#that was another fun Connected The Dots moment awhile back

[blmpff]

Today on: icymi that's the same actor - Cha Woo Min

The Tasty Florida (2021):

Weak Hero Class 1 (2022):

Night Has Come (2023):

[erodasfishtacos]

#HendallReunited

prompt: request was to write broad but to write something angsty

Word count: 5.2k

Warnings: language, sexual content, angst

Harry always had issues with saying ‘no’ to people. He never quite grew out of his manners even when he should have.

He said ‘yes’ to way too many things- signing autographs for rude fans and paparazzi, and agreed to way too many things Jeff suggested.

Saying yes to everything didn’t make his life any easier is the thing. Especially when it came to his wife. She was usually left with the aftermath of him being too nice.

The media painted Y/N in a negative light occasionally and so did the fans because she would stand up for Harry and not let him say ‘yes’ to every single request.

She would tell disrespectful fans he’s not signing autographs because of the way they were screaming and interrupting his work.

Harry wished he could do it himself - admired that his wife didn’t give a fuck what people thought about her. He cared entirely too much what the world would think.

The couple didn’t fight about much - no, not really. Normal couple stuff for the most part. But this was the exception, this is where Y/N found most of their turmoil.

Every few months it would rear it’s ugly head and they’d find themselves in the same position over and over again.

This time - it was really fucking bad.

The couple had been staying in their Los Angeles home for the last few months whilst the singer finalized his album and began promotion.

It was boring meeting among boring lunch outings to get all their ducks in a row. Jeff - his manager the main orchestrator.

He was a great manager and a good friend, but it was also business too which Harry didn’t always comprehend.

At the end of the day, Harry was making Jeff millions upon millions of dollars. But Harry didn’t think that way.

**

Harry was in a stuffy conference room at the The Late Late Show to work on the script and ideas for the show. Promo had been nonstop.

He was a bit tired as it was nearly just hitting eight in the morning and he had been up late with you - having some late night loving in the hot tub.

“As for guest - Kendall Jenner,” James Corden’s producer states. All the men agree but Harry is taken aback.

“Why...why would we have my ex-girlfriend as one of my guests?” Harry interrupts, confusion knitting his brows.

Kendall and him didn’t end on a bad note - not at all. They hooked up a few times after their ‘break-up’ but once he’d met Y/N she was understanding when he cut it off.

Y/N wasn’t necessarily jealous of the model, but didn’t love when they’d run into each other at events. She was still overtly flirty with Harry without much shame. 

Harry also didn’t have an desire to see her or host her as a guest on the show. She was nice but he wasn’t interested in being friends with her. They didn’t have much in common and he was head over heels for his wife.

“The media will eat it up, dude. Harry Styles and Kendall Jenner reunited on a show after four years?” Jeff smiles, the others nodding in amicable agreement.

This is one of this times where Harry needs to say “no,” that it’s disrespectful to his significant other to use an old flame for promo for his album.

He already knows ‘hendall’ will be trending within minutes and he can’t imagine how that would make his parter feel.

“I just...this doesn’t seem like a good idea?” Harry begins hesitantly, making it sound more like a question than a statement. 

“Why not?” Eric, one of the writers asks.

“Y’know, I’m married. I don’t think m’missus would appreciate if I did somethin’ like that just for promotion,” he states, scratching at his jaw uncomfortably.

“Look Styles, we’re not asking you to fuck the girl. It just a interview, c’mon,” The executive producer gruffs - wanting those guaranteed views.

Harry swallows - looking at his manager and then at everyone else at the table looking at him for an affirmative answer.

“Uh-sure,” Harry fumbles, feeling anxiety rise into his throat. Fuck, he’s such a god damn pushover.

He’s trying to find his voice to go back on his agreement but the meeting wrapping up and people are leaving with final handshakes.

**

Harry doesn’t know how to tell Y/N what is going on. He’d been keeping in stored in the back of his mind, not ready to have a blowout.

He never found the perfect time to bring it up and now it was too late. It was the morning of the show and he was due to be at the rehearsals this afternoon.

Harry had finally decided he was going to tell her this morning over coffee but forgot that she had a girl’s day planned with a few friends.

She was already out to breakfast with them when he woke up. His phone had one text from you.

Hi baby. I’m out with the girls. See you at the show tonight. I’ll meet you there around six! Love you!

He was fucked royally and he had no one to blame but himself. Maybe it’d be okay, maybe she’d roll her eyes and tell him he’s an idiot.

Realistically he knew that was just a sweet dream at this point.

—

Harry was fidgety and kept mucking up his lines during rehearsal as it got closer to the showtime and his missus arriving.

Kendall had arrived for hair and makeup without seeing her ex-boyfriend yet. He dreaded seeing the model.

Kendall and Y/N had met a few times at different events. It was always cordial. Kendall was always casual - their relationship was never more than a couple fun dates and sex.

They were kind to each other when they met but he couldn’t deny how much harder his partner kissed him on the mouth afterwards.

Before he know it, his wife is hugging him from behind as he talks to a producer about which cameras to look at.

Y/N noticed the way he tensed up at first and thought about how unusual that was for him. Normally, he’d lean back into her with his full weight causing them both to stumble and laugh.

He slowly, cautiously turns around and his face  relaxes a little bit but not completely. “Hi baby,” he hums, leaning in for a kiss.

“You look so handsome,” she replies, admiring his brown pinstriped suit and her pearl necklace that he’d snagged awhile back. She thought it looked better on him anyways.

“You look even better, s’fuckin’ pretty, love,” he gushes, coming back in for another kiss - a little too sensual for the setting.

She was donned in a cropped white shirt, showing of the smooth expanse of her tummy. An oversized blazer of Harry’s, ripped jeans, and heels. 

Harry thought fleetingly he couldn’t wait to fuck her after the show. Then remembered that mostly wouldn’t happen.

Reggie, the musical lead, slides up to you two. He smiles wide at you, saying, “Can’t believe you agreed to the guest this evening.”

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion, Harry’s raise nearly to his forehead, but when she opens her mouth to ask him to explain they’re interrupted.

“Harry!” The leggy model trots over to the little group. Dressed in an interesting one-piece suit that has sewn in heels. She looked beautiful as ever, of course she was a model.

Both of them turn towards the oblivious girl, “Kendall,” Harry replies with a twinge of anxiety - eyes repeatedly looking at his significant other’s profile as multiple emotions flash.

“Hiya, you’re Y/N right?” Kendall smiles kindly, offering her manicured hand.

She accepts, “Yeah, uh-good to see you again.”

Harry knew she had connected the dots quickly in her head. The hurt, confusion, had hit her eyes before narrowing into full-blown rage at her partner.

“I promise I’ll go easy on him,” Kendall jokes before pinching at Harry’s cheek teasingly. The model was a natural flirt with everyone she got along with.

“Oh, sure,” she replies lamely, attempting to not let her feelings burst out in that moment with her husband . She knew it wasn’t Kendall’s fault.

“I’m going to go grab a bite to eat. I’m probably gonna puke when we do ‘spill or fill’. See you guys soon,” the model waves before trailing off with her assistant.

“Did you kn- of course you knew she was your guest,” Y/N seethes, turning to fully face the guilt-stricken-singer.

He rubs the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact, “I did.”

“How long have you known for?” She demands to know, keeping her voice at an angry whisper to not draw attention.

Harry wasn’t going to lie to his love, “About two weeks.”

Y/N replies with a laugh, “let me guess, you let Jeffrey talk you into this bullshit, again.”

His silence is all she needs to know it’s true.

“For Christ’s sake, of course,” She huffs bitterly, “what’s even worse is you didn’t fucking tell me. What the fuck?”

Harry bites his lip, not able to rasp out anything but a pathetic, “m’sorry, love.”

He wasn’t usually good at taking responsibility during a fight. He was stubborn at best but he couldn’t deny his way out of this.

“You will be, you-“

They were cut off by the staff, the audience was trailing in and Harry needed to get mic’d up now.

“This conversation isn’t over,” she points her finger at his chest before storming off to the side of the stage where she’d watch from.

Fucking shit.

**

Harry was a performer. It’s easy for him to push things to the back of his mind so he can entertain a enamored audience.

But tonight, he was struggling. Eyes flicking over to the teleprompter more than usual, his demeanor not as vivid and carefree.

Not when his wife was glaring daggers at him from stage right. Her hand constantly at her mouth, biting at her nails - a nervous tick of hers.

“Next up, the one, the only, the beautiful model and one of my good friends, Kendall Jenner!” Harry introduces when she walks out and waves at the crowd.

They hug and when they pull apart they step over to where they were playing the game. Either answer the question or eat a nasty food picked out by the other.

They weren’t allowed to see each other’s questions before the game started- both going on blind which put Harry more on edge.

“Okay, Kendall. Rank the members of One Direction on most to least attractive or you will be eating...” Harry spins the table, “Cow tongue.”

She flinched at the disgusting plate, smirking up at Harry before considering her course of action, “I think I can answer this one.”

He wasn’t looking forward to her answer. Neither was Y/N by the way she nearly shaking her foot off her leg.

“Okay, I got this. You - the most attractive, then uh- Zayn....Louis...Niall...Liam,” she laughs, “but all of you are hot!”

Harry fake laughs and acts like he’s impressed by her answer as the crowd roars and cheers. 

When Kendall picks up her notecard - she laughs in surprise at the question before looking at him with bright eyes.

“Okay, um, bull penis!” She giggles before starting the question, “I’m dying to know this answer. So...your first album HS1 was released four years ago, correct?”

He nods, apprehensive.

“Which songs were about me? Especially was only angel?” She laughs at Harry’s pale expression before without another thought he shovels the rancid food into his mouth.

Harry looks off to the side to see that his missus is no longer sitting there. Just Jeff - who gives him a thumbs up.

**

The first thing he did when the show ended and the lights dimmed was bolt off to Jeff - ignoring Kendall who was about to say something to him.

“Where’d Y/N go?”

He thought she might have went out to get a breathe of fresh air but for the next hour and a half he hasn’t seen her once.

“She said she wasn’t feeling very good. She told me to tell you she’d meet you at home,” Jeff shrugs unbothered.

“Damnit!” Harry curses loudly, ripping out of the microphone and the little pack in his back waistband.

“Harry,” Jeff scolds at his unprofessionalism that was abnormal for him.

“No! Don’t fucking ever ask me to do shit like this again. You fucking knew what questions were on those notecards and you said it wasn’t anything about our previous relationship.”

“Harry-“

“Don’t fucking talk to me. You’re a real shit manager sometimes, you know that? Do not contact me tonight or tomorrow for that matter, you douchebag,” Harry barks before storming off towards the dressing rooms.

All the employees were standing around in shock, staring at the popstar as he ignored everyone around him.

Harry was famously known for being a kind, amicable guy. So it took everyone by surprise to hear him speak like that. Even Jeff was shaken up a little.

—

The house was pitch-black as Harry pulled up. The house’s first floor was lined with large, bay windows and not a single light was on.

He could find one room illuminated which was your bedroom. A dim side lamp must have been flicked on. He imagined her purposely turning off all the lights on the trek up the staircase.

Harry didn’t want to admit how much he was trembling with awful nerves and anticipation as he slowly turns the knob of the shared bedroom.

Y/N wasn’t laying in bed as he expected but found the bathroom door shut tightly. He noticed a little yellow bag with tissue paper off to the side by a dresser.

He knocks on the oak door, not daring to enter without permission.

“What do you want?” Y/N answers, tone flat and emotionless. 

“Can I come in, baby? Please...” He wasn’t ashamed to beg for forgiveness at this point. Hearing the emptiness in her tone scared him shitless.

“I really could care less,” She replies coldly from her spot in the scalding water decorated with bubbles.

Harry had never felt more unsure in his life as he enters the bathroom.  Y/N had gotten proper pissed at him or vice versa before - right before a concert, an award ceremony but she’d never left without him.

Her head was laying against the foam headrest and her body was covered by the soap water. She looked tired and her eyes were puffy from crying.

Harry kneels next to the tub, “look at me, please pet.”

 Y/N takes a moment before turning her head and opening her eyes. They were distant, disappointed in the man in front of her.

“I should have told you about Kendall. I should have put up more of a fight to get someone else on instead,” Harry admits, his hands desperately wanting to reach out for her.

She shakes her head with a heart-wrenching sniffle, “it’s not just tonight, Harry. We’ve had this conversation continuously for three and a half fucking years. You try to please everyone, despite them giving no fucks about you.”

“Are you that much of a pushover? You let your ex-girlfriend flirt with you in front of millions. Do you know how embarrassing and unfair that it to me?” She wipes at her eyes to stop the tears spilling over.

Harry hadn’t thought of it like that - to be honest. But he agrees, it wasn’t fair and downright cruel to do that to her.

What? All because he couldn’t say ‘no’ because he didn’t want people to be mad at him? It was pathetic and ridiculous.

“I-I won’t let it happen again, lovie. I mean it, I truly do,” Harry whimpers reaching over to cup her cheek and wants to cry when she pushes him away.

“You’re a broken record. You’ve said that a million times before but don’t change,”  Y/N points out, eyes boring furiously into his wife’s.

“I’m goi-“

She cuts him off with a sharp edge in her tone, “Just leave me alone, get out.”

The man’s face crumbles and for a second, she wants to just end the fight and makeup but then nothing would change.

“Baby-“

“Get out!” She finally bellows, tears streaming down her face steadily.

He obliges, head hung in defeat as he closes the door behind him. He stands there’s blankly for a second before going to the walk-in closet.

He’s pulling out a fresh pair of cotton underwear and a large sleepshirt for his partner, laying them neatly on the bed.

Harry doesn’t know what to do with himself while he waits so he pulls out his phone to mindlessly scroll.

He throws it against the wall when he sees #hendallreunited is trending number one on Twitter at the moment.

The singer strips down to his briefs and sits with his back against the tufted headboard, staring blankly at the wall.

His eyes catch a neon pink pair of his swimshorts tossed carelessly on the decorative vase in the corner of the room from the night before .

“Fuck, baby - no need to rush,” Harry groans into Y/N ‘s mouth as she pushes him until he’s sat on the edge of their California king.

She reaches impatiently for the tie on his neon pink swimshorts and yanks them off his slim, peach-fuzz thighs before throwing them onto the vase without a care that it was worth over twenty-thousand pounds.

After edging her in the hot tub with his fingers and mouth, she wasn’t waiting any longer before clambering onto his lap, pulling her swim bottoms to the side, and sinking onto him.

He felt guilty when his cock twitched at the thought of it. But when reality set back in, the arousal with the memory evaporated.

It isn’t much longer until the door is pulled open and  Y/N’s padding into the room with a towel secured around her.

She looks at the clothes Harry set out for her and pointedly walks past them to pick out her own nightwear. 

That really shouldn’t make his eyes tear up as he watches her slide on a similar pair of panties and an oversized shirt. Spotting a purpling bruise on her upper in thigh from his mouth.

 Y/N silently walks past the bed and to the bedroom door, looking back before bleakly stating, “I’m going to sleep in the guest room.”

He frowns, wrinkles appearing on his forehead, “You can sleep in here, love. I’ll take the guest room.”

Harry doesn’t get a reply as she just shakes her head and closes the door loudly behind her. 

It’s just - he’s never seen her this upset. She was usually fantastic at communicating her feelings and hashing things out.

She wasn’t one for the silent treatment or ignoring the topic. It had his chest rising faster than usual with anxiety. The serious of it overwhelming him.

He states at the wall for a very long time without wiping the fat tears brimming over his trembling lips.

*

He couldn’t sleep - it was half past three and he hadn’t even laid down or clicked off the lamp.

Harry accepted sleep wasn’t coming so he begins to tidy the already clean room. He picks up the shorts and tossing them in the hamper.

He refolds some joggers he’d carelessly shoved in a drawer and when he went to move the little yellow bag - curiosity got the best of him.

There was no card and he wasn’t sure who it was for or if it had been a gift already give to Y/N that she had returned home with.

Harry really shouldn’t - but he does. Gently tugging out the paper and reaching in to feel fabric.

Pulling it out, it takes him a minute to identify what it is - two baby onesie. Who was having a baby?

He lays them in front of him, eyes widening in surprise as he reads what is printed across the black cotton.

The first one was the colors and font of his upcoming tour merch with the photo he used on his tour announcement with the heeled boot and white pants.

Love on Tour - Due Date: September 2025

With Special Guest Appearance from Baby Styles

The second one was simple and read across the chest:

I’m having your baby (and it is your business) with embroidered kiwis all of over it.

He frantically reached back into the bag to pull out a bundle of pregnancy tests tied with a silk bow.

They weren’t necessarily trying for a baby but they’re weren’t not trying either. Harry wanted a baby as soon as his missus was willing to give him one.

“No, no, don’t one,” she’d whined into his mouth when he’d reached over to grab a condom off the nightstand.

“Oh sweet thing, you want me bare? Fill you up?” He croons happily, coming back to grip at his thick base and tease at her entrance.

“Ye-yeah, H. Please,” (Y/N) whimpers, bucking her hips in the hope he’d slip inside her.

Harry hums, “Might give you a baby though, y’want me to knock you up?”

“Want it, wan-“

He cuts her off with a hard, blissful kiss as he thrusts all the way inside before pulling out to do it again. 

“Gonna give it to you, whatever you want, lovie,” he promises.

The two had never used protection afterwards. It had start about seven months ago and from his knowledge she’d still been getting her periods regularly.

Occasionally, he would palm at her flat tummy and pout, “Haven’t put a baby in you yet, ‘ave I?”

He was so ecstatic but disappointed in himself for ruining everything and pleasing everyone other than who he should be.

Harry needed to fix this. He didn’t want Y/N to lose the excitement of having their baby over a dumb choice of his.

The man’s out of the room and not knocking before entering their guest room. His now pregnant love is laying on-top of the covers.

One hand subconsciously on her belly - which she removes and places next to her when her wife walks in.

