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julianxhawthorne · 1 year ago

Text

Who: Julian and Beyza

Where: Julian's Yacht

When: Julian's Birthday Party

Summary: Beyza turns up to the birthday party late and Julian shares that he is trying things again with her sister, Melisa. Beyza did not take to the news very well.

Tagged: @beyzaxsenkan

Note: This was written on Discord

Julian made his way through the crowd again, running a hand through messy hair, acting as normal as he could after his private interaction with Melisa. He found himself keeping an eye on the Senkan, stealing glances and knowing smiles of what had transpired between them. It certainly was a happy birthday. Even more so when he spotted Beyza in the crowd, whom he hadn’t seen as of yet. “Hey you! I began to think you wouldn’t come anymore.” He smirked at her, pushing his way in between two people holding a conversation so he could reach her, steering towards a more quiet spot. “Did you try the bar yet? This bartender is insane.”

Beyza had gotten to the party a little later than she had planned. Dev was refusing to go to sleep for her dad and wanted to go with her, but she kept telling him it was a grown up party. Finally, her son was too exhausted to stay up and she was able to make it to the party. She spent a little looking for Julian, but ended up getting a drink and talking to a few people before she heard Julian's voice. She smiled as he approached and then stated to lead them to a quieter spot. "Yeah, I have a drink. I just got here, though. Dev wouldn't sleep." She explained. "Happy Birthday, by the way." She smirked at him. "Seems you pulled in everyone, huh?"

“Aw no, little bud. I would have cleared the dance floor for him.” He wasn’t serious of course, he knew that a yacht filled with drinking and swoozing people weren’t the place to be for a kid. He would make it up to him, he had promised him a day outing a while back, which he still had to do. “People love me, Bey. I keep telling you, yet you’re always surprised.” He grinned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders so they were both facing the crowd. Though people were more interested in free drinks and food, of which there was plenty. “It’s a great party. I feel like im twenty again.”

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you would've. Don't tell him that or he'll be more upset he couldn't come." She said and sipped her drink. She looked out amongst the crowd and nodded. "Mmmhmm. Not sure if it's you or if people wanna think they're young again." She said with a shrug. "Right instead of, what? Forty now?" She teased him and reached up to touch some of his hair. "Is that a gray?"

“Oh no I’ll tell him it was horrible. The people sucked, they didn’t have Coca Cola and the music was 80s style. Horrible. Just horrible.” He slurred, squeezing her shoulder, catching a familiar figure in the crowd as she passed through the people. “Hm, what? Me? Beg pardon.” He scoffed, dodging her hand when she reached to touch his hair “it is not I don’t do aging. That’s a you thing.”

"Thank you." She smiled at the man before nodding and looking up at him, completely missing her sister in the crowd of people. "Yes, you." Beyza laughed. "I'm still young. You, however, are about to join us parents. Those grays will start coming and your back will start hurting." She smiled at him. "You'll be ditching this thing for a house and we'll be coming over for family barbecues."

“Never, I will die young when I’m seventy!” He called out, which earned him some cheers from those around them, even if they had no idea what he was rambling. Julian however chuckled, picking up a champagne flute that was passed around, taking a sip from it. “I do like barbecues. And I am building a house, so.” He spoke, his tone a little lower. “Mel is here. Gave a gift from baba.”

"I'll make sure to mock you for that when you're ninety in a nurshing home." She smirked and looked over at the crowd as they cheered back at him. "God, you're like a frat boy." She shook her head and looked back at him. "See. Already stepping into dad life." She took another drink before she almost spit it out and her face fell. "What? Why is Melisa here?" She asked and looked amongst the crowd. "I was just there. He could've given it to me to give to you. I'll tell her to go. She shouldn't be here."

“If I make it to ninety just kill me.” He snickered, feeling the buzz when the crowd cheered. It was as she said, like back in his college days. People liked him by then too and he was quite easily one of the popular students around. His only regret now was that he didn’t use it more responsibly. At least he got his business degree. “According to ma, I need to start really soon on that.” He huffed, but looked at Beyza when she overreacted about Melissa, for which he simply hushed her. “It’s fine, I invited her.” He slurred his words, lifting the flute to take a sip but found he’d already emptied it. “We’ve been talking.” And then some. “She’s trying, Bey.”

"No. I want to fully document you as an old man." She grinned at him before nodding. "I dislike that woman, but she has a small point. Don't tell her I said that though." Beyza smirked at him for a moment and her eyes furrowed while Julian hushed her. "What? Why would you do that?" She asked, but she knew why. He was falling for the poor-me act Melisa was doing. "You shouldn't be talking to her. You need to distance yourself from her. She's going to break your heart again and you're just falling for it." She said and rolled her eyes. "She is not trying. She's feeling guilty and once she feels she's made her pathetic amends, she'll bail again. Or the second things get too hard. Whichever comes first."

“You’re cruel. Why do I keep you?” His mother had that effect on people. Sometimes he questioned if even he liked her or not. But despite her meddling and controlling his life, she was his mother and he loved her. Even if she did tire him out. It was probably a good thing he had been drinking to the max. One glass less and he would’ve rolled his eyes at her objections. Now he just looked at her, knowing that she meant well and wanted to protect him, even if it was frustrating. “Then it’ll be on me, if that happens. You can tell me that you told me so.” He shrugged, looking down at his feet. He cared about what Beyza thought, and the last thing he wanted was to lose her. But was it so bad he wanted what was best for him? “I need to know, Bey. I need to know if what she says is truth right now.” He looked up at her once more. “You know I never loved anyone like I did her, I have to try again. And if it doesn’t work out I’ll concede to you and ma and marry whatever girl she picked out for me.” He let out a sigh, nudging her with his arm. “Do I have you in my corner?”

"Because if you didn't, I'd spill all your secrets." She smirked at him. She downed the rest of her drink andsighed. If they were going to be talking about her sister, she was going to need a lot more drinks than just this one, but she didn't feel like making her way to the bar and possibly seeing the woman. "You know I will to." She crossed her arms and stared at Julian. She hated seeing him like this and was so scared he was going to get hurt again. She let out a sigh and stomped her foot before pursing her lips for a moment. "Don't concede to your mom. You should marry for love, but… why her? I was here when she left. We were both a mess and trying to repair our hearts." She had broken things off with Henry then too. He got a new job and wanted her to go with him, but she couldn't. Not with her family like it was. She had to step up and being the oldest with Melisa gone. She had to stay and put the pieces of everyone's lives back together. "What if Henry was back? Would you support me being trying again with him? After you saw how hard it was?" She touched his arm. "I'm finally wanting to open my heart again and you… you're about to be a dad. You can't be like you were when she left again. Not with a baby. I just don't see why you don't try with Verity or anyone else. But not her."

“Why anyone else if I can have her?” He knew it made no sense. Not after the heartbreak and the promises they made to each other that they would never go back, but no one challenged him like Melisa did, no one held his attention like she did, and no one else made his heart skip a beat whenever they touched him. Basically, no one else could handle him, understand him, like Melisa did. And he had to believe she was genuine about wanting to try again. “If you loved him, I would. And I would also be there to pick up the pieces if it didn’t work out.” He agreed the timing wasn’t right, not with the baby. But if he could see past her leaving for six years, she would have to see past this. “Because Verity and I don’t love each other. Not like that anyway. And I made a promise to my parents, she’s already got candidates lined up.” He stopped a waitress as she passed by, placing his glass on the tray and grabbing two champagne flutes, one which he handed to Beyza, finishing his in one single swig. How medieval it felt, arranged marriages. “I’m not telling them about the baby, either. Time is ticking for me already and this will only set ma off.”

"You just haven't met that person yet." She said and looked out into the water. The urge to jump in and swim away was a powerful one. Beyza looked back at him as he continued and huffed. "You know how I feel about Henry." It was different, though. They had a mutual break up while Melisa just left Julian. There was nothing mutual about it. Her going back to Henry wouldn't be like Julian going to Melisa and she figured maybe, just maybe that would mean he wouldn't. And yet, here they were anyways. "You don't know each other like that, though. There hasn't been time and now Melisa is here ruining everything." She sighed and took the drink, downing it as well before looking at him. "What are you going to do when the baby is here, Julian? Have you even told Melisa?"

“Bey..” he sighed, a thought repeating like a mantra that she meant well, she meant well, she meant well. He nodded at her words, knowing all too well what had transpired, and though Julian had six years to get over Melisa, be angry and move on, his heart had different plans. “We’re friends, and we both have a high drive and we figured, why not? We have no interest getting to know each other like that.” He forced a smile when someone waved at him, gesturing back at them before he turned his head to Beyza with a frown. “What do you mean what am I going to do? It’s not a one or the other type of situation, Beyza.” God he needed a strong drink. “I’ve only told you and Sydney and I’d like to keep it that way until we had the appointment.”

"Then there's someone else. There's millions of people on this earth. So many that wouldn't hurt you like that." She got quiet when he saw someone grab his attention and she looked back out at the water; tensing her jaw for a moment. "I mean, what are you going to do when it is here with your parents. You can't hide a baby." She looked back at him. "Not to your parents and not to Melisa." She rolled her eyes. "Then what? What's the plan after that?"

“People are boring.” He sighed, turning his back to the crowd and instead leaning against the railing of the ship. She was like that Angel on his shoulder, and he was leaning towards the devil more, which only made it hard on him. “I’m not going to hide a baby, just until it’s all out of the woods and Verity is okay with people knowing. You know how my parents are, they’d smother the girl.. after they’re done judging her.” He shrugged, not knowing why this was an issue. “The plan is that I’m going to be a dad. My parents will be grandparents, and Mel can either stay or run away. Whether I have a newborn or a three year old, would it have made any difference? She either accepts it or she doesn’t and I’ll have my answer. I just… we’re taking it slow, and that doesn’t involve me dumping everything on her there is to know.”

She looked behind her at the crowd. "Really? All these people and the mutliple women you've been win in your life are boring?" She said to him and shook her head. She understood where they were coming from not telling people yet. It was so fickle the first few weeks. She was scared out of her mind to tell people with Dev. The thought of how much she wanted Melisa then crossed her mind and she pushed it away. She wasn't about to open all the emotions she had towards her sister right now. "Not like they have room to judge after the whole Stevie situation." She mumbled and looked back at the water. "And if she leaves again? You can't just go into that place you were back then when you have a baby. Taking it slow or not, you should wait to even give her a chance. See if she leaves." She took a deep breath. "You're not going to listen, are you?"

“People don’t challenge me. They comply and they please. The team challenges me to be better than I am right now, you challenge me, so did Mel. Everyone else just…“ he let out a deep breath, looking down at the ripples in the water. A somewhat sinister laugh escaped him when she mentioned Stevie, giving her a look. “They’ll make room. Anything to turn attention away from their own mistake and stupidity. If that meant exploding the news of a Heywood baby, they would. Shamelessly. Appearance was everything, and they’d take every sliver of good news to cover bad press. And he didn’t want to subject Verity to the madness until she was ready. If people saw her with a bump, no one would direct it at him, especially his mother. That was the thing about friend with benefits. Anonymity. “I won’t. It’ll suck but I won’t. I’m cautiously feeling the water.” It wouldn’t be the same. As opposed to a long relationship suddenly ending without fair warning, compared to them trying again and it falling through. At least he would have his answer. “Do I ever?” He hummed, looking at her and daring a smile. “I love her, Bey. And if it works.. If I can finally be happy… is that a bad thing?”

"Not everything has to challenge you." But she knew the feeling of it all and there was a thrill to being challenged. And she knew more than well that Julian liked that. "Figures. Use a grandchild to boost the image for them. I can see your mom framing pictures now." She rolled her eyes. "You are not. You're diving in. I'm staying as far as possible because she is Jaws and I don't like sequels." She looked at him. "How can you forgive her?" She looked away again. "She abandoned us and left us to pick up everything. You, Stevie, Baba… it's like you don't care and…" She felt the tears threatening her eyes and she stopped herself. "Never mind. You don't care."

“I’m sure she has a whole box of frames she selected for specific photos. I don’t know how else she’s getting them so fast.” He loved his mom, but her need to put duty and appearances first was infuriating. “But I’m not. I — I’m being careful. I have a career now to focus on, a child on the way. I can’t afford diving in head first.” He told her, watching her as she avoided his gaze. “I haven’t forgiven her completely, Beyza.” Julian quietly spoke, as much as he could with the music in the background. “I’m giving her leeway because she did lose her twin, and she almost lost her life herself. I don’t know what that does to someone mentally, do you?” He reached out, nudging her hand with his little finger. “I do care. But I have to see this through. Give it an ending if that is what it takes.”

"I have a few thoughts." She said before shaking her head. "Then you should be as back as I am. Testing anything is too much." She clenched her jaw while she continued to not look at him The tears were coming faster and faster and since her sister was back, it was harder for her to keep it all in. Melisa opened wounds Beyza thought she was healed from, but apparently that was wrong. She moved her hand quickly as he nudged it and she stepped back. "She's not the only one who lost people that day. Why does she get a pass and I'm just being unreasonable?" She snapped at him and stared at him for a moment before looking away and wiping her cheeks. "Fuck this. I'm going home. You can enjoy your birthday and your water testing." She turned to him. "She is not allowed to be around my son. Do you understand? If you have Devrim, she is not there or you won't be seeing him either."

Julian tried to hide the disappointment when she moved away from him, hating that this was growing into a situation where he had to choose between the two. He hoped she wouldn’t put him in that position, but he’d understand if she would. “You’re not being unreasonable, stop twisting my words, Bey.” He stood up straight, hating that he brought it up in the first place. But it never felt right keeping something from her, and he wouldn’t start now. “Don’t go, please. I’m sorry, okay?” Julian tried, a disappointed look spreading across his face at her words. “You know I won’t do that, come on, Beyza. Why even bring that up.” He loved that kid, and whenever he had him over it was just the two of them going out to do something fun. He wouldn’t involve people without asking, never did before. “Stay.”

"But you're not listening. No one is. You all are happy to see her and you don't care what she did." Dhe gripped the railing and shook her head. "It's what you think. That I should give her a chance and because I'm not, I'm unreasonable, right?" She stopped as he apologized and looked at him. "No. I can't be here. Not if she's here and not with you supporting it." She said and looked at him. She knew he wouldn't let Melisa be near Dev, but she needed to say it. She was just so angry. "Because it needed to be said." She took a deep breath. "Is she staying? Would you kick her out?"

“I care. Have you considered that maybe I’m just tired?” He sighed, lowering his head, which he shook at her next words. “I’m not telling you what to do, nor do I think it. I’m just being transparent with you because I value you more than anything, Bey. If anyone is accusing someone of being unreasonable it’s you, not me.” Julian remained silent, feeling the bass from the DJ blasting party music pulsing through his legs. His good mood had definitely left by now, which wasn’t her fault, it was his. He should’ve thought this through. “I don’t—“a breath. “ I don’t even know if she’s still here.”

"You're not the only one." She was tired of holding everything together. She was tried of feeling like she failed as what was once the oldest position and tired of also being it. She was tired of trying to help everyone and the two people who she needed support from the most were letting her down. His words hit her hard and she felt the wall that was building quickly around her and she felt cold. Alone. She just wanted this to stop. "I'm only trying to protect you." She said lowly, not sure if he could even hear her over the music and the crowd. She stared at the water more and wanted nothing more than to feel the safety that came with being in it. "I just want you to understand. I'm sorry." She could feel the wall finish building around her and she felt more alone on the boat than anyone could ever know. "Go find her. I think I'm gonna go for a swim."

“I know you are. And I love you for it. I wish things could be simpler.” He knew what a fractured family was like. Even if he had his siblings and his parents and he was on speaking terms with them all, it wasn’t what he rather had. He would’ve loved to receive an attaboy from his father. A smothering hug from his mother, for Sydney to be able to properly mourn the loss of her husband. It was hard for him to let people in, but the Senkan family had replaced what he was lacking, which was why this hurt all the more. “I do. I do I just.. I don’t know why I..” he stopped, running his hand over his neck instead. He didn’t really feel like partying anymore. “The water is colder than it looks, don’t.” He warned her, stepping away from the railing. “I’ll be below if you .. you know.” Wanted to talk.

She just listened to him and kept looking out on the water. She didn't want to keep arguing. She just wanted to not feel like this anymore. By his change of time and demeanor beside her, she knew she ruined his party for him. She never meant for that. the weight of everything was on her and she hated the feeling of it. "You forget I'm used to cold water." From her job, she could withstand the temperature of the water. Her body was used to it all by now on some level, but she knew the lake would be cold regardless. She let him walk away for a moment before sighing and slipping write behind him as he went below deck. "I didn't mean to ruin your night. I'm sorry. I should've stayed with Dev and let you have your fun."

Julian thought it was lots different from the water at the aquarium. But fair, it had slipped his mind. He hoped Dana had kept in mind to hire lifeguards as well in case drunk people decided to take a dip in the backyard pool. The evening had certainly turned sour, but she was the last person he blamed for that. He could always blame it on the amount he had had to drink that finally settled. He turned to look over his shoulder when she spoke, shaking his head in disagreement. "You didn't, okay? I should learn to keep my mouth shut every once in a while.. Which you know is difficult." He shrugged, taking one more step down. "If you're not staying, at least give Devrim a hug from me, okay? Tell him the party sucked without him."

She sighed and moved passed him down below so they could talk. She couldn't leave things like this with him. She could never. Julian meant too much to her and the never ended in this. Honestly, they never got like this about anything and to her, it was more proof Melisa was ruining things by being back. "Come on." She said and looked at him from down there and waited for him to join her. "We would've done this no matter what, you know? We have different sides to this and and we just want the other to understand." She sat down. "I do get your side. If Henry showed up even tomorrow, I don't know what I'd do. But I also think I'm finally moving on. I think I'm falling in love again." She looked down at her hands. "I just feel alone in my stance. I know Hazal feels the same, but it's different with you and Baba. And I feel like it's up to me to either welcome her back or not and either way I'm letting people down and I can't shove my feelings aside. I don't want her here, Julian. I wish she stayed gone."

Julian sighed, walking down the final steps. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her anymore, it was that he didn't want to talk at all. Growing up in a system where swallowing down your emotions was expected, he wasn't particularly good at it hashing out your feelings. He hated the divide, that no matter what he did, he would end up hurting someone, which only made this harder. At least the below decks were off limit to anyone, except him of course. At least Dana hired security to make sure no one would come stumbling down. "That's good though, you deserve that." But he hadn't found anyone he could fall in love with. He'd been with plenty of women in the last six to seven years that he could safely say no one was able to tug on his heart strings, and it wasn't for the lack of trying. "No one is saying you have to do anything, Beyza." He replied, nodding when she mentioned she had wished she'd stayed gone. He felt his body sway, and not due to the yacht staying afloat atop the water. Silently, he moved over, sitting down next to her on the small sofa, running his hand over her upper back before resting it on his lap, staring down at how he began to dig his nails under the ones of the opposite hand, as if he was interested by some dirt underneath it. "It would have made things easier." he agreed, jaw twitching. "You know that I wouldn't do this if I had to, right?" He carefully asked, words slightly slurring. "If I needed to? Just to know for sure."

"You deserve it too." She told him. They both had gone just as long without finding someone and she wished he had more time. The thought of her sister hurting him again made her want to make sure he didn't see her at all and protect him. She just wished he'd help a little there. "But it feels like it." She looked up at him. "No one is forcing me but what happens in a year when she's still here and you're closer and Baba wants her around more and I can't do it? I lose you both? Or I try and Hazal can't and I lose her? Or Dana?" She looked down and felt him sit by her. She was slightly comforted when he rubbed her back but he stopped and they both were sitting there not wanting to go into the details of how they felt. Beyza preferred to keep it inside. There was so much she felt that she never told Julian. So much she never told anyone. She wouldn't tell anyone. She had to be the strong one, after all. The one that patched everyone up, but was staring to feel unappreciated for it all. That it was for nothing. "I can't support it, Julian. I just see her getting off too easy and it's not fair. If Baba hadn't forgiven her, if you weren't doing this… maybe she'd leave and we could continue our lives like they were."

Julian remained silent while Beyza spoke, ashamed because he knew that what she said was the truth. He knew that right now he had no filter and that he probably wasn't making the best choices in his current merry state, but if it felt good, wasn't it the right choice? And yet, he understood all too well what Beyza was talking about. It was the position he was in right now too, either he'd lose Melisa, or he'd lose Beyza. "You know that mom and Simon never approved of her? he eventually spoke, picking on the skin at the corner of his thumb. "They were very transparent about it, yet I never had to choose. I'm saying that you won't have to either. There's no Jules without Beys, you know?" He looked up at her again, clenching his jaw and furrowing his brows as he felt the odd feeling of heaviness and swelling behind his eyes, one he was trying to prevent from escalating. "And what if I promise it will be the last chance? One chance to prove she has to put the work in." He breathed in, releasing it as quiet as he could. "I don't need you to support it, I only need you and me to stay as we are. You know you're important to me, right?"

She looked over at him and then down at his hands. She put her own over his and gripped them. "I remember, but it's different." She said and rubbed his hands. "You say that now, but in ten years when I can't be near her and you guys have a family, what then?" She bit her lip so it wouldn't quiver with the building emotion. "I still don't like it. She should've listened to me when I told her to leave you alone." She looked away from him. "You're important to me too. I've lost so much, but I gained you and I do love you." She said and hung her head.

"Do you really believe that you'll want nothing to do with her in ten years?" he asked quietly, flexing his fingers so that he could capture hers between his. Her confessing she told Melisa to leave him alone left him silent. Did it mean Melisa was actually serious about mending things if she ignored her sister's warning? "Oh." Was all he could bring out, refraining himself from focusing on the fact she tried to influence his life, like his parents would do, bringing up the mantra once more that she only meant well for him, unlike his parents who would do it for the family. "I'm not going anywhere Beyza." He eventually spoke, letting go of her hands and instead wrapping an arm around her to pull her against his side, resting his cheek atop her head. "Even if you piss me off, I'll show up for whatever, you know that."

She shrugged. "I don't know. What if I do?" She knew it was all up in the air and they didn't know what was going to happen, but she couldn't say for sure. She just wanted some security that her and Julian would always be there. She squeezed his hands and sighed. She leaned against him as he pulled her to his side and wrapped an arm around him as well. "I'd do the same for you too. You know that." She and and closed her eyes. "I love you, Jules."

"Then we'll make it work. It takes the world to end to get me to stop seeing you. You know that." And it would be terrible, surely, having to spend time with her behind Melisa's back, but he wasn't going to drop Beyza for Melisa. But he also wouldn't drop Melisa for Beyza, not unless Melisa gave him no choice. He had been very clear about that. "I know, if anyone I can count on you." which wasn't in question. "I love you too." He sighed, slightly swaying. "But don't let ma hear that, or we'll be the ones getting married here."

"I hope that's true." She said and sighed as she leaned into him. She would never ask him to chose between her and her sister. All she could do was wish that Julian saw what she did and didn't get hurt in the process. "I know I can count on you too." She said and laughed a little. "Please. As much as I like being around you, I don't think I could be married to you." She sat up a little and looked at him. "I'm sorry I brought your mood down. You should be having fun up there."

"It's a promise." And he meant it. It just didn't take away from the fact that he had to try, see if it would work out, grant himself happiness. He hoped one day Beyza would see it like that too. "Yeah, you're too high maintenance. It would never work out." He joked, turning his head to face her. "Nah, I like talking to you more. But I am for getting a drink, though."

