#i wanted to save what i said on a discord chattering because i thought was funny

[windydrawallday]

I don't need a significant other, I only need someone to finish an AU with me.

[jaskiersvalley]

Fire In My...Heart

Of late I seem to be going on a lot about bingo cards on Discord servers. I promise I’m only doing two! And the first one had the most wonderful square: Vet/Firefighter AU. It would seem I’m back on the Eskel/Cahir/Lambert train.

Animals were easy to understand. They didn’t lie, they didn’t exaggerate, it was why Eskel loved them. He’d changed careers later in life but his old company paid out compensation for the injuries to his face so he could afford to retrain as a vet. For a while, he’d thought he would end up working with domestic animals but the time spent on farm animals had him thoroughly enthralled. Even when he was called out at 2am because a calf had gotten stuck and he was up to his shoulder in a cow. The only saving grave was that Lambert was going to be working nights for the next 4 days so he came along, trying to convince his body clock that sleeping during the day was the newest fashion.

It was a happy ending, the calf was pulled free and Eskel was washing up when the owner came in, chattering nervously. The farm next door had a barn fire and the firefighters were struggling to contain the fire. Usually, Eskel would sigh and shake his head in sympathy, but stepping out, even he could see the orange of the blaze and he spotted Lambert sitting on the hood of the car, watching intently.

“We off to help?” Eskel asked, resigned to it already.

“What if they need us? If there were animals in the barn?”

Snorting, Eskel shook his head. “You mean you want to watch beefy firefighters in action, right?”

“You know me too well.” Lambert stole a kiss before hopping into the car and Eskel followed. Getting over to the other farm didn’t take too long, not when it was Lambert driving and there was nobody else on the roads.

They hopped out and watched as people hurried around, coordinating. A team of three firefighters walked into the burning barn which could only mean one thing, someone or something alive was still in there. Chances were, Lambert or Eskel’s skills were about to be needed.

Sure enough, one of the firefighters emerged with a goat on a tether and Eskel was lurching into action, hurriedly explaining he was a vet. At a glance, the goat looked fine, if very stressed. She left Eskel give her a once over and he noted that she was lactating.

“Where are the kids?”

“One’s right here,” a gruff voice said and a small goat bleated indignantly before trotting up to the one Eskel had just checked over. “There was another one but we couldn’t get to it. Cahir tried.”

No more words were needed, Eskel understood. He nodded and focused on the two that did survive. At least the mother wouldn’t be bereft and searching for her kids for days on end.

A bellow of “Cahir you twit!” went up and a couple of people, including Lambert, were running to the third person emerging from the burning barn. Even Eskel found himself standing and approaching because the so-called Cahir had his oxygen mask held over the face of the goat in his arms while soot smeared across his cheeks and his eyes were red, watering from irritation.

Unlike the other firefighters, Cahir crouched with the kid, keeping his mask firmly over its nose and mouth, rubbing its chest to get it moving.

“Let me,” Eskel murmured and took over. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lambert start talking to Cahir, carefully checking him over.

It took a few minutes but the goat finally gave a groggy bleat and Eskel laughed in relief. While it wasn’t a certified happy ending, it was one step closer and he sat back, large hands gently guiding the kid onto shaking legs.

“That’s it, Lil Bleater,” he encouraged and listened to Lambert cheering even as he made a jibe about the name.

“You saved him,” a hoarse voice croaked and Cahir shuffled closer, a shaking hand held out for Lil Bleater to sniff. Eskel felt kind enough not to mention the tears running down Cahir’s cheek, allowing the pretence of it being from smoke irritation to stand.

“You too,” Lambert butted in, “you both did.”

That was when Eskel knew Lambert was infatuated. Then again, Eskel was also intrigued but someone who would risk their own life to save that of a goat. In his books, that was not a bad person by any means.

“In my professional opinion,” Lambert continued,” Cahir needs a few days to recover. Smoke inhalation is no laughing matter.”

By then, the blaze seemed mostly under control and the firefighter in charge came over to look too.

“You’re benched.” There was no arguing and Eskel watched Cahir nod. “Endangering your life for an animal. Again. You can’t take this one home too.”

And there went Eskel’s heart. He looked up at Lambert who nodded with a grin.

“Well, it seems we’re no longer needed here,” Eskel said and looked to the chief who nodded. “You’ve had a paramedic check Cahir over, a vet to help with the animals.” Next to him, Cahir was valiantly trying to stifle a coughing fit to save face. “Maybe overnight observations could be beneficial, with Cahir’s agreement, will you discharge him from duty and into our care?”

The cough turned into a splutter and Cahir looked between them wide eyed.

“Did you just proposition me?”

“Did you want us to?” Lambert shot back with an easy grin. “I suppose I could ask your boss whether I can borrow you to suck your dick.”

Hands up, the firefighter in charge laughed and shook his head. “Give me a minute to talk to my idiot privately.”

Eskel busied himself with the goats, fussing them while they waited. Even Lambert seemed to have grown a sense of decency and wasn’t outright ogling Cahir and his boss. Even when Cahir started stripping out of his protective gear.

At long last, he was coming over. “Sorry about that, boss had a few questions.”

“Oh?”

“Well, he asked me if I really wanted to go home with two beefy guys who randomly rocked up at a fire in the middle of the night.”

Teasing, Lambert swayed closer. “And what did you say?”

“I said ‘hell yes’. Obviously.”

[twokinkybeans]

Popsicle [Starker]

Summary:  Tony sees Peter at a kink club; bound, blindfolded, gagged and whipped and Tony... God, it messes with his head. It sure makes working in the lab with Peter a whole lot more difficult.

Prompt: Written for the following prompt by @Kaydu on AO3/Discord (so all credits for this amazing idea go to her)! Post resurrection Tony runs into Peter at night unintentionally. At a kink club. Blindfolded and gagged and being whipped across the back while mounted on a St Andrews cross and then forced in his knees to suck off the Dom where he is humiliated by slurs and insults and Peter doesn’t know at first that Tony saw him there doing that until after a few weeks of Tony acting particularly odd in the lab working together.

Warnings: Nff, kink, bdsm-themes. Mostly Peter and Tony just really like each other. Peter Parker is depicted as an adult.

Find on AO3 here!

-

Popsicle: Tony knows this is probably not one of his brightest ideas but he really needs to blow off some steam. He’s not here looking for a hook-up; not that he’d decline if someone were to offer it of course. He just needs a change of scenery. And this, well, this is his favorite scenery. When Tony walks into the club an instant smile works its way onto his face. The familiar sounds surround him. The slow, sensual beat of the music playing in the background, but also the moans, the happy chatter, the whips cracking in the distance. It’s home to Tony.

He heads straight for the bar and orders a strawberry daiquiri like he always does. It’s nice, the sweet sting of the fruit mixed with the bitterness of the alcohol. He doesn’t want to start on the club’s fine selection of whiskey right away.

Tony ignores the way the bartender looks at him when he orders. He’s used to the stares by now. People don’t know how to treat him anymore. After almost dying to save the world, they simply are too impressed or scared or weirded out by him. He doesn’t like the godlike devotion some people have decided to give him, doesn’t like how he makes conversations fall silent where he passes. But, he decided a couple of months ago, he won’t allow himself to succumb to the feeling. He’s got his little Avengers family to keep him company. If this is the price he has to pay for saving the world, he’ll happily endure it. He has the idle hope that things might return to their previous way of being, and until then, he’ll try to pretend they are. One of the things he used to do was residing at the bar in this particular club and enjoy the scenes unfold in front of him. So that’s exactly what he’ll do today.

There’s actually quite the number of scenes going on right now - the biggest one happening on the stage in the middle of the room. A familiar-faced Domme, a regular probably, is teaching a shibari workshop. Her sub, a sweet-looking young woman is definitely enjoying both the ropes and the public’s attention. They even let some of the folks in the audience try their way around the knots as well. Then, in the back and the sides of the room, there are some smaller scenes taking place. Wax play, not one of Tony’s favorites, and some bootlicking, also not one of his favorites. No. Tony’s attention is drawn by the scene taking place almost in front of him. A cute, young twink is bound to the St. Andrew’s cross. The sub’s back showing angry lines of where the heavy flogger had kissed the skin. The boy is shivering, moaning, pleading for more through the gag that’s in his mouth. He’s blindfolded, too. The Dom, a tall, muscular blonde grins as he gives into the subs pleas more than happily and lowers the flogger once more. Tony shifts on the barstool to give his already growing erection a little more space while he keeps watching. God, the sub… He looks amazing. Not too tall, strong muscles gliding underneath the smooth skin every time he arches his back. Tony loves the cute, firm little butt too. If he were the one holding the flogger he’d definitely redden the pale cheeks some more. As would he give special attention to those probably very sensitive thighs. With his legs spread in the cross like that, Tony doesn’t even need a lot of imagination to see how pretty his legs would shake. The twink sure reminds him of… No.

Tony’s nostrils flare slightly and he sips at his drink in an attempt to cool himself down just a little. Ever since defeating Thanos a little over a year ago, he hadn’t gotten laid once. With people being squeamish around him he had no chance, and even if people weren’t weirded out by him, they were by the fact that he had a fully operative, natural-looking prosthetic arm. The neurofeedback allowed it to work as a regular arm- so much even Tony tends to forget it’s a fake one. He sighs. He hasn’t even shared a simple kiss with someone since it happened. His body doesn’t like it. It’s starting to protest the lack of touch. Maybe he should find himself someone tonight after all. Get it out of his system. He knows it’s idle hope, but the thought is nice.

Tony finishes his drink and is just about to make his way into the more crowded area, when the Dom in front of him unties his sub. The boy turns around, and-

Tony blinks. Once. Twice. A third time. He can feel the blood drain from his face and somehow simultaneously rush south. There, right there, is no one other than Peter fucking Parker. His friend. His colleague. His mentee. Tony has to bite back a moan because everything about Peter makes him want to claim him for himself. His disheveled hair, his rapidly rising and falling chest, his hard cock… not too big but standing up hard and proud between his legs. He’s still blindfolded though. And a ring gag is causing him to drool all over his chest. He looks so fucking filthy. Tony has no clue how to deal with this. How to deal with… Goddammit. He thought he was over his attraction to Peter. The 21-year old and he hadn’t been able to meet much lately and it’d done wonders to Tony’s unhealthy crush.

Guess he fooled himself.

He’s frozen in place. He would never interrupt a scene. Never. No matter how much he wants to do it right now, he is not going to break the rule he set for himself all these years ago. Plus, it’s club policy. Peter obviously consented to this scene and Tony interrupting would only cause embarrassment for all parties involved and could throw the boy into the deep end of a sub drop. No. All he can do is watch. Watch and pray Peter never finds out.

---

Making sure Peter never finds out didn’t seem too difficult of a task. Tony is soon proven otherwise though. Working with the kid has never been as challenging. Every time Tony lays his eyes on him he remembers Peter’s mouth working around the other Dom’s shaft. Eagerly sucking and worshipping it without fail. The image is branded into Tony’s mind. He can’t unsee it, no matter how hard he tries.

Today, Tony is certain the universe is taking its revenge on him somehow. Making him pay for all the bad things he’s done in his past, probably. Peter is naked. Naked. Right there. Right in front of him. Sucking on a fucking popsicle almost the same way he sucked on the man’s cock that day. He’s chatting happily, making innocent jokes and laughing as Tony works his way through the suit to find the one error that Peter can’t seem to fix by himself. Friday hasn’t detected anything wrong so the glitch is probably a crack somewhere in the nano sections. He’s trying to find it, really, but Tony has never had this little focus before in his entire life. He stares at the suit. At his own fingers checking and rechecking every fiber of the supple yet strong material to find the crack. So far, no luck. He forces himself to not look at Peter. To try to ignore him. To-

“Mr. Stark?” Tony looks up instantly and mentally curses himself for his lack of self-restraint. “Mmh?” Peter sucks on the popsicle, licking off the drops threatening to fall off, before he speaks again. “Am I… Annoying you? Should I go and wait somewhere else until you’re done? I don’t want to disturb you and-” “No. Stay.”

The words are out of Tony’s mouth before he realizes his mistake. He stays silent. Doesn’t even try to cover up because he knows it’s no use. Instead, he lowers the fabric of the suit and rests his hands on the surface- waiting for Peter to speak. It takes a while. “Mr. Stark…” Peter starts and puts the popsicle down onto the plate he used not more than an hour ago for his daily 5-layer sandwich lunch. “I… I should’ve told you. I’m so sorry.” “What?” Tony asks, thoroughly confused. Out of everything Peter could’ve said, this is not what he expected. Peter fiddles with his hands and drops his gaze to the floor. “I know you saw me.”

Tony’s brains sure as fuck short circuit right there and then. What? Peter continues before he has a chance to speak. “My Spider-senses. They recognize people that I’m close to. I… I knew you were watching me, eh, the entire time.” “Peter-” “I liked it. I liked that you were there. Made me try extra hard.” Peter licks his lips and stands up from his chair then, slowly striding towards Tony who is increasingly intimidated by the boldness of the boy. “I could sense how hard you were.” Another step closer. “How your breathing increased over time.” Closer. “How you rushed off after I made the Dom come in my mouth.” Peter hops onto the research table and his legs dangle playfully in the air. Tony can’t help but notice the slowly growing cock between the boy’s legs and he gulps.

“Peter,” he repeats, his mind startled and scattered and entranced by the plain sexiness in front of him. “Don’t you want to do the same to me, Sir?” Tony growls. Actually growls. Low, the sound reverberating deep in his throat. He bridges the gap between them and raises Peter’s chin in a rough but careful motion. “Are you a hundred percent certain you want to do this with me?” “Please,” Peter begs and Tony’s gone. His right hand finds its way into Peter’s messy hair instantly. Grabbing a good handful of those chestnut curls. The other hand wraps around Peter’s waist to drag him closer. Peter lets out a high-pitched moan, bucking his hips up. The moan is muffled when their lips crash together in one swift motion. Tony claims it. Claims it all. Suckling on Peter’s lower lip, tilting the boy’s head in the exact right angle. “S-sir, please. Please I need you so bad,” Peter babbles into Tony mouth and Tony’s entire system surges forward. His abdomen tingling with an increasing need to pound this sweet sub into oblivion. He can’t believe Peter has known all these weeks, all these weeks of innocent teasing and playfulness- god. The popsicle sure hadn’t been an accident. And the suit…

“The suit, pretty Pete, is it broken at all?” “N-no!” Peter squeaks and Tony grins, pulling back slightly. He moves a loose strand back behind Peter’s ear and basks in the hungry gaze right in front of him. “You little bastard,” Tony laughs and yanks Peter’s head back with a controlled motion. Peter gasps, his cock twitches, and his hands dig into the metal surface beneath him. “Everything for you, Sir. I did everything for you.” “Nngh, such a good boy. So eager to get my cock aren’t ya?” “Yeah, need it. I need it so bad.”

Tony carefully releases his grip on Peter before he moves his hands down hastily to undo the fly of his now way too tight jeans. He curses, muttering under his breath, as he slides it down. God, never in his life had he been more grateful for the weird habit of not wearing shoes inside the lab. Peter in return, shifts to lay down face-up on the table. His head tilted to the side and oh fuck oh fuck Tony knows exactly what he’s offering right there. He kicks his boxers off too and strokes his achingly hard cock a few times to release some of the tension that had been building up over the course of merely a minute. Peter follows the motions with his eyes and bites on his bottom lip. He then looks up at Tony with the most innocent and at the same time filthy gaze Tony has ever seen in his entire life. This boy will be his undoing. “Open up, baby,” Tony grunts and Peter complies right away. His lips part in a perfect seductive O-shape and Tony takes a step closer, his cock now dangling in front of Peter’s face. “Come on, suck it honey.”

Peter has to crane his neck even more to properly reach it and he does exactly that. Tony’s legs nearly give out when the soft, hot, wet lips wrap themselves around his way too sensitive flesh. His pelvic floor muscles jerk involuntarily- his dick twitching as a result of it. It only makes Peter moan and slide down onto the shaft more. His tongue is fucking heaven, smooth as velvet and so hot, playfully circling the head of his cock. Around, up and down, the tip of Peter’s tongue teasing the slit and Tony can literally feel precum oozing onto the boy’s tongue. “God, aren’t you a filthy little thing,” Tony breathes. His voice is rough and shaky and he loves how it has Peter’s cheeks flush a bright red. “You like having your mouth stuffed?”

The boy nods as much as his current position allows him to and it sets off yet another heatwave throughout Tony’s abdomen. He knows he won’t last long. Not with Peter, beautiful, innocent, perfect Peter who looks so content pleasuring his newfound Dom. Tony decides the boy deserves the same amount of pleasure he himself is experiencing right now. While one hand reaches up to Peter’s neck to support it and keep it from straining, the other moves towards Peter’s hard and now leaking cock. His calloused fingers wrap around Peter’s delicate skin and he slowly moves it down. Peter’s uncut, and the movement allows for the beautiful pink head to be revealed. Peter’s hips buck into the touch, the kid’s nostrils flaring wide as he chases the pleasure given to him. “You deserve this, pretty boy, deserve to have your cock milked by me. You’ve wanted it for so long now, so take everything I’ve chosen to give you.” Tony has never been this vocal during sex but the words just keep coming and coming without stop. “Gonna show me every inch of your pleasure as I’ll make you cum. It’s mine. You’re mine. My sweet, sweet Peter.” “M-m!” Peter whimpers around Tony’s cock still pounding into his mouth relentlessly. Tony moans out loud, his hips and hand speeding up in the same rhythm. He’s desperate. Desperate for release. Desperate to see Peter’s eyes roll back as white stripes of cum stain his ripped abdomen. He wants Peter filthy and used and then coddle him back to reality.

“You close yet? Ready to show me how adorably your cock will surrender to me?” Peter hollows his cheeks now, sucking and looking up at Tony teary-eyed with happiness and belonging. Tony feels equally surprised by how well their bodies seem to fit together, as if they’d never done anything but this. As if it were meant to be. For a short moment, Tony pulls his cock out of Peter’s mouth. The cold air makes it sting a little and he loves how Peter’s head moves forward in a futile attempt to chase it. “Beg for it, Peter. For everything,” Tony hisses and Peter doesn’t even need a second to think before he complies to Tony’s order. More than he ever deemed possible from the supposedly innocent young adult. “Please please please Sir, please, I want to taste your cum in my mouth. Want it to drip past my cheek because I can’t take it all. Want to show you how amazingly good you make me feel, want to gift you with my cum. Please, Sir. Please take everything you want from me. Plea-”

Tony shoves his cock back past Peter’s lips and enjoys how it muffles the rest of the boy’s plea. His hand around Peter’s cock speeds up. Faster, and faster, as he pounds faster into Peter’s mouth as well. The movements fall into a steady rhythm that has both men lose their minds in ecstasy. “Peter-Peter, I’m so close. Gonna fill you up so nicely. I’ll give you exactly what you so desperately want. Want my cum to mix with your drool and watch how it slips past your plump lips.” Tony just- god. Oh god. He can’t. He can’t stop it anymore. His dick tenses, jerks. An all-consuming pleasure starting at the base surges through his entire cock, drawing his balls tight and he collapses forward as wave after wave after wave flows through his entire being. Hot spurts of come stain Peter’s wet tongue and the boy is whimpering like mad, the sound echoing right through him like a song stuck on repeat. For a moment, Tony is completely disoriented. The boy’s suckles slow down as his cock softens up inside the kid’s mouth. The gentle, kissy feel of it has Tony shiver.

“F-fuck,” he chokes out and lets his thighs now rest against the edge of the metal table to support himself while his hand still pumps Peter’s cock like a fucking machine. Peter’s legs are shaky, too. Toes curling and uncurling to release the tension that is so obviously building inside his body. He’s wound tight like a spring ready to jump into action. It’s only a matter or seconds now. The boy’s whimpers and whines and breathy gasps are mingling together into a sweet symphony of plain and simple bliss and Tony wishes this moment would never ever end. But his desire to make Peter lose it wins out. “Come for me, boy. Show me how desperate you have been for me all this time. Give it to me all, I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Lose it baby, and I’ll catch you.”

Peter’s body literally trashes on the cold surface. The pent-up neediness finally finding a way to release itself. Peter cries out, his eyes open wide as his lower body shakes with every single eruption. The cum stains his hard chest and stomach beautifully. Tony watches mesmerized. He’s seen Peter in the club, but that’d been nothing. Absolutely nothing compared to the view in front of him right now. “M-Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark,” Peter mumbles, moaning, repeating the name over and over again until finally his body goes entirely limp. Tony sucks in a sharp breath, carefully unwrapping his now sticky fingers from his hold on Peter. He moves his hand up, trailing, smearing the cum even further across the smooth skin of the boy’s chest. All the way up to his nipples and more, until Peter’s soft and reddened lips suck a hint of his own cum from Tony’s fingers. “Hey baby,” Tony murmurs. His free hand has crept up to Peter’s face to caress his cheek gently. Peter shivers underneath the touch and another, soft, weak moan rises from his chest. “Mmmm,” he breathes. “-‘m feeling so nice.” Peter’s speech is clearly slow and slurred and Tony smiles down at the boy happily. He feels fulfilled in a way he’s never experienced before. “Good boy,” Tony replies sweetly and he leans in. Carefully, he presses his lips on top of Peter’s forehead. Kissing the skin again, and again. Gentle. Caring. His body filled with a need to protect and spoil this beautiful creature now that he’s no longer caught up with the need to release. “Come, lemme carry you upstairs.”

Peter perks up at that. “Y-your bedroom?” “Yes, why?” “Mmmmh, nothing. Nothing. I’m just very very very happy.” Peter giggles and rolls to his side a little. Tony cracks a smile. He knows what Peter meant. Knows that Peter knows that Tony has a strict rule of not taking people to his bedroom. It’s an unspoken promise. Something they’ll discuss later. Not now. Now, he’s going to spoil this boy to no end, wrap him in the softest blankets and whisper sweet nothings into his ear until he’s fully back on Earth. He slides his arms underneath Peter’s unresisting figure and lifts him up bridal style. The boy nuzzles his face into Tony’s neck. Cum is dripping from him, against Tony’s shirt and onto the floor but he couldn’t care less. “Mr. Stark?” “Yes, sweetness?” “You owe me another popsicle.”

Tony laughs.

[polar534]

Slumber Party... OF DOOM!

So. Here is my submission for @johnnysfire ‘s TOH Prompt challenge. For anyone who doesn’t know the prompt chosen was “Evil.”

I asked my lovely friends from discord whether I should go emotional or lighthearted with this and they said lighthearted, so here we are. It was actually really really fun to take a topic like evil and twist it to something fun and hopefully fluffy. I had to keep a lot of things shorter then what I would’ve liked to meet the word count (spoiler alert, I still went a little over), so one day I do plan on fixing this up and making it an actual one shot, detailing the game and everything. Until then, enjoy the read! My idea going in? 

Haunted Boardgame:

(EDIT: Um so Tumblr ate and spat out some paragraphs at random the first time I posted... so hopefully everything is in its correct order. Yikes.)

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

"Pillows?" 

"Check."

"Blankets."

"Check!"

"Hot chocolate?"

3 sets of eyes turned to the green-haired witch sitting in the corner. Amity Blight was currently too busy staring at the glow that inexplicably seemed to surround Luz as she sounded off the ingredients for her perfect 'Slumber Party' to notice her companions all staring at her.

"..."

Amity's eyes shifted only slightly to the left as her ear twitched, finally noticing the silence and the fact that everyone was staring at her.

Wait.

Everyone was staring at her.

"Oh um..." Amity looked around panicked, flushing red as she realized she had completely zoned out. She quickly analyzed the scene. Willow had wrapped a fluffy blanket around herself as Gus clutched a pillow excitedly to his chest.

Right. The checklist. Refusing to look at Luz (to avoid any further embarrassment or lapses in attention), Amity quickly reached out and snatched her sound-off item. Only barely remembering what it was at the last moment, Amity somehow saved herself from the splash of scalding liquid that flew out of her mug.

"Hot chocolate, acquired!" She grinned forcibly and altogether too nervously.

Finally risking a glance up to her crush she realized that Luz was giggling, the human's eyes closed as she snicked softly against her hands.

Amity's ears pressed flat against her head as Willow chuckled to her left.

"Well that would be Amity for 'check.'" The plant witch giggled, shifting her body to face Luz excitedly. "So. What happens now?"

"Yes, what new human traditions are you going to show us? I'm so excited!!" Gus squeaked happily, crushing the pillow in arms.

Luz grinned. "Just a little more patience my friend. We've got to start this off correctly. So… if everyone would grab their cocoa, probably a little more gentler then Amity over there, then I'll begin the toast to make this the best slumber party ev-"

THUMP THUMP

Luz stopped short as all those in attendance whipped around to face the door. Amity was finally able to unhunch her shoulders and stare with the rest of her friends at the mysterious knock at the door. The human was inquisitive herself.

"Luz, I thought you said there was supposed to be no one home tonight?" Amity questioned her curiously, cocking her head slightly to the side.

Luz's brow furrowed as she got up.

"There isn't anyone home tonight."

The entire room seemed to hold it's breath as Luz approached the door and pausing for what had to be dramatic effect, opened it sharply.

"HAH! GOT YOU… absolutely nothing…"

Amity peered around Luz's body to see exactly what was going on only to be met with the same sight and disappointment. An empty hallway.

Glancing both ways in the doorframe, the human shrugged nonchalantly as she went to close the door.

"Wait!" Gus cried from behind all of them. Flinging the pillow away from him and into Willow's stomach, he jumped up and dived underneath Luz to swipe something up from the ground.

Holding it proudly over his head both him and Luz marched back into the room, the bedroom door closing softly behind them. Willow and Amity leaned in close as Gus dropped the mysterious object to the ground with a soft and dramatic thump.

"What… is it?" Willow asked curiously, inspecting what looked to be a black rectangular box that lay before them.

"Is this part of the slumber party?" Gus asked curiously as Luz picked up the box and gave it a small shake.

"Not that I'm aware of. Let's open it!" The human said excitably, turning the box over to rip it open.

"Wait!" Amity yelped, grabbing Luz by the arm to stop her. Realizing what she was doing, Amity immediately dropped the contact, blushing profusely as she pointed to a small piece of paper that had fluttered to the ground.

"A note!!" Luz's eyes twinkled, causing the blushing witch to somehow go even redder. "Amity, you should read it for us!"

"What?!" Amity choked in surprise. "Why me?!"

"You found it! Besides you have a nice voice!" Luz explained casually, shaking the box slightly and holding it up to her ear.

Amity found it difficult to breathe as she shakily grabbed the note and held it in front of her, Willow and Gus scooting forward in excitement. Trying to ignore the thundering of her heartbeat in her chest and the full attention of the room, Amity glanced down at the note.

"Dear Sleeping Party attendants! You have been called upon to vanquish the evil from within this board! Inside you'll find what seems to be a normal board game, but is actually a prison for a very powerful and evil spirit! The only way to keep it's villainy contained is to play and win the game. The world is counting on you. Good luck! Mwehehehehehe."

Amity frowned and reread the note to herself. The world? That seemed farfetched to say the least. Where did this box even come from? Who sent it to them? Looking up Amity saw the stars dancing in Luz's eyes. Her crush was sold. Gus was practically buzzing beside her.

"I've heard of objects that could be bound with spirits before, but never like this!" He babbled excitedly.

"I have! You know how many human stories are filled with things like this? How long I've been wanting to do this?!" Luz grinned, finally figuring out how to open the box.