The television was on but the volume was low and Y/N wasn’t watching it in the first place anyways.

Harry sits on the edge of the bed, “I opened the yellow bag.”

She looks at him with wide eyes, a little taken aback. she was going to surprise him tonight and forgot to store it away for another time after the fight.

Harry has happy tears dribbling down his cheeks, “you’re having my baby?”

Y/N nods, running a slight hand through his curls. She still had a nasty knot of anger and uncertainty in the pit of her stomach.

It pains her, wanting to share this moment of excitement with Harry but she just couldn’t. The uncertainty of whether Harry would put everybody’s needs before his own baby.

“Come back to bed, want t’talk and celebrate. M’so bloody excited,” Harry murmurs, a large smile decorating his face as he smooths a palm over the expanse of her tummy.

His wife shakes her head and places a hand over his, feeling the cold metal of all of them. “I want to be left alone.”

The twinkle in Harry’s eye diminishes to devastation as he realizes that he’s fucked up so badly that she doesn’t even want to celebrate.

“Pet, can...we just forget about it tonight and be happy ‘bout the baby?” Harry asks selfishly, knowing it was unlikely she’d agree.

She didn’t, a firm expression on her face, “no, I have a lot to think about.”

“Like wha’?” He asks anxiously, unknowing of quite the reason she was so furious.

“Like how you say yes to everything and everyone. We talk and talk about how you need to say ‘no’ and do what’s best for you - for us. You agree to and never follow through”

She takes a shaky breath and continues, “it’s affected our relationship before when you’ve had to cancel our vacation away from all this for a charity concert you’d agree to perform at last minute, dinner reservations because you told your friend we’d be at their art showing they wanted you at.”

Harry knew she was right. He did those things. He wanted everyone to be happy with him - to a fault.

“Tonight was just icing on the cake, you allowed your manager to talk you into hosting your ex on that show. Out of all the people in the world - her. With flirty questions and jabs from her. You let that happen. You care about making everyone happy but in return you don’t care how it affects me. That’s pretty shitty.”

“I’m...I’m really fucking scared you’ll do that even when we have the baby. I need you to put them first and right now...I’m not sure if you’re going to. You can’t put the person you want to spend the rest of your life with first now, how do I know you’ll do it with the baby?”

Harry chokes out a sob as he presses his forehead against the bed, his broad shoulders shaking. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried this hard - years ago maybe. He felt like his wife didn’t have any faith in him and he was to blame.

He looks up at her with swollen eyes - at a loss for what to do or say. He loved her so much and was over the moon that they were going to have a baby.

“How do I fix this, darling? You’re right, I really fucked up. M’sorry,” Harry cries, grabbing at her hands and she allows it.

“Just saying you’re sorry won’t fix it,” Y/N replies flatly, letting Harry squeeze and kiss at the backs of her hands.

“Then what do I bloody do to fix this?” Harry raises his voice in frustration, staring in bewilderment at his wife. 

Y/N narrows her eyes at him, “Do not raise your voice at me, Harry. Actions speak louder than words.”

Harry swallows harshly, pressing one finally kiss to her hand. “Okay.”

“Okay?” She repeats.

“I love you, I’ll fix this,” he promises with conviction. He knew what he needed to do and do it tomorrow. So he and his wife could enjoy her new pregnancy.

“I need space tonight, I just...please”Y/N says quietly, rubbing at his shoulder.

It wasn’t the first time they’ve slept in separate rooms because they weren’t getting along but they normally found their way back to each other before sunrise.

Harry nods, lip still tremble with the residual anxiety of the conversation. She allows him to press a soft kiss to her mouth before leaving the room.

—-

Cafe Habana was busy - but no one was paying much attention to Harry and Jeff. It was the morning after and Harry had demanded a meeting over breakfast with his manager.

“Y/N pregnant,” Harry states bluntly after their drinks arrive.

“Oh? Congratulations, dude. That’s exciting!” Jeff leans over to pat him on the shoulder, a big smile.

“The baby is due in September. My next tour starts in next July. The baby will be about nine months. I want to be at home with them for the first year.”

Jeff doesn’t look pleased, “what are you getting at Harry?”

“Reschedule the July and August tour dates. Tack them on to the end of the tour,” Harry lays out flat. 

He hadn’t talk to his wife about this but he knew this was how he could prove that he could say ‘no’ and not be a pushover.

“No Harry. Look I get you’re excited about the baby - but that will be such a fucking hassle,” Jeff frowns, sipping his mimosa.

“I’m not asking, Jeff. I’m telling you that’s what needs to happen,” Harry replies firmly, tone strong and unwavering.

Jeff is definitely taken aback by his client’s conviction. 

“While we’re on the topic, do not ever put me in a situation like you did yesterday. It affected my wife and I. And I will choose her over this career any day.”

The manager nods in surprise, “Harry, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not asking for an apology but if you ever pull something like then I’ll be looking for a new management team. Are we clear?” 

Jeff once again nods, unsure of where this is coming from but at the thought of losing his biggest client would be disastrous so he’d do whatever to accommodate him.

“Consider it done,” he tells Harry before clearing his throat in a slight panic.

—

Y/N woke up to an empty house. She was restless, she asked Harry to prove to her that he could be what she needed. However, it was a bit unfair because she didn’t know how he could do it.

It’s just…she had a baby to think about. They both needed to be put first and if it took a gnarly fight for Harry to realize it...so be it.

“Baby? Love, where are you?” She hears Harry echo through the whole house. She was sat in the kitchen, on a stool by the island, idly sorting through mail.

“In here!”

Harry jogs in, panting like he sprinted from the garage up to the kitchen. He comes to stand in front of the love of his life.

“I might have not completely fixed everything but...I tried,” Harry tells her, cradling her face in his large palms. “ I just got back from lunch with Jeff. I told him about the baby.”

He takes a deep breath before continuing, “I rescheduled tour dates so I can be with you guys at home in London for the first year. Then...maybe you guys can join me after?”

“Harry…” she’s at a loss for words.

“And I told Jeff that if he ever puts me in a situation like that again, I’m firing him.”

Y/N stares at him, in awe and admiration of the man she chose to marry and keep forever. His face was so sincere and vulnerable.

Harry didn’t know whether it would be enough. If it wasn’t he’d keep trying but all he could do was hope. He waited with bated breath as she processed his words.

“Baby, you-for me?” She murmurs as she stands up and crowds into his space. He instantly wraps her up into a tight hug, missing her touch.

“Of course, pet. I’d do anything for you, I mean it. I’d quit this whole career if you wanted tha’,” he tells her truthfully - lips brushing her forehead.

“I love you, so so much,” Y/N murmurs, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“We’re havin’ a baby,'' Harry sighs dreamily into her mouth, tongue sliding against hers. A large hand came to palm at her belly.

“Yeah, m‘having your baby,” She giggles as he begins to trail the kisses down her jaw and neck - pressing her into the marble countertop.

“Should we name it Kiwi?” Harry rasps as he slides the tank top strap off her shoulder so his lips can meet the cap of her warm shoulder.

“We are not going to be that celebrity couple who names their baby something weird,” Y/N groans as he grounds his hips into hers with intent.

THE END

[palbabor-writes]

I know you said you only might accept pregnancy requests depending on what it is so I wanted to try 😅 how about shigaraki and reader break up while she’s unknowingly pregnant with his child and he bumps into said child years later and connects the dots that it’s his? If you don’t like it feel free to ignore this request 😊

I liked this nonnie.

I am terrified that by saying that I’m going to be inundated with pregnancy HC’s, lol. But, this request I really leaned into. Plus, it’s more about a kid than a pregnancy. 

So, thank you for asking and letting me slip out of my comfort zone. It’s always good to do that every once in awhile and this ask was a great reminder of that.

It’s a bit melancholic, but I think it fits with Tomura, at least, in my mind.

Now, this is not in canon. This is not like, pre-war arc, or post-war arc. If anything, it’s more of an AU. I’d put Tomura in his late 20s to early 30s.  

warnings: none really, just some sweet, sweet interactions and mild angst 

Hestia Hestia, in Greek religion, is the goddess of the hearth, a daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and one of the 12 Olympian deities. When the gods Apollo and Poseidon became suitors for her hand, she swore to remain a maiden forever, and Zeus, the king of the gods, bestowed upon her the honor of presiding over all sacrifices. 

The shouting noise of children set his teeth on edge.

Toga had insisted that the bus stop by the school was the best place for the information exchange.

They won’t look for you there, she’d assured him. It’s like hiding in plain sight. Yeah, it’s patrolled, but it’s only an old security guard who does the rounds. Besides, he’s retired from the police force, she qualified, and was more like a lazy cat than an attentive scent hound.  

It’s the best place, really.

So, Shigaraki had made the long trek across Tokyo.

He kept to the shadows as he weaved his way through back alleys and streets. Although the dominance of the League had waned some over the years, he was still a wanted criminal, responsible for countless death and threats on hero society.

He was still the King of his slice of the underworld.

Besides, he reassured himself as he loitered by the bench under the bus stop, he could trust Toga.

She had improved in leaps and bounds as she came of age; deadlier, sleeker, more attuned to the ebbs and flows of the world around her. She wasn’t that girl who chattered about blood anymore.

Oh, she still held a strange fascination with the fluid. But she had more control over those impulses that drove her. If she said it was the best place, well, who was he to argue? Toga had been with him from the beginning, a vital ally. Hell, at this point she was close to being a friend.

Shigaraki is still musing when the ball taps its way to his feet.

It clatters against the pavement; the rubber shuttling it along the loose rocks and leaves. Unthinkingly, Shigaraki lifts his shoe to balance against its unbound movement, stilling its lulling bounces.

Must be from that schoolyard, he thinks, his red eyes flashing up at the low chain-link fence that separates the school grounds from the busy street.

There’s no child dashing their way to retrieve it, so he lets his gaze slip from the teeming masses of giggling youngsters. It’s a pretty blue. The ball looks new. Hardly a scuffed and battered thing.

He keeps it under his sole, toying with it, rolling it meditatively as he slips back into his thoughts.

“Hey! That’s mine!”

It’s a small voice that calls to him and he turns his head back to the fence, looking for the source.

It’s a girl.

She’s leaning against the metal, her hands clutching into the links, cocking her head inquisitively at him.

Her nose wrinkles at his silence, and she shouts another demand.

“Mister, that’s my ball. Toss it back.”

“Aren’t you supposed to say please?” Shigaraki taunts, his lips lifting in a quick grin. He’s not sure why he’s bothering to engage with this kid, but something about her plucky attitude resonates with him.

She leans away from the fence, that scowl deepening on her soft features.

“Aren’t grown ups not supposed to steal things?”

He laughs at her snark. He can’t help it. Oh, this kid’s fun.

Carefully slipping the ball into his hands, he moves closer to the fence. He can see her a little better now.

She’s still got that deep frown on her face and her dark hair is gleaming in the afternoon sun, some strands catching the light, reflecting a deep, auburn, hue. He’s just about to chuck the ball to her when he catches sight of her eyes.

They’re red.

Not that red eyes are unusual. There are plenty of people milling around Tokyo with them. But hers are different.

No, these eyes are like looking into a mirror for Shigaraki. They flint and glare with the same sheen as his own. It’s a prefect reflection.

His feet suddenly feel heavy, leaden, and he can’t lift his arms. Who is this child? Why does she-

“Ok, ok, mister. Can I please have my ball back? You’re still stealing it if you don’t, so I’m not apologizing for that. I might... if you give it back to me, cuz’ it’s my ball, not yours. And, stealing makes you a thief.”

She’s rolling those uncanny irises at his stiff form, and a huffing sigh escapes her small mouth.

“What’s your name?” Shigaraki asks, hands trembling over the rubber of the ball.

“Not supposed to tell that to strangers, mister.”

He smiles again, bemused. Well, he thinks begrudgingly, she’s a clever little thing. Whoever she is.

A sharp bell echoes across the yard and she turns her head at the sound, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders.

“Here,” Shigaraki relents, gently flipping the ball over the fence, bouncing it to her feet.

“Thanks,” she murmurs, quickly snatching up her prize. Those red eyes of hers meet his own, and he can feel a low shiver echo up his spine. What’s up with this reaction? It almost feels visceral, like some sort of otherworldly pull on him.

“Sorry I called you a thief,” she apologizes, quickly bowing her head, ducking those eerie eyes from view.

He’s not sure what to say, so he continues to watch her. She doesn’t seem perturbed by this, opting to giggle at him as her little head lifts.

“You’re weird,” she assess, a smile finally spreading over her lips, her cheeks rounding and softening. 

Tch, she’s rude, but she’s also cute, Shigaraki thinks, snorting at her frankness.

She turns, dashing away from him, her dark hair flowing around her back as she goes.

Shigaraki shakes his head, trying to dislodge those lingering questions that keep floating to the back of his mind.

He’ll never see her again, he reasons, wandering back to the bus stop. Trying to tamp down the urge to look for her again, to pinpoint her from the other giggling and shouting children on the playground.

But he did see her again.

He comes back to the stop a few weeks later.

There’s no information pickup this time. There’s no real reason for him to even be on this side of town.

He just can’t get her out of his mind.

This little kid had shaken something within his psyche. He kept dreaming about her. Well, not her, really. No, there was someone else haunting his dreams.

He hasn’t thought about you in years.

But now? Now, he can’t get you out of his head. He even feels like he can feel you some nights, warm against his side. He sulks in the memories of the familiar touches that the two of you shared, the love that you’d pressed into him, so, so long ago.

He saw the girl in those moments. Resting in your arms as you looked up, your eyes bright against her dark head. The girl would laugh and run to him, those reflective red eyes shining with mirth. 

It was fucking strange.

He both hated, and loved, the repetitive nature of these illusions. They made him feel safe and warm, but they also chilled him to his very bones. It was unsettling.

Unsure what else to do, he’d back come to the bus stop.

It’s early afternoon. Close to the time he’d visited it before. He waits on the lonely bench, his hands pressed together and that strange tremble races through his veins.

This is stupid, he thinks, his eyes lowering from the sea of kids, all twisting and turning in a heap as they play. It’s an impossibility, really. The chances of that girl losing her ball again is minuscule. There’s no way he can call to her either. It’s a waste. He shouldn’t even be here.

He’s standing to leave, when that small voice reaches him.

“Oh! You’re back.”

His head whips around, his long white hair glowing against the sunlight.

There she is.

She’s gripping the fence again, and she’s staring right at him.

Shigaraki smiles. It’s a gentle lift and he can feel his heart tapping a rough tattoo against his ribs. He steps toward her, kneeling when he gets close, careful to not overstep his bounds.

He’s not wanting to startle her.

No, he’s wanting to talk with her. Maybe she’ll drop some kinda clue why he’s so drawn to her. Or maybe she’ll morph into any other child again. Plain, uninteresting. Slipping from that odd ghost that she’s become to his subconscious. 

He hopes it’s the latter. But part of him also longs for it to be the former.

She’ll hop to the fence around 3:15.

She looks for him now, used to the routine of his presence.

He told her to call him Tomura, and the name falling from her lips made his heart ache.

Tomura stopped by on Fridays. Careful to not stay too long, to not draw too much attention to himself.

At first, he’d sneak her little trinkets. 

A little plastic toy of his, one that he had since he was a kid. She’d squealed with delight and clutched it to her. He’d grinned at that, remembering how he’d once held onto the thick plastic himself. 

Once, he’d just plucked a nearby flower as he walked to the school, presenting it to her outreached grasp. He’d watched proudly as she tucked it behind her ear, the color glossy beside her hair.

She’s still a sassy little thing. But she’s softened a little, too. Her voice losing that early, untrusting, edge.

He didn’t ask her much. Sometimes they both just sat in silence as she sketched designs into the dirt. Sometimes he would listen to her chatter about her day. Her classmates, her teacher. Once, she’d even pressed something over the fence to him.

It was a drawing.

He’s not sure if it really was all that well done, or if it’s just his heavy bias toward her. But he loves the mix of color and lines. He’d asked who the people were.

One was her friend, Kenji. One was her teacher. One was him.

He’d pinned it to the wall in his room. Displaying it, flaunting the gift. He looked at it every morning, admiring her work.

He’s late one day, and she scolds him, her small arms draping over the fence.

“I didn’t think you were going to come,” she chatters, her red eyes lingering against his, the two colors casting back the same hue.

“Was running behind,” Tomura replies, leaning against the low concrete barrier, resting his back against the fence.

Her little hands reach for his hair, playing with the pearlescent tendrils, weaving some into knots and braids. 

He doesn’t mind.

“Hey, Tomura,” she says, working a tiny hairband into her creation, her voice curious.

“Hmm,” he hums, careful to not shift his head, not wanting to disrupt her hard work.

“You didn’t ask my name again. At least… not after that one day.”

“Do you want me to ask?” He queries, his pulse lifting.

He’d wanted to ask her again, but he didn’t want to startle her, to shatter these innocences that they shared.

“It’s Beryl,” she answers. She says it confidently, and he turns to face her.

She grins at him, wiggling one loose tooth playfully at his serious expression, trying to tug a laugh from him.

“Beryl?” he repeats, unable to keep that awed hush from his raspy tones. It’s a pretty name. It suits her, really. But it’s strange. It’s not Japanese. 

You hadn’t been Japanese. 

“That’s a good name,” he assures her. “But, it’s not… you don’t hear that name very often.”

“Yeah,” Beryl concedes, her vermillion eyes roving over his face. “My mom’s not from here.”

His nostrils flare at that.

He hasn’t asked her about her mother. He’s unsure if it’s a general disinterest on his part, or trepidation. He fears it’s the latter.

Gulping, he tilts his head at her, feeling that soft braid she’s plaited into his hair shifting.

“Who’s your mother?”

“Who is she? She’s my mom, silly.”

“No,” he pauses, ignoring that creeping tremor that’s working its way to the top of his skull, his skin prickling and cooling. “I mean…what’s her name?”

