled to sleep.

You scooted closer to him until his arms reached you and pulled you closer to his chest, touching with yours, and aking your heart amd his soul hum in unison. You put your hands over to his back and hugged him more as well.

Phalanges had automatically settled in your hair, brushing it soothingly as he gave you a quick kiss in the cheek, then on the mouth.

“now you’re caged, baby, you din’t have a choice but to stay here with your skeleton in the closet all day tomorrow.” He teased playfully, chuckling a little.

“Oh no, ah- Sans! But what if I et better by tomorrow morning?”

“mmm…” Sans feigned thoughtfullness, putting a hand on his chin and tapping on it with a phalange. “no. you’ve worked hard enough, love, it’s time for you to get some good fucking rest.”

“Hngh…” you groaned, then sighed, burying your face in your chest. “I don’t know how this all will help me sleep now, though.”

“Also- how’re you awake, Sans? You always sleep so fast- anytime, anywhere!”

“true,” Sans confirmed. “but i’m not leaving my favorite human alone in the dark of the night like that. i don’t like seeing you stressed like that, you get me? i wanted to wait unil you’d fall asleep.”

“Ah-” you blushed, for a second. Before you started again “Oh Sans- I didn’t mean to keep you up! You don’t have to wait for me, Sans…”

“oh but (y/n)-” he put a hand on your cheek;, stroking it a bit. “you know when i get to spend more time for you is treasure to me, baby.”

…

How did you find a man for you so smooth like thst?!

“Arggsg-” you jerked a bit, Sans chuckling at you. “Ok ok ok, enough, I’m going to sleep now.”

“go ahead, be my guest.” He nudged your hesd with his skull. “you know i’ll be hear if you meed anything.”

“Thanks, Sans,” you said as you felt that oh so familiar drag of your eyelids drawing close. “I’ll just… go now, then…”

…

With Sans just brushing your hair and rubbing your back soothingly like that, your souls so close and combining their hums together in harmony like that, sleep had claimed you quickly.

Sans sighed, giving you a kiss on the crown and letting his eyesockets closed, happy you were sleeping relaxed tonight.

“i love you, (y/n).”

#ut!sans/reader #ut!sans #reader #another insomnia thingt #woo #time to dleep good night!#fluff #stress relief #short fic

42 notes · View notes

kayteewritessteve · 6 years ago

Text

If Only You Knew - 2/19

Description: You arrive home one day to find a wedding invite for two of your best friends from high school. You knew this day was going to come eventually, but even with that said, you weren’t prepared to return home. At least not after 7 years of avoiding Buckhannon, West Virginia. Or rather, avoiding him; your ex-best friend and the secret love of your life. But maybe it was finally time to face your past, to face him, and everything else that happened on that horrible night. Who would have knew that your prom would end up being a total disaster, and the very last night you’d spend in Buckhannon for the next 7 years? you certainly didn’t. That’s for sure.

Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 4,940 ish.

Pairing: Modern!Steve Rogers x Reader.

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Violence. Drinking. Possible triggering thoughts, feelings and emotions. Moments of bullying and harsh name calling. Lots of curse words. And a very sloooow burn.

A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader, so I do proudly own all the errors and this story, so there’s that.

January 2018.

Steve found himself sitting in his squad car, thermos of coffee in hand, waiting once again on his lifelong best friend, his brother, his partner of 5 years, to hurry the hell up and get in the damn car.

Every morning Steve would get up at the crack of dawn, go for a run, shower then get dressed in his uniform. He’d attach his badge to the pocket on the front of his dark blue, near black, shirt. Then head downstairs to make coffee. Once he had his to go cup all filled and his shiny black shoes on, he’d go outside, hop in his squad car and drive over to Bucky’s to pick him up. And every morning Bucky would come barrelling out of his house, 10 fucking minutes late, with his shirt untucked and only buttoned up half way. It was like clockwork.

And this morning was no different. Scratch that. It was worse, actually. Steve glanced down at his watch then sighed. Buck was now 15 minutes late. So Steve honked the car horn, hoping it would hurry him up. And it had clearly worked, as the front door flung open and out stumbled Bucky, pulling on his police shirt as he did. He was only in his socks, as his shoes were held in one hand, while he ran across the frost covered front lawn and jumped into the passenger seat. Shit eating grin gracing his cleanly shaved face.

“You’re late,” Steve sighed as he put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb.

“Not by much,” Buck replied nonchalantly as he buttoned up his shirt, and lifted his butt off the seat in an attempt to tuck it into his pants.

“Dude, late is late. Doesn’t matter how much.”

“Sure, okay. I’ll give you that one,” he said as he pulled on his shoes and quickly tied them up then sat back up in his seat and put on his seatbelt. “But, I have a valid reason for being late today.”

Steve could see Bucky’s stupid smirk in the corner of his eye, it was impossible to miss. He sighed again then shook his head, “You always have an excuse, Barnes.”

“No, but this time I actually do.”

Steve took his eyes off the road, for just a second, to glance over at his best friend, raising an ‘I’m sure you do’ eyebrow at him. Then turning to focus his eyes back on the road, “well, let’s hear it then.”

“You’ll never guess who RSVP’d to the wedding.”

“What does a wedding guest have to do with you being late?”

“Because the RSVP came in last night but we only got it this morning. Nat was too excited and needed to talk about it. This is big, Steve.” He shook his head, “No, bigger than big. This is fucking huge!”

They were now sitting at a red light, which was lucky for them, as Steve’s head involuntarily snapped over to look at Bucky. “No,” he said slowly, “Are you talking about who I think you’re talking about?” He gapped at his friend.

Bucky over eagerly nodded his head, “Fucking Y/N Y/L/N. I shit you not.”

Steve slowly turned his head back to the road, realizing the light was now green. Not entirely sure how long it had been green, but that was the last thing on his mind right about now. Y/N consumed every one of his thoughts in this exact moment. Though, if he was being honest, she was always a constant thought in his mind, all throughout the years.

“Steve..?” Bucky asked hesitantly, “You okay, buddy?”

He just nodded his head, a little to aggressively but he wasn’t exactly all there at the moment. Even after 6 ½ years he missed her like she had only left yesterday. Like it was still a fresh wound that was in the beginning stages of healing. But true guilt does that to you, it sticks with you forever, like a rain cloud looming over you, even on the sunniest of days. But it wasn’t just guilt he dealt with over the years. Yes, guilt was a part of it, but it was also barely even a blip on the radar of all the other emotions he had felt since that awful night…

July 2011 - 6 ½ years ago.

He just stood there, dumbfounded and frozen, watching as she stormed off. Their fight playing over and over again in his head. Or more specifically, the 3 little words she had uttered before she walked away. ‘He’s all yours.’

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t even comprehend how he was feeling in this exact moment. That’s the last thing he had ever wanted, the polar opposite, actually.

Half way through their fight he had decided to say ‘fuck it’ to Madeleines ultimatum and just tell Y/N the truth. The whole truth, including why he had taken Madi to prom, instead of taking her like he had originally planned to do.

He had loved Y/N from basically the first moment he met her. When he had slammed into her in the hall, knocking her and their books to the floor, that first day of grade 11. Which was also her first day at his school. They had both quickly started to collect their books and straight up head butted each other. It wasn’t pretty, but when he finally looked up at her to apologize, he found himself speechless at just how pretty she was—

Bucky’s hand on his shoulder snapped him back to reality, and everything that had just happened hit him like a freight train. He shrugged off his best friends hand and spun around on Madeleine, anger coursing through him. She was still standing near him, arms crossed and a smug smirk on her lips. That only pissed him off more.

“We aren’t fucking dating anymore!” He snapped at her, effectively removing the smirk from her face, “And you fucking know that Madi. You only said that to hurt her, and that’s one of the many reasons why I’ll never take you back.”

“Oh, so you’d pick that fucking loser over me?” She scoffed and stepped closer to him. “I’m the fucking cheer captain and the most popular girl in school, Steve.” She reached out to touch his arm, “And you’re better than her. You’re the captain of the football team, you should still be with me! She’s a nobody—a loner. She’s nothing compared to me.”

“You’re wrong,” He ripped his arm away and glared down at her. “You’re the nobody, Madi, and you’re nothing compared to her! She will always be better than you, she is kind, compassionate and beautiful, both inside and out.” He shook his head, “All things you aren’t. And never will be. You’re a bully, and a horrible fucking person. And I regret ever dating you. Let alone letting you blackmail me into taking you to prom.”

He knew he was probably going too far saying all this. And normally he would go out of his way to never deliberately hurt someone, especially someone so clearly as self conscious as Madeleine was. But he was far too pissed right now to actually care. And he was well passed the point of giving a fuck how Madi felt. She had always been a fucking bitch to Y/N, and he had only stayed friends with her for the sole purpose of being able to wrangle her in, and lessen the blows to Y/N. He had to interfere damn near daily, though Y/N never knew any of that. She only knew the few times he hadn’t been able to step in, before Madi got to her.

“Who the fuck do you think you are, talking to me like that!?”

“Oh, I duno, Madi. Maybe the same fucking guy you just finished saying should still be dating you?” He laughed, though there was no humour in it then shook his head. “I only stayed friends with you for Y/N’s sake. But I’m done with that now. I’m done with you. Tonight was the last fucking straw, Madeleine. I don’t want anything to do with you, ever again. And just so we’re clear, as obviously you’re a little dense, that means don’t talk to me. Don’t wave at me on the street. Don’t even fucking look at me.” He went to turn away then stopped, “Oh, and lose my fucking number.” Then with that he spun around and stormed off towards his jeep. Hearing Sam yell, “Oh! Fucking mic drop!” as he did.

He had refused to have a single drop to drink all night, as he wasn’t a big drinker to begin with, but the second he saw Y/N walk into the prom on Brock’s arm, he decided to stay completely sober. Just incase. Brock wasn’t a good dude, he was a piece of shit actually. One that treated women like objects, and there were a lot of rumours, ones of him forcing himself on drunk girls at parties. Steve was not about to let Brock pull that shit with Y/N, not on his fucking watch, not with his fucking girl—Granted, she wasn’t actually his, but like hell if he’d let anyone else have her. No one deserved her, not even him. She was to good for anyone in their school. Hell, she was to good for anyone in this town.

As if it was fate, or just sheer luck, on the way to his jeep he saw Brock standing just off to the side. Watching everything that had just unfolded with that stupid fucking smirk on his face. As Steve approached where Brock was, he reached out and shoved him back as hard as he could. Knocking Brock down on his ass, as he continued on to his jeep. The action didn’t even slow Steves steps in the slightest. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself tonight Brock, or I’ll finish what I started earlier,” he warned.

“Steve,” He heard his best friend yell as fast footsteps chased after him, “Wait up!”

But he didn’t stop, he needed to go talk to Y/N. Tell her the truth, the whole truth.

He reached his jeep and went to open the drivers door but a hand landed on it, stopping it about an inch from the car, then slamming it shut again.

“Get out of my way, Buck!” He spat as he turned to glare at his best friend.

“Not until you tell me what the fuck that was back there,” he gestured with his thumb, back towards where they had both just come from.

“Not now, Bucky. I have to go talk to Y/N.”

Just then Nat, Sam, Wanda, Hilde and Clint all ran up to the pair. “Where’s Y/N?!” Clint asked as he looked around.

“What the fuck was that all about?” Nat asked as she looked between Bucky and Steve.

Steve groaned loudly, “Guys, I don’t have fucking time for this right now!”

“Then make the fucking time,” Brunnhilde spat back at him as she crossed her arms.

He shook his head, “Not now, I have to go talk to Y/N.”

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to say to her?” Bucky questioned.

“The truth. All of it.”

“What?!” Sam gaped at him, “Actually?!” He looked around at their friends, clearly to see if anyone else had heard the same thing he just did. Or, if they were just as shocked by it as he was.

All of them knew how Steve felt about Y/N, they told him all the time to just tell her, but Steve always so damn stubborn and responded the same way every time. Either, ‘Now isn’t really a good time’ or ‘I will when I’m ready’—But the truth was, he never felt good enough for her.

He was terrified that if he did tell her the truth, and she didn’t feel the same way, it would ruin what they had; their friendship. And not having her in any capacity was not an option. He’d rather them just be best friends, rather than to not have her in his life at all. And even though his friends never believed his excuses, they had never, and would never, have gone behind his back and told her. Trust was big to all of them, and they knew Steve would tell her himself, one day, when he was ready—Though, most of them had lost faith, a long time ago, in him ever being truly ‘ready’.

“Yes,” Steve sighed, “Actually.”

“Although it’s about damn fucking time, punk,” Bucky laughed, “She passed me on her way out, and she was fucking pissed, pal. I mean pissed,” he emphasized. “She didn’t even look at me, I don’t think she even noticed me standin—“

Nat cut him off and glared at him, “What Bucky is trying to get to, is, we’ve never seen her that mad before,” she turned to look at Wanda, who nodded then spoke up for the first time since they had all got to his jeep. “Yeah, and if you go there right now, it will just end up in a bigger fight.”

“Much bigger fight,” Hilde emphasized.

The four girls were like one entity most of the time. They always sided with each other and were like a damn tag team. If you were ever on the receiving end of something they felt strongly about, you’d better be prepared to fucking lose. Because they would not back down, and they would have you ‘seeing it their way’ in no time—It was fucking infuriating.