As the top lid slid off, a cheap and busted old board fell to the ground with a cloud of dust. Flipping the box over, a pile of cards, dice and one rather large hour glass spilled out as Luz gave it one final shake. Willow automatically went to organize everything and flipping the board over Amity saw a long and complicated maze pattern. The entire board seemed to be black, with the path cutting along through it a dull, brownish red. It seemed like each square had one of 3 icons sprinkled randomly throughout. In the very, very center of the board there was some sort of design. Amity reached forward and brushed the dust and dirt away from it as Luz and Gus talked excitedly above her.

The chatter quickly faded as everyone's eyes slid to the symbol that Amity had just uncovered. It was carved into the board itself, the deep grooves of the design painted in a faded and chipped white. Luz stared curiously while Gus, Willow and Amity all exchanged a concerned look. The design was simple, a small circle, with 4 tight loops surrounding it in all 4 cardinal directions, connecting in a diamond pattern in the very center of the circle.

The Witch's Knot.

Luz looked up at the plant witch curiously, one eyebrow raised as Amity swallowed the lump that was quickly growing in her throat.

"Oooh. That's elegant." Luz cooed.

"It's not elegant Luz…" Willow breathed quietly.

"That's," Amity pointed at the symbol, "a witch's knot. It's a symbol used to ward off evil."

Luz turned her head down to the board game and nodded. "Oh I get it, because of the evviiiilll theme this game has going on right?" She chuckled lightheartedly. When no one responded in kind, the human became quiet, her grin slowly slipping off her face.

"No. You don't understand. The Witch's Knot isn't just some superstition or tradition. In the Boiling Isles it had been used as a spell, carved to literally seal away evil. It hasn't been used in centuries though." Amity explained further, staring at the ancient white symbol. A cold feeling crept up her back.

Maybe there really was something to this game.

"Well, that makes what I'm about to say next, something that I have wanted to say forever by the way, a little more somber…" Luz gulped as she grabbed the dice Willow had set aside. The human tossed them into the air, and as they all watched the cubes crash down, she spoke again.

"Let the game… begin."

***

Despite the incredibly dramatic and powerful gesture, Luz had no idea how to play the game, none of them did. Luckily for the companions, Willow eventually found the directions taped to the inside lid of the box Luz had tossed aside. They were scribbled out in child-like handwriting but they were detailed enough to understand:

- Rolling the dice will move your character that many steps forward. On the board there are 3 different symbols. These represent your obstacles, fail to complete them and you lose your life. The only way to reverse this death is for a living player to revive you by taking a detour off the fastest route. Be warned, choosing this path will waste precious time and you will be risking your own life. You may only revive one player per game.

- Each player must choose a small token to represent themselves on the board. You will work together with those around you to overcome each obstacle in your path to the sigil. The goal is to reach the end with at least one player still standing to revive the The Witch's Knot protecting us from the evil.

- You may not begin the game until you have flipped the hour glass. If the last grain drains from the timer and you have not reached the end, evil will be unleashed.

-The Board itself is enchanted to tell if the players are worthy. It will be the judge and jury for the challenges you complete.

[ ~ ] Draw a blue card and cast the correct type of magic listed on it at the board. If you fail to cast the correct spell you lose your life.

Below are the symbols you will encounter on your quest:

[ + ] Draw a pink card and complete the challenge listed upon it. If you fail to meet this challenge you lose your life.

[ * ] Draw a green card. Answer the question on it correctly to move forward. If you get it wrong you lose your life.

Now having read through the rules, everyone seemed a lot more hesitant to start.

- When your token reaches the end, the correct lines to reseal the evil will appear. Read them aloud in a strong and clear voice.

"This seems like a bad idea." Amity echoed the thoughts of everyone in the room. Her amber eyes flicked up and caught Luz's warm brown ones. The human gave her a shaky smile.

"Come on Ami," Amity had to remind herself to keep breathing at the idea of her nickname. "It will be fun. Besides… I'm not exactly itching to find out what happens if we don't play." The human admitted quietly. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the dice.

They had all chose board pieces to represent themselves from Luz's large collection of knickknacks. Luz was a small figure of Azura while Amity was Hecate. Gus found himself a tiny rubber chameleon toy while Willow fittingly found a small plastic flower. Each kid seemed to fidget with their tokens as Luz looked at them each in turn. Nodding, the human set her figure down on the start square. Immediately a buzzing sound filled the room and the dull red path illuminated itself. The symbols now glowed their respective card color.

"Well. That seems ominous." Luz laughed nervously, her eyes growing wide as the light from the path traveled towards the Witch's Knot, as it reached the chipped white paint, the symbol flashed, changing it's paint to a bright angry red. "Scratch that. That is just ominous. Is my soul about to be consumed? Did I just sell my soul to a board game?"

Willow set her piece down next, a small ring of light forming around it as the board recognized yet another player.

"Well, I wasn't really using my soul for anything important at the moment. Let's do this." The plant witch grinned and Amity watched as Luz's confidence swiftly returned.

Gus whooped and set his own piece on the board earning him a wide smile from both of his friends. Soon all sets of eyes drifted to Amity who was staring down at the note that had been originally taped to the box. She couldn't shake the horrible suspicion that someone was setting them up. Looking down at the now glowing and obviously magic board, it was clear they were already too far into the trap to back out now. Taking a deep breath she placed Hecate down right next to Azura.

"Alright. Let's do this." Amity nodded, swiftly grabbing the hour glass sitting next to her. "Is uh, everyone ready?"

"Oooh! Can I say it? Amity pleaaaseeee?" Luz jumped in suddenly, startling the green-haired witch into nearly dropping the time piece. Resetting her heartbeat, Amity handed the hourglass to Luz who grinned widely.

"Alright. This time for real. Let the game begin." The human announced as she flipped it and begun their countdown.

The dice magically floated over to Luz as soon as the first grain of sand hit the bottom of the glass. It was clear who was going first. Tossing them out in front of her Luz rolled a 3 and 5. As she reached to move her figure, it zoomed away from her hand, darting forward 8 spaces by itself. The symbol beneath it glowed a bright pink. A challenge space.

Luz grabbed a card, and the race against time began.

Gus was the first to die, his token being swallowed by the board itself after he lost his balance 2 seconds into a 5 second handstand.

Amity was the next to lose to the game. Her concentration on a fireball spell having been completely shattered by Luz's supportive hand laying on her shoulder. Amity knew it wasn't her simply being startled like Luz apologized profusely for, but there was NO way she would be explaining that today. Not over a stupid board game at least. Fate of the world or not.  

Luz and Willow were about 3/4th through the path leading to the sigil when just a few spaces ahead the path split in two. Written in very faint lettering was the words: "Forest of Revival" by the detour path. Looking down it, the companions saw every single square through the 'forest' was lined with knowledge cards. The path itself eventually weaved back to the sigil, but was easily twice as long and packed with symbols.

If they wanted to revive someone it would be a struggle. Deciding to move forward Willow rolled her dice and landed on a spell square.

"Summon a small abomination to pick up your token off the board."

The group fell silent. Willow had never been good at abominations. She slumped in defeat.

Amity had to speak up, the painful memory of her teasing hanging over the entire room.

"You've got this." She said quietly, looking anywhere but Willow.

Luz's eyes flicked worriedly towards Amity, before they turned back to Willow.

"Amity's right. I've seen you do much cooler then a little abomination." Luz cheered helpfully.

"Thanks you two, but I think we both know what happens now." Willow admitted holding a hand up and drawing a pristine circle.

The resulting pile of barely sentient goop unsurprisingly earned a negative reaction from the board and Willow's token disappeared.

Luz wasted no time grabbing the dice for the next turn. They only had about 20 minutes left.

"I'm going to revive someone." She announced, rolling the dice and moving her token into the empty space before the forest.

"Wait, Luz! The forest is full of knowledge checks. Chances are you're going to get something you haven't learned yet. And we won't be able to help you." Amity spoke up quickly.

"Yeah, well you can't really help me if you all are dead right? Look. I'll be fine. There's 12 spaces to the revive square. If I roll double sixes, I'm there."

"That's a pretty big IF Luz..." Willow said worriedly, glancing over at the hourglass.

Turns out they didn't have to be worried at all. As double sixes appeared on the dice, Azura shot forward safely through the forest and landed directly on the revive square.

"I'm reviving Amity." Luz announced decisively as the square began to glow a bright yellow and Hecate appeared beside Azura.

"Me? Why?"

"Because statistically you are the most obvious choice. Top Student and well versed in multiple different magic tracks." Gus nodded, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Good choice Luz!"

Willow merely looked away in shame and Amity felt guilt twist at her heart.

"Well that's not exactly true, but I figure since all of us are always getting up to magic mischief that Amity should get to be a bigger part of this adventure. Plus, historically we have made a pretty good team." Luz beamed, somehow melting the tension of the entire room with her words.

She practically melted Amity face too as heat rushed to the witch’s cheeks at the compliment.

They resumed the game, getting further and further through the forest. As the sand ran down in the hour glass, Hecate and Azura inched closer towards the sigil and the evil within the board.

"1234...5...6... and 7. Nice! Just enough!!" Luz counted excitedly as the board moved her token into the final square before the Witch's Knot. She glanced worriedly at Amity who was still several spaces away and then at the hour glass with just a sliver of sand left.

They were running out of time.

Luckily the board seemed to recognize Luz's finish as a team victory and Hecate was pulled straight to the end, standing alongside her friend/rival Azura.

Two white cards appeared in front of Luz and Amity.

"Ok. So... now we just read whatever's on this card and the evil gets re-sealed?" Luz asked uncertainly, fidgeting with her card.

Amity simply stared at the white card still laying in front of her, dread building in her chest. If there was ever a time for the trap to spring... it would be now. Haunted objects like this often came with a curse, especially here in the Boiling Isles. The ancient symbol currently pulsating red in the center of the board reminded Amity that there was a chance that whatever 'evil' this board contained may be far too old and powerful to simply be sealed away by two witches in training...

"Yep. And hurry! There's not much time left!" Gus's panicked voice jolted Amity out of her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, Amity snatched the card up and flipped it over, almost completely in sync with Luz.

"To defeat the evil within in this board, I hereby announce that-" The two read off in unison.

"... King is the greatest of all time."

"... Luz is a buttface."

The entire room fell silent as the two finished the 'spell' causing the Witch's Knot in the middle to flash a bright, blinding blue before the entire board went dim.

From the doorway the companions could all hear a malicious cackling.

Amity turned around slowly, only to see the resident demon of the Owl House rolling around on his back, laughing.

"YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN YOUR FACES! Oooooh. Oh nooooo! The evil of the board is going to get usssss. Wheeeeheheehehe."

"King!!" Luz reprimanded angrily, but the smile on her face gave away her true feelings. "You know, if you wanted us to play a board game you made, you could've just asked!"

The little demon pushed himself off the floor and wiped his eyes. He walked to the center of the board and kicked over the hourglass, seconds away from running out of sand.

"Psssh. Like I'd want to be involved in your silly little 'Sleep Party' thing anyways. Not that I got an invite or anything..." King grumbled.

Amity felt bad for the little guy, even if the game had them all stressed over nothing, he just wanted to feel included. Reaching forward hesitantly, knowing she didn't have the best relationship with the demon, Amity gently scooped him into her arms and coddled him.

And to both of their surprise, The King of Demons let her.

"Besides, it's not my game anyways. I just wrote those last two cards." King continued, crossing his arms defiantly from his position in Amity's arms.

Luz frowned. "But if you didn't make it then... who did?"

"I don't know. Eda just had it laying around. I found it a couple of days ago and planned this spectacular and amazing prank to pull on you guys for not inviting me. And it workkkeedd! Hah!"

Amity tensed. Nobody knew who made it? A board this enchanted had to have been made by someone.

"No, that's not right. There has to be some sort of clue, right?" Luz frowned, looking around at her friends.

"I don't know, I didn't look." The demon king shrugged before stretching out and curling tightly into Amity's chest.

"Try flipping it over? Maybe there's a name or something. That's what my dad's always do to our stuff in case it gets lost." Willow suggested helpfully.

Everyone nodded as Luz tentatively reached over and flipped the board over. On the back, faintly scratched into the cheap cardboard, were two initials and a small inscription. They had found their answer.

L + E - Vanquishing evil together. Forever.

The End

[vespertineflora]

this stemmed from an au idea in the 3zun discord and is all thanks to @la-belle-et-la-bete, wherein the initial proposition was: what if Nie Mingjue had actually killed Meng Yao after the events at Nightless City?

