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rohad93 · 4 years ago

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Moonlit Masquerade: Replacement

Pt 2 of Post- Moonlit Masquerade

It was Friday morning as Luz rolled over in bed, stretching the kinks out of her muscles. She blinked blearily into the sunlight that was streaming into her room; blinding her.

She smacked her mouth a few times, trying to rid it of that horrible morning taste as she slowly sat herself up and scratched her head. She could feel her hair sticking up in every direction as she did and half-heartedly tried to comb her fingers through it. It was starting to get longer than she usually let it grow, which made sense. She'd had her last haircut about a month before she'd come to the Boiling Isles and it had been about two and a half months since she'd chased Owlbert through the portal.

Maybe she could get it cut in town this weekend. If she was lucky she could take Amity along and they could make a date out of it afterward.

Or she could invite Gus and Willow too and they could all hang out in town afterward, she definitely needed to spend more time with her other friends, she had been spending a lot of her free time with Amity, which her friends assured her they understood, but she was determined to make time for everyone.

Amity may not even be able to hang out this weekend, or Gus and Willow, which was a disappointing thought but she'd just talk to them at lunch.

With that thought, she quickly set about getting dressed for school.

She could smell food being cooked even before she started thundering down the stairs toward the kitchen.

"Morning!" She smiled, walking over to her seat and leaning down to kiss the top of King's head as she passed, making him giggle in his seat.

"Good morning, Luz." Lilith nodded to her as she sipped on her customary morning cup of tea.

"Hey, kid. I made pancakes!" Eda said, setting a plate in front of her.

"Oh, my favorite!" Luz wasted no time digging into her meal.

Eda wasn't the best cook, actually for the most part she was pretty bad, but she tried. She'd gotten pretty good at pancakes though; which Luz was grateful for.

They were good, and when she made them Luz always stuffed herself to bursting, no matter how miserable she would be on her way to school and through her first couple hours of class.

Today was no exception.

When her plate was all but licked clean she stood and shouldered her bag.

"You got plans for the weekend, kid?" her mentor asked her from her place at the sink, washing the pancake pan.

"I need to get a haircut, I figured I'd see if Amity or Willow and Gus wanted to come with me and hang out in town after," she said shrugging.

"Well if ya want, I can cut your hair and you can still hang out with your girlfriend and the rest of the nerd brigade after." The witch offered.

"You? Cut hair?" Lilith snorted from her place at the table and her sister shot her a glare.

"Yea, that'd be great!" She beamed at Eda and the glare faded into a soft smile as she looked down at Luz.

"Great, I'll get my shears!" She grinned and Luz wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. It was hard to tell sometimes, she laughed anyway as she started for the door.

"I gotta get to school, bye!" She turned to go but was yanked back by her bag.

"Don't forget your lunch." Eda held up a paper sack with a knowing grin.

"Oh, right." She smiled taking the bag. "Thanks, mom."

She froze, bag In hand.

Luz blinked and looked up at the older witch who was staring back at her wide-eyed and mouth ajar.

The rest of the kitchen had also gone silent. Lilith was looking at them equally shocked and King blinked, looking around at all the suddenly quiet woman. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on but the sudden oppressive silence kept him quiet.

"I mean… I gotta go!" Luz turned and ran out of the house, clutching her lunch to her chest, the door slamming shut behind her.

Eda watched her go, still not saying anything.

Lilith watched her sister quietly as she stood there, frozen, watching Luz leave the house.

"Edalyn?" she called and that seemed to jog Eda out of it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." She turned back to the sink and started washing the pans again but there was a distinct jerkiness to her movements.

"That was… unexpected," she said testingly. Eda made an agreeing noise but nothing more as she continued to scrub at the pans.

She shared a brief look with the demon sitting at the table, who seemed to get the hint and grabbed his plate before hopping down out of his chair and trotting into the living room.

Lilith rose and walked over to the sink, stopping a few feet from her sister.

"Edalyn?"

"What?" It lacked any of its usual bite or snark.

"Are you alright?" she asked, still looking at the back of Eda's head.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she grunted.

Lilith pursed her lips, no point beating around the bramble-thorns.

"Because Luz just called you 'mom'," she said and again Eda froze at the word, not turning away from the sink.

"So?" Eda's voice was tight and Lilith blinked before stepping closer to peer around her sister's mane of hair.

"Oh"

Eda jerked, finally turning to look at her elder sister and Lilith could clearly see the water welling up in her sister's dual-colored eyes.

"What?" she snapped, glaring, but the tremble in her voice made it lose any of its bite.

"You know…," she started slowly. "It's alright to be happy she called you that," she finished and Eda turned away sharply.

"Luz doesn't need someone like me."

"Would you leave the child to fend for herself?"

"I never said I wouldn't take care of her!" Eda growled, turning a glare on her sister, but it quickly died. "Luz has a mom."

"That she may never be able to return to. We have heard not even a whisper of another portal to the human world. As far as we know yours was the only one, you may need to consider that Luz may never leave the Isles, what then?"

"I'll take care of her." Was the simple answer. "But she's not my kid," Eda managed to mumble. Lilith cocked a brow at that.

"But It's alright to think of her as yours." She pushed. "She clearly, for reasons I do not understand, thinks very highly of you." When the light jab didn't elicit the usual response she frowned. Lilith felt she had a pretty good idea of why her sister seemed so conflicted.

"What happened with the portal was… unfortunate… but Luz made that choice, to save you. You shouldn't feel so guilty about being happy that she views you that way."

Eda's grip on the panhandle tightened.

Her sister was hitting the nail on the head and she didn't like it.

She did feel guilty.

Luz was stuck here because of her, she didn't have any right to be happy about it, but she was.

She loved that kid, fiercely; like she'd never loved anyone.

Of course, Lilly could tell too.

She sighed, looking at her sister tiredly out of the corner of her gray eye.

"If Luz needs me, she's got me, she knows that, but I'm not gonna go and try to replace her mom."

"Nor should you, but there's no reason to beat yourself up over it if she views you that way, nor being happy about it," Lilith said.

Eda grunted in response, conversation over and Lilith walked away. Once she was gone Eda allowed herself to smile.

~ ~

Luz ran till she was almost to school, mind racing with complicated thoughts and feelings.

She had called Eda 'mom', and it had slipped out so naturally; too naturally.

She was frowning, still lost in thought when she arrived at school. Her friends and Amity were standing near the front steps, waiting for her.

"Hey, Luz!" Gus called and Willow waved at her as she walked up to them, stopping next to Amity

"Hey guys." she smiled but it was lackluster at best. The three of them frowned.

"Uh, you okay?" Willow asked.

"Huh, yeah, I'm fine…" she gripped the strap of her bag tightly. The three witches shared a glance.

"Are you sure?"

She looked up to see her girlfriends concerned, gold eyes trained on her. She could feel Gus and Willow's looks as well.

She nodded, not trusting her voice right now.

The bell's scream echoed through the courtyard, making her jump.

"We better get going," Gus said and Willow nodded and turned to follow him into the school, but not before she shot Amity a look over her shoulder.

The youngest Blight nodded.

The courtyard was practically empty now as students began to make their way to their classes.

"I better head to the construction track hall…," Luz mumbled, taking a step, but was stopped as Amity grabbed her hand. Luz blinked at her, waiting, both eyebrows raised questioningly. Amity took a step closer

"Hey, you know you can talk to me if somethings wrong, right?" she asked quietly.

"I know… I just…" Luz trailed off, looking at the ground.

Amity's hand wrapped around hers squeezed reassuringly and Luz couldn't help but squeeze back.

"It's just a lot right now… later?" Luz looked back up at her and Amity nodded giving another light squeeze before sliding her hand out of Luz's.

"Later" she repeated before she hurried up the steps into the building.

The day dragged for Luz.

Lunch was a little tense, her friends could tell that something was bothering her, but she was sure Amity had talked to Willow at some point because none of them tried to ask her what was wrong, though they clearly wanted to. For that she was glad. She was touched by their concern, but she still wasn't ready to talk yet. She was still trying to organize all her mixed up feelings.

Time ticked by, heedless of her inner turmoil, and before she knew it the final bell screamed and she was walking down the steps of the school, and around the building where her teleportation glyph was waiting, hidden by the foliage.

Like her illusion glyphs, it seemed to stay in place even after use, which was convenient since it was the most complicated one in her arsenal. It would have been a pain to redraw after every use.

She tapped her hands to it and thought of Amity's secret room.

Once the portal blazed to life she stepped through and appeared inside the room and the portal blinked out of existence.

The room was empty, she'd beaten Amity here, which she usually did on Fridays, abominations were farther away from the front of the school than the construction track.

She dropped her bag on the floor and flopped face-first into the cushions on the floor with a tired sigh.

It was about 5 minutes later that she heard the portal once again appear in the room, but she didn't move.

She listened to Amity's quiet shuffling as she put her school things on her desk.

A moment later the cushions shifted, but she still didn't move and neither did Amity for a few minutes.

Then there were fingers running through her hair comfortingly, but still, no words were spoken.

She hummed and turned her head, peeking out from the fabric to find Amity sitting on the floor next to her, looking concerned.

Luz hated it when anyone worried about her, but she especially hated it when she caused Amity to worry.

The witch, for her part, said nothing, just waited patiently for Luz to be ready to talk.

Luz sighed and pushed herself up, flipping around to sit on the cushions.

"I called Eda 'mom' this morning," she finally mumbled, but she knew Amity had heard her.

"Okay?" Amity said, waiting, sure that could be embarrassing, she’s called some of her teacher’s ‘mom’ before, but clearly Luz was bothered by this for some reason.

The Latina pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"I feel… guilty," she finally mumbled,

"Why?"

"Because she's not… because… my mom is out there, in the human world, not knowing that I'm here, that when summer is over I'm not… coming back; that I've replaced her," she choked out the last words, eyes filling with tears.

Amity wrapped an arm around Luz's back and the human leaned into the touch, seeking comfort. Amity wrapped her other arm around her trembling form.

"It's okay, Luz." Amity tried to soothe.

"I miss her a lot… and I want to see her again, but… I also don't want to leave…" she looked up at Amity, tears dripping down her cheeks. "That's awful isn't it?" she sniffled.

"I don't think it's awful." Amity wiped at the tears.

"But I've replaced her! I don't want to go back, even if I could, and I feel terrible about it, that I'd just leave her alone!" Her voice cracked with a sob, she buried her face in Amity's neck.

She ran her fingers through her hair, her heart ached for Luz.

"It's okay to want something even if it makes you feel guilty, and you're not doing it on purpose… even if you wanted to go back you can't, that's not your fault."

"I destroyed the portal…," she choked.

"To save Eda."

"It was my fault she was captured in the first place…," she hiccuped, through another choked cry.

"You were trying to help her… and maybe you were going about it the wrong way, but you were doing it for the right reasons…," Amity mumbled. "I don't know your mom, but if the way you talk about her means anything, I think she'd just be happy that you're okay, even if it's in a whole different world."

Luz didn't say anything, just cried.

They sat there quietly for a while until Luz's tears started to dry.

"I guess… I just didn't realize how much she acts like my mom… kinda." Luz couldn't help the small wet chuckle at the comparison.

Amity smiled but didn't say anything.

"She makes me breakfast and packs my lunch… always asks me how school was when I get home… it makes me feel guilty..." she trailed off still sniffling.

"Just because you love Eda doesn't mean she's going to replace your mom and she'd probably be glad to know someone is taking care of you," Amity hummed.

"Yeah…," she mumbled.

After a while, Luz finally pulled away and wiped at her eyes with the heels of her palms before finally looking at her.

"Thanks, Amity," she said quietly, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

Amity smiled back, glad that she was no longer crying.

"I should probably head home…" she sighed and stood, Amity following.

"Right…"

"Meet me in town tomorrow, same place and time?" she asked.

"I'll be there." Amity smiled.

Luz quickly kissed her cheek, saying a quick bye before activating her glyph and teleporting home.

~ ~ ~

It was later that evening when Luz finally came out of her room and walked down the hall to Eda's door.

She hesitated a second before knocking on the closed door.

"What?" Came from the annoyed call from the other side.

"It's me, can I come in?"

There was a brief pause.

"Sure, Kid."

Luz peeked inside to see her mentor laying haphazardly in her nest, she sat up as Luz slipped inside, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey… can I talk to you?" She asked.

Eda patted the spot next to her.

Luz climbed in and settled herself down next to her mentor.

"What's up, Kiddo?" she asked, seeing the pensive look on her face.

"It's… about this morning…" she started.

"Ah, it's okay, Luz, I know ya didn't mean it." She waved a hand, even though it hurt a little to say that, which immediately made her feel guilty.

Luz bit her lip, shuffling around in the branches and grass.

"But… I did, I guess." She looked up at Eda, who was starting back, surprised and Luz felt her face heat up.

"I… miss my mom… but I feel like I should miss her a lot more, but I don't… because I have you," she mumbled, looking down at her hands. "I feel guilty… like I've replaced her…" she frowned.

Eda watched her quietly for a moment before wrapping an arm around her and tugging in close.

"Listen, Luz," she started, drawing the girl's eyes back up to her. "I'm not gonna replace your mom, and I wouldn't want too and trust me, I doubt I'd be a very good replacement even if I was… but, I think it's time we took a hard look at the facts here. You might be here for… a while." she said after a long pause, carefully omitting the word 'forever'.

