#i know it's more likely that burnie was the one who was like hey i wanna end it but this image in my head is funnier

[cockbiteproductions]

you think you're free from rvb. you're immune. you were a clown in their circus for so long and you finally wiped off the makeup. the reds and the blues aren't coming back and you aren't either. but then rooster teeth says rvb is ending and you're like "oh no, but it was past time." but then they say burnie is writing it and you're like "wow just like in s15e4, I can't believe rooster teeth went to scotland and tore burnie from his photogenic island life to get him to finish it."

and then they say the reds and the blues are back and you're stopped being able to comprehend words. and then they say it's the aftermath of ain't that a bitch and you blink and you've already rewatched the first 3 seasons. you stare at your own face in the reflection of the dark screen and you see the clown makeup has reappeared.

[shark0zu]

Guitarist! Fushiguro Megumi x GN! reader

context: Megumi is part of a band named “Joint Jinx Keystone” (JJK) alongside Satoru, Suguru and Yuji. Suguru is 22, Satoru is 21, and both Megumi and Yuji are 19. It took you a while to get inside the heart of this boy, but you managed.

content: Semi-Emo and Shy Gumi (best Gumi). CUDDLES!

warning: none. an: This Band! AU is made by sketchyysummer on Instagram! (link to their Tumblr). I made Satoru, Suguru and Yuji’s already (link to it below). It's Megumi’s turn now, and after this one, I’ll work on my Sukuna one… maybe… I don't know yet though (probably not whoops). Sorry in advance if this one lacks or is TOO slow burny..

Idol! Gojo Satoru HC Drummer! Geto Suguru HC Bassist! Itadori Yuji HC w/c: 1.4k

art: Summer's Band! AU Character Design

likes and reblogs are appreciated!

Guitarist! Megumi, who wanted nothing to do with anything that related to love, relationships or trust for that matter. He didn’t see a reason to be in a relationship (outside of his band)- even more since he had the band to worry about.

Guitarist! Megumi, who meets you and immediately places you in the “friendzone” spot in his head. Not caring enough to put you anywhere else (for now). Kept to himself and didn’t bother with learning tiny details or anything under surface level about you. Guitarist! Megumi, who definitely was not expecting to see you everyday. You would visit him while he was practicing with his guitar. You would wait for him at cafes and even get to be friends with his friends (specially Yuji). Guitarist! Megumi, who now finds himself confused about his own feelings. He's never felt that way. Does he like someone? Do you like someone? Was that someone him? Is this just him trying to not feel lonely? He was confused, truly.

Guitarist! Megumi, who started to ask you to hang out with him instead of you appearing out of nowhere to see him. He definitely tries to play it off… “I need you to help me with some song ideas.” he tells you while looking away.

Guitarist! Megumi, who now is so obvious but no one says anything or brings it up. His friends wanting to know how far he can take his obliviousness. Mostly Satoru (and Yuji) bothering him about it in subtle ways.

Guitarist! Megumi, who definitely asks for advice on how to ask you out. He asked Satoru for help first and surprisingly, helps him. He does look up to Satoru a lot, so he took his advice. Satoru actually decided to help him, not making fun of him or bothering him while giving him advice (like a good father figure).

Guitarist! Megumi, who is grateful for Satoru, he always will be. He did help Megumi get better and find a good life playing in the band alongside him and the others. He does not show it but he is very grateful for the white-hair man’s help since they met.

Guitarist! Megumi, who gathers the courage to ask you out… it went… alright. It went great but he didn’t think so. He asked you to meet him in front of his apartment. You went- of course. He was pretty nervous, almost embarrassed. He saw you and smiled. He smiled. You almost stopped in your tracks from the shock of seeing his smile. Guitarist! Megumi, who finally speaks, “Hey, so…I’ve been confused with my feelings-” he was struggling to say the least. He sighs, “Alright. Do you want to go on a date with me?” Finally, he said it. This time, you smiled ear to ear. You were waiting so long for him to ask you out. He finally did it. You never asked him because you were not sure if he liked you back.

Guitarist! Megumi, who for you guys' first date, takes you to a restaurant close to the beach. Light breeze makes you shiver under the moonlight. After a few seconds you feel a leather jacket on your shoulders. You look back and see Megumi looking at you and his hands over your shoulders. The view was beautiful. You sit down to have dinner, chat and overall enjoy the time you were passing with him.

Guitarist! Megumi, who paid for dinner, refused to let you pay even half. He took you by the hand and left the restaurant. You both walked by the beach aimlessly until you found a little table with two chairs that was ‘conveniently’ just… there? He definitely planned this. You didn't bring it up, not wanting to embarrass him. Guitarist! Megumi, who was definitely smiling like a little boy when he saw you sitting on the chair staring at the horizon. He felt lost in your view. His mind went blank. When you felt his gaze on you, you turned your head and smiled at him. Safe to say he melted right there and then. Guitarist! Megumi, who couldn't be more happy to be there with you at that moment. After almost an hour of talking about various topics. He asks, “Do you… want to be my partner?” With that you were lost in his blue eyes. Trying to find the words took you a while but you were able to speak. “Of course, I would love to be your partner Gumi!” Uh-oh… nicknames already? Red. This man is so happy it hurts his face from smiling way more than he ever has. Guitarist! Megumi, who the next day saw his bandmates, was smiling like a little kid. Yuji was… scared. He has never seen Megumi so happy in his entire life. Nonetheless he asked Megumi what made him all happy. “I asked someone out yesterday…” he pauses to create some type of suspense. “And????” Yuji asks, almost desperate. “...and they said yes.” he said happily.

Guitarist! Megumi, who saw Yuji’s face turn from suspense to utter astonishment. By the looks of it, Satoru and Suguru also overheard the conversation and the three men congratulated Megumi for his new relationship. They decided to commemorate this moment with dinner, which (of course) you were invited to. Guitarist! Megumi, who introduces you proudly as ‘his partner’. You smile and wave a ‘hello’ to his band mates. All three, Yuji, Suguru and Satoru were shocked Megumi was not lying (my poor boy, they never thought he would bag someone lol). They waved ‘hello’ back and welcomed you. Yuji hugged you, you hugged him back of course. Megumi didn't look so pleased but it was Yuji so he let it be.

Guitarist! Megumi, who after the dinner took you home, making sure you were safe. “Can I stay with you tonight…?” he softly asked. “Yeah, come in!” you said letting him in. You both took off your shoes at the door, hanging jackets on the hooks. “You wanna do something specific or…?” you asked, getting his attention. “You wanna watch a movie?” he said the first thing that came to mind. “Alright, what genre?” you said sitting on the couch in front of the TV and signaling him to sit beside you.

Guitarist! Megumi, who was definitely paying attention to the movie (he was, just not 100% of his attention). He sheepishly placed his arm over the headrest of the couch. You sat closer to him and placed your head on his chest while watching the movie. The movie was still going but you could feel his gaze on you, “Gumi?”, you catch him off guard. “Huh? Oh- sorry… was I staring too much?” he asks awkwardly. “No… just wanted to know if you were tired, cus I am.” a yawn escapes your mouth as soon as you finish that sentence.

Guitarist! Megumi, who nods and gets up from the couch, waiting for you to lead him to your room. You both arrive and you lend him some clothes that did not fit you anymore but thankfully fit him well. He changed in the bathroom, coming out when he was done to you already in bed under the covers. He slips under the covers, he does not know what to do. Still body, sleeping like a plank. You sigh and giggle, bringing him to your chest. Hugging him and snuggling closer.

Guitarist! Megumi, who freezes at the sudden contact but does not pull away, instead he wraps his arms around you and closes the distance even more. His head resting on your neck, light breathes tickling your soft skin. You can feel him smiling against you, which makes you smile in return. He starts some random conversation, so he could hear your voice. He ultimately ended up falling asleep to it.

Guitarist! Megumi, who after a whole year of being your partner, he still treats you the same (nothing was going to change). He takes you out on strolls, calls you to help him with his guitar, you guys go on dates- he loves you so much and you love him as much back. He wants to spend as much time as possible with you, and takes you everywhere. He does not show you off to people though, he likes his private life well- private.

Guitarist! Megumi, who definitely misses you when he goes out on tour. He will show he misses you by sending you voice messages, he is not really the type to call, he prefers to see your face in real life, not on a screen. Which you appreciate, even though you ask him to at least facetime once every blue moon.

Masterlist

[satoruzlove]

Omg congratulations on 1k! You deserved it!

And for the event, can you do Hinata Shoyo with the prompt: “love at first sight”?

aa tysm lumi sweetie !! and yes , ofc i can 🫂

DREAM.

[hinata shoyo]

tick, tick, tick .

the clock of shoyo’s lecture room had grown more and more irritating as time went by. his knee bounced impatiently and his eyes skimmed every inch of the room that wasn’t the board or lecturer’s table. the red head didn’t know what he was waiting for, as this wasn’t his first time in this lecture room but it had just felt like a drag altogether. the scratch of pens and clicking of keys, droning voice of his professor and his own thoughts irked him to no end.he glances at the clock again and it’s barely moved - but it’s still almost time for him to leave. he grabs for a pen , his favorite one, and begins clicking it anxiously. anything to get out of the classroom.

shoyo never liked class even in high school. it made him feel small, the knowledge forced into his head and sleep tugging at his eyelids whenever someone began speaking. he didn’t like how dumb it made him feel or how it was just never his thing - another reason why he loved volleyball so much. he never had to do equations or punctuate sentences - nothing of that sort. just raw passion and excitement that filled his veins with a burny, jumpy chemical he never seemed to get enough of. the boy finds his mind wandering farther and farther from the lecture room and his body, drifting to his high school days and the first match he ever played competitively. god, his middle school uniform was so ugly. he can’t believe they made him-

“hey, are you okay?”

shoyo looks up as his brown eyes finally refocus as he comes back to earth. his leg stills, and the clicking of his pen comes to a stop. eyes flitting upward to you, shoyo blinks. once. twice. a third time just to make sure he isn’t dreaming.

he takes a moment to capture you- your features.your head is tilted slightly to the right, eyebrows furrowed just a little bit. your eyes - beautiful, he thought. he knew he’d have a hard time looking away. your eyes sparkled, curious and concerned but kind, well intended. your voice was heavenly, smooth and earthy like a warm chai in a clay mug. it reminded him of the feeling of grass on his feet, the grass of his home and the grounded sensation that came with it. you blink at him, and when he realises he’s been staring for too long he clears his throat. shoyo takes a look around just to find that the lecture room is empty- apart from you two. you’re leaned over his part of the desk, your elbows supporting you and your bag messily slung over you.

“i’m- i’m fine. i’m great, actually,” he says, his voice threatening to crack in betrayal. he sees the way your features soften, and his heart does a little dance in the depth of his chest. you smile, lips widening and your eyes getting smaller as result of the apples of your cheeks rising too. “good, i’m glad, my name’s yn,” you say, nodding at the last bit. he smiles back, cheeks a pretty pink and his lip caught between his teeth. he was excited, burny and jumpy excitement.

“i’m shoyo, it’s nice to meet you, yn.” the athlete greets back. a hand extended, he tries not to faint when he feels yours. you’re shaking his hand. mentally, he’s partially bashing himself because who the hell shakes hands? but when he feels your skin, soft and comforting- he doesn’t think anything. not about his next lecture, practice or anything outside the room. just you, the concern and care you showed a stranger - a weird stranger. shoyo converses with you briefly, and he watches you make your way out the lecture hall. he sits , a smile on his face and red painted on his cheeks from before.

shoyo gets up eventually, but he can’t help but feel like he’s asleep, because you were a dream.

[thelastbraincellofthehive]

V3 was finished, and I'm still not ok you guys : D

One would think it would get less painful as time goes on, but nope, still hurts like a bitch. Well done RT, well done.

I gotta start by saying the I may fall fighting sequence will forever have a special place in my heart. The moment we finally understood the lyrics to that song, the moment we finally saw Velvet fighting to her full potential, the callback to the trailers and everything Monty put into this show, the moment Weiss finally was able to summon her knight. It was perfection.

Also, the part were the music drops as Velvet calls on Penny's backpack will always make me tear up, and I always enjoy seeing the same in reactors lol we're a cruel fandom, but it's just because we understand.

Another also; the fact that Weiss just ran straight to put herself in between Velvet and the palladin even before she knew she could summon or that the knight would show up. That's growth. I felt so proud of her, she has come so far<3

Cinder saying 'not a foot out of place' and then Amber discovers them for Emmerald's foot raisikg diste, can't believe I hadn't caught that lol. I wonder how much things would've been different if that didn't happen, because it looks like the rest of plans were already in motion by the point Cinder went after the Powers...

Could've we have Pyrrha still if Cinder had killed Amber in time? I feel horrible for asking, but hey, it's Pyrrha.

I gotta say that as much as Adam is garbage and I always remember him with this picture:

His design is so fucking cool... I've always loved his hair honestly, and the Rose design in his jacket? Amazing. Why do cool designs happen to awful people?

That pink apron saying 'Please do nothing to the cook' made me headcanon Ren as a Birromantic Ace, I still think the headcanon makes sense so I hold it lol. Also, I still want one of those aprons, my girl is Ace and she loves pink lol.

I always thought it was so cool and sad how so many storylines got interrupted or just never started thanks to the fall of Beacon. We never got to know what Penny's plan to stay at Beacon was. We didn't get to see the timelime where Yang ran away with Qrow to meet Raven. Arkos was barely trying to raise from the ground when it was shot down. So many little plans that can't be anymore, because that's life.

I know it's a very serious moment but I can't watch the scene when Yang calls Blake to make sure they're ok and ask for Ruby, and not remember when Arryn and Barbara said that Blake and Yang are probably always on a facecall with eachother lol.

Tell me I wasn't the only one who thought Port and Oobleck were gonna die when they told the kids to leave the coliseum? I remember being so sad when Port said 'one final match! Place your bets!' and I couldn't believe it when they appeared again during chapter 12 lol. I'm happy they didn't die, they're so great <3

Speaking of 12. I still can't believe they released that chapter on fucking February 14th. That was just cruel...

Yes I'm avoiding talking about Penny... I just can't, sorry.

Kevin the Wyvern grim is a friend <3 I would totally buy a plush of him if shipping to México wasn't so ridiculously expensive </3

Honestly why aren't there more grimm plushies? They're like Pokémon but Black and white and more deadly!

I.. I gotta go ahead and say It... I really, reaaaaally don't like Taiyang... Sorry, but I have never liked him, don't think I ever will... Never considered him a great or cool dad, kinda feel he only gets that rep because of Burnie. Burnie's cool, but Tai's not for me*shrugs*

Qrow saying that 'sometimes bad things just happen, you just have to move on' after knowing about her semblance is painful. This volume is just full of pain.

THE FUCKIN' MAPLE LEAF!!!!!

Cold being a song about Monty that also perfecto fits Pyrrha it's so heartbreakingly poetic to me... THE world is cruel, but sometimes there's beauty in that cruelness.

As a side note is it weird to get a tattoo of someones signature? I've always wanted to get something to honor RWBY and Monty and his signature is so cool...other ideas include a couple lyrics from Indomitable or Penny's symbol

Emmerald's face when she says 'it's almost sad' was the moment we knew she would get her redemtion. Girl's just alone and needing friends, I'm happy to know where She's gonna end later. I still think we must protect Emmerald.

Seriously I didn't remember how much I missed seeing Pyrrha fight until I saw her again. I wish we could see her again!

Speaking of things I wish we could see again: Roman and Neo fighting together was so great, it's a shame we only got one fight with them. Also, I miss how much Neo used to loved causing mayhem with Roman. Neo in the newer volumes always looks so angry and sad, she literally lost the one thing that gave her happiness </3

Seriously why do Robots eyes' always turn red when they go evil? Lol.

Yang talking to Ruby on that last scene Is the literal embodiment of "I don't care, I say caringly, while I care a lot."

Blake why you must hurt your girl so much? And we're now into the separated Bees period! I loved this period of the fandom lol.

Ironwood against the beowolf is honestly pretty epic. Good job RT, you really sold us the character there.

Remember when we saw the Arkos kiss, and that was the moment we knew Pyrrha was not making it out alive? Yeah, that sucked... And still does.

Divide Is probably my favorite ending credits song to this day. It's epic, it's dark, I love how we got all that insight towards Salem just after meeting her. Definitely a fave. Also, Salem's reveal scene always gives me chills<3 Another favorite part to watch reactors get to.

The call back to players and pieces with Ruby running up the wall<3 I was so happy for a second, then it stopped. I haven't been happyever since (?

And so it starts the very long list of things that Ruby needs years of therapy for. I hope that girl gets the happiest, more perfect life after all this is over. Protect the RuBean. And honestly just give everyone therapy.In a world where negative emotions are literally a magnet for death you would think people would try to take better care of their mental health.

Oh yeah, also. People who get mad at Jaune for getting distracted at the vault:. Dont talk to me. Jaune doesn't deserve that hate, I know I wouldn't fared any better, cut him some slack on this.

And there's that... Fuck this volume hurts. Great thing we got chibi to help with the pain a little lol.

Anyways, thanks for the talk guys! Next one is v4! Spoiler Bout that: I was so traumatized by 3 that I 100% thought Ren or Nora were dying on that finale. Thanks for that CRWBY.

[maguro13-2]

Demons Unleashed ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Gaiden Finale (7/10) ~

*IFRIT ROARING*

[The Power - Seirou Okamoto]

Eggman Nega : Behold! The power of the Ifrit! A creature of being a powerful entity by feeding him chao, all made by the powers of the Emeralds, the ultimate demon of destruction!

Sonic : Eggman Nega!

Blaze : This time we'll put a stop to your shenanigans!

Eggman Nega : You got Whisker? I'm impressed that you and Blaze finally made it this far.

Blaze : The Jeweled Scepter! (sees the Jewel Scepter) Nega! I mean...Eggman Negative! Don't! You don't know what you're going to do with this planet! You've come here to destroy Eggman's reputation, not destroy the world together with the Jeweled Scepter that you stolen!

Eggman Nega : Yes. This Secpter belonging to your people has the power to bring stars, but it turns out that it also has the power to bring Volcanic erputions that triggers the earth's core. I extracted the research to all of it's memories and it's past during our last fight two years before Central City became nothing than a memory from the Black Arms. So after that and tried to turn Mobius into a collectable. I found out that the Jeweled Scepter would be a great tool for ultimate destruction, desiring much power and much greatness to the will of it's own. I guaranteed that you will be so pleased if you know what it means to handle the truth of your existence shall be.

Blaze : Well, despite the nonsense of destroying all that it's left from my people, the Jeweled Scepter is just an artifact from my people's past, although it does make me clearly of what was going to be that it warns anybody not to touch it and I suggested that you tried to get your filthy hands!

Nozomi : You're gonna pay for your crimes for what you've done to Blaze's World, Eggman Negative! I hope the law will understand what a coward like you going to do for yourself!

Eggman : Well it's a great thing that all of us can play in this part of for real.

Sonic : Eggman!

Tails : No way! You're doing the same as him! What are you trying to get a hold of!?

Eggman : No offense, but...Please, help me. This guy's nuts.

Eggman Nega : And now, with our help, we can burn this world right to the ground!

Eggman : Wait, what?

[Stop the Black Hole - Hideaki Kobayashi]

*DBZ SFX : Rumbling*

Nozomi : Woah! We're wobbling!

Jet : Hey, something's coming out of the ground!

Sonic : !?

*DBZ SFX : Loud Exlposions*

Sonic : What is that giant giant thing!?

Nozomi : Oh my gosh! They built a giant...Wizard!?

"EGG WIZARD : THE ROBOTIC MAGICIAN"

Jet : This is what they've been working on!? No way they manage to build something that is like Dragon Quest! You know this ain't an RPG, this is action!

Sonic : Even the great Wizard Merlin can't top that!

Blaze : So this what you've been hiding! You weren't helping yourself to conquer the world, you were helping Eggman Nega to destroy the world! I knew you were doing something stupid!

Sonic : So I guess the pirates that we fought in Rush Adventure were always a diversion! They've been building another robot that will use the Jeweled Scepter as a weapon of mass destruction! We gotta stop that thing before it destroys the whole world.

Blaze : So that's what my people told me about that secpter, it was prevented not to be falling in the wrong hands, but I believe it was a suggest that Eggman Nega had it figured that it would control the planet! Much to wisely! To only change that subject, I suggest that you should realize that you're not the only one who ever dealt with first! Sonic, the time has come! Now we use the power of the emeralds!

Sonic : Got it!

[Cutscene : Transform - Seirou Okamoto]

Sonic : Here goes nothing.

(the Chaos and Sol emeralds encircles around Sonic and Blaze]

Eggman : [To Eggman Nega] I told you this happened after the Black Arms.

Eggman Nega : Oh, crud.

Sonic & Blaze : [unison] Super Transformation! Here we go!

*DBZ SFX : Big Aura+Powering up*

Super Sonic : Now this is more like it!

"SUPER SONIC!"

Burning Blaze : I will put an end to your misery! Time to face judgement!

"BURNING BLAZE!"

Sonic & Blaze : [unison] Let's see what you got!

"Meanwhile..."

Dimentio : I'm glad that everyone made it this far, looks like count black has been able to turn the tables, everything is according to plan. This will be proven the scientific fact that all of the eight hearts of the Eight Pillars have finally been collected by eight collectors, now my plan will unleash this planet into darkness when it will be swallowed by one powerful item, this item here is the Chaos Heart, it will soon put the universe to cease into existence. I think that I have this emotion.

Count Bleck : Of course, we got it in person! With desires we could finally end the universe together, this our one way dream of conquering the universe in darkness!

Dimentio : I'm afraid not. We're not doing this together, we just had few adjustments of my plan that I will end all life on earth and including Real World AU, so it's your loss.

O'Chunks : Our lost!? What do you mean our lost!? We worked are way out to find out that we collected that "what-you-call-it" data on the eight pure hearts connecting to the vessels that are the eight pillars what purpose do you have for us!?

Count Bleck : But if you didn't know, I created the Chaos Heart for no reason! What do you think this is a good to put all of us in...Omnicide?

Dimentio : I thought that you would event think beginning to say that. I can't believe that I literally a trusted a fool like you. I was once a Phantonian to ever look after Maka, the child of the race, ever since she is mistaken by her people, we knew that she would be expelled from a world called Soul Eater that does not exist in the real world, all just a fantasy in her head, a dream in which she was trapped after in a deep sleep for three years. That's why she wanted to save Real World AU from destruction, the Shinigami that she knew was only a boy and the Lord Death that she knew is a heartless.

Count Bleck : !? You fool! How did you know all of that stuff!?

Dimentio : Because I had my own eyes seek into Truth to believe that there's no such thing is the world of Soul Eater. It was all part of Lord Nightmare's plan to trick her into make believes of one story. That author of her's was a weird man to make a weird story.

Count Bleck : So it was that wizard who put her in a deep sleep for three years! So the author was weird all along! A story he written was nonsense and a bunch of make believes! So if the heroes and Villains of Soul World existed, what's becoming of Real World like this now!?

Dimentio : Just to bring all the darkness into the hearts and souls, and now with my plans in motion, I think I don't serve your kind anymore, "BLECK"!

Count Bleck : What!?

[heartless laughing evilly]

*DBZ SFX : Surprise*

Count Bleck : Dimentio, You would dare turn your back on me!? I thought we had an agreement! What are you planning to do with these chumps!?

