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morningfears · 4 years

Text

Television Romance [Chapter Two]

Rating: PG-13 (a little suggestive, a little swearing)

Summary: Luke and Natalia go on their first date and they’re surprised at how well they get along. Natalia is also surprised at how well she’s able to ruin a moment.

Word Count: 6.7k

Chapter One

The conference room was empty as Natalia settled into one of the oversized office chairs situated around the long wooden table. She still had twenty minutes until colloquium, a meeting that took place every other Friday and served as a way for students to get to know their professors’ and colleagues’ research interests, began but she had just gotten out of a meeting with her advisor and didn’t feel like walking the extra few steps to the grad office. She knew that it would be full of students, each of them expressing how pointless they found colloquium or how annoyed they were to be on campus on a Friday, and though she usually felt compelled to agree (colloquium was, for the most part, pointless and her Fridays suffered greatly for it), she was in too good a mood to complain.

Although her workload had felt overwhelming, she’d managed to finish it all in far less time than she anticipated. She’d worked harder than she had in months and her sleep schedule suffered dearly for it but her advisor had the first draft of her thesis proposal, her conference paper had been submitted with nearly twelve hours to spare, and her co-author had the revisions necessary to resubmit their journal article. Her students had their first grades of the semester and every unread email in her inbox was answered.

She was exhausted, mentally and physically, but she’d managed to free her schedule completely so that she would have nothing to worry about when she went to dinner with Luke.

As if he could sense her thinking about him, Natalia’s phone vibrated in her hand and a message from Luke appeared on the screen. “Is it too cheesy to tell you that I’ve been looking forward to this all week?”

Natalia grinned at the message, a goofy smile that made her cheeks hurt, and bit back an uncharacteristic giggle as she replied, “Only if it’s cheesy to tell you that I’ve been looking forward to it, too.”

Though she had been somewhat excited when she met him - he was gorgeous - her excitement only grew the more they interacted. Throughout the week, she and Luke had exchanged dozens of messages. Most of them were superficial, wishes for good days and texts meant to plan their evening, but a few had been more fun and inquisitive. They’d wanted to save the traditional questions for the date itself - what do you do, where are you from, what brings you to LA? - so they’d had to get creative in getting to know one another.

Luke had taken to sending her cheesy jokes, stupid puns and ridiculous questions - her favorite of which was whether she would fight one horse sized duck or a dozen duck sized horses - in an effort to get to know her and it made her giddy with anticipation. She thought he was cute and he seemed charming. He was fun, silly, and sweet and she found herself starting to like him more than she thought she would. She wasn’t attached, not yet, but she could feel herself growing more comfortable with the idea of him becoming a part of her life and she only hoped that that would extend to their in-person meeting.

As she grinned at Luke’s latest joke, a cheese pun that made her groan in delight, she failed to notice the door of the conference room open or the bag drop onto the table beside her. She was too engrossed in typing out her reply, a string of emojis and a half-hearted plea for him to find a new hobby, to notice Nicole take a seat. Only when she spoke did Natalia look away from her phone.

“Okay, so, I was thinking about ordering pizza for tonight. We have some money in the grad association account and free food is the only thing I can think of that will convince people to spend their Friday night locked in the grad office. We can’t buy their alcohol but I promised everyone we would go out for drinks once the last person hit submit.”

Natalia blinked, confused as to what Nicole was talking about, before her eyes widened and her heart dropped in realization. “The writing party, fuck,” she groaned, her head falling back as she huffed a sigh of annoyance at her mistake. She wasn’t normally one to forget things - she was the first person anyone turned to when they needed to know a deadline - but it had completely slipped her mind. She’d been so caught up in wanting to see Luke that anything nonessential had completely fallen off her radar. “I’m so sorry, Ni. I totally forgot all about it.”

“It’s no big deal,” Nicole assured her as she watched Natalia spin in her chair to face her. “It really didn’t need any planning. I just sent out an email. I was hoping you could bring some of those method books of yours, though. I don’t have anything to submit so I wanted to work on my proposal. I’m having trouble wording the coding section.”

Natalia grimaced and shook her head. “No, Ni, I forgot and, uh, sort of made other plans?”

She tried her hardest not to look guilty - it was an informal writing group that likely wouldn’t get much writing done, anyway - but Natalia felt bad. She knew that Nicole was struggling to get her proposal done and there weren’t many other people she could turn to for help. Their program was small, one of the smallest on campus, and of the current cohort, only she, Nicole, and one doctoral student had chosen the same methodology. They hadn’t had a formal class on the method yet - they’d been thrown to the wolves, not unlike the rest of their graduate career - and relied on one another to make the best of their situation.

This would have been an opportunity for them to sit down, uninterrupted by life, and work out the roadblocks she’d been hitting. However, Natalia had forgotten and committed to dinner with Luke.

“I can reschedule,” she offered, before Nicole could speak, “I feel like he wouldn’t mind.”

At the mention of a ‘he’, Nicole raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “No, seriously, it’s not a big deal. We can meet during office hours next week or something. But, that’s beside the point.” She dropped her cellphone onto the table and turned her full attention to Natalia as she asked, “He? Who is he?”

Natalia knew that Nicole was expecting her to say that the aforementioned he was her father, who she had dinner with once a week, or the new TA that followed her around like a lost puppy. But she wasn’t expecting her to say, “The guy from the coffee shop, Luke.”

“The one that destroyed your dress?” Nicole did look surprised, her eyebrows remained raised and her mouth dropped open, but she looked almost amused at the sheepish grin that graced Natalia’s face. “Let me guess, he asked you out as a way to make up for it?”

“…yes. He’s so cute, Ni, I couldn’t say no,” Natalia gushed with a grin as she shifted in her chair and reached for her phone. Nicole rolled her eyes good-naturedly and rolled her chair a little closer to lean over and take a look at the text thread Natalia pulled up. “Look, he’s been sending me stupid jokes all week and he’s excited about the date and so am I.”

“Wait, date? Holy shit, Nat, get laid!”

Natalia and Nicole glanced up from her phone and watched as Ali, the third member of their cohort - the only other master’s student that started the program at the same time as them - stepped into the conference room and took a seat across from them. “D’you finally agree to meet a Tinder match in person?” she asked as she grabbed a notebook and pen from her backpack.

“No, they met the old fashioned way; he destroyed her dress by spilling coffee on her,” Nicole answered for her as she grabbed her own notebook out of her backpack.

“Oh, retro vibes, cute. Is he hot?” Natalia rolled her eyes fondly as Ali leaned forward, her eyebrows raised as she waited for a response.

Although the three of them had grown as close as sisters and looked quite similar to one another, they couldn’t be more different. Nicole was the oldest - she’d taken two years off between undergrad and grad school - and acted like it. She was the voice of reason, the calming presence that kept Natalia from overreacting and Ali from under-reacting. She was the heart of the group, the one who provided a shoulder to cry on and a kind word of advice when things got tough, and neither Natalia nor Ali could imagine getting through grad school without her. Nicole was also married and had been for three years. She and her husband had been together since their freshman year of college - they met in a class - and she was very happy to be in a committed, long term relationship.

Ali was the wildcard of their group. She was a free spirit, only acting according to her own desires, and was unapologetic in how she lived her life. She was the group’s sense of courage, pushing Natalia out of her comfort zone by taking her out to bars and helping her fill her closet with clothes she never would’ve imagined herself wearing as well as helping Nicole get through the semester without bowing to the pressures of the administration. Like Natalia, Ali was technically single. Unlike Natalia, however, Ali dated around and kept her options open. She had a string of ‘boyfriends’ and decided that she would wait until after she received her doctorate to settle down.

Their biggest similarities were their looks. Each of them had long dark hair, though Ali’s was a shade lighter than Nicole and Natalia’s, and stood at a little over five feet. Nicole and Natalia stayed out of the sun, both of them burned quite easily and went red instead of tanning, while Ali remained a beautiful olive all year round. Nicole and Ali were both curvier, each with natural assets that Natalia longed for, while Natalia fell somewhere in an annoying gap between petite and average.

Natalia loved the differences in her friends, she appreciated seeing the way they all complemented one another, but she couldn’t help but laugh at the almost predictable reactions she’d gotten from both of them upon learning that she had a date.

“He’s gorgeous,” she finally answered, grinning at Ali when she nodded in appreciation and gave her a thumbs up.

“That’s my girl! Have you got condoms? You can stop by my place and grab some after colloquium if you want. Oh, do you need help getting ready? I can do your makeup!” Ali looked to be almost more excited than Natalia was about the date. She was giddy, grinning at the possibilities, and Natalia hated to rain on her parade but she didn’t plan on sleeping with Luke on their first date.

“I appreciate the offer, Al, but I don’t think I’ll need the condoms just yet. I would love for you to do my makeup, though. We’re going to Oak and I know it’s kind of dark in there but it’s also a little nicer than the dives we go to so I should make an effort,” she reasoned as she watched the door swing open and a few of their classmates enter the room. She waved at them, as did Nicole and Ali, before she added, “We can talk about it after colloquium.”

Throughout the hour long meeting, Natalia’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. Luke texted her, a photo of himself and his dog that made her heart melt, and joked that he had the best help in getting ready for their night. Nicole and Ali filled their group chat - appropriately titled ‘why are we here?’ - with suggestions for conversation topics (although Natalia sincerely hoped ‘do you have any hot, single friends?’ was a joke) as well as gentle teasing about how their baby was growing up.

Natalia took it all in stride, shaking her head at Nicole and Ali’s teasing and gushing over Luke’s dog, but she felt just as excited as they all seemed to. It was nice, having plans and feeling something she hadn’t felt in a long while, and she only grew more excited as colloquium ended and they all began to file out of the conference room.

“Send me a text when you guys choose where you’re going for drinks,” she told Nicole as the three of them stepped out of the building, her and Ali heading toward her car while Nicole was off to her own, “I might stop by and get a drink after my date.”

“If you do, let me know. I want all the details. If not, we can all get breakfast or something and you can tell us everything.” Ali wasn’t the type to turn down a drink or gossip so it came as no surprise that she wanted to be included in the conversation.

“Have fun, Nat,” Nicole bid, a genuinely happy smile on her face as she began walking down the sidewalk. “See you later!”

Natalia and Ali waved off Nicole before they began the trek to Natalia’s car. She and Luke planned to meet at eight and it was already four. She knew that she had time - she would likely only show up a few minutes early - but she was anxious to get ready. She had no idea what she wanted to wear, how she wanted her makeup done, or how to wear her hair. She hadn’t been on a date in years - she’d been too busy worrying about school to worry about much else - so this was new territory for her.

Natalia was glad that Ali was there to help her get ready. She was glad that she had a friend who was willing to pick through her closet and help her find something that was cute enough to make a good impression but comfortable enough to wear for a few hours. She was nervous, a good kind of anxious that filled her stomach with butterflies and had her pacing her bedroom as Ali pulled the final piece of clothing from her closet.

“It’s going to be fine,” Ali laughed as she watched Natalia glance in the mirror at her makeup once more. She’d gone simple, opted for a natural look that only enhanced Natalia’s looks, and reached out to slap her shoulder to keep her from touching her eyebrow. “You’re going to wipe off my hard work. Here, get dressed. Would you mind dropping me off at my place on your way?”

“No, of course not,” Natalia assured her as she grabbed the garments from Ali’s hand and stepped into her bathroom to change. “It’s on my way. That’ll keep me from being too early, too.”

“I was at least a little strategic in getting you ready,” Ali pointed out as she waited for Natalia to exit the bathroom. “Have you warned him that you’re a chronic overachiever who can’t be late and has, like, forty calendars to make sure you don’t miss any deadlines yet?”

“I only have three,” Natalia defended as she emerged from the bathroom, smoothing the top she wore. “I keep them in different places so I always know what I need to be doing. How does this look?”

Ali brought her hand to her chest and faked a sniffle as she caught sight of Natalia. She had gone for simple here, too, and pulled a high-waisted black, button down mini-skirt, a white short sleeve top, and a distressed denim jacket. She handed her a necklace, one of the few pieces of jewelry Natalia owned, as well as a bracelet before she glanced at the two options for shoes she’d pulled out of the closet.

“How tall is he?” Ali asked as she looked between the pair of ankle boots and flats on the floor in front of her.

“Uh, very.” Natalia tried not to sound too excited at that - she’d always been fond of taller men - and Ali nodded in appreciation.

“Boots it is, then. Okay, I think you’re ready. Do you have any pictures of this guy? I’m curious as fuck now,” Ali hummed as she watched Natalia slip her feet into the boots.

“Mm, yeah, he sent me a picture of him and his dog earlier.” She reached for her cellphone, unplugging it from the charger, and opened her text thread with Luke to show Ali the photo he’d sent her. He had the same unique smile he’d shown her the day they met and his clear blue eyes were on display as he’d pulled his hair away from his face. He was cute, far cuter than anyone she’d ever dated, and she felt a small amount of pride at the impressed look on Ali’s face.

“He looks familiar,” she mumbled, after agreeing that he was gorgeous, “I don’t know where I’d know him from, though.”

“Maybe you saw him on Tinder or something,” Natalia offered with a shrug as she locked her phone and dropped it into her bag. “Or maybe he’s friends with one of your boyfriends.”

“Maybe,” Ali shrugged as she grabbed her bag and led the way out of Natalia’s apartment. “I don’t even keep track anymore. Did I tell you about Jason? I would drop out and become a trophy wife for that man any day.”

Natalia listened to Ali share a story about her latest boyfriend - one she agreed was gorgeous and seemed sweeter and a little more put together than the guys Ali usually went for - as she drove her back to her apartment. She realized, as they waited at a red light, that she would get to join the conversation about dates the next time they interacted and felt a small thrill at the idea. She usually had very little to contribute when Ali and Nicole spoke about their partners - other than the occasional, “I’m glad I’m single,” when they discussed the follies of man - and couldn’t wait to tell them all about her date.

As Natalia pulled into the parking lot of Ali’s apartment complex, Ali reached into her bag and pulled a few foil squares from one of the pockets. She took Natalia’s hand off the steering wheel as soon as she’d put the car in park and placed the condoms in her hand before she patted it and grinned. “You never know what you’ll need, so, just in case.”

With that and a grin that made Natalia roll her eyes, Ali climbed out of the car and sent a wave in her direction before bounding up the stairs. Natalia remained in the parking spot for a second, pausing to collect her thoughts and take a deep breath, before she shoved the condoms into her bag, pulled out of the parking lot and made her way to Oak.

When Luke asked if she had any preferences for their date, her first thought was of Oak. It was a bar that couldn’t be considered a dive but was also a far cry from the swanky clubs in other parts of the city. It was nice but not too nice. Like Molly’s, the bar was Instagrammable - a key factor in its popularity with college students as the drinks were a little pricier than two dollar beer but not unreasonable for an every now and again sort of thing - and encouraged patrons to dress a little nicer than the go-to athleisure look. Everything about it read 1920s speakeasy, except the patio. Natalia loved the patio, hidden off to the side with little wooden benches and cool metal tables surrounded by walls covered in ivy, and she was glad the weather was nice enough that she could request they sit out there.

The interior was always a little dark but Natalia thought it was kind of romantic as the lighting was supplemented by tea candles on the tables. However, the music - an array of jazz - was usually a little too loud for conversation. Because of that, she hoped that Luke wouldn’t mind if they ordered their drinks and took them outside so they could talk.

When Natalia arrived (only five minutes early, a rare feat for her as she usually arrived with twenty minutes to spare), she was pleasantly surprised to see Luke waiting for her near the front steps. Although she’d found him attractive upon first meeting him, dressed in basketball shorts and looking like he’d just woken up, he looked even better dressed up.

He had also opted for simple and wore plain black jeans and a wine red button down. He left the first few buttons undone and Natalia imagined that if she were a cartoon character, her eyes would be hearts by now. She wanted to stare at him for a moment longer but she didn’t want to keep him waiting. She took another moment, another deep breath, before she climbed out of the car and crossed the parking lot to join him.

“Hi.”

Luke lifted his head, turning his attention away from his cellphone, and grinned at the sight of Natalia. He quickly locked the device and shoved it into his pocket as he returned her greeting. “Hi.” He paused, his eyes raking over her body and taking in the sight of her, before he added, “You look beautiful.”

Without thinking, with only a giddy nervousness filling her mind, Natalia grinned and returned, “So do you.”

She and Luke stood there, taking one another in with pink cheeks and silly smiles, for far too long. It wasn’t awkward, the silence was appreciative and punctuated by shy grins and quiet giggles, and Natalia would have been content to spend the evening sharing heart-eyed looks with Luke had another couple not walked by, breaking the spell.

“Do you want to head in?” Luke asked, glancing at the door a few feet to his left before returning his gaze to Natalia. “I’ve never been here before.”

Natalia glanced up at him - the height difference was still noticeable, even with her heeled boots - and smiled as they entered the main room. “It’s nice. I’ve been here a few times but, I’ll be honest, I usually go to this place called The Door.”

“The Door? Why here, then, and not there?” Luke asked as they approached the bar and and each reached for a drink menu.

“I didn’t want to run into every professor in my department.” When Luke raised an eyebrow at that, Natalia shook her head and quickly added, “Everyone in the department goes there for drinks and I didn’t think it would fun to have my advisor a few tables over as we tried to talk. I chose this place because I don’t really venture too far from campus. LA is… overwhelming.”

“That’s fair,” Luke acknowledged as they waited for the bartender to make his way to them. He turned to look at Natalia, an easy smile on his lips and blue eyes alight with intrigue, as he asked, “You’re not from here?”

“Is anyone?” Luke laughed at Natalia’s quip and she offered him a smile in return. “No, I grew up in Oakland. It was a different vibe. What about you? You’re not from LA.”

“I’m not,” he confirmed with a shake of his head as he moved to stand a little closer to her to let another couple access the bar, “I’m from Australia. I’ve been here for a really long time, though.”

Natalia could smell Luke’s cologne and bit back a sigh as he met her eyes once again. It was hard to keep her train of thought with him looking directly at her, the longer she stared at him, the more beautiful she found him, but she managed to ask, “Yeah? What brought you to LA?”

As Luke opened his mouth to answer, the bartender approached the pair of them to take their drink orders. Luke gestured for her to order first and she chose the only thing on the menu with vodka - the only liquor she didn’t really hate - while Luke opted for the drink with rum. They started a tab - on Luke’s card, despite Natalia’s resistance - before she gestured for him to follow her to the patio with their drinks.

“Okay, so, what brought you to LA?” Natalia repeated as they each took a seat at one of the small metal tables The lighting was better outside, a little brighter than the candlelit interior, and she had to remind herself not to stare as she waited for Luke’s answer.

“I’m in a band. We came out here to follow our dreams.” Natalia wasn’t exactly surprised to hear that Luke was a musician. He looked the part, with shaggy blonde curls and chipped nail polish on a few fingers as well as a sort of confidence about him that she’d only seen in the wannabe rockstars she knew from home, so she nodded.

“Would I know your music?”

Luke smiled at her, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes, and shrugged. The look on his face suggested there was a joke that Natalia wasn’t in on and she scrunched her eyebrows in mild confusion as he asked, “I don’t know. What kind of music do you listen to?”

“A little punk - I’m from Oakland, we have a killer punk scene,” she defended when Luke blinked in surprise. He held his hands up in surrender, a laugh falling from his lips, and gestured for her to continue. “Um, a lot of stuff that was released before I was born? My dad was in a punk band in high school and a grunge band in college and my mom was a riot grrrl. I grew up listening to whatever they were listening to and whatever their bands played and it’s still pretty prominent in my playlists. So, punk and grunge and a lot of classic rock.”

Luke looked mildly impressed by Natalia’s taste and nodded appreciatively. “Yeah, you probably wouldn’t know any of our stuff.” Luke laughed, again looking like he knew something she didn’t, before he took a sip of his drink. She shrugged, a playful smile of her own on her lips, and he shook his head. “I wouldn’t have expected that but that’s way cooler than me. I listen to a lot of pop punk, a little more alternative. And classic rock.”

“Nothing wrong with pop punk. I love blink. And I was super into All Time Low in high school.”

The conversation hit a short lull, both Luke and Natalia glancing at one another over the tops of their drinks, but it wasn’t truly awkward. They had yet to figure out how to interact with one another, which was to be expected, so Natalia offered a suggestion to break the ice. “Want to play twenty questions?”

Luke perked up, the full toothed grin returning, and nodded as he leaned on his elbows and met her gaze across the table. “That sounds like the perfect idea. You want to start?”

Natalia nodded and scrutinized Luke as she thought up her first question. She knew that he was from Australia and that he was in a band she probably hadn’t heard of. She knew that he had a dog and that he liked pop punk. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Two brothers, Ben and Jack. You’re in school, what are you studying?” Luke had an adorable habit of tilting his head to show his engagement in the conversation and Natalia bit back a dreamy sigh as she watched him tap his glass to the beat of the song - the patio had a stream of top 40 hits playing and she didn’t recognize any of them but, judging by the way his eyes lit up when this one came on, he did.

“Health communication. Basically, my line of research is that everyone defines health differently and you can’t expect all people to react the same way to the same messages. There is no universal definition of health.” Again, Luke looked surprised and impressed. He nodded, thankful that she’d given a bit of clarification on what she meant by health communication, and waited for her to ask her question. “What’s the best thing about being in a band?”

Luke lit up at her question, his smile growing into the tongue-pressed-to-teeth grin she was growing to adore. “Is it a cop out if I say everything?” When she nodded, Luke made a show of groaning and pouted for a moment before laughing and shaking his head. “This is going to sound really cheesy but being able to spend my time with my best friends. I love the guys, they’re my brothers at this point, and getting to work with them is all I ever could’ve asked for.”

Natalia felt her heart melt at Luke’s answer. She cooed and when Luke’s cheeks went pink, she reassured him, “That’s the sweetest answer you could’ve given. That’s really awesome. I barely know you but I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.” Luke laughed, cheeks still flushed and eyes crinkling as he watched Natalia take another sip of her drink. “What are your friends like?” He was curious, as they were on the subject, and he wanted to know if the people Natalia surrounded herself with were as interesting as she was.

“Strange. I have my cohort, the two girls I started my master’s program with, and then I have a few friends from home but it’s a pretty small group of very different people and I don’t know where I would be without them.” It was Luke’s turn to coo, his smile soft and his cheeks still pink from a combination of the heat, the alcohol, and his affection, and Natalia dipped her head to get away from his gaze. “In your band, what’s your job? Guitarist, vocalist…?”

“Both of those, actually. I play guitar and sing. Ash, the guy that was with me in the coffee shop, is our drummer.”

“You know, I could’ve guessed that. You’ve got the lead singer look,” Natalia teased. She grinned at Luke’s raised eyebrows and shrugged. “I think it’s the hair, rockstar. But it looks good on you.”

Luke rolled his eyes, a playful gesture accompanied by laughter, and stuck his chin out indignantly. “Looks can be deceiving,” he reminded her, a playful glare on his face as he added, “You keep surprising me at every turn.” When she titled her head, curious as to what he meant, Luke smiled and gestured to Natalia’s empty glass. “That’s a good thing, I promise. And this isn’t my question,” he clarified, a playfully pointed look accompanying his statement, "but would you like another drink?”

“I’d love one. Using that time to think up another question?” Her accusation was playful, her grin gave her away, but Luke played along but giving her a pout.

“How can you think so little of me? I’m not,” Luke denied, his grin bright as he stood to grab another round of drinks. “But I’ll give you that time to think about your answer. Thoughts on social media? I’ll be back.”

Natalia watched Luke disappear through the side door, a bright grin on her lips. Luke was cute, sweet, and fun. The conversation was flowing better than she imagined it would. She was glad that the hope she’d gleaned from her text conversations with him wasn’t misplaced and found herself itching to continue the conversation as she listened to a song she vaguely recognized as one of Dua Lipa’s filter through the patio area.

True to his word, Luke returned in a matter of minutes with fresh drinks in hand and an expectant look on his face. “So, thoughts?”

“I think it’s a useful tool in some cases and utterly useless and damaging in others. It’s helpful in emergencies, getting the word out quickly, but it’s creating a weird culture and I don’t like it. I don’t have any social media profiles aside from Facebook - my mom likes to video chat and doesn’t have an iPhone so, no FaceTime, I just use it for Messenger - and LinkedIn.” Natalia was used to the looks she got from others when she divulged her lack of social media and Luke was no different. He looked shocked but almost impressed.

“That’s really awesome. I don’t use mine much but I think it’d feel weird if I didn’t have them.”

“I mean, you’re a musician. It probably helps get the word out there, build a fanbase, all the marketing stuff. I’m an academic. The only thing I could post on Instagram is a bad selfie taken under florescent library lighting,” Natalia joked as she reached for her drink.

“No faking your life for the ‘Gram?” Luke asked, genuinely curious and interested in hearing her take on social media. It wasn’t often that he ran into people like her, not in his life, so he felt compelled to hear more.

“No, it doesn’t seem worth it. It seems like too much work and, honestly, I don’t want the attention. You have these kids that are, like, twelve blowing up online and that just seems so stressful. I don’t want the world watching my every move. I’m fine in the shadows.”

An odd look crossed Luke’s face at Natalia’s reluctance to be seen and she almost asked him about it. She didn’t understand what the issue was with her not wanting notoriety or her face to be plastered all over Instagram but the look was gone so quickly that she felt like she must have imagined it. So, instead of dwelling, she turned to her next question. “If you were stuck on an island, what three things would you bring with you?”

The conversation continued well past twenty questions. Luke was genuinely interested in her research, asking questions about her reasons for choosing such an emotionally taxing topic and what she planned to do with her research when she finished, and it was nice to just explain rather than defend her choices. She was interested in his music, curious about the songwriting process and the way he dealt with writer’s block from a creative standpoint, and it was nice to talk to someone who had no idea what his life was really like.

They found themselves talking until one of the staff members stuck their head out the door and informed them that it was last call. They’d each only had two drinks, the last was sipped over a matter of hours as they’d been talking too much to really pay attention to anything other than one another, and Natalia was slightly disappointed that it was time to say goodnight as they headed in to close out the tab.

Luke, like Natalia, dragged his feet as they left the bar and lingered near the front steps. He looked just as crestfallen as she did, not ready for their night to be over but not wanting to give her the wrong impression by asking her to come home with him. They liked one another, really and truly, and neither wanted to rush into things. It felt nice, just getting to know one another without the pressure of their lives closing in on them, and they wanted to keep it that way for as long as they could.

“I know this might be too soon,” Luke began, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he met Natalia’s gaze with a shy smile, “but would you want to go out again tomorrow? Maybe for dinner? I have rehearsal tomorrow afternoon but we could do something after that.”

Natalia grinned, a giddy smile that was contagious as Luke matched her grin with one of his own, and nodded. “Definitely. I need to spend the day writing but I’m totally free tomorrow night,” she agreed readily, not caring if she looked eager as Luke looked just as giddy as she did.

“Good, awesome. I, uh, I’ll let you know what time we’re supposed to finish tomorrow.” Luke paused, his grin softening as he realized that Natalia looked gorgeous even in the harsh glow of unflattering streetlights, before he added, “I had a really good time tonight. I’m still sorry for spilling coffee on you but I don’t regret it. Not if it gets me a date like this.”

“I really liked that dress,” Natalia teased, her cheeks flaring pink beneath the foundation she wore as she tried not to coo at Luke’s compliment, “but I’m kind of glad you spilled coffee on me. I think this date more than made up for it.”

Luke and Natalia stared at one another, grinning like lovesick fools and happy that the date had gone better than either of them hoped, before Luke stepped a little closer and asked, “Do you mind if I… can I…?”

Natalia didn’t have a rule against kissing on the first date, she didn’t have any first date rules as she decided she would just see where life took her, but if she did, she would’ve broken it for Luke. As his hand brushed her cheek, she melted into his embrace and breathed a quiet sigh as she nodded just enough for him to feel.

Luke placed a barely there peck to her lips, a soft kiss that felt more like something being taken from her than given, and she wanted to reach out and pull him back into her as he straightened up and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Natalia.”

“See you tomorrow.”

They both lingered for a second, staring at one another, before Natalia gave him a final shy smile and turned to head to her car. Her head was so far in the clouds that she didn’t notice the small dip in the ground and felt her knees hit pavement before she realized what had happened.

She wasn’t sure if she was glad that Luke was there or embarrassed he’d seen her fall as he rushed over and kneeled beside her. The contents of her bag had spilled across the parking lot and she dropped her head in embarrassment as she groaned. “Fun fact about me, I’m great at destroying the mood.”

“I tripped and dumped coffee on you during our first meeting, a little clumsiness isn’t going to destroy anything. Here, let me help you,” he assured her as he began reaching for the little things that had fallen out of her bag. Chapstick, hand sanitizer, gum, a pencil bag; all things she didn’t mind Luke seeing. However, when he grabbed the few condoms Ali left her with, Natalia groaned again.

“I wasn’t… I didn’t intend for anything to happen. My friend Ali just… threw them at me,” she explained as she shoved the items back into her bag and took Luke’s hand for him to help her back onto her feet. “Not that there’s anything wrong with sex on a first date, do whatever you want, I just… Don’t want?”

Luke bit back a laugh at Natalia’s defeated expression and shook his head. “It’s okay, you don’t have to explain. Better to be safe than sorry. And, I get it. Tonight was nice. I enjoyed it as it was. And I’m still really looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow night.”

“I’m glad. And I am looking forward to seeing you again, too. Hopefully neither of us will trip and we’ll be leaving injury and coffee stain free,” she joked as she brushed some stray gravel from her knees. “I’ll see you then. Have fun at rehearsal.”

“I would say have fun writing but, I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know if that’s appropriate to wish you?”

“Probably not, no one enjoys writing for academia, but I appreciate the thought. Bye, Luke.”

Luke waved Natalia off and waited until she’d gotten safely into her car before heading for his own. She still felt a little embarrassed - she knew that her cheeks were neon red beneath her foundation - but his handling of the situation made her feel that much better about him. He was a good guy, solid and sweet, and Natalia couldn’t wait to see him again.

