#its been said before and it'll be said again but whatever name he'd like for himself he's not letting anyone ever know it

[cosmicdenro]

I still see people trying to get a name for rhm out of puff

[snarp]

Real True Law Stories

This is heavily-paraphrased because 1) it happened a while back, and the conversations were longer and involved a lot more of me going "no! no! augh," and 2) the case was not actually about Ale-8 bottles, but its actual focus was similarly-specific, which would have made it really easy to look up.

Dad: Can you value a collection of old Ale-8 bottles for me, honey?

Me: ...possibly, but I'm not going to. Is this a blasting case again? Did someone's designated used Ale-8 bottle shelf fall over?

Dad: No, they got stolen. He had this shed or big closet or something totally full of collectible Ale-8 bottles, he's got all these insurance photos, he'd had them appraised by the national Ale-8 bottle expert -

Mom: Dear...

Dad: No, he's definitely really upset about these lost Ale-8 bottles! He's traumatized! Do you think I don't deal with liars? ...He thinks his estranged drug-addict relative stole the Ale-8 bottles.

Me: No. That did not happen.

Mom: That's probably not what happened, dear.

Dad: Drug addicts steal stuff all the time, what is this -

Me: Dad, no, this is fucking logistically -

Dad: - don't, I'm telling the story, stop it - "logistically" -

Me: A drug addict would not steal and hock a huge collection of Ale-8 bottles! They're heavy and fragile and that's a ridiculous specialist hobby, logistically it'd be way too -

Mom: The bottles were definitely stolen, dear?

Me: Why wouldn't you just steal, like, the TV? Or the car or whatever?! You don't steal the Ale-8 bottles!

Dad: They were stolen! He was gone! He'd had a fight with this person, he couldn't get back into the house for a while, he came back and the bottles were gone, he was heartbroken!

Me: No! You don't steal the collection of Ale-8 bottles, that's not what you steal!

Dad: No, they knew he really liked these bottles, it was revenge or something? Seriously, he keeps asking me why I can't make the police go and arrest this person and find out where they put the bottles, he's really angry! He misses his bottles.

Mom: *sigh* Okay, dear. So the Ale-8 bottles were stolen and insurance won't cover them.

Dad, to Me: So you're going to try and value the Ale-8 bottle collection for me. It'll be easy.

Me: I am not.

Dad: He has a spreadsheet.

Me: No. - You said he already had it appraised!

Mom: Before the Ale-8 bottle heist...

Dad: He did! I mean. There's this guy who writes Ale-8 bottle valuation books, he lives - somewhere, and the client knows him over, I guess, an Ale-8 bottle club? Ale-8 bottle mailing list? On the internet. - and he came on this road trip to just look at these Ale-8 bottles in the guy's shed or closet! Does that make sense?

Me: If this is an actual collecting hobby that other people engage in, and not a scam - if Ale-8 bottle collecting is something that's real - then yes, that's normal if you've got a valuable collection, I guess? How much did he say all these Ale-8 bottles were worth, is this even a sane case to be taking if he's telling the truth?

Dad: [a very large number]

Mom, who has been quietly thinking about this while we do our manzai routine: Well, there are definitely other Ale-8 bottle collectors, honey. [name] likes them, I think?... That seems awfully high. He had them in a shed? Like a garden shed?

Dad: I've seen the book! He showed me the Ale-8 bottle book! It was a shed or a garage or a side room or something. They weren't outside.

Me: If what you're trying to figure out is whether this guy and the appraiser are for real, I'd just... look around online and make sure there are actually people buying and selling these things, and talking about them to the extent he says there are, I guess?

Mom: If there's a real community and a real buyer base.

Dad: The Ale-8 bottle book had numbers in it, like values.

Me: The numbers don't mean anything if his buddy wrote the book and if they're the only two people who care about Ale-8 bottles!

Dad: You know, you're awfully suspicious of these Ale-8 bottles...

Me: It's a completely ridiculous story. - You're suspicious of them, too! That's why you even asked me to value Ale-8 bottles!

Dad: You're just not a trusting person. You're paranoid. You know, I trust all my clients completely -

*My Ale-8-bottle-related-outrage HP drops too low and I die.*

Mom: No. What she's saying is that their book value -

Dad: Yeah, that's the word, their book value! Like a Kelley Blue Book value for a car, that's what this other guy does, he does the Blue Book for the bottles. So all I have to do is show the insurance company the Kelley Bottle Book, right?

Mom: No.

Dad: It's fine! The insurance company will be completely cooperative. What are they going to complain about, it's right there in the book.

Mom: Does the book reflect the market values of the bottles? The street values? Are these the prices that people pay on eBay or wherever when they're buying the bottles?

Dad: I don't know.

Mom: Are they the prices he paid for them?

Dad: I don't know. Probably.

*I finish my corpse-run and resurrect.*

Me: There's got to be an actual market for there to be market prices. People who buy the things and have opinions about how much they're worth and stuff.

Dad: Can you research that for me, honey? Research the Ale-8 bottle market?

Me: I'm not going to do that. You have [name] in the office, right? You are paying her money to do this stuff for you, correct?

Dad: You never want to help me. Help me research Ale-8 bottles. I don't know why my daughters never help me.

Mom: And then you have to prove all this stuff to the judge and jury. Will they believe that Ale-8 bottles are worth anything?

Me: Please show us how you will emotionally convince the jury that these Ale-8 bottles are worth money. Make it sound like you're really sad about the loss of the valuable Ale-8 bottle collection.

Dad: Nnnno! *laughs* Oh, my god, they're such bullshit! They're these little bottles! And he had zillions of them! He must have some sort of trauma in his past, I'm going to ask [Psychiatrist Who Acts As An Expert Witness In PTSD Cases] to examine him... - Well, this is some southern thing, like the little toy stock cars that guy had. I don't know, maybe a southern jury will buy it?

Me: Say that "a jury of your peers" means "a jury of Ale-8 bottle collectors."

Mom: Yeah, hope you get a collector on the jury or on the bench.

*- several months later -*

Dad: So do you want to hear what happened at court the other day? With my Ale-8 bottle guy?

Me: You're going to tell me about the Ale-8 bottle guy regardless. Did it turn out to be insurance fraud?

Dad: No, actually! - well, I don't know. "A reasonable doubt for a reasonable price!"

Mom: Dear.

Dad: So obviously the insurance guys are like, "this is bullshit! It's bullshit! Ale-8 bottles aren't worth anything, the whole thing is bullshit!" And I'm like, okay, well. And they don't want to go to mediation, and they give us this lowball number to settle, and, obviously, no.

Dad: So we go in front of Judge [X] the other day, and I'm like, *solemn expression* "Judge. My client has had his extremely valuable Ale-8 bottle collection stolen, and his insurance will not pay for it even though he had it personally appraised by The Ale-8 Bottle Man."

Me: Who is his buddy and who may well be artificially inflating the prices of stuff he and his friends have a lot of, sure.

Dad: You don't know that!

Mom: And opposing counsel said…?

Dad: So, [Other Lawyer], he got up there and he was like, "Well, Judge, I mean. Ale-8 bottles, right? They're Ale-8 bottles." And they start - but then the judge goes, "Actually. I wanted to say, I was looking over the documents in this case. And, well, I've got a bit of a collection myself - I've got the - 1492 Foofrall-something Bottle and a mint-condition Bluh-buh-buh Bottle, and" and then he just sits there and lists all these Ale-8 bottles he's got for like, several minutes.

Me: Is this a joke. Did this actually happen.

Dad: It happened! It did happen!

Me: Mom!

Mom: I know, dear. It happened. He is not making this up.

Dad: So I get out of there and I go over and talk to opposing counsel, and just! The looks on their faces! They looked so defeated.

Me: They've got to be really suspicious of you right now.

Mom: "Is this why he took the case? Did he know?"

Dad: No! I had no idea! I was just as flabbergasted as they are, I've never heard him - okay, did you know this terrible fact about Judge [X]? Did you know he was one of them? The Bottlers?

Mom: I did not know this. I knew that he golfed.

Dad: So, long story short, I kind of think that this case is going to settle?

Mom: Unless the bottles are just in his basement, and he posts a picture of them to his Facebook without thinking.

Dad: Huh?

Mom: Like your other guy.

Dad: Those weren't bottles.

[hxhhasmysoul]

I read somewhere that said Yuji is parallel with Getou (because in an interview Gege said that both were too kind and sincere in a cruel JJK world). Do you agree?

I've spent over an hour trying to find an interview where Gege said something like that and came up with nothing, so I'd love to know at least which interview this is from, like date or publication's name, if not a link to a transcript.

I don't read Getou as particularly kind personally. His disagreement with Gojou, before they switch positions further down the line, feels quite detached and "academic".

People who follow this blog will be shocked, but I think Gojou is spot on calling out that Getou is trying to be righteous. He's wrong in his disdain for the weak, obviously, but he's not wrong about Getou.

Getou is very clearly repeating something he heard at school or from the jujutsu establishment. He has very clearly bought into their framing of that separates the sorcerers from the general population and also looks down on the normies, considers them weak.

Because this is internalised propaganda and and duty but not some deep personal conviction about the value of life or whatever, faced with reality it crumbles.

He very clearly sees himself as separate from the normies. And here it seems that his choice to protect them as a sorcerer was made after the events with Riko. It's unclear if it was the first time he'd made that choice, for example when he became a student, but it seems that he made it at that point (again?).

The jujutsu world doesn't care for the weak at all, sorcerer and normie alike, it will exploit its own weak like it did with the Star Plasma Vessels, or it will abandon them like it did with Mimiko and Nanako. And because Getou has fully embraced the otherising of non-sorcerers he turns to full blown fascism in which he wants to create a good world just for his own.

___________________

Yuuji's convictions come from within himself. They are deeply rooted in his compassion for others, in his discomfort with the suffering of others.

And he justifies his involvement in jujutsu through there being a thing only he can do to prevent some curse related deaths.

Yaga really strongly challanges Yuuji's convictions in the scene above, he wants to drag something real out of him, something he can trust. And maybe it'll be a leap, but maybe it's because of the regrets he voices.

Regrets concerning Getou.

And it's not only about someone dying fro Yuuji. He show's this concern to the mother of the convict from the detention centre, he shows so much compassion and understanding to Junpei. He understands the gravity of killing Eso and Kechizu, he sympathises with Chousou's pain in their fight. And so on.

He even values the lives of the American soldiers that Kenjaku invited and he gets upset with Angel who acts like their lives don't matter.

Shibuya and the Culling Games haven't beaten out of him the ability to value human life. Because for him it's a true conviction, it's not a duty, not internalised propaganda.

Yuuji's convictions are so strong and true that he even affects Megumi who starts to question the propaganda he'd internalised.

He actually takes the time to consider why he saved Yuuji. He visits the mother of the guy killed in the detention centre. He asks Maki why she saves people.

He doesn't go super far with all of that, his life philosophy is very deeply ingrained in him. But he is affected because his convictions are as weak as Getou's in the beginning.

But there isn't some switch between Yuuji and Megumi in the way they approach others. As there is between Gojou and Getou.

Megumi partially infects Yuuji with the cog mentality, but Yuuji doesn't completely succumb to it and recently he's been showing more and more initiative in how he handles things.

___________

But the lack of similarity goes beyond just their mindsets.

They are approached completely differently by the Jujutsu Society.

Getou was valued among his peers, recognised as a special grade. Even when he defected and started committing violence against the normies he never became a priority for the jujutsu world. There was a death sentence on his head but he seemed to be perfectly capable of operating semi publicly in JJK 0. The sorcerers only take active interest in him once he comes to challenge them. Because in reality he's no threat to them, just to the normies.

Yuuji is considered a normie who consumed a dangerous cursed object. The elders don't see him as human and the sell that view to the Kyoto kids.

Which only Miwa has a problem with, the rest of them are really well indoctrinated.

Sukuna is a threat to normie and sorcerer alike so he cannot be ignored like Getou. He and his vessel need to be eliminated.

So obviously they don't share story and character arcs.

______

So in conclusion, no, I don't see parallels.

If you tell me which interview that comparison supposedly comes from, I could maybe try to understand what that was about.

What Gege actually has said about Getou in one of the interviews is that they wanted it to be clear that Getou had a choice, that they didn't want it to seem like a duh that Getou hated people. That's why the conversation with Yuki is there, to show how he chooses to draw these conclusions, a conversation the fandom loves to misinterpret.

Yuuji has experienced so far a similar if not higher level of trauma than Getou at the point of his defection. Yuuji is constantly faced with such choices in the manga, choices to stop caring about the lives of others, and he never takes them.

I actually find it upsetting when people draw these parallels.

[oblivious-aro]

Friends in strange Places Ch. 6 Pt 2

What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:

Friends in Strange Places Chapter 1, a danny phantom fanfic | FanFiction

FANFICTION.NET

Summary: With a little encouragement from Vlad, Danny works up the nerve to tell his parents. Sam and Tucker realize they have some things to discuss.

Word Count: 8600

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By the time Danny managed to get the thespian ghost into The Thermos and fly back home, Vlad had already left. Danny was disappointed to have missed him, but he did get a play-by-play of the entire visit from his parents over dinner.

"...and it turns out Vladdie hasn't had any luck designing an ecto-based adhesive either! But thanks to his input, we should be able to increase the efficiency of The Spectre Speeder tenfold!"

"That's fascinating Dad." Jazz deadpanned "So you and Vlad have been breaking the ice okay then?"

"Yup!" Maddie smiled "Oh, I'm so glad Vlad decided to open up to us. It's been so nice working with him again."

"Wow," Jazz said "Vlad sharing his secret with you two really seems to have made a difference in your relationship. Even if he was scared to do it, it certainly seems to have been worth the risk."

Danny glared at Jazz.

"You said it Jazzy!" Jack beamed, oblivious to the secret conversation between his children "Now that we know what's been going on with Vladdie all this time, we're closer than ever before!"

"You don't say." Jazz stared directly at Danny as she spoke.

"I'm done eating, I'm going to my room now." Danny pushed his chair back and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Sorry Danny," Maddie grabbed his shoulder as he passed her "You and your father are on dishes tonight."

"What? But I did them last night!"

"Yeah?" Jazz put the stack of plates in the sink "And who did them the last two nights in before that?"

"That was only because-" he'd had to leave halfway through dinner to deal with Skulker's newest (not to mention very destructive) 'toy'.

"Because what, Danny?" Maddie cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Danny grumbled.

"See you in the lab, Hun." Maddie gave Jack a peck on the cheek "I want to get started on archiving today's data."

With that, she disappeared down the basement stairs.

"Come on, Danno," Jack gave the pouting Danny a pat on the back "The sooner we get this done, the sooner it'll be over. You washing or drying tonight?"

"I'll dry." Danny said. His father had an unfortunate tendency to put dishes away in the wrong places, and Danny did not feel like dealing with Jazz's complaining tomorrow morning.

"So," Danny asked as his dad handed him a plate "How are things going with Vlad? It's really not awkward with his whole, you know...'ghostly' situation?"

"Nonsense Danny!" Jack waved his hand "We barely even talked about it."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I mean," Jack continued "We did sit down and discuss the situation when he first got here, but it didn't take long for us to get back into the swing of researching together just like old times. In fact, the data we collected today has given me a great idea for a new weapon! I call it The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

"You're not like, married to that name, are you?" Danny scrunched his nose.

"It's gonna be great!" See, your mother and I haven't had much success with ectoplasmic based adhesive in the past, but after studying its behaviour at high velocity under varying degrees of impact force..."

Danny rolled his eyes. It could be so difficult to get his father to stay on a topic that wasn't whatever his latest ghost invention was.

"Dad, would it bother you if you saw Vlad using his ghost powers?" Danny interrupted his rambling.

"What do you mean, Son?" Jack frowned.

"I know you and Mom don't hate Vlad or anything for being half-gho-"

"Of course we don't hate Vladdie!" Jack made an offended expression "He's our best friend!"

"Yeah I know, but I mean like, wouldn't it wig you out to see him flying around or sticking his arm through something? Like, how'd you feel when you first saw him transform?"

"Well I suppose it was a little startling." Jack said "But Vladdie had only really told us about his powers less than a minute ago, so you can't really blame me for being shocked. Your mother and you kids were pretty shaken too, if I recall correctly. Heck, you and your friends barely said a word the whole drive home!"

"Uh...yup! That's right! Totally shocked!" Danny laughed nervously.

"But once your mother and I talked things out, and I got a good night's sleep to think it over, I was able to...what's the word Jazz uses? 'Process' the situation. Sure, it's a little strange that Vlad's got ghostly abilities, but the fact is he does and he's our friend, so we're just going to have to get used to it. Simple as that. The lesson here Danny is that when your problems seem too strange and impossible to figure out, get a good night's sleep. That's something my father taught me. Your brain does amazing things while you're sleeping. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to bed thinking I'd have to scrap some glitchy invention, only to wake up knowing exactly how to fix it!"

Danny wasn't sure he believed his dad. How could Vlad turning out to be half-ghost be so simple for him? Seeing your best friend using the same abilities as the creatures you've hated and hunted obsessively for years had to be a weird, right? Like, at least a little?

"What's got you asking about Vladdie so much anyway, Son?"

"Oh uh, no reason. Just curious."

Jack smiled softly at Danny and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, if Vlad's ghost powers freak you out, you should know you have nothing to worry about. I know he might have looked a little intimidating when he fought that lake monster, but looks are just looks, and despite how Vlad might have looked, he's isn't actually a ghost, so-"

"Ew Dad, you're soaking through my shirt!" Danny pushed Jack's soapy hand off of his shoulder "And I'm not scared of Vlad. I haven't even been scared of ghosts since I was seven."

"Well that's good to hear then." Jack gave Danny's back a strong pat before resuming his scrubbing. "Because there's absolutely no reason to be afraid of Vladdie. And there's gonna be absolutely no reason to be afraid of ghosts anymore once I finish The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

Danny smiled as his dad started to explain his latest invention.

If nothing else, Jack Fenton was genuine. If he said he didn't have a problem with Vlad's ghost powers, then he meant it.

So why was some small part of Danny still so hesitate?

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"Aim left! Left!" Tucker cried.

Their entire view was obscured by an explosion before a metallic skull appeared on the computer screen with the words Game Over overlaying it.

"Okay, that might have been a little too left."

"Y'know," Valerie said "I just don't think this game is for me."

"Aw come on, you were way better that time."

"Was I?"

"I mean, you almost made it past level one. That's an improvement!"

Valerie did not look impressed.

"You know, I really thought your ghost hunting skills would translate directly to DOOMED. It's basically the same mechanics."

"What're you talking about? Aiming a real blaster is waay smoother then trying to line up your sight with that thing." Valerie pointed at the computer mouse like it was something offensive.

"Aw well," Tucker shrugged "Can't say you didn't try."

"Indeed." Valerie checked her watch "I'd better get going. Sorry DOOMED didn't work out."

"S'all good." Tucker waved his hand "I still got Danny and Sam to play with. We've got loads of other stuff we can try doing together."

"Alright, but I'm choosing the next date activity." Valerie smiled.

"Sounds good." Tucker frowned "Wait, this was a date?"

"I'm pretty sure this counts?"

"Oh, if that's the case, I feel kind of bad making you spend a date playing a video game you didn't enjoy."

"I mean, I did enjoy watching you freak out every time one of those robot bat things showed up."

"They suck up your health! It's imperative to get rid of them as fast as possible before they become too beefy! Sure, they're pretty harmless if you kill them right away, but it's insane that the developers put an enemy that's capable of getting so powerful at level one!"

"See that," Valerie smiled as she swung her backpack over her shoulder "That's weirdly charming. Now I really got to go. See you tomorrow."

"See you!" Tucker called back. Valerie had officially been over enough times that he didn't need to show her out anymore.

And now that she was gone, it was time for DOOMED with Danny.

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Pow! Pow!

"Oh my gosh it's satisfying watching an enemy actually get hit." Tucker said over the voice chat. His parents had gotten him a mic set for his birthday.

"I take it DOOMED with Valerie didn't go well?" Danny's asked.

"Dude, she is so bad! Uh, don't tell her I said that."

"Ha ha, I won't. It's weird, though. Considering her ghost hunting skills, I figured she'd be great at this game."

"I thought so too, but nope! It was like that time we watched my little cousin play Mario at my eleventh birthday party."

"Ugh, why'd you bring that up? That was a genuinely painful experience."

"So was watching Valerie play!"

They continued to play in near silence for a while, only talking to warn each other of an approaching enemy.

Just as Tucker was getting ready to call it, Danny spoke:

"Thanks for hanging out tonight, Tuck. I think I needed this."

"Hey, no problem man. Is something going on?" Tucker asked casually. He very much knew that there was a lot going on with Danny, but he figured between Sam and Jazz, Danny didn't need another person smothering him.

That being said, Tucker was still worried about his best friend. He could hardly help it.

"I'm just stressed about telling my parents." Danny paused to blast an approaching spider "I know they're gonna accept me, but the idea of actually telling them is still pretty terrifying. I know it's not a big thing, just two sentences or whatever, but it still feels like the most monumental thing I've ever done."

"Honestly, I think that's pretty reasonable. I know you know they'll be cool, but this is still the biggest secret you've ever kept. Makes sense you're wigged out about finally letting go."

"Yeah, ha ha. I'll figure it out eventually, though. Hopefully. Anyway, one more round?"

"Sure thing Dude."

They were interrupted by the notification sound effect of another player joining.

"Hey, poetry slam ended earlier than I thought it would. You two still playing?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but we're just doing one last round." Danny replied.

"That's fine. Still gives me enough time for me to hand you both your own butts."

Tucker was pretty sure he could hear Sam's smug grin through his headset.

"Don't think your victory's so assured, Sam." Tucker said "I've been working on a new strategy that'll knock your socks clean off!"

"Ooh! I'm shaking in my rank three crusher boots with bonus spike damage."

Despite Tucker's trash talk, he'd gotten used to losing a while ago. It was just fun to pretend he might one day outrank Sam.

Mostly he was just happy that Danny was getting a break.

...and also the opportunity to test out his new poison upgrade.

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Danny sighed with relief as he dropped the last of the rags into The Fenton Washing Machine. Not all of the ectoplasm from his parents catapult experiment had made it into the The Containment Tank, and Danny still wasn't having any luck convincing Jazz to swap chores with him.

Danny had just turned the washer on when his ghost sense went off. With a loud groan, Danny turned and glared at the portal. He felt every muscle in his body relax when Vlad floated out.

"Do you somehow just know when I've just finished cleaning the lab?" Danny was too exhausted to muster up a polite greeting "If you're looking for my parents, they're actually out right now. My dad realized we were out of fudge after dinner, and he almost died when he saw we weren't stocked up on baking ingredients."

"I can practically hear Jack's panicked voice." Vlad grinned "But it's actually you I'm after." Vlad said.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yes. Although Jack and Maddie seem relatively comfortable with my ghostly side, I don't think it'd be a good idea to just fly into their lab through the portal as a ghost. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Fair. How'd it go with them yesterday anyway?"

"Rather well, all things considered. Being so open about my abilities with them has certainly been a...mental adjustment after decades of secrecy and hiding, but as I said they really do seem to have taken it rather well."

"That's good to hear." Danny smiled. Hearing Vlad say that made him feel lighter inside. "So what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to inquire about your plans to tell your parents about your accident." Vlad said. The lightness in Danny vanished "I assume you haven't already?"

"Uh...no, I...have not done that yet." Danny hoped Vlad couldn't tell how dry his mouth was.

Vlad frowned.

"You seem rather perturbed Daniel. Do you...not want to tell them?"

"I do!" Danny said quickly "Really! It just...never seems like the right time, I guess."

