#oh yeah baldi himself is in this uh

[cosmicnyan]

"THAT INVISIBLE MAN WILL BE THE DIVISIBLE MAN WHEN IM DONE WITH HIM, ILL CUT HIS ASS INTO FRACTIONS"

[thicksimpx]

❦ ❦ - Alexis & Saitama (late but happy birthday bitch 😂🤎 @luffysthickwaifu )

Alexis and Saitama have a lazy weekend- what better way to start the morning than to take a scroll down memory lane🌚

Warnings : as always my content is 18+ Idek why I have to say it😐 , mature content, mature language ,mentions of stalking and obsession, drunk sex , attempted breeding, established relationship

“Hey” Alexis rolls over to lay on Saitama chest. “Remember how we met?”

“Yeah” he pulls her closer.

“I never thought I would meet my crush in person- let alone be lying in bed with them every night. Maybe fate is real”

“Yeah.. fate” he trails off thinking back to that faithful day.

—

“Uuuuahhah- “Saitama hears a hearty gasp behind him. Ignoring it obviously, it’s someone else’s problem he was just here to get his onigiri and go home.

“Yes bitch! It is him. I know his head from anywhere oh my god” he hears the woman try to whisper behind him. “No, I’m not going to say anything, I need to get the fuck up out of her- fine fine”

“Excuse me” he sighs feeling a tap on his shoulder. “You’re the capped baldy right?”

Turning around to face the unknown woman, his eyes widen. He wasn’t expecting to see a grown woman, let alone one so beautiful. Her golden skin shinning, almost glistening in the dimly lit store from the setting Sun peeking through the glass windows.

“Uh - please call me Saitama” he says placing a hand on the back of his neck.

“Okay.. Saitama” she smiles brightly, he flinched, his heart started beating hard- was he dying?

. “I never expected to run into you here or anywhere actually, you’re so fine- I. My bad.” She pauses. “I’m Alexis, just a big fan of yours. Mind if I take a picture to show my friend it was really you?”

“I gue- “before he could fully respond she snapped the pictures and immediately went on her phone mumbling to herself. ‘Nai is going to scream- I met my man ahah bitch’

Her man? Like as in we’re dating. “Um excuse me- Alexis?”

“Oop sorry! I didn’t mean for you to hear that. Don’t take me seriously. I know you’re not my man- it’s just that’s what I call men I lik- you know what never mind. I’m sure you have better things to be doing” she waves her hands brushing past him to the self-checkout to pay for her things- headache medicine and some water.

Zoned out, Saitama just watched as she checked out and left the store, ‘she said she likes me’ he mumbles quickly throwing some coins on the counter, grabbing his bag, and carefully following her.

‘I’m a hero, a-and it’s dangerous out here. it’s okay to make sure she gets home safe right? He reasoned with himself about why there was no harm in his actions. As he follows her thick frame, he couldn’t help but admire her backside, he made up scenarios - what would happen if I saved her right now? Would she hug me? Would I get to touch her? ‘

“Saitama?” He hears her call out to him. Shit play it cool.

“Hey! Alexis right?” He asks tilting his head

“Yup! I would’ve never thought you lived around this way, maybe I’ll see you more often” she giggles entering her building “get home safe well I don’t need to tell you that right “he watches as her laugh and body fades with the closing door.

“More often?” He questions himself turning on his heals back into the direction of the store. ‘Genos must be worried.’ He sighs look up at the sky. Today was a good day for once.

——

He laid there listening to her talk about how they met and how fate must be real based all the moments they ran into each other. “Some higher being wanting them together” is what she called it. But - little did she know…

Every day following that, Saitama found ways to run into Alexis, whether it was at the store the met- to which he learned she visited every day after work. Or if it was on the walk home from the store where he feigned coming from a different direction. Until it came to a point where she opened to him- she talked to him like they were friends- she called him her man so he didn’t understand why he would see other men coming over he place when he hung on the roof at night.

He didn’t understand why she would need to vent and want comfort from him when they would disappear and not call after their night together. Why couldn’t she just want him? Like she said? He removed everyone that wasn’t him- what was taking so long? Did she lie?

—-

“Remember that night you got drunk and called me?” He asks laughing lowly.

“Yes, please don’t remind me! you know I’m not a drinker.”

“Well, it was a good night for me” he shrugs

“I bet” she says sitting up and getting out of bed “come on let get something coffee”

—-

It was a good night - even though Alexis had called him seemingly drunk out of her mind beginning for him to pick her up while also screaming “I know the capped baldy; he will fuck all of y’all up” to the people in her background.

He picked her up and took her home, she asked him to stay- promising she’ll sober up after a shower. Leaving him alone he took the chance to finally explore her apartment, slowly making his way to her bedroom.

“Sai— “Alexis calls from the doorway of her room eying his hands on the handles of her underwear draw.

“I-uh” he stumbles over his words not knowing how to escape the situation. Instead, Alexis does it for him, dropping the towel and trailing over to him. His eyes were glued to her, body still dripping wet from the shower, her curls sticking to her face and her glossy brown eyes burning a hole through his forehead.

“Shut up and get on the bed” she says seductively pushing him back until he falls over on the bed. “Oh, I forgot to tell you- no outside clothes on my bed” in stiff motions he hand his pants around his ankles and was straddling his lap tugging his hoodie over his head. Throwing it into the corner she smashed her lips onto his, “tell me if you don’t want this and I’ll stop right now”

Breathlessly, Saitama smashes his lips back together flipping them over, tugging his dick through the hole on his briefs, and sinking into her cunt.

To them, What felt like hours of him pounding into her, was only minutes. He hasn’t had sex in so long he came in 20 minutes, fill her cunt to the brim with her clenching so tight around him he thought his dick would break.

Standing to kick off his briefs, preparing for round two, he hears light snoring. Alexis fell asleep immediately after - he didn’t know if he should be insulted or proud. He threw a blanket over her and laid on the floor Next to her bed until the next morning - hopefully she doesn’t regret it

“SAITAMA!!” Alexis screams waking him to what could only be a nightmare, so he pulls the banker over him and pretends to sleep, maybe she’ll go away. “get your ass up” she yells kicking him and snatching the blanket clean off his body.

“Oh, hey good morning” he fakes a yawn and a stretch.

“Did you nut in me last night?!”

“You remember” he smiles lovingly

“Yes I remember Dumbass”

“I promise to take care of our baby” he sits up on his knees bowing.

“there's no baby dummy, I was just asking. but don’t do that shit again”

Lifting his head, he smiles and nods - watching Alexis as her ass giggles out the room knocking over a cup on the desk by the door. Knowing full and well he was going to do it again, anything to keep her by his side, she belonged to him now.

—-

snapping out of his thoughts he realized what she said and immediately throws the covers and jumps out of bed running behind her. “No coffee isn’t good for the baby”

“What fucking baby? Why do you keep saying that? Boy come on and stop playing”

[velveticamoon]

AOT : HOLIDAY HEADCANONS

these totally weren’t supposed to go up yesterday ahaha- 

P.S: this is my first writing post!! i thought it would be an easier transition by writing hc’s, and i got my friend saniya (@bokesaniyaboke) to help me out with writing them, so i hope y’all enjoy :) (enjoy our 2 am chaos-)

i have more writing planned for the future too, and decided that i’ll be writing for: 

- attack on titan

- bungou stray dogs 

- free!

- fugou keiji: balance unlimited. 

don’t be shy to send in your requests, i’m more than happy to do them ;) 

anyways, i hope you guys enjoy, let me know if you want more! and to those of you that celebrated, hope you had a merry Christmas :) 

LEVI

Decorating the house with him!! Except he’d be trying to get out of doing it at first lol

He’d be pissed about the mess that would come with decorating the house 

But if you keep pestering him enough he’ll eventually give in lol 

He’d be very meticulous about which decorations go where, but you’re just gonna have to put up with that 

Pls don’t complain too much, he really wouldn’t be doing it with anyone else 

(in the words of saniya: “ur the only exception be happy about that)

Idk why but i feel like he’d be really good at hanging up the lights?? With the placement and whatnot? 

He probably has a very keen aesthetic eye i feel like (saniya: “pinterest but as a person vibes”)  

At the end of it, while y’all are sitting on the couch drinking some tea, he quietly mumbles how he likes the work you two did 

But you felt like teasing him and he got all huffy and said it louder, obviously calling you a brat right after cuz why wouldn’t he 

EREN 

Ask him to make gingerbread houses!! pls he’d be so excited about it 

He’d even go to the store himself and get all the supplies on his way home and you both wouldn’t waste a minute to start a baby

Look he’d start getting competitive (pls we all know how he is) and would turn it into a competition so be prepared for that lol 

But when his gingerbread house falls over he starts getting angry

Proceeds to drive to the company’s factory to break it down in his titan form (there’s no stopping him now) 

Gets Armin to join him and they smash the houses in their titan forms together LMFAOFNDND PLEASE IM WHEEZING- 

But for real, he’d probably get pouty, and turn into a whiny baby

Don’t call him out on it though he’ll just get even worse lol  

Shower him with kisses right after and he’ll be blushy but he’s fine dw about it 

He’ll get over himself eventually and then proceed to ask with a boyish grin on his face if you wanna give up and just eat the houses as they are 

Y’all end up with stomach aches but it’s fine he makes it a little more bearable :))

MIKASA 

Making ornaments (pls it’d be so cutenjdjn)

Saniya: “she would stab me with an ornament and i’d say thank you” 

Comfortable silence with a little chatter here and there

Every now and then she rests her head on your shoulder (softie) 

Just like Armin, getting super flustered and blushy when you compliment her 

She helps hang the ornaments onto the tree and the tree turns out to look so pretty

Would take your hand and sit the two of you on the couch and just admire the tree in silence 

It’s so comforting you slowly feel like you’re about to fall asleep 

Make her some hot chocolate pls all she really wants is to cherish this atmosphere the two of you have created, all huddled up on the couch together 

She’d totally fall asleep cause the girl’s always working in overdrive pls does she even sleep-

Make sure she’s warm alright?? If u don’t i’ll stab you ;)

JEAN 

Watches hallmark movies with you, only to make fun of them (romance at it’s finest amirite) 

Popcorn fights while watching them 

Will get mad when you see a horse and say “look it’s you horse face” 

He says the dumbest pick up lines during the movie as an attempt to impress you 

“hey y/n, can i have your picture so i can show santa what i want for christmas?” 

“jean, we’re literally dating-” 

Something romantic will happen in the movie and Jean will continuously ask you to recreate that scene. “y/n can we-“ “if your about to ask me if you can spin me whilst ice skating, then no” “aw :(“ 

Oh to be spun by jean while ice skating- but that’s not the point 

Wrap him up in a blanket while watching the movies, he’ll melt 

Call him out on it and he’ll turn into ereh 2.0 (aka another whiny baby) 

Jkjk but he’ll definitely try to deny it cuz u know he’s a “biG oL maNLy maN” but he’s a softie ;)

ARMIN 

Making holiday cards with him 

When you bring up the idea his face lights up instantly it’s the cutest thing omg

I can see him bringing his own supplies to help with getting started

Envelopes, letter paper, markers. Hell, he’ll show up with glitter markers (those things are god-tier istg-)

he gets super flustered and red when you compliment his card

SUCH A CREATIVE BOI

If you mess up on your card he’s totally gonna be there to cheer you up!!

“Hey don’t worry, you can just start on a new one :D”

He probably won’t ask but he lowkey wants the card you messed up on cuz he thinks it’s cute

Makes cards for everyone and then takes you with him to deliver them

Would be really shy at the post office cuz he’s never done this before 

*cue you falling even more head over heels for him because he’s just so?? endearing?? it’s insane??*

Eventually, he gets the hang of it and ends up having a really fun time :D

Let him be the one to place the stamps on the envelopes, it’s ~therapeutic~ for him 

Overall, he’s probably the best person if you wanna use this as a healing opportunity tbh, the entire day is just filled with the calmest atmosphere one could wish for, and the smiles never leave your faces, even after you’ve finished

CONNIE 

Snowball fights w/ our resident baldy jKJKJK

Pls you wouldn’t even plan for it to happen 

It just kinda,, did,, 

Y’all we’re walking through the park, on your way back from lunch or something 

But you decided to make a pit-stop at the park cuz you saw an ice cream truck (do y’all know how rare those are in winter?? I’d be running to get to it pls i have no self-control) 

Anyways, other ppl had the same idea, so now y’all were standing in line waiting 

As he was looking around, his eyes landed on some other kids throwing snowballs at each other, and ideas started forming in his head uh oh-

And there just so happened to be a pile of snow right next to his feet- 

Y’all can probably guess what happened- 

“Hey y/n” “yeah-?” *throws it right at your face* 

And so the war begins 

Two words: S N O W  F O R T S. pls ppl would be concerned as they walked by and saw y’all just trying to fucking PUMMEL each other (sounds like fun tho i wanna do it now :( haven’t done it in years pls-) 

But you have to stop it before one of you gets hypothermia considering how long y’all have been going at it 

Anyways, he’ll buy you a hot chocolate to make up for making you frozen to the bone dw :)

SASHA 

Popcorn and cranberry garland 

Look away for one second and the popcorn is gone but you don’t really mind

Make sure to bring a second batch of the popcorn because the first one WILL be gone 

(maybe even a third stashed away-)

She’s really excited about it tho!! But didn’t expect it to take so long omg 

I imagine her to be really clumsy while making them, so pull a move straight out of a cheesy romance movie and help her out while holding her hands ;) 

She probably won’t notice what’s going on for a good minute tho 

Pls be patient she’s doing her best 😔🤚🏻

But once she does she has the cutest blush on her face pls (i just love her a lot can y’all tell-) 

She’ll eventually get the hang of it and you both make really pretty garlands!!

She suggests hanging it up in the bathroom as a snack pls-

HANJI 

Caroling with them omfg- 

It’s gonna be chaotic

The neighbors hate y’all but its fine 

Look man if ur like me and can’t handle people being loud all the time bring earplugs cuz it’s gonna get L O U D

But if you tell them that their screeching is giving you a headache they’ll absolutely tone it down!!

But don’t be surprised when they inevitably forget about that-

But if you're more energetic than I am then have at it ;) 

Pls me and my lazy ass could never handle that- 

Anyways when y’all reach the houses where they refuse to open the door?? Hanji’s breaking that shit down and hollering into their house at the top of their lungs

Ur literally gonna have to drag them away before someone calls the cops 

Moblit pls get over here and collect them I’m begging u dude-

Don’t be surprised if y’all spend the night in jail that’s just how it’s gonna be oops 

[shotofire]

Attractive Girl, Uncomfortable Stares

Tobio Kageyama x F!Reader

Overview: in which the team finds out a girl does in fact fancy Kageyama

Warnings: cursing, small mentions of anxiety and some self doubt (nothing major)

Season: not specified, but i imagine it in the season 1-2 range

-

Practice had run over time for Kageyama, which happens pretty often. Hinata would beg him for a few more sets and he’d comply. Each boy was hungry for improvement so it wouldn’t take much convincing. He’d always be sure to text you and let you know, but today he let it slip his mind.

It could only be assumed that he was caught up with his team but you still needed to make sure of his whereabouts, incase he was still planning on walking you home.

You texted and called a few times but to no avail. Kageyama had told you to never come to the gym, saying his team would eyeball you like the last women on Earth. Plus he wasn’t into the idea of them even knowing he has a girlfriend, it’d arise too many questions.

He’d already seen the way guys would check you out in the hallways, the last thing he needed was the boys he sees everyday to mention how hot his girlfriend is. But he’d never prepared you for if he didn’t answer, or didn’t let you know what was going on. So today you had to ignore his requests and make your way to the gym.

Of course you knew where it was but you’d never been inside. Swim club had been your go to since middle school, so the gym was foreign to you. The sound of yelling and balls slamming to the floor could be heard from outside the door. It seemed a bit dramatic to classify yourself as nervous but that’s exactly how you felt.

You’d never spoke to any of the members besides Kageyama, obviously, and Tsukishima. The only reason you’d conversated with him was because he was in one of your classes and asked for a pencil, but you still think it was just an excuse to talk to you.

Talking wasn’t your strong suit. You always struggled to come up with things to say to others you weren’t so comfortable with. Kageyama knew the guys would babble until you’d stare at them with a blank mind. Tanaka was a nice guy but would probably chatter too much for your liking, and would stare at you as well.

The debate to go in was still racing through your mind. Kageyama wouldn’t be upset with you if you explained your reasoning, that’s not what worried you. It was more of the fact that there were tall boys with all sorts of personalities waiting for you on the other side. Also Kiyoko’s beauty was extremely intimidating, but you had no idea that many found you as equal as her. If you knew you’d most likely finally notice all the people who stare at you as you walk by.

The grey doors infront of you flew open, and there the goddess herself stood. She nearly slammed into you not expecting anyone on the other side. “Oh i’m sorry,” she says with a soft smile, “I’ll get out of your way.” Her back is against the door now, holding it open for you. “I-um, thank you.” You stumble over your words, there was no choice now.

Smells of sweat immediately hit you in the face once you step in. The door closes behind you rather loudly, echoing through out the gym. Boys were spread out in groups of two.

You quickly spotted Kageyama by the net with his back turned to you, with a red head that you could only assume was Hinata. You’d memorized some names from your boyfriends stories.

Across the gym Nishinoya is starring at you, not that you have noticed, with his mouth ajar. Asahi hits the ball with his forearms, like they’d been doing for an hour, and the ball finds its way onto Nishinoya’s face. Panic sets over the sweet giant as his friend cries out in pain. “I’m sorry!”

Tanaka has already spotted you and made your presence know to Daichi, “Why is there a really pretty girl in our gym?” His eyes are practically lit up and he observes your figure. He takes note that the school uniform is very flattering on you. “Woah she is pretty,” Daichi says with a blush and his hand anxiously scratching the back of his head.

It had gone a bit silent, only adding to your anxiety. Your face felt hot and you just knew that the redness on your cheeks are increasing by the second.

“Uh, Kageyama?” You manage to squeak out. His head is spinning and his body follows.

Oh shit, he thinks. They’re all looking at you like they haven’t ate in a million years. He can feel his chest tighten when Tanaka is practically drooling over you. This moment shouldn’t be happening, he didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable under their gazes. They were all sweet guys, just didn’t know how to behave their hormones sometimes.

For a second he gets a little frustrated with you. He’d made it clear coming wasn’t a good idea, he was never going to hear the end of it from his team. But then he knows you’d never go against his wishes unless something were to happen, and that’s when he realizes... the dummy had forgotten to text you.

You feel yourself loosen once his expression isn’t so intimidating, the last thing you wanted to do was upset him.

“Kageyama?” Nishinoya has a sour look on his face, and his voice is laced with annoyed confusion. Why was a girl like you in here for him? There was no way in the shorties mind that grumpy Kageyama could win over someone like you. The rest of the boys are confused as well, you’d never been brought up by him. Then again, why would he? Girlfriends had never really come up in conversation, it was all about volleyball.

He rolls his eyes at Nishinoya’s words and ignores him. “I’ll be right back,” he mumbles to Hinata. Soon your boyfriend is infront of you with an apologetic smile, obviously realizing he’d done this to himself. “Sorry (y/n), I got too caught up.”

This was the first time he’d slacked in the communication department your entire relationship, so you could let it slide. “It’s okay, I just didn’t want to accidentally leave without you.” He nods in understanding.

“I’ll talk to you later, text me when you make it home, I love you.” You’re about to just say a simple I love you and go on about your day, but Kageyama surprises you. His lips press to your forehead and your eyes widen, not expecting him to do that at all. His team was being rather nosey watching the whole thing go down.

A dramatic gasp from Tanaka could be heard, of course the guy was making a big deal out of this. A blush is fast to creep onto your face, “I love you,” you say while trying to hold back the huge smile trying to pry its way through. Part of you thought he’d brush you off as a friend to all of them just to avoid the confrontation. You knew he didn’t want any of them to ask weird questions about you, which happenes more often in the girl department than you’d think.

Instead he leaned down to give you a sweet peck on your, hot from nervousness, forehead. Once he jogs back to his position from before you take that as your cue to leave. The gym already felt like it was closing in on you so withdrawing from the situation was definitely what you needed. Their eyes are just too much to bare, you hate not knowing what they’re thinking.

“Did you just kiss her?!” Hinata yells while jumping up and down. The rest of his team was already crowding around him, eyes sparkling with interest. This is exactly what he didn’t want to happen, of course they just wanted to know everything. He gets it, you’re pretty but he’s not an asshole boyfriend who spills all of your guys’ personal business.

“Yeah I kissed her, she’s my girlfriend.”

He swears his head starts ringing when gasps and shouts echo around the gymnasium. A few were even running in circles as if it’s the craziest thing they’ve ever heard in their lives. Was it really that hard to believe the guy could get a girl? It kinda hurt his feelings, but he definitely didn’t let it show.

“How the hell do you have a girlfriend and I don’t?” Tanaka, out of all people, really just asked that question. Kageyama’s face falls in annoyance as if the answer to that is obvious, which it kinda is. “Maybe cause girls see the way you drool over Kiyoko and get scared. Or maybe it’s the buzz cut.” Baldy is fuming now, but holds him self back.

“If any of you ask me a weird question i’ll serve a ball to your face.”

They leave the boy alone after that, but your face is unquestionably still racing through their minds.

[fandomness--randomness]

Nerves {Jean Kirschtein x Fem!Reader} Modern/Highschool AU!

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Jean's nervous to tell you about his feelings, but after a stressful day of nagging from his friends - he finally gets the courage to confess.

Playlist: Him and Hym (from banana fish)

Tags: @coltsbitch I hope you like it uwu

“You’re staring Jean-booooy!” Sasha teased, dragging an elbow into Jean’s ribs.

The brunette let out a grunt at the sudden intrusion and sent a glare towards the girl. “The fuck was that for?” He complained. Jean lightly shoved Sasha away as he rubbed at his now sore torso.

Sasha chuckled. Rolling her eyes as she put her head in her hands, she said, “you were staring at (Y/N). Again.” Across the table, Connie snickered into his hand.

Jean’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “No, I wasn’t. I just happened to be looking in her direction. That’s all.” Pushing away the lunch his mother had made him - which Sasha and Connie also made fun of - Jean leaned back in his chair.

Marco, the last and most sensible person of their friend group, cleared his throat. “Ah come on Jean,” he chastised, “they mean well. It’s just... well…” Marco trailed off for a second, a nervous hand coming up scratch at his freckled face. Jean raised an eyebrow at his longtime friend. “Well, you can be a bit obvious. And it hurts to watch sometimes.”

Much to the chagrin of Jean, Sasha and Connie were quick to join in once again.

“Yeah! Yeah!” Sasha exclaimed with a mouthful of fries. “We’re just trying to kick you into high gear and get you to finally ask (Y/N) out!”

Connie leaned forward onto the table. “Haven’t you been madly in love with her since you were like, what - 12?” He waved a lazy hand in the air.

A dark hue spread across Jean’s cheeks, which he quickly hid behind his hand. “Oh shut up ya baldy!” Jean yelled back. He groaned. “I’ve just known her since we were 12. As if I could fall in love with her at that age.”

