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witchlyboo · 3 years ago

Text

Definitely, maybe.

Part five: The one who belongs to someone else.

Introduction. Part one. Part two. Part three. Part four.

Paring: Latina!reader x Logan Lerman x Tom Holland x Ben Hardy x Timothee Chalamet x Pedro Pascal x Michael B. Jordan

Warnings: Swearing, angst, misspellings, some Spanish, me learning how to write properly, and NY stuff that I've learned from movies that we all agree to pretend are real.

Word count: 6.4 k

a/n: You been asking for smut, I know, I know, I just wanted to introduce you to all the boys first, and we're getting there, just one more ahead. Also, I'm working on a masterlist because we are getting too many parts already.

All body types and skin tones friendly. You can also enjoy it as a no Hispanic reader. Constructive feedback and misspellings correction is always welcome.

Red and blue lights flash the driving mirror.

—No, no, no, por favor que no sea a mi—You beg to the sky looking at the patrol that is asking you to park, or someone else, there's a lot of cars in this part of the city, there's a big chance is the panic who's controlling your senses.—Dios, mi abuela fue a la iglesia cada domingo de su vida y nunca te pidió nada, please let me have some of her divina recompensa.—But that's not how it works, you end up parking with just a few seconds to think what to say. There's a perfect explication of why you are driving a car that is not yours in the middle of the night and smelling like a minibar.

Then this ridiculous thought comes to your mind, you look expensive, you've never seen the daughter of a senator but you must be close to it, it would make you less of a feminist if you just use your attributes? Ugh, you feel sick just to think about it but don't have enough money to pay a fine, and the constant paranoia of being chased all the time as an immigrant will only get stronger.

You pull down your dress a little so your neckline can do its job but you regret it immediately, and you're pretty sure you look more like an expensive prostitute who stole the car of his lover than some influential men's daughter.

—License and registration.—You hear him say when he approaches your window. You don't like this but you have to play the dumb tourist, the pretty foreign girl that is too stupid to be dangerous, with the look you have tonight it shouldn't be hard. But damn you hate cops, any uniformed man that works for the government is your eternal enemy, and you don't know how long you could keep the nice dumb Latina game before spit on his face.

—There's something wrong, officer? ...You?!—Your sexy and fake high voice is ruined when you see the face of the man who stopped you. This night couldn't get worse.

—Wait, what happened with the party?—Evan interrupts you while you finish some notes for work, little remainders for later when you don't have an eleven years old kid running around you, he's not usually this energic and you have to blame yourself for that, you're describing a life of excess and eccentric fun, something you let behind so many years ago that your own son doesn't know even a bit of it.

—Ugh, a nightmare doesn't worth telling.—You remember vaguely most of it but what keeps fresh in your mind is bad enough to don't want to bring it back.

—But if Timothée is my dad I have to know the important things, including the bad stuff.—Sounds perfectly reasonable and that's what makes you groan at him. Sometimes you feel blessed that your kid is better than you in any possible way, and sometimes you want to kill his brain with video games and reality shows like the rest of the parents.

—Ok, cool, but I'll keep all the +18 content for myself, so this part of the story might be blurry for you.—It kinda is for you anyway.

You should’ve known this night was cursed, you had a feeling because a) your earring fell off at the same time Timothée texted you to give you the party address and say he can't pick you up. And b) he won’t pick you up. Your mother would say that’s reason enough to not go, a real gentleman wouldn’t make you go to an unknown place in the middle of the night on your own in a city like this. But you decide to ignore it because you are a modern woman and because it’s worth it. It better be.

The outfit must be something special. You always take your time to choose what to wear, even if just another regular day, and since this isn't the case you thought about it for hours, that made your mind busy enough to not thinking about Tom and the whole love confession. He texted you saying he'll come for you to go to class together on Monday, which is completely impractical because he's way closer than you but is progress and you're going to take it.

You wanted to ask for Sheep's opinion but you thought she might not care, has been a few days since she started acting strange like she's bothered just to see you breathe. You want to blame his boyfriend to take all her time and attention from you but is probably just her new job, she got a small role in a Netflix show, and even when you're so happy for her, that's the event that has changed her into someone completely different. But you give her time, stress can do bad things to people.

The winner is the exact copy you made of the black and white striped dress Cameron Diaz wore in "The Mask" beautiful, classy, and sexy enough without being too scandalous, not that you have any problem with that, but this isn't the occasion, you don't want to feel like you're being too much or too little, just enough, it's supposed to be easy, right? you were born for this. Just adding some big shiny earrings you got on a thrift shop that look like real diamonds and you're ready, not that you own any to compare. Red lipstick, dark eyes, and a messy bun to get that disinterested pitch every look needs.

Getting there wasn't a problem, you were in the rich part of the city, everyone know who, where and what just to brag about it. The excitement is growing with every second, you check your makeup like thirty times in the elevator and send texts to your mom just to let her know where you are, and because you have to share that moment with someone and you are limited of friends these days.

Timothée opens the door with red eyes, drunk, high, or somewhere in between, you know then you were right about the bad feeling. He jumps on you to kiss you and no matter how much you try to explain the delicacy of your lipstick, he does it anyway, leaving a taste of alcohol and shrimps in your mouth. Taking you by the waist he walks you to a group of people you don't know while you're trying harder to fix the red color of your mouth without a mirror.

—Here is the companion I bought, look at her, that's how five grand per hour look like.—They laughed but you were too disoriented to process all the things he said, it was supposed to be a joke? if it is, why isn't he correcting? Instead, his hand goes straight to your ass and presses it to get you closer to him.

—I'm actually an intern in the costume designer department of the new version of "Sense and Sensibility".—You wanted to mention your recent promotion to hairstylist and makeup artist but that might be too pretentious. Anyway, they don't seem to care what you are or not, in fact, they don't even see you, all eyes are on Timothée

—Oh, well, is easy to forget when you're paying them—All laughs again. Who is this person? Who are all these people, actually? You recognize some influencers, a few cast members but there's no sign of the director, other main actors, not even his co-star. You feel like an extra in a movie where someone will be killed in a luxury party, hopefully not you. You take his hand from your body and clear your throat.—I'm just joking my love, she looks stunning, isn't she? I’ll get you a drink.

He leaves and the group of people surrounding you suddenly dissipated like boiling water, you were on your own again and despite some judgmental gazes is like you’re not there, you’re sure you could just take your dress off and throw it to someone’s face and unless Tim says something about it, no one would care. You’re there as his companion, an ornament, and that’s not enough to earn their attention because it’s too obvious you’re the one in turn.

You walk to the only window no one is smoking and check your phone, you know, the thing you do when you pretend you have important issues to attend, but no, you end reading some old messages, pictures, texting your mom of how much fun you’re having at the party, and somehow you check your filed Facebook messages to find Logan’s name. You cover the screen so fast you hurt your nail, his name is enough to make you tremble like a Chihuahua, you haven’t talked to him since that night, you know from his sister he lives in the house he bought for you two and he’s having the happiest life without you. You want to believe that because that means you took the right decision but deep inside… no, you can’t be that person, you want him to be happier than ever.

You find the guts to open the message, and you read as slowly as is humanly possible. “My angel, I hope this finds you in perfect health…” Dios, just Logan could start a message like that, your smile is almost too big to fit in your face so you bit your nail to cover it a little. “I recently found one of the human body drawings you made for me to study, you’ll be happy to know…”

—That’s a fucking long-ass message.—Tim appears behind you and takes your phone from your hand, spilling some of his drink on your dress in the process. Apparently, he's been there long enough to read part of the message.

—Give it back.—You command in the most severe voice you have, your magical moment got ruined and you remember the hole of hell you are.

—"My angel, I hope this finds you in perfect health. I recently found one of the human body drawings you made for me to study, you must know I still use them now and then"—Timothée starts reading the message, and even when no one is close enough to hear it and you don’t really care about this people’s opinion, that’s not for anyone to read, that’s one of the few parts of your life you treasure the most and you’re not ready to get over it.—You little slut, are you cheating on me with a med student?

—Give it to me.—You repeat trying to take the phone from his hand but he’s faster and walks away putting it out of your reach.

—"I meticulously preserve them, I certainly know any piece of art made by you will be priceless in the near future"—You don’t want to hear it coming from his drunk mocking voice, so you try to ignore what he’s saying and put more effort on chasing the phone.—Should I had kept the jeans where you left the wet spot on? I didn’t know you were an artist, my love.

—Timothée, por el amor de Dios.—Now you're trying to climb him, it wouldn't be that hard to take him down, he's skinny and you're fierce. That's what you thought but he's not moving even with you are on top of his shoulder and his opposite long arm keeps the phone away from you.

—Who is this guy and why is he talking to my girl like this?—You see the olive eyes getting darker and the tone of his voice went deeper than you thought he could do. You desist from taking the phone, you know the bullies love the attention, maybe that's exactly what he wants and give it to him just makes it worse.

—I'm not your girl.—You claim fixing up your dress having enough of games, and you have no reason to keep worrying about losing your job, the filming is done, and apparently your relationship with him too. You don't care about any of that anymore, just want to read Logan's text.

Even behind all the alcohol and the eyes injected in blood thanks for who knows what kind of drug, you can see the disappointment and anger, but it's not a broken heart, Is the hissy fit of a child that loses his balloon and now everyone will pay for it, especially you.

—Are you sure about that?—You can see him swallow hard, almost looking vulnerable, but his voice is defiant and threatening to prove you wrong. He just has to stretch out his arm to reach the open window with your phone in hand, his intentions are clear and the only thing you can do is raise your hands as a reflex.—You were mine the moment you put a foot on my trailer, and I don't fucking share my stuff.—Before you can say a word he drops the phone from the fourth floor.

You know is senseless but you find yourself running out of the party and going to search the device, using it also as an excuse to get away from that place. This is the first time someone makes you feel meaningless, you know the famous' world is cold and lacking in empathy but this is ridiculous, they're a bunch of parasites fed by attention and power. By Timothée.

The screen is crashed and the rest of it is probably beyond repair, not that you're surprised, its life is longer than you've been in the country and you admit you should have replaced it much earlier but you're not the kind to throw away things that still work. However, is not the phone you are worried about, not as much as what it contains.

—That was obsolete anyway, I'll get you a better one.—You didn't know he was following you, his voice interrupts your self-wailing. He sounds calmer and a little embarrassed, but not enough to say sorry, you don't think he's capable of saying it.

You shake your head and start to walk away without a word, you don't want anything from him, not materially, at least.

—Don't make a scandal out of it, it's just a phone!—He yells erasing any trace of regret in his voice. He doesn't see the reaction he expected and that's when he runs after you and with a hand on your upper arm pulls you back, you gasped for the sudden bluntness.—That annoying habit you have of leaving when I'm talking to you.

You push him away with all the strength you have, which resulted in him almost falling on the ground.

—I don't care about the stupid phone!—You finally break, but sadly is not as satisfactory as you thought it would be.—You are mean, vain, arrogant and the worst part is that you enjoy being this despicable human because you have absolutely no consequences to it. Everyone around you just accepts it and I feel so sorry for you because the only possible way for you to fill the void inside is to be surrounded by that crowd of mules licking your steps—To your surprise, he has nothing to say, he's just standing there with no facial expression, whatever he feels is easily covered by his years of experience acting, even drunk.—I can't give you that and it's obvious they don't want me either. What am I even doing here?—You ask yourself thinking where would be the best way of getting a cab, is a rich zone, must be easy.

—Everything is better when you're around—His voice is thin and fragile, you have to process what he said three times in your head to understand his words. You're not willing to look at him yet.—You're not like the others.

—Pure bullshit. You love to repeat that misogynist discourse of girls being in a certain way because is easier than be responsible for the people you choose to be—You were hugging yourself the whole time, is a cold night, but not enough to be bothersome, you enjoy Fall weather—You got me for a moment, I give you that, you fooled me but I'm too tired of guessing what version of you is real—When you return your gaze at him, he doesn't try to hide the guilt anymore, but there's still haughtiness in there.—Now, if you don't mind Mr. Chalamet, I need to get a cab.

—No, you came with me, you leave with me.—There's no trace of alcohol in his voice anymore, a good scolding is enough to put you sober, you know that thanks to your mom. Oh god, you're becoming her.

—You didn't bring me here, gigantic head—You look at him and put your hand in front of him with the palm up. He stares at it for several seconds before put his own on it—Not that!—You shake it and start looking inside his jeans pockets until you feel the metal of his key car.—You can't drive and I have to get home. You'll find it in the studio tomorrow.

That's how you ended with a car way more luxurious than you expected, driving so slowly and carefully that the police stopped you. What a night, but at this point, you couldn't care less about anything that is not that message, is been months and you can't get over it, over him. Not even Ben moans, Tom's comforting arms, or fight with a movie star at 3:00 am. is enough to get him out of your mind.

—So is true, you don't wear anything that hasn't appeared in a movie, huh?—Michael B. Jordan is leaning on the car window with a mocking smile and a sparkle of satisfaction that you would love to punch but his uniform keeps you in line, where you come from police is not equal to justice, most of the times is oppression.

—You know where it's from?—That was kind of comforting, no one at the party noticed. Not that you care.

—Is The Mask, not some Adam Hitchcock's blurb.—He smiles and even when you really don't like him, it's nice to be with a familiar face, you are really tired of running away, scaping for problems that are a result of your null capacity to deal with emotions. Ugh, what a word.

—Is Alfred Hitchcock, actually.—You didn't want to sound priggish, but you correct him with no time to stop yourself, an old habit.

—You got me, smarty, you know more than movies than me. Where did you get this car?—You feel really nervous even when you got this legally, you have your documents and license on time and he's being nice enough to not want to run away in a car that you technically borrowed for yourself.

—It's not mine.—No shit, Sherlock.

—No shit, Sherlock, I was asking where did you steal it.—You wanted to laugh but there's something with the uniform that just doesn't allow you to be yourself.—Are you drunk?

—No, no, fuck, no, it's just, I don't feel comfortable with cops—He raises his eyebrows but that is his only reaction.—Listen, is my boss' car, I'm doing the favor to take it to the studio, and I'm really nervous because is fucking expensive, he's an asshole, I haven't drive un almost a year because you people only use cars if you're rich or your work and lives depend on it. I'm starving.—The last part came out of nowhere, you haven't eaten anything in almost 13 hours, maybe that's the actual reason why you are that moody.

He doesn't answer right away, takes his time to look at you, what makes you blush, he's really close, closer than he's ever been. Does he smell like green apples? Not the actual apples, the artificial smell they had given to them.

—Get out of the car.—Oh no, is he arresting you? Is he finally taking revenge for every time you make fun of his Hawaiian-type shirts? You know you have too much karma accumulated and a cop making you pay for it when you don’t believe in their sense of justice is kinda poetic, and evil.

You don’t want to discuss with someone with a taser, gun, pepper spray, or who knows what else. So you take your bag, the key car, and get off defeated.

—My turn is almost over, I’ll take you to eat something, c’mon.—He walks back to his patrol and you stay still for a few seconds still processing his words, you must look totally devastated for him to offer that. How you see it you have two options, go with him and spend an awkward hour with a person you don’t like or risk getting a fine, Tim can pay it, it’s not a big deal but you don’t want to owe him even the minimal thing.

You get in the car holding on to your bag to feel calmer, this is the first time you’re fully alone with him since you found him half-naked in your kitchen. Those defined abs may never leave your brain.

—Are you cold?—He interrupts your thoughts with his question, you didn’t notice you were shaking. He looks for something under his seat and gives you an NYPD hoodie, you hold it doubting your next move, is not like you don’t appreciate the gesture but it’d be easier to take if it doesn’t get that words printed—Is clean.—He says chuckling when he sees the way you’re looking at it.

—Is not that, just, you know, fuck the police, defund the NYPD, demilitarize the pigs and that stuff.—You say putting on the hoodie anyway, is a cold night and you won't help the institution wearing their propaganda.

—Yeah, I get it, but you can't change the system just from within.—You decide is not the right moment to have a political conversation so you shrug your shoulders and discreetly smell the hoodie, a mix of cologne, green apples, and cheap soap, you know is cheap because you buy the exact same, do its job.

—I'm in the mood for pizza.—You say casually, making a deal to yourself to try to be his friend, he is a small part of your life anyway.—Domino's is open at this time of the night?

—Tell me you're not consuming that shit, dear Lord, you been here for how long, two years? I can't believe your idea of a good pizza is Domino's. Stella hasn't taught you anything?—You're surprised by the level of condescension with a pizza and you mirror his smile, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Your school program includes people from all around the world so you don't have that much experience with actual new yorkers. Logan is rich, so he doesn't really count.

—What's wrong with Domino's? I don't buy much street food, is cheaper to buy things on the food market. Besides, all pizza is good.—The mention of Sheep makes you a little tense, so you don't say anything about it, is not a conversation to have with him.

—Don't blaspheme in the patrol, I just washed it—You laugh, finally, after a terrible weekend. You can see why she likes him, there is something about his voice, smile, and his eyes that feel... calm, like watching Friends after a marathon of Lord of the Rings.—There are rules to survive this city, and I'm surprised you have made it this far without a proper guide.

—Chill out Mr. Miyagi, I'm not from the jungle, and I've learned a lot by myself.—He gives you a lopsided grin as a request, and you put your fingers up ready to enlist your acquired knowledge.—Walk fast, like you're about to be stabbed, something that actually happened to me, with an umbrella—He nods and laughs being related to it.—Number two, no small talk, no one cares, even if they ask. Number three, if you look a stranger in the eye, especially a homeless person, you have essentially invited them to approach you.

—Number four, we never eat from Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza hut, or any other chain restaurant, only trucks and local places are allowed.—You roll your eyes but you get the point, is just, again, you're not much into street food, it doesn't taste like home and the only way to eat food like that is preparing it yourself.

—Fine, fuck capitalism, let's support local places—You make an obvious fake enthusiastic tone but he nods proudly.—Number five, you don't need a car to live here, not even know how to drive. I would have successfully avoided this police brutality if I had followed that rule.

—For someone who is about to eat for free, you whine too much.—He parks the car and gives you a sign to go with him. You see him go to a pizza truck and order, you realize at the moment how ridiculous you look, so before chasing him you let your hair down, take your huge earrings off, and roll up the skirt of your dress until your mid-thighs letting the hoodie cover the rest, and clean the red lipstick with a Kleenex from your bag. Now you look more like a college person and not a rich girl who just got seized.

—Here you go.—He says giving you a slice as big as your head, looks oily and spreading cheese everywhere. Perfect.

—Is it vegan?—You ask receiving the food with an obnoxious face. His kind grind turned into a dread expression and you give him your second laugh of the day.—I'm kidding.

You are about to give it a bite when you see passing next to you a huge rat with the exact same slice as yours in its mouth, running into the dark of the night happy to have obtained the food for its family. They use to scare you when you just moved out but now they're like any other pigeon in the sky.

—Rule... whatever, a rat with a slice of pizza is a symbol for good luck, congratulations.—He pets your head awkwardly, not sure if you're ok with the physical contact, which, surprisingly, you are.

—I see rats with bagels all the time.—Pizza and bagels, that's the main culinary wonders of the city, you like it, not much to object but is hard not to compare it with your home's food.

—Is easy to confuse a rough diamond with a simple rock.—You both eat in silence, enjoying the mixed sounds of the city and all the different smells, the whole situation feels like one of those lofi music videos. You remember thinking about moments like this before getting the scholarship, what would it be like to feel normal in the city of your dreams.

—How do you know that much about movies?—He asks after a few minutes when you take a break to drink something, that pizza is not easy to take.

—When I was a kid a spent much time on my own, so my dad bought me a used DVD reproducer, and at the corner of my neighborhood was this movie store where you could buy 5 pirate movies for one dollar. They were blurred, with a terrible sound, and most of the time with the wrong movie inside but they helped me to not feel lonely. Eventually, the store closed but I've watched everything in it by then—He gives you a warm smile, you never told that story to anyone, not because is too intimate to share, but because no one asked, it doesn't sound like a question with a complex answer.—Anyway, I watched Marie Antoinette when I was like eight, and I decided at that moment that however is done I wanted to be part of that magic.

—You hear all kind of people chasing dreams in this city but is hard to find someone who actually deserves it.—You blush and you cover it with your hair but the smile on your voice is impossible to hide.

—Is that a compliment? You must really want me to like you to date Sheep.—You laugh but you can see his face tense, so you can guess your friend has been busy breaking everyone’s hearts.

—She hasn’t returned my calls in three days so I don’t think there’s much you can do—You nod, all this time you thought he was the reason she is ignoring you but apparently you are both in the same boat.—But yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking, what I should have said is, Marie Antoinette at eight? I can see where all the damage started.

You gasp and throw your napkin at his head, he easily catches it without even looking at it and laughs; that was unexpectedly attractive.

—Why a cop?—You ask, not sure where that question came from, maybe you authentically want to know more about him, he just bought you food, and honestly, that's the easiest way to win your trust.

—I wanted to be an actor when I was a child. This is the city of opportunities so you may think that if you want to chase the big wonder, this is the perfect place to do it. But I grow up surrounded by these people giving their entire lives to get something just given to one in a million so I decided is not worth it. For many years I wondered what I wanted to do with my life and the answer was really clear, my dad was a cop, a good one, or that’s what people say. I don’t remember much because he died when I was seven—Conversations about death are not your strength, everything can turn out uncomfortable if you choose the wrong words.—It might not be that glamorous but if my father died for it, it surely worth it.

—For the good ones.—You raise your almost empty can of Coke and he does the same with a grin that warms the cold weather of the night.

—For the good ones.

The next two hours passed like minutes talking about anything and everything. It just felt right to talk freely with him, you didn’t feel judged for your awkward family moments or your random thoughts, not even once because he told you his too. At some point of the night he borrowed you his gym sweatpants, any of you could just suggest going home but that was off the table, end that peace just for weather reasons would have been a tragedy.

—I read Timothée Chalamet is a dick. Is that true?—The mention of his name remains you of your life and everything that comes with it, including the middle semester project that you must dedicate your entire day, one that is about to start.—What, you can’t talk about it?

—He is a complete dick with no sense of privacy or human decency—And when he interrupts a deep kiss to look at your eyes, smile, and caress your chin, you feel like a character of his Victorian movies. But he didn’t ask that.—But the next week he’ll be no longer my problem.

—That’s why we have rule twenty-three, don’t ask for a picture of a celebrity unless they are local—You have heard about it before but you haven’t got the opportunity to decide if you like that rule because the only celebrities you have seen are from work and that club’s party opening.—That means you’ll be free to go to the Stephen Kings’ movie projection there will be for Halloween.

You don’t know if that was a proposition, a suggestion, or just a simple recommendation, and whatever it is, you noticed he was nervous to ask. Is it wrong? It feels wrong like you were betraying your friend accepting to hang out with his boyfriend without her consent. But he didn’t ask you to go with him so is safe to answer.

—Yeah, I guess—You get a moment, four seconds top, where you shared innocent, curious, and tenting gazes like three graders in the playground. And that’s the further you will allow yourself to go.—We better leave, if the sunlight touch me I’ll turn into dust.

You get off the car hood and go to the side door, but this time he opens it for you. You give him a “seriously?” Look, receiving a little push in your arm as a response.

↬☀︎︎

A distant voice asks you to wake up, softly whispers that turn into caresses on your cheek, your eyes feel so heavy, even when you are well aware of your environment your eyelids keep closed.

—Good morning, Princess—This is the first time Tom calls you that way, the change from silly nicknames to Princess is enough to get you out of hibernation. He is squatting beside your bed, his smile is the promise of a better day, and chasing that idea you give him one small back.—Your mom has been texting me desperately all day, she said you're not answering her calls and is worried.

—Fuck, my phone broke last night, can I call her from yours?—That’s an oversimplification but in the search for a better story, that's what you decide to believe and tell. Tom nods and gives it to you, he looks happy, beyond that, this is the first time you see that subtle blush on his cheeks and the eyes sparkling. You sit on the bed next to his body looking for your mom's number, slowly he moves between your legs, you have shorts and an oversized Back To The Future t-shirt, you got took the time to prepare yourself to bed last night and keep Michael’s clothes inside your closet to wash them, like The Tell-Tale Heart, a little innocent secret who feels dirty somehow

The conversations with your mom are always long, nostalgic and the tears are hard to hold for both parts; after a long life sharing almost every day with her, her absence never feels smaller. But this time is different, Tom is exploring the bare skin under your knee with his warm hands, asking for permission with curious eyes, and when you don’t object to the touch the British boy keeps his exploring mission cautiously, giving special attention to see your eyes in case something change. Is time to hang up when he gives a long and loving kiss to your knee, the less erotic kiss you could think of but so intimate to bristle your skin.

—Not nice to touch someone's daughter when is talking to her mom.—The protest of your voice loses strength at every word, he heard that and just straight his back to reach your face, the gap is almost extinct.

—We're okay, she likes me.—He assures holding your hips and pulling you a bit to him. Tom looks very comfortable with the new closeness authorization, you like it but are not very sure about it yet, most of you still think of him as your best friend.

—Did she tell you that? Are you talking with my mom behind my back?—You laugh when he does, almost like nothing changed.

—She adores me, I swear, I'm invited to Christmas, you know?—You're not surprised, she invites everyone, Logan was too but the first time he got family plans and didn't make it to the second.

—You should go, maybe we can do...—His lips touch yours in a peak at the middle phrase and makes you forget what you were about to say.—Man, the audacity to interrupt...—Then he kisses you again, deeply, using his tongue to taste your inner lip and his hands holding your shirt in fists. That's a twist of events.

—Is that ok?—You hear a weak whisper coming out of his voice but you got so mesmerized on his lips that decided to ignore it and kiss him back instead. He responds to your touch and starts to lean over you to make you lay on the bed.

Jesucristo bendito, is this happening? like, actually happening? you must look like trash, you barely took all the makeup from the night before and didn't take a shower, you start to get so worried about smells, feelings, and what that'll mean to your already too much-spoiled friendship.

However, the time of doubts is done when Sheep starts yelling in the living room, you both reacted running to the sound and looking for your blonde friend. Michael is there but doesn't look like the same as a few hours ago, is annoyed and tired for the lack of sleep, a look that doesn't match him at all.—What did you do?—You ask him fast assuming she's mad for something he did.

—Just in time, the star of the movie, I was wondering how much it will take you to be the protagonist of this.—That is Sheep's voice talking about you and what must be your heart breaking from her words.

—Excuse me?—You wish your tone would be less savage but you can't help respond the same way she did.

—Logan wasn't enough, then you got the drummer, fucking Timothée Chalamet, Tom and now my boyfriend. I'm so glad I didn't leave you alone with my dad or I'd be calling you mom now.—You have no words to that, Michael doesn't even dare to look at you, he must have told her something she misunderstood, but Sheep, or well, Stella is saying things she actually thinks and keep to herself. Tom walks in front of you whispering things to her to calm her down but she is not looking at him, you didn't tell her anything about Tom either so he's taking responsibility this time.—Go ahead and fuck the whole city, Michael if that please you but you're crossing the line with Tom and you know that, you're going to ruin him as you ruin every man that enters in your life.—She has a very you moment having the last word of the dispute and getting out of the apartment with Michael going after her but not putting much effort in it.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Taglist:

@eridanuswave @cjand10 @deluxeplanteater @rorodendra @navs-bhat @coxxxxxpi @leviosatothestars

Thanks for all the love and support, if you have opinions, suggestions, or want to be part of the tag list (Or don’t want to be part anymore) let me know, I appreciate every message.

#ben hardy imagine #michael b jordan fc #tom holland x reader #timothee chalamet fanfiction #pedro pascal #logan lerman fc #definitely maybe #fluff #angst #timothee chalamet #Tom Holland #Ben Hardy

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alch3mic · 3 years ago

Note

Beast taking care of sick s/o (writing prompt)

you: And don’t even think about coming over!! 😤

bonehead: too late im already at the store ill be over soon

you: Omg I’m fine! I can take care of myself so just go home!!

bonehead: if you say so

Stars above he was just way too stubborn sometimes! It really made you wonder what you saw in such a single-minded brute like him..

....

Okay, well you certainly saw a lot.

He was sweet, incredibly charming, very thoughtful and always knew just what to say to make you laugh. That's why you loved spending so much time with that dork.. but today...

The two of you technically already had plans to meet with some friends today for a night out on the town, that is until you woke up a few hours ago with a killer headache and a throat dryer than the desert that no amount of water seemed to satisfy. Despite your best efforts to push forward and go about your day, it was no use. It was too hard to even leave the bed much less spend a whole night out so you just had to cancel.

Of course Sans being the ever observant skeleton he was, thoughtfully asked why and you just merely responded with 'I'm not feeling great'.

Now THAT was the understatement of the century.

Hell you were practically sweating bullets now with a fever threatening to constantly shove you over the edge of dizziness, but still you... you just..

You just didn't want to trouble Sans anymore than you probably did.

Having to cancel your plans already put you in such a sour mood that all you wanted to do was just lay down and wallow in your own misery.

Alone.

By yourself.

With no one else around.

Not even your big, loveable boyfriend.

.....Dammit.

You finally set your phone down with a huff, burying your face back into your pillow as your whole body ached in pain.

Ugh, you felt like absolute garbage.

Plus you just turned Sans away! You knew it actually wasn't really all that much trouble for him to go around town with that teleporting ability of his.. but still!

You felt like such a jerk, all because you were still frustrated about canceling your plans and your head was such a clouded mess of illness and emotions.

..And now you missed him.

Great. Just great.

Maybe if you weren't so stubborn you'd text him again saying 'Just kidding! Please come over. I miss you so much!' but oh boy would he never let you hear the end of it.

..Or maybe he'd take some pity on you because you're not feeling well.

....Knowing him he'd probably just say something funny, like a joke or a cheesy pun that'd have you smiling in a matter of moments.. like..

“honey, i’m home~!”

..Yeah.. something goofy like tha-

...Huh?

"HUH?" you sat up, quickly regretting that decision as your head spun in circles.

Ugh, okay maybe you were even worse off than you thought. Now in your desperation you were imagining hearing your boyfriend down the hall, like he'd just stepped through the front do-

"ah, there's my little beauty."

....!

"Y-you-!" you choked out, glancing at Sans as he stood in the doorway. "What are you..!"

"you said go home right? well i'm home now sugar, so don't worry your pretty little head about a thing, alright?" he said with a wink, throwing his jacket on to your desk before sitting on the edge of your bed.

"That's not what I.."

His touch silenced you as he gently brushed the back of his hand against your forehead, the cool feeling of his bone a very welcome relief to the heat swarming your brain.

"stars yer burnin' up something fierce doll.. why don't ya lay back down for me and relax a little, hm?"

"...Ok.."

The amount of concern and tenderness in your tone made you too weak to resist, carefully easing yourself back to laying down in your bed. Luckily Sans' cold hand followed, carefully moving aside some messy strands of hair as he lightly stroked your cheek.

"that's a good little kitten.." he murmured gently, making you flush a bit more. "i gotcha some stuff that'll hopefully help. gotta admit i don't really know a whole lot about human illnesses but thankfully the ol' internets always got some answers.."

Your eyes felt a bit heavier listening to the rumble of his voice beside you, barely catching the sounds of him rustling through a bag until he placed something even colder against your cheek, making you squeak.

"hehe... yer too cute."

"S-shuddup.." you muttered, grasping on to whatever he was handing you.

It seemed like a sports drink of some kind, the coldness and bright color reminding you of just how dang thirsty you were.

There was a bit more rustling as he pulled something else from the bag.

"..Cold medicine?"

"heh.. yeah i uh, wasn't sure what'cha got so i figured grabbin' the most common thing would be alright... no good?"

"No! That... that's great actually," you said, taking the bottle from his hands and giving it a lookover as a small laugh sipped out. "You just had to buy the most expensive brand huh?"

"hey, nothin' but the best for my kitten," he said, gently reaching out to place his hand on your cheek again.

You giggled, setting down the medicine before grasping on to his arm and settling into his touch.

"Thank you Sans.." you said softly, closing your eyes for a moment. "..I'm sorry I had to cancel tonight."

"didn't i say not to worry your pretty little head sweetheart?" he chuckled, his thumb now lightly caressing your flushed skin. "besides, we got plenty of opportunities to go out again. what matters right now is that you focus on gettin' better.. so is there anything else ya need?"

"Just you," you muttered gently, your eyes feeling heavy again.

Luckily you didn't miss out on the slight flush of red that found its way to his cheekbones, that goofy smile that you've come to love so much now on his face.

"Stay with me?"

"always."

check out my other writings | feel free to drop me a ko-fi!

#anyways please enjoy some beast taking care of his beauty!#the two probably spend the night snugglin in bed #beast!sans #sans #undertale #underfell #underfell sans #sans x reader #reader insert #undertale au #wickedtale #alch!writes #alch!answers #anon

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adminbryantsaki · 3 years ago

Text

Kinktober day three

Belt bursting- Hizashi x reader.

(I do not own Hizashi Yamada/Present Mic. Horikoshi Kohei does. If this isn’t your cup of tea, blend of spices, or brew of coffee, move on.)

Kinktober master list

Tw: Stomach growth, belt snapping, stomach rubbing, overeating, feederisim, cock riding.

Wc: 1,919

You were walking down a hallway when you saw Hizashi looking at himself the bathroom mirror. You set your laundry down in your bedroom and went back to check on him. “Hizashi? Are you ok?” You asked him. He looked over to you and gestured for you to come to his side. “Do you think I’m too thin?” He asked you as he ran a hand over his flat and slightly toned stomach.

“I think you’re perfect just the way you are.” You told him and hugged him. He put his arm around you and kissed your head.

“You’re too good for me, princess.” He told you. You looked up at him. “Now what made you think you’re too skinny?” You asked. “It was a comment from one of my viewers on my last stream. They called me a sentient pogo stick and said I should eat a cheeseburger.” He told you. You frowned and looked up at him. “Do I need to go fight someone?” You asked him. He chuckled and stroked your hair out of your face. “No, baby girl. You don’t need to fight anyone.” He spoke. “What do you wanna do then?” You responded. “I wouldn’t mind going to a buffet and trying out that feederisim kink you told me about when we first met.” He told you. This made your face heat up and hide your face in his chest. You remembered talking to him about it when the two of you started dating. “What’s wrong, princess? Liking the idea of my stomach growing?” He asked. You nodded and pulled away. “Go get changed into something comfortable. I’ll be waiting by the door.” You told him. He kissed you and left the bathroom. You pulled on a nice shirt and put some jeans on before you waited by the door for him. He approached you wearing a wine-colored button-down shirt, his white slacks and a belt that looked a bit loose on him. The shirt was loose on his frame as well and in your mind, you knew that you were going to change that today. “You look fancy for getting your stomach stuffed full of food.” You spoke. “Is it too much?” He asked. “Not at all. I like it.” You told him. He stood up and held your hand as the two of you left the house. He walked with you to the car and opened the door for you before getting in on the driver’s side. He then drove the two of you to the nearest buffet and got out. He opened the door for you and held your hand as the two of you entered the restaurant. He guided you to a table in the back of the restaurant so the two of you wouldn’t be noticed and you could be alone. You turned to him and held his hands.

“I’m gonna be in charge this afternoon, ok? So, I need you to sit down and relax.” You told him. “Alright. I think I can allow that for today.” He told you as he sat down behind the table. “You stay here. I’m going to get you food.” You spoke and left the table to get food from the buffet line. You make sure to get a plate of the fried chicken and some vegetables for him, taking it back to the table, and setting it down on the table. “Don’t eat yet. I want to get something for you to wash it down with.” You told him. He nodded and continued to play a game on his phone. You left him again to retrieve a couple glasses of water and two more plates of food. You returned and set the water and food on the table before sitting next to him. “Now you can eat.” You told him. He nodded and began eating the vegetables. You nibbled at some food you got for yourself but you were mostly fascinated with his eating.

He looked up and saw you watching him while you picked at your salad.

“You like what you’re seeing?” He asked as he leaned back and smiled. You nodded and put a hand on his thigh. He ate a bit more before he leaned back. “Feeling full? Here, let me help.” You said and reached over to rub his stomach gently. He groaned and held your hand to his stomach. “This feels nice. Keep your hand there while I eat.” He spoke and went back to eating the food you brought him. You felt his stomach grow and push out against your hand which made your face grow hot.

Hizashi finished the first two plates of food before he leaned back to undo his belt. You stopped him.

“Keep it where it is. I want to see it snap.” You told him. He looked at you with a confused look but he left it be and shifted in his seat so his legs were spread open a bit with his stomach growing outwards. He fed himself with one hand and used his free hand to rub his stomach as it grew tighter. He got halfway through the third plate before he sat back and groaned. You moved closer and slid your hand between the buttons of his shirt and rubbing the tight skin of his stomach. He hissed in pain as you rubbed small circles on his abdomen. He rolled his head back as you massaged his stomach. He put his arm around you and leaned into your ear. “As much as that feels good, princess, can you get me some more water please?” He asked. You nodded but before you left, you pressed down on his stomach and he let out a burp. “Feel better?” You asked. He nodded in response before you got up, took the empty plates and cups with you on your venture to find your boyfriend some more water. You knew in the back of your mind that the water would bloat him up and make that belt snap right in two. You would buy him a new one later but you were determined at this moment to fill his stomach up like a big water balloon. You filled a tray with plastic glasses full with water from the dispenser and carried it back to the table. Hizashi looked up at you and sat up a bit better as you set the tray down. “Drink up. This should make your stomach snap that belt.” You spoke and sat down next to him. He groaned and lifted the first glass to his lips. He drank the cool liquid slowly and he pulled your hand to his stomach and felt his stomach push out against your hand. You heard the leather of his belt creak and groan under the pressure and Hizashi pant when he finished the water. “I don’t know if I can take anymore, princess. I’m so full.” He spoke and held his stomach. You pressed into his side and rubbed his tight stomach which made him let out a quiet moan. “Does that feel good, baby?” You asked him as you rubbed circles into his distressed skin. He put an arm around you as you reached up for the next glass of water and held it to his mouth. You encouraged him to drink and he did. You encouraged him to keep drinking and let him rest when he needed to so he wouldn’t vomit. He then rubbed his stomach and inhaled deeply. He let out a groan as his belt creaked again. “Its so tight. It hurts. I’m gonna need rubs when we get home, baby girl.” He told you as he tried to relieve the pressure from the belt as it dug into his tight stomach. You stopped him and used your own hand to rub his stomach. “You might get more than just your stomach rubbed if you finish all the water, ‘Zashi.” You told him. He leaned forward and grabbed eagerly at the next glass of water and chugged it down. His belt creaked a bit louder and groaned as it began to give way to his bloated stomach. He rubbed his stomach and reached for the last cup of water. He drank it down slowly and moaned as he felt his stomach grow bigger and the pressure of the belt grew more intense and a loud snapping noise sounded and he looked down to see that his belt was gone and the pressure had been relieved from his stomach. He let out a groan of relief and he held his stomach. “That feels so much better.” He spoke. You smiled and rubbed his stomach. “You were so good for me, Hizashi. Why don’t we go home and I’ll give you your reward.” You suggested. His vibrant green eyes looked at you with intrigue. “Give me a moment. Moving isn’t the best idea right now.” He told you. “Take all the time you need.” You told him and rubbed his back.

A few minutes passed and he was ready to stand up. You helped him to his feet and put a hand on his distended stomach. You led him out the back of the restaurant and out to his car. You helped him into the driver’s side and he put the keys into the ignition and he drove back home. He parked in the driveway and the both of you emerged from the car and you helped Hizashi into the house. He closed the door behind him and he wrapped his arm around your waist. “I believe you said something about a reward back at the restaurant.” He spoke before kissing you. You giggled and he led you back to your shared room where you worked at his shirt and rubbed his stomach as he held you close. You rubbed a bit lower until your fingers wrap around his cock and begin to stroke it. He buried his face into your neck and left kisses all over your neck and shoulders. “This feels amazing, baby girl. Why don’t you ride me~?” He suggested. You blushed at the idea and he laid on his back. You peeled your shorts off and straddled his lap. He smirked and help your hips. You pulled his pants off and pressed down on his stomach gently which made him moan. You smirked and he gripped your ass which made you squeak. He pulled his own cock out and helped you line up with his cock and kept eye contact with you as he helped you slide down on his length. You moaned out as you were guided up and down his cock. He groaned as he felt your silken walls clench around him. “Good girl.” He spoke and watched you cum on his cock. He helped pull you off of him and pulled you close to him.

