#roll your sleeves up when working with the belt sander
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min-play · 2 years ago
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banned from woodwork class
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theatresweetheart · 5 years ago
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❝  you should have called me.  ❞ Virgil andlogan
Tally Marks
Warnings: Swearing, mention of past fight, homophobia, blood (though not a lot), injuries, bruises, religion mention.
Pairings: Brotherly Analogical, Mentioned Romantic/Parental Royality
Characters: Logan, Virgil, Roman and Patton (mentioned but not present.)
Word count: 2032 words.
                                              ———————
The drive home was intense.
The silence being shared from both sides was insufferable and miserable. Both parties equally upset, but by two differing accounts.
It was emotionally charged and it was uncomfortable to sit in, but there was nothing he could do to ease it. Logan had already tried talking to his brother and Virgil had promptly snapped at him and turned his head further in the opposite direction.
Logan sighed through his nose, hands tightening on the steering wheel. “You should have called me.”
“But I didn’t,” Virgil snipped without missing a beat.
“But you should have,” Logan snipped back just as quickly. It wasn’t unlike them to argue, but this was serious. Getting into a fight with someone just because they offended you was being no better than them.
Virgil tugged his hood up further over his head, tucking into himself as best as he could in the limited space the car allowed. “Just drop it, it’s fine.”
“It is not fine.” How many times did they have to have this conversation? “Getting into fights at school is not fine. You’re a junior, you should know better by now.”
“And you should know better than to involve yourself in my life.”
“I’m your older brother, Virgil, what else am I supposed to do?”
“Leave me alone when I want to left alone, fuck. It’s not that hard.”
Once again, they had made absolutely no progress and they were that much closer to home. Their dads weren’t going to be thrilled that Virgil had gotten into another fight, but at least it hadn’t been during school hours this time. That only made it more difficult, though, since Virgil would have to tell them himself and explain the situation.
Or, if that didn’t happen, Logan would tell them as much as he knew about the situation and leave it up to their parents to go from there.
It just occurred to Logan however, that he hadn’t seen Virgil’s face yet. The other’s hood had been pulled up and his face ducked down. Refused to meet Logan’s eyes when he came and picked him up and was now completely turned away from him, the side of his hood concealing that side of his face.
“Virgil look at me,”‌ he instructed, taking his eyes off the road for half a second, seeing if the seventeen-year-old would actually do it or not.
“Fuck off,”‌ was what Logan got back in response.
Having enough of this, Logan flicked on the turn signal and turned off into the nearest parking lot. He ignored the startled noise from the other teen before putting the car in park and twisting in his seat to face him.
“Look at me.”‌ His tone left no room for argument.
“And I‌ said fuck off,”‌ Virgil reached up and grabbed the edges of his hood and made sure to keep a hold of them. “Seems like neither of us are going to get what we want.”
That wasn’t what Logan wanted, but at least his suspicions had been correct. Virgil had been injured in the fight and he didn’t want anyone—especially not Logan or their dads—to see. He didn’t force it though, even if it was extremely frustrating.
“I‌ know you’re hurt,” he said instead, letting his arm rest against the top of the steering wheel, watching for some sort of reaction. “If you let me see, I‌ can help clean you up a little bit before we get home.”
Virgil shook his head. “I‌ don’t need your help,” he hissed. “I’m fine. Let’s just go home.”
“Stop saying you’re fine.” Logan watched Virgil turn his head further away, trying to get out of the conversation, he was having none of it. “You are not fine. You know not to tell me you’re fine, when you’re obviously not.”
“Jesus Christ, fine!”
Logan hadn’t actually expected Virgil to turn to him, but when he did, he took a moment to register what exactly he was looking at. A split lip with dried blood on Virgil’s chin, a bruise beginning to flourish brilliantly on the side of his face and a black eye that was only a dark ring around his left eye at the moment. Blood had dried under Virgil’s nose and the tween looked exhausted.
His baby brother’s face was most likely going to scar because of how deep some of those wounds were.
“It doesn’t hurt as bad as it looks,”‌ he mumbled, his eyes dropping from Logan’s to stare at his knuckles. (Which Logan could see were also brilliantly bruised.)
Virgil was a strong kid and could hold his own, but this was ridiculous.
“Virgil–” Logan started, Virgil cut him off by turning swiftly away again.
His arms wrapped around himself, hood pulled down over his shoulders as his fingers dug into the sleeves of his hoodie. “Don’t.”
“I‌ was just going to—”
“Don’t.”
Instead of trying to say anything more, Logan opened the middle compartment separating their seats and dug through it. He knew there was a packet of baby wipes in here somewhere. When he found the white packet, he pulled it out, shut the compartment and settled it on top. Truthfully, Logan didn’t know how long they had been in here, but he hoped they still held at least a enough moisture to get some of that blood off.
Pa and Dad would freak if they saw Virgil covered in blood like he was. Logan could at least lessen the shock factor by getting some of it off.
So, Logan held out his hand expectantly.
It took a moment, but Virgil noticed. He did something of a double-take before rolling his eyes. “I’m not doing it.”
“Then clean your face yourself.”
Logan knew Virgil’s hands hurt, so if he was smart, he’d take his brother’s offered help. But heaven knows Virgil had a stupid amount of stubbornness within him, so it was possible he’d suffer through it himself. Besides, he had until those knuckles healed to suffer through it himself. The least Logan could offer was sparing it for a little while.
After a second more, Virgil sighed in an over-dramatic fashion. “I‌ hate this and I‌ hate you, it’s embarrassing.” But he leaned forward and put his chin in Logan’s palm.
Logan angled his brother’s face up gently before pulling out a baby wipe and beginning to work at the crusted blood under his nose and around his lips. He winced in sympathy when he rubbed a bit too hard to get the dark red to disappear. “What did they say?”
Logan knew for a fact that Virgil wouldn’t just throw fists. There had to be a reason behind it. There had to have been something said that provoked him enough to hit the idiot who said it.
Virgil refused to meet his eyes. “Said something bad about Dad.”
Logan hummed. He didn’t understand exactly what had set him off though. “You could not have said that more vaguely.”
“They started using the f-slur, alright?” Virgil tried to pull away in a fit of exasperation but Logan held his face carefully still. When Virgil stopped squirming, Logan loosened his hold but didn’t let go. “I‌ kinda blacked out after the first hit and everything else is a blur.”
So, Virgil was defending their Dad. It was probably more of an instinctual reaction than it was anything else. However, Logan knew exactly where Virgil was coming form.
Logan had found himself standing up to people that decided to throw slurs around like they meant nothing. Either thinking they were funny or if they were legitimately trying to hurt someone by saying it. He had never resorted to physical violence, but there had been times where he had caught it very close. Stooping down to their level by knocking their teeth out could be incredibly satisfying, but it also made you look bad yourself.
After finishing up with most of the dried blood on Virgil’s face, Logan pulled back and grabbed his water bottle from the cup holder. It had been in there since that morning, but the water was still cold enough. He passed it over. “Put it against your eye, it should calm the swelling and soothe the pain for a bit.”
Virgil did as he was told after a moment and sunk into the passenger’s seat, keeping his eyes glued on the floor of the car.
“Is there anything else that hurts?” Logan needed to make sure that they wouldn’t need to make a trip to the hospital tonight.
Virgil answered by shaking his head.
However, even though Virgil wouldn’t meet his eyes, Logan could bet he knew the look in them. He was worried about Pa and Dad finding out and getting mad and kicking him out. It was an irrational fear, but it was something that Virgil had convinced himself would happen. If he kept swinging, he’d eventually strike out.
Logan had caught the seventeen-year-old making tallies in a notebook he kept by his bedside. It was something Virgil had been doing since they were children. (They were biological siblings, so they had come from the same parents before being put into the foster care system.)
Every time they went to a new home, Virgil started a new page and marked a tally in a notebook for a wrongdoing.
This habit hadn’t changed over the years and it hadn’t changed after they’d been adopted by Patton and Roman Sanders. Virgil still marked in his book. Logan had almost walked in on him doing it before and the teen had shoved the book under his pillow so fast Logan almost hadn’t known what he’d been holding in the first place.
Their dads didn’t know about this tally book. Logan knew for a fact that it would break Patton’s heart if he did. So, Logan kept it a secret that he knew. It was a personal thing anyway, almost like a diary but all the more hurtful to oneself.
“You’re sure?” Logan prodded, then debated his next words carefully. He’d never been good with emotions, but his baby brother was different. “It doesn’t have to be physical pain, you can talk to me.”
Virgil stayed resolute in his silence.
Well, it seemed they weren’t going to be getting anywhere from here so Logan righted himself in the driver’s seat and did his belt up. Starting the car again, he pulled out of the parking lot and turned back onto the road home. The car was still tense with silence, but it wasn’t as angry as it had been.
Before pulling into the driveway not ten minutes later, Logan noticed that both other vehicles were home as well. Which meant both parents were inside. His eyes flickered down to the clock on the dashboard. Dad had rehearsal in two hours, which meant dinner was most likely going to be on the table within the next hour. It would be enough time to let Virgil clean himself up a bit more and come up with a plan to figure out how to tell the story.
Logan pulled the car into the driveway before shutting the engine off. He took a breath, before turning his head just enough to see Virgil in his peripheral. “I’ll go in first and distract Dad and Pa, alright? Sneak in through the back and get upstairs. Change into some fresh clothes.”
After taking his silence as agreement, Logan moved to get out when Virgil reached over and grabbed him by the wrist. He paused, looking back to him with a questioning look.
“Thanks,”‌ Virgil said, as if it physically pained him to get the words out. “For, you know, not freaking out and tattling.”
“You’re going to have to tell them yourself,”‌ Logan told him, but he softened and took Virgil’s hand in his own before squeezing it reassuringly. “But I can be there when you do, if you want.”
The small appreciative smile he got in return made that warmth flourish for just a moment. Logan then got out of the car, shut the door and went inside.
The least he could do was push the inevitable back for a while.
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1-1snailxd-art · 5 years ago
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20. “Please don’t leave me, I can’t do this without you.” Anxceit, as angsty as possible
I hope this is angsty enough for you (also, writing is tough when your family keeps interrupting. I miss my own room) 
Sanders Sides Oneshot - Trial Me 
Relationships/characters: Anxceit, Logince (Virgil’s parents and Logan is trans fyi), Remus is aro/ace and Dee’s adoptive father, Remy’s a kid with Emile as his father, Patton is flying solo because platonic relationships are enough.
Warnings: blood, major injuries, death mentioned (this is important), animal death (it’s kill or be killed), the ending isn’t all that happy
Words: 4377
Summary: The tribe has an ancient tradition of earning your mark as an adult but completing a trial set by your ancestors. Surviving the elements trials and collecting your ancestors trophies will earn youngling their marks and honour their family’s name. Failure results in either shame or death. Dee is desperate to earn his mark and prove his worth in the tribe that adopted him, while Virgil is happy to wait til his final years of childhood. When Dee wins that argument they must both be prepared to face the consequences of entering the trial. (Honestly, this is like Hunger Games meets Naruto in a way). 
“I can’t do this without you, Virgil. I need you with me.”
Pushing his sleeves up, Virgil sunk his hands into the stream water to collect the bag of produce he’d sunk for washing. A frown left his face with deep wrinkles as he pretended to ignore Dee’s pleading words until the other splashed him, causing his hair to droop and stick to his forehead.
“Really! Did you seriously just splash me?”
“No. That would be childish, almost like ignoring someone who is talking to you.”
Grabbing the other end of the bag, Dee helped pull it from the water and held it aloft while the water drained off.
“I just don’t think I’m ready to earn my mark yet, Dee. I still have a few years of childhood left and-and I’m happy to keep being a-“
“No!” Yanking the bag from Virgil’s hands, Dee slung it over his shoulder and fixed the other with a stern look. “I won’t let you second guess yourself any longer. You’re a great warrior, Virgil, and I want you by my side. We can earn our marks together; I know we can.”
Looking into Dee’s eyes was unbearable; earnest and pleading. He had grown from the lying trickster Virgil first met when the tribe took him in from an outlying village. But Virgil was still so unsure of his abilities compared to his friend. To earn their mark was no simple task, it was a race against time and a trial of the elements to prove their worth.
A firm hand on his shoulder drew Virgil’s attention back and he realised he’d been starring at his feet for a while.
“I don’t want to do this alone.”
“Why do you even want to do it at all. You’re an outsider; you don’t even have to do it.”
“I have to do this to be accepted.”
That hit Virgil harder than a punch to the face. He never realised how much Dee wanted to be accepted until that moment. Virgil’s pale complexion and thin frame had always made him an outcast in the tribes eyes, despite being a pure blood; but Dee was a different story altogether.
“People die earning their marks, Dee.” Fear shone in his eyes and threatened to turn to tears as he thought of shaming his family by failing the trial.
“Nothing will happen to us, Virge.” Stepping closer, Dee caressed Virgil’s cheek and watched his face relax into his touch. “Please
 do this with me.”
“You promise you won’t let me fail?”
Grey eyes glistened with tears from fear and stared at Dee for reassurance. Leaning close, Dee rested his forehead against Virgil’s; locking eyes to affirm his words.
“I promise.”
********************
Purple flames engulfed an arrow as it was released, sinking deep into the giant, black wolfs shoulder; filling the clearing with a howl that quickly shifted to a growl as the creature turned and sought its new target. Virgil’s chest heaved as he held eyes with the beast and drew another arrow; thankful to see the formally pinned figure crawling away to safety. Blood held his bangs clear of his sight as the wind crossed the clearing, making him adjust his aim before the animal burst forward. Grey eyes blazed purple as flame took hold of the new arrow soaring directly through the creatures eye, ending its life as the flames took hold were it fell.
“By my flame, your spirit is returned to the natural plains.” Kneeling, Virgil took a shaky breath and extinguished the flame with a thought. “May we meet again on different terms.”
Using the small knife he kept in his boot, Virgil cut a tuft of hair from the paw closest to him and added it to the leather bag that hung from his belt. He had already collected algae from the rivers bed, a red and yellow feather, a lava stone and now the fur of the beast; all part of the trial his ancestors had designed for him.
Looking up at the suns position, Virgil knew he only had hours until his time was up. Two suns ago, he’d walked through the forests mist with 10 other younglings wanting to earn their marks. They were all clean and full of determination, though Virgil had been mostly consumed by fear despite Dee’s comforting hand around his own. He had no idea where the others had gone now; the few they’d stayed with he’d lost track of in the chaos of the wolf attack because he’d been far more concerned about his cousin that was dragged away.
Leaves rustled as the wind blew harder, masking the approach of an additional assailant until Virgil was knocked against the ground by an aggressive force. Claws sunk into his shoulder and Virgil cried out as another wolf gnawed at the quiver on his back. Pinned and unable to access his weapons, Virgil released a primal scream as his eyes illuminated and the quiver burst into flames. Heat spread over his body quickly before the wolf released him and he extinguished the flames as he rolled away. His body ached and burned from the movement; the ground quickly staining red with the blood that poured from his wounded shoulder.
“Virgil!”
Dee burst through the tree line, machete coated with blood and leaf litter from his own battle, and  froze at the edge of the clearing.
“Dee!” Panic was thick is Virgil’s voice as he tried to sit up; head spinning with the movement and his legs uncooperative.
The wolf raises its head, muzzle caked in dirt from soothing its singed fur, and met the injured boys eye. Virgil let his head fall back onto the ground, now fighting to stay awake as exhaustion took hold from using magic and slow blood-loss. A deep growl vibrated from the wolf that stalked closer to its immobile prey; unfazed by Dee’s presence entirely.  Warm breath reached Virgil’s leg and he held his own, biting his tongue to keep from crying out when a heavy paw rested on his leg.
A high pitched whistle drew the wolf’s attention; Virgil blinked at Dee’s figure, slightly translucent in the sunlight.
“I’m right here, Wolfe.”
The figure solidified and swing the machete; slashing through the wolf’s fur but not enough to kill. Growling, the wolf snapped at Dee but collected nothing but smoke in its jaws before another Dee slashed its back leg. Chest heaving, Virgil watched Dee’s shadow figures alternate their physicality before finally slicing clean through the animals jugular. The smoking figures came together and Dee moved to Virgil’s side.
“Shit. You’re alright. You’re alright.” Dee’s hands shook as he lent over Virgil’s arm, mind reeling for what to do first. “I’ll get you somewhere safe. I-I promise.”
He went to help Virgil up but his hand was swatted away.
“You need to
farewell.”
“I’m not giving you farewell! I’m getting you-”
“Wolf. Idiot.” Dee screwed up his face and went to argue, but Virgil groaned and pointed to the fallen animal. “Tradition.”
Dee looked between the wolf and his friend; mind wanting to honour the ways of his adoptive people, but heart eager to help.
“Why not do both.”
Pupils blazed yellow as Dee split again, a ghostly figure moving to the wolf’s side so his physical form could help Virgil stand.
“Cheater.”
“I prefer innovator. Let’s just get you safe.”
The forest floor was damp, but the trees gave the pair plenty of cover while Dee pulled the torn fabric away from Virgil’s shoulder. Deep gashes ran with blood and Virgil hissed with each stream of water that washed the dirt away.
“You still got a medpack?” Dee questioned, pulling out his own limited resources and trying to work out how he was going to approach the situation.
“Just - Patch.”
Leaning heavily against the tree, Virgil’s breathing was laboured but he’d managed to remain conscious since they’d moved. He gestured to the pocket on his pant leg and Dee was quick to retrieve the small healing patch he had left.
“This might seal one, at least. I haven’t got much left either, I’m afraid.” He set to work attaching the patch to the widest wound, pulling the skin close together before activating it with magic. “Heal the warrior and bless the ancestors.”
Securing the final makeshift bandage in place, Dee sighed and looked up at the sky; sun dropping further into the tree line. Eyelids like lead, Virgil finally gave in and let them close; sliding back into Dee’s hold as exhaustion finally won its battle.
“Virgil! Hey!” Panicked, Dee rubbed his fist into his sternum, hoping the movement would wake his friend. “Come on, Virge, you need to wake up. We’re so close.”
The hairs on the back of Dee’s neck bristled with the sound of shifting undergrowth and his duplicate was soon stalking the area to find the source.
“Dee?” Remy’s familiar voice met the smokey double and they both visually sighed. “Thank goodness it’s you, babe. You seen Vee?”
“Do you have a medpack?”
“What?”
“Medpack! Do you have one!” The machete was pulled into view and Remy stumbled backwards slightly at the sight.
“Ye-yes.”
“Good. Follow me.”
Remy hesitated briefly before following, thankful to see ‘Dee’ vanish as he approached the huddled pair. His heart sank seeing Virgil’s limp form pulled close to Dee’s chest, blood soaking his clothes and bandaged shoulder. Wasting no time with questions, Remy tipped out his limited supply on the ground before them.
“I’ve got burn paste, adrenaline and a serve of my ma’s brew. I’m afraid I used mine, and most of Virgil’s, patches at the cliffs.”
“I think we all did.”
“He’s beyond his limit and time is running out.” Remy said, placing a hand to Virgil’s forehead and feeling his cool clammy skin. “Sleeping Beauty won’t be waking up any time soon. What you wanna do, Dee?”
Looking down at his tired friends face, Dee knew giving up wasn’t an option. He’d promised Virgil that if he did this he would pass; he wouldn’t go back on his word. Looking at the sky one more time, he made his decision.
“We’re finishing this. Are you ready to leave?”
“I’ve been ready since the cliffs.” With a smile, Remy took Virgil’s shoulder over his own, scooping his leg so Virgil’s weight was across his back as he stood. “I’ll take first carry while you watch my back. You good with that?”
“Lead the way.”
The new trio headed towards the caves that would take them out of the mystic forest and earn them their mark in the tribe.
********************
The echoes of moving rocks had Dee quickening his step, despite the weight on his shoulders. They had made surprisingly good time, even with a sudden heavy downpour, and reached the caves mouth before the sun had set. Determination fuelled him to follow Remy’s flaming torch; knowing they would soon reach their goal and he would finally be accepted.
“Is it just me, or is that rumbling getting louder?” Holding the torch aloft, Remy tried to get a better look at the walls around them. “You Earth aligned, Dee?”
“No, but Virgil is.” At the mention of his name, Virgil stirred on Dee’s shoulders and the other was quick to set the injured boy down before he fully woke. “You back with us, Virge?”
Remy knelt with the pair and quickly fished his flask from their shared pack, bringing it to the tired boy’s lips.
“Drink this, babes. Ma’s brew will put a spring back in your step.”
Virgil coughed slightly at the bitter liquid, but accepted a few mouthfuls before speaking.
“What happened?”
“You’ve been out for a few hours.” Dee caressed Virgil’s cheek and tried to ignore the pain that hung in their eyes. “You have me worried for a bit there. Thought you were going to make a liar out of me.”
Shaking his head, Virgil used his good arm to return the gesture. “Not today.”
“Do you two need some space or can we get out of here?” Remy raised his eyebrow at the pair and took a long drink from his flask while Dee helped Virgil to his feet. “That’s more like it. Final drinks before we’re on our way.”
Dee accepted the flask before helping Virgil finish it off. The trio set off again down the path, Virgil bracing one arm to his chest while the other used Dee for support as the brew slowly worked to replenish his energy.
The group had only been walking a few minutes when Virgil gasped in pain, eyes blazing indigo as his magic surged with a warning.
“Run.”
“Virgil? Virgil, what’s wrong?”
Dee and Remy both waited anxiously for Virgil to repeat his whispered warning and were met with a rumbling that surrounded them.
“RUN!”
Dust and rocks rained from the ceiling as the trio ran; cave walls crumbling around them. Each boy pushed their body to move faster, desperate to escape and reach  adulthood on the other side. Remy and Dee pulled ahead slightly, stronger than their injured counterpart and unfortunately giving Virgil a clear view of the large rock sheet that broke away from the ceiling.
*******************
Logan nervously fidgeted with the ring on his finger, eyes glued to the mists edge and praying his son would burst through any moment. He’d been waiting with the other family members since the younglings first entered the mist and not a single one had returned yet.
“The elements must be extremely testing this cycle.” Roman commented, moving to his partners side with two steaming cups.
“Oh, there will definitely be casualties. I guarantee it.”
Logan sucked in a shaky breath and Roman fixed his twin brother with a harsh look.
“Not helping, Remus.”
“It’s true though. I told Dee he wasn’t ready but he went and signed up anyway and dragged Virgil in with him. Will serve him right to fail.”
“Remus
shut up.”
Shrugging, Remus turned away from his twin and continued his act of indifference while his fingernails silently dug into his palms from clenched fists.
“Someone’s coming!”
Logan pushed out of the arm Roman had wrapped around his shoulder and took a few small steps forward; eyes straining to identify the figure that shifted through the mist. Roman watched on anxiously, hoping Virgil or Dee would be the first to break free of their trials.
*******************
Virgil had tried to help both his friends, truly he had as he dove forward and attempted to blast the falling rock away; unfortunately, nature could be an unstoppable and unforgiving force. The air was thick and his body burnt from the effort of moving each boulder clear with a combination of magic and adrenaline fuelled strength. Each moved piece brought him closer to his friends, but also threatened to rain more rock down.
“I’m almost there! Talk to me Dee!”
Two Dee’s used their backs to hold up a rock that threaten to crush an unconscious Remy; blood seeping from deep wounds to his head. He could feel the rocks shifting as Virgil called out his own movements, but refused falter in his efforts to save them both.
“Still
here!”
Panting, Virgil rested his hand on the large chunk still before him, closed his eyes and tried to get a read of his friends on the other side.
“I think this is the last barrier, but the top is weak! If I
if I move it
more is coming down!”
Looking around his potential tomb, Dee’s mind ticked over how they could possibly move the rock in front and all get out.
“What if
you pushed it!”
“Do you want me to crush you?” Virgil gasped, looking at the massive weight before him. “This isn’t a science, Dee!” When I blast this it could-“
“It won’t! I trust you!”
“What about Remy? How are you-“
“I’ve got him!” Dee practically growled; not wanting to stretch their argument out any further. “Aim left! We’ll get out
through the gap!”
A stream of dust running down the rock face reminded Virgil that he didn’t have time for any other options; Dee was right, using the rock in front to temporarily take the weight was the best way out.
“Fine! You ready?”
“As ever!”
Eyes blazing again, Virgil cried out as he lurched forward and commanded the rock to do the same; hoping it was just enough to help Dee out. The rain of rock and dirt started again as Virgil moved to the gap and pulled Remy clear when Dee pushed him out. Ghostly Dee figures appeared and disappeared as rocks fell, but Virgil’s sole focus was on running backwards as fast as he could; ignoring the objects that battered and cut into his body. A scream had Virgil tumbling backwards, head connecting with solid ground and knocking the air clear of his already struggling lungs.
Dee collapsed on the ground, clear of the rock fall but not free of its wrath. While using his clones to stay ahead, Dee hadn’t separated his soul fast enough and now wore the wounds of his crushed self. Blood ran into the ground from multiple cuts across his left side that made Virgil sick to his stomach  when he rushed over.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit.” Virgil’s hands shook as he pushed Dee’s hair back and avoided disturbing any open wounds. “Hold on, Dee. I’ll get you out.”
“No.” Voice strained but firm, Dee did his best to focus on Virgil’s face with his good eye. “Remy first.”
“Don’t be stupid, I’m not-“
“Remy. First
my. Fault.”
“I can’t just leave you like this!” Tears ran from Virgil’s eyes and tracked muddy streaks down his face. “You’ll die.”
“Go.”
Dee reached up with his good hand and cupped Virgil’s face liked he’d done many times before.
“Please don’t leave me, I can’t do this without you.” He leaned down so their foreheads touched; desperation in his voice.
“Not. Going.”
“Promise me.” Virgil’s voice was a whisper, chest heaving as he held back sobs that desperately wanted to escape his body. “Promise you won’t leave.”
“Promise.”
Gently letting his lips touch Dee’s for just a moment, Virgil said a silent prayer to his ancestors and hoped they’d keep him safe. Decisions made, Virgil heaved Remy over his shoulders and ran toward the caves exit using strength from pure determination.
********************
Patton pushed through the elders the moment Virgil and Remy came into view, calling the other healers into action.
“Let me through! That’s my son!”
Logan pushed desperately through onlookers that blocked his path; Emile fairing similarly from his vantage point. At the mists edge, Virgil lay Remy down and threw his pouch of trial trophies at the elder closest to him.
“My trial is done, but I’m returning for my friend.”
“Wait!” An elder called and grabbed Virgil’s hand to stop him in his tracks. “You can not return.”
Logan finally reached the front and caught a glimpse of Virgil’s blood soaked form; eyes void orbs as he pulled free of the elders grasp.
“Virgil!”
The fathers call fell on deaf ears as Virgil headed back through the mist to get Dee, numb all over as he continued his own personal trial.
Sinking to his knees, Logan could only watch as his son vanished into the mist again; the sound of Patton reassuring Emile behind him before their comforting hand reached his shoulder.
“He’ll be fine, Logan. Virgil already proved his worth and-”
“He isn’t fine.” Silent tears painted his face from behind wired glasses; a sight Patton had never seen before on his friend. “I know my boy. He is far from fine.”
Roman finally got clearance to the mists edge and made his way to Logan, Remus only a few steps behind. While Roman pulled his partner close and whispered reassurances, Remus pulled Patton aside and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Did he say anything about Dee?”
“I’m sorry, Remus.” Patton said, shaking his head and looking over to where Remy was being stretchered away. “He just said he was returning for a friend.”
Colour drained from his face and Remus looked from Remy’s blood soaked form and back to the mist, mind now unstoppable in providing a plethora of scenarios for how his adoptive son would return.
********************
Virgil didn’t utter a word when he reached Dee’s discarded body and pulled him up onto his shoulders. He didn’t feel the warmth of Dee’s blood mixing with his own on his back. He didn’t register his feet slapping against the ground as he propelled them forward. He didn’t see anything until the caves mouth opened wide enough for him to push through the mist and see the safety of the healers; passing Dee into their arms as soon as he could. He barely comprehended his father’s voice as his consciousness finally slipped away.
Logan wrapped his arms around his son the moment Dee was clear, sinking down as Virgil’s legs gave out and sobbing into his hair. Blood mixed with tears and Patton called for Roman’s help in prying Logan away so he could see to Virgil himself. With the others preoccupied, Remus was left alone to observe the scene; an onlooker of chaos and heartache, too stubborn to ask for help and too afraid to move to Dee’s side.
“A lot of weak families this cycle.”
“The suns almost risen and only three are out; that’s a disappointment.”
“If Logan’s boy brought them to the finish, does it still count as completing the trial?”
“I don’t think so. He should have left them. If they can’t do it on their own, they don’t deserve their mark.”
Remus frowned at the whispered questions of the onlookers behind him. His sadness was numbed by anger as he reached breaking point and turned to face them.
“Nowhere does it say they can’t help each other!” The group ceased their conversation and stared at Remus with wide eyes. “We don’t know what happened in there, only that these boys - no - these men, formed a bond strong enough to risk their lives for each other. Now shut those useless traps and show some respect before I remind you what the trials are like!”
“Remus.” Patton put a firm hand on the mans shoulder and encouraged him to move away. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you somewhere quieter, hey.”
Tears finally broke free of Remus’s stronghold and Patton put a secure arm around his shoulder; feigning calm despite reeling that his friends with the strongest wills had both been broken in a matter of minutes.
As the sun breached the horizon, the elders moved through the clearing mist to asses the sleeping children that had been left in its wake. Only one  was carried away to the healers while the others were left for their family to collect. The usual celebration of the emerged adults was forgotten, onlookers instead following the elders back to the village in prayer for those injured in the trial; a cloud of sorrow slowly forming as the severity of the situation finally sunk in.
************
It’s been said that the hardest part of parenthood is watching your child grow before your eyes, though others would argue the hardest part is letting them go. Not letting them go to travel and find their way, but letting them go from this world to move onto the next. Emile had already farewelled his youngest daughter and wife, and was truly thankful his only son hadn’t been taken from him as well. Logan, Roman and Remus on the other hand, were strangers to death and their cruel touch, making the days after the trial even harder to endure. Roman spent his time  moving from room to room, just as worried for his brother as he was for his own family in the days that followed. By the third day he was left numb and that made it harder to leave Virgil’s crowded room to check on his twin and injured nephew.