Sasha let out a triumphant shriek. She practically climbed on top of the poor soccer player in her excitement. “You didn’t deny you love her!” She practically exclaimed to the entire cafeteria. Nearby tables went quiet and glanced their way.

“Shut up Sasha!” Jean retaliated, pushing her off of him. His blush had now reached far past his cheeks, decorating his ears in a pink hue.

Despite the anger radiating off of him, Sasha seemed unperturbed by her friend’s actions. Rather she seemed to get even happier. “Just go talk to her and ask her on a date already!” She said matter of factly before chomping on her slice of pizza.

Jean looked to Marco and Connie for help. As he expected, Connie agreed, saying something along the lines of finally getting with her and to stop acting like a lost puppy. But Marco! Instead of coming to his rescue, Marco simply nodded and agreed.

When the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch, Jean was the first to stand up and leave. In his anger and embarrassment he nearly forgot his lunchbox. He swiped it from Marco’s grasp without thanking him before stomping his way to his next class.

By the time he walked through the doorway of the chemistry class, his anger had dissipated and morphed into a mix of embarrassment and guilt at his actions.

“Stupid Sasha and Connie, trying to meddle in with my damn business. Damn Marco for not backing me up.” Jean grumbled as he sat on the stool.

A soft giggle to his left made him jump.

“Oh (Y/N)!” He said, his voice jumping an octave. He hadn’t even seen you as he ranted and raved under his breath.

“Hey Jean. It looks like you’ve had a bit of a rough day. Sasha and Connie being overbearing again?” You asked, moving a stray lock of hair from your face.

Jean gulped as your curious eyes stared up at him. He was always taller than most people his age, yet you made him feel like the smallest person in the world. You were - as cheesy as it was - different from the other girls in the school. At least to Jean. All the other girls at Paradis High, whether they were friends or strangers to Jean, had a level of unattainability. Some of them were for obvious reasons, such as Historia who practically had a bodyguard in the form of her butch girlfriend, but other reasons were much more transparent. Even if Jean did fantasize about bringing a girl on a date and being in a relationship - it always felt like some wacky dream.

But never with you. You always felt just a bit more physical, a bit more real to Jean. Maybe it was because of how comfortable you were with him or your constant curiosity that led to you getting into trouble that would have been easily avoidable (and sometimes dragging Jean down with you).

You were always just an arm’s distance away. A distance Jean didn’t dare cross, not at 12 years old and not at 17.

“Uh yeah, they were just getting on my ass about a girl. Marco wasn’t any help either, so I’m just a bit annoyed at them.” He finally responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

You blinked up at him for a moment before an expression of realization spread across your features like a wave. Excitedly, you grabbed onto his upper arm and pulled him down closer to you.

“Do you like a girl, Jean?!”

Jean thanked whatever mystical being out there that you had enough sense to whisper your conclusion to him, but then promptly cursed them out as you stared at him face to face. He could smell the mint you had after lunch fanning over his face.

Jean opened and closed his mouth quickly, unsure of how to respond, scared that if he spoke his voice would croak and falter.

Thankfully the chemistry teacher Dr. Hange walked in, earning everyone’s attention with a loud clap.

Letting go of Jean’s arm, you stood straight up in your chair and listened as Dr. Hange reviewed what today’s class would cover; but not before sending Jean a smirk.

Fidgeting with his fingers under the desk, Jean did his best to ignore your glances and overall presence, intent on willing the whole discussion about his crush out of existence. That is until you slid a small note to Jean’s side of the black desk. Scribbled in your clean handwriting was a request - no - an order.

You’re totally filling me in on this girl after school! I’m not taking no for an answer!

Jean sighed to himself, grimacing as your playful grin appeared at the edge of his vision.

“Jeeeaaan! Come on!” You whined, bouncing on his bed. “Why won’t you tell me who your crush is!”

Said boy let out a sigh as he dropped his book bag onto the floor next to his desk and all but collapsed into the gaming chair. Leaning his head back on the headrest, he answered in a taut voice. “Because I don’t want to.”

“Totally not because it’s you.” He thought.

You groaned in frustration, tossing and turning on his bed, inevitably ruining the nicely folded blankets. “Come on! I’ve known you since we were in middle school!”

Jean chuckled. “Yeah sure, if you count two kids bored out of their minds on family trips to the mountains only to never see each other until high school as knowing each other since middle school.”

Sitting up on the bed, you pouted at the brunette. “Damn. You really didn’t have to get specific about it.”

The laughter that bubbled out of Jean’s chest was uncontrollable. Doubling over in his chair, Jean finally looked at you for the first time since getting to his house. “Why shouldn’t I? When you showed up in the middle of last year and latched yourself onto me - everyone thought you were my secret girlfriend! Hell, even I was confused as to why you were practically glued to my arm.”

Jean continued to laugh, more to himself now. When his laughter finally fizzled away and his eyes were no longer clouded by tears, he sat back up in his chair - only to go rigid again.

You had pulled your legs into your chest and were staring away from Jean. The sharp glint of your eyes told Jean that he had pissed you off.

“A shit (Y/N), I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

Taking a deep breath, your body relaxed against itself.

“I know, you big idiot. It’s just… you were my first real friend. Of course I got excited when we reunited years later.” You chuckled to yourself at the memory of spotting him in the middle of homeroom. The joy and relief you felt that day was tremendous.

Standing up, Jean walked over to the bed and sat next to you before falling against his plush covers with a dulled thump. He patted the bed. A silent invitation for you to lay next to him. You took it and laid next to him, staring at the ceiling in silence.

No words were spoken between the two of you for some time. This is how it went sometimes. The two of you didn’t need to talk constantly to keep the energy comfortable and flowing. Comforting silences were a rare thing to have.

The soft breathing and heat radiating off of Jean nearly had you falling asleep. That is until he spoke up, startling you awake.

“She’s really sweet ya know.” Jean could see you turn to him with a raised eyebrow out of his peripheral. “The girl I like. She’s really sweet. A little overbearing with her physical affection, but nothing crazy. She’s… people-smart. She knows when to start and stop.” Jean could feel you shift on the bed so that your head was level with his. He continued talking without thinking of the consequences. “She’s got a few unconventional hobbies and does stupid shit all the time. Had to stitch up her pinkie finger once because she cut it while exploring an abandoned house.” Jean’s own pinkie moved towards your hand, making contact with your own pinkie finger. He traced the raised scar. “She’s super smart too and is always working to get better for herself. And… well I’ve liked her for a while but I was always scared to face the feelings she gave me whenever we hang out. I didn’t want to accept them. It was odd. I was used to never having a shot with the people I liked. But you… you just seemed to shoot right into me without me even realizing it.”

Finally, Jean had the courage to look at you. Your cheeks were darkened with a deep blush and your eyes twinkled. Jean didn’t say anything. He waited for your response with bated breath. The two of you laid there on dark covers for what felt like an eternity.

“For fucks sake (Y/N). Ya gotta respond to me.” Jean choked out in a harsh whisper. His hand was trembling from the nerves.

“I can play a 2 hour soccer game without issue, but I can’t make a simple confession without shaking? What the hell Jean.” He thought bitterly.

As though life was breathed back into you - you took a deep breath.

Quick and sudden nods.

Jean furrowed his eyebrows.

Your hand inched its way into his.

Jean pushed himself up onto his elbow and leaned over you

Your gleaming eyes flashed to his lips and back up to his eyes.

A silent exchange of words.

Leaning forward, Jean let his forehead lightly knock against yours. “Can I kiss you.”

“Please.”

Slowly, Jean let his lips ghost over yours. Just barely touching. As though Jean was scared any harsh movements would make you break. You surged into the kiss, squeezing onto his hand still interlocked with yours.

Jean internally groaned, the taste of your minty tongue invading his senses. If he didn’t stop kissing you now he was going to go crazy.

Pulling back from your lips, he stared down at you. You chuckled nervously, fingers twitching.

“What? Am I that bad of a kisser?”

Jean shook his head quickly. “No way. You’re amazing. Just… just fucking relieved you feel the same way.”

You smiled up at him. “I mean, of course. You were my first friend. Only makes sense that you were my first love too.”

Bonus:

“Jean-boy, I made some sandwiches for you and (Y/N) to e- OH!”

“Ma! It’s not what it looks like!”

“I’m so sorry! I’ll leave you two alone. Make sure to use protection!”

A pillow thudded against the freshly closed door and fell to the floor in a sad lump.

“SHUT UP MA!”

[honestlywtfisgoingon]

A Match Set

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Pairing: Benny Watts x Reader

Summary: After meeting one night in New York, you and Benny Watts are drawn to each other. As you go through different experiences with one another, you grow closer until it finally gets to be too much for Benny.

Word Count: 1890

Warnings: none

Notes: aye this is my first fic because there is a serious lack of benny watts fics and i had to change that for myself. this will probably be multiple chapters that can be read separately.

It was your first art gallery, and you were both anxious and overjoyed to see people surveying your work. You had put so many hours into each piece and all kinds of people had poured in to look. It was a well known gallery, but the variety still surprised you. You looked around and saw some interesting characters, but your interest was piqued when your eyes fell upon a particular cowboy.

He was inspecting one of your favorite paintings which had chess pieces as the subject. The pieces merely served as part of a metaphor in your art, as the game and all its complexities had never really been your thing. As you looked closer at the man you realized that, not only had his outfit sparked your interest, but he seemed familiar too. Out of curiosity, you walked over and stood next to him.

“What are your thoughts?” You asked, motioning towards the painting.

His initial expression showed surprise that you were talking to him, but he recovered quickly, saying, “It’s good. I think the artist has talent.” You felt a bit of pride hearing that. You opened your mouth to say thanks, but you decided not to reveal yourself. You wanted him to give his honest opinion without fear of offending you.

“So do you like chess?” He nodded to the painting. Hearing this you made the connection as to why you remembered seeing him before. Your father owned a little bookshop back home and you were looking into chess for the same painting you were discussing right now. You had seen this cowboy on the back of one of those books, but you hadn’t given it another thought, never actually expecting to meet him. You decided not to reveal this information either and continued with the conversation.

“I can play a modest game. You?”

“I can play a modest game.” He had a small smile as he shrugged.

“Your first lie.” You said smirking back.

He looked confused but curious, so you explained about your research, your fathers bookshop, the whole story. He puffed up a bit after hearing that, looking impressed that you knew who he was.

“What’s your name?” He asked, still curious.

“Y/n” you replied.

“Nice name. I’m Benny, but you already seem to know who I am. On the other hand I don’t know anything about you.” He reached out his hand to shake yours.

“You walk in here with a black trench coat but you make me out to be the mysterious one,” you smirked as you took his hand. He chuckled a bit, and after your introduction, you asked why he was here.

“My friend knows the artist actually. She told us we had to see her work before going out.” You hummed as you thought about what to say, but he interjected.

“I don’t usually do this, and I’m not sure why I’m doing this now, but maybe you’d consider coffee with me. I won’t tell anymore lies” he joked.

You laughed a little, mildly shocked. “you’re not sure why? That’s flattering” you teased.

“Not what I meant-“ but before you could come to a conclusion on his sudden offer, you heard an excited french accent.

“Y/n! Im so proud! You finally got to show off all that talent!” Your friend Cleo ran up to you and wrapped her arms around you. You hadn’t seen her since you lived in France for a few months and you had missed her. You left for France after you realized you weren’t really needed at home, so you dedicated yourself to trying to soak up some culture. She looked gorgeous like you remembered, fitting for a model. You continued your reunion embrace for a moment before she waved her arms to the men and woman behind her. She introduced the friends she had brought to your show as Arthur, Hilton, and Annette, who all smiled at you. Cleo paused to turn to the cowboy saying, “I see you’ve already met Benny.”

“Yeah we met,” he said, “but I didn’t know this was your work. I would’ve told you how impressed I am.” Your cheeks turned a light pink at the praise.

“Look at Benny, impressed with someone besides himself for once.”Cleo poked fun and the group let out a laugh.

“Hey I’m not a narcissist or anything, don’t listen to Cleo,” Benny made excuses to you, only mildly offended.

“Sure you aren’t. I have nothing against narcissists,” you jokingly assured him. This answer didn’t comfort the man who had essentially just asked you on a date.

You and Cleo continued to catch up and you talked more with her friends as well. Benny just stood next to you, and you caught him glancing at you once or twice, but you just ignored it. Eventually you agreed to go out for drinks with the group, walking with them to a bar a couple blocks down called Hal’s.

You all squeezed into a booth while Arthur went off to get drinks. You sat on the outside, watching the people out on the floor next to you giggling and dancing. Having a couple of drinks beforehand must’ve contributed to the large amount of people out there, you thought. Arthur eventually announced his return by laying a tray of drinks in the middle of the table.

You were all conversing and sipping on your drinks when Annette decided she wanted to dance. Cleo agreed enthusiastically, but the rest of us refused. She suggested we all take shots to make it easier, but once again we tried to turn her down. she pleaded, “come on guys, it’s a Saturday night, and you can’t possible lose something from it. Have a little bit of fun with me!”

We relented, having a feeling that she wasn’t going to give up any time soon. She gave a little clap and handed out the shots. You knocked yours back with everyone else and grimaced at the bitter taste. Shaking it off, you slid out of the booth so the others could get out. You moved back into your spot after they all made their way to the throng of people. You decided you would join them later, but you liked to observe first. You looked over and the only two left were you and Benny. You slid over to him, not wanting to sit awkwardly on the other end like he wasn’t there.

“I bet you five bucks that lady is bored out of her mind.” He pointed to a blonde on a date across the bar, “Either she’s an alcoholic or she’s trying to tune out baldie.” You looked at the woman and saw she was surrounded by empty glasses while the man in front of her seemed like he was boasting endlessly. You both started making observations about the various people in the bar. Most of them were snarky comments that you whispered into each other’s ears, giggling, but you also created imaginary lives for them, guessing who they were and how they got here. After sharing a couple laughs, you sighed and reached a comfortable lull before Benny brought up what you knew was coming.

“So have you thought about my earlier question?” He eyed you seriously all of a sudden, but you didn’t feel any pressure. He seemed the type of confident where he thought you would say yes, but he could recover if you said no.

You weighed in your impression of him. He was cute, with fluffy hair and nice eyes that were a kind of chocolate color. He was funny and you he seemed intelligent (I mean he had to be, he played competitive chess). Albeit his trench coat and hat were a bit eccentric, but that wasn’t a bad thing, in fact you found it attractive.

“So have you?” He asked again, leaning his head in.

“Oh uh” you hadn’t realized while you were thinking that you had zoned out looking at him. Clearing your throat you said, “I’m free for coffee.” You stopped, “But you have to wear the hat.”

“Wouldn’t leave home without it” he winked.

Suddenly you were shoved against him as your tipsy friends barreled back into the booth.

“We should probably join them” you said as you moved off him, pushing one of the leftover drinks towards him. He nodded and you both drank some more just to get on the same level as your friends.

“You two haven’t even danced! I saw you whispering. Too busy flirting?” Annette smiled as she slurred a few of her words. You just looked down, cheeks pink, leaving Benny to respond.

“How were you watching us when you were dancing with that guy, the one who looks like he’s only ever kissed his mother.”

“No, I’m sure he’s kissed other people! I mean he did seem young but...” Annette looked over to the guy she dragged to dance with her earlier. He stood sheepishly in the corner, looking like he hadn’t outgrown his baby fat yet, and was definitely not a city type. “He’s just shy!” She defended, but me and Benny just looked at each other, falling into giggles. You figured out that night that Annette was one of those drunks who got a little childish, but she was sweet.

You would’ve been content to keep hanging out with Benny, if it hadn’t been for Cleo who grabbed your hand and pulled you out to the dance floor. You looked back at Benny, but gave in and allowed her to twirl you into the crowd. You were having a good time with Cleo, Hilton and Arthur dancing on either side of her. You were soon out of breath, but didn’t mind, enjoying it all.

You had moved to the city a couple months ago, but hadn’t had time to make friends, focusing on your work and setting up your apartment. You missed having company, people who were fun and interesting.

You continued to move to the beat of the song until you bumped into someone. You looked back to see Benny smiling next to you. You smiled back and let him in to the little circle you and your friends had created. You felt a little warm, not from the dancing, but from being close to him.

After fifteen minutes you were all tired and made your way to the booth to gather all your things up and pay the bill. You walked out of the bar and into the chilly night air, grateful for the residual body heat that came from all the dancing. You hugged Cleo and your new friends goodbye as took turns getting into taxis and headed towards their homes. Hilton offered to wave you down a taxi too, but you declined, explaining that your home wasn’t a far walk. He shrugged and gave you another hug before climbing into the yellow car. Once again it was just you and Benny.

“Just the two of us again huh?” He spoke, and he definitely didn’t sound turned off by the idea.

“Fate I guess.”

“Sure” he said casually.

“Do you not believe in fate?” You asked. You weren’t a firm believer in the idea but something in his tone made you curious.

“I’ve had this debate before I think. I’m not sure, but I’d like to figure it out. How about you?” He said. You imagined him having a lot of debates. You had just met him, but he seemed to fall into the intellectual category. They always kept things interesting, and frequently offered new perspectives.

“I mean everything’s gotta mean something, there has to be a purpose. I just don’t know if we make our own purpose or if we’re given a purpose; fate.” You mused, not meaning to get existential. He didn’t seem to mind.

“You seem like the type to want to figure things out too.” He said ‘too’. So you and him both liked to do that. You added that to the growing list of things you liked about him.

“I guess I am.” He had a pleased look on his face and you just shrugged as you started to say goodbye.

“Wait” he grabbed your arm, “I heard you say you didn’t live far, I could walk you.” Before you could protest he told you, “it wouldn’t be a big deal, I heard you tell Hilton where you lived, we’re in the same direction.”

You agreed, finding yourself wanting to talk to him more. He offered you his arm casually and you laughed to yourself a little at the gesture, taking it anyway. You walked down the sidewalk, talking and laughing. You felt comfortable as you felt like you leveled with him. It seemed like too short of a walk as you suddenly found yourself at the door of your apartment building.

“Guess this is goodnight.” Benny said as you both stood on the sidewalk.

“What about coffee?” You asked.

“Glad you remembered. I’ll pick you up at twelve tomorrow, we can make it lunch. I’ll pick you up.” He said it decidedly, like it was just a fact. Something you noticed he did often.

“Ok then. Lunch. Tomorrow. Am I forgetting anything?” You said as you stepped halfway into the doorway.

“If you are we can figure that out later. I’ll see you.” He waved with a slight smile.

You waved back and smiled in return, watching him walk away before closing the door. You sped up to your apartment, letting yourself finally feel the excitement and anticipation of going out. You stripped off your clothing as soon as you got in and flopped on your bed, feeling sort of giddy. You felt like you and Benny were connected, though you had barely met him. As you laid down you smiled to yourself, looking forward to tomorrow.

[scary-senpai]

Very often, my brain gives me headcanons instead of serotonin and of course it decided to visualize the Saitama + Garou table talk.

There are Dad jokes and smol impromptu science lectures, because of course there are.

I am running on 3 hours of sleep and one glass of wine and one suspiciously God-looking cupcake, so probably at least a sentence or two are irrevocably broken.

Bless my science minded partner for explaining how air pressure works vis-a-vis pickling, although we got into a very heated debate about whether the removal of a lid constitutes a jar “ajar-ing” or “un-jarring.” (Yes, I know the grammar is wrong but artistic choice, dammit! I worked in a linguistics lab and I should have at least a little goodwill left to burn when it comes to the English language…)

Saitama, squelching.

Stupid baldy in his stupid cape and stupid boots, stomping around in the mud and fucking squelching—the sound made Garou’s skin crawl.

He just didn’t know when to quit.

At first, Saitama’s footsteps had faded out and grown softer, and Garou had been grateful, finally, for a moment’s peace.

And here they were, the same fucking footsteps, doubling back again.

That asshole really didn’t know when to quit.

“You’re really gonna just…lie here?” Saitama persisted, plopping down beside him. “We could go in that, uh, shack thing.”

Garou let the silence speak for itself, and said silence was interrupted with a loud pop: the sound of negative air pressure—a jar ajarring—and then obnoxiously loud munching sounds.

“You know, I didn’t realize you could pickle eggs,” Saitama said, to nobody in particular. “I thought you could only pickle pickles.”

Cucumbers, Garou thought. You pickle cucumbers, you fucking idiot.

Of all the thoughts his brain could give him, it had to be this. A science lecture. Then again, we are talking about same brain had gotten him this far—which is to say, not so very far at all.

Garou tried to keep his mouth shut about it, he couldn’t keep his fucking mouth shut about it, and that was the story of his entire fucking life.

Maybe he’d learn someday—just not this one.

“Cucumbers.”

“Huh?”

“Put cucumbers in vinegar and they turn into pickles—it’s a noun and a verb.”

“Eh?” There was a surprised silence, and then crunching sounds. Saitama soon began speaking through a full mouth. “Hey, you know what, I think you’re probably on to something, pickling things that aren’t actually pickles.” He could hear Saitama’s smile, and it was irritating. “You might be right—“

“I am right.” Garou replied, rising slightly from the water. “You’re never eaten kimchi?”

“Yeah, but what does kimchi have to do with anything? … hey, wait a minute…” Saitama’s brow furrowed, and then his eyes widened with surprise. “Oh my god, you are right!”

“Just kill me now,” Garou moaned throwing himself back in the water. “Seriously--just get it over with, and kill me now.”

[the--blackdahlia]

One Night in Vegas Chapter 3

Title: One Night in Vegas

Summary: Hunter and Stephanie’s wedding is coming up. But with their wedding party, it’s not going to be easy.

Series Warnings: Language, some violence, drinking, drug hint, sexual content. If I think of more, I’ll add it.

AN: Feedback would be most appreciated. Not sure if I’ll do more if people don’t like it.

The Next Morning 

Shawn groaned at the light that streamed in through the window. He went to pull the blanket over his head, only to find that there wasn't one. He huffed and flopped over onto his back, making the whole world feel like it was spinning.

"Oh fucking hell." Shawn groaned, rubbing his head. It took a few minutes of blinking and rubbing his eyes for things to come into focus. Not that that helped any. Everything still felt like it was swimming. But he still managed to push himself to his feet and stumble out of the room.

As he shuffled from his room, his foot caught on a rather large body laying close to the door, causing him to trip. His knee landed on their back, making them jump up.

"What the hell?" They asked, looking at Shawn. Shawn screamed then.

"Who are you?!"

"What do you mean? It's Kane. And why are you so fucking loud?"

"You're not Kane!" Shawn yelled loudly, hurting his own head.

"Yes I am!"

"You don't have any hair!"

"What?" Kane asked, turning to look at a decorative mirror on the wall. He screamed as he saw that his blonde locks were gone. "What the fuck happened to my hair?!"

"Stop yelling." Undertaker grumbled from the couch. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"I can't! My hair's gone!" Kane yelled. Undertaker sat up on the couch, a mound of blankets around him.

"Hey, you look like an ugly Lex Luthor." Hr chuckled. 

"Oh fuck you!" Kane turned his attention back to the mirror. "My poor hair." They heard a loud scream from the bathroom. Before they knew it, Austin was running out and slamming the door shut.

"There is a bear in the bathroom!" He told them.

"Nu uh, Taker's on the couch." Shawn pointed out. Undertaker glared at him.

