#mic? he has both the power and the direction to hold it back long enough for the kids to get out and the ability to take it down

[s0fter-sin]

nedzu gets mic to run the entrance exam both as a disarming presence to try and relax the thousands of nervous kids but also because if the zero-pointer ever went haywire and stopped responding, mic is the only one that could take it down

[hongism]

touch of the devil - k.hongjoong 18+

↣ pairing: hongjoong x fem!reader | ao3 version (mxm seongjoong) ↣ genre: angst, fluff if you SQUINT, nsfw, fantasy, supernatural, demon!hongjoong, emo rocker!hongjoong, there do be plot tho. ↣ wc: 9.0k ↣ summary: you came to make a deal with a devil sure, but this is the last thing you were expecting out of a night in a dingy bar. ↣ warnings: explicit smut, mention of death, demons, it’s actually really heavy on plot and angst and less focused on the smut ↣ a/n: again i know it’s my birthday but this is my present to you guys, i am a person who prefers to give rather than receive on my birthday and this was the first thing i wanted to work on during my hiatus!! i’ve got so much inspo and motivation rn that it’s crazy and i can’t wait to have everything all set out for you guys when im back :3

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Everything about the air around you is heady and thick in a way that chokes you as you step through the fogged bar. This isn’t your sort of scene – not one you would typically find yourself frequenting on a Friday evening without even so much as the company of a friend – and yet here you stand with hands pressed into the pockets of your black leather jacket. There remains a dull thrum in the atmosphere of the club, a steady rhythm of bass and vibrations that makes your ears ring but you do your best to ignore it in favor of reaching the bartender.

“Just a rum and coke please,” you murmur, hand sneaking out of your pocket to lay a few bills flat against the wood counter. You tug your ID card out as well and flash it in the man’s direction when he raises an eyebrow at you, but upon seeing it, he relents and steps away from you to get the drink.

The question remains of why exactly you are in such a dismal and hopeless scene full of people too drunk off their rockers to even fumble around the bar with some sense of dignity. You, who is neither dismal or hopeless yourself nor are you drunk in the slightest (at least not yet).

The answer is simple. This is a breeding ground, a festering cesspool of desires and greed, and it is the prime place to find what you are looking for in terms of deals with the devil. Maybe not one specific devil, but certainly whatever demon you can get your hands on tonight. And you have quite the lot to choose from it seems, because as you glance around the neon-lit building, you can spot many pairs of red eyes glinting under the lights. You know you have no right to be picky — any and all of them will get the job done — but you can’t help but to note that none of them are as appealing as you imagined they would be. When your friend said that these demons thrived off of lust and appeal, you figured that meant they would purposefully up the ante in terms of physical appearances.

The disdain must show on your features as the bartender begins to speak again as he sets your drink down before you on the counter.

“None of them are for you,” he utters, and you twist back to look him in the eye.

“What do you mean?” You inquire, chin tilting to the side in question, and the man huffs out a small laugh.

“They have their prey already. Picked ‘em the second they walked through the door. All it takes is one look to figure out what these needy people crave from them, what appearances they need to take, what voices to use, what outfits to wear. For people like you, though, something more is required before the real games begin.” He points a single bony finger at your face, staring you down over the length of his digit like it’s the barrel of a gun, and that has you shifting in your seat a bit.

“Something… more?”

“One must have a particular level of certainty before coming to make a deal with a demon, ma’am. But you — you don’t seem to truly know what it is you want. And for that reason, the King will see you with no ruses or deception.”

On the contrary, I wouldn’t have dared set foot in here if I didn’t know what it is I wanted, you want to say. However, your attention is held rapt by his final sentence, the one that held unspoken promise to it.

“And by that you mean physical alterations?”

“You catch on quickly, Miss.” The man leans forward, tongue darting out to swipe over his lower lip, and you glance over the motion only once before pushing away from the counter. He notes the slight annoyance in your features a moment later. “The King will like you quite a bit.”

“When can I expect for this ‘King’ to present himself?” You prop an elbow up on the counter and give one last forlorn glance around the bar in the hopes that someone will come over your way, but it’s to no avail.

“Patience, human. The show hasn’t even begun yet.” He motions towards the middle of the bar, the starkly empty space with a glossy stage set in the center with only a microphone held delicately in its stand and nothing else. You had been hoping to make this a speedy trip — a quick in and out with your deal made and nothing else — but it seems you won’t be having that luxury. And it is a bit frustrating, honestly, to come to this place with the expectation of having a demon cater to you and your wants only to be told that you aren’t certain enough for these supernatural beings, so you’ll have to wait on a demon who won’t cater to you or come to you immediately.

You take a quick swig of your alcohol with the desperate hope that perhaps drinking will make you more certain of what you want, although you already know it won’t. The bartender offers a shrug in response to your annoyance then pulls away to tend to other customers, and you take it as an invitation to swivel in your stool and face the stage. It’s still fucking empty, but at least it gives you a better view than the old wood of the counter that now sits under your elbows.

“Leave it to men to make me wait on them, demon or not,” you mutter under your breath, breath fogging the side of your glass a bit.

You nearly choke on the liquid inside in your next breath because the swirling red neon lights come to a halt on the center of the stage, and the suddenness of the shifting lights startles you so much that you have to sit up straight and inhale deeply to keep from coughing on the alcohol in your mouth. The hazed mist hovering above the floor of the bar seems to swirl towards the stage under the beams of light. You watch the movements as though in a trance, slowly leaning forward until your elbows come to rest on your knees. Out of everyone in the bar, you seem to be the only one interested in what’s going on at the center of the room. Mind you, everyone else is preoccupied: demons with their humans, and humans with the mask-wearing demons who cater to their desires. And while you have no reason to be so intrigued by the scene before you, you truly cannot bring yourself to look away, especially as the dull thrum of music in the bar heightens and gains momentum.

There is no way of describing the sounds rumbling around you. Perhaps if you were fully in your senses, you would be able to distinguish the instruments and beats of the song, but the bass clogs your mind and leaves you squinting at the hazy stage. It could be poetic, the way a lone figure pushes his way through the crowds of the bar like he holds all the power in the universe, studded black leather jacket slung around his shoulders. And as the red lights come over him, you can see his features better. Dusty brown hair that shines a bit, one side exposed and cut shorter than the other, which has bangs that hang loose over the side of his face. Metal bars line both ears, another near the end of his left brow, and a final more intricate one that loops around the middle of his lip and connects to two long metal chains. You follow the path of those chains with your eyes, watching them trail downwards until they loop around his chest and disappear behind his jacket. It’s just a black turtleneck that he wears underneath the dramatic leather regalia and chains but somehow he makes the garment look expensive. You dare glance a bit lower, just enough to make out the frayed and distressed jeans that cling to his skin like a vice, leaving hints of enticing skin underneath to peek through. You can’t see his feet thanks to the fog, but you can practically hear his footsteps drumming in your ears with the rise and fall of his shoes.

Simply put, you are entranced by the sight of this man — if he can even be called that, because you wouldn’t find yourself at all surprised should he reveal himself to be a demon on the tail end of this encounter. He barely looks up from the floor on his trek to the stage, only stopping when he comes before the mic stand and exhales against it in a way that sends shivers down your spine. It’s hardly reasonable for any creature to hold your attention in the palm of his hand the way this one does, but there is no chance of you looking away now, especially as his voice begins to drawl through the microphone and coat your ears like honey. There are words, you recognize enough in the music to know that it should be a song you’re familiar with, but none of them truly process in your daze.

It’s all you can do to just sit there and watch his performance. Between the gentle sways of his shoulders and hips, the teasing drag of his tongue over his lower lip whenever there is a break in his lyrics, and the overall intoxicating nature his aura exudes, you are hooked on every breath he takes. You don’t realize how relaxed your body has become under his spell until it’s too late, and that happens to be the last note of the song as well. It is accentuated with the drop of the glass in your hand and a sharp shatter of the cup against the floor. And just as you inhale a startled gasp and break out of your reverie, his deep crimson eyes flicker over to find yours across the bar. Those twisting lips churn something ugly in your gut. You can’t find the strength in your body to move.

“Mine.”

Your heart leaps in your chest as the word leaves his lips, and while you can’t hear it grate against your ears, you can clearly read his lips enough to know what he’s saying.

His eyes glint a bit in the darkness. It shouldn’t leave you wanting more, but that bitter taste of curiosity is nipping at the back of your throat, and you are far too intrigued to turn back now. You just want more. If he seems to understand that at all from the gleam in your eyes, he makes good on it, stepping off the stage and letting his hand drag over the mic in a way that is almost tantalizing. Step after step, he comes closer to you with his lips still curled into a smirk, and the way the lights hit him makes him seem to glisten and glow in the darkness. You don’t realize you’ve been holding your breath until he breaches your personal space and you release a shaky exhale that seems to fog in the air between you. He stretches a hand out to close the space between your bodies and curls his index finger under your chin. The touch is simultaneously hot and cold — your whole body seems to light on fire under it, yet at the same time, the chill in your bones deepens to an alarming degree.

“What is it you desire above all other things?” You can hear him now, loud and clear, and whilst you heard his singing beforehand, the simple rasp and lilt to his regular tone is something that has you unashamedly weak in the knees. “I can give you everything,” he whispers as he presses closer to you. Your knees brush against his form but he keeps on pushing forward until he’s slotted himself between them. The chain hanging from his lips rattles like a chime, singing its unknown song like church bells in the night, although you are far from God and heaven now. “All you need to do is ask.”

You cling to some semblance of reason while you can, knowing full well that it will all leave you soon enough, but for now, it lets you choke out a single statement that has the demon before you laughing under his breath.

“That’s not how it works.”

“And who are you to tell me how it works?” His finger curls a bit harder at your chin, and you can feel the blunt of his nail scraping over your skin. Your eyes are glued to his, so enamored and consumed that you can’t even think to look anywhere else.

In that moment, it is as though the universe is nothing but a speck of dust in the corner of your vision. Something so raw and whole like the man standing before you is all-powerful and vigilant in a way that has every nerve in your body at full attention, ready for whatever his next step might be. And that turns out to be quite the curveball as it seems because he leans closer to you, breath intermingling with yours, and you subconsciously curve your back into his touch to reach him closer. Still, even though you physically show how ready and desperate for the touch you are, he waits and glances over your features.

“What is it you desire from me, human?”

You have to vehemently restrain yourself from simply saying ‘you’ and getting on with it.

“Your name.”

“Is that all you would have from me?” As a demon, it is his life’s work to know the inner-workings of the festering desires of humans. You have no doubt in your mind that he knows exactly what is it you want, even if you are not sure of it yourself, and you do not doubt that he won’t use that to his advantage either. But that’s what you asked for in coming here, and that is exactly what you both expected and wanted out of this.

Perhaps it is shameful, but just for once, you wanted to surrender control. Too often are you asked to have everything set out and planned and under control, and too often do you find yourself wanting someone to just tell you what it is you should do. That could be why the bartender labeled you as ‘uncertain’ because even in this moment of vulnerability, there is still the thinnest thread of thought tethering you to that control. And as of now, you want nothing more than for this demon before you to break that thread.

“I would have your name before I asked for anything else from you. Calling you demon over and over would certainly wear out its welcome, no?”

“That all depends on the context, my dear. But… you can call me Hongjoong, if that’s suitable to your tongue.”

“Hongjoong,” you try, testing the way the name rolls off your tongue in such a delicate manner that the demon before you flutters his lashes a bit.

“Sounds so pretty coming from lips so innocent.” He tilts his head to the side, and the movement flashes the pretty expanse of skin below his jaw. You aren’t shy in the way you let your gaze slip over it before trailing back up to meet his eyes again. “Would you close your eyes for me, doll?” He doesn’t have to ask. He could just make you do so with no resistance but still, he asks as though you could say no if you wanted to. You don’t though, and as such, your eyelids fall shut and your vision turns to black for the time being. “Do you know who I am?”

“Th-The bartender called you the King.”

“And do you understand what that means? Truly understand with every fiber of your being?” The question is heavy on your bones, and it is one that you feel like you should know the answer to yet you can’t find any response to his inquiry. Perhaps he means to confuse you because you hear the soft huff of a laugh fall from his lips. “King of the Underworld, Lord of the Dead. Some would call me Pluto, others Hades, it varies from religion to religion and in every culture. Sometimes I pick up rather banal and common names, other times I find myself seeking something extravagant and luxurious. Now… Hongjoong will be a good middle-ground for us.”

You should be falling to the floor in absolute shock due to his words, but the steady finger under your chin keeps you steady. That and the growing fear in your gut as you come to realize that this man holds so much power in just his pinky finger and could absolutely crush you under his heel whenever he wishes. What are you to a god besides an insignificant fleck of dust on the pavement?

“And what of your appearance? Is that… manifested as well?” You dare to ask.

“I have many faces, yes, but this one is one I wear boldly and frequently. You could say it is my natural form. After so many millennia of fantastical myths and legends, however, I’m sure that would seem odd to you.”

“Are you truly a demon then?”

“King of demons, yes. Whether I am truly a demon myself is something that could be ambiguous, I suppose, but if they are all part of my creations, then would that not make me one myself? Though you could say they are all fragments of my own being, making them all mythical gods. It’s all a matter of perspective; however, I doubt that you came searching this place for a lesson on perspectives.”

“No, I came for…” You trail off, and that blossoming uncertainty from before presents itself again.

“There are two things your heart wants right now. One, I can give you with ease and grace, only if you would allow it. That desire is a fleeting one, however, and I do not think it is what you are truly after in being here. The second… that is a wish I cannot deliver, and I think you are more than aware of that. The reason everyone left you to me is because of what you want. It is a domain only I could ever touch.”

You blink your eyes open in haste, searching his deep crimson gaze for some sort of confirmation of the words. The demon dares to look forlorn and lets his stare drop to the floor rather than looking you directly in the eye. Confusion blossoms in your gut. Yes, you figured there was a slim chance that your wish could not be granted, but still you clung to the desperate hope that maybe there was just a small window of opportunity for such a wish to be granted.

“Death is irreversible,” the demon, Hongjoong as he wishes to be called, says in a quiet tone. “I cannot give that which you want more than anything else.”

“Then what can you give?” You ask, squeezing your eyes shut as tight as possible to keep your emotions from slipping out the corners.

“One of two things: I can give you time to speak with him once more or I can make you forget the pain.”

“And if I choose the latter?”

“It would make you forget everything about him and leave you with no memory of him at all.” Hongjoong exhales a small sigh, the bouncing rhythms of the bass rumbling against your ears along with the sounds of his breaths. “You need not decide right this instant. The payment will be the same either way, so we can settle that first if you’d like.”

“W-Wait,” you stammer. You dare to open your eyes once more. “How would I be able to speak to him if you can’t bring him back?”

“I cannot bring him back the way you want. He… he is gone, and though I am the King of the Dead, there are powers even I do not have. Bringing him back to life is impossible, but I can create a doorway for the two of you to speak through for a short period of time. I have no control over how long it would be, just a forewarning. That is all up to him and his willingness to see you.”

“I can’t imagine he wouldn’t want to see me,” you murmur, but the pang in your chest tells you otherwise.

“Sometimes, death and the underworld change fundamental parts of people. They are no longer alive, after all, and as such, those human vices and personality traits dissipate. How you knew him in life could be vastly different than the spirit who now resides in my domain. It is all a matter of weighing risks, my dear. What matters most to you? Remembering him or him remembering you?”

“So if I ask to see him, I would remember him but there’s a chance that he would have no recollection of me? And should I ask to forget, there will be no way of knowing whether he remembers me in the afterlife or not?”

“Precisely.”

That is a hefty bargain to weigh. It is almost too much for your shoulders just to think about it. One is starkly more selfish than the other, but if he’s dead, what good will selflessness do you? It won’t bring him back, that’s for sure. Either you are left with the painful realization that he does not have any memory of you in the afterlife, or you forget it all to avoid that pain. Maybe thinking about the payment before deciding would be a good idea after all.

“As for the payment? How many years do I owe you?” Demons have no use for human currency or trinkets that could be traded for favors. You can barter the only thing you have — years of life. Whether it shortens your lifespan or turns you into a personal slave for a certain amount of time, that is a price you must be willing to pay for such services. You are more than prepared to barter it all off right now if need be.

“None,” Hongjoong answers coolly, and you quirk a brow upwards at the nonchalance in his tone. “I do not deal in years of life. Not often, at least. My abilities are bound in… passion. Lovemaking, fornication, sex, fucking – whatever you wish to call it. Of course, it wouldn’t have to be that exactly, should you not desire that. The other option is a blood pact, a ritual that would take hours to complete, although both could take quite some time depending on your stamina.” There’s a breath of silence that allows Hongjoong’s lips to twist into a suggestive grin, and heat brushes the base of your neck as you fight off waves of embarrassment. “I cannot guarantee that the blood pact would be painless. With sex, I could at least provide some comfort that the pain would only be temporary; however, the choice is yours. Both are binding and would mean that you could never make a deal with another demon again, and you would be marked as mine for eternity.”

“What does being yours entail?”

“Nothing diabolical or unsavory, I promise. Just… when the time comes for you to pass on and join the Underworld, you would take a place at my side.”

“How many people have you laid claim to? Did they all agree to the same terms? How can I trust your word?” The questions tumble from your lips without relent.

“For what you desire, the cost is far less than what I would usually ask for. Those lucky enough to deal with me in the past paid less for their debts. The blood pact… the fornication… both are binding elements. The real cost is your service. Most have agreed to give me their servitude in the afterlife, all with their own places in my domain. That is what you would be offering as well. You will live just as long as you would without making this deal but make up for it after your death.”

“And that’s it?”

Hongjoong’s eyes twinkle a bit under the lights above your heads.

“What did you expect from me, doll? Savagery? Unfairness? Everyone deserves a fair price for what they want, regardless of station in life or status in society.”

“Deal,” you utter without any more hesitation, blinking up into Hongjoong’s dark orbs. There lies a lingering sense of regret in your gut, one that you cannot chase away no matter how hard you try, but you do not need to dwell on it any longer.

“And how would you like to bind our deal, my dear? Neither can be handled immediately. The blood pact requires special preparations for the ritual, but the other — I would not have you in such a place as dirty as this.”

“I-I, um, sex will work just fine,” you bite out, the skin of your cheek caught between your teeth.

“Then when the time comes that you are ready with your decision on what it is you truly want, all you need to do is take this—” Hongjoong retracts his hand from where it rests gently against the column of your throat and digs into one of his pockets. He pulls out a gilded card, one that is black and gold with flecks of red across the surface, but there are no other adornments to the material. “Tear it in half and it will bring you to our meeting place, and I will join you there to seal the deal. Should you decide that you do not want this after all, then all you need to do is burn the card. The decision lies in your hands, and yours alone.” He has to lift one of your limp hands and forcefully place the card into your waiting palm, closing his fingers around yours to make you cling to the item.

“I – th-thank you,” you stammer as you blink from your closed hand to Hongjoong’s features.

“The pleasure is all mine, doll.”

Those are the last words you hear from the demon before he slips away from you, the dense fog lingering in the air swirling up around his body, and within moments, his shadowy form disappears entirely from sight. The air grows cold around you once more. You are left with only the fleeting desire for that warmth to return, for you to feel less alone than you are in that moment, and even if it’s the briefest visit ever you just want one last chance to tell your lost lover how you feel without mistakes this time.

///

The night, as per usual, is cold and unforgiving. It allows for too many opportunities to be alone with lost feelings and thoughts. It has been weeks (if not months) since you visited that dingy club and your fateful meeting with none other than the King of the Dead. Yet you are still here, wallowing in the memories that you’ve been left to suffer with alone, and the gilded black card sits in your nightstand untouched. You open the drawer just to stare at it from time to time, when the nights are particularly rough, and it already had begun collecting a thin layer of dust the last few times you looked at it.

It isn’t that you haven’t made your decision about what you want from your deal with Hongjoong. The more terrifying fact is that you are fully aware of what it is you want, and you simply cannot rectify the guilt that comes along with the pure selfishness of your decision. The feeling is so potent that it swarms your every thought. You know it wouldn’t be an issue once you meet with Hongjoong; the demon will take it all away and leave you with nothing. You won’t even know enough to be guilty any longer, but the pain of committing to the decision is strong enough to make you sick to your stomach.

Wooyoung — the one who suggested you go to the club and make the deal in the first place — will not shut up about how worried he is about you. You won’t recall the deal or why you made it, so what’s holding you back? A temporary guilt that won’t exist longer than a few seconds once you’re actually in Hongjoong’s presence? As he said, you just need to swallow the feeling and get on with it. Prolonging the regrets any longer won’t do you any good.

You huff out a quiet laugh in the silence of your darkened room. The black gilded card taunts you again now, gleaming up at you through the shadows with its faint hints of gold and red. Maybe Wooyoung is right and the only way to get rid of missed opportunities is to forget about them entirely. Yeosang was but a chapter in your life, one that is past and gone now, and as Hongjoong said, there is no reversing death. Seeing him one last time won’t give you anything but pain.

You stretch a shaky hand towards the card in the drawer. It’s cold to the touch, dust billowing up with even the slightest touch of your fingers. You have to dig your nail under the material to pull it up, and once it’s safely set in your palm, you drag your thumb over the surface to brush the dirt away. No words on the surface, no sign that it has been touched by a demon, and not even a hint as to what it could possibly be for.

It is surprisingly flexible, at least moreso than you would have imagined, and you give it a few testing bends to see how easy it would be to break. Hongjoong simply gave you the instruction to tear it in half and that was all. You don’t expect him to suddenly materialize before you on a whim, but surely such a creation is bound by some sort of magic on his part. It is hard enough to believe that demons are real living creatures, but magic as well? Maybe you’ve passed on and just don’t realize it yet. Still, you exhale one last huff of air into the darkness before letting your eyes flutter shut. Taking the card between your hands, you begin to slowly rip the material until it separates with the force, torn in two mismatched pieces.

Nothing fantastical happens.

That fact alone is so overwhelmingly disappointing that you really think for a moment that Hongjoong was just some goth rocker in a stoner bar who pulled an elaborate trick on you. It can’t be too difficult to get your hands on some weird red-toned contacts and weave some elaborate story about being the King of Hell. You could do that yourself. Why did you think he was incapable of such a charade?

Because he knew what you wanted without you having to say it.

Yes, well, Wooyoung claimed that your regrets and grief were evident in your features every time he looked at you. Maybe Hongjoong could see it as well.

You fall back onto your bed, flattening your back against the mattress with a small shout of frustration. The urge to cry is strong; if you’ve spent all these weeks uselessly worrying over something that could all be a farce, you don’t even know how you would react. You squeeze your eyes shut tight, blinking away the tears that blossom in the corners there as best you can. The rolling emotions in your system distract you from the sudden shift in temperature, and before you know it heat washes over you and fills the void of cold in your body. You jerk but refuse to sit up quite yet, eyes flying open in your shock only to choke on air as a bright golden light fills your vision and swarms you with warmth. The cushion under your body doesn’t feel the same either; it is not your bed, it’s too plush and soft, too warm under you, and you feel like you are absolutely drowning in the sensation.

Gold flickers above you, twinkling lights that glisten like small stars above you, and the ceiling is so dark that you nearly think it’s just an opening to the night sky. You sit up in a mad panic. The gold and red decorations littering the far too lavish room barely process in your vision as you look for a way out, and you don’t even see the figure coming up along your side until he’s upon you. A hand stretches out to brush over your forehead. You nearly shriek in your state of terror, but the sound is all but stolen from your lungs instead.

“It’s only me, doll. You’re safe.”

Hongjoong. Ah, Hongjoong. Then… he was telling the truth. It wasn’t a farce or a deception meant to be a game. He claimed to be the Devil Incarnate, and here he stands before you in a room too rich and exquisite for words. You can’t find it in you to think he’s lying now.

You dare to glance up and meet his gaze, finding it so soft on your face that you have the audacity to blush under his stare despite the things you’ll be doing with him soon enough.

“Have you made your decision then?” He asks, tone soft and light. It isn’t one that demands an immediate answer. You know he could ask what took you so long to decide, complain about your hesitance, say that you kept him waiting for far too long — instead, he exudes patience with you, hand slowly combing over your forehead down to your cheek and brushing over the skin there with a touch so featherlight that you almost don’t realize it’s there at all.

“I-I have,” you whisper like the two of you aren’t the only ones in the room and it’s a secret meant only for your ears.

“What would you have from me first then? As I told you before, the payment is the same regardless of your decision, and as such, we can bind the deal first if you’d rather.”

You swallow around nothing. There is no harm in going through with the decision now, but your nerves are so frazzled and out of sorts that you almost desire the sex simply as a means of stress relief. Hongjoong steps in front of you, fully coming into view, and you are shocked at how… mundane he looks. You blink fervently at the man — demon, rather — and take in the gentle part of his hair, the soft glow of his skin that makes him look simply ethereal under this light. He hardly looks like a demon to you; his features are too smooth and perfect for that, from the curves of his lips to the even line of his nose. Although you suppose that’s all he wants you to see, yet it still seems oddly intimate to a certain degree.

“You aren’t worried that I’ll try to run away after my wish is fulfilled?” You ask. Hongjoong arches his brows at you, and his neutral expression slips into one of momentary shock.

“Where are you going to go, my dear? I brought you to this place, and you will need me to send you back once we’re done here.”

It sinks in at that moment how you are completely at his mercy right now. Not that you had any plans of running away, but the question was moreso just to test the waters, see if he is truly as merciful as his features make him out to be. The underlying danger in his tone proves your point and sends a chill down your spine.

“Is that something I ought to be worried about, doll? Should I claim you now to make sure you keep your end of the bargain?” The question sits on your ear like warm honey. It chokes you, fills your senses with Hongjoong’s scent, and you almost find yourself leaning into his curling lips before catching yourself. That seems to pique his interest in the very least, and his smile twists a bit more. “The decision is in your hands as always. I won’t do anything you don’t give me explicit permission to do.”

“Permission granted,” you mutter before catching a hand on Hongjoong’s collar. “Do it all.” You aren’t too worried about damaging his clothes as he’s not wearing anything drastically fancy or expensive-looking, and thus you twist your fist into a ball around the fabric of his black tee and yank him down to your height. He bends at the waist, hands catching on the mattress before his forehead can smack hard against yours. There’s a bit of tension in his neck, and that keeps him far enough back so that he doesn’t kiss you quite yet. It’s almost as though he is waiting for something else, eyes carefully tracing your features with great care before he settles on your lips, and a sharp inhale of breath follows before that thin line in his composure snaps.

His lips hit yours with a surprising amount of force, and the kiss isn’t at all what you were expecting — well, to be more accurate, you aren’t quite sure what you were expecting in the first place. It’s much more pleasant than you could have imagined though, and Hongjoong isn’t shy with the touch at all. His tongue is quick to swipe over your lower lip, hands darting upwards to brush over your sides before reaching your face, and he brings a knee down on the mattress to support his weight as he leans over you. You follow the motion when he pushes forward and lean back until you have no choice but to scoot back on the bed. Hongjoong moves with you with the same amount of fervor, still pressed to your lips without relent, and you don’t even think to stop as he completely drapes himself over your body, knees still up and supporting his weight. The cushion of the mattress dips by your head, a telltale sign that he’s placed his hands there, and you use that as your opportunity to stop for air. Hongjoong surely has no need to breathe like you do since he is undead, but he still pants above you, chest heaving as a pretty flush rises to his cheeks.

“Putting that much power in a demon’s hands is dangerous, is it not?” He mutters. You let your lashes flutter shut as he moves back to your lips, hot breath ghosting over your skin. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“I’ll tell you if it’s something I don’t like,” you murmur, opening an eye to peek at him. He meets your gaze with a soft laugh, but your answer seems to please him enough to bring his attention back to your lips. You inhale as his tongue breaches your mouth and pushes into the wet cavern inside. There’s no chance for you to fight back for any sort of dominance because he only thrusts deeper and coats the inside of your mouth with his taste until you can feel his tongue brushing over your palate. A quiet moan reverberates through your throat and against his lips. You feel the barest hint of a smile in the kiss, then his lips are suddenly gone from yours. You gasp for air with the freedom. Heat pools in the depths of your gut, a pleasant one that leaves you wanting more, and you aren’t sure if it’s simply been so long since you last had sex or if Hongjoong truly has that effect on you.

He returns to touching your body a moment later, hands trailing to the row of buttons on your nightshirt, and one by one, he pulls them apart until the material is barely clinging to your skin. His lips replace his fingers then. First at your jaw placing a wet trail of kisses and soft nips that leave you with goosebumps. Then he reaches the midpoint of your sternum and rests the flat of his tongue there, tasting and teasing your skin until you can do nothing but writhe under him because he is taking so damn long. Your impatience is laughable to him, as evidenced by the quiet huff of air that leaves him next.

“I want to taste every inch of you,” he mumbles against the skin of your stomach, hands pulling your nightshirt away to expose more of the skin underneath. He makes good on his words, and that damn tongue traces lower and lower until he reaches the band of your pants and underwear. You instinctively dart a hand down to tangle in his hair. “F-Fuck.” The curse slips out when you give an accidental tug to the hair close to his nape, and you nearly think that you’ve hurt him in some manner until you catch sight of the blissed-out expression on his features.

“D-Do you — can I…?”

“Do it harder while I eat you out,” he growls. His fingers close hard around the remainders of your close, and you don’t even have time to nod before he’s yanking both your pants and underwear down in one fell swoop. It leaves you more than a little exposed — you’re suddenly nearly nude before the demon who is still fully clothed, and that realization draws your thighs tight together in a sudden rush of embarrassment. You swallow hard around nothing, eyes darting away from Hongjoong’s prying gaze.

All of a sudden, he shrugs your hand off his hair and sits back on his heels. You don’t understand what his reasoning is until you settle your eyes back on his body. He’s leaned back to start stripping layers of clothes off in a rush, hands fumbling and struggling to pull them away in an orderly manner. There is no composure to his actions, only a hastened fervor that has him tossing his shoes far from the bed along with random articles of clothes until he’s laid fully bare before you. You really try your hardest not to glance down at his… you know, but the urge is overwhelming. Before you can even catch a glimpse, however, Hongjoong is on you again, hands latched around your thighs and pulling you to the edge of the bed as he kneels before you on the floor. The sudden movement has you squealing in surprise, and that noise is broken off into a startled moan when Hongjoong’s lips brush through your folds without warning.

“O-Oh god,” you gasp out. Hongjoong’s tongue gives a long and dragging pull through your heat, teasing some of the juices out of you with little restraint.

“Far from it actually,” he replies against your clit. A cheeky grin eats away at his features, but it quickly disappears as he returns his focus to your cunt. Your hand finds its way back down to his hair once more and tugs hard at the strands. Each tweak of his tongue through your folds has your legs jerking a bit, and he has to tighten his grip on your thighs to keep you from moving so much under his touch.

“I’m not — I w-won’t last, pl-please, I–” You can’t even finish the sentence as Hongjoong flicks the tip of his tongue right over your clit and cuts you off. He repeats that same motion, again and again, brings you right to the precipice of an orgasm only to tear you back down from it with soft kisses pressed to the outside of your folds. You can’t keep track of how many times he repeats that process, but it is more than enough to have you shaking from exhaustion and desperation even though you haven’t even been able to come yet.

“Are you going to beg for it, doll?” Hongjoong hums after what feels like hours of pleasurable torture. “I promised to make you feel good, did I not? You just have to tell me what you want.” His words are so taunting that it burns you with embarrassment. The need for that orgasm hangs on every nerve ending of your body, and you could cry just out of the need to come.

“Please,” you whisper in a tone broken from constant moans and cries.

“Be more specific.” It’s so cruel. He dangles the promise of pleasure before your eyes again, this time nipping ever so gently at your bud, and you really do cry this time, fingers digging harshly on his scalp. That draws a prolonged growl from his lips, and it reverberates against you so nicely that you could come from that. Hongjoong pulls his head back too soon though and the sensation is dashed away.

“N-No, no, please. P-Please, Hongjoong, I — please let me come. I need it, I need it so badly. Shit, just – just please let me come,” you wail as tears slip out the corners of your eyes and spill onto the sheets under you. That’s the breaking point for him as well, or so it would seem, because the next time his mouth brushes through your cunt, he doesn’t relent. You come undone on his tongue, riding out the waves of your intense orgasm as he fucks his wet muscle into your heat. He won’t stop chuckling either — a low noise that just prolongs the pleasure and makes you quiver from overstimulation. He doesn’t let up until a dry and choked sob pushes past your lips.

Suddenly he is back up on the bed, bent over your body to be eye to eye with you. His fingers trace over your wet cheeks then clasp hard around your jaw.

“Too much?”

“N-No,” you stammer through the wet cries. “So good. So so good.”

“Mm, can you take my cock too, doll?” He all but purrs the words against your skin. His soft and trailing kisses return to your skin, peppering the line of your jaw just past his fingers.

“Yes, please, I c-can. Please. I want i-it all.” You never thought you could sound so overwhelmingly desperate, but the tumbling sensation that swerves through your stomach as Hongjoong’s demeanor shifts has you falling into absolute shambles. He shifts your position, pushing you up higher to rest against the pillows, and you start to drape your legs around his waist. That must not be the position he had in mind though, because his hand clamps down hard on one of your calves and pushes it to the top of his shoulder. Before you can even blink, he does the same with your other leg, effectively folding you in half and into a position you weren’t even aware that your body was capable of. That shock is momentary as you feel the tip of what must his cock rubbing over your pulsating hole. You can’t do anything but ball your fists around the sheets under you and cling to them like a vice. It’s the only thing that can prepare you for his girth; the stretch may not be as much as you thought it would be, but it still stings like a bitch even after he bottoms out in you. That pain must be showing on your features – in the way your brows are tightly knit together and your eyes are screwed shut so that excess tears from earlier slip out.

The soft caress of lips touches your forehead. It’s so gentle and delicate that you nearly miss it in your efforts to grow used to the sensation between your legs, but Hongjoong repeats it time and time again until your breathing steadies and your chest stops heaving as much. It’s only then that he dares to resituate his hips. You crack an eye open to look at him, and it’s abundantly clear that he’s trying his hardest to hold back and keep from fucking into you with reckless abandon.