 Roman entered Dee’s room to find Remus in his regular spot, carefully smoothing a healing ointment over the scars that tore across his son’s left eye. Colour had returned to the young mans face and a calmness had returned to the room.
“How’s he doing?” Roman asked, taking his usual seat beside Remus and keeping his tone  and expression neutral.
“Better - um - much better.” He gave his brother a guilty look, heart aching talking about his own fortune while he knew the other was still suffering. “And Virgil? Has there been any change?”
“He-“ 
Roman didn’t get to finish as Dee took a shaky breath in, eyes slowly blinking open as consciousness returned. His nephews well-being was instantly forgotten as Remus called for help and set about assuring his confused son. When the healers entered, Roman took his leave in silence and swiped away silent tears while he walked away. He peaked into Remy’s room to see Emile tucking his son back in bed after they were allowed a brief visit to Virgil’s room, a positive sign that he could finally be alone with Logan again. The silence from the room was a blessing and a curse compared to earlier. Leaning in the doorway, Roman watched Logan gently stroke their son’s hair and willed his eyes to dry so he could remain the strong supporter he wanted to be.
“Do you remember the day I gave birth to him, Roman?”
The question shocked him slightly, but Roman acknowledged it and moved into the room.
“I do
it was the best day of my life.”
“Mine too
 I thought I understood pain until I gave birth. Do you remember what I said?”
“If I remember correctly,” Roman shifted closer to his partner and put his arm around his waist, “you said it was the worst pain imaginable.”
“Indeed
but I think I was wrong.” His hand continued to stroke Virgil’s hair rhythmically, even though his voice was breaking. “This
this is the worst pain possible.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to feel anymore, Roman.”
Logan broke down, hand leaving his son to grip the man that pulled him close; tears streaming just as heavily from Roman’s eyes as reality dawned on him.
“Me too, Lo
me too.”____________________________________________end note: my goal for 2020 is to not make massive worlds for little oneshots because they just get away from me 😝 Thanks for reading anyway. Posting while on holiday so not edited (sorry)
Prompt from this list.
More writing from the Caretaker Prompt ListWriting master post
General tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed) 
@thequeensphinx @ollyollyoxinfree @celeste-tyrrell @pumpkinminette @ahyeahisurehopeit-does
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notalwaysthevillian · 5 years ago
Text
Parent Trapped
Warnings: fear of drowning, anxiety, food mention
Pairings: Eventual Romantic Remile, platonic LAMP
Word Count: ~1.4k
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Masterlist
Chapter 9: Summer
The rest of the school year went by in a blur.
Instead of one of the leading roles in Into the Woods, Roman landed the part of Cinderella’s Prince. He didn’t seem to mind, flawlessly delivering his lines and belting out Agony.
Virgil took the opportunity to tease, dubbing him Princey. Roman didn’t mind in the slightest and the nickname stuck.
Beating school records at his first meet, Virgil became the MVP of the track team. He was slightly suspicious that no one seemed to bug him about it. He had a feeling Ted Task was behind that, but he couldn’t prove it. (And Patton refused to tell him, but he’d caught Ted explaining Virgil’s more timid nature to the rest of the team.)
The Picani household constantly had delicious aromas floating out of it, thanks to Patton. He’d been working really hard in cooking club. The first few weeks, there had been some charred bricks thrown in the trash. But with his hard work and determination, he’d risen to the middle of the pack, which he was more than happy with.
Logan absolutely adored astronomy club. They always opened with any news from NASA and it was eye-opening to him to know that there was probably something out there.
When the end of the year rolled around, Logan was voted into the club’s secretary spot. He was ecstatic about this new development and vowed to do his absolute best.
The school year wrapped up mid June, releasing the children on a sunny afternoon. Everyone headed over to the Picani’s to take advantage of their pool.
“Thank goodness we befriended you guys.” Roman said as he sipped on his lemonade. Emile had allowed them to take drinks outside, as long as they were in plastic cups. “Otherwise we’d be lying in front of the air conditioner at home.”
“So you’re just using us? How dare you, Princey!” Virgil teased, nudging Roman’s floatie with his foot.
Unfortunately, Roman hadn’t been expecting the sudden shift. He flailed for a moment before flipping into the water.
The resulting splash soaked Patton and Logan, who were sitting on the edge of the pool.
“Hey!”
Taking his chance while Virgil was distracted, due to laughing so hard, Roman tugged on his ankles, dragging him into the pool. Virgil’s eyes flew wide as he went under the water. He came up coughing, sputtering, and shaking.
“Please don’t do that again.” There was a quiver to Virgil’s voice as he looked Roman in the eyes.
Immediately feeling terrible, Roman nodded. “I’m sorry, I won’t.”
Virgil climbed out of the pool. Patton followed him over to the towels, their voices too low for the Sanders brothers to make out their conversation.
Without taking his eyes off the twins, Logan said, “You just scared him, I think.”
Roman sank further, his chin dipping into the water. “I feel awful.”
“He’ll be okay.”
Patton came back over. Roman’s bad feelings got worse as he watched Virgil go in the house.
“We’re going to head in and dry off.” He shifted his weight, trying to think of what to say. “You can come in and play some games if you want, but V is done with the pool.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
Patton nodded. “Yeah, he’s just a little shaken. More bad memories.”
“I will slay the people who did this to him.” There was a dark edge in Roman’s voice.
Rolling his eyes, Logan headed into the house without another word. Patton and Roman were quick to follow, Roman being last due to being the least dry.
“Dad, when did you get here?” He asked as he walked into the Picani’s kitchen after getting dressed.
“I never left.” Remy said as he sipped on his glass of lemonade. “So, Emile, you were going on about the benefits of therapy?”
As they continued their boring conversation, Roman grabbed the pitcher and a stack of plastic cups, heading into the living room. Virgil was wrapped in a fluffy blanket, leaning into Patton’s side. Logan was flipping through Netflix, trying to find something for them to watch.
“Parks and Rec is always a good one.” Putting down the lemonade, Roman glanced at Virgil for approval.
“That’s fine.” He mumbled into Patton’s sweater, barely being heard.
Despite his worries that he’d ruined their friendship, by the end of the third episode Virgil was leaning heavily against his side. When Roman glanced over, he saw Virgil’s eyelids drooping. He exchanged an amused glance with Patton, shifting to get Virgil into a more comfortable position.
Virgil was out like a light in minutes, snoring softly into Roman’s shirt.
Something that Roman teased him about the a few weekends later, when the Picanis came over for a Fourth of July barbecue.
“I was exhausted and you make a nice pillow.”
The two of them continued their good natured bickering, making Logan and Patton shake their heads before moving out to the patio.
Remy glanced over when he heard the screen door. “Hey, Patton, you’re in cooking class right? Come here, I’ll show you how to use the grill.”
“Okay!”
Logan sat down with Emile at one of their deck tables, content to sit in the sun and sip on his lemonade.
“Where did your dad learn how to grill?”
Logan set his plastic cup on the white wood. “His mom taught him how. She’s an excellent cook. Last year she won a chili cookoff.”
Emile surprised himself by thinking how Patton could learn a lot from her. He shook the thought from his mind, glancing over toward Patton. He’d had thrown his head back, laughing at something Remy had said.
Remy caught Emile’s eye and threw him a wink. Emile felt his heart skip a beat in his chest and looked off toward the street, hoping to hide his blushing cheeks.
An action that was not unnoticed by a very observant child sitting across from him. Instead of saying something, he logged that information for later.
“Em, your kid is a natural!” Remy called out. “Probably even better than I am!”
“Nonsense! You’re the grill king!” Roman said as he and Virgil finally joined the others on the deck.
Virgil snorted, sitting next to his dad. “Looks like someone else is taking the title of prince.”
“How dare you! You insolent -”
Unable to keep up the facade, Roman devolved into a fit of giggles. He was quickly joined by Patton, which set off everyone else.
In no time, all of them had plates in front of them, digging into the delicious burgers Remy and Patton had made.
“Oh my goodness, Pat, you are amazing at grilling.”
Virgil wiped some watermelon juice off his chin. “We should do this more often.”
Emile looked up, meeting Remy’s eyes. “I wouldn’t complain about having a get together every other weekend.”
He really hoped he wasn’t imagining the faint blush on Remy’s cheeks.
“Anytime.”
Once everyone was done eating, the kids headed in to the living room. As soon as they were settled in the house, Roman sat everyone on the couch and stood in front of them.
“We have to set up our parents.”
Patton nodded, eyes lighting up. “I know they fought a lot when we all first met, but they’ve been getting along so well!”
Virgil picked at his sleeves. “Dad seems a lot happier now, but I don’t know that he likes your dad? No offense.”
“Actually, evidence would suggest that Emile is, in fact, romantically attracted to our dad. I caught him blushing earlier after a compliment that Dad gave Patton. Not only that, but he had been eyeing Dad for a while before that, thinking I didn’t notice.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “I have no evidence for the other side, however.”
“I do. Remy asked an awful lot of questions about Dad when he was teaching me to grill.” There was a glint in Patton’s eye. “No one asks about someone’s love life if they’re not interested.”
“Yeah, Dad eye fffflirted with him the first time they met.” Ignoring the stern look on Patton’s face, Roman continued. “I was at the store with him, but I’d gone outside to buy some girl scout cookies. He’s been into Emile since day one.”
Hearing all the evidence, Virgil nodded. If nothing else, the two of them had some chemistry. “What’s your plan for getting them together?”
A grin split Roman’s face and he leaned forward, his next words barely above a whisper.
“Have you ever seen The Parent Trap?”
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stoopsbookstore · 5 years ago
Text
Kinktober Day 5 (10/05/2019)
Tumblr media
Kink - Mechanophilia (Sexual arousal caused by machines), Bonus light impregnation kink
"I don't think we should take the contact."
The 10 guys of NCT Chop shop were in a sticky situation. An offical letter from SJ industries offered the boys 1,000 dollars each if they allowed the company to take over their workshop, the one place that they've felt free enough to be themselves and work on their projects.
"Where would we go?" Taeil asked the group, all with unsure grimaces on their faces.
"With 10,000 grand, we should be able to find a cheap enough place that we can work from, possibly in a better neighborhood and that could mean more rich clientele," Jungwoo spoke up, looking the letter over.
"We should at least try to talk them up to two grand a piece," Doyoung took the letter from the younger boy, reading one sentence out loud, "right here, it says 'We will stop by tomorrow,' meaning today, 'to talk about any problems and possible solutions.' We could talk to them then."
"But we still need to come to a consensus, take the money or not?" Taeyong, their democratically appointed leader, looked at the 9 other members, "all for one and one for all, remember?"
A knock at the large door shocked the boys, Yuta going over to open it, 3 tall men and a girl around their age on the other side.
"Hello," a man in a gray suit with the nametag 'Leeteuk' looked the group up and down, "you must be the gentlemen who work here. Is there a manager?"
"I guess that would be me?" Taeyong walked towards him, sticking his hand out, "I'm Taeyong, pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Likewise," Leeteuk shook Taeyong's hand, wiping his hand on his pants as Taeyong gestured the others to come inside, "this is Shindong and Heechul, and my secretary, Y/N."
The group bowed, Y/N keeping her eye on the tall boy whose coveralls were embroidered with "Johnny" in red thread on the left side of his chest.
"Now," Leeteuk threw his suitcase at Y/N, the girl catching and holding it to her side, "I assume you boys are willing to take the offer? I mean, judging on how this place works, you could use the money."
"Wel-"
Taeil was cut off by Leeteuk, "Don't tell me you're thinking about not taking the offern? 10,000 for you must be a lot."
"It is," Taeyong hid the disgust on his face for the cocky male, "but this is also our home, we've been here for years, some of us have even stayed here when we had nowhere else to go. One grand a piece isn't enough to make us part with this place."
"How about we talk about this?" Leeteuk threw his hands in a smug manner, "Shindong, Heechul, go with the others while I talk to Mr. Taeyong."
"What do yo-"
"Oh, that's right, Y/N is here too," Leeteuk looked at the group, "Lanky boy, what's your name?"
"I can tell you it's not Lanky Boy," Johnny looked up, displaying his name on his clothes, "I assume you can read, seeing as you are a huge CEO?"
Y/N and Johnny's nine friends started laughing, Leeteuk whipping his head around to give an annoyed stare at his secretary, the girl immediately halting all actions and staring at the floor. Leeteuk threw his hand over the shoulder of Taeyong as the tourgroups began to break off, Johnny and Y/N shaking each other's hands.
"Taeyong my boy, let's go talk," Leeteuk practically dragged Taeyong away from his friends, the leader looking at the other mechanics with a concerned look on his face.
"Is he always like that?" Johnny asked Y/N, the boy picking up a rag and wiping some grease off his face.
"Do you always keep those googles on?" Johnny touched his face at Y/N's comment, playfully rolling his eyes.
"They're stylish, but back to that Lettuce dude."
"It's Leeteuk and You'd be surprised how kind he can actually be when he's not talking about business," Y/N scoffed, looking around the huge area, machines, wood and metal decorating the space.
"Ah," a simple word out of Johnny's mouth as he notices Y/N's interest, "would you like to take a look around? None of the tools are plugged in, so no Final Destination deaths here."
Y/N awkwardly chuckled at the sight of the handsome boy, "umm, yeah, sure."
"We call this Ellie," Johnny pointed to a big machine, picking up a giant tube, "she helps us clean up faster, sucking up all the dust and dirt."
Y/N smiled and nodded along, watching Johnny excitedly go from machine to machine.
"Here we have a wood splitter, nothing fancy, just sort of does what its name says it does," Johnny gestured to a small room inside the workspace, "we call this the tool prison, drills, hammers, nails, screws, you name it, it's in there."
Johnny pulled out a chainsaw, pretending to rev it up as Y/N jumped back, still quiet so she won't interrupt Johnny's excitement.
"I call this Betsy, she's been my tool since day 1," Johnny showed Y/N the carved out name in the side of his chainsaw, "she's a bit old, but still works."
"How did you get into mechanics and tools?" Y/N walked over to a table, a nailgun, a drill and some screws scattered on the top.
"They're sexy," a laugh from Y/N causing Johnny to make fingers gun, "but seriously, Taeyong and Taeil needed someone else to help them with their projects and I was in the same woodshop class with them a few years ago."
Y/N walked around, exploring the shop, "do you want to continue giving me the tour?"
"Sure, why not? This is a table saw, one of my friends actually almost got injured real bad by this one," Johnny started fucking with the machine, spinning the sawblade as Y/N visibly freaked out while Johnny played with the sharp tool, "she was using this tool for a show that her class was putting on, one of the triangles she was cutting had a nail or staple in it and it shut out, narrowly missing her."
"Ohmygod, is she okay?" Y/N cringed at the story, Johnny putting the safety cover back on the machine, smirking at Y/N.
"Yeah, she's fine," Johnny put his arm up, hand hidden in his sleeve, spooking Y/N, "she just has to live with one hand!"
Y/N gently smiled, continuing to look around as Johnny watches her walk around, noticing her skirt keeps raising up, the girl having to pull it down every few steps.
"Why do you work for that Leek Dance dude?" Johnny sat next to the table saw, keeping his eyes on Y/N, "like he's such a douche."
"He's my stepbrother's friend," Y/N walked over to Johnny, "the one with the pinkish hair? Heechul? He's my stepbrother and one of Leeteuk's best friends. Leeteuk offered him a job and said he would only take it if I could have an internship."
Johnny nods, swinging his legs, "an internship? That's it? Do you get paid?"
"Yeah," Y/N shrugs, standing a few feet in front of Johnny, "but it goes to Heechul for the most part. Leeteuk says 'it's for the best until Y/N can learn to control her money,' even though, you know, I'm able to do so."
As Johnny started to speak, Y/N cut him off.
"You asked me a question, I get one."
"Ok, alright. What do you want to know?"
"What's your favorite machine?"
"Does Betsy count," Johnny jumped down from the table, his googles now around his neck, Y/N shaking her head, "alright. I guess it'll have to be the table saw, come here and I'll show you a better view."
Y/N walked over to the table saw, Johnny caging her in as he showed her the unplugged cable.
"Just so no one gets their face mauled, you make sure this is never in the wall unless there is a piece of wood under it," Johnny lays the cord next to the saw, gently grabbing Y/N's hand and placing it on one of the handles and placing the other on a button, "this right here is to move it left and right. Go ahead, push the button and try it."
Y/N pressed the orange button, maneuvering the power tool, Johnny placing his hand on top of hers as he lifted up the safety cover.
"Remember, it's unplugged, so it's not going to hurt you," Johnny repositioned himself in a more comfortable position, his chest flushed to Y/N's back, the secretary feeling her body heating up at the mechanic's proximity.
Johnny watched Y/N's hands roam over the machinery, her nails tracing each curve, Johnny feeling his pants tighten as he imagines her hands on his body, tugging at his hair and pulling on hi-
"Umm," Y/N turned around, looking down at Johnny's bulge that became prominent, Johnny stammering, "I guess you were right about machines being sexy."
Johnny barely opened his mouth, Y/N using his own words against him, the pair moving impossibly close to each other as they begun to heavily make out. Y/N took off her coat, throwing it to the side, and Johnny throwing the googles around his neck along with it.
Johnny helped the girl on the metal table, the table saw right next to her, pulling her shirt above her breasts as he immediately begun to suck on one of her nipples. Y/N's hands found their way to Johnny's hair, running them through his greasy, but soft locks.
Pulling away, Johnny unzipped his coverall, pulling his cock out his boxers, bringing Y/N in for a kiss, teasing her by rubbing his cock up and down along her covered core.
"Would you like prot-"
"I'm on birth control, just fuck me," Y/N shimmied her skirt further up, the fabric looking more like a belt, allowing her to spread her legs more, a wet spot growing in the middle of her underwear.
Johnny leaned down to kiss up Y/N's body before pulling her panties to the side, guiding his cock, pushing into Y/N. His hands immediately went up Y/N's body to play with her nipples, Johnny nuzzling into Y/N's neck.
"I'm gonna fill you up with my cum," Johnny nipped Y/N's neck, thrusting into her as she held a hand over her mouth, not wanting to be caught, "barely know you, but I'm gonna make you mine."
Y/N moved her arm to lean herself up, accidentally knocking a belt sander to the floor.
"Thing was a piece of shit anyway," Johnny helped her, holding her close to his chest, Y/N scratching down his back, "next time I see you, maybe I can eat you out in the tool closet, fuck you up the ass on the wood splitter, would you like that?"
"Yes, Johnny," Y/N moaned out the mechanic's name, her forehead slick against his chest, his pounding into her not stopping, "fuck me all over the place."
"Have you sit on the table while that shitty belt sander vibrates the whole table," Johnny nipped on Y/N's ear, bucking his hips at an angle that made Y/N's high start to creep up, "maybe do it in front of your boss, piss him off."
Y/N whimpered in Johnny's arms, the feeling in her gut twisting as he continued to whisper the dirtiest things she's heard.
Y/N hadn't noticed she came until Johnny pulled her even closer.
"Good girl," Johnny looked at her, his forehead sweaty and his eyes half opened, "now you're gonna be even better and take my cum."
Johnny thrusted a few more times, Y/N sensitive in his arms, his cum seeping out of his sudden lover. He stayed in her, grabbing a cloth from his back pocket and wiping her forehead. A moment passed before Y/N broke the tension, Johnny's hand caressing her back.
"Normally, you're supposed to turn machines on, not the other way around." Johnny laughed, pulling out of Y/N and pulling down her panties, putting them in his pocket as he fixed her skirt.
"You want these back? Make a date with me," Johnny smiled as Y/N nodded, hopping off the table just as the group came back.
"So, we have a deal, Mr. Leeteuk?" Taeyong smiled triumphantly while Leeteuk shook his hand, "2 grand a piece, we keep this area and teach a class every week?"
"Yes," Leeteuk grimaced, staring at Y/N in Johnny's arms, her legs wobbling a bit, "what's wrong with you?"
"She tripped," Johnny held onto Y/N's waist, "she accidentally tripped over the belt sander that Haechan left out."
Haechan looked down at his feet, Leeteuk looking for any sign of something in her eyes. When he couldn't find any, he straightened his suit jacket.
"Ok, it was a pleasure to meet you gentlemen, this is going to be a fine partnership."
Handshakes were had all around, Johnny walking up to Y/N, taking his phone out and handing it to her. Y/N typed in her phone number, texting her number so she could have Johnny's. Leeteuk called after Y/N, the girl walking as poised as she could. After the gate closed, Johnny's phone vibrated, the text bringing a big smile on his face.
That wood splitter idea sounds fun ;)
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rainsonata · 4 years ago
Text
DoppelgÀnger 11/15
Chapter 11: Echoes 
Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; none Rating: T Word Count: 7,958
Summary: It was like looking into a mirror. What happens when one’s reflection talks back and throws uncomfortable questions? El Search Party struggles to find entrance into the Demon Realm, but Dominator has a plan.   
Alternative Title: Dominator fucked up and now everyone meets their alternative selves   
AO3 Link / FF.NET Link
— [Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06] [Chapter 07] [Chapter 08] [Chapter 09] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] —  
----------------------------
Class Notes: 
Canon Path: Knight Emperor, Aether Sage, Daybreaker, Rage Hearts, Code: Esencia, Comet Crusader, Apsara, Empire Sword, Doom Bringer, Ishtar and Chevalier (Innocent), Bluhen   
Alternative Path: Rune Slayer, Oz Sorcerer, Anemos, Furious Blade, Code: Ultimate, Fatal Phantom, Devi, Flame Lord, Dominator, Timoria and Abysser (Catastrophe), Richter
----------------------------
Oz Sorcerer
Dusk bordered at the horizon when Oz returned to camp. Dozens of tents rose in a mass of colors and arranged into smaller circles with a smaller campfire for each group. Oz saw tents of the close-ranged fighters placed closer to the edge of their resting site, the ones ready for combat to the sound of intruders. Those that relied more on magic or needed more time to prepare like Rune and Dominator placed their tents more inward from the edge of the area they resided in.
“Hey, ‘cuse me,” a male voice grunted. “Sorry, come through.” 
The smell of blood and dirt filled the air. Knight was hauling a wild boar that was easily twice his size. Blood was dripping down the carcass and onto Knight’s armor. His great sword was tucked into a scabbard strapped to his back, grating against the gravel as he dragged the ridiculous sized animal over his shoulder. A quiet gasp escaped from a lower tree branch whipping into his vicinity and swapped the young man. 
“Need help?” Oz leaned forward, “I can barely see your face from here.” 
“Yes,” Knight groaned under the weight of the boar. How could someone so short carry a monster of that size? She was impressed. 
With the help of Angkor (“I’m not here to do grunt work!” He huffed.), she helped him carry the dead animal across camp. It took all of Oz’s effort now to lower the boar over a pile of dried leaves. They placed the boar next to a campfire. She watched its beady eyes staring back at her, dead and fish-eyed in death. 
She didn’t know the Demon Realm had animals.
Then again, Angkor didn’t really tell her much about the realm that demons called home. Oz looked up to see the moons nestled among the clouds. Angkor and Timoria spoke of their old allies and enemies, but their narrative of the Demon Realm varied. She guessed that it was as big and diverse as Elrios was. It took her weeks to journey from Sander all the way to Ruben in search of the Ring of Mimir, so maybe it would take weeks to reach the other end of the Demon Realm?
“What are you doing?” Oz observed Knight taking out a dagger from his belt. Angkor scurried off in bat form when Knight started skinning the animal with precision.  
“Prepping for dinner,” Knight said. He let out a nervous chuckle. “Do you want to help?”
“Sure,” Oz placed her staff on her belt to make her hands free. “What do we do first?”
“Uh, right.” Knight looked happy? He moved aside to patted the ground to gesture at her into joining him, nodding his head, “I want you to grab a bucket or any containers you have. We’ll be draining its blood to make pig blood curd for soups and congee in the morning. Once we finish, we’ll be carving the meat and use half of it to make dried jerky for battle rations. I already cleaned it out before I started skinning it.”
“These? Do you make everyone you talk to do this?” Oz asked. Placing the bowls aside, she sat on the floor next to Knight. “What happened to your friends?”
“Most of them are still resting after the fights,” Knight chuckled. “And you looked like you weren’t busy. What’s so funny?” 
He stopped to give her a strange look. What? Was Knight already detecting her sad attempt to keep a poker face during his long lecture? He glanced over Oz before making note of Angkor, who was back to his bat form. Angkor settled on her lap as a bat and giggled when Oz tried to move it. Did Angkor gain weight? Oz placed her hand over her chest and pretended to blush. 
“See something you like?” She teased. 
“I’m surprised you’re helping me after some of my friends tried to hurt you,” Knight was not fazed. 
“This wouldn’t be the first time our enemies became our allies,” Oz mused. “Rune asked me to do the same when we first met.” 
“Oh
 sorry about that.” He was embarrassed. 
“What are you apologizing for? It’s always good to have a refresher!” Oz exclaimed, “Your hands were full and you looked like you needed help.”  
Knight looked relieved and nodded to himself. It was subtle, but a distinct smile. The kind Rune had when he learned a new technique to manipulate his runes. He was taller than Rune, towering over her with sleeves rolled back while working. His hair was a short neat cut, matching his eyes and the rest of his armor.   
After they extracted blood from the boar, they let it sit in one of the metal bowls to solidify. They would then slide the curd into smaller pieces to be salted and heated in a pot. Knight handed her a dagger and they began dividing the meat into sections. Oz let the man take the lead and insert the sharp edge towards the spine, cleaning the meat off the bone in one swipe. Knight expertly placed the meat into a separate container for later use and hummed as he worked. For a moment, she caught serenity in his silence, taking pride in his hard work.  
“Is it always you who does this?” Oz asked. 
“Sometimes it’s Elesis or Raven,” Knight said. “The others have offered to help, but I’m doing it today. Are you okay with that?”
“You’re asking me now?” Oz let out a mellow laugh, “It’s gross, but you look so sad doing it by yourself.”
“I look sad?” Knight chuckled, “I’m used to doing it by myself. I had to do it when ‘sis was out of the picture.” 
Stupid, Aisha! She scolded herself. Now she made him remember a lonely part of his life. Oz took deep breaths and counted backwards from ten. He didn’t even look upset about it and laughed. 
“But thank you for offering to help,” Knight said. “Food will be ready sooner and we can focus on everyone recovering.” 
“When was the last time you visited Ruben?” Oz asked.  
“It’s been years,” he admitted. “Haven’t had much time to return with everything that’s been happening.” 
“Do you miss home?” 
“Sometimes,” Knight said. “But when I’m with my friends, it’s like I have a second home. You know what I mean? Don’t laugh, but I hope I can one day show them Ruben when things are peaceful again.” 
“No, that sounds like a wonderful dream,” Oz softened her expression and thought about the people she grew up with. She wondered if her teammates felt the same. 
Oz started setting the seasoned meats onto a dry metal tablet to be smoked when she heard Angkor squeak. She looked up to Aether stomping over to her. Dressed in a white skirt accented by purple, Aether wielded a staff and looked short out of breath. Did all of Knight’s friends wear white?  
“Aisha?” Knight didn’t notice the dark aura radiating from the sulking mage. 
“Elsword,” Aether stopped to catch her breath. The twin cowlicks sprouting from her roots drooped as she rested her hands over her knees before bringing her head up. Her face was flustered, “What do you think you’re doing?” 
“Helping Ciel prep for dinner. Oz is helping me.” Knight said and looked at her with pleading eyes. Did he just give Aether puppy eyes? He and Rune were cut from the same cloth. “Did Bluhen heal your arm?”     
“No one else can heal besides him, my arm is fine.” Aether huffed. “Did you just kill that boar by yourself? You should be resting. You’ve gone missing for two days!” 
“I’m not hurt!” Knight stood up for Aether to see. “Not a single cut! Ain healed most of my injuries!”  
“You can’t rely on him all the time for heals,” Aether glared. “I just talked to him and he said you should be resting. I bet you didn’t tell Ciel that, did you?” 
“I
 no.” He said in a small voice. 
If looks could kill, Knight would have died twice fold from the intense looks the mage was sending to him. Oz held back her laughter as Aether scrutinized the red-haired man. Aether threw a side-eyed look to Oz as if debating if it was the dark mage’s fault for letting Knight do things by himself. 
“I helped him before no one else was,” Oz said before Aether could open her mouth. “We were almost done before you came here.”   
Glancing at the smoked meats and the pork blood curd finished steaming in the heated pot, Aether didn’t argue. She turned pink, embarrassed and offered an apology to both of them. Oz overheard Angkor chattering to her and hushed him to be quiet. 
“Do I look that awful?” Knight asked. 
“You look like a zombie,” Aether said. 
“Really? I was thinking more like a sad phoru.” Oz pointed to the bags under Knight’s eyes. Knight tilted his head to the side in confusion. 
“Go wash your hands and rest until dinner is ready,” Aether groaned before gesturing to Oz. “I’ll help her finish up the rest of what you already started.” 
“All right,” Knight walked past Aether. “Sorry for making you worry.” 
Oz wished he would stop taking blame for things in a feeble attempt to soothe anger from either side. It was grating on her nerves and didn’t suit him at all. It made her miss the slight flare of arrogance Rune had when thinking he found the perfect ratio of hot pepper flakes to apply to pork jerky, or when he set the entire demon army on fire. 
“Hey, worrying is our job.” Aether stopped him, “That’s what we’re here for.” 
Knight laughed.
There was silence between the two women when he left. Aether finished slicing the meat into thin pieces. Her slices were sloppier than Knight’s but cut close to the bone of the boar and marinated the meat in a metal bowl. Oz rotated the smoked meat for the other side to be cooked and checked on the pork blood curd. Their campsite smelled of smoked and seasoned meats.     
“So you do have a demon,” Aether looked at Angkor with the same fascination as one would with deadly forest fungi.
“Have?” Oz rolled her eyes, “He’s not a pet. More like a contract.” 
It was hard to believe Angkor was a demon god for the number of times he wouldn’t stop chattering demon gossip to her or demanding for more cookies. Oz wondered if looking like a child brought in the childish tendencies in the demon bat. His powers on the other hand were worth discussing and helped her in battles countless times. 
“How did that happen?” Aether asked. 
“Well, I was practicing dark magic when Angkor approached me.” Oz said, “He saw talent in me and offered a deal to me.” 
“And the clothes?” 
“That’s what you’re worried about the most?” Oz said, “I don’t mind. Maybe more ruffles than I wanted, but the gain in power was what mattered.” 
“You didn’t find the Ring of Mimir either?” 
“No,” Oz shook her head. The blood curd was done. She drained water from the pot and transferred them over to a container for storage. “Are you still looking for it?” 
“Yes,” Aether closed her eyes. “We were so close to catching the culprit. He ran off before I had the chance to get it back.”
“Do you think it will return your powers?” 
“I don’t know, maybe? I relearned the fundamentals of elemental magic, but there’s still more to be learned.” Aether said, “Hennon doesn’t have rights over that ring grandfather worked hard to uncover.” 
Oz tried to remember a time when she believed in having the ring restore her powers. After no leads to it, she turned to dark magic because she didn’t want to relearn something she had already lost. The Hennon of her world also had the Ring of Mimir, but that was the least of their concerns when there was an urgent matter of restoring the El. 