“Thank you for today, princess.” He said quietly into your ear. You held him close and you wrapped your arm around his stomach. “Do you want to try it again sometime?” You asked him. “Yes. But just inflate with water.” He spoke.

“I think we can do that.” You told him before drifting off to sleep.

The end.

#hizashi yamada x reader #bnha kinktober #mha kinktober #bnha hizashi yamada #mha hizashi yamada #bnha present mic #mha present mic #belly kink #stuffed belly #belt bursting #kinktober 2021

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livexdolan · 4 years ago

Text

The Cage - Part One

A/n: so hi! This is a UFC based fic about Grayson Dolan. This is an AU with an OC. There is no face claim as of now but they might change idk. I’m not going to ramble lol I’m just very very nervous. Anywho please enjoy and let me know what you think! There will be many parts to this series by the way lol so this part is kind of slow but just wait aha

Word Count: 5924

Warnings: fluff, mentions of death, explicit language, and triggering topics (maybe?) mentioned

“I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to be famous- never telling anyone but I’ve always wanted to know- wanted to get in the head of someone famous and see what they go through- but I could’ve never guessed this was how I was going to find out.

It all started when I was 22, fresh out of college, with a crappy assistant job at a publishing company in Los Angeles, California. Having been stuck at this job for almost three years and never even having my articles read, I was starting to lose hope that I would never be more than an assistant. Until one day…”

“Lily! Get in here! And bring me a coffee!” I scurry to Mr. Lane’s office, clutching the coffee I had just gone and grabbed for him, stopping by my desk to grab my notebook and pen.

I opened his glass door and put his coffee down on his desk, pushing up my glasses as I opened my notebook and clicked my pen, looking up at him expectantly, waiting for him to say what he needed me to do. He looks at me, his eyes bright at first but quickly losing their color and he sighs as though he’s already exasperated, “What is this?” He holds up a copy of a story I had put on his desk.

Oh jeez, another rejection. I push my glasses up again and start to stutter out an explanation in a quiet voice, “Well, I-I heard you talking to some of the reporters about need-needing a new story for next week's issue and well, I-I already had an idea so I thought I’d-” He cuts me off with a quick raise of his hand and a stoic look on his face, giving nothing away.

“Look,” he sighs and rubs his face with both hands before continuing, “It’s not a bad story, but it’s a half-baked idea. That’s your problem. That’s why you haven’t gotten a byline yet- you can never deliver a full idea- let alone a full article, do you understand?”

I look down, refusing to let him see my cheeks burn red and my eyes water. This is what he says every time I give him an idea. “Do you want to be a journalist?” He questions.

I make eye contact with him quickly lifting my head and squaring my shoulders to try and seem more confident, “More than anything, sir.”

“Well then, I have a proposition for you.” He gets up from his chair, his tall, lean body going to perch on the corner of his desk as he looks up at me his blue eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint, “I’ll give you a lead, and if you can follow through and get me a full 12000-word article by Monday, you can keep your job and I might throw you a lead here and there. But if you fail to deliver…” He pauses momentarily, thinking over his next words carefully, “you lose your job.”

I gasp and try to reason with myself for a second, making a mental pro-con list before replying quietly, “What’s the article on?”

He shakes his head and smirks lightly, filling my stomach with more unease, “No, you have to agree to the proposition. Then, I will tell you the story.”

Can I do this? Can I risk everything? I mean, that’s what my life’s been so far, a lot of risks and sacrifices. But is this a sacrifice I’m willing to make?

What would mom do? I sigh, “O-ok. Okay, I accept. Now, what’s the story?”

He claps his hands together excitedly and looks up at me with a boyish grin, he moves swiftly behind his desk and grabs an envelope, handing it to my shaky hands, “Grayson Dolan, he fights tonight here at the arena, go with a press pass, get an interview with him and ask him a couple of questions. Oh, and make sure we get a quote.”

I stare at him open-mouthed, frozen to my spot, “What? The Grayson Dolan?! You and I are both very aware that he refuses to do interviews. This isn’t even possible.” I say without trying to raise my voice too much.

Jace just leans back in his desk chair, lacing his fingers together and putting them behind his head, “Not my problem- it’s yours now. If I don’t have that story in my hand Monday morning, just pack your things up and leave, got it?” He smirks up at me.

I just silently walk out of his office and back to my desk, sitting down and putting my head against the cool wood surface. I don’t know if I want to cry or punch myself in the face.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“And then he told me that if I accept- but fail to give him a story- I lose my job!��

“Wow! I never liked that guy, you know. He gives off such- such a douchebag vibe.”

I can’t help but chuckle at my dad’s voice dropping a little, he hasn’t been big on cursing since mom passed. At first, it was weird because both my parents cussed when I was growing up. But after mom passed, dad decided that, ‘there’s enough hate in the world’ and that he’s not going to add to it with foul language.’

“I know Dad, but what am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t accept it! You should never risk your whole career on whether or not some guy is feeling up to an interview!”

“Ok, one-” I start, “it is not just some guy! This is Grayson Dolan! And two,” I lower my voice and chew my lip, a bad habit I picked up in middle school, “I already agreed.”

“Of course you did!” he sounds exasperated and I pull my phone away from my ear a little out of reflex, “You are just like your mother, you know that?” he sighs and the line goes quiet.

“Daddy?” I whisper into the phone. He stays silent. It’s my turn to sigh and fall back onto my couch. I mutter into the phone, “He wouldn’t tell me the story until I accepted. I have to go get ready, I’ll talk to you after the match. I’ll be sitting ringside so look for me, ok?”

“Ok, I will. I’m still not happy about this.”

“I know Dad, you’re not happy with two-thirds of the things I do.”

That gets a reluctant chuckle out of him, “I guess you’re right. Good luck, by the way. If anyone can get an interview out of Dolan- it’d be you. And if you can’t, your childhood bedroom would love to have you back.”

“Ha-ha. Thanks. I love you.”

“Love you too baby, I’ll see you soon?”

“Dad,” my stomach drops at his hopeful voice and I can’t bring myself to tell him the truth, “Maybe, bye.”

I hang up the phone before he can say anything and I sink into the couch.

I wake with a start, my neck sore from the back of the couch. Oh no. I grab my phone in a haste, I turn it on and my whole body sags in relief when the time shows up; 6:45.

I have about an hour and a half to get ready, that’s enough time!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Wrong. Very wrong. I feel a wave of heat wash over me, igniting my anxiety as I look at the time on my phone; 7:45.

I quickly put on my normal, light makeup consisting of moisturizer, skin tint, blush on my cheeks and nose, giving me an almost sunburnt look. I shape my eyebrows a little, fix my glasses, and put on my chapstick. I quickly brush out my short, wavy hair and clip back the front parts. I shake my head slightly to get my bangs in place and do one last check in the mirror before heading to my closet.

Too pink. Too casual. Too tight. Too- ugh where did I even get that from? I start moving the hangers faster, getting frustrated with my lack of options. I move past a pastel purple dress- wait. I go back to the dress and grab it off the rod, holding it up in the light.

When did I buy this? My eyebrows furrow as I look at the beautiful and delicate dress that I must’ve forgotten about. I pull it off the hanger and slowly put it on, saying a silent prayer that it fits.

I smooth the soft material out and look in the mirror. I’m pleasantly surprised by how the dress fits. It’s silk with spaghetti straps and is a lilac color with little flowers all over it.

I don’t have time to overthink my outfit now. I throw on my roommate’s white Timberlands, grab my black purse, making sure my ID, wallet, and phone are all tucked safely inside. I grab my press pass and put the lanyard around my head carefully.

Taking a deep breath, I walk out to the living room where my roommate is sitting waiting for me to come out.

I clear my throat and try not to look too awkward. Ryan looks up from her MacBook and gasps, tossing her laptop onto the couch next to her, she moves over to me, her long legs gracefully walking around the coffee table.

She investigates every part of my outfit, making me feel small and self-conscious. Before I can stop myself, I start rambling in a quiet tone, “Is-is this too much? Do you th-think it looks okay?”

She grasps my shoulders and a wide smile makes its way onto her face, “Of course, you look amazing!” I smile at her and she winks at me, “When that pretentious ass sees you- he might want to do more than just let you interview him.”

I snort and roll my eyes and she laughs, “Yeah right,” I mumble.

She walks over to our coat rack and pulls off a small black cardigan, “Here, I know it gets cold in there,” I smile gratefully and take it from her, folding it over the crook of my arm and taking a deep breath.

I start to walk towards the door and she calls my name, I look back at her as I open the door, “You look hot Lil- knock ‘em dead,” I smile at her and nod, walking out before I get sappy.

I pull into the busy parking lot of the arena and gulp down my bubbling anxiety. I find a parking spot, towards the back of the lot seeing as I don’t get bothered by having to walk a little. I go up to the line, seeing a sign that says, ‘PRESS ENTRANCE HERE’ I smile at the worker looking at me and pointing to the Press sign and then at my pass hanging around my neck, he nods.

I go towards the other entrance and show a different security guard my pass and he opens a door for me, I smile up at him, “Thank you-” I glance at the small name tag, “Don.” He blushes slightly and coughs.

I blush too and walk through the door quickly. I realize that I’m ��backstage’ and can hear the fans cheering for one of the main card fights happening. I check my small watch and see that it’s going to be another hour or so before Grayson Dolan fights.

I take another deep breath and start walking forward, trying not to look like a lost puppy and failing when a man wearing a UFC crew shirt comes over to me with furrowed brows, “Who’re you looking for?”

I look at him, his deep voice vibrating against the walls, “Grayson Dolan,” I answer back.

He gives me a once-over and I try not to make a face when he meets my eyes and smirks, “Oh, he’ll like you.” I furrow my brows but decide not to question it as he points down a long hallway, “Four doors down, take a right, then the last door on the left is him- the one that’ll say, Grayson Dolan.” I thanked him even though he was a bit rude, and made my way down.

Once I turn down the hallway I see someone sitting outside one of the rooms on a single chair. I make my way closer and my heart drops into my stomach when I see it’s a girl sitting outside Grayson Dolan’s room, “Hello? Are-Are you okay?”

The girl looks up at me from her phone and gives me a once-over, except it’s different from the way the worker did- she looks annoyed with me. She stands up, her high heels making her about an inch or two taller than me, “Who are you?” She asks, crossing her arms over her chest, pushing her cleavage up.

I cough to clear my throat a little, taken back by her abrasive tone, “I’m a reporter- Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine, and if you’re here for Grayson Dolan- he won’t talk to you.”

“I- I’m sorry, why do you say that?” The woman steps closer to me and I try not to gag at the smell of her cheap, overused perfume. I step back from her and she straightens up slightly, glowering at me.

“Just run along, maybe you’ll understand when you’re grown,” She says, looking back at her phone, when she glances up and sees I’m not leaving she rolls her eyes, “Grayson Dolan doesn’t talk to reporters. I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t actually a reporter anyway, you’re probably just here to fuck him, huh? Get in line,” She laughs.

My whole body feels like it’s on fire. I don’t understand why she’s being so rude and malicious towards me but I have to get this interview. I can’t let people like her bring me down anymore. When she gives me a fake smile and sits back down, I decide to be the bigger person. Not snapping back at her and ignoring her. Because she doesn’t know me and she doesn’t know what I’ve been through.

The door opens before I can say anything anyways and we both look over, startled. A man looks over at us, then turn and glances back inside the room before he nods, looking at me, and asking what my name is, “Lily Taylor, here with Ace Publis-” I try to tell him but he cuts me off opening the door wider and my eyes widen as he tells me to come in. I try to keep from laughing when the girl asks if she can come in but he just shakes his head at her, I turn around quickly before he shuts the door, “If I were you- I wouldn’t lie to others and say you’re around his age, it’s very obvious that you’re old enough to be his mom,” And the door shuts on her shocked face.

I realize my heart is pounding in my ears and that is probably the meanest thing I’ve ever done, “I should probably apologize,” I whisper to myself and jump slightly when I hear a deep chuckle.

“What can I help you with, Ms. Taylor?” My shoulders tense at the familiar voice and I turn around slowly, facing a couch with a very amused Grayson Dolan sitting on it.

“I- I’m so sorry for being so rude to her. I didn’t mean to be.”

“Why do you think I’d care about her? She’s been sitting out there for two hours,” He laughs and I think he caught the raise of my eyebrow but ignores it, “I asked you once, Ms. Taylor, I don’t like repeating myself.” He reminds me of his question.

I square my shoulders, “I’m here with Ace Publishing & Co., I would love if you could answer some questions for me,” I smile at him, trying to come off as friendly.

His amused expression drops and he scoffs, “You’re one of them? God- here I was hoping you were a die-hard fan. Was going to make you feel very special,” He smirks at me and I scrunch my nose out of habit at his gross words. I quickly stop, realizing I need this, “Frank- show Ms. Taylor out please,” He sighs, and my eyes widen and I stick my hands out and Frank stops moving for a second.

“Wait! Wait! Please I-” Frank huffs at my refusal to move and grabs my arm as I move closer to Grayson, “Please. I wouldn’t be this adamant if I didn’t need this. Please. My career is counting on this moment. Please, I will get down on my knees and beg if I have to, please,” I put my hands in a pleading gesture, hoping he’d take pity.

He holds his hand up to Frank and he lets go of my arm, I sigh and straighten up a little, hoping to gain back some of the dignity I seemed to have lost, “What do you mean?” He cocks his head to the side curiously and I blush, glancing at the ground.

“My boss he uh- he told me that if I don’t get at least a quote from you I can kiss my job goodbye and well, it’s not the best job but I’ve worked my ass off to get where I’m at and he’s being unfair and I understand that this isn’t your problem and I understand why you don’t like to talk to interviewers-”

He cuts me off, “You know why I don’t talk to interviewers?” I look up at him and nod meekly, “Why? Explain it to me,” he crosses his arms and I think he might be upset with me.

I look back down at the ground and take a breath, glancing back up at him through my lashes, “You don’t do interviews because doing an interview is personal and revealing. You’re scar- scared to let the world see who the Grayson Dolan is because you don’t think they’ll like you as much.”

He cocks his eyebrow and uncrosses his arm, sighing, looking away from me to the wall, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek as he contemplates for a minute, “You got like 20 minutes to ask me whatever you want, and no stupid questions that all the interviewers ask, okay?” I nod and move to sit in the chair next to the couch.

“Do you mind if I record this? I’d like to keep this paper-free, meaning I don’t have a notebook out and try to write everything down. We’re just going to have a conversation and let it flow. I can stop recording at any time if you say something you’d like erased. I’m not here to expose you, just here to get to know you. As a person. Not as a fighter. I’m not going to ask you anything about how being a fighter’s been or what your inspiration is. I’m going to ask you about you. As a whole. Because the UFC is not your personality,” I explain to him, pulling my phone out and pulling up my voice memos app and looking back up to him, waiting for an answer.

He stares at me until finally, I say his name quietly, hoping he’s okay, he blinks and flushes, shifting, “Sorry, y-yeah, that’s okay. I just- I didn’t expect you to be like- acting like a human.”

I laugh and start recording, “Maybe that means I’m a bad journalist? I don’t know- I feel like it’s easier to connect and get the questions in without papers and cameras and all that other stuff.”

(this part is going to be a dialogue as though we are just listening to the recording)

“That makes sense, and no I can tell you’re going to be great, you treat me like I’m just- a guy, which doesn’t happen often.”

“I bet, you don’t deserve that though. Okay, I’m going to start us off with some icebreakers- so tell me what your childhood dream job was, your favorite ice cream flavor, and 3 things you do on the weekends.”

“Oh, jeez, what is this- first day of 6th grade? Fine- Uh, I always wanted to be a pro wrestler, that was my dream job as a kid. My favorite- vegan- ice cream flavor is probably mint chocolate chip. And, uhm, three things I do on the weekends...okay okay I got it; eat, sleep, workout. Now you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you, Miss Reporter. If you want this to flow you gotta participate as well.”

“Okay, fine. Uh- as a kid I always wanted to be a veterinarian, and then when I was like 10 I realized I wanted to be a writer. My favorite ice cream flavor is probably mint chocolate chip as well. And on the weekends...I’d probably say; read, watch fights with my dad, and drink tea with my best friend at a cafe.”

“Every single weekend?”

“Yeah, my dad lives on the other side of the country so we do a FaceTime call and watch UFC together. My roommate has a job that takes up a lot of her time during the week so we go to this small cafe by our house every weekend.”

“Wow.”

(this is where the rest of the interview would be but, for later in the timeline, we aren’t going to cover every question she asks him :))

“Okay, now tell me about your family. Where you grew up, were your parents married, did you have a dog, and how do you think this all helped make you the man you are today?”

“I grew up in New Jersey; my dad left when I was 10. I’m allergic to dogs and cats, so I have a parrot named Gizmo. My mom never remarried and my sister lives with her. My brother and I moved to LA when we were 18, with no money, no job, just hope. We went to a gym and asked them if they’d train us. The next thing I knew, my brother was getting a job working at the gym and becoming one of my trainers. I learned how to fight and used my wrestling experience and worked my way into the UFC.”

“You didn’t answer my last question.”

“Yes, I did.”

“No, you told me how you got started in the UFC. I don’t want to know about that- everyone knows that story already. I want to know how you think the things you went through as a child have shaped you as a person.”

“I- I guess- I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t think much of who I’ve become so that question is hard to answer.”

“Why do you say that? You are one of the most accomplished men in America.”

“To others, but this- I wasn’t supposed to be a fighter. Everyone sees me as accomplished but I just feel like this was an accident. There was no great event in my life that caused me to become an MMA fighter- it just happened.”

“You don’t believe in fate, Mr. Dolan?”

“No, I don’t. Do you, Ms. Taylor?”

“Yes, I believe that we all have a path we are meant to follow and that everything happens for a reason.”

“Why?”

“Because- I don’t know- it’s nicer than the alternative to me, I guess. I don’t want to live in a world where nothing has a reason behind it. We’ll move on to the next question. You don’t disclose personal information; relationships, family, children, etcetera.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“Why is that? Are you afraid?”

“Afraid? Of what?”

“The same reason I said earlier as to why you don’t like interviews; you are scared people will see the real Grayson Dolan and not like you as much or think you’re different.”

“Are you like- a profiler or something? Why do you think that?”

“I’m not a profiler- I’m a journalist. It’s my job to look for clues, pick up on the small things about someone no one else would notice.”

“Ok, I’ll accept that. Is it my turn to ask you questions?”

“No that’s not how this works.”

“You said you wanted this to be like a normal conversation, did you not?”

“Yes, I did say that, but-”

“Okay, well, I don’t know about you but normally when I’m getting to know someone- I get to ask questions just like they do.”

“Fine. What do you want to know?”

“I want to know...if you’ll go out with me?”

“What? Like on a- like on a date?”

“Yes, a date, Ms. Taylor.”

“Uh- I don’t know, maybe, I-”

“30 minutes to the fight, Dolan! Gotta get you warmed-up!”

(the story is back to normal now)

“So?” He questions as he stands up and I try to gather all my stuff. Trying to push down the butterflies while I stop the recording. I just continue to get more flustered, especially when he puts his hand out for me and I shyly take it, he pulls me to my feet and I stare at him through my lashes.

“I- sure. On one condition,” I smile slyly up at him and he raises an eyebrow at me, I ignore the unfamiliar feeling between my thighs at the look on his face and continue quickly, “You have to win this fight. I’ll be in the front row watching. If you win- I’ll go out with you.”

He smiles and then chuckles, “I thought you were going to make it hard? I could win this fight in my sleep baby, I’ll let you know the time after the fight, just stick around, yeah?”

I snort and roll my eyes, ignoring the pull on my heart when he calls me baby, “I’ll be there,” He smiles at me again and I jump a little in surprise when I feel his warm, large hand on the small of my back, he opens the door for me and leads me into the hallway.

I try not to laugh at the face of the Instagram model when she sees Grayson’s hand on me, “I’ll be looking for you in the front row, just so you know.” He teases.

I smile at him and kiss him on the cheek, “I’ll be the one cheering the loudest. Knock Em dead!” I walk away quickly and glance back seeing him standing there, his right hand gently going up to touch the spot I kissed and we both blush. My heart drops into my stomach when he looks over and sees the model. I have to turn the corner and get to my seat so I don’t see how he reacted. He wouldn’t sleep with her right after asking me out, would he? My subconscious snaps back; you barely know the man! Maybe he does this all the time! I push her down and ignore the bad feeling in my gut.

As I sit down in my seat, everything that just happened hits me and I slouch into my seat, what. the. fuck. I’m going on a date with Grayson Dolan! I got an interview with Grayson Dolan! I kissed Grayson Dolan on the cheek! I bite back a smile and take out my phone, taking a video showing me smiling at the camera, then flipping the camera around and showing off how close I am to the octagon. I sent it to my dad quickly.

He responds almost immediately.

*From Daddy: Wow!! So cool! Have tons of fun! Not too much though! Not ready to be a grandpa...yet ;)

I snort and roll my eyes, responding and then turning my phone off when the lights in the arena dim.

*To Daddy: Lmao, shut up. I’ll try to have fun though! The main card is starting! I’ll talk to you later, love you <3

After I watch a few of the fights before Graysons’, I take some pictures and jot down some information about the fights and who won, knowing it’ll add more substance to my piece.

I watch as the whole arena transforms and the whole place is bursting with barely-contained energy and the place goes dark. Suddenly, lights start beaming and music starts playing, I smile at the Kid Cudi (each fight he uses a different Cudi song) choice for tonight- Enter Galactic as it blasts through the speakers everyone goes wild, Grayson moving swiftly to the octagon with his head low and singing the song softly to himself. I can tell he’s not the same Grayson I was talking to, he has flipped the switch- as he told me he does- and is now The Grayson Dolan- UFC Fighter and Champion.

He takes his shirt off and I blush at his tan skin, the rippling muscles making my brain go straight in the gutter. The ‘doc’ pats him down and puts vaseline on his face. I try not to laugh at how weird he looks with his eyebrows slicked down.

He makes his way into the octagon and I see him scanning the front row when his eyes land on mine. I smile at him but he just gives me a curt nod in response before turning away. I’m taken aback by his attitude but I know he has to stay in his fighter mentality.

The other fighter, Dominick Reyes, comes in and he has a good amount of people cheer for him but the majority of the arena boos when he comes out. I know that having some of how this fight goes in my article will make it look better because it’s such a big deal, so I jot some notes down, some about Grayson and some about Reyes.

I subconsciously chew on my nail, scolding myself when I realize what I’m doing. He’s going to win. I tell myself to calm down, I’ve never been to a fight before so the chaotic and anxiety-filled energy around me must be getting to my head.

The ref announces them both, and then they go to the middle, Grayson goes to touch Reyes’ fist, but Reyes pulls back and smirks at Grayson, “C’mon pretty boy,” he sings.

Grayson’s jaw clenches and he starts moving around the octagon, Reyes slowly falling into a pattern of chasing him around. Grayson continues to step to the right until suddenly, he moves to the left, and Reyes doesn’t see it. I watch in astonishment as he puts all of his power into the punch, hitting Reyes perfectly on the temple. Reyes drops to the ground and Grayson’s about to follow him to the mat but the ref stops him, officially calling the fight. Grayson looks over at me, my mouth hanging wide open and he smirks, winking at me.

That asshole just winked at me.

I stand up quickly, cheering loudly with everyone else and he shakes his head, turning back to his team as they run into the octagon to hug him. Once Grayson is done with everything and the crowd starts shuffling out, Grayson comes over to me, “D’you see that?” He smiles and I smile back.

“Yeah, yeah, I saw,” He chuckles and grabs my arm pulling me into him.

I gasp as I hit his hard, sweaty chest, “You’re sweaty,” I scrunch my nose up and try to pull away but he tightens his grip, staring down at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“You owe me a date,” He responds and I roll my eyes, ignoring the hammering of my heart at how close we are to each other.

“What time and where?” I say, acting bored.

He chuckles down at me, “I’ll pick you up at 5:30. This Saturday. Just bring your beautiful self and don’t worry about anything else.”

“What’s the dress code?” I raise my eyebrow and he shrugs.

“Whatever you want to wear, although I’ll tell you right now they might frown upon you wearing lingerie or something like that.”

I snort and as he moves away from me a little and we start walking behind his team I realize that I’m a lot colder than I realized, rubbing my arms subconsciously and realizing that I left my sweater in the car damn it.

Grayson notices me rubbing my arms and bumps my shoulder, “You cold?”

“A little. I have a sweater in the car, I’ll be fine.”

He frowns as he opens the door to his dressing(?) room, “I have a jacket you can wear.”

He goes over to a chair in the corner and grabs a big, soft black jacket with DOLAN on the back and the UFC and Reebok logo on the front. I shake my head, “No, r-really it’s- it’s okay,”

“Just take it, you can give it back later, s’not a big deal, I don’t need it. I’m way too hot right now.”

He hands it over to me and I look down at it in his hands and then glance back at him, crossing my arms. He rolls his eyes and comes over to me, putting it on my shoulders and looking down at me, “Just wear it. Please?” He whispers and I flush, seeing that if I moved too fast our lips would be touching.

I nod softly and he steps back. I take a deep breath and put my arms through the sleeves and the jacket immediately warms me. I relax into the warmth and pull it tighter around me and he smirks, “Like you in my clothes.”

I blush and look down, “I- I should be goi-going,” I point my thumb at the door and he bites back a smile.

“Yeah, I’ll see you Saturday then?”

I nod and stutter out a response as I walk back to the door, “Y-yep! 5:30! Wait- I didn’t give you my address o-or my phone num-Ow!” I yelp in surprise when the door handle digs into my lower back and he can’t hold back his laugh as he walks over to me, trapping me between him and the door.

I swallow at his large frame covering me up, his arms resting on each side of the wall by my head, I can see his large biceps and the veins running up his arms in my peripheral vision. He smirks and leans down, “Check your pocket,” he says softly and I look up at him with furrowed brows.

I slowly move my hands to the jacket pockets and after digging around a little I feel a small piece of paper in the right pocket. I pull it out and open it up. I glance up at him in surprise at the digits scribbled onto the paper.

“H-How did you- why-” He cuts me off by moving away from me, my body on fire from how close he had been to me.

I move off the door when he motions for me to move and he opens the door, “Ms. Taylor,” He says, trying to hide a smirk.

I scoff incredulously and walk past him, stopping outside the door in the cold hallway, I turn back to look at him before I walk away to go have a panic attack in my car, “Mr. Dolan.”

A/n: okayyy so I know it’s bad and I’ll be editing it soon but I’m posting this on an ipad lmfao so please cut me some slack.

Tag List:

@pineappledols @episkygrant @georgia302 @dolan-habits @leahs-existentialcrisis @persistence-ofmemories @bubsdolan @ohdolans @vinylhazza @vintagedolan @astrodolan @zeusgrayson @deeperdolan @blindedbythelightt @dolsobsessionz @evergreendolan @dicedols @plantbasedgray

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noyasboxdye · 4 years ago

Text

Character: Kenma K. Header creds: @leekn6w Song: I’m loving your vibe by Xavier Goodman !!WARNINGS!!: College/University AU, Smoking/Drug Usage, Male! Reader Title: Cute Party boy

You had been sitting in the corner of someone's house deciding to finally give up on finding your friends knowing that they had probably already found some random guy to hook up with. Looking around and watching the drunk young adults grind, sing, dance, scream and drink the night away you finally had enough of sitting there, you stood up from your seat walking into the kitchen and looking at the several different arrangements of drinks noticing they had fireball, whiskey, tequila, gin, brandy, and several other things in one section then having the beer in another.

Not wanting anything to hard and hating beer you went for the fruit punch pouring your cup 3/4 of the way and walking up the stairs making the decision not to open any closed doors knowing that one or several of your friends could be in that room doing things you didn't want to vision your friends doing right now. Noticing a slightly open door, seeing smoke continuously flowing out of the room as people go in and out some alone some with friends or partners.

Finally concluding that you didn't have anything to do and you were tired of being so sober you walked into the room the aroma of weed and what you think is vanilla and strawberry flavored juul pods. Sitting down on the couch near a window, trying to stay your farthest from the two men you were on the couch next to.

Pulling out your pod and taking a longer hit then you would usually and exhaling taking note to the pudding head and black haired male next to him who had been taking glances and staring on and off for about 20 minutes now. Taking your phone out trying to figure out why your phone had been vibrating in your back pocket continuously for a few minutes now. Rolling your eye seeing that your mother had been calling you and texting you nonstop making sure you were studying for your tests that weren't happening till like 3 months.

Texting your mother and telling her that you've been studying all week and its 10pm on a Saturday and you had been cramming for the past week and a half with barely any breaks. Turning your phone off whilst rolling your eyes. Noticing that the two boys across from you were still continuing to stare at you, you stared back at the two hoping that it would make them stop.

Them finally stopping you go on your phone texting your friends once more as an attempt to check on them even though you knew that at least two of them were together. "Hey..." the bed head said. "Uhm- hi." you said not really in the mood to talk to anyone right now. "I know we've been staring at you for a while now and sorry for that, but my friend said your beautiful/handsome and he would love it if you gave him his number." he said with a slight smirk on his face. "Well I mean sure but only if he comes over and asks himself." you say looking at the bi haired colored boy.

"Okay- wait sorry hold on." hurriedly getting up from the old beaten up couch with a smile on his face walking back over the his friend and whispering in his ear while pointing at you, the shorter boy blushes with a smile on his face getting up from his chair and awkwardly shuffling over to you. Sitting next to you and smiling the blush on his cheeks becoming more prominent.

"Hey... sorry about my friend. I told him to leave you alone, but he didn't listen." he said rubbing the back of his neck. "It's fine... so what's your name." you said as you took a hit from your juul "My names Kenma. What's yours?" he said finally starting to seem a little bit comfortable with you. "(M/N)" you said holding your hand out to shake his hand a warm smile coming across your face as you feel his skin contact yours.

"Your pretty to by the way." you say moving your phone out of your back pocket not liking the feeling of your mother blowing up your phone against your butt cheek. "What-?" Kenma said look up at you with wide eyes. "Your friend told me you thought I was pretty/handsome, so I said your pretty." You said smiling. "Oh ah- thanks." he said with a slight chuckle tucking some stray strands of hair behind his ear frowning slightly.

"You going to ask for my number or do I have to." you said smirking slightly in a more teasing/sensual tone, the smirk becoming wider and more prominent when that heavy blush that dusted his cheeks earlier dusted them once again. "You look like a strawberry again Kenma." you state teasing him once again and making his blush deeper. "So- uhm can I have your number... then." he says pointing at the phone on your thigh.

"Yeah sure give me your phone right quick" he says giggling a bit at how shy he was. "Yeah sure- here..." he says practically glowing and shaking a little from excitement. "Uh I called my number so your number should be in my phone now, and my contact name is my name. I didn't know what you wanted it as, so I put it as that." you said handing him his phone back and half way making sure he noticed. "Okay thanks I'll call you tonight to make sure you get home- if that's okay with you."

"Yeah it's fine with me. And I'll do the same if I leave before you." you said your voice lowering slightly as you start to become calmer and more comfortable around him. "Okay cool. You want a drink-" he says not knowing what to do now his mind creating an awkward atmosphere that wasn't even there. "Yeah sure. They didn't have anything good though which is why I got juice before." you said warning him that nothing good would be in the downstairs kitchen.

"Yeah I got mostly juice too. My friend wanted me to get a little tipsy so he wasn't drunk alone." he said you both walking down stairs as Kenma texts Kuroo letting him know where he was going so he would leave without him, it happened once and he'll never allow it to happen ever again. "Kool-Aid or Hawaiian punch?" you said as you chose something from the fridge. "Kool-Aid... duh." Kenma said laughing a bit.

"Which flavor?" you say. "Purple and red." answered checking his phone. "You like purple! I love purple too everyone I meet hates purple." you say a childlike grin on your face. (Yes, ur getting excited over Kool-Aid. The purple flavor deserves more hype!!) "Kenma!" the boy from earlier said hurriedly walking over to you both. "Yes kuroo." he said drinking out of his cup, you laughing a bit noticing he drinks like a 1st grader after they just got done playing outside.

"It's almost 3 we got to go. You have class at like 8 and my class is an hour before yours so let's go." Kuroo said ready to drag him away. "Well I have to go I have a pretty early class tomorrow, but I'll be sure to call you." he said making sure he had everything he originally came with in his pockets. "Yeah sure bye Kenma and..." pausing waiting for Kuroo to tell you his name again. "Oh! Kuroo my names Kuroo."

"And Kuroo. We'll talk later 'mkay?" you said smiling at Kuroo then going to look back at Kenma. "Yeah sure I'll probably text you first by the way." he said him and Kuroo grabbing each other's hands and saying bye. Checking the time, the realization finally settling in that your friends were still missing, and it was almost 3 in the morning.

'Jesus fucking christ where the hell are these fuckers' you think to yourself storming back up the steps your patients being thin to none. 'On my mommy if these hoes fucking somebody I'm leaving' putting your ear up to at least 4 different doors before you finally found them, seeing one friend passed out in the bathroom and the others scattered around the room.

"My god what did you guys get yourselves into" you said finally feeling the exhaustion that you were suppressing throughout the past two weeks. "Ty's sick and vomiting it's guts out in the bathroom, Isaiah's knocked he's been like that for about an hour now, and Alex was crying but ink's now under the desk over there... and I didn't drink a lot so I'm fine." your friend said you trying to find Alex.

"Ok well its... 5 minutes away from being 4 am.", "Okay..."

**Timeskip**

After taking everyone home and making sure they got in bed safely you and your friend Malik both shared an uber back to both of your houses. Finally reaching the comfort of your room you go to your connected bathroom and start getting ready for the night. Taking a shower, doing your skin care, getting a snack while putting on your show starting to finally calm down.

Finally finishing your food getting up to brush your teeth and going back to your room pressing play to your show again. Turing on your night light and finally laying down. Jumping slightly when you hear you phone go off completely forgetting about it. Turning over to your nightstand to get your phone. Confused when an unknown number shows up on your phone.

In your messages

Unknown: Hey this (M/N) right?

You: Who's this .-.

Unknown: It's Kenma we met at the party... remember?

You: Oh yeah, it's (M/N)

You: Hey Kenma

Cute party boy: Hey (M/N)

Cute party boy: hru?

You: I'm doing good hbu?

Cute party boy: I'm doing good :)

Cute party boy: srry for texting u so late btw I just wanted to do it now, so I didn't forget lol.

You: No worries you're fine :)

Cute party boy: Alr good.

Cute party boy: did you make it home ok or are you still at the party?

You: no I ended up finding my friends after you left so I'm home now.

You: hbu?

Cute party boy: yeah I made it home fine lol

Cute party boy: Did you want to hang out again?

You: yh sure when

Cute party boy: are you busy on Sundays?

You: no Sundays are usually free for me

Cute party boy: you wanna hang out tomorrow

You: yh tht works lol

Cute party boy: mk well i gtg im tired so goodnight :D

You: yh same goodnight sweet dreams and sleep well

Cute party boy: you too sweet dreams and sleep well

After saying your goodbyes to Kenma you put your phone back on the dresser watching a few episodes of your show, finally slipping off into peaceful sleep.

#noyas.works #kenma kuzome #kenma x male reader #post timeskip #kenma fluff #haikyu fluff #hq fluff #fluff #haikyuu!!#hq #kenma x reader #kenma x y/n #kenma x you

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satoruvt · 4 years ago

Text

for now; forever

pairing → kwon soonyoung x reader

word count → 9015

genre → mostly fluff, angst ↳ tags: ooh boy. firewatch au, banter, like a little bit (a lot) of pining, strangers to friends to… something, FLIRTING, reader’s kinda fucked up but its ok, hoshi’s weird and endearing (as always), a tiny bit of hurt/comfort, minghao best boy, soonyoung is very sweet it makes me want to cry

synopsis → after an unfortunate burnout that lands you in every critic’s negative and all-seeing eye, you decide to take a break from the one thing you know. you’re not sure if you’ll find what you’re looking for out in the middle of the woods - if you’re looking for anything at all - but at the very least, soonyoung will make the hunt a little less lonely.

warnings → there’s eventually a forest fire (starts on day 64 and is mentioned throughout the rest of the fic) that leads to an evacuation but it’s not super detailed, mentions and descriptions of creative burnout/breakdown

a/n → IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! i made a fancy banner nd everything <3 i know 9k isn’t a lot to some people but this is probably the longest one shot i’ve ever written LMAOO so i hope it’s paced ok and everything <33 PLEASE let me know what yall thought about this i am insanely proud of it. ok thats it hehe. hope you enjoy!!! see u on the other side!!!!

btw here’s a fun playlist of songs i listened to while writing mixed with some songs i think reflect the fic super well <33

DAY ONE.

So. You’re… out here, now.

Save for the bugs you have to swat at every fifteen seconds, the outdoors doesn’t seem that bad. The weather isn’t too hot (yet, your mind reminds you) and there’s something about the color of the sky that makes your heart constrict in your chest. You can’t tell if it’s good or bad, but given your luck recently, you’re hoping it’s not a warning for the coming months - God knows you need a break. The weight of the journal in your bag feels heavier than any of the camping gear you brought with you.

You debate texting Minghao that you’ve made it to the park safely, but when you check your phone after deciding yes, you see the words no service instead of the familiar lines of a signal. It’s not that big of a deal - you’d told him when you left that you probably wouldn’t have service at all - but a little part of you feels the tender shake of anxiety at the thought of not being able to contact your best friend.

He was the most worried out of everyone when you told him you were leaving for the summer. You can’t really blame him - it was abrupt, you saw the flyer at the grocery store and took it - but after what happened… doing something felt, feels, better than sitting around and waiting for nothing to happen. Waiting for a healing you aren’t sure will ever come, at least not completely.

“Is this really…” Minghao had started upon first entering your apartment after getting your text. Clothes were thrown all over your bedroom floor in an attempt to pack. “Do you need to do this?”

The tone of his voice told you he wasn’t going to try to stop you, that he just wanted to make sure this was what you needed. You had only nodded, sitting down on the edge of your bed to fold clothes and pack them into your suitcase.

“I just don’t want you to run away from it all,” Minghao said softly, sitting next to you. “You’ll need to face it eventually.”

“Is escaping really such a bad thing?” You asked, looking at Minghao. He gave you the look he did when you said something stupid, and if you weren’t still so wired from everything, you might have laughed. Instead, you sighed, placing a pair of pants into your suitcase. “I just need some time.”

Before you can face it, before you can come back, before you can write again… you still don’t know. Minghao had placed a kind hand on your shoulder to tell you there was no rush.

It’d taken no more than two days for you to get everything ready - including buying some apparently necessary survival equipment from Target. In a matter of a few hours you had gathered everything up, texted some other friends and your family that you might not be available the next few months and then… you left.

(Your manager was pretty pissed off that you left so suddenly, but she was also pissed off at you when you told her you needed a break for at least a few weeks, so you’re not really offended.)

You take one last longing look at your car before locking it, pocketing the keys, and starting on your hike.

The hike takes almost the whole day.

You think you almost cry when you finally see the watch tower you’re supposed to be staying in, your legs barely able to hold the rest of your body up. The hike wasn’t hard, really - long, though, and for someone who usually spends a work day sitting at a desk, you’re surprised you’re still alive. You find the little lock that holds the keys to the tower at the bottom of the stairs, fastened onto the railing. It takes a few seconds for you to enter the code you’d been given earlier, relishing in the soft breeze the cools the sweat on your face and neck. The sun is just barely starting to set beyond the mountains, a beautiful sight that you can’t properly focus on because all you want to do is pass out. You’re pretty sure you almost do on your way up the stairs.

The cabin at the top of the tower is pretty scarcely furnished, save for a few basic necessities (a gas stove rests on one wall, a small desk opposite to it by the door, a mini-fridge, and a bed in the corner plus what looks like a map table in the center of the room). It’s a little weird, a feeling caught between the nostalgia of moving into a new place and something you can’t quite name, but you figure you have a few months to make it all a little more comfortable.

For now, though, you feel like you’re on the last leg of your energy. Your mind is saying eat, sleep, eat, sleep on repeat and you have to agree with it, so you change the sheets on the bed, take down the boards over the windows while you wait for the macaroni from the Kraft box to cook. You end up eating a few forkfuls of poorly-made mac and cheese before crashing.

When you wake up, it’s to gentle static and a semi-clear, unfamiliar voice. It takes you a minute to remember where you are and what you’re doing, too disoriented to even think about the voice, but then - oh. Forest. Watch tower. Escape. Okay.