“I’m okay now,” you whisper, pulling a hand off the bedsheets to brush some loose strands of hair out of Hongjoong’s vision. “Please fuck me as hard as you’d like.” You snake the same hand around the back of his neck. When he still doesn’t move, you offer a sharp tug to the hair that falls over his sweat-slick nape, and that spurs him into action. His hips snap roughly against yours, pushing your back further into the crude curve it’s already in. Now that the dull throbbing pain has dissolved into a sensation of pleasure, you drown yourself in the drag of his member inside you. It’s quite possibly the best feeling you’ve had all night with the way his tip rubs over your bundle of nerves at just the right angle.

Hongjoong drops his elbows to the pillow under your head, and you greet him with a kiss that is mostly just an awkward clash of teeth for the most part. He gains enough composure to shift the angle to one that’s easier for both of you, hips still working hard as he rocks into you with the same force and speed as before. You are so lost in the euphoria that you can’t even feel your next orgasm sneaking up on you, but when it does, it pulls a noiseless scream from your lips. Hongjoong mouths at the corner of your lips as you ride it out. He still seems far off from his own high, even as he slows the pulses of his thrusts. You claw your way back from the high of your orgasm to grip his hair tighter and pull him closer to you.

“In me. I need you to come in me or not at all,” you demand through a huffed out sigh. It’s a moment of throwing caution to the wind, one that is quite worth it thanks to the expression of hunger and lust that fills Hongjoong’s face.

“You can’t just say things like that, doll,” he growls into the shell of your ear. You try to laugh but he interrupts you with a thrust harsher than any of the ones before. Every sound that falls from your lips now is stuttered and broken at the seams, and you let him fuck you with that same level of passion until he finally seems to tire and lose his rhythm. The only warning you have that he’s about to orgasm is the slight whine to his tone when he moans next. You push what strength you have left into clenching hard around his cock, and that is ultimately what tips him over the edge and pulls a delightful moan from his lips as he spills into your tight heat. He releases his hold on your legs, letting them slip away from his shoulders and back into a more comfortable position on the bed, but he refuses to move off your body.

You aren’t sure how long the two of you stay like that: with Hongjoong continually mouthing small kisses to the underside of your jaw and you just staring blankly at the glittering ceiling with a mind nearly empty. However much time passes doesn’t quite matter because once you recover your senses enough to be coherent again, you recall what is supposed to come next. Shaky hands find their way to Hongjoong’s arms and trail up to rest atop his back.

“Take it all away,” you exhale through a pant, hands clinging desperately to the milky skin of Hongjoong’s shoulders. “I don’t want to remember him anymore.” His chest heaves against yours, and a few loose strands of dark hair fall forward to stick to his sweat-slick forehead. This time when he kisses you, it is hot and searing, a brand against your lips, one that burns the inside of your mouth and sets your tongue alight. The sensation slips down the back of your throat, fills your gut, burns you from the inside out, and all your thoughts go hazy under the touch of his lips. With that one kiss, Hongjoong takes it all away. He gives into your desires, heeds your wishes, and grants you the ultimate peace and serenity you so deeply craved. He continues to cling to you like he’s never held something so desperately or lost in his infinite existence. You return the embrace in full while you can, strength already leaving you in the afterglow of your fornication, and you rake your nails down over his back if only to leave him with some sort of trophy to leave with. He is already leaving with your memories though, a trophy to hold close to his heart should there ever be a time when you ask for them to be returned to you. Perhaps in your afterlife, you’ll ask for them back, and Hongjoong would gladly give them should it be what you desire.

That is what he is, after all. As much as he takes, the Demon King of the Underworld gives in return, where he can with what he can. His duty, his bond, the sole purpose for his existence is to maintain that balance between giving and taking. But if it’s for you — a creature so lost, dismal, and hopeless — perhaps he can tip the scales a bit further in your direction.

At least, that’s what he thinks as you curve your body into his and press your lips with more fervor than before. That maybe, just maybe, endless years of his own hopelessness and confusion were all meant to lead him to finding this: a purpose in his undying life.

﹎    ﹎    ﹎

[sentakushimasu]

diving off the deep end, breathe slow

pairing: sero hanta/iida tenya summary: Sero drowns during a training exercise. Today doesn't make Iida's list of top ten favourite days. genre: hurt/comfort, whump word count: 11.4k warnings: drowning, cpr, hospitals, slight vomit warning (no actual vomiting), hypothermia title from: dayseeker - drunk AO3

Sero tried to ignore the pang of disappointment in his chest as he saw Aizawa’s allocated teams. They were supposed to be randomly generated but Sero couldn’t help but feel like the world was out to get him.

Iida wasn’t on his team yet again.

It wasn’t a big deal, but every time they had a big scale training session, Sero wanted to try working on a team up with his boyfriend. They both had quirks that made them incredibly mobile, but they needed to work better in combat as a team.

Aizawa, however, seemed dead set on preventing that from happening.

Sero had to suppress a yelp as an arm wrapped around his neck and dragged him staggering along. He regained his balance as Kirishima let go of him, grinning widely.

Kirishima, Mina, Shinsou and himself in a team. They could make this work.

They’d all been arranged into five teams of four, tasked with placing quirk suppressing handcuffs on members of the other teams. Kirishima took the role of their self-proclaimed leader and happily accepted the five pairs of cuffs to share between the team. They’d been given the red ones, making it easier to keep track of who was cuffed by which team.

The other teams had other colours, and other interesting combinations of quirks. The blue team, consisting of Iida (their appointed leader), Yaoyorozu, Tsuyu and Uraraka, were likely going to be scarily efficient despite their lack of flashy quirks.

The green team was led by Deku, which, if that wasn’t scary enough, was followed by Shouji, Satou and Todoroki. Sero had to suppress a shudder just looking at that team. The only member who couldn’t easily snap him in half like a twig, could make mountains of ice and pyres of fire without batting an eye. He really hoped another team dealt with them before his team had the misfortune of running into them.

Less intimidating was the yellow team, fronted by Sero’s partner in crime, accompanied by Ojirou, Hagakure and Aoyama. Any team that let Kaminari take charge was not one that Sero felt the need to be scared of.

Bakugou was already barking out orders to the black team. Sero cringed in sympathy for Kouda, Jirou and Tokoyami. Their self-appointed leader was bound to run off on his own, leaving them without much opportunity to intimidate anyone they ran into. Tokoyami could be pretty terrifying in his own right, but going up against a team with Deku and Todoroki? He didn’t stand a chance.

Aizawa interrupted them, speaking in a bored tone, “the first team to use all of their quirk cuffs wins. No, you cannot cuff your teammates, doing so results in immediate disqualification for the entire team.”

Iida’s hand shot up. “Can we use the other teams’ handcuffs if we become separated from our team?”

“The team the cuffs belong to gets the point.”

Uraraka was the next one to raise her hand. “If we handcuff someone with their team’s handcuffs will their team still get disqualified?”

Aizawa paused for a second, regarding Uraraka with a lethargic look. “Yes.”

Okay, Sero had officially decided that the blue team was kind of terrifying. He wasn’t going to let himself be fooled by Uraraka’s round cheeks or the pink-heavy colour scheme of her hero outfit; she was out for blood.

As it turns out, Iida’s team was the only one asking any questions as Yaomomo joined the discussion. “Do we have to cuff both of their hands?”

“No, it’s the same as your previous exams. If you cuff one hand or ankle, you get the point.”

Mina leaned over and gave Sero a well-placed elbow to his ribs. “Don’t let glasses distract you, he’ll steal your handcuffs and disqualify our whole team while you’re busy making heart eyes.”

Sero just rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t let that happen.”

As if to exemplify the fact that Sero was a filthy liar, he made eye contact with Iida who promptly gave him a wave that he returned with what was undoubtedly an utterly lovesick grin if Mina’s exaggerated fake gagging was anything to go by.

“We’re screwed,” she whined.

Sero gave her a half-hearted glare. “You have such little faith in me.”

Aizawa directed their attention to a map of the training grounds they were located in today. Between the cityscape of ground beta and the added area of the river and its surrounding banks, clearly he was prepared for a lot of big scale altercations. There were five markings on the map, all with a colour corresponding to the different teams.

“Every team has a starting location and the next fifteen minutes to get there

Most of the teams’ locations were within ground beta, aside from the red dot next to the bridge and the blue dot a little ways down the path from the bridge, away from ground beta. Great, an area that Sero couldn’t even swing the majority of, and they were completely exposed to the wind.

He was beginning to think that it was much too cold for outdoor training. As he trailed behind Kirishima and Mina. Shinsou hung back but Sero didn’t hold it against him, they were certainly a much louder group than the purple haired boy would be comfortable with.

Although that didn’t explain why he still let Kaminari follow him around like a hyperactive clingy puppy.

After all, Sero, one of the most chaotic and academically-underwhelming members of class 1-A had somehow managed to be dating Mr Perfect, the class president, for the past four months. Now that had been a shock to the rest of the class, most of all, Sero Hanta whose heart still skipped a beat when Iida reached out to take his hand.

Shinsou at least looked like his hero suit wasn’t going to let him freeze, his capture weapon even seeming to act like a scarf. The same could not be said for anyone else on their team as they began the trek down the pathway up to the bridge.

“Kiri, how are you not a popsicle? You have sleeves but no shirt!” Mina claimed as she shivered.

“I’m invincible,” Kirishima shrugged as he tapped a hardened fist on his now hardened chest. For dramatic effect.

“It’s too cold to be outside,” Sero piped up, rubbing his arms in an attempt to keep the blood circulating. He was kind of hoping that they ran into Todoroki during training, at least being gently roasted alive was better than the cold he was currently experiencing.

Maybe when the exercise started, they would be able to warm up, but the distance between them and the closest group was quite significant and he wasn’t sure they’d be too into an all-out battle.

Maybe if Yaoyorozu made a net and Sero accidentally let himself get caught, Iida would carry him back to base. That was always an option.

The bridge was a good location. From their position in the middle of it, they would be able to see anyone trying to sneak up on them. It was a better vantage point than what the blue team had, that’s for sure.

The group was just standing on the path along the riverbank, Yaoyorozu already sparkling as she used her quirk. As Sero squinted his eyes he could tell that she was handing a jacket to Tsu, he couldn’t help but to feel sympathy for his classmate who was much more sensitive to the cold than everyone else.

There was a ringing noise coming from the wristband Kirishima had been given as their team’s acting leader, to signal the start of the exercise.

“Theoretically, we could just wait for them to come to us,” Shinsou offered. “Let Bakugou deal with Midoriya and Todoroki before he tries to blow our heads off.”

“Good plan,” Sero supplies, trying to show Shinsou some support. “I’ll swing up the bridge supports and keep an eye out if you guys want to sit by the railing and stay out of the wind.”

Mina eyed him warily. “What about you? The wind is gonna be worse up there.”

Sero shrugged. “Pro-hero Cellophane isn’t bothered by the cold.”

“You’re not a pro yet,” Mina corrected him, folding her arms across her chest.

“If you get too cold you’ll come back down, right?” Shinsou asked, his voice laced with an emotion Sero couldn’t pinpoint. “If you faint up there, it would be bad news.”

“I’ll be extra careful,” Sero said with a wink.

Kirishima gave Sero a thumbs up and at that, Sero turned to look up at the structure of the bridge, quickly dispensing his tape.

As the tape curled around the support beam and held its position as Sero gave it a firm tug, he used it to propel himself upwards.

It had probably only been five minutes of Sero leaning against the cold metal of the bridge’s support beams before their first challengers arrived. Sero could see two figures headed towards them. Smaller in stature and both dressed dark, it only took Sero a few seconds to identify Jirou and Tokoyami.

Jirou, they could handle pretty easily. Tokoyami would be trouble.

Mina and Kirishima wouldn’t be at all effective against Dark Shadow, so that match would come down to Sero and Shinsou.

Scratch that, it came down to Sero.

He’d only just managed to swing down onto the bridge and alert his team to their visitors before Jirou’s quirk ripped through the air.

The volume disoriented Sero for a moment, knocking him off balance before he could swing himself back up into the air. He needed to incapacitate Jirou if they had any hope of using Shinsou’s quirk. If Tokoyami couldn’t hear him speak, he couldn’t be brainwashed.

Sparing a glance behind him, Sero noticed that Mina and Shinsou were both struggling to stay oriented as the sound assaulted their senses. It was no Present Mic, but it was powerful enough to pose a threat to their group when their most powerful quirk needed to be heard to work.

They were lucky that Sero at least had a quirk that worked long distance because while Kirishima and Mina had to get close to their opponent to use their quirks, Sero was able to maneuver through the air.

He had gotten much better at using his quirk midair during his time at UA, able to turn and shoot another reel of tape at the railing across the bridge and pull himself back down to the ground.

His landing was smooth as he folded himself to roll across the asphalt and up onto his feet.

He would never complain about the gymnastics classes his mum had forced him into during middle school ever again.

With another spin, he was wrapping his tape around Jirou and yanking her towards him, her arms pinned to her sides. She was too startled to maintain her quirk, whipping her earphone jacks towards Sero, likely in hopes of deterring him.

It didn’t work. Of course. As Sero slapped the quirk suppressant cuffs on her wrist.

He offered Jirou an apologetic smile as she glared at him.

The moment was cut short by an impact sending Sero flying to the side.

He quickly adjusted his form so that he rolled on impact with the ground and could easily pull himself back up on his knees. Only to find himself faced with Dark Shadow moving towards him, swooping side to side menacingly.

Sero was a big fan of the sentient quirk, it was like having a dog in the dorms, if dogs were made of shadows and could speak. What he didn’t like about Dark Shadow, was its ability to absolutely throttle him right now.

Forcing himself to his feet, Sero started to back away from the quirk, hoping that his team would figure something out while he had the threat distracted. If Dark Shadow focused its attention on someone else then Sero could possibly manage to restrain Tokoyami and cuff him if he was fast enough.

“Tokoyami, help!” Jirou called out, sounding so panicked that even Sero’s head snapped up at the sound.

Just in time to see Tokoyami’s expression go blank and his stance lose its tension. The consequence of calling out to his teammate in concern.

Shinsou was kneeling on the ground a few metres away, his hand still on his mask, his unruly purple hair moving in the wind. Clever.

Dark Shadow was quick to snap its attention to Tokoyami, fussing over the boy who wasn’t responding to him.

Sero saw his opportunity and took it.

He shot out the tape, wrapping it around Tokoyami to restrain him in case something interrupted Shinsou’s mind control.

Dark Shadow quickly retreated back into Tokoyami and Sero couldn’t help the proud smile spreading across his face as he nodded at Shinsou and gave him a thumbs up.

Shinsou’s quirk was officially his favourite. That was badass.

Their relief was soon interrupted by a loud clatter.

Sero’s eyes fell on the black handcuffs now sitting in the middle of the bridge. Which could only mean that someone else was here, and Sero sincerely doubted that Kouda would be dropping things from a height like that. Which left the last person Sero wanted to fight right now. Bakugou Katsuki.

The sound of an explosion confirmed his suspicions.

The dropped handcuffs weren’t a mistake, they were a threat.

Sero barely had a second to shoot out more tape and grab Shinsou, pulling his teammate towards him as Bakugou descended on the place where he stood, his hands popping with explosions.

With his hands on Shinsou’s shoulders, Sero steadied the purple haired boy, loosening the hold of the tape.

“Are you hurt?” Sero asked quickly, his eyes worriedly scanning Shinsou for any signs that the tape hadn’t been fast enough.

Shinsou looked thoroughly spooked but shook his head after a few seconds, snapping back into focus. “No.”

“Good. Did you cuff Tokoyami?”

Shinsou nodded. Great, that kept their threats to a minimum.

“Good job,” Sero said, giving Shinsou’s shoulder a supportive pat. “Stay where he can’t get you.”

Sero didn’t wait for a reply as he dispensed his tape and swung himself up into the fray.

Bakugou was fixated on Kirishima, hitting the boy’s hardened exterior with explosion after explosion. Sero cringed in sympathy, Kirishima said that it didn’t hurt but it still had to be hot.

Choosing that moment to look away from the fight, Sero turned to pull himself even higher up, reading another set of handcuffs in his non-dominant hand.

That was the easy part.

He turned back to the fight only to see that Bakugou had successfully cuffed Kirishima who was just staring at his wrist in shock. And Bakugou was notorious for not knowing when to quit as he reared up to set off another explosion at Kirishima.

Shooting out his tape in a panic, Sero grabbed Bakugou by his waist and tugged him away from the redhead. Only for the explosion to be rounded on him.

Bakugou missed his mark and Sero foolishly let Bakugou explode the tape that tethered them together.

His enemy was now airborne, setting off explosions as he hovered, staring at Sero with murderous intent. Sero hoped he looked good because this was going to be his last day alive with Bakugou looking at him like that.

Sero was a lot of things, a smart guy who thought things through before he did them was not one of them.

He shot out tape at a support beam directly across the bridge, and prayed that Bakugou didn’t sever it as he yanked himself to the other side. His other hand readied with the handcuffs.

In a stroke of dumb luck, Sero managed to clip the black handcuffs above Bakugou’s gauntlet. The older boy had made a mistake dropping those as a threat.

Sero had a split second to be proud of himself as the incessant sound of popping ceased before he realised that he was swinging over the edge of the bridge and Bakugou was plummeting.

He was getting too far away, forgetting to halt the unwinding of his tape until he was a ridiculous distance out from the bridge. There was no way he could reach the explosive teen now.

He shot a new piece of tap at the railing and tried to pull himself back down, turning to shoot a second strand towards Bakugou to hopefully help his descent.

The tape missed and Sero was swinging too low, on course to swing under the bridge before he could pull himself back up the other side.

Shinsou’s capture weapon caught Bakugou and Sero had to hope his fall wasn’t too dramatic as the top of the bridge left his eyesight.

He just had to swing under the bridge and come up on the other side, and then he’d be able to check on everyone. It would only take him a few seconds to be back topside.

Sero felt the release of tension in his tape and before he even realised what was happening, he was in freefall and on a collision course with the river. That was the thing about his quirk, the constant looming threat of falling. In his panic, he tried to fling out some more tape, hoping it would find a purchase on some part of the underside of the bridge.

Or the railing that entered his line of sight as he fell along the trajectory of his previous swing. He could almost swear he saw a head of fluffy pink hair peeking over the railing.

His tape failed to connect with anything as his body hit water.

Which was freezing.

The shock of the impact and the temperature drop had Sero taking an involuntary breath of nothing but water, the coldness eagerly filling his lungs and pushing out whatever air he had left. He wasn’t sure if his helmet was still on his head or if it was just whatever the opposite of watertight was.

Even opening his eyes to the assault of the cold water didn’t help his case. He couldn’t see any light to tell him which way the surface was. All he knew was that his lungs burned and he could do nothing more than try to swim and hope he wasn’t sinking.

He tried to stay calm, but there was really no option for him other than to panic and hope that someone fished him out of the water.

Kirishima would sink like a stone if he even dared to jump in after Sero, he would immediately harden in contact with the water. Mina and Shinsou could swim but the jump off the bridge was far too dangerous.

Maybe Bakugou could get to the water with his explosions, but Sero couldn’t remember if he’d be able to propel them out of the river even if he did go after Sero. He didn’t see the end of Bakugou’s fall, his friend could very well be dangerously injured, far too poorly off to help the one who was responsible for his fall.

His head was so foggy.

There was a different quality to the darkness that crept in around the corner of his vision in comparison to the darkness of the water. Sero had always thought he could hold his breath for a long time, but he guessed that the gut instinct of inhaling the water would be his undoing.

Sero vaguely recalled that there was another group, closer to the riverbank. He couldn’t remember who had been there, but he could only hope that Tsu was nearby, she was perhaps the only one who would be able to get him. She was very qualified with water rescues.

The fog was growing thicker, heavier, and Sero wasn’t sure he had the energy to keep up his fight towards the surface.

It was always fun when a training exercise became a rescue mission. He just hoped that someone fished him out before it was too late.

Everything was heavy and Sero let the water take him.

-

Iida’s entire team snapped to attention when they heard a scream.

“SERO!”

It was raw and filled with genuine terror. Iida felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head as he turned in the direction the scream came from. Just in time to see a dark form hit the water at a high speed, white strips of tape hanging uselessly in the air as they floated down onto the river’s surface.

With bated breath, everyone watched the surface of the water, waiting for Sero to surface.

Iida’s mind was a whirlwind. Had he hit his head? Had he been blown from the bridge by one of their classmates’ stronger quirks? Why had Iida yet to see his boyfriend’s hair pop out the top of the water?

No one needed to say anything before Asui was racing down the riverbank and throwing out her tongue.

Asui pulled Sero from the water with ease, how she had even known where he was, was beyond Iida. He would have to thank her later, after he checked on his boyfriend.

That water had to be freezing, and Iida was not unfamiliar with the knowledge that Sero would lose his body heat a lot faster in cold water. He was in his winter version of his suit but it wasn’t waterproof.

Sero’s helmet had fallen off at some point, maybe even prior to him hitting the water, Iida noticed as he raced over to meet him and Asui.

Iida didn’t know what he was expecting when he crashed to his knees next to his boyfriend’s wet form. Coughing and complaining? Sure. Sero being completely limp, soaked to the bone and not giving Iida’s presence any acknowledgement? Not what Iida expected.

Sero’s dark hair was plastered to his skin by the water, his eyes were closed, his lips and the tip of his nose going a jarring shade of purple and grey.

“Sero?”

Iida wrapped his hand around the top of Sero's shoulder, where it met the base of his neck. He tried to ignore how cold Sero felt to the touch, blaming it on the water, but the temperature of his skin had anxiety curling in Iida’s gut. "Sero? Hanta, can you hear me?"

Sero offered him no response, not even a twitch or grumble like he usually did when Iida bothered him while the older boy was trying to take a cat nap on the common room couch.

Okay. Bad news.

"Call an ambulance, and Aizawa-sensei!" Iida called out. It came out a lot shakier than he was expecting.

He leant down so that his cheek hovered above Sero's mouth and nose, his hand resting atop his boyfriend's chest. He was hoping, begging, for the sensation of air brushing against his face or movement under his hand, even the sound of Sero's breathing or the sight of his chest rising and falling.

Worse news.

Sero wasn't breathing.

Iida wasn't wearing his watch so he couldn't be certain that it had been ten seconds but he knew that it had been too long without any indication that Sero could breathe.

Aizawa regularly made them revise first aid so it wasn't like Iida didn't know what to do.

But there was a world of difference between a CPR dummy and turning his giggling boyfriend onto his side, and Sero being completely unresponsive and being entirely dependent on Iida to help him.

Taking a deep breath and trying to shove his anxiety deeper inside himself, Iida positioned himself. With his knees pressed up against Sero’s side, his right hand over his left and his elbows locked straight.

His mind was a whirlwind as he started the compressions. Was he pressing hard enough? Was it fast enough? Was he even helping?

He was quick to shove the thoughts out of his mind, he couldn’t afford to think about anything other than the compressions. If he hesitated or freaked out, it could cost Sero his life.

“Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty,” Iida counted under his breath. He leant down to Sero’s face, his hands tilting his boyfriend’s head back and pinching his nose as Iida’s mouth covered Sero’s cold one.

Two breaths and he was back to pumping Sero’s heart for him. Iida’s head swam at the thought.

Iida was counting his way through his second ground of compressions when someone fell into place on Sero’s other side. Iida didn’t even bother to look up at who they were, he only cared about one thing right now, seeing Sero awake and breathing.

“Iida.” So it was Yaoyorozu next to him. “I have a defibrillator. Attach it while I do the breaths, okay?”

Iida nodded firmly. “Okay.”

Fuck, he’d forgotten all about the defibrillator in his panic. Had she made it? He tried to pull up the mental map of where AEDs were located around campus but it was all a blur in his head. He couldn’t think clearly about anything other than Hanta.

He says his “thirty” loud enough for Yaoyorozu to hear him and she snapped into action, passing the opened defibrillator to Iida as she placed a bag-valve-mask over Sero’s nose and mouth.

Either she was truly the best at locating things under pressure or she was incredible at using her complex quirk in a panic. Iida couldn’t rule out either.

He would be grateful for her for the rest of his life, he suspected.

Iida grabbed the shears from the defibrillator box and started to cut away Sero’s hero costume. It was a simple motion, starting at the base of Sero’s throat and stopping just above his pelvis.

Vaguely, Iida was aware that Sero’s chest was falling for the second time and Yaoyorozu was setting the bag valve mask down next to his head.

“I’ll get it, you do compressions.”

Iida couldn’t find it in him to say anything, getting back into the rhythm of pushing on Sero’s chest. It was more physically draining than he had expected, his arms ached and his chest was begging to feel tight with the exhaustion. But he couldn’t stop. He would keep going until Sero’s heart was beating on its own.

Out of the corner of his eye, Iida can see Yaoyorozu peeling back the film on the AED pads so he took over the breaths for her. He didn’t even bother fumbling with the mask that was on the other side of Sero.

In the span of two rescue breaths, Yaoyorozu had dried off Sero’s torso with a towel that would have seemingly appeared out of midair if Iida didn’t know any better and attached the pads to his chest.

Iida hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Yaoyorozu’s voice was firm yet comforting as she spoke. “Keep going.”

Thankfully, at least one of them could keep their head on straight right now.

As Iida continued the compressions, his heart breaking ten times over with every one, Yaoyorozu called out to someone outside of his field of vision.

“Uraraka, can you use the bag mask? Just squeeze it twice when Iida does thirty compressions.”

There was a silent exchange and another body kneeling on the ground with them.

The AED made a noise when Iida stopped his compressions. How long had it been? It felt like a lifetime. The amicable chatter he had been exchanging with Asui and Uraraka as they walked down the riverbank seemed like it had happened forever ago. Where was Aizawa? They needed help.

“Analysing rhythm, don’t touch the patient.”

Iida snatched his hands away from where they hovered close to Sero, shuffling back until his knees were no longer touching his boyfriend.

They waited with baited breath for the machine’s verdict.

“No shock advised. Continue compressions.”

Iida was back in position in less than a second, pushing down on his boyfriend’s chest again. Sero’s sternum was firm below the heel of Iida’s palm.

How many times had he languidly traced his fingers across Sero’s skin, trailing ghosts of fingertips over his boyfriend’s sternum, a flat palm pressed over where Iida could feel the strong thumping of Sero’s heart? He’d become so accustomed to just reaching out and touching Sero, it was normal, but this wasn’t like that.

There was no sight of black eyes watching him carefully as Sero’s lips curled into a smile, a soft “I love you” on his tongue.

The stupid monotonous “press, press, press” from the AED was not helping to ease Iida’s panic. He couldn’t do more than try to tune it out.

“Come on, Hanta,” Iida pleaded, his voice breaking with the pent up emotion he had accumulated in the past few minutes. “Breathe.” Iida was still pressing on Sero’s chest, hoping that with every thrust downwards that it would spur Sero into motion. “Please, Hanta. You have to breathe!”

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka both refrained from saying anything as the tears started to fall, Iida couldn’t keep them at bay anymore. He was tired, he was desperate, and Sero was still cold and unresponsive.

His tears hit the back of Iida’s hand, others pooling on Sero’s skin.

Aizawa couldn’t have picked a better or worse time to show up.

There was some shuffling and Aizawa was kneeling on the other side of Sero, Yaoyorozu having moved to take over the position by Sero’s head. Where did Uraraka go?

“Iida,” Aizawa said. He was clearly out of breath. Had he run to them? Iida didn’t doubt that his teacher would. After all, he’d proven himself willing to give his life for them. “Next round you’re swapping out with me,” he commanded in a low voice.

Iida shook his head. “I can’t”.

“You can. You’re tired and you need to let me take over. You’ve done well, let me help, Iida.”

Iida couldn’t keep up his argument. Aizawa was right, he was tired.

As he finished his round of compressions, he leant back heavily, turning his legs so that he didn’t sit on his engines.

Aizawa offered him a sympathetic look, but there was an edge to it - worry.

Iida couldn’t do anything more than watch as Aizawa took over. He kept his eyes trained on Sero’s face, mostly obscured by the mask. Yaoyorozu also had tears in her eyes but with her lips pressed into a firm line, they didn’t spill.

That’s when it really sank in.

This was supposed to be a routine training exercise, and now Sero might not walk away from it. How did everything go so wrong so quickly?

Aizawa was still going when he spoke, “Sero, if you open your eyes, I’ll give you an A on every test left in the semester.”

There was a weird quality to his voice. Iida wasn’t used to hearing this much identifiable emotion from his teacher, a plea with the unconscious kid he was supposed to take care of, masked in useless humour.

Sero would laugh if he made Aizawa cry. It had always been such a bizarre thing to think about, but Iida wasn’t so sure anymore.

His timing was almost comical.

As Aizawa started on his second round of compressions, the student beneath him jolted, spitting up water as he desperately tried to suck air into his lungs.

“Sero!” Yaoyorozu exclaimed, Iida had no doubt that she was crying those tears now.

“Turn him on his side,” Aizawa instructed as he slid his hands under Sero’s shoulder and hip, turning him towards Iida who quickly moved to help guide Sero into a stable side position.

He was breathing, and it finally felt like Iida could breathe too.

Sero was coughing as his chest spasmed, emptying his lungs of filthy river water.

Yaoyorozu was cooing and brushing Sero’s hair out of his face. If the tape user was more aware right now he probably would have been blushing at the ministrations, but currently they just helped to settle his panicked writhing.

“Just breathe, Sero,” Iida says, his voice uncharacteristically shaky but no one dares question it. He’s completely focused on holding Sero steady as he breathes. The sound is laboured and wheezy but it’s the most beautiful thing Iida has ever heard.

Iida doesn’t even look when Aizawa unwraps his capture weapon from around his neck and slides the bundle of fabric under Sero’s head. His scarred and much bigger than Yaoyorozu’s hand rested against the back of his student’s wet head for a few moments before he retracted it, instead opting to hold onto Sero’s wrist, feeling his pulse and looking at his watch on his other wrist.

“You did good, kid. Focus on breathing.”

Sero let out a weak and breathless laugh. He seemed to be done with coughing up the water, much to Iida’s relief. “Praise from Aizawa-sensei, I really must be dead.”

Aizawa didn’t look up from his watch. “Do you know where you are?”

“Somewhere wet,” Sero grumbled before shuddering. “I’m cold.”

“Yaoyorozu, do you think you could make him a blanket?”

Iida looked up at Yaoyorozu, only really looking at her at this moment. Her eyes were red and her face tear-streaked, she looked exhausted. He felt bad that Aizawa was asking her to do even more after she just exhausted herself and her quirk to save Sero’s life.

But Sero was shivering pretty aggressively under Iida’s hold. His lips and nose were still discoloured, and from this angle he could see that the purple tint extended to Sero’s eyelids.

She nodded. “Of course.”

Aizawa wrote something on the back of his hand as he set Sero’s hand down. Iida had no idea where his teacher had produced the pen but he was fairly impressed with Aizawa’s efficiency and professionalism. Especially considering that Iida and Yaoyorozu were both still crying. The wetness on Aizawa’s cheeks did not evade the class representative’s notice though.

As the sparkles in the corner of Iida’s vision died down, he was handed the corner of a very fluffy blanket, Aizawa taking the other as they tucked it around Sero.

“The ambulance is almost here,” Uraraka’s voice chirped helpfully from behind Iida. He hadn’t realised that she was still there.

“Thank you, Uraraka. Do you think you and Asui can meet them when they enter the training grounds and guide them here?” Aizawa asked, his voice so soft it was frankly unnerving.

“Of course, sensei!”

And with that, the two girls were gone.

“Tenya?” Sero croaked, snapping Iida back to focus.

“Yeah?”

If Aizawa noticed the use of Iida’s given name, he didn’t give any indication. Maybe he was just too relieved that Sero was alive to care much about anything else. The teacher just continued to kneel there with a hand on Sero’s back and his eyes on his watch.

“Are you okay?” Sero asked softly, reaching for Iida with a clumsy hand. Cold fingers wrapping around Iida’s own.

Iida takes a few seconds to be surprised. “What?”

“You’re crying.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay, that’s all.”

“Hmm,” Sero hums thoughtfully. “I like it better when you smile.”

They kept up the random chatter until the ambulance arrived. Aizawa took the role of talking to the paramedics and Iida was incredibly grateful for that, he wasn’t sure he could get through a sentence without crying at the moment. He was feeling very emotionally raw.

The paramedics were nice enough to work around Iida, whom Sero was still holding onto.

Sero grumbled when one of the paramedics secured an oxygen mask to his face, letting go of Iida’s hand to try and remove it. He was sitting up now but his eyes were still glossy and he didn’t seem entirely present. Iida snatched Sero’s hand back with a firm look.

“Don’t do that.”

“It feels weird,” Sero whined, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask.

“Too bad. Don’t drown next time.” Iida felt kind of guilty when he was being so strict with Sero, but he wasn’t about to let his boyfriend interfere with his medical care.

“You’re so mean to me.”

Iida was about to respond but he was interrupted by one of the paramedics, he was unsure if it was the same one that gave Sero the oxygen mask or not. “Do you think you can stand?”

Sero paused for a second, mulling over the question before he gave the paramedic a shake of his head.

“That’s okay, we can go at your pace. You can sit here for a little longer and try again or we could figure out some other option that suits you,” the paramedic said in such a comforting tone that even Iida felt reassured.

Sero seemed to perk up at that. “Can Tenya pick me up?”

Iida internally groaned. Their relationship was not going to be a secret from Aizawa after today.

“If that’s what you’re both comfortable with, then sure, I’ll just hold onto the oxygen tank and we’ll get you on the gurney and loaded into the ambulance, okay? It’s much warmer than out here, too.”

Iida had no qualms about lifting Sero. His boyfriend weighed basically nothing and loved being carried around regularly. Sometimes he would be too tired to be bothered walking up to his dorm and made Iida scoop him up and take him there to prevent him from sleeping on the couch and waking up with a crick in his neck.

With an arm under Sero’s shoulders and another behind his knees, Iida easily lifted his partner. It was only a matter of steps to the elevated surface of the gurney which he nestled Sero on easily.

The other paramedic was quick to cover Sero in blankets, especially considering that the one Yaoyorozu kindly provided was pretty much soaked through at this point. Iida hoped she would get some rest when she got back to the dorms, but figured most of the class would wait up for news on their classmate’s condition.

As the paramedics loaded the gurney into the ambulance, one of them turned to speak. “Who’s riding with?”

Iida turned to Aizawa, expecting to be given instructions to handle the class while Aizawa went with Sero to the hospital but Aizawa just nodded his head in the direction of the ambulance. “Go ahead.”