“So what’s with you and Elsword?” Aether asked. “I saw you two talking.”      
“Still obsessing over that boy?” Oz teased. 
“What?” Aether paused, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 
“You keep looking at him.” Oz teased. “It’s like I’m not even here.” 
Aether sat still, frozen in time, and forgot that she had a knife in her hand. The knife remained suspended in a fist hold grip, losing its use in her hands. Her eyes widened, shocked by the statement and Oz’s impatience. Talking to Aether was coming into contact with a reflection of herself when she was eighteen years old, infatuated and hopeful in catching the attention of a red-haired boy. 
“It looked like you two were having fun,” Aether turned pink. “You two share nothing in common, but you made it look easy to talk to him about anything.” 
“I just let him talk about things he’s interested in,” Oz shrugged. “Didn’t you travel with him for five years?”  
“Yes, but I’m not sure if I know him as well as I thought I did.” She confessed, “When he went missing, I mistook Rune for him. It was so obvious. I feel like an idiot.”
“They’re pretty similar,” Oz said. “Both of them act like idiots, won’t stop talking about meat, insist they’re used to doing things alone...”
“That’s the thing!” Aether threw her arms in the air, “He always does all these things by himself, acting like everything is his fault. It’s so frustrating! How many times do we need to tell him we don’t mind?” 
“I think that’s why Knight hides things,” Oz leaned back. “He probably didn’t want to make you all worry, even if it’s a stupid idea and you all care about him either way.”  
Oz collected the remnants of the skinned and deboned animal. The bones were saved to be used as a base for soups and broths. She was impressed by Knight’s work ethic that expanded even outside of his training. Left to live by himself at a young age, Knight must have learned to never let food be wasted. He and Rune were masters in hunting and finishing chores, but worked twice as hard in training.     
“I wonder if I scared him away, yelling at him like that.” Aether thought aloud. “I can’t stand seeing him get hurt again.” 
“You still like him,” Oz commented. 
“Don’t you?” Aether asked.     
“Maybe not in the same sense as you do,” Oz said. “We tried to connect a few times but decided it wasn’t working for us. He’s now with Chung.” 
“What?” 
Aether dropped the metal container with the blood curd. Luckily, it was sealed shut. Oz retrieved the container from the mage with a kind expression. 
“Elsword and Chung are dating,” Oz said. “Or Rune and Phantom if you’re keeping track of nicknames.” 
“No wonder they kept looking at each other,” she overheard Aether mutter to herself. “Does that mean our Elsword and Chung are
” 
“I don’t know,” Oz said. “Not everything is set in stone. Your timeline is already different than ours, so I wouldn’t give up yet. Knight might like Crusader, you, a random village girl, or even Add.” 
“Ha!” Aether snorted. “Unlikely.” 
Oz grinned. She liked her. 
“Let’s deliver these to Ciel and Abysser.” Aether started collecting the containers, one under each arm. “They said they were going to cook something tonight.” 
Would this be enough to feed all of them? After washing her hands, Oz joined in helping her, taking the containers that were left to bring over to their teammates. She couldn’t imagine how Knight could have completed this task on his own. The next time she saw Rune attempting to do the same, she’ll have to make sure she or someone else would help him. 
“It’s always a pleasure talking to myself,” Oz tipped her hat and feigned a formal bow. 
“You’re ridiculous,” Aether rolled her eyes but softened his expression. “I think it’ll be easier to talk to Elsword now that I understand him a little better.” 
“I think you already do,” Oz said. “You’re already thinking like him and helping people.” 
“Is that a compliment I hear?” Aether’s grin mirrored hers, “Don’t expect less from the great Aisha!” 
“Do you talk like that to everyone?” 
“...shut up.”
Oz snickered.  
----------------------------
Apsara
“And then Elesis set the pole on fire,” Anemos said. 
“A pole?” Apsara repeated. 
“She got her tongue stuck on one and tried to free himself by setting it on fire,” the elf explained. “The city wasn’t happy and we had to pay for the damage. Luckily, we had enough from the major mission in Hamel.” 
W-wait, that didn’t sound good! Apsara panicked as Anemos let out a noble woman’s laugh. It was good that they had enough money to pay for the damage cost, but was it okay to cause a fire in the middle of a city? 
“B-but, Flame was okay, right?” Apsara stuttered. 
“Oh, she was perfectly fine,” Anemos added. “Can’t say the same about the rest of the city. That was rough.” 
“There’s more?” Apsara squeaked. 
“Trouble always seems to follow your team, it seems.” Daybreaker chuckled. “It sounds like your friends ran into a lot of strange adventures and close calls.” 
Apsara nodded in agreement. She gripped her cup, running her thumbs over the edge and watching the tea steam rise and fall. It was her own personal tea set from what was left over of her ruined home in Fluone's Northern Empire. Bamboo and cranes were painted in dark green onto the cups. The tea kettle was decorated in a similar theme with a giant crane spreading its wings in bamboo bedding. It was a gift from her late mother before she passed away.  
Anemos was just as she imagined the other Rena to be. Kind, funny, always ready to share stories of her travels and offering great advice, although Anemos had a more playful side. A smirk grew at the edge of Anemos’ lips, sipping from her cup of tea. 
“I can say the same to your team,” Anemos said. “Unconventionally breaking into the Demon Realm and angering Dark Elves sounds like a rough trip.” 
“We were lucky that Rena was here to talk it out and help us work together,” Apsara beamed. “Without her, we might still be enemies!”
“It’s a good thing we understood each other,” Daybreaker said. “I didn’t think we would meet Dark Elves so soon.” 
“What are they like?” Anemos asked.     
Both of them are correct, Eun yawned. Luck has saved you and your friends many times. How much longer will it carry you until it runs out?  
Apsara shivered at the meaning behind Eun’s words. The nine-tailed fox was not one for talk and preferred being a spectator from the safety of her mind, but occasionally left a piece of wisdom for her to think on.   
Eun was right. They were lucky that she accidentally fell into the labyrinth of ruin that connected Elrios to the Demon Realm. According to Daybreaker, the language the Dark Elves spoke was closer to the Ancient Elven tongue, a skill not many elves possessed. After struggling to rescue Knight from the El, things were beginning to line up for them.  However, as lucky as they were, there were just as many misfortunes that fell on them and stalled time for the enemy to get away. It was something Apsara couldn’t forgive. They had to do more than fall on lady luck to seek justice for the lives of those impacted by the enemy.   
“Apsara?” Anemos broke through the martial artist’s train of thought. She had a gentle expression, “Was the medicine too strong? You look out of it.” 
“I’m fine,” Apsara rubbed her forehead. It still hurt where she fell on her face.  She was going to let it heal naturally.  It was barely a scratch worth using healing magic. “Hey, Anemos? How do you plan to return back to Elrianode?” 
“Tired of us already?” Anemos teased, placing her finger over her lips. “With the teleportation device broken, we won’t be going home until it gets repaired. Why do you ask? Was your trip a one-way trip?”
“I’m afraid it was,” Daybreaker said. “We were planning to find an alternate way to get back once we found the Dark El.” 
“Your team didn’t look good when we fought you,” Anemos commented. “Was a demon giving you trouble?”
“Nephilim Lord,” Apsara said. “It looked like the one in Velder, but bigger. You saw one before, right? It warned us about a fiery aura.”  
The one they fought was several times the size, asbestos white and covered in bright rainbow-colored armor-like scales. It had horns protruding from its body and had no need to move to efficiently burn through their defense. The most powerful of all Nephilim, it was sentient and lost control of itself until it was taken down by the El Search Party.         
Anemos frowned and bit her lip in deep thought, mumbling to herself in Elven. At the mention of Nephilim Lord, the gears in the elf’s mind began to turn. Her eyes were calculating and darted up to where the sky was. Apsara looked up to see where the older woman was looking. 
Cloud swirled collectively around the portals appearing and closing, deviating from one another. Apsara became dizzy looking at them and returned her eyes to Anemos, whose complexion remained serious.
“Was Nehphilim Lord the cause of this?” Anemos asked. 
“I don’t think so,” Daybreaker shook her head. “It’s been like this since Paradox fought with us. He seems to have control over those portals.”
“Maybe we can use those portals to go back to Elrianode!” Apsara exclaimed. 
“Assuming we can control them ourselves,” Anemos sighed. “Unless you know anything about time and space.”  
Apsara felt her cheeks turn warm and pouted. Was it unrealistic in trying to secure a way back to Elrios? She already felt guilty leaving behind the world she and her friends worked hard to protect. On the other hand, the Dark Elves were relying on them to sort out the unstable spike of energy coming from the shadows of Varnimyr, a place where even Eun was uncertain about their safety. Ever since they have arrived at the Demon Realm, they have dug their feet into the dark with little guidance of where to go. It was worrying not knowing if there was a way back.  
“I’m not even sure if one of those portals even works,” Daybreaker said. “We don’t know what’s on the other side. What if we end up in another world like you and your friends did?” 
Apsara stared into the dense forest surrounding the cavern area. She didn’t even think about the possibility of coming out on one end of a portal into a world that bore little resemblance to Elrios or the Demon Realm. They would have to start all over again from scratch and adjust to a world with new laws and boundaries like they did when they first arrived in the Demon Realm.   
It would be difficult to find a way back to Elrionode, Eun said. There is little else that can be done without taking a risk.  
“We haven’t had the best luck in making things go according to plan,” Anemos added. “We still need to find the Dark El first before returning. Those portals will still be here when we find it.” 
“Finding the Dark El won’t be easy, but I believe we’ll find it soon.” Apsara finally said. “We have even more people now to make it work. We’ll all be coming home soon.”
“How touching,” a new voice drawled. Devi emerged from the shadows, letting the flame light flicker across her amber eyes. She looked down at Apsara’s smaller form. “I never thought of myself as a wide-eyed optimist.”  
Apsara turned around to see a round face covered by dark black locks. The long ripples from the ends of her dress made Devi appear taller and thinner. Next to Apsara, she was covered in black and orange, resembling a dark butterfly spreading its wings in her dress billowing in the gentle breeze. Devi smiled, but her eyes held an unsteady gaze.           
Careful, Ara. Urgency rose in Eun’s voice, She’s dangerous. 
“A-ara! I mean me! Devi, I mean, uh, what do you prefer being called?” Apsara cried and lowered her head in a ninety-degree bow, “I didn’t see you there, did you need something? Of course, you did, that’s why you’re here. Are you mad at us for hurting your friends? I’m so sorry. You must be furious with us, please forgive us. I-”
“You talk too much,” Devi silenced Apsara with a single motion of a raised hand. “I barely caught any of that. Are you a mouse? I hear a lot of squeaking.” 
“A mouse?” Apsara felt dizzy. She lifted her head, moving her hands behind her head in a daze. “You mean the animal?” 
“You’re scaring her,” Anemos chided. 
“I’m not scared!” Apsara protested. “She caught me by surprise, that’s all! ”
“Am I not allowed to join tea with you ladies?” Devi poured a cup for herself and nestled herself between Devi and Anemos. Like Apsara, she drank her tea from a cup carefully held between her delicate fingers. She ignored the milk and sugar provided for Anemos and Daybreaker, who were less accustomed to drinking tea without them.
“Careful, it’s still hot-” Apsara stopped when Devi chugged the rest of the tea and blew hot air from her mouth. How scary, she thought.  
“Your tea is all right,” Devi said. “Needs more herbs.” 
Apsara stopped breathing. Her head was still spinning from processing that they were the same person. The way Devi carried herself was something only Apsara could dream of when she let Eun take over. She couldn’t sense Eun’s presence being the dominant one from her alternate, so the confidence was all Devi. 
Devi and the rest of the alternate El Search Party reminded her of the old folk tales she had read as a child. Doppelgangers from another world that bore resemblance to the people she knew. The doppelgangers in the stories were often demons or evil spirits in disguise, but Devi and the others were neither of them.    
“We’re running low on tea,” Apsara said.  
“You were talking about the Dark El,” Devi narrowed her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder to scan their surroundings before lowering her voice, “I don’t think I need to explain what it is or why it’s important. Where is it?” 
“We don’t know,” Daybreaker said. “We’re still searching for it like you. We’re only a few weeks ahead of you.” 
Devi cursed. 
“But since you’re here, we can look for it together!” Apsara said. “Nephilim Lord said it would offer us information about it if we search for the source of aura that’s been unstabilizing its home.” 
“It’s our best shot at the moment,” Anemos agreed. “With this many people, we’ll find the source of the aura in no time.”   
“You don’t think you’re being used to take care of someone else’s problem?” Devi looked at Apsara with skepticism. “Your girlfriend told me it tried to kill you.” 
It was true that Nephillim Lord tried to kill the El Search Party, but it wasn’t the first time an enemy was restrained under mind control or agitation. How much did Empire tell Devi about their circumstances?  
“We’re doing this because we want to punish those that tried to take advantage of the people living here,” Apsara said. “I won’t stand for that.”  
“Nephillim Lord was influenced by the aura,” Daybreaker explained. “We made a promise to help it out. The Dark Elves revere it as a god and protector. We’re not leaving until everything is back to normal.” 
“They have a better lead than we do,” Anemos placed her hands over her lap. She kept her voice low. “This may be our only chance.” 
Devi folded her arms back and grasped the handle of her spear. Still smiling, it was unnerving to see red flash through Devi’s eyes before returning back to amber. It took Apsara a moment to remember that Devi must have Eun too. Those two must be close for Devi to maintain the same facial expression even when Eun had its brief moment of existence. 
“For the monster’s sake, I hope it understands the consequences if it doesn’t follow through with its promise.” Devi mused.  
“Elesis told me you used different martial arts,” Aspara ignored the dark comment. “What are they?” 
“Is that what’s on your mind?” Devi rose a brow. “They’re secret arts from a book that specializes in dark energy. I’m curious about you as well. We’ll have to find out in a spar.” 
“Another time,” Anemos said. “There might be more fighting if we’re going to find the source of the aura.” 
“We thought the source of the aura was you and your friends,” Daybreaker admitted to Anemos. “But that wasn’t it. The aura is not from you, but somewhere else. We might be struggling to find it because it’s still dormant.” 
That meant they had more time to prepare for another battle, right? Apsara pulled the kettle to pour herself another cup of tea. Blowing the fumes away, she sipped as she gripped on her spear with her free hand. It was unclear what the source of the aura was, but she could feel its presence hovering over the region, a dull uncomfortable weight over her shoulders. It was going to get worse if it awakened. Their friends were still recovering from the last battle and they needed to regroup with a new plan.   
“Elesis mentioned your name when I talked to her,” Apsara looked at Devi, who was already on her third cup of tea. “What did you do to her?” 
Empire gave her a wide-eyed look when Apsara asked about her alternate. Her complexion was the same color as her hair before Apsara took her girlfriend’s hand and offered to change the topic.   
“Hm?” Devi giggled when Apsara gave her a questioning look, “Oh, I may have provoked her into fighting me, called her princess, and now she’s angry at me.”
“You need to go back and apologize to her!” Apsara shook Devi by the shoulders and cried when the other woman cackled. “Devi! That’s not funny!” 
“They’re so lively,” Anemos commented. 
“With two of them, I’m sure they were going to be.” Daybreaker chuckled. 
“Are you happy with your progress?” 
Huh? Devi’s question was one that haunted Apsara, an anxious voice whispering into her ear in the darkest of nights, taunting her with doubt that fed off of her uncertainty.  Apsara felt Eun tense, rising from her subconscious and voicing its opinion of her counterpart, none of them were kind or generous. She ignored the fox spirit and had a thoughtful expression. 
Devi was terse, asking biting questions and offering brisk answers in return. Despite being squished in between Apsara and the two Renas, she never relaxed. Legs crossed with one hand kept close to her spear, Devi’s smile failed to reach the rest of her face.   
“You keep following these people, nowhere close to your goal and walking in circles,” Devi said. “Are you satisfied?” 
“I am,” Apsara examined the woman with sadness. She reached for Devi and placed one hand over her alternate’s forearm. “Why are you always sad?” 
“I’m not sad,” Devi forced a laugh. 
She was lying. 
“It doesn’t bother me that we keep getting sidetracked,” Apsara said with earnest. “I’m not even sure if we’re doing the right thing, but I want to help my friends stabilize the El because I know they would do the same if I needed help. Do you ever feel like that?”   
“I do,” Devi said. For the first time, she relaxed and looked at Apsara with a pensive expression. “We’re lucky to have people like them.” 
“I think they would be happy if we let them know that,” Apsara smiled. “Tell me about your friends.” 
And Devi did.   
---------------------------- 
Timoria
Smoke filled the campsite as Timoria hopped over to put out the fire with a pan lid. Hot air hissed from the top and she jolted back. Her tail curled up and her eyes grew wide, panicking and rushing to put the lid back on. Puffing air into her palms, Timoria shrieked when she bumped into Abysser from behind.  
“Sorry!” Abysser put up her two hands. “Didn’t mean to scare you like that. I’m not sure what has gotten into you today, but I can take over now.” 
“You said you felt light-headed,” Timoria accused him. 
“I feel better, I promise!” Abysser laughed. “Not sure what the fuss is about.” 
“You passed out from an explosion,” Timoria said. 
“But I’m still alive and kicking,” he grinned. “You don’t need to sacrifice your time to cook for everyone.” 
An overreaction? Perhaps, especially when her partner in crime was no longer human but now a fully fledged demon, but Abysser wasn’t replaceable. He was more than that, a chimera between a butler and a close friend. People have mistaken them to be related and it didn’t bother Timoria as much as she would have expected. Their bonds were no longer linked as a single unit, but she could tell when the dummy showed his teeth and cocked his head to the side in an attempt to reassure her that he was fine. 
What was Abysser thinking getting up close to shield her from Bluhen? Humans called it heroic, but she called it foolish and impulsive. The man who called himself a priest was suppressing his energy to create an explosion that could have wiped out a demon army. There was nothing heroic about a nearly dying face planted into the dirt. 
“You said someone taught you how to bake and cook,” Timoria said. “Why don't you teach me too? I’m ready to graduate from, ‘Lu, go pick some herbs.’, ‘Lu, can you set up the table?’, and ‘Lu, where’s the spoon?’.”
She made faces and lowered her pitch when she did her Abysser impersonation, pacing around the campsite. 
“Do I really talk like that?” Abysser scratched his head but softened his expression. “I didn’t know you wanted to learn.” 
“You make it sound like I never help,” Timoria pouted and tucked her arms under her long sleeves, feeling the pain crisscrossing into her bandaged fingers like pin needles. “Did I do a good job of cutting the vegetables?” 
Who knew humans consumed so much of them. She didn’t realize how picky Abysser was in how he wanted things to be cut and presented. One would think he was about to serve a meal to the king of Velder.    
“Never said you didn’t.” Abysser said, “I think it’s great you want to help. You did good for a first-timer.”
There he goes again, Timoria placed her hand over her hip. Making that face again, borderlining on smug in catching her showing consideration for others, brimming with the kind of pride she associated with parents to their children. Any outsider would have mistaken them to be related, but she never protested because she saw how happy it made Abysser. People still mistook her as a child, but she was getting taller, she was sure of it!
“Now we wait until it boils, right?” Timoria asked. 
Abysser hummed and nodded his head for an affirmation. 
Timoria hovered over with her wings out for a better view of the stew. She knew there was a lot of stirring involved, but she would leave that to Abysser. The last time she attempted, the campsite was nearly burned down and she didn’t trust herself to know when their meal would be ready.    
She went back to the stream flowing at the edge of camp to wash her hands, carefully cleaning the dirt under her claws. The demon lord felt the cold water run between her claws and relished the familiarity of it. It wasn’t the dark quarters of her old realm, but she recognized the moons passing by when she returned to see a figure waiting for her.  
Sitting at the edge of a fallen log was a demon adorned in white and royal blue. Pale locks cascaded past her thighs and touched the back of her heels. Cyan colored horns similar to Timoria's protruded from the side of Ishtar’s head. Bright eyes the color of starlight gazed past the horizon to meet Timoria’s.    
“Do you always talk to him like that?” Ishtar asked. 
“Who?” Timoria tried not to stare. It was blinding to look at her other self, ethereal under the moonlight and projecting the very image Timoria once wished to reclaim. “Ciel?” 
“You look like you two were having fun,” she looked sad. Was Ishtar envious of them?  
“I don’t expect him to do everything when he needs time to recover from a fight,” Timoria said. “Does he not let you help out?” 
“He does, but insists he can do everything.” Ishtar rolled her eyes, “I don’t think Ciel knows what I can do.”  
“I find that hard to believe,” Timoria said.  
Chevalier was a quiet man. Exchanging a polite smile to Timoria, he waited for Ishtar to talk first before replying back with an equally amicable response. He maintained an air of dignity, but Timoria sensed a difference in his dynamic with Ishtar than her’s and Abysser’s. His hair was a light shade of blue, but it was clear that he was still partially human. 
Ishtar and Chevalier’s relationship wasn’t one of malevolence if she was to believe Richter’s account and from her own observations. Timoria recalled how he and Ishtar fought back at the edge of the forest, perfectly synchronized on the same wavelength of El resonance. Bounded together by powerful magic that turned their souls into one, Ishtar relied on Chevalier as much as the butler did to her. It was not unlike the bond Timoria used to share with Abysser before they parted to become equals. 
“I suppose you’re right,” Ishtar mumbled. “I sometimes wonder if it bothers him doing everything for me.” 
“I think you would be the first to know.” Timoria thought about the time Abysser was depressed after being rejected by a phoru. She bit her lips, “but I think he would appreciate it if you showed him your thanks.”  
Her counterpart rose, parting her lips and rounding them at the realization. Nodding her head, she accepted Timoria’s explanation and scrunched up her brows in deep thought. Much to her annoyance, Ishtar towered over her by almost a head. To outsiders, Timoria was a child while Ishtar had the appearance of an older teen or a young adult.  
“What would make him happy?” Ishtar wondered out loud. “He likes phorus, but I’m not very good with them. I tried baking cookies for him once, but he choked on it and I guess humans don’t like too much red pepper paste-” 
“You put what in cookies?” Timoria interrupted. She tried to imagine what those cookies looked like when they were finished and presented to the butler. Poor Chevalier...  
“I wanted to make them red because he once said he liked that color,” Ishtar protested. 
“I’m surprised he didn’t try to rescue them and make them edible,” Timoria said. 
“He did,” she said. “I’m not sure how he did it, but it was delicious. Humans are more adaptive than we demons give them credit for.” 
It suddenly made sense why Chevalier didn’t let Ishtar take up on cooking duty. 
“Is this why he still treats me like a child?” Ishtar sighed. “I made him do extra work he didn’t have to do.”
“My Ciel treats me like a kid too,” Timoria said. “It’s annoying, but he once told me it was because I reminded him of someone he knew. Did yours ever tell you that?”
Ishtar shook her head.  
“Aren’t you the one bounded to him?” Timoria asked. 
“That doesn’t mean I make him share everything. He doesn’t like talking about the past,” Ishtar said. “It isn’t fair for me to ask Ciel to tell me everything about himself if I’m not ready to talk about myself. There are many things I regretted doing as Luciela. I’m afraid of what he would think of me if he knew half of it.” 
A sad smile appeared on Ishtar’s features, her eyes wandered over to Chevalier, who was standing at the opposite side of the campsite and talking to his counterpart. Abysser laughed at something Chevalier said, occasionally stopping to skim bubbles from the stew.   
“Does yours know what you did?” Ishtar asked, “What we did.”
Timoria felt her limbs growing limp, unable to even lift them up to do something with them. Her silence answered Ishtar’s question, unsurprised by the revelation. Ishtar sat beside Timoria and kept her legs tightly together, contemplating on how much to ask. Demons were aware of multiple dimensions existing, but to meet oneself was something not many experienced. 
“Then both of us are cowards,” Ishtar laughed quietly to herself. 
“How is that funny?” Timoria asked. 
“You’re a little small to be a demon ruler,” Ishtar smirked. “I was wary about whether or not you and your friends were a trick set up by Henir cultists.” 
“How rude!” Timoria exclaimed, “I want nothing to do with those boorish deviants! I don’t think it’s necessary for him to know about my past, but I do want to tell him eventually when we aren’t being chased by Henir cultists.” 
“You have them too?” Ishtar asked. 
“Unfortunately, yes,” Timoria said. “They made a fuss about the Dark El and now we have to go fetch it before they do.”
It has been days since Timoria last saw the creeps in black hoods, but that could be a bad sign if the cultists found more allies in demons that may see the El Search Party as a threat. To demon residents, they were foreign invaders from another world and Timoria was a traitor. It wouldn’t be the first time the Demon Realm witnessed a powerful leader backstabbing them. She didn’t like to think about what that meant if word started spreading around about the former demon ruler returning to the Demon Realm.      
“How does it feel to be back home?” Ishtar asked. 
“This is hardly home,” Timoria laid down on her back. “Haven’t had one since the attempted assassination. I don’t think Ciel and I can rest until we find a way to take back power over the realm that was stolen from me.” 
“Your bonds feel different,” Ishtar noted. “What made you separate?” 
“Ciel and I had an understanding,” Timoria said. “I didn’t want Ciel to feel like he was forced to follow me. We don’t need a contract to stay together and I saw him as my equal. It was his idea to abandon his human side.” 
“As equals, huh?” Ishtar repeated her words. “I think I get it. When you were gone, Abysser wouldn’t stop talking about you. He kept saying your name, which is infuriating because it’s my name too!” 
Timoria snorted, “That sounds like him.” 
“But I can see you mean a lot to him,” Ishtar said. “You better be grateful you have him!” 
“You’re one to talk!” 
She couldn’t believe she was being lectured by herself. Timoria sat up to stretch her arms, going on her tiptoes and reaching for the skies. Dinner should be ready soon. She could smell the inviting aroma from the stew she helped Abysser with earlier. She overheard Abysser talking to Chevalier.  
“Oh, so that’s how you do it.” Abysser rubbed his chin, “Why didn’t I think of that?” 
The demon lord showed his teeth, slapping one arm over Chevalier’s shoulder and twirling about to reach over for the ladle to try the stew. His hand was slapped away by his counterpart and whined. Chevalier tasted the stew, glaring at the bubbling water before tossing in a garnish of green onion and a pinch of salt. 
“I didn’t even know you existed until yesterday,” Chevalier said. 
“Ouch, that’s cold.” Abysser feigned a hurt expression. “You don’t even have questions about me or Lu?”
“I do, but isn’t it rude to ask these types of questions when we just met?” Chevalier said, “I think it’s more appropriate to ask how it’s even possible for you to be here.” 
“Blunt and to the point, I get it.” Abysser waved his hands, “I thought your Add would explain all of this to you.” 
“He would, but ours passed out.” Chevalier said. 
Fair enough. 
It was hard to have an impression of someone they fought once and only stopped long enough to deliver provoking taunts and snarky comments. Staggering over with his back hunched and a crazed look; if it wasn’t for the mechanical eye and flying plates (“They’re called Dynamo!” Dominator protested.), Timoria would have mistaken Bringer as someone else.    
“We jumped over here to find the Dark El by opening a portal with a device Add made,” Abysser explained. “You already know the rest.”  
“You’re not an illusion or a manifestation of the El.” Chevalier said. There was a sharpness in Chevalier’s expression when he examined Abysser with a critical eye.  
“From the Hall of El?” Abysser had a sly smile. “Yes, I was wondering the same about you and your friends too, but you are a chattier bunch and more fun to talk to.”
“Fun?” One could hear the blood vein threatening to burst from the side of Chevalier’s head. 
“For one thing, you and your friends weren’t threatening to kill us or attempting to absorb us into the El.” Abysser didn’t seem to notice the irked brows from his counterpart and chuckled, “Isn’t that right, Lu?”
Timoria tried not to laugh when Chevalier was taken back when looking ahead, only to lower his gaze to finally notice her. His eyes averted over to Ishtar pulling out a set of silverware and utensils to set up the table, then back to Timoria, who was patiently waiting for the half-demon to talk. She could see the gears turning as Chevalier processed that there were two Lus. 
Placing her hands over her hips and puffing out her chest, Timoria wore a grin identical to Abysser. This was going to be fun.     
“I’m not sure what I should be more insulted by,” Timoria cackled. “Being compared to Henir cultists by Ishtar or being mistaken as a false illusion.”
“Our enemies are always a few steps ahead of us. This isn’t the first time we had to fight people with the same abilities as us,” Chevalier was defensive. “You’re the first to join our side.” 
“Sounds a little like us, don’t you think?” Abysser asked.  
“They are us,” Timoria pointed out. 
“Not everything is the same,” Chevalier disagreed. 
“It’s the hair, right?” Abysser asked eagerly as if he had been waiting for Chevalier to ask. He beamed, “Doesn’t it make me look cool?” 
“No, you’re stupider.” Chevalier deadpanned.
Abysser dropped his smile and cried crocodile tears, “How could you say something so cruel to yourself? You hear that Ishtar? He doesn’t like himself!”
Timoria covered her face. Abysser really said that in front of Ishtar and Chevalier with no irony in his words. Placing the last bowl down, Ishtar turned to giggle when Abysser continued going on about how cold his alternate was. Chevalier ignored the rambling demon as he silently walked over to the side to chop more green onion for garnish. 
“I like him,” Ishtar said. “He’s funny.” 
Chevalier stared at Abysser and mumbled, “How are we the same person?”
----------------------------
Author Notes: There was a lot I wanted to get in, but cut out in the end because it wasn’t relevant to what I wanted to address in this chapter. It was challenging to write certain characters I never wrote before, but rewarding because I discovered them as a person in the process. Everyone’s comments were encouraging to read and helped me see that every character will be someone’s favorite. We still have a few characters left in terms of having them talk to their counterpart.
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miguel-manbemel · 5 years ago
Text
Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 27: A Side is Born Part 2: Grown and Lost
New episode of this fic inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg Team. Thank you so much for the good reception that the previous episode had. Now, the story continues, right where it ended. Each episode is gonna feature in the beginning a quick reminder from the most important events in the previous episode, with the fun fact that these reminders are embedded in the story and are of an unique style for each part. Nedless to say, these reminders are full of spoilers from these previous episodes if you haven’t read them. May you enjoy this second part of the story and until next week.
WARNINGS: Romantic prinxiety and logicality. Some light innuendo. Fair warning that in the last part of this episode, the mood switches to strong angst.
SYNOPSIS: In front of the others, Chris has started growing at great speed and they wonder why is it happening. In the middle of this, fearing that they will never know him as a child, Roman decides to take the boy to Sandersia so that Ira and Roland get the news of the newborn before that newborn is an adult himself.
EPISODE INDEX
[a sign reading “In the previous episode..." appears. Flashback images from the previous episode are shown while Roman’s voice is heard off-screen]
NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] Today has been a memorable day in so many senses. It all started this morning when Virgil suddenly felt not so good