To her surprise, Luz just nodded.

"But I'll tell you this: I love you, kid, and so long as you're here, I'm gonna take care of you, okay?" She squeezed the girl's shoulders and Luz leaned into her hold, smiling. " If the ‘M’ words slips out sometimes… we’ll just roll with it… you shouldn't feel guilty about anything."

"Amity said something similar."

"Well, you should listen to her, your girlfriend's smart," she chuckled. "All that being said, I think it's time we got you some permanent stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well, you need a scroll so your friends and I can actually get a hold of you when you're off causing trouble… heck you need a bed!" She flung out an arm.

"I would like a bed…" she admitted sheepishly.

"Then it's settled, tomorrow’s Saturday, we'll go out and get some stuff."

"Thanks, Eda." She smiled up at her.

"Sure thing, Kid." She squeezed your shoulders.

#Lumity #Luz Noceda #Amity Blight #Eda Clawthorne #lilith clawthorne #Willow Parks #Gus Porter #fic #toh #the owl house #Moonlit Masquerade

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pllandcompany · 5 years ago

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(now if we’re) talking body

Summary: Roman should have caught this. But he didn’t and now Logan’s falling.

Warnings: food mention, anxiety mention, brief description of a panic attack, eating disorder/disordered behavior (big one for this fic), self-destructive behavior, injury mention, brief blood mention, fainting, hospital mention, needle/IV mention, crying

Tagged: @shxtxpp @apologieslogan @crofters-jam @asylia5911 @ab-artist @band-be-boss-blog @unbefuckinglieveable@flyingfreeyt @thecatchat @thefallendog @backatthebein

Notes: Hey, remember that ice skating AU I came up with months ago? And I said I would definitely write in it? And then proceeded to crawl into a hole of my own shame never to be heard from again? Yeah, me neither, no idea where this came from. On a serious note: please heed the warnings on this one, y'all. The entire subject centers around someone struggling with an eating disorder. If that is triggering or upsetting to you, please don’t read it. Parts of it were honestly hard for me to write. If you do read it, I hope you find some sort of catharsis with it. Know that if you battle these issues or issues like it that you are not alone. There is always help so talk to someone. Reach out. Tell ANYONE who will listen. All right, loves, stay safe.

If Roman is honest with himself, he has to admit that it took him just a bit too long to notice what was happening with Logan, for his taste at least. Logan is his competition, sure, but he’s also his friend in an ‘I hate you, please love me’ sort of way. He should have noticed sooner. Well, that’s not totally fair. He did notice some things. But for some reason, he just didn’t say anything. Maybe he was afraid. Maybe he wanted to be absolutely certain, maybe he just didn’t want to deal with it; he doesn’t know. What he does know is by the time he finally finds the bravery to connect the figurative dots, it’s almost too late.

It starts when Logan comes back from the off-season looking, well, different. He’s leaner, especially in his waist and legs, and while his body is certainly more…defined, it’s also definitely smaller than Roman remembers. It’s not a bad look by any means, it’s just very different, enough to make Roman pause and take stock of the svelte man in front of him.

“You’ve been training hard this off-season, Specs.” Roman means it to be an offhand comment but something in the way Logan’s shoulders stiffen makes him wonder if he should have said anything at all. Logan looks up slowly and blinks at the redhead, an impassive expression on his face.

“I always train in the off-season. It’s important to maintain strength and endurance so the transition into training at full capacity is less of a strain on the body.” He sounds like a textbook, the Skater’s Guide to Success or something and Roman stifles a chuckle, not wanting to offend his friend any further than he apparently has.

“I know that, Wikipedia. I mean that you must have been doing something different. But you look good! Just different than last year. You’re…smaller and more…muscle-y.” He rubs the back of his neck in an uncharacteristic display of insecurity, nervous that the tension radiating off the dark-haired skater is partly his fault.

“That is not a word but…thank you, I presume.” Logan looks so uncomfortable that Roman has to get up and leave, heading out to the rink before he even fully has his skates on.

“You’re welcome. I’ll, uh, see you out there.”

After that awkward encounter, Roman vows to not say anything else about Logan’s appearance.

****

The next thing Roman notices is Logan’s eating habits have changed.

It’s not like the boy had a huge appetite to begin with, typically electing to eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. But lately, Logan has been skipping his snacks in favor of more practice time. Roman figures he just started making up for it at the normal scheduled mealtimes but when Logan comes in one day with just a small salad with no protein or dairy in it and then another day with a cup of grapes and some sliced apples, he realizes that he’s cut back there too. Regardless, he’s still eating and he still drinking water (he thinks) so it can’t be that bad, right? Shaking the worries from his head, Roman just barely brings himself back to reality in time to notice Logan’s stiffened up again, only this time the cause of it seems to be whatever Patton is saying to him.

“Logan, are you sure you’re not hungry? I have another piece of string cheese and a tangerine if you want it.”

Logan is sitting on the bench they’re sharing with his body slightly hunched over, arms folded across his stomach. To anyone else, he just looks a little cold but Roman can just barely make out the slight wince at the corners of his eyes. He’s definitely in pain and he’s definitely trying to hide it.

“I’m fine, Patton. I don’t need anything right now.” And Roman is certain that is a lie but he knows his teammate well enough not to directly call him on it. Patton, on the other hand, keeps pushing.

“Well, how about some water? Or a sports drink? You look like you might be cramping. You have been out there for a while without a break.”

“No, for God’s sake, I am fine, Patton! Will you please stop it with your incessant worrying?!” Logan snaps and immediately regrets it, doubling over as the effort of his anger causes another stitch to go shooting up his side, one he can’t cover up. Yet another thing that seems to be different; the usual picture of composure that Logan wears on the surface has slowly begun to dissipate, revealing a pulsing layer of frustrated magma underneath and more and more people have found themselves getting burned if they get too close. Patton, however, maintains a gentle look on his face even with the unexpected outburst but Roman can see the hurt and worry lurking in the bubbly skater’s brown eyes. He glances over at Roman briefly before standing up and preparing to walk away, leaning over for a moment. Roman cranes his neck to see Patton place a water bottle and the aforementioned fruit and cheese on the bench next to Logan. He seems to have recovered from his loss of temper and the subsequent cramp but now he is decidedly refusing to meet the older man’s eyes. Patton lays a gentle hand on Logan’s shoulder anyway and Roman braces for it to get knocked off but the moment never comes.

“Okay, honey. I’m sorry; I didn’t realize I was prying. But you need to take care of yourself, Logan. Food’s there if you want it.” Patton simply walks away after that, eyeing Roman sadly as he passes by. A moment passes before he steals another glance down the length of the bench at the now despondent Logan. He’s turning the small orange over in his hand, eyebrows furrowed in heavy deliberation over something that should be so simple. Roman knows better than that; he knows how complicated food can get for some people, especially athletes that compete at such a high level as they do. Admittedly, he never expected his overly logical teammate to ever struggle with something like this. Reason should surely step in and make this easy for the stoic skater, right?

When Logan eventually puts the fruit down and settles on taking a small sip from the water instead, it becomes clear that for him, this is very complicated.

****

Roman’s closing up the rink one night as a favor to his father when he gathers the courage to confront Logan about his recent change in behavior.

Trash is clear, showers are cleaned, doors are locked- you finished in record time, Roman Prince. He’s about to turn off the lights when he realizes that someone’s still on the ice. Roman is stunned, it’s well after eleven and it’s already been a full day of training. Who could possibly want to be practicing at this hour-

Logan. Of course.

Roman stands and watches for a minute as Logan glides across the ice, prepping for what looks to be his signature triple axel into a triple toe loop, a complicated sequence, sure, but nothing Logan hasn’t accomplished before. He figures he'll let Logan finish this element before he lets him it's time to go home-

Something's off.

Logan is far too tense. His shoulders are way too high. His legs seem wobbly and unsteady. And worst of all, he's not wearing any gloves, which would be concerning for anybody but is damn near insane for the typically pedantic skater who is more than happy to lecture everyone else about skate safety. It dawns on Roman just how long it's been since that man has walked into this arena.

And the man in front of him now? Couldn't be farther away from his normal picture of Logan if he tried.

Roman is just about to say something when Logan suddenly leaps into the air, attempting the jump. Right away, Roman can see plain as day that his approach is off and it throws his body out of alignment, causing Logan to over-rotate and come crashing down to the ice with a sickening smack.

Oh, God.

Thankfully, two things happen: one, Logan is smart enough to tuck and roll and land on his backside instead of his arm, thus avoiding a more serious injury, and two, he's not too far from the wall and slides into the flexible plastic, not too far from where Roman stands, momentarily frozen in shock. It takes a beat too long for his body to catch up to his brain screaming at him to move, run, go to him and finally-

"Logan! Logan, are you all right?" Roman leans over to see Logan seated on the ice, propped up against the wall and panting heavily. There are going to be bruises all over him, no doubt, it was a hard fall but nothing appears to be broken. Roman reaches out a hand to him, his concern for every aspect of his teammate's health growing by the second.

"Here, Lo, come on. Take my hand, let's get you off the ice. You can stand, right?"

Logan hesitates ever so slightly before he nods and Roman doesn't miss it. He suppresses the urge to wince at the weak, ice cold grip Logan has and instead focuses his energy on pulling the taller man to his feet.

"Turn towards me, grab both my hands. That's it, Lo. And I'll walk around and you sidestep; we'll meet at the entrance and then we'll sit and take a breather." It takes a moment for them to finally reach other. Logan is shaking badly and Roman keeps having to grab him to keep him upright. Finally, they reach the opening and the trembling skater practically collapses into his rescuer's chest, still breathing erratically as Roman holds him steady to check him over. He grabs both of his freezing hands and holds them in his warm ones, calmly whispering at Logan to take a deep breath, something he finally does himself. Eventually, they both calm down and a few moments pass before someone speaks.

"I'm sorry," Logan whispers. It's small and ashamed and it breaks Roman's heart just that much more.

"Please don't apologize. Just tell me what is going on." Logan's head snaps up and he almost looks like he's about to deny everything all over again and then he takes inventory of the situation and slumps over, defeated.

"I...I don't know what's happening to me."

"I think you do," Roman says, afraid yet brave for just a moment. Logan's eyes widen, fear turning over and over again in his stomach. "I think you know exactly what this is."

Logan nods, glossy tears threatening to spill out onto his cheeks. Roman is right; there is no fooling anyone anymore. He nods again and clears his throat twice, suddenly unable to unstick the walls to get anything out.

"Logan," Roman presses on, "you must know how this ends. You know this can't continue." Logan nods a third time, looking up at the concerned redhead through wet eyelashes as his voice makes a quiet comeback.

"I know...but I can't stop."

****

Roman regrets every choice he's ever made with Logan when it comes to their next competition.

He's waiting on the sidelines for his turn at bat, so to speak, when he sees Logan blow past them, ignoring them all and taking his place on deck.

"Well, what the hell was that about?" Virgil grumbles. "He didn't even wish us luck or anything!" Patton places a hand on his shoulder and offers up a weak smile.

"He's been...off lately, Virge. I think he just needs some space right now." Something in Roman's gut twists at that, the sheets wrongness of leaving Logan to his own devices eating at him. He glances over at Patton who gives him the same half-hearted smile and then glances down at a very stressed out Virgil with his face buried in his hands. Roman gets it and the ache in his chest subsides. Virgil's anxiety is playing against him and he doesn't need yet another thing to worry about. None of them do, really but that unfortunately doesn't stop anything from happening to anyone.

The three look up as they hear Logan's name called out over the loudspeaker and the cheers as he glides onto the ice, giving a the crowd a tight grin and a small wave. He's never been overly expressive with his entrance but yet again, Roman can see the extra stress around his eyes, the dark circles even more prominent against the pallor of his face, the way his legs tremble as he takes his starting pose.

The guilty churning comes back tenfold. Roman should have said something. He shouldn't be out there.

The music starts and like a light switch, Logan comes alive for a brief moment. It enough to make his teammates almost relax until he attempts his first jump sequence and it goes sideways, Logan wobbling as he lands.

"Did...did he just wobble on a triple flip?" Virgil asked, incredulous.

"He just wobbled...on a double flip...that was supposed to be a triple," Roman says, quiet and halting.

"Something's wrong." Patton echoes the thought radiating off the others. "Something's really wrong."

Logan barely makes it through the rest of his routine, tipping and wobbling on almost all of his jumps, modifying other elements down, an obvious display of a lack of confidence. His turns are sluggish and his moves lack more and more luster and enthusiasm as time goes on. No one would dare say this out loud but it's possibly the worst Logan has ever skated in a long while. Finally, it ends and Logan looks wrecked. Not only does he appear to be exhausted, his expression is utterly defeated as the crowd cheers out of sheer sympathy, still loving him despite the struggles he's had tonight. It doesn't seem to register to the tall brunette as he skates around to each side of the rink to acknowledge the audience, his chest heaving with the effort of fighting back tears and screams of frustration. His teammates look on, trying and mostly failing not to let their pity and shock show. The most steady and consistent person on their team just crumbled and none of them could speak. They could only watch as the person they knew faded in front of them, the sense that something had irrevocably changed haunting them all. Logan shakily starts to make his way off the ice, pinching the bridge of his nose when the unthinkable happens and his blades slide out from underneath him, pulling his body down to the ice, limp and unconscious and not moving.