this is based on the novel version of the scene, where after Meng Yao kills Wen Ruohan, he carries Nie Mingjue out of the castle to go meet Lan Xichen outside of Nightless City.  

~~~

Lan Xichen left the camp as soon as he received the letter, making his way urgently towards Nightless City. His heart was thumping in his chest and in his ears and wouldn’t be quelled no matter how he tried--if what the letter said was true then... Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao would need his help. There had been no specifics of course, so other than Lan Xichen’s knowledge of how the war had been advancing, he could only know that something big was happening, something important, and that Meng Yao had requested that he meet them outside of Nightless City as soon as possible.

Beyond the worry for his dear friends, beyond the fear at not knowing what was happening was also a low thrum of excitement and hope; he’d be seeing Meng Yao again soon. It had been years since he’d last seen his dear friend, who had been selflessly risking everything by placing himself undercover within Nightless City, under Wen Ruohan’s watchful eye. Lan Xichen’s heart ached with the desire to see him again, with the hope that he might finally be coming home, which would hopefully mean that the whole war would soon be over...

Lan Xichen moved carefully through the forest, watchful of his surroundings despite his hurry, hoping to avoid detection to stay clear of any Wen disciples, though there seemed to be none around. The forest was devoid of any sound beyond the normal forest noises, the soft chattering of animals and insects as he moved quickly forward.

Then in the distance, sudden burst of a short cry caught his ears--in a split second, his hand was on Shuoyue and he took off in the direction of the sound, moving as quickly and as silently as he could through the underbrush, pulse near-fluttering as he weaved in between the trees and tangled plants, hoping for the best and yet fearing for the worst, until he caught sight up ahead, sunlight illuminating a clearing and two familiar figures, both bloody and ragged, one standing above with his saber raised above him, one cowering on the grass below, arms held defensively in front of him. Continue reading on AO3 or below the cut

As soon as Lan Xichen realized what he was seeing, his insides twisted violently, and he shot Shuoyue forth from its sheath as he cried, “Mingjue-xiong!”

Time itself seemed to slow, Lan Xichen’s entire body feeling heavy and restrained as he watched the saber fall and fall and fall, watched Shuoyue slicing through the air as swiftly as it could but not swift enough, and he felt the swell of panic in his chest as he reached ahead of himself, as he pushed forward, half-stumbling over an unseen root before he caught his balance, and as he looked up--

Baxia arched downward, and Lan Xichen watched with abject horror as the blade sliced downward across Meng Yao’s chest.

And then time sped up again. Red gushed forth from the wound, and Shuoyue reached Baxia, clanging against the blade before ricocheting off and dropping to the grass nearby as its owner lost all concern for it. Lan Xichen burst through the treeline, practically skidding across the ground, his heart in his throat as he rushed to Meng Yao’s side, hurrying to pull Meng Yao into his arms, frantically passing him spiritual energy despite the fact that Meng Yao was losing blood rapidly, that his chest was little more than deep red gore that Lan Xichen couldn’t bring himself to look at for more than a second before his eyes quickly settled on Meng Yao’s rapidly paling face.

“Meng Yao,” he cried, feeling his throat tighten, his arms doing the same around Meng Yao’s slender frame as his hand settled on Meng Yao’s cheek, holding it gently.

Meng Yao’s eyes fluttered open, wet with tears, and seemed to take a second to focus on him before... a faint smile spread over his lips. “Zewu-Jun,” he rasped softly.

“Meng Yao,” Lan Xichen repeated back more desperately, his thoughts fluttering uselessly around his head, trying to force as much energy as he could through the touch, despite the nagging voice at the back of his head that knew it was useless. “I got your letter,” he said, unsure why he was saying it until the next words burst forth, “I came as soon as I could.”

The guilt had hardly had time to set in and yet he was already asking for absolution--if he’d moved just a little quicker, if he’d gotten here just a second earlier then...

“I know you did,” Meng Yao told him warmly. His hand raised slowly to settle over the one Lan Xichen had pressed to his cheek, holding it in place there as tears spilled from his eyes, eyes that were locked with Lan Xichen’s. “I’m happy to see Zewu-Jun... one last time.”

“No, Meng Yao, I’m here, we’ll get you help--” Lan Xichen knew he was lying as he said it, lying to Meng Yao and himself in equal measure, but he couldn’t bare to face the truth, and he begged, “Just hold on, please, you have to hold on.”

But Meng Yao’s chest was a gaping wound, and even if the best doctor in the entire world was at his side this very moment, there was nothing to be done. Meng Yao’s hand gave Lan Xichen’s a faint squeeze... and then Lan Xichen watched with a sick desperation as the smile on Meng Yao’s face went slack, as the light of life in his half-lidded eyes dimmed, and as the hand holding Lan Xichen’s fell limply to the ground.

“Meng Yao,” Lan Xichen gasped, holding the limp body closer to his chest, feeling a sharp sting in his eyes as he suddenly struggled to remember how to breath past the heavy hollow feeling filling his chest. His voice was strained as he tried again, bleeding with agony, “Meng Yao.”

He was still forcing spiritual energy through his fingertips and into Meng Yao’s warm skin. It would do nothing now, it couldn’t help, but to stop would be to admit defeat, to accept what had just happened and Lan Xichen couldn’t do that, he couldn’t, he just couldn’t--

“Xichen, stop.”

The voice hit Lan Xichen as sharply as an unexpected plunge into the cold spring, and his gaze snapped to Nie Mingjue, still standing over them with an air of righteous anger about him.

“What did you do?” Lan Xichen asked hollowly, his voice quivering, his eyes flickering down to Meng Yao’s now lifeless face before darting back to Nie Mingjue. “Mingjue-xiong,” he started again, voice raising roughly, hostile to his own ears, “what did you do?!”

“He killed my men, Xichen,” Nie Mingjue spit without restraining his disgust. “He killed them in cold blood!”

“He what?” Lan Xichen demanded, gazing flickering painfully back to Meng Yao, as if waiting for something to change, for the color to come back to his cheeks, for the light to come back to his eyes, wanting to see him smile again--but he couldn’t keep looking, and he forced his watery gaze back to Nie Mingjue.

“Back in Nightless City!” Nie Mingjue shouted, as if angered that Lan Xichen would even question him. “The Wens captured us, and he killed my men!”

“He was working undercover,” Lan Xichen replied. He didn’t know the details of the situation Nie Mingjue was talking about, didn’t know what had happened in the city, but Meng Yao had a cover and Lan Xichen didn’t need to second guess himself to know that Meng Yao had only done what he needed to under such circumstances.

“He--what?” Nie Mingjue stuttered out, finally showing a crack in his anger.

“He was working undercover!” Lan Xichen repeated, incredulous. Nie Mingjue hadn’t known that. Lan Xichen knew that Nie Mingjue hadn’t known that because Lan Xichen hadn’t wanted to tell anyone where he was getting his information for fear that the news would fall upon the wrong ears somehow, but his head was spinning too fast to really remember that right now. “He was sending me letters with the Wen’s battle plans, the letters I was bringing to you! They were from him!”

A touch of doubt crept onto Nie Mingjue’s features at the words, but only for a brief second before the rage came rushing back, Nie Mingjue’s need to justify to himself what he’d just done. “You weren’t there, Xichen!” he retorted. “He didn’t even flinch when he slit their throats. He was ruthless! He didn’t give a shit about our lives at all!”

“Then how did you escape? How did you get out of there alive?” Lan Xichen retorted. Trying to dig for information was the only thing he could do to cling to his sanity at the moment, was the only thing keeping him from focusing on the heavy weight of the body in his arms and the heavier weight of loss in his soul.

“He...” Nie Mingjue hesitated again, as if he was only now putting the pieces together, as if he’d been blinded by rage as much as Lan Xichen was resisting being blinded by grief, but after a moment he finally admitted, “...he killed Wen Ruohan.”

Lan Xichen felt his heart dropping into his stomach, felt a wave of nausea issuing threats at the back of his throat, his thoughts fracturing all over again as he tried to put together some rationale for how Nie Mingjue could have justified this.

“He... killed Wen Ruohan,” Lan Xichen repeated to himself, needing to make sure he’d heard the words correctly. “He killed Wen Ruohan and saved your life and you...” Lan Xichen’s breath caught, his arms tightening once more on Meng Yao, eyes finally dropping back to the painfully placid expression on his face and stinging sharply. Meng Yao’s blood was everywhere, staining Lan Xichen’s pristine white robes with a deep crimson that might never come out, but Lan Xichen couldn’t bear to let go of him.

“You killed him,” Lan Xichen said weakly. His hand was trembling as he reached up to close Meng Yao’s eyes, unable to keep looking and not seeing the twinkle of a smile in them, unable to swallow that he’d never see that twinkle again. “He risked his life to help us win the war, and he saved you, and.... you killed him.”

Meng Yao was dead. Even thinking the words made reality crash sharply down around him, made Lan Xichen feel numb inside at the thought of losing everything that was, and now, everything that would never be. Lan Xichen would never again be graced with Meng Yao’s sweet smile, he would never stay up talking late into the night with him as they relieved each other of their concerns, he would never catch Meng Yao bowing to him and have to raise him back up and correct him ever again.

“How could you?” Lan Xichen's voice was trembling, with despair, with anger, with some emotion he couldn’t even name as he held Meng Yao’s corpse to his chest. “Mingjue-xiong, how could you?”

“Xichen...” Nie Mingjue exhaled softly.

In his periphery, Lan Xichen noticed Nie Mingjue taking a step, moving towards him, and Lan Xichen felt his entire body tense as he shouted, “Stop!”

Nie Mingjue did. 

“Just go,” he said harshly. He wasn’t... he couldn’t... The thought of Nie Mingjue getting close to him, close to Meng Yao after what he’d done was making Lan Xichen feel sick.

“Xichen, please, I--”

“No!” Lan Xichen snapped, his voice so fiercely unlike his own to his ears, even though he couldn’t stop himself from speaking, “I can’t look at you right now. You need to go.”

“You can’t just--” “GO!” Lan Xichen shouted as he held Meng Yao’s body closer, protecting it or protecting himself, he couldn’t say anymore, and he didn’t want to try to figure it out, he didn’t want to have to put his thoughts into any order that meant accepting that one of his dearest friends had just killed the other, because that was a world that Lan Xichen wasn’t sure he wanted to live in.

Besides him, Nie Mingjue stood frozen for a long, tense moment... before Lan Xichen finally saw him turn and walk away. 

Finally alone, alone with Meng Yao... Lan Xichen sunk his face down to press against Meng Yao’s shoulder as his hand moved to gently cradle the back of his head, and he held him tightly, crying into his robes until there were no tears left in him to cry.

[kaibacxrps]

The boarding school

Discord thread with @kaibacorpbros !

Where was he? What happened overnight? What kind of place is this? It looked nothing like the mansion he had woke up in months ago.

So many thoughts ran through the mind of the spirit, as he dared to have a peek at what might be happening to their surrounding. If his timing wasn’t wrong, they should have already been dragged by one of Gozaburo’s servants so he could punish them. However, he was shocked and surprised to find himself in an entirely different setting.

What did he miss out on while he hid away in his soul room?

It appeared his vessel turned 14 a few days ago, the same age he began his training - magic practice allthose years ago. At long last, he could feel his magic flowing within him once again. It is slowly returning to him, finally he will be able to get his revenge on Gozaburo.

Now if only the man was there, to begin with.

The spirit kept looking around, but all he saw were just a handful of other boys- all seemed to be about the same age as them on top of being dressed up in a similar outfit as them as well.How odd. It was all that Set could think of, while scanning the surrounding.

While looking around, he took notice of two children sitting together not too far from them with what appeared to be cards from the same game Seto enjoyed playing. 

"Hey, you even listening? Don't walk away from me." There's a shove that comes from behind Seto's body, from one of the kids that was closing in in him.

"I'm sick of you getting all the damn credit just because of who your father is."

The leader comes closer. He was bigger than Seto, and most certainly more fit. There weren't any adults around. And the exits were blocked by other groups of boys, not even paying attention to any of this happening.

"Little teacher's pet. No amount of talking will weasel you out of this." This time, the boy goes to grab Seto instead. He manages to dodge, only to be pushed down by one of the others.

Never show weakness. Echos in his mind. Seto pops right back up with a glare to drive a tackle into the second boy, sending them tussling on the ground and into the two who had been playing duel monsters. Cards fly everywhere as Seto tries to throw the bigger boy off, but he's too outmatched by weight.

They couldn't kill him...right? People would find out. The teachers would. "Get off!" he snarls trying to land a hit, but only managing to catch they bully slightly with one. 

’These voices... What are they saying?’

The spirit’s attention was immediately drawn to the source of it. Was he even still in the land called Japan? The boy didn’t look anything remotely similar to what he had seen in the past, and those words... He could understand them, but he could tell it wasn’t the same dialect he and his vessel had been using.

Where are they? What is this place?

Unfortunately, his train of thought was lost when the fight began. He could see Seto trying to withstand the much larger boys, while causing a major havoc in the space they were in.

This could be the perfect opportunity for him to put his powers to the test. If it weren’t for the sheer number of peers, that would go against all his work to remain hidden in the boy’s mind.

But at the same time, he knows he can’t just watch the whole thing either... It’s pretty obvious how Seto has a huge disadvantage here.

The spirit’s eyes remain fixated on the pack’s leader, if he takes out that brat then the others should leave them be.

He just needs to wait the perfect time, for him to take over the vessel’s body. 

The end result wasn't pretty. The boys didn't kill him. Little victories, Seto supposed. But there had been too many of them, and he was too small in comparison.

They took their turns having their fun leaving him flecked with blood with purple bruises left all over.

No one would ever come to save him.

The lesson didnt need to be said, but it was clear what Gozaburo socially wanted Seto to learn.

He managed to hide most of the marks. Clean himself up and explain away the ones on his face as a clumsy trip to the staff.

And he was more than grateful to flop into his bunk in exhaustion in the evening. He'd figure out a way to get them back tomorrow. Most of the boys were already asleep. Some, including some of his aggressors were still up. Chatting about who knows what. Seto just wished they would shut up. What was the point of lights out if you couldn't actually sleep?

Could there be any other side-effects to sharing the body and mind with a child? He seems to be lacking his maturity. As a dark- grim wish to give those kids a payback, grew in his mind while he watched the fight unfold. Wouldn’t it be great to teach them a lesson? Scare them away for good?

Those would definetely leave a mark. The spirit came to that conclusion by the end of it all, as he now watched his vessel try to recover from the whole thing. His magic is back, he can feel it. He is more than ready to finally, use everything he has got under his sleeve on that pathetic man.

Yet, Gozaburo doesn’t even cross his mind in that moment as his vessel tried to force himself to sleep.

Those boys have sealed their fate... Perhaps, it wouldn’t hurt for him to have some fun. After all, he has had no joy ever since he was brought back.

So, he waited for the perfect opportunity to swap places with the child’s mind. Which, given his situation it didn’t take long at all. The spirit quickly changed his clothes, and headed out after those that dared to wrong him.

Finding them was incredibly easy, he only had to follow their loud and obnoxious voices. Firstly, he made his presence known by purposely making noises with his footsteps, as he approached them with a smirk on his face.

It almost seemed like he wasn’t the same kid, who was beaten up just a few hours ago.

His walk eventually came to a sudden halt, when he got to a relatively safe distance from his preys and had a clear vision of them. Seto remained in silence, as he simply stared at them while holding onto the golden trinket. 

To Seto, he just fell asleep easily for once despite the noise and the nightmares. A rare occurrence.

In reality he couldn't have a clue his body was still walking around.

Another muffled fit of laughter from the group of boys erupted, and only cut off with the sound of footsteps. Instantly all their flashlights went out, thinking it was a teacher coming to scold them for being up.

It wasn't.

"Eh? What the hell--" remarked one. Sure, they had seen that staff of Seto's before, but...

"What, come for trouble again?" spat another, flicking his flashlight on again to see their classmate.

He looked... different.

The last, and biggest one got up, approaching Seto. "Really, Kaiba? You wanna act tough? Did you hit your head when you hit the floor?"

The thing boy didn’t flinch at all when the flashlights shined light at him, there was something very different in the way he looked at them. Seto had a wide grin on his face, in fact he still had on himself all the wounds those bastards had inflicted upon his body a few hours ago. A low chuckle left him, as he flashed his preys his teeth.

He didn’t respond to them, rather he began chanting something - a spell a tune of sorts. It was almost inaudible, and an ancient dialect was being used. Quickly their surroundings became increasingly dark, and it only got worse as the seconds passed.

By the time the biggest thug made it to him, Kaiba’s chanting came to a close “Yami no game start!”. When he exclaimed it, the golden eye of Wdjat appeared on his forehead and it flashed brightly, his rod shined in response to it as well.

A game of shadows has begun, it an ancient kind of magic that had long since been lost to time. Egyptians used it, to punish prisoners and anyone who dared to threaten the royalty.

All three boys were subjected to this punishment, for threatening the body and soul of a pharaoh. It is the biggest offense, any mortal could possibly commit in their lives.

The shadow game didn’t take long to come to a close, but it most certainly affected and claimed three lives. They weren’t dead, but it didn’t seem like they could even tell where they were, the punishment had shattered their minds and consumed their souls.

Kaiba stood there for a moment, admiring his work quietly as he held onto his rod. There is still a lot he has to regain access to... But his powers were finally back. Eventually he returned to the dorm where his vessel was meant to sleep in, before he returned the body to the kid's soul.

Why was he so exhausted? Even more so than it seemed to make sense. But Seto was quickly knocked out of his daze by loud chattering, and even some screams in the wing of where his quarters were. The boy drags himself out of bed to see what the all the commotion was.

As he follows the crowd of kids, he's greeted by the sight of the boys from yesterday being carried out by some of the teachers. What had.... had they all gotten sick? It was improbable, not impossible. People kept muttering about what happened around him.

They were found this morning, they haven't reacted at all, even when the teachers came over. How long are they going to be like that?

Looks like he didn't even have to sneak in some time to sabotage their schoolwork. But something still wasn't adding up...

Who was the last person to talk to them? Not me, I went right to bed. Not me. Not me. Not me.

Wasn't it Kaiba?

And with that, he'd already disappeared. Seto didn't believe in karma or anything like that. But this had nothing to do with him. And if he were lucky, Gozaburo would never hear about it. 

The spirit of the rod was very pleased to have returned to where he had left them the previous night, the others reactions only stroked his ego even more. Those three fools were simply the beginning... This place will be the perfect playground, for the spirit to practice and prepare himself until that man returns.

He will have his fun in the meantime, until that happens.

The following days would be marked with similar accidents and tragedies that the three first victims experienced, yet no one had any explanation for what could be happening. There was no comfort, for the families of the boys that fell victims of this mysterious comatose state. There were no witnesses, no leads, clues... Nothing at all that could possibly shine a light at what might be happening in the famous boarding school. The police had even showed up a few times, but to no avail.

Many rumors spread around amongst the students, and the staff would attempt to try and dissuade the children from spreading them even more. An effortless attempt, at trying to salvage the establishment's reputation.

No one in this realm, could possibly suspect that the real cause of all those awful incidents hid within one of their students mind. The spirit was way too thrilled, with the whole situation he had created and the things he has done. But alas, it seemed like their stay was coming to an end. It appeared they would be returning home, sooner than anticipated. What a bummer.

The spirit thought to himself, as he rested within his soul room and watched from there their surrounding. A familiar scene caught his attention from the corner of his eyes, there were two kids playing that same cards game his vessel enjoyed so much.

And by the looks of it, he wasn't the only one. 

Things just got odder from that day forward. The other boys left Seto alone for a while after the first three, but eventually new ones took their place. And yet each time before Seto could enact his plans to sabotage their work or belongings, some similar type of phenomenon would happen.

It didn't have to do with him. It didn't.

But at least that vermin was out of the way. The little stint was almost over though. At least Seto would be able to see Mokuba again soon.

But something caught  his attention about the kids playing duel monsters, and before he knew it Kaiba had closed the distance to get a better look. No way. It had to be a replica something the kid threw in for a casual duel.

"Is that card real?" he demanded.

When the boy looked up at him, Seto recognized him. Anthony, son of parents with quite the powerful company, at the very least Gozaburo knew of them.

"Ha! 'Course it is!" The boy proudly waves the card between two fingers. "My father managed to collect it and he let me bring it. Awesome, isn't it? 3000 whopping attack. Nothing can beat that!"

Kaiba didn't bother pointing out that what the boy said wasn't true. But of course it would be difficult to get over such a monster in a duel. But Seto's eyes never left the card.

What a waste.

This kid using it for free time at a boarding school. That dragon deserved better than that. It should be bringing victory and glory in tournaments, not in the hands of a spoiled kid who didn't know the dragon's true worth.

Seto wanted it. That dragon was meant to be his, he knew it. It was just a matter of getting it. Already several questionable moral plans were coming to mind. He'd made up his mind. Seto wasn't going to leave this place until that dragon was his. No matter what it took.

"Sorry Kaiba, my father would never give it over for money. You might as well forget whatever you're thinking of."

No way... This couldn’t be real...

’Kisara!’

The name immediately jumped into his mind, as soon as the card was showed to them. His eyes shot widely open, and his entire disposition changed drastically in the split of a second. The spirit felt like he was so close to just swapping places with Seto, and try to steal the card from the kid on the spot.

Thankfully, he gave up on it as soon as he reached his door.

No, no he can’t ruin everything he has been worked on like this... He has a bigger goal, something far greater waiting for him...

Even if it meant he had to give his back to someone- something so crucial, and special to him.

He stood there, motionless as he had to fight against all of his wishes and need to intervene.

How dare a simpleton vermin like Anthony, handle the legendary blue-eyes white dragon like that? It was obvious, how a normal kid just would never be able to even grasp that beast’s full potential...

‘Of course, right. This is another world... It’s all just a game of cards...’

The spirit thought, that information had to be clear to him. Even if the idea in that moment, hurt him. But he refused to believe, there was nothing that they couldn’t possibly try to get it from the kid.

Amidst his silence, he picked up on a sensation that came from his vessel. It felt similar and very familiar, then it hit him. Of course, Seto wants it just as much as him.

‘You have to get it... You need it... No, we both need it.’ The spirit thought to himself, as his attention returned to the outside world from Seto’s perspective.

Kaiba was already angry at this kid. An yet something spurred it on further, igniting from one spark into a fire.

No. That dragon was leaving with him.

He turned his head to Anthony's opponent. "The math teacher was looking for you, by the way. That's the whole reason why I came over...she said it was about the test."

Nothing more needed to be said, as the boy bolted as soon as the words left Seto's mouth.

Now they were alone.

"Everything has a price," Kaiba said.

"Wow, how lame--okay it's a cool card but I think my dad said it was worth millions? Seems a bit ridiculous to me," the boy said as he lazily spun the card in his fingers.

His words only added to the fire. And Seto didn't know what prompted it, it was like he was barely thinking beyond his rage, like autopilot. He grabbed the boy by the shirt.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Give that to me." 

‘Lame?! Watch your mouth, vermin!’

The spirit thought to himself, as he still only watched ovr Seto’s exchanges with the kid. The way the card was being handled, and referred to got under his skin.

Kisara, how dare they insult you and your power like this?

Up until this point, all the kids he had punished were bullies- people who had harrassed and tried to attack Seto. The spirit should only use his powers upon evil souls, otherwise he might end up following the same steps of his former master.

This is the only thing that held him back, in that moment. A furious huff left him, as he took out his anger on a wall by punching it.

He can’t... He shouldn’t... He needs to control himself.

The wonders of being in the body of a child, and assimilating their lack of self-control and maturity.

He won’t let this one pass, he didn’t even care if his vessel would witness it all.

Seto’s bangs began moving aside, in order to reveal the shining symbol from the eye of wdjat. Then his hair became noticeably longer, on top of getting a lot stronger as well (he held the poor kid up a whole lot easier). While the body went through changes, the surrounding also became shroudded in darkness.

“We shall play a game for the Blue-eyes white dragon then, a game to decide the fate of this card... It will be a game of the shadows.”

“Yami no, game start.”

Anthony was no different from all of his past victims, he easily and quickly failed at the game. Which led to him having his soul punished, by none other than the white dragon itself. The game and punishment ended without any major fanfare, other than the kid’s cards collection fly all over the room they were in.

Slowly things began returning to normal, and once he retrieved the card from the floor he swapped places with Seto’s soul. 

It was a all in a blur of anger for Seto. He knew he was willing to fight this boy for that card, he just needed to be smart enough to not be caught, or Gozaburo would would reprimand him.

Of couse, a this age he was a bit temperamental, and knew defending your respect was necessary in places like these.

Which is why they flying cards seemed to make sense. They got into a fight, obviously. And the boy was unconscious on the floor. Seto must have knocked him out.

Right?

But then he looked down at what was in his had. The beautiful legendary dragon, raw engine of destruction, Blue Eyes.

It was his, and that's all that mattered now. Seto fills with pride, this is his power, his freedom.

He's always wanted this dragon since he knew of its existence. No one would take it from him now.

Not even Gozaburo. Not giving any of the damage second thought, Seto moved on. The last thing he would want to be stuck with was cleaning up a mess.

[remedialpotions]

It’s December and I’m fully in the Christmas mood. Could I request Some Harry-Ron-Hermione friendship fluff doing something Christmas-y while at Hogwarts? Any time between first and third year? If not maybe do you have any Harry Potter Christmas themed friendship centric fanfics to recommend?

Hermione Granger has always been called an ‘old soul’. She’s never been naive enough to believe in Father Christmas - the handwriting on her gifts from him always looked a bit too much like her mother’s, and the logic of one man visiting every home on the planet in one night was never sound - and she’s never been particularly swayed by all the trappings of the holiday season. Elves and carols and decorating the tree have always seemed frivolous, a waste of time that could be better spent on almost anything else.

So at first, she wasn’t particularly fussed about staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas break. The Polyjuice plan, as ill-executed as it had ended up being, had required it, and Hermione felt it was much more important to protect her fellow students from Slytherin’s monster than to drink hot cocoa and watch It’s A Wonderful Life with her parents.

But now, on Boxing Day, lying in the hospital wing with glowing yellow eyes and whiskers and a tail - a tail - she cannot help the childish thought that continues to cross her mind over and over again: Christmas is ruined.

[[MORE]]

She knows it’s immature. It sounds like the sort of thing Harry’s cousin might say if he doesn’t get the gifts he wants. But she can’t help that none of this has gone how she imagined it. All they’ve learned is that Draco Malfoy isn’t the one setting Slytherin’s monster on all the Muggleborns, but they’re not much closer to finding out who is, and she’s stuck here looking like something out of a low-budget horror film. Her only company is the disturbingly-still figures of Justin Finch-Fletchley and Colin Creevey, and she can hardly bear to look over at that side of the room.

She’s not one to get all worked up over Christmas, but she’s had better holidays.

She doesn’t even have any proper reading material. Madame Pomfrey has the hospital wing stocked with plenty of magazines, but they’re all wildly outdated and pertaining to subject matter that doesn’t interest her. The most recent one is the summer edition of Quidditch Quarterly from 1987, and with a sigh, she picks it up and starts paging through. Headlines in big bright letters pop off the page at her:

Kenmare’s King: World Cup Hopes Rise for Kestrels’ Keeper

“Wimbourne are Winners”: Ludo Bagman’s Predictions for the Upcoming Season

She rolls her eyes and keeps turning the pages. Is there really this much to say about Quidditch? It’s rather a straightforward game - and it is, truly, just a game - and yet grown men have dedicated their entire livelihoods to it.

“Harry,” comes a loud, boisterous voice from the corridor. “Call the Daily Prophet - no, the Evening Prophet, they’ll want the world to know about this right away.”

Hermione lowers the magazine and her heart leaps gleefully in her chest: her two best friends - best friends, she’s not even used to having any friends, let alone ones she can call best - have just walked through the door, rucksacks over their shoulders.

“Hermione Granger,” Ron continues, “is reading about Quidditch.”

Harry drops his jaw in mock astonishment. Despite realizing that she’s probably difficult to take seriously with cat ears poking out of her bushy hair, Hermione can’t stop herself scowling at the pair of them.

“It isn’t by choice,” she tells them haughtily. “There’s nothing else to read here.”

“That’s not true,” argues Ron, his rucksack dropping with a heavy thud as he reaches her bedside. “Not anymore.”

“Mate!” laughs Harry. “Careful with that!”

“Oh, shit, you’re right.” Ron picks up the rucksack and sets it gingerly on a nearby wooden chair. “There, that’s better.”

“Better for what?” asks Hermione, warily eyeing the bag. “What have you got in there?”

Given that they’ve recently stolen ingredients from Snape, brewed an illegal potion, drugged two of their classmates and snuck into a common room that isn’t theirs, she’s not sure their next rule-breaking stint should take place quite so soon.

“You’ve got other magazines,” says Ron, leaning over the bedside table and rifling through them. “Look, what about this one?”

He holds it up with a cheeky grin: 1,001 Knitting Patterns.

“I think I prefer Quidditch,” says Hermione dryly. “But really,” she continues as Harry crosses the room to an empty bed and seizes the two chairs flanking it, “what have you brought? There’s things that aren’t allowed in here.”

With a discordant scrape, Harry drags the chairs over to Hermione’s bedside and drops into one, rucksack in his lap. “Did they tell you how long you’ll have to stay?”

“Madam Pomfrey isn’t sure,” Hermione tells him as Ron takes a seat as well. “But it sounds like it’ll be at least until term starts again.”

“Good thing we’re here, then,” Ron declares. “We figured you’d get bored in here, so we’ve brought you some stuff.”

As Hermione watches on, words momentarily failing her, Ron upends his rucksack - the one Harry had been so concerned about the safety of - onto the foot of Hermione’s bed. Items spill out over the bedclothes, and a few of the smaller things - quills, sweets wrapped in acetate, the page of the Daily Prophet with the crossword puzzle and the word jumble - tumble onto the floor.

“See, it didn’t get squished,” says Ron to Harry, picking up what looks like a loaf of bread wrapped in wax paper and holding it out. “It’s pumpkin bread,” he adds to Hermione. “My mum sent it to Percy but I guess he doesn’t like pumpkin bread, he was all put out - anyway. You can have it.”

He sets it on the bedside table with a thud. Before she can even find her voice - to thank him, or ask what’s inside the little tin that appears to be rattling of its volition - she catches sight of the books hidden beneath Ron’s old chess set.

“What are these?” she asks, pulling them into her lap. Their heavy weight is immediately comforting. “A Brief History of Transfiguration Theory?”