VIRGIL: I didn’t want to concern you, Roman. Probably it’s just something I’ve eaten that’s not agreeing with my stomach.
ROMAN: Still, my duty as your husband is taking care of you when you’re feeling bad. I thought we had agreed on not hiding things from each other.
VIRGIL: Don’t worry, Roman, I’m sure this is not serious.
NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] But very soon, things started spiraling out of control.
THOMAS: Heh
 It’s funny. If you weren’t a man I would say that you’ve got all the symptoms of being pregnant.
[Virgil slowly lowers his hands from his face and looks at Thomas with a face of horror]
THOMAS: [serious] Wait
 don’t tell me that you can

VIRGIL: Oh
 my
 goodness
 [putting his hands on his belly] For the love of Gerard Way

THOMAS: But
 this is not a Sims game! Since when can a person with male reproductive organs get pregnant!?
NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-screen] Yep, surprise. We had a bun in the oven. Although it looked more like a micro-wave oven, cause the bun was cooking really fast

VIRGIL: [in pain, putting his hand on his belly] Aw!
ROMAN: [scared] What was that, Virgil! Are you okay?
VIRGIL: I
 I think so
 He moved inside me, and kicked me really hard from my insides. It was so weird

ROMAN: Seriously, Logan. How can this go so fast? This morning he was having the first nausea and now he looks as if he was six months pregnant already!
LOGAN: Well, as I told you, we’re not human. Maybe instead of nine months, Virgil’s pregnancy will be only nine hours. Probably less, judging how fast it’s going.
NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] And before we could know how, Virgil was lying on the couch in labor.
LOGAN: The next thing coming out of there will be the baby. Now, one last time, use all your might you have left and push as if tomorrow would never come. Now!
VIRGIL: [pushing] NNNNNGGGGGHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!
LOGAN: Here it comes!
[A bright magenta smoke comes out of Virgil’s body. As it comes out forming a magenta cloud, Virgil’s belly shrinks until it returns to its normal flat form, while he shows a face of huge alleviation. Then, the cloud floats to Virgil’s chest and after some seconds, it disappears, to reveal a little baby dressed only with magenta diapers. The baby starts crying]
LOGAN: Well, it’s done. Good job, Virgil.
VIRGIL: [with his eyes full of tears] I
 I
 look at him, Roman.
ROMAN: [crying] I’m looking at him, Virgil. He’s as handsome as his dad. And I mean you.
NARRATOR-ROMAN: [off-voice] And we thought that was it. We had our newborn son, Chris, we were set to live happily ever after as a family
 and that was all. But there was another surprise on board for the evening

VIRGIL: Um
 guys

ROMAN: What?
VIRGIL: It looks like our little baby is not so
 little
 anymore
 Look

[Virgil takes Chris out of the cradle. Except that it is now a three year old boy]
CHRIS: [giggling and poking Virgil’s nose] Dad, I want pizza!
THOMAS AND ROMAN: [overlapping] Whaaat!?
[image of narrator Roman looking at the camera]
NARRATOR-ROMAN: And so here we are. What’s happened to our son? What is gonna happen next. Stay tuned, everyone.
VIRGIL: [off-screen] Roman, will you cut it out and come here already!?
NARRATOR-ROMAN: Sorry, Virge. I’m going. Rolling title screen.
[intro sequence]
THOMAS: What
 has happened?
VIRGIL: Are you asking me? I don’t know how this works, Thomas, this is my first son.
CHRIS: Dad, I want pizza!
ROMAN: Don’t you think you’re too young for pizza, young boy?
[Chris looks at Roman, then his eyes get full of tears]
CHRIS: [crying] I want pizzaaaaa!
THOMAS: Well, I guess now I know which Side has inherited my passion for pizza.
VIRGIL: We’re gonna need help. Dad! Logan! Could you come here, please?
[Logan and Patton are risen up in Patton’s spot. They are kissing, unaware of their surroundings]
ROMAN: [saying the actual word] Ahem

[Logan and Roman stop kissing and look scared at the others]
LOGAN: [angry] Hey, do you think this is an appropriate time to call!? We were
 [looking nervously at Patton who is just blushing and looking away] busy!
THOMAS: I’m sorry, guys. But this is another
 emergency. Look.
[Thomas points at Chris who is still crying next to Virgil]
PATTON: Who’s that boy?
VIRGIL: It’s Chris, dad. Your grandson.
PATTON: What?
ROMAN: He has just aged three years in a matter of a second and we don’t know how.
LOGAN: Oh, wow
 I didn’t expect that

PATTON: Why is he crying?
VIRGIL: He wants pizza. But I don’t think he’s old enough to eat it. I mean, he’s only five hours old. It could sit bad in his stomach. He was drinking his formula just half an hour ago.
PATTON: Young boy, crying is not the way to get the things that you want. If you want to get something, you must learn to say “Please” and “Thank you”. And even so, sometimes we just can’t get what we want and we must learn to deal with it.
[Chris stops crying, then looks at Patton]
CHRIS: [with a cute innocent voice] Please, grandpa. Can I get some pizza?
PATTON: [squeeing] He’s called me grandpa! Of course you can, kiddo. Take all the pizza you want!
CHRIS: [happy smile] Thank you, grandpa!
VIRGIL: Wait, dad, I don’t think that

[But Chris has already jumped to the pizza and started devouring it]
ROMAN: Oh, my gosh

VIRGIL: He looks like the cookie monster

[Suddenly Chris stops eating. He stands still with a face of nausea]
VIRGIL: What is it, Chris? Are you okay? I told you not to eat that pizza!
[Chris burps loudly. As the burp goes out, he starts growing]
VIRGIL: Look! He’s growing again!
[In a matter of seconds, Chris looks like a twelve-year-old boy]
ROMAN: He eats and then grows? Perhaps I should have called him Alice.
PATTON: Like Alice in Wonderland? Hey, think! If he drinks some milk, the kid may shrink back. Oooh
 I love alliteration.
CHRIS: Guys, why are you all staring at me? [looks at himself] Oh
 I see, it’s because I’m still in these diapers. Hold on, I’ll fix that.
[Chris points at himself and his clothes change to a medieval princely outfit, similar to Prince Phillip from Sleepy Beauty, but the suit is white with a red belt, and the sleeves are dark purple. The cape is magenta and has a hood. He sports Roman’s shield on the chest, but with the background in magenta and a stormy cloud over the castle]
CHRIS: That’s more like it.
ROMAN: [with a smile of emotional joy] Oh, my God
 You look
 majestic!
CHRIS: Thank you, father. If I’m a prince, I must look like it.
VIRGIL: [same emotional joy] And you even carry a hood! I’m so proud!
CHRIS: I knew you’d like it, dad.
LOGAN: Hmm
 Not only he’s growing physically at great speed. He’s also growing mentally. At this rate, he’ll look just as adult as anyone of us in a short time
 Chris.
CHRIS: Yes, Logan?
LOGAN: Would you mind if I performed a check on you?
CHRIS: What for, grandpa?
LOGAN: Because
 wait, grandpa?
CHRIS: You’re Patton’s boyfriend, aren’t you? That makes you my grandfather-in-law.
LOGAN: Well, technically not until we marry and
 wait, we’re deviating. I need to make sure that you’re in perfect condition and that this quick growth is normal.
CHRIS: Okay, grandpa, help yourself.
[Logan gets a little nervous over being called grandpa again, but he puts himself together and places his hand on Chris’ chest. Logan starts shaking for a couple of seconds, then takes his hand off]
LOGAN: I see

VIRGIL: What?
LOGAN: Chris is totally fine. There’s nothing wrong with him at all. This quick growth is perfectly natural.
ROMAN: But there must be a reason why he’s growing up so fast. We didn’t grow up that quickly.
PATTON: Well, as far as I remember, I was always an adult, so

LOGAN: Yes, but that’s because you chose to have an adult shape on purpose, or so you said.
PATTON: To be honest, I don’t remember at all, Logan. What I said is my own explanation to that fact. When I met all of you, I always met you sharing the same age Thomas had at that moment in life, but back then, I was already an adult. When I try to go back in my memories, there’s always a moment when everything goes blurry until there’s nothing more.
LOGAN: That’s what always happens, Patton. No human can remember the first two to three years from their existence at all and their memories are blurry until they get around 6 or more. And guys, it’s true that we all took our time to grow up, but you’re forgetting one important detail.
VIRGIL: What?
LOGAN: Chris was born as a baby while Thomas was an adult. It was only natural, as Virgil would have exploded if he had to hold an adult body inside of him. But that doesn’t change the fact that we, as Sides of Thomas, must share with him, among other things, the same age. Chris was born as a baby, but now he’s bound to grow up at a fast pace to catch up to Thomas’ age. Then, he’ll start aging normally like all of us, at Thomas’ same pace.
THOMAS: Oh
 Is that all?
LOGAN: Yes. What did you expect?
THOMAS: I don’t know, things with you don’t tend to be so simple.
CHRIS: Are you calling me simple, Thomas?
THOMAS: No, I wasn’t calling you

CHRIS: [pulling out a classic medieval sword and a shield decorated with the same insignia on his chest, speaking with a theatrical melodramatic voice] Cause I could pull out my sword and challenge you to a duel, my good sir!
LOGAN: [sighs] He’s just as dramatic as his father.
ROMAN: [squeeing] He even has a shield of his own! Oh, my God, you look gorgeous! And what is also great is that now I’ll have someone to practice fencing with. [hopping] Oh, my goodness, I’m so happy right now!
VIRGIL: [smirks] Be careful, my love. You’re gonna slip on the puddle of your drool.
ROMAN: I suddenly had an idea. Since it’s clear that we’re too excited to go to bed right now

LOGAN: [looking at Patton] Well, I was really excited to go to bed a moment ago

ROMAN: [beat] You’ll have time for that later. I think we should take Chris to Sandersia, so that he meets my brother Roland and Ira. They don’t even know that he’s been born and I can’t wait to see their faces.
THOMAS: Isn’t it a little late for a journey, though? It’s eleven o’clock, and I’m a little tired, you know? Couldn’t we leave this for tomorrow? It’ll be Sunday, and I have all the day free of compromises.
ROMAN: [begging] Oh, come on! I want them to see him while he’s still a child! If we wait, he’ll be an adult already, and it just wouldn’t have the same surprise effect! I don’t wanna miss it! Pleaaase!
THOMAS: [sighs] Okay, if it’s so important to you, okay.
ROMAN: [hopping] Yayyy!
THOMAS: Are you good to walk, Virge? You’ve just given birth some hours ago.
VIRGIL: Oh, I think I’ll be fine, Thomas. I don’t have any pains and I feel strong enough.
LOGAN: You don’t need to fear for Virgil, Thomas. His recovery will be a lot quicker than in normal physical childbirths. If he doesn’t go through too intense physical activities at least for tonight, he’ll be fine, and tomorrow he’ll be good as gravy.
THOMAS: Okay.
ROMAN: Then it’s settled!
THOMAS: Okay
 Let’s go to Sandersia, then.
[All of them sink down and rise up in Roman’s room, then they head to Sandersia. It’s nighttime over there too. They all get in the royal carriage, always waiting at the door as usual, and head to the royal castle. As usual too, the carriage arrives in no time]
ROMAN: Well, here we are. Oh, the door is locked? That’s weird.
LOGAN: Weird? What did you expect, a welcome committee? You didn’t announce our visit and it’s freaking nighttime!
ROMAN: Not for long, though.
[Roman rises both hands. In a matter of seconds, the sky turns blue and the sun rises over the sea]
LOGAN: [a little blinded by the sudden sunlight] That’s cheating.
[Roman knocks the door using the knocker several times]
VOICE: [from inside] Okay, okay
 why the rush?
[the noise of locks opening from inside are heard and the door opens. Ira comes outside wearing a green pajama
IRA: Oh, it’s you. When I told you to come for a visit, I didn’t mean for you to come in the middle of the
 [noticing the sun is in the sky, confused] 
morning? Did I oversleep? What time is it?
ROMAN: Oh, it’s twelve midnight, I just did a little tweak, so that you didn’t trip over anything in the dark.
IRA: But why? Is there any emergency of some kind?
ROMAN: Yes, and no. I just want Roland and you to meet someone.
IRA: Someone? [noticing the presence of Chris] Oh, good morning
 I mean evening
 I mean
 whatever.
CHRIS: Good evening, sir.
IRA: And who is this lad, if I may ask, Roman?
ROMAN: I’m not telling yet, it’s a surprise. Go call my brother, please. I want you two to know who he is at the same time.
IRA: Okay. I’ll call Roland. You can wait in the throne room. Come in, make yourselves a home.
ROMAN: Thanks, Ira.
[Roman and the others get to the throne room while Ira goes away]
THOMAS: [yawns] Roman, I’m a little sleepy. We should have waited till tomorrow.
ROMAN: Hold on a little bit, Thomothy. Soon we’ll be done. Maybe we could even sleep here if Roland lets us.
THOMAS: Is that possible for me, though? What would happen if I fell asleep while inside the Mind Palace?
LOGAN: Well, for certain we would all fall asleep with you. All except Virgil, who is the only one that, if he wants to, can resist sleep or wake up while you slumber, due to him being your fight-or-flight impulses.
CHRIS: I can do that too. A gift from my dad.
VIRGIL: Oh, that’s good to know.
THOMAS: But would Sandersia stay in place?
LOGAN: Of course, Thomas. For Sandersia to have structural problems, you would need something worse than sleep. You’d have to be almost in a coma.
THOMAS: Well, I’m not going to that extent to do the experiment, and besides I don’t want Sandersia to be damaged, so it’s good to know that. Thanks, Logan.
LOGAN: No problem.
[Roman and Ira enter the throne room. Roland is wearing a dressing coat]
ROLAND: Hi, Roman, hi guys.
ROMAN: Hi, Roland.
IRA: Okay. We’re both here. Why all the rush, Roman?
ROMAN: Well, let me introduce you to our new addition to the family. This is Chris. Chris, these are my brother Roland and our good friend Ira.
CHRIS: Good evening. Nice to meet you.
ROLAND: Nice to meet you.
IRA: Good evening.
ROMAN: I think I’m gonna let him to properly introduce himself. Okay, go ahead.
CHRIS: Well, my name is Christian Gerard Sanders. And I’m the Side of Angsty Creativity. But you can call me Chris.
ROLAND: Angsty
 Creativity?
IRA: Hold on, weren’t those two concepts assigned to Virgil and you earlier? [face of realization and shock, then he smiles widely] Oh! Oh, my goodness, I get it! Congratulations, Roman!
ROLAND: What? What’s the matter?
IRA: Don’t you see? This boy is the son of Virgil and Roman! Angsty Creativity!
ROLAND: Oh, my goodness! How
? When
? Congratulations, guys!
[Roland and Ira hug Roman and Virgil, then they also give a quick hug to Chris]
ROLAND: I should have paid more attention. Of course he’s your son. His shield is a mix of both your insignias. I’m so happy to meet you, young man.
CHRIS: I’m happy to meet you too, uncle Roland.
ROLAND: Oh, that’s right. This boy is my nephew. And as your son
 he’s the new heir to the throne of Sandersia! That’s great! But when did this happen?
VIRGIL: Today.
ROLAND: Today?
VIRGIL: Well, yesterday already. He was born just a few hours ago.
ROLAND: But he’s so grown-up already!
CHRIS: [suddenly showing a funny face] Oh

ROLAND: What’s wrong?
CHRIS: If you think I’m a grown up now
 wait and see

[Chris points at his own clothes. They grow until they are of an adult size, too big for him]
ROLAND: Why would you do that?
CHRIS: [suddenly with adult voice that startles everyone] It’s happening again, I can feel it.
[Chris starts growing up in front of Roland and Ira, who watch with a stunned expression. In a matter of a few seconds he looks like an adult, and his outfit fits him perfectly]
IRA: I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. But now
 now I’ve just seen everything.
CHRIS: Well, I think the growing phase is over. Now I just have to age a little bit until I get synchronized with Thomas’ age and that will be it. Now I’m totally ready to start working as a Side of Thomas.
VIRGIL: Oh, my God
 Kids grow so fast. It feels like yesterday when I was cradling you in my arms and now you’re a full grown-up man. Except that it was literally yesterday, of course.
CHRIS: It’s okay, dad. I may look like an adult, but I’m still your one day old son, ready to learn from you and father anything you’re willing to teach me to be a better Side.
VIRGIL: [bursting in tears] Why am I suddenly so emotional lately? Yesterday, I would have dismissed all these emotions as corny and now look at me. This feeling of love is so overwhelming I can barely resist it.
PATTON: [putting his hand on Virgil’s shoulder] Welcome to my world, kiddo. Nice to have you. That’s exactly how I feel about you all the time.
VOICE: [evil mocking tone] Isn’t this nice?
[everyone starts looking in all directions trying to find the source of the voice]
THOMAS: Who’s there!?
VOICE: I’ve been waiting for so long for this moment to come and finally, it’s here!
[Suddenly, Chris is surrounded by what looks like a dark bubble]
CHRIS: What gives!?
[the door opens and the Dark Master enters in, wearing a black cloak with silver ornaments on the shoulders and the hood. The dark bubble flies next to him with Chris inside]
THOMAS: You again? How many times do we have to defeat you, boy?
DARK MASTER: Long time no see, Light Master.
ROMAN: [pulling out his samurai sword] Release our son! Right now!
DARK MASTER: Release him? Oh, sure, I will release him, as soon as I’m done with him.
VIRGIL: If you touch just one hair of him, I swear

DARK MASTER: Oh, don’t worry emo, I’m not going to harm him. I need him in one piece for my plans.
VIRGIL: [progressively angrier and more hysterical as he speaks] What plans? What are you going to do to him? Let him go, you bast**!
DARK MASTER: Let him go? After all the time I’ve been waiting for one of his kind to appear? Never.
PATTON: What’s so special about him? I don’t understand.
DARK MASTER: [giggles evilly] I certainly did a good job with you, Patton.
PATTON: What?
DARK MASTER: Erasing your memories was so easy. It wasn’t a perfect work, but nevertheless it worked. You wouldn’t even try to get your memories back. You just got contented and started behaving like the stupid father figure you are right now.
PATTON: I don’t understand

VIRGIL: Neither do I, but I don’t care! Release him!
DARK MASTER: It’s your only fault that I’m taking your son right now, Virgil! You brought this onto him!
VIRGIL: What?
DARK MASTER: The original plan was to take you instead of him. You were born for that only reason. But you had to escape to the Light Realm and ruin everything.
VIRGIL: What would you know about my birth?
DARK MASTER: Oh, everything. I know everything about it. I even had you in my arms not long after you were born. You looked so tiny, so vulnerable. So suitable. You just needed to grow until you were mature enough. But Patton had to be a goody daddy and the Light Master had to ruin it all!
THOMAS: Me? What
?
VIRGIL: What is he talking about, dad?
PATTON: [confused] I promise I don’t know, kiddo. I don’t remember

DARK MASTER: Perhaps I can help with that.
[The Dark Master points at Patton. A light blue sphere appears on his hand]
DARK MASTER: This, on my hand, are your stolen memories. You’re no longer a worthy enemy, so I won’t be needing them anymore, and I need to make room for
 another procedure. Here, take them back.
[the light-blue ball is projected at light-speed and impacts into Patton’s head, making him walk two steps back. The light enters inside Patton’s head, who holds his head with both hands and groans as if he was suffering the worst headache ever, as if his head was about to explode right there.]
VIRGIL: [scared] Dad!
LOGAN: Patton!
[in a few moments, Patton adopts a serene face. He stops holding his head and looks fiercely at the Dark Master]
PATTON: [serious deep voice, never heard before from him] Now I remember
 everything.
DARK MASTER: Good. Then now you know it all. How does it feel? Please, tell me that it hurts you, it would be so rewarding for me.
PATTON: Yes, I remember. Yes, it hurts. And no, you won’t get away with your plans.
DARK MASTER: [evil voice] I challenge you to stop me. If you want to find me, you know where to look for me
 sweetie. [back to an unconcerned, mocking voice, to Roman] Oh, by the way, thank you Roman, I couldn’t have done this without you.
ROMAN: What?
DARK MASTER: If you hadn’t entered Sandersia with Chris, I wouldn’t have been able to reach him, and if you hadn’t turned the night into day, I wouldn’t have known you were here, allowing me to come here to check what you were up to. What a pleasant surprise you gave me when you introduced your boy. Thank you for your invaluable help.
ROMAN: [face of remorse] What have I done
?
[the Dark Master starts levitating and so does the dark bubble holding Chris in. Chris shows a face of fear for the first time and starts banging at the bubble, desperately trying to break it]
CHRIS: [scared whining] Father! Dad! Help me! Don’t let him take me!
VIRGIL: [in tears] You bast**! He’s just a baby! Thomas, do something!
THOMAS: I’m trying! I’m trying to go into Light Master mode
 but I’m so tired I get dizzy when I try! I can’t keep it together!
DARK MASTER: Well, as the old cartoon said, that’s all folks! Bye!
[The Dark Master flies away through the door and the bubble follows him with Chris inside]
CHRIS: [screeching in horror] Heeeeelp!
[his cry for help gets lost in the distance before the others have time to react. Then Virgil starts running to the door]
VIRGIL: Come back! Give me my son back! I beg you! Take me instead! No!
[he stops before reaching the door, with pain in his stomach over the effort. Roman runs after him and holds him]
VIRGIL: [hysterical, he turns around and starts punching Roman’s chest with both fists, while Roman looks at his husband with a face of intense suffering and remorse] Don’t touch me! This is your fault! This is all your fault! They took him away because of you! I hate you! I hate you! [he stops punching Roman’s chest and lies on it sobbing on it while Roman hugs him, also crying] I hate you