“But sensei-”

“No buts. I’ll wrap things up here and meet you at the hospital. I trust you can handle things for an hour.”

“I- thank you sensei!” Iida said, following his boyfriend into the back of the ambulance.

Turning back to look at Aizawa who was bending over to pick up his sodden capture scarf off the ground, Iida saw the group of their classmates that had gathered. Only a few of them were there, but they all looked off.

Iida’s entire group was there, of course. Yaoyorozu was folding up the soaked blanket she had made for Sero, her face still covered in tears. Uraraka had her arms around Tsuyu, both of them looking worse for wear.

At some point that Iida would not have been able to pinpoint if he tried, Sero’s team had joined them. Ashido was holding onto Kirishima, looking like she’d barely just stopped crying, Kirishima didn’t look much better, his own face streaked with tears. Shinsou hung back from the two, his mask in his hand as he watched everything with wide eyes.

Bakugou wasn’t a member of either group but he was there, looking uncharacteristically solemn. Iida idly wondered how much they’d seen. Bakugou was not known for being quiet, and he was just standing there with a vacant look as his arms hung limply by his side.

Iida turned back to Sero just in time to see him giving his friends a wave.

Out of everyone, he seemed to be taking it the best. He was soaked to the bone, visibly exhausted and had an oxygen mask strapped to his face but he still smiled when he met Iida’s eye.

-

“Tenya don’t let them take my suit,” Sero called out. Iida was growing more accustomed to Sero speaking through the oxygen mask, making communication much easier. It also helped that Sero was now a lot more aware than he had been in the ambulance.

“It’s beyond salvation, you’re going to need a new one,” Iida stated.

Sero just whined at him. “I don’t want them to cut my suit.”

Iida looked over at the nurse who was already most of the way done cutting the fabric away from Sero’s skin. “I already cut it.”

“But it’s okay when you do it.”

“If you’re brave and listen to the hospital staff, you’ll be able to go home earlier.”

Sero perked up at that. “Really? Can we watch a movie back at the dorms?”

“If you’re feeling up to it when you get discharged, then sure,” Iida said with a soft smile. He rubbed his palms against his thighs, cursing how uncomfortable it was to wear his suit for non-hero purposes. He did not design it with sitting in a chair in mind.

The other issue was that his hands would not stop shaking. It had been a solid half an hour of sitting in the ER with Sero but Iida couldn’t quell the constant trembling. It wasn’t even subtle, he had planned on texting the class group chat with an update but he couldn’t hold his phone steady for long enough to even unlock it.

Sero had noticed, pretty early on actually, he mumbled something about Iida’s shaky hands and offered to hold them. That had lasted for a short while until Sero had gotten tired of trying to comfort Iida. He was very exhausted, losing the energy to do much more than pipe up occasionally when he thought of something funny that he wanted to share.

Iida sincerely doubted that Sero would be able to hold out for an entire movie by the time they got back to the dorms. That was unless the doctor decided to keep Sero overnight, which was still possible.

However, Iida really hoped that wasn’t the case. He wasn’t sure he could handle going back to the dorms for the night and not being able to confirm his boyfriend’s safety with his own eyes.

If the anxiety seized him right now, he could just reach out and take Sero’s hand or look across the bed at the monitor that beeps to reaffirm that Sero’s heart was beating fine.

Iida wasn’t sure he could ever shake the fear of the realisation that it wasn’t. It hadn’t been. He’d come within a hair’s breadth of not sitting next to Sero’s hospital bed as the older boy complained about getting his suit cut off.

He could be sitting in the dorms right now, grieving with everyone else. But he wasn’t.

Sero looked extra unimpressed as he sat up, Iida leapt from his seat, his arm coming up behind Sero’s shoulders to stabilize him.

The nurse quickly tied the hospital gown in place and Sero was eased back onto the now elevated mattress so he could sit up and pout at Iida with minimal effort.

Sero spoke when the nurse left the room, pulling the curtain shut behind her. “It’s ugly.”

Iida rolled his eyes. “It’s practical.”

“Still ugly,” Sero grumbled. “I’m tired.

“Take a nap, I’ll be here the entire time. Just don’t mess with the wires.”

Sero rolled over onto his side and pulled his knees up to his chest. “Goodnight, Tenya.”

“It’s like 3pm.”

“Goodnight, Tenya,” Sero said again, his voice firmer.

Iida couldn’t help but sigh as he stood up again to press a kiss to the top of Sero’s head in his semi-dry hair. “Goodnight, Hanta.”

He lingered for a moment, drinking in the sight of his boyfriend. The whiteness of the hospital gown, the bed sheets and blankets all served to amplify how pale Sero looked. He still had that purple tint to his extremities. There were at least a billion wires poking out from the top of the hospital gown, all of them connected to some monitor or another. The oxygen mask was still firmly fixed to his face, a little grey rectangular clip on the index finger of his right hand to document the necessity for the mask.

He knew Sero had to be feeling pretty awful right now, but his boyfriend continued to joke and try to make Iida smile, it made his heart squeeze in his chest as Iida reached for the bundle of blankets that had slipped to Sero’s feet. He tucked them up to his boyfriend’s shoulders and pressed another kiss to his hair before returning to his seat.

-

After a trip to radiology for a chest x-ray that Iida had to sit in the waiting area for the duration of, Iida followed Sero up to a room in the pediatric ward.

It was weird, following the orderlies and his boyfriend’s hospital bed through the corridors and a bunch of kids. Some of them were crying and screaming, others running around with friends and giggling. He felt very out of place as an almost-adult still dressed head-to-toe in his hero gear.

As Sero was settled into the room, his oxygen mask was switched to a nasal cannula that showed off the fact that the colour had come back to his face. He still had his pile of blankets as well as an additional IV that the nurse said was warm saline to bring up his body temperature a little faster.

The wires were still there, as was the pulse oximeter clipped to his finger, and a little paper cup of tea in Sero’s hands that he slowly sipped.

Aizawa joined them after a little while, as Sero’s eyelids were beginning to droop again. “What’s the verdict?”

“They killed my suit,” Sero grumbled, pouting like a child.

Aizawa quirked a questioning eyebrow.

“They had to cut it off of him when he arrived,” Iida supplied helpfully.

“I’ll contact the support class when we get back to UA,” Aizawa said simply, ignoring Sero’s pout. He lifted up a hand with two cloth shopping bags dangling from his grip. “I got your classmates to get you both a change of clothes. I figured you didn’t want to be Ingenium right now, and Sero is going to need something to wear when he gets discharged.”

“When is that going to be?” Sero asked, bringing his paper cup to his lips again.

Aizawa levelled him with a stern gaze. “You almost died, Sero.” His expression and voice softened considerably. “I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”

“So when do I get to go home?”

“The doctor said that once his temperature and Oxygen levels are back within a normal range, they’ll keep him for a few extra hours for observation. Said it’s unlikely that they’ll keep him overnight unless a complication arises,” Iida explained.

Aizawa pointed an accusing finger in Sero’s direction. “Don’t even think about wracking up pneumonia or, god forbid, a cardiac arrest. You’ve already traumatised poor Iida enough for one day.”

Sero tapped the finger with his pulse oximeter clipped to it on his chin. “I could do another cardiac arrest, for the drama of it all.”

Iida made a choked noise. “Please don’t.”

Sero and Aizawa both turned to him, Sero’s eyes wide and Aizawa’s eyebrows pulled together - in concern.

“Do you need a hug, Iida?” Aizawa asked in his usual monotone, regarding his student with an unreadable expression.

“What?”

Aizawa spread his arms in an invitation. “Free dad hug, one-time offer.”

“No-” Iida started, not even able to finish his sentence through his surprise. Aizawa was offering to hug him. “No thank you, sensei.”

“Your loss,” Aizawa said with a shrug, dropping his arms back to his sides.

Sero perked up. “I want a dad hug. Can I have a dad hug?”

“No. You give me heart palpitations, you don’t get a dad hug.”

“Aww, just one?” Sero asked, reaching a hand out towards Aizawa. It was clear that Sero was milking this opportunity for all it was worth, he knew he’d never be able to be so casual with Aizawa under any other circumstance without getting scolded.

“Maybe if you still want one when you’re discharged. Focus on recovering for now.”

“On it. You’ve neer seen someone more recovered from drowning than me.”

Aizawa set one of the bags of clothes at the foot of the bed, holding out the other one for Iida to take.

“The Ingenium suit can’t be all that comfortable right now.”

Aizawa’s gaze softened when Iida held the bag of clothes to his chest but didn’t move, his eyes still glued to Sero. “I’ll keep an eye on him. Get changed.”

Iida wanted to object but Aizawa wasn’t wrong. His suit was big and clunky and awkward. It was making his back hurt from the simple task of trying to sit in a chair.

He nodded and quickly shuffled out of the room and to the bathroom at the end of the corridor.

He changed in record speed, not wanting to be away from Sero for too long. The trembling he had finally managed to suppress came back with a vengeance when he left Sero’s company.

Hurrying back, Iida slipped back into the room, dressed in a much more comfortable hoodie and sweatpants.

Aizawa looked up at Iida from his place in the lone seat next to Sero’s bed as the door fell shut behind Iida. “Iida, can I speak with you outside for a moment? It won’t take long.”

“Sure.” Iida said, meeting eyes with Sero who looked equally as confused.

Aizawa continued walking up the corridor until they approached a vending machine. He punched in a few numbers and inserted his money, in a matter of seconds there was a chocolate bar being pressed into Iida’s hand.

“Eat it. You look like you’re about to collapse.” Aizawa’s voice was missing its usual commanding edge but Iida obeyed nonetheless.

“Present Mic is staying with 1-A in the dorms. Last I heard they’re watching movies and ordering food.”

Iida hummed thoughtfully as he continued to eat the chocolate bar under Aizawa’s watchful gaze. “That’s good.”

“They’re all worried, but glad that you’re here with him.”

Iida didn’t have much more to offer than another hum.

He was folding up the empty wrapper with trembling fingers when Aizawa spoke again. “If they do end up deciding to keep him here for the night, I’ll see what I can do about you staying with him.”

Iida looked up at that. “What? Why?”

“Your hands have gotten considerably more shaky the longer we’ve been out here. Staying with your boyfriend will help you keep calm, and I don’t think either of you would benefit from being alone right now.”

Curse how observant Aizawa was. They always forgot, but he noticed the smallest things. “He’s not my boyfriend-”

“Iida,” Aizawa cut him off, “I have known you since you were a baby. You’re going to have to be a better liar than that to convince me.”

“How long have you known?”

“I’ve had my suspicions for a few months, you’re not exactly subtle. But Hizashi and I have been in and out of hospitals enough, I know that look. And Sero calling you by your given name when he was half-conscious while insisting that he hold your hand and be carried by you did not help your case,” Aizawa supplied.

“Ah, that makes sense.”

They stood there in silence for a little longer, before Aizawa of all people broke it.

“Iida.” The softness in his voice was back. This had been a very out of character night for the both of them.

“Yes, sensei?”

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine-” Iida started, looking up to meet Aizawa’s gaze. Which was full of concern as he regarded his student. Iida cut himself off with the strangled sob that clawed its way out of his throat.

And he fell apart. One crack in his resolve and it all came pouring out. He didn’t have the energy to try and stop the sobs and the tears in favour of saving face in front of his teacher.

Aizawa didn’t speak, he just pulled Iida into a hug. There was barely two inches of height between them but Iida had never felt so small.

He continued to cry, loud broken sobs into Aizawa’s shirt, his tears undoubtedly leaving a large wet patch in the fabric. He was just so overwhelmed, more than he had thought, and it all came spilling out of him at once.

Aizawa, to his credit, gave pretty good hugs. He held Iida steady, rubbing circles into his back and mumbling words of comfort. “It’s okay, let it out. You’re gonna be okay.”

It took a while for Iida to finally get his sobbing under control. He had no idea how long he'd been crying in Aizawa's arms but it was definitely too long.

Sero was probably wondering where they were.

Iida cleared his throat. "Sorry sensei, I-"

"Don't mention it," Aizawa cut in quickly. "You've had one hell of a day and you needed comfort. It's nothing to be ashamed about. Personally, I've probably spent more hours crying into Kayama's shoulder than I've spent sleeping in the past month."

"Midnight-sensei?"

Aizawa nodded. "She gives the best hugs."

“That makes sense,” Iida mumbled, wiping at his eyes with the edge of his sleeve.

“Are you feeling better?” Aizawa asked, punching a few more numbers into the vending machine. Iida was hit with the shocking realisation that he’d just had a breakdown in the middle of this corridor, in front of a vending machine. If anyone had wanted a snack all they would have seen was Iida sobbing in his teacher’s arms for god knows how long.

Iida laughed a little breathlessly, there was no humour in the gesture. “Aside from crying out half the fluid in my body, yeah. Thank you, sensei.”

Aizawa bent down to retrieve something from the vending machine, only to hand a water bottle to Iida.

“Let’s go check on trouble, what do you think?”

Iida nodded, smiling softly as Aizawa began walking back to Sero’s room.

-

Sero had been discharged at midnight. A full nine hours after his admission. It’d been a long night.

By 5pm, Sero had been taken off of his supplemental oxygen, and his levels stayed consistent in its absence.

The remaining seven hours passed without incident.

Most of them were spent with Sero insisting that Iida sit in the bed with him as he messed around on the younger boy’s phone. Iida had supervised Sero’s texting the class group chat and the older boy went as far as to send a selfie of himself and Iida to comfort their concerned classmates.

“Mina says you look worse than I do,” Sero chirped.

Iida just nodded, leaning his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Tell her I said thank you.”

Sero showed him a few pictures that had been sent in the group chat. One of Present Mic drinking a mug of something in the dorm kitchen with his hair out of it’s gelled spike and in a complicated arrangement of braids and Ashido standing next to him, looking incredibly proud of herself.

A picture of Bakugou sitting on the couch, his head on Kirishima’s chest, he appeared to be asleep, bundled up in a hoodie that was definitely not his if the print on the back was anything to go buy. Iida was fairly confident that Kirishima was the only student in their class who owned limited edition Crimson Riot merchandise.

Another picture, this time of the floor where Uraraka appeared to be demolishing Jirou and Todoroki in uno.

The final picture Sero showed him was a selfie sent by Kaminari, the electric boy looking very happy as he threw up a peace sign, Shinsou was sitting next to him and held up a less enthusiastic peace sign but still gave them a smile.

Soaking in the physical affirmation that Sero was okay as the older boy pressed into his side was enough to soothe Iida’s anxiety. He sat back as Sero messed around on his phone, chatting with their classmates until he got a little too overwhelmed for his tired mind to keep up with.

Sero had begged to watch a movie not long after he’d bid farewell to the class chat, only to fall asleep on Iida’s shoulder before they were even halfway through it. Iida, however, was not far behind him.

The nurses had been very stealthy with their regular vital checks, successfully not rousing either of the boys as Aizawa continued to do all the necessary paperwork and phone calls in silence.

The two of them were woken a little past midnight by Sero’s doctor carrying out a final check of the boy’s condition before happily handing Aizawa the discharge papers.

Aizawa and Iida waited in the corridor for a nurse to help Sero get changed. When the eldest boy joined them, he was wearing an outfit not dissimilar to Iida’s. In fact, he was wearing one of Iida’s hoodies that hung loose on his lanky frame.

Iida had half a mind to just carry Sero up to his room when he fell asleep in the passenger seat of Aizawa’s car, a blanket tucked under his chin.

Gently shaking his shoulder, Sero stirred with an unintelligent string of mumbling. “Tenya?”

“I know you wanna sleep, but we’re at the dorms now, so you gotta wake up enough to get to bed.”

“Carry me,” Sero grumbled, his hands fisting in the fabric of Iida’s hoodie.

Iida couldn’t help but to laugh a little at his partner’s antics. Sero was so clingy when he was tired. “I would, sweetheart, but everyone’s been waiting for us to get home and I’m afraid they might collapse if they see me carrying you inside.”

“That’s so rude of them.”

“Okay, you tell them that.”

“I will,” Sero said firmly as he stumbled, half-asleep, out of Aizawa’s car, his hands still latched onto his boyfriend, using Iida to steady himself.

Aizawa silently watched the scene unfold, never saying anything as he followed behind the pair. Eighteen sets of eyes landed on them the second they stepped over the threshold.

“Sero!” a cacophony of voices called out.

“Don’t crowd him, he’s exhausted,” Aizawa commanded over the buzzing activity around him. “Where’s Mic?”

Iida watched Bakugou shrug and point towards the common room couches with the jerk of his thumb. “He fell asleep.”

Aizawa quickly departed from Iida and Sero’s side, headed over to rouse his husband. Iida couldn’t fathom how they’d actually managed to keep their relationship a secret from the students for this long. They were nothing close to subtle.

Iida stepped back a little, his hand still in Sero’s as the class descended upon them. Kirshima, Kaminari and Ashido all took turns giving their friend a hug. There were lots of questions thrown around, and a lot more hugs for Sero to receive, even one for Iida from Yaoyorozu who looked as worn out as he felt.

Tears were shed, everyone basking in the relief that their classmate was back, safe and sound.

“You look wiped,” Kirishima said as he turned to Iida who just offered him a half-hearted smile.

“It’s been a long day. I think we’re just gonna head up to bed before Sero falls asleep standing up.”

Kirishima gave him a firm pat on the back. “Good luck with that, Bakubro is intent on feeding you both. It’s the closest he’ll ever get to admitting that he cares, do not take it lightly.”

Iida nodded before turning back to Sero who was almost swaying on his feet. “Let’s go sit down, Bakugou made food.”

Sero hummed, not even bothering to open his eyes as Iida wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “He’s a good cook.”

Sitting on one of the common room couches, under the watchful eyes of everyone who wasn’t convinced that Sero was okay just yet, Sero and Iida shared a bowl of tofu stir fry.

Sero didn’t have the stomach for much, and insisted that Iida feed him, too tired to operate chopsticks on his own. He’d fallen asleep curled up into Iida’s side before the bowl was even emptied.

Iida stayed on the couch with Sero for a little while, talking with his remaining company in a low voice until he started to feel himself drifting off. It was time they made their way up to bed.

There was truly no other option but to carry Sero upstairs at this point, it was nearing 2am and there was no hope to rouse his partner for long enough to get all the way up to either of their dorms.

Bakugou, Ashido, Kirshima and Kaminari had been the only ones to stay up with them until that point. Shinsou was also there but he had spent the better part of the last hour asleep with his head in Kaminari’s lap while the latter ran his hand through the unruly purple hair, so he didn’t really count.

Actually, Bakugou seemed to be the only one still fully awake, despite his tendency to go to bed much earlier than everyone else. He’d never admit to it, but he had been worried, Iida didn’t have to know Bakugou well to know that much.

“Thank you,” Iida said, careful not to wake Sero up as he spoke.

Bakugou just looked at him and huffed. “I didn’t do it for you, nerd.”

“I’m grateful nonetheless, do you want a hand getting everyone up to their rooms?”

“They can take themselves, just take him upstairs.”

Iida pretended not to notice the lack of his usual nicknames as he turned back to Sero, shaking his shoulder lightly.

“No,” Sero mumbled, turning to bury his face further into Iida’s shoulder. “Don’t wanna.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

Sero turned his head upwards to give Iida a pointed look through his messy and now dry hair. “You’re gonna make me get up.”

“Correct.”

“No.”

Iida leaned down until his mouth was level with Sero’s ear. “If we go upstairs we can cuddle,” he whispered in a low voice.

Sero hummed. “Really? Lead the way, Class Prez.”

It was not a complicated process to scoop Sero up and into his arms, one arm under his back, the other curled behind his knees. Sero’s weight was a comfort to have resting against Iida’s chest as he walked them to the elevator.

It was times like this that he was glad his boyfriend weighed the same as a bunch of grapes. On a good day, Iida could easily lift the heavier members of their class, but at that moment he was beyond exhausted and he wasn’t sure if he could even carry Sero much further than up to his dorm.

The elevator ride up to the fifth floor passed by quickly, and Iida easily made his way to Sero’s dorm.

If Iida had to wager a guess who had put the extra blankets on the bed and arranged what looked like a care basket on the little table in the middle of the room, he would put all of his money on Ashido. She notoriously would pick on and tease the other members of the Bakusquad but she had proven herself to be incredibly thoughtful and considerate on multiple occasions.

He would have to remember to thank her in the morning.

For now, his only goal was getting his boyfriend into bed. After everything, Iida felt like he could sleep for a week, figuring that Sero was not going to object to that plan.

Setting Sero down on the bed, Iida moved to pull the blankets on top of his partner. As he tucked the edge of the blankets under his boyfriend’s chin, he moved to smooth the furrow in Sero’s brows with his thumb.

Sero blinked up at Iida then. His black eyes found blue ones in the low lighting. “Are you staying?”

“Sure,” Iida said. He had been planning to sleep in the hammock, giving Sero space but also being close enough to verify that he was safe.

“Not in the hammock,” Sero said sternly, narrowing his eyes at Iida. “You said we could cuddle.”

Iida sighed, there was no use trying to argue, he was putty in Sero’s hands. “Little spoon or big spoon?”

“Little spoon.”

Sero pulled the blankets back as he shuffled closer to the edge of the bed, making room for Iida to slot himself into place behind him. It wasn’t the smoothest job of sharing the bed that they’ve ever done but Iida eventually settled in, sliding his arms around Sero and holding him close to his chest.

Iida buried his face in the crook of Sero’s neck, breathing in the scent of his boyfriend. “I’m really glad you’re okay,” he mumbled into his shoulder.

He felt Sero’s soft laugh against his chest. “Me too. I can’t have some dude hitting you up with a ‘he would want you to move on’, you’re mine forever.”

“Forever,” Iida said, tightening his hold around Sero ever so slightly.

Sero hummed, the sound was low in his throat and Iida could feel the vibration of it against his skin. “Forever.”

-

Iida was lounging on Sero’s bed, not quite bothering to get up just yet. His eyes trailed Sero’s movements as the older boy circled his room. He had a check in with Recovery Girl in an hour so he was intent on getting changed himself. After the past few days, the soreness and exhaustion were starting to ease and he was a lot more mobile.

And that’s how Iida ended up face-to-face with a shirtless Sero who was still trying to figure out what shirt he wanted to wear as Iida’s eyes zeroed in on the dark purple bruising covering the front of his boyfriend’s chest.

It looked painful but Sero paid it no mind.

“Hanta?” Iida called out, sitting up with a much more tense posture than he had had moments ago.

“Hmm?”

“Are those bruises?”

Sero looked at Iida for a moment, confused, before looking down at his chest and giving his boyfriend a chuckle and a shrug. “Oh, those, yeah. I assume they’re from you, y’know, restarting my heart.” He paused, running a hand through his messy black hair. “Thanks for that by the way.”

“No problem…” Iida trailed off, starting at the mottled discolouration on Sero’s chest. He wondered if it had really hit Sero yet, truly how close the older boy had come to losing his life only two days ago.

The two of them had been excused from classes for at least a few days unless Sero was feeling up to going to class before then. Sero’s absence for the purpose of rest and recuperation, Iida’s to keep an eye on his boyfriend and look out for any symptoms of secondary drowning or pneumonia. He helped Sero to remember to take his antibiotics as well as just helping him do tasks that were a little too strenuous.

Aizawa had given them a stern look and told them to call him if they needed to or if they were worried about something. He’d also told the two of them that they had appointments with Hound Dog scheduled for them on the following Monday.

The rest of the class had informed the two of them that all training exercises had been suspended for the rest of the week until any changes to improve student safety could be made. Iida did not envy the meetings that Aizawa was undoubtedly going to be sitting through in the week to come.

“You know, you could always blame those on Aizawa-sensei,” Iida said, hoping to lighten the dark look that had crossed Sero’s face.

Sero blanched. “Aizawa-sensei saw me without a shirt on.”

Iida couldn’t help but to raise his eyebrows at the shift in mood. “I think that was the least of his concerns.”

“I can’t show my face ever again,” Sero groaned, flopping face first onto the bed. Only to let out another groan and roll onto his back, rubbing a free hand on his chest that had undoubtedly protested the motion.

“You are being dramatic.”

Sero rounded on Iida, giving him a serious look. “Do you think he noticed that my nipples are uneven?”

Iida just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up. “Your nipples are not uneven, Hanta.”

Sero nodded sagely. “Yaomomo definitely noticed.”

Iida threw a pillow at his boyfriend.

[imaginesandinserts]

Irreverent Pt. 56 - Calm of Night

Title: Irreverent Pt. 56 - Calm of Night

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: M Words: ~9K

A/N: My weekly posting schedule has become more like biweekly because of work. Sorry!

Irreverent Series Masterlist

You're seated in Pierce's office, dressed in a suit from the bag that had been dropped off by an Interpol agent a few hours back, returning your belongings that had sat in a safe house in Philadelphia the past few days. Upon receiving the bag, you'd dumped out everything and gone through your belongings with a fine tooth comb, searching for any surveillance or tampering. Knowing everything you did now about Clyde and his long and twisted history of watching you – well, it only felt appropriate. Derek had raised an eyebrow at you while Emily helped you sift through everything.

With the suspicion that Pierce was the mole, firmly in place, Garcia had been able to look over all of Pierce's properties and holdings in more detail and there was already a team, led by Derek and Rossi that was deployed to his country home, after satellite imaging revealed some odd structures in the back lot. Anderson had updated you when Pierce left his home and had alerted you that he was on his way in.

The team had already worked out the best way to confront him. Pierce wasn't privy to the day to day of Jansen's operation, however it was safe to assume that he knew of a potential connection to you. You'd only met the man personally once, and it had been entirely unremarkable at the time. In hindsight, you'd looked at his appraisal of you standing next to McKinney during a project update with new eyes, taking note of the way his eyes had brushed by you entirely in a way that, to be quite frank, you weren't used to.

You're used to unwanted attention from men. No attention, not even a casual look up and down, that was hardly cause for concern at the time. Looking back, it had stood out, however, and ultimately helped seal the deal for you when you'd concluded that he was the best fit for the profile. When you'd told the team this, they'd all agreed with you, knowing from experience that child predators were unlikely to be interested in appropriately aged women.

So here you sat, awaiting Pierce while the team watched from another room, having already set up cameras and recording devices in the room.

"Testing, confirm you can hear." Aaron's voice comes in through the comms piece in your ear, and you nod and reply in the affirmative. It felt really good to be working a case with him again. With him, you never had to worry.

From the operations room, Aaron watches the screens in front of him, John seated in the chair beside him while Reid kept a line of communication open with Dave and Morgan, working with them to oversee the mission into Pierce's other home. Reid was in prime form, easily directing Morgan towards anything that might be on interest, and Aaron notes how much more at ease he was, leading from afar. He makes a mental note to explore that with Reid during their next conversation.

On his other side, Garcia is keeping tech running for both operations, though he can tell she's far more concerned with your piece despite you still being in the building. She'd obviously felt awful for bringing up the video to you in her excitement at having you back, not having realized that you didn't know what they'd seen yet. He knows it was his fault for not warning you. Having you back, the last thing he'd wanted was to cause you any more distress, but he should've known better. Had it not been Garcia, it would've been someone else.

He could see how much of a toll watching you go through that, had on the team. Already, he'd seen how much more careful Morgan was with you. The casual jostling and elbowing – a dynamic you'd attempted to fit back into with him, was strained. Sure, he'd laughed along, but he didn't dare shove back at you, for fear that he'd hurt you. It was a long road ahead before any of them started to treat you with anything less than kid gloves.

Prentiss and JJ are standing and watching the other cameras, awaiting any sign of Pierce. For him, it should feel like a regular day walking into the office. They both have their headsets on and are leaned back, waiting for Garcia to alert them to Pierce's entrance into the building.

Beside him, John appears far more at home amongst the team than any detective they've worked with over the years. He has a headset on as well, eyes trained on you on the screen in front. From what he's been able to glean thus far, John appears to be a D.A. from the same mold as him – incredibly hands on. He hasn't hesitated or been thrown by any of the research or surveillance activities that the team has embarked on, showing an easy familiarity with the terminology and procedure.

"He just badged in," Garcia alerts them, Prentiss and JJ both turning to their screens as they watched Pierce go through the gates and then to the elevators towards his office.

On the screen, you start, following along to JJ's play by play of Pierce's location. With a moment's beat, you stand up from the chair you'd been sat in across from his and smooth out your suit.

"What is she doing?" Prentiss asks from behind, as they all watch you walk around the desk, and then place a hand on Pierce's chair to swivel it around to face the back wall. You find one of the cameras that was in the room and throw a quick wink towards them that has Aaron shaking his head as he realizes what you're doing. You sit down in Pierce's own chair facing the back wall, awaiting his arrival.

From beside him, John mutters, "You always have to be dramatic, don't you?", rolling his eyes.

His words have your mouth twisting into a smirk, eyes shining with mirth. "Admit it, you'd be bored if I wasn't."

John shakes his head, his mouth unwillingly turning up into a fond smile as he watches you settle in and cross one leg over the other, tugging at your suit jacket until it sits in place. He's aware of Aaron next to him, and there's a part of him that's nearly waiting for things to be awkward or uncomfortable with you three. John's been around jealous boyfriends before and Aaron is nothing like those guys. Those guys would be rankled by their girlfriends' ex teasing them. They'd be bothered by how easily you and him move around one another, hands grazing casually – soft and familiar touches that come naturally to you both. Without being told, John knows that you and Aaron had some sort of deep understanding when it came to him, because Aaron is entirely unphased despite seeing and noticing everything.

"Incoming." JJ's crackles onto the mic right as you hear the door open to Pierce's office.

You hear footsteps and you can feel someone else in the room as Pierce enters and then shuts the door behind him, not having noticed your presence yet. On the screen, the team sees him turn and walk towards the desk, the high back of his chair preventing him from seeing you immediately.

It's then that you turn, the chair swiveling around slowly to face him, your face set – emotionless and unyielding.

"Hello Alexander."

The hint of a Russian accent seeps into your voice as you greet him, hard eyes trained on the man in front of you, who had startled at your movement, his briefcase nearly falling from his grasp before his hand goes to his gun holster and then pauses as he sees who it is. Eyes widening, he withdraws his hand from the holster and walks closer to the desk, watching you apprehensively as you sit in his chair like its your throne.

"Have a seat."

Your voice left no room for argument as Pierce lowers himself cautiously into one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. You give him a moment to draw his wits about him. Pierce wasn't stupid. He had to know – or at least think he knew – why you were here.

From the room, Aaron watches, enraptured as he always is when you go undercover or into an interrogation room. You're a wonderful profiler, no doubt. However there is something about you when you're confronting someone that plays to your strengths in the best of ways. You thrive on knowing the power you hold, leaning into your role. It's never quite Good Cop/Bad Cop with you. No, you do best when you merely play yourself – compelling, mysterious, alluring. Unsubs – especially men – lower their guard around you without meaning to. The darkening eyes and curve of your mouth as you smile at them with an all-knowing regard. You draw out a near primal need to perform for you, please you, show off for you.

Aaron can see it here now as Pierce sits straight in the chair across from you, the shock of walking into his office with you waiting for him starting to wear off. He adjusts and unbuttons the bottom button on his jacket, easing into the chair as though he hadn't nearly wet his pants at the sight of you mere seconds prior.

"How can I help you?" he asks, the hint of cockiness bleeding into his tone. This was a man who had actively provided information on intelligence agents in exchange for children. The thought alone was enough to draw revulsion.

You appraise him quietly, allowing the seconds to tick by. In the surveillance room, no one breathes, allowing you your silence. After a few seconds have ticked by, there's the flicker of uncertainty that passes over Pierce's face. That's what you'd been waiting for.

"I spoke with Jansen," you say, the barest hint of a smile on your face. "You'll be reporting directly to me, from here on out." You're banking on Pierce being removed enough from the day to day operations, as to not know that Jansen had a bullet in his head, courtesy of a certain unit chief. The goal was simple: get him to admit to it all.

Pierce appears to think for a moment before speaking. "Is there any particular reason for the change in procedure?" he asks, trying to maintain an air of casual ease.

"I've decided to take on a more active role within the organization." You don't offer any further explanation. Simply wait for Pierce to nod that he understands, before you continue. "Obviously, I can't have anything traced back to me. I've invested a significant amount of time and effort into this cover," you tell him with a motion towards your own badge. Most everyone also knows that you're with Aaron - the dissolution agreement was strictly on paper alone and hadn't had enough time to become anything more. Strauss was many things, but she certainly was not a gossip.

"What is your current process for delivering the intel?" you ask, your tone all business. "I might want to make modifications."

"I obtain the information into the program from Eric Seaborn, the Marshalls' liaison," Pierce tells you, being far more forthcoming than you would've been in his position. He'd already provided you another name to go after. In your ear, you can hear Aaron directing Garcia to look into Seaborn and put out a warrant for him to be brought in immediately. With any luck, he'd be the root of the leak. "I then contact Jansen via the online forum and we set up a time and place for the drop."

You nod at his explanation, making a show of thinking it over. "What about the payment?"

At this, Pierce pauses and looks at you critically. Jansen might have given into his payment requirements. You – well, you might not be as accommodating. "Will that be a problem?" he asks, being purposefully vague.

You shake your head slowly. "No. I merely wish to ensure that we are both satisfied with the arrangement. To that end, packages should continue uninterrupted," you assure him, being just as vague as he was.

"We need him to admit to the kids," Aaron reminds you, sharing a look at Prentiss, the two of them knowing that without proof of the kids at Pierce's country home, a full on confession was the only thing that would get him convicted. That, and possibly anything Seaborn would cop to.

Knowing that Pierce might be just a little uncomfortable with you – a woman – than he was with Jansen, you loosen up a little, dropping your shoulders and settling into the chair just a little more as you allow an easy smile to appear on your face. "I have to say," you start, your eyes fixed on Pierce, "I definitely appreciated that we don't have to worry about a paper trail with you. I cannot tell you how much of a pain that can be, especially with agencies like the Bureau getting better and better with tracking down the finances," you share, with the hope that confiding in Pierce and making some small talk will force him to mimic your demeanor around the subject.

He eyes you carefully for a moment before mirroring your stance and smile. "Well, lets just say that this is a mutually beneficial arrangement," he offers, his words and tone drawing a shiver through you that you force yourself to suppress. In the comms channel you can hear Garcia and JJ both commenting on how entirely creepy Pierce sounded.