"You guess?"

Danny sighed.

"You know, things aren't terrible right now." Danny rubbed the back of his neck "I guess it's just...I don't really know what will happen when I tell them. I mean, I know they won't banish me to The Ghost Zone or dissect me or whatever, but things are going to..be different, you know? And honestly, that kind of scares me. I guess I was too busy worrying about what could go wrong to think about what would happen if things went right, so I really don't know what to expect."

Vlad's eyes softened with sympathy.

"As they say, misery is comfortable."

"What? No, that's stupid. I hate being miserable, everyone does."

"Daniel you just told me that a part of you would rather live in a house with two people who are trying to hunt you, surrounded by hazardous devices, than tell your parents about your ghost part."

"No, that's- I mean...huh."

"I do understand how you're feeling." Vlad said. "Now that your parents know about my powers, I was more than a tad nervous to come down here yesterday, and there is a reason I stalled telling them until the end of the trip. But, as someone who's been where you are, I can confidently say things are better now that they know. Even with all the unknown elements."

"I know things'll be better," Danny said "It's just so weird to think how much one little conversation can change."

"Things are going to change. It might be a bit awkward with your parents at first, I won't lie. The idea of being in my ghost form around Jack and Maddie still makes me...apprehensive, and I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable with it any time soon. For all I know, I may never."

"Well that's comforting."

"But I'm not scared of my best friends shooting me anymore, so that's a plus." Vlad grinned "Kind of outweighs having to deal with the awkwardness, if you ask me."

"Yeah," Danny laughed half-heartedly "I suppose it would."

"You want my advice? Tell them tonight."

"Tonight!?" Danny almost had a heart attack

"Yes tonight. Not telling Jack and Maddie sooner has been my biggest regret. You know you want to do this. Save yourself the unnecessary worry and just get it done."

Danny thought about it. He supposed Vlad's logic was sound, and if there was anyone he should listen to for tips on telling his parents they were half-ghost it was him, but the thought of doing it so soon made him dizzy. He knew he'd been stalling, but he needed a little more time to prepare than that.

"I'll do it tomorrow night." he said, sounding much firmer than he felt.

"Well I say never put off till tomorrow what can be done today," Vlad shrugged "But the decision is yours. Good luck Little Badger!"

With that, Vlad flew backwards through the portal, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

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Tucker had to stop himself from cheering as the lunch lady finished scooping the casserole of the day onto his tray. In his opinion, it was insanely cruel of the faculty to schedule his biweekly PE period right before lunch. As if gym class wasn't long enough!

He quickly found Sam in their usual spot and took a seat across from her.

"Where's Danny?" Tucker asked before shoving a large spoonful of casserole into his mouth. It was tomato and ground beef with macaroni noodle today.

"Give you three guesses and two of them don't count." Sam replied.

"Ah." Tucker swallowed "Was it The Box Ghost again?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was Klemper. Danny said something about frozen toilets."

"Ooh, maybe Danny should let him keep going for a bit! I think they have to cancel school if the toilets don't work."

"Tucker, broken plumbing facilities in a building with over five hundred people could pose a serious problem. Do you know how many students here have bladder issues?"

"Okay jeez, I was only joking."

There was a brief silence as the two of them started to eat their lunches.

"I really could've used you with Danny the other day, you know." Sam said "It's like you don't even care that your best friend's about to tell his parents the biggest secret of his life."

"What? Sam, of course I care. I'm worried about Danny too, but there's no point in pushing him if he's not ready yet."

Sam was about to angrily retort, but she stopped herself, the conversation with Danny replaying in her head.

Why was she so angry at Tucker? Sure, it was kind of annoying he hadn't backed her up, but she had to admit his logic wasn't totally unreasonable.

"I guess." she relented. It felt weird admitting Tucker was right so easily.

Wait, why did that feel so weird? They were friends, best friends. It shouldn't take so much restraint just to agree with each other about something so minor.

Danny was right. Something was wrong.

Not that it was all Sam's doing, Tucker could be annoying and insensitive. A lot of the time, in fact.

But was Sam maybe...not always interpreting his intentions in the best light? Just maybe?

A lot of mixed thoughts were going through Sam's head, but one thing she knew for sure was that if they wanted to fix what was going on, someone had to start somewhere.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say I'm...sorry I teased you about Valerie so much. You told me to stop and I didn't, even though I should have."

Tucker blinked, completely taken aback by her sudden apology. It probably didn't help that she'd been giving him the gears less than a minute ago.

Admittedly, that might have been a weird place to start, but it was the first thing Sam thought of, and Sam was the kind of person who liked to start fixing a problem as soon as possible.

She just hoped Tucker wouldn't make fun of her apology for revenge.

"Uh...no hard feelings." Tucker said, his shocked expression morphing into a grin "In fact, since you apologized, and I'm such a gracious friend, I promise I won't make as much fun of you when you get your embarrassing first crush." Tucker winked and did finger guns.

Sam felt a flash of annoyance. Of course, Tucker didn't know she was aromantic, chances were he didn't even know what 'aromantic' meant, so Sam knew it wasn't fair for her to be mad at him.

Well, she had just decided she wanted to fix the kink in their friendship, and an important part of friendship was being able to trust your friends with your secrets...

"Actually...I don't think I'll ever get a crush." Sam said.

"Aww, come on. I know being gloomy's your thing, but I'm sure someday you'll-"

"No Tucker, I'm aromantic."

"Oh. Um, what's that?"

"It means I don't get crushes, and I'm never going to fall in love. Ever." Sam crossed her arms "And before you try to give me another pitying platitude, I'm actually quite happy with this development."

"Okay, but how do you know you'll never fall in love?" Tucker asked.

Anger burned in Sam.

"Ugh!" she threw up her hands "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!"

She knew this would happen! She knew Tucker wouldn't take her seriously! She knew he'd-

"No no no no wait, I totally believe you!" Tucker threw up his hands defensively "I just meant, like, how'd you figure it out? I'm sorry, I didn't realize how that would sound! I didn't mean it like that, I promise!"

The fire in Sam instantly died.

"You...really believe me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because people are never taken seriously when they say they aren't interested in romance. I've lost count of the number of movies I've seen where someone says they're happy being single, but by the end they've started a relationship with someone and everyone's acting like they're 'fixed' now." Sam unconsciously clenched her fists. She'd never realized that that trope bothered her so much until right now. "Plus you specifically never take anything I say seriously."

"What? Yes I do! What are you talking about?"

"Well you weren't exactly the most supportive of my menu update at the start of the year."

"Sam, you literally forced everyone in the school to change to a very niche diet. You gotta admit that's a little extreme."

"Okay fine, maybe that wasn't my best idea. But it feels like ever since then, you've never tried to help me with my world-improving projects. You don't even really listen to my ideas. Like, the world's on fire, and all my friends, family, and fellow students ever seem to want to do about it is laugh at me for trying to fix things!"

The passion in Sam's voice sobered Tucker's normally humorous attitude.

"I didn't think you cared what other people said about you." he said.

"I don't." Sam looked defiantly into Tucker's eyes "I'm an activist to try and make the world a better place, I'm not interested in this for personal glory." Sam gaze shifted away from Tucker's face and she crossed her arms over her body "But y'know, I...might care a little bit what my best friends say about me."

"Oh." Tucker looked away too. "I...I guess that makes sense."

There was a long silence.

"So...how did you figure it out?" Tucker asked "I mean, if you like girls then you figure it out by liking a girl and vice versa, but there isn't really a sign if you don't like anybody, so how do you know you won't like anybody ever?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at Tucker.

"N-not saying you're wrong about saying you're aromantic! Or that anybody else is! I'm really just curious, I swear! Actually you know what, you don't have answer that. I probably shouldn't have even asked."

Tucker proceeded to shove an entire handful of tater tots in his mouth. Sam was pretty sure it was to stop himself from rambling any more. It was a very Tucker thing to do. She might've laughed if Tucker's question hadn't been making her think so hard.

Sam wasn't offended by the question, she knew Tucker was a curious person who meant it genuinely, it was just a difficult question to answer.

"I don't know." Sam admitted "It just...feels right. I don't know how to explain it any better. The idea of not falling in love feels like it fits better than the typical romantic ideas everyone's always pushing, and like, when I read about some of the experiences of other aromantic people I've found online, it just feels so right. Like someone finally gets it. I can't really explain it much better than that, but I just know it's true that I'm not going to fall in love."

"I guess it's like getting a crush." Tucker mused "You can't really explain it, you just kind of know."

Sam frowned. She didn't think it was exactly like that, but she could see that Tucker was trying to be understanding. Not to mention she had just told herself she was going to try and be more civil with him.

"Uh, maybe." she said "Honestly, the idea was kind of weird at first, but the more time goes on, the more I actually really like knowing I'm aro. It's great. Figuring that out feels like scratching an itch I didn't even know I had."

"I definitely get that."

"You do?"

Tucker felt his heart skip a beat.

"I...think I might be bi." Tucker said.

"Yeah? Good for you." Sam gave Tucker a small but genuine smile.

Tucker felt his whole body relax.

Wait, why was he so relieved? He hadn't felt this tense when he was telling Danny or Valerie.

Maybe Danny was on to something about him and Sam...

"You okay over there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just uh, thinking about some stuff. You don't seem surprised."

"Tucker, remember the drive in Danny's RV to Vlad's cottage?"

"Oh yeah. I kind of hoped everyone had forgotten about that nightmare."

"I mean, I had planned on never mentioning it again ever, but I don't think I could forget it if I tried. But hey, at least I figured out my romantic orientation. So that's pretty cool." Sam shrugged casually.

"I wish I felt as confident about being bi as you do about being...what was it?"

"Aromantic. Aro for short."

"Aro, got it. I mean, I'm warming up to the idea of being bi, but it's been quite the adjustment for my brain. At first it felt like I maybe wasn't even allowed to call myself that."

"Why not?"

"I mean, I for sure do get crushes on guys sometimes, but it really isn't a lot of the time. I'm really mostly into girls, so sometimes it kind of feels like I'm trying to claim something I'm not sure I have any right to."

"So what? You gotta like 'this many' boys to be bi? And who exactly is checking that?"

Tucker laughed a little before continuing.

"Yeah, I know it sounds kind of ridiculous. I have been feeling more comfortable calling myself as bi the longer I've thought about it, but I still can't quite shake this feeling that at some random moment someone's gonna jump out and call me out on it."

"Don't worry," Sam picked up her milk carton and drained the last of it "If anyone even tries to imply you're not 'bi enough' or whatever, I'll just have a nice little chat with them."

Sam finished her statement by crushing the empty milk carton in her hand, all five of her nails leaving gashes in cardboard.

Tucker was going to laugh at Sam's joke, but the carton-crushing demonstration ad actually been genuinely intimidating (Sam was pretty good at being intimidating), so the noise he ended up making was somewhere between a laugh and a yelp.

Sam nearly jumped out of her seat.

"How did you even make that sound?" she asked.

"I don't know, and I don't think I could make it again if I tried."

Sam laughed.

It was actually really nice hearing her laugh like that. Tucker couldn't recall the last time Sam had laughed at one of his jokes.

That might have had something to do with the fact that a lot of his jokes were made at her expense.

Like, a lot of them.

Tucker honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd really gone out of his way to be nice to Sam. Not since the meat incident.

This was not a comfortable realization.

"Hey Sam," Tucker wasn't exactly sure how to say what he wanted to say, but he knew he had to say something "I'm sorry I haven't been taking you seriously lately. I know I haven't exactly been the best listener. Don't get me wrong, some of you ideas are insane and I want no part in them, but I'm gonna at least start trying taking them seriously now. I'll start taking you seriously, I promise."

Sam was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected an apology from Tucker, and she hadn't realized how much she'd wanted to hear that until he said it.

"Wow," she started to say "I really-"

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Danny suddenly appeared and sat down beside Sam. Tucker genuinely wasn't sure whether they just hadn't notice him approach, or if he'd snuck in ghost-style.

"It's all good du-" Tucker paused when he noticed the apprehensive look in Danny's eyes "You okay? You look like something's up."

Danny took a long breath.

"Are you two free to come over tonight?"

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

Walking down the basement stairs felt like walking through molasses. Not because it was slow, but because each step seemed to take a monumental amount of effort. The journey was actually over surprisingly quickly.

Danny wondered if there was any way he could have lengthened it.

His parents hadn't noticed his descent, both of them deeply absorbed in...whatever giant metal contraption they were working on. Danny didn't really care right now.

He walked up to his parents and loudly cleared his throat, causing them both to snap their heads up.

"H-hey Mom, Dad."

"Hey Danny!" his father set his wrench down to wave at him "How was school?"

"Uh, g-good. School was good."

"Did you need something, Sweetie?" Maddie frowned, sensing his nervousness.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um yeah, I kind of...have something to tell you. It's...about the accident I had with the ghost portal."

Jack and Maddie's faces immediately turned serious.

"Danny," Maddie said gently "

"Yeah, I know, I know. That's not it though. It's..."

Danny took a deep breath.

And just jumped in.

"It made me...like Vlad."

"Like...Vlad?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Half-ghost. The portal made me half-ghost. I have ghost powers like Vlad."

There was a beat of silence. Maddie and Jack looked at each other briefly and turned back to Danny.

"Now Son," Jack smiled "I know you two both had ghost portal accidents, but there's no way our portal affected you in the same extreme way. Sure, maybe you've been having minor side effects-"

"That you should have told us about earlier." Maddie cut in sternly.

"What your mother said. But there's no way you could have been affected as drastically as Vlad. You don't even-"

Jack was cut off by two blinding rings of light splitting around Danny's waist, turning him into the ghostly version of himself.

The sight made both of his parents go slack-jawed.

Maybe it had been a bit much to transform without warning, but after weeks of stalling and months of hesitation, Danny had run out of patience.

"I'm half-ghost like Vlad." he repeated, summoning the rings and transforming back.

It was shockingly easy to say. Although walking down the basement stairs had been torture, once he'd started talking, it had felt weirdly natural to just keep going, like he was just telling them what score he'd gotten on a math test. Danny had expected more resistance.

Telling Jazz had been harder.

"Y-you really are like Vlad..." Jack's voice was almost a whisper.

Oh right, their reaction. The beating of Danny's heart instantly washed away the peace he'd been feeling.

This was actually much worse than telling Jazz.

"Y-yeah?"

"Danny?" Maddie's voice was strained "How long have you...been like Vlad?"

"Since the first day." I...walked out of the portal looking like that. I just managed to transform back before you and Dad came back."

"Jack," Maddie put a hand on the work bench to steady herself "I thought you said you tested thoroughly for any mutations or contaminations!"

"Of course I did, Madds! I did a DNA test and everything and couldn't find any indication of..."

Jack suddenly stopped talking. He and Maddie snapped their heads to Danny as if they'd suddenly remembered he was there.

"All those months..." Maddie pulled down her hood, revealing eyes filled with horror "Listening to us going on and on about capturing and dissecting ghosts...oh! No wonder you didn't tell us! You must've been scared half to death."

Danny almost laughed at his mother's choice of words, but he was still too tense to move. He knew his parents weren't going to hurt him, but for some reason he felt like he was in trouble.

"Oh, baby." Maddie wrapped Danny in a hug. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his back.

"Y-you guys aren't mad?"

"Mad?" his father said. "Danno, I don't blame you one bit. I'd have been scared out of my britches too if I was in your position and I heard my parents talking about ghosts the way your mother and I do."

He came over and wrapped his arms around Danny and Maddie.

"We love you kiddo." he said "And we're both so proud of you for telling us."

Maddie squeezed Danny harder.

Danny felt his muscles relax and his heart slow back to normal.

He'd done it. He'd really done it.

Honestly, Danny didn't know how he felt right now. It was weirdly quiet in his head.

But one thing Danny knew for sure was that it felt good to finally have to stop hiding.

This was good.

Danny smiled and hugged his parents back.

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

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all sat at the kitchen table, none of them daring to speak. They'd all been counting the seconds since Danny had gone down the stairs. It had only been two minutes, but it had been a very long two minutes.

The only sound being made was Tucker tapping his knuckles on the table. Sam very much wanted to ask him to stop, but she also didn't want to be the first one to speak.

"Do you think we should go down and check on him?" Tucker asked, his hand finally stilling.

"I'm sure he's fine, just be patient." Despite her grounded words, Sam's anxiety leaked into her voice.

"Sam's right." Jazz said firmly "We're all worried, but this is Danny's moment, so it's our job to be his support and remain fluid enough to react to what he needs depending on which way the situation goes. The best way to do that we have to remain calm and-"

The basement door began to open. Jazz was on her feet in an instant.

"Where's Danny?! Is he okay?!"

"Calm down Jazz, everything's good. Great actually."

Danny's voice was light and full of joy. He didn't even sound annoyed at Jazz's excessive worrying.

Jazz's shoulder's instantly relaxed and she went over to stand by her family. Sam and Tucker awkwardly followed.

"So they...all know?" Maddie said, gesturing to the room.

"Yeah." Danny smiled "No more secrets."

Despite how nice a moment this was, it was also kind of an awkward one. Everyone appreciated how hard it had been for Danny to get here, and they were all feeling the relief, but the question of 'now what do we do?' went unspoken amongst them all.

"I...brought a cake." Sam said.

"Really?" Danny asked, surprised.

"Well, if you don't want it..."

"No, I definitely do, I just...why did you get a cake?"

"Well I didn't really know what the proper protocol was for when your best friend tells his parents he's half-ghost, but a cake seemed like, maybe appropriate?" Sam shrugged.

Danny went over to the white box on the table and lifted the cover.

"Congratulations On The Thing With Your Parents?"

"Tucker's was in charge of the writing."

"I didn't see you pitching in any ideas for a tasteful message that would fit on a cake and not attract suspicion from the cake decorator."

"My contribution was paying for the cake."

"Aw, that was such a lovely gesture, you two." Maddie beamed "Jazz, could you get the plates out? Let's serve this bad boy up!"

"I call the first piece!" Jack said.

"Now Jack, considering the occasion, I think it's only appropriate that Danny gets the first piece."

"Oh, alright." Jack smiled at Danny and patted his shoulder "I suppose that's fair. But I get the second piece, since I called it!"

"Jack..." Maddie said disapprovingly.

"Dad can have the first piece. I don't mind, I know how he gets." Danny said. He was just glad that things were still normal. Sure, his parents probably still had some adjusting to do, but they still saw him as the same Danny he was before, and that was big enough of a relief. "But I'm getting a corner piece."

Honestly though, Danny could've had to give away the entire cake and it wouldn't have killed his mood.

It was finally over. He didn't have to hide or make his friends lie for him anymore. Not to the people who mattered, anyway.

Danny continued to stare at his mom after she handed him a piece of cake and began cutting one for his dad.

He was still nervous abut what the future held for his family's dynamic, but for the first time he also felt excited to find out.

But for now he was just going to enjoy his cake.

[depravedwriter95]

*Awww…..Fall is coming, colder weather, leaves changing, pumpkin spice drawing all the basic white girls out of their summer time fun and into their yoga pants and sweater dresses...I love my job* Trevor thought to himself as he started his afternoon shift as one of the University's many security personal, not like the campus really needed it, it was a small quiet campus in the midst of the Adirondack mountain range, at most we would have two hundred students in the class but there hasn't been a class like that in years, this semester there was only seventy

"Hey Trevor, it seems like it's going to be a slow semester again" Rodrick said as he signed his duty belt back in, he was the day shift guard when we have small class sizes

"I won't complain, I like these smaller classes anyways makes it easier to learn everyone's names and faces, besides hopefully it'll mean less BS for us to deal with" Trevor mentioned as he settled in behind the dorms security desk, from there he could rotate through the cameras all across campus and a few additional ones they had installed recently facing the hiking trail entrances which the students went on constantly during the weekends, be it to party, explore or whatever else kids these days do.

*Besides...it's been three months since my last hunt...I don't need to be distracted this semester* Trevor thought as he mindlessly flipped through the cameras,

"Well, I can't argue with that, but hey the director wanted me to pass on that the campus theater is going to be in use starting tonight, something about the class agreed they wanted to put on a show? Might be fun to see, anyways don't have too much fun now" Rodrick said laughing as he walked out of the office leaving Trevor alone until the night shift came in at 0000, the first two hours of the shift dragged on as Trevor went about the tedious task of logging in any visitors coming into the dorms or getting mail for the students.

*Alright….I've sat long enough, can't feel my damn foot, might as well do the rounds* Trevor sighed as he grabbed his black windbreaker and duty light, even though it wasn't that late and the sun was still up, it was hidden behind the mountains making the campus seem darker than it was, so there weren't to many students out and about so Trevor decided to make his way towards the main building on the campus, it houses a vast majority of its classrooms on the west wing of the building while the theater and gym took up the east wing

*wonder what sort of cuties will be here this semester, hopefully there's at least two or three party girls who get to drunk, those always make for easier prey….wait a second* Trevor stopped mid thought as he noticed the theater door propped open.

*well, Rodrick did say something about it being in use, might as well make sure they're behaving in here* he thought as he walked in, it was a rather decently sized theater, capable of seating up to six hundred people, but you wouldn't be able to tell that with its lights dimmed or off like they were as he walked in, looking around he spotted a lone male standing in the middle of the stage looking over what he'd guess to be the lights

"Excuse me bud, are you the only one in here?" Trevor called out as he approached the stage.

"Hmm...oh hello sir, no my girlfriend is here helping me check the technical end of things before we get the rest of the cast in here. My name is Micheal, but everyone just calls me Mike" Mike said offering his hand to Trevor after he got down from the stage

"Pleasure Mike, my name is Trevor, I'm the only evening guard this semester so if you guys ever need anything I'm your guy" He said, shaking the kids hand, he appeared to be in his late teens, maybe twenty at the oldest, he had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a black hoodie and dark blue jeans

"How long will you two be here tonight?"

"Not much longer sir, well Bella is staying a bit later to check over all the microphones, she's dedicated to her role, it's why I love her" Mike said looking up at the hole in the wall at the back of the theater where the technical team would sit.

"Alright well I come back through in thirty to check on you and her so behave yourselves" Trevor said trying to remember which face went with the name Bella

*well with any luck maybe my hunting this year won't take to long* he thought as he went about his patrols which breezed by and before he knew it, he was back at the theater, the door still propped a bit so naturally he peeked inside but all the lights were off beside the faint glow of the lights up in the tech booth, sighing and thinking they left the lights on Trevor made his way up the spiral metal stairs which were basically impossible to move on without making noise

(Raunchy stuff)

"Hello??? Mike are you trying to scare me again???" A females voice called out from inside the tech room, before he could reply a woman who looked to be only 20, 5'3, 130 pounds with curves in all the right places, her long auburn hair was brushed over her left shoulder and just reached the top of what looked to be her D cup breasts, probably a 36D if Trevor had to guess, which popped nicely in her tight pink low cut shirt, her pleasantly thick thighs were on display as her black linen shorts clung to her, Trevor's heart nearly stopped as her emerald eyes locked onto his, they had a fire in them that made Trevor's cock stand at attention

"Oh, um hello, you're that guard from earlier right? I saw you talking to my boyfriend, he did mention me staying late right?" She stated calmly

"Yea Bella right? Pleasure to meet you, I just noticed the lights on so I was making sure there was someone up here at least, will you be done soon, this side of the building is closing in the next ten minutes" he replied trying his best to calm the voice screaming from his subconscious,his blood was pulsating behind his ear drums

"Oh um….I think I should be able to, I really need to get these done tonight but moving these boxes and checking each mic by myself is harder than I thought" She said stepping aside so he could see the large black trunks that held most of the sound equipment, they came up her hips, that same voice was now filling his thoughts with the imagine of him forcing her over the boxes, her shorts yanked halfway down her thighs, one arm pinning her arms in the middle of her back while the other covered her mouth, his cock ravaging her insides as her juices soaked her legs.

