#not that that was like an offensive interaction it was just completely unexpected and awkward lol

[britneyshakespeare]

Yesterday at the high school I was in for this art teacher and they all had like projects they were gonna present to work on in Google classroom, so like many days as a substitute teacher it was quiet and I mostly just sat at the desk and read. But then this one kid in my peripheral vision was looking at me and when I glanced over her laughed a little. And I looked away cuz I was like whatever maybe he was whispering smth w his friends.

But then he says "I have a question"

"Yeah?"

"What two colors make purple?"

"Oh. Red and blue"

"Thank you... I appreciate the no judgment answer"

I didn't even think about it lol

[merakiaes]

Glad It’s You - Draco Malfoy

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader

Requested: By @a-libra-writes​ and anon. 

Prompts: #2 from the common tropes-list. 

Warnings/notes: I squeezed to requests in together in this one, hope that’s okay. Not proofread so sorry in advance for any mistakes. It’s really short and probably not very eventful but leave a comment and let me know what you think. 

Wordcount: 1466

Summary: You’re in an arranged marriage with Draco and neither of you is happy about it. But everything changes when he gets hurt. 

Growing up, you and Draco had been as close as peas in a pod. It was inevitable, as your parents were all Death Eaters and close as well, having attended Hogwarts together in their youth.

You spent every day and did everything together, and maybe that was why you ended up tiring of each other and growing apart when you entered your teenage years.

Or perhaps, it was because your parents went behind your backs and arranged for you to marry after graduating, completely without telling you about it and completely against your will.

To a start, Draco was kind of indifferent about it, but you were a strong believer in the modern times in which you chose who you married yourself, and put up one hell of a fight, starting to go against everything and everyone and doing everything in your power to get back at everyone involved.

This included starting to hang around Gryffindors and muggleborns in general; to a start, only to piss off yours and Draco’s parents in hope that they would call off the wedding, but with time you came to the realization that there was nothing wrong with not being pure-blooded, like you had been raised to believe all your life.

In turn, Draco grew furious. Not only because you appeared so disgusted by the idea of marrying him, but because he felt betrayed.

And of course, being the petty, spoiled brats that you both, in truth, were, you both made it your mission in life to do everything in your power to make the other’s life a living hell.

First came the harmless but offensive teasing, but it quickly took a more hostile turn, the two of you more or less bullying each other every chance you could get.

But of course, your parents did nothing to call off the engagement. After one of your many tantrums, your mother had told you it was because they saw something you didn’t, and then went on about her arranged engagement with your dad and how they had learned to love each other.

Blah blah blah, that was all you could hear when she told you about it, continuing to do your absolute best to give him hell.

The friendship you’d had when you were younger was long gone at this point, the two of you absolutely despising each other. At least that’s what you thought.

It had been all fun and games up until now, Professor Snape waking you up in the middle of the night to pass on the word that Draco had been injured and brought to St. Mungo’s for treatment, and that he would grant you a visit if you wished for it considering your… relationship.

Snape knew better than anyone how the two of you interacted, having to put up with your constant competitions and hostile comments and behavior in school. 

So he was shocked to say the least when you accepted his offer and rushed out of bed to get dressed, worry written all over your face.

But he said nothing about it, simply escorting you to the Headmaster’s office to take you to the hospital by the Floo Network.

Upon arrival, Narcissa was the first one to greet you with a very awkward hug, Lucius offering you a stiff, even more awkward nod where he stood off to the side with his cane.

While they stayed behind outside the hospital room to speak with Professor Snape, no doubt about what punishment he was planning to give Potter as he, as usual, was the cause of all the trouble, they let you go into the room.

It was almost completely dark, aside from a lantern flickering in the window of the room.

Your eyes instantly found Draco where he was laying on the bed, and when hearing your footsteps approaching, he turned to look at you too, his head instantly pulling into a nasty scowl, his entire body tensing up protectively.

“Come to gloat, have you?” He spat out at you without missing a beat and you rolled your eyes, not at all fazed by the hostility.

“We’ve known each other since we were children, Draco.” You pointed out as you kept heading his way. “We used to have sleepovers, explore the woods, feed the ducks, spend every holiday together. I care about you, no matter how much it pains me to admit it.”

The last part came out as a sour mutter, and you begrudgingly sank into the chair at his bedside.

Draco scoffed, his lips turning down in distrust, his grey eyes analyzing your every move. “Really now?” He questioned. “Because I can recall you making fun of my hair just a few hours ago.”

“And you stole and hid my every pair of socks yesterday, so drop the attitude.” You replied without missing a beat, your glare hardening.

He held your glare for another moment, before averting his gaze to the ceiling above his bed with a huff.

While he laid there and sulked stubbornly, you took the time to remove the jacket you had thrown on with haste when getting ready a few minutes prior, completely oblivious to the way his eyes flickered over to watch you.

Once you had gotten the coat off, you turned around in your seat and hung it over the backrest of the chair, brushing out the shoulders over the edges before turning back around.

Draco quickly turned his head back away from you, averting his eyes back to the ceiling before you could notice him staring.

A heavy silence hanged over you in the air, thick enough to be cut by a butter knife, and you were looking everywhere but at each other.

You looked around the room for a moment, tapping your fingers against your thigh anxiously, before finally moving your eyes back to him.

You inspected his face for a few short seconds, taking note of the scowl still etched across the sharp features, before turning your attention to his bare chest, where blood had slightly soaked through the bandage.

Stilling your fingers on your thighs, you nodded your head at the injury. “Does it hurt?” You asked, the question instantly drawing a scoff from him.

“What do you think?” He asked right back, without looking at you.

You only rolled your eyes, standing up from your chair and lazily waving your hand to get his attention.  

“Scoot over.” You said, and once again, he scoffed, the glare on his face deepening and his eyes narrowing.

“What?”

“Have you gone deaf?” You raised an eyebrow and crossing your arms over your chest. “I said scoot over. It’s freezing in here and there’s more than enough room for both of us in there.”

The glare on his face slowly faltered, turning into one of mild suspicion. “You’re staying the night?” He asked carefully and you simply hummed in confirmation, waiting for him to do as asked and make some space for you.

After looking at you with distrust for another few seconds, he finally did what you asked of him, slowly moving over to the left side of the bed with light hisses leaving his lips, his hand protectively lingering over the bandage.

You wasted no time in getting in next to him, pulling the thin blanket over your body and getting settled, keeping as much space between the two of you as the small hospital bed allowed.

Once you were laying comfortably, you folded your hands over your stomach, heaving a heavy sigh and staring into the plain white ceiling.

“I know I make it seem like I hate you and all but I don’t.” You confessed in a flat tone. “I’m just as unhappy about this whole thing as you are but if I have to marry someone, I’m glad it’s you.”

Draco laid awkwardly by your side, his hands folded curtly over his stomach in an identical way to yours.

He was silent for a moment but soon enough you heard him sigh, his voice following shortly after. “Yeah, me too.”

In the corner of your eyes, you could see him unfolding his hands and bring his arms back down to his sides, and without looking away from the ceiling, you did the same, wordlessly moving your hand on top of his.

He froze at the unexpected touch, even more so when you intertwined your fingers with his. But he slowly relaxed again at the familiar touch of your skin against his, his eyes shutting with exhaustion and comfort.

It was just like when you were little and used to sleep over at each other’s houses, and both of you reminisced in the memory in silence, remaining on your backs and slowly lulling off to sleep side by side without another word.

Tagged: @lucillethings​ @writing-is-my-guilty-pleasure​ @peakyhermione​@fanficflaneuse​

(If you want to be added or removed from the tag list, send me a message, ask or leave a comment)

[elizabeth-mitchells]

the only touchstone of truth

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: I Care A Lot (2020) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Fran/Marla Grayson Characters: Marla Grayson, Fran (I Care A Lot) Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Origin Story, Canon Backstory, First Meetings, First Kiss, First Dates, Getting Together, Morally Ambiguous Character, Illegal Activities, Eventual Smut, Flirting, Partners in Crime, crime wives

Chapter 2:

There was something different about Marla that day. She wasn’t bored, she wasn’t idly waiting. She was waiting, true, but only because that was part of her plan. Standing behind her counter, her shop more or less back in shape, she wore a different blouse, higher heels, and a smile that sharpened, even more, when somebody came in. Marla sent a quick nod to Curtis, who had instructions on what to do. He pulled out his phone and walked away toward the storage room of the place.

“Marla,” the man greeted her with a perfectly polite and respectful tone that already started to crumble on his second sentence, “I wonder, what on Earth are you trying to do?”

“Mr. Nelson, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Marla replied, “It’s a pleasure to have you visit us.” What an honor to have you millionaire, corporate, chain store, ugly ass step on my broken dreams physically this time.

“You cleaned up the store,” he sighed, looking around as if to take a hold of his emotions.

This promptly reminded the blonde of the couple of hours she spent with Curtis destroying her own shop and then putting it back together again. In the upcoming years, Marla would learn just how far she was capable of playing dirty, and many would accuse her of being unscrupulous, among worse adjectives, but nobody would ever dare call her lazy, that was for sure. With or without morals, Marla was an extremely hardworking woman, and she wasn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty, for better or for worse. A practical habit that she cultivated during her days of playing fair, and kept, for some reason. Most likely because idleness simply went against her nature, and she had promised herself not to rest until she achieved her goals. 

“We did, yes. Lots of hard work,” the blonde nodded, “such a shame what happened.”

“Such a shame,” the man echoed the sentiment, speaking on autopilot, but when he focused his eyes on Marla again he was all ice. “You’re accusing us of doing it,” he said.

Purposefully, Marla gave him a deep shrug and another shark-like smile. “I believe it’s the police who marked your company as suspects,” she replied in a mockingly innocent tone.

“We didn’t do it. And the accusation is bad publicity for our business. Drop the lawsuit,” he ordered, his voice starting to shake just slightly. When Marla only shook her head slowly, he scoffed. “You’re nothing, Marla Gray,” he seethed, “Your little business is over. Why would we try to boycott you out of all people? You’re not even competition. Drop the lawsuit.”

“Grayson.”

“What?” he was still laughing with a combination of awkwardness and annoyance.

“My name is Marla Grayson,” she stated using the full power of the commanding nature that she knew she had, “and I will fight for this shop until the end.”

He scoffed again, clearly losing his patience. The man walked to the door of the store and back to the counter once, twice, until he calmed down and not quite looking Marla in the eyes, he offered, “Twenty thousand dollars, and you’ll drop the lawsuit.”

“No,” Marla denied it immediately and before she could fully think about how offensive the offer was, he continued.

“Fifty thousand, Marla,” he said, his face red and his voice trembling. It was a pretty number that put Marla at a crossroads between the attempt to feel offended and the impulse to just ask for more. Either way, that number would not do. She only tilted her head and her expression said it all. “A hundred thousand dollars, dammit! Final offer!”

At this point, Marla made it a point to pick up her vape pen and look as bored as possible. “Please get out of my store, Mr. Nelson. I’ll see you in court,” she concluded.

He shook his head, he was breathing heavily and wildly waved a finger in her direction. “No! This is not over,” he protested, “How dare you say no to me?! I’ll make you regret it, you know?” He made a pause and after seeing that his threat did nothing to disturb her, and in fact, she only exhaled the smoke in a terribly irritating way, he slammed his hands on the counter right in front of her, “Dammit just take the money!”

“I will not,” Marla fumed back at him, barely letting show a hint of her patience running out.

“And you better stop screaming.”

Both Marla and her unwanted guest hastily looked toward the door of the shop. There was Fran, casually leaning against the doorway, not so casually showing off her plaque. At first, the man didn’t even move from his place. But Fran let out a quick whistle and said, “This aggressive visit will not look on your case, Mr. Nelson.”

Finally, the big store owner groaned loudly and without even sparing either woman a word, he stormed away from the place for good.

This quick turn of events left Marla and Fran alone in the shop. Marla stayed behind the counter that she managed to handle like an equivalent to a throne, and Fran took a couple of effortless steps forward until she stood in the middle of the place, directing a small and easy smile at the other woman.

“I must say,” Fran started to say, “I didn’t expect to receive this ‘Marla needs help, come over right now’ text from a number, I assume, that isn’t yours.” She waved her phone once for emphasis.

“Personally, I don’t usually give my number to strangers,” Marla replied, earning herself a chuckle from Fran, who looked away for a second, but when their eyes met again, Marla was sincere as she said, “Thank you for coming, by the way.”

Fran nodded, accepting her gratitude without making a big deal of it. This gave Marla an opportunity to study her again. Fran looked similar to what she did that night showing up to the shop after the staged attack. A ponytail holding on for dear life to wild hair that just begged to be freed, a more or less regular detective’s outfit that most likely wasn’t designed with the purpose of fitting Fran’s curves so scandalously well on every single right place. And then there was the way she simply stood in the middle of the store with immeasurable confidence. Nothing to hide behind, nothing to lean into, just her in an open space without any issue with Marla’s eyes glued to her. She wasn’t standing there like she owned the place, not exactly. It looked like she couldn’t care less about ownership, but her world consisted of only her, and she didn’t care enough about any authority to give them the power of deciding if she belonged or if she was out of place. Fran carried herself as if the rest of the world’s ideas of right or wrong were mere suggestions. Nothing sounded more appealing to Marla.

“You weren’t exactly in trouble though,” Fran contemplated, reluctantly breaking the silence, “you looked like you had it handled.”

“But you did scare him off,” Marla grinned.

“And you didn’t take the money.”

“Do I look like someone that would have taken the money?”

Fran laughed, because they both knew the answer to that question very well. She walked forward until she could lean her arms on the infamous counter, not quite in front of Marla, just a little to the side. “Maybe you should have,” she finally mused, “this might be bigger than you, gorgeous.”

This development in their interactions came with considerable consequences for Marla, who had underestimated the effect it would have on her to have Fran again standing so close to her. She wouldn’t back down though, she wouldn’t lose her higher ground, but she couldn’t deny the fact that Fran shook her to her core in a magnitude previously unknown to Marla. She couldn’t come up with a reasonable answer until it was obviously too late, so she stayed silent, picked up her pen, and after taking a drag she left it on the counter. This seemed to spark Fran’s attention, who had previously been content to just study Marla’s face from up close and during the daylight.

“So, are you going to offer me one of these,” the brunette wondered, lightly tapping with her fingertip the tip of the pen standing between them, “or a coffee… a drink… should you at least walk me to my car?”

“I will… walk you to your car,” Marla decided, after a quick and not exactly pleasant assessment of the situation. There was nothing she’d love more than to take Fran’s hand and either lead her out of that damned store or guide her to the other side of the locked door of her office. But there were already smoke signals in the air between them that she couldn’t ignore. This could be dangerous, this was possibly great, this was certainly bigger than either of them was accustomed to. Marla was stunned by the undeniable fact that she wasn’t sure how to handle Fran, and equally as unsettled but no less excited about the fact that she had no idea how Fran would handle her. She had no doubt they could handle each other, but until she felt completely confident in a perfect plan of action, she would have to see for how long and how much she could feed this ferocious and inexplicable fire that was burning between them.

As they approached Fran’s vehicle, Marla made two statements. “I will not take the money,” she said, followed by, “and that’s not a car.”

Fran winked, “My mistake.” She leaned back on the motorcycle and focused her attention on the blonde in front of her.

“I’m taking that asshole to court,” Marla managed to say, despite that unexpected and entirely alluring image of Fran standing just like that. She should have known that even the safest option among all that the brunette had offered would still come with a trick to test Marla’s hesitant boundaries.

“For something you did?”

“I’ll have to close either way,” Marla rolled her eyes, “He took me out of business. I have to take something from him. Something big.”

Fran tilted her head. “Do you have experience in court?” she wondered.

“I’m confident I can manage,” Marla smiled.

“Of course,” the other woman chuckled. “Though,” she added, “if only you had… an acquaintance, who happened to be knowledgeable in the shady alleyways of court and would be willing to give you a hand.”