“Yo, Cottonwood! Am I coming through okay? Pick up your radio!”

Right. The voice. Radio?

“Come on, I saw you get in yesterday, I know you’re there. Unless,” a gasp, “you died! Oh my God, this is like a horror movie… and I’m next!”

You manage to wake up enough to locate your radio (a walkie-talkie resting on a charger on the desk) and, after a few seconds of gentle struggle, work it. “Not dead,” you say, then clear your throat because your voice does not sound good right after waking up. “I mean… almost. But not dead.”

There’s barely a moment of hesitation before the person on the other end hoots, apparently excited. “Arisen from the dead! Brought back to life by none other than the legendary Hoshi!”

A brief thought crosses your mind about having to listen to this guy all summer, but you quickly shoo it away. You won’t have to deal with it for the whole three months, right? “Who… who is Hoshi?”

“Me!” The voice answers, sounding a little too smug. “But it’s really just an alias. You can call me Soonyoung. I’m at Twin Peaks tower, west of yours!”

You spin around your cabin, looking through the windows cluelessly - how long have you been asleep, it’s practically afternoon - until you see a very small silhouette of another tower in the distance. You nod, then realize Soonyoung can’t see you. “Oh. Cool.”

“Aren’t you gonna tell me your name?” Soonyoung asks, but his tone is light, breezy. You blink, reciting your name to him in a daze. “Pretty! So, what brings you out here?”

You weren’t expecting that question. “What?”

Soonyoung giggles into the radio. “Everyone comes out here for some reason. Like… Jihoon says it’s ‘cause it helps him write music. And Joshua loves the outdoors, so… what’s your reason?”

“You…” you start, not exactly wanting to tell a stranger the reason you ran away from everything you know. “Do you normally ask this many questions?”

“Yeah!”

You feel yourself sigh, already tired again.

“I… just wanted to get away for a while,” you end up saying. A half-truth. “I live in the city.”

“No way,” Soonyoung gasps excitedly. “Me too! I wonder if both of us have ever been walking and, like, passed each other without knowing…”

This isn’t exactly what you had in mind when you thought of escaping.

DAY TWO.

The next morning, you dedicate time to getting a little more settled into your home for the next few months. You didn’t bring a lot of decor - you didn’t think you needed any - but even seeing your blanket on the bed and a few books you need to catch up on reading stacked on the desk makes the place feel a little bit more like you. You eventually reach the journal you packed (that Minghao made you pack) and stare at it like it might do something. Like it might tell you to write again, or like it might tell you to leave everything behind. You don’t really know what you want from it.

A sing-songed version of your name comes from your radio and you blink away from the journal, set it down on the desk. “Good morning!” Soonyoung says from the other end, and you feel yourself take a deep breath as you pick up your radio and press down the button so he can hear you.

“Morning, Soonyoung,” you respond, calm compared to his excitement.

“So… what are your plans for today?”

“Um,” you pause, brows furrowed, looking towards the direction of his tower even though you know he can’t see you. “Looking out for fires?”

“That’s boring,” is Soonyoung’s immediate response, and you laugh a little.

“Kinda my job for a while.”

And listen, you’ve known Soonyoung for less than a full 24 hours, but even before your brain really comprehends what he’s saying you know you’re not going to like it. “Wait, that reminds me,” he says, tone of his voice a little less overexcited puppy. “What did you do before this? Or, like, what’s your career? I mean, you don’t have to answer, I just thought it could be a way for us to get to know each other…”

His voice fades away for the split second you remember a little too much all at once, but somehow your voice still sounds put together when you speak. “Nothing special,” you say. There’s a pause when you don’t elaborate any further, but instead of asking about it, Soonyoung changes the subject.

“Okay!” he says, back to a more playful tone. “Anyways, I asked about your plans ‘cause I kind of need you to do something for me.”

“Already asking favors?” you tease. “We just met, Soonyoung.”

You hear him laugh, loud and hearty, and it’s contagious even through a radio line so you feel your own smile pull at your lips. “One of the other lookouts found some teenagers with fireworks,” he informs you. “I need you to meet him and get the fireworks from him.”

Your feet are already in your shoes, one halfway tied. “You can’t do this?”

Soonyoung’s voice is strangely thoughtful, but you catch a hint of mischief at the end of his sentence. “I would, but Jihoonie said he’d eat me if I tried to see him again and I think he’s serious this time.”

He tells you where the other lookout - Jihoon - should be and gives you a quick lesson on how to properly use your map to get there. You’re not really excited for another hike this early on (you’re still sore from even getting up here) but by the time you meet the halfway mark you’re convinced it’s not that bad. It’s neither long nor challenging, and… well, Soonyoung’s insistent on keeping you company the whole time.

When you see what looks like a guy at the edge of a now-abandoned camp, you tell Soonyoung you’ll radio him when you’re on your way back to your tower. “Hey,” you call out as you get closer. The man looks up at you, his eyes sharp but not unkind. “Jihoon?”

“Yeah,” he replies. Under his cap you notice that his hair is a gentle silver, almost purple. He’s dressed casually, like you, and you suppose it’s a given since there’s no exact dress code for this job. “You’re the newbie?”

You didn’t know people knew about you. “I.. I guess,” you say, then tell him your name.

“Cool,” Jihoon says, voice flat like he’s distracted. He picks up the bag next to his feet and hands it to you. “Take these. Thanks.”

He starts to walk away, down a trail opposite the direction you came, but you think of earlier, when Soonyoung asked about your job (or when he didn’t). You call after Jihoon, hesitate, but then opt to make this quick since he looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “Have you and Soonyoung… known each other for long?”

Jihoon turns around. He shrugs, then nods. “We met in college, a few years ago.”

“What kind of person is he?”

You watch in vague amusement as Jihoon’s nose scrunches up, but the small smile on his face refuses to hide and it makes you giggle. “Really annyoing,” he tells you, then pauses for a second like he’s looking for the right words, “kind of overwhelming sometimes. But he’s good. He’s someone you want around.”

Someone you want around, your brain repeats to you. You nod with a friendly smile as you haphazardly stuff the fireworks in your hiking bag. “Okay. Thank you.”

Jihoon offers an acknowledging nod of his own before continuing on his way back to his tower. You’re about five minutes into your hike back to yours when your radio sounds from your pocket with a now-familiar voice.

“Are you on your way back?” Soonyoung asks. “You forgot to tell me!”

“Sorry, yeah, I am now. I was talkin’ to Jihoon for a second.”

“Really? That’s weird. He rarely talks to anyone, especially strangers. What’d you talk about?”

You can’t help the small smile that lands on your face as you speak. “Stuff to blackmail you with.”

You think you hear Soonyoung’s groan all the way from his tower, and your smile only grows when it turns into a laugh.

DAY FIVE.

The clouds look dark today.

They haven’t covered the sun completely yet, but they’re closing in fast. You hope that it rains, already sick and tired of the disgusting heat, but also. Something else.

Rainy days always used to be the best to write, your brain supplies to you. You brave a glance at the still-unopened journal on the desk, thinking that maybe…

Your radio turning on drags you away from the crack in metaphorical door, coming at the perfect time as if to tell you that you’re not ready yet. You listen to it, grab the radio, murmur a greeting to Soonyoung.

“It’s getting pretty dark out, huh?” He says. He must be looking at the sky, too.

“Yeah,” you hum. “Hopefully the storm isn’t too bad.”

The line goes quiet, but you know that Soonyoung’s still there even if he isn’t saying anything. The knowledge comforts you, just a little.

“Well... got any rainy day stories?”

DAY SEVENTEEN.

“So, Soonyoung,” you call into your radio as you step outside. You’ve taken advantage of the small balcony around the entire cabin, setting up a few chairs you found in the storage unit at the bottom of the tower (just in case someone stops by, you tell yourself) and a small table you weren’t using inside. The nights are hot but still relaxing, and you find yourself sitting outside often, catching up on reading or taking in the stars.

“I can’t believe you radioed me first,” Soonyoung responds, and you hear the smugness in his voice. “I’m so happy!”

Soonyoung somehow almost always manages to be with you in the nights, too, even if not physically. Being away from the urban civilization you’re used to has been a little difficult to adjust to, but you feel significantly less alone whenever you hear him calling you. You tell him to be quiet even though both of you are laughing. The distant crickets make your chest warm.

“What do you do? You didn’t tell me before,” You ask him after a second. There’s a small wave of anxiety that rushes over you at the idea that he might call you out about when he asked you the same thing. That was two weeks ago, though, you think, and Soonyoung wouldn’t. You’re sure he’s been able to tell that it’s a touchy subject. You’re not as discreet as you think you are, even if (and you’ve learned this the past few weeks) Soonyoung’s a bit more on the oblivious side sometimes.

“I dance!”

Somehow, despite having not even seen what he looks like, it’s fitting. “Like… teach, or choreograph, or…”

“A little of everything,” Soonyoung tells you, and then starts elaborating. His voice echoes through your radio and you look up at the stars as you listen to him, trying to map out constellations from memory. He sounds so excited to simply talk about it, you can’t imagine what he must look like when he’s actually on stage. You hope you get to see it one day.

“You’ll have to teach me something sometime,” you say once he’s finished, voicing your thoughts. With a giggle that sounds like the stars above you, he tells you he’d love to.

A moment of quiet passes, spent focusing on the tiny specks of fireflies you see in the field around your tower and feeling the summer breeze as it passes. The words slip out of your mouth with much less resistance than you thought they would.

“I used to write,” you murmur into your radio. It takes you a moment to register the heavy beat of your heart, like you just got back from a run.

“Used to?” Soonyoung asks, curious but soft.

“For now,” you answer. The ache you’ve become familiar with throbs in your chest. “Hopefully not forever.”

It’s not the whole story - not even close - but you figure you might be able to tell him with time. The thought stresses you out even when you have nothing to stress about, and you think Soonyoung is psychic because he says, next, “the stars are really pretty tonight.”

You’re not looking at the sky when you answer. Your head is tilted in the direction of his tower.

“They really are,” you say.

DAY THIRTY-THREE.

You’ve fallen into a bit of a routine with Soonyoung.

Not a day goes by where you don’t talk to him - the one day you radioed and he didn’t pick up you genuinely thought something happened to him, seconds away from calling a park ranger. Right before you actually did it, though, he picked up his radio and said he had been taking a nap.

(His voice was a little groggy from sleep, sounded like he was pouting whether he meant to or not and you’d be lying if you said the thought didn’t make your heart skip a few beats - but if anyone asked, you’d definitely lie about it.)

One of you calls the other around the same time every morning and you don’t put down your radio until the sun is well behind the mountains. You’ve grown used to his presence, in a way, even if you can’t really feel him with you (though sometimes you swear you can). It’s comforting to have him out there with you, and it’s been so long since you’ve talked to someone the way you do with Soonyoung… you find yourself looking forward to every morning, waiting for when you hear him over your radio.

Today is no different.

Well, in an unrelated way, it is - you have to hike to a supply box to get your surplus of food for the next month and a half you have left. But even as you’re doing inventory of what you have left in your cabin on a piece of paper, you’re waiting for Soonyoung’s usual good morning. It comes as always, makes you smile when you hear it.

“Good morning!”

You leave your scratch paper on your desk and reach for your radio. “Morning,” you say after you’ve pressed the button down.

“So…” Soonyoung trails off. “Supply drop day.”

“Yeah,” you reply, sitting on your bed.

“Both of us are getting crates of food today…”

What is he getting at? “Uh-huh…?”

“Both of us… getting supplies… from the same place.”

A confused laugh leaves your lips. “Soonyoung, what is your point?”

Even for as often as you talk to him, you’re still always surprised when he starts yelling. “Let’s meet up!” he exclaims, obviously excited, and it clicks in your head.

“Oh my God, can we do that?”

“Yeah!” Soonyoung sounds like he’s grinning, smile palpable in his voice. “If we pull some strings with the other lookouts and get hiking at the right time, it’s totally possible.”

Holy shit. Your heart is beating wildly, butterflies swarming around it at the thought of meeting Soonyoung in person. “Okay,” you tell him, noting that you sound a little breathless. “Okay, yeah, let’s do it.”

It takes a few minutes to work everything out - the supply boxes should be dropped off by midday, so you can leave your tower around then and get to the drop location in a little over an hour. Soonyoung has to leave earlier than you since he’s farther away, but if everything goes well the two of you should get to the drop location close to the same time, margin of error small. You radio Jihoon to cover for you while you’re out, and he agrees, although he sounds a bit miffed.

When you finally leave for your hike, you’re not expecting how quiet it is. Soonyoung’s usually there to cover it up with his voice - you don’t hike often (you’ve not had to, given your job for the summer is to watch for fires) but whenever you have he’s been there to keep you company. You plug in your earphones about halfway through your trip just to drown out the quiet, something more to listen to than just trees and the sound of your own footsteps.

Eventually you make it to the supply box, and, well. There’s a guy. Standing in front of a long, green box - you think you see lookout tower names engraved ever few inches: Thorofare, Cottonwood, Twin Peaks. Packing some ready-to-eat meals into his backpack.

Holy shit, Soonyoung? your brain automatically asks, and it sends your heart spiraling up and down. You’re not sure what you thought he looked like, but it wasn’t this. Tall, lean - wait, you don’t even know if this is actually him yet.

Before you can think too much about it, you call out, voice tentative. “Are you… Soonyoung?”

The man turns around, shakes his head with a kind smile. “No,” he says. “I’m Joshua.”

You think about throwing yourself into the river by your tower when you get back for absolutely no reason. Somehow you manage a polite smile and a gentle sorry.

“No, don’t apologize, you’re fine!” Joshua chirps, adjusting the cap on his head. “You’re looking for him?”

You pause. Those aren’t the exact words you would use, but they’re not technically wrong, so you nod. After all, you don’t know what he looks like (you probably should have asked him before both of you left, but you weren’t expecting another person to be here).

“Please don’t tell me he got lost again,” Joshua says, suddenly looking tired, and you look back at him wide-eyed because... again? Has this happened before?

“No,” you tell him. “No, I mean, I don’t think so. I don’t know. Since we both have to pick up supplies he thought it’d be cool if we met up in person.”

Joshua sighs, seemingly relieved, then continues packing what’s left of his supplies into his backpack as he hums. “That’s weird.”

“What is?”

He shrugs. “Soonyoung likes the outdoors, yeah, but the supply box is a pretty far hike from his tower. I think the last few summers he’s had them delivered.”

Oh, you think, and maybe say out loud, because then Joshua’s looking back at you, a mischievous smile on his face.

“He must really like you to come all the way out here,” he tells you, and you laugh like it might get rid of all the thoughts popping up in your mind that you keep telling yourself to stop thinking about.

“And yet,” you say wistfully, looking towards the horizon. “I still come second to Jihoon.”

This time Joshua laughs, a friendly sound, and the two of you fall into a playful conversation. He’s somewhat a superior of yours, though not by a far gap - as the lookout who’s been on the job the longest, he oversees the rest of you (which is you, Soonyoung, Jihoon, and a few others you have yet to come across). You get along with him easily and it’s weird to think that if you hadn’t gone through what you did a few months ago you wouldn’t be here talking to him, establishing what could be a new friendship. You wonder if that’s a new step towards healing, finding a way to be grateful even if it was horrible.

You talk to Joshua for a while until he says he should get back to his tower. You nod, tell him goodbye (and thanks for his company) and he starts to walk away -

“Shua!”

A burst of platinum blonde hair rushes past you from the opposite direction you came from, heading for Joshua. The new guy drops a bag at his feet and almost softly crashes into Joshua, who has this look on his face you can’t really decipher.

“Hey, Soonyoung,” he says, and you blink.

Soonyoung, like… your Soonyoung? The Soonyoung you’ve been talking to for weeks?

You watch as the two hug, Soonyoung excited to see Joshua and completely ignoring you (though you’re not sure he’s doing it intentionally). All you can do is stand there. This is him, your brain keeps telling you. This is the guy.

“I haven’t seen you in forever!” Soonyoung exclaims, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. “How are you? How have things been?”

Joshua shrugs, a small smile on his face as he puts a gentle hand on Soonyoung’s head and starts… petting. “I’ve been good, same old deal. I know that you’ve been doing good too, though, as far as I’ve seen from your reports.”

Soonyoung beams at the praise and you take note of it in the back of your mind (you also note the way Joshua’s treating him like a toddler and how it’s working). He opens his mouth to say something else but looks around and meets your eyes - for a second there’s nothing at all, but then you think you see an exclamation mark actually pop above his head.

The yell of your name is so loud it makes you jump. “Oh my God,” Soonyoung whines, falling to his knees dramatically. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you!”

“This is the first time you’ve seen me,” you say. You can’t seem to hold back your smile.

Joshua excuses himself (again) and finally moves on his way, says he’s in Thorofare lookout if anything happens. The sun is mellow on your skin as you look at Soonyoung, take him in - light hair, warm eyes, tan skin. His smile matches your own. A breeze shifts by, slow and sweet.

“Hi,” you say.

Soonyoung grins.

“Hey.”

So the bag you saw Soonyoung drop on the ground before was, in fact, for a picnic.

He didn’t bring a lot of food (the whole point of the hike was to get supply boxes anyways) aside from a few candy bars he’d saved for today. He did bring a blanket, however, and the two of you set everything up on the edge of a rock not too far away from the drop location, under some trees. It looks over a small ravine, a stream cutting through at the bottom.

The time goes by like it was never there in the first place, spent talking and laughing. Soonyoung is just as animated in person as you thought he’d be, telling stories wildly as the two of you snack away a portion of your supplies. You know the two of you don’t have much time together, given how late it already was when Soonyoung arrived and both of your hikes back to your respective towers, but it’s still… refreshing, almost, to be with him like this, to finally get a piece of him you didn’t before. To hear him without the crackle of the radio and to see him.

To see him.

Something stirs in your chest when you look at him lying back on the blanket, arms supporting his head with his eyes closed. The sun lights up his skin in a golden glow, like honey, and the dark roots growing into his blonde hair are somehow endearing. The breath leaves your lungs when you finally label him as pretty. You hope you can blame the heat in your cheeks on the sun.

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” Soonyoung sighs, still not opening his eyes. You almost reach out to brush the hair away from his face, but a breeze comes by and does it for you. You hope it’s not a sign.

“It would be nice, huh,” you murmur in response. You finally break your gaze from Soonyoung and lean back on your hands, soaking up the feeling of the blue sky.

It’s now that you remember what Joshua had said earlier about Soonyoung usually getting his supplies delivered, and you turn back to him. “Hey, before you got to the supply box, Joshua and I were talking.” Soonyoung hums in acknowledgement. “Is the hike from your tower to here really that bad?”

His voice strains as he stretches, opening his eyes to look at you. “I mean, yeah, it’s a bitch of a hike to take sometimes. But it’s not really hard except for a few spots, just long.”

You furrow your brows. When you agreed to meet him, you didn’t think it’d be this much trouble for him. “And you came all this way so we could… what, sit here and eat? Like we do most of the time anyways? Just separately?”

Soonyoung pouts at you and you feel personally attacked. “Food tastes good when you’re with other people.”

You give him a soft, semi-playful glare, and Soonyoung offers a small giggle. You turn back towards the view in front of you.

“Did you not want me to come down?” He asks, and he doesn’t sound… sad, really, more observant. Like he wants to know where you’re at.

“No,” you answer almost immediately (Jesus, your brain says). “I just… it’s a long trip. It doesn’t really seem like it’s worth the effort.”

Like I’m worth the effort, you think to yourself.

You hear Soonyoung shuffle behind you and turn around to look at him again, finding him sitting up straight. “It is to me,” he tells you, and there’s something in his eyes that holds you in your spot. The tips of his fingers brush against yours on the blanket. You’d look down if you didn’t think you’d miss something. “I wanted to.”

In a second, it clicks.

It’s not much longer until Soonyoung needs to start heading back. The two of you get your things together, and you help him pack up the picnic supplies he brought. When everything’s said and done and the two of you are back by the supply box, there’s a second of uncharacteristic quiet that falls over you.

“Let me know when you get back,” you say after a moment. Soonyoung grins.

“You’re worried about me!” he swoons, and you hit him on the shoulder playfully, but don’t deny it. It can be dangerous out there, and even if Soonyoung has been out here longer than you, anything can happen.

“Just radio me, okay?”

Soonyoung smiles, something a little softer from before. He nods. “I will. You be safe too.”

You nod in return, taking a few steps back towards the trail that leads back to your tower. “Talk to you later, Hoshi.”

The last you see of him before you turn around is the grin on his face.

DAY THIRTY-FOUR.

It feels like forever since you’ve been here.

A window is open and welcomes a distant ambiance of the forest around you, trees and birds and animals. The journal you brought with you is open to the first page, but remains untouched - nothing on the pages. At least, not yet.

(The not yet you always tell yourself seems closer, this time, not so far away. Within reach, or at least within reason.)

Soonyoung had called in that the hike from yesterday had worn him out and he needed a nap. You had laughed fondly at how tired he sounded, told him to sleep well and that you’d be waiting for him. And you feel the words, right at your fingertips, the way the rest and wait to be written. Their presence is both terrifying and reassuring.

You don’t think they’ll be able to bleed out correctly, not the way they used to since it’s been so long. But they’re there, in your mind, in your heart.

You pick up the pen you got out, feel the weight of it as you click it a few times. You tap it on the desk once, twice, and then.

You take a deep breath and start to write.

DAY SIXTY-FOUR.

“Are you lookin’ at the fire?”

Your eyes leave the page of your book at Soonyoung’s voice crackling from the radio, looking around your cabin windows to see that, oh, there is a fire. You’d kind of forgotten that it’s… literally your job. At least there are multiple lookouts.

You fold the corner of the page you’re on as a makeshift bookmark before closing the book and setting it down on your bed as you stand to get your radio. You grab a can of soda from the mini-fridge you’ve started to utilize (as best you can, given it does a mediocre job at keeping things cool) before walking out onto the deck, sitting in one of the chairs you set up. “Now I am,” you tell Soonyoung as you adjust the chair so it faces the direction of the fire. You think you’re the closest lookout to it - which makes the fact that you didn’t notice it even worse - but not in any danger. The smoke paints the evening sky red-orange, washing over the purples and blues the sun used earlier as it set. “You’ve called it in?”

“Yeah, told Josh, who told the higher-ups,” Soonyoung responds, voice strangely… solemn? He sighs his next words. “They’ll probably send a crew in for suppression by morning.”

“Is there a reason you sound sad about putting a potentially dangerous forest fire out?” You tease, cracking open your soda and taking a sip. The carbonation feels good in your mouth, pops on your tongue.

“I’m not!” Soonyoung denies after some sputtering, and you laugh. “Just… ugh, looking at it - I’ve worked here every summer for the past, like, five years, and I’ve only ever seen two fires. Three, counting this one.” His voice gains a certain softness, like he’s lost in thought. “I don’t want the place to burn down or anything, but… don’t you think it’s kind of beautiful?”

It’s a little morally ambiguous, but as you look at the distant, licking flames you have to agree. In the dark, it’s vibrant, more than just ashy smoke and the smell of burning - it glows red, flushes out silhouettes of the trees in between it and you.

“I guess it is,” you hum into your radio as you stare at it.

“So. What should we name it?”

“The fire?”

“Yes,” Soonyoung says, dramatic as always. “She needs a name! I’ve always given them names, but I’ll let you do the honor this time.”

There’s something sweet in the way he offers you the chance to name it, and you try not to dwell on it too much. “Ah,” you start, thinking for a moment. “Barbara. The Barbara Fire.”

Soonyoung howls out a laugh and it’s infectious; you feel the tugging of your lips into a grin. “That is the worst thing that has ever come out of your mouth,” he says, and you roll your eyes. “We are not naming it the Barbara Fire.”

You huff out a fake whine. “Come on, it’s just Barb! She’s beautiful.”

“But deadly,” Soonyoung adds in a voice that sounds like it came straight out of a crime documentary. It makes you giggle, the two of you throwing around silly, stupid names.

“Okay, okay,” you say after a few minutes. “Then… hmm, the Hoshi Fire.”

There’s a long, long pause, and you hold down the button to your radio again. “Uh oh, is he broken?”

Soonyoung’s voice comes through, joking, but you sense a pinch of sincerity. “You want to name a raging forest fire after me… I feel like I shouldn’t be happy but I kind of am.”

You remember to push the button as you laugh, looking directly at the fire and shouting, “I hereby dub thee… the Hoshi Fire!” as loud as you can.

After the laughter dies down, for a second, there’s quiet - not awkward or for the sake of a bit, just quiet. Soonyoung’s not telling a story, you’re not giving witty comebacks. It’s just the two of you and the fire, alone in the forest.

It breaks eventually. Soft, gentle. “I’m glad you’re out here, you know,” Soonyoung says.

His words make you stiffen and relax all at once, and almost on instinct you look in the direction of his tower. You can’t really see the silhouette - the sun too far gone, taking the last of its light with it - but you know it’s there, can pinpoint exactly where it should be. You hope Soonyoung’s looking over at you, too.

And even if the reason you’re here in the first place is still a tender bruise to be pressed, you find yourself recovering a little more every day. “I am, too,” you respond. “I… I wish you were over here.”

It’s a roundabout way to say I miss you, but a part of you thinks neither of you are ready for something that explicit. You reach a hand out in the direction of Soonyoung’s tower, grasping at it like it might bring him to you. It’s not as if you can’t meet up with him again, but… between the distance and the fact that there’s an actual fire to keep your eye on, it certainly wouldn’t be easy. This is the closest you can get for now.

“I wish I was too,” Soonyoung says. You close your eyes to picture him, pretty smile and fond eyes. “We could hang out, like last time.”

“Without the radios,” you add.

“We could, um… you know.”

His words make you giggle, and you feel a little lucky that you’re not holding down the button. Your heart is pounding in your chest, nervous but stable, secure, as you reply. A welcomed beat, even if startling.

“No, I don’t,” you tell him. Your soda sits forgotten, half-empty, on the floor of the deck by your feet. You don’t bother paying attention to the fire. “What could we do?”

Soonyoung groans and this time you laugh pushing the button so he can hear you, warm and affectionate. “Don’t tease me! You know what I’m talking about.”

You do. “What could we do, Soonyoung?”

There’s a pause, but you know he’s still there.

“Well,” he says eventually. “Let me tell you.”

DAY SEVENTY-SIX.

The fire’s gotten big.

You feel like you shouldn’t be surprised by it - it’s a wildfire, they’re not exactly easy to contain, but seeing it up close like this is vastly different from being in a city and barely even noticing the smoke. It is larger than life out here, consuming more and more of the forest each day. The last few days you’ve spent inside due to the low visibility (though it’s not as if you take a hike every day anyways). It makes you wonder if it’s safe to stay out here.

“...Hey,” Soonyoung radios in. “I have a question for you.”

Rationally, you know whatever it is, it can’t be that serious. But your heart picks up pace anyways, beats a little harder as you pick up your radio to respond. “Look, it was Jihoon’s idea to use the fireworks, I promise neither of us knew it would start the fire.”

Soonyoung sputters out a laugh and you match him, feeling yourself calm down. “I’ll… I’ll ask Jihoon about that later, but - I really do have something to ask you.”

You lay down in your bed, unmade and messy. “Is it… bad?”

“I don’t think so,” Soonyoung responds. “Maybe?”

“Okay…” you say, timid. “Shoot.”

“When you first got here, I asked why you took the job,” he says, and you nod to yourself, remembering the first call you got from him. “You just… never really responded. I get it if it’s, like, a touchy subject, I don’t want to pressure you at all…”

“No,” you interrupt before you realize what you’re saying. You take a deep breath, Soonyoung waits. “No, it’s probably… it might be good to talk about it. I’ll tell you.”

He murmurs an okay, tells you to take your time and you do. It’s not like you’re scared to tell him - you’ve come to trust him, you know he won’t judge you for anything that happened or think any differently of you. You’re not even sure that’s why it’s hard for you to talk about - rather than any sort of outside force that might affect you, it’s more… more of a part of you that you felt you lost. It’s more coming to terms - even after these months - and going through the motions. It’s scary to talk about disconnection, especially from the one thing you loved (love?) more than anything.

“I… write,” is how you start, looking at the ceiling of your cabin as you speak. “Or wrote, maybe? I’m an author. I have a few books published. Writing is something I’ve loved since I was so young, it’s… a part of me, really. It’s special to me.

“When I finally got a manager and a publishing company and all that official stuff, I was so excited. It was like I was finally living my dream. I wrote my first book and got it published and it did really well, so my management asked me to do another, and I did. Then they asked for one after that, and I didn’t… it felt too soon, in a way. Rushed. But I guess I did it because I had to, because I figured this just came with being a writer and not everything is what you want it to be - and I didn’t want to risk losing what I had wanted almost my entire life.”

You take a moment to steady yourself, note the tremble of your fingers and take a few deep breaths. Soonyoung waits for you, patient and kind. “It went like that for a while, and I lost touch with writing. I stopped loving the only thing I knew how to love. I was so detached from it. A few months before I took this job my manager set up a press conference for me, and I… kind of… had a breakdown. At the conference. So I’m out here to run away for a second. Be away from it all.”

The quiet that follows doesn’t make you nervous, really, but you’re still waiting for a reply of any sort. Even if it’s the common oh or it’ll be okay that you got from distant friends and relatives who didn’t know what was really going on. But Soonyoung was patient with you, so you can be patient with him.

“Have you written since?” He asks after a minute, and your eyes flash over to the journal on your desk. One page has the familiar strokes and loops of your handwriting, written after you met Soonyoung in person.

“Only once,” you respond, truthful.

“When you start to write again… will you show me?”

And for some reason the question is so tender, filled to the brim with something you want to name. It makes tears spring to your eyes as you look out over the rising fire, trying not to let your voice shake too much as you reply.

(Maybe it’s because he said when and not if, maybe it’s because he didn’t tell you it’ll be okay, maybe it’s because it’s him and not someone else telling you the same thing.)

“Yeah,” you say, letting go of the button to sniff. “Yeah, I will. If you let me see one of your dances.”

You hear Soonyoung’s smile through the radio as he tells you it’s a deal.

DAY SEVENTY-EIGHT.

For the first time since you started working, someone who isn’t Soonyoung calls you through the radio (not counting the time you radioed Jihoon to make sure he was still alive, because you only saw him once and hadn’t heard from him since then). You hear the familiar click that tells you someone’s on the station, and you’re fully expecting Soonyoung’s voice to light up your cabin the way it always does. Instead, Joshua’s voice rings through.

“You there?” He asks after a comfortable call of your name, and you pick up your radio.

“Yeah, I’m here. It’s been a while,” you respond, and Joshua hums. “How’ve you been?”

“I’ve… been,” he tells you, which earns a small laugh. “Anyways, I called in to let you know that they’re having trouble controlling the fire -”

You take a look at the giant flume of smoke north of your tower, nodding to yourself. “I can see that.”

Joshua tells you to be quiet. You hear the friendly smile in his voice.

“There’ll be an evacuation team here within the next two days,” he says. “Maybe less, shouldn’t be more. They’re gonna get all the lookouts evacuated.”

Oh. Evacuation? That means… the city. Your apartment, back to your family and friends. You’d forgotten an entire world exists outside of the bubble you created for yourself.

“Okay,” you say slowly, still looking at the fire. “I assume you’ve told the other lookouts?”

“I’ve got a few more to call, but other than that, yeah, everyone’s covered. I told Soonyoung and Jihoon first,” Joshua tells you, and you blink at the fact that you didn’t even have to ask. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

“Yeah. Stay safe, Josh.”

You sit for a while after that, trying to cope with the feeling in your chest. You… you feel better about everything, about writing, for sure, but. But. It’s cut short, even if only by a little over a week. You haven’t even started packing anything up - so much of you is strewn around the cabin, in the field around your tower, in the trees of the forest you hiked through. You don’t think you’re ready to say goodbye to the place you’ve made your home and the people (person, your heart whispers) with it.

The sun starts to set and the fire grows. You sit on your bed and look at the things you’ve made your own, a sunken, unfinished emotion spreading through you. Eventually it is Soonyoung’s voice that comes from your radio, low and humorous.

“The Hoshi Fire can’t be stopped…” he murmurs, and you laugh despite the loss you feel.

“Please,” you groan into your radio after you’ve grabbed it. “We’re getting evacuated!”

Soonyoung giggles, something mischievous that makes your heart warm with slow appreciation. “I can’t believe it’s ending so soon,” you say, standing up to walk around aimlessly.

“Yeah, the summer went by super fast, huh?” Soonyoung replies. “I’m kind of excited, though. I’ve missed a proper dance studio.”

That’s… oh.

A current of mild surprise rolls through you and you think you physically feel your jaw drop, just a little. That - that hurt. More than you want it to, more than you think it should - but it’s... fine. You’ve only known Soonyoung for a few months, it’s not like…

You realize you haven’t responded and open your mouth on purpose this time. “I wish we could share the sentiment, Hoshi,” you joke, hoping it doesn’t sound too stiff.

If Soonyoung notices anything, he doesn’t say it. Only laughs, sweet and genuine. “I’m sure you’ll find something to yearn for just as I yearn for dance,” he says dramatically. You laugh, forced, because yeah, you will. Maybe you already have.

DAY EIGHTY.

Evacuation day.

Last day in your tower. Last day in the forest. Last day of the job you took to escape, to heal. It’s spent packing up the things you brought with you, throwing away everything else. Joshua said helicopters would be touching down at two points - Twin Peaks lookout and Mule Point lookout. Twin Peaks is Soonyoung’s tower, and if you planned it out right, you could probably get there and leave with him.

You tell yourself that the reason you can’t is because Mule Point is closer. Safer. They’re evacuating you for a reason.

“Hey.”

Speak of the devil, you think, grabbing your radio from its charging port. “Hi.”

“So,” Soonyoung says. For the first time since you’ve known him, he seems awkward. “Evacuation day.”

“Yessir…”

“What evacuation point are you hiking to?”

You pause, hesitate like you’re about to say something you shouldn’t. “Mule Point,” you manage to get out. “It’s closer,” you say after, your brain telling you to justify it, explain.

“What did the Hoshi Fire ever do to you?” Soonyoung huffs out through a laugh, and it sounds so unaffected that you feel that ache from before again. After a second, he adds, “so… this’ll be the last we talk. At least for a while.”

That realization hits you like a brick and the sting behind your eyes seems normal - regardless of whatever was built between you and Soonyoung or what lead you out here in the first place, it’s so sad that it’s ending. “Yeah,” you say quietly. Everything is packed, you just need to get hiking. “I, um. Is it cheesy to say thank you?”

“Maybe,” Soonyoung chuckles. “But it’ll also make me feel really good, so…”

You feel yourself calm down and let out your own small giggle. Maybe it was always meant to end this way, a little too soon, a little too sad. “Really… thanks, Soonyoung. I think it would’ve been worse for me if I got the silence I came out here for. I’m glad I had you to talk to.”

“Thank you, too,” Soonyoung says back. “I hope… you write again. I’ll talk to you later.”

The mention of it doesn’t hurt as much as it used to, and you feel the smallest of smiles on your lips. “Yeah. Later.”

The radio clicks off and that’s the last you hear from Soonyoung.

EPILOGUE.

It’s hard to come back.

From nature, from Soonyoung - everything, really. To go from trees and fires and talking every night back to car horns, busy sidewalks and your own apartment. It’s weird to wake up and not see the immediate shine of the sun through your windows. But you come back, slowly get used to the life you had before.

And you start writing.

Given - you get back in August only start writing again in October, but you write. Little by little, page after page. Maybe not every day, like you used to, but the words are back and they are eager to get out, leave their mark as your work. You stand up to your management (with Minghao’s support) and take control of your own writing schedule. The pressure from before leaves. Writing becomes special more than ever, returns as the one thing you never get truly tired of.

Minghao asks about the job, your summer. You tell him it was easy and peaceful, and that you’re thankful for the time. You mention the other lookouts. You mention Soonyoung. Only in passing, though.

(Minghao definitely suspects something, but even if he asked, you wouldn’t tell him much.)

Sometimes you allow yourself to think of him - when you got back, you looked for a Soonyoung in the multiple dance studios in the city, but since you didn’t have a last name or any proper title, nothing came up. After that, you gave up, but he still shows up in your thoughts from time to time, bright blonde hair (the roots growing in) and glowing smile. It’s cold out, now, so you hope he isn’t getting sick and that he’s staying warm.

You’re reminded of just how cold it is when you have to brace the outside world to get your mail. There’s not even any wind, just an undeniable cold, and it makes your nose burn and eyes water as you walk the short trek to your mailbox. You find your slot and push your key in, unlocking it and gathering your mail. Most of it is junk, but you could have sworn something you ordered was supposed to come today -

“Excuse me?”

You turn your head to the voice and find a man walking towards you, his head turned down towards a small piece of paper. His voice sounds familiar, but you figure it must just be a neighbor you haven’t spoken to in a while. You turn your body to him, waiting for him to look up from the note so you can place a name on him. “Do you know where I can find an author…”

He looks up.

It’s Soonyoung.

He looks a little different - his hair is shorter, dyed black instead of the platinum you remember from last July. But it’s definitely him. The longer you stare at each other the wider his smile gets, and you stand, speechless. He’s looking at you like you’re the only thing in the world. Your heart starts to race, warms you up beneath your jacket.

“Found you,” Soonyoung grins. You can’t take your eyes off of him.

“Yeah,” you breathe. “You did.”

#caratwritersclub #kdiner #CRIES I'M SO EXCITED #THIS FIC IS MY BABY I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY IT!!!!#seventeen x reader #seventeen imagine #svt x reader #svt imagine #kwon soonyoung x reader #kwon soonyoung imagine #svt hoshi x reader #svt hoshi imagine #seventeen hoshi x reader #seventeen hoshi imagine #hoshi x reader #hoshi imagine

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threeletterslife · 4 years ago

Text

Resonance

→ summary: your college art final prompt is so unbelievably broad that you might just flunk it because you have no idea what you’re gonna draw. luckily, there’s a cute guy who’s totally into you that might just help you out. even better: he’s a merman.

→ pairing/rating: taehyung x reader | PG-13

→ genre: 80% crack, 20% fluff | mermaid!au & bullet point fic

→ warnings: profanity

→ wordcount: 9.4k

cr.

well

this is just

great

you are a creative person

you ARE a creative person

ok maybe if you keep saying that in your head, it’ll come true

but fat chance

because you're still drawing a blank

your university professor JUST released the art final prompt

and it is the most broadest and vaguest prompt you've seen in your whole entire nineteen years of life

it sucks!!

like what the fuck?

how are you supposed to draw something that "calls to you"

what's that supposed to mean???

your best friend yoongi tries to help you interpret the wack prompt

but you really shouldn’t be trusting a guy who uses art sketchbooks as scratch paper to solve batshit crazy math problems for fun

it’s a no brainer that yoongi’s a no-nonsense chemical engineering major

in conclusion, he wouldn’t know aRT

not like you do anyways

he can barely draw a stickman. and he even has shitty handwriting (that’s so barely legible that he always gets called back after finals to translate his writing for the prof)

enough roasting your best friend though

especially when he’s actually trying to lend you a hand

“what calls to you…” yoongi trails off thoughtfully

he lets out a snort

“ha!” he says triumphantly. “y/n, i got it!”

“really?!”

“just draw a phone with your mother coming out of it!”

you frown. “i don’t get it”

yoongi sighs, shaking his head disdainfully

“because your mother literally calls you on the phone, y/n”

“i hate you”

yoongi is no help

“prof would flunk me if i turned a drawing like that in”

yoongi snorts. “or she’ll give you extra points for thinking literally. artists these days are so into thinking outside of the box. maybe you’ll be unique for being literal”

god no

being literal won’t fly with your professor

she’s the fucking queen of abstract art

if you hand her a painting of your mother coming out of a fucking phone, she might just burn the piece in front of your face

besides, you can’t draw something that doesn’t stir some sort of inspiration in you

no offense to your mother (but she’s also a no-nonsense physician)

yoongi’s just back at it again with his nonsensical advice

you’d expect better from the dude who does math for fun

“you know what?” you huff. “i can’t trust a guy who uses a freaking sketchbook to solve advanced calculus problems”

yoongi grins. “just tryna help, y/n”

“my god”

“wanna help me since i helped you?” yoongi teases

he holds up a stack of paper riddled with numbers with one too many digits and foreign symbols from the greek alphabet

you feel like you’re gonna puke

“aaaaand goodbye!” you say, standing up from your seat at the campus cafe. “i’m gonna go to the beach!”