“He thought you’d like that one,” says Harry quickly, pointing at Ron. “I said it looked boring-“

“Oh, it’s fascinating,” Hermione gushes, opening the book with a satisfying crack. “Did you know they used to consider Transfiguration as a permanent state - so that time you tried to turn Scabbers into a teacup and it only worked halfway, they would have just left him that way. It wasn’t until the fifteenth century that…” Noticing that their eyes have glazed over, she trails off. “Well, thanks for getting it for me, anyway.”

“Told you,” Ron grins over at Harry. “Figured the most boring books would be your favorite.”

Hermione gasps, affronted. “They’re not boring-“

“Well, save it for when we’re gone, will you?” Ron requests. “‘Cause we brought things that are actually fun-“

“Just because I don’t care what Ludo Bagman thinks about Quidditch, whoever he is, that doesn’t mean-“

“Let’s play chess or something,” interjects Harry. “Before Madam Pomfrey kicks us out.”

Ron starts setting up the board, ordering the pawns and the knights and the bishops into place, as Harry opens up the rattling tin. It’s nearly overflowing with fudge and toad-shaped peppermint creams, the latter of which leap immediately out and hop across the blankets.

“Sorry we didn’t come to visit sooner,” says Ron, words muffled around a mouthful of fudge. “We thought we’d get all this stuff together first.”

“That’s all right,” replies Hermione. “It was really nice of you to bring me all of this.”

Ron’s ears go pink. “We just didn’t want you to be bored. The time I was in here, after Norbert hit me…”

And as he chatters cheerfully on, Hermione reaches for a cube of fudge and decides, as dire as things are, that at least she’s not here alone.

[akiwisfics]

In Bloom Chapter 2

Notes: Cross-posted from AO3. If people get annoyed by this, please savior “kiwi crossposts” to save your eyes. Hey, if you’re a fan of KirarixSayaka, check our discord here .

Description: Mary accepts an invitation to watch from the president, and learns far more than she ever wanted.

Pairings: KirarixSayaka, MaryxRirika

---

The mask was never really hers to begin with, she thought. Ririka had looked on it with such ugliness as a child, bitter but needy-- like a starving man forced to drink salt water at sea. The more the ocean pulled and pushed her raft, the more desperate she grew to its poison. She had no other sanctuary, no other out. Perhaps it would’ve been better to die of thirst than to die of madness.

But it was there, a second skin and more familiar a face than her own. It looked far too large on her tiny frame as a child. The holes didn’t quite fit her eyes and there were inches that it went past her chin, almost covering her neck.

She always wondered where Kirari got it, but she had been far too afraid to ask. Disguised as an offer of freedom. Now a different form of shackle.

Ririka assumed it was better than being devoured by her own twin.

--

The separation hadn’t been official technically until that day. They sat, tea set perfectly placed with a precision she had always expected from Igarashi-san. She studied her more than she would care to admit. She moved back and forth across the council room so much more like her own stage, orchestrating a performance meant only for an audience of one-- but two. Her constant presence had become familiar in the couple of years that they’d been in power, and rarely had it meant anything beyond the admiration of her dedication.

She didn’t know when it changed, but Ririka knew exactly when she noticed it. Her tea had been left untouched, all too aware of the humor in her twin’s eyes as she studied Ririka, naked without the comfort of ceramic. She was never much for green tea anyway. It felt too much like soil in her mouth-- all too thick and all too bitter.

“She’s quite remarkable, isn’t she?” Kirari had asked, always digging for more than she should.

Mary was different. All too trusting, yet carved her own path. It wasn’t righteous fury. It wasn’t anything more than a desire to have her own choices. It was a conviction she both admired and envied. She could never hope to emulate the fire in her brown eyes, the way her blonde hair shimmered in the open sun. The way her smirk widened and head raised high in certain victory. It was easier to fake someone she knew so well.

Kirari was more predictable than she’d want to admit. The gaze was waiting for something she could gain from Ririka’s words, whether that would be a new perspective, a secret, or something that would blossom into a strategy later. Her mind was simple, focused. One that just simply craved chaos behind its wake. “Runa told me everything when she came back,” she continued, undeterred by Ririka’s stillness. “It’s true Miyo and Miri underestimated her, but they haven’t met anyone outside of our family that would handle poison so nonchalantly. She kept a good face.”

“Why do you like her so much?”

She took some small pleasure in the way Kirari was taken aback by the question at first, pausing mid-sip of her tea and setting it down with a small clink. It soon gave way to a chuckle however, making whatever show a small victory for her. “Why don’t you tell me?”

A trick question, maybe? There was a reason her sister wanted them together, collaboration-- independent from her. The first thought was an evaluation. Once they won the election again, the council would need to be reorganized. It was true Mary would be a prime candidate for one of the seats, but… “She already said no before. Not under you.”

She tsked at the response, disappointed. “Who’s to say? I hope for a challenge at least.”

“That’s all?”

That smile-- it showed life in her eyes, almost natural. She missed those glimpses. “Better.”

“President, if I may?” And suddenly Igarashi-san existed. She had a good habit of that-- something Ririka could almost say came from her. She would let herself exist in the periphery, letting events take its course until she was needed, or had something to say. Not all of it was useful to her, given all things considered, but the emotional consideration in it was at least respectable.

But in that moment. In the day in which Ririka would see Kirari almost alone, she saw the smile of a person as she outstretched her hand and offered the seat beside her. Igarashi’s smile was shakier, fragile-- but there wasn’t any redness or hesitation as she gently sat herself down. Not much space either.

Something had changed. Something she hadn’t noticed before.

Igarashi-san took a deep breath, organizing her thoughts before speaking. “I’m aware it’s unlikely Inbami and Yobami-san would go against Terano’s orders at this point, but…” Ririka had known the suggestion before being given. Igarashi-san, the natural logical mind that she had. The dedicated, servitude attitude. “... I think I’m more suited to open your mail from now on.”

“Oh?” Kirari humored it as she reached across the table and took Ririka’s untouched, cool tea to offer it to Igarashi-san. Ririka hadn’t bothered to look perturbed for the sake of it. The tea was likely to go to waste at this point. “Why would I do that?” She expected the obvious answer. Answers that she had heard from Igarashi-san before. They were the same reasons that got her the taser hidden away at her hip, intimate knowledge of Kirari’s daily routine and schedule (and perhaps a bit of her own). A bit of safety, a bit of peace of mind for her own secretary and for the school. It wouldn’t do well to see the president poisoned during a crucial moment of the election.

Igarashi-san held her gaze with confidence. “It’s not worth entertaining the small games at this point, and..” she eyed the cold tea a bit warily before declining the cup herself. “I would hate for you to lose out on what you enjoy because the sisters wanted to set an unknown time limit.”

That wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.

Kirari looked to Ririka, almost taunting-- waiting for a reaction of some sort. It was out of many years of experience that she remained as placid as she could. “At least go over the invitations before rejecting them?”

“Of course!”

--

Mary still avoided her.

She didn’t think she was skipping classes, but there wasn’t any sight of blonde hair as the classes let out each day. It only made the stone weight of guilt sink deeper inside of her. She wished she could fix it.

But to be Kirari? It was all second nature to her.

--

It had only been a week before Ririka sought her twin once again. The president’s absence, at so pivotal time in the election, had been keenly felt. She paid little attention to the rumors that circulated around the president ordinarily, but this time-- this time the rumors were loud. The well of votes was running dry, and what little dreams that pets had of clawing out of their status were quickly dashed as the placements became more and more concrete.

And yet-- the votes weren’t with Terano. They weren’t with Ririka, or indeed, even the president. Without tally from the election committee, it was hard to know where exactly those votes had gone to.

Her first thought was Mary, accruing what she needed in case her and Ririka’s falling out was permanent. It was impossible to know for certain, but the fact that she had yet to run into her gambling partner inside school grounds made that very unlikely. Not when she was so purposefully looking for her. The girl either didn’t actually care to win the election, or expected to reconcile at some point. A comforting thought, but one Ririka kept with cautious optimism.

The next suspect would be Yumeko. The girl had a magnetic attraction that drew the oddest and weakest to her, allured by the idea of freedom and her previous escapades in tearing the council asunder. Even now there had been tales of her using matches as a way of letting pets earn their freedom once again. That precisely was why she was an unlikely target though. Her votes and ranking fluctuated as much as her moods did. It would not be so noticeable a difference, nor would that feeling remain so long at once.

No. This adversary was new, and for right now, unknown.  The prevailing rumor was Kirari, or perhaps Igarashi-san, was gaining the votes by proxy-- planting players on her behalf while she dealt with some unknown business. Once she returned, she would then grab the votes via staged games.

But the longer the absence went, the longer people saw the truth that the rest of the top ten already knew. This wasn’t some grand play on her part, unveiling herself as the victor in some grand gesture. The president was missing. Her second in command was missing with no one left to defend it. It wasn’t hard for students to assume that this was Kirari’s resignation.

As to why the secretary was gone as well? Those rumors were at least somewhat darkly humorous. Some suggestions that she had become a recluse, that the quarantine the other day was a scene of some hideous suicide or murder by her finally snapping from the constant orders. More boring ones were that she had been disowned by her family or that her family had become destitute. Not one dared to try to connect the two disappearances, lest they risk the wrath of the president upon her return.

However, there was never anyone that Kirari didn’t know, especially one making waves like this. A clue or two could prove advantageous. There were also more pressing questions, ones that had been weighing heavily every time she came home to an empty mansion.

Her steps were quiet as she made her way up the stairs to a private, closed off section of the hospital. No doubt a personal expense on Kirari’s part. Gone was the chatter of overworked nurses and the moans and pratter of other patients. What staff that stayed at the station kept their lips sealed and eyes downward as Ririka passed them. She didn’t pay it a second thought, already used to being ignored by most anyone whenever she was away from her sister. It wouldn’t be hard to find the room. The one the nurses ignored the most, and the scent of burnt tea leaves were the main indicators.

However, she hadn’t expected to see Terano wheel out of the very room, pushed by a somewhat somber Yumi-- a rare sight to behold and mull over later. They met eyes, almost reluctantly by them both. Even Ririka found the air stale in that moment.

“I suppose even you would be curious,” Terano stated plainly.

Her fingers twitched, subconsciously looking for a mask she had forgotten. It didn’t feel right. “How is Igarashi-san?” she deflected, eyes flickering to the door behind Terano.

“Asleep, but healthy. I doubt she’ll need to stay much longer.”

“Good.”

She had eyes like Kirari’s. Sharp and never straying from their target. It dug and dug until there was nothing left. It took everything not to look away. “It seems I have to come up with a different method. Even with Igarashi gone, no one seems interested in selling votes anymore.”

The timing was odd, wasn’t it? She had thought the poisoning was a last ditch effort by the sisters to gain power over the branches, but Terano had something to gain. Whether the target had been Igarashi-san or Kirari, whether it would succeed or fail-- it would lock her biggest competitor out.  Though Terano’s methods tended to have more finesse than this, Ririka wouldn’t put it past the girl to take advantage of Miyo and Miri’s recklessness. Momobamis were opportunistic in nature, with few glaring exceptions.

“Did she say anything?” Ririka asked, softer this time as not to alert anyone inside the room.

Terano sighed, “What do you think?”

Ririka wasn’t sure anymore. The answer was usually no. Usually something obtuse, a tease perhaps. Kirari rarely spoke what she meant in plain, direct gestures. It was really the biggest difference between the two. Terano’s mind was just as sharp, perhaps even more clever than her twin-- but she spared very little time for eloquence. Especially not with those that irritated her.

Her sister could’ve said something. Terano may know who it is already. If that were the case, she doubt the information would be passed along easily. She kept an air of nonchalance as she slipped past her rival to the hospital door.

“Ririka?”

Her hand paused, fingers brushing against the handle.

“I don’t know what her game plan is. But if you really are looking to stop her, meet with me later. Bring Saotome-san.”

Mary would have to talk to her again first. She was still working on that. Even then, she didn’t think she could trust that idea. It seemed too much like an invitation to open old wounds. Create new ones behind them. It was hard enough to be independent for the first time in years-- she didn’t want to spend that time forming questionable alliances. Kirari’s orders or not, she at least trusted Mary. She couldn’t say the same of Terano.

She didn’t respond, electing to instead open the door finally and peer inside the hospital room. Terano’s dark eyes bore into her back well after the door had been clicked shut behind her. The clan was familiar with dangerous games. All of them. It wouldn’t do well to dwell on offers like that. She could only figure Terano was trying to consolidate votes now that buying them was no longer an option. Introducing a new player wasn’t a bad solution to that-- one strong enough to garner so many votes so quickly.

But that was a better question for the occupants in the room. The desk was an… interesting new addition. Pure dark mahogany, one she recognized from their own personal collection at home. She had come by at some point then. Almost every inch of it’s top had been covered in various papers and junk. Empty tea cases, voting chips, life plans, and various correspondence from contacts all made an appearance somewhere on its surface. Kirari bothered with none of it, instead hunched over a laptop with brow furrowed and deep, frustrated scowl on her features.

Ririka tried not to smile at the sight. The position of secretary had been a priority position to fill when they had started for this very reason. Kirari had a long, passionate hatred for paperwork. It was nice to see that the fact still stood. Hopefully she was kind enough to not disturb the privacy curtain behind her over a signature or two.

“You can stare or you can sit down,” Kirari quipped, never moving her eyes away from the screen. The blue eyes that scanned words on white page looked strange with the screen reflecting back in the irises that mirrored her own. No trace of make-up, perhaps left forgotten in her deserted bedroom. The cleanliness was as much a ghost to her as the absence.

Ririka bowed her head sheepishly as she sank into the wooden chair across from her, noting the slight quirk of Kirari’s lips as the chair scraped across tile.

“And quiet. I just convinced her to sleep.”

“How was the visit with Terano?”

She stopped a moment, shutting the laptop lid with a click. Ririka knew she would receive little more consolation. “She isn’t a fan of burnt tea.”

“And?”

“It’s interesting. How can you be afraid of your own questions?”

“I thought you liked dancing around subjects.”

“This? This is procrastination.”

Ririka noted the hard lines of Kirari’s posture, not unlike a cornered animal, and realized that neither of them wanted to be here. Blue eyes sharpened, guarded -- as if forgetting who was it that set Ririka free in the first place. “... What are you doing?” she asked. It was her that came, her that took that first step. It might as well be her to start.

“Working.” Kirari picked up one of the many scattered life plans as if to emphasize her point. She dropped it onto her laptop with an unimpressive flap, only half-heartedly keeping the charade going. “So if you could get to the point, dear sister?”

She tried to bite down the accusation that Kirari was procrastinating too. It was easy to accuse her of hiding from her own consequences, that perhaps the election was more than she could handle, and now that her last remaining support had been put out of commission temporarily, she was keeping her head down in the hope that whatever strings she pulled in the background would save her from plummeting. It was all there, ready to burn from her throat like an inferno, the last little bit of servitude inside her ready to turn inside out. But then-- then it wilted inside at the sight of icy eyes staring back, retreating into the crevices of dark thoughts entertained in those empty nights.

Ririka looked to the privacy curtain again. “... You haven’t been sleeping here, have you?”

Kirari shook her head. “Like Sayaka could actually recover with me being here~. Imagine me cramming in that tiny bed? It’s just not practical.”

Practical was a strange word from her. “So where--”

Her ears picked up the shifting behind them, just as Kirari placed a finger to her own lips. With feather light movement, Kirari slipped from her own chair and pulled the curtain back just a moment. Then drew the curtain behind her.

Ririka averted her eyes out of courtesy, even with the curiosity burning inside her and the lack of anything she could actually see with the sheet of fabric between them. When had the dynamic changed? She tried to think of the nights spent apart-- how it seemed so little as Ririka spent her time at the main house, enacting the very desire that had been brewing deep in her twin’s heart for so long.

What had happened at that tower? Had the fall jumbled her brain, putting it back together with the pieces haphazard, broken in different ways?

She didn’t look back until her twin had taken her place back at the other side of the desk, fingers naturally reaching for a cup of cold, burnt tea. As soon as she remembered the lack of steam billowing though, her fingers dropped. “So Saotome-san has stopped talking?”

It didn’t surprise Ririka that she was checking on her still, even without Igarashi-san’s wary eyes cataloguing their every move. “Does it surprise you?”

“I expected better.”

She always did. Ririka could write a book from the names of people that had disappointed Kirari in some way. Always particular, but needs simple when granted. She didn’t enjoy counting the years in which she catered to her every whim. “How?” she asked, even if she already knew the answer, “What was the point of bringing her over at all? You made the decision already before the phone call.”

The chuckle in response only unsettled her further. Ririka didn’t enjoy the feeling of being just slightly off-balance, the way it sank and settled long after their conversations were finished. “You’re angry!” she noted, almost exuberant at the thought, “How long did it take you to want more than just partners, Ririka? The election hasn’t been that long--”

“What are you doing here, sister?”

The teasing stopped, but the smile never faded from icy eyes. She gathered the life plan and laptop, and settled it to the side, joining the growing pile of discarded paperwork and signatures. The silence that suddenly fell over them was one of the worst she’d ever experienced, heavy and tempting to break-- as if held together by glass and nothing else. Ririka hadn’t wanted to come out with it, and she didn’t consider what it would mean for Kirari to pull those questions out. Yet, still, she gathered more items-- tea sets and tea boxes joining the disheveled pile with little thought or direction. The space that formed beside Kirari’s seat only made the dread inside her worse.

Her twin tapped just one on the wooden surface, chipping the manicured nail. Ririka picked up her chair and moved it to the other side of the desk to join her. She sat daintily back down her new seat, knees brushing against her twin as they faced each other. She gulped, visibly.

Kirari didn’t make mention of it. “It’d been a while since we played together, hasn’t it?”

Ririka nodded quietly in response, and wasn’t surprised by the coin fished out of Kirari’s pocket. It was a game that they often played together as children, practice that had been drilled into her heads before they had the presence of mind to gamble properly.  The coin was a two euro-- Austrian if she remembered right. The mix of silver and gold that bordered it stuck out as a sharp contrast from typical yen coins. One side had the depiction of mozart emblazoned proudly as its head, and the other a map of Europe with stars streaking downward on the other side. The number ‘2’ was the most prominent feature on its tail. It helped to keep those defining features in mind as she predicted.

The euro had been a gift from their mother, to whoever won their first game against the other. She would be proud to know that such a prize was turned into a gamble too.

“We both have questions we want to ask. I assume it’s just as easy to let the game decide who asks first.”

“One question per victory?” though it didn’t need to be asked. As much as Kirari had changed, there were still so many things that became predictable.

“That’s fine. I’ll go first.” Kirari offered the coin in her outstretched palm, smile placid and deviously devoid of the thoughts playing in her mind. Ririka plucked the coin out, nails lightly scratching similarly pale skin.

She looked to Kirari once and sighed. There wasn’t any backing out now, she supposed. Ririka steeled herself as she placed the coin on the table, balancing between her thumbnails. What would anyone say, seeing them play such a childish game like this? Now, of all times? She supposed she should be grateful that there wasn’t anything beyond information being gambled between the two.

It was, at least, deceptively simple. There wasn’t much she could do as she let loose the coin in a fast spin, knowing full well that the ball was in her sister’s court. The objective of the game was simple-- predict which side the coin would fall after it completed its spins. There were ways to slant the odds on Ririka’s end, and ways for Kirari to predict accurately on hers-- things that as children they couldn’t manage on their own. At least, not immediately. Over time, Ririka would notice how flicking the coin a certain would give her heads more often, and over time still, Kirira would notice the changes.

They taught themselves how to gamble just as much as their family did, but Ririka had learned early on that her twin always learned just a bit faster.

“Tails,” Kirari said, just as the coin shot out between them, spinning its dizzying circles against the wood. Just as much as her finger or spin could alter the outcome, so could the surface. Like any true expensive piece, the desk had a natural finish to it, smooth enough for papers and work-- but the edge of a coin, even one as thick as a euro-- was thin.

The coin’s arch was interrupted by a telling groove of wound, smacking it unimpressively against the desk. The coin shuddered a few beats, but the ringing noise was only a prelude to Ririka’s fate. As the sisters peered on, the face of the coin’s ‘2’ was obvious to both players.

She glanced to her sister once, and hoped that whatever question came was something Ririka knew how to answer.

“If you were so worried, why did you come at all?”

Kirari was pulling back. The question was nothing, but the fact that someone like her wouldn’t start out strong was surprising on its own. The answer didn’t need any subterfuge. “Because I wanted to help you.”

“We’re competing against each other now.”

“If it was about the election maybe…”

--

Kirari could only lie so much. She knew exactly what she saw back then, alone in the hallway together. She remembered watching as Kirari put herself back together with trembling hands, eyes never focusing on one thing in particular, and something in her heart that could be described as fear. She remembered how human she looked, and perhaps, for once, the idea that the perfect world she had set up for herself would slip through her fingers.

Ririka had been stuck on the idea that it was losing Sayaka was her idea of that perfect world breaking. She didn’t know anymore than Mary or anyone else did, but there had been something different in the way Kirari turned to her. The way she looked… alone.

She didn’t help a competitor. She had helped her sister.

“We should switch places,” Kirari had said, as if the words were enough to dispel the awkwardness of seeing her in such a state. “I have a spare jacket in the council room. If you could grab that, and--”

“Are you alright?” Though Ririka had spoken it, the words still felt foreign. She couldn’t remember any other time she had asked.

The question had disjointed her, maybe. The way she stopped, fingers picking at the lace of her sleeves. A breath, and she had stood a bit straighter, shoulders back. A handkerchief out of her skirt pocket to wipe the smeared lipstick. “Yes. The jacket, please. Make-up is in the drawer by my chair.”

She did as she was told, even as the nagging thoughts never strayed far from her mind. They stuck to her-- well beyond the conclusion of their game, as Kirari terrorized Miyo and Miri with her face, even as Mary continued to avoid her for days, and even as each night, she returned home to emptiness. She hated what this election had become for both of them.

She hated that she even doubted how truly gone Kirari was.

--

The hand was open to Ririka once again, the coin ready to be returned to its rightful owner. The half-answer was sufficient then, but it only made Ririka more nervous. She'd either use it to her advantage-- answer with half-truths herself or force Ririka's guard down enough to get something truly damning out. All things considered, it was probably a bit of both. She would have to be considerate of Mary as they continue.

"Always the nervous one," Kirari remarked, a touch of amusement in her voice as she rolled the coin between her finger tips. "You know it's only going to get harder from here."

She spun the coin with grace and ease-- the prospect of losing never once crossing her mind. "Tails," Ririka spoke, voice whisper quiet as they watched the coin spin and spin between them.

Heads.

"Do you enjoy having the mask off? Where is it now?"

"Two questions."

"Fine-- the first one then. I imagine you just have it at home."

If Kirari had been at home, she would know that already. It sat at her desk, slowly gathering dust the longer Ririka pretended it wasn't there. Walking through the hallways had proved to be the most difficult, laid bare by the student population. Sometimes, she would catch the less subtle ones gawking at her before turning their head away, embarassed at being caught.

And yet, people looked at her. They were forced for the first time in years to recognize her presence. They had to look her in the eyes to see that she wasn't Kirari. And Ririka had to force herself to look back. She had to dig something out for herself, become someone.

But she enjoyed the way Mary looked at her most.

"... Yes," she admitted. Nothing to be ashamed about, but...

Kirari looked pleased. She offered the coin once again, but Ririka hesitated this time in taking it.

"You were the one that gave it to me," she said.

"You needed it. Obviously, you don't anymore."

That wasn't how she remembered it. The idea had been suggested, forcefully, as a way to face opponents head on. But it didn't take long for Kirari to use it for her own means-- as things often did when Kirari gave gifts. Over time, the mask had become unnecessary. Mannerisms, behaviors, just the way Kirari viewed and studied each person became memorized and ingrained. Still, somehow, they were here, and in just a few weeks, Ririka seemed to forget who her twin was.

She took the coin, and spun it.

"Heads."

It took her a moment to realize Kirari was wrong-- but what observations Kirari made weren't infallible. Now that she had it, Ririka wasn't sure what to ask first. Should she go for something easy? Kirari wasn't the sort to shy away from the worst, but it was so easy to doubt herself now that they were in this position.

To start-- perhaps back to their earlier conversation? "What did you and Terano talk about?"

Kirari shrugged. "The new player."

That confirmed her suspicions at least. Someone that wasn't so different from herself or even Igarashi-san. Just in the background until they had something to say. A name came to mind, but if it was true... Ririka would find out soon enough. She offered the coin back to her sister, and promptly lost the next spin.

The quick intake of breath wasn't lost on Kirari. "You need to focus more-- I heard you and Terano talking too. What would Saotome-san say to such an offer?"

She would have to talk first. It didn't matter right now, but that could be why Kirari was asking at all. She wanted her to think about it. Someone like Mary? ... She wouldn't consider the offer at all. Maybe even find it a bit insulting. The offer was only extended after they made a name for themselves, only after victories against key family members on their own.

She would scowl, and make sure that the refusal would be as easy on Ririka as it was for her. Instead, Ririka mirrored the shrug, earning a small laugh from her sister. "Much better. Then again, I know the answer already."

The next spin went better on Kirari. Something had pulled her attention away-- another shift of the bed sheets behind them. When she snapped her head back, noticed the heads before her, Kirari didn't cry foul-- simply sighing in bemusement.

"Do you think you can win this?" Ririka asked once their eyes met again. She watched for any change in her expression.

Blue eyes retreaded back to the curtain, still as ever. "... Isn't it more fun not knowing?" More guarded. It wasn't like Kirari to show her hand so early. Still, Ririka saw it.

Another spin, and Ririka bit back a smile at the correct call. They weren't done. Not yet. "What do you think will happen if you lose?"

"Now we're getting to why you're here, aren't we?"

"Kirari."

"Fine, fine." She took the coin good-naturedly. "I suppose if I'm not dead by a gamble, I'll be devoured by my own aquarium, won't I? It seems poetic enough. I hope no one disappoints."

Deflection with grandiose speeches. She'd seen it all too often to take it seriously. This would require a different approach then. The fact that she was falling back on something so obvious was... telling, to say the least.

Ririka waited. The spin was sloppy, and it was easy to call the heads well before the momentum had come to a stop.

An eye twitch. Even better.

"And Igarashi-san? If you lose that is..."

Kirari let the silence hang between them, its spectre continuing to gnaw at the nerves of them both. She could deflect much the same way-- easily admit the truth of the matter. Guilt by association was already a realistic result, but Igarashi-san was never just an impassive observer. She made deals, taunted those that fell, defended the president's honor. She was the executor of the president's will, even if Kirari hadn't always voiced those thoughts.

She'd seen it time and time again, and would still now, if not for the current division. The Bami clan may come after Ririka when it was all over, but the school? They knew her as Mary's partner now. If anything, the directive absolved her of Kirari's eventual devouring.

She couldn't, wouldn't let herself believe it was on purpose.

Kirari picked up the coin again. It glinted under the hospital overhead lights. That was it then?

Ririka looked further, only growing more frustrated by the nothing that she saw in her sister's gaze. Cold, detached as ever. "Do you know what the school is saying right now, with you gone?"

"Of course."

"They'll find out why sooner rather than later."

She looked pensive. Something deep in her thoughts, turning-- far and away out of Ririka's reach. The smile was gone. "One more game?"

Could Kirari afford it? She hadn't waited for a direct response. She supposed the fact that Ririka remained had been enough. She spun the coin with a graceful flick, and there was something wistful in the way she watched it.

"Tails," Ririka called.

The light chuckle that came out was foreign to her. They both watched the coin spin and spin, languidly slow compared to the rounds before. Ririka was already forming the next question in her mind-- even as she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to it. There was so much left in the air, so much that still dug in.

Kirari had changed, and as the coin finally stopped its roll, her hand slammed down on it palm down, covering the result for them both.

Ririka blinked. "Wha--" She snapped her attention back to her twin.

"Are you sure?"

Her voice, her questions. All of it wilted the moment she saw them.

--

It must have been fate that she would find Mary now. Ririka had still been reeling from her time spent with her twin, one of the first private conversations they had in weeks. It had been routine that took her to the spot outside of Mary's classroom, routine that had her looking through the sea of faces to find fiery brown eyes staring back. She almost thought it an illusion at first. The sympathetic wince from Suzui-san as he slipped past next, recognizing the tension in the hallway, was very real.

"Mary--"

The blonde snatched the collar of her blazer and dragged her through the corridor, away from prying eyes. Ririka remained submissive to the yanks and pushes. It would take a careful hand to talk her down from anything considerably dangerous. The fact though that she was willing to talk at all now was a very good sign.

The twist through corners and hallways was haphazard, but by the time they finally stopped, it seemed sufficiently deserted. There were a few students that milled about, but ones that seemed wisely -- if not politely-- ignoring the two of them as Mary did an about face, only a few inches from Ririka's shrinking form.

"We're cutting the bullshit, got it?" Mary snapped. "No excuses, no nothing. If I get any of it, I'm out."

Ririka nodded.

"Alright, so what the hell was that about?!"

Too vague a question, but she understood well enough. She almost welcomed the reprieve after the tense conversation from yesterday. "... She wanted the attention away from her, so she asked me to switch places."

"I get that, but the fact that she mimicked you so... I didn't think she could show anything other than.. you know."

She understood how her sister gave that impression. Often times, Ririka would forget herself. The detached air. Some sort of cocky smirk. The reality for them both was much, much scarier she thought.