___________________________________________________________

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inorganicone2230 · 5 years

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Divine Intervention (Part 3) Yandere!Erasermic x Fem!Reader

Part 2 Part 4

Summary: Sometimes a little divine intervention is necessary to take back the ones we love… whether they want it or not.

Warnings: Suicide, kidnapping, forced relationship, emotional and mental manipulation, typical Yandere behavior, possible non-con in future chapters

Side note: Holy shit! I certainly hope you guys have some time because this one is LONG! I’M TALKING 5K WORDS!!! Hopefully no one minds lol

Please enjoy!

“And was that the newest one?”

You laid back on the couch and sighed, “Yes. I just wish I knew what it meant. I mean, why bring up this supposedly dead woman?”

Doctor Kayama looked down at her notes in thought, “Perhaps it's simply your minds way of filling in the blanks. You've been having these dreams for quite some time now. And as an adolescent you didn't question the details and the facts near as often as you do now that you're an adult.”

You let another sigh fall from your lips. “Yeah, you're probably right, but there already was an explanation for her, she’s dead.”

You had been seeing Doctor Kayama, who specialized in sleep disorders -insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy and in your case, reoccurring dreams/nightmares- since you were 16 and in a way it was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because you had someone unbiased to talk to about them who you felt wasn't going to judge you, and a curse because by constantly talking about them, you could never really forget them or put them out of your head. They were always there, right at the forefront of your mind, just waiting for something in your day-to-day life to trigger a memory of them.

Doctor Kayama pursed her plump lips into a thin line, “The mind is a tricky thing, and dreams are even trickier. I can see that we are not going to make anymore progress today, our time is almost up anyway. And if I'm not mistaken, you have to be to work in an hour.” She said, standing up to put her things away and walk you to the door.

You followed suit, “Yes, I think I’m hitting a blank on how to think about it further. Maybe next week I’ll have some answers… or some ideas at the very least.”

Nemuri smiled at you in response, “I agree. Some time to think more will do you some good.”

You shook her hand and as always, you felt just a little bit better after your session, even if you didn't make much progress. Anything was better than nothing. Wasn't it?

“I'll see you again next week, same time as usual.” With your confirmation to return next week you were out the door and on your way to work.

--------

You were fortunate enough to have found a nice apartment that was within walking distance to both your work and the doctor's office. Right in the middle actually! The only downside was that you had to go further into the city whenever you needed to do shopping. You made decent money at the bookstore/cafe that you worked at, but the area didn't really have any grocery stores, just a lot of restaurants and gas stations. And while that was fine every now and then, you would prefer not to waste all your hard earned money on expensive meals and unhealthy junk food.

You were about halfway home though when something caught your eye, or rather someone… and it made you freeze.

‘Was that? No… it couldn't be? Could it…?’

For just a moment you could have sworn you caught sight of a familiar head of golden hair. Long and soft looking, it caught the glare from the afternoon sun on the fresh snow in just a way that it seemed to make the strands glitter in the light.

Without a second thought you instinctively began to head in the same direction. Or you would have, if your phone hadn't rang.

You scrambled to pull it from your purse. “Hello?” A brief pause, “No that's fine. I was going to stop at my apartment on the way but I can just head straight there, it's no trouble.” Another pause, “Sounds good. I’ll see you soon, bye bye.”

Hanging up and putting away your phone you took a look around, you had lost sight of whoever that was. “Oh who am I kidding, it was nothing! Just someone's regular blonde hair, my eyes and that appointment I just had are playing tricks on me.” You reassured yourself. It was a strange thing to see but there was no way it was real. With your pep talk over you began your trek to the bookstore.

In your haste you failed to notice the lime green eyes that watched you from the roof of the building beside you. Eyes that watched you with a predatory hunger. The bounce of your hair, the sway of your hips, the curves of you soft form. All of it was focused on you and you alone and the predator licked his lips in anticipation.

“Soon (Current Name), soon.”

--------

You made it to work with a few minutes to spare and after exchanging pleasantries with your coworker and going through the usual shift-change duties, you were ready to start your day.

It was a Saturday and with most people still in school or at work, plus the cafe being closed, it was proving to be a rather slow afternoon. You did the usual tasks of dusting the shelves, taking inventory and putting away new items, calling people to inform them of their special orders and just general basic things. You soon found yourself with nothing else to do. Not even a customer to hep out!

Luckily, the couple that owned the store didn't mind the employees reading on shift as long as everything else was done and no customers needed help. Taking a seat behind the counter you began to read your current book. A horror/mystery novel about a young girl who goes to sleep in her bed but wakes up in an old house with no windows or doors leading outside, she has to find a way out while being haunted by whispering voices and a tall pale figure with teeth for lips that watches her from the shadows.

You had only gotten a few chapters in when you heard a voice speak to you though. “Excuse me miss? Could you help us?”

Funny, you hadn't heard the bell go off when the door was opened, nor had you felt the draft from the chilly winter weather outside. But you simply wrote it off, thinking you were too engrossed in your book. None the less you mark your page and put the book down. “Of course! What can I do for y-...” You freeze mid sentence.

Standing in front of you are two very familiar looking men. Both tall and handsome in their own way, but as different as night and day.

The tallest one had black hair that brushed his shoulders and a serious case of five o'clock shadow. His eyes were just as dark as his hair, though admittedly, that could have been because he looked like he hadn't slept in a week. He was dressed in black jeans, a gray t-shirt and a heavy black winter pea-coat.

The other man practically radiated sunshine with his rather long blonde hair and bright green eyes framed by simple square glasses. Multiple piercings adorned his ears along with other jewelry, a silver chain wrapped twice around his neck and a few rings to match. He was dressed rather similarly to his counterpart but in tans and whites.

It was THEM! The one’s from your dreams… or at least... two men who looked exactly like them. And it scared you…

It took you a second to realize that you must have zoned out when you froze because they were giving you odd looks and asking if you were okay. You managed to give them an admittedly half-assed response. “O-oh yes! I'm p-perfectly fine, you just startled me is all! What can I help you with today?”

Both men exchanged odd glances with each other, like they were having some silent conversation. “Are you sure miss?” The black haired one asked, “Your white as a sheet and look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Yes! Absolutely!” You replied with a forced kind of enthusiasm.

The blonde snickered and gave a feral grin, first to you and then to his companion, “Aww, she's blushing Shouta! Maybe she's just flustered, what with having such good looking guys come in her store!” His insinuation and the wink he throws your way make your eye twitch in irritation. But he’s not done running his mouth, “Well if it makes you feel any better Sweetling, I’d be tripping over myself to if a lovely little thing you walked in on me out of the blue.”

You weren't quite sure how to respond to that. Luckily for you the other one -Shouta, the blonde said?- seemed to know what to do about his friends behavior since he reached out to yank on some of his hair. “Cut it out Hizashi. Can't you see you're making the poor thing as nervous as a wet kitten.”

Hizashi at least had the decency to look apologetic as he rubbed the spot his hair was yanked. “Sorry hun, my mouth gets the better of me sometimes, especially around pretty girls.” He held out his hand to you and grinned again, “Let's start over! I’m Hizashi and this here is my friend Shouta!”

You were still really put off -terrified actually- by their resemblance to the men from your dreams but you had a job to do still. You swallowed your fear and plastered on your best ‘Fake as Shit Face’ Before quickly shaking both their hands. “It's nice to meet you, my names (Fake Name)! What can I do for you today?” You hoped you sounded convincing enough. Your work had a policy about not using real names on the name tags, just better for the employees safety, especially in this day and age. Can't be too careful.

“We were hoping to find some books on religion… reincarnation to be more precise. Possibly even mythology and folklore.” He said it in such a strange way, like he was trying to explain something without going into too much detail.

You thought it was an odd request for sure, but you weren't really one to judge other people's taste in literature since you yourself had some weird ones. Right now all you wanted to do was get them out of the store ASAP.

“Sure! Follow me right this way.”

You lead them to a small section near the back of the left end of the store, no more than three bookshelves. Both sections were right next to each other since more often than not, both genres got classified under the same banner these days. “I’m not to sure if we have anything on reincarnation specifically but if we do it's over here. Feel free to look as long as you want, we're still open for a few more hours so take your time!”

Both of them smiled at you warmly and thanked you profusely.

“It was no trouble, please let me know if I can help with anything else.” You were trying to make a speedy exit. You needed to think, and breath, and process what was going on. But you couldn't do that around their confusing and suffocating presence.

“Oh don't worry Sweets, we'll be sure to let you know when that happens.” Hizashi said in a rather provocative way, obviously trying to get a reaction out of you.

You didn't respond, simply gave a nod and turned on your heel and began heading straight for the restroom.

Once inside with the door shut and locked tight, you suddenly felt the strangeness of this situation hit you all at once. You ran to the toilet and puked, small quiet tears running down your cheeks as you hyperventilate. ‘What the hell is going on here?!’ Why the fuck do those two look like them?!’

It wasn't just a passing resemblance either, it was like they stepped right out of your mind and into reality. You just couldn't handle this right now. “Maybe they'll have not found anything and left already.” You said to yourself hopefully and decided to give yourself a few more minutes of isolation before going back out there.

Your prayers went unanswered though as you stepped out to see them at the counter, one book in hand and warm smiles on their faces. “You okay there sweetling, you're looking a little pale?”

You waved off the concern and booked it to the register to ring up their purchase. The sooner they paid, the sooner they would leave. At least… you hoped they would.

“I hope you found everything you needed!” You sounded totally fake even to yourself.

Shouta gave a low chuckle, “No, not everything. But I’m sure we'll get what we need very soon.”

Something about the way he said that sent chills up your spine. It almost sounded like a warning. “W-well if you have something specific that you're looking for we can try and order it for you.” Your reply is automatic and as the men share a look, you feel like your being left out of an entire conversation that is taking place right in front of you.

“We’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Well I hope the two of you have a good evening, please come again!” You gave a short bow to them both.

“Come on! No need to be so formal! You seem like a real sweet girl, you should give us your digits so we can hang out sometime. We know some pretty awesome places to go have some fun.” The blonde suggests, leaning across the counter space and ever closer to you, a large toothy grin on his face.

Without thinking you reply, “Sorry, my boss's have a strict policy about employee/customer relations. Immediate termination if fraternization is found. I like my job so I’d rather keep it. Sorry again.” There was no such rule or policy enforced, but they didn't need to know that.

They give each other that same look again. “That's too bad. We're new to the area and were hoping to meet some new people to hang out with.” Shouta replied, both wore the same dejected look. It almost made you feel bad for fibbing. Almost…

“The folks around here are really great, I’m sure you guys won't have to hard of a time meeting some new people!” You really hoped they would leave or that another customer would come in. Anything to end this weird conversation!

For a moment, the two men frowned, like you said something awful. But they quickly bounced back, “Well I’m sure we'll be seeing you around either way. We’ll be sure to come back here if we need anything else! Right Shouta!?”

Shouta gave a much quieter response then his friend, “Yes, I’m sure we're on the fast track to becoming regulars for you.”

‘I certainly hope not.’‘ You thought bitterly as you finished saying your goodbyes and watched them walk out the door. If you never saw these men again it would be far far to soon for your liking.

--------

Back in their home in the Heavens and laying in their bed, the two gods of Life and Death basked in the happiness they felt at being in your physical presence for the first time so long.

Hizashi himself was a literal walking bundle of sunshine. “Oh Shouta! I know we've been watching her all her life and sending her those dreams for years, but to be in her presence again after eons apart! The memories didn't do her justice, her voice alone was enough to make my mind go blank.”

Shouta also gave a lighthearted smile, “Yes, and the way she seemed so shy and nervous after she recognized us from the dreams. It really was so sweet and precious. She was such a raging spit viper in the past, I rather like this quiet, demure version of her. Almost seems a shame to waste it by giving her memories back.”

The God of Life nodded along with his opposites words. “Yes, she's going to be quite angry once she remembers everything. Why don't we just forget about the medicine and bring her here as is? Start over completely! New and fresh?”

“Do you truly want that? For her to not remember anything about our time together in the past? Because I don't, I want her to remember the day we met, the time we spent getting to know her, the first time we made love to her. I want her to be able to understand how hurt we were the day she took herself from us!” Shouta’s eyes were beginning to flash red as his hair moved in an unseen wind. “I want to know why she did it in the first place, so that we can do better for her, be better for her. And…” Shouta trailed off here as if he was unsure if he should continue or not.

Hizashi reached out to take his lovers face in his hands and promoted him to continue, “And?”

Shouta took a deep breath, “And perhaps I wish to punish her for it... we have suffered for five thousand years without her, and it just doesn't seem fair that she should get to live in blissful ignorance of what she has put us through. That's why I want her to remember Zashi.”

A mouth was on his as soon as he finished, a warm wet tongue tangled with his own as he readily responded. The kiss lasted a while longer before both deities reluctantly pulled back.

A smug Hizashi stared down on his other half with lusty eyes, “Very well, I can see your point, we will give her the medicine. But what do we do now that we've made her aware of us outside of the dreams? Do we simply bring her home, or do we wait and play it by ear? I want her here with us, so that she can be safe and happy. It took all my willpower in that shop not to just grab her and bend her over the counter. I can't wait to much longer Shou! So what is the plan? I know you have one.”

Shouta's smile was positively feral, “This is what we will do,...”

--------

The rest of the night went smoothly -despite your nagging fear over the two lookalikes- and you tried your best to be as productive as possible until it was time to close up the shop for the night.

Since you got all your cleaning done so much sooner than usual, it was a relatively easy close. All you really had to do was count down the till and check to make sure all the doors and windows were locked. Easy peasy!

You were excited to get out the door so quickly after such a slow -and admittedly frightening- evening. All you wanted was to get to the comfort of your home where you could relax and breath easy. Tomorrow was the start of your weekend and you had every intention of staying home the entire time!

After checking that the place was locked up you headed for the door. You felt the bitter cold air as soon as you stepped outside, it was a clear night so it was much colder than the overcast day had been. And quiet too, you noted. Not unusual for you, all the other businesses closed at least an hour or two before you, and no bars or restaurants for a few blocks meant that you rarely saw a single soul this late at night. You still kept a switchblade in your coat pocket and pepper spray in your purse though, just in case…

You locked the door and had just started walking when you heard it, the telltale sound of snow and ice crunching under heavy footsteps, two sets. You had a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that you knew who was going to be there when you turned around. You wanted so bad to be proven wrong.

“Well look who it is! Our new favorite bookstore worker! Just closing up shop sweetling?”

Yup, you were right... unfortunately. You turned around and there they were, still dressed in the same clothes and with warm smiles adorning their handsome faces. “Y-Yes, I was just on my way home.” You said, not bothering to put on the fake customer service enthusiasm you had earlier. You hoped they would take the hint and let you go on your way.

They were much closer to you now, only a few feet away, when Shouta spoke next. “You seem awfully tired there Kitten, and it's quite the hour for a pretty young lady like you to be walking the streets so late at night. We'll walk you home.”

Your eye twitched at the use of that nickname, you didn't know these two well enough for them to act so familiar with you. And they never would if you had it your way. “That's not necessary, I live close by and I'm used to walking this la-”

You were cut off by Shouta’s firm voice, “We insist. We'll walk you.” It was practically an order. And it made you bristle. You were just about to tear into him when you were cut off again, this time by the blonde.

“Sorry, what Shouta means to say is that we live in the direction you were going. We have to walk the same way anyway and we just wouldn't feel right NOT walking you this late at night. Come on, don't make us go home worried sick about weather you made it home safely or not. Pretty please?”

You knew this wasn't normal. Meeting two guys -at the same time- who look identical to the men from your dreams, the way they just happen to run into you as your getting off work, that they live in the same direction as you. You wanted so badly to tell them to fuck off and leave you alone, to hightail it and run as far and as fast as you could away from them, but you didn't. You weren't that kind of person, you overthink and over analyze situations that make you feel uncomfortable. Just like now, you couldn't help but think that maybe they really were just trying to be nice, that it was just a coincidence they looked so similar. But another part of you thought that if you did tell them what you really wanted to say, it could backfire on you at work, they could come in and say something to your boss and coworkers. Make it sound like they were just trying to be Good Samaritans and you were being a self-righteous bitch. You needed this job more than you needed your backbone, you thought. So you caved…

“W-well if it's not out of your way, than sure. I could u-use the company.” You know you've made a mistake the second the words leave your mouth.

Both men beamed at your agreement. “Great! Then lead the way Sweetling!” They each took a stand on either side of you as you begin to walk.

Hizashi fills the silence with chatter and small talk while Shouta chimes in every now and then. They ask basic and harmless things, things like; “Do you enjoy working at the bookstore? Have you lived in the neighborhood long? What kinds of things are there to do?” You answer some of them honestly, but some you fib on or give vague nondescript answers. They don't seem to notice, and if they do they don't mention it.

Soon -but not soon enough- the three of you are standing outside your building. It's a modest three story complex, relatively new and decently maintained and you live on the third floor in a small one bedroom flat. You refrain from breathing a sigh of relief while still in their presence. “Well, this is me. Thanks again for walking me home.”

“It was no trouble. Me and Zashi are always happy to help. Especially when such a pretty face is involved.” If this was any other man flashing you that sexy smile you would have gone weak in the knees, all you felt right now was a desire to kick them both.

“Yeah! It was so nice meeting such a cutie right off the bat! And we got to run into you again, that's gotta be fate, right?!” Hizashi says dreamily. Was it just your imagination or had they moved closer to you.

You chuckled nervously, “W-who can s-say? M-maybe, I don't k-know.” They were definitely closer.

“ I'm positive it was! We couldn't stop thinking about you all night! We're so happy to see you again (Y/N)!” Hizashi kept gushing.

You froze in absolute terror. How did he know your real name!? They were still taking turns praising you when you spoke. “How do you know my name?”

Shouta was the first to take notice of your tense tone. “What was that Kitten?”

You didn't bother being polite this time, “I said how the hell do you know my name?! I never gave it to you!” You took a step back and freaked when you felt the brick wall of your building behind you instead of the door.

They looked at each other in that same way from earlier, speaking without words.

“Calm down, you gave us your name when we introduced ourselves in the shop.”

“Yeah, don't you remember? It was even on your name tag.”

If you hadn't heard it so clearly you might have believed them, but you had heard it and you weren't buying their bullshit excuse.

“No! I gave you a fake name in the store, the one you just said is my real birth name! How do you know it?!” Your breathing was labored and you felt lightheaded. A panic attack maybe? You needed to calm down and think straight.

They looked at you for a moment longer, faces blank of any emotion. And then Hizashi laughed, scratching the back of his head like he just made a simple mistake . “Whoops, guess I kind of blew our cover. Sorry Shou, I got carried away and wasn't thinking before I spoke.”

Shouta meanwhile simply shook his head and cuffed him in the arm. “Great job Loudmouth, now we have to move things along faster thanks to your carelessness.”

You were dumbfounded, completely lost as to what was going on in front of you. “What the hell do you two freaks think this is?! Some kind of sick joke?! Because I'm not laughing! What I’m doing is going straight to the cops.” You regretted that last line as soon as you said it because both men's eyes were instantly on you. Bad idea to admit you were going to go to the fuzz. Now you felt like a cornered animal. Like pray. And when your flight or fight response kicked in, you ran to the left, your switchblade and pepper spray completely forgotten in your panicked state. Or tried to anyway.

Two sets of impossibly strong arms grabbed you and shoved you back up against the cold brick wall, a hand covering your mouth to block your screams. Not enough to truly hurt or bruise, but just enough to knock the air from your lungs. Your eyes fell closed for just a second and when you opened them again you were greeted by a sight you only ever saw in your dreams.

They stood before you in ancient but elegant robes, radiating a strange and inhuman aura. Hizashi was dressed in green and emerald, ornate jewelry catching the light from the street lamps above. Shouta was in simple gray and black. Where as before they had only LOOKED like them now they WERE them. They were still smiling like nothing was wrong.

“Oh you won't be doing that Songbird, those pretty little lips aren't going to be singing for anyone but us ever again.” The blonde leaned in closer to whisper huskily in your ear, his warm breath fanning over your numb ear and making you shiver. “You have no idea how amazing it feels to be touching you like this again. You feel so soft Sweetling, I could just devour you right here and now.”

You had gone into shock for a few moments at the drastic change in them, both in physicality and in personality. But as soon as you felt the undeniable press of his hardening groin against your hip, you absolutely lost it. Thrashing, shaking your head, trying to scream through the hand that still covered your mouth and kicking out your legs, but it did you no favors as you soon found yourself too tired to move.

It only seemed to egg the blonde on further when you heard him groan -not in pain- but in pleasure. “Keep that shit up and I’m not gonna be able to hold back.” He said, grinding himself against you harder. You ceased all movement.

“Enough. It's far too cold to be doing that here Zashi. We can enjoy ourselves once we have her safe and sound at home, and warmed up.” Shouta said as casually as if he was ordering a pizza. You began to thrash again with renewed vigor, tears ran down your face and you felt his hand become slick with your drool from your muffled screams.

Hizashi pouted and rolled his eyes, “Fine fine, but it will be a lot easier to get everything ready if she was asleep.”

“I'm one step ahead of you. Do you want to or should I?

“You. I don't think I could hold myself back if I do it.”

“Alright, just take your hand off her mouth when I tell you too.”

This was your chance! As soon as your mouth was free you could scream for help! Even if it was only a second, you had to try! You closed your eyes and waited with bated breath for the pressure on your face to ease up.

“Now.”

The hand was gone. “SOMEONE HEL-” The Hand was replaced with a mouth. Shouta's mouth slammed against yours in a bruising kiss and you felt some kind of bitter tasting liquid slide down your throat. It took you a second to realize that he was still kissing you, sliding his tongue against yours and groaning into your mouth, probably in an effort to keep you quiet while whatever he forced you to drink kicked in. Which wasn't taking long as you felt your mind going hazy and your eyes getting heavy. Well, you weren't going to just take it without a fight, the moment you felt his tongue in your mouth again you bit down. Hard!

He pulled back with a curse shot you a disgruntled look as he spat blood onto the street. “That wasn't very nice. Maybe I was wrong and she dose still have some of that fire left.”

Your mind was foggy and your knees gave out on you, Hizashi caught you before you could hit the frozen ground. “G-go f-f-fuck y-yourselves!”

Both of them just grinned down at you and reached out to stroke your cheeks and hair. Your arms felt heavy, you couldn't even fight back at this point. You were slipping away fast.

“Don't worry Kitten, we'll explain everything once we get you home and you wake up. Things will all make sense soon, we promise.”

“We’ll do better this time. We won't let you get away from us, we've worked too hard to get you back. But we'll tell you all about that after you get some sleep. Just rest for now, your perfectly safe with us Sweetling. We love you so much!”

That was all you heard before sleep claimed you. Your last thought was that you hoped your sleep would be black. The last thing you wanted was to dream and have to see their faces again.

I hope everyone enjoys this extra long chapter, the next one will probably be about the same length, if not just a bit longer! If you have the time please let me know what you thought. I was incredibly worried about the pacing I set for it. I feel like it was too rushed.

As I said before, thank you again to @jadepillar18 for the inspiration on this story!

Enjoy!

#yandere!erasermic #yandere!erasermic x reader #yandere!aizawa #yandere!hizashi #yandere!aizawa x reader #yandere!hizashi x reader #fem!reader #reader insert #aizawa x hizashi #yandere bnha #bnha #gods au #kidnapping #stalking #typical yandere behavior

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raywritesthings · 5 years

Text

Dear Friend, 9/9 (at least for now)

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Quentin Lance, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Ray Palmer Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: When Felicity decides to get serious about Ray, she knows it won’t be a good idea for Oliver to be hanging around. So she turns to the world of online dating to keep him distracted. Unknown to the both of them, over the summer Joanna had set Laurel up with an online dating account in the hopes that her friend could move on from past failed relationships. There’s only one way this can end. Notes: So ultimately I have decided to go with the shorter ending. I'm sorry if that disappoints some people, and I'm not opposed to picking up this idea for some League-related shenanigans at some point down the line as some have suggested, but as it stands I'm just not going to have the time to devote to drafting a whole new section just yet, and I don't want to leave people hanging. I've just accepted an internship for the summer that starts next week as well as working on two summer courses, so I know it would be taking too much on. I already have enough trouble updating my other WIPs regularly as it is. So I hope you enjoy the resolution to this silly online dating idea I had, and thanks so much for reading it! *Can also be read on my AO3*

Quentin shouldn’t have been surprised Laurel would be the one sent to pay him a visit.

“You know this is a frame job,” she said, pacing back and forth. She was still in a dress from that wedding she’d been at, her clutch resting on his desk. “And just like Pike did all those years ago, you are misinforming the public to suit an agenda.”

“Alright, the difference between then and now is that then we had ready proof this Dark Archer was a different guy,” he pointed out. “These arrows turning up are the exact same as our vigilante friend.”

“Sarcastic as you’re being, he is your friend. Sara’s death doesn’t change that. Alright? You can be mad at me for asking him not to tell you, but you know him suddenly switching back to killing makes no sense.” Laurel crossed her arms, as best as she could while wearing a cast over one, and added, “And why would the rest of us let him?”

“Good question. I should probably find that out.”

Using her distance to his advantage, he snagged the clutch off his desk.

“Hey!” She took a step forward but made no move to restrain or strike at him. Some things were still off limits between them, it seemed.

Quentin ignored her protest and left his office, heading up the stairs to the labs. He walked up to the first occupied desk he saw and slapped the cell down in front of the occupant.

“My daughter’s phone. I gotta know who she’s been in contact with, any suspicious activity.”

That got him a bewildered look. “From the ADA?”

“Just do it. Off the books.”

To his credit, the CSU Tech got to work, typing away while Quentin paced.

After a few minutes, he spoke. “She’s logged a lot of activity on a dating app.”

Quentin blinked. “Dating app?”

“Yeah. One of those anonymous ones. She’s been trading a lot of messages with one profile. Handle is KingOfSurvival.”

An anonymous app. Simple, but it made sense.

“Alright, good work.” He took the phone and clutch back down to his office where Laurel was waiting, her eyes only narrowing as he set the phone down on the desk between them.

“You went through my phone?”

“This how you’re communicating?”

“It’s how most people communicate, isn’t it?”

“You know what I mean. The Arrow.” He tapped the phone again. “You’ve been using an anonymous app to get in touch.”

Laurel made a face, and not the guilty kind. “What? No.”

“Then who’s this King of Survival?”

“I can’t believe you.” She snatched the phone off the table. “You had no right to go through my messages.”

“Come on, Laurel. You’re not gonna tell me you’ve been using this thing to date.”

“I was — it’s none of your business. But it was not about the Arrow,” she insisted with a glare.

“Then why the app? Who’ve you been talking to? Who is this guy?”

“What has you so interested?” She fired back. “I thought we weren’t close anymore?”

“Damnit, Laurel! I- I care about you, you have to know that.” Even as he said it, he knew he’d done little to assure her of that over the years, and a part of him deflated. Angry as he had been that she had held onto the truth about Sara, was it worth her not knowing how he felt?

He glanced back down at the phone again and frowned. “And I definitely care if you’re on one of these apps talking to complete strangers. You have any idea how dangerous these things are?”

“Dad—”

“Could be anybody on the other end,” he carried right on. “A scammer, a violent criminal—”

“It’s Oliver!” She burst out, then continued on a sharp laugh, “Okay? Because it always is! I’m always just so stupid.”

Quentin wondered if he’d somehow missed a part of their conversation. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how Joanna set me up with that app so I could meet people and try to get over my seriously bad choices, except Oliver was also on the same app and of all the people in Starling City with which I could have connected with, I ended up talking to him,” his daughter said. “And I’m talking about how he invited me to be his date to, as it turns out, John and Lyla’s wedding, but I turned him down because I still didn’t think I was ready to get over my ex — who is also Oliver — and now he knows everything.”

Quentin wasn’t the Captain for nothing, but it was taking everything he had to make sense of this. “You got an app to try dating strangers, but instead of a stranger you met Queen on here instead?”

She gave a helpless shrug. “Pretty much.”

“Well- well what was he doing on here?”

“Apparently Felicity made him join. I don’t know,” she groaned, dropping into his chair. “It wasn’t like we were actually dating. Just talking and giving advice...about me. I was talking him through how to deal with me. Great,” she muttered through clenched teeth. “Maybe I should thank you for saving me from the most mortifying night of my life.”

Right, the case. The thing they should be talking about. The thing Laurel was so sure he was wrong about — because she knew, didn’t she?

Quentin felt a strange calm wash over him as everything was made clear.

“He’s the Arrow, isn’t he? Queen.”

She looked up, eyes wide. “Why would you think—”

“Because it’s always him.”

It was always Laurel, actually. She should have been all the evidence he ever needed.

His daughter shook her head. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Yeah, you did.” And if she did, that meant something, too. For however much she loved that idiot, she’d never lie for him about this.

Quentin braced his hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Laurel, give me the proof he’s not the one out there killing these people. Show me I’m wrong.”

Laurel held his gaze for a long moment. Watching him, judging him maybe. At last, she said, “He was at John and Lyla’s wedding tonight. Plenty of witnesses. He couldn’t have done this, whether he’s the Arrow or not.”

“And he is, so there’s more going on here,” Quentin finished. “Never can be the simple answers.”

“I know that there are people dead, but we need time. He already has a good idea of who’s doing this and why. It’s the League.”

“Sara’s League?”

Laurel nodded. “I should have told you everything. I’m sorry, daddy.” Her eyes looked a little wet, but she wasn’t crying. Still, Quentin felt an ache in his chest that had little to do with his health.

He walked around the desk. “Whatever he’s planning to do, it’s gonna need to be quick. We can’t have this going on.” Then he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay? This app stuff, Queen, you seem a little rattled.”

“I’ll be fine,” she promised. “We have things to do.”

“Yeah, but after?”

An officer knocked and then stuck his head in the doorway. “Captain, Ray Palmer is here saying he has evidence of the Arrow’s identity. He wants to press charges against Oliver Queen.”

Laurel’s head hung down as she sighed, and Quentin grimaced. “You wanna take this one?”