“right now??”

“yeah why not?” you laugh, shrugging. “i need some inspiration!”

“but then i’m gonna look like a loner sitting here all by myself,” yoongi pouts

“then come with me, duh”

yoongi gives you a look of repulsion

“i hate the beach,” he grumbles

“fine,” you snort. “just call hoseok or something. i don’t know. but i’m leaving! bYe!!”

you can hear yoongi cursing at you under his breath and you laugh

he’s got such a mouth of a sailor that he honestly belongs on the beach—if not, the ocean

you pay his cursing no mind as you rush out the cafe and across the school campus

the literal reason you chose to attend this university was its close proximity to the beach

you’ve always been drawn to the waters

yoongi, on the other hand, only came here because of a scholarship

smart bastard

but he’s a good friend

it’s kinda sad you’re always hanging on the beach alone though

you don’t particularly fit in with the rowdy party crowds on the sand

and you don’t go there to flaunt your summer body in a bikini

you just go for

~inspiration~

by the time you reach the beach, it’s nearly empty

when it’s nearing finals, no one dares to step foot on the warm sand because once you go in, there’s no way in hell you’re going back

some students learn the hard way

and then end up flunking their finals

it’s you

you’re ‘some students’

(to be fair, that was freshman year and you’re a sophomore now, so you won’t make the same mistake again!!)

okay… maybe

you’re on the beach and it’s nearing finals so maybe you haven’t learned your lesson

but in your defense, you’re only here for

~inspiration~

the salty ocean breeze caressing your face

the smell of open waters

the brisk air

you would live on the beach if you could

there’s a small little rocky ledge at the far side of the beach that serves as your little private area you’ve been using since you got here

no one ever comes this far

so you just claimed the rocky ledge as yours

it’s where there are cute little crabs roaming about

where the bright orange starfish and sea anemones attach themselves to the rocks in the shallow tide pool and (maybe) watch you watch them

(you don’t exactly have extensive knowledge about ocean life lol)

omg there was even this one time when you saw a fish in the tide pool

granted, it was dEaD so you had to make yoongi carry it in a plastic bag and give it a proper burial ceremony

anywho

you love sea animals and plants!!

for a brief second as you crawl onto the rocky ledge you contemplate if you should draw a fucking fish for your art final

technically, it calls to you… right?

the late afternoon sun warms up your cheeks and you sigh, out, leaning back to admire the waves of the ocean lapping at the wet sand on the beach

if you just lie like this, basking in the sun… you’ll come up with an idea… right?

two hours later, you’re still stumped

“well, fuck,” you curse

the tide’s starting to come in and your feet are already underwater

it looks like you should just go back to your dorm at this point

you’ll find your ~inspiration~ tomorrow

you sigh

why can’t you think of a cool idea for fuck’s sake

what calls to me??

the only thing you can think of is a flobbering fish and your mom coming out of a phone (a tribute to yoongi)

you end up accidentally staying until the moon’s high in the sky

the waters have turned into a black oblivion and the tide’s so high, you have to shift up the rock to avoid making it look like you wet your pants

if you were a werewolf, you could draw the moon

because haha, get it? the moon calls to them!

but unfortunately, you are not a werewolf

“this sucks,” you huff

usually, you’re quick to come up with good ideas and it’s frustrating that for finals you can’t do the same

right when things actually matter

you look down from the sky to stare at your feet

maybe you’ll just stay here until you can come up with an idea

you aren’t gonna give up so soon

besides, the quiet sound of the undulating waves is so soothing

you stay a little longer, gazing at the twinkling stars and daydreaming of simpler times when your art teachers would tell you exactly what to draw without giving you vague-ass prompts to interpret

that’s when something catches your eye in the dark waters

illuminated by the starlight… you see… a…

HUMAN???

“hey!” you shriek

okay now you’re 1000% sure there’s someone in the ocean right now

they have a head of bright turquoise hair and pale but toned arms

yet the person has their back turned to you so you can’t quite see their face (though you assume they’re attractive just based on the back of their head)

“hey!” you shout again

come to think of it,,,

are they skinny dipping in the fucking ocean???

freshmen these days!! they’re nuts!

“you’re gonna die of hypothermia!” you yell. “or a shark’s gonna bite your limbs off!”

slowly

very slowly

the kid turns around

and you nearly choke on your breath

because he is beautiful

not in a conventional tiktok boy way but in a mysterious manner

his alabaster skin glows in the starlight

his turquoise-colored hair is styled perfectly on his head, just swept gracefully across his forehead

his deep sea-green eyes sparkle as he cocks his head and stares at you

oh god

he’s definitely shirtless

“h-hey!” you call again, hoping you don’t sound desperate. “what are you doing??”

the boy doesn’t answer though

he just stares at you curiously, eyes glancing back and forth at your bare legs and your shocked face

normally, you’d be creeped out if a random guy decided to check out your legs, but for some reason, the boy doesn’t stare at you like he’s a predator

he just looks… curious

you gasp when he suddenly disappears underwater

“hey!!” you shriek

damn. maybe he just wanted to be alone

no biggie

you’ll just sit on the rock or something until he decides to talk?

or you can be like any other sane person and just go back to your dorm

a sudden splash of water jumps you out of your thoughts

you nearly fall back when the strange boy stares up at you from the ledge of the rock

he’s still submerged under the water up to his shoulders, but he leans against the rock and smiles at you

it’s as if he’s saying ‘hey, loud person, who won’t shut up. how are you today? nice to meet you’

at least you think that’s what he’s trying to convey to you

“hi?” you say, raising your eyebrows. “isn’t the water cold?”

the boy shrugs his shoulders then shakes his head

he seems friendly enough that you decide to continue talking to him

he has a strange alluring aura that makes you want to get to know him

before you know it, you’re scooting closer to the stranger

he doesn’t flinch when you’re close enough to touch his strangely dry head of beautiful hair

“woah,” you deadpan. “how’s your hair dry?”

the boy shrugs again, smiling mischievously

can he even talk??

or maybe he’s just being polite and he wants you to leave

maybe he’s naked?? and he actually is a skinny dipper

and he wants you to get the hell away from him so he can get into his clothes??

“do you want me to leave…?” you ask cautiously

the boy shakes his head

ookkayyy…

“oh… it’s just that you’re not talking to me so i just thought…” you trail off, uncertain

the boy laughs and it’s the only kind of sound you’ve heard from him since you first saw him in the waters a few minutes ago

and his laugh is just like the rest of him—beautiful

the boy touches his throat with one hand and shakes his head

you frown

what?

the boy repeats the motion again and again until it finally clicks in your head

oh!!!!

“wait, you can’t speak?” you say. “i’m sorry… i didn’t know!”

the boy smiles as if saying ‘it’s all right. you’re fine’

“i haven’t seen you around campus…” you start. “do you live around here?”

the boy shakes his head

“you just like late-night swims, huh?” you giggle. “i’d swim too but something about swimming in the ocean at night is super scary for me”

the boy laughs good-heartily. he points at you curiously, then gestures at the surroundings

“oh, why am i here?” you say

the boy nods his head

“i’m just trying to get inspiration,” you say. “i’m an artist”

the boy smiles widely. he raises his eyebrows and points at you

“yes, really!” you laugh. “wanna sit on the rock with me?” you say, patting the spot next to you. “you don’t have to be stuck in the ocean to talk to me”

the boy hesitates

he looks at you through his beautiful eyes and parts his pink lips

it’s as if he’s asking, ‘can i really sit next to you?’

“i don’t bite!” you laugh. “at least, the last time i checked”

the boy giggles

he reaches out and lightly touches your hand

you’re shocked when you realize his hands aren’t wet from the water

come to think of it, you are covered in more water droplets than the boy

well

something is a bit fishy around here

you slowly look up at the boy’s face

he shrugs but a mischievous, all-knowing smile plays on his lips

“what are you, a mermaid?” you snort

the boy looks offended, placing a hand against his chest and letting out a silent scoff

“sorry. i meant merman,” you roll your eyes. “better?”

you were only half-joking

but when the boy waves what looks like a fucking tail towards you, you nearly fall back

“WAIT!” you shriek

that better be a fucking costume

the boy laughs and he swims a bit away from the rock, only to do a backflip

that’s when you see that this boy is not really a boy

he’s a mythical mermaid???

with a sparkling turquoise tail and everything?? (on a side note, you have to appreciate the way it matches his hair)

okay

well

deep breath in

deep breath out

you were never one to say that mermaids existed

but you weren’t one to say that they didn’t exist either

okay

either you’re still dreaming or you just kinda befriended a mermaid—er, merman

“please tell me this is real!” you squeal, scooting closer to the waters so that your knees are submerged

when you were a kid and adults asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, you said a mermaid

as you grew older, society drilled in your head that mermaids only existed in disneyland

so that was that

until now, of course

the boy pops up from the ocean again and he hoists himself up on the rock right next to you

he’s shirtless as mermen go, but that’s the least of your interests now

his tail comes up with him and he gestures towards it, allowing you to touch the shiny scales

“it’s beautiful!” you breathe, running your hands over the surprisingly silky tail. “i better not be dreaming right now”

the boy laughs. he points at your legs curiously in response as if to say, ‘i better not be dreaming too’

“you’ve never met a human??”

the boy shakes his head. he looks at you like you’re the most special person on the planet. and it makes sense too because you’re the only human he’s probably communicated with in his life

“wow… i guess there’s a first time for everything…”

the boy nods enthusiastically

“are you even allowed to approach people?”

the boy grins as if to say, ‘mAyBe’

“poseidon or some dude with a trident’s not gonna zap me with lightning for talking to you right??”

just a safety precaution!!

the boy laughs boisterously, head thrown back and eyes squinted

“well… i guess not,” you smile

you’ve never really been friends with someone… not human…

if yoongi heard you talking about this merman, he might call the psych ward on you

or you’re just batshit crazy and you’ve been imagining this in your head

the boy points at you politely, cocking his head

“my name?”

he nods vigorously

“i’m y/n!” you tell him

‘y/n…’ he mouths with his lips but you can’t hear it

“what’s your name?”

the boy presses his lips together, then as if a light bulb went off in his head, he grins

he mouths his name to you, lips pursing and parting with exaggerated movements

you squint

“daeyoung??” you guess

the boy snorts, shaking his head

he mouths his name again but this time with more emphasis in the beginning

“ohhhh! i got it!” you say excitedly. “taeyoung!”

the merman holds up a number one and nods but shakes his head when he holds up two fingers

“the second part’s wrong??”

he nods

“uhhhhhh, tae… young… young… something that rhymes with young…”

“oh!!” you shriek, “TAEHYUNG!!”

the merman claps his hands together gleefully

“am i good or what??”

taehyung pats you on the back as if to congratulate you for figuring out his name

“thanks,” you grin. “hey do you come here often? you know, on this rocky ledge”

‘yup,’ taehyung mouths. ‘i’ve seen you before,’ he mouths slowly so you can understand him

“woah. you watched me?”

taehyung bashfully looks away

“it’s okay! it’s okay!” you say. “i just hope i wasn’t doing anything embarrassing… like picking my nose or something. i’m always alone here”

taehyung grins, wiggling his eyebrows. it’s as if he’s saying that yes, he did see you picking your nose that one time

“well it’s a human thing,” you argue. “you wouldn’t understand!”

taehyung giggles. ‘sure, sure,’ he seems like he’s saying

you huff. “in my defense, i didn’t know anyone was watching!”

taehyung gives you a look as if telling you that was the lamest excuse ever

“whatever, tae,” you scoff. “i’m just flattered that you thought i looked interesting in the first place”

the merman grins wildly, making it quite obvious he likes the new nickname you had given him. he shrugs his shoulders and pokes your arm playfully. ‘friend!’ he mouths enthusiastically

“you wanna be my friend?”

taehyung rapidly nods his head

“hmmMm…” you pretend to think. “i’m a bit swamped with friends at the moment…” you fib. in reality, you only have like two best friends (yoongi and yoongi’s bestie, hoseok). but it doesn’t hurt to lie a little to tease tae

the merman’s lips pull down in a slight frown

but you snort and slap his bare shoulder

“kidding!” you giggle. “why would i say no to being your friend?”

taehyung rolls his eyes but he grins happily. he looks at you expectantly, almost as if he’s asking when he can see you next time

damn

you’re starting to get the hang of reading taehyung’s expressions

“when can you see me next time?” you ask

taehyung nods

“well… finals are coming up… i reckon you don’t have mermaid school or whatever?”

taehyung shakes his head, grinning. ‘no school!’

“lucky,” you sigh. “but fuck finals!” you pump your fist in the air. “i’ll see you tomorrow!”

‘same time?’ taehyung inquires

“sure!”

the two of you shake hands to seal the deal

you would’ve spent hours on end talking to taehyung but he’s the one who points to the direction of the beach and mouths ‘you should sleep’

“i don’t need sleep!” you declare but unfortunately, that follows with an embarrassing yawn

taehyung gives you the look

“okay… maybe i do need sleep…”

taehyung giggles. he pushes your shoulder slightly, nudging you away from him

“and i can visit you tomorrow…” you reason

taehyung nods

“so maybe i should get sleep”

‘that’s it!” the merman laughs

so you say your lasting goodbyes and watch as taehyung dives away from the rock

when he’s gone, shining tail and all, you’re left dazed and confused

maybe you’ve been hallucinating???

welp

if you were hallucinating, you’ll figure it out tomorrow when a cute merman doesn’t come to meet you at night

for now, you just need sleep to digest everything that had just happened

okay

you just woke up

and now you’re more unsure than ever that this… taehyung exists

what if you were so stressed out yesterday

that you were literally… seeings things

yoongi keeps asking you if you’re okay because you spaced out TEN times in ONE conversation

you keep trying to convince him that you’re fine

but yoongi knows you so well that he knows you’re definitely NOT fine

“i’m just tired!!” you tell your best friend

yoongi sCOFFS “so am i but you don’t see me spacing out like i saw a unicorn last night”

eRrrr…

how do you tell yoongi that technically you did see something like a unicorn last night???

well

you won’t

because yoongi is a no-nonsense-old-fashioned-traditional-by-the-textbook-chemical-engineering-loving-student

he would never believe you

“wEll i’m sensitive!” you protest, crossing yours arms. “plus i’m still stressed about my art final”

“i thought you went to the beach to get inspiration!” yoongi points out

“errrrr…” you scratch your head. “i got distracted”

yoongi sighs. “aRt mAjOrs”

“excuse me, how dAre you???”

but yoongi just laughs it off, patting you on the back before announcing that he had to go study for his finals

you should be studying for your other finals too

but you end up doodling all over your notes

doodles of tAeHyuNg

every ten minutes, you force yourself to sTOP doodling to actually read your notes

but it never works

by night time, you’ve gotten nowhere

oh well

now you can go meet taehyung!!

if he exists…

what if your brain was actually playing games on you??

regardless, you swallow all sense of doubt and march out to the ocean

the beach is completely empty and you make use of the privacy, skipping along the sand and towards the rocky ledge

and sure enough, there’s no one there

hMph

okay

maybe taehyung’s late

no, wait you’re early

so you’re gonna wait for the merman

and if he doesn’t come in… ten minutes, you’ll just leave and deem yourself absolutely bonkers

waiting is really boring

you keep thinking at least five minutes passed every time you look at your phone for the time

but, in reality, it’s always been less than forty seconds

you go back and forth between looking at the time to looking at the dark waters

FOR FIVE WHOLE MINUTES

you’re starting to get ANTSY

and doubt starts to settle in

if yoongi knew what you were doing right now, he’d laugh at you

oh god…

should you just… leave?

THAT’S when you see a familiar bob of turquoise hair in the waters

you let out a little shriek, scooting closer to the edge of the rock

“taehyung??” you call out

the figure leaps in the air like a gracious dolphin and dives back down into the opaque waters

two seconds later, the familiar merman leans against the rocky ledge and grins up at you

‘hey,’ he seems to say with his sparkling eyes. ‘missed me?’

“UM, YES!” you say. “i was starting to think i was going crazy”

taehyung chuckles deeply, the sound reverberating against the calm ocean waves

“i was worried you wouldn’t be here”

taehyung raises his eyebrows as if to say, ‘why wouldn’t i be here??’

“i don’t know! self doubt? maybe you have some underground castle you wanna hang around with your friends and family rather than come up to the surface to hang with me!”

taehyung shakes his head, laughing. he points to himself and mouths the word, ‘solo’

“really?” you raise your eyebrows. “no family or friends?”

taehyung nods. ‘SOLO!’ he declares silently, grinning

“are all merfolk like that??”

the merman shrugs. ‘never seen another’

“oh gosh, you must be lonely,” you say. “here.” you pat the place next to you. “sit on the rock with me”

taehyung obliges but he protests he’s not lonely by shaking his head

“what do you do by yourself all the time, then?”

taehyung grins mischievously

out of the corner of your eye, you see bubbles of water rising up from the surface of the waves. you gasp as they begin to float in the air

“bubbles!” you reach out to pop one, laughing when the remnants of the water splash against your cheek

the merman nudges you as if to say, ‘but wait! there’s more!’

the next thing you know, a huge floating water bubble splashes above your head, drenching you from head to toe

“vEry funny!” you scoff, trying to shake the water off yourself

taehyung gives you another one of his cheeky grins. ‘sorry,’ he mouths, but he does not look apologetic at all

‘but look! i can dry it!’

he waves his fingers at you and instantly, your sopping wet hair and clothes are dried. there’s even a ocean breeze smell that lingers on you now

“do you go around splashing people with water bubbles and drying them right after?” you accuse taehyung teasingly

he laughs boisterously, shrugging his shoulders. ‘mAybE’ is his answer

“you spend a lot of time on the surface, huh?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘maybe’

“not much of a fish dude?”

‘they’re creepy,’ taehyung answers

you howl with laughter. “and scary! like sharks, viperfish, hatchetfish… oh god,” you shiver. “i hate them. i can’t swim in the ocean. and i know most of the scary-looking ones don’t even live in the same ocean zone”

taehyung pokes at you. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he mouths

“am not!! how are you creeped out by fish when you’re half fish??”

taehyung scoffs. ‘my tail…’ he gestures majestically at his sparkling tail, ‘is not a fish tail’

“sure… fishboy”

taehyung raises his eyebrows and raises his hand as if to threaten to splash you with a water bubble again

“i was only joking”

taehyung laughs, poking at you then pointing to the waters. ‘wanna swim, though?’

“are you serious? i just told you i’m terrified!”

taehyung pouts, his pink lips pulling down into a sad frown

“that’s not gonna make me change my mind, tae”

‘just for a little bit!’ he protests

“i don’t even have my goggles, i can’t swim without them! and i’m not going in water that’s pitch black”

taehyung sighs. ‘fine!’

“i’m really good at swimming in the pool though,” you say. “i mean, they used to call me a mermaid. because i was really good at dolphin kicking. but then i watched a few underwater documentaries… and nope. never again. i am not going in the same waters that goblin sharks live in”

to your surprise, taehyung teasingly pokes your cheek. ‘cute,’ he mouths. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he adds

“show anyone a goblin shark and they wouldn’t be able to get in the water for a year!” you huff in response

‘never seen one,’ tae sings—if you could hear him, you imagine his voice would sound as soft as lavender with just a drizzle of rich honey

“doesn’t mean they don’t exist!” you argue. “maybe one day i’ll swim with you. but definitely not today”

technically, you just met the man—er, merman

you’re not so sure if you can trust him to console you of your great fear of the ocean

maybe once you get to know him a little better

you see

you’re very quick to make friends

you probably have a lot of acquaintances

they all know your name and you know theirs

but you probably could not name three facts about any of them. and they probably couldn’t think of three facts about you either

so yes, you tend to have shallow relationships with many

but if you find people you like, you cling to them

like yoongi and hoseok

you just hope taehyung won’t be one of your acquaintances

he better be one of your best friends

how cool is it to say your best friend is a merman????

very cool

‘cool’ is just not a word to describe you as yoongi often likes to point out

but you’ll show him

you visit taehyung every day

for seven days

it’s been a full week

finals is closer than ever

you have like… five days to get your art final done

and you still haven’t gotten an idea

yikes

okay well you have an excuse

actually, you have excuses. plural.

because 1) you’ve forced yourself to fOrget about finals and 2) taehyung is wAy more interesting than any final you will ever take in your life

besides, all the time you spend on the beach is absolutely worth it

you and taehyung sometimes even meet before night falls, just before the sun’s setting so the two of you can prank the seagulls

(tae hates those little monsters-with-wings so he enjoys it a whole lot to dump water bubbles on their heads)

you help him prank the stupid birds by giving him moral support! that includes cheering him on when he successfully attacks an unsuspecting seagull and feeding him some cookies from your school cafeteria to keep him well-nourished

taehyung loves human food

he says he has to live off of clams and seaweed

which, isn’t all that bad (you love salted seaweed chips and clams), but imagine having a diet solely composed of seafood

yuck

so you bake kale chips for tae one day (nearly burning down the communal kitchen) and he enjoys it so much, for five days, you bring all sorts of good human food for him

by the end of the week, taehyung’s put on some pounds

you think he looks even more adorable with a bit of meat on his bones

taehyung just complains that his abs are starting to disappear

so one day, you bring a yoga mat and the two of you do some ab exercises off of youtube

of course, that led taehyung down the youtube rabbit hole

and once down that rabbit hole, it is very hard to resurface

after tae got ahold of gordon ramsay’s youtube channel, it’s all he watches when you come to the beach

in the end, you have to ban him from youtube because he almost took your phone underwater when you tried to get him to stop drooling over gordon ramsay and his incredible cooking skills

but taehyung prefers talking to you over watching youtube

at least you think

you hope

there is never a day you meet taehyung and it isn’t eventful

there’s always something to do with the fun-loving merman!

which makes it very, very easy to lose sight of iMporTAnt things… like, uh finals

so, today, five days before your art final is due, yoongi sits you down on your desk chair and sighs. “have you figured out your art final yet?”

it is a question that catches you off guard

“er… no”

“iSn’t it due in FIVE days???” yoongi shakes his head disapprovingly at you. “c’mon, y/n, don’t some artists take over a week to finish a painting??”

“well i can take uh, three days without sleeping if it really comes to that”

yoongi sighs. “you’ve been going to the beach every day. still no inspiration?”

“err… i got… distracted”

“do you want me to come with you today or something? so i can whip you back into shape and make sure you get properly inspired?” yoongi offers

“no!” you shout

yoongi raises his eyebrows

“i mean, um, no thank you, yoongs,” you stand up and pat yoongi’s head

he scowls at you

“i’ve got it all figured out!” you tell him very convincingly

but it is a lie

“rEally?” yoongi raises his eyebrows at you

“yes. don’t you worry, my friend.” you pat his head again

yoongi rolls his eyes. “okay, well, worse comes to worst, you can always use my terrific idea”

“never in a million years”

“oh well. wanna skip the beach today? i’m inviting hoseok over to watch a movie. you can come too, if you want”

“no can do,” you say, shaking your head. “i’m going swimming!” you hang your swim goggles in front of yoongi’s face

“in the dark?? in the ocean?? i thought you were afraid of gobbler sharks!”

“goblin sharks. not gobbler. and no. not anymore. i trust the waters now”

er, or, you trust taehyung

he’s been trying to convince you every day to swim with him

and every day you declined or made up some stupid excuse

but today is the day you will accept

you even prepared by wearing a bathing suit under your clothes

and you’re gonna bring your swim goggles

you’re so ready!!

you trust that taehyung won’t let the fish get to you

he promised and swore on his own beautiful tail

so he can’t possibly be lying

“oOokAyyyy…” yoongi says, giving you a strange look. “if you drown, can i have your comforter?”

“oh, shut up. i’m not gonna drown”

“sure”

you huff. “whatever, yoongs. have fun watching that movie with hoseok. i’m gonna get going”

“i will. just don’t drown or something”

“i won’t”

five minutes later, you’re terrified you’re going to drown

as you walk across the beach, you worry that you’re only walking to your death

what if you actually drown???

and taehyung can’t save you because the water’s so dark, he can’t even see you???

what if a jellyfish comes out of nOwHerE and stings you so hard you’re gonna be paralyzed forever????????

EVEN WORSE

WHAT IF THERE’S A GOBLIN SHARK OUT OF ITS HABITAT

WHAT IF IT BITES YOUR LEGS OFF????

ohmygod

you think you might die

taehyung’s waiting for you on the rocky ledge as he always does

but today, he has a shit-eating grin on his face

he looks at your goggles and nods. ‘today’s the day!!’

you grumble. “this is not helping my stress”

taehyung cocks his head

“i’m stressed because of college, tae. lucky you. you wouldn’t understand”

the handsome merman snorts. ‘i wouldn’t’

he pokes at you as if to say, ‘tell me what’s wrong’

you sigh, plopping yourself down on the rock and looking down at your feet

“i have a really important painting i have to finish in five days…” you groan. “and my professor gave me an art prompt, you know, something i need to interpret and draw. but i can’t, for the life of me, figure out what i wanna paint”

‘hMmm,’ taehyung hums. ‘what’s the prompt?’ he mouths

“what calls to me”

‘what calls to you?’

“ugh. yeah. horribly vague, isn’t it? my friend suggested i draw my mother coming out of a phone”

taehyung cocks his head, curiously

“yeah, it’s stupid. so i’m stuck. and the final’s due in five days. but i was totally forgetting about it until yoongi decided to bring it up. and now i’m stressed”

the merman giggles

“this isn’t funny!!” you protest

but the merman giggles again

when you give him a disdainful look, taehyung dives into the ocean and pops his head out, waving at you to come in

you sigh, staring at your goggles. reluctantly, you put them on

once you strip down to your swimsuit, you stare hesitantly at the opaque ocean. you crouch down just before the water, contemplating and contemplating

suddenly, something grabs your arm and you’re tugged into the ocean

you sCreAm bloody murder and voila, now salt and fish feces water is up your noise

how wonderful

but two strong hands hold your waist and you’re able to resurface

the water’s cold, but not freezing cold at least. and taehyung’s actually really warm against your skin

“you fucking dragged me in!!!” you shriek after coughing the water out of your lungs

you hit tae’s bare chest in agitation

the little shit just shrugs and grins at you

you huff, wrapping your legs tightly around taehyung’s hips. “if you let me go, my friends are going to find you and roast you. literally”

taehyung chuckles. ‘i won’t let you go,’ he seems to tell you with a meaningful look on his face

“you better not!” you tell him

he laughs at you, softly touching your forehead with the back of his hand. instantly, you feel much, much warmer. even cozier in the supposedly freezing waters

even the water weighing down the hair on your head feels lighter. when you reach out to touch it, you realize it’s completely dry

“woah,” you breathe. “that’s so cool…”

you forget that you’re even supposed to be mad at the merman

taehyung grins at you, petting your hair. ‘i know, right?’ he seems to say with his twinkling eyes

he motions at you to take your goggles off

“what?? are you crazy? i can’t survive without these! i am not opening my eyes in salt water, tae”

the merman shakes his head, laughing. ‘it won’t sting your eyes’

“why? did you put a magical charm on me or something?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘mAyBe’

you sigh, skeptical

‘i’m trying to help,’ tae mouths. ‘it’s for your art final’

you raise your eyebrows doubtfully

‘i’m serious’

“why, is there something cool underwater?”

taehyung nods. ‘you need your eyes open’

you wrap your legs tighter around the merman. “so… you’re gonna show me… something underwater… that will help me with my art final??”

the merman nods enthusiastically

he ruffles your hair and pinches your cheek. ‘trust me’

ohhHHhhh if you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t be clinging onto him for life right now

“promise you won’t let me go??”

‘promise’

you hold out your pinky for taehyung

he cocks his head. ‘what is that for?’

“pinky promise??”

‘hmm?’

oh man

that might just be a human thing

silly you

“oH uh, nEver mInd th—”

you try to retract your pinky but taehyung stops you

he slowly pulls up his own hand, his pinky jutting out awkwardly

‘like this?’ he questions, poking at your pinky with his

you have to stifle a laUgh

“um, not quite,” you say. “you have to wrap your pinky around mine. yeahh, like that. and then it’s a pinky promise! it’s practically illegal to break a pinky promise”

taehyung nods. ‘i won’t break it’

“okay good! uh…” you look warily at the dark waters. “what is it that you wanted to show me?”

taehyung grins. suddenly, you’re submerged underwater again and you let out a scream

but you can’t hear yourself

not because you’re choking on the water, no

it seems like… you can breathe????? UNDER THE WATER????

you hug taehyung tighter and try to scream at him to stop plunging you in the ocean without a warning

but no sound comes out of your lips

‘taehyung!” you shriek soundlessly

“open your eyes, y/n…” a deep, resonate voice tells you

you nearly gasp in shock

was that… was that taehyung’s voice? his speaking voice????????

“it’s okay… you’re protected under a charm,” his mellifluous tone soothes you. “you’re able to breathe underwater, y/n. but you won’t be able to speak.” he laughs, which sounds very familiar to your ears. “how the tables have turned!”

‘taehyung!!!’

“how good it feels to finally speak to you!!” taehyung laughs. “you don’t have to hold me in a vice grip anymore,” he snorts. “i won’t let you go. we pinky promised, remember?”

you groan in your head. ‘i-i can’t. i can’t do it, tae’

“aww, y/n…” you hear taehyung softly pet your hair. “take your time”

‘i can’t open my eyes. i-i’m sorry’

you can see the blackness through your eyelids. and there is no way in hell you’re going to open them

fine, you trust taehyung. and sure, the water may not sting your eyes

and on top of all that, you can fucking breathe underwater thanks to tae, but no

you’re still scared

you’re scared of what you’re gonna see

or what you won’t see because the ocean is probably pitch black

you just try to focus on taehyung’s beautiful, deep voice. it seems to reverberate through the ocean waves even after the sound hits your ears

“it’s okay,” he says. “don’t be sorry.” he holds you tighter against his bare chest. “you don’t have to see what i wanna show you anyway”

you make a confused grunt sound in the back of your throat

“you can hear it”

‘what???’

but of course taehyung can’t hear you. nor can he see you with your chin resting on his shoulder

“what calls to you, huh?” taehyung says in his syrupy voice. “i have a good idea”

then, to your utmost shock, he begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your listening ears

and gently caresses your lips

there lies a great ocean

the waves undulate under the dark sky

under these waters

is a lonely merman

he longs, waits for a friend

a lover,

anyone who will save him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the great ocean lies

where the waves undulate under the dark sky

where the lonely merman waits

under these dark waters”

your insides melt

taehyung’s honey voice entrances you and you squeeze you eyes shut even tighter

a rush of inspiration washes over you

you shiver

oh god

you didn’t have to open your eyes after all

you don’t have to see it to feel the immense amount of emotion, love, sincerity interwoven to taehyung’s song

it’s the most beautiful music you’ve heard in your life

and it pains you that taehyung’s stopped singing

you’re speechless, pulling away from taehyung so he can read your lips. ‘that… that was so beautiful…’

“thanks,” taehyung chuckles deeply. “i sing that song a lot when i’m bored”

‘your voice…’

“i know. too bad i can only sing underwater, right? if i could do this on the surface, i’d serenade you all day every day”

‘i’ll come underwater with you,’ you mouth before you can stop yourself

then you pause

well

you suppose being underwater isn’t so bad

it’s just dark since your eyes are closed

but you’re warm in taehyung’s arms

and you can even breathe too

if you can hear taehyung’s voice and hear him sing, then surely, that is a tiny sacrifice you can make

“you’re gonna come underwater with me?? again??” taehyung seems in disbelief. “you already seem uncomfortable now!”

‘no i’m not!’

and to prove it, you force your eyes open

immediately, you’re so taken aback, your grip on taehyung loosens

the merman catches you before you slip away

‘o-oh…’ you breathe

the ocean is not as dark as you had imagined it

in fact, there is a halo-like light that surrounds taehyung

it illuminates his face, his hair, his whole body

he is like a walking—er, swimming—star

the light shines further out into the dark seas, making the water sparkle

‘oh…’ you breathe again

“nothing to be scared about right?” taehyung snorts. “scaredy-cat”

he bops you on the nose

you’re so in awe, you don’t even mind

“are you inspired now?”

oh!! right!! your art final!!

you were almost distracted again (even after taehyung just dangled the answer in front of your face!!)

RIGHT!

TAEHYUNG JUST HELPED YOU SOLVE YOUR ART FINAL FIASCO PROBLEM

YOU’RE SO INSPIRED YOU COULD PAINT FOURTEEN HUNDRED PAINTINGS RIGHT NOW

your fingers feel tingly

and your head whirls with ideas

taehyung’s voice, his song, his whole being…

it calls to you

omg

he just saved your ass

in one single song!!!

‘god, i’m so happy i could kiss you!’

and you’re not even joking

“kiss me??” taehyung seems taken aback, but he grins. “kiss?”

the way he seems curious about it, you’re not quite sure he even knows what that is

‘do you… do uh, merfolk kiss?’ you ask cautiously

taehyung smiles. “let’s find out”

his eyes sparkle as both of you begin to lean into each other

you take it slowly, admiring his alabaster skin, pink cheeks and rosy lips

he stares into your eyes and gently tucks your hair behind your ear

right before you move in to kiss his lips, he leans in to rest his forehead against yours

taehyung’s eyes flutter close and he sighs as you stay still in his arms, confused

but you decide to go with the flow, keeping your foreheads together as you close your eyes too

it’s an intimate moment

you, resting your forehead against his while under the same ocean you were once so scared of

you, feeling emotionally attached to a merman

you, dreaming of kissing taehyung. properly. you know, on the lips and whatnot

when taehyung finally pulls away, he grins

“wasn’t that a nice kiss?” he whispers, touching your cheeks and giggling just at the thought of it

yikes

how do you break it to him

that forehead touching is not really… the kissing you were thinking of

‘well…’ you giggle. ‘in the human world… um…’

“in the human world…?”

‘we kiss with our lips’

“oh!” taehyung exclaims. he scratches his head. “lips????”

‘like this!’

with that, you tug him into a kiss. a proper one this time

he melts in your arms, sighing as he leans forward and instinctively closes his eyes

you let yourself relax too

and god what the fuck

his lips feel so soft

is there a special ocean chapstick he uses???

does he use some special sand as a lip scrub??????

and even though he probably hasn’t kissed the human way before,,,

man he knows what he’s doing

it makes you think for a hot second

damn

you’re making out with a merman

… under the sea

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

this is what your life has become

and honestly, you can’t complain

taehyung’s the first to pull away, panting slowly. “i didn’t think my breath could ever be taken away,” he grins cheesily

‘you’re welcome,’ you grin back, slightly breathless yourself

“so… now that i’ve given you amazing inspiration… don’t you need to write it down somewhere?”

‘oh!’ you gasp. ‘right!’

you need to get started on painting as soon as possible!!! you can’t ever forget the feeling of taehyung… singing for you. but something about painting it when the memory’s fresh promises the best results

what calls to you…

you smile

a goddamn merman!!

literally

you’re so gonna ace this art final

you paint nonstop for four days

although you want to, you can’t even visit the beach

because you absolutely HATE it when your workflow is stopped

so you have to keep on painting until you finish

you force yoongi to go out on the beach and lay some cookies on your special rocky ledge. he frowns at your strange directions

“i dOn’T thInK yOu sHouLd fEeD tHe sEaGuLlS, y/N. iT’s gOnNa iNtErRuPt tHe eCoLoGicAl bAlaNce,” yoongi says very knowledgeably

oh god

you tell him to shut up

he pats your head and walks out toward the beach with the cookies

at least he doesn’t ask questions

you just hope taehyung takes the cookies as an apology

you don’t want him to think after you kissed him, you ditched him!! you’re just busy with your art final!!!

so you also make yoongi sneak in a note and a slice of cake the next time

except yoongi comes back in ten minutes and aSks: “WHO’S TAEHYUNG???”

you gulp

but you pretend you can’t hear yoongi as you continue painting on your canvas

the perfect, bright turquoise color was very hard to recreate with paints, but you somehow managed. you just need to add some finishing touches and your beautiful painting of your merman friend will be finished

you know yoongi secretly admires your art skills, but he laUghs when he sees you painting a merman

“is that a siren???”

“no—”

“a mermaid, then?”

“a merman,” you say. “and he’s singing the most beautiful song in the history of songs”

yoongi laughs. “sure, sure. looks nice, though.” he steps closer to the canvas. “really like what you did with his facial structure or whatever. and his hair color. pretty tail too. i did not know you had the capacity to imagine that hard”

you huff. well, technically… you didn’t imagine that. but you’re not going to admit it with yoongi

“i’m more talented than you think,” you snort, stretching back and picking at the paint dried to your fingers. “if i close my eyes, i can almost hear him sing to me”

“um, i think you fell in love with your own painting,” yoongi snorts

“oh, leave me alone”

yoongi raises up two hands in defense. “okay, well, the final’s due tomorrow, right? are you done?”

“well…” technically, yes. but… “i’m gonna go to the beach”

“wait a minute, with your painting??? dude, what if a seagull snatches it away? what if the paint chips? leave your painting! that’s your final”

“i’ll be careful!”

“your idea of careful is reckless”

you sigh. “well, i’ll be extra careful!”

yoongi can’t argue with you after that. 1) because he knows you’re stubborn and won’t give up and 2) because when you say you’re gonna be extra with anything, you go all out

you take nearly twenty minutes getting to the beach because you walk very slowly with your painting in both hands. you hold the painting above your head so sand won’t fly onto it

and you check out for those nasty seagulls because sometimes they decide to shit on people’s heads

if they decide it’s a good day to shit on your final, it’s over

nevertheless, you need to show your masterpiece to taehyung

when you get to the rocky ledge, you call for the merman

in just a few seconds, taehyung pops up his head from under the water

“were you waiting for me?” you laugh. “did you get the cookies and cake i sent?”

taehyung nods, grinning as he begins to swim toward you. he points curiously at the canvas in your hands

“it’s my art final,” you explain to him. you turn it around so taehyung can see it

he gasps

‘that’s me???’

“yup”

‘you didn’t draw my abs!!’

“well, can’t draw what you don’t have,” you giggle, teasing the pouting merman. he huffs

‘i like it, though’

“reallY??” you gush. “that’s all i wanted to hear!!”

you set the painting down carefully to the side and scoot closer to the rocky ledge

taehyung rests his hand on your forehead before cupping your cheek. he grins before cocking his eyebrows and pulling your head underwater

‘taehyung!!!’ you shriek

“i just wanted to tell you how beautifully you drew me,” taehyung laughs, booping your nose. “i mean, i’m much, much better looking in real life, but the colors. you’re very talented, y/n”

you smile. ‘well, i did try really har—”

taehyung interrupts you by kissing you. he misses your lips the first time and gets the corner of your mouth, but the second time, his lips meet yours perfectly

the heavenly moment would’ve lasted wayyy longer if it weren’t for the:

“Y/N, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STICKING YOUR HEAD IN THE WATER???”

you let out a silent shriek and taehyung’s eyes widen. both of you break apart from the kiss and taehyung suddenly dives deep down into the ocean

and right when the merman is out of your range, you can’t breathe nor see clearly in the ocean anymore

when you get your head out of the waters, you’re a choking, coughing mess

you wipe away the droplets of water streaming down your face before you look up to see yoongi

“are you bobbing for fish in the ocean?” yoongi snorts. “for fuck’s sake, y/n, you can’t just leave your art final around like this!”

your best friend picks up your precious painting of taehyung and sighs. “what were you doing?”

“i, uh…” you touch your lips. “i was… uh… i dropped my ring in the water”

yoongi narrows his eyes. “you don’t even wear jewelry”

“okay fine. i was just trying to meet the merman of my dreams underwater”

at that, yoongi raises his eyebrows. “cool,” he says

“cool??” is that all he had to say?

“well, yeah. mermaids are cool”

“merman”

“whatever”

yoongi’s so chill with it that you’re unchill

“are you sure??” you say.