ROMAN: I’m sorry, Virgil. I didn’t know this would happen
 But we’ll fix it. We have always defeated the Dark Master and this will be no exception. I promise by my royal crown that he’ll get what he deserves and we’ll rescue our son! I solemnly swear it!
[a sign reading “To be continued, guys, gals and non binary pals appears”]
[ending card]
[a couple of minutes have passed, The guys are sitting down on some benches. Virgil is lying on Roman’s shoulder, his face completely void, looking at the infinity, trying to evade himself from the horrible reality he’s facing]
THOMAS: I’m so sorry, guys. I wish I could have been of more help. I just couldn’t call my powers out of exhaustion.
ROMAN: It’s not your fault, Thomas. Like the Dark Master said, it’s my fault and only mine. I’m sorry, guys. [to Virgil] I’m sorry, my love.
VIRGIL: [looks at Roman and holds his hand, then speaks with a weak, heartbroken voice] And I’m sorry for hitting you earlier
 I was out of my mind and I didn’t mean what I said. Of course I don’t hate you.
ROMAN: [kissing Virgil’s hand] I know, my love. But you were so right at the same time

PATTON: You didn’t know this would happen, Roman. Don’t torture yourself.
ROMAN: A marvelous father I’m turning out to be. The first thing I do is delivering him in a silver plate to the enemy.
PATTON: Well, I don’t think I was any better, to be honest.
VIRGIL: [looking at Patton] What do you mean, dad? You have always been there for me.
PATTON: Not always, son. Not always. Now that I’ve got the full picture with the missing piece of my memories, I had
 I have so much to regret and so much to apologize for.
THOMAS: It’s hard for me to believe that you, among all of us, could have a dark past of some kind. My mind simply can’t process it.
PATTON: And yet, I do. The Dark Master took good care of shaping my mind in a way that would never ever make me question the holes in my mind. He probably gave me that stupid naive personality so that I would never wonder about the kind of stuff he didn’t want me to remember. And it worked. I was so happy in my stupidity I got completely blind about that.
LOGAN: Don’t say that, Patton. You were not stupid.
PATTON: Yes I was. So silly, so childish. I’m so ashamed when I look back and remember the stupidity of my mind I had these past years.
LOGAN: We loved you the way you were. I loved you. I still do.
PATTON: I’m sorry, Logan, but as Deceit would say, you’ve fallen in love with a lie. The Patton you fell in love with is not real. It was never real. I don’t deserve any kind of love.
LOGAN: Falsehood! That’s not true!
PATTON: Yes it is. You don’t know what I did. What I made Virgil go through because of my weakness
 Oh, my God, you’re gonna hate me so much when I level with you all. I’d wish that the Dark Master hadn’t restored my memories. I was happier in my stupidity and now I feel like I’ll never find peace in my life again. Maybe that was his intention, to see me suffer and torture myself forever.
VIRGIL: Dad, you are my father. Nothing you could have ever done could be so bad that I couldn’t forgive it.
PATTON: You don’t know the truth yet, son. Once you know, you won’t be able to say that again with conviction.
VIRGIL: Then tell me dad, to prove you that you’re wrong. What is that truth that is so unforgivable?
[Patton sighs]
PATTON: The truth about who your father is.
VIRGIL: You are my father, what do you mean?
PATTON: I mean your other father.
VIRGIL: My other father? You remember now his identity? Who is he?
PATTON: You already know him too well. You’ve lived with him for years in the Dark Realm. You lived under his yoke and his tyranny for many years, and I couldn’t save you, may God forgive me.
[Virgil looks at Patton. A grimace of horror slowly starts appearing]
VIRGIL: No
 that’s not true
 that’s impossible!
PATTON: Yes. As painful as it is for me to admit it, but it’s true. The Dark Master is your father.
VIRGIL: [progressively more hysterical as he speaks] I can’t believe you! He can’t be my father! He can’t! If he was my father, he would have never treated me the way he did in the Dark Realm! He would have never taken my son away from me! It’s impossible! No! I refuse to believe you! You’re a liar! You’re no better than Deceit!
ROMAN: [holding him by the shoulders and shaking him] Virgil, calm down! You know he would never lie to you, especially in a matter so serious!
[Virgil sits down. He can’t look Patton in the face]
PATTON: [sad] See? I told you you would hate me.
[Virgil doesn’t answer. He just stares at the infinity, with rivers of tears running down his cheeks, in complete silence. Patton looks at his son, and his eyes also get watery and red. Logan hesitates about if he should hold Patton’s hand, his face noting he'd really wish to do so. Eventually he shies away and doesn’t.]
ROMAN: Just give him some time. It’s too much to assimilate in one go.
THOMAS: I have so many questions

