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canyouhearthelight · 4 years

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The Miys, Ch. 127

Annnnd a-one, and a-two, and a queue-queue-queue!

This chapter has one of my favorite things in the world to write - Interpersonal relationships (if you are surprised, I’m going to assume you are new here....).

Specifically, one of my biggest pet-peeves is when friends or siblings are written in a way that shows that the author doesn’t actually have any friends or siblings they are close enough to that all rules of societal politeness go whizzing into some far-off dimension as soon as they are in proximity.

When I get to write a chapter with such close friends/ersatz-siblings and also have @baelpenrose cackling and egging me on, it literally makes my whole day.

P.S: If anyone has wondered about the ages of the characters, several are clearly lined out in this chapter......

EDIT: Fixed some insane formatting issues.

“The food festival, Sophia? Really?” an incredulous voice asked before the door to my office even opened all the way.

I resisted the urge to scream, but did surrender to pinching the bridge of my nose and breathing slowly. “Hello, Arthur. Do come in. Long time no see. Of course I’m not busy…” My one day each week to have a few hours to myself - no mentees, no assistant, even Tyche was off work….

“We saw each other last night when I came over for dinner after sparring with Conor, and you’re never busy on Saturdays, Alistair makes sure of it.” He dragged a chair in front of my desk for what I felt was the sole purpose of putting his boots on my desk instead of the conference table.

“I thought you two didn’t even like each other, how did you - “

He waved a hand dismissively. “Enemy of my best friend’s enemy is my friend, that sort of thing. Anyway - “

“Did you just call me my own worst - “

“You are, let’s not pretend otherwise. Anyway.” Arthur arched an eyebrow at me and waited for any further objections, but I couldn’t think of any. “The Food Festival. It’s my one favorite tradition on this ship until armed combat becomes a spectator sport, and you are putting Parvati and Hannah in charge of it?”

After a beat pause to make sure he was done, I glared at him. “Everyone has asked me that, and I don’t understand the issue. They’ve both helped in the past, even before they started training to replace me. I’ve handed more and more off to them each time, and they did great! Plus, they have three months, it will be fi - Wait, why do you even care, Arthur?”

He held up one finger with the authority of a deity who would have smited me if he could. “One, Parvati Fletcher does not like mapo tofu. You do. Specifically, you like it from that one vendor who grows her own Sichuan peppercorns and uses them like they are an infinite resource. Two, I spend entirely too much time working with Zach Khan, and he won’t shut up about how stressed Hannah is. Three - “ I was seriously starting to get concerned he actually could smite me at this point - “As much as I love you in the most platonic way possible, you are an obsessive, compulsive perfectionist who insists on doing everything herself and running herself into the ground so that everyone else has the time of their lives. So why are you trusting this, the largest and oldest event on the Ark, entirely to other people?” Dropping his boots from the desk, he leaned forward, palms down until we were nearly nose to nose.

“Sophia Reid, I swear on any god I can kill if you are dying…”

“WHAT!?” I squawked, jerking back and standing so fast I knocked my chair over. “For the love of little fish, I’m not dying! I haven’t had a near death experience in four years, thank you.”

“Three, not counting the fact that there is a reason Alistair makes you drink anything through a straw anymore.”

“How did - Nevermind.” I shook my head and tried to focus on the topic at hand. “No, I’m not dying. Nor am I injured, having a midlife crisis, rethinking my life choices any more than I ever do, or so much as in possession of a stuffy nose.” Taking a deep breath, I rolled my eyes and started counting off before I could stop myself. “Conor and Maverick and I are fine. No, I’m not arguing with Tyche again. Yes, I’m still going to therapy. Else is fine. No new sentient plagues or rogue cult leaders that I’m aware of. Nor have I become immortal, queen of the universe, savior of humanity, pregnant by Noah, or possessed.” Carefully, I picked my chair back up and sat down.

“Good...to… know?” He gave me a funny look. “Who asked the most disturbing one?”

“Immortal or Savior of Humanity?” I asked for clarification. “Those were Maverick and Derek, respectively.”

The look only got worse. “I meant ‘pregnant by Noah’, but fascinating to see where your priorities lie….?”

“Oh. That was Charly.”

“Dammit,” he swore softly. “I had her pegged for ‘possessed’.”

“I’m pretty sure she is, but the suggestion that I am came from Tyche, on no fewer than 3 occasions, by 4 different entities. She seemed pretty hopeful that Else was potentially mind-controlling me in an effort to make me take a nap,” I admitted.

“That tracks.” A nod of approval prefaced the question I had been avoiding - successfully, thus far, I might add. “Now that you’ve ruled out every possible plausible reason that you would entrust this to literally anyone other than a clone of yourself, why?”

“Why what?” My face was composed in an expression of innocence so convincing that I probably deserved an Oscar.

“I can and will convince Charly to turn all your coffee to decaf, so help me, Sophia.”

Realizing that he was, legitimately, worried about me and at the limits of his usually-impressive patience, I held up my hands in surrender. “Fine. You get the scoop. Please record this and send me the loop, so I can just flick it at people who ask, please?” When he nodded, I exhaled slowly. “It is no secret to anyone that I never wanted this job. I made the mistake of establishing the Food Festival, which as you point out is the largest event of the cycle on the Ark - the last three years, literally everyone attended in some capacity.” When he opened his mouth to argue, I held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t get me wrong. I love the Festival. What basically started out as a potluck because we were homesick and needed to meet - you know, the rest of humanity - is a huge, three day holiday. It’s amazing!” I spun in my chair, arms flung wide for emphasis, before stopping to face him.

“It also consumes my life, for months, to prepare for. And that’s just implementing changes to make it more accessible so people don’t miss out! That doesn’t include adding things to make it more interesting or keep it from getting boring, or whatever. I literally don’t have time to do any of that!”

“So, you’re inflicting this on them instead?”

“Inflicting?” I snorted. “Hardly. This is their final exam, their capstone project, their dissertation. If they pull this off, I will gladly hand the entire office over to whoever is elected, cheerfully and knowing the Ark is in good hands. But, they have to pull this off. It’s the only major part of being Councilor of Resources and Relations that they haven’t done yet by themselves.”

He rubbed his face, looking somewhat impressed. “That’s honestly not what I was expecting.”

“I don’t think it ever is, honestly.” I shrugged at the question he glanced towards me. “For Evan, it was coordinating the weapons exhibitions. Charly managed to pre-empt her own by designing more efficient aqueducts and filtration for when we reach Von - you know, the ones that also produce light?”

“Of course she would invent glow-in-the-dark plumbing. Who else?” Something caught up with him. “Evania Josue got away with planning an event? Seriously?”

“Oh, that’s right… you weren’t on Level One…” I murmured. When he only looked more confused, I clarified. “She was Maverick’s co-pilot when we needed people to pilot the Ark, which was not designed to pilot manually, via dead reckoning, using cameras pointed out the few viewports we have, for several weeks after the sensors were sabotaged.”

“She was whose co-pilot?”

“You really never heard this story? You practically live with seven people who were there…”

“Usually I get the bits about ‘Sophia nearly got her brains bashed out’ and ‘that traitorous bitch’, then start tuning out while I try to decide what it would take to get Charly to teach me necromancy… If Evan was the co-pilot, then why is Maverick….”

“Not in line to replace any Councilors? Arthur, we know that would be a disaster for him.”

He nodded reluctantly. “Your younger partner is a nice boy.”

“For fuck’s sake, he’s thirty seven!” I groaned.

“Nice man, whatever,” he waved off. “Which is exactly what I would like for you as a partner. You need nice partners, and blunt siblings. But I see what you mean about him being a Councilor… he’d be miserable.”

“What was yours?” I asked mischievously, dropping my chin onto my hands.

That earned me a flat stare, until he finally surrendered when I didn’t flinch. “The Twentieth/Early Twenty First History curriculum.”

“Seriously?” That had literally been the first thing he had done when Eino tapped him as a possible successor.

“I didn’t budge on points even he admitted he would have, out of fear of offending people.”

“Which is a fear you very much lack,” I pointed out.

“The truth is the truth. Coating it in sugar only makes it taste worse.” He shrugged nonchalantly before suddenly looking dangerously like he was thinking again. “There’s two of them.”

“Yes, Arthur. Hanna and Paravati are, in fact, two distinct and separate women-type-lady-people.”

“Thank you, Fee, I was well aware.” I suppressed a growl at the nickname - he knew I hated it. “I meant, only one can win the election, smartass.”

“Better to be a smartass than a dumbass,” I muttered.

“Sophia, you are forty five. Please grow up just a hair?”

“Tyche doesn’t want to be HR forever, you know.”

That brought his mind to a visibly screeching halt. “Wait, what?”

“What what?” I asked. “She does it because she is phenomenal at it, but it isn’t her passion. She only stuck around as long as she did to make sure I didn’t trip over a chair and brain myself while I was at work. When I’m gone, she’s gone, loser take the spoils.”

He whistled softly before shaking his head. “It’s bizarre to think of you two retiring around the same time I’m just starting the position.”

“I’ll have been a Councilor for a decade when I step down,” I pointed out. I almost included unless I die first, but that never seemed to be as funny as I thought it was.

“But you aren’t that much older than me,” he sighed dramatically. “Anti-aging technology is frustrating.”

“Annnnd this is a natural extension of your career, with a ten year break thereabouts the middle.” My grin was so bright it made him scowl before I finally got a begrudging smile. “Think of it as getting elected head of the school board.”

The groan he let out probably echoed for several levels throughout the ship. I had basically just pointed out that he was becoming that which he most hated.

Or not. He seemed to recover with a gleam in his eye. “Pfft. Dean of Students, at the very least.”

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#the miys #humans are weird #found family #siblings #humans will pack bond with anything #aliens #post apocalyse #post post apocalypse #science fiction #original science fiction #haw #hfy

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batterycityghoul · 4 years

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Stay (Shane Walsh/Reader)

Summary: You think you’re saving yourself by leaving the group, but when Shane tracks you down, you realize you needed him all along.

Word Count: 2.7k

Author’s Note: I meant for this to be a drabble, but it did not turn out that way. :/

Masterlist / Read on AO3

You didn't realize you were planning on leaving the group until you were already gone.

It seemed like the group was constantly falling apart. First Merle went missing, presumed dead, which wasn't such a huge loss in your opinion. But then the group just kept losing people. Amy and Jim were lost to walkers while Morales decided to take his family and try their luck somewhere else. Jacqui opted out and Sophia was lost in the woods. And then Carl got shot.

The only thing the group seemed to have gained was Rick Grimes and you weren't entirely convinced that it was an even trade.

You were tired of losing the people you were starting to consider family. Surviving with the group was one thing, but you had become entwined in their lives as well. You knew Carl's favorite color and that Daryl wasn't a big fan of small-talk, but he seemed to enjoy someone's silent presence while he dressed and skinned the results of a successful day's hunt. You knew Glenn was in love with Hershel’s eldest daughter and that T-Dog secretly hated green peas.

You were becoming invested in their lives, but you didn’t know how much longer those lives would last. Death seemed to literally be around every corner, just waiting to snatch away someone else with greedy fingers and hungry moans.

You couldn't stomach watching Carol fall apart every night since the fate of her daughter was unknown. Add to that watching Carl, the kid who usually had a smile for everyone in the group, pale and defenseless from a gunshot wound, and you just couldn't take it anymore. You didn't want to watch the group divide and splinter with each passing day. You had reached your limit.

So, while you didn't mean to leave, it ended up being what you needed.

You told the group you were going for a walk and by the time you noticed you were a couple of miles away from the Greene farm, you realized you had no intention of turning back.

It was oddly freeing to know the only person you had to count on now was yourself. If you died, then that was your fault. If you were killed, then there would be no one to mourn you. You were cutting ties and saving yourself and the group any potential emotional damage.

You knew it was selfish to just wander off and never come back. You knew they would assume you were dead or worse. But you couldn't keep forging bonds just to have them get abruptly cut off every time the group faced a problem.

It took you a while to adapt. You had been lucky enough to leave with a machete and a hunting knife for protection. You had learned enough from watching Daryl that you could catch something to eat if you had to, but you had to admit that your supplies were running alarmingly low.

The backpack you had taken with you only had half a salvaged bottle of water and a granola bar. You didn't want to have to scavenge, but you knew it was your only option. You couldn't risk letting hunger or dehydration weaken you when you were constantly fearing and fighting for your life.

You lucked out by finding an abandoned convenience store on an otherwise desolate stretch of highway. You were sure you would be able to spot any walkers around for miles and if you were really lucky, then you could get in and out without any problems.

You made sure to keep your knife at the ready as you did a quick perimeter check. You couldn't shake the feeling that something was just the slightest bit off and while you knew you should probably listen to your gut instinct to leave, you couldn't really afford another night with minimal water and food.

You were glad to see that the store wasn't picked clean. You found a few sports drinks and canned items to add to your collection of supplies. There was an itch just under your skin that warned you to hurry up, so you quickly swiped a few candy bars from the meager offerings. It was as you were closing up your backpack that you heard it.

The sound of shuffling footsteps.

And they were heading right for you.

You lowered your backpack to the floor and whirled around, ready to kill the walker creeping up on you.

You thought you would be greeted with the sight of decaying flesh and starving, grasping fingers. Instead, you were surprised to see...

"Shane? What the hell are you doing here?"

Shane offered you a rueful grin, his hands up to show he wasn't a threat. "Well, I'm not a tracker like Dixon, but I did alright, didn't I?"

You frowned at him, your hand slowly lowering so you weren't quite pointing your knife in his direction. "Why were you tracking me in the first place?"

Shane shrugged his shoulders before he feigned interest in the shelf next to him. He reached out to pick up a lone packet of ramen and studied it. "You were one of the only ones with any damn sense. I figured if you were making a run for it, then I might as well find out why."

You shook your head, not knowing what to think. You had never really been close to Shane, but you appreciated what he brought to the group. He was a bit too ruthless, but you knew he would do absolutely anything to protect the people he cared about. That protection always covered the group to an extent, but you noticed only a few people seem to be the main focus of it.

"What about Carl?" You couldn't help but wonder, taking note of his grimace. "And Lori? Rick?"

Shane let out a humorless chuckle, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Seems like I wasn't going to be missed all that much for at least a few days. So, I reckoned I'd come after you."

You quirked an eyebrow at him before finally reaching for your backpack on the floor. "How'd you know I wasn't dead?"

"You’re smarter than that, Y/N," Shane pointed out with a smirk. "I gave you the benefit of the doubt."

"Thanks," you muttered before you brushed past him. "You've seen I'm alive for yourself, so you can head back to the farm now."

"Thought I'd stick around for a bit," Shane offered as he moved to follow you. "Came here on foot and it was a long journey. I'm not too eager to make it again."

You glanced at him over your shoulder before you sighed. The reason you left the group was so that you wouldn't have to worry about anyone else. With Shane here, you could already feel that persistent need to make sure he was safe creeping back in.

When you got outside, you noticed Shane stop briefly to scoop up a duffel bag, before he followed after you. "So, you got a plan? Know where you're going?"

"Not at all," you answered honestly as you glanced around to make sure you weren't going to be surprised by any walkers.

You heard Shane huff out an amused breath, but he dutifully followed you when you took off in the direction of the woods on the other side of the highway.

You kept expecting Shane to leave. He had checked on you, made sure you were fine, so why was he still sticking around?

As days passed and you got used to having Shane around every hour of the day and night, you started to realize a few things about him.

He had a devious nature about him, but he was also kind and caring. He seemed to notice little things that you would have never thought important. He fully expected for you to take care of yourself, but he always had your back. He was playful and all-too-serious in turns, but he never made you feel like you couldn’t trust him.

You weren't sure when it happened, but you found yourself looking forward to nightfall. With walkers around, night could mean low visibility and lethal surprises, but it also meant you got to see a softer side of Shane.

Instead of spending your nights fearing the dead, you found a solace in Shane you had never experienced before. He seemed to unwind when it was just the two of you in the quiet of the night.

Whenever a chill swept in, you would risk a small fire for warmth. You would sit huddled together, seeking heat from the fire and each other, and Shane would talk.

He told you about his former days as a sheriff's deputy. He recounted tales from his days in high school when he would prank his principal or get into trouble with Rick. He confessed to his affair with Lori and how it tore him up to be away from Carl. He told you about his slow falling out with most of the group in the days after your departure.

Hearing his voice in the otherwise silent night was what started to carry you through the day.

You started craving his company during those quiet, intimate moments when it started to truly feel like you were the last two people alive.

You assumed Shane still planned on going back to the group. It didn't seem to matter to him that the both of you were traveling farther away from the Greene farm. He missed Carl and was still pining away for Lori. Of course he was going to go back to them. How could you possibly compare?

It didn't take you long to realize you would miss him when he finally decided to leave you.

There was a day, only a couple of weeks after Shane found you, when it seemed like there was a group of walkers everywhere you turned.

"Must be getting close to a city," Shane guessed as he reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow. He frowned at the grime and dried walker blood on his arms. "We should find somewhere to wash up."

You quirked an eyebrow at him, silently challenging him to find you a place to take a decent bath. With no home base, it wasn't like you had steady access to a water source. You got so desperate just a week ago that you bathed during a downpour and pretended it was a shower. It made you miss the few moments you got to enjoy the relative comfort and safety of the CDC before Jenner blew it up.

"Come on," he coaxed as he nodded a bit off the path. "Bet I can find us some place before it gets too late."

You frowned up at the slowly darkening sky before you conceded with a sigh.

To your delight, Shane managed to lead you towards a small creek.

"It's not much, but it'll do the job," Shane said before he started to strip out of his shirt. You noticed he kept his underwear on once he took off for the water. He had a bar of soap in one hand and your machete in the other as he carefully stepped around rocks and twigs. "Come on, Y/N. Not much daylight left to find us a shelter," he reminded you before he waded into the water.

You couldn't help but watch him for a moment before you sighed and made sure you couldn't spot any walkers. You were always worried they would catch you at your most vulnerable moment and stripped down to just your underwear with only Shane to back you up seemed like a bad idea. But, you realized as you stepped cautiously into the water, you trusted Shane with your life. If he thought it was a good idea, then you were going to take him at his word.

You heard Shane chuckle and when you glanced up, it was to notice he was considering you from just a few feet away.

"Come on, girl. It's not like I'm gonna bite. You've been getting pretty rank these past couple of days. You need to wash off more than I do."

You caught the smirk on his face and the way his eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Fuck you, Shane," you muttered before you glanced down to the water circling your thighs. You tipped your head back up to look at him, raising an eyebrow, before you slowly reached down to cup some water in your hands.

"Oh, no you don't, girl," Shane quipped as he took a few steps away from you. "Don't even think about it."

You couldn't help the pleased grin on your face as you flung the water in his direction. It didn't quite have the impact you wanted, but it seemed to set off a few carefree moments with Shane in which you both splashed each other relentlessly with water.

Shane finally conceded defeat when you managed to catch him off-guard and dunk him under the water.

"Uncle, uncle," Shane cried when he resurfaced. He spat out a mouthful of water and shook his head. "You've got a mean streak to you, do you know that?"

"I was the youngest kid," you told him as you finally moved to scrub off the dirt clinging stubbornly to your arms. "I had to learn how to fight for myself."

"Huh," Shane breathed as he followed your lead and started getting clean as well. "Didn't know that about you."

You shrugged your shoulders, offering him a helpless grin. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"I guess that's true," Shane remarked before he started slowly making his way back towards the shore. "We should probably head on," he added as he moved towards his discarded pile of clothes. "It's going to be dark soon."

You sighed, knowing he was right, before you joined in him getting redressed. You hated the way your clothes stuck to you, but you didn't have the luxury of waiting to dry off. You had to find some kind of shelter if you could before night fell.

Later, as you sat close to Shane and tried to soak in the warmth from the fire, you couldn't help but think back on the past couple of weeks with him.

You thought you were better off alone, but you realized you needed him.

Who was going to make you smile or laugh while you were fighting for your life every day? Who was going to watch your back or distract you with tales of his former glory days? Who was going to push you to walk just a bit farther when it seemed like you'd never want to walk again? Who was going to remind you that there was still life out there among the dead?

Shane. It was only Shane.

You couldn't handle the thought of him leaving you anymore. If he left, then you would spend the rest of your days thinking about him and missing him.