Mary still looked angry. Very angry. "Has she ever switched places with you since we started working together?"

"No. I hadn't spoken to her since--"

"How can I believe that?"

Ririka winced. She couldn't blame her. It wasn't as if she had been there to see the decision play out. They hadn't known each other long enough for her to notice tells-- smaller mistakes or nuances that Ririka couldn't replicate without several days of pretending. She wasn't sure if even Sayaka could-- even after knowing them for three years at this point.

Mary's eyes were as sharp as ever, daggers in her heart. She hated this. Hated this all so much. "You've been Kirari's understudy this whole time," she wished she didn't do this. "I know you mean well, Ririka. It might be the dumbest decision, but I trust you. We can't just keep doing this though... Why would you be in this election if you weren't working with Kirari? There's no way in hell you want to be president."

She was right about that.

"I doubt anyone would let you anyway," she huffed, arms crossed-- as if working out the riddle herself without input. "Why me? Kirari already had some... weird fascination, but I barely knew you before the--"

"You're right," her voice was meeker than she wanted, but Ririka couldn't deal with the speculation. She had grown so tired of being a shadow against the wall. Mary was the first person to see her, it felt like.  She didn't just take her as a Momobami, take her as her sister's double. She took her as a person-- someone that needed to prove herself against the sea of adversity that faced them.

Ririka had been proud to rise to the occasion. Had been proud to stand beside her as her equal, and she thought... she thought...

Wasn't this what Kirari wanted too? Didn't it seem like it? But why did she keep pulling the chain back?

Mary waited, eyebrows drawn and patient-- and Ririka couldn't appreciate that more. She knew it was so against her nature to be.

"... I think she needs help."

Her partner looked as bewildered as Ririka felt. "Help?! She did this to herself!"

"I know, but..."

--

Kirari had never cried.

At least, Ririka couldn't recall a time where she did. There had been these... shifts in behavior though. Ones that were difficult for her to describe, especially as, like with gambling, they started as children. They were swift and immediate, and often, Ririka would notice they came with little consideration to their consequences.

The first time had been at their mother's wake. She knew they were small, and the kimono felt too tight against her waist. Ririka had cried. She had shed more tears than what their mother likely deserved according to their elders, but there had been some semblance of love-- something Ririka keenly felt and believed in at that age. At first, she thought her twin had felt nothing in return-- as if she had taken that grief for her instead.

But when she looked into her icy eyes, they looked... wild. Unfocused. A predator pacing its cage, watching and waiting for the next hapless prey get too close to its bars.

Maybe it was how their mother died that did it. Shamed and hanging herself from the ceiling. Kirari was the first to find her in her bedroom, trying to pull her for breakfast. Ririka had been spared from the sight, even as Kirari expressed nothing other than the news of their mother's passing-- She would find out the details later from a retainer or a cousin perhaps. It was difficult to remember the details there.

Or that their mother lost against a Totobami.

Either way, Terano had come by, and after some mild discussion, they were secluded away-- out of sight and out of reach from Ririka. No one had minded the absence-- as clan members rarely did unless it involved one conflict or another.

She would see those wild eyes later though, staring down at every family member below her with fire from her bedroom balcony-- a fitting, temporary throne as their family observed the horrific scene before them. A crumpled and unconscious Terano, five cards clutched tightly in tiny fingers.

No one had taken the Momobami spot since.

But still...

Still.

To see the tears slipping down those wild eyes was a startling and mishapen image, especially to have that attention turned toward her-- those few inches between them, and Kirari tightly, tightly clutching the desk where the coin laid.

Ririka wished she had said no. She hadn't realized how much it meant to see her vulnerable-- sudden and stark in the stillness of the hospital room.

Her words were gone, but without thinking, Ririka had still reached forward, bridging the gap between them and gently slipped a thumb underneath Kirari's palm. Her twin didn't flinch, didn't move. Her breathing was steady, but Ririka's heart thumped wildly inside her chest. Her thumb found her twin's pulse, felt the steady beats against her own, and turned Kirari's hand over with no resistance.

The heads that stared back seemed to mock her. Ririka had lost.

Kirari took one look at the coin and began to laugh, loud and jubilant, even as the tears seemed to flow quicker and steadier than ever.

--

"Ririka?"

She blinked and shook-- and realized all at once that there wasn't any way she could naturally explain it to Mary. Not without explaining every sordid detail of their lives. Not without going over what she saw, when Ririka wasn't even sure of it herself. She saw the confusion still plain as day on Mary's face, and sighed slow, each piece of it an attempt to dispel what anxiety that brewed inside her at the memory.

"I... I don't know," Ririka confessed.

She was surprised to see sympathy tugging at Mary's features. "... You would know better than anyone, I think."

She wasn't sure anymore. It just took a few weeks, but it seemed Ririka had forgotten everything there was to her twin. Tears pricked at her eyes, useless and stupid for something so-- Kirari wouldn't have cared. She was just as much a subject to her whims. But she was her sister. Her twin. And right now? It all felt useless against what little time they had been separated from each other.

Mary took pity on her at least, cutting the inquisitive silence first. "Alright, alright. I'll bite," she sighed. "... So the preside-- your sister is having issues with the position. What's the point of the election then if she can just resign? A really shit cry for help?"

"If I may interject, Mary-san?"

Yumeko's airy voice had been the last thing Ririka expected, and with a jump, she snapped to a more stoic, straight posture-- fingers itching for a mask that still wasn't there. The new visitor had just rounded the corner, red eyes dangerously inquisitive and smile more calculating than Ririka wanted. The last person she needed to hear this conversation was the other wildcard in the school.

Yet, Mary humored her, regarding her classmate casually with one hand to her hips. "Figures no one can have a private conversation at this school..." she mumbled to herself before addressing Yumeko directly. "How long have you been listening?"

"I was just curious is all~. You two left in quite the hurry, and I wanted to invite you to town after class!"

"Yeah, right," Mary scoffed, but didn't push the girl away as she casually latched onto her arm, molding herself into the conversation. Every alarm was going off in Ririka's mind despite it all. Every bit of her wanted to flee. Right now. Where? Didn't matter. This was bad. Their conversation proceeded, undeterred by Ririka's distress. "... And?"

"Well, it's about the gamble the other day, correct?"

"Not all of it, but..."

"I imagine you can't just quit being a clan member, Ririka-san?" The question had been off-putting at best.

Ririka swallowed. "Well, no. But you know this already, Jabami-san."

"Huh?" Mary interjected, but Yumeko proceeded nonetheless.

"This is all speculation, of course, but the election is quite a spectacle for a resignation letter, isn't it?" The suggestion wasn't far off from Ririka's own thoughts, but to hear them spoken out loud was quite the experience. It churned her stomach. "... Igarashi-san's pool of resources is also quite large for her family history. She's a prosecutor's daughter, yet she was able to buy out Totobami-san without issue?"

"And? She could be using student council resources, maybe," Mary suggested, "The student council is still collecting on house pet debt during this whole mess, and I hadn't heard of the election committee keeping it to themselves in the mean time."

"They could be betting on another victor, you know. An outside bet-- just with enough cash-- and regardless of losing or winning, the president could have the cushion to live comfortably outside of the clan."

Ririka frowned. Something didn't sit right with her about the theory. If that were true, then the decision to turn her twin loose would make sense. Without saying anything, she could assist and push Mary to victory, thus winning the bet. Her opponent would have to be someone with just as much resources as herself to do that. The only person she could consider with that much power would be Terano... but there was no way she would take such a bet on.

There was also another issue entirely. "The Bami clan doesn't settle debt by money. Not always," Ririka remarked, "With as much as Kirari and myself have done? If it's not blood, it'll be our freedom at least."

"I won't let that happen to you, Ririka." The declaration had been unneeded, yet pleasantly unexpected from Mary. The surprise must've been too obvious as the serious set of her frown had given way to light flash of cheeks and a playful wave of her hand. Something she could look onto later, when there wasn't an audience.

Yumeko wasn't lost on the interaction as she smiled, suppressing the barest of giggles. "In any case, the president is back in school. If you're that curious, I'm sure you could ask her yourself."

"She's back?" Mary echoed her thoughts perfectly. "When??"

"I just saw her come in this morning. Sayaka-san looked remarkably well too. I'm glad the poison didn't keep her down for too long."

"Thank god! Maybe I can finally get someone to gamble again! Everyone's been so shy with votes lately."

"Oh! You haven't met them yet?"

Mary paused, "Who are you talking about?"

Ririka waited, even as she knew at this point that it would just confirm the truth in her eyes. A new target had been placed. It was a clever move on Kirari's part during her absence. It dried up the vote buying, and provided a convenient distraction while Igarashi-san was recovering. It was simply a matter of who could beat them, or perhaps, join them.

Yumeko's grin was wide. "Why, Rei Batsubami~."

[babbushka]

Last Straw (6/12)

Newly married to your high school sweetheart Kylo Ren, the two of you move into Skywalker Ranch, a farm recently passed down after the death of Kylo’s grandfather. The place is charming, and the people seem friendly…but are they?

Content Warnings: Major character death, extreme violence, amputation, mentions of cannibalism

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Your guilt gets the better of you in the end, and you look at Kylo for his opinion. It was his house too, and it was an area he was more familiar with. Your gut was screaming at you, telling you no, telling you to run, you have to run you have to flee you have to leave – but in the end, you’ve made up your mind.

“Okay.” You say, and you already are filled with regret with the way they smile at your decision. “But only in the barn, and just for the night. In the morning, we’ll call someone to come out and make sure you’re all okay.”

Brendol reaches out a hand for you to shake and you take it, only for a moment. You saw what he had done to Kylo’s hand, how there were still marks from his nails in Kylo’s palm.

“Oh thank you, (Y/N), thank you so much for your kindness.” Brendol said, so polite, too polite.

You go cold.

“We’re going to go to sleep now, I’m afraid there’s nothing in the barn.” Kylo says, an arm around your waist, as you reclaim your hand and tuck yourself against Kylo’s side, mind racing racing racing.

“Not to worry, hay is quite warming, thankfully.” Armitage says, although he glares when he says it.

You wonder how many barns he’s slept in, to know that.

“Alright.” You say, closing the door a little too forcefully, a little too quickly.

But once it’s shut you can hear from the other side of the wood, an all too satisfied,

“Sleep well.”

In the bedroom, you refuse to leave Kylo’s side. You are glued to him practically, on the mattress, under the covers. All those silly fears of monsters under the bed come rushing back from childhood, and you make sure your feet are fully tucked under the blankets.

You have a horrible, eerie feeling, that someone is going to grab you.

Kylo doesn’t seem as perturbed. He’s lying on his back and has you pulled against his chest, his hand carding through your hair, kissing the top of your head like nothing was wrong in the whole world.

“See? We did something nice for someone.” He says, pleased as punch.

Until.

Until you look up at him with afraid eyes, terrified eyes, until you say,

“I didn’t tell him my name.”

The hand in his your hair stops.

“What?” He asks, sitting upright slowly slowly slowly, until he’s against the headboard and you’re still buried up to your chin in covers.

“That man, Brendol. I didn’t tell him my name.” Your voice trembles, and you know this isn’t some random coincidence, this isn’t some happenstance.

This was planned.

And you feel like a moron for falling for it.

“Go check the drawer for me.” Kylo says quickly, as he starts rummaging through the bed-side table for something.

“Which?” You ask, reluctantly getting out of bed, tip-toeing across the floor in your robe to the dresser.

“The one with our underwear.” He says, finally finding what he was looking for, a little box of bullets, stock full.

“You stashed it here?” You ask, when you pull out the revolver that he had hidden under the socks.

He nods, and reaches his hand out for it, for you.

“Give it to me, I don’t want you have to get your hands dirty.” He says softly, and you sigh.

This wasn’t the first time he had done this, and you hate the resignation in your voice. You don’t give him the gun, you don’t want him to be alone in this. You don’t want him to have to be an attack dog anymore.

“Kylo do you think something is going to happen? Should we call the cops?” You ask, keeping the revolver in your own hands.

“I don’t know.” He says, scrubbing a hand down his face, “I don’t know, but if something does fucking happen, I’m not going to leave us defenseless. Cops would take ten, fifteen minutes going top speed, which they won’t do since it’s dark.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have done something nice for someone.” You say, a lame attempt at humor, an attempt to try and take the edge off.

It doesn’t work.

You stay awake all night. Each hour that passes feels longer and longer, like time is perpetually stretching on and on. Neither of you can sleep, can even think about falling asleep. You both have your eyes and ears trained. You steal glances out the beautiful bay window, and Kylo keeps his hearing set on downstairs.

For a while, it seems like nothing is going to come. The clock strikes midnight, then one o’clock, then two.

But on the stroke of three o’clock, there’s a knock at the door, the same rap rap rap that had gotten you both out of the shower only just earlier that evening.

“Did you hear that?” You ask, and Kylo’s already got his mask on, his blank, merciless mask on, one that you thought, prayed, you’d never see again.

“It’s them.” Kylo nods, stands up and cracks the joints in his neck, in his spine. He lets you keep the revolver, but he goes to the closet and grabs his shotgun rifle, loads it up. You sigh, but he only gives you a hard look. “Get behind me, (Y/N) I’m not playing this game right now.”

You don’t argue with him, not now, not this time. You get behind him and walk down the hallway, carefully, slowly. You have the revolver and it’s ready to go the second he tells you to shoot, the absolute second he tells you to strike them down. You both avoid the squeaky stairs carefully, avoid the weakspots in the wood as you make your way down down down.

They’ve opened the door, the three of them. Somehow managed to get through the lock.

They’re backlit by the moon, their eerie figures are standing there, just standing. But they’re standing in the foyer, they’re through the door.

Trespassing.

“If you take one more step,” Kylo cocks the shotgun, “Inside my home.”

“You’ll what?” Armitage sneers.

For some reason, he’s standing in front of both his brother and their father. This surprises you, you would have thought Brendol would be front and center in the limelight. Maybe Armitage is a better killer, you think, more ruthless, more efficient. You swallow down bile hard.

“I’ll blow your fucking brains out.” Kylo replies, just as evenly.

Armitage scoffs, rolls his eyes at such a statement.

“You don’t have the – ”

But before Armitage can say whatever it was he was going to say, Kylo pulls the trigger, and does just that.

You’ve never seen it before, someone being killed. You’ve never witnessed a murder, not a real one. Not one that wasn’t pretend, on TV or in a movie somewhere. You didn’t realize how different it would be, how harrowing. You can’t scream, frozen in place, as the back of Armitage’s head is exploded across the doorframe, splattered onto Brendol and William.

“Don’t try me.” Kylo says, holding the shotgun level with the other two, aimed right at their heads too, right at their fucking faces.

“You’re going to pay for what you did to my son.” Brendol seethes, hisses and screams, screams and screams in agony as if it were his own, as if the pain were coming from his own mind.

You watch in horror as the man contorts and twists, as his spine snaps and breaks as he crouches down on all fours, a bear poised to attack. Behind him William is shaking, shivering, a horrible, disgusting noise coming from deep in his chest.

It is an awful clicking sound, like a thousand beetles pouring from hell, wings beating, legs rubbing together. It is horrible, and it is so loud – but then no, you think, it is not like beetles at all, it is like teeth, the skittering, the clacking, it is like mouthfuls and mouthfuls of teeth, freezing frigid cold.

“’Tidge,” He wails, voice high and loud, discordant, like a hundred voices all at once, all at the same time, “’Tidge no.”

And you frown, because even though he was cowering in fear from his brother only an hour ago, now he’s mourning the loss of him. You wonder what the fuck went wrong in this family, to have messed up these kids this badly.

“William, sick.” Brendol sets himself over Armitage’s body, protecting it, trying to salvage what he can.

Or…or maybe…maybe that isn’t what he’s doing, you think with growing horror, as Brendol’s tongue begins to lap up the gore and grime that’s splattered all over his forearms.

There’s not time to question it, because William, the shaking chattering clacking hissing whining crying thing, is bolting towards you, running, running at speeds which don’t make sense, even as he’s crying, as his hands are outstretched as if desperate to be saved.

Kylo fires and fires, until there’s no more in the shotgun, and you don’t think, you empty the revolver into William as he gets closer and closer.

The kid drops to the ground in agony, but to your absolute horror, gets back up, forces himself to get back up.

Brendol lunges then too, having licked himself clean, his hands at the very least. He strangles Kylo, catches him off guard where he was trying to swing punch after punch to William’s face.

“No!” You scream as Kylo and Brendol fight, as they wrestle to the ground, “Get your hands off of him! Get off him!”

William has set his sights on you instead, and before you know it, he’s jumped onto your chest, has crushed you to the ground, has knocked you out.

It’s dark, in your head.

Dark and cold. Very cold. There’s pain, burning and screaming through your veins. It’s the pain that wakes you up, the pain that makes you come back from the dark.

You don’t know, what’s happened. You don’t know what you missed. You’ve managed to make it back, all the way up to your room, somehow. Somehow alive. But you have a feeling, an awful, sick feeling, that this is it. This is the end for you, for Kylo.

You look down, and you let out a choked sob, for where your lower half should be, there’s nothing. There’s just nothing. They’ve sawed off your legs, you can’t even see your thighs, you can’t see. You scream, scream and scream and sob, the pain blinding. You try to move your legs but they’re not there.

They’re just not there.

Your eyes burn, but you can’t tell if it’s from the smoke that fills the air, or the tears, or both. You reach for Kylo’s hand and you cry all over again when there’s nothing there for you to grasp. They must have cut it off too. But the cuts are clean, like they did it with a cleaver, like they did it with care, like you were animals, livestock for slaughter.

“Kylo, fuck I’m so scared, I don’t – fuck I don’t want to die. I love you I don’t want to die.” You sob, aching and screaming, choking on smoke.

“We won’t, we won’t it’ll be okay, it’ll – fuck!” Kylo rolls over, missing his hand he still pulls himself up and rolls over, protects you from the rickety wooden beams of the house which come crashing down. “(Y/N)!”

“Kylo!” You try to kiss him, you try, but your mouth is still so pinched from sobbing that you can barely pucker your lips.

Everything all at once feels very far away, like you’re floating. You know the house is on fire, you know. You can feel the fire licking up your legs. You want to scream but, at the same time, you can’t open your mouth to make a sound.

Is this what it’s like? You don’t know. You don’t even know what this is, what what is like. Is this death, or is this dying?

Kylo is on the floor with you, on his back. He’s got his face turned towards yours and you wish you could tell him you loved him, wished you could tell him one last time.

With the world crashing down around you, with Brendol and his son feasting on your limbs back in the barn, you wonder what you did to deserve this, why you were being punished this way. Where did it all go wrong?

You don’t know.

But you can find out.

Go back to the beginning and make new choices, see where the night will take you.

Will you survive? Or suffer a fate more gruesome than you could possibly imagine?

[ftlgbtales]

Erzajane and first kiss? and / or gratsu and memories :) i love all of these so far

edit by @gaymirajane​ (Thank you so much and thank you to Anon for the request, it turned out a bit longer than 500 words)

Pairing: Gray x NatsuPrompt: MemoriesAO3 | FF.Net

Summary: Gray’s dementia causes him to have trouble remembering even the important parts of his life, but at a pivotal moment, he is able to make the connection that means the most to him.

Gray glanced around the small room in confusion. It felt familiar, but at the same time, he couldn’t recognize it. He hated this feeling of forgetting, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it, it was just part of his dementia.

He looked up as he heard the door of the room open, nervous as to what it would mean but relaxing when a man came in with a tray with food.

“Good morning, Gray,” the man greeted him pleasantly, his air that of someone long used to this routine, but Gray could only struggle with the fact that he had no idea who this man was.

He had longish white hair that stood up in unruly spikes around his head, but the most notable thing about him was his eyes. As the man placed the tray carefully on his lap, Gray could see that they were a beautiful shade of green with brown specks in them. For a brief moment, those eyes peered at him with what Gray could only identify as hope only to quickly look away when his words were met with nothing but silence.

“My name is Natsu,” he said, smiling at Gray even as his shoulders slumped and his eyes dimmed with what could only be sadness. He sat down on the bed and filled the room with incessant chatter while Gray ate his food and peered at him with quiet desperation.

Gray inherently knew he was the cause of the man’s sadness. He could tell that this was not the first time they had met. That this routine was one in which they engaged daily, and he wished he could remember who this man was to him.

He quickly scanned Natsu’s face, wishing something would connect in his brain, no matter how small. Anything to make Natsu smile for real, because he instinctively knew that was something to behold.

Gray finished his meal, and Natsu got up, grabbing the tray and readying himself to leave, something Gray wasn’t ready for yet. He didn’t want to be left alone in his haze. He noticed as he glanced out the window that the sun was out.

“Can I go outside?”

Natsu seemed surprised by his question, but he perked up and replied, “Yeah, why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll go put these dishes in the sink. We can go to that place you like.”

Gray had no idea what that place was, but he was amazed by how seeing that small change in Natsu affected him. His heart fluttered to see the excitement mirrored in those eyes at his suggestion.

Time had no meaning for Gray, he seemed to weave in and out of his own life. Sometimes he would remember things from his past. He’d see a picture of himself in his room of when he was younger, standing with three other people, and the names Natsu, Erza, and Lucy would immediately come to mind, and Gray would smile as he remembered some of the trouble they would get into on jobs. At these times, he would focus on the man named Natsu, knowing he’d seen those eyes somewhere, but his brain just wouldn’t make the connection. Maybe he could ask the nice man who took care of him.

The man brought him food, bathed him and would take him out to the garden for walks and sometimes even read him books although he seemed to have a hard time focusing on the words and Gray would smile as he noticed that his legs were continually twitching as if protesting being made to sit still.

Sometimes others came to visit, but he couldn’t always remember them either, and soon no one came. It was just him and the man. One night he woke to find the man holding him in his sleep and he had screamed. It was the only time he thought he could remember seeing the man cry.

Then one day, he woke up in a strange place that was sort of like a hospital and was told he had to live there now. He had apparently decided he wanted to bathe himself in the middle of the night and had fallen and hurt himself. His kids, whom he only remembered as small children, had decided he was no longer capable of taking care of himself.

It was the most terrifying experience of his life until the green-eyed man showed up again. He told Gray that he had to live there now too, although Gray wasn’t sure if he ever told him why. He didn’t care, just having him again was enough to soothe his anxiety at being stuck in a place he remembered less than the one before.

Gray continued slipping in and out of his mind, but sometimes he would still have good days, and he would always spend those with Natsu, who would talk to him as if nothing had changed. He’d take him for walks in the facility’s gardens, bringing a book with him, which they read as they sat on a bench. Sometimes Natsu would tell him stories about his life, about his adventures as a fire mage in a guild called Fairy Tail, even trying to convince Gray that he’d been an ice mage in the same guild. That they had been half of the guild’s strongest team along with two women named Erza and Lucy and had defeated countless monsters, destroyed numerous cities, and even saved the world a few times.

Gray loved to listen to his voice, the excitement in the words piercing through his haze as nothing else could. At these times, he thought Natsu was the most beautiful creature in the world, with his shining eyes and beaming smile, and he wished that the stories were true. That he had always been a part of Natsu’s life, that maybe they’d fallen in love back when he could remember everything and had shared a life together. It was a beautiful fantasy, one that disappeared far too soon for him to grasp hold of.

Gray opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar place with cables attached to his body. The beeping of the machines was jarring, feeding into his growing panic. It was then he felt the hand holding his.

He looked over to see who it was and saw a man dozing in a chair by his bed. He looked familiar, but it wasn’t until he opened his eyes that Gray felt he knew him.

“It’s okay, love. It’s me, Natsu,” Gray felt his hand being squeezed, and he responded, although it was more a reflex than anything.

“Where am I?” he asked, not wanting to let on that he didn’t recognize him.

“You’re in the hospital, Gray. You’ve been here for a few months,“ Natsu explained, and Gray instinctively knew something was very wrong. There was a sorrow in those eyes that he couldn’t remember glimpsing before, and it terrified him. He wondered what had changed, but instead of asking, he fought it off, putting up a fuss that only resulted in Natsu being asked to leave as Gray battled his feeble mind for the answers he knew must be in there.

He was dying. Gray couldn’t remember why, the words the doctor had used too confusing to remain in his mind, but he decided it didn’t matter. Part of him was happy, there would be no more physical pain, no more struggling to remember words, names, events, or even who he was.

If he had one regret, it was that he didn’t know if the green-eyed man had anyone else. If, with his death, he was condemning him to loneliness. He hoped not. The green-eyed man had been the only one to make his dementia bearable.

Gray opened his eyes, confused to hear sobbing mixed in with the beeping he barely noticed anymore. Natsu was looking down at him, tears streaming out his eyes as he held on to both his hands tightly.

“What’s the matter, love?” Gray asked worriedly, wondering why his husband was crying.

“You’re leaving me,” Natsu wailed piteously, and Gray startled at his words. He made room on the hospital bed, urging Natsu next to him and pulling him into his body, as close as the cables that were connected to various parts of him would allow.

“Shh, I love you,” Gray cooed, running his fingers through the soft hair he had always loved, the pink had eventually given way to silver and then to white. He had loved them all, just as he had loved everything about Natsu.

He could feel himself growing weaker, but instead of seeing the bright light he had always heard about, his memories returned to him one last time. He was able to make the connection between the green-eyed man and the man that he had shared his life with through good times and bad. He was heartbroken to realize what he must have put Natsu through these last few years.

“You were so brave, and I am so sorry for leaving you alone,” Gray mumbled as he felt his own tears trickle down his cheeks, “I am so happy we met, and went on adventures and fell in love and raised a family together. I had a wonderful life, and it was all thanks to you.”

He turned slowly, searching out Natsu’s lips with his even through the sobs. Gray was sad that he had missed out on so many opportunities to do so. It was a wet kiss, their tears intermingling but neither backed away. They held it until neither of them could breathe.

“I love you, Natsu, and if such a thing is possible, I hope we meet again in our next life, I want to fall in love with you all over again,” Gray stared into the eyes that had held him together even when he was falling apart. He was fading fast, and there were so many things he wanted to say, but only one he wanted Natsu to remember, so he repeated it, “I love you, Flame Brain.”

Natsu managed a snort through his tears before replying, “I love you too, Ice Princess.”

“Smile for me?”

Natsu glared at him, and Gray had to laugh at the reaction, “Please?”

It wasn’t the bright one he remembered, but Natsu managed to smile for him, and Gray let his heart fill with love one last time before falling into darkness.

A/N: There are various people to blame for this piece: myself for coming up with the idea in the first place. DivineBurrito and Akiko_Natsuko for convincing me to go ahead and write it and Talos (the discord bot) for picking angst out of (angst, humor, fluff).I have never cried more writing a story than I did writing this one. I am sorry, but I hope you managed to enjoy some part of it because despite being sad I think that it is beautiful.

[nicblanchet]

heels - nic&david

( discord thread )

Where: construction site

@thedavidreyes

italics: nicolette bold: david

Nicolette’s heels clicked up the sidewalk, the sound of construction going on ahead making her confident she was going the right direction. She had a paper bag in one hand and a drink caddy in the other, the woman performing a balancing act to get food to David smoothly. She knew she stuck out like a sore thumb in the area, cautiously walking up to the construction barriers and taking a glance around the job she was at least 80% sure David was at. Like any stereotypical construction site she began to hear the occasional whistle, a man or two calling out to the hot blonde paying them a visit. They couldn’t see her eyes rolling through her Ray Ban shades.

David was revising some last minute adjustments on the plan in his office when he heard the crew outside started to make noise. It didn’t mind noise, and chatter, he may not have been much of a talker himself but it did seem to make the day go quicker for everyone. But when he heard a whistle and some comments he stood up, enough is enough. He walked out of his office, door swinging open as he called out, “would you lot shut the fuck up? No ones impressed you can work a drill bit you apes.”  Some guy to just left he think his name is Andrew just pointed to his left. He let his gaze follow and his eyes landed on Nicolette and his mouth dropped open. Flowing blonde hair,red lipstick, legs for days and god those heels. He swallowed and closed his mouth. “You know.” He said taking a few steps closer to her, “you don’t really meet PPE standards here.” He stood up straighter and crossed his arms, keeping a stern face. Despite the tips of his ears starting to turn red, fuck she was gorgeous.

Nicolette had completely tuned the men out by now, tapping her heel on the concrete while she waited for David to hopefully show up. How embarrassing would it be for her if he didn’t? She thought of ruining the surprise and texting him to come out of wherever the hell he was when she heard that all too familiar voice. It was a lot more stern than what she was used to, David obviously a lot softer when he was around her. That warmed her heart a little, a grin forming on her red lips when she finally spotted her grumpy guy. “Sorry, I didn’t know food delivery required PPE standards. I could go if you want.” A brow rose from behind her dark tinted shades, smirk forming on her lips. “Sir.”

He raised his brows back, not quite able to do the one like she had, his mouth turning into a smirk as he stepped closer again. “Food delivery? In that outfit?” He made a show of looking her up and down before shaking his head. “We’ll have to get you a hard hat, ma’am.” Everyone around them was forgotten as he was now standing directly in front of her. “Hi babe.”

“A hard hat? In this outfit?” she questioned, mocking his tone. “If that’s what it takes, I guess.” Nicolette playfully scoffed then visibly brightened when she heard the pet name. “Hi handsome. Surprised to see me?” Her smile widened. “Didn’t want you getting sick from bad lunch. I had a feeling you’d actually eat it.” She lowered her glasses, gazing up at him. “Can I have a kiss, or is that too much in front of all of...them...” Nicolette looked around, eyes still focused on her. “Have they ever seen a woman in their lives?”

He chuckled at her tone, and nodded. “ A  little surprised, but definitely in a good way. I-I probably would’ve eaten the sandwich.” He confessed with a sheepish grin. He reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her closer. “Oh they’ve seen women, just never seen Nicolette Blanchet.” He leaned in and kissed her on the red painted lips that were driving him crazy. At first there was an almost stunned silence, and then hollering and whistling. He turned away from face setting and voice becoming sterner instantly, “this place isn’t going to build itself, get back to work!” It was affective as most of the men quickly went back to work. “Want to come see my office?”