Dimentio : Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's time that we needed some businesses to take care of anyway. Perhaps, how about we've given ourselves a little retcon to change the script. I don't have time for losers like you anymore.

Count Bleck : Retcon, what retcon? You're not letting someone to change the plot do you? What are you going to do with Retconning the script!?

Dimentio : Making progress of course! Presto Change-o! Behold, the power of the Time Eater's retcon! *snaps*

Count Bleck : (gasps)

[Flower's Fall - Yutaka Minobe]

Time Eater : Chaos...CONTROL!!!

*Sonic SFX : Chaos Control*

"At last, everyone has gathered the eight pure hearts in total!"

"Now plans will finally be complete! And Mario is going for a biggest downhill of all!"

"There's nothing that can stop me now in my master plans!"

"Think you have what it takes to have this kind of power, Mario?"

(Dimentio laughs evilly)

Dimentio : This will be the end for Paper Mario! And Darkness shall be in it's rightful place!

~ Stage 37 : Rush to the Finish ~

[meant-to-be-a-hero]

Season Six, Episode Twenty: The Wolves Of War

Last one! ;_;

I had a lot of thoughts on this one.

This is the second of two episodes that were longer than the usual forty minutes.

I don't usually comment on the recap, but Lydia says Ethan and Derek, but the screen shows Derek and Jackson. Oops?

Oh good, some bad matting for the finale. At least we're consistent.

Hey, it's the Deadly Class kid. Benjamin Wadsworth?

Well, doesn't all this look familiar.

Vague Allison reference so she's present in the finale in some form :)

"How does it end?" - :(

Meanwhile, picking up where we left off...

"You didn't think you were doing this without me, did you?" "Without us!" - Best entrance, welcome back guys.

I love that Stiles took the time to go get Roscoe for himself.

Yeah, you better all run!

Twisting the knife with Deuc. But at least he got a proper send-off.

The Guest Starring roll for this episode is Very Long. Almost everyone's here again.

"Cry havoc, and let loose the dogs of war..." - Chilling.

Gerard, you enormous cunt. I've held off on saying it, but he really is.

Eichen House, getting in on the finale action after all.

Time to split the party, that always ends well.

Gerard really has no idea what he's unleashed, or what's coming for him.

No Deaton for the finale? He was only in like one episode in this arc I think, probably too busy on Walking Dead.

Stiles and Derek are doing a "The Man Who Killed Batman" thing, with the different perspectives on the same experience.

Eleventh hour I love yous are the best. Mason and Corey are so cute.

MELISSA MCCALL IS BEST MOM.

They're all surprisingly capable without you actually, Stiles.

Kind of fitting for everything to end at the high school. Plus it's one of their four sets, so y'know.

There's our first Anuk-Ite victim of the night, RIP Peter (for now).

Oh, this guard with Jackson was the idiot with the rifle in Eichen House.

"I can't drive sports cars any more. There's no room for my tail." - Iconique.

My first thought here was that they'd do a Medusa and make the Anuk-Ite look at itself.

Stiles, don't ruin Lydia and Jackson's reunion! He's actually a bit of a tit this episode tbh.

"I thought you'd never figure it out!" - Well that's certainly one way of coming out to your friends.

Gabe's gun is HUGE, that thing looks like it fires grenades.

Theo, comin' in clutch.

Monroe, you are also an enormous cunt.

Invisible boyfriends!

Liam and Theo in the Hellevator once again.

Melissa and Nolan (!) with the save!

Oh burny Wolf's Bane bullet time. At least Monroe only had the one.

Parrish-cicle Mark II.

Noah gets his BAMF moment, well deserved.

"What are you, like 60?" - Oh you idiots are cruisin' for a bruisin'.

Malia's down. Lydia's vision is coming true.

Jackson, defeated by love.

I think the only time we actually hear the Anuk-Ite's real voice is when it was talking to Gerard a few episodes ago.

Dad team-up, team-up of the dads.

Oh hey Jennifer. It's a shame Braeden didn't come back, or even get a mention. Presumably she and Derek broke up at some point, she's obviously not Eli's mom.

Derek, undone by temptation and/or stupidity, delete as appropriate.

Mutually assured destruction for the two Evil Argents.

Void Stiles being Scott's greatest fear, his best friend being corrupted by evil, is kind of fitting actually.

And here's the Nogitsune.

Oh, there's a proper Allison reference. Considering he was the only villain who actually killed a main character (and it stuck), him being part of the finale is neat too.

Scott doing the Wonder Woman bit. What a fucking hero.

Monroe sacrificing her own soldiers, just like Gerard taught her.

Oh we're doing the Villain Greatest Hits - there's a Berserker, an Oni, a Dread Doctor. Marti Matulis is pulling overtime.

Say it Gerard, say it! One last time! MOUNTAIN AAAAASSHHHH!

Little Stiles spark to save the day.

Oh hi Coach! I know he's a recovering alcoholic, but honestly he deserves a drink after what he's been through.

I do want to feel bad for Gabe. But I do also feel like he was kind of a fucker even before the Anuk-Ite and Monroe got their claws into him, unlike Nolan who was just scared.

Raeken's Redemption :)

There's actually a villain from every season in this episode when you about it. Peter, Chris, Kate, Gerard, Jackson, Deucalion, Jennifer, Stiles, Theo, and Monroe. I think we're just missing a Ghost Rider, unless they were in the fight scene and I missed them while I was taking notes.

Au revoir, Gerard. I hope it fucking hurt.

Hellhound Used Heat Haze! It's super effective!

"You lost!" - Liam forgot to add "you absolute fucking bitch" to that, but it's an MTV show so I guess he couldn't.

I guess this is why they had to pair Scott with someone, so they could do this whole power-of-love bit to repair his eyeballs.

Although we did know he was fine, since he had eyes in the framing sequence.

"I am a great coach." - What a dickhead, I love him a lot.

Oh, there's Deaton, they used some stock footage from earlier this season.

Chris + Melissa confirmed <3

That entire little montage is so good, tbh.

"They're my friends. My pack." - I am going to CRY.

"You're not a monster. You're a werewolf. Like me." - Okay, NOW I'm going to cry. I forgot we ended on that, fuck sake ;_;

What a finale. Wraps up all the loose ends, while leaving the show open for a revival (or a movie ;) ). Everyone gets time to shine, and some screen time to themselves, plus Scott gets to be the True Alpha Of My Heart all over the place. My only complaint really is that the Anuk-Ite gets captured a little too easy, but the fight scene beforehand makes up for it.

I'm glad I rewatched this tbh. It's reminded me just why it's one of my favourite shows.

[muffindaddystyles]

Soft dom harry makes subby reader upset subspace?

MEANIE ANGRY H :D BUCKLE UP FELLAS

Y/N's day is been shitty so far. It started with an ache in her lower abdomen from Harry’s morning stiffy bulging against her asscheeks fattening everytime he snuggled into her to hoard her warmth and blankies and to stuff his face in her neck with incoherent blabbering.

She wanted to wake him up with her hand, mouth, hole— anything around his cock and to please him and dull the burny feeling in her tummy -- but -- she had an important workshop at UNI that was must needed to be attended.

The time she managed to knock herself out of her needy and lusty headspace, she was getting late and whirling around the room and closest like a thunderstorm -- burying a snoring Harry under the heaps of clothes and littering the floor with her shoes collection, the kitchen got treated much more worst with maids being not around (she’s used to Harry waking up earlier than her and making her a full course brekkie) after making a laughable ruckus of cabinets all she stuffed her mouth with was a chocolate protein bar.

The stars were still not in her favour. She was grabbing onto her hair until far when she missed the bus (she usually don’t take buses, Harry makes sure the driver drop her off safe and secure) and it started raining leaving Y/N with nothing but a bare head to take all of it as she already left the bus shelter to stop a taxi.

If all of that wasn’t much of a tragedy and humiliating, Y/N slipped the moment she stepped out of the vehicle and on the slippery curbs of the building, she saw her life flashing right infront of her eyes as the papers tucked in her armpit fled everywhere and landed on the rainy mud sadistically along her. It gave her a serious hit in her ankle and completely yanked her hip, still being a stubborn-head she picked herself and went inside despite how many glares the cleaning staff threw her way for bringing the dirt with her feed all over the shiny floors.

She felt bad.

Stupidly bad.

Her workshop teachers were kind enough to accept her late arrival, but her designs for fall got rejected and they’d have been a huge milestone for her to get her dream internship.

Y/N felt awfully, teeny, pathetic and little while slumping into the corner of the bus and holding her breath to refrain from crying these little liquidy bitches out of her eyes.

Reaching back home she was met with pure chaos, bumping into petrified and agitated employs from Harry’s company scurrying out of their main foyer and she could persist but to ask what happened only to be informed in stammers that the staff messed up big and caused a loss of million dollars— making Harry terribly mad and fire people left and right.

It wasn’t a joke at all.

Because once, she steps inside, bag falling from her shoulder as she sighs in exhaustion feeling her muscles stiffening everywhere but one particular spot's hurting wrenchingly— her foggy mind couldn’t figure it out yet. She peeks into Harry’s home office to be met by a very annoyed, aggrieved, furious Harry pacing in his office all whilst with a phone against his ear shouting at someone who was destined to be humiliated today just like her and she pouts gingerly seeing his features skewered tightly into displeasure, the vein that curves along his temple prominent with blood pumping erratically in his body.

His head snaps up at the door’s creak and albeit his eyes softens a little, the kink of brows and the scowl on his lips is still there and he watches her paddle towards him carefully knowing anything at the moment would burst his chimneys out and she wants to be good for her daddy.

“Hi.” She speaks timidly, pout getting more rusty when the greetings not returned and instead he keeps all of his attention on the phone keeping a loose arm around her.

She grumbles, when he gestures down at her to give him a sec and untangles himself from her walking away and huffing and puffing into the phone.

How could he!

She feels so denied and rejected and kicked like it’s done to those affection starved lil puppies.

Her clingy tendencies flying high drunk and wooly. The needy beastie inside her wanting nothing more than take a bath where Harry could cream her back in her favourite berry bubbles, massaging her head and whisper sweet nothings into her ear, then lots and lots of cuddles, maybe he'll be generous enough and let her keep him snug inside her while they watch movie because she had such an awful day.

But, No! He's trying to escape free from her because she’s such a burden for him now.

Her eyes turns glassy, her shoulders slumping sadly and out of nowhere she’s feeling cold and barren as Harry’s voice becomes a wafting fume for her— an indication she has gone under too much.

“Daddy . . .” She stomps behind him, circling his footsteps like a whiny puppy and grapples at his dress shirt gasping sullenly when he swats her dainty hands away and glares down at her in dominance, his tone harsh as he blocks the receiver with his palm and mouths at her with a huff, “Stop being needy fo’ once. I’ve clearly some important issues to care for, Y/N.” Poor Y/N's deathly grip on his shirt loosens sorrowfully and her chin wobbles as she nodded still wanting to be good for him and if it wasn’t enough to give her the biggest heartbreak of the year— he even rolled his eyes at her too grumping under his breath about something how he turned her into a spoiled brat himself.

“Okie. . .” Her voice strangled and small. She shrinks into herself but wasn’t paid any heed from Harry and without another word she leaves him as to be it.

Having a huge breakdown in her room didn’t help at all. A painful headache hitting her like a train as she clumsily strips down, wearing one of his t-shirt heavily drenched in his scent he keeps for her under her pillow anytime she needs it and hides under the blankets with tears still running down her swollen cheeks— slipping into a light slumber from all of weariness and crying.

Once the smoke cleared from Harry’s mind and his capabilities of rational thinking coming back to him, he was reminded of how he denied his baby of his littlest of affection and tenderness when she clearly looked so glum and sad and upset.

He wanted to whip himself in head.

He’s such a twat that he let work come between them.

He curses himself. Making a sprint to his bedroom, knowing he’d find her none other than there and he was right puffing out a disheartened sigh when his eyes falls over his princess buried under all of these layers of blankets, he crawls up towards her carefully not to startle her awake.

Grunting at himself when he finds she’s been crying, he strokes a thumb up her blushy cheeks and her wet lashes, kissing her puffy eyelids and her little sad unhappy pout away.

He frowns. Feeling her feverish and flushed under his hand, “Hey puppy . . .” He thumbs down her throat getting a little fretful when she doesn’t stirs, however she’s such a squirmy little one and he moves the blankets away to let her body cool itself smiling proudly at his shirt swallowing her whole is when she snuggled herself more into her stuffie letting the shirt ride up her thighs and hips exposing a ghastly bruise of red and purples and he frowns not remembering it being there before.

Now. He feels shittier. Wanting to jump of the cliff for being a shitty sadist boyfriend to his only beloved.

“No!” Y/N whimpers loudly, squirming away from his touch as he examines her gently and it sent shockwaves to each of her tissues and lions causing her an undeniable pain.

“Puppy, shh, shh. ‘s just me, making sure if y'okay.” He scrambles closer to her towering her to cradle her face and kiss the tip of her nose—- his face falls drastically and his heart cracks miserly when Y/N pushes him away with a sorrowful mumble not even letting him wipe the drool away from the corner of her mouth as he usually does.

“’M okay . . .” She tries to knuckle the sleepiness away with shivery hands, “No you’re not —...” He’s cut off by her angry pout and her silly efforts to keep as much distance between them as possible, “I don’t need, Daddy . . ‘m big and I could take care of me self.” At her puny waver realization dawns upon Harry and his brows shoots up to his hairline feeling nauseous and terrible for not taking care of his babylove earlier.

He’d have never let her be away from him if he knew she was in her subspace.

“Y/N baby . . . I didn’t mean it, darling —--...” With gentleness he tries to approach her but she wraps her arms around her petite figure in a protective manner, haziness taking best of her and Harry’s chest suffocates into itself, being a dom it’s your responsibility to make your subby feel protected, loved and happy and he even failed at that.

He quickly cups both of her hot cheeks in his nippy palms when she hiccups sadly, a sob threatening to slip out, “Yes you did! You meant it. Said you spoiled me, I don’t want your money, promise! I just want you and y'shooed me away saying Y/N’s too needy . . .” Harry flinches at her words. He never even spared a thought to this negativity that she chooses to be with him for his money because he knows out of all the people she’s the only one who loves him out of the boundaries of status and money.

He realises how stabbing they'd have been to her when she was so sensitive and floaty wanting nothing more, just him.

How deep she has gone if she’s taking her own name in third person.

“’M sorry baby. So sorry. Swear on myself, didn’t mean to hurt my baby, knows tha’ work shouldn’t be an excuse t’ make y'feel unloved—- but those bastards got a tick outta me.” He rambles on frantically. Afraid she’ll think he’s lying and would finally make up her mind to leave him.

“You didn’t?” She asks with so much innocence Harry nearly cries out, “’Course I didn’t! How could I? You could never be needy, Bab. I love you so much and you’re my whole word, forgive me please?”

“You’re forgiven,” She let a small smile flutter up her features, a tinge of gleam in her previous dull eyes brightening the whole room and Harry immediately bunches her up in his lap.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks her, not sure if she still needs space from him and would rather be better without him but she bobs her head shyly and he chuckles softly before touching their lips together into a tender loving kiss and brushes their noses up and down murmuring sweetly coy to her.

“Now, could y'tell daddy how y'got this bruise baby? How did ya get hurt?” He coos, brushing her sweaty hair back and rubs her sweet gland behind her ear delicately, “Oh yeah . . . this, was raining and slipped.” She murmurs, hissing a gasp jolting away when Harry glides his fingers gently down her hip bone and fresh tears springs in her eyes as she buries herself in his chest, “Daddy hurts. . .” . “Oh babypie. Daddy’s g'na take care of his love.” He lays her down gently kissing her forehead when she whines for him to keep on holding her, “’M right here darling. G'na prep us a bath, make my baby alright.” Saying this he quickly disappears inside the washroom and next their room’s sursuring with marble tub filling with warm water, Harry throws in her favourite pink coloured bath bombs and rose essences and throws their towels in the warmer coming back with her as he left her to be, he has decided he’s gonna love on her whole night, “My baby’s the best, ain’t she? She’s my bestest girl.” He coos down at her sweetly and slides his forearms under her knees and back picking her up carefully and brings her to his chest securely.

She closes her eyes, biting down a whimper when Harry dips them in the water some it sloshing down the edges of bathtub and it envelopes them and gives a stingy feeling to her bruise before soothing it down.

He rubs her arms, and circles smoothing patterns on her tummy and kisses her a gallons as she melts in his embrace and he let’s her sink into him more, nibbling and sponging wet ticklish kisses on her neck making her purr and become a puddle of softness in his hold while she takes her time to mumble all the bad events that happened to her and he felt so guilty of not asking her how she’s and how her day went when she came to him, in need of some of his lovin.

“I love you so much, bab.” He suckles her earlobe, toying and plucking her bottom plush lip, “Was prick to me love —.. you deserve all my lovin,” He noses at her jaw, not forgetting it to mark it with his pecks and sloppy bites.

“’S okay daddy, y'had a bad day too.” He’s grateful to have her in his life. She cares about him, maybe more than he does for her and he feels himself lucky for it.

“You want me to help you relax?”

“Can I have you?” Her tone bashfully desperate and coy, Harry meanders their fingers together and kisses her knuckles softly.

Considering her wound still being sore and pulp, having sex would be painful for her and she might not grasp it in her hazy mind but Harry doesn’t want to hurt at all.

He plants a little noisy smooch to her shoulder when she nods, she mews and purrs when Harry glides his palm all the way down her body and cups her pussy digging his palm into her mound and coats his digits with her arousal dipping the pads of his fingers into her entrance, “All this wet f'me?” Palming her tits while whispering sweet nothings into her ear when she gasps and closes up on Harry scratching nails into his bended knees.

“Shh, shh puppy, jus' relax hmm? Feel yourself.” With sputtery inhales she does as he says, soon two of his fingers slips inside her and he strokes her pussy and pulls them out making her all whiny and pushes them back with a squelching noise, fucking her with it smiling and stopping when her thighs parts falls again his’s completely.

“Daddy!” She writhes and whines, trembly hands trying to bring Harry fingers back to her pulsating wetness, “You’re the cutest.” He smiles against her lips giving her cheeks several squishes and pats her head loving to see his adorable princess all flustery for him.

On her demands. He slicks his fingers back inside her and caresses the insides of her thighs while she pants and sinks onto his knuckles blabbering out daddydaddydaddy weepily.

“Cum fo’ me, puppy. Feels good? Yeah? My baby feels nice?” He rasps in her mouth, curving and petting the soft spot inside her pussy and sucks onto her upper lip when she moans and mewls loudly gushing all over his finger and he keeps on fucking her till she’s all sleepy and balmy against his chest.

Harry coaxes her tenderly, smoothing his hands all over her twitchy spots and patches sloppy kisses all over her face that makes her all giggly and shy—- the amount of endorphins spiking high in her system.

“Love you so much, daddy.” She mushes puckering her lips into his throat.

“Love you too, pup.”

[homosexuality-at-its-finest]

Hello! I saw that requests are open and i love ur writing so I would like a peter parker x male reader angst.

Basically, reader and peter have a big argument (you can choose what about) and reader says something like " peter i don't think I can do this anymore, let's take a break from each other." And then leaves. They don't talk to each other for weeks and when they see each other somewhere (like school or on a mission) they just ignore each other and only talk if necessary. Fluff ending pls

A/n: Thank you for the request! I'm a whore for angst so I love getting sad requests, I hope you enjoy it!

Plot: Requested

Pairing: Peter parker x male reader

Y/n: Your name

L/n: Last name

E/c: Eye color

H/c: Hair color

N/n: Nickname

Warnings: angst, relationship break, Peter isn’t the best boyfriend, fluffy ending, cussing

Word count: 828

Peter had made many mistakes in his short life, most of which he regretted every day. Pushing his boyfriend to the side, and spending more time with Mr. Stark, or Ned, hell even patrol was a regret that haunted him. Admittedly he didn’t think anything of it for a while, certain that if it bothered Y/n, he’d bring it up.

Yet here they were, Y/n’s chest heaving and unshed teras in his E/c eyes. Knowing that he was the reason for his tears made Peter want to curl into a ball and disappear, he never wanted to hurt Y/n like this.

“I can’t keep doing this Peter.” God his voice sounded so tired, so broken. His chest tightened as he watched the other boy. “I get being a hero, I’m one too for fucks sake, but I only see you at school or on missions now! You’re always with Mr. Stark or Ned, am I just not important anymore?”

Peter opened and closed his mouth, the words stuck in his throat. Of course, Y/n was important! He was the love of Peter’s life, the idea of life without the other boy seemed dull, making his stomach twist painfully. A scoff left the H/c haired boys’ lips, arms wrapping protectively around himself.

“I think we need to take a break.” The words broke the unbearable silence, but now Peter just wished the silence would’ve stayed.

“Wait, Y/n please.” Peter reached out for his boyfriend, heart breaking as Y/n pulled away as if he’d been burned. “I gotta go Peter, I’m sorry.” The other boy turned away, not sparing the brunette a glance as he left Peter standing alone in the apartment. He’d fucked up big time, and he didn’t know if there was a way to fix this.

Time became a blur to Peter, almost as if every day was on repeat, get up, go to school, hang out with Mr. Stark, patrol and go to bed. It was the same thing every day, life seeming unexciting without Y/n by his side enjoying life with him.

He saw the other boy at school and Peter always wanted to reach out and talk to him, but the crushing guilt held him back. Y/n asked for a break, and it wasn’t fair to take that away from him.

The days turned into weeks, and the loneliness only increased with time. He no longer woke up to goofy texts from Y/n or hear his stupid jokes on patrol. Peter didn’t realize how much of his life revolved around his boyfriend until he was gone.

The arachnid had never felt so alone, he could be in a crowded room, and he’d still feel invisible. The only person who ever truly saw him was now gone, because he’d been a neglectful boyfriend.

The day Y/n approached him once more felt like seeing colors for the first time, the world was no longer dull. He gave the other boy a hesitant smile, not sure if the H/c haired boy approaching him was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Hey Pete.” God, he had missed that nickname, so many other people say it, but none of them compared to the way his name rolled off of Y/n’s tongue. “I wanted to talk to you, about the break.”

Peter could feel his heart thudding, giving a silent nod of acknowledgement, not trusting himself to speak.

“I’ve really missed you.” The words crashed down on Peter like a tidal wave, his throat tightening a bit. “I’ve missed you too Y/n.” He replied quietly, cheeks burning pink.

“I wanna try again Peter, but I need you to try harder, it hurts to think that I don’t matter as much as Ned or Tony.” Peter could’ve gotten on his knees and thanked every God out there for giving him this blessing.

“I promise N/n, I’m gonna do better. You’re more important than anything else.” Peter breathed out, hesitantly grabbing the other boy’s hand. Y/n have Peters hand a squeeze, and the familiar feeling made his heart flutter.

“I love you so much.” Peter breathed out, pulling his boyfriend into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry for being a shitty boyfriend.” Peter’s face nuzzled into Y/n’s neck, breathing in the familiar cologne.

“I love you too Petey.” After a moment Peter pulled away, giving Y/n a smile. “How about I take you on a date tonight, just you and me.” He offered lightly, thumb brushing over his boyfriend’s knuckles.

“I’d love that.” The grin that spread across Y/n’s face put the sun to shame, and Peter felt elated to be the reason he smiled like that. He had been a shitty boyfriend but that was going to change, he’d never let Y/n down again.