PATTON: [sniffs and swallows his tears, then trying to show the voice of a dad commanding something to his son] I know, Thomas. But for now, they’ll have to wait. If we want to stand a chance against the Dark Master, you need to sleep. We all need it, for the record.
THOMAS: That’s easier said than done, though. How am I going to catch sleep with all this turmoil of emotions and thoughts running through my mind? I don’t feel sleepy, just tired, really tired, but not sleepy.
PATTON: You’re exhausted, Thomas. You don’t feel sleepy because of your nervousness over all of this, but I’m sure if you try, it won’t take you long to fall asleep. And while you sleep, we will all fall into slumber, including the Dark Master, so that could at least delay his plans with Chris. And since Chris can resist slumber, it could give him a chance too, if he could ever break out of that ball, that is.
THOMAS: What are the Dark Master’s plans?
PATTON: No, Thomas. Not now. Now, sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you everything.
ROLAND: You can all use the guest bedroom in the castle. I always have it ready in anticipation for days like this when all of you would come over. The sheets were changed just this morning. And you, Thomas, can find some sleeping clothing in the closet that will suit you. After all we all have the same size in this world, right?
THOMAS: Thank you so much, Roland.
ROLAND: Don’t mention it.
ROMAN: Okay, time to bed, then. Tomorrow, we’ll call Deceit, Honesty and Remus and we’ll think about what to do.
ROLAND: Is it really necessary to call Remus, though? I’m quite unnerved by his presence. He tried to kill me, just in case you’ve forgotten, that’s why Ira came to live here with me, to be my protector against him. It just doesn’t feel right for me that you’re all so
 attached to him right now. I don’t trust him.
ROMAN: I know what you mean and I understand your concern, but Remus is no longer the same as he used to be. I mean, he’s still pretty chaotic and all, but he’s harmless now, and he’s trying to fit in with us, in his own unique way. Besides, we need to be all together for greater chances of success.
ROLAND: [sighs] Okay, if there’s no choice, okay. But don’t ask me to behave nicely to him, because he wasn’t nice to me.
ROMAN: It’s fair, but you should try to give him a chance. Now, let’s go to bed. I’ll turn the day back into night so that we can sleep well, even though it’s almost morning at this point.
[they all stand up and follow Roland. Virgil, apparently unaware that the others are leaving the room, remains sitting down for a moment, still looking at nowhere, before Roman grabs him by the hand and asks him to follow them with the sweetest glance he could come up with. Virgil just follows them like an automaton to the huge guest bedroom which has eight beds. Thomas puts on the pajama he finds in the closet and gets into bed. The others just summon pajamas for themselves and get into the other beds. It only takes a matter of minutes for the exhausted Thomas to fall asleep. When that happens, the rest of the Sides fall asleep too. All of them except Virgil, who just keeps staring at the ceiling, still crying in silence, all night long]
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ravenbrenna09 · 5 years ago
Text
Distracting
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22063480
Summary: Amber recruits Robbe to distract Sander.
...
I don’t know why my mind is telling me that I want to write a shit-ton of WTFock fanfictions, but here I am, writing and posting another WTFock fanfiction. I literally don’t know what this is. This fic was born because I was writing an angsty Sander POV from the fic that I had talked about at the beginning of “Wildfire” and felt the need to write some fluff to counterbalance it all.
So here this fic is. Enjoy!
...
“Robbe!” Amber came rushing out of nowhere, grabbing ahold of Robbe’s shoulder. There was a serious look in the girl’s eye as she stared at Robbe. Despite the fact that Aaron, her boyfriend of almost a week, was in the group with the remainder of the boys, her gaze remained focused steadily on Robbe, who blinked confused underneath her gaze. “I need you to distract Sander.”
Robbe blinked. “Uh, why?”
If it had been a week ago, Robbe might’ve been confused about why Amber would be the person to ask about distracting his boyfriend. But, when Robbe had met Sander’s mother, he had ended up spending the night in Sander’s basement bedroom (“how clichĂ© of you,” Robbe had teased once Sander had shown him the room in question) and Amber had been sitting at the dinner table with Sander’s mother when Sander managed to drag (or, maybe, carry) him out of bed for breakfast the following morning. They were cousins, practically best friends for family gatherings when they were small, and after learning this fact, Robbe realized how much it made sense.
How Sander had pushed Amber out of the kitchen at the beach house and why Amber had let him. How happy Amber had looked while the girls were apologizing for trying to kiss him at a party. How familiar with each other Sander and Amber always seemed to be. Why Amber had been at Sander and Noor’s school’s gathering when the boys had been invited by Noor and the two girls weren’t really that close, to begin with.
At that moment, it had all made sense.
“Because,” Amber spoke, avoiding the question.
Robbe raised an eyebrow. “Because?”
“You do realize he’s guarding the stairs, right?” Amber questioned, gesturing towards the boy. Robbe glanced towards his boyfriend. Sure enough, Sander was leaning against the wall. The boy’s platinum-blond hair blended in with the white wall behind him, but his black skinny jeans and David Bowie shirt that Noor had gotten him had made him stood out. To his right was Senne, joking with him despite the fact that they only met once and Robbe was dragging him out of the kitchen by the lapel of his leather jacket.
Robbe raised an eyebrow, tilting his head. “And, why would he be guarding the stairs?”
“I don’t know,” Amber admitted, sounding like she knew exactly why Sander was guarding the stairs. Robbe had a feeling that he knew too, but he didn’t want to say anything. “Someone’s decided to have sex in the downstairs bathroom. Now, he won’t let me in the one upstairs.”
“Ok,” Robbe spoke up, taking a sip of his beer. “What do I get if I distract him?”
Amber furrowed her eyebrows. “Laid?”
“I’m most likely already getting laid tonight.” Somewhere behind him, Jens let out a bark of a laugh and Robbe was certain that someone spat out their drink. He thought his friends found it funny because Amber shuddered and gave him a look like he had given too much information. “Amber, why are you giving me that look for? You literally just suggested it!”
“I know,” Amber replied. “I’m sorry it’s still weird. I’m still getting used to it.”
“Either way, I’m going to need something else,” Robbe continued.
“Can we discuss the terms later? Like at school or something?” Amber questioned. She crossed his arm over her chest and a serious, nervous look crossed her face. Robbe took a final sip of his beer before offering it to Jens, who took it without question. Moyo was wiping the remains of his spat-out beer off his chin with his sleeve and Noor, who was tucked into his side, was silently giggling as she helped him. Aaron just stood off to the side, glancing between Amber and Robbe confused. “Please?” Amber pleaded.
“Alright,” Robbe remarked, standing up. “Once I get him to the backyard, you can make your run for it.”
“Thank you!” Amber whispered, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“You owe me,” Robbe replied, pointing at her.
Amber grinned at him, nodding her head.
As Robbe approached Sander and Senne, his platinum-haired boyfriend glanced up at the sight of him and saw the ghost of the smile on his face. His cheeks were flushed from laughter, but Robbe could tell the anxiety that was darting behind his eyes. Now that their relationship was literally an open book, Robbe could tell that Sander was overwhelmed. Yet, his protectiveness of his cousin had rooted him to one of the busiest places in the party, save the dance floor.
“Mind if I borrow him?” Robbe questioned Senne.
His former flatmate held up his hands as he moved away with a beer in his hands. “He’s all yours,” Senne supplied, moving away from Sander. Robbe glanced over his shoulder, spotting Senne making a beeline for Robbe’s abandoned friends (and Amber, who greeted Senne with a hug), who all were watching the two of them with amused eyes.
Sander laughed, glancing at his friends. “Why are your friends staring?”
“I don’t know,” Robbe replied, staring up at him. With their minuscule height difference, Sander stared down at him. His raised eyebrow told him that he didn’t believe a word that Robbe had said and the brunet simply smiled up at his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Sander’s neck. “I just missed you and they’re just jealous that I get to have you.”
Sander snorted, his nose scrunching up and Robbe pulled him down to kiss him. Sander’s lips were warm and heavenly, pushing against Robbe’s lips as his tongue darted out to brush in his mouth. One of Sander’s hands went to the nape of his neck, digging into the strands of his hair, and the other one landed on his hipbone, his thumb slipping beneath the hem of his shirt. Robbe gripped at Sander’s forearm and his hair, pulling on the strands of his hair hard enough to elicit a groan from Sander’s throat.
“Baby,” Sander purred, barely pulling away from him. Robbe grinned. “Stop or I’m not going to be able to control myself.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Robbe whispered.
“Is it?” Sander teased.
“Mhmm,” Robbe replied, opening his eyes to stare up at him. “You look really overwhelmed.” Robbe kissed him again, dragging his hands through his hair. “Do you want to get out of here?” he pleaded, grabbing at Sander’s hair again and angling his body against him to try and convince him. “Didn’t your mom say that she was going out?”
“No, she said she was staying home,” Sander mumbled. “And, your mom’s at home too.”
Robbe groaned into his mouth, running one hand down his chest, toying with the strings of his jacket that he still had on. “Come,” Robbe mumbled, grabbing a fistful of Sander’s jacket and tugging on it. Robbe walked backward and Sander went with him, forgetting his self-imposed post as he chased after his boyfriend’s lips with a slight grin on his face. Robbe dragged their lips back together, angling their bodies so their hips brushed together, as the smaller boy led him to the backyard.
“Robbe,” Sander whispered as Robbe opened Jana’s backdoor without looking. It was far too cold for anyone else to be outside now even for a smoke. Once Sander pulled his mouth of reach, Robbe ducked to press kisses along the length of his neck. Sander’s hand gripped his hair a little tighter. “It’s too cold for us to be out here. You especially since you aren’t wearing a jacket.”
Robbe grinned at him, pushing him against the wall. There was a small section of the porch where the icy cold wind wasn’t whipping around. Robbe settled between his boyfriend’s legs, wrapping his arms around the older boy’s torso between the fabric of his t-shirt and the outer padding of his jacket. Robbe tilted his head to look up at him, “Then, keep me warm.”
Sander let out a sigh, a small, amused smile growing on his face. Then, Sander leaned down to press a kiss against Robbe’s lips. The kiss was heated and tantalizing, warming Robbe up to his core. The younger boy leaned into his kiss, into his boyfriend’s embrace, and opened his mouth to his tongue before Sander even asked. Robbe dragged his hand up Sander’s back, feeling the muscles beneath his shirt and returning his hand to Sander’s hair.
As Sander separated from his lips and started to kiss bruises into the flesh of Robbe’s neck, the brunet spotted Amber walking past the hallway, dragging a confused Aaron in her wake. Amber flashed him a smile before she was gone, up the stairs with Aaron in tow.
Robbe dug his fingernails into the flesh of Sander’s neck as his tongue trailed beneath his ear, arching against him as he blocked his friends out of his head. Sander’s hands were on his hips, flipping and pressing him into the corner of the porch and kissing him, harder, faster. Robbe felt his eyes roll in the back of his head and he kissed him hard in return, gripped at the strands of his hair. Sander let out a moan, letting his hands roam freely now that they were away from the main drum of the party and out of the path of any windows.
Then, as Sander’s hands inched towards Robbe’s belt and elicited a whine from the smaller boy, the older one stilled, pulling away from Robbe to stare accusingly at him. “You didn’t
”
“What?” Robbe spoke, half-breathless. Sander removed his hands from Robbe’s body, pressing them against the wood of the siding and backing away. He was teasing, Robbe knew he was, but the smaller boy was increasingly desperate for his boyfriend now. Robbe wrapped a leg around Sander’s waist, locking him in place against Robbe, as his boyfriend tried to get away from him. “Sander,” Robbe whined, gripping tightly on his jacket and chasing his lips. Sander leaned backward and Robbe huffed. “Come on.”
When Sander didn’t move, Robbe unhooked his leg and snatched the belt loops of Sander’s jeans, pulling him against him. “That’s quite cruel of her.”
“Of who?” Robbe questioned, playing dumb. Sander was close enough that Robbe dove for his neck. The artist kept his hands flat against the siding and avoiding reciprocating his touch. The smaller boy knew that Sander was trying to tease him, try to get him to admit his involvement, but Robbe wasn’t ready to let him go yet or stop talking.
Robbe kissed along his neck, kissing his Adam’s apple, before moving up the other side of his neck. Sander let out a throaty groan as Robbe pulled their hips together. “Using you against me,” Sander mumbled, a little breathless once Robbe pressed an open mouth kiss to the sensitive spot behind Sander’s right ear. “Amber knew that I would follow you anywhere.”
“I don’t want to talk about Amber,” Robbe mumbled. He moved to kiss Sander, to press his lips against his own, but the blond backed up, a joyful teasing expression in his eye. Frustrated, Robbe whined, leaning towards Sander. “Sander, I have a mouth, you have a mouth, and you’re my boyfriend. Let me kiss you,” he begged, biting his lip.
“I don’t want your mouth right now,” Sander teased. A smug smirk was painted over his face and Robbe hated what that look did to him. There were times when annoyed the hell out of him, but there were also times where it only encouraged Robbe further. To twist that smug smirk into a euphoric look. This time was one of the latter.
Robbe smiled, a mischevious look on his eyes. “Okay, what would you like my mouth to do instead?”
Sander’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you have in mind?”
“I don’t know,” Robbe whispered, his fingers undoing Sander’s belt and tugging him closer, out of the sight of the doorway should someone glance out. “I asked you, remember?” Sander leaned towards Robbe and the brunet grinned. “So, what would you like me to do?”
Sander gave him a look.
Robbe chuckled, sliding to his knees.
...
Note: I’m developing a problem.
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soft-stormcloud · 5 years ago
Text
Professional Spirit Chasers [Analogical]
Trigger warnings: Dead character, same character committed suicide but they’re the ghost and it has a really happy ending, when we first meet Patton he’s super sickly and really really sad
   Word count: 2439
A/N: I
 I don’t know what this turned into. Oh well.
   Reblogs > Likes
“Roman, honestly, it’s not that hard, just hold the camera still.”
“I’m trying!”
Logan rolled his eyes, looking at Virgil. “Let’s get this out of the way, yeah?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Logan made dead eye contact with the camera. “My name is Logan Sanders, I’m with my fiance Virgil, and we’re professional ghost hunters.”
“Spirit chasers,” Virgil corrected quietly.
“Whatever.”
They stood in front of a nice-looking, two bedroom house, with blue walls and big windows. It was close to midnight.
“Roman,” Logan said, “our less than talented cameraman today-”
“Excuse me-”
“-reached out to us and offered to record one of our sessions to give him practice, and to prove that spirits aren’t dangerous at all. Now that introductions are out of the way, we’re going to pretend the cameras not there, because it makes me uncomfortable and it gives Virgil anxiety.”
“Lo, you’re rambling,” Virgil mumbled with a little smile.
“Right.” He blushed. “Ahem. Let’s begin.”
As they walked up the drive, Roman rushed to keep up. “Uh, Logan? Mind telling them what we’re doing here?”
He sighed. “If I must.” He straightened up, grabbing what looked to Roman like a flat black box with an army green screen. “We’ve been contacted by the owner of the house that they believe a spirit is lingering inside. They’ve asked us to clear the spirit.”
Virgil wet his lips as they stopped outside the front door. “The, uh
”
“Speak louder, babe.”
He fumbled with his messenger bag. “The spirit,” he showed up a picture of a boy with peach skin and messy golden hair laughing while hugging what looked to be a stray cat, “is believed to be twenty two year old Patton Hart. He died two years ago, and lived here alone. It was ruled a suicide.”
Logan spoke while Virgil unlocked the door. “My fiance will be contacting the spirit, while I monitor the equipment.”
Inside, it was mostly half-unpacked moving boxes, the only things set up being the couch and the entertainment centre. The television was off.
“Hey, teach, you ever use Ouija boards?” Roman grinned while looking through the camera.
“That’s a good way to get killed,” he said offhandedly, looking around.
“Oh.”
“Spirits, are harmless. Ouija boards don’t invite spirits, though.” He looked at Roman with a glare. “They invite demons. We don’t use them.”
They went into the kitchen- It was small and narrow, cabinets and counters on either side leading to the dining table in the back.
“Temperature dropping,” Logan said, his eyes glued to his box thing.
While Roman and Logan stayed in the doorway, Virgil ventured in, his gaze drifting around curiously. He looked almost ethereal, with his black lace dress, the sleeves coming down to his palms, the light glimmering across his makeup. Any time he remembered the camera, he got nervous, small, but he seemed content enough to get to know the spirit.
“What’s he doing?” Roman asked.
“Shut up,” Logan said.”
They sat in tense silence as Virgil looked around, until he turned and said, “He’s not down here.”
That was apparently a queue Roman didn’t understand- Logan moved to set all his equipment on the dining room table, and Virgil began inspecting every inch of the kitchen. He ran his fingers over a crack in the wall, closing his eyes.
“Uh
” Roman zoomed in on his fingers. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be looking for the ghost?”
“Patton will come to us if he wants to.” Virgil straightened up, brushing down his dress. “He’s just like a person, we can’t force him into anything.”
“What if he doesn’t want to leave?”
Virgil squeezed past Logan to the other side of the kitchen, a gentle hand on his back. “We’ll talk with our client about what to do from there.”
“Sometimes they insist we make them leave anyway,” Logan said, fiddling with a mic, “in which case we keep trying until the spirit agrees, or it’s time to stop. A lot of the times we’re able to come up with a compromise, though.”
Virgil glanced at a stain on the wall, the wallpaper curling. “People are most often compassionate when given the choice.”
“If he leaves, where does he go?”
He shrugged. “Depends. Not everyone wants to pass. Sometimes they stay with us for a while while we find some family for them to latch onto, and they become a familiar. Sometimes they just want a quiet place to stay.”
Roman looked at him over the camera. “Is he stuck here?”
Virgil looked at the camera nervously, and turned away. “Not really. He has to want to leave, or at least be okay with it. Like I said: We can’t force him to do anything.”
“Verge,” Logan secured the mic in his belt and grabbed the box thing, “ready to go upstairs?”
“Yeah.”
Roman’s eyes widened. “No, no, no- Everyone who goes upstairs in horror movies ends up dead!”
“Good thing we’re not in a horror movie.” Logan grabbed Roman’s shoulder and gently pushed him out of the kitchen. “Come on, cameraboy.”
Upstairs, it was even more empty. They stopped in every room before Virgil stopped them in the master bedroom, the dresser and bed set up but otherwise everything was in pieces or boxes.
“He’s in here.”
Roman’s heart pounded as he whipped around to look at Logan. “What?”
“Don’t look at me!” He snapped. “Point it at Virgil, this is his part.”
Virgil sat at the edge of the bed, his eyes fluttering closed. “Patton? The lady who lives here asked us to talk to you. Am I speaking to Patton?” He opened his eyes and looked around.
Two blue eyes stared at him from the cracked open closet doors. “Yes.”
He smiled comfortingly. “Can you come out here, please?”
Patton hesitated; The closet doors creaked open further as he stepped out, Roman gasping and turning to it.
Patton, more or less, looked like he did in the picture, only much sadder and with rope burns around his neck. He wore pajamas with black cats all over them, his feet bare and his eyes swollen from crying. He looked sickly, like he hadn’t been eating.
“Who’s he looking at?” Roman demanded, his face full of panic. “Who’s he talking to?!”
“Aren’t cameramen supposed to be quiet?” Logan insisted, glaring. The more he spoke the harder it would be for Virgil to do his job.
“What
” Patton’s voice came out hoarse. He coughed weakly. “What does she want?”
Virgil bit his lip. “She wants you to leave.”
Little sobs bubbled out of Patton’s lips- He buried his face in his hands as he weeped, Virgil’s heart breaking in his chest. Logan had to stop himself from going over to him, instead looking at the box in his hands.
“Temperature dropping rapidly.”
“Hey, Patton, look at me,” Virgil said softly. “Look at me. Can you follow my breathing?”
“Ghosts need to breathe?!” Roman whispered.
“I will send you out of the room!” Logan hissed.
Patton peeked at Virgil through his fingers, and Virgil gently led him through a 4-7-8 rhythm until his breathing was steady again, his sobs dulled down to little tears tracking down his cheeks.
He patted the spot on the bed next to him. “Come closer, let’s talk.”
Patton sat next to him- Their knees would have been touching, but instead Patton’s dipped into Virgil’s.
“You can see me,” Patton said in confusion.
“I’m a medium. I want to talk.” Virgil pointed at he spoke, “That’s my fiance over there, and Roman’s an idiot.”
“Uh!” Roman exclaimed, offended.
Patton giggled, and Virgil grinned proudly. “Do you have any family we can take you to?”
Just like that, his face faded back to sadness. “No,” he mumbled.
He frowned. “No friends?”
“No.” He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging. “Please- Please don’t make me leave,” he begged, starting to sob again. “I don’t want to be alone again.”
“Patton,” he said gently, “the first thing you should know is that we can’t force you to do anything.”
“Why is he telling him that?” Roman asked quietly.
“He doesn’t want to have any unfair advantages.”
“If you want to stay here, you can. But if she doesn’t want you here, and you stay anyway, she might leave instead. And people might not move in again. If you come with us, we can make sure you aren’t alone anymore.”
Patton stared at the ground, looking defeated and upset. “
You promise?”
“I promise.”
Patton looked up at him, tears threatening to break loose in his eyes again. “If I try to hug you will I go right through you?”
Virgil chuckled. “Probably. But not forever. You can work on it, build your strength.”
“Okay.” He straightened up. “I’ll come with you.”
Roman zoomed in way too close to Logan’s frustrated face. He sighed, pulling down his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Tell me again why Virgil decided to keep you.”
Roman zoomed out. “This is live, I’ll have you know. You can’t hide how mean you are to me anymore!”
“I don’t hide anything.”
They were in the group’s new office, Logan sat on the maroon couch and trying to read. He tossed the book on the coffee table, sighing.
“They want to know if you’ve found a place for Patton,” Roman said, sitting on the coffee table.
“Yes, we have.”
“Can I tell them, can I tell them?!”
Logan stood, going to the kitchenette in the back to brew some coffee. “It’s beyond me why so many people care about such an odd job. All we do is help people relocate.”
Roman groaned dramatically. “God, specs, you just turned the coolest job into the most lame-sounding thing in the WORLD!” He followed him. “Can I please tell them?!”
Virgil came down the stairs holding a bundle of folded up clothing. “Do you think this would fit Patton? Now that he’s moved in, I want to start getting him stuff, but it’s hard to measure a ghost when they’re still transparent.”
Roman let out a whine. “I wanted to tell them!”
Virgil zeroed in on the camera. “Oh my God, are you filming?” He covered his face, hissing, “Roman! You have to warn me!”
“Babe, here.” Logan held up his Stranger Things mug. “Coffee.”
Virgil grumbled to himself, setting the clothes down on the counter and taking the mug from him. “Thanks.”
Logan wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his head. “I’m sure the clothes will be fine. If they aren’t, we’ll just get something else.”
“Is Patton gonna come on ghost hunting missions with us?!” Roman asked excitedly.
“Spirit chasing,” Logan corrected.
“I wouldn’t mind having some help, actually,” Virgil said, embarrassed. “Sometimes they’re a little hard to convince.”
“If he wants to come, then sure.”
Roman punched the air. “YES!”
“Roman, put the camera down!” Logan snapped. “You’re going to break it, and Virgil needs a break.”
“Whatever.” He shut off the camera, setting it on the counter. Logan tsked and moved it away from the coffee pot.
Virgil blinked. “That’s not
 How you should end a livestream
”
“Does Patton like me?” Roman asked.
Logan raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Verge? Huh? Does Patton like us?” He pouted. “You’re still the only one who can talk to him!”
“That’s
 Not really true. You can talk to him, he just can’t talk back. Well, he can, you just won’t hear it. Anyway, I’m pretty sure he likes everyone.” He brought the mug to his lips, downing half of it before setting it down and burying his face in Logan’s shoulder.
“Virgil!” Patton called from upstairs, and Logan slammed his hands over his ears. “I think I broke something!”
Roman flinched. “What the fuck was that.”
“I see Patton’s getting his voice back.” Logan hesitantly straightened up.
“Transparency, too. He’s working really hard. I’ll be up in a minute!” He pulled away, kissing Logan. “I gotta go.”
He rushed upstairs, to the filming room. Patton was sitting on one of the bean bag chairs, in a baby blue gown and a flower crown made of sunflowers, a matching blue choker covering his scar. He had gained some weight back, and jumped up when he saw Virgil, smiling excitedly.
“Virgil!” He bounced over to him, giggling. “Do you think we can get a cat? I’ve always wanted a cat!”
“If you can convince Logan, sure.”
“Hey!” He whined.
“You’ll be able to talk to him soon.” He rested his hands on Patton’s shoulders; They sunk a little, then stayed put. “They heard your voice down here.”
Patton gasped. “Really?!”
He shrugged. “Well. It sounded like white noise, but yes. They heard something.” He looked around curiously. “What did you break?”
“Oh, yeah!” He pointed across the room, to the table in the corner that held a little pile of shattered glass and a puddle of something bronze.
“Apple juice is my favourite and it was right there I just had to try!” He shrunk in on himself a little. “Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad,” he promised. “I’m proud of you for trying. How far did you get?”
“I held it a couple inches off the table.”
Virgil’s eyes widened. “Inches?”
He smiled, a little sheepishly. “Yeah!”
“Patton, that’s great! That’s so much better than last time!” He squeezed his shoulders, before going over to the small closet in the corner. “Why don’t you go watch T.V. while I clean this up? Ro and Lo are downstairs.”
Watching T.V. with someone was one of Patton’s favourite things to do while he was still getting his voice and body back. It was easy for him to turn the T.V. on, since he didn’t have to hold anything, just click it. On his worst days, it took him ten minutes to get it on. Everyone made sure to turn the channel back to the one he liked when they were finished so he didn’t have to fumble with the remote.
Patton grinned. “Okay! Are we spending the night here?”
Virgil nodded. “Lo and I want to get the video we shot yesterday edited and up as soon as we can. You can go with Roman, or come with us, in the morning.”
He slipped out the room and happily bounded downstairs while Virgil got the cleaning supplies from the closet. When he and Logan decided to do this together, they didn’t exactly expect to adopt a ghost, or turn it into a paying job. But Patton liked them and, well, now they could do it full-time. All thanks to Roman.
Spirit Chasers Au
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teenytinystorage · 5 years ago
Text
Click Click - A Sanders Sides Fanfic
Words: 2786
Genre: Fluff
Warnings: Food mention, Deceit (lmk if I need any more warnings!)
Pairings: None
Enjoy! :)
-
Click click.
The dreaded noise of a locked door.
Patton lowered his arm that was tugged down to the Earth with two grocery bags dangling from it. He was planning on putting a bag in each hand once he entered, since two trips would be inconvenient, but clearly, he was not getting inside anytime soon. So, he decided it was best to let his arm receive circulation again.
Patton exhaled loudly and turned his back to the door. He forgot his keys when he went out to do errands, and he knew none of the others were home now. He slid down until he sat against the doorframe. He crossed his legs and set the bags down to his right side. He set his hands in his lap.
“Now what am I supposed to do with the groceries?” Patton thought out loud. He turned his head to the two plastic bags that sat beside him, anxiously awaiting for the door to welcome them inside as they melted in the heat. “Ice cream isn’t good as a melty bowl of soup, and Logan and Roman won’t be happy to have thawed Crofter’s.”
Patton sat, watching the breeze blow through the tufts of grass on the ground. He knew Logan would be home soon enough from his break to go to the library, and Logan had his keys on him, Patton was sure. Logan wouldn’t leave his keys at home.
“It appears someone doesn’t need my assistance now,” a bitter voice rang through the window.
Patton leapt up and turned his head.
Two cloaked arms sat on the windowsill as Deceit leaned over curiously, staring down at Patton.
“Ah, Deceit! Good timing! Could you.. let me in?” Patton asked, leaning over to pick up his grocery bags.
“I’ll take the groceries in,” Deceit answered.
“..But will you let me in?”
“What didn’t I just say?”
Patton shook his head as he mumbled to himself while picking up the grocery bags. “Well, I suppose that’ll be good enough. This stuff needs to get into the fridge. I can wait. Logan will be home soon anyway.”
Patton looked up toward the window again and yelled, “So, how are you going to get these bags in, anyway?”
Deceit tossed a rope over the windowsill. “With this.”
“A pulley system? I like your thinking!” Patton chuckled as he tied the rope onto both of the handles of the plastic bags.
Deceit rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m totally not doing this to steal the Crofter’s or anything.”
Patton scowled at Deceit as he walked away from the rope. “Deceit, what did I tell you about stealing Logan and Roman’s Crofter’s?”
“I can do it as long as they don’t find out,” Deceit walked backward as he started tugging the bags up into the window.
Patton gasped, holding his hands over his heart playfully. “You know that’s not what I said! I’m ashamed of you!”
Deceit tugged the bags up the rooftop until the glass jars inside clunked against the windowsill. “That’s totally what you said.” He started to untie the bags from the rope.
Patton crossed his arms. “Well, if I see an empty jar lid and a spoon in there once I get inside, you’re not going to be let off so easy this time, mister!”
“Oh? And what are you going to do about it?” Deceit held the bags mockingly out the window in his hands, dangling them over the roof.
“Two words: No. Musicals.” Patton pointed his finger at Deceit.
Deceit growled, “Fine. No promises, though.”
Deceit set the bags down on his bed and grasped his hands on the window’s shudder strings.
Patton nodded. “Mhm! And that threat is real this time. No ifs, ands, or buts!” Patton childishly snickered to himself at his immature remark. “‘Buts’..”
Deceit rolled his eyes.
“Thank you! Put Virgil’s ice cream in the freezer please!” Patton shouted as Deceit slammed the window shut and pulled down the shudders.
“Well, I tried. Sorry Lo and Ro, there’ll be less Crofter’s for the week,” Patton muttered to himself as he sunk down against the door once more.
He felt more relaxed, since he didn’t have Virgil’s ice cream or Logan and Roman’s Crofter’s on the line anymore. He would just have to wait until Logan got home, then.
-
2 minutes passed.
Patton twisted and fidgeted with his cardigan sleeves, dozing off from sitting by himself for so long. He pulled his phone out to check the time.
3:34 P.M.
Patton heard swishing behind him. He turned his head to see Virgil strolling toward the door distractedly, his hands shoved in his hoodie pockets and headphones on his ears plugged into his phone.
“Hey Virgil!” Patton excitedly smiled and stood. “I didn’t know you’d get home so early!”
“Hey Pat..” Virgil noticed Patton and pulled the headphones off of one side of his head. He shifted his hand that was shoved into his pocket to pause the audio on his phone.
“So, are you feeling better now since..” Patton clumsily fumbled with his words, “..the incident?”
Virgil snickered. “Pat, you don’t have to call it ‘the incident.’ I just got a little overwhelmed with video making and stuff, that’s all. Not too big of a deal. Happens a lot.” Virgil exhaled as Patton frowned slightly. “And to answer your question. Yep, I’m feeling more chill now.”
“Oh goodie!” Patton clapped his hands eagerly. “What’d you do?”
“I went on a walk and listened to an audiobook.” Virgil turned his head as Patton’s smile widened, “y’know, since you and Lo were saying I should do that to calm down. It worked real well, more than I thought. Didn’t even realize I was walking when the audiobook was playing,” Virgil tapped the side of his headphones with his left hand.
Virgil took a relaxed breath in, swaying and shifting his weight between his toes and heels as he looked out toward the street. “The fresh air was great for my nerves,” Virgil admitted as he shoved his hand back into his hoodie pocket. “Who knew, exercise is helpful.” Virgil shrugged, turning his head back toward Patton and smirking.
“I’m glad to hear our advice worked!” Patton smiled.
“Mhm
” Virgil nodded. “So, any reason why you’re sitting outside in the heat when there’s a perfectly good house inside?” Virgil tilted his head.
“Locked myself out. Care to join me?”
Virgil’s hand flipped the metallic violet and black, stormcloud-shaped keys in his pocket as the metal clinked and jangled around for a few seconds. He shrugged.
“Got nothing else to do.”
Virgil strolled over to the door and sat down next to Patton. He sat with his knees to his chin and held his arms around his legs. He slid his headphones on once more, pulling his phone out of his pocket and continuing his audiobook. He leaned his head down onto his knees and closed his eyes.
Patton’s smile faded as he turned his head from napping Virgil back toward the street. He tapped his feet on the grass as he kept waiting for Logan to return home.
-
10 minutes passed, and Logan had not returned yet.
Patton was getting restless, but at least Virgil was sitting next to him and waiting as well. That made him feel a bit better, especially considering that Virgil had keys on him and could very well have gone inside already. That made him feel a lot better.
Pat eventually conceded to use his phone to pass the time, despite wanting to observe the outside to keep himself occupied. He had watched the grass and leaves on the trees sway back and forth and back and forth for a while, but he found it hard to focus because of his jitters and fell victim to the tension of not checking his phone.
Patton scrolled distractedly for a few minutes, until, in the distance, he saw a side approaching from the park toward the house. Had Logan finally returned?
Shielding his katana back in its holder that was slung across his back, Roman waved once his hand was free. His logo-embroidered ruby and gold shield was suspended across his left arm with the help of two gray sequins-encrusted leather belts strapped across his forearm.
He proceeded back home at a quicker pace upon seeing the others. Patton’s smile returned when he saw how ecstatic Roman was.
“Greetings!” Roman announced as he stood in front of Patton and Virgil, a bit weary from the running.
“Hi Roman!”
Virgil looked up, sliding the headphones off of one side of his head once more. “‘Sup.”
“How was dragon hunting?” Patton was practically bouncing from anticipation.
“Alas, no devious creatures were found roaming the woods this evening. I was disheartened to find out I had spent my all my time prowling with no avail!” Roman cried out dramatically, sweeping his forehead with the back of his palm.
Virgil rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out of his pocket to mindlessly scroll social media.
“Well, at least we can rest assured knowing there’s no dragons out there that’ll come to attack us, right?”
“I suppose that hopeful news will have to satisfy me with my lack of findings,” Roman glanced away and slouched. He pulled off his shield and held the top of it, leaning it toward his side.
Roman then glanced back over and a puzzled look came over his face. “Say, why are you two sitting outside the front door, anyways?”
“I locked myself out!” Patton proudly proclaimed.
“I got nothing better to do,” Virgil shrugged, staring down at his phone and scrolling through what appeared to be Tumblr.
Roman pulled back his hair and shook his head. His burgundy, sword-shaped house keys locked onto his belt clinked upon each other as he shifted backward. “I suppose I have no other option but to accompany you two in your loitering. Someone has to stand guard to protect you both from danger.”
Roman crossed his arms and sat down on the wall of the house to the left of Virgil, who sat in the middle. He leaned his humongous, shiny shield on the wall to the left of him.
After a brief moment of pouting, Roman turned toward the other two with enthusiasm.
“While I did find no dragons today, I still do have some thrilling tales! Would you guys like to hear my story of the hieroglyphics I found while searching?”
Patton turned his head and gasped cheerfully. “Yes! Can I hear it? Please? Pleaaaase?”
“Since you asked so kindly,” Roman chuckled. “So, I was on my way to the dragon witch’s cave.”
-
“When I followed the creature’s footsteps, I found five symbols on the wall: A sword, a sun, two crowns, and a dragon scale.” Roman drew out each symbol while he described them.
Patton listened intently, enticed with the story.
Virgil glanced up, noticing the symbols Roman was making with his finger. Virgil hadn’t been listening this whole time, but these motions were enough to make him slide his headphones down to rest upon his neck.
“They looked suspiciously like claw marks,” Roman pointed a finger up to the sky declaringly, “so I knew they must have been made by the!-”
“Mind explaining to me why you three are outside, in front of the door, when we pay adequate rent each month for an apartment?” Logan stood above the three sides, dangling his house keys in his hand. There were two locked upon the metal ring, one shaped like a pencil with similar metallic colors and the other like a pen, complete with a cap. The three sides glanced over at him.
“Hi Logan!” Patton waved his hand. He paused, stricken with forgetfulness upon the excitement of seeing Logan again (what a dork). “What was the question?”
“Why you three are outdoors was the query I proposed and expect to receive an answer to in the near future.”
“Oh, right! I locked myself out since I forgot the keys. So, I thought I’d wait here until you got home to unlock the door!”
“Not an entirely unexpected response,” Logan darted his eyes between Roman and Virgil. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you two must have your keys on you. Why are you both not inside yet?”
“Pat was just sitting here, so I joined him so it’d look like we were just hanging out.” Virgil shoved his phone back into his pocket. Patton smiled upon hearing Virgil’s answer.
“I had to protect these two innocent citizens from the dreaded dragons of the forest! I’d be breaking prince honor code if I wasn’t!” Roman gasped, offended that Logan would even suggest him leaving the two sides outside by themselves. Virgil scoffed and exhaled quickly through his nose, stifling a chuckle.
“But you found no dragons today-” Patton started.
“Shh!” Roman irritatedly shushed him. Virgil shook his head, looking down at his phone once more.
“That’s why I’m not inside right now,” Roman nodded.
Logan exhaled through his nose annoyedly. “Then, I assume I shall be the one to grant you all access to the apartment.”
Logan fumbled through his keys and stepped in front of the door.
Patton stood and strolled to stand beside Logan.
Virgil scooted over and sat next to the door.
Roman stood, picking up his shield and holding it horizontally on his arms as if it were a dinner plate.
