#me: oh hm well maybe the battery died

[nulltune]

girl bye tell me why the day i wanna try come back to tumblr rp my phone (with all of my icons mind u) literally . Dies (i am using my laptop to write this but fun fact abt me is that i don't like typing on pc :flushed:) SDSXGFSDFS WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK AFTR THIS MESSAGE....! T_T

[omentranslates]

Owari no Seraph chapter 136 english fan translation

Hi how are you. Do you wanna read a fan translation of the new ons chapter? Because I have one. You should totally also read the official from here though!

There was some promo material along with the color page I translated this time too.

Color Page: To save Everything, that's the ambition he's imbued into his sword.

Owari no Seraph chapter 316: God Resides Within Them

[Transcription of the OnS half of the following volume 32 ad page]

Knowing the truth only strengthens their desire for a path to salvation!

To bless the souls of all with forgiveness...Yuu* and Mika's fight begins!!

Having found out the truth of his own past, he's set his sights on "delivering salvation unto all in existence." His first step has been to pay Saitou and the vampires a visit and attempt to discuss with them...!?

-[chapter starts here]

Shikama: Yuu, hurry up.

Saitou: Urd!!! Do NOT let him get to the First!!

Ky: ....holy shit.

Lest: We're gonna get caught up in it too if we don't get out of here!

Shikama: Shit

Urd: O Sword.....CLEAR THE SKY ALONG WITH THE FIRST!!!

Yuu: I can tell that's bad news just by looking, what do we do about it?

Mika: Hmm...

Yuu: I wonder if we can just...tank it?

Mika: No shot, tanking that would kill us. And even if we lived we'd have been knocked too far away.

Yuu: Oh yeah, too far away to hear what the First has to say. So what then?

Mika: Mhm....

Mika: Ohhh- I've got it. We've cast curse of you can't kill us on the vampires, right?

Yuu: Uh, no I don't think they're really taking that into account with these attacks.

Mika: Well ok, but maybe that's because we're in the middle of a tumultuous battle now. So basically if we settle down and behave, our curse should go back into affect.

Yuu: Hm...

Mika: So as soon as we hear whatever the First has to say, we should just immediately let ourselves get captured and it'll be fine.

Yuu: Ok.

Mika: Alright, we've got our plan

Yuu: But how?

Mika: I'll take his attack alone until I hit empty battery, so just toss the sword into it.

Yuu: Aren't you just being suicidal again?

Mika: I'm already dead I can't be. Even if he explodes me I'll just come back whenever I eat some of your desire.

Yuu: That's gonna have ME running on empty, though.

Mika: Yeah it'll probably get you so bad you won't even be able to move, but it's better than dying right now.

Yuu: Sure I guess. Ok, I'll throw you now, then.

Mika: Great, I'll give it my all!

Yuu: *Link sounds*

Mika: *screaming*

Mika: Oh, nevermind I fucked up

Mika: YUUCHAN I FUCKED UP.

Ferid: That's the impact Urd Gilles' sword makes. Must be someone real powerful over there to cancel it out

Ferid: Am I right, My Queen

Krul: He's strong, this isn't Ferid's strength. I don't know if I can win here.

Shinya: Hey....Kureto nii-san. Are you still alive? ...Did you die?

Shinya: I gave you your next shiritori kana quite a while ago, can I consider it my win if you died? What would people say if they knew Kureto nii-san had died ragequitting shiritori....

Shinya: Uh??? Kureto nii-san, are you alive? If you really died-

Kureto: Hey.

Shinya: OH SHIT, YOU SURVIVED THAT?

Kureto: Stop being stupid. Let's set our allies loose and then get out of here, Shinya. And no dawdling.

Shinya: I know.

Yuu: I'm so hungry oh my god, this must be empty battery.

Yuu: Ok, First, I'm here! What are we talkin' about!?

Yuu: Oh, you're see-through! Wh-what the hell happened???

Shikama: I'm...being eaten.

Yuu: Eaten!? Wait by who?????

Shikama: By humans.

Shikama: I couldn't have imagined a human with enough power to do this...

Yuu: I asked who though????

Shikama: There's no time to explain. I need to transfer whatever is left of my magic and power to you before it's all stolen.

Yuu: Wh-

Mika: THAT WAS SO STUPID. I DIDN'T EVEN LAST 8 SECONDS.

Mika: HEY, HE'S SEE-THROUGH!!

Shikama: There's no time. Rigr and Urd are on their way. Before they get here, Yuu,

Yuu: What?

Shikama: You said you had found out how to resurrect Mikaela. Was that true? I've never once been able to do it.

Yuu: It was true. If you teach me how, I can do it successfully.

Shikama: Was I mistaken in the way I've been doing it?

Yuu: Yeah, all wrong.

Shikama: ...I see. But you found where that mistake was.

Yuu: I did.

Shikama: Understood. Then, since my time has run out, it's time to entrust everything to you.

The spell to resurrect Mikaela. The spell to hide this world from Paradise. The spell to destroy Paradise.

Shikama: There is a great price for you to pay for all of these. But still-

Yuu: I have my memories back, I can do it. I'll follow in your steps, I'll resurrect all of the angels.

Shikama: Ha, hahaha

Shikama: You really do surprise me, humans and homonculi both, before I even knew it you've surpassed your creator's wildest expectations.

Shikama: Alright then, I leave what's left of my power to you, who I know less and less what exactly to call.

Shinoa: I don't think so.

Shikama: .....what do you even intend to use all this power for?

Shinoa: For love.**

Shikama: How selfish, an expectedly human answer.

Shinoa: How are you any different?

Shikama: I never thought this day would come...my wish, I leave to the next generation.

Shinoa: I don't know who you were planning to give what to, but now that I have it, it won't be used to hurt anyone else.

Yuu: Ok

The power of the First’s love has been settled in that body....***

Owari no Seraph will be on hiatus next month.

T/N:

*the Yuu they use here is in katakana like they write the Homonculous's name (and how Shikama has been referring to Yuu recently)

**Shinoa uses the word for romantic love here

***changed from what I used to have after being asked for clarification, I think this version makes it more obvious which body they’re talking abt but you can still see the original with the twitter version XP

[themichaelvan]

tagged by @changingcore / 15 questions for 15 mutuals (oh fuck do i even have that many)

are you named after anyone? - birth name, nope. does it count if i got my chosen name from a fictional character??

when was the last time you cried? - this morning!! nothing 2 be concerned about i got woken up by the fire alarm (also nothing to be concerned about it just needs the battery replaced) and was so tired & upset i started crying, which happens. more often than i would like. hm. maybe i named myself after the wrong afton kid

do you have kids? - nope!! i do like interacting with them though but only like 3 max at a time JFJRJFNG

do you use sarcasm a lot? - irl yes, online only sparingly. & i make it very exaggerated not usually deadpanned or anything so people can Tell (which of course nobody needs except for Me but i digress)

what sports do you play/have played? - did soccer when i was a little kid (Hated It), was on a swim team for a while, and did marching band for the longest (which is my favorite and yes it counts as a sport and you cannot say it doesn't until you've been in marching band. cunt)

what's the first thing you notice about other people? - typically clothes and then hair! i have a relatively mild (but still pretty bad compared to ppl without it) case of face-blindness, and i CANNOT tell people apart by their faces at all unless they have smth like a bunch of facial piercings or a scar or smth Noticable so i tend to look at other things first.

eye colour? - ??? hazel-brown ??? no idea tbh but at least partially brown

scary movies or happy endings? - HAPPY ENDINGS. i am soso scared of scary movies i will gladly watch the little prince for the 60th time. Alternate Universe - Everybody Lives / Nobody Dies is one of my favorite tags on ao3.

any special talents? - ? What does this mean. i guess proofreading/editing?? i have always LOVED doing it and i just. naturally keep track of all the Language Rules and enjoy using them. the autism kicking in i suppose. and yes it does count as a special talent actually you would not BELIEVE how many candies i got in 5th grade from ppl bribing me to read over their essays.

where were you born? - arizona/usa. same town as my mom actually (despite her moving like 7 times in between her birth and mine)

what are your hobbies? - listen to music and pace around my room until i pass out. and painting, writing, drawing, various other arts n crafts, guitar, percussion when i have the chance (rn i only have a practice pad :|), and mobile games of heavily varying quality.

do you have any pets? - not atm but i used to have two cats (both still alive just in different household) that i still consider my little kitties :] i have 150+ pictures of them on my phone if you ever need cats i Got you

how tall are you? - 5'11" now!!! was hovering around 5'7"-8" for the longest time but i recently had a growth spurt and now im only the SECOND shortest in my family (out of six)

favourite subject in school? - by the material probably math! it is sometimes difficult for me to get a concept but once i do it's Easy. i also do have an advantage (parent has math degree and is good at explaining) but i try and make up for it by helping everyone else as much as i can jfjdndjf. by the Class def band/music class if that counts. both of my music teachers have been both very scary yet very nice to me and i loved their classes so so much and i extremely enjoy playing instruments with other people (when they behave)

dream job? - sorting pokemon cards in a comfortable chair as a day job with a 4 day workweek, being a freelance renowned fiction editor on my own time, with occasional music-related gigs (tutoring, repairing stuff, playing in concerts, etc). i give you no shit if i could do that for the rest of my life and get paid well enough to live on my own or with roommates i like, have a cat, and have enough time and energy to homecook a meal 3-4 nights a week i would be so happy. that's all i want in life. "oh you would get bored doing the same thing day in day out" no i wouldn't "how" autism.

tags: @irradiatedblood @schmope-is-dead @sapphireclaw @bmo-2143 @pokette @soldiertransgender @astral--horrorshow @catnerdenby @unrestrainedbalderdash @buggiboo @lunar-anomaly @altruisticmystik @syntacticerrortxt @catlokis-blog @rosesareredjaybirdsareblue . okay. okay i think that's 15. im pretty sure. jegus.

[cannibalisticcorpse]

jayroy sfw all ten

ship ask game

Dating headcanon

they actually started their relationship by going out to eat together and going on solo missions (together) and just all around going on dates. they didn't notice until they bring a 3rd person and the 3rd person is like "hey why the fuck did you invite me on your date?" and theyre like "wth are u talking abt this is a bro thing. gtfo out of here" and they're both like "sheesh, can you believe that guy?" and independently theyre like "yeah. these have been dates."

Dinner headcanon

if roy cooks, jason tries to pretend he likes it even tho it sucks. if jason cooks roy [REDACTED]'s him that night. they do like takeout tho.

Arguments headcanon

OH BOY CAN THESE TWO ARGUE. they bicker over every. little. thing. death threats get pulled out at the drop of a hat. literally. "jason i swear to fucking god pick my hat up or im shoving this arrow-" very quickly things turn to full blown fist fights. but oh man the angry... kissing... is good. they also make up in super stupid romantic ways. its cute.

Playful/silly headcanon

one halloween lian dressed up as red hood... :] (she's also dressed up as batman before... only roy thought it was funny)

Night in headcanon

jason's drinking whiskey and roy's tending to plants, working on projects, and they're jumping between bouts of complete silence and excited chatter and solemnly sharing thoughts. just anything to be together and not think about the past. laying around together, watching TV in the dark. sitting so close you'd call it cuddling if they didn't look so... y'know

Night out headcanon

going on patrol. either as a team or roy decides to go out and hm... what's this? he feels like someones just behind his shoulder. weird. or maybe jason decides he's going to do something really fucking dangerous and for some reason he knows it's okay that his grapple hook didn't catch. or maybe they're taking a walk to the corner store down the street and carrying as many boxes of donuts and hotdogs as they can. laughing and trying to trip each other up as they make their way back home.

Kissing headcanon

first kiss for jason: when he was 14 and big brother dick's friend saw this kid got a skinned knee and kissed it so he'd stop crying

first kiss for roy: when their airship's battery died mid-flight and and they plummeted to the ground. jason threw roy to safety and while the smoke was still clearing roy dragged jason out of the wreck, and... well it was impossible to not find his glassy eyes the most beautiful thing in the entire world, or the way he cupped roy's face and chuckled

roy likes kisses more than jason, but jason still likes kisses. roy kisses everywhere. jason's mouth, his neck, his shoulders, his legs. etc. jason kisses roy's mouth whenever he wants- usually deeply- but in private he's more affectionate.

Sleeping headcanon

jason little spoon, roy big spoon. roy snores sometimes. jason is a very light sleeper. roy has insomnia/depression so some nights he just holds jason for 6 hours, and some nights he clutches jason tight for 10. typically roy falls asleep first though.

How friends/family of the couple react

dick is sooooo mad. what the hell do you mean roy likes jason. what the hell do you mean they're friends. what the hell do you mean-

bruce. isnt. happy. but hey, it's none of his business and it's not like he can do anything about it.

dinah thinks roy can do muuuch better, but hey that 20-something is pretty hot, so high-five i guess

ollie is much the same as bruce, but is vocally supportive. he loves a dude who has strong morals and stands up for them- even if... they are... y'know.

mia was so sure that roy and this asshole werent gonna last but then they did and now she had to get used to it. c'mon roy.

lian loves it. omg TWO DADS? fuck yes.

kyle wishes they'd fight and argue with him more, but hey.

Heartbreak headcanon

they're the type to go on a last minute solo mission and leave a note like "leaving" so the other knows they werent kidnapped, but the other finds it and just breaks down like "no... you asshole, you could have at least broken up with me to my fucking face."

they break up every tuesday and get back together every thursday. and sometimes on weekends too.

[tootiredmotel]

Electricity

Inspired by @ledzeppelinmixtape 's emoji prompt: ⛈

Read on ao3 or below / 2.3k words

It's 11pm and storming biblically when Dean and Cas's apartment goes dark.

"Great," Dean mutters under his breath. "Fan-freaking-tastic."

From somewhere else in the apartment, his roommate asks "did the power go out?"

"What do you think, sunshine?" Dean replies sarcastically.

He has a half-written essay in front of him, but he knows his old-ass computer won't last long unplugged, so he saves the document before shutting it off. He leans back in his chair, stretching for the first time in an hour and running a hand down his face. He actually needed a break from the screen, he realizes, feeling his eyes relax as he rubs them.

The steady rain and strong winds outside make an overwhelming white noise track, interrupted only by thunder that goes from faint and distant to deafening in volume. If Dean wasn't stressed out of his mind and completely exhausted right now, he might actually find this kind of nice.

"It's raining cats and mice out there," he hears Cas say, his voice now in the room.

Dean smiles, still rubbing his eyes with the backs of both his hands. "Cats and dogs, Cas."

"Right. Cats and dogs."

It’s really no use correcting him; the entire animal kingdom could be falling from the sky right now and there wouldn't be much of a difference. The winds are definitely knocking things over, and the streets will certainly be flooded come morning. Dean wonders for how long the university will cancel classes after this (if at all, the heartless bloodsuckers).

A particularly loud clap of thunder startles Dean. He drops his hands from his face and opens his eyes, expecting to see pitch black nothingness, but the room is faintly lit by the flashlight Cas is holding as he rummages through their kitchen drawers. He approaches a minute later and sets a candle down on the small table.

"Smart."

"Thank you, Dean," Cas says, sitting down opposite him. Dean smiles again, this time shaking his head.

If anyone ever asked him to mention one thing he likes about Cas, just one, he'd probably say how genuine Cas is, how he takes everything to heart and speaks from it as well. Dean said just one word, smart, a simple comment on the fact that it occurred to Cas to light a candle instead of wasting the battery of their one flashlight, and Cas genuinely thanked him for the compliment. He's just ridiculously cute in his earnestness.

Cas is trying to light the candle now, but their lighter is tricky. Despite living together in that apartment for a year and a half now Cas has never really gotten the hang of it.

"Here, let me."

Dean means to take the lighter from Cas and do it himself, he really does. That is 100% his intention as he reaches across the table. Except he sees an opportunity, and Dean Michael Winchester is nothing if not smooth.

He wraps his hand around Cas's, gently guiding his fingers until they’re placed just right, and the lighter clicks on with ease. Cas meets his eyes, smiling, and Dean can feel the slightest brush of Cas’s thumb against his hand. It’s a small gesture, but clearly deliberate, and it sends Dean’s heart into overdrive. Cas leans away, puts the lighter aside, and starts leafing through a book he brought. Dean’s heart is still racing as he watches him.

Scratch that first thing. If anyone ever asked him what’s one thing he likes about Cas? His hands. God. Neat nails, slightly calloused palms, and overall larger hands than you’d expect. Cas is an environmental science major and he wants to get a Ph.D. in botany, so of course, there’s a small garden on their fire escape. He tends to those plants every day with more gentleness and care than Dean has ever seen, and Dean loves to watch him, even though he has no idea what Cas is doing with them half the time. He just knows that not a single one of their plants have died under Cas’s care. He names them too.

His attentiveness. That’s another thing Dean might say if anyone ever asked. Cas left to visit his sister Anna last winter break. He left Dean in charge of the plants, three of which died inside the week. (For Dean’s birthday a couple of months later, Cas got him a book. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant. Dean keeps it on his nightstand.) Dean went out and bought new ones, but he knew Cas would notice the difference, and he did. He wasn’t mad at Dean though, and he appreciated the effort, and as Dean apologized profusely over and over again, Cas looked at him in the eyes oh-so-softly and told him he was forgiven.

How could Dean possibly forget? If anyone ever asked, he’d say that Cas’s eyes are one of his favorite things about him. One of his favorite things, period. Dean is absolutely mesmerized whenever Cas looks him in the eye, and the guy loves making eye contact, which means that Dean lives in a perpetual smitten daze. He has never seen that shade of blue anywhere else on this earth. Or maybe he just hasn’t been looking, content to get his fill of that blue by staring into Cas’s eyes as much as he gets to on a daily basis.

“Are you alright, Dean?”

Dean blinks himself back to reality. “Hm?”

“You seem… spaced.”

Dean is staring. He’s been staring this whole time. Shit. Crap.

“Yeah, um. Just tired.”

Mr. Smooth, everybody.

“Maybe you should go get some rest. I doubt the power will be back anytime soon.”

Castiel Milton, always looking out for you. It makes Dean melt.

“Yeah, maybe.” I wanna stay here with you, though, he thinks. Instead, because he’s pathetic, he asks “what’re you reading?”

Cas shows him the cover. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant. Dean breaks out in laughter.

“So you’re going into my room and stealing my shit now?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t touch your Vonneguts.” Cas puts the book aside, an easy smile on his face. “Just wanted something light to pass the time.”