You give it a beat, before you decide to stand, making as if you were done and wanted to leave. Pierce stands with you and watches as you come around the table. On a whim, you smile and walk up to him carefully, mindful to make sure that the mic underneath his desk would catch your next words.

"Out of curiosity, what do you do with them?" you ask, betting on the one piece of the predator profile that was the most debated amongst the team. Predators like to show off. They like other people to know what they do to their victims. It gives them a power rush. However, it was a 50/50 when it came down to it – some of them act ashamed given how their actions are perceived in society. However, due to how blatant Pierce is regarding his proclivities, you reckon he is anything but shameful. He'll take pride it. Brag.

"I take care of them," he answers. "Little girls need someone to care for them and I ensure that they are – taken care of."

From the comms line, you hear Aaron's voice. "We have enough."

"You mean, you rape them. Is that how you take care of them?" you press, ignoring Aaron.

Pierce's eyes flash angrily at your accusation.

Before he can say anything in response, you continue. "Did you know, that if you are being charged for treason, they pretty much do away with due process?"

"What do you mean?" he asks, despite your severe face leaving nothing to question. You hadn't stuttered.

Your mouth twists into a dark sneer as you respond. "I mean, if you think they don't like child predators in prison, you can only imagine what they do with them in Gitmo."

At that, the door to Pierce's office opens once more and you see Aaron and Emily entering, not giving Pierce the opportunity to respond or retaliate as you walk past him, your heels clicking against the floor.

*------------*

There was seemingly no end to the confidentiality paperwork the Bureau was insisting John sign due to his involvement with everything. You were sat in the bullpen with the team, while John and Aaron went through it all upstairs in Aaron's office.

"So, Hawthorne," Emily begins, the curl of her lips hinting at how much she'd likely held back all of her choice commentary on John and Aaron and you – that whole dynamic. The fact that, out of everyone, she's still the only one calling John by his last name, does not escape your notice. You file that away to explore with her at a later date.

You bite your lip to prevent the smile that threatened to break at her predictability as the rest of them moved in closer as though Aaron or John might overhear from all the way upstairs.

At your nod, she continues. "I am going to charitably bypass the freakish similarities between the two of them," she says, smirking at you while Penelope nods along eagerly, "and focus on the fact that he is way more than just some guy I used to see." Emily's allusion to how you'd initially described John way back when has a grin appearing on Derek's face too, while both JJ and Spencer sport matching teasing smiles.

You shrug. There wasn't much to really say. Of course you had been friends with them all back then, but that didn't mean you were about to disclose your entire relationship to the team on the way back from a case. You didn't talk about John. It had been easier to not talk about him.

"We like him," Derek admits in the wake of your silence. "Guy dropped everything and came as soon as Hotch called him." Anyone who'd do that for you was alright in his book.

"Not to mention the fact that he's a total babe!" Penelope gushes, her voice breaking into a squeal that has Derek scowling in distaste.

You chuckle at his reaction. "Oh come on Derek. You know you're still her number one."

He shakes his head at you, though his mouth moves into a small smile despite himself.

"Yeah, you're still my favorite hunk of chocolate," she reassures him with a caress of his bicep, before turning back to you excitedly. "But really though, that's still the best ass I've ever seen."

"Squats," you respond sagely, remembering the number of times John managed to drag you with him to his far too long gym sessions. You'd end up collapsing on the side halfway through and just watch him finish up on his own. He did always buy you ice cream after to make up for it, though.

"Huh," she comments, an almost dreamy look on her voice before she continues on, her voice taking on a comically floaty quality. "You know, if we all got together – entirely objectively – as like, a country, and voted on best ass, I think he'd win. We can't all agree on one guy for president but that ass – that ass is America's ass."

The laughter around you felt like you'd never left. Emily and JJ were supporting each other from falling over, both of them clutching their stomachs as they watched Derek and Penelope debate the semantics of the entire country voting on some guy's ass, while Spencer chimed in with possible logistical solutions to get around the current voting technology being behind the times when it came to properly allowing voters to compare the merits of one ass versus another.

As you wipe a tear that has escaped you as your giggles subsided, you all see Anderson making his way towards you.

"Pierce is finished being processed," he informs you as he approaches. Everyone nods at Anderson. They'd all been surprised at how much you'd leveraged Anderson on the ground, as he'd never once made it seem like he was too busy to help the rest of them or hinted that he was on the special assignment with you.

"Thank you," you nod at him, watching as he goes to his desk to grab his stuff before making his way back to you. "I told them they can wait for your signature on the paperwork till Monday. Pierce can hang out in holding till then."

You smile at that before nodding once again. Anderson hesitates slightly, as though there was something more. "What else?" you prompt, figuring you might as well hear it all.

"Agent Easter also sent a request for on the ground support from the Bureau to help with the clean up of your base of operations outside of Philadelphia, now that Interpol has retracted all of its support. I took the liberty of informing him that the Bureau was far too overextended to be of much assistance to him. Now or at anytime in the future."

It was clear to see that Anderson's stoically calm words hid the fury of a thousand suns behind them when it came to Easter. You felt your heart clench ever so slightly at that, not having expected this protective streak from him.

"Thank you Grant."

He nods at you a soft smile on his face, pausing slightly with some hesitation, before leaning down and brushing a quick kiss to your cheek, pulling back quickly. "I'll see you all on Monday," he says to the group, slightly flustered, before making his way to the elevators.

"So Interpol already backed away from Easter, huh?"

You look up at Derek with a shrug. "Sure seems like it."

"Good."

From behind you, you hear a throat being cleared and turn to see both John and Aaron standing at the landing.

Aaron meets your eyes, and behind them you can see the sheer exhaustion that has caught up with him. "Let's go home."

*------------*

You, John, and Aaron were sat at the dining table with the remnants of a pizza in the middle. Mrs. Avery had had to drop Jack off with Jessica due to a preplanned family event that she was attending. While you'd been disappointed to come home to find he was gone, Aaron had reasoned that it might be best if you slept a little bit and were able to cover up some of the bruises and scrapes before you saw Jack. Unfortunately, he wasn't entirely wrong about that.

John had indeed kept a ledger of every single one of his and Julian's bets and you'd been forced to write him a check for the amount, which had amused Aaron to no end. You and John had just finished telling him the story behind another bet in the book – one which had ended with both John and Julian being picked up by the local sheriff's office for drowning the Dean's vintage Jaguar to the bottom of the school pool. Suffice to say, neither of your parents had been amused at having to write the Dean a hefty check in recompense.

As the three of you sober up, you see John look up oddly and try to catch Aaron's attention, the two of them having a nonverbal exchange that you weren't privy to, before they both turn to you, the mood significantly more somber than a moment prior.

"What's up?" you ask them both apprehensively, taking another bite of the slice of pizza in front of you. It was getting cold fast, the dough and cheese felt like a lump in your mouth, but you force yourself to swallow knowing that Aaron wanted to be sure you ate something at least.

It appeared they'd decided that John would ask, because he's the one to speak up. "What's the deal with you and Richards?" he inquires, Aaron nodding along to the question, his hair flopping down onto his forehead.

You roll your eyes good naturedly, surprised they'd gone even this long without bringing it up. Though, given that interaction between them just then, they'd obviously discussed it with another.

"Remember the Peterson Accords?" you ask Aaron, who had just taken another bite of his own, so he nods in response.

The Peterson Accords had been a snafu the CIA had been involved in a year or so ago. One that was entirely avoidable, had they been more forthcoming with information with other agencies.

"Well, when I first started working with McKinney, he had me tag along to a meeting at Langley. Somehow, the accords came up and I ended up offering Richards an entirely unsolicited opinion on it."

Aaron chokes slightly, realizing the implication of what you meant. At John's confused look, he takes a drink of water, washing down the bite before explaining. "The Agency messed up and there was a big PR issue with the Peterson Accords. Mostly the Bureau just avoids talking about it even though we all know that had the CIA just been upfront, the entire problem wouldn't have happened at all."

John snorts. "Let me guess, you told him as much?"

"Yeah," you admit, coloring ever so slightly at the memory of your nervous outburst. "McKinney wasn't thrilled. But Richards thought I had balls. A week later he asked me to drinks. It was the same day that Jack fell and broke his wrist," you tell Aaron, effectively explaining why mentioning this to him had slipped your mind. You'd been thoroughly panicked – if Aaron had thought you were overbearing when he'd been in the hospital, that had been nothing in comparison to how you'd been when it was Jack.

"I thought that would be it. Drinks only lasted like forty minutes before I got the call about Jack. But then a couple months ago, he caught up with me in Paris and asked me to dinner. Said he wanted to mentor me and help me develop further – offered me the job."

"Will you tell McKinney that?" Aaron asks, appraising you carefully from above the rim of the can of soda that's half way to his mouth.

You shake your head. "No. If he wants to fire me, let him. I'm not going to influence that decision with this. I'd rather not work for him if the only reason he keeps me is to prevent me from working for Richards instead."

"Where did he take you to dinner?" John asks, having caught something when you'd quickly mentioned Richards asking you to dinner in Paris.

Your eyes flash up at him, as you silently curse the fact that he knows you far too well and sometimes it was simply annoying.

"Benoit."

John snorts while Aaron merely looks puzzled.

"Benoit is like the most expensive and romantic Parisian restaurant," John explains in response to Aaron's raised eyebrow. "It took me six months to get a reservation there for Cece's birthday. Of course the Director of the CIA can just waltz in," he grouches, an amused expression catching him midway as Aaron processes Richards having taken you out to Benoit – the man had been trying to woo you in the most impressive of ways.

"Should I be threatened?" Aaron asks, a light teasing note in his voice as he looks back at you, finding the thought of the CIA Director taking you out for what – on the surface – reads as a romantic dinner date, highly amusing and frankly, not at all out of character. The man should be so lucky.

You smile, shaking your head once more. "We have a dinner invite with Director and Mrs. Richards whenever we're both next available. He's eager to meet you as well."

*------------*

You've just finished getting ready for bed, both John and Aaron having insisted on cleaning up what little mess there was. You'd agreed, if only because you'd missed the water pressure in the shower at home. After exiting the shower, you're quick to pull on pajamas and head back to the bedroom, allowing yourself to finally slip fully into the comfort of being home.

You're still reeling somewhat from the turn of events of the last two days, Clyde's betrayal still fresh in your mind. However, despite Clyde's accusations and Pierce's involvement, the most staggering thing is still the bizarrely civil – almost friendly – manner in which both John and Aaron seem to comport themselves around one another. Emily had commented on it briefly, filling you in on how the two of them had worked incredibly well together. How quickly Aaron had called John in, not wasting a second when he realized that would be the best way forward.

Sitting up on the bed, you grab the lotion from the nightstand drawer and start to slowly work it into your skin, the muscles aching still despite the hot water earlier. Dinner had been surprisingly nice. Rossi had offered to cook for everyone at his place, and while you'd appreciated the offer, Aaron could tell you just wanted to go home and had politely declined on your behalf.  

You hear a shuffling at the door and look up to see John, walking up to the entrance, having already changed into pajamas. From outside, you can hear the rattling of the garbage cans as Aaron makes to move them to the curb, no doubt. At least one of you had remembered that tomorrow was trash day.

"Hey," you smile and beckon John in, scooching inwards to the bed and patting the spot next to you.

He walks in, settling down at the edge, his nose crinkling at the familiar scent of lavender – you'd brought him the same lotion back when he'd been having trouble falling asleep and while he'd been skeptical at first, gingerly rubbing it into his hands that first night, he'd slept like a baby and been a convert ever since.

"So," he starts, leaning forward and grabbing some of the lotion for himself, "you actually gonna marry this one?"

You roll your eyes lightly, used to this question from pretty much everyone. Penelope couldn't wait to see you and Aaron properly hitched as she put it. "What makes you think he's even going to ask?" you counter.

"I think I'm uniquely qualified to know what a man looks like when he wants to marry you," he quips back, the hint of a tease in his voice letting you know that he was mostly joking.

You laugh lightly, handing him the container of lotion to set on the nightstand beside him. You suppose he would be uniquely qualified for that. He'd been there for Matthew's proposal, and while you had no concrete evidence, you'd also spent an afternoon with Aunt Vivian, going through her vault of Hawthorne family jewels, as she had you try on every ring imaginable, paying extra close attention to the ones you liked and fit you well.

You sigh, settling in against the pillows propped up in front of the headboard. "I don't know."

John's brow furrows at your expression. "Why?"

You sigh once more, unsure how to quite explain this feeling you had. You're never able to articulate it very well and thus you've stopped trying, letting most people simply think what they may. "He's…been there…done that. It didn't work out," you tell him, the hint of sadness seeping into your voice before you can catch it. "Don't get me wrong, I think if I asked, he'd say yes," you're quick to assure him. Aaron wouldn't deny you anything, especially not if he knew how badly you wanted it.

"So why don't you?" John asks. You were hardly a stranger to going after what you want.

You know why you don't bring it up, despite everything. It's the one thing you've never broached with him. Planning a future together, talking about kids, being Jack's guardian in the event something happens to him – all things the two of you have talked about fairly easily. However, marriage, somehow you've skipped over that entirely. You know why, really. On some level it feels like a foregone conclusion. The two of you are as good as married. You've bought real estate with the man. Signing a piece of paper with your names side by side wasn't exactly a foreign concept to the two of you. But, how can you explain to John that you don't truly care to marry Aaron just for the sake of marrying him. Because of course you'd love to marry Aaron but as it stands, marriage – a government document stating that he was yours and you were his, till death do you part – it would hardly change anything for the two of you. It would, however, change things with Jack. Make things easier. Being married to Aaron would mean you no longer would have to introduce yourself to Jack's teachers as his father's girlfriend. All they saw when you told them that was a tarted up younger woman, poaching one of the few hot single dads. They thought you were temporary. You still remember the time Jack's teacher had called Aaron regarding a permission slip that you'd signed, saying she was calling to verify, because typically they only allow parents to sign those. Aaron had brushed it off, and not that you'd ever admit it to him, but it had stung. You'd made sure that Jack only ever got his father to sign forms after that.

You can feel John watching you while you think through what exactly you should say to him. You look up, meeting his deep blue eyes, filled with so much love and concern, it was nearly suffocating to maintain eye contact with him. "Because," you mumble, fidgeting with the corner of the pillowcase, "I want him to marry me, because it's what he wants. Not because he thinks it's what will make me happy."

John looks at you, and you know he's suppressing some choice words before deciding on his next ones. "Tell me this," he starts, shifting to better face you, "You were engaged before and that didn't work out. Will that really keep you from saying yes to him when he asks?"

You feel your throat fill with emotion, your heartstrings tightening painfully at the thought – the image – of Aaron bent down on one knee in front of you. You ignore John's lack of use of the hypothetical – when he asks. Not if. When.

"No, of course not."

John smiles at your heavier voice and gently drags your hand into his, weaving your fingers together. "Exactly. Just because it didn't work out with one person, doesn't stop you from believing it'll work out with him. Plus, I don't really know the guy all that well but he's pretty gone for you. Don't think I saw him crack a single smile till after we got you back. I was just glad he knew how."

You release a small breath of a laugh, tucking yourself closer to him. You can feel yourself get lighter, the longer he's around. "I forget you're actually smart sometimes," you joke, poking at his stomach.

"You know what, Harvard…," the rest of his sentence is lost in your combined laughter.

*------------*

Aaron finishes cleaning up the downstairs, and after putting the garbage cans outside for trash collection, heads upstairs to go to bed. He's glad that John had decided to stick around for a bit once everything had wrapped up, if only to keep an eye on you a little while longer. You seem softer around him, more playful. He knows that you're far more serious with him than you are with everyone else, but it was nice to see John bring out the younger, more fun side of you that he gets only glimpses of here and there. Even John had commented on it, in a roundabout way. How you seem like you've grown up quite a bit in the past few years.

As he arrives to the entrance to the bedroom, he can see John half laid back against the headboard, legs splayed out in front of him. You're tucked into his side, with a death grip on his arm, eyes closed shut. You look peaceful for the first time since he'd got you back.

At Aaron's arrival, John starts slightly, careful to not move too suddenly for fear of waking you. He mouths a quick apology at Aaron, then makes to extract himself from your hold. As he tries to delicately remove your fingers from where they're clutching at his arm, you begin to shift, grumbling lightly in your sleep, and Aaron is quick to halt John, shaking his head to stop him.

John looks at him quizzically as Aaron warily makes his way past the bed and into the bathroom. When Aaron reemerges, having changed into his pajamas as well, John is waiting for him, eyes fixed on the door where Aaron stands.

Aaron can see how entirely peaceful you seem – untroubled, tucked in your own bed once more. He looks up from you, to meet John's puzzled look, both men at a loss at what to do next without disturbing you. Neither one of them wanted to be the one to wake you. Not after everything.

While Aaron hadn't thoroughly thought through signaling John to stay, he was now forced to contend with it. He wasn't going to ask John to move for fear of waking you. On the other hand, he wasn't about to leave and go sleep in the guest bedroom while John slept in your bed beside you. It was out of the question. With minimal options available, he quietly walks over to the other side of the bed, merely shaking his head at John's continued perplexed countenance as he cautiously pulls the blankets over himself. Without speaking, he reaches for the remote on the nightstand by his side of the bed, flipping the television on to some late night infomercial at a low volume.

You're still tucked into John, nearly hanging off of him like a koala bear. Aaron's waiting – waiting for that flicker of jealousy. The tight clench of his heart that he feels whenever someone flirts with you, touches you. He's self aware enough to know that he hasn't evolved past jealousy. He's been waiting for it pretty much since the moment you and John were first reunited. It hadn't come then, and he'd chalked it up to the external circumstances of the moment, with Garcia accidentally spilling that they'd all seen the video. There had been more pressing matters than your ex lover hugging you. Then, however, he's seen the two of you joke and do that teasing thing that feels friendly rather than flirty, but if he were being honest with himself, that had never kept him from feeling a flare of envy here and there when you and Morgan bantered with one another in the same manner. He'd spent a dinner with just you and John, without the rest of the team there as a buffer, while John poured you a glass of water and you handed him a napkin to get the bit of sauce at the corner of his mouth. Nothing. Now, here you were, practically straddling the man, and yet, while he hadn't quite felt comfortable simply leaving the two of you alone in the room all night, he's not jealous per se. No, instead he thinks you look quite adorable and it's the first time he's seen John look calm since the moment he'd arrived.

So yeah, maybe it was weird. He knows it is weird. If it wasn't, him and John would talk instead of facing the television, the both of them pretending to be fascinated by the many capabilities of the NutriBullet. Yet, as you sleepily mumble something, Aaron can't help but feel the barest of smiles upon his face as he settles in further into the pillows. He doesn't have to look over to know that John has a similar expression on his face.

*------------*

You wake to the sound of voices as your head is tucked against Aaron's chest, arms wrapped around his waist, the smell of Irish Spring surrounding you. The sun is beginning to peak in through the curtains, casting the room in a golden glow. You don't want to get up yet. This is the most rested you've felt in what must be months. You don't want to get up. Not yet. Now if only he could be quiet and let you sleep.

At your softly slurred shut up you feel Aaron's chest rumble against you, his large hand leaving your back to come play with your hair, his attempt at lulling you back into sleep. You let him, relishing in the feel of his fingers brushing through you hair, his warmth all around you. Your mind begins to drift once more, eyes still shut tight as you press your lips to his chest in thanks. You're just on the verge of falling back asleep, when something stops you. You'd heard voices. Not just Aaron. It had certainly not been the television, unless Aaron had begun having conversations with Oprah to keep himself entertained. No…

You're suddenly very aware that the legs which you've got yours tangled with – the legs you'd thought were Aaron's – are not in front of you where he is, but behind you. Which meant that there was someone –

You blink awake, barely suppressing a moan at the feel of Aaron's fingers dancing through your hair, turning in his arms, and meeting exceedingly sparkly blue eyes, peering over at you and growing wider as they meet yours.

He'd stayed.

He'd stayed to make sure you were alright.

He'd stayed – in your bed. With Aaron, also in your bed. Aaron had…let him stay.

"Hey." His voice is still cloudy with sleep as he blinks at you from across the way.

You can't help how your eyes fill up at the sight. At his voice.

You'd missed John. You'd missed him.

"Hey," you respond, your own voice coming out rough as you clear your throat, shifting so that your legs move away from him and you and Aaron are both on your side, facing John, with your body half propped up against Aaron's as he wraps an arm around your waist. You're quick to drape your arm over his own, both of your hands coming to rest across your stomach, fingers intertwined together.

You're still warm and sweet, the haze of early morning floating around you. You reach out with your other and find John's arm, needing some form of confirmation that he's really there.

It's quiet, the only sound coming from the birds starting to wake, chirping outside. The house settles around you, the groan of nineteenth century wood beams shifting awake with the dawn.

You close your eyes, trying to savor this. You can feel Aaron, solid as ever behind you, holding up half your weight as though it were nothing. Your fingers, woven together with his, the drag of his thumb against your skin, moving back and forth soothingly. You know your dreams had been less than pleasant during the night by the way his arm keeps you close to him, you know he's already aware of the terror you will face for many more nights to come. John stays laid on his back, arm stretched out towards you. Through the fabric of his shirt, you can feel the heat coming off of him, the slight twitch of his muscle under your hand, his head turned towards you. The blanket still covers all three of you, and nestled in your bed with both of them there, you can feel a sense of calm wash over you. You already know this will never happen again.

You're the one to break the silence, knowing that they were waiting for you to speak. "What time is Jack's game?" you ask Aaron after clearing your throat to remove some of the fullness there.

You feel him squeeze you painstakingly tenderly. He's been incredibly careful with you. He still hasn't said anything about the bruises he'd undoubtedly seen, spanning your entire body while the two of you had showered together, merely helping you get clean as gently as he could. You can sense his hesitation, that slight pause he has before he puts a hand on you, an arm across you. You've had to initiate every kiss. If he'd really seen that entire video, part of you understands. The other part tries to quell the small fear that he'd heard something, learned something, that now gave him some amount of pause. Some little barrier that maybe now existed after he'd learned about –

"At eleven," he answers, lips brushing the shell of your ear, causing a flutter in your stomach.

You nod, nearly forgetting that John was still there, reminded only by the sight of him in front of you, a small, knowing smile on his face.

"You should meet Jack," you tell him. You want him to stay.

He nods, allowing the three of you to fall back into a fuzzy silence.

You're trying to decide how odd this is. You wager Aaron feels at least somewhat awkward. John too. Now that you're starting to emerge from the fog of sleep, you find it more amusing than anything else. You've woken up between the boys before. Ambrose didn't consider a night out successful unless it resulted in either him bedding someone, or in the four of you passed out in one bed together, far too gone to make it back to your individual apartments. But John and Aaron – you would've never bet on waking up between the two of them. For a guy that didn't share…well, you'd have to ask him later on how exactly this happened. Last thing you remembered was sitting up in bed while John talked about his move to the DA's office.

John can see the small grin gracing your face, the humor dancing in your eyes as you slowly come to terms that this was indeed how you'd woken up that morning.

"What?" he asks, narrowing his eyes and already groaning internally because he regrets asking. He doesn't have to hear what you're going to say. The look in your eyes had said it all.

You hum, the small grin breaking out into a full faced one as your nose crinkles with amusement at the situation. "Oh nothing," you say, your voice laced with that sing song quality that has Aaron paying closer attention. "Just that, pretty sure I've had a dream like this before," you joke, your eyes flitting from Aaron to John and back again, the intention behind your words incredibly clear.

"Aaaand that's my cue."

You watch, the giggles overtaking you as John hauls himself out of bed and walks out the door without a look back, shaking his head and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like you just had to ask.

You turn to face Aaron, his brow scrunched, pulling his forehead together, an entirely unamused expression on his face, in stark contrast to the wide smirk adorning yours.

"A dream?" His tone implies that he didn't find the notion nearly as funny as you did.

Luckily, you had a solution for that as you move in closer, covering his lips with your own, any thoughts regarding you and him and John in a bed together, dream or reality, long forgotten.

*------------*

By the time you and Aaron shower and get dressed, John was already downstairs in the kitchen, having made himself useful by making breakfast. The smell of chocolate chip pancakes wafts through the air as the two of you enter to John flipping the last of the stack onto a plate.

"You have no food in this house," he informs you, pointing his spatula in your direction. "You expect to keep a man with an unstocked pantry?"

"Looks like you managed to make do," you retort, grabbing plates for all three of you while John settles into a chair at the island and Aaron heads over to grab coffees for you and him. John already had a mug in his hand.

You take a seat at the chair kitty corner to John while Aaron grabs the seat on his other side after placing your mug in front of you. Breakfast was a relatively quiet affair while you all ate, the TV playing the news with a report of the findings from the Philadelphia investigation. You share a look with Aaron, knowing that's something you'll no doubt be dragged into the second you're back at work. There would be some PR spin about the Bureau catching the parties responsible, ensuring the safety of the republic once more.

"Why don't you go with Aaron and grab Jack," you ask John, grabbing all of your plates despite their protests. They'd cleaned up yesterday. "I'll run to the grocery store. Make sure I can manage to keep a man." While you might have wanted to go grab Jack yourself, you're still figuring out how this thing with the three of you works. You weren't sure groceries was a two man job and a part of you felt slightly odd about Aaron going to get Jack by himself while you ran to the store with John. You want to play this right.

With a chuckle, John nods, going upstairs to grab a jacket, leaving you and Aaron to share a quick kiss goodbye as he points you to the grocery list you'd written last time you'd been home. You grab the list, quietly wondering what it was still doing there, before adding a few more items to the end.

*------------*

It was a long drive to Aaron's sister-in-law's place, the beginning of which had gone by fairly quickly, with the two of them chatting about Jack and what positions he liked to play on the soccer team.

"I'm thinking I might coach next season," Aaron reveals, a tender sort of smile on his face that reminds John of his own father. His father might not have coached the soccer team, but growing up he'd always been present for all of his games, which was a far cry from Julian's parents. It was only as an adult that John had a true appreciation for how much more his parents had been around compared to yours.

"I think that's a good idea," John agrees. "I know I always liked having parents that were involved more. Makes more of a difference than we think it does."

Aaron nods, allowing the conversation to fall into a comfortable silence while he fidgets with the CD player. A familiar song comes on, one that John faintly recalls blaring from your room many a time while he'd been over to hang out with Julian.  

Clearing his throat, John gets Aaron's attention, who looks at him briefly before facing the road once more. There's the latent hesitation that lingers in the back of his mind lending credence to his doubts about voicing this, however, steeling himself, he barrels on. He can't not ask and this might be one of his last few chances. "What video was Penelope talking about?"

Aaron's knuckles go white around the steering wheel, his jaw tightening and John almost regrets asking. Almost.

Nearly thirty seconds pass in silence while John watches Aaron work through exactly how to answer him. He can see the turmoil his question had caused, no doubt bringing to surface the memory of what that video had been exactly. John has a hint – Penelope had mentioned Easter and waterboarding and torture and you. He knows it was bad. He needs to know how bad, because he's not sure that letting Easter just get away as easily as you had, was good enough.

After a while, Aaron explains from the beginning. How they'd all stumbled across the video in their search for you. How Easter's lackeys had hurt you, tortured you, beat you. John can tell he's getting the CliffsNotes version, Aaron being careful to not be too graphic or too detailed and John resists the urge to ask for everything.

"She was pregnant." The whispered words leaving Aaron's mouth have his heart in his throat. You'd been pregnant.

"She'd miscarried before – before they took her."

John can hear the conflict in Aaron's voice – the dissonance between grief and anger, both wrapped together tightly with the strings of love that were so very evident to anyone who saw you and Aaron together.

"She's not going to want to talk about it," he infers, knowing that if past experience is anything to go by, you'll do your best to pretend it never happened, while simultaneously blaming yourself.

Aaron nods. He knows you just as well, if not better in many capacities.

"Don't let her get away with that. It might work for the time being, but it'll mess with her later. You're allowed to grieve too. She owes you that."

Aaron looks briefly over at him once more – for the first time since he'd begun to explain everything that had transpired in that video – and John can see the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes. A quick, curt nod. That was it.

"Did you know about van Doren?" Aaron asks, his eyes trained fast on the road ahead.

"Not for sure. She'd never confirm it. But I had an idea."

Aaron nods once more. He doesn't have to ask John to not say anything to you about this. It goes unsaid.

As he pulls into the driveway, John can see a beautiful blond haired boy bounding out the door. Aaron parks quickly, getting out of the car and grabbing Jack into a hug before bringing him around to John.

"Jack, this is Uncle John."

John's widen slightly at how easily Aaron bestowed him the title. He feels his stomach flip as he kneels down to get to Jack's eye level.

"How's it going dude?" He offers up his fist and Jack is quick to bump it with his own, paired with a smile that feels awfully like yours.

*------------*

The drive back to your home was quick enough, Jack chattering in the back about the upcoming field trip, where he wanted to go for lunch after the game, and asking John who his favorite Avenger was. They both decided that Captain America was obviously the best one. First is best.

They walk into the house to see you putting away the groceries, and Jack breaks into a run towards you. John watches as you drop down to your knees, immediately swooping the little boy into your arms and hugging tight.

"Oh I missed you baby." Your words are lost against Jack's ear as you hold his little body close to yours. You can feel your heart beating rapidly in your chest. There had been a very real part of you that had feared you might never see him again. His mumbled I missed you too settles into your ribs and feeds your soul.

"Alright, let's get you ready to kick some butt at the game, huh?"

John watches as you keep Jack in your arms and he allows you to baby him a little, wrapping himself around you as the two of you make your way upstairs, laughing all the way up the stairs. He'd always known you'd be a good mother, but it was a whole another thing to see it manifested in front of his eyes. He's heard both you and Aaron refer to Jack as your kid, but seeing it live was something else altogether. There was no doubting anymore – you were that kid's mom.

As he settles into the couch with Aaron, awaiting your return, he can't help but be in some awe at his surroundings. The house, adorned with some of the last of Julian's water color series. The man seated beside him, whose eyes shone only when you were in the room. The kid whose excited voice trailed all the way downstairs. This was your home. This was your life. It was real. It was yours.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Team Midoriya versus Team Todoroki! Who will win? (spoilers, that gets determined next chapter.)

I skimmed over the chapter, and the character sheet actually had me cackling. Can’t wait to get to it!

[No. 29 - Unaware]

We come back into the middle of the battle, with Kendo pointedly telling Monoma to not add insult to injury, and that there’s no sense in making enemies. Monoma agrees, saying it’s not very hero-like, plus you hear a lot about begrudged heroes getting payback from villains. Which, naturally, is him still doing his best to rile up Katsuki, which is working.

Katsuki is shaking from barely-repressed rage while Kirishima tries to talk him down. He warns that if Katsuki doesn’t keep his cool, the team won’t be able to get their points back. Katsuki slams a fist into his other palm, setting off an explosion, and then he tells Kirishima in his most furious voice to keep moving, because Katsuki is as cool as ice.

Yeah, totally cool as ice. Honestly, I still wonder how Monoma survived his introduction into the series. 

We get a nice cover spread for the chapter, featuring all the staring character of the chapter (from 1a anyways).

Not gonna lie, the horse really, really confuses me. I guess it’s a reference to the fact that this is a cavalry battle, and so the team has a ‘rider’ and ‘horses’? It’s still kind of weird and a bit creepy looking, since I don’t think the horse has pupils or irises or anything. Ghost horse. 

Anyways, we move on with the chapter, returning narrative attention to Izuku and the two teams targeting him. Tsuyu comments to Mineta on how teaming up with him had seemed like a good strategy, so how’d he lose his headband? Mineta says he doesn’t know, but now they have nothing to lose. He dramatically points at the other two teams, saying that their own team is out if they can’t steal the other teams’ points. Shouji himself swaps into an attack mode, abandoning the cover in order to have all his arms free to attack. 

Meanwhile, Izuku and Shouto are having a dramatic staredown - and it’s not even the last one of this arc! Tokoyami comments on how this likely won’t end without a fight, and how the other teams are really gunning for them. Izuku replies that they’re halfway through, so they have to keep moving, but there are… well, there are multiple teams incoming. 

At the same time as he’s noting that, Shouto tells Tenya to move forward, Yaomomo to prepare the defense and the insulator, and Kaminari to- well, Kaminari cuts in to say he’ll stay alert. We also see that team Todoroki all have roller blades on their feet, which have likely been helping with the mobility, especially with tenya basically making them speed on wheels. 

(Ka-chow.)

The insulator gets pulled out just in time, providing Shouto with a barrier against Kaminari’s Indiscriminate Shock that gets teams Minetas, Kendo, Rin, and Hagakure. Team Midoriya is just able to avoid being shocked because of Dark Shadow, but the poor quirk does not like it in the least and it’s obvious. 

Dark Shadow doesn’t deserve this. He’s a good birb. :(

We get a few more closeups of the teams being zapped, and then a scene of Shouto holding a long rods in his right hand, dragging it along the ground. Said rod is made from his ice, and allows him to send his quirk outwards and trap the unfortunate teams in place. While he’s doing this, he apologizes and tells someone to hang in there - probably Kaminari? Who to be fair does seem to have managed to restrain himself enough to not make himself brain-dead despite the immense power he just put out. 

Up in the announcement booth, Aizawa gives a quick play-by-play of what just happened: Shouto waited until the other teams were stopped by Kaminari’s attack before freezing them in place. He wouldn’t expect any less, especially if Shouto recalled how many competitors managed to dodge his ice during the obstacle course. Present Mic complements said play by play, and we transition right back into the action.

To add insult to injury, Shouto does take the headbands off of Rin and Kendo. For Team Midoriya, even if they avoided most of the electricity and the ice, enough got through that the jetpack is on the fritz, meaning no more escaping into the air. Ochako worries that the other team is too strong and that they’ll never get away. Tokoysami says he’ll create a diversion, sending out Dark Shadow ahead of them in a threat to attack. 

However, Shouto was one step ahead, with Momo pulling out her premade defense to block the attack. Tokoyami is annoyed, Momo is pleased, and… she just lets it drop the ground. Uh, Dark Shadow probably come have come in swinging for another attack there, you know. Just saying? Izuku calls her creation quirk a pain, but Tokoyami corrects him - Kaminari is the real problem. His sunlight(?) attack would have wrecked his defenses.

[I’m guessing here that it was a flubbed translation, and was meant to translate to a lightning attack.]