“am i sure that it’s whatever?” yoongi snorts. “yes? c’mon, let’s go watch a ocean life documentary with hoseok or something. finals is gonna be over soon, so we should celebrate starting now”

okay well

cool

this is chill then

yoongi is chill

you suspect he doesn’t believe you, even though you told him the truth

you could probably tell him that you kissed taehyung, a merman, but he would probably laugh it off

your best friend is quite strange. no-nonsense. sensible. rational.

but you love those things about him

yoongi helps you carry your art final back to the dorms. but just before you step off the rocky ledge, you turn around

taehyung’s waving at you very discreetly, so you smile and wave back

yoongi never notices a single thing

welp

it’s over now

finals is over

which means,,, IT’S BEACH TIME

unfortunately, everyone in the whole fucking school think’s it’s beach time too

even late at night, there are still a few idiots on the beach drinking the last of the beer they stashed away

it’s hard to meet taehyung just because the lack of privacy

you wait and wait and wait on the rocky ledge, but you know, with so many people, taehyung probably wouldn’t want to come out of hiding

it’s one thing for a merman to trust one girl

it’s another for a merman to trust fifty rowdy college students

but you have a feeling taehyung is always close by

you visit the rocky ledge every day, singing some of your own little songs (though you’re not a very good singer, you try)

you even talk to taehyung like he’s there, listening to you

but it starts to get lonely

there are so many people on the beach, but the one being you want isn’t here

you sigh, wiggling your toes that have become pruned due to the salty water. “i never thought i’d be saying this,” you say. “but i miss finals week”

taehyung would have laughed if he was with you now

god, you miss him

“or maybe you’re in the water right now, waiting for me to jump in…”

you sigh again. “or maybe you’ve migrated or something. do you even have to migrate? i have no idea…” you trail off, looking at the blue waters lapping at the sides of the rock

cautiously, you dip one foot in

the water’s cool, but not completely freezing

you dip the other foot in

okay

you can do this

you’ll just…

jump in

and if taehyung’s not underwater, you’ll just… leave for the day

you’re supposed to hang out at a computer cafe with yoongi and hoseok anyway

okay deep breath in

deep breath out

goblin sharks don’t even live near the shallow part of the ocean… right?????

so you’re safe, right????

unless there’s a lemon shark or something

oh fucking god

you shouldn’t have watched that ocean documentary with your friends

but the need to see taehyung surpasses everything

you close your eyes

pinch your nose with your fingers

and you JUMP

and immediately you gasp because fuck the water’s cold

lowkey, your heart nearly stops because of the sudden rush of cool water surrounding your whole body

and right when you think you should swim back to the surface, a pair of strong arms hold you, and a soft hand taps at your forehead

“hello, you”

‘TAEHYUNG!’ you open your eyes and see your favorite merman staring at you

“the beach is crowded these days, isn’t it?” he grins

‘i know! pesky people!’

taehyung laughs. “i made another song while you were gone. nice singing, by the way. i heard you a couple days ago”

you flush. ‘i can’t sing! but um, can i hear your new song?’

taehyung nods, clearing his throat

he holds your hands to his chest and begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your waiting ears

and gently kisses your lips

there lies a beautiful ocean

the waves ripple beneath the awakened sky

under these waters

is a happy merman

he’s found his friend,

his lover,

his treasure that has saved him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the beautiful ocean rests

where the waters ripple beneath the awakened sky

where the happy merman lives

under these sparkling waters”

‘you changed the lyrics!!’

taehyung nods. “i think it’s much more fitting, don’t you think?”

the two of your resurface from the waters, gripping each other tightly

your hair is completely dry and it blows in the light breeze

the sunlight warms your face and turns taehyung’s cheeks even rosier

oh god

your heart skips a beat

but you try to calm down before you wrap your arms around taehyung’s neck and pull him close

the moment your forehead touches his, you close your eyes and it feels like there’s nothing else in the ocean, on the beach, except you and taehyung

the two of you may never speak out loud in the same place as you’re kept silent in the ocean and taehyung’s kept silent on land

but...

sometimes, you don’t even need words

gazes, actions, little touches here and there

they speak in louder volume than words

you don’t even have to say you love taehyung. he doesn’t have to say it either

it’s as if both of your hearts, your actions proved it

masterlist

#ficswithluv #btswritersnet #btswriterscollective #bangtanfairygarden #bangtanidx #tae #taehyung #kim taehyung #taehyung imagine #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fanfiction #bts #bts fanfiction #resonance #the way this was supposed to be posted in october #➖👄➖just gonna pretend it was supposed to be posted in nov all along #anyways #something new! a bullet fic 😳

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undercoverwizardfanfiction · 4 years ago

Text

With You When You’re Down: A ROTTMNT FanFiction One-Shot

I’m dedicating this one to @jadethest0ne who also helped come up with the title. Its also dedicated to anyone who ever battled depression or any other mental illness

Summary: It’s ok to feel sad sometimes, and right now Donnie doesn’t even have the will to get out of bed. But thats ok, why? Because he has a amazing family whose going to help him feel better.

Characters: Donnie, Leo, MIkey, Raph, Splinter

Pairings: I am NOT even kidding this time. You look at this fic with anything but ‘oh aren’t they a nice family’ feeling in your heart i”m going to sic my new pet Dragon Reggie on you. He loves eating t**st shippers and he’s hungry.

“Has anyone seen Purple?”

Raph tried to answer but apparently forgot he had just been trying to fit three burritos in his mouth and let out a loud choked noise but managed not to actually die. He bit through the burritos to clear his mouth and shook his head, “No Pops sorry,” before resuming his task of fitting as many burritos in his mouth as humanly possible.

Splinter frowned, “Red, I’ve told you this before. Small bites please, you’re too big for me to give the heimlich to anymore.” Even though Raph gave him a pained look and his shoulders sagged, he instead began to work on two burritos at once. “I’m going to check on your brother, no one dare Raphael to put anything bigger than his head in his mouth.” Before looking directly at Leo who was already using breakfast fixings to fill an abnormally large tortilla shell. The blue turtle gave him a nervous smile before leaning back in his seat with a pout. Splinter went over to the coffee maker, knowing it was safer to approach a possibly sleeping Donatello with a peace offering than just running in and expecting him to be cool with it. Last time he had tried that, he had been three feet taller.

The rat dad took Donatello’s favorite mug and stepped to Donatello’s room, tapping the entryway, “Purrrple? It’s almost two, you may be tired but I brought you a treat.” He sang. When he didn’t get answer he frowned, normally Donnie would give a loud shriek followed by ‘DADI’MBUSYITSSCIENCESCIENCESCIENCELETMEINPEEEAAAACCCCCEEEE!’. It wasn’t like Purple to not answer. He could still be asleep but even then he would have woken up in a rage and thrown something at him. While he normally respected his sons privacy’s enough to go to their rooms without permission (except to ‘borrow’ Mikey’s shirts), he called, ”Purple I’m coming in.” he ducked under the curtain. The room lacked normal hum that would come from Don’s inventions and instead left the small space in silence. He almost thought Donnie was still asleep.

Til a small sob reached him.

Splinter went into the small connecting room that was Don’s sleep nook. Even in the darkness he could see Donatello was still curled up on his bed, wrapped up in his blankets like a cocoon, “Purple? Its Dad,” out of the corner of his eye Splinter could see the shattered remains of Donatello’s phone on the ground, considering Donnie once had a meltdown when Leo joked about touching his phone without permission, that wasn’t a good sign, “Purple?”

The form on the loft bed twisted around, rolling over like a caterpillar forming a cocoon to look over the edge down on him, a pair of blood shot swollen eyes peered down at him, a small sniff escaped the small confides of the cocoon as Don rubbed his face against his blanket again.

Splinter could already feel his heart ache, “Aw, Purple.” He set the mug on Don’s desk as he climbed up the loft ladder, “Can I sit?” He asked the turtle, without lookin at him, Don’s head dipped in a nod. Splinter sat on the edge of his mattress, rubbing his sons shell over his blanket, “Are we not feeling ourselves today?” He knew he wasn’t going to get an answer, but instead heard a small sad noise come from him again. Splinter remembered seeing a box of tissues sitting on his desk, snaking his tail down underneath the bed and pulling the box up to his level, “Here my son.” He set the tissue box by Donatello’s head who didn’t hesitate to take several tissues in his hands and wipe at his face. Splinter placed a soft hand on the back of Don’s head, “It’s ok my Purple Plum. We all have days like this. I’ll tell your brothers to not bother you and let you rest your soul.” Splinter moved his palm from the back of Don’s scalp to the side of his face, using his thumb to wipe a stray tear that escaped Don’s eye, “Is that alright with you my son?”

Don gave him a weak, if appreciative, smile as he nodded. Splinter held his sons face for a few more seconds before climbing down from his bed. He remembered the coffee mug he had brought it and carried it back up the ladder, “Here my boy.” He held out the mug for him, “Pure Black, just the way we like it.”

Don took the mug, squirming to a upright position, giving Splinter another appreciative , if small, smile before resting his face over the warm drink, “I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you.” Splinter promised before climbing down the ladder one last time before leaving the room.

(#)(#)(#)(#)

Splinter had explained to them that Don wasn’t having a great day. A feeling Raph understood too well, but that didn’t make it easier to know one of his brothers was suffering too. Of course, his first reaction to finding out had been to go check on Don, at least before Splinter caught him and made him promise not to go in there with the purpose of asking him a ton of ‘are you ok’ questions and draining his mental health more than it already was.

So, for the first part of the morning, he focused on his rubix cube. Though it was second nature at this point to twist it in the right shape, it did nothing to distract him. He had considered maybe getting his other rubix cube and go challenge Don to a rubix cube race, but Splinter hadn’t thought it was a good idea. He said they shouldn’t stress Don anymore then possible (and if they did, he would ground them to the moon and back). The big and beautiful turtle let out a sigh, setting his rubix cube down as he absentmindedly looked around his room. It was hard knowing his brother was in such a state without a way to help him, but then his eyes fell on a certain pink caboodle and a giant smile encompassed his face.

Raph snatched it up and jogged out of his room, making a beeline for Don’s. Leo, who was doing a handstand on his skateboard, saw where he was heading and looked like he was going to try and stop him til Raph held up the caboodle for him to see. The red slider narrowed his eyes before giving him a nod of approval. Raph had to stop from bursting into Don’s room and take a moment to knock, “coming in buddy!” He said ducking under the curtain. The form on the bed twitched before Don looked towards the entrance with a look of surprise on his face, “Oh, sorry” Raph apologized weakly, “I should have asked permission,” he said as Don’s gave him a slight frown and laid back down on his bed with his shell to him. Don’s bed was covered in used tissues and an empty tissue box lay on the floor as though Don had tossed it aside when it lost its usefulness to him. “I’m sorry,” Raph apologized again in a softer voice. He sometimes forgot his loudness could unintentionally set off Don’s headaches and sensory issues. “I didn’t come in here to stress you out if that helps,” he started. “The last time I was depressed, Dad did my nails for me. So, I thought I’d see if you wanted me to do yours!” He held up his caboodle, ‘“Mikey’s been giving me lessons too so I won't mess up so bad!” Raph took a moment to check the volume and tone of his voice, he didn’t want Don to feel like he wasn’t giving him a choice, “I mean it's up to you.”

For the first time since Raph entered the room, Donnie looks at him from over his shoulder, his expression is softer this time, as though forgiving Raph for coming to his room so loud. A few months ago, Donnie told him that Raph reminded him of a large dog that always forgot it wasn’t a puppy anymore, but he had said it with a smile so it couldn’t be an entirely bad thing. He looks to the caboodle then to his nails and gives a nod so slight Raph almost misses it. “Ok cool!” Raph sets the caboodle on the desk under Don’s bed, “I think I have just the color, I saw it the other day when I was shopping with Mikey and it made me think of you.” He pulled out a thing of purple nail polish, “It’s glow in the dark,” he holds it up. In the dark room the purple contents give a soft glow, “And there’s glitter in it. It kinda reminded me of space so I figured you’d like it. Do you want me to use this?”

Don studies it for a moment, but then nods again, “Ok cool times two!” Before he starts, he notices Don doesn’t have his telltale hoodie, a source of comfort for him, “Hey if you want, while your nails are drying, I’ll do a load of your laundry and bring you one of your hoodies back. I’ll ask Leo for help so I don’t accidentally use the wrong fabric softener. Is that ok?” He once again gets a soft nod and sets to work. He also makes sure to clean the tissues off Don’s bed and bring him a new box before leaving to do his promised laundry.

(V)(V)(V)(V)

Mikey slid his spatula underneath the newly formed toasted sandwich before setting it carefully on a plate with a few cut up carrots on the side and a cup of oyster crackers. He takes a moment to check the tray for everything he was going to need - Mikey’s phone, a meal, a box of hand wipes, and a water jug of sugar free sports drink. With a nod of satisfaction, he picks up the tray and makes his way to Don’s room, using his foot to tap the outside of Don’s room before ducking in. “Hey Donnie!” he says with his trademark large smile. The softshell turtle was propped up on a few pillows wearing a purple hoodie with the hood up and looking at his nails when he looked at him with a nod of greeting, “I brought you something to help you feel better.” He practically skips over, “Last time I was sad, Raph made sure that I had water and ate something. Even if you’re not hungry now.” He almost laughs at the suspicious way Don was studying the sandwich, “Don’t worry it's not a Leo sandwich, it’s toasted mustard and ketchup. Your favorite.” Don nods at him, but sets the food aside. Mikey made a mental note to check later to make sure that Donnie actually ate. He did feel better to see Don drink out of the water jug before the hand wipes caught the soft shell turtles attention, “Oh that’s something Leo taught me too. It’s a good way to clean yourself without having to take a shower. I know you don’t like feeling dirty, so I figured you’d like it. There’s also some gum to clean your teeth”

Don blinks at him before opening the container. Its only then Mikey notices the soft purple glow coming from his nails, “Aw! I see Raph was here too!” Don nodded, he was already using a hand wipe to clean his neck and face. Mikey picked up the trash can and pulled Don’s chair around so it could rest it on it. Giving Don a closer vantage to it. He figures Don will finish his ‘hand wipe bath’ when he’s got privacy. “Hey dude you remember that AMV I was making for Jupiter Jim the Musical? The one made like a silent film??” He paused, thinking for a moment, “wait, actually how is it a musical if it’s a silent film?” He looks to Don for the answer, as he usually does, but Don just shrugs. “I was thinking of using a StarSet song, and since you basically listen to them all the time I thought I’d ask you for help picking one out. Is that ok?”

Honestly he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, maybe having Don roll away. He should of asked Leo if this was a good idea but instead Donnie scooted away from the ladder, patting the spot he had been sitting in. With a smile that can barely be contained by his round naturally happy face Mikey climbs up the ladder taking out his phone and pulling up the StarSet playlist he had made. He nearly jumps out of his skin when Don rests his cheek on his scalp but makes sure to give him a smile before starting the playlist.

(#)(#)(#)(#)

Leo honestly hates it when the Lair is quiet. Even though it’s barely evening, it feels almost unnatural for a home that had seen so many fires that he was sure the fire department would condemn them. Hours earlier, Splinter had told them that Donnie was experiencing a depressive episode and that they should respect his space and privacy as much as possible. But of course, had he been told his favorite Donnie was in such a state a few months earlier, he would have run through the wall and trapped Donnie in a death cuddle from which there was no escape. But at this point he knew better, so even though he watched Splinter, Raph and Mikey go visit Donnie at different times during the day, he stayed his distance, staying close enough that if he heard anything he could interfere.

So now he sits at the kitchen table, drumming his fingers on the surface. If anyone had been in the room with him, they would tell him to take a breath and stop feeling so anxious. But he can’t help it. Anxiety was a nasty devil who lived in your brain reminding you of all your mistakes you’ve made and all your mistakes to come.

Leo leans back in his seat, and takes a deep breath.

The anxiety feels further away.

The turtle stands up and stops by his room long enough to pick up his favorite blue hoodie. He makes sure to take a deep breath before knocking on Don’s door (I think you should specify which door), “Your favorite Leo’s coming in.” He calls gently before ducking under the curtain. He’s almost surprised to see the room still so clean, he can see clean clothes hanging from Don’s closet and a trash can situated on a chair by Don’s bed is filled with tissues and wipes. It fills his heart to know his brothers cared so much to come in here and to do little things to help him.

But Don doesn’t even roll over to acknowledge him, he can barely see Donnie scrub at his eyes again before curling up under his blanket. With a soft sigh, Leo walks over and climbs up the ladder, “Still not feeling ok buddy?” He asks crossing his arms over the top rung and resting his head on them as Donnie nodded in agreement. ”It's ok,” he drummed his fingers over the surface of Don’s mattress, picking up a few stray crumbled tissues and dropping them over the side of the bed. “Remember when I had my bad day a few weeks ago? I went to my room and refused to come out. I was a little angrier than I think you are now. But you came in and just hung out with me? You set up a projector in my room and we watched Jupiter Jim movies all night and you did that JJ impression that always makes me laugh.” He couldn’t help but smile softly at the memory. Eventually his room was full of their small family all curled up on his bed watching a low budget sci-fi movie series, even Splinter (who had some beef JJ he didn’t understand) joined in. Mikey sat on Raph’s shoulders doodling on his mask as Leo laid his head on Donnie's lap and laughed himself silly.

Leo blinks out of his memory and smiles up at him “You know what? Give me a sec.” He leaps off the ladder and hurries to Don’s lab. It feels almost eerie to see all his inventions shut down, but he snatches up Donnie’s tablet from its charging station and comes back to Don’s bed. “I’m actually kinda bored, wanna hang out and watch Ted Talks?” At first Don doesn’t look at him, his eyes were so swollen that Leo wasn’t entirely sure he could see anything. He was prepared to leave if Don wanted him to, but is relieved when Donnie nodded. Leo beams as he scrambles up the ladder. He gathers the pillows around to make a makeshift seat for the two of them, snuggling into his spot. “Not to sound too humble, but I can basically make the best pillow throne ever right Donnie-Dee?” He smiles praising his naturally humble nature before he scoots over enough to give Donnie space free of him but is again surprised when Donnie curls up next to him and rests his head on Leos’ shoulder. At first, he thought Don just wanted to see the screen better. But then his immediate brother begins to tremble, pulling down the rim of his hoodie down to to cover his face as he began to sob softly.

The blue masked turtle immediately wraps his arms around his brother, resting his cheek on his brother's scalp. He is unsure what he could say to comfort him, but when he felt Don press his face into his shoulder, he knew this would suffice.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there rocking his favorite weeping Donnie in his arms. But slowly he felt Don’s sobs fade away with his trembles, and eventually he pulls his face away enough to pull his tears tainted hoodie away from his face. Leo, without releasing his hold, pulls the box of tissues closer. “It’s ok to feel sad sometimes,” he says rubbing his cheek against Don’s temple to give him the space to wipe his eyes. “Just don’t forget that we love you Dee. We’ll always be here to take care of you. Your big brain knows that right?” He said peering at his brother's face. Donnie gave him a shaky smile and a nod, “See? That’s why you’re the smart one buddy.” Leo says with a smile

A soft noise escapes Donnie that Leo realizes is supposed to be a laugh, and he rubs his scalp. He settles back to hold the tablet up when Don reaches over to a plate Leo hadn’t noticed and tore a grilled sandwich in half, before pausing and stuffing one of the sides with some few remaining carrot sticks. Leo grins. “Aw see? You know me so well,” he says taking the carrot sandwich half with one hand and holding up the tablet with the other so Don could see it. Later, when Don was obviously getting annoyed with the flawed logic behind the Ted Talks, Leo would mute the screen and give his best impression of what he thought the ‘experts’ were saying. Even though Don laughed, it wasn’t so much Leo’s humor it was the horrible jokes that had him drag a hand down his face and succumbing to giggles. Later that night, they would be joined by the rest of their family. There wasn’t room for a projection screen, but Mikey brought in several of his favorite board games and they made a circle that would include Don’s bed. Sharing stories and telling jokes long into the night. Though Don didn’t share any stories, he laughed louder than everyone else, and at one point had to escape Leo’s ‘tickle torture’ when he rolled his eyes too many times at his jokes.

But nothing could keep the smile off his face after that.

#rottmnt #rottmnt fanfiction #donnie #leo #mikey #raph #spllinter #hurt/comfort #depression #undercoverwizardninjaturtle #it’s ok to feel sad #jade #support rottmnt

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birdy-bat-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Friends Day In

Word count: 2.3k

Prompt: You and Jason planned to spend the day together, until Roy called asking him to babysit.

I might rewrite this one in the future with a different character because I like the prompt. Hope you enjoy it!

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It was relatively cold for a summer day in Gotham. There was a breeze blowing and it didn’t smell like smoke. The sky was a rich blue and filled with white clouds. The sun was shining over the city. It was weird. But the good kind of weird. You weren’t used to Gotham looking this pretty, and neither were you used to playing dollies with a five-year-old, so nothing about today was normal. But you liked It!

The night before, you convinced Jason to take day off from everything and spend some time with you, because you hadn’t had a best friend’s day out in a very long time. He had been busy on missions away from you and you really missed him. Not as much as he missed you though. You hadn’t heard someone say yes that quickly in your life! The two of you had decided on meeting up at his place and going out later. The evening would end with dinner although you hadn’t decided if it would be a ‘takeout and movies’ kind of night, or the ‘chili dogs and strolling down the street’ type yet. You supposed you’d let the magic of the moment bring you to a decision, because either way if you were together you had something to enjoy.

That morning you hopped out of bed with a spring in your step. You were definitely more willing to get out of bed than you usually were, but who could blame you? You hadn’t had any quality time Jason in weeks. The idea of seeing your best pal and crush after that long was enticing enough to get you to pick out your clothes, finish a shower and breakfast all in under an hour. Somewhere around 12:00 pm, you headed oto your car, or should we say, skipped to your car and made your way downtown, opening the windows and enjoying the cool air.

Jason was in a similar position. He too, woke up feeling more energized and got through his morning routine much quicker than necessary, but he couldn’t help himself. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, paired with his favorite leather jacket, to give him the boost he knew he’d need today. Jason was looking forward to seeing you today for more than one reason; the first obviously being that he missed you, and the second being that he realized he didn’t want to have to miss you as much as he did and today would be the day he would confess how he felt about you. He had been in love with you for about year, and now he wanted you to know. So, he stared at his TV, not really paying attention to what was playing. He only glanced at his phone to check the time.

The next time he picked up his phone it buzzed it his hand. Roy was calling. “Hey, Roy. What’s up?”

“Jay, there’s an emergency.”

“What’s wrong?” Jason’s casual tone shifted to something a little more serious.

“There’s something going on in Star City. Oliver needs me.”

“Oka-,”

“Of course, I’ll watch her, don’t worry about it. And Roy, in our line off work, there isn’t exactly time off. Will you drop her over?” Jason could hear the panic in Roy’s voice and kept his own soft. This must be really bad. The last thing he wanted was to give Roy another reason to worry and taking are of Lian was the least he could do for his best pal.

The unfortunate downside to this would be that he would miss out on his time with you. He knew you would understand but the pang of guilt in his chest still stayed. He was just about to call you when he heard his doorbell ring. He opened the door to you, wearing that slightly apologetic look and you knew something was up.

“Hi, what’s wrong?”

“Y/N, I’m really sorry. Somethings come up.”

“That’s okay, but… What’s going on?”

“Roy needs to leave town for an emergency, and he needs me to take care of Lian. There was no one else he could find in time.”

“That’s alright, Jay. We could meet up another day.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you.” He had an idea. “But you know you’re welcome to stay. We can have a friend’s day in!”

“That sounds great, but what about Lian?”

“We can hang out while she’s here. She’s an absolute angel. When did you meet her last?”

“Well it’s been a while, I haven’t seen her in like a year.”

“You should stay. We can babysit together. She’ll love you.” He flashed you his signature smile, dimples and all. You were a little hesitant, you didn’t want to take up too much of his time if he was busy. You knew what Roy and Jason did wasn’t easy and things often came up, so you were more than understanding. Jason then added a, “Please?”

“Okay.”, you said, putting your purse down the table.

Only minutes later, the doorbell rang. Jason opened the door and saw Roy with duffle bag thrown over his shoulder and his daughter in his arms. She had a little Dora the Explorer backpack with her and she was smiling, flaunting gaps in her baby teeth.

“Uncle Jay!”

“Hey kiddo!” Roy put her down and she hugged Jason’s legs. He smiled down at her adorable behavior and crouched down to her level, “Why don’t go inside and turn on the TV? We can watch Power Rangers.” He watched her speed away into his apartment and then stood back up. “Roy, be careful Ok?”

“When am I not?” He smirked. “Don’t worry its nothing too crazy, so I’ll only be gone for a few hours. Thanks for doing this.”

“No problem.”

While Jason was and Roy shared their well-wishes, Lian and ran into the living room at speeds that could rival the Flash, and then stopped. She was looking at you, visibly confused.

“Hi! I’m Y/N. You must be Lian. I’m friends with your dad and Jason.” She nodded plopped herself on the couch, one cushion away from you.

“Do you like power Rangers?”

“I do. Which one’s your favorite?”

“Blue one.”

“Blue’s my favorite color.”

“Me too!” She’s so cute. She rummaged through her little backpack and pulled out a small blue whale and two barbie dolls. “Your name is Y/N?”

“Yeah.” You wanted to think it was just something kids did, but something seemed odd about the way she started staring at you. Right on time Jason waked into the living room. He took in the sight of you intently watching power Rangers and holding a doll in your hand next to a small child plying with a whale plushy.

“Anyone hungry?”, he called out.

“Me!” Lian responded.

“PB&J like usual?” She nodded cheerily in response. “Anything for you, Y/N?”

“Can I get a PB&J too?” You asked.

“Anything for my favorite girls.” He said with a breathy laugh and disappeared off into the kitchen. He could kiss his plans of confessing today goodbye, but on the bright side now he had a little more time to plan it. He made four sandwiches and cut the crust off of one. He decided to go the extra mile and cut the sandwich into a heart just to see Lian get excited over it.

He walked back to the living room and put the plates down on the coffee table. He looked up for you and Lian, but you weren’t in the room. He walked around a bit and heard a giggle from the second bedroom. His heart melted at the sight. Lian was sitting on your lap while you were braiding her hair, tying it with a bow hair tie. “Pretty as a princess!”, you called her. Jason had no idea you were that good with kids. It was endearing.

Smiling lightly, he said, “Lunch is ready.” Lian jumped off of you and walked to the living room, picking up her heart-shaped sandwiched. She gasped,

“Thank you!” and began eating her sandwich. You stood next to jason and looked at the little girl in awe.

The day consisted of Pokémon marathons, hide and seek, and a game of tag that ended up with Jason picking you up and running around the apartment. You did the same with Lian the next round. The cheerful energy of little children was very contagious, but at some point, the energy burned out. The three of you sat down to take break before putting Lian down for a nap. Today you saw a side of Jason you didn’t even know existed. He was always calmer and goofier when you were around, but when he was with Lian, it was something else. You fell for him even more, if that was possible. Seeing him with her made your lips involuntarily perk up at the corners. And then it happened.

“Hey uncle jay?”

“Hm?”

“Is this the girl you’re always talking to Daddy about? The soulmate?” you saw Jason stiffen. You were very intrigued though. Jason talked about you to Roy? “Her name is Y/N too. Is she your girlfriend?”

“No, she’s not my girlfriend.” He was genuinely mortified.

“I think she wants to be your girlfriend.” Now it was your turn to stiffen. How did she-? “She hugs you a lot.”

“Lian aren’t you tired? Let’s get you to bed.”

“Okay. Uncle Jay, you should kiss her.” Jason picked her up and hurried into the guest bedroom, leaving you a blushing mess where you sat.

He returned around ten minutes later, looking pretty tired himself. “I. Am. Exhausted”

“Same here,” you replied. “You’re really good with kids.”

“So are you.”

“Lian is such a sweetheart! Roy is going to have to deal with me a lot more now.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I want visit Lian all the time.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, can I ask you something?” He nods.

“What was Lian talking about when she said you spoke to Roy about me?”

“Well,” I guess confessing is back on the table. “I talked to Roy about you because I wanted his advice.” You gave him the ‘please elaborate’ look. “I like you.” He finally blurted out.

You looked up at him feeling butterflies. “I like you too, Jay.” As soon as the words left your mouth, you could feel your heart racing. Jason met your eyes, grinning ear to ear and asked,

“So, does this mean I can ask you on a date?”

“I believe it does.”

“Y/N, would you like to go out with me sometime?”

“Yeah I would.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I am a little concerned though.”

“About?”

“You were trained by the world’s greatest detective, and yet, a five-year-old figured that I liked you before you did.” Jason’s expression turned into one of both shock and disappointment and you couldn’t help but laugh. “Todd, you’re losing your edge. You were beaten by a toddler.”

“Huh, so were you!” The two of you joked around quietly as not to wake the toddler in the other room. “You know it’s only 6:30. Feel like staying for dinner?”

“I’d like that.” You were looking up him due to the height difference.

The phone rang. Roy was calling to let Jason know he would be by to pick Lian up soon. The two of you sat comfortably and put on a movie.

“You sure you don’t want to watch power Rangers? I know how much you love the blue one.” He teased, which earned him a light punch to the shoulder.

Soon after, Lian woke up from her nap and crawled in between you. There was comfortable silence in the room. Jason had his arm around you, and you nuzzled into him holding Lian. The way Lian held his hand made your heart swell. He was going to be the best father one day.

Just then the doorbell rang. “That’s your dad.” She climbed down and walked with Jason to the door.

“Daddy!”

“Hey princess!” He lifted her into his arms. “Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah! I played with Jay and Auntie Y/N.”

“Oh, wow.” Roy looked at Jason with an eyebrow raised. “Auntie Y/N?” as if on cue, you showed up at the door.

“Hey, Lian you forgot your backpack.” You said handing it to her. “Roy! Oh, my goodness I haven’t seen you in a month! You have got to come over more.” You said, hugging him.

“I definitely will.” He said, hugging back with one arm.

“Good. Bye guys! I’ll see you soon!” And with that you, turned back and made your way to the kitchen.

“Roy how’d everything go? Is the city Ok?”, Jason asked.

“Yeah, yeah. City’s fine, Ollie’s fine. What’s up with you two? Did you finally tell her?”, Roy asked expectantly. With a smirk and a dramatic sigh, Jason replied,

“All I will say is that your daughter is a much better wing woman than you.” He punctuated his sentence by high fiving the little girl in Roy’s arms.

“ARE YOU GUYS DAT-?!”

“Bye, Roy! Bye, Lian! See you guys later…!” And he closed the door, fully expecting his phone to be flooded with messages in an hour, but in the meantime, he planned on taking advantage of some much-needed alone time with his new girlfriend.

“So, princess, where would you like to go for dinner?” Snaking your arms around his torso, you said,

“I don’t know, what do you feel like having?”

“You in my arms.” Your face heated up.

“I meant for dinner! And I’m already in your arms.” He chuckled lightly.

“Chinese takeout?”

“Chinese takeout.”

“And movies?”

“Of course.”

“…. Cuddles?”

“Like we don’t do that anyway.” All in all, that day did not go as planned but you weren’t about to complain.

#batfam #jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd fluff #lian harper #roy harper #red hood #arsenal #batfam fluff #fluff #writers #writing #babysitting #red arrow #batboys x reader

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trouvelle · 4 years ago

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Red-Hearted Tragedy

For @tanteigisachi, thank you for pulling me out of my hole and back out here <3 You’re the kindest! I hope you can visualize the chirping birds and colorful butterflies and glittering rainbow that I’m presenting you this with (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ*

Fandom: Detective Conan/DCMK Pairing: Shinichi/Ran, (side Heiji/Kazuha and Kaito/Aoko) Rating: G Genre/Tags: Fluff, Domestic Warning: None

•

Shinichi has a theory about parenthood.

He used to think it’s not possible that once one becomes a parent, one also stops being anything else. Like the status he has right now. He was always known as a Great Detective of the East, the badass son of the famous writer Kudo Yusaku and a soccer enthusiast. Now he's barely himself, the state of parenting having sucked his body dry of anything remotely cool he had going on. Shinichi wonders if Ran feels the same. When Conan first arrived, they were extremely thrilled about finally being a family and so for a long while, Conan was pretty much everything in their minds. Ran started refusing to go to work at Teitan and Shinichi missed more cases than he can account for—all in favor of watching their baby grow healthy and in a strong household.

They succeeded. Conan is now a kind, obedient, smart and very lovely four year old and there is still nothing more important than him in his parents’ lives.

However.

It will be Valentine's Day soon and Shinichi would love for this to be their first Valentine’s Day without Conan's presence jumping and screaming for them to watch Pororo instead of opening a bottle of wine. Don't get him wrong, he loves his son. He just misses being romantic with his wife. That’s just tragic.

That's why he calls Heiji.

"Forget it," the guy says. "Kazuha and I had a hard time booking a nanny for Valentine's. She's pretty expensive and the only one who hasn’t been threatened by the twins so far."

Shinichi traps the phone between his ear and his shoulder while typing the report to finish up his latest murder case. It's the second case he’d taken this week. He's tired and grumpy and wants to end his week early to spend the whole Valentine weekend, but people seem to be exploding with their grudges, stalking ex-girlfriends here and murdering ex-husbands there.

"You should get them checked," Shinichi jokes half-hardheartedly.

The other gasps. Shinichi can practically hear Heiji’s Giant Head of Doom growing in size. "Don't insult my beautiful children!"

"You could at least ask your nanny to look after Conan as well. He's quiet, and you know he won't make any mess."

"Get your own nanny." Heiji scoffs. "Where ya’ at?"

Shinichi exhales. "Working."

"How many cases ya’ got this week?"

"Three. People really need to chill. It’s the holiday of love, not hatred. ” Shinichi answers with such exasperation and Heiji laughs. “I take it you’re just as busy as I am?”

"Nah, I got a murder and a robbery earlier this week but now I’m chillin’ and ready for the weekend." Shinichi just knows that his best friend is grinning ear to ear at this moment.

And so he decides he's had enough of him. He hangs up with a scowl, but not before sending one last grumble in Heiji’s way.

•

Ran places a cup of coffee in front of Shinichi, Conan's orange juice in one hand and this morning’s newspaper under her arm.

"He won't do it," Shinichi says.

Ran squints, sitting across from him at the dining table. "Kazuha-chan told me they’ve gone through a lot of trouble to find a good babysitter. I think that means they do not want to babysit this weekend."

"Well they just found one and he says he won't share." Shinichi sips at his coffee.

Ran chuckles, standing up and calling for Conan, who walks out from his bedroom already perfectly dressed (hair a mess, though). The four year old tiptoes to reach his juice box, jumping on the couch once the box is secure between his hands. Shinichi gulps his coffee before walking toward Conan and sitting himself next to his son on the couch.

"Hey," he says.

Conan blinks dazedly, clearly bored out of his mind and undoubtedly thinking about the comfort of his bed. It's barely even eight and the kid is already tired.

"So... today is a special day," he continues. Conan stares at him. "A special day for... daddies and mommies."

"Valentine's Day?" Conan asks. Shinichi frowns.

"Yes, how do you know about Valentine's Day?"

"Everyone knows about Valentine's Day, Dad."

"But you're too young to..." he shakes his head. "Never mind. Are you ready for school?"

Conan stands up as if doing so is such a burden, and Shinichi thinks about talking to Ran about ways to make kindergarten seem more interesting for their toddler.

•

There is no nanny available. All nannies were already booked by smarter couples that probably have been planning their Valentine's night for days. Shinichi and Ran are easily 'the rest'.

"Kuroba, please? Can you watch Conan just for one night?"

"It's Valentine's Day, Kudo."

"You told me that you don’t have any plans with Aoko anyway. You could use some company. Conan is nice company, he likes your magic tricks and he's an amazing listener. You can dump all your dissatisfaction with life and your father-in-law and the world on him, he won't even mind."

Kaito is beyond outraged. "First of all, I DO have plans with Aoko! It’s just that her father wants to have a Valentine's dinner with her that she can’t say no to.” Shinichi has to drag the phone away from his ear. “Second of all, ALL kids love my magic tricks and. And I am definitely NOT dissatisfied."

Shinichi wisely chooses not to point out the extreme dissatisfaction in the magician’s voice. "Please? Ran and I really need this moment. It's been ages since we went on a romantic dinner. We haven’t even had the chance to spend any alone time outside lately."

"And you blame that on your son." Kaito's tone is accusing and reprimanding.

"No. Yes, somehow, but, not in a bad way. It's just... Being a parent is hard. We focus all our time and energy on Conan and end up with nothing left for ourselves. I miss having a day for us, you know?"

There's silence. Shinichi hopes Kaito is trying to picture how hard it is to have a child and eventually consents, because he's Shinichi's last option. But to be honest, maybe it’s not the best idea to put in the magician’s head. He doesn’t want an angry Aoko coming for him.

"Ok, fine." Kaito answers and Shinichi punches the air in celebration. "Remember that you owe me another one and that I expect free food."

"You got it, Kuroba!"

•

If all kids are as calm as Conan, Kaito muses, then he can’t wait until Aoko and his bundle of joy arrives. He only prays that his child wouldn’t turn out to be as hyper as the Hattori twins. Conan doesn't seem affected by Kaito's presence, but then again, everything the kid needs is his pillow and a television. Preferably some cartoons.

•

Shinichi averts his gaze from the two just as his wife walks into the living room. Ran looks good. So good. And Shinichi's hands are sweating with anticipation. It's been so long since the last time they've gone out, just the two of them where clowns and kiddy toys aren't involved.

He approaches her, who is now leaning against the wall with arms folded on his chest and a fond expression on his face. She's watching Conan staring at the TV while clutching his pillow, the boy's eyes already drooping with drowsiness. Kaito sits next to him and occasionally attempts to chat, but Conan isn't exactly a conversationalist. He's one of the quiet ones. And definitely Shinichi’s son.

"He's so big," Ran mentions in that tone she only uses when talking about Conan. "Did four years really go by that fast?"

Shinichi sighs as Conan perches his head up to watch Kaito perform some tricks. "Why? Do you still think about him as a baby?"

"He's still a child. He still needs care." Ran bites her lips, worry washing over her features. "Maybe we should cancel Valentine's Dinner."

Before Shinichi can muster up an angry answer about several months without a couple's moment and the survival of their relationship while being parents, Kaito walks towards them.

"You guys should go or you'll miss the reservation," he says, that annoying complacent smile on.

"Do you have the list of things he's allowed to eat and do you have the list of numbers to call if something happens?" Ran fidgets with her fingers. Shinichi promptly holds her hands.

Kaito smiles. "Yep, I've got it covered, Ran-san. Just go and have a good time and come back early if you can."

They probably wouldn’t.

•

Shinichi also has a theory about having a good time on Valentine's Day.

For them, it's not possible anymore.

They make it to the reservation in peace and the lobster Ran ordered is on its way when Shinichi's phone rings. It's their home number, so it has to be Kaito. He takes a deep breath to mentally prepare himself for a disaster, but instead of destruction he gets his son's voice.

"Heiji jichan?" Conan says.

Shinichi pulls the phone away and glares at the screen. Why would his own son call Hattori, not him? Shinichi did set Hattori’s number on their speed dial after his and Ran’s, but nevertheless he is gravely disappointed.

"Conan?" he asks, Ran frowning.

"Oh Dad? Sorry, I want to call Heiji jichan. Goodb—”

Shinichi narrows his eyes and interrupts before his son can hang up. “Hey buddy, is everything ok?”

“Um, It's Kaito jichan, dad. He's dying."

Shinichi's brain processes the fact that his toddler is nowhere near harm, and he exhales very loudly in relief. And once he processes what his son actually said, he chokes on his own saliva. Ran leans towards him, eyebrows knitted together. 'What's wrong?' she mouths. Shinichi can't even bring himself to say it.

"What—” he coughs into the phone. "What do you mean, Conan? You didn't make someone stick a fork up the socket again, did you? Conan, I told you that is dangerous."

Ran gasps, horror freezing her face. Both her hands fly to her mouth as she stands up, dropping to the floor next to Shinichi's chair. He runs a hand through his hair and slowly shakes his head, reassuring her that their son is ok. Although there is someone dying and they should be on their way home already.

"He ate something from the fridge, Dad. Now he's moving funny and he sounds weird."

If he tunes everything out, he can indeed listen to faint noises in the background. That's probably Kaito having a hard time.

"What is it?" Ran asks, squeezing Shinichi's thigh.

"Kuroba ate something and is now dying."

"DYING?" She pulls herself up and paces around in panic. "He didn't eat the stew did he? Because Sonoko sent us that and she said it’s something called Bouillabaisse which is—”

“— fish... stew." Shinichi finishes lamely.

Which Kaito is tragically allergic to.

"We need to go," he jumps from his seat, drawing his wallet and throwing some money on the table. He wishes no one would steal it because they're in a hurry and he always sees people throwing money on tables at movies so he figures it works. Out of luck, the restaurant Shinichi picked is a few minute drive from their house. There's a nice chance they'll get to save Kaito.