She really wanted to believe his promise, but she was so scared that things would end up ruined anyways. She hoped they wouldn't be, but she was scared of how things would be if she could never forgive her sister. She scrunched her face up and nudged him. "Me? You're the one panicking over grays here." She teased back. "That was talking, huh?" She smiled and nodded. "I'll let you get back to it all. I may stick around for a bit, but I should go."

"I never panic. I'm as cool as a cucumber." Julian joked, yet instinctively ran his hand through his hair nevertheless. He wasn't actually showing grey hair, was he? "One drink?" He asked, taking her by the hand and getting up on his feet. "I expect one birthday shot with you, or you're not allowed to go. "Maybe he would party some more afterwards, still plenty of people to see. But he wanted to have a good ending with her too. "Cmon, let's go upstairs."

"Sure you are." Beyza rolled her eyes, happy to be back to this joking friendship her and Julian usually had. "Fine. I'll do a shot." She smiled and stood up as she took her hand. "How can I leave your party without doing one?"

#( convo. )#( convo. beyza alpman )

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sa-gt-tarrius · 5 years ago

Text

Done Deal [Secret Santa gift]

Warnings (the most prominent ones are in bold): Mild language, lots of crying, panic attacks, self-deprecating thoughts, mentions of malnutrition, unsympathetic Deceit, angst for weeks

A deal is a deal, that much is true. But snakes aren’t known for their integrity. Virgil should have figured that out months ago. Meanwhile, cryptozoology and rebuking the laws of mathematics disrupt Logan’s daily routine.

Excuse me while I post this before noon lol. I figured I’d give my secret sander some time to read their gift while I’m at work today.

@secret-sanders-sized — Thank you so much for organizing this secret santa! It can’t have been easy to coordinate such a big event, especially so close to the holidays. I applaud your hard work and tenacity, but I REALLY hope you get some rest once it’s all over.