“Yeah, put him in interrogation. Do not give a statement to the press.” His daughter marched to the door, ready yet again to defend Oliver Queen’s lack of innocence.

Quentin didn’t know what to make of half of tonight’s revelations — the online dating thing most of all — but he sure hoped Queen appreciated just how much she was willing to do for him.

—-

In the end, it was Ray Palmer’s tech that saved them.

Laurel had to stay on the sidelines thanks to her injury as Oliver walked Ray through fighting a metahuman that had popped up in the middle of all this. It was better, really, that she was out of the way. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle fighting with him out in the field at the moment, even if he was just a voice in the ear.

Ray returned to their base after flying Deathbolt to Central City. He was going someplace the others called a pipeline, which Laurel had some misgivings about, but for now it had to be low on the priority list.

Felicity greeted her boyfriend with a congratulatory kiss for his first official try at being a vigilante. “You were great.”

“Well, thanks to Oliver, I was. I’m glad I didn’t end up getting my day in court after all.”

“The public is still looking for you to catch the Arrow,” Oliver reminded him.

“I know. But I’m prepared to go to the mayor myself and explain I was mistaken. The Arrow is not our enemy.”

“But someone pretending to be him is,” Laurel said, mostly to herself, but the others all turned. Oliver’s look seemed particularly intense. Laurel stepped forward. “We need proof of that to take to the mayor, not just our word.” Ray couldn’t rely on a preexisting relationship like she could with her father. And just like he’d used the proof of her chat conversations with Oliver, they needed something concrete as well.

“What kind of proof are you talking about, Laurel?” Oliver asked.

She kept her eyes on Ray. “What about your facial recognition software?”

“I thought you said it wouldn’t stand up in court?”

Laurel waved a hand. “I said that to keep Oliver out of jail.” At Oliver’s look in her direction, she ducked her head slightly. “And we’re not talking about court, we’re talking about public opinion. So do you think you could pick up one of the fakes on it?”

“We would need it to match to someone actually on file,” Felicity informed her. “Considering the League recruits all kinds of people from all over the world—”

“They do have somebody,” Oliver interrupted. “Maseo Yamashiro. He worked with ARGUS in Hong Kong. The CIA would have him on file.”

“So my facial recognition software could pick him up,” Ray concluded. An excited smile lit his face. “Alright, I’ll do a sweep of the city right now! And stop him from murdering anyone, of course.”

“Don’t engage the League, Ray,” Oliver cautioned him. “Even with my help, it would be a near thing.”

Ray’s enthusiasm dipped only slightly, but soon he was putting his gear back on and leaving the base.

“God, I hope this works,” Laurel muttered under her breath. She felt Oliver’s hand brush her arm and jumped. He looked away and walked back over to the station where the connection with Ray was set up, in case he was needed. Laurel looked down.

A silence filled the base. As was common, Felicity broke it.

“Is everything okay? I mean, obviously, not everything is okay right now, but we have a plan for the major thing. I meant the earlier thing.”

“What earlier thing?” Laurel asked.

“Well, you kind of ran out of the reception, and then Oliver followed you,” Felicity explained. “And we’ve been pretty busy since, but nobody’s really said what that was about.”

She looked between the two of them, expectant. Oliver was devoting an intense amount of study to the tech on the table in front of him, and Laurel dropped her gaze to the floor.

“It was nothing, really.”

“Okay.” It was fairly obvious her friend didn’t believe her. “Just, things got weird after I brought up Oliver’s online dating, and if there’s a problem, I’d prefer—”

“There’s no problem,” said Oliver, tense. Laurel couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t look at anyone.

The door to the Verdant opened and Thea came down the steps. “Ollie, I’ve been texting you all night. Did you figure out if Laurel — oh.” She stopped and gave an awkward laugh. “Hey, Laurel, how’s, um, things?”

“Things? What things? What was he supposed to be figuring out?” Felicity was speaking in near rapid fire now. “Why does everyone know what we’re talking about except me?”

This was unbearable. “We were on the same dating app,” Laurel said, then pressed her lips together.

“You were both on the same app? Well, how did you know — oh no!” Felicity was gaping in horror. “I mean, not, no, you know, just — what are the odds of that? I guess not astronomical considering your similar lifestyles likely contributing to your profile answers and since the app takes proximity into account, and you two are, you know, close — proximity-wise. I- I did not intend for this to happen.”

“Felicity, I have a visual!”

“Who? What? Oh!” It took a couple panicked turns back and forth for Felicity to grab up the comm to respond to Ray. “I’ll run it against ARGUS and see if you caught Maseo.”

“Good.” Oliver still had his focus on the table. Thea was watching her with open sympathy. Pity, even.

Because of course this was more embarrassing for her than him. Oliver had had plenty of relationships or attempts at them since he left her after the Undertaking. What did Laurel have? Nothing, and as soon as she tried, guess who had turned up? And even then, she’d turned him down for him, which was undeniably pathetic. She couldn’t even be angry at him, because it was her choices and her feelings that had gotten her into this mess.

Abruptly, Laurel turned and made for the steps. “Let me know if you need anything.”

It wasn’t as though she could fight. And John and Lyla would be more useful once they returned from their honeymoon for making a deal with the CIA. She was just useless, as per usual.

She’d already lost her online friend by declining his invitation to meet up, yet somehow she felt even worse now knowing he was never real in the way she’d thought. All those confessions she’d made...how could things possibly go on between her and Oliver when he knew the truth?

—-

Oliver winced as the door shut behind Laurel. She wasn’t happy. Truthfully, he still didn’t know where he landed on the issue.

He had thought he was taking the steps to move on properly this time, even if it hadn’t worked out. But if anything, it turned out he’d gone in the complete opposite direction. And despite what she had claimed about him on the app, Laurel seemed more miserable after finding out the truth than anything. So where did that leave things?

“I’ve sent the match to the CIA to confirm, and Ray tipped off the mayor’s office that an attack was heading their way. Can we say power couple?” Felicity’s enthusiasm was only partially forced; it was clear she was trying to tough it out through the awkwardness.

When he didn’t acknowledge her question, she slumped a little. “Oliver, I’m sorry. I swear I had no idea Laurel was on that app.”

“And I had no idea you were,” Thea added to him. “What exactly just happened there? Because it sounded like—”

“I was the guy that Laurel was talking to,” he confirmed. “Not that either of us knew that.”

“He also asked her out, which she said no to,” Felicity said. “Something about another guy.”

“Who is you.” His sister didn’t even ask, just stated it as fact.

And sure, Laurel had never used his name, but… “Yeah.”

“Oh.” Felicity blinked. “Well that simplifies things, doesn’t it?”

He gestured to the stairs up which Laurel had disappeared. “That didn’t look simple to me.”

Thea scoffed. “Just look at it from her point of view for a second, will you? She’s gotta be, like, super embarrassed.”

“Mortified, even,” Felicity agreed with a nod.

“Look at it this way,” Thea continued before he could even open his mouth. “She’s just found out that she confessed her feelings for you to you, and that you asked out another woman at the same time.”

“But I was asking her out!”

Felicity pointed at him accusingly. “Ah, but you didn’t know it was her when you did.”

“But I should have,” he realized. Oliver took out his phone and scrolled back through the messages. Laurel was in every one of them; her heart and voice and soul could be felt in every line when he really looked.

Maybe that was why he’d fallen.

He was in love with Laurel, that much was clear. Whether he knew it was her or not, he always ended up in the same place. Home. And judging by what she had written, he just might still have a welcome there.

But he frowned as he looked back at the computers. “The League is still out there.”

“We’re still waiting on a response from the CIA,” Felicity said. “I can send you any updates.”

As much as the leader in him wanted to remain at the base, he could recognize that times like these were exactly what a team was for. “Thank you.” Oliver reached for his jacket and pulled it on, then paused before leaving. “Really, thank you.”

If Felicity hadn’t been so determined to get him trying to see other people, none of this would have come about. He would have never known.

She shrugged. “This was not at all the plan, but I should have figured it’d end up this way. Try not to screw it up this time.”

“Right, go, go, go!” Thea only barely held back from physically ushering him to the door.

Oliver got on his bike and made the relatively short drive, finding himself like so many times in front of Laurel’s apartment door. Was this really happening? A part of him was still reeling.

He knocked, and it was several long minutes before the door was pulled open. Laurel had already changed into what looked to be her sleepwear underneath a bathrobe, and her expression was less than enthusiastic.

“Please tell me you didn’t come here to check on me.”

“Not entirely. Can I come in?”

Wordlessly, she stepped back and let him through. Oliver stood in her front hall, looking over her dejected appearance. “Are you okay?”

Something not really a laugh bubbled out of her. “I don’t know. There are things that I wrote, things that I told you on that app, that I never meant for you to know. And now it’s just out there.”

He could understand that. Some of the day to day frustrations and even his sense of doubt about the mission, those weren’t things he would be all that comfortable with anyone knowing with context. Laurel was one of a very few in that regard. Most of the profile questions and answers she was already aware of by virtue of knowing him so long, but it did bring one of their earliest conversations to mind.

“You, um, you came out as—”

“As bisexual, yeah,” she confirmed in a low voice, her eyes anywhere but on him.

“If that’s how you feel, I’m not gonna judge you for that. None of us would.”

“But you’re probably wondering if this is something new or me trying to be Sara.”

Oliver said nothing. He couldn’t deny that a part of him wondered. That was probably wrong.

“If anything, her coming out made me more comfortable seeing myself that way. I mean, on some level I knew I’d thought of women as attractive before — but usually I was already dating or not really in the right place to be dating. I never really knew until last year how my father and everyone would react so…” she trailed off with a shrug.

“And then when Sara did come out you were worried people would think you were copying her,” Oliver finished for her.

Laurel nodded with a grimace. “People figure there can only be one per family. And I didn’t exactly see myself dating ever again, so there didn’t seem to be much point talking about it.”

Her good arm was folded over her chest and gripping her shoulder. She was making herself smaller, he realized.

He wasn’t sure exactly what his thoughts were on the matter. He had always assumed he knew everything there was to know about Laurel — but then again, this didn’t change who she was as a person anymore than the color she chose to dye her hair did.

“I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t talk about it, and that I found out without your permission. I think — no, I’m sure Sara would have been happy to know.”

Her lips curved up in a smile that still conveyed a sort of sadness. It was the eyes. Laurel could never hide how she was really feeling with them. “Thank you.”

But it wasn’t just her own feelings she was talking about not wanting him to know. Something that she’d written was standing out now in particular. “You weren’t sure if I hated you or not.” He remembered her venting to his online persona, that she wished her friend and ex would just make up his mind one way or another.

“I don’t really believe you hate me,” Laurel said immediately.

“But I haven’t made it easy to maintain that belief.” He was so stupid. In his mind, it was so clear how he felt about Laurel, but whenever he tried to put it into words or actions, it always went awry. Except on that app. There, anonymously, he had been clear.

Oliver took out his phone and glanced down at it. “I think we needed this.”

Laurel raised an eyebrow. “We needed to lie and keep more secrets from each other?”

“Neither of us was intentionally lying,” he pointed out. “But what I mean is that this, it gave us a clean slate. A way to talk to each other without everything else getting in the way for once. I didn’t know how badly I needed that.”

He’d missed it, too. Talking to Laurel, just being open and honest. Since getting the app, he’d been making strides to do that in person thanks to her own advice, and in a way it had worked the same in reverse.

“And now that everything is back in the way?” She glanced up at him. “You said you needed to move on, Oliver.”

“Because I thought that was best. I couldn’t even imagine you might still have feelings for me after everything,” he admitted. “And my attempt to move on was to ask you out, so I think that says something.”

“It says I did a really good job at hiding the worst parts of myself.” Laurel turned and retreated further into her apartment.

But Oliver couldn’t leave things there. He wasn’t giving up this time. “You were yourself. And you’re more than the worst parts of you, Laurel. If you believe there’s any good qualities to me, then you have to know that’s true.”

She stopped, and he walked up to her.

“I took a chance and opened myself up to a stranger. Not because she was a stranger, but because she felt familiar. She felt like a friend who cared for me and helped me to be better. And I couldn’t believe that I could have found that in another person that wasn’t you.” He allowed himself the smallest smile as Laurel watched him. “Maybe a part of me knew it from the start.”

Laurel’s eyes were shining as she said with a hitch to her breath, “I didn’t let myself even dream it was you.”

“I know.” He reached out slowly and cupped her face with both hands. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, warm and open. It was more like breathing each other in than kissing, relishing the little touches they’d denied themselves for so long.

Laurel’s eyes were closed as he nuzzled at her cheek, and her uninjured arm had wrapped around his back. “I’ve missed you. I missed talking to you the last few days.”

“You mean online?”

She nodded. “Mm-hm. I’m so glad I didn’t break some poor guy’s heart.”

Oliver muffled a laugh against her neck. “That makes two of us.”

His phone buzzed, breaking the moment. Oliver checked it and found a text from Felicity.

ARGUS said thanks for the tip and that they’re handling it. Going home with Ray.

“What’s up?”

His eyes left the screen. “Your idea to get ARGUS involved paid off. The Arrow’s off the hook.” The last bits of worry and tension eased as he said the words aloud.

Laurel let out a breath and smiled. “That’s great.”

“Yeah.” He made to put his phone away but stopped and got it out again.

“What are you doing?”

“Turning this off.” He grinned up at her. “We don’t need it anymore.”

He drew her back in towards his chest as she giggled, though those faded away as he renewed his attempts to re-familiarize himself with her mouth. Oliver couldn’t think of the last time he’d felt this carefree and happy, but the memories that immediately came to mind had this same woman in common. His oldest friend; his online friend; the woman he loved. Dinah Laurel Lance was all that and more.

He was so lucky.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #quentin lance #felicity smoak #thea queen #ray palmer #black canary #green arrow #my writing

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letteredlettered · 6 years

Note

I love 'Away Childish Things' beyond words. The possibility of rereading it and finding new meanings to previous parts each time a new chapter is released fascinates me (I'm so obsessed I wrote down in my calendar the dates each chapter should be posted. sorry if that's too creppy). There are so many little details it got me thinking: how long did it take you to create? Not only to write down, but the whole creative process since the story first popped-up in your head. Thank you very much!

Thank you so much for your kind words! I don’t think you’re creepy at all, but that does mean I really have to stay on my toes and make sure I update at the right times!

As for how long it took me, I like to hear myself talk so I have here a very long answer!

The idea didn’t really pop into my head. I am a tropey person, and the magic in HP means you can do basically any trope you want. I think I have wanted to write a de-aging Harry/Draco fic since 2007. I kept starting it, but could never decide what I wanted grown-up Harry and Draco’s relationship to be, which of them would de-age, and what age they would de-age to. Beyond that, I had trouble coming up with why Harry and Draco would hang out with each other if one of them was de-aged–they have such a bad history that surely, even if the adult versions loved each other, they would realize the kid versions would be better off with someone like Hermione.

I have the beginning of a draft from around 2009 in which Draco de-ages to a teenager just after Sectumsempra. I have the beginning of a draft from 2011 in which Harry and Draco are a couple and Harry de-ages to a teenager. I probably worked on that one the most. I kept starting over. Sometimes I would sign up for fests with the intentions of writing a de-aging fic, but the requests/prompts I got never quite fit.

In 2012 I wrote The Kids Weren’t Alright, which is an MCU de-aging fic, part of a series called Responsible Science. The idea of that series was to write every goddamn trope I wanted, so of course I wrote de-aging. I had some of the same problems in that I couldn’t decide who would be de-aged with whom, until I realized I could just do whatever the hell I wanted and look at every combination I wanted. Those kids were de-aged to 12, because I love middle schoolers.

When @tdcatsblog, @aibidil, and @frnklymrshnkly bid on me for Fandom Trumps Hate, they said they didn’t have specifics about what they wanted me to write; they just wanted me to write. This was incredibly generous of them, so I decided I’d write the thing I’d been wanting to for over ten years. I realized I could do what I did in The Kids Weren’t Alright and write every combination I wanted, which included kid!Harry with adult!Draco, adult!Harry with kid!Draco, either version with either one of them at literally any age I wanted, and kid!Harry with kid!Draco. That last combination later got scrapped, in case you were wondering, and obviously the “either version at any age” got finessed for plot reasons.

Since I’d written fairly believable 12 year olds in The Kids Weren’t Alright, I thought I’d do it again, except I realized 12 is a kind of random age in HP, where 11 is the really significant age. Then I realized it’d be super fun to write Harry write before he finds out about magic and Hogwarts and everything, so I decided to start with that age. I’d say thinking through all that took around a month.

Since Fandom Trumps Hate gives you a timeline of almost a year to write a thing, I thought I’d finally start a fic like a normal person and write a real beginning, instead of starting in media res, as is my wont. I’d been getting kind of tired of Auror partners, and had had the idea earlier last year that you could still have them work together by making Draco a potions consultant, so in January I started writing that, and did about 8K.

I found it kind of boring, so I stalled on it until I got to meet @aibidil, @frnklymrshnkly, @zeitgeistic, and of course the lovely @icmezzo (who lives near me) in person in June. Meeting them rekindled all my H/D love, so I started working on it again. I poked at it for a while and still found it kind of boring, and realized it was because all I really wanted to write was smol!Harry.

Then I realized if you start with smol!Harry, you get to have more information than the viewpoint character because you know what happens at Hogwarts, but less info than Draco because you don’t know how they interact as adults. Since dealing with different levels of knowledge and dramatic irony are my favorite things, I started in media res after all.

I probably started writing smol!Harry around the beginning of July, though I will say that probably 2/3 of it were written in the last week of July because during that week I was directing and producing a play, and it was tech week, and I was quitting my job, so of course I was way too busy to think about fanfic, so of course that was all I wanted to do. I liked smol!Harry enough that I sent it to @icmezzo to read. She liked it!

The middle section with them both adults took all of August to write. I used pieces of what I’d written in January/February, but rewrote most of it. Several times. I sent that to @icmezzo too because I hated it, but she said it was great.

Then my parents visited I didn’t write anything, and then in a feverish 9 days after they left I wrote the 76,000 words that are the rest of it. I understand that this makes me a freak of nature. I was trying to get it all done so I could work on my original novel and not feel like I had quit my job to write fanfic.

I read over the whole thing, did some editing, then I sent it to my beta, @icmezzo, and a little later I started posting.

Tl;dr, it took me about 10 weeks to write, 9 months to plan, and 11 years to dream

#ask #away childish things #melancholic-pie

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seven-oomen · 3 years

Photo

Hi, Ben! Hope you’ve been doing okay. Sending this as a submission since I noticed the last email I sent said something about sending to Google Docs or something? And now I’m not sure if they’re going through?

Anyway, at least as of the last time I looked at it, you had a section where you were debating about how much Faron would casually notice about his sister when she’s introduced to the story? If you’re worried, is there another POV character she’ll meet at some point that could be the one to provide a more in-depth description of her? Like he might notice/internally comment on one or two small things (the look in her identical to his eyes, the way the light shimmers off her reverse ombre hair, etc) so the reader can immediately know who the other POV character is describing, even if she’s not been specifically introduced to them yet. Also, if you think she’d be around/helpful for any of the forthcoming shenanigans, the fact that they don’t look much alike could be useful for having one (or both) of the other two being ABSOLUTELY NOT JEALOUS of this strange woman who seems super close to this obnoxious hunter dude that they are TOTALLY NOT INTERESTED IN, SHUT UP, YENA, only to have to pretend not to be relieved to find out she’s just his sister.

Also, on the discovering magic front: If “magic” in the general sense is unknown to either world, then where did all the supernatural creatures come from? Most of them are considered creatures of magic in some way, shape, or form, so if there’s no magic, then how did they come into being? Is it that magic is truly unknown, or just that it was thought to have died out/gone away long ago, like some of the more extreme/larger supernatural creatures like dragons, and whatever the hell is all still in Australia? Also now super curious who you’re planning to have be this new mage, how it happens, and why them. (I have some theories, but don’t want to get too specific in case of spoilers. ;D )

And, as the included image shows (assuming it shared correctly), I also took the uquiz about TW parents, and wasn’t really trying to get this result, but here we are. XD Also, not sure how I feel about some of this (if, like me, you are unfamiliar with the slang term from the beginning, here’s an article about it.) How exactly he could be considered the type to be desperate to throw himself into a relationship when he was single for at least six years after his wife died (depending how young you think Stiles was at the time) is somewhat baffling to me. Oh well. I’m mostly just amused that that’s who I got. XD

Also, omg, I did NOT need that slap on the ass/kiss on the forehead post on a day where I’m FINALLY trying to get some writing done on the next chapter of IYWTD. XD I now have an endless cycle of “ho don’t do it…they ain’t that far yet…ho don’t do it…” running through my head as I fight off the urge to have one of them do that with everything I’ve got. I can’t even decide who I’d rather have do it, because frankly I can see BOTH of them doing it depending on the situation. Especially since I’m hoping to maybe (finally!) get to the rehearsal dinner this chapter. (We’ll see.)

Anyway, I should probably try to actually write a little more while my energy levels are cooperating. I hope your sleep has been better, and that both you and Mo are feeling well! Good luck with the story, I’ll try to check in again later! Take care! *Hugs!*

Hey B!

Good to hear from you again, I was about to sit down to reply to this email which is the last one I got:

I finally got my body to cooperate long enough to read over the new stuff. :D Probably my biggest question is regarding Nate's last name being on the vampire's list (with no first name I note.)

I’ve been kinda struggling with myself the last few days and I haven’t done a lot of answering in general. I’m sorry about that, but I am answering a few things here.

(Also my document of notes and questions is now longer than what I have written in actual story so far and it’s honestly amazing XD)

About the magic system, I guess there is magic in the world in the sense that it created mythological creatures who then either evolved/devolved into what they are today. Dragons for example used to be giant lizards with wings but due to losing their habitat/prey they devolved into smaller animals that are more like small/ mid-sized lizards (Bearded dragon/Komodo dragon/mini mythological dragon who’s scales make them invisible to the human eye. But the komodo dragon is as big as they get in modern times). Australia & the deep ocean are more rich in mythological creatures since it’s less touched by humans. And vampires/werewolves use a form of magic in the sense that they can morph their bodies/use it hunt/soothe humans around them.

But no human has really been able to wield it. Even the ‘witches’ that were hung during the Salem witch trials were really just humans, most of whom just used an early form of science/chemistry/alchemy or a logic form. Instead of a more classical use of magic like in Supernatural/Harry Potter/any other magic story.

That’s a skill that has been reserved for the mythological creatures. But that changes when one of the main characters is born. He’s able to sense the magic/energy in supernatural creatures and is sensitive to it but since no one else can feel that he doesn’t learn how to use it. He kind of just ignores it and chalks it up to his adhd/sensory overload. Until somewhere in the story he accidentally sets something off and unleashes an energy he didn’t know he had and gets into trouble. And then it’s a struggle to develop the skill and find a way to control that while there’s also no one who can really teach him how to do it. I mean the vampires/werewolves can to some degree and they can teach him some stuff. But since it’s never been documented before nobody knows what he can do and what he can’t do.

So It’s kinda like what if there is an established magical world where the supernatural can wield magic that’s necessary for their survival, but what if a human suddenly gets that ability too, thousands of years after the first mythological creatures were born.

And yeah Nate is the next one we’ll be returning to and I was wondering if I could provide more in depth descriptions of the whole group from his POV. And then when I switch back to Faron I can then describe the other group a bit more clearly. I’m debating on how many POV I want to include. Right now I’m debating between those two, maybe Cas/Asher or Dichali, but that really depends on what I need the story to do. But that’s not a bad idea either. Will def write that down too.

Yeah I honestly don’t get how Noah is a simp. I mean dude didn’t date for years and it’s not like he just rolls over for people either... then again I also didn’t get how I got Peter based off my answers. XD But that’s funny that we all got someone else for a change, lol <3

And you’re very very welcome for that image XD I’m thinking of using that too for the first draft.

Hope you’re doing alright and I hope to get to read more of your fanfic this weekend if I can get my brain to cooperate.

Mo and me are holding on and we’re giving you huge hugs right now XD <3

#ben says stuff #B #my convos with anon #submission

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gabriel-gabdiel · 4 years

Text

【Draft】 Keit-AI! Tomoyuki x Seiko Chapter 20: Hook, Line, and Sinker

Tomoyuki just got catfished?!

For what it was worth, Tomoyuki "Cherry Boy" Yamamoto found a way to return the favor to (Alternate Universe) Seiko "Amazon Queen" Okamoto for her thoughtful birthday gift to him.

The best birthday gift he ever got. A trailer for a film that didn't exist in his universe. Seen only by him within his reality.

The trailer for Akira Kurosawa's "Ran". The legendary director's (unintentional) version of William Shakespeare's "King Lear".

What he was about to send to Seiko was in a sense his "White Day" gift for her "Valentine's Day" chocolate.

A return gift of gratitude. A downloaded video from YouTube Japan.

"Hey, Cherry Boy. What's this?" she texted him back.

"Just open the file," he texted in return.

She then texted, "Boo. I thought it's a round or two from Pacquiao- Mayweather, but it's just another one of your Kurosawa film trailers!"

Huh. Maybe he should've sent her a Pac-May clip. Maybe later. "I'll just send you video highlights of it or even their future rematch when it happens. Maybe even on your birthday."

"There's gonna a rematch?! Sweet!" she cheered, only to ask, "So what did you send me?"

"Send it to him. To me. The other me," he answered. "I swear to you, Tomoyuki will love it. I know I do."

She watched the whole thing. All one minute and thirteen seconds of it.

"Cherry Boy, you're a genius! This is the best birthday gift for Tomoyuki since, you know, he canceled on our proposed movie date and all."

Ah. Of course.

AU Miku ended up giving AU Tomoyuki the cold shoulder because he liked AU Seiko's present more than hers, so to make it up to the Class Rep, his other self nixed his date with the Amazon Queen.

Another love triangle had formed in another dimension.

At least the other Okamoto had a love triangle to speak of. He was definitely still in the "Friend Zone" (sorry, Miku) with the Amazon Queen in his universe, her proposal for a pity date aside.

The Amazon Queen that didn't love him as much as this other" her did.

"Sorry," he texted back, pushing his disturbing thoughts at the back of his mind. "But you know what they say about love and war."

"Fair enough, but what do I tell Cherry Boy when I send this video to him? He'll have questions for sure!"

Nodding to no one in particular, Yamamoto replied, "Tell him it's the long-lost and extremely rare alternate trailer for Kagemusha starring Katsu Shintaro instead of Nakadai Tatsuya."

***

Keit-AI! Tomoyuki x Seiko

An Anime-Inspired Original Story from 4chan's /a/ Board by Abdiel

Original Idea by Hataki.

The mystery behind Aya will finally be revealed.

Disclaimer: This work may reference copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is believed that this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. All copyrighted material referred to in this work belongs to their respective owners. All rights reserved.

***

Chapter 20: Hook, Line, and Sinker

***

Meanwhile, the Miku Machida in Tomoyuki's universe gave him the opposite of the cold shoulder (A "hot" shoulder? Rubbing shoulders?).

Just like good ol' times, they were again together like white on rice. Talking about Sci-Fi things mixed with cool science facts while walking to class. Again fueling rumors of them being together.

"...Oh, oh, oh! Here's another evidence of the Mandela Effect. Most people remember the Monopoly Man as having no monocle, right? But when you take a look at the box of the board game, he definitely does have a monocle! Spooky, right?" she told him.

Ah, so they were talking about the Mandela Effect again. Misquotes and popular misconceptions mistaken for evidence of parallel worlds and traveling through them.

Except in Tomoyuki's case, the Mandela Effect was all too real.

He patted her head like she was a little kid and smiled at her. "It's very spooky," he said, which made her pout cutely, cross her arms, and turn away from him.

"Don't patronize me!" she said with a harrumph.

Damn, she was so cute when she was annoyed.

Jokingly bullying her was almost worth a taste of the cold shoulder that the (probably jealous) AU Miku was currently giving AU Tomoyuki.

Or maybe he felt like tempting fate for once.

Thankfully, Miku forgot his transgression the next minute, bringing up, "Do you remember how the candy 'KitKat' doesn't have a dash between Kit and Kat? Well, it does! It's actually spelled Kit-Kat"

"Hey, you're right," he said, checking out the nearby snack bar and seeing the Kit-Kat logo having the dash when he remembered otherwise.

She grins. "Amazing, isn't it? I'm telling you, parallel universes exist!"

'You don't have to tell me twice,' he inwardly quipped, taking note that in AU Seiko's universe, it was probably the other way around.

In her universe, KitKat bars probably didn't have dashes and the Monopoly Man most likely didn't have a monocle. Along with other weird things like Michael Jackson, who was brown-skinned, bleaching his skin Caucasian white and having legal issues regarding pedophilia (allegedly).

The old Yamamoto would've been over the moon to have Miku as a best friend, even to the point of fantasizing that they'd somehow end up being more than just friends in the future.

But something changed between them from first year to second year.

That tall, beautiful, athletic, and tomboyish something... or someone... barreled over between them, slinging each of her long arms over their nearest shoulders.

"Hey, Nerds. Still talking about that egghead stuff with the black president guy that's not Obama?"

"It's the Mandela Effect and he's not a president in our universe," reminded Machida. "Here, Mandela died in prison, serving as a symbol of the South African revolution. But so many people wanted him to be president, they all swore he became one. Or maybe it's a memory we had from a different timeline!"

"U-huh. And maybe in a different dimension, Mayweather is a knockout puncher with exciting fights under his belt," the Amazon Queen said, saying the most Seiko thing possible. "I appreciate the man's talent, but boy howdy, am I not looking forward to Mayweather-Pacquiao II."

Tomoyuki then made a mental note to not reveal the actual results of May-Pac to AU Seiko, neglecting to tell her earlier of how initially exciting but ultimately boring the actual fight ended up to be.

The Cherry Boy then averted his gaze from Seiko, the... former object of his affection. The sight of her made his heart ache and long for someone else who was like her but wasn't, making him feel guilty for doing so.

Maybe it was for the best that Okamoto wasn't all that into him after all.

