#my doctor didn't tell me I needed one - course he didn't tell me SHIT so

[clawdee]

The Sharps container for my lancets came in today!

hope it doesn't melt in the parcel locker

[chancloud8]

Positive

Pairing: lee felix x reader

Word count: 1,8k

Tags: a tiny bit of angst, fluff, pregnancy

Summary: a positive surprise for you and your boyfriend felix

a/n: I was in need of some comfort/fluff, so this happened? Enjoy <3

Through your tears you see two barely visible pink lines and beside you on the floor are three more tests, all of them showing two lines. 

Positive. 

'Shit, shit, shit, this can't be happening,' you mumble, combing your fingers through your messy hair. 

There's one more unused test in your purse and for a moment you debate peeing on yet another stick. Maybe these four were wrong, maybe it's false positive, maybe the last one will show only one line.

'How did this happen, y/n?' You whisper to yourself, pulling on the strands of your hair. 'How could you let this happen?' 

You know how, of course. It's fairly obvious with the amount of mind blowing sex you and your boyfriend Felix have been having, but to your memory you were pretty sure the two of you always remembered to use a condom. 

Your phone buzzes in your purse, but you ignore it. Now is not the time to talk to Felix, or anyone really. You're pretty sure that as soon as you hear his voice you'll either burst into tears or tell him right away that you're pregnant. 

Pregnant.

Fresh tears roll down your cheeks and you bite your fist to not let any sobs escape. You may be the only person currently in the bathroom, but someone can always come in. 

It's not like you don't want a baby. You've been dreaming of becoming a mom basically your whole life and ever since meeting Felix, that desire has only grown stronger. The thing is, you've never really spoken about it before. 

There have been jokes and silly imaginations about what your future would be like in a few years from now or when you'll start a family together, but the timeline of that future has always been for much later in life. 

The sound of a door opening startles you and you hastily start to gather all four of the tests from the floor. In your hurry one slips from your fingers and slides across the floor and under the door to the other side. 

Fuck. Of course. 

You reach out to blindly grab the test, but instead of plastic your fingers meet warm and soft skin. 

Please be a woman, please be a woman, please.

‘Y/N? Is that you in there?’ 

You squeeze your eyes shut at the familiar voice and this time a sob does escape your mouth. 

‘Y/N? Open the door, baby,’ Felix begs, pulling on the handle as if that will be enough to unlock the door from the inside. 

‘Please don't be mad,’ you cry. ‘I didn't know.’

There's a short silence and you bite your lip, trying to stop it from trembling. 

‘Baby,’ Felix his deep voice is soothing. ‘Why would I be mad? If what I'm holding in my hand right now is what I think it is, then I couldn’t be happier.’ 

It only takes a second for you to unlock and open the door, revealing Felix with sparkling and wet eyes, flushed cheeks and such a wide grin, that you immediately stop crying. 

‘R-really?’ 

‘Yes, Angel, are you kidding me?’ he smiles, reaching out to pull you in his arms. ‘Is it what I think it is though? Are you sure?’ 

You bury your face into Felix's neck, breathing in his familiar scent as you cling onto his hoodie. 

‘If you think you're holding a stick I peed on, then yes,’ you murmur, cuddling even closer to him. 

The test immediately falls to the floor and you can't help but giggle as Felix maneuvers you towards the sink to wash his hands, all while you're still clinging onto him. When he's finished he wraps his arms around you. 

‘What do two lines mean?’ he whispers, pressing his lips to your temple. 

‘You know what it means, babe.’

‘I need to hear you say it.’ 

You lean back a little so you can look him in the eyes. There's no anxiety, fear or anger in his beautiful brown eyes, only love and hope. 

‘If the doctor confirms it,’ you start, but your bottom lip quivers again so you take a deep breath before you continue. ‘I'm pregnant.’

Felix closes his eyes and smiles, shaking his head like he doesn't believe you. Tears roll down his cheeks and his hold on you tightens. 

‘Say that again,’ he murmurs, burying his face into the crook of your neck and pressing kisses at every inch of skin he can get to. 

You giggle and try to push his head away. ‘Felix! That tickles’ 

‘Say it again, Angel,’ Felix begs, his voice deeper than before.

‘I'm pregnant.’

Saying it out loud makes it even more real and for the first time since seeing the two pink lines, you feel butterflies in your stomach.

You're pregnant. You're carrying Felix his baby in your stomach, your baby. 

Felix lets out a shuddering breath and laughs. It's one of the best sounds in the world to your opinion. 

‘You’re going to be a dad, Lixie,’ you whisper, moving up your hands to touch his wet cheeks. ‘The best dad in the whole wide world.’ 

****

Three weeks after finding out you'll be parents in about seven to eight months, you're sitting in the waiting room of the hospital with Felix's hand clasped in yours. 

‘I need to pee so bad,’ you whine, bouncing your left leg up and down as if the movement will help distract your bladder. 

Ever since that day in the bathroom at JYP's, Felix has been in full research mode. He bought multiple books, printed out articles and spent hours browsing online to learn about pregnancy and newborn babies. 

‘I know, Angel, but according to the internet it's best to go in with a full bladder or they might not be able to see the baby very well,’ Felix patiently explains, just like the other six times you complained. 

‘I might not be able to hold it if they press that thingy on my belly,’ you grumble. ‘You want me to pee all over the seat?’ 

Felix pulls a disgusted face and you laugh, immediately regretting it when your bladder screams at you for release. 

A door opens in the hallway and a tiny woman with curly brown hair and a long white doctor's coat steps out of a room. 

‘Miss L/N, Y/N?’ 

You stand up with a nervous smile and tighten your fingers around Felix's. To his credit he doesn't wince at your death grip. 

‘What if they don't see anything?’ You whisper to Felix as you walk towards the kind looking woman. ‘What if they don't hear a heartbeat?’

Your own heart is beating in your chest like a wild beast and you can almost imagine it coming out of your ribcage like it sometimes does in cartoons. 

‘Breath, babygirl,’ Felix soothes, pressing a kiss to your temple as he guides you into the room. ‘We'll be okay no matter what.’ 

You're pretty sure that isn’t true, but maybe now is not the time to panic about that. 

‘I can tell you're nervous,’ the doctor smiles at you and gestures to the surprisingly comfortable looking table. There's some sort of soft leather cushion on top of it with a paper sheet. ‘Why don't you lay down, so we can have a look.’ 

Felix helps you up the table and stands by your side, your hand still in his. 

The doctor explains to you what she is going to do and that if she can’t see the baby, she'll try a vaginal ultrasound instead. You nervously bite your lip and nod, your gaze finding Felix's. 

‘Relax, Angel,’ he smiles, lifting your intertwined fingers to his mouth to press a kiss on the back of your hand. 

The gel is cold on your stomach and with baited breath you look at the monitor beside your head. At first all you see is grey and white smudges, but then the doctor stops moving and a black circle comes into view. 

‘There,’ the doctor smiles, turning the monitor more towards you. 

Your mouth drops open at the sight of the tiny little bean and Felix gasps, his fingers tightening their grip around yours. 

And then you hear it.

The heartbeat. 

Tears spring into your eyes and when you look at Felix, his cheeks are already strained with tears, his eyes shining with happiness. 

‘Congratulations, you’re most definitely pregnant,’ the doctor laughs. ‘You’re about 8 weeks along.’

‘We're having a baby,’ you say, your voice croaks and you smile so wide it hurts your cheeks. 

‘We're having a baby,’ Felix repeats, crying, and leaning over you to press his forehead against yours. ‘You've just made me the happiest man alive, Angel.’ 

You laugh and wrap your free hand around the back of his neck to pull him in for a kiss. His lips are soft and taste salty from his tears. 

‘And I'm the luckiest woman alive to have you by my side for this,’ you whisper against his mouth.

‘Oh you two are adorable,’ the doctor giggles and when you look up you see she snapped a picture of you with her phone. ‘I'll airdrop it to you,’ she winks. 

‘Can we have pictures of the ultrasound too?’ You ask her, eager to have even more proof in your hands that this is all real. 

‘Of course, I'll print them out for you.’ 

You turn your attention back on Felix and kiss him again and again, until the doctor clears her throat and you pull away with flushed cheeks. Felix chuckles and accepts some paper towels to clean your stomach. 

‘Sorry about that,’ he says, smiling shyly at the doctor. 

‘No worries sugar, I've seen way worse,’ the doctor winks, making the both of you laugh again. 

When you walk back to your car you can't stop looking at the pictures of the little bean growing inside your stomach. 

‘Is this really happening?’ You ask Felix. 

‘Yes, my love,’ he grins, tucking you closer to his side. ‘It’s real.’

‘Can we tell the boys?’ 

‘Really?’ His eyes widen. ‘They'll lose their shit.’

You grin up at him and kiss his cheek. ‘Better watch your mouth, daddy to be, can't have you swearing in front of the baby.’ 

His eyes darken and before you realize what is happening you're gently pushed against the side of your car. Every inch of Felix's body is pressed against yours and you let out a surprised laugh. 

‘Lix!’

‘Soon I won't be able to do this anymore, got to savor the moments I still can,’ he says, capturing your mouth in a deep and passionate kiss. 

You melt against him and for a minute you forget that you're in the hospital's parking lot. All that matters right at this moment is you and Felix. 

And the little human growing in your belly.

a/n: felix will make the best dad one day! I might write more of this if you guys are interested ;)

>> part 2: telling the boys

disclaimer: ive never had an ultrasound (of my uterus at least), so this is all based off the stories my co workers have told me haha

taglist: @jaeminie-cricket @jeonginsbaee @staylovesmiley @newbbystay @cashtonsbetch @mariahxrrera @kaleigh-2002 @silencionyx @smileykiddie08 @my-neurodivergent-world @yaorzu-blog @yoongiismylove2018 @staytinyluv @bookswillfindyouaway @queen-thiccness @notastraykid @ateez-atiny380 @estella-novella @furfoxsake22 @hyunjinhoexxx @insomnjen @girl-in-love-with-kpop @vivilovesuu @velvetmoonlght @skz8love @corgilover20 @littlelostdemonofthelight @stephanieeeyang @zulie-and-cats @chanshugsaretherapy @pizzalove5000 @dazzlingjade @milie-com @thequibbie @channiesrightasscheek @strawbrriz @delulustardust @velvetskize

[dominiquelucalover]

Center of Danger | Dominique Luca x Pregnant!Reader

Summary: Your Tuesday plans are put on hold when you're caught in the middle of a bank robbery, but as if that didn't put a damper on your day, going into labor in the middle of it certainly did.

CW: fem!reader, pregnancy, labor, hostage situation, guns, death threats, death, blood, mild descriptions of violence, pre-established relationship. If any of these topics trigger you in any way, please do not read. Your wellbeing is so important.

A/N: I tried to make reader a behavioral analysis expert who works with S.W.A.T. but I don't know how well I incorporated that. ( not me trying to flex my Criminal Minds knowledge like a fucking nerd.) PS: I spent four straight hours writing this lol. and nother hour and a half proofreading and editing (and adding a whole 'nother fucking thing to the end of this jfc) (I'm having fun lol)

Your day had been going well. You went to one of your final doctors appointments before you were supposed to have the baby, you'd grabbed some of the last minute things on your baby list, and you were going over what you needed from the grocery store while you stood in line at the bank. It was one of those errands that you couldn't put off doing anymore, especially with the impending birth of your child, so it seemed easy enough to get out of the way today while you were already out and about. Unfortunately, a group of greedy, grubby-handed robbers decided to ruin those plans.

You couldn't lay on the ground like they wanted everyone to, which already irritated not only them but you too. The floor was uncomfortable as you sat against one of the desks while everyone else was forced to lay face down and not to move. It was a tense situation as the three robbers made the tellers fill their bags, one you wished would be over soon.

However, the robbers had already fucked up and got themselves stuck in the bank. A teller had sounded the silent alarm and in a fit of anger, one of the criminals shot the security officer dead. Another one freaked out because "no one was supposed to die" and seemed to be on the verge of tears, but it was hard to tell because they were all wearing plastic Halloween masks. This was turning out to be the worst bank robbery you had ever witnessed, not that you had ever actually witnessed a bank robbery but you had studied plenty.

"Shit, man! The cops are here!" one of the robbers all but growled. He turned his weapon on the tellers with a nasty glare from behind his ghoul mask. "Which one of you sounded the alarm, huh? Fucking idiots!"

He shot at the ceiling suddenly, causing people to scream. You jumped and held your belly protectively, taking a deep breath as you tried to stay calm. However, your blood pressure was already up and you could hear your heartbeat in your ears. The baby was kicking, sensing your distress, and you rubbed your bump in an attempt to soothe them.

"Cool it!" another of the robbers chastised his buddy, seething with anger behind his devil mask. "You're gonna need those bullets. So chill the fuck out."

"I'll do as I damn-well please," the first one said, then walked away, seeming to look for another way out.

The freaked-out robber stayed out of the conversation, seeming more subservient to the other two. He just stood the to side, watching over the hostages like he'd been told to, hiding behind his clown mask. You knew from that if any of them were going to break first, it was him.

As things around you began to calm down, you leaned your head back on the desk and took even, deep breaths. Of course, the quiet couldn't last long.

A couple were whispering to each other a few feet away and as soon as the robber with the devil mask, who seemed to be the leader, caught wind of it, he stomped over and pointed his gun at the woman's head. "I said to keep quiet! You want me to blow her head off?"

"No, please! We'll be quiet!" the man begged.

"I should make sure you stay quiet for good," the leader said, teasing the trigger of his gun. The grin of his devil mask made the scene more unsettling.

At that moment, you felt a sharp pain in your belly and let out a heavy groan. All eyes turned to you and watched as you withered in your spot. You were caught between pain and confusion, hoping that you weren't going into labor. You weren't due for another three and a half weeks. Your baby couldn't come now, this was the worst-case scenario. Anywhere else but in the middle of a robbery would have been ideal.

The devil walked over to see what you were doing, letting out a frustrated groan. "Oh, for fuck's sake! Give me a break!"

You looked up at him as the contraction passed, irritated and not ready to give birth. You spat, "Sorry to ruin your parade!"

He pointed his gun at you but the clown ran over and pushed it down. "Dude, you can't shoot a pregnant lady!"

The leader looked at him, then walked away muttering under his breath about how this was going terribly and how the last thing he needed was a baby to mess it up further.

It was about that time one of the phones rang and he walked over to answer it, knowing it was the police outside. It was about time, but you thought that perhaps they needed a negotiator to show up, which was unfortunate for you. A few minutes earlier and you might not be in the early stages of labor right now.

"What do you want?" Devil asked brashly.

You couldn't hear who was on the other side of the call, sitting too far away. You watched closely, hoping your boyfriend was outside with his team. It would be the perfect fantasy if he came to your rescue; besides, they were the best S.W.A.T. team in LA. What were the chances that they weren't here?

The phone call only lasted about two minutes before the leader hung up having made no demands. He laughed, shaking his head. "They think I'm an idiot."

The ghoul came back into the room and grunted. "They've got the whole place surrounded! They probably have snipers ready to kill us if we walk outta here. What do we do?"

Devil thought for a moment, then gestured with his gun at the people laying on the floor. "Put them in front of the doors and windows. Use them as a shield. They won't shoot in here with hostages in the way and it'll give us time to think."

His accomplices nodded and started getting people up, guiding them with their guns to form a line around the center of the bank. The patrons followed orders dutifully and linked their arms together, their lives put further in danger by their captors.

The leader came over to you and grabbed your arm, but the clown came over and asked him what he was doing. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting her off her ass."

"She's pregnant, man," he said, his voice a little more confident than before. He didn't seem to like that you were there at all, but as soon as his bossy friend came near you, he jumped to your aid. "Just leave her alone."

"You questioning me?"

He seemed to think on his feet. "I'm just saying, if the cops know we got a pregnant lady in here, thye're gonna get more aggressive. They'll try harder to get in here. Think about it, man."

"Kid's got a point," Ghoul said, looking over. "She'll be our secret weapon."

Devil looked between them and shook his head, letting you go. "Fine, maybe you're right... this time. We'll see."

He walked away to make sure the wall of hostages was cooperating, looking out the glass doors and windows at the front of the bank to evaluate what his next move should be. He took slow, calculated steps, taunting the police and the hostages at the same time.

Another contraction hit you and you whimpered, holding your stomach and slightly curling up. The clown crouched down beside you, looking at you with wide eyes from behind his mask. He stuttered, "A-are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" you asked through clenched teeth. He looked down, almost ashamed for asking the question. You would feel bad if he wasn't hiding his identity and holding a large automatic gun on his back. Once the pain passed, you breathed out. "How old are you?"

"Doesn't matter," he answered.

"Sure it does. They called you kid," you told him, making him look up at you. "Means they don't respect you."

"That's not true," he said, shaking his head. He stood up and walked away, but looked back at you as he did. That was how you knew you did it. You planted that seed of doubt in his mind.

The next call came in not that long after, but Devil made one of the hostages answer the phone, a terrified older man who had been there to help his son open a bank account. He instructed the man on what to say, telling the officer on the other end that they wanted an armored car and a one way trip out of the country for the three of them, all within the next hour. It wasn't possible, you thought, which you were sure was what they were told before the hostage was made to hangup the phone with the promise that if their demands weren't met by that time, someone else was going to die.

The time seemed to pass sluggishly. You wouldn't have known it was going by at all were it not for the contractions picking up speed. You had read all your books about pregnancy and birth, so you knew that wasn't a great sign in this particular situation. Your labor seemed to be fast approaching, but you didn't want it to be. Were this in line with your birth plan, that would be ideal. However, a speedy birth was not on your agenda for the day.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock," Devil taunted as he walked the line of hostages again. He'd been pacing behind them to needlessly remind them of his presence. It was cruel and having to watch him was intense. "Five more minutes."

"What if they get us what we want?" Clown asked, looking at his friend.

The leader shook his head. "They won't get us what we want. They'll try to bribe us with less than what we asked for just to get us outside."

"So you're just gonna kill one?"

"Yup."

A woman in line cried out at hearing this and she was snapped at to shut up by the ghoul. He held a gun to her back and laughed at her terror as she tried to muffle her cries.

Clown watched, clutching his gun to his chest, before looking at Devil. "Wasn't killing the guard enough?"

"Not until we get out of here with the money and our lives," the leader answered, then shoved him. "Now shut up and do your job."

You watched as the 'kid' shook his head and walked away, listening to the devil without another question. Paying attention to everything else around you was the only thing keeping you from going insane from the pain. It was more persistent now and you felt the baby had moved lower. It was getting harder to keep your cool as all you wanted to do was yell and kick your feet at these guys who had forced you into early labor.

You were trying not to think about the time passing, watching Devil pace back and forth behind the line. He was looking at them, gun pointed at their backs. Then, suddenly, another sharp contraction shot through you and all you could do was scream as he shot a woman in the back.

She would have dropped to the floor were it not for the two people on either side of her whose arms were linked with hers. They were told to drop her as she cried and writhed. Then Devil went to stand over her, watching her squirm on the ground and bleed, before lifting his gun and shooting her in the head. Everything stopped and grew quiet except for your cries. They echoed off the high walls of the bank, violently reminding everyone there that life came with pain.

Sweat and tears slipped down your face as people were forced to listen to you until you quieted down. The contraction passed and you were slumped against the desk once more.

The devil turned to Clown and motioned toward you. "Go make sure she's alive."

"Okay," he said and walked over to you. He put his gun on his back and crouched beside you, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the sweat from your forehead. "You're, uh, you're getting closer to, um, having the baby, aren't you?"

You nodded, keeping your eyes forward, watching the way Devil made two hostages move the woman's body closer to the door. They were going to use her as a block in front of the door incase S.W.A.T. came running in, which made you sick to your stomach. You'd seen a lot of malicious shit, but that was a new low.

The phone rang, but no one moved to answer it. Then the devil chuckled.

"Get her on her feet," he said, looking over at you and the 'kid.'

Clown puffed up his chest. "She can't possibly-"

Devil got angry. "Don't question me! Just do it!"

Clown looked at you apologetically and put an arm around your back and hoisted you up. You cried out as you felt the baby shift lower. It was hard to walk, awkward really. But he held you up and guided you to the phone as it rang. Just as you reached the desk, it stopped, and you wanted to scream but managed to hold it in. You knew they would call back. They had to.

The clown leant you against the desk and brought its accompanying chair over to you. He helped you sit in it as his buddies scolded him, but he didn't argue back or justify his actions then. Only when you were seated did he turn to them and bark back.

"You're making a pregnant lady do all this shit when she's about to have a goddamn baby! What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled.

Devil got in his face. "I'm the one calling the shots around here! You do as I say, and if I want that fat bitch to answer the damn phone, she will, or she and that baby won't-"

"Oh, so you're gonna kill a lady and her baby?"

"Wait a minute!" Ghoul interrupted, looking at the devil, "Who died and put you in charge?"

"I've been in charge, numbnuts!"

The argument would have continued on from there, but the phone rang. They all looked at your tired face and waited for you to comply with what Devil wanted. So, you did.

"Hello," you said.