You found yourself reaching out for his hand and tangling your fingers together. You felt him startle as he glanced to you in surprise.

"Y/N?"

His voice was so soft and wondering that you couldn't help the hopeful smile you offered him.

"Stay?"

For one disheartening moment, you thought he was going to disagree. He was quiet for just a beat too long before a pleased grin slowly formed on his face.

"I didn't plan on going anywhere without you," he assured you before he squeezed your hand.

You couldn't help but watch him as he turned back towards the fire, feeling a little breathless and awestruck.

When Shane didn't let go of your hand, you found yourself thinking that maybe there was more to the apocalypse than simply surviving. Maybe forging and keeping a connection wasn't the worst thing you could possibly do. You had been so terrified of losing all you held dear, but with Shane at your side and his warmth pressed along your side chasing away the evening chill, you knew you instead gained everything you needed.

And you were going to hold onto that for as long as you possibly could.

#the walking dead #twd #shane walsh #shane walsh/reader #shane walsh x reader #reader #reader insert #shane walsh imagine #female reader

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madamewriterofwrongs · 4 years

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I'm so sorry, it's such a horrible day all around and I'm sending you al the good vibes I can find. I've never really sent a prompt before, but if you felt like writing some Buddie 2.01 AU, where their first meeting wasn't actually their first meeting, that might be fun? Or literally anything, everything you write makes me smile! Hope it gets better soon!! ❤

Hey! Thank you for sending this. Tonight has been an absolute shitshow of emotions but having something to focus on definitely helped.

So, yeah. This is a First Meeting AU of sorts. Again, thank you for giving me something to do other than cry. I really appreciate it.

Dear Eddie,

Thank you for being my bunk buddy. I had a really good camp with you. Please write me from Texas.

From, Buck.

Dear Buck,

Hi from Texas. Thank you for the bracelet. My sister said bracelets are for girls but I don’t care. I also had a really good time at camp and I can’t wait to go next year. Will you be there, next year? Maybe we could bunk together again. School starts soon and I’m a little nervous because fifth grade is my last year at this school and I don’t want to leave my friends behind. What’s your favourite subject in school? Mine

Dear Eddie,

Please tell your sister than anyone can wear bracelets and that if she tries to make fun of them again, the ghost of Camp Kuriakas will haunt her dreams. I tried that on my sister but she just laughed at me so maybe you’ll have better luck. Mom says I can’t go back to camp next year because we’re moving and it will be too far away. But don’t worry, you can write me from camp and tell me all about it. I don’t really like school but I do like the library. I’ve been reading this book called

Dear Buck,

Camp wasn’t as fun without you but you were right about Suzie Pecoski, she had to leave a day early because the popcorn got stuck in her braces. Jose laughed but I told him not to and he told Counselor Lia that I punched him. So after dinner, I did. He didn’t tell that time. I still missed you though. I hope your new house is nice. What is your room like?

Dear Eddie,

I can’t believe I start high school tomorrow. I tried to call Maddie and ask for advice but she didn’t pick up so I guess I’m on my own for this one. Except I’m not alone because I have you. You’d answer if I called, right, Eddie? Anyways, I’ve been thinking about your theory about the island being purgatory

Buck,

I have no idea what I’m doing but I definitely think I just asked Kylie Wilcox to the dance. I am freaking out! Kylie’s nice and she’s so pretty but I didn’t mean to ask her. I just meant to ask if she needed someone to help on the committee. But I guess I have a date to the dance. What do I even wear? I’m not asking Sophia. One: she’s two years younger and would just make fun of all my choices and Two: she would definitely tell Adriana who would tell mom who would tell dad and then I’d never hear the end of it. Help me, Buck, you’re my only hope!

Eddie,

You do remember that these letters take weeks to get to me, right? Didn’t the dance already happen? I hope you didn’t trip over your two left feet and fall flat on your face. Oh wait. Yes I do. That’d be so funny. And you need to have more fun, Diaz.

Buck,

Have you ever had feelings for a guy that you thought you could only have for a girl?

Hi Eddie,

Isn’t email so much better? We’re one step closer to communicating like human beings. Welcome to the 21st century. Anyways, graduation’s coming up and my dad keeps asking me where I’m going to go to college and I don’t know how much longer I can keep avoiding answering him. How do I tell him I failed? How am I going to face him? He’s going to be so disappointed in me. Maddie and Doug are driving in for the ceremony and I haven’t even told her that they’re letting me walk across the stage out of pity. I’m scared.

Dear Buck,

Greetings from El Paso! Remember when I said I was never going to work for my father? Guess who’s the newest employee. I suppose it’s a good thing. This thing with Shannon is getting serious and I know I should have a stable job. I just thought I’d have a little time, you know? I thought I’d get to be me for a little bit. Sorry Seattle didn’t work out. Hey, maybe you could try Texas next. Try all four corners of the country, right? That wouldn’t be so bad.

Dear Eddie,

I am writing from an internet café in Guatemala. Don’t ask me how I got here, I’m not entirely sure myself but I know it involved tequila. And possibly the guy I woke up next to (I think his name was Nico?) but who knows. Congratulations on Shannon getting pregnant!!! I know you’re freaking out. You don’t have to tell me that you’re freaking out because I know you. But you’re going to be a great dad. Hell, you’ve been half-raising me since you helped me learn my times tables at camp. I can’t believe what losers we were that we stayed up all night doing math. Anyways, I’ll let you know when I’m back in the states. And STOP FREAKING OUT.

Dear Buck,

I’m sorry it’s taken so long to reply. The WiFi’s shit over here. I’m actually typing this from a hospital bed. Don’t worry, I’m okay. Or at least I will be. They said they’re sending me home and (you’re the only one I can tell this to) I got scared. I don’t know what’s waiting for me back in Texas. I don’t know what I’m coming home to. The officers keep telling me that it was an honor to serve my country and Shannon keeps telling me that she would rather I serve my family. I thought I was doing that but I was wrong. I was wrong about a lot of things, Buck, but there’s one thing I do know. Only one of us is throwing our life away for a worthy cause.

Eddie,

You are a pretentious asshole, you know that? You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Just because I don’t have a wife and a kid and a white picket fence, you think I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. You’re wrong. You think you know me because we shared a room one summer when we were kids but you don’t know me, Eddie Diaz. You just want me to be like you.

I’m sorry, Eddie. I didn’t mean any of it. The truth is I’m lost. You were right. You’re always right. I know I’m just a screw up but please don’t tell me I’ve screwed this up too.

Eddie, I’m so sorry. Please respond.

Hey Buck,

It’s been a while (two years, I think?). I just wanted to see how you were doing. A little update on my life. Shannon left me. Sort of. It’s complicated. Christopher and I actually just moved to California so I could start a new job. I’m hopeful that this is the right change for us. I hope you’re doing well. I know I never said it but I forgive you and I’m sorry. You were my best friend, Buck, and I hope we can be friends again. I didn’t realize how much I relied on you until you were gone. I know I’m the one who shut you out. I really hope you can forgive me for that because I miss you. I miss my friend. Anyways, if you’re ever in Los Angeles, let me know. You know after all these years, I don’t know what you look like. I still remember the skinny kid with the birthmark over his eye who tried to go skinny dipping in the lake but slipped on the docks and bruised his elbow. I wonder what he’s up to.

Dear Eddie,

You’ll never believe this, but I ran into a guy at work who has the same name as you. What a coincidence, right? I think I was in denial for most of the day that, of all places, I would reunite with you at a fire station in Los Angeles. But I’m really glad we did.

Buck,

I’m sending instructions for Christopher’s birthday party (I know, I know, you are the party planning expert but I’m the father so you have to at least pretend to listen to me). He’s really looking forward to it. It’s the first one without Shannon so Buck? Please make it perfect for my kid? I could really use a win this year. And no ice cream cake (don’t think I don’t know he’s been trying to talk you into it). I’m already going to have to deal with a room full of hyper nine-year-olds, I don’t need melted ice cream on top of that. What am I saying? You’re the party planner, you can clean it up. What would I do without you?

Eddie,

I was going to text you but that seemed too informal and there’s too much pressure on a phone call so I thought I’d go back to what we do best. You were right when you said I was afraid. I’ve never felt this way about anyone and it’s you. We’ve known each other our whole lives and it never occurred to me that I might be in love with you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not. Eddie, I think I’ve been in love with you since we were nine years old and you kissed my bruised elbow. When you kissed me tonight, I don’t know, I froze. I’m so sorry, Eddie. If I could do it over, I’d still be kissing you. God, I really hope I haven’t screwed this up for good.

Hey Buck,

Turn around.

Love, Eddie.

#cj writes things #911 fox #911 fic #buddie #buddie fic #in the middle of writing this my boss called and the floodgates opened #so that's why this took as long as it did

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kareofbears · 3 years

Text

plainly in truth, chapter 2/5

“Without you around, it’s sorta like stuff is just kinda…bleh.“

—

Or: hiding, confiding, and misguiding.

read on ao3 or below the cut :)

Yusuke wasn’t too sure if what he was doing was of the right mind, but his heart is definitely in the right place.

There’s a lapse in time between Jails and hitting the road. Everyone is out soaking in the last of Sendai; Ryuji and Akira (and by extension, Sophia) are on a quest to buy any last minute supplies that they might need while the girls and Morgana are taking in the sights that they didn’t quite manage to explore as much as they’d like.

Well, the girls who like crowds and sightseeing are on a quest, at least.

Futaba and Yusuke are in the trailer by their own volition—he didn’t need to see anything else that wasn’t a timeless statue, and he learned early in his life that if you pace your spendings, you can then use that money to spend in the future. Quite the contrary, Futaba has had a little too much excitement these past few days and is more than happy to hide away in her top bunk with only her laptop charger peeking out from the bottom of her fleece blanket.

(A cartoon rendition of the Sendai temple is printed onto the fleece. Apparently Haru had yet to see Futaba purchase anything ‘tourist-y’ and action figures of various anime characters don’t seem to count.)

He tugs on her laptop cord. “Hello.”

“...What?” she grunts, voice slightly muffled. Through the thin fabric, he can see the illumination from her screen.

“I need help reacting to something.”

“And you decided to ask me?” she deadpans. “The literal shut-in?”

“The previous shut-in,” he corrects. “You haven’t been a shut-in in nearly a year. A marvelous feat, if I do say so myself.”

“Yeah, and this is my way of celebrating.” The lump on the bed seems to curl further in on itself. “Begone. Do a painting or something. This is my me time. The equivalent of guzzling down a boat load of Arginade. There’s barely any time to be by myself considering the whole group is treating this RV like a pimped out party bus, so shoo.”

J-pop starts playing from inside the blanket fort, and even Yusuke knows a dismissal when he hears one. That won’t stop him, though.

He tugs again, harder. “That is the reason I’m asking you now. I can’t have this be heard by prying ears.”

Had there been a cat on the bunk bed, its ears would have twitched. “Is this…?”

“Yes,” he nods sagely. “It’s a secret.”

Futaba’s head pops out, eyes wide and nearly glowing in excitement. If there was one thing that she liked more than recovering her energy, it's uncovering every nook and cranny of people’s lives, whether they want it or not.

“Inari, you should’ve said something!” She throws the blanket off herself, snatches her laptop in her arms and jumps down. Slamming it down on the booth, she throws herself on top of the smooth faux leather. “Tell me everything. The deets, the specs, all down to the last dirty drop of tea.”

He slides in to join her, albeit much slower. “Before you tell me that I misled you, I want to make it clear: I don’t know what the secret is.”

“What!” she slaps her forehead, groaning. “Yusuke, why would you do me like that? That’s false advertising to the max, and I do not appreciate you tricking me.”

“There wasn’t a trace of trickery. What I’m about to say really does have to do with a secret, but I need your help with how to deal with it.”

“I’m gonna level with you here pal,” she puts a hand on his wrist. “I’m not the right person for this, but I’d be darned if I let you walk away without telling me anything. So let’s hear it! I’m ready for some juicy goss. Oh! Can I guess? Is it about Haru?”

He frowns. “No. Is there something about Haru?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I was asking you!” she says, patting her hands rapidly on the table. “Come on, just spill the beans already.”

“There are no ‘beans’ to spill yet, and besides, that sounds like a waste of perfectly good food.” He leans back against the plush cushion. Only a pinch of guilt arises in him as he says it. “It’s about Ryuji.”

“Ooo, Skull himself. Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting him.”

“It relieves me that you said that. I share the same sentiment—it wasn’t until I had run into him the night before when I had started to truly suspect something. And what I found was…” he trails off.

Her lips pull downwards. “That bad?”

“It was worrying, to say the least.”

She sighs. Most of the energy in her seemed to have filed out in the presence of a more serious topic. “Dang. I knew it was fishy when he left, but he’s always been able to just hash things out on his own.” Her expression changes as an idea pops into her head, and it morphs into one he recognizes. “Does—?”

“No. Akira doesn’t know, apparently.”

Futaba splutters, and he has to resist the urge to nod his head at her reaction. “He—Akira—wait, what? He doesn’t know? Oh, it must be bad bad.”

“My thoughts exactly. Initially, I had thought that whatever this was, it was manageable. Like that time he had spent his month’s allowance on a claw machine to win Makoto that light-up buchimaru.” Idly, he touches her keyboard lightly, appreciating the kaleidoscope of colors that emanate from it. “You know how I feel. We’re the Phantom Thieves; we can’t allow anyone to suffer alone, even if the one we’re helping is a Phantom Thief himself.”

Futaba raises an eyebrow. “And how do you want to help him?” she asks. “By talking to him? Let’s be real, you and I have the lowest social stat in this group. Combined, we can maybe reach the nerd student council president, and the guy who can and should handle this doesn’t even know about it!” Biting down on her lip, “Should we tell Akira?”

“Absolutely not. That was the one thing he had requested, and we cannot go against it. By extension, I don’t think we should tell anyone else.” A thought comes to him. “Wait, he mentioned that Ann knows of his situation.”

“Great! Someone who knows how to deal with people’s problems and isn’t us. What are we waiting for?” She reaches for her phone, and Yusuke proceeds to smack her hand out of the way. “Ow?”

“Don’t call her!” he hisses. “Ryuji said that she’s, and I quote, ‘part of the problem’. We can’t have her knowing that we know something.”

“Ann is?” Futaba exclaims, shoving her glasses up her nose. “This is getting too deep. We don’t even know anything yet, and it’s really starting to feel like we’re part of some conspiracy.”

“That’s right, we don’t know anything, and it is our largest road block.” Yusuke crosses his arms. “We don’t know what happened between Ryuji and Ann, or if something even occurred between Ryuji and Ann. What if they had an argument? What if they’re fighting, and it becomes irreparable between them? What if it begins affecting our Jail runs?”

“You really gave this some thought, huh?”

“But of course. I must nurture the few friends that I have managed to treasure.” He glances outside and sees the crowds clambering to see their tourist spot. “We may be different from most teenagers, but I don’t believe we’re immune to the nature of cliques or dramas or even insecurities.”

“God, what a good friend you are, it’s bugging me,” Futaba accuses. “So what the heck, Mr. Philanthropist? We’re stuck between a rock and our friend group here. This mission was doomed before you even dragged me out from my hideout,” she says, eyes drifting away to stare longingly back at her bunk bed.

“Stop making that expression. There’s a reason why I talked to you about this.” He leans forward. “What I’m asking is, to be frank, unfavorable, but I really do believe that it’s worth it to do this.”

She looks at him, and it only takes her a few seconds for realization to set in. Her jaw drops. “Oh Inari, that’s vile.”

“If you’re uncomfortable with it—”

“I didn’t say I was uncomfortable with it,” she cuts in. The grin on her face is wide; a woman in her element. “I just thought you’re the one who’d be all against this kind of thing.”

Futaba pulls her laptop towards her. “Sit back and observe the master at work.”

He watches as her fingers breeze through the keyboard, eyes inscrutable as light reflects off of her glasses. “So you can do it?”

“I’ve hacked into the Diet Building’s security cameras on a dare back when I was twelve,” she snorts. “This is Mario Kart Baby Park with the railings up.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“It means—” With a flourish, she hits a key before glancing up at him, smug. “That this will be very easy. I’m thinking we can start with their text messages and work our way up to the big stuff.”

“Oh, right. You can go through our phones,” he grimaces. “You’ve stopped doing that, yes?”

“Of course I have! By the way, did you figure out what courses you wanted next term? I saw your advisor was bugging you about it, you should really email her back.”

“Yes, I’ve finally decided on sculpting as opposed to visual photography since it lets me focus on the anatomy of...” he pauses. “Wait—”

“Okay, looks like I got his text messages with Ann, so let’s all focus on this now!” she says loudly. “Scooch over, let’s go through ‘em.”

He does, and she moves to sit next to him. Yusuke peers at her screen. “Nothing out of the ordinary. There is a significant drop in the frequency of his replies, but that’s been the case for me as well.”

“Same here.” She continues scrolling up rapidly, so fast he wonders how she can keep up with herself. “Memes, memes, lots of ‘where you at’ texts, more memes…”

Something catches his eye. “Hold. Go down slightly, I think that link might be interesting.”

“‘How to treat knee pain: 11 steps with pictures’?” she reads aloud. “His knee is acting up again?”

“What’s peculiar is that I haven’t seen any sign of it.” He squints at Ryuji’s response to it—generic gratitude. “Even in Jails, he runs around without a care in the world.”

“What’s even weirder is that Ann is actually sending Ryuji wikihow links on how to treat his knee,” she snorts. “Let’s put a pin in this one and move on, Ann’s chat is chalking up to be a dead end.”

Rubbing her hands together, she straightens up like a professor in front of a lecture hall on the first day of classes. “Now Yusuke, when you’re looking to crack someone open like a tasty, moist omelette, there are two things that you must look into: their email and their bank account.”

After some clicking, Ryuji’s email pops up. “Email is obvious, since this pretty much tracks anything big. Delivery shipments, subscriptions to websites, acceptance letters. It’s all here in a neat little bow, ready for us to read.”

“‘Manga’s are 20% off for this weekend only,” he reads. “‘Anime convention next weekend’, ‘Pizza coupons’.”

“Ugh, he’s so boring! Next!” Clicking sounds through the RV, emphasizing how much they were snooping through their friend’s private life. “Bank account, show us your wisdom.”

“My word,” Yusuke gasps when the tab opens up. “That’s quite a lot of funds.”

“Inari, four thousand yen is definitely not a lot of money. How much do you have in yours?”

“I don’t have an account,” he admits. “I was on my way to the bank to open one, but I ran out of train fare. By the time I had gotten there, it was already closed. Quite rude, considering that it was only two o’clock.”

She levels him with a look. “Was it a Sunday when you did all this?”

“Why does that matter?”

“Never mind,” she shakes her head. “Okay, so nothing conclusive or even embarrassing. That means that whatever this is, he really doesn’t want anyone knowing about it.”

Futaba hops out of the booth and starts rummaging through everyone’s luggage. “That means we unlock the secret, classic, never goes out of style method of snooping—” with an expression of triumph, she showcases Ryuji’s backpack to him. “Going through their stuff IRL.”

Yusuke winces. “Don’t you think we might be going too far?”

“Hey, what’s with the cold feet? Where was your ‘justice’ from before?”

“I’m all for justice,” he watches her unzip the backpack, recoiling. “But even this seems a little excessive.”

“Look, we already went through his email, his bank account, his text messages. At this point, it’s kind of weird if we don’t find anything. Like—” she throws a pair of shorts behind her as she rummages. “What kind of teenage boy doesn’t have anything to hide? And also, it’d be kinda messed up to go through his stuff and come up empty-handed. If we didn’t find anything—” she pulls out several t-shirts and a crowbar and places them on the ground next to her. “Then we’d just be a bunch of snoops.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he reluctantly agrees. “Above all else, we need to find out what’s happened in his life to make him so upset.”

“Exactly. Oh man, wouldn’t it be crazy if we just found some porn mags or something? Retro to the max, but I can totally see him as the kind of guy to lug something like that along. Unless it’s of Akira.” She makes a face. “Ew. Funny thought is no longer funny.”

“Karma, if you will.”

“Shut it. Oh ho ho, what do we have here?”

“You found something?”