So should he abandon his harebrained scheme to get Seiko and Kazuhito "Yankee" Sugata together, like Megumi Minagata suggested?

Not necessarily.

He'd still do it, but this time expecting a more realistic outcome of either heartbreak or a long-delayed hookup between the childhood sweethearts.

Without unrealistic expectations of the Amazon Queen going for the unlikely third option.

It was the least he could do for the alternate universe counterpart of the girl he loved.

***

Things also went back to normal in Class 2B. Somewhat.

"Hey, New-Half (Trans Woman)," called out Kazuhito (who finally decided to not skip classes) to Seiko.

Okamoto shouted, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A NEW-HALF!?" followed by a smack on his face. "Stupid Furyou-kun!"

Then the rest of the class began hooting and hollering at them for "acting like a married couple" who could help Japan with its population slump.

All talk of a potential pair-up or even love triangle between the Cherry Boy and the Amazon Queen faded once the heartthrob Sugata finally came back with his usual "married couple" shenanigans with Okamoto.

"As if Cherry Boy ever had a chance with the Amazon Queen while the Yankee is around!" was probably their shared sentiment of the situation.

They all just presumed Yamamoto was friendzoned (as usual), although they were hedging their bets that he'd score a pity date or two with their Iincho (Class Rep) at least.

"Please, you two! Stop fighting! Math Class is about to start," pleaded the mousy Class Rep in her usual adorable, bespectacled way that made Tomoyuki fall for her back in first year.

However, rather than scheme on how to get Machida and Sugata closer together to make Okamoto jealous enough to cross her Rubicon and confront her childhood friend about her long dormant feelings with him, the Cherry Boy started doodling and writing something else at the back of a dog-eared, beat-up notebook.

He couldn't stop thinking about Akira Kurosawa's Ran.

He wanted to write more about it. Research about its connection with King Lear even though, according to AU Seiko, it was a coincidental comparison made by western (foreign) media at best.

For the first time in a long while, he felt inspired to go after his passion and hobbies rather than try to appeal to the interests of others in a bid to "belong" in a clique or a long-term relationship with a girl.

For the longest time, he had been trying too hard to fit in with his peers. Only the closest people in his life know about his passion for writing and movies.

Like the glasses-wearing neighborhood girl he ended up being best friends with. Or, lately, both versions of Seiko Okamoto.

When he was under the mistaken belief that the only way he could improve on himself was to get a girlfriend rather than the other way around, he tended to ingratiate himself to whomsoever he attempted to woo.

In the case of his first crush Yukari Goto, he started taking the late train and gave her a hand whenever her klutziness or ditziness got her into trouble.

In the case of Aya Fubuki, he went to dates with her in all sorts of restaurants even to the point of maxing out his allowance and trying to find a job to supplement his dates, only for her to deny the dates ever took place.

In the case of Mana Otonashi, he really should've figured out he was just her plaything all along when she made her own mother tell him to stop calling her. How embarrassing.

In the case of Miku Machida, he got told hard regarding his clinginess and unrealistic expectations as a "Nice Guy". Even after that, their friendship persisted mostly because he absorbed her otaku knowledge like a sponge until he was able to decipher the "foreign language" she spoke whenever they were around each other.

Finally, in the case of his universe's Seiko Okamoto, he tried using AU Seiko's sports knowledge to better relate with her, only for it to backfire since this was info from a parallel world and not their world.

No one wonder people treated him like a doormat with no true friends to speak of. He really was a try-hard poser, wasn't he?

He made up for his lack of personality by attempting to incorporate the interests and quirks of others so that they'd like him better. Whether he was making friends or wooing girlfriends.

It was only with AU Seiko that he felt he could be himself and showcase the cinemaphile nut and wannabe writer he really was. No other woman made him feel comfortable in his skin like she did.

***

As the Cherry Boy put in the finishing touches to the outline of his new personal passion project (researching about what happened to his universe's Ran and writing his own version of the unfinished work with what little info he'd gotten from AU Seiko so far), he found a letter in his bag.

Curious. Who even gave out letters in this day and age of cellphones, email, and chatrooms?

Although it would've been charming if he and AU Okamoto were communicating through transdimensional mailboxes rather than transdimensional keitai (mobile phones). Just like in the South Korean film "Il Mare" (also known as "Siworae") or its Hollywood remake, "The Lake House".

He opened the envelope and then was greeted with the smell of a long-forgotten flowery scent.

He read its contents. The more he read, the more his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Probably drowning in stomach acid to boot.

Oh shit. Not this again.

Tomoyuki hastily stuffed the letter in his bag, unwilling to humiliate himself in front of Class 2B by cluelessly reading the letter in front of them.

His traumatic experience with Yukari Goto and her mistaken love text to him that was meant for Kazuhito Sugata was still fresh in his mind. Even after all this time.

Speaking of which, Goto's best friend Aya Fubuki was the one who sent him the letter.

The same type of letters she used to slip into his bag or shoe locker when they were freshmen.

The letters she denied giving to him when he confronted her about the dates she swore they never had.

Yeah, he was still kind of sore about that.

What was going on? What was she trying to do?

Miku noticed him and the letter he hid. She was about to ask him about it, but he gave her a begging look to keep things to herself.

Thankfully, his best friend took the hint and turned her attention back to her notebook full of her own doujinshi (self-published fan comics) ideas.

Had she called attention to the letter so that the likes of Matsuda were to read it to the class, the Cherry Boy would've gotten a repeat of the embarrassment he suffered with Yukari that led to him getting his infamous moniker.

He could just imagine the jaw-jacking his classmates would give him right now.

'Oooh! Is that a love letter? Did Cherry Boy get a love letter from the Class 2C Iincho? MASAKA (IMPOSSIBLE)!'

'Hey, hey! Is our own cute li'l Cherry Boy forming his own harem just like his idol, Sugata?'

'Don't be absurd. That's Fubuki from Class 2C. The same girl who publicly called him out on spreading false rumors of them dating. There's no way she'd date that liar's ass now!'

'What is with him and all the class reps he keeps going after? Does he have an iincho fetish or something? He even tried stalking our dear Seito Kaicho (Student Body President) through harassing phone calls!'

'He's such a desperate loser I bet the letter is telling him to leave Fubuki alone!'

Naturally, the last one to speak would've been Matsuda. Still the asshole as always, but he was an asshole with a point.

He sighed. He should let sleeping dogs lie. Leave the mercurial (and probably bipolar) Aya to her own devices. However, maybe she sent him the "love" letter to apologize for her forgetting about the dates they had.

...Yeah right. As if that would ever happen. She at best tolerated him and as little as a few days ago, she hated his guts.

Still, he was curious as to why Fubuki would send him such a letter. Knowing what he knew about her now (as if it was the first time he'd ever met her), it seemed... out of character for her to do this.

Wouldn't she confront him rather than send him a letter? Then again, she couldn't even muster the courage to send Kazuhito himself a love letter, so how much less him?

But Tomoyuki wasn't Sugata though. She'd have no reason to be embarrassed about him. She made it abundantly clear she never had any feelings for him.

'Oh, and I'm supposed to believe that some desperate jerk I barely interacted with who spread rumors that I'm dating him is telling me that Sugata-kun is dating Miku-chan, his latest girlfriend prospect, out of the kindness of his heart? Reeeally now?' was the sentiment she had when Tomoyuki first told him about the Yankee and the Class 2B Rep.

She trusted him as far as she could throw him. They made up eventually when he took a bullet for her, but they at best had a tenuous "acquaintanceship" that could break at the slightest hint of betrayal.

She didn't trust him. She acted like she barely knew him, despite all their dates that she would not acknowledge ever existed.

In fact, Yamamoto was starting to believe that Aya really didn't date him, making him doubt that the dates he had with her were real.

It almost reminded him of his initial situation with AU Seiko, with her calling and confessing her love for him while the real Seiko (correctly) claimed she herself never called him.

What if they—Tomoyuki and Fubuki—were both right? What if he had dates with an alternate universe version of the Class 2C Iincho while the in-universe Aya got the blowback from their rumored budding relationship?

What if he was dating the AU version of Aya all along?

Hell, he should be writing about this plot twist instead of making a script treatment of Ran, to be honest.

Inwardly, he waved the suggestion off, rationalizing that the parallel worlds thing didn't work that way. His heart skipped a beat at the prospect of dating AU Okamoto in the flesh, though.

He'd love it if he could actually figure out how the AU thing really worked.

Nevertheless, his curiosity got the better of him as he decided to meet up on the indicated time and place on the letter after school.

Appearances aside, this was obviously no love letter situation like with Sugata. It wasn't as if Aya was off to confess her love to him or anything.

***

After class, in a meeting place only Tomoyuki and Aya knew about (the Peninsula Bar where they once had Mongolian Barbecue)...

"...I apologize for lying about our dates to our classmates. I was so embarrassed that they found out that I threw you under the bus. If you would be so kind, would you go out with me again?"

That was just about the last thing Yamamoto expected Fubuki to tell him.

But she really did it. She really told him that. The absolute madwoman.

While bowing in apology, no less.

What was going on? Was she high? Was this what Miku meant by tsundere? An insane girl who had the most extreme mood swings possible? 'Bitches be crazy!'

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get things straight. You intentionally lied to everyone about our dates and now you're asking for another date? And aren't you after Sugata instead of me?" he asked.

"Sugata already rejected me. That ship has sailed." Aya brushed her hair to the side and looked away from Tomoyuki's gaze before bowing her head and looking up at his face with doe eyes. "A-Are you mad at me?"

Unbelievable. It was like he was talking to another person altogether.

Didn't she cheer him on when it came to wooing Seiko and whatnot? What happened to that Aya? Did she forget or was she testing his resolve somehow?

Maybe that AU Aya theory of his wasn't so far off after all. Or maybe it was more of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of scenario.

Was this really the same Aya that AU Seiko described as "earnest"?

Tomoyuki paced around, took a deep breath, and exhaled. He'd handle this like an adult.

"Yeah, I'm upset. But I also realize if you're ashamed to even admit that we dated, then maybe you're not all that into me after all. You did me a favor. You helped me stop acting so desperate for love all this time."

Aya tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "W-What do you mean, Yamamoto-kun? Won't you forgive me at all? Can't we make things work out?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

It was his turn to bow back to Fubuki, remembering how she cheered him on, telling him to go big or go home with wooing Seiko Okamoto.

To no longer be so clingy and halfhearted with his pursuit of girl crushes like in the cases of Yukari, herself, Mana, and Miku. To no longer serve as any girl's doormat.

If she were testing him and his resolve, then this was his answer.

"I accept your apology, Fubuki. But I have to apologize myself. I'm in love with someone else."

He had to be completely honest. Like AU Seiko said, Aya was an earnest kind of girl who responded to actions instead of words and empty promises.

***

He didn't know what to expect after "rejecting" Aya's proposal to date again.

A shrug and a pat on the back on the back would be nice.

He didn't really think she'd take it so badly. After all, she survived Sugata's rejection fine.

Also, he knew she didn't really love him all that much and she had a bigger crush on the Yankee than she ever did him.

So why the heck was she crying?

"H-Hey, calm down!" Tomoyuki said, only to flinch when Aya looked at him with fire from her red eyes. Ah, now this was more like the Class 2C Iincho he knew and "loved" (or rather, tolerated).

She didn't heed his request though, covering her face with her hands and sobbing from behind them.

Well, this was definitely a first for Yamamoto.

Usually, he was the one who felt like crying, being dumped repeatedly by all his pretty not-girlfriends (because according to Matsuda, his standards were unrealistically high for a nondescript guy).

"...W-Was it Seiko? Your class rep? The one that you confessed your love to and I recorded?" she sobbed.

That was weird phrasing. "My class rep Miku friendzoned me a long time ago. Also, didn't you play that recording on Seiko's behalf?"

"Oh right. The recording. That's what I meant. Seiko. The Amazon Queen."

She blinked her tears back and did an inquisitive head-tilt on the Cherry Boy.

"You're in love with the Amazon Queen? You don't have a chance. She's joined to the hip with your Yankee classmate!"

"Sh-Shut up," he said, crossing his arms and turning away. His heart not as indignant as he let on.

Speak of the (she-)devil, Tomoyuki turned his head in time to meet the eyes of Seiko, drinking water across the table away from them.

Eh?

She had the "clever disguise" of wearing shades and a baseball cap indoors. She looked more suspicious than if she didn't have the disguise.

The Amazon Queen then choked on her glass of water and turned away, hiding her face with the menu.

...Wait. What?

***

To stop Aya from crying any further, Tomoyuki appeased her by buying her a late lunch (or was it an early dinner?) that afternoon at the restaurant with what extra cash he made from his part-time job at a convenience store.

He then excused himself to go to the bathroom, eyeing Seiko all the while from behind Aya's back.

To his relief, the Amazon Queen took the hint and soon followed after him rather than wait for him to confront her at her table.

She was quick on the uptake.

"...What are you doing here?" he asked at the hallway leading to the doors to the restrooms.

"I should ask you the same question!" she ping-ponged his question back at him.

"...Aya gave me a letter in my bag, telling me to come here and stuff," he said, his eyes darting away at the taller girl. "What about you?"

"Miku-chin gave me a letter addressed to me, telling me to come here."

"Machida told you about this... meeting?" he asked before wincing at the look Seiko gave him over his own weird phrasing.

"No, the letter is from... Aya, apparently. But Miku got it from her."

"That's... weird. Did Machida read it too?"

"I dunno, Cherry Boy. She just gave it to me because it had my name on it."

"What's the letter doing with her?" Tomoyuki asked. "Did Fubuki want Machida to know about the meeting too? What did the letter say?"

"The letter told me to meet y'all here. I couldn't understand the directions, so I just moseyed along and followed you all the way to this restaurant instead."

"So you stalked me?" Tomoyuki teased Seiko, forgetting for a minute who he was talking to. Her voice reminding him of... someone else from another world.

"'AS IF', YOU IDIOT! Don't flatter yourself!"

Forgetting for a minute who she was talking to as well, the Amazon Queen gut-punched the Cherry Boy as though he were Kazuhito Sugata instead.

"Whoops. Sorry. My hand slipped."

The two stared at each other for a minute then laughed.

Afterwards, Tomoyuki ended up with a coughing fit and Seiko had to slap his back several times to help him recover.

"T-Thanks."

"S'alright. But seriously though, why are you on a date with Aya-chin?"

"Wait, when did this turn into a date? She asked me to come here to tell me something!"

"But you're feeding her right now and she just asked you out." She pointed to her ear. "I overheard."

Yamamoto crossed his arms and smirked. "Ha! Finally, I got a witness. Told'ya we dated! See what I have put up with last year? It was her word against mine that we dated!"

"You really dated?" Seiko couldn't help but repeat. "Oh yeah. That's right. You got a horrible rep because Aya-chin told everyone you were spreading bad rumors about her."

"RIGHT? You just saw Fubuki confess to me and you still don't believe it!" he ranted.

Biting her lip, Okamoto looked at him then at Aya from across the table, eating by herself.

"I dunno, Cherry Boy. She must've had a reason for doing this. Otherwise, this is quite unlike her." She appended, "B-But don't misunderstand! I didn't believe you were spreading lies about her either! Why else would I be friends with you? I just think this is all a big misunderstanding."

He'd normally storm off at this point, having people believe Fubuki over him, but this time around he was inclined to agree.

Unless her tsundere inclinations bordered on being clinically bipolar, the Aya who played his confession to Seiko via cellphone voice recorder was not the same Fubuki whom he suspected gave Okamoto and Machida the heads up on their non-date to ruin their perception of him.

Then, to Tomoyuki's surprise, the Amazon Queen suggested, "Y'know what? Why don't you go on a date with her today anyway?"

"WHAT? Are you crazy? I told her I already have my eyes for someone else!"

Yamamoto looked Seiko in the eyes as he said this, which made both of them look away from each other, blushing afterwards.

Seiko cleared her throat. "No, no. It's not a date-date. Just a fake date to see what Aya-chin is up to."

"A-Are you serious?" asked Tomoyuki. He didn't like where this was going.

***

By the time he returned to their table, Aya had the strangest, hugest (smuggest) grin on her face.

Did she know that Seiko was there, watching them? 'What are you planning, Fubuki?' thought Tomoyuki.

He didn't want to keep up a facade just to ruin Seiko's positive impression of one of Machida's friends, but Fubuki ended up cutting him off the pass.

"Hey, hey! After we're done eating, let's go to the arcades like we used to," she told him, and his plan of coming clean ended then and there, the words of protest dying in his throat.

And long story short, they ended up at a nearby arcade, with Okamoto following them close behind.

What was even going on anymore?

'...Eeeeh.'

Under the watchful gaze of Seiko, Tomoyuki ended up doing what he always did in arcades: Play a fighting game and die at the third stage.

"Dammit," Yamamoto said after the CPU King hit another 10-hit combo on his Eddie Gordo from Tekken insert-sequel-number-here.

So much for Eddie working against even experienced players with just button mashing. The computer A.I. couldn't care less.

Same thing happened with an old Street Fighter III: Third Strike arcade cabinet at the back. Got knocked out fighting Sean with Akuma. He then popped a blister on his left middle finger from jiggling the joystick while mashing buttons all the while.

The only fighting game he could probably beat was Karate Do on the Famicom, and that game sucked. Or Yie Ar Kung Fu. Which also sucked.

By the way, those were games in old cartridges that he got as hand- me-downs from his cousins along with an old Family Computer.

He expected Aya to fare worse than him, only for his ego to take an even worse beating than the characters he played in Tekken and Street Fighter.

Aya had a crowd form behind her as she crushed every challenger she faced off against in Tekken with just one quarter.

Well damn. Who knew that the studious Class Rep of Class 2C was an avid gamer?

Meanwhile, on her part, Seiko decided to bide her time with Dance Dance Revolution. Followed by foozball against a grade schooler. Followed by attempting to wreck the mechanical punch pad on the Sonic Blast Man (a game that measured punching power) cabinet.

Huh. He could've sworn he heard that Taito recalled all cabinets of the punching game due to the injuries it caused or something. Or maybe that was just him misremembering/getting false memories care of the Mandela Effect.

Or maybe it was even possible that in AU Seiko's universe, the game was recalled even though in his own universe, it wasn't. 'Who knows?'

A bead of sweat dripped on Tomoyuki's forehead as Okamoto wandered to a nearby billiards hall just beside the arcade, seemingly forgetting herself and why she went to the arcade in the first place.

'S-Seiko-chan...'

Speaking of people forgetting themselves, Aya stopped her winning streak short, handed her character off to some kid in the crowd to let him play, and grabbed hold of Yamamoto's arm.

Tomoyuki gulped, distracted by the smoothness of the 2C Iincho's skin and the softness of her... chest. "Um, welcome back?"

"Hey, hey! Cherry... I mean, Yamamoto-kun!" she corrected herself, her finger circling around the Cherry Boy's chest. "Can you win me a prize at the claw machine? Pretty please?"

"Er... I-I'll try," Yamamoto said, knowing that he'd fail. Still wondering what Aya's "deal" was.

As he predicted, he was terrible at the claw machine game. Unable to pick up one stuffed bunny or even a Doraemon. It'd be cheaper to buy the doll at a gift shop rather than pick it up through crane.

In the background, Aya cheered him on.

He had doubts in regards to the sincerity of her cheering in light of her betrayal of him, but it sure harkened back to their own dates where she'd do the same thing.

So he kept buying quarters. And trying. And failing. But he had a girl cheering him on, so he didn't mind losing so much.

"You can do it, Yamamoto-kun! Just like ol' times!" Aya told him.

'Ol' times...?' he thought.

From there, the Cherry Boy blinked and remembered how one of their first dates had played out like this.

With him attempting and never getting a doll and Aya (currently the Student Council VP but was once the Student Council Treasurer) laughing at him all the while.

"Oh, for the love of Kami-sama! LET ME, CHERRY BOY!" huffed a reddened, cap-wearing, and shades-sporting Seiko before taking the crane controls and picking up the Doraemon doll herself.

"...." Tomoyuki exclaimed. Silently.

The Amazon Queen handed the doll to Aya, only to realize too late what she'd done. "Er..."

Fubuki bowed at Seiko and said, "Thanks for the help, but I want my date to get me a dolly. Not you, Mister."

"...M-Mister!?" said the tall Amazon Queen with a sneer, her hand cocked back as if to slap the Class 2C Iincho.

"Uh, of course! Coming right up, Fubuki!" said Tomoyuki, who inserted another token only to waste it again by losing immediately. "Dammit."

Unable to help herself, the "disguised" Seiko got a hold of Yamamoto's hands and instructed him how to play the crane game.

"Now listen carefully, Cherry Boy. First, pick your target carefully. You've already played enough to get a feel of the claw, right?"

She then touched his hand, the softness of which surprised him, as she told him, "Try maneuvering the prize into a better position. This machine gives you enough time to position the claw, so take your time."

Tomoyuki gulped as the taller girl got too close to him. The smell of shampoo on her hair and the softness of her hands distracting him. Electrifying him.

Making him long for the softness of another her. A more "untouchable" version of her. From more than just far away.

Aya, on her part, put her hands on her waist and tapped her foot at the pair, sighing and clearing her throat loudly.

But they couldn't hear her. At all. As though they were trapped in another world. Their own universe. With no parallel universe versions of themselves to worry about.

"THERE! Right there, Cherry Boy!" said the Amazon Queen with her heaving chest cushioning Yamamoto's back like a chair's backrest. "Take it! Take it now! It's all yours, baby! Take 'em all!"

They soon formed a crowd of their own, with the guys and the girls blushing at the whole exchange.

Thanks to Seiko's teachings, Tomoyuki got to snag a whole bunch of plush toys in one go. He was about to deliver them en masse unto the slot when he noticed all the eyes on him and how suggestive the Amazon Queen looked with the way she helped wriggle his... joystick.

"AAAH!"

"Hey! Watch out! EEEEK! WATCH IT! KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF!"

There was a crisp slap followed by profuse apologies.

Yamamoto's hand slipped right into Seiko's chest in true harem protagonist fashion, which led to a reflexive, "BAKA FURYOU-KUN (STUPID YANKEE)!" and predictable violence from the Amazon Queen.

"I'm sorry! It's an accident! AN ACCIDENT! OWIE!"

"Ah! Cherry Boy! Sorry! Did I hit you too hard?"

From there, the whole bunch of the stuff toys fell back into the bin rather than out the claw machine's slot.

All except one: An ugly-cute cartoon snail doll that had its tag snagged by the tip of the claw at the last second.

Tomoyuki's reddened face (due to Seiko's handprint on his cheek) turned pale blue in realization. He screwed up in the middle of showing off!

'...Eh? Wait a minute, why was I showing off anyway? And in front of Fubuki, of all people!'

Speaking of Fubuki, she took the snail doll he'd gotten for her, frowning in a way that made it look like she'd just tasted something sour. Or maybe bittersweet.

"...Thank you," she told him.

"Uh, no problem," he answered, scratching his cheek.

He then caught Aya giving the flustered Amazon Queen a quick glance before she gave him a quick peck on the same cheek he just scratched.

Not knowing what else to do, Tomoyuki turned and faced Seiko, who had a slack-jawed expression on her face.

And in the Cherry Boy's heart of hearts, he found himself hoping that it was jealousy that was written all over Okamoto's face.

Even though earlier, her fit of violence was something she did while remembering her real crush and childhood friend, Kazuhito Sugata.

With the cherubic smile of a fallen angel, Aya then whispered to Tomoyuki, "Come with me. I have one last thing I want to do before we end our date," before holding his hand and leading him out of the arcade... to a chorus of cheers by everyone who witnessed the exchange there.

Stupidly, his mind in a haze like the Cherry Boy that he was after being kissed by a girl, he followed right after Fubuki like a lost dog.

He couldn't stop glancing back at the Amazon Queen though, who had slumped down on the floor with the Doraemon doll in her hand, her cap dropping, revealing her (sexy) disheveled hair.

***

Before Tomoyuki realized what was happening, he found himself in front of a hotel.

A love hotel.

From there, his memory became a blur. A whooshing motion blur from a high-speed roller coaster ride.

He could barely make out any details of what was going on, his body going on autopilot.

This wasn't really happening, wasn't it?

Then they were at the front desk of a hotel.

He then found himself paying for a room on that hotel.

With a girl beside him. A cute girl. A beautiful vision of... beauty with hair as long as the day and black as the night. And legs that went on forever.

Granted, she was a girl with an obnoxious personality (or set of personalities), but she was still pretty. And a girl.

What was he talking about again?

Soon, they ended up on an elevator. Then they went to their room with the number indicated on the room keys.

Was this some sort of elaborate prank by Matsuda again? Damn, that bigheaded jock just wouldn't leave him alone, would he?

Wow, the room looked nice. He'd been in hotel rooms before, but only when he and his parents ended up vacationing on some beach resort or had to take short flights to Hokkaido.

Besides, those were airport or resort hotels. Not love hotels.

Did he mention he was staying in a hotel room with a pretty girl? That was a big "first" for him.

After being turned down flat by several girls, he was now about to... Oh baby.

He gulped, his throat suddenly feeling quite dry.

Realizing the implications of the situation, he sat down on the bed and thought things through.

Could it be? Was he finally about to graduate from being a Cherry Boy to a real man?

Wait, why was he with a pretty girl in a hotel room anyway? That was quite unlike him, the Virgin King of Class 2B.

Tomoyuki Yamamoto ending up in a love hotel sounded like a setup to a joke just short of a punch line.

Oh right, he was on a date with Aya. But why though? Why would any girl date him?

Hey, he wasn't that bad with girls. Sure, in his first year alone, he got rejected by not one, not two, not three, but four girls. All of whom belonged in the so-called Sugata Harem in one way or another.

He was a beggar who was a chooser, after all.

But he improved in the end, didn't he? He made friends with Miku Machida, made amends with both Aya Fubuki and Yukari Goto, and even Student Body President Mana Otonashi had started talking to him again.

He wasn't as awkward around women as he was last year. He graduated from the "Nice Guy" mode of thinking with the help of his best friend Miku.

So it was perfectly fine for him to end up in bed with a girl who originally rejected him, right?

He regrouped. He improved. He evolved. So he... deserved this. Right?

Hell, he even had the audacity to try and woo Sugata's childhood friend and the girl whom he was closest with in his harem, Seiko Okamoto.

He wanted the Amazon Queen so bad that, by fate, serendipity, or coincidence, he ended up with the phone number of her AU self.

That was how he was able to learn all about her. Warts and all. From another her from another universe.

Wait.

What the hell was he doing with Aya Fubuki if he was in love with Seiko Okamoto?

"...."

Oh no. Oh nooo. Oh nononono. Oh Kami-sama, what did he just do? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

His hands gripping his hair almost to the point of pulling them out by their roots, Tomoyuki paced around the nice hotel room. That he paid for.

What kind of a thirsty pervert was he?!

He then remembered the last thing Aya told him before he had his epiphany.

"You stay right there. I'm just going to take a shower."

'AAAAAAHHHHH!' he screamed internally, finally noticing the sound of the running water inside the hotel bathroom.

He could've stopped this at any time. He could've said no. But he didn't, and he'd gone past the threshold of refusal.

The point of no return, perhaps?

Wait, he could leave a note and say he had something to do. Uh, like his part-time job or something.

Maybe flaking out on her wasn't the best-laid plans (of mice and men), but... but... he had no other choice!

Also, why was she suddenly enamored over him after all these months she hated him enough to lie about them dating? Was this how tsundere acted? Seemed kind of psychotic to him!

The worst part was that, even if nothing happened to them in the hotel, the fact that he went in a hotel in the first place with her would probably be enough to ruin his chances with Seiko forever!

He was just about to write his note when he heard knocking on the door. Did Aya order room service? He had no money left for that!

Anyway, fingers crossed, he hoped against hope that Okamoto would believe him when he said that he followed Aya by accident into a love hotel and he had no intention of sleeping with her. Kinda.

And so understandably, he fell to the floor butt-first in surprise when he saw that it was Seiko who was on the other side of the door. Like an actor from Vaudeville doing a slapstick standup (or sit-down) routine.

"I-It's not what it looks like. I can explain..." he started, feeling like an unfaithful husband caught red-handed in a hotel room with his mistress by his wife. Even though he had no reason to think that way.

To his surprise, an unusually quiet Okamoto asked him, "So did you two do it already? Did she pop your cherry, Cherry Boy?"

Well now. Nice to see she was blunt like usual.

She then slapped her forehead and mumbled what sounded like curses to herself before apologizing and saying, "Look, it's none of my business. I don't even know what I'm doing here. I'm sorry for bothering you two lovebirds. I'm also sorry for doubting you when you said that you and Aya-chin used to date. Goes to show what I know, right?"

The contrite Amazon Queen bowed at Tomoyuki and started to leave when, by instinct, the Cherry Boy grabbed hold of her arm and said, "Wait. Don't leave. I'm... I'm actually glad you came."

To his surprise, that actually worked. Seiko stayed.

She walked back to the doorway as he noticed for the first time her cap that hid her head full of hair that was usually tied in a ponytail.

She looked positively tomboyish. Heart-achingly so.

"I... I just happened to follow Fubuki back to this hotel," was the explanation he came up with in short notice.

Goddamn, that sounded so stupid. Even though it was true.

He also wanted to say he thought it was a prank, but that sounded even more like a lie than what he just said, even though it was also true.

Why was he being so stupid anyway? It was because he was thinking with his dick! That was why! He followed a girl to a hotel room without question like the naive virgin that he was.

"U-huh. Completely by accident, huh?" Seiko couldn't help but smirk.

"I don't know what I was thinking!" Or so he said, although he knew exactly what he was thinking, and so did Okamoto. "But I haven't slept with Fubuki. At all. Nor do I have any intention to do so."

"Well, why not? This is your big chance, Cherry Boy," Seiko brought up his nickname for emphasis.

"B-Because, like I told her, I'm already in love with someone," he said, his eyes never leaving hers. Unafraid of the implications behind his words.

"So you went to a hotel room with her and paid for it?" was the retort that he waited for Seiko to shoot back at him, but she never said it.