@killerfangirl3 — I had a blast working on this and I’m proud of the result. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! (I’m so sorry about the block of text. I was aiming for 6k words max, but I got... carried away. Oof.)

~~~

Part 1:

Patton Sanders was one of the few people you could find awake during the witching hour. It was common to find him binging old cartoons or sifting through photographs through the dead of night while the rest of the world slept. And every morning, without fail, Patton would wake up one hour later than his roommate. He'd either dash about to get ready for the day, cry for a few minutes, or just give up and sleep until noon.

Logan never understood how Patton could, as they say, burn the candle at both ends. He'd tried discussing the possibilities of health problems stemming from erratic sleeping, only to be met with disheartened shrugs of agreement. Patton didn't seem to care, so Logan just let him be. As long as he was on time for work, there was nothing else Logan could do for him.

On the flipside, Logan’s sleep schedule was curated to a science. He was in bed at ten, asleep at ten-fifteen, and awake no later than seven the next morning. If Logan happened to fall asleep just minutes later than usual, he would be too tired to wake up in the morning, thus disrupting his entire day. Going to bed at the same time every night was not only ideal, but it was also necessary for his health and his sanity. Logan couldn't function without routine.

That’s why Patton was surprised when Logan stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen at 2:53 AM. Patton didn't even hear him at first; he was too busy checking the cookies in the oven to notice his roommate was nearby. At that moment, Logan resembled a nerdy cryptid, wandering the halls like a phantom. His eyes were baggy and bloodshot, and his face was drooping from exhaustion. Patton had to wonder if Logan slept at all.

“Logan?” Patton piped, eyeing the other man carefully. Logan hummed in reply, tiredly fiddling with the coffeemaker. Patton tried to grab his attention again, louder this time. “Kiddo... you’re up late.”

“Mmm, yes, yes,” Logan mumbled. He chuckled to himself, twirling a mug around in his hands. “I need coffee.”

Patton stared at his roommate, bewildered by his lacklustre response. He found it odd to be the coherent one of the two for once. Usually, it was Logan who struggled to deal with a delirious Patton. It was jarring to have the roles reversed. “Logan,” he said once again, “what are you doing at this hour?”

Logan turned away from the coffee machine, his weary eyes straining to focus on Patton. Was it because it was dark, or because he was just that exhausted? Perhaps it was because he had forgotten to put on his glasses. It took Patton a moment to remember that Logan never forgets his glasses.

“...It’s been a very long week,” Logan finally sighed, turning his attention to the sugar and cream. The machine beeped softly, and Logan got to work pouring a hearty glass of caffeine for himself. “Sorry for interrupting. I’ll be out of your way in a moment."

Patton blinked twice, taken aback. “What? No, no, no!” he exclaimed, raising his voice a bit. “I—I didn't mean it like that! I'm just worried about you. Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?"

A groan erupted from Logan's throat at Patton’s sudden outcry. His hands shot up to his temple, trying to ease his pounding headache. "I'm fine," he assured him. "I lost track of time is all."

"Oh." Patton frowned, then smiled again to cover it up. "Well, if you're up, why not come sit with me? The cookies are almost finished."

"Cookies," Logan deadpanned incredulously, "at three in the morning?"

"Don’t be a flour-puss, Logan," Patton replied with a cheeky grin. He turned to the oven, fishing out an oven mitt from a nearby drawer. "Go sit at the table. I'll be right there."

Logan simply nodded. He pulled out a chair and plopped down, swirling his coffee around mindlessly. Maybe it was because it was late and his brain was barely functional, but Logan's thoughts wouldn't stop racing. He was sure that if he were fully awake, he could handle this situation with ease. He'd tell Patton that everything was fine and that he was just stressing over an upcoming exam. But, for some godforsaken reason, Logan was considering telling Patton what he was really doing up at this hour. But would Patton understand? Would he even believe him?

Logan didn't even notice when Patton took a seat across from him. He only jolted out of his trance once a plate of cookies clattered onto the table, producing a quiet clunk that scared Logan more than he'd be willing to admit. Patton muttered an apology as he adjusted himself to get comfortable. Logan couldn't even meet his gaze.

“So,” Patton began, shifting uncomfortably. Logan wasn’t exactly looking forward to this conversation either. “...Up and about at three? You’re turning into me, kiddo. What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing,” Logan huffed, his tone a bit harsher than he would have liked. He immediately regretted opening his big fat mouth upon seeing Patton’s hurt expression. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean… it’s just been… busy. I’ve been distracted by my research project."

"Research project?" Patton tilted his head. "You mean for your class?"

"No." As soon as the damning word left his mouth, Logan quietly cursed under his breath. "I mean... y—yes. For my class." Patton looked unconvinced. "Look, it's nothing important. I have nothing aside from school tomorrow. I'll be able to sleep in for a while. I’ll be fine.”

"Kiddo..."

"It's nothing, Pat."

Patton's expression softened. He reached out and grabbed Logan’s hand, squeezing it gently. "Logan, please. I’m worried about you. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? We’re friends. I’m here for you.”

Logan managed a smile. “I know you are, Pat. It’s just… Well... I’m not sure you’d believe me.” When Patton didn’t reply right away, Logan continued. “I’m not quite sure I believe it myself. Maybe I’m just delusional.”

“Delusional,” Patton repeated, holding back an ironic laugh. “Logan, you’re the most logical person I know. If you believe something, you probably have good reason to. Besides…” Patton glanced at their interlocked hands. “...you always do this. Keep things to yourself, I mean. It’s not healthy.”

Logan opened his mouth to retort, but no words came, so he nodded along.

“So please… tell me what’s going on with you. I’m worried.”

“Well, I…” Logan paused, tensing up. He glanced around the room, then tightened his grip on Patton’s hand. “Perhaps it would be better to show you instead.” He stood up, tugging Patton upstairs to his room. Patton didn’t argue. He simply followed and hoped that Logan would be okay.

Part 2:

Maybe Virgil was an idiot for borrowing tonight. At least one of the two humans was usually awake at this ungodly hour. But Virgil didn’t need much this time around—a paper clip from Logan’s room was all he had to grab. A paper clip would be perfect for making a climbing hook. Virgil misplaced his old hook somewhere, so he had to make a new one.

Deceit was out exploring somewhere, perhaps scouting a different floor, so Virgil had to go borrowing alone this time. That sucked, mainly because Virgil hated borrowing with every fibre of his being. It was dangerous, physically taxing, and took way too long. But it had to be done, so Virgil decided to just get it over with so he could go to his room and sleep. Once the coast was clear, Virgil silently slipped into Logan’s room.

Logan was the better human to borrow from, in Virgil’s humble opinion. Logan was predictable, almost to a creepy extent, making his belongings easy pickings. Besides, Patton’s room had bugs in it from being too filthy. Logan’s room was cramped and cluttered to be sure, but at least it was clean and somewhat organized. As long as Virgil was careful and left everything as he found it, borrowing from Logan’s room was fairly straightforward.

But this time around, something was different. Virgil couldn’t put his finger on it, but the room wasn’t the same tonight. It was… quiet. Almost too quiet. Wait, was Logan even in here? Virgil peered upwards to the bed, straining his eyes for a snoring mass beneath the blankets. Nope, Logan was nowhere to be found. That was odd, but Virgil would not waste this opportunity. He scrambled under the bed to orient himself before making the climb up the desk.

“Weird,” Virgil muttered under his breath. Logan was practically a robot. He did the same thing at the same time every day without fail. To see him breaking that routine was rare. Virgil crouched down on the carpet, leaning on a small paper box next to him. That’s when it struck Virgil—that box wasn’t any old box!

By some strange stroke of luck, Virgil stumbled upon the box of paper clips beneath the bed, which meant Virgil didn’t even have to step into the open. What a lucky break! Virgil didn’t think to question how they’d gotten under the bed frame. Instead, he frantically started stashing paper clips into his sack, being careful not to poke himself with the metal tips. Virgil technically only needed one paper clip, but they were versatile enough for most home repairs or impromptu tools, so Virgil thought it best to take at least five.

However, just as he was closing the paper clip box behind him, the bedroom door opened.

Part 3:

Patton didn't know what to expect when he entered Logan's room. The room was usually clean, if not disorganized from all the stray notebooks. However, Patton quickly realized that the whole room was a complete mess tonight. There were pencils and papers were scattered across the surface, and Logan’s laptop had over 30 tabs open, including multiple math and physics articles, an anatomy lecture on youtube, and a webpage detailing various mythological creatures.

Logan stopped by the desk, facing Patton with the most intense and pleading expression he had ever seen. "Promise me you won't think I'm crazy,” Logan said firmly. “Promise me.”

“I promise,” Patton said without thinking. In reality, he was quickly becoming worried. What could have Logan riled up this much?

Logan took a deep breath, full-screening one of the physics articles on his browser. “Are you familiar with the square-cube law?” Patton shook his head. “Right... In layman’s terms, as an object’s surface area increases, its volume increases much more than you’d intially believe. An object that is twice its original size will NOT be twice as dense as the original—rather, the volume increases by a factor of eight. The same principle applies to things decreasing in size. Do you follow so far?”

“Yes,” Patton said, despite not understanding a word Logan was saying.

“I’m getting to the point, I swear...” Logan pulled up a biology seminar, pointing at various graphs on the screen. He was getting excited now, pacing about the room as he spoke. “Many people have wondered what would happen if a human being were to become extremely small. The short answer is... no one could survive for long at that size. A miniature human being would encounter a multitude of problems that the species isn’t designed to handle… a shortage of body heat, bad eyesight, and the obvious problem of being too small to process oxygen—”

“Sorry, kiddo,” Patton blurted, looking rather dazed and confused, “but could you just, um… get to the point?”

Logan coughed, looking a bit embarrassed. “Well, the point is… erm... Heh heh, the idea of tiny people is ludicrous, correct? According to everything we know about biology and physics, it shouldn’t even be possible for a human being that small to exist.” He shuffled awkwardly, suddenly at a loss for words. “So… I suppose… it’s, erm… Well, it’s a ridiculous concept, anyway. But I can’t help but wonder if…”

As Logan stumbled his way through the sentence, Patton’s eyes lit up a bit. “Do you think… maybe it is possible after all?”

“Well, it shouldn’t be,” Logan huffed, “but it’s the only explanation I can think of. You see, I… I’ve been tracking some strange occurrences lately. Food has been vanishing from the cupboards. There are tiny hidden doorways in the walls by the floorboards. There’s three in the kitchen and two in the living room. It’s so peculiar.”

“Couldn’t it just be mice? Or some other rodent?”

“That’s what I thought, too. But then I found something…” Logan opened the desk drawer and pulled something out. He carefully placed it in Patton’s hands. It was a piece of twine, beaten up and fraying. One end was tied into a sturdy loop, and the other was attached to a hook made of a fishing hook. Patton bent down and stared at it, unsure of what he was looking at. “I found it in the cupboard with the ramen,” Logan explained. “No mouse is capable of constructing tools like this.”

“That’s true,” Patton muttered, stroking his chin. “But still… tiny people? Are you sure?”

Logan looked away, biting his lip. “Well… there’s one more thing I need to show you.” He clicked the mouse twice, opening a folder of videos. The timestamp on the most recent one clocked in at a whopping 61 hours. “I set up video cameras in here a few days ago. And I think I caught one on film.”

Patton gasped sharply. “What? Really?!”

“Yes… Here. Look at this.”

The pair kept their eyes glued to the screen as a video began to play. It was a fuzzy recording of Logan’s room from above the door. Patton shot a glance to that part of the room; sure enough, a security camera hung there, a pale red light flashing faintly from its side.

At first, it seemed like the footage was frozen. But then, in the corner of the frame, something moved. Patton couldn’t quite discern what it was. The shadowy figure scuttled across the floor and onto the desk, rummaging through Logan’s belongings.

“There.” Logan paused the video, pointing to the figure excitedly. He zoomed in, growing more excited as the faint silhouette of a person came into view. “There it is.” The footage was dark and blurry, but Patton saw it. The shape of a person, no more than five inches tall, hunched over on Logan’s computer desk. Logan tore his attention away from the screen to fix his gaze on Patton. “Normally, I’d acknowledge that this is a stupid hypothesis and I’m just sleep-deprived. But…” He paused, staring at the tiny figure on the video feed. “...I think I may be onto something.”

“I don’t think it’s stupid,” Patton said quietly. He slowly twirled the hook around in his fingers, enamoured by the impossibly miniature handiwork.“I mean… it’s weird, for sure. But the evidence is right there.”

“Indeed. I just have to make sure I’m right.” Logan hunched over the computer, closing a few of the tabs. “All of this evidence is for naught if I can’t prove anything. I have to know for sure. So I’ve been setting up traps that would be able to capture something more intelligent. I’m also considering checking out the holes in the kitchen more closely, although I’m afraid of scaring it away…”

“So this is your research project,” Patton said as the pieces clicked into place in his mind. “This is why you’ve been up late.”

“Yes, I believe that these creatures are likely nocturnal. But I haven't had much luck with finding traces of them.”

Patton grinned, leaning over Logan’s shoulder and closing the laptop. “Well, maybe I can help with that. Two heads are better than one, after all.”

“That... That would be satisfactory,” Logan said with a small smile. He should have known better than to doubt Patton.

Part 4:

Now, as far as they knew, Logan and Patton would continue to speak in total privacy. They discussed Logan’s findings and hypotheses about why tiny people are living in the walls. They argued about the possible origins of such a species, and what kind of bait to use to catch it, and whether glue traps were considered humane. What they didn’t know was that someone was listening to their conversation from beneath the bed.

Virgil’s mind was racing and his heart was beating so fast that he was sure it’d pop out of his chest. Damn it all! He was so careful, so calculated with his borrowing, never leaving a trace of his presence. But despite his valiant efforts, Logan realized that he was in the apartment. And they even had recordings of him! It was only a matter of time before they were captured. If only he hadn’t let them find his damned grappling hook...

Virgil didn't enjoy entertaining the thought of being caught by humans—it caused him too much distress. But the imminent discovery of borrowers in the apartment seemed fast approaching. Would they kill him? Keep him as some pet? Experiment on him? Toss him outside to freeze in the winter cold? Virgil wasn’t keen on finding out, which meant only one thing: they would have to move. Quickly.

Virgil had only moved once in the past, to move out of his parent’s home when he came of age. He was ill-equipped to move on such short notice on his own. But that was one solace Virgil had: he didn’t live alone anymore.

About a year ago, he’d met another borrower who was looking for shelter from the first snowfall of the season. He called himself Deceit, which was an apt name, considering he was the living embodiment of sliminess. He was the best borrower Virgil ever met; Virgil had to wonder how he became so adept.

Virgil quickly learned that Deceit didn’t talk about himself. All Virgil knew about Deceit is that he’d been alone for almost all of his life. The mysterious borrower never talked about the scars covering half his face, or the slight limp on his left side. He never talked about his family, or his past, or his tendency to hide away in his room for hours.

Thinking back, Deceit probably wouldn’t have given Virgil a second thought at first; the strange borrower seemed perfectly content on his own. But when Virgil pleaded for Deceit to stay with him after the winter passed—Virgil must have been lonely if he was willing to trust a stranger that much—they eventually agreed on living together.

It was a contractual friendship, so to speak. Deceit would usually borrow for the both of them, being the sneakier of the pair. In exchange, Virgil provided Deceit with a place to stay. Additionally, Virgil was a skilled builder and mechanic, able to construct all sorts of tools from scraps that Deceit found under the fridge and behind the couch. His home was fully insulated, wired with working lights, and outfitted with furniture. So not only could Deceit stay hidden with Virgil, but he was also warm, safe, and comfortable.

The two quickly adjusted to the balance. They’d been living together for about a year with little issue. Both of the humans in the apartment were unassuming, and Deceit never gave them any reason to believe things were amiss. But now... their delicate way of life was being threatened. Everything that they worked for was about to be for naught.

Shaking his head, Virgil retreated into the wall. He'd have to tell Deceit the bad news so they could start packing right away.

As he made his way through the walls, Virgil’s fear of being caught gave way to spite and anger. This would put a whole three years of borrowing to waste. Now what? Where would they even go now that they couldn't stay in the apartment? The snow was falling like bullets this late in the year, so they didn't even have the option of fleeing into the woods nearby. They'd have to pray and hope that there was a building close enough to move to.

At least he had Deceit with him. Having someone to keep him sane will be all too necessary now.

”Hey, Dee?” Virgil called out, slipping into the main room. He immediately went toward his room, intending to fetch his gear. “Dee, we need to talk. It's important.”

When no one replied for a minute, Virgil entered his room to grab his stuff. It couldn’t hurt to get a head start with packing. Virgil ran through his mental checklist of supplies as he stepped into his room. He would need food for a few days, his collection of homemade jackets (he’d need all of them if he wanted to stay warm), and his borrowing gear. New hook, bag, blade… What else should he need? It’d been too long since he moved Virgil took a quick look around to get ideas on what to bring.

He paused, did a double-take, and stumbled back in shock.

His room was completely empty. There were no clothes in the closet, no bag of tools by the door, and none of Virgil’s journals on the shelf. The blankets from his makeshift bed were stolen away. Even the emergency rations he hid behind a loose board were missing. Virgil stood still and gaped horror for a good few minutes. What happened here?

Virgil quickly paced around the room, inspecting the empty room more closely. Somebody stripped the place of everything but the heavy furniture, like the side table and the dresser. Everything else was just… gone. Well... there was one other thing. A small folded note with Virgil’s name on it. Virgil hesitated before tentatively opening the note, dreading the contents.

virgil, the humans know about us. i just finished packing. meet me in the pantry right away.

Virgil read and re-read the letter a few times, relief washing over him. On a hunch, Virgil went into Deceit’s room too. It was empty too. Presumably, Deceit had already packed everything. Okay, Deceit knew too. And he’d already packed their things. That’s good. That’s good. Breathe, Virgil.

This was… good. As soon as they’d stocked up on food, they could leave. Leave it to Deceit to be two steps ahead of things. Virgil was at ease knowing that such a competent borrower would join him on the journey to a new home. However, as Virgil made his way towards the pantry, he still couldn't help but worry about what the future held. Virgil lived in this apartment building for most of his adult life. He wasn’t keen on leaving it all behind. And he still wasn’t sure where they could go. Maybe they could just move down the block? Would that be far away enough to throw the humans off their scent?

“Dee?” Virgil whispered, finally arriving at the pantry. He emerged from the hidden tunnel, carefully slipping into the open. Deceit was there, but hadn’t noticed Virgil yet; he was busy cutting into the tops of boxes and fishing food out of them. The other borrower was struggling to reach the cereal below him. “Dee, I’m here.”

Deceit perked up, whirling his head around. “Good. I need help with stocking.” He gestured for Virgil to climb onto the cereal box with him. “I can’t reach. Can you climb in and pass me what’s inside?”

“Sure.” Virgil made his way up the shelves, careful not to let his foot get caught between the thin metal bars that made up the shelves. When he reached the cereal box, he carefully lowered himself next to Deceit, peering inside. “How much do you need?”

Deceit squinted his eyes, scanning the contents of the box. “Just a few pieces should be enough. This'll be the last of it. I’ve already packed granola and some trail mix.” Virgil nodded, handing Deceit his bag and lowering himself into the box. He sunk a bit into the cereal at first but stayed close to the top of the box with a bit of effort. “Throw up what you can,” Deceit said. “Try to get bigger pieces.”

“Okay.” Virgil got to work tossing various bits of cereal up and out of the box. Deceit caught them and shoved them into his shoulder bag, filling it to the brim. After a few minutes, his bag couldn’t hold anything more. “Is that enough?”

“Yes, that’s perfect.” Deceit grinned widely, glancing around the pantry. Nope, no sign of the humans. “And with hours to spare.”

Virgil huffed, sinking even lower into the cereal. “That’s great. Can you help me out now? I’m sinking.”

Deceit blinked, staring at Virgil from above. “Oh, are you now? Isn’t that a shame?” He grinned even wider, adjusting the straps of his bag. “You’re a good person, Virgil. It’s a shame you’re so naïve.”

Virgil froze up. “What?”

Maybe it was Virgil’s imagination, but Deceit’s face seemed to darken in reply to Virgil’s stuttering. “I enjoyed our time together, Virgil. Maybe you’ll get out of there before you suffocate.” He laughed jollity. “Or before you… you know… get caught.”

“You tricked me!” Virgil hollered, momentarily forgetting that he should keep quiet while humans were in the house. “You’re stealing my stuff, you little—”

“Excellent observation, Virgil. You’re so clever.”

“I thought we were a team,” Virgil hissed as he struggled against the cereal, feeling his chest sink below the surface. Tears began to prick at his eyes. “We were in this together! We had a deal!”

“The deal is off,” Deceit hummed, vanishing from sight. His footsteps sounded from outside the box. Virgil could barely make his muffled voice out. “If you hadn’t left your hook lying around, I wouldn’t have to do this. When the cards are down, it’s every borrower for himself.” He paused, his voice growing quiet. “For your sake, I hope you escape soon. The humans will be here in a few hours.”

Virgil’s breath quickened. A panicking sensation began to well up in his stomach. “Where will you go?” He cringed at the way his voice cracked. “You’ll freeze out there. It's too cold.”

“Mmm, I don’t know about that. With all these jackets of yours, I should be warm enough.”

“You bastard!” Virgil screamed angrily, quickly becoming more and more desperate to get out. Was Deceit going to leave him here? After all they’d been through together? “Let me out right now, or I swear—”

“Or what? You’ll call me even more vulgarities? Why, I’m shaking in my boots.” Deceit let out a hearty chuckle. “I’d love to stay and quiver more, but I really must get going. Good luck, Virgil,” Deceit whispered coyly, “and thank you for everything.”

“Don’t you dare leave me here!” Virgil squawked, not wanting to believe the sound of Deceit’s footsteps pattering away. “Dee?! D—Deceit! Wait! Don’t leave me!” Virgil wasn’t exactly listening more than he was simply panicking, but he knew at that moment Deceit was gone for good. Where he went, he’d never know. Virgil was alone now, with nothing to his name, and with humans hot on his trail. He was trapped and afraid and all alone. He stopped shouting, and instead relegated himself to emitting quiet sobs.

Was this it, then? Was he stuck here forever? Or would the humans find him when the sun came up? Virgil didn’t want to find out. He grunted and cursed to himself as he writhed in place, but he only sunk ever deeper beneath the quicksand of sugary wheat crisp. Only his head and arms were above the surface now, and he wasn’t keen on having his entire body buried in sugar and wheat puffs.

Virgil grit his teeth, remembering the breathing exercises his parents taught him. Four in, seven hold, eight out. But more than ten minutes went by and Virgil couldn’t calm down enough to hold his breath for more than two seconds. His constant struggling and weeping were pulling his neck and shoulders underneath.

You have to calm down. Virgil shook his head, clearing his messy and diluted mind. Keep it together, Virge. You can’t give up just yet. He would stay alive—he had to. There was no way he was about to go down in such an undignified manner. Virgil steadied his breathing, keeping his entire body as still as possible. Then, ambling with care, he wiggled his feet around, trying to find his footing. If he could just get a foothold on something, then maybe he could hoist himself up and escape. But try as he might, Virgil’s feet helplessly sifted through the cereal like it was water. He couldn’t get to the top of the box.

Virgil’s next instinct was to writhe around and tilt the box onto its side, but the borrower was discombobulated from panicking—he did not know which way he was facing. If he knocked the box over the wrong way, the fall to the distant ground would seal his fate. And even if he survived the fall, he’d be too injured to escape before the humans found him.

That left only one option, which was to wait and bide his time. Perhaps the humans would walk into the pantry without checking his hiding place. If he could just listen for the direction of the pantry door, he’d know which direction to tilt the box without toppling off the shelf. It wasn’t ideal, but it seemed to be the only way out of this mess. So Virgil took a deep breath, willed his body to stay perfectly still, and waited.

Part 5:

Patton didn’t quite believe in the existence of tiny people in the walls. As Logan said, it was a bit outlandish. Still, something strange was going on. Logan showed him the hidden doorways scattered across the apartment; they were so well hidden that Patton didn’t see them at first, even after having Logan point them out. Patton also examined the hook a bit more while Logan scoured his security camera footage. It was well-crafted, with secure knots and loops holding the hook in place. It seemed too small for a person to make, but too complex and intelligent for a rodent to make. So even though Patton was still in doubt, he had to admit that Logan had a point.

That being said, their “research” wasn’t making any progress. Aside from what Logan already found, the two humans couldn’t find any further evidence of tiny humanoids in the apartment. And soon, it was time for Logan to go to bed. He'd have to be ready for class in the morning.

“I don’t work today,” Patton said as he fished out two bowls from the drawer. “So we can look more when you come back.”

“Of course,” Logan replied. He was busy with the coffee machine again, discarding the filter he used earlier. “I’ll check the library on campus to see if there are any resources that might help us.”

Patton nodded. “And I’ll keep looking online.” He wandered into the pantry, reaching for the nearest box of cereal. “What should I do if anything comes up?”

Logan hummed, thinking for a moment. “Maybe just… call me. My ringer will be off when I’m in class, but I check it regularly.” He glanced over at Patton, who had finished pouring his cereal and was shoving his head into the fridge. Logan blinked thrice. “I didn’t know that brand of cereal came with a toy.”

“They don’t,” Patton replied as he dug out the milk from the fridge.

“Then what is that?”

Patton looked over at Logan. The other man was staring intently at the table, eyes widened and eyebrows raised. Patton followed his gaze to the aforementioned cereal bowl; a strange purple object was protruding from beneath the cereal. Cocking his head, Patton twisted the cereal box in his hands, searching the labels for any sign of a toy inside. He found nothing.

“That’s weird,” Patton muttered, turning his attention back to the bowl, only to screech in horror. That purple thing just moved. On its own. Logan jumped, nearly dropping his mug on the floor. Patton backpedalled across the room, his back pressed tightly against the fridge. “Wh—what is it?! It’s moving!”

“I’ve got it,” Logan grunted as he reached for a nearby dishcloth. He approached the bowl slowly, spreading the cloth out with his hands. Then, with careful precision, the dishcloth was neatly placed atop the squirming thing, effectively trapping it inside. “Patton… pass me the dish gloves.”

It took Patton a second to respond. He quickly grabbed the gloves from inside the sink and placed them on the table near Logan. “Thanks,” he said, focusing on putting the gloves on one at a time as to not take his hands off the cloth. “Now… stand back. I’m taking the cloth off now.”

Patton nodded, keeping his distance as Logan slowly peeled the cloth away. Both of them let out startled, disbelieving gasps.

“...I think we found it, Logan.”

Virgil didn’t want to believe any of this. He expected to wake up any second, back at home. He’d get up for breakfast and Deceit would chastise him for sleeping in. They’d eat granola and Virgil would ramble on about this strange dream he had where he was trapped in a cereal box for hours on end. But as the two human tenants loomed above him, staring him down and locking him into place, he realized that he wouldn’t be waking up. This was real. This was real.