The voice on the other end of the phone made you feel some relief as he said your name. It was Hondo. "Is that you?"

You didn't answer immediately, not wanting to put the robbers on edge or clue them in to anything.

He seemed to understand. "If you are who I think you are, say 'where's the car?' if you're not, say 'please help us.' Okay?"

"Where's the car?" you asked, eyes trained on the robbers. Devil nodded at you, seeming to like that you were apparently smart enough to understand the situation at hand - you got right to the point of things and had been paying attention. Little did he know...

"We're gonna get you out of there, okay? We're working on it," Hondo told you.

"Well work on it faster," you told him, wincing in pain. You held your belly with your free hand. You kept your mouth shut about being in labor, knowing the robbers didn't want that detail known to anyone outside. "They've already killed someone else."

"We know, we saw," he said, letting out a regretful sigh. "But our eyes can only see in through the windows. The camera system is down. How many people are left inside with you?"

You looked around the room, trying to count the number of hostages, but it was harder to concentrate on something like that. "I don't know."

"What did he say?" Devil asked.

"They want to know how many people are alive."

Ghoul huffed. "Why does he want to know?"

"I don't know," you groaned, feeling another contraction rearing its ugly head. You did know, but there was no way you could strategize what the right thing to say to them was at that moment. "They-they probably- ahh!"

Hondo said your name several times, keeping his voice even. "Talk to me, mama. What's going on in there?"

Devil came over and seethed at you, "Tell him to get us what we want or we're gonna kill another person. Then hang up."

You spoke through the pain. "Get them what they want-"

"Are you in labor?" Hondo asked, hearing the strain in your voice.

"Or they're going to kill again," you said. "Please, please hurry."

Ghoul took the phone from your hand shook, slamming it into the holder. He watched you as you grabbed the arms of the chair, digging your nails into the hard wood. You scraped it and he shook his head. "Pregnant people are weird," he mumbled.

He and the devil moved on, talking to each other about what to do next. They began to argue about it but it was short lived as they parted ways. Ghoul slammed his fist on a desk and stomped away to try again at finding a plan-b escape. Devil leaned on a desk out of view of the windows, near you, and waited.

Clown stayed with you and talked you through the contraction. His voice wavered with fear and nervousness, seemingly never been in a situation like this before, as far as pregnancy went at the very least. Once it passed, he wiped your forehead again. "What-what's going to happen if you give birth in here?"

You looked at him, unsure yourself. "Well, there will be a baby in here and we'll both need immediate medical attention. If at that point they know about that, S.W.A.T. might just do anything to get in here."

Now that Hondo knew you were in here, there was more pressure on him to get inside and ensure your safety. You knew he wasn't going to tell Luca that you were one of the hostages because it would cloud his judgement, damned be the third generation S.W.A.T. officer that he was. His girlfriend and unborn child were in the center of danger and he'd do anything to get you out of there.

Clown got you water and helped you drink it as you continued to wallow in pain. As you sat there, you knew the situation was dire. You could see out some of the windows, seeing S.W.A.T. officers gearing up. You knew that sooner or later, they were going to come inside. You also saw an armored car pulling up, but it was a great distance away from the doors.

Ghoul came back, a little bit of a skip in his step. "They got our car! Let's go!"

"Wait!" Devil said, standing from his position and walking up behind the hostages. He took a man from them by putting his arm around his neck and pointing his gun into his side. They slowly made their way to the windows so he could peer out. He seethed. "They're trying to lure us out."

When he got back to the safe zone, the devil scratched his head, clearly deep in thought. He knew they were in deep, and with your timely reminders about the impending birth of your child, their odds of getting out of here was getting slimmer and slimmer.

"Wait for them to call," he said, turning to his friends. "We tell them we're going to take a hostage with us to ensure our escape."

"Dude, they got the fucking car, why do we gotta wait?" Ghoul asked.

"Because as soon as we step anywhere near those windows, they're gonna gun us down," Devil said, shoving him. "This is why I'm in charge, because you don't think!"

"I think better than you!" the ghoul yelled. "It was my idea to come here, remember?"

"And look at where that got us! You could of picked any other bank, but it had to be this big fancy one in the middle of town!"

"The cameras are out! They can't see in here, dimwit!"

You were about to yell at them to shut up when the phone rang. Devil looked at you and nodded. As you picked up the phone, Ghoul tried to continue the argument, but the devil shoved him away and told him to be quiet.

"Hello," you said.

Hondo sighed with relief at hearing your voice. "Say 'what do you want?' if you're okay. Say anything else if not."

"What do you want?" you asked.

"Tell the brothers we have their car ready for them," he said, which peaked your interest. You looked at the robbers in front of you and it clicked. Their arguing and dynamics made sense now.

They were brothers.

"Your car is ready," you told them.

Ghoul leaned against the desk in front of you. "Tell him we want it closer!"

Devil shoved him away again. "And that we're taking a hostage with us, so if they shoot at us, they'll be killing the next innocent person."

You took a deep breath and nodded. "They want the car closer so that they can get in with a hostage."

Hondo grunted. "Of course they'd try that trick. Listen to me, okay, we're not gonna let that happen. But tell them that we have to make room to move the car, so it'll be a minute."

"Okay," you said and sighed, rubbing your belly. You were in the last stretch of contraction. You could just feel it. "They have to make room for the car to get closer, so it'll be a few minutes before you can leave."

Devil didn't say anything, only took the phone from you and hung it up. "Get ready to get out of here, boys. Make the hostages take our bags to the door."

Then he walked away.

Ghoul took control of that mini mission, bossing two of the men in line to move and hustle to get their bags full of money to the door. They dropped them off and promptly got back in line, seeing the robber's finger ever-present on the trigger of his gun.

You were leaning forward on the desk, head laying on your arms as you whined and tried to breath deeply. You tried to hold your legs closed, preventing the progression of labor in anyway you could. You cursed having worn a dress today. You tried to think about anything else but where you where in that moment and what was happening. You tried to put yourself at home, in your baby's nursery that you and Luca had spent the last few weeks putting together and decorating. It helped distract you for a few minutes until more yelling broke the illusion.

Looking up, you saw Devil and Ghoul arguing about which hostage to take with them, which was the stupidest thing you had ever seen. It made you angry as you sat there, in labor, having to listen to this. Devil wanted to take you but Ghoul wanted to take anyone else. You were at your breaking point.

However, Clown snubbed out your lit fuse. He came with more water and helped you sit up so he could bring the cup to your lips. You sipped it, thankful that he was the kindest of the brothers. From what you had observed, he had to be the baby of the three and didn't want to hurt anyone there. He was there to rob a bank, not kill anyone, and each time you were in pain, he came to your side. He took care of you as much as he knew how. Something inside of him was redeemable, you thought so at least.

"They're both idiots," you whispered to him.

He hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah... I can't believe I agreed to do this. I should have never let them talk me into this."

You nodded. "Yeah, that's true."

He leaned against the desk, staying close to you as you both listened to the argument devolve, once more, into who is in charge. It was beginning to sound like they were a broken record, but as they continued the back and forth, you heard how similar their voices were, how similarly they spoke, and you could picture them as brothers more and more. It was in contrast to the 'kid', who seemed a little more mild mannered and quiet. He only spoke against the other two when he was passionate about whatever he was fighting them for, be it the lives of the people there or your wellbeing. It made you wonder how he was a part of this family.

Suddenly, everything came to a head.

"I told you to stop questioning me!" someone yelled, followed by a round of rapid pops from a gun.

You couldn't process anything for a moment, stomach tightening and making double over, leaning onto the desk again. You held your belly, screaming with the other scared people trapped with you. The moment passed quickly, but you couldn't look up.

"Bobby, what did you do?" Clown yelled.

The devil, Bobby, turned and criticized his kid brother. "Shut up! Don't say my name, you idiot!"

"But-"

"I said shut up!" he yelled and pointed the gun at him. "Now stop asking stupid questions or you're next."

You peeked up from your arm, seeing how far Devil had devolved. In the beginning, he was semi-organized (given how shittily the robbery was planned, there was at least some effort on his behalf), but the stress of the situation and his brother's mouth had finally snapped his last nerve.

Clown backed down and slowly sank to the ground beside your chair. Bobby began pacing again.

The phone range and you answered it.

"What's happening in there?" Hondo asked.

You could feel the devil's eyes on you. "You need to hurry."

"What happened?" he said again, fearing the worst.

You let out a breath. "Someone else is dead."

"Tell them we're going as fast as we can," he said.

You looked over at Bobby. "They're going as fast as they can. Please don't shoot anyone else."

"I'll shoot whoever I damn-well please," he said and took the phone from you, putting it to his ear. "You listen here, buddy. You don't tell me what to do, got it? Now, if that car isn't at the front door in five minutes, I'm killing everyone in here."

He slammed the phone into the holder before ripping it off of the desk and throwing it across the room. He stomped off, going back to his look out position from behind the line of people. He watched the doors impatiently, seemingly unbothered by the crying people before him. Their anguish brought him no joy, unlike his now-dead brother, as it was obvious that the people were merely pawns in his game. He didn't care about them whatsoever.

You laid your head down and whispered, "He's gonna kill you."

Clown made a worried noise in the back of his throat. "No-no he won't. He-he's my brother..."

"You blew his cover. Everyone here knows his name and it won't be hard to track down a Bobby in an armored car," you said, pausing to moan and shift your seated position. You couldn't hold your legs together anymore, knowing it was dangerous. It was a feeble attempt anyway. "He's already angry and you're the only one left brave enough to stand up to him."

He whined. "I-I'm really not."

"Yeah, you are," you told him, hoping to break through to him. "You've protected me from him this whole time. That took a lot of courage, I know it did."

"But... he's my brother... The only family I have left now," he said.

You looked at him, meeting his sad eyes past the mask. "Family wouldn't put you in this position."

He stared into your eyes for a moment, then looked away in contemplation. He didn't say anything for a moment, which felt like an eternity, and then he looked at you again. "What's your name?"

"Why does it matter now?" you asked.

"Because if I'm gonna die, I'd like to know the name of the lady I protected," he said.

You didn't understand what that meant, it could mean many things, and as you felt the pain getting worse, you couldn't think very well anyway. You told him your name between heavy breathes.

He gently wiped your forehead again, talking you through the pain. Then he took off his mask, revealing his face to you, and you were saddened to see how young he was. There was no doubt he was in his early twenties but he still had a baby face and the biggest eyes you'd ever seen a man have, giving him a deer in the headlights look.

"I'm Eric."

Then he stood up and moved away from you, walking over to another desk quietly. He moved out of your sight and you couldn't move much anymore, too tired to do much of anything as it were. Despite the situation, all you wanted to do was get this over with.

Then, there was a loud thud from where Eric had disappeared to.

Bobby turned around and marched over to you. "What the hell are you doing?"

You groaned, looking up at him. "Nothing."

He seethed again, "I've about had enough of you and you're whining."

"I'm about to push a watermelon out of me, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to shut u-" BANG!

He fell to the ground in front of you, his blood splattering on the desk. Looking over, Eric had his gun trained on his brother from behind the desk a few feet away, eerily still, like he was trained for this. It made your heart ache because your stomach was already twisted. What kind of life had this kid had that led him and his brothers to this?

As he walked over to you, he yelled at the other hostages, "Go! Get out of here! Go! Get out!" They listened without hesitance and ran screaming and crying for the door.

He crouched down beside his brother's body and took the gun off of him, sliding it across the floor. He then took his own gun and push it to follow. Then he turned to you, "Are you okay?"

You nodded. "More or less."

Eric couldn't say another word before S.W.A.T. came into the bank with guns at the ready. They aimed at him and he put his arms up, already on his knees. You screamed in pain and he turned to look at you, making Hondo yell at him to stay still, but he didn't seem to hear him. If he did, he didn't listen and reached out to you.

He took your hand and let you squeeze it as the pain made you sob.

You managed to cry out, "He's unarmed!"

The team got closer and saw the truth in your words. They pulled his hand from yours despite your tight grip and handcuffed him, getting him onto his feet. While Chris and Street patted him down, Luca and Hondo came to your side.

"Fucking hell, I could kill this guy for all this," Luca grunted, clearly angry. He took your hand into his.

You shook your head. "He's a hero, believe me."

"How is he-?" Hondo asked, but was cut off by your guttural scream.

Deacon shook his head as he watched. "We need to get her out of here. Now."

The paramedics came in with their gurneys and attended to the bodies on the floor, but by the time it was decerned that they were beyond saving, everyone was busy and there was no room for you anywhere. Luca picked you up and carried you outside in hopes of finding an ambulance to take you to the nearest hospital, but they were all tending to the injured who had run outside earlier.

Tan opened up the back doors of Black Betty and called out to Luca, ushering the team over. Street helped get you inside while Tan and Chris ran to the side doors to get in. Once you were laying on the floor, Luca behind you and holding you close, everyone else piled in and closed everything up, turning on the lights and sirens.

You were screaming the whole time, crying as it became too much. Your body was telling you to push and that was all you could think about doing. Luca was trying to soothe you, telling you that you would be at the hospital soon and that it would be okay. But your baby had other ideas, they had waited long enough.

"The baby's coming!" you cried out.

"We know, we're gonna-"

"No! Now! The baby's coming right now!"

You let out another scream as you pushed. Deacon slide onto the floor and pulled your legs up onto the seats on either side of you, pushing your dress away. He ripped your underwear to get a look at how things were progressing and then looked up at Luca, Street, and Hondo, "She's right. She's crowning."

Hondo called out to the front, "Tan, pull over!"

Luca held your hands as you rested you head back against his abdomen, crying as your body guided you. Everything you'd read and come to understand was nothing compared to the way your body told you what to do.

Black Betty came to a stop on the side of the road, but it only took three more powerful pushes that the ended the pressure. You ached, but the pain was lessened dramatically. You opened your eyes to see Deacon picking up your baby, who was a little chubby for a newborn and rather long, aka big like their daddy.

Deacon gently held them and patted their back, getting them to cry and clear their airways. He smiled at them and happily said, "Welcome to the world, Baby Luca."

Street rummaged around for anything to wrap the baby in, only for Chris to pass a fresh shirt to him from the front. He thanked her and helped Deacon wrap your little angel up to keep warm before they were laid on your chest. You took her, Luca's arm coming under yours to support you both.

"It's a girl," Deacon told you and you smiled. He smiled too, knowing that joy and pride well. "Congratulations."

Tan put Black Betty in gear and let everyone know he was going to start driving again, as you and your daughter needed to be taken to the hospital. After that, no one said anything. They just let you and Luca have your moment with your daughter.

Luca couldn't even speak. He had spent the day tirelessly trying to save hostages from a bad situation that only got worse as the minutes passed by, only to learn from Hondo that you were one of them minutes before they stormed in there. He ran to you as soon as he could and wanted to burn the robbers to the ground with how angry he was because you were caught in the middle of their idiocy. Then, as soon as he saw you were in labor, he was scared, too. However, now, all that stress and anger and fear was erased. You were safe in his arms with your daughter. He had a daughter! He was nothing my happy.

Street inevitably ruined the precious moment, but lightened it at the same time as he broke the silence. "I can't believe you gave birth in Black Betty."

The team didn't react until you laughed, which let them know they could laugh too.

"I'm just glad it wasn't in the bank," you said, the ache still in your heart for the people who were lost and the kid brother who had saved you. You looked at Hondo as you remembered him. "I wanna be there for Eric. He really did save those of us that he could."

Hondo didn't question you, because you were tired and hormonal and he knew you knew what you were talking about. He just nodded and said, "I'll talk to the DA, but for now, you just worry about that cutiepie you got, okay?"

"Okay," you said.

When you got to the hospital, you were taken to a room immediately. Not only because you were wheeled in with a baby in your arms, but because you had a team of S.W.A.T. officers escorting you. Luca went back with you and ensured you and your baby daughter were okay.

Despite being three and a half weeks early, she was healthy. She would need to stay a few extra days for observation, but that was okay with you. Both you and Luca wanted the best for her, so you knew she might need a little extra watching over because of her early arrival and the stress you were under, and you needed to recover as well. It would work out, you were sure.

Once that was cleared up, Luca sat beside you with your daughter asleep in her basinet at your bedside. He watched her with nothing but love in his eyes. He'd only been talking about how excited he was for her to 'hurry up and get here' in the months leading up to this moment. He hadn't cared if she were a boy or a girl, as you'd left finding out to be a surprise at the birth, because he was going to love his kid no matter what. You knew he was going to be an amazing father.

You watched him, tired as all hell, but couldn't fall asleep. Even after the day you'd had, you laid awake on some pain killers with a soft smile on your lips. "I love you."

Luca turned to you and chuckled. "I love you, too." He reached out for your hand and squeezed it gently. "You are the most amazing woman I've ever met, you know that?"

"You only tell me that at least once a day," you laughed softly, careful not to wake your sleeping angel.

"Well, I mean it so much this time," he told you, bringing your hand up to kiss your knuckles. "You're so strong and smart and brave. What you went through today was a lot and you powered through it like a champ. And you see the good in people even in situations when it's hard to see anything but bad."

"What can I say?" you asked, not really sure what there was to say. You just read the situation like it was. And it helped you and several other people get through it. "I'm just a woman."

"Nah, you're more than that," he said and leaned in closer, kissing your head. Your eyes closed and this time they were too heavy to lift back open. "You're Superwoman."

"If you say so," you mumbled. You then fell into a dreamless sleep, getting the much needed rest your deserved.

Lowkey, I'm now attached to the backstory I accidentally gave Bobby, Ghoul, and Eric, so here it is if anyone cares. Bobby, Ghoul - who's real name is Terry, and Eric were born in a less than ideal home. Raised by a worked to the bone mother and a father who had lengthy arrest record, they were doomed from the start. Bobby and Terry were closer in age to each other than either of them were to Eric, often getting into trouble and leaving him out. When they weren't getting suspended from school, they were pushing Eric around metaphorically and literally. They would often use Eric as a punching bag when they weren't getting into fights with each other. They mother wasn't around a lot as she worked multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads. When she was around, she was frustrated and tired, often getting angry at them for little problems like leaving their shoes out for her to trip over and bigger issues like getting kicked out of school. Their father was in and out of jail for most of their lives, but when he was around, he taught them how to shoot, steal, and hot wire cars. Averse to these activities, Eric was once again the odd one out and often the target of his brothers' criticism. Their father often got drunk and ranted to his sons about his drawbacks in life, often blaming others. Due to this unstable environment, it was no wonder the brothers turned out the way they did. Bobby followed in their father's footsteps, often helping their old man with his criminal endeavors when he could. After their father's untimely death at the hands of a homeowner protecting himself after he broke into the house, Bobby was angry. He went on a bend of drinking and crime, ending him up in jail where he made friends. Once he was out, he started robbing houses and small business. Terry at least finished high school and got a job as a mechanic, which was stable enough for a while. He started to doing shotty work for cheap and got fired once his boss found out. He did a number of odd jobs after that. Eric was on the right track but couldn't catch a break. With a grant, he was able to start college but had to leave after his mother became ill. He was almost done with college when he dropped out to take care of her, but it was fruitless. He didn't blame his mom but rather the bad hand life had dealt him, but didn't grow very bitter. He got a shitty job and went about his life. However, their mother's death is what brought the brothers back together. It was several months after the funeral that Bobby came around with the idea to rob a bank. Terry was crashing on Eric's couch at the time and liked the idea, immediately liking the idea of free money and getting to go anywhere they wanted. The two oldest brothers talked Eric into it, telling him they could go live their dream lives and get out of the shambles they called a life. Plus, they were brothers, the only family he had left, was he really gonna left them do it alone?

And yeah, that's what I got for the bank robbing brothers. If it doesn't make any sense, I came up with all of this over the span of 8 hours and little to no sleep.

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

Imagine being pregnant with King's child and not knowing about it until you give birth

At a distant Beast Pirate base

You: [has been away from Onigashima for seven months]

Jack: are you sure you're okay?

You: [hunched over, grasping your sore back, and sweating profusely while trying to catch your breath] Yes, I'm fine, my sciatica is just acting up.

Jack: I think you should go to the infirmary.

You: [snaps] Dude, seriously? I said - [feels a deluge of fluid flood your pants] ... you know what, I think I need to go to the infirmary. In fact, you need to carry me.

Jack: bitch, you have legs, how about you walk?

You: [doubles over and shrieks in pain]

Jack: ugh [rolls his eyes and runs you to the infirmary]

Twenty-six hours later

You: [looking at your infant in shock]

Infant: [a beautiful chubby Lunarian baby girl with a tiny set of black wings]

Jack: congratulations on the baby! [walks in to see said baby] fuck... need to go call King.

You: ... kill the medical staff first, no one can know about her.

The staff: ( ' O__O)

You: Once you're done with that, can you please get us out here?

Jack: of course [turns to the staff and cracks his knuckles] Also don't tell me what to do. [gets to work]

You: [cradles your child closer so she can't see or hear what's happening, and laughs] Thank you for being so reliable, Jack.

Jack: I just... I wish you had told me sooner that you were pregnant.