“Oh! Her name is-”

“Beryl! Beryl, it’s time to come inside.” A teacher is calling for her. 

Tomura startles away, drifting to his feet and pacing quickly back to the bus stop. He can’t help the snarl that etches its way across his lips. He’d been so close. So fucking close…

He chances a glance back at the fence and catches sight of Beryl. She’s dashing across the playground, her dark hair waving in the sun.

Japan is about to slip into summer. School will come to a close, moving into a long break. He won’t see her again for almost a month.

His heart sinks at that realization and he grits his teeth. Slipping his hands into his dark trench coat, he steps across the street, away from the bus stop, away from the little girl that’s feeling more and more like his own.

Edit: oh hey. so, i couldn’t stfu about this and created a sequel: Materfamilias 

hahaha & part iii

[helpinghanikan]

Shared experience seen by one

Mathew Murdock x Reader

Sum:  Movies, books, TV and more have brainwashed the world into thinking your soulmate is one romantic comedy away. But life is never that easy, nor is that cheesy.

AN:  I've had this in the back of my mind for awhile. Full disclosure; I'm not good at emotions and I try my best not to make the reader out to be an overly emotional caricature. Spoiler alert, I have failed at both.

“A blowup bed is not that hard to set up, just stay with me instead of waiting for the right place.” Karen had said when you mentioned the impending move to the city. “In fact, you need a job? A very underpaid job?”

The red strand of fate came along during your move. It sometimes tangled while packing, it bended and dipped during the trip, and tightened when reaching Karen’s place. That was how Fate’s strand works; it bounces and moves as you and your soulmate does. It will sway and bounce with your gestures and hand. Although weightless it can be a physical thing to touch and grab, but it takes focus. With enough focus you and Fate can play a game of jump rope; swinging it around with your soulmate on the other side as the anchor. Jumping over the strand like a schoolgirl was Fate themselves. Having a great time watching their chosen couple use the bond to both find eachother and have fun.

Jump rope was played through most of your journey: toying with it on the bus and fiddling while filling out paperwork. It was twirling around your fingers as Karen gave advice for your first day at Nelson and Murdock. “Just bring something food related and they’re gonna love you. Something hearty though, we get enough pastries.” She said then heading out, reminding you to show up around seven.

Just like your nose it’s easy to forget that the strand is there. Just another color that makes up the world all around. It’s only when you reach the building that you notice your strand flat as a table, leading you right into the building.

It’s nothing new for the strand to lead straight ahead. Younger people and children will commonly ignore whatever they were doing before and follow their strand right into the unknown. “Maladaptive following” is the technical for these moments of distraction. Adults will even fall victim to it from time to time: Stopping a business lunch or jog to follow their red strand into the street or some building. Articles and urban legends float about the world stating that many have met their chosen this way. In reality it’s one of the leading causes of death by vehicle for minors.

Now it’s a question whether you were following your strand, or if it just happens to be going in the same direction you were originally headed. Fate was holding your strand so tight it was flat, bouncing as your hands stabilized the box but stayed tight as Fate pulled you forward.

Fate drags your strand into the highest, smallest gap of the elevator’s door. Lifting your head to watch it slide through was giving it too much hope but watching it with eyes was mature enough to acknowledge it without going crazy. Yet as the elevator reached it’s floor, and the strand led straight out, your heart couldn’t help but speed up.

In fiction the sight of your soulmate is portrayed so romantic. There was a few seconds of staring at the shared strand, then at eachother which leads into eye-contact and then a funny/cheesy/romantic line; “I’ve waited so long,” “more beautiful than I could have ever imagined,” or even just “hi,” followed by breathy laughing. They all ended in the two taking a few steps right into each other’s arms.

Your personal situation started off like this. Following the strand across the room and to the man who was your chosen. Following further until the strand was wrapped in a bow on his pinky, on the same hand which held a white cane.

Karen is talking somewhere in the background of your focus. She reaches out towards you in a gesture that is followed by the blonde man stepping up to you with a closed mouth smile. It’s only when he gets to his own name that your ears start to work again.

“-Everyone calls me Foggy, though. It’s good to have join up.”

With the world moving once more the sandwiches almost topple from your hands. Both from trying to get a handout for a proper shake and from realizing no words had come out when you entered.

“Yeah, it’s…hi. I brought lunch, or dinner, or…yeah, they’re just sandwiches.” Were the only comprehensible words that could come out. No matter how hard you tried keep looking at the man in front of you, your eyes kept glancing to the end of your strand.

As the box is taken by Mr. Foggy the second man second, the man at the end of your strand, steps up. Although his face is staring right at you it almost impossible to see his eyes through the glasses. What lines you do see through the glass are likely imaginary; your brain trying to come up with someway that you are special enough to see through his shields.

“Hi, Mathew Murdock,” He says, unfortunately professional.

You shake his hand as well, just as professional but with wondering eyes. Starting at the brown hair with tinges of red in the right light, to the glasses over his eyes which keep you from seeing their color. From his suit without a tie to his hand that held yours in a shake. Where two bows sit side by side, the closest they have ever been.

Fate came along with you at Nelson and Murdock. Instead of being a fellow employee trying their best they just hang around and grinned at you. Sitting on the edge of your desk, playing with the window until Karen had to slam it shut. Blaming it on the faulty building rather than the smirking being that was standing in the middle of the office. Using barely a finger to keep the red strand from touching the floor. Staring you in the eye as they rub your strand between it’s fingers, teasing you with the truth that may not be believed by your chosen.

The entire day is spent as someone else. You were a lightweight as their first party, drinking too much and trying to hide it. Karen was patient as she explained everything but there was still the pressure in the back of your throat. Word vomit threatening to come out at the sight of red, of Mr. Murdock, or of stupid fucking Fate. The latter of which still pulling on the string. Both to keep it from touching the ground and to encourage their chosen couple to do something.

Staring at the abyss between your spot in the corner and Mr. Murdock’s designated office was hypnotizing. Your strand was lightly swinging with Mr. Murdock’s movements. Watching through peripheral vision his fingers drag along paper, reading through touch as he moves the strand without meaning to.

Karen was patient as you struggled to pay attention to the instructions she was giving you. It was too late to say anything about the strand to Mr. Murdock, and this office was way too small for any kind of personal conversation.

“Are you okay?” Karen’s voice is softer than a whisper against your ear. Already leaning over your shoulder, you didn’t flinch at her suddenly speaking. Instead looking over to your new boss and leaning back into Karen. “Sorry. Mr. Murdock and I…And I’ll tell you later.” You whisper, refocusing on the earthly reason you were here.

By the end of your practice there was still no reaction on the side of Mr. Murdock. Although both rude and in bad form a goodbye couldn’t come out while leaving. Instead just a wave towards Mr. Foggy and Mr. Murdock and leaving the door open behind you, Karen following quickly behind. Her heels clip-clapping through the hallway in time with your name called out once, twice…

“Son of a bitch, Karen, I messed up. I don’t know, and now I messed up.” It’s coming out faster than you meant to. With both frustration and almost

Word vomit was finally free to spew. Before the elevator even arrived you were telling Karen everything; about the strand, about the nerves and how you messed up so greatly by not saying anything. When the elevator finally arrived, Karen was guiding you forward. Knowing better than to try and talk anymore while still within Matt’s earshot.

When anyone asks Matt if he eavesdropped, he’d argue; “Of course not, I don’t exactly have a choice with this.” Which was only a half truth, in reality he was a nosy bitch. But it was all for the greater good; clients and their family say the most important things behind closed doors, cops lie and only tell the truth when they think the world isn’t listening, and he just wanted to make sure Karen didn’t get him something he already had.

So, it’s only natural that he listened along as you left.

It took years to try and isolate the noises around him. It was still a struggle to separate them when he first covered his face and climbed to the rooftop. It still hard sometimes, especially when he’s only half focusing, and especially when Karen’s heels can’t be turned off like a radio.

Buried under the heels was your voice. Coming out quickly with a heartbeat to match. “Our strands are connected, and I didn’t say anything and now I don’t know what to do and I can’t say anything now and…” Karen’s soft but sharp voice stops the storm of thoughts coming out. Keeping them at bay until the elevator joins the fray.

It takes longer than it should for Matt to connect the dots. Strands are connected, didn’t say anything…His hands have wondered off of the paperwork in the time it took. Running over the cracks and bits of worn wood from his desk. Dragging up the old crumbs and coffee cup papers that wedged into those gaps. Pulling the smells up and muddying the waters of his sense, hiding the conversation outside until it was impossible to find the women in the hallway.

Matt only had the strand for a short time before the accident. After that it was an overwhelming part of the world. A constant touch on his finger that distracted from something more important. Taking longer than normal people to get used to it, and only a short time after that to completely forget it’s there. It’s been a while since he’s even thought about it: only during selfish moments with a girlfriend. Trying to seek out the vibrations and slightest effect it would have on his chosen. After finding none he’d forget about the strand and move on.

Turning his wrist, he finds the strand once more. Closest he could compare the material to was silk, but it was too soft and slick for it to be that. Tugging on it brought tighter resistance than normal; his chosen’s weight keeping Matt from dragging you right back to him. The resistance getting weaker the more he toyed and the farther you got from him.

There was this urge that goes through everyone when they finally find their chosen. The urge to talk or know them. To hold them tight and find every and any reason that fate had chosen them for eachother. But this was another urge that Matt had to keep down, at least for now.

Yes, that’s what he’s best at, keeping things down. This would have to be different than his old relationships. No trauma bonding over kidnappings as the Devil or making the first move like the suave lawyer man he knew he was. This would be…natural, an organic relationship made by lying to eachother until one finally caves and tells all Just like a suave lawyer.

[eddiemunsonssoulmate]

Can you save me from this nothing I've become?

Pairing: Kook!JJ x Pogue!Reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Summary: Life Swap AU. JJ grew up as a sheltered boy in a golden cage in Figure Eight and doesn’t even have a clue how life in the Cut is like. That is until he meets you, the perfect example for life in an abusive household drowning in poverty. 

Warnings: A little bit of sadness, mentions of abuse, mostly fluffy tho

Available on: AO3

A/N: @outabanks​ asked me to write this for her so I tried. It’s a little different from anything else I’ve written so far and it was quite hard to find a tone for JJ now that he didn’t grow up in a physical abusive home and probably wouldn’t react with so much violence. I went with him feeling trapped, lonely and just sad inside due to him more suffering from emotional abuse. Also, switching POVs! Have fun!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yes, Charlotte, I make sure to pick out my best outfit.” JJ groaned at his stepmother and went to his own bathroom to take a shower.

She was really annoying sometimes but after his mother and father divorced, he had been quick to replace her to maintain the image, dragging his mother’s name through mud in the process.

Figure Eight was a place where you grew up comfortably and never had to worry about a thing, at least on the outside.

JJ had grown up as the typical rich kid, getting everything he wanted. Problem was, he had been showered with money, not love, meaning he was missing what was most important. Back when his mother was still here, she had been the only person to show him what life really meant but she hadn’t been around for too long. Actually, he never got to know why she had left.

When Charlotte had married his father, it got even worse. Money here, fancy clothes there. She had never been a mother to him, she also never even tried as she wasn’t interested in him and only the money his dad had.

Whatever, he didn’t care about her either, he just wished she would leave him in peace once in a while but whenever he planned to go outside and do something she always came running and told him how to dress so he would look the best.

Tomorrow was another charity event and she had been stressing about the right clothes for weeks and he wouldn’t have any of it.

JJ got out of the shower with a sigh, towel around his waist and hair still dripping a little on the floor beneath him. He knew he had a good life, technically but sometimes he wondered how it felt to be a normal kid, growing up downtown or the Cut. He had never been down there actually, only heard that people from the Cut were poor but in comparison to the people from Figure Eight, poor couldn’t be too bad, right?

The reason he had never been down there was his father. He might look like the perfect father on the outside but on the inside, he was rotting away, fueled by his addiction for money and a wealthy lifestyle. One wrong step and JJ would suffer, in either emotional and very rarely physical way.

He was trapped in a golden cage he couldn’t escape until he was old enough which would still take a few more years. He just had to hold on, pretend to like his life when they were in public and just be done with it.

“We’re off then, son. See you tomorrow!” his father yelled from downstairs as JJ got dressed in some loser clothes so he could enjoy his time home alone.

“Yeah, have fun,” he said nonchalantly, not really caring about them leaving to visit the Cameron’s to talk about some preparations for tomorrow.

When he heard the front door shut he let out a sigh of relief and lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. They wouldn’t be back until past midnight, that’s always how it went.

It was the perfect time to think about how lonely he actually was. His parents divorced, his mother not even calling or writing him, his dad only caring about money and his new wife. Friends? Sadly none. Kook Academy wasn’t the place where he wanted to be and he had a hard time blending in. It was a place where everyone was so narcissistic and wanted to show off all they had. Also really competitive people. Who had the bigger car, who had the more expensive outfit, things like that.

The only person he rarely talked to at events was Kiara, a wealthy girl from the neighborhood next to his own. He heard that she was hanging around with the Pogues in the Cut but he never asked her about it. They mostly just saw each other, nodded briefly and started drinking together. He listened to her rambling about saving turtles in a drunken state later on while he made flirty comments she always shut down very quickly. It was a simple way to pass the time while trying to get through the evening.

His father told him to befriend the Cameron’s but to be honest? No. Wheezie was just a little girl, Sarah was the princess around here and he had no desire to walk around with royalty and get judged by only that. Rafe was a dick, he had actually tried to befriend him when they were younger but that boy had massive issues.

So yep, loneliness it was. On the outside, his life was perfect but on the inside he was struggling. One day he would escape, go to the mainland and do his own thing. He wanted to get far away from Outer Banks and his father, all these riches he had. There was enough money on his own bank account to help him get started but JJ wanted to work with his own hands, get dirty, live the life he wanted.

Suddenly he heard a crash in the front yard and he shot up from his bed, opening the door to his balcony and looked outside, trying to see something in the darkness. It took a moment for his eyes to get used to the missing light before he scanned the garden. A vase was shattered to the left and to the right…

Shit!

Someone was face down in their pool and it looked like they weren’t moving.

JJ rushed downstairs and to the garden, quickly jumping in to get the person out. He put the body down next to the pool, slapping the cheek slightly. Luckily enough he had been quick enough and the person was waking up, spitting out a little bit of water.

“I don't think it’s the best time to take a swim,” he said while he sat there on his knees, looking over at the girl that couldn’t be older than he was.

She wasn’t answering, just looking at him for a moment before closing her eyes again, passing out once more.

    When you woke up, you had no idea where you were. The bed under you felt softer than your own and you had a huge headache. Also, you were wearing comfortable clothes for some reason. Still a dream? Maybe.

You slowly opened your eyes, afraid that feeling of warmth would be gone now but it didn’t vanish. As you were looking around you noticed a boy on the ground, wrapped in a blanket and you blinked. 

Looking down at your body told you that you were totally not wearing your own clothes. These were really fine and soft, it almost felt like they were giving you a warm hug.

It took awhile for you to connect the dots but then your face turned white. The boy on the ground had seen you naked.

“Perv!” you suddenly yelled and threw the pillow behind you at him which caused him to stir.

“What the fuck,” he mumbled and got up and for the first time, you got a good look at these blue eyes and the messy, blonde bed hair. “This is what I get for saving your ass?”

Saving your ass? You frowned and now that you thought about it, you had no idea what had happened last night after you ran away from home. You knew you had been drinking to try and stop the pain but then it all went black.

“What do you mean?” you asked and tilted your head a little to the side like a lost puppy.

“Apparently you were either really fond of having a swim or trying to drown yourself in my pool,” he said while he got up, stretching and showing off his body to you. Of course he was not wearing a shirt, why would he. It was too hot for that anyway. He was too hot. Shit, focus!

“I wasn’t drowning myself,” you said even though you wished that had worked.

Silence fell over you for a moment while he just stood there, looking at your miserable form before he rubbed the back of his neck and looked clearly uncomfortable.

“Look, I’ve seen the bruises…,” he started and you looked back at him, clenching your jaw. Of course he had seen the bruises, he had seen you naked and they were quite visible all over your body.

“It’s nothing. Where are my clothes? I want to leave.” You didn’t want to stay here and talk to a stranger that apparently saved you from drowning. Oh. That was probably why you were wearing different clothes, he had taken care of them so you wouldn’t get a cold. Well, not exactly the first thought you had but thank god you still had your virginity.

“Do you need help?” he asked softly and crouched in front the bed which caused you to frown. No one had ever asked you that. It took a long moment before you shook your head.

“No, I’ll be fine.” You nodded and got out of bed which made him stand up again. He was taller than you were and you bit your bottom lip while looking around in his room some more. This was clearly not the Cut. This looked like a Figure Eight house. Oh god, had you wandered that far?

“Can I make you breakfast at least? My parents are still asleep,” he said and you chewed on your lip a little before you nodded. Your stomach was dying inside as you hadn't eaten in two days because your aunt prefered to let you starve while she spent all her money on alcohol and drugs. You wished your parents were still alive but that wasn’t an option.

“Alright, wait here, I’ll bring you some up.” With that he was already gone and you went back under the soft blanket. If you would stand up more your head was probably going to explode and you would fall due to it’s spinning non stop. Laying down was good. Sitting upright a little was good too.

You had never seen this boy before which wasn’t a surprise given that you had been to Figure Eight only one or two times with Kiara. The Pogues were the only reason to get out of bed in the morning but currently, they were all doing their own thing which was fine but also made you sad a little.

The blonde boy was up quicker than you thought and he put the tray down on your legs with a smile.

“I’m JJ, by the way,” he said as he grabbed the chair from his desk and rolled it over, taking one of the plates from the try to put some food on it.

You blinked at all the food in front of you and you were sure you hadn’t seen that many at once, at least not something you were allowed to eat. Bread buns, scrambled egg, different kinds of sausages and grapes. He must have noticed how skinny you were.

