#if you're curious how i have time for this wall of text at noon on a wednesday: i have today off

[bereft-of-frogs]

I have a new crackpot theory that is sure to get proven wrong

under the cut for spoilers and...length...(got out of hand)

I wonder if Torbin's crime was leaving Mae behind.

This is like, the opposite of the other theory I've already commented on (that the conflict sparks because the Jedi also want to take Mae) but idk. Maybe it's not what we think.

Vernestra in this last episode seems particularly upset that Sol never mentioned the possibility that the other girl lived (it seems like Sol never even mentioned that there WAS a sister), maybe because she was afraid exactly what ended up happening would happen (Mae gets scooped up by the Sith) and also neither Torbin nor Indara seem particularly surprised that Mae's still alive. It is possible that Indara thought it was Osha, but she does see the mark and that's when she's like 'what are YOU doing here' so it seems like she knows it's Mae and isn't like 'omg you're alive what' so it definitely seems like she knew Mae survived. And Torbin specifically says he's been waiting for her.

Sol is the only one insisting that she had to be dead, and no one could have survived the fall. So maybe, with his attention on Osha in that chunk of time we're missing between them escaping and her waking up, he doesn't notice Mae surviving, but the others encounter her on their way out and choose deliberately to leave her alone for some reason. (Maybe they're spooked by her power, she definitely seems like the stronger of the twins and obviously she's got some real dark stuff going on already.) And that might be something the Council would get upset about, judging by Vernestra's reaction. And enough to feel profoundly guilty about, leaving behind an 8 year old because you were scared of her power?

Whether Kelnacca knew she was alive or not remains to be seen (or might remain a mystery idk), but judging by all the marks he's drawn all over his walls, it seems like he was investigating something about the coven's power or history?

Anyway, also I'm currently placing all my money on it being Qimir behind the mask lol. I rewatched that monologue and obviously the voice has been altered but I feel like there are a couple lines that suspiciously resemble Manny Jacinto's cadences. Also that tonal switch when he tells Mae 'he'll kill you' (I saw someone else point out there was also a tonal shift when he tells Osha 'you look just like her' that's kind of suspicious), the fact that he knows so much and keeps prodding her on the riddle...it's SO him. I'm not discounting there being another Sith master though (maybe that he's the apprentice and someone else is pulling the strings)...

...I do just wish people would stop theorizing it's Vernestra haha. As I said before, if Vernestra turns out to be Sith it would take Leslye Headland, Justina Ireland, and Tessa Gratton all coming, in person, to my home to explain themselves for me to accept it. Otherwise, I would have to just believe it's two separate characters that happen to share the same name, species, and relative age. Hey, what a coincidence!

Just with three books left in the series, and judging by where we've just left Vernestra, it would take something MASSIVE to get her to the point of 'yeah I'm going full dark side'. And I feel like it would just be an asshole move to hijack that storyline with such an extreme twist this late in the game. Like...idk maybe they would but...it would be an asshole move to take someone else's character and 15+ books into a series be like 'oh surprise twist that undermines everything'. And you cannot say 'well it's been 100 years maybe something happens in between' because that's just shitty storytelling, it hasn't been 100 years for me, it's been four days since I finished Temptations of the Force, you cannot ask me to reconcile the Vernestra Rwoh who confronts the Eye of the Nihil herself and gets them across the stormwall, with a secret Sith manipulating everything from the shadows based on stuff happening off-page/screen. I cannot see it.

I DO however totally see where the cracks could form with her relationship with the Senate. I bet you the Senate accepts Marchion Ro's deal to save them from the blight and the Jedi feel betrayed by that and that's why she's like 'fuck the Senate, we do this on our own'. I think that would make sense for her last big unresolved relationship arc, her issues with Elzar, because Elzar has just committed to being the liaison between the Order and the Senate. (I do think they're going to get over though, Elzar mentions twice that he wants to give her Stellan's lightsaber and he doesn't, I don't think they'd do something that significant off-page, I bet that will close out this arc on a good note.) And it would be some juicy conflict between her and her non-Jedi friends, like I'm sure Cair and Jordanna having seen the effects of the blight, would be on board with doing whatever it takes to stop it, but I can also see some of the Jedi characters feeling betrayed by that, like they've been left to deal with the Nameless on their own for so long and now they feel like they're getting sold out by people they thought they could trust to the exact person who's been killing and torturing them.

Also just practically, it seems like by the time of the show Vernestra is an important enough figure in the Order's hierarchy that people would like....notice if she was fucking off all the time to go secretly be a Sith? Idk, I guess Palpatine had time to multitask but I think he was doing most of his Sith-business while still hanging around Coruscant, it seems like the Sith are out on the Outer Rim a lot, you'd think people would start to get suspicious if Vernestra was gone for long stretches of time. I guess she's done that before lol maybe they're just like 'oh Vernestra's off on another one of her unsanctioned walkabouts', and it is kind of sus that she's so upset Sol didn't tell her about both girls if the theory that the Sith wants both twins is true, but...yeah to get me to accept this they'd have to come explain themselves to me personally. XD

Idk. I almost convinced myself there it's a possibility. But we haven't seen the lightwhip scene yet, and that looks like a forest, it feels more likely she's going to go confront Mae's master herself, and that would just be an unreasonable level of subterfuge for the audience to accept (on the level of 'Indara is the Sith master and faked her own death in the first episode' theory)

Anyway, how did this become novel theorizing and also Star Wars fandom stop theorizing my favorite Jedi ladies are secretly Sith, leave my girls alone--

ETA: I definitely also think there's a reason the Sith (maybe Sith, I guess I should stop assuming) wants the four Jedi dead. They definitely witnessed something that night that they shouldn't have and I think got distracted by their own issues with what went down, but it looks like Kelnacca was close to figuring it out. Proof: after Mae tells Qimir she doesn't care about revenge anymore, she's just going after her sister, the master comes to kill Kelnacca himself, also feels like solid evidence of Qimir being the master...

ETA: wait I talked myself out of the most suspicious thing, why would she be so obviously upset at Sol for not telling her about Mae if she was the Sith master and would have known from the start? Unless she's playing him? But idk that break in frustration appeared genuine. I'm back to being reassured that it's not her. That would be SUCH an asshole move with only three books left to go in the series and none of the dangling threads of Vernestra's storyline having really anything to do with dark side struggles. (She struggles more with despair while she's mourning and being like slightly judgy of Elzar, it doesn't seem that serious. They're definitely going to focus on whatever this mysterious path she got from the ghost of Mari San Tekka and her unresolved issues with Elzar. Ok I'm back.)

[shygirl4991]

Chapter 4 Do you care?

All art belongs to @b-r-i-n-g-x do not repost! Fic prompt from @itsajanea Tags: Angst, Romance, Action Adventure, jealously, love confessions, SMG4 discovers he is bi, fluff, abuse, PTSD Last Chapter Next Chapter

Three lies in his bed frowning, his mind was driving him insane, it’s been several weeks already with Aster.Surely the magic of a new relationship has vanished, due to these thoughts Three found himself getting nervous when he saw his partner. Over time Three has been letting down his walls showing his softer side, while Aster seemed to be unchanged. It was driving him insane, some moments he wondered if that's just how they are. Then a memory comes to him from a few days back, the soft blush they had during their breakfast together was something that Three never stopped thinking about. Not to mention Aster said they had work to do, only to end up dressing up like a maid to  help his cafe. Aster never brought up that they did this also, he wondered if they knew pictures of them in a maid outfit were taken.