Instead, she stared back him and nodded. "You'd break Miku-chin's heart if you went through with this."

Ugh. Not this again. "No, I'm not in love with Machida! I'm in love with...!"

He then slammed the door in front of the Amazon Queen's face by reflex when he heard the bathroom door open.

AHHH! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

And out came Aya, her skin glowing, her long hair sopping wet, her naked body wrapped in nothing but a towel. A rather short towel, at that.

He ended up with his back against the door, his eyes staring at everything else but Fubuki.

He had never seen a cleaner hotel full of fresh sheets, nicely decorated walls, a flat-screen television set, a refrigerator full of overpriced drinks, and a nice view of the city.

The bed cushion was soft, the pillows were pure stuffing as well, and even the nearby lamp was nice. It... tied up the whole room.

Nothing too fancy, but not bad. It was worth whatever it was that he paid for it. Maybe.

"I'm done with my shower," Fubuki stated the obvious, cat-smiling and batting her half-lidded eyes at the Cherry Boy, her normal personality pretty much doing a one-eighty.

"W-We shouldn't do this," Tomoyuki said, pulling at his collar.

"Do what?" teased the coy Aya, which seemed rather unbecoming of the normally straight-laced Class Rep of Class 2C. "Don't get cold feet on me right now, Yamamoto-kun."

"I-I told you, I'm already in love with someone else!"

"Which is why you followed me all the way to a love hotel and paid for it?" came the retort Yamamoto was waiting for all this time. Fubuki then started playing with her towel. "Maybe I can change your mind...?"

"NOOOOO!"

Not only Yamamoto, but Okamoto screamed that word.

As Aya was about to take off her towel, Tomoyuki attempted to grab it with the intention of putting it back on her.

The door behind him opened, and out (or rather, in) stumbled the Amazon Queen. Right onto the Cherry Boy. Who ended up stumbling himself and accidentally ripping the towel off of Aya's body.

Then, to the chagrin of the pair, they ended up falling on the edge of the bed, making a mess of it, the pillows and bed sheet flying and ending up on the floor along with them.

"EEEEK!" screeched Seiko, grabbing hold of the damp towel in order to cover Tomoyuki's eyes with it. "Don't look, you pervert!" was what the tomboy said even though Aya was the one volunteering to take it off.

"...L-Look, I'm sorry if I led you on! I'm sorry if I came here without thinking! But I mean it when I say I'm in love with someone else!" cried Yamamoto while Okamoto kept pulling the towel over his face and cranking his neck at an odd angle. "OW! Stop that, Amazon Queen!"

However, Seiko suddenly stopped moving, which resulted in the towel slipping from the Cherry Boy's eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut, but his curiosity got the better of him, leading him to take a peek.

There stood Aya in all her naked glory. Or she would've had she not been wearing spats (spandex shorts) to cover up her nether regions. She was still topless though.

And yet something seemed missing from this picture. Fubuki's chest was as flat as a board.

Well, that wasn't unusual. Many Japanese girls were flat as boards themselves. Maybe Fubuki wore padded bras?

But then Tomoyuki's eyes went south of the border and saw something else of note.

A noticeable bulge on Aya's spandex shorts.

What?

No. No way.

Maybe her... (ahem) hair down there was unusually thick. Like an untrimmed hedge. Or even a forest. So that would explain the bump or bulge. Right?

'I mean, it can't possibly be... Nah. Of course not.'

Yamamoto then realized that Seiko was looking at the same thing as he was when he glanced back at her.

He saw eyes of wonder, confusion, and terror. She then asked the Cherry Boy, "Is that a bulge in her...?"

And then Aya began laughing. Or rather, cackling. Like an evil overlord about to go on a monologue.

"I would've preferred that you end up in a compromising position with me, but I guess this will have to do, Yamamoto-kun."

"...W-What?" stuttered Yamamoto, not knowing what was going on.

Thusly the two remained stock-still on the bed as the topless, flat- chested, and... spandex-bulging Fubuki retrieved her cellphone from her purse.

That proved to be a mistake.

And so Aya ended up with a digital photo of a disheveled Seiko sitting atop a damp-faced Tomoyuki beside a messy hotel bed that she took with her cellphone camera.

"A-Aya-chin, w-what's going on?" asked the Amazon Queen in a shaky voice.

"Oh, you haven't figured it out yet?" Aya took off her damp wig, revealing the short dry hair underneath it. "I'm not Aya. I'm her brother, Fubuki Akira."

***

Both Seiko and Tomoyuki stayed in the hotel lobby for a bit, staring blankly into the distance, before they both bid their farewells to each other.

Seiko was the first to leave. Tomoyuki told her to go ahead because needed another minute. Or hour.

He called in sick at his part-time work. He knew he couldn't make it there on time. Nor did he feel like working.

After buying a drink and snack from a vending machine, he went back to the empty hotel room (since it was already paid for) to gather his thoughts. Aya... no, Akira... was long gone by then.

Damn. Wasn't that something?

That was the last thing he expected her... him... to say. It seemed like something out of a movie.

Like Dustin Hoffman's character in "Tootsie". Or Ming-Na Wen's character in "Mulan". Or Jaye Davidson's character in "The Crying Game". Or Hillary Swank's character in "Boys Don't Cry".

Hell, that revelation in the end was very Tootsie-ish in its execution.

On that note, he really felt like crying right then and there.

Akira Fubuki, the younger brother of Aya that, Yamamoto realized, was about the same height and build as her, had admitted to "catfishing" the Cherry Boy when he was in first year high school.

Akira didn't like how, as he put it, Tomoyuki was "stalking" and "bothering" his big sister, so he pulled a prank on him to teach him a lesson.

Which, in retrospect, made a lot of sense.

The rumors. The anger Aya had when Yamamoto kept insisting that they had dated and she was lying about them not dating. The way Aya's personality was completely different from the "Aya" he dated.

Even the fact that Miku received the letter addressed to Seiko could also be explained away by Akira mistaking Seiko for Miku after overhearing the name from his sister.

Everything now had a... not-so-simple explanation. But an explanation nonetheless.

To reiterate, Akira Fubuki pretended to be his sister Aya in order to "catfish" Tomoyuki Yamamoto.

Tomoyuki kept repeating that statement inwardly but he still couldn't wrap his mind around it. Seriously, what the hell?

The funny thing was that both the girl Fubuki and Tomoyuki ended up telling the truth after all.

'So let me get things straight,' thought the Cherry Boy while staring at the TV but not really watching the game show that was on.

Akira specifically put on his sister's clothes to impersonate her and go onto dates with Tomoyuki in her stead. This led to the misunderstanding later on that led to a falling out between Yamamoto and the Elder Fubuki.

Or maybe it wasn't a falling out, because technically, Tomoyuki never really met the real Aya until later on. He'd been dating her brother instead under false pretenses.

Akira also took a photo of him and the Amazon Queen in a rather compromising position in order to... what? Make them, or rather make Tomoyuki, suffer further by having blackmail material on him and the Seiko?

Man, Akira really must hate him go through all that trouble to catfish Yamamoto.

...Right?

Granted, his dedication to pranks aside, it was still embarrassing for Akira to go into drag and pretend to be a girl just to embarrass the Cherry Boy with his big reveal in the hotel.

They must've gone through so many dates. They were so many, in fact, that Yamamoto lost count. He had enough dates with Aya (actually Akira) to presume that they were now boyfriend and girlfriend.

But why did he do it? What the hell did the Cherry Boy do to deserve Akira's wrath and his methodical revenge plot in the first place?

Now that was the million-yen question.

The Friend Zone King couldn't quite buy Akira's excuse that his crossdressing was all for the sake of protecting his sister from him.

Why didn't Akira just allow Aya to reject Tomoyuki outright? Why go through all this trouble?

Come to think of it, didn't Akira already get what he wanted out of Yamamoto last year? The crossdresser ended up making his sister hate the Cherry Boy's guts by impersonating her and going on false dates with him.

What prompted the male Fubuki to bother Tomoyuki again after all this time?

And then it hit the Yamamoto. Of course.

Tomoyuki recently made up with Aya (sort of) when he prevented her from making that ill-timed love confession to Kazuhito Sugata.

Her jealous li'l brother with a siscon (Sister Complex) must've arranged this little revelation at the hotel to destroy the mended fences between Yamamoto and the female Fubuki.

But that backfired and Akira ended up taking the blackmail photograph of Yamamoto and Okamoto as a consolation prize.

Regardless, the twerp got him. He got him hook, line, and sinker.

***

Although Tomoyuki didn't feel like going back to school that Friday, he still went.

Might as well. He wasn't going to solve this mystery staring slack- jawed at his room's ceiling, feeling sorry for himself.

Seiko herself couldn't even look him in the eye that morning, but he didn't let the fact hurt his feelings or anything. He completely understood.

That night they had at the hotel was awkward for everyone involved.

The long weekend that would've let him sort his thoughts and feelings out aside, he had several important things to do that day.

Like apologize to Akira's sister, Aya.

'First thing's first.' He went straight to the entrance of Class-2C, waited for (the real) Aya Fubuki (and her "sidekick" Yukari Goto) to arrive, and bowed down to Aya in apology.

Oh boy, did he get the wrong impression of her. She really wasn't at fault at all for the dating rumors spread about him and her.

Neither was Tomoyuki, but at least now he knew the truth. They were both right about the situation in certain points of view.

The ever-cynical Aya pulled Tomoyuki aside and asked, "Did something happen? What's up with you?"

"I just wanted to apologize," Tomoyuki said, shrugging and avoiding her gaze. "I know I've been doing that a lot lately so it might sound shallow coming from me, but... I really am sorry."

Fubuki then crossed her arms and prodded, "...And?"

Yamamoto cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you know the classroom number of your brother, Akira."

The Class 2C Rep held herself, her arms folded tightly around her chest and wrinkled her nose at the Cherry Boy. "Why?"

"I just want to talk to him, okay?" he said, not knowing (or willing) to broach the subject of catfishing and crossdressing with Akira's big sister.

"But you've never even met..." Aya's eyes widened. "Oh no."

Shit. Did she realize the truth? Did Yamamoto let the cat out of the bag? Would Akira in turn send that compromising photo of him and Seiko to the whole school? Or to Sugata?

Fubuki then unfolded her arms, sighed, and said, "Look, I'll talk to my li'l bro. If he threatened you in any way after seeing that we've mended fences, then I have to apologize on his behalf. He's very protective of me. Please understand."

"I-It's nothing like that, I just want to talk to him!" Tomoyuki protested with a sigh (of relief) of his own before a little birdie in the form of Yukari blabbed, "Well, if that's the case, then Akira-kun belongs to Section 1A."

"...YUKARI-CHAN!" screeched Aya before pulling at the ditzy blonde's twin tails hard.

"OWIE! I'm sowie, Aya-chan!" cried the ditz, reasoning, "But Cherry-kun only wanted to talk to your bro! What's the harm in that?"

"Class 1A, huh?" said the Cherry Boy, scratching his chin. "Right. I guess I'll go talk to him then. Thanks, Goto!"

"Waaait, what for? What did he say to you?" insisted Aya, who began to look more like the Aya of old with her frown and glare.

Tomoyuki raised his arms in surrender and backpedaled. "Nothing bad! I promise! I just want to clear the air with Fubuki Akira! It's not like we're going to end up in a fist fight or something...!'

Serendipitously, Yamamoto ended up literally bumping into his classmate, the Judo Club President and one of the Four Kings of Class 2B, Kanemoto.

Yep. Matsuda's friend Kanemoto. Or Matsuda #2. Or the bishonen (pretty boy) version of Matsuda. That Kanemoto.

"...Fubuki Akira? You're looking for Fubuki Akira? Hahaha! Cherry Boy, are you off to have a rematch with him?" Kanemoto asked, overhearing their conversation.

Yamamoto would've just cowered away from one of his regular bullies had he not taken a double-take at what the Judo Club President said. "Uh, rematch? W-What are you talking about Kanemoto?"

The sneering jock nudged Yamamoto's side. "Aw, come on. Don't be coy. You two got in a slap fight over me back in junior high. You wanted first dibs over yours truly and Fubuki Akira was your love rival."

Tomoyuki stuttered, "W-What the heck are you...?" before he felt a chill in his spine.

"Yamamoto-kun! You're going to have a fist fight over my li'l brother!?"

"AH! Aya-chan! I mean, Fubuki! Of course, I'm not! Don't believe Kanemoto's lies...!" so he said, but a feeling of déjà vu hit him.

And so the puzzle pieces in his mind began to fit. He remembered who Akira was.

This wasn't the first time they met, and he wasn't referring to their fake dates.

***

By some miracle, Tomoyuki Yamamoto got away from Akira Fubuki's protective sister in one piece.

Yamamoto guessed that his wimpy demeanor in the face of Kanemoto's "outlandish" accusations let him off the hook.

For the first time, Aya gave Tomoyuki the benefit of the doubt. She probably reasoned, "Why would the bullied Cherry Boy ever start a fist fight with my li'l bro?"

Ironically, the one time she trusted him was the one time she shouldn't have.

Kanemoto was right. Yamamoto did fight the younger Fubuki brother. And it was over the infamous jock.

No, not because they wanted to win Kanemoto's heart (or at least, as far as Yamamoto was concerned, that wasn't the case).

This stain in Tomoyuki's past was part of the reason why he believed that he completely deserved most of the bullying done to him all this time.

***

To Be Continued...

It's a trap! The trap arc is almost over with. What else is in store for Yamamoto and his Non-Harem? Stay "tuned"!

Farewell, Abdiel

#keit-ai #tomoyuki x seiko #catfish #finds a way #keit愛 #trap

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funkymbtifiction · 7 years

Text

Hi, Charity! I have been having an identity crisis lately. (Yet another of many in the past year of a lot of self discovery and doubt). I spent quite a while thinking I was either enfp or infp, after retyping myself several times from intp to intj to infj and then xnfp. But recently I became convinced that I am an infj and was right in my typing when I first learnt about the underlying cognitive functions (intx was pretty much just from online tests). I know this sounds very vague so far and I’m not giving any details of why or how.

Hey, Mar.

Wish your e-mail address had worked, so we could have this talk in private. :)

Since you were vague in your descriptions of Ne/Ni, I wasn't able to tell which one appears to be dominant, but here’s a few thoughts reaped from the post:

I struggle with seeing myself clearly, but I don’t know if it’s because of Fe or because I’ve had a tough family situation growing up where I was basically not allowed to have an identity separate from my caretakers. I am easily swayed by other people’s opinions and start to doubt my convictions but again, don’t know if it’s Fe or poor self-confidence (or both?).

It could be Fe if you allow other people’s emotions to cloud yours, or it could be the Ne-dom problem of being unable to see yourself clearly. Every single Ne-dom I've ever known / talked to, myself included, had a hell of a time finding their own type and still cannot see themselves very clearly, because Ne is so busy gaining 'outside perspectives' 24/7 and has such poor self-awareness (inferior Si) that it tends to believe whatever idea anyone throws at it about themselves, even if it doesn't match who they are. The idea just sticks to them and them being a Ne/Si, they cannot properly filter it out (Si: Hey, I’m not like that!).

I could especially relate, among other things, to that sense of impending doom and being stuck in the same situation I am currently in and no hope for a better future. Not being able to imagine a better future for myself and seeing only all the ways in which I am stuck and will be stuck stresses me out quite a lot, actually. Sometimes I obsess over it.

All intuitives feel that staying stagnant is a literal hell, so this could be Ni OR Ne. But Ne/Si tends to have a more generic 'I'm not sure what I want, but this ain't it and I hope this isn’t all I ever have from my life' approach and NiSe tends to think, 'it's time I stop fixating on this single vision and DO SOMETHING TO MAKE IT REAL” followed by fear it may fail and then they’ll have nothing, since no other dream / career / ambition has outlasted this one.

To the point that sometimes I can only find solace in fantasizing about meeting that one person who will save me from my troubles, as unrealistic, unhealthily codependent and disempowering as it sounds.

Free amateur psych advice: other people cannot save you, because other people are just as imperfect as you are. This is common in a fearful N user, who tends to idealize and fantasize about a hero coming to rescue them, because they are so uncomfortable interacting with the sensory world on their own. The answer is that you have to save yourself, since no one else will. :)

An aspect of why I believed myself to be an enfp is that I could relate a lot to your more personal posts (especially about writing) or whenever you’d offer personal examples to illustrate type. Or in doubting my introversion because sometimes I would talk to a person and get so energized by that human connection.

What kind of energy? Emotional (Fe) energy? Or I MET SOMEONE FULL OF GREAT IDEAS AND NOW I'M WIRED (Ne) energy?

Right now I’m in the middle of rewriting a novel. It changes with each draft. People change. Motives change. Ideas change. Hell, I decided to change the murderer because another possibility will clean up the plot better so now I’m having to rewrite entire sections and leave other characters out / fill the holes they leave behind. I’m fine with it. It’s fun and somewhat easy. It energizes me. That’s high Ne. “This was fine last week but now it bores me and I have a better way to approach it, so it’s all gonna change and continue changing until I find something that works.” I sometimes joke that me being me, as a Ne, I’m not ‘done’ with something until I can read it twenty-six times in the editing process without wanting to change something at its fundamental level. I know I found the RIGHT idea, after using and discarding a bunch of alternate possibilities.

(My INFJ friend basically writes her novels in head, figures them all out in advance, then sits down and writes it out and changes very little in revision. Ni.)

I struggle to see if I do actually perceive the emotions of those around me and can easily step into someone else’s perspective and I’m observant of the unspoken agreements in a social situation, or if I’m delusional and I just like to think I’m an empath because it makes me feel better about myself.

Perceiving them (Ne) or feeling them (Fe)? When you are in a group, are you watching people so you can SPECULATE on their emotions (Fi) or are you immersed IN their emotions and sometimes lose yourself in the process (Fe)? Are you GUESSING at their feelings (Fi) based on a sense of inner self (”Are they bored? She looks bored. Can’t other people see she’s bored? I would not want to be bored, so we need to keep her from being bored. How are other people not see this?” Fi thinking can actually mean, “Because this would bore ME, I’m projecting being bored onto her when she’s not actually bored.”)

Side note: intuitives often over-estimate their own skills because their intuition / imagination is fantasizing an ideal self, instead of using their real self. And coming crashing down to earth and realizing they were wrong / are not very good at that / really are not a God is somewhat crushing to their ego.

One thing that really made me lean towards infj as a possibility is realizing that, at least for me, writing is a way of expressing and externalizing my feelings.

Why is this specifically shifting you toward INFJ? INFJs do not have a corner on writing. This is equally if not more common in the INFPs. Every Fi-dom poet of the last five hundred years can testify to externalizing their feels in writing.

MY emotions get so tied up inside myself that until I get them out on paper (Te) I cannot organize them or even figure out how to say how I feel -- and that's crucial, because Fi/Te types may resort to metaphors, ducking conversations, or intense internal monologues that may never be voiced (because it takes time to organize their thoughts before they speak on an emotional level) while Fe/Ti types can usually simply sum up their feelings vocally when asked, since that's what Fe/Ti does.

So, are you externalizing to get others' feedback on your feelings and affirmation (FeTi) or are you writing because you know no other clear way to restructure and share your abstract (hard to describe) feelings (FiTe)?

Before, I believed I had Fi because I have strong beliefs about individuality and personal integrity and I passionately hate the kind of group-think that leads to lack of personal integrity in favor of what the majority wants. But at the same time I strongly believe in equality. In fact, I believe what makes us equals is (as corny as it sounds) precisely that we’re all unique and irreplaceable and have a unique purpose for our life, that nobody else could fulfill quite like us.

You should ask yourself: do I pass immediate moral judgment upon hearing new information like a Fi-dom or do I internalize / interact with the ideas before I judge their ethics like a NeFi or do I try and fit the new information into my internal worldview and see how to use it to motivate people in a NiFe way?

Another reason for me thinking Fi is that somewhere along the line I had convinced myself that I hated people and I took on the identity of a misanthrope.

Um. Why would this connect to Fi in your mind?

I have been struggling big time with having too high expectations of myself and with my overall perfectionism, which more often paralyzes me instead of making me work harder. I am studying again after a few years, and the deadlines are just killing me. They feel like life or death. I obviously don’t know how to work with a schedule, I did 90% of the workload of two weeks in the first two days and then felt burnt out and spent the next week and a half distracting myself by researching random non academic stuff just for personal amusement, like mbti and the enneagram, and how to make pumpkin pie, and the relationship between veganism and the tv series Hannibal. Procrastination is definitely something I’m good at. It’s two days before the deadline and I’m struggling with that 10% of work that I haven’t done yet, and after spending the whole day stressing out about it and not being able to write a single sentence of my essay on cave art from the paleolithic, I am writing this instead. At least, just by writing this, I’ve already gained some clarity on what’s going on inside my head, which is always helpful.

I’m 90 pages into a book on perfectionism from a psychological perspective at the moment, but Jordan Peterson has wise words for this sort of behavior: finished is better than perfect.

I too am a perfectionist, but for me it's more spewing ideas out on the page (Ne) and then anxiously trying to formulate them into some kind of structure that has an overall point (Te) and then agonizing over the details in case I got something wrong that will cause people to throw out my good ideas in favor of the misinformation (low Si) due to Ne placing unrealistic standards on this situation due to being combined with perfectionism, which is fear based (if this isn’t flawless, people will judge it harshly and not listen to what it says).

I’m sorry I could not give your type based on what you wrote, but hopefully I explained enough about my thinking process and gave you good enough questions that you can find your type by being honest about your mental processing leading to behaviors.

- ENFP Mod

#question #enfp #infp #infj #mbti #submission

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burndownthehousetonight · 7 years

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((This was absolutely not how @tinyredartist and I originally drafted this part of the recovery narrative and I don’t care one bit I like it anyways:) ))

Of course Aria and Terra couldn't stay at their old apartment, not after what had happened. The room had already been searched when they came to find Aria, what if they came back? And of course, the many wilting flower bouquets didn't help make the place seem any more appealing. All they had do to was find a new house, and they would be fine.

Easier said than done. With Manic living with Scourge, the only places the couple could crash were the castle and Fiona's loft. Not bad places by any means, but tense locations. Fiona was still seeing the king from time to time, leaving several relationships in the house up in the air to some degree. The only person out of this battlefield of emotions was Faolán, who could make anyone's presence happier, as long as he wasn't complaining.

Usually.

"Ariaaaaa," he said as he ran into her, a loud handheld system in his left paw. "Can you take me to the video game store? I can't find mom." His normal pep seemed diminished, as hard as the beeping music tried to make things upbeat and exciting.

Aria dried off her hands after washing them clean of paint. “Sure thing sweetie. What are you going to get while we are there?” She asked, grabbing her purse and checking for cash. Fiona usually repaid her after she took Faolán anywhere. "There's- There's that Hishiko game! I've got the new moon, not the full moon version... but! But, there's a new one! The eclipse version!" He was getting a little more of his energy back as he spoke about something he loved. "Mom said I could get it if I got an A in my math class, and I did! I got it!"

Satisfied with the money, she helped the little boy get his shoes and coat on. She knew Terra was at work, and Fiona was… Well… Either working or with the king. Neither warranted any more than a brief text to let her know where they were going. But the child concerned her

“What’s up buttercup? You’re not as cheery today” Even his energy had to run out, and when it did, the little fox wore his emotions on his sleeve. "It's been a week and she's always too busy. She promised me...!" He did everything short of stomping his paws on the ground, but his voice never got to a yell. A tinge of regret flashed over his face, and he looked away with a grumpy face. "Sorry," he said, meaning it but no less annoyed with his mother. For his age, he seemed well behaved. Whatever leash Fiona kept him on must have been very short. “It's okay sweetie. You’re allowed to be mad. I’ll talk to her, see what I can do. As for the video game store, I want proof of that A in math mister. Go get me your report card”

As she sent him off, she sighed. Things had changed badly from before. She was more panicky, nervous. Terra was too. But Faolán was taking this worse than them, because Fiona was too busy with the king. Aria pulled out her phone

{Fao got an A in math. I’m taking him to get that game he wanted like you promised.)

{I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but maybe you should come home and play with your son for a bit. He misses you a lot) The fox had made herself busier just to distract from everything that had happened, and much of her spare time was spend with the king. She was indeed busy then, and the few other people she spoke to in private were just as invested in figuring out Fiona's normal business. "Police presence is getting stronger near the old bread factory," she said to another pinned location on a map. She thought for a moment, taking a marker and X-ing out a few locations on the other edge of town. "Bits, stir up trouble over here Thursday night. Get as much attention as you can. Get most of them to leave the area, then we'll push the rest out. We can't let them get any ideas-" The quiet buzz was massively out of place in an otherwise serious environment. She reached into her pocket, expecting another spam text... "You're staring." Someone pointed out. She wasn't expecting such a heartwarming message. "Something come up?" "...No, it's nothing." Fiona lied. She'd handle that soon enough. But for now, the 'read' receipt was left on Aria's phone. It was going to be a while before she could talk with Fiona, but not before she could talk to Faolán, running back down the stairs with a slightly crumpled, slightly torn report card. Sure enough, there was a low A in math, barely edging up to the grade. A list of skills a student should have for a class, with progress denoted by a letter grade. Sure enough, most of the math section was filled with As, leaving him with a big shiny A and a smiley face drawn on by his teacher. Aria inspected the card, humming and pretending to think, clearly teasing Faolán. She couldn’t stay serious for long around him, and giggled.

“Welllll okay. Because you’ve been so good. You all set to go munchkin?” She asked the tiny child, scooping him up and nuzzling his face.

She also sent a text off to her mate, asking if she needed her to pick any games up for her gamer wife. At least Terra understood Faolán’s obsession with games. Aria a little less so, but she had grown fond of it when her mate and the pup had constantly spoke about them.

She opened a warp and grabbed her purse. ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ All afternoon, the little wolf had been playing his game with a passion. New places, animals, everything! He sat huddled up in a throw blanket with the volume up, late into the evening. So late, in fact, he ended up falling asleep where he said, music still playing from the device. When her warp back was opened, Fiona went to investigate the noise. "Fao... how are you, Fao? Are you liking the-" He was asleep. Fiona sighed. Too late to talk to him again. She turned back to the king who opened the warp, closing the device. "Your... people have been giving Fao his medicine, right? When Aria's not here?" Not something she needed an answer to, just something less depressing to talk about. “Yes, of course. Rosy is a mother herself, she knows exactly what to do, and so do the other four or five guards that rotate.”

He bent over, lowering the volume on the device and plugging it in to the wall to charge so the boy wouldn’t lose his save data.

“You should take him to bed,” was all the king could say. It wasn’t his place to tuck Faolán in, but he strongly implied it. Fiona knew, first handing her phone over to the king. "Can you type something," she asked as she picked up the little boy in her arms. Surprisingly strong, given how she looked. "I need to send a message to Aria..." {It's hard to make the time. I miss him too.) She seemed totally used to carrying the wolf, as though she'd carried him to bed many times before. "His doctor says he shouldn't go near those forests, he shouldn't be near poison ivy." The words were spoken in a hushed voice as she draped the blanket over the sleeping child. She rubbed her temples. "Make sure he doesn't leave the castle alone. He doesn't get how dangerous immunodeficiency really is..." She leaned against the wall outside the room, sighing and looking like a massive weight was taken off her shoulders. "Long day," she said. Those texts from Aria sure didn't make her feel better, either. Scourge did as he was told, and listened intently to Fiona’s orders about Faolán.

“I already told the guards he’s not to go near the forest, I wouldn’t want him getting lost. Don’t worry. He’s safe here… It sounds like he’s missing you a lot. Maybe take tomorrow or the day afterwards off? Spend some time with him? Fiona I guarantee that one night won’t hurt anybody.”

He wanted to hold her, but the lines of their relationship were blurry. Was he allowed to touch her when they weren’t hidden behind closed doors? He put his hand on her shoulder. Close enough. "I know," was all she said. she didn't protest the hand on her shoulder, onto rubbing her temples as she tried to calm down from her day. "He's been angry at me a lot lately, too. I don't blame him." What was she supposed to say from there? It was just a depressing situation to be in. All she wanted was some kind of comfort. She stopped rubbing her head to look up at the king. "Do you have any of that amaretto left?" She asked, not particularly caring if anyone saw them being close. "I need to forget today for a while." “Of course. But only one glass for you then bed, okay? Sleeping it off may help, he insisted, leading her by the hand back down to the living room and pouring them a glass each before putting the bottle away.

“A glass for the lady,” he joked. Making a fool of himself again to lighten the mood. He didn’t know what else to do for her, so he sat and waited for her to start talking. When the silence grew too unbearable, he prompted her.

“Did you wanna talk about today? It might make you feel better.” "You don't want to hear about it," she promised him. But he was making that begging, almost puppy dog face, and she knew she wasn't getting out of it. "Ugh. I've been trying to handle some stuff with an old factory and some new stores popping up, but I kept getting called for all kinds of problems. There was a university smartass trying to count cards who wasn't confessing, then some thugs trying to break into the nightclub under the building, then a... ..." Problems piled and piled on top of each other, with the smooth drink loosening her up a bit more. Maybe the king was making an ass of himself, but he was making her laugh, and she was at least starting to look more fondly on this stuff in hindsight. "...it turns out they WEREN'T from a gang I hadn't heard of." Fiona chuckled as she put her glass down. "They were just some college kids spray painting some internet meme thing on random walls." He laughed at the story, the two leaning on each other to support themselves. He loved the sound of her laugh and the fact that he could make her happy.

“Kids. I swear sometimes there's just no understanding them. But at least that’s a little less of something to worry about”

He didn’t want to mention the last time they had been drinking in this room. They had created a tangled mess of emotions for them to sort through. And the king was doing his best to straighten himself out. Fiona was similarly concerned, but not as much as the king. Her emotions had leveled out again, and she was enjoying being with the king. And this didn't really count as drinking, right? Just one glass of relatively weak alcohol? It was a kind of warmth she didn't often get the chance to feel. But all things had to come to an end, and even after sipping it as slowly as possible, her empty glass was placed down on the table again. "I should get some rest," she said, "I need plenty of it." Yet they sat. Companionship was more than rare for her, and it almost felt like a waste to end a friendly chat then and there. “We should. It's late. And you have some university punks to teach a lesson or two in the morning.”