In order to clarify this statement Tokoyami made, we get a brief flashback to before the match started. Izuku is informing Tokoyami that he just needs to focus on defending, and that there’s no need for him to attack. Tokoyami considers the plan interesting, and lets Izuku know of Dark Shadow’s dual nature. The darker it is, the more ferocious Dark Shadow’s attacks - but also the harder it is to control. In daylight, Dark Shadow is easier to manage, but not much help in a fight. It’s not like Izuku knew, but choosing Tokoyami and his quirk for pure defense is not a bad choice at all.

We transition back to the present as the flashback concludes with Tokoyami telling Izuku to use him as best he can, and that he trusts Izuku. Izuku acknowledges Kaminari’s electricity as an issue, while Tokoyami tacks on that as long as Kaminari keeps it up, he doesn’t have a shot at doing anything. Dark Shadow, meanwhile, is sniffling and crying, asking why they can’t all just get along. Tokoyami calls his quirk fickle.

God, I love these two dorks. 

Izuku acknowledges that Dark Shadow has less offensive power now - but the other teams don’t know that, right? Tokoyami says that’s probably the case - the only one he told about his weakness was Koda, back at the USJ, and he doesn’t talk much. 

[Another translation flub here, wherein they call Kouda ‘Kuchida’ instead. Probably an alternative reading of the kanji in his name? That’s all I can really think of… or maybe the site I’m pulling from, despite posting the official translations on current manga chapters, might have been a bit less discriminating in the beginning. Hard to say for sure.]

Anywho, we get a brief panel shot of Shouto wearing a few of the other teams’ headbands around his neck, with an interesting little flare at his left shoulder, as if drawing attention to it. We shift back to Izuku, who determines that as long as the other teams don’t know, they can fake them out. They’ll be fine, and the ten million points will stay with them.

We shift back to Katsuki and Monoma’s teams, with Katsuki taking an explosion to the face. Monoma calls it neat, and complements Katsuki’s quirk as he shakes off the last of the explosion. Katsuki realizes it’s his quirk, as well as Kirishima, who hardened to take the blow. Katsuki throws his own explosion right back at Monoma, who blocks it with Kirishima’s hardening, stating that he’s better at it (which I guess refers to using the quirk.)

Kirishima is shjook, no doubt by what seems like another person with the same quirk as him. Katsuki corrects him - Monoma is just a copycat. Monoma acknowledges Katsuki getting it right, then undermines the ‘complement’ by saying any idiot could figure out that much. We then get a blurb on how his quirk, Copy, works: after touching someone, Monoma can use their quirk as much as he wants for five minutes. However, he can’t use more than one at a time!

As if team Bakugou wasn’t having enough issues, the massive guy with the oddly-shaped head from before swoops in and shoots out a massive amount of what turns out to be glue, surprising both teams. Bondo and his rider rush up, while Kaibara tells Monoma he can get away now - with that many points, he’ll be in the top four for sure. 

Kirishima struggles to get his leg out of the glue, since it’s already hardened. Mina tells him to hold up, and that her quirk will be able to melt it away. Sero tells her to hurry up, since they’re at zero points, while team Kodai and team Monoma rush off in the other direction. Of course, Monoma can’t leave well enough alone, and turns around again to give a mocking goodbye by flashing Katsuki’s quirk again. As he does so, he tells Katsuki to not be mad, since it brought it on himself, after all. And hey, what was that pledge he made earlier? Sees kind of embarrassing now… well, whatever, thanks for the points!

Seriously, how did Monoma not actually die? At this point, he’s honestly earned a death by murderous mobs. Katsuki states that he’s taking first place - but not just first place, no, it’s gonna be the first to end all firsts!

...and with that, we’re closing out this half-ish of the chapter. Monoma really just drains me to have to read / analyse. See y’all tomorrow with the rest of the chapter + the character sheet.

[bluesylveon2]

My My, I Could Never Let You Go

Summary: Sasha Zoe just wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. There is only one problem: she doesn’t know who her dad is! Sasha invites 3 men in hopes of finding out which one is her father. What could possibly go wrong?

Pairings: Levi x Hange, Sasha x Niccolo, and other background relationships

Disclaimer: This is a Levihan Mamma Mia au. This fanfic is inspired by Mamma Mia which is directed by Phyllida Loyd, written by Catherine Johnson, and uses music from the pop group ABBA. Attack on Titan is a manga/anime series written by Hajime Isayama and published by Kondasha

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Next chapter might take a while. I have finals starting next week and then I’ll be done soon! 😁 Now back to our regularly schedules programming...

***** - listen to Super Trooper here (go to 0;07) to get an idea of the scene. 

Need to catch up? Catch up here!

Ch 9: Super Trooper

Sasha dances on top of the table to her heart's content. She dances along to the song Moblit plays while her friends, now in party clothes, were hyping her up below. 

As the song ends (ironically, it was the same song the guys sang to her earlier. She is a big ABBA fan), Sasha lets herself go and falls back so her friends can catch her. She laughs with glee as her friends cheer for her performance. 

Sasha's bachelorette party was held in the hotel's courtyard. There was some space for dancing and a bar to get drinks. Of course, no boys were allowed except for Moblit. Hange had approved for Moblit to be the DJ for the night. He only agreed to it just as long as Sasha's friends did not force him to become a male stripper. 

Hange and her band were preparing behind the stained glasses French doors for their big performance. This performance was a callback to their old days when she and her girls used to perform together. They had even dressed the part!

Sasha's friends set her back down on the ground safely as Moblit taps his mic to get everyone's attention.

"Ladies and no gentlemen! Except for me, of course." Moblit gestures to himself before continuing.

"Presenting for one night and one night only-" he gestures to the French doors, so the girls can take their attention off of him.

"Because that's all we got breath for!" Nanaba yells from behind the door. Everyone laughs. 

"The world's first girl power band," Rico yells out from behind the door with excitement to hype the crowd. Some smoke starts to appear behind the doors. 

Sasha screams with excitement and shakes Mikasa, who was the closest to her.

"Hange and the Survey Corps!"

Moblit plays the piano as Hange, Rico, and Nanaba enter in their 70's-inspired outfits. It looks just like the ones they used to wear from the old pictures Sasha saw of her mom's room. Meanwhile, the bachelorette party squeal with excitement as Hange's band takes position. Hange was front and center, Nanaba was to her left, and Rico was to her right.

Hange taps the beat with one of her block-heeled boots on the stage. All three members of the Survey Corps raise their left arm to point up to the sky, look up at the night sky, and begin to sing the first line.

Super Trouper lights are gonna find me.

But I won't feel blue.

Sasha and her friends laugh at how ridiculous her mom and her aunts sounded without the accompaniment.

Like I always do

'Cause somewhere in the crowd, there's you

Hange looks away to glance at Sasha and gave her a quick wink. 

Sasha looks at her mother expectantly and with amusement. There was an awkward silence as no music played, and Hange's band was still in position.

Hange, noticing the silence, looks away to look at Moblit. She motions for him to play the song.

Moblit, realizing his mistake, presses the button on the speaker to start the performance. The melody to Super Trooper begins to play. Sasha and her friend cheer as Hange get back to position, so the band can go to their signature pose. 

*****

She raises her hand up and looks up at the sky. Rico turns around, so her back faced Hange. She leans back a bit and raises her microphone up to her lips to pretend she was singing. Nanaba copies Rico's position, except she faces the opposite direction; her back was facing Hange. 

Hange brings her arm down as she sings. Rico and Nanaba face the crowd and move to stand next to Hange. All three of them begin to sway and move their arms to the beat.  

Sasha and her friends laugh and clap along to the performance. Occasionally, Rico and Nanab would sing along to add harmony and more vocals. 

The trio then raises their right arm to the sky and brings it back down to briefly touch their heads. Rico and Nanaba move to face Hange as they sing along. Hange would also turn to face her best friends one at a time to make it look as though she was singing to them. Eventually, the trio stands in front of one another, leans back slightly, and moves their left arm back while holding out the note before literally jumping into the refrain. 

---

"Are you sure this is where Gelgar said Sasha's bachelorette party is going to be?" Erwin asks with a hint of uncertainty.

Mike laughs a bit, but it could have been drowned out by the music and the cheering nearby. Who knows if the guys would be able to hear each other the closer they got.

"Of course. Sasha is pretty famous on the island, so word gets around easily. Plus, she practically invited the whole island."

"Yeah. Sasha practically invited all the girls on the island." Levi adds with a hint of annoyance. He can hear the singing nearby and can recognize her voice anywhere. It reminded him of the times she used to sing to him. Hange's voice would help him fall asleep.

"Relax, Levi," Mike says reassuringly as they climb up the steps to the plaza. "Sasha would be happy to see her dads at her bachelorette party!"

They stop at the very top step and watch Hange's performance.

"Hey, look at them go! It seems her friends never lost their talent either, especially Nanaba!"

Levi looks at Mike and raises an eyebrow. "You know them?"

Mike laughs. "Of course I do. I met all three of them together," he says with amazement as he watches the performance. 

"It seems as if Hange never lost her singing talent after all."

Levi glares at Erwin, who stood behind him. Erwin, noticing Levi's glare, chuckles now that his uncertainness is fading away. It was as if he could read Levi's mind.

It seems that Hange's singing has started to calm him down enough to laugh at how silly Levi looked.

"Sometimes Hange would sing while I played the guitar. This song is actually our song." Erwin says without breaking his gaze from Hange singing and smiles. 

"It does bring me back." He adds with sincerity.  

Levi's heart skips a beat as he heard Hange sing. It was a lot different from earlier when he heard it from a distance. It was in person this time. Levi can even see the big smile and the bright eyes Hange had as she sang. It reminded him of the times he would fall asleep on her lap as she sang to him and played with his hair. 

Call him a lovestruck fool, but Levi always slept better every time Hange sang to him. 

Heck, Levi could even say with 100% certainty that he was falling for her all over again.

---

Hange continues singing and dancing with her friends. She has not had this much fun in a long time, and she can tell from Sasha's face that she was enjoying it too. In fact, Hange was having too much fun to notice Levi, Erwin, and Mike approach the plaza. 

She dances to the song's beat while adding some arm movements and stomped her boots to create an effect. Sasha and her friends cheer from below.

Like I always do. 

Hange places her hand on her forehead and scans the crowd.

Cause somewhere in the crowd, there's you. 

It was only for a brief second, but her light brown eyes met with Levi's steel gray ones.

Hange's eyes widen with shock and a little bit of hurt. He was not alone! Erwin and Mike were with him too!

Nevertheless, Hange steps forward to sing her solo while trying her best to look normal. She did not want to freak out on stage and have Sasha meet her dads. She glances over at Levi, praying it was a dream.

It was not. Levi was still there.

This time he was smiling.

Great. Just great.

Hange ends her solo with a silly dance to bring up her excitement and keep Sashas's attention solely on her. The crowd loved it! She steps back to join her band. 

The Survey Corps sing the refrain while pointing towards the sky in front of them, bringing their arms down and repeating the process all over again. They stop in the middle of the refrain, and Hange glances over at Levi again.

They were still there!

She scoots close to Rico and subtle grabs her arm before doing the same with Nanaba and brought them close to her. 

"Look, look, look, look," she says while pointing her head towards the men off to the side. She then spins around so Rico and Nanaba could see who she was looking at. The song continued to play in the background.

Oh no! Nanaba looks at the men in shock.

Why are they here at the party? Rico questions.

Rico briefly places her microphone away from her mouth. "Stay calm," she whispers loudly enough to get Hange to hear.

Nanaba imitates Rico after Rico goes back to performing. "Act normal," she whispers as well.

Both of them tried their best not to speak loud enough for both of their mics to pick up.

Meanwhile, Erwin was smiling at the performance, Mike was dancing a bit to the song, and Levi even was dancing a bit too. Just not as much as Mike.

Hange glances over at Moblit before getting back into position with the girls. Moblit, noticing the distressed look on Hange's face the entire time, turns to where she has been looking at this whole time. It did not take long for him to figure out who the three men dancing in the corner were. He had heard enough stories and helped comfort Hange when she was sobbing alone in her room to know who was who. It was a secret between the two, and Moblit was ready to take Hange's secret to his grave.

They stick their hand out to make a one and move their head in the 1 position on a clock before repeating the refrain. They move in a circle on the stage, stop to look at each other briefly, and place their hands in the center before moving it up together. 

Hange made sure to step up in the front and give Sasha all of her attention as she sings the song's last note. Rico and Nanaba sang the rest in the background before giving their final pose.

Everyone in the audience cheers for the performance, even the guys who everyone could hear cheering loudly from the back.

"Excuse me!" Moblit's voice comes on from his spot next to the stage. Hange and her friends head back inside to get changed. "This is a bachelorette party except for me. Moblit. Thank you!" he finishes before changing the song.

"That's the asshole," Levi whispers to himself without thinking about it and glares at Moblit. 

Erwin and Mike laugh at Levi. They can hear the jealousy in his voice. Levi wants what Moblit has: a life with Hange where he can watch Sasha grow up. No responsibilities or worries. Just peace.

Moblit, although he cannot hear him, feels a shiver go down his spine. He turns around to find a short, bored-looking guy glaring at him.

That must be Levi; he sweatdrops before returning to the music and praying that Levi stops glaring at him. 

Levi tsks in annoyance and starts heading out. Mike and Erwin steer in a different direction towards the bar.

Sasha follows Levi out to wherever he went. Meanwhile, all the girls in Sasha's bridal party watch as Mike and Erwin head towards the bar area. They huddle up and put their heads together to create a plan.

"We need to do something before Mike and Erwin leave," Hanami panics.

"We need to think of something now," Mina adds.

Historia thinks long and hard for a solution. What is something crazy they could do without raising suspicion? Suddenly, an idea pops up in her head as she listens to the current song Moblit was playing. It was bound to work 100%.

She silently thanks Sasha's love of ABBA songs and for hosting many karaoke nights at the hotel. The girls could sing ABBA songs with their eyes closed.

She smirks and clears her voice. Everyone stops discussing to turn their full attention to Historia.

"Ladies. I have a perfect idea,"

---

"Why are they here?! Do they want to ruin Sasha's wedding?!" Hange yells out in frustration.

"I thought you were keen about this wedding," Nanaba asks in a calm tone.

Hange takes a deep breath to calm herself down. "I just don't want them to spoil it." she sighs.

"They have no right to show up like this. What have they done for Sasha? Huh?"

"Hange. They didn't know she existed." Nanaba reasons with her. They continue making their way back to Hange's room. 

"Well, they didn't need to know. I did so well with Sasha all by myself, and I refuse to be muscled out by an ejaculation!"

---

Erwin and Mike were getting some drinks at the bar since Levi had mysteriously disappeared from them. They decided to stay for a bit until Levi comes back, but far away from the party. They could still hear the music, though.

Except the music was progressively getting louder, and it was not from the speakers. They can hear female voices heading in their direction. 

Both men turn around to find all of Sasha's bridal party walking towards them while singing the song. The girls start running towards them the moment Erwin and Mike turn around. Different girls grab both men and start pulling them into the dance floor.

Mike was excited to be surrounded by so many girls. This was life for him. On the other hand, the feelings were not mutual for Erwin. He just wanted to get a drink! Now he is getting dragged onto the dancefloor! What a rollercoaster of a day.

Except the girls did not drag them onto the dancefloor. The girls push Erwin and Mike against a pole and surround them. They tie up the men's hands behind the pole and begin their second operation. The first operation was to locate the men and tie them up. They proceed with the second part, although Levi was absent. This part was a bit more intimate. 

It was all a blur for Erein and Mike. They could not tell who exactly was feeling them up, running their hands across their chests, or even tell who was pushing up their clothes. Mike enjoyed all the attention he was receiving; Erwin was flustered and heating up.

This was definitely a strange day for everyone.

---

Sasha stops running when she finds Levi leaning against the wall, looking out at sea.

"Hi."

Levi notices Sasha's voice, leans back, and faces her. "Hey."

He clears his throat. "I think I should explain to Hange that I come in peace." he starts walking up to where Sahsa just entered from.

"Oh no." Sasha stops Levi by placing her hands out in front of him. "You should wait until she has a few drinks first, really." 

Levi nods in agreement. "Good idea."

He looks around the place and thinks back on their interaction in the boat. The fact that he never came back or how Sasha was a prodigy with weapons. He chose to speak about the latter. The first topic can come up another time. 

"That story about you being a natural at archery…." He trails off and looks at her dead in the eyes. Her eyes were obviously a different shade of brown, but it reminded him of Hange.

"Why don't you pursue it? You could even participate in events such as the Olympics?"

Sasha looks away nervously and raises her hands up before dropping down on her sides. She sighs.

"I have enough to do here." 

"Is that really your dream? Running the villa with Hange?" Levi asks. He could recall when she first met Hange. She was a woman with huge dreams. All of it was driven by her curiosity and intelligence. Yet, it was not evident for Sasha's case. 

Sasha shakes her hands out in front of her with frustration. Why wasn't Levi getting it? It was so obvious why she wanted to stay. 

"She just can't do it by herself."

"But she has Moblit." Levi counters.

"She just can't. Please understand that." 

Levi sighs. He was not getting through to her at all. Yet, Levi still thought back to Sasha's memory from earlier. He chuckles a bit.

"What's so funny?" Sasha asks with some curiosity. Ah, there it is. The Zoe curiosity lives on.

"You know, my uncle once taught me how to use a knife. Apparently, he worked in one of the intelligence agencies in Germany when he was young. He thought it was a necessary skill for me to have. Of course, I managed to excel in it, but my mom had a heart attack when she noticed me practicing it with my uncle. I always made sure to keep a pocket one if any situation goes south." 

He walks to stand where he was initially. He turns around to face Sasha. "I even taught it to Hange before. I mean, she trusted a stranger pretty easily, but you never know if things ever go south. You have to be prepared." 

He looks up at the sky and smiles at all the fond memories he had of Kalokairi.

"I always wanted to come back here…."

"What kept you from coming back?" Sasha interrupts him. 

Levi looks at Sasha and gives her a sad smile. Her eyes soften up after seeing Levi becoming vulnerable in front of her. 

"What has your mother said about me?"

"She never mentioned you," Sasha confesses. She watches for Levi's reaction but finds nothing.

Finally, he sighs. a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Sasha?"

"Why am I here?" He asks. He began to doubt his purpose here now that Hange wants nothing to do with him.

Sasha was ready to speak when the door from her mother's room opens suddenly, startling the two down below. 

"I need some air!" they both hear Hange's voice cry out.

She immediately ran off and out of sight as if she was never there.

Levi looks up at Hange's room. His eyes linger at Hange's disappearing shadow. He felt a strange but somewhat familiar feeling in his chest. 

He knew what he had to do, and he can't leave just yet.

---

Hange, Rico, and Nanaba all flop on Hange's bed in exhaustion. Nanaba was lying next to her, while Rico's boots were next to Hange's head. 

"Somebody out there is out to get me. I bet it's my mother." Hange says while glaring at the roof as if it decided to bring Sasha's dads back into her life.

"Wasn't she a ray of sunshine?" Rico adds sarcastically. 

Hange feels a sudden burst of determination. She needs to get them out now. She begins by attempting to untangle herself from her friends. 

"Oh no, you don't!" Nanaba exclaims and pins Hange down.

"If you go in there guns loaded, there's gonna be questions," Rico says as she attempts to get up but fails. It's all because of the dang boots!

"Help me out of these boots!" she complains while lying on the bed. Hange and Nanaba make a move towards the end of the bed to help. 

"All of your yoga made your feet bigger." Nanaba comments, and Rico groans in annoyance.

Suddenly, Nanaba gets serious and pulls on one of Rico's boots. "Listen up. The plan is to get all the guys drunk tonight-"

"Uh-huh," Hange says and pulls on the other boot with the same force as Nanaba.

"-and then tomorrow, Rico and I will keep them distracted."  

Rico shoots up from the bed and raises her hand. "Dibs on Erwin!"

Nanaba rolls her eyes. "Of course, you would say that," she mumbles. 

---

Erwin luckily manages to escape the crowd of girls by crawling under the table to escape. Sasha's bridal party had finally untied him and Mike from the poles and brought them somewhere else to dance. Erwin last saw Mike dancing on top of the table with some of the girls. He was having the time of his life.

Sasha ran back to the party just in time to see Erwin escaping from her friends.

"Hi," she sighs in relief.

"Hello," He greets back. He was still traumatized from earlier.

Sasha grabs Erwin's arm and seats Erwin at the barstool. 

"You ok?" she asks as she sits down as well. Erwin's hair was a bit disheveled, his shirt was unbuttoned and untucked to reveal his chest, and he looked a bit flustered. 

Erwin sighs instead. He reaches over to a nearby pitcher and pours himself a drink.

"I'm surprised Hange has a grown-up daughter." He confesses and briefly glances over at Sasha.

She leans one elbow against the bar and faces Erwin. "Do you have any children, Erwin?" 

Erwin chuckles. "Well, I only have my dogs, Hiroshi and Romi. They are staying at a friend's house right now." 

"I'd love to have a daughter. I'd spoil her rotten," he adds with a smile and takes a sip of his drink. 

That caught Sasha off guard. She didn't expect Erwin to say that. She opens her mouth to speak but closes it instead. She imagined what life would be like if Erwin was her father. How he would spoil her, shower her with much love and attention.

Erwin notices Sasha's silence. He briefly turns around to look at the crowd before turning back to Sasha.

"Is your father here?"

"I don't know." She admits. Erwin looks at her with confusion. Surely her own father should be here for his own daughter's wedding, right?

"I don't know who my father is." she clarifies.

Erwin's eyes widen with shock. He opens his mouth to ask more questions, but one of Sasha's friends grabs her and brings her back to the dance floor. He could only watch as Sasha's figure disappears into the crowd.

---

Erwin sat with his hands covering his face. A few minutes had passed since Sasha left, and everything was beginning to come together. What if he was Sasha's father? He was too conflicted to notice the footsteps heading his way.

"Give me two tequila shots. One for me and one for this guy." he hears a female voice say. His head shoots up, ready to decline the offer but stops. Sitting down where Sasha last sat was a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes. Her hair was half up, half down, she wore a simple blouse and some shorts, and she also wore sandals on her feet.

She notices Erwin's stare and turns to him with a smile. Erwin looks away and blushes from embarrassment. 

The woman laughs instead. She extends her hand out for him to shake.

"My name is Marie Fournier, and you are?"

Erwin extends his hand out to shake Marie's. "Erwin Smith."

The bartender comes back with the shots. Marie grabs her and holds it out in front of Erwin for a toast.

"Cheers." she smiles.

"Cheers," he says with a small smile. Erwin tries to hide his earlier conflict from Marie.

"So how do you know the Zoe's?" Erwin asks after the both of them drank the shot and set their glasses down on the bar."

"Well, we went to the same college and for the same major. I was more of an acquaintance with her, but we still kept in touch after I moved to Canada. I consider myself lucky that she invited me here since we weren't that close."  

She looks at Erwin with a smile. Erwin was taken aback by it. There was a dormant but familiar feeling growing in his chest after seeing Marie smile at him.

"She is a nice person, though. I came here once before for vacation. She showed me around the island and even brought Sasha along too."

Erwin felt another feeling in his chest, and he slightly flinches in his seat. The shock and realization of what if Sasha was his daughter. It seems Marie does not notice any difference in Erwin.

"So how do you know Hange?"

Should he tell her the truth? Maybe a short and sweet version?

His eyes briefly glance over at the bartender walking by. He is going to need some more drinks first.

---

Hitch drags Sasha from the bar and pushes her to dance onto a table to dance with Mike.

"Hey!" Mike cheers once Sasha joins him on the fun. Both of them start dancing together.

"This is fantastic! How did your mom get money to buy this place?"

"She was left some money by an old lady she looked after before I was born," Sasha yells back with all the music and the dancing happening at the same time.

 "Alexandra, that I'm named after."

He looks at her suspiciously. "My grandma Alexandra?"

"I guess?"

"I always heard she left her money to her family…" his voice trails off.

Suddenly, everything hit Mike like a tone of bricks. His grandmother, the hotel, Sasha…

He looks at Sasha, who was still dancing and smiling at him.

"How old are you?" he needed to know.

"I'm 20."

That was the final piece of the puzzle Mike was missing. He stops dancing and looks at her with shock and panic.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?" He looks around his surrounding with confusion, shock, and a bit of disappointment. It's not that he is disappointed at Sasha, but himself. What kind of dad (if he actually was) was he for missing out on 20 years of his daughter's life?

"I'm sorry," he says and leaves Sasha, who stands there with sadness flashing in her face. She was determined to get to Mike again. She runs off to chase after him.

---

"Mike!" Sasha calls after Mike, but he continues walking down the steps and towards the shore. 

"Mike, wait! Why did your grandmother leave my mother money?" She asks as some tears began to fall down her face. Mike was running down the steps, and it was hard for Sasha to catch up.

"I don't know. What do you want from me?" He replies hastily without turning back and quickens his pace. Mike was too confused with everything that he decided to run away instead of confronting Sasha. Sasha can feel her heartbreaking even more now.

"Mike, please!" Mike stops moving. "All my life, there's been this huge unanswered question., and I don't want any more secrecy!" she cries out, and her voice begins to crack. She can feel tears now that began to blur her vision and some snot running down her nose. 

Mike turns around to face Sasha ultimately after hearing her voice crack and the sadness in her voice. Although the only light source was moonlight, Mike could see the tears staining Sasha's face and her body shaking a bit. He felt guilty for making Sasha cry.

Sasha was ready to ask the age-old question. "Are you my father?"

"Yes. I think so." Mike says immediately. He has all the pieces to the puzzle, except he sounded unsure. He looks at Sasha's face. The same face that has Hange it in and him. He is not running away from his problems. He looks at her with determination and smiles.

"Yes," she says softly that it was almost hard to hear it.

Sasha smiles and laughs with pure joy. More tears were running down her face, but it was tears of joy and not sadness. She felt relief rush into her body because she has now found her father—the man standing in front of her, Mike Zacharias.

She smiles brightly at Mike. The smile Hange always had. "You know what comes next?"

"Oh, you're not telling me you have a twin sister, are you?" Mike asks lightheartedly.

Sasha shakes her head and laughs lightly. She steps closer to Mike.

"Will you give me away tomorrow?"

"Give you away?" Mike asks with a bit of perplex.

"No! Our secret until the wedding." 

Mike laughs. He has been on many adventures all of his life, and now life presented him with a new one. He may have missed the first 20 years of Sasha's life, but he was not going to lose more. Especially with something as big as his daughter's own wedding.

Mike smiles and opens his arms out for a hug. Sasha immediately runs in and gives him the biggest hug she's ever given.

"Of course. I will do it for you." He whispers and plants a small kiss on the crown of her head. After all, giving Sasha away tomorrow is the least he could do for her. 

Sasha smiles as she rests her head against Mike's chest (or more like her dad's chest). She felt a rush of emotions today from happiness, sadness, and fear. It did not matter to her now that Sasha found her dad and was not letting him go. She felt whole as the new father-daughter relationship began to form between the two. She finally has everything she could ever dream of.

Sasha was now experiencing another form of happiness. A form she was missing for 20 years.   

©: This is where I insert all rights reserved stuff. This story belongs to me. Do not modify or republish

Big father reveal!!!!! 🥳

Yeah I know Moblit is the only guy at the bacholrette party, but I needed him to do something lol

Marie is now here!

Erwin’s dogs names are the names of Levi and Hange’s Japanese VA’s

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: ‘Obsidian’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 2)

Airdate: November 19, 2020

Story by: Jack Pendarvis, and Kate Tsang, Adam Muto, & Hanna K. Nyström

Storyboarded by: Hanna K Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Mickey Quinn, Maya Petersen, James Campbell, & Ashlyn Anstee

Directed by: Miki Brewster (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Of all the many colorful characters in Adventure Time perhaps none has a more elaborate backstory than Marceline the Vampire Queen. In many ways, Marceline really was the writers’ gold goose, engendering complex story after complex story. By the time the series ended, the vampire’s life had in more ways than one been woven into the very fabric of the show’s mythology.

But because I am a Marceline fanboy—whose zeal for her majesty is rivaled perhaps only by Glassboy himself—I always felt like the show could have done even more with her backstory; I mean, when the series finale aired, there were still plenty of questions that had yet to be answered (What happened to her mom? What is Simon going to do now that he’s “cured”? How did Marcy and Bubblegum meet? Were they romantically involved before the events of the main series? How did it all go south?). Nevertheless, when "Island Song” played for the last time at the end of “Come Along with Me,” I forced myself to push aside this minor, fannish grievance and applaud the show for writing such an excellent character. I didn’t need for every last detail of her life to be explicitly shown on screen. I was happy.

But then, about a year ago, news dropped that one of the Distant Lands specials would really delve into the history of Marceline and Bubblegum’s relationship. In an instant, I tossed my stoic “I-am-satisified-with-what-I-received” mentality right out the window. We were going to get another Marceline episode, and it was going to dive back into her elaborate backstory!?! I could barely contain my excitement as I waited for the episode to drop.

Well, was my excitement worth it? Or was “Obsidian” a big ol’ let down—a tragic victim to grandiose expectations that were never meant to be fulfilled?

I’m quite happy to say that not only was “Obsidian” a remarkable special in its own right, but it is arguably one of the strongest episodes of Adventure Time, period.

The plot of this episode is fairly standard, as far as Adventure Time episodes go: Glassboy (a new character voiced by Michaela Dietz, the voice of Amethyst from Steven Universe) accidentally sets a giant fire monster named Molto Larvo loose on the Glass Kingdom, and Marceline and Bubblegum—who we learn have been living their best cottagecore life together in Marcy’s cavehouse—are forced to save the day. But the series’ writers take this otherwise quotidian adventure idea—a story which, at least on paper, could have easily fit in during any of the show’s many seasons—and employ it as something of a Trojan Horse, using it as a pretense to delve into both Marcy’s traumatic childhood and her and Bubblegum’s romantic history. And, boy, is it a ride!

With regard to the former story thread, the audience learns that sometime after the Mushroom Bomb detonated, Marceline and her mother, Elise (voiced this time not by Rebecca Sugar, but by actress Erica Luttrell, who played Sapphire in Steven Universe), roamed the wastelands in search of shelter; after Marceline’s mother came down with some sort of sickness, she sent Marceline to be on her own. Elise was hoping that this would spare Marcy the trauma of seeing her mother die before her very eyes, but due to some communication issues, Marceline never learned what became of her mother. As such, Marceline began blaming herself for “leaving” her mom to die in the wreckage of the world. This plot thread is perhaps one of the bleakest that Adventure Time has ever explored, and the show does it masterfully, balancing the darkness (e.g., Marceline’s mother coughing up blood) with bright spots of comedy (e.g., the "wazzup” dog) that never feel distasteful.

Likewise, when it comes to the story thread about Marcy and Bubblegum’s romantic history, the special does not hold back. We get to see “Bubbline” at its best and its worst. I have a feeling that the word “fan service” is going to be used by a lot of folks when talking about this episode. As the AV Club writer William Hughes notes, this word is usually hurled around like a pejorative, but it aptly describes the appeal of “Obsidian”. After all, this episode really is “fan service at its finest”—not only does it give the ravenous shippers the story tidbits that they have so long to see (e.g., the moment Marcy gave Bubblegum her rock shirt, Bubbline’s epic break-up), but—and this is very important—it does so in a way that is fundamentally meaningful. “Obsidian” does not feel self-indulgent, unnecessary, or pandering. On the contrary, it is overflowing with deep emotion that allows us to better understand how Bubblegum and Marceline really feel about one another. Sure, over the centuries that the two gals have bummed around Ooo, they have bickered and fought, but deep down, their love is passionate. In many ways, it is like the titular obsidian, which means that nothing short of an enchanted diamond pickax is strong enough to break Bubbline apart for good.

(It’s also quite nice that after seasons and seasons of tip-toeing around the question of Marceline and Bubblegum’s sexuality, “Obsidian” can explicitly focus on their life together, showing the two characters cuddling, kissing, and dancing. In terms of LGBTQ+ representation, it’s a huge leap forward, and I’m so happy that Adventure Time has had a part to play in normalizing queer relationships!)

Marceline episodes almost always featured a catchy diddy, but "Obsidian” really cranks things up to 11 by featuring a whole bevy of catchy songs, several of which are perhaps among the show’s strongest. The first right banger, “It’s Funny,” is the song that plays over the special’s credits. With a grunge-meets-riot grrrl feels, this track really sets the tone for the episode, signaling to the audience that we’re in for, as Lumpy Space Princess once put it, some “drama bombs.” The next standout is “Woke Up,” a brutally honest diss track that Marceline used both to contain Molto Larvo and break up with Princess Bubblegum centuries prior to the start of this episode. This song was written by pop rocker Zuzu, and it—as the kids say—slaps. Layers of fuzzed-out guitar and digitally processed vocals are used expertly to sell Marceline’s emotions and convey how, on the surface, she’s delighted to no longer be under Bubblegum’s romantic spell... even if her heart may not be so sure.

But arguably, the musical jewel of the entire special is “Monster,” a somber ballad that Marceline sings to Bubblegum when they find themselves trapped in the collapsing furnace and are facing what they believe is certain death. Written by indie pop artist Half Shy, this song is, in many ways, something of the inverse of “Woke Up”: soft, happy, and filled to the brim with a sort of love that few are lucky to receive and even fewer can honestly express. Not only does “Monster” finally cement Marceline’s real, visceral love for Bubblegum in song form (remember: almost every prior Bubbline song was either indirect or delivered by an angsty, heartbroken Marceline), but it also “tames” Molto Larvo, allowing him to metamorphose into a strange but harmless cat-butterfly critter. Just like “Come Along with Me,” “Obsidian” proves that the power of love and music will save us in the end—if not physically, then at least emotionally.

Regarding the production-side of things, there’s a lot of praise to doll out. First off, the look and style of “Obsidian” is gorgeous. While “BMO” opted to experiment somewhat with the classic Adventure Time art style, trading cel shading for an almost watercolor feel, “Obsidian” echoes the aesthetic of the original series. That said, there’s an undeniable animation bump—likely courtesy of that sweet, sweet HBO money—that lets Ooo and its denizens shine in all their glory. You can tell that Adam Muto, art director Sandra Lee, supervising director Miki Brewster, and all the members of the production staff really went above and beyond the call of duty. The episode's soundtrack, composed by Amanda Jones, as deserves a shout-out. Jones did an excellent job mixing the chiptune style of the original series with a bass-heavy rock sound that highlights Marceline’s starring role. Bravo!