He sighs annoyed by the mixed feelings until Eggdog jumps on the bed, he turns and smiles softly as the pup cuddles up to him “I know…i should trust them but something tells me there is more to them, I can't put my finger on it.” a ding is heard from his phone, holding Eggdog close he reaches for the phone seeing the name duck girl on the screen. Curious, he unlocks his phone to see what Tari wanted from him. He smiles seeing how the crew wanted to invite him and Aster to a gaming competition at the castle, he goes to his contacts and finds Aster’s name. He pauses looking at the number feeling nervous, shaking off his nerves he presses the number and calls Aster. After a few rings he hears the line pick up “Hello Darling, didn't expect a late night call. Did you miss me that badly?” SMG3 couldn't stop himself from letting out a bright smile, just hearing their voice was enough to put Three in a good mood. Then his mood dropped when he started to think about their relationship, how often did Aster even call him by his name. He was always darling which wasn't something Three minded, yet the thought of hearing Aster call him by his name made his heart race. He smacks himself, annoyed by the school girl's thoughts “Yeah my bad i wasn't paying attention to the time, i just called cause Tari invited us to the castle to hang out. Wanted to know if you're up for hanging with those losers?” Aster lets out a chuckle “Sure,you know I don't mind hanging out with the crew. Though I do find it interesting how you always tell me they're not your friends, yet we just made plans to hang out with them in the morning.” 

SMG3 blushes at the comment as he glares at the phone “OI! I don't care about them, I only hang around them because it's better than having those guys be annoying near my cafe!” Aster lets out a hum hearing their boyfriend complain, the line goes silent for a moment. Three frowns unsure what to say, Aster sighs before speaking up hoping to end the silence  “I will be there at noon, I should let you go, it's late and now we have plans.”  SMG3 frowns at Aster’s words while on the other line Aster stares at their phone conflicted, they look around making sure Ztar wasn't around before speaking “Sweet dreams, cant wait to see you tomorrow.” Three smiles as they hung up, staring at his phone he decided that he was overthinking, he texted Tari and tossed his phone to get ready for bed.

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Aster stares at their phone for a moment before looking around the house, seeing Ztar isn't around they out a loud groan “UGH! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?”  Their heart was racing over what they told Three, the emotion was so sudden it startled them. They sit on their bed and stare at the photo the pair took together, they blush thinking about the phone call “He…is the villain we must kill, Ztar is already annoyed it's taken this long to get rid of him. I need to act faster and ignore whatever is happening, more than likely heartburn from that toad.” This hang out could be the perfect time to score the words needed to start the trap, the more they thought about it the more certain they became about the next plan. Aster glares at the photo before moving the photo out of sight, they make a note to attempt a love confession this month. They couldn't keep playing the slow game, something needs to happen to change their relationship. They lay down thinking over what they could do before sleep takes over, Ztar arrives home hearing snores. He floats over to see Aster sleeping. “You're getting soft, I'm going to have to remind you what happens when you get soft.” Suddenly an electrical energy zaps Aster causing them to jump up awake screaming in pain, Ztar stares as he zaps Aster again “Child, while I’m annoyed by not having our target in our hands. I’m more annoyed by what you have shown me about yourself!”

Aster hugs themself as their body felt as if it was on fire from the shock, they breath heavily as Ztar gets close and gives them a magical pat on their head. The dark star let out a sigh “You know how much it hurts me to do this to you, you're my best creation and seeing you screaming in pain hurts me more than you think.” Aster nods as the pain subsides, they get up showing Ztar a serious expression “Don't worry, I'm not being soft with the crew I know they can't be trusted. I will make my big move there and play my role.” They open a drawer and show a piece of paper with different confessions on it, Ztar looks at it and chuckles “You're going to tell him you love him to inspire his own confession, perhaps I had nothing to worry about.” 

Ztar uses his power to give Aster a gentle back pat, Aster smiles at the affection their father was showing them “Child i know i can be rough on you, but remember the pain i give you is nothing to what will  happen if i lost you. You're too important to lose.” Aster nods shoving their past thoughts aside, they can't let weird emotions get to them after all parents know what's best. They knew about what SMG3 did and they shouldnt let themself forget it, Ztar looks over them. Aster gives a stern nod before Ztar floats to the door “Aster, those people don't care about you so it's best you watch out for their lies. Plus those people will never accept you for what you are, a shooting star like you can't be trusted in their eyes.” Aster frowns from their fathers words looking down for a moment. “I understand, I promise father I don't care about those people.”

Ztar opens the door then floats out leaving Aster alone thinking over his words, they throw themself on the bed as they get lost in their thoughts.                             -------------------------

Four tosses and turns in his bed, since learning about his crush on Three things felt like a nightmare. How his stomach twists whenever he sees Three and Aster together, how the pair didn't care who was looking as they kissed. Not wanting to get angry from the memory he takes out his phone and goes to youtube, there he looks up his favorite girlfriend asmr video. Hitting play, he lays his phone on his bedside table as he closes his eyes. “Had a rough day baby? Come over and we can cuddle your stress away~” the woman's voice was calm filled with affection. Yet it wasn't helping him, annoyed he grabs the phone and looks over the list of girlfriend asmr videos. Each one that he played made him more annoyed, as he scrolls looking for the perfect one he pauses seeing the title on one of the videos. He taps on the video ‘Tsundere Girlfriend wants cuddles asmr’ he then gets comfy in bed listening to the video, “I just…I want cuddles there happy baka!” as the video goes on the attitude brought comfort yet wasn't enough for him.  His eyes go wide seeing his recommended videos, there in the list was SMG3 youtube channel.

He taps the account name and sees all the twitch stream highlights, he smiles softly seeing the man smirking in the thumbnails. He hits the playlist tab and sees a playlist of SMG3 asmr, he blushes staring at the playlist. He wasn't that down bad for the man that he would listen to the playlist, he chuckles thinking the idea was ridiculous as he taps on the playlist without thinking. Realizing what he has done he panics and attempts to exit out only to hit play on the video “Hello chat, this is SMG3 I will be doing a little asmr tonight to help you all go to sleep.” Four’s face goes red from the whisper, he never noticed just how deep and soothing Three’s voice was. He stares at his phone as if he was in a trance, he had spent so many years with this how could he have been so blind. Feeling sleepy, he hugs his phone with a soft smile listening to Three’s voice, as he dreams of finally being able to date SMG3 a loud scream jolts him awake. He sits up in a panic, he looks to his phone for the time only to see it died. Slowly he gets up from his bed and leaves his room, that's when he notices the game room doors being open. His eyes go wide seeing the one behind the screaming “OH FUCK OFF I SO WON THAT! Three shouted as he glared at a smug Tari. Four panics as he runs to the bathroom and fixes himself, once he looks presentable he steps out of the bathroom and peeks in the room. He smiles brightly “Hey everyone! Didn't know we were having a gaming day.” He watches as Three hands over the controller to Luigi, his grumpy expression making Four giggles and smile at him “Sore loser much?” Three rolls his eyes “Shut it scrub!”