He didn’t move either, just enjoying her company. They hadn’t spent much time together as of late, not any kind of time that would matter anyways. He truly had missed her, but it wasn’t something he knew how to explain. He almost pressed closer, just to see how she would react. But he didn’t want to push her too far. She saw the subtle movements, so subtle that it didn't even seem like he knew them. Was he trying to get closer...? No, she could go further with him tonight, she was too exhausted. Legs uncrossed as she stood up, carrying her glass over to the bar and looking at the king. "Good night, your highness." And Fiona was gone once again. Would they get to talk again the next day? Maybe not. Her son missed her too much, and was too young to have the same understanding Scourge could have, but that didn't necessarily mean she couldn't see them both. ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ "Are you going to play your game the whole walk over?" Fiona asked. It wasn't really supposed to be a long walk, just through the castle rose gardens with Scourge and Faolán. But the wolf was too enamored with his game to stop playing, even then. Scourge reached out and lifted a branch that Faolán was about to run into, chuckling. “Careful kiddo. We don’t want you getting hurt.”

The king leaned back a little to whisper to Fiona. “Maybe we should stop and let him sit to play for a bit. After all, as much as he wanted to see you, he doesn’t care for sharing the time I don’t think. Maybe talk about the game with him?”

The king shrugged as he gave suggestions and idly inspected a wilted rose or two, sighing. “The heat is killing these flowers.” Fiona put her hands on Fao's shoulders, starting to redirect the child as they changed course. Just enough to move them towards a gazebo near the center of the area. Faolán quickly hopped up onto the bench inside, with Fiona sitting down next to him shortly after. "I've never played one of these games," she started. "What exactly is it about?" She could almost see the stars in his eyes. "Well... Well, you're a guy called a skyglider, and you're on this quest to find someone called Eris, and... ...!" He was excited to talk about his game, for sure. But it definitely wasn't what Scourge was planning on talking about. It seemed like what one of them liked, the other wasn't interested in. 'This was a terrible idea,' she thought silently. Scourge did his best to give Faolán time with his mother, while also trying to follow the conversation. He also tried to avoid acting like Faolan was his child. It wasn’t easy. The little one seemed upset that his mom’s attention was being diverted between the king and himself.

Yet he still listened and asked questions as Faolán explained the game, trying his best to make the other boy comfortable. It was nice seeing Faolán chipper though. Lately they all needed to spend time with him, his unwavering source of innocence and purity was a break of fresh air. For just a few moment, Fiona truly did relax. She forgot about her many stresses, and just focused on enjoying this time with the two- All of the bleeping music was joined by an inharmonious buzzing sound. Not long after starting her break, Fiona had already gotten a message she was quick to reply to. {Card counting punk from yesterday snuck a gun in, holding him in the cell. Says he wants to sue the owner, need you to scare him.) {Can't you handle it?) {He's serious, only wants to talk to you.) She let out a heavy sigh as she weighted her options. "I'm sorry... Fao, I've gotta go, there's some stuff at work." She said, patting the child on the head. She looked at Scourge, annoyed. "We can talk tonight, can you watch Fao before Aria gets back?" “Sure, not a problem. Guess its just the two of us, right kiddo?” He nodded at Fiona and turned to Faolán, trying to make light of it all.

The kid didn’t like him. Maybe he thought he was stealing Fiona’s attention? Or trying to replace Castillo? He certainly saw the fox more, but that wasn’t his intention at all.

“So what’s new kid? How’s school?” "School's done," he said simply. Perhaps summer break hadn't started there yet? His normal excitement when talking to people was gone, but at least he wasn't ignoring the king. He hadn't done anything REALLY wrong. And it was back to his game. Without Fiona there to talk to them individually, all that was left was an awkward quiet that left them to come to their own conclusions. Fiona had already rushed into the castle and out of sight. Scourge was stuck with the child. "Why haven't you let dad and Manic come back?" He asked, but he didn't seem to blame the king, or even sound angry. All that was left in his voice was acceptant sadness. “Wow, already with the big questions? I’m not surprised… Well, it’s kind of complicated. Let’s just say that your father and Aria got into a really big fight before… Well… Before that thing happened to Aria and Terra. They need time to readjust and cope with it. Your father being around her might make it worse. But when she’s not here, that’s up to your parents to decide, not me. Listen, you’re lucky to have a dad like Castillo. I promise when everything gets better, that you and Castillo and everyone can come over whenever you want. Deal?”

A sudden paused, then he looked back over at the pup. “This isn’t anyone’s fault. I don’t want you getting mad at Aria or either of your parents, okay?” "I won't," the boy promised, sounding no less sad. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but it was the one he was stuck with. Those tall ears flicked a little while he mulled over what the king had said. "Manic's my dad, too. But I won't get angry at him, either." That hadn't helped the way Scourge had hoped, he wasn't any less sad. He still missed his dads. He missed his mom. He even missed Aria a little. But instead, he was stuck waiting. Stuck with this king, who only felt like some cold tease. "Can I go get a sod- a juice?" All he had to do was distract Scourge, and then he could run somewhere else in the castle. Somewhere alone! Yeah, that could work, right? “I really am sorry kid. I can’t even begin to imagine how this feels. But I promise, it’ll get better”

When the other requested a drink, the king saw right though his plan. “Sure kid. Let’s go back inside, get you a drink, and then you can call your dad and see if he’s busy. Aria won’t be home until late.”

The king got up and tilted his head, motioning to the pup for him to follow. “I know you don’t wanna spend much time with me, but you can’t run off. Your mother would not be happy with either of us”

From behind Scourge, the ghost Fiona appeared. She pressed a finger to her lips and motioned for the little boy to follow the king. It took all of the manners Fiona had tried to teach not to stuck his tongue out at the ghost and run away anyways. But he didn't really have a choice. Every step back towards the kitchen was grumpy, but he was moving. Making Fiona angry at him sounded good, though so did talking to dad, and that's what he really wanted. That and a cola, but that was a different kind of want. "Where do you keep the soda?" He asked, maybe just a little curious in case he wanted any late night snacks. When they reached the kitchen, Scourge pulled two colas out of the fridge and handed one to Faolán.

“In the fridge, where else?” He seemed a little confused until he realized that Fao was used to having junk food hidden from him.

“Imma go get my phone. Please stay here? I don’t want you to run off and get hurt.” The king ran out of the room as fast as possible, only leaving a slight breeze.

Ghost Fiona appeared and sat on the counter. “Hello again little one. So, what’s bothering you?” How long would he have to talk? He didn't particularly want to talk anyways, and spent a good few seconds just puffing his cheeks and looking down. "Everyone's fighting again." Not entirely accurate, but it was succient enough. "I just wanna see mom and my dads, not just..." This was the same thing. Sure, she was fun and liked to go on adventures. But she just felt like another carrot dangling in front of him, taunting him. Cheeks puffed out again in frustration, and he shut his mouth. “I'm sorry. But the king is trying his best. I don't know what else to do to help sweetie. I can only imagine how awful this feels for you. If I could help, I would but… The king can’t see me. And your mom… She would only get scared. I don’t want to do that. But I promise everyone loves you sweetie. A lot.” She kissed his forehead and the king returned with his cell, already talking to Castillo. “Yeah, here he is.” The phone was given to the child, and Scourge could have sworn he had seen someone else in the kitchen. But it was empty. Maybe he should go to the optometrist. The little paws fumbling to hold the phone were totally audible to Castillo, who was relieved to finally get a call in. "Kid! Buddy, how you doing?" He said, trying not to sound desperate to talk to him, but it was still his son. "You hear there's some kinda... what's the word, eclipse version of-" "Yeah, I got a copy!" Already, the child's tail was swaying a little even as he clung to his crabbiness. "It's fun. ..." For once, he didn't really want to talk about it. "When are you coming back?" All he could do was give a heavy sigh. "I hope soon, kid. But if mom don't want me picking you up, I can't do nothing. Uh, we could always... ..." The words evaded him. "Gimme that" was said in the background in Manic's voice, and he reached forward for the phone. "Hey, brumby! I got Scourge a copy of that game! Hey, maybe you could play over the internet? Would that work?" The surprise of him having that game was enough to stun him out of the mood he was trying to force. "What...?! What, really?" The phone was handed back to Scourge, who only stopped listening to his son's overexcited babbling when Manic leaned in to whisper something. "I think I have buy you a video game now. And a console." He admitted, scurrying out the door in a moment. Scourge merely laughed and smiled at the kid’s tail thumping against the counter top. He was glad that Faolán seemed to feel better.

Fiona clapped, excited for the boy as well. “See, told you so!”

Scourge looked over at the child’s enjoyment and thought about talking to his mother. The fox didn’t trust Castillo, but she trusted him, didn’t she? When she arrived in the evening, she was in a hurry to see how her son was doing. And she was thrilled at seeing how excited he was. She even let Fao stay up a little later than usual, just to make him happy. "Whatever you said, remember it. He doesn't always get this happy." It was a fiddly process that involved Fao talking on the phone with his dad, his dad making a character, and the two sending some communications stuff back and forth. But they were on the internet, in this little game, able to interact from miles away. That didn't mean he dropped the phone, of course. No, they were playing this live with each other. It was so many of the things he enjoyed at once... it was too perfect. They didn't want to interrupt, so Fiona and Scourge sat at a distance, letting them make sure he wasn't doing anything bad but give him space. "Maybe you should babysit instead of Aria?" Fiona teased at Scourge. "You're great with kids." “I said nothing, just gave him the phone. Ah, I’m not half as good as she is. She helped raised her little siblings, and there is a lot. She was pseudo adopted by a woman who had 19 kids and she helped raise them all. My first contact with other kids was when I was 13 and the kingdom demanded a ball for me. It was horribly awkward.”

He clearly was uncomfortable with the compliment but smiled all the same. “So how was work? Lemme guess, that guy isn’t bothering you anymore?” He teased back, playfully.

Ghost Fiona floated around the two and rolled her eyes. Her dorky husband was still just as awkward now. Fiona just laughed and leaned forward. "Well, he wasn't lying. His daddy really was a lawyer," she started. "A lawyer who specializes in inheritance disputes. I asked one of my guards to crack his knuckles in front of him; You could watch him turn to jelly!" This time, she didn't even have to drink to get to laughing with Scourge. Putting a dumb kid in their place and seeing her own kid this delighted was more than great, it was stellar. It just felt good. Good in the simple way, in the deep emotional way. It was a thoroughly warm moment that she just wanted to revel in for a while longer. A rare happiness. "But you still didn't tell me what it took!" She said, not wanting his little subject change to distract her too much. "What's making him so happy?" “Fiona, all I did was give him the phone. Castillo did the rest. Well, Manic mostly, but Castillo for sure. I can’t say anything that wouldn't be more effective coming from them. Hell, Faolán doesn’t even really like me, and then I can’t blame him! Just…” The king paused to collect himself. “Look. I’ve been in something similar to Faolán’s situation before. I was raised by one person and I never got to see my mom. Well, she was dead, but you get the point. And while it’s not exactly the same, I can see why being with Castillo makes him so happy. Maybe you could let him come over here to hang out with Castillo every once in a while? Just to have a neutral ground?” Fiona's hand swirled around, but she wasn't making her normal disgusted face at the news. That was a good sign. "If he's had fights like those, he'll have fights like that again." Fiona said. Yet she was still in thought. "When is Aria coming back to babysit? They shouldn't be in the same house together." “I don’t know. She’s doing something with Terra and they didn’t say when they would be back. I agree, but maybe after all of this settles down it wouldn’t be a bad idea? Faolán would like it a lot I bet. It would be nice to see him this chipper more often.”

He looked over to her, studying her expression. He never could understand what she was thinking. Maybe this time her face would give it away. All it belied was sadness and deep thought. "I don't know why he looks up to him." She grumbled, but not sounding as angry as she normally would. "He needs more friends in general, not just adults. He just needs company." But then again, Aria and Terra needed all the support they could get, and even Manic and Scourge leaned on each other. "We all need company, I guess." She held her head in her hands. "It's hard to meet new people who can look past my job. It gets sickening." “I can’t say anything to that. He needs to find friends on his own. There isn’t anything you can do. And yeah, we all need company, you’re right.”

He brushed his hand against hers with a soft smile, trying to stay within his boundaries. “I get it. I do. I’m the nations favorite punching bag, it's not easy. People get intimidated or scared off or they try to use you… I've been lucky, managed to pick those ones out right away. But still…” "We've all had that, but fuck me if we don't have it worse than most." The line had a short laugh, that kind when she was still warming up to something uncomfortable. Namely, her own betrayals. "I don't want that to happen to Fao..." She just looked on, at her ecstatic child poking away at his device and getting absorbed into the fights alongside his dad. A lingering, longing kind of look. A look that just for a few seconds, wondered if this was in a way her betraying her child's needs. "...Fine. You win." She admitted, quieter than usual. "But keep him under close watch, you know how he runs off, I don't want him to get hurt." Her own hand patted Scourge's, a thank you without needing the humility to say the words. He blushed, and kissed the back of her hand gently. Luckily Faolán didn’t notice, far too absorbed in his game. “It's good for all of them… But I don’t know if I can control Faolán all that much. When we were in the garden he was gonna book it until I mentioned how disappointed Castillo and you would be. I think we need to set Aria and Castillo up for a talk or two. This needs to be worked out.” "If they can," Fiona said. "He's too stubborn. If I was in her place..." For once she couldn't finish the thought. Fao was so genuinely happy to be with him. She wanted to bash him to hell and back, but not if it meant hurting her kid. Her emotions tumbled between anger and sadness at a moment's notice. There wasn't a way out of this without a little sacrifice. “Aria is her own creature. We can’t control her or decide anything for her. We just need to get him and Manic in a room with her and let them talk it out.” The sound of a grandfather clock chiming played in the background, but became more apparent in her mind. Eight chimes. This was normally his bed time, but he was so happy...! "Hey... hey, Fao?" Fiona walked up to her son, hoping to juice this happiness as much as she could. "If you promise not to be too loud, I'll let you stay up tonight. I'll let you have the room and the TV all to yourself!" Scourge wouldn't be able to hurt him through a phone call, right? She knew she was going to regret it immediately, but she forced herself to say them through her own emotions.

He was presently surprised when she offered Faolán a later bedtime, and the whole room to himself. She was sacrificing just a bit to make Faolán happy and Scourge was relieved. At least she was giving in a little.

But where was she going to sleep? Fao couldn't have been more excited in that moment. Sure, he hugged his mom and told her and Scourge goodnight, but both hurried rushes were followed with him rushing to get back to the room... only to run back downstairs after his father suggested he raid the kitchen for snacks. Fiona didn't stop him, thinking he was only going to take a soda. Seeing him like this was genuinely heartwarming for her. "You have a lot of guest rooms, right?" She said, rubbing her temples. "I'll just use one of those, or maybe warp back to my home. I don't know." Their relationship had draped a sexual tension over everything they did. Fiona wanted Scourge to say it himself, but she knew he was probably not going to want to say it himself. "You... don't believe that, do you?" She said, giving a bit of a smirk and a laugh. “I mean… The offer is always open Fiona. I wouldn’t mind.”

He was blushing. Sexual tension wasn’t something he knew how to deal with, and certainly not with a child in the room. His hand found hers again. and if nothing else, he gave her a cheesy and awkward smile to laugh at. Getting up, he made his way over to the bar.

“Did you want the usual?” He asked, mixing a nightcap for himself and holding the fox’s favorite booze up. He didn’t have any preference for it, bit he knew that she did. "Absolutely," she said with a smile. Yeah, a little alcohol would put her nerves at rest, and the sound of her son scampering up the steps with crinkling bags of chips just said that they wouldn't have to worry too much about him. For now. Because he did have a blast, flipping through channels and going even farther in the game, but he was used to falling asleep around eight. Eleven was a new record for him, and just about then, even he had to admit his exhaustion, closing his device to charge and flopping onto the bed, bloated and tired from many types of chips and junk food. Exhaustion only meant that he was going to go into a deeper sleep with more vivid dreams. This was a familiar place, a dreamscape he had seen before plenty of times. It was a fake home, resembling the architectures he'd seen but with rooms at strange angles in strange shapes, and details that were always shifting just a little. He once again started walking through this house as though he'd been there many times before, straight to where he somehow knew the kitchen would be. Two faces greeted him there. One was familiar, his mother, eating another strange food he'd seen but couldn't identify. But the other wasn't anyone he knew. It wasn't really anyone. More of a vague, mouthless mass of a being, an anthropomorphic body seemingly controlled by robotic parts. It tilted it's head to look at the child, but there were no features on its translucent blue flesh. Surreal was the perfect word to describe the scene. The child took a wide circle around the… Thing that sat in the kitchen and hopped up onto a seat next to his mother.

“Mom? What’s going on? What is that thing? What are you eating? Where are we?”

The dream Fiona laughed, but it sounded hollow, artificial. “Full of silly questions aren’t you?” The house was a mishmash of rooms he had seen before, distorted in his imperfect memory and further by the normal distortion of a dream. It felt familiar, like it was almost home. Almost.But Fiona was important to home, and this wasn't her. It was more like a caricature of the two Fionas he knew scrambled together and stretched. She wasn't ugly by any means, but everything about this room and this person felt like they shouldn't have existed. And that blue thing was just looming, watching with a blank face from a distance. In his normal style, Faolán ran. Ran into some kind of adjacent long hall he somehow knew his way through - an amalgam of the castle halls. What wasn't familiar was a quiet clacking, squishing sound, and through that door he had just left, there was that thing. Peaking it's head out and slowly walking forward, in a totally natural yet entirely unnatural gait. He ran as fast as his little paws could take him, but fear was starting to distort whatever this was even further. Did it get bigger? Was it taller, maybe a little faster? This was like nothing he'd seen before, and he dearly wished he hadn't. Out of nowhere, his mother called from far away.

“Faolán ~ Faolán why are you running? Don’t you wanna say hello? Faolán~ Faolán ~ FAOLÁN!!”

The last shout was the ghost Fiona who had woken him up once she saw he was having a nightmare. She hugged him as best she could.

“Shhh… Its okay… I’m here.. It was just a bad dream.” Right then, the wolf was running on a mix of adrenaline and fear. It wasn't scary in a normal sense, instead leaving him completely unnerved, on edge. The ghost was trying to hug him, and it was clear that she was trying to comfort him. But her faint embrace would only make things worse. "No... No!" He yelled, jumping away from the ghost and stumbling towards the door in a fit of confused anger. "You're not my mom! You're NOT!!!" Where was his mom?! She always stayed up late, maybe downstairs? Maybe it was in that living room again? The steps pattering along the cold stone floor and his nervous panting were lost on the sleeping castle residents, yet he could swear he heard a step that wasn't there! Was it that- No, it couldn't be! But the fear was there, list there was something following him, and he sped up. Speeding down the stairs, making a beeline right for that living room they always spoke in. The door creaked open, letting out no light. "M-mom?" He said, stepping in nervously. His eyes were adjusting to the dark, and he couldn't see anything. He was just left alone in a dark room, with the unshaking feeling something was chasing him. Scourge and Fiona had vacated the room long before, leaving the fox’s cell phone behind in their haste. The ghost knew Faolán would panic even more, so she flew upstairs into the bedroom where the two had fallen asleep.

The ghost shook Fiona a little, but when that didn’t work she was hesitant to … Well she had no choice.

The ghost shook Fiona awake. “Wake up! Wake up! Can’t you hear your own son calling for you?” She hissed, trying to make the form that Fiona could see less person-like and more of a vague spirit. She wasn't awake enough for words to even register, and swatted away whatever was in front of her. Through tired vision, the blur of a specter just turned into a mass of colors that could be mistaken for some kind of groggy delusion. "Can't you hear your son calling..." Those words finally started to register. Was he in danger? She hurried to get out of bed, grabbing her clothes quickly and stepping out into the hall. "Faolán?" She asked. But the long hall didn't sound of anything, aside thequiet sound of some kind of television. It sure sounded fine. "Fao, are you alright?" When the door was opened, she had to take a moment for it to sink in. Faolán was gone. Scourge didn’t hear anything, but he felt his bedmate leave and got up as well, throwing on pants.

“He’s probably gone for a snack, come on,” he insisted, walking down to the kitchen. The ghost followed, finding Faolán covering in a corner of the living room. They wouldn’t see him on their way to the kitchen!

She faded completely, even Faolán unable to see her, and started knocking bottles off of the bar shelf.

“The bar?” Scourge asked, allowing Fiona to lead the way. He couldn't help but duck and cry. Whatever was following him was clearly trying to attack him, and he had no way to fight back. He was trapped. He was trapped. The light flicking on was a major scare for him, but seeing his mom rushing towards him relieved him just a little. Just enough to run up to her and cry into his mom's hug. She didn't even know what to say to him. "You're safe, Faolán, no one is going to hurt you." This didn't seem to null his fears. All Fiona could think to do was pick up her son and sit on the couch, letting him cry as much as he needed. "What happened, Fao?" "I- I had a dream, and-" He sniffled and cried the whole while, not able to say more than a few words at a time. "And then they were chasing me, and I woke up, and they were- they were still chasing me!" The king, still exhausted from his earlier ‘exercise’ with the fox, rubbed his face. The poor kid much have been terrified to have run behind the bar.

He walked over to the mess and started cleaning the glass away, them mopping up the alcohol. Odd. If Faolán had run back here, wouldn’t he have had to step in the liqueur? But the floor was clean.

The king looked over at the shaking child and grew concerned, but merely snapped a photo on his phone of the spill and then cleaned it all up.

From the shadows, the ghost queen cried, upset with herself for scaring him more. "Buddy, there isn't... that might have been us." Fiona said, comforting the child. "There's no one here who can hurt you, I wouldn't let anyone get that close to you." But the child was still crying. "I wanna- I wanna see dad...!" The more quiet ways Fiona protected him didn't stick in his mind as firmly as the brute force Scourge tended to scare people away with. It took Fiona a moment to think of what to say. "Baby, he's not here right now." She told him, doing her best not to sound desperate. "But the king is here, and we can always call your dad." "I don't want the king here..." The words came out of nowhere, slapping Fiona in the face with their bluntness. "I'm sorry?" "I don't WANT HIM HERE! He's not my dad, I hate him!!!" The king couldn’t stop his ears from flicking back as the child screamed he feelings out to the world. The ghost queen grew angry and the room grew cold.

The king quietly left the room, stopping at the door. “I’ll call Castillo and see what I can do.”

The alternate was called and Scourge fiddled with a warp ring. “Hey, Faolán had a nightmare and he’s not calming down. He wants to see you.” "Huh?" The alternate sounded groggy. "Fuckin' hell... Alright, get the warp here." He didn't waste a second, running straight into the room as soon as he passed through the warp. Fiona was too stressed out to feel anything more than annoyed at Scourge's entrance, but it was what Fao wanted. "I'm here, kid, it's me." The wolf had barely turned his head when Scourge was already sitting down. If it weren't such a stressful night, he would have been thrilled. But all this meant was he had someone else to cry with and keep him safe. "Dad, there's- There's someone following me through the castle, and I woke up, and they were still-!!" "Hey, no one's gonna hurt you." Scourge told him. He was actually hugging the little boy, not caring about looking soft for once. His crying was slowing down, but he was far from comfortable. "You wanna watch some TV, kid? Stop thinking about this crap?" With a nod of the little wolf's head, Fiona was already searching for whatever channel would be playing kids cartoons past midnight. The king left them to their bonding, feeling just a little bit hurt. He didn’t know why. Fiona would always choose Faolán over him, and could respect that. But he had been nothing but nice to the wolf, and he was still hated.

The ghost queen, still quite upset, followed her husband out. She couldn’t let him see her, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t try to help.

Scourge cleaned up his room, folding Fiona’s clothes and returning them to the bedroom she and Faolán shared. He shut and locked his door for the night and thought back to his own wife and child.

“Maybe it was for the best… I would be a shitty dad,” he thought aloud and then rolled over to get some sleep. The little boy was starting to calm down as he clung to his dad and watched some young children's show. The normal silence of the castle felt even quieter somehow late at night, almost eerily so. The scared little boy had two parents to help him through a rough night, and he was starting to calm down. Slowly, bit by bit. Until he was sleeping against his father, Scourge himself dozing off not soon after. She wanted to move him so Scourge couldn't hurt him, but his unconscious arm around the child swatted her off in his sleep. All she could do was drape a blanket over the kid and turn off the lights. "Good night," she murmured. The king's door was locked from the inside, and faint snoring could be heard through the door. So much to talk about, and no one to talk to. In her tired state, she went to her room to get a piece of paper, and slipped a note beneath the king's door. "3rd floor balcony walkway - 9 AM - We should talk" At 9 am the next morning, the balcony walkway was much chillier than usual. The king had grabbed them both a coffee and waited for Fiona to arrive

Of course, Ghost Fiona was there as well, and several other ancient ghosts, who had been watching it all unfold.

He half expected the living Fiona to ditch him, leaving him waiting on the balcony alone while she went to work or fought with Castillo. He hid his surprise when she shows up, and merely offered her the coffee. A small container of milk, cream and pot of sugar were left for her. The coffee itself was untouched. His own little payback, he knew how she liked her java, but he was still a little resentful for no good reason. "I'll get Fao to apologize for what he said," she started. Only a small amount of cream was poured in - she didn't seem to mind, she felt more in control this way. "He's... just a kid. He's a kid who was scared, I don't think he really knows what that means. Scourge is eating breakfast with him, but he's still scared." But that wasn't what she brought him up there to talk about. If she had known there was a small number of ghosts watching, maybe she wouldn't have spoken, but it was a question that needed to be asked. "You've been different." Chilled breezes only made the warm coffee in her hands more comfortable to hold. "You've been kissing and hugging me more lately. You remember what you said last night before we fell asleep?" He probably did, but just in case. "You called me beautiful. I could feel your heartbeat getting faster, too." The cup was slowly put down back on the table. "Do you... need to tell me something?" “Don’t. Faolán needs to learn that while outbursts aren’t productive, they need to happen. It just doesn’t feel good when a little kid doesn’t like you, you know? Makes me wonder what kind of person I am, if a little kid thinks I’m awful.”

Her sudden change in topic surprised him, and but shrugged slightly. They weren’t quite ready for that deep of a talk. Not after the most important person in her life made it clear he despised the king.

“Just looking for a little attention is all. You don’t usually instigate. And of course I remember, I meant it. I mean, its not like you didn’t already know.”

Clearly there was more to be said, but the king didn’t know where the line was. Where did she want him to stop, what statement would make her shut down? He didn’t know. Didn’t want to push it. He was growing closer. Much closer than Fiona had planned on. Spending time with the king was always nice, but this wasn't the way she cared about him. And what would Scourge do if he ever heard what she thought the king felt? Fiona didn't know either, and she didn't want to get an answer. She didn't even want to keep talking about it. Another long sip of coffee. "We're driving him mad," Fiona admitted. "He needs to see his dad more... and you less. But Scourge has lashed out before, I don't know how to keep him safe. And he sure can't be near Aria, whenever she comes back." If her nose was any more scrunched at that line, it would fold into her face. She put her hand on the king's shoulder, careful not to graze him with her claws. "You're a good guy. But we shouldn't sleep together for a while. It's for Faolán, alright? It's the best we can do for him." “I completely understand. Faolán is still young, he needs you two more than anyone else right now.”

He drew closer physically and stole a kiss on her mouth. A quick one, and his blush afterwards was bright.

"Sorry… Figured I’d grab one for the road." he joked, trying to bring some humor into the conversation. The tone was too serious. He had to pretend it didn’t hurt as much.

“Yeah… Well her and Terra got back from their honeymoon two nights ago. Maybe we should have her talk to Castillo tonight. Maybe you can take Faolán to a movie? I don’t think you want him around those two right now.” She didn't react too much to the kiss. She was barely surprised, and almost seemed to brush it off like she was annoyed. "Let me see what I have on my schedule." While Scourge couldn't see what Fiona was reading, how much she was scrolling through her messages said that it wasn't a negligible amount, and a tense expression as she got further down the list only hammered in that point. "I'll see who I can get to cover for me," Fiona said. not making any promises. Words had gone cold again, her face back to her default sternness. She tilted her head. Even with her eyes closed, it seemed like she was gazing into Scourge and silently judging. "And how are you going to restrain Scourge tonight?" “He’s not going to attack Aria. And even if he does, she’s going to cut him into ribbons. Manic and Terra and I will be around to control him somewhat. And if you can’t get the night off, we can always have Terra or Manic watch him.”

His ears flicked back, ashamed of himself, and he shifted away from her. He was always fucking up around her. She was always annoyed with him. It was a plan. His common sense had put together a solid plan, but Fiona wasn't totally convinced. She didn't have the time to dwell too much on it, her phone immediately getting a text. And another. A few shot back at her in fact, and she ran down the list of names. "...I've dropped most of my tasks for the day." She said. Her body deflated in the chair. This only left club maintenance and orders, legals on the hotels, and auditioning entertainers. A very easy day. "I need to- spend time with him anyways." This judgement towards Scourge was gone from her eyes. "I'll send someone to help protect you anyways," she said, "I don't want any of you to get hurt." She didn't give that a moment to sink in, immediately standing and walking for the door. "Thanks for the coffee." She was gone again, down to do whatever business she had. Later that evening, Aria and Terra had come to the castle for dinner. Castillo was an unexpected surprise, and Aria's jovial mannerisms dimmed.

However you couldn’t be sad for long when Faolán showed up. The ball of innocence and joy was scooped up into a hug. “Oh I missed you munchkin!"

Terra laughed, ruffling the pup’s hair and then turning cold when Castillo tried to say something to Aria. "Hey." Nothing more, just hey. He tried to put on a smile seeing his son like this, but he couldn't even look up at Aria. Whatever was going to happen to him, it was going to hurt. "Ariaaaa!" He pretended to be annoyed, pushing her hands from ruffling his orange fur. "We're gonna go see 'Princess Rosella's Magic Whirlpool!'" Fiona was standing in the doorway, happy but slightly dreading a movie that looked like it was animated on a budget of about five dollars. "He's been missing you both," Fiona said, pointing the words straight for Castillo. The girls set him down and Aria gave the boy a wrapped box.