"Are you okay sir? Hello???" Bella asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Hm...oh sorry, was just trying to figure out if I had time to help you move the boxes at least, and it turns out I do" Trevor said moving into the room and grabbing the first trunk

"I'll take care of this, go lock up the front doors then come back for the last one, think you'll be done by then?"

"Yea, I should be, thanks for the help," she said, offering a kind smile before going back to her work.

*Nah….it can't be this easy, it's only the third week of the semester, god….the things I'm going to do to you Bella...and you or your boyfriend will be powerless to stop me* Trevor thought as a wicked grin spread across his lips, he slipped out of the theater and jogged down the hall to a vending machine and bought two water bottles before returning and locking the front doors to the theater, he then pulled open his cargo pants pocket and retrieved a small packet housing two Rohypnol pills which was more commonly known as “roofies”, “rophies,” or “forget me pills,” quickly he slipped them into an extra water he carried, shook until they were dissolved then made his way back up to the light booth

"Hey snagged you a water figured you could use it" Trevor said putting on his best smile as he offered her the contaminated water, she took it without much thought and started drinking it

"So how long have you been a part of the theater?"

"I got into back during middle school and just stuck with it, so here we are now. Hoping to get my degree here and continue making a living in the theater" She said after plopping down on the last trunk, crossing her left leg over her right, running her left hand through her hair, her perfume wafted into Trevor's nose, the scent was similar to lavenders and vanilla. Trevor’s heart started to pound against his ears as he watched her chug down the rest

"Ahhh I didn't realize just how thirsty I was." she muttered as she touched her head, small beads of sweat trickled down between her breasts which began to lift and fall a bit quicker

“You've been working hard, from what your boyfriend said you're pretty dedicated to your roll" Trevor said trying his best not to stare at her lustful body, he looked at his watch and thought *ten more minutes, and she's as good as mine*

“He said that about me? He's such an understanding guy, he's always so quick to help me with my passions and hobbies” Bella said as she fanned herself slowly

*Nah, he's set on doing whatever he can to keep this perfect little fuck toy to himself* He thought as he smiled “Well sounds like he really likes you, it's rare to find that since most people seem to just want to fuck around today” Trevor said offering her his water. She happily took it and drank from it eagerly, sighing as her lips glisten from a mixture of her saliva and water.

*DO IT NOW!* the voice screamed, Trevor moved closer and sat next to Bella on the trunk, she turned her gaze from the water to him as his hand moved up, gripping the back of her head with his right hand as he pulled her into a sudden kiss

"W-what….are you…” Bella mumbled as her head swam barely able to focus on anything, she tried to stand up right only to feel Trevor’s hand grip her hair and force her back into the kiss as his left hand gripped her perfectly soft breast, squeezing it through her bra causing her to moan into their kiss

"I'm just taking what is rightfully mine to use” Trevor whispered to her as he slipped his hand under the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up to expose the basic light tan bra she wore, by now the drugs were in full swing. Her body felt like a bag of bricks weighing her down, seeing that she wasn't going to resist much anymore Trevor smiled and leaned back in, biting her lip as his left hand unclasped her bra and throwing it aside, exposing her freckled breasts with adorable pink nipples. He turned her on the trunk so her back was to him, she muttered for him to stop but he silenced her with his lips once more, his tongue pressing into her mouth and coiled around hers as both of his hands gently gropped both of her breasts her moans were like music to his ears, it had been to long since his last hunt, but it was clearly worth the wait as he bit her lower lip.

“You really like your tit's being played with don't you~” Trevor whispered as he lightly pinched and twisted her nipples between his index and thumb causing her hips the shift against the trunk, she whimpered as she bit her lower lip

“Pl-please…st..stop…I won't tell ... .anyone…what you..did” Bella said with bated breath, her chest coded in a thin layer of sweat.

“Oh I can't stop now, not when the fun was really about to begin~” Trevor said as his right hand began to slowly walk down her stomach towards her shorts, unbuttoning them with a swift pull and slipped right inbetween her shorts and underwear, his middle and ring fingers curled up, teasing her pussy's lips through the underwear, spreading them apart, feeling how wet she was. All while his left hand kept rolling her nipple with his thumb as his hand massaged her breast. Unable to put up any resistance, all Bella did was just moan softly, shutting her eyes as her mind grew hazy from the combined pleausre and drugs coursing through her body. As Trevor pulled her underwear aside and brushed his finger against her clit her body tensed, hips thrusting against his touch as she suddenly climaxed, moaning lustfully which echoed in the theater.

Trevor grinned coyly

“Such a naughty little slut, cumming without my permission, you'll have to be punished for that” He said as he pressed his thumb against her clit and begin to roll it, his middle and ring finger hooked up into her pussy rubbing her gspot, Bella's eyes fluttered as her body squirmed against his assault, she was unable to stop herself from moaning between her gulping in air as his fingers relentlessly rubbed her inner walls, feeling the ridge of her gspot against the tip of his middle finger, minutes felt like hours to her as he just kept fingering her making her cum over and over again as he would lightly bite her earlobe or press his thumb into her nipple causing her hips to arch, her fingers desperately reaching to try and grab ahold of anything as she felt what she thought to be her fourth orgasm.

"Oh almost forgot these" she heard him say as he stood up, letting her fall onto the trunk and moments later she swore she saw the flash of pictures being taken but she was too tired to tell if it was even real anymore.

Well if you made it this far I just want to thank you, this is my first time ever posting my writing publicly, this is just the first part of the story so please keep that in mind if it's slow. I didn't want to just dive right into the raunchy stuff but more so build the setting a bit, to give you an idea of where I'm hoping to take the story, I'm wanting to slowly break down Bella's character

[strawberryazzy]

So the other day I made myself a series called "Karaoke week" it's a Leo and Aizen (my OC) series! Basically...

Leo runs into his favorite and famous singer Aizen while on his way to going out to Karaoke night with his best friends the two end up being partners after Aizen reluctantly agrees to join Leo and soon a spark was fired and Leo was head over heels for the popular singer...

SHHDHSJDJDJRHRJ

Achem anyways so there was this one specific song I wanna use (It's a song fic PLEASE. I've already had to explain it SO MANY TIMES 😭😭💀) but its "Stupid in love" and it was Leo's first choice during their turn ^^

Uhh...Here I'll just..*Cutely types chapter two instead of copying and pasting it like a normal person*

———

"Come on princess it'll be fun!" Leo said after putting the CD of the song in and handed the microphone to Aizen who chuckled nervously.

"Are you sure I mean it's a little..." The girl replied and tapped her fingers against the microphone awkwardly as Leo blew a raspberry guestering for her to join him as the lyrics appeared on the screen

“Ugh the audacity of this thing to think I need lyrics!” Leo scoffed as Aizen giggled and she was starting to zone out and her ears started ringing fuck fuck fuck! Not an anxiety attack! Now? During all times?

Aizen was about to give up and bury herself in pillows before the sound of Leo singing caught her attention...

"Know it's a little soon, maybe..But I'd go anywhere you take me long as you're calling me, baby they can all call us crazy.."

And that's when it hit Aizen in the face.

She knew Leo was good at a LOT of things but singing? Yeah that was a HUGE shocker. Anyways the way Leo's voice sounded it was.. comforting and God he sounded HELLA good for someone who doesn't sing often.

Aizen perked up a bit before joining Leo for the second verse.

"Hi! You came baby I've been waiting for you all day so lean my way and let me just take away all the pain, I know it's a bit soon for vows paper rings are good for now but no I'm already down the aisle cause I'm so stupid in love..."

Leo smiled at his crush and grabbed her hand intertwining them and stared into her eyes the chemistry was there and everyone in the room knew it.

"let's get married in Vegas we don't need a guest list I don't wanna think to much..Let's get matching tattoos I don't wanna think it through baby I'm so stupid in love book a flight to Paris to run away what you think about sharing our last name? Let's get straight to I do I don't wan a think it through baby I'm so stupid in love"

Both Leo and Aizen were singing their hearts out ignoring the cheering that was happening, his eyes were locked onto hers and vice versa. They never wanted this moment to end, Leo never wanted this moment to end..He was so in love with this girl he'd thought he'd never have the chance of singing with her and now he's living his dream he was in cloud nine and Aizen was his grounding.

The duo were unstoppable, powerful together. Hell Leo would DIE for Aizen- maybe that was a little TOO much whoops...Ah whatever Leo didn't care he was just enjoying this moment like anyone would!

When the song was over Leo chuckled softly and placed his thumb over her chin and caressed her cheek before peckither on the lips officially saying he and Aizen had her again stole the spotlight like he had planned.

Aizen on the other hand was SPEECHLESS she stood there her face completely red and she felt hot before she looked away from Leo and then unfortunately she couldn't keep her eyes off of him and scoffed "Your a jackass you know that right?"

Leo laughed in return and flicked her playfully on the nose, "Yeah yeah I'm YOUR jackass though" He giggled as Aizen rolled her eyes and before she could move her best friend Jennika pulled her into a tight hug, "That was amazing Zen!!!" She complimented before Jennika stared Leo down giving him the

"don't touch my best friend you asshole." Look and Leo cringed before sighing and walked over to their twin brother snatching a ten dollar bill from their hand smirking.

And for once Leo's life was going the way he wanted it to..

———

ERM YEAH THAT'S ALL I HAVE SO FAR SUDNDHRBRNJRKRRKRKRKRKKRRKEELEKEK you can find more on my tiktok page!!! 😭😭💀

[ohorishan]

day 2 - bark

Summer shades her eyes against the setting sun. "Up there," she says. Raubahn follows her gaze and sees the stand of black willow trees atop the rise-- not many, and not as large as some, but large enough. Tall enough to have been growing since before the Calamity, the occupation, the mad king. To have survived it all.

"Aye," he says, "it looks a fine spot. I'll stay here, if you like."

"You can come up," Summer responds, as they dismount. "I'd like it if you did. Just-- give me a moment first, all right?"

He nods, and she ducks her head just briefly for him to kiss her cheek. Then he moves off the packed-earth path, to find somewhere safe to hitch their chocobos, and she starts up the rise.

It's a steeper climb than it looked from the bottom. If she weren't in uncommon shape for her age, Summer thinks, she'd be quite out of breath. But the view from the head of the rise is worth it-- the Fringes spread out around her, the sunset glinting on the river and painting its colors onto the bluffs, and the trees' long shadows stretching out to the land like welcoming arms.

She rests her hand on the bark of the nearest one. It's deep brown, beginning to show the grooves and rough bark that come with age. Like her, maybe. Like he might be now.

"We did it, Silent," she murmurs. "No more kings, not here. And it was even harder than you thought it would be. But whatever comes next... it'll be better than what we had."

The soft sound of feet on the rocks tells her Raubahn has caught up. She doesn't turn, but she lets him come to her, put his arm gently around her waist, and she leans into him when he does.

"There was a black willow tree just outside our village," Summer says, half to him, half to the air. "Just the one, as long as anyone could remember. I used to go there to gather bark for Father's medicines. We met there, you know-- I was seven, and he was nine. He was named for that tree, and he liked to sit underneath it and think about-- whatever it was children thought about-- and that day I was climbing in the branches, and I dropped my basket right on him."

Something like a laugh escapes her at the memory. The sound gives Raubahn permission to smile too. "Oh, he used to fret when I climbed so high up," says Summer. "But I did it anyway, because I liked him fretting over me. And then one day he said, if I came down from that damn tree, he'd marry me... and I never climbed it again."

She doesn't have to tell him the rest-- how, always the more cautious between them, Silent Willow had kept his head down, and how he'd been taken to Theodoric's palace anyway. Why he had no grave to visit, and why the black willow tree wasn't there now. Raubahn knows all that. But this, the quiet days before-- they were never for sharing, only now and only here.

He lets Summer go, so she can stoop down to place the stone she's brought at the base of the tree. She kneels there for a quiet moment. When she stands, to lay her hand on its trunk again, Raubahn places his own next to hers.

"Rest well, Silent Willow," he says solemnly. "Rhalgr take up your cause."

Summer turns at last into her husband's embrace, and he holds her in their own silence, under the willow trees, in the last light of the sunset.

Eventually she sighs. "We ought to climb back down," she says, "before it gets too dark."

"Ever practical," Raubahn agrees, but this time he kisses her before he lets her go.

[spaceyflowerswriting]

alone with you (johan seong x reader)

details: soft oneshot, gender neutral reader but written in 2nd pov, au where johan was accepted into big deal; this takes place in the past with younger + softer johan (14-15 yrs old), you and johan are friends but he has a crush on you

summary: you cheer your friend up with some music.

a/n: the music played is whatever you want but this is the album i listened to that inspired me to write this <3 i think its very johan-core T_T

×

"Johan?"

The sound of his name being called made him hurriedly wipe his tears away. The steps he heard approaching him made him feel even more hasty, but his eyes were currently being stubborn waterfalls like the nonstop rain today. Oh well. As if drying his eyes would hide the puffiness of them or how messy he looked right now anyways.

"What happened?" Just the softness in your voice as you asked the question was enough to make Johan feel like bursting into tears again. The feeling intensified when you took a seat next to him and patted his back. He just took in a deep, shaky breath to try to steady himself.

"Sorry," was the first thing he replied with.

"You don't have to be sorry about crying," you reassured, retracting your hand. "Remember, it's okay to cry." You muttered, "Despite what Samuel says," before brightening up again to continue, "Crying doesn't make you weak, got it?"

Johan could only nod, sniffing and still trying to steady himself. Speaking of Samuel, that was why he was even all shaken up in the first place. Earlier he had been yelled at by the man for "wasting" bits of his food to feed the street's stray animals.

Although his lecturing started as a lesson to tell Johan to prioritize himself over some "stupid animals," it spiraled into shaming Johan for his tears because he started to cry. And then it turned into a lesson about how he'd die out in the real world if he kept acting so weak. So now here Johan was, crying because Samuel was probably right and he felt helpless about it.

But despite every harsh truth Samuel gave him, you kept telling him the opposite--or at least a more comforting way to maneuver around the harsh reality Samuel laid down for him. Maybe you could help today, too.

"No... I'm depending on them too much." Guilt clawed away at Johan's insides. "Samuel said that's bad. Jake, too. I need to learn how to be independent."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Johan looked over at you. There was a look of gentleness in your eyes. A specific look you seemed to reserve for just him; always looking out for him. Everyone called it babying, and maybe it was, but it was comforting and helpful, so was it really a big deal?

"Nevermind, it is a big deal. Everyone's right. If I keep letting them baby me, I'll get nowhere." Saying that to himself somehow increased his guilt.

"It's okay if you don't," you said after a moment, making Johan realize he forgot to reply. "I just don't want you sitting here with a mess of emotions. Remember what I always tell you?"

"...Don't bottle up your emotions?"

"Yes, sir," you hummed, reaching a hand out to ruffle Johan's hair. "Oh, right." You looked down at your lap, making Johan do so as well, and he noticed a pack of hair clips. He watched as you unclipped one from the board and handed it to him. "For you. Your bangs are getting long again, and Sinu's worried it'll get in your eyes while you're training."

"Oh..." Johan ran a hand through his bangs. They really have gotten long. He hadn't visited his mother in a while. He accepted the offered hair clip and put it in his bangs after pushing some to the side.

You beamed at him. "I was looking for you to give you the hair clips Sinu bought. Didn't expect to find you sitting outside in the rain."

The word "sorry" nearly slipped out of Johan's lips again, but instead he just buried his head into his arms, resting atop his arched legs. He could feel you staring at him, but he didn't know what to say that wouldn't make you worry, and also make you not baby him.

"Hey, do you wanna listen to an album I discovered?"

Johan peeked his head out from his arms, blinking at you in confusion at the sudden suggestion.

You smiled. "I discovered it a few days ago. It's pretty comforting music. I think it's of your taste, too."

He turned away to look into the distance. "You can play it if you want."

"Well, do you want to listen to it?"

"Sure." It was a halfhearted response, but you stayed positive.

"Okay!" You pulled out your phone, tapping through a few things before setting it on your lap, next to the hair clips. You turned up the volume and then glanced at him for his reaction.

As soon as the first song started with a soft melody, Johan knew he would like the album. He nodded slightly in approval, making you chuckle.

"It's about 30 minutes long. Let's just sit out here in the quiet rain and listen, yeah?"

Johan smiled a bit. "Okay." He gulped and quietly added, "Thanks."

"Of course."

Of course. You never said "you're welcome," as if "of course" you would be kind to Johan, like he didn't need to thank you. It was kind of amusing, but comforting like everything else you did for him.

~

The rain continued to fall throughout the entire time the two of you sat next to each other. It added a nice ambience to the music though, so Johan didn't really mind.

"What do you think?" You began to tuck your phone away after the album ended.

"It's a nice album," Johan replied, "I liked it a lot."

"I'm glad! I love sharing music I think my friends would like." A moment of silence passed, both of you momentarily lost in thoughts. Eventually, you asked, "Do you feel better now?"

At that, Johan couldn't help but laugh a little. "So this plan of yours was to make me feel better."

You cracked a smile. "And it worked?"

"It worked," he confirmed, laughing softly again with pink dusted across his cheeks. "You... always know how to make me feel better."

"I'm glad." There was another peaceful silence until you said, "You still don't have to talk about what upset you if you don't want to, but remember I'll always be here for you when you do."

"Thank you." His voice shook a little, and he hoped you didn't notice. He glanced over to make sure, and either you really didn't notice or you paid it no mind.

After you told him, "Of course," again, you were just looking up at the cloudy sky, hands resting in your lap. Johan's hands ached to reach for them but he held back and decided to look at the sky as well.

He liked being in your presence and the happiness you gave him, even if he felt like he wasn't really deserving of it. Still, he hoped you would never stop caring about him. And he hoped he would never stop caring about you, either.

[demonslayedher]

I lost a bet to myself and paid the price by making another demon sibling AU. Was originally just going to be headcanons and doodles, but I wound up writing the parts I felt like. The names of Tengen's siblings are entirely made up. This will come in two parts due to length.

Clicking each bone in his spine, Yogen stood to his full height, taller than Tengen remembered. It wasn't uncommon to go long periods of time without seeing his siblings when they were on their own missions, but Yogen shouldn't had changed that much. "I'll spare you. It wouldn't do for the Uzui clan not to have a head. Now you're the strongest one."

"...Yogen..."

"I wouldn't had been able to take you on, if not for the fact that you'd never have done it if you knew. You should thank me, Aniki. You know what I've spared you? Father was going to make us all have a fight to the death. You'd have done at least half of this."

"What have you done!?"

"I ate them," he laughed, something Tengen had never heard Yogen do in his adult voice. He had the most infectious laugh when they were children, and this rang with the same pleasure, however dissonant. "I was stunned too, at first. When I came to, I had eaten two of them, they were still warm in my mouth, their cells already nourishing mine. But you know what? I decided to eat the others. I was going to kill them anyway, what difference does it make that I should eat them?"

Tengen's face pearled back into a snarl, his eyes flaring.

"One, two, three... Eizen got away before I could bite him, though. That whelp would had done nothing for me. The one I really wanted to eat was the strongest," he said, his glowing white eyes shifting down to their father's fresh corpse. "And now, even he's nothing to me."

Tengen could stand no more of this. "Yogen!!" he screamed and gripped one of the swords at his back, and charged at Yogen all in one motion. A hard sickle burst out of the flesh of Yogen's arm and caught it, but when Tengen pulled his other sword down through Yogen's shoulder and chest, the sound of ripping sinews what different than it should had been. A look over to the injury revealed that the shoulder was repairing itself before Tengen's eyes. When had he learned any technique like that?

The momentary lapse in focus caught him, Yogen swiped up against Tengen's forearm. It felt too varied to had been spiked knuckles--those were his fingertips, he had grown claws. Tengen drew a sword up to lop off Yogen's forearm, and then his brother let out a shrill scream as his features lit up and revealed how contorted they had become. Yogen didn't look human anymore with how his veins bulged and burned. Burned? From what? Tengen took a look over his shoulder to the sun rising and casting light through the wide open door, and when he looked back, Yogen was gone.

---

Tengen watched the flames consume the house and the bodies of his slain family. He had combed it for any trace of Yogen, but his brother left none. Hope though he did that the flames may consume Yogen too, he knew in his gut that he was still out there.

Behind him, Suma sneezed in a gust of smoke that wafted into her face. Hinatsuru handed her a handkerchief, as she and Makio were already covering their faces in case of poison. Tengen didn't bother, he was resistent to most ninja poisons, and the scratches down his forearm were already less swollen. "You three should go back to your homes."

"No!" insisted Suma.

"We're already members of the Uzui clan," said Hinatsuru.

"Your revenge is ours," added Makio.

Hinatsuru made the most important point, they were already seen as his property. He could hear whispers and feel them all being watched; the other ninja clans knew what had befallen the most powerful family, and the Uzui name was now shunned. Even if Tengen wanted to stay, he had no place in the village, and neither did anything that belonged to him. The only thing left for him now was to track his brother down and drag him to hell.

Someone else was approaching, and Tengen reached for one sword. Uneven footsteps. One didn't have the splat of a foot, it was the thunk of wood--a cane, or two canes? A leisurely, but determined pace. Self-assuredness, even for entering ninja territory. A robust heartbeat. Who was coming?

"Well, is that what you all look like? I feel like I've wandered into one of those storybooks," said an old man. He had one missing leg, a full head of hair and moustache to rival it, a grin, and a telltale scar lining the underside of his left eye. "I had always left your kind alone, but I couldn't when I felt the presence of a demon over here."

"Who are you?" Tengen asked, stetching one arm before his wives while the other hand stayed at his weapon.

"You didn't chop its head off, did you, ninja boy? It's long gone by now, you know. It'll hide from daylight. Be even more trouble to find if it's one of your folk."

"How do you know about us?" Makio shot back.

"How do you children not know about demons? Aye," the old man huffed to himself as he set down a stool he carried. He planted his rump on it, then folded his arms. "The name's Kuwajima Jigoro, former Roaring Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corp. I figured this would be out of your expertise, so I've come to help."

Tengen felt in his gut he could trust that. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head, his wives all doing likewise behind him. Jigoro seemed to enjoy that, but insisted they do not. Instead of bowing, he'd appreciate the ladies rubbing his shoulders to display their gratitude, he said.

While Hinatsuru and Makio set about at each arm, Suma kneeled at his remaining foot with a gasp. "Aren't old people not supposed to be this beefy?"

"Can it, Suma!" chided Makio.

Hinatsuru said nothing, but could feel something was different in this man, not only in his physique. Whatever he had to say was going to change their lives more than the previous night already had. They all listened carefully as Jigoro orated about the existence of demons, how they eat humans, how they are near impossible to kill, but also the methods of those who hunt them, with specialized blades and an organization to support them. As he began describing Breath, however, Tengen stopped him. "I already know all that, that's ninjutsu basics. That's not giving me anything I don’t already have."

"Oh? I figured as much. Always made me curious about you pups. So you you've got the basics of Breath technique, huh?"

"It's beyond basic," he shot him an annoyed frown.

"I'll be the judge of that. See that tree over there? That's probably about the strength of the usual demon neck. Go hog wild on it." As much as showing off was against the ninja code, Tengen wasn't in the mood to argue and made short work of that tree, the only sound being the pop of it seperating into two halves. Jigoro gave him a clap, then stood with his cane. "Good accuracy. Spot on. Now you pick one out for me. Take some mercy, though, I'm only working at half-strength." He balanced on his foot and his peg, plopping the end of his cane in his palm to show off that he meant to use it in place of a sword. Tengen hated when other people tried to be show-offs, so he pointed to a tree a few rings thicker than the one he had cut.