•

Shinichi's theories have been proven correct:

1. He's no longer simply Kudo Shinichi, great Detective of the East and husband of Mouri Ran. He's now Kudo Shinichi, Conan's dad. 2. Therefore, it's tragically impossible to enjoy Valentine's Day with only the woman he loves. 3. His son is perfectly okay with conveniently inconveniencing his uncle Heiji at any given circumstance (in this case, he calls Heiji after Shinichi hangs up just to see which one of them would arrive to save Kaito the fastest). 4. Couldn't Kaito have picked another moment to try and die?

Shinichi's Valentine's Day is now being spent at the ER, with his four year old son fast asleep in his wife’s arms while said wife stares glassy-eyed at the television in the waiting room. It turns out that Conan was trying to call Heiji instead of him because he did not want to ruin the “special day for mommies and daddies” for his own mommy and daddy.

Well, it doesn’t really matter now. Everyone’s Valentine’s Day has been ruined beyond repair. It’s something they’d definitely look back and laugh about, but looking around the room, Shinichi’s certain that none of them has enough energy to muster a nice joke.

Although, he actually chuckles when he hears Kazuha say, “I told you something was gonna happen tonight, Heiji. I told you so.”

There are bags under Ran's eyes and her hair is disheveled, the red sweater she'd carefully picked for their date now draped loosely around their son for his warmth. Shinichi snorts, feeling mocked. All he wanted was a romantic night with his wife. That's all.

He sticks his hand into his pocket, thumb flicking over the pendant of the necklace he was supposed to give to Ran as a surprise. It's a simple necklace. Not that he doesn't have the money—it's just that Ran doesn't care about expensive stuff.

"Hey," A whisper pulls him from his reveries and Shinichi glances at his wife. Ran looks tired, but so damn beautiful. How could someone as gorgeous as her have ended up with a piece of geeky detective like him? "Don't beat yourself up."

He sighs, blinking as he drags the necklace out of his pocket. "We've changed, haven't we?" He brings his eyes up to Ran's.

“Of course we have. There are three of us now. It doesn't mean we can't have a good time. Look at Aoko-san and Kuroba-kun, I’d say they’re having it worse than us.” Ran smiles knowingly, hand caringly brushing over Conan's hair. “Also, is that my present?”

Shinichi smiles back at her, lifting his hands. "It is... Yeah, it's supposed to be your present."

"I love it!" Ran laughs.

"I already know you do." Shinichi takes one last look at the necklace and decides that it will look better around Ran’s neck. He would gladly help Ran put the necklace on, but Conan is an effective clinger, both arms locked around his mom’s neck.

"Shinichi… thank you. I didn't have time to get you a present, sorry." She mumbles the last part of the sentence with guilt, eyes still locked with his. He can see the apologetic shine in her eyes, even though he doesn’t understand why she feels the need to apologize to him. He doesn’t want anything else from her. She’s already everything he can ever wish for.

"I don’t need anything else," he says, pushing the necklace into Ran's pocket before leaning over to peck at his wife’s lips.

—

Shinichi has another theory about this night.

It didn't turn out to be what he was expecting it to be: his friend almost accidentally killed himself; his four year old son almost witnessed someone die; his best friend is willing to drop anything just to attend to said son; they nearly ran over an old lady in their haste to go home to save Kaito's life (which was proven futile anyway, because Heiji miraculously appeared first to get them to the hospital) and all of them are now ending their very special night at the hospital as Kaito recovers from his near-death experience.

It was a tragedy. Everything went wrong except for one thing. Shinichi and Ran went through it all together.

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crystalninjaphoenix · 4 years ago

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And the Show Goes On

A Horror Septics Story

(I’ve been sitting on this for a while, but I finally managed to finish it. Let’s check back in on Stacy, John, and the boys, why don’t we? Surely nothing else could go wrong in their lives ;) )

—————

The road was a simple, narrow path, only two lanes. It cut through the trees of the deep forest, the branches above stretching to cover it like a canopy, the roots causing cracks in the asphalt. It was almost like the woods were trying to reclaim the narrow stretch of man-made land. The canopy caused an artificial twilight, and the car driving down the road had to turn its lights on to be able to see.

“I think we’re almost there,” Stacy said, peering through the windshield. It was hard to see far, what with the darkness caused by the trees and the weird fog hovering around the trunks. She glanced in the rear-view mirror to look at the backseat. “How’re we holding up, boys?”

Mathew made an OK sign with his hand, headphones on. Larkin was busy staring out the window, his coloring book discarded.

“Great, glad we’re doing tip-top,” Stacy commented.

John, sitting in the passenger seat beside her, chuckled. “Tip-top?” He asked.

“Yes, tip-top,” Stacy said, doubling down on the phrase. “We’re all hunky-dory.”

“God, you’re so American and cheesy,” John muttered, smiling a bit. He was leaning back against the seat, eye closed and deliberately not looking out at the trees.

“Hmm.” Stacy hummed, nodding. She fell into quiet thought for a bit. They’d come a long way from their small town in California. Two years ago, she would never have guessed that she’d end up halfway across the world, running away from some...supernatural evil. Or, well, two of them, technically.

“Oh!” Larkin pointed out the window. “Did you see that?”

“See what, Lark?” Stacy asked.

“There was a...a Cheshire cat out there,” Larkin said. “In the forest.”

John suddenly whipped around, looking over the seat. “Don’t look at it.”

“What? Why not?” Larkin asked.

“Just trust me on this one,” John said, voice lowering. “Okay?”

“What do you mean by a Cheshire cat, Lark?” Stacy asked cautiously.

“A smiling cat! Didn’t anyone else see it? Matt!” Larkin reached across and started pushing his brother. “Did you see the cat?”

“No, I didn’t see any cat,” Mathew muttered, adjusting his headphones and sinking further into the seat.

Stacy frowned, and considered saying something, but was distracted by light appearing at the end of the road. “Oh, I think that’s it!” she said, trying to sound excited.

The car passed out from the forest as if leaving a tunnel. Afternoon sunlight abruptly appeared. The road winded down a sloping hill, leading to a collection of buildings down below. The car passed a sign made of stone, reading Welcome to Foraois Hollow.

“Still the most uncreative name,” John muttered. “Foraois is literally ‘forest,’ how very original. I bet the English had something to do with it.”

“Do you speak...whatever language that is?” Mathew piped up.

“Irish, and yes,” John said. “Not fluently, but better than I used to.”

“People still speak Irish?” Mathew asked.

“Yeah, of course we do,” John said, laughing a bit. “Especially in the actual country we’re from.”

“You’re Irish?!” Stacy remarked with some surprise.

“Yeah. Can’t you tell?”

“I...can now.” She’d always sort of picked up that John had an accent, but hadn’t registered which accent it was. Until he brought it up.

John smiled sadly. “‘S okay. Not your fault.”

The rest of the drive into the small town was quiet. The buildings of Foraois Hollow wouldn’t have been out of place 200 years ago. Charming houses with peaked roofs and white walls lined the streets, until the streets eventually clustered together in what looked like the business quarter, around a paved town square. People were walking around, going about their day...though Stacy couldn’t help but notice that a lot of them stared at the car as it drove past. Perhaps that was because most people seemed to prefer walking here, but she got the feeling it was more than that.

Stacy pulled to the side of the road right next to the square. “Alright, break time,” she said. “Let’s stretch our legs while I look for a hotel. Or something.”

Larkin opened the car door and hopped out, looking around. “Cool!” He said. “Mom, can I go look around? Please?”

“Look around? Hmm…” Stacy gave the town square a once-over. There were a few booths selling food and trinkets. The people walking around seemed normal, but you could never be sure. “Alright. Just stay where I can see you, ok?”

“Okay!” And with that , Larkin ran off, running up to the nearest booth and getting on his tiptoes to inspect the wares.

Mathew climbed out of the car as well. “Huh.” He lowered his headphones. “This is, like...quaint.”

“Yes, it is,” Stacy said cheerfully. “I’ve never heard you use that word before. Did you read it somewhere?”

“Uh...yeah.” Mathew leaned against the car. “What? It fits.”

“It does. I’m not saying you’re wrong.” Stacy pulled out her phone and typed ‘hotels near me’ into her browser. She squinted. “Huh...no results? That’s odd.”

John pushed open the door and leaned out. “No hotels, huh? Yeah, I think I remember that.”

“So you’ve been here before,” Stacy clarified. She’d been suspecting that.

John nodded. “Stopped by,” he said vaguely.

Stacy dropped it there. It was clear from his tone that John didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, she turned her attention back to her search for hotels. The wifi connection was secure, so it wasn’t that the results weren’t loading, it was just that there were no hotels for miles. The closest one was appearing in the next town over, the town they’d left two hours ago. She tried changing the search to motels, but got the same results. “Why don’t they have any hotels? Isn’t that a bit of an oversight?”

“People don’t really stop by here often,” John said. “And I don’t know if they want people to stay.”

Stacy shivered a bit. “That sounds...ominous.”

“Oh it isn’t, really,” John said casually. “It’s for everyone’s good. You remember what I said on the way over here? About the forest?”

Stacy nodded. “After we finish driving through it, don’t go in there ever.”

“Exactly.” John looked away, turning his attention to watching the town square. “I think if people stay here, they might eventually be tempted to do that, so there are no hotels or anything to discourage long stays.”

“But...we’re supposed to be staying here,” Stacy said slowly. “To stay away from Jaq—that...thing.”

“Yeah, but we know better,” John said.

Stacy wasn’t so sure about that, and the sentiment didn’t make her feel better at all. “Still…” she said, slowly changing the subject. “Where are we going to stay? You’ve been here before, where did you stay?”

John blinked. “I...I live in a tent,” he reminded her.

“Ah. Right.”

“Hey Mom,” Mathew piped up. “Why don’t we just ask someone if there’s a place we can stay?”

“Ah. Yes, good idea, Mat,” Stacy said, nodding. There were a whole bunch of locals in the square, surely one of them would have an answer. She straightened, looking around to see who was most approachable. But her eyes landed on someone else. “Oh? It looks like Larkin’s already making friends.”

Larkin had moved on from the booth he was originally interested in, and was now running circles around a different booth, chasing a boy who looked about his age. The two of them stopped and switched direction a couple times, like they were reenacting one of those comedic movie scenes where people tried to duck around a central item only to find their opponent blocking them. Chuckling to herself, Stacy walked over. “Hey Lark. Having fun?”

“Hi Mom!” Larkin stopped the chase. “This is Nick!”

The other boy, shorter than Larkin and with dark curls, grinned and waved at Stacy. “Howya, Lark’s mam?”

“I’m doing very good. It’s nice to meet you, Nick,” Stacy said cheerfully.

“Nice t’meet you too!” Nick said. “How long are you gonna be passin’ through?”

“Yeah, Mom!” Larkin added.

“Oh. Well, we’re actually going to be staying for...a while,” Stacy explained. “But we don’t really have anywhere to stay.”

Nick’s eyes widened. “Oh oh oh! You should stay with me! Then me and Lark can play all the time!”

Larkin gasped. “Mom, please? Pleeeaase?”

Stacy smiled, but it contained a hint of sadness. It had been a while since Larkin had so easily hit it off with a kid his age. “Well, I think Nick will have to ask his parents—”

“I can do that!” Nick squealed. He ran over to a nearby booth, selling bundles of yarn and what looked like other sewing or knitting supplies. The booth was being manned by a woman about Stacy’s age, with the same dark curls as Nick. “Mammy! Mammy! Maaaam!” Nick yelled, jumping up and down right by the woman.

“Hmm? What is it, pancake?” The woman asked, looking down and blinking slowly.

“Mammy, this is Larkin Allen and his mam!” Nick said, pointing back at Stacy and Larkin. “They’re gonna be stayin’ for a while. Can they stay with us, Mam? Please?”

The woman looked over at Stacy, giving her a quick once-over. Stacy waved. “Why’re you stayin’ in town, can I ask?” the woman asked in a flat tone.

“Oh! Uhhh…” Stacy tried not to squirm at the awkwardness that question raised. She wasn’t sure how much to say about the weird supernatural stuff that was following them, even if there was apparently weird supernatural stuff in the nearby woods. “My friend suggested it,” she finally decided on, pointing back towards her parked van where John and Mathew were having a chat. “He said this would be a...safe...place,” she said slowly.

“Mm-hmm.” The woman rubbed her eyes. “I see. Well, I s’pose that’s subjective, but if you insist. I’m Colleen. Colleen Iontach. And you are? And your friend?”

“Um, Stacy. Stacy Allen. My friend’s name is...John,” she settled on. “He’s over there with my other son Mathew.”

“Alright, Stacy. If you’re wantin’ t’stay, I’m not gonna stop you.” Colleen shrugged. “And might as well house ye for as long as that is.”

Nick and Larkin gave out a loud cheer, and immediately began buzzing with chatter.

“Oh. Thank you so much,” Stacy said. “Really. I tried to look up hotels, but—”

“There aren’t any nearby, yeah,” Colleen finished. She took a spiral notebook and pencil out of her pocket, scribbling something down and tearing off the page. “This is my address. Head down that street over there to get it. If Nick wants, you mind givin’ him a ride home?”

“Oh, no problem,” Stacy agreed, taking the paper. “Kids? Did you hear that?”

“Yeah, I’d love t’drive home with you!” Nick shouted. “I can tell you if you’re goin’ the wrong way!”

“Alright, let’s go then!” Stacy laughed.

Heading back to the car, Larkin and Nick rushed ahead, with Larkin introducing his new friend and his brother to each other. Stacy went more slowly, taking a moment to read the address.

“So I guess you found a place, then, huh?” John asked.

“Yep.” Stacy folded the paper and put it in her pocket. “We’re heading there now.”

“Great.” John watched the three kids interacting. He frowned. “I think I know...nevermind.”

“Hmm? Sorry, didn’t catch that,” Stacy said.

John shook his head. “Nevermind, just thought this kid looks familiar, but, you know, can’t be sure.”

“Huh. Well, isn’t it a possibility, if you’ve been here before?” Stacy prompted. “Maybe ask him if you’ve met.”

“Can’t,” John said shortly.

“...okay, then. Let’s, uh, go.” Stacy rounded around the car to the driver’s side, hopping inside. John just got stranger and stranger the longer she knew him. But there was a sadness that hovered around him, a sort of...grief, almost. So she wouldn’t be pushing it further or blaming him for sometimes seeming a bit odd.

* * * * * * * * * *

There was nothing extraordinary about the address Colleen had given her. It was a house just like all the others on the street, the only difference between it and them being a smudged chalk drawing on the sidewalk in front. Stacy guessed that was Nick’s work, probably done a day or two earlier.

As soon as the van pulled to a stop, Nick hopped out—a little before the car had completely stopped rolling, in fact. “C’mon, c’mon!” he shouted. “I’ll introduce you to Grandmam!” And without another word, he ran inside.

“Hey, wait up!” Larkin jumped out of the car as well and followed him.

Mathew stared out the car window. “So we’re really gonna stay with these people?” His tone was less than enthusiastic.

Stacy sighed. “Yes, Mat. For now, at least. Why? Is something wrong?”

Mathew shrugged. “No.” He climbed out of the van before Stacy could say anything else.

“...huh.” Stacy stared after him, biting her lip. He’d been pretty quiet on the drive here. Though she supposed there was a reason for that. After all, the last thing they’d seen right before leaving was a monster coming after them. That would be enough to freak anyone else. Larkin seemed fine, but maybe he was just repressing it...

“You okay?” John asked.

Stacy jumped, and tried to smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, just...thinking about the kids.”

“They’re good kids,” John said. He paused, and in a softer voice, added, “They’ll be alright.”

She didn’t respond, silently climbing out of the car and walking towards the house’s front door. After a moment, she heard the van door open and slam close as John followed her.

The inside of the house was as quaint as the outside. Wooden floors and walls papered in a design that looked fairly old. The furniture also looked old, not in that it was run down, but in that the style could’ve been taken out of the 1930’s. There was a huge fireplace, with a rocking chair nearby that Mathew had settled into, once again pulling his headphones on. A wide doorway led to a hallway, through which another arch showed the kitchen, and Nick and Larkin inside talking to someone.

“—and his mam—” Nick glanced over, catching sight of Stacy. “Oh! She’s right here!” He waved. “Hi Ms. Allen! Come meet Grandmam!”

Stacy wandered over and entered the kitchen. Nick was tugging on the skirt of a tall older woman, who had her gray hair pulled up in a bun. The old woman was standing at the kitchen counter, chopping carrots and other vegetables with a large knife. She stopped and looked up once Stacy entered the room. “Um, hello,” Stacy said, waving. “I hope you don’t mind us staying. I’m Stacy, this is Larkin—”

“Hi!” Larkin said.

“My other son, Mathew, is in the front room.” Stacy turned around to point behind her, and saw John standing in the doorway, staring at the old woman with wide eyes. “Oh. And, uh, this is my friend John.”

“Well nice t’meet ye,” the old woman said. “Don’ worry about stayin’ it’s no trouble. We often play inn to people passin’ by. The name’s Roisin Iontach. I see you’ve all met Nicolas, and must’ve met my daughter Colleen.” Roisin smiled warmly, then looked away from Stacy and over at John. She nodded. “Nice t’see ye again.”

John started, and made a strangled choking sound. “You...remember me?” His tone was shocked, but contained a strange hopeful note.

“Can’ remember your name, and I can’ recall your face,” Roisin said idly. “It took me a while to recognize the Evil Eye around ye, and then it came runnin’ back t’me.”

John stared at her, absolutely stunned. Stacy, confused, glanced in between the two of them. “Um...so you two know each other?” she asked, trying to keep up a pleasant tone.

Roisin returned to chopping vegetables. “I suppose we do. Now why don’t you all get your things set up in the guest bedroom? It shoul’ be large enough for all o’you.”

“Oh! Oh! I can show them!” Nick said, grabbing Larkin by the hand and running out. He grabbed Stacy’s hand as well as he passed. “C’mon!”

“Ah! Alright, alright, slow down!” Stacy found herself being pulled down a hallway towards a set of stairs. She glanced back behind her to see John still standing there, frozen, staring at Roisin with a strange expression that she thought might be awe.

* * * * * * * * * *

Things settled into a routine fairly quickly. Stacy and the kids stayed in the guest bedroom of the Iontach house, while John returned to his tent, which he’d set up on a small patch of grass behind the house that wasn’t big enough to be called a yard. The Iontach family seemed friendly, but Stacy was still a bit wary. Of course Larkin seemed happy to hang out with Nick. The two of them made an energetic pair, running around the house and nearby area while Nick showed Larkin everything. Colleen didn’t seem to be home often. She was either at work or running that booth in the town square, which apparently served as an additional source of income. As far as Stacy could tell, Colleen was the only parent in the house; there wasn’t a Mr. Iontach anywhere to be seen.

Roisin sometimes seemed a bit...odd. In a way that couldn’t be explained by age. Stacy couldn’t forget that small interaction the older woman had with John. She kept trying to find the time, or the nerve, to ask Roisin what that was about, what she meant by the Evil Eye. But every time, her anxiety got the better of her. She tried asking John about it, but of course, he refused to say anything.

And besides, Stacy thought there might be something else she had to devote her attention to. Mathew had been quiet ever since arriving in town a few days ago. Very quiet. All he seemed to do was mope around in the guest bedroom listening to music. True, he did that before, but not nearly as often. She was starting to get concerned.

About four days after they’d settled in to stay with the Iontachs, Stacy headed up to the guest bedroom, finding the door closed. She knocked on the solid wood gently. “Hello? Anyone there?” There was no answer, but she knew Mathew was inside, so she pushed open the door and peered inside.

Mathew was lying on the queen-sized bed he’d been sharing with Larkin recently, staring at the ceiling. He was wearing his headphones, but Stacy knew he could still hear her.

She quietly walked in, stopping next to the bed. “Mind if I sit here, Mat?” She waited for Mathew to shrug in response before sitting down on the edge of the bed. The room was quiet for a bit. “Do you want to talk about anything?” she finally asked gently.

Mathew exhaled slowly. He blinked. “Mom,” he finally said. “Are we fucked?”

Stacy made a strangled choking noise. “M-Mathew, I’ve told you, that word isn’t allowed until you’re fifteen. But, um, anyway. What do you mean by that?”

He sighed, and reached up to rub his eyes. “I mean...there was that ghost...thing...in the first house we moved to. That made us move again. Then there was that thing pretending to be your friend. That made us move here. Are we just...just going to have...things...coming after us forever?” His voice went very quiet on that last question.

“Oh, honey,” Stacy said. “No, don’t worry. We’re going to be safe here.”

“But there’s something in the woods,” Mathew whispered, finally looking over at her. “Larkin saw it on our drive here. And John knows about it. And I think everyone here knows about it.”

“Well…” Stacy hesitated. “It’ll be fine as long as we don’t go in the forest, yeah? I think it’s stuck there.”

Mathew sighed again, and looked away.

“...Look.” Stacy scooted closer. “I know, this whole thing is...scary. It’s very scary. And honestly, it still feels kind of unreal. But we’re going to be alright, okay?”

“You don’t know that,” Mathew muttered.

“You’re right, I don’t.” She inched closer still. “But I do know that we’re one smart, brave family. We’ve been through a lot so far, and we can weather through more.” She gave him a small smile. “We’re gonna be okay. And I’ll make sure you and Larkin are safe, no matter what. I promise.”

A pause. Then: “Thanks, Mom,” Mathew said quietly. He was blinking furiously, eyes welling up.

“Is there anything I can do for you now? A snack or anything?”

“Nah, just tell me when dinner’s ready.”

“Will do, Mr. Mattykins.”

Mathew laughed a bit. “Mom, I’m not five.”

“I know, I know,” Stacy relented, grinning. “I just had to. I’ll see you later, okay?” She stood up, and headed out, leaving the door open. Mathew didn’t ask for her to close it.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next day, Colleen approached her while she was sitting in the living room, reading a book she’d picked up from a local shop. “Hey Stacy?” she asked. “I hate t’do this, but can you watch the yarn booth today? I just got called in for a shift.”

“Hmm? Oh. Um, sure.” Stacy slid a bookmark in between the pages. “Um, where do you work, by the way?”

“Hospital,” Colleen said absentmindedly. “Simon used t’work there, too.”

“Oh. Your...husband?” Stacy asked carefully.

“Yeah. He’s not with us anymore.”

“Yeah…” Stacy looked down. “My husband isn’t, either.”

“I figured.” Colleen’s tone was very dull, as it usually was. “How’d it happen?”

Stacy squeezed her fingers into fists. “Car crash. Drowsy driving.” Even though it was almost two years ago, she felt a lump in her throat. “Um...what about Simon?”

Colleen looked her dead in the eye. “He went into the woods a month before.” She fell quiet. Stacy shifted uneasily in her seat. “He was from out o’town. Like you guys. Anyway, the booth is pretty simple. Here’re all the things ye need.” She pointed to a couple canvas bags on the ground. “Set it up. Casheirin’ should be easy. Good luck.” And she disappeared out the front door.

“Oh. Uh...okay,” Stacy said, hurriedly standing up.

The booth was pretty simple to run. If a customer stopped by, be friendly. If they asked her who she was, she explained that she was new and staying with the Iontachs. Things proceeded quickly from there, and she closed up around seven, gathering up everything unsold and replacing it in the bags to drive back to the house.

Just as she was finishing packing up, she felt a chill run along the back of her neck. Immediately, she stopped, and looked around. The town square was pretty empty. And of the few people here, none of them were looking at her. But she could see, from a distance, a view of the forest, visible due to it being up on higher ground. Squinting at the forest, she took out her phone and opened up the camera, using it to zoom in on the trees. It was still hard to see anything, so far away. But...for a moment, maybe something moved. Maybe. She couldn’t be sure.

Shivering, she quickly headed back.

* * * * * * * * * *

Seven o’clock was already quite dark at this time of year. When she arrived back at the house, parking on the street and heading in, the entire street was bathed in shadows. Stacy hurried inside.

Roisin was sitting in the rocking chair, knitting and generally being the perfect image of a kindly old grandmother. She looked up when Stacy entered, and smiled. “Ah. Welcome back, Ms. Allen. How was the booth?”

“Um, good.” Stacy set the bags down, and was about to head up to the guest bedroom to look for the kids, but she hesitated and turned back. “Hey, um, Roisin. I have a question.”

“Hmm? Ask away, then.”

“So, this morning, Colleen said her husband, Simon, was from out of town,” Stacy said slowly. “And also, I think you said she was your daughter? But I was wondering about your last name, then. You’re all Iontachs, but how’s that possible? Did Colleen go back to her maiden name after her husband...passed?”

“Oh no, Simon took our name,” Roisin said cheerfully.

Stacy blinked. “Ah. So...is that a tradition here? Taking the wife’s last name?”

“No, not exactly,” Roisin continued, pausing in her knitting and focusing on Stacy. “The Iontach name is a powerful one, Ms. Allen. It is old, great, and magnificent. We’re descended from the magicians who settled this valley long, long ago. The only ones left who’re descended from them. So we know t’carry the name on. In marryin’, not takin’ the Iontach name is a, oh, how’s it said...a dealbreaker.”

“Oh. There are...magicians,” Stacy said slowly.

Roisin looked back at her knitting, needles clacking. “Well, perhaps not how ye think. Not like the wizards in fantasy, more like the witches that still exist today. Ye heard of Wicca?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Exactly. Same sort o’practices.”

“Oh.” Stacy hovered awkwardly for a moment. “So...would being descended from witches or whatever be part of the reason why you, uh...made that comment about an Evil Eye to John on our first day here?”

“That poor young man,” Roisin said, shaking her head. “Anyone wit’ the proper gift can tell just by lookin’ at him, yes?”

“Uh...I guess?” Stacy laughed nervously. “I mean, I have no idea what you’re talking about—”

“You don’?!” Roisin dropped her knitting and stared at Stacy in utter shock. “Oh jesus, I thought you knew. Your son, the one friends with Nick—I s’pose he gets his sight from his father, then.”

“Wait, what did you say?” That phrase was somehow...familiar. Hadn’t she heard someone say that recently?

“Those of us who know the truth instinct’vely,” Roisin explained. “We can see past the lies and illusions the creatures of the world keep up. I assumed Larkin—nice, strong name, by the way—I assumed he got his sight from you. After all, you are runnin’ here to stay away from one o’them, aren’ you?” The old woman squinted, giving Stacy a once-over. “Yes, ye’ve been marked, same as your friend. Well, not exactly the same. Yours is older, smelling of dust. An’ the hold on ye is quite a bit weaker. Quite a bit.”

“I—I—uh—I mean, yeah but—not—” Stacy stammered. All this new information was a bit much. Larkin could see these things? Her instinct was to balk at the notion, but then she remembered back in the house in Bronainise. Larkin had been the first one to see the thing in there, and had apparently been friendly with it...and he realized right away what Jaqueline was...but really? He got that from his father? “I mean...my husband was really just an average guy. A bit of a dork, but funny and energetic. He couldn’t have been involved in all...this.”

Roisin had begun knitting again. “Well, it’s not like he’d have told ye he coul’ see monsters, woul’ he? Or maybe he didn’ know, himself.” She shrugged. “Anyway, it’s not like it’s of any matter in the end. You’ve been marked all the same, an’ now you’re all here t’hide.”

“Okay, so, one last question,” Stacy hurried to say. “What...what do you mean by marked? Because that...doesn’t sound good.”

Roisin didn’t answer for a long while. She simply sat there, clacking her needles away. The silence went on for so long that Stacy sighed, and turned to leave. She was in the doorway when Roisin called out, “It means one o’them is int’rested in ye. For whatever end purpose. I’m sure you already know what yours is.”

Stacy hesitated in the doorway, then quickly left.

* * * * * * * * * *

She woke up in the middle of the night, gasping for air, a cold sweat covering her. Was there a pressure on her chest? Had the last few months been a dream? Was she back in that house? Her eyes were closed tight, but she had to know. She had to be sure. Dread poured into her stomach as she cracked open her eyelids—

There was no thing there. No thing staring at her from the foot of the small bed she was sleeping in. No thing lurking in the corner of the Iontachs’ guest bedroom. She let out an audible sigh of relief.

It was fine. There were no whispers hovering in between awake and asleep. In fact, there was no sound at all. The room was very quiet. Honestly, it was a bit odd. Usually Mathew snored a bit. Stacy rolled over to look at the larger bed on the other side of the room where the boys appeared to be fast asleep. Appeared to be. They could always be pretending. In which case, she’d better let them get back to sleep.

She started to roll back over, but paused. A weird something had glinted in the corner of her vision. Her eyes darted around the room, now on high alert as her heartbeat rose. Ah, there it was. A small bit of spider thread in the corner of the window, reflecting the moonlight outside, just visible through a gap in the curtains. See? It was fine. No need to worry.

Stacy closed her eyes and firmly told herself to go back to sleep. Even if dreamland wasn’t so appealing, she needed the rest.

The curtains fluttered in a silent wind.

* * * * * * * * * *

It rained a couple days later. It drizzled all through the cold morning, keeping everyone inside. Roisin showed Stacy how to make “real hot chocolate” (in her own words) on the stove for the three boys stuck in the house. Colleen still went to work; it seemed she was absent most days, leaving the house wearing blue scrubs and returning late at night. Larkin and Nick took a few old board games out of the closet, and managed to convince Mathew to join them.

The rain slowed into occasional droplets sometime in the afternoon, and Stacy grabbed her coat and headed out to the small patch of grass out back where John had pitched his tent. She hadn’t been seeing much of him lately, and she was a bit worried.

She hit on the side of the tent like she was knocking on a door, droplets of water getting her hands wet. Inside, John cried out. Movement rustled, and the tent entrance unzipped. “Can you please, please not do that?” John asked, sticking his head out.

“Sorry,” Stacy said, taking a step back. “Just wanted to, uh, see what was up with you. With the rain and everything, maybe it got wet out here.”

John shrugged. “I’ve been in worse weather. And with worse shelter than a tent, too.”

“Are you sure?” Stacy prodded. “Because you can come in the house, you know.” She hesitated. “I mean, unless you don’t like them or something. I’m not gonna make you.”

“They’re fine,” John said, rolling his eye.

“I mean, I just—Roisin knows you, so you’ve clearly met them before, I wouldn’t want to drag up old wounds or anything.”

“Stace, if you want to ask me what the deal is between me and the old lady, just ask, you don’t have to dodge around the subject.”

“...uhhh,” Stacy felt her face grow red with embarrassment. “So...you’ve been in this town before.”

“Foraois Hollow, yeah.” John scooted up close to the tent entrance and crossed his legs. “How do you think I knew it would be a safe place to hide from the thing in the red hood?”

“And there’s that, too,” Stacy added. “Don’t get me wrong, I am really glad we haven’t seen...that...in the week and a half we’ve been here. But why?” She glanced through the rainy skies, and pointed at the trees of the forest, up on the hills. The fog still lingered around their trunks. “Because of that? Is the forest, like, alive or something?”

“Or something,” John said casually. “Look, just understand that it’s really territorial, but it doesn’t come into town, so you’re good.”

“I—okay.” Stacy decided to drop it there for now. There was time to talk about that later. “Did you, uh, stay with these guys the first time you passed through, too? Or did you just know Roisin? Actually it’s probably that, otherwise Nick or Colleen would’ve said something—”

“No, I knew them,” John said. He was looking down at his lap, fingers picking at a hole in the knee of his jeans. “Didn’t know any of them really well, but they were nice enough to let me stay a few nights. Couldn’t stay long, cause this was before—” He suddenly stopped. “I-I wasn’t expecting any of them to recognize me. The fact that Roisin did is a miracle.”

“She said you were marked by this Evil Eye thing,” Stacy said, prodding gently. “That she remembered that. Apparently she has some sort of weird sight. Maybe the others do, too, but maybe they’re not as practiced at it?” It was a flimsy reason for why the other two Iontachs couldn’t remember John, but it was all she could come up with.

“She said that before, too,” John muttered, pulling a thread loose.

“Uh-huh.” Stacy nodded. “Um...I talked to her a few days ago, and she said that…” She hesitated to say it, but forced it out. “That I was somehow...marked...too. A-and that meant that something was...interested in me.” John didn’t say anything, still looking down. “It—it’s gotta be that thing from the house, right? Jaqueline—or that thing, whatever, it said as much. I mean, that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? Is...is that why you came here, before? To get away from whatever...it was that...?” She trailed off, realizing she was basically thinking out loud and not expecting an answer.

To be fair, John didn’t really seem that ready to give her an answer either way. He hadn’t moved, still pulling at the loose thread. Looking closer, his hands were now shaking. John took a deep breath, and looked up at Stacy. “Look...there’s not much to say about it. I was...I was on the run, came across a tiny town, and...found something in the forest. Found there were more...of them. Out there.” His voice lowered, barely audible. “And even they don’t want anything to do with me.”

Stacy was quiet. “I’m...sorry, John.”

“My name is ìŗĆºŷĻ.”

“Uh...sorry, I couldn’t catch that.”

“Nevermind.” John’s voice was heavy and tired. He backed up into the tent. “Thanks for saying I could come in. But I’ll just...just stay out here. See you later.” And he zipped the entrance back up.

“Um...see you.” Stacy turned and walked away, footsteps splashing in a puddle that marked the boundary of the grass and the paved stones that covered the rest of the house's “backyard.” She looked around at the rain pattering on the ground. Or...actually, there was no pattering to be heard. No splashing, either. Stacy blinked, and reached up to clear her ears. Soon after she did, the normal sounds of the world returned. That was...odd. Very odd. Was her hearing going? If it was, it was probably the result of stress. Or...was it something else?

She spun in a circle, looking for anything weird. But everything looked the same. Nobody was out except for her, not even driving about. Nothing was moving within eyeshot. Still, she felt uneasy as she headed back inside the house.

On the house’s roof, a loose shingle fell to the ground as if disturbed, yet it made no sound as it crashed and broke.

* * * * * * * * * *

The rain stopped by nightfall, leaving slick puddles that reflected the yellow light from the street lanterns. It was about ten o’clock. And Stacy was starting to grow a bit...concerned.

In the time she and the boys had been staying with the Iontachs, Colleen had always been home by nine thirty on the days she worked. It was possible that she’d had to stay late. Didn’t nurses often have to do that? But something didn’t sit right with that.

Larkin and Nick had gone to sleep, Mathew was hanging out in the house’s office, and Roisin was in her bedroom, getting ready to go to bed as well. Stacy was alone in the living room, playing a mindless bubble game on her phone and glancing at the front window every so often. Look back at the phone. Then at the window. At the phone. Then the window. Phone. Window. Phone. Wind—

Stacy gasped, almost dropping her phone. Colleen was staring at her through the window. She waved. Stacy waved back. And Colleen disappeared, opening the front door. “Stacy?” she asked.

“Y-yeah.” Stacy tried to laugh. “You scared me, jeez.”

“Sorry.” Colleen smiled easily. “Didn’t mean to.” She paused. “Hey, this might sound a bit strange, but I think I’ve found something you need to see.”

“Um...yeah, it does sound a bit strange,” Stacy said slowly. “What is it?”

Colleen glanced over her shoulder. “Well, I think it has to do with why you’re here. What you’re running from. But I need you to see it to make sure.”

Stacy perked up, shoving her phone in her pocket. “Okay, but what is it?”

Colleen hissed through her teeth. “Difficult to explain. And that’s saying something, considering what I’ve seen. It’s...dusty. Strange in this rain, isn’t it? Smells odd, too.”

Dust. Stacy stiffened. “Hang on a second, I need to get something.” She stood up and quickly headed upstairs, sneaking into the guest bedroom and doing her best trying not to wake up Larkin, who should be fast asleep by this time. She opened the dresser drawer and pulled out her handgun and holster, putting it on. Glancing over at Larkin, she sneaked back out and headed down.

“A gun?” Colleen was standing in the exact same place as before. “Didn’t know you had one. Isn’t that a bit unsafe, with the children and all?”

“At this point, it’s less safe to have one than to not,” Stacy muttered, pulling on her coat. “Alright. Lead the way.”

Colleen smiled, a quick movement like someone was pulling on her face to make it. “Great. We’d better be careful, though, it’s a bit...odd. These things could be dangerous, but I’m sure you know that.” She turned and walked quickly out the door, Stacy hurrying to follow her.

“It’s some ways away,” Colleen said, briskly walking down the street. “Came across it on my walk home.”

“Okay. A-anything else?” Stacy asked, panting a bit. Colleen was really walking quick. She didn’t know she was that fast. “Like...what size is it?”

“Oh, about yea big,” Colleen pantomimed a box. “The size of a human head, I’d say.”

Stacy nodded, and fell silent as the two of them turned a street corner. She didn’t exactly appreciate that comparison; it made her imagine all sort of gruesome things this surprise could be.

“Just a block or two farther.” Colleen sped up more. Stacy broke into a light jog. How was Colleen simply walking this fast?

They rounded another corner, and Stacy immediately noticed something on the sidewalk, sitting in a circle of light caused by the street lanterns. “That’s a box,” she muttered. “It was difficult to explain that it was a box?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Colleen said She’d stopped walking, and now looked reluctant to get closer.

Stacy took a deep breath, and walked up to the box. It was a cardboard cube, covered in the gray dust that had plagued the house in Bronainise. A sharp, alcoholic smell was coming from it. She reached out, and stopped. Instead she grabbed her gun and leaned forward, prodding the cardboard lid with the end of the barrel. Nothing seemed to happen, but she still didn’t touch it. Carefully, she used the gun to push the lid off the box, dust falling to the wet ground, but not sticking. She leaned forward and peered into the now open box. And frowned. “There’s...nothing inside.”

“Oh? How odd,” Colleen said from her spot at the edge of the light.

Standing up, Stacy looked around. There wasn’t anyone nearby. Or anything, really. And she couldn’t hear anything either. Which...actually, that was kind of strange. Her eyes locked on a tree in the distance, leaves blowing in the wind. And she could feel the same breeze against her face. But she couldn’t hear it. She turned her attention to Colleen, who was standing almost perfectly still. “Have you seen anything...weird around?” she asked slowly. “Besides the box.”

“Not a thing,” Colleen said, shaking her head. “Why? Anything in particular you’re concerned about?”

“Uh...not really.” She was just noticing it now, but Colleen was speaking a bit...differently. Was it just her, or had her accent faded? “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Colleen asked politely.

“I...exactly. I don’t hear anything.” Stacy paused. “Wait a second.” She tilted her head. There were faint strains of...was that music? Where was it coming from? She tightened her hold on the gun as she tried to find the source of it, turning around. She stopped turning once she realized it...was it coming from Colleen? Stacy froze.

Colleen tilted her head. “Is something wrong, Stacy?”

“Um...so, h-how’d you know that this box was related to me?” Stacy asked slowly.

“Oh, I had a feeling,” Colleen said dismissively. “Misery has this feel to it, you understand?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “What did you say?” she asked breathlessly.

“You heard me.”

Misery loves company. That was what the thing in the red hood had said. And there was something about the way it was said...and the way Colleen said it now...Stacy stepped back and squinted at Colleen. No, it was definitely her. Her appearance wasn’t fading, details turning to vague impressions of a face like Jaqueline’s had. But she wasn’t acting normal either. Standing too stiff. Stacy took another step back.

“You’re looking a bit nervous, Stacy,” Colleen took a step forward. “Maybe you should calm down. Take a break.”

Stacy started to raise her gun, but stopped halfway through. This still was Colleen, wasn’t it? She couldn’t shoot her.

As if she knew this, Colleen smiled. “No need to be harsh. After all, doesn’t she have a kid? A gunshot would put her ability to provide for him at risk.”

Stacy took a few more steps back, chills running down her spine as she managed to point the gun. But still, she couldn’t do it.

Something glinted in the street light. Stacy’s eyes darted towards it, looking for it again. She couldn’t quite grasp it, but it was hovering above Colleen. What was it? Her mind went to some sort of thread, but that was impossible. Except that...it certainly appeared to be some sort of string, rising up into the air, heading toward the street lantern above her head.

Another set of chills ran down her skin. With trepidation, she looked up.

Her eyes widened as she tried to scream, but no sound came out.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Iontachs didn’t have much in the way of computer tech. Mathew figured John would like that; he seemed to have a thing about that. But it meant that the only place Mathew could watch YouTube was on the clunky desktop in the office. He sat in the tall desk chair and kicked his feet, headphones plugged into the speakers as he looked for a new let’s play to watch.