“It’s…” Patton stuttered, taking a step forward. “It’s… a tiny person.”

Logan nodded slowly. His wide eyes remained glued on Virgil. “I was right... I can’t believe I was right!” He suddenly grinned, grabbing Patton’s shoulder. “Do you know what this means?! This is a massive discovery—it could revolutionize the field of biology!”

“I—I’m sure it could,” Patton chuckled humourlessly, still staring downwards. The tiny person half-wrapped himself in the dishcloth, cowering against the table. It appeared to be a young man, likely in his mid-twenties. He wore a baggy violet patchwork jacket and a black scarf that hung loosely from his neck. “Can it… talk?”

Logan turned back to Virgil. “I’m not sure. Theoretically, it’s vocal cords should be too small to produce audible sound… but at this point, it might as well be possible. Its very existence is unlikely.”

“Okay, then… um…” Patton broke away from Logan, who started furiously writing notes on a nearby napkin. “H—hi,” Patton began, smiling awkwardly. “Can you understand me?” When the tiny person didn’t reply, Patton kept talking. Maybe he was just shy. “I’m sorry about that… I didn’t know you were in there.”

Virgil quivered at the giant face taking up most of his vision. He had to look away—he was too intimidated to look into those massive eyes. “I—I don’t...” Virgil started to whimper out a sentence before shutting himself up with a quiet grunt. Don’t be stupid! You can’t talk to humans—you know the rules. Idiot.

But it was too late. Patton’s eyebrows shot up at Virgil’s halfhearted reply. “You can talk!” He smiled widely, his face lighting up. “Okay, that makes this easier.”

“Fascinating,” Logan muttered, studying Virgil carefully. “This can’t be real… You shouldn’t be able to speak with vocal cords your size.” He set the note-scribbled napkin aside, leaning over Patton’s shoulder to see Virgil better. “Where did you come from? Are you human? Are there more of you?”

“I’d... I’d go easy with the questions, Logan,” Patton whispered. “I think he’s getting overwhelmed.”

Well, Patton wasn’t exactly wrong. Virgil was totally and thoroughly petrified. He tried to rise to his feet, but he was shaking so badly that he couldn't even kneel without falling onto his stomach. His breathing was uneven and sharp, like he was struggling for air. Virgil let out a strained sob, becoming increasingly frustrated with his inability to run away.

Logan’s mouth sealed shut. He recognized the signs of a panic attack before Patton did. “Patton, get him some water.” Lowering himself as to not seem intimidating, Logan quieted his voice to a whisper. He held his hands in front of himself as a gesture of goodwill. “Hey… it’s alright. It’s alright.”

The tiny person heaved again, his whole body convulsing rapidly. “Y—you—you—“

“Shh… I won’t touch you. But you need to breathe. Do you know any breathing exercises?”

“F—f—f…” Sneaking a glance up at Logan, Virgil gulped and looked away again. “F—four, seven, eight.”

“That’ll work. Come on, I’ll do it with you. Breathe. Four in…”

As the tiny man and Logan breathed in sync, Patton got to work fetching some water. A normal cup would surely be too big, and they didn’t have any shot glasses for the tiny man to use. Sighing, Patton relegated to removing the gap from the jug of milk and using it to hold the water. He rinsed it out and filled it generously, hoping it would be small enough.

When he turned back to the two, the tiny man had calmed down somewhat. He was still shaking, but he was at least breathing steadily. Logan kept counting in a pattern, praising the tiny person the whole time.

“There we go. Good job.” Logan smiled softly. The tiny man forced a grimace in reply.

“Here,” Patton mumbled, placing the cap near the small person. He saddened at the way Virgil’s whole upper body flinched. “It’s water. Drink what you can, okay, kiddo?”

Virgil took a second to nod. “O—okay.”

Drinking water had never seemed like such a momentous task before. The cap was too heavy to lift, especially with how weak Virgil was, so he had to scoop up the water and sip it from his cupped hands. It was demeaning, but it wasn’t the biggest problem—the whole time Virgil drank, Patton and Logan kept their huge eyes locked on Virgil, never for a second looking away. It wasn’t just awkward; it was terrifying. They were so huge, much bigger than they seemed from a distance.

A cough sounded, then someone spoke. “Logan.” At the sudden voice, Virgil stopped drinking and craned his neck up. “My name is Logan. This is my friend Patton.”

Patton crouched down a bit, resting his chin on the table uncomfortably close to Virgil. “What’s your name, kiddo?”

“Uh,” Virgil stammered, fiddling with his sleeves, “m—my name...”

Logan’s eyes widened. He had to force his voice to stay level and quiet as to not scare him into silence. “Yeah?”

“...M—my… my name is… Virgil.”

Patton and Logan exchanged a glance. “Virgil,” they repeated, making sure they pronounced it right.

“Well, Virgil,” Patton whispered, “it’s nice to meet you. Would you like something to eat?”

“Uh…” Virgil hesitated, rubbing at his forearm. Patton’s question was rather sudden, wasn’t it? He wiped away a few dried-up tear streaks before answering. “Wh—what kind of food?”

“Whatever you’d like, kiddo.” He picked up the nearby box and shook its contents. “How does cereal sound?”

Virgil cringed at the suggestion—he wasn’t keen on cereal after being nearly suffocated by it��but nodded as to not anger Patton.

Cereal it was, then. Patton began the arduous search for the smallest bowl he could find. Logan looked like he wanted to say something, but kept silent. Instead, he glanced between Patton and Virgil, keeping his hand locked against his own mouth.

Virgil watched Patton with a cautious gaze as the human trickled a few drops of milk atop the wheat crisps. Once Patton finished and slid the bowl towards the silent Virgil, Logan pulled him aside. “Pat, can I talk to you?”

Patton snuck a look at Virgil, who was mindlessly chewing on a damp piece of cereal, then nodded. They slipped into the nearby bathroom, not noticing the baffled expression on Virgil’s face. Did they just… leave him here by himself? They did realize he could escape, right? Humans couldn’t possibly be this stupid, could they?

Virgil seized the moment of isolation to get a better grasp of his surroundings. He was sitting squarely at the centre of the kitchen table. Aside from the cloth he was seated on, there was nothing else on the table with him. The chairs were also pushed in, meaning that Virgil could probably climb down them with little trouble. There was an escape tunnel behind the fridge, if Virgil remembered correctly. If he acted quickly, he could make it there before the humans came back.

Having decided on his next move, Virgil rose to stand, only to find his legs were still gelatinous and wobbly. He remained standing for exactly two seconds before crashing onto his side. His throat bubbled out a pained yelp, and he clutched the shoulder he landed on. Okay, maybe the humans weren’t stupid for leaving Virgil alone. Maybe they were just sadistic.

Virgil paused as another thought crossed his mind: even if he escaped from Logan and Patton, what would he do next? He had no food, no clothes, no tools, and he was all alone again. There was no way he’d survive for long, even if he got the chance to escape. Everything was pretty much hopeless at this point.

“Stop crying,” Virgil growled to himself. But he didn’t stop. The tears just kept coming, welling up in his eyes and careening downwards like a waterfall. Virgil curled into a ball and cursed himself over and over, helpless as the tears rolled silently down his face. “You’re so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Wasn’t he absolutely, positively pathetic?

Part 6:

Virgil’s inner torment went unheard by the humans. Once the bathroom door closed, ensuring their privacy, Patton spoke first. “You noticed it too, right?”

“Yes,” Logan grumbled. “He’s too thin. And he’s very pale... I think he’s malnourished.”

“We have to do something, Logan. Can you help him?”

“I can try.” Logan grit his teeth, massaging his face for what must have been the fourth time that night. “He needs food and water. And warmer clothes. Do we have anything he can wear?”

“Maybe there are some old doll clothes in Roman’s room,” Patton said thoughtfully. “I’ll have to look around. You watch him while I check.”

Logan bit his lip nervously. “An examination could be in order… but I’d hate to scare him.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Patton replied sadly. He opened the door a crack and peered outside at Virgil, who was curled in on himself and mumbling incoherently. He grimaced at the disheartening sight and turned away. “Just be gentle. And don’t talk too loud.”

Logan nodded firmly. “Of course.”

It was decided, then. Patton opened the door and rushed upstairs while Logan quietly approached the table. Virgil’s face was puffy and stained with tear streaks, and he was still shaking like a leaf. The tiny man eyed Logan wearily, never taking his eyes off him for a moment.

“I need to perform a medical examination on you,” Logan explained. He sat down in the nearest chair, pulling himself closer to the table. Virgil’s eyes went wide as a giant hand approached him, spreading its fingers as it reached towards his quivering form.

“N—no!” Virgil cried, clutching his jacket closer to his chest. His breathing quickened once again as the panicking sensation resurfaced. “I—I—I’m not—“

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Logan whispered, his hand still drawing closer. “I just need to make sure you’re uninjured.”

Virgil let out a strained and angry whine. “Don’t touch me!” he hollered, fists clenched. Logan frowned at the fearful reaction but didn’t retract his hand. Instead, with as much grace and gentleness as he could muster, he latched his index finger and thumb firmly around Virgil’s torso. The tiny man yelped as the hand hoisted him off solid ground, dangling above the tabletop for a moment before he was finally plopped into Logan’s other hand.

As soon as it set him in Logan’s palm, Virgil dropped to his hands and knees and scrambled back in the table's direction. Logan gasped and yanked him back by the hood of his jacket, holding him firmly in his palm. “Be careful!” Logan snapped. He moved his thumb over Virgil’s chest, pinning him down. With his free hand, he began manipulating Virgil’s writhing and trembling form, investigating each limb with care while gripping them too tightly for Virgil to escape. He twisted the borrower’s arms around, lifted his legs, and flipped his body between his front and back.

Logan did his best to search the minuscule body for signs of injury or illness, but it was hard to ignore the sobs coming from the trembling man in his hands. Virgil stopped fighting against the massive fingers once he’d run out of breath, which wasn’t saying much; he barely had any breath left in him. Logan continued to twist him around, prod him, and fiddle with his clothes. He paused his work every few moments to write something down on his napkin.

This went on for several minutes. During that time, Virgil got ahold of himself, although he was still terrified. “This won’t take much longer,” Logan finally muttered, breaking the thick and tense silence. “So… how long have you been living here?”

Virgil flinched as a giant finger lifted the back of his shirt up. Geez, that was cold! “U—um… I—I’m not.”

The shirt fell back into place. Virgil hugged himself closely as Logan wrote something down. “That hook I found belongs to you, doesn’t it? And those hidden doorways in the kitchen… you must have created those.”

Oh... right. Virgil forgot that Logan knew about him before being found in the pantry. He meekly nodded, hoping that telling the truth would leave him better off than lying would.

“I don’t understand how anyone could survive at your size. Do you get cold easily? Can you see well?”

“Uh… yes to both?”

“Fascinating. And what about your diet? How much do you have to eat to sustain yourself?”

Virgil let out an exasperated noise. “I don’t know! Twice a day usually gets me by, I guess?!”

“What sorts of things do you eat? Do you have allergies?”

“Can you stop with the questions?” Virgil cried, already becoming frustrated with Logan. Being interrogated was not fun, let alone when a human was doing it. "I can't tell you anything! I shouldn't even be here!"

"Why not?"

"It's..." Virgil grimaced. "...It's the rules. That's all I can say."

“But there’s so much I have to know. How long have you been small for?”

“I don't know, how long have you been annoying for?” Virgil retorted cheekily.

“Were you hit by a shrink ray? Like in those fiction movies? I was sure that they were scientifically impossible to create, but perhaps it's not too farfetched.”

Virgil let out a sharp hiss instead of answering the question. Logan reeled back, his expression unreadable. “I’m sorry… Did you just hiss at me?”

“I do that when I reach my limit with stupid questions.”

With a single eyebrow raised, Logan continued. “I just have a few more.”

“I don’t care.”

“How tall are you?"

"Not tall enough."

"Okay... Well, what about reproduction? Do you have—"

"Ew. No, hard pass."

Logan frowned. This wasn't going anywhere, was it? "Fine. Are you a social creature? Do you live alone?”

Wrong thing to say.

“Would you just shut up?!” Virgil screamed, pounding his fists on Logan’s hand as hard as he could. “Just shut up already!” Before he realized it, hot tears began rolling down his cheeks again. “Just... stop…”

The newfound silence felt like molasses. Logan’s mouth seemed to glue itself shut, but his eyes darted between Virgil and his notes. The human had plenty to ask, to be sure, but for some reason refused to say anything more.

Virgil’s anger gave way to numbness. He’d really done it this time, huh? Most borrowers weren’t dumb enough to lose their temper at a human being. And now he was crying again.

The silence carried on for what felt like hours, but it was eventually broken by Logan. “I’m sorry.”

“...What?”

“I’m sorry,” Logan sighed, having the decency to avoid eye contact. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you.”

Well, this was interesting. A human apologizing to a borrower? Has this ever happened before? “Um…” Virgil cleared his throat and rubbed his arm. “It’s… whatever.”

“I hope you can forgive me for being so interrogative. Satisfying my curiosity should not have come at the cost of your mental stability.” Logan muttered something under his breath. He then turned to Virgil, his eyebrows furrowed. “I’ll stop with the questions now.”

Virgil was in awe. He’d screamed at Logan, called him annoying, and started crying like a child, but Logan wasn’t angry. He was actually very nice, despite his initial misgivings. Well, now Virgil simply had to answer the questions then, didn’t he? After the human was polite and said sorry and stuff. “I…” Virgil coughed, forcing the words out of his mouth. “I used to live with someone. But not anymore.”

“Oh.” Logan frowned, lifting Virgil closer to his face. The human’s features were tinged with a sort of concern; Logan slowly began to understand why the question set Virgil off. So he paused, choosing his words wisely. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Virgil opened his mouth to say ‘no’ but found himself forced into silence. Honestly? He wasn’t sure how to answer that. On one hand, Virgil didn’t even want to think about how his only friend abandoned him in a cereal box, leaving him in the clutches of a pair of humans. But on the other hand, Virgil wanted nothing more than to just blabber on and on about how he was feeling. Borrowers didn’t have therapists, and Deceit was never a terribly good listener. It’d be all to easy to overshare, to reveal all the borrower secrets in his moment of weakness. But... maybe if he was careful... he could talk without giving away specifics. A vent would do him good, anyhow.

Virgil decided to take the plunge.

“I trusted him,” he grumbled before he could think to stop himself. “We were supposed to work together. I helped him when he had nowhere to go. And what does he do to thank me?! He traps me in a cereal box and steals everything I own!” Virgil pounded his fists, growing more and more heated by the second. “I mean, I get it. We weren’t exactly friends. But we had a deal, and he… he just…”

Virgil’s words screeched to a halt, and he found himself unable to look at Logan without his gaze flickering back to the ground. The anger had died down, leaving the chill of fear and the hollowness of sorrow behind.

“I thought… I thought we were in this together. But he took everything from me. I have no food, no clothes, and… and I’m alone again.” Virgil snorted, crossing his arms. “I never should have trusted him. I was better off by myself.”

Logan said nothing at first, neither his hand nor his face moving an inch. Virgil slipped his hood over his face, hiding his embarrassed expression. Great, now he thinks you’re a crybaby too. Some borrower you are.

They remained stagnant in awkward silence for a few more minutes. But then, gradually, the hand holding Virgil began to shift around. A thumb started stroking his side with surprising gentleness, and the remaining fingers curled inwards towards Virgil, forming a protective barrier.

“I should say this upfront,” Logan said suddenly, startling Virgil out of his confusion. “I’m not good at comforting people. That’s Patton’s forte. That being said, I’m… very sorry that happened to you.” He pressed his lips together, and his eyes narrowed. “I can’t imagine someone violating your trust like that.”

Virgil laughed mirthlessly. “Yeah, he’s a filthy snake. I hate him.”

“Indeed.” Logan fell silent. “...You said he took your food and belongings?”

“...Yeah?”

“I see." A beat passed before Logan continued. “Well, if you happen to be in a position where you are unable to live comfortably, might I suggest staying here for a while? With Patton and I?”

Virgil’s breath hitched. “Stay with you?”

“You don’t have to,” Logan added quickly to cover his flustered demeanour. “I simply thought… if you have nothing to your name, we could help you resupply. And if you wish for company, we could provide that too. I’d hate for you to be alone and so ill-prepared for the winter.”

Virgil tried with all his might to wrap his head around what was happening. A human, the one thing he’d been told to avoid for his whole life, just offered him a place to stay. This had to be a trick, right? There was no way this was real.

“...So what’s the catch?”

A chuckle sounded. The human stroked his chin in mock-thought. “I do have a few caveats, I suppose. You’d have to join us for movie nights, as well as accept all Christmas presents given to you.” Logan snapped his fingers. “Oh! You’d also have to help bake cookies. Patton would appreciate the help.”

Virgil scoffed. “This is a scam.”

“I assure you, it is not.”

“So what do you get out of it?” Virgil craned his neck upwards, staring at the underside of Logan’s chin. “What’s in this for you?”

Logan thought for a moment, staring into space. “Nothing much,” he settled on saying. “The company of a fascinating human being would be sufficient.” Logan tightened his embrace on Virgil, holding him firmly against his chest. “You stay here, and in exchange, Patton and I support you however we can. That seems like a fair trade, no?”

“Well... first of all, borrowers aren’t human.”

Borrower. Logan filed that word away in the back of his mind. He’d ask Virgil about it later.

“Second, that’s not a deal I can make. How do I know you won’t keep me in a jar or something?”

“Well, I haven’t yet, have I?” Logan asked. “If I truly wished to harm you, I would have done so by now.”

Virgil grit his teeth. “Yeah, cause you don’t have to. I can barely move. No point in trapping me if I can’t run away.”

Logan opened his mouth to retort but found himself unable to come up with a sufficient reply. “I suppose… you’ll just have to trust me.”

Virgil was tempted to holler with laughter. Instead, he bit his tongue and looked away. There was still one thing plaguing his mind—would Logan get mad if he asked?

“...The camera footage.”

“...What?”

“You recorded me,” Virgil muttered quietly, tugging at his sleeves. “Delete the video.”

Logan was about to ask why but thought better of it. “Would that make you feel better?” A nod. “Very well. I’ll see to deleting it right away.”

Virgil didn’t say anything else. As far as he knew, Logan could be lying about deleting the video to gain his trust. There’s no way a human would comply that easily.

“So…” Logan looked down at the borrower in his hands. He loomed menacingly, though not on purpose, causing Virgil to flinch away. “Do we have a deal, then?”

“It’s not much of a deal,” Virgil sighed. He shifted a bit, still not used to the feeling of being held by such a giant creature. “Fine. Just... n—no cages or anything. Please?”

“No cages. Understood.” Logan’s other hand hovered upwards. A single index finger was left hanging before Virgil. “Shake on it?”

Virgil froze, hesitant, before tentatively reading out to grab Logan’s finger. He shook it firmly, or at least he tried to. The finger was just so heavy that he couldn’t budge it much. Logan nodded, satisfied, and Virgil retreated to the centre of the palm. “So… now what?”

Right on cue, Logan let out a hearty yawn. “Perhaps a nap is in order. I understand you’ve been awake all night. Resting would be beneficial.”

“A nap?” Shrugging, Virgil nodded. “Okay, but how is that gonna—whoa whoa WHOA!!” Virgil lunged backwards and latched the thumb beside him with a death grip, gasping deeply as Logan stood to his full height. The distant kitchen floor shrunk beneath him. “P—put me down!”

“In a moment.” Logan rubbed his eyes with his free hand as he stumbled into the next room. Virgil, through his dizziness and vertigo, immediately recognized it as the living room. The TV was on—although it was muted—and an unfolded blanket was crumpled on the carpet. Logan silently plucked the blanket off the ground and sat on the nearby sofa, huffing contentedly as he stretched his body out.

Virgil was finally given the sweet release of solid ground… sort of. Logan gently set him on his chest. Virgil moved to sit up but was pushed into a lying position by Logan’s finger. “I—” Virgil groaned as he tried to sit up, but was pushed onto his back a second time. “I—I didn’t think you were gonna sleep with me.”

“I’ve been up all night. I need to rest too.” He moved the blanket so it covered his body, then set the very edge of the blanket over Virgil. “Goodnight, Virgil.”

Virgil chuckled nervously, a bit annoyed and shaken up but still amused. He pulled the blanket upwards, trying to ignore the rhythmic pulsing of Logan’s heart right below him. God, that was weird. “Alright. Goodnight, I guess.”

Part 7:

Logan and Virgil slept very soundly that night. Much later, a few hours before the sun would begin to peek over the horizon, Patton finally rushed back down with a small plastic bin in his arms. “Logan! I found it! I don’t know if they’ll fit, but maybe I can… uh…”

Patton’s words died on his tongue at the sight before him. Logan, with his arm dangling off the edge of the sofa, was snoring quietly. Virgil was curled up in the nook of his neck, completely motionless. They must have been asleep for a while, Patton realized. He glanced at the bin in his arms, then back at the sleeping pair, and let out a sigh. A smile made its way to his lips as he carefully set the box down near the couch.

“Logan,” he whispered, tapping the sleeping man’s shoulder. Logan murmured, stirring awake. Patton grinned at the sight. “Go to bed. Don’t sleep on the couch.”

Logan exhaled deeply and moved his hand, holding Virgil securely to his chest as he rose to a seated position. “Okay,” he sighed, standing slowly as to not wake up Virgil. Luckily, the borrower didn’t budge. “Patton, about those traps I set…”

“I’ll put them away,” Patton whispered. “Just go sleep, kiddo… I’ll take care of it.”

Logan smiled sleepily. “Thank you, Patton.”

“Go on.” Patton gently shoved Logan towards the direction of the stairs. “Get some sleep, alright?”

Moving carefully, Logan made his way upstairs, cradling Virgil in one hand and cupping him with the other. Logan wasn’t really sure how this was going to work. Where could Virgil sleep? Surely not on the bed—he’d be crushed if Logan rolled over. A night table with a blanket could suffice, but it would no doubt be very uncomfortable. And he could easily fall off sometime during the night.

Logan glanced up as he reached the top of the stairs. His eyes landed on the glittery ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign that dangled from a dusty, scarcely used doorknob. The guest room.

Neither Logan nor Patton set foot the third bedroom often. It used to belong to a mutual friend, one they’d met while in their first year of college. But that friend had long moved away to an art school in a different state. Now the room was more of a storage room than an actual residence.

Logan pushed the door ajar and stuck his head inside. The room was a total disaster, as per usual. Laundry was scattered everywhere, pencils and books were strewn about haphazardly, and the closet’s contents were spilling onto the floor. How anyone lived in these conditions, Logan would never know.

Then, by some stroke of luck, Logan’s eye managed to catch a splotch of blue from within the depths of the closet. The man tiptoed inside as if Roman would appear out of the blue and scold Logan for intruding. Logan shook the thought away as he reached his free hand into the closet, quietly dragging out a large blue bin. The lid popped off with minimal effort, leaving a wide assortment of toys exposed for Logan to sift through. He dipped his hand into the mess of action figures and model cars, feeling around until his fingers grasped a familiar object. “Perfect,” Logan whispered, fishing the object out.

It was one of the pieces to Roman’s old dollhouse—a small bed, just the right size for a borrower. The rest of the furniture set was probably somewhere in that bin, but Logan couldn’t bring himself to find all the pieces. It would take him hours. As he stood to leave, Logan briefly considered if doll furniture would demean Virgil, but the practicality of it outweighed Logan’s concerns. He put the bin of toys away with as much care as he could muster before meandering back to his room.

The surface beneath Virgil shifted and swayed like a boat. He woke up with a start, instinctively grasping onto the nearest object. Coincidently, that object happened to be a thumb. Virgil was in someone’s hands.

“H—hey!” he yelped, trying not to peer over the edge of the palm. “What the hell?!”

The sudden shout caused Logan to flinch. He glanced down at Virgil with a frown. Virgil couldn’t even see Logan’s whole face with the way it loomed overhead. “You’re awake,” he commented dryly.

Virgil hid his erratic breathing behind a scoff. “Y—yeah, I’m awake. Could you, like… put me down? Please?”

“Of course. Just a moment.” Logan took one last look around the room before finally placing Virgil on Logan’s desk. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“It’s whatever,” Virgil muttered, clutching his clothes tightly. He steeled himself enough to look at Logan fully but found himself backpedalling as a giant hand lowered itself towards Virgil.

“Here you are,” Logan whispered, placing something onto the table next to Virgil. “Will this suffice for tonight?”

Virgil’s mouth hung open as a small bed, about the size of Logan’s hand, slid onto the desk before him. It was a perfect scale replica of a human’s bed, complete with blankets, a pillow, and a small toy bear. Virgil reached out to touch the bear, surprised to feel plush instead of hard plastic. His hand ran down along the blanket, feeling the intricate pattern weaved into it. And the pillow… Virgil couldn’t help himself. He grasped the pillow tightly and buried his face into it, exhaling in contentment. He’d never had a real pillow before. “Where did you get this?”

“Our old roommate keeps his collection of toys in the spare room. I found that bed with his old dollhouse set.”

“An old dollhouse set,” Virgil repeated, laughing curtly at the notion. This bed was nothing more than a toy. The borrower carefully clambered onto the tiny mattress, shocked at how soft and plushy it was. “It’s pretty comfy for a doll bed. Man, humans have the coolest stuff.”

As Virgil busied himself with bundling the blankets onto himself, Logan’s expression suddenly changed. His face softened, and his eyes didn’t seem so piercing anymore. He looked… sad. “Virgil,” he began, slowly seating himself on his bed, “have you ever owned a bed?”

“Uh… not really, no.” Virgil pulled the blankets up and over his legs. “I mostly used fabric scraps and cotton balls. Whatever I could get my hands on.” Logan failed to notice Virgil gripping the blankets so tightly that his fists were turning white. “...One time, me and Deceit managed to find an old hat in the alleyway. He kinda claimed it as a bed for himself, and I slept in it whenever he was gone. It was the closest we had to an actual bed.”

Virgil shifted uncomfortably, looking away from Logan’s attentive gaze. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

“I... I wish I knew what to say,” Logan stammered with a grimace. “I can’t imagine this is an easy change for you.”

“Not really, no.” The borrower muttered, hiding his face under the blankets. The blankets were so warm. Virgil found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. “But I’m okay now.”

Logan hummed. He looked unconvinced. “You don’t mean that.” It wasn’t a question, either. Judging by the bags under his eyes and the redness of his face, Logan could safely deduce that Virgil was, in fact, not okay in the slightest.

A laugh bubbled from Virgil’s sore throat. “Yeah, not really.” Virgil yawned, snuggling further into the pillow. It did a fantastic job of hiding the tears building behind his eyes. “But... I’m better.”

Logan hummed a second time, not quite satisfied with that answer. “I suppose that’s a more honest statement.” He moved to flick the lights off before pausing and turning back to Virgil. “Will you be alright sleeping there? I can move you elsewhere if you wish.”

“No, I’m good.”

Logan nodded and moved away. Darkness flooded the room; Virgil heard the sounds of Logan fumbling back towards his bed. The blankets were shuffled around as the human settled onto the mattress. “You are to wake me up if you need anything. Do we have a deal?”

“Meh.”

“I’m serious, Virgil.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll wake you up or whatever.” Under his breath, he muttered something else, quietly enough that Logan almost missed it. “I hope hamster cages are comfy.”

Logan’s mouth was moving before he realized he wasn’t supposed to hear that last part. “I won’t put you in a cage, Virgil. I plan on keeping my promise.”

At first, Virgil didn’t reply. But then, a quiet voice spoke up. “How would I know that?” The borrower sniffled a bit. “I—I want to believe you're good, but I can’t afford to trust the wrong person again.” He paused to sob. “I just... can’t.”

“Virgil…” Logan sighed, straining his eyes to see Virgil in the darkness.

Virgil continued to ramble, choking back more sobs. “I want to trust you. I want to believe you. But I don’t wanna get hurt again.”

Logan dejected at that, silent for a moment, before standing up suddenly and shuffling across the room. Virgil eyed him cautiously, afraid of what the human was planning. But Logan simply sat down at his desk and opened his laptop, clicking his mouse a few times. Virgil couldn’t see what he was doing until the screen was suddenly rotated towards him.