[urimaginespimp]

Untouchable (This Love pt 8)

Bucky x reader (elemental witch)

Set during TFATWS mainly episodes 4-5

Note: Little references on You All Over Me

Previous Part: Happiness

--------

“I’m letting you go, Bucky.”

It felt like he watched a part of himself die as soon as those words left your lips. How could he have been so late to realize that he’s in love with you? And in the worst possible time ever; When you finally look like you’re in peace and ready to open yourself once more to the world.

“I’d really like to be friends with you again someday. Maybe as you’ve said before, I will thank you.” You genuinely smiled at him and he almost wanted to yell at you to take it back. To say that you still want to be together.

But that would be so cruel of him. So he merely returned a smile, hoping that it came off genuine.

“You go alert Sam. I’m gonna try my best to stall Ayo and the other women. Though I doubt I could buy you more than a few seconds once the eighth hour rolls around.” you grinned and turned to go find where the Dora Milaje were waiting.

--------

Eight hours have passed and you were now taking the Dora Milaje to where Sam, Bucky, and Zemo would be.

Only when you were outside the door, you could hear an unfamiliar man’s voice almost threatening Sam into a fight.

“He’d die before he thinks he can hurt a friend to the throne.” Ayo commented, and before you knew it, one of them have thrown their spear before the man who you now can assume as discount Captain America could even raise a fist to Sam.

You walked in beside Ayo and based on Bucky’s expression, their business with Zemo wasn’t even close to done yet.

“Even if he is a means to your end, time’s up.” Ayo declared out loud in the room. “Release him to us now.”

“Hi. John Walker. Captain America.” The man interrupted. You bit your lip to stop yourself from laughing. This didn’t go unnoticed by Bucky however, who was mentally kicking himself because now was not the time to be reminded that he knows how those felt against his. The little taste of heaven he got.

“You were like a little sister to Steve Rogers, right?” He turned his attention to you with a cheery voice. “Happy to finally meet your new big brother?” He jested.

“Sorry. That positions been long taken over ever since the potty mouth racoon started exchanging memes with me.” you retort with a shrug, which made Sam cough to hide his chuckles, and Zemo to look at you as if that was the craziest thing he’s ever heard.

“Well, let’s uh, put down the pointy sticks and we can walk this through, huh?” Walker tried to gain control over the room’s atmosphere.

“Hey, John. Take it easy.” Sam butted in. “You might wanna fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje. Or even worse, Y/N.”

“Yeah, I think I can take some water or rocks being thrown at me.” He smirked at you, making the side of your lip twitch.

“Careful, Walker, I’m almost twitching to blend that bloodstream of yours. I can control you like a puppet and I wouldn’t even have to move an inch from where I’m standing.” You smiled at him almost eerily, and Bucky was sporting a proud look on his face.

But of course, you weren’t gonna do it. You’ve long vowed to put puppeting the living off the table unless it was a life and death situation.

Walker gulped before turning once again to Ayo. “The Dora Milaje don’t have jurisdiction here.”

“The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be.” You could almost see steam coming out of Ayo’s ears as she spoke. She could also feel that something didn’t feel right with this man.

Looking at his companion, you could see that unlike Walker, he was getting nervous.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Walker played it off, before he layed his hand on Ayo.

Then all hell broke loose.

--------

Ayo literally disarmed Bucky. Both of you shared the same shocked expression.

Walker was catching his breath after they handed his ass to him, and was failing miserably to remove the spear that held the shield up on the table.

Ayo opened the doors to where Zemo had last gone into, only to find it empty.

One of the women took the spear off effortlessly and picked up the shield as Walker was now on the ground looking defeated.

“He is gone. Leave it.” Ayo told her.

Picking his Vibranium arm off the ground, Bucky was still trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

“Did you know they could do that?” Sam asked, just getting up from the floor.

“Guessing from his reaction, no.” You commented as he attached it back and tested it. “Are you alright?” you approached him. His arm worked just fine. Relief flooded him.

“Yeah. How about you? You still got cuts and bruises from Madripoor.” He reaches out and holds a side of your jaw to turn your head as if to assess the minor damages on your face, causing your breath to hitch.

This was the first time he got to touch you again after all the distancing and avoiding you’ve been doing before. He smiled at you sweetly, making you confused. Sam was also giving Bucky a questioning look.

“I think I’m gonna help them look for Zemo. You guys gonna be alright?” you stepped back away from him and turned to Sam, and he nodded before giving you a hug and told you to be safe.

You gave Bucky a smile before leaving to catch up with the Dora Milaje. As soon as you were out of earshot, Sam turned to him with a smug expression.

“Have something to share, Bucky?” He asked playfully, already having a hunch why Bucky was acting all weird.

“Sam, I’m in love with her.” He replied, still staring at the direction where you just exited.

“Yeah, I figured.” he snorted in reply. It was about damn time.

“But just when it hit me, she then says she’s letting me go. Now I’m the one caught up in her.”

“Well that’s some angsty shit right there, man. Let’s grab something to eat first and talk about how your cyborg brain finally named the feelings you’ve had all this time.” Sam pats his shoulder before muttering that he was gonna need food for this discussion.

--------

You had an inkling that Zemo was heading to Sokovia. And it seemed that Bucky had the same though as he caught up on you and the Dora Milaje on your way there.

The moment you saw him, the dried blood on his face raised your concerns, and he was trying to hide the fact that he was enjoying your attention when you insisted on patching him up, and you were oblivious to the Dora Milaje’s teasing glances thrown his way, and even when one of them mouthed the word simps to him.

He made a mental note to look up what that means later.

I thought you’d be here sooner.” Zemo spoke as he got nearer. “Don’t worry, I’ve decided I’m not going to kill you.”

“Imagine my relief.” Bucky replied, clicking the gun on his side.

“The girl has been radicalized beyond salvation. I warned Sam, but he didn’t listen to me. He’s as stubborn as Steve Rogers before him. But you... they literally programmed you to kill. James, do what needs to be done. Karli has people everywhere, and there’s only one way to make sure she cannot continue her mission.” Zemo rationalized.

“I appreciate the advice. But we’re gonna do it our own way.”

Zemo chuckled softly. “Yeah. I was afraid you would say that.”

Raising the gun to his head, there was no once of fear in Zemo’s eyes, rather it looked like he was ready to be reunited with his family. This was further shown when he actually nodded at Bucky.

Only that nothing happened as he pulled the trigger. Instead, he raised his left fist, and as he opened it, the bullets fell off, clanking on the ground.

Just then, three of the Dora Milajes marched up behind him, ready to take him away this time.

“Ladies...” he acknowledged them before turning back to him. “I took the liberty of crossing my name in your book. I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do.” Bucky nodded, appreciating the gesture.

“Parting words of advice...” Zemo spoke again, this time lower as he knew you might be somewhere nearer and might hear what he’s about to say next.

“Like every other dollar in our pockets, you can’t change where it’s been, James. Much the same goes for you. But Y/N... She loves you nonetheless. And if my eyes don’t deceive me, I’d say you feel the same but she’s doesn’t know that.” he smiles at him

“I’d only realized it myself recently.” He confesses, only then realizing that the three women were listening and now had their brows raised in surprise.

“Don’t be too late.” Zemo grinned in satisfaction of his confession.

“I’m gonna work on that, thank you.” He returned the smile.

“Goodbye, James.”

As you saw them lead Zemo to the ship, you took that as your cue to finally approach them. You’d witness the entire thing, except that it was all inaudible from where you’ve been standing.

“It would be prudent to make yourself scare in Wakanda for the time being, White Wolf.” You heard Ayo advise him as you were finally in earshot’s way.

“Fair enough.” he replies in understanding.

Ayo nodded at you as you came closer to where they were, and she shot you a teasing wink, confusing you while Bucky cleared his throat in embarrassment.

“We’ll wait for you in the ship.” she told you.

“I didn’t know you could be so theatrical, Bucky.” You grinned teasingly at him.

“Had to give you a little inkling to what was happening since you were so far away.” He gave you a boyish smile.

“You’re gonna pick those up later, right?” you gestured at the bullets still on the ground.

“Yeah, just after all of you are gone. Don’t wanna ruin the magic of that scene.” He replied scratching the back of his head, making you laugh.

"You’re going back to Wakanda with them?” Because if you are, then the universe was definitely punishing him since he can’t really go there right now as he pleases.

“Yeah, I’m long overdue for a visit.” You answered. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to them. You’d be in their good graces again in no time.” you assured.

As you spoke, the sun was just starting to set behind you, creating a golden outline of you. The sight was making his heart pound. To him you were burning brighter than the sun.

Yep, the universe is definitely fucking me. He thought to himself.

And as you stepped closer, he felt like he was coming undone when you hesitantly pulled him in for a small hug.

“Take care of yourself, James.” you whispered.

James. She called me James. Heat was rising up in him.

Breaking off from the hug, you were blushing. “It’s alright if I call you that too, right? I mean I know I said that’s what I called 1940s you when we were testing the time portal, but it’s still you, you know, and-”

“You can call me whatever you want, sweetheart.” He cut off your rambling, smiling at you. “Just not Barnes again.” He added.

“Why?”

“Well, you were mad at me the whole time you did so.”

“Okay, dipshit.”

“Y/N.” he feigned offense.

You laughed at his expense. “I’ll let either one of you know if I’m back in New Asgard.”

“We’ll have a lot of catching up to do by then.” He smiled, and you turned to head to the ship where unbeknownst to you, the women and Zemo have been watching the two of you interacting.

“Hey Y/N?” Bucky called out to you at the last second.

“Yeah?”

He was contemplating whether he’d just tell you right then and there about his feelings. It was starting to eat him up, but then he shook it off, knowing that he and Sam still had a mission to finish first.

“I... I may have another favor to ask Wakanda.”

--------

When he got to Sam’s hometown, he saw that there was a community of people helping repair a boat. It reminded him of his time working with in the docs.

He’s now offered his services to help Sam repair their family boat. He’s also met his sister Sara, nad he was surprised that when he made an attempt to be charming, it actually kind of worked.

They were now enjoying a drink together after a day’s worth of fixing.

“Talked to Y/N, yet?” Sam asked him, taking a swing of the bottle.

“She’s a lot more friendly to me now which is both a good and bad sign for me. But I haven’t told her yet. Not really a good time.” he answered in dep thought.

“You know before we got ourselves tangled into this mess, like way before Walker happened and you decided to show up, we were in constant communication.” Sam shared.

“Yeah?” he failed to hide the jealousy in his voice, causing Sam to crack up.

“Don’t get your metal panties in a twist, man. We were mostly talking about you." he clarified. “She knew you didn’t want to see her - which I beg to differ by the way – but she was somehow hoping you would at least be talking to me.”

“I’m sorry for ignoring your calls and text.” He says to Sam, which the man assured him was fine. “There were instances at night where I couldn’t sleep and my thoughts would be plagued with her. That I wish I hadn’t been so rash with making the decision to be alone and leave her the way I did.” this was the first time he talked about it to someone. His own therapist didn’t know a thing about it.

“Let me ask you something. Where do you want to stand in her life after all of this is over?” Sam knew this wasn’t what co-workers would be talking about but he knew that this was for the good of you both.

“I want to spend the rest of my years making it up to her. To let her know that while it took me long to realize it, we were actually always in the same page.” He found himself replying with no hesitation. Sam was satisfied with this answer.

“And how are you gonna convince her to give you a chance?”

He shrugged. He didn’t know just yet.

“Tell you what. The younger people around here know their stuff when it comes to matters of the heart. I’ll have them make a manuscript you could read, or a video tutorial.” He chuckles. He had no idea Sam was being serious.

“Well...” Bucky got up and clinked their bottles together. “Gotta catch my flight tomorrow. Get a hotel for the night. Crash, you know?”

“You’re just gonna set me up like that, huh?” Sam grinned, shaking his head.

“Well I don’t wanna make it weird for your family.” He shrugged.

“Just stay here. The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don’t care if you wear small T-shirts, or if you have six toes, or if your mom’s your aunt, or that I work with a reformed cyborg that’s in love with a witch that’s practically an avatar, who apparently single-handedly secured her adoptive father’s kingdom’s economy-” Bucky chuckled at Sam’s ramblings.

“Okay, I get it. I mean, you know, the people are nice.” he concedes.

“But don’t displace your feelings for Y/n by flirting with my sister.” Sam pointed at him. “Cause if you do, I’ll have Carlos cut you up, feed half of you to the fish, and send the other half to New Asgard so they could to feed you to their fish.”

“Okay.”

--------

He was gazing up at the stars, feeling the soft grass underneath his lying figure. The comfort and peace it gave him was almost nostalgic.

“How is it possible that this place also has the best set of stars for us to look at?”  A voice spoke next to him. Turning his head to where it came from, his heart fluttered as he welcomed the sight of you lying next to him, looking up the sky with such wander in your eyes.

He recognizes this scenario. He had just woken up once again from a nightmare, and couldn’t fall back asleep despite your presence. So, you proposed you’d both get some fresh air and just lay out on the field while the rest of Wakanda was fast asleep.

At first he was hesitant, not wanting to keep you up any longer, but you insisted that you haven’t been able to sleep a wink before he woke up from his nightmare. That’s how he groggily got up and took the hand you offered up to him as you lead him out of your shared hut, and into the wide field before you.

“Ayo said you’re having progress.” you turned your head to look at him. This time, he was the one stuck looking up the sky. He merely let out a small grunt as a response.

“I’m proud of you, Buck.” He could almost hear the smile from your tone. The genuineness of it all made the side of his lip twitch.

Getting up halfway to face him, you were supporting yourself up with your elbow. “We could celebrate if you want.” you suggested.

“I’m not even fully recovered yet.” he replied.

“So? Every milestone to recovery should be celebrated.” you shrugged. “C’mon old man, it doesn’t have to be grand. Any piece of treat you have in mind?”

“I’ve been meaning to try sushi.” He muttered shyly.

“Consider it done.” you beamed at him, laying back down.

There it was again. The tingly feeling he had in his stomach, which only ever occurred every time you were near. Maybe this was the feeling of gratitude. You’ve never been less than nice to him.

Yeah, that explains it. He thinks to himself.

“Why are you so fine with spending your days here anyway? Don’t you have someone waiting on you out of Wakanda? Steve said you’re more social than him.” He found himself asking.

Still looking up, you were sporting a gentle smile on your face. “I spent a great deal reading up classic romance novels when I was just learning the Midgardian ways. And I’m still in love with the whole chivalry, slow-burn romance thing. Imagine my disappointment when the first civilian man I found inherently cute outright asked me if he could have some in the bathroom.” you pursed your lips, making Bucky crack a soft laugh.

“My ma would’ve had my head if I ever said that to a lady.” he replied smiling, his eye crinkling at the thought. “...is that why you said you find me incredibly attractive?” he found himself asking, surprising both of you.

Even underneath the stars, he could see the heat rising up your cheeks. “Oh, you remember that?” you chuckled awkwardly.

“It’s not every day a girl would say that to the world’s deadliest assassin whose just been accused of a bombing incident.”  he was mentally kicking himself for even opening up the topic.

“It’s Steve’s fault. He wouldn’t shut up about how charming and a gentleman you are. And it didn’t help that you’re annoyingly handsome.”

He shifted in his position. “Bet you’re disappointed now.” he said in a low voice.

“Not really.” you argued. “If anything, you’ve added the words hot and strong to the list.” you teased, poking him on the arm. He shook his head at how casual you were being.

“Sooner or later Buck, it won’t be just me crushing on you. Maybe you’d even find yourself falling for a civilian.” There was a hint of sadness behind your smiling eyes. Everybody in the kingdom knew of her allegedly having a crush on you, curtesy of Steve’s blabbering mouth, but this was the first time she actually admitted it.

He didn’t say it, but the thought of what you just said didn’t appeal to him. It felt almost wrong to imagine himself casually being open and carefree with someone else.

Carefree. This was what your conversation now felt like. You managed to somehow make him talk, far from his usual quiet and grunting self during daytime.

He opened his mouth trying to think if a reply when you cut him off.

“Don’t respond to that. You’ve already managed to make my drowsy self, confess having a crush on you.” he turned his head to look your way again, only to find that you now had your eyes closed, a small smile playing on your lips.

Letting you finally get some sleep; he turned his attention back to the sky.

And it's like the million little stars above him were spelling out your name.

Just then he wakes up from the dream, as the little whispers by the doorway caught his attention. Sam’s nephews were playing with the shield.

“Hey!” he raised his hand to greet them while still lying down on the couch.

“Put it back.” one of them said to the other. “Hurry, hurry.” and they both took off.

Alone once more, his thought went back to the dream of a memory he had with you.

He found himself smiling.

--------

Y/N: Thanks for all the love! We're one chapter away. I'm just waiting for the last episode (brb crying) to decided where we go from here.

@eternalharry @iheartsebandchris @lizzarooni @the-ayo-lit @tanyaherondale @eliwinchester-barnes @knowyourworth-sellyoursoul @ebxny27 @just-a-littlebit-of-everything @fadingdreamersportsmaker

[quickspinner]

For the fanfic reader ask, how about 4, 6, & 20?

4: has a fic ever made you cry?

I'm almost certain the answer is yes, but off the top of my head I can't think of which one it might have been. 🤔 Like I have this vague memory of getting all verklempt at like 3 in the morning over something I loved and was rereading, but I can't remember the exact context.

6: what's your least favourite fanfic category?

I guess if I have to pick one, slow burn? That's not to say I hate all slow burn fics, I'm just generally impatient and I have to feel like there's a good reason why these people aren't together yet. Like, if the slow burn would be resolved by one character going "Hey, I just want you to know I really like you," then I'm going to be grumpy about sitting through 30 more chapters.

(Oh the irony since Indelible is turning out much more slow burny than I intended)

20: what something that immediately makes you exit out of a fic?

POV labels. 😅 And I say this with all the love in the world for new/young/immature writers, y'all are amazing and please keep persevering because you only get better by making mistakes. It's just that to me labeling your POV changes is a sign of an immature writer who has a lot of work to do in their craft, and it often goes along with a lot of other quirks I personally find grating.

Other than that, poor characterization is the main thing, by which I largely mean characterization that diverges significantly from my own interpretation. We all have different styles and takes, and I expect a certain amount of variation, that's part of the fun! But, if a character I'm invested in behaves in a way that is so different it breaks my immersion, or is unlikeable to me personally for whatever reason (smoking is frequently a dealbreaker for me for example, my aversion to cigarette smoke it is so great that I have to really like something to overlook it).

None of these are absolute, sometimes I will read or finish and even enjoy a story in spite of these things, but it's rare enough that I don't make the effort often.

General note for all because writers are often deeply paranoid people who want to be loved: I am one person and my personal preferences should not change, invalidate, or devalue your own vision--it's okay to write things that are not to every person's individual taste. You can't please everyone and you shouldn't try. 💜

Fanfic Reader Asks

[ezarelz]

I'm scared of the next episode, to be honest. After our dialogue yesterday, I can only think of what nonsense Erika is going to do now, as they've made it clear that humans are going back to Earth...

Girl, I know what you mean. I always expect to disagree with/reject some of MC's dialogues and inner thoughts when an episode is released. Especially when it comes to dialogues we have no control over (not choices). I particularly hate when an option does not reflect the conversation that ensues (i.e. being nosy or rude when the option didn't preface it).

What really gets on my nerve is how the writers don't allow us to stand up for ourselves AT THE RIGHT MOMENTS. My OC, Ayni, would NEVER have tolerated the Light Guard's inconsiderate/rude behaviour in the first meeting, and that includes Nevra. And that, regardless of the profound love she still has for him. Just because she loves him doesn't mean he is allowed to say whatever he wants. Gardienne is not their dog. However, she doesn't defend herself in moments like these. She straight up simps. She literally goes from being treated as if she was stupid to flirting with the person who was rude to her.... Huh? I get that they are LIs and that it's the writers' attempt at angst, but, it's really not it.

There's no balance. How can she boast about her nature, but can't demand respect from those around us. MC needs to wake up. She needs to go see Nevra, set him right, and cut the flirting so long as he continues to behave like that. His shady remarks about her literal breathing being bothersome???? About her being needing to put in the work to be considered "useful" again??? Put him back in his place, darling.

My OC would deadass avoid his ass, let him know he crossed boundaries. She would treat him as nothing but a colleague, and that treatment would likely set him right. Nevra is not stupid: if he allows himself to behave this way (undermined her contribution many times shortly after her awakening), it's because he knows by now that MC will tolerate it. She simps when she should have HIM simping. If you set him right, he'll watch his mouth, be more considerate and probably have more respect for you. And while I don't think Er*ka to be worthy of it, all players' OCs do. And since the gameplays are the stories of these OCs rather than the core story of Er*ka, I really wish for changes to happen.

Also don't get me started on the pacing. It's all over the place, and not in a torturing, slow-burny way. God, I love slow-burn. Interactions don't seem to hold among characters.

1) the LOM clearly barely affects our interactions, it lacks the effect it had in early episodes of TO (which allowed for diversity in dialogues).

2) the interactions between MC and a given character don't always seem to acknowledge previous ones.

For example: you'll have an interaction with Koori being friendly/flirty despite horrible LOM, or you'll have a "dispute" conversation with Nevra, and meet him again in the hallway and say: "Oh hey Nevra! :O What's up :) Those rude words we exchanged earlier? Yeah let's just pretend it never happened."

I'd gladly make my points clearer once I am done with exams. But overall, I always expect some discontinuity, inconsistencies and conversations that will make me click off the site to think. Just think. About anything else than what I read. Anyway, I hope interactions quality improves overtime parce que c'est pas gagné d'avance, clairement.

[divineluce]

And from the Ashes || Leah, Luce, Morgan, Nell, & Rio

Timing: Late at Night May 26th, 2021

Location: A burnt out clearing in the Outskirts

Tagging: @phoenixleah, @divineluce, @mor-beck-more-problems, @nelllraiser, @3starsquinn, and featuring Bernard Burnie the Phoenix

Description: The time has come to try and save the phoenix.

Running a hand through her hair, Luce looked at the clearing that she’d led the others to. It was a wide-open space, already charred and covered in ash- she’d first spotted the burnt-out area when she and Adam had posted up in the burnt out shell of a building on Scorch Street. She’d ventured out here on her own a few days before, dragging as many branches she could manage into the center of the neat circle of blackened soil. They needed a pyre, a central place for the magic to be channeled, to catch the energy they poured into the spell. They. That assumed that she’d be able to do something, that she’d be able to… summon the flames.

Luce dropped the gas can she’d hauled into the woods with a heavy, sloshing thud. There were already a few cans lying at the edge of the clearing, a contingency plan courtesy of Adam. He’d been game to help with the setup, loaning her what equipment he had to help. Nell knew how to pick ‘em. Even if he was some kinda doomsday prepper. “Here we go. Rio, you’ve been looking at the wards, right?” She said, gesturing to the area around them. “I’m not sure how big we need to go… Would you know anything about the scope?” Luce asked, glancing over at Morgan with a tentative gaze. The scratches that ran along her body were still scabbed over and angry to the touch, even with the help of Nell’s poultices. “Nell, do you want to get started with the herbs? Leah should be out looking for the phoenix, hopefully we have some time before she radios us that they’re on the move.” Luce said as she unzipped her backpack and began to pull out the various ingredients the ritual required. A silver mortar and pestle, courtesy of Bea, the Bloodroot, the jar of corrupted resurrection dirt, another glass with the phoenix’s still smoldering ashes, and bundles upon bundles of sage and lavender. Pulling the last vial from her pocket, Luce stared at the small bottle of phoenix tears. This had to work. It had to work.