“See? I might’ve just saved your life.” Most likely not, but she definitely saved him from a stomach ache later in the day. “Nicolette Blanchet isn’t anything special,” Nic said, but lord did she feel special when David pulled her in and killed her firmly on the lips. She would have wrapped her arms around him on the spot if it wasn’t for her full hands or the shouts from the men on site. “I think I like you being authoritative.” Nicolette laughed. “Of course I do.”

“Thank you.” He smiled as he turned back to her placing his hands on her waist, and then it faltered as he shook his head. “Nicolette Blanchet is amazing. Even if she can’t see it.” He stepped back and offered an arm out to her, it seemed like she liked to hold onto it when they walked. He gestured towards the demountable he had been in and said with a smile, “Is that so? this way princess.”

It wasn’t much and he was immediately worried that she want to leave. It was small, maybe cozy was a better word. With a big desk in the centre, a rolling chair on his side and a plain wooden on the others a water cooler and mini fridge in one of the corners. And light was coming in from a sky light, but the two side walls, but their windows were tiny rectangular slots above eye level. Made for light not viewing. “So, you know you didn’t have to do this right? But what did you bring me?”

“Maybe David Reyes has rose colored glasses on when it comes to Nicolette,” the blonde teased. “But I like them. You’re cute when you’re drooling over me.” She toyed with him, tugging at the corner of his lips with her thumb, then took his arm to follow him to his office.

Nicolette hadn’t expected much from an on-site office at a construction site. In fact, the small building was exactly what she expected. Nicolette stretches over to the desk and set the bag and drinks down, happy to be rid of them and have her hands free. “I know I didn’t have to, but you deserve something nice for your tummy, baby.” Nicolette closed the gap between herself and David and let her fingers trace from his stomach to his chest. “Us! I’m eating with you, if that’s allowed.” The blonde pecked David’s lips, the man’s mouth easier to reach in the height of her heels. “Come here,” she said, pulling him to the desk. “I went to my favorite sandwich shop. Cubans were the special of the day, thank god. They’re my favorite sandwich if you ever wondered. But I got two of those, a chicken salad on a croissant, an Italian sub, and a couple of sides because they all sounded good and I couldn’t help myself. But I want the pasta salad. Okay? Whatever you don’t want I could take home or you could keep here for another day.”

He watched her walk across the room and couldn’t help but let his eyes wander down her body. The dark fabric one her light skin, her small back, then her ass which he loved even if she didn’t necessarily, he loved that he could fit it in his hand, the legs that stretched on, and down to her high heels. His tongue darted out to lick his lips.   He blinked hard as she turned around and gave her a grin, still not fully believing she’d be there for him.  He raised his eyebrows and nodded, “of course, I just wasn’t sure you’d want to eat here. But I’m glad you do.” He smiled into the kids and let her pull him to the desk. He nodded taking in all the information and storing away the fact that they’re her favourite for later. The fact that she’s brought him lunch and so much lunch was touching and a nicety he still was adjusting too. “A Cuban sounds great. Could I also have an Italian sub?”

“Of course you can!” Nicolette set aside two of the sandwiches and pushed them closer to David then smiled up at him. “I didn’t think you would want the chicken salad but if you did we might have had to fight for it.” She scrunched her nose and hip bumped him. Nicolette looked at the area, thinking about where she should sit. She didn’t want to take his place on the rolling chair but the wooden ones didn’t exactly look comfortable. There was just enough space on the desk, so she grabbed her food and walked over to it then hopped up to sit on the desk top, crossing her cream colored legs. “I didn’t think you would want a sweet tea either, if you could hand me that, honey. Come sit. Have lunch with me!”

He smiled as he picked up the two sandwiches. She playfully bumped against him and he laughed, “don’t worry. Your salad is safe.” Emphasising it almost the same way someone would a dirty word they didn’t want to say. He watched as she crossed the room and sat one his desk, and dropped his sandwiches when he saw her cross one leg over the other, making her pant leg move up even higher. He flushed and bent down to pick them up. “Okay.” He managed to get out walking over and sitting in his chair. His heart fluttered a little when she used a pet name for him. He sat down and tried staring at the sandwiches rather than her long legs with pale skin and red heels and focus. “Thanks for this. I really appreciate it.”

“Have you ever had chicken salad? There’s no lettuce in this, you know.” She rolled her eyes at him and unwrapped the croissant, licking her red stained lips before she took a bite. “You’re really missing out on this one.” Of course she knew it didn’t bother him at all. “Well, considering you were going to eat gross ham I assumed you could use someone to take care of you a little bit. It’s a bonus that I get to see you.” She smirked and sipped her tea. “Do you always call your guys apes? Or is that a term of endearment?”

“You said salad so I just assumed it’d have lettuce and other vegetables. Maybe even kale.” He pulled a slight grimace as he said the last word. He blushed slightly at her words. He wasn’t use to the idea of someone taking care of him. “I’ve done alright so far haven’t I? I like that I get to see you too.” He took a bite of one of the sandwiches, “not always, but when they’re all hanging around and calling out they sound like a group of apes. I like to remind them. Besides the fact they think that would ever work is ridiculous.”

“No, no vegetables here today. Maybe some other time though.” Nicolette ate everything he rattled off, and boy, she couldn’t wait to make homemade kale chips in her apartment while he was there now. “Should I be the one to break it to them that it doesn’t work? I don’t know a woman out there that likes being yelled at like an animal in a zoo. Actually, people don’t even treat zoo animals that way. Hm.” Nicolette stayed quiet for a minute and focused on eating, downing a good portion of her sandwich so that she could pay more attention to David instead. “So, what all do you do in here?” Nicolette was honestly clueless about the demands of David’s job, most of what she knew being the basics of an average construction worker.

He smiled as she said no vegetables but it quickly dropped as she said some other time. Stupid vegetables, but then it was back because he realised that meant she was planning on doing this against. “I would pay to see you tell them off.” He laughed at the thought of little Nic telling off a group of construction workers. He finished off both sandwiches, letting out a happy sigh. He’d always been a fast eater. He looked around as she questioned him and scratched his head. “Well not too much. I’m the supervisor so it’s my job to organise everything. Construction crews, who’s on what section with who. Organising any changes that need to take place, monitoring weight bearing walls. I draw up the calculations to make sure the angles on builds are right to ensure a solid foundation.” He stood up and grabbed some papers that were next to Nic on the desk he held them out for her to see. “When I do it I want to ensure we do the best job so it will last.” The pages were covered in drawings of what the building would look like, calculations of angles, cement quantities, power fitting quantise and other numbers that weren’t labelled but clearly had been worked out. “Look it’s not much, it’s nothing fancy. But it’s what I do.” He was standing directly in front of her with a small sheepish smile on his face, “sorry for rambling.”

Nicolette kept nibbling at her sandwich, taking her time alternating small bites that she savored with sips of her tea. “Oh yeah?” She set her croissant down on its wrapper, her eyes widening when she realized David had scarfed down two sandwiches already. “What would you pay me with?” She was that much more tempted now to march out there in her stilettos and give them a piece of her mind, even if she’d probably look like a squeaky toy standing up to a group of pit bulls. Nic wrapped the rest of the sandwich up and stuck it back into the paper bag so she could focus on David. She truthfully hadn’t been that hungry when he texted her but she wouldn’t let him know that she decided to eat just to have an excuse to be with him a little longer. No matter how hard she listened and looked over the papers David showed her Nicolette couldn’t grasp a thing he was saying. He was responsible for making sure his crews did a good job, and apparently he was incredibly smart as well. The numbers looked like another language to Nicolette - math had never been her favorite. “No, I don’t mind. This is more than I could ever do. If you left me in charge of this then they’d be building a death trap. This is nice, David. Really nice.” She turned and looked up at him. She’d only known him for a few short weeks and she didn’t know how significant any of this really was, but she was proud of her guy. “So when were you going to tell me that you’re a secret genius?” Nic stepped close to David and reached up to toy with the hair at the nape of his neck. “What’s next? Are you secretly Superman too?”

“Anything you want” he chuckled. “Anything at all.” He saw her putting her food away but he didn’t think much of it too caught up in his own world of numbers. He’d always liked numbers and math. It was either correct or incorrect. Wrong or right. No grey area or open to interpretation. It was something he was good at and felt in control of, and that’s why he loved it so much. He let out a nervous chuckle, “I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad.” He blushed a bit as she spoke, “I’m not a genius. I just know the right formulas.” He tried to down play, and then noticed that one of the equations wasn’t finished.  “Oh actually.” He quickly looked at the equation and jotted down the answer. “I might just check that, pretty sure it’s right though.” He pulled a calculator out of his desk and smiled when he found out he was correct. He continued smiling as he looked down at her and put the calculator on the desk behind her before wrapping his arms around her waist. “I’m not super man, not even close. Besides, I’d be more of a Batman.”

“Anything? Oh, there’s a lot of things that I want. How could I possibly pick just one?” She grinned, green eyes exploring his brown. “It would be bad. Very bad. Might even knock down everything else around it, actually. I couldn’t even make LEGO buildings with my brother when we were kids. That’s how bad it would be.” Nicolette turned her head and watched him correct whatever numbers were unfinished on the paper, the woman impressed with him no matter how much he downplayed his smarts. “Oh, I’m sorry Bruce Wayne. That is Batman, right?” She genuinely didn’t know a lot about superheroes at all, but she could see David’s point. “If you’re Batman then who am I? I do think I’d look kind of good in a catsuit.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” He grinned, and couldn’t help but smile at her LEGO comment. He’d played with some at school but never at home. He wished he had more memories like that. “Leave the building to me then.” He laughed and gave a soft smile. “Yes Bruce Wayne is Batman. And I got one think you would look amazing in a catsuit.”

“Hmmm.” She pursed her lips in thought. “I might have a few things in mind.” Nicolette grinned. Twirling one of David’s curls around her fingers. She loved his hair, adored it really. Nicolette would be content sitting and playing with his head of thick curls all day long. “Trust me, I am. I’ll stick to making things pretty.” For a moment she pictured him in a Batman suit. Hit for sure, but she’d still prefer her normal David over him in bulked up super hero gear. Something told her he thought she’d look more than kind of good in a catsuit though. “Only kind of? You know, I have a few connections that might be able to get me into one. How’s that make you feel? Kind of good?” She blushed, but she couldn’t help giving him a little tease now and then even if it brought a feeling of guilt to the pit of her stomach as well. Was it wrong to toy with him about something she couldn’t fully give to him yet? The corners of her lips started to tilt into a frown but she stopped them quickly. 

He smiled and subconsciously leaned his head back into her hands, loving the feeling of her playing with his hair. He smirked as she talked about the cat suit and his ears burned red. “I think that would be kind of good. Then again.” He paused and shrugged his shoulders, “I think you’d look even better without the suit on. Or anything really.” He winked at her and then chuckled, he knew she wasn’t ready but if she was happy to joke about it then so was he. “So should I start hitting the gym more? Try to get Batman fit for you?” It was a joke, mostly. But he also was self conscious about his body and being older than her he was genuinely curious if maybe he’d need to start working out to try and keep her happy. He knew that wasn’t the best mind set but he didn’t want to give her any reason to be unhappy with him.

“I had a feeling you might say that.” Nicolette pulled gently on David, closing what was left of their gap in height so she could kiss him. It was soft, sweet, but lingered long enough to leave him wanting more. “Batman fit?” Nic’s brows furrowed while she thought it over - a hard, defined Batman suit type of body versus David’s. “No. You shouldn’t.” Her hands dropped from his head to run slowly down his chest. “I think you’re sexy the way you are.”

He kissed her back fighting the urge to hum against her lips. “Batman fit, with abs.” He explained, he wasn’t expecting that response. But he was very grateful it’s what she said. He closed his eyes for a moment as she ran a hand on his chest and him sexy he cleared his throat and stepped back one large step. He needed to put some distance before he tried doing something that he’d regret and she wouldn’t be ready for. “I’m going to grab a water. Do you want one?” He asked as he moved to the mini fridge.

“You know, I’m really not that concerned with abs.” Nicolette shrugged. The blonde chewed on her bottom lip when David stepped back. She knew she had an effect on him but couldn’t quite wrap her mind around how intense it really was. “Sure,” was all she responded with, then stepped back to take David’s rolling chair seat. She watched him, doing her best to read how body language and the look on his face. He was tense but not uncomfortable like he’d been the first night at her place. She wondered if he wanted her now. “David?” She asked, gaining his attention. “What’s your favorite thing about me?” Unwittingly, Nicolette stretched her legs, propping them up on desk in front of her.

He was a bit surprised when she said abs don’t matter. Surprised and a little relieved if he was being honest. He grabbed two bottles from the fridge and turned back around to face her as she called out his name. He paused in his tracks as he saw the way her long exposed legs and high heels were propped up on his desk. “My favourite thing?” He thought about it and there was a lot of things he really liked. Like her legs, and when she wore the colour red, or when she’d make kind of cheesy jokes. He took a second to think before simply saying “your smile.” He paused, wanting to get the wording right, “The big, proper one. It makes me forget about all the bad things in the world. Gives me hope.” He handed her the water and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and out of the chair. “But, that doesn’t mean you get to steal my chair.” He slid behind her and into the chair. “No one sits in this chair but me, but my lap isn’t the chair.” He smirked, wondering if she’d do it.

Nicolette had to do all she could to not squirm around like a delighted little girl at David's answer. Her smile. It was such a simple and genuine answer, nothing that she would have ever gotten out of her previous relationship. "Gee, thanks," she said, a little breathless as she stared across the room at David. Her face was hot, the woman perfectly aware of how red her cheeks probably were - maybe even enough to compete with the shade of her lipstic - that smile that David mentioned beginning to involuntarily stretch across her lips. "I think that's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a really long time." Nicolette held her hand out for David to take, confused at first, standing sheepishly to the side and ready to apologize for being in a place that she shouldn't have been. "Oh," she muttered, ready to shrink herself down to nothing or potentially leave for being an inconvenience - that is, until she realized his real intentions. "Ah, I see," Nic said and nodded, then wrapped her arms around David's neck as she took a seat on his lap and crossed her legs. "A little lumpy, but comfy nonetheless."

He fake gasped and held a hand to his chest, “ouch. I’m not lumpy.” He put on a dead pan face and shook his head. “I knew my body would never be good enough for you.” It was meant to be a joke, but there was an element of truth behind it he couldn’t quite shake off. He furrowed his brows as if he was only really just registering her words, “I guess I’ll have to say nice things more often then. Because you definitely deserve it.” His arms wrapped and her waist and he gave a small smile.

“I mean, I guess I could get used to this.” Her small nose scrunched up, but it was hard to act displeased by sitting in his lap at all. She enjoyed it a lot, actually, even more so when his arms wrapped around her waist. David made her feel warm, safe and secure. “Do you really think I do?” No matter how many times Nicolette told herself that she deserved kindness she was too scarred by her ex to entirely believe it. “You wanna know what my favorite part about you is?”

He thought her nose scrunching was adorable and couldn’t help but smile. He nodded and gave a small smile, “of course I do. I think you deserve the world.” You don’t have one, what’s there to like? “Sure.” He forced a smile. “Lay it on me.”

“What makes you think that?” She smiled at him still, the woman enjoying hearing someone speak to her in such a way. One of her hands unhooked from around his neck and traveled to his face, cupping it gently to raise his gaze to meet hers. “Your eyes. They’re deep and warm, kind but tired.” Her smile turned sympathetic. Even if David said that he didn’t need sympathy she couldn’t help but feel it for him. “But, my favorite thing about them is how they look at me like no one has ever, ever looked at me before.” Her voice cracked, Nicolette astonished by how pleasantly overwhelmed David made her feel.

He smiled and gave her an incredulous look. “How could I not? I mean you’re pretty amazing.” His face dropped slightly as she cupped his face, he wasn’t use to such a gently touch he couldn’t help but lean into her hand a little, and give a gentle smile. His eyes started to sting a little as he blinked back tears, if he was being honest with himself he didn’t think he’d ever been complimented like that. Forty-one years of existence and no one had ever made him feel as important as Nic has in the short time of knowing her. This should testify him, but it doesn’t, it’s strangely calming in a way he never knew knew he needed. He cleared his throat slightly before saying, “thank you.” His one voice cracking slightly, he looked away still trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to spill, “I’m sorry, I - fuck, sorry.”

Nicolette let his face go, letting him react in the way that he needed to. She wondered how bad things really were for David but she wouldn’t ask. In his own time he might tell her. He was a broken man, that was obvious, but she wanted to do all she could to try and mend what she was able to. “Don’t be sorry,” her soft voice whispered, gentle hands reaching for his face, ready to wipe away any tears that threatened to stain his cheeks. “You know, someone told me not long ago that it’s okay to cry. It’s what makes us human.” Nicolette smiled at him, then leaned in to press angelic kisses across the man’s cheek. “He’s a pretty smart guy, so I think he knows what he’s talking about. Pretty cute too.”

A few tears actually feel at her words and he nodded numbly. Using his own words on him, he’d have to remember that. He gave a soft smile as she kissed his cheek and took a deep breath. “Sounds like a cool guy.” He tried to joke but his voice was weak. He was about to look away, not liking the feeling of being vulnerable. But looking into her eyes he couldn’t help but get lost, and feel safe. “You know, I think you’re the first person whose ever said something nice about my eyes. Thank you. I - well - it just means a lot.” He wanted to explain, to have her know how much it truly meant, for him to finally have someone not only see the good in him but be vocal about it.

“He really is. And he’s pretty important to me.” Nic felt her own eyes beginning to burn and tried her best to practice what she just preached, keeping her gaze locked on his. “That’s a shame, because I think they’re my favorite eyes I’ve ever seen. Besides Janis,” she laughed. Nicolette swiped her thumbs underneath David’s eyes, wiping away the wetness that fought its way through. “You have a good heart too, David. You deserve all the kindness in the world.”

He laughed and sniffed, “that’s fair enough. Janis does have amazing eyes.” He said with a nod and a watery smile. He brought one hand up to softly cup her face and lent in, capturing her lips in his. The kids was long and gentle, but it held a promise of so much more as he tried to convey everything he was feeling. He pulled back and wrapped that arm around her back the other one still on her waist pulling her into him for a hug as he buried his head in the crook of her kneel. Leaving a ghost of a kiss there.

“She really does,” Nicolette laughed, the sound fading quickly with his lips on hers. She smiled into the kiss, that gentle touch meaning so much to the woman - more than she could ever convey. They scared her, the intense feelings that overcame her when she was near David, but she welcomed them all the same. The hug surprised her, but she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him tight. “I’m really happy that we met, David.”

He smiled as she hugged him back. He’d never really been a hugger, not really a fan of contact with his upbringing, but he wanted her as close to him as possible. He loved the way it felt natural, like she was meant to be in his arms. He could very easily get use to this and that scared him. He didn’t like relying on others, but he had a feeling Nicolette was going to be addictive. “I am too, Nicolette. I’m glad I couldn’t take a hint to leave you alone.” He added with a cheeky snicker.

“I guess persistence really can pay off.” She thought back to that first night and how nasty she’d been to him, or at least tried to be, and how guilty she felt when she realized he really didn’t have the same intentions as any other man that approached her in public. “I’ve never been so glad that someone blew their cigarette smoke on me,” she joked. “Not that I want you to do that again. Or at all...” There was always a small hint of smoke on him, never enough to be obnoxious or overpowering, but just a small reminder of the bad habit.

“I guess so” he smiled as he thought back to how annoying he’d been. He remembered thinking his father had been right but all thoughts of his father were gone as she smiled and joked with him. “I’ve never been so glad to have someone try to be mean so hard.” It took him a second to realise she was hinting that needed to stop smoking, his smile dropped slightly. And he did his very best to fight off the voice saying that he wasn’t good enough, could never be good enough. Instead he focussed on her smile and how her eyes shine a little and lent forward slightly resting his forehead against hers, “I promise I won’t blow smoke in your face.” He said with his voice just barely above a whisper.

“Try to be mean? I was being mean, you take that back!” Nicolette playfully nudged the man, her hand rubbing his chest softly afterwards and proving David’s point. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. A few clever quips, sure, but she couldn’t be nasty to anyone. “I guess I could just keep you at my place more often since you can’t smoke in there,” she pondered out loud. “Then I get to kiss you,” she punctuated the statement with a kiss to his lips, “and snuggle you more.” She kissed him again, her lips barely brushing over his before fluttering to his nose, then his forehead.

He held his hand to his chest pretending to be hurt, “fun I take it back.” But his tone was pretty clear that he didn’t take it back slightly. “Kisses are good” he hummed. “And snuggles with you.” He kissed moved to kiss her back but her lips were quickly glittering around his face. He groaned but his smile was bright. He brought his hands up one on each side of her face and kissed her deeply before pulling back, “that’s better.”

“That’s right. I’m the baddest bitch in town you know,” she joked, unable to keep from laughing at herself. “I like snuggles with you.” She nestled herself against him on cue. This was fine enough but she couldn’t want to wrap herself around him for a whole night. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone here how much you’d like to spoon me and play footsies in bed, or how you let me kiss your nose.” She would have done it again but she was pulled into another kiss by David, this one much deeper than hers had been, the woman feeling his affection for her pouring through the way his lips pressed to hers. “I like when you kiss me like that,” the blonde sighed. She leaned back in and let her lips properly kiss him again, lingering against his mouth.

He laughed along with her before smiling softly at her words. He wanted everything he was saying, but he want sure. Is she just teasing him? Should be ask for it? Is it now assumed? His thoughts faded away as she was issuing him again, one hand in her lower back the other cupping her face he returned the kiss. The was long and lingering with a hint of something more. After a few moment  she pulled back and rested his forehead on hers, “I like when I get to kiss you like that.”

“Good,” Nicolette whispered back, one hand in David’s curls and the other resting on his chest. “Cause I’m kind of getting addicted to it.” She smirked, her fingers tracing where David’s collar met his brown skin lightly. “I like the way you hold me and make me feel safe. I like sitting in your lap,” she confessed, simply sitting next to him was hardly enough. “I like how warm you are, right here, on the couch, in bed...and how you don’t mind me laying all over you at night.” She sat up more, getting a better view of the man. “I like your curly hair, and this one that always falls in your face. Want me to go on?”

He blushed a little as she listed the things she liked. He found her sitting in her lap and playing with his hair to be a massive turn on, as well as her voice. That combined with her complimenting him was all a little overwhelming, but at the same time thrilling. He couldn’t find any words so he nodded slowly. Waiting for her to keep talking before he started trailing kisses up her neck. He got to her ear and was about to whisper when he the door opened and a very red face man could be seen. He quickly lent back, putting a bit of space between him and Nic as he cleared his throat. “Yes Alex?” The man spluttered a little before waving some papers and saying he’d wait out side. David closed his eyes and groaned. “I better go. But, thank you for today. I really appreciated it.”

Nicolette could list a million more things about David that both drove her crazy and melted her to a puddle. She sighed when she felt his lips on her neck, her grip in his curls tightening slightly. She was about to go on when the door swung open and Nicolette’s bright green gaze was met with one of David’s crew’s. Nic looked down, only slightly embarrassed, then glanced over to David. “You probably should,” the blonde laughed. “I’m glad, babe. You uh, are you okay if I do it again sometime?” Nic found joy in giving to David, taking care of him, nurturing him, so she hoped it wouldn’t be a problem if she stopped by more often with whatever the day’s special was in tow. As they both got to the door Nic looked up at David, her small hand grabbing gently at his. “Can I see you tonight?” she asked, giving his hand a squeeze.

[emeraldtawny]

[Sex Worker AU] Kenshin x MC: What Is Love? (Pt 1/3)

Welp...you guys wanted him so he’s up first~! Of course you guys HAD to choose the boi I’m the least confident in writing for, but hey I can only improve, right? ;3

Who knows when the next part will be out, but hopefully this sets everything up nicely for you all. Hope you enjoy~! ^w^

Gigolo. It wasn’t a title he could honestly say he hated; it was more the connotations that came with it.

Everyone automatically assumes his work involves sexual favours, sexual appeasement - everything sex. But that isn’t Kenshin. The beauty of his work means he doesn’t have to deal with the bother of appeasing women in that way, something he purposefully distances himself from. He saw no benefit in physical attachments, his past a canvas awash with heartache and discord, hues of reds staining and seeping in to leave him tattered and saturated in the mistakes of his past.

No matter how hard he tries, he can’t bring himself to throw away the ruined canvas, the constant reminder of his distress is his self-destroying way to make sure never to go back - never to let anyone get that close to him again.

But then, there was her.

…

The day is mild as she readjusts the scarf wrapped snugly around her neck to banish the chill. She clicks her phone to life to check the time, the photo background of her and her friends never failing to bring a smile to her face: Sasuke’s insistence on flashing a peace sign, Yukimura’s confused expression pointed at him, Shingen’s playful wink as he plays up to the camera. And Kenshin’s stoic, uninterested stare, his eyes piercing her every time she meets them, the effect his stare has on her still strong even without his physical presence.

(Where is Kenshin? The guys have said he’s been busy lately, but work for a whole week without a break?)

She frowns slightly at her phone, letting her gaze linger on her lock screen before pocketing it. In the short couple of months since she first met them in the cafe on that fateful day, she likes to think that they’ve all grown pretty close. Sasuke was right - despite their taboo work, they are all wonderful people she has come to truly care about. The nature of their work still makes her uncomfortable despite herself, but it’s a hurdle she knows she can overcome.

The streets are relatively sparse as she continues on her way, her eyes naturally wandering to glance at the shop windows and their immaculate displays. The stagnant thought of Kenshin’s absence remains idle in her mind, and she lets her mind drift back to an earlier conversation.

~

[ “Hey, Sasuke? Kenshin said he was a gigolo, right? Do you...happen to know what that entails?”

“Hmm, I myself haven’t asked about details, but from what I gather he acts more like an escort than as a traditional male prostitute. He has mentioned that despite working in the sex industry, he personally stays away from anything of the sort.”

“Huh? But then, why is he in the industry if he doesn’t even like it?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know, ___. That would be something you would have to ask him yourself.” ]

~

(An escort, huh? Like, arm candy for women? I can’t imagine Kenshin being like that.)

So lost in her thoughts, she barely registers the person in front of her until after she bumps into their shoulder. Blinking in shock and stumbling slightly to regain her balance, she whirls around.

“I’m sorr--oh!”

Her apology dies on her lips and her eyes widen as hues of the sea and forest meet hers, his own gaze flickering with shock in return.

The shoulder she bumped into belonged to none other than the very man on her mind. Dressed in a royal blue button-up shirt with a black blazer and jeans, he looks like a contemporary model, the way his blonde hair perfectly sculpts the unfairly chiselled line of his jaw only strengthening the case.

A small cough purposefully made to draw one’s attention does just that, her eyes meeting those a woman, her arm looped comfortably - and in a very showboating way - around Kenshin’s bicep. She is an older woman - around her mid-40s - and dressed to the nines. Her hair is pulled to the side in an elegant bun, the cut of her dress showcasing her slender collarbone and fitting her shape beautifully; one wouldn’t guess she was an older woman from afar, only up close could the subtle crow’s feet etched into the corners of her eyes be noticed, giving an indication of her experience in life.

“I understand he’s handsome, my dear, but you should at least finish the apology before letting your eyes wander.”

Her lightly reprimanding teasing tone makes her blink, a wave of embarrassment rushing through her.

“Uh, sorry. I wasn’t stuttering because of that. I--”

“Oh?” She cuts her off, her eyes crinkling as they narrow, analysing her closely.

She sinks back under her scrutinising gaze, unsure of where to direct her own.

“I would ask you not to intimidate her, Madame.”

Kenshin, who has remained silent, finally speaks, tugging his arm softly to draw the woman’s eyes up to him.

“She’s...a friend. We met outside of work and she knows nothing of my work except in name.”

The woman’s lips purse. Meanwhile, she lets out a silent breath at Kenshin’s saving words, scared she was about to be death-stared into the ground by a woman she had never met. After a moment, the older woman’s lips curl into a refined yet jovial smile, a small reserved chuckle leaving her.

“Ah, what was I thinking? Of course you’re not a client of his. I could have easily guessed that from your appearance alone, but professional jealousy got the better of me.”

Both she and Kenshin blink at the woman’s words, unsure if they heard her correctly.

“Excuse me?”

She meets her gaze, her rouge lips maintaining a kind smile but her eyes dance like a snake’s, taunting and circling its defenceless prey, “Oh, I mean no offence, my dear. It’s just that this man is quite highly sought after by the elites of this city. Someone of your...calibre wouldn’t be lucky or rich enough to afford his services.”

Her aimed jab is precise as it sinks into her heart, piercing in and letting her emotions loose to consume her being. Sadistically predatory eyes crinkle her crow’s feet further as she watches the young girl drop her gaze to the ground.

Her arm around Kenshin’s tightens as she pulls him with an authoritative air, “Come now, Kenshin. We have more to do.”

The clicking of her heels against the pavement echo for one step, then two. Then they stop, the additional two clicks less graceful as her feet stumble to keep herself upright. Kenshin stands steadfast, his form refusing to budge as the woman tried to walk away, his eyes trained on the younger woman still staring at her feet.

“Kenshin. Don’t forget what I’m paying you for your services and the conditions in place.” The silent threat in her tone has Kenshin looking over his shoulder to meet her eyes, his heterochromatic gaze as contrasting as the icy burn of his glare aimed at the woman.