“It’s some fancy looking letter.” Futaba flops herself on the ground. She clears her throat. “'Sakamoto Ryuji. This letter is to inform you that…'” she stops all of a sudden.

“Futaba?” he probes.

“Um,” she blinks, and laughs nervously. “Um?”

He reaches over, and she doesn’t resist when it slips out of her hands. Skimming through the letter, only his eyes dare to move. When he finishes, he lets out a breath. “Oh no.”

“We shouldn't've read that,” she whispers, a perfect summation of what he was feeling. “We really should not have read that.”

—

There’s something to be said about the quayside in Sendai, in the way that it’s almost exactly like Tokyo.

Sure, the buildings here are definitely shorter—gone are the towering structures back home, and instead they’re replaced with shorter structures with cute local designs and colorful patio restaurants. The people here are different, too. Maybe it’s something to do with the water here, in how it’s cleaner and how you can actually see some fish down in the canals if you know where to look. Don’t even get him started in the air; jeez, do they infuse the oxygen here with something? He hasn’t stopped taking deep breaths ever since they got here.

But despite all of those discrepancies, the feeling of Akira’s hand in his is just like being home.

“And it’s actually really interesting,” he hears vaguely. “Because back in Leblanc, there used to be a couple issues about the temperature and stuff, but in my hometown there’s…Ryuji? Are you even listening to me?“

Akira’s telling him something. A story about Morgana? And Ryuji’s sure it’s very interesting, but he’s too focused on the way that sunlight hits his cheekbones.

“I’m listening,” he lies. “Keep going. This is just my listening face, I promise.”

“Sure, sure,” Akira agrees easily. “That’s just your listening face, rather than me and my wicked good looks, right? I totally believe you.” He wiggles his fingers. “Give.”

Ryuji offers him the caramel ice cream cone in his other hand, letting him bite into it like some kind of psychopath. “Done?” he asks, shifting the tote bag tucked into the crook of his elbow, careful not to rattle the eggs inside. Akira bravely offered to carry the groceries, but he had obviously refused.

“Mmm. That’s good stuff.”

“Right? I read about the ice cream here when I was younger, and they were really hyping it up on the ad.” He takes a lick, grinning when the taste hits his tongue. “And on a summer day like this? Unbeatable. It’s really reminding me of last summer when we hung out everyday in your room eating crap, taking naps, and playing games.” It also helped that hanging out with his crush was a daily thing, he thought.

“And I got to hangout with my crush a lot too, so that’s always a plus,” Akira adds.

Ryuji stops, and Akira turns around to give him a weird look. “What?”

“You get me,” he says in awe.

“I sure hope so,” he tugs him forward, and they continue their walk, their shoes rhythmically landing on the wood in unison. A comfortable silence takes over, but that’s no good. Ryuji wants to hear him talk.

“So imagine you get ten million yen,” he starts. “What do you do with it?”

It’s not the first time he’s asked this. They discuss it often, eagerly like the dreaming boys they both are. Akira considers it and Ryuji loves that about him. It doesn’t matter how stupid his questions are—he will always answer them with as if it were a serious question.

“For starters, Yusuke’s getting a place as soon as possible.”

“Duh,” he snorts. “Apparently, his roommate brought someone back to hook up with them. Poor guy got so traumatized he slept over at Haru’s.”

“We should be glad that he didn’t ask them for poses,” Akira laughs. “Next, I’m making sure that Sojiro has enough for retirement.”

“Obviously. Rest in peace Leblanc—you make fire coffee, but no one’s there to drink it.”

“And then I’m making sure your mom has the funds for retirement for sure.”

“I love you,” he sighs.

“I know.” Akira starts swinging their hands back and forth. “Then with the rest, I’ll buy us some new shoes for when we start training again together, and whatever’s left we can split it up with the rest of the Thieves and they can do what they want with it.”

“I bet Ann would go on a shopping spree in France,” he says.

“Haru would probably donate hers.”

“Makoto’s is going straight into university. I can see her going in to get a Masters with that kind of money.”

Ryuji refuses to let his expression fall. “That’s her. Big bookworm with a capital B.” Stop talking about this, stop talking about this. “How about you, Sophia? Any clue what you’ll do with a boatful of moolah?”

A harmonic beep rings through the air and Akira passes her over to him. “I would invest in cryptocurrency and turn ten million into one hundred million,” she says cheerfully. “Then I would take that hundred million and turn it into one billion yen.”

Ryuji coughs, sliding her into his back pocket. “You know what? That’s my bad. I should’ve expected that, honestly.”

Akira plucks the remainder of their ice cream cone from his hand and throws it in his mouth, munching. Wordlessly, he takes out a pack of wet-wipes from his pockets and hands it to Ryuji.

“Thanks.” Reluctantly dropping his hand, he thoroughly cleans through his sticky fingers. “You didn’t ask me what I was gonna do with my money.”

He nods in a go ahead way.

“After I give most of it to my mom, I was just gonna give the rest to you.” Ryuji kicks a stray pebble. It skirts off the edge of the boardwalk. There’s a tug on his arm. “Yeah?”

Akira covers his mouth with a hand, before making an incomprehensible garble of noise.

“Huh? My bad, I didn’t catch that.”

A few seconds of vigorous chewing, he swallows. “I said,” Akira says, eyes glimmering the way it does when he gets really excited. “I was going to do the exact same thing.”

“Dude!” Ryuji throws his arm around his shoulders, tugging him in close. “You understand me like no one else does. What the eff!”

“I’m glad,” he says softly. Wrapping his arm around him, Ryuji blinks at the unexpected hug. “It’s nice that we're on the same wavelength.”

Suspicion tingles across Ryuji’s skin. “Hold up.” Pulling away, he squints his eyes at him. “No.”

Akira immediately looks to the side. “What?” he says, defensive. “It’s nothing.”

“No freaking way.”

“I think I saw a cool arcade back there, it has cool prizes that I think you’d like, and—“

“Kurusu Akira,” he says sternly, grabbing his face between his hands. “Don’t tell me that you’re jealous.”

“I’m not!” he insists, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. “I’m not, you know I’m not that type of guy.”

“But?” Ryuji prompts.

“But…” he hesitates. “I’d be happy for you, if you find that it’s easier to talk to other people that aren’t me.” Akira straightens up, pulling out of Ryuji’s grasp but inspects his hand like it were something to be studied. How strange it was to see his long, elegant fingers grasp his brutish, blistered ones. “I’m relieved that I didn’t leave you alone. I just...miss being your go-to, I think.”

“Akira.” He says slowly. “My man. The love of my fucking life. You are never not gonna be my go-to. You’re my go-one.” Rapping his knuckles against Akira’s temple carefully, “Your hometown is messing with you up here, making you say weird shit like that.”

“I know, I know.” Running his index finger down his wrist, Ryuji can feel how cold he is. “You knew what you were getting into when you started dating an overthinker.”

“As a chronic underthinker, no, I did not.” He kisses Akira’s palm. “But it works out, so it’s all good.”

Turning them both around, Ryuji starts walking. “I know this is super duper impossible for a guy like you, but I’m gonna have to ask you for a favor.”

“Anything.”

“You have got, to the best of your ability,” he bumps into Akira’s shoulder. “Stop stressing out.”

He frowns. “It’s my job to stress out.”

“It’s our job to stress out,” he corrects. “You and me. Founding Thieves. We share the burden, bro. We got into this together, we’re getting out of it together. That includes you worrying about our relationship outside the ‘Verse, and extend it all the way to what dingy hometown you took the bullet train from.”

“I’ll try,” he says doubtfully. “You’re kind of enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean? No way I can enjoy the most perfect person on the planet be a little jealous over his boyfriend getting attention, what kind of asshole would I be?” And before Akira can say anything, “I know, not jealous, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“I love you.”

“I know,” he flashes a peace sign.

“I know you know.” A group of middle schoolers pass them, chattering about nothing and pointing out random things on the quay, all enjoying their summer vacation. “You know that you can tell me anything, right?” he asks suddenly.

Unable to help himself, he ruffles Akira’s hair, pitch black and hot to the touch. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“I don’t?”

Gray eyes look into his brown ones, earnest and trusting. Just like that, the light feeling in Ryuji’s chest vanishes. “No,” he responds slowly. “You don’t.”

“Good,” Akira nods, and sees where they were heading towards. “Oh, you took that seriously?”

“You bet your crisp ass I did,” he says, pushing the glass door open. The arcade is bright, neon, and littered with claw machines. Add that to the list of similarities from Tokyo. “I don’t fuck around with arcades. I’m in the top hundred players in the Gun Gale in Shinjuku.”

“Was that with Shinya or without?”

“Not important.” He surveys the area. “There it is. Can you grab us some change? I’ll pay you back.”

Akira waves his hand, walking towards the coin machine. “Don’t. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I let you pay for our dates?”

“A hot one!” he yells. When he turns the corner, Ryuji collapses into a bright red racing chair. “Fuck,” he hisses, heart beating too damn fast for it to be normal. “Chill out, Sakamoto, jesus.”

It only gets worse when a familiar beep rings out. “Ryuji, your heart rate is at 160. Is everything alright?”

“Sophia!” he wheezes out, relieved. “Can you—will—” he stops, scrunching his eyes closed. “I’m having a panic attack, I think.”

“Searching for how to treat panic attacks,” she says immediately, and he sags into the cool plastic gratefully. “Deep breaths will help, slowly to the count of ten.”

His heart is beating so hard that he can barely hear the jingles and the whirrs of the machines around him. “Count out loud. Hurry, before he gets back.”

She does, and he grips the side of the chair as he focuses on breathing. The attack passes by faster than he hoped it would. “Thank god,” he breathes. “Thank you.”

“No prob,” she says, before hesitating. “Akira—”

“Will not know about this,” he cuts her off, rubbing his hand over his face. “I’ll tell him eventually, don’t worry, et cetera. I know all this. Ann’s been hounding me non-freakin’-stop. Just don’t tell him, Soph. Please.”

Before she can say anything, Akira comes back, pockets full of change and that signature small smile resting on his lips.

—

The bright side about missing out on Sapporo’s snow festival is having its tourism as its lowest point when you visit it in the summer.

Even the shopping district just outside Susikino isn’t very crowded; there’s the usual street vendors and shops with bright pastries and cute clothes. But even having it right beside the Sapporo Tower, it’s still nothing uncomfortable. At least, it’s not uncomfortable when you get to observe the environment through a phone lens.

“This is nice, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve had much of an opportunity to talk to you yet, which is quite rude of me.”

“No prob,” Sophia replies easily. She was swaying from Haru’s neck, hanging by a silicone phone holder that she had bought from a convenience store. Futaba had guffawed when she saw it, but Sophia’s happy about the purchase. It’s fun, and it lets her people watch from the perspective of one of her friends. “I have been meaning to talk to everyone one by one as to better understand each of you.”

“Oh, good! What better use of a nice chat while doing some shopping along the way?” Haru chirps, thumbing through a rack of out-of-season clearance sweaters as they pass. “I have to admit, I’m not the best when it comes to fashion and whatnot. Most of the time, I ask Ann-chan to accompany me.”

“I can try my best! Online websites are constantly updating in order to provide their readers with the newest trends.” Idly, she takes a peek. “Wide-legged pants are back in style.”

“That’s a relief,” she sighs. “I never pulled off skinny jeans too well. Long, flowy skirts have always been my thing. It just gives off such a nice aesthetic, doesn’t it?”

Sophia smiles. “I think you’d look good in anything. Have you considered going punk? You’d look very dope and intimidating with a black streak in your hair and a leather jacket.”

“Now that I can agree with, but that’s more Mako-chan’s style, I’m afraid.” She pauses. “Actually, I bet Mako-chan would actually like that. Sometimes I feel as though she isn’t willing to branch out of her circle of clothes past a pair of Oxfords and a deep-coloured sweater. A push might be what she needs.”

She considers this. “Is it possible to buy clothes for her? That can be a possible ‘push’, quote unquote.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. She would never let us do such a thing.”

“One moment.” Pulling out a few files from inside her memory storage, she clears her throat. “According to my data analysis, Niijima Makoto has high difficulty straying away from well-mannered behaviours. Do you think that includes saying no to gifts given to her? That can be advantageous.”

Haru stops walking and pulls the phone up so that they’re at eye-level. “Sophia-chan,” she beams. “I have a feeling we’re going to be very good friends.”

They continue walking down the street when Haru gasps suddenly. “You literally can’t shop, can you?”

“Of course I can. I can get anything in the world for you,” she says proudly. “Anything.”

“Alright, we’ll have to test that later, but I mean you can’t use what you buy,” she frowns, eyes troubled. “Your sweater is adorable, but you’re forced to wear it everyday, right? Can you even do your hair differently? Is it possible for you to pin it, or even let it down?”

Sophia finds it endearing that she would let such a thing bother her. She doesn’t even have a social insurance number, but Haru’s worried about hair clips. “No, but I quite like it the way it is. It doesn’t get in the way when I do my work, and in the Metaverse, it gets completely hidden as to let me do my fighting,” she explains, karate chopping in her screen. “But I can understand the human desire for change.”

“Would you like that?” Haru asks gently. “To change? Um, change out of your clothes, and change mentally. Either one.”

“Change mentally, of course! I’d love to understand my friends better and understand how to help them. It’s a vast mountain of knowledge, but I’d want nothing more than to decode the mystery of the human heart,” she says eagerly. “But for clothes...I’m not sure. I haven’t tried it. I’m pretty sure I can’t try it.”

“That settles it,” Haru looks both ways before crossing the street, jogging slightly.

Sophia perks up. “If you’re heading somewhere specific, I can give you directions.”

“No need.” She has an intense, hungry look on her face, not unlike the one she had when the new axe Akira bought had finally arrived at their RV. “We’re just about here.”

They stop in front of a store, and she can barely read the sign from the phone’s angle. “‘Case in Point’?”

Haru pushes the glass door open, greeting the cashier. “It’s a phone modifier shop.”

There’s no effort to explain anything else, but Sophia can confidently add ‘anticipation’ onto her growing list of experienced feelings.

—

“Out of curiosity—” Haru begins as they exit the modifier store, the cashier still bug-eyed from the tip she had left at his counter. “Can you see everything inside Akira-kun’s phone?”

“Yes,” she replies. The environment that she lives in, and more specifically, Akira’s phone, is now a bright, perfectly polished shade of rose gold with a mint outline. A far cry from the matte black that it was before. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Her voice is sweet as sugar. “Out of curiosity once again, is there anything interesting? Anything worth noting?”

She jumps as Sophia’s voice suddenly morphs into Akira’s without warning. “Nice try,” the phone plays. “But no.”

And just as quick, Sophia comes back to the phone. “Sorry about leaving,” she says. “Akira had asked me to play that clip if someone ever, and I quote, ‘tried me.’”

Haru giggles. “Just like Akira-kun to be so thorough. Impressive as always, leader.” She peers down at her watch. “I suppose it’s about time to head back, isn’t it?”

“We still have eight minutes to spare.”

“We do. Perhaps we should take a stroll around the park?”

“Cool,” she says. “Wanna ask Futaba and Yusuke if they want to come with?”

“Sure?” Haru blinks. “That’s very specific.”

“On your two o’clock,” she points out. “In front of the book store.”

They watch as Futaba and Yusuke stand across the street from them. Futaba is aggressively pointing her finger at the books on display, then slapping her fist against her palm like she was devising a war strategy. Yusuke shakes his head wildly, comically putting his hands in his pockets and revealing that there was nothing inside. She sighs and walks away, tugging along a dejected boy behind her.

“Aren’t you going to ask them?”

“In a moment.” Haru takes them to the front of the store. “This isn’t a bookstore, I don’t think. What’s it called Sophia?”

After a quick search: “‘Sapporo’s School Supply Store’,” she says. “The alliteration makes it fun to say.”

“Indeed it does.” Peering into the store, Haru makes an introspective noise. “Now isn’t this interesting?” she hums. “Do you mind if I make one more purchase?”

“Not at all,” Sophia says, thrilled to add another point she had learned: If Haru wants something, there’s nothing that will get in her way.

—

“So,” Makoto starts, and Ryuji has to hold back a groan. He knows that tone. He’s memorized that tone. All the second years can feel her tone from a mile away. Hell, Ann probably took an instinctive step back just now. “Have you started to think about university?”

“Nope,” he says, wiping the sweat off his brow as they jog around the corner of Odori park. Back before he had left for his hometown, Akira and Ryuji would be up at dawn to train. Lately though, he’s been using any free time he has that isn’t planning for, prepping for, or actively doing a Jail run to sleep in the RV. And hey, he has no beef with Makoto, and it’s not like she can’t keep up with his training (she can most definitely kick his ass in hand-to hand), but she has a tendency to push when it comes to this sort of stuff. “Not a single thought towards it. It’s been pretty good, actually.”

“I can tell,” she agrees. “It’s almost like you blocked my number.”

“I did not!”

“So you actively choose not to answer any of my texts?”

“Ugh, don’t set me up like that,” he winces. “You know I’m stupid enough to fall for shit like that everytime.”

“Hold on.”

Ryuji grunts as he feels a hold on his shirt, forcing him to stop. “Ew, don’t touch my back, it’s Nigeria there.”

“First of all, it’s Niagara.” She spins him around. He’s only a little taller than her, but something about her always seems to tower over him. “Second, do you know why I keep pushing all of you to go to university?”

“Because you hate us?” he mumbles.

Makoto glares at him. “Try again.”

“...Because you don’t hate us?”

“Because I don’t hate you,” she repeats. “You’re all rowdy and wild and sometimes I don’t understand the jokes you make—”

“You’re just mad ‘cause you fell for a deez nuts joke.”

“But I do, inexplicably, love all of you,” she pushes on, and that shuts him up. “I know what you’re all capable of. Amazing things! I understand you all believe that I’m the be-all end-all, and I appreciate your compliments, but there are some things that only Ann can do, or Akira, or Yusuke.”

Makoto continues running, and he reluctantly follows suit. “And you. You can achieve things that I can’t even dream of, Ryuji.”

He resists the urge to yawn. “Thanks for the pep talk, Niijima.” Looking left, the gelato is looking real good. “Wanna get something to eat? I’m starving.”

“You aren’t very good at hiding secrets, Ryuji.”

Now that grabbed his attention. “Whoa, whoa, whoa there, prez!” Speeding past her, he holds out a hand to make her stop. “What do you mean by that?”

She raises a brow. “Nothing in particular, but your reaction is showing me that I should have meant something by it.”

He gnaws on the inside of his cheek roughly. “Okay, but why did that come into your brain? Why do you think I have some kinda secret?”

“I live with a prosecutor everyday of my life, of course I know when something’s afoot.” Pushing her hair back, she squints up at him. “You’ve been more...jumpy lately, yet somehow more laid-back than usual. I wanted to talk to Akira about this—”

Blood pours into his mouth when he accidentally bites too hard. “You talked to Akira?!” he half yells, red dribbling from the corner of his lips.

“Oh my god!”

“Fuck,” he clamps a hand over his mouth. “Sorry. Bit too hard.”

“N-no! Don’t apologize!” she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a napkin, pulling him to a stone ledge. “Sit and take this so you don’t bleed all over yourself. I’ll be back.”

He doesn’t bother speaking, only nods as she turns around. When she comes back, she’s holding a water bottle. “Here.”

Taking it gratefully, he takes deep gulps before spitting it out. “Why the hell does this taste like the beach?” he splutters.

“I didn’t say to drink it! It’s salt water to get rid of infections!”

“Why would you do that to me?!”

“Because I thought you knew to do that from the second-year health class!” she shoots back. “Gargle it and spit. Near the gutter, mind you, it’s rude to spit in front of kids. They might get the wrong idea.”

As if kids are gonna see him and think that there’s something worth remembering. He sips, sloshing it around his mouth before gently letting it dribble into the grated sewer. “Blegh.”

“You’re welcome. Keep at it. And while you’re doing that,” she sits next to him, shoulder to shoulder. “Do you want to tell me what’s been making you anxious?”

He pauses. “Anxious?”

Makoto gives him a stern look. “‘Experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.’ It was covered in your midterm.”

“Ah, right,” he mutters. Gripping the fabric of his shirt, his heart is beating too quick for it to be normal. Then again, when was the last time it wasn't? “You think I’m anxious?”