You: I didn't know until today that I was pregnant.

Jack: How could you not know you were pregnant? That shit seems hard to miss.

You: We've been out at sea for months, I figure I was just the normal amount of nauseous, sore, fatigued, cranky, and hungry.

Jack: [breaks the neck of the last nurse] Ugh, now you get three weeks of seafaring with a newborn because I'm taking you to King.

You: Why would you think my baby would be safe with King?

Jack: [gives you a "bitch, really?" look]

You: ...

Jack: ...

You: Oh my god, he's a Lunarian too

Jack: How have you been fucking him enough to make a baby, and not know he's a Lunarian.

You: Do you really wanna know the answer to that?

Jack: You two are gross. I'm taking you to a safe house until we are ready to set sail.

At the safe house

King, via den den mushi: What do you mean you're pregnant?!

You: no, I said I was pregnant, not I am pregnant.

King: what the fuck does that mean?

Your daughter: [starts to fuss]

King: please tell me that is not a goddamn baby, I hear.

You: Yeah, sorry, I didn't know until she decided it was time to come out.

King: what color is her hair?

You: She's a newborn, she doesn't have hair yet.

King: [stumbling over his words] Does she look a little... Is she ... fuck... Is there anything off with the baby?

You: No, the doctors said she was healthy, especially her lungs. She came out screaming, it was so loud that she made the doctor's ears ring.

King: So she has your loud ass voice, great.

You: And she's got a cute little set of wings like her daddy.

King: oh, don't call me that... Are there any other features I should know about?

You: She's got your fat head, too.

Kaido: [cackling in the background on King's end]

King: Is that so? Jack, how long until they can set sail?

Jack: On such short notice, three days.

Three weeks later in Onigashima

King: Alright, let me see her.

You: [hands her over]

King: [lifts her up to get a good look at her] She has your nose.

Queen: [mutters] She really does have your fat head.

King: Get away from my child, I don't want you even looking at her]

Queen: I, honestly, never would have pegged you as the paternal type, but then again, I always thought I'd have kids before you.

You: You would have to have sex with someone to have a child, and last time I checked you couldn't pull any bitches. But also, seriously, stay the fuck away from my kid.

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[lovemybluebully]

Salad is a Four Letter Word

Soooooo Venom seems to be popular again, especially with my new pal @ticklishdeadpool so this one is for you, buddy! 🍻

While I don't think I'm going to see the new movie I did decide to dig into my graveyard of abandoned fics. Found this WIP that I had started after the first movie came out and have now filled in all the gaps for your viewing pleasure. It was a little tricky as I haven't seen the movie in awhile, but hope I did okay. For that reason, I probably won't be writing anymore Venom fics for the current time, but at least this one will be out there now.

It's a totally nonsense-type of fic. lol Didn't really have anywhere that I was going with it so it had been abandoned, but still just fun, silly interactions between Eddie and Venom. With tickles of course! Me, write a fic without tickling? 🤣 Good one.

If you have a flesh-loving alien inside of you, you don't threaten to force him to eat salad. 😆

Venom (Movieverse)

Word Count: 2,546

"What are we doing here? We don't like this place."

Eddie let out an exasperated groan as he stood in the lobby of the hospital, waiting for the elevator to come back down.

"I already told you, Anne just wants to be safe and have Dan check me out. You know, just in case my body is having any adverse effects to you practically living inside me."

"We can assure you it is not," Venom gave an offended growl from inside of him just as the elevator doors opened.

"Yeah, well as much as I'd like to believe you we'll let the body scan decide that," Eddie nodded as he stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to the correct floor.

"Eddie doesn't trust us," the symbiote accused, prompting Eddie to roll his eyes as they moved up the floors of the building. For a powerful super alien from outer space he could sure be sensitive sometimes.

"Shut up, it's not that it's just that I need proof. I'm a reporter, and I like to have the facts."

"The fact is you're being a traitorous piece of shit."

The elevator finally stopped as they reached the selected floor and Eddie walked out into the hallway. He sighed heavily once he stopped in front of the door to Dan's office; his eyes looking up towards the ceiling as if trying to find his calm.

"Tell you what, if you behave here then we'll go get some McDonald's after this. Fair?"

"....Ok, deal. But lets make it a quick visit! I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," Eddie shook his head as he opened the door where the doctor and Anne were waiting.

"Hi Eddie, really nice to see you again," Dan welcomed him as he stood up from his desk and walked around to shake Eddie's hand.

"You too. Uh sorry we're late. My alarm didn't go off, and when I was trying to get out the door Venom was being his usual primadonna self and-Gaah!" Eddie grunted when a single symbiote tendril reached out and poked him in the ribs, just under the armpit.

"Keep talking, Eddie," Venom hissed threateningly; his head popping out from his host's back and wrapping himself over the wide shoulders.

"Well now I see who wears the pants in this relationship," Dan laughed, but it died out when Eddie gave him an annoyed glare, not finding his joke amusing in the slightest.

"It's a good thing you're a doctor and not a comedian."

"And it's a good thing you're a reporter and not a giant loser....oh wait," Venom snickered to himself while Eddie glared back at him.

"That's it. Deal's off."

"NOOOOO!!!" Venom wailed in sorrow as Eddie gave a smug grin and reconfirmed his earlier comment.

"See? Primadonna."

"Come on, guys, take it easy. This will all be quick and painless," Anne tried to break it up, though always finding their antics to be amusing.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be bad at all. Very standard procedure. So if you're ready we can get this all underway."

Eddie was then handed a hospital gown to change into as Dan led the way down to the lab.

.......................................

"Alright, buddy, we're gonna do an MRI now, and I know you don't like that so take a hike for a minute," Eddie instructed the alien as he gestured a thumb away from himself.

"Do I have to?"

"Just do it, would ya?"

"Ohhh ok," Venom grumbled as he seeped out of Eddie onto the floor, mostly forming into a blob, but with a serpent-like head extending out. Eddie blinked for a moment and then smirked down at the symbiote.

"You know, I never noticed how cute you actually look like that."

"We are not cute!" Venom glared up at him as Anne looked the symbiote over and nodded.

"You kinda are," she agreed with a grin, causing Venom to hiss and slither off out of the room.

"Well lets get this over with before Venom has a heart attack from not eating for thirty minutes," Eddie joked, purposely saying it loud enough for the alien to hear.

"It's been an hour, you prick!"

"Ooooh sorry, one whole hour! Someone better call CPS on me," Eddie rolled his eyes and climbed up onto the table. He then laid down with his arms at his sides as Anne looked back at Dan to give him the go ahead.

"Alright, we're all set. Here goes nothing," Dan said over the speaker as he controlled the conveyor to slide into the tube until only Eddie's legs and feet were sticking out, "Now try not to move and this won't take long."

"Got it," Eddie nodded, but with the position he was in Anne couldn't resist teasing him a little.

"Comfy in there?" Anne grinned playfully, running a finger up the bottom of Eddie's bare foot as the man yelped and jerked his leg.

"He-Hey! Well not when you do THAT!"

"Sorry, it's just too easy," she briefly tickled his other foot receiving another squawk of objection as Eddie pulled up his knees to put his feet flat on the table.

"Heehee, stop it!"

"Get him again, Anne," Venom goaded into the microphone from where he sat next to Dan inside the control room as Eddie yelled back at him.

"Shut your mouth, parasite!"

Dan was trying to remain professional, but had to use his hand to cover his mouth so he could hide his amused smile.

"Lay still, please. Anne, leave the patient alone."

Anne smirked, giving him a wink as she walked away to join Dan and Venom. Once he saw that she was at a safe distance Eddie put his legs back down.

A few moments later the machine came to life and began the in-depth scan, while the three observed on the monitors in the control room. After a minute of looking at the pictures on the screens Dan cleared his throat.

"Hmm. Well that's interesting...," the doctor trailed off in his thought, making Eddie assume something was wrong.

"What? What do you see?! He hasn't been snacking on my organs, has he?! Venom!"

"Actually everything looks perfectly normal. Organs are all intact, no restrictions in your blood flow, heart looks healthy, brain functions are top notch. All in all I'd say you check out just fine. It's incredible," Dan put his hands up in astonishment as he sat back in his chair.

"So you're saying that having Venom inside of him hasn't done any damage whatsoever?"

Anne was just as surprised to learn this new information as Dan shook his head in response.

"Not that I can see, no."

"Told you, pussy," Venom sneered haughtily, slithering out of the control room back into view while the conveyor drew Eddie out of the machine.

"Well that's a relief," Eddie sat up and immediately began putting his clothes back on, "Guess I can sleep better tonight knowing that this parasite inside me isn't leeching off of my body so much."

"That can easily change if Eddie keeps calling us names...," the symbiote growled as Eddie just shook his head with an amused smirk. Dan then walked out into the room, scribbling some notes onto a clipboard.

"Alright, well since we're all done with that it's safe for Venom to get back into your body now."

"Yes!" Venom whooped as he quickly hurled himself at Eddie, knocking him back onto the table.

"Hey! Watch it!" Eddie grunted as he then found himself forced off of the table to his feet.

"Come on, lets go Eddie! Now!" Venom shouted as he took control and yanked Eddie's body across the room towards the door much to the surprise of the other two.

"Uhh, goodbye?" Anne gave an awkwardly half-wave.

"I promised him McDonaaaaaaald's!" Eddie's voice faded as Venom violently drug him out of the room.

A SHORT WHILE LATER....

"Happy now?" Eddie asked with a sickened frown as he recanted watching Venom devour over ten quarter pounder cheeseburgers. The alien belched in response from inside of him as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Yes. That will probably hold us over for another hour or so."

"You know, you're a pretty expensive date," Eddie groaned as he looked into his wallet, only having a few dollars remaining now.

"Would you rather we ate a human instead?"

"Uhhh no, heh. No, I'd appreciate if you didn't do that," he laughed nervously as he glanced around at all the people on the busy street that Venom could easily snatch up if he so desired.

"Well then you shouldn't complain. Besides, you love us."

"In a really screwed up kinda way, yeah I guess so," Eddie smirked, "Now shut up, will ya? People are gonna think I'm crazy if they see me walking around and talking to myself."

"People already think we are crazy," Venom pointed out, making Eddie shake his head.

"Not complete strangers. Now not another word until we get back home. Got it?"

"But Eddie we can't stay quiet that long..."

Eddie just kept his mouth closed, pretending he didn't hear anything.

"Eddie...."

Still Eddie continued to ignore him

"EddieEddieEddieEddieEddie!"

Eddie just continued facing forward as he focused on getting back to his apartment down the street.

"Ignore me will you...," Venom then grinned slyly as he crept out underneath Eddie's jacket to stay unseen and then gently squeezed the man's shirt covered ribs, making his body jerk in an unusual fashion.

"Gggnnh! You little...!" Eddie yelled just as he was passing a mother with her child, who looked at him accusingly as she pulled her daughter closer and hurried on.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't mean....Not her, I just....," he tried to explain himself as he stammered after them to no avail, hearing the mother mention something to the little girl about, 'That is why you don't do drugs'.

Venom chuckled at how perfect the timing of that had been as Eddie growled.

"Alright, very funny. Now stay still and stay quiet," he muttered, trying not to move his lips too much as his outburst had attracted some unwanted eyes.

He'd made it another half a block before his sides were being attacked again as he stumbled and clamped his arms down.

"Eeheehee!" He gave a high-pitched giggle, prompting some of the street vendors to give him odd looks as he blushed and tried to walk a little faster.

"Will you stop? You're making me look insane."

"Can we talk again?"

"No!" Eddie hissed, "Just keep your fucking mouth shut, and wait until we-Ehahahah!"

The tentacled goo dug into his armpits for a few moments as Eddie squirmed in place and laughed wildly.

"No, not there!" He yelped just as the tickling stopped, looking up to find people had paused on the street to stare at him with curious eyes.

"I uh...heh.....I'm just uhhh....," when he couldn't think of any kind of believable explanation he quickly just turned and walked away again.

"I hate you so much right now," he whispered loudly through gritted teeth, hearing Venom laugh from within and knowing he was getting a big kick out of making Eddie look like a fool.

"Think that's funny? Well guess who's eating nothing but salads for the next week or two."

Venom's snickers immediately were cut off as he was now silent for a moment.

".....You're bluffing," his voice was full of uncertainty and worry and that made Eddie smirk, knowing he had the upper hand now.

"Tickle me again and find out, fucker," Eddie threatened vaguely, and just let Venom stew in his thoughts for now about whether he was being serious or not.

It seemed to work as he had now made it a few blocks without incident, even stopping to have a nice chat with Mrs. Chen when he came across her sweeping up her store front.

"Evening, Mrs. Chen."

"Hello Eddie. Not going to buy a chocolate bar today like usual?"

"No, no chocolate. I was thinking about going on a diet actually," Eddie smirked slightly as he rubbed at his stomach.

"Ohhh, he's not going to like that," she smiled, referring to Venom and knowing that he was the one who had the sweet tooth.

"Well it's for his own good. Besides he's been misbehaving a lot lately so I had to put my foot down. Say you don't happen to sell any saHAAlads, do yoohou?" His body spasmed out of nowhere as the shop keeper gave him a concerned look.

"What's wrong, Eddie? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm f-INE! I'm juhust....Venom keeps....teehehehehee...I...I gotta go-ho, Mrs. Chen," Eddie stuttered through his giggles as he gave her a wave and continued on his way down the street.

"Don't worry, dear, he'll be back for that chocolate," Mrs. Chen called to Venom with a smile as the alien peeked out from under the back of Eddie's jacket and gave her a wink.

"V! What did I tell you?!" Eddie spat once they were out of earshot, "You really want to eat nothing but salads for a week?!"

All was quiet for a few moments before Venom finally gave a reply that made Eddie's skin crawl.

"Worth it."

A split second later and the tendrils were everywhere on his upper body; this time staying underneath his t-shirt to get directly at the bare skin. They were wriggling all over from his hips and belly all the way up his sides into his armpits, and there was nothing Eddie could do to try to hide his reactions.

The man was in a laughing fit now as he nearly fell over but managed to find his footing and continued to hurry down the sidewalk despite all the people staring at the hysterically laughing man as he went by. The tickling was unrelenting this time as he desperately looked for some kind of escape.

He finally was able to duck down an alleyway, stumbling and tripping over a garbage can as he went further down. After giving a brief look to make sure no one was around he collapsed with his back against a wall and shouted through his laughter.

"Okaaahaay! Okaahaahaaay! Hahahaha! You caahaan tahahalk agahahain! Now pleeeheease st....stop tihihickling meeheee!" His arms uselessly pressed to his sides as he kicked out and squirmed.

"And the salads.....?" Venom pressed with goo squirming up to tickle the reporter's sensitive neck as well, making him squeal out giggles.

"A johohoke! Juhuhust a johohohoke! Ahaahahaheeheehee! Plehehease buhuhuddy! I'm sohohorry!" Eddie shouted for mercy and was grateful when it was granted to him as he tried to calm down and get his breath back. Venom then popped out of his jacket to give him a shit-eating smile.

"Nice of you to come around, Eddie."

"....You're an asshole," Eddie glared playfully at him, giving him a small shove.

"Takes one to know one."

"Yeah? I thought I was a pussy?"

"Yes, but you're our pussy," the symbiote replied as Eddie's face gradually twisted in revulsion.

"Uhhh, thanks? I mean, that hardly sounds like a compliment, but thanks?"

"The best pussy we've ever had," Venom grinned proudly, in his mind thinking that had sounded better as Eddie only sighed and put his face in his palms.

"Please stop."

"Definitely the biggest."

"You can still eat me, right?"

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

Good evening lovely! You better believe I’m back with more Carlos asks. Could I request a Carlos x driver!reader where they’re just two peas in a pod until Carlos sees her in a dress for the first time and is like oh shit?? I am in love??? If you feel :) hope you’re well, your writing is beautiful as always

Just Friends - Carlos Sainz

<word count - 3203>

"Hey midget, how you feeling?" Carlos asked, walking into the medical center and locating where you were sat. "A bit sore, but I'll be fine," you told him. You had spun out pretty badly in FP2, but you were fine.

"Good, good. You still up for the gala tonight?" he asked, hoping you'd say you weren't going. It would give him an excuse not to go too, and he really didn't want to. He always found these events boring.

"Yeah, of course. I'm not missing my first gala," you laughed, knowing he didn't want to go. You were quite excited though, because you'd get to show a classier, more elegant side of you that people didn't get to see. 

"There's a lot of people outside asking to see you. The interviewers want to make sure you're not dead," he laughed, offering a hand to help you off of your chair. The doctor had said you were free to go, but you just had to take it easy and you weren't driving in FP3 tomorrow.

"You make it sound like they actually care about me," you scoffed, leaning into him as you slowly made your way out of the medical centre. The minute you stepped out of the door, you were bombarded with cameras and questions. 

"Y/N! What happened?" one of them yelled as numerous microphones were shoved in your face. "I locked up the rears and spun out, it happens," you shrugged, not wanting to give them anything they could make a story out of. 

"Y/N, are you alright? Can you still race on Sunday?" another one collared as flashes emerged from the back of the crowd. "I won't be driving in FP3, but I'll be in qualifying and the race, just like normal. The car just has front wing damage, so it's all good," you smiled, and you were already bored of being interviewed.

"Thank you," you said, pushing past the crowd and out to the paddock. "I need a coffee," you sighed, and Carlos just chuckled as you hobbled over to the Ferrari motorhome. Flopping down on the couch, personnel came to ask how you were feeling and you were glad to tell them you would be fine. 

"Carlos, go get me a coffee!" You ordered, pointing towards the kitchen. Carlos just scoffed and rolled his eyes at you, sitting down beside you. "No," he flatly declined, running his hands through his hair. 

"Carlos, please," you whined, not wanting to move because of how sore everything felt. 

"Get your own coffee, you might be sore, but you're not useless. Well, you're not completely useless," he chuckled. 

"Ugh, you're the worst friend I could ever have," you told him, pulling yourself slowly off the couch as he laughed at your struggle. 

"Aw, you love me really," he teased, watching as you hobbled over to the kitchen. "Get me one too, yeah?" he asked, and nearly cackled when he heard a 'Fuck off!' come from the kitchen. As you made your coffee, you thought about how much you valued the friendship between you and Carlos. 

He had made the transition into driving for one of the top teams easy, and he was a great role-model for you. You'd never forget how much he had helped you, but you'd never tell him how much he really meant to you. His ego was way too big for that. 

Finally, you had your precious coffee in hand as you spotted Carlos still sat on the couch. "Oh thanks, midget, you're too kind," he said, holding his hand out for you to put the mug in. "Absolutely not, I made this for myself," you said, wobbling back onto the seat.

"No really, you shouldn't have," he continued, taking the mug off you. You're limbs were aching too much to fight back, and you had to watch as Carlos took a big swig of your coffee. "You're a bitch," you playfully spat, whacking him in the arm with all the strength you had left. 

"No, you're a bitch," he jibed, jabbing you in the ribs. It was supposed to be a well-spirited gesture, but it just sent spikes of pain shooting through you. "Carlos, stop it," you told him through gritted teeth, pushing his hand away.

"Shit, sorry, I completely forgot. Are you alright?" he asked, his joking manner completely falling and he became the caring Carlos you got to see every now and then. "Yeah, yeah, just don't do it again. And give me my coffee," you told him, straightening up. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Here," he apologised again, handing you your coffee mug. He felt really bad, even though it was an accident. It was meant in good fun, but he'd hurt you, and he never liked seeing people he cared about in pain.

You finished off your coffee, and slowly tried to stand up as someone was ready to take you back to the hotel. "Hey, take it slow," he said, wrapping an arm around your waist and helping you up. "Thanks," you smiled, walking out of the building as he helped you. 

He took you all the way over to the car, and he heard you wince in pain as you tried clamber in. "Midget, take it easy, I've got you," he affectionately said, lifting you and putting you in the car so you wouldn't have to move all that much.

"Thanks Carlos, I'll see you later," you said, moving your arms out of his way as he leant over you and clicked your seatbelt in place. "No worries, who else likes you enough to look after you?" he teased, still making fun of you, even when he was being nice.

"Funny, Carlos. Real funny," you laughed, closing the door and waving him goodbye as you drove away. He may have teased you, but he really did care about you.

Being around the paddock wasn't all that fun when you weren't there to mess around with, so Carlos just had to keep himself busy until it was his turn to go home. All he could do was go and pester Lando, since he was one of the only other fun people left around.

Meanwhile, you were slowly hobbling up to your hotel room, which happened to be on one of the top floors. Typical. But once you got into your room, you told yourself you weren't allowed to lie on the bed. If you did, there was no chance you had the strength or willpower to get back up.

You figured a shower would be in order, since it might make you a bit less sore. It took longer than expected to peel your clothes off you, and it was a fairly agonising task. You couldn't lift your arms much higher than your shoulders, and bending anything was near on impossible.

You silently spat expletives as you struggled, finally managing to get into the shower. The warm water helped soothe your muscles somewhat, but it still hurt to move. The suds slipped down your body, and you gave up completely when you dropped the soap on the floor. There was no way you were getting it back.