“I’m (y/n),” you simply said while staring at the food, not even sure if you could eat but when you looked at him eating and he smiled at you, you couldn’t stop yourself.

It was a feast for you. Did he always have breakfasts like that? God, what a lucky person.

“Nice to meet you, (y/n). Wanna tell me now why you were swimming in my pool at midnight?” he asked and grinned a little. He wanted to get details but he didn’t want to completely ruin the mood, something you could appreciate.

You didn’t know him and you weren’t easily trusting a person but he saved you, made you breakfast and you would probably never see him again, so you kinda owed him, right? Also he had already seen the bruises and given all the books he had in his room, he seemed to be a smart boy that had figured it all out on his own already.

“I was trying to get away from life,” you mumbled with your mouth full and he raised an eyebrow at that. “Got beat up, didn’t eat for two days, ran away to drink the pain away and then it went all black but it seems like I wanted to get a look at a life I’ll never have and then I somehow ended up in your pool. I wasn’t trying to drown myself, I promise.”

Well, the mood he had been trying to maintain was totally ruined by your words now. You spoke them so casually like they were no big deal but you saw how his eyes widened and he stopped eating while you still continued. Yes, your life was pure shit but it would be okay one day. One day you’d get out of your aunt’s death grip and get the life you deserved.

“I-,” he started but didn’t seem to be able to finish so you waved off. 

“It’s fine. It happens. Something you can’t understand, no offense.” He was living a good life full of privileges and riches, of course he wouldn’t understand what you went through and that was okay. You didn’t want his pity, he didn’t seem to care about people at the Cut anyway. 

“I might not understand your life but you obviously don’t understand my life either,” he chuckled and took some grapes to eat. You raised both eyebrows at him, what did he mean? Apparently he could read the face you were making and continued. “Life here isn’t all that great either. I may not suffer from a lot of physical abuse but emotional one. Being rich isn’t always good, ya know.”

“I’d kill for being rich,” you blurted out and it made him laugh. He had a beautiful laugh but it also sounded really sad for some reason.

“Yeah, that’s probably how a lot of people here became rich.” That made you laugh too, he was probably right. You knew a few Kooks that looked like they had killed for their wealth.

You both ate in silence and when you were done, he put the tray away to look at you with a look that you couldn’t quite place.

“Where are my clothes?” you asked to break the stare and he nodded.

“I’ll get them, one second,” he said and walked over into a room which was...his bathroom? God, he even had his own bathroom. What the fuck.

JJ came out with them again and they looked so much cleaner than before. “Did you wash them?” you asked because it didn’t look like it was just the pool water.

“Yeah, they looked like they needed it,” he said and put them over the bed. When you grabbed them you felt how soft they were now after the cleaning and you smiled a little to yourself. They also smelled really good.

You got out of the bed and pressed past him into the bathroom so you could get changed. When you came out of it again you felt old and new at the same time. Thankfully, the headache was slowly fading away.

“Alright, thanks for saving me, I’ll be off then,” you exclaimed as you had occupied him enough now. He already knew more about you than a stranger should and you had to get out of here before he tried to play your savior.

You had already a hand at the doorknob when he reached out to you, grabbing your arm to stop you from leaving. Of course he had to do that.

“I know this isn’t any of my business but if you ever need help, come here, okay? I’ll try my best,” he said and normally you would huff at such an offer as you had been disappointed so many times in your life but for some reason, he sounded so absolutely genuine that you nodded. You believed him but you also had no desire to get back here any time soon. Figure Eight wasn’t the place you wanted to be, it only reminded you of what could have been but wasn’t.

“Thanks,” you mumbled and he let go of you.

    Two weeks had passed and he couldn’t get the girl out of his head. There had been something that made him want to save her even though she seemed to be the kind of girl that didn’t want saving. 

Something deep inside of him was screaming at him to find you and that’s exactly what he did right now. His father would kill him but he didn’t care anymore. It was like there was a strange bond that was pulling him closer to you and away from the life he didn’t want.

The Cut was different than he had expected. During his sheltered life, downtown had been the only area he had visited, it was almost like an invisible wall that his father had placed here, not allowing him to go any further. As a kid he had been curious about it but after a while of useless attempts to convince his father he had given up on getting to know the rest of the island.

He couldn’t say why he didn’t try again now that he was older. Maybe he really wasn’t interested anymore after all those years. Maybe it was his father’s voice that was echoing in his head the closer he got to that invisible wall.

Until he broke through it. He drove past that magical line that had kept him and suddenly he saw what was really going on. They weren’t just a little less fortunate than the people from Figure Eight. His dad had lied to him and he felt sick for a moment.

He drove past small shacks, some looking like they would get blown away by the next storm. They were just poor and lived in poverty. Well, maybe not all of them but the further he drove away from the downtown area the more sad and wild it looked around him. There was also a strange feeling of freedom to it, he couldn’t really describe it.

Figure Eight was all beautiful houses and big mansions, perfectly cut grass, cars and pools. Everything had to be perfect but this? Lots of people didn’t care about their grass, he saw some old cars and trucks, some people had a small boat but nothing compared to the yacht his father owned. It was so different and he hated himself for never coming here. When did he become such an ignorant person?

Something suddenly jumped out of the bushes to the right and he hit the breaks, barely stopping in front of the person who was standing right in front of his car, looking straight at him.

“What the fuck?!” the girl yelled and he would always recognize that voice, it had almost burned into his soul. She was so different from everything he knew. Looks like the string that was pulling him had reached its destination.

    Great, now some idiot tried to run you over while you were busy running away from Barry. This couldn’t get any worse. You were about to keep running when you saw who got out of the car. It was the blonde pretty boy with the sad eyes from Figure Eight that you kept dreaming about for the last two weeks. A wink of destiny? Either way, it looked like he was your escape.

JJ got out of the car and smiled at you, slowly coming over to you, probably wanting to make sure you were okay but he barely scraped you. 

“JJ?” you asked in disbelief and he chuckled a little. It was weird to see him here, out of place, so far away from home.

“If I wouldn’t know any better I’d say you tried to get him by a car this time,” he said and laughed when he saw you glare. You really didn’t have time for this bullshit. Yes, being dead would be better sometimes given your circumstances but right now you’d prefer to prevent that.

You threw a look behind you and then back at him. “In the car,” you hissed and shoved him back to his side of the car while you got in on the other side.

“Drive,” you said and looked out to the right side where you had been coming from but he looked at you confused.

Barry came out of the bushes and you turned around to JJ in a split second, pressing your lips against his, hoping to make Barry think that it was just a rich couple that came down here to make out. He wasn’t the brightest candle on the cake after all.

When you saw him leave out of the corner of your eye you sighed into the kiss but only slowly moved away. JJ’s lips felt good, pressed against yours like it was the only thing he had ever wanted.

Reality hit and you pulled back, swallowing slightly. “Sorry uhm...just needed to distract that guy,” you mumbled and licked your lips, still tasting him.

“What was that about?” he asked and seemed a little dumbfounded by the sudden kiss.

“I was running from our local drug dealer,” you explained like it was the most normal thing to do. Maybe you had stolen him some money but you only wanted food and you knew where he stored it so you might as well just borrow it. For a very long time.

“You could have just hidden on the backseat, you know,” he teased and wiggled his eyebrows which caused you to slap him slightly against the shoulder.

“It was a distraction kiss, nothing else. Don’t let it get to your head,” you said ang took a deep breath when you felt your body relax.

“What now? Any place I can drive you to?” he suddenly asked and you looked over at him, thinking for a moment. You’d be safe with John B and the others as you wanted to meet up later anyway. You nodded and gave him some quick directions.

“So, what are you doing here?” you asked and watched him drive. He had such a pretty face if those eyes wouldn’t be so sad. You wondered why he was like that, he had everything you could wish for and yet, he was still so sad.

“Actually, I was looking for you. I also had never been down to the Cut, my father always keeping me from it so I wanted to take a look.” His voice was so smooth and you had the urge to just press your lips against his once more.

What the fuck was going on in your head? God, that needed to stop, he was a Kook after all. No good came from them.

“Why were you looking for me?” It was beyond you why he would come here only to find you. You were just some girl he had saved from her own stupidity. On the other hand, you couldn’t deny that you hoped to see him again shortly after you had left his place back then. There had been something about him that was pulling you closer and those dreams you had weren’t for nothing. He was special in a way you couldn’t describe just yet.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I just had the feeling I had to,” he said and it confirmed your feelings. He also didn’t really know what he was doing here, just like you didn’t know why you wanted him here.

It was a strange connection that had formed within a couple of hours two weeks ago, a connection that didn’t break. Normally people meet other people, establish some kind of relationship between them. Acquaintances, friends, work colleagues, stuff like that. Sometimes you just meet a stranger, talk to them and then break the connection off.

That’s what you thought this would be but the connection was still there, it was deep in your bones and your mind.

Stupid Kook, about to turn your world around.

You arrived at the Chateau where John B was already coming over before JJ could turn the motor off. He obviously wasn’t used to such cars arriving at his place, that’s why you got out first.

“It’s me!” you yelled and JB visibly relaxed before taking another look at the car and the boy coming out of there.

“Who’s that?” he asked and frowned at you but you just waved off. 

“That’s JJ. He saved me, two times to be exact. He’s cool.” You waved JJ over and he followed you step to John B. You gave him a quick hug and then saw how JJ held out his hand.

You glared at John B and he groaned slightly before shaking JJ’s hand.

“I don’t know why you’d bring a Kook here,” he grumbled and you hit his arm slightly.

“I told you, he is cool. He’s pool boy.” You might have mentioned that accident to your friends without any names or mentioning that your blonde savior was a Kook. Oops.

“Pool boy?” a female voice said while coming out of the house and you waved at Kie.

“Kiara?” JJ suddenly said and looked over at her, watching how she stopped in her tracks. You looked between the two of them forth and back.

“JJ?” Yup, they totally knew each other.

“Donkey?” you threw in and laughed a little at your Shrek reference, causing the others to laugh too.

“You know each other?” John B said in choir and the both nodded.

“Yeah, he’s the guy that keeps me grounded at all the Kook events. We drink and make it through the night somehow. He’s cool,” Kiara explained and JJ nodded in agreement.

“See, told you,” you teased John B and he just rolled your eyes. He sometimes acted like a big brother when he wasn’t drowning in his own shit.

“Are you staying? I know what it feels like to be a Kook, so I might as well show you my escape”, Kiara said and JJ rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

You laughed a little because he seemed so out of place right now but you could tell he probably needs an escape from life once in a while.

“Okay, show me,” JJ said and you grinned at him. It was a reckless thing to do, taking a Kook in but technically, Kiara was one too and if she and JJ got along, he would also get along with Pope and John B. It might just take a while but it would be okay.

There was this feeling inside of you that was telling you to help him, to make his eyes look sad and to hear a genuine laugh from him.

[elftwink]

i know i said i would take a few weeks but i’m almost done htn lol yesterday one of my classes was delayed by like 20 mins after i already got there over half an hour early so i banged out a couple hundred pages then (side note i always forget how fun it is to read that much in a day, but also if i keep doing it i’m going to run out of books to read during my commute). i think i have a chapter or two left? maybe less if there’s stuff at the back after the story like in gtn. anyway some thots under the cut. spoilers obvs

i am a LITTLE annoyed at myself bc i was gonna post about a couple theories i had but i just kept reading and now you all just have to take me at my word that i was right about some stuff (what happened to gideon and harrow’s brain surgery that she did on herself fwiw) but anyway. gideon is back at least temporarily and omg i missed her so much. i’m like RIGHT in the middle of the final battle (confrontation? both?) so i have no idea if she makes it through... intact but i missed the quips

in general i would say that i enjoyed reading gtn a little more (i like gideon’s internal commentary quite a bit and the second person perspective, although BEAUTIFULLY used holy shit, took me awhile to adjust to), i think htn is... not better written per se but more artfully constructed [i guess??]. i think i’m almost more excited to do a reread than i am to actually finish because then i can go back over and see the big picture because htn is very good at showing you only a little bit but also making you feel like you can figure out what’s going on if you pay enough attention (you can’t, i don’t think, not all of it; harrow never has enough information at her disposal). every time things are revealed it feels like another puzzle piece snapping into place and it’s all so intentional that even when i think i don’t particularly care for an element it always ends up making total sense and being incredibly well suited to the story. 

anyway like i said i’m not done done yet and so the final resolution and explanation of everything escapes me still so this is more me rambling than anything else but iirc when the fourth kids died in gtn the writing on the wall that gideon saw was at least the same font as all the notes to harrow in this one so. i think maybe i’m just not keeping very good track of who is in what body at any given time but at that point it was just cytherea in disguise killing people. we knew she killed fifth the first time (magnus or abigail said so when harrow asked), and afaik the sleeper [cant remember her name because she had like. several? wake me up inside? though that might have been someone else. i’m always getting names mixed up. good grief. anyway] really only exists in harrow’s fake memories at the moment (well, i think she is tied to the two handed longsword. was? you can really tell i’m gonna need to do a reread to have any coherent thoughts about this all lmao) sooooo. i don’t know where i’m going with this i feel like i can’t draw conclusions without like taking notes on it all but ive connected the dots. ive connected them. what is the picture that i’m connecting the dots for? i don’t fucking know i’m just connecting them

it is imo just very fun to talk about these books and try to predict what’s going to happen next because i always guess enough that i feel self satisfied but am missing enough that every reveal still gets me. muir is an excellent author i will say that much. anyway i have class now and i’ll probably be done htn before the day is out so expect another long ass post about it lol

[theskyeandsea]

Do You Wanna Be My Roommate? || Rio & Skye

Timing: December 10th

Location: Nic & Skylar’s Home

Tagging: @3starsquinn & @theskyeandsea

Description: In the wake of Winson’s departure from town, Skylar and Rio reclaim weeb night!

Warnings: Drug use mentions, chronic illness symptoms mentions, addiction 

Tugging at the sleeves of her shirt, Skylar looked around the house-- it looked normal, right? The last time someone had been here, she’d been caught off guard and hadn’t had time to try and make the place look presentable. But, she had invited Rio here, wanted to be here to support him. Because that was what a good friend did, and they, they were still friends. She wanted to be there for him because break ups were hard. She might not know much about them, but she remembered how much it had hurt when Shiloh had left town, in much the same way to Winston. Just a quick word and then Skylar was left with the other woman’s absence.

Swallowing, Skylar hooked her hearing aids in and turned them on. Dundee was sitting on the edge of the couch, watching her from his nest of blankets. He used to like spending time in her room, but lately he spent most of his time out in the living room. Maybe he was waiting for Nic to come home? Before she could fall too far down that rabbit hole, the doorbell rang and she hurried to the door. “Rio! Hey--” Her eyes flicked over his appearance and she blinked. “Are… What happened to you?”

Orion and Skylar had made plans, he didn’t want to cancel those just because he had almost been murdered and spent a few days in the hospital. He hadn’t seen her in awhile, his own life being too caught up in the trauma and the drama. As if the Lydia situation hadn’t been horrifying enough, Winston’s departure and the werewolf attack had to add a little extra disaster to Rio’s life. Just in time for the holidays. But despite the solemn mood Rio had been stuck in, he had no plans in continuing that tonight. He was hoping to enjoy his time with Skylar tonight, where the both of them could take their minds off of everything keeping them down.

When Skylar answered the door he could see that she had her hearing aids in, but he signed anyways as he greeted her. It was mostly out of habit, but he enjoyed the practice regardless. “Oh. These” Rio grinned nervously, he supposed he couldn’t ignore the fact that it happened, no matter how much he wished he could pretend he had never seen any of those dead bodies. Or heard their screams. “There was an… incident a few nights ago. A werewolf attacked a cafe that I was at.” Though his hoodie and jeans worked to block the main injuries that he had suffered, bruises and cuts all over his face and hands were still far too visible. Realizing that he was a hunter who just told Skylar about a werewolf attack, Rio thought that he should specify, “I didn’t kill it. Just uh- so we’re clear. I just tried to stop it from hurting others.” He did stab it. But he remembered how scared Skylar had been about hunters. He didn’t want to freak her out, “It’s alive. And hopefully back to human and not hurting anyone.”

Stepping out of the way to let him in, Skylar did her best not to stare at the cuts as he explained. An attack? A werewolf? What had happened to them? Not that Skylar knew many werewolves-- just Ulfric, the man from the coffee shop with all the tattoos, and Ariana, who she’d only known as a student until recently-- but they’d both seemed… in control. The thoughts slid through her mind like water, though, slipping from her mind as she led the way to the living room. Dundee was still curled up in the pile of blankets, little tail wagging as he caught sight of Rio and stared at the young man with his beedy, unblinking eyes. “It? You mean… them, right?” Skylar said, the words coming out before she could stop herself. But, werewolves, they were people. Maybe not human people, just like she wasn’t human people. But they were people, right? “I-- sorry though. That something like that happened to you. I’m glad you didn’t need to hurt anyone badly, though.” She nodded. 

Sliding through the front door, Orion was surprised by how long ago it seemed that he had last been here to hang out with Skylar. Despite that, it came with a surprising familiarity to follow her down the hall and into the living room. As per usual, Dundee stared at Rio as if staring directly into his soul. The dog was cute and incredibly uncomforting at the same time. “Hey buddy!” Rio went over to the pet little guy regardless. At Skylar’s words, Rio froze. His hand hovered to his bottom lip, barely pressing against it almost in shock of what had just come out of his mouth. “I-uh” It. When had Rio ever talked like that? He had spent his entire life trying and failing to convince his family that there was humanity to supernatural creatures. Especially werewolves, who weren’t destined to be murderous monsters their entire lives. How had that same person become the one that casually referred to a living person as it? “Sorry. Yeah. Them.” He pulled his hand away, shoving both of them into his pockets and refusing to make eye contact with Skylar for a moment. The word kept repeating itself in his head over and over again. “It’s okay. The werewolf, I don’t know who they were. But they didn’t have control. I don’t know if they woke up remembering everything or completely ignorant. That’s scary stuff.” A chill shot down Rio’s spine and he readjusted his stance a bit too quickly, catching his breath at the sudden pains. He slowly stretched out before forcing a smile back onto his face. “Sorry, I want this to be a fun night. All this’ll be gone in a few days anyways. Let’s just try to have fun.”