Chaos erupts as medics and coaches flood the ice and the crowd shrieks in horror. Roman almost leaps onto the ice himself but he's pulled back by someone he briefly struggles against. He finally registers Patton's blonde curls and suddenly he can hear again.

"Roman, stop it, do you hear me? You can't help him right now, the medics, they've got him, okay? He'll be okay, just let them do their job! Roman, look at me, look at me! He will be okay!" Patton's voice is shaking with uncertain sobs but still Roman nods, knowing that it's truly too late, the time for action on his part has long since passed.

"Come on now, come with me, come help Virgil, he needs us right now." Roman looks over to see the small skater curled up on the bench in the throes of a panic attack. Roman grabs his hand and places it to his chest absently, taking one last glance back at the rink. The sound of Patton's counting Virgil’s breaths fades into the background as he zeroes in on Logan's unmoving frame between someone's legs. There's a small pool of blood on the ice around his head.

The sight of it makes Roman want to vomit.

****

It’s hours later when Logan wakes up to a slow, steady beeping machine. Hospital, it registers, and he wants to groan out loud but there’s barely enough energy left in his body to open his eyes. His head hurts, his body hurts, and his throat feels like sandpaper. He tries to shift and something pulls at his arm, what is that? Oh. The IV, pumping me full of sugar and fluids that are just going to-

Keep you alive.

Is this really where he is? Is he really so far gone that he fears something as innocuous as an IV drip? Is he really at such a low point that he needs to be on a IV drip?

What the hell has he done to himself?

A small gasp startles him and he turns his head too fast to the left, a wave of dizziness crashes into him briefly. Roman seems to notice and pulls over a small cup of water with a straw. Logan hates himself for it but he pauses for just a second. Roman stays patient, his face unreadable as he waits for Logan take a sip, pushing the cup away gently when he’s done.

“Thank God you’re awake,” Roman mutters.

“I take it that I didn’t place,” Logan responds dryly. Roman raises an eyebrow.

“Really? That’s what you’re concerned about?” No response. “No, you didn’t,” he sighs out, “gold went to another team. I took silver and Patton was just shy of bronze.Virgil..Virgil struggled too.”

“I probably terrified him.”

“You terrified all of us.” Roman’s tone was soft but abrupt. “You weren’t moving, I thought you were- I thought...” He cleared his closing throat, swallowing the lump that had formed there. “Anyway...if you’re worried, we’re handling the press. My father is releasing a statement that your...collapse was due to a recent bout of severe flu that turned into pneumonia. You’ll be taking some time off to recover in the hospital and then at home privately until you’re strong enough to compete again.”

“Your father would do that for me? That’s...that’s wonderful. That’s just- it’s- that’s just perfect!” Logan breaks down sobbing before Roman can even blink and to his surprise, it chokes him up too.

“Logan?”

“They don’t see me, Roman. Your father would lie for someone he hardly knows. But my parents..I’m never good enough for them. I’m not good enough for anyone. And I try to make myself perfect but they still...they don’t see me.”

“So your answer is to disappear?” Silence again. “Logan...this has to stop here. You need help or you’re gonna...please tell me you’ll end this.”

Logan swallows thickly. “You know I can’t promise you that.”

Roman drops his head, the urge to cry only growing stronger. “I should have done something. I should have said something sooner.”

“Roman, this isn’t your fault.”

“No, I knew! I watched this happen! I watched you deteriorate and I said nothing! And now you’re...” A hand reaches across his face, wiping the tears that had collected on his cheeks.

“Alive, Roman. I’m still alive.” Roman nods, the guilt slowly easing its way out of his chest. He grabs Logan’s hand and squeezes, both of them clinging to the fragile strands of hope that connected them.

As long as he was alive, he still had hope, right?

#sanders sides #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #sanders sides au #my writing #tw:/eating disorder #tw:/anxiety #tw:/fainting #panic attack #fainting #logan angst #ice skating au #tw;/blood mention #tw:/needle mention

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heartofsnark · 5 years ago

Text

Black Market Wonderland (Chapter Six): A messy brain, I’m not okay

Notes: As always, thanks for the continuous support of this story. There has even been people doing fan art of Tsuneko which blows my mind. This was another chapter I struggled with, I’m still unsure when writing Rhion. But, I love him enough to try.

Word Count: 5,499

Warnings: Nightmare, Suicide (within nightmare) and another panic attack for good measure. I feel like Tsuneko has a lot of panic attacks but given her situation, I feel it’s justified.

Missed the last chapter? Link Here!

Tsuneko’s dorm kitchenette is filled with savory and sweet scents; she puts the finishing touch on the final dish with a low hum. She packs it all away in containers, it will be a pain carrying all of the dishes, but she’ll have to manage. It’s odd how excited she is about this, after dealing with Ichinomiya and Oh, visiting Wonderland feels like a vacation. For all his eccentricities, the Hatter has by far been the kindest of the men involved with the auctions. The only one who can even compare is Baba, but his kindness comes with incessant and nauseating attempts to flirt.

There are a few blotches of stuff on her apron and she hopes it doesn’t stain, ironic given what it is, but she can’t help it. She tosses it in the hamper and throws on a jacket; she already changed into more casual clothes the second she was back from the boutique. She feels so much better in her own clothes, her hair done a way she likes, and she even put in her tongue ring. It was something reckless she did a few years ago in college, she rarely gets to wear it anymore with her job, but it feels nice to have it back in place.

She gathers the food, balancing it all in her arms as she heads out. Tsuneko has to cut through the lobby to head towards Wonderland. She feels a little out of place, she’s basically only here if she’s working, so wearing her casual clothes in the lobby is a new experience.

“Tsuneko!” A familiar and accented voice rings out, every muscle in her body tenses as Mr. Bucci comes over.

“Hello, Mr. Bucci, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” She’s careful as she speaks, aware of the possibility of showing her tongue ring. As much as she likes fucking over Ichinomiya looking like some sort of delinquent in front of his potential work partner feels like a step too far.

“I thought you were spending the day with Carolina and them?”

“I was with them earlier, but I had to leave, I’m on my way to drop off some food actually.”

“You cook?”

“A little, actually,” she manages to open the top container, “do you want a piece of cherry almond bread?’

The older man guffaws at her struggling to get a piece out, she’s hoping the sweet can soothe any bad impression she’s made.

“Thank you very much,” he takes a bite, “there’s nothing better than home cooking, I swear.”

“I’m so glad you like it, I’ll have you cook something just for you while you’re here.”

“Sounds like a plan, I’ll be looking forward to it then.”

Tsuneko waves him off and sighs once he’s out of hearing distance, he’s definitely easier to contend with than his daughter, but she’d still hate to upset him. Not only is he important for Ichinomiya’s work, but she really doesn’t want to make enemies with the Italian mafia. Doesn’t sound like a good time to her. She takes the stairs down to the Hatter’s tea room and knocks on the door.

“It’s Tsune- Alice.”

“Come in! Come in!”

Tsuneko steps into the room and no less surreal than it was the first time, she’s not sure she could ever get used to this. This time the table is already set, the decorations from last time are still out, and the costumed men are already at the table.

“We’ve all been waiting; I’ve been so excited I could barely set the table.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, now,” she tells him as she sets everything out, “do you mind pouring the tea?”

The scent of Assam tea mingles with the smells of the food she’s made; Yorkshire pudding with roast, gravy and vegetables. Along with the lemon chiffon pie he requested as a dessert, she made cherry almond bread. He seems to have a taste for sweet fruity things; the lemon chiffon pie and raspberry sauce both coming to mind. The Hatter’s eyes are trained on her as she plates the main course; she tried to make a lot since the March Hare and Dormouse are here as well.

“You seem to be in high spirits today, Alice.”

“Do I?”

“You do.”

“I had a lot of fun cooking for you, plus I’d rather be here than with any of the penthouse guys any day.” she answers with a shrug.

“Ahh, you’ll make my heart fly out of my chest, saying things like that.”

“Pfft, sure, I just hope you like everything I made.”

“It smells so delicious; I might drift off to sleep.” The Hatter closes his eyes and takes a deep inhale.

“I swear to god, if you fall asleep before you even try any of this, I’ll be shoving it down your throat.”

“Ah! How scary!” He jolts up in his seat with wide eyes and she can’t help but snicker.

“Here you go,” she places a plate in front of the Hatter and the two pseudo-furries, other than initial greetings the two have never spoken. If they’re the people the Mad Hatter is always with, he must get lonely, doesn’t he? She shakes off the thought and takes her seat.

“Yes, this is it! Look how the middle is sunken in, isn’t it lovely! ~”

“I just hope it tastes good.” She tried them before hand, but just because they taste good to her doesn’t mean they’ll meet his standard, since he actually knows how they’re supposed to taste.

“Let’s have a taste, Alice,” her leg bounces with nervous energy as the Hatter takes a bite, “mmm, it’s delicious, both the texture and flavor is perfection! ~”

“Yes,” she pumps her fist, “I’m so happy you like them!”

Her nerves relax and she takes a big bite out of her own Yorkshire pudding, the soft texture of the bread mixed with the flavor of the gravy brightens her smile even more.

“How is it?”

“It’s really soft and delicious.”

“Yes, I’m so glad you like them, Alice! ~”

“I’m happy they turned out well, I was really worried when you first asked me to make them. I had no idea what they were.”

“Really? What did you think it was?” He tilts his head to the side, his oversized hat nearly falling off from the movement.

“Uhhhh,” heat floods her cheeks and she stares at her plate, “like dessert pudding, possibly…shaped like a dog…like the terriers.”

“Pfffft, hahahaha!”

A peal of laughter escapes his painted lips and she buries her head in her hands, her skin feels like it’s on fire.

“Hey! Don’t laugh at me!”

“You say the most interesting things, Alice! ~,” he takes a bite of the roast beef, “mmm, the roast beef is perfectly cooked and the gravy is robust and flavorful!”

“You’re too nice.”

“It’s a lovely dinner, the roast beef is sliced so perfectly thin. If it’s cut too thick, it wouldn’t make for a good sandwich later. Ah, isn’t it a wonder how such a delicious meal can be made from such simple ingredients?”

“It really is. I thought it would be a lot more complicated.”

“Flour, eggs, and milk, that’s all the batter is, it’s like it’s transformed by magic!”

Tsuneko’s face is red through the entire meal, as laves compliment after compliment on her cooking. Every bite of food is accompanied by a noise of pleasure and a poetic gushing of how much he loves it. He cleans his plate of the main dish before digging into the cherry almond bread.

“Mmmm, the tart cherries and sweet bread are a lovely a combination! ~”

It’s gone in moments and she’s licking crumbs off her fingers, as the Hatter begins to dig into the lemon chiffon pie. She can’t get over how childlike all his actions seem to be, excitedly digging into every dish with an impossibly wide smile.

“The ephemeral meringue reminds me of a night blooming cactus as it melts instantly in my mouth. The sweet and sour lemon cream gives life to my very heart! ~”

“I’m pretty sure if your heart was pumping lemon cream, you’d die.”

“And I’m pretty sure you can’t make pudding into the shape of a dog,” he teases with a soft smile.

“Shut up.”

She pouts and takes a sip of tea, once the food is gone the March Hare and Dormouse take their leave, not long after a familiar fluff ball comes walking in.

“Oh, Cheshire, how are you today?”

The Hatter greets the oversized cat as she tries to jump into a seat, but she has trouble lifting herself. Tsuneko puts her hand under Cheshire’s back feet and gives her a lift up.

“Back from your nightly walk, are you?” Cheshire mews back at the Hatter’s question, “Oh? That’s wonderful. That’s the best part of taking a walk, isn’t it?”

“What did Cheshire say?” Tsuneko raises an eyebrow, humoring the Hatter’s attempt to be Dr. Doolittle.

“She was watching a beautiful butterfly fall asleep and felt the night breeze caress her cheeks.”

“Sounds like a lovely time, are you hungry?”

Tsuneko gets a little piece of roast beef, letting Cheshire eat it from her hand. Once she’s cleaned her hand, she starts scratching her ear, the cat leaning into the touch and purring.

“I think Cheshire has gained some weight.”

“It’s fine, she wears it well, want me to brush her fur out?”

The Hatter smiles brightly and brings her a brush. She begins stroking it through the cat’s fur; the silky fluff is relaxing to pet through. Cheshire curls up in her lap, purring with every brush and pet against her fur.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, about the auctions,” Tsuneko brings up, scratching under Cheshire’s chin.

“Hmm, what could that be?”

Tsuneko’s mouth dries out, thoughts of that stage, that night. This isn’t stage fright, she knows that. She’s never been afraid of speaking to crowds, but any advice or help from someone who steps onto that stage regularly is welcomed. She clicks her tongue ring against the roof of her mouth, fidgeting with Cheshire’s fur.

“Do you…ever get…nervous getting on stage?”

His head tilts curiously to the side, his hat once again threatening to topple over. He chews on his painted bottom lip and his face wrinkles in concentration.

“Are you nervous about it?”

“Uh….maybe, just a bit.”

“Why would the stage make you nervous?”

“Y’know, being stared at...and gunk…” She supposes severe trauma from being sold like a literal object can be safely tucked into the ‘gunk’ category.

"You worry about the silliest things," he waves his hand like it'll make her fear disappear, "you'll do wonderfully!"

Despite the chipper tone, not a single word that came out of his mouth was helpful. She sighs, she’s not sure what she expected, the Hatter is eccentric at best and completely detached from reality at worse, why would he be able to help her?