“That gives you no reason to insult ___ so callously. I already told you she has no place in my work life, so leave your petty jealousy aside when you speak to her.”

The woman baulks, eyebrows shooting up in clear shock. “You...you used her name. You--”

Her stuttering halts at his hand resting atop hers to re-secure her grip on him, “Enough of this pointless chatter. You had more to do, didn’t you Madame?”

“Y-Yes, I did.” The woman clears her throat to compose herself, but the shock dilating her pupils still remains, “Let’s go, then.”

“Of course, Madame.”

Kenshin casts one more cursory glance at his friend, her face still cast down yet her eyes peek up at him through the veil of her hair. His eyes narrow, his facial expression complex and just before he turns his back and walks away--

“I’m sorry, ___.”

She blinks, her face frozen in shock. The softness of his voice, she wasn’t sure if it was the same man she has known with how frail his words fell from his mouth. Compared to the robotic monotone of his voice as he addressed the other woman, she wasn’t sure if what she just heard was something her confused brain conjured up just to toy with her more. Left gobsmacked and confused, the only thing she can do is watch him walk away.

(He...apologised?)

Kenshin wasn’t one for the flowery language of compliments and apologies, so having those words - words seemingly unheard of in Kenshin’s vocabulary - leave his lips, she knew he was genuinely sorry for what happened.

She wills her legs to turn around and carry her home, determined to put the entire incident behind her. Yet the encounter plays like a broken record on repeat in her mind and she reaches up to tug the scarf tighter still around her neck, hoping in vain that this will somehow cut off the thoughts from crawling into her mind and infesting her every thought.

Unbeknownst to her, he was hoping for the same, his sculpted lips pursed together in both thought and irritation as he grasps at reason to keep his attention on the woman he adorns for the day. The words she speaks go mostly missed by Kenshin, as they so often do, but this time his focus is infinitely more clouded; his mind is back with her, her downcast expression, the glimmer of shock highlighting the bright hues of her eyes. He can’t get her out of his head.

The two will never know how perfectly they share their turmoil, nor how both of them reach the same conclusion:

(I need to know more.) (She needs to know more.)

[fueledbysprite]

Nathmarc November Day 24: Stargazing

well this is fluffy and crack and fun. it’s also 3k words but you know, i feel productive

The bus ride was agonizingly long and uncomfortable. Chloe ditched the bus within ten minutes and called up a private ride instead when Mme Mendeleiev told her she couldn’t skip out on the field trip, and Marc was starting to wish he had the money for a private ride, because this was starting to really get on his nerves. The bus was noisy and crowded, and even though he and Nath had both chosen seats at the very back where they didn’t have to share with someone else, the smooth, paved roads were far behind them, and every bump on the road hit them with maximum force.

And yet Nathaniel still somehow managed to sleep through the whole thing. Marc had never found himself so capable of falling asleep anywhere, and the chances of him successfully achieving even a minute of shut-eye with all this noise were very near impossible. He could only hope that tonight made up for the ride. Marc dared to let his imagination race with the possibilities, reminding himself not to set his hopes too high and expect anything, but dreaming far ahead of himself all the same.

Wishing for the millionth time that he’d thought to bring headphones, he put in the one earbud out of the pair that still worked, covered the other ear and turned the volume all the way to the top. He turned away from the window, the cloudy skies and dark trees on his side becoming unbearable to watch, and shifted his body so he was sitting lengthwise on the bus seat, facing Nathaniel’s seat on the other side. Marc leaned back against the window and kicked his legs up so his shoe soles were almost against Nathaniel’s, then closed his eyes and relaxed, letting his imagination run free.

He’d almost forgotten about the rowdy mob of people occupying the rest of the bus, almost drifted away to the point he’d forgotten they were going somewhere at all, until his head painfully bounced against the window on one final bump, bus jerking to a stop. Marc winced, rubbing his head and pulling the earbud out, and sitting up so he could see what was going on up there as Mme Mendeleiev stood up to give them directions. He only glanced away to see Nathaniel getting up himself, looking around confusedly until his attention snapped to the front.

“Everyone listen up!” Mme Mendeleiev commanded. “You all know who your partners are, stay with your partner throughout the entire afternoon, you’ll have time to break apart and mingle later, but don’t dare go exploring unless at least one person is with you! Am I understood?”

Chants of “Yes, Mme Mendeleiev” echoed through the bus and Marc mumbled it himself quietly in accord.

“Good,” she said. “You know what to do, I should be able to trust you enough to exercise common sense and complete the tasks you have been assigned to do. You are all aware of what’s off-limits so please be smart and we can all have a safe and fun trip!” She smiled encouragingly, much to the caution and terror of the students, and descended as the bus doors opened.

Nathaniel sat up, stretching. “Here already, huh?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. Marc tried to ignore the sleepy flush in Nath’s cheeks and the adorable way he spoke when he still wasn’t fully in the moment.

“Er, yeah,” Marc answered. “You’ll be with Alix, then,” he said uselessly, wondering why he was trying to make conversation like this. Maybe because he liked hearing Nathaniel talk- no. There was no point of getting himself all worked up when the school trip had barely begun.

Nathaniel nodded, leaning back in his seat. Alix shouted for him from wherever she was at the front, and they both looked up to see. Marinette was waving at Marc to come join her, so he bade one last glance at the redhead before gathering his things and joining his partner.

Although Marc would theoretically ideally have partnered with Nathaniel, and Marinette with Adrien, he had to retrospectively appreciate he’d picked Marinette. Although it meant less time with the person he’d have liked to spend the most time with, there were things that had to be done before the day ended, and Marc was sure they wouldn’t have been able to get them done this efficiently and relaxedly if he’d been with Nathaniel instead. Plus, he and Mari didn’t often get a chance to interact like this, and he wasn’t going to complain about working with his good friend. Though that didn’t stop Mari from looking wistfully over at Adrien and Kagami.

“Plans for tonight?” Marc asked, half-teasing. That was another thing he would have never dared to do if Nathaniel had been there. Marinette laughed.

“I wish,” she admitted. “What are the chances a guy and girl’ll end up with their sleeping bags next to each other out of almost 50 people? What about you? Don’t you have certain hopes for this trip?”

Marc chuckled too.

“Well, I mean, you know,” he said, flushing slightly. “Probably not gonna happen, but uh, I have some hopeful dreams,” he shrugged vaguely. Marinette grinned at him impishly.

“Still more hope than me,” she said, studying the trip itinerary. Marc gaped at her for a subtle moment.

“How would you know what I wanted to do?” he challenged, only slightly wary.

“Mm...” was all she gave in response, not at all helping his nerves.

Was he that obvious? Marc shrank in on himself, feeling suddenly anxious. Marinette glanced at him and looked up.

“Relax, I’m just playing with you,” she assured him. He looked at her with uncertainty, and she smiled reassuringly.

“Whatever you say...” Marc mumbled under his breath, before his attention was diverted by the list of things that had to be done before tonight.

***

“Dude! You should have seen his face! It was freaking hilarious!” Alix told the group that had gathered around the campfire. Nathaniel sat next to her, nodding along amusedly while clearly attempting not laugh.

“What happened?” Marc asked, taking a seat next to Nathaniel and trying to act casual.

“Kim- I don’t even know what he was doing- he ended up in the lake somehow and good thing Ondine was there with Lila- Ondine had to literally go in and get Kim out,” Nathaniel explained, smirking slightly.

“But I thought Kim was a swimmer?” Marc asked in confusion.

“I know!” Alix said. “Apparently Max was using Markov to take a sample of lakewater for some test, I think Kim wanted to know if it was safe to swim in, but then it fell in and Kim tried to save it?” she finished with a laugh.

“Okay, in my defense, Max designed that piece of equipment himself! Who knows how much it was worth?” Kim countered, arriving at the site with a towel around his neck, shirt open.

“Did you figure out if it was safe to swim in or not?” Nathaniel smirked in spite of himself. Marc didn’t remember Nath being this energetic or confident before.

Kim glared at him.

“I did, actually. Ondine and I are going to have a race tomorrow after breakfast,” he informed them.

“That’s great, Kim!” Marinette told him encouragingly, sitting down next to Marc so he was squished slightly against Nathaniel. He flushed.

Adrien arrived after that, Alya quickly convincing him to sit beside Marinette, and Marc was squeezed even closer against Nathaniel. He squirmed slightly, shrinking in on himself, until Nathaniel noticed and moved slightly over on his own side to give him more space. Marc wasn’t sure if he was thankful or disappointed at the gesture. At least he still had his comfort in personal space, he supposed.

“Kay, guys,” Kim said, once the whole class plus some others had gathered around a recently lit fire. “Let’s play truth or dare.”

He was met with general discordance, and groaned.

“Come on, you guys are no fun,” he complained. “What do you wanna do, then? Play hot potato and sing songs around the fire? What are we, six?”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Alya said brightly, much to Kim’s chagrin, and they began a half-hearted chorus of Smelly Wolf and 99 Bottles. They were on bottle 69 when some immature boys started smirking, and the singing ended rather soon after that.

“Why don’t we play Never Have I Ever?” Kagami suggested. “It’s less wild than Truth or Dare but it’s not something boring a ten-year-old would play.”

The others seemed to agree with that. Marc feeling a knot suddenly growing in his stomach, but nodded along with the rest. Nathaniel didn’t seem to have a problem with it, and Marc didn’t want to look like a wimp.

“I’ll start,” Alix volunteered. “Never have I ever fallen into a lake on a school trip.”

Half the group laughed at that, Nathaniel included, and Kim glared, putting down a finger. Markov closed one of his metal digits, too, out of respect for Kim, justifying that it had been his own apparatus that had fallen and caused Kim to go down too.

Next was Nathaniel. “Never have I ever, uhh, been on the very top of the Eiffel Tower, I guess?” he shrugged. Some people nodded, a surprising number having to put down a finger for that. Lila looked annoyed.

Marc swallowed when it was his turn, felling the others’ eyes on him expectantly. “I, uh, never have I ever...” he searched his mind for ideas. “Drank a cup of something that wasn’t what I thought it was,” he decided finally. The others were initially confused, then broke out into groans and laughs and remarks.

“Dang, Marc, way to expose me,” Nathaniel whispered, and Marc felt his cheeks grow warmer in embarrassment.

“S-sorry,” Marc mumbled. “It just came to mind,” he shrugged.

“You probably know how many times I’ve accidentally drank paint water, huh?” he asked playfully. Marc swallowed- of course the first thing that came to mind would have been linked to Nath somehow. Typical.

“Okay, okay, but guys!” Adrien called out over the rest of them, and they quickly silenced, more or less. “How do you know you haven’t ever drank a spiked drink. How would you know, huh?” he asked, and they all broke into energetic chatter about conspiracy theories and whether or not milk was really milk or actually just water and some other foreign substance.

Marc sighed into his hand, wishing he’d picked something else. Now everyone else was discussing something else and he and Nath were both silent.

“What do you think?” Nathaniel poked him gently, and he looked up. “Is juice really juice? I water really water? Are you sure what you were talking about?”

“Who knows,” Marinette answered for him, leaning over. “It’s all just one big hoax perpetrated by the illuminati,” she whispered, and Nathaniel noded seriously.

Marc found himself awkwardly in the middle as they went off discussing some of the wildest conspiracy theories he wouldn’t have ever been able to imagine himself. What were those two even high on?

It barely felt like any time had passed at all until Mme Mendeleiev shouted over the group and informed them it was getting late and they should be getting out their sleeping arrangements before it got dark out. Nathaniel set off to locate his own bag, and Marc headed over to the sheltered structures to change into his sleeping wear, quietly praying he found a spot near Nathaniel before the site filled up. He ran back to the field just in time to catch Nathaniel rolling out a sleeping bag, and stopped, staring.

“What?” Nathaniel asked, noticing Marc watching him intently. Marc didn’t say anything, just watched him in surprise. “What, my pajamas? I’m a comic book fan, don’t you know me yet?” he smiled, slightly unsurely, Marc could tell.

“N-no, I think it’s awesome you still wear Marvel pajamas,” Marc said quickly before Nathaniel’s confidence disappeared and Marc was left forever guilty.

Chloe apparently didn’t think the same. She had stalked over with a rather pretty bag of personal items in one hand (Marc would never bring something that expensive on a camping trip), followed by Sabrina who was carrying a large uninflated air mattress and comforter. She took one look at Nathaniel and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

“What are you, ten?” she asked. “Who the heck wears those to a school trip? You’ve got some nerve, wearing those in front of the whole grade.”

Nathaniel looked down, Marc swallowing nervously, until both sensed Chloe audibly freeze.

“A-Adri-chou...” they heard her say, voice distant, and Marc’s gaze snapped up. “What are you wearing?!”

Nathaniel looked up too, and followed Chloe’s gaze to Adrien who was set up not too far away, wearing the brightest red and black-polka-dotted onesie any of them had ever seen. Marc stared.

“Something wrong?” Adrien asked unconcernedly.

Chloe gaped at him for a good thirty seconds before gathering herself and sashaying off to a different part of the site. Marc couldn’t help himself from giggling. Nathaniel looked at his own pajamas with a small smile, then at Adrien, who offered him a wink and a thumbs up. The redhead grinned.

They entertained themselves by observing the others’ interesting pajamas- mostly generic and typical of their age, but some truly iconic. Max’s night wear still had glow-in-the-dark decals that grew apparent as the sky darkened. Wayem’s pajamas were straight out of one of the Adrien advertisements all over Paris, but he was grateful not to find himself alone- at least four other boys were wearing the exact same ensemble. Juleka’s pajamas, although not looking very comfortable, were a level of gothic style that made even Marc envious. He wondered if he could pull off black lace as well as she did.

And then, it was too dark to even make out who was wearing what. The trees cast shadows as twilight neared, and Mme Mendeleiev finally re-appeared to shout at them again for not being calm and peaceful. Marc lowkey suspected she had been waiting for it to grow dark so no one would comment on her pajamas, and deal with the same as M Damocles suffered for his owl-themed pajamas.

Marc sighed happily, laying back on his sleeping bag, as more and more torsos dipped down and out of view, more and more students lying back to fall asleep. The stars were coming out now, and the sight was truly incredible- most of the students just wanting to lie back and enjoy the view. That was what they were here for, after all. Taking a break from the bright glare of the City of Lights, and appreciating the natural view for what it was. Marc thought back to what Mme had told them- this wasn’t even close to the truly natural, unadulterated night sky. If this wasn’t even comparable, Marc wondered how that must look. He glanced over at Nathaniel, expecting the redhead to have fallen asleep by now, but Nathaniel was wide awake. Marc partially sat up in surprise.

“You’re awake?” he whispered to the redhead. Nath blinked and turned his head.

“Yeah,” he whispered back. “I’m lowkey nocturnal, I sleep in the morning and the day, and then I’m wide awake at night and don’t fall asleep until like 3am,” he explained.

“Yike,” Marc said, pulling his blanket over his shoulders after a sudden unexpected breeze. “What do you do?”

“I usually draw my comics then,” Nath answered, supporting his head on one arm. “Some reason I work better then than during the day.”

Marc nodded in understanding, leaning back slightly.

“The stars are beautiful tonight,” he murmured, wondering suddenly why that phrase seemed so familiar. Nathaniel quietly smirked, looking at him with a mischievous look in his eyes.

“You know what else is beautiful?” he asked quietly, almost daringly, and Marc’s breath caught in his throat. He had to force his mind to go quiet, because this couldn’t possibly be heading where he thought- hoped- wished it was heading.

“Wh- What?” Marc asked, not daring to breathe.

Nathaniel hesitated for a moment (which didn’t help Marc’s nerves at all), smirk slipping slightly. Marc couldn’t read his expression very well in the dark, but Nathaniel’s eyes seemed to be darting nervously.

“Uhh...” Nath started.

“Y-yeah?” Marc asked carefully.

Nathaniel closed his eyes for a full five seconds, then opened them again, looking Marc dead in the eye. Marc’s stomach fluttered nervously.

“You,” Nathaniel breathed, and Marc didn’t even have to silence his mind because it abruptly crashed and shut down right then.

“M-me?” he repeated softly, sounding stupid even to himself.

Nathaniel barely nodded, as much as he could in this position. Their gazes were locked, Marc couldn’t break away even if he tried.

“Really?” Marc asked again, not at all believing him.

“I’ve liked you for a while, now, I just- uh….” Nathaniel said very softly, trailing off.

“Me too,” Marc responded, voice unusually steady. “I like you too.” He wasn’t sure why he kept repeating things but so long as he wasn’t messing up his words this time, he could give in to a bit of stupidity, he supposed.

“So...you like me...and I like you...and we’re here, camped out, under the stars, confessing to each other while everyone else is falling asleep,” Nathaniel summarized unhelpfully, for lack of anything else to say. Marc nodded mutely.

“Yeah, unless I actually have fallen asleep and I’m dreaming, that’s what we’re doing,” he said, willing himself to stop being repetitive.

Nathaniel didn’t say anything for a few moments, then broke into a wide smirk, all but laughing.

“We should make a comic book out of this or something,” he said. “Romantic goals, amirite?”

Marc chuckled quietly.

“I can’t tell if you’re being silly or serious right now,” Marc laughed in both humour and relief.

“Both?” Nath shrugged. “Neither? What do you say?”

“I’d say,” Marc said, poking Nathaniel gently in the arm, “this is all some crazy dream I’m having and I’ll wake up in the morning and none of this will have happened at all.”

“Do I feel real?” Nathaniel asked. Marc frowned, thinking.

“It’s crazy realistic, but for all I know, you could be one of the best dreams I’ve ever had,” Marc said honestly.

“Then why don’t we make it the best?” Nathaniel offered, leaning in and closing the space between them.

Marc pulled away after fifteen seconds, breathless.

“Did that feel real?” Nathaniel asked.

Marc shook his head vigorously, mouth hanging open in surprise. Nathaniel chuckled and sighed, picking up his pillow to swat Marc with it playfully.

“Go to sleep, dork,” he said affectionately. “Maybe when you wake up I can try again and prove it to you.”

But Marc didn’t fall asleep. Marc lay with the widest of smiles on his face, eyes closed, seeing stars.

[canadianbuckybeaver-blog]

Flutters of a Butterfly (Sneak Peek)

Since Tumblr hates my original writing blog, @battre-la-rage and @lina-lines

Here is the sneak peek of my upcoming Fluttercord fanfic!

It was the perfect Tuesday afternoon in Ponyville. The skies were clear, the sun shining, the animals were out enjoying the sun’s warm rays.  It seemed to be the very picture of a beautiful, perfect day. Everyone seemed to be busy doing something.  Twilight and Spike were out doing their royal duties, a very stressed out Rarity had locked herself up in her boutique to plan out next season’s style, Applejack hard at work at the family’s farm, Rainbow Dash was on cloud patrol and Pinkie Pie was probably baking up a storm while simultaneously planning the next, bestest party.

And Fluttershy was busy having tea with another one of her dearest friends.

There was something about their tea parties that were just so relaxing, Fluttershy decided, sipping her tea and peering over the rim of her teacup to look at her visitor. It was hard to believe that Discord, the mighty and imaginative spirit of disharmony, had once been anything other than a friend.  The draconequus was seated across from her now, the one part of his lion’s paw extended like a pinkie as he sipped from the teacup.  He was full of jokes and quips, and often times her sides would ache from laughing so much during their little visits.  

Even now she watched as his white moustache changed colour to match the multiple colours of Rainbow Dash’s mane as he mimicked her voice in his story.  “Of course, once I convinced her that she should let me help in her little friendship quest, the mission was over in a snap!” he said, snapping his talons together, his teacup and saucer floating in front of him. Instantly, Fluttershy’s little bouquet of flowers bloomed, expanding to twice their size in the little vase. “Ms. Rose’s bushes were back to the former glory, and all without all the heavy petting that Rainbow was trying to do with the weather.”

“Heavens, I bet she wished that you would have asked her sooner,” the yellow pegasus said, giggling as one of the flowers came to life.  The stem lengthened and it pressed close to her, most of the petals closing up until it roughly resembled the look of a dog with some of the petals still. The pistil panted like a tongue, clearly excited to see her.  “Oh aren’t you just so cute!” she exclaimed, rubbing under its “chin”.  

“Oh, I know I am,” Discord’s voice came from the flower, his serpent’s eyes appearing on the petals.  “And you of all ponies should know that Rainbow Dash could be tied up in a spider’s web and still be loathe to ask for help. Her ‘loyalty’ to her own independence is something else.”

There was another snap of his fingers and, like nothing had happened, the draconequus was back in his seat, sipping his tea, the flowers returned to their normal state.  Fluttershy couldn’t help but let out another giggle. He had a point.  Rainbow Dash had quite the ego and admitting defeat was something that she did not do lightly.

Discord eyed her as he ate one of the sandwich crusts that she had put out for him. “You’re awfully quiet today,” he noted, “is there something on your mind, Flutters?”

Fluttershy squeaked and tried to hide behind her cup.  She still wasn’t used to the little pet name that he gave her and there was a part of her that hoped that she would never get used to it.  Her heart would skip a beat, her cheeks would flush…

Ok. Maybe she enjoyed these little tea parties for another reason altogether.

Not only were they relaxing, but Fluttershy had a small crush on the spirit of chaos.

Well, maybe a draconequus-sized crush on him.  She couldn’t exactly pinpoint when these feelings had exactly started, but she had been more aware of them since the defeat of Queen Chrysalis.  Her heart would skip a beat and the smallest shiver would flow through her wings.  So far, the rest of her friends didn’t know about her feelings, and it was for the best that way. Twilight would open a book and try to research how to best approach the situation, Rarity would give her a makeover, Applejack argue that she needed to be honest with her feelings for him… though that was the best case scenario.  Knowing her friends and how they felt about the draconequus, they were equally as likely to try and admit her into the nearby pony centre for insanity.  

“Flutters? Are you still there?” a paw waved in front of her face.  “Your mind must be in Cloudsdale. Your body is here, but your mind certainty isn’t.  You’re not getting sick, are you dear?” Discord asked.

Gulping slightly, Fluttershy looked at her friend.  If she messed this up, she could lose him forever.  But yet, she had to know if he felt the same about her. It was only a matter of time before the others figured it out.  “Well… I was just thinking…” she began, looking at his teacup.  “What… what are you doing afterward our little tea party?” she finally asked him.

The talon stroked the beard as Discord thought.  Snapping his talons, an agenda appeared in front of him. “December 17,” he muttered, pages turning rapidly. “Ah yes. After our tea party, I have an appointment with Princess Celestia.” He said, finally flipping to the right page.  A small hologram hovered above the page, first showing a small and bashful looking Fluttershy before changing to the majestic alicorn.  Celestia hovered over the page, her wings outstretched, mane and tail flowing in the non-existent wind.  As Fluttershy watched, little hearts flowed off of the page, slowly dancing and twisting in the air.  “Oh shoo!” Discord said, slamming the book shut and trying waving the air clear of them. “I swear that they get more and more insistent with every passing day. Who needs a heart on their sleeve when your heart escapes the pages of a book?”

Fluttershy barely heard him.  She was looking down at the last of her tea, trying to ignore how her own heart was shattering in her chest. She should have known that this would happen.  Celestia was beautiful, elegant and magical, the one with the power to raise the sun, Discord’s equal. Of course Fluttershy was nothing more than a friend to him.  She could barely fly for Celestia’s sake!  What would he want with a boring, old mare like her?

“And there you go, your mind taking off to Cloudsdale again, faster than that Rainbow Dash!” Discord again waved his paw in front of her face, worry beginning to show on his own muzzle.  He was never worried.  “Did you need me to help out with your pet bear again?”

To her horror, Fluttershy felt tears welling up behind her eyes.  No!  Not now! Not when she could blow everything!  She could still salvage the friendship that she had threatened to destroy! Her and her dumb feelings. “It’s just… it’s just…”

* * * * *

It was a soft touch to her muzzle that caused Fluttershy to wake.  Startled, she clambered to her feet, her eyes blinking, trying to shake the last of her dream.  Angel, her faithful bunny friend, was beside her, looking up at her with concern, a single paw still outstretched.  He gave a questioning noise as he looked at her.

She seemed to be worrying everyone these days.

“Oh I’m sorry. I must have startled you,” Fluttershy whispered, picking up the soft creature and hugging it gently.  “I’m sorry.  It was nothing more than a bad dream.  I’ll be back to normal in no time.” she promised.

Cocking his head, Angel looked rather unconvinced.  “Now don’t give me that look, mister.  It’s my job to give you that, not the other way around.” she joked, hugging the soft animal.  

Angel seemed to give a soft sigh but hugged her back, pleased that he had saved his beloved mistress from that horrible nightmare she had been having.  Fluttershy hugged him a little longer than usual, taking the time to orient herself.  The dream had been so life-like, echoing many of her waking thoughts.

“Come on, Angel,” she said, choosing to ignore the thoughts for now. She couldn’t spend the day inside, moping around because of some nasty dream.  There were things to do, animals to feed, ponies to see.  And she still had to go get her shopping down for today’s tea party with the draconequus in question.  Oh boy, would she even be able to face Discord after such a dream?

Well, it was too late to back out of their party now.  She would just have to pretend that the dream never happened. Steeling herself for the day to come, Fluttershy swing her saddlebag over her back and trotted out.  It was time to face the day.

* * * * *

The morning passed mercifully quickly for the young mare.  She trotted through the nearby meadow, making sure that all of her animal friends had more than enough to eat.  The local squirrel family was given a handful of freshly picked acorns, the birds given a pile of seeds.  Angel helped her with his fellow rabbits by giving them a pile of garden-fresh carrots.

She giggled as a few of the birds flew around her, singing to her.  “Oh, you are very welcome,” she told them, watching as they flew off.  “Alright Angel,” she said as her bunny companion wiggled into her saddlebag, “all I have to do is go to the marketplace and pick up a few items for our tea party, and then, I just have to do everything else to prepare for it. That shouldn’t be too hard.” She said, turning to look at her bunny friend.

Angel shot her an incredulous look, folding his paws in front of his chest.  

“Now, now, none of that attitude, mister.  I know that Discord isn’t one of your favourite po-… creatures.  But he is a good friend of mine.” Choosing to walk to the market today (flying always tired her out), she started at a brisk canter, one that would not disturb the bunny’s pouch.

Angel chattered something fast and high-pitched to her.

“Yes, I know that you don’t trust him. He did say some hurtful things when he first met you, but I think that he has changed.”

Again, Angel released another babbling chatter at her.

Fluttershy sighed, slowing to a brisk trot as she passed a few other ponies, lowering her voice. “I know that I said that before he joined Tirek, but I think that he has gotten through a lot of issues.  He hasn’t threatened to make you into a cloak for a while.”

Angel huffed and folded his arms, looking away from her.  He looked so cute when he was trying to be angry with her.

“Oh, don’t be like that.  I’ll need your help to pick out the best carrots.” At the mention of his favourite treat, Angel brightened up considerable, already looking for his favourite seller.

The shopping took much longer that Fluttershy had originally anticipated.  Of course it was always a challenge when you were so soft-spoken that one could barely be heard over the normal hustle and bustle of the town square. Sure she had a few wrong amounts and orders, but she was still much too shy to correct them.  Her pantry will just be extra full this week, and she will have to try out some new recipes. Maybe Pinkie could give her a few tips on cooking something special with the extra chocolate and vanilla she ended up with.

“Alright Angel, only one more thing left on the list.” She said, peering at her grocery list. “I just need to get some tea and we could go home and…”

One of the flaps on her saddleback jolted and unbuckled.  From the inside out.  A rather odd-looking grey and brown rabbit poked its head out of the bag, nose twitching at her.  It looked to have two different types of antlers on its head.  “Now how shocked would you be if your precious Angel started talking back to you?”

Fltttershy gave a startled gasp, causing the few ponies that overheard her to peer at her. She silenced herself and flushed, nodding to the other ponies, before giggling softly.  “Well he does talk back to me, in his own way of course.”

The rabbit snapped his fingers and Discord changed form again.  He didn’t shift into his normal draconequus form, but instead into a large pink and yellow butterfly, much like the ones that painted her flank.  He knew that Fluttershy was uncomfortable with too much attention on her at once, and his original form attracted a lot of attention.  “I bet you and him have the most stimulating conversations about carrots and sunshine and rainbows…” Discord mused, twirling in the air. Fluttershy giggled and shook her head.  If only he knew what they really talked about!  The butterfly let out a huge sigh before lighting on her muzzle. “Unfortunately, I do not bear good news, Fluttershy.”

“Oh! What is it? Is there an animal in trouble? Are you hurt?” Fluttershy questioned, her eyes wide and worried. This was Discord after all.  No news was bad news for him.  Usually he could change things to suit him in a snap of his fingers.

“I’m fine,” Discord said almost dismissively, one leg waving at her, “as are your precious animals. It is in regards to our tea party this afternoon…”

“Oh no… did I not get enough of everything?  I… I can go back and get more if you need…”

“Flutters, please, let me finish first before you leap to conclusions or I’ll be forced to seal your muzzle shut so I can get everything out.” Discord told her in exasperation, his feelers twitching.  “I don’t have much time. Princess Celestia has asked me to do a special mission for her and it has to be today.”

Fluttershy felt like she had been kicked in the stomach.  At the very mention of the princess’ name falling from his mouth so easily, it brought forth all the feelings of her dream.  “Oh… I see…” her head fell down, her eyes prickling with unshed tears.  She willed herself not to cry in front of him.  Celestia knew that she had done that enough already.  “I… I understand…” she whispered.

“Now, now, I’m just as upset at missing tea as you are,” Discord told her gently, his little agenda book appearing before him as the pages flipped at another snap of his fingers.  “Do you mind if we have it tomorrow instead?  My schedule is rather open for the week, but I don’t know about yours…”

“Yes… tomorrow is fine.” she said, her ears falling back and giving a soft nod, forgetting that Discord had been on her nose.

Effortlessly he took the sky, fluttering in front of her.  “Very well.  Pencil me in for tomorrow,” he said, a note folding and being placed in her saddlebag. “I’ll hopefully have an exciting story for you tomorrow!  See you Flutters!”  

In another snap of his fingers he was gone.

Fluttershy sighed, bowing her head low.  She supposed that she was looking forward to tea with him a little more than she had let on. And hearing that he was going to see Princess Celestia about something.

Well, she supposed that she shouldn’t be upset.  She never had any sort of hold on him anyways.

Angel poked his head out of his flap, patting her neck softly and chirping softly to her. Trying to encourage her, raise her spirits. The draconequus managed to hurt her again, even after his warning.  Angel would never forgive him for this, no matter how many carrots or apples he brought back for him.

“Well… it looks like we have the entire day free…” Fluttershy told Angel, turning around and beginning to head for home.  “What do you think we should do?” she whispered to him.

Angel chattered to her again, acting out something with his paws.  “Girly time… what do you mean by that?” she asked him, curiously.

Pulling gently on her mane, Angel gestured her towards the boutique that Rarity ran.  “Oh… oh that is a terrific idea, Angel!” Fluttershy exclaimed, immediately turning around and briskly trotting to her friend’s shop.  “Maybe she can get us into the spa today… after I take my groceries and you home, of course.”