“Yeah, the ladies have a point,” Clint added as he nodded. He usually always sided with the girls, Steve figured it was because he was terrified of them. Of being on the receiving end of their anger. They were like wolves, they travelled in a little pack and ‘attacked’ together. The boys had actually nicknamed them exactly that. ‘The wolf pack’. The nickname started about 3 months after Y/N had joined their little group, and the girls had first started teaming up together against the boys.

“Steve, seriously man, she isn’t going anywhere. Just give her the night to cool off then go talk to her tomorrow. Once you’ve both had a chance to think more clearly,” Sam tried to reason.

But there was no reasoning with Steve right now. However, he was smart enough to know they wouldn’t back down, so he’d have to lie. Which he didn’t like doing, but it was the only way he’d be able to get away from them, to get to her.

He sighed, “Yeah, I suppose that’s the smartest idea,” he reached for his drivers door handle. “I’ll ah, I’ll talk to you guys later, I just want to be alone right now. I. I need to clear my head.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at him, most likely trying to judge if he was lying or not. Steve just stood there, unwavering, with a blank expression on his face. Hoping that Buck wouldn’t see through his deception.

After a few seconds, Bucky sighed then went to step back from the door, but paused mid step and put both his hands on Steve’s shoulders, “If I hear you went over there, punk—Which I will, don’t doubt that for a second,” he looked him dead in the eyes, “I’ll fucking kick your ass, for her.”

It took everything in Steve not to burst out laughing right then and there. Buck would never actually hurt Steve, they always fought side by side, not against—Though that’s not to say they had never come to blows, because they had, and a few times at that. Just as most teenage boys did, over this, that or the other. All things that neither of them could even remember after a few punches. Things that really didn’t matter in the grand scheme, but had pissed one of them off enough to start throwing fists around. But they all ended the same way, instant surrender. Be it from either below one of them, or from within a headlock given by one of them. It really just depended on who had originally started the fight, who was actually mad, in those moments.

��Got it, jerk,” he patted his best friend on the shoulder, “I’ll leave her be for tonight.” It was another lie, but he’d happily take the consequences of it later. If it came down to that.

Buck smirked, obviously proud with himself then actually stepped aside this time. Steve opened the door to his jeep and climbed in, starting up the engine once he was. His friends all said some form of goodbye or waved. He waved in return then put the jeep in reverse and backed out of the spot.

A few minutes later he pulled up in front of her house, putting the jeep in park as he killed the engine and climbed out. He walked the same route he had hundreds of times before, going around the back of the house to climb up onto the roof; the one between the first and second floors. Getting up on the roof wasn’t hard for him, he was abnormally tall for a high schooler, or as she put it a ‘fucking giant’—Which was a new thing for him, he used to always be the smallest in his grades, at least during elementary school. But then the summer before high school he hit an insane growth spurt and shot up like a weed, plus bulked out. No one even recognized him at first, as he’d been away that whole summer. ‘Returning looking like a damn linebacker’, as Sam had said. But he still wasn’t ‘roof height’ tall, so luckily for him there was also a back deck with a wood railing, giving him that little extra oomph that he needed to actually reach the roof. He hoisted himself up and made his way towards her window. Just like every other time.

Except this time was different. He went to pull the window up and—nothing happened. That, was a first for him. It was locked. She never locked it. He didn’t even know it had a lock. He knocked lightly on the window but didn’t see any movement inside. He cupped his hands on the glass, and peered in to look a little closer, but saw her bed was empty and still made up.

“Where is she?” He mumbled out loud to himself. And then made his way back off the roof and around the house. Yes, he was currently being a fucking creep, but he needed to talk to her. He walked up onto the front porch and looked into the living room window. His eyes landing on her curled up on the couch, passed out. He just stood there, trying to decide if he should knock on the door or not. She looked so peaceful, which was surprising after the night she’d had. She could never sleep after a bad day, or night. At least not without venting to him about it first.

He sighed. Realizing he couldn’t bring himself to actually wake her up now. He hung his head and then spun on his heels, heading back to his vehicle. He climbed in and pulled out his phone, opening their text window. He started to type a message to her but then quickly erased it. Only to do the same thing over, a few more times.

He groaned in frustration. She had been right, he had ignored her for almost two weeks. But it was hands down the hardest thing he had ever had to do. If only she knew just how many times he had found himself in this exact spot. Staring at their text window, typing something up to then delete it entirely before ever sending it. If only he had told her before, told her the truth earlier. Or if he had found a way to tell her 2 weeks ago, when Madeleine had first approached him. Then maybe none of this would be happening right now.

His thumbs moved quickly over the screen, typing ‘Y/N, I know I said it already but I really mean it. I’m so, so sorry. Please just give me a chance to explain everything. To tell you the truth. That’s all I ask.’ Then he hit send, then quickly typed another message, ‘So, just text me when you wake up. I’ll bring over breakfast and we can talk, okay?’ He hit send again, then looked back up at her house for a moment, before starting up his jeep and heading home.

He got home and stomped up the stairs to his room, completely ignoring his parents asking him how the night was. He walked into his room and slammed the door.

“That fucking good,” he said aloud to himself then kicked off his shoes, and stripped down to his boxers.

He dropped himself unceremoniously down onto his bed backwards, one arm went behind his head and the other clutched his phone on his chest. Sleep didn’t come easily for Steve that night. He tossed and turned the whole time, any little noise waking him up and he’d check his phone each time, hoping to have a text from her. Only to find a few from his friends but that was it.

He woke up a little later then normal—for him, obviously his horrible sleep had affected him—and instantly started trying to reach Y/N again. He called a bunch of times and texted even more, but to no avail. So he texted Nat to ask what he should do now, and if he should go to her house or not. Nat replied telling him it was probably best if he just waited till she responded. That maybe she just needed a little time and space, and to give her that. He sighed then hopped in a cold shower, taking a little longer than usual, but he really needed the wake up.

Once he was done he got into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, as he desperately needed his morning run. Steve ran every morning, no matter where he was in the world, or how tired he was. Running was his release, the fastest way for him to clear his head. His personal stress relief. He decided it would be best to just leave his phone at home this time. That way he would give her some time without his constant pestering.

So 2 hours later—normally his runs weren’t ever that long, but clearly he needed it today, as he was way more stressed out then normal—He walked in his front door and headed upstairs, taking the steps two or three at a time. He grabbed his phone off his bed and—still nothing from her.

“Fuck this,” he mumbled to himself then ran back down the stairs and out to his jeep. He climbed in and headed to her house, once again.

He quickly pulled up to the curb out front of her place, barely getting the car in park before he jumped out. Then ran up her front steps and knocked on the door, but after a few minutes of no one answering he knocked again. Still no answer. He stepped back and looked around, seeing her dad’s truck was gone. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit the ‘1’ on this keypad, then hit call. Yes, she was the first number on his speed dial list. She had actually bumped Bucky out of that spot within mere weeks of them becoming friends, but he’d never tell Buck that.

He put the phone to his ear—but it didn’t ring. It didn’t even go to voicemail. Some random ladies voice told him the call couldn’t be completed. He pulled the phone away from his ear and glared down at it. Then tried to call her again. Same outcome. He tried a few more times, but they all ended the same way. He sat down on the top step of her porch, he was going to sit here till she got home. He was going to talk to her, whether she wanted to or not.

An hour went by and neither her nor her dad came home. He finally picked himself up off the top step and walked back to his jeep. He climbed in and stared up at her house, just like he had the night before, then he put the jeep in drive and drove home.

It wouldn’t be till later that night that he’d finally learn where she was this morning. After attempting the whole day to reach her, but neither his calls nor texts would go through.

So when all 6 of his friends showed up at his front door, frowns plastered on all their faces. He knew it was going to be bad. They’d told him then that she had left for the summer, gone to Boston to stay with her Aunt Carol. And that the reason he couldn’t reach her was because she didn’t want to talk to him, not yet at least. And to just give her time.

He wanted to chase after her, to get in his jeep and drive the 11 hours up to Boston, but he had no clue where Carol lived, nor was he able to ask Y/N for the address. So instead he listened to his friends finally and gave her some actual space. Not like he actually had a fucking choice.

But then days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. Yet, even after all that time, she was still a regular occurrence in his mind. Like she had permanently set up shop in his head and no matter how much he tried to move on, or forget her, he just couldn’t. She always remained, like there was no one else in the world. And maybe for him, there wasn’t. Maybe she was it for him, and he had just let her slip away.

January 2018.

“Hello,” Bucks hand waved in front of Steve’s face, “earth to Steve.”

“Huh?,” He shook his head and turned to his best friend, “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Jesus christ, punk.” It was Bucky’s turn to shake his head now, but for totally different reasons. “You have been zoned the fuck out for like 5 minutes now.”

Steve furrowed his brows then looked around, they were now parked outside of the police station. Clearly Steve had gone full auto pilot, and somehow managed to get them to work in one piece. “5 minutes?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Bucky looked at him weirdly, “5 minutes since we parked, but more like 10 all together.”

“Shit,” Steve sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“You would have been if you’d killed me,” he joked then went serious again, “Why is it every time someone mentions her, you straight up go into limp mode?”

Steve scoffed, “I do not.”

“Yeah, you do,” he shook his head again, “Every. Fucking. Time,” he emphasized for effect.

“First off, I don’t. And furthermore, shut up and get out of the car, jerk. We’re already late enough thanks to your slow ass,” he said as he opened his door, climbed out then shut it and headed towards the building.

Bucky climbed out of the car as well, “You can deny it all you want, but you do. It’s a fact.” He caught up to Steve and walked beside him, “And I’m not slow, I told you why I was late. You know how Nat is. Whatever she wants, she gets, and this morning that was to talk about,” he paused, and Steve saw in the corner of his eye as Buck turned his head to look at him, a smirk on his face, as he slowly added, “Y/N.”

Steve froze, coming to a complete grinding halt in the middle of the walkway.

Which only caused Bucky to burst out laughing, “What did I tell ya! Fucking limp mode!” He put one hand on his stomach and the other on his knee as he bent over to laugh.

Steve just glared at him then reached over and shoved him, causing Bucky to damn near fall over, “Shut up, jerk.”

Bucky quickly regained his balance and stood back up, “You’re just pissed that I’m right,” He dusted himself off, then scoffed, “and who even shoves people anymore?”

Steve just continued to glared at him for a moment then abruptly turned and headed towards the front doors of the station.

Bucky once again running to catch up to him, “she’s gonna be here in 6 months,” he said.

Steve ignored him and pulled open the door, not bothering to hold it for Bucky, and it damn near slammed into him.

“First off, rude. Secondly, you gonna finally tell her the truth?” Bucky asked.

And again, Steve just ignored him and headed over to his desk, politely greeting the few people he passed along the way. With Bucky following close behind.

“This is your chance pal, you gonna take it?” Buck asked, as they reached their side by side desks.

But Steve, once again, just ignored him.

He could feel Bucky glaring at him now, but he didn’t turn to him, or answer him. He just turned on his work computer and began his morning routine of logging on, and going through his emails.

“Are you seriously going to ignore me all day?” Bucky asked, clearly frustrated now.

Yet again, Steve just ignored him.

Bucky groaned dramatically then turned to start up his own computer, “This is gonna be a long fucking day.”

And he was right. It was.

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

@hopefulmoonobject @harlequinash @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @tessvillegas @boxofteenageideas @wangdeasang @giggleberts @casuallydarktiger @theonelittleone @agentbadbitch @ratwrites @starrystellars @bandsandanimefreak @rockyroadthepastryarchy @lovvliies @cuffski @icesoccerer @alwaysright4 @lilsthethrills @imdiegohargreeves @zombiepotterfour @mu-mu-rs @ledandan1244

#au fanfiction #fanfiction #long post #long read #marvel au #marvel fanfiction #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #modern!steve #modern!steve rogers #modern au #alternate universe #no super powers here #if only you knew #chapter 2 #steves POV

337 notes · View notes

imbumkyung · 5 years ago

Text

I Saw It In A Movie One Time (ch. 3) - Almost Living

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Warnings: Cliff scene that may be triggering to some readers

“Dude I had this crazy ass dream about Twilight,” Kai pushed her words through the acai bowl she was eating, golden sunrays shining through the windows of Kalakoe’s shaved ice shop.

“I had this crazy ass dream you didn’t talk while you chewed,” Miko retorted

“I had a dream I was straight,” CJ joined in. The girls both snickered. Li let out a wheeze.

“I haven’t heard shit about twilight since I was in like fifth grade,” Li said

“The only one who matters is Seth,” Miko commented, pointing with her fingers waiting for everyone else to agree.

They did. “He was really the hottest one though,” CJ agreed.

“I always liked the vampires more, to be honest,” Li confessed, earning twisted faces of disapproval

“You’d rather be cold and dead than a sexy wolf?” CJ questioned

“You’d rather be dead?” Miko repeated CJ’s question, only this time it seemed to be directed to Kaileia

“You’d rather be different?” Li interrogated Kai, “You wish life was different?”

“You wish to live a different life?”

“You’d rather be with different people?”

“You want to be away?”

“You don’t want this life anymore?”

“What would you give to let it go?”

All at once, these questions about how ungrateful Kai was for her regular life arose only to beat down on her, each time becoming more intense, until she woke up with a start.

It was already 3p.m. Kai was really not adjusted to the time in Forks. That little bit of Kauai she had in her dream kept her warm for no longer than a second. A cloud came over her entire being— she missed her friends. They hung out once in a blue moon but they had the best times when they were together.

She got up with a start— not ready to waste any more of the day. Maybe she really was locked in this reality. This can’t be a dream if she literally just woke up from one.