Fran was barely done with her word when suddenly Marla was almost on top of her. Marla had moved quickly and swiftly, standing impossibly close to Fran, somehow not touching, but if any of them were to so much as breathe a little harder than usual their bodies would meet in all the right places. Which was maybe the reason Fran was suddenly holding her breath. Marla had placed both hands on the bike, on either side of Fran’s hips, trapping her in place, while holding her face just inches away from the other woman.

“What do you want,” Marla slowly asked, “Fran?”

“Why do you assume I want something?”

Being softly hit with Fran’s breath on her cheek was an unexpected consequence of Marla’s plan, but she held her ground. Very deliberately, one of her hands moved slowly and confidently to one of the back pockets of Fran’s pants. The brunette, to her credit, her only reaction was a noticeable clench of her jaw, but she stood still while Marla pulled out her phone and mercifully stepped away to let both of them breathe a little easier.

“Unlock it, I’ll save my number,” Marla held out Fran’s own phone for her and proceeded to follow through with her words. 

Fran got her heart rate almost back to normal as she watched Marla quickly tap the screen, and deciding the only right thing to possibly say at that moment was to answer Marla’s question, she said, “Give me a percentage of the money you’ll make with the lawsuit. So I can finally quit the police.”

Beyond pleased with that answer, Marla bit her lip for a moment then returned the phone. “And here I thought you were just trying to have dinner with me,” she said to Fran right before walking away from her, but not before looking back just in time to catch the other woman staring, and adding a final smile she threw over her shoulder, “See you soon, Fran.”

[kerikaaria]

If I Never Met You: Chapter 19

(??? X Reader) Idol!AU, Manager!Reader

Genre: (PG13) Fluff and angst

WC: 5.8k

Warnings: Swearing – offensive/derogatory words (censored)

Series Masterlist

Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20

It was nearing the end of September and the boys already released their first comeback, with their first mini album O!RUL8,2?. It had been just barely three months since their debut, but this album was already in the works during their debut promotions and they quickly went into practicing and recording once those died down enough.

Today was a day where the boys didn’t have any outside schedules, but Sejin and I still had some things to take care of at the company and the boys had some practices and lessons to go to. There was a meeting scheduled for early this morning, so I arrived for that but didn’t have anything in particular to do afterwards. I sat in the office, checking on a few things that we were working on before relaxing into my chair and browsing the internet on my phone.

Even though their popularity was slowly but surely growing (despite N.O not doing quite as well as we had hoped), the people who have negative things to say were starting to become much more obvious in between the positive comments. I really don’t understand why there are certain things people feel like they have to say. I wish I had a way to keep the boys from seeing those comments. But unless they want to completely ignore the internet, it was inevitable.

Thankfully, most of their interactions are on twitter where those who tweet them are for the most part supportive fans. They started to become good at filtering out the negativity, but I knew it was impossible to not be affected at all. I just hoped they used it as motivation to do their best and prove people wrong.

I found myself yawning and realized that I was actually really tired. I still had a couple of hours before I had any other real engagements, so I set my phone down and decided to take a bit of a nap at my desk.

I was woken up sometime later by a knock on the door. I slowly came back to consciousness as the person walked into the small room.

“Noona?” I recognized Yoongi’s voice.

“Hey, Suga,” I replied as I re-entered the living world. “What’s up? Do you need something?”

“No, not really,” he shrugged. “Sejin hyung asked me to check on you. Sorry to wake you.”

“It’s okay, I needed to wake up anyway,” I said, looking at the time on my computer, signifying that I had been asleep for about an hour. I quickly realized I was feeling rather hungry. “Have you eaten lunch?”

“No, not yet,” he said. “I was actually just about to go get some.”

“Mind if I come with you?” I asked as I grabbed my purse.

“Of course not.” He flashed a small smile and held the door open for me. “Anywhere in particular you want to go?”

“Not really. We can just go to that place you guys frequent. The one whose owner is really sweet.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said as he put on his mask.

When we walked into the small restaurant, we were immediately greeted by the kind woman who ran the place. “If it isn’t some of my favorite customers,” she said with a warm smile. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” Yoongi said as he removed his mask. “We were hungry so we thought we’d come get some lunch.”

“Of course!” she said as she directed us to one of the big tables. “Is everyone else coming?”

“Oh no, just us this time, imo,” I said.

“Oh, alright.” She switched directions to a small table and urged us to sit down.

“What do you want to eat, noona?” Yoongi asked me.

“Whatever you want. I’m not picky, you know that,” I responded, smiling.

“Okay, then,” he shrugged. He ordered two different dishes, which she excitedly went to cook right away.

“How are you doing, Yoongi?” I asked.

He looked at me curiously. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Sometimes we’re all so busy I feel like I don’t have time to ask how you’re feeling.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We’re getting used to the pace now so it’s not as hard as it was at first.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I said, honestly feeling relieved.

“How about you, noona? Are you doing okay?” I paused, a bit surprised at the unexpected question, and he lightly chuckled. “You check on us, but who will make sure you’re okay if we don’t?”

He really is very thoughtful, I thought, smiling softly. “I’m doing fine. I’m much more confident in my abilities with the job than I used to be.”

“Good. Because you know, you really are a great manager.”

Yoongi was surprisingly talkative today, and we kept conversing until our food was brought to us a little while later. As I smiled and thanked her, I noticed the kind woman looking at me like she had something she wanted to say.

“Yes, imo?” I asked, inviting her to say what was on her mind.

“I’m just really glad that these sweet boys have someone like you to keep them company,” she said, making me smile. “I wouldn’t be surprised if one day one of them realizes how great you are and snatches you up for himself.”

“I-I’m sorry?” I asked, not quite sure if I heard her right.

“I mean you’re a great catch and I’d love to see one of the boys be the lucky man,” she said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Yoongi coughed, almost choking on the food he was chewing on as my mouth opened in surprise.

“Oh, well thank you,” I said, unsure of what else to say. I was sure my face was beet red. “I appreciate the compliment,” I finished, nervously.

She smiled before leaving to pay attention to another customer.

I turned to Yoongi and our gazes met for a moment before we both looked away, embarrassed by the woman’s words. Me? With one of the Bangtan boys? It was something I had never thought about. But to be honest, I felt that whoever ended up with the boys would be some of the luckiest people ever.

We finished eating and left the restaurant, and there was still a slightly awkward air left between us after the comment she had made. I wasn’t sure why it felt awkward. Maybe it was because she put the thought into my head that possibly one day, I could end up in a relationship with one of them. And maybe similar thoughts were going through Yoongi’s mind too – but was he wondering about the possibility of me dating any of them or specifically himself? Wait, no. I was stopping that thought train right there. I was not going down that rabbit hole.

I shook my head in a literal attempt to get rid of the thoughts before they went too deep. I could see Yoongi staring at me out of the corner of my eye, so I turned to look at him. Suddenly I felt a smile tugging at my lips and then both of us were laughing, quickly lightening the mood back up. I had no idea what made us start laughing, but I welcomed the change in the atmosphere.

“That was something I did not expect to hear when we decided to go out for lunch together today,” he said once our laughter calmed down.

“I know right,” I replied. “I guess it’s hard for people to see a girl hanging around a bunch of boys without thinking there is or will be romantic feelings involved somewhere. Especially when the boys are all rather good-looking,” I said in a teasing voice, knowing it would make him feel embarrassed. It was hard to embarrass Yoongi, so I enjoyed doing so when I could.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” he quickly retorted back, catching me off guard.

I playfully scoffed, hoping the heat rising to my cheeks wasn’t too obvious. “Yeah, right.” I did not consider myself to be a beauty by any means, and although hearing those words wasn’t going to make me feel any different, it still made me feel embarrassed to receive the compliment.

“You really are pretty though,” Yoongi muttered, barely audible. I was surprised I picked it up at all. But I chose not to address it.

The next few minutes back to the company building were spent in silence, but not awkward like a few moments ago. Despite me being embarrassed by Yoongi’s compliment, it was still a rather comfortable silence which I welcomed.

Yoongi walked with me back to my office before he went off to his own destination, probably his studio to write some music. Sejin was sitting at the desk when I arrived, and he greeted me with a smile.

“Where did you go with Yoongi?” he asked.

“We just ate lunch together,” I said. “It’s almost time to talk with the stylist team isn’t it?”

“Yeah, you got here just in time,” he confirmed. “Let’s head on out.”

We had a couple of meetings during the rest of the day. One of which was with the team that Haewon was a part of, but luckily she didn’t seem to want to cause any drama and was rather civil today. Maybe after the last time when her efforts were fruitless, she decided to give up.

Everything took a few hours, but once that was over I didn’t have anything else I needed to do so I took a look in the dance studio, where I wasn’t surprised to see the boys practicing their choreography. I carefully entered the studio and sat in the front to watch them dance.

It always made me happy to see the instant change in them when I entered the room while they practiced. While they were still focused and concentrating, they seemed to be a little happier, and maybe more determined to make it look good for their one-person audience.

After a little while, they took a break and I got up to bring them water from the nearby bottle stash.

“You done with meetings for the day, noona?” Namjoon asked.

“Yup, I don’t have anything else to do today,” I responded. “How long are you guys going tonight?”

“Probably about another hour,” Hoseok said. “There’s a few things that need polished up still.” Leave it to him to spot the tiniest inconsistencies.

“Jimin and I went to the usual place to eat earlier,” Taehyung said, “and imo told me you and Yoongi hyung stopped by together for lunch today, noona.”

“Yeah, we did,” I replied. I looked at Yoongi, who already had his gaze fixed on me. He gave me a small smile which I returned before we both looked away.

“She said you two looked cute together,” Tae added, smirking.

“What?!” Yoongi and I said simultaneously.

“Yeah, she said she thought you’d make a cute couple,” Jimin added, looking equally mischievous.

“Yah, what kind of comment is that,” Yoongi said, scoffing.

“I definitely don’t think we acted like a couple at all,” I added.

“She’s right though,” Jungkook instigated. “You two would look cute together.”

“You all want me to kill you, don’t you?” Yoongi asked as he stood up and approached the maknaes. “Guys, I think our group is going to go down to four members after today.”

The three culprits stood up and ran for cover, Tae choosing me as his shield.

“What makes you think I’m protecting you from this?” I ask him before switching places with him, grabbing his arms to lock them behind his back and hold him still.

“No, noona!” Tae pleaded. “You wouldn’t let hyung hurt me would you?”

“Hmmm,” I pretended to think about it while Yoongi approached us. “I don’t know. What was that thing about me and Yoongi again?”

“You guys are really good friends!” he quickly righted. “There’s definitely nothing going on between you guys. Come on, please. Don’t let him hurt me.”

I released my grip on his arms so he could run off while Yoongi approached the other two who also started blurting out apologies and taking back what they said as well before they could face their hyung’s wrath.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the whole scene. Of course he wasn’t actually going to hurt them, but it was cute seeing them play around like this.

“I got some funny pictures out of that,” Jin said, smiling.

“Oh, I want to see,” I said.

“Sending them in the group chat,” Jin responded.

I went to my purse to grab my phone while I heard the notifications ring from the others’ phones. But my phone wasn’t in the pocket I usually kept it in. Confused, I continued to search through the rest of my purse but it seemed to be nowhere in the bag.

“Everything okay, noona?” Jimin asked, noticing me struggle.

“Yeah. I think I just left my phone in the office,” I replied. “I’ll be right back.” I walked out of the room to go to the office, convinced I must have left it there at some point during the day. I heard the door to the studio open again behind me and turned to see Yoongi following me.

“I’m coming with you,” he said.

“You don’t need to, it’s fine,” I replied.

Yoongi shook his head. “You don’t have your phone on you, so I’d feel more comfortable with you not being alone.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “I’m only going to my office.

Yoongi kept a blank expression as he looked at me, not budging at all.

Knowing he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, I conceded and we began to walk. When I got to the office, I searched around my desk and Yoongi looked around the other surfaces in the room to see if I could have left it elsewhere. Being unsuccessful, I looked in the pockets of my jacket I left draped over my chair, and even double checked the pockets in my own jeans. Still, nothing.

“That’s so weird,” I said. “I know I had it with me earlier.”

“When was the last time you recall using your phone?” Yoongi asked, double checking the places I looked at as well.

I thought about it for a moment. “Actually, it was probably in here. Right before I took my nap, I was using my phone.” I paused before suddenly remembering something. “I set it down on the desk before drifting off, and I don’t recall grabbing it before we went to lunch.”

“Hmm,” Yoongi contemplated what could have happened. “You don’t think Sejin hyung would have it, do you?” he asked.

“I doubt it,” I said. “Worth a shot to ask, though.”

Yoongi called Sejin on his phone to ask if he’d seen my phone at all today, but he soon ended the call before shaking his head. “He said he hasn’t seen it.”

“What could have happened?” I asked, trying to piece things together. “Was it even on my desk when I woke up?” I thought about it for a moment. “Wait. You’re not playing a prank on me are you?” I asked, walking toward Yoongi with my hands outstretched toward his pockets.

“Yah!” Yoongi said, backing away from me quickly. “Of course not. I wouldn’t go through this much trouble for a joke. Let me try calling it,” he suggested.

“Why didn’t we think of that sooner?” I asked myself under my breath.

He called my number, placing the phone to his ear just for a moment to confirm it was ringing before pulling it away to listen for my phone. But neither of us heard anything.

“I know I left the volume on,” I said, becoming increasingly confused.

We stood in silence for a moment, thinking.

“Let’s go back to the dance studio,” Yoongi said. “I need to get back to practice and it’s obviously not here so being in here won’t help us at all.”

I nodded and followed him back to the studio where the rest of the boys looked ready to resume practice.

“Did you find it?” Hoseok asked as we walked in.

I shook my head. “No. It wasn’t anywhere in the office. That was definitely the last place I remember using it, which was actually this morning before we went to lunch. I have no idea what happened.”

Yoongi had been looking at his phone the whole way back, and suddenly he stopped and looked up at me. “Noona.”

“What’s up?” I inquired.

“I think someone took your phone,” he said, turning back to his screen.

“Why is that?” I asked hesitantly, scared of the answer.

He showed me what he was looking at, and my eyes widened. The pictures that could have only been the ones that Jin mentioned before I went to look for my phone had been posted on Twitter. There were two, one of Tae hiding behind me and the other was me holding his arms behind his back while he stared at Yoongi approaching him.

“What’s going on?” Jungkook asked.

I took the phone from Yoongi’s hand, wanting to further investigate. I heard Yoongi responding but was too focused on my mission to hear what he was saying. Clicking on the profile of the person who originally uploaded the photos, I found other tweets. All from today, and all pictures of me and the boys that we had taken over the months. And of course, they were tagged with anything that would lead someone searching for BTS to them. The profile had been created just today and all the tweets were shared starting within the last few hours. Definitely after my phone had gone missing.

By the time I looked up from Yoongi’s phone, he was standing next to me observing what I was doing, and the other boys were all looking at their own phones to check it out as well. I turned my attention back to the posts, which were getting way too much attention for comfort. Luckily, I hadn’t saved any pictures from the morning when I woke up in Jin’s arms, and those were the only ones I could think of that could cause a legit scandal. I clicked on one of the tweets and scrolled down, seeing a slew of comments that I probably would have preferred to not exist.

“Who are you and what are you doing with my oppas???”

“Wow look at this sl**. Who does she think she is?”

“BigHit must have terrible management if they’re letting some foreign w**** put her hands all over BTS.”

“Ugly b****!!!!”

Yoongi grabbed the phone out of my hands before I could read anymore. “Don’t you dare listen to them, noona.”

The volume of his voice shocked me. It also garnered the attention of the other six boys, who all looked at me with concerned faces.

“She read the comments, didn’t she?” Jin asked and Yoongi just nodded in response.

“I’m going to call Sejin hyung,” Namjoon said. “Jin hyung, you call Bang.”

“Why would someone do this?” Jimin asked. “Who would… Wait never mind, I know exactly who would do something like this.”

I fell to a sitting position the floor, my body not having any strength to hold me up and my mind going blank. I vaguely heard some shuffling and a few arms were quickly supporting my back.

“It’s okay, noona,” Tae’s voice said from my right.