“We were on vacation all over the place, and found this for you.” In fact, everyone received a gift. Faolán got a region exclusive case for his handheld, Manic got a pair of drumsticks, with a design of musical notes and scores hand carved into them. Fiona received a necklace, her favorite jewel the accent on the golden pendant depicting a F. The king received a locked titanium briefcase and a hug. Castillo, the only one left. He was given a leather jacket, made of quality but lightweight material.

“For the summer.” Was all Terra said, clearly still glaring at the hedgehog, but only subtly. She didn’t want to make a scene around Faolán.

The king took the case and left the room with Sergio. They returned a few minutes later without the case. The jacket hurt more than any insult could. The sheer humility of it was enough to make Scourge's guts twist. "Thanks," was all he could say, the words carrying new meaning as the gesture ripped away his pride for a short while. "You shouldn't have," Fiona said, graciously accepting the gift. Perhaps not her taste exactly, but she always needed new clothes anyways. Manic and Faolán seemed like they were having a contest to see who was more excited about their particular gift, and each was happy to give Aria a hug. Or in Faolán's case, her legs a hug. "What, you buttering us up to get you REALLY good weddin' presents?" Manic teased. "Nah, really man, you're too nice, thanks a ton." The hug was more to give Scourge time to fold the jacket and leave it on the side table. Looking at it was only going to remind him of his own failures, and Manic needed to give him space. The jacket was meant well, and Terra was reprimanded by Aria, mumbled in a quiet, rushed tone. It wasn’t supposed to be something vicious. It was all kept quiet, and Faolán was unaware of it all, too distracted by Manic.

Manic's statement made Aria roll her eyes. “Haha. No. Why bother with wedding presents?” She shrugged.

Time passed quickly and soon it was time for Fiona and Faolán to leave. Aria gave Faolán a tight hug goodbye. She really had missed him, and she wasn’t sure if Castillo would allow her anywhere near him if he was so pissed off about a present. Pissed off... it certainly looked that way, maybe even dismissive of the gift, but he seemed just as ashamed at his place at the table. Anger wasn't there - or at least, not as much as she first thought. Manic sat down next to his husband. The king and Manic were on either side of Scourge, and he was sitting directly across from Aria. There was no doubt why they were there now. "I think it's time you guys figure this mess out," Manic said, patting his husbands hand. Scourge just stared back, his face creeping towards anger. And a blush. Actually, he looked downright pissed as he held his head in his hands, looking down at the table in total shame. This wasn't an anger focused at Aria, this was entirely pointed right at himself. He mumbled something, but the words were illegible. “What is there to say?” Was all the hedgie asked, curious to see what the two green hedgehogs thought was going to happen.

“I mean really. He destroyed my home, and then his actions got your -” she pointed at the king, “- reputation ruined. And you think flowers I’m allergic to and a heartfelt apology are gonna make up for that? Because you couldn’t let Fiona go, because you had to have her fixate on you, you put yourself in the spotlight and almost got me and my wife killed. You’re real fucking stupid Castillo. And so are the two of you if you think that an apology is worth my time.”

Dinner was served and Aria pushed her plate away. Suddenly losing her appetite. His heart rate increased, his breathing got tense. Everything about Castillo implied that he was getting worse and worse the more Aria said, pounding home points that he had already nailed into his skull. Regret was just multiplying, and Scourge was doing everything he could to stop it from turning into anger. "What's it gonna take." The words would have sounded pissed if he wasn't so visible terrified. He looked up, clearly restraining himself. "What the hell else was I supposed to do, nothing? I wanted to save your life, kid, I just- I couldn't!" Anger only fueled desperation. "There was fucking nothing I could do! I tried investigating and coming in to get those assholes, I'm trying everything over here! What's it supposed to take?!" One fist slammed on the table as he tried to hold back horrified frustration. "I don’t know what’s its gonna take, maybe we need to physically fight, who knows? I sure as hell don’t! Hell, I don’t even understand the logic that got us to this point? All I know is that I’m not going to forgive you just like that. It's going to take time. And fuck you two for thinking anything different. I’ll be civil for the sake of Faolán but that is it.”

She got up from the table and left the room, headed for the back garden. Terra followed her wife, glaring at Castillo.

“Well… That wasn’t totally useless.” Was all the king said, thinking. “I mean… Maybe duking it out would help you both. If we get Damian on standby maybe you two can relieve some stress.” Castillo was just cringing in fear. He sure as hell didn't want to fight Aria, there was no good scenario there. But Manic was thinking differently. Far, far from how these two were. "She thinks this all comes from... from you needing attention," Manic said. "Like, the kidnapping, I mean." "Don't remind me..." "That's not what I'm saying." He held his head in thought. "Yeah, Radon joined in, but wasn't he just there as like a last minute change? And like, he wanted to trade out Aria for him, right?" He was spinning his spare hand around as he spoke to keep him thinking. "But like... Aria wasn't even brought up in those tabloids. How the hell did Chrissy and Bobtail know where to look for Aria?" “… Didn’t Chrissy work for Rosolio? Aria's employee information would have been on file… But those files are sealed. And how did she know to get to Fiona?”

The room was silent again. The three boys thinking. The king thought of something, but didn’t dare speak it aloud. Fiona… Fiona couldn’t be involved, could she? No. She cared for Aria too much and wouldn’t put Faolán in danger. But then again, she was an amazing actress. Regardless the king stayed silent. Thinking.

Aria and Terra were in the garden, snuggling on a bench as they looked up at the stars. Oblivious to the men inside and their conversation. If they knew their stars, maybe they could identify a few constellations. The lily, the cannon, the nautilus all twinkled invisibly above them. But to them, it was just a wide field of stars to relax and contemplate under, not that they wanted to contemplate. They wanted to stop thinking. Stop thinking about Scourge and live their lives. Manic and Castillo were definitely trying to think at that moment, Manic speaking through their dinner before it got cold. "I'm just saying," Castillo said, "Fiona's men are ace with security, I don't think it'd be that easy to get in. Not to mention getting old Rosie's files." "Bobtail screwed up the emergency stairs security, he carried one of 'em back down, and Chrissy took the other out the window." Manic was toying with his fork while he tried to speak. "We already heard all that. But how'd they even know she was at Fiona's place?" "We saw 'em on camera, they broke into her place and tried to talk to you." Scourge said. "Someone had to be giving them info!" “Aria mentioned a bull that was waiting at the bus stop. She said that she assumed it was security of Fiona’s but what if it wasn’t? What if that guy told those two?”

It was worth looking into and the king started a small investigation into the matter. Very quiet. A two man job. For now though, the king drank his wine and swirled it in his glass. Not thinking. Trying not to think.

No one wanted to think. No one wanted to try anything of the sort. Not Aria, not Terra, and not Scourge. They did their best to eat. Do something, stay happy, try not to get too somber. There was one thing they could count on to bring them a little joy, and they could hear his tiny footsteps clopping down the hallway. "Hey, squirt." Scourge said, trying to act casual but silently thrilled to see the little boy. He was still clutching to an oversized cup of orange soda. Even with his orange fur, they could just tell he'd spilled plenty on himself. "So come on, kid, tell me about it." Scourge said. He peaked over, watching Fiona leave to get something at the bar before whispering. "And tell me if you took my advice." He didn't even need to explain. Faolán silently reached into his jacket, pulling out two boxes of sour gummies and one box of chocolate caramels he absolutely did not pay for. "Atta boy." He wasn't worried about the king or Manic seeing, as they were silently distracted by something on Manic's laptop. An IM chat with Damian, as a matter of fact. "The orange boy returned, can you think about it some more? You said you recognized her, anything you can remember would help." Damian’s respond was short. Nothing about the bull at the bus stop made any sense to him. He suggested asking Fiona and Aria. Maybe even Faolán. Soon, Aria and Terra rushed into the room laughing like children, drenched from head to toe.

“Okay, so who turned the sprinklers on outside?” Aria said with a laugh, clearly not angry. Terra left and reappeared with some towels for them to dry off with.

“Oh hi there munchkin! How was the movie?” She asked, bending down to Faolán’s eye level for a hug. "It was great!" Fao said. He was sitting around so many people who he cared about at once, he couldn't help but wear a massive smile. "It was really pretty, and the songs were really nice, and...!" Fiona plopped down in a chair next to the king. She had a glass of wine in her hand, and looked as though she had survived a war. "You could count the frames of animation," she groaned to him so Fao wouldn't hear. "...and there was a cool town with bright colors and a really funny dog, and...!" "I couldn't tell you where the jokes stopped and the convoluted plot began." She took a long gulp. She was going to need more than one glass. The boxes were safely stashed with Scourge, but he couldn't help opening one box of sour gummies right there. "You wanna candy?" He asked Fiona and Terra, holding out the box after cramming a few in his mouth. “You had leftover candy? That’s not like you at all munchkin, are you feeling okay?”

She checked him for a fever and politely declined the candy. However she noticed that there was no ‘proof of purchase’ sticker on the box. The theaters liked to slap those on any candy that was bought to show it was their product. And they never forgot.

“Faolán sweetie. Did your mom buy those for you?” She asked, using a slightly more inquisitive tone than usual. Terra stopped what she was doing and looked nervously over at Fiona, who was already being poured a second glass of wine by the king. Then the bat glared at the two green hedgehogs. "That was all me," Scourge said, not missing a beat. "Thought things'd be tense, went out and bought him a little something to distract him." Not something that could really be proven wrong, especially since he'd never admit he sat in the van and yelled at himself in anger after dinner. He reached under his jacket and pulled out the second box of gummies, leaving the chocolates right where they were. "Figured he'd be pumped full of sugar anyways, what's a little extra gonna hurt?" Aria didn't look like she was buying it. Manic didn't look like he even realized what was going on, too caught up in looking up reviews to see just how bad that movie was. Faolán ate a few more gummies, just rolling with the lie. "Can we get some- some 'poison sludge' next time?" Not a request for a lethal poison, but for some sour candy. Scourge just grinned and pointed his thumb behind him. "We can get some right now, if you're up for getting outta here." I.E., 'Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, give me an excuse to leave before Aria casts her unholy vengeance on my soul.' Aria looked over at Scourge. Then at Manic. Then at Faolán. Then at her wife. Then at Fiona, who was eyeing the bottle of wine again. Then back to Faolán.

Oh she wasn’t buying it. Not at all.

“Faolán sweetie. Look at me. Where did you really get those candies?” She asked, seemingly calm. But Scourge could see the glare she shot at him and the tenseness of her shoulders. Faolán would not be yelled at. But Castillo was not as lucky.

It was all riding on Faolán right now. And Aria hoped she was wrong.

If Terra wasn’t blocking the door, he would have ran.

"Guys..."

The voice that spoke up wasn't Scourge or Faolán. Manic was looking over, head in his hand and looking exhausted at the news. "Scourge is an ass, but he's just trying to protect him, y'know?" Manic said with a grimace, genuinely believing what he was saying. "If he's picking this stuff up off of anyone, it's me. I know it. You know it."

The little wolf's ears were lowered in shame, knowing what he did was wrong. Rather, knowing being caught felt bad. Scourge's heart may as well have broken at the sight.

"Don't protect me," He said, "We know what's up here." Scourge resigned himself to his fate, if it was for his child's well being. "I went out and lifted this crap for him, he didn't do anything."

But Faolán's face belied all. Scourge leaned up to give his son comfort, knowing Aria would not give him another chance any time soon.

Thank the stars Fiona had downed half the bottle. The king had carried her off to bed so she wouldn’t skin Castillo alive. Aria rubbed the bridge of her nose and sat down. “Okay Faolán. Come here for a second. I’ve got a story for you.”

The child walked over and Aria sat him in her lap. “I shouldn’t have to tell you stealing is wrong. You can hurt a lot of people like that honey. Maybe not with candy but I don’t want to see you get caught up in things that will get you in serious trouble. When I was 10, I stole some things too. I admit it. But Faolán I was living on my own and unable to afford food. I needed that stuff to survive. And I got caught. And I got in a lot of trouble. And I was almost sent to jail. Granted I was in a very slummy area of a less developed city and they didn’t always follow the law, but that’s beside the point. I don’t want you stealing again, okay? And I don’t want you to steal just because your fathers or anyone else asks you to. Not unless its life or death. Do you understand munchkin?”

Faolán nodded, and Aria continued, petting him gently and trying to be stern but gentle.

“Now. I won’t tell your mother, because I know you aren’t going to do it again. But if it ever happens again, I will. I don’t want you to feel the need to steal things either. If you want something, ask one of us, okay?” Faolán was sheepishly holding his hands together. "I'm sorry" was all he could say. "I just... I really wanted some, and mom didn't want me to have 'em, and-" "You don't gotta explain anything," Manic assured the child. "We understand." ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ "You don't understand." Scourge was definitely angry at Aria, but he was restraining himself. Thankfully, they were out at the van, and Fao was safely inside and out of earshot. "I already taught him- He's learning guitar already. I wanna teach him something, and this is all the crap I know! I can't teach him bartending and I can't have him doing anything violent, that's all I've got to teach him!" “And breaking the law is a better option?!? I understand wanting to bond with Faolán but come on!! Use your brain! Did you want Fiona to take him away? You need to think ahead!”

She scolded him, eternally more pissed off than he was.

“Do you want Faolán to be where I was? He’s the son of a major crime boss and a scourge, the cops will NOT go easy on him if he gets arrested. Kids like him get shot all the time because the world sees them as carbon copies of their fathers or their mothers.” "I KNOW!" Scourge's attempts to hide the intensity had failed, but he wasn't yelling at Aria. His screams were more generalized, mostly aimed at his own stupidity. "I know, I know! I'm tying to teach this crap so he knows how NOT to get caught! I don't want him to be a big thief, I want him to- to know how to hide, and-! I'm just an asshole who doesn't know what to do!" At this point, most of his masculine facade had decayed, leaving him looking like he was going to fall into a kneel and scream. Manic silently took him and dragged him away, opening the back of the van and leading him in before anything happened to him. His husband left to his self loathing in the van, Manic leaned against the side of the van facing the still fuming Aria. "He doesn't like people seeing him cry." What else could he say? To distract from himself, distract from what his nephew did? "I don't want him doing this stuff either, but... you don't see how much Scourge hates himself for not doing more for him. It's... pathetic." Aria rubbed at her temples, squinting her eyes shut.

“Listen… Scourge and I are fighting. I get that. He’s not happy with anything about the scenario and I am not either. But he needs to think ahead Manic, what if Faolán gets caught one day? The justice system is not kind. Not to children, and not to sons of crime bosses and thieves. Faolán could be put in a lot of danger. If he wanted to do something for Faolán, he can try literally anything. Even if he learns some new skill, just to teach Faolán. But this is not the way you do it. He’s far too young for that sort of thing” Manic could only nod and think. He knew all this. He knew hearing it was going to hurt. All he could do was sit and accept the awful sting, cringing at some of the lines. "You're totally right, man." His whole body deflated in an instant. "We're all scared for him. We're just... We're just dealing with it in a real stupid way." He could only throw his head back. "He doesn't deserve that kind of life. He ain't done anything wrong." “Tell… Tell Scourge I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just worried and stressed…”

She curled into herself, shoulders huddled. She couldn’t say anything more, so she turned around and left. The bat waited on the castle steps and slowly kissed her wife, hugging her close.

“It’ll be fine… I promise.” Two people uttered those words in that house. The second being Fiona, sitting with her son and the king. Faolán was suddenly racked with guilt, his face red and looking like he was on the verge of tears. "You admitted it and promised to stop. That's more than your dads ever did." The little wolf was being coddled close to her chest, hoping he wasn't going to burst into tears. "I'll look past punishment just this once, alright?" He nodded, happy but still scared. "Bu- but what if the police come and... and take me to jail?!" Another coddle to the child. "The police won't come after you. I promise." In reality, Fiona wasn't too surprised by this. She's seen her son sneaking around the house and 'stealing' things, but it was never anything more than maybe a few pieces of candy or loose change, small things that she really wasn't concerned about losing. It was no doubt where he picked it up from. The idea of them teaching Fao was definitely planted in her head, but even she found it a bit ridiculous. They wouldn't be dumb enough to do that to her kid, right? Oooh they most surely were dumb enough. Scourge knew it. However he valued Manic's life and Faolán's happiness so he said nothing about it.

As the king, he could make it all go away. But Faolán was only 6, far too young to be charged with anything. He sat there, feeling awkward and useless. "But you aren't getting away this easily," Fiona warned her son, stern but not angry. "You still have someone you need to apologize to." He looked confused for a moment, until his mother motioned for the king. For something he said days ago? But he wasn't in any position to argue. He did feel like he really didn't like the king, those words were all true to him. So why did he feel so guilty? "I'm sorry," he said. "And what are you sorry for?" "I'm sorry I said I didn't like you." He looked ashamed. Maybe it seemed mean, but he needed to learn the consequences of his actions. "It was mean." Scourge patted the kid on the head. “It's okay buddy. If I were you I wouldn’t like me either. However I’m pretty sure its past both of your bedtimes.”

He was teasing Fiona and joking with Faolán, clearly trying to a laugh out of either. Its was late and he knew the drowsiness from the wine would hit Fiona like a truck. He got up and gave a little mock bow to Fiona.

“Sweet dreams the both of you.” Scourge was totally understanding. It was almost suspicious how calm he was about Faolán's actions, but Fiona was a cautious woman. Faolán didn't read that deep, only seeing the good of what he said. "Good night." The little wolf was the first to say it, mostly to end this uncomfortable talk sooner. The evening had been horribly tense. Everyone needed a rest. But even as angry as Aria was, she didn't need a rest as much as Scourge did. "Babe, we'll figure this mess out." A kiss on Scourge's lips and closeness was the best think Manic felt he could give to his husband. "Maybe if he's still here tomorrow, you could take him to a different movie. Or to the park or whatever. If someone else comes along, I mean." That was a very big 'if,' they both knew that, but there was still a chance, right? Maybe Scourge would have to come along, maybe Fiona would put him in handcuffs while he was out, but the sooner he could resolve this mess, the better. The fact they were sleeping in the van so Aria wouldn't have to see them didn't make quick forgiveness seem likely. "Maybe," Scourge replied, clinging to something. Aria was leaning on Terra. Everything was tense and awful. She hated it. The bat kissed her ears gently and cooed, trying to make her mate smile. It didn’t work. Not even rambling about the perfect house they had created in their minds would calm her.

In the morning, someone knocked at the van door. Surprisingly it was Aria. Even though it was rather early (and least for them) she still looked like she had been up for hours.

“Can we try… Making up again?” She asked quietly. Embarrassed and upset. The sight of Aria made his guts wrench, even through groggy eyes. Scourge was wearing some old tank top that was clearly just worn when he was sleeping. Was she honestly offering some form of forgiveness? Not without work, but still, he was almost handed the chance to make things right somehow. "...where we gonna talk?" Scourge said, stretching his arms. "Let's make it somewhere with coffee." He was a good actor, sure. But even still, nervousness flickered on the edge of every motion. Manic smirked in his 'sleep.' Let them think they were alone, and let them patch things up. There was hope. She held up the takeout cups she had brought with her. “Figured you’d say that… How about a walk in the garden? It's quiet there.”

She was just as nervous and actually looked a little off color. Slightly green, but she only seemed nervous, not sick.

“I’m.. I’m sorry.” "For what?" A pause was left so he could throw on his leather jacket. He didn't seem to care about grabbing his shoes, hopping off the van onto his paws. "I was an ass. I mean... everything. Everything I did was the worst." Attempts to stave off total self hate mostly worked, but his attempts to make the brush of his quills casual didn't look it at all. He happily took the cup meant for him and started throwing it back, before they had even begun their walk through the garden. "Where do I even fuckin' start...?" The grumble was low and strangely small for something out of his mouth. "You... got your old place fixed up. Right?" “Yeah, we’ve mostly packed. I’m going to miss that place… I’ve lived there since I was really young. The landlord rented to me at a reduced rate when I was a kid and saved my life. And now its just… Sad. But Terra and I can’t live there together, it was time for an upgrade… Thank you for all the flowers, by the way…”

It was silent but peaceful. In the morning light, everything was damp with dew and quiet. Tranquil.

“None of this was your fault you know…” "Pretty much is." Scourge didn't seem to buy that more a second. "All of it. Your home, the king's shit, And now all this crap with the kidnapping and-" He had to stop himself. It sounded like he was fishing for compliments now, and he didn't want to be too whiny. "I don't know how you don't want to punch me. I wanna punch myself." “I do want to hit you, but what good will it do? Other than make me feel slightly better. We need to talk this out because Faolán is suffering because of it…” The silence was awkward as Aria lasped off.

“Maybe we can just pretend we weren’t fighting at all?” She offered as a suggestion, clearly out of ideas. Scourge wanted to say yes and have it be done. Oh, he wanted everything to be better. But... "Around him, yeah. But we can't pretend crap's alright, it'll never work." He admitted. "You guys deserve better than some punk who pulls this crap, but you're... trying to make it up anyways." He pushed his quills back in humbled surprise. "If you're willing to do that, don't think we need to fake anything." It wasn't a major gesture, or wouldn't be from anyone else. But a hug from Scourge was rare. "I ain't soft," he told her, hoping that would somehow gloss over him acting completely soft. She hugged him anyways, laughing. “Bitch please. You’re a marshmallow.” Of course she was joking with him, and maybe wasn’t at 100% forgiveness, but it was better.

The atmosphere was less tense by the time everyone woke up. Terra had stolen her mate away for a bit, and the king looked over at Castillo.

“Did you two talk it out?” "I think, yeah." He was propping his head in his hand, looking quite tired. This was more an emotional exhaustion than anything physical, but his short, remorseful sleep sure wasn't helping things. He took a long sip of his coffee, contemplating everything. "If I hadn't run that chick over, we probably wouldn't be here." Remorse out of Scourge was always a flash or a spark that faded as soon as it appeared, never anything this long lasting. "Can't believe she even wanted to talk to me." "About that..." Manic was fiddling with his fingers. What he was nervous about was anyone's guess. "Radon's wife, Gamma? She had- there were two autopsies due to some kinda crap department stuff. The second guy was barred from practicing a few months back for forging results in other cases. Like, he was bribed to say results that weren't there. The first dude..." He swallowed. "The first dude said she died of a fall, and the car accident was after that. You... you were a patsy, man." Manic fidgeted and looked at the king. "Do you wanna tell him about the cat, or...?" “I checked Chrissy and Bobtail's finances. About three weeks before all of this started, they were paid a large sum of money, one of many transactions from different account for the same amount. Offshore accounts. But then, Bobtail started looking around for Aria and her file was lifted from Rosolio's belongings. They didn’t want Aria as a trophy. Whoever this is wants her dead.”

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Someones trying to kill Aria and we have no idea who they are.” "Bobs was an assassin." Scourge said quietly, closing his eyes and leaning his head back in thought. After what he did to Radon, he couldn't be too surprised, but the thought that Aria came so close to dying... "None of this is your fault, babe." Manic sat down next to him, putting one arm around his side. "It ain't even totally those two, either. There's something even worse going on than we thought." It looked like Scourge had suddenly been given a bolt of energy. "That's how I'll make it up to her," he said with pissed determination. "I'll find 'em and wring their neck." “More like you’ll find them and hold them down while she makes mince meat of them.” The king joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Out first plan is to track those accounts. Manic, you handle that. For now I’ll see if I can find anyone Bobtail had contact with who had the money to pull this off. And who would want Aria dead… It’s a short list”

The three set to work, rummaging through files, and throwing theory’s out for consideration. Aria pressed herself closer to the door frame for support, and Terra pulled her in closer.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe,” she whispered. This work was going to take a while. A long while, in fact, as they tried to find data on accounts that weren't supposed to have any data linked to them. And with Fiona out of the house, that left a little wolf up to his normal troublemaking ways. It usually would. But there was something different in the air this time. Things were still tense, but in a more unified way, as if they were fighting the same enemy rather than each other. As though a crushing pressure in the house was suddenly gone. Who was this enemy, no one knew. But Faolán heard just enough to want to fight whoever they were. "I will, too!" The little wolf seemed to show up behind them out of nowhere. His hands were already out, tiny claws extended. "I can fight them off for you!" Aria paled a bit as Terra laughed. The thought of endangering him was not something she wanted to have to think about. She scooped up the little one and snuggled him tightly. “Thank you sweetie. But I think your mom would have a problem with that.”

Inside, the king looked over the suspect list and grew confused over a question mark “Hey Manic? Who’s the question mark supposed to be?” He asked, holding up the list.

Aria snuggled into Terras hug, the two squishing Faolán a little bit. Aria laughed at his protests and kissed his forehead. “Faolán sandwich!” "I dunno, I was thinking..." Manic swiveled in his chair to face the king. "I'm thinking that like, there were already people that found Aria's family, right?" The polite way of putting what happened. "But we still don't know who they are... and we don't know how they found them, neither. That's kinda supposed to be a catch all for them." And then they heard the child's embarrassed giggling from outside. Scourge looked up, his paternal instincts triggered at the sound of his son laughing. "What's going on...?" He god up and rushed to the door, grinning at the sound. "Hey, you put him down!" Scourge said, only to immediately scoop his son up again. "He's mine to squish." This only got another laugh from the child, and a goofy ruffle of his hair from Scourge. Manic looked back from the open door towards the king. "I don't think a short break's gonna hurt," Manic said with a goofy, cheeky grin. “Hmmm… Good point. They weren’t ever caught so… But don’t tell her were looking into this. I wanna avoid the trauma resurfacing… You go take a break. I’ll keep at it.”

Aria protested the lack of Faolán squishies she was getting. "But that’s not fair," she pouted playfully, to which Terra stole a quick kiss.

"Stop being so cute,” the bat mumbled, clearly teasing her wife. Manic eventually joined them but the king just kept working. Everyone needed a chance to calm down after everything that had happened. The emotions still stung, and having someone like Fao around who was so innocent and happy was something they all needed. Even if Scourge and Manic would get back to work soon. Even if the stress of whoever was after Aria was still heavy in the air. Hell, especially because of the stress. But ever brake had to end, and they were soon back to their work. "Uuuuhg." Manic made a noise of total annoyance and sunk into his chair. "I'm trying to find anything on Aria's people for any hints on like, who did that to her, and like- there's nothing. We can't really peek into the past or anything, either..." "We can’t ask anyone either. We can’t bring it up to her, and Damian wasn’t even in the country when it happened… Why would someone want to kill all of those people? What makes someone order a genocide? What did they do to warrant this kind of treatment?”

The king grew frustrated, rubbing his temples. “Let’s have Fao ask to go back to the forest. Maybe there’s clues there. He can distract Aria, while we snoop around.”

He looked at the empty list of suspects and felt horrible. "Yeah, we'll go and..." Manic stopped mid sentence. The same awkward thought was shared through the room. "Uh, maybe Scourge should stay away from there?" He was missing a chance to see his son, but lord knows what would happen to him or his son if they went to her homeland after what he did. "I'll keep looking up these last few guys here..." He didn't give any blatant signs he was sad, but this newfound anger was more than enough to tell them what was going on. Manic huffed and walked up to his husband, hugging the grump from behind and giving a half goofy glare over Scourge's shoulder. "We'll get him out with you sometime, alright? Tomorrow, if this stuff goes well?" Scourge said nothing, but was definitely moved by the statement at least a little. Manic backed away and strolled back towards the door, whispering to the king, "he's always asking to go outside, this'll be a cakewalk." With very little bribing, Faolán followed the plan to the dot, begging Aria to go see the forest again. He even used the puppy dog eyes. Terra escaped as she had to go to work, leaving Aria to fight his adorableness alone.

“Oh fine! We can go! Just stop the eyes please!” She faked flopping onto her bed dramatically. Aria packed up her things, told Fiona where they were going and they were off.

“What else is there here?” Fao asked, holding Aria's hand and looking around the trees.

“Well there’s some flowers, the river… Some cool rocks.” She listed things that might interest him, but they came across of field of poppies and geraniums. For some reason Aria paled and stopped, choosing instead to lead Fao around the flowerbed quickly. His gazed focused on those flowers for a couple of seconds, but there was so much to see in the forest that he was easily distracted from it. Once again, he was rushing through the woods to look at whatever interesting thing Aria would show him next. Following behind were Manic and Scourge, walking at a slower pace and falling behind Aria intentionally. "Where should we start?" Manic said. "I mean the graveyard's obvious, but she's acting kinda weird with these flowers, right?" “This is a good place I think…” He walked around the flower bed and into some trees, returning seconds later after inspecting their surroundings.

“Okay, so I know that the giant field over there was where they lived. And the graveyard is to the west. But something doesn’t make sense, why are these flowers here? They don’t grow in this area, the soil is too acidic. Most soil is. Rosy loves geraniums so Glare tried to grow some for her, but it didn’t work.”

He picked a flower, one of the poppies, and inspected it. Something wasn’t sitting right. Manic squatted down, looking closely at the soil. He couldn't see anything on the surface. "Look, talking here as a criminal... dead things release some kinda gasses or something that switch up the soil." The exact science well eluded him, but he knew the very basics. "It might be a dead mole or whatever, but it kinda looks like a body dump to me." The moment hung, as well as the implications. "Aria's not the type," Manic said. "May just be some kinda dead animal or whatever... I dunno, maybe I'm dead wrong. What are you thinking?" “I don’t think so… I mean, this is a big field. How many bodies would it take? I mean at least a hundred, maybe more-”

The king stopped for a second and looked out onto the field, suddenly disgusted in its beauty. Dropping the flower in disgust.

“Aria mentioned her family was celebrating when the attack happened. This is near a river, and I bet that when night falls this area is right under a constellation of some kind. This is where they were killed. All of them.”