Standing in the shower, cleaning herself of all the grime she’d collected after a whole day of stress-sweating and perhaps not even showering after the accident in the ocean, she thought, “How did I end up here? How am I gonna go back home? If I really meet anyone, will it change how the story ends? Could I be stuck here? ”

How am I going to make money? Holy shit do I have any money? Plot hole. I mean, Twilight had a lot of plot holes, anyway. Maybe I’m rich.”

She shook her head. What was she thinking?

She towel dried her hair and caught herself in the mirror for the first time she’d been there. She realized her skin was definitely darker than everyone else there, she still had all her tattoos and ear piercings, so her appearance hadn’t changed thank God.

Walking into her room to prepare herself for the day, she realized she didn’t actually have any plans. No school, no job— money. Do I have any money? She dug her wallet to find it only having $200, the same amount she had when she left Kauai. It’s a good amount, but how long can it last? And how long will she be here?

Note: get a job soon

“Tinder would be great right now” she thought

Meeting new people to give her a tour, something to keep her busy would be great. It was almost no different from her home, in her room, wishing her life was more exciting.

Walking to the computer, she googled: “Things to do in Forks”

She sighed after 10 minutes of searching, the only barely interesting thing she could find was “Hoh Rain Forest” and “Quileute Indian Reservation”. She clicked on the forest, only to shudder at the memory of Victoria in the second twilight film, where she turns humans into vampires for a newborn army. “Definitely not going there. It could damn me into this reality forever,” She thought.

Her mouse hovered before clicking “Quileute Indian Reservation”, eyes lighting up at the words “La Push Beach”. She didn’t remember anything significant from the movies about a beach, so she decided this would take up some time while not interfering with the Twilight storyline

Driving without phone navigation was hard. She’d never paid attention to the names of the road or names of the freeways. Only where to turn and where to exit. So the destination to La Push Beach was longer than the 30 minutes it was supposed to take.

After finally reaching the cloudy and cold beach, she sighed. Kauai would never do me like this. Reluctantly, she stepped out. There was nothing else to do at home so might as well spend a day at the gloomy beach than alone in a gloomy room. She decided not to swim, the water was unfriendly and very much like ice. Walking along the coast, memories of her old life ran through her head. Oh, what she would give to have it all back. Sure, this was a fantasy world and the worst thing that could happen was that she died here and awoke back in her old li—

Wait a second.

She quickly spotted the cliff where she saw the other wolves in the movies jump. That means it couldn’t have been so dangerous, and having cliff jumped herself back in Kauai as she grew up, it wasn’t too scary either. However, the heavy rain that started falling and the tides that roared louder warned everyone else on the beach to stay away. As they all fled back to their cars, she made a start for the cliffs.

After nearly slipping and dying on about a thousand rocks, she finally made it to the top. This was definitely not the cliff that the wolves jumped off of, but her memory of the movies were so foggy that she was sure this was the one. That she’d drown herself and die with no damage done to her body and wake up in her old life. Looking off of the edge however, the boulders that were too close to the surface and where she would land said otherwise. It’s okay. It would happen fast and almost painlessly, and she’d be gone from this life.

“Don’t!” A booming voice yelled behind her.

Please don’t be a Twilight character. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself before putting on a poker face and turning around

Ah, shit—He slowly approached her, “you don’t have to do this,”

“Oh, I’m not,” she quickly interjected, “I was just... looking. I’d never seen the ocean from this view”

Don’t do anything that would add to the situations they’re about to face. Don’t change the story line. Don’t make yourself a concern.

She didn’t know the man, but the “tattoo” on his arm was enough for her to know that he was important to the stories

He stared at her intently, “We don’t allow people on this part of the cliffs. It’s dangerous to jump off of and you’ll land on those rocks. No coming back from it,” He explained.

“Right,” she nodded “I’ll be on my way then,” she excused herself. The walk down was going to be a tough one. The rocks were slippery and she’d be climbing down this time

“It’s an easier route this way,” he suggested, pointing the opposite direction

“That’s alright, I’ll be okay here!” She responded, though already almost twisting her ankle on just the second rock changed her mind instantly, “Nevermind! You were right! Wait up!”

Maybe she won’t die today. The fear of not actually waking up to her old life and just plain out dying in this one was echoing in the back of her mind.

He waited patiently, a hint of amusement at her futile attempt to go the hard way played on his slight smirk. Kai didn’t catch it. She was too busy trying not to slip.

“You’re not from here, are you?” He asked her while guiding her down the dirt path

Lie

“How can you guess?” She asked him

“Everyone knows to stay away from this area. It’s usually the visitors who come here for pictures” he swiftly replied

“Oh,” she nodded, ”I’m just visiting family in Forks. I leave tomorrow”

“Keep yourself out of the story. Don’t change anything”

“Did you like it here?” He asked

“It’s alright. Family is what made it fun,” she instantly replied

The route back to shore was about 8 minutes all downhill. Much faster than the 15 or so minutes it took for Kai to make it up to the actual cliff. She learned that the mans name was Sam, he was a native and lived in La Push.

Kai knew he was a wolf because of the tattoo he wore on his arm. She bid him a thank you, not continuing any other unnecessary information. She didn’t even give her real name. To him, she was Jessica.

She drove home immediately, her thoughts buzzing about how it had only been 2 days, and in just that span, she had met 2 characters. This was really her biggest fear. It happened in the Avengers, where they messed with the timeline and a lot of people died. The original Avengers who all stayed alive after the blip? They all died in the alternate timeline.

Kaileia did not want to become the ripple in this universe, where they all made it out alive after the fourth book. All she wanted was to live through however long she was meant to be here, then go home. However, things seemed to be pulling her into the story against her will.

January 2007

Months had passed and there was no sign to Kai about how to get back to her old life in Kauai. After the first month of hopeless attempts, she realized she was just going to have to go through it. The cullens were back, she could tell because more wolves were coming around. More wolves meant more drama and more drama meant the Cullens and Bella.

Still, her only encounters were with Edward, Sam and Chief Swan. Edward, she was sure he’d forgetten about her by now. Sam didn’t even know Kaileia’s actual name, and Chief Swan did nothing more than run a clean record on her, excusing what should have been a ticket.

It was 10 a.m. when Kai’s alarm went off. She quickly hit snooze which set her alarm wait another two minutes. It narrowed down to where she had approximately 15 minutes to get ready, and this seemed like a suitable amount of time.

As soon as she was ready, she was out the door. She worked at the convenience store just three blocks from her house. She clocked in at exactly 11a.m. and began her exciting four hour shift of occasionally scanning items and bagging them, and watching rascal ass kids try to make puns or steal from the store.

The bell rang as a new customer walked in and Kai greeted them with a “Hello! Welcome in!” She looked up to make eye contact and acknowledged their presence— this was a tactic to let customers know you were watching them therefore decreasing the chances of theft— but froze when she saw who it was. Jacob with his hair cut short and a tattoo showing— which meant he had phased already— wheeling in his dad, Billy. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary happened. He just picked up some beers and went straight to pay for them.

“Watching the game?” Kai asked, scanning his items

“Ain’t nothing better to do this afternoon. Been looking forward to it all week,” he replied with a smile

Kai flashed her own friendly smile and a nod before printing his receipt and sending the duo on their way. She sighed. At least Chris Brown, Timbaland and Avril Lavigne were in their prime. That was the only good thing about the store. The good music.

Her shift ended seemingly later than it should have, or maybe it just went so slow cobwebs could have appeared. 4p.m. Seemed a decent enough time for a hike. It’s time Kai used her legs anyway.

After a whole hour of useless retracing of the steps, she finally faced the fact she was indefinitely lost. Which was the last thing she wanted. Don’t panic. You’ve been safe all this time, nothing can change that now.

Spoke too soon.

In front of her stood her greatest fear. Victoria.

She stood menacingly at Kai, and her heart stopped. She knew exactly what those red eyes meant. She knew that Victoria had the upper hand in every way possible. But dying by the hand of a character in this series— Kai knew that wouldn’t be a way to bring her back to her old life. It would be etched in the story forever.

They stared at each other. And stared. And stared some more. Impulsively, Kai turned around and fled.

She assumed Victoria let her have her chance for about eight seconds, then ran after her and landed just one foot away.

Kai gasped, “Victoria”

Victoria stopped and took a hold of her wrist to prevent her from fleeing again, “How do you know who I am?” She asked, her eyes turned angry, accusingly. Once she wore this expression, Kai had wished to see the hunger in her eyes instead

Kai panicked, “What are you talking about?”

Are you kidding me. Why would you say that?

“I said,” Victoria swiftly cracked her forearm then wrapped an aggressive hand around Kai’s neck, threatening to end her life right there, “How do you know who I am?”

“I honestly guessed you kind of look like a Victori—” Victoria’s grip tightened.

“Stop lying to me.” She started to raise her into the air. At this point, Kai couldn’t formulate any words and helplessly scratched at Victorias ice cold hands with her one good arm until they both heard a threatening growl.

Victoria froze, her hand staying just as tight around Kai’s neck. She was dropped suddenly as she fled and the wolves chased after her. Kai counted four. Or five. At the moment she was only trying to catch her breath. But the feeling of her broken left arm made her scream helplessly. She scrambled for her phone, calling 911 as soon as she made it out of the woods.

Here is chapter 3! She’s getting sucked into the world!!! Ahhh!!! Hope you guys enjoyed!!

Feel free to leave any questions, comments, suggestions/recommendations or critiques! Thank you so much for reading^^^

Tags: @sunflowerspectre @rosalies-hale

15 notes · View notes

blinkerfluid93-blog · 6 years ago

Text

The Honda CRX Del Sol

If you’ve ever driven an Alfa Romeo, you know they’re special. It’s a cliche, but a true one. I used to own a little 146 with the 1.6 boxer engine and I absolutely loved it (until it decided to spit most of its diff and part of the gearbox onto my bosses driveway). It would buzz down the street like a mini WRX, cock it’s inner front wheel on tight corners, get me waves from other Alfa drivers (leather jackets, moustaches and all) and then I could chuck four friends in it and head up the coast for a weekend at the beach. A truly wonderful and quirky car. It seemed to achieve all this with no sign of actual performance either. Sure, the engine sounded good but it barely scraped 100bhp, and while the handling was awesome, it wouldn’t do me any good unless I was in the winding Italian countryside where this car was designed. It didn’t matter. Alfas of the 90’s were a drivers car, not a performance car.

I thought hot Hondas from the 90’s, bar a little soul, were much the same. Something fun to drive when you couldn’t afford a turbo or a V8. A co-worker of mine at a well known Wellington pizza place owned a Honda CRX Del Sol VTi-S. In Fact, he owned 2 of them! I hated both. I thought not only has this car clearly tried to deceive me by attempting to look like a RWD, mid-engined sports car, it’s also sacrificed any style or practicality in doing so! This car was designed by an idiot, for an idiot. The idiot, in this case, was Chris. Chris loved Hondas more than any other. The kind of guy who had an NSX poster on his wall since he was 4 and would aggressively dismiss any other car as “shit”. He was wrong about most things in his life, Chris. He was incredibly bossy, valued money over any relationship and by far the laziest worker in the restaurant. But since he was quite often the only other car guy on my shift and everyone else was terrified of him, we’d end up chewing the fat more often than not.

One evening, after another shift-long debate, he figured the only way to convince me was to get me into the driver’s seat of the Del Sol. So, once the lights were off and the doors were locked, I followed him down to a quiet spot, just outside of town to a long, open and empty highway for some danger-free blasting. My doubts were inflated at this point. I thought “you idiot, little cars like these are built for corners, not long Hollywood black tops into the valley”.

I parked up, he shifted over to the passenger's seat and I settled in behind the wheel. It felt good. The position was low and the controls had that 90’s, Japanese, Gran Turismo 2 feel about them. The gearbox was tight and the engine blipped freely as I dabbed at the peddle. Definitely, a car designed for the person on the inside. “Go for it” instructed Chris. I eased into first to get a feel for the clutch, then punched it once I was over 2000rpm. It was quick, but nothing crazy. I changed up into second, did the same and felt the same. It was at this time that Chris said: “Stop, stop, stop!” I eased off. “Watch the gauges for when to change gear. Watch the red line”. I gunned the engine back alive in second, this time keeping my eyes on the gauges.

This is when stuff gets freaky in a Honda. Normally you listen and recognise an engine has to change gear at around 7000 rpm and every instinct was telling me to do so. It’ll just explode otherwise, but Chris was giving me the Obi-Wan treatment; “No! Use the Revs AJ!”. So I stayed in it. We passed 7000 rpm pushing off into the great unknown. The engine screamed like nothing I’d heard before. I’d heard motorbikes and F1 cars accelerate like this but not a street car, not a Honda. I assume it’s what people feel like when they see a ghost; it doesn’t make sense and it’s breaking all your worldly rules of reality but, it’s there. The needle kept on climbing well beyond the point of logic as I could feel a black hole opening around us, bending our reality. As the car was approaching 9000 rpm, I could bear no more. Either me or this car was about to lose it and so I shifted into third. Back down to 6500 rpm.

Oh yeah. This was perverted, and I wanted more. The power delivery was smooth and it seemed to be the world’s most generous barman, with revs on tap. We were flying at about 130 km/h by now. If Chris minded, I didn’t notice. I was absolutely hypnotised by this engine. It was the child that holds its breath underwater 20 seconds longer than you thought humanly possible, then pops up with you in a panic going “what’s the problem?” No problem Damien, you’re just a goddamn freak of nature is all.