As another production aside, I should point out that CN/HBO’s decision to make these specials each 44 minutes was the right call. The 11 minute format of the original series often left something to be desired when it came to plot development, as many an important episode was forced to end somewhat prematurely due to time constraints; conversely, the 8-episode miniseries format that the show experimented with during its latter days sometimes felt like too much time (Stakes, Islands, and Elements all had whole episodes that felt like nothing more than the show treading water). The length of “Obsidian”, however, was just right, giving us plenty of time to take in what was happening without ever feeling like it was dragging.

A final aspect of this episode that is worth mention is its many call-backs to previous episodes and characters. “BMO” was mostly a self-contained story that, due to its nature as a prequel in space, really couldn’t reference the Land of Ooo without feeling forced. “Obsidian,” however, throws in everything and the kitchen sink (Adventure Time superfan and all-around cool person Jagm has collected most of them here for those of you who want to see everything laid out nicely). Stand-outs for me include Choose Goose (someone who we really haven’t seen since season five) smuggling sketchy products into the Candy Kingdom, post-Ice King Simon trying his hand at open mic nights, Bronwyn as an adventurous hero, and Finn the (Adult!) Human complete with beard and scars! Of note, Jake does not appear in this episode, except as a tattoo on Finn’s chest. Many in the fandom are now speculating that the events of “Obsidian” take place after our beloved shapeshifting dog’s death. Oh say it ain’t so! Perhaps we’ll learn more in “Together Again.”

Mushroom War Evidence: Unlike “BMO,” which directly referenced the Mushroom War and its fallout (both literally and figuratively), this episode returned to the show’s roots by featuring gobs of explicit hints in throw-away lines or elaborate background pieces. Honestly, there is far too many to list here in a pithy paragraph, but some major references include: the reveal that the Glass Kingdom, like the Fire Kingdom, was created by ‘magic’ blaze from the heavens (almost certainly a nuke); the fact that Marceline and her mother wandered for a time in the debris-filled wastelands following the apocalypse; and the reveal that Marceline spent at least part of her childhood holed up in a bomb shelter surrounded by the bones of myriad dead humans. Honestly, while references to the Mushroom War have always been sad footnotes to an otherwise cheery show; in this episode, however, the references are very graphic, illustrating the sorrow and horror of mutagenic war.

Final Grade: As I said earlier, I’m a Marcy fanboy, so I’m horrible biased, but I don’t care. This episode rocked. Q.E.D.

[honeypirate]

Coffee shop part two

Aizawa x y/n

Part one.

Your hands are clammy, it’s the only thing that shoved just how nervous you are. You’re trying not to rush, to take your time and go at your own pace, but your legs really want to get there as soon as possible. You were excited. Just excited. Not nervous. That’s what you were trying to convince yourself of anyway, since the feeling of being nervous and the feel of being excited we’re so similar you could almost make it so you didn’t feel nervous at all.

All your hard work of trying to convince yourself you weren’t nervous went out the window when you saw him leaning up against the side of the coffee shop, holding two cups and a brown paper sack. Your heart beat skipped and your belly flooded with butterflies when he looked up and made eye contact. The small smile on his lips as he looked at you made your cheeks blush a little. You smiled at him and gave him a small wave as you crossed the sidewalk.

“Good morning, Aizawa” you smile up at him and he hands you a cup “good morning y/n” you take the cup he offers to you and he offers you the sack “croissant?” You nod and take one taking a bite and humming in delight. The warmth of the coffee in your hands soothes your nerves.

“So what are you teaching today? Am I going to see so much of your class again?” You say playfully and nudge his elbow with yours. He laughs a little “honestly,... probably. Those kids are unpredictable and reckless.” You nod “yeah my class was like that too when I was in 1A” he falters just a little, remembering someone with the same name as you he used to see around the nurses office when he was a second year “when did you go to UA?” You think for a second before answering “around 10 years ago. Damn. It doesn’t feel like that long ago”

it was you. It fits in the timeline. You were the girl he had a crush on in school. But he didn’t have the nerve to talk to you then.

He takes a sip of his coffee then says “I remember you. You were a year behind me and helped out in the nurses office when you had time” you look at him, really trying to place him in your mind. You would have remembered him if you had met. Maybe? You remember Present Mic, he was hard to forget and hard to miss, and the boy with him....had to be Aizawa! It clicks and you laugh happily “yes! I remember! I never knew your name but I saw you around a school a few times with Mic and every time he’s be talking about something with so much excitement and you’d always be the exact opposite, so uninterested it would make me laugh.” He’s a little embarrassed. That’s not how he wanted to be remembered by you. He chuckles “I was borderline delinquent. Mic kept me straight.” You both finish your coffee and throw it in a trash can you pass by.

“So if you were in the hero course how come you didn’t become a hero?” You clear your throat before you respond. “I’m gonna tell you more about my abilities before I tell you my reason” he nods and you continue “I can heal people by manipulating their energy to areas of their body, I can also give them some of my energy if they don’t have enough to heal themselves. I made it into the hero course because I can also use my power to fight, I can take energy from people, like suck it from them like a sort of vacuum, and take it into myself making my attacks stronger and it makes them weaker.” You take a deep breath, at this point you were stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, not meeting his eyes “I went to an agency in America to intern, I helped a lot and saved a lot of people. But one day I was targeted by a group of villains and kidnapped. To get free I had to take energy from my attackers, since I was so wounded I.. I took too much. A few of them... uhh” your voice cracks and you clear your throat “a few of them died. I know it was self defense and I was told I am hero... but it honestly messed me up for a long time. I don’t want to ever take another persons life. Ever again. I don’t want to be in that position. I will be a hero when I am called upon and it’s necessary but until then I changed my path. ” your voice was quiet and looked down at your hands.

He takes one of your hands in his and starts to walk again “y/n i can tell you’re incredibly strong and have a great control over your powers. That experience was traumatic and it’s normal to feel like that. Thank you for trusting me and telling me, you can always talk to me. So now your goal is to just be a healer?”

Your heart beat wildly in your chest as he held your hand, your fingers intertwined, his thumb brushing against yours.

“Yea! I thought that if I just use my healing side I could be a sort of hero to the heros” you laugh and the look on your face was so adorable and pure he can’t help but smile with you. “That’s adorable. A commendable goal.” He says and squeezes your hand.

He dropped your hand to open the door of the school for you, and then didn’t pick it up again which kind of made you sad even though you understood why. He walks you to the nurses station before kissing your cheek in the empty hallway and walking away with a smirk on his lips

“So your talk with Mr Aizawa yesterday went well?” Recovery Girl says with a laugh when you walk in grinning.

After a long day of healing students you finish paperwork and leave the office heading down the hallway “y/n! Wait!” You hear someone calm from behind you, you stop and turn around to see Present Mic running up “hey! I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out with me this weekend.” You’re flattered. You think he’s handsome and funny but honestly you were holding out on Aizawa to see if he likes you. So you lied “Hizashi! Thank you! But unfortunately I’m really busy this weekend. Maybe we can reschedule sometime. Here let me give you my number” you don’t want to completely blow him off because what if Aizawa didn’t like you, you didn’t want to keep Hizashi completely off the table just yet. You give him your number and he blushes as you leave again.

You were walking on the sidewalk that leads to the front gates, thinking about Aizawa. His handsome features and hair that you loved. How kind he has been to you. How strong and warm his hand was holding yours earlier.

“Hey” you didn’t even hear him come up beside you, you were too distracted thinking about him. You gasp in fright before feeling like a fool. “Did I scare you?” He chuckles and you blush in embarrassment. “I was just a little distracted” you laugh a little bit trying to slow your heart beat.

“I heard you’re busy this weekend” he says flatly “oh!” You exclaim remembering that Hizashi and Aizawa are best friends. (“Shit” you think) “oh God you’re gonna think I’m terrible” you put your hands on both of your cheeks “why?” He chuckles and stops walking, taking your hands from your cheeks and smiling softly. Your voice is a whisper when you reply, looking down at his hands still holding yours “I’m not busy this weekend. I just didn’t want to be rude because he isn’t the one I wanted to ask me out” “may I ask who you wanted to ask you out?” He says and you blush really red and bow your head farther down since you couldn’t cover your face with your hands “you” you whisper shyly and he smirks “what was that?” He asks. You know he’s messing with you, he heard you, but you indulge him and look up at him slowly, your face red and embarrassed, “you, Aizawa.” You say louder and unmistakeable. You can see his light blush on his cheeks and his little smile on his lips and he nods “that’s what I thought you said” he drops one hand and holds the other as you both continue your walk home.

After a few minutes of silence and confusion you clear your throat “so how was your class today?” You ask like everything is normal. “It was good. They were less stupid today so at least they’re learning. When am I picking you up on Saturday?” He asks so easily and confidently and your heart races “six” you state and he smiles with a nod “good” he squeezes your hand “six is perfect. Don’t worry about the activity I already have an idea”

When you get to the coffee shop he pulls you into a hug “I don’t think you’re terrible” he whispers into your ear “I’m glad actually. I was going to ask you out today and he beat me to it.” You feel your heart beat fast in your chest and the butterflies in your stomach as he holds you close and tells you this. You hold him a little tighter and he chuckles. “I’m glad you like me back” you laugh into his chest “I was worried for a second” he rubs your back softly, he doesn’t want to break the hug just as much as you don’t “I’m sorry to have worried you. But I do like you. Very much” he says and the butterflies in your stomach multiply.

You reluctantly pull away and look up at him “I like you too. Very much” he tucks your hair behind your ears and gently holds your cheeks as he smiles “good” he kisses your forehead sweetly and when he pulls back he has a little blush on his cheeks. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Six pm” you nod and smile and you both go your separate directions. Turning back after a few seconds to look back at each other.

[taetaespeaches]

"Did he just call her Poopsie?”

seokjin x reader (or oc) genre: crack; fluff word count: 1.5K

a/n: Ok lovelies, this has to be the most random, stupidest, most crackhead piece of writing I have ever posted to this blog, and for that, I apologize lmao. Jimin criticizes the long term Jin couple for their lack of pet names and they go off and yeah, this is what happened. This fic features all the members!!!! Basically, this is what you get when I write some dumbass shit and have Mads read over it, only for it to spark some more dumbassery from her. We share one braincell, and it shows in this fic. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy lol :))

JUST as you got to the dorm you found Taehyung entering through the door, turning his head to spot you just before he disappeared into his home. “Hey!” He shouted happily at you, holding the door open for you.

“Hi,” you greeted, “where are you getting home from?” You asked snoopily with a smirk, fully aware he had started dating his best friend recently and was still very much in the honeymoon phase. Instead of answering you, he gave you a beaming grin with a bashful chuckle and you simply smiled back as he shut the door. “Cuties,” you whispered, Tae bumping you with his shoulder as he led you into the dorm.

Walking past the kitchen, you both spotted your boyfriend cooking away as Jimin sat at the counter reading something off his phone.

Jin looked up to see you, a smile spreading across his face. “Pumpkin butt!” He greeted you excitedly. Pumpkin butt?

You smiled, shooting him a questioningly look. “Hi?” You gave a small laugh, walking toward him and kissing his cheek when you reached him. “Can I help you with something?” You asked, looking at the pan that was full of sizzling vegetables and meat.

“Hmmm,” he thought out loud, exaggerating the sound. “You could get me some sesame seeds from the spice cupboard, Angel Face.”

Again, Angel Face? You looked at him in confusion, scrunching your eyebrows, and just as you were about to ask what the hell he was doing, Jimin spoke up, looking at Jin with an annoyed expression.

“Ew,” Jimin complained. “I know what you’re doing, I already apologized for meddling into your relationship, can you stop before I lose my appetite?”

Looking between the two men, and then to Tae, you found that the younger man was just as confused as you.

“What am I doing?” Jin asked with a smile. “I’m just happy to see my Sugar Plum.” Sugar Plum? Looking toward you, Jin noted the confusion in your features and leaned forward, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. “You see,” he started to explain. “Jimin was concerned about the state of our relationship because he never hears us use pet names for each other.”

Realizing what your boyfriend was doing, you had to hold back your growing smile. “Ohhh, is that so?” You asked before looking toward Jimin with a smirk before making your way to the spice cupboard. “Pookie Bear, you need sesame seeds, right?”

A massive grin spread across Jin’s face in response to you playing along. “That’s right, Sugar Pie.” You snuck a look at the younger boys sitting at the counter, taking note of Jimin slowly shaking his head as Tae sat there grinning at you and Jin, thoroughly amused.

“You know, Sesame Seed is a good pet name,” you noted, handing your boyfriend the little bottle.

“Is it?” He asked with a chuckle, unable to hold back his amusement. You shrugged, Jin nodding. “Well when has my little Sesame Seed ever been wrong before?”

“Why are you two like this?” Jimin interrupted, sending Taehyung into giggles.

“Like what?” You asked.

“Yeah, we just want to show you our cute affectionate side,” Jin added. “Isn’t that right, Miss Sweetums McGee?” He directed to you, and you found yourself having to hold back a laugh and also a look of disgust at the horrible pet name.

“That’s right, Mr… Sweetums McGee, was it?” You asked Jin, only for him to let out a squeaky laugh.

“Yeah, I think that was it,” he nodded.

“A great one,” you nodded back, giggling.

“You guys are so annoying, all I was saying is that it’s weird you don’t have pet names, you’re a couple,” Jimin complained with a sigh and a shake of his head.

You shot Jimin a glare as Jin scoffed. “Like Dear is such a great pet name? Dear whom?” Jin asked with wide eyes, you holding back a smile as you agreed. At that moment, the remaining four members entered the room, all looking at the scene in front of them with confused expressions.

“Yeah, are you writing a monologue every time you address your girlfriend? Writing letters?” You added sassily.

“Yeah,” Jin exclaimed. “Certified cringe!”

Turning to your boyfriend, you yelled out another “yeah!” just as you high fived.

Jimin was staring at you both trying to make sense of what was happening as Tae was cackling beside him.

“What the hell is going on?” Namjoon asked you all, only for you and Jin to stare at him.

“I don’t even know anymore,” Jimin spoke with a head shake, still in shock.

Tae controlled his laughter enough to explain, “Jimin was criticizing them for not having pet names so now they’re messing with him.” Namjoon looked from person to person, confusion still etched into his features as Yoongi chuckled.

“I mean, it is kind of weird that you don’t have pet names, even I do,” he said nonchalantly, walking toward the fridge.

“You wanna talk about weird,” you interjected, making Yoongi turn to look at you in surprise. “Kid?” Yoongi’s eyebrows raised and shot you an expectant look. You and Jin looked at each other pulling mirroring disgusted expressions, your faces scrunched up.

“Yeah, isn’t that a bit creepy?” Jin asked, looking back to Yoongi, the members all snickering. “Power play?”

“You don’t need to air your kinks out like that, do you?” You added, Jungkook letting out a loud cackle across the room.

“What the fuck?” Yoongi mumbled in confusion, looking to the members for help, only to find them all laughing.

“Certified Cringe!” You yelled, Jin high fiving you.

“You know what,” you continued on, “speaking of airing out kinks, Taehyung,” you started in, Taehyung’s eyes popping open as he pointed to himself. “Driver roll up the partition, fast?” Taehyung stared at you blankly as you asked, “Do you like to call her Peaches when you get that nasty?”

Taehyung let out a laugh through his nose as Jin looked at you in confusion. “Wait, what?”

“Beyoncé,” you told him, your boyfriend letting out an ‘ohhhh’ in realization.

“Yeah, so cringe,” Jin told Taehyung. “And how cringe it is, Cherries?” Jin asked you, simultaneously parodying Tae’s pet name for his girlfriend.

“Um I’d say it’s certified,” you told him.

“Certified Cringe!” You yelled together, giving each other another high five.

Scanning the members, you locked eyes with Namjoon and his smile fell. “Daisy?”

“Five dollar romance novel vibes,” Jin suddenly said.

Raising an arm up, you pretended to drop a mic, saying, “boom.”

“Certified cringe!” Jin added, both of you high fiving before turning to your next victim as Namjoon looked around as if he had no idea where he even was.

“Oh Hobi,” you started, Jin shaking his head with a small smile. “Sweet Hobi.”

“Petal?” Jin posed, as you both shook your heads before looking at each other, waiting for the other to come up with something.

“Petal,” you repeated, inhaling as your mind tried to come up with a good burn. “Ok that’s actually really cute,” you admitted.

“Yeah it is,” Jin agreed as Hoseok beamed in amusement. “But it’s still cringe!”

“Yeah, certified cringe!” You yelled, high fiving your boyfriend once again.

“And you,” you shot a look at that bratty maknae who spent so very much of his time teasing you. “I wouldn’t be calling your girlfriend ‘Holly’ too much in public,” you started.

“Talk about airing your weird kinks out to everyone,” Jin added on. “Leave that to Yoongi.”

“Wait, what kink?” Jungkook asked, thoroughly confused.

“People might think you’re talking about Min Holly,” you informed him, Jungkook eyes going wide as he shot a look to Yoongi.

“Hey, hey, hey, leave my dog out of this shit,” he complained with a pout.

“I think it’s safe to say the name Holly is certified cringe!” Jin yelled out, ignoring Yoongi.

You high fived the man again before adding, “disgusting.”

With all of the members standing around looking from each other to you and your boyfriend, Jin simply tossed the contents of the frying pan into a bowl and grabbed your hand. “Come on, Poopsie, let’s go eat.”

You looked to the ground as you laughed at the ridiculous pet name, making a mental note to tell him to never call you Poopsie again as you followed him out of the kitchen to his bedroom, leaving the other six men standing there in silence.

“Did he just call her Poopsie?” Yoongi asked, Taehyung and Hoseok laughing amusedly.

“What’s wrong with Daisy?” Namjoon asked in utter confusion, as Jungkook stared off into space, surely rethinking Holly as a pet name.

“They’re going to criticize me for the name Kid when he’s calling her Poopsie?” Yoongi continued to complain.

Jimin stood up, looking at the empty frying pan before huffing. “They didn’t even leave any food,” he mumbled before heading out of the kitchen, the comment knocking Jungkook out of his daze.

“They didn’t?” He asked, stepping toward the stove to see the empty pan for himself. “That’s the whole reason I even came out here,” he pouted. The other guys looked at their youngest member for a moment before Namjoon and Taehyung left the room, leaving Yoongi, Jungkook, and Hoseok in the kitchen looking at each other.

“Well they said ‘Petal’ is cute,” Hoseok boasted with a grin.

Jungkook let out a sigh as Yoongi shook his head and opened the fridge. “Hobi,” Yoongi spoke as he looked for his leftovers. “Please shut up.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 272: (Directed by Michael Bay)

Previously on BnHA: The My Child Soldiers Academia arc finally started to live up to its name as Tokoyami became the first (but I assure you not the last) victim of traumatic mental scarring courtesy of Horikoshi’s sick games! So he and Dark Shadow showed up to stop Dabi from murdering Hawks and were all “please don’t kill our mentor.” Dabi was all “AH BUT YOUR MENTOR KILLED SOMEONE ELSE, AND ISN’T THAT JUST LIKE THE HEROES THOUGH, THEIR HANDS ARE SO STAINED WITH BLOOD” and then he tried to set both of them on fire several times in succession. Hawks was all “Tokoyami just run away while he’s in the middle of his five-hour sermon” and so they tried but Dabi followed them! But then Geten was all “ALL RIGHT EVERYONE... CHILL” and fucking froze everything for no discernible reason, and Tokoyami fled the building with an unconscious Hawks in tow as the battle raged on. The chapter then ended with Gigantomachia being all “I smell my master!” and standing up, hahaha oh fuck.

Today on BnHA: Well you guys are not going to believe this, but it turns out that Tomura waking up is actually a very bad thing. A “worst case scenario” if you will! Because, get this, he has a quirk that can destroy anything, which spreads from whatever he touches to fucking everything and everywhere else. Gosh, if only we’d known about this since like 35 chapters ago. If only we’d had a spy among the villains who could have warned us, and three entire months to plan our attack, and literally every single hero in Japan on call to help us when the time came. Anyway so you’re really going to be shocked by this I’m telling you, but it turns out that when a crazy powerful person who wants to destroy everything finally wakes up, he immediately starts destroying everything with his crazy power. So X-Less dies and Crust dies and everyone else runs, and meanwhile the kids, who are on the outskirts of the city finishing up the evacuation, stand there in shock as the plot rampages toward them ready to swallow them whole. The chapter ends with Deku powering up to FORTY-FIVE PERCENT YEAHHHHH, and oh shit. Finally we’re doing this.

I am not even remotely done with all the shit I’m supposed to be finishing up, but fuck it, I need a break and reading the new chapter is by far the funnest thing on my current to-do list, so!

OH SNAPS MY BOY HAS FINALLY OPENED HIS EYES

IT ONLY TOOK HIM... OKAY LOOK I’M NOT GOING TO GO BACK AND COUNT ALL OF THE CHAPTERS, BUT LET’S SAY... FIFTEEN. ...HUNDRED. CHAPTERS TO FINALLY SNAP TO IT AND COME JOIN THE PARTY. BUT IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT! PROBABLY. AHH LET’S JUST READ ON

-- ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohm --

[puts on glasses and unfolds map while poring through a mess of scribbles on post-it notes] -- hold up, if my calculations are correct, I’m pretty sure “somewhere a bit further from the hospital” is, in fact, where a certain THREE TROUBLE-PRONE DISASTERS ARE CURRENTLY HOLED UP. AHHH

can it really be true. are we finally rejoining our protagonist and his buddy cop friends after 97 years. how will everyone react to Deku reacting to Tomura waking up ahhhh

so Burnin’ is yelling at the civilians to let them know if they have any family or friends who need assistance evacuating

god I hate the fact that this is a fucking understatement

they’re not taking any chances after Kamino and Fukuoka huh. fool them once, shame on you. fool them twice, oh shit. but there will not be a third time! no one fucking destroys three cities in the span of six months on their watch, no sirree

(ETA: ...)

lol the kids are trying to get the elderly citizens on a bus to evacuate, but a lady is trying to give them candy and Kacchan and Ochako are of two different minds on whether or not to accept

Kacchan is absolutely right about Ochako’s motivations, but in her defense, who the fuck turns down free chocolate

IIDA!!

FUCKING CHRIST JAPAN IT’S 200 YEARS IN THE FUTURE AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T SWITCHED TO DIGITAL RECORD-KEEPING? WHY IS THIS THE MOST REALISTIC THING IN THE ENTIRE MANGA TO DATE. MY GOOD SIR, IIDA IS LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH, ALL RECORDS AND BUILDINGS ABSOLUTELY CAN AND WILL BE COMPLETELY OBLITERATED IN THE CARNAGE TO COME. I’M SORRY TO BE THE ONE TO INFORM YOU OF THIS, BUT DAMN IT SOMEONE HAS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

(ETA: I sure hope these poor bastards had good insurance.)

also. this man here who looks like Beaker from the Muppets, who presumably has the power of Doing Anything Those Wacky Flailing Inflatable Tube Men That You See Outside Of Car Dealerships Can Do. ...yes. that’s it. that’s an intentionally incomplete sentence with a subject but no predicate. I just feel like we should all sit and stare at him for a good thirty more seconds before continuing on with our lives

OH MY GOD

THEY’RE EVACUATING THE PETS TOO AHHHH. EXCUSE ME CERTAIN SOMEONES WHO THINK ALL HEROES ARE “DIRTY.” I SEE YOUR ARGUMENTS AND RAISE YOU THIS ONE SINGLE PANEL. YEAH THAT’S RIGHT. NOW WHAT DABI. AT A LOSS FOR WORDS I SEE. YOU JUST SIT AND PONDER THAT FOR A WHILE

is... this... a space shuttle man

is this literally just a man with a Boeing for a head. FUCKING QUIRKS THOUGH!!!!! ~*~wild~*~

OH MY GOD AND WE’RE BACK

time for some HORCRUX SHENANIGANS!! IS YOUR LIGHTNING BOLT SCAR BURNING DEKU. I CAN’T BELIEVE HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED IS BACK AHHHH

so now he’s slightly hunching forward with his hands pressed together and Todoroki is immediately sensing that something is wrong ahhhhh

(ETA from like 5 days later: I had that as “Tokoyami” instead of “Todoroki” for the better part of a solid week you guys. SHOUTO YOU WERE GONE FOR SO LONG I FORGOT YOUR FUCKING NAME whoop.)

here come dat angst. here comes Horikoshi’s hand beckoning the trio closer and welcoming them to the pain parade ahhh. from now on that’s how I’m ending all my sentences btw. it just seems right. ahhh

OH MY LORD OH MY

ladies and gentlemen, YOU WERE SAYING DEKU DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT LATELY? HE’S NOT INTERESTING ENOUGH AS A PROTAGONIST, IS HE? well maybe that’s because Horikoshi has been saving this one juiciest of plot nuggets for a rainy day precisely like this! BRING ON THAT CHOSEN ONE ANGST AHHHHH

anyway so yes it is indeed OFA speaking to him in the form of Lil Bro a.k.a. the first user

lol I’m trying to think of commentary but it’s difficult seeing as I’M ALREADY SCROLLING DOWN TO IMPATIENTLY READ THE NEXT PAGE

lmao the fuck

okay Princess Zelda. can you get any more flowery with those descriptions though. A TRANSCENDENT BEING. A SUPERLATIVE ENTITY. A SUBLIME, PREEMINENT ORGANISM. FREED FROM ITS SHACKLES. UNFETTERED BY ALL EARTHLY LIMITATIONS

OH MY GOD

it absolutely boggles my mind that this guy is somehow still alive. ??! how many chapters and panels has it been now. he’s like the goat in the t-rex pen in fucking Jurassic Park. WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET EATEN ALREADY

...

do you... want a blanket. ...?

(ETA: do you ever just. wake up and you’re like “ah shit it’s cold”, and then you destroy an entire city. mm.)

do you all suppose X-Less is fully aware that he’s about to die though? he hasn’t even moved. I imagine that sitting next to Tomura actually is much like sitting next to a giant t-rex. like he has to know there is no getting out of this alive. poor guy

damn Mic isn’t even looking back he’s just running back into the main room where all the rest of them are

wow this fight is still going on

I don’t know why, I just expected it to all magically be over all of a sudden now that we have bigger things to worry about. do you guys remember when we were all worried about the High End Noumus being the biggest threat. hahahahaha

(ETA: moment of silence for ALL OF THE FUCKING HIGH ENDS lmao. that did not go how I expected that plotline to go AT ALL, but at least we got the best fucking battle in the entire manga out of it.)

jesus CHRIST ENOUGH WITH THIS

WE GET IT TOMURA IS DANGEROUS AND SCARY AND EVIL AND AWAKE!!! JUST PLEASE GET TO IT ALREADY GOD I’M BEGGING YOU

FINALLY

goddammit. my reaction to this should have been much more “!!!” and “OH SHIT”, but he dragged it out so much that my initial reaction was one more of relief than horror. maybe it’s because of the way I read the chapters, constantly pausing to do commentary as I go along, but whenever a chapter has a ton of panels of people just staring into the distance awash with dread, it really stands out to me lol. there’s only so much I can write about that kind of thing. ah well at least we’re finally getting to the action

I genuinely can’t tell if Ujiko is frightened that he’s about to be disintegrated by Tomura’s quirk, or excited that Tomura is awake

maybe both lol. well don’t worry you’re not gonna die that easily, much as you would not catch me complaining if you did

thanks Gran

lol where was all this speed throughout the rest of this arc though. “we’re only competent when the plot necessitates it” huh. is that right

oh shit it’s destroying the rest of the lab

those are all of Ujiko’s collected quirks, right? someone please tell me if this is a good or a bad thing. on the one hand if they’re all destroyed it means Tomura can’t get them and Ujiko can’t make any more Noumus. but on the other hand this means they won’t ever be able to give them back to the original users (if any of them are even still alive). and also that’s a lot of evidence that’s being wiped out as well

oh shit they didn’t know about this?!

even after Deika City, you didn’t put two and two together?? even with all of Hawk’s intel?? what the hell did you think happened there?

well this explains why everyone was so la-dee-da-no-rush about capturing him though. well that’s on you guys. next time maybe don’t waste 20 minutes uselessly battling redshirt Noumus while Mirko has to do everything herself

anyway so I feel like people other than X-Less are almost certainly going to die here, and fuck. I’m not ready for any of this

AHH THE KIDS

BIT SLOW ON THE UPTAKE THERE KACCHAN LOL. FOR A MOMENT YOU HAD ME WORRIED THERE WAS SOMEHOW A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THREAT APPROACHING FROM THE OTHER SIDE, BEFORE YOU TURNED AROUND TO LOOK WHERE THE OTHERS WERE LOOKING

ALSO JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT SHOUTO’S DAD IS IN THAT HOSPITAL, ALONG WITH THEIR TEACHER! HERE. COME. DAT. ANGST

LOOK AT THIS CONSPICUOUSLY INTACT BUILDING AS IT STANDS THERE ALL OMINOUSLY WITH THE NEARBY BIRDS AND CRITTERS FRANTICALLY FLYING AWAY

I want to see it crumble so bad. now this is the kind of foreboding cinematic disaster movie bullshit I can get into

FFFF WHY IS THIS PANEL SO HARD TO SEE

THERE’S TOO MUCH CHAOS AND TOO MANY PEOPLE LOST AMIDST ALL THESE SHATTERING AND FALLING TUBES, BUT I NEED TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS SAFE AHHH

...okay so I see Ryuukyuu in the top right, and I think that’s RockLockRock on her back. Thirteen is clearly there in the bottom center, but I don’t know who that is next to them. and then of course Gran and Mic on the left. and a bunch of others spread out in various other places, but... where the hell is Aizawa??

OH THANK GOD

FUCK YOU HORIKOSHI, I KNOW FULL WELL YOU’RE NOT JUST GOING TO KILL OFF THE WORLD’S PREEMINENT DAD STRAIGHT UP OUT OF THE BLUE HERE, AND YET I STILL FELT ANXIETY AT THIS LAST PANEL. HOW DID YOU EVEN

BITCH YOU BETTER LET THE FUCK GO BEFORE I --

!!!

oh my god I gasped in real life. stop making me fear for the lives of main characters!!

he. he --. crust. he. ...

I literally stopped reading and had to stop and cover my mouth with both of my hands I’m

silence. no screaming. no flailing. no freaking out. just silence

shit. rest in peace you old sedimentary bastard. respect to you for saving the father of my children in your last fleeting moments. I still have not the slightest idea how you rose through the ranks to somehow become the sixth fucking highest rated hero (HERO BILLBOARD CHART, IS EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT. ARE YOU FEELING OKAY), but you sure did go out with style though

also this may be tacky of me to point out during such an emotionally charged moment, but one second Aizawa is wearing his goggles like normal, and the next they’re suddenly pushed up onto his forehead so we can see the anguish in his bloodshot eyes. there was no reason to do that other than angst and we all know it. so yes Shouta you dramatic bitch, I am calling you out. why Horikoshi felt he had to add to your many accumulated traumas is beyond me. you don’t deserve this and I am so, so sorry

OH GOOD I WAS JUST ABOUT TO ASK WHERE THE FUCK ENDEAVOR WAS

seeing as we just went over this with Gran, I will take the high road here and won’t ask why you’re only this fast now and couldn’t have been this useful this ages ago back before Tomura woke up. oh wait does sarcastically saying I won’t bring it up count as bringing it up. well whatever. middle road, then

sob I’m getting flashbacks to the end of Return of the Jedi when they’re all frantically flying out of the Death Star as it explodes

friendly reminder that Ryuukyuu, clearly the fastest one here despite carrying like 20 people, was number 10 in the rankings for some unknown reason. again, r.i.p. Crust you well-meaning geriatric soul

also just a stray thought, I hope it’s clear now why it was so important to give Deku those additional quirks. at a minimum he needs Blackwhip and Float just so he doesn’t instantly die the moment he’s in Tomura’s general vicinity. sob I’ve joked so much about flying quirks and here they are becoming fucking prerequisites now

anyway so Ujiko is mourning the loss of his lab, which again, good riddance mostly. but r.i.p. that evidence though

(ETA: nah the “total loss” part is referring to how the heroes fucked up so soundly and thoroughly. anyway no one would blame Mic if he accidentally dropped Ujiko in the midst of all this chaos, I’m just saying. I guess they need any intel he could still provide now more than ever though.)

OH MY GOD!!

LAUNDRY HERO WASH?! THIS SUDSY BOI CAN ACTUALLY KICK ASS WHAAAAT

oh my god oh my god it’s still spreading??!

fuck fuck fuck at this rate it’ll reach the kids

(ETA: that happened really fast actually.)

-- oh FUCK NO you had better NOT FUCKING TOUCH FUCKING PIXIE BOB, I WILL MAIL MYSELF TO JAPAN PANDEMIC OR NO PANDEMIC. DO YOU NOT SEE THE SIGN THAT SAYS “OFF-LIMITS.” RESPECT THE SIGN

SOB SHE’S SO BADASS BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S STILL DISINTEGRATING FUCCCCCK. FUCK MY LIFE, FUCK EVERYTHING

AHHHHH

I can’t tell if her earthbending was able to stop it or not?? god help us all if it didn’t, I’m not even sure what else could stop it at this point

SHUT UP UJIKO!!

they really did. only to fuck it up completely at the finish line. well, the man most singularly responsible for it is dead now, again r.i.p. Crust you useless old legend

lmao despite myself

“by a miracle, or maybe through sheer will” even he acknowledges that Tomura waking up was basically complete bullshit. yes blah blah yadda yadda got zapped by some exposed wires explanation science. because we all know that getting electrocuted will fix you right up when your heart has stopped and you have completely flatlined. you can definitely trust Horikoshi on this and there’s absolutely no need to google how defibrillators actually work

also is he somehow wearing a cape now. again by a miracle or maybe through sheer will

YESSSSSSS

(ETA: one has to wonder what Ujiko’s plan was, assuming this scheme had actually played out. were they just banking on Tomura not waking up cranky and disoriented and wanting to test out his power. his quirk doesn’t exactly distinguish friend from foe here I’m just saying.)

the part of me that goes all “ooh ahh” when all the buildings explode in Independence Day is singing inside. but never fear, the rest of me is appropriately horrified though. what was that Burnin’ was saying about the city becoming a large-scale battle zone? sob

also this page sure serves as a nice refresher for exactly why Tomura Waking Up Was Bad, which was inexplicably a topic of some debate in recent weeks. yes in spite of everything the villains are still the bad guys who’d have thought. almost as if the purpose of humanizing a character is to show that they’re human, not that they’re right

WHAT’S THIS NOW???