“’Preciate it,” she teeters back in her chair with her feet on the table and Cheshire still in her lap, “so, you grew up in England?”

His smile drops and every muscle in his body tenses, like she’s thrown cold water on him. She plays with the ring in her tongue, nervously pushing it up and down. She’s never seen him like this, like her one little question has sent his world crashing down.

“The place where I grew up…yes.”

“You said the Yorkshire pudding was from your home country, so I was curious…”

“The place where I grew up, it’s a place where there are beautiful roses…”

His eyes soften when he mentions the roses and Tsuneko finds her own wandering to the walls of Wonderland. Roses are painted over them, what she once assumed was just another reference to his favorite fairy tale has taken on a new meaning. Clearly, he has conflicted feelings about where he came from, but the roses seem to be a pleasant memory for him. There’s a pang in her heart, as strange as he is, he’s a kind person and seeing him hurt for even a second hurts her.

“That must be nice, roses are really beautiful.”

“They are,” he’s beaming again, “being surrounded by beautiful things is the best. That’s why Wonderland is so incredible. The clear sky, the lush garden, a wonderful table at which to have parties, roses, and-oh, I know there’s something I haven’t shown you yet, Alice!”

He’s gesturing flamboyantly as he rushes towards the wall, Cheshire hops out of her lap to start sniffing around the room. Tsuneko idly picks at the fur left on her shorts and tights while she waits for the Hatter’s new surprise. She hears the click of a switch and her breath catches in her throat.

The ceiling has shifted, no longer showing an evening sky, it’s now pitch black with gleaming stars. It looks so real, she knows it’s not, but she can see the starlight shining against the velvet black. It almost feels like she’s back home, sitting on her roof and stargazing again.

“Whoa, they look so real.”

“They are real stars in Wonderland.”

“It reminds me of when I was little,” Tsuneko can’t help but say, maybe because he talked a bit about his past, she feels like she should share her own.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it was a small place so you could see the stars really well. I use to always climb up to the roof of our house to see them. My dad kept telling me I was gonna fall and break my neck, he would worry over the stupidest shit.”

“Did you ever fall?”

“Yeah, but I broke my arm, so,” she shrugs her shoulders, “won that one.”

The Hatter laughs and she finds herself joining it, cracking up at her own dumb ass.

“You have a way at looking at the bright side, I suppose,” The Hatter manages to say as his giggles die down.

“Hmmm, more like just spiteful enough to say I won no matter what, but spin it however you want,” she pauses for a moment, “you want to like properly stargaze?”

“Properly stargaze?”

She smiles at the way his head tilts again; she wonders what he looks like beneath the makeup. His behaviors alone are too cute; does he have a cute face to match? Wait, what is she thinking? He’s an auctioneer who helped sell her, no matter how kind or cute he may or may not be, she can’t forget that.

“Yeah,” she shakes off the odd thought, “when there are stargazing event people will get blankets and lay out on the ground to watch them.”

“Oh,” his eyes are bright and wide, “that sounds like fun, let's do that!”

“Okay, help me move the table so we can lie down.”

She hooks her fingers under one side of the table and the Hatter’s eyebrows furrow, but follows suit in getting his hand on the other side. He’s biting his lip, is he worried about something?

“Count of three lift it up with me okay; one, two, three!”

She lifts and realizes why he was worried; she’s definitely lifting the brunt of the table’s weight. His arms are trembling from what he’s holding up, he’s not very strong. She finds herself smiling as she guide him to helping her move the table further off to the side, that must be why he needs the furry guys to move stuff. They put down the table once it’s far enough to the side and he’s letting out soft huffs of air, little beads of sweat make his makeup run a bit. It wasn’t that heavy, next time she could probably lift it alone.

“Do you have any extra blankets?”

“Uh, um, in the closet.” He points her in a direction; he’s too winded to be dramatic about it.

She’s smiling as she rummages, finding the biggest softest blanket she can. It falls across the center of the room with a soft noise, big enough for two and a cat. Tsuneko falls back against the blanket with all the grace of a boulder, stretching her arms and legs out to feel the soft fabric beneath her.

The Hatter follows suit, falling in place beside her. She can feel the warmth of his presence next to her, the fabric of his costume brushing against her, his limbs tangled with her own in the places where their sprawled bodies overlap and the way any semblance of personal space has been abandoned.

It’s not uncomfortable though, it should be but it isn’t. This kind of thing usually makes her want to scream and run away. Blurring of boundaries and sharing stories of the past, things that normally put a pit in her stomach feel fine here with him. Why? She’s never told Sakiko or Chisato a thing about her past, not even little anecdotes and she usually doesn’t let them too close, a casual touch here and there too. But, she’s never been able to relax like this, just letting someone be in her space.

Her eyes drift from the artificial stars to the man beside her, eyes narrowing as she tries to crack this code. His hat fell off, the teal hair color must be wash out, and she can see black patches of hair starting to peek through. The white face paint around his neck and forehead has started to rub off, little patches of regular fair skin beneath. She wants to fix it, retouch up his hair and makeup for him. She’s so accustomed to his over the top fake appearance, seeing even glimmers of the person beneath it is making her a little uncomfortable.

It’s because he’s fake.

The realization of it hits her. That’s why this is okay, why she can tell him about falling off the roof and can let him into her space, he’s not real. He is, but he isn’t. Sakiko and Chisato are real people they’re opinions, judgments, and actions have an impact on her. If they know the dumb shit she’s done or see her vulnerable, they’re judgment would hurt so much, because it’ll mean something.

The Hatter is fake, he may exist, but everything about him feels fake. It’s not like talking to a real person; she’s talking to a character, someone whose existence only impacts Wonderland. Everything about him is so far detached from reality, even Wonderland feels like she’s stepped into another world; it feels like nothing here matters. Like saying things to an imaginary friend or Kiyo. It means nothing, so why bother with boundaries? But, the Hatter exists and can give some sort of proper response. He’s not real enough, not enough of a person for her hang ups to matter, but enough of a person that it doesn’t feel like she’s talking to herself.

He falls into this uncanny valley of existence and it brings her a sense of comfort. There’s someone she can tell stupid things too, someone who can hear her, but not impact her. He’s a step up from talking into the void, but still a step down from talking to people. She can relax and have no fear with him, something she thought she could only do alone.

“Do I have something on my face Alice?”

“Huh, ah no, hey, you want to hear something stupid that happened after I broke my arm?” She stares back at the sky as she changes the topic.

“What’s that?”

“A couple days after a kid at school was annoying me, but I couldn’t punch him because of my arm. I was so upset I couldn’t fight because of my cast, I went home and tried to cut it off with a handsaw.”

“What!?” he slaps a hand over his mouth as he laughs.”

“My dad caught me before I broke through it all and had to take me to get it redone; I was so upset I didn’t talk to him for a whole day.”

“I never imagined my Alice was such a violent child,” he teases.

“You have no idea, I was a garbage kid. Like bad seed, demon spawn type shit. My parents would have had better luck raising a rabid dog, I swear.”

“You couldn’t have been that bad.”

“You want to bet? I swear every kid and their parents hated me. One time, a kid’s mom brought in cupcakes I didn’t like, so I pushed him off the jungle gym. Who does that!?”

“Alice, that’s awful!”

“I know, I was the worst, I’m not sure how my folks put up with me.”

“Lots of patience, I’m sure.”

“I think my dad still has a scar from when I bit him for telling me to go to bed.”

“You’re starting to sound more like the jabberwock than my Alice.”

“I can see that, I might be a jabberwock in disguise, you never know.”

“I’d still be happy to have you, even as a jabberwock. I’d adore you, claws and all.”

“You’re too sweet-oof,” the wind is knocked out of her as Cheshire hops onto her chest, “well, hello to you too.”

“What’s that Cheshire? Hmmm, you’d love Alice as a jabberwock too, guess we’re in agreement.”

“Awww, is that true sweetie?” She scratches over the cat’s fur, feeling Cheshire lean into her touch and purr.

“She means every word of it, no matter what she’d adore you.”

Heat flood Tsuneko’s cheeks, he’s really too nice to her, even knowing he helped sell her she can’t help thinking how nice he is.

“Hey, there’s even constellations up there,” Tsuneko points up at the projected night sky, “I’m pretty sure that’s Capricorn.”

“Do you know the constellations Alice?”

“A few of them, not a lot though, there was a girl in my class who could find and name them all in a second.”

There’s a pang in her heart, guilt eating at her when she thinks about that girl, but she swallows it down like bile and pushes those thoughts from her mind. She wants to be happy right now, in this little piece of Wonderland completely divorced from reality and in front of this odd man who seems to only exist here, she wants to be happy.

“Hmm, I’m afraid I don’t know any of them, Alice.”

“I only learned a few from other people; if I’m being honest they don’t mean anything to me. It all looks like random dots to me, the stories are interesting though.”

“Did you get invited out a lot, Alice?”

“Uhhh, invite isn’t really the right word, I just kind of showed up, whether anyone wanted me there or not. They’re fun though, have you ever been to anything like that?”

“Huh!? Uh, I can’t remember clearly, I’ve been in Wonderland for the past four years, so…”

“You haven’t been outside in four years?”

“Huh? Of course not,” his voice trembles and his eyes widen, “are you suggesting I go above ground, your jokes are too much Alice.”

“Hmm, okay, I understand.”

She’s not sure she does fully, but she can tell he must not want to push the issue. Maybe he’s agoraphobic? Why wouldn’t he ever want to leave, he’s even more cut off from reality then she realized. Does he have a family? Do they know what he does?

Does she want to know?

If she knew about those things, he’d be more human. If he’s more human, would she still feel so safe being like this with him? Would this new-found sense of comfort, a strange almost friendship, be ruined once he’s real?

Her eyelids are heavy and she can’t help yawning. How late is it? She checks the time on her phone, it’s past two am, how did time pass by so quickly?

“Are you tired Alice?” The Hatter asks with a soft voice, it feels like a lullaby to her sleepy brain.

Even in Wonderland, completely separate from reality, she’s not going to sleep in front of someone. The most she’s ever allowed is the occasional dozing off at hair salon, but those are never deep or enough for dream, just resting her eyes before she’s told to move. If she allows herself to sleep here, it’ll be a deep dreamy sleep. She’ll have a nightmare and scare him, or worse. There’s no place far enough from reality for her to allow herself to be that vulnerable.

“Yeah, I have to get headed home.” She pulls herself up to her feet and the hatter follows suit.

“Oh…you know, you could sleep here.”

“Uh, no, I couldn’t intrude like that.”

“It wouldn’t be intruding; I…have a room you can use.”

“Huh, you do?”

“I do and it might not be safe for you to walk alone so late.”

“My dorm is like five minutes away.”

His eyes focus on the floor and he pouts.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

His voice is soft and timid; he looks like a lost puppy dog. If he has another bedroom, there are a couple of doors around Wonderland, then she wouldn’t be near him while she was sleeping. So, it wouldn’t be an issue.

“Alright, where’s the spare room?”

“Oh! Yes! It’s right this way! ~”

He’s back to excited child status and all but skips towards one of the doors. She trails after him, movements sluggish with exhaustion. The Hatter opens the door like he’s revealing the most magical of secrets and her eyes widen.

The room is gorgeous, if not for the fact it would mean living with someone, Tsuneko wouldn’t mind staying here permanently. Part of the walls are soft floral patterns, the lower half pastel blue and white vertical stripes. The bed has a soft blue blanket and pale pink canopy.

“It’s so cute!”

“I’m glad you like it, you can use it anytime you want.”

“I really appreciate it, thanks.”

“It’s no problem, I’m happy to have you here; I’ll let you sleep now.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Alice.”

She waves him off for the night and shuts the door, why does he have the extra room? It seems like an odd thing to keep, the March Hare and Dormouse obviously don’t stay here. But, everything about him is odd, so maybe it’s best not to question things. She sends a quick text asking Chisato to check on Kiyo if she can and kicks off her boots, she doesn’t exactly have pajamas here, but she’s tired enough to fall asleep in anything.

Maybe it’s the stress of the shopping trip with Carolina finally coming down on her or having just gotten to relax with someone, either way she doesn’t feel the usual resistance to getting ready to sleep. She’s ready to crash already, she just hope she doesn’t make any noises to attract attention to her room. The walls don’t seem too thin, but that doesn’t mean soundproof.

She sets an alarm on her phone, tosses off her jacket and undoes the bun that’s been holding up half of her hair before throwing herself on the bed. It’s plush and so soft; it isn’t just nice to look at. Tsuneko roots and finds her way under the blanket; her eyelids grow heavier and heavier as she drifts off to sleep.

A deafening sort of silence overwhelms her as Tsuneko stands in the house; too cold, too dark, and too quiet to be considered a home.

The silence is pierced as rope shifts and wood creaks. Her heart pounds in her ears and she jolts into movement. A different kind of overwhelming, too quiet replaced with too loud, complete whiplash.

Too loud.

Too desperate.

Hot tears stream down her face, her lungs burn with the need to breath. It’s like she’s on fire, heat simmering under her skin and sweat running down the back of her neck.

Tsuneko sees her. Long dark hair falls over her face, noose wrapped tighter around her neck and the wood creaks with the strain to hold her body up. She doesn’t look dead, like she could move or breathe any second. Maybe, Tsuneko can save her.

She’s under them, forcing their weight up onto her shoulders. If she can lift them up higher, she can reduce the tension, stop them from strangling.