Leah Ramirez was not an improviser. Not by any means. For an event like the one they were attempting to go as smoothly as possible, it was incredibly important to plan out every detail down to the second, and then establish a plan B, C, D… all the way to ZZ in case things didn’t go as planned. It was admirable how determined Luce was to save this poor soul. Leah always knew she had a huge heart, but for whatever reason, she wasn’t always a big fan of showing it. This needed to go well- if not for the phoenix, for Luce. For her to know it was okay to openly care about something and to ask for help.

Her job was simple enough. Find the corrupted phoenix, entice him to chase her, run to the clearing, help with the ritual. It wasn’t hard to find him, either. He’d been leaving a path of destruction for weeks now, and she followed the path of ash and char that he left behind until she found an area that was still very much on fire. The flames didn’t scare Leah- they couldn’t hurt her. And she hoped if what she’d heard about corrupted phoenixes was true, he’d get frustrated at the lack of damage he was doing to her and chase after her. If not, there was always plan ZZ. But when she finally laid eyes on him, it felt like a punch to her gut. She’d seen plenty of phoenixes in their flame state before, but her family was always so careful to be controlled and calm in their flame presentation. They had the privilege of years of training, not to mention the ability to change back if it all became too much. The corrupted phoenix, on the other hand, was raging, stuck in an eternal flame state with no way of connecting with anyone or anything. Of course he was destroying the world- it was the only way he could get its attention. She radio’d the group from her safe distance, watching the phoenix to see if he’d noticed her. “Found him. Let me know when you’re ready.”

Orion had stayed up half the night drawing the runes that Luce had sent him. He wasn’t sure how much the group would need, so he figured he should do as many as he possibly could. He kept his bag full of them, weighing on his back as he followed the group to the clearing Luce had prepared. From the looks of it, Luce had been hard at work to get things ready for the spell. While the rest of the group was probably used to stuff like this, Rio hadn’t taken part in many spells. He was equal parts excited and nervous. Something like this was an entirely new experience to learn about. It was every scribe’s dream. On the other hand, Luce had already warned him how much energy this would take. This wasn’t going to be a simple spell, one thing gone wrong could screw everything up. Rio just wanted to make sure he wasn’t the cause of any mess ups.

Once they were together in the clearing, Rio dropped his back and pulled the stack of paper with the wards drawn on them. “Yeah, I’ve got a bunch. Just tell me what to do with them. I’ll follow everyone else’s lead. I think I’m the newbie here.”

Morgan double checked the notes she’d made on her phone. “Bigger might be safer,” she said. “Wider net, easier catch.” But not too big, or else the energy needed to power the space might increase to dangerous proportions. She came over to Rio and showed him the diagram she’d made. “If we give ourselves a twenty foot diameter, you should be able to put down the runes in intervals of two feet. Move clockwise and make sure they’re all oriented the right way, okay?”

That done she went over to Luce, who was looking a little uneasy. “Hey. This’ll work if you let it, okay? You can help him.”

Nell was tired. But that seemed to be the beginning of every thought she has of late. It was getting to the point of being exhausted from the constant state of emotional tiredness, which often left her feeling either drained, irritable, or both. As she bent over her densely packed sticks of herbs, she did her best to banish the sensation of lethargy seeping into her bones, shaking herself out of its grabby hands to gather the strength she’d need for the coming ceremony. If there was one thing that could spark her massive reservoirs of determination, it was a sister in need— and as Nell let her gaze wash over Luce, and all the physical as well as emotional cuts and scrapes it’d taken her to get here, it was obvious Luce was certainly in need.

She didn’t have fire like her sisters, so when she lit the herbs to cleanse and purify it was with the lighter from her pocket. Blowing softly over the end of it, she let the flame peter out until a steady trail of smoke was rising from the end of the bundle before handing it off to Rio. “Take this with you, too.” Did he have enough hands for it? MAybe he could stick it in his pocket or something. Or- “I can walk with you if you need it.” Then she was on to lighting the next stick of herbs, keeping this one for herself.

Rummaging around in her pockets, Luce pulled out the shitty little Zippo lighter she kept on her. She’d never had to actually use it, but now might be the time. If her flames didn’t come, she’d find a way to make sure that this worked. One way or another, she’d get fire to burn and to hopefully, hopefully put an end to this person’s nightmare. After all this time, the weeks of work trying to gather the ingredients she needed for the ritual, she hadn’t paused to think about how they must be feeling in the middle of all this. Were they still in there? Or were they lost to the fire, like she had been? The walkie talkie on her belt buzzed and she heard Leah’s staticky confirmation. “Sounds good. We need a bit more time, but I’ll give you the signal when we’re ready.”

“Bigger is better, I’ll take your word on that. Thanks for drawing those up, Rio.” Luce said, looking closely at the runes he’d drawn. Damn. For a Scribe who claimed like he didn’t know what he was doing, they looked damn good. Like, really fucking good. And Morgan knew what she was doing, she could guide him as they set the perimeter of the ritual site. Sucking in a deep breath, she cast Nell a tense grimace of a smile before staring at the silver mortar in front of her. The ingredients were all here. She just had to… tap into the magic. Flexing her hands, she unstoppered the bottles and began to mix them together “The corrupted earth with tears to mend,” She muttered quietly to herself, trying to reach for the magic that lived within her. Fear gripped at her heart as she tried to feel the connection and found… nothing.

Leah couldn’t have taken her eyes off the corrupted phoenix if she tried. The way he moved and raged through the forest, his path clear but his goal unsolidified, it fascinated her. She wanted to take it all in, write it down and warn family members about the dangers of changing their ways. She took another step forward toward him, and suddenly, he whipped around to stare at her, flames angry and dark. For a while, there seemed to be nothing else, just two phoenixes, born of very different circumstances, staring at each other and waiting for the other to make a move. Could he sense what she was? Was he confused by her lack of fear? She took another step forward, right into the charred remnants of a tree that were still on fire. We’re the same, she was trying to tell him. We can be the same. In her time observing him, this was the first time she’d seen the phoenix still.  “We want to help you”, she said, quietly. Would he hear her? Could he understand? But as quickly as it had seemed to pause, his rage picked up again, and soon, he was barreling toward her. The radio secured at her shoulder buzzed, with Luce indicating they weren’t ready. Shit. As he ran toward her, she thought quickly, switching into her flame state.

Now they were really the same.

With the two phoenixes both engulfed by their flames, there was no solid body for the corrupted one to ram into, no destruction he could cause.  He whipped around again to look at her, and for another moment, as if there were a second of clarity. But again, it didn’t last. Leah switched back, and began running toward where the phoenix had come from, into the fiery destruction he’d been wallowing in. “We want to help you” she cried as she heard him begin to run after her.

Morgan watched Nell and Rio get to work laying the circle and burning their bundles. There was another one for her, but she hesitated to reach for it. This wasn’t an afternoon in her studio or a hopeful exercise for her peace of mind. Someone’s life was hanging in the balance. All of theirs, really, if you factored in the risks of this going sideways. What good was the energy of a dead woman with no direction? And yet. She felt useless, just standing there. Sure, she’d helped Luce work out the magic maths for the circle and organize a delegated plan, but that was theory, that was cozy. She wanted to help, if only to prove that she still could. That she hadn’t given up yet. So she picked up the last bundle and lit it up. She could smell none of the smoke that rose from the black and orange crackling ends, but she remembered her own rituals in the woods when she was trying to learn blood magic. She remembered her fear of being shut down by the universe, of being turned away by her friends, and the way her hope trembled as the smoke cleansed the hurt from her space. As she did the last thing, the only thing she could, she prayed to the earth below them that this phoenix would have his hurt wiped away too.

“I think that’s about it. Everyone ready?”

Orion had a stack of papers in his mouth, hanging on by the corner of the paper as he moved along the path, more paper in one hand and the burning herbs that Nell had passed to him in the other. He had assured Nell that he was fine, but one misstep and he would tumble. He followed Morgan’s directions, placing the runes around in a large circle and watching the other group carefully. Everyone looked incredibly focused. Just another hint that this was serious. Stuff like this must be second nature to them, yet there was a lot of care and detail put into every single step. It made sense, from what Rio knew about spells, the devil was in the details. Sometimes literally he supposed. But the smallest inaccuracy could cause horrible side effects. His chest tightened at the thought of what backlash could come if something go wrong, but he shook it off quickly. He had been injured trying to help others. It had never changed his mind before, he wasn’t about to let today freak him out.

Once the circle was complete he gave a thumbs up towards the group just in time for Morgan to ask if they were ready. Honestly, Rio had no idea if they things were ready, but he eyed the gas cans around the circle. He figured those would come into play once the spell started. “All set” Rio confirmed, moving in the circle to join with the others.

None of them were wholly fireproof anymore despite having taken their own footsteps through the flames of their existence, and Nell was no exception. Each one of those present had all weathered their own firestorms, walking straight into infernos that had every right to have felled them where they stood. But still they persisted, like the embers of a life refusing to be snuffed out despite all the gusts buffeting them from sometimes all sides. Fire was life and death, as cyclical as anything else in the magic. That’s what Nisa had tried to teach her daughters while they’d grown amongst the trees of the forest. It could steal life in a moment, burning a person out of existence until they were no more than ash on the wind, but as was the way with everything in the world it had the other face of its coin. Warmth, cauterizing, cleansing. In and of itself fire was the most alive of the elements, flickering with a spirit and will of its own. And yet that same life was so good at snuffing out others.

Nell didn’t have the fire her sisters had once wielded, so she’d thought the lessons didn’t apply to her. But she had her own flame living in her chest, the same heat that had told her to kill Montgomery and to make it hurt. The searing anger that had her digging a knife into Frank’s side, and poised to smother his own fire. Maybe they all had flames living within them, dangerous if left unchecked. Luce had left her flames to themselves since nearly a year ago to the day, or maybe it had been even longer. Nell had too. But she was watching in real time as her sister tried to reign them in, reignite them in a way that didn’t end with screams and acrid stench of burning flesh. It was enough to make Nell wonder what the peace on the other side might be like, whether she might one day give up the things fueling her flames to try her own hand at seizing it. Today wasn’t about her, though. That much she knew as she came out of the circle she’d walked to slip her hand into Luce’s for a squeeze. “We’ll make this work.” Luce wasn’t alone, and she’d be sure to remind her sister of that. Gathering her magic, she searched the corners of herself to pick up every scrap of it, knowing this spell was no small feat. She and Luce would be lucky if they didn’t pass out, let alone leave with skinned arms and a heart attack later. “You’re ready?”

Luce couldn’t help the way angry tears prickled at the corner of her eyes, helpless, unable to feel the flames that lived within her. This had to work, it had to fucking work. She needed it to work, she needed to save this person but… The words Adam had told her, when they’d posted up in the burnt out husk of a building on Scorch Street, they echoed in the back of her mind. Either I accept the dude in the mirror or I keep doing stuff that hurts everybody I care about. One of the most dude-bro things she’d heard from him, but it was true. She’d been mulling over their conversation for days now, trying to reconcile what he’d told her with the things she felt. And she’d thought… She’d thought she had this. She thought she could do this. But what if she was wrong? What if she couldn’t? What if he was wrong, what if Rio and Nell and Morgan—who had given her this second chance to change—had misplaced their faith? Her hands trembled slightly as she uncorked the bottle of ash, muttering a quiet Turkish chant over the still smoldering remains as she mixed it in. The Bloodroot followed and she mixed it all together with the pestle, the mixture crackling and sparking as she did her best to guide the magical properties of the ingredients into what she wanted, what she needed it to be. A cure. A way to end the nightmare. Redemption. Though her flames lay stubbornly still within her, Luce poured intention into the mixture until the chalice was full of a thick, smoking liquid.

Swallowing, Luce glanced up to see that Morgan and Rio had already drawn the wards, laid out the runes in their prescribed spaces around the large pyre. The bundles of herbs were smoking, filling the air with a heady scent, and all of them were waiting on… her. Luce felt Nell slip her hand into her own and she offered a nod. She wasn’t ready but she had to do this. She had to see this through. “Whatever it takes.” She said quietly as she stood up in the circle. Holding tightly onto her sister’s hand, the silver cup on the ground before them, Luce brought the walkie talkie to her mouth with her free hand. “Send him our way. We’re ready.” Now or never.

Leah ran and ran, waiting for the fuzzy confirmation that she could bring the phoenix to the clearing. She didn’t know how long they played cat and mouse, Leah switching back and forth between flame state to keep him occupied. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up. As she ran, exhaustion began to over take every part of her- her bones, her heart, her lungs- but she had to keep going. They had to help. And suddenly, when it felt that maybe she couldn’t go anymore, she heard the telltale buzz from Luce that they were ready, and without warning, she switched her path and began to run toward the clearing. The phoenix, in his effort to catch up with her, seemed to leave less of a trail of destruction than he had been in the last week or so, and she had to breath a sigh of relief at that.

It seemed like it took forever, but she finally broke through the clearing with the group of her friends, all ready and expectant to start the ritual that could end this. The phoenix seemed to pay them no mind. As they reached the center, she turned around and watched him stop and finally take in his surroundings. At least, that’s what she assumed he was doing- if he was even aware of what was going on. Regardless, with him distracted, Leah switched back into her flame state one last time, wrapping herself around the corrupted phoenix and engulfing him with her own flames. “We’re the same”, she whispered, hushed and smoky. “You’re not alone.”

Nell’s first reaction upon seeing Leah and the corrupted phoenix was one of ‘fight’, muscles tensing as she prepared to dodge a fireball that may or may not be coming her way, and dive in headlong to try and subdue the phoenix. But that’s not why they were here. They weren’t fighting today, they were cleansing, purifying— and violence could never truly grant either of those. Killing a problem wasn’t the same as healing from it, and wasn’t that obvious in the way her past choices seemed to never let her be? Maybe Luce should have asked Bea to help with the phoenix. Bea could be warm in the way the flip side of fire was meant to be, she’d know how to burn out the bad without incinerating the whole. Sure— Nell knew her plants and practical magic, but what good were those when she was home to an unsteady heart? If her intentions wavered, if she didn’t focus on the right things...would the phoenix simply rise to an even bigger and angrier inferno than it was now?

Thankfully Nell’s sister by her side, and Leah’s embrace of the other phoenix served as a reminder that she wasn’t all sharp edges and bloody hands. She had a family. And even though a bulk of it had left in the form of the coven, friends that had needed to find their own way beyond the town lines of White Crest, and even Bex who had fled in a fear Nell was still struggling to process— she could see her family reflected in the faces present. Luce by blood, Morgan by choice, Leah by upbringing, even Rio at times with the way he was ready and willing to help anyone who so much as glanced in his direction. Surely anyone who had a family was worth something? To have people who loved you was no easy feat. Did the phoenix have people that had loved him before? Leah loved him even now as he tried to burn the world to ash, caught in between her arms. Maybe there was another choice that could be made. As cliche as it may be, love was a cleanser, a healer, a purifier. And Nell knew how to do that even if she wasn’t always adept at it. That would be her focus point for the spell.

With a smattering of her own Turkish words Nell fueled the wards to life, letting her magic blaze through them so that the area was safely contained. Nowadays, she most often used Latin for her spellcasting, skipping the extra step of translation when she could. But if this were to be a spell of love she’d used the tongue her sister had used, the one her father had told stories in. Taking Luce’s other hand in her own, she placed their joined hands on the outside of the chalice, folding her palms over Luce’s while they cradled the silver between them. Leah had said it best, and she borrowed the words from the phoenix to lend to Luce, the soft Tukish private between them while she let her magic and intentions flow. “We’re the same.” They’d both been lost. Both desperately trying to claw their way out of the prisons they’d made for themselves out of their past deeds. But maybe with this, with the cleansing of the phoenix- at least Luce could be found. It was hard to remember that there were hands waiting on the other side of one’s self-made bars, people simply waiting for you to reach out and hold on tight. Nell wasn’t sure which of them was raising the other from perdition anymore, but she knew it was as one. “You’re not alone.”

The phoenix looked even worse than the first time Luce and Adam had seen them. Him, she realized. The phoenix was a man wreathed in brilliant, unnatural flames that seemed to flare around him in a malevolent glow. He stared at the clearing-- perhaps a moment of recognition for a place he’d already brought ruin upon, perhaps trying to puzzle out what the ritual space was for. Either way, Leah took advantage of the distraction and, cloaked in her own flames, she held onto him tightly. Her brilliant flames clashed against the ominous vermillion fire that surrounded the other phoenix. Luce felt Nell’s fingers tighten around her own and together they picked up the chalice, the magic coursing between them.

Luce could feel the wards glow, the paper Rio had drawn them on smoldering away to nothing until the burning runes were etched into the earth. And as Nell’s magic funneled into the chalice, Luce nearly let out a gasp as… the embers within her began to stir. The flames were weak, nonexistent. But the connection, the magic, it was there. For the first time in six months, she could feel the magic that had forsaken her. She reached for it cautiously, her spirit fanning the flame as carefully as she could to try and coax the spark back to life. “We’re the same.” Luce echoed as she stared at the phoenix held by Leah’s flames. She could see the fear in his eyes, the fear that was seared into his soul. As he strained against Leah, she knew she had been right. He wasn’t afraid of them, but of himself.

“You’re not alone.” Luce said, her voice rising as she let the magic flow through her fingertips into the chalice. The mixture continued to smoke and smolder and she knew that fire should be burning from the cup. But the flames wouldn’t come. No matter how hard she tried. “You’re not alone! We just want to help. Please, let us help you!” She called to the phoenix. Take our help, let me help, do what I never did, please.

Pain ran through Bernard’s body as the flames that weren’t his own burned around him-- frustration, rage, fear, they mixed together within him, the only thing he’d known for the past… how long? How long had he been like this? Days? Weeks? Months? He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything. He remembered erupting from the earth, tearing away from that cursed echoing place as fast as he could. It was a blur of fire and flames and pain and blood. And the voice, the voice, it followed him everywhere he ran. Whispering sometimes, shouting at others. All it wanted was for the world to burn. And he was powerless to it. People, animals, all who were caught in his path, they… crumbled to nothing. And all he could do was shriek in agony as his own cursed flames continued to burn. He couldn’t stop them, was powerless to the darkness that ran rampant within his body. The voice that wasn’t his own rang in his mind through all hours of the day, screaming at him to burn this place to the ground. It was the voice he’d fled from when he’d first awoken in this new body, the voice that still chased him.

And even now, it was shrieking at him. Burn the girl, burn them all, cast their bones to ash, let the flames consume this town. Let all become fire, let all become ruin.

But, a different voice-- the first voice he’d heard that wasn’t a strangled scream-- it made its way to his ear. “We’re the same.” A soft voice, whispering, pleading, “You’re not alone.” Fighting every instinct in his body, Bernard was able to tilt his head in the barest of nods. He did his best to regain control over the fire that raged around his body, to fight the voice within him. “Help me, help me.” He whispered to the woman whose arms were wrapped around him, “End-- end this.”

As the man struggled and strained against Leah’s hold, it began to feel hopeless. Already exhausted from their run through the forest, she knew she couldn’t hold onto him for much longer. And with no one else there able to withstand the flames, she wondered, briefly, if it had been a mistake for Luce to ask her for help, at least with this part. She was never strong- always swift and agile and smart. Perhaps Alfie would have been better for something like this. But then, he seemed to respond. A hint of a nod was all it took for Leah to gain her confidence back. This was working, and they were going to fix this. Together. She was not alone.  Carefully, she unwrapped her arms around his body, instead, choosing to hold his forearms for guidance. Gently, she guided him onto the pyre. Though he still seemed to struggle, it was a lot easier to guide him up than it had been to hold him in place. She wondered if he was fighting too, now. Somewhere deep inside. She noticed the chalice shared between Nell and Luce, smoking and smoldering and beckoning to help. “I know it’s hard”, she said again, more firm this time. “But we think this will fix it. You have to try and drink this, okay? Drinking it will help. We’re going to help you get better, but first you have to drink it.” She continued to whisper these affirmations in his ear, willing him to continue to fight through the flames. “We’re all here to help you.”

Nell could feel the moment her sister’s magic sputtered into existence. She’d be able to recognize her sister’s magic anywhere. Such was the bond of countless spells done as one in their youth, and the few they’d done together in the last year and a half. It felt like someone waving her home from the front porch, far more comforting than something as tangible as physical touch could ever achieve. This was the two of them truly coming together as one for the sake of another. For the sake of her sister. For the sake of the phoenix in Leah’s arms. “We’re gonna make it,” Nell told Luce, giving her the words she too needed to hear the most. There was an end, and they’d found it. They were so close. So close to that win. So close to doing something good. Just let the past die, and then Luce could be free.

Luce watched as the phoenix allowed himself to be brought towards the pyre she’d built in the center of the glowing runes. His flames licked at the wood, straining to ignite the wooden structure. She could feel the heat of it from here-- she couldn’t let Nell get any closer, not when the flames were this hot. Nell didn’t have the same resilience she did. “We’re gonna do this. But I’m not letting you get hurt.” Luce said. “Step back, Nellie, please.I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you-- without any of you,” She said looking to Rio, to Morgan, even to Leah. “But I’ve gotta do this.” With that, she pulled the chalice gently from Nell’s hands, and followed Leah and the phoenix up the pyre. And as the phoenix’s cursed flames began to consume the wood, Luce took a deep breath and followed.

“Leah, you should back up. I don’t know what the wards might do if there are two phoenixes here.” Luce said as she held the chalice up, hands shaking slightly. The silver cup was still smoking, but she could feel the energy thrumming inside her. She could feel her magic lying in wait, but for what? She was trying so hard, the need to draw upon the magic was almost overwhelming. The flames were searing, painful in a way that fire had never felt for her. Not since she was a child, before she’d fully gained control of her magic. Luce swallowed as she stood next to the phoenix and, as she lifted the silver cup to his mouth, she saw him for the first time. Dark black eyes stared at her in desperation, the irises ringed in glowing red flames like the sun during an eclipse. Those eyes stared at her, consumed by fear and anguish and then-- a flicker, something dark flashed over his face. A tongue of flame shot from the phoenix’s body and curled around her left arm and Luce let out a scream of pain as the fire sizzled against her flesh. Agony shot up through her and her grip on the chalice loosened as she stumbled backwards, the flame retreating back to the phoenix’s body.

“We’re going to help you.” Luce panted, her fingers wrapping around the cup once more. “You’re not alone. This isn’t you and this,” She gasped in pain, the searing sensation still present within her, “This isn’t the end. You’re not alone.” Luce said. As she spoke, the burning heat grew within her. And that was when it hit her. The warmth was familiar. “Benim alevlerim.” She breathed and watched as the chalice blossomed with blue flames. “Drink. Please, drink.” Luce said and pressed the cup against the phoenix’s lips, tipping it back before staggering down the burning pyre. She retreated to where the others stood safely at the edge of the wards to wait and to watch.

Bernard drank. And for a moment, nothing changed. These people they’d tried, they’d failed. And he would be-- his eyes flicked open as the pain mounted to new, unimaginable heights. It felt as though he’d swallowed the sun, that the light was burning him from the inside out. The voice that had shouted at him, it was screaming again. But now, it screamed in pain, agony, as the sun continued to burn. His mouth opened to scream but all that escaped was a plume of blue flame. Instinctively, he shut his mouth and curled in on himself, hugging his burning body. Meanwhile, the blue flames crawling over his skin, over the pyre, overwhelming the cursed red flames. For a long moment, pain was all that filled Bernard’s mind. And then, there was nothing at all.