The boutique is a complete disaster. Fabric and thread were thrown every which way imaginable, and Rarity’s mannequins were strewn around the room. If Flutteshy didn’t know better, she would have guessed that Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Wonder Colts had a training session in the little house. “Rarity?” she questioned, stepping through the door.

There was an undignified shriek from somewhere in the depths of the mess.  “WE ARE CLOSED TODAY!”  A frazzled unicorn appeared under from under a mountain of fabrics. Purple mane and tail struck out from every possible angle, though her eyes did lose their wild look once she realized just which pony had entered.  “Oh, thank Celestia it is you, Fluttershy.” Rarity sighed, shaking her head.

Fluttershy giggled and closed Rarity’s door behind her.  “My goodness, Rarity, your house… are you having… some difficulty with the new line?”

Rarity sighed and rubbed at her muzzle.  “I admit that I have run into a bit of a designer block.  Summer is supposed to bright colours, blues and greens and yellows, but I everything that I create just seems to echo last years.  I’M A FAILURE!” the overly dramatic unicorn collapsed, oversized tears dripping from her eyes.

“Oh… don’t cry Rarity… you just need a break.”  Fluttershy gently pet her friend’s back as Angel glared at the angry ball of fluff that was watching them from behind a curtain.  “Do you want to go to the spa…?”

The unicorn sprang to her feet so fsat Fluttershy was sure that she had used her magic to pull herself up.  “Oh, you are a GENIUS Fluttershy!” Rarity exclaimed.  “You’re absolutely right, all this stress is terrible for my complexion. A day at the spa… that is exactly what I need… will you come with?”

Giving a small nod, Fluttershy agreed.  “Yes. I’ll meet you there after I drop off my food.” She said, turning on her heel and galloping back towards her house, grateful for a distraction.

“Very well, darling. See you there!  Just… hurry!  I don’t think my complexion can handle much more of this….”

* * * * *

What seemed to be a very short few minutes later, Fluttershy was entering the Ponyville Spa. Rarity had gotten there before her and was already talking to one of the clerks.  “There you are! They are able to take us in today at such short notice!” she exclaimed as Fluttershy came over to her.  “Actually you made very good time.  What about the food that you were carrying?”

“It’s alright. Angel and the others told me that they would take care of it.” Fluttershy smiled.  Her animal friends really were the sweetest.

“Excellent. Don’t need anything spoiling on you after you went out and bought it.” Rarity and Fluttershy were quickly ushered into the back of the spa.  The blue mare recognized them from their previous weekly sessions and ushered them into the steam room first.

Slipping into the warm and soft housecoat that the spa pony offered her, Fluttershy quickly entered the room.  Rarity always took a little bit as they needed to do extra preparations with her. Soon enough she too entered the room wearing a bigger housecoat and a towel over her purple curls.

The two mares settled in the room and sighed happily as the spa began to pour water over the hot rocks in the room. Fluttershy could almost already feel her stress melting away. “Sweet Celestia, this is exactly what I needed.” Rarity smiled, her eyes closing in bliss.

Saying nothing, Fluttershy gave a soft sigh and nodded.  The steam room was one of her favourite parts of the spa.

“I am a little surprised that you asked me to come out with you,” Rarity said suddenly, turning towards her.  “You and I usually stick to such strict schedules… what made you come out to me today?”

“Oh… well…” Fluttershy looked away, not knowing what to say.  Rarity may not be as book smart as Twilight, but she had instincts that were spot on.  “You see… I…”

Thus why she was such a successful designer.

“Ooooh~ Fluttershy, now you have to tell me.”  The unicorn sat closer to her. “You haven’t been this bashful since before we became friends.”

Glancing up, Fluttershy noticed that the spa pony was trying, and failing, not to look overly interested in what they were saying. It was well-known that ponies came to the spa to gossip.  She did not need all of Equstia knowing about her feelings for Discord just yet. “Well.  Afterwards I’ll tell you…. tell me about your ideas for your fashion line, first.”

Rarity caught her eye and discreetly followed where she was looking.  Spying the spa lady, the unicorn gave a small nod, though there was a sparkling glint in her eye.  She was very curious now.  “Well, as I told you back at the shop it is summer time. Summer is all about bright and vivid colours.  Not to the point of spring of course, those colours are all about fresh beginnings. Sumer is more mature. More established, but they simply must be just as fashionable.”

This seemed to be uninteresting to the spa pony.  Her eyes glazed over and she began to rhythmically add water to the rocks. Rarity’s eyes however were sparkling and bright.  She was eager to talk fashion, her career, and whatever juicy gossip that Fluttershy had for her.

[canadian-buckbeaver]

Sneak Peek

While talking to @battre-la-rage​ and @theartsyemporium last night, I offered them a sneak peek at a fanfic that was slowly coming together...

Oh! And @lina-lines

Click Keep Reading if you dare

It was the perfect Tuesday afternoon in Ponyville. The skies were clear, the sun shining, the animals were out enjoying the sun’s warm rays.  It seemed to be the very picture of a beautiful, perfect day. Everyone seemed to be busy doing something.  Twilight and Spike were out doing their royal duties, a very stressed out Rarity had locked herself up in her boutique to plan out next season’s style, Applejack hard at work at the family’s farm, Rainbow Dash was on cloud patrol and Pinkie Pie was probably baking up a storm while simultaneously planning the next, bestest party.

And Fluttershy was busy having tea with another one of her dearest friends.

There was something about their tea parties that were just so relaxing, Fluttershy decided, sipping her tea and peering over the rim of her teacup to look at her visitor. It was hard to believe that Discord, the mighty and imaginative spirit of disharmony, had once been anything other than a friend.  The draconequus was seated across from her now, the one part of his lion’s paw extended like a pinkie as he sipped from the teacup.  He was full of jokes and quips, and often times her sides would ache from laughing so much during their little visits.  

Even now she watched as his white moustache changed colour to match the multiple colours of Rainbow Dash’s mane as he mimicked her voice in his story.  “Of course, once I convinced her that she should let me help in her little friendship quest, the mission was over in a snap!” he said, snapping his talons together, his teacup and saucer floating in front of him. Instantly, Fluttershy’s little bouquet of flowers bloomed, expanding to twice their size in the little vase. “Ms. Rose’s bushes were back to the former glory, and all without all the heavy petting that Rainbow was trying to do with the weather.”

“Heavens, I bet she wished that you would have asked her sooner,” the yellow pegasus said, giggling as one of the flowers came to life.  The stem lengthened and it pressed close to her, most of the petals closing up until it roughly resembled the look of a dog with some of the petals still. The pistil panted like a tongue, clearly excited to see her.  “Oh aren’t you just so cute!” she exclaimed, rubbing under its “chin”.  

“Oh, I know I am,” Discord’s voice came from the flower, his serpent’s eyes appearing on the petals.  “And you of all ponies should know that Rainbow Dash could be tied up in a spider’s web and still be loathe to ask for help. Her ‘loyalty’ to her own independence is something else.”

There was another snap of his fingers and, like nothing had happened, the draconequus was back in his seat, sipping his tea, the flowers returned to their normal state.  Fluttershy couldn’t help but let out another giggle.  He had a point.  Rainbow Dash had quite the ego and admitting defeat was something that she did not do lightly.

Discord eyed her as he ate one of the sandwich crusts that she had put out for him. “You’re awfully quiet today,” he noted, “is there something on your mind, Flutters?”

Fluttershy squeaked and tried to hide behind her cup.  She still wasn’t used to the little pet name that he gave her and there was a part of her that hoped that she would never get used to it.  Her heart would skip a beat, her cheeks would flush…

Ok. Maybe she enjoyed these little tea parties for another reason altogether.

Not only were they relaxing, but Fluttershy had a small crush on the spirit of chaos.

Well, maybe a draconequus-sized crush on him.  She couldn’t exactly pinpoint when these feelings had exactly started, but she had been more aware of them since the defeat of Queen Chrysalis.  Her heart would skip a beat and the smallest shiver would flow through her wings.  So far, the rest of her friends didn’t know about her feelings, and it was for the best that way. Twilight would open a book and try to research how to best approach the situation, Rarity would give her a makeover, Applejack argue that she needed to be honest with her feelings for him… though that was the best case scenario.  Knowing her friends and how they felt about the draconequus, they were equally as likely to try and admit her into the nearby pony centre for insanity.  

“Flutters? Are you still there?” a paw waved in front of her face.  “Your mind must be in Cloudsdale. Your body is here, but your mind certainty isn’t.  You’re not getting sick, are you dear?” Discord asked.

Gulping slightly, Fluttershy looked at her friend.  If she messed this up, she could lose him forever.  But yet, she had to know if he felt the same about her. It was only a matter of time before the others figured it out.  “Well… I was just thinking…” she began, looking at his teacup.  “What… what are you doing afterward our little tea party?” she finally asked him.

The talon stroked the beard as Discord thought.  Snapping his talons, an agenda appeared in front of him. “December 17,” he muttered, pages turning rapidly. “Ah yes. After our tea party, I have an appointment with Princess Celestia.” He said, finally flipping to the right page.  A small hologram hovered above the page, first showing a small and bashful looking Fluttershy before changing to the majestic alicorn.  Celestia hovered over the page, her wings outstretched, mane and tail flowing in the non-existent wind.  As Fluttershy watched, little hearts flowed off of the page, slowly dancing and twisting in the air.  “Oh shoo!” Discord said, slamming the book shut and trying waving the air clear of them. “I swear that they get more and more insistent with every passing day. Who needs a heart on their sleeve when your heart escapes the pages of a book?”

Fluttershy barely heard him.  She was looking down at the last of her tea, trying to ignore how her own heart was shattering in her chest. She should have known that this would happen.  Celestia was beautiful, elegant and magical, the one with the power to raise the sun, Discord’s equal. Of course Fluttershy was nothing more than a friend to him.  She could barely fly for Celestia’s sake!  What would he want with a boring, old mare like her?

“And there you go, your mind taking off to Cloudsdale again, faster than that Rainbow Dash!” Discord again waved his paw in front of her face, worry beginning to show on his own muzzle.  He was never worried.  “Did you need me to help out with your pet bear again?”

To her horror, Fluttershy felt tears welling up behind her eyes.  No!  Not now! Not when she could blow everything!  She could still salvage the friendship that she had threatened to destroy! Her and her dumb feelings. “It’s just… it’s just…”

* * * * *

It was a soft touch to her muzzle that caused Fluttershy to wake.  Startled, she clambered to her feet, her eyes blinking, trying to shake the last of her dream.  Angel, her faithful bunny friend, was beside her, looking up at her with concern, a single paw still outstretched.  He gave a questioning noise as he looked at her.

She seemed to be worrying everyone these days.

“Oh I’m sorry. I must have startled you,” Fluttershy whispered, picking up the soft creature and hugging it gently.  “I’m sorry.  It was nothing more than a bad dream.  I’ll be back to normal in no time.” she promised.

Cocking his head, Angel looked rather unconvinced.  “Now don’t give me that look, mister.  It’s my job to give you that, not the other way around.” she joked, hugging the soft animal.  

Angel seemed to give a soft sigh but hugged her back, pleased that he had saved his beloved mistress from that horrible nightmare she had been having.  Fluttershy hugged him a little longer than usual, taking the time to orient herself.  The dream had been so life-like, echoing many of her waking thoughts.

“Come on, Angel,” she said, choosing to ignore the thoughts for now. She couldn’t spend the day inside, moping around because of some nasty dream.  There were things to do, animals to feed, ponies to see.  And she still had to go get her shopping down for today’s tea party with the draconequus in question.  Oh boy, would she even be able to face Discord after such a dream?

Well, it was too late to back out of their party now.  She would just have to pretend that the dream never happened. Steeling herself for the day to come, Fluttershy swing her saddlebag over her back and trotted out.  It was time to face the day.

* * * * *

The morning passed mercifully quickly for the young mare.  She trotted through the nearby meadow, making sure that all of her animal friends had more than enough to eat.  The local squirrel family was given a handful of freshly picked acorns, the birds given a pile of seeds.  Angel helped her with his fellow rabbits by giving them a pile of garden-fresh carrots.

She giggled as a few of the birds flew around her, singing to her.  “Oh, you are very welcome,” she told them, watching as they flew off.  “Alright Angel,” she said as her bunny companion wiggled into her saddlebag, “all I have to do is go to the marketplace and pick up a few items for our tea party, and then, I just have to do everything else to prepare for it. That shouldn’t be too hard.” She said, turning to look at her bunny friend.

Angel shot her an incredulous look, folding his paws in front of his chest.  

“Now, now, none of that attitude, mister.  I know that Discord isn’t one of your favourite po-… creatures.  But he is a good friend of mine.” Choosing to walk to the market today (flying always tired her out), she started at a brisk canter, one that would not disturb the bunny’s pouch.

Angel chattered something fast and high-pitched to her.

“Yes, I know that you don’t trust him. He did say some hurtful things when he first met you, but I think that he has changed.”

Again, Angel released another babbling chatter at her.

Fluttershy sighed, slowing to a brisk trot as she passed a few other ponies, lowering her voice. “I know that I said that before he joined Tirek, but I think that he has gotten through a lot of issues.  He hasn’t threatened to make you into a cloak for a while.”

Angel huffed and folded his arms, looking away from her.  He looked so cute when he was trying to be angry with her.

“Oh, don’t be like that.  I’ll need your help to pick out the best carrots.” At the mention of his favourite treat, Angel brightened up considerable, already looking for his favourite seller.

The shopping took much longer that Fluttershy had originally anticipated.  Of course it was always a challenge when you were so soft-spoken that one could barely be heard over the normal hustle and bustle of the town square. Sure she had a few wrong amounts and orders, but she was still much too shy to correct them.  Her pantry will just be extra full this week, and she will have to try out some new recipes. Maybe Pinkie could give her a few tips on cooking something special with the extra chocolate and vanilla she ended up with.

“Alright Angel, only one more thing left on the list.” She said, peering at her grocery list. “I just need to get some tea and we could go home and…”

One of the flaps on her saddleback jolted and unbuckled.  From the inside out.  A rather odd-looking grey and brown rabbit poked its head out of the bag, nose twitching at her.  It looked to have two different types of antlers on its head.  “Now how shocked would you be if your precious Angel started talking back to you?”

Fltttershy gave a startled gasp, causing the few ponies that overheard her to peer at her. She silenced herself and flushed, nodding to the other ponies, before giggling softly.  “Well he does talk back to me, in his own way of course.”

The rabbit snapped his fingers and Discord changed form again.  He didn’t shift into his normal draconequus form, but instead into a large pink and yellow butterfly, much like the ones that painted her flank.  He knew that Fluttershy was uncomfortable with too much attention on her at once, and his original form attracted a lot of attention.  “I bet you and him have the most stimulating conversations about carrots and sunshine and rainbows…” Discord mused, twirling in the air. Fluttershy giggled and shook her head.  If only he knew what they really talked about!  The butterfly let out a huge sigh before lighting on her muzzle. “Unfortunately, I do not bear good news, Fluttershy.”

“Oh! What is it? Is there an animal in trouble? Are you hurt?” Fluttershy questioned, her eyes wide and worried. This was Discord after all.  No news was bad news for him.  Usually he could change things to suit him in a snap of his fingers.

“I’m fine,” Discord said almost dismissively, one leg waving at her, “as are your precious animals. It is in regards to our tea party this afternoon…”

“Oh no… did I not get enough of everything?  I… I can go back and get more if you need…”

“Flutters, please, let me finish first before you leap to conclusions or I’ll be forced to seal your muzzle shut so I can get everything out.” Discord told her in exasperation, his feelers twitching.  “I don’t have much time. Princess Celestia has asked me to do a special mission for her and it has to be today.”

Fluttershy felt like she had been kicked in the stomach.  At the very mention of the princess’ name falling from his mouth so easily, it brought forth all the feelings of her dream.  “Oh… I see…” her head fell down, her eyes prickling with unshed tears.  She willed herself not to cry in front of him.  Celestia knew that she had done that enough already.  “I… I understand…” she whispered.

“Now, now, I’m just as upset at missing tea as you are,” Discord told her gently, his little agenda book appearing before him as the pages flipped at another snap of his fingers.  “Do you mind if we have it tomorrow instead?  My schedule is rather open for the week, but I don’t know about yours…”

“Yes… tomorrow is fine.” she said, her ears falling back and giving a soft nod, forgetting that Discord had been on her nose.

Effortlessly he took the sky, fluttering in front of her.  “Very well.  Pencil me in for tomorrow,” he said, a note folding and being placed in her saddlebag. “I’ll hopefully have an exciting story for you tomorrow!  See you Flutters!”  

In another snap of his fingers he was gone.

Fluttershy sighed, bowing her head low.  She supposed that she was looking forward to tea with him a little more than she had let on. And hearing that he was going to see Princess Celestia about something.

Well, she supposed that she shouldn’t be upset.  She never had any sort of hold on him anyways.

Angel poked his head out of his flap, patting her neck softly and chirping softly to her. Trying to encourage her, raise her spirits. The draconequus managed to hurt her again, even after his warning.  Angel would never forgive him for this, no matter how many carrots or apples he brought back for him.

“Well… it looks like we have the entire day free…” Fluttershy told Angel, turning around and beginning to head for home.  “What do you think we should do?” she whispered to him.

Angel chattered to her again, acting out something with his paws.  “Girly time… what do you mean by that?” she asked him, curiously.

Pulling gently on her mane, Angel gestured her towards the boutique that Rarity ran.  “Oh… oh that is a terrific idea, Angel!” Fluttershy exclaimed, immediately turning around and briskly trotting to her friend’s shop.  “Maybe she can get us into the spa today… after I take my groceries and you home, of course.”

The boutique is a complete disaster. Fabric and thread were thrown every which way imaginable, and Rarity’s mannequins were strewn around the room. If Flutteshy didn’t know better, she would have guessed that Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Wonder Colts had a training session in the little house. “Rarity?” she questioned, stepping through the door.

There was an undignified shriek from somewhere in the depths of the mess.  “WE ARE CLOSED TODAY!”  A frazzled unicorn appeared under from under a mountain of fabrics. Purple mane and tail struck out from every possible angle, though her eyes did lose their wild look once she realized just which pony had entered.  “Oh, thank Celestia it is you, Fluttershy.” Rarity sighed, shaking her head.

Fluttershy giggled and closed Rarity’s door behind her.  “My goodness, Rarity, your house… are you having… some difficulty with the new line?”

Rarity sighed and rubbed at her muzzle.  “I admit that I have run into a bit of a designer block.  Summer is supposed to bright colours, blues and greens and yellows, but I everything that I create just seems to echo last years.  I’M A FAILURE!” the overly dramatic unicorn collapsed, oversized tears dripping from her eyes.

“Oh… don’t cry Rarity… you just need a break.”  Fluttershy gently pet her friend’s back as Angel glared at the angry ball of fluff that was watching them from behind a curtain.  “Do you want to go to the spa…?”

The unicorn sprang to her feet so fsat Fluttershy was sure that she had used her magic to pull herself up.  “Oh, you are a GENIUS Fluttershy!” Rarity exclaimed.  “You’re absolutely right, all this stress is terrible for my complexion. A day at the spa… that is exactly what I need… will you come with?”

Giving a small nod, Fluttershy agreed.  “Yes. I’ll meet you there after I drop off my food.” She said, turning on her heel and galloping back towards her house, grateful for a distraction.

“Very well, darling. See you there!  Just… hurry!  I don’t think my complexion can handle much more of this….”

* * * * *

What seemed to be a very short few minutes later, Fluttershy was entering the Ponyville Spa. Rarity had gotten there before her and was already talking to one of the clerks.  “There you are! They are able to take us in today at such short notice!” she exclaimed as Fluttershy came over to her.  “Actually you made very good time.  What about the food that you were carrying?”

“It’s alright. Angel and the others told me that they would take care of it.” Fluttershy smiled.  Her animal friends really were the sweetest.

“Excellent. Don’t need anything spoiling on you after you went out and bought it.” Rarity and Fluttershy were quickly ushered into the back of the spa.  The blue mare recognized them from their previous weekly sessions and ushered them into the steam room first.

Slipping into the warm and soft housecoat that the spa pony offered her, Fluttershy quickly entered the room.  Rarity always took a little bit as they needed to do extra preparations with her. Soon enough she too entered the room wearing a bigger housecoat and a towel over her purple curls.

The two mares settled in the room and sighed happily as the spa began to pour water over the hot rocks in the room. Fluttershy could almost already feel her stress melting away. “Sweet Celestia, this is exactly what I needed.” Rarity smiled, her eyes closing in bliss.

Saying nothing, Fluttershy gave a soft sigh and nodded.  The steam room was one of her favourite parts of the spa.

“I am a little surprised that you asked me to come out with you,” Rarity said suddenly, turning towards her.  “You and I usually stick to such strict schedules… what made you come out to me today?”

“Oh… well…” Fluttershy looked away, not knowing what to say.  Rarity may not be as book smart as Twilight, but she had instincts that were spot on.  “You see… I…”

Thus why she was such a successful designer.

“Ooooh~ Fluttershy, now you have to tell me.”  The unicorn sat closer to her. “You haven’t been this bashful since before we became friends.”

Glancing up, Fluttershy noticed that the spa pony was trying, and failing, not to look overly interested in what they were saying. It was well-known that ponies came to the spa to gossip.  She did not need all of Equstia knowing about her feelings for Discord just yet. “Well.  Afterwards I’ll tell you…. tell me about your ideas for your fashion line, first.”

Rarity caught her eye and discreetly followed where she was looking.  Spying the spa lady, the unicorn gave a small nod, though there was a sparkling glint in her eye.  She was very curious now.  “Well, as I told you back at the shop it is summer time. Summer is all about bright and vivid colours.  Not to the point of spring of course, those colours are all about fresh beginnings. Sumer is more mature. More established, but they simply must be just as fashionable.”

This seemed to be uninteresting to the spa pony.  Her eyes glazed over and she began to rhythmically add water to the rocks. Rarity’s eyes however were sparkling and bright.  She was eager to talk fashion, her career, and whatever juicy gossip that Fluttershy had for her.

[hcrris]

can ….. i come in ????? have been watching unbreakable kimmy schmidt for 3 hours pretending time isnt passing , life isnt real and in fact.. i am dreaming (-: lajdfksl hey <3 im jay im 21 and i love those instagram profiles of hamsters in little clothes ( when they got little purses? ???? dont talk to me im cryin. ) below u will find info about jane harris aka literally the vine of the little kid scribbling hard like his life depended on it. shes a mess ?? but a semi enjoyable mess. a mess with good intentions. if u want to establish some connections, LIKE THIS and i will come annoy u <3 alternatively u can ease my social anxiety and msg me here or through my discord sencha tea#4035 (و ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و♡

( lily collins, cis female, she/her. ) — jane harris has been a medina complex resident for three years, now. they’re twenty-three years old, and they tend to avoid making eye contact. sometimes when i walk by B06, i hear cherry-coloured funk by cocteau twins playing. lately, i’d say they’re pretty effervescent, but sometimes that’s overwhelmed by the fact that they’re neurotic. i mean, they usually pay their rent on time, though, and that’s most important fact here.

repeatedly fixing the apartment number on the door when it swings down to a nine, a split moment of shadow after the radiance of laughter, carl sagan’s pale blue dot, a life of frequent minor accidents, constant hunger for balance overshadowed by emotional turbulence.

                      🇧​🇦​🇨​🇰​🇬​🇷​🇴​🇺​🇳​🇩​​

TW ALCOHOLISM EMOTIONAL ABUSE DEPRESSION & ANXIETY !!!!! ok moving on

her parents met in art school in paris.. her mom is french and studied art history while her dad was an exchange student from california with a skewed artist mentality. it was that saccharine, toxic sort of love. her mom always felt like she needed to be the guardian angel in the relationship who would always hold him up when he was feeling down and he was feeling down….. a lot. because she was putting all that energy to save her relationship, she was drowning too but never enough to walk away. there was a lot of love there but it was twisted and uncomfortable at times

when they found out jane was on the way, it felt like they needed to suddenly grow up. her mom was ready to make changes, adapt to the new lifestyle. her dad, on the other hand, urged they rethink if this is what they want but he didn’t push for abortion.. he understood it was jane’s mothers choice to make and reassured that he would be there for the both of them no. matter. what. 

but ??? the reality was he felt trapped by the idea of a child and he struggled to acknowledge and accept how quickly his life was flipping upside down and how he lost all control of it. he wanted to travel around europe ???? soak in nature, daydream and make art . but jane’s mom wanted to settle. instead of embarking on adventures after graduating, they decided to move to california. 

things just seemed to fall apart like domino from then on. janes mom was lead astray.. thinking that what california would bring them was stability but instead, it was all chaos. they rushed to get married .. turned out janes father wasnt on good terms with his parents. he was irresponsible financially, put both his parents in huge debt, was blinded by his ego to ever realise his mistakes. lied constantly .. convincing janes mom that there’s light going forward. that once he finds a sponsor for his art .... once he sells his first piece ... once they see in him what he always saw in himself , he was going to make it right. and he reassured he would make it right for jane.

janes mom was so pathetically in love that she pushed through .. living in a sort of imagined world, believing that things were better than they actually were. and her dad was good at persuading that narrative. he would come home with a pocketful of cash and the bills paid. oftentimes, it was all an act. his art wasn’t selling and a lot of what he bragged about was borrowed or stolen. behind the curtain, he was absent and unmotivated. he would come home in the evening claiming that the whisky breath was celebratory but in reality, he was complaining to the barman two blocks away about how his life feels monotone .. like a french black and white movie.  

the day of jane’s birth was a whole mess. her father decided to drive her mother to the hospital, knowing he had one too many. they were caught for speeding and while janes dad spent the night at a nearby station for driving under influence, her mom was at the back of a cop car, crying for one too many reasons .. jane decided to hang on for a little while longer and was born at 3am the following night. cradled in her mothers arms and her dads voice humming on the line

jane would only ever hear the romanticised version of this story from her mother. this ??? fucked up sense of security that no matter what, love conquers all. that love means supporting each other, loving each other extra when everything else falls apart. but truth is.. her mother was forced to give up her own dreams, lost all connections to her past, worked days and nights at a nursing home to support her family and pitch in to her husbands alcoholism while she’s at it. making excuses that jane was too young to contradict. all while the only source of happiness for her father was the haziness of his evenings, when he felt like floating and he could barely hold onto to his paintbrush. he was a stranger living in their basement .. more than he was ever a father 

growing up, jane watched her mother mask her depression. carry empty bottles out from the basement, trying to hide it from jane .. it brought her shame. she was doing the same thing to jane that he was doing to her for all these years .. consistently expressing a certain attitude, this unwavering satisfaction for the life they are living and so ... it hardens. you start to believe it. except unlike her mother, jane was observant.. she had other lives around her to compare to her own, voices of reason that pierced through the skewed perception her mother drilled into her skull. when jane grew into her skin, she felt so ... disgusted and angry. she tried to pull her mother out of her fantasy but nothing worked. 

through her high school years, she felt helpless .. her home life was a nightmare and she made every possible attempt to stay out of it for as long as possible. she took on jobs and extracurriculars .. stayed at her friends’ house until she couldn’t. and she would think.. think so hard, she would start crying. pushing her own problems away .. in her head, she would imagine herself in a different skin, a different place. it was the only way she could calm her breathing. only to have to battle the same thoughts the following morning

after graduating high school, jane went to community college for product management got a job offering after her placement at a big company and moved out shortly after ( and MOVED IN to medina... can i get a yee yee ) .. she got insurance for the first time in her life and eats too many of free pizza slices at work to save up on groceries every week <3

she doesn’t visit her parents bc she no longer feels like her mother is on her team. she’s lived a maddening and terribly draining life and living alone has brought her deserving peace.. although she’d rather keep contact with her mother to a minimum, its obvious that jane is her mothers anchor. if she feels as though her daughter is not fighting for her, she breaks down.. as much as jane wants to run away from her past, it always seems to catch up 

if ur still reading literally who are u lafjdkl. ill be done schoon ..... oof 

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if they are friends ... jane. will. talk. ur. ear. off. but probably not for the right reasons lol .. she has never been assessed by a professional, isn’t taking any treatment but she definitely needs it :( shes a chronic overthinker.. the voice in her head keeps chattering away most of the time which gets a little nauseating. she hates silence and feels like she needs to fill it with words. she often says the wrong things .. to the wrong people ... at the WRONG time and she is very aware of it. its the culprit for her self doubt and struggle to open up emotionally to the people shes close to. shes very critical towards herself, she micro analyses everything from the way she acts, the way she looks and what she says. shes also not a fan of confrontation !!!!!!!BUT!!!!!!!!!!!

 she is a FIREBALL when she stands up for others. i dont know how she hasnt gotten into a physical fight yet. she would literally rip ur side mirror off ur car if u didnt wait for an old lady to cross the street. is intense in every possible way. if shes angry, shes angry and impulsive and out of control, when she is in love, she feels it in her bones and simultaneously wants to rip her hair out, when she’s passionate about something, she is persistent until she isn’t and when she loses motivation, everything feels bleak .. theres never any emotional balance, even though she fights so hard for it every day 

likes sci fi movies .. literally when they are Floating in space ???? SIGN! JANE! THE! FUCK! UP! letterboxd is probably her favorite app. sometimes she will post a review, read it over and over, find something wrong with what she said and then delete it. shes very neurotic. she either has good days where she can comfortably be herself or bad days, when it feels like everyone is judging her every move when in reality. ... it is always .. all in her head. 

and she is mostly in her head. she creates fantasies of her life, relationships platonic and romantic and as a result, nothing ever seems to measure up. she feels secure in her fantasies but oftentimes when it hits her that they are just that, fantasies, she ... feels really alone. 

will trip over her own feet . has like 5 bruises from washing the dishes </3

she works as a part of a product design team in a big company.. probably has the knowledge to move up the tier but does not have the courage to stand up for herself . she doesnt believe in herself and is kind of a pessimist .......  

got high one night and decided she wants to start an uber ....... only for women. but doesnt think its a good ide a (its a good idea. id like to think in 10 years time ... bitch made it) 

really weird. likes eating broad beans and frozen strawberries .. will literally eat a lemon. 

she will have different interests every week but never seems to be any good at anything ???????????? makes her sad. 

claims tidying up with marie kondo changed her life LAKJDSKLDJ

*draws curtains* anybody else tired?