We blasted on like a banshee through the night. 7500, 8000, 8500. 140, 150, 160, fully aware that the pistons in this car must be moving faster than 99.9999% of things on this planet could possibly move. What was this like? Death? An orgasm? Heaven? Hell? I didn’t know. I didn’t need to know. The feeling was enough. Just as I thought this car was about to destroy physics and send us back to 1955 Hill Valley, I changed up into fourth and eased off. I knew if I kept on it I would be all the way to 200 and then onto hell with Julian in tow.

“Holy balls!” I exclaimed through some manic laughter and between drags of the fastest cigarette ever smoked. I thought over the previous 15 seconds of my life/death. “You see now?” asked Julian. Yes, I do see now Chris. This is no Operatic Concerto like my Alfa, beautifully guiding you through winding corners with the girl of your dreams beside you. Or it’s not the awesome guitar riff that makes you laugh and smile as you chew jerky and burn tires in a Commodore SS. No. No this was death metal. This is the music you listen to before a fight, something to make you howl at the moon. This is the kind of thing you do when you wanna be bad to feel good. This is leather, whips and chains. This is awesome.

Everything else about the Del Sol is wrong: It’s hideous, they’re always in a weird colour, they’re slower and less practical than the Civics of this era thanks to its weird folding convertible roof and they were blatantly just made to chase the success of the MR-2. But that’s where the beauty lies in this car. Yeah, you’ll look like a fool in the parking lot or in heavy traffic, but once you unleash this thing on the open road or around a track, nothing can touch you. Not the guys laughing at you, not the girls ignoring you, not the taxman, not your boss, not that idiot with the blonde wig on the news, not your ex, not your lack of a vacation this year, not that tosser in a Q7 who cut you off and best of all, without even a hope of brushing you, not even your reflection. The Del Sol is your secret weapon, and it’s quite possibly a nuke.

#Honda #CRX #Del Sol #cars #jdm #revs #review #Motoring #Autos #Classics #Japaneseimports #fwd

3 notes · View notes

athyrabunlord · 7 years ago

Text

LLSHP 17 - Untitled

Arc1: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]

Arc2: [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14]

Arc3: [Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18 - sanguinem pudicitia (TBD)]

Interludes: [Carbonado (1)] [Carbonado (2)] [Of Feathers and Wind] [Delphinus (teaser blip)]

[Brief note about School Term] [other LLSHP AU stuff] [YohaMaRuby concept arts] [ChikaYouRiko concept arts] [KanaDiaMari concept arts] [Hogwarts Staff]

[FFN link] (up until ch14!) [Pixiv Link] [Translated to Chinese by plin2290]

A/N: After gazillion years I finally finished this chapter XD; And no, that’s not a typo, this chapter really is called ‘Untitled’. Anyway, this chapter went through a bunch of rewrites and, combined with RL issues, it took this long to complete. The next chapter will be more fun I promise whenever that is. As always, any feedback is appreciated and thank you for reading! Words: 7,814

Not even a week has passed since the visit to the hospital, two letters arrived at Hogwarts, one they had been hoping for and one unexpected.

The first letter was from the Kurosawa Patriarch, with a seal of approval for Dia to visit Riko. This was most likely due to the hospital staff and the Sakurauchis’ requests, as he had disregarded Ruby’s prior inquiries. However, Dia must be cleared of her charges before she could be allowed to step out of the Estate. While the heiress was never formally convicted, any smidgen of doubt is still a stain to the family name, and there are laws to abide to as well. From the Ministry’s standpoint, Dia is not guilty yet not innocent either, especially since there have been no leads to who the true perpetrators were.

Therefore, for the time being, Dia and Ruby’s parents will be meeting with the Sakurauchis to discuss what they could do in this situation, to help Riko’s recovery. As the former Chief Warlock whose words carry a lot of weight, the Patriarch has also exerted his influence and connections with the Ministry. Several of the Kurosawas from the Estate are allowed to join the Auror team that has been investigating Moonstruck and the slip of security on Hogwart grounds that led to Riko’s kidnapping.

It isn’t the best scenario, but it is at least more than they could have hoped for.

The second letter was from Hanamaru’s grandmother, about how her grandfather is sick with a flu and wishes to see her. Without access to owls, Muggle relatives usually send letters to a specific address, which is actually an outpost under the Muggle Liaison Office’s jurisdiction. Because of this extra detour, the letter took longer to be delivered and so Hanamaru doesn’t know if he has already recovered or if the flu has worsened.

As much as she tries not to let it show, but she must miss her family especially after the rather traumatic hospital visit. Ruby is able to convince Hanamaru that they will be fine and she should visit her family.

Yoshiko requests to go with Hanamaru, a gesture that the rest of the group appears rather happy about, especially the brunette. At the end, Ruby has managed to include herself, along with Chika and You, in the meeting today between her parents and the Sakurauchis, while Kanan and Mari decide to stay behind at Hogwarts. The staff, some of the Professors especially, is sympathetic to their situation and is willing to turn a blind eye to their supposed surveillance.

And so, it is with heavy heart that Yoshiko treks towards Hogsmeade with Hanamaru and Professor Hoshizora, who volunteered to accompany them. To get to Hanamaru’s home, they would have to travel either via Apparition or Portkey since there is no fireplace at her house, and even if there is one, it’s not connected to the Floo Network anyway. Therefore, a special Portkey has been arranged to be activated at a designated spot to bring the girls to the Kunikida residence.

Yoshiko walks a little ways behind the chatting pair, still feeling a little awkward in spite of that heart to heart conversation with Hanamaru at the bus stop. She has, however, acknowledges that she needs to stop pushing away her important people and stay close to Hanamaru for as long as she could. She promised her that she would try.

“Okay, here we are!” They stop just outside of the train station, and Yoshiko wistfully recalls the last time she was here, with Ruby and Hanamaru, running from the supposed Grim and receiving help from the golden cat.

“Thanks for taking us here zura~”

“No worries, I need to get some supplies from Hogsmeade anyway so this is on my way nya~” Professor Hoshizora was the one to bring the petite Muggleborn to Diagon Alley, so it makes sense that Hanamaru feels most at ease around her. After all, her memory is clear up until her arrival at King’s Cross Station.

“So, just remember to touch this badge again at 5pm nya, both of you,” the gamekeeper hands a riceball-shaped badge to Hanamaru. “And it will bring you back here, where I’ll be waiting to take you back to the Castle. Unless, of course, if there’s any emergency, just tap on the badge with your wand and someone should Apparate right over to you! Any questions? No? Good!” She thoughtfully rubs her chin as she peers at the teenagers. “Hmm, you sure you don’t need another person going with you two nya?”

The ponytailed witch looks concerned at their wellbeing, rather than having them leave the castle grounds unsupervised. Yoshiko appreciates that, but she still replies firmly. “I’m more than enough to protect her, Professor, but thank you for offering.”

Lucifer pops out from under her jacket then, hissing as if to protest that it is a fine bodyguard too. She doesn’t know how the bat knows, but it’s rather miffed at her for wandering around the Muggle world by her lonesome. Since then, her loyal minion has been attached to her side since her return, even during daytime like now.

Professor Hoshizora laughs. “I see you’re both set then! Well, lemme tell you a lil secret nya~” She lowers her voice playfully. “The Trace is actually just a myth, meaning you can use magic in the Muggle world. We trust that you will not abuse magic and follow the standard protocol of the Statue of Secrecy, so it’s okay if you want to show off some tricks for your family nya~”

“Oh, but I can’t use magic, not really anyway. It comes and goes zura…”

“That’s why she’s here, isn’t she?” The Muggleborn professor laughs again and ruffles Yoshiko’s hair, ignoring her protest. “As awesome as magic is, it’s always good to spend time with your family. Have fun nya~”

Though slightly annoyed, Yoshiko is grateful for the Professor’s effort in lightening up the atmosphere. She could tell Hanamaru’s feeling anxious, in spite of her cheerful tone while conversing with the older witch.

Yoshiko holds out her hand, and without any hesitation Hanamaru hands over the badge to her, though her fingers remain in contact with the Portkey. Minutes later, upon the activation time, she feels this unpleasant sensation of something hooking her navel and flinging her into the sky!

The world spins around her, disjointed scenes of clouds and forests and roads and whatnot. The nauseous sensation continues to swirl, particularly in her tummy, even after they land ungracefully at a small clearing.

“Ugh, no wonder the Apparition license is so popular… I bet anything’s better than Portkeys.” She fights down the urge to throw up and shakes her head slowly a few times. “As soon as I’m of age, I’m so gonna-” Before her mind begins to form plans for the future, she bitterly stops herself and tries to focus on the present. Lucifer rolls out of her jacket, coughing sickly from the Portkey travel, but the bat still nudges her hand as if to comfort her.

“T-This feels like my first time on a car zura…” Hanamaru isn’t faring any better, her back resting against a tree as she attempts to get her breathing under control.

Pocketing the badge, Yoshiko struggles to get to her feet and wobbles towards her companion. After a moment’s hesitation, she extends her hand towards the brunette to help her stand up. “So, did we arrive at the right place?”

“Yes, this is close to our backyard actually, I recognize it!” Hanamaru’s eyes light up in excitement as she gestures at the pebble-paved path behind the shrubs. “Come on, Yoshiko-chan! I bet Obaa-chan’s waiting for us!”

Without waiting for a response, the smaller girl pulls her along the forest trail and past a jizou statue, the foliage gradually thinning. Lucifer faithfully glides behind them, its presence bringing a certain amount of comfort to Yoshiko, but she still gulps nervously at the spiritual atmosphere from the surroundings. She tries to remind herself what the merpeople Chieftainess told her though that doesn’t lessen the feeling of being unclean.

“Yoshiko-chan, just a bit more.” Hanamaru looks over her shoulder and gives her an encouraging smile then, her grip on their intertwined hands firm and steady. Yoshiko relaxes slightly, finding her being here upon these holy lands acceptable as long as she’s accompanied by the temple maiden.

The path widens until it reaches the edge of stone pavement that meanders around a wide expanse of grass and bare soil tops. There are trees and shrubs here and there, carefully arranged and maintained in a way that Yoshiko is certain would form some sort of pattern if seen from the sky. Some flowers are just starting to bloom, adding splashes of vivid red, violet and yellow to this otherwise lush and green scenery.

A moderate two-story house is located just ahead, near a greenhouse that has a shelf of miniature bonsai trees right beside its open door. The old temple is further ahead, along with many slabs of grey that Yoshiko assumes to be weathered tombstones from ancient times. Strangely, she doesn’t feel uncomfortable at the thought of this place possibly haunted by ghosts. Rather, she likes to think that the spirits of the deceased guard the Kunikida residence just as much as they do for the temple.

Hanamaru’s serene expression shows that she most likely grew up thinking along the same lines too. She slows down a bit as she scans the the yard before letting out an excited yelp. There, beside a heap of fallen leaves and some gardening tools, is an elderly woman wearing thick-framed glasses and a similar gentle smile.

“Obaa-chan!”

Hanamaru runs towards her grandmother, who opens her arms wide to accept the girl’s greeting hug. As the Kunikidas exchange words joyously, Yoshiko couldn’t help but watch over them with a small smile. There’s envy, or rather longing, for growing up with such a loving family. Simple gestures or just the cozy atmosphere itself are indicators enough that Hanamaru is very close to her grandmother. Looking around, Yoshiko could almost picture a miniature Hanamaru exploring the yard and helping her grandparents with the gardening.

“It is good to have you back, even for just the afternoon, Maru-chan. I see you have brought your friend-?” Grandma Kunikida’s eyes crinkle at Yoshiko’s hesitant approach.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am. I am Yoshiko Tsushima, Hanamaru’s friend,” she politely dips her head and holds out her hand.

“Oh~ You’re that Yoshiko-chan, the one Maru-chan always talks about in her letters,” the elder chuckles as both of her hands clasp warmly over Yoshiko’s. “I’ve always wanted to meet you in person.”

“U-Uh-? Thank you-?” Uncertain how to respond to such enthusiasm, Yoshiko drops her gaze awkwardly. Normally, she would have been overjoyed that her girlfriend would talk to her family about her but, as the situation stands, she’s just Hanamaru’s friend.

“O-Obaa-chan! Um, where’s Ojii-chan? How is he doing zura?” From how flustered Hanamaru appears, does that mean she still mentions her even after her memories became jumbled?

Yoshiko isn’t sure whether to feel happy about this or not.

“He was just napping until moments ago! He has gotten much better, thankfully, but he still likes being cooped up under the kotatsu, that ol’rascal. I came here to roast some sweet potatoes, y’know, his favorites,” Grandma Kunikida gestures at the house. “Why don’t you talk to him dear? I’ll have Yoshiko-chan help me with the prepping and cooking.”

Hanamaru glances at her hesitantly, so Yoshiko gives her a stiff nod. This is the purpose of their trip here after all. Surely, she can be alone with her former girlfriend’s grandmother for a period of time.

Surprisingly, once Hanamaru is out of sight, the elder does not grill Yoshiko with questions about school or her granddaughter. Despite her easy-going manner and slow pace, Grandma Kunikida is rather focused on her task and only instructs Yoshiko every now and then to set up the fire pit.

“Erm, I’m done with the skewers. Is there anything else I can do to help, Kunikida-san?”

“Please, just call me Obaa-chan too,” the woman’s wrinkled smile is kind as she beckons for the girl to come sit beside her. “And yes, if you could please hand me the lighter and my gloves…”

“O-Okay!” Yoshiko is rather surprised but glad at such mundane request and sense of familiarity. The elderly woman’s relaxing and accepting aura makes it easy for her to feel included at the Kunikida residence. Again, Yoshiko is humbled by this down-to-earth and simple atmosphere of Hanamaru’s grandmother.