Logan gestured to the screen. “The video has been deleted. There’s no trace of you in my files.”

Wait, he... he actually did it? That was unexpected. Virgil felt the tension in his body suddenly unwind at those words. “Oh. Uh… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Logan found his hand snaking its way towards Virgil, stroking the borrower’s side with a gentle brush of fingers. Virgil gasped in fright at first, but settled back down when he wasn’t being prodded or grabbed. “I know it must be difficult to trust me, especially after all you’ve been through tonight. But that’s okay. I don’t expect you to trust me right away—that would be foolish of me.”

Virgil sniffed again. “You’re not mad?”

Logan smiled, setting the laptop aside. “Of course not.”

That seemed to put Virgil at ease. His small body began to unfurl, slowly but surely. The sobbing continued quietly. “...Thanks, Logan.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Logan continued to soothe him, even though Virgil had gone quiet a few minutes ago. After a while longer, Logan finally noticed that Virgil fell asleep. The steady, shallow breathing could barely be heard from such a tiny throat. The human smiled wearily and retracted his hand. It was time for him to get to bed, too.

Logan allowed himself a few moments of peace once he was properly bundled within the blankets. Aside from the distant sounds of Patton downstairs and the strips of sunlight leaking through the closed blinds, the entire room was frozen in space and time. These moments of uninterrupted silence were usually welcome, allowing Logan to think without distractions. But now, the silence was a curse. The rampant thoughts swirling through his mind rose to a deafening roar. Logan pulled his pillow over his ears with a groan.

The man peeked out from beneath the pillowcase. Virgil was still asleep, tucked into a ball beneath the toy fabrics. Their meeting was such an unlikely occurrence that Logan had to wonder if he was seeing things. But he'd only been awake for about 25 hours straight; hallucinations due to lack of sleep didn't start until at least 30 or 40 hours of staying awake. Virgil was real, as difficult as it was to believe.

Perhaps he should skip class today.

Now that Virgil was asleep and calm—and far less likely to panic in his presence—it was tempting for Logan to take notes. He threw a sideways glance towards his notebook, sprawled open upon his desk by the laptop. The pages fluttered against the hot air coming from the nearby vent, taunting Logan incessantly. It couldn't hurt to just write some basic observations, would it? Things like height, behaviours he'd noticed earlier, maybe a quick sketch if he had time...

...But no. Virgil wouldn't appreciate his privacy being violated like that. The existence of these so-called borrowers seemed to be a secret Virgil was dead set on keeping, and for good reason. Logan wanted to know as much as he could about these mysterious miniature humanoids, but he also wanted Virgil to feel safe in his home. That’s why he offered Virgil a place to stay, after all.

Logan sighed; he'd have to put his curiosity on the shelf for now. His priority had to lie with Virgil's wellbeing. That was the deal. And Logan intended to keep his end of the deal, no matter what.

With that thought, he finally fell asleep.

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monstersandmaw · 2 years ago

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Hey so genuine question (which I'm doing not on anon Incase you'd rather answer privately) and please pardon my ignorance but how does an aro/ace person like romance/smut let along create it? Like I know being aro/ace is lacking the respective attraction towards someone else specifically but wouldn't that still bleed over into media? Like I don't understand how you write romance but also don't like it yourself and I wanna understand haha

Hey, I don’t mind you asking, but thanks for understanding that not everyone would be happy to discuss it. I don’t pretend to be able to speak for everyone, obviously, and asexuality is a beautifully broad spectrum and people fit at different points along it, sometimes more than one at a time.

Asexual is not the same as aromantic (I know you’re talking about the ‘romance genre’ in general, but I figured I’d drop this in too). I’m not aromantic - I’m happily married and very soppily in love - but I am asexual so I’m not really interested in sex happening to me. Im not sex-averse, the way many aces are, but Im just not super bothered or interested in it happening to me. It’s akin to autochorisexuality, I suppose, which is a subset of the wider umbrella of asexuality. I’m not too fussed about labels for myself, so I just go with ace usually and leave it at that.

I enjoy reading stories which happen to have smut in because it is something the characters in the story want. They’re involved and enjoying it (at least in the stories I read) and I enjoy reading how they react to each other and to various sensations. AO3 is an absolute blessing because of its tagging and filtering system, because I have a lot of squicks when it comes to smut, and I also don’t tend to seek out stories that are just pwp one-shots. I need the characters to have some kind of connection before I’m interested in reading a smutty bit of their story. Again, this is similar to demisexuality.

I enjoy reading about how people feel when they’re being touched sexually, how they explore one another physically, how that brings them closer together, what it means to them etc. I like to equate it with reading about someone doing something like bungee jumping or flying a plane. I have no real desire to do it myself, but it’s fun and enjoyable for me to read about how they experienced it and what it felt like and how they felt about it. If that makes sense?

Tldr: I don’t enjoy all kinds of smut. There’s an awful lot of smut and erotica that I really super duper do not enjoy, and if you know my writing, you’ll know the kind of thing I am drawn to - tender, loving, with an underlying emotional connection between the characters, and all pretty vanilla really, I suppose.

I hope that helps explain a little about why I’m happy to write and read some smut, even though it’s not something I am interested in experiencing myself in my own life.

#asexuality #ace #asexual

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hidden-amongst-the-clouds · 3 years ago

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(goddamnit i ran out of tags aaaaa🥺💚)

I got commissionned to borgify Xue Yang and Nie Huaisang and thus I did! I also streamed the process and it has been a lot of fun!

I will have to do another one soon, once able.

Here is a borg Birb, and a Stabby Citrus. ( named so after collectively deciding the color of Xue Yang's core as " blood orange" )

#oh joshua i am THRIVING these two are so gorgeous!!!!#my previous tags about me basically screaming and crying over your coloring and shading still stand #nhs.... his neck??? im in love with the braided look you did for the metal there hello???#plEASE let it be a rlly small callback to the cql nie braids bc it would straight up make my night #nhs has such delicate little hands too ugh #you rlly went off with the doll-like artist hands for him huh #ALSO the chest uh??? ornamentation??? idek what to call the little bit in the middle #anyway his belt??? being identical??? yes i am dead laying on the floor over it #BABDHAH DID NOT REALIZE NHS FINGER TURNED INTO A FAN OK GONNA GO RABID AND START FOAMING AT THE MOUTH OVER THAT #i rlly went huh that fan is kinda small and then fucking CLOWNED myself w that realization like .2 seconds later 🤡#him whistling to his myna aaaaa #the bACKGROUNDS AAAA #im so jelly of your bgs and im gonna be mad at myself for being lazy w my backgrounds now bc DAMN SHITS GOOD #xy?? so prettu. so nasty. i would love to get my hands on him and lovingly throttle him.#as you do w chars you have a complex love/hate relarionship with #i see his stupid mean little smile and his stupid awful little dimples and wanna both strangle him but also #jist jold him gentle like a hamburger #love love lOVE the sticky texture of the blood spatter on him #looks wonderfully goopy and gross and awful #im a MEGA fan of gow you handled his missing finger(s)#not just a 'hey the finger is missing'#but instead a wholeass 'the fingers are gone and so are the ports mf just has a whole open hand now'#betchu he has so much trouble w all the finicky mechnaisms in his hand bc of that now #i REALLY love how each and every single one of the borg comms has diff. colored tints to the metal!!#like its driving me insane #anyway joshua PLEASE pardon my typos its like. 2am. couldnt sleep and saw this and HAD to reblog immediately w rambling tags #gonna just like #print these bad boys out in mini and glue em into my sketchbook to look at and pet occasionally #also real talk??? prints??? 🅱️ls??#at some point and not for comm pieces w/o the commissioner permission ofc

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imtooscaredforthis · 2 years ago

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Tethered

Part II- Chapter 16: Dance

Mentions of: FLUFF, mc and Frank being whipped and so in love with each other omg, and nothing else

A/N: HOLY SHIT IM IN LOVE WITH THIS CHAPTER OMG AND ALSO IDC IM ADDING THIS BCS IT HAPPENED JUST LOOK AT THIS AFTER YOU READ THE CHAPTER CAUSE YOULL KNOW

https://imtooscaredforthis.tumblr.com/post/659321590260039680/this-may-or-may-not-be-a-major-concept-that-might

Tags: @prettycutebunny @autisticpickle @dead-bxxxtch-walking @moonshineinasippycup @froegis

Frank sat at the kitchen table, drumming his fingers impatiently, and waiting for you to come downstairs to leave. His eyes darted around the area, listening closely as he heard the floorboards squeaking from upstairs. A few minutes passed, and you finally came down.

You were wearing a (f/c) dress with spaghetti straps, which hung low past your knees. Your hair was done in a cute style as well, that same old locket around your neck, and you had a set of two-inch heels on, and some light makeup as well.

Frank looked at you in awe, while you didn’t look back, too focused on making sure you had everything ready, double-checking your purse.

You walked over to him with a grin, seeing him dawned in his varsity jacket, wearing a dress shirt underneath and black dress pants. “Wow, you’re actually wearing something formal for once.”

“Shut up, it’s just because you made me.” He rolled his eyes, unable to hide his smile. He looked good. A lot different than he used to. Happier, even.

You two were seventeen now, enjoying your summer before your final year in Highschool, and before you went off to college. For the past couple of weeks, you had been working at another charity for the elderly, and tonight, you were having a dance.

Somehow, you managed to convince him to go with minimal complaints. Even now, as the two of you walked to the dance, he wasn’t complaining much. Except for “I don’t wanna be around a bunch of old people,” “it’s gonna be so boring,” and “this is stupid.”

But besides that, things were going pretty well. It wasn’t long until you arrived, greeting people here and there, while Frank walked by your side. After a small ceremony that Frank once again was bored with, whining the whole time, which you had to punch him to shut up, it was time to dance.

Like always, he declined to dance with you, so you went dancing with some of the elders. You danced for a couple of songs before you finally got sick of Frank sitting there and watching you, dragging him onto the floor.

You expected him to say no, to walk back to the table, or to even leave, but he didn’t. This time, he stayed. And what he said next shocked you even more.

“Could you…could you teach me how to dance?” You couldn’t help the big grin that crossed your face. “Sure.”

As a slow song began to play, you positioned his arms around your back, while you wrapped your arms around his neck, having him sway with you.

You’re just too good to be true, Can’t take my eyes off of you,

You’d be like Heaven to touch, I wanna hold you so much,

You still remembered when you and he went to that other charity, and you and he stood out on that lake, skipping rocks. You remembered when he called you pretty and kissed you, just four years ago.

You’ve been together for four years, and so much has changed. You’ve both gotten older, and bigger and different. Frank was definitely bigger, already taller than you, even though he’s still growing, and muscular, and so handsome.

Pardon the way that I stare, There’s nothing else to compare,

The sight of you leaves me weak, There are no words left to speak,

“What’re you smiling about?” He asked softly, a hint of curiosity and playfulness in his voice. “Oh, nothing. I’m just thinking about how lucky I am, being with someone so handsome, and strong..”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes, and you giggled, running your fingers along the back of his neck, feeling the ends of his messy brown hair. “God, that was so cheesy.”

“Yeah, that was pretty bad, wasn’t it?” You laughed, unable to look away from him. He moved his face closer to yours, and you switched your position, wrapping an arm over his shoulder and holding his hand with the other, while he kept one hand on your back and had his other holding your hand.

“It’s okay because I’m the lucky one. Especially with how fucking beautiful tonight. I mean, you’re always really pretty, but tonight-” You shut him up with a kiss, smiling as you pressed your lips to his.

I love you baby, and if it’s quite alright,

I need you baby, To warm a lonely night,

Trust in me when I say,

“I love this song. My parents used to play it all the time.” You grinned, grabbing Frank’s arm and holding it above his head. “What’re you doing?”

“Twirling you, dummy.” You spun him around, and he chuckled. “God, you’re such a dork.”

“Yeah, but you love it.”

Oh pretty baby, Don’t bring me down I pray,

Oh pretty baby, Now that I found you, stay,

And let me love you, baby, let me love you

–

After a while, you did get bored, so you and Frank ended up running off together. You held his hand, while your other hand was holding your heels. Your feet had gotten sore, so you took them off, running without them instead.

Soon enough, you and Frank made it to that clearing by the lake. Fireflies flickered around you, and you two sat on the grass, listening to the crickets sing. You laid back on the ground with a sigh, looking up at the night sky.

Suddenly, Frank grabbed your sides, pulling you on top of him, causing you to squeal and giggle. He kissed you deeply, before pressing small kisses down your neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You replied, shivering as he kissed lower, running his hands along your sides. “My pretty girl.”

“Who’s being cheesy now?” You taunted him. “I’m not being cheesy, I’m just speaking the truth. You’re my pretty girl.”

“Whatever.” You murmured, rolling off of him and laying beside him, tucking your head into the crook of his neck, while he held you close.

It was at that moment when he realized would do anything for you. He would burn the whole world for you, just to keep you with him. He truly had fallen for you.

#dead by deadlight #dbd #dbd killer #dbd x reader #dbd legion #legion frank #frank morrison #legion dbd #frank morrison x reader #killer x reader #frank dbd #frank legion #dbd fanfic #killer x you

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legends-live-in-memories · 4 years ago

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“How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoire by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng 5

hi. im back. after slightly longer than usual (my usual was like everyday, not happening again) i have returned. :) this update is also slightly longer than usual too but who complains about that?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6

without further ado

Did Marinette Miss Her Own Wedding? I

Constantine was having a horrible time, as far as Marinette could tell. His phone kept ringing, which he was pointedly ignoring, and he looked more and more frustrated as he skimmed through one of his many grimoires. He was also very sober. Maybe that had something to do with it.

After Marinette’s little excursion out with Plagg the previous night, Constantine joined her and her grandfather and explained the lore behind the Renlings and what they were capable of. Marinette was already over it. It’s one thing to be magical guardians of one set magical gods, but animal spirits that transform the wielder into the respective animal is borderline ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. And Constantine wants her to find them. Why not the Justice League? Or their team of proteges? Well, apparently, Constantine has a healthy distrust of the Justice League and magic they are unfamiliar with. Something about a mystical house no longer existing because somebody was suspicious. They fucked around and found out, as Plagg so eloquently put it. She didn’t know how she felt about aiding Constantine in his paranoia.

Anyways, Marinette was now Constantine’s go-to whenever he wanted to keep things away from the JL. She would have said no like a reasonable person, but she was at least getting more magical training and could actually use some of the spells in the Miraculous grimoire. Speaking of which, the grimoire that Constantine was hunching over was supposed to help them in finding the other Prodigiouses. The Kwamis were surprisingly unhelpful as they have never heard of the Prodigiouses or Renlings.

After what could have been hours of grueling translating and spellwork, Constantine had finally figured out the location of the eight total Renlings and what their prodigiouses looked like. While Marinette and Master Fu began scheming appropriate retrieval plans, Constantine went to answer his many missed calls.

“What?!” Well that sounded concerning. Constantine looked ready to pull his hair out from scalp with tweezers. Whatever news he just received must have been awful for him to lose his composure like this. Good.

“You lot are planning to do what now?” Oh, was this JL business? Should Marinette be listening to this, albeit one-sided, conversation?

“And why do you all need to do this?”

“Don’t give me that attitude. I’m working on something important.”

“Yes it is important, Zatanna. Please don’t let that group of League Juniors do this.”

“You even got me saying ‘please.’ No I can not tell you why”

“Well what do you mean you can’t trust me?!” This was starting to sound serious. The popcorn that Wayzz brought was also making this ten times more entertaining.

“Zatanna-” Oh he got cut off. Serves him right.

“Fine, be that way.” Constantine forcefully ended the call and was pouting like a child.

Marinette didn’t know if she should ask anything but she had the feeling it was related to the prodigiouses and tracking them. Were the League getting involved? It would explain his desperation to not have them interfere.

“I can’t believe them.” Looks like Marinette didn’t have to make the decision after all. He was going to rant about it.

“What can’t you believe, Constantine?” Her grandfather appeared equally as curious.

“The Team are going to try and track down the prodigiouses. Luckily, they only think there are five rather than eight.” He paused to run his hands through his already disheveled hair. “I don’t know which five they’re tracking. Also, they probably know you have the Snake’s Fang.”

“Pardon?” Marinette doesn’t know what she would do if she was on the Justice League’s most wanted.

“Zatanna didn’t outright say it, but Kobra probably told them it was taken from him. That’s probably how they knew about the others too. Thanks for that.”

“First of all, I didn’t even know what these things were so don’t blame me. Second of all, this could have all been avoided if you just told them!” Marinette did not appreciate the blame being put on her for the League’s involvement. She wasn’t done ripping Constantine a new one yet either. “Especially considering the fact that you knew that their secondary team had a mission there. UN rules or not. But no! You wanted to keep all your magical secrets to yourself. So don’t blame me for the consequences of your own actions.” She was fuming at this point, probably overreacting, but she was tired of cleaning up after people who won’t so much as thank her.

The ensuing silence was deafening and eyes that weren’t on Marinette were on Constantine. He looked rather surprised at Marinette’s show of spine, probably forgetting that she was born and raised in the League of Shadows. He never will again if he keeps pushing his luck.

Fu cleared his throat, probably clogged from the awkward tension. “Well, now that that’s all dealt with, do you know what your next move is Constantine? Do we actively hinder the League for the sake of your own peace of mind or do you talk to them and work collaboratively with them?”

Constantine, who was still doing his best fish impersonation since Marinette—no, Mei Fu—dragged him for everything he’s worth, tried to string together an answer.

“I still think it’s best we don’t involve the Justice League with this. We should try to intervene and cut off their attempts of retrieving the prodigiouses.” He sounded like a child trying to convince their parents that they didn’t break the expensive vase. Very pitiful and very unconvincing.

“Fine.” Pardon? Did her grandfather just agree? “We’ll help you keep the prodigiouses and the Renlings away from the Justice League.” Wow. Okay. So he’s just agreeing with him. Three guesses as to who will actually be the one to retrieve them. Wonderful.

Groaning with the weight of a thousand suns, Marinette also voiced her consent. The Kwamis were silent throughout this, not expressing their opinions. Except for Trixx, who had periodically rolled his eyes so hard Marinette would have been concerned he had popped a few blood vessels, if he had any.

They spent the rest of the week planning and convincing her parents that she wasn’t in danger with her grandfather. They agreed that Marinette would retrieve the Dragon’s Claw first. Despite Brazil being closer, the Monkey’s tail would be harder to find in the dense forestry so they didn’t want to waste time on an extended search until much later.

If you were to ask Marinette, the week was not enough to prepare. She made arrangements to stay with the Tsurugi family and convinced Kagami to help her in the mission. Her mother would be providing them with non-miraculous weapons as a back-up. Lady Tomoe was too understanding of her daughter being a magic-wielding superhero in Marinette’s opinion. Not one to look a gifted horse in the mouth, Marinette did not make any comments about the very impressive artillery of weapons. She chose a pair of double broadswords while Kagami stuck to a katana. Kagami also had the Dragon and the Ladybug prepared while Marinette stuck to the Tiger and Horse. Plagg didn’t want to miss out on the action and planned to tag along again. Wayzz made an off-handed comment about Plagg’s sixth sense for chaos and his recent desire to accompany Marinette on these missions. Overthinking whatever that was supposed to mean had cost Marinette six hours of sleep.

While everything had been physically prepared, Marinette had yet to cope with the whole ‘going behind the backs of the Justice League because Constantine was paranoid’ thing. But this will not be the worst thing she has done. She also has the godsend, Kagami, to pull her out of any impending mental spirals. Now all that’s left is to actually get the Dragon’s Claw.

According to Constantine, the Dragon’s Claw was located inside the dojo of a martial arts master, O Sensei. Kagami, to be referred to as Tonbo, meaning Dragonfly, was to guard the perimeter for any individuals who could get in the way, while Marinette, codenamed Tigerlily with this combination of miraculouses, was to find the Dragon’s Claw, camouflaged by the tiger miraculous, and teleport them both back out. It was simple enough in planning and should be simple enough in execution. Even if the sensei of the dojo was to be made aware of their presence, They were expecting the element of surprise to give them an advantage. You know, outside of Marinette’s assassin training. So, yeah the plan was simple.

Except for the part where a group of the young Justice League heroes were already there negotiating with whom she assumed was O sensei. She recognized Kid Flash, Robin and Nightwing. The two women with them were unfamiliar. She also found the Dragon’s Claw in the sensei’s hand. She was positioned on a tree branch looking into a window in the room. If she timed this right, she could grab the necklace and portal out of the room to Tonbo and then portal back to the Tsurugi residence. That plan carries the risk of being seen but the pay-off should be worth it.

Poised to leap from the branch, Tigerlily steadied her breathing and prepared to call on the Horse’s Voyage. Still camouflaged, she jumped through the window and summoned the portal, about to grab for the necklace. Except she grabbed nothing and was suspended in the air.

Who she knew now was Ms. Martian was using her telekinetic abilities to suspend her. Kid Flash sped his way over and quickly tied her, the contact breaking the camouflage charm. They must have figured she would appear at one of the locations eventually and planned a contingency plan for her appearance. The martian hasn’t read her mind yet, so maybe they thought she was non-hostile. That thought wouldn’t last long however as Tonbo emerged from the portal and, using the Flame Dragon, took down Ms. Martian. Tigerlily used the distraction to undo the bindings and get in a fighting stance. Nightwing and Robin were protecting O sensei while Kid Flash and the other woman charged at the two.

Kid Flash was circling the two faster and tighter, corralling them together. Tigerlily drew for her broadswords and slashed the old floor boards. Kicking them in Kid Flash’s path, she knocked him off balance and thumped him the back of the head with the butt of her blade, knocking him down. Tonbo called for her Storm Dragon to subdue her opponent, who was also knocked down, then strung up both with the Ladybug yoyo. Tigerlily began a steady approach to the two batboys. She was ready to attack first but Nightwing got the upper hand. He drew his escrima sticks and swiped for Tigerlily’s head. She blocked with one sword and jump kicked to his chest, missing him entirely as he had crouched to sweep her legs from underneath her. Rolling out of the fall, Tigerlily slashed for his rising back but he intercepted with his other stick. He turned to face her and barrelled his full strength into her. They crashed into the nearby wall and at a standstill.

Tonbo was caught in a clash of katanas with Robin, neither side giving way to the other. If Tigerlily was more conscious of their fight than her own, she would have noticed familiar fighting techniques that were ingrained in her since birth. Alas, her attention was on the blue bird in front of her. Using his force that kept her against the wall, She double kicked him in the chest, forcing him away. Robin and Tonbo had broken away from each other and Tonbo aimed to stab Nightwing in the leg. Nonfatally of course, she wasn’t an ex-assassin as far as Tigerlily knew. Right?

Anyways, her attack switched up the fight as now Tigerlily tried to dodge under Robin's incoming blade. Sliding on her knees, she reached to where O sensei was situated with the Dragon’s Claw. Frustrated with the night’s turn of events and forgetting all sense of pleasantries, Tigerlily tried to grab for the necklace. The business end of a katana was swiftly placed under her jaw. One wrong move meant game over.

“What do you want with the Dragon’s Claw?” Robin sounded like he was holding back from saying something.

“An acquaintance of mine wishes for you all to not have it. I am merely doing him a favor, Tweety Bird.” Where did that nickname come from? She must have been internally catastrophizing more than she thought she was if she was actually trying to flirt her way out of this. Tonbo’s exasperation was made loud and clear with that answering sigh.

“Flattery gets you nowhere, Mei.” Robin’s arm twitched at that.

“Wait, you know her?” “You know him?” Nightwing’s and Tonbo’s voices overlapped but Tigerlily registered none of it as her ears were ringing with spiked emotions she thought she had buried years ago. Only a few people knew her by that name. Kagami, Chloe, Luka and Adrien were the only people outside of the League of Shadows who knew her by that name. Even then, there was only one person her age with the Shadows who knew her. But it couldn’t be him. He was supposed to be dead. There was no way in hell that the Boy Wonder holding a katana to her throat was—

“Damian?!”

Taglist:

@deathwishy @neakco @virtualreading @f-rget-lt @your-resident-chicken-nugget @nathleigh @toodaloo-kangaroo @irontimetravelflower @trippingovermyfeet @t1dwarrior-of-earth @tip-tap-tired @fidget-eep @thenillabean @officiallydarkgeek @mystery-5-5 @moonlightstar64 @just-an-observer-ignore-me @nightstarblue @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @fan-written @jjmjjktth @vixen-uchiha @zorua-adorable @nnon-it-up

#maribat #mlb x dc #daminette #badass!marinette dupain cheng #maridami #hdath #if you asked to be on the taglist but arent there let me know #hehehehe #i forgot to proofread oops #no beta we die like jason

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thethousandyearwitch · 4 years ago

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“Thankless Job”. 2589 Words, HisokaxIllumi Illumi has to work at a Burger Joint and realizes that Customer Service isnt for him. A Shitpost gone wrong, dont expect perfect english, dont expect perfect plot. kthxbye

fanfiction.net link

"You need to get a job." Those words have been ringing in Illumis ears for the past week. The way which his father had said it, so matter-of-factly, and the way his mother started wailing almost immediately, talking about "new experiences" "learning normal skills" "honest money". Illumi did not understand how the money he'd get from missions was "dishonest" money, but he also knew better than to disagree with his parents. And so he could do nothing but watch and write applications, while his brothers got assigned mission after mission. He wasn't surprised that a TOPBURGA♪ accepted his application and hired him after a short interview. The place does not exactly scream professionalism and high-class, with it's grease stained walls, the lingering small of something burning in the air, and the sound of screaming children. The sensory input was almost too overwhelming for the eldest Zoldyck son, but he knew that his pool of jobs to choose from wasn't that deep.

And so he stared at himself in the mirror while buttoning up the last button on his brightly orange shirt. The work uniform was atrocious. The shirt was too tight around the shoulders, but too wide around the waist, and was tucked into pants that didn't even reach his ankles. Gently he pulled his ponytail through the back-end of a white cap, fashioning the talking-burger logo of the chain. A last look into the mirror, going over his form, examining the working-class stranger looking back at him. That could not be him, he thought, resting his eyes on the reflection of the name tag "Iluhmi". 8:30 am. His shift starts.