His good mood then sours when Aster walks in the room with a bag of snacks “Listen just because I'm soft for my boyfriend doesn't mean you can keep sending me out to get snacks.” Aster smiles brightly making Three blush, any trace of the man being upset over losing is now gone as he walks over to his partner. Three grabs the bag digging around for his treat, Aster’s eyes then lock on to Four “Ah sleeping beauty has awakened i see.” Four felt his jealousy wanting to come out, swallowing the emotion down he gave Aster an eye roll “Yeah well Three is a pretty good alarm clock.” Three finally gets his treat and tosses the bag to the crew, hearing Four’s comment Aster turns to Three “Lost the battle Darling?” Three scoffs looking away from everyone “That's only because she cheated!” Aster gently grabs Three turning him to face them, Three stares wide eyed at Aster as they lean down to kiss him. Three closes his eyes ready to kiss his partner, the sight was making Four feel sick. Not wanting to see the pair kiss, Four pulls the gaming controller out of Tari’s hand. He charges up to the couple, the distance causing the cord of the controller to unplug from the console as Four points at Aster “ASTER I CHALLENGE YOU TO A MATCH!” The couple turn, staring at Four, Aster smirks seeing the anger in Four’s eyes “Oh? Now why would I do that hm?” Three steps back staring at Aster confused seeing the mischievous expression they had, Four chuckles as he fixes his hat “We can make things interesting, If I win you stop all that gross pda you do with Three. Not all of us want to see you making out!” Aster crosses their arms amused “Alright, then if i win you have to do one thing i ask of you. No matter what, we got a deal cupcake?” 

Three frowns as he watches the two shake hands sealing the deal, Aster gives Three a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting down on the couch. Four plugs in his controller before pushing Luigi aside to sit next to Aster, they exchange a look before going to the character select screen. Aster picks their character and lays back on the couch “Ready?” SMG4 takes a deep breath as he selects his character “I hope you're ready to lose pretty boy!” Aster chuckles as they lean forward, Four focuses in as he attempts to counter Aster’s moves. Tari gasps, jumping up from the intense match “I never seen someone able to pull off that combo!” Aster smirks hearing her comment about their play style as Four starts to sweat seeing his health dropping low. “Looks like round one will be mine~” they smirk as they land the final hit. Three bites his lip seeing the bright colored victory icon on the screen, as the second round starts he couldn't help himself as he whispers “Please lose Aster…please.”

Aster chuckles seeing SMG4 struggle with avoiding their attacks, Aster smirks seeing his health bar drop low “Hope you're not a sore loser cupcake, cause I’m about to win this bet.” Four rolls his eyes at the comment as he manages to block Aster’s attack “Not giving up to some pretty boy that wears so much eye shadow he looks like a raccoon!” Tari giggles at the comment as he pictures a racoon version of Aster “Aw I think Aster would be a cute racoon.” Annoyed by the comment they glare at Four, Luigi smiles along with Tari on the idea of Aster being a racoon.  Aster grip on their control tightens “Would you guys kindly not make comments about my taste while im playing?” Tari and Luigi apologize as the pair keep playing, Four’s health has dropped to a low percent causing both Four and Three to panic. In one quick move Aster does the final blow, they drop the controller smirking at Four “I win, be ready to do your end of the deal.” Four frowns as he stares at the winner screen, he didn't think they would be so good at fighting games. It was almost as if Three’s partner was perfect at everything, while Four was pouty over the loss Three clenched his fist he felt sick at the fact Aster won. “I can't believe you Aster…” hearing their name they turn confused at Three. Even the others in the room were surprised by the hostile tone in Three’s voice “You told me you wanted me, yet you make this sick bet with Four. Well go on do your stupid request, i know what you want to ask him.”  Aster looks at Four then at Three, they weren't prepared for a situation like this as they think over what to say. “Darling, I have no idea where you're going with this.” 

SMG3 lets out a sarcastic laugh causing Aster to walk up to him “You're being strange, are you okay?” as Aster reaches out only to have their hand slapped away.  Aster looks at Three surprised, the shorter man glares at them “I know you made that stupid bet to get a date with SMG4.” Now it was Four’s turn to get up from the couch and stare at Three in shock, there was no way Three honestly thought Aster had feelings for him.  Aster shakes their head “Darling what would give you that idea? We were just having friendly competition, isn't that why you invited me to join everyone so we could have fun?” They were starting to feel strange, they didn't understand why their chest was feeling tight. The thought that Three would think they were interested in someone else was ridiculous, they needed to show the only one they wanted was him.

Four gets up in a panic “Whoa no! SMG3 why on earth would I want your partner?!” Four couldn't let this misunderstanding happen, sure he is all kinds of jealous over what Aster and him have. But to get in the middle of that without a good reason was cruel, he hated to see Three hurt after everything they have been through. He cared too much about his ex rival, Three glares at Four “You have taken plenty, every relationship I have had you manage to get in the middle.” Four’s eyes go wide at the comment before Aster reaches out one more time to Three, seeing Aster reach out the man swats their hand again walking out of the room “GO ON ASTER MAKE THAT REQUEST! WHO DOESN'T WANT THE FANCY YOUTUBER OVER SOME CAFE LOSER!” Four takes a step back feeling his heart break hearing the man's words, Aster follows after Three “Darling I don't want Four, where is this coming from it was just a silly bet nothing serious.” Three growls as he turns around “IT'S OVER ASTER!” They pause as Three’s words echoed in their head, their legs suddenly felt heavy. He snaps his fingers opening a portal next thing the crew knew Three was gone. Aster stood still in shock, their mission is at risk if SMG3 doesn't want to date them. They had to chase after Three, except they couldn't make any attempt to move,they just stood there frozen.  Mario pats Four’s back before whispering with a smirk “Hey good-a job now you can get your gay lover.” Four frowns hearing Mario’s words, this was not how he wanted things to go. It didn't feel right to go after Three with the thought of making a move when his crush must be in pain, he sighs throwing himself on the couch making Mario worry.

Tari runs up to Aster “Are you okay?” taking a deep breath they force their heavy body to move giving Tari a small smile “I will be fine blue jay, I just…need to think on things.” They walk out of the castle with Tari slowly following them. “Three has a rough past…please don't hold it against him.”  Aster nods as they leave the castle, they walk down the forest path lost in thought. Tari watches in concern before returning to the gaming room “Guys what are we going to do? We have to help our friends!” Four bites his lips, his feelings were mixed on the whole situation. Getting up he turns to his friends “We need some kind of event, something that can bring those two to have some kind of talk.” The group goes silent thinking on what to do, then a loud slam of the front door catches their attention. They go to the main lobby to see an excited Meggy “GUYS! Guess who is going to be the host for the new and improved splatfest!” her smile drops seeing Four and Tari frowning. “Hey everything okay?” she hugs Tari then Four as she waits for them to explain everything, Four gives her a small smile “Three and Aster got into their first fight, Three told Aster it's over but…knowing Three if it was really over Aster wouldn't have walked out of here in one piece.” Meggy nods then hands a ticket to splatfest “Then how about we get these two talking,” Four takes the ticket remembering all their bonding during the first runs of splatfest. How professor E gadd helped make a gadget for everyone to now be able to join the event, thanks to Meggy being turned into a human. He takes the ticket and nods “I will go to Three and try to talk to him, you guys find Aster.” As Four was about to leave Mario grabs him “Are you sure? If we fix this fight…you-a lose your chance.” 