The old man eyed it, then slid his good foot through the dirt, and as he leaned forward, clouds of steam rose from his lips. "Breath of Thunder, Fifth Form. Heat Lightning."

The sound hit Tengen so hard that he covered his ears, and the old man was gone--on the other side of the tree, which was not only cleanly chopped, but split itself in half vertically as it fell. A rarity, Tengen's jaw dropped. Jigoro looked back with a fierce grin, knowing he'd have left them all impressed.

Rather than one knee, Tengen planted his palms and face to the ground. "Please teach me this technique, Master."

"When did I ever say I wanted a student like you? You already said you know Breath technique, don't you?"

"You won't teach him?" Suma sat straight up, little tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I only want students with talents I can mold. You're already set your ways and would just try to make Thunder Breathing into what you want. You can't fill a full tea cup, as they say."

Tengen wanted to insist he's do anything to take his revenge, but the old man was right. As he was, he wouldn't be able to unlearn everything he always knew, it was as much a part of him as every experience and memory, like every scar, such as the ones running down his left arm.

"The true nature of Thunder Breathing would escape you, you'd get too caught up in how powerful it looks. You're too flashy!"

His cheeks flushed. "Say that again."

"You're too... flashy? I don't think a ninja should find that a compliment."

"You can't tell him all that and then not train him!" insisted Makio. "Please! There's got to be something you can do! Tengen-sama works really hard!"

"Tengen-sama works harder than anyone!"

"Please, Master. Tengen-sama can think flexibly, please give him a chance."

"I won't! I can already tell he's not the sort of student I'm looking for!" he barked back, and Suma burst out into sobs, while Hinatsuru hid delicate tears and Makio's face turned dark red. Jigoro flinched at the sight of the upset girls, then looked back to Tengen. "I--I didn't come out here to leave you high and dry, you know. I already told you about the Corp, didn't I? That's where you really need to go. I can't teach you Thunder Breathing, but if you really think you can pick up something new, there's an old scroll I've got of an off-shoot Breath. Someone like you might be able to pull it off. What do you say, ninja boy? How about I give that to you and you teach yourself Sound Breathing?"

---

From there, Tengen took much the same course as in canon. When he became a Pillar and had his meeting with Oyakata-sama, he was upfront about his reasons for entering the Corp. Oyakata-sama appreciated his frankness and assured him that the entire Corp would support him if they found any information on Yogen, but Oyakata-sama was also keen on the undercurrent of Tengen's heart; that he was relieved to leave the murderous ways of ninja, and that he wanted to live an upright life. This finally gave words to something Tengen always felt, but thought he had no right to wish for. He and his wives were moved and they swore loyalty to Oyakata-sama.

However, as time went on, there were no clues whatsoever about Yogen. Around the time they all got antsy, Makio finally couldn't stand it anymore and suggested they may never find him. "Think about it," she said. "This Corp is full of strong swordsmen. Someone might had already chopped off his head long before we got here."

While that should had come as a relief, Tengen couldn't help but find the idea frustrating. That revenge was his to take. He could think of only one person stronger than him who might had done it, so he described Yogen to Himejima one day and asked if he remembered seeing a demon like that. Himejima plainly replied that he was blind.

As they began to accept that they may never have closure, Hinatsuru proposed that they be satisfied bagging an Upper Moon. That should be enough for them to earn their peace, she said, and as much as it grinded away at Tengen's heart, he agreed.

In the course of performing Tengen's Pillar duties, they closed in on what was likely an Upper Moon in Yoshiwara. Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma slipped in, but when he lost contact, Tengen went looking for some female Corp members to sneak in and see what was up. That's when he reencountered the boy whose head he meant to spill at the last Pillar meeting, as well as his two annoying buddies. Inosuke would had been satisfyingly flamboyant, if not for the fact that he was gross. The other whelp was named Zenitsu.

"You write that 'Zen' with the kanji for virtue?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Nothing," Tengen replied, never saying anything of it ever again. It didn't take long for him to notice that Zenitsu had ears on par with his own.

The boys managed to get in, and soon the plan went awry. Tengen's first encounter with an Upper Moon broke out, and that went awry in the most horrifically flamboyant of ways. Tengen found himself unconscious, needing to stop his heart to keep the demon poison from spreading, as it was many times more potent than any ninja or demon poison he encountered before. There was fire in the wreckage nearby, he'd be consumed if he doesn't move soon. In the odd space where consciousness was returning to him, his hearing reached into a deeper plain, where he could hear the most carnal thoughts pounding though the bodies of those around him.

Tanjiro was panicking.

No scent! No scent! Upper Moon Five--where did--but--no scent! No scent!!

Tengen could hear Upper Moon Six, in both bodies, but he couldn't hear any other demon. It gave off no sound. He struggled to look in Tanjiro's direction, and was stunned by the sight of a demon partway sticking out of the shadow Tanjiro has cast, guarding Upper Moon Six with a kunai stuck in his arm.

"Sakage!" growled Upper Moon Six. That is not the demon's name. "I don't need you here! Were you intruding on my thoughts?"

"I didn't need to. I heard the cacophony from ages away. You wouldn't had seen wisteria coming anyway."

Upper Moon Six looked to the kunai, while Tanjiro panicked that the poison had no effect on the newly arrived demon.

"Quit with all the fuss. I'd appreciate it if you hurry up and silence that Pillar over there," he turned his glance to Tengen. His eyes had writing in them, but that was Yogen. "I can't be bothered."

Yogen disappeared into the shadow as suddenly as he appeared, and Tanjiro fell forward with a stumble. He'd be a sitting duck like that, Tengen had to go save him, he pushed himself off the ground to--but--but his arm was missing--the scars were torn off-----

---

Yogen had been quick to learn some of the ins and outs of being a demon, but not all the finer details. He gathered from the surrounding demons' fear of the drum demon that the "Twelve Moons" were the most fearsome demons, closest to their progenitor, but didn't those other demons notice that the drum demon couldn't stomach humans as he ate them? That demon was weak, and Yogen wouldn't stand for it. He cut off his head.

It did not kill the demon, who screamed at him with the characters "Lower Six" in one of his eyes, but he shut up quick when Kibutsuji Muzan arrived. Despite warning Yogen that this was not how fights between demons were done and he should kill Yogen for acting without permission, Muzan smilingly decided to allow it, and instructed him to absorb the former Lower Moon Six and assume his role. Muzan did not care for how Yogen's name referenced sunlight, though. He renamed him Sakage on a whim.

Sakage went on to learn very quickly how to please Muzan, and how to climb the ranks. While not immune, he could resist wisteria poison, which Muzan was more than pleased to borrow from him and see how he could try to adopt it into his own cells. Sakage could move between connected shadows, and in spying on the Corp, he picked up on the hand signs the swordsmen used and quickly deciphered them, and openly reported so to the demons that outranked him. With hearing far more advanced that his brother's ever was, he listened to the information shared between crows, piecing apart their language to the best of his understanding.

Lower Moons Three and Two later, he used his spying abilities to identify his next target: Upper Moon Five.

Gyokko was startled by the challenge, and under Muzan's gaze, he could not refuse. Sakage made short work of him, and the other Moons all felt a chill. Akaza's chill was excitement.

Akaza wasted no time in chatting up the new Upper Moon, for Sakage likewise had a stated hatred for weaklings. While Sakage did find it a bit of a bother, especially since he knew he was a long way from ever being able to pose a real challenge to Akaza, he learned that the quickest way to stop Akaza from pestering him was to spar. Akaza loved to chit-chat even while sparring, though, and this became a useful way for Sakage to catch up on a hundred years of gossip about the other Upper Moons.

While it did feel they had somewhat of a friendship, one day they got on the topic of poison. "I hate people who use poison," said Akaza, between punches. "It's as cowardly and low as you can get."

Sakage, who could create a myriad of weapons from his cells as needed and always laced them in poison, was not offended, but disagreed. "I see no problem in being effective."

This gave Akaza pause, and an uncomfortable drop in his stomach. He excused himself, and bothered Sakage not so often after that.

Muzan was typically pleased with Sakage, which made Hantengu tremble that the ambitious demon had it out for him next. When Muzan was in a foul mood after Upper Moon Six's defeat, Sakage was likewise in a bad mood for the annoyance he encountered out there, someone who should had stayed hidden away instead of bearing free his inherently show-offy personality by joining the Demon Slayer Corp, especially since he was sure to have his ears set to the ground now for any new sign of him. He was certain Tengen witnessed him. But, for as much of an insult as it was to the Upper Moons that Gyutaro let him live, Tengen wouldn't be much of a threat anymore.

Still, Sakage knew to keep his cool. He had news to report, and he was certain of his deciphering. When he declared where the swordsmith village was located, Muzan had no doubts, and sent Hantengu alone. "Now why couldn't you find that, after all this time?" Muzan smirked to Nakime. She, not being of any rank, could merely apologize. Sakage took no pleasure or pride in looking better than a peer whom he knew he was stronger than. Muzan's mood could never be sustained for long, though, and he very soon frowned back to him. "You've brought no word of the blue spider lily."

"My apologies."

"Aren't ninja supposed to have knowledge of these things? Weren't you of a high ranking clan? Go back and order them to search."

And, at that moment, a dangerous thought escaped Sakage's inner filter, it leaked though to his mind at the same moment it leaked to Muzan's: But I can't show my face back there.

The way Muzan's face bent with disgust drove more terror into Sakage than when he was still a human and first encountered the demon lord. He felt certain of a swift death, but Muzan let him be. Sakage was still too useful. But, Sakage knew he'd have to crawl back to Muzan's graces by providing something of more use to him. He had to unveil a secret of more value.

--

Tengen, who remained active despite missing an eye and a hand, was present at an emergency Pillar meeting. Tokito and Kanroji were bandaged up, and they recounted how the swordsmith village was attacked by Upper Moon Four. With two Pillars and a few other reliable Corp members all working together they defeated him well before daybreak, but not before discovering an ancient ability known only as "the mark."

As he was now, Tengen knew he'd never attain this. What bothered him more was how the demons found the village, so hidden that he'd have to put his mind to it to have figured out where it was. He could had resorted to old tricks to figure it out, whether that be silently tracking the smiths after their deliveries or flirting with the Kakushi, but what recourse would a demon have had?

'I heard the cacophony----'

A demon may have had ears that rivaled his own, or were better!

Feeling sure of which demon it may had been, he set to thinking of what he would do next. If the demon moved in shadow, listening for the Corps' secrets, what would be a bigger target than the swordsmith village?

Oyakata-sama!

"Uzui-san, are you alright?" asked Himejima. "You seem quiet today."

"You look pale," added Kanroji.

"I'm jealous I won't get one of those flashy marks," he lief without flaw. "We all know I can't take any demons on like I used to. Maybe I don’t belong here."

"Uzui, what sort of talk is that?" Iguro looked to him with his flamboyant dichromatic eyes wide, and brows knit tight over them. "This isn't like you."

"I've got a different sort of mission to go on, I'll see myself out. You all stay here and keep each other company discussing this."

"Then I'll excuse myself here as well--"

"Not you, you've got no excuse," Uzui forced Tomioka back to a seated position by pressing on his head.

In conducting his own investigation, Tengen set his crow to work investigating from the sky. What the crow learned, tracing a few leaks and scolding the birds involved, was that their mid-air communications may had been what spoiled the secret location. This confirmed Tengen's suspicion about Yogen's hearing. He had a feeling about some other spoiled secrets too, and in following up with Corp members involved in previous mishaps, he concluded that the secret hand signals had been divulged.

--

(Read the conclusion reblog here.)

[wh6res]

three's a crowd | nomin

synopsis. picking favorites is impossible when you like neither of them.

warning. read at your own risk. abuse, bullying, poly relationship, yandere themes, manipulation, nonconsensual touching, noncon, degradation, smut threesome oop

disclaimer. i do not condone whatever tf i wrote in this nor does it reflect my beliefs or values or morals and such. it is all pure fiction and i also dont think jaemin or jeno would act like this in real life.

note. this was meant to be a new year's gift lmao i obviously got a lil carried away 👀 anyway a late happy new year to you all! we survived 2020, let's start living in 2021, yeah? lmao if covid lets us grr mwah!

the relationship you had with the two of them was a weird one, bordering on taboo, but it wasn't as if you willfully chose to be who they wanted you to be and it took jaemin's unwanted pining and jeno's intimidating demeanor for you to fall right into their arms.

it was a joint effort on their part, you couldn't've possibly stood a chance.

"this many?" the cashier asked. "are you sure?"

stepping back and studying the whole situation, you figured you only had your addiction to caffeine and procrastination to blame. it was a chain reaction you didn't even know will lead up to your inevitable doom.

if you hadn't been slacking off during your first semester of junior year college, you wouldn't be forced to overwork yourself trying to catch up to the looming deadlines, but to be able to 'work yourself to the bone' you need your boost of energy… and that was when you met one of them.

"uhm," you scratch the back of your head sheepishly as you eye the six glass bottles of iced coffee. sure, it looks bad and you kinda appreciate the look of concern the cashier throws your way but it was none of his business.

"yes. now could you, like, you know… hurry up? i'm in a little bit of a time crunch right now."

screw it. although you hardly snap like that with other people on a daily basis, it'll be a whole different conversation if you were under a significant amount of stress and today, unfortunately, is one of those days.

now can he just fucking stop asking questions and give you your six bottles of death drink to keep your fucking brain going so you can pass an eight-page essay tomorrow? thank you very much!

the guy snickered, the beeping sound of a barcode being read sounding a thousand times more annoying than it usually sounds as he keeps his hand busy by punching your items out.

you fail to notice how he studies you through the gaps of his lashes, finding you interesting rather than threatening as you stood before him with your messy hair and oversized hoodie.

"haven't seen you around university grounds 'till today," he tries striking another conversation with you. "you new? i'm jaemin."

this was your first mistake, you shouldn't have been so… downright rude when you met him. if you were granted the miracle of meeting him a 2nd time, you would've acted more nice, throwing yourself at his feet even to blend in with the rest of his fangirls you didn't even know about at the time. you would've done anything to make sure he never gives you a second glance, to never pique his interest.

jaemin is the pep squad captain. flying over colored blue mats and doing tumblings in the air with no ounce of fear. he was the best in his team, that much was evident when your friend dragged you into watching a pep rally practice. his landings were clean, balanced, and executed to the best he can at all times.

no wonder he was popular, his talent is outstanding and his looks are a bonus. his killer combo of a smile and wink after pulling off a tough flip is enough to send them squealing in their seats.

he spotted you that day and since then, he snuck the quickest glances at the bench during practices. recognizing you as the coffee girl he met during his convenience store shift. jaemin tries not to let his disappointment show too much when he doesn't see you, but of course, a pair of cold calculating eyes could see right through him.

"i saw that," his boyfriend said, hand darting forward to hold jaemin's gym bag for him. "you kept looking at the crowd. do you want to see her that much?"

"but she reminds me so much of you, jeno!" he retorts, pouting at the slight grumpy tone the other boy used. "i can't help it. she doesn't seem to give a fuck around me so she's quite interesting. maybe she can even be a great addition to our relationship!"

"well," jeno replies after a beat of silence, plastering a small smirk on his face before slinging an arm around jaemin's shoulder.

"convince me?"

you don't like jaemin's attention. not in the slightest. and it seems that was enough reason for the reign of terror his little fanclub has subjected you too.

it wasn't the petty elementary forms of bullying like pulling at your hair or calling you names. they pale in comparison to the other things they do to you—beating you up, messing with your homework, "accidentally" dumping their food trays on you.

and you weren't stupid.

you knew exactly who was behind it, knew how jaemin spectates the whole thing from afar so that he can swoop in at the end to play your knight in shining armor.

"oh, you poor thing. do you need help?"

the first time you accepted his "help" you ended up in a supply closet near the gym during your free period, cornered and weak as your cries for help drowns under the squeaking of shoes and the booming sounds of rubber balls hitting the floor.

if it weren't for jeno appearing out of thin air and prying the boy off of you, you would've been painted blue and red from the death grip he had on your wrist, neck, and waist.

you can still remember feeling the soreness of your scalp from when he pulled your hair too hard. remembered feeling his teeth gnawing at your lips as if he wanted to tear them off.

that time hadn't been the first time you saw jeno. you've shared a few classes with him and it strikes you how polar opposites they are with one another.

while jaemin likes to bask in his professor and classmates' recognition by confidently reciting his answers, jeno would rather keep to himself. liked sitting at the last row, near the window, so he'd be the first to go once the professor ends their lecture. while jaemin loved the attention of his fangirls, jeno preferred solitude. while jaemin is impulsive and wild, jeno liked to think things through.

it was within these reasons that you decided to do what you did. but your judgement of character has never been more wrong.

you approached jeno one day in the library, tried to make yourself appear as stoic and confident as possible. but your constant slouching and averting eyes was a dead giveaway.

you came to talk to him about what jaemin has been doing, hoping there's one person left in this entire school that isn't under the cheer captain's trance. the one reasonable person that has already saved you once and (hopefully) is willing enough to save you again. the only one that probably has a certain level of control over jaemin, if the supply closet incident is anything to go by.

but you've overestimated lee jeno.

"you should've just given jaemin what he wanted."

"but—but aren't you two lovers? isn't it bothering you?"

you try baiting him, only for an uncomfortable shiver to start crawling down your spine when he chuckled humorlessly, pushing his school materials to the side while pinning you with an unreadable stare.

how can a person make someone feel so small just by a gaze alone? it was nothing like you've felt with jaemin. this is way worse.

"the only thing that's bothering me is why you're not ours yet."

you feel cold fingers creeping their way under your shirt, going higher and higher until it brushes against your bra. and when your eyes meet, the look on his face was unmistakable—what are you going to do about it, huh?

you stood up in lightning speed, the chair you've been sitting on scraping loudly against the floor.

you've never ran out as fast as you did.

and jeno swears it'll be the last.

you tried everything in your power to ignore them for the next following weeks but it soon became useless when the two boys took it upon themselves to give you your space.

although judging by the pinpricks you feel on your back, and the constant weight of a stare you feel on your shoulders, you knew they weren't done with you yet. far from it. and for some reason, you just knew they wanted to lull you into a false sense of security first before striking again.

and while they continued to ogle at you from afar like a hawk circling its prey in a desert, you took it upon yourself to return the favor. not because you were the slightest bit interested in those creeps but maybe, just maybe, if you look hard enough you'll find a way out, a weakness.

but what you realized made your insides churn in great discomfort—although it may seem that jeno holds the reins in the relationship since his reserved nature fits the role, it's actually the other way around.

jaemin might appear too self-centered, too focused on himself to give a fuck about his surroundings but in actuality, he has quite a knack for reading people. even more so than jeno. and it was scary how he used it to his advantage, and paired up with his devoted fangirls? it was hell on earth.

you found it alarming how the two seem to magically appear wherever you are.

although you weren't in the least bit surprised. for some reason, you can't take your eyes away when jaemin's devotees flock around him (and jeno) in a circle.

it almost reminds you of a shoal of piranhas, waiting for their meal to drop into the water before ripping it to shreds with their teeth. only their "meal" isn't actual flesh but the carefully crafted words jaemin says that drive them into a sick frenzy.

one that has them doing everything in their power to satisfy him like the loyal dogs they are.

so this was how he got them to bully you?

"oh, that? don't worry! yangyang just ran into me during cheer rehearsal. no biggie. my cheek stung a little bit, though…" is what he said but really he's telling them "scruff him up a bit for me, why don't ya?"

"of course, i can't be the best all the time. haechan is just too good, maybe even better than me…" is what he said but really he's telling them "can you remind him where his place should be?"

all the while jeno did nothing to hold him back.

no matter how wrong jaemin is, how much of an asshole he is, jeno will stick by his side through and through. so as much as jaemin is a puppeteer that gets a kick for controlling people, jeno is as much at fault for looking the other way.

because in jeno's perspective, why the fuck would he do shit when he can just get off from the entertainment that comes with jaemin's sweet little mind games?

we lost :(

you had been busy sorting through paperwork for one of your professors in the faculty when your friend texted you the results of the intercollegiate cheer dance competition. a frown paints your face, heart feeling heavy at the bad news.

in all honesty, you still supported the pep squad—you just hated the captain and his boyfriend. they've been practicing non-stop for this and prior to the weeks of the competition, jeno looked a lot more tense and jaemin less smiley than usual. you swore you even saw the latter snap at one of his fangirls.

not to mention, they paid less attention to you, too, and it was the best three weeks of your life.

tension starts rising in your shoulders, fingers absentmindedly running through the edge of the papers you had been sorting until you became immersed with your thoughts.

jaemin must be in the worst mood yet.

and jeno too, probably. if anything, that guy gets triggered the most when something bad happens to jaemin or when he catches snippets of people talking shit about his oh so "perfect" boyfriend.

jeno is a lot scarier when jaemin is in one of his mood swings, you noticed. he steps up in the relationship to offer comfort to the other boy and for outsiders? it isn't a great experience to go through—being on the receiving end of jeno's ice cold stare is a position you don't want to find yourself in after that time in the library.

he is still as much a threat to your peaceful life like his lover.

you snap out of it when the blinding headlights of a vehicle seep through the closed blinds. you hear the gentle hum of an engine switching off as the headlights vanished as quick as they had appeared. that must be the cheer squad's bus.

as you look around the empty faculty room, something in your gut tells you to ditch file sorting duty for professor kim tonight and fucking get the hell out of campus grounds as quick as you can.

after haphazardly throwing the unsorted papers back into the cabinet, you groan aloud when the keys to the office drop out of your skirt’s pocket.

the indoor gym where the cheering squad practices is right across the hallway. you sure as hell don't want to bump into jaemin. or jeno, too, if he had decided to ride along the cheer squad's bus on the way home.

you kept looking for the keys underneath the cubicles, cursing aloud when you heard the telltale squeaks of shoes rubbing against linoleum. you almost hit your head against a table when you quickly got back up your feet, darting forward to shut the lights for the faculty room.

they can't know you're here. alone. and if it meant sitting in the dark for a few hours 'till they leave, meant going back home a little later than usual is what you have to do then so be it.

you try not to react so violently when the door you're leaning on jolts when someone from outside slams their back against it.

"it's not like we didn't do our best, right guys? i don't have regrets. it might sound fucking cheesy and although i'm sad myself, atleast we did what we can."

it's jaemin. his voice clear as day.

you try peaking, craning your neck up from your place on the floor. only to see the back of his head leaning against the glass section of the door. someone else joins in on the conversation, followed by coach park himself, and you slowly tune out whatever they're saying as you stealthily start scanning the faculty room.

you curse under your breath. is there no other exit other than this door? jesus christ! even classrooms in this university had two doors—

"what are you doing here?"

the switch flickers on, basking the once dark room with light. only when you hear an echo of your name being called, did you snap out of it and quickly picked yourself up from the floor.

"i said, what are you doing here?"

their coach asks, drilling the question as he looks at you skeptically with his arms crossed. you try not to look at the people behind him.

particularly, not at his cheer captain standing on his right.

particularly, not at jeno, who stands out like a sore thumb with his blue hair, a protective arm snaked around jaemin’s shoulders.

this isn't your lucky day, too, you guess.

"i was…" you cursed yourself for stuttering. "i was, uhm, i was file sorting for prof—professor kim, sir."

coach park looked like he didn't believe you as he narrowed his eyes in scrutiny. your nerves are going haywire and you can feel the sharp pins of their stare with how close they are.

you kept juggling your weight with the balls of your feet, hands fisting and unfisting behind your back. you want to leave. you have to leave.