“You done with your homework?”

A soft yawn escapes Cas. “For now.”

“Dude, why not just go to sleep? You look exhausted.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Dean tries to deadpan him. He fails, because around Cas, it’s near impossible for him to not smile.

“Besides, I might be done but you weren’t.”

“And you wanted to keep me company.”

Cas shrugs as if to say I guess, but he does it with a knowing smile. The smile doesn’t falter as he meets Dean’s eyes, and he doesn’t look away when silence settles between them, the only sound being the stormy white noise.

Dean is sure he could drown in that blue and die happy.

Before that train of thought gets away from him again, Dean tears his gaze away and stretches. “We should really go to bed though, I’m not getting any more done tonight,” he says as he stands.

“Of course,” Cas says, but he grabs the book again.

“You not going?”

“I want to finish this chapter.”

The seriousness in his tone makes Dean smile. Again.

“Well, g’night, Cas.”

“Good night, Dean.”

Dean thinks he detects a bit of shakiness in Cas’s voice but decides that he’s probably just tired.

He gets to his room and changes into something comfortable, the first t-shirt and sweatpants he finds as he rummages in the dark. He goes to set his phone on his nightstand and crawl into bed, but in place of the book he keeps there and puts his phone on top of– the book Cas has at the moment– he finds something else.

It’s paper. It’s folded into the form of a book, like one of those youtube craft tutorials with bad music, and it's no bigger than his own palm. The cover is handwritten, and Dean immediately recognizes it as Cas's. He smiles, expecting a prank or joke of some sort, Cas knows how stressed Dean can get with the start of the semester. However, his smile falters as he reads the cover:

How to tell your best friend you’re in love with him.

With a shaky hand, Dean opens the small book. The first page is the only one with any more writing on it, and it reads:

You leave him a note and hope it’s enough.

Dean is storming out of his bedroom (no pun intended) before he knows it. He barely even feels his feet moving, too focused on the pounding in his ears and the dryness in his mouth. He doesn’t go into the living room, not yet; his feet stop at the end of the short hallway and he braces himself against the wall. The room is spinning and he can barely breathe.

“Cas?” He chokes out.

Cas puts the book back down on the table in front of him and interlocks his fingers in front of him. He doesn’t look at Dean– Cas, who makes too much eye contact – and takes a deep breath before saying “yes?”

He’s nervous.

Dean takes a step forward, still keeping one hand on the wall just in case, and holds up the note. “What is this?” he asks, because his brain is just not there with him yet.

Cas stands, still not facing Dean. “Dean, do you know what day it is?”

He’s asking this now???

“September firs–”

Oh. Oh shit.

“Cas isn’t today the–”

“The night we met. Two years ago.”

Dean feels his brain catching up now as the memory starts coming back to him. Cas helps, starting to recount that night.

“Two years ago tonight, I was leaving my night course at the university, and it was raining. Not as bad as this,” –Cas looks out the window and lightning strikes, as if on cue– “but pretty badly, and I was an inexperienced freshman without an umbrella.”

Dean remembers. He was walking Charlie to her dorm when it started drizzling, and it was pouring by the time he made it back to his car. Dean had a night shift at the gas station and was about to head there.

“Two years ago tonight,” Cas continues, “you invited me into your car to shelter me from the rain.”

Dean saw this guy running in the direction of the men’s dorms, which were on the other side of campus. He felt bad, and he had a car, so he opened the passenger door and let him in.

Turned out to be the most gorgeous guy he’d ever laid eyes on. He was a bit awkward, but he had no filter, which made him weirdly funny. He asked about the music playing in the car and listened intently to Dean's rambling. He laughed at his jokes too.

At the end of the five-minute drive, he said his name was Castiel, and Dean asked for his number and saved it as Cas with a thunderstorm emoji. Because even if he didn’t know it yet, Dean was already whipped.

“Two years ago,” Cas says, finally looking up at Dean. His eyes are wide and vulnerable and he looks terrified and Dean can barely stand it. “Two years ago tonight, I started to fall in love with you.”

Dean can’t breathe. His ears are hot and he can’t stop fidgeting with the note in his hand and he can’t breathe.

But his feet start moving again, out of their own volition. They move toward Cas.

“If you don’t feel–” Cas starts, but Dean swallows his words.

Again, Dean’s brain isn’t all there yet, and he doesn’t realize what he’s doing until he’s already in it. He’s grabbing Cas’s face, digging his fingertips into the back of his hair, and the note is forgotten on the table, and thunder rumbles not that far away. He’s darting out his tongue, begging to explore Cas’s mouth as he’s wanted to do since forever, and Cas lets him. He tastes like toothpaste and coffee and honey and Dean never wants to taste anyone else ever again.

Cas is wrapping his arms around Dean’s waist and pressing his entire body against him. It’s making Dean weak in the knees but it’s okay because Cas is almost holding him upright at this point. There’s another clap of thunder, much closer this time, and the lightning probably illuminated the apartment, but it wasn’t enough to make them part. They’re moving and grasping and exploring frantically, and Dean is afraid Cas is going to disappear, or that he’s going to wake up and this will all have been another dream. But no, it’s real, and they’re playing catchup on two years worth of desire and longing and love.

They eventually pull away, breathless and giddy. The only sounds are the rain and the wind. Dean opens his eyes first, needing to see Cas and make sure this is completely, definitely, unequivocally real. Cas is smiling and taking deep breaths, and a weight seems to be lifted off his shoulders. He opens his eyes a second later, and even in the darkness, even with just the faint candlelight, the blue in them seems to shine. And even though there's no power, it feels as if there's electricity crackling in the air around them. It might be the storm.

No. It's the moment. This moment with Cas is what feels electric.

“Come to bed?” Dean asks, feeling brave and going out on a limb. The only way Cas responds is by interlocking his hand into Dean’s and kissing him again.

And after tonight, for the rest of his life, if anyone ever asks him “what’s one thing you love about Cas?” Dean won’t be able to narrow down an answer.

He’ll just say: “Everything.”

[genderfluid-insomniac]

"Drama at S" ~ Cherry Blossom x reader x Joe

words: 1.8k

You ran up to the gate out of breath and pulled down your hood, showing your badge to the people at the gate.

You had gotten caught up with work and rushed off once you realized that S was about to start, grabbing your rollerblades you skated off to meet your friends. Seeing a group of bright-haired people waving you over,

“Hey Y/N! You’re just in time!”

Reki called over to you and gave you a high five, Langa fist-bumping you as well. “Hi, guys! I’m glad I didn’t miss anything! I got off work a bit late, I thought I wasn’t going to make it.” You laughed and spotted Miya invested in his phone, looking up and waving at you, smiling. Skating over and handing him a portable battery,

“I know you always lose power during these matches, so here’s my portable charger! I brought it in case my phone died but luckily it didn’t.” “Oh, thanks! Ready for the beef? I heard it's going to be awesome!”

Agreeing you talked with the group, hearing the crowd around you loudly cheer and shout for someone. You were still relatively new to S, since you had started dating two of the skaters here and met the group that you came to know and love.

It was always a fun time whenever you came and it was certainly never dull, your two lovers competing for your attention.

“Look! It’s Cherry and Joe!”

“Ah! They’re here!”

“Tonights going to be awesome! Maybe we’ll see them skate!”

“They’re both gorgeously stunning as always! When are they not?!”

The last comment made you roll your eyes. You couldn't help but agree, they were both hopelessly attractive and you couldn't help but wonder why they chose to date you of all people. Of course you weren't complaining, but your self confidence wasn’t in the best shape.

You saw both of them spot your group and skate over, jumping off their boards to greet all of you. “Hi everyone, did we miss anything?” Reki and Langs shook their heads, Miya perking up and grabbing his board to talk with the group.

Kojiro turned his head to you and pulled you towards him, “Hey baby, glad you could make it. You look beautiful as always. Miss me?”

“Of course, I’d never miss this. We just saw each other earlier, how could you miss me already?” You laughed as he kissed your cheek, shyly turning away when the others made noises at your PDA.

“Well it’s hard not to when I want to be by your side 24/7.”

Feeling another hand on your shoulder, giving you another kiss on the opposite and his light pink hair coming into view, “I hate to agree with the dopey gorilla but our lover is right. How could we not want to spend as much time with you as possible when you’re perfect for us.”

You stood in between them and smiled with excitement, “Fair, you two are hard to stay away from. Maybe I’ll have to visit you both more.” They smiled and wrapped an arm around your waist. The others began to talk about who was going to race and how pumped they were.

Langa was giving Reki advice with Miya pitching in occasionally about a move that he’s taught the red head earlier. Not missing the quick peck that Langa gave him and seeing Reki’s face blush a bit, scanning the area to see if anyone saw.

Shadow was tuning his skateboard, making sure everything was in shape and chatting with your boyfriends.

You admired how Kaoru always looked perfect wherever he was and his long pink hair pulled back, his black mask covering his face and highlighting his gold eyes. Looking over at Kojiro, as per usual not wearing a shirt for some reason and showing off his body and tattoo, which never failed to fluster you and even still when you thought you had gotten used to it.

Both of them went together perfectly and matched each other like soulmates, despite the arguing that always ensued. You loved them both dearly and yet you still doubted your place in the relationship.

Which evidently was the only thing they agreed on, was that you belonged in their relationship and they wouldn't be the same without you. Leaning your head against Kojiro’s arm and closing your eyes contently, feeling him hum and rub your arm,

This was of course interrupted by a loud band from across the way, shocking you all and making you jump a bit, moving closer to Kaoru and Kojio. There was one person you were warned about by everyone and judging by everyone’s facing you were about to meet him,

“What a wonderful turnout! It seems we have a new face that little group brought, hm?” Reki stood closer to Langa and Miya moved closer to you three and Shadow, everyone seemingly being on guard. You saw the blue haired man skate towards you and circle you all, your lovers moving in front of you and anger painted on their faces.

He stopped in front of you and stepped off his board, closing the distance between you both but Cherry stepping in front of you,

“Step away before you start something you can’t finish.” “Oh! Someone special to you I’m guessing. Now I have to learn more~”

Joe stepped up next to Kaoru, “Trust me when he says that. We’re not letting you mess with them. Back off.” Miya moved closer to you and you put an arm around him, hugging teen. You knew about what had happened to him with Adam and needless to say you were pissed. Seeing Reki, Langa and Shadow move closer to the other two, you squeezed Miya tighter and stood your ground,

Adam frowned, “Okay, okay. I get it, they're important to you all. Well, I guess tonight’s not my night.” He went to skate away but turned back, “I will skate with you little mystery”

You shivered and looked down at Miya, shooting him a smile and pushed off towards the others, “So, that’s the creepy fucker that you warned me about. Yeah, I can see why,” Laughing nervously as the other shook off what happened and tried to enjoy the rest of your night.

After a couple matches you saw people whispering and pointing at you. Some of the girls and some guys gave you jealous looks as you scooted towards your boyfriends, trying to brush off the anxiety that now crawled up your back.

Kaoru noticed and gave you a look, silently asking what was wrong. You motioned to the other people staring at you and he looked around, seeing what you meant. Whispering in your ear,

“Don’t worry, darling, they're just jealous of us, but you’re ours. We’d have to be idiots to leave you. I mean look at you, this beautiful body and those luscious hips.” He laughed and continued, “ Hearing that voice cry out in pleasure when you climax on us, nothing could beat that divine sound~”

Instead of simply talking down your anxiety, Cherry leaned down and put a hand on the back of your neck, kissing you.

You made a noise of shock because this was the last thing you expected him to do but in hindsight it should have been on your radar. Closing your eyes and returning the kiss, hearing the people gasp and whisper around you even more.

He moved his hand, cupping your cheek and passionately deepened the kiss. Kaoru’s eyes open, adoring your blissful expression, no longer full of anxiety and flicking his attention to his lover. By now Kojiro had noticed people murmuring to themselves and getting whipped up, turning around to see what the big deal was,

“Hey!” He met Cherry’s eye and noticed the playfulness in his eyes, saying ‘come on, I dare you’. Chuckling to himself and stepping up the challenge. Pulling his boyfriend away from you and smirking, “Really think you could keep them all to yourself, four eyes? You should know how to share by now.”

You still were against Cherry with a hand around your waist, seeing his eyes flick to yours and then the crowd eagerly watching you. Getting the message, Joe’s gaze met yours and he pulled you against his chest, feeling his warm tan skin against your hands.

“Oh, so that’s what’s going on. I’m sorry baby, I thought you knew.” He lifted your chin with his fingers and closed the gap between you two so that you could feel his breath against your lips, “Let me make it clear to you,”

Kojiro kissed you softly and pulled you against him tighter, you wrapped your arms around his neck since he was so tall. Leaning in and returning the kiss immediately, running your hands through his short soft hair. You broke away for air and hid your face in your boyfriend's chest, a heavy blush covering your face.

Your lovers laughed at the disgusted responses from the teens and turned their attention to you. Some of the crowd started excitedly whispering amongst each other and you heard some chatter about how you all looked cute together and others expressed jealousy at both of them being taken by someone they’d never seen before. It didn’t matter to you as you tried to recover from what just happened and stared at the ground, your roller blades shifting back and forth from your small movements.

“Well, I never expected you both to do that.” They laughed again and pulled you between them, continuing to talk with the others.

As the night progressed you were talking to Reki about some of the skaters that had beefs with each other and how they each used a different technique to advance. You heard a buzzer go off and realized most people had already left, luckily including Adam.

You went to say goodbye to the red and blue teens and Miya who went to give back the portable charger, thanking you and saying his farewell as well. Going to put your headphones in and skate off, you saw that Shadow had already left, apparently having to help his coworker with something.

Kojiro and Kaoru were talking near the entrance, pausing when you came over, “Guess it’s time to say goodbye, huh?” They shared a look and the pink haired calligrapher spoke up,

“Kojiro had quite an idea and I thought it was wonderful as well. What do you say?” “Okay, sure. But what is it?”

Cherry took your hand and pulled you along, Joe skating next to you, “That is for us to know and you to find out, sweetheart.” Smiling as you pull ahead, they race behind you as you all head back to your shared home.

[drea-46]

16.02.22

Part 4

Tobias: Maybe we should start the trip tomorrow after all. I don’t think the reception will be open when we arrive later today

Easy: I can’t wait any longer! Or do you want my marriage to break once and for all?

Tobias: No, but it’s partially-

Easy: Tobias, you are our best man. Who else should I ask if not you? Besides with these holes in my butt I cannot drive for too long

Tobias: Okay, let’s go then

Cecilia: Are you closed already?

Easy: Yes, I have to travel very urgently

Cecilia: Are you gonna go and see the others?

Easy: Yes

Cecilia: What is up with them?

Tobias: What do you mean?

Cecilia: Well, my mom had to go somewhere else last minute and she keeps trying to contact my dad but he won’t pick up the phone

Easy: Same with Ringo

Cecilia: Maybe they are in a major dead zone. Bye

Tobias: Oh, no

Easy: What is it?

Tobias: The car doesn’t start up

Easy: You can’t be serious!

Tobias: Well, I am. What is going on? Has the battery died?

Chris: I won’t sign that

Sina: Ringo has a sepsis. If you don’t sign it, he will die. Is that what you want?

Chris: It will happen to all of us either way

David: Come again?

Chris: What do you think will happen if we sign over the house to Fiona?

David: You mean-

Chris: Of course she will kill us! She wants to sell the whole house. I mean there is enough flats available anyway

Sina: What are we supposed to do?

Fiona: Uncle Chris, why should I want to hurt you? I know you just as little as the hot bus driver

David: Fuck you

Chris: I’m not going to sign this, end of story!

Fiona: Your brother was more reasonable

Chris: You’re bluffing

Fiona: Till realized that in case he doesn’t cooperate, I will knock out the lights of his little bunny here. Just like you did with my father. He died in my arms. He only wanted some money to pay for my treatment. And if you think that your dear Corinna is save because she isn’t here right now…It was super easy to find out the address from the zoo in Amsterdam

Chris: If you so much as touch Corinna, I will kill you! I will kill you, you hear me?!

Fiona: How much do you reckon it takes for him to sign? Five minutes, more or less?

Nika: I won’t be able to repair the car today. First I have to figure out what the issue is

Easy: Jeez!

Tobias: Easy, then we will go by rental car. One that has a better engine so we will make it up to the Alpes

Nika: Do you want to go and see the others?

Easy: I know it’s crazy but I have to talk to Ringo!

Nika: Totally. I can’t get hold of Paco, either

Tobias: What do you mean, you can’t get hold of Paco, either?

Nika: I don’t know. Maybe he is still upset that I haven’t accompanied him?

Easy: Hm? Cecilia told me that she cannot get in contact with her father, either. That’s strange. You’d think one of them would find a Wi-Fi connection or landline. Mr Küpper?

Robert: Yes?

Easy: Did Sina and Bambi contact you?

Robert: No, they didn’t. But I’m gonna go and get Amelie and then we try to contact them

Tobias: That’s really strange indeed. Out of 6 people noone got in touch with us, absolutely nobody

Translation @happyladybug93

[stories-by-rie]

Chapter 1 - Heart of Silver

Evelyn turns to the infamous curse-broker Ariel for help, after she got cursed by a dead granny’s fork.

words: 3763 || masterlist

Despite the late summer, the air had grown cold with the night’s storm. The wind was blowing the rain drops harshly against Evelyn’s coat and the persistent noise of its dripping onto her hood mixed with the ringing sound in her ears. With the anxiety that threatened to overflow, she shivered. Even if her hood saved her from the worst, she had to hold it in place with one hand so the wind wouldn’t blow it off. Now, that hand was wet, cold and shook even more than the rest of her body. Tripping from one foot to the other did nothing to bring her warmth or to disperse the gnawing threat of doom inside her chest.

    Once again, she pulled out her phone. The fourth of September, 22:34, a Thursday, no new notifications, battery at eleven percent. Raindrops landed on the bright screen and distorted the picture of a flower field in irregular splashes. From the upper right corner, lines like spider legs drew through them. 

    Frustration settled in her, taking coin-sized bites. Her eyes flicked over to the doorbell again -- she had rung two times already -- maybe a third time would be all right? She knew that Ariel was home, so if they hadn’t opened the door after two times, a third ring wouldn't make them either. 

    Still.

    Just as Evelyn was about to press the bell again, the door opened slightly, barely enough for her to make contact with one eye. 