After Grandma Kunikida starts the fire, a stretch of silence descends upon them. Yoshiko tries to think of a topic, uncomfortable with the lack of conversation, yet only apologies come to mind. The elder probably doesn’t know the full story of what had transpired at Hogwarts and how she, Yoshiko, is the cause of Hanamaru’s suffering.

A quiet crackle from the smoking twigs prompts the elderly woman to prod at the sweet potatoes. Yoshiko fidgets and swallows dryly, deciding it’s now or never. She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to speak.

“Something happened to Maru-chan at school, no?”

Yoshiko narrowly avoids biting down on her tongue. “Pardon me?”

Grandma Kunikida folds her wrinkled hands over her knees as she stares contemplatively into the fire. “The letters she sent us seem different after the end of January. Her Head of the House had sent us a letter explaining to us what had happened, how her magic had been compromised, but Maru-chan did not tell us any of that.”

“She… didn’t-?”

“Maru-chan never lies to us, so I’m certain that she did this for an important reason.” The elder shifts slightly so that she faces Yoshiko, her eyes solemn but kind. “Jii-chan and I do not want to push her. Still, she is our precious granddaughter, the only family we have left after our son and daughter-in-law passed away. We’d like to hear her story too.”

Yoshiko’s fingers subconsciously curl into a fist, though she doesn’t avert her gaze. “...if Hanamaru herself doesn’t tell you, then it’s not my place to either. I can tell you though, that she always thinks the best for her friends. She… she could have just came home, came back here to all of this, yet she chose to stay with us, because she wants to be of help.”

“And? What do you think of her decision to stay?”

Yoshiko lowers her head in shame but she’s unable to stop the words from pouring out of her heart. She couldn’t bring herself to avoid the question or lie to this elderly woman. “I-I want her to be safe. I don’t want her to be hurt again but the truth is, deep down, I… I’m happy that she chose to stay. Close to me, willing to still stay by my side, I mean.”

Grandma Kunikida nods patiently, giving her a few moments to gather her thoughts.

“I need her, um, Obaa-chan. Even after everything that’s happened, she continues to mean a great deal to me, and she calms me like no one else can. R-Recently, I realize that…” I still love her. Yoshiko ignores the heat crawling up her neck and ears and tries to keep her voice from wavering. “...I’m still weak, but never again will I let her get hurt, not while I’m around.”

Yoshiko meets the woman’s gaze as earnestly as she could, and is unprepared for the quiet chuckles that follow. Grandma Kunikida is slouched over her seat, one hand covering her mouth to muffle the laugh.

“Erm-? What did I say?”

“Oh don’t worry dear, I just wasn’t expecting you to tell me… this much, and so truthfully too. Then again, I should have expected it - you’re every bit the good girl I’d imagined you to be, Yoshiko-chan.”

This time, Yoshiko is very aware of the blush burning her face, especially after the woman gives her an affectionate pat on her bun. “Eh?”

“Maru-chan talks about many things and many of her friends in her letters, although I don’t think she’s realized the topic always goes back to you. Yes, even nowadays.” At this, Grandma Kunikida gives her a significant look.

“R-Really-?” Alright, this time, Yoshiko couldn’t help that flutter of joy in her chest, but now she’s more worried about how the woman would react if she finds out their past relationship.

“Ho ho ho, look at you, what an adorable child! We old people don’t last this long on this planet for no reason! We see and sense things young people can’t. Had I disapproved of you with my granddaughter, I wouldn’t be talking to you, would I? Well, Jii-chan did throw a minor fit, but he got over it after I talked sense to him.”

Yoshiko gapes. Grandma Kunikida laughs again.

“I heard you were quite taken with the kimono my granddaughter wore to the Christmas party?”

“Ah yes, thank you for sending her the- wait no! That’s not what I wanted to say-!”

At her frantic gestures, Lucifer flies nearby in her defense. Grandma Kunikida watches the bat with interest and attempts to coax it with some snacks she takes out from her pocket.

“I’m okay, Lucifer, this is um, alright, I’m not in any danger,” physically at least.

The clever bat looks between her and the elder, and decides food is the priority. It swoops down and perches on Grandma Kunikida’s shoulder, crooning when it’s fed and caressed behind the ears.

“Tch, that was fast,” Yoshiko complains half-heartedly, relieved that her minion’s intervention saves her dignity from crumbling further. Grandma Kunikida probably decides that it is enough teasing and seems content with Lucifer’s company.

“You girls lead a very exciting life at Hogwarts, though I understand that there have been quite a few dangerous incidents. You’re right, I would have preferred to have my granddaughter back here with us, where it’s safe, but that’s not the path she has chosen. Jii-chan and I respect that. I was going to ask you to keep an eye on Maru-chan, but that’s not necessary, is it?”

Yoshiko says seriously. “I will protect her with my life-”

“That’s not what I want to hear, dear,” the woman admonishes quietly as she covers Yoshiko’s hand with her own. It feels warm and protective. “It’d upset me if I hear anything were to happen to you. I want you to take care of yourself too, Yoshiko-chan. I may not know what had happened, but you’ve been hard on yourself, haven’t you?”

“How did you-?” Had she been that obvious, or is the elder that perceptive?

“It’s just a haunch, from our conversation. Your expressions are rather stiff, as if you haven’t allowed yourself to feel.” Grandma Kunikida chuckles gently. “It’s okay to want to be happy. I’m sure that would make Maru-chan happy as well. Now, give this old woman your best smile, hmm?”

Yoshiko hastily wipes at her eyes and tentatively makes a pose, which feels both nostalgic yet unfamiliar since it’s been a while. Nodding, she gives the woman her best grin.

“Obaa-chan~ Ojii-chan wants some pork buns now but I can’t find any in our freezer-” Hanamaru walks up to them, blinking at her applauding grandmother and the posing girl. “Umm, what’s happening zura?”

“Pork buns, you say? That Jii-chan, a bigger glutton now that he’s recovered from the flu...”

“Oh, so Hanamaru got that from her grandfather huh… ack!” Yoshiko slaps a hand over her mouth but it’s too late. Hanamaru glares at her but bursts into giggles a moment later, while Grandma Kunikida watches them with a fond expression.

Yoshiko clears her throat and tries to appear nonchalant. “What do we do with these sweet potatoes then? They’re about to be done, right?”

“They are indeed. You’re both welcome to enjoy them while they’re fresh!”

Hanamaru glances at the sweet potato longingly but determinedly tears her gaze away to face her amused grandmother. “Actually, if you don’t mind, Obaa-chan, I’d like to take Yoshiko-chan to town, to get those pork buns for Ojii-chan but also to walk around the neighborhood zura?”

“Hmm, it’d be a nice change of scenery. I’ll bring these to Jii-chan for now,” Grandma Kunikida makes a playful gesture of shooing them away with her broom. Lucifer smartly takes flight and circles overhead. “Don’t dawdle though. You know how your grandpa gets when he doesn’t get his food, fu fu.”

“Like how Zuramaru gets when you don’t feed her bread?” Again, words slip out of Yoshiko’s mouth before she realizes it, so naturally and smoothly that it takes both girls a few moments to process what just happened. This is the second time!

“Mou! Yoshiko-chan is mean!” Even then, Hanamaru looks rather happy as she tugs at the taller girl’s arm. “Okay, Obaa-chan, we’ll be back soon!”

As much as she enjoys Grandma Kunikida’s company, Yoshiko is rather relieved to take a little breather. As they walk towards the main entrance to the temple and down the stone stairway, she has to suppress the urge to skip and hum to express this liberating sensation.

It’s nice to feel normal.

“So, did something funny happen zura?”

“Hmm? Why would you say that?”

“W-Well, I haven’t really seen you smile, not really,” Hanamaru looks a bit wistful at that.

“Is that so…” Yoshiko awkwardly rubs the back of her head, unaware that she’s been smiling. “It’s just that, uh, you have a good family, Hanamaru. It’s nice.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that!”

“So your grandpa, he’s all better now?”

“Yup! If he hadn’t asked for those pork buns, I would’ve fallen asleep in the kotatsu too,” Hanamaru chuckles sheepishly, but her eyes dim in sadness a moment later.. “It’s good to see him so energetic. I was so afraid when I got the letter. He’s old… they’re both old, a-and I’ve b-been away…”

They stop at an intersection, though there is no need to since there are barely any cars in this quiet neighborhood.

“Will you come here again with me in the summer, Yoshiko-chan? Ruby-chan and everyone else too, I’d like to introduce them to my family zura.“

Yoshiko’s throat aches a bit but she manages to squeeze out a word. “Okay.”

Hanamaru’s demeanor lightens at that. “Something to look forward to! First though, those pork buns for Ojii-chan zura~ He wants to talk to you too, Yoshiko-chan, so we should hurry~”

“Heh, yeah, it’s better if I bring some offerings to him.” And if that doesn’t work, Obaa-chan probably will have to save me.

“I think he likes you too. He showed me some of the letters I used to send, before my memories were… yeah,” Hanamaru glances at Yoshiko curiously. “Those letters said you used to pose a lot, something about little demons and being fallen angel Yohane?”

Yoshiko is mildly surprised that she isn’t as bothered as she thought she would be. True, back then, she was ignorant and silly, but at least her antics had made her friends happy and she had believed that identity to be real. It’d be wrong of her to denounce the memories of that time, when things were perfect as they were.

“Yup, I used to collect black feathers. It’s just that… things had happened and, well, I just found more important stuff to do than indulge myself in the fantasy.”

“Do you still believe in it?”

“Believe in what?”

“Being a fallen angel,” Hanamaru pauses, her voice lowering apologetically. “I shouldn’t have asked that, when I didn’t even know what happened-”

“It’s okay.” Yoshiko looks up into the blue sky, smiling at the sight of Lucifer circling underneath the clouds. “I’d been angry and depressed for a while, and now I’m just… honestly, I’m not sure how I feel, or how I should feel. In a way, I’m still one heck of a mess just as I had been before I went to Hogwarts. Fallen angel? Perhaps I really am.”

Her definition of fallen angel is different from Yohane after all.

Hanamaru is about to reply when she notices the surprise in Yoshiko’s gaze. Turning, she smiles at the sight of the playground just ahead of them. Gently tugging the stiff girl, she leads her into the small park.

“Do you remember?”

“Yeah, I do,” Yoshiko mutters hoarsely, glancing around the swing set, the monkey bars, the slide and the sandbox. Everything seems so nostalgic, so precious. “Heh, they’re smaller than I remember, then again we… we were just little kids. There’s no one here though.”

“Mostly elderly people live in this area, I think you’ve noticed that from our walk here. The few children here are all grown up or have moved out of town already,” Hanamaru says a little sadly. “No one comes to play outdoors anymore.”

“Their loss,” Yoshiko shrugs and approaches the swing, hesitantly touching the chains. “We had fun here, hadn’t we?”

“We did,” Hanamaru seems to be thinking about something. “Can I… tell you something?”

“Sure? What is it?”

“I-In spite of how nice everyone is, a small part of me still isn’t sure, because of how my memories are all over the place. Classmates I don’t remember, friends I should be close to, magic I should know. But… only you, Yoshiko-chan. I’m certain I’ve met before Hogwarts. I didn’t want to say anything because I don’t know what’s real or not but now that we’re here, now that you’ve said that you do remember playing with me here, I’m relieved.”

“I didn’t know it bothered you that much,” Yoshiko says guiltily and struggles to find the right words to express her thoughts. “It’s only recently that I remembered this playground though…”

Even though it wasn’t me, it was Yohane. I didn’t even exist back then.

“I’m just glad you do now. That will always be one of the most special memories in my life,” Hanamaru smiles up at her. “The first time I’ve witnessed magic zura.”

Yoshiko almost spills out everything then, about Yohane and Horcrux and all that, but she couldn’t bring herself to ruin the joy and the utter trust in those ochre eyes. Instead, inspiration strikes her and prompts her to extend a hand towards the shorter girl.

“Come on, let’s go up there.”

“Eh-? Up the slides?” Though giggling, Hanamaru takes her hand as they carefully climb up the tiny steps. The platform at the top is almost too small to fit the two teenagers, and they could easily sit on the railings.

“Hmm, there’s no one around us right?”

“No, I don’t think so-” Hanamaru checks the surroundings, blinking up at Yoshiko when she takes out her wand. “What’re you-?”

“You said you’ve become fascinated by magic because of… me, right? Well, I’m gonna recreate that,” Yoshiko wraps one arm securely around Hanamaru’s waist so that they are practically hugging. The proximity makes them both blush but she tries to ignore her pounding heartbeats as she grins down at the flustered girl.

“Are you ready to fly with me?”

Her grin widens at Hanamaru’s confused expression. With a careful Ascendio, they’re propelled into the sky. Startled, the smaller girl clings to Yoshiko, whose grip tightened around her to ensure that she wouldn’t fall. Using a few Hover Charms and Descendio here and there, Yoshiko is able to stabilize their flight as they weave and fly around the playground.

Pleased by the success, Yoshiko finds herself laughing and is soon joined by Hanamaru. They continue to chuckle even as they glide over the monkey bars and land safely beside the sandbox.

“T-That was unexpected, but amazing, Yoshiko-chan!” Hanamaru leans against the taller girl, her legs slightly wobbly.