“Don’t worry, it’s only temporary,” Hoseok, who was on my left, added. “Bang and Sejin hyung will have a solution for this.”

Taehyung gently led my head to his shoulder and stroked my hair gently, knowing well that when I was upset affection was the best comfort for me.

The rest of the boys surrounded me on the floor, except for Joon and Jin who were still on the phone.

“Noona, whatever those people said don’t mean anything,” Jungkook said.

“They’re just upset because they don’t know who you are,” Jimin added.

“Yeah,” Tae chimed in. “And you’re none of the things they’re calling you. You’re an amazing and beautiful person, noona.”

Jin knelt in front of me, having ended his call with Bang PD-nim. “He just found out about it too. PR only caught wind of it just a little bit ago. He wants you to go to his office.”

I nodded, and attempted to stand up but my legs felt like jelly. Noticing this, Tae and Hobi helped me into a standing position.

“Sejin hyung also just heard from PR,” Namjoon said. “He asked me to tweet a picture of the eight of us and mention you’re our manager. That should help calm things down until an official statement is released.”

“It’s going to be okay, noona,” Jungkook said. “You didn’t do anything wrong, you know that. PD-nim will help fix this.”

“Come on.” Yoongi held out his hand. “I’ll go with you to see him.”

I took his hand and he led me out the door, heading towards our boss’ office. Once there, he knocked for me and we entered.

I bowed deeply, feeling at fault for what was going on. “I’m so sorry, PD-nim. It’s all my fault, I should have kept better care of my belongings.”

“Sit down, (Y/n),” he said calmly. “You too, Yoongi. Thanks for coming with her.” I straightened up and followed his instruction. “So, Yoongi said that we believe someone took your phone. Tell me, when and where do you think this happened?”

“The last time I recall using my phone was this morning in my office, just before I dozed off into a nap,” I admitted. “I think I left it sitting on my desk and I don’t recall grabbing it after I woke up. But I didn’t notice until just a little bit ago that it was gone.”

“If it happened here, that’s good,” Bang PD said. “Let’s go look at the security footage from the hallway, see if anyone entered your office.”

We all walked to the nearby security office and they helped us pull up the recording from this morning. Sure enough, we saw someone walk by the door to my office, and double take to look through the window. She stood outside for a moment, seeming to contemplate something, before deciding to open the door and came back out a moment later, very obviously holding my phone in her hands.

I’ll give you one guess whose face I recognized on the screen. So much for thinking she had given up.

“Haewon,” Yoongi practically growled her name.

“Well, someone’s getting fired,” PD-nim said as we all started walking back toward the dance studio. “Don’t worry about the rest, (Y/n). I’ll take care of it. We’ll release a statement explaining who you are and your relationship with the boys, and that your phone got hacked by an employee of the company who has now been terminated.”

“Can’t we be in the room when you fire her?” Yoongi asked. “I want to see her face when she realizes she’s been found out.”

“It would be rather inappropriate of me to have you in the room,” PD-nim said, stopping at the studio door. “But I may happen to accidentally video call you,” he said with a smile before turning the handle.

We walked into the room, all eyes turning their attention to us. “Oh, and (Y/n),” Bang called out to me before closing the door all the way. “Comments written in jealousy are empty and mean nothing. Don’t listen to them, okay?”

I gave him a small smile and nodded before he walked away.

“So?” Jimin asked expectantly.

I looked at Yoongi, who just smirked. “We’re going to have a show to watch.” It wasn’t really necessary to explain what had happened – by now everyone had figured that there was only one person who would stoop so low.

As we waited for the “accidental” call from Bang PD-nim, Namjoon showed me the tweet he shared. He wrote, “Everyone, meet our manager and friend, (Y/n)! She’s been with us for a year now and she’s amazing and treats us so well. We hope you love her as much as we do!” Underneath was one of my favorite pictures of the eight of us. It was from the day they surprised me at the park last year, and we had asked someone to take a picture of us. We’re in some kind of big group hug and we all look really happy.

The comments underneath were amazing, drastically different from the ones I saw before.

Awww, I’m so jealous of her, getting to spend so much time with you! You all look so happy!

I knew it had to be something like that. I’m glad you said something, those jealous girls needed someone to shut them up.

But why and how did the pictures get released in the first place? Was this planned for publicity?

She’s so cute! You got a fan in me, (Y/n) unnie!

She looks young to be a manager, but maybe that means she’s just that good at her job. BTS, (Y/n) unnie, fighting!

And many more similar comments filled the feed. A wave of relief washed over me. Some may not believe it and still think it was a publicity stunt, but the explanation would be coming soon with the PR statement. Bang PD-nim just needed to talk to Haewon first.

“See, I told you it was temporary,” Hoseok said as he wrapped his arms around me to hug me tight.

“I’m just glad this was something that we could wash over really quick,” I said.

Yoongi’s phone rang and he accepted the video call, keeping his own camera off and muted his microphone just in case. He propped it up in a spot on the floor where all of us could see.

“She’s about to enter my office,” Bang PD whispered toward the phone.

We then heard a knock at the door before he invited the guest to come in. She walked in, slightly bowing her head and saying hello. He had positioned his phone really well so we could see everything she did.

“You needed to see me?” Haewon asked, trying to sound innocent.

“Yes,” PD-nim responded. “Something happened today, and it caused quite a bit of an uproar with the netizens. Some photos from a BigHit employee’s personal phone were leaked.”

“Oh really?” she responded, acting surprised. Wow, she was surprisingly good at putting on an act. “I’m sorry, but I’m not from PR. Maybe you have the wrong staff?”

“No, I definitely have the right staff,” he assured her. “Miss Son, did you know that we have a strict policy against workplace harassment and bullying? And we also don’t tolerate theft. It’s also in the employment contract that leaking sensitive and personal information regarding BigHit activities or its employees is strictly forbidden. All three of these acts are grounds for immediate termination.”

“You tell her, Bang,” Jin quietly cheered.

“I’m sorry, I’m not quite understanding how this has anything to do with me,” she replied, still playing the innocent card.

“Miss Son, did you take another BigHit employee’s personal belongings this morning?” he asked. “Specifically, a cell phone.”

She pretended to be confused. “Of course not, sir. Why would I do that?”

We could hear Bang PD sigh. It seemed like he was tired of being patient with her act. “Son Haewon-shi, I don’t appreciate lies.” He turned his computer screen to face both of them, also bringing it into our view. He clicked on a file from his desktop, bringing up the security footage from when she stole my phone this morning.

We saw the look on her face as she panicked, probably trying to figure out how to get herself out of this one. But we all knew there was no getting out.

“Why would you enter someone else’s office,” Bang PD asked, “one you had no business entering? And you’re very obviously holding (Y/n)’s phone in your hand. I’d appreciate it if you returned it to me. Right now please, Haewon-shi.”

“I wanted to talk to her, and saw her in the room so I opened the door,” she tried as an excuse. “But she was asleep, so I left shortly after. That phone in my hands is my own.”

“Wow, she has quite some nerve,” Namjoon said as some of the others scoffed or muttered under their breath at the ridiculous excuse.

“Okay, we can play this game,” Bang PD said, clearly fed up with her. He opened up another file on his computer. I instantly recognized it. It was a combination of three security cameras, the first showing me and Yoongi around a corner before walking into a hallway. And then it switched to the second camera which showed Haewon and her coworker walking towards me before pouring her coffee on my arm. And a few moments later, after I turned another corner and they had walked away, it switched to the third camera to show me in pain and Yoongi quickly wrapping his jacket around me and leading me away to treat the burn.

I heard various reactions from the boys to the clip, everyone displeased with seeing the event take place. While they all knew it happened, the rest hadn’t witnessed the scene so it seemed to be hard for them to watch.

“That was an accident, sir,” Haewon quickly defended.

Jimin scoffed. “She was so obvious. It didn’t even look like an accident. She literally tipped it over and spilled the whole thing on you. What a-“

“Language,” Jin said quickly before Jimin could get the word out.

While Jimin spoke, Bang PD had said something to a similar affect as him (although in a calmer, more professional manner) on the other side of the call. Then he pulled up another file. This time, it was in the main lobby when I had chased after Taehyung.

“How the heck did he find this one?” I asked. “I couldn’t even remember what date it was.”

We watched as Tae defended me against her attempt at causing trouble before grabbing my hand and leading me out of the building.

“Wow, you look so cool, hyung!” Jungkook admired.

Tae flashed him a smile as he linked his arm through mine.

“I’m sorry sir, but what is this one proving?” Haewon asked. “It looked like something was wrong, so I asked if I could help.”

“Except that you had a smile on your face before approaching them, not a look of concern. And you obviously said something to make Taehyung feel defensive,” PD-nim said. “Not to mention the look on your face as you watched them walk away is tell-tale to your dislike of (Y/n).”

Haewon sat back in her seat, crossing her arms. Her façade was quickly fading.

“And let’s not forget,” PD-nim said as he played the last clip, from the cafeteria.

“I already told you about this one,” Haewon defended.

“But you told me a completely different story than what both the footage and (Y/n) and Hoseok’s accounts do. You approached her, and based on what I see, it looks like you’re the one who’s bothering her. When you came to me, you told me she was harassing you, but you couldn’t go into detail. (Y/n) and Hoseok both explained the conversation in detail and it perfectly matched with what I see here.”

Haewon didn’t have any more defenses, and we could see how irritated she was.

“Yes! Go in for the kill, PD-nim!” Hoseok cheered.

“So, multiple accounts of workplace bullying, theft of another employee’s personal belongings, and leaking personal information of said employee that could have potentially caused damage to the company,” Bang PD summarized all the counts against her. “Do you still want to claim you are innocent?”

Haewon rolls her eyes. “Fine. I bothered her a bit. But she’s so arrogant and annoying. She isn’t even good at her own job and thinks she can do other peoples’ jobs for them. She’s a useless child who should go back to where she came from.”

I saw Yoongi stand up abruptly, starting to head towards the door. I quickly followed, stepping in front of him just before he reached the handle. “Yoongi, calm down.”

“How can I be calm?” Yoongi practically yelled. “How can you be calm after hearing her talk about you like that? I’m sick of her thinking she can just walk all over you and insult you without any consequences!”

“She is getting her consequences, Yoongi,” I said as I placed my hands on his shoulders to try to calm him down.

“By getting fired,” he retorted. “What exactly is that going to do?”

“Yoongi, please,” I said as I held his gaze with my own. “I know you’re angry. But it’s not your fight, it’s mine. And I’m choosing to let the consequences that Bang PD is dealing suffice as her payment. That’s enough for me.”

He looked away, letting out a huff as he calmed down. I took hold of his hands with my own to lead him back toward everyone else. They remained on the floor, but it seemed their full attention had turned to us. I also noticed it seemed that the call had ended.

“What did we miss?” I asked as we sat back down.

“Basically just PD-nim saying she’s fired, needed to give your phone back, and that if she saved anything from your phone on an outside device it has to be immediately deleted and never ever show up anywhere unless she wants to be sued,” Taehyung explained without taking a breath.

“Oh, okay then,” I said chuckling.

“That was amazing!” Namjoon exclaimed.

“Oh my gosh, the look on her face when it changed from ‘I’m innocent’ to ‘Oh no I’m screwed’ was so hilarious!” Jimin said.

As they continued to be ecstatic over the events that just occurred, PD-nim entered the room, holding my phone. “You might want to change your password to something that isn’t so obvious, (Y/n)-shi. Even I guessed it on the first try.”

I chuckled nervously as I took my phone from him.

“What is your password, noona?” Namjoon asked.

“1306,” I said.

“What’s even the point of using a password if it’s going to be so obvious, (Y/n)?” Jin asked as he laughed.

“Well, I’m just glad this is over now,” Yoongi said. “No more Haewon causing you trouble or bothering you.”

“Thank you, Bang PD-nim,” I said as I bowed deeply. “I appreciate all your help and your understanding.”

I saw him smiling as I straightened up. He reached out to place a hand on my shoulder. “If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, never hesitate to let me know. You’re a part of our family and I’ll always be here for you.”

A/N - I just wanted to say that it really is not okay to say things like the offensive comments portrayed in this chapter. People can be quick to judge, and with the internet and a computer in between it can be easy to forget that on the other side that is another person, and you may not have all the proper information of the situation. Of course, everyone is allowed to have their own opinions but if they’re unkind then do they really need to be said? Just a general PSA to not be a prick :)

Series Masterlist

Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20

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[lilzebub]

The Here and Now (Through the Years CH2)

Summary:  Five has returned, and no one expected the condition that he would be in. Can (Y/n) and Five navigate the major set backs, thwart the Apocalypse, and resume their happily ever after?

Five Hargreeves x F!reader Word count: 11k total

Warnings: TUA typical violence, angst, awkward interactions, brief mention of spicy time, brief description of depression Also posted on AO3!

She stared blankly at the young man that stood distressed on her porch. “Five…I….Hurry up, get inside.”  Her hand darted out to grab the sleeve of his tailored blazer, and she quickly dragged him through the threshold.  He awkwardly stood in the foyer of their house, with his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts. “(Y/n) this is a nightmare.  I’m an old man trapped in this body.  Ever had growing pains and indigestion at the same time?”  He glowered up at her.  A quiet snicker escaped from her lips.  “You think this is funny? Huh?”

The snicker sparked a roar of laughter that erupted deep from her belly, and Five could do nothing but stare blankly at her.  He considered the last time he saw her looking genuinely this amused by something was the day of their wedding after they had tossed his Commission tracking device.

“I mean, no. It’s not funny. It’s just…ridiculous.  I waited all this time. Counted all these days. And you show up here….like….” she gestures vaguely. “It’s absolutely absurd, and honestly, kind of unfair.  Here is was, expecting my 100% normal, thirty year old husband to poof into my house today.  And I get the awkward teenager slash old man version of you.  This is too much.”  She dramatically wiped tears from her eyes.

“Okay, are you done now?” Five stated frankly, with no hint of irritation. He opened his arms to her and she met his embrace, throwing her arms over his shoulders.

“It’s really hard to hug you like this.  You lost a few inches in the fray, buddy.”  She pressed a kiss onto the top of his head. He pulled away from her to protest, but she just pulled him back in tightly.

“Come on my grumpy little man.  Let’s get you over to the Academy and see if your family can possibly help with this.  They’re used to things outside of the ordinary.

The couple walked down the street, awkwardly meeting the glances of everyone around them. The uniform jacket was telling, and it was apparent that everyone was shocked to see the prodigal son of the Umbrella Academy, alive and in the flesh, looking exactly how he did nearly fifteen years ago.  A man pushing a two seat baby stroller gave them a wide berth on the sidewalk, and gave (Y/n) a double take.

“(Y/n) (Y/L/M/N)?”  He proclaimed, causing Y/n to screech to a halt.  She turned to face the man, quickly glancing down at the stoller.

“Um, yes? It’s actually (Y/n) Hargreeves now, but yes, that’s me.”  Realization dawned on her, and hit her in the face like a runaway freight train.  “Uh, how are you, (ex F/n)?”

“I’m great! So great, it’s really fantastic to see you! I’m just on the way to surprise the wife at work, it’s her first week back after her maternity leave, and I know she’s missing the kiddos.” (Y/n) glanced down at the pair of cooing babies in the stoller.  “And who’s this strapping young gentleman?  I didn’t know you had a little brother.”

Five took an immediate offensive stance.  “I’m Five Hargreeves, and I’m her HUSBAND.”

“Oh, God I’m sorry.  I guess you just looked a little different the last time I saw you….At our, uh, or rather, your, uh. Wedding.”  The young man stammered, and (Y/n) watched Five grow increasingly more irritated.

“Yep, Five is a time traveler extraordinaire.  Just had a little mishap with his calculations.  He’s not normally a teenager, or anything. Like, it’s not like that at all, I mean…God that sounds so weird. Sorry.”  She was beginning to grow flustered, and no longer felt the need to explain herself.  “It was nice seeing you, we’ve got to be going now.”  Her arm linked around Five’s, as she began dragging him away.