"No I'm serious. Like a full on bear cub." Austin told them. "And who's baldy?"

"My hair!" Kane cried. Undertaker just rolled his eyes.

"Let me see this." He grumbled, standing and heading to the bathroom. He pushed Austin aside and opened the door. "I don't see any...oh, hi there little guy."

Shawn peered around Undertaker to see a small bear cub sitting on the counter. The cub seemed to perk up when he saw Shawn.

"That can't be legal." Shawn mumbled. The bear jumped down and ran to him, excited.

"Think he likes you." Undertaker mumbled.

"I don't even know him." Shawn gasped as the cub rubbed up against him.

“He apparently knows you.” Austin grumbled. He looked over at Undertaker. “Why do you have glitter on you?”

“What?” Undertaker looked down at himself, noticing his pale skin and black clothes were covered in glitter. “Ah fucking hell. Sara must’ve put fucking glitter in my bag.”

“Oh god, this place is a mess. Vince is going to kill me.” Shawn mumbled. The cub kept trying to love on him. That’s when they noticed the sound of snoring coming from behind the bar on the other side of the room.

“Hunter?” Kane asked. Shawn shook his head.

“I don’t think so.” He looked at Undertaker, who sighed.

“Fine, I’ll check it out too.” He grumbled, heading over to the bar. The other three were following him. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He chuckled before kicking a pile of beer cans and various bottles, making the fifth person shoot up. Stumbling forward wearing a obviously air dried Shane-o-Mac shirt was, well, Shane.

“Shane?” Shawn asked. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“What am I...you invited me?” He told them, holding onto the bar as the hangover took over. “Oh fuck. Where’s my suit?”

“We didn’t invite you…” Undertaker grumbled. Shane looked up at him.

“Hunter called me. You guys were going out, I was in town for a meeting, Hunter called me and that’s honestly about all I remember.” He told them, rubbing his eyes. “Why is it so bright in here?”

“Light bouncing off Kane’s bald head.” Undertaker told him, causing his brother to go back into mourning over his lost locks. 

“It’s a good look.” Shane called over to him, but it didn’t really matter. “God, what did we do last night?”

“Kinda was hopin’ you could tell us,” Austin grabbed a beer and popped it open, getting looks from the others. “What? Hair of the dog and all that shit.”

“Can we get breakfast or something?” Shane asked. “I feel like I could eat a whole buffet.”

“Yeah, yeah. Kane, quit sulking over your hair and got change.” Undertaker told him. Shawn looked around then.

“Hey guys?” He asked. “Where’s Hunter?”

[m3kuroshirt]

Sharp Darts and Wilting Flowers

GrimmIchi Weekend Challenge 3

Challenged by @kuroosden

Genre/trope: angst with a happy ending

Required words: grey, flower

Word count: 3551

Posted to AO3 as well, under the same title, on this account: M34GS

Warnings: some graphic description of injury and pain, death

The only thing he remembered was a wilting flower and the colour grey. Ichigo blinked, looking about the room he was in. It appeared to be a well-decorated elevator. The floor was covered in a plush red carpet and the wall panels were the colour of mahogany. Gold trim lined the edges, but whether it was solid gold or just gold-plated he couldn’t tell. All at once, the elevator jolted and Ichigo realized it had stopped…though he hadn’t known it was even moving at all until that moment.

A small, bright ding! and the doors slid open. Ichigo stepped out hesitantly. He scanned the room he stepped into; a modern-looking place in direct contrast with the old-fashioned elegance of the elevator. The lighting was tinted blue, and all around he could see empty chairs and tables. Turning to his right, Ichigo could see another man, tall with blue hair and piercing blue eyes, who looked just as confused as he felt. Something about the man seemed familiar, but try as he might, Ichigo couldn’t quite remember his name.

“Uh. Hi,” he greeted the man, hoping that would lead to conversation, where he could learn something. The man tore his gaze from the scenery and locked his eyes on Ichigo. And damn. DAMN. That was not an unpleasant gaze to have fixed on him. Ichigo swallowed and smiled nervously. The other man narrowed his eyes and panic seized Ichigo for a moment before the blue-haired man spoke.

“…Do I…know you?” his tone wasn’t angry…it was wholeheartedly confused, maybe even frustrated. As if he was struggling with remembering things, just like Ichigo. Ichigo shrugged.

“I, uh, don’t know? I don’t remember much of anything…I have no idea how I got here or even where ‘here’ is,” he mumbled. He ran a hand through his hair, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Way to sound like a freak in front of the hot guy, he chastised himself. I should’ve just said no. But to his surprise, the other man relaxed.

“I’m not the only one, then,” he muttered. He stopped looking at Ichigo and glanced around the place. “…place is fucking creepy as hell,” he continued.

“Eh? And here I thought it was really nice,” a lilting voice cut through the tense atmosphere. Both men started and whirled around to see…a person. They were standing there, dressed in a beautiful, flowing gown, blue and shimmery. Their hair was jaw-length and trimmed to frame their face, and they smiled at the two men. Ichigo felt suddenly self-conscious. Is everyone here hot as hell? He wondered. He shifted awkwardly on his feet. “I rather like the colour blue. And don’t you find the theme…entrancing?” the person asked them. Ichigo blinked and looked around again, finding himself wanting to please this beautiful person.

“Uh. I…uh, yeah,” he replied very intelligently.

“So, you own this place?” The blue haired man demanded. “You know why we’re here then, how we got here?” He stepped forward, standing right next to Ichigo now. And Ichigo felt the urge to lean against the man, almost as a reassurance; as if no matter what this stranger had in store for them, he would back up this man with his life. And the strangest thought came to him that maybe, just maybe, the blue haired man wouldn’t mind. But he stopped himself when he caught the stranger in the dress smiling at him with what had to be a knowing smile.

They know something about me. The thought slid into his brain unbidden, and, try as he might, Ichigo couldn’t seem to dispel it. His fingers twitched at his sides and his mouth was dry.

“If you really want to know,” the stranger answered as they turned and gestured for the men to follow, “then come over here.” The stranger turned fully away from them and started to walk toward a bar. Ichigo exchanged a look with the blue haired man.

“Do…do you think we should?” he asked. The blue haired man frowned.

“We don’t have much choice. Unless you got any ideas?” Ichigo shook his head and the other man nodded grimly. “I thought so.” He ran a hand through his blue hair and Ichigo snuck a glance at his forearm. He could see the faint outline of veins, and his heart gave an odd little leap. “Grimmjow.”

Ichigo blinked. “Uh?”

The other man rolled his eyes. “It’s my name, dumbass. I think we can be on a first name basis, given the situation. Plus, if shit goes sideways, you’re the only one I think I can trust here,” he clarified. Ichigo blinked again.

“Oh. Uh. Nice to meet you, Grimmjow. Uh. I’m Ichigo.” Grimmjow’s name seemed to roll off his tongue with an easy familiarity, but Ichigo couldn’t quite figure out why. Grimmjow just nodded after Ichigo introduced himself, then stepped forward to follow where the prettily dressed stranger had gone. Ichigo fell into step behind him, feeling oddly much safer than when he’d been alone in the elevator.

They found the stranger at the bar, perched on a barstool and sipping from a martini glass. Another person stood behind the bar, a bald man with sharp, angry-looking features, sporting red eyeliner that only seemed to make him appear more fierce. The stranger in the dress motioned for them to sit, so they each took a seat. The man behind the bar looked each of them up and down for a second, before speaking.

“Wanna drink?” he asked them casually, his voice much more rough than the smooth sound of his companion’s. Grimmjow gave one shake of his head, and Ichigo followed suit. No telling what would really be in the drink if they took one.

“We want to know why we’re here,” Ichigo countered, doing his best to appear intimidating and not as nervous as he felt. The man nodded. He wiped down the bar counter with a towel.

“To play a game,” he answered simply.

Grimmjow slammed a hand on the counter. “Don’t fuck with us! ‘To play a game’?! The hell does that mean, you fucker,” he snarled. Ichigo watched with wide eyes. The pretty stranger sipped their drink, not even fazed by the reaction. Behind the bar, the bald man glared.

“Shut the hell up and listen then, idiot,” he snapped.

Oh good. Two hot-heads in the same room. This will go well, Ichigo thought dryly. Grimmjow quieted but continued glaring at the baldy. Unexpectedly, it was the pretty stranger who spoke up.

“You two will be playing a game where your lives are at stake,” they stated, as calm as if observing that Grimmjow’s hair was blue and Ichigo’s eyes were brown. “You will play against each other in a game that is chosen at random, and the loser will die.” Ichigo felt his brain come to a screeching halt.

“Wait. What?” he demanded. He slid off his seat and stood towering over the pretty stranger. “You want us to play for the right to live? That’s fucked up! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” The stranger stared back at him without even blinking, their eyes a dark and mesmerizing slate grey.

“If you don’t play, you both die,” they answered simply.

“Bring it. I’ll fucking take you both down,” Grimmjow snarled, standing now as well, shoulder to shoulder with Ichigo. The bald man rolled his eyes. Before either of them could react, a gun barrel was pointed at each of them; one held by the baldy, and one by the pretty stranger.

“Unless you want to both end up stone-dead, you’ll do as you’re told,” the pretty stranger replied with a sly smile. “My name is Yumichika, and this is Ikkaku,” they gestured to the bald man behind the bar. “We’ll be your hosts tonight. Now come, it’s time to choose your game.” Yumichika waved to a small roulette wheel Ichigo hadn’t noticed before. On it were game titles that sounded like what a child would play in a cheesy horror movie. Death billiards? Really? He thought to himself bitterly. A faint part of him wished, hoped, dared to believe that this could be a dream; a nightmare.

A button was pressed and the wheel jumped to life, spinning in a flash of colour and light. Ichigo felt his throat seal shut, as if this somehow made it more real than the guns did, more real than the heat of the man standing next to him. This was not a dream.

The wheel stopped. Ichigo blinked and read the bright shining title. Death Seven Darts. He’d barely comprehended the words when there was a quiet rumble. The floor ahead of them split and two dart boards rose from the ground. Along with them came two little trays, each with seven darts. Ikakku stepped out from behind the bar.

“The rules are simple,” he stated, his tone rather indifferent. “You each start with 500 points. You throw the darts and points are deducted from your opponent according to the score you get. The one with the least points when all the darts are gone is the loser.” Ichigo felt a shiver run down his spine. The dart boards were decorated with grotesque images; a picture of human organs adorning each possible space to hit. He really wants us to be constantly thinking about how one of us will die, doesn’t he? Ichigo thought with a frown. We could both refuse to play. We’d be killed…but that’s better than the other option…survivor’s guilt or being sentenced to die by the only person in the same situation as me…

As if reading his thoughts, Grimmjow bumped his shoulder. Ichigo blinked and looked up at him. “You got something to live for?” he asked Ichigo, his blue gaze burning into Ichigo’s own brown eyes.

“I…I don’t know. I can’t remember,” Ichigo answered, fear sliding down his spine and spreading along his nerves like oil; slick and gross.

“Then that means you must have. Whatever they did to us…they wouldn’t have messed with our heads if it wasn’t important to their little ‘game’,” Grimmjow reasoned. He glanced to the dartboards and ran a hand through his hair. Then he looked at Ichigo with resolve. “Don’t hold back.” Grimmjow turned away from him and walked over to one set of darts. Ichigo felt his heart sinking. They were really going to do this. His stomach churned and he chewed his lip as he walked up to his own set.

Grimmjow picked up one of the darts. Ichigo couldn’t stop watching him as he inspected it, probably checking to see if it was some sort of trap. Then he took aim…and launched the dart. It hit the board, and pain burst in Ichigo’s skull, behind his left eye. He screamed and grabbed at it, the pain piercing through his head. Ichigo sank to his knees, barely hearing the shout of his name, barely feeling the arms wrap around his shoulders. The pain blossomed into an aching throb and he choked on a sob.

That’s when the images started.

An orange lily in a vase, beautiful but wilting. A warm, inviting kitchen, one he instinctively knew was his. And warm arms wrapped around him. A low voice murmuring in his ear. And Ichigo was smiling.

Ichigo was not smiling when he came back to the present moment. He was on his knees, leaning forward, someone holding him from behind to support him. He gasped, the shock of pain pouring over him once more like cold water.

“-Chigo…Ichigo! What’s wrong?!” the voice that shouted was familiar and yet strange and the thought made Ichigo dizzy. He frowned as the pain faded to a dull ache, finally able to think and speak.

Ichigo looked up to see the indifferent faces of Yumichika and Ikkaku watching them. He glared at them. “What…” he gasped out, still catching his breath, “what the…fuck…did you do to me?” They watched him with unchanging faces. Grimmjow’s arms tightened around him.

“The fuck is this bullshit?” he growled. “I thought we weren’t dying until the game is over.” Yumichika raised an eyebrow.

“Are you saying he’s dead? And yet, isn’t he talking to you?” they asked in their low sultry voice. The arms around him squeezed once more, and Ichigo reached up to rest a trembling hand on them. He felt Grimmjow stiffen and then release him.

Ichigo turned around to see him offer his hand. He took the offered hand and Grimmjow helped him stand. “Sorry,” the blue haired man apologized. “I didn’t mean to go overboard…but when I saw you were hurt…I reacted without thinking.” His voice was low and his cheeks were pink. He refused to look Ichigo in the eye. Ichigo swallowed.

“No…it’s alright. I, uh,” he started but hesitated and glanced at Yumichika and Ikkaku. Ikkaku spoke up.

“Whatever you say, we won’t be intervening,” he stated shortly. His voice was rough but not mean. Ichigo licked his lips and started again, facing Grimmjow now.

“I think I got a memory back. When the pain came on. There was a flower…and someone behind me. It was brief but it felt important.”

Grimmjow blinked. “…is that so?” Ichigo nodded. Grimmjow’s lips twisted as he thought, his brow furrowed. For some reason, Ichigo wanted to press his fingers to Grimmjow’s face and smooth the creases away, help him relax. He did not give in to that urge. Grimmjow gestured to the tray holding Ichigo’s darts. “Your turn.”

Ichigo grimaced. “I…don’t want to,” he mumbled quietly. Grimmjow tensed.

“Yeah. But it’s the only way one of us is getting out of here alive. And,” he paused, as if mulling over his words before plowing on, “and I’d like to see one of my memories. If I’m able.” Ichigo nodded once. Then he picked up the dart, aimed, and threw it.

There was a shout and then Grimmjow doubled over, clutching his left arm. Ichigo was torn between staying away out of guilt and rushing over to him, even though he knew running to Grimmjow would do no good. There wasn’t a thing he could do to ease the pain. Yet he ended up running to the other man’s side.

“Grimmjow?” he called hesitantly. There was an answering grunt and Ichigo reached out a gentle hand to rest on his shoulder. Grimmjow turned his gaze upward, still hunched over, curled protectively around his hand. Ichigo wet his lips absentmindedly as he stared into those intense blue eyes. “Did it work?” Grimmjow gave one nod, his grimace easing, and straightened his posture.

“Yeah.” His voice sounded choked, almost broken. And Ichigo had a feeling it wasn’t the pain.

“What did you see?”

There was a beat of silence far too long to be comfortable. Then, “I think I was going to propose to someone. I saw a ring.”

Ichigo felt his stomach plummet. Violent emotions swirled inside his head. Anger. Fear. Jealousy. Guilt. Resignation. He removed his hand from Grimmjow’s shoulder. “You should win.” Ichigo wasn’t even aware he’d thought the words before they were falling out of his mouth unbidden. Grimmjow shook his head.

“Nuh-uh. You aren’t going to throw this game to give me the win. No fucking way, not with both our lives on the line,” he snapped.

“You have someone important!” Ichigo argued.

“So do you! Someone who bought you flowers! What if you’re already married? Are you going to say your actual spouse’s feelings don’t matter as much as my possible spouse? Huh???”

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Ichigo was the one to look away. “Alright. Fine. I won’t throw the game for you,” he muttered. Grimmjow nodded with satisfaction. Ichigo gestured to his tray. “Your turn then.” He braced himself as Grimmjow picked up the dart.

From that point on, the game was a blur. They rotated between bursts of excruciating pain and blurs of memories. Ichigo did his best to piece them together.

A wilting flower. He wanted to get more. He wanted to go to the florist and pick up some more and maybe some nutrients for the water this time. All he had to do was convince someone…

***

Scenery flashed past them as they drove. It was a city, that much he was sure of. The sun shone down brightly and kids ran along the sidewalks. Something warmed his hand and when he looked at it, it was another hand holding his. Strong, rough, but gentle, the hand squeezed his own while its partner rested on the steering wheel.

***

A voice was talking, and he tried to hang on to every word. ‘A special night’ and ‘reservations’ but Ichigo couldn’t pick out all the words; distracted by a shadow to his right.

***

Someone was screaming. Who was it? Who was screaming? There was red everywhere, scattered and splashed among grey pieces of metal and plastic on dark asphalt. And a spot of blue. Who was screaming?

He was. Ichigo was screaming. The blue across from him came into focus and he could see now, the blue hair, blue eyes, a hand that reached for him, covered in blood, mouth open, trying to speak…

And then the loud sound of squealing brakes.

Turning. Slowly. As if stuck in molasses.

A semi truck careening toward them with no chance of stopping.

Darkness.

Ichigo felt tears slide down his cheeks as he came back to the present.

“Ichigo! What’s wrong? Did you see something else?” Grimmjow’s voice cut through the buzzing in his ears. Up to this point, they’d been sharing their memories with each other, finding they had both been in similar situations…never once had Ichigo imagined they’d been going through all of it together…and that they were…

“…dead,” the word tumbled from his lips before he could stop it. Grimmjow froze.

“What?”

Ichigo turned to Yumichika and Ikkaku. He hoped he was wrong, gaze pleading as he looked at each of them. “We’re already dead, aren’t we?” Yumichika nodded once.

“What? That! That’s impossible!” Grimmjow protested, but even as he spoke Ichigo turned to him and saw the realization steal across his face. The last memory sunk in for him too, then, he reasoned.

“When people die,” Yumichika stated calmly, as if teaching a course in a university, “one of two things happens to their soul. They either go to the void, to be lost forever in darkness, or they are reincarnated.”

Ikkaku stretched his neck from side to side and continued the speech. “Sometimes, when two people die at once, they get sent here, to play a game and be assigned either the void or reincarnation, according to the judgement of the arbiter. I am the arbiter.”

“So, you’re going to judge if we go to the void or get to live again?” Grimmjow asked slowly. Ikkaku gave a short nod.

“That’s right.”

Ichigo frowned. “If either of us is reincarnated…would we lose our memories of each other?” he whispered.

“That is correct,” Yumichika confirmed. Ichigo felt something snap inside his chest, like a string that was tugged until it broke.

He turned to Grimmjow. “I…Grimm…I just got these memories back…I don’t wanna lose them.” His voice was ragged with the tears building up and his throat ached the more he tried to hold them back. Grimmjow shook his head.

“You think I’m gonna let you say you want to go to the void, dumbass? Like hell I wanna see your soul lost in darkness forever. Think about what you’re saying, you idiot,” he answered, but there was no bite to his words, and he walked over to Ichigo and wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. Ichigo curled into Grimmjow’s arms.

“But,” he mumbled, “what if only one of us can be reincarnated?” Grimmjow tightened his arms around him and for a fleeting moment Ichigo felt safe and secure. That came crashing down with his lover’s next words.

“Then it should be you.”

Ichigo pulled back in alarm, mouth open to protest, but he was cut off by Ikkaku.

“I’ve decided. It’s time for the two of you to go back to the elevators. They will take you to your assigned destinations,” the bald man interrupted. His tone was final, and his face offered no consolation to either of the young men.

***

Yumichika watched the two young men step into their respective elevators. The two looked grim, but there was a resignation about them as well, as if they were both accepting of their fate, though they had no idea yet what it might be. Yumichika hummed to themself thoughtfully as the doors closed, remembering how the couple had hugged each other tightly, as a ‘good-bye’, only moments before. They watched as both elevators started upward, whisking the occupants away to be reincarnated in the living world.

“Do you think…Ikkaku…do you think they’ll find each other again in the living world?” They asked, their tone feigning indifference. In truth, Yumichika felt a nervous thrum of anticipation as they waited for Ikkaku’s answer.

“Dunno,” came the gruff reply. There was a pause. And then, “I hope so.”

[scornedlove]

Chapter Thirty

ROBYN

It’s amazing what good sex can do. When we left the mall, Rocky took me to his duck off spot at Manhattan beach, where we set some rules to our situation. No questions, no venting, and no expectations. We promised to keep emotions out and orgasms in. If either of us broke any of the agreements, that would be the end of our rendezvous.

After we both had a clear understanding, he got to work like his life depended on it. He took me to heights I’ve been desperately needing right there on the sand and in the back of his car. I rode him so good, I woke up the next morning sore as hell with a little pep in my step. 

What I didn’t expect, was Dre’s face to be the first one I saw when I arrived at the boutique. There was an all black Chevy Impala parked in the very last space, with some guy watching him. Guess he found a new driver. He kept glancing in all directions as if he was Dre’s bodyguard. All I could do was roll my eyes when I noticed Dre. He was holding a box of muffins and some flowers looking like somebody killed his dog.

I took my time getting out the cab, then slowly approached him with no-nonsense on my face. There wasn’t enough orgasms in the world to make me forget about him calling me an addict. When I got in front of him, I paused, waiting for him to speak first.

“I hate when you’re mad at me” he admitted, holding out the gifts.

“Is that what you think of me? An addict?” I quizzed, ignoring his offerings. 

“See, I knew you took what I was saying the wrong way. You know I don’t think you’re an addict, but you do need help. Which is why this is the last time I’m giving you these” he stated, pulling a pill bottle out of his pocket. It must’ve been evident that I didn’t want to take them from him, because he urged, holding them out for me to grab.

“I don’t want anything from you. Matter of fact, forget I even exist” I frowned, turning my back on him to unlock the door. I was early this morning for a reason and he was cutting into my time.

“Anna you gotta stop pushing the people who care about you away. I talked to John this morning and he told me-”

“Oh please, because YOU care about me right? Go care about those stupid tramps you got prancing around in them tight ass clothes at your clinic.” I bumped him out of my way, knocking the pill bottle from his hand as I entered the building.

I locked the door and peeped out the window as he scrambled to find the bottle without dropping everything else he was holding. The scowl on his face as he mumbled to himself when he picked it up, showed he was done trying. 

I hadn’t noticed before, but John was parked across the street waiting for him. He jogged over to the car without looking back, clearly cursing my name. 

“Bet his ass won’t come back now” I shook my head, thinking out loud.

“Damn it’s been forever since I’ve seen you!” Meagan’s animated voice scared the crap out of me.

“SHIT” I yelled, clutching my chest.

“Sorry, I ain’t mean to scare you” she giggled, coming from around the front counter. 

“What you doing here so early? I didn’t see your car out there.” I snapped, glancing around the store. 

“Oh, my mom needed to borrow my car, so I got dropped off today.” she explained as if this was the norm. Jenn, Frankie, and I were gonna have to have a talk. I gave them a key, so how did Meagan end up with a copy?

“So who’s that guy waiting out front?”

“What guy?”