Things seemed to be going to plan. At least, Orion hoped that they were. None of the actual spell experts seemed to be freaking out, so Rio had mostly taken that as a good sign and held back. He silently observed, a worried line drawn across his face. The concern only grew as the Leah showed up with the Phoenix. Up until now, everything that Rio had witnessed had just been preparation. With the phoenix here, the true spell began. He stood just on the edge of the wards they had constructed, nervously fiddling with his fingers to keep himself still. But he couldn’t take his eyes off of Luce and the phoenix. Even from back here, Rio could feel the rise in temperature associated with the phoenixes flames. He pressed against his skin, warning of the heat. How could Luce handle being that close to it? His entire body tensed as the flame surged towards Luce. He almost jolted forward, but stopped himself at the last second. She was trying to get away. He needed to trust that Luce knew better for this than he did and let her do what needed to be done.Flames seemed to be consuming him, a bright, glowing red that made Rio clench at his heart. It looked so incredibly painful. “Oh my god.” He muttered, mostly to himself. If tears poured down Rio’s face he did nothing to stop them, he could only stare at the scene as the man screamed, only for blue flames to erupt. That blue soon took over the red, covering every inch of the man and becoming too bright for Rio to stare at any longer. He covered his eyes, glancing away from the scene in fear that he would go blind completely.

Luce was right, and Leah stepped out of the circle, toward Rio and Morgan. She switched out of her flame state in the process, and found a safe space behind her friends while still holding a good view of the action at the pyre. She couldn’t take her eyes off of everything that was going on, not even if she tried. She could see the pain inside the phoenix, almost as if she were sensing it within her heart. His flames, red and unnatural, looked like an illness that needed to be cured. How she wished she could run back in and hold him again. The flames seemed never ending but not at all stable; all encompassing but not all warm. And with the eruption of more and more of them, Leah was worried if too much damage had already been done. She couldn’t look away, but her heart was begging her to.

For a while, it seemed as though the fire would never end. It looked as though the flames would continue to spiral and battle against one another, locked in a continuous battle until the pyre that fueled the blaze crumpled to ash. But, Luce watched as her blue flames over took the phoenix’s own iridescent fire and then… She let out a gasp as the man sank to his knees and then crumpled to the ground. The fire continued to rage around him, consuming the wooden pyre. Meanwhile, the runes that formed the wards continued to glow, the lines brilliant and blue. Just the same shade as her flames. And then, almost as quickly as it had started-- the flames burnt out. In their place was nothing but a pile of ash.

Blinking in the sudden darkness, Luce held up her uninjured hand and reached tentatively for the magic. But her fears were unfounded, as vibrant blue flame jumped to the palm of her hand. “Is he… Do you think he’s alright?” She asked the others, voice hoarse from the smoke she’d inhaled.

There was little Nell could do as she watched her sister dive into the flames along with the phoenix, and she couldn’t help the protective step she made towards the center of the circle while the fire sizzled around Luce’s arm. It wasn’t unheard of for the Vurals to throw themselves into the center of an inferno for their sisters, but the more rational voice in her head quelled the emotional response, reminding her that she wouldn’t so much as get within a few feet of Luce before burning to a crisp. And what help would that be? Nell would be incinerated, the wards would fall, and Luce and the phoenix would be worse off than when this had started. Nell filled her now empty hand with Leah’s no longer flaming one, the familiar warmth of a fire being granting her another form of comfort.

The wards stayed strong as Nell kept the flow of her magic constant, using her worry of Luce to fuel the glowing runes. After all, that stemmed from love as well, and thus it would rightly serve the spell. Finally the flames subsided, and Nell was free to move forwards after watching the phoenix fall to ash on the ground. Just as any phoenix would at the end of their lifecycle. It had killed him? This was the cleansing that he’d needed? Death? Surely there were less permanent ways to purify? But death was anything but permanent for a phoenix. Or at least...it was meant to be. They hadn’t actually killed him, had they? “I…” This couldn’t be the result of all their efforts— all of Luce’s efforts. She’d needed to do something good, something that helped the phoenix, not end its cycle. “Wait- I think- is it moving?” Or had it only been her hopeful eye that thought she spotted a sign of life beneath the gray?

While the explosion of bright blue and radioactive red flames was all encompassing, the silence and emptiness that followed their burnout was even more-so. Leah looked between her friends, first to Nell, who’s hand she gave a tight squeeze back, then to Rio and Morgan, and finally to Luce. Luce, who had worked so hard to save the phoenix- ...she didn’t want to disappoint her. But in Leah’s experience, a pile of ash only meant one thing. She looked down at what was left of the phoenix, his ashes still and unmoving. Perhaps this was what was meant to happen all along. The ritual was meant to get rid of the illness- did it presume that the only way to rid one of corruption was through… death? It seemed too morbid. Too unfair. Tears filled her eyes as she looked back to Luce, ready to break the news to her. It wouldn’t be fair to get her hopes up if there was none to have. “I think...he might be d-”, but she stopped, interrupted by Nell’s observation. Her eyes shot back to the pile of ashes, sensing the tiniest pile of movement for herself. “Wait, -what?”

The scent of ash filled Bernard’s lungs as he shifted among the dust and debris. His fingers curled around the fine grains of dust and he began to crawl out from under the pile, his head emerging. He was covered in soot, his body ached, and he felt so, so cold. But, the world was blissfully, wonderfully silent. His mind was silent. The voice that had echoed in his head had been burned clean and now… Now he was whole again. Exhaustion and relief washed over him in equal measure and Bernard was able to lift his head up for a brief moment to take in the small cluster of people staring at him. He offered a weak smile before his eyes rolled back up into his head and he collapsed, unconscious once more. 

Morgan had watched the proceedings in petrified silence. She understood how badly Luce needed this and as she huddled closer between Leah and Rio, she started to accept that she might need this too. There was so much suffering on this miserable rock of a planet and so much that couldn’t be helped no matter how much money or good vibes you threw out there. But maybe this could be different. Maybe this one witch and this one broken bird could do better for a little while. She stared at the clump of ash on the ground, bracing herself for the worst. “Leah, don’t…” she whispered. If this was another cosmic fuck you, Luce wouldn’t need to be told. And then he moved.

“Shit, Nell’s right. He’s moving, she’s right!” She grabbed Leah, squeezing tight and looked at Luce. Whatever she was holding against the witch didn’t matter just then. There was only relief and understanding. “Guess you’re better than you thought after all,” she said. “So, who’s helping to carry Mr. Firebird? I don’t think he’ll like his feet dragging on the ground if I lift him by myself.”

Seeing the shift in the pile of ashes finally let Orion take a breath of relief that seemed to be shared by everyone in the group. This hasn’t been in vain. It had been dangerous, and exhausting and at times even seemed a bit hopeless. But when the pile of ashes shifted and everyone’s gone shifted from solemn to overwhelming relief, it all seemed worth it. “Holy crap.” Rio breathed, too giddy to stay still. He bounced on his feet, still a bit apprehensive to move anywhere in case the spell wasn’t completely finished. But Morgan spoke first, suggesting they carry the man away from the spell site and back towards civilization. If she was confirming it, then that meant that it was done. “We really did it.” Rio spoke again aloud, not trying to hide the surprise. “You really did it.” He repeated, directed towards Luce this time. Maybe it had been a time effort, but she had gotten the ball rolling. And from the looks of it, she had paid a price. “I’ll help carry him. Someone should help Luce too.”

Time seemed to slow as Luce stared at the pile of ash, unblinking. Waiting. Had she killed someone else? Had all of her effort and time and energy and intention meant nothing? Had she taken another life, an innocent life? An eternity stretched on as she stared at the pile. And then. Relief. Luce felt her legs buckle as the man lifted his head from the ashes and stared at them, his face illuminated in the glowing flames that rose from her hand. Normal eyes, no longer ringed in fire. Her blue flames sputtered and went out as Luce sank to the ground next to Nell, her hand still clutched in her sisters. She let out a shaking, shuddering breath as she sat on the ground. They’d done it. The ritual had worked. He was okay. And somehow, in the midst of it all, her magic was back.

“Holy shit. We did it.” She breathed as she glanced up at the others. “Thank you… All of you guys. This wouldn’t… None of it could have happened without you. Thank you.” She murmured. Her entire body ached, she felt absolutely drained, and her arm was filled with a burning pain she hadn’t felt since she was a little girl, but none of it mattered right now. She’d done it. They’d done it. 

[ze-veemonator]

THE TIIIIMMEEE HAS COME!!

so, i typed out burnie and peter's first kiss 👀👀

Soft Fluff Ahead!!!! Hope ye enjoy!!

No Warnings; Just Fluff

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Peter strummed his acoustic guitar off-tune, trying to read the sheet music from the beaten up pages on the floor. Burnette, Kurt and Raven passed by, and on hearing the noise, she stopped at his door. She recognized the melody he was trying to recreate.

"You guys go on ahead, I'm gonna help him a little bit."

"Ooo! have fun, Burnie!" Kurt purred excitedly.

Burnette rolled her eyes and knocked on Peter's door. No sooner than she knocked for the first time, he was there and staring her in the eye.

"Hey Burnie! Been a while." he beamed joyfully. He reminded her of an excited puppy.

"Yeah. I've been trying to make some friends."

"That's good! Who've you got so far?"

"Raven, Kurt, Scott and Ororo thus far. I don't think Logan likes me much. Hank's a pain and Jubilee is, well, Jubilee. She has a lot of energy."

Peter shrugged and pursed his lips in a "fair enough" way.

"I heard you playing. I didn't know you had an acoustic guitar."

"Yeah! Hey, actually, would you like to play, with... me?" Peter asked shyly, thinking she was just going to leave.

"Sure. You have an extra guitar?"

"Yeah!"

Peter stepped back into his room and waved her in. She followed him in and sat down in front of him. She crossed her legs crisscrossed and took the electric guitar from Peter's hands.

"Careful with it."

"You don't have to tell me twice. This is a beautiful instrument."

"Yeah it is."

"So, let's play, eh?"

Burnette turned the paper towards her and began reading the sheet music. She pressed her lips together disappointedly and looked up at Peter.

"This isn't the acoustic's sheet music, dumdum. thas why it sounded wrong."

Peter dropped his eyebrows, annoyed at the idea of being called a "dumdum". He hissed that he knew that, which made Burnette scoff doubtfully. He got up and walked over to his dresser drawer, rummaging through sheet music pages. Burnette began looking around the room. She took notes of the Nirvana posters and the Pink Floyd merch he had. It was a rocker's dream bedroom, which confused Burnette.

If he's into these rock bands, then why on earth was he trying to play a Metallica song? she asked herself mentally.

He had found the pages and let out a small "aha!" He walked back over to her and hovered over her. for a split second, he looked sexy to her. She shoved the thought out of her mind immediately, but it found its way back in. With his slim fitting pac-man tee and his leather pants, his focused and trained eyes.

Nonono. Don't go down that road, woman. Not with Maximoff.

"You ready?"

Burnette snapped her head swiftly, redirecting her attention to the situation at hand.

"Yeah! You got the right sheet music this time?" she jabbed.

"Oh, haha, funny. Yes, I have the right page."

"Good, then let's get started."

Peter opened up the song and strummed the strings in tune with the notes. The song they were playing was "Nothing Else Matters", by Metallica. As they neared the opening verse, Burnette contemplated on singing along. Once they were there, she couldn't stop herself.

"So close, no matter how far. Couldn't be much more from the heart. Forever, I trust in who we are. And nothing else matters."

Peter looked up at her, shocked to hear her sing. She continued into the second verse, captivating him with her low tones and sweet sounding voice. Her vocals were smooth with a feminine deepness to it. She raised her pitch when they arrived at the chorus.

"Never cared for what they do. Never cared for what they know. But I know."

Burnette was too focused to notice Peter's ability to keep up. Peter's heart glided with Burnette's voice as it bended in pitch with the song. With every second, he was falling farther and farther in love with her. He began seeing her with a beautiful diamond ring around her finger. He began planning his life with her from the second chorus on. Burnette had started taking note of his skills and watched his fingers slide across the strings with elegance and dexterity.

"Not bad, Maximoff. Think we can go all the way?" Burnette asked during the instrumental interlude.

Peter jerked his head up to her.

"Yeah! I mean, I can. can you?"

Burnette scoffed amusedly. She shook her head and picked up the singing.

"Never opened myself this way. This life is ours, we live it our way. Oh, these words I don't just say. And nothing else matters!"

"Trust I seek, and I find in you. Everyday for us, something new. Open mind for a different view. And nothing else matters!"

"Never cared for say! Never cared for games they play!"

"Never cared for what they do! Never cared for what they know!"

"And I know!!! Yeah-heah!"

They jammed out and played the song by memory alone. He was greatly impressed by her skills on the electric guitar, finding even more reasons to fall in love. As the song drew to a close and softened in tone, Burnette and Peter's eyes met and locked.

"So close, no matter how far. Couldn't be much more from the heart. Forever I trust in who you are. No, nothing else matters..." Burnette sung while peering into Peter's eyes.

The music trailed off and there was a moment of silence where Burnette and Peter stared at each other. While she lost herself in his dark chocolate eyes, he felt his soul being pierced by her steel blue eyes. He was so in love with her. He started to lean in towards her, angling his face to kiss her. She turned her head to the side, hesitant to let him closer. Her heart pounded within her chest. He stopped, and simply stared into her eyes. They were like two abysses, swallowing her whole. They pleaded with her to let him in. to let him get close. She had never seen more beautiful eyes than Peter's. She had never seen a softer, gentler gaze from anyone aside Peter. He began inching closer to her again. But this time, she didn't turn away. Instead, she turned towards him, slowly closing her eyes as he lessened the gap between them. His lips touched hers gently then molded to them perfectly. Her bottom lip was rough from being bitten at constantly as a form of coping with her anxiety and ptsd. His lips were soft and sweet against her scarred and torn lips. Peter was the one to pull away with Burnette following him for a moment then let him go. They opened their eyes and gazed heavily at each other. Burnette had never been kissed before, so she had no idea how to respond. Reality set in for her and it hit her hard.

you kissed him!! why did you do that!? what were you thinking!?!?

She sighed and ducked her head momentarily. after collecting her thoughts, she raised her eyes to meet his.

"And that is how you play 'Nothing Else Matters'."

"Burnette-"

"I have to go."

"Burnette, wait!"

Burnette left the room and closed the door behind her, not even looking back. Peter let her go, knowing that he wouldn't be able to talk to her about it at that time.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Welcome to Backwater ch.14 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Hey, Stretch might hate to see Edge leaving, but he sure does love to watch him walk away.

~~*~~

Read ‘All In The Jeans’ on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Stretch let Edge lead him outside, towards the winding front walkway. But instead of heading down the stone path to where Stretch’s bike was sitting there like a steampunk nightmare invading their gingerbread fairytale, he drew Stretch down to sit on the front steps of the porch. The bricks were soothingly cool beneath him in the waning heat of the day and Edge sat next to him, his knee bumping lightly against Stretch’s.

“You don’t have to rush off just yet,” Edge told him quietly. “There’s still some time before sunset.” He still had a hold on Stretch’s hand and a bony thumb rubbed gently across the backs of his knuckles. “But you looked like you needed some air.”

“yeah,” Stretch agreed, numbly. He stared down at yard in front of him, the riotously colorful flowerbeds amidst rocky outcroppings that led their way up the little hill to the house. It was a little cooler here in the woods out of the stark sun overhead in town, closer to another season than summer or so it felt to him. It was all so inviting, welcoming, and his first thought upon seeing it that this was a trap of some sort seemed a little insulting now that he’d been fed and released. He’d eaten Red’s food, hell, moved right into his home without a qualm, and a well-kept cabin in the woods was where he drew the line?

But then, it wasn’t the house where the real problems lay, was it, it was the people living in it.

Monsters and a Human from another multiverse, again, and not just any Monsters, but another set of mirror images here in the Aboveground. He’d been worried about a Stephen King effect around this place and it turned out he should’ve been more concerned with Isaac Asimov, ‘cause the shift from gothic horror to sci-fi was not one he’d been braced for, with a ‘little invasion of the body snatchers’ vibe tossed in for extra flavor.

Only, that wasn’t fair, was it. Doppelgängers, Edge had mentioned earlier almost like it was a joke, but it was true, just like Sans and Papyrus were and he’d adjusted to them okay. It hadn’t been easy hanging out with someone who wore his brother’s face, but he’d adjusted. And despite the somewhat otherworldly location, these guys had been nothing but kind to Stretch, kinder than the Humans who’d greeted them when they’d popped out from the mountain, for sure.

Hell, Red took him in like a mama dog adopting a stray kitten. The glossy veneer of Stretch’s knowledge-dump panic was cracking and with it his weird sense of numbness, the void it left behind filling with dawning horror.

They were the only three who got out, Frisk said, they’d lost everything and everyone, and fled all the way here, and Stretch was the one about to have a panic attack about it. Exactly what kind of asshole was he trying to be here?

When Sans and Papyrus showed up under similar circumstances, he and Blue opened their lives and homes to them, all tea and sympathy. Well, mostly the tea was from Blue, but still. He was out here in Backwater crying in his soup over a breakup and he couldn’t even dredge up some compassion for versions 2.0?

“i’m sorry,” Stretch blurted thoughtlessly. He turned his hand in Edge’s, shifting to grip his slender fingers tightly. Bare bones against bare bones, weirdly intimate for all that they were only holding hands. He didn’t think he’d ever touched another skeleton like this except his own brother, back when he was little and Stretch was still trying to keep him from running off after every other damn shiny thing he ever saw.

Holding Edge’s hand was a lot different than trying to hang on to his squirmy wormy little brother. Edge only held on just as tight, his brow bone furrowing. “You don’t need to apologize, it’s a lot to take in. You’re honestly taking this all much better than I expected. Theorizing about a multiverse is a great deal different than being confronted with living specimens.”

“no, not that. i get that. i mean—i’m sorry.” Stretch waved his free hand around them vaguely, trying to indicate the entire world with one helpless gesture, “for everything. it must’ve been rough.”

Yeah, nice to see that Stretch’s gift for understatement hadn’t been affected by his personal traumas. Rough was a really great way of describing being the only survivors of their entire world. Next, he’d describe water as slightly damp, maybe fire could be ‘a little burny’.

Edge’s expression cleared, a certain tightness forming around his sockets. “Ah.” He looked away, eye lights rising to the sky where scattered pools of blue showed through the leafy branches. His eye lights were the orangey-red glow of a banked campfire, the crack running through his left socket lent him a sort of strangely thoughtful look. “It’s all right, it was a long time ago for us.”

“about ten years, right?” Stretch winced inwardly, yeah, sure, keep on talking about his painful past, that was a great payback for a yummy dinner. “i mean, that’s what i got from the book you gave me.”

“Yes,” Edge agreed. He didn’t seem to mind talking about it, maybe time really did pad on the emotional distance; Stretch’d have to check back on his own history in a couple years, give his memories a poke and see what bruises came back. “A third of my lifetime.”

Huh. If the math was right, that actually put Edge as a little older than him, who would’ve thunk it, the little brother mythos tipped on its axis, just for him.

Edge slanted a considering glance his way. “We knew other Monsters came to the surface. I kept tabs on the news from the world outside Backwater, just in case—” he hesitated and whatever awful scenario he was thinking about got lost in a shrug. “Well. Just in case. We saw you and your brother on the news with the other Human, and realized you were from a different Underground. They referred to you as Papyrus and Sans then and before you ask, we’d already changed our names before you came to the surface. When we came to this town, actually, and if you ask me why, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Sometimes in Backwater, certain things simply make sense. One day, everyone started calling me Edge and that’s who I’ve been since.”

He stretched his long legs out in front of him, his slim, bare feet next to Stretch’s grubby sneakers. Edge’d changed out of his grimy gardening clothes before dinner into a fresh t-shirt, still only plain black but the way it clung to his ribcage and along the line of his broad shoulders was worth a second look. His jeans, too, and Stretch was hyper aware of his own baggie shorts and t-shirt that declared he was the taco king of Minnesota, of the differences between them.

“so you already knew about me,” Stretch said, “i mean, before i got here.” There was an unfair advantage if he’d ever heard one.

“In the abstract, yes,” Edge shrugged. “It didn’t seem very important until you showed up in my brother’s living room and tried to hit me with a lamp.”

Fair. Stretch looked back at their feet, at the visibly healed cracks in Edge’s metatarsals, nothing at all like his own undamaged bones. He understood the multiverse theory, wasn’t exactly that complicated. In theory, he and Edge were different version of the same person, each another facet to a complex jewel; that was the theory, anyway. After hanging out with Sans and Papyrus, Stretch had a few theories of his own and the most important one was one he wanted to be sure Edge understood.

“you aren’t really me, you know that, right? not me me.” It seemed important to him that Edge knew that or maybe Stretch had it backwards, maybe it should be that he wasn’t Edge, since Edge was here first by several years. He sort of had dibs, didn’t he.

For some reason, that statement made one corner of Edge’s mouth curled up in a smirk. “That seems rather obvious,” Edge said dryly. “For one, as fascinating as you seem to find my jeans, you wouldn’t fit in them very well.”

“no!” Stretch sputtered, holy shit, abort, abort, do not look at his hips right now, do not do it, “i mean in the context of the multiverse! like how chara and frisk are alike, right? they look alike, but believe you me, chara ain’t like frisk. you and me, we might’ve had the same names once, but we aren’t the same, not really.”

“Chara and Frisk have some ten years of distance between their ages that might account for that,” Edge pointed out, “but I’m no scientist, not even on the weekends. It isn’t me you should be discussing this with.”

Then who…? “i’ve got some data to back it up, i’ve met someone else from another multiverse, you know. two someones, other versions of…well…us.”

Well, now, looked like it was Edge’s turn for a shock, how about that, nice to see it on someone else’s face for a change. “You have?”

“yeah. another set of Sans-and-Papyrus skeleton brothers ended up with us before we ever got the surface. they wanted to stay out of the news and the queen let ‘em.” Stretch shrugged, “i don’t know all their story, they don’t like to talk about it. but it’s been a couple years since they showed up and we definitely aren’t very similar past being skeletons and having brothers.” For one, Blue might not cook as well as Edge, but at least his spaghetti never landed anyone in the hospital with acute food poisoning like some other skeletons who would not be named coughpapyruscough.

But Edge didn’t seem interested in another set of skeleton brothers to add to the collection, not even in the interest of making a full six-pack. He’d shifted to his knees and faced Stretch, his sockets wide, “There’s another Human that fell, then? Into their Underground?” Edge asked, urgently.

“probably, but not that came with them,” Stretch shook his head, “i. uh. i get the feeling their story is a little like yours, only more so and a lot more recent.”

That urgency faded. “Ah.�� Edge settled back to sit on the step again. “I see.”

Stretch didn’t ask why Edge was so interested in there being another Human kid, that was a surefire way to wander off the path, but he made a mental note about it. “what i’m getting at is, you knew who i was when you first saw me. what i was.”

“I’m hardly going to mistake the framework of my own face.”

Yeah, see, that was another mark in the column of the differences between the ‘verses not simply being nature vs nurture, but them being different people entirely despite the whole names-and-also-skeleton thing, ‘cause Stretch had been looking at his own face in the mirror for a long damn time and he didn’t look like Edge, fuck no, he’d be the first person to know if he was that gorgeous.