    “Why didn’t you text me that you’d come?” 

    “I did. You haven’t read it yet.”

    Ariel pulled out their old flip phone, dipping their glasses into bright white reflections, and skimmed through what had to be a real handful of messages. 

    “Ah. Oh. Hm.” They stared at a message for a while before they looked up to Evelyn again, opened the door a bit wider. “There will be a sale for winter tyres down in the old factory on the main road next week.”

    Evelyn was too stunned to answer anything but, “Ariel, you don’t drive. You don’t have a car.”

    “That’s true.”

    “It’s summer.”

    “Are you sure?” Ariel looked at the rainy night sky, and squinted their eyes. 

    “Listen, Ariel. I wrote in my message-”

    “Yeah, I read your message. So what?” They looked up at Evelyn again, closed the door a bit more to shelter from the rain. 

    “I didn’t know who else to ask.” Her voice sounded a bit thin to her own ears then, the uncertainty growing with each passing minute. But she had held on for hours now, and it didn’t feel like she had it in herself to hold on for much longer. 

    Ariel scoffed. “Yeah. Obviously, asking anyone but me would be foolish, but I am really busy, you know? A curse is a curse, you should just let it run its course. I am not some sort of all-purpose antidote.”

    Evelyn managed to put her foot in the door before Ariel shut it. 

    “Please? Listen, no one knows curses as well as you do. I am afraid I don’t have that long and I absolutely can’t do this by myself.”

    With both hands against the door, the wind had enough freedom to rob her of her hood, so it drenched her within seconds, stung on her skin like a hundred little needle pricks. 

    “There’s just a handful of curses that more or less kill. You want me to believe that you got one of those? Do you know how hard that is? What would be in it for me?” Ariel eyed her suspiciously. All Evelyn did was to pull up her sleeves as far as possible. Where the skin was thinner and fairer, the black veins stood in sharp contrast to her body, shimmering in a dark grey. Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise and excitement.

    “A Heart of Silver? How far has it spread?” They grabbed her wrist. 

    “It’s in my whole blood-stream,” Evelyn replied and pushed her hair from her temples where her veins were just as black. Ariel looked up with an ‘ah’ on their lips and then let go of her wrist again. 

    “So, I’d get the reaping?”

    “It’s all I could offer.”

    “Say, if we fail and you’ll be a silver statue, can I keep you then? Put you in the corner of my kitchen?”

    “This is not funny, Ariel.” 

    “That’s a yes then. Fine. Come in.” They opened the door enough for Evelyn to step through. Instantly, they were caught in this different world of theirs. She was quite certain that Ariel had put a curse on their own apartment somehow that captured the people who walked in, but so far she did not have evidence to support that theory.

    Books towered against the walls everywhere. There was a pot with an enormous fern right in the middle of the hallway. Not a single lamp was lit, and Evelyn could not shake the feeling that it was to hide the shadows of some ghosts living there as well. Perhaps it was the people the not-yet-proven-curse trapped inside of it.

    “You must tell me everything,” Ariel mumbled while pulling out a few books out of their stacks, seemingly randomly.

    “So, I got an unexpected call from a granny in the morning. She asked me to help with a haunting. I thought I could just handle a simple ghost. You know that I am good with ghosts.” Evelyn tried to follow them, focusing more on not tripping over most likely enchanted vases, gemstones, and one array that hopefully was not used to curse the apartment.

    “I am quite aware, that’s why I don’t like you coming over.”

    Or maybe the array was drawn to specifically keep her out, who knew.

    “So, I drove over in the afternoon. Just one old granny and a ghost. There is a nice magnolia tree in the garden. It’s next to the old school that’s half covered in ivy and the neighbours complain about it all the time because they think it’s weed, although ivy is very useful with old houses for climatic purposes-” Distinctly, she noticed how she started to ramble, her tongue too fast for her mind to catch up on. 

    “Please, for the love of the currently absent blood in your veins, cut yourself short,” Ariel thankfully interrupted and pushed the door to the kitchen open. Evelyn tried very hard to calm herself down with a few measured and calculated breaths, focused on the red lava lamp on the windowsill instead. Multiple candles were lit on the table and next to them slept her black cat whose name Evelyn had never learnt. She only knew her as a beast, my evil gremlin, an annoying menace, YOU!, and the apple of my eye. Currently, the proximity to the candles was once again anxiety inducing.

    Ariel pointed at one of the chairs, so Evelyn sat down and forced herself to keep talking, wiped some of the rain out of her face, along with her sticky bangs that hung in her eyes. 

“The granny didn’t have money to pay, which is fine, you know I like to help where I can, right? And she had this very evil looking set of silverware in her kitchen drawer, so I started to work on it and she kept rambling about how I had a heart of silver -- which was already a bit weird, I guess, since usually it’s a heart of gold, right? -- but at that moment, I thought she was just old and confused because I was working for free, right? Well, until I poked my finger on a fork and that’s when it happened.”

    “Was that the short version?”

    “I left out a lot of detail.”

    The coffee machine beeped and Ariel filled the matching cups. They slid one with big bold yellow letters over to Evelyn that read Best Curse Victim, and kept the one with Best Curse Broker In The Whole Wide World. 

    “Did you custom-make these?” Evelyn asked and Ariel set down the two cups with a grin. They knew that Evelyn preferred tea, but, Tea is for curses and rituals, you can’t make me drink hot water with leaves, they liked to argue. 

    Ariel raised an eyebrow at her quizzically. “I assume the granny then turned out to be a ghost?”

    “She apparently had died over three months ago, yes.”

There was a deep sigh coming from Ariel as they put up their feet onto the table, dangerously close to the candles.

    “And never once while working on silverware and getting praised for your silver heart did you consider the option that perhaps you were getting cursed?”

    “Ghosts get better at hiding themselves each day, Ariel,” Evelyn replied with multiple glances to the shadows. Ariel only offered a weak smile and nodded while they pushed the books into the middle of the table, tapped on it with their sparkly painted fingernails. 

    “I have fourteen books on the Heart of Silver, all very rare collections from back when curse-brokers still thought that this classy beast was curable. I also have read all of these fourteen books.” Ariel took a sip from their coffee and grabbed another pair of glasses that were tucked into a pot of parsley on the windowsill next to the lava lamp. They pushed their former golden glasses up into their soft pink dyed hair. 

Last time they had met, it had been deep purple. They had tried to make her believe once that it was tied to their moods, like those 90s mood rings of which they wore three. “Obviously, I read all the books you can find in this apartment, I wouldn’t keep anything that just took up space.” They opened the right page on the first try and slid the book over to Evelyn. The pages were blank.

    “The pages are blank.”

    “Ah, right. I put a curse on them. No one steals books you can’t read, am I right? Here,” they slid over the glasses to Evelyn, and once she put them on, black letters appeared on the blank pages. Just none she could read.

    “I don’t speak that language, Ariel.”

    “Ah, it’s just encrypted.”

Evelyn sighed deeply and put the glasses down again. She warmed her icy fingers on the coffee cup in front of her, the bitter smell of it made her jittery enough.

    “Please, can you just tell me what you know about it? I am certain that you know your curses, you don’t have to prove anything by showing me book excerpts I can’t read anyway.”

    Ariel smirked openly then, their eyes clearly tracing the black lines on her skin where the liquid silver was running through her veins.

    “The Heart of Silver is a curse that dates back all the way to the sixteenth century. That ultimately makes it a curse of the black night level, because we don’t know its origin anymore, so understanding it has become as good as impossible. Legends say that it was just another love story, though. Why it is a heart of silver and not of gold is equally unclear. Perhaps they didn’t know any better. Then again, a Heart of Gold curse already exists, so. Anyway, the story says that one woman, got  jealous of her maid. The maid, being kind-hearted, was just too lovely to her husband, you see. So when that woman died she cursed her maid on her deathbed and said something along the lines of With your heart made of silver, you still won’t be worth enough to appeal to him. Maybe you could feed his greed by turning into actual silver instead.” They took another sip of coffee, taking out another book from the stack on the table and flipping a page open. “How the curse is passed on is totally unclear as well, although, as you might have noticed, contact with silver seems to be one determinant, as well as someone actually cursing you, also known as a ghost. But why and how? No one knows.”

    “Not even you?” Evelyn asked, feeling punched out. She pulled the new book closer, putting on the glasses again, and there they were. The photos with the evidence that this curse existed. That it was more than just a rumour, a scary story told to teach children not to steal. Proof that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her; that she had understood the situation of her own doom correctly. 

    A silver statue of a man, the face too realistic to be art, distorted in a scream. His arms were outstretched, all around him scrolls of parchment. 1982, Vienna.

    A silver statue of an old woman, sleeping in her bed. She looked much more peaceful, but her brows were drawn together, giving her discomfort away. 1864, Kuressaare.

    A teenage boy, locked inside a dark room with handcuffs tied to the walls, screams on his silver lips. 2003, Hildesheim.

    Evelyn didn’t need to look at more of them. It just made her picture herself as one more of these photos. A corpulent young woman, the face silver but clearly pleading for her life-

    “Does it hurt? Do you know?”

    “Not sure, sorry. Would it help if you knew?” Ariel looked directly at her then, the soft pink hair glimmering red from the lamp, the candles’ lights dancing on her glasses.

    “Probably not.”

    “Then let’s try to make it so that you don’t have to find out. But just to be clear, I will take notes on the curse’s progress, for scientific purposes.” They pulled a notebook out from under their coffee cup.

    “Sure.”

    Ariel grinned and drummed with their golden painted nails onto the table.

    “Soon I will be the first curse-broker to have dealt with the Heart of Silver. Everyone will know my name. Maybe someone will finally publish my book. My google reviews will skyrocket!”

    “You always say a truly good curse-broker gets only bad reviews. And that book doesn’t get published because you describe for three hundred pages how to create various curses. ”

    “That’s because if you want to deal with curses, you need to understand them from the inside out first. Also, creating curses can be fun, I promise.”

    With a glimpse to the shadows, Evelyn nodded in slight agreement. Unease found its way back to her, like an intrusive thought stuck to her skin. The more she listened to her body, the more she felt like it had changed. She was sure to feel the silver in her veins, believed that her body had gotten heavier – was silver heavier than blood? She was sure that her skin had gotten harder where it ran through her.

    “You still there?” Ariel waved before her eyes, nearly poked her, but Evelyn flinched back before they got to. She finally took a sip of her own coffee. The bitterness made her squirm but at least she was able to still taste it.

“So, if the books are all useless, as you say, then where do we start?”

    “Well, as I said, if you want to deal with curses, you have to know them from the inside out. Only if I know how you got it in the first place, I will have a chance at extracting it and exchanging it for a different one. A curse is a near-living thing, after all. If I just rip it out, it might do more damage than aid. I need to know why you fit in its scheme, how it develops inside of you. So I would say we should start with the ghost who put that curse on you, since that granny might be able to answer those questions, but I assume you hunted the shit out of that ghost, didn’t you?”

    Evelyn froze as she remembered the exchange, the prospect of a new curse. She gave her best not to tremble too much as she asked, “The new curse-”

“I can’t tell you what it will be yet.”

“But how-”

“Okay, I’ll give you the short explanation. Any curse corrupts its host. Your body lets it nest inside of it, and usually you will let the curse run its course until it’s fulfilled or withered and the space will grow back. More or less. If I have to extract the curse, the space will be hollow and harm your body and mind. It leaves room for possessions, diseases and much more. So instead I extract the awful curse and give you a new one that is slightly less awful. But in order to do that, the new curse needs to fill out the same space. I need to understand both curses to the T, so that this procedure works. That’s also why I can’t tell you anything about the new curse yet, because I need to understand the Heart of Silver first. Got it?” 

Evelyn nodded, a little as if in a daze. 

“So, the granny?”

“Gone, yes.” Evelyn sighed deeply. “I didn’t think that she would be of help. I just saw her as a ghost and sent her off.”

    “The mark?”

    “Just the silver veins, they started in the hand with which I touched the fork.”

    “Mn. It looks like it has spread completely since then. That doesn’t need to mean anything, though.” Ariel wrote down notes in a book, the pen’s ink invisible to Evelyn’s eyes.

    “When exactly was this?”

    “Somewhen between five and six, this evening.”

    Ariel wrote down more notes, far more than Evelyn had said, so she could only assume that those were some curse related conclusions. After a few minutes, Ariel had emptied their second cup of coffee. At this point, they looked up again and pressed their lips together.

    “I would like to see the curse medium then. You don’t happen to still have that fork?”

    Evelyn shook her head, “I assume it’s still in the house, though. I saw the police wrapping everything up as well, so we should be alone there.” She forced the rest of her coffee down her throat, ignoring how it upset her stomach just a moment later. Ariel nodded and got up, carrying the two cups over to the sink.

    “Well, then. Let’s get going, shall we?” They nodded towards the door and Evelyn went to follow them. Before Ariel closed the kitchen door, she looked back. “Shouldn’t you blow out your candles? Your cat is so close and-”

    “Oh, I cursed the candles, don’t worry. They don’t burn anything. I feel a little bad for doing it, though. Imagine being a fire and then the only thing you can burn is candle wax. So sad.”

    They reached the door and Evelyn stopped once more in her tracks.

    “Do you really want to leave like that?” she asked and looked down Ariel’s onesie with ghost-print.

    “Oh, right, shoes,” they answered, fetching a pair of run down converse, not bothering to tie the laces. They tucked them in and pointed to the door. “Now?”

    But Evelyn still felt like they had forgotten something important. Something they needed to consider before they left. Maybe it was just her fear of entering that house again where she had gotten cursed in the first place, the fear of not finding what they needed to. The fear that she would so utterly fail in the quest of saving her life, of destroying the curse. It was too close to past memories, perhaps. The image of the old lady dissipating into thin air as she sent her off still lingered in her mind, and she couldn’t help but see herself in that place.

    “Ah, of course,” Ariel mumbled, pulled out a single hair from Evelyn and burnt it in the candle standing next to the door. “My mistake.” They waved to the outside, and finally Evelyn found the strength to walk again.

    “So you did curse your own apartment!”

    “Nonsense, I never said that,” Ariel replied with a grin and the rain poured down on them once more. Like needles, it pricked on her skin. If she turned into a silver statue, she would never feel it again. They ran to her old Corolla, parked so very badly in line.

    “You know, those winter tires are really cheap now. You should get them as long as they are affordable. I bet they will be much pricier once it’s winter.”

    “Gotta make it to winter first,” Evelyn muttered and turned on the motor. The radio gave white noise – a side effect of getting cursed, or maybe just a coincidental break-down.

    “So pessimistic. Really, you’re insufferable.” Ariel started to play snake on their phone. 

The way to the old house was quiet except for the occasional white noise when the radio came to life unasked. The road was mostly deserted at the late hour, some street lights only blinked yellow already. It was not until she turned on the road to leave the small city that Ariel shifted in the front seat.

    “Where were you the whole last year, Evelyn?” Their voice was softer now. The phone tucked inside their pocket. With a quick glance, she could see that they looked outside. Of course, they would ask. Evelyn had known that. Despite this, she still didn’t know what to answer. How to say the words to Ariel that she could hardly think to herself.

    “I just… I was not so well.” A kind euphemism for lying in bed all day, ignoring her calls and living off of pizza and instant noodles.

    “We could have really used you then. There was that Undine in the sink of that favourite restaurant of yours. Took three of us to get her out of there. You could have probably managed her yourself.” A harsh way to say that she had been missed. A nice way to say that Ariel was hurt.

    “I’m sorry.” Lousy words. They would not make up for letting her friends down. Not really.

    “It’s fine, you don’t have to apologize.” She had to, though. She really had to.

    Evelyn pulled into the street, the utmost street of the small-town. One could see the forest behind it from here. At the end of the street stood an old house, next to the old school that was covered in ivy.

    “I just wanted you to know that you’re needed, even if you think you aren’t. Or I don’t know… Ah, you know.” Words were hard for Ariel, too. But Evelyn thought she understood them, and nodded with a slight smile. It had been like that between them from the beginning, somehow.

----

WIP intro || masterlist || next chapter

[themadlostgirl]

Tech Wizard

*School is kicking my ass but I finally caught a break! Gonna pump out as many requests as my dumb brain can muster while I can!*

Prompt: Modern reader with modern tech amazes our Lost Boy. Also some cute fluffy flustered reader cause I couldn’t help myself.