“Heh, it’s different than flying with a broom, isn’t it?” Yoshiko keeps her steady, breathing her soothing scent and the lingering fresh breeze. This must be what freedom feels like, as fleeting as it had been. What they experienced just now is theirs. Not Yohane’s.

This belongs to her. With Hanamaru.

As the thrill gradually fades, she becomes conscious of their closeness again but she couldn’t bring herself to let go. Grandma Kunikida’s words echo in her head, that it’s okay for her to be happy too.

Before she loses her nerve, she leans down and kisses Hanamaru’s forehead. The brunette jolts slightly in surprise, but she then responds by tiptoeing and kissing Yoshiko’s cheek, her lips lingering as she glances at Yoshiko’s.

“I… I think that’s what’s missing. We weren’t just friends, were we? Please tell me the truth, Yoshiko-chan.”

Swallowing hard, Yoshiko embraces Hanamaru and whispers against her ear. “No, we weren’t just friends.”

Hanamaru makes a small sound, burrowing her head against Yoshiko’s shoulder. They stay like that for a while, relishing in each other’s warmth and touch. The tension is replaced by something more familiar and comfortable.

“...I think I know what you’re thinking zura. You didn’t want to push it because I don’t remember that we were a couple. You didn’t want a preconception to confuse me.”

“How well you see through me…”

“But the thing is. I-I still find myself… well, you seem distant but you’re kind, and today I see for myself that you could be funny and a bit of a dork too-”

“Hey!”

“-and I think that’s how you used to be zura. So, it doesn’t matter how you’re like, I…” Hanamaru’s voice is so quiet and muffled against her jacket that she has to strain to hear her. “I’m still attracted to you. Because, you’re, you.”

“Hanamaru…”

In spite of the Imperius Curse. In spite of everything that’s happened. In spite of Yohane. Hanamaru still ends up liking her, just as she couldn’t ignore her feelings either.

Horcrux be damned. The whole mess with the Fallen be damned.

She may not have been the one to save Hanamaru from Dementors back then, but the fact stands that a Patronus was summoned, and somehow she was still able to cast it while Yohane couldn’t. Maybe...

“I don’t know if this would do anything but, we’re here at least, so why not?” Yoshiko pulls away a bit, though she keeps one arm around Hanamaru. “Expecto Patronum!”

Silver light burst out from the tip of her wand, and the shimmering coelacanth swims around them freely and magnificently. An evanescent trail of light envelopes them, filling them with such positive energy that they find themselves smiling.

“Looks familiar?” Yoshiko watches her Patronus maneuver around the playground, similar to how she had flown with Hanamaru earlier.

“Y-Yes, it saved me from those Dementors,” Hanamaru murmurs, entranced by sparkles of light and the coelacanth’s corporeal form. “I was so scared, so very scared, but this concept of fear seems so… impossible zura, now that we’re standing here with the Patronus.”

“It’s an amazing spell, isn’t it? It’s said to be the only way to defend yourself against a Dementor, but not much is said about its other uses and that’s why not a lot of people bother learning it.”

“But it’s so beautiful…”

“Right? I believe there’s more to the Patronus Charm. It reveals your inner self and hints at your Animagus form - heh, it’d be hilarious if I turn into a fish though. Most importantly, it reflects the caster’s soul, or at least that’s what the merpeople Chieftainess told me. She saw my Patronus and told me that it’s proof of my worthiness.”

As Yoshiko says these words aloud, she recalls how her Patronus is able to damage Yohane’s wings, which are practically pieces of her soul. The correlation must mean something, though she doesn’t understand magic enough to figure out what.

“Anyway, I always feel a bit better whenever I cast this spell. It’s reinforced by positive thoughts after all. And the coelacanth, it’s a nice reminder.”

“The living fossil that we learned together from the encyclopedia zura,” Hanamaru giggles, reaching out a hand towards the silver fish. “Shiira-kansu, ne?”

When her fingertip comes in contact with the Patronus, Yoshiko feels an odd sensation of cold water trickling down her body and she gets tunnel vision on the coelacanth. Moments later, the vision returns to normal again, except the scenery looks slightly different.

Hanamaru has reverted to a little girl, her eyes wide with terror as she stares blankly at something behind Yoshiko. Yoshiko glances down at her hands, which are tiny as well, before turning around.

Dementors seem to glide towards them in slow motion, their tattered cloaks fluttering and their rotting bodies oozing of despair. A faint voice at the back of Yoshiko’s mind reminds her that this must be a flashback, but she’s mostly rooted in fear and consumed by a child’s young mind, unable to process her thoughts. All she could do is pull at Hanamaru’s hand as they try to run away from those foul creatures.

Little children’s legs could only move so fast and so far, and soon they stumble at the edge of the sandbox. Yoshiko spreads her arms wide, willing her tiny body to shield her friend from harm. The Dementors descend towards them, enclosing upon them, ready to suck their souls dry.

Hyperventilating now, Yoshiko fervently hopes for her angelic powers to manifest, to defeat this evil and protect her precious friend.

Something hurts within her chest, the pain so agonizing that she’s forced to her knees, but that is soon overcame by this sense of joy and hope. Light bursts from her body and the coelacanth Patronus swims around them, warding off the Dementors and chasing them away.

Yoshiko blinks at this miraculous turn of events, and only jolts out of her trance when she notices Hanamaru slumping behind her. The little girl must have been overwhelmed and thus had lost consciousness. Yoshiko herself is close to passing out as well, though she couldn’t look away from the brilliant Patronus.

Then she realizes that the Dementors are still around. Perhaps her magic isn’t as strong as a child, and the coelacanth is already doing all it could to keep the creatures at bay. Whenever it swims to chase one away, the others would attempt to close in on them.

It would only be a matter of time before the Patronus fades.

Then how did she save Hanamaru? How were the Dementors vanquished? This is a flashback right?

She finds her answer soon enough in the form of another Patronus, a Raven, powerful in its bright light as it soars straight through the Dementors and repelling them far away.

A dark-haired woman, her mother, stands in front of her determinedly while her father wraps protective arms around her small form. Yoshiko sniffles, clinging to her father’s warmth as he murmurs comforting words and caresses her back. The coelacanth fades not long after, its magic depleted, and exhaustion washes over her like a tidal wave. Before she nods off, she sees her mother speaking with the wizards and witches who just Apparated into the playground.

Her vision darkens but she remains aware.

She floats aimlessly in the darkness for who knows how long, and suddenly she finds herself facing a fallen man.

The fireplace nearby is littered with charred kindling and the Floo powder is scattered all over the expensive-looking carpet floor. Ornaments are shattered, portraits torn and furnitures upturned, a clear sign of an aftermath of a vicious battle.

Yoshiko discovers that, unlike the flashback earlier, she couldn’t really control her movements. There’s something viscous about the atmosphere too, adhering to her thoughts and weighing her down with malicious intent.

The red-haired man struggles to sit up, but all he could do is to slump against the wall. Amusement fills Yoshiko’s mind as she watches the wizard raise his wand with a trembling hand.

Nothing happens. Not even a spark from the tip of the wand.

Panicking now, the man utters incantations after incantations yet he’s still unable to cast a single spell.

“You Pureblood rely on your magic too much.” A familiar voice, Yohane’s voice, comes out of Yoshiko’s mouth. She tilts her head slightly, and one of the hooded figures behind her steps forward to wrench the wand out of the wizard’s hand.

“You won’t be needing this anymore after all.”

Yoshiko feels vile magic pooling at her back and, from the edge of her vision, she could see black feathers materializing. She flexes her wings in a silent command, and the hooded figures leave the room at once.

The reason becomes obvious when a Dementor glides in, and its terrible effect immediately shows as the wizard begins to quiver.

Yoshiko wants to scream, anything, to stop the creature from nearing the man. Alas, trapped in Yohane’s body, all she could do is watch in sheer horror as his soul is sucked out of his body.

A Dementor’s Kiss.

The man collapses, his eyes still open but blank with nothing inside of them.

Yohane does not laugh, though she’s obviously pleased from the way she kicks a broken plate out of her path as she exits the room.

“Oh, I didn’t notice you were here too.”

Abruptly, Yoshiko’s vision darkens again, the despair and dread dragging her down into that void of nothingness. She doesn’t even have a corporeal form, wherever she is, wherever this is.

Wandless.

Helpless.

What’s happening to me?

Did my soul leave my body or something?

The more terrified she feels, the deeper she sinks and it becomes harder and harder to form thoughts. This is different from her mind just blanking out when she loses control and those black tendrils burst out. She feels like she’s losing something, something important…

Is this what dying feels like?

“Yoshiko-chan!”

Someone’s calling her.

“Yoshiko-chan, snap back to your senses!”

She could feel it. Hope and light, somewhere far away and out of reach.

“Please, Yoshiko-chan!”

A familiar soft cry, a bird that is tragically misunderstood like she is.

Her vision is filled with light, forcing her to blink several times to adjust to the sudden brightness. A shimmering Patronus in the form of an Augurey flies around and encompasses the trail of light around her and Hanamaru.

“Y-Yoshiko-chan! You’re awake!” Hanamaru chokes with emotions, gripping Yoshiko’s hands so tightly that it’s almost painful. Lucifer is also perched on Yoshiko’s shirt, hissing softly in concern.

Yoshiko peers at them rather dumbly, trying to gather her thoughts and process what in Satan’s name just happened. “You saved me…”

“F-From what? What happened zura?”

“I… there was… it was all so dark, I…” Yoshiko says slowly, squeezing Hanamaru’s hands as if to reassure herself that she is back in her body. “Did you see anything-?”

“Y-Yes, h-how you saved me from the Dementors when we were little kids, here at this playground, but then I came to my senses and saw you’ve fainted zura. I-I kept calling your name but y-you wouldn’t respond. Lucifer tried too, it even bit your finger but nothing worked.”

Yoshiko takes a deep breath, pressing her hand against her chest and sighs in relief at the sensation of heartbeats. She’s back to reality now, from wherever that was.

“Is this-?”

The silver Augurey lands gracefully beside her before fading. “I couldn’t cast any spells, no matter how hard I tried, so I thought about what you said about souls and the Patronus Charm a-and, well, it somehow worked a-and it helped me wake you up.” Hanamaru shakes her head, as if unable to believe her success.

“T-That’s amazing… you’re able to cast an advanced spell, a Patronus Charm too...”

They both smile tentatively, though it’s obvious they’re still in a state of shock at what just transpired. Yoshiko rubs her aching temples, fragments of that scene with Yohane scaring her for many reasons.

Unlike the aftermaths of her previous connections, she doesn’t have a nosebleed, meaning this is something else.

Or that Yohane has recovered and is on the move.

And the poor man who was executed by a Dementor was unable to cast magic, most likely because he was hit by that same spell that affected Mari and Hanamaru.

Unlike the childhood memory in the playground, if Yohane can acknowledge her presence, it would mean that event has just occurred in the present. Yohane and the Fallen had attacked the man in his home before he could escape.

A Pureblood, a prestigious one too, based on all the fancy decorations.

The Black Jaguar insignia on the broken plate.

The Kurosawa emblem.

Cold fear settles in the pit of Yoshiko’s stomach.

“T-The Kurosawa Estate! It must be! We must get back to Hogwarts now and let the others know!”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

She grits her teeth and barely manages to dive behind an ornate mirror to avoid a powerful Stunner. A mere moment later, the glass shatters under the house-elf’s onslaught and forces her to vacate her hiding spot. The magical creature’s eyes are wide in turmoil, unable to fight against the powerful Imperius Curse forcing it to attack its liege.

She’s learned a few useful wandless spells for dire situations, yet she is unable to even summon magic. The terrible disruption remains, causing her great pain and almost paralyzing her when she tries to forcefully pour out her magic into the form of a spell. As the house-elf stiffly moves towards her, she mutters a silent apology before flinging a heavy book towards it.

While the servant is distracted by the impact, she lunges forward and smears her bloodied hand upon its brow. The house-elf shudders once before its energy seems to shut down as it closes its eyes and slumps to the side. Feeling her adrenaline receding, she crawls towards the wall, her body aching from exhaustion. She fruitlessly taps the corner of the shelf, hoping to activate the hidden passageway, yet nothing happens since there is no magic output. It seems that while ancient blood magic still works due to the bond between master and servant, she is practically a Squib and utterly defenseless.

It must have been that tea.

Grandfather had summoned those that remained within the Estate for a meeting and, as per tradition and decorum, tea had been serviced before discussions were allowed to proceed. Though fond of tea, she had been nervous and had only taken a small sip.

When the Wards were first breached, her relatives were shocked to discover that they could not cast even the simplest of spells to subdue the intruders. Cloaked trespassers aside, there was a legion of Dementors whose terrible presence alone was enough to incapacitate her relatives and even the Kurosawa patriarch. Having relied on and grown dependent on magic for so long, the formidable former Warlock and the rest of her family were easily overpowered.

Those who weren’t in the meeting were disarmed by a few Imperio’d house-elves and the Dementors. The number of house-elves then quickly dwindled down after they deliberately injured themselves, once they discovered having betrayed their masters even though they were controlled against their wills.

Those black feathers… such malignant magic...

Even without her magic, she was able to keep those intruders out of reach at first due to her sabre. Then, the winged witch commanded a different group of people to attack her with weapons like axes, halberds and swords. No matter how confident she was with her sabre, she was terribly outnumbered and, without her wand to cover this flaw in her defense, a blade slipped through her guard and disarmed her.