"file sorting… in the dark?" he asked incredulously.

fuck this.

"uhm, you can ask professor kim himself tomorrow, coach. for now, uh, i'll be going now. i'm sorry you guys lost…"

originally, the exit is on the right side, at the end of the hallway. but no, you are not going to pass by those two while on your way out so you ducked behind a random student standing on the coach's left instead and practically ran away from the scene.

everyone had been too busy. too busy looking at your retreating form to even notice jaemin and jeno exchanging glances, too busy to notice the latter untangling himself from their captain to slip away unnoticed, his hurried steps filled with a burning purpose.

you didn't know why you ran, but you did. your shoes practically booming against the floor as you sped away through darkened hallways. you're sweating profusely, heart hammering in your chest. you can worry about professor kim tomorrow but right now you just had to—

"why are you in such a rush, pet?"

crashing into jeno felt like crashing into a wall. if it hadn't been for his arm quickly wrapping around your waist, then you would've landed on your butt before him.

with the small distance between the two of you, jeno could see as clear as day through your eyes.

jaemin was right.

it was addicting to stare into them.

especially when he can see every single one of your thoughts flying through your pretty little head. but hey, it wasn't their fault you were so easy to read.

jeno barely conceals the wicked smirk on his lips when your hands come up to his chest, trying to push him away but to no avail.

he can see your eyes shifting from shock, to confusion, until it finally settles on fear—to which it's slowly becoming a favorite emotion of his to see on your face.

"you know, jaemin is in a really shitty mood right now. and we were wondering, maybe you can cheer us up?"

no. this can't be happening.

"jeno, please." your dilated eyes and disheveled hair made his blood run south. "let me go. you don't want me. you don't need a third party in your relationship."

you yelp when he lets you go, literally shoving you against a wall—which you found out is actually a door, as it swings open as soon as your body crashes against it.

with jeno looming unforgivingly before you in his full height, the tears stung extra hard but you won't let them fall.

if he wanted to bask in the image of your weakness then it'll be something you'll deprive from him for as long as you can.

"i don't need a stupid bitch like you to tell me what i feel." he scoffs. "don't fucking kid yourself, you little whore—i don't want you. i'm not jaemin."

the echo of the classroom door shutting closed surged through you like a wake up call.

this is really happening.

you've always led a decent life, had done nothing too questionable and you've always thought maybe life will spare you if you lived quietly enough. but the feel of jeno's freezing hands crawling against your skin felt like life itself had spat at you in the eye and left you to rot in a ditch.

"i've always liked how you wore skirts," he comments. playing with the ruffled hem of the soft fabric as he purposely grazed his knuckles against your supple thighs. "gives me easy access, don't you agree?"

you scream when he flips your skirt up to reveal the innocent pink of your cotton panties. it was as if a switch had flipped inside of you and the will to fight started coursing through your veins.

"stop! jeno! i don't want this!"

his brows furrow, grunting as he struggles to push the waistline of your skirt up higher with how much you're thrashing underneath him. you buck your hips, tried curling in on yourself, anything to prolong what he wants to do to you.

with your legs trapped underneath his, you blindly reach forward, relying on your upper body instead to push and scratch whatever your palms and nails reached.

you continue screaming like a banshee until he shoved two fingers into your wet cavern.

"stop fighting me," he sounded strained, as if he's holding himself back. you feel him fisting the fabric of your skirt and you fear he's simply going to rip it apart.

you tried responding to him, only the sound had been muffled, gurgled by the flat of his fingers pushing down against your tongue mercilessly. when you reach forward to push him away, your hands land on the apple of his cheeks, nails digging through skin.

until it slips and—

you lie rigid when red scratch marks in the size of your fingernails slowly appear on jeno's skin, his head turned to the side as he paused. your actions slowly start sinking in to him as he shuts his eyes and bit his lip 'till it looked like it was about to bleed.

oh no.

"jeno—"

the slap he planted on your cheek left your ears ringing. all those hard earned muscles of his put to good use—if the tears hadn't fallen for the last few minutes, then it definitely started falling now.

the hit had been so strong, a few of your hair flew astray, the buzzing feeling of your skin tempting you to reach a hand up to soothe your abused cheek.

until jeno let out a low growl and your hand immediately drops limp against your body, afraid of whatever else he can do to you other than a slap.

"that's more like it," he whispers under his breath. you let out the tiniest of whimpers when his hand darts forward to fist your hair. "do you know what happens to bad girls? they fucking get busted up. do you understand me?"

his patience is nonexistent.

jeno slams your head against the floor when you don't answer because you thought his question had been rhetorical. it felt like your skull had been split in two as you wail in pain.

"are you fucking deaf—i asked you a fucking question!"

the hand that cups your jaw is painful as he squeezed your cheek with his blunt nails. your hand shoots up to wrap around his wrist, silently pleading for him to let up as you sobbed out loud. you started nodding as best as you can despite his firm grip on your face.

your reply was nothing short of pathetic. with lips forcefully pursed and the steady stream of your tears and snot rolling down your face, your response is gargled and hardly incoherent and jeno seemed to thoroughly enjoy your anguish if the condescending curl on his lips is anything to go by.

"look at you," he whispers, his face coming close to yours as he holds you down. there was something in the way jeno stared so intently that it made your skin crawl.

"i think you're prettiest when ruined like this."

with his nose touching yours, he felt too close, bordering on intimate as you felt his hand creep back up your thighs, trailing up with feather-like touches that made goosebumps appear on your skin.

you tried wiggling your legs underneath him but one sharp look from jeno is enough to make you stop.

the hand holding your face moves. coming down from gripping your face to encircling his hand around your neck.

"do you like it when i touch you? freaky bitch."

his hands trail further up, up, up until you felt him slotting a finger underneath your panties.

jeno didn't like how frozen you were underneath him as he pulls at the hem before letting go. the elastic snapping back against your skin.

the action evokes a strong feeling through the young male, promising to have you writhing and screaming and begging because by the end of all this, you'll be so needy and frustrated that you will have no choice but to give in to what your body wanted.

"jeno, didn't i tell you to play nice?"

someone stands by the door, the minimal light from the hallway creating a silhouette with his form but you knew who he was. that deep voice, with the same annoying flippant tone, is a dead giveaway.

you didn't know why you even hoped in the beginning. as if there'll be someone who can save you from these two.

you thought the flash of hurt in your eyes was quick to disappear but jeno noticed it quicker.

in a span of seconds, he pulled you up from your position from the ground and tugged you towards his lap. you haven't even gotten the time to settle on your new position when he already smashed his lips against yours.

it was messy. too much saliva. too much teeth. no tenderness to it at all.

the fabric of his jeans felt rough, not to mention the ice cold belt buckle made you severely uncomfortable as it seeps through the thin fabric of your skirt.

when you attempt to hover over his lap, jeno grunts as he snakes an arm around your waist, pulling you back down without your lips breaking away from each other. you didn't know why he let out a whine, but you understood the moment you fully sat down on his lap and you felt a tent on his jeans hitting your clothed entrance perfectly.

in a normal circumstance, you would've found everything hot and might've actually gotten off from it but not when it's him who’s doing this to you and you didn’t consent to any of this.

you start squirming again. palms lying flat against jeno's chest as you attempt to push him away and jaemin sees this as the opportune moment to slot himself behind you, caging you in between them.

“i want my turn,” he hisses and without an ounce of hesitation, jeno stops to do what he's told.

jaemin doesn't waste any second to grab your face, awkwardly craning your neck up to meet his lips in the same feverish kiss.

while jeno had been all teeth and aggression, practically forcing you to open your mouth and kiss him back, jaemin on the other hand is more soft, more romantic, you daresay. he seemed to like taking his sweet time by clutching your face, kissing you like he actually meant it.

he pulls away slightly, resting his forehead against yours as he murmurs something incoherent under his breath and then he's kissing you again.

you think you heard something along the lines of, "finally."

you've been too distracted by jaemin to notice jeno's nimble fingers quickly fumbling with the buttons of your blouse. it was only when you feel the sensation of his tongue laving against the swell of your breast did you turn away from jaemin, jerking backward in surprise.

"no—!"

your scream is cut off by a hand cupping your mouth. jaemin pulls your back towards his chest, molding your body against his as jeno licked and suckled all he wanted, thankful to have the other boy there to not worry about restraining you and keeping you quiet while he has his fun.

"ah, ah, ah," jaemin teases, going hard over the pleading and teary look you sent his way. it looked pathetic, he wasn't going to lie, but it doesn't mean he didn't love it. "just keep still and appreciate jeno's efforts to take care of you, alright baby?"

you don't like how he talked as if this was all a mutual thing, how he talked slowly like you were some toddler who didn't understand anything.

it's cruel how jaemin giggled and basked in your vulnerable state as he kept his eyes pinned on you while undoing the zipper of your skirt. your muffled cries of his name only serving to egg him on.

the way he stared was similar to jeno, too intently and intrusive, like he wants to burn your image of despair in the back of his head.

you whined involuntarily when jeno got bored of all the licking and thus decided to start biting and nipping at your chest instead. he was hypnotised by how responsive you were, how every little bite and nibble made you shudder.

it was a shame that jaemin had to cover your mouth. he didn't get to hear your pretty mewls but it wasn't as if he'd let the night end without hearing them loud and clear.

jaemin is fast in undressing you, feeling slightly betrayed by how quick your skirt and blouse fell under his hands.

you know what he wants, what he's going to do, and the tears fall harder when you can't dodge away from him. forced to endure and accept whatever they give you.

"you act like you don't like it but look how fucking wet you are," you bit your lip hard when jaemin starts circling the pads of his fingers against your clit, fascinated by how more juices streamed down your thighs.

"jeno, do you see this? fuck."

you can only blink in defeat, staring off to the side as you force down any noise bubbling up your throat, forcing yourself to think of anything else other than what's happening right now.

you try not to think about how they managed to tear all of your clothes off while they're left completely dressed. tried not to think about the fingers lazily drawing up and down your slit to collect your essence.

if they're doing this as a way to further humiliate you, it's working.

"slut," jeno mocked, a wicked curl on his lips when he wraps his fingers around your throat. the moment he dives down to claim your lips again is the same time jaemin pushes two fingers inside you.

"look at how wet you are because of me," jaemin whispers hot against your ear and you feel a sick churn in your stomach when you feel his smile against your skin.

he purposely drives his fingers in and out quicker, settjng a brutal pace, wanting you to hear the lewd squelching sounds. "hear that? do you hear that, darling? that's because of me—"

"don't go talking big now, jaem," jeno retorts, pulling away from your lips to start nibbling on the back of your ear. "i was here first. did you see how she fucking reacted when i sucked on her tits?"

you're quick to catch how jeno particularly loved degrading you. but how he talks about you as if you're literally not in front of him naked made you hit a new all-time low.

you felt… filthy.

his hands find purchase on your butt—only because jaemin has already claimed the front. for now.

you close your eyes tight when he painfully squeezes the flesh of your ass. you swear, his blunt nails will paint your skin black and blue.

"i'm the favorite!"

"i'm the favorite!"

as someone who's part of a varsity team, you already knew a competitive nature runs through jaemin's veins. but never had you thought jeno would share the same sentiment. once again they prove that they're cut from the same cloth.

all of a sudden it wasn't all about claiming you as theirs anymore rather it was all about who can make you moan the loudest, who can make you cum the most, who can make you feel the dirtiest you can be.

you're absolutely terrified for the hours to come.

thankfully, they have yet to ask for your verbal opinion or validation. they let your body do all the talking—every repressed shudder and sharp gasp is enough.

but it's game over once they pop the million dollar question.

"who do you like best?"

you don't want to find out the consequences if you actually answered their question because you didn't know what could be worse.

jaemin's manipulation or jeno's aggression?

but it was all normal. trial and error is inevitable in order to build and mold you into the ideal lover for the both of them.

because adding someone new to the mix has never been easy—after all, three's a crowd.

[insertmesoftly]

Priest! Silco x Newcomer Y/N

In which Silco personally takes it upon himself to teach you how to best ‘serve the lord'.

Passionate and devout, no-nonsense. He almost died in the water, but he survived, and he saw it as his baptism to become a better person in this, his second chance at life. He's been clean of vice for years, rose the ranks steadily, and now he's respected among his peers and in his town as the head of their church.

You were a survivor from another town that was torn by natural disaster. You came into town, alone and without a dollar to your name. The people led you to the church. Silco was called, and when he first laid eyes on your crumpled, defeated form, he thought this was the perfect opportunity to have a successor.

He took you in on the condition that you were to be obedient. Afterall... it's not like you have anywhere else to turn. He feeds you, clothes you, makes sure the wounds still fresh on you are properly bandaged. He has been nothing but doting, and this has made you reliant on him and eager to be what he wants. The more you open up, the more earnest and honest you prove yourself to be to him, the more endeared he becomes. Finding people like you is rare; you have nothing to hide and all the love in your heart to give. Adorable, really.

He can't help favor you, giving you gifts, praising your work... petting you. The people that have known him for years are surprised at his change around you, but ultimately pleased. They’ve never seen him be soft. They'll chalk it to his being your mentor, the parental instincts kicking in. And yet. There is a night where he has to check your wounds again. You've told him they've healed, but he still saw you limping. It's dark, save for the candle he used to go to your room. He lifts your leg like he's done before, tracing the healed tissue. He keeps asking questions. You're trying to answer… but you can only focus on his touch.

He's mulling over calling the doctor. He's still observing the extent of the scars. He hadn't realized how far down up of his hands had gotten, until he hears a choked moan. His first thought was you must have hiccuped. He was going to ask if he should bring you water. But the candlelight showed a different side of you. Embarrassment. Shame. Unable to hold his gaze and lips bitten. Only then did he notice his hand grasping at your thigh. So close to something else.

He let go immediately and got up. He'd check again tomorrow. He storms out. His mind was clean. He was pure. He's had no vices since his second baptism. He gets to his room and locks his door. He's sweating. Shame. He made you feel shame. It was his fault for not noticing, but you should have said something. Unless....

You minx.

Maybe this was a test. he thought you had nothing to hide, but there was a spark of sin in your eyes that he only noticed now. He strangled a laugh. He would not be dragged to your level. He sighs into his hands, fearing to look at himself. He had to fix you. He will not fall. He extinguished the candle and climbed into bed, ignoring the carnal desire that betrayed his soul. He was not going to lose.

Silco gets more intense with making you 'perfect.' Now seeing everything you do with lustful eyes and blaming it on you. Going mad from it. He insists he can fix you, but everything he does with you backfires. Whipping? He'll flog your back when you're particularly provocative, perhaps he caught you trying on a dress a villager donated, and this 'exposure of skin' could not go unpunished. You're still wearing it, the red of your blood giving its white material pretty splotches. He enjoyed the sounds of your tears. When he's done, he's still riding that high, deciding to come and comfort you, cradling you in his arms and promising to put healing salve on the wounds. You know he'll always treat whatever ails you.

He has you on his bed as he puts it on, cold fingers make you whine. He shushes you, it'll be alright, you've learned your lesson, now all that's left is to heal. Seeing you grasping at his sheets has him sweating, and he has you walk to your room when he's done, despite your sorry state. He shivers as he looks at his bed, the smell of the salve and the outline of your body filtering his mind. He crumples to the ground. How is he so weak?

(There’s a Part 2 Here <3)

[thewalkingfanfictions]

Softly, Barely a Whisper -- Daryl Dixon x fem!reader (part two)

Softly, Barely a Whisper — Daryl Dixon x fem!reader (pre apocalypse) (part one)

Part One / Part Two / Part Three

Description: (Name) moved in with her uncle, the Sheriff of a little town in Northern Georgia, to escape an abusive household. While living with her uncle, she meets Daryl, a redneck with a heart of gold and a life very similar hers. Fluff and angst and awkward shy Daryl Dixon ensue.

⚠Warning⚠: great amounts of bad language, past mentions of abuse, past mentions of rape, there's probably more, this'n's kinda a mess. Don't read if you get triggered easily.

Genre: angsty fluff?? Hurt/comfort?? I've no idea. Is awkward Daryl a genre?

Pairing: teen!Daryl Dixon x teen!fem!abused!reader

A/N: so..I didn't mean to post this.. I still had more editing to do and I didn't want to post it until I had the third part finished, but then I have no idea what happened and this works I guess. Its been like,,,, a year and twenty three(?) Days since I've been active on here and then I just randomly dump this and probably disappear again...lol

Words without A/N: 2126

Masterlist 

<———————>

After a few minutes of awkward silence and an intense refusal to look at one another, the girl finally spoke, breaking whatever awkward spell had come over them.

"I, uh--sorry for, you know, trying to bash your head in–" she gazed down uncomfortably at the bat that still rested in the palm of her hand "–uhm, I'm making a meatloaf, and uncle Bill won't be back until tomorrow morning, somethin' bout paperwork, he said—and it always makes too much for either of us to eat, anyway, and it just usually ends up going to the chickens, and-and I don't like wastin' like that, and it looks like you might be hungry—not that I'm meanin' to assume, or anythin'—" the girl rambled, never once looking directly at him again, her hands moving through the air wildly throughout. He'd have found it rather endearing, had he been capable of understanding any of the emotions going through him at that moment.

After a moment of constant verbal vomit, it suddenly seemed like someone had hit the pause button on her. She froze in the middle of her little rant and flinched. Closing her eyes tightly, she shook her head like she was trying to get her thoughts together, and paused.

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry," why was she constantly apologizing? "Uhm, what I'm trying to say is, uh, would you like to stay for dinner? I mean, you don't have to, of course, but, like, I dunno, like an 'I'm sorry for thinking you were a crazy murderer here to kill me and tried to bash your head in with a baseball bat' meatloaf?" Some odd, high-pitched, sighing "heh" sound escaped her throat as she finally glanced up at the teen, looking bashful and shy.

The boy's confusion only grew. He genuinely didn't think he'd been this continuously confused since he was little.

Words refused to come to mind, and all he could manage to do was stand there and gape awkwardly at the uncomfortable girl in front of him.

Another awkward silence started to grow as his brain still refused to function correctly. Thankfully, however, his body seemed to remember how to human, and he managed to nod dumbly at her, jaw still hanging slightly open, which drew a cute, quiet little giggle from the girl. Immediately brightening up at his approval, she stood a bit taller and smiled shortly at him, before nodding slightly, almost to herself.

"Alright, good, then, uh...you, uhm, make yourself comfortable or what have you, and I'll get started on it." She got shy again suddenly and looked away, gazing down at her boot-clad feet.

Daryl still could not manage to find his voice.

Again nodding dumbly, he watched as she uncomfortably glanced off into the distance, then about-faced and padded silently away, back towards the kitchen.

Way to make her even more uncomfortable. Good job, Dixon. You've already scared the shit out of her, it'll be a miracle if her uncle doesn't kick you out for good, now. Pathetic.

Not knowing exactly what to do, Daryl followed her into the kitchen. Standing beside the refrigerator and gawking at her again for a moment, he came to a sudden realization.

He'd been fixing the sink pipes before she'd shown up, and though he'd finished, he had left all of the tools he'd used just sitting there around the under-sink doors, and now she was squatting towards the ground to pick up his mess.

An odd flush of embarrassment moved through him suddenly, and he let out a rather loud "Oh!" before launching forward to pick the items up himself, "here, let me--'m sorry, lemme get those--" in his rush, he overshot a bit, and as he bent, he managed to knock his forehead into the girls, knocking the both of them onto their asses.

It was deathly silent for exactly two seconds (which lasted about an eternity for Daryl, who was having a mini mental breakdown over having smashed his head into a girl he'd already embarrassed himself in front of several times now (in the span of only a few minutes)) before young (name) broke into a sudden—and rather intense—bout of laughter. Wrapping her arms tightly around her midsection, she fell backwards against the counter, laughing hysterically with a lilt that *should not* have been so attractive to Daryl.

And, just as yawns are so dangerously contagious, her giggle seemed to be a quick-spreading plague, and now he was laughing heartily right along beside her.

It felt unreasonably good to laugh, he found. It had been quite a minute since he had actually found enough joy in something to do anything more than give off a small smirk. Laughing-till-your-belly-aches was a very welcome pain.

It was several minutes later until either finally calmed down enough to take a decent breath. However, the two met eyes, and suddenly they were off laughing again, curled up on the floor of her dusty old kitchen. Another few minutes later, and both were holding their gut and wiping tears from their eyes, wheezing with the exertion. They locked eyes once again, both still giggling slightly, and Daryl finally caught on to just how bright her eyes were, only just before the girl stood from her spot on the floor. Holding her hand out to the Dixon, she smiled cheerily down at him, looking thoroughly happy. He couldn't help but smile back, even if he hesitated slightly to reach for her hand.

The second their hands met, both characters knew they were going to enjoy the others company.

Standing to his full height, he looked down at the girl; her eyes seemed so alight with happiness, and he couldn't help but want to see that expression on her all the time, especially if he was the one putting that expression there.

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

"It's elk meat. We can't afford beef, and Uncle Bill likes to hunt. I hope that's okay," the bright eyed girl looked awkward again as she loaded a plate with fresh-out-of-the-oven meatloaf.

He smiled up at her, if it tasted as good as it smelled, then she'd have absolutely nothing to be concerned about.

"Smells amazin'," he whispered, trying not to break the atmosphere. In all honesty, he was starving. His snares hadn't caught anything the day before, and his father and Merle had eaten the rest of the squirrel stew he'd made the day before that, leaving nothing for him to eat but the grizzled bits at the bottom of the pan. And it had been a hot minute since the last time he'd eaten a hot, home cooked meal prepared so well. Probably since before his mom had fallen into the bottle, he mused.

She blushed lightly at his compliment, and moved to sit the plate in front of him and dish her own, mumbling a soft "thanks" while she worked. While she had been cooking the meat and mixing the batter, he had been leaned up against the counter and listening to her talk, only interjecting here and there when he felt he had something she might appreciate to add. He wasn't quite sure why, just yet, but he felt comfortable around the girl. More comfortable than he felt around the Sheriff, and he trusted him more than nearly anyone in the town. He couldn't explain the feeling in his chest, but he sure did notice it. Along with it, an uneasy, almost nauseous feeling that made him question himself was slowly building in his chest.

All throughout dinner they chatted aimlessly. Daryl went on a small tangent about the truck he'd been fixing up (something he thought was useless information that the girl probably didn't want to hear about -- she, however, found his ranting to be very cute, and the fact that he was so passionate about it to be highly aweing) and she about going to her new school. When she questioned whether she'd see him there, an embarrassed silence took over, and he had to fight to find words that wouldn't make him sound like a moron.

"I, uh...I don' make it in a whole lot...busy with...stuff, ya know?" He winced at his own words, finding himself to be incredibly stupid. But like hell was he going to tell her that his old man beat him so bad so regularly that he couldn't make it into school some days.

Surprisingly enough (to him, at least) she didn't get that hard, disgusted look on her face that told him that she was judging his choice. Instead, she simply smiled, her eyes still oh-so-bright.

"Well that's alright, school just isn't for everyone. If I had the choice, I'd drop out. I've never done well with the school curriculum, and people give me anxiety. Not a lot of people like me there, anyway. I'm too quiet, I guess. They think I'm weird."

Even though she smiled through the last bit, he could tell that it hurt her. He decided right there and then that he'd make it to as many school days as he could. Maybe then that sad little ghost in her eyes wouldn't be so clear.

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

Several hours had passed, and the two were still chatting amiably. Daryl stood beside (Name) at the sink while she washed dishes, handing them over to him to dry and put away.

"No no no, that cupboard over *there*, with the crack in the paint. Yes, that one, thank you," she smiled at him over her shoulder.