WELL I’LL BE. IT’S BEEN AN EVENTFUL THREE MONTHS, APPARENTLY!??

HOOAHHHHHHHH

IT’S A BIRD IT’S A PLANE IT’S A BADASS OH SHIIIIITTTTTT

finally finally finally!!!!!!

THE SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN, REPEAT, THE SHIT HAS HIT THE PROVERBIAL FAN. THE PLOT IS FINALLY HAPPENING, REPEAT, THE PLOT IS FINALLY FUCKING HAPPENING AHHHHHH

and there is no one coming to save them this time. no one to arrive at the last second and say “it’s all right now because I am here.” they have to save themselves. they have to save everyone. the training wheels are finally coming off. the safety net has been removed. after 272 chapters, the story has finally reached a point where these kids, these children, who in spite of all they’ve been through have been protected and shielded from the worst of it up till now, will finally have to be the ones to save the day all on their own

and they are not ready. but also maybe they kind of are??! but they definitely are not. and oh god oh god oh god, FINALLY WE’RE REALLY DOING THIS. TIME TO FIX THE MESS THOSE SILLY GROWN-UPS MADE, CHILDREN. YOU GOT THIS

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs “To Deep Space.”

I am finished with university, had my last final yesterday, so we will be moving back to the normal writing schedule, yay! 

I have no idea where this arc is going tbh, but it is going to be good and I am excited. I hope you guys will enjoy it as well! 

“Dr. Adric, Dr. Adric please report to the bridge.”

He stepped from his office wondering what they could possibly need him for there. He had just been trying to get his office situated when the call came out. He set down his papers on the desk and made his way into the ship looking around as he made his tentative way towards the bridge. The ship was roomier than he thought it might be, but still rather small, he wondered how that affected the people on the ship.

He knew that they had to keep plants aboard the ship for the crew’s mental health, but he honestly wondered how much that help. Overhead he was assured the lights were UV in nature to mimic the sun and stave off depression after long months of being trapped inside a metal tin can hurtling through space. Not one was really sure what the effects of deep space on a person.

They knew that being lost in space could result in mass hysteria as demonstrated by the Commander’s own crew and malfunctioned civilian transport, the likes of which had apparently driven themselves to cannibalism in their panic and confusion.

He had read the reports, it was both disgusting and fascinating.

He paused just inside the bridge turning to stare with wide eyed at the men and women positioned at their consuls arrayed in a semicircular pattern against the outside edge of the room. A second tier comprised another smaller set of consoles for about four people, and just above that was a single raised chair.

The captain’s seat.

The room had been designed with both hierarchy and function in mind in that the captain’s chair could look down on all the other chairs with the ability to see what his crew was doing at all times.

And right now they were prepping for launch.

“Engines.”

“Engine one through six online and reporting no malfunctioning cells Commander.”

“Check them one more time. Crew manifest.”

“Four hundred and eighty six confirmed crewmen, sir.”

“What does the manifest say?”

“The same.”

Dr Adric tilted his head watching as the crew worked, but specifically watching the commander. The man spun this way and that, giving orders, taking information, and all the while making quick check-marks in a little black book he held in one hand. He seemed at east in his chair.

The chief weapons officer, the Drev named Sunny, sat at her station despite not really needing her at the moment, and he could see over her shoulder that she was also doing a weapons check for the ship.

The commander turned in his chair spotting the doctor and motioning him over.

He came confused not sure what he would be needed for.

“Commander?”

The man smiled, an expression that fit well on his face. Despite his youth, the doctor could already see laugh lines, faint and barely visible beginning to form around his eyes…. This was a man used to smiling.

“Take a seat doctor, and strap yourself in. This will be an uncomfortable assent.”

“What do you mean?” He wondered in confusion.

“I generally let all new recruits sit on the bridge for at least one launch or warp. I feel it makes the experience real for them instead of just expecting them to use their imagination. Besides, who doesn’t want to watch a ship launch.”

He was a bit surprised but of course he nodded walking over to the indicated seats and strapping himself in with the five point harness. He continued to watch the crew work. The bridge itself seemed to run rather smoothly under the direction of the commander, and from what he could tell the crew seemed very excited to be off.

“Engines ready, commander.”

“Fuel cells engaged.”

Commander Vir reached for his microphone broadcasting his voice throughout the ship, “Alright you beautiful hooligans launch begins in T minus one minute. Please strap yourself and any loose items down and keep your hands and feet inside the ship for the duration of the ride.” He cut off his mic smiling.

Dr Adric watched closely.

“Ground control this is Harbinger preparing to liftoff in T minus 55, do you copy.”

“Copy harbinger. Launch is ready for go standby on grid line trajectory Alpha two niner one one preparing for liftoff over.”

“Thirty seconds.”

He gripped the seatbelt hard teeth gritted watching as the rest of the crew braced themselves as well. The commander flexed his hands sliding his fingers into the flight gloves and hooking his toes onto the pedals. The holographic shield popped up to cover his eyes.

“launch in 10, 9 ,8, 7, 6, 5.”

He gripped tighter.

“4, 3, 2, 1, “

“Launch.”

The force of the rising ship slammed him back into his seat as they were born skyward. All around them the ship seemed to vibrate and rattle. His chest felt like it had a carton of bricks stacked on top of it and a little black circle was beginning to encroach at the edges of his vision.

Somewhere, someone in the room was cheering. Past his vibrating eyes, he could see the commander valiantly fighting to bring the ship into the sky despite it’s immense bulk which had never been designed for gravity. Eyes wide he watched as the eggshell blue of a perfect day morphed before them and grew darker until space stretched out before them like a pair of waiting arms.

“Prepare core for warp. Navigations.”

“Yes commander?”

“Warp Coarse.”

“Sagittarius A. But not to close! Keep to the coordinates the smart guys gave us” he repeated very suddenly looking very nervous all things told.

“What’s in Sagittarius A?” He wondered

The commander turned in his chair one eyebrow raised looking almost incredulous, “you don’t know?”

The rest of the crew shifted very nervously, he could see it on them though there were hints of excitement.”

He shook his head.

“Our primary directive on this ship is deep space exploration. We are a military vessel, but we hold trillions of dollars in scientific equipment aboard this ship, as such we have been tasked by the UNSC in accordance with the NASA foundation to head to Sagittarius A and take the first close space images of the supermassive black hole at the center of the milky way.”

He felt his hands and feet go suddenly cold.

“B but how can you take a picture of something that sucks in light.”

“The accretion disk of course and then the massive black spot at the middle.”

“But if we get to close….”

“Yes yes doctor, I have been flying in space long enough to know what happens if you run amuck of a black hole. We get sucked in and suspended forever in a slow spiral of doom as time slows down and our bodies are slowly ripped apart atom by atom. Please we aren’t getting THAT close. Even I’m pissing myself just thinking about it, but also super excited to be honest. No mess ups this time which is why the ship has been checked to hell and back to make sure it’s working.”

Not for the first time, he was beginning to wonder if he was psychologically stable enough to be on this mission as it seemed you hat to be just a little crazy to want to do this. Maybe that is why a high percentage of people on the ship had presented with psychological anomalies, least of all the commander himself.

How he hadn’t gone mad with fear regarding the eminent death that surrounded them constantly was a mystery.

“Warp core?”

“Ready for ignition sir.”

“How far out are we.”

“Almost to the warp zone sir,”

Dr Adric rubbed his temples. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to see a black hole. What kind of psychological effects does something that powerful have on someone, knowing that if you are caught in its gravity well you are done for in the most horrible way possible, and just looking at it from a distance he imagined would be like watching a bear or tiger out in the wild accept for this was different since the bear could now swallow stares whole and the tiger ad gravity so immense that not even light can escape it’s center.

“Preparing for warp in ten.”

He closed his eyes

But they didn’t stay closed as the countdown continued opening for a moment as he felt the space around him go strange. When he did he nearly lost it as his vision seemed to be looking through a glass fish bowl all warped out to the sides and stretched, far things looking close, close things looking far. Outside the window a massive spot appeared before him and around it the stars were morphing and repeating.

The ship reflected back a thousand times in fractal images.

He yelled in shock clenching his seat, and then, it was over.

He was breathing hard, outside there was nothing but blackness, and the emergency lights had flicked on over the crew.

The captain unbuckled his seat-belt and stepped down onto the floor.

He turned to look at Adric who was gripping the seat so hard his knuckles had gone white, “Nice work, first time I warped I definitely pissed myself so, good constitution.” He patted Adric on the shoulder. The blue Drev stood, and the commander grabbed her by the shoulder hauling himself up onto her back.

Adric watched as the two of them walked away.

How strange.

He was in for seeing a lot of strange things in the next few days. The commander and the blue drev spent a lot of time together, and often he rode on her back. At one point he walked in on the crew having a jousting contest where two drev ran full tilt at the other while the two crewmen brandished brooms.

He walked out of his room more than once to find the commander heelieing down the hall at the head of the bridge crew giving orders.

When that wasn’t happening he had run amuck of a freaky group of spider creatures being taken care of by a dog and a very strange humanoid creature who claimed he could read minds. He hadn’t believed it until it started repeating his inner thoughts back to himself.

Instead of being freaked out he found himself almost envious. If he had that kind of power imagine the sort of things he could do to help his patients.

Everywhere he went it seemed as if something strange was happening.

One day they were playing an aggressive game of keep the balloon off the floor and the next they were using window markers to drawn on the viewing field. As expected from a group of soldiers it turned into a heard of inappropriate doodles until it looked as if their ship was cruising past a heard of winged space dicks.

And he himself kept a close eye on the crew. None of them seemed bothered by the fact they were in deep space, but many of them had strange habits.

The commander and the Drev named Sunny spent an excessive amount of time together, or so he thought, the little doctor never relaxed, and couldn’t to save his life even when he tried. Conn, the mind reader, did his best to get attention by pissing everyone off, and the spiderlings, as he had come to know them, were constantly acting up as well.

He would need more time to get used to the crew, but it seemed as if he had his work cut out for him.

If he could hold himself together that is.

[ghoularts]

Let’s talk about the future chapters and fates of some characters!

Oh boy so this is gonna be a long ass post but I just wanted to discuss things about the ‘war arc’!

First, I’ll start off with Hawks/Keigo Takami.

Status: Unconscious/Severely burned, escaped to the forest away from the mansion

Hawks has become quite the controversial character in the fandom. It’s up to the reader to decide whether they believe his actions was right or wrong. There is no correct/clear answer here. I won’t dive into any of that right now, instead I’m going to focus on what his arc holds in the future.

Since he hit his head on the concrete, he was knocked unconscious and could possibly go into a coma. (Because we know Horikoshi likes to drag things out when it comes to the possibility of Dabi being Touya.)

I do not believe Keigo will die. Especially now that he holds important information about Dabi. We also don’t know Keigo’s whole backstory yet nor do we know what really happened with Jeanist. The recorder he had got burned up with his jacket or was destroyed by Dabi in this panel:

You can see a little piece go flying from his hand just above his staples.

What I do believe is Hawks will die. His hero persona. Now that his wings are gone, the Hero Commission will most likely drop him just like that. Keigo will live on with the guilt of killing Twice. He really wanted to save Twice, trying to get him to surrender, only aiming to incompacitate him until, well... you know.

When Dabi calls him dirty, he doesn’t deny it. It’s probably going to impact him a lot when all this is over. The best direction for him is to have a talk with Tokoyami about his actions and break away from the HPSC. He should expose them since they groomed him as a child into a weapon, sent kids into a war, etc.

Personally, I’d love for Keigo to become a vigilante. It suits him much better at this point. I don’t think he’ll be able to regrow/regenerate his wings. There’s nothing left, plus he could only regenerate the feathers when there were his little stubs left. Also if you remember Endeavor talking about his blue flames it makes sense; “Carbonized cells can’t regenerate.”

Next up we have Tokoyami!

Status: Alive, slightly burned, escaped to the forest away from the mansion

I’ve seen many posts about how Tokoyami was brainwashed. This is simply not the case. The Hero Commission seems to kind of despise UA or doesn’t have all to that much influence with the school. Except for the time they didn’t want the cultural festival to take place (at least that’s what I remember). Many of the teachers have their own thoughts about the Hero Commission such as Midnight in the teacher’s conference saying that the kids shouldn’t be put in battles like this. Aizawa has his suspicions about the organization as well.

Tokoyami respects his mentor because Hawks taught him many things about his Quirk and gave him good advice. (“If you’ve got wings, you should spread them out and fly. Don’t be confined to the ground.) Hawks means a lot to Tokoyami so of course he’d come to his rescue. When Dabi points out Twice’s body, Tokoyami looks horrified. When flying away and telling Hawks he did the right thing, he was running on emotions and shock. His mentor needs medical attention and fast. Caleb, a translator for the manga, notes that Tokoyami drops his edgy tone when he says these things to Hawks. Tokoyami is panicking. He just wants Hawks to be safe.

Also, his experience/interactions most likely play a role in his thinking. These villains tried to kidnap him, kidnapped a classmate, killed multiple people and plan to kill many more, and attacked his class on several occasions. Why would he believe Dabi right away when Dabi has burned alive dozens of people, thugs and innocent heroes like Snatch, and is trying to actively kill his mentor and Tokoyami himself?

Again, I think Hawks and Tokoyami will have a talk after this and Tokoyami will have to question Hawks’ actions. Keigo will probably tell him something along the lines of ‘Don’t support what I did’ or ‘Don’t follow in my footsteps.’ Call me crazy, but there’s actually the possibility that the HPSC will take notice of Tokoyami’s power and the risks he took to save Keigo. They might offer him training to be a ‘special hero’ like Keigo was. 

Miruko!

Status: Missing arm/part of leg, bleeding severely, in Jakku Hospital

Oh man where we last left off with the rabbit queen herself was her bleeding on the floor out of energy. Endeavor cauterized her wounds so at least it stopped most of the bleeding. It is worrying to know that she’s still in the hospital when Shigaraki is about to wake up and destroy everything. 

Though I don’t think she’s going to die. Especially since that color page showed mechanical limbs in the same spot where she lost them. Horikoshi also loves drawing her, so let’s hope he likes drawing her enough to keep her alive lol. She’ll probably be in recovery for a while before resuming her hero work with her new prosthetic limbs. 

Endeavor

Status: Alive, in Jakku Hospital

Endeavor was taking on Nomu with Ryukyu in chapter 269. He is also in range of Shigaraki being in the hospital with all the other heroes. Many people believe he has huge death flags, but I seriously don’t think he’ll die this arc until we know what happened with Touya. Hawks might ask him about Touya if the black speech bubble was Dabi saying that he’s Endeavor’s son. This will both crush Keigo’s admiration for the flame hero and make Endeavor realize just how badly his abusive behavior affected his family. Perhaps he’ll go public with it? Or maybe the villains will use it against Endeavor one day and the public will turn on him? 

Gigantomachia/Kirishima/Ashido

Gigantomachia is truly terrifying. He could wipe the floor and completely wreck the heroes. He has finally stood up and will be on the move, heading in Shigaraki’s direction because of his ‘Master’s Scent.’ Since Shiggy now possesses All for One, Giganto will follow his orders.

What’s even scarier is that this guy was introduced way back in Kirishima’s and Ashido’s backstory. Which means those two could possibly face this giant. Kirishima wouldn’t be able to make a dent, but Ashido could wear him down over time with the exposure to acid. I’ve also seen theories floating around about him being Crimson Riot. So Kiri facing his idol?

I’ll touch more on other characters later (Deku, Shiggy, Dabi, Mic, Aizawa, Kaminari etc.) but I’ll tell you guys which characters I think will die:

Xless (I mean, come on, Shiggy’s gonna kill this man)

Crust (we have no attachment to him, plus he hasn’t been fairing well with the Nomu. Not to mention he’s near Shigaraki as well)

Anyways, what do you guys think? Have anything to add like other potential outcomes of their arcs?

[lys-lilac]

Washed over by Jealousy

A/N: The original work and the characters concept belong to Voltage Inc. The fanfiction and the character Hinata Arata is a work by me. Story taken is Romance MD: Always on Call. 

Part(1/2)

[my lines will be like this in between]

Intro: Just when you think you are getting over the fact that Dr. Kasumi belongs only to you, and when everything is going well, the uneasy feelings of yours now seem to be reciprocated. It’s now the turn of Dr. Kasumi to get jealous for you. How will you feel when you come to know that the country’s top cardiovascular surgeon is so much head over heels for you that he is infatuated? 

[Present night: Kasumi’s house]

MC: Let me make some coffee.

Kasumi: Sure.

Kyogoku: Make sure it’s of proper quality. And don’t blow the kitchen.

MC: Even after I serve coffee every other day...

It has become a norm for me, Kasumi and Kyogoku to discuss new medical papers or any other research paper related to new diseases every week. If it’s held at my home, then we must have arrived direct from the hospital. So the other two leave after the discussion to ensure that I am getting enough rest. This week’s discussion was in Kasumi’s house, since we all left early from the hospital. After having the delicious dinner prepared by Kyogoku, I suggest coffee to make ourselves more alert during the talk. 

*ring-ring*

As I was making coffee, my phone starts to ring. Both the boys become concerned, looking at me, thinking it was an emergency call. Since it’s an unknown number and thinking the same as both of them, I answer without delay. 

MC: Yes, this is Dr. MC. What can I help wi-

Unknown: I am having a problem of inability to reach a journal junkie’s head for a while now...

MC: This voice... Hinata?!

Unknown: What took you so long to recognize, of course it’s me.

MC: You didn’t even say anything before calling, how could I have heard your voice?

Shaking my head to both of them in disapproval to nothing serious, I continue talking to Hinata. He and I have been in touch via messages, but I never thought he would call me. 

MC: So, why did you call today so suddenly? Don’t say me you became so engrossed in music that you can’t move yourself now, and have turned into a musical statue...

Hinata: Oh, shut up. 

Hinata: I wanted to give you a surprise, so called you.

MC: I am hanging up-

Hinata: Hey wait! I have not even started yet! 

MC: Go on.

Hinata: Do you have some free time this Sunday?

MC: Hmm, if I exclude the only operation that’s in the morning, then yes.

Hinata: Perfect! Check your mailbox now.

MC: I am not at home now. But, I will do when I get home. 

Hinata: You, always taking the mood down. Anyway, let me reveal it to you. You are coming to my concert this Sunday!

MC: What?!!

Hinata and I both studied in high school together and were the best of friends. Whenever I felt stressed, he always heard me out, and played his guitar to soothe me. 

[Flashback]

MC: Hinata, you play the guitar so well, and even have a soothing voice. What do you want to become when you grow up?

Hinata: Take a guess.

MC: Hmm, if you are going to become a job-person someday, you might lose your talent.... Ah, then how will I hear your voice?

Hinata: You dummy. I want to become... no, I will become a singer someday.

MC: Wow, that’s really cool! Then, can I come see your concert?

Hinata: Of course, you will always be invited first, as you are my best friend!

MC: Yay!!!

[Flashback ends]

When Hinata debuted, I went to see his concert. And, he was amazing. Till the present day, he has garnered a huge audience and a lot of fans. Since his debut was 2 years ago, I never visited him or met him once till that day, due to my busy schedule.

Hinata: Hello hello?

MC: Ah, yes! I will be happy to!

Hinata: I have sent you a couple of tickets, so make sure to bring all your handsome surgeons with you! I also want to give them a good time relaxing.

MC: Sure, I will try to, but liste-

Hinata: Alright, so Hinata, over and out!

MC: Hey wait, you!

*beep*

Hinata cuts the call just after listening to my conversation. I haven’t yet revealed to him that Kasumi and I both are dating. Oh well, I guess I will do that when I see him at the concert. Thinking it, I return to my seat with the tray of 3 cups of coffee.

Kyogoku: You sure do know how to waste our time.

MC: It’s not like that! I just got connected to an old friend, so talk got longer.

Kyogoku: Hinata Arata, a singer who just debuted two years ago, and has won the interests of many companies worldwide. What exactly were you talking to the superstar, being your friend and all?

Kasumi: ...

Somehow, Kasumi seems completely silent. Maybe he is interested to listen to full talk rather than interrupting?

MC: Actually, Hinata and I were high school friends. And since it has been two years since he debuted and my visit to his performance, he wants all of us to visit his concert this Sunday. Are you all free?

Kyogoku: What?

MC: Please!

Kyogoku: Even though I wanted to go to ensure that you act as a repellant for Kasumi, but I have an operation scheduled that day. So, you two should go.

MC: Alright, but what about others? 

Kyogoku: Do you think they will want to interfere in a date? Have you really left your brain somewhere?

MC: Da-date... You mean only me and Kasumi, and none of you?

Kyogoku: Huh... I am leaving. I can’t concentrate further. 

MC: Ok, wishing you good night.

Kyogoku: Night.

As I see off Kyogoku, I realize that I haven’t got confirmation from the main person till now. I return back to study and see Kasumi reading a journal from his tablet.

MC: Kasumi...

Kasumi: Hm?

MC: Are you ok, if we go to Hinata’s concert? I really want to go, but if only you accompany me. 

Kasumi: MC.

MC: Yes?

Kasumi sets his tablet down, and takes a seat beside me. He cups my face with his hands with a smile on his face.

Kasumi: As long as you are happy, I will go with you.

MC: Thank you so much!!

I say to him as I bury myself in his chest. Sometimes, I can’t even believe myself that I got an angel like him as my boyfriend. It makes me so happy to stay by his side. I can listen his clear heartbeats and can smell his sweet scent. Stopping our studies there, we both decide to sleep.

[Afternoon: Concert dome]

[Random picture]

MC: Woah, it’s so close to the stage!

Kasumi: Yeah.

The seats that Hinata booked for us are VIP ones. View of the stage from the place is perfect. Since all the guys turned us down as Kyogoku said, both of us end up in the hall at last.

MC: Oh, come to think of it, I never asked you about which types of songs you like. 

Kasumi: I prefer classics, like soft piano, or anything like that.

MC: Yeah! I noticed the other day when a patient asked to put some piano music for his surgery, that you were humming.

MC: Apparently, he got attracted to your voice. And of course, why not, that voice of yours is literally a tranquilizer! Ah, even those lectures of yours-

As I trail off, a shadow comes close to me. Kasumi comes close to me and whispers in my ear-

Kasumi: That is only reserved for you.

MC: !

Oh. God. That voice, a little raspy and baritone, lingers in my mind. It’s so appealing that I can literally melt. As I was thinking this, a soft kiss lands on my cheek, and he intertwines his hands with mine. Thanks to the dim light, my reddened ears and cheeks are not visible to him.

But, for some reason, I feel eyes on us. Not ‘us’, but probably on ‘Kasumi’. Girls seated just beside me start to ask one by one.

Girl 1: Hey hey, is he your friend? 

Girl 2: Mind introducing him to us?

Girl 3: He is literally a god! How is he so beautiful?

MC: Uhh, he is my-

My words are cut short as they ignore me and approach Kasumi. What?! Even here, can’t they recognize this national treasure? Of course, he is always in formal wear whenever he appears on TV and magazines, but only his casual style of dressing here can’t hide his beauty! Maybe the lighting?

Girl 1: The seats beside you are empty, so can we sit there?

Girl 2: You are so handsome~

Girl 3: We are alone in the concert, so we will be happy if you hang out with-

Ah stooopppp!!!!

MC: HE IS MY BOYFRIEND!!! Who do you think you are hitting on?!

Kasumi: She is right.

I glare at them while I grasp the arms of Kasumi and lean my cheeks on his shoulders. 

Girl 2: Wait, this voice... 

Girl 3: Dr. Kasumi Toshiki??!!

MC: You realize it now?

Girl 1: And you are, Dr. MC?

Kasumi: Mind if we enjoy our date by ourselves?

MC: Girls, keep your voice down. You will disturb ever- wait wha?

I am surprised that Kasumi is handling the situation so calmly and even is direct with them to such an extent. He is as cool as a cucumber, no doubt, but declaring this with a straight face makes me a little bit shy. Just then, Kasumi shakes our intertwined hands in front of them. Without any further word, they return to their seat.

MC: Yes! Now I can proudly say to Dr. Kyogoku that I protected you! That guy always takes advantage of me by saying this... I will beat him this time!

Kasumi: Pfft...

MC: Hey, why are you laughing? My heart was literally going a mile per beat! 

Kasumi: I am just amazed that my MC is becoming bolder day by day.

MC: Now stop there...

As I speak, the announcement of starting of the concert goes, bringing our conversation to stop there.

The spotlights fall on the center of the stage. Amidst a huge ocean of cheers, the star takes the spot. Holding a guitar and headset mic on his face, Hinata smiles at the crowd. Suddenly, he looks at me and gives a little wave with his hands. That makes me a little surprised.

Hinata: Thank you everyone for making time out of their busy schedule and for coming to my concert! I will make sure to make you all re-energized! Shall we start?

All: Yeah!!!!

The power that Hinata has with his singing and handling the audience is the main reason why he attracts many people. He never lets any fan feel bored. 

He starts with a familiar song. That’s... that’s the song he always played for me in school! Unknown to me, tears well up in my eyes. Following the song, he sings many songs, sometimes stopping in between and talking between the audience. The concert is so enthralling that without realizing, 3 hours pass so fast. All the time, with a light stick, I cheer him or wave my light stick and sing along with him.

After the concert, both Kasumi and I prepare to drop by the hospital to check the post-OP conditions of some patients. 

[Evening: In the car]

As Kasumi drives us to the hospital, the silence between us makes me feel awkward. So, I decide to start up a conversation.

MC: So, how was the concert, Kasumi?

Kasumi: ...

MC: Kasumi?

Kasumi: Hm? Oh, it was good.

Dr. Kasumi, of all people is giving a late response? What is it that he is thinking about? I have never seen him like that.

MC: Right, I should give you something as a thank-you gift for accepting my request. Anything in my limit, you can ask.

Kasumi: Oh?

As he steps on the breaks at the red light, he takes off his seatbelt, leans over and presses his lips onto mine. 

MC: ---!

Those tender lips, I can never get enough of them. His silky hair brushes against my cheek, making it feel warm. Savoring the moment, I close my eyes. After who knows how long, he reluctantly separates and put his forehead over mine. 

Kasumi: This is more than enough. But-

MC: But?

A teasing look forms on his face.

Kasumi: I want more, later.

MC: Wha?

Kasumi: What, are you disagreeing?

MC: No, I mean, yeah... err..

Kasumi: Let’s go.

The signal turns green at the same time, and we both leave for the hospital.

~

Ah, this is making me feel so awkward!! I mean, I have never worked on a super tease and jealous Kasumi before. Let me know what you think, and stay tuned for the next part. Warning, brace yourselves, cause that is going to be even more exciting!

Continue to Part 2

[dsoe-masteroftheheavenlyyard]

Chapter 3–The Princess Sets Out; Scene 4

master of the heavenly yard pages 58-70

“—Looks like we managed to give them the slip,” Riliane sighed in relief, clinging to the nun’s back.

Then she gently patted the white horse’s back.

“You did a great job, Josephine. And—” She tightened her grip with the arm she was using to hold onto the nun. “—Thank you for coming to save me, Clarith.”

“Oh no, it’s no big deal, Rin.”

Sister Clarith.

She was the one who had once saved a wandering Riliane after she’d lost her seat on the throne.

Josephine kept running even after they’d left the palace.

“Where are we going?” Riliane asked Clarith.

“…To the great land god, Michaela.”

“Huh!? –But the Millennium Tree Forest is in the opposite direction.”

“Michaela’s not there right now. It’s become too dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“The soldiers who attacked you—the theater that serves as their base of operations is in the forest.”

“…’Evils Theater’, huh?”

“--!? You know of it?”

“I’ve—lived there once before.”

Clarith pulled on the reins, and Josephine started to drop her speed—Eventually, she came to a stop. “…How about we rest here for a minute? It doesn’t seem like anyone’s chasing us.”

The two of them got down from the horse together.

Clarith joined her hands together and seemed to think on something. When she did, two lovely, pure white chairs and a table appeared there.

They sat in the chairs and faced each other.

“Seems like a lot’s happened for you…Rin.”

“I think close to five hundred years have passed since back then. How much do you know, Clarith?”

“Frankly, not much. I just came to get you under Michaela’s orders.”

“I got worried when you didn’t show up at my banquet.”

“Ah, well…I’m not so great at being around lots of people.”

It was a trifling conversation.

The kind they’d had many times, once.

The only difference between then and now—was that instead of inside a monastery, they were in the middle of a barren field.

“Do you think everyone’s…alright?”

Riliane thought back to the people she had left behind still sleeping in the palace.

If what Tony said was true, then his soldiers had been after Riliane. But that didn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t cause harm to the sleeping guests.

“Clarith—you said that we were going to Michaela, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“…Let me explain from the beginning. Right now, military units of Tasan Elphegort much like we just saw are heading to every land from the theater.”

“But I thought the theater was blown to smithereens by that explosion.”

“—The explosion caused by the weapon of mass destruction ‘Punishment’, yes. That is what happened, but after the world’s destruction it was restored. Though I don’t know why—”

“…I think I have an idea.” After a few seconds, Riliane then uttered a certain name. “—‘Ma’. The woman who was a screenwriter, sorceress, and Gallerian’s lover. Gallerian was the one who supplied the funds when the theater was built…but Ma was the one who saw to the actual construction. She must have had some scheme in mind.”

“…There are other items that were restored after ‘Punishment’’s devastation.”

Clarith took out a hand mirror from her pocket.

That was—a very familiar item to Riliane.

“The ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’. I borrowed this from Michaela. She was able to seize an opportunity to recover them while the theater was temporarily destroyed.

“And the other vessels?”

“They’re all with Michaela. That was one of the reasons why she left the forest. There was a chance that the troops from the theater would come to reclaim them.”

“But it was Gallerian and Ma, who was using him, who were collecting the vessels. They were both dead already before the world ended—You can’t mean that one of them is the mastermind ordering around these Tasan soldiers!?”

“Not even Michaela can see what’s going on inside the theater. So I still don’t know the truth yet.”

“…Ma tried to collect those vessels for a very long time. I’m sure she must have had a fair amount of info on them. It wouldn’t be out of the question for her to have known that the ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’ had some restoration ability and to have used it on the theater.”

Clarith’s eyes widened in admiration. “Rin…You seem to have grown so much smarter than you were before.”

“Don’t talk like I used to be an idiot.”

“Haha—How about we get back on topic. At first we didn’t know where the Tasan army was headed specifically, or what their goal was. But one of the demons dwelling in the ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’—the demon that took the form of a fish—told Michaela that they were probably going after those who had contracted with demons.”

“Can you trust what a demon tells you?”

“Well…I’m not really sure on that myself. But Michaela and the demon…apparently they’re old acquaintances from long ago.”

“…An acquaintanceship between someone who was a spirit, and a demon, huh.”

Riliane didn’t seem fully satisfied with that answer.

Still, Clarith continued talking. “Regardless of whether or not we believe it, the fact is that you, a contractor yourself, were attacked. It’s unclear what exactly the Tasan army is ultimately trying to do, but at the very least I don’t think Michaela looks kindly on that action. She—”

“Augh, enough! Michaela this, Michaela that! You just love this girl, don’t you Clarith!?”

Riliane stood and fiercely hit the table in front of her.

“Rin—are you jealous?”

“Hmph…I’ve had enough. I’m going back to the palace.”

“--!? You can’t do that! The ‘Sleep Princess’—the one who can control the sleep drug ‘gift’--is among your enemies. It’s too dangerous.”

“But that drug didn’t have any effect on me.”

“Yes…I wonder why that is?”

If Riliane truly was their target, then one would think it would be fastest to put her to sleep.

Tony and the others had been fine as well, so perhaps this ‘gift’ was something that could differentiate between targets. Though even if that were true, she still didn’t know why they would exclude Riliane in that regard.

“Whatever’s the case.” Riliane put her hand on the table and continued, “Now that I know those soldiers are after ‘Deadly Sin contractors’, I can’t sit idly by. My dear Kyle—is inside that palace. I have to go help him!”

“You…know? That he’s also a contractor—”

“He told me himself during the banquet.”

“—I see. But even so, I can’t let you leave.” Clarith also stood, and moved to throw her arms tightly around Riliane. “…I don’t want to lose anyone precious to me again…”

“Clarith…”

The two of them were silent for a moment, not moving from the spot.

--A rat broke the silence.

“Gag! You two are so mushy.”

Riliane and Clarith both turned to the source of the voice in bewilderment.

“A—a winged rat!?”

“Long time no see, Riliane.”

“I don’t have any acquaintances that are rats.”

“Aw…how sad. You and I were once one being, you know.”

“Don’t say something that creepy.” As she spoke, Riliane seemed to finally realize the rat’s identity. “You’re—the ‘Demon of Pride’.”

“Exactly. I was riding along inside the hand mirror that woman was carrying.”

“For what purpose?”

“What a crass remark. You’d think you’d want my assistance, if you intend to battle your enemies. Come! Give over to me! Be grateful! Honor me! Prostrate yourself on the ground!”

“…No need,” Riliane coldly shot back.

“What is this, Riliane!? Don’t you want my enormous power!?”

“…I haven’t forgotten what happened back then!”

“’Back then’? When do you mean?”

“Back in Enbizaka! When I was Miroku Rin—You were of no help to me at all!”

“Oh…Yeah, there was that.”  The rat’s face at once changed to an expression of embarrassment.

“I had a horrible time of it!”

“You’re referring to having died.”

“Yes! It was extremely painful!”

“Come on, let’s let the past be water under the bridge—and change the topic. Regarding Kyle Marlon…You don’t need to worry yourself over him.”

“…? Why?”

Riliane regained her composure upon hearing Kyle’s name.

“He and I didn’t have very good ‘compatibility’.”

“…I’d appreciate it if you could explain that in some easier to understand terms.”

“Between demons and their contractors there is a concept called ‘compatibility’. If it’s favorable, then they can utilize our abilities more powerfully—If >auntie Rahab’s theory is correct, then your enemies are most likely targeting the contractors who had the best compatibility with their respective demon.”

“Who is ‘auntie Rahab’?”

“The ‘Demon of Envy’ that that woman over there called a fish.”

“…Demons have proper names too?”

“Yeah.”

“So then, what’s your name?”

“Hm? You curious?”

“Not really.”

“Well, if you’re that obsessed with it then I’ll tell you. My name is—” The rat paused as though to put in a sense of grandeur, and then shouted loudly, “—MARIE!”