Probably better not to bring that up. “and you guys have been here on the surface for ten years now, taking care of the town, and you never tried to contact anyone?”

Edge only shrugged. “What was the point? It isn’t as if we actually knew any of you. I expected that more Monsters would find us eventually and you did.”

“yeah, by accident.”

Edge slanted him another look, coolly raising a browbone, “You’ve been in Backwater a little while now. Do you truly believe you’re here completely by accident?”

Yeah, okay, that was a pretty good point. “but if you were expecting other monsters to show up eventually, then why didn’t you want me to stay?”

“Maybe because my brother was very quick to adopt a person who is wearing something like my face?” That stung and Stretch looked away, his fingers going helplessly stiff in their shared grip. “Or maybe because the longer you stay, the less likely you’ll be able to leave,” Edge sighed. “That’s how Backwater is.”

“wait.” Hold on, back that up. “you can’t leave?”

“I didn’t say that.” Yeah, and that was a backpedal if Stretch ever heard one. “Frisk has willingly tied their life to this town, and I’m sworn to protect them. I can hardly do that from another city.”

“but nothing is physically stopping you from leaving.” Because if the corn was gonna sprout little legs and come after him if he drank the water here too long, that would be important information to have.

“Where would I go?” Edge countered. “Back to Ebott? Unlike my brother and I, you have ties there. We do not and I’ve very little interest in revisiting the mountain ten years away from it. I have everything I’ve ever needed right here and as for wants, I’ve long since accepted the truth.”

There was a certain bitterness there and Stretch should let it go, he’d already poked that wound enough. He should, but he still ended up asking, softly, “what truth?”

“That sometimes people don’t get what’s coming to them.” The words were so loaded that Stretch winced and hunched down, almost expecting to hear a gunshot. Instead, Edge sighed, let his anger go on an exhaled breath and he sounded calmer as he asked, “Now you’ve heard my secrets. What about you?”

“me?” Stretch snorted. He kept his gaze on the flowerbeds, tracing the flat round stones of the path, and did not meet Edge’s crimson gaze. “heh, you guys are determined to ferret something out, aren’t you. i keep telling you, i don’t have any secrets. my boyfriend dumped me, and it brought me down, couldn’t get past it, so i left town. ended up here…i should be writing this down, it’s like the start of a country song. shame i don’t have a truck.”

“You’d look terrible in a cowboy hat. And your soul?” Edge asked, gentle but implacable.

“that’s not a secret,” Stretch muttered, “i just don’t want to talk about it.” He’d talked about it plenty back in Ebott, for all the good it did him, and he’d hoped to leave those chats behind when he got on the bus.

“Fair enough,” Edge tugged on his hand suddenly, pulling Stretch to his feet, “Come on.”

He barely gave Stretch a minute to catch his balance before he started to run, heedless of his bare feet as Stretch stumbling on after him. His brief, absurd surge of fear that they were, ‘oh, fuck, running from something,’ faded as Edge laughed aloud, pulling him past trees and through flowerbeds, around the corner of the house into the backyard again. Off to the side of the garden beneath a large tree was a massive pile of fallen leaves in a messy sprawl of browns and golds, and Stretch only realized what Edge intended when it was too late to stop him, barely stuttering out a “wait--!” before he leapt and yanked Stretch along with him.

They landed together in a cacophony of brittle crunching and the blinding, whispering surge of leaves launching into the air. Stretch sputtered and flailed, wallowing in the pile that was somehow soft and weirdly crisp at the same time, billowing around him as he floundered.

Somehow, he managed to find out which way was upright again and burst out on the surface, swimming through leaves, and through the madness, he could hear Edge laughing, that deep, rich voice sharing out happiness. For the first time in what felt like an endless dry spell, his soul felt like it was full, joy pouring into it, filling up the empty space in his chest.

“you’re crazy,” Stretch laughed, spitting out a leaf, and watched as Edge flopped back in the leaves, arms and legs moving and sending up another wild swirl of crunchy browns and golds.

“Perhaps,” Edge called, raising his voice over the cronch. “But I made you smile.”

“the technique could use work, but i can’t argue with the results.” He looked up and for the first time, Stretch noticed that not all the trees here were loaded with green. His grin slowly faded. “the leaves are falling.”

“Yes,” Edge’s smile eased down, understanding dawning, and he shuffled through the leaves to Stretch, reaching for him, “It’s a late summer heat right now, but yes. The corn is ripe, autumn is coming and soon.”

Autumn was coming, too fast, and there was nothing Stretch could do to stop it, but that didn’t mean he had to let it go. He was a little sick of letting things just happen around him and Backwater was getting him into the habit of doing something about it. “i want to see edgar allen again. you think if i went back to the field, the corn would give me a pass?”

“I think that a visit can be arranged without that being an issue.” Between the two of them, they managed to wade out of the pile onto solid ground, both of them shedding leaves as Edge headed back into the garden. He skirted the wall of sunflowers, leading Stretch deeper into the rows. Right into a small patch of corn, the tips of the leaves already yellowed and curling.

Stretch stopped abruptly, his sneakers sinking into the soft soil as he stared, “is that…?” In the middle of the little field there was a scarecrow hanging from a crossbar. It looked exactly like Edgar Allen, from the greasepaint face down to the plaid shirt, only now, there was a scarf looped around his neck, the very same one Stretch left in offering.

“It is,” Edge agreed softly. “He is every scarecrow. They awaken when needed or summoned.” He gave Stretch a nudge, hard enough for him to stumble forward a step deeper into the field. “Talk to him. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Talk to him. Right. Stretch swallowed hard, trying to shuffle aside his sudden misgivings. His voice creaked like a rusty hinge as he managed a weak, “edgar?

Then he watched, fascinated. He could nearly see the life filling those limp limbs, the burlap sack of his head lifting as he raised it, and he knew the exact moment Edgar caught sight of Stretch in front of him.

“Well, hey pal! Good ta see ya!” That croaky voice was the same as Stretch remembered and he smiled helplessly, watching Edgar unwind an arm from the bar that held him up to touch the bandana around his neck, “Wanted ta thank ya for the new gear!”

“it looks good on you,” Stretch managed. The turkey-red fabric was bright against the faded plaid of his shirt and Stretch wondered how long it would take for the sun to bleach it out. Would there even be time before Edgar…ended? Did his clothes vanish with him or was he left out in the field to rot after his seasonal duty? He didn’t know and found he didn’t want to ask. For fuck’s sake, Stretch barely even knew the guy, if he was a guy, and still his soul heavy with sorrow.

“Corn thought so, too,” Edgar Allen said gleefully. “Nattered on ‘bout it for hours. Kept me awake for an age, I tell ya.” For all that his face never changed from that greasepaint sneer, Stretch could almost feel the sudden surge of sleepiness rising in the air, the way Edgar took hold of his support again, and slumped back down, “Still restin’ up from it. Thanks, again. See ya around, pal, give me a call if ya need me?”

“i will,” Stretch said and as he watched, that animation faded, life seeping away and leaving behind a nothing but straw-filled bundle of clothes.

A gentle hand settled on his shoulder and Stretch turned to look at Edge, trying to swallow down the thickness of absurd grief in his throat. He’d met Edgar Allen for a total of ten minutes, tops, and it still hurt.

“It’s difficult for him to stay awake when he isn’t needed,” Edge told him softly.

“yeah,” Stretch managed, blinking hard, his sockets aching. “he’ll be dying in a few weeks.”

“Yes, for the season,” Edge agreed, “It’s not really a death, but it is something like it.”

“that sucks, big time.” He understood it, sure, the whole ghost of gyftmas present sort of visit. Didn’t make it suck any less.

“He’s earned his rest and his spirit will return. Perhaps in the spring you can came back to Backwater and meet his recreation.” Edge held out a hand and after swiping angrily at his sockets, Stretch took it, folding their fingers together again. “Come on, it’s starting to get dark.”

It was, Stretch saw dismally, the sunlight creeping through the trees faded and soft with oncoming dusk. He’d already been here a helluva lot longer than he’d meant and it might be an interesting trip back to Red’s if he didn’t hurry; he’d be wandering off the path simply because he couldn’t see the damn thing and he really didn’t feel up to testing the monster bear theory, not today.

The two of them hurried their way back around front. He’d left his bike on the side of the driveway and before Stretch could reach it, the hand in his that had been faithfully leading him all afternoon betrayed him. Suddenly, Stretch found himself yanked around, a tree trunk hard beneath his back.

He looked up with wide sockets and all he could see Edge looming in front of him, stark crimson eye lights boring into his own and arms braced against the tree on either side of him. They weren’t touching, not quite, but he was close, so close Stretch could feel the warmth pouring off of him and it was ridiculous that it made him shiver in the waning heat of the day, an uneasy trill tickling its way up his spine. Something that was not fear was swelling inside him, not fear at all.

“What is it about you?” Edge said abruptly. His eye lights were burning, bright coals in his dark, narrowed sockets.

“what do you—” Stretch started, too weak and a little lost.

He broke off on a confused sound as Edge leaned in suddenly, tried to jerk back but there was nowhere to go as Edge murmured close to Stretch’s audial canal, his breath damp, nearly as solid as a physical touch, “If you think I haven’t noticed your attraction to me, you may wish to redefine the word subtle.”

“uhhhh.” Not that it wasn’t true but getting called out on it right now was a little unexpected, hell, he hadn’t even been looking at Edge’s ass this time. Any reasonable answer slipped away from his fumbling reach. “that’s…i mean…”

“It’s not that you’re unappealing, but as you’ve said several times, you’re getting over a breakup.” A gentle thumb slid along his cheekbone in defiance of what Edge was saying, making Stretch suck in a sharp gasp of breath.

‘Not unappealing.’ Wasn’t exactly a glowing endorsement but eh, reviews didn’t always match the product.

“yeah,” Stretch said inanely. “yeah, i am.” As if that meant anything, as if he could even think of anything outside this singular moment. Edge was so close to him, the lines of their bodies separated by bare inches as Stretch breathed out a faint, “sorry.”

He didn’t even know what he was apologizing for.

“I’m not. You aren’t alone in this,” Edge exhaled a soft half-laugh. “I’ve felt an attraction to you since the moment you tried to hit me with that damn lamp. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

“yeah, uh,” Stretch swallowed hard, trying to add some starch to his voice, but it was so damned hard (fuck, don’t think that, don’t, shuffle that pun right to the end of the queue). Edge was so close, and the bark of the tree was rough through the back of his t-shirt, lighting digging into his ribcage like a goad, urging him to move, to step forward, to complete that circuit. Stretch didn’t move. “i mean, the way the multiverse theory goes, i’m sort of you. or you’re me. something like that.”

A low chuckle filled the air between them and Stretch closed his sockets, holy fuck, that voice rumbled through him like a miniature earthquake, “That isn’t what I meant at all. You don’t want to talk about your past and that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean the effects don’t linger.” The very tip of Edge’s nasal nodule brushed the side of Stretch’s skull as he sniffed delicately, his warm breath gusting.

Slim fingertips came to rest on his sternum over his damage soul and that single light touch affected him more than the entire groping session in the library. “I can smell your pain, such a deep hurt in your soul. I don’t want to make it worse.”

“edge,” Stretch whispered, closed his sockets against the answering whisper of his own name. There was the slightest pressure of a knee against his own and the temptation was there to spread his legs, to give it a place to rest, and he shouldn’t, they shouldn’t, but that warning voice was getting softer, distant, caught by a shepherd’s hook and hauled off the stage. He’d gone through half a dozen shocks since he woke up this morning, added them to the pile he'd gotten since he’d stepped off that bus. What was one more?

“I know all of that. I know it. So why am I so drawn to you?” Edge murmured distractedly, “What is it about you? Why can’t I leave you alone?” He reeled back, shaking his head as if to clear it, then, nearly pleading, “Don’t let me hurt you.”

A warning, a plea tangled together as one, and Stretch lurched after him, arms reaching with purely reckless intent, “you won’t, you aren’t, don’t go—"

The sudden klaxon of a horn made them jerk apart, Edge stumbling back and putting space between them. Stretch looked up see a rusty old pickup truck making its bumpy way down the path, coming to a stop with a wheezy squeal of brakes.

They watched it together, Edge with tight annoyance creasing his face and Stretch with panting confusion, struggling to get his breathing under control. It turned out to be a hell of a lot easier when the window rolled down the window and Red poked his head out, like getting doused with a bucket of ice water as he called with deliberate cheer, “hey, you two.”

“Brother,” Edge said, the greeting coming from between clenched teeth.

“you have a car?” Stretch asked, outraged. Shame was taking a hasty backseat because holy shit, he’d spent all afternoon on that bike when Red already had a set of wheels?

Red only grinned, a slash of a smile with his golden tooth winking in the dwindling light. “nah, i got a truck.”

“you never said!”

“you never asked,” Red countered. “it was gettin’ late and i got worried. didn’t want ya trying to scooter your way home in the dark, ya didn’t add a headlight to that rustbucket. toss the bike in the back and hop in.”

It wasn’t a question and yeah, somehow, he didn’t think Red was gonna buy that he and Edge were only talking, not this time.

Stretch felt a guilty flush heat his cheekbones, meekly obeying. It was for the best, he told himself, holy shit, yes, he should be grateful that Red showed up when he did, no matter what kind of protest his crotch was currently bleating up at him. The last thing he needed right now was any other attachments and not only because he felt like getting into another relationship right around never, (yeah, never worked for him) and rebound sex with the boss’s little brother was supposed to be off the table.

Getting into anything past friendship with Edge was a Bad Idea all the way around, ‘cause when it came down to it, Edgar Allen wasn’t the only person leaving, now was he. Stretch didn’t want to think about it, kept trying to avoid it, but the knowledge still came up in the back of his head, readying itself to bite him in the ass.

Eventually, Stretch was gonna have to find his own way home.

~~*~~

tbc

[sanderssides-springfling]

hello! this gift is for @sanderssnoots! i had. so much with this ngl, may have gone a little overboard but aaa. i tried to incorporate all three of the prompts and hopefully this turned out ok haha. i really hope you enjoy this dude ^^

summary: after moving to a new school in an old city, virgil meets remus, a particularly attractive fellow who seems familiar somehow...

TW: Panic attack, Remus, threats, homophobia, curing

"Breathe for me," a muffled voice said.

Virgil closed his eyes, wishing for everything to just stop.

"C'mon, count with me," the voice said, clearer now. It was soothing, calming, real. Not like the other voices Virgil was hearing.

The voice began to count and Virgil attempted to copy it in his head. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Wait. He knew these numbers. He was supposed to breath, wasn't he? That's what the voice had told him to do.

He continued to count and tried to get a steady breathing pattern whilst doing so. In for four. Hold for seven. Out for eight. In. Hold. Out. In. Out.

He opened his eyes and his big brother was there besides him. Virgil collapsed into Remy, burying his head in his chest and breathing softly. Remy gently wrapped his arms around Virgil, circling his hands over his back in a comforting pattern.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Remy asked.

Virgil shook his head.

"Was it school again?"

Virgil did nothing, seemingly indicating to Remy that it was indeed school.

"It's okay, Virge. You'll be out of there soon."

~*~

Virgil leant his head against the window, feeling the vibrations as the car sped down the road. They were moving, finally. Moving to a new city - or an old city, really, back to where Virgil had grown up. He guessed that his family finally realised that things in their new city weren't going great, or maybe things weren't going great for them. Either way, Virgil was more than happy to be returning to his real home.

He glanced over at Remy, unable to decipher whether he was sleeping or not - despite it being close to midnight and not even summertime, Remy was still wearing his sunglasses. But Virgil noticed the side of Remy's lips tip up into a sort of smirk, so he assumed that his older brother was awake, and watching him.

The street lights blurred in front of him, casting neon lights into the air. It wouldn't be long until they were at the new house, and then soon after a new school, and maybe everything would go back to normal.

~*~

Virgil peeked into the classroom, glancing around to find the least threatening person there. It was half way through the year, so he imagined that there wouldn't be many options anyway, but he could try.

Somebody barged past him, causing him to stumble to the side. After that, he was pushed into the classroom by whoever followed, and forced to stand awkwardly at the front. Brilliant.

"Hey," a voice said from the front row, "are you lost?”

Virgil glanced down at the person sat there, trying not to show them any emotion. "No, I..."

"Oh, are you new?" they asked.

Virgil nodded.

"You can sit with me," they said, patting the seat next to them. "My desk-mate just left."

Not wanting to argue any further, Virgil quickly took the seat besides them. He let out a breath. Front row seat wasn't... ideal, but at least he wasn't intruding on somebody else. This person had wanted him to sit with them, right?

"I'm Patton," they introduced, grinning at Virgil.

Virgil offered a small smile back. "Virgil."

"Oh! My friend Logan always goes on about a poet with that name-"

Patton went on to talk to Virgil about their friends, and about the school, and Virgil allowed himself to kick back and listen. He supposed they already had their own friends, their own life, and that was fine - Virgil wasn't really planning on making loads of friends, only planning to not make a complete fool of himself and end up making loads of enemies. And maybe Patton couldn't help with the friend situation, but they could certainly protect him for a little longer, at least for this hour...

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind you sitting with us for lunch, either," Patton said.

Virgil blinked. What? "Really?"

"Of course! Unless you have other friends, that is."

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You won't be intruding," Patton said, laughing. "I'd certainly be happy to have another friend around!"

Christ. This person was too friendly for their own good.

"Alright, then," Virgil said anyway, "thanks."

Patton grinned. "No problem!"

~*~

Virgil threw his backpack to the floor as he entered his new house, stepping into the living room only to be ambushed by Remy and tackled onto the sofa. For a moment, his body went into shock, before his reflexes kicked in and he kicked Remy off the sofa.

"Hey!" Remy protested.

Virgil stared at him, mouth open wide. "You're the one who tackled me onto the sofa!"

"You didn't have to kick me, though!" Remy scrambled back to his feet and sat on the sofa besides Virgil.

"That kick was utterly deserved," Virgil said, determinedly.

Remy sighed. "Well. Maybe you're right."

Virgil smirked. "Of course I'm right."

"How was school?" Remy asked, immediately changing the conversation.

Virgil shrugged. "Okay. Better, I think."

"Made any friends?"

"Kinda?" Virgil hummed. "Sat with a couple people at lunch. One's in my classes - Patton, their name is."

"Patton?" Remy considered that for a moment. "Sounds nice."

"Yeah." Virgil leant back. "You?"

"Oh, you know me," Remy said. "I'm already the most popular guy in my year."

Virgil rolled his eyes. "As if. Tell me the truth."

Remy looked kindly offended. "Hey! I'm good at socialising!"

Virgil raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Okay, maybe I'm a bit of a disaster," Remy admitted. "But! I did meet up with some friends from before and I think I'll be able to reconnect with them."

"Oh! That's good!" Remy's life really was well more put together than Virgil's. He'd managed to stay in contact with his friends from before, something that Virgil had tried but ultimately failed to do. Of course, it would have helped if he had any good friends from before, or even just somebody who did more than just tolerate him. But it was whatever. Most people probably didn't recognise him now, let alone remember him.

"Well," Remy said, "maybe you can invite some of those new friends round."

Virgil laughed.

"What? I'm being serious!"

"I barely know them!" Virgil argued. "We're not on inviting-each-other-to-our-houses terms yet."

"Mom and Dad would get a kick out of it, though."

"They don't care," Virgil said. "As long as I'm emotionally stable, they won't care. Or, like, not on the verge of a breakdown."

Remy ruffled Virgil's hair. "They do care! I care, at least." He smiled. "I wanna meet them!"

"Absolutely not." Virgil crossed his arms.

Remy groaned. "Fine! I'll find them, though."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"I have connections."

"Like what?"

"I just made friends with this guy called Roman," Remy said. "He knows everybody."

Virgil giggled. "Well, good luck, then." He stood up. "Don't come in my room."

"You can't stop me!"

"I can!" He retreated upstairs.

~*~

Virgil glanced at a guy from the other side of the cafeteria. He had bleached blonde hair with the tips dyed a neon green, and wore a black denim jacket covered in band patches and pin badges. And Virgil couldn't stop staring at him.

"Who's that?" Virgil asked, turning to Patton. He had been sitting with them for a few days now, and was beginning to get the courage to actually talk to him.

Patton frowned. "Who?"

"Him," Virgil said, pointing to the guy and leaning in to Patton.

For a moment, Patton stared at the person too, before biting his lip. "Don't talk to him."

Virgil blinked. "Why?"

"That's Remus," Patton said. "Logan knows his brother. He, uh, well..." Patton hummed. "He's probably a nice person, but Logan's heard that he gets up to some... stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Virgil wondered.

"Stuff that I probably shouldn't talk about in school," Patton said. "Just... I'd stay away from him, if I were you."

Virgil glanced down to the table, not really sure what to make of that. On the one hand, he somewhat trusted Patton, at least enough to believe their judgement, but on the other hand the guy didn't seem so bad. He looked like somebody that Virgil would get along with. Maybe someone he could get some fashion tips from.

But if Patton said he was bad, then maybe Virgil should listen. He had friends now, anyway. Things were gonna be okay.

~*~

"Hey," a person said, sitting down next to Virgil in the library. Virgil glanced at the newcomer, looking them up and down. They wore somewhat simple clothes - plain yellow t-shirt, black jacket, and a black beanie covering their natural blonde hair. Virgil noticed a few pin badges stuck to their jacket, including the bi flag and the nonbinary flag. He couldn't seem to stop staring at their eyes - one a light brown and the other a sickening shade of green.

"Hi?" Virgil whispered back, just slightly uncomfortable.

"You can call me D," they said, simply.

"...okay?"

"I saw you staring at Remus last week," D continued.

Virgil blinked. "Oh."

"If you have a problem with him, then that goes through me, okay?"

Virgil frowned. "I don't have a problem with him."

D glared at him. "Why else would you be staring at him?"

"I..." Virgil shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't mean to. I just liked his jacket."

D didn't seem to know what to make of that. "Oh. So... you're cool with him?"

"I guess?" Virgil looked away. "I mean, I don't know him, exactly. But I have no reason to dislike him."

D hummed. "You're friends with Patton, right?"

"Kinda?" Virgil tapped his fingers on the table. "I've been sitting with them. They haven't been mean to me."

"Huh." D sighed. "Well, whatever." They stood up. "Stay away from Remus. You made him kinda uncomfortable."

Before Virgil had a chance to ask what D meant, let alone say goodbye, they were gone again.

~*~

Virgil walked into the kitchen to find his brother and... another person burning some pancakes. He didn't recognise the other person, but assumed he was in the same year as Remy. He wore a floor length red dress and an almost perfect smile on his face, despite the fact that the stove was very nearly on fire.

"Jesus Christ, Remy turn the heat down," Virgil said, rushing over to the stove and turning the heat down. "You're gonna burn down the house."

"No we’re not," the guest said. "If we cook at a higher temperature than the recipe says, the pancakes will be done quicker."

Virgil breathed in, deeply. "That- That isn't how cooking works."

"Of course it is!"

"Sorry, Virge," Remy said, taking the pan off the stove and turning it off completely. The pancake - or, at least, what could loosely be described as a pancake - was burnt to a crisp. "Roman and I were curious."

Virgil hummed. "Roman?"

"My friend," Remy said, grinning.

"He seems like a bad influence."

"Hey!" Roman exclaimed, looking highly offended. Virgil smirked a little, as it reminded him of his own brother.

"Who taught you how to cook?" Virgil asked.