In spite of her injured right arm, she’s ambidextrous and has trained to fight like a Muggle. She knew there was no winning the fight then and successfully fled the room. She evaded Curses and Jinxes, using the layout of the Estate to her advantage when the intruders gave chase. In that moment of panic though, she had ordered Pana and Elicchi to leave the premises carrying the Kurosawa heirloom so that it would not be broken or fall to enemy hands. She did not know who are still free within the Estate but she knew that the Floo Network is compromised and the Wards are overwritten.

Knowing the two intelligent owls, they would have flown for Hogwarts to her little sister and her friends. And knowing them, they will definitely find a way to come here to save her.

However, by coming here, they would all be placed in grave danger and Dia despises herself for being the reason.

Alas, what else could she do in this predicament? Help isn’t coming, not from those outside the Vow, and she doesn’t know how long she can evade capture.

Her vision blurs precariously, prompting her to bite the inside of her cheek to jolt her back to consciousness. The copper tang of blood makes her stomach lurch. She breathes deeply, hoping to clear away any vestige of lightheadedness so that she could plan her next course of action. The deep cut on her right arm throbs, reminding her that the makeshift bandage to staunch the blood flow won’t be enough. The enemies had time to study her fighting style, and had improved their counter since they knew the sabre’s weakness against purely Muggle-forged weapons.

“...I ...I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault.” Dia tries to block the vivid image of Riko from the Pensieve, but her faint whisper hasn’t stopped haunting her since that day. “...it is mine.”

Anger overwhelms sorrow and fear, and she regains the strength to move again. With a pained gasp, she concentrates all her energy within herself and is relieved when the transformation slowly takes place. Though her world has become much larger from the new perspective, her sharpened senses now allow her to pick up even the slightest sound from down the hallway. She tests her injured foreleg, finding the limp acceptable before running out of the room. She uses her small size to squeeze under an armored statue without alerting a passing Dementor, though she almost falters from that shroud of despair.

It doesn’t affect her as much as it would have been if she was in her human form. She’s grateful to have learned Animagus magic, for it is her only defense against such horrid creatures now.

Even if she was able to use magic, she would still be defenseless against Dementors. She hadn’t been able to cast the Patronus Charm since...

She hastens her pace, fueled by rage and hatred. That winged witch, the leader of these intruders, most likely knows what her Animagus form looks like due to Riko’s memories. It’s only a matter of time before she’s found or succumbs to her injuries. However, there are still many things she could do, things that only she knows about the Kurosawa Estate.

Just how long would this battle of attrition last, between the wounded rabbit and the hunters out for her blood?

62 notes · View notes

a-punk-and-her-horror · 6 years ago

Photo

((Pathfinder: The Crimson Saber’s journey part 15 - Castle Calamity))

“H...Hey guys?” Kheevee called out from the back of the wagon as the rest of the party turned their attention towards her “Annette just left. Said she had other business to do. Maybe she's going to hunt down our attacker?”

“Maybe...” Kiruto sighed as Zizi let go of Riki-teef, who quickly turned back to her normal form before racing towards the troll corpse.

“If you're that desperate for help, I can...”

“No! Riki needs no help! See, Riki already got a toe, and some fat and...”

“And you ruined it's hide!”

“A small sacrifice...”

Zizi sighed before moving back to the wagon, investigating it.

“Well, without any live horses, what are we going to do with this...”

“Riki can turn Zizi into a horse for a while...”

“NO!”

“Then what does Zizi have in mind?”

Zizi began to ponder before pulling out his tools “I can modify it to a pull wagon...”

“Isn't that what they all are though?” Kiruto thought out loud, before catching Zizi's gaze.

“I mean as in one I can pull, for gear...”

“Oh, right, my bad...”

Zizi quickly got to work, re-using what he could from the wagon in what short time he had, until the wagon was finished, albeit a bit more rickety than first thought.

“Um... I have a suggestion, guys. No-one would feel bad about eating horse, right?” Kheevee pointed to the horse corpses “It would help top up rations...”

“Hm, good idea, some fresh meat could be good for morale” Zizi nodded as he got to work with his blades, cutting hunks of meat off the bodies before stuffing them in a sack “We can cook these when we make camp, but for now, we need to travel...”

“I'm making it out to be roughly three days travel now to the town...” Kiruto pointed out as he handed Zizi his map back.

“Then let us go already!” Riki cried out before starting down the path herself, with the others following close behind.

As they travelled, observing the plains to the left, and the mountains in the far distance to the right, day quickly transitioned into night, and as the group made camp, Zizi took his time to cook the meat for the party, who all joined in on the feast aside from Riki-teef, who didn't need to due to the ring she found all that time ago.

As dawn shined on the next day, Riki-teef was left on last watch, and decided to wake the others in her own way – by kicking over Kheevee's tent and stomping on Kiruto's tail as hard as she could. Kheevee barely noticed, while Kiruto screamed himself awake, a sharp glare locking onto the ratfolk.

“Why did you do that?!?”

“Go wake Zizi!”

“Why don't you do it?”

“Because Riki isn't stupid, now go dog!”

Kiruto's eye twitched as a voice in the back of his mind echoed slightly, his right hand trembling towards one of the holy pistols. “Do it....”

Kiruto shook the feeling off, before going to try and wake up Zizi while Kheevee crawled out from her blanket nest and collapsed tent, before meditating atop. After 5 minutes of unsuccessfully waking Zizi, Kiruto sighed before moving to a nearby small creak.

“Riki thought she told you to wake Zizi!”

“I tried, and he didn't...”

“COWARD!”

“Just... Shut up, Riki-teef, I have an idea...” Kiruto snapped back as he began to fill his water-skin, before moving back to Zizi's tent, dumping the cold contents atop of the Minotaur, who woke up with a jolt.

“WHAT THE HELL?!?”

Zizi loomed over Kiruto as he looked back to Riki-teef “She told me to wake you up, but you wasn't waking up normally...”

In the near distance, Zizi could her the ratfolk chanting. “SACK, SACK, SACK, SACK!”

Kiruto looked from Riki-teef, back to Zizi, before sighing “Look, fair is fair, I won't fight back...”

Zizi nodded slightly before shrugging, and throwing one sack over Kiruto, only to realize it didn't fully cover him. Instead of letting it be there, he quickly picked up Kiruto and used a second sack to cover his lower half, before throwing him over his shoulder “Pack up, you two, we need to move on.”

The two smaller members nodded before packing their things, as well as Kiruto's and Zizi's, before setting up the wagon for the four to carry on their journey.

As they travelled, enjoying the peaceful day, a town to the left caught Kheevee's eye, and a shudder ran down her spine.

“We don't have to go left, do we?”

“No, why?”

“I think that's....” Kheevee tilted her head as she tried to remember the name told to her “Night land? Nightlund?”

“Oh, that town with Lord Soth?” Kiruto raised a brow before nodding “Yeah, we should stay clear of there...”

Kheevee nodded as Zizi looked back to the map “There's something coming up to the right though, might be worth stopping at for the night, like a castle...”

“A castle?” Riki-teef questioned before shuddering “Is this wise?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Riki would rather remain out of danger...”

“I have to agree with Riki-teef...” Kheevee sighed “I'd rather not be stabbed in my sleep again...”

“Oh come on, it's an old castle. Besides, we can camp in the walls outside the castle itself...”

Kiruto raised a brow as he looked at the newer map procured by Zizi “But, the castle isn't on here...”

“See? Danger!”

“Doesn't that mean we really should check it out though? Besides, better than a tomb...”

Resigned, the group agreed, and as the fork in the road came up, the group moved towards the castle, finding it still standing yet clearly abandoned for years.

“So the courtyard's also a graveyard?”

“Seems so...”

“And we're camping here why?”

“Walls. Safer...”

Kiruto sighed before nodding as Kheevee and Riki-teef quickly began to detect magic, spotting a small ping coming from within the castle. Lured by the potential treasure, Riki-teef pulled Kheevee to one side.

“You see that too, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“We should go get it!”

“....Do we need to, Riki?”

“Yes!”

“...We should tell the others though...”

“NO!”

“Why not? Safety in numbers...”

“But then they would take it!”

“...There's only one though, one of us would go without, most likely me...”

“So you would let Riki go by herself?”

“...No, because I don't want you getting hurt...”

“Then let's go!” Riki-teef quickly grabbed hold of Kheevee's arm before pulling her into the castle via the front door. Moments passed before Kiruto noticed the duo missing.

“Zizi, Riki-teef and Kheevee have gone...”

Zizi sighed deeply before looking to Kiruto “Typical. I'm getting kind of sick of this...”

“Same, if it was just Riki-teef, fine, but I do worry for Kheevee...”

“You and me both, she needs to realize Riki-teef isn't to be trusted...”

Inside, meanwhile, the two smaller beings of the group began to sneak around, until they found their way to a throne room, noticing the blip's direction changing to below them.

“Oh, great, there's a secret passage...”

“Riki will find it!”

“We should get the others first...”

Riki's eyes darted quickly to a nearby bookcase as it pushed open by itself, a flickering figure catching her gaze for a moment “There, door!”

Kheevee began to object as Riki-teef moved towards the hidden door, pulling Kheevee along with her “See, it's safe!”

“I don't know about that, I think...” Kheevee began before she shuddered, slowly turning her head to the ghostly figure behind them “...we're in trouble...”

Riki-teef slowly turned to face the spectre, as it launched an attack on Kheevee, one she barely dodged as she used a disrupt undead attack on it. Riki-teef pondered before quickly drinking an elemental aura potion of fire with a grin, not caring that it would also hurt Kheevee as long as she was near.

The spectre raised back up as it brought it's wrath down once more on Kheevee, chilling her body with it's penetrating claws, as she managed to quickly get some safe distance between herself and it before launching a magic missile barrage. Luckily, while the spectre reeled, Riki-teef saw she had enough time to blow on her pipes, summoning forth a horde of dire rats. Rather than having them attack however, she had them run to the door to get Zizi and Kiruto.

While the duo continued to fight and try their best not to die, the rats finally found their way to the others, warning them.

“...Aren't those the rats Riki can summon?” Kiruto questioned as he looked to a frustrated Zizi.

“...I fucking knew this would happen. Let's go save their rears once more...”

Kheevee continued to back up as the spectre turned its attention to Riki-teef, the flames burning away at it's incorporeal body, as the others burst in through the front door to give Kheevee some protection and enough time to heal.

“The hell is that?”

“It's a ghost, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS?!?”

Kiruto turned to Zizi as he drew his holy pistols to take aim “Should we even bother, since it's focused on Riki-teef?” The spectre however turned it's attention to the newcomers, quickly dashing over towards Zizi as Kiruto took his shots at the ghost.

“Well, no option now...” Zizi sighed as he swung at the spectre with everything he had, hoping the crystals inside his blade would provide enough to even damage the ghost. Between all the previous attacks, and several rage-fuelled swings however, the spectre finally fell.

“Ha! The stupid spectre gave up the ghost!” Riki-teef shouted, before looking to Kiruto and Zizi “...Well? Laugh!”

“Riki-teef, what did I say before?” Zizi bellowed, his gaze burning deep into the ratfolk.

“Zizi says a lot of things, do you expect Riki to listen to it all?”

“I said if you stepped even one paw out of line....”

“You'd what? Kill Riki?!?”

Kiruto looked to Zizi, then back to Riki-teef “You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“Riki does not care if Riki lives or dies!”

“You could have got Kheevee killed?”

At this point, Kheevee was too shaken by the attack, as well as the argument, having already been witness to the previous two to some extent, yet nothing to this level. She quickly turned, crouching down, and covered her ear-flaps with her hands to try and block out the shouting.

“And?”

“What do you mean, and? Don't you care?”

“Why should Riki care?”

“I thought we were all allies! Team-mates! Friends to some extent!”

“Ha! Dog fools himself! Riki never cared! You were all useful to some extent, that is all. Lizard was most useful of all, Lizard always did what Riki asked!”

“More like you took advantage of her!”

“As Riki said! Useful!”

“That's it then...” Zizi growled as his hand's gripped at his sword's hilt once more, yet he wasn't fast enough.

*BANG!*

Even muffled by her ear-flaps and hands, the loud sound echoed through the castle, and the flash from behind was enough to get Kheevee to slowly stand up. The smell of blood was all that was needed to send the Kobold fleeing out of the castle, down to where the tents had been set up. Tear drops stained the ground where she ran, yet Zizi's attention was fixed elsewhere.

“Kiruto, you...”

Kiruto looked forward still, his hand slightly trembling, yet more from the burning by the gun's holy radiance than his actions. He dropped the gun, before tossing it's mate to the side as well.

“I did what had to be done, Zizi.”

“I know that, I just didn't expect it to be you...”

“What? That killed the rat? She pushed me time and again, Zizi. I feel no remorse over this murder. She had it coming, and now all I feel is relief!”

The two looked to each other before looking to their fallen comrade, her head having been blown off by the shot.

“Kiruto, I hope you don't think bad of me for this, but I'm going to see what she had on her. Would seem a waste to leave it all...”

“Fine, I'll have a look at what there is afterwards if you don't mind, but first, I feel like I should go check on the other...”

“...You're not going to shoot her as well, are you?”

“What? No! She was as much a pawn, a victim, in all this as we were. At the very least, I want to know just why she kept going along with her schemes...”

“Good, and not just because we already lost one today. Kheevee's alright.”

Kiruto nodded as he turned to exit, spotting the tear tracks back to the tents “Oh dear...”

As he approached the tents, he could hear the small being sniffling and crying within her tent, and slowly pushed the flaps to one side.