If only she was taller.

If only she was stronger.

If only she was smarter.

If only she was faster.

If only she was better.

If only she was enough.

But she’s not.

The weight of the body slumps heavy her shoulders, they’ve gone cold and decay is setting in.

Too short, she couldn’t get them up higher.

Too weak, couldn’t lift them up further.

Too stupid, why didn’t she grab a ladder, something to cut the rope?

Too late, if only she had gotten there sooner.

Too cruel, that’s why they’d choose death over her.

She’s not enough good things and too many bad things, a disgusting mess that drives everyone away.

Death is more desirable than her.

Death was better than one more moment with her.

Tsuneko wakes up with a jerk, knocking a pillow over in her frenetic movement. Her face is soaking wet, hot tears flooding her vision, she tries to wipe them away but her fingers are numb and trembling.

She can’t catch a deep enough breathe; every breath is a desperate gasp that just feels too shallow to keep her going. Her throat is tight, like it’s swelling and her heart won’t stop pounding.

Just a little peace, that’s all she wants. Why is that too much to ask? Why is her mind constantly reminding her of every failure, why does she have to be such a failure?

She needs to get away. Doesn’t matter where, just away.

Her hands are shaking; she nearly drops her phone and puts her jacket on inside out. She doesn’t bother zipping her boots, just shoving her feet into them before moving.

That’s all she needs to do right now, is move, go, get away. The door of the spare bedroom closes behind her with a noise and her panic fogged brain can just hear the sound of water running.

It’s coming from the bathroom, a shower.

The Hatter is taking a shower, so mundane, but so odd to think of with him. His hair color and makeup would be completely washed away, he must look…human. The water stops and the door starts to creak open. If she stays she’ll see who he is, he’ll be real.

She’s gone.

The door to Wonderland slams shut behind her and she’s taking the stairs two at a time, just pushing forward with every stumble or trip that threatens to send her falling back down.

She doesn’t want to see the real him.

She doesn’t want to see him as a person.

She doesn’t want the illusion broken.

If she lets that happen…

It’s over.

It’s ruined.

Whatever glimmer of happiness, whatever minute amount of peace she’s found here will be destroyed.

He’ll be real, he’ll be human, and he’ll know what a mess she is.

He’ll have shown her the real him before he’s ready, there’s a reason he’s like this, he’ll never want to see her again.

She’s so sick of everything going to shit.

She’s sick of how fragile every moment of happiness is.

She doesn’t want to destroy anything else.

She doesn’t want to ruin anything else.

She doesn’t want to be like this.

Why can’t she stop being like this?

Why can’t she just be happy?

Her feet hurt. She stops moving, a few random people brushing past her without concern for her state. She’s somewhere in the city, she’s not sure where. She just kept moving.

She’s breathing heavy, but it’s different. Huffs from exertion rather than panic. Her heart is starting to calm. Her limbs are heavy and leaden, but no longer numb. She just wants to fall down in the middle of the street and rest, maybe in the road so a truck tire can cave her skull in.

Instead, she checks her phone. She’s going to be late for work. If Ichinomiya thinks she’s avoiding work for the bet, she’ll lose automatically.

Does it even matter?

Can she even get her life back on track if she wins?

Even if she does, will it make her happy?

It’s not like she was ever really happy before.

Maybe even if she wins she’d be better off dead.

She doesn’t have time for this anymore. She’s used up her daily allotted breakdown time it seems, mental health takes a back seat to a paycheck until further notice.

Tsuneko sits down at a nearby bus stop, looking at the schedules available and makes a call, a heavy sigh on her lips.

“Yeah, Kenzaki, I’m going to be late. Sorry for being a bother.”

Her voice cracks with how much she means it. She’s just making everyone else’s life harder, fucking things up, that’s all she ever does.

#kbtbb #kissed by the baddest bidder #kbtbb eisuke #kbtbb soryu #kbtbb ota #kbtbb baba #kbtbb mamoru #kbtbb rhion #black market wonderland

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skeletorific · 7 years ago

Note

How would Papyrus' first kiss go 👀👀👀

Haley! You fool! You beautiful fool! You didn’t specify which! So of course! I! Must! Do! All! Of! Them!

UT!Papyrus: Unless you started dating him a long time after he hit the Surface, chances are your first kiss as a couple is going to be his first kiss ever. Well, excepting that one time, when he was a babybones and wanted to find out what it felt like, and, well, that rock was there, and how was he supposed to know that it was one of the talking-?!……Never mind. First kiss that counts. So he wants it to go perfectly.

Stage one: Ambience! The Great Papyrus never smooches without proper setting! He and Undyne spend the whole day setting up the house as the perfect date setting. The furniture is cleared for a table without a lovely lace tablecloth and the finest china from the human world! Chinet! (Don’t tell him. He got the wine glasses, at least). He then covers the carpet with so many rose petals you can’t see the carpet. Undyne wants to fill it with candles as well but after about twenty seconds of her wielding a lighter Papyrus decides maybe just one or two would be best. He’s going to miss that blanket…

Step Two: Food! Pasta of course, his and Undyne’s specialty. The kitchen is pretty much destroyed by the end of the day and they’ve made more spaghetti than any of you will eat in the next month but at least Sans had the fire extinguisher handy again! He also makes your favorite dessert. And then after tasting the result he buys you your favorite dessert. And of course, no date is complete without sparkling spider cider!

Step Three: Dress! He wears some truly dashing evening wear and provides you with an outfit. Dress or suit, its your choice, but either way both of you are dressed to the nines.

Now all that’s left to do is have the date and share in a passionate embrace at the end! Sans readily excuses himself to go crash with Grillby for the night and he paces in the living room for fifteen minutes until you knock on the door. He pulls it open, beaming wide-

Oh no.

“Hey!” You say, smiling up at him. “Sorry, I’m late. Traffic was a nightmare.”

Oh no, you look….you look too perfect! Of course you are always attractive, but now…..He’s starting to lose his nerve.

“AH….N-NO TROUBLE!” He says, stepping aside to allow you through and taking your coat, praying in the dim light you can’t see his faint blush. (Paps, that blush glows, good luck…)

You take a good luck around. “Wow, this is….” You hear piano music, too close for a recording and look to the side. Undyne, playing her best and softest pieces on the opposite side of the room. She gave you a toothy grin before focusing back on the piano. “Live music? Papyrus, this looks incredible….”

“UM….ONLY THE BEST FOR MY TOTALLY ROMANTIC DATE!” He said, managing a brave smile. “YEP! DEFINITELY JUST ANOTHER AVERAGE (AND STILL TOTALLY ROMANTIC) DATE WE ARE HAVING HERE TONIGHT!”

“…..Are you okay?” You say, tilting your head and peering at him. “You look a little flushed….”

“N-NOPE! JUST THE LIGHTING WE SHOULD EAT NOW BEFORE IT GETS COLD SO LET’S GO!” He said this all very rapidly but before you could question him further he’d steered you to the table and had you sit down.

His cooking skills have definitely improved, this meal isn’t half bad (although you suspect that may partially be Undyne’s influence). You still manage a friendly conversation, but he seems very tense the entire time. Undyne keeps shooting him looks, like she’s waiting for him to do something.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You say near the end of dessert.

“A-ABSOLUTELY FINE! WHY DO YOU ASK! SUCH A SILLY QUESTION! HOW IS IT TASTING!”

“It tastes fine, Papyrus, but you don’t look so good.” Before he can protest you get up and walk to the other side of the table and instinctively press a hand to his forehead. Does that even work for skeletons? “You look feverish, are you not feeling well?”

The flush seems to grow stronger and he averts his gaze. “UM….A TOUCH TOO MUCH SUN! ITS….ITS BONE BURN!”

……Bone burn? “Papyrus….” You shift your hand to cup his face and turn him gently, to look you in the eye. “Is something wrong?”

“I-….I-”

“Get on with it!” Undyne shouts from the piano, having long since stopped her playing to watch with growing frustration.

You raised an eyebrow and looked up. “Get on with-”

Bony phalanges suddenly cup your face and pull you so your lips crash with his teeth. His eyes are screwed shut and he’s kissing you with little technique but a lot of ferocity. You hum in surprise but slowly relax against him. But just as quick as it starts, it stops and he pulls away, looking horrified. “I…..I’M SO SORRY!” He said.

You blink, slightly dazed by the speed of it all. “Uh….”

“I….I WANTED IT TO BE SPECIAL, AND….AND I….” He groaned softly and slumped against the table, hiding his face in his folded arms.

You start to regain full consciousness and try not to chuckle, stroking the back of his skull. “Aw, Papyrus….”

“PLEASE DON’T HATE ME.” He said, voice muffled by his arms.

“I could never hate the Great Papyrus.” You lean down and pressed a soft kiss to the side of his skull. When he looks up in surprise you kiss him properly on the mouth. Its his turn to make a surprised noise, but you feel him ease into it. He broke off before getting to his feet and wrapping his arms around you, kissing you again. It’s not particularly skillful, but it’s warm, and tender, and sweet. Very Papyrus.

A sweet moment abruptly cut off by Undyne picking you both up in a body-crushing hug of excitement. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of opportunities after tonight.

UF!Papyrus: NO KISSING UNTIL THE THIRD DATE!

Edge never does anything off-schedule if he can help it. In his more bitter moment Red has commented that he’s pretty sure his brother clocks in to take a piss. And if the dating manual says that the recommended time for a first kiss is the third date, then stardamn it that’s when you’re going to kiss.

No matter how much convincing you’re trying to do.

“Come on, just one little one on the cheek~?” You say in a wheedling tone. He’s checking his traps and looking increasingly annoyed the more you badger him, but you know him well enough by now to know its 9/10ths for show.

“FOR THE LAST TIME, NO.” He said, examining the ropes. This was a simple snare, but the rope loop meant to catch the ankle of unsuspecting prey was not in sight. Likely one of those idiot dogs had buried it. Fantastic. Now he was forced to dig it back up.

You knelt down next to him, grinning mischievously. “Just one little kiss ain’t gonna hurt, sweetie.”

“ISN’T, AND NO.” He corrected. “WE JUST HAD OUR SECOND DATE, BE PATIENT.” He managed to unearth it from underneath a foot of snow. He would have to have a talk with the Dog Guard.

“But you never have time for ‘official’ dates” You make air quotes with your fingers. Because you hang out with him nearly every day, but it only counts as a ‘date’ when it meets his standards for one.

“AS I SAID, BE PATIENT.” He checked the knots and state of the rope before deciding it wasn’t too rotted and carefully replaced it.

You rested your chin on his shoulder, carefully avoiding the spike. You grin tauntingly at him. “Scared, maybe?”

He stood up abruptly, clocking your chin with his shoulder. “I AM NOT SCARED, AND FURTHERMORE-AAAAGH!”

In his hurry to walk away he had ill-judged the distance of his steps and caught his foot in the very trap he’d been working on. And unfortunately for him, as he had just ensure, it was in perfect working condition. He now dangled from the tree branch, his head about on level with yours.

You cackled with laughter at the ridiculous image of him dangling, his scarf flopping in his face until it fell off his shoulders and into the snow. His face went red as he glared at you.

“SHUT UP AND GET ME DOWN IMMEDIATELY!”

You recovered from your laughing fit and bent to pick up the scarf from the ground. “Hmmm, I don’t know….” You smirked playfully, stepping closer. “Might just leave you here until Sans or one of the Dogs finds you….”

“DATEMATE, I SWEAR-”

“Of course…maybe in exchange for a kiss?”

“WHAT? NO!”

“Well then.” You carefully wrapped the scarf back around him and tucked it into his battlebody so it stayed in place. “Better hope someone comes along soon.” You gave his chest a quick pat and walked away.

“YOU….Y/N-!”

You grinned and kept walking. You weren’t actually planning on abandoning him, just maybe disappear behind the trees for a couple seconds before coming back to untie him.

“…..FINE.”

You stop in your tracks. You hadn’t actually expected him to agree….you pivot on your heel. “Seriously?”

He flushed more and muttered. “A SMALL ONE. CHEEK ONLY.”

“You sure you didn’t swap out with an imposter in the last two seconds?”

“GET OVER HERE, IDIOT.”

You chuckled and walked over, grinning from ear to ear. His cheekbones got redder and redder the closer you got. You turned your face and presented your cheek to be kissed a couple inches from his face.

“….CLOSE YOUR EYES.”

You roll your eyes and do so, but at the last second still snap your head around so your mouth meets his.

He makes a surprised noise but you latch your lips on him, determined to make this last as long as you can. And to your surprise….he doesn’t pull away. Mouth not responding to yours. You peeks between your eyelids and saw him, entire skull a bright crimson that rivals his scarf. His eyes are wide and based on what you can read from his upside down expression he’s fighting off surrender with blind fury. So you wait for him to pull away….and the moment never comes. You just stand there. Lips locked. For an ungodly amount of time. This was getting awkward.

Finally, you pulled away, your own face a little red. “Uh….alright. Getting you down now.”

He was in shock, but managed to regain his tongue as you were working on his knots. “I SAID! ON THE CHEEK!”

“Yeah, well, it was on the mouth.” You said, tugging and pulling with little progress. “Why are your knots so damn complicated…”

“I’M GOING TO-!”

“Kill me, I know.” You finally got it loose and he collapsed to the ground. You pulled him into a sitting position. “So let’s get to that, huh?” You moved to dart away, but he was faster and trapped you with an arm around your waist. Despite all your squirming his grip was iron.

“FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS.” You opened your mouth to speak when his mouth met yours.

…..Surprisingly good for a guy who had no experience, as far as you know. He cupped your face and tilted your head back a little forcefully. You stared in shock for a moment before relaxing into it, gripping his scarf to steady yourself a bit. He was….this was…..

And suddenly he was gone, walking away. “THE NEXT TRAPS AREN’T GOING TO CHECK THEMSELVES.”

His smirk didn’t go away for the rest of the day. Until you kissed him just before heading home.

US!Papyrus: You were on the couch, squealing with laughter and trying to squirm away from the bony fingers wriggling in your sides to little avail.

In hindsight letting Stretch know you were ticklish had been an amateur mistake. Not like you could help it though. It had started out innocently enough. He had an arm around you and had squeezed your side, making you jump three feet in the air.

He cocked a browbone. “you okay there?”

“Uh…yeah.” You say, recovering and settling back into the comfortable hold. “Just a bit tick-….”

Oh no.

He didn’t do anything but there was that glint in his eyes that you knew meant you had just made a Grave Error. “huh. Interesting.” He turned back to the movie.

You had been on edge for the rest of the movie, as well as the entire next day. This was Papyrus. He definitely wouldn’t let a weakness like that just hang out in the open without exploiting it. Every time he reached out to touch you you braced yourself like it was a cattle prod. But nothing. Just solid touches, not even accidental tickling.

Maybe….maybe he had forgotten.

Oh, but you were a fool to believe that. After three days, when he had successfully lulled you into a false sense of security, he finally ambushed you, sneaking up behind you and shoving his cold and wiggly phalanges under your shirt. It didn’t take long before you were breathless from laughter but he didn’t stop, keeping up the assault on your stomach, thighs, arms, everywhere that made you helpless with giggling. Which as it turned out was basically everywhere.

“aw, hon, you’re so cute,” He cooed mockingly, spidering his hands up your thighs.

“SHUHAHAHAHT UUUP!” You say in between loud laughs and pants for air. He had your hands pinned with his magic, which was the only reason you hadn’t decked him in the face.

“whats that? can’t understand ya.” He was snickering. Oh, he was dead.

“PAAHAHAHAHAPS-!”

He suddenly leaned down and kissed you. It felt so soft and natural that at the moment you only thought about how good it felt. The smell of smoke from his hoodie and the faint tang of nicotine and honey on his tongue. The brief reprieve from the tickling didn’t hurt.

He pulled away, smiling through half lidded eyes…..when suddenly it hit both of you.

That was your first kiss.

“uh-”

Now, not that you weren’t in shock, but in his surprise the magic on your wrists had faded, and you were definitely not letting yourself get tickled again. You snatched a pillow and smacked him, intending to just push him off and accidentally knocking him to the ground. He groaned.Shit. You jumped down and rolled him onto his back. “I’m so sorry, are you-”He pulled you down to kiss him again.

You ended up staying on the ground for quite a long time….

SF!Papyrus: How did you get yourself into these situations?

After a long series of texts so badly spelled you could barely make out words you gave in and finally called Rus.

“aaaaay, sweet’art, ya called…” He slurred so loudly that you had to hold the phone a little away from your ear.

“Rus, you’re drunk.” Not a question, it was bleedingly obvious.

“i mean…..kinda….” He giggled a bit.

You pinched the bridge of your nose. “where are you right now.”

“Uhhhh….” You heard shifting. “hard ta say….alley, a think….”

“Can you just port home, Sans has been-”

“thaz a negative, cap’n” He snickered again. “tried. how i ended up in thisssalley in tha firs’ place. portin’s a liiiiiitle bit off ri’ now….”

“Oh my-…look, is there anyone with you?”

“nooooope!”

“alright, what building are you by, I’ll come get you.”

After a long while of convincing him to get off his ass and check he finally told you he was out by the local convenience store. It took even longer to convince him to just stay where he was and by the time you were in your car, you were tired, annoyed, and wondering why you were bother. Rus almost always made it home on his own anyways.

…..fine, maybe you liked him a bit. When he was sober. Which wasn’t terribly often on weekends, but still. He was good company, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t at least a little attracted. On his own end he’d been pretty flirty but you were unable to gauge how much of that was interest and how much that was just his personality.

Either way, considering he’d puked in the back of your car last time, you had a feeling attraction was gonna be the last thing on your mind.

There he was, slumping against the wall, bottle in hand. His face lit up when he saw you. “aaay, sugar….” He slurred.

You hooked an arm around him and pulled him to his feet. “Come on, let’s-”

“woah, woah, wha’s the rush?” He shifted you so you were against the wall, him with his arms braced on either side of your head. “just got here….”

The romantic side of being kabedon-ed was somewhat lessened by the threat of him emptying his stomach onto your shoes. “Rus, get in the car, you need to-”“pretty sweet of ya….” He drawled. One of his hands started to toy with a strand of your hair. “comin out all this way to pick me up-”

You flushed. “Rus-”

“wonder if you taste as sweet as ya are~” He leaned in and pressed his mouth to yours, sending you into crash mode.

…..Okay you had to admit, Rus was a good kisser, but the old booze taste mixed with the smell of that alleyway dumpster was not helping set a mood. As gently as you could (and maybe a little reluctantly) you managed to pull off of him. After a little more back and forth you got him into the car.

You’d just managed to get him up to bed when he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you down with him.

“cute….cute human” He cooed, stroking your hair as his eyes bleared. “stay a bit…”

And with his grip you didnt have much choice. This was gonna be an awkward morning….

#undertale #underfell #underswap #swapfell #papyrus #uf!payrus #us!papyrus #sf!papyrus #first kiss #long post #headcanon #mini-fic

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wristic · 7 years ago

Text

Now You’re a Real Criminal (Part 2)

Pairing: Edward x Reader Word Count: 2200 Warnings: none! Just a lovely unintended date between an excitable murderer and his hostage underling!

-Part 1- -Part 2- -Part 3- -Part 4-

@uoseok @ceridwenofwales @xxtaylorsingerxx @growingtwist @papill-on @someonexsomeone @jokerhastakenmeover @dark-as-love @fandomsfluffandstuff @bohemian-nygma @bookswillfindyouaway @geeksareunique

“So, you and Nygma huh?” Tandy took you back, a big smile growing like she pulled one over you. The truth of the matter was you knew this would happen eventually, just not so soon. But then again, persona wise, you and Ed were opposites. If anyone liked watching chemistry, the obvious favored choice would be between the people who have none.

Pushing out the sweetness you gave an innocent, “Me and Mr. Nygma?”

She slid in across your desk until she was up on it. “Don’t play innocent with me! I know whats going on behind closed doors!”

“We’re just friends!”

“Just friends, uh-huh, I got ya, wink wink.” Reaching back she pulled a piece of folded paper from her pocket and shoved it in your face. In it’s center was a simple question mark written in green highlighter. “Saw him leave this on your desk this morning.” Your brow knitted, reaching out to take it when Tandy yanked it back from you. Unfolded and read allowed, you overcame with embarrassment for the people standing by.

“You and I are bound by impish delights, The passions of violation ignites, One and one, Me without you would be half as fun.”

You sighed as the answer came to you. Tandy slapped the letter on your shoulder, “Impish delights? What’s that all about huh? Tell me these impish delights you two have been sharing!” She looked back at the words, “Sounds incredibly naughty.”

“Tandy.” It was a struggle to keep down the firmness in your tone. Trying to grab the letter again, she snapped it back out of reach again. “It’s not what you think it is!”

She used it to fan her face, feet swaying playfully, not caring for the people avoiding getting kicked as they skirted around her. “Sounds an awful lot like a sexy love letter to me.”

“Well it isn’t!” Finally able to rip it from her hand, you adjusted your glasses and read it over again. “Although… I can see why you might think that...” You slammed your fists on the table. “But it’s not!” Making her chortle at your theatric. “I happen to already know what this is about and it’s not at all as filthy as you want to imagine.” You hoped anyway.

Not even at the top step and you were grumbling and groaning. How could he dump you into his arsenal for a laugh? How could you let yourself get caught by him? Why were you standing in front of his door instead of running away? Letting out a long sigh, you knocked.

When the door swung open you were hit with the aroma of cooked and marinated meat, surprising you to say the least. “If you’re in the middle of dinner-”

“You got my letter!” Edward bristled with excitement. "What's the answer?"

You rolled your eyes, pulling the note from your coat pocket and landing it on his chest. “I sure did Partner in Crime. But next time you might want to avoid words like ‘passion ignites’ and being ‘bound’. My friend and now by extension everyone thinks we’re secretly dating and into some kinky stuff.”

“What?!” He took it and backed up to let you in, reading it over as he shut the door.

Unbuttoning the top of your coat, you slowed as you looked at the sight across the room, under a big window to the city. “Hey, Nygma… you meeting someone or was ‘Partner in Crime’ not the answer?”

“Oh course it was the answer! And,” He gave a frustrated shrug, “maybe I can see where it might be interpreted differently but-” Looking up he saw you pointing with a smirk to the small table set for two, complete with candles and wine glasses. The silverware was placed but no plates yet as the stove was still sizzling a small ways beside him.

Offended you would assume such a thing of him, Ed nearly stamped his foot, “I just thought we could celebrate!”

“Celebrate?”

“Yes! On our first job together!”

“Oh~” You chuckled, slipping off your coat. “Well it’s beautiful, I must say this is the nicest not-date anyone has set up for me.”

“Is that because all the guys you do date are nimrods you plan to steal from?” He snapped, red in his cheeks from the string of mishaps and assumptions.

Either he did some serious digging in your life or he was that good at guessing, either way, ��Low blow, Nygma. Low blow.”

Ed got his snide half smile in before going back to his kitchen. You moseyed your way over, trying to hold back your pout. Yet he had to push a little further. “I’m only saying, maybe you wouldn’t be so surprised by some fine dining if you dated some decent guys.”

You peeked around his shoulder, him giving you an annoyed glance at the invasion of space. On the counter was a prepped bowl of salad already mixed with balsamic dressing and sprinkled in a kind of white cheese. The two stakes were crisped and browned deliciously in a wide skillet, the steam of them making your mouth water. “Who was it a decent guy like you killed that landed you in Arkham again?”

You quickly turned away with your prideful smile, not wanting to get cold feet and apologize under his glare.

“What would you know about that?” he growled.

“Enough.” You chimed, picking up a wooden ball with lines along it, seemingly at random. “After I realized my mistake in stealing money from a renown underworld crime lord, I looked into your past since you two seemed like buds.” You realized the lines were actually pieces, pulling one out. Suddenly very interested in the toy, you set it down and took it apart, your back trying to block his view. “Killer starts with a detective and co-worker, then the file manager, who happened to be dating said detective and co-worker? Sounds an awful lot like a good old fashion love triangle situation to me.”

“Yeah. I guess it wouldn’t be that hard to…” Ed pulled out a tray of tin foil wrapped baked potatoes from the oven when he caught you at work. Leaning over as far as he could with the tray still in his gloved hand, he spotted the puzzle already half finished and twisting around in your hands, pieces methodically placed and planned out before it was finished. “For curiosity's sake, do you know what your IQ is?”

You paused and gave a bit of a grump to the question, the memory of a certain private school for gifted children always leaving a bad taste in your mouth. “I don’t like numbers to those kinds of things. Always gives people an insufferable ego.” You pushed in the last piece and spun the wooden globe, walking away to the elegantly set up table to take a seat. “I like games that’s all, I don’t see why it has to be anything more than that.”

“And creating an overly complicated, near untraceable trail of theft is a game?”

“Heck yes!” You started balancing the silverware in what looked like an impossible balancing act on the empty wine glass. You never could stop yourself. Pushing back your real intelligence all day caused this build up of energy in your head and hands. When you got home, it all came spilling out with your boredom. You weren’t home, but your act was long lost on Edward anyway. “Even if anyone cared enough to look into a measly 500 hundred missing out of thousands: the numbers are split between five parties. Alluding to a non-existent ring. Concealing a motive far too simplistic for so many people and such great efforts. And of course different people picking up the checks every other week, further pushing that ‘crime ring’ idea. But~ it's not. It's only me. Havin' some fun.”

“Every answer is crafted to be the opposite of the equation.” Edward concluded with a smile as he finished a display on one of the plates.

“Speaking of which, I’ve been wanting to ask, how did you find me out exactly?”

As he walked over and set down two beautifully set dishes, he gave a curious glance to your use of the utensils before fixing his glasses, “Hm? Oh, your clothes.”

“My clothes?”

“On the banks cameras. You were wearing some of those articles for your disguises. Especially the shoes, you seem to favor them. Also they are rather expensive for someone who works only a hair above the minimum wage.”

You gave a small pout as you were wearing those exact shoes now. “They look good on me." You mumbled before asking, "Why did the banks let you view their cameras?”

“I’m the Chief of Staff.” He proudly exclaimed.

“Oh, that.” Being so far in the background you tended stay out of the events. Also every time you saw Eds face you tended to throw the paper across the room or change the channel. Giving him a bit of a stink eye you tried to defend yourself. “But you wouldn’t have been able to point that out and link it to me if we didn’t work together every day!”

“Wouldn’t have cared enough.” He corrected with a smile. Reserved to pouting again, you tapped a finger while he fetched a wine bottle and began pouring it.