The best you could do was wet your hair, since lifting your arms was undoable, so washing it was out of the question. When you got out of the shower, you wrapped a towel around you and decided to let your hair air dry. Looking in the mirror, you spotted purply-red splotches peppered down your arm, and there were some disappearing past the towel line.

Taking it off, you saw how they spread across your ribs and a few were sprinkled on your hip, only on the side where you made impact with the tyre barrier. Your plan was to wear a dress with the sides cut out, but that didn't seem like a great idea.

Then again, you didn't have anything else that was fit for a gala, since you had had the dress custom made for this exact occasion. You slowly did your makeup, the most unnatural part of it being the red lipstick that matched the dress.

You decorated your ears, neck, wrists and fingers in gold, before shimmying into your dress. The worst part was doing the zip yourself, since you couldn't stretch your arms around to your back. You managed, but you realised you'd be late and the car was already waiting outside. 

You ran out of time to cover up the bruises on your right side, so you thought it was fine to just leave it. Giving yourself a final once over in the mirror, you loved what you saw. Your dress hugged your every curve perfectly, and the gold with red screamed Ferrari. 

After making your way downstairs, you stumbled into the car and headed off for the gala. Carlos, on the other hand, had just arrived. He looked around, and quickly sussed out that you weren't there. "Hey, mate!" Lando said, pulling him in for a quick hug.

"Hey, are you bored already or is that just me?" Carlos chuckled, taking a glass of champagne off a tray from one of the waiters wandering by. "I was bored the minute I stepped in here, how's Y/N? Have you had a chance to talk to her?" Lando asked.

He was right behind you when you spun out, so he saw the impact that you hit the barrier with. "She's fine, just sore. I'm surprised she's even coming tonight, to be honest," he said, sipping away at the golden liquid. 

"She's coming? That's a surprise. I would have taken that as an excuse not to come," Lando said, almost shocked. "So would I, but she is actually really excited, even though I told her how boring they actually are," Carlos laughed, leaning against the wall beside Lando. 

"Speaking of Y/N, here she is," Lando said, nodding over to the grand entrance of the hall for the gala. Carlos turned his head, and his heart stopped beating in his chest. "That's not Y/N," he scoffed, looking as people's eyes all simultaneously wandered over to where you were stood.

Your eyes darted around the place, trying to find Carlos. "It is, Carlos, look at her," Lando nudged him, and he couldn't believe it was you. Seeing you stood there, the whole room's eyes on you, in the most stunning red dress made him feel something he had never felt before.

He couldn't take his eyes off you as you slowly walked, still trying to locate him. Suddenly, your eyes lit up as they landed on Carlos and Lando. You had that classic, confident swagger that you had always had, but tonight, it was paired with this elegance he never had seen before. 

"Hey guys," you smiled, standing with the two of them. Lando greeted you, and Carlos couldn't form words. The way the dress showed off your figure, the way it showed off your skin, the way it transformed you from a racing driver to a lady. He loved it.

"Carlos? You OK?" you asked, placing a hand on his shoulder to try and snap him out of whatever daydream he was having. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he shook his head, as if he were trying to shake some sense into it, "How are you? Did you manage to get any rest?" he asked, needing to know you were getting better.

"Everything still hurts to move, but it's fine. You get used to the pain," you softly smiled, subconsciously running your hand over the bruises on your arm. "Well no wonder you're stiff, someone did a number on you," Carlos smirked, trying to ignore the butterflies he was feeling.

You were his friend, and you just looked especially good tonight. It was nothing. "Ha ha, very funny," you said, tilting your body so he couldn't look at them. You were trying to forget about them, but it was a given that someone would point them out.

Carlos noticed your slight discomfort, and wanted to take back his comment. He just wanted to be normal and not act like he was really nervous to speak to you. "Hey, in all seriousness, are you sure you're alright? These look like they hurt," he said, gently bringing your arm closer to him so he could inspect the damage.

He spotted the ones that were scattered about your ribs, and he instantly felt worried. He always cared when you were hurt, but this was... Different. It was almost like he could feel the bruises too, he could feel the pain and he so desperately wanted to take it away.

"It's OK, everything hurts and they don't really add to it," you laughed, not wanting him to worry. "They look pretty sick, to be fair," Lando chipped in, feeling oddly like a third wheel. "Yeah, they kind of do. They're my battle wounds," you laughed, striking the best pose you could.

"Exactly, exactly. Max just got here, so I'm going to go and say hi. I'll catch up with you later," Lando waved, walking away from you. "I didn't miss anything while I was gone, did I?" you asked, knowing there were always shenanigans going on around the track.

"No, no. I was just very bored without you," he smiled. It was true, it wasn't the same without you. You just brought laughter with you wherever you went, and he only noticed when you weren't around. "I think you mean you were bored without anyone to bully," you teased.

"Same thing," he smiled, finishing off the last drops of fizz in his flute. 

"I'm going to go and get a drink, you want anything?" you asked, gazing at him. He looked handsome tonight, the black suit he was wearing making him look completely different. But in the best way possible. 

"Yeah, just another one of these is fine, thanks," he said, and you nodded. He watched as you walked across the hall, as your hips swayed under the light. He observed the way you leant against the bar, and couldn't help but glare at the people whose eyes glossed over you for that second too long. 

He felt an unnecessary pang of jealousy ripple through his body, but he didn't know why. You were his friend, and that was it. Again, he put it down to how good you looked tonight. Sure, you were always pretty, but tonight you were beautiful on a whole other level. 

He had never felt this way for you before. He had always seen you as one of his best friends, someone who he could gossip with and cause mischief with. But now, he was seeing you as someone he wanted to wake up next to every morning, and fall asleep with every night. 

He was completely mesmerised by you. It was like you had bewitched him, enchanted him somehow. You had trapped him under your spell and there was no counter curse. He was doomed to stare at you, as if his eyes were glued to your body for the rest of eternity. 

He watched as you sauntered back up to him, handing him a second flute of champagne. "Thanks," he smiled, trying to compose himself. Mentally, he was telling himself to just be normal, but his heart clearly wasn't getting the memo. 

"No problem, how long were you here before I was?" you asked, sipping away at your espresso martini. You figured the coffee mixed with the alcohol would wake you up a bit, maybe take the edge off. "Not long, maybe ten minutes? They were the most boring ten minutes of my life," he chuckled. 

"Did you just say something nice about me? One glass of bubbly and you're already tipsy? Damn Carlos," you smiled sincerely, nudging him in the ribs. 

"If that's how you react, then I'm never being nice to you again," he laughed, leaning back against the wall. As you drank your drinks, he couldn't help but hang onto your every word. He was noticing the little things now that he had previously overlooked.

Like the way you smiled with your teeth when you were properly laughing, or the way your eye slightly twinkled when talking about a topic you were passionate about. It was the way your mannerisms were just so you. 

As per usual with every gala, there was soft, mainly classical or smooth jazz music in the background. He had already thought ahead and figured out a way to play this off as a joke, but he hoped it wouldn't have to come to it. 

"Dance with me?" He smiled, extending a hand out to you. For a second, you froze, waiting for the punchline. But, you were just met with silence. Carlos thought he had completely messed it up, until you took his hand. 

"Sure," you smiled, standing in closer to him. Tentatively, he placed a hand on your waist, careful not to press too hard on your injuries. He hadn't actually thought about the possibility of you saying yes, funnily enough. 

You looped an arm around his back instead of over his shoulder, not wanting to lift your arms too much. As the pair of you swayed on the spot, entangled in each other's embrace, Carlos was trying to convince himself he wasn't dreaming. 

"You look really nice tonight, I never got the chance to say," you told him, watching the faint beginnings of a blush creep up onto his cheeks. "Thank you, uhm, so do you. You look incredible," he fumbled, preventing himself from speaking anymore, in case he took it too far.

He wanted to tell you that you were absolutely breathtaking, and that he found you unbelievably captivating. He wanted to tell you that he didn't know what had happened, but these feelings had just bombarded him all at once, out of nowhere.   

"Thank you," you said. He did allow his fingers to gently trace around the skin of your waist, and you couldn't help but enjoy the gesture. You shuffled in a little closer, slowly lifting your arm to rest around his shoulder.

It was a lot more comfortable in the end, even if it did cause you some slight pain to put it there. "But I really mean it, you're the prettiest girl here," he complimented, unable to stop himself from telling you. 

You found it slightly odd at the way he was acting, since Carlos was always so confident - borderline cocky. But now, he was stuttering and blushing. You thought it was sweet to see him in a different light, and this was refreshing to see that even confident people have their nervous moments. 

There was something about the way he looked at you, something that wasn't like normal. He always had this mischievous glint in his eyes, but tonight, it had been replaced with something else. It was soft and warm, but you couldn't find a word to define what it was. 

It was unusual, but not unwelcome. 

The dazzling smile that tugged at the corner of your lips at his compliment sent his heart into a fit of joy. But then, his heart dropped. It was at this point that he realised, in the span of a night, he had fallen in love with his best friend.

And he didn't think there would be an escape, not by any means. 

A/N - OK I think this is one of my favourite things I have ever written tbh... I am so willing to do a part 2, so lmk if that's something you'd like to see! If you have any requests, feel free to submit and have a wonderful evening/day. Love you! 💖

|masterlist|

[ebonysplendor]

Prescription: LOVE (Demo) Review👨‍⚕️💊

TL;DR: I've got a head injury? I'm gonna need a doctor! How's my memory been? It's been fine. Wait, what? I've got a head injury? I'm gonna need a doctor! How's my memory been? It's been fine. Wait, what? I've got a head injury? I'm gonna need a doctor!

Game Link: https://livingslime.itch.io/prescriptionlove

Notable Features: Self-Insert, Yandere LI, gender neutral language, 2 endings Spiciness: 0/5 -- Don't get me wrong, it's not wholesome either, but this is the type of LI that'll make you say "But daddy, I love him!" even though something is clearly off. LI Red Flags: 2/5 -- Gaslighter, obsessive tendencies, overly "medicating" us DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. HE'S SO SWEET. I CAN FIX HIM.

Wanna know more? Well, let's get into it!

Okay, not gonna lie, this review is long overdue, because I played this like...maybe 3 or 4 days after the initial drop, and here I am, like, 3 weeks later lmao.

Um...okay, you know what? I'm-- I'm not gonna push myself to write an intro this time lol. I mean, since when is it ever good to push yourself? ...Sometimes, the answer is sometimes, but you should never push yourself too hard, ya know? ...I'm getting off track.

I guess I could start by saying how I found this game on a total accident, and holy shit, am I glad that I found this game regardless. It was damn good, and...honestly, a little unnerving at times. Like, I'll tell you more about it later, but let me tell you, one part in particular had me genuinely spooked.

Anyways, before I get too far into my yap session, I'm going to go ahead and tell you about the game -- with as little spoilers as possible, of course. I mean, how would you be motivated to play the game otherwise unless I leave just enough suspense and mystery? Exactly, so allow me a moment to set the scene, and let's get into it.

So, boom.

We wake up...somewhere.

No, like you don't get it. Logically, it's like, duh, hospital, but we have a whole ass IV in our arm, a splitting headache, and it's almost painfully obvious that our memory took a hit, because we don't remember damn near anything, you feel me? We have, what is essentially, a hole where our memories are supposed to be, and the memories that we do have are so fragmented that they doesn't make any sense. Like...what the hell happened, ya know?

At this point, we're making things worse, because we're trying to force ourselves to remember something -- anything -- and our brain is just like "Mmm...nah. How about we panic, though? Let's do that instead." So, we do. We start feeling really anxious because it's like, how do we go from remembering everything one moment, blink, and then just...virtually no memories at all? Like, nothing? Like, we can't even recognize what a hospital looks like or even is.

"Hey, hey, it's okay".

Huh?

Oh! Oh, hello~! Could this be our boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband~?

"I'm Dr. Anselm."

I mean...he didn't say that he wasn't our husband, ya know? :3 Okay, wait, wait, no, stop, don't distract me. Let me get back on track.

Anyways, this tall gentleman helped us regain control of our nerves and informed us that we were perfectly safe and were currently in a hospital. Dr. Anselm basically told us that he has been overseeing our care and that he was the one in charge of our surgery.

...Wait, our fucking what?!

Before we get too freaked out, though, he tells us that we had some kind of accident that involved blunt force to our head which naturally caused a traumatic brain injury. He then tells us that, when we were brought it by the paramedics, we were in need of an emergency operation in order for us to live. Oh, and we had been asleep for two days straight. Well damn...

Imagine not remembering what you even ate for breakfast yesterday -- well, two days ago -- and this random man who claims to be a doctor comes out of the woodwork and tells you that you had brain surgery. If I could just reiterate once more...what the hell happened?!

Even still, admittedly, Dr. Anselm is being super gentle about the whole thing, and it's bringing a good amount of comfort and security, like everything is going to end up okay; he's even going to let us call our family to let them know that we've pulled through and that we're safe...even though, it's a bit off that no one's visited to start with.

No matter though, because it's past curfew anyways, and Dr. Anselm is adamant that we should rest first and call tomorrow. Fair enough. Rest is a part of recovery after all, and we'd rather get our memories back sooner versus later, not to mention that we actually are a little tired. Lmao, now here's when the issues start coming in...

See, we managed to fall asleep, but then the creak of the door woke us up. Now, at first, we're like "Meh, probably the nurses checking in or whatever", but the issue is, remember when I was like we felt a sense of comfort and security from Dr. Anselm? Lmao, this shit was far from comfortable, let alone safe. So, we make the mistake of we look at the door, and in the gap --

Lmao nah, ain't no way. We're hallucinating.

BRO, AIN'T NO FUCKING WAaaaAAAaAaAaaAAaY. WE ARE NOT HALLUCINA-- DoCTOr ANSEeEEeEEEeeeELM!!!!

Bro, we hit that call button so fast, but that thing also ran off just as fast before Dr. Anselm came rushing in. So, naturally, now we look like we're experiencing the side effect of delulu, because we're trying to explain that we saw something that was clearly not there, but it's like...bro, no, we know what the fuck we saw! Like, dude, please do something!

As always, Dr. Anselm's being super sweet and promised that he'd look into it and get someone to check the security cameras. He encourages us to try to go back to sleep so we don't disrupt our recovery, and, oddly enough, we're able to, even after that.

The next morning, comes along, and Dr. Anselm let's us call our folks, like promised, but...no answer. Hurtful, but okay. Dr. Anselm, also like promised, tells us that they checked the security cameras, and there was no one watching us from the door. Great. So, now we're two for two in this bitch. Perfect.

Still, leave it to Dr. Anselm to help us feel better, though, so it doesn't weigh on us too much for too long. He really is our knight in shining...lab coat.

Even though, with all that medicine he's been giving us...

Not to mention, we had this vividly weird dream...

And, sometimes, there's these weird little flickers in his expression when we ask certain questions or say certain things...

Is Dr. Anselm really trying to help us? Or...

...is it benefitting him that we don't know what happened to us?

Then again...

Nah, that's kind've delulu to think. He's done nothing but try to prioritize our health and recovery. We're safe. We can trust him. It the doctor's orders, after all, and he'd know what's best for us.

4 words: I CAN FIX HIM.

No, no, no, no, no, hear me out! I can fix this one! Like, the red flags are there, but I can FIX him! Is he the one that caused us to have a traumatic brain injury? Maybe. Is he over-medicating us? Possibly. Am I gonna overlook all of that? Absolutely. I mean, who cares that I have an intense suspicion that we're not actually in a hospital and that we're just in a basement that's staged to look like a hospital. Who hasn't played doctor before? I ain't gonna fault this man for trying to heal his inner child and playing pretend. Like, honestly? Good for him.

Okay, but no, enough of that. This...was really good! It physically hurts me that this game is not done yet, but I am so excited that this game isn't done yet, because I am anticipating the hell out of what is next to come. The developer really has a strong foundation, and I can only imagine how they're going to build on it.

The pacing is a little slow, but it's not a bad slow! It's literally seeping us into the story, and I honestly feel like the pacing could not have been executed any better than it has been. This flowed exactly how I feel a demo or prologue or intro or whatever you wanna call it should. I just know that whenever there's an update, shit is going to start getting real, and I cannot wait for that!

Let's talk about the environment/atmosphere...ooh bitch. Let me just say this, I can watch all of the horror movies in the world and be totally fine. I can watch let's plays of horror games and read scary stories...but I cannot be in the situation myself. Haunted houses/trails? Playing horror games myself? Shit scares me out of my soul. That being said, that part where it was talking about being watched through the crack of the door? Chills. Fucking chills. I don't know what it was, because that's not anything revolutionary, especially in these yandere games, but for some reason, the way that the dev executed it just hit different. And the art! Like did you see the CG?! Lmao nah, nah, let me remind you. Actually, let me zoom in on it.

Like, what the fuck is thaaaaaaaaat?! (╥ᯅ╥)

I didn't mention this, because I was narrating/summarizing, but I had genuine fear tears when I read through it the first time, and it was somehow worse when I had to grab and attach the screenshots and type through that part. Like, I HATE shit like this, bro! Like, just make it obvious! Don't put faces and figures and shit like that in the darkness and barely out of view to the point where you can't see it unless you focus on it!

I was literally squinting my eyes and reading fast as shit because I wanted to read it, but I wanted to get through it and away from this scene, but I also wanted to prep myself for a possible jumpscare. Like, developer. De-ve-lo-per. Pop off. This part was so good, and I loved/hated every second.

I'm doing that yap thing that I do again, so I'm going to save you from the rest of my ramblings and start winding down. If you do not already have this downloaded and ready to play, you have got to do that expeditiously. I am telling you, I know I say this about a lot of these visual novels, but this is one that I absolutely cannot allow you to miss out on. This one is so good! Just don't get too invested, because it's just a demo. I suggest going to the game's page, putting your pride aside, and beg for an update as soon as possible -- respectfully, of course. It should be common sense, but don't harass the dev for an update ... but damn, do I hope they come through with an update soon. Very soon. Tomorrow actually...today.

Anyways, here's the link. Go download it, and tell the dev that your life is theirs, because I'm honestly contemplating starting a cult in their honour. I'll sacrifice the nearest weeb for two extra lines of reading material in this visual novel. I'm serious. I'm yapping again...

Okay, anyways! Ending it for realsies this time. Again, I highly recommend giving this game a playthrough. Here's the link to the game page and download...again. If you're able to donate to the cause, donate to the cause, as I'm sure the dev would seriously appreciate the monetary support. Oh! And just as a "pro"-but-not-really-tip: for right now, the choices are more of an "illusion of choice". The endings will be worded the same no matter what, so there's no extra dialogue or CGs, or secret options, or anything like that. It'll just be dialogue pertaining to that specific answer choice at that specific time, and then it's not brought up or mentioned again after it's done.

And...that's it! Lol I'm finally done yapping. Big preesh for getting this far! Please remember to drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

Prescription: LOVE (Demo)

[the-fiction-witch]

Morning Maid

Media The Artful Dodger

Character Jack Dawkins

Couple Jack X Reader

Rating Flirty af

I hurried myself through the hospital corridors and stairwells finally finding myself at the second-floor room not bothering to knock, I never did and he never made me. Plus my hands where littered with the various items I would be needing this morning. I went inside shutting the door behind me and scampering inside the little room.

I set fresh towels and his clean laundry on the table close to the wardrobe, set his breakfast by the stove ready to cook in a moment, and I set his sheets next to his bedpost given his body still laid in his bed.

The room dark, his fluffy hair only just poking out the covers.

I brushed off my hands and set the stove to begin warming as I went to the window pulling open the curtains to let in the sweet morning sun.

"Ughurhmmm-" Mumbled from the bed with a shift and a wiggle he turned away to face the wall so the light bothered him less

"Dr Dawkins?" I cooed sweetly "Dr Dawkins?" I cooed a little louder but neither even garnered a response, So I went to the wardrobe put his clean clothes away and got him out some fresh ones for the day ahead, I poured him a fresh glass of water that I sat on his bedside table taking the one I poured last night away now empty of course. And I grabbed his coat from the door taking my duster and giving it a firm few wacks to knock the dirt out much as one does a old rug. "Dr Dawkins?" I called again a slight song to my voice "Dr Dawkins!" I called again but still no response came so I carried on taking yesterdays laundry to the door to take with me, making sure things where dusted and organized returning his book to its place, "Dr Dawkins!" I called loud enough it echoed in the room "Dr Dawkins!" I called and by some miracle! he rolled over back to face the room letting the sheets linger at his waist skin dewy from the heat

Well. He's alive I suppose.

I sighed and opened the window and leaning my arms on his metal bedframe,

"Dr Dawkins" I called

Nothing.

"Doctor there is an urgent emergency" I said

Nothing.

"Doctor the hospital is on fire!"

I think his nose twitched.... maybe.

"Doctor Dawkins a large huntsman spider is crawling up your leg."

he let out a breath

Holy shit he breathed!