The first 2 hours had been going surprisingly smoothly. Working as a cashier wasn't difficult to Illumi, he could take comfort in such a repeated, calculated task, blocking out most of everything that was going on around him, including his managers mumbling about 'customer service face'. He got the job done, and he got it done well. Mentally he was preparing for his lunch break already, wanting to breathe fresh air, leaving all the noise behind for glorious 30 minutes of silence. But suddenly Illumi felt something greatly disturbing this make believe peace he has already been looking forward to. A familiar aura, so piercing, so overwhelming, a weaker soul would be inclined to activate a fight or flight instinct that had been driven out of any and all of the Zoldyck children. There was only fight. And yet Illumi wanted to leave, not to flee, but simply to hide, to not be seen. Not like this, not by him. The doors of the small Burger joint swung open, and in came the familiar magician, brandishing is trademark grin, so perverse that Illumi felt it would be justified to call security. But he didn't, instead opting to look blankly ahead, hoping, praying that Hisoka has stumbled into this restaurant by accident, and would leave any second. Hope is for Fools and Prayer never works. Illumi was face to face with the pink-haired intruder now. "My, oh my, what a surprise to see you here, dear Illumi " It is against company policies to assault a customer. "That Uniform looks quite... Dashing on you, might I add." It is against company policies to insult a customer.

"Welcome to TOPBURGA, may I have your order please?" Maybe acting cold and rejecting would work, pretending not to even know this person (by stretch of definition). "Oh, I don't think that's a sufficient greeting for a PAYING CUSTOMER, do you? " It would not work. Illumi could tell by Hisokas widening grin and narrowing eyes that he was prepared to make a scene. Illumi cleared his throat, before digging his nails into the off-color counter in front of him, forcing himself to smile, looking Hisoka directly in the eyes. He had never wanted to murder this man this badly ever before. "Welcome to TOPBURGA♪! May I take your order, please~?" Hisoka clapped his hands together, looking pleased as ever. "Now that's the spirit! Feels wonderful to work with a smile on your face, right?" Illumi felt a piece of a soul that he think he didn't have die. Reverting back to a blank stare, Illumi coldly put in Hisokas order into the cash register, trying to block out Hisokas low purrs of "um"s and "ah"s while he was deciding on his meal. "That'll be 6.99Jennie Please."

As Illumi held out his hand to receive the cash (which was definitely not enough to compensate for what he was emotionally going through), Hisoka gently placed his hand on top of the cashiers, slowly running his nails over Illumis open palm after dropping the coins. The sensation ran shivers down Illumis spine, but surprisingly he didn't dislike it. Faintly he wondered how it would feel to have these nails run up the nape of his neck, or gently massaging his scalp. Of course Illumi would never let anyone touch his hair, much less Hisoka, who would probably get way too much joy out of it.

Quickly banning these thoughts out if his head , he handed Hisoka his order number. "Your order will be ready in a moment." Illumi wondered if he could pass a note to the cook and ask him to burn an order on purpose, as Hisoka finally took a couple steps back to lean against a wall and wait. Conveniently the business started to fill with customers, keeping Illumi busy and his mind occupied, ignoring the magicians piercing stare on him. Even as a coworker finally handed him his order, he found a table in perfect view of the counter, slowly eating fry by fry while watching Illumi work. Does he not have anything better to do? Is there no one else he can harass? Of course he's just looking, but anyone who has ever met Hisokas gaze knows that that basically counts as assault. Why does it bother me so much, anyway? Illumis thoughts were echoing in his head. Hisoka took up too much space in his mind, distractingly much. "You're being watched." The soft voice pulled him out of the echo chamber of his mind.

"Pardon?" Illumis eyes focused back on the customer in front of him, trying to process the figure in a soaked black rain coat, hood pulled over their head. The rain had started a couple minutes earlier, and as everyone who had sought shelter in the burger joint had been served, or was simply there to wait our the weather, this lone figure was the last in line. "A customer has been watching you for the past 30 minutes, he sits in the second row to the right." "Oh, him. I've been aware-" Illumis explanation cut short as the figure pulls off the soaked hood of their coat, revealing yet another familiar face. "Chrollo." "Oh, Illumi? I didn't even recognize you in that.." Chrollos eyes quickly darted over Illumis form, before letting out a small chuckle "..lovely attire." "Thank you, I've already been made aware that I look 'dashing', according to my pursuer." Chrollo leaned on the counter, and though Illumi felt proportionally more uncomfortable with the increasing number of familiar faces in this place, he did find comfort in being able to talk comparatively normal to someone for the first time today. "So, is the Zoldyck family planing to become a chain restaurant empire now?"

"Very funny." It was not very funny. "I'd prefer it if you leave this establishment. If Hisoka recognizes who you are, I feel like there is not a job for me to come back to tomorrow." Chrollo chuckled, before holding up an apologetic hand. "Understood, I will just have a water and be on my way. Though.." He quickly glanced over his shoulder "..I feel like he's already preparing to fight me just for talking to you like this. His determination in staring me down is admirable." Illumi glanced at the clock, and sighed in relief, before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "My break has started. That'll be 1.20Jennie." Without another word, Chrollo placed the money on the counter, took his water, and waved Illumi goodbye. The hard working man at the counter was about to turn and leave for his well deserved break, when something was amiss. He froze mid-turn, glanced back at the interior of the restaurant. He's gone, he thought.

Did he see Chrollo after all? The image of Hisoka confronting Chrollo outside came to mind, but was quickly pushed aside. It was time for Illumis break, and whatever happens outside the restaurant is none of his business. Instead he grabbed his water bottle, and excused himself through the backdoor. The rain had stopped, and the sun was pushing through the thin of the clouds. The back of the restaurant was facing a small park, and a wooden bench had been set up for employees to take a break on. Illumi sat down, grateful that the bench itself had been sheltered under the roof of the building, and took off his uniform cap. A small sigh escaped him, staring away into the distance. What has my Life come to? Is this how its going to be for ever? How did Hisoka get his nails so sharp, and why does he always look at me? Is this an informal way of telling me im out of the family business? Did my fa- Wait. He caught himself mid thought. That magician had done it again, sneaking his way into the back of Illumis mind, like a maggot eating through wood. He could never, ever give him the satisfaction of knowing he had those capabilities. Illumi could practically already hear the self-satisfied purr of the other mans voice. "Whats got you thinking so hard, dear?~" The reality of that voice made Illumis head shoot up, facing the other man who was leaning casually against the wall next to him.

"None of your business." Plenty of his business. Too much of his business, actually. His smug face and awful grin and piercing gaze. "You know, I do like your hair in a ponytail like this, it frames your neck perfectly~" Hisoka reaches out towards Illumis face, but his hand is quickly swatted away, giving a fake pout at this. "Why does the eldest of the Zoldyck children degrade himself to such lowly work anyway?~"

Illumi stood up, determined to leave. He wanted peace, quiet, a clear mind, all things mutually exclusive with the presence of Hisoka. "My dear Illumi, if you really needed money that badly, you could have always come to your good friend for help~" Illumi felt his muscles twitch. He wasn't sure what to address first, that he doesn't need money that badly, or that him and Hisoka are the furthest thing from friends. "I wouldn't mind playing your boss for a while~" The magician was directly behind him, he could feel his aura lingering all over his back. Hisokas low voice purred softly behind Illumis ear "I promise you'd get your own uniform, too~" A hand was suddenly resting on the nape of Illumis neck, and index finger massaging through the small hairs that slipped out of his ponytail. For a fraction of a second, he could feel his blood come to a freezing point, forcing him to inhale sharply.

The thought of working for Hisoka was ridiculous and repulsing. Working with him was already often a strain on Illumis sanity. And now just being in his presence , so close he could swear he could hear the others heartbeat (though it was probably only his own ringing in his ear), it upset something deep inside him. The fraction of a second passes, and his blood shot up to a boil. Illumi turned around, a hand immediately pushing Hisoka back against a wall. "I have no qualms about killing you right where you stand." "I'd let you, if it would calm your nerves~" It was no surprise that the magicians grin had only gotten wider after impact with the wall, and seeing Illumis rage burn through him. Illumis hand was pushing against Hisokas throat, though one of Hisokas hands was just holding lazily onto the others wrist, making no attempt to escape his grip.

Illumi could feel Hisokas pulse through his grip, calm despite the circumstances, which only irritated him more. Neither of them break eye contact, while Illumis thoughts run deafening through his head. The past week had been more stressful than any mission could have ever been. This shift in his routine, in what is normal for him just being torn away, proved to be far more damaging than expected. Hisoka was right, his nerves needed to be calmed. His fingers twitched around Hisokas windpipe, who was still meeting Illumis gaze unblinkingly, licking his lips in anticipation. "You are a vile person. I'm sure you'd get off on it if I were to actually kill you right here." Illumis face inched close to Hisokas, not letting go off the grip around his neck. What am I doing it echoed. "We'll never find out if you don't try~" Hisokas hot breath fell on Illumis lips. Too close. Stop. His head was pulsing, and he just wanted to muffle all of his thoughts. Calm my nerves. Their Lips met, softer than expected, and suddenly Illumi felt like all of his muscles relaxed for the first time in his life. He's just helping me calm my nerves.

Hisokas free hand rested on Illumis hip, in turn Illumi released the grip around his neck, and instead wrapped his arms around the others shoulders, pulling him closer to himself. Hisokas tongue licks along the others lips, and reflex-like he opens them. Tasting him like this made Illumis head spin once again, so sickly sweet, as if he was made out of candy. One of his hands starts holding onto Hisokas hair, not pulling, but curling soft strands around his fingers, a gesture almost too soft, too kind for someone like him. In response Hisokas grip around his hips tightened. A new kind of tension tightened in Illumis chest, coiling around his throat, forcing him to finally pull away, catching his breath. He could feel all of the blood that had rushed to his head, feeling the heat flush his cheeks. Quickly he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, straightening his back. "This did not happen." "Of course not, love~" Hisoka chuckles, stepping away from the wall he had been pinned to, stretching his arms and shoulders as if he had been chained up for hours. "Don't do that. I'm not your 'love', you're a glorified stranger to me." "Oh, Illumi, you hurt me so deeply!" Another fake pout, though his eyes were sparking with scheming intent. "Guess I have to ask someone else to join me on a mission in Yorknew then~!" "Excuse me?" "Well, my dear Illumi, theres a ball in Yorknew, and some very interesting people will be there. And by pure coincidence, I have a +1. Though I can't just take any stranger with me~" Hisokas grin was all telling, the bait was all for Illumi to take. The luxury of a Ball in Yorknew, with the danger of Hisoka being present and most likely still itching to "calm some nerves"...And the escape from this thankless job. Illumi undoes his ponytail, and starts unbuttoning the badly-fitting uniform. "When will we depart, associate?" Hisoka started beaming, overjoyed at having broken down one of Illumis walls. "I'll pick you up tonight, love~"

#hisoka marrow #illumi zoldyck #hunter x hunter #fanfiction #hisoillu

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mrsbhandari · 4 years ago

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Shutter - pt 4

a/n: bonjour!! im here officially with pt 4 to this fic so i hope you like it!! <3

warnings: some language and its kinda suggestive in parts but nothing explicit teehee

words: 3.8k (damn)

tags: @lxdy-starfury, @huntress1024, @anotherbeingsworld, @brightpinkpeppercorn, @chaotic-ramsay-queen, @brycemaloliver

Tyril stood alone in his large apartment, eyeing each piece of clothing in his perfectly organized closet with varying levels of hatred. He didn’t want to go too formal and wear a suit, because this was most likely not a fancy date at a fancy restaurant.

Wait.

Is this really a date?

She hadn’t responded to his final text, making him sweat more than he ever had in his life. He stepped over to the other side of his closet and landed a slender finger on a gray turtleneck sweater.

“...Acceptable,” he murmured, breaking the silence of the air in his apartment. Quietly opening a drawer, he picked a pair of simple black slacks, crisp and pristine.

In her own apartment, Naexi called the local pizza joint and placed her order before grabbing a baggy college sweatshirt that slipped off her shoulder and some jeans, keeping her shoes off but her cozy socks on. She definitely considered this a date, but she didn’t want him to know that. After putting on music, she danced a little in her kitchen while checking her phone, eager for any updates from Tyril.

Radio silence.

A knock sounded, barely audible over the music, so she turned it down and walked to open the door.

Tyril could barely handle it. She was standing there, collarbone slightly exposed under her sweatshirt, dark hair in a messy braid that draped over her shoulder, and slivers of her thighs were revealed from the rips in her skinny jeans. She was as alluring as she was in the first moment he saw her.

“C’mon in. I have a coat rack on your left.” There was something interesting about the information, but he couldn’t place his finger on it until he securely hooked his jacket and scarf on the small hooks protruding from the wooden structure. For years, he had been waited on hand and foot in other people’s homes because of his wealth and status, but the simple act of being allowed to take his own shoes off and hang his own coat up was...refreshing. “Do you...like my rack?”

“I beg your pardon?” He whirled on her with wide eyes, well aware of the double entendre.

“You’re like...smiling at it. It was my brother’s, but he broke it and gave it to me.”

“Why would he not throw it out?” Tyril’s elegant features twisted into confusion, and he frowned when she seemed to laugh at the memory, believing the sound to be directed at him.

“He’s awful at fixing things, so he knew that if he gave it to me, I would find a way to fix it.” Still smiling, she ran her eyes down his outfit before stopping on his feet. “Of course you have those fancy socks.”

His eyes found her mismatched socks, her left foot covered with stripes and the right with polka dots. Face returning to its neutral, he raised a single eyebrow and allowed the left corner of his mouth to turn up into a half smile. “I think yours are much better than mine.”

She stuck her tongue out and waved her hand, beckoning him to fully enter her cozy apartment. It was vibrant, with dozens of pictures hung on the wall with no real pattern. The walls were an odd crimson, but a combination of the decor and the numerous candles spread throughout the living room and kitchen made the space feel like home. Small piles of books and knick knacks were scattered on every surface he could find, a distinct contrast to his own museum-like home where everything had a place and stayed in it. Smiling to himself, he noticed the three vases of flowers he sent to her positioned on varying tables and bookshelves spread throughout her home. Upon closer inspection of the pictures, he spotted a few of her and Nia; during a party, in front of a castle in what looked like Germany, in graduation caps and gowns as they held up their degrees for the camera.

She silently watched him from her spot on one of the barstools around the kitchen island, slightly amused at how out of place he looked in the light of her apartment. Everything around her was warm and inviting, but he stood tall and aloof, clothes dreary against the bright backdrop of her prized possessions. He was poised like a man who had never been denied a thing in his life; for some reason, she found herself both wanting to give in to that and to challenge him as much as possible.

“Are all these pictures ones you’ve taken?”

“Yup! There’s a few that aren’t mine, but most I’ve chosen from my own portfolio.”

“They’re beautiful.” Once she didn’t respond for a few moments, he looked up to find her gazing at him, a slight blush on her cheeks and her head cocked. She wore a look similar to the one she had on when they first met, studying and searching for something he had yet to offer. Or maybe he had been offering it the entire time he was here without knowing she had found it. It was both unsettling and pleasant, to be the main focus of her intense and calculating stare. She finally seemed to realize that she hadn’t answered, so she broke her eyes from him and nodded.

“Thanks.”

“I like your apartment, as well.”

“I’m sure it’s not what you’re used to.”

“What does that have to do with it?”

There. Something flashed in her eyes as they met his, ten feet away with something connecting them. He had given her a challenge, but unlike in the bookshop, this wasn’t one born from anger; it was something entirely new. Time seemed to slow around them, making the candles flicker almost supernaturally and their heartbeats decelerate. His mouth was dry and although he held her eye contact, he couldn’t help but notice the rest of her body in front of him, enticingly revealed with taunting slits and stretches of the fabric.

He didn’t know it, but her observant photographer’s eye was watching him as well, taking in the impossibly long stretch of his neck under his turtleneck and how, even in socks, he still carried with him an aura of being the most important person in the room. Here, standing in her apartment, admiring her photos, and staring at her like he wanted to pin her against a wall, Naexi finally realized just how pretty he was. The more she took in the dark hair framing a pale unblemished complexion, complemented by the high arch of his eyebrows and his perfectly positioned nose, the more it hit her that from the moment they met, she had been suppressing the urge to kiss him until she forgot her own name. Full lips parted as if to speak, but he was cut off by a swift knocking on the door. As if broken from a trance, they both seemed to tense and look towards the sound at the same time, but Tyril beat her to answering.

“Wait--!” she called, but the door was already open and Tyril was once again proving just how much space he took up as he bent to avoid hitting his head on the frame.

“Who are you?!” The delivery guy, a short and stout man with a tendency to eat everything in sight as well as be painfully loud about any and everything having to do with everybody else’s business but his own, was staring up at the billionaire with a mix of curiosity and hostility. Tyril seemed taken aback by the shouted question and took a step back, allowing Naexi to push his large form out of the way and offer the man the cash as well as an explanation.

“He’s my date, Threep.” Tyril looked down at her with a smug smile. So this is a date. “Meet Tyril.”

Threep offered the pizza to her before giving him a small wave and a tip of his hat. “Sorry about that. She rarely has dates over, so I wanted to make--”

“Keep the change, bye!” She slammed the door and deadbolted it. “That’s enough of that.”

“So this is a date, then?” An already high eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms, tight sweater showing off the sculpt of his arms as they flexed. If Naexi tried hard enough, she could pretend that she was only drooling over the pizza that was beginning to burn the skin of her palms. She also pretended that the reason she was gripping the pizza box hard enough to whiten her knuckles and bend the cardboard was because she didn’t want to drop it. It had nothing to do with the fact that she had accidentally shoved him to the area next to the door closest to the wall with very little space in an effort to pay, which was the reason she was standing with her shoulder pressed to his chest as his back rested against the wall, slightly jostling one of her pictures. She also had to pretend that the smell of his cologne wasn't so overpowering in the best way that she felt like passing out was the best way to succumb to it.

She was doing a whole lot of pretending, but one glance towards the icy blue eyes boring into her soul told her that she wasn’t very convincing. Straightening up and ignoring the wave of heat that washed over her, she scoffed.

“Don’t give me that look, pretty boy. You knew.” It was his turn to blush as he took in the nickname, but his recovery was much quicker.

“You think I’m pretty?”

“Do you prefer Boy Billionaire?”

“That wasn’t my question.” He offered an infuriating smile, showing perfectly white teeth. His left incisor was sharper than his right, giving him the boyish look of a mischievous fairy tale creature, ready to swindle a boy with some fake beans for a cow. Judging by the sliver of vulnerability seeping through the flecks of dark blue in his eyes, he rarely showed this side of himself in public. She coughed, breaking the spell he had over her and finally noticing the rapidly cooling pizza box in her hands.

“I hope you don’t mind pizza. I considered cooking but my landlord likes his buildings not burned to the ground.” She gave a small self-conscious laugh.

“I don’t mind.” His voice was soft and he seemed to be leaning down, face getting closer and closer to hers, lips barely parted and fresh breath brushing against her cheek. His eyes stayed on hers, drawing her in like a shimmering pool with secrets beneath the surface. A million thoughts ran through her head at once, fighting to be heard.

Oh my god, are we gonna kiss right now? Is that what I’m feeling? He’s leaning down, should I try and meet him in the middle? Which way should my head turn? What if it’s not good?! He’s probably kissed hundreds of girls, why the fuck should I be special? He’s so warm. Or is that me? Am I warm? He’s so close, and he’s so beautiful, I can just--

He stopped, his eyes half-lidded and meandering lazily between her lips and her own gaze, wide and worried. The thought of the famous Tyril Starfury doing anything lazily was foreign and suspicious, but she could smell the strawberry of his chapstick on his lips mixing with the smell of his cologne mixing with the smell of his deodorant and it was so mesmerizing that all she could think was kiss me. Then, she realized that he was straightening back up, stealing his head away from her personal space and taking the pizza box in his hands. It was a ruse. A taunt. A tease.

“Excuse me!” Naexi said, hand on her hip as she followed him into the kitchen, fuming at the innocent look he sent over his shoulder before he opened the pizza box.

“Yes?” Grabbing a plate from the counter, he paid her no attention while he helped himself to the drawers and cabinets. Despite his faux obliviousness, it was clear that there was a heavy, palpable tension in the air that could be cut with the knife Tyril seemed to be looking for.

“What are you--”

“Hm, found it.” He held up a blade and pulled out a fork, marveling at her mismatched cutlery.

“Have you never had pizza before?” She grabbed her own two slices with her hands before placing two more on another plate for him. He scoffed, a haughty sound that surprisingly sent a shiver down her spine.

“Of course I have. I just prefer not to make a mess.” He punctuated his statement by tapping the utensils together once before setting to work, cutting up his pizza and placing the cheesy pieces in his mouth. She watched him while she ate her own pizza, grease dripping onto her hands and onto the plate. After finishing her first piece, she looked down at his plate to see that he was only half done with his own.

“I figured that you would have two people on either side of you while you ate, each with napkins to wipe your face if you ever got dirty.” She assumed a butler’s stance and held up her own napkin, delightfully out of season with “Fun in the Sun!” printed on it. She dropped her voice an octave and swiped her napkin over the empty space next to her as she spoke. “Yes, sir, Mr. Starfury. We can’t have you getting applesauce on your Versace!” Despite himself, Tyril let out a loud laugh, one that was nothing like how he sounded in the interview. This one felt whole and full of genuine emotion. It was an infectious sound, and Naexi found herself smiling like a buffoon at drawing it out of him with her stupid joke.

“Why applesauce?” he asked, hand covering his mouth as he continued to chuckle. She reached across the island and pulled his wrist down, laying his hand palm up on the cold granite. Her nails slightly bit into his skin, making him flush.

“It's the first baby food I thought of.”

“Well that’s just rude,” he jabbed, a small smile still dancing on his lips to show no real malice toward her. They continued eating, Naexi replaying his laugh in her head as many times as she could. They polished off most of the pizza, leaving just a few slices that she began to wrap in aluminum foil. He rolled up his sleeves and started the water in the sink. A small black hair tie was pulled off his wrist as he positioned his hair into a messy bun with a few pieces falling out to frame his sharp bone structure. Naexi’s brain nearly short-circuited.

“You don’t--”

“I want to.” He nudged her with his elbow, now revealed along with a long forearm. She nearly had to wipe her mouth at the sight. “Contrary to your obvious belief, I do know how to do work.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” With a firm nod, he focused on the steaming water flowing and scrubbed the plates with a strength showcased in the flexing of his arms. He moved with a natural grace that seemed to seep into every move he made, whether he was simply walking down the street or working hard to clean her plates. She went back to her seat at the island and watched his back while he cleaned. The sound of the music was barely audible over the roar of the water, and the combination of sounds lulled her as her eyes roved from the top of his shoulders down to the perfect curve of his ass, delectably sculpted in his slacks. The gravity of just who he was seemed to finally be hitting her.

She had one of the richest men in America in her kitchen cleaning her dishes. And damn, if he didn’t look good doing it.

Tyril was acutely aware of her eyes on him, and he was extremely happy that the water was hiding the shaking of his hands from his nerves. He tensed up when he felt her walk behind him, her arm brushing over her backside in a barely innocent gesture as she walked to the fridge, grabbing a soda from the door.

“You want anything?” Not trusting his voice, he shut the water off and shook his head, giving her a small smile. She took out a bottle of water for him anyway. Eager to continue any sort of conversation with her and extend the date, Tyril racked his brain for something to say.

“Your brother,” he began, freezing up when her eyes fell on him. “What does he do?”

“He’s a musician. Last I heard...I think he was on tour in France.”

“Wow.” She smiled and grabbed a frame off a nearby table, the picture inside featuring a man with brown hair that fell over his forehead as his fingers strummed a black guitar on a stage backed with green lights.

“His name’s Kade.” Their fingers brushed as she passed him the frame.

“Is your entire family full of artists? Photographer, musician…”

“Oh, I was adopted.” Looking closer at the picture, Tyril admitted to himself that there were no similarities in how the siblings appeared. “Kade’s always been the wilder one, though.” His eyebrows raised.

“I find that hard to believe.”

“You’d be surprised at some of the antics Kade has gotten up to throughout the years. You got any siblings?” She took a sip of her soda and Tyril was briefly distracted by the way her lips wrapped around the lip of the can.

“Yes, just one. Adrina.”

“Fancy name.”

“Speak for yourself, Naexi.”

“Touche.” She took another sip and Tyril decided to look away lest the night end far differently than he originally thought it would. Her own heart fluttered at the way his tongue molded her name. “You can sit, if you’d like. Or do you feel the need to tower over everyone else in the room?” Gesturing to the open stool next to her, she laughed at his frown.

“I don’t tower,” he said, but he sat next to her anyway. His long legs bumped against hers, sending shocks to his spine at every contact. Is this how it’s supposed to feel? He studied the way her eyelashes fluttered, the way her lips naturally curved into a smirk, the way her eyes easily communicated an entire array of emotions that she seemed to pick and choose to display from like a catalogue. A strand of black hair fell against her cheekbone and he moved it behind her ear without thinking. They were close, getting closer, both gazes dropping to the lips nearly physically connected, already linked by the soft breaths shared. Time was moving slow, too slow, and Tyril ached for the clock to keep ticking, to keep bringing him closer and closer to feeling Naexi’s lips on his, to feeling the perpetual heat surrounding her to engulf him with it. After what seemed like an eternity, their lips were just a centimeter away from each other. His breath tickled her cheek as he whispered.

“May I kiss you?”

#tyril #tyril starfury #choices tyril #blades au #choices blades #blades #blades of light and shadow

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solaneceae · 5 years ago

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ITS ZOMBOI DAY!!

thats right bitches, today is Robbie’s bday, sorry what, "anti", hmmmm never heard of that bitch-

pardon? yes Karen i know it isnt the 15th in the US yet sHUT UP LET ME BE A EUROPEAN STAN IN PEACE-

aaanyway, i wrote a thing for my moonlight son, it was made in a rush to post it today, typed on my phone cuz im on a road trip with no computer UwU

anyway here goes, this is for you all robbie stans @lilakennedy @tabbynerdicat @theshysepticeye @spunketpunk (ask me if you wanna be tagged too!)

***

He was warm. He was safe. Content.

Robbie’s simple, sleep-hazed mind held on to those feelings as he stirred; the zombie let out a content sigh and nuzzled the thick, hand-knitted blanket -a gift from Ant- he was wrapped in.

So...warm… soft…

Part of him just wanted to go back to sleep, but something was pushing him towards wakefulness. it was a strange sensation, like… urgency? But not bad? Like something important was happening and he needed to be there for it.

The purple-haired creature groaned, milky white eyes fluttering open; that was fine, he had a good nap and wanted to go play with Marv anyway.