“You know, you don’t sound like you need a sidekick.”

“I don’t; but, you know, plenty of people have their partners and underlings. It looks like fun! Might as well make it someone who’s half as smart as me.”

Distracting your irritated air, you looked to the dinner before you. The hairs on your arms rose a little, your heart speeding up as he sat down on his side. It was such a nice dinner. It made you feel a little thrown off your feet taking it in. Yeah you conned your way through relationships, they were never the best people. Yet here Ed was, not exactly a prime example of virtuous character, and that didn’t stop him from making a lovely date for your blossoming ‘partnership’.

“What?”

Ed was already downing his meal when you hadn’t so much as touched yours, absorbed in your oddly jealous state. A bit startled, you fell back on distraction. Dismantling your silverware balancing act you concentrated hard on cutting the thick steak. “So what was it you wanted me to do? And I’ll say now,” You pointed with a block of stake at the end of your fork. “I won’t kill anyone for you, and I’ll never take a bullet for you.”

Placing the piece in your mouth, you were so glad he was more concentrated in his plate. You couldn’t stop the twist of delight as the savory taste melted on your tongue.

“We are going to find out who the Red Hood Gang is, dismantle them, and kill them!” He looked at you, your brows raised in defiance and he corrected with a roll of his eyes. “Okay, I’ll kill them, but you’re going to help me unmask them!”

“What have you found on them?”

“Absolutely nothing. And we’ll not have anything until we get into a forensics lab.”

“Good luck with that.” You snarked, forgetting your words in an uncontrollable moan. The creamy spuds stuffed inside its crispy shell was mixed perfectly with the sprinkled herbs. You took him more for a takeout kind of guy but damn, some of the restaurants you’d treated yourself to didn’t hold a candle to what he made. “Wow, and this literally pains me to put aside my spite and admit, you are a ridiculously good cook.” You tried a bit of the salad only to whisper is awe, “Oh my god.”

Basking in the flattery, Ed happily noted, “What is cooking if not a science. Anyway, I want you to forget any plans you have tomorrow and come to the GCPD precinct with me.”

The eating slowed as you took that in, Edward not noticing. “That would kind of conflict with my whole... persona thing.”

He scoffed, waving off your concern, “You don’t need it. It’s annoying anyway.”

“Okay, but, like,” His brow furrowed at your sudden nervousness, “I kind of, like, I do need it. I worked hard getting everyone to buy it and to suddenly just break out of character? I-I don’t like that.”

Sitting back and sipping his wine, Ed took his time considering you, “Why is it so important for you to do your 'stupid' act?”

“I think you meant wholesome and innocent,” You accused before shrugging, “And probably some psychological reason doing with some childhood trauma, I dunno.”

“You know that’s... probably the exact reason right?”

With a grimace you snidely pointed out, “Well I’m not going to get into it with you, tall murderous man who's taken my life hostage.”

He conceded with a tip of his glass. Sighing, Ed offered, “Well, a bunch of idiots might think we’re dating but it’s convenient at least. We’ll promote you to my personal secretary and no one should question it in the least.”

Tossing your head back you groaned, “Yeah except you won’t have to deal with TAAAAANDYYY.”

“I thought you two were friends.”

“We are! She's a wonderful friend! She's a wonderful person! But, she, sometimes she just, she-" You made a strangle gesture with a growl. "You know what I mean!?"

Ed thought a moment before a fond smile came to him. "Yeah, I know a few people like that."

#edward nygma #edward nygma x reader #edward nygma imagine #the riddler imagine #the riddler x reader #gotham imagine #my stuff #Now You're a Real Criminal #*ugly cackle*

220 notes · View notes

lovemesomesurveys · 4 years ago

Text

What is the closest book to you? Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst.

Are you reading it or someone else? I'm reading it. It’s the book for the Bible study I’m currently doing.

What is the most expensive thing you own that plays music? My MacBook.

Do you have any siblings? If so, what are their names? I have two brothers. Ever wear colored contacts? No, I've never worn any kind of contacts.

What color is your hair? Naturally, it’s dark brown, but I’ve been dyeing it red the past 6 years.

What kind of shoes do you have on? I'm not wearing any shoes.

Do you like watermelons more or cherries? Watermelon.

Do you like it when it rains? “I’m only happy when it rains, I’m only happy when it’s complicated.” Anyway, yes, I love when it rains.

What was the last thing you bought? My brother’s birthday gift and something for me.

Do you get cold easily? No, I get hot easily.

Do you have a job? Nope.

Do you own a dictionary? No. I just use Google if I need to look up a word.

Do you like to mow the yard? I’ve never done it. I don’t have any interest in doing it. It would be hard for me to do as well.

Besides your mouth, where is your favorite spot to get kissed? Neck.

Who was the last person you ate with? My mom.

Did you take a nap at all today? No, it’s only 12:45AM. I took a nap yesterday, though.

Who was the last member of the opposite sex you laid in a bed with? No one.

What color is your father’s car? Green.

Where’s the last place you wore a hoodie to? To my doctor’s office.

Are your nails painted any special color? They’re not painted at all. I haven’t painted them in years.

Give us your plans for the next three hours? Right now I’m doing surveys and listening to ASMR. In about an hour or so I’ll probably make my usual nightly bowl of ramen and catch up on some YouTube videos while I eat. Then I’ll go back to surveys and ASMR.

Can you live a day without TV? Yeah, easily.

Have you ever had a best friend who was of the opposite sex? Yes, a few.

Do you prefer broccoli or asparagus? Broccoli all the way. I don’t like asparagus.

Do you have any complaints about your life? “Hey, wait, I got a new complaint.”

Where was the last place you stayed over? A hotel last year.

Skim, 1%, 2%, or whole milk? None of those, I use vanilla almond or soy milk. Lately, I’ve been really into the Almond Breeze vanilla milk that has a hint of honey in it.

Are you reading any books right now? Yeah, I’m reading two: “Autumn’s Game” by Mary Stone and “Forgiving What You Can’t Forget” by Lysa TerKeurst.

Now what are you listening to? I’m still listening to ASMR.

Do you have any bug bites? Nope.

Do you have any flowers in your room? No.

Do you know anyone that owns horses? No.

When was the last time you used one of those temporary public toilets? Are you referring to a porta potty? Never.

Do you live anywhere with any interesting landmarks? Not in my city particularly, but yeah my state has a lot.

When you were little, did you ever go to feed the ducks? Yes. When I got older I learned you shouldn’t do that, though.

When was the last time you visited the zoo? Did you get to feed any of the animals? About 5 years ago, I think. I got to feed a giraffe, which was awesome.

Would you ever want to own one of those little teacup pigs? No.

Do you like the taste of champagne, or do you think it’s a bit overrated? I didn’t care for it.

Given the chance, would you take a trip into outer space? Nooo. Just the idea of outer space creeps me out. I can’t even look at pictures.

Have you seen any of the seven wonders of the world in person? No, sadly.

Do people ever try and start poke wars with you on Facebook? That hasn’t been a thing in over a decade.

What’s a restaurant that you won’t ever eat at again? This Mongolian BBQ place I used to love just because I can’t eat spicy food anymore. :(

Did you have your morning coffee this morning? Or do you not like coffee? I haven’t gone to bed, yet, but I absolutely will have my coffee after I get up later. That’s a given.

Do you ever let scary movies get to you, and end up scaring yourself? Nah, not anymore. I love ‘em.

Is there someone you know that is absolutely repulsive? No.

Are you tired from last night? I’m always tired.

Do you have over 400 songs on your iPod? Are all of your songs good? I definitely had more than 400 songs on my iPod. I couldn’t tell you the exact amount cause it’s been stored away and unused since like 2012, but yeah. Well yeah, they were all good to me hence why I had them on there.

Do you eat randomly, just whenever the hell you want? Yeah.

Did you have trouble getting up this morning? Like I said, I haven’t gone to bed yet. However, I always have a hard time getting up so I could just say yes to this question now.

What’s a few things that automatically make you go, “Awwwe”? My doggo just existing, basically. haha. Do you have soft hands? Do you like holding hands? My hands could use some moisturizer. And yes, but I get self-conscious because my hands get clammy a lot.

Have you ever burnt a food, and make the whole house smell gross? Yeah. Why does burnt popcorn smell so awful? You wouldn’t think something like that would have such a strong, gross smell. I know I’ve had that happen with some other microwave food, too.

If so, what was the food you burnt while cooking? ^^^

Wouldn’t it be awesome if you had your own personal jet pack? This reminds me of a random dream a friend of mine had several years ago (that I still remember for some reason) where she said I had a jet pack and used that to get around instead of my wheelchair, lol. Suuuuper random, but apparently it stuck with me all this time.

What’s your opinion on perfumes that are REALLY expensive? Do you like them? I mean, there’s some really nice smelling expensive ones for sure, but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend a ton of money on something like a perfume. Everyone has their thing and that’s fine, but that wasn’t one of mine. Name a thing that melts in your mouth that you love: Walkers shortbread cookies do when I dip them in my coffee. They’re so good. Do you like roasting marshmallows? Can you toast one perfectly? I do, but I haven’t had much experience doing so.

Have you ever burnt your tongue like REALLY bad? If so, what on? Yeah, with really hot coffee, really hot cheese on pizza, ramen that wasn’t cooled down enough, Pizza Rolls, Hot Pockets...

Do you like having random power naps now and then? I wouldn’t say I like them, but sometimes sleep just wins and I give into them. I just always feel groggy and more tired after a nap.

Is your hair soft? Do you ever brush it at work or school? Yeah. I used to carry a travel brush in my bag when I was in school and used it sometimes if needed.

What do you think about lip gloss? Do you ever wear lip gloss? I like how it looks, especially a tinted one, but I didn’t wear it often. It’s been a long time since I’ve worn lip gloss.

Are you currently worried about your parents finding out about something? No.

Don’t you hate it when your drink is too hot to drink? I want my coffee to be really hot, but yeah I get impatient ha.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever made in a metal/wood work class? I made a simple doll house. It was super basic, but still.

Do you like concerts? If so, do you like being in the mosh pit? Yesss. Concerts have such a cool energy and vibe. I love singing (shouting) along to the songs and just having a good time. It’s been over a decade since my last concert. :( And no, I never went in a mosh pit. That would not be my idea of a good time at all. I imagine getting claustrophobic, overheated, and hit and shoved.

Do you like a lot of dairy products? What’s one of your favorites? I love cheese. I’m lactose intolerant, but thankfully cheese doesn’t seem to bother me. I’ve actually read a lot of people who are lactose intolerant can handle cheese.

Have you ever “liked” two guy best friends at the same time? Yes.

Who can you trust more secrets with, a best guy friend or a best girl friend? It wouldn’t matter what gender they were.

Where are the best cinnamon buns made? Do you love cinnamon buns? Cinnabon from my experience. Mmm, that sounds so good right now.

Have you ever had a REALLY bad rug burn? Did someone drag you? No. Those look and sound so painful, ow.

Do you think pasta and salad go good together? What’s your favorite in mind? Spaghetti and salad do. I love mixing them together. I eat my spaghetti with ranch anyway, so it doesn’t bother me.

Do you like going go-karting in the summer? Do you floor it when driving? I’ve never been.

Did you like eating Happy Meals at Mcdonald's as a kid? Yeah. I remember how exciting it was to be able to get McDonald’s, haha. And if you were the kid who got to have McDonald’s for lunch at school, you were so envied.

You can go to any restaurant; what restaurant, and what do you order? Wingstop. I’d order my usual, boneless garlic parm and lemon pepper wings, fries with extra parm seasoning, and a couple sides of ranch.

Have you ever sat on the computer for more than 4 hours? Uh, countless times. Even longer than that.

Do you ever go on youtube and browse and look for new songs? No, I don’t use YouTube for that.

Do you have a brother who is quite the video game fanatic? He’s not a video game fanatic, but he has some favorites. Are you a video game lover? Whats your all time favorite video game? I wouldn’t say that, but there are those I like. Mario Bros anything, really. I was into this series called Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2 a few years ago. I’ve also been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch for the past year.

When your cat stares at you, do you stare back? I don’t have a cat, but I do that to my dog sometimes.

What grandparents are better, the ones on your mom's or dad's side? I was closer to my maternal grandparents, who sadly have both passed away, but I wouldn’t say either set of grandparents are better. I just had a different relationship with them. I have a good relationship with my paternal grandparents as well.

Do you like to have cake on your birthday? Which kind of cake in mind? Sometimes I’ll opt for cheesecake.

What is your absolute ALL time favorite song at the moment? I don’t have a current particular favorite at the moment. I haven’t been listening to music lately.

Do you like drinking Mochas? (Hot Chocolate and Coffee together): I like white chocolate mochas. Peppermint white chocolate mochas, especially.

Do you ever get random headaches? If so, why do you think the reason is? Yeah. *shrug* It’s just one of those things that happen.

Have you ever seen your mom cry? Is it hard for you to see your mom cry? Yes, several times. Anytime I’ve seen her cry it just hurt my heart and made me really upset, too.

Are you sick and tired, of being sick and tired? I really, really am.

What’s your favorite cereal? Did you ever eat the cereal Trix? All the sugary ones, basically. ha. And yes, I like Trix. Are you allergic to anything REALLY weird? Do you know someone who is? I’m allergic to tangerines, which seems pretty random. Do you like Oreo cookies? Or are chocolate chip ones better…? I like both, but my favorite cookies are sugar and shortbread.