"I did," Roman said, proudly.

Virgil snorted. "Well. Maybe get some actual lessons." He sighed. "I'll make the pancakes. You two stay far away from the stove."

Apparently not wanting to argue any further, Remy and Roman retreated to the table, whilst Virgil took over cooking, throwing out the burnt pancake and starting to make a fresh one. As he cooked, he half-listened to the conversation behind him, not really paying attention until-

"-my brother, Remus-"

"Remus?" Virgil repeated, glancing back.

Roman stared back at him. "Do you know him?"

Virgil hesitated. "We, uh, assuming we're talking about the same Remus, I haven't spoken to him, but I've heard about it, and seen him around..."

He put the final pancake onto the pile and moved them to the kitchen table, moving to grab three plates and a few toppings for the three of them to eat.

"Remus would probably like you," Roman said. "From what I've heard from Remy at least, it sounds like you two have a lot in common."

Frowning, Virgil replied, "Really?" He dragged a pancake onto his plate and drowned it in maple syrup.

"I mean, you listen to a lot of the same music," Roman said, shrugging. "He likes horror games. He dabbles in stage makeup."

"I don't dabble in stage makeup," Virgil said, noticeably not disagreeing with the rest.

"Oh my God, Roman, you should have seen him when he was fourteen," Remy said, leaning over the table closer to Roman. "I swear to God, I've never seen somebody wear so much eyeliner-"

"Shut up," Virgil said through gritted teeth.

"Honestly," Remy continued, "I don't think he's ever fully come out of his emo phase, but at least he's learned how much eyeliner is generally acceptable."

"I'm right here, you know."

"Oh! You should've seen Remus a couple years ago!" Roman chuckled. "He was very much falling with the eyeliner as well. And everything else. I had to teach him everything just so he wouldn't go out looking like a complete idiot."

Remy asked. "Wait, maybe you could give Virgil some tips!"

"I don't need any tips," Virgil said, dragging the plate of pancakes closer to himself so the other two would find it harder to reach them - a tiny act of revenge.

"Oh my God, I'd actually be so down to teach him, though! I could go through some cool eyeshadow stuff, like different colours and stuff, Remus and I did some pride flag ones a couple years ago when we went to a parade-"

Virgil stood up. "Okay, I guess I'll leave since you guys already think I'm not in the room." He made his way back to his bedroom, taking the plate of pancakes with him.

~*~

Virgil couldn't stop staring at Remus. He seemed to see him every single day, always walking in the same places, almost as if they were following each other. And Remus never caught him staring, but sometimes Virgil felt like he was staring back, even if Virgil himself couldn't see him in the area.

Patton and Logan stopped taking notice. For a while, they would ask Virgil about it, continuously warning him that Remus wouldn't be good for him. But soon they stopped. Maybe they realised that Virgil wouldn't stop.

And despite the fact that the two had never interacted, Virgil found himself completely obsessed with Remus. It almost scared him.

One day in Spring, a month or so after Virgil joined the school, he was standing alone in the hallway, waiting for Patton to leave their class, when somebody bumped into his shoulder. Adrenaline immediately kicked in as his brain told him that it was going to be exactly the same as last time, that the safety he was beginning to feel at this new school had been shattered, but then he saw who it was and he froze.

Remus stood a few steps away from Virgil, glancing back and smirking. He began to slowly walk down the hallway, glancing back every few seconds, almost as if he was expecting Virgil to follow.

He did. Virgil stalked behind him, still a few metres away. Remus sped up, and Virgil copied, following him until they had made it out of the school and round the corner, to a small garden behind the school. Remus sat down on a bench and looked Virgil in the eyes, patting the seat besides him. Frowning, Virgil went over and sat down.

"Hey," Remus said. "What's your name?"

Virgil blinked. "Uh, Virgil."

"Virgil," Remus whispered. "Huh. Roman mentioned a Virgil..."

"He- what?"

"Oh, nothing." Remus hummed. "Have you been following me?"

"What?"

"I see you everywhere," Remus said. "D has, too. They were starting to get concerned-"

Virgil glanced down. "D spoke to me ages ago. They told me to stay away from you."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did they? And yet you still continued to follow me everywhere?"

"I haven't been following you," Virgil said, truthfully. "I actually thought you were following me."

Remus laughed.

Virgil frowned. "What's funny about that?"

"Well, other than the fact that it is a tiny bit true, I just think it's funny that we both thought we had stalkers."

"I didn't think you were stalking me," Virgil said.

To that, Remus just smirked at him. Virgil tried his best to avoid his gaze.

"I know you from somewhere," Remus claimed.

Virgil fiddled with his fingers. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He hummed. "I can't... I've been trying to figure it out but can't for the life of me. You are new at this school, right? Like, you weren't just hiding?”

Virgil breathed in. "I'm new. But I lived in this city when I was younger."

Remus' eyes widened. "Wait, shit, are you Virgil Sanders."

Virgil glanced at him. "Yeah?"

"I'm Remus Prince," Remus said.

Virgil blinked. "Okay?"

"We... You went to Saint John's Elementary School, right?"

Virgil's eyes widened. "Wait, Duke?"

Remus held his arms out. "The one and only."

"Oh my God!" That's why Virgil couldn't stop staring at Remus. They were... God, Remus was...

~*~

Virgil didn't have many friends back in Elementary School. Well, he didn't have many friends period, but at least in Elementary School he had the fantasy gang.

He wasn't exactly friends with anyone in the fantasy gang. They would just play together during the breaks. He wasn't even sure on all of their names - none of them were in his classes, so he only ever spent around twenty minutes with them every day.

There weren't a lot of them. There was Virgil, playing the Knight, and the others - the Princess, the Dragon, the Queen and the King.

And then there was the only one that Virgil was particularly close to - the Duke.

In the fantasy world the six of them had created, him and the Duke spent a lot of time together, as both of them set off on the quest to save the Princess. They would often fight the Dragon side by side, and during scenes with just the royals they would both sit to the side and chat, with no real reason for them to join in on the action.

He remembered that the Duke liked swinging on the trees. There was one tree in the corner of the playground which had branches low enough to climb, so the Duke would make his way up there and hang upside, mostly just to make Virgil laugh. Maybe he realised that things weren't going great for Virgil, and that by doing that Virgil would gain a tiny bit of happiness. To be fair, it worked. Virgil himself never wanted to climb the tree, for fear that he might fall down, but that was fine - he enjoyed sitting at the bottom and watching the Duke from afar.

They never talked much about themselves, but sometimes Remus would mention his older brother, and Virgil would talk about his older brother too. A lot of the time, though, they'd just sit together under the tree as they watched the rest of the fantasy gang play, waiting for their own turn.

One day Remus leant his head on Virgil's shoulder, and that was the day that Virgil realised he had made a friend.

~*~

"We have a problem," Roman said, shoving Remy's school books out the way and sitting on the desk in front of him.

Remy looked up, looking slightly annoyed. "I was doing that, y'know."

"Okay, but I have tea," Roman said.

Remy immediately refocused his attention onto Roman. "Spill. Now."

"My brother has a crush," Roman began.

Remy hummed. "Yeah, not surprising."

"On your brother."

Remy slammed his hands on the table. "No way."

"Yes, way." Roman grinned. "Remus and Virgil are in love and they're both too dumb to realise it."

"How do you know?" Remy asked.

"I'm an expert on romance, obviously."

Remy rolled his eyes. "Seriously. Has Remus said anything?"

"Well, no, not exactly, but-"

"We've gotta be sure," Remy interrupted. "I wouldn't... Virgil's already been through so much."

"I'm sure that Remus likes him. He won't shut up about him," Roman said. "I was reading some of his writing the other day, and I swear to God one of the characters in it was some sort of fictional version of Virgil. The love interest, as well."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Your brother writes?"

"He does murder mysteries," Roman quickly said. "He doesn't really like me reading them, but he's always stealing my sketchbook so he can't really say anything." He breathed in. "Anyway, I'm certain that Remus is into Virgil."

Remy hummed. "I'm not sure if Virgil is, though."

"No, he definitely is," Roman said. "I have a friend - well, not really ‘friend’, but we're in the same theatre company. His name's Logan. And he's also friends with Virgil, I think..."

Remy nodded. "Yeah, Virge mentioned a Logan at one point."

"Right. Well, I was talking to Logan, and he told me that Virgil is always staring at Remus. Like, an unhealthy amount." Roman sighed. "I'm just... why else would Virgil be staring at Remus?"

Remy pursed his lips. "We should set them up."

Roman gasped. "Oh my God, yes!"

"I don't know how, though. Convincing Virgil to leave the house would be a nightmare."

Roman smirked. "I have an idea."

~*~

He was in his kitchen. Why the fuck was Remus in his kitchen?

"Oh, hey Virge," Remus said, ignoring Virgil's puzzled expression as he raided the fridge.

"Who let you in my house?"

"Oh, my brother is hanging out with your brother and I'm not allowed to be in the house by myself," Remus said, as he took out a salad - Virgil's salad that he was saving for later - and began to eat it.

"And now you're stealing my salad," Virgil sighed.

Remus blinked. "Oh, shit, is this yours?" he asked, shoving it towards Virgil.

"Well." Virgil smacked his lips together. "It was. But I can make another." He climbed onto the table and sat on it cross legged, as Remus took a chair and placed the salad in front of him. "So. Why aren't you allowed to be home alone?"

"That's... a long story."

Virgil shrugged. "I'm not doing anything."

Remus eyes lit up. "Well. I'd imagine it has something to do with that time I almost burnt the house down trying to find out what would happen if I put eggs into the microwave."

Virgil blinked. "How- How did you almost burn the house down doing that-"

Remus grinned. "Well, the microwave exploded 'cause I put, like, ten eggs in there, and then it set fire to the curtains in the kitchen, and long story short, the fire engines didn't take long to arrive."

Virgil breathed in. "Was everything okay?"

"Yeah, it was fine. The curtains are just a little scarred." He hummed. "Although, it could also have something to do with the fact that I attempted a blood sacrifice in the living room..."

"You what?" Virgil exclaimed.

Remus laughed. "I was, like, ten, okay? And I didn't get very far. I found a dead rat in the street and thought that if I used that as a sacrifice I could summon a demon, which would be so cool, y'know?"

Virgil chuckled. "I mean, I guess that would be cool."

"Right?" Remus shook his head. "My parents, however, did not think it was cool."

For a moment, the two just stared at each other, smiling softly, because Virgil finally said, "I missed you, y'know?"

Remus blinked. "Huh?"

"When we... Well, you were just about my only friend," Virgil said. "And I know we didn't hang out much, but we always had such a good time."

Remus smiled. "Yeah. The fantasy gang was great."

"I didn't care about the rest of them," Virgil said. “Just... Just you."

Remus fell silent. "Oh."

"And when we did move away, I didn't really have anyone else. I mean, I had Remy, but..." He glanced down, fixing his eyes on the table.

"Did you... not make any new friends?" Remus wondered.

Virgil plastered on a smile. "I've never been one for new people."

Remus hummed. "You made friends with Patton pretty quickly, though."

"They didn't really give me much of a choice." Virgil sighed. "Things... weren't great at the new school. I mean, they weren't brilliant back when we were friends, but... at least we were friends."

Remus smiled, staring at Virgil for a moment longer with fondness in his eyes. "How come you didn't speak to me sooner?"

Virgil blinked. "What?"

"I mean, you saw me weeks ago, right?" Remus said. "Like, you could've spoken to me then."

"I wanted to," Virgil admitted. "Not because I recognised you, but because... I don't know. I felt drawn to you, I guess." He fiddled with his fingers. "But Patton told me not too. And then D told me to stay away from you. So..."

Remus reached over and grabbed Virgil's hands, squeezing them a little too tight, but Virgil didn't protest. "Don't listen to them. I... felt drawn to you too, I guess. I still do."

Virgil smiled.

~*~

"Oh my God," Remy moaned, stepping back into his bedroom, where Roman waited sprawled across his bed, after having spied on Virgil and Remus.

"What's going on?" Roman asked, immediately jumping up and readjusting his skirt.

Remy collapsed onto his bed. "They're being insufferably cheesy. And they haven't even realised that they're in love yet!"

"What are they talking about?" Roman asked. "Tell me everything."

Remy sighed. "They're, like, talking about how they used to be friends or something, and how they missed each other, and then they start saying that they're drawn to each other. Like, what does that even mean?"

Roman grinned. "It means they like each other, Remy. They're soulmates."

“Soulmates aren’t real, Roman.”

“Shut up, they totally are.” Roman clapped his hands together. “Maybe we should talk to them. Help them to realise.”

Remy hummed. “They won’t confess today, will they?”

“Unless we can talk to either of them in private,” Roman said.

“I’ll talk to Virgil after school tomorrow,” Remy decided. “You talk to Remus?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

~*~

When Virgil walked through his front door the following afternoon, he stopped in his path as he saw Remy leaning against the wall, a smirk upon his face.

Virgil blinked. “What have you done now?”

“So.” Remy pushed himself off the wall, stepping towards his younger brother. “You and Remus, huh?”

Virgil frowned. “What… What about us?”

“I heard you two are pretty close,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, we’re friends, I guess?” Virgil attempted to walk further into the house, but Remy blocked him.

“Just friends?”

Virgil blinked. “Wh-What else would we be?”

“Well, what do you think of Remus?” Remy asked.

“I- I don’t-” He breathed in. “Wait, do you think I like him?”

Remy hummed. “Perhaps.”

“We’re just friends,” Virgil said. “He’s a nice guy, I guess. We were friends when we were kids, and now we’re friends again.”

“Hmm.”

“What?” Virgil sighed. “Is this because I stare at him a lot? It’s not my fault that he has such an amazing fashion sense. And a beautiful white strip of hair always falling over his eyes. Beautiful eyes, actually - have you seen them? They have, like, little green specks in them.”

Remy giggled.

“What?”

“Just, the way you’re talking about him is proving my point.”

“I’m not…” Virgil’s eyes widened. “Shit.” It made sense, actually. It explained why he was so drawn to Remus, why he couldn’t stop staring at him, why he couldn’t get him out of his mind. “Fuck, maybe I do like him,” he whispered.

Remy’s giggling grew louder, until he turned around and walked upstairs.

“Remy, wait, I-”

Remy slammed his bedroom door, leaving Virgil alone with his thoughts.

~*~

Virgil stared at Remus across the cafeteria. Watched him laugh with D, play with his food, just be an absolute dork, and Virgil couldn’t help but be mesmerised by his every action. Remy’s words from the day before circled around his head, the revelation that he had since come to accept as the absolute truth. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up for.

He stood up.

“Virgil,” Patton said, “are you-”

“I’ll be right back,” he said, walking away from the table despite Patton’s protests.

He came up besides Remus and placed his hand on the table next to him, ignoring the glares he got from D. Remus looked up at him, a little alarmed.

“Uhm, can I-”

“Come with me,” Virgil said, grabbing Remus’ wrist and dragging him from the scene. Remus followed willingly, but Virgil didn’t let go of his wrist. Virgil led him out of the cafeteria and around a corner, to a corridor devoid of students.

“Virgil, what-”

“I know we probably shouldn’t be talking right now,” Virgil said. “Since D and Patton probably aren’t too happy. But…”

“It’s okay,” Remus said. “D won’t mind. And if Patton says anything I will fight them.”

“You absolutely will not fight them,” Virgil said. “Patton may be wrong about you, but they’re still a good friend.”

Remus shrugged. “Okay then. But what did you want?”

Virgil breathed in. “Okay, so, I’ve been thinking an awful lot lately, and I’ve realised that…” His hands were getting sweaty and his heart rate was beginning to increase. “I, uh…” Why had he thought this would be a good idea?“

Remus frowned. "Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

Virgil cleared his thought. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He breathed in again. “Um, basically, I…”

“Let me guess, you’re madly in love with me,” Remus joked.

Virgil glanced down, avoiding Remus’ gaze.

Remus blinked. “Wait, shit, was that right?”

Virgil smiled nervously. “Uh… maybe?”

Remus laughed. “Seriously?”

Fuck. Remus thought it was funny. That… That must mean he didn’t feel the same way, right? That must mean that Virgil had majorly fucked up somehow. Shit - what if Remus wasn’t even gay? He did have a rainbow pin in his jacket, but he was also friends with D so maybe that was just to show his support. Virgil didn’t remember Remus ever mentioning an attraction to guys.

God, why had he just jumped into like that? Under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have. Under any other circumstances, he would have stood back and thought about it, made sure that he wouldn’t ruin his life by acting upon his impulses.

What if this meant that Remus would stop being friends with Virgil? What if he thought it was weird? What if it made him uncomfortable? What if Remus hatedhim because of this? What if?

Remus stopped laughing. He placed a hand on Virgil’s shoulder, now looking serious. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Virgil used all of his willpower to stop himself from shoving Remus’ hand off. “I’m sorry. I… You don’t feel the same way, I get it. I shouldn’t have sprung that on you. And, um, if it makes you uncomfortable-”

Remus snorted. “Sorry, if it makes me what?”

Virgil blinked. “I- If me liking you like that is, like, weird? I mean, I get it. You’re not gay, or whatever, and we’re just friends, so…”

That made Remus laugh even harder.

Virgil tried to steady his breathing. “Wh-What’s so funny about that?”

After composing himself, Remus shook his head, a massive grin across his face. “Sorry, I just… I’m offended that you’d even think that I’m straight.”

Virgil blinked. “You’re… You’re not straight?”

“Are you kidding me?” Remus closed his eyes. “I am a massive homosexual. I don’t know why anybody would think otherwise.”

Okay. So he was attracted to men. That was at least one good thing. “But…”

“And I don’t find it weird,” Remus continued. “At all. I mean, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about kissing you on multiple occasions.”

Virgil’s eyes widened. Did… Did that mean…

“I guess what I’m trying to say,” Remus said, taking Virgil’s hands, “is that I feel the same way.”

Virgil looked back up, making eye contact with Remus, and smiled.

“I’m fact, if it’s something that you want, I’d be honoured to be your boyfriend,” Remus announced.

And in that moment, Virgil was sure that he would cry.

~*~

“We need to talk,” Patton said, as Virgil left his final class. The two began to walk down the hallway and out the school, Virgil’s anxiety beginning to kick in.

“Am I in trouble?” he asked.

Patton frowned. “No? Why would you think you’re in trouble?”

Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know. Why else would you want to talk to me?”

“You’re not in trouble,” Patton promised, eyes darting around. “I’m just… concerned.”

“About what?”

Patton pursed their lips. “You talked to Remus earlier, right?”

“Yeah,” Virgil confirmed. “He’s an alright guy, actually.”

They stepped out the school, Virgil adjusting his backpack slightly.

“I know you and Logan have something against him, or whatever, but…” Virgil shrugged. “I knew him when we were kids. And we’ve reconnected, I guess. I promise he’s an alright guy.”

Patton glanced at him, skeptically, but apparently gave in. “Well, alright. Be careful, though. If he hurts you, tell me.”

Virgil faked a smile. “Yeah, of course.”

Patton nodded. “Well. Take care.” They smiled, and then ran off to join Logan on the other side of the field, leaving Virgil to walk home alone.

~*~

“Remus,” D said. “Are you even listening to me?”

Remus tore his eyes away from Virgil and looked back at D. “Huh?”

D sighed. “I was saying that you seem a little distracted lately. So I guess that proves my point.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Remus said, eyes drifting back towards Virgil.

“Remus,” D said again, more forcibly. “What’s going on?”

Remus blinked, and returned his attention to D. “Oh, I have a boyfriend.”

D frowned. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Remus said. “Sorry, did I not mention?”

D glanced to the side, trying to follow Remus’ previous gaze. “No, actually, you didn’t.”

“Oh. Well. Now you know.”

“Who is it?” D asked.

“Just some guy, you wouldn’t know him,” Remus said.

“Remus.”

“Okay, okay.” He breathed in. “His name is Virgil.”

D gasped. “As in, Virgil the stalker?”

“He’s a stalker!” Remus defended. “If anything I’m the stalker.”

“I thought we decided that you should stay away from him,” D recalled.

“Yeah, well, me and him go way back, okay?” Remus sighed. “I know what I’m doing. Virgil is good for me.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” D said.

“I’m not gonna get hurt.” Remus smiled. “If he ever breaks my heart, I give you full permission to murder him.”

D raised an eyebrow.

“Actually, no,” Remus decided. “You can’t murder him. Because I like him. But if he hurts me you can definitely fight him.”

D smirked. “Wow. No murder. You must really like him this time.”

“Shut up,” Remus said, chuckling.

~*~

Virgil rested his head on Remus’s shoulder, as Remus absentmindedly stroked through Virgil’s hair. They were sat on Virgil’s bed, trying their hardest to ignore the noise from Remy and Roman next door. It was nice like this. Just the two of them.

Turning his head to the side, Virgil stretched his neck out and pecked Remus on the cheek, something that he’d been wanting to do for a while. And although Remus tried to play it off, Virgil caught his cheeks turning a light shade of red.

Virgil snuggled further into his side, slowly wrapping his arm around Remus’ back and beginning to draw invisible circles on his arm. He listened to Remus humming in appreciation, and Virgil allowed himself to melt into his body, feeling perfectly content.

After a few more moments of pure bliss, Remus twisted his head down to look at Virgil. He leant down, so close that Virgil was able to feel his breath on his face, and then their two lips interlocked, and Virgil’s heart burst.

It wasn’t quite how he imagined, but that was okay. Somehow, it was even better. Remus was passionate, and daring, and didn’t hold back, and Virgil couldn’t have been more happy about that fact. Virgil himself was timid, and he knew that, and it was a part of him he was willing to accept, but having Remus here… well, it made him feel alive. Made him feel like he could do anything.

Like, for instance, it made him feel as though he could kiss Remus back. Still connected to Remus, Virgil pushed himself up so he was no longer slouched on Remus’ body. He pushed Remus against the wall, kissing back harder. At first, Remus seemed a little surprised, but he soon caught on and kissed back, sending the two into battle.

A battle to see who’s love was stronger, who’s passion was larger. And there wasn’t a winner, exactly. Or a loser. Just the plain, simple evidence that the two’s hearts were better as one, that they were meant to be.

They danced around each other, wanting more and more, and never wanting to stop.

They were happy.

~*~

Remus nudged Virgil’s shoulder. “You’ll have to tell them eventually, y'know.”

Virgil glanced down. “I… I know. It’s harder with them.”

“They do know that you’re gay, right?” Remus checked.

Virgil nodded. “Well, yeah, of course. Who doesn’t?”

"So what are you so afraid of?”

Virgil breathed in and out. “Look, Patton’s having a hard enough time wrapping their head around the fact that you’re my friend, let alone boyfriend.”

Remus backed off a little after that statement. “Ah. That would be an issue.”

“Yeah.” Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets. “I just… I need to wait for the right time. I’m sure they’ll come around eventually.”

“Why do they hate me, anyway?” Remus wondered.

Virgil shrugged. “No clue. Apparently Logan told them something. They won’t tell me what.”

“Oh.” Remus hummed. “Logan is friends with Roman, I think. Wouldn’t be surprised if Roman has told him horror stories, or something. Either way, they’re probably not true.”

Virgil laughed nervously. “Probably?” he repeated.

“Well, I have done some shit,” Remus admitted. “Nothing dangerous.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Anything illegal?”

Remus thought for a moment. “I mean, probably.”

“Oh, shit, am I dating a criminal mastermind?”

“Would that be a problem for you?”