The blood of culture stained the ground beneath their feet, and the kings quills fluffed slightly, in the same way they did when he was angry. Their companions were too far ahead for them to hear. All that left was a view of a large field and a cold silence. Striking cold. Like the spirits were sitting right there, chilling the air with every haunting motion. Maninc stepped on the grass, but not where these flowers grew. Careful, silent tiptoes around the trees where the grass was lighter, shorter, less vibrant. "I don't think Aria could handle coming back here too much. Especially not if no one else comes back here." It felt like stomping there would be sacrilege, but if it would help them, maybe they could forgive. "You think there might be something left behind? A remnant of the festival, an... anything?" “No. In fact, I don’t think the forest wants us here… Does that make sense?” The king asked, backing away from the field.

Manic could see something shining in the middle of the field. Something metallic. While he creeped around the edges of the flower patch, the king sat down to think on a large rock.

“Maybe the graveyard. Maybe… And I’m hoping I don’t get attacked by a tree for this, maybe it was an inside job?”

The trees stood quiet. It was just a theory worth considering. "I guess it's like... has this place always been so protected?" Manic couldn't help but ask. His gaze over the field yielded very few rocks and pebbles. "If yeah, then that's probably true."

Before he could get an answer, his head rolled around to crack his neck. "Alright, tree guys, I'm not trying to disrespect you or anything, it's for your own good... I'll be quick, promise!"

Thieving skills weren't all specialized. His footsteps were virtually silent as he hopped over the field of grass and flowers, careful to step on the very few rocks when he could, and touching the grass as little as possible. Whatever that object in the field was, he had to grab it quick and back out of there.

“The way Aria explains it, it’s like the graveyard always was protected but the rest of the land wasn’t. She told me a story about how her brother got shot in the shoulder by poachers. And she used the word "poachers”. Maybe it was their land and people just didn’t notice? But that answers no questions, and raises more. I think the graveyard will explain some things. What did you find?“

It was a simple bracelet, covered in dirt but otherwise free from rust. Three charms were pristine, and once washed in the river, shone brightly. The fourth was black. Tarnished. Clearly damaged on purpose.

"I’ve seen one of those before. Aria has one. I don’t know what it means though, we have to ask her.” The king shrugged. Manic didn't even look at the bracelet until he was next to the king, and off of the bloody field. He wasn't dead. That was good. But once he saw the bracelet, he was distracted from that little fear. "Uh... This is really nice. Like, REALLY nice." Manic dangled the bracelet in the air and watched it sparkle. "This is silver... not sterling purity or anything, but it's still pretty nice. And look at these charms..." The charms were distinctly shaped and carefully crafted by some kind of expert. A ginkgo leaf with a round blue stone - "blue agate," Manic said in a second. He could also recognize the tiny rose quartz stones on the lotus and dandelion charms. The fourth charm, the blackened charm, was a sunflower with it's gem removed. "This one ain't tarnished, it's all scratched up, too." Whatever this was, it must have meant something, as a nearby tree was starting to move, yet didn't seem angry. Manic immediately chucked the bracelet back to the field, back to the grass, and watched the tree slowly revert to it's old position. "It's gotta mean something if the trees are keeping it safe..." Manic said. "I mean, it's kind of a big hint, right? That's really nice, so it must've been someone rich. And one blue stone, two pink, I'm guessing they had two daughters and a son. And I mean... Aria's kinda left a gallery of everyone who's lived here, right?" "Right… And judging by that fourth charm, we are looking for a fourth child too. They had big families here, according to Aria. Four is smaller than average. We should be able to find them, but we still need Arias help. There’s a lot of people”

Aria and Faolán return to the field to look for the two, and Faolán ran up to the two men. “Aria just showed me the coolest tree! Come and see it!” He insisted, pulling on his step-father’s hand. The stopped and spotted the shiny bracelet in the field, rushing into the field and grabbing it, presenting it to Aria. The aforementioned tree stood still, silent.

“What’s this? Is it yours?” He asked, and Aria bent down to inspect it.

“Well sweetie, its a bracelet. Usually they’re made of silver or gold, and usually ones like this are given to mothers. Each charm is a child. My mother had one just like it.” Manic had to act like he didn't know what the field was about, for Aria's sake. Faolán's discovery was the perfect excuse. He ran over the flowers, still careful not to trample any and looked at the little bracelet. This was too perfect. "Wooooah, man, that's sweet!" Manic said, looking at the bracelet with genuine looking wonder. "But maybe we should leave it. Y'know, someone's mom might want it back." Not necessarily untrue. Lord knows what tree beast might want to hurt Manic for that. "Oh, look, it's a weird leaf!" He loved seeing new types of plants. The various flowers he could vaguely recognize, but the fan shaped leaf was totally new to him. "Who was the weird leaf kid?" Aria sat down on the ground to inspect the charms, thinking. Which family was this? There were so many friends she had lost it was tough to find a name.

"Tonic. His name was Tonic. I didn’t know him very well. But of what I remember he had a crush on my oldest sister. Then again, everyone had a crush on my older sister… The sisters are Milia and Erro, they were constantly in the water. Makes sense, they are all otters… ”

She looked intently at the forth charm, sighing. “This one was Leo. He was… Well. A little odd. But he used to babysit me so I can’t be too mean about him,” she shrugged, giving it back to Faolán.

“Why don’t we go find Miriam, that’s their mother, and give this back?” That was better news than they could have ever hoped for. She actually knew the family? And was even willing to walk them to the gravesite, at that? This had to come with some kind of catch. It was a catch Manic was quick to catch on to, digging out some paternal instincts as usual. Manic motioned to hand the bracelet back to the wolf, and spoke quietly to Aria. "You sure we should show him that place?" Manic asked. "He's still super young, dude." "He’s already figured it out. Fiona told him when he asked her.” She scooped up the little one and they walked over to the tree that had been shaking earlier. Aria bowed to the gorgeous birch which twisted at an odd angle, and took the bracelet from Faolán.

“Here’s your bracelet back,” the child squeaked, and Aria slid the charm onto a bough of the tree. The tree herself straightened out. Bright blue eyes shimmered in delight at watching the tree almost make peace as it's bracelet was returned. There were so many cool trees in this forest, Faolán couldn't help but feel delighted at seeing another!

"Guys! Guys, there's this beach, and- And there's a bunch of trees in a row, and two of them are next to each other and growing together!" The things that could happen in his life felt limitless. This just seemed like another fascinating thing about the world. "Wooooah, really?" Manic said, acting like he hadn't seen the gravesite on the beach before. "You go running there, we'll catch up." They weren't lying. The three were walking down the paths he ran down, but the real purpose was to get Faolán far enough ahead that he couldn't hear Manic's question. "Hey, you notice that one really jank charm?" Manic asked. "You know what's up with that?" "Yeah. Leo was exiled. His father was on his deathbed, and he tried to sell the land that we were still living on at the time. The girls were never the same, and Tonic took up the ownership of the land instead. Then when all to this happened I was the only one left, so the land fell to me... Miriam died of a broken heart.”

Aria caught up to her nephew of sorts, scooping Faolán up as he rambled on about the tree to his step father. The king fell behind, texting the information to Castillo.

As they approached the trees, several rustled their leaves, clearly displeased with the conversation. Aria stopped talking. Manic turned around and walked backwards, doing his best to look apologetic for the trees. "Sorry, guys," he whispered, "we'll stop." Once out on the beach, Manic knelt by his stepson, listening intently as the child pointed out all kinds of details, from tiny scratches to totally obvious observations. His talking constantly brought up climbing the tree, something Manic was quick to shoot down, not wanting to be the victim of a tree spirit attack. Silently, a messaged buzzed back to the king. {Get me a last name, I'll look him up)

{I don’t know if I can. Trying to keep Aria out of this.)

"Please don’t climb the trees sweetie, you could get hurt.” Aria insisted, listening just as intently as Manic and answering all of the questions the little boy had. One of the trees was a peach tree, and she harvested a few, washing them in the river and giving one to the boys.

She used her claws to peel and cut the peach, happily eating it. The tree that Faolán had taken an interest in rustled its leaves. Clearly enjoying attention. "I think it likes you," Manic joked. Fao was the only one who didn't realize that this was exactly the case, but he was young. He was allowed to be naive about the supernatural trees. "Why didn't you show me this earlier...?" He said in a half whiny tone, not really angry at all. "Oh yeah, dad! There's a really cool place we found camping! It was- There's a place in the forest over- in there, and there are all kinds of fruit on the ground, and- and there are a bunch of beetle bugs eating them all!" They were certainly distinct types of beetles. Also the type that had a tenancy to fly straight towards people's faces. "Aria, can we go to the beetle place?" "Alright. But if the beetles wanna say hi to your face, that’s all on you munchkin.” She got up and walked with Faolán over to the beetle area.

“Hey, maybe in the fall when all the trees are making fruit , you can come and help me pick them all? We can make some jam from it all” she offered Fao and Manic.

Scourge pulled Manic aside. “We need a last name. But none of these trees are labelled… How on earth are we gonna find this guy? I don’t wanna ask Aria but…” Faolán and Aria were distracted enough to have a quick few words. The beetle patch could be heard chirping and making noises from a short distance, and already, a beetle with a metallic purple shine was flying straight at Fao's face. Rather than Aria's disgust, he was delighted at getting to see a bug up close, trying to catch it into his little paws and examine all the tiny details of the bug. "You go back and check that bracelet, maybe it's carved in there or something." Manic shrugged. "That's his mom, right? Maybe see if you can get her to write the name in the dirt with their roots or something? Uh... Just play along, act like you're gonna be noble and head back for me. I wanna stick with the little dude for a bit." Immediately, he was patting his head, down to his vest. "Craaaap, I think my earring came off." Manic said. Sure enough, the post in his ear was now empty. "I mean... I had it by the tree, I know! Uh, I'm gonna head back there and-" Aria raised a brow at the conversation, but at Manics statement about looking for an earring, she relaxed and watch Faolán try to catch a bug.

"I’ll get it dude, no worries” the king offered and walked back to the tree. He bowed to her, formally.

“My lady, could you help us? We think that Aria may be in danger. In fact, your son may be in danger too and he may not know it. We need to find him but we can’t without his full name.” The tree ruffled her leaves and pointed at her husband’s tree. An apple tree. The king looked a little confused.

An apple was thrown at his head.

“Okay! Guess its Apple?” More leaves rustling, another apple thrown. “Ow! Or… Wait a minute you guys don’t speak English… Okay, thank you!” Not English... what were all these names derived from again? Latin? The message was sent off to Castillo, and his search with this new information began again. Someone had to be out there, right? In a way, the king had to be thankful he didn't stay with the child, as there weren't any beetles curious about the random passersby approaching him. When he'd come back, Manic had had enough insects pelting his face, and the sight of Scourge running back was a more than welcomed sign. "You find it?" He asked casually, standing in front of Scourge so Aria couldn't see him passing off the earring to him. "Yeah, here. Man, Lady Miriam has some good aim.” He tossed Aria an apple and “gave back” the earring.

“The bugs must like you,” he joked, receiving a text from Castillo.

{I can’t find it. Try asking her what apple actually is)

“Hey Faolán, did you know Aria has her own language?” He started, motioning for Manic to play along. Fao seemed interested. "Riiight!" Manic perked up like he had just remembered. "Yeah, that's why we can't talk to like, the spirits here or whatever, they don't understand us talking. But they can understand Aria!" "Woooah, is it like a secret code?" Fao said. He was holding onto one particularly large bug, a gold-hued beetle with a long horn he wanted to keep. "What's the word for beetle bug?" "Its just a language sweetie. Just like English. Bug is cimex. And apple is malum. And adorable is venerandum”

She booped his nose playfully, clearly thinking nothing of the king’s sudden texting to Castillo. Hopefully that name would give them a hit in the national database.

As Aria rambled on, some of the trees rustled their leaves, clearly happy to hear her speak in that native tongue. They technically had what they came here for, but Manic's husband WAS on the case right then. They could definitely take a quick break to stop investigating and enjoy time with Faolán, who was not holding the golden beetle in his hands and petting it with one finger like it was a very small dog. "Oooooh, look at that little dude!" Manic said excitedly, kneeling down to look at the beetle. "You're trying to keep him, ain't you? Sweet, man, you got a cage for it?" "I can just- I can put it in a box!" He said, as though that was much of an answer to the problem. "And I'll give it water, and- what do they eat? Leaves?" Manic tilted his head to look at Scourge with a smile that belied he had absolutely no idea what beetles ate, and was desperately hoping Scourge had some kind of an answer. Aria stepped in. "Fao sweetie, I don’t think its a good idea. He’s probably got a little beetle family to take care of. It might be best for you to leave him here. We can always come back and visit him!”

The look she gave the boys hinted that something about the beetle made it a bad pet. Faolán put it down reluctantly.

“Okay aria… Bye beetle!” He waved and the bug burrowed into the soil at the base of a tree. Aria shivered a little. "Tell you what, buddy." Manic knelt down, pulling out his phone and pointing it at some of the beetles nearby. "I'll go to all kinds of pet stores, and see if I can't find any of these dudes for sale." Golden horned beetles. Shimmering metallic beetles. Beetles that almost seemed pearlescent. For a bug lover like Faolán, this was paradise. Even to a casual observer like Manic, this was a vaguely pretty assortment of screeching disgusting bugs. Faolán's little journey through the area was joined by all the other travel companions, having gotten what they came for. Anything that warranted anything from a "woah" to a "look!" was stopped at to satisfy his curiosity. Fao didn't need to be caught in all their drama, he was happy doing what he was going. And they were happy to be along for the ride. ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ The results of Scourge's search had been laid out plainly for the other two hedgehog. "Nothing." Head in hand, Scourge sat, not sure what to say. "He appeared in the city when Ari would've been young, then his name never comes up again." "Did you search everywhere? Social media, job application websites, marriage certificates, name changing forms, death certificates?” The king asked, rubbing his chin. Where was this guy? You don’t just drop off the face of the planet.

Aria had carried Faolán upstairs and they thought she was still up there. Really she was hiding in the hall, listening to the boys talk. Why were they looking into a disowned teenager? What could he have done wrong?

“Don’t give up. We need to find this guy. Either he’s the cause of all this or he’s in danger.” Scourge huffed, looking at the computer screen again. "Didn't see any name changes from his last sighting, but someone was still paying rent on his old place." Manic and him were thieves, and they knew enough about these kinds of disappearances. "No deaths or marriages or nothing, neither. You ask me, he's going under a fake name." "Greeeeat." It was all Manic could think to say. "I mean... Alright, he was paying rent, so he was still in town, right? Maybe... Okay, this could be a long shot, but can you look up names that just appeared? He's a newbie at this stuff, he had to leave some kinda paper trail." His eyes sparked up. "Who was still paying rent? Who was living in that place after he 'left'?" Castillo checked and raised a brow. "Just one name. Insignis Satis… What does that mean?”

Aria stepped out from behind the wall. “It means "very noticeable”… What’s going on? Why are you guys looking into someone I think is dead?“

Terra was behind her, holding her waist. It looked comforting but it was for the boys' protection. There were many looks shared between the three of them. Looks of confusion, questioning, fear. The kinds of looks that only told Aria she wasn't going to like the answer. Manic only had to step forward for Castillo to interject with a "Wait, Manic." Manic wasn't deterred, she was worth learning the truth. "There's kinda a lot there. We've been looking at- Bobtail's an assassin. He was hired to kill you, but changed his mind for his own reasons." The words would hurt, but she deserved an honestly explanation. "We're looking at, like... We think he might know who hired Bobtail, but we can't find him." Not a dishonest answer, just not the full story. Manic's specialty. “Leo? You think a kid who probably doesn’t even remember me tried to have me killed? Why would he do that? I have nothing of value.”

Terra made a move to scold her wife but aria help her hand up for silence. “You know what I mean.” Whoops. Half lies had only gotten them so far, it was time to break out the big lies. "Look... We know when businesses are just crime fronts," Manic told her. "And before he just dropped off the map, he was hitting up a lot of them. Like... a LOT. It looks like he accidentally got caught in some illegal stuff, and didn't really have a way out of it." "Kid gets exiled, he's talking with criminals, and weeks later your people get attacked." Scourge leaned forward. "Don't seem like a coincidence to me." “Why… I knew he was mad at his dad but why on earth would he try and kill me… ” She paused, seemingly concerned. “Wait… He was banished for a reason he… His dad was dying and he wanted his inheritance early… He would have inherited the land I own now…” Aria mind was running faster than anyone could keep up as she chose to switch to mumble in her native tongue to herself. "We aren't saying he wants you dead, man." Manic comforted her. There were many explanations, but that wasn't the one he was thinking of. "We doubt he'd wanna see you all dead, especially if he was friendly to y'all. We're saying, he must have let something slip. He probably knows who's responsible for this crap, they'd be the people who hired Bobtail." Scourge wasn't assuming the same innocence, not for a second. This was pure malice in his own mind. He didn't dare say a word, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Aria's fury. “He tried to sell the land we were living on. He had a multi million dollar deal in the works but Tonic found out about it and their father banished him before he died. The company he tried to sell to also tried to claim the land as theirs, but I managed to win that case because they woke up the guardians… If Leo… If he killed me and Terra, he would inherit the land according to customs…”

She wrapped herself in her mates embrace and the bat hugged her tightly, trying to comfort. She wasn’t listening to Manic. Another round of looks, before a concise statement. "I'll find that case," Scourge said, "Gotta find that company." Where on the spectrum of fear and anger did Aria fall, Manic couldn't tell. But she definitely needed some comfort, and anything he could offer could at least be progress. "Woah, Ari... Ari, you want us to get you like, a drink or anything?" His attempt at acting businesslike was over, shifting straight back into being a friend. "You gonna be okay?" “I… I don’t know…” She stuttered out, clinging tightly to her wife. Terra tried to calm her with little kisses, and it worked, at least slightly.

“We should call Damian… He shouldn’t be a target but I wanna tell him.” Aria insisted as the king and Castillo got to work.

It took a while but they found a clipping from a newspaper about a bunch of businessmen attacked by a monster in the woods, and a tiny Aria stating that the monster would only listen to her or anyone she deemed worthy of control. "We've got people with connections to him, we've got a name, we've got a description, we've got everything a criminal's supposed to hide." Manic was satisfied with this information. "That's a hell of a lot to start a search with." The search, of course, could be held out by field officers, random schlubs from the police, it didn't quite matter who was asking the questions. What did matter was who was talking to Aria, and there was one person who knew exactly what to say to Aria. Nothing. Faolán saw the blubbering eyes, and sat down in Aria's lap for her comfort. Aria snuggled him close, cooing at him. “Shouldn’t you be in bed cutie pie?” She was thankful for him thought, and made sure he knew it. She hated having to lean on him for support. He was a child. He didn’t need to see any of her trauma. She wiped her tears quickly and tried to hide it. “You’ve got school tomorrow pup.” "It's summer!" He said with a laugh. Or were the adults just playing a joke on him at this point. The laughing was the least he could do. There were many ways to approach trauma, and he got his own way from his father; keep the mood light, no matter what. His gaming device was left sitting next to Aria, but if she didn't want to play, it was staying off. Manic creaked the door open, balking immediately when he saw Aria sitting with his son. They did look peaceful, but it was getting late. "Sorry, buddy, you've gotta get to sleep, don't wanna be tired for school." "Guuuys!" He said with an amused, annoyed groan. Aria giggled, faking it. He didn’t need to know that though, as she scooped him up and nuzzled him, purring.

“Still, pups have bedtimes. Off to bed you go." She gave him his game and ushered him to his father for him to be put to bed.

She was tired, and laid on the couch, rubbing her eyes. "Hey." Long after Manic had left, there was a voice from the door. Castillo creaked it open wider, stepping in slowly. Things were still far too tense for anything like this, but Scourge didn't feel like he had a choice. He at least had experience with these kinds of emotions. "Thought you'd wanna talk to someone" was all he could think to say. He sat in a chair a short distance from Aria, the awkward air hanging for a few more seconds after that. But he tried being patient, waiting for Aria to say something, even if it was just 'get the hell out.' “Everyone keeps getting hurt because of me.” She started, an almost random thought. She reached to play with her wedding ring, and only felt guilty.

“Terra has almost died so many times because of me… And you and Scourge and Manic and Fiona aren’t safe either… Maybe I should look for Leo on my own. It would be safer. No one would get hurt.” "I don't know what those trees were," Scourge admitted, "but those hings were some kinda supernatural beast. They couldn't kill me, some asshole with an inheritance ain't gonna get me. So I'm searching." It wasn't an option in his mind, after how much he'd screwed up. "Ain't your fault what some moth or some kid you didn't know did. You were closer to most of that pain than any of us, don't blame yourself for being a victim." “Well those trees were my family, and they almost killed you, and they could and would have if I hadn’t said not to. And all of this is just stemming from me. Literally everything is my fault.”

She buried her face in a pillow, wanting all of the pain and stress to go away. She just wanted a normal life, a normal family. Scourge had heard these kinds of thoughts many times before. From Manic, from himself, even from Fiona years before. So he knew what to say. "Yeah, your actions are gonna cause pain. That's life." As blunt as the words were, he didn't condescend on Aria. "And if you're trying to do good, you're gonna do good. And you've already done a lot for all of us." This was punctuated with Scourge leaning forward, resting his arms on his knees and looking at Aria. "Can't save the world, kid. I've done shit worse than anything you think you've done. You're trying to be a good guy. You're doing fine." “I put you, Manic, Fiona, Faolán, even my WIFE in danger. I can’t forgive myself for that.”

She sighed as he his speech did what it was supposed to. Covering her face she groaned. “I hate that your right. It doesn’t make the mood go away though.”

Well, that was as close as he was gonna get. "Sleep on it, Ari." Scourge assured her. "We forgive you. Your the only one holding out." The sound of the door clicking shut was immediately followed by both hedgehogs sighing. Scourge bucked up and marched onward. He had a criminal to catch. What he instead ended up catching was Faolán as he rocketed down the hall, the king watching from the door with a thinking look on his face. "Dad, dad!" He squealed, holding up Manic's phone and showing Scourge his photos of the beetles. "I put them on that bug site I like, and- And I told them about them, and no one knows what they are! What any of them are! They said they want me to catch some!" "That's... real neat, kid." The beetles didn't look normal to him. The colors on their backs were all bright, ranging from metallics to smooth patterns to even backs that almost looked crystaline. Faolán saw the momentary interest in his eyes and immediately tried milking that opportunity. "Now I HAVE to have a pet bug! It's super rare and they'd all be jealous!" The king followed and gave Castillo a look that showed his son's plan was a bad idea.

“I don’t know about that buddy, but we have to ask Aria once she gets up. She would know more about the beetles than anyone.” The king stated, and the three returned to the main room where the search for the criminal was underway.

“They eat magical rotting flesh. I doubt anyone wants to try and find a source of that," the king whispered to his alternate. "Magical flesh...." The words dangled there, and Scourge immediately knew the answers to all the questions he didn't want to ask. "Sure looks pretty for a flesh-eating bug mutant." There were many angles of attack on this. Who was there they could ask, what might give them information, what could they do? Fao's photos gave his dad an idea the more he looked over just how bizarre these bugs were. "These beetles look real magical. Seems like you'd need a hell of a lot of magic to do this." He could only guess, but something like this had to be hard to do. "A lot of people'd wanna use that kinda magic themselves." “That doesn’t help us… We need to find this guy and we need specifics. There’s no other properties with his name, so he isn’t paying rent on the books… Is anyone else here thinking that he couldn’t have done this on his own?”

With Faolán in the room, his word choice was limited, but he heavily implied the genocide was more than a one man job.

“That land is steeped in magic. Heavily steeped. The forest is leeching off of it, and it's the reason those bugs are rare. Aria said they started showing up when she was younger, just after that thing happened.” "What if..." Manic stood up, looking down in thought and moving his hands in circles as he tried to find the words. "So, after all that, a bunch of magic was released into the forest, right? And now there are magic bugs and plants and stuff, right? Could magic have gotten into whoever did this?" "And we're looking for Ari's clan. She said the family's otters, right?" For once, he started to grin, finally having a solution. "We're looking for an otter with claws an' some kind of magic powers. If they did that, they've probably got a police record under some other name." “Well, yeah, but how do we find him? That record could be from years ago. He could have left the country. He could be anywhere…” The king mused.

“What about facial recognition software? If Aria has a photo we can use it, age him and put it through!” Terra suggested.

“How long would that take?” The king asked, skeptical. "Aging the photo?" Manic huffed, humored. "No time at all. It'd take few minutes to comb local records if we know his species, we'd just gotta compare the photo to those. But like, if he could be anywhere in the kingdom, I dunno..." Castillo stood up, a plan already in his mind. "Get every station to find every record of otter arrests we can, send up anyone who'd be in the age range. And get that photo aged." Manic leaned back, smug as he thought up another part to the plan. "Maybe... I mean, we don't wanna dig up more bad memories for Ari, right? Maybe Damian'd have a photo instead? Or maybe Aria's sketched him already?" The king bit his lip. “We would have to go through her things. She wouldn’t let us… Unless…”

Everyone collectively looked at Terra who sighed. “I’ll try my best.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wake up beautiful,” the bat cooed as Aria got up. Kissing her gently and making the hedgie purr.

“Morning sweetheart.” Aria sighed, pulling the bat down on top of her, content.

“I was thinking… With all this stuff going on about your family… Maybe we should go look at that trunk of your mom’s things? It might make you feel better.” She brushed her hair back and smiled. Aria nodded, snuggling up to her. The trunk itself was an old, well organized stash of memories, bitter and horrifying and warm alike. The fabrics were ones Aria knew like the back of her hands, lovingly handcrafted patters with tiny mistakes in the patterns from the delicate hand crafting process. Even just the strange smell of them carried the air of the forest, a nostalgic kind of scent that has never quite been replicated since. And there was even her mother's own bracelet. All mothers had their own ways of representing their children, some literal, some more figurative, some with wishes for the child. But none of them could mean the same as little trinkets Aria could remember playing with as a little girl. And there it was. By a mass of letters and photos. Aria, maybe seven or eight, with two male otters older than her. It didn't directly say that these were Tonic and Leo, but for as small as Aria's homeland was, it was hard to believe there would be two sets of similarly aged otter brothers in her clan. Though maybe asking would be best... Aria opened a separate box, which contained a bracelet like her mother’s, devoid of charms.

“This one is supposed to be mine.” She told her wife, who smiled fondly at her and kissed her cheek. The promise of ‘someday’ hung in the air. Aria grabbed the stack of photos and started going through them.

“This one is of me and my baby sister, Carrissimi. She’s was so small when she was born. So delicate. She would have been as beautiful as our oldest sister.” Aria held out a photo of a herself with a gapped tooth smile, holding a baby .

She noticed Terra's fixation on the otters in the photo and sighed. “Yes, that’s them. The shorter one is Leo. The guy whose shoulders I’m sitting on is Tonic… Its a shame really. They were so nice to me.” She gave her mate the photo with a sad smile.

“I know this is what you were looking for. You can go bring it to Manic now.” She implied that her mate didn’t want to hear about her family. The bat wasn’t happy about that and set the photo aside, snuggling up to her mate.

“So who is the old man?” She asked, about the next photo in the pile. It would be at least an hour before they finished going through the chest. And in that hour, they had managed to get all the records they needed. Arrests of otters with a broad range of birthdates, collected from most every city they could contact. Sorting through the files was going to be a long process, but with facial recognition software and a photo of the suspect, they would easily be able to find him if he was in any of those records. They just needed that photo. Terra would come back with it eventually, and Scourge reached out for it impatiently. "Perfect," he said, handing it over to the king. "She getting suspicious?" “She figured it out. There’s no use hiding it from her. The guy you want is the short one.” She motioned to the photo, and the king scanned in a picture of him for Manic and Scourge to edit and search for.

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that Aria figured it out. She was smart. These were also her people. She knew then better that anyone.

Of course, that didn’t stop Terra from calling Damian and asking him to warp over to the castle in order to keep him and his family safe. Manic did all the hard work with programs, compiling data and photos, figuring out settings for the facial recognition software. Castillo mostly watched and did any grunt work Manic needed immediately, which wasn't much. "Hey, Scourge." It took Manic a moment to wave his hands and clarify "no, no, not you, the king." His gold eyes were full of hope. Fear and worry, but glimmering hope that they almost had some answers. "What do you wanna tell Ari? If we find him, I mean?" “Keep his location a secret. If she knows where he is she’s gonna walk right into his trap. Instead, we wait until we have a team of operatives sent out. And then we tell her. Keeps her safe and involved.”

Terra nodded. It was a solid plan. Aria wouldn’t be happy, but she would understand. “She says he’s got tracking powers, but they’re limited. No offensive magic”

“Good. That might help. Write down everything she told you. It’ll help the task force.” Maybe Aria could help the task force, but they were going to have to wait for the results to arrive. So until the results came through, they anxiously waited and waited... ding A tiny noise from the large projection screen caught everyone's attention. There was a match. And Manic couldn't have been faster to check out the results. "We've- we've got it! Four years ago- yeah, this is him!" The huddled crowd around the computer say a photo of someone. Name general face as the otter in the photo, just older. And it appeared he was using a pseudonym. "So he's going under "Milia Malum..." ding Another one? Manic didn't know what to make of it, but after a few moments of confusion, rushed to open the second case file. "Tonic Malum," he announced. "One month ago, it looks like, just an overnight stay for some bar fight." Malum, malum, he'd heard that name before... "He's using his sisters and brother's names as pseudonyms," he said. "Erro! Erro Malum, we're looking for someone with the name Erro Malum!"

"I’ve got an address! It’s apartments for a corporate building. And it seems like he’s been there this whole time! Every few years he cycles through names. Looks like the next cycle is gonna happen soon.” The king called out, dialing a number and sending out a tactical team to apprehend him. A video feed was brought up from a camera on an officers helmet.

“Go get Aria. This is it.” He told Terra, and the bat ran off. Seconds later she returned with her wife who was seeping with anger. She gripped the table with white knuckles and looked at the group of friends.

“Let’s do this.”

#TinyRedArtist #Strong Language #There's A Melody Playing #((I.E. Faolan's mere presence does more than their bad attempts at therapy))

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