“Y...you're not going to shoot me too, are you?”

“No. You're safe...”

“...Why did you do it though?”

“Because she was a danger to us all, Kheevee. She almost got you killed.”

“But...she was my friend!”

“I don't think she saw you the same way, and to be honest, I think you know that too, Kheevee...”

Kheevee paused as she rubbed her eyes slightly.

“This is why I want to go home...”

“Back to the swamp?”

“Y...yeah. I shouldn't be having to see this kind of thing. I shouldn't even be here. If it wasn't for that bird...”

“The toucan?”

“Y..yeah, him. If he hadn't lied, and make me lie...”

“Lie? You mean to make you leave your swamp?”

Kheevee paused before she looked to Kiruto, her expression growing serious “Yes and no. He lied to get me to leave, sure, but he made me lie too, a lie that's resulted in me being here.”

Kiruto knelt down next to Kheevee as he raised a brow “What do you mean?”

Kheevee sniffled slightly before looking away to the side “I... he made me lie on the admission sheet.”

“Admission sheet?”

“The ones we had to sign to be Crimson Sabers in the first place.”

“...What lie did you give?”

“...I'm not 20 in Kobold years...”

“...What?”

“On the slip, you have to be of a certain age to join. I'm not 20. I'm....” She paused slightly before looking to the ground “I'm 14...”

Kiruto took a few moments to process this new information, before shaking his head “You're just a child still then.”

“Well...yeah.”

“...And you've been through so much already. No wonder you want to go home...”

Kheevee nodded before looking to the tents opening as Zizi poked his head in “Well I'm not hearing crying anymore, so I'm guessing talks are going good...”

“Zizi, Kheevee might have something she needs to share with you.”

Zizi looked to the Kobold as she looked back up, gulping slightly. “...After what just happened, and given how Riki-teef used to use my trust like that... I don't want there to be any more secrets among us all, okay?”

Kiruto nodded as he looked to Zizi, who nodded along as well, quickly adding “Well, I've never told a lie a single time to any of you.”

“G...good. As I said to Kiruto just now though... I lied about my age...”

“Oh? Well, you look good for your age, if you're a really old Kobold really, I mean...”

“...She's a child, Zizi.”

“...What?”

“I'm 14...”

“Human or Kobold years?”

“Kobold...”

“Oh...fuck...” Zizi replied as he sat down outside of the tent, being too large to sit within it, yet kept the flaps open to continue the talk “Quite honestly put, I always thought it was only races like my own that could take down big threats at that age...”

“...What do you mean?” Kheevee questioned, as she took a seat as well.

“Well think about it! You've taken down goblins, hobgoblins, ogres, dragonkin, and you're not even an adult yet!”

“I...I guess. I mean, I didn't want to, but there was no choice, it was...”

“Either us or them. I know...”

Kiruto sighed as he looked back to the castle, before looking back to Kheevee, who nodded slightly “...Just like it was there, I guess...”

Zizi nodded slightly as he looked to Kiruto, who quickly broke the silence that was beginning to grow “She's mentioned that she wants to go home...”

“I...I do, but...I can't.”

“I'm sure we could get you out of the Crimson Saber's contract without a lot of hassle, especially if they know of your...”

“Not because of that... The old wise man we saw in the square after the riot. He saw us getting the keys. He mentioned you, Zizi, but he also mentioned me. Besides, I'm marked now. Like it or not, I have to stay, and continue...”

The other two nodded, before Kiruto looked to Kheevee “Look, we're best resting for the night, then moving on. Is there anything you'd want before we do so?”

Kheevee looked down, and sniffled slightly as a thought entered her mind.

“I know you two didn't like her, but it feels wrong to leave her in there. Can... can we at least bury Riki-teef?”

“I guess it's only proper...” Kiruto sighed as he went to fetch her body, while Zizi stood to get his axe “This'll do for a shovel. Besides, best burying her outside of these castle ground, we wouldn't want a Riki spectre...”

“...Too soon.”

“...Sorry.”

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

The bright lights burned at her eyes as she slowly opened them, to find herself in slightly familiar ground. She had been here once before, yet this time, there was silence, and an odd overwhelming sense she hadn't truly felt in years.

Peace...

Riki-teef looked around in slight confusion, before spotting a cloaked figure nearby.

“Where is Riki?!?”

“Where do you think?”

“...Secret room in the castle?”

The cloaked figure refused to move a single inch, yet Riki-teef could tell it wasn't amused.

“...Riki is...”

“Yes.”

“...Huh.... Riki didn't think Kiruto had it in him.”

As she looked down, she could just about make out the castle grounds. Below her, distant voices could just be heard with enough focus.

“There, she's in. Anyone got any words to say?”

The medium sized figure looked to the larger one “You first.”

“Oh, I don't have anything nice to say really, so probably best not.”

“...Fine. I'll admit, she was skilled at what she did, I just wish she used it for the better of people rather than herself.”

“...And that's it?”

The smaller of the three looked to the two, as they both drew silent, before she walked over to the quickly made headstone, kneeling next to it and wrapping her small arms around it.

“I know you made fun of me a lot, and used me a lot too, but still, for the longest time, you were the only one I could talk to aside from the bird, and I honestly thought we were friends, and even though I know a lot of things you did were for your own benefit rather than for friendship, I'm still going to...” Her words trailed off as she began to cry, causing a couple of tears to form in Riki-teef's eyes.

Slowly, she got to her knees, and tried to talk down to the small figure “...Riki will miss you too, Kheevee...”

The small figure perked up slightly, looking to the sky, and Riki-teef smiled, knowing her words had got through. Slowly, she got to her feet, and looked to the robed figure.

“Riki is ready to move on now.”

“Very well. From the looks of things, you'll be spending eternity with Bladestorm?”

Riki-teef looked around before nodding “R...right, yes, he claimed Riki. But, what about Morigon?”

“...Bladestorm claimed, Morigon just assumed you would go to him.”

As the robed figure gestured behind him, Riki-teef slowly began to walk past, the world around her beginning to blur as she felt herself moving without even needing to take a step. In the distance, she could see the skull from her previous visit, lurking in the distance, the screams of her family echoing behind it.

Riki-teef would make sure Bladestorm kept his promise to help her family.

But for now, Riki-teef knew peace once more, and moved on into the afterlife.

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

As morning broke, the three began to stir, and gather their belongings. Kheevee, however, was slightly distracted as she continued to stare at the castle.

“C'mon Kheevee, let's go...”

“...But what if...”

“Kheevee?”

Kheevee turned to the others “Yesterday, the reason me and Riki-teef went in, it's because we detected a magic item deep within the castle.”

“And look how that ended up... It's not worth...”

Kheevee quickly cut Kiruto off “Think about it though. A castle that's on an old map but not a new map? A strong beast guarding it?”

“Kheevee has a point, Kiruto, could be good treasure...” Zizi said with a slight grin.

“I was thinking it would be something else...” Kheevee questioned before walking towards the castle, the other two following close behind “And since it's day, and we killed a spectre, hopefully nothing bad will happen!”

As the group followed Kheevee's steps from yesterday to the secret door, they began to move downwards into a darkened cellar, only for Kheevee to realize the blip was coming from behind a stone wall.

“...Do we have to knock it down?”

“Ugh, fine. Riki, blow up this...” Zizi started, before quickly looking down to Kheevee “Oh, right, sorry...”

“It's fine, there has to be some...” Kheevee started before her small hand found a switch stone, causing the fake wall to shift and move away to reveal a tunnel. “...I'm starting to wonder how many doors we've broken that may have had one of those...”

“Well, too late for those ones...” Zizi started, as he almost walked into the room, before Kheevee stopped him.

“There's a tripwire. Let me go disable it...”

As Kheevee quickly moved to disable the trap, a cloud of dust caught her off guard, causing her to sneeze and trigger the trap. A sharp pain rang through her small body as she felt a metal dart stick into her rear.

“Are you okay?”

“...What is it with sharp metal objects sticking into that area?”

“Well... One thing came of this...” Zizi quickly brought up as he helped her pull the dart out.

“Ow! What was that?”

“I learned that Kobolds have rear cheeks.”

“...Huh...” Kiruto noted before continuing on, as the three finally found themselves at a dead end, a small dusty room with no sign of anything.

“Kheevee? Where is it?” Kiruto started before looking down to see Kheevee staggering around “Oh crap, don't tell me it was poisoned...”

“N...no, just...the magic here, it's very strong, it's...” Kheevee gasped slightly as she tried to keep a steady footing, pointing to the wall in front “It's...what's the word...”

“Behind here?” Zizi questioned before pushing against the loose wall, slowly moving it to one side.

“Y..yeah, what you said. I'm gonna go and...the thing with the butt on the ground...”

“Sit?”

“Yeah, that...”

“Kiruto, keep an eye on her, I'll have a look in here and....Oh....”

“What is it, Zizi?”

Before the Minotaur was a small statue, similar to one he had previously, yet different.

“Yeah, it was a good idea to come...” Zizi noted as he picked up the statue, the magic reading shrinking as Kheevee snapped back to a full state of alert, her small hand pointing to the statue.

“The readings the same as the others. It's a key!”

“...This makes three then...” Kiruto noted as Zizi stored it away in his chest plate.

“What? Don't look at me like that. Both times it's been in a sack, it's been stolen. Let's see someone steal it now!”

The group made their way out of the castle grounds, before looking back to the map “Fine, let's see, back on the trail once more?”

“We still have some daylight, Zizi, we can carry on and camp out here...”

As the group continued, with Kheevee still slightly distracted by the events prior, the trio decided to converse between themselves to try and ease the tension, until finally night came, and the group camped out and took turns watching.

However, as morning slowly began to dawn, with Kheevee being on watch, her ear flaps began to twitch as she heard a distant sound. She quickly turned in it's direction and squinted, spotting a large figure laying nearby.

An owlbear.

“...Why is it always me who sees things watching us at night? First a mountain lion, then Bladestorm, and now...” She paused as a burning sensation flowed through her forehead, her gaze moving from the owlbear in general to it's head.

A similar sign began to glow.

“...Annette? Is that you playing a prank?”

The owlbear shuffled forward slightly, before opening it's mouth.

“NOT! MY! NAME!” It screamed out loudly.

Kiruto slowly began to stir as Kheevee's eyes widened “So...what is your name?”

“SHE! WHO! EATS!”

“....Eats what?”

The owlbear stood on all fours before walking over to Kheevee, looking down at her.

“O...oh...” Kheevee replied before looking to Kiruto as he emerged from his tent “K...Kiruto, we have a friend joining us, called She who eats!”

“She who...oh what now...” Kiruto sighed before looking to Zizi's tent “And of course he's still asleep. Kheevee, I know you're recovering still, but now isn't the time to be befriending wild animals...”

“I! AM! NOT! WILD!” She who eats screamed at Kiruto, turning to face him.

“Did she just...and that mark...”

Zizi slowly began to stir, and poked his head out from the tent “What's with the shouting?”

She who eats rotated her head upside down before turning to look to Zizi “I! AM! NOT! SHOUTING!”

Zizi squinted at the owlbear, one hand reaching for a weapon, before he noticed the mark “...Another one?” He grumbled slightly as he exited the tent, before looking to the skies.

“ZENZHIN! EXPLAIN!”

A bright light surrounded the area, knocking Kheevee onto her back in surprise as the ground found Bladestorm before them once more.

“...What is it, Zizi?” The demi-god sighed.

Zizi motioned to the owlbear, who had turned her attention back to Kheevee.

“Oh, right, She who eats. Look, I had your friend arrive yesterday, surprised she died already, even more so by how, but I won't ask questions. All I know is, you needed the help, so I sent someone else.”

“And Annette?”

“The half-elf? She's running a mission for me.”

“Oh, okay. Oh, we also have this...” Zizi pulled the statue out, handing it to the Demi-god.

“Another one?”

“Yeah. Can you look after it?”

“...Why? Can't you put it with the...” Bladestorm stopped as he looked to Zizi's expression “....You lost the other one already?!”

“Thief came in the night, stabbed, stole and ran. When we track him down though...”

“...Doesn't sound like the Infernal's work, but still, see that you do...” Bladestorm sighed as he whisked the statue away to his realm “If there's nothing else you need right now though...”

“I have something!” Kheevee called out as she sat back up “Is your daughter doing fine now?”

“...Yes, she's grounded, but she's better.”

“Tell her I said hi, and that I'm glad she's better!”

“....Okay, whatever...” Bladestorm muttered before vanishing. Kheevee smiled to herself, before being picked up by She who eats, as she stood on her hind legs while she inspected the Kobold.

“WHAT! ARE! YOU?”

“I'm a Kobold.”

“NEVER! SEEN! ONE!”

“I get that a lot...”

Zizi looked to She who eats before raising a brow.

“She's taller than you, Zizi...”

“I noticed... Let's just get to the next town...”

She who eats set Kheevee back on the ground as she looked to Zizi “But if townsfolk freaked out over Annette's tigers, how are they going to handle an owlbear?”

She who eats pondered for a while, before reaching into her belongings, pulling out an owlbear skin cloak and draping it over herself.

“...Genius!”

“...She's wearing something made of her own kind...”

“Also, I doubt that's going to work...” Kiruto added, before She who eats put the cloak away, and used Wild Shift to change her form into that of a dog.

“Oh, another druid. Fun.” Zizi muttered as he packed away his belongings “At least you won't be as bad as our previous member...”

#ooc #Pathfinder #Crimson Sabers #Kobold #Ohh boy this session broke me

2 notes · View notes