Requested by: anon

Warnings: none

~~~

Being of the modern era on an island with absolutely no modern technology--let me rephrase--being on an island with no technology outside of rope pulleys and ladders is horrifying. I am a girl that is used to having things such as wi-fi and smartphones and electricity and indoor plumbing! Now I am on an island that doesn’t so much as have an outhouse!

But I can manage. I am fine. Because despite this place having no technology like cellphone towers or outlets electronics still work. Because time doesn’t move or whatever my phone battery never dies and I have full bars and service everywhere I go. It’s actually amazing.

It was me flashing my tech that kept me from getting locked in a cage my first night on Neverland. The Lost Boys were amazed and Peter Pan especially was intrigued by my technology. The first night on the island was spent with me sitting down with him showing him everything my smartphone could do.

“And if you tap this icon it’ll open the camera.” I pressed the camera button. “See?”

“Fascinating. The last time I saw a camera it was this huge contraption with this bright burst of light and a bulb. Yet you can take pictures just with this hunk of glass and metal?”

“Cool right?” I showed him how to zoom in and out. “Oh and if you swipe the screen like this it’ll open the front facing camera. That way you can take selfies.”

“Selfies?” Peter asked, confused.

“Yeah, they’re picture you take of yourself. Here, let me show you. Scoot in closer so you can see both our faces in the screen.” I pressed my cheek against his to get out faces to fit. “Say cheese!”

I took the picture and pulled it up in the gallery. “See? And this is the gallery where you can look at all the other pictures you’ve taken.”

“The quality is amazing. Who are these other people in the your gallery?” He asked as he scrolled through the other images.

“Oh, those are just old friends I lost contact with after I moved.” It was sad seeing all their faces again.

“And this one?” he clicked on a picture of me kissing my ex’s cheek. “You seem rather close with this particular friend.”

“Ex-boyfriend. Things didn’t end well.” I took the phone back. “I know I should have deleted the photos by now but I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

As if sensing that the subject was making me uncomfortable he asked what other features my phone had. I was glad for the distraction and brought up my music app. “It’s basically like having a music box with hundreds of thousands of songs at your fingertips. Here’s a good one.”

I clicked on Man with the Hex. Maybe I should have started with something softer but honestly since stepping onto this island it was all I could think of. Well that and Somewhere In Neverland. I wonder how he would react if I told him about the songs and movies Peter had inadvertently inspired.

“What other music do you have?” Peter asked.

“Tons. I basically got a little bit of everything. There are some songs inspired by the fictional you that I told you about. Did you want to hear one?”

“Songs? What else has this fictional counterpart of mine inspired?”

“A stage play, tv shows, a couple of movies. The animated one is a classic and hilarious but the 2003 live action film is just so wholesome and innocent.”

“Did you refer to me as wholesome and innocent?”

“Well, your fictional counterpart is a kid not a teenager. I’d say he’s at max maybe twelve or thirteen years old when they show him in films.”

“I see...”

“If I can get my hands on a projector we could set up a movie night and I could show you guys one of the movies. I think everyone would get a kick out of it.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“I can’t wait.” Peter and I sat there all night as I played him different songs and we played app games. I started to fall asleep but he still wanted to play with my phone so I handed it over for him to use while I caught a couple hours of shut eye.

I woke up a couple hours later to soft music playing near my ear. The surface I was sleeping on was also a lot softer than I remember falling asleep on. I peeked my eyes open and noticed that at some point I had slumped over and fallen asleep on Peter’s lap.

“Hey, sorry for falling asleep on you.” I yawned. “Still having fun?”

“Yes. It is a fascinating piece of technology.”

“I know.” I realized what song he was playing and smiled. “I see you found my Disney playlist.”

“Disney?”

“Movie company. They’re the people that made that animated feature I told you about.” I sat up, “I don’t have any movies saved on my phone but I can pull it up on YouTube. Give me a second.” I took the phone back and looked up the song he had been listening to.

Cause of course it had to be Kiss the Girl. I wonder how Peter would react to seeing a movie that portrayed mermaids as nice instead of the vicious killers Neverland has.

I started the video and watched him as he watched the video. It was like watching a little kid. He was so impressed by things I thought were so commonplace. “And this was all hand drawn?”

“Yep. Cool, right?”

“Very.”

Our eyes met and my heart leapt into my throat. He was a lot closer than I thought. I could practically feel his breath on my face.

Yes, you want her Look at her, you know you do Possible she want you too, there is one way to ask her It don't take a word, not a single word Go on and kiss the girl

Why couldn’t I have played Poor Unfortunate Souls or Circle of Life? Why did I have to put on this song? It was giving me ideas I don’t think I should be having.

Look like the boy too shy He ain't gonna kiss the girl Sha-la-la-la-la-la, ain't that sad? Ain't it a shame? Too bad He gonna miss the girl

It was only made all the worse by the fact that he wouldn’t stop staring at me now.

Now's your moment Floating in a blue lagoon Boy, you better do it soon, no time will be better She don't say a word and she won't say a word Until you kiss the girl

He looked at me with a smirk. “Is it true?”

“Hm?” I didn’t trust myself to speak at that moment.

“Are you not gonna say a word until I kiss you?” His grin grew wider and my panic grew deeper.

“No. No, I can talk.” I stammered out. “I was just--you know what? I never showed you how to record videos on this. Check this out.” I quickly closed the app and opened the camera again. “See, we click this button and when he tap the center button now it’ll record.”

“It records anything?” He asked with that same mischievous smile of his.

“Yeah. Sure does.”

“That could come in very handy. Let me see.” He took the phone and aimed it at us to record. “There is something that I’d like to hold onto.”

“What’s that?”

“Your flustered face.” He pecked my cheek and my mouth dropped open.

“Peter!”

“And now I have that face forever!” he laughed as he played the video back. “You are going to have to bring more of this stuff over, my little technology wizard. I want to have much more fun with these devices.”

“Yeah. Sure.” I nodded furiously. “I’ll be sure to get right on that. There are tons of movies and video games I think you guys would really like. I could also bring over some flashlights. They’re like torches but they won’t set stuff on fire. Who knows, I might even bring over a karaoke machine. I think that would be really funny to witness.”

“Whatever you say.” Peter lounged back. “Now explain to me what a karaoke machine is.”

[lazuliquetzal]

Don't Take It Personally, Asshole!

@snowlikestardust

BY POPULAR REQUEST: This is a (cleaned up) version of an early draft of CH11 of AA Batteries, which is in Akira’s POV instead of Miyuki’s! You’ll probably recognize a lot of turns of phrase because I’m unoriginal and like, 80% of what I cut gets recycled. This scene got cut up and Frankensteined a LOT into later chapters haha.

So this takes place during the Yakushi practice match, right after Eijun throws wild and Miyuki talks to Kataoka about his inability to throw to the inside.

“Akira.” Akira stiffens and turns his gaze away from the mound. Coach is standing on the sidelines, and he makes a ‘come here’ gesture. Akira jogs over. He tries to ignore the flicker of hope in his chest, but he can’t stop the way his heart is pounding out of control, leaving him barely able to hear. “Coach,” Akira dips his head in respect and clenches his jaw. His eyes fix upon the ground below. “Can you fix this?” ‘This’ being the obvious — the fact that Eijun can’t throw to the inside. He looks back to the mound. Eijun is stiff and pale, his left hand clenching and unclenching in unconscious denial. He looks a little scared, yes, but mostly, he looks confused. And — this is the important thing — he hasn’t given up. This Eijun won’t shuffle back to the dugout, defeated. This Eijun will go down kicking and screaming. Eijun still wants to pitch. Maybe he can’t pitch. But he wants to. Yeah, Akira thinks. I’ll take those odds.

He looks back at the coach and nods his head.

Kataoka breaks his gaze and looks to the outfield. “Asou!”

Their left fielder jogs in, mouth pulled into a firm line.

“Miyuki, you’re playing left field. Akira, you’re in.”

You’re in.

The words echo around Akira’s brain. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

While Kataoka sorts out the substitution with the umpires, Akira exhales. He drops down onto the bench and adjusts the straps on his leg guards, making sure they’re not too tight or too loose. Beside him, Furuya hovers, eyes narrowed.

Are you going to be okay?

Akira nods.

The truth is: he’d thought about the Inajitsu thing for a long time. And after the initial anger and grief and shame, he’d come to the following conclusion:

Coach Kataoka was right. Akira probably would not have survived that inning.

It wasn’t nerves. Akira had never been nervous in his life.

(Okay, he had been nervous, of course he had. But not for a baseball game.)

And it wasn’t lack of skill or experience, though that probably played a big role in the coach’s decision.

(Okay, definitely played a big role in the coach’s decision. Let’s be honest: Akira was not the best catcher in the dugout that day.)

The truth is this: Akira was scared, too.

For good or ill, better or worse, Eijun and Akira have always fed off each other like a chemical reaction. If Eijun got excited, Akira got excited. If Akira got competitive, Eijun got competitive. Having them play while they were both out of their minds would not have ended well.

Today is a different story.

He’s not going to lie: it is weird seeing Eijun unable to pitch to the inside. It’s practically unthinkable. Eijun and Akira lived and died by the inside pitch. It pretty much defined their entire middle school career.

But right now? Akira’s not scared. And as long as he can hold onto that, he can fix this.

Kataoka gestures for him to get out on the field, and Akira steps out of the dugout.

“Do your best,” Miyuki says, from behind him.

Akira resists the urge to roll his eyes. As if I’d do anything less.

They split off: Miyuki to the outfield, and Akira to the mound. He jogs up to where Eijun is standing. When he arrives, he stops just an arm’s length away from his brother.

Eijun stares at him for a moment, and Akira stares back.

“Hey,” Akira says. “What sign does Miyuki-senpai use for the cutter kai?”

Eijun blinks, caught off guard by the question. He shakes his head and answers the question. “Ah, he uses a ‘four,’” he says, and he makes the sign with his hand.

“Cool,” Akira says. “I’m gonna use a seven.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Eijun makes a face. “You’re doing this just to be annoying, aren’t you.”

“Yep.”

“And even if I argue, you’re going to use it anyway.”

“Absolutely.”

“I hate you so much.”

“Great,” Akira says, in the flat voice that he knows Eijun finds irritating. “Good talk.”

He steps away and turns to the rest of the field. “So, uh, they’re probably gonna get a lot of hits,” Akira yells out. “Like, a lot. Sorry about the workout. Thanks for your cooperation.”

“You’re saying it wrong!” Eijun hisses at him. “And they are not gonna get a lot of hits!”

“I dunno, Ei,” Akira says, rolling his eyes. “You’re not exactly on top of your game, are you?”

“I’ll kick your ass if you make bad calls.”

“So shake them.” Akira glares at Eijun, daring him.

Eijun agitatedly waves his arms around. “You know I — ugh! Shut up! Get off my mound!”

Akira waves good-bye, as annoyingly as he can, and he walks down to home plate. He sketches a quick bow to the batter and the umpire, and then he crouches down.

The game resumes.

Akira takes a quick look around, the way Chris-senpai taught him to. The runners are at ease, barely paying attention to him. The guy on first base looks especially relaxed.

Hm. He’s never done a pickoff before. That would be pretty cool.

Akira turns his attention back to the mound, and he’s about to make a call —

And then he frowns.

He wants to tell Eijun to throw to the inside. And he knows, by the expression on his brother’s face, that it’s what Eijun wants to do, too.

But there’s something else in Eijun’s gaze. His eyes keep darting around — not to the runners, but to the batter.

Akira glances over at Todoroki Raichi. Yakushi’s monster first-year, a batter who can crush an ace in a single hit. Logic says to be careful; logic says to keep their guard up against the best batter in West Tokyo.

Well, fuck that, Akira decides. If Eijun really can’t pitch to the inside, then every batter might as well be Todoroki Raichi. It’s like middle school all over again.

He spreads his arms wide.

Eijun blinks.

Ignore him, Eijun. Just pitch whatever.

You’re joking, right?

Akira smirks. What, you think I can’t catch it?

Eijun sticks his tongue out — petty and dramatic as always. Akira rolls his eyes, and he knows that his brother can see it because he rolls his eyes back.

Eijun throws the ball.

It's instinctual, at this point, to move his feet and stretch his arm, catching the ball before it can fly out of reach. It slams into the back of his mitt, his vision tunnels — and before his brain can catch up with his body, he chucks the ball down to first base.

Wait, shit —

Thankfully, Zono-senpai catches the ball and tags out the runner. Pickoff.

"Out," says the umpire, looking just as surprised as Akira feels.

Holy crap! Akira thinks, in the safety of his own mind. That actually worked?

Zono tosses the ball back to Eijun, and then sends Akira a fiercely enraged expression.

Akira winces and ducks his head. He can hear Chris-senpai’s voice in his mind: baseball is a team sport.

Oops.

But they got the out, so at least he didn’t fuck up his very first play in the game.

Akira looks back to Eijun. Judging by the wild course of his last pitch, he’s still overly aware of the batter.

Akira spreads his arms, again.

Eijun grits his teeth. He steps onto the rubber and winds up.

It comes. Low. It hits dirt, and Akira stops it. Then he tosses it back.

Throw what you want.

“Are you leading me, or not?” Eijun yells, finally cracking.

“Depends!” Akira yells back.

Eijun crosses his arms. On what?

Akira mimes the motion of a ball hitting him in the face, and then flaps his hand around.

Eijun stares at him incredulously. Excuse me?

It’s a valid concern!

Eijun groans in frustration. I’m not gonna hit you in the face!

Aw, you do care! Akira grins and fires off a sarcastic thumbs up, just rile up his brother a little bit more.

It works, because Eijun’s eyes flash, bubbling up with barely contained fury.

Get mad. It’s better than being scared.

Eijun steps back onto the rubber and tightens his grip on the ball, daring Akira to make the call.

Akira places his mitt. Fastball to the outside.

Eijun throws. Todoroki swings. Foul.

Akira barely registers the hit — as soon as he realized it was a foul, he’d already started planning the next move. Another outside pitch, again, but a four-seamer this time.

Eijun throws.

Foul.

Okay, Akira thinks. He looks back at his brother and studies his expression.

He still looks annoyed and irritated. And even better — he’s not looking at Todoroki Raichi anymore.

Good.

He makes the call. And Eijun follows.

It’s like déjà vu, Akira thinks, as the ball makes its way toward him. A fastball to the inside corner, a sight he’s seen thousands of times. The batter tenses, squares his hips, and swings the bat.

Clang.

Like lightning, a sudden stab of oh shit flashes across Akira’s chest. That was a good hit — firm and loud and solid.

Oops, Akira thinks, as Todoroki takes off running and the runners start trickling in. In retrospect? It was probably obvious that they were gunning for an inside pitch. Most batters are pretty comfortable with the gambler’s fallacy —

Someone clicks their tongue, and Akira blinks, crashing back into the present. Eijun’s glaring at him, again.

Deal with that later, dumbass.

Akira rolls his eyes, but Eijun’s right. Unfortunately.

They’re in the middle of a game right now. He can reflect upon his baseball sins at two in the morning.

The moment the next batter steps up to the plate, Akira calls for another inside pitch. And Eijun delivers.

The ball slams into the back of his mitt, and it’s like a gear clicking into place. How long has it been since he caught for his brother outside of mandatory practice? How long has it been since they formed a battery on the field?

The familiar sensation doesn’t wipe away the anger, but it does drown it out. Who needs feelings? They have baseball.

“Nice pitch,” Akira calls out, and he tosses the ball back to the mound. Truce?

Eijun receives the toss. He nods and straightens his back. Truce.

The rest of their play time blurs by after that.

[wedreamedlove]

[FIC] Golden Wheat

Rating: M Characters: Xu Mo/Reader Word Count: 4388

Tags: Lime. Fluff. Minor angst. Established Relationship.

Notes: He’s 29 years old, if we’re counting from when this game was released in China! (I have to make myself feel better about my own aging LOL).

Summary: Sometimes a special day doesn't need anything special, simply being together with someone important to you is enough.

"Mhm, I just got off work and I'll be coming home after making a quick detour. I'll only be 10, maybe 15, minutes later than usual."

You tell Xu Mo this through the phone while weaving around people on the sidewalk, heading for a bakery which was just across the street from you.

"Huh? Oh no, you don't need to come pick me up. Seriously, I'll be home before you—ah!" You jerk to a stop before you step out into the road when a car comes to a screeching stop right before the crosswalk, blaring its horns at you.

Excuse me? The walking sign is clearly on and flashing, so you have the right of way! Was the driver trying to run a red light?!

You give them the stink eye and then cross the street quickly, this time after checking to make sure no other cars are going to try and break the law, before picking up your conversation on the phone again.

"Hello? Sorry about that. Anyway, like I said, I'll be back before you know it. Just relax and wait at home!"

You don't hear a response after your words though so you bring the phone down only to see that the screen is completely black. Did your phone die!? But it was clearly at 20% battery the last time you checked... You know you should have replaced this old phone with a new one, but work has been so busy lately that the matter keeps slipping your mind.

Hopefully, Xu Mo got most of your message though. You speed up your steps just in case and head into the bakery to get the birthday cake you ordered in advance. You and him planned to take a trip to celebrate his birthday and, unlike the first celebration, you're determined to make sure this cake survives its journey to him.

~~~

Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Who knew you would end up waiting in line forever just because a customer decided to argue with the counter clerk. It gets to the point where you contemplate stepping in to save the poor employee who is being berated, but fortunately a manager appears to handle the irate customer.

After that whole situation is resolved though, there's an issue with your custom order in their electronic records and the employees have to spend a good chunk of time manually finding your order in the back of the store.

By the time you leave the bakery, you decide to hop into a taxi to get home instead of taking the subway, thinking that will be quicker, but it's peak rush hour now and you end up getting stuck in the traffic of everyone else trying to go home.

Your estimated 10 to 15 minutes of being home later than expected becomes an hour and a half. You also have no easy way of contacting Xu Mo to let him know. For a second, you think about asking to borrow the taxi driver's phone, but decide that will be too much of a hassle.

You just know Xu Mo is going to give you that helpless smile of his, tinged with exasperated affection, when you get home and tell him all about your Herculean journey today.

Finally, the taxi brings you to the small neighborhood where you are living with Xu Mo and you quickly pay the fare before jogging through the small path between the trees to the house and the man you know is waiting at the end.

You lift your eyes up automatically, straining to see a familiar silhouette on the veranda where he will often lean against the rails to catch sight of you whenever you return home later than him. However, you don't see any figure on the veranda. The lights of the house are on, so you know he must be at home. But you don't see him.

Just as your eyebrows start to furrow, you hear the gravel ahead of you crunch and shift and your line of sight drops down to see Xu Mo appear on the road home.

Oh. He must have been unable to wait for you and came down to personally welcome you home instead. Fondness and amusement wells up in you and you get the urge to tease him for his impatience.

"Xu—" You start to say his name, but then you find yourself pulled into a crushing embrace. Caught off guard, the cake box tumbles out of your hands and onto the ground between you two.

"You're home."

His voice is hoarse and the freezing cold fingertips that brush against you, when he curls a hand around the back of your head to hold you closer to him, gives you a shock. How long has he been standing out here waiting for you?

You can feel his throat move beside your ear, Adam's apple bobbing, as if there are too many things he wants to say but he doesn't know where to start and so he can only swallow the words down. It's so unusual for your professor that your hands hover in the air, not sure what has come over him, before you finally return his embrace.

A tremor runs through him at your touch.

"I'm back."

"... You were gone for much longer than 15 minutes later than usual."

There was an angry customer in the bakery. The shop had problems. The taxi got caught in traffic. My phone died. These phrases appear in your head but they all sound like excuses even though there is no censure in his voice.

"I'm sorry," you say instead, feeling contrite as you realize he was genuinely worried, "I should have let you know somehow."

His silent laugh stirs your hair. "I'm not blaming you, but hm... maybe you do need to pay a price for lying."

It's your turn to laugh against him and the weight in your chest disappears when you hear him slyly trying to get a benefit. If he can tease you like this, then whatever emotions that had prepossessed him earlier are now gone.

"Alright, name your price." You place yourself in his hands without hesitation, curious as to what he'll ask for.

"Let's cancel the trip tomorrow."

However, you weren't expecting him to say this. You blink and then reflexively step back to be able to see his face. Xu Mo lets go, giving you this space, and watches you with a calm expression.