SMG4 looks behind Mario making sure the others can't hear “I know…but I love SMG3 too much to see him suffer, I can't do that to him again.” Four leaves the castle and snaps his fingers, nervously he tosses a rock making sure the portal is stable. Seeing that the portal wasn't going to blow up, he runs in hoping to all the memes he wont end up blowing up or ending up in the wrong place. Four looks around the woods hearing the clicking of the local memes was enough to confirm he made it, walking he looks around in surprise from all the new buildings. “Wow..Three really is an amazing ruler,” he stops walking when his eyes meet with the iconic starbucks building. He walks in and smiles softly, it's been so long since he last saw this place. He frowns as he hears crying, Four gently knocks on the door “GO AWAY I'M ON A BREAK!” Three shouted attempting to sound angry. Four pushes the door open only to get a pillow to the face “AH! Dude it's me Four!”

Three blinks as he wipes his tears “Four? The hell are you doing here, didn't you do enough back at the castle?” Four sits on the bed ignoring the glare the other man is giving him. “Offering a bet with Aster was dumb of me, I guess I hated…” Four closes his eyes thinking on what to say, the last thing he wanted was to let his feelings for the man be known. He turns to Three “I’m sorry, I was upset that you got to find someone that understood you. While me…I try so hard to get a relationship but heh no one gets my passion for memes. Maybe it's the curse of being a guardian.” Three stares at Four silently, he hugs his pillow shaking his head. Four watches as Three's eyes move from him to the floor. “This is my fault.” feeling his eyes water, he looks away. “Aster acted so perfect, or maybe it was all in my head. Every relationship has been a pain in the ass yet here comes some random guy from the dark web, they just changed a lot of things for me.” Three throws himself on the bed getting Four to stand up to give him space “I fucked things up cause i couldnt trust them, Aster side of the bet just screamed i was an idiot for trusting them.” Four nods as he listens to the man, he peeks out the door asking a few Eggdogs to grab coffee. After a few moments the coffee arrived, he thanked them with a quick pat before offering the cup to Three. Three sits up taking the cup and sipping as Four begins to speak “I don't know Aster as much as you all do, but I do see how they look at you these days. I’m pretty sure the rizzler has charmed this dark web guy pretty bad, no way could Aster look at anyone else.” He hated having this talk with Three, just thinking of the soft looks Aster gives Three when they think no one is looking always made him feel sick. Four stares at his coffee thinking back on that look, he wondered if that's how he also looks at Three.

Four looks at Three seeing how the man was avoiding eye contact, how he stares at the floor hoping it will give him the answer he needed. Four was about to reach out to the man before Three let out a shaky breath, his voice cracking “Aster will never forgive me,” clearing his throat SMG3 finishes his coffee “Even if you're right about them…I told them it's over.” Four gets up putting his coffee on a nearby table, he then digs into his hat pulling out a ticket “We both screwed up, so how about we fix it?” Three stares at the ticket confused, Four rolls his eyes and takes Three’s hand placing the ticket on it. Three places his coffee down as he begins to read it “splatfest hosted by Meggy?! The squid is bringing that back, wait how the hell is this going to fix anything?” Four smirks at Three giving him a wink “We are going to get you and Aster a moment alone, we fight all the time and make up after talking. I’m sure Aster will hear you out, just be honest with them.” Three lets out a soft chuckle getting up “I doubt this will work, but I don't have anything going on that day,” Four nods as he walks to the door “This lets hope the others found Aster.”

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Tari looks around frowning “How will we find Aster? We  don't even know where they hang out, oh why did none of us ask for their number.”  Mario smirks as he walks in front of Tari “Aster has the looks of a god, to find someone like that you must find the simps!” He takes out binoculars looking through the crowd, that's when he notices a small group of people giggling. He sprints to the group of people leaving Tari to run after him “Mario wait!” Mario slides up to the group getting strange looks, he takes out a photo. The group looks at it before one of the women takes it with a huge smile “omigosh! That's the hot guy we saw at the cafe, you know he is out of this world hot when he makes your boyfriend question himself!” The girl giggles along with the others over the photo, Mario takes out a spray bottle and starts spraying the group of girls. Tari catches up and watches the whole thing in shock, she grabs his hand stopping him “Uh sorry about that guys thank you for the help!” Tari pulls Mario away “We can't spray people, how are we going to find Aster that way?” she frowns as Mario rolls his eyes “Fine fine!” He walks up to the girls again, seeing him the girls huddle together glaring at him. Mario lifts up his hands, he turns to see Tari giving him a thumbs up. He smiles at her before turning to the group of girls “Listen here, if you don't want to get the spray again you will tell me where that person is.”  Mario points to the bottle making one of the girls hiss at him “We found him at cafe meow.” Mario takes the photo back as he walks over to Tari giving her a thumbs up, she cheers as she follows after him. 

Aster sighs as they lay on the floor, a small black cat walks up to them slowly staring at them.Aster smiles as they reach out to the cat “Hey little buddy, want to join me in thinking how to fix my fathers plan?” They couldn't wrap around how they manage to screw up the mission so bad, they thought they were being the perfect partner. The cat meows as it cuddles up to them making Aster melt and smile, only for the moment to be ruined when Mario kicks the door open “ASTER COME GET YOUR MAN!” They sit up as the cat runs away in fear, Tari lets out an awkward giggle “Hey Aster..we were looking for you for Meggy.” They look at the pair suspiciously, they stand up focusing on their heart. There they heard Mario’s wish for pasta making Aster shake their head, then they turn to Tari. Their expression softens when  they hear Tari’s wish for her friends to make up, relaxing more knowing there was no danger they smile at the pair “Meggy? Did something happen?” Tari smiles, handing them a ticket “She is hosting the new splatfest, it's an inkling event, it's a lot of fun. Oh but it can also be really scary…I used to be in a team with her back in the day.” Aster takes the ticket and stares at it curiously, they hum trying to picture Tari firing ink at anyone making them giggle “How did you guys even manage that? Don't inklings swim in ink?” Tari smiles while taking out her cell phone showing them pictures of her time in the competition, Tari starts telling them about their adventure with Axol and how they saved anime. As she tells them the story Aster’s eyes sparkle as they smile brightly, Tari frowns as she fondly looks at the group picture they took together “We lost a lot of people…Axol and Desti aren't with us anymore. But they won't ever be forgotten.” Aster frowns as they look at the photo then at the ticket, the crew have gone through so much together. It was different from what their father told them, they think over the story before looking at Tari and Mario seeing them frowning. Aster then smiles wrapping their arms around them both “Hey, I can't really relate to what it's like to lose someone but im sure they both are happy you carry on their memory!” Tari looks at Aster and smiles “Yeah!” Mario steps away from Aster feeling awkward being too close to them “Mario takes it you will join us?” Aster nods “Sure, maybe at the same time I can figure out what to do with Three..” Tari and Mario exchange a surprise look before Mario smirks at Aster, Tari gently pats their back “Don't worry together i'm sure we can figure things out!”

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The next day the crew met up in the inkopolis plaza, Aster looks around in amazement while Meggy giggles at them “It's funny seeing the calm and collected Aster looking like a child in an amusement park.”’ Aster blushes then pouts trying to regain their mask “Ahem, I was just surprised by all the colors.” What was wrong with them, they needed to stay focused on the task. They only showed up because they had to fix things with Three, not to be on some field trip. Aster shutters at the thought of what their father would do if he learned that they weren't with SMG3, they needed to get this mission done and get payback. As more of the crew showed up Aster was beginning to get nervous, the meme guardians weren't around. They bite their lip wondering why they were showing up late, then a thought came to their mind. The pair had a history together, could they have gotten together after their fight with Three? Aster places their hand on their chest feeling it get tight at the thought, it was strange for them. Why would something like that bother them, they think it over and sigh coming to the conclusion they were nervous about disappointing their father. That's when in the corner of their eye they notice the pair showing up together, something in them snapping at the sight.