"So," (Name) started, drying off her hands on a towel as she stepped closer to him, having finished the last of the dishes "Do you wanna stay for a movie or anything? We've got a couple new VHS's from the new blockbuster down the street from the pizza place that I've been kinda wanting to see."

And that's how the two ended up curled up on the couch watching "The Aristocats" like it was a slumber party.

(Name) and Daryl were sitting rather close, sharing a green blanket that was softer than Daryl knew was possible, that (Name) said she'd gotten from her Uncle as a "welcome to bumbfuck, america" (his words) gift when she'd first moved in. Her little giggles at whatever was happening on the screen was far more entertaining to the redneck boy than the actual movie. The heat she was giving off just from sitting that close to him was almost intoxicating, and he found himself constantly forcing his body back over to his side after he'd caught himself starting to lean into her subconsciously.

As the night carried on, both of them found it harder and harder to keep their eyes open, and eventually, (name) began to doze off, leaning into Daryl exactly how he had previously wanted to lean into her. Her head rested softly against his chest (which he immediately felt guilty for, his shirt was covered in grime and dirt) and, having nowhere else to really put it, he ended up gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Though he would never admit it, it felt really good to the touch-starved boy to feel her body heat. Something about it was addicting, and he found himself dozing in and out, aswell. He could stay...it's not like his father knew where he was, and he definitely didn't care. But would it be worth his anger tomorrow? Would the old drunk even notice his absence? She probably didn't even want him there, anyway, she was just being polite. It's not like he's good company. He smells like grease and he talks weird and he's probably got bad breath, and his hair is messy and greasy with sweat. Eventually, against that cruel voice in his heads wishes, he lost the battle against his own brain, and fell asleep with a crick in his neck, and everything inside of him happy and warm.

He slept amazingly well that night, curled up with this girl he barely knew. And when he woke the next morning (without a hint of lasting-over fear from some nightmare he'd had in the night, as he usually did) and gazed down at the sleeping bundle of messy hair in his arms, he was surprisingly less awkward than anyone could expect.

Slipping out from under her head as gently as he possibly could, he laid her so her head was supported by the arm of the couch, and gazed at her for a moment. She really was pretty, he decided. Turning, he grabbed his shoes and headed for the door, glancing back at her one last time as he eased the door open and slid through, locking it behind him.

He would definitely be going to school a bit more often.

[vannybarber]

The Prenup: Final Chapter

Summary: After four years of being together and finally being engaged, Chris wants you to sign a prenup.

Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: angst, swearing, chris getting his ass handed to him, a lot of pain.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four

You lied.

You didn't come back the day after. Or the next day. In fact, you stayed at the hotel for almost a week. You didn't stay in the same clothes of course. You went out to buy everything you needed. Clothes, hygiene products, prenatal vitamins. You were the saddest and most ridiculous thing to walk this earth.

Lisa and Scott eventually came over with your permission of course. You couldn't say no to them. You weren't upset with them.

"How've you been, sweetie?" They both look for your answer, trying to read your face.

"To tell you the truth, I actually feel like an asshole. I honestly realize how immature I was. Chris definitely was, but I was stooping to that level myself. But I won't admit to him just yet. I want him to recognize how immature he was too."

It was crazy to even hear it from your own mouth. But you had time to think it over. You recognized how stupid you looked living in a hotel because you couldn't put your immaturity aside.

"Well this might be a shock to you, but I had a talk with him also and it might've did something." You make eye contact with her and your eyebrows jump. Indeed, you were surprised. She continues.

"I know you guys will be able to resolve this. But you need to try. You've have been together too long to let this get in between you two. I think he finally understands." She sets her hand on yours, which was placed in your lap.

He finally understood? You had to see this for yourself. You hoped to everything that she was right. You actually wanted to fix this and he needed to be on board and feel the same way.

It occurred to you after some time that his points were actually valid. It was just the way he came across is all. You were in your own feelings and took it really personal, which was understandable, but you got stubborn. Even though he got a prenup for his own reasons, you felt as if he didn't love you as much as you love him.

This could all be fixed, but he needed to set some boundaries with Megan. He had no choice. Wait till she finds out about the baby. Evidently none of the other Evans' knew about the baby because it was never brought up. You secretly thank Chris for keeping that between you guys, even though he was most likely still upset that you weren't gonna tell him about the baby right away.

You both are grown ass adults and you're having a child together. This bullshit needed to end.

"Oh my gosh this is great !! All my shit talking did some good." Lisa clears her throat at him. "Along with Ma's great advice of course." You just laugh. You loved your family.

"I think I'm ready to see him. Scratch that. I am ready to see him. I want my fianceé back." You smile and grasp your hands together. You don't think you've ever seen them smile so hard.

"Oh yeah we know you're pregnant." You stop smiling and stare at Scott like you've been caught in the cookie jar. "You know Chris can't keep his big mouth shut." Well that's a Gemini for you.

"Now its really important that you solve this. You're bringing another life into the world!" Lisa exclaims. "Plus I'm gonna have another grandbaby!!"

You giggle and shake your head. "Well we need to head over there right now then!"

Little did you know Chris was on the exact same page as you. Down to every line and every word.

He has always been indecisive and this situation really forced him to take some responsibility and rethink his behavior. You had all the reason to feel the way you did, his intentions clearly being missed by you. Whatever they even were.

He also decided that he was going to set Megan straight about his personal life and respecting you. You were his future wife. And now that you're bringing a baby into the world, she definitely needed to be put in check. He can't even believe how he allowed her to disrespect you like this.

Now he only hoped that you'd want to sort this out and forgive him. He needed you no matter what he said. He did make up excuses because your relationship was too good to be true. He's never had a connection like this before. He never allowed it, but clearly it was for a reason because it give you a chance to come in his life and completely change it for the better.

When he had gotten home from visiting you, his feelings were all over the place. Upset that you didn't come back with him and guilty for making you feel the way you did. He just felt like he was doing the right thing because Megan told him to. Deep down inside, he really didn't even want to get the stupid prenup anyway.

"So where's Y/N? Is she okay?" Shanna asked for everyone. They all expected you to come back too. They didn't know you were this stubborn.

"She's alright. She said she wasn't ready to come back just yet. Which I completely understand. But I feel like a failed once again." He slumps on the couch and lies back. "I don't deserve her at all."

"Now Chris, you know what you have. And what you have is good. Better than anything you had before. You two were made for each other. You're a hard head and I know you're not giving up this easily" Lisa says to him, taking a seat to his right.

"You know she's pregnant." He really shouldn't have said that and he knows it, but he can't keep a secret to save his own life. Everyone in the room gasps. "I found the tests in the bathroom. If I didn't go in there and discover them myself, she wasn't planning on telling me yet."

"Well she probably wanted to fix this before adding more on top of it." Scott adds. And he was absolutely correct.

"Well I'm happy for you! But I you still have this going on." Lisa's voice goes from excited to monotone. She's super happy, but she wished this could have been evented at a much better time.

"Well this could've made things better...or worse." Chris throws his NASA cap on the couch angrily.

Carly speaks up.

"You and Scott should go visit her. I doubt she'll turn it down."

"Yeah Ma. We should see where her heads at. Maybe her mind will change with our advice" Scott agrees. He loves you as a sister. Anything threatening that would have to be put to death immediately.

"Guys, I don't know about that. She seemed pretty definite on how she felt." Chris didn't want to make it worse than what it was, but he always found a way to do that anyway.

"Chris come on" Scott drags out. "We have to try."

"Y/N is a smart girl. She knows what she needs to do and it will come to her. I know it'll work out. And when it does, you'll realize your love is inevitable." Lisa smiles knowing she is absolutely right.

Now she just waits for it all to fall in place.

You were currently outside in the driveway of your house. You drove back there in your car with Lisa and Scott behind you. When you arrived, you hopped in her car to discuss how this was going to go.

Looking at the property, you admit missed your place, but you allowed your infantilism to get in the way.

"Okay he's in there, but he doesn't know you're coming back." Scott speaks lowly from the back seat.

"Wait you didn't tell him?" You snap around mystified. Why did they not tell him?

"Because we wanted it to be a surprise. Well I wanted it to be a surprise." He corrects himself when Lisa throws him a look through the rear view mirror.

"Well um okay. Then this just has to play out itself. Hopefully he's happy to see me..?" You were unsure yourself. The little intimate moment you had before he left couldn't dictate how he'd feel now.

"I'm positive he is, but you won't know unless you get up in there. Go ahead! We'll get your stuff," Lisa encourages. You think she's more excited than anyone. You thank her with a kiss on the cheek and high five Scott then head out of the car. You walk up the driveway to the front door. You didn't get the key out your bag so you rang the doorbell.

A few moments, the door is jerked open. You automatically know he didn't even look through the peephole before he opened the door. He needs to stop doing that.

You appear in his vision and he pauses.

"Y/N? Baby?" Incredulity is all in his voice.

"Yes, that is my name." You giggle. "Can I come in?"

"Uh of course! You live here, ya know." He steps back so you can walk inside. Walking through the threshold, you look around the house as if it was foreign to you. For whatever reason, you expected some dramatic changes. One thing that didn't change is his shoes in the middle of the floor. His bad habit.

"Chris what did I say about your shoes in the walkway?" You scold him and move them to the corner with his others. You can't count how many times you've almost fell face first because of his shoes in the way and truthfully, you not watching where you're going.

"Sorry I forget a lot" he says sheepishly with a tiny smile on his face stopping behind you. This makes your corners turn up as well.

You stand facing him and him facing you. Neither of you say anything. You can't tell if it is because you don't know what to say or that you just really missed each other's faces. Before you do speak, Lisa and Scott are inside with your things.

"Oh guys just put that stuff on the couch. Thank you again!" You point to the sofa, absentmindedly moving closer to Chris.

"We need to talk." Turning back to him, you nod. You remember why you're here in the first place. You needed to put an end to this.

"Right. Patio?" You always go out there to have conversations or just to chill with each other. He nods his head and turns to his family.

"We're gonna go outside and talk for a bit. Okay?"

"Oh yes take all the time you need," Lisa exclaims, shooing you both off. Scott is grinning himself. You just smile and walk to the back door onto the patio. Chris follows quickly behind.

Once you both get outside, you sit down. You wouldn't say it was awkward, but there was definitely some tension. You decide to break it.

"I'm really sorry, Chris."

"Baby I'm so sorry."

Guess he wanted to as well. You were about to talk, but he spoke up first.

"I want to apologize first. I was completely wrong here. I was being an asshole and I deserved everything you said to me. And everything Scott said to me as well." He rolls his eyes at that part. You could only imagine the dragging Scott was giving him. "I allowed Megan to disrespect you and that was a dick move. No one should allow their partner to be treated like that. You're were going to my wife and I stooped that low. I'm truly sorry." He searches in your eyes for something to let him know that you forgave him, knew that he was really sorry at least.

You look away about to let the flood come like Noah and the Arc. You've been waiting to hear that for a while and you knew he meant every word. But now it was your turn. Clearing your throat and wiping your eyes, you speak up.

"This isn't completely your fault, baby." You take his hands in yours. "I am also guilty as well. I acted so immature and didn't even truly try to resolve this because I wanted to victimize myself the whole time. Although you were acting like a huge dick, I still played a part. I am so sorry for not planning on telling you about the baby. That was unfair of me. I know that you love me and that I am important to you, so if you still want me to sign the prenup, I'll do it."

Hearing the words come from your mouth surprised you both. He didn't think you'd ever give in and you sure as hell were making sure you wouldn't. But here you are agreeing to it because you love him that much and wanted to make him happy. Your relationship would work so it would never come to be used. You had strong faith in that.

"That's another thing." He shakes his head and you're now confused. "I don't want you to sign a prenup. We're not doing that. I already plan on talking to Megan about it. And I'm going to address her on knowing her place working for me. Since you know that I love you, so fucking much, I don't need to worry about money. Nor a divorce. Like Ma said, we were made for each other and I'll be damned if I let you get away from me."

"So no prenup?" You needed to hear it again.

"No prenup, love." He grins at you, squeezing your hands. You pull from his grip and jump up busting out random dance moves. His mouth is ajar.

"No prenup! Ain't signing no prenup! Lalalalalaaaaa! No prenup!" After your little dance number, you sit back down with no shame. You needed that.

"I'm glad that you finally came to your senses, Christopher. Your mother taught you well" you say in a pompous manner. He just can't help but laugh. You truly were something else.

"We have a little one coming soon and we have to be out best selves for them. Pinky promise each other that we never ever argue and not fix it in a matter of 25 minutes ever again?" He holds out his pinky finger waiting for yours.

"I promise." You wrap yours around his and grin. "So we're good?"

"Well there is one more thing." He stands up and reaches in his pocket. He pulls out your engagement ring and gets on one knee. Just when you had no tears left to cry.

"Y/N, baby, will you be my fianceé again?" You laugh breathlessly and nod your head.

"Yes, you meatball!" He slips the ring back on your finger and you jump in his arms. Almost knocking him over, he grabs your face and kisses you. You wasted zero time kissing him back because you needed it. It had been so long.

Finally pulling away and balancing your breaths like you just ran a 5k, you both make eye contact and burst out into laughter.

"Come on. Let's go tell them." He grabs your hands and you rush inside the house. Heading into the living room you see them both watching with anticipation.

"So?" Scott speaks and they both stand up.

"Guess who's getting married ?!"

HELP-😌 im so proud of myself. i decided to end this with a nice fluff. it was well deserved. i read you guy's comments and it influenced how i wrote it. some of you mentioned immaturity in y/n and that was really valid. and the point about the prenup making sense.

thank you so much for reading. i am honestly so grateful that you guys liked it. i didn't expect it to blow up like it did. im crying now so bye ✌🏽🤧❤

tags:

@mayafatimakhan @attitude-times @shawn-youth @traceyaudette @kyraroseficreblogs33 @radi0active-thoughts @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl @ohbarracuda @katelyneannxo @jennamarieee623 @craycraycraic @ilikeurdad @captainson-of-coul @joanne-stan @ilovetheeagles @cristinagronk16 @kelbabyblue @onyourgoddamnleft @jessycatth @misz-adrii @geminievans1 @saltyflowermakertaco @a-moment-captured @harrysthiccthighss @dauntless2022 @allboutdatmarvel @ineedpineapple @illyrianprincess @ladycumberbatchofcamelot @thesecretlifeofdaydreamss @marianas-studyblr @obliviatevamps @thevelvetseries @coffeebooksandfandom @shamelessfangirl-3 @quietmyfearswith @kissme-hs @lvgllre @arabescapr @careless-intuition @lady-x-red @donutloverxo @princess-evans-addict

[oblivious-aro]

Friends in strange Places Ch. 6 Pt 2

What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:

Friends in Strange Places Chapter 1, a danny phantom fanfic | FanFiction

FANFICTION.NET

Summary: With a little encouragement from Vlad, Danny works up the nerve to tell his parents. Sam and Tucker realize they have some things to discuss.

Word Count: 8600

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By the time Danny managed to get the thespian ghost into The Thermos and fly back home, Vlad had already left. Danny was disappointed to have missed him, but he did get a play-by-play of the entire visit from his parents over dinner.

"...and it turns out Vladdie hasn't had any luck designing an ecto-based adhesive either! But thanks to his input, we should be able to increase the efficiency of The Spectre Speeder tenfold!"

"That's fascinating Dad." Jazz deadpanned "So you and Vlad have been breaking the ice okay then?"

"Yup!" Maddie smiled "Oh, I'm so glad Vlad decided to open up to us. It's been so nice working with him again."

"Wow," Jazz said "Vlad sharing his secret with you two really seems to have made a difference in your relationship. Even if he was scared to do it, it certainly seems to have been worth the risk."

Danny glared at Jazz.

"You said it Jazzy!" Jack beamed, oblivious to the secret conversation between his children "Now that we know what's been going on with Vladdie all this time, we're closer than ever before!"

"You don't say." Jazz stared directly at Danny as she spoke.

"I'm done eating, I'm going to my room now." Danny pushed his chair back and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Sorry Danny," Maddie grabbed his shoulder as he passed her "You and your father are on dishes tonight."

"What? But I did them last night!"

"Yeah?" Jazz put the stack of plates in the sink "And who did them the last two nights in before that?"

"That was only because-" he'd had to leave halfway through dinner to deal with Skulker's newest (not to mention very destructive) 'toy'.

"Because what, Danny?" Maddie cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Danny grumbled.

"See you in the lab, Hun." Maddie gave Jack a peck on the cheek "I want to get started on archiving today's data."

With that, she disappeared down the basement stairs.

"Come on, Danno," Jack gave the pouting Danny a pat on the back "The sooner we get this done, the sooner it'll be over. You washing or drying tonight?"

"I'll dry." Danny said. His father had an unfortunate tendency to put dishes away in the wrong places, and Danny did not feel like dealing with Jazz's complaining tomorrow morning.

"So," Danny asked as his dad handed him a plate "How are things going with Vlad? It's really not awkward with his whole, you know...'ghostly' situation?"

"Nonsense Danny!" Jack waved his hand "We barely even talked about it."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I mean," Jack continued "We did sit down and discuss the situation when he first got here, but it didn't take long for us to get back into the swing of researching together just like old times. In fact, the data we collected today has given me a great idea for a new weapon! I call it The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

"You're not like, married to that name, are you?" Danny scrunched his nose.

"It's gonna be great!" See, your mother and I haven't had much success with ectoplasmic based adhesive in the past, but after studying its behaviour at high velocity under varying degrees of impact force..."

Danny rolled his eyes. It could be so difficult to get his father to stay on a topic that wasn't whatever his latest ghost invention was.

"Dad, would it bother you if you saw Vlad using his ghost powers?" Danny interrupted his rambling.

"What do you mean, Son?" Jack frowned.

"I know you and Mom don't hate Vlad or anything for being half-gho-"

"Of course we don't hate Vladdie!" Jack made an offended expression "He's our best friend!"

"Yeah I know, but I mean like, wouldn't it wig you out to see him flying around or sticking his arm through something? Like, how'd you feel when you first saw him transform?"

"Well I suppose it was a little startling." Jack said "But Vladdie had only really told us about his powers less than a minute ago, so you can't really blame me for being shocked. Your mother and you kids were pretty shaken too, if I recall correctly. Heck, you and your friends barely said a word the whole drive home!"

"Uh...yup! That's right! Totally shocked!" Danny laughed nervously.

"But once your mother and I talked things out, and I got a good night's sleep to think it over, I was able to...what's the word Jazz uses? 'Process' the situation. Sure, it's a little strange that Vlad's got ghostly abilities, but the fact is he does and he's our friend, so we're just going to have to get used to it. Simple as that. The lesson here Danny is that when your problems seem too strange and impossible to figure out, get a good night's sleep. That's something my father taught me. Your brain does amazing things while you're sleeping. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to bed thinking I'd have to scrap some glitchy invention, only to wake up knowing exactly how to fix it!"

Danny wasn't sure he believed his dad. How could Vlad turning out to be half-ghost be so simple for him? Seeing your best friend using the same abilities as the creatures you've hated and hunted obsessively for years had to be a weird, right? Like, at least a little?

"What's got you asking about Vladdie so much anyway, Son?"

"Oh uh, no reason. Just curious."

Jack smiled softly at Danny and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, if Vlad's ghost powers freak you out, you should know you have nothing to worry about. I know he might have looked a little intimidating when he fought that lake monster, but looks are just looks, and despite how Vlad might have looked, he's isn't actually a ghost, so-"

"Ew Dad, you're soaking through my shirt!" Danny pushed Jack's soapy hand off of his shoulder "And I'm not scared of Vlad. I haven't even been scared of ghosts since I was seven."

"Well that's good to hear then." Jack gave Danny's back a strong pat before resuming his scrubbing. "Because there's absolutely no reason to be afraid of Vladdie. And there's gonna be absolutely no reason to be afraid of ghosts anymore once I finish The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

Danny smiled as his dad started to explain his latest invention.

If nothing else, Jack Fenton was genuine. If he said he didn't have a problem with Vlad's ghost powers, then he meant it.

So why was some small part of Danny still so hesitate?

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

"Aim left! Left!" Tucker cried.

Their entire view was obscured by an explosion before a metallic skull appeared on the computer screen with the words Game Over overlaying it.

"Okay, that might have been a little too left."

"Y'know," Valerie said "I just don't think this game is for me."

"Aw come on, you were way better that time."

"Was I?"

"I mean, you almost made it past level one. That's an improvement!"

Valerie did not look impressed.

"You know, I really thought your ghost hunting skills would translate directly to DOOMED. It's basically the same mechanics."

"What're you talking about? Aiming a real blaster is waay smoother then trying to line up your sight with that thing." Valerie pointed at the computer mouse like it was something offensive.

"Aw well," Tucker shrugged "Can't say you didn't try."

"Indeed." Valerie checked her watch "I'd better get going. Sorry DOOMED didn't work out."

"S'all good." Tucker waved his hand "I still got Danny and Sam to play with. We've got loads of other stuff we can try doing together."

"Alright, but I'm choosing the next date activity." Valerie smiled.

"Sounds good." Tucker frowned "Wait, this was a date?"

"I'm pretty sure this counts?"

"Oh, if that's the case, I feel kind of bad making you spend a date playing a video game you didn't enjoy."

"I mean, I did enjoy watching you freak out every time one of those robot bat things showed up."

"They suck up your health! It's imperative to get rid of them as fast as possible before they become too beefy! Sure, they're pretty harmless if you kill them right away, but it's insane that the developers put an enemy that's capable of getting so powerful at level one!"

"See that," Valerie smiled as she swung her backpack over her shoulder "That's weirdly charming. Now I really got to go. See you tomorrow."

"See you!" Tucker called back. Valerie had officially been over enough times that he didn't need to show her out anymore.

And now that she was gone, it was time for DOOMED with Danny.

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

Pow! Pow!

"Oh my gosh it's satisfying watching an enemy actually get hit." Tucker said over the voice chat. His parents had gotten him a mic set for his birthday.

"I take it DOOMED with Valerie didn't go well?" Danny's asked.

"Dude, she is so bad! Uh, don't tell her I said that."

"Ha ha, I won't. It's weird, though. Considering her ghost hunting skills, I figured she'd be great at this game."

"I thought so too, but nope! It was like that time we watched my little cousin play Mario at my eleventh birthday party."

"Ugh, why'd you bring that up? That was a genuinely painful experience."

"So was watching Valerie play!"

They continued to play in near silence for a while, only talking to warn each other of an approaching enemy.

Just as Tucker was getting ready to call it, Danny spoke:

"Thanks for hanging out tonight, Tuck. I think I needed this."

"Hey, no problem man. Is something going on?" Tucker asked casually. He very much knew that there was a lot going on with Danny, but he figured between Sam and Jazz, Danny didn't need another person smothering him.

That being said, Tucker was still worried about his best friend. He could hardly help it.

"I'm just stressed about telling my parents." Danny paused to blast an approaching spider "I know they're gonna accept me, but the idea of actually telling them is still pretty terrifying. I know it's not a big thing, just two sentences or whatever, but it still feels like the most monumental thing I've ever done."

"Honestly, I think that's pretty reasonable. I know you know they'll be cool, but this is still the biggest secret you've ever kept. Makes sense you're wigged out about finally letting go."

"Yeah, ha ha. I'll figure it out eventually, though. Hopefully. Anyway, one more round?"

"Sure thing Dude."

They were interrupted by the notification sound effect of another player joining.

"Hey, poetry slam ended earlier than I thought it would. You two still playing?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but we're just doing one last round." Danny replied.

"That's fine. Still gives me enough time for me to hand you both your own butts."

Tucker was pretty sure he could hear Sam's smug grin through his headset.