"This is why no one else signs up for you in the morning you know. I'm the only one who wouldn't have bashed you over the head with a frying pan by now" I chuckled "Dr Dawkins a lady is here to see you and she says she's pregnant"

He wiggled! a little mostly just shifting himself a little

"Okay... Jack there's a gangster here about a poker debt!" I yelled

I mean.. he stirred. a little bit.

I rolled my eyes and got his toast setting his breakfast on the table looking at his sleeping body a moment trying to think of a way to do this that didn't involve a frying pan or ice cold water...

"Dr Dawkins a lady is here to see you and she says she's pregnant"

nothing. dead as the bodies downstairs, and then it occurred to me

"Alright, I guess Dr Dawkins really is sleeping soundly." I smiled "I suppose then he won't mind I take the air out of his nice second-floor window, as it is so very hot today" I giggled leaning on the bedpost again "Umm it's so hot I think I may remove my dress."

And the moment! the goddamn second! I uttered that word his eye flicked open

"Jack!" I yelled making him jump as he clearly wasn't expecting me to be leant on his bedpost

"You lied." he pouted sitting up and leaning against the wall

"I didn't lie. I simply failed to tell the truth."

"That's lying. By definition." he said "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Ohh you know always wanted to see the sights around the hospital" I joked "What do you think I'm doing here, waking you, you dunderhead." I laughed going to start on his breakfast first making some toast as it was the easiest and he liked it the coldest

"I do not require waking." he said "Flip the toast," he said

so I did so "Don't you? Because we both know if I hadn't you'd still be in that bed at the lords hour of half past four you had it your way"

"it's my day off."

"Your a doctor you don't get days off." I laughed putting the toast on the plate and grabbing an egg I brought with me "Sunny, over, scrambled, how'd you fancy them this morning?"

"I'm on call then" He answered "scrambled please but make them-"

"Dry as a bone. I know Jack." I giggled "You planning on getting out the bed at some point I have to take the sheets down to the laundry."

"After breakfast"

"Alright" I rolled my eyes playfully adding his eggs to his plate "You know none of the other girls will come up here."

"Am I truly that terrifying?" He joked having some water

"No. they simply find your... suggestions passive-aggressive and annoying" I explain

"my suggestions?"

"You're nitpicking Jack" I laughed getting the marmalade from my things and spreading it thin over his toast making sure to keep it separate from the eggs

"Nitpicking? That what they're calling it now." He laughed "And it doesn't bother you?"

"No, you like things a particular way nothing wrong with that. I have simply learnt your way. as it is your way or the highway as it were" I laughed taking it over sitting on his bed with him to hand over the plate which he grimaced at

"I wanted jam."

"Well, you have marmalade."

"Why?"

"Because I brought Marmalade. and no Jack I am not going all the way back down to the hospital kitchens to see if they have any jam. You get marmalade."

"No bacon?"

"We're out of bacon so you got extra toast"

"Did he. get the last of the bacon?"

"No, Marybell tried to take it to him, I told her it's not fair when we only have four rashers of bacon to give all four to one doctor and one to the others we argued, we fought and I ate the bacon. that solved the problem" I smiled giving his plate a gentle inviting shimmy

"Still missing something aren't we?"

I rolled my eyes a moment but gave him a sweet kiss which he happily pulled me closer into before taking his breakfast

"Thank you y/n"

"You're welcome you little wombat"

"Aww thank you" he smiled

"That was an insult Jack" I laughed

"Is it? you love wombats?"

"... be quiet and eat your toast," I told him to get up to clean and tidy up

"has it crossed your mind none of the other girls want to come work up her because they know it's your job"

"That's possible. Sure does seem like I've become your bloody maid" I sighed "Still I'd rather be here dealing with your nitpicking than cleaning up the head surgeons' drunken escapades or dealing with your colleague's slaps on the arse."

"So my slaps on the arse are better then?" He chuckled setting his plate on the side

"You're certainly gentler Jack" I laughed "Last time I was in there with him I swear he was trying to hump me every time I bent over"

"See I'm much easier, I'm considerate I save all our humping for dinner time."

"Only because your too tried to do it in the morning" I laughed giving him another kiss and all but kicking him out the bed so I could change his sheets "If you could find the energy we both know you would."

"... Possibly" he shrugs stretching and yawning as he wondered across to his wardrobe in only his underwear "I like after dinner, puts me right to sleep"

"Like you need any help in that department. Often times I'm half tempted to call one of the porters up to cart your body out convinced you've kicked it.”

“You are in a very grumpy mood today” he said as he dressed

“oh? Something I should find chipper and enfrawling about stripping your bed off?” I asked

“Your usually pretty excited about stripping me” he smirked as he snapped on his suspenders and I only glared back “ooohh… very grumpy girl today”

“Maybe I should go visit the other doctor” I joked

“Noo” he whines as he came behind me and wrapped his arms around me softly and gently “absolutely not I won't allow it”

“Oh why not?’ I giggled starting to make his bed with his fresh sheets

For a moment there was silence but he nuzzled close “your my girl.” He cooed and I couldn't help but smile it wasn't what he said but how he said it, so softly and kindly, so sweet and gently, not saying it in a possessive sort of way like he owned me like I belonged to him but that I was his and its so sweet that even something so shall as doing this routine for the other doctor would utterly not be allowed. “Besides we both know I can't sleep without you anymore” he smiled

“You where getting along just fine this morning?”

“Because your been cuddling me all night, It was residual sleep from the last night when you were here” he said turning me to Face him

“Umm I see, nothing to do with the French postcards you've been hiding under your mattress.”

Immediately colour drained from his face

“H- how do you know about that?’

“I make your bed. And clean your room. Just accept you don't have any secrets from me jack. And if you think you do. You don't.” I giggled

“You don't know all my secrets’ he smirked tugging me a little closer

“try me.”

“Go on then what secrets am I keeping?”

“The naughty french postcards your ‘hiding’ under your bed, the stash of toffees you have hidden inside your hollowed out poetry book, the pair of underwear you have hidden away because they are lucky for some reason, that time you kept a baby kolar in your room to you hid it from me, you didn't I knew I just didn't want to ask i assumed you were going through something” I explained and his eyes went wide

“Hu.”

“Shall I go on about how you sometimes sit backwards in the toilet for fun or the fact every time you have a bath you sing a little song”

“I really can't hide anything from you can I?’

“Nope” I giggled nuzzling into his shirt and he happily tightened his arms around me kissing my head “yes”

“What?”

“I also know about the ring you've been hiding in the store room the last six months.”

“Damn it. I really thought I hid that, so … is that a yes?”

“Yes. But it needs resizing slightly its a little big.” I smiled continuing will the bed

“you tried it on?”

“Several times. I get really bored around here sometimes” I shrug, he smiled and pulled me into a sweet loving kiss

“So, as I'm only a on call today? Shall we perhaps celebrate?’ he suggested glancing at the bed

“Jack, you couldn't have suggested that before I changed the bed. It's clean. And immediately you want to make it messy again”

“I'll change it again after if my lady wants me too”

“No, later I need to get this stuff down to laundry” I told him going and grabbing the laundry but before I even reached the door “ahhh! Jack put me down!” I whined as he picked me up and tossed me on his bed

“Laundry can wait” he smirked stroking my chin “I cannot.’ 

[raineydays411]

My Father's Daughter

Part 9

Summary: You've been at the Wayne Manor for over a month.

In some weird way you understand Christine.

You understand why she tries so hard to spend time with you while you're in her home. Why she begs for you to get off of your phone and cook with her. You get why she tries to make the other kids be nice to you. Scolds them harshly when they make snide comments underneath their breath about you.

Truly, you do.

You just...genuinely don't give a shit.

You don't care that she feels bad that she abandoned you for a completely other family and you don't care that she feels like she's losing time to create a bond with you.

You did not care.

Really, you didn't.

"Um,kid... you know I love you but I'm really not that kind of doctor" Bruce Banner said awkwardly over facetime.

You sigh. "Yeah I know B. You were just the first one to pick up the phone."

"Ouch." Banner laughed, " you know, you really are your fathers child."

You smile, one of the rare times you actually did nowadays. " How is the old man?"

You haven't been able to call him since he was paranoid whoever wants you would track your phone calls and find out where you are.

"Your father is even more annoying now without you than he ever has been in my entirety of knowing him" Banner deadpans, " He misses you a lot kiddo, we all do."

You smile sadly, missing your family.

It was hard, seeing these people you barely knew, with a mother you barely knew, stuck in a house you barely knew.

And the fact that they feel like a family. They argue and play jokes on each other. They eat with each other every afternoon ( Bat activities at night), Bruce kisses Christine goodbye when he goes to work. It was so domestic in its weird little ways.

But you didn't fit in.

They laughing and the jokes stopped whenever you walked into the room. The conversations were stale.

It was depressing.

It's not like they ignored you, oh no. That would've been preferable.

No half of them trip over their feet to try and include you in whatever they're doing.

Dick will turn blue chatting your ear off about whatever he thinks will get you to open up to him and Christine?

She will bend over backwards, frontwards, and sideways just to get you to acknowledge she gave birth to you. Every night she comes into your room and tries to talk to you about your life. And every question is met with a dull answer

"So any boys that catch your interest here?" " I don't know, I can't leave the premises"

"Were you in any sports? You look like you'd be a cheerleader like your momma!" " I was in mathletes and debate like Pepper"

"You really are beautiful my baby" "Thanks, everyone says I look like my dad"

It really was a struggle to get you to open up. Almost everyone at the manor had a hard time even starting a conversation with you.

Everyone except of course Alfred and surprisingly Jason Todd.

Alfred won you over as soon as you moved in. He vouched for you when you needed time alone and brings you snacks>

Jason is a whole different story.

See, the reason why it's so hard for everyone to talk to you is because they all refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room. They're treating you like you were some other orphan Annie they decided to adopt and you just have no family waiting and missing you.

Jason doesn't.

In fact, it was him who caught you trying to sneak out of the mansion the first week you were there. Instead of scolding you or telling on you, he took you out.

"A cap and sunglasses? Kid, that's not a disguise."

"What do you mean?"

He took you to a diner he frequents, a tour of the rooftops to avoid people, and to the safe house he took over from Bruce.

"Tell me about your life." He demands, not asks.

You smile and tell him about it. Your life growing up with the Avengers, school and what major you're going for, that brief fling you had with Pietro before you had to move to Gotham.

It was nice. To be with someone that didn't want to change you. He didn't try to force you into forgiveness and let you vent. He even gave some pretty sound advice.

"You know, at some point you are going to forgive her." He says ignoring your indignant stare, " You don't gotta be bestfriends with her or anything, but that anger is going to either slowly consume you or slowly go way. And believe me, you want it to slowly go way."

And he was right in some ways. The longer you're there, the less anger there is and the more hurt replaces it. It festers inside you like some disease. The symptoms slowly leaking out every time one of them calls her mom.

Every night she comes into your room and tries to pry into your life as if she didn't voluntarily leave it, you feel it.

Everytime you see her brush Cassandra's hair out of her eyes, or kiss damian on the forehead. It's the gentle way she smiles whenever she sees Tim hyperfocused on mission reports, and the way she gets so excited whenever Dick or Jason walk through the front door. Hugging them and chiding them for not visiting more.

It hurts you that they truly are a family.

And after a while, it gets hard for you to try and say that you truly didn't give a shit.

Because honestly, you did

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

Taglist: @stupendousnightmaretrash @opheliaas-stuff

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Stardew valley bachelors (and krobus and the wizard) witnessing the farmer chug multiple jars of mayonnaise. Just really slinging it back.

Okay ngl I never did this till right now and I got everybody's reactions so this is based on the responses my farmer got after doing this

Spoilers: they've all known my farmer for about 7 years so it's nothing too shocking to them,,,but it's still highly questionable lmao

.....

Shane

"Umm..."

For years, him and Pam were beer addicts...and now comes along you, the new farmer who's a very...different kind of addict.

An addict to mayonnaise, that is.

For years, people have been judging him for his habit, so it seems fair that he should be allowed to judge you 100% for having the weirdest fucking habit in the valley.

He started opening up to you (in his 2 heart event) and you're just sitting next to him, drinking mayonnaise to wash out the beer he offered you.

Only after you two get closer does he decide "well shit, they're weird..but they're also one of the few who care about me,,,"

And he eventually lets go of it altogether.

But he'll still tease you about your mayo addiction from time to time.

"What're you gonna put in the potluck this year? Gold star mayo? Or did you already eat it on the way here?"

"Oh shut up."

"Heh heh."

Sam

"Gross!"

Considering it's one of his hated gifts, this shouldn't come as a surprise to you.

But the way you've absolutely freaked him out by drinking it in front of him (and subsequently making him miss his kickflip) was hilarious.

"That's what you get for skating on other people's property." You shook your head, smirking as you bring out another jar. "You think Jodi needs some for later? Or should I just drink it in front of her, too?"

"NO! Stop. Please don't do that." Sam hisses. "One, she might uninvite you from future family dinners. And two, she'll think it's one of those weird trends and blame me for it!"

"A trend..hm? Doesn't sound like a bad idea. This town could use one more tradition." You laugh, consuming the jar and not missing the look of horror on his face.

"A-And I thought Abigail eating rocks was nuts...you two would be great friends.."

Harvey

"Umm..."

While he's well aware of the many health benefits to mayonnaise, he wonders if you know that they're best as a condiment....not a beverage you can just sling back.

"But you told me to lay off the Joja Colas, doctor," you pointed out to him. "You're telling me those are a healthier alternative to this?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all." He huffs. "It's just..erm..I've never met someone who enjoyed mayonnaise by itself..it sounds-"

"Disgusting?"

"N-No! I didn't mean it like-"

"I'm kidding, Harvey." You laugh a little, amused by his nervousness. "You know any side effects to drinking large quantities of mayo?"

"..none in particular, but that doesn't mean you should-"

"Then if I start feeling anything different, I'll let you know. Thank you." With a wink, you pull out some dinosaur mayo and drink it on your way out of the clinic...with poor Harvey wondering wtf that was.

Regular mayo was fine, but that green icky-looking mayo...had him gravely concerned over what you were doing to your body.

Elliot

"Why?!"

You thought you were being subtle, drinking a little bit of mayo while hanging out at his beachside cabin.

But nope.

You've absolutely horrified this man. Traumatized, even.

It's almost as bad as the time you left a super cucumber on his doorstep, and the next day he sent you a letter demanding to know who made you play this "cruel prank" on him.

In reality, you thought it'd be a nice gift and he'd make something poetic out of a rare sea creature you fished up.

Apparently not and that's when you quickly learned it's a hated one.

"Oh don't be so dramatic," you shake your head. "It's easier to carry than some full course meal."

"But you could have any other food....why that?" Elliot asks, now genuinely curious about what goes on in your mind to think mayo is a suitable choice in food.

You have no explanation though other than "it's most convenient for me and I like the taste".

So he leaves it alone but....maybe it's better not to drink it around him without warning (or drink it when he's buzzed and he may not remember you doing that).

Sebastian

"Umm..."

And here he was, on Ginger Island, hoping to get a brief vacation away from the valley and all its weirdness.

Yet you came along to visit and check on your beach farmhouse--bringing tons of mayo jars with you.

You got thirsty while talking to Seb in the hot sun, and instinctively began chugging the first thing you opened out of your bag.

You don't even realize what you've done until he gives you the strangest look ever.

"Have you always liked drinking mayo...like that?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Um..not since moving into the valley and learning how to make it." You shrugged, smiling sheepishly as you brought out another jar. This time a green color.

"What's that one?"

"Oh! Dinosaur mayo. It's a lot thicker and kinda tastes like a kale drink-"

"I'm sorry, there's dinosaurs in the mines?"

Alex

"Umm..."

"What?" You shoot him a defensive look, cradling the half-empty jar like it's your baby. "You've eaten every raw egg I give you, and I never judge."

"But..that's a little different, isn't it?" He chuckles nervously. "Eggs are great for protein! Drinking straight mayo is...erm....are there any benefits..?"

"It's easy to make with all the eggs in my coop, and um..it keeps my energy up so I don't pass out."

It's an awkward explanation, considering you simply drink mayonnaise for the hell of it and didn't think too much about the "health benefits".

But Alex completely agrees with you, not making any further comments on it in the future.

Although how he's eaten dozen of raw eggs without getting some kind of salmonella poisoning is beyond both him and you.

Perhaps you're both a little bit strange, but he eventually came to accept that about himself.

Wizard

"Umm..."

From the moment you met him and obtained forest magic, Rasmodius knew there was something peculiar about you.

From gleefully retrieving ectoplasm and prismatic jelly for his studies to assisting him in getting the dark talisman back from his ex-wife's home, he's come to trust you as a potential apprentice.

So to drink mayonnaise while looking through his catalogue of expensive magical architecture had him....a bit confused.

"What?" You look at the man standing by the bubbling green pot, his eyebrow raised in question. "C'mon, surely this can't be the strangest thing you've seen."

"No, whatever keeps your spirit and energy nourished is fine and all. But..mayonnaise seems most unconventional. That's all I'm saying. Now I must focus.."

And that's all he says about the matter, not really caring too much.

You're grateful he didn't overreact.

Krobus

"........"

"You're not gonna say anything?"

"About what?"

"About..y'know..me drinking mayonnaise?"

"Why would I? You gift me void mayonnaise. I eat it and use it as a moisturizer all the time!"

Finally, somebody who finds your habit relatively normal---but the only downside is that somebody isn't human.

Makes you often question if you're really human yourself.

It never bothers Krobus whenever you need to sling back a jar of mayonnaise and pull out another one when you return from the mutant bug lair or hike through Cindersap Forest to reach the sewers.

He thinks it's just a normal thing humans do, but when you mention how it's very much not normal in your "culture"..he thinks THEY are weird for not accepting your tastes.

Welp, at least he supports your weird yet harmless habit.

You did try void mayo once and nearly keeled over, so you stick to regular/duck/dino mayo from thereon.

[sen-ya]

part 5/7

is it silly that this is my favorite in this series? i really enjoyed writing kaya and I wanna do it again at some point :')

[op comic masterpost]

[pg1] panel 2: Kaya: Oh! Dr. Law! I didn't expect to find you in our library.

panel 3: Law: K-Kaya-ya!

panel 4: Law: Uh. Ahem. Excuse me. I hope you don't mind me borrowing your books.

panel 5: Kaya: Oh of course not! I'm just shocked to hear we have books you don't! What are you studying?

panel 6: Law: UHHHHH

[pg2] panel 10: Kaya: Oh! Is someone on your crew pregnant? Ikkaku??

panel 11: Law (thinking): She doesn't know Ikkaku is trans. Does she not know that I am?? I just assumed Nose-ya would have mentioned it. But that makes sense. If Straw Hat didn't already know Nose-ya was trans it's not like I would have told him.

panel 12: Kaya: ...?

panel 13: Law (thinking): Fuck, I've been quiet too long. I can't throw Ikkaku under to bus. Just say something.

panel 14: Law: No. Kaya: Oh. Then why...? Law (thinking): Wait, shit

[pg3] panel 15: Law: My, uh...brother...'s...wife. Yeah, we're taking him back to Zou soon...because his wife is pregnant...and I...want...to help...?

panel 16: Kaya: Oh, how sweet! Congrats "Uncle Law" hehe. If you have any questions I could help with let me know!! I specialized in traumatic injury, but I did deliver a few babies in Syrup Village! On smaller islands like that you wear a lot of hats.

panel 17: Law: And you've...been pregnant. Kaya: Well, yeah, but I wasn't my own doctor! Could you imagine if I had tried to deliver the twins myself? Even a doctor needs a doctor, you know that.

panel 18: Law: ...right.

panel 19: Law: ...what...what was it like?

panel 20: Kaya: Oh, my pregnant patients were actually pretty fun! I suppose it makes sense that as a pirate ship doctor you wouldn't have had to know obstetrics. But it was always so lovely to hand a parent their--

[pg4] panel 21: Kaya: ...newborn...baby...?

panel 23: Kaya: ...I'm sorry, Dr. Law. If there's context I need you'll have to give it to me. I'm not good at guessing.

panel 24: Law: What do you mean, I just gave you context. Kaya: With all due respect, you're full crying. It's a new sight for me!

panel 25: Kaya: You can tell me what's going on! I'm told I'm a very good listener

panel 26: Law: ...You Straw Hats sure are a pain Kaya: Sorry, hehe

panel 28: Law: ...I...ahem...so number one, if you didn't know...I'm...I'm trans.

panel 29: Law: But not like your husband. He got the works from Ivankov-ya...I never felt the need to seek that out.

[pg5] panel 30: Kaya: ...I see

panel 31: Kaya: How far along are you? Law: ..12 weeks, give or take. Kaya: Well, I've provided obstetric care of all kinds. So whatever questions you're researching here...why don't you ask me instead of being your own doctor?

panel 32: Law: ...Same question. What was it like?

panel 33: Kaya: Being pregnant was a horror show!

panel 34: Law: A glowing review. Kaya: Oh, sorry! I can lie if you'd prefer!

panel 35: Kaya: I was just so sick my first trimester! Law (speaking over her): KAYA-YA I THOUGHT I WAS DYING FOR TWO WEEKS WHEN WILL IT STOP I CAN ONLY EAT RICE.

panel 36: Kaya: It's different for everyone. By the end it wasn't quite so bad for me, though. And I love my kids so much. They were such cute newborns!! So I was alright being uncomfortable for awhile. Because that's what we wanted, you know?

panel 37: Kaya (off screen): What do you and Luffy want, Dr. Law?