As the pair arrived Three felt himself getting nervous, Four smacked Three’s back earning him a glare “Don't be nervous I'm sure Aster will be all for hearing you out!” With a nod the pair join the group, Meggy claps excitedly and starts to lead the group to her new office. As the group walk Three awkwardly moves himself next to Aster “uh hey..” Three looks up hoping that Aster would talk to him, Aster looks down at Three. This was their chance to make things up and fix everything, they had to keep the plan moving forward. Aster opened their mouth to talk only to shut it, they mentally scolded themself for struggling to talk. They needed to fix things for the plan they just had to say what they needed to “ Brave of you to say hey to me after showing up with him, after the things you told me.” Aster wanted to scream at how aggressive they sounded. Before Aster could take back their words, Three scoffs at them “Unlike you I'm friends with the scrub and i didnt make any stupid fucking bet with him.” Aster wanted to slam their head against the nearest wall, why did they say that now all chances to fix things are ruined. Three walks ahead with Four following after “Dude what happened?” Three facepalms as he walks not wanting to talk. 

Aster stops walking letting out a sigh, Meggy turns, catching what happened “Hey guys uh there is an arcade over there, how about we play some games and we can meet up at the office later?” A few members of the crew cheered running to the arcade while Tari, Four and Mario stayed outside with Three. Meggy then walks up to Aster “Hey Aster join me? I'll be pretty lonely seeing my office alone, plus I need to see who I will be up against in the future!” Aster nods following Meggy as they attempt to figure out what's going on with them, it was a simple greeting yet they couldn't return it. All that came out of them was annoyance, why did it annoy them to see Four so close with Three? Once they were away from the group Meggy turns and tosses a splat gun “THINK FAST!” Aster panics as they catch the gun, they look at the gun in their hand confused “Uh why are we throwing weapons?” She smiles as she points to an arena “When i need to think or get over negative emotions i go target practice!” Aster looks at the arena then the splat gun, with a shrug they go with Meggy. She does a quick explanation on how the gun works then points at the target “Okay focus on the target, think on something you would love to hit. That's what I do and it helped with my aiming when I first started, you got this Aster!” She cheers as Aster stares at the target, their mind starts to picture Four making them growl as they aim and fire hitting the target. They gasp, surprised they really hit it while Meggy gives them a thumbs up “Heh thanks coach, did help a little though i rather not spend too much time firing at a target. I doubt it will give me any answers,” Meggy deflates as she watches Aster frown walking away, she quickly walks after them to point them the right way.

“Well then what's the problem?” Meggy wasn't one for romantic advice given her failed past with it, even so it wouldn't stop her from trying her best to help her friends. Aster shakes their head “It’s fine, we are here to celebrate you being the new host for splatfest.” They smile at her as they arrive at her office, Meggy opens the door excited to see the office “Just remember you're not alone Aster, if you don't want to talk about it that's okay. Now let's see this ro-” Meggy freezes seeing the office, Aster looks around unimpressed “Pretty dusty, this inkling must have been gone for a long time. Hm one shot wren?”  Meggys breathing quickens hearing the name as she reaches for her hat, flashes of her meeting with wren. ‘DRAW’ Meggy screams making Aster turn quickly, she shakes her head crying holding on to her beanie as if her life depended on it. 

Aster stares at her, focusing hard seeing the negative energy “Shit..even if i attempted anything there i would be worse off.” They slowly approach her, unsure what to do. As they look around the room they notice multiple wren photos giving them an idea, their purple eyes glow as they erase anything with Wren on it “Uh Meggy I got rid Wren, are you okay?!” She hugs herself breathing heavily, Aster curses to themself, they sit near Meggy thinking on how to help. “You know it's pretty fun seeing your home, hitting something with ink was really fun!” They begin to talk hoping that their rambles could help the women next to them. As they keep talking, Meggy slowly relaxes as she stops hugging herself, she watches Aster as they ramble about their thoughts on her home.  Seeing her feel better they get up and get her fresh water “Need some air?” she drinks the water before slowly getting up “That…sounds good.” The pair walk outside the building, they stand there in silence before Meggy speaks up  “Sorry about that, I’m normally able to handle things better than that..” She lets out a shaky breath as she removes her beanie, Aster stares at the road watching inklings walking around “It’s fine, sorry i wasn't the best company to have for this.” Meggy smiles softly “It was nice not to be alone for once, this feeling reminds me of when I first became human…” Aster turns towards Meggy “Ah yeah Tari told me, you guys had a whole anime arc.” She nods as she puts her beanie back on “I lost someone close to me, a rival, an old crush. When the others told me about you and Three, well all i could have thought of was how i never got a chance to get closer to Desti. I didn't want you two to fight and leave each other's life without seeing how deeply you care about each other.” Aster blushes at Meggy’s words, how could she think that they care deeply about SMG3. 

They must be that good of an actor to make the crew think they care about what happens with the man. Aster could laugh at how hilarious the idea is, yet their chest was feeling strange again thinking over her words.  Before the two of them could chat more they notice a group of inklings running, Meggy runs up grabbing one of them “What's going on?” the pink inkling pointed towards the arcade “Killer Ink is having a battle with a bunch of humans over at the arcade!” Aster and Meggy nod at each other as they run towards the arcade. A loud explosion of ink could be seen as they approach, Meggy starts to speed up sliding in seeing the crew hiding behind a pile of crates. There she sees Killer Ink laughing as they keep shooting “That all you guys got? This is why humans should stay away from splatfest!” Meggy growls taking out her splat gun “HEY! Leave my friends alone!” Aster arrives looking around, seeing the buildings covered in ink, then their eyes land on Three. They both blush looking away from each other, the leader of killer ink rolls her eyes “Oh look who it is again, just cause you got lucky and won splatfest years ago doesn't mean you can take this one from us.” 

Three swears under his breath “Ugh these fuck heads ruining our planning!” Four yelps as he hides behind the crate dodging the shot. Wearing white overalls at this time is a choice Four is hating at the moment “How did they even know we were here, god these guys sucked so much when we first met them!” Three peaks and gasps seeing a shot almost hit Aster, he hits the floor as he thinks about what to do. Four felt a chill making him turn to Three “Three…what are you planning?” Seeing Three get up taking a bomb out of his hat makes Four eyes go wide, he grabs Three “No! My meme sense is saying this is a bad idea, Three if you go out there with a live bomb you could hurt Meggy and Aster!” Three looks over at Aster and Meggy who are now hiding by the arcade, he then turns looking at the inklings chuckling. He growls pulling his arm away from Four “I will be fine, after all i felt the same with you and look your still standing! I’m just going to put them in their place, I'm not some wuss that hides!” Three goes over the crates and tosses one of his bombs, one of the inklings scream running as it explodes. SMG3 lets out an evil laugh making Aster smile, Meggy steps out and aims, hitting a few of the other team members. The team looks to their leader in a panic, she growls frustrated at the situation “I won't let humans scare us off!” She fires her gun, the ink hitting Three’s bomb, Four gasps as the ink makes the lit bomb fall next to Three. Aster eyes go wide seeing the bomb get hit, their eyes glow the moment the explosion goes off. 

“YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT!” Aster yells as they hold Three close to them. Slowly Three pulls away staring at Aster in awe, Aster places their hand on his face checking on him “YOU COULD HAVE DIED THREE WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?” Three grabs on to their arm “I..wanted to teach them a lesson,” he mumbled at them. Aster’s eyes water shaking their head “That was worth risking your life? What if you died? What if…” They let go of Three slowly touching their face, their voice crack “What if…I never got to see you again?”

The leader glares at the pair and readies her gun only to hear footsteps behind her, she turns to see Meggy smirking at her “Game over, thanks to your stunt as host of this year's splatfest you're banned.” She swears as she gets up walking away “You won't get away with this!” Meggy smirks, putting her splatgun away and  joining the crew. Seeing their concerned faces she turns to see what they were staring at. Aster starts to wipe their tears confused as Three gently caresses Aster’s face “I…I’m sorry, for everything…What I did was stupid but not as stupid as what started most of this mess. I got scared that you were using me, I let it get the best of me and I snapped at you when I should have trusted you. Do you forgive me?” Aster slowly pulls away from Three, their heart racing seeing the soft look the man was giving them. Aster then runs away, Three watches them run off as he clench his fist “FUCK!” Four slowly walks up to Three and gently rubs his back. Aster falls to their knees after running for a long while, it felt like hours having Three’s face haunt them as they ran. They could have ended their mission there, that bomb would have killed Three yet they stopped it “Whats…wrong with me, why cant i stop crying?” Aster looks around to see they ended up at a beach, they get up and walk toward the sea staring at the sunset. They stare at the sea thinking over everything that has happened the past days, was their father right?

The more they thought about the crew the more things felt confusing, their father told them all these stories about the crew. Yet none of it was adding up, they shouldn't question their father. They frown feeling panic grow “Was he right? Am I getting soft with the crew…with him?” The very thought of seeing Three hurt made them feel sick, it never did before which frustrated them more. They sigh, drawing in the sand thinking everything over, their phone starts to ring. Taking out their cell phone they see Three’s name, they feel their heart skip a beat as they silence their phone. Perhaps they needed to accept what was happening, the very thought put fear in them. They stop drawing and stare at their phone “Have I…already failed my mission? Am I falling for you?” Once the words escaped their mouth they felt a strange pull, their head hurting. They close their eyes, suddenly an old man's voice is heard “Oh man you really know how to keep an old star waiting~” Aster’s eyes shoot open as they look around “who..who said that? 

[mageofseven]

Okay so this was said in the comments for this post and I loved their idea so much that I just had to write this. I might even do more on this topic to explore how Satan would be as a true older brother 🥰

Also, I started experimenting with an app that makes fake text conversations and I wanted to use it for this. Some day I wanna be able to tell stories via texting format, but until I actually get better at such a method, I might just sprinkle texts in my posts occasionally. It doesn't add much, but I still wanted to try it for this post~

~

The fourth brother sighed as he got dressed for the day. Did Lucifer really need to deal with him so early in the morning, on a Saturday at that? The man wasn't so much worried about whatever punishment his 'big brother' had in mind over the distraction with the ring, but he really wished the older man would have a chosen a more convenient time for the lecture. Of course he wouldn't though; this is Lucifer after all.

Dressed, Satan left his room and went downstairs, turning into the library and crossing through to the door of the Avatar of Pride's study.

"Alright, can we at least make this--"

Lucifer shushed him from where he sat at his desk.

"Keep your voice low or you'll wake her."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. 'Her'? He followed the other man's gaze to the wall behind him and saw... a crib? A dark green one, to be specific, one ever so vaguely familiar to the Avatar of Wrath.

Silence. The younger demon slowly approached the crib and just as you'd expect, he found a baby sleeping soundly inside.

"Thanks to the suddenness of last night, I had to go rummaging through the storage in the attic for your old crib." The older demon complained, watching Satan closely as he stood next to his daughter.

"Did you have another one?"

Lucifer let out a huff.

"MC did. Late last night because of that stunt you pulled back in February."

"No." The blonde turned around and approached his 'brother's' desk. "You're not blaming me for--"

"You knew very well what that ring did and you still tricked my Love into participating in your ridiculous plan." The demon rose from his seat. "Did you or did you not?"

"And if you were half as strong as you pretend to be, that ring wouldn't have had such a strong effect on you." The blonde smirked. "Honestly, I was prepared for the plan to fail, but you fell into the enchantment far too easily."

"Watch your--"

"Besides, isn't whatever MC suffered through your fault? Even without your memory, how could you not know your girlfriend was pregnant for a whole nine months?"

"How was I suppose to know when I had no knowledge that we even slept together?"

Crying rang throughout the room from the crib. Lucifer let out a long sigh before approaching the crib and lifting his daughter into his arms, careful of her delicate wings. He gently rocked her for a minute, stroking her soft hair as she slowly quieted in her daddy's arms.

Satan was feeling... something. The blonde wasn't sure what. It was an odd sight to see Lucifer so tender with another living being. He didn't know if what he felt about the scene was positive or negative, simply... strange.

"I cannot keep up with everything, even if I may try." The older demon said in a low tone. "I cannot be expected to know things about MC that even she herself did not know."

The man said all of this to the younger demon without lifting his gaze from his daughter, who stared up at him with matching eyes. The little girl cooed and reached out to grab his nose. Lucifer smiled softly at her, a smile that could barely be noticed, but the other demon did.

The Avatar of Pride quickly let the smile fall and gently moved his daughter's hand away from his nose.

"I have to leave soon for some business with Lord Diavolo and since MC is busy resting from her... ordeal last night, I need you to watch your sister for me."

Satan grinded his teeth at the label, though more so at what it implicated with the other demon than what it did with the small baby in his arms. He usually wasn't one to give into his 'older brother' so easily, but when he thought about what MC must have gone through, especially last night, the blonde couldn't help feeling at least partially responsible.

"I'll do it for MC." He agreed before glancing down at his...little sister. "What is her name?"

"Ksenia." The baby grabbed Lucifer's finger and another subtle smile made it's way to the Avatar of Pride's face. "And regardless of who you do this for, I should be back around noon. Till then, tell Beel to help you out when he gets back from his morning jog."

Satan raised an eyebrow.

"Why Beel?"

The other man finally looked over to him.

"Because he and Asmo were mainly your caretakers while I was working when you were Ksenia's age. Since I imagine Asmo will stay in bed till late morning, Beel will likely be your best support while I'm gone."

This... the fourth brother didn't know this. No one actually talked about his childhood to him and the blonde certainly didn't remember his days as an infant. If he was honest...he was now curious about it all. Through his sister's appearance, will he get to hear more details and stories about when he was young? The younger demon wasn't sure why he cared... but he was curious nonetheless.

[mynameispuppy]

Talking in Summer  [Chapter 2]

A/N: I decide to change from first person to mainly second person in my writing  ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Sitting at my desk feet swinging over the edge of my chair, I hear a loud ping from my phone. Looking down at the bright light coming from my side table I see a notification from an unknown number.

[Unsaved #] 7:36pm

Is this (y/n)?

Picking up my (color) phone I try to formulate a response.