“Wow…That’s a girly sounding name.”

“Obviously. I’m a girl.”

“--!?”

Upon seeing the surprised expressions on Riliane and Clarith behind her, Marie fluttered her wings in satisfaction.

“W-well, whatever…Anyway, you think that Kyle is going to be alright, Marie?”

“Probably. Whatever you do, going to Michaela first is best. If you have any plans to beat the ‘Sleep Princess’ then you’ll need the help of the other demons.”

Riliane turned to look at Clarith.

“And where is Michaela now?”

“She’s where the country of Marlon used to be.”

“That’s across the ocean! How are we going to get there?”

“Thanks to the tidal wave that occurred when the world was destroyed, part of the bottom of the Hark Sea has surfaced. Right now the island of Marlon is connected to the mainland, so we can get there on Josephine without trouble.”

“Got it. Well then—Let’s get going.”

Clarith nodded, and climbed up on Josephine’s back.

Riliane got on after her, and Marie settled herself on Clarith’s cleavage.

“…Hey, why there!? You dirty rat!” Riliane shouted at Marie angrily.

“Come on. We’re all girls here, aren’t we? This is the most comfy spot.”

“I don’t really mind,” Clarith said calmly.

Riliane begrudgingly gave up on any further complaints.

With all three of them along, the white horse started to run to the west.

“Hey, Rin. What…do you plan to do? Myself I think you ought to bide your time by Michaela’s side,” Clarith said to Riliane.

“Bide my time?”

“Yeah. You do have people after you; it would be reckless to go to them.”

“And will anything get resolved by just waiting around?”

“…The truth is, there’s something I’ve avoided telling you.”

“…?”

“Allen. Your brother is currently on the ground world.”

“—Yeah, he is. All of the souls are here, so Allen wouldn’t be an exception to that.”

Contrary to Clarith’s expectation, Riliane didn’t seem to be all that surprised at that fact.

“But it seems he’s a little different from the other souls. He was sent to the ground world by the sun god, and he’s trying to accomplish something.”

“…Hmm.”

“Michaela tells me he’s become very dependable. I’m sure that Allen can do something about that theater and the Tasan army units. So—"

“—No,” Riliane muttered in a low voice.

“Huh?”

“I’ve always been waiting. For the last five hundred years, as I’ve been reincarnated down here over and over again. Even now—But I’m fed up with just waiting!”

“Rin…”

“Allen helped me. But even so…No, that’s why I hate always being protected. This time, it’s my turn to help him.”

“He probably wouldn’t want you to do that.”

“I don’t care. I—have to become stronger. The old me was mistaken on how to do that. But now…I will prove by myself that I can do this on my own. And when I do—”

--She would puff up her chest with pride, and go to see Allen.

Clarith could not see how Riliane’s eyes were filled with determination from in front of her.

But she could feel it through her back.

“Alright, Rin. I won’t try to stop you…Come on, let’s hurry!”

As though spurred on by Clarith’s voice, the white horse picked up speed.

<<prev------directory-------next>>

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And into the cavalry battle we go! Can’t believe this is gonna take three whole chapters to get through… sports festival feels way too long already, man, and I’m only a handful of chapters into it...

[No. 28 - Strats, Strats, Strats]

We start off with Shouto speaking to his team, explaining that he chose them in order to make the most stable formation. Kaminari will guard the left and keep people away with his electricity. Yaomomo takes the right, makes the insulator, and shields and supplements their movements. Tenya takes the lead, since his mobility and physical stature make for good defense. 

One of them (I think Tenya?) asks if Shouto will hold people off with his ice and fire. Shouto doesn’t reply right away, instead looking over to the stands - more specifically, towards where Endeavor is watching from. He tells them no, in battle, he refuses to use his left side.

Huh, they do have the same eyes here. Wind dude kind of has a point. 

As the teams stand along the outside of the perimeter of the battle arena, Present Mic does a final, rhetorical check to make sure the teams are formed and are ready to go, then announces the start of the countdown to the battle royale. We jump around a bit as the countdown is given: Monoma tells Tetsu^4 no hard feelings, which Tetsu returns. Toshinori watches on from the stands. 

We see team Bakugou and team Todoroki in formation and ready to go, both of them focused on a single target. Izuku himself has gotten over most of his nerves and now is focused on the moment. All of them have their point totals given and also broken down by members of the team, in case you weren’t able to do the math yourself from the previous chapters. 

Since Hori is giving the team point breakdowns for our three main teams anyways, this is where I want to insert the team and point totals for all the teams, from most to least points on the headbands:

Team Midoriya [10,000,325 P]: Midoriya [10M] + Uraraka [135] + Tokoyami [180] + Hatsume [10]

Team Tetsutetsu [705 P]: Tetsutetsu [165] + Honenuki [190] + Awase [155] + Shiozaki [195]

Team Bakugou [665 P]: Bakugou [200] + Kirishima [170] + Ashido [120] + Sero [175]

Team Todoroki [615 P]: Todoroki [205] + Iida [185] + Yaoyorozu [130] + Kaminari [95]

Team Mineta [420 P]: Mineta [125] + Shouji [145] + Asui [150]

Team Hagakure [330 P]: Hagakure [25] + Jirou [110] + Satou [140] + Kouda [115]

Team Monoma [305 P]: Monoma [35] + Tsuburaba [100] + Kuroiro [65] + Kaibara [105]

Team Shinsou [295 P]: Shinsou [80] + Ojiro [160] + Shouda [50] + Aoyama [5]

Team Kendo [225 P]: Kendo [75] + Tokage [20] + Komori [45] + Yanagi [85]

Team Kodai [165 P]: Kodai [60] + Bondo [90] + Fukidashi [15]

Team Rin [125 P]: Rin [55] + Shishida [70]

Team Tsunotori [70 P]: Tsunotori [30] + Kamakiri [40]

Have fun keeping track of points in the canon event, or mix stuff up for your own teams if you wanna do alt teams or whatever. Anywho, moving on, as Mic announces the start of the match.

And of course, it’s no surprise that several of the teams immediately rush Izuku’s team, even though I feel like it makes way more sense for them to hang back and wait until there’s only a few minutes left in order to actually take the points. But I suppose competitiveness and all that. More specifically, it’s team Tetsu^4 and team Hagakure after team Midoriya first.

Tetsu is the first to acknowledge (loudly) that the whole match is really a fight for the ten million, and everyone knows it. Hagakure herself is just eager to be going after Izuku, which is inch resting. Competitive, she do be. 

Tokoyami notes the two teams incoming and ready to attack, and checks with Izuku (in his own way) what their response will be. While the girls are a bit in wonder at Tokoyami’s choice of words, Izuku says that of course they’ll be running away. Honenuki, no doubt hearing this, attempts to prevent them from moving by causing the ground under them to soften into a gloop that they start to sink into. 

Oh no, quicksand! Too bad it’s not movie quicksand. Izuku quickly realizes whose quirk it is (I think) and tells Ochako and Mei to turn away for a second. Then, once they do, he turns on the jetpack, and they all go flying up and out of the pit trap and over the heads of the teams going after them. Tetsu realizes that the support girl must have provided the tools for flying, still focused on going after them. Hagakure calls for Jirou to try and stop them, with Jirou sending out her earjacks to try and keep them from getting away - only for Dark Shadow to smack away the jacks, allowing team Midoriya to make a clean escape.

Tokoyami tells Dark Shadow well done, and to cover the teams’ blind spots. Dark Shadow accepts the task with great enthusiasm, twisting around to watch behind all of them. Izuku takes a moment to gush over Tokoyami’s quirk, talking about how its defensive power was just what they needed, and how now the team is covered at midrange from every direction. Tokoyami is the one to point out how Izuku is the one who chose him. 

Ochako gives her team warning before they land, with her boots (from Mei) being the first to hit the ground with a poof of dust blown away from her landing site. Mei asks how Izuku is liking her babies, bragging about how cute they are and how she made them that way. Izuku complements the mobility they’re giving the team and Mei’s work in general, leading to her gushing more. Meanwhile, Izuku reveals in his thoughts that Ochako had made everyone except herself weightless, so that all the weight that’s being carried is her plus their clothes and equipment. 

Ochako, meanwhile, is a bit put out that Izuku hasn’t gushed over her part in all this, because the only part he gushed over her about was internal. Izuku, you should have complemented her work out loud as well, you dummy.

Team Hagakure prepares themselves to go after Izuku again, only for Sato to notice something important - the headband she was wearing is gone! Hagakure is shocked and freaked out, trying to figure out when and how it happened. Meanwhile, Monoma and his team are heading away, Monoma spinning said headband around his finger as he says to consider him an opportunist. 

We get a bit of an overhead view of a number of the teams running around the battlefield (which was very helpful in putting together the team listings). Present Mic states that two minutes have just passed, but the battlefield is already chaotic. Everyone’s scrambling for headbands, but there isn’t just the ten million out there! Other high rankers are also worth a shot as well. 

Just as an overview here, we see team Tetsu^4 and team Hagakure are still going after team Midoriya, with Shouji just there in the corner of the textbox approaching from behind as well. Teams Rin and Shinsou are rushing at each other, as are team Todoroki and team Kendo. Team Mindoriya, meanwhile, just seems to be trying to get out of the way on foot.

Shouji (or is it Mineta hiding inside the ‘bunker’ made by Shouji’s dupliarms?) laughs a bit, saying how this isn’t a scramble, but a one-sided massacre. Yeah, in retrospect, that sounds way more like Mineta. But also, Izuku thinking Shouji’s alone, even though this event is a cavalry battle, so maybe it was him? Eh, whatever. Tokoyami notes that they have to keep their distance, since fighting multiple foes is a bad idea. However, that plan goes a bit awry when Ochako steps on what turns out to be one of Mineta’s quirk balls, causing her to become stuck in place. Izuku quickly tries to determine where Mineta is, only to be surprised when he sees Mineta hiding inside Shouji’s dupliarm bunker. 

Someone (maybe Ochako?) asks if that’s legal, which Midnight confirms it is. As if that’s not enough, Tsuyu, also on Shouji’s back, lashes out with her tongue, just missing both Izuku and Tetsu thanks to their timely dodges. As she retracts her tongue, she complements Izuku’s dodging; Izuku wonders how many people Shouji has hiding on his back. 

Tsuyu quickly reminds Izuku to use her first name, but probably isn’t heard since team Midoriya make a strategic retreat back into the sky - breaking one of the hoverboots in the process, unfortunately. Present Mic comments on how team Mineta using the size difference of its members to form what can be more considered a tank than anything. Mei is distressed at the destruction of her baby, with Ochako apologizing but noting that they got away.

Too bad someone was prepared for their second takeoff, and really, really wants those points.

Izuku: Oh fuck I’m gonna die.

Katsuki, looking pretty gremlin-y, as per the norm, yells how Izuku is getting pretty damn full of himself (which is hilarious in its irony.) Izuku quickly calls for Tokoyami to react, and Dark Shadow takes the explosive blow meant for Izuku despite the massive discomfort in its expression. Katsuki is confused, but has no time to make a second attempt, as Sero tossed his tape and latches onto him, pulling him right back into the waiting arms of his team. 

Present Mic wonders whether leaving one’s unit is allowed, which Midnight confirms is allowed on a technicality - aka his feet didn’t touch the ground. In the staff booth, Death Arms comments on how those class A kids sure are something else. In the crowds, people comment on how it’s fun to watch, what with all the flashy moves, and that it’s just the level the kids are at after fighting real villains. 

Present Mic cuts back with with more commentary, stating how both the doggedly pursued first place team and the determined pursuers from class A are nothing to sneeze at. He then draws attention to the current standings, asking rhetorically how said teams are doing after seven minutes of play. There’s a moment of silence, the crowds and the two in the announcement booth shocked as they actually register the standings.

Why, it looks like almost all the points are being held by teams from class 1b! What a plot twist!

Monoma sweeps by, grabbing the headband right off of Katsuki, as he comments on how it’s too simple, really. Katsuki demands the head back back, threatening Monoma with death, while Mina comments on how easily he caught them by surprise. 

Monoma goes into a bit of a monologue on how Midnight’s announcement of the first event made it obvious that the number of participants wouldn’t be thinned that much in a preliminary. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that a good number of students would be advancing to the next event - around forty or so. It was really the perfect opportunity to hold back and observe their soon-to-be-rivals’ quirks and tendencies, so it was only fair they ended up placing more modestly. 

Kirishima asks if the whole class was in on it. Monoma says that no, not everyone was, but it wouldn’t have been a bad idea, instead of aiming for some fleeting first place, like a horse going for a dangling carrot. Meanwhile, team Bondo approaching as well. How is Katsuki taking all this?

Not great. And of course, because Monoma has no chill, he turns back to give Katsuki a mocking look, commenting on how Katsuki’s already a celebrity - the victim of the sludge incident! He’ll have to ask sometime, how does it feel to be attacked by villains on an annual basis?

RIP Monoma, you fucking dead. Katsuki tells Kirishima there’s a change of plan. As Monoma glances back at him curiously, we see that Katsuki has gone completely feral and around the bend, and is probably actually going to murder a man by the end of this. Katsuki’s plan? Before going after Deku, he’s gonna murder every last member of Monoma’s team.

Izuku, apparently overhearing Monoma’s monologue, notes how class 1b threw the qualifiers and planned for the long game. Even before the sports festival, he had the impression that they were stronger than they seemed, and that they want to end class 1a’s supremacy. On the other hand, because of that, they aren’t quite so deadset on targeting Izuku. 

Izuku starts to talk to his team about how it shouldn’t be too hard to evade - only to be cut off both physically and verbally by team Todoroki getting in front of them. As Present Mic announces the match being halfway over already, Izuku takes a deep breath and recenters himself, stating how it won’t be quite that easy. Shouto states kind of menacingly that they’re coming for him; other teams are shown briefly reaction to the loss of points in their own ways. 

We close out on Present Mic noting that class B is on the rise, but in the end, who will wear the ten million point crown?

Anywho, glad to finally have that chapter done, even if there’s still two more before we get through this second event and finally move on to the finals. At the least, this sports festival stuff has actually gotten me thinking about the reasoning behind the decisions made for the entrance exam and sports festival, which I will probably end up making posts for after this arc is over.

See y’all next time! Character sheet will be up in just a moment. 

[notasiren21]

#40 from the prompt list please and thank you!!!

I’m so sorry this took so long!!!

Someone You Loved

Rating: Mature for some themes

Pairing: fuckin’ Lukanette boi

Word count: 4,665

Prompt: (40) “I wasn’t lying when I said that I loved you.”

Description:

Well, Luka sings a song and I pissed @macaknight off with this when I asked her to beta read the start of it. It helps if you listen to the song in the story, Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi. Enjoy lmao

She was around by his side long enough to engrave the little things into his mind.

He knew how it felt to have the soft strands of midnight blues through his fingers as he tangled them in her hair. To have her legs settle on either side of his as he trailed his hand up her small back and waist under her soft cotton shirts. The cheeky grin he grew to love baring up at him when his arms bracketed with her in between he picked her up at home.

How he didn't care for sweets but loved the way blueberry muffins tasted on her tongue and the taste of her mixed with raspberry jelly when it leaked from the corner of her pouty lips.

How the Liberty swayed under his feet against the small currents the wind brought on as they danced in the rain. The feel of his converse bracing both their weights as her drenched skirt blew in harsh waves between them. The first lightning strike reflecting off an anchor necklace he gave her on their first date.

When she kissed his cheek when he started humming absently with frustration as he tried to figure out the melody he wrote. Her small fingers pulling the pencil out of his death grip as she lent her forehead against his to calm him and decipher the jumbled notes he had in his head.

The way her face lit up when he played it back to her.

The way her face fell when she told him she loved him but they couldn't be together.

How her arms stiffly pulled away from his hug and the red of her eyes she showed up with.

How the airy taste of salt from the water didn't compare to the salt of his tears that trailed to his lips as he grounded the palm of his hands to his eyes roughy as sobs racked through his body when he collapsed to the wood of the ship.

The way it left him numb with hurt and he became too compliant with his happenings, too accepting.

Defeated.

Music was harder to hear and enjoy, he couldn't compose anything more than a haunting melody that brought any stranger to tears.

He wasn't sure he even felt the burn to his tongue when he drank his hot coffee as soon as it was handed to him. Or the rough jerk of his shoulder to turn him around as his guitar bounced off his back.

"Hey man, you look worse for wear." Théo, a former classmate of his that now ran the coffee shop, spoke as he eyed him critically. Luka shifted his thick blacks squared rimmed sunglasses up higher to cover his dark circles better. "I'd say it's great to see you, but..."

“Yeah, I’m just tired.” He offered the excuse at the ready, hating how well lying came with sadness.

“Ah, life of a famous rockstar.” Théo teased with a smirk. “No wondering you’re wearing a hat like that backwards to cover your hair and shades for those ‘oh so sexy’ blue eyes of yours.”

“Not famous,” Luka cringed at Théo’s words. “Just well known on the internet I guess.”

“Sorry for overplaying your popular cover videos man.” His old school mate laughed.

"It's fine. What's up?" He forced a smile that came across as genuine despite what he felt.

Théo crossed his arms and made a jerk with his head in the direction of the shop across the street, "New place has been stealing some of our loyal customers." Luka scratched under the brim of his black baseball cap he had on backwards as he followed the movement. "Lunch hour is about to hit and you know much we moved to stop by this part of town for break."

"Yeah, your aunt made good scones." He supplied.

He grunted in response, "Yeah. Well, girls frequent here more from school, and they keep going there," he roughly jerked his chin to the place again, "Just because there's an older guy who takes their order who is attractive, I guess. Or so I'm told."

Luka blinked at the shop before turning to his old friend, "What do you need from me then?"

"Observant as always, Couffaine." He snorted with a shake of his head. "I wanted to see if you -an attractive older guy- would give a small performance just as the girls come."

"What? Why?"

"Are you dense? With your face and body, and that 'sinful voice' of yours the girls cooed about back then and from your YouTube covers, I'm guaranteed to bring in more customers for today."

Luka tossed his half full coffee cup to the trash next to him. His own arms crossing as he wished he was in his cabin instead, laying on his bed while he stared up at the ceiling and trying to not feel the clench of his arm when he smelled Marinette's hibiscus shampoo and berry scented perfume on his pillows.

"I don't know."

His friend clasped onto his shoulder again, "Please man, you can keep 40% of the money you help bring in, I don't care. That shop is a dick and acting like we're not its competition."

“Man, you really don’t have to, I’ll just take a free coffee if you really need this.” Anything seemed better than just wallowing at home at this point, despite the incredible want to do so that swelled within him as he stood on the block he and Ladybug often frequented to patrol. “I mean it.”

Théo smiled, guiding him to a spot that he started clearing out near the cafe’s short fence that caged the outdoor tables and chairs.

“That’s okay, I feel bad to make you work without pay.” He straightened his back that had been bent forwards as he pushed tables, “Consider it repayment for that time you paid for my lunch.”

Luka stopped, “Lunch? When did I-,” he grunted. “Théo, that was four years ago.”

“Well, last Saturday had me thinking about all my debts and regrets when I thought I was gonna die. You came up.”

He flinched at mention of Saturday.

Saturday, the final fight against Hawkmoth who showed up in person with a struggling Mayura and an akumatized sentimonster of Lila. The combination of their powers as well as the wickedness that resided in the girl proving to be a difficult fight for them all when Ladybug and Chat pulled the entire team in.

Including a Chloé Bourgeois who was more than ready to help.

He could’ve sworn he heard Marinette screaming his name in worry when Hawkmoth closed in on him and hit into his side with his cane full force. But that was ridiculous. Because Marinette was Ladybug and Ladybug was Marinette. And Marinette wanted nothing to do with Luka since they had broken up without reason beyond her excuse of not being able to be with him.

He was a bit bitter about the whole ordeal.

Okay, he was more so lovesick and depressed, but his negative energy still stood.

“Yeah,” he flinched again when he heard his voice crack and he thumbed his bracelet -once silver, now a metallic black to hide better, “At least they finally caught Hawkmoth for good.”

“No kidding, now we can just focus on the heroes and the gossip your little girlfriend’s bestie posts.”

A knife. Through his heart. Twisting and gutting.

“Gossip?” He chose the safer option of the sentence, ignoring the onslaught of pitying questions and half-assed supportive promises that correcting Théo would bring.

“Yeah, like how that Ryuuko dragon girl and Chat are definitely dating and that Viperion and Ladybug totally have the hots for one another and the soft looks they give during patrols.”

A chainsaw. Just shredding his heart to pieces.

Luka Couffaine once thought he was a smart kid who made the right decisions.

How wrong he had been.

“Right.” He bit out, gripping the strap of his guitar case and scratching his baseball cap.

Théo shot up and loudly clapped with a whoop, “There we go! Now, I should grab the mic stand from open mic nights and just plug that in and some speakers, then we’ll be good to go.” Maybe Luka should’ve just left. “I’ll get ‘er done in five minutes, tops.”

Luka only nodded, watching as he ran around and set things up, then proudly presented Luka with the lone table he left set up to sit on.

He eyed his skeptically behind his sunglasses before hopping up, testing his weight on the surface before he crossed one ankle across his thigh and took his guitar from Théo who unzipped it for him. Théo pushed the mic stand closer to Luka and adjusted when he peered up at him.

“What do you want me to sing?”

His old friend shrugged with an easy smile, “Anything that comes to mind and draws that big crowd of hungry girls over.” Luka bobbed his head in response and tuned his acoustic guitar as Théo began backing up to inside the store and cheered, “Show off that sinful voice of yours, man! Woo!”

He let out a short chuckle and emptied his mind completely as he shut down, letting his fingers strum a few notes to a song that he began to resonate deeply with.

“I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me,” he closed his eyes and mentally chastised himself for being so open with his feelings as they poured out of him through a popular song. “This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy.”

He could see Théo looking at him carefully when he opened before squeezing his eyes shut in pain. He hated that look of pity, but he already started singing this song and he knew he would have to see it through given that the customers at the shop had already turned their attention to him.

“I need somebody to heal

Somebody to know

Somebody to have

Somebody to hold,”

Did he growl at the end of that last line? He wasn’t sure but the audience seemed moved by it and how he didn’t go weak on the verbs. Maybe he could please someone for once by just following with what worked for him.

“It's easy to say

But it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain.”

He thought he saw the familiar flash of black with red accents that everyone knew as Ladybug’s new suit for a second up on the rooftops. The rooftops that she danced with Viperion on and let her laugh rang over the quiet town under the stars. He wasn’t sure if he was just hopelessly imagining her or if she was there, but he felt the pain bite all at once and his voice became wobbly in a way that the crowd seemed touched by. You’re kidding me.

“Now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”

Weak. He felt weak and it wasn’t the kind where he felt weak at the knees like when Marinette smiled up at him or her nose scrunched in thought.

He always thought he could be emotionally strong to handle whatever came his way. He was so sure of it.

“I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to turn to,” Guess he was weak for Marinette in every way possible after all, “This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you.

“Now, I need somebody to know

Somebody to heal

Somebody to have

Just to know how it feels

It's easy to say but it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape.”

There was no blame to place, he knew that. It didn’t make it better or let him throw his anger at her to get it out, but he couldn’t keep punishing himself either.

He felt his eyes sting, shutting them as one tear slipped through and feeling grateful for both his dark shades and the sun beating down on his face past the patio table umbrella, hiding the evidence of his heartbreak.

“Now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down,”

Who was he kidding? The heartbreak was the clearest part about him as he let the rough notes chip away at his throat and the growls making his voice artistically raw that he would have to worry about later.

His heart stopped painfully when he remembered the way Marinette’s face flushed all smitten like with a wondering look when Luka growled while singing and shot her winks, knowing how flustered it made her to see her calm and collective boyfriend with a soft and careful voice sounding so tortured for certain songs.

“And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.

How that came back to bite him in the ass.

He glanced up to blink away the tears and avoid the view of the large growing audience he couldn’t see from the sun.

He could’ve sworn he saw a flash of black and flecks of red again.

Fingers strummed harder and with more purpose and he let his soft voice fall back as the pain ripped through him and out in his voice.

“And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes

I fall into your arms

I'll be safe in your sound 'til I come back around.”

Fuck. He missed her. He missed her a fuck ton and wanted to hold her again and hear her whisper his nicknames of “Love”, “baby”, “handsome”, “Vipey”, whatever the hell she wanted to call him.

Even his damn name would be enough to sedate him for a year.

“For now the day bleeds

Into nightfall”

Dancing with her into the beginnings of a bad storm on the deck of the Liberty as they belted Cheap Thrills amist her giggles and his laughs he choked down to keep her beautiful voice going with his.

“And you're not here

To get me through it all”

Being curled up on her living room couch the next day with her cuddled into his side. Both sick with the cold, but unable to wipe the weak grins from their faces as Sabine amusingly disapproved of their actions the night before.

“I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug”

Their first kiss when she got flustered at their first date and told him she wouldn’t read too much into it despite wanting to, and him effectively shutting her up for the first time ever with the crash of his lips to hers and hands tilting her head up to meet him in reassurance.

“I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”

The first time she called him her boyfriend and the pleased giggle she let out when he gave a startled and flustered noise, his snack flying out of the package he ripped open before he blinked and asked her to repeat what she said as a toothy grin broke his shocked face.

“But now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all”

Did a camera just flash at him? Hard to tell with the sun in his eyes and the dark lenses of his shades. He couldn’t find himself to care either.

“I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”

He tried not to think about the fact that he forced himself to change his phone backgrounds to black, tried not to think if she deleted her phone screens of them napping together or the wallpaper of them dancing in the rain Juleka got of them as Luka dipped her over the edge of the stage they always practiced on.

The complete trust in her eyes and smile always made him melt in that picture. Her hands loosely holding her arms as her head titled back in a deep bellied laugh while he held onto her waist tightly with one arm and had the other behind him, the biggest smile that was only found on his face when Marinette was around.

“I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”

Luka still fucking loved her more than anything.

His drive, his inspiration, his happiness and safe space. His melody that always rang loudly in his ears.

Now it sounded just as it did when they were younger.

The numbness took over as he looked up, face contorted into a forced happy expression as he dipped his head in gratitude to see the very big crowd that gathered and was clapping with tears in their eyes. He excused himself to find Théo who ignored how exposed the song made his old friend, conversing with him briefly as he counted the amount of customers before Luka left and promised to give him the 40% the next visit he came and a free coffee.

He put up his guitar, tugging the case back over his shoulder as he headed back to the Liberty and tossed the faux leather casing to the bed, tossing his sunglasses to the the bed as well before heading to the deck and off to take a lap to clear his break up riddled mind.

The third block was a close achievement, before he felt the petite body rush into him and the all too familiar wrap of small and strong legs wrap about his waist with a black latex suit arm winding around his neck. He subconsciously fell back into habit as one of his own dropped to hold under her thighs and one around her own waist as black fielded his vision.

He barely got a curse out before the all too telling sound of a spiritually powered string to the famous yo-yo pinned against restraint and shot them upwards, his unmasked face burying itself in the crook of her neck from the force rush of air to his eyes.

His chest tightened to the smell of hibiscus flowers and berries, clutching her tighter for the first time in a long while. Half aware he shifted her higher against him to have her bring them closer.

Well fuck if he wasn’t the most touch starved and needy ex ever.

The familiar sound of a specific metal railing being bounded by the yo-yo was the only warning he got before the touched surface with his feet and she loosened her grip.

He barely heard the words of her detransformation before he could see the flash of pink through black and pulled back from her neck.

Terror shook through him, and his hands and body trembled against her as he couldn’t force himself to look up. Staring intently at the silver anchor necklace he gave her, bounded in a rope of small teal jewels.

Luka couldn’t look at her face, couldn’t look away from the necklace she still wore. He couldn’t let her go or put her down either.

“Breathe love,” her quiet voice spoke, soft and hesitant, breaking Luka as he dropped them to his knees and brought her closer than before.

An audible sob he hadn’t heard since she walked away from him escaped his lips and heaved for air as his chin rested over her head and he looked frantically in front of him. At her balcony, the plants that littered the space and the wood paneling they rested on, the little ladybug statue he bought her as a cute joke.

Seeing none of it through blurry eyes, forcing himself to drop his head to her shoulder as she quaked with tears and ran a soothing hand through his hair.

“I’m so sorry, love.” He couldn’t get words out as he just grounded his face into her. “I thought I was protecting you, I didn’t realize how wrong I was.”

She pulled his face up, ceruleans magnified as his pupils dilated to the sight of her in front of him once again and the tips of his ears flaring just by her touch for the first time in forever. She caught a steam of tears with her thumb, giving him a tight smile.

“My miraculous gave me the intuition that Hawkmoth would make his final move.” She paused for a second, closing her eyes and she breathed deeply. “I thought for sure I would die when he did. Either by his winning, or ours but I would end up a casualty or sacrifice. You guys weren’t even supposed to be there, but Adrien insisted for backup and I just...”

“You left me because you thought you were going to be killed?” Voice gravelly and sore from the coffee shop, he pressed on, fingers twitching at her back. “Why didn’t you tell me? Even if you had to strap me down just to bench me from the fight, you should’ve told me.”

“You’re right,” she rushed. “Absolutely right, and it was pure hell to leave to that day or say what I did. I’ve never been more miserable with my life than I’ve been since we’ve broke up. I hate it, I hate being away from you so much, Luka.”

“Be mine again.”

“What?” She blinked, choking on air.

He squeezed his eyes shut, leaning into her touch when she held his face. “I don’t, I don’t fucking care if I’m being selfish anymore. It’s so hard not to be when it comes to you, Marinette. All these small details engraved to my mind, committed to memory and nothing to do with it.

“I keep leaving hoodies I casually wear on my amp for you to take, I keep putting that soft blanket you’re obsessed with folded on the edge of my bed for you to yank off and curl into as soon as you step into my room.” He forced his eyes not to open as he kept going, following the rhythm she provided and he struggled to find words for. “The minute I wake up, before I even open my eyes to see for the first time of the day, my phone is already in my hand with your contact open and a good morning text at the ready for you. Even good night texts when I reset my alarms. I keep leaving your spot open on my bed in case you visit while I’m asleep. Your favorite part on the couch for you. The last cherry popsicle of the package, and the cookie dough ice cream I bought out of habit are still in the freezer waiting for you to find them.

“I’m fucking broken without you.” He rasped, ceruleans meeting baby blues, “I’m missing you emotionally, figuratively, mentally, physically. How the hell am I supposed to be okay when you’ve become such a big part of me? When you’re my literal other half?”

She nudged his button nose with her small one, “I,” she gave a dark laugh that he felt in his core. “I keep airing out my room whenever my sewing machine leaves behind that electrical smell your nose scrunches at so much.” She giggled when she felt him do it at the mention of the scent. “I let the popcorn cook for half a minute longer to get it a little burnt like how you like. I sleep in your hoodies to leave behind the smell of my perfume and shampoo the way you said you like your hoodies to smell when I give them back. I play with my necklace when I grow nervous and can’t talk to you. I can’t go more than five hours without hovering over your contact name or looking at our pictures.”

He sat back on his knees, letting her adjust herself out of habit and moving her hair away from her face. The smile he gave was tight but reassuring.

“I missed you, doll.”

“I missed you too, Luka.” She paused for a second, “Hey,” she started cautiously.

“Hm,”

“Luka, you know I wasn’t lying when I said that I loved you, right?”

The glint that quickly came to his eyes didn’t waver like his abused voice did, “I kinda figured from all the times you’ve blushed and stuttered. The times you tripped when I caught you off guard with a flirtatious comment or wink. And the times you kissed me like it was the end of the world.”

He looked up to see her set a false murderous glare above him as he ran his thumb over the teal gems in the rope around the anchor of her necklace, a smirk he hadn’t felt making way to his face as one of his naturally slightly pointer canines became visible to express his pure happiness.

“I forgot how much of a jerk you could be,” she huffed, looking away and sniffing.

“I’m sorry, doll.” He made her look at him, eyes still shining with unshed tears as the stared into hers. His grin was pure radiance, “I love you.”

She let him pull her down to a kiss, feeling those soft pouty lips he loved so much back on his again. “I know,” she replied between kisses, causing him to huff and pull away with his own pout. She held alone his jawline, “I’m kidding, kinda. But, I love you too.”

Her giggle when he let out a happy and short hum was pure music to his ears as her melody finally fell back into the correct time signature and key. Even as he parted with a pant and hugged her close, stroking her hair.

“Just, don’t leave me in the dark again.” He started, seeing her phone that fell out of her back pocket light up with a text from Alya.

Alya: So did you kiss and makeup, or not? I have Nino on the edge of his seat.

Alya: no really, he keeps asking and refuses to do ANYTHING until he finds out.

Alya: for fuck’s sake, answer and let me get laid

He hid his smile in her shoulder from the texts and the fact that she never changed her screens from them. Letting him see her cheek smushed up against his chest and her arm lazily thrown around his waist while his held her close.

“Never, not again. I’m not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice like I once was.” He snorted at the reference to her old crush on Adrien years ago. “But we do have something to talk about.”

He pulled back, eyeing her cautiously. “Did I do something?”

“Yes,” his heart fell and he was ready to beg for her forgiveness. “You know how many girls have your picture now? Videos of you singing a song in such a beautifully tortured way with those growls, and the rough notes and the, stop laughing Couffaine!”

“I’m sorry,” he muffled his laughs behind his hand. “I forgot how much fun I had just by talking with you and your small bouts of jealousy.”

“Oh, I’m bad? Says the boy who sang a song that people keep covering for heartbreak.”

“I’m getting paid for doing it.”

“How much?”

“40% of the customers I brought in by drawing a crowd and a coffee on the house,” he let a smile spread across his face. “You know, I might be able to change it. Can I treat you to a free mint hot chocolate, a date as well maybe?”

She considered him for a second.

“With whipped cream,” he added for extra measure to his small sweet’s addict. He dimpled up at her with a scrunch when she kissed his button nose.

“God, I love you, Luka.”

“I love you too,” he kissed her slowly, “Mari, just don’t let me sing like that again, my voice is killing me.”

“Got it, never leave you again.”

“Pretty much.”

“Hey, you look cute with your baseball cap backwards like this.” She winked, pulling his black hat from the balcony floor where it fell off and back on his head.

“I’d respond with a witty comment, but it hurts to talk now.”

She grinned, “Hm, I love you.”

Luka still smiled despite flinching from the rawness of his throat, “I love you.”