Skylar barely noticed the way that Rio went stock still-- it was the way his hand moved that caught her attention. He hadn’t even realized he’d said it, had he? Tilting her head slightly, she did her best to peer at him. But, the trace amounts of Bliss kept her floating, just floating on by, and it was always a little hard to grab the finer details. But, she could tell that he was upset. And she didn’t want him to be upset, she really didn’t. Rio was a good guy, a good person. “I hope they’re okay. And the other people who were hurt too-- and you too! Obviously. But. I hope they’re okay.” She said, knowing all too well how much it hurt to have gaps in your memory, to have entire parts of yourself locked away. Noticing the way his chest caught, Skylar blinked. “You’re not still hurt are you? You didn’t need to-- we could have cancelled if you’re still hurt. Sit down, sit down.” She said, urging him to take a seat. She could still take care of people, she could still do this. She could be the Skylar everyone wanted her to be. 

Orion nodded his head, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. He didn’t need Skylar too worried about his wounds. She had already helped him before when that evil watermelon thing had bitten him. Just like that time, these would heal. “I’m okay. I’m still sore, but it’s not too bad. I’ll heal quickly anyways.” He still hated his hunter abilities. Not because they weren’t useful, he had been attacked way too many times for him to try to claim that. It just didn’t seem fair that he got this advantage while others around him were put at risk. “Seriously, I wanted to come over here. I’m happy to be here, sore or not.” Rio grinned, slowly easing himself back and onto the couch. “If I had cancelled I would have just ended up lying in my bed at the house all night anyways. I definitely didn’t want to do that. So you’re doing me a favor.”

“If you say so.” Skylar said as Rio took a seat on the couch. Walking to the fridge, she pulled out a bottle of water and a can of Mountain Dew. She’d remembered that he liked them when she had been wandering down the aisles at the store, running her fingers against the shelves. “Want a drink? There might be some beer left over from when Nic was here, if you’d like. I don’t really keep beer here.” She said as she scanned the shelves. “I’ve never really been able to do the whole… post-break up ice cream and cookie dough thing that you see in movies, but I have both if you’d like.” She offered. “But, ah-- sorry. That might be too soon to say.” At Rio’s words, Skylar nodded, a smile spreading on her face. She was helping him. “Of course. I’m glad I can do something to make you feel better. And hey, Yuri on Ice is a great show, it always cheers me up.”

Skylar disappeared in the kitchen for a moment and came back with a mountain dew. Orion sat forward enthusiastically to reach for it, trying to be careful not to stretch too many injured muscles. It was only partially effective. “Oh you’re the best thank you so much.” He had been so tired recently, he needed some caffeine. The mention of Nic was a sudden reminder that he had been her only roommate. He knew about him no longer being in town but he hadn’t exactly connected the dots. “Oh right. You don’t have any other roommates do you? You have this whole place to yourself?” It was a big house, something that could either be a lot of fun or really lonely depending on the person. “It’s been weird at my house too. Ricky’s always so busy at the workshop that it was usually just Winston and I. Now that he’s not there it’s just a whole house to myself with all the things Winston and I used to do.” Rio shrugged. Admittedly, it had bothered him how much time he spent noticing small things that Winston left behind. But there wasn’t much he could do about it for now. “I have no experience with post break up junk food, but am assuming that it tastes similar to regular junk ice cream and cookie dough. Both of which I’m a huge fan of.” But more than sugary distractions, Rio was mostly excited for another reboot of their anime night. Hopefully this time it would be without the snooping or weird tension that was present the previous times. “I cannot wait, I am so pumped for this it’s been on my list forever.”

“Of course.” Skylar beamed as she handed him the soda before settling down on the couch with some space between them. Dundee glanced over at her, as though waiting for her to do something, but when she flipped on the tv, he plopped his head back down on the nest of blankets. “Nope, it’s just me.” This place had been Erin’s home for a bit too, but the memory of their last encounter came back to her mind-- No. Smiling wider, she pushed the thought away. Now wasn’t the time to think about that. Erin wasn’t coming back here. “Mhm, that’s… That sounds hard.” Skylar had never lived with Shiloh, hadn’t even really reached the stage where she spent much time at the other woman’s home. But, she felt for Rio. Being in a place where there was just the constant presence of someone who he’d cared about, who was so very much not here? She dealt with that some since Nic had left, the little knick knacks and knives tucked around the house hammering home the fact that he was gone. “Sounds good. Let me just get Netflix up.” She said, scrolling through the lists with a slightly clumsy hand. She skipped around until the familiar ice-skating anime popped up. “I’m so excited for you to watch this, I think you’ll really enjoy it.”

Orion stretched across the couch as much as he could to scratch on Dundee’s head before returning to his original position. Skylar was navigating the tv to find the show and Rio studied her as she did so. Outwardly, she seemed fine with living alone. Nothing in her initial statement indicated that she hated the idea of living alone. The place did seem pretty sweet, especially considering it had the pool for private sessions when she needed to change. On paper, he probably seemed perfect. But speaking from his own experiences, Rio knew that a place like this would be incredibly lonely. He wondered what Skylar thought of it. Right now, he wasn’t sure if it would be rude to ask. “I’m so excited” Rio clapped his hands together and leaned back on the couch to settle in when Skylar pressed play.

The rest of the night passed without anything weird or out of the ordinary happening-- a rarity that Skylar honestly hadn’t expected. It was nice, to watch anime and pretend like there was nothing wrong. They could pretend like this town wasn’t awful, like this place wasn’t terrible. As Yuri took a victory lap around the ice rink, Skylar let out a sigh, stretching. The motion sent a slight twinge of pain down her back, but she ignored it. She could handle a little pain, just for now. She had wanted to be present for this, to spend time with Rio. And, once he was gone, she would be able to slip back down into the haze of Bliss. “Such a good show. Did you like it?” She asked as Dundee padded across the couch and leaned against her, his head resting against her leg. “I’m glad you were able to come over for this, I missed having anime nights.” Skylar said, a little surprised that it was true. 

They had truly binged out with this one. In what was probably their first fully successful attempt at an anime night the two both watched the show in relative quiet. Every now and again one would speak up or they would both laugh at something. But other than that, the two had seemed perfectly content with simply being in each other’s company. The show was exactly the sort of feel good emotion that Orion so desperately needed. Watching their relationship slowly grow into what it became by the end of the show was enough to bring a tear to Rio’s eyes. By the time the last episode finished, there was a stream of tears running down his face. “No. It was awful.” Rio lied, a single laugh bursting through his tears. Even then, Rio crossed his arms and grumbled grumpily, “The show had no right ending like that. I hated it.” A small smile split across his face though, and he eventually conceded, “Nah. I’m kidding. That was amazing and I’m so glad we started it back up. I miss them too.” Even for the drama they had once been. “We should definitely get back into the habit of doing them.”

Looking over at Rio, Skylar blinked in surprise-- she hadn’t realized he’d cried. She must have missed that, must… not have noticed. She swallowed, pushing the thought side and smiled back at him. “Good! I’m glad that you did, it’s such a great show. The characters are all so good and you really kinda root for all of them by the end of it.” She said with a nod. Running a hand through her choppy hair, Skylar looked over at the television, the screen darkened. She could see the two of them reflected, sitting back on the couch. Two lonely people, just a little less alone for the time being. Biting the inside of her cheek, Skylar thought to the spare key that was tucked away in her room. She trusted Rio. It had taken time, but she knew that he was sorry for what he’d done, he’d promised to never pry into her things after their disastrous first anime night. And… it was lonely. “Hey, Rio.” She said tentatively, not really sure how to broach the subject, “I know that things at… Ricky’s must be weird. Things here are weird too, with all of Nic’s stuff being here, but him being gone. And, like I said, I can’t really imagine what it’s like to have to deal with, everything else on top of it.” She said, skirting around the words “break up” as best as she could manage. “But, if you wanted, you could stay here?” Skylar asked, looking hopefully over at him. Maybe having someone around would help. Someone who understood, at least a little, what it was like to not fit into the role that the world wanted her to be.

The question had taken Orion by surprise. He paused for a long moment as he tried to understand exactly what Skylar had meant by ‘stay here’. At first he had just meant for the night, which Rio was ready to thank her for the offer but also assure that he didn’t live too far away. It wasn’t like he had been drinking or anything. But she had mentioned Nic’s things, just as Rio had talked about Winston’s items that were left behind. But he had never said any of those things in an attempt to guilt Skylar into asking him to move in. Even with the awkwardness, Rio hadn’t considered moving out of the house. “Are you… serious?” Rio finally asked, his voice soft and curious. “I don’t want to like… put you in a weird place. Where you feel like you have to offer.”

Was she serious? Skylar wasn’t entirely sure, but, the idea of not being totally alone, of having someone around-- at least part of the day-- was tempting. And she liked Rio. She trusted Rio. He was good and he knew about that side of her, which meant she wouldn’t need to hide it from him. Not that she’d ever needed to with Nic, but, having one less secret from her roommate would be nice. And just, having a roommate, maybe that would make things better. Maybe it would lessen the ache inside her. Nodding, Skylar gestured to the space around them. “I know I don’t need to offer. But, I never really wanted to live on my own. And, I trust you.” She said with a small smile. “In a town like this, that’s… hard to find. You don’t need to say yes, and you can definitely think about it. But, the offer’s here.” 

The offer was tempting. The more Orion thought about it, the more he realized how lonely his house felt now. With Ricky constantly working and Winston gone it felt like he lived in an abandoned home. Too big for him. He missed Winston, but he had no chance of taking his mind off of them when he walked past their bedroom door every day and was constantly reminded of all the memories they had there. But Rio wasn’t truly convinced until Skylar told him that she trusted him. It had been a rocky road up to this point. Rio had lied and invaded her privacy. He hadn’t deserved her friendship at all, let alone her trust. But somehow, here they were. “Yes.” Rio nodded quickly. “I mean, I don’t need to think about it. If you’re one hundred percent sure then the answer is yes” Rio laughed in relief, a pressure that had been in his chest all week finally beginning to lift. He hadn’t even realized that it had been there in the first place. “I- Thank you so much. I seriously can’t describe what that means to me.”

The way that Rio laughed, the genuine sound of relief-- before tonight, when was the last time Skylar had heard that sound? Since before Nic had left? The memory came back to her, fuzzy around the edges in the way that most of her memories were now. It was one of the nights when they’d both shared a meal, idly talking about their day and then, out of nowhere, Dundee had hopped up onto the table and stolen a steak right off her plate. The two had sat in startled silence for a minute as the little dog scarfed down the piece of meat, T-bone and all, before bursting into laughter. And tonight, she and Rio had been able to laugh and talk and make this house feel a little less lonesome. It felt a little more like the home that she had hoped for. But, Skylar shifted on the couch, the sharp rush of pain pushing just a little bit harder. “One ground rule, though?” She said, a small smile on her face as she stuck out her hand, “No more poking around in my room.” 

[riverleyk]

Emilien dating a serial killer, rabbit.

written by @lizzietrashkittie instagram: @lizziekitt 

Rabbit sighed and ran a hand across his forehead. "Wow. You sure we're a hassle." He smiled, speaking to no one in particular. "It's always the small ones who want to put up a fuss and make this a bigger mess then it needs to be" he gave a small giggle and kneeled by the sliced up body of a teenage boy with soft black hair "Isn't that right my little fighter?" He ruffles the corpse's hair and pauses for a second feeling the stimulation of emotions slowly fade "..Fun while it lasted" he got up and stepped away lighting a match and tossing it onto the body, lighting it and the trash around it up in a large orange glow. He runs a hand through his hair "....at least the fires pretty." He turned on his heel and took a small glance around and began walking. Another body to the count. ~~~~~~~ "Victa!" Emilien cried and hugged onto the other male "He won't reply! Do you think he's mad at me?" Victor smiled alittle at the slight warm feeling from the boys hold "I'm sure e's fine. He's probably mad at himself more then anythin'..For yell'n at ya." Emilien gave a small pout and nuzzled this boyfriend's side "I donno..it was sorta my fault.." "Nah. Ain't nothin' you're fault." Emilien nuzzled again before taking a deep breath and pulling away, putting his hands in the other boy's. "I guess so. He was just so mad.. I'm worried. What if he-" Victor cut him off with a small kiss and a smile "If he chooses to not talk to ya anymore, that's his loss. You're a treat." Emilien smiled slightly and blushed "Thanks.." The two shared small talk over tea and chatted the night away in each other's company. The conversation was about ferrets and the cost of owning one. If Emiliens bedroom is even big enough for such a pet and if his dad would even allow it. But the conversation was mostly mute to Victor. His mind was more focused on a previous discussion. One about a fight Emilien and his friend had had. Emillien's friend wasn't so happy about the two dating. He got mad when Emillien refused to end the relationship. He yelled and told Emilien he didn't know what he was talking about. It annoyed Victor. It annoyed Rabbit too. He takes a small breath and smiles. It won't be a problem anymore. ~~~~~~~ Eventually the word got out, it's alittle noticable when a child goes missing. Of course, no one could find the body, Rabbit made sure of that. Emillien was heartbroken, his best friend was missing. No one knew where he was, what he was doing..if he was alive. Rabbit knew. But Victor refused to tell. Instead he spent alot of time comforting his boyfriend, petting his hair and rubbing his back. Letting him cry as much as he needed and always, always assuring him that he held no fault. He was perfect. After awhile the case went cold, Jorden couldn't be found or even traced. There wasn't much hope for him being alive anymore so everyone had to accept he was dead. Emilien had to accept he was dead. Their last conversation was a yelling match, an argument about something as petty as a minimal life choice. It hurt Victor to see him so down, but he knew this was better for him. Jorden didn't like Victor, no..He didn't like Rabbit. He wanted Emilien to leave. To run away and cower and hide. Victor couldn't have let that happen, he needs Emilien.. Emilien is his light. His joy. Rabbit needed a new toy anyway, two birds with one stone, it was the perfect solution to this little mishap. As soon as the hysterics subsided Emilien would see that too.. Victor is good. Emilien is good Rabbit is good. This was good. ~~~~~~ A small yawn left the ginger's lips as he glanced to the body sleeping next to him. 2:00 am. Typical. Emilien's used to his normal insomnia, he'd be awake for at least another hour before his eyes grow heavy. On the bright side, he gets to see his boyfriend in his purest form. Victor always looks so peaceful in his sleep, it's almost easy to forget about the boys normal blank and cold demeanor and eyes. His eyes don't look sharp and hungry when he's asleep. His shoulders and neck don't seem to posed and ready to throw a punch. It's not that Victor was an angry or nervous person, in fact he was rather a stark opposite. His fighty and strong stance is just a cover for how hollow and empty his emotions normally are.. Emilien smiled alittle. He knows his boyfriend is a rather particular person. He takes pride in knowing he is an exception to the rules. That his smile and words can make the boy's emotions flare and hit like nothing else.. He takes pride knowing the feelings between them are real. He takes a small breath and sits up. "If am gonna be awake al'night, I might as well be productive.." he spoke quietly to himself getting up and looking around the room. His room was clean, nothing to be done there. His eyes landed on the dusty and dirty satchel bag by the window. Victor's.. The poor black haired boy was homeless. He kept all his belonging He kept all his belongings with him almost all the time, and often slept at Emilien's when the weather seems to harsh for a park bench. Emilien huffed at the mess. "..How had I not offered to wash that for ya yet, love?" He spoke to himself again, tho the intent is pointed at the sleeping boy. He took up the bag in his hands and patted the top "Only the Lord knows what all it's been through." He giggles lightly. Leaving the room and heading to the bathroom he hums a quiet tune. Slowly he takes out the items inside. Not much unexpected for a homeless teen. Some cloths, a few dollars, extra first aid supplies.. His fingers rested on some papers. "..Oh?" He took them out and turned them over, a small gasp leaving him. In his hand were multiple ripped pages of writing, this wouldn't be alarming if not for a name that caught his eye. "Jorden" He read the rest of the words intently. Names of locations and dates, games and activities. It was like a spider web, clearly planned and interconnected, but confusing is startling to an outsider. On the final page there was a sentence that caused a familiar pain to hit in Emilien's chest. "Get him under the bridge, make sure he's weak, and set him a flame" The dots and words connected at once for him. Jorden hadn't just gone missing. He was lead away, like cattle to the slaughter. He gripped the papers for a moment and tears welled in his eyes. He tried to rationalize. Maybe this was a joke. Maybe it's a different jorden. Maybe an ARG or weird game Victor had gotten into. He went back to the room, Victor had now sat up, probably waking up from the sounds of movement. The black hairs boy looked at him and offered a small smile. A shallow smile. Emilien knew the difference. "Ey love.. what's got you out o'bed?" For a moment Emilien stayed quiet. Quietly holding the papers and quietly wording himself. "..W-What are these..?" He shakenly held out the papers. Mentally preying the boy could give a pleasent and innocent explanation. Victor glanced at the papers before taking them softly. "..Ah. Why were ya going through my bag?" He gave a slight chuckle "You're gonna end up seeing stuff ya won't like, love." No explanation. Just a table turn. Emilien balled his fist and teared up harder taking a step to the boy "Just tell me what that is! W-Why do you have it. What is it doing in your bag! Just tell me you didn't-" He was cut off by Victor getting to his feet. His eyes sharp. Hungry. His shoulders and neck stiff and seemingly ready to attack. His energy was one of danger, and for once that energy was focused on Emilien. Victor smiled. However fake it might have been. "Emilien, come on. You've already grieved..It doesn't matter now, he's gone. There's no point getting into the details." He softly pulled him closer, hands sliding around his waist. Emilien was frozen for a second before coming back to reality. Victor was scary..but he knew he wouldn't actually hurt him..surely. He gave a stern look "It does matter, Victa. Stop dancing around it, you're telling on yourself anyway!" His confidence fell once again when his emotions remembered the accusation he was throwing. His eyes grew wet once more and his voice got weak. "..Why would you do that?.." Victor's expression was unchanging. A blank slate lacking of remorse or regret. Emilien caught his breath slightly and pushed away from him. "Why would you do that!? Why would you kill him? You knew he was my friend, you knew I care about him!" Victor only sighed. "Emilien..love. He wanted you to leave me. He called you naive and blind. No friend would say such things to you. You're acting like he was perfect" he gave a small chuckle and smile at the thought. Emilien was starting to have a distaste for that smile. Without a word he turned and walked. He wasn't dealing with this, this wasn't his place. He needed to get help, to get someone more capable. Stronger. Victor caught on quick what he was heading for. The phone. He grabbed him harshly from behind "Love, you're being irrational. You clearly need sleep!" Emilien yelped and attempted to pull away, thought this time was much harder. He resorted to instead pushing into it. The two slammed into a wall, Victor's back struck a photo frame and shattered it's glass. The shock was enough to free Emilien from his grip. Victor wasn't giving up. He smiled again, and attempted to convince Emilien that this whole thing was a ridiculous thing to fuss over. Emilien caught back more tears and glanced back at the phone. Victor's tone grew sharper..hungrier. Emilien didn't have much choice..he wrong about Jorden's death..he couldn't live past being wrong about Victor's restraint. He sighed "..I-I'm sorry.." he allowed himself to cry, all the tears he had been fighting ran out and he fell to the ground. Victor followed him down, embracing him gently. "Shh..It's okay, this isn't your fault.. you're perfect, love." Emilien cried harder, apologizing relentlessly and clinging to the boy. Suddenly Victor gasped lightly. A shaky hand held a shard of glass in his back. He loosened his grip and locked eye's with his boyfriend. Emilien's eyes were tired and empty. Not from a lack of emotion, but from an abundance. He pulled the shard downwards to rip more skin and ignored the pained noises from the other. Victor got shaky due to pain and gripped to Emilien's shirt. Emilien took his hand away from the shard and put it softly on the boys cheek. He made a second round of eye contact. Victor's eyes were different from how he'd ever seen them before. They weren't sharp..or hungry. They looked scared. Scared and weak. He gave the boy a soft kiss on the forehead before getting up and shakenly walking to the phone. The police and paramedics arrived sometime later to retrieve the black haired boy and his belongings. Emilien answered the few questions he could but mostly secluded himself. His parents were awoken from the sirens and his father yelled but it was static noise to him. ~~~~~~~ Emilien didn't want to care. He wanted to ignore all news and never know what happened after that night. Yet he found himself still watching. Victor was alive for a time before bleeding out..Emilien is off scot free because it's been ruled as self defence. When the police searched his bag they found more of the papers, some of which aligning with previously closed cases. Along with them they found a white rabbit mask in the bottom, something Emilien didn't dig far enough to see. It opened back up around 27 different cases of 'suicide' and ' disappearances' all throughout the town, all of which seeming to alone with notes and the mask. Emilien was hurt in finding it out. He was hurt in learning that his boyfriend was capable of such things, that he would hurt and will anyone for nearly any reason. That those striking, hungry eyes belonged to a cold and calculated murderer.. But in a sick way..he takes pride in it. He takes pride in knowing he was able to put an end to it.