[pg6] panel 38: Law: ...We haven't decided yet. We're giving it to the end of the week. I'm trying to think about it rationally. But I just keep getting emotional any time I talk about it. It's strange.

panel 39: Kaya: An emotional decision and a bad decision aren't inherently synonymous, you know.

panel 40: Law: ...your bedside manner is impeccable, Dr. Kaya-ya. Kaya: Well, thank you! Next time let's meet in the infirmary, mine or yours.

panel 41: Kaya: I'll be your doctor through this, okay?

panel 42: Law: ...Okay...Thank you. Kaya: Of course!

[zosan-secondchances]

The Pirate King of the North: Part 8

Main Themes: Villain Sanji, Alternate Universe, Zosan Ship

Warning: Long post ahead with One Piece spoilers. Contains strong language and explicit content.

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17

Sanji

Explain, Commander.

Commander 2

We’d been keeping tabs on Doflamingo like you wanted. But since your… performance… in Sabaody Archipelago, he’s disappeared from our radar completely.

Law didn't look too impressed hearing this. 

Law

You've known where to find him all along?

Sanji

Of course I do. Or…I did.

Oh, don't give me that face, doctor. Remember, Doffy and I have an alliance. I only wanted to make sure that he doesn't know that I'm sneaking around with you until we find out more about Corazon. My intel on his whereabouts all but benefits you. However, please understand that it's all on a need-to-know basis. I still have a duty to protect his privacy.

The doctor glares at him, sneering especially after being reminded about the blonde's partnership with his sworn enemy. He's starting to have doubts about saving the man's life.

Zoro begins to wonder himself what this means about the recent development in his relationship with the blonde.

Sanji turns his attention back to the blue-haired commander.

Sanji

So there's nothing at all? Nothing in the usual countries and islands? …At home even? Are any of our agents compromised?

Commander 2

I have in good faith that the reports are accurate and untapped.

And… I really hope he’s not wandering somewhere in the castle. I don’t know if I can sleep like that.

Zoro crosses his arms and legs at the foot of Sanji’s bed, listening intently and observing the stranger. He notices that the blonde's relationship is somewhat domestic with this man, even with the formal titles. 

Sanji

Hold on. How in the world did you find me?

Commander 2 pokes the side of his head.

Commander 2

Distress signal. Did you die?

Sanji

Uhm… no?

Law

He did.

Zoro looks at the doctor with a horrified expression but Sanji and the commander look unbothered by the news. Law picks up on the swordsman's concern so he follows up quickly. 

Law

Relax. He's still alive, isn't he? We lost him for less than a minute. His heart stopped beating but we got it under control.

Commander 2

That would do it.

Sanji groans, his head falling back against the pillow that's propping him up.

Sanji

I forgot about that damned thing. The last time this happened was when the Marimo sliced off my arm.

Zoro frowns at the memory.

Zoro

You… died then?

Sanji

So I've been told. I only remember feeling like shit. They told me that I bled out from the fight, love. You got me good!

Zoro frowns at the comment as Sanji chuckles casually about it. To him, it’s starting to make sense how the blonde was able to slip away and survive certain arduous battles against him before.

While he can't see the commander's eyes, he could sense that the man is watching him like a hawk behind his thick goggles. Zoro returns the glare with just as much intensity.

Sanji

I think the signal still activates if we hit a critical condition.

Commander 2

Which wouldn’t have happened if you had your Raid Su–

Sanji

DON'T. Start.

The commander closes his mouth shut and tuts to himself, resisting to openly show any signs of disapproval in front of everyone. 

Law

Mr. Prince-ya, is there something you want to tell us? We can't have a tracker on you while we're trying to stay under the radar ourselves.

Sanji and his commander share a look. After a brief pause, the blonde speaks.

Sanji

It's a bit complicated, doctor.

Commander, it’s okay to tell them. We need to prove that they can trust us, and that hasn’t changed. Even if the doctor and dear Doffy are enemies.

Commander 2

Fine. I hate that guy too anyway.

Law smirks at the commander’s comment. Sanji can't say that he's not glad to see that they have found common ground at the very least.

The commander turns his attention to Law, then proceeds to explain.

Commander 2

It's Germa tech–a safety precaution, nothing more. The signal isn't something that can be intercepted by anything, including black snails. It can only be sent and received by people who have undergone the procedure to install the proper modifications, and it’s tied to our genetics.

Sanji

Our father had kindly ordered his scientists to open up our skulls when we were very young. It made sense at the time, what with softer heads and faster recovery rate. It’s useful, but we have no control of it.

The blue-haired man nods then follows up quickly.

Commander 2

It's similar to an automatic reflex.

Now that we’ve matured, I believe it will prove fatal to have the mods removed. We can’t do anything about it.

Zoro felt sick at the thought. He wonders what sort of monster Sanji had been raised by. Then he realises something. 

Zoro

Curls… are you two brothers?

Sanji stares at him for a second, then laughs out loud, making him and Law look at each other in confusion.

Sanji

Yes! I forget that I haven’t told you anything about my family!

Marimo and doctor, this is my brother, Asshole. Asshole, this is Marimo and doctor.

The commander snarls at Sanji, gritting his teeth.

Commander 2

My name is Vinsmoke Niji, Prince and Commander of Germa.

—

Zoro was selfishly hoping to continue spending time with the recently woken up blonde but this prince commander, Niji, had completely taken over Sanji's time. The swordsman didn't fully understand the conversation that followed but it was a necessary one as it involved the blonde's health.

Niji had provided Law with what looks like a compact first aid kit specifically tailored for the Pirate King. He went on a detailed explanation about how their bodies differ from regular human bodies, pointing out that Sanji, while being one of the Vinsmoke children that had been modified to have superhuman capabilities, is especially unique compared to the rest of his siblings having the only one who retained his emotions.

Hearing the science behind it felt clinical and too much information for the swordsman to fully absorb. He felt like being in the room while Law and the commander spoke about Sanji's body the way they did was too personal and he shouldn't be there for it.

When Zoro tries to leave, he feels a hand wrap around his own. He looks down and finds that the blonde is holding onto him, as if asking him to stay. So he does.

To conclude, Niji proceeds to go through the contents of the kit. One of which is a tubed cream that he demonstrates with. He applies a small amount on the blonde's ripped tendons, miraculously sealing the open wound closed in an instant.

Sanji looked satisfied with the result. He wriggles and stretches his feet poking out of the blanket, smiling at it happily. Now there are scars where the gashes once were, adding to his ever growing collection. Niji's face looks unfazed, but he straightens up and puffs out his chest a bit like he's proud of his work.

To ensure Law's continued interest in working together, Sanji provides him with even more valuable information about himself and his kingdom, offering them as gifts in good faith. He reveals that his four most trusted commanders are actually his siblings, and should anything happen to him, one of them will take over to rule Germa. Their collective efforts ensure that the Pirate King’s reputation is upheld and his orders are enforced by each one of their varying specialties. It gives the illusion that the Sanji is in multiple places at once, and makes sure that his influence and power over the North remain unchallengeable.

Law

Why are you telling me all this?

Sanji

My dear, you haven't played this game much before, have you? I'm laying it all out for you. Don't waste it.

Niji

So you can use the information against him if he's being a dick. He's offering his trust to you for yours.

Maybe sharing a bit too much detail, if you ask me. A lot of people have lost their lives trying to learn what you just did in the last five minutes.

Sanji

Commander Niji, you ass! Let him figure it out! How else is he going to learn?

Niji

He's not a player. Look at him.

He's too soft.

Law

Sh–shut up! I'm not!

So, is this how you hide your whereabouts? By overwhelming everyone with information that is all technically true?

Sanji nods, smiling. He looks almost smug at his own cleverness.

Sanji

Carefully curated truth, doctor. I don't reveal everything, but I give away enough to keep people off my back, or you know, just for fun. I do prefer to work in the shadows.

Law

The Underworld?

Sanji

For the most part. If you're nice, I'll tell you more about it all later.

Sanji gives Law a cheeky flirtatious wink. Zoro rolls his eye in reaction.

Niji

This doesn't explain why you blew your own cover in Sabaody Archipelago with that charity show.

Sanji

Oh, it was all part of a heist but I’ve always wanted to show off my legs in those video shows. I completely didn't see the Celestial Dragon coming and I know that I should have known better. How hot did I look in those heels though?

Niji

Ugh….

Zoro quietly agreed about Sanji's appearance but he's not about to announce that.

Law

There's something I don't get….

Sanji

Ask away.

Law

I come from the North Blue myself. The Marines say that after you killed your own father, you enslaved your siblings, and they are never seen again.

Sanji

Ah.

Law observes Niji's features, taking notes of his curly eyebrows and similar facial structure.

Law

If what you say is true and this man is your brother, then the story from the Marines is false.

Sanji

Bunch of liars, those lot. They're worse than me.

Law

What's the real story?

Sanji glances at Niji then proceeds to explain. This time, his pace is slow, as if trying to make sure that he says the right word every time.

Sanji

Vinsmoke Judge was… there's no way around it–he’s an ass.

Niji

You can't deny all the scientific and military progress he'd made though.

Sanji

Yes, well…thank you, Commander.

Let's just say that I wasn't exactly his favourite. See, that, I could deal with.

But I killed him because he wouldn't let me visit our own mother's grave.

Zoro raised his eyebrows at that. He could tell that the doctor is intrigued by the story himself.

Sanji

I did force my siblings into custody at that time, but I only kept them under lock and key until I named myself ruler of Germa. Then I didn't need to.

Niji and my other siblings are hardwired to follow Germa’s current king or queen's demands so I made them my commanders. They didn't have to like it, but their loyalty is unquestionably clear. They physically can't disobey my orders. All thanks to dear father's hard work turning them into the perfect soldiers.

A lot of our father's faithful followers are against me being in the throne so to protect them, we had to hide their identities for a while. I guess it stuck.

Law

Figures your own father saw you as a threat.

Sanji

No…it's the opposite, actually. He locked me away when we were very young. He said I was uhm…

Sanji trails off at that and looks down. His grip on Zoro's hand tightens.

Niji

A failure. The word you're looking for is “failure”.

Sanji

Yeeees, yes. Thank you, Commander. Ah yes, how could I forget?

Niji 

Don't mention it.

Niji is smirking with a broad grin.

Sanji's body trembles in anger for a moment, but it subsides when Zoro gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. He takes a deep breath then turns to Law again after composing himself.

Sanji

He kept me out of sight, to make sure that I didn't ruin his reputation. Until one day he didn't feel just as merciful and threw me away.

Which brings us to the topic of Doffy…. I know you've seen my mark by now. You must wonder why I'm closely allied with a Celestial Dragon–another slaver, for that matter.

Law leans against the far door, crossing his arms.

Law

On the contrary... I don't think Celestial Dragons are all bad. Doflamingo is a special case though.

Sanji

Hah! You can say that again.

Are you aware of his SMILE factory?

Law

All too well.

Sanji

Right. The entire span of its outer walls are lined with Seastones. I needed a steady supply of it and I knew Doffy had his sources.

The stone's unusual properties allow my siblings to feel emotions but they're… heavy and awkward. And with all the combat my brothers and sister go through on the regular…

Law

You constantly need them for maintenance… and Doflamingo is milking your every worth.

Sanji nods affirmingly.

Sanji

I need pure condensed ones to make something more compact and permanent but they're extremely rare. I'm not even sure if that Celestial Dragon in Sabaody knew what they were. We've been gathering everything we can find for years, and finally we may have enough after Sabaody.

Doffy said he'd help with the supply of the regular ones while I go find them but he's proven to be… demanding.

Niji

Demanding is an understatement. Also, he's a fuckin’ pervert.

Sanji

Hey, he's my fuckin’ pervert.

Zoro

Curls…

Sanji

Ah, shit. I'm sorry, love. This is going to take some getting used to….

Law

But the other Vinsmokes are already hardwired to obey your commands. That doesn't make sense. Why would you change that and give them emotions? Everything about it benefits you.

Sanji remains quiet. Law speaks after the sudden realisation.

Law

…Because that's not what you want.

Sanji

You're getting it now….

Law

You want them to have a choice.

You want to give them the freedom of will….

Law eyes the helmet tucked under Niji's arm.

Law

Why aren't you wearing it then? I assume it works whenever you put it on. This means you can choose to abandon your Pirate King anytime.

Niji

A tempting idea. Not that I already didn't think about it.

Law

You… choose to stay? You choose to wear it whenever you want, and you decide to stay by his side?

Niji shrugs, his mouth curls a scowl.

Niji

Don't put it like that. You make it sound gross.

I wear it to gain empathy. My brothers and sister wear it for their own reasons. It gives us better judgement when we need to make critical decisions.

Sanji

And Germa thrives for it–thanks to those decisions.

Niji doesn't look him in the eye, but that way he puffs his chest when he's proud of himself happens again very slightly.

Sanji

The helmet's not the prettiest. And it's heavy. They don't have a good quality of life dragging it around, being stuck with it.

Once this is over, I'll take all the condensed Seastones that we have see what we can make of it.

Speaking of, Marimo…please tell me you have them.

They all turn to the swordsman, who procures the bag that Sanji had given him from under his sleeve. The blonde sighs with relief at the sight and takes it, holding the bag close to his chest.

Sanji

Thank you…

Zoro nods in acknowledgement as Sanji secures the bag away in one of the drawers of the end tables next to his bed.

Law

Mr. Prince-ya…

Sanji

Yes...?

Law

You're… surprisingly... not unkind.

Sanji blushes up to his ear. He pulls his blanket up to cover his face.

Sanji

Yeah, well…what good does that do if they're stuck with those ugly things?

Zoro grabs the blonde's hand that's gripping the blanket and pulls it down. He smiles at him with a softened look in his eye, feeling touched by the story.

Zoro

So you are a decent man after all.

Sanji

NO–!

The blonde swings a leg and hits the swordsman at the back of his head. The momentum sends him to fall face first on the tiled floor. Zoro gets up with a furious expression on his face, a tear in his eye and a couple of large bumps on his head.

Zoro

WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! I WAS TRYING TO PAY YOU A COMPLIMENT!!!

Sanji gets on his feet, blanket dropping to the floor and begins yelling back while in full nude. A drip of blood flow down his nose.

Sanji

YOU CAN'T SAY SHIT LIKE THAT, YOU BASTARD!!

Zoro

WHY DIDN'T YOU HIT TRAFFY TOO?! HE STARTED IT!!!

Law

Don't bring me into this….

Niji

Tch.

Sanji

And what are you tutting about?!

Niji averts his gaze with an unimpressed frown on his face.

Niji

I just find it ironic that the person you decide to be with is a brute with green hair.

Sanji glares at him with a growl at the back of his throat. He stomps towards him, looking like he's about to throw a punch.

Zoro quickly gets up and hoists the naked blonde into his arms.

Sanji

Oi!

Zoro

Don't even think about it. Your feet are fine now but your heart isn't.

Sanji mimics Zoro's last line in a high pitched, mocking voice. The swordsman lays him gently back on his bed, ruffles his hair then proceeds to pick up the blanket to lay it over the blonde after dusting it off.

Niji watches the interaction between the two carefully. He notices their closeness and how they can't seem to let go of each other's hands again when Sanji finally settles in.

The commander reaches under his arm and with one smooth swing, he equips the heavy metal helmet over his head with a ding, covering the entirety of his face but the eyes behind his goggles.

Sanji's eyes widen in horror.

Sanji

That can't be good.

Commander, what are you up to?

Niji keeps his hands on his helmet, staying silent as he's processing information in his head.

Law notices a glint of his eyes behind the lens of his goggles. He thought that he saw a hint of concern on his face but it went as quickly as it came.

The blue-haired commander finally slides his hands off his headwear as he turns to face Sanji. The way he scrunches his face tells the blonde that he's grinning wide behind the metal plate that covered his lower face.

Niji

I think I'll stay, Your Highness.

Sanji

NO.

Zoro and Law

What?!

Niji

Due to recent events, I have come to the conclusion that the best course of action to ensure Our Majesty's survival is to remain at his side for the duration of his trip. At least until you reach Skypiea anyway.

Sanji

FUCK OFF, NIJI!

Law

I don't get a say in this, do I?

Zoro

Calm down, Curls. This isn't good for your heart.

Sanji

He's not good to my heart.

Take it off and go home, Niji.

Niji

Hmm… nah.

Sanji

Nah?!

Niji

You always did say we need to bond more like a proper family.

Niji opens his arms, as if challenging the blonde. Then he speaks mockingly.

Niji

Let's bond, brother.

—

Niji 

What the hell is this?

Sanji has dragged Niji all the way to their shared bunk room where mountains of laundry are scattered throughout the floor, waiting to be folded. Zoro is trying his best not to snicker behind them while the blue-haired man stood still, too stunned at the sight.

Sanji

Bonding. This is bonding.

Niji

This is not–

The blonde pushes the blue-haired man into the room.

Sanji

If you're going to stay here, you have to make yourself useful.

Niji

This is servant stuff!

Sanji hurdles over a couple of piles to get to their wardrobe. When he does, he strips off his borrowed hospital gown and starts putting on his casual wear.

Sanji

Yes, you're right. And I hate to break it to you but… you are one.

Niji

I'm a prince!

Sanji smirks as he pats himself down, satisfied with his choice of clothing.

Sanji

And I'm a king and yet, here we are. Stay here, and get some headway.

Keep Penguin's stuff close to the door in case he runs in looking for clothes post-shower again, otherwise everything else gets wet. It's the one with the penguin doodle on the inside collar. Shachi’s ones have shorter sleeves than the rest. Ikkaku’s has a smaller cut overall but sometimes I get it mixed up with Hakugan’s….

To Zoro's amusement, Sanji goes on a long list of do’s and don'ts for each and every one of the Heart Pirates clothes, overwhelming the blue-haired commander.

Niji 

This is bullshit. You're just making this up. There's no way you remember that for all twenty of them.

Zoro

No, he's actually pretty spot on. Also, there's twenty-one. Law's too shy to ask so he sneaks in his stuff in the middle of the night. It should be around here somewhere….

Sanji

Watch the feathers on one of his coats! Don't ruffle it up or it will lose its natural shape.

Let's go, Marimo.

Niji

Wait–where are you going?

Sanji quickly grabs Zoro's hand and rushes out the door.

Sanji

Uh–king business! Very busy. Don't follow!

Niji

Fuckin’ hell, San–

The door slams close behind them.

Little did Zoro know that he was about to have the best sex of his life.

—

Thanks to the collective power and experience of the passengers aboard the Polar Tang, the Heart Pirates and their guests are an unstoppable force. They travelled through the Grand Line and covered almost half of the world in the matter of weeks as opposed to years. They dove deep underwater for any potential threat that they wanted to avoid, and having Niji onboard meant that they had eyes and a driving force in the skies whenever they needed it.

There were a couple of reports from the blue-haired commander that Law had stowed away in his memory banks to worry about later. The first one being the sighting of Kaidou’s forces nearby. He wonders what business they possibly could have all the way in the Grand Line.

Secondly, something has upset the merfolk. Whatever it is, Niji reported that fleets of Prince Fukaboshi’s army can be seen on the move from afar. Law makes an effort to keep their sub at a distance so as to not get caught up in their affairs.

The doctor also noticed that the blonde especially took interest in the latter, asking if there's a sighting of the mermaid prince himself but his brother came back without good news for him.

—

They reach the boundaries of the island Jaya at high noon. The Pirate King insists not to step foot inside its village of Mock Town as Doflamingo is known to have men in the area. As per agreement of their alliance, Sanji is not allowed to send his own men or any one of his associates in his territory unless the tall Warlord is notified in advance. Naturally, the blonde didn't care much about it and tells everyone that they can get on the island if they want as long as they don't get seen.

With that information, Law decides to skirt the ship around and dock at the other more isolated side of the island, away from prying eyes, in the boundaries of South Grove.

Once settled, they stretch their legs and sunbathe on the deck for a while until Law orders his men to forage in the forest or fish in the waters to stock up ahead on food, warning them to stay away from the town that Sanji had mentioned earlier.

Law

And try not to show up in the news this time, will you?

Law singles out Sanji, looming over him as the blonde relaxed on his sun lounge chair in his swim trunks. Zoro is laid on the floor beside him.

Sanji

Don't tempt me, Traffy-kun.

Law

It's “Trafalgar.”

Zoro

Traffy, can you stop telling him what to do? This is how it started last time.

Niji

So you're to blame for that, huh?

Law

ACK–

The Heart Pirates all boo in unison, telling off their own captain–all demanding to be left alone, including their favourite Chore Boy, accusing him of overworking everyone and for being too strict.

Law throws a venomous glare at Sanji.

Law

This is mutiny! You've rallied my own men against me. Are you happy?

Sanji giggles, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, leaving Law to walk off grumpily and scout ahead in the forest with a handful of his crew.