"Don't think your victory's so assured, Sam." Tucker said "I've been working on a new strategy that'll knock your socks clean off!"

"Ooh! I'm shaking in my rank three crusher boots with bonus spike damage."

Despite Tucker's trash talk, he'd gotten used to losing a while ago. It was just fun to pretend he might one day outrank Sam.

Mostly he was just happy that Danny was getting a break.

...and also the opportunity to test out his new poison upgrade.

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

Danny sighed with relief as he dropped the last of the rags into The Fenton Washing Machine. Not all of the ectoplasm from his parents catapult experiment had made it into the The Containment Tank, and Danny still wasn't having any luck convincing Jazz to swap chores with him.

Danny had just turned the washer on when his ghost sense went off. With a loud groan, Danny turned and glared at the portal. He felt every muscle in his body relax when Vlad floated out.

"Do you somehow just know when I've just finished cleaning the lab?" Danny was too exhausted to muster up a polite greeting "If you're looking for my parents, they're actually out right now. My dad realized we were out of fudge after dinner, and he almost died when he saw we weren't stocked up on baking ingredients."

"I can practically hear Jack's panicked voice." Vlad grinned "But it's actually you I'm after." Vlad said.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yes. Although Jack and Maddie seem relatively comfortable with my ghostly side, I don't think it'd be a good idea to just fly into their lab through the portal as a ghost. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Fair. How'd it go with them yesterday anyway?"

"Rather well, all things considered. Being so open about my abilities with them has certainly been a...mental adjustment after decades of secrecy and hiding, but as I said they really do seem to have taken it rather well."

"That's good to hear." Danny smiled. Hearing Vlad say that made him feel lighter inside. "So what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to inquire about your plans to tell your parents about your accident." Vlad said. The lightness in Danny vanished "I assume you haven't already?"

"Uh...no, I...have not done that yet." Danny hoped Vlad couldn't tell how dry his mouth was.

Vlad frowned.

"You seem rather perturbed Daniel. Do you...not want to tell them?"

"I do!" Danny said quickly "Really! It just...never seems like the right time, I guess."

"You guess?"

Danny sighed.

"You know, things aren't terrible right now." Danny rubbed the back of his neck "I guess it's just...I don't really know what will happen when I tell them. I mean, I know they won't banish me to The Ghost Zone or dissect me or whatever, but things are going to..be different, you know? And honestly, that kind of scares me. I guess I was too busy worrying about what could go wrong to think about what would happen if things went right, so I really don't know what to expect."

Vlad's eyes softened with sympathy.

"As they say, misery is comfortable."

"What? No, that's stupid. I hate being miserable, everyone does."

"Daniel you just told me that a part of you would rather live in a house with two people who are trying to hunt you, surrounded by hazardous devices, than tell your parents about your ghost part."

"No, that's- I mean...huh."

"I do understand how you're feeling." Vlad said. "Now that your parents know about my powers, I was more than a tad nervous to come down here yesterday, and there is a reason I stalled telling them until the end of the trip. But, as someone who's been where you are, I can confidently say things are better now that they know. Even with all the unknown elements."

"I know things'll be better," Danny said "It's just so weird to think how much one little conversation can change."

"Things are going to change. It might be a bit awkward with your parents at first, I won't lie. The idea of being in my ghost form around Jack and Maddie still makes me...apprehensive, and I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable with it any time soon. For all I know, I may never."

"Well that's comforting."

"But I'm not scared of my best friends shooting me anymore, so that's a plus." Vlad grinned "Kind of outweighs having to deal with the awkwardness, if you ask me."

"Yeah," Danny laughed half-heartedly "I suppose it would."

"You want my advice? Tell them tonight."

"Tonight!?" Danny almost had a heart attack

"Yes tonight. Not telling Jack and Maddie sooner has been my biggest regret. You know you want to do this. Save yourself the unnecessary worry and just get it done."

Danny thought about it. He supposed Vlad's logic was sound, and if there was anyone he should listen to for tips on telling his parents they were half-ghost it was him, but the thought of doing it so soon made him dizzy. He knew he'd been stalling, but he needed a little more time to prepare than that.

"I'll do it tomorrow night." he said, sounding much firmer than he felt.

"Well I say never put off till tomorrow what can be done today," Vlad shrugged "But the decision is yours. Good luck Little Badger!"

With that, Vlad flew backwards through the portal, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

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

Tucker had to stop himself from cheering as the lunch lady finished scooping the casserole of the day onto his tray. In his opinion, it was insanely cruel of the faculty to schedule his biweekly PE period right before lunch. As if gym class wasn't long enough!

He quickly found Sam in their usual spot and took a seat across from her.

"Where's Danny?" Tucker asked before shoving a large spoonful of casserole into his mouth. It was tomato and ground beef with macaroni noodle today.

"Give you three guesses and two of them don't count." Sam replied.

"Ah." Tucker swallowed "Was it The Box Ghost again?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was Klemper. Danny said something about frozen toilets."

"Ooh, maybe Danny should let him keep going for a bit! I think they have to cancel school if the toilets don't work."

"Tucker, broken plumbing facilities in a building with over five hundred people could pose a serious problem. Do you know how many students here have bladder issues?"

"Okay jeez, I was only joking."

There was a brief silence as the two of them started to eat their lunches.

"I really could've used you with Danny the other day, you know." Sam said "It's like you don't even care that your best friend's about to tell his parents the biggest secret of his life."

"What? Sam, of course I care. I'm worried about Danny too, but there's no point in pushing him if he's not ready yet."

Sam was about to angrily retort, but she stopped herself, the conversation with Danny replaying in her head.

Why was she so angry at Tucker? Sure, it was kind of annoying he hadn't backed her up, but she had to admit his logic wasn't totally unreasonable.

"I guess." she relented. It felt weird admitting Tucker was right so easily.

Wait, why did that feel so weird? They were friends, best friends. It shouldn't take so much restraint just to agree with each other about something so minor.

Danny was right. Something was wrong.

Not that it was all Sam's doing, Tucker could be annoying and insensitive. A lot of the time, in fact.

But was Sam maybe...not always interpreting his intentions in the best light? Just maybe?

A lot of mixed thoughts were going through Sam's head, but one thing she knew for sure was that if they wanted to fix what was going on, someone had to start somewhere.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say I'm...sorry I teased you about Valerie so much. You told me to stop and I didn't, even though I should have."

Tucker blinked, completely taken aback by her sudden apology. It probably didn't help that she'd been giving him the gears less than a minute ago.

Admittedly, that might have been a weird place to start, but it was the first thing Sam thought of, and Sam was the kind of person who liked to start fixing a problem as soon as possible.

She just hoped Tucker wouldn't make fun of her apology for revenge.

"Uh...no hard feelings." Tucker said, his shocked expression morphing into a grin "In fact, since you apologized, and I'm such a gracious friend, I promise I won't make as much fun of you when you get your embarrassing first crush." Tucker winked and did finger guns.

Sam felt a flash of annoyance. Of course, Tucker didn't know she was aromantic, chances were he didn't even know what 'aromantic' meant, so Sam knew it wasn't fair for her to be mad at him.

Well, she had just decided she wanted to fix the kink in their friendship, and an important part of friendship was being able to trust your friends with your secrets...

"Actually...I don't think I'll ever get a crush." Sam said.

"Aww, come on. I know being gloomy's your thing, but I'm sure someday you'll-"

"No Tucker, I'm aromantic."

"Oh. Um, what's that?"

"It means I don't get crushes, and I'm never going to fall in love. Ever." Sam crossed her arms "And before you try to give me another pitying platitude, I'm actually quite happy with this development."

"Okay, but how do you know you'll never fall in love?" Tucker asked.

Anger burned in Sam.

"Ugh!" she threw up her hands "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!"

She knew this would happen! She knew Tucker wouldn't take her seriously! She knew he'd-

"No no no no wait, I totally believe you!" Tucker threw up his hands defensively "I just meant, like, how'd you figure it out? I'm sorry, I didn't realize how that would sound! I didn't mean it like that, I promise!"

The fire in Sam instantly died.

"You...really believe me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because people are never taken seriously when they say they aren't interested in romance. I've lost count of the number of movies I've seen where someone says they're happy being single, but by the end they've started a relationship with someone and everyone's acting like they're 'fixed' now." Sam unconsciously clenched her fists. She'd never realized that that trope bothered her so much until right now. "Plus you specifically never take anything I say seriously."

"What? Yes I do! What are you talking about?"

"Well you weren't exactly the most supportive of my menu update at the start of the year."

"Sam, you literally forced everyone in the school to change to a very niche diet. You gotta admit that's a little extreme."

"Okay fine, maybe that wasn't my best idea. But it feels like ever since then, you've never tried to help me with my world-improving projects. You don't even really listen to my ideas. Like, the world's on fire, and all my friends, family, and fellow students ever seem to want to do about it is laugh at me for trying to fix things!"

The passion in Sam's voice sobered Tucker's normally humorous attitude.

"I didn't think you cared what other people said about you." he said.

"I don't." Sam looked defiantly into Tucker's eyes "I'm an activist to try and make the world a better place, I'm not interested in this for personal glory." Sam gaze shifted away from Tucker's face and she crossed her arms over her body "But y'know, I...might care a little bit what my best friends say about me."

"Oh." Tucker looked away too. "I...I guess that makes sense."

There was a long silence.

"So...how did you figure it out?" Tucker asked "I mean, if you like girls then you figure it out by liking a girl and vice versa, but there isn't really a sign if you don't like anybody, so how do you know you won't like anybody ever?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at Tucker.

"N-not saying you're wrong about saying you're aromantic! Or that anybody else is! I'm really just curious, I swear! Actually you know what, you don't have answer that. I probably shouldn't have even asked."

Tucker proceeded to shove an entire handful of tater tots in his mouth. Sam was pretty sure it was to stop himself from rambling any more. It was a very Tucker thing to do. She might've laughed if Tucker's question hadn't been making her think so hard.

Sam wasn't offended by the question, she knew Tucker was a curious person who meant it genuinely, it was just a difficult question to answer.

"I don't know." Sam admitted "It just...feels right. I don't know how to explain it any better. The idea of not falling in love feels like it fits better than the typical romantic ideas everyone's always pushing, and like, when I read about some of the experiences of other aromantic people I've found online, it just feels so right. Like someone finally gets it. I can't really explain it much better than that, but I just know it's true that I'm not going to fall in love."

"I guess it's like getting a crush." Tucker mused "You can't really explain it, you just kind of know."

Sam frowned. She didn't think it was exactly like that, but she could see that Tucker was trying to be understanding. Not to mention she had just told herself she was going to try and be more civil with him.

"Uh, maybe." she said "Honestly, the idea was kind of weird at first, but the more time goes on, the more I actually really like knowing I'm aro. It's great. Figuring that out feels like scratching an itch I didn't even know I had."

"I definitely get that."

"You do?"

Tucker felt his heart skip a beat.

"I...think I might be bi." Tucker said.

"Yeah? Good for you." Sam gave Tucker a small but genuine smile.

Tucker felt his whole body relax.

Wait, why was he so relieved? He hadn't felt this tense when he was telling Danny or Valerie.

Maybe Danny was on to something about him and Sam...

"You okay over there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just uh, thinking about some stuff. You don't seem surprised."

"Tucker, remember the drive in Danny's RV to Vlad's cottage?"

"Oh yeah. I kind of hoped everyone had forgotten about that nightmare."

"I mean, I had planned on never mentioning it again ever, but I don't think I could forget it if I tried. But hey, at least I figured out my romantic orientation. So that's pretty cool." Sam shrugged casually.

"I wish I felt as confident about being bi as you do about being...what was it?"

"Aromantic. Aro for short."

"Aro, got it. I mean, I'm warming up to the idea of being bi, but it's been quite the adjustment for my brain. At first it felt like I maybe wasn't even allowed to call myself that."

"Why not?"

"I mean, I for sure do get crushes on guys sometimes, but it really isn't a lot of the time. I'm really mostly into girls, so sometimes it kind of feels like I'm trying to claim something I'm not sure I have any right to."

"So what? You gotta like 'this many' boys to be bi? And who exactly is checking that?"

Tucker laughed a little before continuing.

"Yeah, I know it sounds kind of ridiculous. I have been feeling more comfortable calling myself as bi the longer I've thought about it, but I still can't quite shake this feeling that at some random moment someone's gonna jump out and call me out on it."

"Don't worry," Sam picked up her milk carton and drained the last of it "If anyone even tries to imply you're not 'bi enough' or whatever, I'll just have a nice little chat with them."

Sam finished her statement by crushing the empty milk carton in her hand, all five of her nails leaving gashes in cardboard.

Tucker was going to laugh at Sam's joke, but the carton-crushing demonstration ad actually been genuinely intimidating (Sam was pretty good at being intimidating), so the noise he ended up making was somewhere between a laugh and a yelp.

Sam nearly jumped out of her seat.

"How did you even make that sound?" she asked.

"I don't know, and I don't think I could make it again if I tried."

Sam laughed.

It was actually really nice hearing her laugh like that. Tucker couldn't recall the last time Sam had laughed at one of his jokes.

That might have had something to do with the fact that a lot of his jokes were made at her expense.

Like, a lot of them.

Tucker honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd really gone out of his way to be nice to Sam. Not since the meat incident.

This was not a comfortable realization.

"Hey Sam," Tucker wasn't exactly sure how to say what he wanted to say, but he knew he had to say something "I'm sorry I haven't been taking you seriously lately. I know I haven't exactly been the best listener. Don't get me wrong, some of you ideas are insane and I want no part in them, but I'm gonna at least start trying taking them seriously now. I'll start taking you seriously, I promise."

Sam was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected an apology from Tucker, and she hadn't realized how much she'd wanted to hear that until he said it.

"Wow," she started to say "I really-"

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Danny suddenly appeared and sat down beside Sam. Tucker genuinely wasn't sure whether they just hadn't notice him approach, or if he'd snuck in ghost-style.

"It's all good du-" Tucker paused when he noticed the apprehensive look in Danny's eyes "You okay? You look like something's up."

Danny took a long breath.

"Are you two free to come over tonight?"

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

Walking down the basement stairs felt like walking through molasses. Not because it was slow, but because each step seemed to take a monumental amount of effort. The journey was actually over surprisingly quickly.

Danny wondered if there was any way he could have lengthened it.

His parents hadn't noticed his descent, both of them deeply absorbed in...whatever giant metal contraption they were working on. Danny didn't really care right now.

He walked up to his parents and loudly cleared his throat, causing them both to snap their heads up.

"H-hey Mom, Dad."

"Hey Danny!" his father set his wrench down to wave at him "How was school?"

"Uh, g-good. School was good."

"Did you need something, Sweetie?" Maddie frowned, sensing his nervousness.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um yeah, I kind of...have something to tell you. It's...about the accident I had with the ghost portal."

Jack and Maddie's faces immediately turned serious.

"Danny," Maddie said gently "

"Yeah, I know, I know. That's not it though. It's..."

Danny took a deep breath.

And just jumped in.

"It made me...like Vlad."

"Like...Vlad?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Half-ghost. The portal made me half-ghost. I have ghost powers like Vlad."

There was a beat of silence. Maddie and Jack looked at each other briefly and turned back to Danny.

"Now Son," Jack smiled "I know you two both had ghost portal accidents, but there's no way our portal affected you in the same extreme way. Sure, maybe you've been having minor side effects-"

"That you should have told us about earlier." Maddie cut in sternly.

"What your mother said. But there's no way you could have been affected as drastically as Vlad. You don't even-"

Jack was cut off by two blinding rings of light splitting around Danny's waist, turning him into the ghostly version of himself.

The sight made both of his parents go slack-jawed.

Maybe it had been a bit much to transform without warning, but after weeks of stalling and months of hesitation, Danny had run out of patience.

"I'm half-ghost like Vlad." he repeated, summoning the rings and transforming back.

It was shockingly easy to say. Although walking down the basement stairs had been torture, once he'd started talking, it had felt weirdly natural to just keep going, like he was just telling them what score he'd gotten on a math test. Danny had expected more resistance.

Telling Jazz had been harder.

"Y-you really are like Vlad..." Jack's voice was almost a whisper.

Oh right, their reaction. The beating of Danny's heart instantly washed away the peace he'd been feeling.

This was actually much worse than telling Jazz.

"Y-yeah?"

"Danny?" Maddie's voice was strained "How long have you...been like Vlad?"

"Since the first day." I...walked out of the portal looking like that. I just managed to transform back before you and Dad came back."

"Jack," Maddie put a hand on the work bench to steady herself "I thought you said you tested thoroughly for any mutations or contaminations!"

"Of course I did, Madds! I did a DNA test and everything and couldn't find any indication of..."

Jack suddenly stopped talking. He and Maddie snapped their heads to Danny as if they'd suddenly remembered he was there.

"All those months..." Maddie pulled down her hood, revealing eyes filled with horror "Listening to us going on and on about capturing and dissecting ghosts...oh! No wonder you didn't tell us! You must've been scared half to death."

Danny almost laughed at his mother's choice of words, but he was still too tense to move. He knew his parents weren't going to hurt him, but for some reason he felt like he was in trouble.

"Oh, baby." Maddie wrapped Danny in a hug. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his back.

"Y-you guys aren't mad?"

"Mad?" his father said. "Danno, I don't blame you one bit. I'd have been scared out of my britches too if I was in your position and I heard my parents talking about ghosts the way your mother and I do."

He came over and wrapped his arms around Danny and Maddie.

"We love you kiddo." he said "And we're both so proud of you for telling us."

Maddie squeezed Danny harder.

Danny felt his muscles relax and his heart slow back to normal.

He'd done it. He'd really done it.

Honestly, Danny didn't know how he felt right now. It was weirdly quiet in his head.

But one thing Danny knew for sure was that it felt good to finally have to stop hiding.

This was good.

Danny smiled and hugged his parents back.

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

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all sat at the kitchen table, none of them daring to speak. They'd all been counting the seconds since Danny had gone down the stairs. It had only been two minutes, but it had been a very long two minutes.

The only sound being made was Tucker tapping his knuckles on the table. Sam very much wanted to ask him to stop, but she also didn't want to be the first one to speak.

"Do you think we should go down and check on him?" Tucker asked, his hand finally stilling.

"I'm sure he's fine, just be patient." Despite her grounded words, Sam's anxiety leaked into her voice.

"Sam's right." Jazz said firmly "We're all worried, but this is Danny's moment, so it's our job to be his support and remain fluid enough to react to what he needs depending on which way the situation goes. The best way to do that we have to remain calm and-"

The basement door began to open. Jazz was on her feet in an instant.

"Where's Danny?! Is he okay?!"

"Calm down Jazz, everything's good. Great actually."

Danny's voice was light and full of joy. He didn't even sound annoyed at Jazz's excessive worrying.

Jazz's shoulder's instantly relaxed and she went over to stand by her family. Sam and Tucker awkwardly followed.

"So they...all know?" Maddie said, gesturing to the room.

"Yeah." Danny smiled "No more secrets."

Despite how nice a moment this was, it was also kind of an awkward one. Everyone appreciated how hard it had been for Danny to get here, and they were all feeling the relief, but the question of 'now what do we do?' went unspoken amongst them all.

"I...brought a cake." Sam said.

"Really?" Danny asked, surprised.

"Well, if you don't want it..."

"No, I definitely do, I just...why did you get a cake?"

"Well I didn't really know what the proper protocol was for when your best friend tells his parents he's half-ghost, but a cake seemed like, maybe appropriate?" Sam shrugged.

Danny went over to the white box on the table and lifted the cover.

"Congratulations On The Thing With Your Parents?"

"Tucker's was in charge of the writing."

"I didn't see you pitching in any ideas for a tasteful message that would fit on a cake and not attract suspicion from the cake decorator."

"My contribution was paying for the cake."

"Aw, that was such a lovely gesture, you two." Maddie beamed "Jazz, could you get the plates out? Let's serve this bad boy up!"

"I call the first piece!" Jack said.

"Now Jack, considering the occasion, I think it's only appropriate that Danny gets the first piece."

"Oh, alright." Jack smiled at Danny and patted his shoulder "I suppose that's fair. But I get the second piece, since I called it!"

"Jack..." Maddie said disapprovingly.

"Dad can have the first piece. I don't mind, I know how he gets." Danny said. He was just glad that things were still normal. Sure, his parents probably still had some adjusting to do, but they still saw him as the same Danny he was before, and that was big enough of a relief. "But I'm getting a corner piece."

Honestly though, Danny could've had to give away the entire cake and it wouldn't have killed his mood.

It was finally over. He didn't have to hide or make his friends lie for him anymore. Not to the people who mattered, anyway.

Danny continued to stare at his mom after she handed him a piece of cake and began cutting one for his dad.

He was still nervous abut what the future held for his family's dynamic, but for the first time he also felt excited to find out.

But for now he was just going to enjoy his cake.

[dreamiesdotcom]

shooting star | n.jm

Summary: You take a pen, resting your cheeks on your palms as you lazily think of words to write — now and then, you lock gazes with Jaemin and you pretend that the red in your cheeks is just of the cold.

Word Count : 3.9k

The rooftop is big, but it feels a little crowded.

The addition of people is not bad, you think, especially since those people make your friends happy. By tradition, you welcome the New Year in this rooftop, playing music and games just like the other days but this time, with more food and... well, New Year stuff — fireworks, things to make noise with. The addition of people is not bad. If you're observant enough, it can even be entertaining.

As an example, if you look close enough, you'll see that Renjun and Jisung have been just friends for too long. That, in the sense of Renjun watching Jisung playfully ride the beat, a smile that tips over the line of finding his carelessness unbearable in a growing-more-in-love kind of way.

He looks lost, maybe even intoxicated in the other's laughter, admiring the way Jeno can make his best friend easily drop his shyness. Renjun looks like he wants to know how. If you look close enough, you'll see the regretful heart behind his faux scowl.

Renjun looks at Jeno and Jisung with longing, the kind you're familiar with. He turns to you, and you avert your gaze a little too late because he's giggling as he walks over to your direction.

"So, you saw me, huh?" He asks, handing you a glass of whatever drink he first laid his hands on, no 'happy new year' or any appropriate first greeting. He leans against the railings and sighs wistfully, "Look, do you ever just fall in love with your best friend's boyfriend?"

"Out of random?"

"You don't fall for people at random." Bewilderment crosses his face, and he turns to you the same time you look at him. You shrug, and he arches a brow, "You let that build up and wait for it to destroy you."

You let that build up — the words echo inside your head as you break eye contact. Right across, Donghyuck pulls away from hugging Jaemin with a bright smile, handing him a gift. Jaemin sets it down, and probably feels your gaze on him because he looks up and beams at you. Red flushes your cheeks. — and wait for it to destroy you.

"Toast to that, I guess," you smile, watching him pretend to judge you and fail. Chenle calls out his name for a picture before they set up the fireworks, and before Renjun detaches himself from you, he bumps the rim of his glass to yours. You sigh.

"To the love we wished deserved and didn't."

Shock engulfs his features, then he laughs and he repeats the words before he leaves. The sudden lack of company feels a little cold.

You look at the candle one of them randomly lit, looking at it in stupor before picking it up. The wax trickles and scorches your skin, but you don't wince like you probably would any other feeling day. You hold onto it firmly until its golden glow is close enough to your hands, warm enough that you could pretend it's about to set you on fire.

All so suddenly Jaemin is beside you, blowing off the flame. You watch at him in question until he smiles.

"That'll burn."

"That's alright," you fake a laugh. "I want for a lot of things to burn."