“No, no.” Virgil chuckled. “Actually, I think I’d be pretty into it.”

“Oh, in that case, I do in fact break laws daily,” Remus said. “I’m wanted in all seven continents and constantly on the run. Crime is my favourite thing to do.”

Virgil laughed, not even attempting - or wanting - to hold it back.

“I’m all seriousness though,” Remus said, “I haven’t broken any serious laws. I haven’t done any of the drugs and I haven’t murdered anyone just yet.”

“Should I be concerned about the yet part?” Virgil asked.

“Honestly if I were dating me, I’d be a little concerned in general.” Remus grinned.

Virgil smiled back. “But if you haven’t done the drugs or the murder yet, what have you done?”

“Oh, y'know. The usual.” He shrugged. “Pirating. Underage drinking. A little light shoplifting.”

“Eh. Who doesn’t do that?” Virgil shook his head. “I mean, asides from the shoplifting, I don’t think many people do that, but if it’s from a large corporation and you need the stuff I don’t really see the issue.”

Remus smirked. “So… you don’t mind?”

Virgil shrugged. “Be gay, do crime, am I right?”

“Oh thank fuck.”

~*~

Virgil sat at the dinner table, feeding himself spaghetti and trying to ignore his fathers gaze.

“So,” his mother said, looking expectedly at Virgil, “how come you never invite your friend around when we’re home.”

Virgil frowned. “What friend?”

“Y'know, that friend,” his mother repeated. “The one that’s always around.” She turned to his brother. “Remy, dear, what did you say his name was?”

“You mean Remus?” Remy offered.

“Remus! That’s it.” His mother turned back to Virgil. “He’s come round a few times now, hasn’t he?”

There was a brief silence as Virgil sucked up his piece of spaghetti, mostly to avoid the question. “He’s a friend,” he finally said.

His mother smiled, but it seemed somewhat bitter. “I’m glad you’re making friends, Virgil, but it just seems odd. You’ve never really invited anyone over before.”

“Oh. Well.” Virgil shrugged. “He’s my boyfriend. So I guess that’s a little different.”

His mother giggled. Remy glanced at Virgil, looking alarmed. His father just stared harder.

“What?” Virgil felt his shoulder tense up. “I’m not joking. Remus is actually my boyfriend.”

His mother snorted. “Yeah, real funny Virgil. We know you’re not… that.”

Virgil frowned. “Actually, uh, I am. I’ve known that I’m gay for a while now. So.”

His mother stared at him. “You’re not joking, are you?” she said, sounding serious.

Virgil locked his eyes on the table. Why the fuck had he done that? He… He should’ve known that his mother would react that way. The family always tended to shy away from that kind of stuff - asides from Remy, of course, supportive as ever - so why would he even think that his mother would be okay with any of this?

Remy raised a hand. “Uh, if it’s any consolation, I’m also gay. And I’m pretty sure Dad’s bisexual, not gonna lie.”

His father glared daggers at Remy, and Remy lowered his hand.

“Okay, maybe he isn’t bi, but I am actually a massive homosexual.”

“Remy, you’re not helping,” his mother said, through gritted teeth. She turned back to Virgil, plastering on a fake smile. “How long have you been like that?”

Virgil frowned. “Well, I’d imagine my whole life, but I realised when I was, like, thirteen? Fourteen? Some time around then.”

His mother shook her head. “No, that can’t be right. I mean, you haven’t had any… any boyfriends before, have you?”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “I haven’t really had any friends period. I’m just nowstarting to get friends and the fact I also just happen to enjoy kissing one of them doesn’t change that.”

“Don’t talk about kissing boys at the dinner table,” his mother chided.

“If I was talking about kissing girls would you think differently?”

His mother spluttered, not able to get any words out.

“Thought so.” Virgil stood up. “I guess I’ll just got talk about kissing boys somewhere else.” He left the kitchen, taking his spaghetti with him.

~*~

There was a gentle knock on his bedroom door. Assuming that it was his mother, Virgil wrapped his blankets tighter around him and tried to wipe away his tears and steady his breathing. Maybe if she thought he wasn’t in here, she would go away.

He heard the door open, footsteps creeping towards his bed, and felt somebody weigh down on him, sitting on the end of his bed. He buried himself deeper into his mattress, trying his very hardest to disappear. The person placed a hand on Virgil’s back - or his duvet, really - and rubbed gently. Virgil wanted to swipe the hand away, until he heard a voice.

“Hey, Virge.” It was Remy. Just Remy. “I’m… sorry about back there. I know Mom can be a little intense.”

Virgil turned over, unwrapping his blankets slightly so he could see Remy. “That wasn’t intense. That was just…”

“I know, I know.” Remy sighed. “She’ll come around.”

Virgil closed his eyes, trying to stop his tears. “I don’t think she will.”

“She will,” Remy promised. “And… if she doesn’t, if it gets any worse, I’ll just take you away. We can get our own place and you can have as many boyfriends as you want. I mean, I’m assuming you just want the one, but you know what I mean. We’d never even have to see her again.”

“And Dad?” Virgil wondered. “He didn’t even say anything.”

“He’ll come around too,” Remy promised. “They both will. Things will get better.”

Virgil lifted his blanket over his head again.

“If it makes any difference, I’m happy for you,” Remy said. “You have an amazing boyfriend, and being gay is just about the best thing you can be.”

Virgil huffed, smiling a little.

“Do you want me to stay here?” Remy asked.

“No, it’s fine,” Virgil said. “You go back to bed.”

“Okay.” Remy patted him. “I’m next door if you next anything.”

~*~

Virgil felt himself get pushed against the wall. He had just left his class before lunch, and turned into an empty hallway when the attacker stuck. His heart rate increased, brain screaming that things were going back to the way it was before, but then the ‘attacker’ pressed against his lips, kissing him, and Virgil realised what was going on. He relaxed a little, kissing back.

Eventually Remus pulled away, and smirked at Virgil. “Oh my God, you should’ve seen your face then.”

Virgil breathed in. “That wasn’t funny, Remus. I was genuinely afraid for a second.”

“What did you think I was gonna do?”

Virgil sighed. “I dunno. Punch me. Kick me. Threaten me with a knife.”

Remus seemed a little upset about that. “Why would I do any of that?”

“Usually when people push me against a wall, it means one of those three things are coming,” Virgil said, through a smile. He began to walk down the hall again, towards the cafeteria.

“Has… Has that happened to you before?” Remus asked, jogging a little to catch up.

“Well, asides from the knife part.” Virgil shrugged. “I mean, you know about my last school, right?”

“I know you said you had a hard time there, but…”

“Well, that was what I was talking about.” Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets. “I mean, not just that, of course, but that was a big part of it.”

“Virgil,” Remus said, softly, “I’m sorry.”

Virgil shrugged. “Eh. It’s in the past. Nothing bad has happened at this school yet. And I’ve got you to protect me.”

“Still.” Remus wrapped an arm around Virgil’s shoulder. “You never should’ve had to deal with that. I’m… I’ll find everyone who did, and threaten them with a knife.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” Virgil said.

“They did it to you.”

“Nobody threatened me with a knife.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t threaten them.”

Virgil smiled. “Okay, well, thanks anyway. I don’t… I don’t really think any of them deserve to be punished for what they did, but…”

“Of course they do,” Remus said. “They hurt you, Virgil.”

“Yeah, and I’d never want the same to happen to them.” Virgil sighed. “We were young and stupid. They probably didn’t know any better. I just… hope they learn something from it. Hope they grow out of being massive dicks.”

Remus hummed. “Well. I won’t dig any further, then.”

They reached the cafeteria, and split off, Remus going to join D and Virgil going to join Patton and Logan.

~*~

Virgil laid in his bed, holding his phone up in front of his face. It was now or never, really. He had to tell someone about Remus, especially after what went down with his parents a couple nights previously. He was fed up of keeping this a secret from his friends. But it was harder than it looked.

He read over his message one more time:

hey guys, so i know this may come as a shock to you, buuuuut i just so happen to have a boyfriend. and i’ve been meaning to tell you for like ages but apparently can’t bring myself to say it to your faces. so yeah uhhh please don’t hate me thanks bye

Cringing a little but trying his best to ignoring his brain, he closed his eyes, pressed send, and threw his phone to the side. He brought up his hands and covered his face, taking deep breathes. His phone buzzed about fifty times, but he ignored it, scared to see what the others would say. Eventually, the phone started ringing.

He glanced over, seeing Patton’s name pop up on the screen. He groaned. Really wasn’t in the mood to talk. Texting was one thing, holding a conversation was another.

He let the call go to voicemail, then picked up his phone, reading through the messages in the group chat.

Patton: :O

Patton: Virgil!

Patton: that’s awesome!!!

Patton: who is it?

Logan: Oh, that is great news Virgil. If the reason you were afraid to tell us is because of the implications of having a 'boyfriend’ rather than a 'girlfriend’, I’d just like to let you know that I support you regardless of that fact, and I assume Patton does as well. I’m sure you’re aware of Patton’s pansexuality and my own homosexuality, so really no issue. That being said, I’m very happy for you.

Patton: tell me everything!!!!!

Patton: oh yeah Logan’s right of course we accept you v

Patton: Virgil? You there buddy?

Patton: Virgilllllllll

Virgil breathed in, and quickly typed out a response.

Virgil: yeah, uh, thanks guys. i mean i wasn’t afraid about the whole gay thing anyway but i’m glad to know that y'all accept me and shit.

Virgil: anyway. uh.

Virgil: i’m dating remus.

~*~

The next day at school, all six of them sat together for lunch. Patton invited Remus and D over to their own table, which Remus quickly accepted and D more reluctantly accepted after heavy persuasion from Remus. After texting his friends the night before, Virgil had managed to convince them that Remus was good for him. Upon explaining that he was in love and all that, Patton was pretty quick to accept it all. And Logan didn’t really need much convincing - he never really had that much of a problem with Remus in the first place, only knowing what Roman had told him.

But he and Remus were together now, and nothing could stop that. Maybe his mother hadn’t spoken to him since that dinner, but Virgil didn’t care too much about that - it wasn’t as if she spoke much to him before. Same with his father. He had Remy, at least, still supporting him from the side, and Roman now as well he guessed.

Remus and Virgil held hands under the table as they ate. And that was fine. Everything was fine now.

~*~

Virgil collapsed against Remus’ body, closing his eyes. It was after school, and neither particularly wanted to go home, so they sat together on the school field, watching the clouds float by. Remus wrapped an arm around Virgil’s shoulder, pulling him in tight.

“Thank you,” Virgil whispered. “For being here.”

Remus began to stroke Virgil’s hair. “You don’t need to thank me.”

“But this is exactly what I needed. After all the shit that went down in my last school,” Virgil said.

Remus shook his head. “You don’t need a boyfriend because of that. You need a support system, and you have it. I’m just glad your friends don’t hate me anymore.”

Virgil giggled. “Yeah, I guess that’s a plus.”

“I’m glad you came back,” Remus said. “I missed you so much.”

“Well.” Virgil smiled. “I’m never leaving again.”

They kissed, all of their worries fading away into the air around them.

[loveydoveyfrog]

fallingforyou pt.2

Ok i should mention that this fic has almost nothing to do with canon LMAO sorry i guess you could call this a UniAU or something idk. Anyway part two sorry if this is a little slow burny but i just love pining ok

Again, if you spot any mistakes or ways in which i make this non inclusive please lmk!!

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Pairing: Atsumu Miya x Reader Words: 2.6k Warnings: None that i’m aware of Part 1 | Part 3

Your whole day was shrouded in dejavu. It’s been a week since your stair incident, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t looking out for your saviour all week. You found yourself scanning crowds wherever you went on campus, be it a quiet library or a busy cafe. You’d mentally slap yourself when you caught yourself doing it. What would you even do if your eager eyes found his again? You were slightly aggravated at his absence. Who the hell catches someone on the stairs, casually calls them pumpkin and then disappears? Even now, your whole lecture seemed a haze as you kept wondering about what would happen once you stepped out of class. Would he be there again? A part of you wished he would, though you didn’t know what it would lead to aside from an awkward smile. Your fingers idly fiddled with your little bat stud earrings as your mind drifted here and there. The accessory was small and tasteful, but they still had the spooky spirit. You didn’t even notice the lecture come to an end until your friend was prodding your shoulder with an insistent finger. Quickly gathering your things, you followed your friend to the dreaded staircase. You turned around, half expecting the boy from last week to be behind you, but the hallway was empty. Your chest felt tight. Was it relief? Or did you hope he would be there? Your friend surprisingly made no comments about the incident last week, though you did make sure to hold onto the rail as you made your way down.

After a week of searching, a pair of familiar eyes finally found yours after you stepped outside the double doors of your block. Would it be naive of you to think he waited for you? You felt an additional set of eyes on you, a gaze belonging to someone with wildly styled black and white hair. You barely registered the other person next to the golden haired boy before he caught your attention again.

“Did ya make it down the stairs safely this time?” he said with a melodic laugh, “Or did someone else have to catch ya?” he asked, his eyes drifting to your friend who seemed to share his amusement. On the other hand, your mysterious hero’s friend’s face flooded with realisation upon hearing his teasing regarding stairs, putting two and two together.

A grand blush and slight frown morphed your face, opening your mouth to respond that actually, you made it down just fine, but you were interrupted before you could get even one syllable out.

“Oh! Is that them, Atsumu?” He asked, oddly enthusiastic.

Atsumu. His name was now branded on your brain, filling out all the gaps in your daydreams. Your friend’s head darted to the new person in the equation. Did he drop his name on purpose? Either way, an idea quietly blossomed in their mind as they watched the interaction play out.

You, however, were astounded. Before Atsumu could even react to his friend’s question, you blew up, clearly mortified.

“You TOLD HIM?” you exclaimed, gripping the strap of your bag to ground yourself. Atsumu’s eyes snapped from confused to entertained in seconds, letting out another laugh.

“Sorry, Pumpkin, it’s not every day I get to be a hero,” he explained, though his tone was anything but apologetic. Unbelievable. How could he call you that so casually, as if it didn’t set your racing? His satisfied eyes left yours to acknowledge your laughing friend. They exchanged a few comments about last week’s incident, sharing jokes about your ordeal, however you weren’t able to focus, no matter how annoyed you might be. You felt an electrifying gaze fixed on you; Atsumu’s friend was staring at you, unblinking, as if absorbing your entire essence. You tried to avoid his borderline glaring, shrinking back as if it would make you disappear from his line of sight. Atsumu noticed you were no longer defending yourself from his or your friend’s teasing, clocking how uncomfortable you suddenly looked. His eyebrows stitched themselves into a quick frown, his voice switching from light and playful to deep and stern.

“Oi, Bokuto, don’t stare.” he said, flicking said friend in the temple to snap him out of his trance. He yelped out a melodramatic OW, mumbling out an apology as he rubbed his head and avoided staring or even glancing at you. Atsumu’s hands returned to the pockets of his blue hoodie, his smile providing a seemingly genuine apology. Bokuto, as you had just learned, tapped away on his phone. His miserable demeanour quickly melted away as his head whipped around. Almost immediately you heard someone yell his name. You spotted a bright head of ginger hair in the distance, waving enthusiastically, shouting something about hurrying up and being late. Bokuto shouted back at the boy, looking to Atsumu expectantly. The boy in question gave you another warm smile.

“Stay safe, yeah? I can’t always be around,” he teased.

“And you stop bragging and telling people about what happened,” you said, a bit more hostile than you intended, “it’s embarrassing,” you muttered under your breath, but loud enough for him to catch your words. He only responded with a hum, not accepting nor denying your plea. And with that he turned and walked away, Bokuto giving you a loud BYE and wave as he ran ahead to meet with the ginger boy. You grumbled something incohesive. That went nowhere. Were you destined to see him once a week? For him to plague your thoughts for days, later thinking you’re over it only for him to show up and fuel your mind all over again? It seemed unfair. You were dragged out of your thoughts by your friend’s drawn out groan.

“He left way too soon,” they stated, “I was totally gonna drop your name before he went.” They crossed their arms, clearly, if not more, dissatisfied than you were. You only looked at them quizzically. You didn’t want to admit that maybe you liked him not knowing your name. Using Pumpkin as a placeholder was awfully cute. “Well hey, at least you know his name now.” You shrugged, still trying to appear disinterested to your friend, though that fact was the only thing on your mind. You started to walk towards the library. Your friend followed, glancing back to see Atsumu and his friends to have already vanished from the scene. As you entered the building, holding the door open for your friend, you noticed them giving you a cheeky smile. You tilted your head in question.

“He told people about you,” they said as they nudged you. You blushed but put on a defensive front nonetheless.

“What’s your point? As if you wouldn’t tell people you saw someone fall,” you accused.

“Ok well-” they were cut off by a sharp shhh from a nearby librarian. They raised their hand in apology and followed after you, searching the aisles to find you. “I think this was different,” they whispered.

“Why?” you couldn’t help but feel hope bubbling up inside you. Your friend looked around before responding, the sentence too long to simply whisper.

“Well you saw the way the other guy looked at you. He was curious, as if he was trying to figure something out. And he dropped his name out of nowhere. He’s totally acting as his wingman,” your friend winked, though you seemed unconvinced. The name drop didn’t seem deliberate to you, but you had to admit there was something odd about his stare.

“And,” your friend lifted a finger to illustrate their point, “he didn’t laugh.” This caught your attention.

“What?”

“He didn’t laugh! If Atsumu was talking about you and treating you as some kind of joke, surely the guy would have joined in on the teasing. But he didn’t.” Your friend looked satisfied with their theory. You hummed, considering their arguments.

“I guess you have a point,” you said, emphasising the word guess to signify your still present doubts.

“Trust me, you’ll see him again next week,” they caught the glare from the same librarian and lowered their voice, “or sooner!” They gave you a wide, encouraging smile. You sincerely hoped that would be the case. Only time could tell.

-  

The days got increasingly colder as your semester went on. It was a Wednesday morning, and though you only had one fairly short class today, it wasn’t a day you particularly enjoyed as you and your friend were in separate classes, yours being in the afternoon. You’d accompany your friend to the campus, and waiting alone was no fun task. Yes, you could use this time to be productive and study, but you’d much rather watch people out of the grand window of the main building, your eyes following random figures as they bustled around, getting to wherever they needed to be. Yes, maybe you were using this time to spot a familiar mess of blonde hair, but you wouldn’t admit that to anybody. Not even yourself. You took out your phone to check the time, groaning when you saw you still had at least 2 hours to waste. You tapped your fingers on your knee, pondering your next move. Maybe you should study a bit.

You lifted yourself with a sigh, readjusting your new pumpkin hair pins for good measure and headed for the revolving doors. The cold air slammed into you as soon as you stepped out, the temperature shock being so severe that you had to give yourself a second to calm your watering eyes. You fixed up your scarf to cover up more of your neck, setting your destination for the library. Before you could even take a few in your desired direction, something made you stop in your tracks.

“Hey!! Pumpkin!!” a certain someone shouted across the small, busy, university square. Your head swivelled around far too quickly, subconsciously finding too much identification with the nickname. Your eyes were wide when you spotted Atsumu surrounded by a group of friends, amongst which you only recognised Bokuto, who gave you a grin. Atsumu waved at you casually, apparently not finding an issue with publicly labelling you with such a cute nickname. The group seemed equally unfazed, as if used to his antics, though their eyes were trained on you with a certain curiosity. Atsumu had a sly smile on his face when he saw your blush, even at a distance. Bokuto eagerly beckoned you over, to which you looked to Atsumu for confirmation. He coaxed you to come with a nod of his head, his hands comfortable in his pockets. You covered the lower half of your face with your scarf in an attempt to hide your warm blush and made your way over to the group. You were greeted with nods and quiet hellos, though they knew it was pointless as you and Atsumu had your eyes trained only on one another.

“Hey,” he spoke in that deep voice that made your face feel even hotter.

“Hey,” you replied, though you noticed your response was muffled by your scarf. You quickly tugged it down to speak clearly, at which he chuckled. “Hey.” you tried again. Atsumu’s gaze subtly drank in your appearance, definitely noting the new accessories in your hair. By now he figured this was an October exclusive, and he missed them already though November was still weeks away. Bokuto shoved himself between you and Atsumu, breaking the silent tension, not only between the two of you, but the whole group.

“Hello! My name is Bokuto, you already heard his name,” he pointed to Atsumu, but his eyes never left yours, “you are?” he looked at you expectantly, his golden eyes piercing through you. You blinked. Was he really his wingman? Or was he just very VERY excitable? You noticed he was also holding out his hand for a greeting handshake. You took it cautiously, alarmed at how his grip and shake almost rocked your entire body.

“Y/n,” you managed to stutter once his grip lessened. You didn’t catch the glint of jealousy in Atsumu’s eyes. He quickly moved in to take your now available hand. Your eyes shot up to meet him.

“Y/n,” he tested your name on his tongue, immediately loving the taste. “Nice to formally meet ya,” he put a teasing emphasis on the word formally, alluding to your first meeting. Your barriers regarding the embarrassing event finally seemed to break down, feeling comfort in his warm hands, accepting his teasing as non malicious. You giggled.

“Yes,” you agreed “nice to formally meet you,” you said with an equally playful tone. Atsumu tried to look unfazed at your smile, your giggling, the way your body language no longer looked so tense. Though to you he looked just as composed and relaxed as any other time, his friends could easily tell he was close to losing his cool. He noticed he was still holding your hand and quickly let go, but played it off by nonchalantly putting them back in his pockets.

Bokuto looked between the two of you. He knew Atsumu wanted to ask you to come to one of their games, but he didn’t want to scare you off by being too forward too soon. He could almost see the gears turning in his head, testing out the different scenarios and how to bring it up, whether to simply ask you to come, or to ask if you have any interest in volleyball, or to just casually bring it up and see how you respond. Before either Bokuto or Atsumu could speak up, someone else in the group spoke up.

“Where’s Hinata? We’re going to be late to the meeting.” grumbled a boy with a face mask, unbothered by the way it muffled his words.

“Ah, he must still be practicing in the gym,” explained Atsumu, taking out his phone to check the time.

“What…” the masked boy frowned even more. Practicing? With who? The whole team was here. Surely he wasn’t just jumping around in an empty gym hall.

Your head tipped to the side in interest.

“Practice? What do you play?” You took in Atsumu’s build. You should have guessed he was some kind of athlete. His face brightened at the opportunity.

“Ah, volleyball,” he hummed.

“You should come watch us play some time!” Bokuto jutted in, his face slightly too close to yours. Atsumu grabbed the back of his hood to jerk him back. You let out a small laugh, finding it amusing how this is the second time Atsumu had to control Bokuto. He tried to ignore the flutter in his chest when he heard you laugh, releasing the iron grip on his friend.

“Definitely,” his voice was almost a purr. You swallowed and nodded. His demeanour went back to bright and playful, “perfect, I’ll let ya know when somethin  comes up.” You nodded again as if in a trance, making him smile fondly. He quickly checked the time again and turned to go. “See ya ‘round then, yeah?” he said with a wave. You waved in response.

“Just don’t cheer when he serves.” said the masked boy sternly before he went to follow the retreating group. His voice sent an unpleasant shiver down your spine. It seemed like a threatening warning rather than friendly advice on sports etiquette. You turned back in the direction of the library, not wanting to stare at the group until they disappeared. Your walk to your destination seemed a haze. You wondered when you’d hear from him again, and cursed at yourself for not asking him for his phone number. There’s always next time, you thought to yourself.

Till next time, then.