Zoro sits up from the floor and leans an arm on Sanji's lounge chair.

Zoro

I'm getting some beer. Need anything?

Sanji plays with his goatee, then smirks, placing his hands back behind his head and closing his eyes for a quick snooze.

Sanji

Would you be so kind as to get me a glass of Pina Colada? I premixed some earlier today. Should be in the fridge.

Zoro

Do you want just a glass for yourself?

…Or the whole jug?

The swordsman gives him a smirk, emphasizing the last word in that sentence.

Sanji snaps his eyes open at the idea, then gazes to the side and sees Penguin and Shachi already looking at them while they fish together by the railing. They grin widely and give them the shaka sign.

Sanji

Fuck yeah. Get the jug.

—

Zoro makes his way down to the kitchen to do exactly that. He knows that the blonde likes making stuff pretty, so he makes an extra effort to garnish the drink with a small umbrella and a slice of lime on the side of the glass. It takes a lot longer than he anticipated but he wanted to get this right to impress him.

There's a sudden nagging sensation somewhere behind him–he senses danger and it’s aiming for his head. In one smooth motion, he spins, safely placing the cocktail on the counter with one hand and whips Wado out from its sheath with the other, blocking the oncoming sword attack just in time.

Niji

You know, I’ve just had enough waiting for the right moment when you’re not snogging each other.

As the blue-haired man spoke, their blades shook and rattled from the constant push against one another. Zoro hovers his now free hand over one of his other swords, readying himself to deliver a counter attack.

Niji reads his movement ahead of him and swipes a low spinning kick against the swordsman's ankle. He doesn't realise that he misses until he sees a shadow above him where Zoro had flipped overhead with ease to dodge his attack.

Zoro

What's your problem?

He unsheathes a second blade at the moment he lands on the ground. He stands firm with a basic stance.

Niji

You are, Demon Warlord.

Bending low, Niji stomps on one leg, creating a powerful surge of electricity from the base of his foot. As it spreads up to his thigh, Zoro's hair on his entire body stands on end and the lights throughout the Polar Tang flicker.

When the room dims for a few milliseconds, the blue-haired man disappears from sight.

The swordsman crosses his swords over his chest to block, and receives a powerful electrical kick at the X of his blades, barely seeing the other man’s movements. Zoro holds his body firm but the momentum sends his feet sliding until his back hits the wall.

Niji jumps and raises his own sword high above his head to bring it down on him.

Before the blade collides with his head, Zoro pushes himself off the wall and uses his own forehead to hit Niji square on his face. The man’s thick helmet bends at the mouth plate then shatters from the stress. Zoro's direct hit fractures both lenses of his goggles and breaks his nose.

The blue-haired commander staggers back but manages to regain his balance. The two straighten up almost at the same time. Niji cracks his neck, then removes broken off pieces of his helmet from his face with his free hand. He grabs the broken bridge of his nose to force it back into place with a loud snap, then spits out leftover blood from his mouth.

Zoro stood expressionless as blood trickled down his face from his forehead.

Zoro

Tough one, aren't you?

Niji

And I thought you'd be stronger.

They exchange another round of hits. This time, it felt more methodical to the swordsman, like he was being studied.

At one point, the aftershock from one of Niji’s kicks nearly tips Sanji’s drink off the counter. As if they had an unspoken agreement, they pause the fight so the blue-haired commander can catch the glass just in time before it falls off. They continue their barrage of attacks then.

Zoro

Enough of this.

The swordsman bites down Wado, enabling him to unsheathe a third sword.

Niji

That's more like it–!

Before Niji could finish speaking his thoughts, Zoro is suddenly in front of him.

Niji

What the–

The swordsman disarms the commander with one sweep of his blades. Without giving the other man much of a chance to counter, Zoro brings his swords across all together to deliver a powerful push, sending the other man flying to the far end of the room, damaging kitchen furnishings along the way.

Niji crashes against the wall with a choked grunt but doesn't fall on the ground. Instead, he catches himself on his knees, wheezing after getting the wind from his lungs drawn out of him.

Zoro

Ready to use your words?

Zoro approaches the man and points the tip of one sword to his neck.

Zoro

Or are you going to give me a reason to kill you?

Niji smirks, then slaps Zoro's sword away from his face casually.

Niji

You couldn't, even if you tried.

Zoro

I would have sooner if you had ruined Curly’s drink.

Niji

Trust me, I'm not the one who ruined it.

Zoro

What the fuck are you talking about?

Niji pushes himself up, swiping a leg at Zoro's direction.

Not wanting to do any more damage to the kitchen than he already has, the swordsman jumps back to avoid the hit.

Zoro

Seriously?! What is your problem?

Niji

My sources are right. You're not that bright, are you?

Zoro

Excuse me?

Niji walks to pick up his sword from the floor. He gives it a suave swing in the air and points the tip at Zoro's direction.

Niji

You actively sought out to kill our king for more than twenty years. And the next thing I know, he's involved himself with you? What a fucking joke. 

You may have seduced our brother, but I'm not buying that shit, Warlord. What's your game here?

Zoro's eyebrows furrow at that. Of course Sanji’s family is protective of him. He takes a moment to think about his next move, then finally he makes a decision. He eases his stance and throws down all of his swords between him and Niji.

Niji tips his head up slightly at the gesture. He takes a step forward, charging a ball of electricity in the claw of his hand, then lunges at Zoro.

The swordsman closes his eye and keeps his arms down.

The air suddenly stills. And everything was quiet.

When Zoro opens his eye, he sees the commander's hand hovering just an inch from his face, the electrical surge gone from it.

Niji

Tch. This is just boring now.

Niji puts his sword away then turns to walk to the kitchen sink. He digs through one of the broken cupboards and fishes out a dishtowel which he throws to Zoro who catches it.

The blue-haired commander runs his own towel through the water then cleans himself with it, including the blood off his face. Afterwards, he abandons the cloth on the floor. Without turning to face the other man, he speaks.

Niji

Tell me, swordsman, what are your intentions with my brother?

Zoro's eye narrows as he wipes the blood from his forehead with the cloth.

Zoro

We don't need your blessing to do what we want to do.

As they talk, Niji begins to open cupboards, taking out a chopping board and a knife. He begins to work on something that's out of Zoro's line of sight as his body is in the way.

Niji

Really now? Did he say that?

Zoro

Not exactly. But knowing him, he'll just do whatever the hell he wants to do.

Niji pauses his movements for a second, then continues with his work.

Niji

Do you really think you know who he is and what he’s like?

Zoro

We have known each other for a long time, we've been travelling together for months since Law sought us out, and you know that we're… involved.

Niji

Yes… I am well aware.

Zoro

So what's your problem?

Zoro hears a bang and a squelch from the kitchen counter. Niji gives the knife a spin in his hand then stabs the chopping board with it, leaving the knife sticking out. He turns to face the swordsman.

Niji

If you truly know him that well, then tell me, Roronoa Zoro….

Niji emphasized his name as he pushed himself off the counter. He approaches Zoro slowly and stops just a step away from him.

Niji

What’s his name?

Zoro frowns at that question. He opens his mouth to respond immediately as if it has an obvious answer, but then he slowly realises that it doesn't. He digs through his memories–the blonde’s Marine file that he's read and made reports for a thousand times, their time spent together travelling, and all the instances when they've fought, fucked or both–and come out with nothing. He can’t recall a time when he’d used his first name or learned it. All he remembers is a list of nicknames and titles that he and other people have given him, and that his family name is Vinsmoke. 

There and then, the swordsman starts questioning if that even is the case.

Niji tilts his head slightly, waiting for an answer. Zoro sees a glint of deep blue eyes glaring down on him. The other man looked unimpressed. With a lick of his lips, he finally breaks the silence.

Niji

Let’s reiterate what you said, shall we?

You have known each other for a long time. You have been travelling together for months since the doctor sought you out. And now, you’re apparently… “involved”.

Did you ask him even once about it? It seems like a simple question that you ask everyone.

Zoro

I…

Nothing. The swordsman had no good reason to justify why he hadn't asked the blonde for his name.

Niji

Your silence is reassuring.

Do you know why you don’t know his name?

Zoro remains quiet, already feeling berated and extremely guilty.

Niji takes another looming step closer, nearly closing the gap between them. He hovers his angry face in front of his.

Niji

Because, all these years, you either don’t care or he doesn’t trust you enough with it.

Which one is worse, do you think?

The swordsman doesn’t have any good answers to that question.

Niji takes a moment to read Zoro’s defeated face.

Niji

I think I’ve figured it out. It's both. You do care. But mostly, just for yourself.

The blue-haired man stomps to where Zoro had made Sanji’s cocktail. He grabs the drink and downs it in a couple of big gulps.

Zoro

Oi!

Niji wipes his mouth with the back of his hand then steals a fresh glass from the station. He begins to busy himself around the kitchen.

Niji

If he hasn’t given you his real name, then I wouldn’t bother too much, Warlord. You’re nothing but a phase to him. Eventually, he’ll get bored and find a new plaything. Unless you get lucky or have something more to offer like Doflamingo. Once he’s had his fill, he’s not going back for more.

When he turns around, he holds a fresh, more presentable Pina Colada in his hand garnished with pineapple fruit, its leaves and a single piece of cherry on top. It even has a matching straw that complemented the tiny umbrella. The drink has a nice amount of crushed ice in it too. Overall, it’s much better looking than the one that the swordsman made earlier. Niji approaches Zoro and hands it to him. Reluctantly, he takes it.

Niji

This is a warning for your own sake, Demon Warlord. I frankly don’t give a shit what he does to you. You could die in a hole for all I care. But if you hurt even a single strand of his hair, I will personally come down to your doorstep, pull each and every one of your fingernails and teeth, then shove your own balls into your mouth. That’s assuming you actually survive me beating the living shit out of you first.

At that, Niji walks off, leaving a stunned swordsman in the middle of the wrecked kitchen and a fancy drink in his hand.

After a moment of silence, Zoro takes a deep breath.

Zoro

…You can come out now, Bepo.

Bepo opens the pantry door where he had wedged himself in. He looks shaken.

Zoro

You uh… are you okay?

Bepo

You guys are scary when you fight….

—

Zoro finally re-emerges on the deck of the ship with a cocktail in his hand and a jug of premixed Pina Colada in another. Bepo followed closely behind him holding a bunch of glasses in a tray.

Sanji

Took you long enough! Did you get lost in the ship again, Marimo-kun?

Laughing, the blonde sits up and gives them a cheerful smile. When he sees Zoro and Bepo’s faces, his expression drops.

Sanji

What’s wrong? You two look like someone died.

Zoro sets the jug down under the shade of Sanji’s sun umbrella, following Bepo with the glasses. The swordsman bends down in front of the blonde, forcing a smile, offering him the drink that he could have made himself.

Zoro

Nothing happened. Just a little accident in the kitchen. It just took a bit longer to clean, that’s all. 

Sanji

Wait, is that for me? How did you know to put it together exactly how I like it?! It looks perfect, thank you!

Sanji grabs the cocktail from Zoro’s hand and gives his cheek a long loud smooch. He returns to sunbathing in the sun lounge chair and happily drinks from the glass. He hums in satisfaction.

After seeing their arrival, the remaining Heart Pirates onboard cluster around them and start asking if they can have some. Sanji waves them to form a line and wait for the swordsman to prep the drinks.

Sanji

Well, whatever it is, if this what came out of there, I say it was worth the trouble.

Zoro works quietly as he tries to get his head back to how it was earlier that day, only to find that he can’t shake Niji’s words off his head. He busies his hands, but not before realising that the blue-haired commander is sitting on the roof of the upper levels of the sub. It looks like he's fixed his broken goggles but he's still sporting the heavy fractured helmet on his head as he watched them closely.

Sanji

Did you get your beer?

Zoro

…Shit.

—

Law stood in the middle of the Polar Tang’s wrecked kitchen, his eyes dark behind the shade of his spotted cap. His knuckles turn white from gripping the sheath of his sword too tight.

Everyone stood behind him near the door to make a quick escape should they need to. Zoro and Niji are at opposite sides of the room after seemingly having an unspoken agreement to keep things quiet after their fight. Bepo looked nervously left and right between them.

Law

I was only gone for an hour….

The tone of Law’s voice sends chills up the Heart Pirates’ spines.

Law turns abruptly and looks at Bepo face to face.

The polar bear freaks and screams. He jumps back to hide behind Sanji, who is the next victim of Law’s hard stare.

Law

I come back… to find everyone tipsy drunk… and my kitchen in disarray….

Sanji

Don’t look at me! I haven’t stepped foot in here since breakfast!

There was a moment of silence. Law takes a step forward. Bepo visibly shakes from fear.

Zoro

It was me.

Everyone turns to the swordsman who’s currently busy digging into his ear with his pinky. Niji watches him straight-faced.

Zoro flicks the dirt from his finger, crosses his arms then looks at Law properly.

Zoro

I tried to make Pina Colada for Curls.

All eyes bore on him. Some looked at him in confusion, some started snickering and Bepo felt relieved to not need to confess anything to his captain. Niji huffs quietly, looking away.

Sanji scans the room, trying to picture the scene that unfolded.

Sanji

Oh, Mellorine…. This is not how you make a drink….

Zoro is banned from the kitchen from that day on.

----------

I'm going through some design reiterations for the Vinsmoke helmets now that the story's more fleshed out and I have a better idea of how they serve the story. I'm thinking, if Sanji's is making them them and his siblings have a say about the heavy things, they'd actually put some effort in making it look cool, and potentially add some extra mods on them. The new designs are meant to really show that Sanji respects and trusts them as his best and highest ranking officers.

[octuscle]

Every Friday Night

What do you give someone who actually has everything? My friend Daniel is celebrating his 40th birthday next Saturday. We've been inseparable since high school. By his own admission, he's had a good life: he's a fairly successful doctor, most people appreciate his pleasant if somewhat reserved nature, and time has only given him the occasional gray hair, a slight tummy and shallow laugh lines on his gentle face.

Although he has had to make some sacrifices over the years to achieve his professional and social status, he admits that it has all been worth it. Until now, I always believed that too. What reason did I have not to? Until we had perhaps one or two too many glasses of wine yesterday. The wine loosened his tongue. And Daniel said wistfully that he regretted not having a more rebellious youth.

Shit, I've had a bit too much wine myself… I'm afraid I've been up to some shenanigans. At least I have a Chronivac app on my phone and I get text messages that my subscription is activated. And there's a countdown. Shit, I have a bad headache. And no idea what's going on.

Daniel calls me and asks me what the calendar entry is for Friday evening. It says "Gym" in the calendar. Yeah, right. Gym. Friday night. Isn't that what we always do? I'm a bit confused. Daniel too. "Yes, of course!" he says. Gym on Friday. As always. Will I pick him up? For some reason, I tell him to meet me at the bus stop. Sure, says Daniel. We haven't taken the bus since school days.

Friday evening. It feels normal to meet Daniel at the bus stop. We're both still wearing our casual business outfits from the office. And a sports bag with us. When was the last time I went to the gym? Shit, last Friday of course. We go every Friday. At least. Daniel greets me with a fist bump and offers me a cigarette. Neither of us smoke.

When the bus arrives, Daniel goes straight through to the back. He sits down in the last row with his legs apart and starts rolling a fag. I sit down next to him. Damn, he smells of sweat and tobacco. i start playing with my cell phone. since when do i have a tiktok account? A guy gives me tips on taking Trenbolone. Daniel looks at my screen, grabs my cock and says that the stuff makes me a muscle whore and shrinks my balls. i ask him why that's a problem. We laugh. The people around us roll their eyes. The bus arrives at our station. As we walk to the exit, Dan lights his cigarette. Before we're even off the bus, I take it out of his mouth and take a deep drag. Fuck the smoking ban!

I think the gym sucks, but Dan really wanted to train here. The other guys are pumping iron in our neighborhood. It's closer and you can go straight to the pub with the lads afterwards. But Dan is obsessed with the big boys. He really wants to become a freak. And shit, we're bros. I have to go with him. And to be honest, I totally dig his gym acne. I bet he's going to be a freak.

Training was like, totally lit, dude! The big boys have our backs all the way, major props. That's so dope. But Dan, he's such a poser, always flexing with pics and posts. And TikTok, non-stop! But man, he's already got a squad of followers. Now we're heading to the pub to meet up with the boys, but we're stuck on this darn bus for another freakin' half hour. The shower situation is a total bummer anyways. A quick spray of Axe under the pits, a dab of wax in the hair – good to go! Hey, Dan nailed it with the fresh cut, maybe I should chop mine off too.

Saturday morning. I feel a bit like I've been run over by a bus. In general… Buses. Shit, what have I been dreaming about buses? Tonight is Daniel's birthday party. He's celebrating at the Savoy. Cocktails at the bar, dinner at the grill… I still have to get my tuxedo from the cleaners. And I still need a present… Stop, wait… Didn't I already give him a present?

The birthday party was nice. A bit stiff. At around 02:00, we sit at the bar for one last drink. And Daniel asks me if I can remember last night. Funny, I have no idea what I did. Neither does he.

Thursday evening I receive a message via WhatsApp. Unknown number. We are supposed to pick up our stuff tomorrow at 16:00. Same place as usual. I have no idea what it's about. Daniel calls me to say that someone has told him that we still owe him 100 pounds for some stuff and that we should fucking bring it tomorrow. We both have no idea what it's about…

I get another message at midday on Friday. I ask if we can bring the appointment forward to 5pm. It's not my new iPhone. It's an old scratched device with a cracked display. I reply: "I'm sorry, but we're still at the gym until 18:00. Unfortunately, I can't make it any earlier." My fingers are moving as if remote-controlled. And now I have to go. The disco-poser biceps don't pump up by themselves.

Yo, so check it out, Dan's out here thinking he's this mega athlete, but homeboy be puffin' on them cancer sticks like there's no tomorrow, I'm talkin' 'bout 10 to 15 smokes a day? Psshh, child's play! Dan be double dosin' that, like he's tryna set the world record for most Marlboros inhaled in 24 hours or somethin'. And then, to top it off, dude's pullin' shady moves like stealin' cash from his pops just to fund his steroid stash! Man, I'm grindin' my butt off every night at the slaughterhouse just to keep up with them gym beasts, and this dude be relyin' on his daddy's wallet? Nah man, he gotta get a real job! Then, as if things couldn't get any wilder, my boy Liam starts talkin' 'bout Tren, that hardcore juice that supposedly turns you into a freakin' beast. I've heard stories, man, dudes growin' extra body parts and all! But me and Dan, we playin' it safe, stickin' to our old school supps for now. Ain't nobody tryna grow a third nipple just yet, you feel me?

I swear, Dan is like a walking perfume factory of pure musk. If he just lifts his arm, he's got every dude and babe in the gym drooling over him. Meanwhile, I'm just here, living my best life at all times. And now, the tattoo sesh with the artist is a no-go. Total bummer. I was so stoked to get my full-on sleeve inked up tomorrow evening. It's just way cooler to flex those guns in a tank at the club, you know? I love flaunting my hard-earned biceps. Gotta keep grinding, you feel me?

I slept naked tonight. And as rumpled as my bed is, I had wild dreams. I've got a movie tear again. My last memory was of strange messages I received on someone else's cell phone. When I walk into the bathroom, my heart almost stops. I have a bloody tattoo on my forearm! I raise my arm to see if there are any more. Dude! Eileen usually epilates my armpits every two weeks. Where did the bush under my arms come from? And why does it smell like I haven't showered for three weeks? I really need to take a shower. Although I have an urgent urge to go to the gym again straight away. That rarely happens. My inner bastard usually wins out at the weekend. And if I'm motivated, I should take advantage of it. I could ask Daniel if he fancies a game of squash at the club, I think to myself as I soap up. When I get out of the shower, I get a message from Daniel. He asks me if I have any idea where his tattoo came from. And whether I fancy a game of squash at the club.

I have no idea what's happening to us. On the one hand, I feel much fitter than I did a few weeks ago. On the other hand, Daniel and I have both started smoking. And we got tattoos. Obviously in a drunken stupor. At the age of 40! Who does that? I mean, Daniel seems so much more relaxed. At work, in his private life. And that pays off. He's never received so much positive feedback… And it's hardly any different for me. I feel so much more agile. And shit, I think about sex all the time. And mostly sex with Daniel.

On Thursdays I somehow always start to get restless. I used to primarily look forward to the week being over. But now I'm looking forward to the weekend starting. Kind of like it used to be. At school or university. And Saturdays and Sundays aren't much different than they were a month or two ago. And I can't remember the last few Fridays for the life of me. And the funny thing is that Daniel obviously feels the same way. It's almost Friday morning when I get a new message from the same number as last week. "Ive got a hell of a lot of m1y on u. Dont let meh down. And if u W, ill owe u 1". I really have no idea what that means. For some reason I save the number under "Liam".