You can't read anything in those quiet and dark eyes, but it's extremely rare for him to openly go against something he knows you've been looking forward to, especially when the purpose of this trip is to celebrate his birthday. You don't refuse him though. You can't and never have whenever he voices his wants.

"Okay, we don't have to go. It'll be your birthday after all, so whatever you say goes." You smile brightly to let him know you really don't mind.

"Thank you." His expression softens, eyes suffusing with tenderness, and then he bends down to pick up the fallen cake box in one hand before reaching out with his other to grab yours. His slender fingers slide in between your fingers and your hands press together, palms flush with each other. "Let's go in before you catch a cold."

"You're one to talk," you reply, squeezing his cool hand in emphasis before you place your free hand on top of his and yours and try to rub some of your warmth into him.

He leads you on the short path home and you swing your joined hands lightly as you tell him all about your day. When you get to the part about the cake, the two of you are already through the front door and you cast a look at the box in his hand, which he's placing on the small entryway table, and sigh as you take off your shoes.

"I'm a bit scared to open the box and see what happened to that poor cake after its fall. Hey, how come there's always cake casualties on your birthday?"

You raise your head up to look at him only to feel something warm press against your mouth.

Xu Mo takes advantage of your surprise to deepen the kiss. Despite the chill that lingers in his hands when he cups your face and in the tip of his nose when he tilts his head, skimming it against your cheek, his tongue is burning hot. His need for you is consuming, completely at odds to the calm appearance he had earlier, and you find yourself falling.

No, you really do stumble, breaking the kiss when your legs go weak and you barely manage to clutch onto his shirt in time before you slide down to the ground.

This doesn't even faze Xu Mo though, who lowers his head to follow you and catches the rim of your ear between his lips. His breathing echoes the pounding of your heart and then you feel him drop his hands from your face to loop an arm around your waist and the other below your backside before he lifts you up.

"Xu Mo!" You startle when you suddenly find yourself weightless and entirely in his arms. You grab onto his shoulders instinctively to balance yourself. "Wait—"

But with your faces at the same level, he kisses you again. You dimly feel him press you against the wall of the foyer before the white-hot surges of pleasure muddles your mind and completely drowns out your thoughts.

You're breathless by the time the kiss ends. Still, somehow you manage to gasp out, "The cake..."

Shouldn't it be checked to see if anything can be saved and put in the fridge? Or if not, thrown away?

"We'll make another one together tomorrow," his voice is low when he responds.

It takes you a second to understand him, because that wasn't what you were asking. He doesn't give you a chance to clarify though as he seals your mouth with his again and takes away your ability to think. His tongue sweeps across the sensitive spots in your mouth, making your toes curl and your legs clench around him, before he turns his head to the side to place open-mouthed kisses along your jaw and neck.

Ragged breathing resounds in the space between you two and you can't tell whether it belongs to him or you anymore. But every time his breath brushes against you, it leaves a streak of damp heat and you dig your hands into his shoulders, head falling to one side as his lips slide down your neck.

"May I take you to bed?"

The words are mouthed against your fluttering pulse more than they're said out loud and then he pauses his assault on your senses, waiting to hear your answer. His breathing is heavy and you can feel the tension in his muscles underneath your hands, like his entire body is as taut as a bowstring, but he holds you steadily and patiently.

Your cheeks flush with heat at the direct question but you still nod in permission and then lean forward, shifting your arms so you can wrap them around his back, to hide your face in his neck. When you do, the comforting and familiar scent of grasslands fills your nose.

Xu Mo's arm around your waist tightens for a second before he carries you effortlessly into the bedroom where he sets you down gently onto the bed and then leans forward to cover you, settling a knee in between your legs.

But, having unclasped your arms from him when he put you down, you press a hand lightly against his chest, making him pause. You flick your eyes to the light switch in the room and then back to him.

Xu Mo takes in your red face and appears to understand your insinuation but, much to your surprise, he doesn't grant your wish and instead says, "Let's leave the lights on tonight."

If it's possible to turn any redder, you're pretty sure you're doing it right now. You want to protest but the words catch on your lips when you look at him and realize he's not teasing you.

There is enough light in the room to see his subdued expression clearly but it also casts a shadow at the edge of his features and—maybe this is just a trick of the light—there seems to be a layer of fragility around him. Beside the bed and him is the full length window that faces the trees in the back, with its curtains partially drawn right now, but the sliver of darkness you can see suddenly strikes you with an irrational thought. If the lights were to be turned off right now then would Xu Mo vanish into the darkness? Would the shadows around his edges spread like a drop of ink in water and consume him?

Before you know it, you loop your arms around his neck and pull him down into you, not wanting there to be any space between you two, and he comes to you without resistance, catching your mouth with his.

The lights in the house remain on long into the night.

~~~

You wake up slowly to fingers playing with the bangs on your forehead and the occasional brush of those fingertips against your skin is gentle.

You breathe in deeply, filling your chest with the smell of damp meadow and something cool like mint, before you open your eyes and, as expected, see Xu Mo sitting beside you above the covers in a short robe. He's reading something on his tablet, glasses perched on his nose, but he looks over the moment you stir.

"Good morning," you say, but your own scratchy voice shocks you. You clear your throat, eyes wide, and there's an amused smile on Xu Mo's lips as he exchanges his tablet with a glass of water from the side table and helps you sit up before handing it to you.

"It'd be more correct to say good afternoon."

"Huh!? Why didn't you wake me? We're going to be late!" You barely avoid choking and spilling the water on your pajamas when you hear the time. How can you two get on the train in time if it's already the afternoon?!

"Silly, we canceled our trip. Remember?"

"O-oh, right."

"I also thought it'd be better for you to sleep more. I'm afraid I asked a little too much from you last night," Xu Mo says apologetically, smoothing your bed hair with a hand, before he takes your empty glass to put it aside.

You blink at him and it takes a good second for you to register his words. Then the memories of last night come flooding into your brain.

A creaking bed.

The damp heat that presses against your back.

Bunched up sheets clutched and shifting beneath your hands.

Hot and heavy breaths echoing beside your ear.

Pleasure peaking and taking you under, but just as you sink down he starts to move again, bringing another thundering crest of passion.

Your breathless and weak voice begging for mercy.

A hoarse plea in response, "Stay with me a while longer. Just a while longer."

Ravishment swirling with ecstasy mixed with intensity until you're drowning in an ocean of fervor...

You don't remember anything else concrete. Just flashes of other images and sensations like his hand entwined with yours. The... variety of positions. But now you understand why your body aches all over and why your throat was so dry just now.

Immediately, your face feels like it's on fire and you squawk before diving under the covers. You hear him laugh from beside you, making you reach out to blindly smack at his hip.

He catches your hand in his though and kneads the pads of your fingers. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You were cute. Mm, like a kitten."

You pop your head out from under the covers. "Stop bringing it up!"

But it's not like you're actually angry and you use this opportunity to take a closer look at him. His face is relaxed and his expressions are open; whatever haunted him yesterday seems to be really gone now and his eyes are serene as he gives you a helpless smile.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you." Xu Mo bends down to kiss your forehead. "Freshen up and come into the kitchen. Didn't you want to make a cake today?"

The distraction works instantly and you ask excitedly, "We have all the ingredients?"

He hums in affirmation and starts to take off his robe to put on a turtleneck sweater, but a strangled noise escapes your mouth when you see all the scratches on his back. Xu Mo glances over his shoulder at you, giving you a curious look, before comprehension dawns on his face and a smile curls on the corner of his lips, "Like I said, you were as cute as a kitten."

You cover your face and sink into the covers again. You feel him pat your leg, but you refuse to move and it's only after you hear him exit the bedroom and head into the kitchen that you dare to raise your head and leave the bed to wash up.

~~~

By the time you make your way to the kitchen, Xu Mo has already set out the ingredients needed to bake a cake and done preliminary preparations. You can't help but pause in the doorway and take in the sight of him though.

He's looking over a recipe on the tablet he placed on the counter and as the afternoon sunlight pours in through the wide windows, giving his white turtleneck a golden sheen, it catches on the dust motes in the air, filling the space with little glimmers. They contrast sharply with his ink-black hair, as if something celestial has spilled onto him, and with the warm light softening the graceful lines of his face you feel like you're seeing something not of this world.

For a second, you're afraid any noise you make will shatter this illusion and the immortal who has descended into your home will disappear.

"Are you planning to watch me do everything?"

Xu Mo's calm voice breaks you out of your thoughts and you see that he's looking over at you with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, the original cake's fate was because of you..." you joke as you walk over to lean against him, reassuring yourself with his solidity, and take a look at the recipe. "By the way, what happened to it?"

"I'm afraid it was unsalvageable." He accepts your weight naturally and shifts his position so that you're more comfortably pressed against his chest rather than his arm. "I believe today is my birthday though?"

"So you think you should get a free pass?"

"Isn't that the case?" He tilts his head down and his breath caresses your ear.

You clear your throat and fight to keep the laughter out of your words. "I guess we can split the work 50/50 then."

"Thank you for your lenience." You hear the smile in his voice. "Why don't we get started then."

The two of you enter an easy rhythm, pre-heating the oven, mixing the dry ingredients, and mixing the wet ingredients. Occasionally, either you or he will read out the next steps for the other person.

Soon enough, the cake enters the oven and you both switch over to making the frosting. It doesn't escape your attention that there's a variety of food coloring you're sure the kitchen didn't have before though, meaning he must have gone out in the morning to get these. You carefully make a few different shades of colors, already having a general idea about how you wanted to decorate his cake, but you still ask Xu Mo for his opinion on each color. However, he just leaves the ultimate decision to you.

Finally satisfied with everything you've prepared to decorate the cake when it's finished baking, you wipe the back of your hand across your forehead. Even though it's the end of autumn and the start of winter, the temperature in the house is warm and with the two of you in the kitchen, as well as the oven being on, it's actually a bit hot.

You turn to Xu Mo to ask him what he wants to do to pass the time until the cake is finished only to find that he's already looking at you, lips twitching.

"What? What is it?" You narrow your eyes at him suspiciously.

"Silly girl, you got frosting on yourself." He reaches out and uses the pad of his thumb to wipe at your forehead before showing you the purple frosting on it.

You make a startled noise and look at the back of your hand. It's only now that you remember you were testing different shades of purple on your hand because you couldn't decide on one.

Hearing him actually start to chuckle as he turns towards the sink, probably to wash his hand and grab a paper towel for you, you're struck with a mischievous urge and your hand shoots out. Xu Mo doesn't even flinch as you smear a streak of purple cream across his cheekbone though.

You giggle at your handiwork. "That's what you get for laughing at me."

But when he turns to stare at you in silence, you actually start to worry at having taken too much liberty with him. Maybe playing with food wasn't such a good idea. You open your mouth to apologize, only to shriek when he grabs you and rubs his cheek against yours, spreading the cream back to you.

He has an arm around your waist and a hand at the back of your head to prevent you from pulling away, but before long he stops smearing the cream on you and raises his head to press his forehead to yours. He tilts his head a little, touching the tip of his nose to yours and brushing his eyelashes against your skin, kissing you in every way but with his lips.

"I love you."

There's nothing special in his voice. No emphasis. No emotional intensity. It's just said between one breath and the next, as if it is something that is always hovering between the both of you and only now, through the power of words, has it been materialized into the open and given form.

"Mm, I love you too," you reply.

"Say it again." You feel his lips curve into a smile.

You blink with surprise at his request but answer it easily enough, "I love you."

"I love you as well," he replies immediately, except this time there's a tenderness that permeates every one of his words. "Again."

You hesitate, feeling that he's up to something, but he just brushes your noses together again and his lips skim yours as he breathes out, "I love you."

"I love you too," you unconsciously lower your voice to match his.

In this quiet kitchen, with the sunlight streaming in and creating a golden glow at the edge of your vision that isn't filled with Xu Mo, the world feels like it's shrunk to this tiny space between you two. Even breathing seems too loud for this moment.

"Again," he requests.

Your cheeks start to heat up as each repetition seems to add more weight to the words and you barely manage to whisper out an audible "I love you".

"And I love you."

The hand at the back of your head returns to cup your cheek and your eyes flutter shut as he touches his lips softly to yours. You feel him open his mouth, as if he's about to ask you to say these words again, but the ding of the oven interrupts him and shatters the atmosphere.

You jerk back at the loud noise and clear your throat in embarrassment. He sees your flustered appearance and smiles in resignation before turning to bring the cake out of the oven.

While he does this, you clean up the frosting on yourself at the sink and also dampen a paper towel so that, after Xu Mo sets down the cake on the counter to cool, you can reach up and clean the streaks of cream on his cheek. He bends down to make it easier for you to reach him and leans into your touch, closing his eyes and raising a hand to encircle your wrist.

Seeing this rare look of peace and defenselessnesss on his face, you can't resist sneaking a peck on his cheek along with a quick "I love you" after you wipe his face.

You spin around before he can open his eyes and busy yourself with grabbing the frosting to decorate the cake. Xu Mo laughs softly from behind you and then presses himself against your back, wrapping his arms around your waist, but he's content to leave the decorating to you and simply rests his chin on your shoulder to watch you work.

The cake is decorated in short order (and if you were going off of your memories of the cake you ordered from the bakery, well, that's your secret) and you present it to Xu Mo. "Ta-dah! What do you think?"

He hums contemplatively and the sound reverberates beside your ear, "Unique and it looks delicious."

"Are you making fun of my drawing skills?" You nudge him in mock outrage.

"Not at all. It's unique because you drew it with your own colors."

Your ears redden at the sincerity in his voice and you distract yourself by grabbing a fork and using it to split a small section of the cake off before you scoop it up and hold it out to Xu Mo. "Here, as the birthday boy, you get the first bite."

He accepts the forkful that you feed him.

"Happy birthday, Xu Mo," you say, beaming at him, and then you ask, "How does it taste?"

The only warning you get is the mischievous glimmer in his eyes seconds before he leans over and kisses you.

This year's cake is sweeter than any other cake you've eaten.

[ramblinganthropologist]

Crossed over

Summary: Garrus has something to tell Shepard before they get down to pound town. Same hat, though? Same hat.

(I wrote this originally for pride but didn’t finish it in time. Yes I am 100% pulling this out of my ass, but who cares. My city now.)

---

Shit.

Garrus’ heart was still racing as the door to the main battery shut in front of him. Only moments prior, the Normandy’s commander had been standing there, chatting with him. Well… chatting wasn’t really the right word. Propositioning, maybe? That felt more on the face plate to him, but it just sounded so salacious for something coming from the man people had dubbed humanity’s boy scout.

He didn’t know what a boy scout was, but he was fairly sure they didn’t make suggestions like that…

“I guess I need to… ask Mordin about this.”

His hand hesitated on his omni-tool before he could make the call. The salarian would be good for positioning and allergic warnings, but he didn’t need that at the moment. That wasn’t going to quiet the frantic racing of his heart. He needed somebody else for that, someone he was still on shaky terms with.

But he needed someone would listen and not need a million clarifying questions…

His talons typed in the familiar number, and it was soon sending out the request. Thanks to being so close to a mass relay, it would go through no problem. Well, that and the fact Cerberus had souped up the Normandy’s communication system in several definitely off the market and illegal ways. Though that really wasn’t his problem anymore – he hadn’t been part of C-SEC for over two years.

Just… old habits die hard he supposed.

The call took a few seconds to connect, but he soon heard the sounds of Palaven on the other end. Garrus felt his stomach drop as he realized just how late it was on his homeworld. No doubt he had woken up the other party from a deep sleep – that was strike two for him before he had said a word.

Strike one, naturally, was going off on Omega and becoming a mercenary who took a rocket to the face. She was still mad about that.

“Garrus?”

Solana sounded tired. He could hear her shifting on the other end, no doubt because she had been in bed and fast asleep. Guilt swarmed in his stomach, but his resolve pushed it away. As the humans said it, in for a penny in for a pound.

And boy, he was going to get a pounding…

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. The humans of the Normandy would’ve never noticed it, but no doubt his sister had already picked up on just how frantic he sounded. Right then, any turian within a couple hundred yards probably could’ve picked it up. Hell, a passing ship might have even gotten the hint if they hadn’t been in FTL drive. But he tried anyway – he had his pride in the end.

“Uh, hey, Solana. Sorry, I realize it’s late and all, but- “

Right then, he could imagine her mandibles twitching in annoyance, but also the gleam in her eyes that gave away just how curious she actually was. After all, he wasn’t the call home type. Never had been really, especially after their mother had passed. It just sort of got pushed to the back and they caught up when they could.

“Gar, you’re freaking out so loud the humans are going to hear it. You’re not dying again, are you?”

Hey, that had been a one-time deal. It wasn’t like he had a habit of taking rockets to the face or anything…

Garrus took a deep breath to steady himself once more, and he allowed his body some respite by dropping it onto the cot he kept in the battery. Sure, he probably could’ve had a bunk elsewhere – but that would’ve been with humans who had no problems working with Cerberus. As the object of his anxiety would’ve put it, taco was good out there.

He still didn’t get that – what did food have to do with displeasure? Humans were weird…

“I’m fine.” His mandibles twitched. “Just… had a talk with Shepard.”

Solana’s subvocals were curiosity city as she leaned in. “The big one or the dead one?”

“He’s not dead anymore…” Garrus’ voice trailed off. “And the little one, yeah.”

On the other end of the line, he heard his sister chuckle. “What, did you two have a fight about calibrating or something? That’s not exactly something to call me over, Gar. He’s not going to kick you off the…”

Her voice trailed off, no doubt because she had put the pieces together. He felt his stomach squirm as he waited in the pregnant silence, knowing the ball was going to drop any second. Really, this was the last thing he wanted to tell her…

“Please tell me you told him before you two fucked.”

Garrus’ mandibles almost let him lift off the ground as he jumped to his feet on instinct. “We haven’t… not yet. We were just… he made suggestions. I think we’re going to eventually, once we both put some research in. Kind of hard to smash a turian and a human together and all…”

His voice trailed off, realizing just how awkward he sounded. Really, the logical side of him knew he was being ridiculous. It wasn’t like he was a virgin like Shepard was. There were a few lovers in his past, so for the most part he knew what he was doing. It was just… well, humans were odd.

Solana’s voice was steadier the next time she spoke. “So… you’re planning to fuck your CO.”

“Yes, I know, I’m a walking stereotype.” The embarrassment could have choked a krogan. “Honestly… I don’t even know why I called. I just…”

His sister finished for him. “You’re worried about how he’s going to react if you tell him, because you’re planning on filling him in.”