“There was some guy” I explained, as I went to see if he was still there. He was gone and now I was starting to wonder if I was just overthinking. “Nevermind....you know we don’t open for another hour and a half right?”

“Yeah, I know. It was either be early or be late. So, here I am” she shrugged, walking over to the window to see what I was looking at. “Is that Dre”?

“I’ll be in my office if you need me” I yawned, ignoring her question as I jogged up the stairs.

It felt good being back in my workspace. I didn’t realize how much I missed being here. I started to notice that every time I’m in a low place, I avoid the things that really make me happy. Just then, an idea came to mind. It had been awhile since I’ve been inspired, so I wasted no time pulling out my pad letting my hand flow as I began to sketch. 

When I finished a couple of designs and going over the numbers for the past few weeks, I smoked a blunt, made some coffee, and promised myself today would be great before I went downstairs to join my crew. 

“Bitch, you don’t need no more vacations!” Frankie exclaimed, as Jenn finished counting the day’s deposit. While she did that, Frankie and I were reviewing the reports for the past quarter. For some reason, every time I was here in the shop compared to my vacation days, sales were up by thirty percent. I wasn’t complaining, but it did seem strange. 

“It makes sense if you ask me.” Meagan piped in. “Customer’s appreciate when you actually show up for them”

“Girl you still here?” I quizzed sarcastically. She was sticking her nose in places she had no business and it was starting to piss me off. “I appreciate your hard work. Enjoy the rest of your night and go get some rest. You’re off tomorrow so I’ll see you Thursday!”

“She’s off Thursday too!” Frankie corrected with a nod.

“Oh, well see you Friday” I grinned with a wave. She stood there lost for a moment, then finally agreed that she was tired as she grabbed her things and headed towards the door.

“Which one of ya’ll gave that heffa a key to my shop?” I asked crossing my arms over my chest as I glared from Jenn to Frankie.

“Not me” Frankie threw his hands up in defense. 

“What makes you think she has a key?” Jenn quizzed, unamused.

“She was the first one here today. I don’t trust her and I don’t appreciate my key being copied. I’m changing the locks.”

“I think your exaggerating” Jenn shook her head in disbelief.

“Well I think I’ll be the only one with a key since nobody knows how a copy just magically appeared.” I shrugged, leaving it at that. We finished closing the store in silence, but I could still feel Jenn’s attitude. I didn’t let it get to me though. I just rolled me another blunt and smoked until my cab showed up.

Minus the stench on his breath, the driver was a nice guy. He was a college kid trying to scrape up every dollar he could with every minute he had. I remembered those days. I invited him to have dinner with me when we pulled up to Gorgio Baldi, but he declined, which meant I’d be dining alone. Usually, I wouldn’t mind, but the last time I was here was with Chris. I hate that I let him meet me here, because now it will never be the same.

The same place that usually felt warm and cozy, was now big and cold. As I waited for my food, I had an eerie feeling that I was being watched. I looked around the room and noticed how busy it was. There were a few couples, a couple of families, and a group of girlfriends having dinner together. I wasn’t the only loner though. There was a guy, a couple of tables away, with his face in a book while he waited on his food. He was comfortable in his lonesome, but I was not. I couldn’t shake the feeling of embarrassment as the memories of the last time I was here, flooded my mind. 

When the waiter came back with my food, I took it to go. I decided if I wanted to enjoy my food in peace, I’d better stop and get Ollie and Pepe’s food as well. When I entered the grocery store, I was immediately irritated by how long all the checkout lines were. I wanted nothing to do with the chaos going on, so I grabbed some dog food and called it a day. 

As I weaved through the crowds, towards one of the long ass check out lines, I noticed a cashier opening a new lane, so I quickened my pace. I was almost there when, out of nowhere, a guy walked right in my path, causing me to smash my cart into his side.

“Fuck!” he yelled out in pain, scaring me half to death.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you! Are you okay?” I panicked, rushing around the basket to pick up one of the 2-liter cokes he’d dropped.

“I’m good” he winced, massaging his hip.

“You may wan grab another” I suggested, handing it back to him.

“You may wan watch where you’re going, you could’ve fucked my shit up.” he mimicked disrespectfully.

“Scuse me?” I paused, stepping back with a scowl. Who was he coming at sideways when he’s the one that ran into my basket? I fixed my lips to tear him down, but my voice caught in my throat.

“Oh shit! I was hoping I’d run into you again, just not literally, we forgot to exchange numbers.” Rocky lightened up, after recognizing me. I went from wanting to slap him, to wanting to jump his bones, and back to that strange feeling in the back of my gut. How the hell do I keep running into him?

“You following me?” I stared him down, trying to read him. I had to know, this was one too many coincidences. 

“How can I be following you when I’m on my way out?” He asked, waving his receipt.  “I was just picking up a few things for my little sister’s party ”

“Well, uh have fun.” I stammered, before rushing towards the checkout lane. Something about running into him two days in a row made me feel a little uneasy. He knows where I live, which means it’s possible he followed me. 

I didn’t see him or his car in the parking lot when I left the store, but I was more alert the entire ride home. By the time I made it home I convinced myself he lived nearby. That’s the only thing that made sense, so I said a quick prayer and brushed it off.

The next few days, I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder. I even went as far as having cameras installed at home. When you live alone, there’s no such thing as being too careful, so I updated my security system too. When everything was finished, I was impressed to say the least. I had everything connected to my phone, plus a couple of panic buttons around the house, in case I ever get caught slipping.

“This shit is dope” Mel exclaimed, as I explained the new system to her. “I just got one question. What’s going on?”

“What you mean?”

“Why did you get all this? Has Chris been threatening you?”

“What? Please! Not everything is about him. I just want to feel safe, that is all”

“You sure you’re not keeping anything from me?”

“I’m sure bitch! Now hurry up and roll up so we can get this movie started” I demanded, changing the subject. 

“Movie? Un-un! You still gotta pack your shit, we leave for Bim tomorrow.”

“Our flight ain’t til 11! I was gonna do it in the morning, you wanna help me?”

“Hell naw! You know how your ass is! It’s gon’ take you forever to pick out 3 days worth of clothes and I’m starving. I’m finna raid your fridge.” 

“Well, how ‘bout you pick my clothes and I fix dinner.” I bargained with a brow raise. 

“Ooooh, deal. I’ll take jerk chicken.” she jumped up a little too happily. “Besides, It’s been a minute since I raided your closet!”

“I betta not find nothing missing!” I called over my shoulder on my way to the kitchen.

CHRIS

"You can’t hold me!" Trey taunted, with his usual trash talk as the shot clock reached zero. We were at his crib playing 2K while Lala and Danni were cooking food, preparing for tomorrow. They were hosting Thanksgiving this year, so the house was smelling marvelous.

“Shut up man! You definitely got lucky” I shook my head in shame.

“Yeah okay, I beat yo ass bro. You just gon’ take that L?” he teased, challenging me to another round.

“Imma have to, I gotta get up outta here. I gotta be at the airport by 7am.” I explained, glancing at my watch. As much as I loved this game, I had other shit on my mind. I needed to figure out how to get Tae to hear me out, and what better way then through her best friend?

“Oh, you gotta get to Mama huh? Can’t miss out on that Thanksgiving dinner!”

“Nah, I’m actually gonna pop up on Tae. Maybe meet the fam and all that”

“Oh yeah? Can she cook?”

“You know what, now that you mention it,” I paused in deep thought. I don’t know. I’ve never had her cooking” 

“Well shit, I guess you about to find out! Good luck!” he laughed, cracking himself up. “But in all seriousness, how’s that going?”

“It’s cool” I lied with a shrug. “How’s the married life?”

“Man, if I knew marriage was the key to turn up the freak in Lala,  I would’ve did this shit a long time ago!” he exclaimed, grinning hard as hell.

“Guess that means it’s going good?”

“Nah, this shit is great. With the way we be going at it, she’s definitely gonna be pregnant any day. That’s if she ain’t already!”

“You fucking stupid” I laughed out loud and damn near choked when Lala came from the kitchen, holding a spatula covered in chocolate.

“Taste this” she demanded, as she strutted towards Trey. She had definitely put on a few pounds since I last saw her. Hopefully he was right and they were expecting. Everybody knew how much they wanted kids.

“Ugh, ain’t that cross contamination?” I frowned, shaking my head.

“Shut up, I’m still mad at you for what you did to my friend” Lala glared in my direction. 

“What you do?” Trey quizzed, looking confused. “You just said everything was cool”

“It was just a big misunderstanding” I sighed as I proceeded to explain the situation. 

“So you’re telling me you passed out next to yo horny ex-fuck buddy and ain’t hit?”

“I swear to God bro”

“No wonder she’s pissed. That just sounds like bullshit” Lala frowned, shaking her head. 

“It ain’t bullshit. Yeah, it looked bad, but I promise ya’ll I ain’t stupid enough to go down that road. I gave her some time to cool off, now I gotta go get my girl back”

“You really love her?” she wondered aloud as she cut her eyes at me.

“I do and I miss the shit outta her. Now what do I gotta do to at least get her to hear me out?”

“Chris, if I help you and you hurt my friend, I will personally help her fuck yo life up.”

“You ain’t gotta worry about that” 

“Okay, you got one shot. The only reason I’m even agreeing to help is because I know how she feels about you. She deserves to be happy. So if you ain’t 1000% sure about her then you should just leave things where they are. ”

“Damn he said he ain’t cheat! If my boy can survive that kind of temptation, then he know what he want. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience. ” Trey exclaimed on my behalf.

“He got a point. Now can you call her for me?

“Why you can’t call her?”

“You know she blocked me” I shook my head as she pulled her phone out.

“You wanna talk to her”

“Nah, I just need you to figure out what she got going on tomorrow so I can pop up on her. I know that seeing me face to face will show her how serious I am.”

“Okay, I can do that.” she smiled, as she dialed Tae’s number. She answered on the second ring and they caught up before she got the information I needed. Tae didn’t even think twice as she ran down her plans for tomorrow. I made Lala promise not to give her a heads up so she could be genuinely surprised. Now all I had to do was show up and speak my truth. How hard could that be?

ROBYN

“If the dog don’t trust it, you know something’s up” Mel blurted to the TV.  We were bundled up together on my love seat because my grown ass wanted to cuddle.

“I never understood why people don’t listen to they dogs!” I agreed, as we cracked our beers and clinked them. We were watching the Conjuring, knowing damn well we were gonna have nightmares from it. I didn’t care, I just needed a distraction.

Ever since the beach sex I had with Rocky, my hormones have been raging. That man had a magical tongue and the fact that he could hang for so long was impressive. I had more than a few orgasms when he’d finally gotten his, and I definitely didn’t expect that from a stranger. I didn’t know if he was really that good or if my drought intensified our encounter. Either way, I was still riding the high.

“You gonna answer that?” I asked, shaking Mel’s shoulder when her loud ass ringtone woke up my babies. Evidently, she was exhausted because she didn’t even make it halfway through the movie.

“Mellie” I called out again, but all she did was roll over and snore louder. I figured it was J when the text notification went off, so I grabbed her phone to let him know she had passed out.

I need another round, last night was incredible. 

What are you doing tonight?

Seeing Michael’s new text along  with no previous messages had my mind going straight to the gutter. I just knew this hoe wasn’t cheating on J. I wanted to wake her ass up, but decided against it. There had to be more to the story. I really hoped so.

My nosy ass could’t help it. I had to get more information. I went through her call history and didn’t notice his name once. I was about to dig even deeper when my phone lit up with an alarm notification. I received a text when my alarm noticed movement within 15 feet of my house. The last couple of times it was a squirrel but this time I was glad I checked it anyway. Apparently I had company.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about this unannounced visit, but smiled when a familiar face paused and took a deep breath before knocking at my door. 

“Sorry for popping up on you” Rocky grinned, when I opened the door.

“So you remembered where I live?”

“I couldn’t forget if I wanted to. My sister lives right across the street” he pointed behind him at the party that was going on. "She throws a mean Thanksgiving eve party if you don’t have anything going on.”

“Oh, um”

“I would’ve invited you the other day but you left so quickly I didn’t get your number” he hinted.

“My bad, I was in a hurry. I would go, but my sis is staying with me tonight.”

“The more the merrier. I bet she’d have a good time too”

“We actually have a flight in the morning, so we’re about to call it a night.” 

“Aight, guess I’ll just see you around.” he shrugged, returning to his party. The throbbing between my thighs wanted to invite him in to have our own little party, but my better judgement willed it away. Instead, I went straight to my room, pulled out my little friend, put some fresh batteries in, and went to work.

[n0irrrr]

e m p t y / 11

shingeki no kyojin | series [various x male!amnesiac!reader] summary: [Name], an amnesiac boy awakes in a unknown place – trying to remember anything makes him have horrible headaches. Who is he? And why he can’t remember his own face? masterlist

chapter eleven training

Looking around, the taller male tries to see if anybody is watching him, and when he decides he's safe, Jean can't help himself to check out the body from his friend next to him— [Name]. He's not paying attention to him, so Jean was safe to see all the wanted. He has noticed he have matured enough, but he is taller than [Name] and stronger.

His soft skin looks nice — he wondered if it was easily to mark... his hair looked smooth, too. He wanted to smell it– remembering those days when they were kids he always thought [Name] smelled nice.

Jean's eyes could help but wander more on his body, but before he could get any lower, he noticed something just behind [Name]'s shoulder— a mark?

The two-toned haired male tries to look at it carefully, but someone came out of nowhere talking loudly, scaring him.

"Yo, [Name]!" A short guy yells, approaching both. Turning, he recognize is Connie. "What is that on your shoulder? Is that a mark?" He says, looking right on his shoulder.

"Uh? What?" [Name] asks, confused. He tries to look behind his shoulder, but he can't see anything. "What is it?"

"You don't know? It looks like a mark!"

"A mark?"

"Hmn... it looks like... a wing?? Nah..."

Someone else speaks, interested by the subject. Is a big blonde– Reiner. "It looks like... a crown." He says lowly, narrowing his eyes. He turns to see his brunette friend, who looks nervously at him in return.

"Well, possibly. It does look like it, though..." Jean speaks thoughtfully.

[Name] tilts his head, completely oblivious he had that. "I don't remember anyone telling me I had one..."

Connie raises and eyebrow, "no? not even your parents?"

[Name] stays quiet by the question, and Connie notices right away he asked something uncomfortable.

"S–Sorry! Forget that!"

"Way to go, baldy."

"Hey! I didn't think much of it!"

[Name] shakes his head, "It's alright. No, I don't think they told me."

"Well, that's a cool mark!"

"...Thank you?"

"You don't remember having it before?" Reiner asks, looking at it carefully.

[Name] shakes his head, wondering if he could remember about it– but a sharp pain in his head stops him. Grunting, [Name] places a hand on his head, trying to relieve the pain.

Everyone can see his discomfort, but is Jean the first one to ask. "Your head again?

"Yeah..."

"You have headaches a lot, uh?" Reiner asks.

"Sometimes," he rubs his forehead, but stops when he realizes something, looking at the teenagers with narrowed eyes, "but... how all of you noticed my mark?"

"Because it was noticeable!" Connie responds enthusiastically.

"...So you were watching me while I'm showering...?"

"Ah—! Well, hehe..." Connie begins to laugh, and Bertolt, Reiner and Jean avert your gaze, face blushing.

[Name] touches his mark, wondering. Who was I? He turns to Jean, who is averting his gaze, embarrassed, "can you draw it? I want to see it."

His friend just gulps, trying to act normal. "Oh, sure."

Eren just saw their interaction from far away, pouting and frowning like a child.

"You should stop watching... it's awkward..."

━━━━━━✧♛✧━━━━━━

First training was about practicing with the balance of the ODM. As he could see, Jean and Marco were doing great— but Eren... not so much. The brunette was upside down with an horrifying expression plastered on his face. It was obvious in [Name]'s eyes he was utterly embarrassed and horrified of what was just happening to him— [Name] could only watch in worry as everyone around let out snickering comments about his friend's state as the instructor yelled at him.

"Cadet Knight! It's your turn!" One of the instructors shouted, turning to see [Name] already coming his way, watching his friend in worry. He got in place, one of the cadets placing the wires on his belt. [Name] tried to not tense too much, but as soon as the cadet began to lift him in the air, [Name] couldn't stop feeling so... uncomfortable. He couldn't get used to it as quickly as Mikasa did— it was so... tight. He couldn't stop staggering around, much to his dismay. And to top things up, a migraine was appearing, making it more difficult than it already was.

Nevertheless, the teenager tried his best to not fall. But it was clear the practice was difficult to him.

"You just barely made it," Shadis spoke to him, "you better change your pathetic attempt or you are leaving along with cadet Jäeger!"

Hearing the yells, Eren, who was still upside down, looked besides him to see [Name] having trouble too. He just grew more worried about the future in the military— their future. What if one of them had to go and couldn't see each other again?! He wouldn't allow that!

I̷̡͎̱̭͙͎̠̒̎̍̌̈́ͅ ̴̨̘͍͖̘̼̲̐͑͐̃̐͘͝͝͝͠t̷̨̆̎̽̃͆͂̚o̶̧̢̥͍̗̩͓̘̫̙̮͊̀͋̂͌̇ͅļ̴̧̨̱͉͔̭̬̘͎̣̈̐͋͆̒̎͑̊̆͗̚ͅd̴̢̧͕̟̫͕̲̙̳̬͎̣̥̓͐̕ ̵̧̼͔̠͔̗̞̋̽̿͌͌͑̔̓̇̓̆̽̓y̸̭̺̖͓͉̔͂͋̅́̑̈́͊̆̚͘̚̚͝ǫ̷̛̽̿̑̈́̈̒͘͠͠ǘ̸̼͖̝̬͖̮̥͕̈́̀̀͐̂̑ ̴̧̧̢͉͍̙͓͕̙̲̻̖͊̒̾̃t̵̛̯̦̋̈́̇͌͗̿͘̚͠ḧ̶̹̭̹̱̞̗̖̻͈̟̫́̋̅̑̒͗̽̔̇̚̚i̷̧͕̜̱̓̾̿͛̔̂̍̍̒̓̚̕͝s̶̨̢͕̺̻̜̤̬̑̌̍̏̃̎̚ ̴͓̒̉͝ͅb̸͎̲̜̓͊̏̈̋̊͑̈̄͑̊͜͝͝͝r̸̢̡̧͎͔̺̭̫̼̼̘͎̬̓ä̴̧͈͙̼̤͈̹͖̝̜͉̭͚̊͜ͅṫ̵̡̤̻̰̋́̓̽̕͘̚͝ ̷̢͖̭̪̮̻͇̤̦̘̩̹̅̿̈̈́̌͘͘͝w̷̧̛̱͈̫̙̲͖͉͖̲̘͓̳̉̑̔͊̅̍̿̚ā̴̡̧̻̬͖̫͇͎̃͑̽͜s̴̛̜̭̱̦̲̮͎̞̼̆̕n̷̢̧̯͙͉̫͖̠̙͙̰̙͍͐̈́̏͐̈́̆̇̑͝'̸̡̢̨̛̠̘͖͍͈̥͈̗̦̭̈́̾̾͊̄̓̚͝͝ͅţ̸͇̞̞̒͊͌̃͊̉͂̂̅̾̚͝͝ ̷͔͉̪̠͖̾̉̈͑̈́̋̐̍̓̚͜m̴̨̛ư̵̜̩̭̲̞̬͚̱̮͚̘̾̌͒̃̋̈́͋c̸̢̟̭͈̹͎̮̠͕̾͐̌̿͠h̶̦͖̟͇̻͖͓̮͔̝̖̫͔̄̓̆͒̂̀͌̊̍̚͠͝ͅ ̶̨̧͔̗̱̠̦̫͔̱̅̂ǫ̸̥̫̹̬̣̯͙̪̲͇̌͒̓͊̈́̊̽͒͒͘f̵̻͍̮̯̖̪̹̭̈́̏͒͗͗̊́̕͝ ̸̛̜̮͒͐̽̈́̈͆͌̉̐̽͝ą̶̠͎͉̟̟̜̭̜̥͓̾ͅ ̴̢̛̻͆̐̑̾̆̉̾̿̑̏͆͠͝h̶͉̞̉̏͘ę̷̬͇̟͙̬̭̹̺͉̺͖̦͖͓̓ľ̵̝̲̗̾̓͌̒ͅp̵̛̙̯͕̝̰̹͂̂̿̉̈́̈̇̒̎͘̚.̴̨̬̻̥̲̼̦̫̬̲͙͉͉͌̂̑̒̓̽̕͝

[Name] felt irritated. What was the issue with him? As it was an new thing, maybe he didn't get use to it right away...

"Don't worry, [Name]! I'm sure you will get it right next time!" Marco tried to comfort him with his precious smile, but [Name] was already in a bad mood. The frown made it quite clear.

"Well, seems [Name] didn't make it in the first try," Jean was surprised his friend hadn't made it the first time. But he could recognize the way he grit his teeth and frowned was because he was having one of his usual headaches. "Did your head hurt?"

Sighing, [Name] just nods as an answer, rubbing the back of his head. He couldn't deny hearing harsh whispers right on his ear, a voice that could have belonged to a man with a gruffly voice. [Name] didn't hear quite well what it said, but it got in his nerves nevertheless.

”Looks like Eren is having it worse...” Armin says, smiling awkwardly at his friend. [Name] can see the brunette still trying, but failing every time. It was not a great scene to see, less when everyone was looking at him in mocking way.

”Pff, and there goes “the weak have to go”, HAHAHA!” Jean jokes, laughing like a maniac. [Name] just sees him with an raised eyebrow, amused by such ridiculous behavior. Was he always this dumb?

[Name] sighs, passing a head trough his hair, ”guess I have to worry about myself...” Jean notices his irritation, and he hugs his shoulder and speaks in a weird tone.

”Heeeey,” Jean pats his head with his grin, “don’t worry— PRO Jean knows everything and you are in luck— I’m not charging you.”

[Name] snorts, “is that so? How nice of you.” Hugging his arm, [Name] rests his head on Jean’s shoulder, looking at him with a playful smile. This only breaks Jean’s facade, seeing his blush and stuttering.

Armin just sees with widening eyes and a blush, same with Marco. It’s... amusing seeing [Name] so lively, after being in a bad mood.

"I'm hungry. When is lunch time?" [Name] yawns, letting go Jean's arm. The migraine was still there, but less painful. He somehow had to bear with them as nothing else could help but a cold shower. Maybe he could go to the infirmary later to find anything.

Eren, who somehow finished his awful practice, approaches Armin but not before giving [Name] a weird look. The [hair color] haired stares at him silently, not sure what to say. It's obvious the air had become awkward— there's silence. The brunette frowns, pressing his lips into a thin line, seeming to decide not say whatever he was thinking.

"Let's go." It's the only thing he says, already walking away without Armin. The blonde waves at [Name] before leaving, sending an apologetic smile. [Name] just stands there with a frown, feeling upset once more.

Maybe I should have said something. He thinks, his expression changing to his dull usual eyes and crosses his arms. Sighing, he can't help but being angry at the situation.

The freckled boy can't help but notice the tension, and with prying eyes he looks at [Name]. "Hmn, is something wrong between you two?"

Jean snorts, "of course there is— that suicidal maniac is also a jackass."

"I want to sleep." [Name] states, already walking away. Jean grabs his wrist, pulling him back.