[queenjunoking]

Wolf Taming Pt 20

“Come on Sasha it can’t be that hard.” We had made it up the first flight of stairs, but it had taken us awhile. The leg binders were slowing her down. It was hard for her to get her footing with them while going up the stairs.

“If I could see this would be easier.” Yet another complaint. She didn’t need to see the house. How hard could it be to climb the stairs?

“One foot in front of the other. You’ll get there.” We had been working on getting up the stairs for 15 minutes. It was a slow process.

“Maybe if you took this thing out of my… you know… I could walk better in these stupid leg things.” She was struggling to get one of her back legs on the step. It required her to move in a way that shifted the plug inside of her.

“Nope. It’s staying in. I think it’s important that you get acquainted with a tail like that.” She stopped complaining. I could only assume she didn’t want to push to me and find out what other toys I had for her to use.

Another five minutes passed and we finally made it to the top of the stairs. I led her down the hall, through the living room and finally to the back door. I opened the door and let the first breeze of fresh air she had felt in days wash over her. I tugged on her leash and brought her to the back porch.

“Here we are Sasha.” I knelt down, unhooked the leash and removed her blindfold. She blinked a few times and her eyes went wide. It might be underselling it to say the backyard was big. It was a pretty big garden. Different flowers, plants and trees painted the landscape. Alongside a pool next to the deck.

The backyard was pretty high maintenance, but I wanted it to look beautiful. I usually hired out another owner’s slaves to maintain it when it needed it, but I had to admit that it would eventually cost more to keep doing that then buying someone to do it. But that was a decision for a later time.

“Well? Go explore.” I waved her off and went and sat under a tree near the deck so I could sit in the shade and watch Sasha.

It was fun to watch her. She really wasn't sure what to do with this new freedom. She carefully descended the stairs off the deck and walked onto the grass. I watched her move her hand over it, it was obvious that she wanted to feel it. Unfortunately she couldn't through her paws. I saw her casually attempt to expel her tail but of course it didn't go anywhere. But there were no complaints as she soaked in the sun.

After about an hour outside I was surprised that she approached me. “Something wrong Sasha?”

“How did you afford all this?” She didn’t see how nice it was inside, but she could see the two story house from the outside and knew she had climbed two stories to get outside. It was a very big house by most people’s standards, though much smaller than some other people I knew. I valued privacy and bought a house quite far out of the way.

“I think that’s a question you can choose to ask tonight if you’re good for the rest of the day.” I kept looking at stuff on my phone, there wasn’t much of a reason to engage her.

“Its hard to believe anyone could own something like this with honest money. You kidnapped me. I feel like I can assume you’ve sold people to buy this house? That’s how I see the dots connecting.” I could feel her staring at me.

I looked up at her with a sigh. “I said I wouldn’t answer your question, but I’ll at least answer that part. No, I did not sell anyone to buy this house.” I did in order to buy Sasha, but she hadn’t asked about that.

“Sure. Whatever.” She clearly didn’t believe me, but that really wasn’t my problem. “My legs are starting to hurt, can we remove these… whatever they are? And take out this… thing.”

“You’re wearing them because you didn’t want to learn the trick. And that thing is a butt plug tail.” Based on the reaction she gave I don’t think she liked the name ‘butt plug tail.’ “That’s what they’re called Sasha, butt plugs. I know not everyones in touch with themselves but I figured most people knew what they were from like, jokes and stuff at least.”

“I don’t care what it’s called, can we just remove them? You made your point. Do what you say or you’ll make it more unpleasant for me.”

“Unpleasant for you? As I recall you were moaning like someone in heat when I put it in.” Her face went that deep shade of red I was really starting to like. “A lot of people like anal stuff, nothing wrong with that. If you enjoyed it I had some other toy-”

“Can we remove these please?” She asked, cutting me off. “It's hard to enjoy being out here when my legs are hurting.”

“I figured just being out here would be enjoyable despite the discomfort. You traded the trick for those leg binders. Plus who knows what you’ll do? You did say you’d kill me if I slipped up. This seems like the opportune time to attack me. Outside where you could run off into the countryside after you brutalize me.” She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Come now Sasha, be honest. The thought crossed your mind, didn’t it?”

“Maybe I did. I didn’t attack you when I had a chance in the basement. Why would I now?” She knew why.

“Because you don’t even know if you can leave the Wolf’s Den without my help, but you’re outside now where you might be able to escape easier?” I’m sure she saw escape as a possibility now. Even if she had no specific plans removing any of her restraints would make it easier on her.

“I have no way of proving I won’t try to escape or attack you I guess. All I can really do is say I won’t.” She knew she didn’t have an argument but part of me agreed we were at an impasse. If the binders were hurting her legs she could only walk for so long in them and it would be extremely difficult getting her back downstairs.

“Actually you do have a way. Like I said you have the leg binders on because you wouldn’t learn the trick. Do the trick and I’ll remove them.” I held the carrot in front of her. It was such a simple ask. I was being so nice giving her a second chance.

Sasha gave me a deep sigh. “What with you and panting?”

“I think it’s cute. Sue me. Do the trick, the entire thing starting with the begging position, and I’ll take them off.” It was an easy choice. Just a minute or two of doing something embarrassing in exchange for something nice. Even Sasha had to finally give in.

She sighed again and got into a kneel position the best she could. She pulled in her arms and steadied herself. But I interrupted her. “One moment Sasha.” I started taking video of her with my phone. “Ok, go.”

“Are… you filming me?” She was getting angry again.

“Yeah, I want this on film. You should be happy I am. If I ever get caught or whatever evidence like this will help your case or whatever. I just want a video of my wolf being cute.” I’d love to take cute videos of Sasha like this, but I’d mostly been relying on the hidden cameras. If nothing else this was a video I could send to my friend. Having better evidence that I was getting Sasha to do things might get her to stop trying to call me every day.

I watched as she tried to compose herself again. She rolled her eyes at me then stuck out her tongue and began half heartedly panting. It was good enough for me, she had to swallow her pride enough for this. Asking for more wouldn’t get me anywhere.

“You’re such a good girl Sasha.” It was nice when she worked with me like this.

I was enjoying the performance when my phone rang, ruining the moment. It was her again. I was going to ignore it but a red notification showed up on my screen. I had to answer the phone.

“You can stop now Sasha. I know I said I’d remove the binders but they have to stay on for a few more minutes. Be good and you’ll get a good meal tonight.” I needed her to behave for a bit.

“Sounds like you’re stressed out over whatever that call is. I feel like I should ask for more.Toilet, a bed. Stuff like that.” Sasha gave me a smug look.

“Sasha, please look me in the eyes, I need you to understand something.” I was a bit surprised that she actually did it. “If you misbehave while I’m on a call with this person it’s you that will be the one in trouble, not me. And I don’t mean in trouble with me. I don’t want you getting hurt because you wanted to act out thinking it's going to hurt me.”

My “friend” had forcibly put herself upon me after I gained membership. I never really understood why but it had been an imposition since I didn’t really like her style. Aesthetics over everything else was something I disliked. I’d seen her farm and saw how hard she worked those she owned. I’d done things that many would consider objectively worse, but most of these people would spend the rest of their lives like that. At least the people I did things too only had to endure a day or two of me and their lives would become easier for them as a result.

“A good dinner, a good breakfast, you can walk back downstairs without the blindfold on and you can watch a movie tonight. This isn’t a negotiation, it’s what I’m offering you. You need to be good or life will be getting much more difficult.” She didn’t answer, but she turned around and walked back out into the garden.

My phone kept ringing, it wouldn’t stop when I got a red notification and I didn’t have the option of ignoring it. I took a deep breathing and answered it. A blond haired woman popped up onto my screen, looking at me impatiently.

“Good afternoon my darling Z. I can’t help but feel like you’ve been ignoring me.”

[little-miss-chaos]

It’s called Christmas Spirit

(superfamily Christmas story; T, 7.4k, mostly fluff, some hurt followed by a lot of comfort)

Sooooo... I did a thing for Christmas. Which most naturally contains superfamily. Have fun reading and merry Christmas everyone! 🎄🎁

//

Thirteen days. It had been thirteen days since - Tony knew not to count, but he couldn’t help it. Thirteen was… it was a lot, ok? They had taken more before, sure, but it was December for God’s sake!

“Can we talk to Papa today?”

Peter’s voice was so small, like it was every time he asked when his Papa was gone. And every time it broke Tony’s heart a little more.

He put up a smile, though he strongly suspected it was too sad. Peter saw through such things scarily easily.

“I’m sorry, honey, but I don’t think so. Papa will call when he has the time, though. You know that.”

Peter pouted, his bottom lip quivering. Yeah, he’d seen through that lie right away. Tony hadn’t expected it any other way, wouldn’t want his son any differently. He was on the brink of tears, though, and Tony knew he couldn’t help his baby’s sorrow right now. There wasn’t a lot out of his reach, being Tony Stark and Iron Man, but sadly, this was. Tony would’ve given most of his fortune without thinking about it twice to make that wish true, but he… couldn’t.

He opened his arms, beckoning the young boy to climb into his lap.

“Come here.”

Peter thankfully didn’t hesitate. His bottom lip was still trembling. It only caused Tony to tighten his arms around his son. He hated seeing Peter in pain. Maybe he might spoil the kid, but he didn’t care. Peter had to go through a childhood of one parent mostly missing. Wasn’t that enough? No, now his Papa had decided to take on another damn mission.

One last for this year, he’d said. It’ll only be a week or two. I promise.

That had been nineteen days ago. And Tony hadn’t heard a word from him in thirteen now.

Sitting on the couch, his nose buried in his son’s soft hair, Tony whispered, “I know you miss him.” There was a quiet trembling running through the small body in his arms. “I miss him, too, you know?”

“He’s not going to call. Right, Daddy? He’s not even-“

“Hey.” Tony turned him around in his arms so he could look at the boy. Gently, he framed Peter’s face, softly brushing the tears - goddamn tears! - running down his cheeks away with his thumbs. “None of that. He’ll be here. He promised, remember?”

At times like these, when he had to look at their son and the heart-broken look in his eyes, his quivering bottom lip and on the verge of tears, Tony could throttle Steve, scream at him, hammer against his perfectly shaped chest. Tony shouldn’t be doing this and his husband should damn well be at home, spending his time with them!

None of that he could show on the outside, at least not in front of Peter. Tony could take not seeing his husband for two weeks, nearly four as of right now, even though it was hard. He could understand that. But Peter didn’t, and how could he? All the kid saw was that his Papa was away on missions all the time. Missions he didn’t need to do because Tony was a fucking billionaire! Not that that counted where freedom and justice were concerned. Tony understood that, too, to some degree at least. He didn’t have to like it, though.

“How about,” Tony started slowly when he had his own emotions under enough control and felt like he could regulate Peter’s, “we record a message with FRIDAY’s help and send it to Papa? So that he knows we’re thinking about him? How’s that sound?” He managed a watery smile that Peter didn’t return. His reaction wasn’t as docile as Tony’d have expected. The small boy’s face was suddenly hard and twisted in a scowl as he tried to push away from Tony (which Tony obviously didn’t allow since it would’ve sent him straight off his lap and to the ground).

In his growing anger Peter only pushed at him harder, started hammering his little fists on Tony’s chest.

“He won’t watch it anyway! He never calls and he never watches the videos! I heard you say it on the phone!”

For a moment Tony was struck. He hadn’t said that - or had he? He couldn’t remember. Far worse though, was that Peter had obviously heard it. Now, he had to save what was left to save.

“Listen, Pete,” he started, but was interrupted right away with another round of ‘no’s and little fists hammering into his chest. It took Tony awhile to get ahold of the small hands, but in the end he had one of the kid’s gently in his.

“Listen, Pete,” Tony repeated. “I don’t know what you think you’ve heard. But I do know for sure that Papa watches the videos. When he has the time he calls. Which sadly isn’t often, but it’s what we have. But he definitely watches the videos, trust me on that.”

Wide eyes with tears in them stared at Tony. They studied him for a second, probably trying to determine if he could believe him or not, but in the end, he only started struggling again.

Tony let Peter break away from him. He made sure the kid didn’t fall or otherwise hurt himself, but let him storm off in his anger. For a moment he watched the kid, but in the end couldn’t hold back the heavy sigh.

They were four days away from Christmas Eve and Steve had promised. He had to cling to that promise, that hope that he would still show up. Even through two weeks of radio silence.

Peter didn’t talk to him for the rest of the evening, burying himself in his room and occupying himself with toys and tools alike. The grim expression that looked totally wrong on the kid’s usually so happy face stayed.

Tony couldn’t decide what emotion weighed out the others. Hurt, anger, disappointment and worry all swirled together in his stomach. It was a bad time getting in front of a screen and recording a message, he knew that, cognitively, but he did it nevertheless.

“Hey darling.” He paused. He actually had no idea how to say what he wanted to say. A rare occurrence in and of itself, Tony Stark not knowing what to say. He sighed, dragged a hand over his face, threw another look at the monitor where FRIDAY had displayed Peter’s room. The kid was still playing and he was still sullen. Damn.

“I… I actually don’t know what to say,” he finally started, remembering their rules about communication, especially where feelings were concerned. He bit his lip, trying to will back the tears. For the moment he succeeded.

“I just…” Nope, enough of feelings for the moment. Change of topic. “Pete’s having a real hard time. He accused me of siding with you because I dared to say that you actually watch these little recordings we’re sending regularly and that you think about us as much as we do about you. He apparently doesn’t think so, at least not anymore, and frankly after two weeks of total radio silence, I kind of start to think that, too.” He sighed. “I guess he misses his Papa. I - we miss you, babe.” Another sigh that he couldn’t stop. He bit his lip again, but even though he tried really hard to hold it back, the words left his mouth in a barely suppressed murmur. “You shouldn’t have taken that mission.” Which was immediately followed by, “Crap. I didn’t want to say that. I’m sorry, I know how important this stuff is to you, it’s just…” He hid his eyes behind his hands. “Being a single parent most of the time is just… hard, I guess.” Shortly his gaze snapped to the other monitor where - Tony felt the blood in his veins turn to ice. Pete was gone.

Cursing colorfully he fully focused on the screen, was ready to yell at his AI why she hadn’t alerted him that the kid had taken a walk through the penthouse when a small voice behind him made him pause.

“Daddy?”