He stretched out his slightly numb limbs and let out a high-pitched yawn, before detangling himself from his blanked and standing off the living room couch. The house wasn’t big by any means, but it was cosy and always seemed to accommodate each new ego -and occasionally Seán whenever he came by for a visit- back when their weird little family was still growing.

When Jay had asked about that strange phenomenon, Marv had shrugged and muttered something about the pocket dimension they were living in, and magic. In short, no one knew how it worked, and no one really cared, least of all Robbie.

As long as he and his brothers were safe, he didn’t care much about anything else, really.

“Robbie?”

The zombie perked up; Jackie had appeared in the hallway, smiling and walking towards him. The young ego greeted the red-clad hero with a happy grunt-chirp-purr and shuffled over to him, pulling the older ego into a hug.

“Hey buddy,” Jackie chuckled, squeezing the taller man back; it was in moments like these he really didn’t mind being the smallest of Seán’s egos. Despite Robbie being a foot taller, his hunched over posture usually brought them to the same level, and the zombie’s natural gentleness made him an excellent hugger. “Ya had a good nap?” The purple-haired creature let go and nodded. “Mh. Wan play… Marv…”

Jackie smiled even wider, ruffling the other’s hair. “Sure thing bud! He’s been working on new tricks, ya gonna love them. But there’s somethin’ we need to do first.”

The undead ego tilted his head in curiosity. Something? What thing?

“Do ya know which day it is today?” the hero asked. He was lightly bouncing on his heels, seemingly excited about something. Robbie pursed his lips, then shrugged; he wasn’t good at keeping track of days.

“Well it’s a very special day,” the smaller man explained solemnly. “So we all need to go to the kitchen to celebrate it, okay?”

Jackie gently grasped Robbie’s right hand and lead him through their cosy little house, the zombie obediently following along. He wondered what was so important about today, and if it had something to do with the bubbly, squirmy feeling that had settled in his gut since this morning.

“’kay guys,” Jackie called out as they finally entered the kitchen, “I got him!”

Robbie’s eyes widened; all his brothers were here, which was a rare event in itself: Chase, with his sunny smile and kind eyes; Sheep, a stiff but steadying presence in his life; Jay, waving at him enthusiastically; Ant, the elusive but fiercely protective glitch.

But that wasn’t even the best part.

“GUS!” the zombie squealed in delight, letting go of Jackie’s hand to throw himself in Angus’ awaiting arms. The tall adventurer laughed at the creature’s antics, returning his hug. “Hey lil’ guy! S’been a while.”

Robbie pouted and took a step back; his oldest sibling was always chasing sunken ships and buried treasures, and his visits had grown scarce. “Too… long! Be there more!”

“Yah, I know bud.” the aussie smiled apologetically. “S’been a busy year. But I’ll come back more often now.”

“...Promise?”

Angus chuckled, patting the purple hair tickling his chin. “Yup, swear it on my hat.”

“Oh shit, now we know it’s serious.” Marvin gasped in pretend shock from his seat on the kitchen table, “You never let us touch that old thing.”

“Will you please get off ze table?” Henrik sneered in response, glaring at the magician. “Zat is most unsanitary.”

The performer mulled it over for a few seconds, fiddling with his long, dark green braid, before turning to the doctor with a shit-eating grin. “No. No, I don’t think I will.”

“Vy you-”

“Will you two can it for a sec?” Anti growled, crossing his arms in annoyance. “This is important shit!”

“Language, Anti.”

“Inhale my-”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Chase rolled his eyes, putting his hand on Robbie’s shoulder. “He’s right though. This is about Robbie, and we should all focus on that.”

The zombie blinked, visibly confused. “About… me?”

The fatherly ego just winked at him before turning to Angus, excitement sparkling in his eyes. “Wanna do the honors dude?”

“You betcha!”

The survival hunter slowly reached inside one of the oversized pockets of his jacket, while Robbie followed his movements with great intrigue. The aussie’s hand came back holding something, something small and dark and… fuzzy-looking…

Then the thing produced a high-pitched, somewhat raspy meow as two bright yellow orbs appeared in front of it, and the undead ego gasped.

“I for one was not a fan of zat idea,” Shneep sighted, “but I got outnumbered. Zis is vy democracy is idiotic.”

“Good thing no-one cares about the opinion of an old man.”

“Anti!”

“What? You know it’s true, hero!”

Robbie paid no mind to their squabble, mesmerized by the creature Angus was gently placing in his arms. It was a tiny black kitten, two months old at most. His short, shiny fur was incredibly soft, and his golden eyes stared at the dumbstruck zombie with placid curiosity.

“That lil’ lady here?” Angus began, “Found her in the forest on my way back here. No mama, no nothin’. So I took care of her, and now she’s yours.”

Robbie’s gaze kept switching between the explorer and the kitten in his arms. He slowly, carefully started to run his fingers through the dark fur, a little purring sound rewarding his ministrations. He whined, overwhelmed by all the emotions blooming inside of him.

Gratitude. Happiness. Love.

“Happy birthday, Rob.” JJ signed, a huge smile on his face. “Happy birthday!" Jackie and Marv cheered, quiet enough not to startle the cat. “You are very much appreciated,” Henrik nodded, adjusting his glasses to hide the emotion in his eyes. “Remember zat.” Anti rolled his eyes at the doctor’s contribution, but joined in with a mumble nobody could make out. The softness in his black and acid green eyes betrayed him though.

“Happy birthday, Robster.” Chase chuckled fondly, watching the zombie blink back tears. His birthday. Angus had come home, just to be there for him today. Everyone was here, getting (mostly) along, for him.

He cradled the kitten -his gift- against his chest, the vibrations making him giggle, to nuzzle the top of her fluffy head. “S-soft…”

The tiny creature meowed contentedly, and Robbie felt so happy his cold, still heart might’ve stirred a bit. “Soft!” he squealed decisively, looking up at his family with a blinding grin.

“Soft?” JJ signed, tilting his head. “Is that what you wish to name her?”

“Mh!”

“Is zat truly appropriate for a pet cat?” Henrik raised a brow. He was however stopped from saying more when everyone else shot him a Look™, and he pinched the bridge of his nose in defeat. “Soft. Yes, of course. It is perfect, Robbie.”

The birthday boy looked up at his family. He was happy. Very, very happy. “Thank… you. Love you.”

“Aw.” Marvin said, hiding his blush behind his kitty mask. “We love ya too buddy."

#jacksepticeye #robbie the zombie #jacksepticeye egos #marvin the magnificent #henrik von schneeplestein #jackieboy man #jameson jackson #antisepticeye #angus the survival hunter #fanfic

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hxnjisxng · 6 years ago

Text

Snowdrops || Han Jisung || The Language of the Flowers AU ||

So idk i haven’t written in a really long time but i’m really excited for this so !! This is also my first time ever writing bullet thingie so,, yeah,,, not all of these will be in the bullet format I just felt like trying out smth new !! and to stay true to my ult Han Jisung i will write about him first. In this like,,, kinda cute little series thing. Every theme will kinda just relate to the flower meaning so,,, yeet !! Also, s/o to my one and only bub @chenle who told me to tag her when my first official writing thing happened so here !!!

Genre: Bad Boy!Jisung x Piano Player!Reader au; bulleted scenario

Warnings: none !!

Word Count: 3.2k

{picture not mine, credits to owner}

Snowdrop: (noun) A European flower which bears white flowers and blooms in February/early March, it signifies the end of winter and the coming of spring. Represents hope, purity, warmth, and new beginnings.

Ever since you were little you’ve known you’ve wanted to be a pianist

It all started when you were younger and you went to see an orchestra with your parents

They 100% expected you to fall asleep in the first,,, like,,, five seconds after you came into the theater

What they did not expect is for you to sit there starry eyed staring at the person playing the piano for a whole 3 hours

They were,,, sister shook,,,,

But they didn’t think much of it, you know, like yeah they just like classical music

You know, as one does

But the second y’all got back into the car that was it

You wouldn’t stop talking about how pretty the music sounded

How much you liked the sound of pressing keys and the sound of the pedal lifting or the sound of the mallets and strings inside of the piano

You loved it

It was as though you had just found your one and only true love, y’all know, the yee to your haw

The ying to your yang

The chris to your weed

Sorry back to the point

You just couldn’t explain it, little four year old you just knew the fluttering feeling in your heart was a good one

So your parents signed you up for piano

They said they would find you the best teacher they could, one that could make you great

So that’s what they did

From a week after that concert, you started piano lessons

And you only fell more in love with the piano as time went on

So, after this little bit of context, flash back to reality

oop there goes gravity oop

there goes rabbit he chokes

Sorry okay eminem is my calling

So it’s the end of winter, it’s been a really cold and bitter winter, but it’s around the end of february and somehow it just HaS noT gotten any warmer

And here we meet our boy jisung

Our chipmunk, our squirrel, our boi yk

But he’s a little bit of a hooligan

A bad boy if you will

You know, the leather jacket, the messy hair, the snarky attitude, the cocky jokes and the cute smile you knOW and he always always ALWAYS has a lollipop

A pink lemonade lollipop to be exact

It’s his favorite flavour

Any who, he’s one of those guys, the type of guy that almost everyone either wants to be him or with him

He’s also a part of a trio of you know bad boys at your school, the other two being his best buds Chan and Changbin

They call themselves 3RACHA

They’re as tight knit as can be, they do everything together

Skip class, hang out, throw parties

You know all that bAd bOY stUfF

He also has a slight reputation to get into fights every so often

Maybe not only so often

Maybe vERY often

But he’s trying his best okay those people just get on his nerves when they poke fun of one of his friends or his music

“I’m just a little misunderstood, okay I didn’t wanna break his nose it just sometimes happens, you know, my hand just kinda lost control of itself and hit him in the nose really really really hard. I swear.”

“Mr. Han, I distinctly remember you telling him to shove a stick up his, excuse my language, ass, and then proceeding to punch him.”

*them sitting in a perfectly silent office* “hM sorry it just got really loud in here, pardon???” :))))))

Real footage of Jisung last week after breaking some guy’s nose

He also loves loves LoVES music

Loves all music

Except for classical and country

He’s always despised classical music, it just seemed so boring

There’s no pounding beat

No lyrics to scream along to

He just found everything about it depressing and irritating and just monotone

Well one day, as he was wandering through the school

You know, as one does when their friends were busy doing who knows what during lunch

He stumbled into the music hall

Now this was an accident

He didn’t really want to be here since the only courses your school offered in terms of music were classical ones

And again

Gross

But for some weird, strange, odd-ball, out of this world, sister shook reason

He felt like he needed to be here

That’s when he heard it

tHE hiLLS aRE aLiVE wiTH

The sound of music

Not the kind of music he liked

It was definitely classical music, so y’all, it’s disgusting

‘I should go, the music is starting to make me depressed already’ he mumbled

But his feet wouldn’t move, his body just kinda froze

It felt like something was just pulling him to that room, to that ugly boring nasty music

And it’s not like he’s never listened to classical before, he had, but this time something was weird about it

He still didn’t like it, it all still sounded the same, nothing interesting

But something for some weiRD REASON was telling him to go to that room

Like something was a little different about the way it was being played

‘Maybe,,,, I should just look for a couple seconds and,,,,,,, tell the person to stop playing that boring stuff,,,, or maybe I could just listen for a bit,,, but like obviously no that’s nasty,,,,’

The door was slightly ajar, so the music was just drifting through the air

Just calling him over

Jisung slowly walked up to the door, and peeped through the window

And there you were

You, reader, in all of your piano classical music glory

Sat there playing your heart out to the world

In that moment when he saw you with your hair slightly drifting over your face

Your eyebrows slightly scrunched up in concentration as your hands ran across the keys

His heart was screaming

Literally just like

dabdikajbksbfkajbDNBDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

He almost forgot about the fact he hated classical music if he could just watch you play it all day

Wait,,, what no,,,,

Gross,,,,, the Han Jisung doesn’t like people that easily,,,,,, nuh-uh thats def not him folks

And he got so scared by that feeling

The one inside of his chest

He was scared of how it made his hands feel tingly and it made him feel like he stood up too fast because his head felt so rushed and light

It felt like he was flying, but also crashing down to earth at the same time

And when I say scared

I mean terrified

This boy is mortified of catching feelings

Definitely not because in the third grade the person he liked stomped all over his heart because they wouldn’t give him a cracker,,,,, no who even thOughT tHaT hAHa

Just the thought of him truly giving his whole heart to someone ?? unacceptable

Like in this economy ?? liking someone ?? unreasonable

So he did the only logical thing

He ran away

Far back to the other side of school

And he was so out of it for the rest of the day, he just couldn’t handle it

He even went back to class next period because he was so out of it

“W-welcome Mr. Han take a seat, it’s a pleasure to have you finally join us.”

“mm-hmm”

He didn’t pay attention all day though, his mind was only occupied by you

Cheesy, I know, but it was

Even when he went to hang out with Chan and Changbin

“Bro,,, where were you during lunch ?? you kinda just disappeared”

“I was uhhh,,,, in the library,,,”

“The library ?? are you good ???”

“Yeah,,,,, im fine it’s cool,,,”

“Dude, you alright you seem a little weird.”

“Yeah,,,,,,,,, im just thinking”

Jisung thInKing ??? unheard of

So, this terrified Chan and Changbin because whenever Jisung thinks it’s never good

But it’s been three days since he saw you

And he’s still thinking about you and he’s kinda emo about it

Because, of course, you occupied his thoughts, the song you were playing stuck in his mind on a loop

This is so cheesy please forgive me

It was so bad that he started hearing it everywhere, it even started placing itself into his music and the lyrics he was writing somehow all revolved around love

He’d sit there for hours writing lyrics until he realized all of it in some way tied back to you

It was bothering him

Like a lot

So now it’s been a whole six days, and trust me he’s been counting and he thought he could take it,,, you know not see you,,,

Until he’s had enough

He needed to go see you again otherwise he felt like his head would explode

And it wasn’t because he liked you or anything,,, he just wanted to see you so he wouldn’t write any more music about you,,,,, because this was just SuPeR gRoSS

So he went to the same hall, the same room, the same time, and there he saw you

Still working on the same part of the piece

It was just as beautiful as the first time he heard it and he honestly was in awe of how your hands moved across the piano as though they were as light as air

Anyone even from a million kilometers away could tell you were frustrated with this part

He wanted to tell you that you didn’t have to worry because it was beautiful

He wanted to just go in there and tell you that your playing is amazing and hold your hands and just comfort you

But he just couldn’t say anything

And he could always say something, he never stopped talking

And his heart was still doing the same flippity flop screaming thing in his chest

Big surprise, i know

But then,,,, he had a genius idea,,,, like spectacular,,,, like nobel prize winning idea,,,

“Maybe if i see them all the time,,,,, my heart will get used to it and it won’t flippity flop anymore :’D,,,,,,”

wow ,,,, genius i know you don’t have to tell him

So instead of saying anything, or ignoring you any longer, he decided

I’m just gonna come here and watch them play every day because as long as I see them and never talk to her,,,, eventually whatever weird heart thing i have will go away !!!!!

So that is exactly what he did

Every single day for the next coming three weeks,,, he would disappear during lunch and go and watch you play

Changbin and Chan were getting suspicious but they never asked,,, so Jisung thought he was so slick you know

So it’s been weeks of him doing this

It’s now around the end of February, and he planned on doing smth for Valentines day,,,

Not,, because he liked you or because it was valentines day, but because he just,,, somehow planned to do it for February 14th

He was really counting on his genius 10000+ IQ plan to work

But, surprise surprise, his plan was failing

It was almost as though he liked you APPRECIATED !! your playing even more after seeing you play :))))))

Just seeing you just so cutely hunched over the piano

It made his heart hurt wiTH APPRECIATION FOR YOUR ARTISTRY NOT L O V E

Haha obviously,,,,,, not love,,,,,, who even said that y’all hear summ ????

And he realized maybe he just ReaLLY REALLY reAllY wanted to be your friend !!

Really really close friend !!

And that’s why he wanted to talk to you !! And hold you !! Like F R I E N D S do !! haha !!

And you know this mentality was really working great, until one Thursday

It was near the beginning of March when it was getting a little warmer and all that green good grass was kinda appearing from under the snow,,, these little white flowers peeking out from under the melting snow and it was just so pretty that day

And all Jisung could think about was how beautiful you would look today outside

Holding his hand

In a totally PLATONIC and FRIENDLY way because he obviously just liked you as a friend

And maybe today he would tell you how much he wanted to be your friend :D

But that lunch you just didn’t show up for half an hour ??

He was confused,,,, like really confused

And also concerned ?? where were you,,, you were always here on time,, he even makes sure to show up 5 minutes after your usual arrival time so he could calmly sit outside of the door without getting caught

But today you weren’t there and he was about to leave and chicken out until he felt a hand on his shoulder

‘AHHHHHHHHHHHHH’

Istg he jumped like fifty feet in the air

“Hey,, you’re that guy who always sits outside when I practice !!! Han Jisung right ?? Sorry I was late I needed to talk to Mr.Park about a science assignment I have that’s due next week,, ”

Jisung.exe has stopped working

First of all,,,

yoU kNeW ?!?!?! and he thought he was so slick

Not only that you knew his nAMe and apologized for being late ??? did you like ??? cARE ABOUT HIM A LITTLE BIT

And he also just,,, kinda loved the way you just said his name

It made him UwU in ways he didn’t understand

In a friENDLY WAY

Oh who was he lying to at this point

Maybe he did like you just a LITTLE more than like a friend would like a friend

so what,,, sue him,,,,

He was so caught up in the million and five thoughts that were racing through his mind that he almost forgot to respond, so he managed to choke out the following charming and very expressive line:

“U-uh you know my name ???”

,,,,,good one Jisung,,, real smooth,,,,

You let out a light giggle and just kinda looked at him with this really soft expression

“Ofc I knew !!! I heard your foot tapping every single day and you also sat in front of an open door so,,, I kinda saw you the first day,,,”

SORRY NOT ONLY HAS JISUNG.EXE STOPPED WORKING HE JUST CRASHED ??? LIKE EXPLODED

Your hand,,,, was still on his shoulder,,, and you giggled again,,,,, how are you,,, so cute

Little did he know you freaked out the exaCt same way you saw him the first time in the hallways with his eyes closed and head leaning against the lockers

And not only that,,, he was just super pretty,,,

With the winter light perfectly hitting his face

His jacket slightly too big and it loosely drooped over his shoulders

I’m actually ruining myself imagining this wow thanks m e

So when you finally asked around after a couple days one of your friends told you who he was

The Han Jisung

The resident bad boy at your school, who liked to get into fights and allegedly also liked to play around with peoples hearts

Which didn’t exactly scare you well maybe it did a little bit but we’re not here to expose ourselves

First of all you’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s probably just like any of us ?? people just kinda put him on a pedestal so you felt like you didn’t really need to treat him differently from anyone else

And with every time that he would sit outside of your practice room and listen you felt a little bit of that fear melting away because when he looked so relaxed and so pretty that his face just screamed UwU

But you gotta play it cool reader,,,because you’re slick and all that,,, you know

So you just kinda turn around and head into the music room without saying anything else

Which again gave him shock number 37429387129837 of the day

He was expecting you to do something,,, say something,,,,, but instead,,,,

You just smiled at him, and turned back to into the room, now sitting at the piano bench

He was confused

And mayhaps just the littlest bit disappointed

He knew that everyone knew him, and that’s usually not the kind of reaction he gets, usually he gets a whole OH mY iT’s HaN jiSuNg scream or an angry disgusted look from people who didn’t like him

But no

Not you

Yet, what could he do

He was going to just,, sit back down in the hallway in his usual spot, or maybe just get up and leave since his cover has been blown and you probably think he’s super creepy

When your voice called out for him inside of the room

“Are you gonna come in or what?”

A small smile spread on his face as he stood up, and he noticed you had already set up a chair for him next to you at the piano

“So,,,, do you like classical music?”

“Um,, not really,, no.”

“Then,, why did you sit outside every day ??”

You asked confused, your eyebrows slightly furrowing staring at him with intent

And he just found that so cute

So so so cute

So cute that it just made any confidence he had just disappear

“I-I justreallylikethewayyouplayitsoundsnice.”

He just really wanted you to stop looking at him like that it was going to make him actually just explode

You gave a breathy laugh at his cute antics,,, what was there not to like about this boy,,, I mean what a softie

Maybe he wasn’t too bad, ya know

Nothing to be afraid of

“You wanna hear me play one of my favorite songs?”

Jisung nodded his head, his hair lightly flopping on his forehead, kinda covering his eyes

Oh how bad you wanted to brush it out of his eyes and just pinch his cheeks but, alas, it shall not happen

Or will it ;);););;;;))))))))

So you with a light inhale you began playing on of your favorite pieces, it was strong and domineering, with an edge of superiority

If ya wanna check it out it’s actually one of my favorite pieces it’s Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5

As soon as you started, Jisung was already in a trance, the way your hands moved, the sound of your breath hitching every huge chord or octave jump

Damn Jisung was whipped

When you smiled at him after you finished the piece

With your eyes so bright, finally breathing normally again, and just a light pink blush that swept across your face

He felt his heart beat fast again

But this time

Mayhaps he didn’t want to run away

“So, what did you think? Did you like it?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you like classical music maybe a little bit more now ??”

You asked with just the biggest grin on your face

“Hmm,, no i don’t think so,,” Jisung responded with the cheekiest smile known to mankind

“Then,,, I think you’re gonna have to come back here tomorrow so I can change your mind about that” ;)));))))))

WOWOW,, alright reader do y’all ever get tired of being so cute ??

As you continued playing the marvelous thought dawned upon Jisung

So maybe he did like classical music just a little bit more now

And,, maybe his heart beat faster with every second you looked at him

And maybe that feeling is not as bad as a thing as he thought it would be

Maybe it’s actually just the littlest bit nice

Just a little bit

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samingtonwilson · 8 years ago

Text

Loot - Part 6 - Jim Kirk

Loot masterlist Word count: 2,833 Warnings: angst, language, description of burn injuries

A/N: VERY LONG PART, I KNOW but i didn’t want to cut part of it. im not a huge fan of my writing here, nor am i a huge fan of majority of what happens mostly because i love jim x reader (GASP, spoiler?). i feel like i could’ve cut parts with scotty but whatever! tell me if you want to be tagged. enjoy n lemme know what you think!

You opened your eyes and, through wet and clumped eyelashes, stared further into a room so dark, you could only make out the faint silhouette of a collection of shelves. You felt the rawness of your throat upon clearing it, wiping your right palm down the lap of your trousers. You curved your fingers so your right hand was clasped around your knee and stared at your left hand, tracing a border around the burns with your eyes.

Your breathing had finally slowed to a normal, healthy rate and your heart no longer slammed into your aching ribs. Your fingers didn’t shake anymore and there was feeling in your arms. You thought that might’ve meant progress. Your condition was stabilized in comparison to the moment you’d stepped into the storage closet that was now radiating a sticky heat.

You pushed off the ground with your uninjured hand and cradled your left arm under your chest. Your blood boiled at the sight of the balled fabric on the ground. Your ears and cheeks grew warm enough to rival the artifact itself.

With the sole of your boot, you kicked at it with as much force as you could while gritting your teeth. Grunts of effort left your lips as you continued to strike it even after it hit the wall with a clank.

You wished it would break under your weight— you needed it to break, you need it to either destroy itself or destroy you once and for all. But, through the rubber soles of your boots, you could feel its heat only grow.

Giving up, you sighed and fell against the wall behind you. Your head lolled back against the metal surface and your right fist connected with it, a cry of frustration ringing through the room.

You pressed the control panel with much less force than the heel of your hand had grown accustomed to just a little while ago. You figured you should leave the swaddled artifact there until you were sure Scotty had already checked your room.

When the door slid open and you stepped out, you pressed your hand against the wall. You regulated your breathing again and hoped there was as little evidence of this incident over your features as possible.

However, your throat felt tight as you inhaled and didn’t loosen itself as you exhaled. Breathing openly, in a way that would fill your lungs, was laborious.

Retreating, you took a step away from the door and started down the corridor. Your steps were slow, calculated but were still a blur in your mind. You could barely register the faces and voices of the ensigns that passed you. You were even unable to perceive the whirring that only dawned on you as you rounded the corner to slam into a strong shoulder.

His hands held you in place when you stumbled. His brown eyes were wide as they searched yours, his forehead wrinkled to the border of his hairline in the precise way you’d pictured. “(Y/N)? You all right, lass?”

You wet your lips that remained dry. “I—” You cleared your throat. “Yeah, fine.”

You could only imagine what you looked like, especially if you used Scotty’s inquisitive and concerned expression as means to do so. You could feel the puffiness of your eyes and you knew they had been scrubbed red and raw. Your cheeks, the insides between your teeth as you bit down in nervousness, were likely more sullen. Your hair was unwashed and probably ruined by your incessant need to toy with it.

Considering that, you didn’t blame him for his expression.

His eyes widened when he noticed your hand against your chest, your palm skyward. He reached for you and grabbed your wrist, pulling it towards himself. You heard a small gasp leave his lips. “We need to get you to McCoy.”

“No,” you said quickly. You couldn’t maintain eye contact any longer. “No, I don’t— I don’t need to go to the medbay.”

He tilted his head. “Lass, this looks like a deep burn. You cannae leave it untreated.”

“He gave me a salve. It’s in my quarters— I just have to use that.” You thought you might have been speaking too quickly. But you weren’t able to slow down. “Did you—” You cleared your throat for what felt like the millionth time. “Did you check my room for electro-whatever?”

Scotty rolled his eyes. “Electro-whatever— s’like speaking to Jim himself.”

He released your left wrist and grasped your right, pulling you against his side as he walked through the hallway in the direction of your room. He mumbled something to himself you couldn’t hear over the pounding in your chest.

Your ribs felt the full impact of each beat. You could swear the healed portions were beginning to crack again. Especially when you approached your door.

He looked at you expectantly and you just stared back, tilting your head. “Pardon?”

“I told ye to unlock it,” he said in volumes far higher and at a speed far slower. “Maybe I can toss out the bloody replicator that keeps doin’ this to you.”

You tried to smile at him even as the weights at the corners of your lips forced them to curve downwards. “Sounds like a plan.”

You stepped inside first and it immediately struck you that the closet door was open, the artifact’s imprints still burnt into the floorboards which were clearly visible. You motioned towards the kitchenette on the opposite side of the room. “The salve’s in a cabinet there. D’you think you could get it out for me?”

Nodding, Scotty set his scanner beside the door and walked to the kitchenette. His eyes were on his PADD.

You nearly ran to the closet, stuffing the strewn shirts and trousers onto the melted floorboards. You hummed in mock interest as Scotty spoke.

“— so I told Lieutenant Kapoor that the damn source cannae be on any of the residence decks. Someone would’ve ended up with three arms an’ a spare eye grown out their ear by now with that kind of radioactivity.”