“Well you couldn’t have possibly made that any more awkward,” Five fretted at her.  “Bad enough you dumped him at the alter and now you had to explain how your husband, who I don’t know if I mentioned it already, but you DUMPED HIM FOR, is stuck in a teenage body.”

She whipped around him in front of him, staring him down.  “Look, you don’t get to be angry at me for your mistake. It’s not my fault that you aren’t even old enough to DRIVE now.” “Well you could have driven if you had ever taken the time to learn how to drive a stick shift.”  Five puffed up his chest to look tougher, but it was futile in his current form.

“You’re the one who was never around long enough to teach me how to do it.”  He flinched, and she instantly felt a wave of guilt wash over her.  “Five, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean it.  We’re both just…tense right now.  The world is ending, you’re hormonal and also crabby because you probably won’t get to take advantage of the senior citizen discount at Griddy’s today.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at her.  The moment he fell through the portal, and realizing his body was now in shambles due to his miscalculations, all he could think was how she would react.  Would she faint?  Would she promptly turn him away?  Instead, she surpassed all of his expectations and was making jokes at his expense.  He paused for a moment and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. “You know, now more than ever, I’m so glad I married you.  I can’t imagine anyone else being able to handle this curveball.”

“What can I say, Mr. Hargreeves.  You had me on the hook for a long time.  A little hiccup like this isn’t going to scare me off.”  He smiled, lacing his fingers with hers as they continued down the street, the Umbrella Academy looming just a few blocks ahead.

The pair quietly entered the front door, only to be bombarded by all of the siblings at once.  Five sulked behind his wife, as each of his family members warmly embraced her. Klaus picked her up and spun her around, quickly locking eyes with his brother. “Oh Jesus Christ, what do we have here?”  Klaus murmured, gently placing (Y/n) down on the ground.  “If it isn’t our dear little brother, alive and in the flesh…And perhaps a few inches shorter than last time we saw you, hm?”

Allison spoke next without giving Five a chance to respond, a look of shock on her face. “So I’m guessing something wasn’t quite right with your math, was it?”

Five pulled on the sleeves of his blazer. “You can say that again. I fucked up royally.  That’s the least of our concerns now though. We only have a few days to stop the Apocalypse from happening, and I still have no idea how we’re going to do it.”

Days had passed, and the family was no closer to determining the catalyst of the Apocalypse than they were when Five and (Y/n) had returned to the Academy.  They sat around the kitchen table on the day that Five had so loudly proclaimed would be the end of the world, all eyes sunken in from lack of sleep.  Luther dragged his hands down his face, as he looked over at Five sulking over his late night cup of coffee.  “Maybe it’s just inevitable.  We should have had at least some clue by now.”

Allison scanned over the newspapers scattered along the table.  “I mean, there’s nothing in the news that indicates anything out of the ordinary.  Nothing political, no threats of nuclear warfare, literally nothing.”

“Or maybe it’s just not going to happen at all? I mean, today is the day isn’t it? Everything has been completely normal.” (Y/n) yawned, her forehead meeting the wooden table

“Maybe it’s you, little brother,” Klaus said, pausing to light the joint pressed between his lips.  “I mean, think about it.  You’re the only one who experienced the end of the world. Did you ever think, maybe it has something to do with you?”  Vanya nodded her head in agreement.

“Klaus might actually have a point.  Have you done anything you know of to alter the timeline at all?”

“Yeah, you know like, in time travel movies where someone accidentally kills a bug and it causes the entire future to change? Killed any bugs lately, Five? Or like, Presidents, or whatever it was you had to do with the Commission?”  Klaus coughed.

Five thought for a moment, taking a sip of his coffee.  “Not really, before I left the Commission, I only did one thing….”  (Y/n) jerked her head up from the table, eyes widening.  The family looked at him expectantly, then over to her.  “You know, the whole crashing her wedding day thing.  The head of the Commission, the Handler warned me she would kill us, but I didn’t really think much about it.”  The group collectively groaned. Diego stabbed a blade into the table. “Well, these are the kinds of things you might want to tell us, Five. Your former boss literally threatening to murder you seems like a pretty good reason to be on high alert.”

A loud rap at the front door of the Academy put everyone on high alert.  They all rose from their spots, quietly making their way towards the door. “Hey, maybe it’s the Apocalypse knocking.  We can just ignore it, maybe they’ll think we aren’t home.” Klaus whispered, throwing the remains of his spent joint into a potted plant.  Diego peeked out a window near the door. “It’s some blonde woman in a dress. Sound familiar?”  He whispered, and Five immediately straightened his tie. “Yep, I’ll take this.”  He moved towards the door to unlock it, coming face to face with the Handler.

“Good evening, Five…Assorted Hargreeves.” She flourished her hand, shoving past Five into the living room, depositing a large briefcase by the door. “And Mrs. Hargreeves, a pleasure to see you once again.”  (Y/n) felt her heart tighten in her chest, recalling the last ill fated encounter with the woman, and the impossible choice she posed for the pair.

“Wish I could say the same,” (Y/n) scoffed.  “Care to tell us why you’re here? You’re getting a bit too familiar with these unexpected housecalls.”  The family gathered around her in a protective stance, and she felt the tightness in her chest dissipate.

“Well, I did advise you that I’d be back at a date of MY choosing to dispose of the pair of you, didn’t I?”  The Handler towered over (Y/n) in her heels, frowning down at her.

Five shook his head. “That wasn’t part of the deal.  I came back to the Commission, I did what you asked, and you sent me to that God-forsaken wasteland.”

She advanced towards Five. “Ah, yes, that much is true.  But what I didn’t anticipate was you defying the odds.  Do you know what the odds were that you’d be able to time travel back to any point in time to your wife?”  She emphasized, venom dripping in her voice.  “One in thirty million.  Now, wouldn’t you say, the odds of that are simply astronomical?”  Five looked over at (Y/n) and his family.

She paused, looking back at the family, then pointed her icy gaze to (Y/n).  “You two couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you?” The Handler smirked at the distressed boy, as she positioned herself in between him and his wife.  “Did you really think I could allow you to take everything from me?”

“I didn’t do anything to you. I did my job, I did my time.  I just want to live the rest of my life with my wife.”  He glowered at her, as she chuckled.

“Five, tell me, why do you think I had such a vested interest in you and your boring little wife here, in your holy union, hm?”  She gestured behind her. He shrugged. “I haven’t the inkiest, enough with the damn riddles, why don’t you fill us all in on why you’re so hell bent on killing us?”

The Handler nonchalantly looked at the gun in her hand, then turned towards (Y/n), cocking it in her direction.  “It’s really nothing personal, dear.  It’s about your baby.  Specifically, the baby that you’re set to have in…oh…” She thought a beat, “four years, give or take.  If I eliminate you now, the Apocalypse can resume right on schedule.”  The family exhaled a collective gasp.

Klaus laughed, “Well, congratulations to my dear brother and his wife on their non-existent baby. But I have to ask, when did you get in the business of murdering babies?”

“Let me break it down for you.  If Five had followed orders, he never would have married (Y/n). (Y/n) would have settled down with….that boring guy, what’s his name?  Five would have continued working for the Commission, and everything would have been hunky dory. But the moment he defied his orders, the entire timeline changed.  He and (Y/n) had their happily ever after, and eventually, (Y/n) will give birth to a beautiful, bouncing baby girl.  Not just a girl though, the most powerful time traveler in history, in any timeline. With the inherited skills of her father, and with the complex ability of their mother to become a big flashing beacon in the space-time continuum, which might I add, didn’t seem like much until we determined Five could find her in ANY timeline under any circumstance, you have a recipe for someone powerful enough to overthrow the entire Commission, namely me. Because this child was born, the entire scenario for the Apocalypse was avoided completely, no matter what variables we changed, infinitely into the future.  It just never happens.  The only variable that changed was me.  My entire life’s work, bypassed, like a bump in the road.  The Apocalypse that I deemed absolutely necessary, gone, thanks to a single choice.”

Allison stared at the Handler incredulously.  “So what you’re really saying, is you’re too selfish and drunk off power to give it up.  Someone more suited to the job, who doesn’t even exist yet, is so much of a threat to you, that you’ll eliminate anyone involved?”

“Well, I was only going to eliminate (Y/n), I don’t particularly enjoy getting my hands messy.  There would have been no greater delight than seeing Five suffer for his indiscretions; however, since the whole family is here, I might as well make a day of it.”

Chaos erupted in the expanse of the Umbrella Academy’s living room. (Y/n) wasn’t sure who cast the first stone, but a flurry of bullets began raining down on the Hargreeves family.  Diego curved as many of the bullets as he could, as he ushered her towards the hallway.  She craned her neck to peer over his shoulder, desperately trying to find Five in the fray, as she was shoved into a bedroom in the hallway, a gun being thrust into her hands by her brother-in-law.  In defeat, she pressed herself against the wooden door, trying to hear anything at all, only to be met with the sounds of glass and furniture breaking, guns being fired, indiscernible shouts of her family fighting for their lives.

Gathering her resolve, she crept from the room, unable to stand not knowing what was occurring just beyond the walls.  Gun outstretched in front of her, she quietly made her way down the hall, just as all of the fighting abruptly stopped.

“Where the hell did she go?”  Vanya hissed, as the family peered around, puzzled.  “We had her pinned down?”

Luther cautiously evaluated the rest of the family.  “I don’t like this one bit. She wouldn’t just zap out of her, would she?”  Allison looked towards the front door, noting the telltale briefcase that sat by the door. “She’s still here somewhere, she couldn’t get out without the briefcase.”

 (Y/n) peeked around the corner glancing around at the scene before her.  All of the lightbulbs in the room had been mostly shattered and the room was awash with the little light that shone in through the innumerable windows. In the dim light, chairs and tables could be seen upturned and scattered around the room.

“Five?”  She called out weakly, in a desperate bid to get his attention.  His gaze quickly turned towards her, and a look of terror overtook his features.  A loud pop resounded through the space, and a searing pain shot through the center of her chest.  Slowly, (Y/n) peered down, noting the slow stream of dark red that stained the front her shirt.  Everything started to go black, as Five rushed towards her.

“What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?”  He screamed at the Handler who stood smugly behind where (Y/n) had collapsed on the floor.  Five removed his blazer and pressed the fabric to her steadily bleeding chest.

“Restoring order, that’s what, Five.  Her being alive was a conflict of interest I suppose you could say.  I think there’s going to be a little change of plans though, seeing the anguish on your face, I think that’s the best punishment I could ask for.”  She glided past the family towards the briefcase, and no one moved.

“(Y/n) please stay with me, stay awake, you’re going to be fine.”  Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, as he desperately fumbled with the compress on her chest.  Her breath began to slow, as she reached up and pressed a hand to Five’s cheek.  Klaus crouched down beside the pair, and placed his hand over Five’s.

“Five, I can feel her leaving.  She isn’t going to make it.”  Klaus whispered, remorseful.  Five stood beside her, the space all around him glowing blue.

“I didn’t come all this way through time just to lose her.”  He tightly shut his eyes, and the room began moving slowly in reverse, the Handler moving slowly backwards towards the clandestine hallway.  (Y/n)’s crumpled form rose from the spot on the ground, the dark blood receding back into her body, as Five’s nose began bleeding profusely from his efforts.  He felt himself weaken, as the scene resumed before him.

“Where the hell did she go?”  Vanya hissed, looking towards Five who stood in his new spot near the hallway.  “We had her pinned down?”

“She’s in the hallway,” he replied weakly.  “She’s going to kill (Y/n).  I just….reversed time by just a few minutes.  We have to make sure she doesn’t kill her this time.”  A moment later, (Y/n) peered around the corner.  Five rushed forward with the last bit of strength he had left, pulling her into the living room and shoving her aside as he collapsed on top of her.  The Handler revealed herself, looking thoroughly confused.  The gun fell to her side. “Well, this is certainly odd.  Did our boy just manipulate time here?  So much power, so much wasted on a perfectly normal girl.”

Klaus strode forward, fists illuminated.  “She’s not perfectly normal, she loves Five and that’s a feat all on its own.  The kid’s hard to love, no doubt about that, but she does, and that’s worth saving.” In a flash, a barrage of tentacles burst forth from his chest, and the ghostly figure of Ben could be seen just beyond Klaus’s form.  The Horror reached forth, grabbing onto the Handler’s limbs, gruesomely tearing her apart bit by bit.  The family looked on in shock at the grisly scene, until there was nothing left of the Handler but a puddle of blood and gore, spewed on the floor and walls.

And just like that, the Handler was gone, ripped apart by otherworldly forces that seeped from Klaus’s body.  The family stood, stark-still, covered in entrails, before erupting in fits of laughter.  Luther swept Allison up in his arms, her shrieking delightedly. “I can’t believe that’s it. That it was just that easy.  Klaus, I think dad might have been wrong about your powers being totally useless.”

Klaus’s hands were still shaking, as he peered down at them in disbelief.  “That….bitch.  I can’t believe she would have just killed (Y/n) to intentionally cause the Apocalypse. And (Y/n)…” he shot a glance over at her. “I can’t believe you were the key it all along.”

She hadn’t moved.  The ringing in her ears had barely subsided, when she pressed her hands into Five’s chest to meet him face to face.  His expression was barely readable, save for the telltale upturn of the corners of his mouth.  The words came out so soft, the family could barely make it out.  “Our baby?  The Handler couldn’t handle the idea of being replaced…That’s why.  That’s why they warned me we couldn’t be together.  Why they tortured me, making me see you be with that asshole over and over again.  If we were together, the Apocalypse would never even happen.  I really ruined her timeline, didn’t I?” He chuckled, rolling over onto the bloody floor, wiping his nose of his own blood.

Diego walked across the room towards the phone, wiping his knives on his already bloodied pants. Vanya looked at him incredulously. “Diego what on earth are you doing? Is now really time to make a phone call?”

He picked up the phone and dialed quickly. “It is. I’m calling (Y/f/n).  Knowing how close we were to the whole world ending, I’m not taking anymore chances.”  (Y/n) turned to him, shocked. “You know, she’s been hung up on you for years, Diego.  I think everyone deserves a chance at a happy ending, now.”  Five stood and stretched his hand down to hers and pulled her up. He carefully snaked his arm around her waist, pressing a chaste kiss on her bare and bloodied shoulder.  “Even us, Five.”

He smiled, peering up at her through his dark hair.  “Especially us, Mrs. Hargreeves. Especially us.”

Luther lurched over to the liquor cabinet, and sighed. “You know, I know it’s usually Klaus that suggests we start drinking, but I propose we go ahead and pop one of these nice bottles and celebrate tonight.”  And they did.  Vanya pulled out her violin, creating lively, happy music for the group as they danced and laughed around the living room.  Allison stole a not so secret kiss from Luther, and the family loudly teased them, secretly grateful that they were no longer hiding their affections after so many years.  Klaus was able to manifest Ben once more, who although he couldn’t drink, still engaged in the party just as much as any living person could.  Diego had snuck out quietly sometime after his phone call, and (Y/n) hoped with all hope that he was finally going to apologize for being a such a jerk to her closest friend.

Five had pulled her into what she could only describe as an “awkward middle school style slow dance”, with her arms clasped loosely around his shoulders as they swayed side to side.  “You know”, Five started, “my father taught all of us how to ballroom dance as kids.”

(Y/n) laughed, pulling him in a bit closer. “Is there anything you can’t do, Five? You’re remarkable.”

“Well obviously I’m not great at time travel, but I think those days might be behind me.  At least, after I figure out how to get my normal body back.”  He frowned.  “(Y/n), have you considered what we’re going to do if I’m stuck like this? Permanently?”

She considered him for a moment.  “Truthfully, no.  I hadn’t really considered that to be a possibility.  I mean, it would be kind of nice, you’d be able to take care of me when I get old and senile.”  He pushed his foot forward and tripped her, easily causing her to lose her balance in her tipsy state . “HEY! Come on, Five, you know I’m kidding.  I think…..I think we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?  I love you. I love you no matter what.  Even if we can’t really….do the thing normal married people do.  It’ll be okay.”  She yawned, slowing her movements.