Tony spun around on his chair, facing his son. Peter stood in the workshop, barefoot on the cold tiled floor and with his Cap plushie tightly clutched to his chest, his eyes wide and staring at Tony innocently. Thank God.

“Hi kid.” He needed a moment to clear his head enough to forget his previous panic about Peter’s whereabouts before he motioned for the kid to come closer. Which Peter did without hesitation. Thank God for small miracles.

As he lifted Peter onto his lap he put up a smile for his son. “What are you doing down here? And without socks or shoes?” The scolding tone had made itself at home in his voice. A side effect of having the kid for almost six years now, Tony suspected.

Peter blinked a couple of times, eyes darting over Tony’s face and their surroundings as if he couldn’t look his Daddy in the eyes. He buried his face in the Cap doll, like he wanted to block everything out, but a moment later he had to come up for air. The question rushed out right after, totally ignoring Tony’s questions.

“Are you talking to Papa?”

Clever kid. He must’ve connected the dots: Tony sitting in front of a holo-screen, their previous conversation and - Tony’s heart jumped a couple of extra beats ahead - and the still blinking red dot in the upper right corner. The message was still recording.

“It’s just… it’s only a message, kid.” He made a gesture towards the screen. “You want to say something, too?”

Peter was still staring at him with big eyes, but in the end nodded.

Encouragingly he nudged Peter towards the screen. “Well, then go on.” He tried to smile, for Peter’s sake, but the boy didn’t even look at him. He only stared at the screen. In the reflection Tony could see his worried face, even though it was still halfway buried in his Cap doll.

“Don’t know what to say.” His voice was barely more than a whisper. All Tony could do was tightening his arms around his son for comfort.

“It’s ok, baby. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to or can’t think of something. You can just sit here with me and show Papa you’re there. That ok?”

It broke Tony’s heart to see his son so crestfallen, even though he bravely nodded. And all just because he didn’t know what to say. The anger probably showed in his heated stare he threw over Peter’s head into the camera. Steve should by all means see that Tony was unhappy with him being away for such long periods of time most of the year. So long in fact that it started to affect his relationship with their son.

But that was a talk between the adults, once Steve was finally back from that damn mission. Now, Tony had to make light small talk with the camera for their son.

“So I was just talking about what we’re planning for-“

“You were talking about something hard,” Peter interrupted, looking much too serious for a preschooler. “You were talking about being alone. I heard, Daddy. Am I that bad? If I am I promise to be better. I can be better, Daddy, I know I can. Just please don’t be sad anymore.”

“Oh, Pete, that’s not-“ Tony took a deep breath. Gently he turned Peter around in his lap, brushing Peter’s cheeks softly with his thumbs. “You’re not- It’s not because of you, baby. I just… I was…” The words got stuck in his throat and wasn’t that just wonderful. “I… I just miss Papa.”

Tears were welling up in his eyes. He turned away for a moment to not let Peter see them. It was enough that Tony himself knew how hooked he was on Steve. Pete didn’t need to know how bad it actually was. He had to be strong for their son, trying to lift the worries from his small shoulders. He was only six, for God’s sake. He shouldn’t have to deal with something like -

When little arms closed around his chest, the Cap plushie squeezed between them, it didn’t lighten any of the pain that had started to make itself a home there. And it had nothing to do with the usual hole from where the arc reactor used to be.

“I miss him, too, Daddy,” Pete mumbled.

Tony had enough control over his emotions that he didn’t outright start bawling. But he couldn’t help squeezing his son back and burying his nose in the soft brown locks.

For a moment time stood still. All that was missing was Steve.

Tony tried to push it all down, tried to concentrate on here and now, with his son safely wrapped in his arms, but the traitorous nook in his heart missed another pair of arms slung around him so badly. He knew that it was a big parent no-no to rely on your kids for comfort, he’d read that in the countless parenting books years ago, and Tony would reverse their roles back to normal in a second, but for that one moment he just clung to Peter in his arms.

“Daddy?” Peter’s voice was soft, but when Tony made some agreeing noise, he continued. “You’re allowed to miss him, too.” It sounded like he wanted to say more, but somehow couldn’t bring himself to. Tony waited it out, gave him the time he needed. In the end, Peter added in one long breath, “Last week Miss Knight said it’s alright to miss your friends when you can’t see them in preschool or for a play date and it’s the same with Papa, isn’t it? Right?”

“Of course it’s ok, Pete. I know he’s away a lot and when he’s here sometimes I have to go on business trips.” He sighed. SI business was finished for the year. Pepper had kicked him out of her office with a snide comment about how he’d done his duty and that he should take care of his family, work could wait until January. But it would come, even though Tony’d made it a policy that he’d only be at the meetings he absolutely had to attend since otherwise Pepper would have his head. The rest of the time his little family was priority #1.

Peter continued as if Tony hadn’t said anything at all. “It’s ok to feel sad when they’re not around, and I feel sad that Papa’s not here. And you feel sad, too, and that’s alright. It’s normal to miss someone you like.”

“God.” It was out in a whisper against Peter’s hair before Tony could stop it. “You’re only six - how can you be so insightful?”

“I’m clever.” The smile was obvious in his voice. Tony didn’t need to look to hear it. “Miss Knight says so. And you and Papa say it, too, sometimes.”

At times like these Tony could almost hear Steve chuckle in the background and tell him that Peter was definitely Tony’s son. That smug tone screamed Stark in such a typical way, it would be obvious to everyone.

“Well, we should say it more often then, since it’s very much true.”

He pulled back a little, looking at his son. Tony swiped the kid’s brown hair out of his face and placed a kiss on the top of his head.

“How about,” he suggested as a way of distraction, “

He picked Peter up even though he was heavy and Tony wasn’t the youngest anymore, much to his dismay, and closed down the holo-screen in front of them. They would get through Christmas time somehow, even without Steve.

//

Tony had put off setting up the tree for as long as possible. But now it was Christmas Eve, already past noon, and Peter was getting restless, seeing as the tree wasn’t yet up.

Tony didn’t know where the kid got that from, but he wanted Christmas to be perfect. This year it wouldn’t be. His Papa still wasn’t home.

Sighing heavily Tony took a couple of steps back and eyed his work. Tilting his head a little to the side his hands wandered towards his hips.

“What do you think?”

He looked down to see Peter had mirrored his pose. Patiently he waited for the kid’s verdict.

“A little to the right,” it finally came. Tony nodded before stepping up to the tree again and pulling it a little to the right, just like his son had told him to.

“How ‘bout now?”

“Straight as Uncle Clint!” Peter grinned broadly. Tony couldn’t help but return it. And hadn’t he taught that expression to the kid himself he would’ve been scandalized. Birdbrain sure had been the first time he’d heard it before he’d broken out in laughter that continued for the better part of team/family dinner.

“Then we’re good to go.”

Together they got out the Christmas decorations and started to turn the boring green thing into something to rival Peter’s Uncle Bruce - spectacular and full of color. On the outside Peter was excited, but Tony could sense something, or rather someone, was missing dearly.

He tried to make light conversation, cheer the kid up a little, or at least distract him, and for the most part of the afternoon it worked. Until he brought over the fresh branches, including some mistletoe.

Staring at him intently with wide eyes, Peter stilled noticeably so suddenly Tony was instantly worried.

“Hey Pete, what’s wrong?”

He looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Nothing,” he squeaked.

Tony sighed. “Don’t fool me, kid.”

Peter only shook his head, shock of hair flying around wildly. Absently Tony thought the kid should get a haircut soon. He watched, both suspicious and intrigued, as Peter seemed suddenly very busy with the decorations that were supposed to go on the tree.

Dropping his hands Tony got the feeling that it wasn’t anything bad, per se, but something he tried to hide from his Daddy. “Pete?”

Again, Peter only shook his head, mumbled something about needing the tree to be pretty. Tony thought maybe he missed his Papa a little more than he let on. As the artsy type in their family it usually was Steve’s part decorating the house in December and the tree a couple of days before Christmas. Usually Peter was the best little helper he could ever have, according to Steve. Much better than Tony had ever been, as he’d told his husband in a quiet moment a couple of years back. Tony had sulked for about three minutes. Was he to blame for the fact that he had never participated in decorating a Christmas tree in his life until Steve had barged in? He hadn’t thought so. Didn’t think so still.

Anyway, it was his boys’ duty to decorate their home and now Steve wasn’t here to help. Of course that got to the kid. Tony swallowed thickly.

They spent about half a minute in silence until the kid shoved the mistletoe into Tony’s hands, saying something about hanging that in the doorway. Tony was still suspicious/worried where the kid was going with this, but did as he was told nevertheless.

Or tried to, at least. He hadn’t calculated that it was usually Steve’s job to hang those damn branches up into one of the doorways. That Tony had designed unusually high in some kind of genius crackpot idea. Because he couldn’t reach the nail that they’d put there a few years back and hadn’t taken out since where that damn twig needed to go.

He tried nevertheless, for Peter. Actually, he was this close to getting a freaking stool when Peter said in a quiet voice, “You should let Papa help you.”

Tony felt his already pretty crappy mood fall even further. “Baby, Papa’s not here.” He hated disappointing his son like that, hated that Steve disappointed their son like that - the first Christmas the kid might actually remember and one of the most important people in his life was missing! “And honestly? I don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

“You sure about that?” a deep voice suddenly rumbled in his ear. Tony froze. What. No, that couldn’t be - it couldn’t be Steve, his Steve -

Without thinking he spun around, wrapping himself in tinsel halfway, but Tony couldn’t care less about that. Right in front of him stood, in flesh and blood, Steve Rogers, his husband, and smiled at him.

“Hi,” Steve breathed, a careful smile on his lips.

Tony didn’t know what to say, was lost for words, and that was a rare occasion as it was. He couldn’t believe that what he’d actually hoped for, the only thing he’d wished for this year, seemed to become true right that instant.

“Don’t I get a hello kiss?” Steve motioned to the mistletoe still in Tony’s hand, long forgotten. Dumbly Tony’s eyes wandered to the branch, then back to his husband. It finally spurred his brain into action.

“How long have you been standing there watching me making a fool on myself in front of our son?”

Steve just laughed, heartily, left arm slung around his middle, and it sounded like bells. Tony didn’t care how cheesy that sounded, but Steve’s heartfelt laugh was lighting up the whole room, including his chest and the cavity where his artificial heart had once been.

When he’d calmed down somewhat Steve added, “Only you, Tony Stark,” he came closer, still showing off those perfectly white teeth in a huge grin, “can manage such a sentence while your brain short circuits out.” His hand landed gently on Tony’s cheek and pulled him closer. Tony let him, mistletoe in his hand completely forgotten.

When their lips finally met Tony couldn’t help the happy little sigh that escaped his lungs. He’d missed Steve’s lips and his mouth and his everything so damn much, he just wanted to crawl into him and stay there forever. But Steve, the spoilsport, kept the kiss chaste. Much to Tony’s anger and simultaneous relief because as he wanted to lose himself fully in the kiss, Peter made some strange noise.

Tony didn’t exactly flinch back, he was much to reluctant to pull away from his husband for that, but Steve was enough of a parent that he made the decision to not completely lose it in front of their son for Tony.

“Papa, you’re supposed to stand under the mistletoe before you kiss Daddy!”

“Well, we can’t have that, now, can we?”

Still grinning, he held out his hand. Tony was still so struck that for a moment he didn’t know what to do. Steve had already raised his eyebrows when the genius’ brain caught up with the fact that he was still holding the mistletoe in his hand.

Steve didn’t leave his personal space while stretching up to hang the mistletoe. Under different circumstances Tony would’ve found it hot that he did it one-handed, but the accompanied flinch made him pause and frown. Steve never flinched, at least not from simple physical tasks like hanging up a damn mistletoe.

Gently, his hand landed on Steve’s left arm. The flinch this caused had definitely been worse than the previous one. Tony frowned, worry rising high in his chest.

“Steve, what’s-?”

“Not now,” he whispered, half-way into his Captain America voice, and Tony knew something was deeply wrong. Something that Steve didn’t want to address. But Tony wouldn’t have that. He knew what it looked like when his husband was severely injured and as much as he obviously tried to hide it, Tony saw right through him.

For Peter’s sake he leaned in closer again, pretended to embrace Steve, but in reality he methodically checked him over for wounds and bandages.

“You’re not going to find anything,” Steve whispered into Tony’s hair and that didn’t sound reassuring. At. All.

“Then you should be getting checked over all the more!” He couldn’t help that his voice sounded shrill, even though he was still only whisper-shouting.

It really was Steve’s luck that Peter decided he wanted in on the cuddling now, too, because otherwise Tony would’ve given him another piece of his mind right then and there. The kid collided with their legs and Steve swayed uncharacteristically. Tony felt the need to support and steady his husband. But since he was Tony Stark he made it look casual.

“Papa! You’re back!” He only reached up to Steve’s hips, but he managed to bury his face in Steve’s abdomen immediately nonetheless. Tony clearly saw him wince in pain this time.

“Hey buddy,” Steve pressed out through clenched teeth. Tony was this shy of ripping the kid away from him, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and dragging him off to the med wing five floors down. Steve only shrugged Tony’s death glare off with one shoulder before leaning in again.

“The serum’s already taking care of it. Stop worrying.” Again, whispered into the side of his face where Peter couldn’t hear. The boy was already babbling in rapid fire speech he must’ve inherited from Tony, wasn’t really paying attention to the two of them, but already planning out their Christmas anew. Tony only glared at Steve when Peter had finally turned his back on them, bouncing happily over to the Christmas tree and dragging his Papa along with him, now that he finally had him back.

Softly Steve kissed him on the lips like he was hoping it was enough to tune down Tony’s latent anger, but oh boy was he wrong about that. Tony was hot on his heels, following his boys. He already went through all the possible injuries Steve could suffer from internally, starting with tissue damage and broken ribs right through to internal bleeding. And yet again Steve stopped his thoughts with a kiss, deeper and more intense this time. It worked to distract Tony for about seven seconds before he pushed at Steve’s chest with a sour look. Steve only looked smug, though he did place another kiss on Tony’s cheek as if he wanted to apologize.

“I can feel you’re overthinking it. It’s Christmas Eve, babe. Let that high-functioning brain of yours have some holiday time, too.”

“Yeah, Daddy!” Peter chimed in and for a second Tony was disappointed. Pete was his kid, he was spending most of his time with him, helped with self-imposed homework that you didn’t have in preschool yet, but that Peter wanted to do nevertheless, and now he sided with his Papa? Disappointed didn’t even cover it. Tony felt betrayed. Deeply, deeply betrayed.

Peter didn’t seem to get what he’d done to him. He only kept on babbling happily.

“You need to smile! And we need to finish for Christmas Eve! Papa’s here and the tree’s not finished and you haven’t started cooking! What are we supposed to eat?” He paused shortly, clearly thinking of something critical, but before Steve or Tony could say anything he continued, “Do we have enough to eat? Daddy!” He nearly screamed at Tony. The volume of his voice distracted the genius shortly from his obviously suffering husband. “Do we have enough food? Papa needs to eat a lot! Do we need to go grocery shopping? Can we go grocery shopping? Or do we have to ask FRIDAY?”

He was halfway to ordering groceries worth a whole supermarket and that Tony had to stop. Though he could still remember a time where he hadn’t been any different.

“Woah, woah, slow down, kid.”

“Yes, I’m sure Daddy’s got it covered, Pete” Steve added for good measure and yet again Tony was glad to have him by his side where parenting was concerned. He had a way of stoically delivering bad news, or at least news that Peter didn’t want to hear about. Like right now, when he looked disappointed that the grocery shopping was already done. Tony didn’t know where he’d gathered that strong interest in buying food, but he had it.

To exactly no one’s surprise Peter threw first Steve and then Tony a suspicious look. Obviously he was trying to find another excuse to get out of the house, totally unaware of the crowds of people that would be out doing exactly what Tony had learned to avoid: last minute shopping, be it groceries or Christmas presents.

In the end he couldn’t seem to find anything, only asked if they really, really were sure. Like really.

It made Tony and Steve chuckle at the same time. Which finally seemed to convince the boy that they were covered for the holidays, at least as far as food was concerned.

“Then we need to finish the tree! Come on, Papa!” Peter dashed off, back into the living room.

Sharing a look and a smile with his husband, Steve took two careful steps and pulled Tony against his side, pressing his lips to his temple before letting their son pull him away towards the tree that was still missing tinsel and the star on top, as Peter happily informed him.

With the smile still playing around his lips Tony watched his boys, lost in the familiarity and the feeling of home and love, until Peter’s eyes widened yet again.

“Daddy!” He sounded scandalized beyond compare and Tony already thought something had happened, but then the kid basically screamed, “Dinner!”

And dropped everything and rushed past Tony into the kitchen. Which could only mean one thing: Peter wanted to help. Which was both adorable and exhausting. As much as he was trying to help most of the time Tony had to stop his enthusiasm before it got out of hand.

Peter was already pulling out pots and a pan to put on the stove when Tony joined him.

“I see you got it covered, kid. Totally like your Papa, taking command of everything immediately.”

“Someone needs to, Daddy. You just stand around and do nothing!”

Steve was clearly amused by that snide remark. Tony could see it already that he wanted to agree with the kid, out loud, and precautionary sent a deadpan look his way that dared him to say something to that. Being the little shit that his husband was, though, he took a careful breath and said, “You really should get to it, Tony. You can’t loaf around all afternoon. Someone needs to cook dinner.”

Tony understood the remark. After all, he’d never set foot into a kitchen before they’d had Peter besides for coffee. But since they’d had an infant around and Steve had been unnecessarily caught up at his day job at SHIELD Tony had taken it upon himself to get a warm meal on the table at least once a day. FRIDAY had been an enormous help with that, preventing not only once that he’d set the whole kitchen on fire.

“You’re lucky I already love you because with that attitude you’re walking a thin line, Rogers.” Tony passed by his husband and followed Peter into the kitchen. Steve only smirked.