The door opened, and Mathew jumped and spun around. Stacy was peeking into the room. “Uh, hi Mom,” he said.

“Hey Mathew,” she said cheerfully. “Do you know where your brother is?”

“Uh...isn’t he still in bed?” Larkin wasn’t really the type to try and stay up late. Though maybe that would change when he got older.

“Ohhh.” Stacy nodded. “That would make sense.” She backed up, then reappeared in the doorway. “While I go get him, do you mind going out to the car?”

Mathew slowly unplugged his headphones. “Um. Are we going somewhere?”

“Yes,” Stacy sighed. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to. You know why, yes?” She paused meaningfully. “Anyway, get ready and go on out. I’ll be there soon with your brother.” She backed up and disappeared for good.

Mathew slung his headphones around his neck and pushed the desk chair backwards. He grabbed his phone and charger from where it was plugged into the walk, checking to see if it was full. It was, so he put it and the cord into his hoodie pocket. He swiveled around, ready to stand up. And then he didn’t. His heart had sped up, stomach starting to squirm. What happened to cause this? Were those monsters back? He physically shuddered as an image of the thing in the red hood twisting its head into place flashed in his mind. If that was the case, they’d better hurry.

He went right out to the car, climbing into the back seat of the unlocked van. Staring out the window at the rainy street, his eyes wandered over to the alley that would lead around the back of the house. Was John going to come with them? He did the last two times. But then again, he wasn’t really involved with this, was he? Well, a little bit. He did save them from the thing in the last city. But the thing hadn’t been...after him. So maybe there was no reason for him to come with. Still, Mathew thought John was kind of cool...you know, for an adult.

The door opened again, and Stacy placed a sleeping Larkin, wearing pajamas borrowed from Nick, in the other seat. “There we are. Oh, we need the buckle, don’t we?” She slid the seatbelt across him.

“You didn’t wake him up?” Mathew asked.

“No no, let’s let him sleep.” Stacy closed the door and walked around to the driver’s seat, quickly climbing in and starting the car. “And here we go.”

The van rolled down the dark streets of the city, tracing the same route it had taken on the way into town two weeks ago. Mathew stared idly out the window as they passed beyond the town limits and up into the forest. Mist curled across the ground, forming strange shapes. He shifted uneasily. This place was freaky. Wasn’t fog supposed to disappear after rain? Maybe he was getting that wrong. In any case, this just felt weird. He glanced over at Larkin, still fast asleep. Quietly, he leaned over and shook his shoulder gently.

After a bit of this, Larkin stirred. He blinked open his eyes and looked around, obvious confusion causing his face to scrunch up. “Mat,” he whispered, leaning closer. “What’s goin’ on?”

“I don’t know,” Mathew whispered back. “Mom said that we had to leave and we all got in the car and drove away.”

“Aw.” Larkin’s face fell. “What happened?”

“Dunno.” Mathew shrugged. “Ask Mom.”

Larkin leaned around the seat of the car to look at Stacy in the driver’s seat. She didn’t look back at him, eyes fixed on the road. Larkin’s eyes widened a bit, and he scooted a bit closer to Mathew. “We should get out of the car,” he whispered.

“What? Why?” Mathew asked.

“Mom’s being...weird,” Larkin said, glancing back over at her.

“You’re weird,” Mathew muttered.

“No you.”

The two of them straightened. Mathew looked out the window again. Okay, if they wanted to get out of the car, then obviously they needed it to stop first. He got an idea. Doubling over, he groaned and clutched his stomach. “Mooom, I think I’m getting carsick.”

Stacy didn’t even look at him.

“Mom?” Mathew leaned forward. “Mom, I’m gonna throw up.”

Still no response. A sudden chill ran down Mathew’s spine. He looked over at Larkin in a silent plea for help. Larkin thought about it. Then he unbuckled his seat belt, stood up, and screamed right into Stacy’s ear. Yet she didn’t even flinch.

“Shit,” Mathew said under his breath.

“Don’t say that, it’s a bad word,” Larkin said automatically, then moved on. “What d’we do?”

Mathew glanced out the window again, then turned his attention to the door itself. It wasn’t locked...and Mathew knew that their van didn’t have a child lock...if it was necessary, he could technically...

Deciding it was necessary, Mathew undid his seatbelt, pushed the car door open, and jumped out.

Luckily, the car wasn’t going too fast. But he still fell hard, skin scraping on the cracked asphalt and bruising his bones on the ground as he tumbled for a good while. Eventually he lost momentum, staring up at the branches overhead and trying to get his breath. “Owww…” he groaned. Well, he would never be doing that again.

He sat up, and looked down the road, seeing the red tail lights of the car even through the mist. Those lights were moving farther away, but then they stopped. The car started to back up, but then one of the doors opened and Larkin darted out, running farther into the forest. The car braked suddenly, and Stacy jumped out. “Get back here!” she shrieked, running after Larkin. Mathew watched this happen, feeling a bit disconnected to the situation. It was like something from a movie, or a cutscene from a game. Not quite real.

And then he saw a shadow move. His eyes naturally glanced toward it—up toward it. He let out a soft gasp as he realized the shadow was on top of the car. Had it been there the whole time?!

The shadow stopped, and he had the sudden feeling it was looking at him. Mathew scrambled to his feet and ran, heading deeper into the woods.

Dark trees passed by him, almost indistinguishable from the shadows coating the forest floor. Mathew tripped over roots and undergrowth that was invisible beneath the white mist. Branches caught on his hoodie, but he kept running, heart pounding. What was happening?! What was wrong with his mom?! What was up with that shadow?

After a while, he realized he had no idea where he was, and he slowed to a stop. Panting, he tried to look for anything distinguishable, but everything was darkness and trees and mist. His mind immediately went to wolves and bears in the woods. He’d have no idea they were coming. And then he remembered that shadow, and the things he’d heard in town about the forest, and his stomach started to sink. What was he doing out here? What was he thinking?

And then the image of Larkin running in the other direction returned to him, and he felt a sudden blast of cold fear seep into his bones. He’d left Larkin in these woods. Alone, with who knows what else here. Immediately, he turned around, pivoting on his feet to try and keep track of where he was, and headed back. Eventually he’d reach the road, right?

No, apparently not.

He’d been stumbling in the dark, trying to keep a straight line for what felt like twenty minutes, and he finally had to conclude that he was lost. Frustrated, he punched the nearest tree, then cried out. This was the worst. It was an actual nightmare. He hurt all over from jumping out of the car, he was lost in a strange forest, his mom was acting weird and scary, and Larkin was somewhere out there alone. Tears started to choke his throat. He wiped his eyes.

“Are you lost?”

Mathew cried out, flailing for a moment before pressing his back to the tree he’d punched. He looked around, eyes straining to see anything. The only thing that was really visible in the pitch-black forest was the fog...which was actually a little strange. His vision traced the patterns in the mist, watching it swirl. It seemed to be swirling around a particular spot. No...there was something there that it was spinning around.

“You look a little lost.”

Mathew jumped again. The voice was coming from the thing in the middle of the swirling mist. He looked up, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. If he had to guess, it looked like a person. It was vaguely shaped that way, at least. “Um...maybe?” he said, voice small.

“You’re just a child. What are you doing in the woods?” The person-shaped shadow walked closer, looking like it was gliding across the ground.

“Uh...I’m...my mom...” Mathew tilted his head back to look at the shadow’s face. That head wasn’t exactly person-shaped. It looked more like an animal...but it might’ve been a mask. “She, uh...drove us out here, and, uh...”

“‘Us’?” The shadow prompted.

“My brother and me,” Mathew said. Was it weird that he wasn’t freaking out? He was a bit on edge, but shouldn’t he be panicking more? “He...ran the other way, I’m—”

“You’re looking for your brother.” The shadow flashed a smile. No, it had been smiling the whole time. “I can help you find him, if you’d like.”

Mathew hesitated. Little alarm bells were going off in his head, and he could practically hear his mom and dad’s voices reminding him to never go anywhere with a stranger. “I don’t need help. But, uh, if you were to say where he is out loud, I, um...wouldn’t stop you.”

“Hmm?” The shadow tilted its head. “I think you do need help.”

“No, I-I’m fine,” Mathew said, voice cracking. He started to edge around the tree. “I’m going to, uh, go now.” And he pushed away, quickly walking in the other direction. The hairs on the back of his neck told him the shadow was following him.

“It’s very dark out, isn’t it?” The mist was swirling faster, rising from around Mathew’s knees to around his hips.

“Uh...yeah,” Mathew said.

“And you’re going in the wrong direction. Your brother went north.”

Mathew stopped walking. “How do you know that?”

Something grabbed the back of his hoodie and started pulling. “We should head this way.”

“H-hey!” Mathew squirmed, reaching back to try and loosen the grip. But his hands felt nothing but the mist. “Let go!”

“Why?”

“I don’t—I don’t want to be pulled!”

“You want to find your brother, though.”

“Yes, but don’t—I’ll just follow you, okay? Let go!”

“Sounds perfect.” The thing let go of him, and he whirled around to see it standing very close, looking down at him and grinning. The mist was barely moving now, dropping down to hover around his knees. “Come on. This way.” The person-shaped thing turned and headed to the left, leaving the mist agitated in its wake. Mathew hesitated. He took a single step in the other direction, but the mist rose into the air, tendrils reaching out. It felt like it shoved him away. Mathew gasped gently, then hurried to follow the thing. Clearly there wasn’t much of an option here.

The forest was oddly quiet. He could hear his footsteps, rustling the undergrowth. But nothing else. And he couldn’t see anything either. “Um...is there any way there could be...light?” he asked tentatively. Maybe asking the strange forest creature questions was a bad idea, but he was tired of stumbling around.

“You tend to carry lights in your pockets now.” Luckily, the thing didn’t seem to mind.

“What? Oh.” Mathew reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his phone, switching on the flashlight. A circle of white light lit up the forest, bouncing off the mist. He scanned the nearby surroundings, and—

“Aaak!” He jumped back, fumbling to keep hold of his phone. Once it was securely in his grasp, he pressed a hand to his chest to try and calm down. “Mom?!”

Stacy looked a bit of a mess, a few stray leaves in her hair and dirt on her coat like she’d fallen down. And there seemed to be the faint sound of...music coming from nearby. Staticky, tinny music, like it was on an old record. Instead of acknowledging her son at all, she looked at the shadow with wide eyes. “I’ve lost the smaller one.”

“Really?” Though the thing didn’t stop grinning, it sounded a bit disappointed.

“She isn’t fast!” Stacy protested. “Or at least not faster than the smaller one!”

“You should’ve dropped her and grabbed him yourself.”

“What’s done is done,” Stacy said dismissively. “Where did he go?”

“This way,” the shadow said, a bit smugly.

“What’s going on?!” Mathew asked, voice rising. He tried to point the flashlight beam at the shadow, but barely caught the edge of something—fabric or fur or more mist, he couldn’t tell—before it started off in another direction. “Mom? What’s happening? Where’s Larkin?”

Stacy didn’t answer him, following after the shadow. Mathew stared after her. Tears started to well in his eyes, and he blinked them away. This was not his mom. But he still followed after her, hoping that if they found Larkin, he’d be able to...he didn’t know exactly what. Do something.

They walked for a few minutes more. Mathew kept scanning the forest with his flashlight, lighting up the mist around them. The strange music seemed to now be coming from all around, a bit louder now. Until suddenly, the shadow stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Stacy asked.

“I was too focused on the boy,” the shadow said, its voice low. “I didn’t notice it.”

“Notice what?” Stacy said impatiently.

“Uh, it’s probably talking about me,” a familiar voice said. Mathew gasped, and spun around. His flashlight beam landed on two figures, one taller and one small. “Oh jesus, be careful with that,” John said, blinking in the sudden light. “You could blind someone.”

“John? What’re you doing here?” Mathew asked. He tilted his light down a bit, now looking at the smaller figure standing half-behind the man. “Hey, Lark.”

“Hi Mat,” Larkin said, waving a bit. He glanced at Stacy and the person-shaped shadow, and shrank back a bit.

“You shouldn’t be here,” the shadow hissed.

“Yet here I am,” John said casually. “Anyway, Mathew, I’m here because I noticed your mom leaving for some reason. Then coming back and grabbing you two, without saying anything to anyone. Not like her, y’know? Then I noticed the reason for such out-of-character behavior.” He glanced over at Stacy, then moved his attention upwards, into the branches of the trees above her. “You shouldn’t be here either. Isn’t Forest Guardian here supposed to be, like, super territorial?”

“There are exceptions to every rule,” Stacy said plainly.

“Get out,” the shadow snarled, still glaring at John.

“Fucking make me, why don’t you?!” John snapped. “Go ahead. Throw me out of here with your freaky fog.” He waved at the nearby mist, which twisted out of the way. It was like it didn’t want to touch him. No, it definitely didn’t want to touch him. There was a small circle of clear area around him, free of mist. Larkin was standing barely inside the clearing, holding onto John’s jacket like it was a lifeline. “No, you can’t. Cause you’re afraid. That’s the one fucking perk I get with this, and you can bet your ass I’m gonna use it. If you have one.” He laughed, then looked back over at Mathew. “Are you alright?” He asked, voice softer.

“Uh...yeah,” Mathew said. “Just...confused. And freaked out.”

“You jumped out of a car,” Larkin reminded him.

“I mean, yeah, but I got better—”

Stacy growled, and lunged forward, grabbing Mathew by the arm. He yelped, and tried to push her away, but her grip was iron. “We can just get the two of them, right?” she said in a suddenly raspy voice.

“It wants all three,” the shadow said.

“Can’t we grab the smaller one after dropping off these two?”

“Oh my god, this is still to do with the thing in the house, isn’t it?!” John kicked the ground. “Jesus! How far is it gonna follow her? Is it even really worth it at that point?”

“Oh, you would know, wouldn’t you?” the shadow drawled.

“Let go!” Mathew screeched, now slapping Stacy’s arm with his free hand. He tried kicking her shin, but Stacy might as well have been a statue. “Mom! What’s wrong with you?! You’re—you’re scaring me!”

Stacy blinked. Something in her eyes seemed to flicker, and her grip loosened. Just a bit, but Mathew managed to pull away, falling onto the ground. He was already running before he even got to his feet, and soon was standing next to Larkin and John. Larkin immediately switched to clinging to him.

“What was that?!” The shadow hissed, now looking into the branches above Stacy’s head.

“Some strong emotion,” Stacy said in a strangled voice. She was shaking slightly. The still-playing music was slower, a bit distorted. “I have it under control now.”

John stepped out in front of the two younger boys. “No, no, we’re not doing this. You don’t have anyone under control. You’re going to let her go and they’re going to leave here all fine and happy.”

“Or what?” The shadow asked. The mist rose, reaching Larkin’s shoulders and Mathew’s waist. It spun in hypnotizing, agitated patterns. The music distorted further, now sounding hellish.

John hesitated, and said nothing. Mathew looked between him and Stacy. There had to be something they could do about this. Why was his mom acting like this? And why was everyone talking to the tree branches? Was there something up there? Curious, Mathew raised his phone, pointing the flashlight into the branches above Stacy’s head. “Holy shit!” He gasped, nearly dropping the phone.

It looked like a person. Sort of. More like something made to look like a person. With strings dangling from limbs and spirals where eyes should be. It was crouched in the tree branches, and as the light shined on it, it scurried over to another tree, the strings tangling and untangling. Stacy walked with it, always standing beneath it.

John’s eyes widened, and he turned to the boys, pulling them close. “Okay, I got an idea,” he whispered. “But you two need to run when I say to, alright? Go straight that way, eventually you’ll hit the road. And watch out for the mist, okay?”

Larkin nodded, but Mathew just gaped. “What?”

“Just do it, okay?” John hissed, turning around to face the shadow and Stacy. “Okay, so you’re hiding in the trees like a coward. Good to know.”

“Who said I was hiding?” Stacy hissed.

“Oh yeah, also you’re using someone else’s voice. Real brave there.”

The shadow snarled. “Not all of us are capable of the same feats, ĸø¹ŭ§. And not everything is as lucky as you are.”

“Yes, I’m very lucky,” John said darkly. “Which is why—run!”

Larkin caught on immediately, grabbing Mathew, still a bit confused, by the hand and running in the direction John had pointed earlier. Behind them they heard an animalistic scream, and the music rose in volume and speed. Mathew glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of John starting to climb a tree. Then he saw the shadow looking after them and he faced front again, picking up the pace.

Around them, the mist rose and thickened, covering both their heads. Breathing became difficult, like trying to breathe with your face buried in a pillow. They tripped over unseen obstacles on the forest floor, tree trunks coming out of nowhere to block their progress. Mathew gripped Larkin’s hand tight. They were still going straight, weren’t they? It was hard to tell. It felt like something was grabbing them—like there were hands in the mist, made of the mist, snatching at their clothes and yanking them off course. But the music was growing quieter, more distant. So they had to be making progress.

Suddenly, Mathew felt the forest floor beneath his feet turn to hard asphalt. The grip of the mist lessened, becoming a little less thick, though tendrils still wrapped around them to pull them back.

“Okay, the car has to be here somewhere, right?” Mathew panted.

“Look!” Larkin pointed to their right. Two yellowish lights were barely visible through the fog.

“Great, let’s go.” The two of them stumbled through the mist until the front of the van was visible. Mathew put his phone back in his pocket and put his hand on the car, walking around the side. “Here we are, front seat,” he muttered, pulling open the door to the passenger’s seat. “In you go.”

“Larkins first,” Larkin said cheerfully.

“It’s ‘ladies first,’ actually. I didn’t know you were a lady.”

“I could be. I’d be a very pretty lady.” Larkin hopped into the car and climbed over the seat into the back. “You wouldn’t be. You’d be too sad and weird.”

“Well you’d be too tiny and weird,” Mathew started climbing in as well. “Though I guess—” Something grabbed his ankle and he screamed. He looked behind him, but saw nothing except more mist, spinning and twisting. The thing around his ankle started pulling, and he grabbed the edge of the seat to brace himself. But it was persistent. He shook his leg and tried to pull himself in. Larkin gasped, and grabbed his arm, helping to pull him inside. They made slow progress, but he felt more things wrapping around his legs. “Let go of me!” He yelled, kicking his legs. With one final yank, he tumbled inside, and immediately turned around to slam the door shut.

“Oh my god,” Larkin whispered. “Are you okay, Mat?”

“Y-yeah, fine,” Mathew said, pressing a hand to his chest and feeling his heartbeat. He looked out the car windows, seeing nothing but fog. “Um...now what?”

“Do we wait for John or Mom?” Larkin asked.

“I...I guess so.” Mathew paused. “Oh, she left her keys in the car.”

“Mat, you can’t drive,” Larkin said, poking him.

“I can in, like, two years.”

“But we’re not in two years, we’re now.”

“Look, all I’m saying is I could probably figure it out in an emergency.”

The two of them fell silent, looking at the mist outside the car. Minutes passed. “Poor faces,” Larkin muttered.

“What are you talking about?” Mathew asked, looking at him.

“The faces in the fog. I mean, sometimes there’s hands too. But mostly faces.” Larkin pointed out the window, tapping the glass.

Mathew squinted. Then he gasped. There were vague faces in there, appearing in swirls then melting back into the fog. “Oh god. It’s like soul sand. That’s creepy.”

“No, it’s sad,” Larkin insisted. “Cause the demon with the cat face probably put them there.”

“Uh...yeah, probably.” Staring out at the mist, Mathew sat straight up. “Wait a second. There’s...there’s something there,” he whispered. Something was moving the mist around, disturbing it and causing tendrils to move about. “Hang on.” Mathew started looking through the car, pulling open the glove box. There had to be something to use as a weapon, didn’t there? Something heavy, or—

A hand pressed against the driver’s side window, another one waving away the fog. Mathew jumped. Stacy’s face slowly came into view, pressing against the glass. Her eyes widened as she saw Mathew and Larkin inside, both huddled as far away from her as possible. She raised her hands, gave a smile, and slowly opened the driver’s door and slid inside. “Um...hey, pumpkins,” she said softly.

“Mom?” Mathew asked, voice squeaking.

“Yeah, it’s me, it’s...I’m so sorry.” Stacy covered her mouth with her hand. “I didn’t mean—that wasn’t me, I would never ever do anything like—I didn’t want to scare you, I—”

Mathew stared at her. Was his mom...crying? Well, he supposed that wasn’t too odd. She cried when the news about their dad came in, and many times after that, staying up late at night with a bottle. She never wanted either of them to see it. “Mom…” he said slowly. “It’s okay.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t your fault,” Larkin said, slowly scooting closer. “It was that freaky puppet thing.”

Stacy wiped at her eyes. “Thank, boys,” she whispered. “We...we should get out of here. I think the fog is getting even thicker.” And she reached down to start the car.

“What about John?” Mathew asked.

“He can handle himself,” Stacy said patiently. She glanced out the side window. “Those things won’t bother him. But they will bother us.”

The car rolled forward. Stacy gripped the steering wheel tight, eyes wide and staring out the front. They weren’t going that fast, but for the limited visibility, it was as quick as they could go without worrying about running off the road.

It felt like forever before they finally broke out of the thick fog. As soon as they were clear, Stacy hit the gas, and the van shot forward. Mathew and Larkin glanced at each other, then quickly put their seatbelts on. “Mom,” Mathew finally said. “This is...this is because of the ghost thing from the house, right?”

Stacy didn’t answer for a bit. Then she nodded. “Yes, I think it is.” She laughed drily. “I guess they all know each other, or something.” She paused. “Don’t worry. We’re...we’re going to go farther away this time. It’ll be fine.”

“Mom,” Mathew said. “Don’t...”

The silence filled the car for a moment. “Don’t what, Mat?” Stacy asked.

Mathew let out a long breath. “Don’t...do that again.”

She smiled sadly. “I’ll be more careful next time. I promise.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Two days later, a mom and her two kids were standing on the deck of a ferry, watching the gray clouds overhead. Stacy sighed. She would’ve preferred to fly back home, back to the town they’d lived in before they knew anything about things in houses or forests. Bad memories be damned. But her savings were quickly running dry, and the flight over an entire ocean would’ve cost a lot more. “You two doing okay?” she asked.

Mathew had his headphones on, listening to music on his phone. He nodded. Larkin was in the process of sitting down and poking his head through the railings to look down at the water below, giving a quick thumbs-up. Both of them were wearing new outfits she’d bought at the last town.

“Good, good.” Stacy sighed, looking back at land. It was slowly shrinking into the distance. She folded her arms, feeling the handle of her gun hidden beneath her coat. “We’re all...good.” They all went silent and watched the shore fade away.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #tw: horror #marvin the magnificent #jameson jackson #brigid writes fanfiction #horrorseptics

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actingonimpulse · 4 years ago

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Snow and Roses

This is my one-shot for @vp102 “Gift of Fanfiction”. I recommend you check their YouTube channel out where they do a variety of things, including Wattpad Read Alouds, and they are really cool. Their YouTube channel is VideoPresident 102, or this link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmOYRxICUMSiLoYDX_BTZiw.

Summary: Its Christmas time in the mindscape, when it starts to snow that's when things pick up the little on excitement.

Wordcount: 4240

Janus (mentioned 15 times) and Remus (mentioned 16 times) Are there but I didn’t incorporate them enough for me to feel the need to tag them.

3rd person POV

Virgil was just settling down onto his soft bed, the sheets shifted with the pressure of his body weight going down on it. Staring at the ever-shining digital clock. The blocky letters in red illuminating their way into his eyes. 6:30 AM. ‘Perfect time to sleep’ the tired side thought. Drifting slowly into sleep.

/a little tad later/

Virgil very, unfortunately, got woken up by a sound. It wasn’t his alarm clock. It only really set it if there was something going on. Virgil grudgingly sat up, taking the opportunity up to stretch his arms. His head turned towards his nightstand, it was holding four things, his phone, a bottle of water, a lamp and the alarm. Glancing at the alarm it read 6:47 AM. whole 17 minutes of sleep. His thoughts drifted off the clock and he looked at the wall. The sound was music blasting from the hallway, the tired side deduced. Footsteps rang through the hall, Virgil could tell it was Roman based on the pattern of steps. The song was now interpretable. It was Mariah Carey.

“l don't care about the presents~” a voice echoed from the hall. It was the voice of the fellow Prince and Mariah Carey’s top song. A fearsome duo in his opinion.

“Underneath the Christmas tree” A different voice continued, it was very energetic. It was Patton. A less fearsome trio.

After a twist of his door handle Roman burst through his door. Virgil jumped and accidentally bumped his head into the wall. “Merry Christmas Kiddo!” Patton cheered. “We can’t open gifts until everyone else is downstairs.” The father figure informed. Virgil nodded and watched as they left him in his room, Patton closing the door behind himself pushing Roman out. Virgil slid out of bed. Virgil was in black sweatpants, so he didn’t think it was necessary to change out of them. Virgil slipped his fuzzy slippers on and then switched his pajama shirt to a loose purple t-shirt then slipped his hoodie on. Virgil was staring at the door then saw a light illuminate from his nightstand. Virgil grabbed his phone, it was a basic notification. Virgil quickly checked the time, 6:56, Shoving the device into his pocket stepping outside his room, continuing his journey down the hallway. Virgil was dragging himself through the hall without having the real chance of waking up.

Stepping down the stairs Virgil noticed Logan in one of the leather seats, reading a book while his phone laid face down next to him on the arm of the chair he was occupying. Logan glanced up, he was in his everyday attire. “Merry Christmas Virgil. I hope your sleep was ideal.” His tone was mainly his normal voice, but there was a glint of something else there, possible excitement or happiness. Patton and Roman turned to look at him as Virgil made his way over. Patton was in his Cat onesie next to Logan. Roman was in red and yellow plaid pajamas with his Christmas sweater over it.

“Do you like it, Lo?” Patton chirped.

“Merry Christmas Logan.” Virgil muttered in response as he sat next to Roman in an open spot. Logan gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Roman shifted away from him and Patton stood up”

“Kiddos let’s open presents now! I’ll go first for the Secret Santa. I had Logan!” Patton excitedly cheered walking over to the tree. He picked up a box, wrapped in dark blue wrapping paper, and a silver bow adorning the top. Passing it to the intellectual side, who took it. Taking off the bow and the paper in a fashion that wasn't just ripping it apart. Logan took Patton’s gift out. It was a Collection of H.P. Lovecraft, the intellectual observing the cover.

“Yes. It’s indeed a great choice.” Logan replied excitedly Patton looked extremely pleased with his statement.

“I know you like Sherlock, so I wanted to find something close enough to it,” He explained.

“Well thank you. I will start reading this soon. It's clear you thought of me when getting it.” The logical trait placed the book to his side. “I will make room to start this as soon as I can.” Logan picked up a gift wrapped in light pastel colors. “It seems I had you also.” He passed the box to the father figure. Who took it out, ripping the paper to shreds. He took out a stuffed dog, with a grey cardigan around the animal’s shoulders. The stuffed animal had glasses on their brown eyes. Patton gave the gift a strong squeeze.

“It’s so cute!” Patton squealed. “It looks so much like me! Thank you, Logan!” Patton stared at it. His eyes were bright with excitement. The father figure then turned “Wait, who will go next”

Janus raised his hand. “I totally don’t want to go next in the gift exchange.” Patton gave a small nod and Janus walked over to the tree. Picking up a box with green paper on it.

Janus handed the green box to Remus who quickly ripped it apart. Remus opened the box and held up a few things that could be used for pranks. Remus looked at a vial of what Virgil thought was Disappearing Ink. Roman gave a sigh in a way that said ‘oh boy.’

“Ooooo! These things could be fun~” Remus smirked while speaking out to everyone. After a second he skipped over to the tree. Picking up a small red box, passing it to his brother.

Roman hesitantly grabbed the box and unwrapped it. He slid something out then gave a small squeal. “Is this. The complete Disney song collection?” Remus nodded. Roman examined the perfectly sealed CD with a small smile. Eventually Roman picked up something from under the tree. He passed it to Virgil who could tell he was nervous.

Virgil took the box as Roman sat back down next to me. Virgil looked at the box. It adorned the top of the lid. Virgil gently took the lid off, it held a small key. Virgil looked at him confused as he picked up a silver key. “A key?” Virgil asked him.

Roman scoffed “I wouldn’t just give a silly old key!”

Virgil sighed. “Princey if you have some crazy adventure plan would you mind waiting for me to give my gift?” Roman nodded as Virgil put the key in his pocket. Virgil walked to the remaining present and picked up the yellow and green box. Virgil handed it to Janus. Who took it and looked at me.

”What’s this? Is it gonna jump out at me?” Janus teased Virgil, who brushed it off and sat down. Janus looked back at the box. Taking the paper off and opening the box. He took out a yellow snake plush with a hat on. “This was totally expected,” Janus spoke, almost to the plushie. He looked in awe at the snake, eventually booping it in the nose.

“Are we done now?” Roman asked. Patton gave a half shrug. “Come on.” Before Virgil knew it Roman grabbed his wrist and dragged the darker one elsewhere.

“I feel like you're plotting something,” Virgil muttered looking behind himself to see Logan and Patton following. They both seemed to be equally confused. After Roman dragged him outside. He handed Virgil a blindfold. “What are you even doing? I really do think you're gonna do something.”

“You’ll see,” Roman replied as Virgil put it on.

“Your gonna kill me aren’t you?”

Roman let out an offended gasp to his question. “I would never!” He shot back starting to guide him. Virgil could hear the footsteps of the others.

He eventually slowed down “Watch your step” Roman warned as there was a sudden step-up. Virgil gave an unsure nod. Virgil llet Roman guide him . It was cold, almost too cold for the Emo.

“Ok, you can stop now.” Virgil heard the Prince character’s voice. Virgil did so as Roman took the blindfold off Virgil. The four of them were in the garden, in front of a gate.

“The gardens have been here forever. What's so different about it?” Virgil inquired.

“Where's the key?” Roman asked back. Virgil stuck his hand in his pocket pulling it out onto his palm, showing the prince as he waved Virgil over. Patton and Logan were close behind.

“Did we leave Remus and Janus alone?” Virgil realized they weren't with us.

“They did not wish to follow,” Logan responded.

Roman looked at both of them. “Virgil, unlock the gate.”

“Oh yeah.” Virgil quickly countered. Virgil put the key into the lock, twisting to the side then pushing the gate open. “Should we go inside?” Roman nodded eagerly. Virgil walked in Roman on his heels. Patton and Logan right behind.

“It’s beautiful,” Virgil replied. Before turning his gaze back to the garden. Virgil reached out to touch one of the flowers. “How did you do this?” Virgil asked after a moment. his hand was cupping the side of the flower.

It seemed to be a simple garden, for the prince at least, but yet beautiful. It was roughly the size of a small room. There were tall hedges in place of walls, his feet took himself to the center as Virgil looked around. There were roses, not any though. They were purple with dark leaves, the bushes appeared thorn less. As Patton and Logan trailed in they both looked around.

Roman must’ve noticed his reaction. “Do you like it Stormcloud?” Virgil looked at him.

Roman couldn’t answer before Patton shouted. “Guys look!” he pointed to the sky. Virgil complied. Seeing as white speckles could be seen in the sky, floating down in a graceful fashion. “I think it’s snowing!” the dad figure excitedly cheered. Virgil watched as snowflakes started hitting the ground. The brick started to dot in white. Patton stuck his tongue out trying to get one.

Virgil stuck out his hand as one landed on him. As it melted Virgil felt a shiver gently graze his skin from the cold. Virgil pulled his jacket closer onto himself. “Can we go inside, where it’s warmer?” Virgil spoke the last part in a whisper.

Logan nodded. “I think it’s in everyone’s interest so we don’t get sick.” Patton sighed as a form of complaint. But eventually started out, Virgil followed as Logan left. Roman followed them but stopped at the gate.

“Hot topic lock the gate.”

Virgil nodded and grabbed the key. Turning it until he heard the click of it locking. Virgil pushed the gate to double-check it was closed. Walking back to the group as the snow kept gently falling on the ground and us. By the time we walked to the door, we could start seeing the shapes of the soles of our shoes on the ground.

After we all walked in Roman being the last one closed the door. Patton looked out the window. “Let’s all get ready to play in the snow!”

Logan looked at the parental trait. “Patton there isn’t nearly enough snow to ‘Play’ in it.” Logan did air quotes around the word play. He pushed up his glasses and headed off to a different room.

“Where are you going, Lo?” Patton questioned.

“I am going to pour myself a cup of coffee. It’s nearly 8 am” Logan replied. That’s when Virgil remembered the fact he’s running on barely any sleep. Logan left and Patton followed the logical side. Virgil started heading off to his room.

“What are you up to emo?” Roman asked right after Virgil turned his back.

“Not a ton,” Virgil replied, still not turning to face him.

“Then where are you going?” Roman asked, grabbing his arm, “Everyone else is here. Even Janus and Remus for some reason.” He gestured to the two others sitting in the living room, they were playing cards and they were getting louder. Someone was obviously starting to win. It was oddly calming everyone getting along for once.

“To the void of space.” Virgil flatly responded. Roman let his arm go. Virgil walked away to the safety of his bedroom. Once there Virgil switched to black jeans, combat boots, then a thick hoodie on top of his shirt.

After about 20 minutes of hanging around in his room Virgil walked downstairs. Going over to the kitchen Virgil grabbed a cup pouring himself some coffee. Then ventured over to the main area and sat down on the seat next to Roman. Patton and Logan were sharing the other sofa, Janus and Remus were sitting across each other at the coffee table still playing cards. Virgil took a swig of his coffee. A glance out the window could show the snow piling up rather quickly. The living room fell into comfortable silence besides Janus and Remus. A few minutes passed before Patton whispered something to Logan. Logan nodded as Patton stood up. “Let's all go outside!” The father figure excitedly urged them. “Get some boots and warm clothes.” He added.

Roman snapped his fingers and he was wearing a thick red trench coat over his Christmas sweater and sweatpants. He was also wearing red boots with golden accents and a pair of matching gloves. Virgil ran upstairs to grab a beanie and gloves. After returning Virgil noticed Logan walking down the stairs. Logan had on, from what Virgil could see, had a heavy jacket, jeans, and some snow boots. The teacher character was sliding on gloves as Patton walked in. He had a light blue jacket over his shirt, he also had jeans and grey boots. The dad character was placing a beanie with cat ears on his head. “Let’s go kiddos!”

Janus and Remus looked up from their game. “Stay warm” Janus joked watching Patton walk out the door. The others followed him. Patton laid down in the thin white sheet covering the ground, it looked like more or less an inch. Virgil was walking around in the snow, enjoying the grace of the snowfall. Then ‘thud’. Virgil felt something hit his back and turned around. Roman was preparing another snowball to toss at him.

Virgil grabbed a handful of the plush snow and pressed it together, tossing it towards the prince. It didn’t hit him but it started a snowball fight. It went on for some time, some hits, most misses. Virgil slipped and hit the snow. Each time they grabbed snow Virgil always ended up grazing the grass while taking it. The current fall quickly replenished anything that they took. Roman stood over him, placing his boot on his chest.

“Any last words Hot Topic?” Roman smugly asked. A snowball was in his hand and he was gonna throw it at him.

“Hakuna Matata” Virgil replied

He leaned forward being careful not to hurt Virgil. “It means no worries” As his face was close Virgil grabbed some snow and hit him in the face with it. Roman backed up confused and Virgil took the opportunity to run. “HEY, NO FAIR!” He laughed and ran after the darker persona. Who ran behind Patton.

Roman tried to toss a snowball at him but hit the father figure instead. Patton joined in our little fight and eventually, Logan did too. Teams were formed over time. Patton and Virgil vs Roman and Logan. Patton was busy piling snow and Virgil was out to scope out where the other team was making their hideout. They were near the bushes. Virgil got hit in the side, Logan was behind a mound of snow. Virgil tossed some back and heard Roman. ‘Found it’ Virgil thought to himself. Virgil looped around the house and went to Patton. “I found their hideaway,” Virgil whispered.

“Good. Now we plan.” Patton whispered. Taking 5 or 6 minutes Virgil looked around the front while Patton took a long way around. Virgil was in the trees, near the front. Then stepping out, staying in the open.

Roman looked at Logan. “Virgil is out in the open, Lets gather enough snowballs for an ambush.” He whispered. They spent time collecting a small amount of snowballs. “CHARGE!” The prince shouted. Logan opened fire. Throwing them at Virgil before grabbing one from his teammate. Roman suddenly tumbled over feeling a chilling sensation over his neck. He shrieked. As a reaction

Virgil heard Roman’s Voice and noticed Logan started tossing at me. Virgil played along, getting hit a few and tossing others. Virgil heard a roar from Roman then Patton’s voice. “Are you alright kiddo?” It echoed through the open area they were in.

“Yeah, I’m fine Patton.” Virgil heard Roman say. Virgil sat in the snow for a second. Banter starting from the other sides. After a few minutes, Virgil laid down staring at the sky above with the snowfall, hearing a crunch beside him. “What are you doing.” Roman was above him again. Virgil gave a half attempted shrug. He laid down next to Virgil and shivered before sitting up. “The snow is a tad cold.” He looked at the other one. “Are you ok Virgil?” Virgil was surprised he asked that. He must’ve noticed the surprise in his expression “You look tired.”

“I’m fine,” Virgil muttered back to him

“It's close to two in the afternoon. I think we should all go inside.” Logan yelled out in an informative way. He walked off probably to Patton.

“5 hours?” Virgil asked, it felt much shorter to him.

“Time flies when you're having fun, huh emo?” Roman spoke, turning around and walking back, halfway back he turned and faced the tree Virgil was at. “You coming?” Virgil nodded walking over to him as they walked together to the house.

Walking inside Patton walked up to them. “Since most of our clothes are wet Logan said we should change into something dry and warmer.” Virgil nodded walking off to his room. After reaching it Virgil changed into sweatpants, a t-shirt, and an oversized hoodie. Virgil changed his socks into Nightmare Before Christmas socks. Hanging out in his room for a while before deciding to adventure out. Virgil walked down to the living room and everyone else already there. Remus and Roman were arguing about the movie they wanted to watch. Patton was making Hot Chocolate for everyone.

“Virgil, choose. The Santa Clause with Tim Allen, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Roman was seeking an answer.

“The Santa Clause I guess.” Virgil hesitantly replied before sitting on one of the empty sofas still warming up from the cold.

“Told you Remus it's better!” Roman grabbed a disk. Remus growled. He inserted the disk in as Patton walked in. Passing a mug to Janus and one to Remus.

“Do you need help, Pat?” Virgil asked, He shook his head assuring Virgil he was fine. Virgil leaned into the sofa, Roman sat down next to him. Patton was somehow holding four cups. Placing two in front of Roman and Virgil. He handed one to Logan and sat down. The movie played in the background as Virgil started falling asleep. Virgil leaned against his hand before falling asleep.

“Don’t you dare wake him” Virgil heard a voice tell someone off.

“Patton, he slept through the movie. I think we should continue the day. It’s been over one and a half hours.”

Virgil yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Kiddo did we wake you?” Patton directed his attention to him. Virgil shook his head. “Ok! Sorry, your hot cocoa got cold, you fell asleep right as the movie started.” Patton turned around “Roman get off the table!”

Roman was standing on the coffee table “Guys we’re having an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest!” He announced. “A few rules. 1, nothing inappropriate. 2, everyone has to participate. 3, No sabotaging or stealing other people’s ideas. 4, Use the sweaters provided so it's fair. We are all gonna gather in 2 hours wearing our sweaters.”

“Two hours seems a little excessive,” Logan spoke up.

“You're not making the rules. I am. Now everyone, let the challenge begin!” Roman proudly hopped off after finishing his sentence. He summoned and passed out each a red and green sweater. Virgil sunk down to his room right after he got his sweater. Virgil looked around his room, finding an idea. Grabbing his sewing kit then heading to work. 20 minutes later Virgil walked downstairs without the sweater. Plopping down on the couch, starting to scroll through his phone.

“Finished the quest already?” Roman asked smugly. Virgil didn't reply, and continued to scroll. The prince scoffed at his lack of response and walked off.

About an hour later everyone was downstairs waiting around. Everyone was done, Logan was right, again. Roman spoke up after realizing some of them were running short on patience. Patton was sitting on the couch humming Christmas songs wearing a sweater, ornaments carefully sewn on. Virgil was still sprawled out on the couch. Janus didn't want to wear a sweater and shut the door in Roman’s face, and Remus. He honestly just didn't care what Remus was up to. “Everyone should have their sweaters on.” Roman gestured to Virgil who sighed and walked towards his room. He returned back and his dark jacket tightly pulled around him. After Virgil sat back down Roman announced. “Alrighty, let’s start!” He placed his phone down. It was playing Christmas music.