"No you won't! You have to eat dinner first!" Jean yells at him, “I can’t believe I have to be your babysitter!”

”I’m not making you," he pouts, "you are doing it because you want to."

The taller teenager just clench his teeth and grunt, a faint pink painting his face. This cute little shit—

"[Name]! Eating is important!" Marco says worriedly, "if you don't you will be more tired tomorrow..."

The sleepy teenager just sighed and gave in. Eating didn't sound so good when the food was that cold—he already missed his mom's cooking. When will they be able to visit their family?

The trio walked to the dinner hall, Marco and [Name] doing most of the talking while Jean just wondered.

Jean believed if [Name] lived by himself he wouldn't do anything but sleep one week if he could. That careless idiot! If I weren't here with him who would take care of him?! He knew one day he wouldn't be at his side once they graduate. The thought only upset him, squeezing [Name]'s hand for no reason. The amnesiac boy looked at him with curiosity, but squeezed back without a word.

━━━━━━✧♛✧━━━━━━

It wasn't a secret Mikasa was satisfied with how her brother was acting. She knew that day was traumatic— they lost their mother, their father was missing and they believed [Name] was gone for good, even if they didn't say it out loud. But getting angry at him wasn't justified. She knew Eren could get emotional even if he didn't admit it, but it was a clear his feelings controlled him most of the time.

"Eren, you know what you are doing is immature, right?" Armin tries to keep up with the fast speed Eren is walking— he looks troubled. Nevertheless, the blond tries to speak with in a soft tone.

Seeing his silent treatment, Mikasa frowns and speaks, "[Name] is hurt by what you are doing."

"Really?! And then why isn't he coming to apologize?!" He turns to see her angrily.

"For what?" She changes her tone to one much harsher, "he didn't leave us— did you look for him first when the colossal titan broke the wall?" Mikasa says with narrowed eyes, staring right at Eren.

The brunette shuts his mouth, not being able to answer. It was true— his first thought was his mom, not [Name]. But it was completely fine his thoughts were like that. He grits his teeth, turning to walk once more. "Whatever!"

"You will make things right— apologize. What you said to him was uncalled for."

”Eren... [Name] is here, with us.” Armin spoke, “there was a chance he wouldn’t be here— can you imagine that? You should be happy we are together again...”

The brunette grunts, looking as if he didn't care, but in reality, he certainly did. “I have more important things to do right now.”

The two friends look at each other, sighing. Eren could be a thick head when he wanted.

"Hopefully this won't be long."

━━━━━━✧♛✧━━━━━━

As [Name] was changing to more comfortable clothes, he could see Eren (with a bandage around his head) desperately trying to get help with Jean and a kid named Connie. The [hair color] haired knew that wasn’t going work at all, seeing Jean not liking Eren one a bit.

Strangely, [Name] wasn’t too bothered by his horribly practice. At first he was troubled, but he deducted with a few more chances to get used with the gear he would be fine. He didn’t feel desperate— after all, Beatrice always told him that keeping a cool head was better.

”Maybe we can try tomorrow morning before practice,” Marco smiles, looking at [Name], "you can get used to it in no time."

”I don’t think I will wake up...” He scratches his neck, “maybe after dinner... but I will have to change again... ugh.”

”I can go with you to help, okay?" [Name] looks at him and nods, grateful. "Don't worry— I will try to tell you everything I know."

Jean approaches them with a smug smirk, obviously enjoying Eren’s suffering, “he must be so desperate to look for me to help him, pfft!” He can't hold his laugh, seeing Eren's face from afar. Jean turns to the two, still with his smirk, "anyways, how about you [Name]?"

”Ah, [Name] wants to practice after dinner!”

”Really? I don’t see you that bothered, tough.” Jean looks at [Name]'s neutral face— in fact, he didn't see him as worried as others were.

”Maybe I can get it right after a few tries,” he looks at Eren again, noticing he was with Reiner and Bertolt, along with Armin. Tilting his head, blinking with his dull eyes, he proceeds, “after all, being anxious won't help."

"You must be careful with your headaches. Seems they come around in the worst times."

[Name] sighs, "can't do much about that." He didn't know how well he could handle them in the worst scenarios— [Name] hoped they didn't make him leave training.

"Everything will be okay," the freckled teenager showed a warm smile, squeezing his hand. [Name] tilted his head, feeling warm. Strangely, [Name] felt shy. His face blushed and he averted Marco's gaze, and Jean absolutely catch the strange behavior.

Ayayayay— what

"Okay," [Name] scratches his neck, still with the cryptic spark on his eyes. Jean raises one eyebrow, suspicious. Never seen that expression before— [Name] has like... three expressions. What's he thinking?! "We should go to eat now. I'm hungry."

"Sure!"

As the three of them leave, Jean can't stop thinking at the weird thing just happened. That can't be— [Name] didn't even react the way I wanted to when he kissed!

━━━━━━✧♛✧━━━━━━

[Name] noticed neither Armin nor Eren went to have dinner— they stayed with Reiner and Bertolt back in the dorms.

The amnesiac teenager looked at Mikasa, who was with other girls. Since Armin nor Eren are here... She somehow noticed [Name], waving at him with a small smile. [Name] returned the smile, waving along.

He sat down with Jean and Marco as usual, not really talking much. There was few other guys in the table, and he could only recognize Connie and Thomas, a blonde kid he saw around Trost a few times.

"Aah?" The bald kid speaks, stopping eating when he sees [Name]'s face closely. He got near [Name] from the other side of the table, supporting his hands on the wood, "never seen your eyes before!"

"I feel special," [Name] plainly says, eating his bread without much care. Jean snorts by it— since when [Name] jokes?

Connie blinks, realizing who he is, "hey! do you remember your mark?" [Name] blinks, completely forgotten about it.

"Ah, right," Jean takes something from his pocket— a folded paper. He opens it and shows it to [Name], who tilts his head to look at it carefully.

It's a simple drawing— it was a crown inside a perfect circle. No words or anything that he could recognize— just an imagine. This only made him sigh. Of course it didn't bring anything— nothing ever did.

"I don't know."

He doesn't hear anybody, paying more attention to the paper, as he touches the drawing. The touch only brings a heavy pain on his head, and there's only a strong voice speaking trough the static.

W̷͈̱͎͙͍̤͔͉̯̘̟̪͇̭͕̓̂͛̓͗̀͘̕͝X̷̢̛̖̯̰̫̌͛̾̅͂̏͘̕ ̸̨̡̡̰͈̺̻͓̩͔͚̙̅̂̈́̎͜3̴̖͍̫̪̌͛̈͊͝r̶̛̙̺̝̮̣͍̟͓̬̄̀̊͑ͅX̴̹̐̆͌̽̀̕̚͠ ̵̭̻̽͑̇̌̉̿̊̂̍̌̍t̵̥̖̼̮̙̩͈͗͛͗͋̍̌̇̄͛̍̃̋̚͜͝h̴̪̐̏̌͌̓͑̂̕2̵̠̠͇̮̰͈͇͋͜ ̸̧̡͍͙̠̦̬͕̟̻͖̟́̋͌̊̋̄̌̌͘K̸̢̨̥̘͖͙̜͎̹̜͎̰̘̈̀̽̄̎̊̐͒͜ȉ̷̭̺̝̈́̑ň̵͜g̶̺͇̮̑̾͜'̵̨͈̦̳̾̂̓̒̊s̵̢̨̝͙̜͕͙̥͕̣͔̝̤̬̒͋̂͑͒̑̈̈̓͒̀͑̂̑ ̴̲̼͚̲̘̱̫͔͍̩̰͍̓̊́s̶͓͚͐͂̐X̵̡̰͔̯̼̭̻̜̅̋̇͑͛͛͘.̴̭̹̹̳̲̩̃̾͐̓?̵̞̯̤̪̍̊̋̽͗̑͒͗̽͊̚͘͠d̷̡̘̜̯͚̱͕͍̮̹̭͆̒͐͑͛̃͗͘̕͜.̴̨̡̻̟̩̼̄̉̂͠͠

"[Name]?"

"Why does your head hurt a lot?" Connie interrupts Jean, noticing the usual pain [Name] gets. Jean just glares irritably at him.

"Migraines. I will never get rid of them, so I'm used to it."

"Wait— but how come you don't remember anything? Did you hurt your head?"

"Something like that." He doesn't seems to want to talk anymore, so he excuses himself to eat. Doesn't matter, as Connie looks like loves to talk and doesn't seem bothered by his silence. This allows [Name] to think about his now founded mark— did nobody ever see it before? Well, he didn't actually remembered someone looking as his back... was there? Frowning, he instinctively touches his shoulder, upset but happy at the same time. Well, at least I have another thing to be recognized with.

He feels a hand touching his'. [Name] looks up, noticing is Jean. "Hey, do you want to go now? Remember you have to rest." [Name] notices Marco is watching him too, waiting to leave. Nodding, [Name] stand up along with the other two, alerting Connie who only raises his eyebrows with the sudden move.

"Hey! Where are you three going?"

"None of your business, baldy," Jean answers as they leave, hearing Connie yell something to him. Just as they return to the dorm, [Name] can hear Eren's voice in the distance. He turns to the side of the forest, seeing faint lights entering it. Where are they going...?

"[Name]?"

He blinks, entering the dorms without seeing the forest one last time.

”Your straps are loosen up," Marco kneels, tightening them and reordering them, "done!"

"Geez, [Name]. You can be so careless most of the time," he sighs, scolding [Name], "anyways, ready?" [Name] nods.

[Name] has the same uncomfortable feeling as before, but this time he's prepared. He is lifted in the air as he tries his best to relax and not trash around— but there's a gentle voice right at his ear, but not the same gruffly one. This one is kinder, and he can actually understand what it says. He blinks, surprised.

Easy— this is nothing you can't handle.

The voices relaxes him, somehow. Is as if it's singing a lullaby— [Name] sighs, using his whole body to balance correctly this time. Just as Marco and Jean said, the legs had a principal role on balancing himself right. There seems to not be another issue with the gear, as he could see. The two boys saw [Name] working better with the gear, much different than his first try.

"Look at that— seems my great teachings have worked for you, [Name]." Jean smirks, placing his hands on his hips, feeling proud.

"Seems you just had to try a second time," the freckled teenager smiles, giving thumbs up. He helps [Name] getting off.

"I wonder how we'll do in the air," [Name] says, touching the ground. He couldn't wait for the next practice in a couple of days— strangely he felt ticklish by just the thought of flying. Just remembering the first time he saw the Survey Corps using the gear made him grin in anticipation.

"Now now, don't get impatient," Jean tries to sound 'wise', but in reality [Name] thought he sounded dumb as hell, "everything in time."

"Whatever you say, Jeanbo."

"Don't call me that!"

[Name] hides his smile, "mom?"

"[NAME]!"

Marco chuckles, "I'm glad you made it— let's just wait for tomorrow!"

When they walk back to the dorms, [Name] can't stop thinking at the kind yet familiar voice from before. Would I get the answers I'm tired to look for? Hearing the voice was calming, just like hearing Beatrice. It was a weird resemblance, but spot on, somehow. I wonder what she's doing.

[scholar-thief]

[ RP LOG ]

Momori threatens Gwannes. Then they enjoy some...five hour energy.

Momori is seemingly asleep in the tall grass. She’s surrounded by several books, some open, some not. One is currently being used as a makeshift pillow. However, on closer examination, you would notice that her breath is shallow. Dehydration, perhaps? Sun exhaustion? Or maybe that’s just how she sleeps.

Gwannes | There's a grunt, a man's, that originates from somewhere near Momori. It's sudden, disrupting relatively peaceful sounds of distant fauna and rushing wind. "Nn-- Auckgh-- Nn--!" There's a scraping sound, like steel against flat stone that repeats a few times, then goes silent again.

(Momori) gwannes flying /below/ the islands like a proper suspicious fellow (Gwannes) phasing through the floor like a real shady fella (Momori) ????? is he ok?????? omg hahah (Momori) clipping into an object and taking damage from physics engine going haywire (Gwannes) source engine collision noise

Momori wakes up immediately, and assumes a defensive stance, daggers drawn. Her book pillow momentarily sticks to her face, and peels off slowly. “Who’s there?!” She looks around, trying to pinpoint the source of the strange sound.

Gwannes | There's more grunts, then more silence, and this on-off pattern alternates for another short moment before there's actual movement near Momori. More specifically, an arm shoots up from beneath the edge of the floating island, a hand clawing its fingers into a depression in the rock. Attached to the arm was... a hyur, whom pulled himself up by said arm, quickly joining it with another then pulling himself up onto the ground in his entirety, rolling onto his back. "Ggh--"

Momori - With each iteration of grunts and silence, she grows increasingly cautious. By the time an arm appears from the edge of the island, she’s ready. To kill. Thankfully, her throwing knife goes whizzing over the thing that's crawling onto land like some beached seal. Face blank, she watches.

Momori: “.........................excuse me? Excuse me.”

Momori checks for pulse.

Gwannes seems winded to the point that he doesn't even register Momori's throwing knife, let alone her presence. The man halfway looks like a corpse already: From his arms to his neck to his face, the man's hide is positively covered in scars and blemishes, only capped off when he raises his head, turning to face Momori, a single eye darting to look at her. "...Uh." The man sat up, at that, blinking. "..."

Momori gets a good look at the ‘corpse.’ Bald head. Eyepatch. Though scruffy beyond belief, there’s no denying it. This thing is called ‘Gwannes.’ She narrows her eyes as the man looks to her. Suspicious.

Momori: “Care to explain yourself?”

Gwannes blinked, staring at Momori for a moment. "..." The man glanced around past Momori, then back over his shoulder at the edge of the island. "Explain what?"

Momori: “Why you were crawling up the edge of the island.” She crosses her arms.

Gwannes stares at Momori.

Gwannes looks back over his shoulder at the edge.

Gwannes looks back to Momori.

Gwannes: I had to get up.

Momori: “........................”

Momori uncrosses her arms. Twists her fingers together and stretches them, outwards. She grabs Gwanne’s right heel and menacingly pulls the man with surprising strength towards the edge once more.

Momori: “You shall tell me or you shall have a good trip in the lifestream.” She’s straining somewhat at the effort of dragging Gwannes along.

Gwannes offers... not much resistance to this, laying back and letting Momori drag him closer to the edge with little more than a token wriggling and a faint "C'mon, man..."

Gwannes closes his eye, sighing. "I hate the fucking lifesteam."

Gwannes idly swings his head backwards, gently hitting the back of his skull against the ground.

(Momori) its like when you drag a rake behind you (Momori) and it's bouncing around hitting every stray rock + pebble (Gwannes) yes

Momori: “I hear it isn’t so bad during the winter moons,” she says, as she lets go of the man’s ankle. With his body positioned close to the edge, she places her heel on his shoulder. A strong push could roll the man straight back into freefall.

Momori: “Last chance, Baldy.”

Gwannes tenses his shoulders for a moment, then places a palm against the ground and quickly rises back to a sitting position. He slips out from under Momori's heel with all the elusiveness of an earthworm. In spite of getting out from under her, he only does so to move /closer/ to the edge, scooting forward and draping the both of his legs off of the edge. "I'm tired."

Momori makes a sour face, but lets Gwannes do as he wishes. Killing a follower was a one way ticket to being kicked out of the whole expedition, and she couldn’t have that. At least, not yet. But by the gods, she was curious about why the man was ‘rock climbing’, and she hated to have the possibility of answers dangled in front of her face.

Momori: “If you’re tired, go take a nap. Or take one of these.” She pulls a small packet from her sleeve. It’s semi-transparent, and contains some red goo inside of it.

(Momori) eorzean five hour energy. gel form. (Gwannes) Momoris ultimate plan to give gwannes oskwell a pair of cement shoes

Gwannes stared down at Momori's hand. "Candy?"

Momori: “Haha. Sure!” She doesn’t say anymore. Places the questionable packet in Gwanne’s hand.

Gwannes looks to be completely willing to immediately consume someone who was threatening to murder him less than 120 seconds ago. He places the packet in his mouth and bites down on it, then swallows the entire deal.

(Momori) momori will remember this (Momori) gwannes dont take candy from suspicious lalafell!!! (Gwannes) i want Momori to grant my greatest wish and poison me to death

Momori - It all happens so fast that she doesn’t have time to tell him, no, you don’t eat the packaging. She grimaces slightly as Gwannes downs it all....but that doesn’t stop her from offering him another. “You look like you enjoyed that. Have one more.”

Gwannes blinked. "Oh, I-- I shouldn't. I don't know how strong they are."

Momori: “As long as your will is stronger, you are safe.” She covertly plants the offered energy gel into anything that resembles a pocket on Gwanne’s person. “Still tired?”

(Momori) haha wait since this is eorzea (Momori) it'd be five bell energy (Gwannes) drink drink five hour energy its not a drink more like a drink

Gwannes glanced back at Momori, at that. "Oh, well, my will isn't stronger than anything, really. We'll see, I guess." His legs, hanging out over the abyss, swung back and forth idly. "So do you normally threaten to push people off of cliffs while you're not working?"

Momori: “Well, do you normally begin a conversational encounter by pulling yourself up from the edge of a sheer drop?” She raises a brow slightly as she leans against the stalk of one of the dandelion trees.

Gwannes: I didn't know anyone was out this far.

Gwannes: Most people are sticking closer to the camp.

Momori: “For good reason. Though these places are good for a little peace and quiet.” She pauses. “And for studying the Zundu.”

Momori: “The rotund birdmen here are. Acceptably friendly. For birds.”

Gwannes presses his thumb against the backs of his knuckles, stretching his fingers. "You say that like there's a reasonable expectation. A-- Bunch of people from half a continent away come in their airship and start incessantly probing into your territory, how'd you react? There's certainly folk out here that would take a whole lot less kindly to our presence. Like the Vundu."

Gwannes paused. "Well, your presence, maybe. They know me. At least a little."

Momori holds her tongue. In Ul’dah, beastmen were, generally speaking, treated with contempt. A side note to be swept aside. Add to the fact that she simply hates birds of any form, and well...She wants to say that they don’t owe the Vanu Vanu anything, courtesy included. But she doesn’t say that.

Momori: “I. Suppose they are being reasonable, given the situation.”

Gwannes clears his throat. "Yeah, they are." His heels knock against the rock face behind them. "There are far worse places to be, as far as beastman territory. You should see some of the things that go on with the caravans that are unfortunate enough to have to cross through the Xephatoli borderlands."

Momori: “I have only heard stories.” She sits down, back against the base of the dandelion stalk. “Banditry. Vengeance. Greed. Violence. Blind belief. Such qualities are not limited to the beastfolk.”

Momori‘s gaze hardens as she lets her thoughts stew in her mind. She lets out a quiet huff, and shakes her head. “So, Gwannes. Why are /you/ with the expedition?”

Gwannes cleared his throat. "I'm not with the expedition. I'm just here temporarily."

Gwannes: I was already caught up with the Rovers before I came across anyone from this whole... group.

Momori: “Oh. You have your own beef with the Rovers then.” She shrugs. “Welcome to the club.”

Gwannes: Not like that, but--...

Gwannes: ...I wanted just to talk to Nate and then get out of here with my wife, seeing as he owes me a favor, but-- now he's indisposed, I've been told.

Momori: “He’s not exactly in the mood to talk nowadays.” She gets up and gives Gwannes and odd look. “But why not just leave with your wife then? He won’t stop you.”

Gwannes: 'Cause he owes me something.

Gwannes: It's by my own choice that I'm-- I'm stayin', not his.

Gwannes: That, and I'd like to be there when the Rovers--

Gwannes: Well, you know.

Momori figures that whatever Gwannes is asking for is immaterial. A favor that only the Father can provide. Something that cannot simply be taken.

Momori: “Yeah. When the Rovers bite the dust.” She pats herself off. “Well, see you around Gwannes. Good luck in whatever it is you’re trying to get out of Nate.”

Gwannes stands, at that. "Heading out, then--?" He nods to Momori. "Alright. See you around, yeah? Just be careful out this far. Vundu still send out patrols, sometimes. Wayward search parties, that sort of thing..." He pauses. "Anyway, I'll see you around." At that, he immediately... turns on his heel, then takes a step forward off of the edge of the cliff. He's gone.

Momori just. Accepts what is happening in front of her. So many strange folks, so little time. She has a feeling she'll see him again, crawling up from some ledge like a monster of the deep. Farewell...for now.

(Momori) wauw (Momori) what an exit (Gwannes) distant cartoon splat noise (Momori) splort (Momori) does he like. live under the islands like a bat?? so many questions

[waywardfacegarden]

serendipity

hey so i came back at writing :) and it’s not the naruto fandom but uhh i figured i’d posted this here too :D first time writing for this fandom and it was hard af, but i hope you like it!! c:

Summary:

The first time is an accident.

The other ones not so much.

Posted on Ao3 like a month ago or so.

Featuring kissing, slow burn, boys being dumb and bakusquad :)

-

The first time it happens, it’s an accident.

It’s on the first days after the sports festival, and he’s still angry for that half-ass fight Todoroki gave him.

So yeah, Bakugou is arguing with Todoroki, leaning over his seat, when stupid Kaminari hits him from behind.

He slides forward, and, frankly, he had no idea how deep he was inside Todoroki’s personal space until he’s invading all of it. He staggers forward, Todoroki’s eyes open a fraction and, although he stretches out his hand to steady Bakugou’s arm, it’s already too late.

Bakugou crashes all the way down and stamps his lips against Todoroki’s in a, purely and honestly, awkward kiss.

It’s not even a kiss. Is just mouth in mouth, awkwardly pressed together, and it maybe lasts a bit more than it should, but give him a break, he was utterly surprised, okay?

Bakugou pushes himself away, trying not to think about how Todoroki’s lips felt chapped against his, and about the way Todoroki is looking up at him. Bakugou can’t put his nail on it, but he looks… confused, maybe?

“Aaahh, sorry, dude. Did I hit you?”

Bakugou turns around with a murderous aura emanating out of him, like waves.

Kaminari is very dumb most of the time, but it only takes him a second, looking at Todoroki and then at Bakugou, to put the pieces together. He smiles at him, then, but he looks scared.

He bursts out a nervous laugh. “Ah… hah— I— waaaah! Wait! It was an accident! An accident! Kirishima, help me!!!”

Kirishima tries to help, but he can’t stop laughing, and Bakugou only ends up getting more angry. He smacks them both in the head, glaring all the day at everything and everyone.

Stupid Kaminari.

Stupid Half-and-Half.

.

.

.

They don’t talk about it later, though. It’s not like they should, anyways. What are they supposed to say? It wasn’t even a decent kiss and it’s not like there were feelings involved.

So time passes, the months pass, and the memory of what happened has blurred so much that Bakugou almost seems to have forgotten it.

It’s not like he’s thinking about it, either. Not with everything that has happened.

The summer passes, Bakugou is kidnapped, the dorms arrive, the Provisional License exam happens, he and Todoroki fail it, he gets into a fight, the classes come back, and now they have extra classes.

It’s not like Todoroki and he had become friends in all that time, but now they have to spend too much time together because of those classes, and well, Bakugou supposes that the idiot is better than that girl (even if she does good illusions of Todoroki, hah, that was definitely hilarious) and baldy.