Garrus was left standing there in the battery, mandibles almost to the bottom of his neck. He had no idea what kind of vocals he must’ve been giving off then, but they had to be something. After all, Solana wasn’t making fun of him. When it came to his love life, she loved nothing more than doing that. It was some older sister commandment: thou shalt pick on thy little brother for his terrible interest in people.

So… yeah.

“Gar?”

He shook his head. “Yeah, I guess that’s it,”

Solana shifted a pillow on the other end. “He’s a medic, right? He’ll at least understand it that way.”

Enough interaction with medical staff had taught Garrus that didn’t mean a whole lot of anything. Besides, he wasn’t looking for a checkup, this was practically starting… something. And maybe that’s why his stomach shifted so badly at the thought of it as he glanced around the battery.

Shit…

“I mean… do they even hold classes on that outside of turian occupied areas?” He sighed. “It’s easier with us… I don’t know how a human is going to feel about it.”

His sister’s subvocals shifted to something that reminded him of when he had been smaller, and she had stood by him on the playground. He was bigger than her now… but something about it was oddly comforting. It was also kind of embarrassing, but he was going to take what he could get at the moment.

“Well, if he starts shit, tell him to count his days.”

Despite his anxiety, Garrus found himself chuckling. “You’re really going to threaten the first human Spectre?”

“He died once; I can make it happen again if he hurts you.” The certainty in Solana’s voice was a strange comfort then. “Seriously, if he has a problem with it, then he’s an ass and he’s not worth it. Not your fault he’s a dumb human who doesn’t get what it means.”

Another chuckle – he knew when he had lost a fight. “Thanks, but I think I can handle it. Besides, you’re kind of on Palaven.”

Not that that meant anything – piss Solana off enough and she’d find a way to show up.

“Lucky him.” Solana let out a yawn that helped Garrus know their call was ending. “I mean it, Garrus. If he says anything…”

He found the knot in his stomach loosening as he sat back down. “I’ll send you our coordinates.”

“That’s my little brother. Now, get the hell off the line. I gotta get up for work in 4 hours.”

Well, love you too…

Still, Garrus let his sister go and the battery lapsed into silence once more as the call ended. He could hear life on the other side of the heavy door as the crew went about their duties, but right then it didn’t matter. He had made up his mind over the course of the call, so now he felt more resolute.

Was he still terrified? Absolutely. Humans were fucking unpredictable. After all, who else launches out of a mass effect field and starts fighting with the first sentient species they meet? They had a species wide death wish or something…

But that didn’t matter then. Now it was time to figure out what he wanted to say. And at least he had time for that as he waited for the big gun in front of him to show him some data.

---

A few weeks later, and there he was. Garrus shifted from foot to foot as the elevator door opened and let him out. He had been to the top of the Normandy before, enough that he knew the layout. Past that door was the object of his anxiety, waiting on the pretense of a talk about what they were planning.

Maybe it had been a while since he had last had sex, but he definitely didn’t remember that much thought put into it before. Was it because he was getting older, or because his partner was a squishy human?

“That you, Garrus?”

Shepard’s soft voice carried through the metal. Something about it always set the turian’s heart beating a little faster. In those moments, he found it hard to talk. So, in the end he just stood there like an idiot.

This was going great, clearly.

Thankfully, Shepard wasn’t a stupid man. His head appeared through the open door, checking to make sure he was ok. Today he had his hair pulled behind his head – he was fairly sure he called it a ponytail – and out of his face. No doubt he had been working with Saren. The hamster had full face privileges at pretty much anytime. And yes, he was jealous of a hamster for that.

So sue him.

The words brought hm back to life. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, guess I was more tired than I thought.”

The Spectre smiled at him as he motioned for Garrus to follow. Just as the turian had thought, he had been working with his hamster. From the looks of things, it had been a deep clean and a cage change if the shredded bedding meant anything. No doubt the man in charge of it all had been cleaning it up when he had come calling.

“What’s Saren got this time?”

Shepard gestured to the cage as they moved past his desk towards the sitting area. “I went for an under the sea theme. It seemed appropriate; he is living in the old fish tank system.”

That would explain the sunken ship half buried in the substrate. He had to hand it to the human, he really knew how to spoil his pets…

Together they sat at the table, Garrus positioned so he could just see Shepard’s unmade bed in the background. It was so close, but it felt like lightyears away. He was supposed to get on that eventually with the Spectre…

Talk about nearly giving himself a heart attack.

“Anyway, you wanted to talk about …”

Shepard’s voice dropped and his cheeks turned pink. Humans called that blushing, and it was pretty noticeable on the ones with light skin. It usually turned the Spectre krogan rampage red if he got going, so things weren’t too bad yet. He could work with this.

Still, Garrus felt tense as he gazed over at the human. At least both of them were nervous about this, so he didn’t feel completely stupid. In a way, that was helpful as he tried to find the words he had practiced for a week.

Naturally, they had abandoned him at the sight of those blue eyes. He was a sucker for blue…

“Yeah. There was something… I needed to tell you.”

His talons tucked against each other as he tried to keep from looking at the human. “Just so we both know what we’re getting into and all.”

“You’re not allergic to human body fluids, are you?”

Shepard was so matter of fact in his tone that Garrus felt himself chuckling without meaning to do it. Leave it to the Spectre to find a way to relax him without consciously attempting it. Maybe that was his real superpower – the biotics were just a fun perk.

But yeah… maybe he could do this.

“No, I’m good there.” Another deep breath. “Just uh… I don’t really tell people this. None of their business, and most non-turians wouldn’t get it anyway.”

At that, Garrus paused and checked the sight in front of him. Shepard was watching him, analyzing him maybe. He had stopped nervously tugging at the end of his ponytail, and his hands were in his lap. From the looks of things, he had the Spectre’s undivided attention.

No pressure.

“Something up, Garrus? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t- “

He held up his hand. “No, I feel like I should. We’re getting kind of… close.”

The tension rippled across his carapace as he felt it on the tip of his tongue. “Do… you know what it means to be crossed?”

At that point, the translating function on their omni-tools went haywire. Whatever Shepard normally heard when it worked, he definitely wasn’t getting it then. At least the man hadn’t winced at the sound of him untranslated. That was probably a good sign for cross-species relations if there ever was one.

“Sorry, the translator didn’t pick that up. I got something about a mix up?”

Well, half points for trying.

Garrus nodded as he tried to pick his words carefully so they would translate right. “Something like that. You know we believe in spirits, right?”

When Shepard nodded, he continued, stomach churning all the while. “Well… sometimes the spirit and the body it’s in have a disagreement about… things I guess.”

Disagreement was putting it mildly, of course. Garrus would’ve rather called it an all-out war in his early teens when the bad feelings were at their peak. Now it was mostly quiet – thank you, modern medicine – but sometimes it still whispered in his thoughts when he least expected it. His spirit was a tricky one like that, no wonder he had lasted so long on Omega.

But… yeah, he was getting away from the awkward conversation he was having. That was probably a bad coping mechanism left over from being a merc.

Shepard still seemed tuned into the conversation at the very least. “Ok… so your mind and body don’t… agree on something? Is that what I’m getting?”

“Pretty much. It’s not super common, but it happens.” His mandibles flapped as he tried to find the words. “There are ways of… making the spirit more comfortable depending on what way you need to go. Medical procedures help, but oftentimes one of the best ways is to just live the way your spirit wants.”

He had been 13 when his spirit had started acting up. That was a common age, though he didn’t exactly hang out with many crossed turians these days…

His shoulders still tensed as he snuck a glance at the human – hadn’t lost him completely. “I guess I’m trying to tell you… that I’m crossed. Not that it’s going to matter for us in bed, the hormone therapy has pretty much taken care of everything. I only have to take a maintenance dose every couple months…”

His voice trailed off. Shepard hadn’t said anything for a long time. Instead, the Spectre seemed to draw into himself. Something about that made Garrus’ stomach drop and almost instantly he regretted saying anything at all.

Maybe he was going to need Solana after all…

His voice was shaky when he spoke again. “Look, I get that it doesn’t- “

“So, you’re like the turian version of trans?”

Garrus blinked. The word was a new one, he had learned it from listening to the crew. Mentally, the translation ran through his head as he sat there, trying to remember what it meant. Something about gender?

What was that again, an ice cream flavor? He was kind of drawing a blank…

“Uh… don’t really get what that is, Shepard. You’re going to have to explain it to me before I can say anything.”

There was a glint in the man’s eye then as he nodded. “Basically, humans have a thing where their brain and body don’t match up. We can also fix it with medical procedures, but the best way is the same way you’ve got.”

The turian found himself nodding. “Guess that would be the human version of being crossed, yeah.”

In that moment, Garrus wasn’t sure what to expect as the pieces fell into place. It was Shepard, but Shepard was still human. More importantly, it was impossible to read how he was reacting then. His face was utterly blank as he sat there, staring down at his hands.

In the words of the Spectre… he should probably go.

Garrus could feel something breaking inside still as he stood. “I get it’s probably not what you expected. It’s ok… I just ask you don’t spread it- “

Those eyes were on him as Shepard reached out to keep him from going. “Damn it, Garrus, same hat.”

…

“Same…”

A wide grin broke out on Shepard’s face as he started laughing. “I think we’re in the same boat here if you’re telling me you’re on the turian version of HRT. Holy shit, talk about one hell of a relief. I thought you were going to say you were allergic to humans or something.”

The translation whirred in Garrus’ visor as he wordlessly sat back down. He had a full picture now, and it was one hell of a sight. The tension that had been vibrating across his carapace began to melt away as he listened to the human laugh, and soon he found himself chuckling as well.

Solana was never going to believe this.

“Nope, still not allergic to humans.” His mandibles twitched. “So… you humans do it too then?”

Shepard was still smiling as he nodded. “Yeah. If not for my biotics fucking everything up, I would’ve been on HRT too by now. But then you wouldn’t get to hear my lovely, squeaky voice cracking over the battlefield and who would want to miss that?”

“I wouldn’t…” Garrus’ voice trailed off. “Oh…”

Well, from the sound of things he hadn’t needed to worry. Maybe he didn’t need his older sister to come beat up his not-yet lover yet after all. His pride would survive for at least one more day at this rate.

Honestly, he felt lighter than he had in weeks. If not for the ship’s gravity, he might have been floating then. Then again, that might have been caused by Shepard’s quiet chuckles over all of this. Something about the man’s laughter always put him at ease.

“I can’t believe you thought I was cis, though.” The human had gone back to playing with the end of his ponytail, though from the motions it was less nerves and more something to do with his hands. “I would be insulted if you were human.”

Garrus felt his mandibles twitch. “It’s not like I know the difference, Shepard.”

“You literally saw my dick fall out of my pants, Garrus.”

…

Yeah, well… he wasn’t the medic, now was he? For all he knew, they were supposed to do that.

Still, at his silence Shepard just chuckled more. Surprisingly, he seemed lighter as well as he sat back. Maybe because of his own nerves, but he hadn’t noticed just how tight the man’s shoulders had been when he had entered. No doubt they had been worrying about similar things if there was that much crossover.

Something, something, communication made for happy relationships.

“Well, clearly we’ve got plenty of research to do if we want to do this right.” The human sounded much happier as he looked down at his always present omni-tool. “I mean… if you still want to and all. I understand if you’ve changed your mind.”

Garrus all but hopped to his feet. “No! I mean… no, I haven’t changed my mind. I’m just glad I know what to research. I think I was looking at the wrong vids…”

“Well, that makes two of us, unless you guys figured out a way to fix anatomical issues we’re still working on. Turian anatomy seems a little more straight-forward when it comes to genitals, what with everything being internal.”

…

You know, he probably should’ve found his anatomy being discussed in such clinical terms rather dry. Yet the fact Shepard seemed so relaxed about the whole thing was rather heartening. Maybe he was just more relaxed now that the bomb had dropped and he still had both of his mandibles.

He was glad for that – the implant surgery to fix him the first time had really sucked.

“I think you’ll be fine with whatever you’re looking at.” He let out a sigh of relief. “So… good talk?”

Even he knew that sounded awkward. Yet, the other man chuckled and nodded as he stood at last, pushing his ponytail behind his shoulders as he approached the turian. Apart from when they were getting shot at, it was probably the closest they had ever been.

“Yeah. Good talk.”

And then he smiled. “So, uh… I need to finish cleaning up from Saren. Unless you want to help with that?”

Garrus was already on his feet, eyeing the door. “I think I have some calibrations to get to down in the battery.”

Shepard’s cheeks briefly puffed out, but then he allowed a rather laid-back chuckle. “Alright, I get the idea. I’ll talk to you later, Garrus. Good luck with the calibrations.”

Luck – he certainly had a lot of that at the moment.

Garrus honestly felt lighter as he left the man’s quarters to return to his spot in the battery. The weight that had pressed down hard on his talons had evaporated, like gravity no longer affected him. It was a bit strange – the ship was set to adjust to that – but right then he wasn’t thinking like a tech as he rode the elevator back down.

All things considered, that had gone better than he had expected.

“Well… doubt Solana is going to believe this one. Who knew humans had it too…” he trailed off as the door opened to the crew floor. He let the matter drop for the moment, focused instead on getting back to work. After all, the Normandy was a big ship, and keeping her running was a heavy task he was more than happy to deal with.

Still… it was good to know they were on even footing. Maybe it wouldn’t go as badly as he thought it might. But he definitely needed to change his vids…

But he could worry about that later. A big gun needed some specialized calibrations if they were going to live another day. He could think about his sex life later.

[iamvegorott]

This just piped into my head for a blurb but if your not doing them anymore disregard this

It’s the 4th of July and mads stuck at work so he asked demon mare to check on al for him

The two bond over mare comforting al

This is just a...little more than a blurb XD -----------------------------

“You are a life-saver,” Mad said to Mare through the phone. “You still have a spare key?”

“Yep.” Mare had his phone tucked between his shoulder and ear as pocketed some leaves into his jeans, you could never be too careful.

“I know this might be too much, but this is the first time I won’t be home with Al during fireworks and he freaks out during them.” Mad was clearly pacing by the sound of his shoes clicking in the background.

“You care about your cat, nothing extra about that.” Mare took the phone in his hand when he was satisfied. “Do you think you’ll be out all night?”

“Not all night, but it’ll be pretty late, maybe one?”

“That’s not terrible. I’ll probably still be awake.” Mare stood up from his bench.

“Again, I owe you so much for this,” Mad said.

“It’s nothing.” Mare chuckled. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Mare smiled when that got Mad to laugh a little.

“See you,” Mad said back. Mare was still smiling as he hung up the phone and tucked it into his back pocket.

“Let me guess, Mad?” Phantom teased from his balcony, half-eaten apple in hand.

“Shut up.” Mare started walking.

“Where you off to?” Phantom grinned when Mare paused.

“I’m...heading out.”

“Out to where?”

“I’m helping a friend with his cat.” Mare started walking again.

“You sure do a lot for someone who you only call a friend~” Phantom called after him.

“Go call Jackie!” Mare called back.

“Hey!”

x~x~x

Mare stepped into the house he’s had memorized for a long time. It was rare that Mad couldn’t bring his work home so this was throwing Al off even more. Mare sighed when he heard that all too familiar hiss.

“You’ll be less pissy about me being here when the fireworks go off,” Mare commented, making his way to the couch.

“Mrw?” Al jumped on top of the end table.

“Mad’s stuck out tonight and it’s going to be a shit show.” Mare plopped down. “I’m just here to make sure you don’t claw up everything because you’re scared of some noise.”

“Mrw.” Al scrunched his nose at him.

“I’m doing this to make Mad happy, you should be happy that I’m making him happy.”

“Fur.”

“Quit calling me that!” Mare snapped and Al purred before jumping off of the end table, strutting out of the room. “I’m being disrespected by a cat." Mare huffed to himself. “There they are,” Mare said when he heard the first rumble of fireworks. They were fairly soft, maybe they weren’t that bad where Mad lived. “Oh, shit.” Mare cursed as a loud eruption of noise came from nowhere.

“Mrw!” Mare heard Al yowl from the other room. There was the scratching of claws and Mare assume that was Al running.

“I guess Mad was right.” Mare got up and tried to find Al. “Al?” Mare paused when there was another rumble. “Al?” Mare followed the meows, not shocked to find himself in Mad’s room. “Oh, I wonder where he could be,” Mare said to the mound on Mad’s bed.

“Mrow.” Al moved under the blanket when more fireworks went off.

“Alright.” Mare grabbed the corner of the blanket and flipped it over, seeing Al curled up tight and staring off with wide eyes. “You’re so dramatic,” Mare said and sat down on the bed as well. “Come here.” Mare watched Al slowly crawl over to him, tucking himself between Mare’s thigh and the mattress. “If you weren’t a pain in my ass, I’d say you were cute.” Mare gently ran his hand along Al’s back, chuckling when Al just half-heartedly, growled at him. “I’ll play some videos.” Mare took his phone back out and got comfortable, or as comfortable as he could with Al pressed against him.

Mare held his phone with one hand and had the other on Al as he watched videos for a few hours, occasionally giving Al a pet when the fireworks got intense. Eventually, the fireworks stopped and Mare and Al fell asleep on Mad’s bed.

“Hello?” Mad called out as he came into his home. “Mare? Al?” Mad walked deeper in, not seeing his pet nor friend. “Oh.” Mad smiled at the sight of Mare and Al curled up together. Mad took Mare’s phone off of his chest and plugged it in, seeing that the battery had died. He didn’t have the heart to wake up either of them so he crawled around Mare and Al and nudged himself between Mare and the wall, Al waking to the movement of the bed and purring happily when Mad scratched the top of his head.

“Hm? Mad?” Mare groaned and stretched. “I can go.” He started to sit up.

“You can stay.” Mad placed a hand on Mare’s arm before quickly pulling it back. “You’re tired, I don’t want you out like that.” Mad laid his head back down as Mare softly chuckled.

“You’ll have Phantom on the couch if I don’t get back soon.”

“I’m fine with that.”

“Cool.” Mare wiggled a little to get comfortable again. “Night, Mad.”

“Night, Mare.” Mad whispered and found himself wanting to put his hand on Mare again but knew Al wouldn’t like being squished and he also shouldn’t do that to his friend...that’d be weird...right?