“I’m not sure. Keep gurgling,” Makoto chides.

He does, the salt water still red whenever he spat, and she continues. “All I know is when my anxiety gets really bad, I chew on my lip. Sae used to chide me when we were younger, but you know, she got busy,” she shrugs, as if he didn’t know how much it pained her to lose her only family member to a career of protecting the wrong people. “When I mentioned it to Akira, he took it upon himself to check up on me regularly during exam weeks.”

To prove her point, she takes her lower lip and flips it out for him to see—white teeth marks, but old scars instead of anything fresh. Letting go, her expression is smug. “He hasn’t felt the need to check in for a while now.”

Spitting, water finally running clear, he grins. “Good for you. I’m glad to hear that, dude.”

“Thank you, but that wasn’t the point. My point was that I was only able to get better because I told someone about it. Someone I trusted.” Makoto turns to him, her gaze serious. “I know that’s what Akira is to you. Habits like these are harmless at first, but they can turn into something else more dangerous. I won’t stand for that. My own justice won’t stand for that.”

Ryuji opens his mouth, before closing it. I’ll tell Akira, he wants to say. How many times does he have to repeat that line before he starts believing it himself? “Okay,” he says, because it’s the only thing he can say without hating himself even more.

“Okay.” She pats his knee before standing. “I can get us some gelato.” She stretches, wincing as her joints crack into place. “If you’re feeling up to it, start your cool down. Unless you wanna keep training?”

“I’m good. Felt enough blood rush for the day.”

She goes to the ice cream stand, and he stares up at the blue sky.

Makoto’s right, because of fucking course she is. She’s right, he knows she’s right. But she doesn’t get it. To her, Akira’s a friend. A guy who helped her out and changed her life, yeah. If he hadn’t met her when she did, maybe she would’ve become a scummy adult who didn’t look up from market pricing and hedge funds.

But Ryuji? Ryuji would be dead without Akira. That’s a fact and a half.

To Makoto, Akira’s a friend. To Ryuji, he’s Akira, and you can’t be on a higher pedestal in his mind than that.

—

It was Yusuke who took the first step.

“Ann,” he greets cordially. “How do you do?”

She gives him a weird look. “Kinda trying to focus here,” she says, gesturing at the scene in front of them. They, Morgana, and Sophia were in the B team as they watched the rest of them try and get rid of the remaining Shadows in Mariko’s Jail, tersely attentive and waiting on Joker’s word in case they needed a last minute switch. The Jail was environmentally brutal; the ice underneath the soles of their shoes makes them skid more often than they’d like. It almost makes the fights seem quicker, one notch faster than usual.

Yusuke pays her dismissal no mind. “I, myself, am learning many new things lately. Can the same be said about you?”

In the corner of his eye, Futaba pauses typing on her laptop to face palm.

“Are you...” Ann says after a brief pause. “Is this a threat? Are you threatening me?”

“No—”

“Panther!” Akira’s clear voice rings out.

Ann dashes forward without question, high-fiving Morgana as they trade spots.

Futaba marches forward, glaring at Yusuke like he was crazy. “You dolt!” she hisses. “What was that supposed to be? I said be slick and cool, not act like a fool!”

“While I admire the rhyme scheme, I don’t understand what you want from me. That was as ‘slick and cool’ as I’m capable of,” he furrows his brow. “I even opened with a question that seemed as though the conversation would be a normal one, but then used that to transition into what I actually wanted to discuss.”

“Stop looking so proud of yourself and—”

“Fox!”

“Back in a moment,” he says before he’s gone, Makoto taking his place, leather uniform still smoldering from when she took a fire move head-on.

“What was that about?” Haru asks, swinging her axe like a picnic basket.

“Nothing, Noir,” Futaba sighs, plopping back into place where Ann had stood. Carmen had kindly left a warm patch of concrete in her wake. “Just Inari became a big ole’ dumb-dumb.”

“I see,” she hums. “So this has nothing to do with what you two have been conspiring about lately?”

Her eyes shot wide open. “Con...conspiring?” she stutters out. “What do you mean by—”

A particularly loud scream rips into the air, and everyone turns their heads to see Captain Kidd slam his hook into the ground, purple arms erupting from the snow and wiping out a huge chunk of Shadows all in one go.

“Hot damn,” Futaba says, directing her focus back to her laptop and making sure Ryuji has enough health to keep going.

“He’s strong,” Haru observes, all playfulness gone.

“Too strong.” After Futaba gives everyone on the main team a good amount of health, something on her screen makes her pause. “Huh…?”

“Noir.”

Haru turns around to see Makoto waiting for her. “I need to discuss something with you.”

“Of course,” she steps closer to her and drops her voice. “Is everything alright?”

“I’d bring this up with Joker, but I don’t want to bother him if I’m not sure if there’s anything wrong yet,” Makoto pushes her mask up. “But have you noticed Skull's been acting strange lately?”

“Mona!”

He swaps with Ann, her pigtails covered in snow. “Ugh,” she grimaces as she shakes it out. “I could try and melt it, but it’ll just drip down my back and freeze later on, and I do not want that.”

“Panther, I’d like your input as well, if you don’t mind,” Makoto says.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I was just talking to Noir about this, but did you notice anything strange about the way Skull’s acting lately?”

Ann takes a step back. “Well, what—No—I mean, that’s your opinion, I think!” she exclaims. “To me, Skull's acting is completely normal. He’s normal—actually, scratch that, he’s better than usual. Nothing about him is wrong, I think, and that’s pretty outstanding and impressive once you consider that he’s the one with the life-long injury. Not that that has to do with anything!” Ann yells. “I just wanted to point out how far he’s come, and how much he’s kicking ass right now. Actually,” her voice shifts to a stage whisper. “Don’t mention this because I don’t wanna cause drama, but Fox has been a little weird.”

“Weird how?” Makoto whispers back, looking extremely lost.

“Just earlier, he asked me how I was.”

“...I’m not following.”

“No, Panther-chan has a point,” Haru breaks in. “I can’t say for certain, but I have a strong feeling that Fox and—” she points at Futaba conspicuously. “Are up to something.”

“Sophie and Fox?” Ann breathes.

“Panther!”

“Damn, again? That’s what we get for going into an ice Jail,” she grumbles, swapping with Yusuke.

Haru sighs. “Panther-chan isn’t the best with context clues, is she?”

“Hello ladies,” Yusuke greets. “What were we discussing?”

Makoto gives him a suspicious look. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

His jaw drops, bewildered, but before he can say anything, Futaba waves him over. “Get your fox butt over here!”

“I...Alright,” he says, resigned.

“Look at them,” Makoto nods at the pair. “I think you’re onto something.”

“I think so too, but I don’t want to be too hasty. After all, the two of them are such good friends now; it would be unfair to assume negative outcomes without evidence, or at least confront them first,” Haru says nonchalantly.

She understands immediately. “You have evidence?”

“Something of the sort.”

“Noir!”

“Duty calls,” she gives her a thumbs up, before Ann comes back once again.

“I can’t wait for us to go to a really hot place again,” she kicks the snow with her heels. “Then I’ll be comfortably in the B team because all the Shadows have fire resistance to the max.”

“Oh good, she’s back,” Yusuke’s expression is one of relief.

“Fox—” Futaba warns without looking up from her laptop.

“Come here. There is something we would like to discuss with you.” Whether or not it was intentional, he rests his hand on the handle of his katana.

“Okay but before we start, I just wanna ask—what are you doing with Sophie?” Ann accuses. “It’s fine to be friends with her, but you have to be careful. She’s really susceptible to what we say right now, and if you try anything funny—”

“What are you even saying?” he says, offended. “I barely even talk to her!”

They all glance at Sophia, who had been standing perfectly still and silent. She gives them a wave. They all awkwardly wave back.

Makoto places a hand on Ann’s shoulder. “Panther, Noir meant Fox and Oracle.” Ann flushes red as she continues. “And while we’re all here, I wanted to bring this up with you as well. Have you all noticed something strange with Skull?” Futaba stops typing. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but I think he’s extremely anxious about something. You all know that I’m an overthinker, so I might have the wrong idea but…” she trails off.

Futaba glances at Yusuke. Yusuke glances at Ann. Ann helplessly glances at Ryuji, still fighting alongside Akira and the others.

“I know nobody asked me,” they all jump a foot in the air when Sophia speaks beside them. “But I can at least confirm for suresies that there is something strange with Skull.”

“Which is…?” Makoto prods.

“I don’t know the specifics.” Ann, Yusuke, and Futaba let out a breath. “But he did have a panic attack recently.”

“I knew it!” Makoto snaps her fingers. “He’s had signs of being anxious, but I wasn’t too sure about it.”

“Queen!”

She runs out, and Ryuji comes in, looking exhausted but pleased. “Hey y’all, what were we talking about?”

It was dead silent before Sophia steps forward. “Look what I can do!” she exclaims, changing the expression on her screen to be an emoji with a flower.

“Whoa!” His eyes bug out, and they all sigh in relief. “That’s awesome! Can you do more?”

“That’s super cool Sophie, but,” Futaba looks at Ryuji, skeptical. “Don’t you feel weak right now? Your health is way down.”

“Oh, I didn’t even notice,” he rubs the back of his neck. “Sophie, you mind?”

“Not at all.” She calls for Pithos and green sparkles fall on him. “Better?”

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

“Skull!”

“When the king calls, his knight answers,” he salutes, sprinting out as Makoto comes back in.

“So,” she glares at the rest of them. “What do the rest of you know?”

Ann groans. “Even if I did know something, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

“Wait,” Futaba points an accusing finger at her. “What do you know?”

“What do I know? What do you know? And for that matter, what does he,” Ann points at Yusuke. “Know? Noir said you guys are doing secret stuff together!”

“That’s preposterous,” he scoffs. “If it was secret, she wouldn’t have known.”

“That’s the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard.”

“How is it dumb?” he asks. “You can’t possibly think that just because Futaba and I are doing ‘secret stuff’ that it has anything to do with Skull’s situation!”

There was a pause. “Are those two connected?” Sophia asks. Futaba buries her face in her hands.

“That was...not the question I expected,” Yusuke answers weakly.

“Sophie!”

“God, I wish Joker would call for Inari instead,” Futaba groans.

Rushing out, Sophia high-fives Ryuji on the way. “Guess who’s back, motherfuckers?”

In an effort to bury their conversation, they all begin cheering overenthusiastically, Yusuke clapping politely. Bewildered, Ryuji instinctively gives them a thumbs up. “Thanks guys. Usually, my jokes don’t really land, but that made me real happy.”

“Uh, Skull,” Futaba raises an eyebrow. “How do you keep losing health? I didn’t even notice you taking a hit.”

“I’m low again? Damn, I didn’t even notice,” he groans loudly. “Queen, can you—”

“I’m on it.”

Just as Johanna heals him, Akira calls out once again: “Skull!”

“Joker really does rely on you, doesn’t he?” Yusuke observes.

Ryuji laughs. If they didn’t know any better, they would think it sounded a little nervous. “Well, gotta jet!”

High-fiving Makoto, he runs out. She stares at the remaining members of the B team. “You all know something,” she accuses. “And I understand if you’re all being loyal to him by keeping what you know close to your hearts. But remember this:” she takes a step forward, and they all take an unconscious step back, Futaba scooting from where she sat on the ground. “There comes a point where it’s actually more important to keep a person safe and healthy than to uphold a potentially dangerous secret.”

They all digest her words for a second, and flinch when a flash of blue flame appears, taking Akira’s Persona away.

“Finally.” He stretches his shoulders, satisfied. “That took awhile. Good work everyone, let’s keep going.”

Making their trek deeper into the Jail, Futaba half-jogs, half-speed walks to Ryuji. “Your health again,” she chides. “Seriously. I know I like to play around, but I always have my eye on you guys when you’re fighting. I literally have not seen you take a hit, but you’re getting drained like milk in a sink.”

He shrugs, unperturbed. “Whatever. You see my hits today, though? They were tough.”

“Yeah,” she agrees reluctantly. “But your health is still low. I’ll call Joker about that.”

Before she can turn, he grabs her wrist. “Nope,” he says. “I’ll ask Panther. Thanks though!”

Ryuji goes to Ann, and he can feel everyone’s eyes on him, watching him, surveying his every move.

All eyes except for the one that really matters.

#p5 #p5s #yusuke kitagawa #mine #fic tag #plainly in truth #ryuji sakamoto #akiryu #pegoryu #chapter two! neat #akira kurusu #persona 5

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ruzek-halstead · 4 years

Text

midnight troubles

part one

pairing: luke patterson x julie molina

a fic all about luke and julie taking on their biggest challenge yet: parenting a baby simulator.

high school au

"we are not naming our daughter after those two doofuses."

part two || masterlist || ao3

"Time to hand out your new babies!"

Luke's face paled.

How did he manage to get himself into this situation? He deliberately missed a health credit, hoping his extracurricular activities such as sports (and singlehandedly putting together a legendary band at seventeen) would be enough. But clearly, he wasn't that lucky after being pulled into his guidance counsellor's office and being told his only other option was to take a health class specifically focused on parenting. At such late notice, it was the only class with an open spot that could count towards his requirements.

It was mostly fine.

Julie happened to be in that class and he was able to half-ass through it because his best friend (and incredible lead singer of his band) is ridiculously smart. She'd only huff when he inched over to peek at her notes but even she couldn't resist his cheeky grin.

However, this was an assignment where he couldn't use his excellent level of bullshit. It was the final project of the semester and worth 30% of their final grade. In pairs of two, they were to care for a fake baby, who in reality, acted just like a real baby. It recorded everything and if you took too long to respond to its crying, or held its neck the wrong way, it docked marks.

Luckily for Luke, Julie agreed to be his partner, because he genuinely believed he would fail without her. Unfortunately, her genius brain alone was not enough to help them excel in this project.

"Patterson, girl or boy?"

Oh, and the best part about this course? They had been short on teachers at the beginning of the school year, so somehow, Luke's lacrosse coach (who hates everything and everyone) was convinced to teach the course.

Luke looked over at Julie in a panic, unsure of his answer. "Uh — I don't know?"

"That's not an answer, Patterson!" Coach Jacobs yelled before throwing a baby simulator, dressed in a light pink onesie, in Luke's direction. Luke fumbled a little but managed to catch it. Julie cringed when she saw his hands wrap around the baby's neck. The whole classes' eyes flickered back to Coach Jacobs. "That doesn't count," he muttered before continuing to hand out the babies in a more civilized manner.

Assuming that the simulators hadn't been turned on yet due to the way it made no noise whatsoever after being chucked halfway across the room, Luke gently placed it back on his desk. "It's a girl," Julie said softly, staring at her in admiration from her desk beside Luke.

Luke found himself staring at Julie, his heart fluttering. The way Julie was smiling at the baby, as if it was—and god forbid where his mind was dragging him, but as if it was theirs—was making his heart do all sort of weird things in his chest. Luke and Julie had always been friends, but ever since they started the band together and started senior year, he'd started to feel things.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, shooting her a nervous grin when her brown eyes moved up to his face. "What are we naming her?" Before Julie could chime in, he continued, "I promised the boys I'd consider their names as options."

"We are not naming our daughter after those two doofuses," she deadpanned with the utmost seriousness, but Luke was too busy avoiding an aneurysm at hearing 'our daughter' to focus on anything else.

"Regex?" He choked out, because when in doubt, always make a joke.

Julie shook her head. "Over my dead body."

"I've always liked the name Sophia," Luke shrugged, catching her eye to gauge her reaction.

She sent him a soft smile. "I really like that. Let's do it."

The sweet moment was cut short when Coach Jacobs clicked a few buttons on his computer with a smirk. "Alright suckers, get ready for the worst weekend of your lives!"

His statement was proven when half the babies in the room started screaming.

"Let me see it!"

"Reggie, it's a her! And I'm the godfather, I get first look."

Julie flinched as the two boys crowded around her. She had just arrived in the cafeteria where she was meeting the boys for lunch, like she always did. Today, she had a new addition and the boys were beyond ecstatic.

"Oh my god, she's adorable," Alex cooed, his eyes sparkling. "I know she's fake but wow, my heart is bursting right now."

Julie laughed. "Her name is Sophia."

Reggie instantly smirked, elbowing Alex whose face was etched in a frown. "I have literally the most common unisex name ever and you didn't name her after me?"

"Trust me," Luke chimed in, appearing out of nowhere and wrapping his arm around Julie's shoulders. "We don't need two Alex's."

"I second that!" Reggie added excitedly.

Alex rolled his eyes, angrily taking a bite from his apple. "Don't worry. I'll remember this; karma is a bitch."

"Dramatic," Reggie sang under his breath. He narrowly missed getting hit with Alex's apple.

"How was she?" Luke asked with a smile, avoiding his friend's antics. Luke and Julie had opposite classes for the rest of the day and decided they would meet in between and alternate.

Julie smiled proudly. "Not a peep. My girl knows Mr. Sanders is terrifyingly scary."

"Great," Luke groaned, "that just means I'm going to get all the action."

Julie patted his shoulder with a smirk. "I really hope so."

"Jules!" Luke whined. "You're not be a very supportive partner, you know."

The brunette rolled her eyes at his guilt tripping antics. "I'm too smart for your games, Patterson. Plus, I'm getting her for all of tonight, so this is the least you can do."

"I know," he grumbled in response, "it's just scary. She's like a tiny human. What if I break her?"

Before Julie could reply, Alex jumped back into the conversation (he had a sort of sixth sense for opportunities to tease and or make fun of Luke). "Well, in the real world, you'd probably get arrested for murder. But she's a tiny robot; I think you'll be just fine."

"Hey, why don't we leave the baby with Alex and go bowling or something?" Luke teased.

Alex frowned. "What — no —"

"Great idea, Luke!" Julie cut Alex off with a smirk. "You want to come, Reg? Alex is on baby duty!"

"I don't like this!" Alex whined.

Reggie smiled excitedly. "We're going bowling? That's when you throw the ball down the side thingies, right?"

Alex paused, patting Reggie's back with a bright smile on his lips. "Never mind. All of that was worth it for this very moment."

It was somehow decided that Julie would take baby Sophia for the first night (because she's more likely to not completely destroy the simulator than Luke), then she would make her way over to Luke's house on Saturday.

That was the plan. However, plans always change.

The first few hours went great. The baby cried but was easily soothed with a diaper change or a quick bottle. Julie was able to get the baby to sleep around 9:30 and ended up falling asleep herself after watching a movie on Netflix.

She was woken up at two in the morning with soft cries, so she blearily picked up baby Sophia and chimed her with her bracelet. She tried giving her a bottle which didn't quiet her down and neither did a diaper change. She tried cuddling her and rocking her but to no avail; Julie pulled on her curls, wondering if the cries she was hearing were hers or the baby's.

"Baby, please go back to sleep," Julie begged.

After another fifteen minutes of incessant crying, Julie decided to call in reinforcements. She shouldn't be the only one losing sleep and suffering.

She quickly dialled Luke's number and prayed he wasn't in a deep sleep where he wouldn't hear his phone. If that was the case, she had half a mind to drive over and stick him with baby Sophia so she could finally sleep for a bit. Luckily, he picked up after a few rings.

"Hello?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Lucas Patterson!" Julie hissed over the phone, so sharply that he scrambled to sit upright in his bed and hold the phone tight to his ear. "You better get your ass over here before I murder you! I am dying here!"

Luke rubbed the sleep out of his eyes; he could hear the faint crying of Sophia and sighed. "My name isn't Lucas," he muttered, "and come on Jules, it can't be that bad."

He could picture the absolutely furious and incredulous expression on her face.

"Are you kidding me, Luke? How about I abandon you with this child, and then we'll see what isn't that bad?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, nearly dozing off again.

Julie knew him too well.

"Luke!" She snapped and he flinched awake again. "I better see your face in ten minutes or you're taking care of Sophia the rest of the weekend by yourself!"

"Shit, okay," he grumbled, grabbing a random sweatshirt and joggers. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"It's been over half an hour of this, you have ten!"

Luke groaned as he hung up the phone and rand a hair through his brown hair. By the tone of Julie's voice, he knew better than to make her wait any longer. Luke arrived at Julie's house with one minute to spare and grabbed the key lodged under a rock in the garden. As soon as he walked in the door, he could hear faint cries.