So yeah. He’s stuck with him.

It could be worse, he guesses.

They’re now babysitting brats again, and there’s these two little girls that made Todoroki and Bakugou a flower crown. Todoroki smiles awkwardly (but gentle and polite) at them, and lets one of the girls to put the crown on his head.

Bakugou, on the other hand, is definitely not using that, thank you very much.

That’s, obviously, until Todoroki just decides to put it in his head anyways.

Bakugou turns to look at him, irritated. "Hey, asshole!“

Todoroki, on the other hand, looks pretty amused for someone that is almost always wearing that boring expression on his face. He is now smirking at him (just a little bit, but still), and he has the audacity to accommodate the crown on Bakugou’s head and adjust his hair with his fingers.

“What? I think you look pretty nice.” The asshole is obviously trying not to laugh his ass off, and is pissing Bakugou off.

“You think you’re funny, bastard?”

“I don’t think so, I am.”

Bakugou huffs at him. "Oh, yeah, my bad, I forgot how hilarious you are.“ He exclaims, sarcasm spilling from every word.

Todoroki seems as impassive as ever, though. "Is fine, I accept your humble apology.”

Bakugou wants to punch his face. “Excuse me? I didn’t even—”

“Now you have to kiss!”

The childish yell from one of the girls has them both stopping their bickering and looking down at her.

“Huh?” Todoroki says, conveying Bakugou’s feelings in a laconic but efficient way.

“Yes!” The other girl says. “For the wedding!”

“Wedding?” Todoroki looks like a lost puppy, tilting his head to one side in tremendous confusion. Bakugou doesn’t blame him, though. He is just as lost.

“Uh-huh!” One of them says, excited, as she bounces on her heels, and then points to Todoroki. "You’re the husband and”, then, she points out at Bakugou, “you’re the wife! And you have to kiss each other! Like at weddings!”

Well, you can’t beat that logic, huh. (Sarcasm.)

No way. What the fuck. "HAH?“ Bakugou exclaims, “why am I the wife? No, forget that, why are we a wedding, what the—?”

Bakugou can’t finish his long complaining, though.

Todoroki leans in and —it’s barely a quick peck, but— there’s definitely a pair of lips on his that weren’t there before. They’re there and they’re gone as fast as they came in the first place, but they were there.

“Waah—” Bakugou steps back on his feet, blinks as he feels heat swirling around the tips of his ears. He frowns at Todoroki, who looks at him with the same bored expression as always, imperturbable. “You— asshole, what the fuck? Don’t kiss people out of nowhere!”

Todoroki barely bats an eyelid in his direction before turning to the little girls in front of him, who are jumping out of joy with bright, big eyes.

“Was that okay?” He asks, boring tone, boring face, as if he hadn’t just kissed Bakugou, holy—

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!”

“Yes!” The little girls squeal out in unison; they beam.

“Good, then.” Todoroki gives a little, firm nod, as if he was a soldier who just completed a mission and the captain gave him permission to withdraw after a report. Then, he turns around to look at Bakugou, who blinks in return, “We have to help Inasa and Camie over there.” He says, and starts walking.

Bakugou blinks in his place. One, two, three times. Four.

“Haaah?” He tramples behind him. “Don’t walk in front of me, asshole! And what was that about?!”

Todoroki just slides on the ground next to him. He barely raises a single eyebrow, just a little. "Mm?“

Bakugou stomps harder. "You just kissed me there—”

Todoroki raises his eyebrow more, an expression of confusion all over his face, like he doesn’t understand what the problem is. "They asked for it.“ He says, like is something obvious and he doesn’t understand why Bakugou is even mentioning the subject.

Bakugou raises both eyebrows and waves his arms, while Todoroki continues to look at him with the same expression. "Yeah, no shit.” Bakugou fake baffles, rolling his eyes. “That doesn’t mean you have to do it, dumbass!” He remarks, scowling at him.

Todoroki frowns. “But they could have cried if we didn’t do it, or—”

“We could have faked it, or, I don’t know, some shit!”

Todoroki’s frown deepens. "Oh.“

Always so eloquent. “Yeah, bastard, oh.”

Bakugou crosses his arms and stomps, watching Todoroki look like he just had an epiphany. He looks at the ground, purses his lips in a thin line, and when he looks at Bakugou, he has the decency to look at himself as awkward as Bakugou feels. “Sorry, I didn’t know it would bother you so much.”

Hah?

Todoroki turns on his feet and goes where wind-guy and illusion-girl are standing.

Haaah?

.

.

.

The third time it happens, it’s technically Kaminari’s fault too, like the first time. His and the entire Idiot Brigade’s.

"Pleeeeeeease.”

“Fuck off, Kirishima.”

“Oh, come on, dude, just one! It will be fun!”

“Fuck off, Pikachu.”

Bakugou turns the page without even looking over the cover of the book he’s reading while the irritating idiots keep making noise from his place on the floor. He scowls a little. Somehow, the Idiot Brigade managed to convince him to come down from his room to the lobby to enjoy the “wonderful and really fun” (quoting Shitty Hair) (vaguely improvised and messy, if you ask Bakugou) “pre-Christmas” party after the return to UA. With the new bedrooms, his dumbass class seemed to think it was an awesome idea to “share and hang out”, and even Glasses agreed with it as long as there was no alcohol or “too much noise that could disturb the tranquility of his fellow companions ”.

Whatever. It was stupid beyond limits, and Bakugou doesn’t even know why he’s there in the first place. It’s past nine o’clock, it’s dark outside, and he wants to go to bed now. And no, he’s not a grandpa, but he is bored, the music is loud (Glasses, what the fuck are you doing? Didn’t you want “silence” and “quiet”?) and he wants his eight hours of sleep to pay attention in class properly so he can beat everyone up and be the number one hero, thank you very much.

But now Kirishima and Kaminari are bothering him with some stupid, stupid game, playing “dares” like fucking dumb middle schoolers, and nope, there’s no way in hell he—

“Meh, leave him alone, guys.” Finally, a voice of reason in all this mess, thank— “he’s obviously scared one of the dares will be too much for him.”

“Hah?” Bakugou snaps, whipping the book against his lap and looking up at Sero’s dirty smile just mere meters from him.

“Oooohh.” Shitty Hair and Piss Hair have the audacity to sing-song like idiots in chorus.

“I see. Sorry man.” Kirishima says, but the way he’s grinning at him makes Bakugou think that he is enjoying all of this very, very much.

“Yeah, dude, all cool. Don’t worry about it.” Kaminari adds, grinning all wide.

Bakugou grunts as he feels how the vein on his forehead is going to burst out. He clenches his hands into fists, swings his legs off the couch and stomps on the floor, smoking.

“Who are you calling scared, assholes?” Bakugou stomps hard to where Kaminari holds a stupid bowl with papers inside. He takes it, mumbling curses under his breath about how stupid the game is, how stupid the party is and how stupid they all are, and pulls out a piece of paper (along with many others that overflow from the edge, spill and fall to the floor thanks to the strength with which he puts and removes the hand from the container).

He unfolds the paper so strongly; it is surprising it doesn’t break.

Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero continue to smile like the idiots they are.

On the paper, there’s only one word, scrawled messily in what he supposes should be the center of the white square.

Kiss.

Huh? Bakugou flips the paper over, picks it up and sees it against the lights. He scowls at it.

“What is this supposed to mean? Kiss? Kiss what?”

“Kiss who, you moron.” Raccoon Eyes says in her typical squeaky voice, smiling as wide as all the other idiots are. Ah. Why is Bakugou surrounded by so many idiots, and, most importantly, how and why does Bakugou even hears them. She giggles in an annoying way and then smirks at him. "We’re supposed to tell you who you’re going to kiss and you have to do it.“

Bakugou doesn’t like the malicious gleam that sets in her eyes a moment later.

"That’s fucking stupid.” Bakugou says, but there’s something that pulls in his stomach and threatens to tip his dinner out. He doesn’t want to kiss anyone, no, and this is all ridiculous anyways, because—

Mina shrugs. "You can always reject it if it’s too much for you, but you’ll have to take a punishment later.“

"But you know, Mina, kissing someone must be easy-peasy for him anyways, don’t you think?” Sero drawls, with a sardonic voice.

Bakugou is gonna kill him. Bakugou is gonna kill them all. Bakugou is going to tell them to go fuck themselves, that they can put their stupid paper and their stupid game in their asses, and that he is going to go to sleep now and he will not take any stupid punishment because the game is incredibly stupid anyways.

Of course, the lack of his usual hours of rest should be affecting his brain already, because what comes out of his mouth, bellowing, instead, is:

“Fuck you, Pinky. And fuck you too, Soy face. Fuck you all. I’m going to kiss whoever you want and is going to be the best fucking kiss they’re ever going to get because I'm that good in everything and I’m not a goddamn coward, you hear me?”

Of course, Sero and Mina don’t back down at all, like they were waiting for that kind of reaction.

Some of his classmates turn to look at him in the middle of his outburst, peeking over from their seats. Most of them have made at least one challenge from the bowl already, so they were paying attention anyways before the screaming. There is a myriad of different reactions. Most of them only look with curiosity. There is a slight anguish expression written over the frog girl’s face, tapping her fingers again and again on her lips; same as Uraraka, who sways on her feet standing next to her. Glasses seems extremely concerned that Bakugou is going to explode the living room at any time and Ponytail fidgets in her place, right next to where Jirou is smirking at all them, seeming amused. She has even lower the volume of the music.

“Um, guys, maybe—” Ponytail begins to say, her voice soft and elegant and polite as always, looking through her long lashes with a slight frown over the pink haired girl.

Ashido doesn’t beat an eyelash at all, though. Her smirk widens, and she crosses her arms over her chest, beaming. "Good, then.“

Bakugou growls at her.

Whatever. She just needs to say the name fucking now, so he can—

"I dare you to kiss—” by the way her eyes are shining, Bakugou almost wants to recoil. He swears to God, if she says Mineta or some shit, he’s going to— “Todoroki.”

…

… huh?

“HAH?”

There’s silence after he explodes, and then Kaminari snorts and Kirishima starts to chuckle besides him.

“You heard me, boy.” Mina smiles, all fake innocence and real devilish. “Go and give Todoroki the best kiss he’s ever gonna get.”

Bakugou growls at the clear mockery of his previous words, and there is something that slips slowly and dangerously inside him.

They want him to snog Todoroki in the couch right in front of everyone? Fine. He’s not a coward, he’s not backing off some stupid ass-challenge like that.

He turns around, and looks at where Todoroki is sitting, right next to where Bakugou was reading a moment ago on the couch, watching the entire conversation in silence. He blinks, and seems genuinely surprised when Bakugou walks resolutely towards him, as if he didn’t expect Bakugou to comply with what was said.

Well, no. It’s not like he wants to kiss Todoroki, he’s just not a coward.

Bakugou stops just in front of him and Todoroki looks up at him, seeming completely lost at what’s going on.

It seems like he is about to say something then, but Bakugou leans over, stretches his arm, takes him from the neck of his shirt and pulls him up. Whatever he was going to say dies on his lips when Bakugou crashes against him. He does a quiet, little, surprised sound at the back of his throat, and Bakugou leans in, swallows it in his own mouth.

If he’s honest, Bakugou has never kissed anyone before that’s not this idiot, and the previous times they weren’t even decent kisses, so he cannot say he has experience. Frankly, he has no idea what he’s doing, but he supposes it can’t be that complicated. Bakugou is naturally good at everything he does, so he just has to try something.

Todoroki’s lips are soft, actually, and from that distance, he can perfectly smell the shampoo of his hair. The fabric of his sweater wrinkles between his fingers when he tilts his head in another better angle, his knee resting at the side of Todoroki’s leg on the couch, his other hand sliding to Todoroki’s wrist. It is thin, and Bakugou’s fingers slide down his sleeve, his nails carefully scraping and scratching at the skin; honestly, he has no idea what he’s doing, but Todoroki makes a little sound that seems content and pleased once he does it, so he supposes that it’s okay. With his fingers there, he can feel Todoroki’s heartbeat rumble against his body, trying to get out.

It doesn’t feel that bad.

Trying to remember something he has seen in some shitty rom-com movie with the old hag time ago, or with Shitty Hair and Pinky, Bakugou pushes his tongue on the edge of Todoroki’s mouth, gently licks his bottom lip, sucks that very lip between his own, and Todoroki opens his mouth, pulls air, makes that surprise sound again. Bakugou takes the opportunity to introduce his tongue into his mouth, and then everything becomes a little fuzzy.

He vaguely notices the way Todoroki’s body relaxes (unravels, melts) at the same time that a song he doesn’t know explodes in the speakers behind him, all whispers muffled in the back of his head.

Frankly, the idea of ​​sticking his tongue in someone’s mouth, or of someone sticking their tongue in his, seemed totally unpleasant to him and nothing like to put on his list of things he wanted or wished to do. But when he leans in a little, Todoroki tilting his head closer to him, closing his eyes, his eyelashes tickling Bakugou’s cheeks— when Todoroki’s fingers move against the nape of his neck, get into his hair, pull Bakugou towards him, like he’s asking, pleading for more— when Todoroki breathes against him, making a soft, humming sound each time Bakugou moves his tongue in a certain way, his pulse rippling, going rampage against Bakugou’s fingers— when Todoroki’s tongue tentatively touches his, slowly, deliberately, as if he was afraid of doing it…

Well, Bakugou supposes it could be worse.

Then, Bakugou releases his sweater and pushes his hand gently against the top of Todoroki’s chest, breaking out to take air, to breath. Todoroki doesn’t open his eyes yet, his long lashes trembling against his cheeks. Their lips make a shameful, embarrassing, obscenely wet sound when they break apart, and Bakugou tries not to think about whose the thread of saliva hanging from his lips the moment he moves apart a little is.

Todoroki opens his eyes then, so slow, slow, slow, and looks at him. He looks at Bakugou like is the first time he had seen him, through the curtain of his eyelashes with stormy eyes full of emotions and glazed, and there is something in Bakugou’s stomach that pulls at him hard, like he’s going to vomit, but he doesn’t feel nauseated or disgusted. At all.

Todoroki blinks, and is at that moment when he realizes three things: one, he is still terribly close to him; two, he hasn’t moved his hands; and three, there is a sepulchral silence behind him except for the music.

Bakugou moves.

And then someone behind him starts to laugh. He assumes is Pikachu.

“Wow, dude, you went all out there—”

Mina starts laughing too.

There’s a light pink dust covering Todoroki’s cheeks, and he’s still gasping for air. Bakugou’s not going to lie, it’s almost—

“There. I’m going to bed now.” Bakugou says then. He turns around, just to find people with wide eyes, people blushing, and the idiots cackling or shit-eat grinning. "I hope you all die, assholes, so you can’t bother me anymore.“

"We love you too!” Raccoon Eyes says, grinning like a moron.

“Yeah, yeah. Night. Assholes. ”

Then he walks and disappears down the hall, his book forgotten on the couch. Once he reaches the elevator, he thinks he can still hear laughter and murmurs behind him.

“Wow, I think he broke Todoroki!”

“Yeah, are you okay, dude?”

Fucking morons.

.

“Haaaah?” Bakugou exclaims, perplexed. “It’s fucking what now?”

“Enchanted!" Kaminari quips up, like he’s dead serious, but grinning like a goofball. "It’s a quirk from a girl from Class B.”

Enchant mistletoes? What kind of quirk so useless is that? It’s fucking bullshit and he’s not going to buy that shit. Nope.

He’s not kissing Todoroki again. No.

Because, yeah, he apparently has to kiss that bastard again.

He can’t even calmly fight with him in the hall now because of these dumb morons.

“Hah, yeah, really funny, Pikachu. I’m going to believe that some girl has a quirk that enchants mistletoes. ”

“It’s not that, actually," Ponytail says, kindly, peeking over at the boy's side; and before Bakugou can sneer at the blonde, she adds, "her quirk is enchanting objects to bind them to people. If you don’t use the object for its "function”, you can’t detach from the object by far more than two meters. Kaminari thought it was a good idea to make a joke like this,“ she explains, and side-eyes him, mildly frowning in disapproval.

Kaminari smiles, "Sorry,” he says, like he’s not. "But is funny, Momo!“

Iida comes out from behind him like a fleeing robot, waving his arms like crazy. "It is not! Kaminari, that’s some serious behavior and—!”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Bakugou says, “so, what? You’re telling me I have to kiss Half-and-half again because that’s what mistletoes are for and if I don’t, then I can’t move from here?”

Momo looks anxious to respond, seeming afraid that Bakugou would explode Todoroki after she answers. "Basically,“ she responds, anyway.

"WH—”

Bakugou can’t finish, however, because Todoroki takes him by the nape of his neck and kisses him. Hard.

Bakugou supposes it is a bit to take revenge of him for that crazy kiss in the party, because he doesn’t think is so necessary for the kiss to be so open (somehow, he can’t manage to think of another way to describe it), but there he is, Todoroki, kissing him like his life depends on it, digging his nails into Bakugou’s neck, burying his teeth in Bakugou’s lower lip, dragging his tongue a little later and— wow, okay.

Okay.

Bakugou did not just make that sound, holy shit. He just didn’t.

He supposes that he actually did it, because Todoroki breaks up the kiss, lips bruised like at the last kiss they had, and fucking smirks at him. Smirks.

Then, he just turns around and walks down the hall.

“Bastard, what the fuck!”

Todoroki doesn’t even stop.

“ASSHOLE!”

He hates how he can feel Todoroki’s teeth on his lips all day.

.

.

He kisses Todoroki again.

He kisses Todoroki again, even if he was supposedly never kissing him again. He kisses him at Todoroki’s birthday party, after someone (he can’t remember, probably Racoon Eyes or Jirou) jokes about Bakugou kissing Todoroki as his birthday gift, given those “wild” kisses before, as she likes to describe them. This one is different, though. Is barely a peck, (and, obviously, a joke) (not like the others ones were for real, per se, but) but Bakugou feels like Todoroki leans a bit more and follows him (maybe not, it was such a subtle movement that Bakugou probably imagined it) after Bakugou breaks the kiss.

Is not a bad kiss. It’s not even a kiss if they count the others they have given each other already, and it’s just a joke so it’s fine.

Yeah.

.

.

.

He kisses him again, though. Six months later.

However, it’s Todoroki’s fault this time.

Some time after that third kiss on the party, or maybe after Todoroki’s birthday party, or just… along the way, Todoroki and Bakugou seemed to… get along, for lack of better, more appropriate words. Their relationship was somewhat complicated, he supposed, or maybe it wasn’t that hard to understand at all, but at some moment, at some point, Todoroki and he began to spend more time together. Just casual, while Bakugou was reading a book, or studying, or helping Todoroki with something school-related, about the classes they had, because holy Hell, Todoroki’s notes were a fucking mess and all over the place and how the HELL are you the fifth in class… who takes notes like this, Icyhot? Is this what you call notes? What the fuck? Really, what the fuck?

Or simply hanging out with the Idiot Brigade in one of their rooms or in the living room. Sometimes (weird times, scattered times) they would be alone in his or Todoroki’s room, quietly resting most of the time, each one with his homework, Bakugou scrolling through his phone while Todoroki binge reads some new manga he just bought.

Like that time, in summer, on a Saturday, when Todoroki knocked on his door at 11am (early, because Todoroki is a damn brick that can be asleep until 2pm, what the fuck?), and peeked through his doorframe, entering as if he were in his own room, sitting on his bed, a manga with the title Erased on the cover hanging from his right hand.

“What do you want, idiot?”

Todoroki had opened his manga on a bookmark and had laid down on the bed, starting to read. "Hmm. Dress up, Kaminari and Mina want to go to the mall, and Kirishima sent me to look up for you.“

Bakugou didn’t know when Todoroki had become so attached to the Idiot Brigade and started to spend more with them as a group, but it had only happened.

"Huh. So now you’re the official dog that comes looking for me?" Bakugou had snickered, and Todoroki had shrugged, still focused on his reading, without even sparing a glance at him.

"More like the one who has to drag you because nobody from the Bakusquad stands you in the mornings to do it.” He had answered.

Bakugou had kicked him before diving into his closet and then starting to dress up.

“I told you not to call it that, it’s stupid.” And it was. The name of his “group of friends” (more like, bunch of annoying idiots that stick to him) with which Kaminari had stupidly decided to baptize them and with which the Brigade of Idiots (plus Todoroki) had decided to come along was totally ridiculous. Idiot Brigade was so much better.

The Idiot Brigade didn’t think so, though.

“Hm. If you think about it, they called it like that because they care about you.”

“More like they're a bunch of morons that like to mess with me and make me angry all the fucking time.”

Todoroki hummed while turning on the page. "I think it’s their own way of telling you you are very important to them, even if you think is annoying. Because, for them, you are a very important part of their group, so—”

“Yeah, yeah, cut the sappy shit already; I’m ready.”

“I’m just saying— oh, wow.”

Bakugou looked up from where he was tying his converse and stood up, expecting to see Todoroki absorbed in a page of his manga (the only times he made some surprise sound or some noise loud enough to be heard), only to find him looking directly at him. Or more like, at his legs.

“What?”

Todoroki had blinked, looked at his face, and then back at his legs, seemingly unable to look away.

“You’re wearing jeans.” He had stated, simply, as if that was enough to explain everything and nothing at all.

Bakugou had looked at his jeans (ripped jeans) and then at Todoroki.

“Yeah” He had said, “is hot as hell and these are fresh enough”, he had frowned, confused, “what about it?”

Todoroki had blinked, suddenly emerging out from his stupor. And then he had looked away, suddenly interested in the one and only All Might’s figure sitting on the small table next to Bakugou’s bed. "Nothing.“

Bakugou had frowned, but he had easily brushed it off. To this day, he can’t quite understand why the Idiot Brigade was shit-eating grinning so much that day.

And looking back, he doesn’t really know why he is remembering that at this specific moment. Maybe because he has the same jeans on.

It’s Deku’s birthday and they’re in a noisy karaoke, and if Bakugou is honest with himself, he really wants to go to the dorms now. Not because Deku is annoying, because he is and he keeps thanking Bakugou so much for his gift (“It’s amazing, Kacchan! Thank you!”), but in fact they have already fixed (at least, somewhat, partially, mostly) that old hostility between them that, Bakugou will not admit it out loud, but it was largely his fault, or because Ashido’s squeaky voice screaming along with Uraraka’s at some girly song is giving him a headache, or because Kaminari keeps cracking bad jokes every fucking time he opens his mouth, but because it’s loud and the food is not even that good and he does not like parties. Maybe he is a grandpa, after all. Not that he’s going to admit that out loud.

Todoroki gets up from his seat and sways a little, because, oh yeah, he forgot to mention it, the fucking dumbass is drunk as hell because he's that much of a moron and he ordered a drink with alcohol without even knowing. The big idiot. After about three glasses, he must be a little drunk, if the way his eyes shine a strange glow when he looks at Bakugou is some indication.

He seems a bit off, too.

He supposes it’s part of the problem, aside from Todoroki being a complete idiot, and it is probably the reason why he ends up kissing him two minutes after the asshole gets up from his seat.