You hummed again, allowing the closet doors to slide shut and pushing yourself off the ground to a standing position. Your sore knees almost gave out under you and you leaned against the adjacent wall for support. When the doors clicked and locked themselves, you felt the relief wash over you.

You crossed your arms over your chest when he looked at you, attempting to appear nonchalant with a small smile and a whip of your head to send your hair out of your face. “So you didn’t find anything?”

He clicked his tongue and shut a cupboard. He rolled the tube of gel salve in his hand. He was frowning deeply. “‘M getting kind of discouraged. Keenser an’ Jim started a wager on how long it’ll take me to give up.”

“I’m sure they’re just joking.” You walked to Scotty and attempted to keep your steps stable.

He nodded towards your hand. “Hol’ your hand out, lass.”

You complied, watching his eyes widen as he took in the full extent of the burn. “Don’t worry— it doesn’t hurt much.”

“Probably because you’ve killed all your nerves.”

“Don’t be rid— Holy fuck!” you nearly screamed, pulling your hand back as his fingers brushed against a blistered portion of your skin and sent a powerful surge of pain up your limb. “What the hell, Scotty? You couldn’t warn me?”

“Dr. McCoy says there’s less pain when ye take the patient by surprise,” he mumbled as he grabbed your hand and continued to spread the clear gel in a thick layer. “Clearly the good doctor’s spreading bullshit.”

You felt your lips pull into a smile. “Thank you for doing this and being so concerned— I know we don’t know each other well.”

“Aye, s’not a problem,” he told you with a smile of his own. “Have you got gauze?”

“Same cupboard.”

He nodded and let go of your hand to retrieve the roll of gauze. Unrolling a fair amount, he took hold of your hand again and began to wrap it. “I feel like I know you well— Captain talks about you enough.”

“He talks about me?”

Scotty glanced at you through his eyelashes. “Aye, nonstop. He’s obviously fond of you.”

You almost smiled.

“Hopefully doesn’t act on it,” he added as he tied the ends of the gauze together. “It’s against regulations for the captain to fraternize with the crew.”

“I’m not on the crew.”

He hummed. “Yet. Jim’s planning on requesting your assignment to the Enterprise once you graduate from the Academy.”

Before you could finally let yourself smile, your mind reminded you of that scenario’s implausibility.

If you rid yourself of the burden of the artifact and failed to present it to the man you were hired by, you would have no way to pay the next term’s tuition— leading to the implausibility of your graduation, and probably continuation of life as the man you were hired by didn’t sound very moral. If you kept the artifact intact and within reach with the intention of presenting it to said man, there was a great chance you’d be caught and subsequently expelled, likely jailed— once again, leading to the implausibility of your graduation.

Once you sat at the corner of your bed with your legs folded onto the mattress, you looked over at Scotty who was staring at your replicator with his eyebrows together and his lips turned down in a frown. “The food it manages to synthesize tastes awful.”

He snorted. “That’s true of all the replicators, lass— it isn’t just yours.”

You smiled and relaxed your posture a little. You looked down at your hand, tracing the edges of the bandage and blowing at the thin fabric through encircled lips.

When there was a set of three knocks at the door, you looked at Scotty again with a small smile and a nod of your head in the direction of the metallic barrier. “You wanna get that for me?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because I’m injured and you feel bad for me.”

He shook his head. He dropped his screwdriver, that he apparently always kept in his pocket, beside the agape replicator and walked to the door with the heaviest of sighs. “You’re really layin’ it on thick.”

You looked down at your hand again. You were laughing when you heard the door slid open. “After all I’ve been through today, I deserve to.”

“Yeah? What happened today?” a third voice asked, causing your teeth to dig into your bottom lip.

Taking your eyes from your palm, you looked up to see Jim standing beside the doorway.

He was looking back at you. He wasn’t smiling, nor was he frowning. You’d never seen him so void of expression.

He didn’t avert his gaze as he continued, “Mr. Scott, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to the cadet privately.”

You tilted your head and glanced at Scotty as he nodded once with a quiet, “Aye, sir.”

When the door slid shut behind him, you cleared your throat and stood up from the bed. “He forgot his PADD.”

Jim didn’t reply.

You frowned. “All good?”

He shrugged. He remained by the door despite the many steps you took towards him. “Why don’t you tell me?”

“A bit hungry, but mostly good.”

He nodded once. You couldn’t read anything in his usually expressive eyes— you felt like you were flying blind. “Not in any pain?”

Tilting your head, you narrowed your eyes at him and crossed your arms over your chest. You placed your wrapped hand between your right elbow and rib cage. “Cut to the chase, Jim.”

He sighed and looked away from you, mumbling something to himself. “You’re refusing medical care now?” When you didn’t answer, he continued in clarification, “For that burn you’re trying to hide.”

You breathed in relief. “For fuck’s sake, Jim, you scared the crap out of me. I thought this was about something serious.”

“This is serious, (Y/N). Scotty found you with an extensive burn and you’re refusing medical care for it.”

You scoffed. “I’m not refusing medical care.”

“Then why aren’t you in the medbay?”

“Bones gave me—”

“A gel, I know— for minor burns, not major ones. He told you to come in if it was any bit deeper than a surface burn.”

It was as if you were watching him unravel before you. The anger you were unable to sense just a few minutes ago was being released slowly— first from his eyes, then from his posture, and now in the setting of his jaw.

“It’s not deeper than a surface—”

His voice was loud as he interrupted, “Scotty said—” “I don’t care what Scotty said,” you almost yelled over him, shaking your head. “I can judge my own injuries, I can decide on my own if I should go to the medbay. I don’t need Scotty to tattle to you to inspire any sort of decision.”

“He told Bones, actually— not me.” You could practically feel anger rolling off his body, the heat of it warming your ears. “Bones seems to think you’ll listen to me and go in. He doesn’t know how fucking stubborn and hard-headed you are.”

He stared at you silently for a few seconds, then sighed once more. He spoke in a softer voice this time. “Everything was fine this morning— you were finally talking to me. I thought— I thought I was getting through to you, like you finally trusted me and understood that I care and want to listen, to understand. But, less than twenty minutes after you left, I get news that you hurt yourself again.”

“Accidents happen, Jim.”

“Bones said burns caused by replicators wouldn’t be so deep if you released whatever it was that was burning you.”

“So you think I did this on purpose?” you asked incredulously. “Well, I didn’t. And, if I did, you being angry at me wouldn’t help anything.”

“I don’t want to be angry at you, I hate being angry at you— I want to help. But it’s as if every time we take one step forward, you take three back.”

“Why would that even matter?” you nodded upwards and wet your lips.

You couldn’t let your tone reach even half an octave higher and couldn’t take your eyes from Jim’s, no matter how much you wanted to. It took work to do so. “It’s not as if this is going anywhere. As soon as this ship docks at a base, I’m gone and everything goes back to normal.”

Gone as soon as it came, a bit of surprise flashed across his features. He stood still, staring at you plainly for a few seconds. “You don’t feel anything then?”

In that moment, you made a decision you’d been contemplating from the moment you set foot in the supply closet and were pushed towards while speaking to Scotty. You felt you had no other choice.

“Gratitude, since you helped me off that planet, and I think we’re friends but—” You shrugged, “Jim, I’ve known you for, like, a month.”

“Right,” he said simply after several beats of silence, nodding.

He cleared his throat and took his eyes from yours.

“And we’re just— It’s just sex, nothing else.”

His voice was a bit higher.

Your throat grew tight at the sound and your breathing became a bit shallow. There was a sinking feeling in your chest and your stomach flipped. You tried to control it all, to keep your face and body language neutral. You moved your leg slightly to rid yourself of its restlessness.

“Even if you didn’t do it on purpose,” Jim began, his voice back to normal, “make sure to get your hand treated, (Y/N). Admiral Barnett would have my head if I sent one of his cadets back in worse condition than when I found them.”

You attempted to return the small smile he was offering you. “Yeah, I’ll go soon.”

He nodded once more and turned around to leave, sparing you a single glance over his shoulder as he reached for the control panel.

When the door shut behind him, you sank to the ground. For the second time that day, your knees sat at your chest that pained with a staggering heartbeat.

You set your forehead atop your knees and took deep breaths— you weren’t going to let the waves get you a second time.

You knew what you were doing and you knew why you were doing it. Being with Jim any longer, feeling everything you indeed felt for him grow any deeper, watching what he felt for you do the same— it all felt wrong with the inevitability of its demise. You told yourself you were saving yourself and saving Jim before it became any more intense.

After all, how deeply could either of you have felt after only a month?

tag list: @outside-the-government @daughterofthebrowncoats @multifandom-slytherin@buckyy3s @cinema212 @caaptain @dani-fae @wonders-of-the-enterprise @imaginesofdreams @the-witching-hours12-3 @kaitymccoy123

#jim kirk #jim kirk imagine #kirk imagine #jim kirk x reader #star trek #star trek imagine #captain kirk x reader #captain kirk imagine #imagine kirk #imagine jim kirk #imagine if i wrote a decent story #imagine me actually writing decent tags #imagine me finishing this story in less than 10 parts #bye

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maple-keenes · 5 years ago

Text

one black coffee

summary: roman drinks way too much coffee.

pairing: roceit, QPR analogicality

tw: remus, deceit, cursing

wc: 3753

a/n: i’m finally dooooOOooone

idea credit to @ilovemygaydad!!! love ya morgan

general:

@analogical-chaos @theflatpancake @ilovemygaydad @alltimevirgilant @virgiliananxiety @romanticsanders @theincediblesulk @wroammin @creativity-killed-thekitten @bitchyybabyy400 @wooflesthatwoof @lyditist @heck-im-lost @max-is-tired @demurphart @thelowlysatsuma @land-of-dragons-and-frogs @theeternalspace @magicallygrimmwiccan @weirdsthenewnormal @romansleftshoulderpad

College is dumb. Don’t do college.

Roman, a musical theater major, can tell you this with one hundred percent certainty. He is in college, his second year, and it’s dumb.

Adult life, similar to college, is also dumb, except for the fact that Roman no longer has to beg his mother for coffee money when he wanted to go to Starbucks. In fact, he’s stopped going to Starbucks altogether, which definitely has to do with the fact that the local shop on campus, Mocha My Day (which is an awful pun, by the way, the author has no idea what they’re doing), is cheaper than Starbucks, invites their employees to wear tags with their pronouns, and is eco-friendly, and nothing to do with the barista who works there that Roman definitely doesn’t have a crush on.

This barista was absolutely gorgeous, with rich brown skin interspersed with patches of white, and green-yellow eyes that stared into Roman’s soul and melted his heart at the same time. His hair was as soft as could be, he assumed, since he’d never actually touched it, and oh, Roman could so fall in love with this guy.

But not really. Just ‘cause he’s the most attractive man on Planet Earth doesn’t mean Roman is into him.

(Yes, it does. He’s into him.)

But the details of Roman’s romantic life are of no matter currently, because it’s 8 am and he has two classes today, one of which is awfully boring, /and he only got three hours of sleep last night.

Roman sidled up to the counter, smiling at the barista (his very favorite barista, the cute one) and said, “Hi, I’d like a large black coffee please!”

The barista, whose name tag identified him as ‘Damien, he/they’, took one look at Roman and smiled back. “No.”

He startled, blinking in confusion. “I don’t think you’re allowed to refuse a drink to a customer.”

“Then I’m refusing it to you as someone who lives in your building and just happens to also work here because you just don’t need any more coffee this week.” Damien shrugged. “I’m really sorry, but I think it’s not healthy and I don’t want you to ruin that gorgeous face of yours.”

If Roman was a computer program, the computer would have caught fire right then and there.

“Did - did you just refuse me coffee and then flirt with me?” he asked, affronted. “Cause I don’t think I can compliment a man who won’t let me have my coffee.”

Damien gave him an amused smile. “I’ll give you my number instead, how ‘bout that? You can text me later about why I should’ve given you the coffee. Or better yet, how about dinner? We can set that up later too. But for right now, I have other customers and I think the lady two people behind you is getting fed up.”

“I - okay - yeah, um… So I’ll text you?” Roman stammered face flush with embarrassment.

“Please do,” he replied with a wink. “I’ll see you around.”

Roman left, brain still short-circuiting from that last interaction. Damien had… kind of flirted before, but nothing that direct. He’d written pick-up lines on Roman’s cups, complimented his outfits, and smiled whenever they saw each other in the halls, and Roman was now starting to realize that this guy had been trying to ask him out for at least a month now.

Huh.

Later that night, when Roman was out of class and sure Damien was off work, he eagerly pulled out his phone and typed his number in.

fellas is it gay to be sexually attracted to men (Me) 6:21 PM

hey! this is the boy from the coffee shop and from two floors up, my name’s roman :0

fellas is it gay to be sexually attracted to men (Me) 6:21 PM

were you serious about wanting to go on a date?

A minute passed.

Three.

Five.

Roman tried to distract himself by looking at his assigned reading, but he couldn’t focus. /Why wasn’t he responding?

Eventually, after an eternity (seven minutes) Roman’s phone pinged with a new text.

DAMIEN!!!!!!! <333333 6:28 PM

yeah! lol sorry I was walking home. i was just waiting for the right time to ask n today seemed good enough

DAMIEN!!!!!!! <333333 6:28 PM

you really should drink less coffee though, it’s not healthy.

fellas is it gay to be sexually attracted to men (Me) 6:29 PM

judge me later, coffee boy

DAMIEN!!!!!!! <333333 6:29 PM

haha. my names damien btw, i think u knew that though. demiboy extraodinare, he/they

fellas is it gay to be sexually attracted to men (Me) 6:29 PM

he/him. trans icon

DAMIEN!!!!!!! <333333 6:30 PM

i AM thank u it feels nice to be acknowledged

Roman laughed out loud, clutching his phone to his chest. How could one guy be so hot and so funny? The laws of physics denied that even being possible.

“Virgil!” he called, hoping his roommate would answer. “Come look at what Damien texted me!”

“No,” came the muffled response, and Roman sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Please?”

“Still no.”

Roman stood up and walked into his roommate’s room, shutting their laptop (allegedly used for an art history paper, actually being used for gay Tik Tok compilations) and sitting next to them on their bed. “Look, he’s like, super funny, and - “

Virgil groaned and rolled over, rubbing their eyes. “I get it, you’re in love with him. I was in the middle of my paper.”

“You were watching Tik Toks.”

“I still don’t care about your gay shit,” they responded, though they sat up and looked at Roman’s phone. “Oh, he’s a demiboy? Neat. Also, you really should stop drinking so much coffee.”

He huffed, glaring at Virgil. “What is it, Pick On Roman Day?”

“That was last Thursday.”

“Haha.” Roman rolled his eyes, standing back up and already starting to text Damien a detailed list of everywhere he’d ever thought about them going on a date together. “Do you think he’d be into somewhere more classy or more memorable?”

Virgil glared daggers at him. “Get out of my room or I’m calling Logan and Patton and making you listen to us talk about feelings.”

“You don’t scare me!” He stuck his tongue out at them. “I’ve had conversations with the three of you before.”

“Get. Out.”

It was a day later (or six years, according to Roman’s sense of time) that they met up in front of the coffee shop. Damien had just gotten off work, and he had been secretive about where he was taking Roman, so he was just currently… sitting on the bench outside of Mocha My Day and hoping his outfit was cute enough.

He stood up when he saw Damien walk out of the cafe, smiling. They had traded their usual apron for a nice yellow shirt, and Roman was trying his hardest to keep his jaw from becoming permanently stuck to the floor.

“You look really nice,” Roman said, and a smile tugged at the corners of Damien’s mouth.

“You too,” they responded. “Red suits you.”

He blushed furiously, causing Damien to laugh. “Hey! Don’t laugh at me, my dates usually aren’t so smooth.”

They grinned. “Get used to it, Roman. You’re cute when you blush.” Ignoring Roman’s sputtering and the fact that their date’s face was currently as red as a tomato, he offered his hand out to Roman, and the other young man took it shyly.

“So, where are we going?” Roman asked, picking up his pace to keep up with Damien. “You’ve been secretive over text.”

They winked. “It’s a surprise.”

He bit back a smile, feigning annoyance. “I can’t believe my date won’t tell me where we’re going on this date with my date.”

“On a date.”

“Yeah,” Roman said, as both of them broke into giggles.

As it turns out, they were going to a theater downtown and then to dinner afterward, and both of those were both so nice and so expensive that Roman was curious if a) Damien had been stalking him, and b) how much money Mocha My Day paid and should he start working there if it allowed him to afford more theater. Overall, the show was good and all, but Roman ended up stealing glances at Damien’s face, illuminated by the glowing lights.

Damien caught sight of Roman watching him, and they made a face, causing both of them to start giggling uncontrollably (much to the chagrin of the patrons around them).

At dinner later that night, Roman bit his lip and finally asked what he'd been thinking since they had asked him out, which was, "Why are you interested in me?"

They raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

Roman cleared his throat nervously. "I mean, I'm not exactly anyone's first choice. I'm a short, dramatic trans guy who can't even pick up on a little bit of flirting and is laying all his insecurities on the table on the first date.”

"Roman…" Damien sighed. "I'm a tall demiboy with vitiligo and you think I get to pick and choose? I asked you out because you're cute and funny and brave."

"Brave?"

They shrugged. "Yeah. Brave. I think you're brave. And that's the most affection you're ever getting from me, so enjoy."

He laughed, reaching across the table to take Damien's hand. "I think you're brave too."

"I…" They blushed, a smile tugging at the corners of their mouth. "Thanks, Roman."

For the next two days, Roman felt like he was floating on a cloud. He and Damien texted back and forth nonstop about this and that and history and classmates and dates and how cute the other was and he never tired of it.

During Intermediate Dance the next Wednesday, Roman was sitting on the bench and laughing at a meme Damien had sent him when his teacher, a young man named Thomas who had been on Broadway for several years and then decided that he preferred teaching kids, sat down next to him.

"So, Roman… you've been really distracted these past few days," he said, looking concerned. "Is everything alright?"

He scrambled to hide his phone and the messages on it. "Er… yeah."

Thomas tilted his head to the side. "That doesn't sound very convincing."

"I promise everything's fine!" Roman said frantically. "I was just… texting my brother. He's having a really rough time in classes," he continued, pulling a lie out of his ass.

The older man nodded sympathetically. "Remus, right? He's in one of my classes."

Shit fuck goddamn I actually have a brother who goes here, how did I forget that, Roman thought, annoyed at his inability to lie and his memory for forgetting that he like, had a brother.

"Um, yeah. Him." Roman was gonna owe Remus big time for this one.

Thomas patted his shoulder kindly and stood up. "Let me know if you need me to talk to him!"

"I will!" he called as Thomas walked away, mentally kicking himself for being the dumbest person ever.

He got up, grabbing his bag, and walked out of the dance studio quickly typing a text to his brother detailing what had happened and why Remus should not stab him.

As Roman was sending the message, he ran headfirst into one of his roommate's QPPs, Patton.

"Hey, kiddo!" Patton exclaimed, holding his hand out to Roman to help him up. Patton was a senior, and his only character flaw was that, and Roman swears by this, that he doesn't like mangoes for some reason. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a bit distracted." Roman rubbed his head. "Sorry about that."

He waved a hand through the air. "It's no problem. He/him day, by the way."

Roman nodded. "I saw your bracelet."

"So what were you doing on your phone? Texting a boy, maybe?" he asked, giggling.

He rolled his eyes, laughing. "Yeah, my brother."

Patton nodded sagely. "He's a sneaky one."

"No idea what that means. Anyways, I trapped myself in a lie with Thomas and now I need my brother to stick with it," Roman said, sighing.

"What happened?"

"Stuff," he answered vaguely. "I don't wanna be late to class so I gotta go, but you'll find out after I tell Virge."

Patton mouthed an "oh" and grinned. "Well, I have to get home before my brain decides that I am a girl now, so bye for now, Roman! Love ya, kiddo!"

"Love you too, Pat."

As he walked away, Roman’s phone dinged with a text. He opened it, hoping it was from Damien, knowing it was from Remus.

monsterfucker 1:13 PM

YOUR A BITCH ROMAN PATRICK KINGSLEY

fellas is it gay to be sexually attracted to men (Me) 1:15 PM

*you're

monsterfucker 1:16 PM

you'r a bitch roman patrick kingsley

fellas is it gay to be sexually attracted to men (Me) 1:17

takes one to know one remus brian kingsley

monsterfucker 1:18 PM

you owe me at LEAST 5000 favors

Roman laughed out loud, tucking his phone in his pocket. He would deal with his brother later.

After his classes, Roman swung by Mocha My Day, and he watched Damien’s face light up as he walked in. He smiled shyly and waved to Damien, who grinned and nodded back.

He sat down at a table next to the window and opened his laptop, looking over his notes from his last lecture. Roman had only been sitting down for about five minutes when someone sat down across from him, and they reached across and shut his laptop.

“Damien!” Roman cried, drawing a few weird looks. “I thought you were working!”

He shrugged. “I got permission to take a couple minutes to see you. So, I wanted to talk to you about something…”

Roman bit his lip. “Yeah?”

Noticing that he’d tensed up, they reached a hand out and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. “Sorry, I just wanted to ask you when you wanted to go out again.”

He exhaled. “Um, whenever you want to is fine.”

“Roman.”

“Yeah?”

Damien chuckled. “You can tell me when you want to go out. It’s okay. I picked last time, it’s your turn.”

“I don’t really know,” he said, thinking. “I honestly just want to go out as soon as possible. I really liked our last date.”

“Then let’s go right now!” they exclaimed. “Remy’ll cover my shift -”

“I will not!” the aforementioned Remy interrupted, though Damien ignored him.

“- and we can go get ice cream or something and watch the sunset. Come on, it’ll be romantic.”

Roman thought for a minute, then nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” he responded, grinning. “You had me at romantic.”

And with that, Damien quickly grabbed his stuff and headed out with Roman, possibly having bribed Remy to take his shift. They climbed into Damien’s car and drove off, Roman giggling the whole time.

“God, why does this feel so forbidden?” he asked, rolling down the window. “No one cares. We’re not running away from anything.”

“We could be.”

Roman glanced over. “What do you mean?”

“Just pretend that you’re running away from something. Transphobia, someone you hate, anything. We could be running far away from everything, everyone.” They sighed, gripping the wheel tight. “I don’t know if this makes sense.”

“It does, it does.” He smiled softly, patting Damien’s knee. “We’re running away together, then.”

They smiled back gratefully. “Thanks, Roman. I really appreciate it.”

Once they reached the secret destination (the beach near their college), both boys climbed up onto the top of Damien’s car and sat next to each other, Roman’s hand resting on top of theirs.

“This is such a gorgeous view,” he said, leaning into Damien, who shifted so that Roman was more comfortable.

They sighed, glancing over to Roman, who was staring off into the distance. Roman’s face was illuminated by the glowing sun over the ocean, his hair moving softly in the wind.

He was beautiful.

Roman looked over at Damien, who was carefully watching him. "What? Is something wrong?"

Their cheeks turned pink as they shook their head. "I was just admiring the view."

"I - Damien!" he exclaimed, smiling. "That's just cheesy."

"You love it and you know it."

Roman flushed, his face turning as red as it could. "I do, but that doesn't excuse the fact that it's super cheesy."

Damien tucked a stray piece of hair behind Roman's ear. "I think the fact that it's cheesy might be excusable in this case."

He melted into the touch. Roman looked up at Damien, who's patterned face was turning a lovely shade of pink and blue as the sun set behind them, and he was suddenly aware of how close the two of them were to each other.

There was something that sparked inside Roman at that moment, and he straightened up and leaned over, cupping Damien's face in his hands and kissing him softly.

Damien let out a startled noise before realizing that hey, this felt pretty nice, and wrapping their hands around Roman's waist.

The two of them weren't perfect at kissing, and they weren't the kind of couple that you would photograph - a demiboy with vitiligo, a short trans guy - but they were the kind of couple that didn't care that the other wasn't the ideal kind of boy or the ideal kisser, and they still sat there, on the roof of Damien's car, kissing in front of the sunset.

It's a private moment, and we won't interrupt any longer.

The next day, Roman was practically floating on air as he walked from class to class, texting Virgil about all the details of last night and how they'd kissed. Virgil, despite their facade of not caring about anything, was eager to listen to Roman talk about how perfect this guy was. They were nothing if not a good friend.

Virgil was not, however, the only person who got a detailed account of Roman and Damien's date the previous. Remus, Roman's brother, who was notorious for being 'a horny motherfucker', asked Roman to please shut up about his date, Patton, who was happy to hear it'd gone well, and Logan, Virgil's other QPP, who was glad that it had gone well, but was trying to finish a paper. Several of Damien's coworkers had also gotten a play-by-play, and Remy, the man who had, unfortunately, had to cover their shift, was slightly less annoyed about it upon learning that it was for like, love or something.

Roman, unluckily, had Dance again the day after, and he had decided that he was going to come clean to Thomas. This was not based upon his own decision making, it was based upon the fact that Remus had taken back his offer of repayment by favors and had decided that he was going to stab his brother if the situation was not remedied.

You know, sibling stuff.

He knocked on his teacher's office door after class and opened it after he heard Thomas say 'come in!" from inside.

"Hey, Thomas," Roman said, smiling sheepishly. "I owe you an apology, I think."

"About your lie about your brother?" he responded, lacing his fingers together. "I know, Roman."

He sighed, relieved, before starting as he realized what his teacher had said. "Wait, you do?"

Thomas chuckled lightly, smiling. "Yeah. Your boyfriend is my TA, and he's much better at lying than you, which means that he tells me when he's being honest. And may I just say, your date a couple of days ago was so romantic."

Roman bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I guess I should have known that, then."

He nodded. "Plus, Remus spent a large amount of class muttering about how frustrated he was with his brother, and that's without the cursing," Thomas said.

"Oh. Well, I'm really sorry about all of that, Mr. Thomas. I should've just been honest," Roman apologized.

Thomas shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Mr. Kingsley. I understand the panic of not wanting to share something like that with your teacher, but Damien and Remus are very different people from you. But I wish you luck in your relationship. And I know that I'm a teacher, and so I'm not supposed to care, but I'm rooting for you two. Damien needs someone like you to balance them out."

"Thanks, Mr. Thomas."

After that conversation, Roman felt like a little weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was good to know that he wasn't in trouble, but he felt as if he'd gotten off a little bit easy.

Returning home and collapsing on the couch, he pulled out his phone and grinned when he saw his home screen, which was a selfie of Roman and Damien from their date last night. Roman was leaning into their shoulder and Damien was pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

He smiled. Something good was gonna come out of this relationship, Roman was sure of it.

epilogue

Damien bit their lip as they finished the last coffee of their shift. Remy gave them a reassuring nod as they went into the break room to quickly change into their nice clothes for their date tonight.

It was the final semester of Damien's senior year and Roman's junior year. Damien had found a little job reporting for a local newspaper, and they were glad to be staying in town. You'll see why in a second.

They fixed their bowtie in the mirror and sighed. One of the other employees, a new barista named Emile, gave them a thumbs up and smiled. Damien smiled back and asked, "Could you hand me my jacket and that little box over there?"

Emile nodded and stood up. "Good luck tonight, Damien. We're all rooting for you here."

"Thanks," they said, tucking the little box into their pocket. "Trust me, you'll all be the first to know what he says."

"It'll be yes. I just know it."

A bell chimed at the front of the store, and Damien closed their eyes, centering themselves before walking out to the front of Mocha My Day. "Hey, Ro! You ready?"

Their boyfriend nodded, smiling. "You're being secretive about this date. It's like the first one all over again."

"Well, you'll see," they responded with a wink. "Come on, let's go. I have a surprise waiting."

(He says yes.)

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