At this point, he wasn't sure if the cries were baby Sophia's or Julie's.

He had barely gotten through the threshold of her bedroom before his baby was shoved into his arms. "Oh okay," he mumbled, stumbling on his feet. Julie's brown curls were tied back into a messy bun and her eyes were rimmed red.

"Thank god you're here," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. She was undoubtedly making them even more irritated. "She hasn't stopped crying, I've honestly done everything. I don't know what she—" Julie's words abruptly stopped because for the first time in over an hour, all she heard was silence. "What the hell?"

Luke looked just as confused as she did because it literally only took a few seconds before the baby quieted down once settled in his arms. Julie looked exasperated.

"You're never leaving," she replied quickly, staring at him in awe. "You can't leave me alone with her again. I think she hates me."

Luke leaned against her desk, shooting her a disgruntled look. "Relax, I'm sure that's not true. Plus, she's basically a robot. Do they even feel?"

"She definitely makes me feel," Julie huffed, sitting down on her bed. "You can probably put her back now. I think she's cried enough for the night." Luke slowly placed her back in her car seat. "Can you imagine having a baby at this age? God, I couldn't do it."

She could barely make it through an entire night with a fake baby, much less a real one.

Luke took a seat beside her, a generous amount of space between them. "I can't imagine having a baby, no. I think it's physically impossible, but I could be wrong."

Julie laughed, hitting his shoulder in response. Her action brought her a little closer to him. "Shut up. I'm still mad at you for abandoning me."

"Sorry," he smirked in response, even though this was technically the agreed upon deal. "I promise I'll spend the rest of this weekend attached at your hip. I think that's only fair after the night you've already had.

Julie sighed happily. "You always know what to say, don't you, Patterson?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders and felt his cheeks heat up slightly. "I wouldn't say that."

Julie wasn't sure what was bringing it on, but she felt the sudden need to let him know just how much she appreciated him. He was always ready to help out, regardless of the obstacles. He always seemed to know just what to say to make her feel better, and even if it didn't, he would always be the one to tell her exactly what she needed to hear. He was her biggest fan when it came to her music, and she couldn't picture anyone else by her side on the piano bench.

Luke had the biggest heart of anyone she'd ever known (except Reggie, maybe) and he needed to know that.

"Hey, I'm serious," she said softly, ducking her head down to catch his hazel eyes. "I appreciate you."

Luke chuckled nervously and before he knew it, his fingers were ringing together because he didn't know what to do with his hands. His nervousness only got worse when Julie tangled her hand into his on his lap.

"I think you're more tired than you thought," Luke responses softly. His gaze focused on their hands. There had always been a connection between them; everyone else could see it, even Luke could see it, especially when they wrote music together.

Julie smiled. "Yeah, I think I am," she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "We should probably get some sleep bef—"

Sophia's loud cries cut her off before she could finish and Julie groaned, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Don't worry Jules, I've got you."

this is a little something i had saved from another fandom & decided to give it a shot for jatp!!

originally written for teen wolf’s stiles and lydia. and the coach was based off coach finstock from teen wolf as well, quite arguably the best character of the show lmao (can yall tell i love teen wolf and am very salty it ended and stiles wasn't even in the last two seasons)

shameless promotion - anyway go watch teen wolf & thanks for reading!!

stay safe everyone! x

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lokigodofaces · 3 years

Text

thoughts on loki ep 3: lamentis

under cut for your convenience

my first thought when i saw C-20 at the beginning was the Framework...i might be a bit too obsessed with an aos/Loki crossover...

C-20 was sorta able to find out something was wrong. from what Sylvie said, that's pretty impressive.

i wonder if Sylvie uses magic similar to Wanda's. like if Wanda just uses it on a bigger scale. the mind illusions thing checks out. and i saw on youtube that another patron looks like Evan Peters, so maybe they're connected? but most likely they just hired a dude that happens to look like Evan Peters.

going back to that, the glitch in C-20's illusion was like the glitches in WandaVision

if this really is similar to Wanda in canon, that means Sylvie and other Lokis might be nexus beings (y'know, the very thing i shout about in tags because i want)

Okay, so Sylvie tried to enchant a minuteman, which means she must have assumed the TVA operates on the same physics as the timeline. So neither Lokis thought magic could possibly be impeded.

good action sequence with Sylvie and minutemen and Sylvie and Loki

dudes...Renslayer can't fight. she literally did a horrible job.

Sylvie really thought the TVA valued Loki and that they really wanted/needed him to stop her. so she threatened to kill him, just for Renslayer to give the go ahead. shows how little the TVA cares and it echoes Odin.

Lamentis 1 sounded cool because that is a very sci-fi-ey name. It means the star the planet orbits is called Lamentis and the planet is the closest planet. That's how we name lots of planets outside the solar system. so i appreciated that.

okay, lamentis is literally just the bi flag. but still lots of purple so i will claim it as ace as well.

teleportation! and actual magic! yay!

okay, are they setting up a Loki/Sylvie romance? the way they framed the two when Sylvie tried to enchant Loki was how it's often done with kisses

Sylvie said with strong minds she has to do what she did to C-20 to enchant them, but she couldn't even do that with Loki. Which shows how powerful Loki is and how powerful the mind stone is.

i will die for more of Loki and Sylvie being chaotic together

Sylvie she said is an alias. Does this mean she is genderfluid but is female more often than male? i'm told some genderfluids are one gender more than the other, and i've considered Hiddleston's Loki to be predominantly male. Could Sylvie be the other way around? & born Loki but haven't changed her name? or have different names for different genders? and doesn't want to be called Loki when she's female because that's not her name as a woman?

literally i can't tell if they're setting up romance or sibling stuff.

i never thought i'd hear the word "savvy" from Loki. but, hey, if Jack Sparrow can say it, i'll allow it.

the effects for the gun that woman used look similar to Daisy Johnson's quakes. for a second i hoped for an aos crossover, but then i remembered that marvel hates it's non-Disney+ series.

i like the differences between Loki and Sylvie. Loki is less confrontational and more likely to mischief his way when Sylvie is more likely to rip the bandaid off and get it over with, if that makes sense. i think that Sylvie might just be so tired from living on the run, only going to apocalypses that she just wants to get it over with.

love is a serious theme throughout this episode. again, are they setting up a Loki/Sylvie romance? or will it be platonic or familial or something else?

Loki is very clearly not okay with the fact that so many people are being left to die, and i'm here for it

so the whole thing to get on the train i think is setting those two up to be a good duo. between illusions and enchantments, they can do a lot. and Loki was able to get them part of the way, and Sylvie the rest. i think it could be foreshadowing both of them needing to use their skills to work together.

never have your back to a door, i guess

Sylvie's reaction to Loki saying he wasn't told he was adopted. man, she was worried. she knows that that is messed up and i think she feels bad for Loki. she's probably imagining how her life would be different if she didn't know she was adopted.

sounds like Odin and Frigga weren't the adopters of Sylvie. Maybe the Lushtons? i don't know anything about them, just that Lushton is Sylvie's last name in the comics. so, yay for her for not having trash parents. unless they were, then sorry for Sylvie. at least they told her she was adopted. but if the Lushtons adopted her, how did they fall across a frost giant? especially the daughter of Laufey?

i've seen suggestions that the post man Sylvie is with could be Stan Lee since a couple cameos were of him as a post man. Maybe a younger post man, but he has less of a lifespan (if he is actually human in universe. i still like to think of him as the One Above All who just really likes to see the drama of things) than Sylvie, so she could be with him for a long time. maybe that's why Stan is always cameoing. he's just trying different things to try to find his love. and maybe he has a longer lifespan (he was in First Avenger) but not as long as Sylvie's so she still was there for most his life but he's dying soon. I actually like this headcanon a lot, i think it's sweet.

YAS BISEXUAL LOKI YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM! but i'm also scared my parents will find out. they're anti-queer. my siblings saw it, & they aren't supportive either but they operate on an "ignore it" policy, so they don't really care as long as it isn't a big deal.

also it is heavily hinted Sylvie is bi as well.

yes, i will continue to headcanon Loki as greyromantic and asexual. deal with it. i will change my language from panromantic to biromantic since the director specifically said he was bi.

also, it sounded like the director might be bi as well. good for her, taking a character she saw as bi and literally making it canon.

i knew Tom could sing, he was on Broadway. but i had never heard him sing i don't think. he has a good voice. petition to make a musical with Loki. watch the episode "Duet" of The Flash. i want something similar to that. can Sophia sing? throw her in too if she can!

translation of the norwegian suggests romance between Loki and Sylvie

was i expecting an "ANOTHER" reference? no. am i glad we got it? yeah, that was a nice touch.

turns out "full" means drunk in Norwegian according to a youtuber? but don't quote that. Loki says he's full, not drunk at one point.

what were they serving on that train? Thor couldn't get drunk on Earth. heck, Steve couldn't. so it must've been a heck of a drink they were serving

ok, the dagger metaphor i actually really liked. could be a shakespeare reference?

the fireworks thing with Frigga was cute

okay, i don't like Frigga much, but this has confirmed that Frigga was, maybe possibly, better than Odin. Frigga at least believed in Loki. but then her betrayal was so much worse.

wait, i just realized. Loki gets a fight scene on a train. a superhero genre staple is a fight on a moving vehicle (bonus if it's a train). yay! Loki hasn't had this trope yet in any of his appearances. off screen before Infinity War, and i don't count his attempt to murder Thanos on the Statesman. but we can add that to his list of superhero tropes.

i feel like the TVA needs to make stronger tempads...

okay, Loki threw the dagger horribly because he was drunk, right?they aren't saying he has horrible aim, are they?

falling out of a moving vehicle is also a superhero trope...at least it went better for them than it did Bucky

i relate to Sylvie screaming in the middle of nowhere

Loki being gentle with Sylvie and letting her talk to him. gosh. i love it. was not expecting to see Loki from my fics make an appearance.

Sylvie explained the enchantment to Loki, which i think was a poor decision for her.

she said C-20's mind was hard to navigate to her original memories. maybe the TVA does something to the TVA agents that join them. maybe if Loki proved useful, they'd do it to Loki.

or maybe variants lose memory over time. Sylvie says something about her memory being like blips of a dream, but I don't remember the context. maybe over time variants lose their memories and only retain a few things. Sylvie is well down that process, Loki has had hardly any change, and those working for the TVA only have a few things to remind them.

Mobius absolutely was a jet ski enthusiast in the '90's when he was arrested, and he loved Josta.

Casey liked Boku juice, a sign he was from the '90's.

whoever makes the uniforms is from whatever period that style of suit was popular ('80's?).

if anyone isn't a variant, it's Renslayer. she knows more than she should, i'm sure of it.

C-20 likes margaritas now, i'm sure of it.

Mobius has an interesting relationship with Renslayer. I wasn't sure if it was romantic or what. Maybe Renslayer looks like his lover from the '90's so he is flirty with her because of the faint memories he has.

Loki immediately catches on to the TVA agents not knowing they're variants. they think the Time Keepers created them. he knows that, Sylvie didn't. this immediately tells Loki that the Time Keepers are messed up.

possible redemptions for Mobius? B-15? C-20? when they find out they're variants?

so does C-20 know now? she kept saying "it was real" when Mobius found her in Roxxcart. maybe she had dreams of her life before, and Sylvie showed her that they were real?

the whole scene in the city was wild. so much color, lights, people, action, it was wild

Loki being protective of Sylvie, helping her up and wrapping his arm around her, i'm here for it.

loved the bit where Loki used telekinesis to stop the tower from falling on them.

there was a bit where Loki and Sylvie fought & their moves mirrored each other and gosh that was a nice touch.

Loki's reaction to the Ark's destruction. standing there in defeat while Sylvie walks away. wow. Tom. you are amazing.

and what the heck why did the episode end there?

can't wait for the next episode

more of TVA being evil being shown, loving it.

really, is Loki/Sylvie a thing? i have a hard time seeing romance some times, so let me know.

can we please get a Kang tease?

great lighting & cinematography. beautiful. lovely. also good action. shout out to the stunt doubles since they don't get enough credit.

okay let Loki & Sylvie be friends (or lovers, i'm fine with that) and let them burn the TVA down together.

aaaaaaaaaaa how are we half way through?

also, have the TVA fixed all the messed up timelines yet?

oh wait i gotta talk about this. the minutemen don't remember their names. i doubt Mobius's name was Mobius Mobius Mobius. Casey is probably not his real name. The Clone Wars fan in me was already screaming, but now it is even more.

#loki (2021)#loki (2021) spoilers #loki (2021) review #loki laufeyson #tva loki #sylvie laufeysdottir #mobius m mobius #ravonna renslayer #hunter c-20 #hunter b 15

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waywardwrestlewritingwaif · 4 years

Text

The Guardian’s Oath, Part Fourteen

The plot continues to thicken. Catch up on what you might have missed in the previous parts linked in the Master List.

Pairing: Feargal Devitt/ Finn Balor x OFC

Word count: 2,288

Content advisory: More smut here and some possibly disturbing bits related to pregnancy

The summer seemed intent on making me suffer. Everyone from the town and the village agreed that it was the hottest weather they’d had in many years and my body felt every bit of it. The more I grew, the hotter it became. I spent nights lying awake in bed, body soaked with sweat, unable to position myself comfortably because I always had this heavy ball attached to my body. I was literally reduced to tears from the discomfort and prayed that I could give birth soon so that I could at least have my own body back.

I expected that Balor would come to taunt me again, come to threaten to take the child, or to take us both, but he never appeared. I had Feargal, who tended gently to me and comforted me as he could. It was an adjustment for him, being at home much more often, and I could tell that he was a little on edge at the change. When he grew tense, there were moments when I thought I saw flashes of the Demon in him and I hated myself for being unable to rid myself of the thought that they were one and the same.

Worst of all was that, in the midst of those endless nights, there were times when I longed desperately for Balor’s touch. It seemed like the sensations that he could create in me might distract me if only for a few moments. I could feel that he was close, always, watching me and planning. Thinking about what had happened between us, my sex ached with unsatisfied need. I shuddered to imagine what might happen to the baby if anything were to occur but that didn’t stop my body from wanting it.

Sometimes, I dreamt that he’d come for me and for my baby. I felt his fingers close around my throat, his breath hot on my neck. Other times, I felt his hand trailing over my stomach, kneading at the stretched skin, that fine membrane that allowed me to protect my child completely.

But when I would open my eyes, there was nothing to see, just Feargal sleeping next to me, features twitching as if he too were fighting something off in his dreams. Sometimes my stirring would wake him as well and his eyes would alight on me with an irritated expression, only to melt into tenderness as he realized where he was and why I was in the state that I was. When this would happen, he would kiss me over my face and hands and stroke my back until I fell asleep in his arms.

It was on perhaps the hottest night of the year, or at least what felt like the hottest to me in my state, that Balor finally appeared to me. I had been convinced that I heard noises coming from the children’s room but when I went to check on them, they were sound asleep. When I walked back into our bedroom, however, I was immediately aware that something was different. The air, so heavy and stale in the late summer heat, felt fresher against my skin and it was somehow cooler than it had been, without being uncomfortable.

I could barely see but it felt like I had stepped outside. Blurred lights hovered in the distance in all directions, even above and the bed in the room seemed enormous.

“Feargal?” I croaked, seeing that the bed was unoccupied.

I was so overwhelmed with the desire for sleep that I practically fell onto the bed, crawling towards my customary side and trying not to fall onto my swollen stomach. I wanted to call out for my husband again but I saw a familiar figure moving in the shadows. As he appeared before me, I strained to focus, needing to know once and for all if Finn Balor and Feargal Devitt were the same, but I was so weak and so very sleepy. I collapsed on my back, crying a little as I fought the urge to welcome him to my bed.

He climbed on the end of the bed, running one rough hand along my calf, which was enough to ignite a fire in me. He cackled softly when he observed how my legs parted a little, inviting him to slide his hand higher. My mind was screaming that I should stand up and do whatever it took to put distance between myself and him but my body refused to cooperate. It had been so long since I felt the dark magic of his touch.

“How beautiful you are like this,” he purred, running his hand up my thigh and making me gasp. “So ripe and needy.”

“I don’t understand my body anymore,” I whined, as much to myself as to him.

“But I do,” he growled.

He dragged one long finger through the folds at my crevice and I could not stop myself from crying out at the sensation. He continued the movement, as light a touch as I could imagine, back and forth, humming in pleasure to himself as he felt the flesh there grow wet and slippery. Finally, satisfied that I was desperate enough, he curled two fingers inside me, moving them slowly until I unconsciously began thrusting against them, feeling the ache of unmet desire that had been building in me for months become unbearable. Smiling, he obliged me by moving faster and harder and then, without missing a beat, he dipped his head between my legs.

I screamed the instant his mouth connected with the swollen bundle of nerves, unprepared for the intensity of the sensation, for the pleasure as he nipped and sucked while reaching that magical point inside me that only he had been able to find. It was seconds before I felt like I exploded, hot juices pouring from my opening while at the same time tears leaked from my eyes. My vision went black, then white, then black and white again as a stream of mewls and cries escaped my lips.

The man who rose to look at me seemed to shift between dark and light as well: I could see my beloved and the Demon at once until there was no perceptible difference between them. And in my weakness, all I knew was that this was the man I wanted.

“I need you,” I rasped, grabbing at his arm.

He was happy to oblige, lining his rigid member up with my sex and thrusting home with one swift movement. Once again, it seemed that every nerve was awakened, excited at the feeling of him being inside me, and I was quickly reduced to a quivering mass once again.

His fingers dug into my hips, allowing him to move harder and faster as he cursed and snarled about the way my body had tightened inside, and, over and over again, how he was going to keep me, how he was going to take me and the child. I knew I should resist, that I should refuse him, but I felt heavy and weak and helpless, lost in pleasure and unable to extricate myself. I groaned in ecstasy as I felt him release and the hot mixture of our fluids flooded from my cavity and down to the bedsheets.

I grasped the bedsheets in both fists as I slowly started to come down, releasing my grip only to swat at something that tapped at my hand from a distance. The tapping continued, despite my attempts to hit back at whatever it was, until I finally opened my eyes and saw Sophia standing next to the bed, the same bed I slept in every night in the familiar bedroom that was filled with the sounds of my gasping for air.

“You were crying,” she said flatly.

“I was just having a bad dream,” I gasped, trying desperately to figure out how I had returned to this place, or if I had even left to begin with.

“Is everything ok?” she asked.

“Everything is fine. Everything is safe,” I assured her. Her expression was so vacant that I thought for a moment she was sleepwalking again. “Come, I’ll take you back to bed,” I offered.

She kept her eyes fixed on me as I wriggled ungracefully out of the bed and padded down the hall with her in my bare feet. As she crawled under her covers, she cupped my face in one of her slim hands and kissed my cheek.

“It’s going to be harder for you,” she whispered sadly.

I kissed the top of her head and answered, “We’ll be fine.”

I smiled as if I could not possibly have been more confident in what I was saying. I had found ways to hold the monster at bay for so long now, I thought, surely I could negotiate something? Did his wanting to “keep” me not indicate some kind of affection for me? Or at least, would it not mean that he would prefer for me to be happy? I repeated variations of this argument in my head as I headed back to my room and climbed as gently as I could into the bed.

Feargal’s eyes opened as soon as I sat down and he smiled softly.

“I was worried when I saw you weren’t here,” he sighed. “I keep thinking you’ll disappear one night.”

“I couldn’t disappear even if I wanted to,” I moaned. “I’m as broad as a barn door and move about as fast.”

“You’re beautiful,” he mumbled, pulling me into his arms. “There’s nothing that could make you less than beautiful.”

I shuddered a little as he ran his hand over my swollen stomach, thinking of all the ugly things I had already done that ate away at my soul and wondering what might still be asked of me.

Feargal crept quietly from our bed a few hours later, obviously taking every precaution to avoid disturbing me. I was half-awake and aware of his movements but his determination to let me rest was so sweet that I pretended to sleep, smiling just a little when he kissed my cheek before heading downstairs. Left on my own, I did manage to drift off, only to dream of him shifting between man and demon as I tried to demand what he wanted.

“You have access to me whenever you want. If you want this child I’m going to bear, then leave it in my care since it will need a mortal mother anyway. Why do you need to take us away?”