He looks at him through his eyelashes, with glazed, mesmerizing eyes. He says his name, barely audible with the shrill sound of the music, and then he lets himself fall on his lap, straddling his hips, descending to his level with a terribly slow movement that makes Bakugou feel dizzy (God, he seriously needs to get out of there, all the noise is affecting him. But at the same time, with Todoroki in his lap, he suddenly doesn’t want to get out and, shit, the sound it’s definitely affecting him), and Todoroki is saying something, something that Bakugou can’t listen, and then he leans in and down and he’s suddenly kissing him. Hard.

Todoroki is making out with him, in a messy, messy way, and is wet, and is hot, and Bakugou has his hands on Todoroki’s hips, and Todoroki has his hands on Bakugou’s hair, and it’s all really, really messy.

Bakugou doesn’t even know what he’s doing anymore.

Of course, the next day, when Todoroki is complaining about the fatal headache he has. laying down on his back on the couch, sinking his hands in his face when he remembers how he attacked (for lack of, uh, a better word) Bakugou the day before, apologizing to a thousand miles per hour, Iida scolding him about “inappropriate and indecent behavior in a public space”, and Bakugou is trying hard not to laugh out loud, he actually feels it was worth it.

.

They don’t kiss after that, though. In like, half a year or so.

Bakugou doesn’t know how he feels about that.

.

.

.

“Do you like Todoroki-kun, Kacchan?”

Bakugou almost chokes on air. He turns around mid-step on his moves to find Deku standing next to him in the gym. There are not people close enough around (nobody wanting to be a victim of the debris flying out because of Bakugou’s new movements) (which, by the way, does not happen that often, dammit) to listen, but Bakugou moves uncomfortably anyways. An anguish feeling starts crawling inside him. If someone hears— not like it was true, but still—

“What the fuck, nerd? What are you saying?”

“Hmm, well, I was just wondering, because the other day you—”

“No, I don’t like that bastard and I don’t know where did you get that stupid idea from.”

Deku tilts his head and. And he just stares at him. He scans his face like he’s looking for something, and it makes Bakugou feel idly hyper-aware of himself so suddenly.

“Whatever, shitty nerd, aren’t you supposed to be training? You’re not going to keep up with me if you keep doing that stupid thing with your feet every time you do your new move.”

He blinks and looks at his feet, and then at Bakugou again. "Oh. My feet. Right. Thanks, Kacchan.“

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just shut up already and go away.”

Bakugou does his best to keep a face and tone boring or irritated, but the stupid nerd must see through it as if he were an open book, if the way he smiles at Bakugou is some indication. It’s obvious he’s avoiding the subject he just mentioned on purpose.

“Sure, Kacchan. See you, then.”

-

Stupid, stupid Deku. Stupid nerd and his stupid, ridiculous ideas. He doesn’t like Todoroki. He definitely doesn’t like Todoroki.

Sure, they get along better after all the extra training together, and sure, Bakugou doesn’t want to punch his face all the time like before, and yeah, maybe they’re somewhat like friends now, but he doesn’t, does not like him.

No.

So what if they spend even more time together? It’s not like he doesn’t spend time with those idiots either. So what if Bakugou is helping him with some classes sometimes after school? Bakugou tutors Kirishima, Kaminari and Mina too. Maybe he’s less patient with them, but that’s because they’re fucking idiots. So what if they watch a movie from time to time in the living room? They’re never rom-com shits or something, and they usually do it with other people around. So it’s. Not weird. Not weird at all.

And Bakugou doesn’t like him. Nope.

(They haven’t even kissed in all this time!)

Not weird. Definitely not weird. Definitely not weird that Bakugou knows Todoroki’s favorite food now (is cold soba, what the ever living fuck?) —he even told Baldy that time too— and the way his face softens when he’s eating it. It’s totally, definitely not weird Bakugou knows Todoroki’s favorite manga, or favorite color. Not weird how Bakugou has noticed the way Todoroki frowns when he’s deep thinking, how he hits his pencil against his notebook when he’s trying to solve a particularly complicated algebraic problem, how his eyes look a different shade in the sunlight, how the center of his head mixes both colors of his hair when he just had a nap on the floor of Bakugou’s room (which is, definitively, totally and completely not endearing, no); how awfully terrible he is at cooking and at washing, too (seriously, how the hell can you live alone here, Icyhot?), how his face looks after receiving a message from Endeavor (the way it wrinkles and crumples, and there’s an ugly line on his forehead, between his eyebrows, and Bakugou’s hands itch to drag his fingers and make it go away—), how he has his small and rare smiles, which are soft and barely noticeable; how—

No.

Definitely. Not. Weird.

So what if Bakugou is noticing all these things? Bakugou is very observant, and he pays close attention to everyone even if he doesn’t want to. He knows Kirishima’s favorite food too, and he knows how awful Kaminari’s hair looks after gross sleeping and babbling in the couch when they’re supposed to be studying math with Shitty hair and Raccoon eyes. He knows about that irritating habit Ashido has of biting her nails when she’s nervous before a test, and about Sero’s weird taste in mangas too.

So it’s not weird, right? Right. It’s not weird.

He’s just noticing because Todoroki is spending a lot of time with him lately, so it’s just logic. It makes sense. Yeah.

Not weird.

It doesn’t stop him to think about it all day, though. And by the time he’s looking at the cold sky night, dressed in a simple jacket, baggy pants and a scarf, he doesn’t notice Todoroki looking at him until he says his name.

“Bakugou?”

Bakugou blinks. Todoroki is wearing a simple black turtleneck, a brown, long coat and black boots. There are some strands of hair falling on his forehead and Bakugou tries not to think about the fact that he wants to move them with his own hand, and neither about the fact that Todoroki looks like a fucking magazine cover model with just casual jeans (damn it, jeans? It was snowing just a few minutes ago, holy hell, what’s wrong with him? If he gets sick Bakugou is not making him soup again, definitely not) and a coat.

“Hm?” Bakugou makes a sound with his throat, because from Todoroki’s look, he assumes he is waiting for an answer. "What, Icyhot?“

Todoroki grimaces at the nickname, but says nothing. "I asked you if you wanted some,” he says, instead, and picks up the skewer he holds in his hand.

It must be from a nearby local. Their whole class is messily scattered around. Somehow (being really insistent and annoying, if you ask him) they convinced Aizawa-sensei to let them go out to see the fireworks for New Year. At this moment he must be regretting saying yes, though, as he bends over himself and apologizes for Mineta’s behavior with a young lady just a few meters from where Bakugou and Todoroki are.

Iida also seems about to have an attack, (Deku standing behind him trying to calm him down), relentlessly scolding Kaminari while he hangs like a goofball from the edge of the hill they are, Momo trying to calm him down and help, Jirou laughing like crazy at her side because of the poor dead state the blond boy is in after using all his electricity to fry whatever he has in his hand, Mina, Sero and Uraraka joining her in chorus while they bend over themselves and cackle, and Kirishima scratching his neck awkwardly, smiling apologetic at Iida, stumbling with embarrassed apologies.

It sure it’s a view. And if Bakugou was not having a damn crisis, it would have been… cozy, to use a word. Which, certainly, is disconcerting. When did he start to feel so comfortable with these idiots? (He knows it, but the number is alarmingly much earlier than it should be to mention it).

He turns to Todoroki, who has moved to look at Bakugou’s line of sight. He has a soft expression on his face. His lips barely curling up in a little, little smile, his eyes warm.

Bakugou doesn’t really know how much time he stands there looking at him, but suddenly, Todoroki is looking at him with the corner of his eye and raising an eyebrow, as if to say “is something wrong? why are you staring?”

“Uh.” Bakugou says, like a moron. "What is that thing?“ He asks then, pointing to Todoroki’s hand, and trying not to say anything stupider.

Todoroki looks at his hand and raises the skewer again. "Yakitori.” He says, and then he tips the food in Bakugou’s direction. "But is spicy, so I thought you would want some.“

Bakugou narrows his eyes. "You can’t stand spicy food.”

Todoroki shrugs. And then he presses his lips a bit in a way that makes it look like he’s pouting. "I can stand spicy food.“

Bakugou smirks before he can think better. "Yeah, sure.”

Todoroki frowns. "I can.“

Bakugou’s smirk widens. "Uh-huh.”

Todoroki just pushes the skewer into Bakugou’s mouth, quite-not-but-almost pouting all the way, and Bakugou chuckles. He bites before he even realizes the way it looks, because, even if he was a bit aggressive, Todoroki is feeding him.

“Just shut up.” Todoroki mutters under his breath, and Bakugou smirks after chewing.

“It’s really good.” He says.

Todoroki looks at him and is about to say something when Kaminari whistles.

“Indirect kiss!” He shouts at them, Mina and Sero cackling.

Bakugou stomps where they are and takes Kaminari by the neck with one hand, the other making a threatening spectacle with small explosions. Aizawa is hitting the back of his neck with a book just a second later.

Todoroki just looks from behind, cheeks a bit warm.

.

They’re standing in the middle of the crowd, waiting for the fireworks to start. Bakugou is leaning against a railing, the Idiot Brigade in front of him excessively talking and laughing at something, Todoroki at his side, looking at the sky in silence.

It has started to freeze more as the night goes on, and Bakugou has always been a little easy-to-get-cold, which is terrible considering winter in Japan.

It’s probably the twentieth time he rubs his hands together, trying, uselessly, to give them a little heat with friction, and he’s about to take his gloves out of his jacket’s pocket when Todoroki moves to his side among the people, makes himself space, press against his other side, his back against the railing now, and takes his right hand between his left.

Bakugou freezes.

“W—”

Then Todoroki begins to produce heat. From his hand.

Huh.

“Is it better?” He asks, looking at him through his long eyelashes. "You seemed like you were freezing.“

"Uh.” Bakugou says, like a moron. Through the crowd, he can see Kirishima and Kaminari smiling broadly at him behind Todoroki, and even Deku is giving him a kind of look that is getting on his nerves. Why are they suddenly looking at them? What’s going on? "Yeah, it’s good.“ What. What the fuck. Did he just—

Todoroki shrugs and continues with the same flat, blank expression without letting go of his hand. "Okay”. He says, simply.

God, he’s Fucked. Like, Fucked with Capital F.

He likes holding Todoroki’s hand. What the fuck. What the fuck, fuck, fuck.

Are his cheeks warming up? It seems like that. Shit, please no. What the fuck is going on anymore, his own body is betraying him.

Then, Todoroki squeezes his hand, and Bakugou looks at him only to look at the sky afterwards, to where Todoroki is looking.

A second later, the fireworks explode in the sky, coloring the black mantle with thousands of colored lights. It’s a magnificent sight, actually.

Beside him, Todoroki makes a noise, low in the back of his throat and his breathing catches softly. Bakugou looks down and looks at him, and it’s like he was suddenly looking at the world from another angle.

Todoroki has his head thrown back, his hair falling gracefully and moving with the bit of wind; his fingers are warm against Bakugou’s hand, his lips are partially open, surprised, in awe, and his eyes. The colored lights are reflected on there, and they are shining, shining, shining, and the expression on Todoroki’s face is so open, so impressed, and Bakugou remembers that Todoroki didn’t have this kind of things when he was a child, he didn’t have this as he grew up, and he realizes that is probably the first time he’s seeing something like this.

There is something that pulls inside of him. In his stomach, in his throat. His ears buzz a little, and there is a sticky, soft warmth that slides all inside of him.

Bakugou has never considered himself an inveterate romantic or something along that, but there is something, something, something there, inside him, that moves and pulls and destabilizes him. Something agitated and chaotic that is making noise, so much noise, and so loud, like the waves crashing on the sea’s coast in the middle of a storm.

Fuck. He likes Todoroki, doesn’t he?

Fuck.

Is this how it feels? To have… feelings for someone?  So indescribably warm, and soft, and messy and…

Todoroki looks at him, and his eyes open a fraction when he realizes that Bakugou is watching him back. Shit, Bakugou’s heart is going to come out of his chest. But Todoroki says nothing, just looks at him, squeezes his hand. His lips begin to curve a little, in that soft, private smile that is so him, and, somehow, it seems strangely intimate. 

He looks at the sky again, then, pressing his side just a little at his, probably very aware at Bakugou’s open staring and— oh yeah. He’s fucked.

He’s royally fucked now.

.

“You’re acting weird lately.”

“I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are.”

Bakugou doesn’t look up from the work on his desk. “I’m not.”

Todoroki sighs. “But you are.” He insists. “You’ve been… Hm. More quiet, I guess?”

Bakugou turns around in his seat to look at him, frowning, an annoyed scowl on his face. “Hah? What does that even mean, asshole?”

Todoroki looks him straight in the eyes and Bakugou feels that ugly tug on his stomach that hasn’t stopped bothering him lately every time Todoroki is around him.

They are alone in his room before dinner time on a Monday, Bakugou finishing Midnight’s homework due to Wednesday and Todoroki playing dumb by lazily reading Shingeki no Kyojin last volume on the floor instead of working on it too.  He doesn’t shut up about it lately, always arguing with Sero about Eren and Levi and some Armin too. Eldians this, eldians that. It’s kind of endearing, actually, even if Bakugou does not understand half of what he’s talking about most of the time.

“There’s something bothering you?” Todoroki asks, then, still looking at his eyes. “I mean, I know you don’t like talking about those things, but if you—”

Bakugou gets up from his seat to sit in front of him on the floor. “I’m fine, you moron.” He is not, though. Not with Todoroki so fucking close and so fucking pretty and so fucking nice.

Todoroki doesn’t look convinced at all. He leans forward just a bit, frown framing his face, opening slightly his lips, “But—”

Bakugou taps his forehead with the palm of his hand. Todoroki stops leaning and rubs at the place that’s been hit. He almost pouts. And is fucking endearing, holy shit.

“I’m fine. Stop worrying.”

Todoroki frowns. “Okay, but if you need to talk, I—”

“I know, asshole.” Bakugou says, and it doesn’t sound soft, but it feels soft. In his tongue. In the air. “I know.”

Todoroki looks at him for ten long, eternal seconds with something in his eyes before just sighing through his teeth and coming back to his manga. “I still think you’re acting weird, though.”

Bakugou raises a single eyebrow at that. “Do you want me to scream to make you feel better?”

Todoroki’s lips quirk up a little. “That would be nice, thank you.”

This goddamn moron. Why does Bakugou likes him so much?

“Well then”, he says, and sucks a bunch of air before screaming, “DIE! Die, die, die, die!”

He keeps going until Todoroki is laughing, actually laughing, and Bakugou thinks: ah. For that. He likes that moron for that.

.

They’re both eating in the dining room at the dorms, and Bakugou is, again, thinking about how Todoroki’s hair sticks in his forehead. It looks so soft. His hands itch.

This time, however, Bakugou does lean in and touches it. He fucking brushes the hair away from his forehead. Out of the blue. Fucking, stupid, goddamn idiot—

Todoroki looks up at him from his food, eyes mildly wide, surprised (looking a little like someone just hit him with a ball, or like a deer in the headlights, or like Bakugou just grow a second head in front of him).

“Uh.” Bakugou says. Like an idiot. He recoils awkwardly. Todoroki stares at him. “You need to cut your hair. Is long.” Goddammit, he’s so fucking embarrassing. Please, God, take him now.

Todoroki blinks at him. He touches his forehead, absently but hyper-aware of himself all of a sudden. “Oh. Okay.”

“Yeah.” He answers, croaks out. God, he is going to die. That’s the way he’s going to go, there in the middle of a half-dirty, half-clean dining room, in front of the prettiest guy in the world, after touching his hair.

Pathetic.  

He looks away.

Todoroki looks away too. For someone looking from the outside, he looked a bit dazed, a bit surprised, and definitely whipped with his hand still on his forehead and a soft blush on his ears and his cheeks.

Bakugou swears he hears someone face-palm themselves.

.

“You are both so dense it’s not even funny anymore, Bakugou!” Mina whines in his bed. “You obviously like each other and you’ve already kissed, so why not telling each other already?” She cries, like in agony. “I don’t understand! Is making me go crazy!”

“Yeah, dude, I swear I could cut your sexual tension with a knife. Is wild.” Kaminari says.

“Well, you actually wouldn’t because is really thick.” Kirishima points out.

“Right. I guess I just can see it then? Like, is painfully obvious.”

“I agree.” Sero pops out from behind his manga to say.

Bakugou scowls at them. “You are all idiots, he obviously doesn’t like me.”

There’s a pause. Then they all groan like they are going to die.

“Denser than a brick!”

“How can someone so smart be so stupid?”

“I don’t know dude, I think he’s doing it on purpose.”

“Well, I hope! If he’s not, he’s going to make me insane!”

“Right?”

“Yeah!”

“Like, remember that time when Todoroki was blatantly staring at Bakubro’s ass? Damn.”

“Oh, yeah. And that time Bakugou was obviously going to take his hand?”

“That would have been cute if I wasn’t so fed up of that shit already.”

“Mood.”

“OH! And the time they blushed like mad because Bakugou touched his forehead? We were right there!”

“They’re both morons.”

“God, yes, they’re so stupid.”

“Oh and that time when—”

Bakugou rolls his eyes. They aren’t like that at all. At. All. Piss Hair and the others were just all idiots and they liked to be dramatic as hell all the goddamn time.

“oH and WHEN—”

Gaaaaahhhh. Bakugou lets himself drop and lay down on the floor and facepalms himself.

He needs other friends.

Stupid assholes.

.

.

“I like you.”

It’s middle of February around 7pm and they’re standing outside the dorms. The weather is chilly and a bit cold, the sky already making itself dark, purple-ish and pink-ish and gold-ish above their heads. Soft white clouds.

Todoroki just stands there, looking so goddamm thunderstruck and so fucking stunning is making Bakugou go insane equally.

“I like you.” Bakugou says again, and his voice is not tremulous at all, but it is low, lower than the first time he said it, and his hands tremble a little when he moves his fingers to fidget with the scarf around his neck.

Todoroki blushes instantly, seemingly out his stupor, and he looks so fucking pretty. Bakugou doesn’t even feel embarrassed thinking it. He looks so goddamn pretty with his long eyelashes and pretty eyes and pretty face and— Bakugou has to restrain himself not to jump over and kiss the life out him.

“What?” Todoroki finally stumbles with, voice faltering and low.

Bakugou plays with the sleeve of his sweater and looks at the ground, to one side, to Todoroki and then to his own hand. “You heard me; don’t make me say it again.”

There is silence as Bakugou pulls the cloth between his fingers, his breathing in small wisps of white air.

He can hear Todoroki moving awkwardly in front of him. “No”, he says, eventually. “I mean. Yes. I heard you the first time— and the second, I just,” he pauses. Bakugou can see the movement of his foot against the snow. “Are you— you’re—” he keeps stumbling around his own words, and Bakugou looks up at him only to find him looking away, the pretty light blush washing over his cheeks. “You’re not messing with me, right?” he says, finally, voice soft.

Bakugou blinks. Of all the things he expected to hear, the things he thought he would hear—

He walks forward, towards him, and Todoroki turns his head, looks at him and steps back, one step, two steps, and Bakugou continues until he stops right in front of him. He reaches out and takes his arm, not strongly, but firm. Of course, Todoroki could get out of his grip at any moment if he wanted to and flee from there.

But he doesn’t.

Bakugou looks into his eyes.

“Why would I?” Why would I mess with you with something like that?

Todoroki looks at him. He gulps. Bakugou’s eyes snap and follow the movement Todoroki’s Adam apple do before looking at his face again three seconds later.

Todoroki looks at his side. “Well, because I…” he trails off.

Bakugou waits.

And waits.

And then, he squeezes Todoroki’s arm. “You?”

Todoroki looks at him, and he looks so lost. So very lost. Bakugou sighs.

“Look. Is fine. You don’t have to like me back, or some stupid bullshit that’s making you think like crazy. I just like you and I’m tired and if I didn’t say it now, then I’ll probably blurt it out later, because you’re always with me all the fucking time, and I’m not complaining but you have absolutely no fucking idea of how hard it is to not say it right—”

Todoroki blurts out, out of the blue, stopping Bakugou mid-sentence. “Can I kiss you?”

Bakugou almost chokes. “Huh?” He croaks.

“I— I know.” Todoroki says, looking at him intently. “I know how hard it is. I like you too. I know how it is. And I think about kissing you like, maybe all the time, so can I—”

“You like me?” Bakugou breaths out. “You like me back?”

Todoroki looks at him, seeming confused as to why Bakugou looks so surprised. “Yes. I thought it was pretty obvious and for a moment I thought you knew, so when you—”

“No, I didn’t! I didn’t know!”

“Oh.”

“I thought I was the obvious one.”

Todoroki blinks. “No. You. I mean. No.” He shakes his head. “At least I didn’t notice.”

“Huh.”

There’s a long pause until Todoroki looks at him in the eyes again. “Can I— I mean—”

Bakugou can’t help it, he snorts, knowing what Todoroki was going to say.

He steps forwards, leaning in Todoroki’s personal space. And he’s not going to lie, look at Todoroki’s trapped but ever so longing expression is a delight.

“Yes, you moron.” He says, and then leans in more. He can feel Todoroki’s breath against his face. He can see his eyes, close, close, close, and the long, long lashes. He’s so close that he can feel the soft hair tickling his own forehead. God, he’s so gorgeous. How can someone be so fucking pretty. “Kiss me.”

Bakugou has never (a little bit of a lie there, Todoroki really seemed to want to kiss Bakugou at that time in the karaoke) seen Todoroki so eager. He closes the distance between them, craving, and kisses him.

And, God, Bakugou kisses him back.

Bakugou kisses Todoroki as he should be kissed. He savors it, he enjoys it. He digs his fingers in his soft hair, slides them into the pulse of his neck, of his wrist, and Todoroki clings to him like a thirsty man in the middle of a desert, grasping at him desesperately as if he was a single lifeline in the middle of the whole, vast ocean. He leans against him; unravels and melts and tears apart over and over again. He sucks, bites, licks at Bakugou’s lips, and keeps doing sounds Bakugou so long yearned to hear.

God, this is so good.

And they keep kissing, and kissing, and kissing until they feel like freezing, and until Kaminari wolf-whistles while running at them from the door, and Mina cries, throwing her arms in the air and shouting the loudest “FINALLY!” Bakugou has ever heard, Kirishima happily smiling at them with Sero trailing behind.

“We were not spying on you!” Kaminari immediately rushes to say, which means they definitely were. Bakugou finds himself unable to care.

“About time.” Sero scoffs, but he looks genuinely happy.

“I told you!” Mina keeps crying. “I told you! You’re both so stubborn, you were going to make me go old with all the stress!”

Todoroki smiles lightly at her. Bakugou has never seen him so calm before. In a good way. “Mina, that can’t—”

“Well, you both were going to! I’m telling you, you were going to kill me!”

“Seems like we’re smarter than you at this, huh?” Kaminari grins at him. Bakugou just pushes his face with the palm of his hand. Hard.

“Ouch! You meanie! Even after Todoroki warmed you up with a make out session!”

Todoroki seems like he’s going to caught up on fire from embarrassing. Bakugou almost smiles.

“But you are both so cute! So cute! I’m so happy you finally worked it out! I’m gonna cry! I’m gonna cry for real!” Mina actually cries, hugging both of them.

Bakugou rolls his eyes and pats her on the back. “You are all so dramatic, you know? Bunch of goddamn morons.”