[Me]7:37pm

Maybe. Who is this?

[Unsaved #]7:37pm

You're the one who gave me your number.

'OH SHOOT it's that...uh that guy... What's his name?'

[Me]7:37pm

My apologies, what was your name again?

[Unsaved #]7:38pm

Tenko.

'thats a pretty rare name for a boy' you start to think to yourself. Your conversation started out slow however, talking late into the night you realize that Tenko and you have very much in common in ways of thinking and hobbies. You tap into your quirk "curse" so you can pull an all nighter with him. Both of you find out that you both like the same fighting game and decide to play; he mercilessly beats me every single time.

                                             ❁     ❁     ❁

[Me]1:47am

Aw geez defeated again (｡•́︿•̀｡)

[Tenko]1:47am

GG.

He didn't seem to be much with words but you enjoyed having his company. The only local friend you have is Yumeshi your co-worker, she has a boyfriend as well as a different friend group so she didn't have a lot of free time for hanging out.

Around 3am Tenko tells you he needs to dip so snuggling into bed you try to rest but still feel awfully energetic. Getting up you start to make a bento box for no particular reason. Watching some random cable television and doodling finding ways to waste your time. Haveing today off since its Saturday decide to debate on what to do, 'maybe somewhere fun? Like a park or aquarium... Alone like a loser? Maybe I should just sleep all day.'

Starting to pout to myself I flop back down on my futon bed.

'nononono I will NOT waste the day!' I shout at myself and flop around like a fish. "Quick nap then I'll start the day" I say to confirm the plan in mind.

                                               ❁     ❁     ❁

He had googled her name immediately,  (Y/n) (l/n). Couldn't get much information other than your overwhelming awards on the swim team and some academic praises. The name of your high school, your interests, each piece of information made him feel electrified; even powerful. He was learning so much about you without you even knowing. Growing in his throat, a lump, which could only be interpreted as grotesque titillation. He had to know more.

Shigaraki was shocked when you approached him. The mall, his frequent hangout spot. Where he had noticed a couple of regulars but none who had such a synchronized schedule with him than you.

He was fascinated in why you reached out to him. Maybe you knew who he was? or his pure villainous prowess seemed to radiate off of him and attract you. He doubted that, you had a wholesome air to you.

Sniffing around in the yellow books he was able to snatch your address with no issue. He started to feel heavy....paranoid. What if you were a spy or you were out to get him. Catching at his neck like a flea infested dog he started scraping dry skin and feeling warm wounds start to open up. Peaking at his phone to get the time he sees it's about noon, the sun is high in the sky and warm just like the day prior. [after he had stopped texting you he had a brilliant idea to wait outside your apartment].

Sitting outside the cement walls of your apartment complex Shigaraki's ears perk up when he hears the clanging of a metal gate as he stands inconspicuously around the corner. Peeking around the corner he catches a glimpse of your (h/c) hair dancing behind you are you quickly make your way down the sidewalk.

Tomura paces himself behind you almost as if you were prey to a wanting predator.

His inquisitive learning gaze locked on every movement you made, brushing your hair back, checking your phone, everything.

You start to turn down a familiar route and the park you guys met at yesterday comes into view. 'she doesn't SEEM to be doing anything suspicious I guess it was idiotic to worry about such a girl' shigaraki watches as you place yourself in the shade and proceed to take out a homemade bento. Enjoying the warmth and watching some kids play soccer. Tomura turns to leave 'this is a waste of time... she's not doing anything suspicious' he assures himself but finds that his body doesn't want him to leave. He's still curious about the girl who extended her friendship to him, the most unwelcoming looking person on earth. Why?

[Me]12:31pm

Hello.

'what am I doing!?'

As Shigaraki peers over the warm bark of the trees he's conveniently hiding behind he sees you pick up your phone at the vibration

[(Y/N)]12:32pm

Hi Tenko, how are you? ｡^‿^｡

[Me]12:32

Bored.

[(Y/N)] 12:32pm

Well I'm at that park from yesterday if you care to join me!

Closing his phone he focuses back over in your direction watching you gently eat your rice as if you savored every grain an ethereal goddess. Letting out a shiver Tomura's whole body swarms with goosebumps.

'thats new' he takes note.

Shigaraki made sure to make you wait for a full 10 minutes before emerging into the open to approach you, he wanted it to seem....natural.

                                                ❁     ❁     ❁

Seeing your new friend approach starts to make you feel giddy inside. The thought of finally having company felt so foreign to you.

Quickly getting him comfortable next you and offering some bento which he declined you sit through an awkwardly long silence before the thin veil of silence finally being shattered with Shigaraki's raspy tone,

"You seem....like a nice person." you cock your head unable to figure out if that was a compliment or not because of his tone.

"Thank you? You do too" trying to return polite words. You notice that his gaze shifts from the horizon down to his lap in a dissapointed manner.

"Why don't we get some crepes! I know a place around here" you bounce to your feet.

With Tomura sluggishly in pursuit "ok" he utters to you in an uninterested drawl.

                                                  ❁     ❁    ❁   

The trip to the sweet shop was quiet but peaceful and relaxing. You felt at ease with your new friend. Once you both ordered your crepes, you started to discuss things like world views and morals and for the most part you seemed to agree on things oddly enough.

You and Tenko talked long into the evening, you even got him to chuckle once and when the time came he politely walked you home. "Thank you so much for the good day, I'm glad we could become friends" you give him a polite nod. "Yeah, it wasn't bad at all." He answers back and for a split second you think you can see the smallest smile in the corner of his lips. You give him a polite bow before pivoting around to leaving for your front gate.

'it wasn't bad at all' you repeat to yourself as you feel the tingling of joy arise from your body.

[goodlucktai]

If you're up for it, I'd love to see more of all 4 of them from the natsuyuu soulmates AU! (it was so good, gosh) Perhaps something from Tanuma's or Natsume's POV this time? I'm curious to know what it was/is like for the two of them too! <3

companion piece to this prompt !

x

When Kaname actually gets the job offer, he almost turns it down. He only applied in the first place on a whim, and it’s such a big move, and he’s not the brave, bold kind of person who would leap on an opportunity like this –

But as if sensing his doubts, the counter on Kaname’s wrist moves. It hasn’t so much as flickered in years, and now it starts to go up instead of down.

And Kaname’s hands move on autopilot, tapping out a return email with his heart in his throat.

Thank you, he writes, and Yes, I can start immediately, and I look forward to working with you.

The numbers still again. Kaname puts his head in his hands and wonders if it eight a.m. is too early to go back to bed. Then he picks up the phone to call his father and closest friends and inform them he’s moving six hours away, by the end of the week actually, and do they know where he should start looking for affordable sublets in Osaka?

Shibata is still looking up at him like he’s crazy two days later, but he helps Kaname pack with only minimal complaining.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” he asks before he leaves, when Kaname’s apartment has been stripped to bare walls and cardboard boxes and Kaname is wrapping the last of his plates in newspaper. “I mean – this isn’t like you.”

Kaname musters a smile, almost sick with nerves. It isn’t like him. But –

He looks at the still numbers on his arm and thinks, somehow, this might be the right move to make.

Or it’s entirely the wrong move.

Kaname gets off the train with his single rolling suitcase and promptly has a panic attack in one of the station bathrooms. He should have thought about this. He’s an idiot and everything is going to be terrible. He’s hours away from his only family, he doesn’t know anyone in this city, he doesn’t know where to go, what is he doing here?