“I move between worlds,” the awful, familiar voice echoed in my head. “You can’t. Why would I choose to keep you only to leave you in the world where I have to appear as something less than I am?”

“Let me have just a little longer,” I begged.

I woke with a sharp little cry, suddenly aware of a stabbing pain in my abdomen, which in turn frightened Susan as she entered the bedroom.

“Oh ma’am I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you!”

I shook my head and smiled at her. “I was having a nightmare. You didn’t disturb me at all.”

She gathered the clothes we had set aside for washing, still looking very apologetic.

“My mother told me she’d get all sorts of terrible nightmares near her time.”

It was a relief to me to know that what I had experienced might just be a normal side effect of my condition and that everything might be normal after the baby was born. I grabbed my dressing gown and slowly lifted myself up, wincing at another sharp cramp.

“Please don’t get up, ma’am, you need your rest.”

“I do nothing but rest, Susan. And who knows long that’s going to continue.” I fumbled with the lacing of the robe in my thick, numb fingers. “If I can get around a little then that’s what-”

“You must get back in bed,” she insisted.

I turned to face her and was immediately confronted with a face of shock and fear. She nodded towards the bed, breathing heavily.

“Get back in bed right away,” she repeated. “I’ll go for the doctor.”

A bright red patch of blood stained the ivory sheets where I had been laying. I knew that blood meant there was something wrong and Susan’s expression told me just how dangerous it might be. I followed her directive and crawled back onto the bed, shaking off the robe as I did. She stayed only until she was satisfied that I had obeyed her directive and then she was off at a speed I had never seen from her. I heard a flurry of voices downstairs and then more footsteps, followed by the door opening and closing. I tried to focus on all the sounds but as I did, I felt warm liquid seeping from me, down my thighs. I touched my fingers to the skin and, as I feared, when I lifted them, they were smeared with blood.

Kate entered the room and placed a hand on my forehead. “You’re not feverish,” she reported, trying to smile.

“I’m bleeding.”

She nodded. “The doctor’ll be here soon and he’ll know what to do.”

I wanted to ask her if this meant there was something wrong with the baby, or if I was going to die in childbirth as my mother had before me but I knew that she did not have those answers. Nor could she tell me what it would mean for the Demon Balor if the child or I died. No one could tell me that, save the Demon himself and for once, I could not feel his presence in the room with me.

#wwe imagine #wwe fanfiction #nxt fanfiction #nxt imagine #finn balor imagine #finn balor fanfic #wrestling imagine #wayward wrestle writing

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panharmonium · 5 years

Text

a face like a wounded bear (i’ve just got a few things on my mind, that’s all)

back on my merlin rewatch rambles this week. i’m finishing up S1 now and just putting down some notes here for myself about 1.11 - specifically, how it ties back to/is informed by 1.10, because this is something that’s been on my mind for a long time.

these got a bit long so feel free to scroll past if this isn’t your cup of tea!

standard disclaimer for people who don’t know me and might stumble across this: i got into this show late and i have not finished season 5. i am GOING to finish season 5, hence this rewatch. so far i have remained unspoiled for the end of this show; i super appreciate everybody helping me stay that way. you have my permission to laugh at me for being ten years late to this show in the first place and also for taking a geological age to finish the last four episodes. i understand and fully support you in this; in my defense, i have been using the break to write fic, so i hope all can be forgiven in the end X)

with that out of the way, some thoughts!

i. a wounded bear

i really appreciate how much angrier merlin suddenly is at everything once we hit ‘the labyrinth of gedref.’

he’s still trying to help solve arthur’s problems, and he’s still rooting for arthur to succeed, but he’s also snappy and irritable and getting lost staring out windows, and his patience level with arthur in particular is set to absolute zero. it’s not a catastrophic change - it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like arthur anymore or that he doesn’t still respect arthur for what arthur...could be, and for what he is, at moments; merlin obviously still deeply admires him for caring so much about the people of camelot and he obviously still believes that arthur is noble at heart and worth supporting. but he’s simultaneously sick and tired of arthur’s particular brand of princely BS, and in this episode it’s starting to show.

before this episode, merlin used to tolerate arthur’s dumbassery with a kind of...willingness to be amused as opposed to annoyed. arthur would go into his “insult merlin” routine or say something only a rich idiot would say and merlin would just laugh it off, or quip it away, or roll his eyes and get on with his day. he was kind of…gently entertained by the people he had to serve. he was having a little adventure right then, you know? and the nobles, arthur included, were colorful characters in this story he’d walked into. if they were occasionally insufferable, well, at least they were good for a laugh.

for example, that episode where arthur keeps asking merlin to cover for him so he can go have his little dates with sophia? merlin winds up in the stocks for it three times in a row, but the first time, he just shrugs it off with his typical cheery equanimity and wryly says, “i forgot how much fun this was!” and then when arthur asks him to cover for him a second time, merlin is just psyched that arthur is having such a good time with sophia, and he immediately agrees to do it, saying, “don’t worry, i’ll find a way to get you out of it!” and then he’s back in the stocks, but when he comes out of them, gaius is more annoyed at arthur than merlin is. and then after arthur runs off to “elope” with sophia, and merlin ends up in the stocks a THIRD time, it’s just the funny zinger at the end of the episode. he’s not upset about it. it’s just like, “meh! here i am again! classic merlin misadventure, what can you do? :)”

there is no chance that would fly in the back quarter of S1. none. zero.

merlin is completely fed up in 1.11. starting with the hunting party’s slaughter of the unicorn, and then branching out to other, smaller things - every dismissive thing arthur says to him, every time arthur ignores or denies the reality of their situation and tries to pin responsibility for camelot’s misfortune on sorcery rather than his own actions, every time arthur makes stupid comments like ‘merlin you’re less intelligent than a rat’ - in this episode, merlin doesn’t roll with those things. he snaps back, or raises his voice; he refuses to be talked over, he bites back “i’m THIRSTY” when arthur tells him to stop smacking his lips in the granary.

in another episode, that stuff might have been delivered in a jokey way - and it will be again, some day in the future, when they’re both back to having fun with it - but merlin’s not having fun with it in 1.11. he’s giving arthur challenging stares and resentful glares instead of friendly, this-is-just-how-we-tease-each-other looks. his tone isn’t amused or fondly exasperated, it’s frustrated or irritated or, sometimes, straight-up angry.

there’s a point in one of their arguments where merlin says he believes what anhora is saying, and arthur’s cold response is, “then you’re a fool. you cannot trust a single word a sorcerer says. you’d do well to remember that.”

and merlin gives him the most baleful glare. like he wants to just...strangle him with his eyes. like he has so many cutting things just sitting on the tip of his tongue and can’t decide which one he wishes he could say first.

ii. a few things on my mind

this, i think, is where it’s worth remembering that this episode takes place in a larger context than ‘arthur did a dumbass thing at the beginning of the episode and merlin’s upset about it.’

because merlin definitely is upset about the unicorn, but merlin’s also just upset, full stop, about things that have nothing to do with the unicorn or camelot’s curse or camelot to begin with, and it’s bleeding over into other areas of his life.

to clarify: i don’t think we can really understand merlin’s subtle attitude shift in 1.11 without understanding that 1.11 takes place immediately after 1.10.

1.11 is one of two S1 episodes whose positions in the timeline we can actually pinpoint relative to their neighbors (the first being 1.02, which is directly stated to take place on merlin’s “first day as arthur’s servant,” aka the day after 1.01). 1.11 likewise can be mapped accurately onto the timeline, because kanen comes thundering into ealdor bellowing “it’s harvest time!” in 1.10, and then in 1.11 camelot is bringing in their harvest, too (literally, gaius yells at the end, “they’re bringing in the harvest!”).

there’s really not any wiggle room there. the harvest season is only so many weeks long to begin with, and we know ealdor was pretty far along with their work in 1.10 - we see the evidence of their labor, and if the grain hadn’t already been harvested, kanen’s group wouldn’t have had anything to steal. ealdor is smaller, so it makes sense for them to finish faster than camelot, but it looks like camelot is just getting started in 1.11, given the state of their grain reserves and the fact that so much grain appears to be unharvested when the blight hits. and, that being the case, honestly, camelot had to have started like, immediately after 1.10 finished, or even while that arc was still going on. it’s already pushing the boundaries of disbelief that they wouldn’t have started by the time ealdor has gotten so much done. there’s no plausible way they could have waited any longer. harvest season is the same for everyone; it’s not some kind of rotating schedule. people only have about a month to get it done in the first place.

so these two episodes occur, at the absolute most, a couple weeks apart from one another, and that’s only by the most generous of estimates; it’s more likely that they’re closer together than that, given the information above. but honestly, it doesn’t matter whether it’s two weeks or two days - either way, merlin in 1.11 has something going on in his head that’s extremely recent and taking up kind of a lot of his energy.

i don’t know that this angle gets looked at often, because the understandable tendency is to mostly focus on merlin in relation to arthur, and this becomes especially true in episodes that contain arthur+merlin umm...idk, focus scenes like the one near the end of 1.11. but this is the angle that’s always on my mind when i watch the end of S1, because if there is one hill i’ve staked out for the digging of my future grave, it’s the following:

merlin’s life does not revolve around arthur pendragon.

this probably qualifies as an unpopular fandom opinion, but it’s something i absolutely refuse to budge on.

and of course it’s just my own read, obviously; you may have more fun coming at this episode from a different direction, and that’s totally cool! but for me, my understanding when i’m watching this season - merlin’s life does not revolve around arthur pendragon. especially not yet, especially not now, when merlin has only known arthur for a few months and he’s just coming back from being with people who have known him (and i mean known him, known everything, known him for real) for something like twenty years.

merlin’s life does NOT revolve around arthur pendragon. his relationship with arthur, at this point, is not the most important relationship in his life. arthur is not the best friend he’s ever had. arthur is barely merlin’s friend at all, right now. arthur likes him all right, yes, and merlin likes him back, most of the time, but arthur doesn’t even know him, really.

arthur doesn’t know.

and i love arthur and merlin, like - i’m as down for the mythic, destiny-laden, we-find-each-other-in-every-universe dimension of their dynamic as anybody, and when those two finally have an equal, healthy friendship going on, i’m going to be cheering for them. but it doesn’t change the fact that merlin had a life before he came to camelot, or the fact that by 1.11 he’s only been in camelot for a few months and doesn’t really know arthur all that well yet.

you can pick whatever example you want to illustrate this point; there are enough of them to choose from, but one of the clearest is in 1.11, when arthur passes his final test and drinks anhora’s fake poison. merlin thinks arthur is dead, at that point - he’s pretty well convinced that the poison was real and that arthur has just keeled over dead on the beach - but his reaction to arthur’s ‘death’ is....i don’t want to minimize it, exactly, because merlin's obviously upset about it, but at the same time the level of distress he displays is visibly, objectively different from what we see from him in other contexts. it looks nothing like his naked grief when will is slipping away from him in 1.10, or his desperation when his mother shows up deathly ill on his doorstep in 1.13. he doesn’t look at potentiallydead!arthur the same way, or talk to him the same way, or touch him the same way - of course he hustles right over and shakes him to see if he can wake him up, but it is just...you can watch these scenes next to each other and they are just not the same. it is not the same gentle way he leans over his mother, the way he takes her hand, strokes her forehead, folds gaius’ rabbit’s foot into her fingers. it is not the same way he cradles will in 1.10, when his fingers are in will’s hair and his hand is just - reflexively rubbing will’s head in a way that is just so...intimate and automatic and brokenly tender like -

of course it’s different with them! he loves them! watching them suffer is torture for him, and the idea of losing either of them is devastating to him on a scale i can’t possibly understand. he’s only ever had two people in his life. one parent. one friend. they were his whole world.

so, yeah, merlin is stressed about arthur’s apparent death. he’s upset. he likes arthur, he believes in arthur, he’s appalled that this is happening. but it’s not a personal grief. there aren’t any deathbed confessions. there aren’t any gentle touches. there aren’t any tears. his protest to anhora isn’t ‘i love this person and i don’t want them to leave me;’ it’s ‘i was meant to protect him!’ it’s about him failing at his “destiny;” it’s about the fact that someone told him he was born like this for a reason and now he’s failed at the job that gave him a sense of purpose, at the thing that made him feel like having magic was worth all this terrible trouble.

contrast this to when his mother shows up dying in 1.13, and gaius tries to prevent merlin from saving her by bringing up the importance of merlin’s “destiny.” on that occasion, merlin’s immediate incredulous retort is, “my destiny? this is my mother.”

arthur’s death and merlin’s distress over it all come back to merlin’s unfulfilled destiny, in 1.11. but merlin couldn’t care less about his destiny when it’s his mother’s life on the line. my destiny means nothing if i cannot save her.

merlin’s life does not revolve around arthur pendragon. not here, not now.

[that said - it’s different, of course, later in the series. merlin’s reaction to arthur’s supposed death in 5.07 isn’t just “oh no i failed!”, it’s also a personal, particular anguish. they matter to each other, by then. (though even then i think there’s a lot to be said about the…unhealthy tragedy of merlin giving up on his own wants and needs and worth as a person who exists outside the context of this narrow mandate to protect someone who doesn’t know who merlin really is and wouldn’t love him if he did - but that’s just the situation merlin’s trapped himself in, by that point. it’s what he’s accepted for himself. it’s all he thinks he deserves.)]

[that’s a post for another day, though, so. back to the point.]

merlin’s life does not revolve around arthur pendragon. merlin had a life all his own before he came to camelot, and during the last quarter of season 1, every part of it that matters to him is falling apart.

i keep coming back to this, every time i think about this kid. there’s just no way to overstate the fact that merlin’s world up until this point has always been just two people. his whole life has been just two people. his whole life has been just one parent. his whole life has been just one friend.

and after 1.10, his one friend is dead.

i think we dramatically underestimate the impact of merlin having half of his world obliterated, just like that.

that’s not something he gets up and strolls away from. he can’t roll with that punch. he carries that for the rest of his life.

you know what i mean? it would be a disastrous enough thing on its own, without even getting into the fact that it unfolds in a way that is SO complicated and tied up with messy personal history and regret/guilt that it needs to be parsed in an essay of its own (which, yes, i might already have half-written; yes, i have too much extra time on my hands this month.) we’re also not getting into the fact that like - okay, the sort of grimly positive flip side to only having two significant relationships in your life is that you’ve also never personally experienced any significant bereavement. you don’t have any extended family to mourn, no friends to lose, et cetera. so to have your first experience with loss be something so huge, when you’ve had no practice dealing with grief, and to be trapped in a place where you aren’t allowed to discuss it honestly because if you told somebody what it all really meant you’d be executed?

i’d be in a bad mood, too.

merlin is such a good kid and he tries so hard to have a smile for everyone, but i can’t watch the last quarter of S1 without seeing the strain of this weighing on him. it affects how he reacts to the situation with gwen’s father in 1.12 (more on that another time), and it absolutely plays into the fact that he spends the season finale racing from one side of the kingdom to the other, desperate to sacrifice his life for someone else’s.

^^ regarding that last bit - i think about that a lot. merlin tries to die three separate times over the last three episodes of S1, and it’s not that he’s...running around trying to get someone to kill him, exactly, but there’s definitely a very real sense that he’s dumped any interest in self-preservation, at this point, that he doesn’t care what happens to him. if dying is what it takes to make sure nobody else is taken away from him, then that’s fine. he will do literally anything to not feel this again.

merlin is trying to process something so big for him and he’s trying, by necessity, to do it alone, because he left his mother behind and came back to camelot where nobody understands that the only person other than his mother who ever loved him just died lying for him. he is so stressed out in the last three episodes of this season and so desperately unhappy about things he isn’t allowed to even mention, and i just think it’s impossible to evaluate these episodes outside of that particular context.

“we haven’t done all the things we’re meant to do,” he protests in the finale - and you can feel that aching admission come welling right up out of his soul. it’s uttered in a new context, yes, but he’s been thinking it for weeks and weeks and weeks already, too late to change anything, too late to buy his friend any more time. he’s hurting. and he goes zipping around from life-sacrifice to life-sacrifice in the last three episodes in a desperate attempt to keep himself from hurting more.

iii. i’d never have a friend who could be such an ass

the point of all this is the following: the reason merlin sounds like he’s fed up with arthur in 1.11 is because he is fed up with arthur in 1.11. he’s fed up with everything. they all just got home from ealdor somewhere between a couple of days and a couple of weeks ago, and merlin is reeling. he feels like his head and his heart are still trapped on the other side of the border. he’s sick of looking at arthur’s arrogant, insensitive, infuriatingly alive face - and i say this while recognizing that, even at the same time, merlin also cares about arthur, and believes in him, and lionizes him; admires him; hero-worships him, even. these two things can be simultaneously true. merlin’s relationship with arthur is already so fraught with dissonance (how can you care about someone who thinks people like you are inherently evil? how can you respect someone who oppresses you?) - and merlin’s always carried two contradictory truths when he navigates their relationship, one in each hand. and right now it’s just that one hand is holding something too heavy. he’s not being bitchy, he’s busy - he’s trying to deal with something that is taking up 100% of his mental and emotional energy; he doesn’t have anything left over to accommodate arthur pendragon’s dumbassery.

and arthur pendragon IS a dumbass; let’s not pretend that he isn’t. i love him, and he has moments that are so admirable and glorious and shining that they take your breath away, when you can see why gwen says you are going to live to be the man i see inside you; i can see a king that the people will love and be proud to call their sovereign (that speech makes my eyes sting EVERY TIME, it gets me right there) - but arthur is STILL a dumbass. no question about it. he has so far to go, still. he’s dumb in all the generic ‘oblivious rich dude’ ways, and he’s also a jerk in his own specific ‘arrogant arthur pendragon TM’ ways, and merlin at this particular moment doesn’t have the energy to deal with it. he likes arthur, even at this early stage, despite all the mental gymnastics he has to do in order to like someone who hates magic-users. but merlin’s closest friend in the world is dead, and arthur is such an asshole sometimes and it’s like - this is what i got in exchange? this is the trade the universe made? what the hell makes arthur more deserving of being here than somebody who loved me without being told, without being taught, without needing to be constantly convinced that i should be allowed to exist and be safe and be loved on this earth?

are we really surprised that merlin wants to strangle arthur after that trademark ‘you cannot trust a single word a sorcerer says’ comment? merlin has enough reasons to resent that on his own behalf, but his own secret isn’t the problem, this time; the problem is that they literally just got home from their little jaunt to ealdor and the only reason arthur even made it back from ealdor in the first place was because (as far as arthur knows) a ‘sorcerer’ died saving his stupid life, and arthur knows that, and still, this is what he has to say?

and that’s on top of like - back in ealdor before they left, the fact that arthur really felt it was necessary to take time out of his day to come over and reproachfully chastise merlin about not disclosing will’s ‘magic,’ AT WILL’S FUCKING FUNERAL??? “you know how dangerous magic is. you shouldn’t have kept this from me.” AT WILL’S FUNERAL? RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS BURNING CORPSE? LIKE???? HELLO????

can you imagine being in this scenario??? and thinking??? yeah this is appropriate. this is the time.

how is merlin supposed to respond to that? when arthur’s like ‘you know how dangerous magic is’ and merlin is just like ????!! we are AT HIS FUNERAL!!! we are literally WATCHING HIS BODY BURN!!!! you know how dangerous magic is FFS THAT ‘MAGIC-USER’ COULDN’T STAND YOU AND HE STILL SAVED YOUR UNGRATEFUL LIFE AND HE’S DEAD BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT AND WE’RE AT HIS FUNERAL OMG IS THIS THE TIME? IS IT EVER GOING TO BE THE TIME? SHUT! UP!

of course merlin wants to kill him.

so anyway. i really appreciate merlin’s sudden prickliness in this episode. it’s subtle enough not to be completely jarring, but it’s still clearly perceptible, and i’m glad for that, because this is something that should be perceptible, given the timeline, but at the same time merlin would never, ever mention what’s really bothering him out loud, because a) the sorcery element and arthur’s involvement in how things went down have made it an absolutely unbroachable, forbidden topic, and b) guilt has wired merlin’s jaw shut.