“I admire your persistent optimism. But my wife appears to be growing weary.  Want to go relax in the library while I go over some of my old notes?”  She nodded, craning down to place her head on his shoulder.  “Alright, let’s go.”  He gently pulled her arm across the back of his shoulders, and they made their way towards the stairs, calling out their goodnights to the family as they went.

The math was right there all along, in one of his oldest, most worn down notebooks.  In disbelief, he reread his notes over and over, and was sure he couldn’t have possibly gotten it wrong.  (Y/n) was dozing off in the plush arm chair, and he took a moment to admire her:  all of the stress from the impending doom was gone.  No tell-tale gunshot wound, no signs of excessive blood-loss.  Her shoulders were no longer tense, the space between her eyes no longer creased.  A peaceful expression had fallen over her, as though she would be perfectly content to live out her days in that chair with Five’s company, illuminated only by the small lamp in the middle of the table.

He drew a large red circle around the offending equation, and rose from his spot.  He peered down at her snoozing form, and ran his hand through her hair.  Careful not to wake her, he placed the notebook on the arm of the chair and strode quietly towards the door, knowing what he had to do.

He whispered something softly to himself, towards the empty hallways of the Academy.

The ocean waves were breaking softly along the shore, now littered with seashells after an afternoon rainstorm. The only chaos that remained was the wind that whipped through her hair, now unruly and wild from the rain.  She turned around and saw him standing there, frozen in time with a grin on his face.  Everything moved in slow motion as she ran towards him, crashing into his embrace. His palms rested on her cheeks, capturing her in a passionate kiss, until a small voice interrupted them.

“Mommy? Daddy?”  She turned to peer down at the source of the small voice, to be met by a tiny girl with dark hair and verdant green eyes.  Five bent down, finding purchase under the child’s arms, hoisting her to his chest.  (Y/n) gingerly kissed the child’s forehead, then pressed another dizzying kiss to Five’s lips.  He whispered words against her flesh that she had read so long before, words that were so real, she’s certain she couldn’t have dreamed them. “If something happens, just know I’ll find you eventually. I promise.”

(Y/n) woke with a start, knocking something off the arm of the chair.  She slowly reached down, peering down at the foreign numbers and figures, outlined in bold red, then glanced across the room.  Five was no longer situated at the table, and she began to panic.  The woman leapt from her chair, sprinting down the hallway, shouting at the top of her lungs.

“Five? Five where are you?!”  The pounding of her feet and the thundering of her pulse led her straight to his childhood room’s door. Before she could connect with the doorknob, a flash of blue illuminated the space beneath the door, accompanied by the telltale “pop” of her husband attempting some sort of jump.  She flung the door open wide, only to be met once again with darkness.  The room was empty: Five was gone. Again.

Weeks had passed, maybe even months at this point.  (Y/n) wasn’t sure.  No longer having the list of dates to guide her now that the Apocalypse had been avoided, she had, for the most part, lost herself in time.  She could only assume it was midday, judging by the light that cascaded through the windows.  Padding down the halls of their still empty home, she stopped to stare at herself in the bathroom mirror:  her eyes had grown weary, and her hair was a matted mess, sticking up in all directions.  Gently, she prodded at her ribs, which protruded slightly more than usual, a testament to her terrible diet since Five had…..Disappeared? That didn’t feel like the right word for it.  Someone can’t disappear when this is their entire modus operandi.  The absences were something she had grown accustomed to, but this time felt entirely different. There was no carefully curated list of dates, handwritten by Five. Nothing to look forward to.  Nothing to expect.  Not even a “goodbye” or “I’ll see you soon” to soothe her addled brain, only the words echoed in her dream from the note he wrote her as a child.

Starting the shower, she went through the motions.  “This is what he would want me to do, right?”  She thought to herself.  “He would want me to try to be normal. Whatever that means.”  Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes.  “Come on, don’t cry.  You cried it all out the first week. You’re too dehydrated to cry anymore.”  Throwing her clothes haphazardly across the bathroom, she climbed into the shower.

And there she sat.  She sat on the floor of the walk-in shower until the water ran cold.  When she finally collected herself from the floor and wrapped herself in an oversized towel, she could have sworn she caught the wafting scent of coffee, but she waved it off as wishful thinking.  (Y/n) glided towards the kitchen, a towel-clad phantom of a person haunting her home.  Just beyond the threshold, she stopped dead in her tracks.  A full pot of coffee sat brewed on the countertop, steam floating towards to ceiling.  For a moment her breath left her lungs. Clutching her towel to her tightly, she raced towards the living room where Five Hargreeves, looking about fifteen years older than their last encounter, sat on the couch.  The moment he laid eyes on her, he moved towards her as fast as his legs would carry him, stopping short as he saw her chest heaving in what he could only assume to be rage.

“I can explain. I can explain everything.”  Five spoke calmly, as though he were trying to persuade an animal to not attack him.  “I had the equations right years ago, I just didn’t realize it before. I was such a cocky asshole kid back then.  I knew I could make this jump, it had to be just the right moment in time to get it perfect, to get me back to my normal body. Back to you.”  

“Are you….Are you really home? For good? Just like this?”  Her breathing was still erratic, knuckles turning with how tightly she squeezed the towel.

“For good.”  He nodded, taking a step closer.

“And no more big jumps? No more accidentally getting stuck in the wrong body?”

“Nope. No more Commission. No more assassinations.  I think it’s time to grow old…again. The right way.”  He reached towards her, his palms resting on her shoulders.

“And what’s the right way, Five?”  She closed her eyes, relishing in the warmth of his hands.

“Together. With you.”

She moved so quickly Five was afraid he may not be able to grab her in time.  She darted forward, throwing her arms and legs around him, nearly knocking him to the ground.  He supported her weight and held her flush against him.  A sob erupted from her against the side of his neck. “Promise me, Five. Promise you won’t ever leave me like that again.  I was so scared you were gone. For good. That you would be lost and I would have no idea.”  She grabbed his face, kissing him in earnest over and over, her lips salty from the broken dam of tears that ran down her face. “God, I never want to stop kissing you.  It feels like I haven’t been able to in ages.”

Five felt his emotions getting the better of him, and thought for a moment that he may cry.  “You know I was always going to make it back to you. My lighthouse.”  He smiled against her kiss, returning it with equal fervor.

“Take me to bed, Five. I think we need to make up for lost time, no pun intended.”

[r00en]

Still Good- Chapter 8

After spending too much time being a hero Paladin is picked to replace All Might at U.S.J. Of course something goes horribly wrong.

All Might x Reader (OC) 

Warnings: Blood / Gore / Major Injury. 

Paladin get’s a little wrecked here. It’s not showed HOW but the aftermath is explained in detail so....be warned. 

Being scolded wasn't the worst thing in the world. At least not when they angry little huffs of Paladin were directed at him over the hard smacks of her grandmothers cane to his side. Toshi was slumped over on one of the office cots trying his best to look remorseful for his actions that day. He was, really he was. He spent too much time assisting other hero's and helping civilians on his way to work that his time had all but run out and he could no longer power up. That meant hiding away in the teachers lounge or for now nurses office until he had regained some of his energy. He should have just left it to the pro's on duty at the time. It as all petty activity anyway nothing life threatening but old habits seemed to die hard. "I really should start treating you like Grandma and refusing to heal you after stunts like this. Honestly Toshinori....you were meant to take the students to U.S.J today." She was using his full name. Not good. But still....

Letting out a defeated sigh Toshi scratched his neck with worry. "You're right. Of course. I wasn't thinking." Now he had to sit here and be pathetic all day. Useless. The though washed over him like a wave of hard hitting self loathing. "I should be there to teach those kids and I'm stuck here just being a burden." His own tone shifted to a dark and depressing rumble. Shoving his face in his heads and gripping his forehead a bit too tightly as if punishing himself for it foolish actions. Only when a pair of soft warm hands covered his own did he at last let up. She didn't let go either and he found himself twisting his palms to grip her's carefully. Little moments like this were both trilling and terrifying to Toshi. Close, personal, physical contact with her sent a spark of joy down to his gut but bubbled back up as worry, doubt and nerves. But each time he powered through and forced himself to keep that contact for as long as possible. Her hand pressed against the side of his head, thumb brushing over the small red spot he created in his anger and soothed it away with that wonderful cool numbing of her quirk. They both watched each other for a moment. Happy to just be as close as they were. "You can stay here if you like...I'm sorry my healing won't help you recover any faster..."

Toshi sat up a bit straighter and waved his free hand at her frantically. "Oh no! None of this is you're fault please! I feel better already, just being able to breath again without the pain in my side is more than enough." His fingers twitched over her's and he graced her with a real smile this time. "Thank you...you have always-"

The sudden woosh of the office door snapped them both apart. As intrusions to their quiet personal moments seemed to do these days. How is it they always managed to get caught looking like anything but coworkers? Toshi cleared his throat for want of something better to do to clear his head and seem presentable to the fuzzy principal as he walked in, looking as cheery yet slightly unnerving as always.

"My my what ever will we do with you All Might?" Wonderful, someone else was here to remind him of his short comings. "Still there is no need to look so glum about it. While this is a turn in situation you can be sure the staff and UA can handle sudden unexpected alterations!" Carefully Mr. Principal climbed his little self up into the office chair. Settling in with a little wiggle. "No need to worry! None at all! You can rest and meet up with the class as soon as you are able."

That at least put Toshi in some kind of ease. The day wouldn't be a complete loss though this self hate was going to take some time to work out of his system he would feel far better as soon as he could rejoin the students and do his job properly. "I'm sorry to be such a burden sir..." his shoulders bowed low in both defeat and apology. The small click of the Principles tongue and his waving little paw caught Toshi off guard and he found himself shrinking back a bit.

"No need no need! We will be sending our dear school nurse in your place for now! If you ask me it may work out for the better! The students arn't used to such intense training and are bound to have a few more mishaps than here on campus. U.S.J really is a test of it's own the first time around."

Both Toshi and Paladin blinked, looking to each other and back to their boss in disbelief. "M-me sir?" her stutter would have been cute if it were any other situation. "But I'm not a teacher...I don't think I could be of any help to the students in this sort of situation. They need hero guidance and-" "Were you not a pro hero back in the states Paladin? If I recall you made quite the name for yourself too even without any offensive abilities. The students need a good well rounded education. All Might may be able to teach them how to punch their problems away but you can teach them to use their head. Practical first aid in rescue situations, even battle tactics beyond brute force. Many of the first years this time around have powerful but under utilized quirks that could benefit from a fighting style like yours."

The wave of sudden odd compliments had her blushing to her ears. Both her hands trying to cover her pink cheeks and Toshi felt his heart to a little flip he had to force himself to look back at the small white mammal that was their facility leader. "He does have a point. While you are the schools nurse you have some amazing knowledge to pass on to the students that may be invaluable. Not only would the students be safer but you could truly teach them a thing or two the pro hero teachers have no experience with." That got her flushing even more and the little smirk Toshi couldn't hide was going to get him in trouble. He coughed into his fist to keep attention away from his face. Paladin was giggling softly to herself, slowly working into a nervous chuckle. Her hand coming down to smack him hard on the back a few times. Punishment or embarrassment Toshi couldn't figure out. "You too knock it off! All these complements are going to go right to my head you should know better!"

Mr.Principal laughed along as well. "It's settled then! You shall follow the students to U.S.J for these specialized lessons. Of course All Might you'll join them as soon as you feel well enough again." Toshi gave him a nod once he was sitting upright again. His spirits lifted at least slightly now that there was a mild solution to his royal fuck up this morning. The pure excitement she seemed to feel over this chance to interact with the students almost made it all worth it. Almost. His gut still swirled with a sense of unease that he chalked up to his disappointment. This was fine. Everything would be fine.

Both of them watched at their boss hopped himself down off his seat. His large boots squeaking as he made his way to the door. "Once you two are done blushing at each other in privet we can expect our dear nurse to join class 1-A at the school gates in about ten minuets." That sent the two of them back into a sudden panic. Both talking over each other to try and explain themselves. Come up with some excuse, defense anything at all to cover the obvious. Another small tsk from the tiny creature shut them up quickly and they were forced to stand there, bright red and looking anywhere but at each other. "You humans always make things far more complicated for yourselves. Remember, ten minutes Miss.Paladin." with his final word said the door snapped shut and both staff members were left to heat the room with their awkward tension.

"I um-" "You'll-"

"O-oh sorry!" "N-no no you-"

"I was going to-" "I just-"

If the two of them could get anything right Toshi would honestly question reality. Their fumbling, stuttering and tripping had been a long time staple of their friendship by now and try as he might to correct it it seemed to hang over them like a dark yet oh so endearing cloud. She stood in front of him, chewing her lower lip and keeping her eyes locked on what was apparently a very interesting empty notebook on her desk. She was nervous. So was he. He always was around her. A ball of static nerves and twitching limbs trying his best to not act like an inexperienced man well past his prime. He was back to rubbing his lanky neck again. Waiting those few more beats until he was sure she wasn't going to talk before him. "I think you'll be great. Far better than me I'm sure. At teaching that is. At most things really..." The light ruffle of his hair caught him off guard. She was carefully smoothing out the wild tufts that he could never manage to tame. The act was so soothing, so soft he felt he could melt into her hand and stay there.

She gave him that smile he loved so much, warm and loving. Looking right past what he was and gripping his heart through his chest. "Thank you. Knowing someone like you believes in me...I don't know what I would do without you Toshi." Live a long, healthy and happy life with a young, capable man far better than himself. Reality always had a way of slapping him hard across the face. That itching self hate that was getting more persistent day by day. Even when she was so focused on him, her affection plain as day even for a man like himself he had to ruin it by beating himself down and out. Maybe if he just kept doing it he could put out this flame he carried for her. Sure...though each second that passed between them felt like a bucket of gas tossed on the damn thing. Paladin stood straight again, pumping her arm up slightly and giving him her best All Might thumbs up. "I'll whip those kids into shape no problem! Teach them what being a pro hero is all about! I'll make sure I'm their favorite teacher from now on got it?!" Her tongue peaked out from between her sweet pink lips as she teased him, turning on her heels to head out the door.