Logan slid his keys into the lock and twisted them.
Click click.
Logan turned the handle. A creak and an open house awarded them.
Roman stared at Logan confusedly as he approached the door. “Hey, you’ve said before that being outside is good for the mind, and we’re usually cooped up inside most of the time anyway. Why are you so intent on getting us inside?”
“I have acknowledged before that being outside is important. However, I am not being contradictory. We have a house right here, and we’ve been out all afternoon. Shelter is vital, especially in this recent temperate weather. You do not wish to receive a heatstroke, do you?”
“Okay, Nerdlock Holmes, how am I supposed to get a heatstroke from a few minutes of lounging?”
Patton pushed himself between the two, uneasily trying to break up the argument and change the subject. “Well, maybe a heatstroke isn’t the only thing you’d have to worry about if you stay outside too long.”
Logan squinted his eyes and tilted his head upward. “And what else exactly would we have to fret about in that figurative scenario?”
Patton shrugged his shoulders awkwardly, chuckling to ease the tension. “Dee might be eating both of your Crofter’s as we speak.” He glanced down and quietly mumbled, “sorry.”
Logan glared upstairs at the window to Deceit’s room. “How did he get his hands on it again?”
“I miiiiiiiight’ve let him help bring the groceries inside so the jelly didn’t melt.”
“That MONSTER!” Roman cried, unsheathing his katana and wielding his shield on his arm. He rapidly sprinted up the stairs and to Deceit’s room, the thump thump thump of his speedy steps echoing through the apartment.
The three paused for a moment, stunned by the outrageous overreaction. Logan was the first to break the shocked silence.
“Patton, you must recognize that, despite your best efforts to incorporate him into our group, Deceit is not and will never be reasonable when given our personal belongings. You remember what happened last time, don’t you? We didn’t have any Crofter’s in the house for a week,” Logan remarked.
“I know, I know. But he still seems like he could maybe be—”
“Deceit, unhand the Crofter’s now, or face my unbridled wrath!” Roman’s yells echoed from upstairs.
Virgil violently burst out snickering, failing to stifle his amusement behind his palm.
Patton leaned inside and shouted, “Play nice, please!”
Logan shook his head. He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. “While I am discontented with this thievery, I am not going to react that erratically.” Logan gestured to the stairway with his free hand when referring to Roman’s ridiculous reaction. “I presume I should follow Roman upstairs to make sure him and Deceit do not have a jousting-esque confrontation that extirpates-” Logan irritatedly altered his wording once he saw Patton and Virgil’s puzzled expressions, “destroys the whole mindspace.”
Logan lifted his head and trudged inside, marching up the stairs behind Roman, who had already made his way inside Deceit’s room to hear the confession of villainous theft.
Virgil slid his headphones back over his head, snickering to himself. “Drama queens,” he mumbled to himself before treading inside.
Patton strolled in behind Virgil. He closed and locked the door behind him.
Click click.
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Text
Professional Spirit Chasers
Prompt/Synopsis: Ghost hunting
Requested by: Day 26 of @sanderssidesspook
Trigger warnings: Dead character, same character committed suicide but they’re the ghost and it has a really happy ending, when we first meet Patton he’s super sickly and really really sad
    Word count: 2439
A/N: I
 I don’t know what this turned into. Oh well.
    Reblogs > Likes
“Roman, honestly, it’s not that hard, just hold the camera still.”
“I’m trying!”
Logan rolled his eyes, looking at Virgil. “Let’s get this out of the way, yeah?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Logan made dead eye contact with the camera. “My name is Logan Sanders, I’m with my fiance Virgil, and we’re professional ghost hunters.”
“Spirit chasers,” Virgil corrected quietly.
“Whatever.”
They stood in front of a nice-looking, two bedroom house, with blue walls and big windows. It was close to midnight.
“Roman,” Logan said, “our less than talented cameraman today-”
“Excuse me-”
“-reached out to us and offered to record one of our sessions to give him practice, and to prove that spirits aren’t dangerous at all. Now that introductions are out of the way, we’re going to pretend the cameras not there, because it makes me uncomfortable and it gives Virgil anxiety.”
“Lo, you’re rambling,” Virgil mumbled with a little smile.
“Right.” He blushed. “Ahem. Let’s begin.”
As they walked up the drive, Roman rushed to keep up. “Uh, Logan? Mind telling them what we’re doing here?”
He sighed. “If I must.” He straightened up, grabbing what looked to Roman like a flat black box with an army green screen. “We’ve been contacted by the owner of the house that they believe a spirit is lingering inside. They’ve asked us to clear the spirit.”
Virgil wet his lips as they stopped outside the front door. “The, uh
”
“Speak louder, babe.”
He fumbled with his messenger bag. “The spirit,” he showed up a picture of a boy with peach skin and messy golden hair laughing while hugging what looked to be a stray cat, “is believed to be twenty two year old Patton Hart. He died two years ago, and lived here alone. It was ruled a suicide.”
Logan spoke while Virgil unlocked the door. “My fiance will be contacting the spirit, while I monitor the equipment.”
Inside, it was mostly half-unpacked moving boxes, the only things set up being the couch and the entertainment centre. The television was off.
“Hey, teach, you ever use Ouija boards?” Roman grinned while looking through the camera.
“That’s a good way to get killed,” he said offhandedly, looking around.
“Oh.”
“Spirits, are harmless. Ouija boards don’t invite spirits, though.” He looked at Roman with a glare. “They invite demons. We don’t use them.”
They went into the kitchen- It was small and narrow, cabinets and counters on either side leading to the dining table in the back.
“Temperature dropping,” Logan said, his eyes glued to his box thing.
While Roman and Logan stayed in the doorway, Virgil ventured in, his gaze drifting around curiously. He looked almost ethereal, with his black lace dress, the sleeves coming down to his palms, the light glimmering across his makeup. Any time he remembered the camera, he got nervous, small, but he seemed content enough to get to know the spirit.
“What’s he doing?” Roman asked.
“Shut up,” Logan said.”
They sat in tense silence as Virgil looked around, until he turned and said, “He’s not down here.”
That was apparently a queue Roman didn’t understand- Logan moved to set all his equipment on the dining room table, and Virgil began inspecting every inch of the kitchen. He ran his fingers over a crack in the wall, closing his eyes.
“Uh
” Roman zoomed in on his fingers. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be looking for the ghost?”
“Patton will come to us if he wants to.” Virgil straightened up, brushing down his dress. “He’s just like a person, we can’t force him into anything.”
“What if he doesn’t want to leave?”
Virgil squeezed past Logan to the other side of the kitchen, a gentle hand on his back. “We’ll talk with our client about what to do from there.”
“Sometimes they insist we make them leave anyway,” Logan said, fiddling with a mic, “in which case we keep trying until the spirit agrees, or it’s time to stop. A lot of the times we’re able to come up with a compromise, though.”
Virgil glanced at a stain on the wall, the wallpaper curling. “People are most often compassionate when given the choice.”
“If he leaves, where does he go?”
He shrugged. “Depends. Not everyone wants to pass. Sometimes they stay with us for a while while we find some family for them to latch onto, and they become a familiar. Sometimes they just want a quiet place to stay.”
Roman looked at him over the camera. “Is he stuck here?”
Virgil looked at the camera nervously, and turned away. “Not really. He has to want to leave, or at least be okay with it. Like I said: We can’t force him to do anything.”
“Verge,” Logan secured the mic in his belt and grabbed the box thing, “ready to go upstairs?”
“Yeah.”
Roman’s eyes widened. “No, no, no- Everyone who goes upstairs in horror movies ends up dead!”
“Good thing we’re not in a horror movie.” Logan grabbed Roman’s shoulder and gently pushed him out of the kitchen. “Come on, cameraboy.”
Upstairs, it was even more empty. They stopped in every room before Virgil stopped them in the master bedroom, the dresser and bed set up but otherwise everything was in pieces or boxes.
“He’s in here.”
Roman’s heart pounded as he whipped around to look at Logan. “What?”
“Don’t look at me!” He snapped. “Point it at Virgil, this is his part.”
Virgil sat at the edge of the bed, his eyes fluttering closed. “Patton? The lady who lives here asked us to talk to you. Am I speaking to Patton?” He opened his eyes and looked around.
Two blue eyes stared at him from the cracked open closet doors. “Yes.”
He smiled comfortingly. “Can you come out here, please?”
Patton hesitated; The closet doors creaked open further as he stepped out, Roman gasping and turning to it.
Patton, more or less, looked like he did in the picture, only much sadder and with rope burns around his neck. He wore pajamas with black cats all over them, his feet bare and his eyes swollen from crying. He looked sickly, like he hadn’t been eating.
“Who’s he looking at?” Roman demanded, his face full of panic. “Who’s he talking to?!”
“Aren’t cameramen supposed to be quiet?” Logan insisted, glaring. The more he spoke the harder it would be for Virgil to do his job.
“What
” Patton’s voice came out hoarse. He coughed weakly. “What does she want?”
Virgil bit his lip. “She wants you to leave.”
Little sobs bubbled out of Patton’s lips- He buried his face in his hands as he weeped, Virgil’s heart breaking in his chest. Logan had to stop himself from going over to him, instead looking at the box in his hands.
“Temperature dropping rapidly.”
“Hey, Patton, look at me,” Virgil said softly. “Look at me. Can you follow my breathing?”
“Ghosts need to breathe?!” Roman whispered.
“I will send you out of the room!” Logan hissed.
Patton peeked at Virgil through his fingers, and Virgil gently led him through a 4-7-8 rhythm until his breathing was steady again, his sobs dulled down to little tears tracking down his cheeks.
He patted the spot on the bed next to him. “Come closer, let’s talk.”
Patton sat next to him- Their knees would have been touching, but instead Patton’s dipped into Virgil’s.
“You can see me,” Patton said in confusion.
“I’m a medium. I want to talk.” Virgil pointed at he spoke, “That’s my fiance over there, and Roman’s an idiot.”
“Uh!” Roman exclaimed, offended.
Patton giggled, and Virgil grinned proudly. “Do you have any family we can take you to?”
Just like that, his face faded back to sadness. “No,” he mumbled.
He frowned. “No friends?”
“No.” He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging. “Please- Please don’t make me leave,” he begged, starting to sob again. “I don’t want to be alone again.”
“Patton,” he said gently, “the first thing you should know is that we can’t force you to do anything.”
“Why is he telling him that?” Roman asked quietly.
“He doesn’t want to have any unfair advantages.”
“If you want to stay here, you can. But if she doesn’t want you here, and you stay anyway, she might leave instead. And people might not move in again. If you come with us, we can make sure you aren’t alone anymore.”
Patton stared at the ground, looking defeated and upset. “...You promise?”
“I promise.”
Patton looked up at him, tears threatening to break loose in his eyes again. “If I try to hug you will I go right through you?”
Virgil chuckled. “Probably. But not forever. You can work on it, build your strength.”
“Okay.” He straightened up. “I’ll come with you.”
Roman zoomed in way too close to Logan’s frustrated face. He sighed, pulling down his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Tell me again why Virgil decided to keep you.”
Roman zoomed out. “This is live, I’ll have you know. You can’t hide how mean you are to me anymore!”
“I don’t hide anything.”
They were in the group’s new office, Logan sat on the maroon couch and trying to read. He tossed the book on the coffee table, sighing.
“They want to know if you’ve found a place for Patton,” Roman said, sitting on the coffee table.
“Yes, we have.”
“Can I tell them, can I tell them?!”
Logan stood, going to the kitchenette in the back to brew some coffee. “It’s beyond me why so many people care about such an odd job. All we do is help people relocate.”
Roman groaned dramatically. “God, specs, you just turned the coolest job into the most lame-sounding thing in the WORLD!” He followed him. “Can I please tell them?!”
Virgil came down the stairs holding a bundle of folded up clothing. “Do you think this would fit Patton? Now that he’s moved in, I want to start getting him stuff, but it’s hard to measure a ghost when they’re still transparent.”
Roman let out a whine. “I wanted to tell them!”
Virgil zeroed in on the camera. “Oh my God, are you filming?” He covered his face, hissing, “Roman! You have to warn me!”
“Babe, here.” Logan held up his Stranger Things mug. “Coffee.”
Virgil grumbled to himself, setting the clothes down on the counter and taking the mug from him. “Thanks.”
Logan wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his head. “I’m sure the clothes will be fine. If they aren’t, we’ll just get something else.”
“Is Patton gonna come on ghost hunting missions with us?!” Roman asked excitedly.
“Spirit chasing,” Logan corrected.
“I wouldn’t mind having some help, actually,” Virgil said, embarrassed. “Sometimes they’re a little hard to convince.”
“If he wants to come, then sure.”
Roman punched the air. “YES!”
“Roman, put the camera down!” Logan snapped. “You’re going to break it, and Virgil needs a break.”
“Whatever.” He shut off the camera, setting it on the counter. Logan tsked and moved it away from the coffee pot.
Virgil blinked. “That’s not
 How you should end a livestream
”
“Does Patton like me?” Roman asked.
Logan raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Verge? Huh? Does Patton like us?” He pouted. “You’re still the only one who can talk to him!”
“That’s
 Not really true. You can talk to him, he just can’t talk back. Well, he can, you just won’t hear it. Anyway, I’m pretty sure he likes everyone.” He brought the mug to his lips, downing half of it before setting it down and burying his face in Logan’s shoulder.
“Virgil!” Patton called from upstairs, and Logan slammed his hands over his ears. “I think I broke something!”
Roman flinched. “What the fuck was that.”
“I see Patton’s getting his voice back.” Logan hesitantly straightened up.
“Transparency, too. He’s working really hard. I’ll be up in a minute!” He pulled away, kissing Logan. “I gotta go.”
He rushed upstairs, to the filming room. Patton was sitting on one of the bean bag chairs, in a baby blue gown and a flower crown made of sunflowers, a matching blue choker covering his scar. He had gained some weight back, and jumped up when he saw Virgil, smiling excitedly.
“Virgil!” He bounced over to him, giggling. “Do you think we can get a cat? I’ve always wanted a cat!”
“If you can convince Logan, sure.”
“Hey!” He whined.
“You’ll be able to talk to him soon.” He rested his hands on Patton’s shoulders; They sunk a little, then stayed put. “They heard your voice down here.”
Patton gasped. “Really?!”
He shrugged. “Well. It sounded like white noise, but yes. They heard something.” He looked around curiously. “What did you break?”
“Oh, yeah!” He pointed across the room, to the table in the corner that held a little pile of shattered glass and a puddle of something bronze.
“Apple juice is my favourite and it was right there I just had to try!” He shrunk in on himself a little. “Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad,” he promised. “I’m proud of you for trying. How far did you get?”
“I held it a couple inches off the table.”
Virgil’s eyes widened. “Inches?”
He smiled, a little sheepishly. “Yeah!”
“Patton, that’s great! That’s so much better than last time!” He squeezed his shoulders, before going over to the small closet in the corner. “Why don’t you go watch T.V. while I clean this up? Ro and Lo are downstairs.”
Watching T.V. with someone was one of Patton’s favourite things to do while he was still getting his voice and body back. It was easy for him to turn the T.V. on, since he didn’t have to hold anything, just click it. On his worst days, it took him ten minutes to get it on. Everyone made sure to turn the channel back to the one he liked when they were finished so he didn’t have to fumble with the remote.
Patton grinned. “Okay! Are we spending the night here?”
Virgil nodded. “Lo and I want to get the video we shot yesterday edited and up as soon as we can. You can go with Roman, or come with us, in the morning.”
He slipped out the room and happily bounded downstairs while Virgil got the cleaning supplies from the closet. When he and Logan decided to do this together, they didn’t exactly expect to adopt a ghost, or turn it into a paying job. But Patton liked them and, well, now they could do it full-time. All thanks to Roman.
Hey, Max? What the fuck was that?
Anyway tag list yay:
@dr-gloom @panic-wizard-sex-walrus @veryvirginvirgil @sevencrashing
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dr-gloom · 6 years ago
Text
Delayed Introductions
Summary: based on the Chance Encounters prompt “a storm is delaying our flight home and i’m afraid of thunder, please talk to me while we wait”
Fandom: Sanders’ Sides
Pairing: Analogical
Tangs/Warnings: astraphobia, Human AU, science, brief mentions of Patton and Roman
Words: 1,529
A/N: If you like my style and have a fic request, feel free to shoot me an ask! I’m open to any ship, fluff, angst, all that. I hope y’all enjoy! Fic is under the cut to save dash. 
Read it on AO3
fic masterlist
like what I do? buy me a coffee or GoFundMe
Virgil felt himself jump as another clash of thunder sounded just beyond the glass doors. He’d hated thunder storms for as long as he could remember; they always ramped up his anxiety, despite him being 26 now and knowing that, rationally, he’s safe inside the airport he’s trapped in. 
His flight had been delayed due to said storm, and he found himself regretting visiting Patton in the middle of winter. He knew how bad the weather got this time of year, and yet he just couldn’t deny those puppy dog eyes over his computer screen, begging him to visit for Thanksgiving. So now, here he was, in one of the smallest airports he’s ever seen, with heavy rain pelting the building and thunder practically shaking the glass every minute or so. 
A flash of lightning lights up the windows across the hall from Virgil, and a moment later thunder claps cacophonously. Virgil can feel his body going tense, seemingly every muscle taut. He fiddles with his phone in the pocket of his hoodie, cursing himself for not charging it the night before, because it had died almost 2 hours ago when the rain had really started to pick up. So here he was, alone, no Tumblr or music to distract him. He just wanted this storm to be over already. 
Logan had always found peace in the steady thrum of falling rain. Even the less rhythmic thunder and lightning soothed his mind as he was drawn into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world of mysteries and crime solving. Truth be told, he had been a little irked when his flight had been delayed due to the storm, but it would have been irrational to get upset over something as uncontrollable as the weather. Besides, it gave him more time to read his book before he had to be back home, back to the responsibilities of teaching and grading and just, life in general. 
Thunder rattled the window behind his back as he turned the page, and he momentarily spared a thought to wonder if the window pane was loose before shrugging it off. Public buildings had to pass numerous inspections before being put to use, so he was sure the airport was structurally sound. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, unlocking it to read the message from his brother Roman. 
hey specs, you still at the airport?
Logan rolled his eyes at the nickname - one Roman had been using since they were children - and responded. 
Yes, I am. In case you weren’t aware, the storm is still unleashing it’s torrent of rain and electricity, making it unsafe for flight.
A reply comes quickly; Roman’s television must not be working.
yeah yeah i get it bookworm you know big words. just lemme know when you finally take off, okay?
Logan hums and responds quickly before putting his phone away. Will do. And while your power is out, it might benefit you to crack open a book.
He’s just about to take his own advice and continue reading when he hears something of a yelp across the hall. Curious, he looks up to find the source of the noise. A man about his age, with purple hair, jacket, and shirt is sitting as rigid as a board. Even from this distance Logan can see the tension in his frame, and when another clap of thunder causes the purple man to stiffen more (if it were possible), Logan realizes what’s going on. 
Usually, he isn’t one to meddle in other people’s business, or generally be overly empathetic to those he doesn’t know, but for some reason Logan finds himself putting his bookmark in his book and standing, grabbing his suitcase and making his way over to the other man. 
Virgil’s heart was fluttering in his chest, beating too quickly and turning his breathing shallow. He needed to calm down soon or he was going to have a panic attack. In front of all these people.
His face heats up when he feels more than sees someone stop to stand right beside him, and he hesitantly looks up at the stranger to see what they want, but when he opens his mouth nothing comes out. The stranger seems to take pity on him and speaks first. “Hello there, my name is Logan. I realize you may not be the type to socialize with strangers, as I’m not of the sort either, but seeing as all flights are delayed until further notice, would you mind keeping me company?” Virgil stared at Logan, trying to gauge why the hell he chose him out of an entire terminal of people. When he couldn’t see any signs of malicious intent, he nodded, still feeling as though he had a cotton ball stuck in his throat. 
Logan sits down beside the anxious man, carefully folding his hands in his lap. He doesn’t know much about anxiety, or how to help someone who has it, but... If you are afraid, seek knowledge. “Storms are quite fascinating. Do you know how they are formed?” He glances at the other - Virgil, if the name on his luggage is anything to go by. Virgil just shakes his head, picking at his cuticles. He gets that clouds get a lot of water, so they let go of it in rain, and that lightning has something to do with energy, but that’s about it. Logan nods and looks out the window.
“If we are to take it back to the very beginning - or, in essence, a storms ‘conception’ - the Earth’s surface is heated on warmer days, and through conduction the Earth heats up the air just above it. Warm air, which is less dense, rises and the cooler air above it that hasn’t been effected by this conduction sinks. This process is called convection. Through this process, the hot air is taking the heat from the surface and distributing it to the upper layers of the atmosphere. 
“Now, there are three types of thunderstorms; Orographic Thunderstorms, which are caused by air that is forced up by a mountain or hillside, Air Mass Thunderstorms, which are the result of localized convection in an unstable air mass, and Frontal Thunderstorms, which occur along the boundaries of fronts, such as a cold front.” Logan glances at Virgil out of the corner of his eye to see that Virgil is now looking right at him, and his breathing seems to have evened out. Good; though he’s still tense. “Now, a supercell thunderstorm, which I believe we may be experiencing, occurs when very strong updrafts are balanced by downdrafts. This allows the storm to persist for hours. In a supercell, a moist, unstable body of warm air may be forced to rise by an approaching cold front.  This results in a strong, persistent updraft of warm moist air, and the air cools as it rises. The water vapor produced by these cooling temperatures condenses and forms cumulus clouds. When condensation occurs, heat is released and helps the thunderstorm grow.
“Now,  lightning is formed when frozen raindrops bump into each other as they move around in the air. These collisions create an electric charge. The positive charges - or protons - form at the top of the cloud and the negative charges - or electrons - form at the bottom of the cloud. Since opposite charges attract, that causes a positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud. The ground’s electrical charge concentrates around anything particularly tall, such as mountains, people, or single trees.” He sees Virgil’s eyes widen and adds, “Although, the odds of a person being struck are significantly lower if they’re in an area surrounded by many larger structures. The charge coming up from these points eventually connects with a charge reaching down from the clouds, which creates the lightning we see. Thunder is the resulting ‘sonic boom’ from the force of that energy being released.”
Virgil nods and looks out the window, seeming much more relaxed now. “How do you know so much about this stuff?” Logan smiles slightly, noting that the lightning and thunder has stopped, though it’s still raining heavily. “I am a science teacher.” Virgil looks over at the other. “Seriously?...Well, I guess I can sort of see it. You dress like a stiff.” Logan raises an eyebrow. He’s well aware that his appearance - the glasses, tucked in shirt, belt, and tie - is very stereotypical of a STEM teacher, but no one has ever pointed it out so bluntly before. “We all have our comforts. Mine happen to include dressing formally, as I’m sure yours include the color purple and large jackets.” Virgil smirks slightly, messing with his sleeve. “Whatever you say, Specs.”
Logan sighs quietly. “It’s Logan. I believe I told you that.”
“I know, I just needed an excuse to tell you my name was Virgil without making it sound awkward and forced.”
Logan hums. “I don’t suppose you like tea?” He gestures at the Starbucks on the other end of the small airport. 
“Only if you let me buy.” Virgil stands, grabbing his luggage and heading in the direction of the Starbucks, Logan close behind.
A/N: Man I’m really good at bad endings. 
Mama taught me to always source my research (lol not really) so here: 
https://eo.ucar.edu/kids/dangerwx/tstorm4.htm
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-lightning.htm
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detroitbecomehummus · 6 years ago
Text
Jacket Stains pt3|| Connor
Playlist  ||  pt1 pt2
Connor x Detective!Reader
Words: 2.2k
A/N: OOOOO boi this ended up a bit longer that I expected.
WARNINGS: Domestic abuse
Tags:- @thiriumhearts​ @lovestruckgavemefeels​ @chocolattaee​ @mini-satan-in-training​ @yeah—nah​ @waitforawonder​ @cat-ty​ @loopinmoon​ @roguewolfone​ @enchantinglawyerhorsellama @landofcrazyfandoms @allheart36 @piemeadows @coupedebanks @inspirationstod @poly-positive-sanders-sides @imjustapersonwithnopurposehere @dragonempress123 @tardisgrump @mikithekiki @layinglonely
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You watched as the orange and pink hues swirl in the warm water. The citrus scents alone relaxed your muscles as well as eat away at your worries. You grabbed your phone and selected one of the more relaxing playlists to help create the best mood.
One step at a time you sat in the bath and turned off the taps, you let immersed yourself into the coloured and bubbled water. You closed your eyes to focus on the soothing sensation. The pain in your ribs, wrists and little cuts finally set in and became very real. You groaned squeezing your eyes shut thinking the pain will just go away.
The stub that is left of your right arm started to ache. You tried to ignore it, tried to think nothing much of it. But the more you thought about ignoring it the more it ached. You sighed in defeat yanking the prosthesis off and chucking it across the tiled floor. You massaged the remaining muscle scrunching your eyes. For a brief moment you could see the flames and needed to stop. You opened your eyes and stared at the orange tinted bubble bath. Maybe that wasn’t the best choice.
Ring ring
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You groaned as you struggled to get out of the bath thankful for the shower mat. The pain was telling you to go back into the bath, but whoever was calling you had other plans. “What’s up?” You huffed leaning on your elbow over the sink. A shiver went up your spine as the water cooled.
“Hello detective, it’s Connor.” He greeted with a slight cheerfulness to his voice. “There is a report of domestic abuse near you. You are required to report to the scene.” You hummed in response.
“Okay, just give me the address and I’ll be there within the hour.” You said tiredly.
“I’m sorry if this is an inconvenience.”
“Don’t worry, it’s part of the job. I’ll see you soon.” You hung up resting you phone in the sink. You side-eyed the arm on the floor and begrudgingly picked it up but not attaching it.
After getting changed into your work clothes, personal items and your arm you sluggishly exited your apartment. You checked your phone for the address, luckily it was only a block away so you were able to just walk there holding your own hand.
The weather was starting to warm up again so the night air was only fresh but not cold. The small amount of stars were peeking through the clouds provided a small comfort and clamness to the usually eccentric nights that Detroit loves to show. You swung your arm pathetically, to onlookers they would've thought that you ripped an androids arm off but in fact it was your own- it did used to belong to an android but they needed a new one much like you did.
"Ah Detective! Connor is waiting for you inside. He's just trying to calm the father and child." An officer pointed you inside the rather run down home. You could hear the screaming at the front gate. Poor Connor, he must be dealing with this alone while he waited for you.
"Thank you officer." You nodded you head to them and anxiously walked onto the porch and knocked on the door. Rushed muffled footsteps made their way towards you and the door flung open to reveal a rather disheveled android with his LED red. You rose an eye brow and smirked. “Fun night I take it?" Connor didn't understand you sarcasm as it sounded like a legitimate question. At least he went back down to yellow.
"No detective, the mother is being rather... uncooperative. I need you to speak to her, please." Only then did he notice that you were holding hands with your detached prosthesis. "Your arm, do you need help putting it back on?" You shook your head with a tired smile and stepped into the chaotic home.
"No, my arm is just a little sore. Could you hold it for me whole I go talk?" Connor hesitantly nodded holding the arm with both hands and walked into the lounge room to sit with the victims. The father looked like a kind soul as he held his son, between the ages of 8-11. The father had bruises while the child simply look traumatized.
Dealing with these situations was probably the most difficult, especially when there was a young child involved. You came to a stop at the room in which an officer was barricading, he looked tired and annoyed by the woman's yelling. You understood why as she pounded on the door angrily tossing slurs back and right.
“Hello ma’am, my name is Detective (L/N) I need to speak to you.” The silence she let hang between you was the only answer you needed. You rolled your shoulders hearing a few satisfying pops and entered the war zone. “I only have a few questions for-” You were cut off as the woman chucked a book at your head, she just missed. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” She screeched, her face red with rage. “THIS IS MY HOME!” She was out for blood. You ducked as she chucked another item at you. “Ma’am, I just want to talk to you.” You stated calmly. “YOU WERE THE ONE SCREWING MY HUSBAND!” She charged at you with claws bearing at you. You took a step to the side to avoid being cut to ribbons. “Please ma’am. Why are you abusing your husband and child?” Another attempt of attack was made onto you. You sighed taking a pair of handcuffs off of your belt, doing this with one hand will be difficult. “I’m sorry ma’am, you’re being difficult so I need to take you back to the station.” When she outstretched an arm your were quick to cuff it then twisted her arm behind her. You pinned her to the wall with your body. You bit your lip as you struggled against her, she simply chucked your body off her. “BITCH!” She shouted struggling to take the handcuff of her wrist. This was dragging on for too long, you needed to stop her. Hopefully you won’t get into too much trouble for doing this. “Ma’am, this is your last warning.” You slowly walked forward before finally headbutting her. Her body fell to the floor declaring that your idea worked. “Thank fuck.” You breathed getting down on the floor and cuffed her hands together. At least she’ll be someone elses problem.
With heavy steps you walked down the stairs and went into the lounge room. Connor looked up worriedly as he held your arm close to him. You gave a sad smile to the farther. “I’m sorry sir, I’ll be taking your wife to the station. She wasn’t being-” “Thank you.” He said with a trembling voice. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry-” “Don’t be sorry sir.” You quickly intervened. “You did the correct thing in calling us. I will personally be helping you from now on.” The father thank you over and over. “Please let me know or call me if you have any other questions.” You handed them a card with your phone number on it. The son looked like he had a question for you as his eyes glittered with curiosity. “Do you have a question?” You asked with a parental tone. “He asked about your arm earlier. I wasn’t able to, fully answer the question for him.” Connor said as his grip tightened on your arm. He knew you weren’t comfortable with the topic. “I fought of some very bad people to save a friend.” You said like you were telling an action bedtime story. “Like a superhero?” “Like a superhero.”
The child stared at your in awe. You slapped your hand on your knee and stood up. “Well as I said earlier, call me if you have any questions. Hope the rest of your night goes better.” You patted Connor on the back and urged him up.
The walk back to your apartment was silent as you frowned at the night sky. The stars were blocked by the clouds so you couldn’t smile at them.  “Would you like your arm back detective?” You snapped out of your gaze and looked at Connor. “Pardon?” “You arm,” He held it up into your view. “Would you like it back?” “Oh yes.” You shook your head. “Could you help me put it back on?” You stepped to the side to avoid the on coming people traffic. You rolled your sleeve up to reveal your scarred stub, only a quarter of your arm was left. “How does this work?” Connor noticed there wasn’t any straps or locks to put it in place, he wondered how it worked. “Oh, it’s just some sort of grip thing.” You point at the concave area where your arm was inserted. “The grip pad here can sense the electricity within the nerves and move my arm and fingers as needed.” Connor inspected the arm curiously as he placed it on you. “Are your legs the same?” He asked as he watched you wriggle your fingers to check that they still work. “They are.” Connor looked at your legs, but your pants covered them so he couldn’t see how much of them were android parts much to his disappointment. 
“You know what.” You said with a sudden stop at the stairs to the complex. Your arms swayed excitedly as you had a sudden thought. “The night is still young. I’m not needed at work until the morning. Let’s go to a park.” You declared out of nowhere. “A park?” Connor couldn’t help but smile as you became overwhelmed with a sudden giddiness. “Well not just any park really...” You curiously gazed around the street trying to remember which way it was until you found a familiar landmark. “This way!” You hooked your arm with Connor marching off to who knows where.
It was only a fifteen minute walk until you cam across a rather run-down looking park. It only a set of swings, a see-saw and a slide. The basics for a perfect park. You let go of Connor’s arm to go sit in one of the swings and started to sway yourself back and forth gradually going higher. “C’mon Connor!” You giggled feeling the fresh air blow across your face. “I don’t know how to... swing.” He admitted awkwardly as he stood in front of the second swing while he watched you enjoying the moment. You gradually let you skid to a stop. “I’ll teach you. Step one: Sit in the swing.” Connor shrugged his shoulders in a way like he was telling himself ‘That’s obvious’. “Okay, now lean back and stretch your legs out.” Connor did as you said and awaited your next instruction. “Now lean forward and tuck your legs underneath you.” You smiled as he completed the action, he seemed very unsure about this. “Now rinse and repeat.” You continued to swing watching Connor try to swing carefully.
After a few minutes he was swinging as high as you with his own little smile. “I see why you were so eager earlier.” He kept a close eye on his legs to make sure he was still doing this properly. “It’s fun and helps me clear my head. Especially after night like that... Still as hard as the first time.” Connor looked to the side as he picked up on the sad tone. You were swinging as happily as you were, yet your eyes showed how you truly felt. “But I know I helped that family... I just wish... they don’t deserve that. No one does...”
The android looked at the sky to see the sky clearing and the moon beaming down gently onto the both of you. “Looking back on my previous cases where it went wrong, I feel...” What did he feel? It was hard to specifically place the thoughts as he became shrouded with them.
“You couldn’t do anything about it. There was only so much you could do. Don’t dwell on the past, Connor. You know first hand how badly it can affect people.” Connor looked at you once more to see a gentle smile.
“Now.” You said to bring back the cheery mood there was earlier. “Only professional swingers can do this. Jump off the swing and land perfectly on the ground.” Connor tilted his head as he observed you focus on the timing of the swing. Calculating when and where to jump. When you did jump, something in him made him giggle and worry at the same time. When you jumped one of your legs popped off and caused you to fall to the ground rolling in the park bark.
Connor jumped off the swing with a slight trip but still ended up by your side. “Are you alright?” All you could do was burst out in laughter with tears pouring from your eyes.
“I’m fine.” You laughed again as you tried to sit yourself up but you fell down again as you kept laughing with the moment replaying in your head. “Couldn’t do that even if I tried. Could you get my leg for more, please.” Connor shook his head with your smile infecting him. The leg appeared to only go to the knee. “Thanks.” You sat up once you calmed down and stuck your prosthetic leg back on.
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my-happy-little-bean · 7 years ago
Text
A Moment You’ll Never Remember (And A Night You’ll Never Forget)
a/n: i want to start posting more of my writing on tumblr, so here’s a quick sander sides fic i wrote some time ago, which was based off a really really weird dream, lol. i hope you enjoy it nonetheless ^-^
Thomas quietly hummed songs from Moana as he put the boxes of mac and cheese on the conveyer belt and placed a product separator in front of it. He let out a small yawn, giving the cashier a friendly smile as she started to scan each item. Joan and Talyn were behind him, making small conversation.
The cashier brought up the final price and it's only when Thomas put his hand in his pocket that he finally realized his mistake.
"I cannot believe you forgot the wallet," Logan muttered with his forehead in the palm of his hand. "It's literally the one thing that you need to buy things; how you forgot, I'm not sure; it's just simply il—"
"Illogical to forget it; yes, we know," Roman cut in, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. "Look, it wasn't my fault that Patton was too distracted by the dog sweaters to notice that we were missing a wallet."
"Hey, now don't go spinning this on me, kiddo — the whole reason that we forgot the wallet in the first place was because you were too busy singing the Moana soundtrack in the car."
"Hey, Joan was singing too! As for me, I was simply living up to my name," Roman said defensively. He added feebly, "And I am not a kiddo, Patton, I am the prince."
"Well it's merely a nickname, kiddo — I am the dad after all," Patton replied as if it were obvious. Logan pressed his hands together.
"I mean, Roman is right — we are of sufficient age to not be classified as children. However, Roman, none of us are of regal blood to be considered royalty—"
Virgil's loud groan cut them all off. "Can someone please stay on topic here? I swear you guys are always leaking with exposition. Meanwhile, there are people who are going to keep staring at us and judge us if we don't do something."
"Just let someone in front of you and run quickly to get the wallet," Logan finally said, pushing his glasses slightly up to rub the bridge of his nose, clearly annoyed. "It can't take too long."
"You can even make a funny joke to the cashier!" Patton cheered.
"It's 1 am, Patton," Roman moaned. "No one is in a fabulous mood — they just want to go home."