Are you a fan of spicy foods? What’s the spiciest food ever in your opinion? I used to be back when I could eat spicy foods. I was obSESSED. I can’t have it anymore, though. :(

#personal #text #survey #surveys

0 notes

imabookmarkaddict · 4 years ago

Text

or would the ex gf just stick to the simple script of 'how could you do this to me'?

WelshenToday at 1:12 AM

Uh idk i like to think they liked each other so maybe not cussing bu like youre the worst i cant believe u did this to me

[1:12 AM]

Like me when u mention star trek

puzzlezToday at 1:12 AM

ur the ex gf

[1:12 AM]

i c

WelshenToday at 1:12 AM

Ofc

[1:12 AM]

U trusted sadi tho

[1:12 AM]

Thats on u man

puzzlezToday at 1:13 AM

and okay, i know some people can get monstrous with their language when they're really upset and i didn't know if the ex gf would be the type to hurl insults to hide her hurt or if she'd be a lil more 'mature' about it

[1:14 AM]

also would she care that it was a guy trevor 'cheated' with or would that not rly faze her/be something she mentions?

WelshenToday at 1:14 AM

I dont think she noticed

[1:14 AM]

That comes up next time

puzzlezToday at 1:14 AM

there's a next time omg

[1:15 AM]

idk if i feel worse for trevor or markus having to put up with angry ex gf popping up and making their budding (and doomed) love awkward

WelshenToday at 1:17 AM

Well yeah she doesnt give up duh

[1:17 AM]

I think she comes back like im pregnant

[1:17 AM]

Halp

[1:18 AM]

And trevor has half a backbone and says no go to my ex best friend is it even mine no ofc it isnt lol

[1:19 AM]

Eventually tho the best friend just vanishes so trevor thinks its immoral to let a pregnant woman live on the street right obv she has it very difficult

[1:20 AM]

But he kind of asked markus to move in and now has to amend it to move in with me and my preg ex

[1:20 AM]

Eventually they get marrued for the child even if its not his so

[1:20 AM]

Shrug??

puzzlezToday at 5:51 AM

i'm assuming that markus overhears most/all of the convo between trevor and his ex gf since the apartment isn't that big?

WelshenToday at 5:51 AM

Yeah

[5:52 AM]

He doesnt really care about cheating, he would never do it but most of his customers obv cheated on wives and stuff

puzzlezToday at 5:53 AM

so i know markus wants to just hide under a blanket and die but does he ask trevor at all about what happened with the ex gf or is he okay with just not talking about it?

WelshenToday at 5:53 AM

Hmm

[5:54 AM]

Well maybe he asks if the chocolate didnt work out or smth

[5:54 AM]

And trevor just mentions that apparently his best friend was giving it to her

[5:54 AM]

Wink

[5:55 AM]

But not really more than that, maybe later when trevor goes boyfriend? Markus asks if the ex is an ex(edited)

puzzlezToday at 5:58 AM

so what happens after the little talk about the ex gf? like, does markus mention anything about hanging out again/does trevor?

[5:58 AM]

basically, how do they decide to keep in touch

WelshenToday at 5:59 AM

Ugh

[5:59 AM]

Well markus doesnt really carry a phone

[5:59 AM]

So thats out

puzzlezToday at 5:59 AM

rofl

[5:59 AM]

i wasn't sure if like they didn't establish communication and bump into each other again or if they decide while still in the apartment that they want to hang out again

WelshenToday at 5:59 AM

So idk a normal way to deal with that,

puzzlezToday at 6:00 AM

like trevor saying something like "well we never finished that movie so u wanna come over again some time to try again" or smth

WelshenToday at 6:00 AM

God thats so perfect lol

[6:01 AM]

Markus is prob awk saying sorry dont have a phone, you cant come over

[6:02 AM]

Cuz he's staying with another family

[6:02 AM]

A friend of jonahs cousin its complicated

[6:02 AM]

So trevor is like well i work at the mall at x clothing store bla bla

[6:03 AM]

And markus goes yeah i work at the crepe/non usa pancake bar

[6:03 AM]

So they mostly hang out at trevors apt, at work or the mall. Meet me at x tmrw at 4 or whatever people do(edited)

puzzlezToday at 6:05 AM

so i was picturing the original convo (after the ex gf leaving) kind of being like a little awk and then when markus tries to flee, trevor dropping a comment about like "hey come back at x time to finish the movie with me" and markus agreeing

WelshenToday at 6:06 AM

Oh yeah that makes sense, markus cant say no if he feels he owes something

puzzlezToday at 6:07 AM

and that's kind of the end of the scene, and i guess the next scene being the movie?? i'm kind of wondering like

WelshenToday at 6:07 AM

Thats kind of fuzzy

puzzlezToday at 6:08 AM

did u want to do something dumb and cute like the two running into each other at the mall somewhere and that's when they both say they work there?

[6:08 AM]

like idk they're on break

[6:08 AM]

or trevor is on break and wants a quick snack but damn gf packs lunch and shes not there so he didn't pack a lunch and gets cheap/quick junk food and -- oh hi markus how u

WelshenToday at 6:08 AM

Oh hey that second one is cute

[6:09 AM]

Im pretty sure markus workplace is like a 10min walk from the mall or smth but its well recommended

[6:09 AM]

So it would make sense i think

[6:10 AM]

Idk im incompetent at cute

puzzlezToday at 6:10 AM

omg no ur fine

[6:11 AM]

over the past few years i feel like i've gotten good at bouncing ideas off of ppl because despite doing v little actual rp'ing i've planned a shit load of details for the rps and it mostly involved me concocting ideas until the other person says "i like that one"

[6:11 AM]

so if i make a rec u don't like ur not going to hurt my feeings btw

WelshenToday at 6:11 AM

Well im kind of particular

[6:12 AM]

But more about personality

[6:12 AM]

Also why would u care about yr feelings when u go for yoga and skurk

puzzlezToday at 6:15 AM

so it could be like the next work day (i forget but i think the amusement park was on a saturday? so its sunday rn? so next work day is monday unless markus works whenever/whatever days) markus sees trevor and there's that little burst of surprise at seeing each other, and trevor explains i work at the mall, and markus is all oh never seen u here just surprised and trevor semi awkwardly explains yehhhh ex gf packed lunch so now i gotta figure out food for myself/didn't have anything today buuuut won't complain at seeing a friendly face (or something kinda friendly and flirty)

[6:16 AM]

and maybe they have a small flirt fest and at the end trevor says something about "oh i never got your number?" and markus admits he doesn't have a phone and trevor is all well sighs guess i gotta wait until saturday (whatever time they agreed to see the movie)

WelshenToday at 6:16 AM

Yeah that sounds about right

puzzlezToday at 6:17 AM

and markus feels a bit tickled at someone expressing excitement at someone seeming a bit excited about meeting up

WelshenToday at 6:18 AM

The only attention markus has gotten is from spencer so yah now he's a pretty easy flirt

puzzlezToday at 6:18 AM

is trevor a sweet tooth that he would start to casually show up at markus' work every now and then for a bite of food and a quick flirt with markus?

[6:18 AM]

...wait what kind of crepe place we talking actually

WelshenToday at 6:18 AM

Im sure he would do it anyway, see taking care of ex gf

[6:19 AM]

Swedish pancakes are apparently called crepes in usa

puzzlezToday at 6:19 AM

the traditional ones like in france were there are also savory crepes (filled with meat/cheese) or the kind where they just have desert (piled up with sugar/fruit)

[6:19 AM]

u have ur own omg

[6:19 AM]

google time

WelshenToday at 6:19 AM

Christ

[6:19 AM]

But yeah i think its at most cheese

[6:20 AM]

Not meat really ? Idk how they stay in business

[6:20 AM]

But hey we eat pancakes w jam for lunch in sweden so f u america

puzzlezToday at 6:20 AM

...huh

[6:21 AM]

they look like crepes idk taste difference obv

[6:21 AM]

we have places here that only sell sweet crepes

WelshenToday at 6:21 AM

Ifbwe were to make crepes

[6:21 AM]

They would be even thinner and smaller

puzzlezToday at 6:21 AM

most americans think crepes = dessert only even tho in france they're mostly a savory snack/light meal

[6:21 AM]

yeah the swedish ones look a little thicker than french crepes but other than that they look similar

[6:22 AM]

what do u want me to call them in the story

WelshenToday at 6:22 AM

Probably are idk

puzzlezToday at 6:22 AM

i mean i can call them the swedish name if u want

WelshenToday at 6:22 AM

Theyre called crepes in the next story

[6:22 AM]

Which is the nsfw of markus workplace

[6:22 AM]

Please dont eat there its unsanitary

[6:23 AM]

Every surface has been banged on

[6:23 AM]

Maybe not the stove

puzzlezToday at 6:24 AM

omfg figures

[6:24 AM]

wtf r they called in swedish tho

[6:24 AM]

none of the recipes i'm looking at call them anything but crepes

WelshenToday at 6:24 AM

Pancakes

[6:24 AM]

Or pannkakor

puzzlezToday at 6:25 AM

huh okay

WelshenToday at 6:25 AM

Literal translation

puzzlezToday at 6:25 AM

does markus' workplace have a name or is it just "that crepe place"

[6:26 AM]

same goes for trevor's workplace actually is it just "the clothing store"?

WelshenToday at 6:27 AM

Rofl idk remember unnamed bf

[6:27 AM]

Idk if i use real ones or made up ones

[6:28 AM]

Instead of an h&m store its m&h maybe shrug

puzzlezToday at 6:30 AM

that works, yeh

[6:30 AM]

i tried looking up cute crepe store names but the best i found was "cut the crepe"

[6:30 AM]

(pun on cut the crap but not very good if u ask me)

WelshenToday at 6:31 AM

Snort its cute tho

[6:31 AM]

Im bad at puns

[6:31 AM]

Markus loves puns, its not compatible

puzzlezToday at 6:32 AM

omg well if it comes up do u want the crepe place to be called cut the crepe?

WelshenToday at 6:32 AM

Sure

[6:32 AM]

And if we come up w something better i can just edit shrug

puzzlezToday at 6:33 AM

yeh

[6:33 AM]

idk if it will come up tbh since i'm not rly the type to shove details in unless it feels natural if that makes sense?

[6:34 AM]

like idk if i'm writing from markus' pov for example i'm not going to wax poetic about how he looks every time he glances at a mirror because realistically how often do u look at urself in the mirror and analyze ur every detail

[6:34 AM]

ur more likely to give it a quick glance and be done

[6:34 AM]

stuff like that

[6:34 AM]

but yeh it's good to know small stuff in case it does come up for any reason

WelshenToday at 6:36 AM

Sure thats fine

[6:36 AM]

Fun to think about tho

puzzlezToday at 6:36 AM

yeh

WelshenToday at 6:37 AM

Thats more if i do art for it

[6:37 AM]

Wink

puzzlezToday at 6:38 AM

okay so for now it's ex gf shows up, melt down, awk convo and trevor asks for markus to come back to finish the movie, meet up at markus' work, and then movie

[6:38 AM]

omg yes

WelshenToday at 6:38 AM

Yah sounds very good

puzzlezToday at 6:40 AM

so should it be like trevor shows up earlier in markus' work week (like mon or tues) and then again later in the week (friday or smth)? or would trevor not rly think too much about markus after the first encounter at the crepe place cuz moping about gf off and on?

[6:41 AM]

i'm wondering if maybe they agreed to meet up like friday at 7 pm or smth and would/do you want trevor to show up after his shift at the crepe place for a sweet bite and then lingers and asks if markus wants to walk back to his apartment after markus gets off?

WelshenToday at 6:41 AM

Idk i think he was suspecting her for a while? Which is why he blew up at markus for "cheating" the wheel

[6:42 AM]

So hes probably okay with how it turned out

[6:42 AM]

And hes got a rebound now too

[6:42 AM]

Whos very compliant

[6:42 AM]

But yeah he can border on stalker

[6:43 AM]

Very simpleminded guy we're talking about

[6:43 AM]

And i guess hes worried about losing contact?

puzzlezToday at 6:44 AM

omg well it could also be like idfk trevor feels a little excited at the idea of moving on if he was okay with how things went with the ex gf

[6:44 AM]

thought it might make markus happy to have a guy kinda acting like a dope at the idea of a date-not-date thing

[6:45 AM]

like trevor kinda being like "well if ur not doing anything after u get off u don't have to wait until 7 to come over u could walk home with me"

WelshenToday at 6:47 AM

Yeah definitely

[6:48 AM]

Markus is happy to have a friend first of all

[6:49 AM]

Well a nice friend

[6:50 AM]

So yah markus does kinda see sex as an unevitable payment for a relationship tho

puzzlezToday at 6:50 AM

poor kid

[6:51 AM]

so would trevor make moves for 'round 2' of the failed sex on movie day or would they just chat and hang and flirt?

[6:51 AM]

idk how fast things actually get sexual with them so

WelshenToday at 6:55 AM

I dont really know either

[6:55 AM]

Whatever ur comfortable with to start

[6:55 AM]

But yeah im sure trevor is the kind of guy who goes hey i studied lots of porn

[6:56 AM]

Watch what i can do and markus just finds it adorably vanilla lol

[6:56 AM]

Maybe he tries to proper date on date one a kiss on date two etc

[6:57 AM]

Markus finds all of him adorable but in the end too naive for a longterm relationship i guess

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