There was no stopping it. That bonfire in his chest that burned ever brighter when ever she walked into a room. The pain in his side, his mind and his heart slowly pushed to the dark background. That self hate, weakness and loneliness banished with her damned smile that was etched into his thoughts. She was his own Symbol of Peace. A quiet one meant only for him.

~~~

"That's All Might....."

"It's my first time seeing him in person!"

"He looks so intimidating..."

"Idiots! Don't hesitate! If we kill that, we'll-- Gah!"

This fight was nothing. All Might kept repeating that in his mind as he struck down the minor villains around him. As he scooped up Aizawa and the students. Even as blood ran down his chin in a steady river and leaked from the new wound in his side. He could ignore the pain, he could fight through it and win! That's who he was! What ever that creature had taken what little he had left in him but he had to keep standing. Had to keep fighting. Protect everyone. All but one.

Toshi had no idea what had happened even seconds before he made his appearance. He couldn't fathom how 13 and Aizawa had been taken down, but beyond that there was Paladin. The hero who could take any hit, any attack and get back up. Just a crumpled mess on the ground. Unmoving save for the small twitch of her fingers rippling the pool of blood under her. Her once pure white coat soaking that warm liquid that didn't seem to stop flowing from a wound somewhere on her. He couldn't see. Damn it he couldn't move! That man had her. White hair, crazy eyes and hands. His true hand had a grip on her arm, her skin chipping away like old rotting paint but the faint glow of her quirk he had become so familiar with was trying it's best to beat it back. But why wasn't she moving?! What was she still bleeding? Why wasn't her quirk working everywhere else?! So many questions raced through his mind muddied by the light hiss of his strength leaving him like the air from a punctured balloon he was desperately trying to keep closed.

"I get it...." The voice was raspy and sharp. It chilled Toshi to the bone. "She heals doesn't she? How useful for a nurse...that's why even my Nomu couldn't keep her down. Interesting...." "Damn it..." Toshi hissed low between clenched teeth, catching the villains attention. "Oh I get it, this one's a friend isn't she? Important to you....like my Nomu was important to me....." It was scary how quickly this boys tone could shift. Threatening and unhinged to almost lighthearted and soft. "She was annoying. Couldn't do much but kept getting back up. Kept 'fixing' herself...you hero's always putting yourselves in harms way for others. Pathetic. But look at her now."

Midoriya's shaking voice cut through his unnerving rambling. He must have know Toshi was at his limit by now. Only he knew the real danger in front of them. "She....she got knocked out. I think she activated her quirk just before the last blow but it's trying to heal his quirks damage so it can focus on the rest of her body...he's doing too much damage too quickly for her to keep up. If we don't get him off her soon...."

It was a standstill for now. All parties stuck in place almost afraid to move. All Might couldn't. He could feel his form slipping bellow the rising smoke and dust he had kicked up. It was all he could to to appear a threat to them down. Standing still was almost too much. "But she's not what we want.....is she? But watching you squirm like that is justice for my Nomu.....revenge!" His grip on her arm seemed to increase and Toshi could hear the bone start to crack with the pressure of it. He needed to do something! Needed to act! Draw him away from her! "What if I grabbed her neck.....?" His free hand reached slowly, twitching it's long fingers as the teasingly made their way around her throat. One pinky held high but the pressure he applied forced an unwilling cough from Paladin that bubbled blood past her lips and down her cheeks. "Killed her in front of you...would that make you...angry All Might?"

"I'm sure we'd all like to end this as soon as possible."

The calm in his voice seemed to set this villain off. His wild eyes shaking behind the hand on his face. "You cheated...." Toshi could just make out his raspy whisper. "You used a cheat!" It was enough, he stood with Paladins arm still held tight in his grasp. Their quirks still battling for control of her body. "You're not any weaker at all!" It was like a child throwing a tantrum. The sight chilled Toshi as watch Paladin's limp body finally hit the ground with a disgusting, broken sound. Her quirk able to win out and heal the cracking skin and muscle of her arm....but it stopped. It wasn't moving to her side, head and legs. She couldn't direct it while she was unconscious! All Might had to end this and quickly!  "Did that guy lie to me......?" The wicked sound of dull nails on rough skin was all Toshi could hear as he eyed down the villain who was nervously scratching his neck in what looked like a panic attack.

"What's wrong......you're not coming?" He taunted. Draw him in. Buy more time. The teachers would be there soon. "You said you'd 'clearl' this or something, right? Come and get me if you can." This was all he could do. All he could think of. If he could muster up one solid punch then maybe.

The sudden rush of white and purple coming at him almost looked like a sloppy blur. "This is for my Nomu!!!" He was really going to rush him? This kid was going to rush All Might? Did he know he was at his limit? Guess that he hardly had any strength left in him? No....he was unhinged. Rushing blindly forward in a fit of rage. This was a level of dangerous that Toshi hadn't seen in a long time. 'Jeez....holy shit....' He stood his ground, tried his best to plant his feet. He had to do this! The blur of purple caught his attention but he hardly had the strength to move his head. Both of them were coming at him at such speed. 'Hurry!....Everyone hurry!' His only hope were the other teachers now, but as the villains inched closer his faith in that was growing dimmer. There was nothing the Symbol of Peace could do.

"Get away from All Might!"

Midoriya. All Might hadn't even seen him move. He was just there aiming a punch at the void villain. Shouting as loud as he could to draw as much attention as possible. Toshi wanted to stop him. Wanting to grab him and throw him out of harms way but he was stuck, Midoriya was too fast and the villains were already in a counter "I won't fall for that again!". The white one's hand warped through the purple and aimed itself at his face. Toshi watched hopelessly as the ring of the villains horrible cracking laugh drowned out all other sound around them...except the sudden gun shot. A bullet hitting that horrible hand and knocking it away from the students face. Midoriya crumpled to the ground unable to catch himself on broken legs. "Are they here?"

More gun shots and sudden muttering. The villains in a panic as the ran this way and that trying to assess the new situation. All Might could hardly see what was going on. Still rooted to the spot he tried his best to twist himself to the entrance, catching the dark silhouette of his fellow teachers making their way inside. 'Finally.....finally!'

"Sorry Everyone!" The Principles rather chipper voice echoed through the large arena. "Sorry we're late! I gathered all who were immediately available." "I, Tenya Iida, class 1-A representative, have now returned!' There was more shouting, more fighting. Present Mic's loud yell pierced through it all for a few seconds. Toshi could make out the gun fire, Ecto's clones were rushing through the groups of villains that were trying to scatter or put up a last final defense. Midnight's hazy pink mist was floating through the frosted area to his left. Everything was going to be fine. There was no way any of these second rate villains could stand up to this many pro hero's. "It's game over now....." That kids voice cut through the fighting and noise around them. He was backing up, retreating into his strange partners purple portal like body. "Shall we go home...and try again later, Kurogir--?" Bullets riddled his body. Knocking him to the ground as they ripped through his legs, his partner quick to cover him at absorb as much of the spray as he could. But even that was countered as the gust of pulling wind started to drag the strange quirk user up. 13 was alive and drawing them in even from that distance! They had no choice, either be captured or leave.

"You may have one this time....." That wild red eye was fixed on Toshi as the pair were being dragged upward. Sinking back into the inky purple of his personal portal he was still threatening. "....but I will kill you next time.....Symbol of Peace, All Might!" The silence they left in their wake was unnerving. Cut only by young Midoriya's struggled whimpering.

He tried to pull himself up. His legs far to damaged to move on their own. "I'm sorry....I'm sorry I tried to protect her...and I couldn't save you again. I failed again!" His gloved fingers gripped into the dirt as he tried to drag himself forward even a few inches. Still trying to stand. Toshi let out a soft sigh, blood spraying from his lips with the effort. "That's not true...you bought me a few valuable seconds...with you I would be dead. Young Midoriya you saved me once again." This quiet moment of reflection between the two of them was short lived yet heart felt. His student was alright, the villains were gone. And even in his misshaped half form he could say he was standing. Still that dark gut-wrenching feeling crawled up his spine as he remembered the blooded mess that was just a few feet from them.

"Midoriya hey!" A new voice cut through the quiet just as All Might was about to move from his cover in the drifting dust and smoke. Kirashima was racing forward towards his friend as as much as it warmed him to see how much the young boy cared for his classmates at this rate he would be caught. It was like he was trapped all over again. He couldn't hear what the two young boys were saying to eachother, though he did catch young Midoriya's panicked face as he seemed to try and dismay his friend from coming any closer. He needed to move damn it! Needed to get to Paladin! The sudden wall of earth shot up between them. Cementoss's voice muffled by the buffer but it seemed to do the trick and sent the red haired boy running off in a different direction. Even if it wasn't full cover, even if he stood the chance of being seen Toshi forced himself forward. Past his young student he stumbled over to the broken body that had been tossed aside so carelessly.

Sinking to his knees his shaking arms wrapped themselves around his body. Pulling her up against him to try and shake some life into her. His voice wasn't working....why wasn't his damn voice working?! His bright eyes moved across her body trying to figure out where the damage was. To his dismay it was everywhere. Her head was bleeding somewhere past her hairline, enough to coat almost the whole left side of her face in blood. Her lip was split, it looked like her cheek may have been broken. Her throat was red and bruising. He couldn't see the damage to the rest of her clothed body but the spots of blood that pooled up against the fabric of her coat was telling enough. A thin metal rot, most likely the framework of some nearby dumby building was to his horror jutting out from her right side. His hand hovered over that spot, trembling. As if he could will the wound away. His only solace was the faint glow of her quirk shining off the piercing metal. She was trying, at least her body was trying it's best to heal what it could. "Damn it.........damn it!" His fingers ripped into the dirt under her with such force he was sure his own nails were splitting. He couldn't save her. Couldn't stop this from happening. It was his fault, he used up his power this morning, he was why she was here in the first place. It was all him. In some in directed way Toshinori honestly believed he had done this to her.

"....she was trying to protect us. From that creature..." Cementoss had young Midoriya in his large arms. Ready to carry him to the rest of the teachers. "She told me about her quirk that day in the nurses office. If she's knocked out she can't heal properly...it's slower....sometimes it doesn't even work at all." Toshi brushed some hair from her face as carefully as he could. His fingers hovered over her lips to catch the soft warm air. She was breathing. Thank god she was breathing. "But that villains quirk was too fast for her. She had to focus on fighting it back and not healing her other injury's. If she didn't do that I think it would have just kept eating away at her. She knew that so she sacrificed the rest of her body to keep it at bay." He was right, her right arm was untouched, almost too clean and perfect next to the rest of her mangled body. Toshi adjusted her slightly so he could stand with her, but in doing so shifted himself enough to see the blood soaked hand that supported most of her body. A hot rage filled him, rushing through his veins, ignoring the crippling pain of his left side. The urge to scream, lash out, track down those villains and rip them apart with his bare hands was a new sensation for him. Not totally. He remembered it once before so many years ago. But it crept back up through him like a snake. Coiling around his heart and planting itself there.

He had promised himself that this exact thing would never happen. He would never see her like this again after that night on the train. He swore to protect her yet here he was. Carrying her broken little body out of the ruined arena. That hate twisted his gut as he carefully places her on the awaiting stretcher, he climbed in behind them and no one seemed to have the guts to tell him otherwise. Not with that look on his face. The look that dared anyone to so much as speak to him. One person did however, a second body climbed into the back of the ambulance with them. Both tried to make themselves small as the EMT set to work trying to stabilize his new patient.

Tsukauchi let out a huff. "I won't ask why you're back here..." He got no response, and honestly didn't expect to. His friends eyes were glues the injured woman and he clearly wasn't going to look away any time soon. "They are heading back to UA. Recovery girl is already expecting her. We made the call when you came walking out with her a minuet ago." Toshi gave a weak nod, that was all he was going to get for now. "....She'll be okay. From what you've told the second she wakes up she'll put herself back together and be scolding you for worrying so much." It was true, Toshi has confided in his friend more than once since his odd friendship with Paladin had started. He was the only other person Toshi could truly call a 'friend' and someone far more experienced in social matters. He felt a hand give him a soft pat on the shoulder and that was enough for him to turn and give the worlds weakest, most tired smile he could. "I mean it. She's going to be real mad at you if she wakes up to that face."

He was right but Toshi couldn't help it. His heart hurt so damn much. It was battling between a flaring haterade and anger, fear, grief....self loathing. He watched as his friend hopped out of the back letting the doors close behind him. He tried to let his words sooth him, just a bit. It wasn't working well but it let his shoulders relax and his hands unclench from their shaking grip. "She's stable for now...." The EMT's voice was a little unsure, he didn't know why this strange beat up looking skeleton of a man was sitting in the back with them on their way to UA but much like everyone else he feared questioning it. And if the detective seemed fine with it he wouldn't bother. "We'll be back at UA soon."

It couldn't be soon enough.

[metalbatandzenko]

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

oof this one is gonna be so long™ so it’s going under the cut.

Let’s talk about the slow dance scene in Hidden Horns. Specifically Badd and Garou’s slow dance.

First thing is that this scene actually got written before most of the rest of the fic. It wasn’t originally going to be part of HH, I wrote it bc I was listening to Orville Peck’s album Pony, and when this song came on, I thought it sounded like a fun song to slow dance to. It also made me yearn but that’s besides the point. 

Anyways let’s get into it.

Badd guided Garou’s hands to his hips. “‘m not a kid like Zen is, y’can hold me.”

Garou blinked, doing his best to focus on anything other than the warm weight of Badd’s hands on his shoulders or the feeling of Badd’s hips between his hands.

Garou’s a disaster. If you’ve ever seen middle schooler’s slow dance with the stiff zombie arms, that’s basically what he was doing. Which if you’ve ever been in that position, you know it’s not super comfortable for either party, nor is it sustainable bc of that.

But putting his hands on Badd’s hips might have been even more dangerous to Garou. Badd’s kind of a walking contradiction: he’s gruff but he’s sweet, rough but also gentle, muscular yet graceful. Garou’s kind of been seeing that first hand, but now he’s feeling it for himself in the way Badd moves and the feeling of muscle shifting under his finger tips.

There’s also the implied trust that Badd is showing in draping his arms around Garou’s neck on both ends. They’re both putting themselves in a vulnerable position where the other could easily overpower them if they strike first. Their willingness to be in this position with one another is kind of part of the evolution of their dynamic. 

I left a lot of that unsaid both because of the fact that having that analysis mid fic kind of kills the pacing and fic. Also this is done in the rhythm and tempo of Roses Are Falling, and while it’s a slow song, it’s not at a standstill.

“Back on the run,”

“Her reflexes are scary fast,” Garou remarked.

“Back to the blue…”

Badd chuckled. “Yeah. Sometimes she’s too fast even fer me t’track.”

One of the reasons I decided to put this scene in HH versus saving it for another fic is because of the lyrics of the song. There’s some fun foreshadowing and parallels between what is happening and what the lyrics are saying that I thought would work really well for this fic.

I also think this works well as a little nod to the actual canon of OPM and a potential way their relationship could evolve from here. So we get the compare and contrast throughout the passage of where the characters in HH are versus where their canon counterparts might be.

“Roses Are Falling” is, by Orville Peck’s own admission, a song about “loving someone so much you kind of want to kill them.” While I don’t think Badd and Garou have that kind of relationship, I think there’s some truth to the lyrics and this idea of being isolated together, which we also see in “Kansas Remembers Me Now” and “Big Sky”, the two other Orville Peck songs featured in this section.

Zenko’s a pretty safe topic for the boys to discuss. Badd can talk about her for hours on end, and Garou adores her. If they have one spot of common ground, it’s Zenko.

“Winning is fun,”

“She’s gonna pass you up soon,” Garou said.

“Losing is, too…”

Badd gave him a confused look.

“You know, in terms of athletic abilities.”

“Roses are fallin’, roses from fallin’ for you,”

Badd smacked Garou’s neck, feigning offense, but Garou saw the small smile on his face.

Slow dancing is incredibly intimate (even in a platonic setting. Platonic slowdances still require a lot of trust and vulnerability). Especially for two people grappling with unspoken feelings like these two idiots.

Garou definitely feels that tension at this point and tries to diffuse it in a way that’s worked for them in the past: by jokingly poking fun at Badd.