Normally "casual friday" for me means wearing chinos with a blazer. Sometimes with just a white t-shirt underneath. But usually with a button-down shirt. Today I'm wearing a sweat suit with a hoodie top under a down vest. The neckline of the tank top underneath is so low that you can see the gap between my pecs. I actually didn't think about it. It just felt right. And no one in the office questioned it. On the contrary, I get a lot of compliments. My boss personally praises my tight ass. At 3:00 pm I get a message from Daniel: "Dude, were r u? fite starts @ 20:00. Didnt we want 2 trin beforehand? n da photo shoot is b4 tht 2!" I call him and ask him what that shit means. He can't remember any message he's supposed to have sent me. But the fact is that I have to go now, even if I still have no idea where I'm going or why.

Oh my god, this night is straight up LIT AF! Had a sick sesh at training with my ride-or-die homie. Then my first presser, ya boy's the ultimate underdog for this brawl. Cameras flashing like crazy. And then the showdown. Damn, your boy's killin' it. But KO in round two? No one saw that coming. Except Liam, he had faith. Dan's hating, thinking it's all fake. He's just salty. Bros gonna hate, but we're tight. Now we're popping bottles for the win. Liam's shouting that tonight's on him. We ain't gotta be told twice, let's partyyyy!

I could swear my nose looks like it's been broken in more than one fight. Somehow I remember boxing matches from the past. But when? At university? I was more of a debating and astronomy club kind of guy. Shit, Daniel and I need a new sports club. This stuffy country club is for wimps. Yes, we're 40 years old. But fit as fuck. There may be customers and colleagues who turn up their noses at us because of our tattoos. But hey, we weren't born with a silver spoon in our mouths. We've fought for everything we've achieved. And Dan and I agree that we've been really successful.

Yes, we like our jobs. And we're both good at it. But real life starts on Friday afternoon. Damn, you can bet your life on it!

[skxllz]

warnings; mentions of cancer risk, implications of abuse, implied homophobia

the rattling of steel clanged around, signifying that someone was climbing the rusted ladder of the fire escape. you were burning a cigarette on the side, hanging over the railing and looking down at the passing people that laughed, talked, and just so happened to be drunk.

it was eleven forty on a saturday night after all.

“ hey, y/n! ” mickey's voice caught your attention, causing you to look up and for him to grin — until he saw the wisps of smoke. he followed it, up until his eyes landed on your cigarette.

“ the fuck? ”

a frown instantly pulled at his lips. that's when ian climbed up behind ‘im on the ladder and pulled himself up, only to dust his hands onto his jeans. “ what is it? ” ian questioned, looking at mickey with raised brows — then, his head slowly turned to you.

they both had frowns on their faces after that.

you flicked your cigarette over the railing and to the ground below, ridding it from their sight, and yours, completely. “ I don't see what the big deal is with me smoking. ”

“ you promised you wouldn't anymore. ” ian shot back, face hard with emotion. “ y/n, lung cancer runs in your family and last time you were at the doctors- ”

“ I know. ” you scoffed, looking away. “ I know, they found cells and I was at high risk. i just... ” your eyes were darting back and forth as you thought, debating if you should tell your boyfriends about the trouble that's been going on in your life. it was difficult to decide.

“ you just? ” mickey mocked, waving his hands about, “ you just what? spit it the fuck out. ” he was irritated because someone he loved went behind his back and did something he shouldn't have. of course he'd let his anger get the best of ‘im.

you sigh, “ I've been stressed, alright? and angry.. ” tears gathered in the corners of your eyes, but you refused to let anything fall; holding them back with immense strength. “ m’ mum, she's... not supportive of my sexuality. that's why I never introduced her to you guys. ”

ian's brows knitted together at this new found out information. of course, him and mickey knew you had secrets —they had only known you around eight months—, but they never thought it'd be something like that. something they could relate to, of all things.

of course it was serious, but why wouldn't you go to them about it?

mickey glanced at ian, before approaching you slowly with a softening expression. he himself knew what it was like to have a parent that wasn't accepting. “ y/n... ” you flinched as he put a hand on your forearm, and that made him reel his arm back.

he was nearly offended — but then he glanced down, eyeing the arm that was covered by the thin sleeve of a hoodie. your mother couldn't have... could she?

even if he wanted to ask, he didn't, because he knew he'd kill the bitch. right now, you needed comforted — and as selfish as mickey could be, now wasn't the time.

“ baby, ” mickey's voice came out quieter, “ why didn't you come to us — to me? you know we wouldn't judge you.. ” he huffed a laugh of irony. “ hell, terry hates my fucking guts cause ‘m gay, man. ”

you wouldn't meet his gaze, but you nodded in acknowledgement to his words, letting out a shaky breath. “ I.. I know. I just didn't want to bother you guys with my problems. ”

“ bother us? ” this time ian scoffed, approaching the both of you until he was standing directly next to mickey. “ if you bothered us, we would've told you to beat it awhile ago y/n. ”

“ yeah, ” mickey eyed you, blue eyes taking in the sight of your own shifty ones. of course you were nervous. “ but you're not botherin’ us. so stop beatin’ around the bush about shit from now on, alright? ”

you were silent for a moment, thinking over mickey and ian's words — taking in the fact that yeah, they were telling the truth. these two don't keep people around, especially mickey, if they didn't like them. so in a way, you guess you were lucky.

that's when you lifted your head to smile slightly at the two, “ y’know I love you guys, right? ”

mickey smirked. “ enough to suck my d- ”

ian smacked him in the back of the head. mickey scowled in reply, rubbing at his head, but said nothing.

the red head turned to look at you with a sweet smile, “ what he meant to say, was he enough to stop smoking, right? ”

you were grinning widely, cheeks rosey from mickey's earlier comment. god you loved them. “ yeah... yeah, enough to stop smoking. ”

[deadpan-writing]

Hanahaki - A Thangyu Oneshot

——————

Pairing: Thanos / Nam-gyu

Warnings: Drugs mentioned; Strong language; Slow character death

Summary: Nam-gyu has to make a choice. Either he confesses to Su-bong (Thanos) or he dies; but will he confess on time?

Word Count: 1600

——————

Hanahaki Disease: A fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns feelings for the other, if not the carrier of the disease will eventually be unable to breathe.

—————————————————���—————

   He didn't even know his name. He called him 'Nam-su' and yet, he still fell for him.

   Nam-gyu was a fool for allowing himself to fall for the rapper he looked up to. How had he allowed this to happen?

   Every day since he realized his feelings for him, he was in pain. Pain in his heart, pain in his soul... Pain in his lungs.

   The petals came up when it was really bad, but his breathing was becoming slowly more and more unstable; more unsatisfactory for his body to function. He could barely walk without being winded these days.

   He had gone to the doctor when this had first became an issue; when the coughing fits got so bad that he could no longer explain their reasoning for being there. At first, he figured it was just a common cold. About a week later he found out he had Hanahaki Disease.

   Nam-gyu sat in shock when they told him. He barely understood what was being said. The doctor and nurses were equally saddened when giving the news, he could see the pity in their eyes for him. He could only imagine what they were thinking.

   "How do I get rid of it?" He had asked when he could bring himself back to reality.

   "You need to confess," the doctor had told him. "Confess to whoever it is you are in love with that could cause this sickness to appear... unless, of course, these symptoms came AFTER you admitted them?"

   "No, no..." Nam-gyu had told him. "I haven't said anything, yet."

   "Great!" The doctor had said. Pity was still in his eyes. "Then, just admit to them, usually this disease can go away like that, since mostly people fall for each other rather than just a one-sided thing."

   If only it was that easy for him to do.

   But, his disease was getting to the point of no return. The way he looked at it, he wasn't going to get any better unless he told him and if he gets rejected... well, he wasn't long for this world anyway.

   When he decided to tell Su-bong, he knew he would back out if he called and heard his voice. It had been around three weeks since the two had spoken and that was over the phone. Su-bong had not been able to see the amount of weight he had lost, the heavy bags under his sunken eyes, or been able to hear the muffled coughs while he spoke about the club he went to, the knew drugs he had gotten, the girls who flirted with him. And Nam-gyu was suffering more with every word. Every word he held onto with dear life, he wasn't aware of which sentence may be the last he heard. So far, it was on a voicemail. He listened back to this voicemail every day since he had gotten it a week prior.

   "Where you gone, my brother? Call me back!"

   Such simple words, so full of life. Su-bong was worried, he knew. But, he didn't call him back. He didn't want to torture himself like that or make anyone think anything was wrong. He knew he would play it off, but Su-bong would show up and see everything was wrong and he would worry.

   Taking as deep of a breath as he could muster, Nam-gyu knocked on Su-bong's apartment door. "One second!" Was shouted through the apartment almost immediately. This made Nam-gyu smile.

   Surely enough, a few seconds later, a disheveled  Su-bong pulled the door open. "What's up my-" Nam-gyu winced as his friend's normal greeting interrupted itself. "Holy shit, man! What the hell happened?"

   Su-bong grabbed Nam-gyu by the arm and pulled him into his apartment, practically slamming the door behind him. Shock and worry was all over the purple haired man's face. Nam-gyu sighed.

   "I'm just sick, is all," he told him, but Su-bong was not taking that answer.

   "Just sick, my ass! You are practically skin and bone!" Su-bong ushered the other to the couch, forced him to sit down. "Is this why you have not called me in nearly a month?" He asked, to which Nam-gyu hesitantly nodded.

   "Yeah, it's uh..." Should he tell him, he wondered? He decided to just not say the clinical name. "It's deadly."

   Su-bong jumped up, startled. "Is it contagious?"

   Nam-gyu chuckled. "No, no, not contagious. It is just killing me... Literally."

   Su-bong stared at the black haired man in shock. "How long have you... been dying? Do they know what you have?" He gasped, "Is it Cancer or AIDS?"

   "No, neither," Nam-gyu laughed, genuinely for the first time in weeks, only to be interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. He covered his mouth. Fuck, he didn't want to cough up any petals here, not in front of Su-bong. "And I have known for a little over six weeks now."

   "And you didn't tell me?!" Su-bong answered, appalled that he had no idea.

   Nam-gyu frowned. "It is not like I didn't want to, I just didn't want you to act like this." Sighing, he looked at his feet and caved in. "I have Hanahaki Disease, Thanos."

   "Hana..." For a moment, Su-bong didn't know what he was talking about, then it hit him. His jaw dropped. "Oh, shit, man, for real?"

   Nodding, Nam-gyu still refused to make eye contact.

   "Who broke your heart man? Who doesn't love you back? Who is killing you? I swear, I will—"

   Nam-gyu stood up and grabbed Su-bong by his shoulders. "Thanos!" He shouted, voice shaky. "I cannot tell you any answers if you don't give me any time to answer them!"

   Su-bong's eyebrows furrowed. He knew Nam-gyu was right, so he didn't argue. "Fine."

   Sighing, Nam-gyu gently spoke. "That is actually what I am here to talk to you about," he told him, removed his hands from the other man's shoulders. "Can we please sit down?" He coughed, a few petals falling out this time.

   Su-bong obliged, sitting down and helping to lower the coughing man beside him.

   Nam-gyu felt worry and guilt fuel him. He closed his eyes, he needed to just spit it out.

   "The person causing this is..." he gulped, gathering the very little amount of courage he had for this venture. "It's you, Su-bong."

   Su-bong was startled at the use of his name. He had never heard Nam-gyu use anything but 'Thanos' so he knew he was being serious. He blinked a few times, mind blank. He had to hear it again, so he slowly and gently said, "... What did you just say?"

   Defeated, Nam-gyu spoke quietly. He averted eye contact, he couldn't bear to see the look on the other man's face.

 

   "It... it's you causing this."

    Nam-gyu felt weak, his entire body was feeling the depth of the pain he was feeling all of the sudden. Tears welled up in his eyes. He finally met Su-bong's gaze.

   "I didn't mean for any of this to happen... I didn't even think of myself as gay until I met you, Su-bong." He finally broke, crying. He began coughing, his vision blurred, not just from the tears, he noticed. "I just had to see you one last time before I died, I couldn't handle not seeing you any longer."

   Su-bong could tell something was extremely wrong. The other man's eyes were growing heavy, his breathing sounded harsh. "Wait— wait, wait, wait—" Su-bong felt frantic, panic setting in. He was watching this man die, he knew it. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but he knew it.

   "I love you, Choi Su-bong..." Nam-gyu stated, watching as Su-bong rapidly pressed buttons on his phone.

   Su-bong was calling an ambulance. "Stay with me, Nam-su!" He shouted, but Nam-gyu didn't hear him. He smiled when Su-bong brought the other man to his chest, rocking back and forth frantically as he ordered an ambulance to come immediately.

   Nam-gyu sighed, one last heavy sigh, when his eyes closed. He never gave much thought to his death before, but he decided in his last moments that if he could die in the arms of the man he loved, he would accept his fate.

   The ambulance was too late. When they arrived, Su-bong was trying to wake up the other man, to no avail, tears falling down his face. He was never one to cry, but the grief he felt in that moment matched none he had ever felt before.

————————— 3 Days Later —————————

   Nam-gyu looked healthier when he was lowered into the ground than he looked when he had died. There weren't many people at the man's funeral, only a couple family members and a few friends Su-bong didn't recognize.

   Su-bong was there the longest after everyone had left. He sat with his knees on the ground, hands gripping his thighs. He stared at the tombstone that faced him.

   When grief became too much, he pulled out his cross necklace from under his button-down shirt and popped a pill.

   And he began to cough.

[blueishspace]

Looped Sun 17

Back to regularly scheduled programming.

Loop #462

Grian: Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy what do you mean you got a child!?!

Jimmy: Oh you know... it just happened.

Grian: ... HOW DOES IT JUST HAPPEN!?!?

Jimmy: Listen! Listen Grian. It was Tango who broke the fabric of reality.

Grian: Just... what loop did you get her from.

Jimmy: Fear and Hunger.

Grian: ... I... Jimmy mate...did you adopt the god of fear and hunger?

Jimmy: Well... Scott and Tango did too.

Grian: yhbdggfsthxayhcsdgnptsdjkogf kfarjnf ghjvJimmy Jimmy Jimmy what!?!? (Canon accurate noises)

Loop #465

Pearl: Mate, how long is this loop going to be?

Mumbo: I... have no idea.

Pearl: Ugh, why are we even in jail? I got nothing from loop memories.

Mumbo: Crimes? Probably?

Pearl: No shit.

Mumbo: Pearl!

Pearl: We should break out.

Mumbo: What!?

Pearl: I said we should break out.

Mumbo: ... Alright.

Loop #467

Scar: Grian, where did you-

Grian: Scar, this loop is going to be great!

Scar: It is?

Grian: I present to you, the tardis!

Scar: ... Oh! Is this a ...uh Doctor Who variant?

Grian: You bet it is!

Grian: So, anywhere you want to go?

Scar: Oh uh... Hmmm... I need references for a castle I'm building.

Grian: Middle ages, reinassance or?

Scar: I uh... castle? Like regular castle?

Grian: Let me think... 12th century should do.

Scar: What is that!?

Dalek: I am a Dalek.

Scar: A Daklek.

Dalek: Dalek.

Scar: Dilek? Dalk?

Grian: A Dalk!?! Pfttt-

Dalek: Exterminate!

Grian: And now is the time where we run.

Scar: Wait if you are the doctor am I a companion. Am I going to die or be stuck as a robot or something.

Grian: ... No.

Scar: Well It's just-

Grian: You aren't dying. I promise.

Grian: ... Out of all the companion's fate getting to replace the toymaker is hardly the worst one.

Scar: I didn't know vex magic could work on gods!

Grian: Eh, to be fair the whoverse gods are pretty weak compared to others.

Loop #450

Grian: I always told you that you were like a vampire!

Mumbo: ... I don't appreciate this.

Grian: Oh come on Dracula, at least you get to use new magic.

Mumbo: I can't leave during the day Grian! It's pants! I can't go on my bike trips!

Grian: I mean, can't you go during the night? It's not like anything can hurt you.

Mumbo: Of course no- ... Wait... Hmmm...

Mumbo: Grian mate, can I please come in?

Grian: Hmmm...nah.

Mumbo: G, mate, please?

Grian: Nope.

Mumbo: You spoon! Let me in!

Loop #473

Grian: You haven't named her yet? You can't possibly call her The Girl forever.

Tango: Not really, namificating is not something you can just do and she doesn't mind being referred as the Girl.

Grian: Does she have literally any other name you could use!? A nickname? A middle name? Her mother's maiden name.

Scott: Technically the Ancient One.... though the Endless if you consider that to be her mothers maiden name.

Grian: You are not naming a child The Ancient One... or the endless.

Scott: You named your children Grumbot and Jrumbot.

Grian: It's ...different!

Scott: Huh uh. Of course.

Jimmy: Grian Isn't fully wrong though.

Scott: I know... It just feels weird to think about.

Tango: Maybe we can start from her...title?

Scott: Girl or Ancient One? Both are awful names full offence.

Jimmy: Maybe Ancient can become An-something. An-uh...?

Scott: Uh...you mean something like Anne? Annie? Anita? Angela?

Jimmy: Exactly!

Tango: Hmmm... We should try asking her if any fit...

Scott: We have a name and a middle name too.

Tango: We wrote down some ideas and had her choose.

Mumbo: Oh!

Grian: Finally.

Tango: Anne Fair Tek.

Grian: That's a good name- Wait wait wait... Fair...Anne... Fair and Anne. Fear and Anne-ger...you.

Scott: Oh, he's quicker then I tought.

Grian: You named her after a pun!??! I- am... I don't know how to feel about that.

Tango: She liked Anne best ok? she chose it. I just had to at that point.

Scott: Don't tell Jimmy though, he hasn't realized it yet.

Loop #476

Pearl understood why this happened, she really did, but she also didn't think she would enjoy it, looking at her loop memories it seemed she was stuck in Double Life after winning... It was exceptionally lonely.

It had been two days when she realized she could just leave the server pretty easy, the Watchers might try to stop her but she was also a goddess multiple times over. Yet, she also wanted to see how long it took for someone to come back to search for her.

The answer was two weeks it seems, she was almost starting to consider the "leave the server" option but she was glad she didn't. Now the players here probably expected her to be insane or rabid, instead they were going to find her tending to her newest build.

The fact it took a day for them to even try to approach was indication of how scared they were of her, it was funny really, she just had a lovely day working on her garden and base during the whole thing.

Pearl: Hello there mate!

Scott: Pearl!?

Pearl: That's me!

Scott: ... You aren't... attacking me?

Pearl: Oh why would I? You sacrificed myself for me! It's not like you do it for everyone.

Pearl didn't want to hurt Scott, even an unawoken version of him, this didn't mean sshe couldn't use her knowledge of him to be annoying. And she could see him react to her comment, acting ignorant was so fun sometimes.

Scott: O-oh. I see you built a new base?

Pearl: Yeah, had nothing to do for a while.

Scott: I- ... Sorry-

Pearl: Oh don't worry. Want some apple juice?

Scott: Apple juice!?!

Pearl: It's like water? But with apple flavour and made from crushed apple?

Scott: I know what apple juice is Pearl, I just didn't -

Pearl: That's good then, want some?

Scott: ... Uh...sure?

In the end her and Scott talked a bit and then he left very confused... Then after a bit came Grian and she decided she was going to have some fun, just a little bit.

Pearl: Hey there mate, want something to drink?

Grian: uhh... Sure?

Pearl: We got juice, tea, water, spiders, coffee-

Grian: Spiders?

Pearl: Oh sure here you go!

Grian: Wait no that's not what I meant-

But she had already started poaring spiders into his cup.

Loop #479

Grian: I had the weirdest variant loop.

Mumbo: What was it?

Grian: It was Last Life except for one thing. One horrible thing.

Mumbo: ...??

Grian: You know that time I took your mustache?

Mumbo: ... Yeah? Grian: Everyone. And I mean everyone had a mustache except for you.

Mumbo: ... Ew.

Grian: I know! I don't know which is worse! Your face is all like weird without a mustache.

Mumbo: ...Thanks...

Grian: No offence.

Mumbo: Just go on G.

Grian: But seeing Jimmy with it was almost as cursed! It doesn't look right on him or Cleo or ...Etho! Etho had the mustache over his mask!!

Mumbo: ... How?

Grian: I don't know! That's the problem!

Loop #481

Grian: How do you even have Anne join the server? Most of the time whitelist is strict.

Tango: Made her a full player a few loops ago and then just tell X that she's my daughter.

Grian: And he believes it?

Tango: It's not a lie.

Grian: Eh. Guess not.

Tango: And even if he didn't he might be the owner but I'm an admin as well and the other admins would back me up too.

Grian: ...

Tango: I want to ask you a favour.

Grian: ... Let's hear it.

Tango: You... you know fear magic don't you? From your TMA loop as The Eye?

Grian: So Scott told you about that? Yeah.

Tango: Anne... she might not have been to the depth but I know that despite still being a little girl she is in part the god of fear and hunger she can become.

Grian: ... So?

Tango: I just want you to teach her, Scott will help as well since he was of The Vast in that loop.

Grian: Sure, god of fear and hunger implies a second part too doesn't it?

Tango: We are working on it... We might ask Famine from the good omens loop but it's a bit more complicated.

Grian: Alright, I'll do it.

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