[poptod]

jiāoqiǎnyánshēn (Ahkmenrah x Reader)

Description: jiāoqiǎnyánshēn (chinese, v.) - to have a deep and intimate conversation with a stranger.

Notes: for @hideamnos​! a bit longer than my last couple of fics so I hope you don’t mind. the strange city happenings are all things I’ve seen in San Fran. As always, gender neutral. Word Count: 2.6k

Rain falls down from the sky in great sheets, battering down at your umbrella so harshly that you have to tuck it away to avoid flying off. Wind whips at your hair, biting at your exposed skin, pushing you to seek some sort of shelter, any shelter, from the fall-winter weather.

Nowhere is open. It has to be around midnight – you can't be bothered to check your phone, considering the last time you used it it was on 5% battery. The only light you can really see is the one near the train station, and with that singular sliver of hope, you run off in that direction. With the wind at your back, something finally goes right for you.

In the fluorescent light another man sits, skin that you assumed would've been dark in any other light paled in the station lights. The dull buzzing you usually hear is gone, beaten out by the rain, pounding harsh against the flimsy rooftop. With shaking hands you sit on the bench, curling up into a ball as though that would keep you warmer.

You won't deny that New York City has some strange folks – it's much like that in many other cities, though New York has to be the worst case you've seen of it. There was one point where a long line of monks, numbering somewhere into the fifties, walked down the sidewalk chanting some language you couldn't understand. This one can't be the strangest occurrence, though it is a little peculiar. His clothes are too nice to be a costume but it can't be anything else; a man wearing ancient Egyptian garb, donned entirely in gold and bearing a crown that looked far too heavy for his head. He's standing, carrying a tablet at his side as he stares off into the ink black of the city's night.

When it begins to hail he looks up at the sky, a calmness in his movement that you hardly ever see. Turning back down to the ground, he steps further inside the safety of the train stop, sitting down on the bench beside you.

"Come here often?" He asks in a humorous tone, a British accent shocking you mildly. With a chuckle and a wide smile, you shake your head, mumbling a small 'no.'

When he turns to once again stare at the empty railroad tracks, you let yourself examine him, his bone structure, the way his skin rests on his face – all very middle eastern, probably Arabic or Egyptian, or a mix of the two. It's becoming a bad habit at this point, staring at people's facial structure. Despite the fact that it'd probably make people uncomfortable if they knew you were doing it, it's good practice for you, what with your attempts to become a forensic pathologist. He's pretty, you note that as well – soft skin, sharp jawline, sweet eyes, pink lips – all leading to you blushing and looking away when he notices your stare.

"You're curious, aren't you?" He says in a quiet voice, but you can tell he doesn't mind your intrigue in him.

"Well... yes, but I'm used to not figuring out why people do strange things," you say, recalling the fifty monks and the one woman wearing only dog leashes as clothes. Your comment earns you a tiny smile from him.

"My name is.. Ahk," he says, removing his hand from the many folds of his clothes, holding it out for you to shake. You do so, noting nice fingernails and a firm grip.

"I'm (Y/N)," you respond, releasing his hand.

"I'm from the Natural History Museum, here in New York. The Egyptian exhibit," he says, and for a moment you wonder what the hell he's talking about, before remembering they created a new exhibit recently. Some sort of attempt to 'bring history to life' by hiring actors.

"Oh, you're the actor playing that boy king," you say in recognition, secretly proud that you remembered that.

"He's... he's not really a boy," he laughs sweet, a wide grin and crinkles around the eye – you can't help but continue noting how handsome this man is.

"How old is he then?" You ask, scooting closer in a fashion that made sure he wouldn't recognize what you were doing. This was too good of a chance to lose so suddenly.

"I – um, he died when he was around seventeen," he stutters out, blushing when you both know that's still a very young age for a king. "But – but he would've... grown up."

"All of us would've grown up. Doesn't mean that fellow is 4,000 years old now," you snort.

"Yeah..." he chuckles nervously, "right."

"Are you interested in Egypt or.. is it more of just a job for you? It seems interesting nonetheless," you say, leaning in. Stories have always been a staple of your life, the woes people go through and the accomplishments of humanity – everyone has something interesting about them.

"I'm actually from Egypt," he says, confirming what you'd deduced earlier. "It's a bit like returning to my childhood. I.. um, I lost my parents at a pretty early age, so it's a little difficult sometimes, since my job sort of.. reminds me of that part of myself, but um – I, uh, I still enjoy it."

"I understand. I lost my father recently," you say in a soft voice, your gaze drifting to the hail covered cement as you recall your father. He'd always been much nicer and closer to you than your mother. "It must be difficult. It's great that you've been able to enjoy yourself, though. When did you leave Egypt?"

"... in my twenties," he says after blipping out for a moment, which only makes your sentiment for him warmer – maybe you have a thing for airheads. "I left to go to Cambridge."

"Really? Wow, that's a nice school," you say with a sigh, already shuddering just imagining how expensive it had to be. Not even factoring in the fact that University in itself can be expensive, Ahk is Egyptian and had to be a foreign exchange student, which only ups the price.

"Yeah, I had a mildly pleasant time there," he chuckles, and you laugh as well – you wonder for a moment if you could manage to get his number.

"Here's another question for you, if you don't mind my asking," you say before being promptly interrupted by him.

"Only if I can ask you a question after."

With a sheepish smile you nod, realizing you've been bombarding him with question after question, and leaving him little time to figure out anything about you. He adjusts himself in his seat, and waits patiently for your query.

"Why are you at a train station in the middle of the night wearing your work clothes?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he laughs, but proceeds to answer anyway. "A couple friends and I went out for fun since we weren't actually working, we, uh, we don't work on Tuesdays and weekends, but we do rehearsals and such on Tuesdays so it's... technically work? Anyway, we went out, had some fun, caused several statues to come to life and then we got separated because they got arrested for disturbing the peace, but I managed to escape, ever the lucky one –" you laugh when he says that as though it's a monumental accomplishment, "but I need to get back to the Museum before dawn.. my clothes, and all that. I don't have an automobile, so... train."

"Sounds like a hell of an evening," you say with a laugh, wondering what other hectic things this man could be up to.

He proceeds to ask you the same question, 'what are you doing at a train station at midnight,' but it doesn't process in your head when you realize he said he caused several statues to come to life. He had to be joking, but he didn't mention it, which he definitely should've since it's a very confusing and worrying statement to make.

"(Y/N)? Are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry," you rush out, registering he's been waving his hand in front of your face. He backs away when you finally react, though he continues to look worried, and asks you if you're alright. "I'm fine, I just.. remembered I haven't had dinner and I need to plan that when I get home."

"Oh, that's not good. Definitely eat something. But, uh, as I was saying..." you perk up again, "what are you doing here?"

"That's – that's a funny story, actually. I was off at an art exhibit, or at least I was planning on going to it, and it was a pretty late night one," you look down at your phone, which is now dead, "it was supposed to go till around 1 AM, not sure what time it is now but – I was, I was stopped at the door because, as it turns out, I had the wrong address. I didn't know that at the time, though, so I kept insisting I wanted to go inside. I sort of thought they might've been discriminating against me but I digress. I finally got inside, turns out I actually was at the wrong place. I'm honestly not sure what kind of party I walked into, but it was.. really odd. Decided to stay because it began to rain, but then somebody started stripping and so did everyone else and I decided it was time to get out, as many people would decide. I left the building incredibly disoriented and a little drunk, got a bit lost, and then the rain picked up and I couldn't see a thing. Eventually found my way here."

"That sounds a lot more exciting than my evening," he says after giving your spiel a moment to set in.

"Yes, well, at least no one got arrested. To my knowledge."

"Right," he laughs, looking down at the floor when you meet his eye. As his laughter fades he tucks in his lip, biting and discreetly rolling his tongue over the top lip, making your heart stutter in your chest.

"Hey, do you know where we are? I might be able to drive you back to the museum," you offer, something you can immediately tell was the right move to make. He sits up a little straighter, a spark of hope in his eye.

"Would you do that? That'd be wonderful, really. I'll die if I don't get back in time," he says with wide eyes, turning to you like you've just become best friends. You giggle and nod your head, thinking about the many strange things this man has said, and wondering if he has always been so different from others.

Unfortunately, neither you nor Ahk have much of an idea as to where you are, so you turn to the maps. Two of them sit on either side of the small rest area, illuminated by the pale light and protected behind glass. There's a marker telling you where you are, and while Ahk is absolutely horrible at reading the map, you manage to pinpoint where you stand.

"It's a good thing you're smarter than I am," he comments as the two of you head off, trying your best to stay out of the hail.

"I don't think I am. I think I've just lived here a while," you say, ducking beneath the overhang of a building roof. "You start to recognize patterns and such the longer you stare at things."

"Yes, I've..." he looks to you as though you're suddenly precious, "I've noticed. I used to look at the stars quite a bit when I was younger."

After going through both sopping rain and biting hail, the two of you are exhausted by the time you reach your car. You hadn't driven it to the function (it would've been much easier to find had you done that, but you didn't) and you hadn't left it at home either, but you distinctly remembered leaving it in an underground parking lot. The reasons as to your decision to leave it there are unimportant, and Ahk does not ask. Painted an alarming shade of red, your car was a gift from an eccentric aunt, and though it's tight to fit more than two people in there, the two of you manage.

Throughout the evening you've noticed things that are 'off' about him – the way he tells stories, how he recalls memories, his choice of words, his life in general, but sitting in the car with him has to be the strangest thing that's happened to you. It doesn't feel as though he's ever even been in a car, mesmerized by the blinking lights and the soft radio that comes from the surround sound system you have. So it's a fact in your mind – there's something about him that isn't entirely true, that isn't wholly normal, and the idea excites you just as much as it terrifies you. Maybe he's a prince. Maybe he's a murderer. You don't know, but he keeps up the happy energy that seems ever present in his company all throughout the ride.

Large lights dug into the ground shine bright onto the front of the museum, showing off the pillars and carvings and, of course, the ever-changing advertisement posters. The hail has lightened back into rain, though it's still freezing and biting when you walk him up the entrance. Your legs slow in the cold, sore to move and making your whole journey up the many steps just a little more difficult, but Ahk doesn't seem bothered by it. It's another thing that strikes you as unusual – he hasn't complained of the cold, or shown any of its effects at any point. His clothes only add to your confusion, as they're definitely suited towards warm, Egyptian weather, not hail and sleet.

"I want to thank you again for driving me here. I am indebted to you," he says with a small bow once the two of you are safe underneath the portico. Inside, all the lights are on, and it looks as though most of the actors inside are still in their costumes.

"It's not a big deal," you insist. "I'm happy to help."

"Still, you're very kind," he says, taking your hands in his, a sincere smile on his face.

"I, uh –" you stammer, blushing from the contact. "I enjoyed our conversations. Is... do you, um... is there any way I can, uh, contact you?"

He halts, and for a moment you think you misread the signals – maybe he isn't as interested in you as you thought, and the idea of that alone puts an anchor in your chest.

"I don't have any phones," he says, a sentence that sounds wrong but is technically correct, "but I'm here pretty much every night. I'm very dedicated to my job." He winks, and you can't help but smile.

"Then I hope I'll see you again, Ahk," you say softly, biting at your lip as your nervousness begins to get at you.

"I hope to see you again as well."

With that he leaves you starstruck, already dreaming of when you'll see him again.

[lu-undy]

Chapter 81 - SBT

Here it is.

"Oh man, maths is so hard…"

"I know! But Prof L's nice."

"Yeah, makes it almost easy."

Lunch time came and Mundy smiled. He was on soup duty that day with the poor, and the kids were rushing out of their class with none other than Prof L. 

"Hey, M!" 

"Hey, guys. So how was it with L? Borin' again?" 

The kids laughed as they lined up and took a bowl each. 

"Non, it was not." Lucien went behind the counter and lent a hand to Mundy. "Was it?" He asked the children.

"Nah!" They answered as they were served by either Lucien or Mundy. 

"You see, M? My classes are never boring." 

"Pfff, of course you'd say that…!"

When the soup was served to everyone, Lucien and Mundy helped themselves and shared some bread together. Winter was gone and now was the time for spring. 

"How was it with the kids this mornin'?" Mundy asked as they both sat on plastic chairs not far from the tables that had the pots.

"Someone said it was boring." Lucien answered with a smile. 

"So I've heard, eh." 

"Pff…" Lucien nudged him with his elbow playfully and they both chuckled. 

"Nah, seriously, how was it?"

"As usual. I think some of them at least will become very good human beings, and maybe even more. Seeing them everyday fills me with joy."

"Alright then, I see you don't need me, eh?"

"Don't be jealous. I need you, you fill me with another kind of joy…" Lucien winked at his lover. 

"Not so loud. The kids are gonna hear you…!"

"They are far away and busy." Lucien answered with a chuckle. 

"Still have some classes this afternoon?" Mundy raised a bit of bread to his mouth.

"Oui." Lucien bent on his side and bit in the bit of bread before Mundy had the chance. 

"Oi!"

Lucien chuckled and left a quick kiss on his lover's cheek. 

"Someone told me that I looked like a thief."

"Whoever that is, they're right!"

"Ages ago, a lifetime ago. I was a different man back then, and I had come to meet with a scruffy - some would say dirty - hunter."

Mundy raised an eyebrow. 

"Back then, I used to have short hair and a clean shaven face."

"Now you're the scruffy one, eh?" Mundy joked and Lucien chuckled. 

"I guess so, oui. And back then, I used to wear a mask."

"Ah, yeah, the balala-thingy. I remember." 

"Oui. And the hunter said to me that I looked like a thief with my… balala-thing."

"Balala-thingy, not balala-thing, Professor Ski." 

Lucien's eyebrows jumped and he turned to look Mundy in the eye. 

"That's how I called you when we met, remember?" The Aussie asked. 

"Of course, I do." 

They finished their soup together and the time had come for afternoon classes. 

"I shall go."

"Yeah, don't wanna be late for your own classes, eh."

"It sets a bad example for the children." Lucien answered.

"Ooh, listen to you now, an example you are, eh?"

Lucien smirked proudly. 

"You should take notes, mon amour."

"Pfff, yeah, well, too late to change anything in me, eh."

Lucien stood up and took Mundy's hand. 

"It is never too late." He put Mundy's hand on his lips and left a kiss. The Aussie stood up and pulled Lucien's hand to his own lips.

"Go ahead, Prof L." He kissed it and Lucien blushed.

"Fine, I shall. Take care and see you tonight?" Lucien headed away.

"Yeah, see ya. And uh, Lu'?"

The Frenchman stopped and turned. 

"Je t'aime." Mundy said, with his own Australian twist to the pronunciation. 

[I love you.]

"Moi aussi, mon loup."

[Me too, my wolf.]

Mundy spent the afternoon going through donations. Clothes, toys, sometimes even pieces of furniture. Of course he wasn't alone and other volunteers helped. He took a break at some point and took a walk around the few blocks. But curiosity won over when he saw the silhouette of a man in his late forties with long, silver hair through a window. 

Mundy got closer and watched. Lucien was too absorbed explaining whatever bit of maths was on the blackboard for him to notice that he had an extra student outside, shyly observing him. Mundy saw him go to the kids, boys or girls, from one table to the next. He would crouch down to be at eye-level with them and spend a few seconds there. Sometimes he would take a pencil and scribble something on their copybook. But each time, he would finish his explanations with a smile and a pat on the shoulder or ruffling the blond or brown hair of the child he was addressing.

Mundy smiled. The cold-blooded snake of a spy did have something of a father's instinct. And even if his past job had tried to strip him off of his emotions, Lucien's heart always won. 

"Such a ball of repressed romance you are…" Mundy whispered to himself and chuckled before turning and heading back where Maurice needed him.

The afternoon flew by at the speed of light. 

"M, you can finish this tomorrow, it will start to get dark and L has finished classes a long time ago now. He will wonder why you come back home so late…!"

Maurice came to Mundy who was busy trying to repair a toy. He had a screwdriver in his hand and an allen key behind his ear. The king of beggars removed the allen key and tapped Mundy's shoulder.

"Oh, hey, Maurice."

"How is it going?"

"Alright. Just a few tweaks and a new battery ought to do the job on this little car."

"Great. Now, please, go back home or L will tell me off." Maurice chuckled. 

"Yeah, true." Mundy put away his tools and tidied up his working bench before standing. "Alright, thanks Maurice, I didn't see the time fly."

"It is alright. I should have a clock installed in this workshop. But yes, please, we'll see each other tomorrow." 

"Yeah, see ya."

They exited the workshop and Mundy locked it before heading home. His walk back home wasn't too long but as he put his hand on the front door handle, a noise surprised him. He leaned his ear on the wooden door to listen better. 

"Is that…?"

Yes, it was. It wasn't any odd noise. That particular kind Mundy could recognise anywhere. He unlocked the door and pushed it open as silently as possible before slipping in. He walked to the living-room and peeked through its door.

The flames of the fireplace made the Burgundy walls glow in warm shades of red and orange. Perle and Soot brushed themselves on Mundy's legs before slithering in the room. Lucien was sitting in the middle of it, on a piano. He had tied his hair in a messy bun but some locks of hair fell beautifully around his face. Mundy's heart swelled in his chest and he didn't even wonder where the piano had come from.

The halo of the dancing flames cut Lucien's black silhouette poetically. He was playing with the ivory keys confidently. Mundy removed his aviators to see him better.

{To the reader: the song is "Star Triste" [Sad Star] by Juliette Armanet. Some of the lyrics have been changed.}

"Accoudé à mon piano,

[Leaning on my piano]

Je fais le beau

[I play it cool]

Je veux qu'on m'aime,

[I want to be loved]

Qu'on m'aime dans la peau."

[To be so loved.]

Lucien was dancing on the piano, his hair followed the movement of his head that he swung in rhythm.

"J'voulais pas devenir chanteur,

[I didn't want to become a singer,]

Lady crooner,

[A lady crooner]

J'rêvais d'une vie plus claire,

[I dreamt of a more simple life]

Peut-être plus sincère."

[Maybe more true.]

Perle and Soot jumped on the piano seat and then on top of the piano itself and they laid there, spooning each other. Soot bathed the white cat and no doubt they were purring, even though Mundy couldn't hear them.

"J'sens que je vais finir en idole,

[I feel I'll end up an idol]

En bourreau des coeurs,

[A heartbreaker]

Le king des baby dolls,

[The king of baby dolls]

Le bureau des pleurs."