The lyrics here felt fitting to me. The two of them are highly competitive, but they’ve gotten to a point where just the act of being together is more important than winning. They kind of verbally spar for a lot of their relationship, but here we see them just enjoying each other’s company.

“Ooh…”  

The two swayed at an arm’s distance.

“The ache inside the hate–I found a way to sit and wait, and now I can’t: your voice–your face–without a trace–I’ll wait for you…”

“‘s awkward swayin’ this far apart,” Badd huffed.

He pulled Garou close enough that their noses almost touched.

For much of their friendship, Badd’s been the one acting as the initiator. He suggests the sleepover, he cooks for Garou, he introduces truth or dare, which becomes their coded language for opening up, etc. It makes sense for him to be the one to initiate here.

Garou in HH has pretty much the same backstory as he does in canon, he just didn’t go off the rails because he met Tareo earlier. But it was important to me to make sure the fact he still didn’t know how to interact/make friends his age was front and center. He doesn’t initiate many of the “friendship milestones” because he doesn’t know what to do. All this is new ground for him. 

The fact Badd even wants to be his friend is unprecedented and completely unexpected to him. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean he doesn’t initiate anything. He takes Zenko to school so Badd can heal, he meets Madame Oshitani, he asks Badd how he’s feeling and offers his ear when it’s clear something’s bothering him. 

Badd is very intentional about how he goes about interacting with Garou because he knows Garou’s never had a friend like him before. Garou by contrast, does things just to be helpful and worries about being a good friend/if he’s doing it right, not realizing he’s already being a good friend.

Garou’s normally so direct and unabashed, so having this spot where he’s more self-conscious and awkward is a fun reversal. And it’s pretty canon compliant given how he interacts with Tareo.

We see them kind of switch roles later, where Garou takes the lead during their orange chicken talk.

The lyrics here have two roles: it kind of mimics how I think their canon relationship could progress like I mentioned earlier (from hate to irritation to begrudging respect and love) but also shows their unspoken fear of what could happen in HH: they blow up and each becomes a face that the other can’t forget, but can’t go back to.

It’s not a fear that has gotten addressed super directly thus far, (we see a little bit in the upcoming chapter) the closest being the non-conversation the two have about what is left unsaid.

“Roses are fallin’ for you…”

The first thing Garou noticed was how good Badd smelled. Seems his sleep addled brain hadn’t been wrong after all.

Garou is in Gay Panic™ mode here. 

I described Badd in an earlier chapter as smelling like aftershave and freesia. I wanted to give him a smell that kind of combined his classic style with something gentler, and more sweet. 

Freesia is usually a smell in women’s perfumes, but it’s one I think he’d appreciate. And I don’t see him being one to give a fuck about gendering smells.

“You…”

Badd draped his arms around Garou’s neck and averted his gaze.

Garou watched in wonder as Badd’s lashes fluttered.

Up as close as he was and borderline drunk off how good Badd’s smelled, Garou stared unabashedly at his face.

He looked so, devastatingly beautiful.

Garou staring here is kind of a callback to the conversation they have early on about Garou ogling at Badd/Badd making fun of him for it.

There’s an openness here that’s different than the last time Garou really looked at Badd. Before, he was admiring him and his power. Here, we see him taking in a more delicate side of Badd, and Badd just letting him look at him. We’re seeing him take in Badd’s lashes, and calling him beautiful. It’s a new facet of who Badd is, and a new contradiction for Garou to grapple with: powerful, yet delicate.

If you’ve ever been with someone and you’re standing next to one another and you can see them staring at you from the corner of your eye and you keep pretending to look out at something in the distance because it’s easier than making eye contact and having to sort out what that gaze means, that’s essentially what is happening here.

Badd’s aware Garou’s staring at him, and he knows why. But he’s not ready to meet his gaze yet. Especially not if Garou himself isn’t ready.

“Under your skin, over the moon…”

He prayed Badd wouldn’t look up so he could continue to look at him.

“Don’t let me in, I don't know what I’d do…”

Because if Badd did, and Garou saw what he thought he would in Badd’s eyes, it would devastate him.

This is a callback to Garou refusing to make eye contact when he’s laughing about Badd’s indignation over pigeons because he knows whatever Badd’s gaze holds will devastate him. 

Garou equally fears the two ways it will devastate him. Either he looks up, sees the warmth in his gaze, and falls for Badd, only to find out his feelings aren’t reciprocated, or his feelings are, and he’s thrust into a new landscape to navigate that leaves him vulnerable and exposed, and threatens to tear apart their friendship.

In Ch.9/What’s Left Unspoken, I originally planned on having a metaphor that kind of embodied that second fear. Garou can almost picture a strand of spider silk connecting him and Badd. Something so delicate and new, that he almost didn’t want to acknowledge it. Because doing so would cosmically shift their dynamic, and if that thread got severed, it could threaten their whole relationship. I ended up cutting it because I couldn’t get the metaphor quite right and it brought the chapter to a standstill.

“Roses are fallin’, roses from fallin’ for you…”  

Badd began to turn his head, but before their eyes could meet, Garou looked away.

“Ooh…”

Garou could feel Badd’s gaze raking over him. From the corner of his eye, he saw his lips part.

Here we’re seeing that fear controlling Garou a bit. He doesn’t know what’s in Badd’s gaze, and he thinks if he avoids it, he can avoid the change in their dynamic all together. 

But some part of him wants to know, and is screaming for him to turn his head, potential consequences be damned. 

“You know, darling, you bring out the worst in me…”

Garou steeled his nerves and looked directly at Badd.

“Sometimes when I’m around you, I feel like pure evil…”

He’d been right. The tenderness he found in Badd’s eyes devastated him.

The second song line here is...very much how Garou views himself in canon, and to a lesser extent, in this AU.

He still hasn’t forgiven himself for what he might have done, and when he sees Badd, and his gentleness, kindness and optimism despite how the world has treated him and Zenko, it makes him question hero-dom more than he already does.

And we’re seeing Garou discover what is in Badd’s eyes. Garou has a harder time reading Badd than Badd does reading him, so what he finds in Badd’s eyes is unreadable to him, hence why the statement is left vague in terms of what he finds there.

“I guess they say nobody's perfect…”

Badd’s gaze flicked down to Garou’s lips.

“But they’ve never met a devil like you…”

The lyrics here feel spot on, especially to end the muscial interlude to. Garou knows Badd isn’t perfect and vise versa, but they still accept one another. The lyrics kind of foreshadow Badd and Garou’s heart to heart about why they think they’re bad people. 

Badd’s action here are really what solidify Garou’s understanding of what he’s seeing in Badd’s eyes. 

Before he realized what he was doing, Garou was leaning in, closing the small gap between them.

And when he sees the warmth there, and knows his feelings are reciprocated, he leans in, more intentionally taking the role of the initiator for the first time.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Biting Off More Than You Can Chew; part 9

Summary: Rus knew a confrontation was coming. He just didn't expect it like this.

Note: Wow, I am really sorry it took me so long to update this one. 

Tags: heatfic, dubious consent, NSFW, frenemies to lovers, mates, first time, more if I think of them

PLEASE READ THE TAGS: This is a Heat story, so there are going to be issues of consent. I don’t do partner rape, nope, but hey, I want to be straight with y’all. I like heatfics personally, but I understand how they can be troubling for some people. So there it is.

Read Chapter 1

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Read Chapter 9 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

So it turned out Edge did deserve some credit. Despite being dumped on his own in Underswap where to him all the paths would seem backwards and wrongways, he didn’t do too bad getting back to Snowdin.

Not that Rus let him get too far out of sight. Better to not leave any of the Underfell crowd alone in his ‘verse, right? Edge probably wasn’t going to start any weekend massacres or anything, but it was always good to make sure nothing happened to make Monday morning coffee a little awkward at Muffet’s.

So instead of taking a direct shortcut home, instead he took shorter ones, keeping just ahead of Edge. Besides, even if Edge didn’t know the path, the hints of cigarette smoke that Rus left behind were probably as good as a map, anyway. Not the most conventional puzzle clue, but hey. Rus was a unique guy, gotta love it.

Rus was leaning against the garage, finishing up a last cigarette when Edge finally stalked back into town. He looked irritated, but if the last few hours taught Rus anything, it was that his expression didn’t always jive with what Edge was feeling.

"not bad, edgelord,” Rus called, “you made it back without—" killing anyone, Rus bit off. If they were stuck being bonded together, toning it down on being a complete dick was probably a good starting move, "—getting lost," Rus finished, lamely.

Somehow, he didn't think Edge was completely fooled by the bait and switch. "Thank you, I live for your middling approval. Knowing that I have your respect makes all the effort worthwhile.”

“i’m good for all kinds of middle-ing,” Rus gave him a wink and an upraised middle finger, softening it with a grin. The glare he got in return was no birthday surprise but—

Okay, Edge’s brick wall metaphor worked pretty well for keeping their emotions from butting together, but it was obvious they weren't entirely pros at this whole blocking off the bond thing. A ghostly brush of amusement that wasn’t his own slithered over Rus before vanishing.

Oh.

Edge thought he was funny. In spite of that face of his that always seemed stuck in constipated disapproval, beneath it, Edge actually thought he was funny. It was an uncomfortable realization, made Rus play back a dozen other interactions where he took Edge's remarks as sarcasm and yeah, they were, but not the sarcasm he thought, tainted with dislike and irritation. It was playful sarcasm, the funtimes sarcasm that Sans and Rus both wielded like weapons experts and Red—

Nope, Red was banned from the physical and mental today.

That faint pulse of amusement was turning Rus’s world on its head and Edge was staring at him with narrowed sockets. What was he feeling, Rus wondered, wildly, what emotions was Rus sending his way, because Edge told him the morning after over pancakes that he’d never hated Rus. Somehow, that hadn't gotten around to translating into Rus’s head that maybe Edge liked him, a little, and fuck, fuck, did he know that Rus was trying not to think about kissing him? That he was remembering the heat of Edge’s mouth when he’d fitted his teeth into the healing bite mark on Rus’s collarbone, which suddenly decided now was its chance to start throbbing. The temptation was growing despite Rus trying desperately to plant a mental brick on top of it.

Did he take a step closer or did Edge? Rus wasn't even sure. His cigarette dropped from his hand into the snow and Rus barely heard the hiss as it extinguished.

He was looking at Edge’s mouth and was certainly not thinking at all of the way he’d used it in their shared shower, the unexpected skill of his tongue, he wasn’t, he fucking wasn’t, and Rus didn’t even comprehend the soft ‘ting’ of Edge’s soul turning blue until he was yanked backwards and thrown to the ground. He whipped his head around to see Blue standing with his hand outstretched, his starry eyes blazing with blue-yellow flames. “What the hell did you do to my brother!”

Rus didn’t think. Everything was on automatic as he called on his own magic, flooding with more power than he normally accessed for simple shortcuts as he extended his control hand and pushed. His brother flew back, bouncing off the porch steps with enough force to knock a couple points off his HP.

Snow fell off him in clumps as Blue sat up, his expression twisting between hurt and shock. "Papy?"

Oh, fuck. What had he done, he’d never, never hurt his brother, oh, god, oh, fuck, he--

"okay, that's enough!"

He felt the hard rush of magic enveloping his own soul, the ridiculously cheery chime of it changing blue. It was the only warning he got before Rus was sent sprawling in the snow, cold wetness seeping into his sweatshirt and pants. With an effort, Rus lifted his head from the ground to see Blue and Edge both equally pinned.

To his shock, it was Sans holding them down, one eye socket blazing yellow-blue. His brother stood anxiously next to him, wringing his hands as Sans made his slow way down the stairs, uncaring at the slush dampening his slippers as he walked over to Rus.

"you all right?" Sans asked Rus bluntly.

"me?” Rus sputtered, “of course i’m all right, why the hell--“

Sans interrupted him, his normal laconic speech crisped into sharp syllables. It reminded Rus of…of someone, he wasn’t sure who— “because the three of us just got a hellava treat listening through a locked door while you begged him not to touch you, and when we broke in, you were both gone. no offense, edgelord, but that didn't seem like the world’s friendliest chat going on."

"None taken," Edge said calmly, for all the world like they were having a debate over the dining room table and he wasn't pinned down in the wet snow. "We can explain."

Rus flinched, because they could, but he didn't want to, he didn't, fuck, it was no one else's business. To his relief, he and Sans were in agreement.

"don't need an explanation,” Sans said. The sharpness in his words faded with the strobing light in his socket. “whatever is between you two is on you. just wanted to make sure no one was hurt." He let his hand drop and the pressure on Rus’s soul eased. “now, i wanna watch a movie. you all can come along when you’re ready. c’mon, pap.”

He shuffled his way into the house, Papyrus at his heels and whatever furious, too-loud whispers he was directing at his brother were drowned out by the dull roar in Rus’s head as he looked over to where Blue was laying.

Rus scrambled up and stumbled over to his brother who was slowly sitting up. His baby brother whom he’d never hurt, never, spent years putting band aids on his scraped knees, worked three jobs until he’d been able to get them a house. Those starry eyes always looked at him trustingly, always, and Rus fell to his knees next to him, reaching out and afraid to touch. “blue," Rus started brokenly, "i’m so--"

He broke off when Blue flung himself into his arms, holding him tightly enough to make his breath whoosh out. "Papy! I was so worried!"

"i'm sorry, bro," Rus wheezed, hugged him just as tightly even as his ribs groaned a protest.

He heard the crunch of snow next to them and ducked his head lower, burying his face into Blue’s scarf. Not even a week bonded, and it was already fucking with his head enough that he’d hurt his brother. He needed to get a handle on this, now, and it was pretty obvious that Edge being in his general vicinity wasn’t helping.

A raw little sound escaped from Rus as Blue let go, trying to squirm free and reluctantly, Rus let him. Standing, his brother was barely taller than Rus was kneeling down, but he looked up over Rus’s head with uncommon solemnness.

"I'm sorry, Edge," Blue said quietly.

"No apologies are necessary.” That rough voice, directly behind him, and Rus viciously suppressed a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold snow he was kneeling in. "You were worried for your brother, of course you'd want to protect him.”

Despite his sincere attempts not to think of Red, a pang went through Rus, mostly his, but maybe not all. Protecting his brother, yeah, and Red was a fucker and a half, but—

More snow crunching, moving away and Rus heard the click of the front door, leaving him alone with his brother.

Lifting his head to look at Blue was the hardest thing Rus had ever done. But his eye lights were as starry as ever, filled with that same trust. Not that Rus deserved it, never had, but even less so now. “bro, i’m so sorry.”

Blue only waved it off, unconcerned that his older brother just fucking attacked him like some New Home street thug. “Don’t be silly, Alphys does worse than that when she tells me good morning.”

Too forgiving, by far, always, but damn if Rus wasn’t selfish enough to take it. He nodded, letting out a shaky sigh, “i'm sorry if we worried you.”

Now that he wasn’t all torn up by his feeble attempt at fratricide, what Sans said was starting to come in a little clearer. No wonder Edge let them all off so easy; if Rus had been on the other side of the door listening to Blue begging someone not to touch him, they’d be picking splinters out of the kitchen cupboards for a month.

A gloved hand cupped the side of Rus’s face he leaned into it, shamelessly basking in his brother’s affection. “Papy, what’s going on?”

“i—" Rus hesitated, swallowing hard. How could he explain any part of this to his brother? He’d never hidden his sexual proclivities, neither proud nor ashamed of them, and Blue never judged. The worst he’d ever gotten was exasperated when Rus was late because he’d accidentally slept over. But how could he look into his brother’s trusting, starry eyes and explain this clusterfuck? But he couldn’t say nothing, either.

Okay, then, evasive maneuvers. “can we talk about it later?”

Gentle as his brother was, there was some steel in his spine and right now it was working as a poker in his ass. That expression was pure determination, even as Blue nodded. He was getting a pass, for now, but it wouldn’t last forever, and Rus was going to have to either come clean or work out a new bedtime story that Blue might buy.

Welp, that was a problem for Tomorrow Rus. Today Rus pulled his brother in for another hug, one that Blue happily returned…for a moment.

"Phew!" Blue pushed him away, and his expression was one of almost comical dismay. "You stink, brother, when was the last time you took shower?"

Wow, rude. “i took a shower this morning! i’m clean as a freshly washed bar of soap.” Rus tugged up the front of his sweatshirt and gave it a good sniff. Didn’t smell weird to him, but then, he spent all day stewing in his odors, so he probably wouldn’t notice. "probably my hoodie, must've picked it from the wrong laundry pile."

“Go change,” Blue scolded, giving him a gentle shove even as he waved a hand in front of his face. “Do you want to finish the movie? You can go take a nap if you’d rather, I can tell the others you’re tired.”

“bro, you are a bonafide living angel,” Rus said, and that was nothing but frank honesty.

Blue huffed out a laugh and gave him another playful shove. “Go on, then, I’ll bring you up a plate later.”

“thanks, bro,” Rus scrambled to his feet, dripping snow as he dropped a kiss on top of Blue’s skull and stepped back, shortcutting up to his room. He stripped off his wet clothes and left them in a pile, not bothering to replace them as he collapsed bare bones onto the mattress, already halfway to an exhausted dreamland.