^^ re: that last thing - it’s a post for another day, and i won’t really get into it now, but suffice to say, once again, that merlin spends the last quarter of season 1 running around trying his absolute hardest to throw his life away for someone, and i just feel like...i think it says something about the kind of pain he is in, and the kind of apology he feels he needs to make.

he is having a very hard time. merlin in the back quarter of S1 is feeling very alone and very much like he doesn’t deserve to ever feel better.

so if he’s a little bitey with arthur’s trademark noble nonsense, i think we can cut him some slack.

#meta #the once and future slowburn #no kings no masters #tl;dr: merlin in 1.11 is grieving #this is...a lot of meta about not-arthur for an episode with such a frequently giffed arthur+merlin scene lol #but i don't care #not everything in merlin's life is about arthur pendragon #some things are just his #and will is one of those things #it has been so desperately rare for merlin to experience love without fear #every other relationship he has is tainted with 'they don't love the real me. they will hate me when they know.'#the very very few people who give him a breath of relief from this - who let him Exist and know beyond a doubt that he is cared for -#we RESPECT those people in this house!!!#how crucially important they are to him #how essential to his existence #how fundamental to his survival #how much they mean to him and how deeply it changes him when they're torn away #will and lancelot and hunith and gaius are the real mvps folks

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allie1804-fan · 4 years

Text

Please Assist Me (Chapter 18)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Ch6apter 10 , Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15 , Chapter 16, Chapter 17

Warnings: Explicit Content

He Said

At last in January of 2021, the schools opened and we felt like there was more every day normal going on. There were a few more restaurants open with outdoor service too so Sophia and I had the occasional lunch out together when he had free time. I was training hard though so I didn’t have much free time which meant we tended to need to stick to Hollywood rather than driving out to the coast off the beaten track and that was our first mistake. Sophia had been my assistant for almost 2 years now so it wasn’t odd for us to be seen together but as there was almost never any other women seen with me, Cheryl alerted me that pictures started appearing in gossip rags, putting 2 and 2 together based on their (correct!) reading of intimate gazes and body language.

She Said

In the new year, a few photos started to come out of me with Keanu online and in gossip rags. The publicity wasn’t hugely invasive and I wasn’t too bothered by it - my family and friends knew the truth so this only really attracted random contact on social media from acquaintances being nosy rather than any real invasion at first.

My first direct experience that the attention was getting invasive came one day at the school pick up. I had noticed a man hovering at a distance from the gates who I was pretty sure wasn’t a parent. My attention was torn away when my kids came out but as I turned to take them to the car, I saw a teacher cautiously approach him and after a brief exchange he turned on his heal and left. That’s when I spotted the camera slung over his shoulder. A couple of days later, pictures of me and the kids were published on-line on a gossip site. The kids’ images were a little blurry but still, I was furious.

He Said

“Fuck!”

I’d just clicked on my phone on a link Sophia had sent to me for a photo news site showing pictures of her and the kids at their school gate. Some low life pap had tracked them down and deemed them newsworthy because of her link to me that had been emerging more and more frequently of late.

I forwarded it to Cheryl and asked her to arrange an urgent call with her and my lawyer to work out an action plan. Then I called Sophia, nervous that I might be in for a tirade of Spanish insults.

“Hun, you OK?”

“No, I’m not OK. Que pendejo insoportable!”

Here we go, I thought!

“who me?!”

“No, no, the photographer, this isn’t your fault!”

“kind of is though isn’t it?”

“No, I won’t let you take the blame – but we have to stop them. The kids need to be kept out of this right?”

“Yeah, I’m waiting to hear back from Cheryl. I asked her to arrange a call with the lawyers. I’ll let you know when they can set it up OK? And I’m sorry, even if you say it isn’t my fault, it wouldn’t be happening if we weren’t in a relationship.”

She sighed.

“We’ll figure it out, OK, I just, I need to keep them safe”

“I know, I know sweetheart”

We managed to issue a cease and desist order on that particular photographer to not take further photographs of the children and put out a general statement asking the press to respect their privacy but that did seem to have the effect of making them more thirsty for pictures of Sophia and I – we were still game. As pictures circulated of us eating out or on bike rides, this apparently spawned a trend of what I understand are called “Trolls” seeking out Sophia on social media to send her hateful messages to ‘leave me alone’ and to stop ‘trying to wheedle her way into my life’ and ‘get her grubby Latino hands on my money’. And, she said, if they didn’t do it directly, there would be comments underneath her photo on fan sites with people expressing their disgust at my choice of romantic partner. On top of that, there was a lot of denial - people saying that Sophia was and could only ever be my PA – just like Janey they said. Good grief the world really had gone to hell - why did who I was dating even matter?

Apparently there were many people being kind and saying it was nice that I’d found love and that she was beautiful, might give me the babies I’d missed out on etc etc but I could see the comments of the trolls weighed on her mind and lodged there far more than anything positive. Eventually I said she should really just follow me into the social media free wilderness. She could keep an active messenger service for group chats with friends and use a cloud service to share photos of the kids with our parents but for her sanity, she needed to drop Facebook, Instagram and Twitter before she went insane!

She Said

I knew I shouldn’t get drawn into looking at what Keanu’s fan base were saying online but the curiosity was hard to control. I actually only started getting drawn in after the trolls started tracking my down and sending me abusive DMs. That made me want to know if there were any positive voices or if these nasty people basically spoke for the whole of his fandom. I found myself wasting so much time going down rabbit holes trying to find out who these people were but there was no way to do that really.

When my general tetchiness finally got too much and Keanu said I should join him in the 1990s and get off social media, I knew he was right but at the same time it was infuriating as I had got so used to using it for sharing news, family photos, jokes etc as well as using all the messenger tools to connect with my friends. After all the isolation of 2020, this new isolation felt like a kick in the teeth but I felt so childish to think that way and didn’t dare say anything to Keanu. Having never been on social media, he just wouldn’t get it! After about a week though, I had to admit I felt better and admitted that his way was probably the sane option – after weeks of anxiety, I finally felt free from the worry of silly people out there who didn’t know us personally having an opinion about whether we ‘should’ be dating.

Happily, we also had a trip to New York to look forward to - Keanu would be starting filming on John Wick 4 and we were heading there as a family with around a week free to enjoy the city together before he would start on set.

The kids were beyond excited to be flying, not ever having done so before. They each had a little pull-along case and we booked first class so we would have as little time as possible milling around in the public spaces at the airport. I was sure there’d be paps about - we couldn’t ban them from taking our photo altogether even though we’d asked for their privacy to be respected so I was desperate to minimise their chances.

When we got to LAX, it was literally minutes after we’d got into the building when a fan approached asking for a photo. Keanu started to try and explain that he was on his down time with his family and would they mind if he didn’t take one today but he hated the crestfallen look on their face and he quickly suggested that we split up and meet up in the lounge. I rummaged through my bag to get his ticket out and handed it to him with a pointed look at the woman before heading off to check in with the kids, not caring that my silent displeasure might make it online somewhere to be used as evidence of what a bitch I was!

We went on through to departures and waited a good half hour before he showed up.

“Hey Keanu why did you take so long” Eva whined.

He chuckled.

“Sorry honey, but I guess it’s because ‘I’m Duke Caboom, Canada’s greatest stuntman’ he boomed, tickling her sides “and sometimes that means people want to say hi and take a photo so it took a while to catch you up.

“Oh OK” she said matter of factly not at all phased by that idea. I guess she knew how excited Julie and Miranda’s kids had been when they zoomed with him when he was in Berlin so it made sense to her even though Toy Story 4 was the only thing she’d ever seen with him in so she had no idea just how truly famous he was!

“You’re too good to them” I said, still a bit put out that we’d already been separated for a while right at the beginning of our trip.

“Yeah, but it never ends well if I’m an ass…. I mean not nice and you’ve got to remember that I’m usually ‘so high’ on a screen and seeing me in real life is exciting …. to them at least” he said cocking an eyebrow at me as if to say that I no longer saw him as special.

“You’re exciting to me too silly!” I said, relenting a bit from my sulk.

He squeezed my hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try to give off some ‘stay away’ vibes in New York so we can all hang out like real people.

“I know, I’m being a bitch, I just wanted this to be, you know, normal”

When we arrived in New York, we had a car waiting so were quickly away from the airport and managed to pass through it without being bothered. On the journey, the kids were pressing their faces against the car windows to see the famous sky-scrapers and there was much anticipation of getting to his apartment to see how their bedrooms looked. We’d arranged to have them decorated and bought new duvets and drapes which Keanu’s maid service had taken care of putting up for them. We got take out pizza for the first night and once again I felt safe and cocooned from the outside world of fans and paparazzi.

He Said

It was strange that Sophia and I had been together for not much short of a year before the public interest in me, and its impact on living our lives, really became a pain in the ass and the source of some conflict between us. I had to remind myself that I’d been living this way for about 20 years and had learned to just allow a little extra time in my day for stopping for a photo. It only affected me when I was on my own so I had to learn to see if from her point of view - it was a shock to her system basically. She’d been my PA for 2 years but we had rarely needed to conduct our business in the public eye so she hadn’t even experienced the attention when we weren’t dating – it was all happening in the context of her being my significant other and with the backdrop of the online trolls and the need to protect her kids.

I guess it would have happened much sooner if I hadn’t been away filming for almost 5 months shortly after we started dating so we’d had an extended time of being together but with no-one outside of friends and family knowing. I tried to tell her we should be grateful all this hadn’t started sooner. I’m not sure that was the right thing to say!

My celebrity did have some advantages though and in New York I’d managed to arrange a private tour of the Empire State Building and rink side seats at a Rangers game. Those earned me points but we weren’t so lucky in Central Park. My apartment isn’t far from there so we headed out for a walk one afternoon, ending up in in the Conservatory Garden figuring that this would be a nice place to be by some water but not where most people would be like Bethesda or the model boat pond.

We’d bought some sandwiches on our way (my time to enjoy the pastrami, pickle and Russian salad I so love) and settled on a bench to chill and rest the kids’ legs when I saw a guy across the other side of the pond raising his camera. It was clearly a Pap with a long lens. I’m normally not a hot head but it was such an intrusion to our pleasant afternoon that I handed Sophia my sandwich and marched up to him.

I was striding fast, not caring much that my stance was clearly threatening and some people idling by the pond scuttled out of my way. The Pap, surprisingly stood his ground until I reached him, squaring up to him.

“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing? We’re just having some private time as a family and you come along determined to ruin it!”

I was yelling and drawing the attention of others by the pond but I didn’t care.

“hey man, you’re fair game” he responded brazenly.

“Yeah that’s right, I, me, I’m fair game, me not them ,now get the hell out of here”

He was a short weasel of a guy and I was towering above him. He soon thought better of trying to take a picture and scurried away. A woman a few feet away spontaneously clapped!

“Good for you Keanu” she said.

I blushed, coming down suddenly from the adrenaline of the confrontation. It has been a long time since I’d even spoken to a Pap. I usually just ignored them, occasionally putting my hand in front of my face to ruin the shot. It generally wasn’t worth antagonising them but this dude had pushed it too far.

I thanked her and returned to the bench. Sophia handed me back my sandwich while the kids eagerly asked why I’d been shouting at the man. I explained as best I could and I think they were grateful that I just wanted their mom and them to enjoy their time without strangers photographing them.

A couple of days later, Cheryl let me know that the guy made a claim on-line that I’d assaulted him – no actual legal claim was made, I guess because he knew it was bullshit. That was quickly proven when people quickly came forward that they had witnessed it and no such thing had happened. I wondered if the lady clapping was one of them.

She Said

After the Central Park incident, I was so proud of how Keanu had stood up to the paparazzo but we still made a decision to do most of the tourist things without him after that. I couldn’t see us being in Time Square, The Lego Store or the M&M store with him alongside us comfortably. And that was strange and a little sad for me to be back to the single parent feeling, having experienced some very cherished family days.

Our time to go home was fast approaching and I was keen to get one day just for the two of us. Luckily I have a cousin in New York who wanted to spend time with the kids and they offered to take them on the boat trip to the Statue of Liberty for the day. We made the kids breakfast and handed them over to my cousin with backpacks, ready for their adventure.

We just had coffee ourselves as we were planning on a brunch out for ourselves later after some us time between the sheets!

The minute the door was shut, Keanu was pulling me by the hand back to bed.

We quickly shed our pjs, climbed under the covers and started to kiss

Keanu soon reached down and started to gently tease my folds. I moaned into his mouth thrusting myself against his fingers.

A thought came to me and I pulled back and asked

“Can we um, try something today ?”

“Mmmm - what?”

“Well you know your movie, Siberia? “

He nodded

“Well, I watched it while you were away and, um that thing with your thumb ....”

“Oh you want that do you?” - a wicked grin spread across his face

“Well we can try that lots of ways ….. so, we can try that from behind. Get on all fours for me”

I obliged and I felt him slip his stiff cock into me, my folds parting with a pop. He was moving very slowly, then after a few thrusts as I was moaning softly, I felt his wet fingers reach around to gently tease my clit. He did it just enough to make me moan louder but not enough to make me cum. Then he pulled out leaving me bereft

“What?” I cried out

Then he rolled over on his back and pulled me onto him.

“And then there’s lady on top”

I happily sank down on his cock and started to ride him. I was groaning but at the same time I could hear my voice quavering as I neared orgasm once more. He licked his thumb, this time, re-enacting the Siberia moment making me throw my head back in pleasure. I was about to lift off, my voice raised in pitch but again he stopped me before I could, holding my hips to stop my movement.

The he flipped me over onto my back and straddled me, making me wait a few moments as he played with my breasts and smoothed his hands down my sides .

“And finally we can try man on top”

“Will you do that thing ?” I asked

“What the thumb ?”

“No, well yes, but first the thing where you lift me onto you”

“Oh like our first time?”

I nodded, glad he remembered.

He obliged lifting me onto him, pulling me up, ensheathing him slowly so I could feel every vein of his rigid cock and he could feel every ridge of my tunnel.

I was wailing by now each time he pulled me up then released me – I could feel his cock getting even harder when he asked simply

“Ready?”

I just whimpered and nodded my agreement.

He Said

I was so close to coming, I needed to really focus to give her everything she deserved.

I manoeuvred her fully onto her back and encouraged her to lift her legs up over my shoulders.

This allowed me maximum access to thrust in all the way to her cervix and pump in and out.

I could already feel the beginnings of her orgasm, her pussy pulsating around me. It was as if she was a beautiful flower, attracting me with her petals then sucking me in, holding me there in a vice like grip to take what she needed from me. It was primal and all encompassing

As I felt the ripples get more intense, I managed to balance on my left hand and free my right hand, lick my thumb and circle it over her clit.

That was it, it was all over for both of us. She clamped around me, her legs quivering and I shot my hot load inside shouting out as she screamed “yes, yes oh god, yes”

My thrusts gradually slowed, I was still moaning and fighting to catch my breath. I eased her legs down and lay on her just holding my weight off her by resting on my elbows. I gave her a sloppy kiss before easing off her onto my back. I still couldn’t speak. and just squeezed her hand. Tears leaked out of my eyes and I gulped, looking across, I found her in a similar emotional state.

“Wow that was - god I don’t think I’ve ever, ever come so hard”

“Me neither - love you so much Mr Reeves”

“Why do you always call me that after really great sex?”

“Dunno” she chuckled “maybe to give you the respect you deserve for making love to me so, so ….”

“What?”

“So masterfully, so beautifully”

“Mmmmmmm”

“Let’s have a snooze before brunch yeah?”

“Mmmm”

I think she was almost asleep already as she turned away and I spooned behind her, holding her warm breast in the palm of my hand.

@fortheloveoffanfic @kindainlovewithk’eanu @omg-imagine @iworshipkeanureeves @fics-not-tragedies @ficsnroses @keanureevesisbae @penwieldingdreamer @witty-wallflower @paperplanesandwallflowers @bitchyslut99 @ladyreapermc @toomanystoriessolittletime @fanficsrusz @keanuficfiles @bitchyslut99

#keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves fanfiction #keanu #keanu reeves #romance with boss

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canyouhearthelight · 4 years

Text

The Miys, Ch. 88

Sophia, the day after her conversation with Tyche.

Thank you to @satan-parisienne and @baelpenrose for keeping me going and on an even keel! Sorry the Author’s Note is so short... I didn’t realize until I had about 10 mins before I had to be back at work that I forgot to queue this for today *facepalm*

The next day was an entire education on new places I could be sore. A hot shower and analgesics only took the barest edge off, and I ended up needing a transport to get to my office instead of my routine walk. I did my best to ignore the grin on Conor’s face every time I moved too fast and winced. After the third time I scowled at him, I brought up my datapad and did some research, careful not to tap my legs as I gestured, which had become something of a habit.

“That snot,” I gasped. Conor glanced at me, so I clarified. “Tyche had me doing fencing footwork yesterday…. Intermediate footwork, it turns out. No wonder I’m so sore.”

“Least it wasn’t sparring,” he pointed out cheerfully, gently lifting my chin to get a look at my lip. “You should have let Noah heal that, love.”

I brushed my cheek against his hand. “I want the reminder. May even let her do it again once it heals.”

This time, it was his turn to scowl. “Not funny. That face has been bruised enough for one lifetime.” He gently rubbed my cheek as the transport stopped. “Okay, time to go be the boss. No fighting with the other kids.” Despite the joking tone, his eyes were serious as he leaned in to kiss me before he headed to his shift.

I realized that Alistair not only beat me to work, but could apparently hear me groaning as I tried to walk, because the door opened before I was even within three feet of it. True to form, he gave me an appraising look before his expression settled on my face. “Door get a bit mouthy today? Or did your feet decide you needed to stay home?”

“Tyche punched me, actually.” My tone was light as I inched my way to my desk. “For defending myself. And then she decided I need more ways to defend myself, so now I can hardly move.”

“Solid logic,” he deadpanned as he handed me a cup of coffee. “I feel obliged to point out that the coffee is hot, seeing as you display a disturbing propensity to get hurt.”

“Very funny.”

“You have been warned, et cetera, so on, so forth.” He waved a hand nonchalantly as he turned, bringing up my agenda for the day. “Your first meeting is the one to discuss medical testing ethics, criteria for volunteers, and determination of the necessity of the procedures. Then you have time set aside to review the status of the Galactic Core Curriculum, along with proposals for expanded learning topics and their existing analogues in the education systems of other planets - “ He paused and tilted his head. “I will never cease to be caught off guard when sentences like that exist.”

I restrained the urge to nod - or more accurately, my back twinged with a warning not to even consider it. “Believe me, I understand. Noah and I were talking about other species a few weeks ago. Did you know there is a species of avians out there who essentially live on a planet with no surface atmosphere?”

“The Preeyar, yes,” he sighed wistfully. “Knowing that Fermi was simply impatient has been quite eye-opening, so to speak.”

“Well, he wasn’t wrong,” I conceded. “We were too young for extraterrestrial civilizations, we weren’t listening properly, they apparently weren’t trying to contact us until recently… But they do exist.” A smile crept on my face at the idea that we really hadn’t been alone in the universe.

My office door opened without warning, and a familiar voice chimed in as Alistair turned with clenched fists. “I do argue that we are entirely too dangerous to have been contacted.” Arthur Farro stood leaning against the frame, and Alistair relaxed marginally. “At least we were until relatively recently…. Throwing nuclear ordinance at each other the moment killing each other in the thousands - rather than the millions - stopped scratching that vicious itch. Who does that? We’re like demented eight-year-olds who got bored of burning ants and started setting each other’s hair on fire instead.”

“You really should keep that door secured,” my assistant sniffed as he closed out my agenda, right around the time he caught Arthur squinting at it.

“He has the code,” I admitted.

“Or maybe that was accidental,” our resident history teacher continued, ignoring us. “I’m a big fan of assuming stupidity instead of malice where possible. And, dear lord, does our track record make it plausible.” Finally entering the room, he flicked a finger at my face. “That was not, however.”

Before I could stop him, Alistair took one glance between me and my friend, and strode to the door. “No.”

“Alistair…”

“I’ll clear your calendar. No. Have a good day.”

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Arthur asked as the door closed behind my soon-to-be-ex assistant.

“That he’s a coward,” I muttered.

“You know damned well that’s not what I mean.”