[The bureau of cries]

Gosh, what a sight. Mundy had almost forgotten that Lucien could sing that well. It was gentle, delicate waves of air that he blew between his thin lips. It was sensual and soft to the ear.

"Je cherche des yeux

[I look with my eyes]

Quelqu'un pour que le monde s'écroule

[For someone to make the world crumble and fall]

Quelqu'un pour être deux

[Someone to be two with]

Et là parmi toute la foule

[And there, amongst the crowd]

Je n'en vois pas deux

[I can't see two people]

J'suis seul pour lui tout entier

[I am alone for him entirely]

Seul sur la scène

[Alone on the stage]

Juste pour lui"

[Only for him]

Lucien raised his head off the black and white keys and looked at the door. Nothing. Hm. He could have sworn he felt as if he was being watched. 

"Il n'y a qu'un seul moyen de le savoir."

[There is only one way to find out.]

Lucien dived back in his bubble of concentration. He knew what he should play next, to lure his lover out of the shadows.

He placed his fingers on the keys and took a deep breath. Lucien started much slower than the original version. But he needed to remind himself of the chords and arpeggios. Ah, oui, it was coming back to him now, his fingers knew what they were doing and he started to sing. 

"Time can never mend

The careless whisper of a good friend.

To the heart and mind,

If your answer's kind,

There's no comfort in the truth.

Pain is all you'll find.

I should have known better, yeah."

Lucien looked at Perle and Soot. They were sleeping peacefully, their limbs were intertwined in a beautiful mix of black and white fur.

"I feel so unsure

As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor.

As the music dies,

Something in your eyes

Calls to mind a silver screen,

And all is sad goodbyes."

A breathy line of saxophone resonated from the corridor and Lucien smiled. He went on with the music, nothing shall interrupt them!

"I'm never gonna dance again!

Guilty feet have got no rhythm!

Though it's easy to pretend,

I know you're not a fool!

I should have known better than to cheat a friend!

And waste a chance that I'd been given!

So I'm never gonna dance again,

The way I danced with you!"

Mundy had entered the living-room and was now playing that oh so famous saxophone tune from the well known 'Careless Whisper', by George Michael. He joined Lucien and leaned on the side of the piano. 

One tapped ivory and ebony keys while the other played with gold. The flames of the fireplace lit the black varnished, grand piano and the golden saxophone beautifully. 

Both improvised on the piece and it lasted much longer than it should. The piano answered the saxophone and the saxophone answered the voice. Hammers hit strings more passionately as Mundy blew in his golden dragon, the flames of what his voice couldn't sing springing vividly to Lucien.

After a length of time that none of them knew precisely, they stopped. Mundy had ended up sitting next to Lucien on the piano seat. He put the saxophone on top of the piano next to the cats and took a deep breath. 

"That… was epic." He said and leaned his head on Lucien's shoulder. The latter chuckled. 

"We should do this more often." 

"What? Play Careless Whisper for hours?" Mundy asked as he dearly held Lucien's arm in his.

"Playing together. After all, that's all we've ever done, hm?" Lucien put his hand on Mundy's thigh and brushed it gently. He leaned his head on Mundy's. 

"Yeah… Playin' together weird games, eh?" 

"Oui, but I wouldn't change anything."

"I'd change the bit where you made me believe you were dead." Mundy teased. 

"Ah, oui, that. I almost forgot about it." Lucien found Mundy's hand and laced his fingers around his. 

"I didn't. It felt awful."

"To this day I am surprised that you did not beat me up for it." Lucien said. 

"To be honest with ya, I couldn't. It didn't even cross my mind."

"How come? I thought I was your favourite punching bag." Lucien kissed his lover's head and leaned on it again.

"Ha, yeah, 'course you are but…"

"But?" 

"But I was so happy to see you. I was over the moon…!" Mundy answered. "And uh… If you think about it, coming out of your hidin' is like refusing to lie. It's like you had the choice between continuing to lie or coming to me, and you chose to take the risks and come to me. Means a lot to me." 

Lucien smiled, albeit sadly. He wished he had met Mundy much earlier in life.

"Now, the more I think about it, the more I… Uh… I mean I love you." 

Lucien bit his lip. Something was gnawing him on the inside and had been for days now. 

"Mundy?"

"Yeah?"

"I have something to confess, yet again."

Mundy straightened his back and looked at his lover next to him. 

"What is it?"

"I fear you might want to beat me up after all." Lucien lowered his head. 

"Why?" Mundy took Lucien's hand in both of his. He looked him in the eye but Lucien was staring down at his thighs.

"Because there is a lie that I need to clear up."

"Go ahead."

Lucien took a deep breath. 

"Tomorrow I shall take you somewhere, if you agree. But you shall face it without me."

"Face what?" Mundy raised an eyebrow. 

"The lie that Maurice has been nurturing for years and that he shared with me for days now." 

Mundy frowned. 

"Alright… Uh… I must say it doesn't explain much but I guess that's all I'm gettin' for tonight?" 

"I am sorry." Lucien hid his face in his hands.

"Hey now, it's fine." Mundy hugged him.

"Non, it is not. You will hate me when you find out!"

"No! I can't hate you, luv', whatever it is, I won't hate you. I can't!"

"Mundy… Please…?" Lucien removed his hands off his face and looked up at Mundy. The Aussie saw the flames of the fireplace dance in the guilty pupils of his lover.

"Yeah?"

"I promised to stay with you and I will." Lucien said. "You will need to face this lie and look at it right in the eye. It will be painful and it will shock you beyond what you have lived so far."

Mundy's breath accelerated. His body was tense as he started to measure the seriousness of Lucien's words. 

"I will not be with you because you have to do this alone. But I will be nearby."

"Lu', you're startin' to scare me…"

"I will be nearby but…"

"But what?"

"But I will understand if you don't want to talk to me for a while, if looking at me hurts because I have overstepped the mark and did something wrong to you, again." 

"Lu', don't talk nonsense, I love you too much for that."

"Mundy…" Lucien headbutted Mundy's chest softly and buried himself there. "In my defense, please understand that since the day Maurice told me the truth, I have been unable to sleep soundly, I felt like I was lying to you and God knows that I never want that to happen again. It pained me so much that… I sometimes even found it hard to look at you in the eye because each time I did, I would hear a voice in my head screaming that I was lying to you. It was unbearable!" Lucien clawed Mundy's jumper on his chest. 

"Whatever it is, it's gonna be fine and I won't be mad at you. Don't find excuses like this. I… I'm sure that if you lied, you had good reasons to, eh?" Mundy cupped Lucien's face and made him look up. "Ok?"

"Non. I was just too cowardly to tell you the truth, and too afraid of your reaction." Lucien answered sadly. "And now I am ashamed." 

"Luv', there's no harm done, ok? I love you way too much to hold a grudge or anything." 

"You say that now, but tomorrow shall test your love for me brutally." 

Mundy hugged Lucien again. 

"Whatever it is, we've fought worse." The Aussie said. "We've fought worse and we made it. Every bloody time, however hard it was, we made it together. Now I don't know what you've been hiding from me and why you're so terrified of my reaction when I'll find it out. But I can't afford to lose you, not again. I know how hard it is to be without you. So don't worry, I won't let go of you." 

"I fear that you might reconsider everything tomorrow." 

"Don't. There's nothin' in the world that'll change the fact that I need you in my life." 

"So do I, mon amour, so do I…" 

Lucien closed his eyes and clung to Mundy. That hug lasted for minutes and to the Frenchman, it almost seemed as though it would be the last.

[shinsorokiri]

UA Idol | Chapter Three

Hitoshi Shinsou x Reader

Word Count: 2,204

Warnings: Language, big anxiety

A/N: Chapter Three is up because my dumbass forgot to upload last week! So here’s some more. The “original song” is “Pantaloon” by Twenty One Pilots, so if you would like to listen to it, go ahead! I hope you enjoy and I promise I’ll stop forgetting to upload lmao.

UA Idol Masterlist

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You two are pulled aside and interviewed, in which Mina gives a short little excited burst of personality, and you’re there to make sure she doesn’t start shrieking again. It’s pretty endearing, it’s very obvious you two are best friends. After all of that is over with, the two of you are able to wander around, so Mina obviously drags you over to where Denki and purple boy were. They’re still there, and Mina makes it a point to shake the ticket in front of her friend’s face.

“No fucking way! You did it!” he yells, engulfing her in a hug. You don’t realize, but you and lilac man both cringe at their volume, but nevertheless you smile for your best friend. After all, this is a dream come true for her. You’re still in shock from your audition, so all you can think about is the pride and happiness you have for Mina in this moment. “Oh! My best friend and roomie made it to!” Mina squeals, grabbing your wrist and shaking your hand that’s holding the ticket for you. “Denki Kaminari, (Y/f/n), (Y/f/n), Denki Kaminari,” she says, motioning from him to you then you to him. “Hi there, cutie,” he says with a slight smirk and you raise an eyebrow at him. “Call me that again and it’ll be the last word you ever speak,” you say, and to your surprise, he laughs. “Damn, Mina, it’s like I’m looking at another Shinsou,” he says, and that’s when the lavender dude sighs. Ah. So, he’s-

“Mina Ashido, Hitoshi Shinsou. Hitoshi Shinsou, Mina Ashido. (Y/f/n), Hitoshi Shinsou, Hitoshi-”

“I got it,” you and Shinsou say simultaneously, with the same inflection in your voice and deadpan facial expression. That’s when you look at each other. And by that, I mean really look at each other, not just look at the other person when their eyes are focused on something else. And that’s when everything just kinda… stops for a few seconds. The only thing you can even focus on is him, and you can’t tear your eyes away from his, no matter how much you want to. Do you even want to? You don’t even know the man, and yet butterflies are erupting in your stomach and all feelings of unease leave your body. Of course, Mina and Denki don’t notice the cease in time or the feelings exploding in your body. You’re only forced back into reality when your best friend’s voice interrupts you. “Holy shit, they’re like clones of each other,” Mina mumbles, staring back and forth between you two. “The only difference is-”

“Contestants 14799 and 14800? Follow me, you’re on deck,” the same producer who grabbed you two away from them earlier comes and snatches them away from you. “Don’t go anywhere, Mina. If you’re cool with it, I kind of want to go to dinner to catch up after this, it’s been too long,” Denki says, and Shinsou raises his eyebrow at him. “What about me and (Y/n)? Are we supposed to tag along on your date?”

“Oh, honey, I’m gay as fuck. But Denki, I’m so down to catch up! I can’t believe we went a whole month without linking up. And I’m sure (Y/n) would be happy to come with. Especially if we go to her favorite restaurant which I just so happen to have a coupon for because I was gonna take her there to celebrate or mourn after the audition.”

“Awesome! You two stay right here, we’ll be back out!” Denki screams over his shoulder as Shinsou drags him away. “Seriously, Denki?”

“What? I want to talk to Mina again! She and I were literally the best pranksters of our little group in high school and it’s been like a month since we last caught up with each other,” Denki whines and Hitoshi sighs. “But why did you need to drag me into it?” he groans, and Denki smirks at him. “Oh please. Don’t pretend like I didn’t notice you eyeing up Mina’s friend.” “Choose your next words wisely.”

“Shin. Come on. You at least think she’s pretty since your eyes literally didn’t leave her the entire time she was by us. Give her a chance at least, maybe she’s the one,” Denki says, his joking demeanor gone away. Shinsou hesitates before speaking again, saying the thing he’s said to his overexcited blonde friend multiple times before. But this time, he doesn’t believe it as much. “I don’t have time for love, Denki. It’s time consuming and I need to spend my time on more important matters.”

“But she was really cute, right?”

“If you call her cute again, I will beat you up.”

“Why?”

“Because she was cute. And I don’t need you to make me think about it every five seconds because my brain is already doing that on its own,” Hitoshi mumbles, looking away from his friend who has a smug grin on his face. You were cute, so what? You were so cute that the world around him stopped functioning for a bit when you two made eye contact and all he could focus on was your eyes and how you made him feel like he was okay despite the fact that his anxiety was through the roof right now because of the situation he is in and all the people surrounding him at all sides because that’s normal. That’s normal, right? Please, assure him that it’s normal. “Hm. Have you thought about buying her dinner? That’ll send off the right message.”

“Shut. Up.”

“What’s up guys!” Shinsou and Denki’s conversation was cut short by Present Mic literally screaming at them. “Just getting pumped to do this!” Denki responds immediately, hopping up and down in place. “Alright! That’s what I like to hear! Now, who are you guys?”

“I’m Denki Kaminari and this beautiful bastard next to me is Hitoshi Shinsou,” Denki responds, finger-gunning over to Shinsou. Shinsou sighs but gives a genuine smile to Present Mic as he waves. “COOL! So, are you guys a duo?”

“No, we’re just here to support the other! My family doesn’t live around here and Shin’s… couldn’t make it!” Kaminari covers up for Shinsou, knowing that he just told the entire story of why his family couldn’t support him right now to the producers maybe thirty minutes ago. Shinsou silently thanks him for that, knowing he’d probably have to tell at least some of it again to the actual judges. “I love seeing y’all supporting each other like this! Makes me think of when I supported Aizawa the first time he ever actually performed instead of just sat on the sidelines watching someone else sing his song! Kaminari, you’re first, you ready?” “I was born ready.”

“HELL YEAH! Go on in!”

Hitoshi watches his best friend enter the room, his own nerves starting to kick in. Regardless of how he’s feeling, he listens as Denki belts out Kiwi. For someone who has the personality of a corroded triple AAA battery, his voice is really pleasing to the ear. Especially when he lays on the distortion but still somehow manages to hit high notes in his belting range. Honestly if anyone was born to be a rockstar, it was Denki Kaminari. Unsurprisingly, he comes out with a ticket, waving it around like the excited Pikachu he is. “I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it-”

“Okay I get it! You did it!” Hitoshi says, waving his fists in a little celebratory motion. He is genuinely smiling though. He’s happy for Denki. And then he realizes it’s his turn. “You got this, man! If I can do it, you definitely can!” Hitoshi gives him a small smile of appreciation before walking through the doors himself. This was... a lot. It was a lot. He stopped in the middle of the performing area and looked at the judges. “Hello, handsome.”

“Midnight. Please.”

“Never, Aizawa.”

“I’m sorry for her lack of professionalism. Hello, what’s your name, where are you from, and why are you here?” Aizawa completely ignores Midnight and Hitoshi clears his throat. “Hi, I’m Hitoshi Shinsou, I’m 22 years old, and I’m from Tokyo. I’m here because my roommate convinced me to audition with him, but I also just really love music and it would be pretty nice to have my mom see me performing.”

“Aw, a family man. How sweet,” Midnight says and Hitoshi shrugs. “It would just be nice for her to see it before she... you know.”

“Is she sick?” Hawks asks, a small frown on his face. Hitoshi nods. “Yeah, she is,” he says, and there’s a sympathetic look on all the judge’s faces. Goddamn empaths. “Well, hopefully she gets to see this! I’m sure you’ll do great,” Toshinori says, giving him a reassuring smile and thumbs up. “What will you be singing today?”

“Um, I was actually planning on singing an original? If that’s okay?”

“That’s more than okay! Go for it,” Midnight says, and Hitoshi makes his way over to the piano. “If you wouldn’t mind, could you tell us what it’s called?” Aizawa asks. “It’s called The Pantaloon,” Shinsou responds, placing his hands on the keys. He starts playing away, hoping that what he sings for them is good enough. He had to shorten the song a bit, but it’s still pretty wordy, so he’s worried they won’t like it that much. He also knows that his style and voice in general is a little different, so he hopes they don’t hate it.

“Your grandpa died when you were nine. They said he had lost his mind. You have learned way too soon You should never trust the pantaloon.

Now it's your turn to be alone. Find a wife and build yourself a home. You have learned way too soon That your dad is now the pantaloon.

You are tired, you are hurt. A moth ate through your favorite shirt. And all your friends fertilize The ground you walk, Lose your mind.

You like to sleep alone, It's colder than you know, 'Cause your skin is so Used to colder bones. It's warmer in the morning, Than what it is at night. Your bones are held together by your nightmare and your frights.

You are tired, you are hurt. A moth ate through your favorite shirt. And all your friends, they fertilize The ground you walk. So lose your mind.

You are tired, you are hurt. A moth ate through your favorite shirt. And all your friends, they fertilize The ground you walk. Lose your mind.”

It’s funny how when you do something well, you forget how it went. Hitoshi finishes out the song, playing the last chord, hoping it went well but not really knowing since he kinda... blacked out...? Not really, but he doesn’t remember how it all went, so he hopes it went well. “Wow,” Midnight’s voice pulls him out of his head, and he looks over at the judges. “Literally what the hell, he’s the second person who auditioned who is better than me!” Hawks basically yells, throwing his hands up, the pen he had resting in them flying up and then coming back down to hit him on the head. Hitoshi can’t even pay attention to the fact that Hawks just assaulted himself because I’m sorry, did he say better than him?? He has 10 Grammy’s what the fuck does he mean better than him??

“What are the odds two kids like them would audition not just in the same season but on the same day not even forty minutes after each other?” Toshinori says, awe evident on his face. “It’s certainly rare, I can tell you that. Especially when it comes to actual songwriting ability, which it’s evident they have,” Aizawa says, and Shinsou’s breathing literally stops. Aizawa Shouta is his literal idol. And he just complimented his songwriting skills? What? “Well, Shinsou. I think I can say with confidence this isn’t the last time your mom is going to see you perform,” Midnight says, and Shinsou smiles. This is crazy. “You’ve got a future in the business kid, even if you don’t win, I see you in the top two with the other singer-songwriter we saw today. Easily,” Aizawa says, and Shinsou literally cannot believe what he is hearing. “Really?” he asks, disbelief in his voice. “Yes! Of course, after a performance like that in a room like this with a song like that, of course you’ll make it far in the competition! I’d bet you even make it to the top two with it!” Toshinori basically yells, and Shinsou scratches the back of his neck, letting out a flattered chuckle. “Thanks… thank you,” he says, and Aizawa picks up one of the tickets. “I’m just going to give this to you. I think we all agree that you’re a yes.”

Hitoshi goes and takes the ticket, thanking them again and again before walking back out the doors. He shows Kaminari the ticket, and Kaminari literally screams in his face. Full on shouts. “I FUCKING KNEW YOU COULD DO IT BRO!”

“Could you please be quiet? For once in your life? Just shh?”