A text to Shibata finds Kaname on a conference call moments later with both Shibata and Taki, who bully and cajole him respectively back into some semblance of mostly functional human being.

“Do you have your inhaler?” Shibata demands, prompting Kaname to pat down his pockets and confirm that he does, in fact, have his inhaler. “Good. You better take care of yourself, idiot. I swear, if I have to come after you I’m going to be severely annoyed.”

But he’ll come after Kaname if Kaname needs him to, won’t hesitate to bail on work and hop on a train if he thinks Kaname isn’t okay, and knowing that is a much-needed comfort. Kaname smiles, and his hands, clenched into shaking fists in the fabric of his jeans, finally loose.

He’s in a new place, and hours away from the people who love him, but he isn’t in another country. He isn’t so far removed that he’ll never see them again.

“We’ll come see you the second you get settled,” Taki tells him kindly. “I’m so excited for you! You’re going to do so great!”

“Of course he is. Call us back when you get to your creepy Craigslist apartment, Tanuma!”

Kaname laughs as he hangs up, and the warmth of the laughter stays with him as he braves the busy station and drags his suitcase after him into the sunny streets. With his friends in the front of his mind, it’s that much easier to breathe.

Kaname isn’t sure when the rest of his things are due to be delivered, so getting settled into his modest apartment is the work of about five minutes. In that it takes him four minutes to get the door unlocked, and once inside he shoves his suitcase into the bedroom, shrugs out of his jacket, and collapses face-first into the musty sofa the previous tenant left behind.

The city traffic is loud even through the closed window, and someone in the hallway is banging violently on a door.

Home, Kaname thinks, and rolls onto his back. He stretches his arms out above him, and tugs back the sleeve on his left arm to see if his counter is still –

“Oh,” he whispers, as the numbers continue to spin lower and lower with dizzying speed.

Kaname sits up slowly, tucking his legs underneath him, and cradles his wrist closer with a careful hand. He sits that way for a long time, until shadows stretch across the floor as noon slinks closer to evening and his phone fills the room with Shibata’s ringtone because he forgot to call his friends back. 

The counter finally slows somewhere around the nineteen hour mark, and only the seconds are left ticking by.

19:14:38 and he’s never, ever been this close.

Home, he thinks again, with a hope so heavy it could probably crush him.

Two of his neighbors turn out to be young men his own age, who introduce themselves as Kitamoto and Nishimura. They’re kind and welcoming, despite Kaname’s terribly awkward first impression, and Nishimura is almost relentlessly friendly. Kaname can’t help thinking he and Taki would get along like a house on fire, and the similarities between them have Kaname warming to Nishimura almost immediately.

“If you just moved in, you probably have no food at your place,” Nishimura says with all the certainty of someone having lived this truth himself at one point. “We can show you around and stuff later, but for now you should come over for dinner tonight! We’re making omurice. We’re awesome at omurice.”

“It’s the only thing we know how to cook,” Kitamoto amends dryly, and steers Nishimura away by the shoulders. “Sorry for taking up so much of your time. We’ll see you tonight.”

They’re a soulmate pair if Kaname has ever seen one, and he watches them bicker their way down the hall with a smile. Rubs the numbers on his wrist with an ache and a longing, and only a small amount of light-headed fear.

“I’m not surprised you’ve made friends already,” his father says kindly when Kaname calls him with what little news he has to offer about his first day in Osaka. “You were always a popular boy.”

That is a bold-faced lie, but Kaname was certainly never without friends, and that’s probably what his father means anyway. His eyes are glued to the counter on his wrist, as they always are anymore, and he’s dying to bring it up at the same time he’s terrified of jinxing the whole thing away.

He’ll keep it to himself a little while longer. There’s only four hours left to go, anyway.

Kaname stands outside his neighbor’s door with his fist poised to knock and thinks this is probably exactly where he’s meant to be standing, because the numbers on his arm are still moving, and it’s fourteen seconds, and he knocks, and now it’s nine, and now six –

And the door opens, and Kaname pulls his eyes away from the zeros on his wrist. It isn’t Nishimura or Kitamoto waiting there to greet him, but he wasn’t really expecting either of them. He looks into wide amber eyes and feels the breath go out of his lungs in a rush.

His other half touches Kaname’s cheek reverently, with fingers that tremble. Kaname covers his hand with one of his own and holds on.

It’s been a long and lonely life without him, and Kaname has waited every single day for this moment, for this man specifically, and now he can only stand here and soak up the sight of the rest of his life, greedily and with extreme prejudice.

“I’ve waited to meet you for so long,” he murmurs, and his soulmate’s breath shudders. He looks as terrified as Kaname feels, and every bit as longing, and tragically lovely.

Beautiful, Kaname thinks, with both an artist’s eye and a hopeless heart, beautiful.

Natsume Takashi lives alone, and has always lived alone. Even as a child, he was often by himself. He has no family and no home outside his little one-bedroom apartment, and his only companion is his fat, spoiled cat.  

“I came to this city because it was brand-new to me,” Takashi says, “and I wanted a fresh start.”

He’s unguarded as he speaks into the dimly lit room at large. They’re tucked together on his sofa, the window open to let in the autumn breeze, and Kaname pulls him just a little bit closer.

Takashi is fragile, despite the iron resilience that brought him this far, and devastatingly lonely – and worse than that, accustomed to loneliness.

“I wish I had found you sooner,” Kaname tells him quietly, and feels Takashi lean away just enough to look up at him.

“It’s thanks to you we met at all,” his other half tells him firmly. “I would never have had the nerve to do what you did – to make such a big move, on such a small chance.” He shakes his head, admiring and affectionate as he adds, “You’re amazing, Kaname.”

It’s the first time anyone has told him that. Sickly, shrinking Kaname, who could hardly join in PE more than a dozen times a year, who passed through school like a shadow and relied on his two bright and fiery friends all those times he got lost in the crowd or fumbled up his words, who locked himself in a bathroom stall the day he arrived in this new city and wanted nothing more than to run back home.

But Takashi is smiling up at him without cruelty, honeyed eyes like something out of a fairy tale – and if he’s the one saying it, maybe it’s true after all.

Maybe it could be true. Maybe, for Takashi, he wants it to be.

“I can’t believe you uprooted your whole life just to chase your heart like a shojo hero,” Shibata fumes. “You’re ridiculous!”

“He’s wonderful,” Takashi contests immediately, reaching over to smooth the fringe out of Kaname’s eyes. Kaname feels himself flush hotly and aims a stupid grin at the Skype window open on Kitamoto’s laptop.

Taki’s eyes are shining, her hands folded in front of an impossibly wide smile, and even Shibata can’t maintain his scowl for long.

“Ugh, gross,” he says, with the hint of a grin. “You two deserve each other.”  

“Oh, and make sure you send over those pictures of the two of you that you promised me. Don’t give me that look, Tanuma, you promised!”

Takashi groans, and Nishimura laughs brightly from the other side of the living room. Ponta waddles over to make himself comfortable in Kaname’s lap, and the apartment smells like the omelets Kitamoto is cooking for dinner, and Kaname’s childhood friends are making plans to come visit sometime soon. Takashi smiles freely more and more with each day, and those smiles make every single minute Kaname waited for this worthwhile.

Home, Kaname thinks, and this time he means it.