###

It all starts on a Wednesday, a fine afternoon spent sitting at a cafe, waiting for Donghyuck. Your notebook remains open at your side, empty and waiting to be filled with unabashed emotions. The past eight months were spent uninspired, and you decided to look around the place in search of something — maybe the vintage items, the ivory wallpapers, the beautiful chairs — anything.

Something comes in the form of nervous eyes and flushed cheeks, a boy sitting at the far right of the place. He sits alone, fingers tapping on the table, sunlight grazing his skin. You almost hated how cliche everything had been — a boy, an uninspired poet, hands that so desperately itch to write about faded pink hair and a lost angel.

Your gazes meet, and everything unfolds way too softly for it to not be love at first sight.

At that moment, you knew nothing that good should be real. At that moment, you knew nothing that good could be yours.

You were right.

Donghyuck comes in, and he waves at you excitedly before furrowing his brows. Your best friend had always been adorably one of a kind, but none of his weirdness could have prepared you for when he walks straight to the boy's table, and you were almost certain he caught you two staring at each other and is waiting to set you two up, until he's walking back to your table with the brightest grin, the boy beside him.

Their hands entwined.

"He's my boyfriend!" He squeals, "Oh hell, should've said his name first. He's Jaemin, and he's my boyfriend."

"Oh..." you nodded, hands subtly moving to close your notebook. "Uh. Hi."

They both stand in silence before they start cracking up, inevitably making you smile. You excuse your awkwardness, and Donghyuck introduces you two again, and you shake hands this time. You pretend you don't feel shivers run down your spine.

The day passed in blurs of sugar smiles, a love story, a dull throb in your heart. The poetry being written in your head never got finished.

###

The first time you realize it, the world seems to forget you were even born, Donghyuck's across the world with his parents, and solitude is eating you alive. You find yourself stumbling back to the same rooftop, plucking rose petals with a sad face.

It's probably petty — honestly, it is, but it's not just that. It's not that you wanted gifts, or you wanted attention; you wanted to just feel special, to know that someone is glad that once upon a time on this very day, you were born. To belong. To feel wanted. To be told "Happy Birthday" because you are important and should be celebrated.

And maybe it's also because you grew used to it, waking up to several different ways of saying 'Happy Birthday'. Maybe you were used to midnight greetings, to people forcing you out of bed at 6 am, to eating breakfast and lunch and dinner together. Your home had been so empty and to have your friends fill that gap even just for a day is something you look forward to every year — the mournful feeling is there again.

8 pm glares at you on your lock screen, and it reminds you that you can't do any of that now. You tip your head back and let your back hit the floor. Maybe if you look hard enough, you'll see a shooting star and it'll give you a little something.

"What're you doing?"

You look up, surprised but not alarmed. Jaemin's soft smile greets your sight.

"I'm laying down and waiting for a comet to strike me."

The sound of his camera constantly breaks the static, and you realize that he'd been taking pictures of the nightlife. He makes a noise that tells you he isn't convinced with your answer, but you don't entertain him anymore. You just watch him take as many polaroids as he can, and you laugh because suddenly, the only thoughts in your mind becomes 'pretty, pretty, pretty'.

You force a laugh, "It's my birthday."

"Is today your birthday!? Nobody told me!"

"It's not important. I mean, who celebrates birthdays these days, righ— Hey!" The familiar snap sounds again and you stand up from where you're laying down, ready to hit him, but then he gives you the film. You look at his hands and back up, "What's this?"

"My gift." He shrugs as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. You take the picture from his hands, hesitant but relieved that it seemed to look nice, anyway. Jaemin smiles, "It's the image of an angel."

The world stops.

It's ridiculous and cheesy, even he knew that; the two of you laugh uncontrollably. It wasn't the kind of laughter that fades after a minute, but rather the kind that stops for a while only to start up again. The sound grows louder with each passing moment, and your eyes meet, but you don't stop until you both become embarrassed enough to blush; neither of you look away.

 Maybe you are in love.

Maybe you are in love, and maybe he is too — except this time, it's not with Donghyuck, who it should be.

###

"It's you I meet again," Jaemin chimes. "What's up, buttercup? What are you doing here, a coffee shop, at 3 am?"

You look around the cafe, the tables empty. You briefly wonder about when Jaemin started working here before you realize you're unnecessarily curious. You press your lips into a thin line, looking for someone.

"I'd like to assume you already know." Your forehead creased when you noticed the unusual absence, "Where's my favorite boy?"

"Am I not your favorite boy?"

Jaemin pouts, and heaven, how it made your heart skip. You blink, spending the moment in silence, waiting for him to give up. "You are, indeed, not my favorite boy," You smile sweetly. "Where's Renjun?"

"I'm here because he's not. Do I seem like I work here? I was drinking coffee before he passed me an apron and left."

You roll your eyes, a poor attempt at keeping in the words of agreement — you kind of do, you look pretty, I could write so much about you — and you pretend to want nothing but get your drink. It takes an eternity before he lets you go, but once he does, you get comfortable on a table and whip out your notebook.

You look down on the first page, tracing the neatly written words — a confession if anybody who knows you gets to read it. A confession more than a dedication.

To the boy I shouldn't have loved.

The very same shooting star who gifted me a lifetime of heartbreak.

You heave a heavy sigh. You take a pen, resting your cheeks on your palms as you lazily think of words to write — now and then, you lock gazes with Jaemin and you pretend that the red in your cheeks is just of the cold. From that moment, every word you write is either about lights so bright you don't forget how beautiful he was under them, or something so strong it erases every trace of him from your system.

Jaemin leaves the counter and takes the chair across you. You look at him in confusion.

"I don't think you can do that?"

"I just did so I suppose, I can definitely do that." He smiles brightly. "So, what're we doing?"

You eye your notebook before quickly closing it, and then your half-finished cup of coffee. It's still dark outside with only some cars and people passing by, none of them interested in coming inside the cozy place. You say something about just being about to leave, and you look at him as if to say whatever's inside your head. Then, you stand up and walk away.

"Stay," he whispers, light enough that you'd think you weren't supposed to hear.

You swallow the lump in your throat when you feel his hand wrap around your wrist, cold against warm, and you don't have to look at his face to know of the begging stare he has directed for you at the moment. You try to look away but you feel weak, so weak that you could only manage a thin, shivering voice.

"Let me go."

"I can't."

Then don't, the voice in your head whispers, the selfish one; the greedy one, the desperate one. In reality, you close your eyes and tug your hands back because what's wrong is wrong, and what's wrong can never be right.

###

The rain clouds come one of the many times Jaemin asks for you to accompany him, and the storm looms darker above you with each genuine 'yes'.

The way this set up started had been pretty simple — hanging out together as friends, getting closer for Donghyuck's comfort; best friend-boyfriend bonding as he called it. For a while, it was everything. It's just your best friend trying to get you to trust his boyfriend, getting to know each other, and that's all — that's the truth.

It was friendship until it wasn't, and that was the truth until it was not anymore.

The night was peaceful so you didn't expect anything to go wrong, but expectations aren't always accurate. The sea looks calm, the moon brighter than all the other days. Jaemin's playing a somber song, something magical that just fits right for him and bittersweet love. His eyelashes flutter in a way gentle enough to drive you crazy, his perfume mingling with the cold night sea breeze, and it's too much that it drives you insane.

"What's wrong?" He asks as if he already knows the answer. "You're not telling me something."

It's been three months and a year since you and Jaemin started hanging out alone, and the swirling guilt in your gut is unnecessary because you're not even doing anything wrong.

It's the fleeting moments, you think, those lingering touches whenever you try to take from him the keys — "I'll drive," you'd whisper when you see yet again that look. Jaemin would smile, "What, scared I'll crash? I'm not stupid." — and when he doesn't give them, you sigh heavily with a hopeful look in your eyes. "Where to?" You'd ask even if you didn't care, and he would let himself forget the world as he opens the door for you, whispering words only a dreamer would say: "Stars."

And maybe it's where everything goes wrong. He shouldn't dream much for hopeless cases.

"Hey, shooting star," you call. He arches a brow at the nickname, but you ignore him. "Do you love me?"

"Would you hate me if I do?"

"You're dating my best friend, so of course, fuck you." You chuckle, shaking your head. "I hate myself more, so don't take it personally."

You meet his gaze, and the world shifts yet again just like at that moment in the coffee shop — angel boy, uninspired poet. He looked at you the same way he did weeks ago at the New Year's Party, that in the way his eyes are saying so many words for him to not be in love with you. Except now, he's much closer. Except now, in the confinements of his car, nobody to witness but the sea and the stars, he's leaning in and his breath is tickling your skin.

Except now, he's about to kiss you and you're not stopping him.

I can't, the rational part of you whispered. You say that you can't, but you're almost always on the edge of something and you're brave enough to consider through the guilt; you hate to admit it but that's the truth. You say that you can't, but at the same time, you don't draw yourself away from him — why?

Because in each and every one of this I can't's is the nasty truth that reads I want to.

You look at the water, and you chase your thoughts out with a dive. Jaemin's lips are still hovering above yours, and maybe if you weren't so numb you'd feel his heartbeat. You want to tear away, you want to run home and make a call and cry a litany of apologies. You want so much. You want so much, but what you want the most at the moment is for him to do what you can't and just kiss you already — you'd rather break yourself than not have this.

You close your eyes and decide that whatever will come tomorrow is something you deserve. You'll break your heart and ruin your world just for a kiss, and he'll leave — but you'll know that for a while he loved you and everything else is forgotten. You choose him and you forget all the consequences.

Just for once, just tonight. Just right now you'll let yourself indulge. Just this time he can have everything.

Right before your lips crash, you catch yourself and swim.

"Would you give me what I want, because you love me?"

Your words come out raspy, your eyes glistening with tears. Jaemin smiles in a manner just as heartbreaking, "What do you want?"

Not him — dear moon, I want him so bad, but I can't — definitely not him.

"I want fire so hot it burns away all the bad thoughts in my head." You suppress a sob as you move away, leaning back on the seat, clutching the fabric of your clothes as if to search for any semblance of sanity. "I want light so bright I forget you."

"What… what?"

You look at him with pure misery, "I think we should stop seeing each other."

Jaemin doesn't reply, but he starts up the car and makes a turn. You close your eyes hoping that everything could just be washed away by the rain, and you don't look at him for the rest of the drive.

###

Never in your life did you even think of living life without your best friend. That just can't happen, and so, why give it a thought, right? You're with him all the time, and he's been there since you can remember, and it wouldn't make sense if one day you wake up and he's all too suddenly not there anymore. You're certain that he's not going anywhere, and even if you're unsure of what the future holds, you aren't so worried.

If you knew, maybe you should have been.

"Hyuck?"

"Are you gonna remind me of the time I almost drowned and you told me you'll kill me if I die?"

"I'm leaving."

The traces of his previous chuckles disappear, and it seems like a movie scene with the way yours bloom tragically as you watch colored lights reflect on his skin. Then, as if sunrise, a slow smile etches on his face. A brief moment of regret and pain crosses his eyes before love overtakes it.

"You don't have to." He murmurs, sight still cast at the sea. Both his hands are tucked in his pockets in such a leisure way, and then he casually peers at you, "You don't have to leave because I'm not mad."

The sea makes the wind blowing even colder, and suddenly, the docks that used to warm you with sunlight feels cold as snow.

He knows... of course, he knows. Donghyuck saw your iridescence from every side and he knew how everything looked by heart; of course, he knew, he's your best friend, after all. Oh, how evil you are. How evil you are for loving the boy who belongs with him. How evil you are that even after that, Donghyuck reaches for your hands and you let him hold you; you let him smile at you sweetly, you let him calm you still.

"How can I even get mad at you? I love you more than anything in this world," he chuckles, and it breaks your heart. "You're my best friend and I'll give Jaemin up if I have to, if that will make you happy."

If that will make you happy... if it will make me happy... why did I do that to you, love? How did I manage to... oh, sweet heavens.

"You're all I need forever," you answer weakly, breathless and breathing all the same in his hug. It's your way of saying no, absolutely no, your sadness would never make me happy. You thank the high heavens that he couldn't see your face and the pain in it when you whisper, "But at the moment, this is what I need. Distance."

The first tear falls from Donghyuck's eyes, and the sudden drizzle of rain washes it off him. You look up to him and see longing, wondering just why it had to be this way, almost begging you you stay. He looked like he's about to send the world away if it meant that you won't have to leave, but the truth burns down to your determination, that he always admired: you have made your mind and there's no stopping you. You know what is best for yourself, and Donghyuck trusts you.

Set yourself free, Donghyuck whispers before he walks home. After that, please come back to me.

###

When you meet Jaemin ten hours before you leave, he's standing at the very same place Donghyuck was the day before. He's wearing a similar jacket, standing in a similar manner, looking just as beautiful against the water. The only thoughts running inside your head is how perfect they are.

"Jaemin."

Not even 'shooting star' anymore.

He turns at the call of his name, and you're still standing on both of your feet, but it feels like diving deep. His skin reflects the very same lights Donghyuck's did, but it looked kind of different — be it red or yellow, white or the shadows; everything looked midnight blue. It feels like standing on a cliff and almost tipping over, eternally almost tipping over and falling into blue nothingness.

Jaemin smiles, not happy but breaking. It makes you hold your breath.

He laughs, "Don't break my heart."

"In the next life." Because it's all that you could have. You return his smile, "I hope I deserve you in the next life."

His laughter rings in your ear, but it doesn't make you laugh at all; instead, it makes you want to sob or scream or just hurt, yet again, to savor the pain because he doesn't want you to but it's all he could give. It feels claustrophobic to align in a way that's everything meeting with your soulmate should be, with someone who's not your soulmate. Or you are indeed soulmates, but not the ones destined to be together like that. Just two wholes that compliment each other but are meant to be torn apart.

"I just said don't break my heart, what did you do?" He tries to crack a joke, walking the last step to be closer to you. He tilts his head in that charming way, "Why did I fall in love with you?"

"Hey, Jaem... you're not. Forget that. Love him." You shake your head, fixing the collar of his shirt, an excuse for one last guiltless touch. Your voice breaks, "He's my best friend. I love him more than the world."

And just as he is to me, I would rather let you go and make him happy, you smiled at yourself. I'd rather you make each other happy.

"I know." he croaks out, a fragile smile on his face. "In the next life?"

You try to imagine a life where Jaemin isn't haunting your thoughts; you can't. For a moment, you fear meeting someone else and not being able to love them because they're not him. You fear that they'd be kinder, softer, gentler than Jaemin and you won't be able to love them back because oh, Jaemin was just right; he was too much but in a way where it's just enough — Jaemin who looks at you like you hold galaxies, Jaemin who would risk the world, Jaemin who is with your best friend. The doomed play goes on and you think again of a life where he isn't what you desperately love, and realize that indeed, hopefully, in the next life.

In the next life, because this love feels right but it's not. In the next life, because it's painful but you'll love him still again and again and again until your stars finally agree.

"In the next life." You nod, fingers clenching on the straps of your bag. You look at the ocean ahead of you, and the lights it reflects, and then you close your eyes as you feel the wind.

"Until then, shooting star."

—

yellow tags 💛

coffee shop

untitled1

[r3almellow]

MLQC Boys Being Horny For A Pregnant S/o

Thanks so much for the request!! This almost turned into a big pregnancy headcanon HC, but I fought through the urge! You guys should be proud of me!

Warning: Pregnancy sex, oral sex, and lactation

Click “Keep Reading” for the goods!

Kiro

Kiro was in pure bliss while you were pregnant because your sex drive was practically through the roof.

The two of you had sex quite a few times a week and Kiro was in absolute heaven.

At first, you would have sex in your usual places. (Home, dressing room, recording studio, broom closet ect.) But as the months went on, your intimate moments mostly occurred at home or in a hotel room with a nice comfortable bed for you to be on.

Even before you got pregnant Kiro had a thing for your breasts. Biting, sucking, titty fucking...the whole nine yards! 

There wasn’t a moment that went by where Kiro didn’t find an opportunity to slip hands under your blouse just to squeeze “the girls.” 

He immediately notices how big they’ve gotten and booooy did the sight of you going up two bra sizes have his mouth watering.

Seeing your nipples poking out from your shirt was just... *chefs kiss* 

If you complained about clothes irritating your sensitive nipples he’d jokingly say that you should walk around the house topless. But he’s actually not joking and would sell his soul if it meant you’d actually do it.

His favorite position is missonary and cowgirl because they give him the best access to your breasts, so he can caress and fondle as he pleases.

However, the former was mostly doable during your first trimester, so spooning has become his go to mainly because he doesn’t want you doing all the work. 

It was also a win because he could hold you from behind while placing kisses along your neck while taking in your scent. He'd have a hand massaging your breast while the other between your legs, drawing circles around your clit as he slowly thrusted into you from behind. 

Once the baby is born, you always have to remind him constantly that your breasts are extremely sensitive to the point where they're too painful to touch. 

When you begin breastfeeding...oh boy...

He can feel the way his dick strains against his pants as he watches you. He was excited for all the naughty things he planned on doing when you were ready.

You can feel his eyes on you sometimes and you often have to give him a playful glare.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.” How could he stop thinking about how erect your nipples looked?! Or how badly he wanted to leave bite marks all over your breasts?! Oooor how much he wanted to feel them rubbing against his cock?!

And when you accidentally start leaking? You’ll be so embarrassed, but Kiro?! Your man is losing it! He didn’t think something like breastmilk leaking through your shirt would be hot but he’s been wrong about a lot of things. 

Kiro will always respect your wishes to wait but once you give him the go ahead your boobs are not safe from him. 

Gavin

There was something about you being pregnant that really got him going. 

He will always kneel before you to press small kisses against your stomach and has a habit of trailing down to what he calls “dangerous territory.”

Out of fear of hurting the baby and not wanting to put you through any unnecessary stress because he couldn’t keep it in his pants, Gavin will opt for taking care of his “problems” on his own.

He'll be super conflicted too! Poor thing just wants to make love to you, but not at the cost of hurting you!

Whenever you want to have sex, he tries to turn you down. Emphasis on TRY! Somehow things end either with his head between your legs or you giving him a hand job. As nice as that was, it wasn't the saaaaaaame!

“The sight of me is such a turn off, right? I wouldn’t want to touch me either...”  

Gavin will look at you like you just slapped him in the face. Never in his life has he ever been turned off by you. No matter what state you’re in, you’re the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. 

You'll notice his "lack of interest" and naturally start to doubt his attraction to you.

“Babe, its not that! I never thought you could look any more beautiful, but you looking like this proved me wrong. I’ve never wanted you more than I do right now, but I’m trying to protect our baby and your pussy from me. Its been so hard for me to control myself around you.” 

You can tell he’s been going through it when you cup him through his pants and feel just hard he is. Poor thing.

You have to tell him being intimate while you’re pregnant wasn’t a bad thing and that the baby would be perfectly fine. 

It won’t take long for you to convince him, especially when you’re slowly pumping his dick with your hand that “magically” slipped itself down his pants.

He loves having you on top of him so he can look at your beautiful body as you ride him. 

When Baby Bai arrives, Gavin goes back to doing things on his own because he knows you need rest.

You only have a certain number of positions to choose from since you’re carrying precious cargo, but Gavin’s absolute favorite position is cowgirl. 

Will caress your stomach while he's eating you out. He's not exactly sure why but it's become a habit.

Won't pressure you at all and will patiently wait until you're ready.

Sometimes, gets worried when you start bouncing on his cock and the slapping of skin starts to echo throughout the bedroom. He's just like, "B-babe, maybe we should... slow down...ah...what about...shit!" You're gonna have to shut him up somehow. Clenching yourself around him might do the trick.

Victor

You had a certain glow about you during your pregnancy that Victor was in awe of. 

Victor is very observant of how much your body has changed throughout the course of your pregnancy for obvious reasons, however, said reasons have become a bit, in his opinion, perverse as the months went on.

Just the sight of you made him want to ravish you in ways he has never thought of before. But why? 

Was it the way your maternity clothes perfectly outlined the curves of your body? Maybe how swollen your breasts have become? 

Or maybe...just maybe it was how good you looked in the various lingerie he bought for you. Babydoll lingerie that perfectly highlighted your stomach were his personal favorites.

Sex with Victor during your first two trimesters was pretty normal until half way through month six he becomes a bit more hesitant and by month seven stops completely.

Another one who doesn’t want to harm you or the child. 

It takes you and three different doctors to tell him that having sex while you were seven months pregnant was perfectly normal.

Even with that knowledge he’s still pretty hesitant, but not even a day after confirmation does his resolve break and with the utmost care you two enjoy a night filled with passion.

He’ll be in the middle of giving you a foot massage as you sit there in your bathrobe and he subconsciously places a kiss against your ankle.

He catches himself trailing kisses up your leg and abruptly stops. That was probably the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Doesn’t help that you’re looking at him with blush coated cheeks as you spread your legs ever so slightly for the hem of the robe to fall from your leg, revealing your upper thigh. 

When Victor puts his mind to something he sees it through without fail, but you always manage to throw him through an an unexpected loop.

So...yeeaaah...two seconds later he has his face in between your legs, tongue pressed against your clit, and hands firmly holding you in place as he continued to take from you. This is one failure he will accept with pride if that means he can have you in every possible way.

His all time favorite position during your pregnancy is definitely spooning. It makes him feel closer to you.

After the pregnancy, sex is out of the question for the next few months which you don’t complain about, because parenthood hits you and your body hard. 

Victor understands that you need time to heal and that your sex drive isn't as high as it was before. Plus, the baby required your attention 90% of the time.

That doesn’t mean Victor doesn’t fantasize about having you under him again. He does miss being intimate with you and has been holding back quite a bit.

He’ll catch you looking at yourself in the mirror, pointing out all your “imperfections” and all he wants to do place kisses all along your body.

You’ll just be like, “I don’t know how you can stare at all of this and still be attracted to me.” 

Victor will wrap his arms around you stare at you sternly in the mirror.

“I don’t know where you got such foolish ideas from, but you’re perfect the way you are and when you’re ready I’ll remind you of that fact.”

You can’t even fight him on that, not when his erection is firmly pressed against you. 

Lucien

Already researched all the best sex positions for pregnant women. 

You two have a healthy amount of sex for most of your pregnancy, so Lucien and you are never left feeling “parched” for one another. 

It's not until your final months does Lucien take a few steps back.

Prefers to focus on giving you the most pleasurable experience when you two make love. You deserve to feel good especially when you’re carrying a life inside you for nine months. 

So you’ll expect a lot of him eating you out, fingering you, toys; just about anything that can bring you pleasure.

Has definitely done things with you while he's trying to help you around the house. And he's so slick with it!

In the middle of helping you shower, his fingers will gently caress your stomach and you're just like "Awwww!" and then they're suddenly caressing your clit.

While the father-to-be is understanding and all about your sexual experience its definitely a challenge when he wants to have sex with you. Especially when you're so tempting!

You could be in the middle of talking about baby names and he'll have the biggest smile on his face as he looks at you. So wholesome, right? Wrong! His mind is definitely somewhere else!

But it'll take more than your ample breasts, an unsuspecting smile thrown his way and your very existence to make him falter.

While you love the way he tends to you and makes sure you’re getting the most out of this, you'd rather to do things together. 

He dares not admit the amount of times he's thought about bending you over the kitchen counter and pounding himself into you with little to no restraint.

Toys are great and all but you’re trying to feel his dick.

Once you tell him what you want, Lucien will graciously comply and mentally thank you for saying something, because he was on the verge of breaking.

Of course, sex takes a backseat once the baby is born so Lucien won't turn into some sex crazed monster after two months, buuuut he will spend quite a lot of time "handling business" on his own.

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Done!!! Kinda posted this with little to no editing, so I'm sorry about that. I still hope this was enjoyable to read!

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