“What are we doing again with the ‘ugly’ Christmas sweaters?” Logan put finger quotes around the word ‘ugly’. The logical trait’s sweater had a tinsel garland wrapping around him in stripes.

“A contest! We will vote on whose sweater is best. And they get bragging rights.” The prince’s sweater was blinking with the Christmas lights that were woven into the fabric. “So I will pass out the voting paper and each pen, I want the pens back.” Roman placed a slip and a pen in front of Patton and gave Logan his own set. Once he reached Virgil. “What's on the sweater Virgil?” Virgil looked a little flustered.

“Its stupid.” Virgil nervously replied. Pulling his jacket even more on to cover what he put on it “I don’t think it's a good idea any-” he got cut off by Patton.

“Come on kiddo! What’s the worst thing, you don't win?” Patton gently encouraged.

“Most of us will in fact lose if not everyone.” Logan stated

“F-fine.” Virgil loosened the jacket. It just barely showed a round reflective disk on the center which was tightly sewn onto the sweater. Roman just sighed in defeat and gave him the slip and pen.

“Also so we don’t waste our creations we will keep them on for now.” Roman added.

“But it’s like 5:30.” Virgil complained glancing out the window at the golden sun meeting his eyeline. He squinted away. He laid himself on the couch. His jacket adjusting to him shifting.

“Wait.” Roman said in an attempt to hold off a laugh. “Did you put a mirror on your sweater?”

“Lets just vote so we can all stop talking about this!” The paler one urged. Roman nodded, everyone wrote down a name. Roman won, and everyone went to do their own stuff. Logan and Patton decided to just watch another few movies. Roman went to his room. Virgil went to his own room.

Virgil tugged the hoodie back over the sweater. “No?”

“Wait kiddo really! Why didn't I think of that?” Patton chuckled looking at the side on the couch.

--later on--

Virgil was done with this. It was about 9. So for the past few hours it's been christmas music. Virgil doesn’t hate the music. But it’s been well over 3 hours of non-stop music, and Roman’s singing. He tried the headphones it got a few years ago. But he still heard what was being blasted through his own playlist. He heard knocking from the next room over. The music stopped then footsteps. Virgil changed into a different christmas sweater, it was the first thing he did getting to his room. It was black with a basic pattern on it.

“Hey kiddo! We are all gonna spend time together. Can you join us?” Patton called out through his still closed door. Virgil walked over opening the door.

With a sigh the darker one replied “Sure, why not.” With a squeal the bright father figure dragged Virgil to the living room. They were already playing Christmas music from a small speaker. He sat on the floor leaning against the couch. Im Dreaming of a White Christmas started to serenade the living room.

Logan walked over to Patton and nervously questioned. “Can I have this dance?” He held out his hand. Patton excitedly gasped taking the hand as Logan pulled him up.

“Of course Logie!” Patton responded. Logan wrapped an arm around Patton’s waist, Patton adjusting a hand softly onto the smarter trait’s shoulder. They danced around the room semi-gracefully. Logan with a soft smile, and Patton with a smile so bright the sun would be jealous. The song guiding them through its soft melodies and rhythm.

Virgil and Roman shared a glance. Virgil sighed as Roman stood up. “I feel like I am indebted, aren’t I stormcloud?” Roman held out his hand. Shall we dance? Virgil took the offered hand being dragged to his feet.

“I’m never accepting a bet again.” The darker trait informed.

“You know you like it.” The prince defended himself and started guiding the anxious one into a slow waltz gently humming along to the music.

~end~

Thank you yet again VideoPresident 102 and if you haven't checked them out please do! They even have a live channel if your interested in that.

Link to their main: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmOYRxICUMSiLoYDX_BTZiw

Link to their live: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7-T6i_idkYfdZy7uXu54bg

#sander sides #prinxiety #logicality #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #AIWrites

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melyaliz · 5 years ago

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Yellow Umbrella pt 2

Masterlist

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Girls nights and hook ups

Pairing: Loki x OC

Notes: So I’m thinking of doing little monologues at the beginning of each chapter. What do we think? Yay or nay?

Also, I don’t want to ruin this story’s whole… vibe but I want to say a few things about fantasy vs reality. In fantasy, it’s fun to think of yourself walking down a dark street with a handsome stranger, or leaving your best friends to let him buy you a drink, or even taking him home.

But remember that demon mafia lords and Loki are not real. In the real world making a safe choice over the romantic one is ALWAYS better. Because in the real world you can’t delete the chapter if you don’t like the way it’s going or make the guy turn out to be a hunky sweety if he’s not.

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Love.

What a Broad word.

You could tell someone that you love them and it could be a million different things.

It could be romantic. It could mean that person who when you hold them in your arms you feel whole in a way you never thought you could feel about anyone. It could make you burn like a bright fire and freeze like sub-zero.

But sometimes… sometimes love isn’t romantic.

Sometimes it’s a new college roommate. Walking into your dorm looking just as nervous as you have been feeling all day. Wide-eyed and praying that they had made the right choice leaving everything they had known to try something new.

Sometimes love is a drunken classmate finding you at a bar and pretending to be your lesbian lover to keep a creepy man away. Her hugging you tightly, smelling strongly of tequila, all while screaming at the guy “I would die for my beautiful woman!” even if you only spoke twice before in English class.

Sometimes love comes stronger and powerful while you're sitting there unsure what to do next after he leaves you. It holds unbreakable when the rest of the world seems to be crumbling around you.

Sometimes love is two girls who just understand you in a way that no one else ever was able too.

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

It all started with a text.

Having gotten out of a two-year relationship meant a few things.

ONE: Yue didn’t have any going out clothes.

TWO: She still struggled with the social graces of the hookup culture.

Lucky for her she had two best friends who had her back. Sammie and Riley.

They had all met in college and basically become inseparable. Sammie and Yue were Freshman roommates and Riley ended up moving in with them when her roommate became a psycho bitch.

They had always been there for each other. Always supported each other. No matter what stupid decisions or bad choices (most of the time right next to them). Through ex-boyfriends, psycho roommates, and bitchy coworkers.

“Cuddles!” Yue sang out hugging Riley who pulled her closer to her. While the sky hadn’t quite opened up in a downpour the dark looming clouds were threatening to start at any time.

“Come here lover,” the brilliant red-haired girl said, pulling open her Naruto umbrella. Bright Japanese cartoon characters smiling around the large covering. Sammie frowned, opening her own sensible umbrella checking her phone one more time before looking down the quickly darkening street for their driver.

“What happened to your umbrella?”

“Remember she gave it to that sexy stranger while high on Nyquil.”

“Oh yeah,” Sammie said fighting back a smile at the memory of a half-delirious Yue describing the half beaten Gothic boy she had met in the dead of the night.“Your Ted”

“Tonight's going to be a good night” Riley giggled glancing down at her phone before shoving it in her rain jacket. The long tan trench went past the short mini shirt, her long pale legs glowing in the dark of the rainy city streets. “Someone is getting laid tonight! I can feel it.”

The bar was comfortably crowded for a Friday night. Just enough people to get lost in a crowd but not enough to get trampled. The DJ was playing their song and soon they were dancing on the floor. Just another group of recent college grads living their best lives.

And that’s when she saw him. Well, more like collided into him. Her hand hitting a very toned chest wasn’t out of the normal for the packed dance floor, however, when a foreign hand wove itself around her wrist her attention was caught.

Turning she came face to face with him.

Umbrella Man.

In the colorful lights, he was even more unworldly looking. Like something out of some modern sci-fi movie. His pale face cleaned from any bruises or cuts, makeup now clean, dark lines around his eyes with one that seemed to drip down into a point. For a moment Yue wasn’t sure if it had been her imitation or maybe that scar had just been makeup the first night they had met.

Honestly, he could have been a cat in a hot topic shirt for all she knew that night.

“Well fancy meeting you here,” he said leaning forward his breath was cool with a slightly minty smell which was odd for a hot sweaty dance floor. Refreshing and alluring in a way that made her heart skip a beat.

“Yeah.” was all that came out her eyes wide unsure what to say her brain slightly buzzed from a night of fun. Never in her life would she, miss plane Jane, imagine having a man like this ever pay attention to her. Never had she ever imagined a man like this ever bother to approach her. Never had she ever thought a man like that would look at her, his green eyes traveling over her body like that. Admiring the cute outfit she had stolen from Riley as if taking in a work of art. She almost felt almost naked under his gaze yet totally in control at the same time.

“Let me buy you a drink?” his hand snaking its way around to the small of her back pulling her closer. Glancing to the side Yue noticed Riley and Sammie dancing, both girls didn’t look it, but they were slyly watching her. Keeping an eye out for their friend. Ready to strike at a moment's notice.

“Just let your friends know you’ll be right back”

Ok so maybe not that slyly.

Nodding toward her friends she then let the dark stranger lead her to the bar. As they walked through the dance floor it was as if the red sea parted, only it was a bunch of drunk 20-somethings and not water. It was a bit of an out of body experience. Feeling almost like a queen being led by her king through a court of his subjects. Yue vaguely wondered if she was just drunk as they quickly found two empty seats at the bar, the bartender nodding toward them coming quickly up.

Ok, she was drunk but not this drunk.

“How do you do that?” she asked looking up at him in awe, “it took me at least five minutes to get his attention and that was after Riley made me bounce up and down a few times.” the man smiled down clearly finding her reaction amusing. Her clearly comfortable with her own drunk girl antics, this woman in front of him seemed so, her own person. As if she wasn’t trying to be anyone but the drunk silly girl she was.

“I have that effect on people.” turning to the bartender he leaned against the wooden bar, “I’ll take a Whiskey neat and she’ll have…”

“Just a beer.”

Again, a delightful surprise. He raised an eyebrow as the bartender nodded going to grab the drinks. “I took you more for a vodka soda girl.”

“Beer is an easy drink” she shrugged, nodding a thank you to the bartender. “I always know what I’m getting and it says I’m not expecting anything from the buyer.”

“I don’t think a beer could properly thank you for the umbrella,” he said leaning forward, smiling at her a slender finger gently running over the outside of her thigh sending a shiver up her leg. Just enough of a touch to let her know his intentions but not enough she couldn’t move away from it. Her heart rate picked up at the thought. Taking a swig of her beer she smiled.

“The nights still young.”

“That it is. I would love to show you just how grateful I am” his voice was as smooth as the whiskey he was drinking.

His meaning wasn’t hard to tell but the nerves were getting the better of her. It had been a while. But making out with a hot stranger in a bar was on her hot girl summer bucket list. She had promised herself that this was going to be her year of adventure. And there was no way she was going to let a few butterflies get in the way of that.

And he was hot.

Like almost too hot.

“What did you have in mind?”

He tasted like whiskey, smokey and smooth. Filling her taste buds sending a fun buzz through her body as his thumbs stroked her cheeks. He wasn’t messing around, his kiss filled with passion and an intensity that sent her head spinning more than any alcohol could.

They kissed and kissed and kissed.

And then kissed some more.

At the bar.

On the dance floor.

On the uber home.

At her doorstep.

In the living room

Somewhere between the living room and the bedroom clothes were slowly being shed until they were both standing there naked.

Letting out a giggled Yue jumped onto her bed bouncing slightly before crawling in the head. He crawled after her on all fours matching her smile with one of his own. Her heart rate picked up watching him as he looked up through dark lashes that thin smile on his face as he slowly moved closer and closer until his lips met hers.

He was such a good kisser, it was always so tender and slow. Enjoying the moment in no hurry to go anywhere. She vaguely wondered how good he would feel kissing anywhere else as she let him crawl over her.

Pausing for a moment he looked down at her fluffy blue blanket his hands were grasping on either side of her body. “This blanket is very cozy,” he mumbled a playful smile on his face as he looked up at her. His smile seemed to be laughing at a secret she wasn’t even sure she understood.

“I strive for comfort.” she giggled meeting his smile with one of her own. Pushing herself down deeper into the bed spreading out her hands as if cementing this statement.

Cute, that’s what he thought as he looked down at her. She was so damn cute.

Very unlike what he normally went for.

But maybe a change was good.

He smiled, kissing her back his hips rubbing against hers. Burying his nose in her neck he sighed, “did I mention how good you smell” he mumbled letting his nose run over her neck enjoying her. Drinking her in sending shivers down her spine.

Slowly moving from her shoulder to her neck taking another deep breath before kissing her. “It’s the sweetest thing I have ever smelled ”

It was such a strange compliment she wasn’t sure why that was so hot. Maybe it had something to do with his overall dark mysterious vibe he had going for him. The way he seemed to be kissing her, licking her neck and it felt like she had her own vampire lover in her bedroom or something. Her fingers dug into his pale skin as he took her in enjoying the beautiful sweet skin at the base of her neck. Teeth grazing just hard enough to feel but not enough to pierce the skin.

Delicately he moved his way down from her neck to her collar bone before reaching her breasts burying his face in them sighing before kissing the valley between them fingers running over them pitching the nipples “it’s better than even the angels.”

He kissed her nipples “Or the devils.”

He kissed and licked down her stomach enjoying her scent. Tasting every inch of her body. Like his kisses before he was so slow and deliberate. Truly taking his time to enjoy himself. Taking his time until he reached her hips.

Her body shivered as she watched him. His green eyes looking up for a moment meeting her own that smile back. Their gaze meeting as his tongue slowly licked over her pussy like he was taking a lick of ice cream. He hummed softly lowering his gaze going in again. Just as slow, this time a bit deeper the tip of his tongue flicking over her core making her let out a shaky breath as her stomach burst into a million butterflies.

Yue had never had anyone eat her like that. Her ex had never done it saying it didn’t do anything for him and the random rebound she had dated after that had been like a blender with his tongue.

But not this guy.

Oh God, this guy.

He was truly sinful the way he ate her out. His mouth over her making her whole body feel hot and bubbly. His lips kissing and sucking as his tongue, oh that tongue. It seemed to find just the right spots to explore licking and flicking in a way that had her totally undone.

It was as if time had stood still, she wasn’t sure if it had been seconds or hours. Her brain left her body as if she had ascended to another plane.

Just when she was sure this was what true bliss felt like he slipped a finger inside of her while sucking on her clit.

The new and wonderful sensation caused her to gasps bucking her hips slightly and he smiled pulling away for a moment to lick his lips, “Baby girl when was the last time someone properly took care of you? You’re moaning like a virgin”

“I…” she felt her face flush biting her lip. All those insecurities coming back to her. Painfully aware she was with a man who was far her superior in the bedroom.

“Oh now don't’ do that,” he said, still playing lazy with her, his finger joined by two more toying lightly with her as he looked up between her legs, “I love it. It’s been so long since I’ve met someone who’s let themselves enjoy it this much.”

“Thanks.”

“Now let’s see how loud I can get you to scream.” he snickered, diving back in causing her to throw her head back in pure pleasure. She was so close she wasn’t even sure how to speak. Her whole body seemed to be humming with an electrical current that only seemed to light her up brighter and brighter until she was exploding within herself. It felt like fireworks as her body reached its peak. She let out a few giggles unable to really know how else to function. The feeling so wonderful there was nothing else she could do but laugh. He pushed her through her climax enjoying every moment of it, quite literally eating it up. That large grin on his face as he watched her squirm giggling with pure bliss on her fluffy blue blanket.

She was such a beautiful sight.

After a few moments, he crawled up over her kissing her neck again. Tenderly, his hands stroking her arms. Then slowly he pulled her onto his lap. His thick erection rubbing against her legs just in front of her core. His eyes studying hers waiting for her to move toward him.

She searched his gaze for a moment before she spoke, “I have condoms in my drawer.”

“I don’t… he paused as if realizing where he was. His eyes dark with lust “Show me what you have.”

“You don’t want me to return the favor?” she asked Glancing over at his huge cock, thick and dripping slightly with pre-cum. It gave her a slight thrill that he had gotten that hard just by eating her out.

He shook his head looking over her shoulder as she opened her bedside table drawer luckily Riley had gone for a run last week and had picked her up a multi-pack “just in case.” so she was stocked and ready. “Next time” he mumbled before taking one slipping it over his cock.

Then moving toward her he pulled her close to him. Kissing her neck as he lifted her up onto his lap slowly pushing her onto his cock. Using his shoulders as a base she pushed herself up and down a few times letting his cock fill her up with a soft moan that he matched.

“You feel as good as you taste, fucking fantastic.” his hot breath caressing her neck and ear as he moved her around his cock. Him on his knees leaning back on his left hand, the right gripping her ass. “Move those hips for me,” he mumbled his voice husky dripping with sex, “Like you did on the dance floor, fill yourself up.”

His moans, the fact that she was making him moan like was making her close to coming again.

And he felt so good inside her too.

His lips on her neck, her hands in his hair as they went deeper and deeper until she wasn’t sure where his body ended and hers began. It felt so good. It felt so freeing.

Then his mood changed and he let out a soft growl. Moving swiftly he bucked forward. She let out a slight squeal wrapping herself around him as she felt herself fall toward the bed. His body over hers again. He gasped looking down his breath ragged and eyes so dark they looked like… maybe it was a trick of the darkroom but they looked black.

All black.

He growled again as he descended upon her.

His thrusts were heavy and hard. Sending pleasure shooting through her body as she matched his rough pace. Their legs tangled together as he kissed her over and over her lips, her neck, and her breasts. Frantic and rough as if he is going to devour her. Between each kiss are moans and cruses in a language she doesn’t recognize.

Yue looked up at him, his dark eyes, hair, white skin glowing in the moonlight of her room and she realized something.

She knew nothing about this man.

And something about that. Something about the idea that she owed his man nothing but the pleasure they were sharing at this moment was the most thrilling wonderful thing she had ever experienced.

She gasped as she felt herself close again to her, it was as if her own body knew her deep thoughts. That she was allowed to enjoy this for herself and not for anyone one else.

She cried as she came, letting out a loud moan. He followed quickly after biting down on her neck, not drawing blood but close. The pain making her cry out in surprise but also pleasure.

He kissed her where he had marked her before traveling over her shoulder and then back to her neck pulling her close to him pushing in a few more times just enjoying the feeling of them together. Then just as softly he let her fall into her bed rolling off.

Both of them laying on their backs looking up at the ceiling gasping for air. Then after a few moments, Yue got up grabbing a towel from the closet in the hallway coming back to hand it to him. Leaving again she came back with a cup of water.

“You can stay if you want,” she muttered crawling back into the bed. He nodded watching her. Something about watching her curl up under that fluffy blanket almost disappearing into those pillows he wanted that.

That peace she seemed to have.

“Yes please.”

Nodding she lifted the blanket letting him crawl under before tucking him in. his hand snaked around her pulling her closer to him, taking in her sent again.

That beautiful sweet scent. All-consuming wonderful scent.

-0-0-0-0-0-

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the19thduckpotato · 5 years ago

Text

The Ties That Bind Part 5 (MHA fanfic)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

In which there is more Tsukauchi and concerns ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku breathed deeply, rolling over and hugging his pillow, waking up slowly. He sighed softly, opening his eyes and yawning, blinking the sleep away. Mmm... I must have been out for a while... where's All Might? He lifted his head and rolled, looking around.

Toshinori was slumped in the chair, one hand still propping up his head. He snored softly, his bangs fluttered with his breathing.

Izuku smiled, laying his head back on the pillow. He rested for a bit more, just watching the bangs flutter. The events of the night seemed far away for now. He looked at the hand connected to the machines, and wondered if he could take them off, quickly concluding that, No, that would be a Bad Idea to attempt and wrinkling his nose at the fact that he thought it. Instead, he started wondering when someone would come in to check on him. He imagined some professional, busy nurse he didn't know bustling in and spoiling the quiet of the moment. Ehhh... maybe not worth it. He felt good again, One for All having been able to finish its work. Looking at his still-bandaged ankles, he wiggled them, giggling softly. All better! After a moment, he looked back over to the quietly snoring Toshinori. Waited a minute. Nothing happening. ...I'm bored. He sighed. "Hhhmmhmmm...." Plopped his face in the pillow. Then moved it back to its original position, because pillows are hard to breathe through. ...I wonder if the machine would argue if I got up this time.... He eyed the spot beside Toshinori that he tried to take earlier, and the phone sitting in the chair beside his mentor. There's games on that... but it would totally be wrong to sneak into that just for fun, I'd lose his trust completely. He huffed a disappointed sigh. I still can't believe how cool he was with me knowing the access code, that was... nice. I wonder if he thought I was spying on him? You were though?? Oh. ...That's fair. ...Then I'm very happy that he was okay with me spying on him. Well-- he waffled about the exact word to use. ...Watching? I mean he did unlock it in front of me... a lot... surely, since he knew I was there, it wasn't spying... I just watched. For security purposes, in case of emergencies. He nodded firmly. Yes, emergencies... which does not mean playing WordMoles when you're bored. "...Hrrmph." He made a flat, grumpy face. (Like this. è__é ) ...I'm still moving over there, he decided. It's better than sitting here. And I mean, I can... right? He won't be mad at me... nah. It's just moving, like, two feet. He carefully slipped off the hospital bed, placing his feet gingerly on the floor, feeling, like he always did, a tiny bit like he was taking his first steps. Well, my first steps in a while, anyway. He settled himself beside Toshinori's leg on the floor, eyeing the phone. Nope! Nope. He shook his head. Not gonna do it. He sighed softly, leaning his head lightly against Toshinori's knee, feeling the seam of the fabric press against his cheek. He waited. Bo.o.o.o..o.r..r.e..d.d.d....

With an ungainly snort, Toshi sat up and blinked owlishly. "Good m-m-yawn-morning, kiddo." He brushed back unruly blond wisps of hair. "How ya feeling?"

”Gyeep!” Izuku gave a tiny squeak, jumping with surprise at Toshinori’s sudden awakening and noise. “G..oo...d—“ he tried to avoid it, but ended up catching the yawn. He blinked and shook his head, then resettled himself, turning and looking up at Toshinori, still leaning on him. “Better! Like, actually completely!” He gave a small, hopeful smile. Pleeeeeease will they let me go now...? I wanna go home. —I! Uh. The dorms! To the dorms. I mean.

Toshi scratched at the back of his head as he yawned again. "Anyone come by to check on you?" Anyone notice I fell asleep on watch? Sigh... He got to his feet and peered at Izuku. "Tell ya what, I'll see if I can find someone and get you discharged already. Sound good?" He held a hand out to help Izuku up.

Izuku blinked confusedly, staring off into space for a moment as he realized that he’d have no way of knowing if anyone came to check on him until very recently. The thought freaked him out just a little. “Ah. I have... no idea?” He refocused on Toshi. “Not in the last few minutes, anyway.” Reaching out his hand, he took Toshinori’s and stood up carefully, smiling. Hmm. Bit shaky... I’m gonna have to eat soon. Ooh! Maybe I can talk him into taking me out to eat? He reconsidered quickly. Or maybe not... he seemed pretty shaken up last I saw him... he probably wants to go home. Yeah. Home is better. —I mean the dor.... The corners of his eyes crinkled a tiny bit more, and he gave a small sigh, giving in. Ohh... whatever. Home works.

"All right. Stay put. I'll be right back." Toshi gave an awkward but cheerful wave as he stepped backwards and out the door.

Izuku’s eyes widened, and he stood on his tiptoes and opened his mouth slightly just as Toshinori walked out the door. “heY WAIT! You forgot your... phone....” He sighed. “Aaand... too late.” He plopped down in the chair and picked it up, turning it on the lockscreen just to see the clock and the weather, mumbling, “Well, I hope he doesn’t need this.”

As if prompted by being picked up, the phone began to buzz; All Might began cheerfully bellowing that A phone call is here! ...but at a surprisingly low volume. Truthful Tsukauchi flashed across the screen as All Might continued to whisper-roar his pre-recorded announcement.

Izuku's eyes widened, and his mouth made itself into a little circle when the phone started ringing, but he didn't squeak again. An amused (and slightly perplexed) smile crossed his face at the change in ringtone, then turned soft when he realized. He must have done it for me, so I wouldn't be startled awake if a call came. He bit his lip and stared at the phone for one more ring. ...Should I answer it? I should, probably. Don't just let the call be lost.... He pressed Answer and held the phone to his ear. wait WHAT DO I SAY Impossibly, a slightly-fake but polite smile appeared on his face, and he adopted a fair imitation of the the Phone Voice and phrases he'd heard his mother use. "Hi, you've reached All Might's phone. Can I take a message?" He could have sworn sweat beads were collecting on his forehead. H e l p m e . . . .

A stunned pause at the other end. Then: "...Midoriya?"

Izuku gave a very awkward, panicked laugh. "Ahahahahahh... ...hi?" His eyes flicked back and forth as if searching for help. Alas, the room was as empty as it was a minute ago, with no help in sight. He made a weird croaky nervous noise in his throat. Then hoped very hard that Tsukauchi didn't hear him. Tsuka... OH NO, I didn't even remember his name!! Ackkkjjfhsgsdfsdfsfvs..... His brain reduced to incoherent sounds of chaos, he slid down farther into the chair, scrunching up like a turtle and grimacing, wide-eyed.

Tsukauchi bit back a laugh then cleared his throat. "Hello Midoriya," he replied cheerfully. "Is All Might there?"

"Ah!" Izuku perked up, gaining new direction now that he had a question to answer. "No." He paused. "I mean, yes... I mean-- no!" He smacked himself in the forehead, and was sure that one was audible through the phone. He sighed, rolling his eyes at himself. "He just stepped out for a minute." Is he going to wonder why All Might didn't have his phone with him? "And... left his phone. ...Hehheh." Well that doesn't help, now you sound guilty, like you stole it! He's gonna think you stole All Might's phone, that's why he sounded so surpri-- He caught himself, realizing how silly that all sounded, and groaned internally at his brain. Oh, please shut up....

"But he's ok, I trust?" Tsukauchi found himself more amused by the minute. I wonder what All Might would think of this.

"Oh! Yeah," Izuku reassured him. "He's fine." I think. He scrunched his nose, realizing that he'd said something that wasn't resolved or answered yet, trying to recall what it was.... Oh right! He leaned back in the chair and swung his legs a bit, more at ease now that he had something to say, and continued brightly, "So what were you calling about?" He tilted his head curiously. "I can tell him later."

Tsukauchi's mind whirred a moment. Surely he didn't go back to the other room....no. Not All Might. "His assistant, are you?" He couldn't stop the chuckle now. "I admire the effort but I can't speak to you about police matters. You understand." A smile colored his voice now. "Truth be told, I believe I could trust you with the information. You're a good kid."

"Huh...?" His assistant? Why would I be...? Oh, it was a joke. He continued listening as Tsukauchi finished, then smiled, laughing softly. "Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence." He bit his lip, wondering if he should ask. Should I even be wondering? This isn't my fight, it's not my place to drag it up.... But you were a part of it, his mind whispered. You were the reason. He closed his eyes. Maybe he won't even be able to tell me. So I can ask, and then I'll have done all I can do, and that's... that's the end of it. A nauseous, tense feeling grew in his middle. ...Do I really want to know? "Uhm." It came out soft as a whisper.

"Something's on your mind. ...last night?"

"Well, I mean." Izuku shrugged, his tone now matter-of-fact. "Yeah." What else? "I don't know if you can tell me... and... it's a little bit hard to remember right now...." I can't seem to connect to it... can't seem to feel what I did before... is this repressing memories? Am I doing that without knowing it? Am I losing that time--? "But..." He gripped a hand tightly around his foot, curled up with knees to his chest. One more shaky breath.... What am I doing? How can I say this, what kind of lack of faith in-- Then, softly.... "...Did they live?" A sick feeling settled in his stomach. Once the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back.

"All Might didn't tell you? That's odd..." His mind whirred again, offering up theories before belated realizing that he didn't answer Izuku. "My apologies! They are both expected to make a full recovery, one sooner than the other." He almost added a personal thought then decided against it. "So don't worry yourself about them. They got off better than expected."

Tsukauchi's tone held none of the heaviness of death in it. Izuku had let out a tiny sigh of relief by the first syllable, his posture relaxing as he listened to the rest of what Tsukauchi had to say. "That's good," he said softly, a small smile on his face. "Why one sooner than the other?" He kept his tone quiet and calm, hoping that Tsukauchi would take him seriously. "How bad is it, if I may ask?"

"Midoriya--ah, Izuku? May I call you that?" His tone reflecting a respect given as well as a respect asked for.

Izuku stiffened a little, making a Nope face. Ahhh... I don't know if I like that. But you're so close to All Might... and if I'm close to him... do I have to let you? How can I say no, that'd be so rude-- He knew the pause of him not answering was telling in itself, though, and it grew longer with every instant he waited. "A-ahh," he started shakily. I don't even know what to call you, that's-- That's perfect! There was the answer to his predicament. "Well what do I call you, sir?" He laughed the question out awkwardly. Okay, maybe not perfect... but maybe I can get out without answering.

"Tsukauchi is fine. Or if you prefer, Officer Naomasa. That way we're on a first name basis. But the 'officer' part has to stay, just so we don't seem too familiar with each other. That could lead to...ah, complications." This could also help me explain to you why what happened did, he thought to himself. "Does that seem fair to you?”

Izuku swallowed nervously, the hand that held the phone shaking a little. "...Officer Naomasa." He tried it out. "I think I could do that, sir." He huffed a bit more breathy, slightly-frightened laughter. "I don't think I could call anyone by just their first name, anyway. It would feel kinda weird." Except Toshinori, you mean. Ohh... shut up, that doesn't count. And I barely do that even in my head. So.

"All right, Officer Naomasa it is. Is Izuku all right?" Was he stalling so he didn't have to speak of the night's events, either? Tsukauchi winced. It had been a messy and disturbing business.

Izuku froze, not wanting to say yes. Knowing that if he did, Tsukauchi would immediately be able to tell that he was lying. Whether his quirk worked over the phone or not, Izuku was just That Bad At It. I thought I could squeak by... but... oh no, oh no, what do I do?? I can't say no now! Why do I even care?? It's just a name! But it's so personal... only Mom n All Might call me that.... Well, and now I can have one more person who calls me that. His brain did a 180° turn from "not for you, Mister" to "okay, you belong here." Extended family, sort of...? He smiled, liking the idea. "...Okay." His voice was soft and vulnerable, hoping that Tsukauchi would pick up on how big of an allowance that was for him. As if it matters, a nasty thought hissed at him. As if you could allow him something. That's so stupid, he has way more authority than you! It matters because it's my name. I got given it, and I get to choose who uses it. And I choose to let him. Izuku nodded to himself firmly, decided now.

The other end was quiet for a moment. Then: "Excellent. Thank you for this honor. I promise to do everything in my power to be respectful of this knowledge and of our newly forged connection, hero." Tsukauchi shifted the phone to his other ear. "Now remind me what you were asking."

Izuku ducked his head shyly, smiling. "Ah. Uhm." He wrinkled his eyebrows in thought, the smile persisting for longer than expected. Wow, I must be really happy, then. Okay. "Oh right!" He sat up straighter, alert, smile disappearing. "What's their condition? The two villains, I mean. Has the hospital told you much, or...?"

"Recovering. I hope they think upon the error of their ways and become better citizens after this." Since they got a second chance at life. Tsukauchi pressed his mouth into a thin line.

I... that's not what I meant, but.... "Thank you." Okay, I guess a runthrough of their injuries was too much to ask, after all, hah. Not that I really wanted one, but... "recovering" isn't much information. Does he not want to tell me? Is it that bad? Nnnhh.... His thoughts turned to anyone else involved in the situation, doing a safety check all round. No civilians, no police hurt after they took the villains, I'm sure... that leaves.... "Did you... did he...." Izuku sighed, making a leap of faith on his new... bond of sorts with Tsukauchi. Boy I hope I can trust you with this request.... "Okay, don't tell him I said this, but... how is he? All Might." Izuku furrowed his eyebrows. "He won't... talk to me. He just kinda... watches. Granted, I haven't been the best listener... okay, I haven't even asked, not properly." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, suddenly realizing how badly he'd done. "I... I'm kind of afraid to ask. Open wounds, and all that." He curled up again, resting his arm on his knees and his head on his arm. All Might... please be okay.

Tsukauchi sighed, a heavy sound. A "I dont want to tell you" sound. A "It's not my place to tell you" sound. A "I dont want to ruin your idol for you" sound. "Izuku, how do I..." He ran a hand through his hair, looking about for any sign of All Might, somewhat aware of how strange the current situation was. "Ok, I'm going to take a guess at this. I've worked with a lot of heroes and I've seen this happen before. Just...dont take my word for it 100%. Each case is a little different." How to begin... All Might...forgive me...

A soft, "I'm listening."

"All right. Let's start with a quick example--just now, when we exchanged permission to use each other's names. Seems a simple thing. But now we--or I'd like to think we have--a small bond. We have a seed of trust we share and we'd welcome the chance to nurture it. To see if it endures. The more it grows, the more likely we are to continue to nurture it. "Now you and All Might. Would you say the two of you share a similar bond of trust?"

"Ahhh, yeah." Izuku furrowed his brows again, puzzled. Is he gonna say that he doesn't wanna tell me? That he wants to nurture the bond of trust he has with All Might? But this won't be bad for him... I just wanna help, and I may not even be able to... do anything.... He shook his head. No, that's not it. He was starting to tell me earlier. He must still be going. He continued listening, hoping he hadn't missed any important bits while he was thinking.

Tsukauchi grinned. "Yeah. I'd wager it's more than just a simple name trade. I wager it's a whole lot more. And that it's more than just trust. "See, here's the thing, Izuku. Heroes are admired for what they do for us. But we take granted what they give up for us. In order to protect us. Villains will search for any vulnerability, any crack in a hero's defense, to get an advantage over the hero. "I'm going to ask a difficult question and I dont expect you to answer it. Just think about it. Ready? What would you do if someone threatened your mother?"

"...I don't know." Izuku was quiet, thinking about what he could do. About what he couldn't let himself do. Trying to draw a line. "Take them down fast, I guess." (And ignored the part about not being expected to answer.)

"I don't know--it's a true answer. It's a position no one ever wants to find themselves in. How much is too much? How much do I value this bond I have with this person? "And sometimes, in order to not put others in danger, to not have to make those hard choices, to not be in that awful position... heroes make a difficult choice and cut themselves off from people at large. Oh, they're still interact with fans and the people they save. But it can never go beyond that; a hero can't afford to let a bond be the break in their defense. "Multiply that feeling by the thousands and you get All Might. With me so far?" Tsukauchi bit the side of his lip, treading carefully with his words. He still valued his own bond with All Might.

"...Yeah." Izuku's voice was down to a half-whisper. "I know All Might did that." He swallowed hard. "And then I came and messed it all up." There was a tinge of humor in his words, but not much. "...I didn't mean for this to happen." His voice was a horrified whisper. "I swear." I wanted the opposite... please, no, I don't want anyone to die because of me! Not even if they're trying to kill me, it's just-- it's not worth it, I-- they're alive, life means so much-- And they're still alive, he reminded himself. No one died. They could have. He knew that. But they didn't. All Might stopped himself. Which is more than I could have done. Izuku squeezed his eyes tight, promising himself that he would never-- could never allow himself to get angry when he fought for his closest loved ones. Never. He shuddered. I'm not allowed. I wouldn't stop.

"Izuku. Listen." Tsukauchi gave a half smile. He knew he was one of a fortunate few. And Izuku moreso than him. Did he feel a tinge of jealousy? Hard not to, you were talking about the All Might. "Heroes decide to guard their most precious bonds in the way that they choose. With All Might being --having been--the most well known hero in the world, he had to take that to extreme measures. There's certain guidelines even I follow so that I can protect my bond with him." Tsukauchi chuckled softly. "Sidenote, you understand I'll need to speak with All Might about his phone after this." "But the part I need you to hear is this: yours is the most precious bond." Tsukauchi paused a moment to let that sink in as he collected the rest of his words.

"Huh?" Izuku accidentally started to answer the side note before Tsukauchi was finished talking. "What, that I answered his pho--?" O-O "...Ah. Hm." ...Are you sure about that? Like... that sounds a little fishy... you've been his best friend for, like... a long time. That is a sweet sentiment, though, thank you. "I... um. Thank you." He ducked his head again shyly. Where was I? I was saying something, gotta keep the moment moving, I don't know how to respond to that, someone come in and save me please.... Izuku’s thoughts turned into an antsy singsong, his fingers tapping nervously. "Should I... not have answered his phone? What if it was an emergency?" He titled his head, changing the subject.

Tsukauchi chuckled as he scanned the hallway for that familiar burst of blond again. "No, I mean about him keeping his phone with him. And maybe changing the passcode. Sorry, Izuku. There's information on that device you're currently holding that's worth a lot of money in the wrong hands. "I won't mention this call, if that's what's worrying you. And with him being retired, emergencies aren't quite as common any more (might explain his carelessness...) "At the end of the day, it's still his phone. I wouldn't be comfortable with someone answering mine without my knowledge. ...but I'm glad to be having this conversation with you, truth be told. Fair?"

Izuku scrunched puzzledly. "You don't need a passcode if the phone is already ringing." Do you? Did he? Did I put it in and forget, I THINK I would have remembered.... "And... yeah. Fair." He smiled sadly, a bit disappointed to lose his "phone privileges". That he kind of stole. But maybe I can watch for the passcode again... ...nah. All Might would be watching me. And if Tsukauchi.. er, Officer Naomasa told him not to let me... sigh "You can mention this call if you want to, I mean, I'll probably say that you called. Just... not... all of it." He ducked his head, blushing a little. "If that's okay."

"How about I finish saying my piece before you so readily say thst?" Tsukauchi smirked. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, All Might has been so very careful all these years. And for those same amount of years, he's been alone. And letting so very few in. For their protection. "He...lost someone once." Sorry, Izuku, I cant say any more than that. That's definitely out of bounds for me. "He built his walls. He--" No, definitely can't mention that battle, either. "--events happened and he closed himself off even more. For his own reasons, of which the most paramount has always been to protect us. "Self imposed isolation is still isolation. It's a lonely and depressing business. No one deserves that, especially not the Symbol of Peace. So Izuku, I have to say, you've had a remarkable effect on him this past year."

Well that just makes me even more curious. Izuku kept his mouth shut, however. There are just some things you don’t ask. He’ll tell me when and if he’s ready to. “Thank you.” He closed his eyes, a tiny smile growing bigger. That’s all I’ve really wanted to do for him. To be there. To be good to him. ...For him. ...Can I still be? Even if my presence pushed him to... this?

"I guess what I'm trying to say is...well..." Tsukauchi's mouth twisted in frustration. "I'm not excusing what happened, not blindly. But I understand why it happened. Your bond is infinitely precious to him and he....reacted." That's putting it so mildly that even mayonnaise is insulted. A pause, heavy. "Do you....remember it?"

“....A little.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m trying not to now. Just not right now. I’m probably not the one that’s supposed to be freaking out right now, huh.”

There was a tap at the door as Tsukauchi replied on the other end: "Well, no one should be freaking out. It's over and done with. If you can't remember, don't force yourself to."

“Uh-hh.” Izuku twisted around to face the door. “Someone’s at the door.”

Toshinori poked his head in. "Doctor to--" He covered his mouth to quiet himself as the doctor peeked in as well. Then Toshi frowned in comical confusion: "...wait a second..." The phone chirped: "All Might? Is he there?"

“Yup!” Izuku smiled brightly at Toshinori. “Found him!” He blinked, rethinking. “Well, he found me...” He motioned in the air to illustrate his point, regardless of whether the person he was actually talking to could see it or not.

Toshi squinted, pat his pockets, squinted more, strode across the room, slender fingers sliding the phone from Izuku's grasp-- "Thank you--" --then motioned to the doctor as he stepped back out of the room to speak with his friend.

Izuku stiffened just the smallest bit at the phone being taken from his hand, making a noise that was a bit startled, a bit betrayed, and a bit annoyed. The mix of which came out sounding rather like petulance. Fortunately, Toshinori didn’t seem to hear it, or at least didn’t seem to react to it as he slipped out the door to talk to Tsukauchi. Leaving Izuku alone. With a strange doctor. “Uhhhh.” He stiffened further, staring at the doctor with wide eyes. “Hhhhhi.”

((TBC))

#mha #bnha #mha fanfic #bnha fanfic #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #izuku #midoriya #deku #the ties that bind #tttb part 5 #toshinori #yagi #all might #dadmight #sunflower dad #bean #fanfic #angst

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