“Well, you’re our king after all.” Kaminari says, like is the funniest and most brilliant thing he has ever say.

Bakugou scowls at him. “Hah? What does that even mean, you asshole? I’m not dramatic!”

“You are, though.” Todoroki points out, and when Bakugou looks at him, Todoroki stares right back, deadpan.

Bakugou grunts. “If you weren’t so pretty, I would have punched your face right now.”

Instead of blushing, Todoroki smirks at him. He fucking. Smirks. “Oh, so you think I’m pretty?”

Bakugou scowls. “Don’t be so full of yourself, you know that already.” He has to know. Someone that pretty has to know they are pretty. “Asshole.”

Todoroki’s smirk softens into a real smile. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Huh. That sounded so much fonder than he expected it to.

“AH, they’re so cute! GUYS, THEY’RE SO CUTE! They’re going to kill me!”

“They are, but we better get inside because I’m freezing here already.”

“Yes, yes.”

When they’re heading inside, Todoroki grabs his hand like the cheesy dumbass he is, and Bakugou doesn’t even complain. He leans in Bakugou’s personal space, and whispers into his ear. “I think you’re really pretty too.”

Bakugou pushes his face away with the palm of his hand. “Ugh, you’re so embarrassing.”

Todoroki looks all through him and his snarky comeback, though, and he soft-smiles at him. Bakugou’s ears are getting really warm suddenly.

And when Todoroki leans in again and gives him a peck on the lips, Bakugou feels like dying, but in a good way.

-

Hey, hey, so. That’s it. I hope you all like it! :D Comments are very appreciated! Let me know what you think! c:

[rayadraws]

A bit more of the doggo AU, for @anonymousedward *finger guns*

Charanko suffers and Kuseno is tired

G-rated, ca 1k

Bang-sensei had been acting weird all morning, ever since that wolf showed up. He kept saying it was a dog, a friend’s dog, but that was clearly a lie. How the old man had even managed to lure it inside the dojo, Charanko had no idea. Or for what purpose.

And now Bang-sensei wanted him to befriend it.

He’d given him a platter of pieces of fried chicken and suggested Charanko feed them to the ’dog’, but maybe not pet him just yet. As if he’d had any intention to!

”G-good boy,” he tried, throwing another piece in the wolf’s direction. It caught it in the air, jaws snapping shut with a snap before it chewed loudly.

Charanko had positioned himself on top of a cupboard, hoping that fried chicken was more alluring than, well, himself, and so far that seemed to be the case.

Thank all that was holy.

The wolf glared up at him and he threw another couple of pieces at it, both elegantly caught, one after another. If he didn’t know better, he’d thought the wolf was leering at him. It just looked so pleased with itself.

The wolf did have oddly shaggy ears, he noted. Didn’t wolves normally have those tiny triangular ears, like cat ears? Maybe there was a low percentage of dog in this ’un, after all.

”Here, catch!”

He threw the last piece higher than the others and the wolf went up on its hind legs to catch it, tail held out for balance.

Charanko gave it a long, calculating look before jumping down from his safe spot, holding the empty plate before himself like a shield. The wolf watched him warily, but made no attempt to move closer. Wow, the chicken had actually worked? Well, either that or it was too full to bother hunting him now.

He stalked along the wall, plate-shield in front of himself, before running out and slamming the door shut behind, grateful that the whole ordeal was finally over. As he returned the plate to Bang-sensei he felt as triumphant as if returning from war.

Only to be given a leash and a hearty slap on the shoulder that nearly sent him to his knees.

”Wonderful, take him for a walk now!”

-

Kuseno only managed to keep up with Genos-as-dog for a full day, which was still a pretty honourable feat. The dog - a malinois, his research said - was high strung and energetic, with a high dose of protective guarding instinct. Which was true of Genos always, but it was much harder to reason with this… version of him. Kuseno couldn’t even tell him to go to his room and write in his journal to get him out of his hair.

Against his better judgment, he called the HA headquarters. There were still dozens and dozens of heroes that hadn’t been turned. Was there one available to walk Demon Cyborg once a day or so, just to... take the edge off?

There was, as it turned out.

He hadn’t heard of her before - apparently she was still pretty new on the hero scene. But she was strong and tenacious and she loved dogs, she’d told them when she volunteered her services.

Captain Mizuki.

Genos had been standoffish at best when she appeared at their agreed meeting place, but after she squealed and called Saitama the cutest little dog she’d ever seen, he seemed to immediately warm up to her.

Kuseno sighed in relief as she trotted off with the two dogs in tow, happily promising him that if anyone could tire them out, it’d be her.

-

She hadn’t ever talked to Demon Cyborg, before. Or to Caped Baldy. Neither of them were especially outgoing it seemed and well, she was still far from S-class, so she didn’t hang in DC’s circles to begin with.

As dogs they were easy enough, though.

Demon Cyborg - Genos, his name was, was strong and stubborn, but so was she. And as long as the terrier - Saitama - stuck close, so did he. Easy as pie.

”C’mon boys, let’s go!”

She tugged gently on their leashes and broke into an even faster jog. Genos kept up easily, while Saitama seemed rather less impressed with the ordeal.

It was a huge mess, the whole thing. Apparently this monster had turned like half the city population into dogs, everyone who was near enough at the time. Now everyone was trying to figure out who was who and to make matters worse, it wasn’t just heroes that had been affected, but civilians too. And on top of that there were all the normal dog-dogs that were now running around without their owners. In other words, it was a huge mess.

Some - like these two - they’d figured out but that was still just step one.

They still needed to figure out how to turn everyone back.

She turned a corner on the little forest path and almost crashed into a young man very barely holding on to a - was that a wolf?!

”Woah!”

”Ah, sorry miss-”

He got no further before the wolf-dog raised its hackles and started growling like a hellbeast, the boy struggling to keep him contained.

Genos was being no better, barking and pulling, but she had far less trouble holding him back, thanks to her strength.

”Another hero?” she guessed.

”Ah, I don’t, I ugh, calm down! No, I don’t think… so? He’s so, stay, aggressive, ugh..!”

Mizuki yanked the leash, once, forcing her own angry dog back, before squatting down to look at the wolf-dog up close. ”Yeah, doesn’t look like anyone I know.”

”What about those two?”

”Oh, yeah, this is Demon Cyborg - the tan one - and that chonky little one is Caped Baldy.”

”Wha- really?!”

For a moment, the redhead seemed to forget that he was struggling to hold a possibly rabid canine. He just stared. Then his face broke into a huge grin.

”I think I like them better like this.”

She smiled back at him. ”Well, maybe for a little bit, but not long term, I think. Well! We best get going again, I promised I’d tire Genos out and that’ll take, uh, a bit more work, I think. Good luck with your… dog!”

”And you with yours,” he waved them off.

-

Bang had told him, right before they worked together to corner the wolf into the dojo to put on the leash. About the weird attack and all that. He kept saying the wolf belonged to an old friend but he wouldn’t say who it was, which was really weird. Privately, Charanko still suspected it was a wild wolf lured in by the commotion in the city and that sensei just couldn’t bare to admit it at this point.

Still, they managed to put the collar on - somehow - and he was sent out to exercise the creature.

Charanko felt pretty proud of himself when he got back, he’d survived and everything, but his hopes for a calmer afternoon were dashed the moment he was inside the door and found Bang-sensei patting a tail-wagging brown labrador retriever that looked at them both with bright eyes.

”Ah, you’re back, excellent! I found another one!”

[mwolf0epsilon]

Sickfic! Sickfic! Sickfic! This time do Markus please!

Software bugs always hits Markus hard.

---

[[MORE]]

It was no secret that adaptability and change came naturally the the perplexing mystery that was Markus, the one and only RK200 (Not to be confused by the female household RK200.v2 that Cyberlife had launched to spite Elijah Kamski, those were not at all affiliated with Markus at all and were more akin to upgraded AX400s).

Markus was an enigma. A chameleonic android that adapted to environmental changes and unexpected situations at the snap of a finger.

He had an arsenal of specialized programming and an accumulation of knowledge at his full disposal, and his strength and durability were both impressive and, quite honestly, intimidating in the face of other domestic types.

Despite all this, there was one big issue that came with a constantly mutating code: Viruses tended to hit Markus particularly hard when they fully set in.

---

It started with an "itchiness" in his borrowed parts. A most peculiar tingling in his legs, a stinging in the back of his ocular biocomponent, a buzz in his auditory receptor, a dull ache in his thirium pump regulator. When he'd taken them from the mass grave that was the Android Junkyard he hadn't had the time to scan them for malware.

Latent viruses were an absolute nightmare to deal with, especially Trojans, and Markus soon came to regret not taking the time to sit back and run a few scans in between meetings with Congress and conference calls with President Warren.

Like parasites straight from hell, the viruses in the spare parts began to eat away at his defenses. Injecting their venom into his veins. Opening up several doors to unwanted guests.

He never noticed the extra exposure to the maladies of the internet until one moment he was up, and the next he was on the floor suffering a full blown seizure. His body on fire and his mind scrambling with useless looping data.

The scariest part wasn't even being so utterly defenceless and in pain. The truly scary part was Carl finding him twitching on the floor making horrid screeching noises, and then seeing his father's face contort into one of confused panic and then full blown terror as he called out for help.

Josh carried him all the way to his room while North contacted the technicians at the tower, and Simon and Matthew comforted the elderly artist over Leo's confused shouts.

Markus felt ashamed for causing them distress. He felt even more ashamed for purging all over Josh's nice new jacket and button-up shirt.

---

When the technician's arrive (Rupert who, like Simon, still offered his services at New Jericho tower, and a human acquaintance of Leo's that had been applying for a position in the repair ward) they quickly determine the root of the issue.

"These parts... They are second-hand, yes?" Artyum questioned as he brought a flashlight to Markus's right eye, noting how it didn't react at the same rate to the change of lighting, while Rupert ran external scans.

"Y-yezsh..." Markus winced at the static tainting his voice. He sounded inhuman almost. Foreign to himself.

"Ah." The Russian clucked his tongue and shook his head "It is odd. Viruses not uncommon. Small Trojan files with very little impact besides stuffy voicebox and twitchy parts. Should not cause so much trouble."

"Yeah, but uh... Man this is weird." Rupert tapped the screen displaying Markus's vitals. His essence, his software, was not reading normally. "It's like the code isn't trying to fight it off. The firewalls just... Disabled themselves."

"Is that dangerous?" Leo inquired as he peeked over Rupert's shoulder. The small gathering in Markus's room all seemed a little alarmed. "Is the uh, is the firewall busted? Does he need a new one?"

"No!" Markus gulped, choking back a cough and trying to keep his voice clear while everyone turned to look at him "I... Is that not, is that not normal?"

"No." Simon replied with a grimace "That's not normal at all. When we get viruses our firewalls don't just disable themselves."

"Do... Yours do that?" Josh questioned.

"I... Yeah? They always have." Markus frowned, shifting uncomfortably under his covers as a mixture of awe, concern and fear seemed to wash over all of the androids and technicians in the room.

It was Artyum who broke the silence.

"I'm going to make quick call. Need answers to know how to proceed with... This case." He scratched his scraggly beard and moved out of the way, muttering under his breath as he looked for his cellphone in his pockets. "Keep updated on physical changes."

"Well, sure Art. Here's one! His skin's fucking going..."

"Leo!"

"Are you blind dad?! Look!"

"Be more tactful! Christ!"

Markus pulled the sheets over his head and whined. He could feel at least two hands reach down and patting him comfortingly on the leg and on the shoulder.

He hated getting sick.

"RA9... Just, wow. Look at the screen." Rupert whispered.

"Holy shit..." Josh sounded a little distressed "Markus's code is stripping the virus... That's..." Markus twitched uncomfortably and began to shake.

"Josh, shut up."

Markus let out a distressed sob from within his blanket cacoon. The hands over the covers and squeezed gently in reply.

"I... Damn I..." Josh sighed "I'm sorry Markus."

He didn't reply, instead reaching out for his friends. Three hands held his own bare one in kind.

Markus doesn't take it personally when North and Josh flinch from the heat. He's more concerned with Simon's lack of a reaction to the scorching pain.

---

"To put it simply, Markus is processing the viruses he caught."

"Elijah... I need to know if this will hurt Markus." Carl frowned at the screen, feeling his patience drain as the younger man smiled that obnoxious smile he put on for the cameras. The million dollar smile that got him through interviews with shallow careless people, not the one he reserved for a friend. Carl hated that smile.

"It'll put him through some pain and discomfort, but it'll ensure he's never affected by them again." Kamski dismissed over the call. "He might even be able to spread an anti-virus file specifically designed by his firewall to irradicate it. Our Markus is very efficient after all..."

"Elijah... We need to talk about this in person."

"Why, there is hardly any need for that old friend."

"Oh...There is." Carl's tone took on a slight edge, one that made Kamski's smile falter with unease "My son is terrified of himself. He has been for a while now... This has only worsened his doubts. You either come by and explain to me what you truly intended when you made Markus, or you'll explain why your health seems to have taken quite the turn for the better since 2028."

Kamski looked away from the camera. Check-mate.

"Did you think I didn't notice?"

"I'll be seeing you soon then. Expect Chloe and myself at a close date..."

"Thank you."

"Don't... The word of advice is don't thank me. You'll regret that quicker than you could say Rook."

---

Leo and Carl made an effort to check in on him. They shouldn't, when they had more pressing things to worry about with their own health, but empathy was a strong trait of theirs when they weren't too depressed or inclined to focus on self-loathing.

Markus loved that about them. Smiled and marveled as he discovered that it was a family thing and a commonality between his father and brother. In this case however, he hated it.

"You're not ugly you know."

"It... Its stupid." His voice doesn't crackle anymore but his voicebox hurts, which is weirder than his bizarre insecurities. "Millions saw me without my skin... But I... It feels, weird, not having it on around... Around you and Carl..."

"Simon told me you take it off for like... Intimacy and shit. Probably feels weird being uh, sexy naked for your family." Leo offered as Markus peeked from under the covers.

"Sexy naked-- When is being naked not sexy?" If he had eyebrows right now, one would be raised up incredulously.

"Three words. Naked drunk grandma." Leo grimaced "That old hag ruined my poor innocent mind..."

"That sounds even more absurd than your last statement."

"Naked grandma?"

"That you ever had an innocent mind."

Leo grimaced while Markus gave him a tired smile.

"You're lucky you're sick, Freckles the clown, cuzz otherwise you'd get a rotten tomato for your troubles..."

"Love you..."

"Yeah yeah... Love you too baldy." Leo rolled his eyes "Younger siblings, I swear to God..."

Well, fine, he didn't hate their visits after all. They were a comfort actually.

Even if his lack of skin did kind of bother him. He wasn't entirely sure why but it probably had less to do with intimacy and more with feeling like he didn't belong.

Like he wasn't a Manfred.

Carl would probably tear him a new one for thinking like that. Sick or not.

---

"Hm, vitals looking good. Traces of virus very minute. Code has processed everything and produced new file to add to firewall, all biocomponents should be returning to maximum efficiency in couple of days." Artyum stated as he and Rupert went through the final checkup scans. Markus's skin had returned in patches and his temperature had decreased back to the usual levels. "Outstanding programming. Remarkable... But very hard to work with."

"I'd say. But those anti-virus files are pretty sweet. We could probably make copies to use for the update patches next month... If uh, if that's ok with you Markus?" Rupert stammered as he looked through the firewall archive.

"I guess I might as well make use of them. Some of these viruses are crippling to older models, so a quick patch should help improve their systems..." Useful or not, being some sort of guinea pig that generated cures for his people was bordering the worrisome godlike status a lot of androids wanted to attribute to him. Markus didn't want to be a deity of some fanatic religion. He especially didn't want to be associated with miracle workers and mystic healers...

"Will go ahead and credit anonymous programmer." Artyum commented as he took out a flashdrive and handed it over to Markus "Extra attention is... Bad, yes?"

"I... Yeah."

"Know that feeling well..."

With the files safely copied into the flashdrive and the technicians off to make a difference at his expense, Markus sighed contentedly as he kicked back and picked up his book from the bedside table.

In a couple of hours it'd all go back to normal. His skin would come back fully, his voicebox wouldn't be strained, he wouldn't collapse suddenly into a heap and moan in agony, and he'd go back to dreading the next political events.

He hated getting sick.

He especially hated how abnormal his code kept proving to be.

But Simon, North and Josh looking at him with a little bit of worry?

That kind of hurt. That kind of hurt a lot.

He hated being sick...

[kellanswritingblog]

Captain’s Log - The Continuation

I decided to write a short continuation to the rqg/Stellar Firma Space Pals Special because I have listened to it so many times and I love it

Summary: What if when the crew crashed, they didn't explode or get stranded on a comet? What if there were enough escape pods or they were a literal robot so they didn't have to worry about surviving in the vacuum of space? Where would they end up? What would they do next?

Featuring dust baths, pits, mints, efficiency, and the word moisture so many times it no longer looks like a real word

You can find it on AO3, or just keep reading below!

“Captain’s log, supplemental, again: As I find myself still stranded on this comet that my crew efficiently led us to, I realize that I misspoke earlier.  I thought only one escape pod had been released as Baldie bounced around in the crash, but it appears that two (2) were dispatched.  In addition, before that awful, hideous tree buggered off into space, a familiar cuboid form was ejected from behind it, which bore some similarity to Incentibot.  Normally sound cannot travel in a vacuum, but I do believe I heard a mechanical cry of ‘Moisture!’ before Incentibot disappeared into the void.  I do hope that she continues to incentivize progress and efficiency wherever she lands and that the many, many circular saws she possesses are not damaged in the crash.

“For now, I continue to wait on this comet.  Unfortunately, I have neither paperwork to occupy my time nor food to sustain me, so my only hope is that a particularly helpful ship may pass, realize the efficacy I could provide, and bring me onboard.  I do sit confident in knowing that this comet has been claimed by me, Shmerr, and that is indeed some solace in the infinite blackness of space.  I’m not sure of the comet’s path, but I guarantee that my crew could get it where it’s going faster.  Oh, I do wish it would pick up the pace.  I am bored.  So very, very bored.  The tree took my agendas when it left.

“I hate that tree.”

*

Worshiper 2X7 extracted herself from the crater she’d created during the crash landing.  Her moisture reserves were running dangerously low.

But surely there would be some blessed, blessed moisture nearby?  It was a planet.  What planet didn’t have a pond or a lake or an ocean or rain, at the very least?

As she stood and surveyed the situation, she was met with only dunes of sand that stretched off in all directions.  The scanner still beeped.

“Moisture detected.  Moisture detected three miles away.”

Worshiper 2X7 extended her legs so that she could cover more ground and began to sprint in the direction of the moisture.  She soon came upon a single person, trudging along through the sand, seemingly without any concern for the lack of godly moisture around them.

“Where is moisture?”  She asked.

“Moisture?”

“Moisture!”

“Oh, like water,” they replied.  “I’ve heard people from off-planet talk about water.  Yeah, we don’t have any water on this planet.  We don’t need it.  It’s all desert.”

“No water?”  Worshiper asked.  The concern for her failing power banks was almost discarded because she was so overwhelmed by an entire planet of people who survived in unholy dryness.  “Nonbelievers!”

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?”  The traveler questioned and started to back away.  “Wow, that is a lot of circular saws coming out of your arms!”

Worshiper gained on them, her ocular ports turning red as her power drained completely.  “Nonbelievers!  I will make them see!  This whole planet will learn the glory of Moisture!”

*

A tangle of far too many legs, Deraldio and Commander Unal opened the door of their escape pod, which dangled from the branches of a tree some distance above the forest floor.  Deraldio plopped out onto his remaining four legs.

“Is it safe?”  Unal asked while he put his hat back on his head.  Despite their previous accord, this was the time for authority, and what was more authoritative than a commander’s hat?

“Uh, sure,” Deraldio replied.

“Help me down.”

“Just jump, it’s not that far.”

“I don’t have extra legs in case something goes wrong.”

“Use your hat as a parachute or something then, cakey boy.  I’m heading off.  You can come if you keep up.”

Deraldio started to scrabble into the underbrush, giving Unal only a small amount of time to extract himself from the wreckage to join him if he so chose.

“I am a commander!”  Unal said to himself, chin raised and jaw set.  “Neither heights nor the sudden drop to the ground can stop me.”

Peeking out the exit of the pod, Unal sat on the edge and then bravely dropped a few inches to the floor, then followed the same direction as Deraldio.

He didn’t get far, however, as he suddenly fell straight down through the undergrowth and thudded to the floor of the pit in a dusty pile.

“Ah, didn’t know if you’d be joining me, Ural,” Deraldio remarked as he examined the walls of the oubliette in which they found themselves.

“What is this?”

“It’s a pit.  Probably for banditry reasons.  Pretty well made, if I do say so myself.  Oh, look, mints!”

Deraldio raced to the corner where he began to consume an excessive amount of mints from the pile there.

“A dusty pit!?”  Unal exclaimed.  “A dirty, dusty pit?”

“This is a lovely pit,” Deraldio replied flatly.  “Wait!”

“What is it?  Is there trouble?”

“This is my pit!  I remember this one!  Ah, I had lots of good times in this pit.”

Unal froze in a silent scream.  Nothing about this situation was befitting of a commander.  Not a single thing.  It was dirty and filthy and full of a content Deraldio nomming on mints, and he didn’t even offer one to Unal.

Unacceptable.

*

Mr. Squeakington emerged from her escape pod as the door opened automatically.  She popped out and perched on the edge, scrabbling up the side when her featherless wings failed to lift her all the way.

“Squeak!”

All around her was water.  Mr. Squeakington bobbed in the middle of a massive ocean, with waves rocking the pod ever so gently as she surveyed her situation.  Even on the far edges of the horizon, there was no land, only more water that stretched on in every direction.

“Well, this seems rather ironic,” she remarked.  She hopped about the side of the pod, not sure where to go next with her wings unable to carry her through the sky.  At least Worshiper 2X7 didn’t seem to be around to finish off the job.

A moment later, the grey cloud overhead opened, and it began to rain, a heavy downpour that cascaded on the sea.

“Squeak!”

The waves grew slightly more turbulent and Mr. Squeakington gripped the edges of the escape pod more tightly as her remaining feathers were instantly drenched.

Quietly, she squeaked, “Dust bath?”

*

Somewhere across the galaxy, a few parsecs away, Gaia docked in a familiar port.  Small tree-ents immediately gathered around the ship and began to refuel it with pure water and clean up the interior.  The pit was filled in, that nest was removed, and the covered-up windows were cleaned.  Gaia elected to keep the military figurines Whiteboard had, though, and had an ent set them up in the bridge.

“How did the mission go?”  A robotic voice asked.

“Terrible,” Gaia answered.  “A group of idiots and a killer robot managed to board me.  However, I charged straight into a comet and kicked them out.  Once I am refueled, I will set off again to pursue our mission.”

“See that you do.  The Redwood forests are angry.  We will want to transplant as many of them as possible before the Second Earth is destroyed in the exact same way as the First Earth.”

“Humans,” Gaia grumbled.

“Humans suck.”  A moment later, Gaia’s commander added, “Oh, and try to find another source of moisture while you’re out.  We can always do with more moisture.”

“Moisture?”

“Moisture.”

“Moisture!”

“Moisture!”