"And you're stopping everyone from doing just that," Virgil snapped. "Chop chop; they're staring."
"I, uh
" Thomas stood there, a bit dumbfounded as he smiled shyly at the cashier.
"Dude, is there something up?" Joan asked. Thomas grinned sheepishly, still patting down all of his pockets in hopes that the wallet was in one of this pockets.
"I may have left my wallet in the car," he said hastily, and Talyn just stifled their laugh in the palm of their hand. Joan gave him a half-amused look, and Thomas looked at the cashier apologetically.
"I'm just gonna grab my wallet quickly," he said with a nervous smile, and the cashier nodded unenthusiastically. Joan sighed, stepping out of line and letting an old woman pass by. The cashier proceeded to check out the lady's groceries.
Thomas jogged outside, fumbling with the keys as he frantically unlocked his car. The lights flashed at him, almost angrily; as if it knew about Thomas' frustration.
He quickly opened the door and grabbed the wallet out from the glove compartment. He stuffed it in his sweater's pocket, went out of the car and when he slammed the door, he was met with a man's face staring at him.
"Um, hello?" he squeaked, slightly surprised. The man—seemingly in his mid-thirties, with grey hair that practically glowed in the dark surrounding—smiled at him in a way that sent shivers down Thomas' spine.
"Hello." His voice was deep, almost soft. Thomas blinked.
"May...may I help you?"
The man flashed a crooked smile. "I see you just grabbed your wallet."
Thomas' heart began to race. He slowly backs up against his car.
"You know, I am just gonna go back in the store now," he said, slightly panicked. He slowly sidestepped past the man and was about to make a break for it when the man grabbed his wrist.
"You're going to give me your money," the man growled. His eerie smile from before was replaced by a snarl. Thomas' eyes widened, and he tried to escape his grasp.
"What the— let go! I am not giving you anything!" Thomas exclaimed, hopefully loud enough for someone to hear. The man looked at him, almost amused at his attempt of defense, and used his free hand to pull out what seemed to be a pocket watch out of his jacket. Thomas gulped.
"You see, Mr. Sanders,"—Thomas heart pounded upon hearing his name—"I am not any regular mugger. I spent a while learning a few tricks up my sleeve, and
"
He dropped the pocket watch—that seemingly glows brighter than any street-lamp surrounding the two—in front of Thomas' face and grinned.
"I would love to show you a few tricks."
"We're being mugged?!"
The Sander Sides were clearly going crazy. Virgil was working overtime, pacing back and forth.
"This is it." His voice merely broke out of its dull monotone, snapping out of his usually-dull persona into a full-fledged panic. "This is how we are going to die. We are going to die because Princey couldn't stop singing 'How Far I'll Go' thus forgetting the wallet. We are going to die because of a wallet, oh my God—"
"Alright Virgil, let's calm down," Patton said slowly. Virgil swung his head to face him.
"Calm down?!" he nearly screeched. "Morality, I am Anxiety; nice to meet you, by the way!"
Patton was almost taken back by Virgil's sudden outburst. He was about to respond with something witty, but he suddenly heard the man talk to Thomas and his eyes widened.
"Did he just say Mr. Sanders?!" Virgil exclaimed. "Holy sh—"
"M-Maybe he's just a fan?" Roman prompted nervously, tugging the hem of his sleeve. "Thomas is quite the online super-star — I mean, who can blame the guy? I gave Thomas the spotlight!"
"Yeah, thanks a lot for that!" Virgil snapped at him.
"The only logical explanation is that he knows Thomas from YouTube," Logan said, trying to stay calm. "Perhaps Roman is correct and he is simply just an avid supporter of Thomas."
"An avid supporter or a middle-age creep?!" Virgil exclaimed. Patton tugged his collar.
"Goodness, I feel hot." Roman rolled his eyes.
"Patton, now is not the time for complimenting yourself — especially considering that we all look exactly the same," he said sarcastically. Patton shook his head.
"That's not the kind of hot I am feeling right now," he replied nervously. "I mean I am feeling hot. Or...or not so hot. Or— goodness, Princey, you confused me. I meant that I am feeling hot; temperature wise."
"You're rambling, Patton," Logan said, putting his hands in front of him calmly. "Let's just slowly sidestep away from the man, and then we can return back to the grocery store and reunite with Joan and Talyn to calm down. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Yup," Roman said. "Better make it quick though — Virgil looks like he is going to pace right out of here, and Thomas' heart is literally racing."
True to his word, Patton was speeding all over the place, passing by Virgil's anxious paces. Logan sighed, and watched carefully as Thomas sidesteps according to plan, before—
"By Zeus' beard!" Roman yelled. "He has Thomas' wrist!"
Logan was spluttering, clearly panicked. "W-Well that cannot be good; Thomas has to get out of there as soon as possible. He needs to pull out right now."
"What is happening?!" Patton exclaimed loudly, and Virgil stopped in his tracks.
"Alright Morality, if you don't calm down right now, you are going to send me through the roof," Virgil gritted out, trying not to either break down and scream at someone.
"We need to fight him!" Roman announced. "I shall simply ask Thomas to show this guy what he's made of!"
"Thomas is mainly made of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorous," Logan hissed; "none of which are fighting material in any way."
"Alright, I am panicking," Patton rambled. Virgil clenched his fist, silently panicking alongside Patton. Roman took a deep breath.
"Okay, Logic," he yelled, "what do you propose we do?! 'Cause your last plan just went just peachy, didn't it?"
"Alright, let's just try and focus on making a plan before something bad happens," Virgil cut in, stepping in between the two.
"I am telling you what the plan should be and it should be a punch to the face!"
"Um, guys?" Patton suddenly said, his voice eerily quiet.
"He cannot defend himself if he is suffering from an injury, Roman!" Virgil argued.
"Guys, you're going to want to see this," Patton said again. He looked to Logan, who had stepped away from Roman and is apparently the only person to notice what Patton was looking at. However, he was too dumbfounded to say anything. Patton's heart raced at Logan's reaction.
"He can't defend himself if he is dead, Virgil!"
"Guys!" Patton finally yelled, catching both sides' attention. "Guys, this guy is doing something to Thomas. It's...it's something bad."
Virgil and Roman paused and exchanged nervous looks and hurried over to Patton's side when they realize what's happening.
The man was swinging a pocket watch in front of Thomas, and Thomas—and seemingly Logan— both mesmerized by its movement. Patton winced, a hand flying to the side of his head in attempts to lessen the sudden sharp pain.
"Patton?" Roman stammered, surprised. Virgil squeezes his eyes shut.
"T-This is hypnosis," Virgil managed to say. Roman eyes widened.
"What kind of maniac uses hypnosis for money?!"
"This one apparently!" Virgil retorted, and for the first time that night, Roman noticed that Virgil is completely and hopelessly afraid.
His first instinct was to protect them.
"Logan, you're gonna have to help me with these two," Roman said slowly, tapping Logic on the shoulder. But he didn't say anything in response; all he did was stare at the pocket watch that Thomas was entranced by.
"He...he wants money," Logan said slowly. "We...we need to give it to him."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Roman yelled at him, grabbing Logan by the shoulders and spinning him around to face him. "Logan, snap out of it!"
Logan blankly stared at him. Roman whipped his head towards Virgil. "You want to explain what is happening to Logan?"
Virgil took a deep breath and explained shakily, "If this guy is hypnotizing Thomas, then he is putting Thomas in a state of trance-logic; it's an altered mental state that opens Thomas to suggestion."
"Oh sweet heavens," Roman murmured, the intensity of the situation dawning on him.
"I am going to be sick," Patton whispered scratchily. Everything was spinning, and the Sander Sides were slowly descending into chaos.
"Roman, what do we do?" Virgil said, his voice nearly cracking. Roman glared at him, the pressure of the situation making him feel more frustrated than ever.
"What do you mean 'what do we do'?!" Roman yelled, almost angrily. "I'm not his logical side! I don't know what to do!"
"Well we have to do something before he gets to all of us!" Virgil snapped back. Roman's eyes widened at the thought, and then they both heard Patton moan behind them. They turned around in time to see Patton stumble into a nearby chair. The two quickly rushed towards him.
"I don't feel so good," Patton groaned. Virgil ran a hand in his hair, more panic starting to build up inside of him.
"Patton is Thomas' morality and conscience," he realized. "He...he distinguishes the difference between what is right and wrong, but a hypnotic state can alter that. If this man is really hypnotizing Thomas, he is altering his morality."
"Whatever is happening to Thomas, it is affecting me too," Patton managed to say. "I don't know what to do...maybe we should just submit."
"Submit?!" Roman exclaimed. "No, no, no! We are not giving into this...this scoundrel! I shall take the lead and we are going to fight back!"
"And how do you suggest we do that, Roman?" He turned around to see Logan, eyes glazed and standing completely still. He almost mirrored Thomas, who was still staring straight ahead at the pocket watch. "We are safe. Thomas is safe. This man is just helping us. He wants something...we should just give it to him."
Roman heard a whimper from behind him and turns around just in time to see Patton close his eyes for a split second, hands to the side of his head in pain.
"That's two of them," Virgil said nervously, walking away from Patton and leaving Roman to watch. "Roman, it's going to be us next. We are going to give in and then Thomas is going to be gone. He's going to get hurt, and none of us will be able to stop him.
Roman pressed his hands together, about to start giving into the panic too, but then gets an idea.
"Virgil, you're Thomas' anxiety," Roman said, walking hastily towards him. Virgil stares at him, backing away. "You can get him out of this somehow. You just need to snap him out of it."
"I-I don't know how," Virgil stuttered. "I...the man is telling Thomas to relax. Should...shouldn't we be relaxing?"
Roman's eyes widen; he couldn't lose Virgil too.
"Virgil, Thomas is not safe here," Roman said, grabbing Virgil's hands and pulling him close, hoping that he'd stay with him. "We're not safe here. He is the villain, Virgil — we are not to submit to the villain!"
Just when Virgil began to slump against his chest, Roman heard familiar voices.
"Thomas?!"
"What the hell are you doing?! Get away from him!"
"It's Joan and Talyn!" he exclaimed, stumbling to the front of the room and watching the scene unfold. He turned around to see Logan still standing, entranced by the man's actions, but Patton was starting to get up again. Roman rushed to help him up, gently leading Virgil alongside him.
"Patton, what on earth happened to you?" Patton winced at the sudden noise, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"I...I am not entirely sure," he finally said. "But we can deal with that later — right now, we need to save Thomas; before that man can hurt any one of us again."
Roman nervously glanced at the tranced Logan and Virgil, who looked as if he was going to pass out on the couch — he knew Patton was right, but he couldn't help but feel scared for what would happen next.
"Thomas?!" Talyn exclaimed, nearly dropping the grocery bags in their hands. Joan stuffed their wallet back into their jacket pocket and raced towards the man in front of Thomas, who pulled the pocket watch away as soon as he got caught. Thomas, still entranced, followed the watch, but nearly fell forward.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Joan yelled. "Get away from him!"
The man stumbled off, running away as soon as they approached. Talyn grabbed Joan's wrist before they could go after the man, and put all of their attention on Thomas.
"Thomas?" Talyn said slowly. "Thomas, can you hear me?"
Thomas said nothing, staring straight ahead; his eyes glazed and his mouth parted slightly.
"What did that guy do to him?" Joan asks, a sudden rush of fear passing through them. Talyn shakes them head.
"I am not sure, but he had a pocket watch," they replied. "Maybe—and now this is going to sound crazy but hear me out—the guy hypnotized him?"
"You're right," Joan said after a moment of silence; "That sounds absolutely crazy."
Talyn rolled their eyes. Joan sighed.
"Alright, say this is hypnosis; how do we snap him out of it?" Joan asked. Talyn frowned, looking at Thomas; who was leaning on the side of the car, his eyes beginning to flutter closed.
"We can shock him awake?" Talyn prompted. Joan immediately shook their head.
"I don't think that's the best decision?" they said, a bit unsure themselves. "Like, he is pretty still right now — maybe he'll sleep it off and it will wear off with time. After all, hypnosis is just is a state of human consciousness — we just need to wait until he's...out of that state of consciousness."
"Alright," Talyn said nervously. "But what do we do with him now?"
When Joan turned to face Thomas, they watched him slump against the car as if it was the only thing helping him stand straight. He moaned a little in his semi-trance. Joan sighed.
"I guess we should put him in the car and drive him home," they said. "I'll take the wheel and you help Thomas into the car."
Talyn nodded, and gently wrapped Thomas' limp arm around their shoulder. Thomas whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Tal
?" he sleepily muttered. Talyn smiled.
"Don't worry, Thomas," they said softly. "We are getting you home."
Virgil finally flopped on the couch, rubbing his head.
"That was exhausting," Roman sighed. "I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my whole life."
"Are you serious?" Virgil grumbled.
"Er, I don't mean to bother you, but I would love a hand with Logan over here, kiddos," Patton called them from the kitchen. Virgil and Roman exchanged looks and sighed, heading over to where Patton was.
Logan was in a chair, slumped over on the table. He stirred every now and then, but was mostly still. Patton rubbed his head.
"Yo Roman," he said once they entered, "can you pass me an ice pack?"
Roman frowned, slightly taken back. "Did you...did you just say 'yo'?"
"Now is that really the priority right now?"
"Good point," Roman replied, grabbing an ice pack from the fridge and tossing to towards Patton.
"Woah!" The ice pack slipped a few times in his hand. Before it could hit the ground, Virgil grabbed it quickly. Patton looked at him, impressed.
"You have really fast reflexes!" Virgil shrugged.
"I usually think fast," he replied. Patton grinned.
"That's funny!" he giggled. "Hey Roman, did you hear that? See, he thinks fast, because he is the one who usually causes Thomas to thi—"
"For the love of Disney, Patton," Roman groaned, raising a hand quickly before Patton could continue. "Can someone please tell me what is going on with Logan?"
"Logic must still coming out of the trance," Virgil explained. "His drowsiness is what's causing Thomas to be drowsy as well."
"How long do you think this is going to last?" Patton asked nervously, looking up at them, still holding the ice pack against Logan's head.
"Not long." Virgil adjusted his sweater. "Maybe we should just let him rest."
"Fine," Roman huffed, crossing his arms. "Let's all take five."
"Good theater pun!" Patton exclaimed, standing up. "You should say that joke at—"
"Don't say it," Virgil gritted out.
"—opuning night!" Patton finished with a big grin. Virgil grumbled something incoherent as he stalked off. Patton followed Virgil out, and Roman looked nervously at Logan; still slumped over the table.
"Get well soon, Logan," he muttered, hoping part of Logan could hear him. To his surprise, Logan groans in response. Before Roman could say anything, he heard a crash in the living room and the annoyed groan of Virgil. He sighed.
"And that's not sentiment," Roman added.
"Alright, I'll take Thomas' left arm, and you take his right," Joan instructed, climbing out of the car. They open the back door, and Talyn came out first. Both of them gave all their effort in pulling Thomas out, and when he was, Talyn swung Thomas' left arm around their shoulder.
"Geez, Thomas, pick up your feet a little," Talyn grumbled. Thomas perked up suddenly, surprising both Talyn and Joan, and wordlessly went on the ground, grabbing both of his feet. Joan stifled their laugh in the palm of their hands and Talyn, panicked, yelled, "Sleep!"
Thomas immediately slumped face first against the driveway, asleep once again. Joan giggled, and Talyn sharply nudged them.
"Well now we're back to square one," Talyn muttered, a bit annoyed.
"I can't believe that worked!" Joan laughed. "We should tell Thomas to act like a dog or something!"
Before Talyn could reply, a loud bark was heard below them. Talyn and Joan looked down to see Thomas on all fours, panting with his tongue out and running around in circles. Joan was in hysterics now, and Talyn sighed.
"Maybe he's still in that trance-state," Talyn said, ignoring both Joan and dog-Thomas. "This could mean that we could just tell him to snap out of it?"
"Or we could just film it and show him later?" Joan prompted, pulling out their phone. Before they could hit record, Talyn pushed their arm down, and Joan rolled their eyes.
"Fine," they said. They faced Thomas—who was still running around circles, chasing his "tail"—and said, "Uh, sit."
Thomas immediately obliged, going on his knees and placing his arms in front of them. Joan grinned.
"Good boy!" they giggled, going on one knee to ruffle Thomas' hair. He grinned widely, almost proud at the praise. Joan looked up at Talyn.
"Come on, this is cute!" Talyn flashed a small smile.
"I never said this wasn't cute," they said, grinning. "But we do need to bring him inside, and out of the hypnosis."
"Fine," Joan huffed. "But I'll have you know that I love dog-Thomas and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"I wonder what hypnosis does to the brain," Talyn mused. "Imagine what's going on in his head right now."
"Logan!" Patton exclaimed, chasing after Logan; who was running all over the place on all fours, barking and panting with his tongue out. "Uh, sit! Heel! Just— gahh, stay!"
Logan continues to run around, going to Virgil, who was on the couch, and nuzzling against his leg. Virgil immediately pulled away, annoyed.
"I can't believe I have to share a brain with you morons," Virgil grumbled.
"Come on, Anxiety!" Patton cheered. "Logan's a dog! A cute, lovable, dog!"
"I'm getting this on camera," Roman said smugly, pulling out his phone. Logan looked up at Roman and without warning, tackled him onto the ground. Roman yelped, Logan on top of him and licking his face.
"Sweet Cole Sprouse!" Roman yelled, trying to get Logan off him, but to no avail.
Virgil smirked. "Never mind, I like this a lot."
"What's a Cole Sprouse?" Patton asked cluelessly.
"Oh cut it out, J.D-elightful," Roman grumbled, ignoring Patton. Virgil smiled smugly, slipping on his headphones once more and watching the scene unfold in front of him.
"Wait a minute kiddos," Patton said. "I think I hear Talyn!"
"Uh, Thomas? Sleep!"
And Logan flopped face first on Roman, his body limp. Roman winced.
"Good...Gucci," he managed to grit out. Virgil smirked.
"This is the most I have ever smiled in one day," Virgil chuckled. Roman rolled his eyes.
"Someone get him off me!" Roman snapped, and Virgil rolled his eyes, standing up and slowly dragging Logan off Roman and onto the floor.
"Buzz-kill," he muttered under his breath, and Roman looked at him incredulously.
"Seriously?" he retorted. "Me, the buzzkill?"
Virgil rolled his eyes, dropping Roman back onto the ground. Roman huffed, standing up himself and brushing him off. Virgil slipped on his headphones again.
"Touché, Princey," Virgil hummed. "Touché."
"Alright, alright, on the couch we go," Joan muttered, gently laying Thomas—who was now sleeping calmly in their arms—face first onto the couch. Talyn rubbed their head, almost frustrated.
"This is so ridiculous," they muttered. "He has been in this trance-state for nearly two hours now — I am almost certain that hypnosis doesn't work this way!"
Joan looked at Thomas, whose cheek was smushed against the fabric of the couch.
"Let's just slowly bring him out of it," Joan suggested. Talyn's eyes widened.
"We can't do that!" they exclaimed. "We don't know a thing about hypnosis. We could mess up or something!"
"I mean, I've been doing a pretty good job so far," Joan boasted smugly. Talyn rolled their eyes.
"Fine," they huffed. "Just...do it slowly."
Joan nodded, and sat beside Thomas on the couch.
"Okay, can you hear me, Thomas?"
Thomas murmured, "Yes." Joan looked at Talyn, almost excited, and they prompted them to go on. Joan cleared their throat.
"I'm just gonna bring you out of this trance permanently, alright?" Joan asked, and Thomas nodded. "When I snap my fingers, you're going to wake up. You're not going to remember anything that happened tonight, and you are just going to carry on as normal. Do you understand?"
"I...I understand," Thomas said slowly.
Joan paused, and added, "And when you wake up, you're going to want to get me a soda!"
"Joan!" Talyn scolded.
"What?" Joan protested. "I am kinda thirsty."
Talyn rolled their eyes, and snapped their fingers.
Logan's shot up off the ground at the sound. Roman, Virgil, and Patton exchanged looks, and rushed to his side.
"Logan?" Patton asked nervously. Logan winced at Patton's loud voice, and rubbed his head, pushing his glasses up.
"God...what happened?" he murmured, about to stand up. Roman pushed him down gently.
"It's a really long story," Roman said, "but it's a story for another night."
"How are you feeling?" Patton asked quickly. Logan squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, adjusting to being awake.
"Fine," he replied lowly. "Whatever did happen to me was truly...an experience. It was interesting, to say the least."
"You...you were hypnotized," Virgil said in disbelief. "Are you telling me that you enjoyed that?"
"Hypnosis is a truly fascinating tactic," Logan replied, standing up and brushing dust off his tie. The other sides' stand up beside him as well. "The state of consciousness hypnosis promotes is something I would enjoy to study more through experience."
"I totally agree!" Patton exclaimed, raising his hand up excitedly. "Besides, Logan makes a great dog!"
Logan glared at Patton sharply. "Wait, what?"
Virgil stifled his laugh through his sweater sleeve. Roman rolled his eyes.
"Let's just go and get some rest," Roman prompted. "Thomas is probably exhausted, and we mustn't tire him out more."
"Why on earth was I a dog?"
"I hate to agree with Princey, but he's right," Virgil said, ignoring Logan. "I worked overtime tonight, and I am going to get some rest."
And with that, Virgil sunk out, saluting everyone goodbye.
"I think I am going to hit the sack too, kiddos," Patton said. As he sunk out, he added, "We should get a dog!"
Logan rolled his eyes, and Roman looked at him.
"You should be getting some rest too," Roman said after some silence. "I don't see how you're not exhausted."
"The experience has left me quite...energized," Logan replied nonchalantly. "But it is best to take a break for the night, I suppose."
Roman nodded, about to sink out himself when Logan stopped him.
"Roman?"
"Yeah?"
"You did good tonight," Logan said slowly. "I am sure chaos occurred during everything, and while I am not sure what that 'everything' is, I am glad you took control."
Roman smiled. "A prince has to protect the ones he loves after all."
Logan managed a small smile, adjusting his glasses and sinking out wordlessly. Roman smiled to himself, closing the lights and sunk out.
Thomas' eyes flew open as soon as Talyn snapped their fingers. His breath hitched momentarily, but he slowly calmed down as he looked around him.
"Wa— Talyn? Joan?" he asked, confused. "When did we get home?"
Talyn was the first to hug Thomas. "Oh God, you're back to normal."
Thomas slowly hugged back, still confused. "Um, I...I'm glad to be normal again, I think?"
"It's a really long story," Joan explained. "We'll tell you everything later, but we should probably get some rest — it's almost 3 am and I am exhausted."
"It's really strange," Thomas said, rubbing his head. "I feel pretty awake; like I was asleep for hours."
"Yeah," Talyn said nervously. "Weird."
"But yeah, I wouldn't mind going to bed." Thomas stood up from the couch, and before he could go up, he paused, turned around and added, "Do you want a soda, Joan?"
Talyn's eyes widened, and they glared at Joan, who was flashing Thomas a big smile.
"A Sprite would be great," Joan chuckled.
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hufflepuffxfox · 5 years ago
Text
Long Past Dawn - Chapter 1
Title: Long Past Dawn Word Count: 1603 Pairings: This chapter - None Overall - Anxeit, Logicality, Prinxiety, Remile, Receit, Prinxieceit, DLAMP Main Characters: This chapter - Roman Sanders (Courval) Other Characters: This Chapter - Patton Sanders (Venne), Remus Sanders (Courval), Virgil Sanders (Veilchen), Tikki Warnings: Non-graphic fighting Story Summary: Miraculous Ladybug Sander Sides Cross overs - The Sides as Miraculous holders. No need to know Miraculous Ladybug, lore explained in story as it comes up. Paris is being plagued with monsters and villains, all sent but the evil Papillion Noir in order to draw out the Miraculous of Creation and Destruction. It is said to grant a wish to the person who wields both of them at once and he has a wish he needs granted. Roman Courval is your normal theater major – Well, if you consider becoming a masked superhero in times of need normal. But aside from that, he is just like every other student on campus, including a crush on Virgil Veilchen, spending too much time goofing around with his best friends Patton Venne and Logan Cato and worrying about his grades and just trying to survive college in a foreign citySee, completely normal. Saving Paris is just part of his life now. And honestly, he kinda likes it. Chapter Summary: A new Akuma is attacking Paris but Papillon and Paon are nowhere to be seen. Luckily there is a new hero about to be born, ready to save the city. You can also read HERE on my AO3
Prologue – Chapter 1 -- Next chapter
Chapter One Man or Monster?
“Ah shit, shit, shit!” Roman Courval was going to be so late to his first class. That was not going to go well for his wanting to do better at school this year. He had promised himself that he would do better this year.
He ran out of his room, grabbing his backpack and red jacket as he left. He ran into the kitchen and reached over to grab the poptarts that had just popped up from the toaster. “Hey!” His flatmate, and twin brother, Remus, scowled at him as he headed for the door.
“Sorry Rem! I’ll buy you some new ones after class,” he said before running out the door, ignoring the dark look he was being given.
With a poptart hanging out of his mouth, the young man set his backpack down at his feet while he waited for the light to change, slipping his jacket on. He looked up at the blaring of car horns. An older man was trying to cross the street, going slower than the driver coming at him wanted him to be apparently. Seeing that the car wasn’t stopping, Roman ran out, food falling to the ground as he grabbed the man and quickly moved him out of the way, barely getting out of the way and feeling the air brush him as the horn blared at them both.
He set the man down and flashed him a nervous grin. “You okay, Sir?”
“Oh yes, thank you, young man.” The old man smiled up at him. Roman gave him a small smile and a salute as the old man picked up his bag and passed it over to him. “I am sorry about your pastry.”
“No problem. Have a good day.” He said before taking off across the street and towards campus, swearing as he nearly tripped.
”Are you sure that is a good pick for our new hero?” a soft voice said from his pocket.
“He won’t be working alone, Wyazz...But he will make a good hero. I won’t make the same mistake as last time.” The man said, turning away and walking down the street at a normal pace.
-XxX-
Roman slipped into the back of his classroom, grimacing as he heard the professor already talking. He slid into the seat by his best friend, ruffling the curly light brown hair of Patton Venne as he did so. “Hey, Pats, I miss anything important?” He whispered.
The other young man shook his head, yawning a little. “Nothing yet.” he put his head down on the desk, curls flipping in front of his face. “Ugh, I wish my first class was with Remy. He always has coffee.”
“Long night?”
“I had to finish my project for design.”
“Ohhhh, Can I see?”
“No! That is safely locked away in my car until class. The last time I let you see one of my projects you got red jam all over the sleeve.” Patton gently scolded him.
“Aw, that was one time Pat.”
“Can you two be quiet.” The person in front of them turned to snap, dark brown eyes almost looking black with the anger inside them. “You guys may not care about this but some of us are paying a lot of money to be here and would like to actually do well.”
“Sorry.” Patton offered him a smile. The young man just huffed and turned back to face the front, pulling his hood up over purple-dyed hair. Roman rolled his eyes and made a face at the back of the other student. Patton elbowed him in the side and gave him a stern look. Roman gave him a sheepish look and sat back, taking out his notebook to start writing down notes.
Before the class could get too far in though, the door was blown open. Several people near the front screamed and hide under their desks as the dust settled and a larger than life strange-looking figure walked in, wearing yellow rubber gloves and carrying a soapy wand of some sort.
“You didn’t do the dishes again!” the figure’s voice rumbled throughout the room, soap bubbles escaping their lips when they spoke. Roman watched, frozen, as the figure took a deep breath and expelled bubbles out, aiming at the professor who was staring dumbfounded at the creature.
The bubbles hit the woman and Roman watched with wide eyes as they moved to merge into one bubble that started to lift her up in the air. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his backpack to throw it at the monster but felt a tug on his arm. He turned a little and saw Patton watching him with wide, fear-filled eyes. “Ro
.no.” He whispered.
Roman looked between his best friend and the monster, who was now blowing bubbles to capture anyone who got in its way. He heaved a sigh and moved to back out of the room, pulling the taller male with him. “Come on, Patton
” he whispered. He slung his bag over one shoulder, feeling something warm against his back. He pushed Patton ahead of him, making sure to keep himself between his friend and the bubble monster. Out of the room, there were lots of people, students and staff alike, running around. Try as he might, he felt himself getting separated from Patton. He chewed his lip in thought for a moment before turning and going back towards the classroom to make sure everyone was safe. As he ran he felt the warm patch of his bag grow warmer, like something was trying to get his attention. He shook his head; that was a silly thought.
He arrived in the room in time to see the monster jump out of the window, trailing a string of bubbled-people behind it. With them gone the room was empty. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
You can help them something whispered in his head.
“How?” He muttered. “How can I save people from a...bubble monster?”
As if in response he felt that spot in his bag flare-up in heat and he dropped the bag to the ground with a yelp. He frowned, something seemed to be glowing from the bag. He slowly opened it and found a little black and red box letting out a red glow. He picked it up and opened it, shutting his eyes as the red light flared out.
When he opened his eyes again he found himself staring and a little floating red and black...bug?
“Hello I’m Tikki.” The voice was squeaky and high pitched. Roman frowned a little and looked around. What was going on?
“uhhh
.I’m Roman?”
“Nice to meet you Roman, are you ready to help save those people?”
“I guess...but how.”
“It’s simple. Just put those on and say ‘Tikki, Spots on!’” the bug pointed to the black earrings in the box Roman was still holding. “When you do, you will become a superhero, with superpowers. You will have your Lucky charm, and your reaction speed will be better.”
Roman raised an eyebrow but nodded. He put the warrings in, taking out the little studs Patton had talked him into getting last year. “Okay
.Tikki, Spots on!”
He closed his eyes as that light flared out again and he felt his clothes shift around him. When he looked down his jeans had turned into red pants, and his jacket was more fitted and closed, he was wearing red gloves and he had a large yo-yo clipped to his belt. He also had black spots all over his clothes.
“Tikki?” he looked around but the red and black bug was nowhere to be found. He would have spent more time on it but he heard screams coming from outside. Later. He could worry about this later.
He didn’t even stop to think about it as he ran to the hole the monster had created and threw himself out it, using his yo-yo to grab to the light post and swing-out instead of crashing to ground two stories below.
He felt his heart racing, a grin spreading across his face as he swung along after the monster.
“Hey! Soapy! You are making quite the mess of the city!”
The creature, or as Roman had dubbed it now, Soapy, turned to face him. “What are you, little one? Are you trying to stop me? I am going to make the world squeaky clean.” Roman snorted a little at that and wound his yo-yo up to throw it at Soapy.
“I am Clean Master! You dare laugh at me?”
Roman laughed again, releasing his yoyo and throwing himself with it; only realizing a moment too late that Clean Master was not a solid being and his yo-yo had nothing to wrap around. With a yelp, he tried to aim it towards the closest lamp post but found himself hanging upside, tied to the post instead of on his feet.
Well shit.
He saw the Clean Master gather air to expel some bubbles at him and capture him. That was the short time frame for being a superhero. He closed his eyes as the bubbles were blown out, missing the silver staff coming down to pop the bubbles and the black and purple-clad man that slid down the staff to land on the ground next to the upside hero.
“Need some help, Punaise?” he purred.
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samanthamacgill94 · 5 years ago
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IT’S HIGH TIME FOR BABY BOOMERS TO TAKE COVID-19 SERIOUSLY
I understand huge numbers of us gen X-ers feel youthful and strong, however I encourage you to please remain safe during this pandemic.
 In spite of the fact that anybody can get coronavirus, it's us gen X-ers - explicitly those ages 60 and more seasoned - who are bound to turn out.
 On the off chance that you have hidden conditions, for example, coronary illness, diabetes, or lung malady, you'll should be extra cautious.
 In the same way as other boomers, I felt youthful and sound and wasn't excessively concerned when this began.
 All things considered, our age believes ourselves to be additional intense.
 Is it safe to say that we aren't the age that endure drinking water out of a hose and vehicles without safety belts?
 To think about all the germs we were presented to as we played in the mud burrowing for night crawlers and ate food dropped on the floor before germaphobia
 Also, take a gander at the age of those running the nation.
 President Donald Trump is 73, Nancy Pelosi is 79, and the two residual contender for the Democratic designation, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, are 77 and 78, individually.
 My dad, 87, was all the while going around in spite of the considerable number of alerts.
 The barbarous moniker, "Boomer Remover," referencing the higher death rate among more seasoned individuals tainted with coronavirus started drifting on Twitter.
 The Washington Post became related with the slanting term by featuring boomers who have disregarded exhortation from the CDC and wouldn't roll out any improvements to their way of life.
 On a Facebook page for "The Villages," a Florida retirement network, most the occupants appeared to concur that the pandemic was "being exaggerated."
 Presently, I'm not exhorting that we boomers begin freezing, however I believe it's the ideal opportunity for a disposition alteration for a few of us suspicious boomers that have felt this before.
 Remember that this infection couldn't care less how old you look and feel.
 Take a gander at boomers Tom Hank and Rita Wilson, both 63, who unquestionably feel youthful on the most fundamental level yet tried positive for the infection.
 Here in California where I live, there have been in excess of 300 instances of coronavirus.
 Schools in our general vicinity have been closed down.
 Bars and distilleries have been approached to close and cafés to slice their ability down the middle.
 Gavin Newson asked all occupants beyond 65 years old to self-isolate in their homes.
"We perceive that social confinement for many Californians is nervousness inciting," he said.
 Be that as it may, "we have to meet this second head on, and lean in and own this second... what's more, take activities we believe are proportionate with the need to secure the most defenseless Californians."
 Presently, President Donald Trump has given rules encouraging Americans to keep away from parties of in excess of 10 individuals.
 It feels like I'm living in a scene of Twilight Zone.
 Along these lines, it's a great opportunity to begin paying attention to this my kindred boomers.
 My better half is 60 and I will turn 60 not long from now, so I'm focusing on all the rules.
 Let me get straight to the point, I am not a clinical expert, yet I'll share a portion of my examination for explicit safety measures more seasoned grown-ups.
 However, recollect: Recommendations for coronavirus may change as authorities find out additional, so screen your neighborhood wellbeing division and the CDC for refreshes.
 Here are a few hints for those beyond 60 years old dependent on exhortation from the CDC:
* Stock up on provisions including staple goods, family things, and over-the-counter prescriptions you'll require on the off chance that you become wiped out.
Contact your doctor about acquiring additional physician recommended prescriptions you have to have available if self-isolated.
* Social separating is the new expression for 2020.
Remain six feet from others - think about the length of a normal lounge area table or a couple of skis.
 Maintain a strategic distance from swarms and unnecessary travel, particularly travels.
* You've just heard this, yet wash your hands regularly with cleanser for in any event 20 seconds. The wellbeing secretary Matt Hancock recommended washing hands while singing Happy Birthday twice.
However different melodies will fill in also. For instance, the melody of Staying Alive will work: "Regardless of whether you're a sibling or whether you're a mother/You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive/Feel the city breakin' and everyone shakin'/And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive/Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive/Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive." Prefer nation? Attempt the ensemble from Dolly Parton's great down home melody Jolene: "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/I'm asking of you kindly don't take my man/Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/Please don't take him since you can."
 If cleanser and water are not accessible, utilize a hand sanitizer that contains in any event 60% liquor.
* Avoid contacting your face and as often as possible contacted surfaces out in the open spots - light switches, lift catches, entryway handles, handrails, handshaking with individuals, and so forth.
 Utilize a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand on the off chance that you should contact something.
 At home, clean and sterilize regularly, particularly surfaces that are frequently contacted like ledges, tables, entryway handles, light switches, toilets, spigots, sinks - and remember your mobile phone.
 Notwithstanding these safeguards, look out for manifestations that can incorporate fever, hack, and brevity of breath.
 On the off chance that you have an inclination that you are creating side effects, remain at home and call your primary care physician.
 Be certain and educate them that you have or may have coronavirus (COVID-19) so they can shield others from becoming ill.
 Approach your medicinal services supplier for clinical exhortation.
 In the event that you have gentle manifestations and are not debilitated enough to be hospitalized, you can most likely recoup at home.
 If so, the CDC's exhorts you get clinical consideration quickly in the event that you create crisis cautioning signs, for example,
* Difficulty breathing or brevity of breath
* Persistent torment or weight in the chest
* New disarray or powerlessness to stir
* Bluish lips or face
This rundown isn't comprehensive and the CDC suggests that you counsel your clinical supplier for whatever other manifestations that are "serious or concerning."
 So my kindred boomers, remain safe yet keep quiet and positive.
Click here to know more about the coverage of Coronavirus.
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