The blanket stayed in a crumpled ball at his feet, unused. Maybe he needed to check on their thermostat, Rus decided, already more asleep than not. Cheap fucking thing might be broken again, because it felt like it was set too high. The house seemed kinda hot.

~~*~~

tbc

[medakakurokami]

41st plat trophy

finally beat and simultaneously got the plat for, Blue Reflection. this is the first Gust RPG i’ve beaten though not the first i’ve played. I actually got a lot to say about it, its a game that has a lot of potential and it doesn’t exactly waste that potential but overall the game does feel undercooked. I know Gust releases like 2 games a year so i imagine development time for each may be scant, so I do hope this game gets a sequel where they can work off the foundation from this one.

If you don’t know about this game its a Persona style life sim JRPG except instead of the lead of a harem monster summoning anime you’re the heroine of a shoujo ai magical girl action anime. That alone basically sold the game to me. It’s probably the prettiest non-Square Enix RPG i’ve played (including a STELLAR user interface like it may be my new favorite UI in a game), as much as it could occasionally chug while loading and made my PS4 sound like a jet engine. I loved the heroine Hinako Shirai, really funny and ended up with a great arc. The story overall actually for the first several chapters its well. If you go for 100% completion like I do the story feels plodding, but if you just wanted to play this game for the main story and maybe the affection side quests for the supporting characters you like it probably would move along at a better pace. Either way the final act of the game got pretty good, almost had me crying a couple times and that was unexpected. But for most of the elements of this game I can praise they are also in someways under developed or with short comings. Great combat system in place, but underutilized a bit in the actual battles (there’s like AoE attacks and Damage All attacks but the enemies are never spaced out enough that any AoE attack doesn’t hit all of them?) and a decent character progression system, I love how you level up and create a build but there’s very little room for customization. It’s really nice and cute and fun playing a shoujo life sim thing, the texting conversations are probably my favorite of any game that’s implemented that, there’s a tamagotchi thing, you go on dates with the other girls, there’s details in interaction that flesh out Shirai’s character (she will go talk to someone in her class and their name will be ‘Tama.... something?’ as if she can’t remember their name stuff like that), but again there’s plenty to poke at there. There’s a frequent undercurrent of fanservice (nothing too too offensive but I was shocked this game had a T rating) and there’s not like a huge life sim world to chew on. The only area in the overworld you can walk around is the school, and its large and nicely detailed and pretty but whenever you go on dates its just a VN style scene with a pre-rendered backdrop that looks awkward, and the only things you can do at home are prepare for tomorrow for a stat bonus or potential extra scene with your friends, take a bath for Shirai’s current thoughts and some sweet sweet T rated partial nudity, or just go directly to sleep.

I could keep going like i said i got a lot to say about this game. I LOVE the idea and a lot of the execution but yeah it just feels like it only got halfway there. If the idea of a Life sim JRPG as a magical girl is enough to get you vehemently interested despite some of these shortcomings listed, I recommend it easily. If not, don’t worry about. I will say it has me more excited for Atelier Ryza (beyond thighs and fanservice) just for the next cute, feelgood JRPG that’s immensely pretty.

[svtskneecaps]

Where is Your God Now

Ok the title was meant to be a placeholder but here we are.

Vernon x reader ish

man idfk i was tired

i didn’t mean for this to be a chaotic fic, but with the narration style i picked for this it honestly might as well be

Warnings: nerf guns, words that would make a grandma run for her soap, jokes that probably have no place in the house of God, calling a game of capture the flag a war the whole damn time and two awkward high schoolers.

Words: a lot (2801 i wasted more words in less time on this than i did on my essay oh my god)

Main Masterlist

So usually you weren’t really one for the whole ‘youth group’ thing. Sure, you came, you cracked open your Bible, you spouted answers you didn’t truly mean simply because they sounded right, and you kind of wished you could go home. Even the cute boy that sat in the row behind you couldn’t make you more interested in being there.

But there was one thing you enjoyed about youth group, and that was the annual youth group lock in, where people spent the night in the church, got either Chinese food, Little Caesars, or Joe’s BBQ from the mom and pop shop across the street from the church, and were allowed to crawl into cupboards and on the floor of the sanctuary and use the supplies in the church left over and either almost unusable or reusable from the fundraisers they’d held since they’d cleaned out the storage room last.

Which was how you found yourself crouching in the blank concrete stairwell at the back of the building at three in the morning with a nerf gun and some old face paint some kids had mixed together smeared under your eyes, waiting for your attack team’s scout to return.

You took capture the flag very seriously.

The door at the top of the stairwell opened slightly and Chan slid in. The freshman had taken to the strange lock in antics like a fish to water, with only minimal complaining. Mostly he was glad Jeonghan was on the other team. The senior had the tendency to baby him.

“How’re we looking?” the strategist of your group, a senior called Wonwoo, asked.

“They’ve got their flag in the sanctuary.” Chan hunched down with his nerf gun cocked. “Five guards, three watching the doors, one watching the flag.”

“Where’s the flag specifically?”

“Up in the the choir alcove.”

“There’s a back entrance in the alcove,” Jihoon said from where he was watching the door at the bottom of the stairwell. “I’ve used it for choir before. Was anyone watching it?”

“No, just the front entrance.”

“Okay so here’s the plan.” They clumped closer to hear Wonwoo. “We’ll have some people go in the front and start warfare. Meanwhile, one or two people sneak in through the back entrance and get the flag back to base unnoticed.”

“Okay we’re gonna need more than four people though,” you said.

“We’ll grab a couple allies.” Wonwoo said it like it was obvious. You guessed it kind of was. “You and Jihoon keep watch for now, we’ll be back.”

You’d thought maybe it’d be awkward, waiting in a dark stairwell with an upperclassman you really didn’t know all that well, but it wasn’t. Somehow. Wonwoo and Chan were back soon enough, with Mingyu and Seokmin. You split into two teams, with yourself and Jihoon going ‘behind the curtain’ as it were, sneaking around the back. You glanced around the corner, peering between the legs of the chair with your dark hood pulled up to hide your face.

Just your luck; the cute one was watching the flag. And he might’ve seen you. Oh no.

Shouting erupted at the other end of the sanctuary, echoing off the high ceiling. You’d never heard it ring with anything but hymns. It was an experience, to say the least, especially because Soonyoung’s battle strategy was to throw himself bodily at the enemy while screeching at the top of his lungs, but you didn’t have time to think too much about it, throwing yourself forward to crawl under the seats towards the flag. The chaos distracted the cute one (you didn’t actually know his name; you were a little too intimidated to talk to him) and you snatched their brightly colored flag from the chair and frantically backing up. It was harder than you thought

The chair screeched louder than the baby with the dumbbell in that vine you’d seen the other week.

You froze. He turned.

Nerf bullets began flying around you. Evidently Jihoon had jumped out of hiding and begun shooting. You heard the cute one bounding up the choir risers as Jihoon thundered down the other side. Game rules said you had to get tagged to get out, no matter how many nerf bullets you got hit with, although they stung like a bitch sometimes so you weren’t eager to get hit by any. You tried to stay as still as possible as they leapt off to sprint around the sanctuary. You had one priority and that was to get this obnoxiously colored bandana back to the first grade sunday school classroom.

Which was surprisingly easy, actually, after Jihoon’s brilliant (if unexpected) sacrifice play. You were through the choir door in a second, using the back stairs again and at your base even before the battle was won. The youth leader who’d chosen to place their bets on your team texted the other leader, and that was it. The round was over.

But the war became the least of your worries, because in the thrill of victory you’d forgotten that the youth leaders each got to choose one person to switch teams. And from the little whispers and the side looks from the other team’s huddle, you had an idea of their pick.

Your team ended up picking a linebacker looking Junior whose name you’d sadly missed when you were deciding, since you were a little bit distracted by the other huddle. And in the end it didn’t matter that you didn’t know the Junior’s name because the other leader stood up, smirked, squared his shoulders and called your name.

Just your luck; now you’re on a team with the cute one. Hurrah. At least you might learn his name now.

Your new teammates huddled in the sanctuary, talking strategy. You did your best to avoid looking at the cute one at all costs. The war was more important than your hopeless crush.

“I think now we’ve built our allies enough to make a stealth attack.” Seungcheol, it seemed, was their strategist. “So what I think is we send Y/N and Vernon to steal their flag as we create a diversion.”

That seemed simple. You’d just successfully completed an attack like that. You weren’t sure who Vernon was. You were just hoping he wasn’t an asshole.

“We should send out a team to see where they put their flag first, though,” Minghao suggested with a thoughtful frown.

“I think that might be too big a risk.” Soonyoung tapped his nerf gun against his leg. “We don’t want them to know we know or they might move the flag and we’d be back to square one, and then they’d get time to steal ours.”

You glanced at the flag, a neon orange bandana tied around the head of the life sized plastic Jesus left in storage from the Christmas decorations. Soonyoung had insisted that it would be less conspicuous there. You weren’t so sure about that. It just made Jesus look like a biker. Or a fashion disaster.

“You have to think like the enemy.” It took you a minute to remember the long haired Senior’s name (Jeonghan). “What was their strategy?”

Heads turned to you. Oh right. You’d forgotten you were a reformed enemy. You shifted under the eyes. “Well, we split into two groups, one based on defense and one on offense, and the offense group split to do some recon, because two people are less conspicuous than five. Once we’d done recon we planned and launched the attack, two people to grab the flag and one to create a diversion.”

“That’s a good plan.” Soonyoung nodded. Minghao rubbed his forehead like he had a headache.

“So the question then is, who’s going on the scouting team?” Seungcheol asked.

“I think Y/N, and someone else.” Joshua hummed slightly as he thought. You only really knew him because he sang in service sometimes. “Y/N because they know about where the team set up base last round.”

“I think Joshua,” the cute one said. Wow. He had a nice voice.

“I was actually thinking you.” The elder smiled a little. “You’re much better at acting casual than I am.”

He had to be kidding. Your plan was to work as a team with the one guy you find attractive to the point of anxiety to infiltrate the other team’s floor by acting casual?

You were dead.

“But Jeonghan’s better at lying,” the cute one protested.

“He’s also more recognizable. Not that you aren’t. Recognizable, I mean. But in the dark, it’s easier to see that Jeonghan’s not on their team.”

He was right, the Jesus hair was kind of a dead giveaway. You didn’t realize you’d stated your thought out loud until they laughed. Oops. At least they found it funny, and not blasphemous. Curse your terrible humor and poor filter.

“See, even the enemy agrees.” Jeonghan indicated you as he spoke. The cute one blushed. He was even cuter when he blushed. That shouldn’t be possible. You called bullshit.

“Okay, I guess we’ll go. If Y/N’s okay with that.”

If you were okay with that? Or maybe you wanted to stress a different syllable. If you were okay with that? You felt nauseous even being this close and you didn’t even have to interact with the kid yet. “Of course,” you said. God fucking damnit, you were dead weren’t you. Curse his handsome face and your inability to say no.

And now you’re back in that blank, dark stairwell with the kid who’s so attractive he gives you anxiety to infiltrate an enemy fortress in the middle of a war and you don’t even know the kid’s name.

Okay maybe you were exaggerating the stakes a little more than a little, but that was how it felt.

“Where did you guys set up shop last round?”

Oh right, war.

“In the first grade classrooms.” You had your pistol out as you approached the door at the bottom (it wouldn’t do much, but it was comforting). You checked the hallway with the Pre-K classrooms, then surveyed him for a quick second. “You need face paint. I hope you’re not allergic?”

“No.”

And now you’re both in the Pre-K classroom as he smudges face paint lines under his eyes.

How the hell did this happen again?

“Um- sorry, but I don’t know your name.” You were seriously considering packing your things and fleeing the country but somehow you managed to ask the question you really wanted the answer to.

“Oh, it’s Vernon.”

Damn, it sounded as nice as he looked.

Wait.

“Cool.” You smiled, mentally berating yourself. Cool. Seriously?

“Does that look good?” He turned to you, the face paint making it look like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

“Perfect.”

And now came the hard part. You walked down the hall, a hand on your nerf pistol listening so hard you were about to go deaf. You swore to god you were so paranoid that if he said anything you were gonna snap like a rubber band and shoot him in the face.

“There,” he whispered.

Okay so you were a dirty liar, but at least you found the flag.

They’d moved it under the main staircase, the brilliant green bandanna sitting on the windowsill. That would be too difficult to launch a stealth attack on. You weren’t sure the old strategy would work.

Actually you were sure the old strategy wouldn’t work. You weren’t getting in there undetected.

Unless...

You retreated to the sanctuary where the rest of the team was waiting. Evidently your old team had kept the same strategy because Chan was sitting in the pvc pipe construction used for the children’s puppet sermon while sunday school wasn’t in session, which your new team was using as your jail (“For extra humiliation factor.”).

“We caught him snooping around,” Seungcheol explained.

You just nodded. Vernon explained your findings, which was helpful. Now that you weren’t slinking around behind enemy lines your brain was focused right back on your crush and it wouldn’t have gone well if you’d done it. You were resisting the urge to slap yourself.

“So here’s what I’m thinking.” The attack team had moved to the nursery to plan where Chan couldn’t overhear. Seungcheol sketched the bottom floor plan in brown crayon. Jeonghan made a small dot in lime green where the flag was. You found it ironic that two Seniors were drawing serious battle plans with huge crayons. Seungcheol switched to red. “We split into teams and attack from two fronts.” He drew arrows from the hallway and the stairs, then set the crayon down to pick up an orange one, drawing another arrow from the stairs. “Then we’ll send two people in with the sole job of getting the flag.”

“Minghao has to be on the combat teams.” Soonyoung wrote the boy’s name on the edge of the sheet in purple. “They have Jun guarding. I’ll be on combat too.” He wrote his name underneath.

“Josh can grab the flag.” Seungcheol checked if it was okay before writing the boy’s name in orange.

Eventually they’d finished splitting the teams. Apparently the Almighty was trying to send you a message because you were on a combat team with Vernon. Joy of joys. At least your nervous energy was more potent than coffee. You were waiting by that damn stairwell for them to finish putting face paint on (it would confuse the other team).

“Hey.”

You shot him in the face.

Okay maybe you weren’t a dirty liar after all.

“Oh god I’m so sorry!” You would’ve dropped the nerf gun if you weren’t in the middle of a war. “You startled me!” And he’d practically ASMR whispered it in your ear.

“I guess I deserve that.” Vernon laughed, rubbing the red spot on his cheek and dislodging his crumbling face paint.

“I’m still sorry.” You shifted foot to foot, glad your painted cheeks hid your blush. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” He picked up the dart, handing it to you with a shy smile. “It’s a lucky dart now,” he joked.

Well the face paint wasn’t covering your blush anymore, you could guarantee that. Damn this kid and his sweet gesture and good joke.

“No kissing, we’re at war!” Jeonghan called down the hall.

Oh. So you were being obvious about it. Actually, that wasn’t too far fetched.

Was he blushing?

“Nobody’s kissing anybody,” he defended.

He was blushing.

Your team assembled, you, Vernon, and Minghao. Reportedly, Jeonghan was being a perfectionist about his face paint so they were going to take a little longer. You sat in the storage room just off the hallway you’d be charging out of on Seungcheol’s signal. It functioned both as craft storage and puppet storage. Gordy the off brand muppet boy hung on the hatrack turned puppet stand with his mouth hanging open and felt pupils seeming to stare right at you. He was freaky.

“Don’t worry about him.”

Was your crush a fucking mind reader?!

“Jeonghan, I mean.”

Oh. False alarm.

“He’s just trying to make me flustered,” Vernon continued. Evidently it had worked; he seemed pretty fidgety. “I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire. He only said that because he knows you’re my-” He checked himself.

If he was about to say what you thought he was going to- well you weren’t sure what you’d do. Maybe cough butterflies because there were too many in your stomach. Well, you’d gone out on enough limbs to strip a tree tonight, might as well fall out. “Do you want to get coffee sometime?”

He looked shocked. Should you backtrack? It would be tactical to backtrack.

“I’ve just- had a crush on you for a long time.” You weren’t a strategist. You didn’t know tactics. Or care about tactics. God this was going to be a firestorm. “And I really want to- um- get to know you better.”

He fished around with his mouth open long enough that you wanted to take back what you’d said, but it was too late, you’d gone too far on the damn limb. Now you were just waiting for it to snap.

“I’d like that.”

Oh.

You couldn’t stop smiling, and it didn’t seem like he could either. Minghao groaned, snapping you back.

“Are you done? We’re kind of on an important mission.”

“Is Jeonghan done?”

“Yes, now stop being lovey dovey.”

Your new team may have won the round, but you’d won a battle of your own, ending a two year war you’d been having with yourself. For a second, it felt like capture the flag wasn’t important.

And then you were back in game mode. This was war, dammit, but now you had a new ally.

and less anxiety.