“Tyche already decked me.” I gestured at my split lip and the bruise that bloomed on my chin overnight. “So, yeah, I know - “

“No, you really don’t seem to.”

“Arthur, stop.”

“I will not.” He stepped forward and placed both his hands, palms down, on my desk. He knew I hated that gesture. “Bjornson’s entire narrative hinges on you being more dangerous than anyone realizes, and you putting up a display of false helplessness to make everyone trust you. By decking one of his followers, not only did you show that you do, in fact, have violence in you - meaning that it’s now entirely plausible you’re as Machiavellian as they claim - but you’ve also gone and indicated for whatever reason that Jokull is enough of a threat to drop that premise.” Straightening, he crossed his arms in clear disappointment. “If you wanted to give him more credibility, good job. You succeeded.”

I swallowed every bit of hurt I felt at his words, reminding myself they were nowhere near as barbed as the ones Tyche had given me the day before. Instead, I tilted my head and arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you done? Did you say everything you needed to say?” I paused, giving him a chance to respond. When he didn’t, I poked harder. “Feel better?”

“Not particularly, but big picture? I’m not a terribly gleeful person, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. But yes, it is your turn now.”

“Gracious of you,” I cooed sarcastically. “Tyche made the same points yesterday, after punching me in the face, with the added gravitas of a guilt trip served with that special seasoning of having watched me almost die and thinking I abandoned her as a child. Also three hours with a rapier, whipping my ass. So. Far more impressive, I assure you.”

“Foiled again by the smaller Reid,” he sighed dramatically before catching himself. “Rapier, you say? I was going to say no pun intended, but I’ve decided I did that on purpose. Yep. Totally intentional.”

I rolled my eyes before pulling up my tunic to show the bruises on my midriff. “I’m not very good at it, for the record.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, saber’s a better style anyway. And I’m not just saying that because it’s my favorite.”

“Uh huh,” I nodded, not entirely convinced. “As far as Bjornson… seriously. She gave me the scoop. I seriously fubared the entire situation yesterday. Apparently, our suspected cult leader only believes in physical attacks on those who would defend themselves. No honor in beating a beaten foe, et cetera.”

“Mmm hmmm,” he nodded, like I was a student he was letting reach her own conclusion.

“Which means I just made it open season on Sophias,” I groaned.

“Really, saber is much better for brawling tactics,” he hedged.

I laughed bitterly. “Doesn’t matter. My walking privileges are revoked until further notice. Must be accompanied by one of six people, or two out of another ten, and on a transport.” The last word came out like a profanity. It was a known fact I hated using them.

Hence why I was now being forced to, unfortunately.

“If you think there is any possibility that I’m going to argue against Tyche on that decision, I need to talk to her about that head scan,” he told me pointedly. “Then again, you and I have different definitions of the word ‘think’, but I’ll be clear - it’s not happening. Moving target, faster than a walking pace, with a protective attachment? Which roster am I on, again?”

“Very funny. You already know.”

His expression softened slightly when he realized I was actually upset. “There is some good news in all of this.”

I threw up my hands and spun in my chair. “Oh, do tell, great military historian and warlord. What is the shining silver lining to the fact that I just gave a man who thinks I am the only thing standing between him and his New Start a golden ticket to sic his followers on me?”

“Okay, first off, sassy shit, my main career is a school teacher. I only moonlighted as a warlord to pay those apocalypse bills. Not my fault I was good at it.” Suddenly, he got serious. “The good new is, if he was too stupid to realize that your talent for inspiring loyalty meant you were a massive problem for any takeover plan, and a problem he’d have to deal with sooner or later….. Well, he’s probably too stupid to keep his little cult together much longer. Leaders who don’t recognize more than one kind of strength never manage to build a lasting legacy.”

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair…” I said, half to myself.

“Yeah, our guy is no Ramses II,” Arthur replied. “Besides, those who seek power are rarely good at keeping it.”

“I would have given him my seat on the Council if he’d just asked,” I admitted.

“Besides the fact that you literally just proved my point, if he was suited to the Council, he’d be on it. It’s not like you were the only candidate.”

I shrugged. “No idea. I didn’t even know I was on the Council for the first week. I think it was a week.”

When I turned to look at him, I was met with a flat stare. “I know it was explained to you at some point. How does that search function work?” He reached forward like he was going to tap my head before I swatted his hand away. “You were appointed to the Council to replace Simon, you represent a specific population on board the Ark, when we arrive at Von, you will serve an additional two planetary standard years before elections are held, of which you cannot be a candidate….”

Ugh. “I was put forward as a recommendation by Simon. The other Councillors put forward their candidates. The population I represent voted based on my personnel file, since no one even knew any of the candidates at that point. We’d only been on the Ark about six months. Some of us, anyway.” Glaring, I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t know how you figured that out, but I have a feeling I’m going to kill someone.”

He waved a hand at me in a very familiar gesture. “I see other people do it all the time. Jog your memory, and some phrase or word triggers it. Cool to watch, though.” With a shrug, he continued. “Point is, Bjornson wasn’t even a candidate, same as me.”

“How do you know that?” I asked incredulously.

“Fuck, Sophia. You really need to keep track of your constituents.”

“Hey, I didn’t even want to be a - Wait. You are one of my so-called ‘constituents’!?”

“Even voted for you,” he grinned. “Didn’t know it was you-you, but… Communications background, peaceful but intelligent attributes to balance out our resident warhawk, fair enough to offset Huynh, and you seemed like the type to actually listen to Grey, Pranav, and Eino.” He shrugged. “To be fair, I was right.”

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#the miys #humans are weird #aliens #apocalypse #science fiction #original fiction #my writing #earth is space australia #humans are space orcs

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amnachil · 4 years

Text

The College Society Chapter 4 Part 4

Okay I’m slow... Had a lot of things to do.

Anyway, the next part is here!

Also, I’ll no post any uptade for To the Perfection for a while, because I realised the timeline is already in april there, while we’re still in March in the College Society. The two story taking place the same year, I’ll wait a bit to make them even.

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey Monday March 25

The junior knew he wasn't someone calm. Some people would call him cantakerous. That was because they never met him when he was mad. Totally, literally, completely mad. How come Nancy had found nothing about the abject pitiful rug rag of a bitch who dared to defy him ? Archie had stopped three hunters who tried to catch the baboon. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey had managed to restrain four others. Well, that wasn't the worst. No, something had made him going bersek. He thought he had lost his mind. When he had called Zack, this smart boy told him the solution was obvious. He just had to reveal he was seriously dating the baboon. Me ?! Revealing to the whole community I'm dating someone for real ?! Admit I'm becoming a satisfied hunter ?! There's no way it'll happen ! I would rather go in hell than admit I lost to Liam. Because yeah, the truth was, he tried to hunt the baboon and got caught by him. He had fallen in love instead of made Liam fell in love. This is my total disgrace. Anyway that won't stop the hunters. Only sex could but he respected Liam to much to do something now. And his mother who decided to warn his father ! It was a matter of days before the old fart would show up in person to yell at him or call until he answer. But there is no way I let him endanger my relationship with the baboon. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey would protect his boyfriend. God be his witness, nobody would put an hand on him.

When he arrived in the student union office, he was still beyond angry. He slammed the door and looked at the people gathered for the occasion. The council of the community, with all the best and oldest hunters. Archie was easily noticeable, not only because he was tall, but he gave off some strong sexual vibes. He had his feet on the table, wore a tank top despite the cold and sported a grin which said everything about him. Next to him was Theo, smug smile like frozen on his face. Then, there were Gabriel and Matthew. The first was busy putting some lipstick, which obviously made some other stare with envy. The second looked really happy to be there. Well, it was his first time in such a meeting for high member of the community. He was replacing Sophia, who was... unavaible for a unknown period of time. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey looked at Lucy. She was acting all hight and mighty, this braindead whore. Sat very close to her was Miranda. Another slut, who hide pretty well her game until now. Samy was already bored to be there. She had her eyes closed and was sighing from time to time. Lastly, this asshole Jolenne smirked when he looked at her. She was so full of herself, acting like if she owned the place. Summer had done quite a good job reuninting all of them, even if she wasn't invited herself. Only one dude missing. Not so bad.

"People." he said. "I won't say I'm happy to see you because I'm not."

He sat on his place. Now he had their attention.

"I'll be straightfoward : is someone here the idiotic wretched foolish jerk who put a price on my prey's head ?"

Jolenne chuckled.

"We don't have to answer to you." she claimed. "You being the best hunter doesn't mean you can boss us around. Well, I'm not even sure we can continue to consider you the best ?"

"You weren't so cocky when you were begging for my dick bitch." he retorted.

"Oh c'mon." intervened Miranda. "This vulgar attitude of yours doesn't scare us anymore. We know you too well."

Yeah we bonded when you sucked my cock jackass. He knew this assembly wouldn't be easy. They were so arrogant.

"You grew some balls." he ironically congratuled. "But don't think for an instant we're all here on the same foot. Most of you are excuses of hunters. Look, this is a friendly advice : do not defy me."

"I won't." stated Theo.

It made the girls laugh loudly.

"Sure you won't." exclaimed Jolenne. "You already failed miserably because you're lame Theophile."

"Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey and you lost this hunt ages ago." added Miranda. "I mean, what is your strategy your Highness ? Playing friend with the prey ? Doesn't seem to work bro'."

"Maybe he isn't interested in boys at all ?" laughed Lucy.

They're... I don't know. I can't find a proper word to qualifiy such pathetic weaklings.

"Anyway, we don't have to listen to you right ?" interrupted Matthew. "I mean, it's D.R who controls the hunters isn't it ? So we can all hunt the prey and get the money since the bounty hadn't been forbidden."

"Newbie please." sighed Gabriel. "And you girls, listen to yourselves. If Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey himself failed to catch the prey, what makes you so sure you'll succeed ?"

I didn't fail ! I'm his fuckin' boyfriend ! The junior took a deep breath. They were getting on his nerves already.

"The noob is right." suddenly intervened Samy. "The 5000$ bounty is valid. As long as the hunters respect the rules of the community, they can hunt the prey. He's not Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's exclusive prey. Of course, this is unprecedented but as long as D.R doesn't put an end to this, we are all in the game."

So she wanted to hunt the baboon too ? What a bunch of retards.

"You heard that fallen king ?" laughed Jolenne. "You know what ? You should prostitute yourself. With your skills, I'm sure you'll earn more than 5000$ in no time and..."

"Shut the fuck up." grunted Archie sharply. "You're getting on my nerves."

His tone was autoritarian and they all went quiet. He glared at her with so much anger, she shivered. Yeah, that's my heir for you bitch ! Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey took advantage of the sudden silence to talk.

"Listen you morons. I don't care what you think or what you want. This prey is mine to begin with. I'll find the stupid idiot who think he can defy me like this. And I'll destroy him. And every single hunter who try to steal my prey will face the same fate."

"Still, D.R didn't say anything yet." insisted Samy. "You can scare us as much as you want but in the end, she decides."

"If you have a death wish bitchy dickhead, that's your problem. D.R won't protect you all from my anger, count on me for that."

He left after these threatening yet satisfying words.

Because of this meeting, he arrived late and frankly pissed to his date with the baboon. It didn't take long before this one noticed something wasn't right.

"Hey Dami, is everything okay ?" he asked. "You look worried..."

The Dean's grandson grunted. He just had too much on his mind to truly enjoy the moment. All these fucking hunters, his damned family and Zack's stupid suggestion... Even sex couldn't distract him well. (He had tried very hard).

"Is it because of me ?" whispered his boyfriend.

"What ? How the hell did you come with such an absurd idea ?"

The baboon looked away. Oh c'mon.

"I know I'm not very good at listening and seeing things..." mumbled Liam. "You're pissed because I don't give you enough attention right ?"

"Baboon please." sighed Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey. "It's true you're a daydreamer but seriously, I prefer you like this than clingy."

Without even noticing, the junior grabbed his boyfriend's arm and put it around him. He huddled on his soft yet firm side.

"I just have a lot of things in my mind." he confessed. "But I'm always feeling better when I'm with you. I swear."

The younger lad smiled, seemingly reassured. Damnit. He's cuter each day. I live for these fuckin' sweet moments. How pathetic. It was weird, but all his anger had faded away. He was indeed feeling better with his baboon around.

Liam Tuesday March 26

The loud music made him cringe. When Colton had invited him to this party, Liam had agreed without thinking. But now, he was regretting. There were a lot of people. The bright light reminded him of a beacon. Since Nate wasn't here, the chestnut lad stayed in a corner with Nick. (His bestfriend was usually the leader in parties.). (But for now, he was with Archibald.). His roommate was busy playing at his gameboy. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Dami had strongly forbidden him to dance ever again since the red panda incident. He was considering leaving when Rebecca came to him.

"Hey Liam." she greeted. "Want a drink ?"

"No thanks." he smiled.

He didn't want to let drunk Liam take control. It would be a disaster. The runner girl smirked.

"Would you like to come with me and my friends ? You must be pretty bored here with Nick..."

His roommate utterly ignored them. I just want to go to sleep. He was about to decline when he saw her. The witch was all smiles, standing next to the exit. Damn. She's very persistent. What was her plan this time ? (Liam was a courageous young man but... The witch looked very scary !). (Nobody would be chilled facing someone like her !). He had to save time until a hero like Dami came. I'll text him once I'm safe.

"Okay Rebbie, I'm coming." he replied consequently.

She led him to her bedroom. Much to his surprise, there was a man half naked laying onto her bed. Another girl was sat next to him, and she smiled to the newcomers.

"Hi there."

I have a strange feeling about that... Liam smiled, a bit confused by the situation. Rebecca offered him a fragrant donut.

"Let's talk between friends." she said. "Please, relax Liam."

The young man did as told, especially because the donut made his mouth salivate. He ate it pretty fast and she gave him another. They're luscious ! They taste like Ms. Liliano's goods.

"I was sure you would like them." the man said.

Only now, Liam recognised him : it was Matthew, another swimmer. The chestnut lad felt reassured. His teammate wasn't someone bad, right ?

"They remind me of home." he confessed while chewing a third.

The girls chuckled. Next to them, Rebecca talked for a sec with Barbara. Then, she closed the door, apparently because it was too noisy. Liam was pretty sure she asked the petite blonde to stand guard outside, but he could have hallucinated. (Because he was sometimes seeing weird things...) (But the unicorns were real, even if you think otherwise !).

"Here." wispered Matthew.

He offered a umpteenth donut to Liam, who gladly took it. He loved the sugary but fruity flavor. The firmness was mushy and sweet. Suddenly, the sophomore put an hand on his belly. It made the chestnut lad jump a bit, but Rebecca attracted his attention with another donut. (Liam wasn't a total naive but it wasn't the first time someone wanted to touch his tummy either.) (Some people were just touchy-feely right ?). It continued for a little while, before the hands found his way to a lower area. Uh... I can tolerate some hug from friends but we are going a little too intimate here. The freshman stood up.

"I'm sorry." he said. "But I don't want to do... this kind of things."

Liam left before they could argue his decision. (But he took the donut's boxes with him !).

He managed to avoid the witch and get out. When he arrived in his flat, he bumped into Nate. His bestfriend was in their shared bedroom, reading a book. When he noticed Liam's package, he raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Donuts ?" offered the chestnut lad while he sat down close to his soulmate. "I hum... stole them from the party next door."

"No thanks. What did you left so early anyway ? Even Nick is still there."

Liam opened a box and licked his lips in advance. He already felt slightly bloated, but it won't stop him now.

"Well, Rebecca and her weirds friends tried to... you know, sleep with me ? At least I think..."

It made Nate tremble. He winced and took several deep breath.

"I guess it's no surprise." he managed to mutter. "You're offcially available and hot..."

The freshman frowned. He swallowed his donut and looked at his bestfriend. This one was shivering. Something was weird. He seems... terrified.

"You refused their advances right ?" he asked. "I mean, you won't let a nobody have sex with you without your consent ?"

"Of course not ! I want to sleep with Dami at some point but... eerh that's very embarrassing."

Liam wasn't virgin. Kilian and him had already done it. (And to be honest, his first time was with a girl). But for now, he didn't feel ready for it. He wanted to know his boyfriend better before entrusting him with his body. (He was already really happy to see how clingy Dami was when they were together. His hero of a boyfriend was always initiating contact !).

"I think Dami is very attractive." he whispered. "And I'm sure he's very talented since he has... experience. But I won't let him do anything before I'm trusting him fully. And myself too."

Nate nodded. This statement seemed to calm him a bit.

"So you'll never seek sex only for fun ? And follow what people say about it without giving it a second thought ?" he asked. "You'll never let them chose for... "

His words got stuck in his throat. Nate sobbed suddenly. Liam forgot about the donuts and hugged his bestfriend.

"I'll always be prudent." he assured.

It's like reawakening bad memories... Does it had a connection with what happened this eventful night ? Liam didn't want to draw any hasty conclusion but... I don't like this. I don't like this at all...

Nicolas Friday March 29

< Imagenius : Sorry I'm late !! >

< TheSavior : hurry we don't have much time before i n2g for my lesson >

< Abeautifulwomen : i bet it's your hunter stuff again ? Shame >

< Imagenius : Maybe you won't believe me but i fucked and became a hunter dude ! So yeah i was with my friend who showed me the rules of the community cuz they're not some barbaric heartless hunters lol >

< TheSavior : can we focus on the game ? >

< Abeautifulwomen : wait wait chief ! So Ima, you made it in the hunters lol ! You know things abut this big hunt you were talkin' ? >

< Imagenius : nothg yet :/ my friend said i shuld wait a little before going for it. Apparently, he know what he's talkin' abut becuz he's kinda famous lol. For now, i have to learn D.R's rules >

< Abeautifulwomen : wait. What ? You're in the same college than D.R ? >

< Imagenius : you know it ? My friend didn't explain shit abut it >

< Abeautifulwomen : not it dumbass but she. She's famous btw. And idk her personally but my boss friend does. He's in the same college than you lol. >

< Imagenius : wow talk abut coincidence ! So your boss friend is a hunter too ? >

< Abeautifulwomen : obviously duh. Ima hey seriously can I give you piece of advice ? >

< Imagenius : what ? >

< Abeautifulwomen : just don't go for the special hunt. This is not worth it. >

< Imagenius : you kiddin right ? My friend told me it was very big i dont want to miss my chance lol. It's just abut having sex with someone who apparently is playin' hard to get lol >

< Abeautifulwomen : becuz we're friend i will tell it another time : don't go for it bro. It'll only bring troubles trust me >

< Imagenius : wait a second... you know what is the special hunt don't you ? Tell me lol ! >

< Abeautifulwomen : no. Just listen to me okay Ima ?!?! >

< Imagenius : that's not funny at all ! Why you don't tell me !! >

< TheSavior : Guys im losin' patience here... get your ass on the game or i swear i'm gonna yell >

< Abeautifulwomen : right away sir ! >

< Imagenius : Coming ! But Beauty, don't think this conversation is over ! >

Nick was almost at the pool when he encountered Pete. It had been a long time they havn't met. The law student hadn't changed much. I wonder why he left the swimming club... Well, it probably had something to do with Theo.

"Wow Nick I almost didn't recognise you !" said the blond lad. "You're... somewhat fatter than before."

You must be kiddin' me ? I mean, Pete is fat. The economic student sucked as he could in his gut. Sure he had gained weight, but not enough to be teased by fatties right ?

"Oh don't get it the wrong way." laughed Pete. "Someone who doesn't do any sport like you, it's pretty normal you gain some weight."

"Are you sayin' I'm lazy ?"

"What ? That's not what I... oh and fuck it... well yeah. You got the paunch to prove it man. Maybe lay off the beer for a while ?"

Nick decided to not answer. They are all annoying today. Even his virtual friends ! He just went inside the pool to join Colton. At least his friend would never judge him for anything !

To be continued

Finally we met them all, the famous and dangerous hunters... All going for Liam’s ass. The big hunt... even Nick’s virtual friend are in this. If only we knew who they were!

On another note, I didn’t know if the trigger warning was relevant for now. Nate didn’t say anything, even if it’s kind of implied. He needs help, and he will get it.

#the college society #cs #Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey #Liam #Nick #the big hunt #everyone talk about it #Who are Nick's friends I wonder #Nick is big #Nate is sad #Drama #Chapter 4 #Part 4

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