They finished preparing the chicken Tony had picked out to be their dinner and once it was cooking away in the oven they took care of the tree. Tony could see that Steve still had problems, bending down, picking things up, still favoring his right side, but the man was stubborn. He didn’t let Peter know he wasn’t alright. Tony was still worried. If he could have it his way Steve would be in medical, not wincing when he wanted to lift his son into his arms. A task he was usually able to perform even with Tony without breaking a sweat thanks to the super soldier serum, never mind their son.

But he doubted he could do that to Peter now that he knew his Papa was home. And he didn’t want to be the one to ruin Christmas. He’d suffered through enough of those for three lifetimes.

The rest of the team came just in time for the chicken to be served. It was a wonderful, peaceful evening. Tony let the joyful babbling wash over him, practically soaked up the atmosphere. It had turned into a tradition to spend Christmas Eve with their fellow Avengers, with their friends, their found family, having a meal together and exchanging presents that would rest under the tree until morning.

When Peter couldn’t get three words out in a row without yawning Bruce suggested they called it a night. The kid protested to that heavily, but was interrupted by his own yawning regularly, making the adults laugh softly. It took a little convincing, but in the end the other Avengers were allowed to leave and Steve maneuvered the three of them onto the couch. The TV was on, showing some kids movie on low volume, in hopes of lulling Peter fully into sleep.

Tony altered between watching his husband and their kid snuggled up between them. Everything was so soft and warm and not for the first time in the last years he thought that he was dreaming. It was all too perfect to be true. A man in his arms that he loved, who loved him, and a child to protect and take care of in a way he’d never thought he’d want, never mind get. Christmas had been a red rag for most of Tony’s life. First spending it without his parents and with the Jarvis’ instead, then all alone when they were all dead, killed, or spent at parties where he could lose himself, be one of many instead of the center of his own attention. Drowned in alcohol and sex most of the time, to forget that he was indeed alone, even in large crowds. But now… The last decade had replaced most of those bad memories and Tony couldn’t think of anything that made him gladder, happier.

His thumb gently traced the vibranium-titanium alloy band that made up his and Steve’s wedding rings. Best damn nine years of his life, he decided. And, if it were up to him, the first of many, many more to come.

Slowly he felt his eyes drifting closed more and more often. The blinking of the tree drove him crazier than he liked to admit, but with his eyes closed he could concentrate on the warmth around him.

Tony was halfway off to sleep himself when the bundle at his side spoke up again, drawing in Tony’s attention.

“Papa? Did you watch the videos?”

Steve smiled down at him. “Every single one.”

Peter scowled. “Which one was your favorite?”

“Pete, I don’t have favorites. I loved them all very much.”

Faster than both Tony and Steve could react the boy had struggled free from their embrace, jumped off the couch and glared at him with fire in his eyes. “So you didn’t watch them! You can’t even pick one!”

“I can’t pick one because they were all wonderful. They kept me going-“

“No!” the boy interrupted what would surely have been a heroic speech. Tony was speechless given Peter’s sudden outburst. Steve wasn’t any more articulate, though Tony was spared his mouth standing open.

“Ok,” was the first thing Steve said once he’d gathered back his ground. Tony saw that Peter suddenly didn’t seem all that sure in his accusations anymore. Steve surely wouldn’t back down from what he wanted to say. There would be a heroic speech after all.

With his breath quickening a little as he scooted towards the edge of the couch Steve threw their son a challenging look, eyebrows raised.

“You want me to pick favorites?”

Peter’s glance darted from Steve to the ground, to Tony and back to Steve. It was somewhat unsure, but he was just as stubborn as his Papa. Certainly stubborn enough to pull through with what he’d started.

“Yes.”

“Well.” Steve took another moment before he continued. Tony could see the tension in Peter’s shoulders rising with every beat.

“Then I’ll have to pick the one from three and a half weeks back, the first Sunday in Advent. The one where you showed me the snowmen you crafted and painted in preschool. You looked so happy and proud of yourself, and all I wanted to do was kiss your cheek at tell you how much I’d loved one of those on my desk. That was the one that made me miss you the most because I wanted to tell you how proud I was.”

The tension was still there, but grew more and more restless by the second. He didn’t know where his Papa was going with this. Tony did. He tried to hide the smile and all his love for the man it stood for in his shoulder.

“The one that made me laugh the most was the one the two of you sent when I was only away for a week. I still don’t know what had you giggling like that, but I saw that neither of could stop, and all you managed to articulate was something about Uncle Clint and pancakes.”

Even now Tony couldn’t help the chuckle and was soon joined by his son. That had been a moment to remember. Birdbrain had wanted to make pancakes for the whole gang, but only managed to make a huge mess. At first Tony hadn’t found that very funny, it had been his kitchen after all and someone needed to clean up afterwards. But when Clint had gathered that all he would accomplish that day would be making a mess, he of course had to make a show of it.

Peter had desperately wanted to share the events of the afternoon, but when they had sat down to record a message, they were both still too wound up. The mission of ‘telling Papa about what a douche Uncle Clint could be’ had been abandoned shortly after, but the squirt had insisted they sent the video nevertheless.

“The one where you told Dad about how Billy ruined your shared project and Ms. Knight didn’t believe you was the one I watched over and over until I could recite it by heart because I loved the sass going back and forth between you so much.”

Peter’s eyes widened with every word Steve said. Tony could relate, though probably due to different reasons.

“There was even one that made me cry. The video you made FRIDAY record without your Dad knowing it.”

Tony directed his glance back to his husband. He hadn’t known about that. A long lost sense of panic raised its ugly head, one that Tony hadn’t thought he’d get to see again.

At his next words Steve’s eyes were on him. “He was in the workshop which you’re not allowed in without him knowing.” He threw Peter a snide side glance, but his eyes quickly darted back to Tony. His eyes were shining with something dark, but wonderful and Tony couldn’t breathe right. “And you told FRIDAY to zoom in to let me see what he was doing. There was some strange agitation in your voice that I couldn’t place at first, but when I saw what he was looking at, I knew.”

Tony knew, too. There was only one thing that wouldn’t make Steve cry from joy in the course of December. He couldn’t remember exactly what he’d done in the shop that day, but on December 16th everything sooner or later came down to Howard and Maria’s death. Now Tony’s throat had closed up for good and drove the tears to the corners of his eyes.

“I don’t hate many things, but it hate that I wasn’t there that day.”

Tony thought he hated that, too. It’s not that he’d needed his husband, but the last years it had been easier. Especially concerning not to spiral down to dark places like he’d had before their relationship had started.

For a moment longer Steve’s gaze bore through him, right to the back of his skull. Then his eyes flew back to Peter. Tony still couldn’t breathe right, but it was getting easier, knowing that Steve should’ve, would’ve dropped everything if he had been able to.

“I loved each and every video you two sent me. They made me feel like I was with you, even though I was miles away. And that last one…” His voice trailed off along with his gaze. Tony frowned. Which had been the last video he’d sent Steve? What in it could’ve evoked that reaction from him?

Steve took a shaky breath. “That last one is the one that pulled me through to the finish line. Had it been up to your Auntie Nat we would’ve taken the safer route, but then we wouldn’t have made it in time for Christmas. In time to be with you and your Dad and all the others.”

Suddenly Tony remembered the last video and blanched. FRIDAY, the traitor, must’ve sent it on her own because Tony certainly hadn’t. He wouldn’t have shown Steve the obvious sorrow he caused not only his husband, but most of all his son with his continued absences. His eyes darted to Peter.

The boy stood in the middle of the room, Christmas tree in his back, and looked torn between shame, regret and reluctant joy. Tony hadn’t seen his face with emotions that mixed since he’d come home from preschool and told them some of the other kids had teased him because of his parentage.

“You believe me now that I got and watched all the videos you and Dad sent me?”

A slow nod until suddenly the kid broke out in tears and stormed into Steve’s open arms. Burying his face in his Papa’s shoulder Peter sobbed his heart out, words spilling out of him without end.

“’M sorry, Papa! I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you! Daddy always told me you got them and that you watched them because we’re important to you, but I didn’t believe him and I’m sorry. And, and you never answered any one of them, not even the ones I sent you and-“

Wait. Had Peter just said he’d sent videos of his own? Tony’s eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. His son and his AI must’ve collaborated behind his back on that because Tony certainly wouldn’t have approved any of it.

“-and I was so sure you didn’t want anything to do with us anymore and FRIDAY said you’d call back when you had the time and you never did! And Rita form preschool said her father did the same when he left her and her mom and I know that you wouldn’t leave just like that, but I was so angry that you wouldn’t even be home for Christmas! And-“

“Peter,” Steve interrupted, gently pulling his face back from his shoulder. “Take a breath in between sentences.”

With a smile he thumbed the remaining tears and stains from Peter’s cheeks. The little boy shook with the amount of air he greedily sucked into his lungs and actually was silent for a couple of moments.

Tony watched with rapt attention as his boys made their peace. It made his heart feel light in a way it hadn’t in a couple of months.

The kid dragged the back of his hand over his nose and dragged up the remaining snot. “’M sorry.”

“I know, buddy.” He pulled Peter back into an embrace. “I know. I’m sorry, too. And I promise I’m not going to worry you like this in the future again.”

Over the boy’s shoulder Steve smiled a rueful smile at his husband and mouthed another ‘Sorry. Love you’, kissed the top of Peter’s head and beckoned Tony to join their hugging.

In the arms of his husband, their son squeezed in between them, Tony couldn’t help but feel his heart fill with light and warmth and love for his family. He wouldn’t simply forgive and forget. They definitely had to discuss Steve’s involvement with SHIELD - again - and see to it that the relationship with his son didn’t have to suffer any more than it already did.

Tony had never believed in Christmas spirit, but right now, face buried in the crook of Steve’s neck, Peter’s hair slightly tingling at his nose, the lights of the Christmas tree annoyingly cheerfully blinking away in the background, he thought that maybe it was time to change that attitude.

[sadwsocc]

Kenma x Reader soulmate au

an au where whatever they wrote/ drew on their skin would show up on their soulmates skin too

word count: 3,473 words

genre: fluff??? idk

a/n: i really liked writing this one because kenma is actually my fav lmao but i think i wrote his name too many times so it might be a tad bit weird

Kenma was partially annoyed by how often his soulmate would doodle on their body, more specifically their left hand and knees, yes, knees. And he would be annoyed by the amount of questions he got from his teammates about the doodles on his body whenever they had practice. there were always a bunch of stars tethered on his knees in colourful ink (mostly green, purple, black and blue) Whoever his soulmate was, he was definitely annoyed yet intrigued by them.

Kenma didn't know why his soulmate would be up at 2 in the morning while he was playing video games but during those times, a bunch of smiley faces and random doodles would appear. yet, Kenma never made an effort to do make it known that he knew those doodles were there as they would rub it off after awhile. Kenma had no intentions of contacting his soulmate anytime soon.

That was until one fateful midnight, he noticed that there wasn't any doodles appearing on his skin, he assumed his soulmate fell asleep, finally. he decided it would be fun if he took initiative and doodles something, pausing his game he went over to his desk and grabbed a pen.

right when the tip of his pen was about to touch on Kenma's skin, it stopped. Kenma thought long and hard about what to draw or write since he didn't think he could be par with his soulmates clean and neat doodles. deciding on writing a small message, he proceeded to write on his forearm "took you long enough to sleep". he hoped that he would get a reply by morning when she awoke but to his surprise, a new message popped up on his right knee, "im not asleep yet".

"oh" he spoke aloud even though there wasn't anyone in his room. grabbing his pen, he wrote again, "oh". 'Very original' he thought to himself. he waited for a few moments and got an answer back on his other knee, "hi" beside it was a smiley face. Kenma was surprised that he would finally get to have a proper chat with his soulmate... at two in the morning— on a school night. Kenma thought about what to reply to her, 'a simple "hello" would be enough' he thought, which was what he wrote below the 'hi' his soulmate wrote.

moments later his soulmate wrote back with three dots, not knowing what else to write to him and continued, "sorry for the constant doodles—i get bored easily". Kenma sighed, at least his soulmate was self aware. he replied with "its fine", to which a smiley face was drawn again by his soulmate as a reply. that was the end of their little rendezvous, life continued onwards. the two of them made no effort to try to find each other, the doodles were still constant, the weird little notes that appeared on Kenmas palm sometimes would still be present, it was as if their short lived chat never occurred.

———

(y/n) liked to draw. a lot.

whenever you saw a piece of paper that was blank, you'd fill it up with doodles and drawings and when there were no paper in sight you would result in drawing on your own skin or your friend's. your friends didn't mind, nor did their soulmates as they all knew the only person who would draw such things was you, if they ever saw stars appear or little cat doodles or just basic characters from shows you had watched, they would know it was you. it was a known fact.

your skin would never be blank, ever. there would always be that one smiley face or that one random quote that would be hidden somewhere that was noticeable. it was fun for you.

you always wondered when you'd meet your soulmate, your friends all met theirs, mainly through telling them their names and what school they went to, it was— as you liked to call it— the easy way out. a good example of that would be your friend, Kaori, she found her soulmate when she wrote her identity and her phone number on her forearm last year, which was also the two of your first year at Nekoma High. Turns out, her soulmate was some kid named Kuroo that was a year older than the two of you. you had met him like once or ten-no-twenty times when he visited you and Kaori's class, his bedhead had never gone unnoticed to you, in fact it left quite an imprint on you, it was just too... unnatural.

from what you heard the way Kaori found Kuroo was when she told you that she once wrote on her hand that she would be going to Nekoma High, which she knew that her soulmate would be there (they keep in touch through writing i guess) and from then on they would write to each other profusely.

the first day of school and you had saw her anxiously walking around trying to find some dude that was drawn on her hand by her soulmate (it didn't look that good and you could hardly tell it was even a person at all until she stated it to you knowingly). you snickered as she tried to tell you how she thinks it's sweet and thought how her soulmate would go as far as to draw a 'self portrait' for her to find him.

you were in awe when a tall dude with hair that kinda fitted the drawing on Kaori's palm showed up and introduced himself to her, they were blushing and all. you remembered seeing a boy with rather long black hair (first year Kenma didn't have pudding hair, author checked) shielding himself behind Kuroo. you paid no mind to him, of course, you weren't really going to school to make friends.

back to present, it was two in the morning and you were up all night reading, what exactly? we don't talk about that. well, you were reading until you felt someone writing something on your hands and saw a few words written on your hand. one led to another but eventually nothing really happened so you never mentioned it to anyone.

———

weeks after that little midnight incident, one day, Kaori dragged you to your school's volleyball gym —you didn't even know your school had volleyball much less a club— to accompany her visiting her boyfriend, Kuroo.

before she started dragging you, you were writing down your day's to-do list intently. Kaori's green pen that you were using to write down on your palm was suddenly dragged out, ruining you beautiful to-do list. you grunted and sighed, clicking the pen to put it in you pockets as she took you hand and hooked it to hers, forcing you to go along with her rendezvous.

Kaori pulled the gym door opened and there stood about a dozen boys in gym clothes staring at the two of you. they all greeted Kaori but not to you as you didn't know any of them, sure you've heard Kaori talk about them here and there, but most conversations about them were about Kuroo.

Kaori promptly introduced you to the volleyball team, "hey guys, this is (y/n), i dragged her along because i wanted you guys to see her drawings that i mentioned before." this earned a stare from you to your cheery friend and you finally spoke, "since when did i agree to this?". Kaori looked at you and simply said, "when i was dragging you here" with a smile.

you sighed and handed her your sketchbook which was inside your school bag. she thanked you and then went over to the crowd of boys who were intrigued by you sketchbook, leaving you on the side.

———

a little before this, while (y/n) was being dragged by Kaori to the gym:

Kenma felt a little tingly feeling from his palm again and assumed that his soulmate started writing something, he looked at his palm and saw a little to do list being written only for it to be ruined by a sudden line being dragged across. confusion arose from the pudding head as his bed headed friend took notice and glanced at his palm.

a little idea popped into Kuroo's mind as he thought about the only person he knew would have that kind of handwriting and would use that type of green pens. he knew for one that his girlfriend always complained about her pens being taken from her by her (h/c) haired friend and knew what (y/n)'s handwriting would be like from the constant borrowing of her notebooks from his girlfriend. Kuroo always has a fleeting suspicion but it never occurred to him that he would notify Kenma.

He also knew that Kenma had a slight interest on the (e/c) eyed girl from the one or two times he saw him glance at her during lunch or walking in the halls, Kuroo also somehow never mentioned that he knew the girl and the thought just kinda slipped through his mind.

"what's with the weird to do list?" Kuroo finally spoke earning a nonchalant glance from Kenma. "i don't know" Kenma said with a slight confused tone. Kuroo thought about how his girlfriend would be dragging her friend here to show off her friends talents to the team and how his girlfriend would drag people by the hand and the dots started connecting.

———

You were left alone while your sketchbook was being the star of the show resulting in you sitting on the sides next to a boy with overgrown blond hair. It was Kenma, the boy you saw on your first day of school and in the halls and everywhere. you constantly thought about him, though you don't know why. Perhaps it was his slightly long hair? Or the way he looked whenever you saw him playing on his handheld gaming console. He always intrigued you and you thought he was quite cute, whenever you walked pass his class or saw him in the halls your heartbeat sped up. Or could it be the soulmate attraction thing you heard rumours about? Part of you hoped he would be your soulmate but the other felt bad if he was due to your constant drawings on your skin.

The two of you were sitting with your legs close to your chests. You felt yourself becoming a bit jittery and anxious from sitting next to the boy you always thought about. Finally, throwing your dignity out of the window you asked, "Why aren't you going over there like the rest of your teammates?". He finally looked at you and said, " I don't like crowds." You gave him a soft smile, nodded and replied, "me neither". you didn't like crowds, you tended to stay away from them, sometimes avoiding them at all costs.

You realised it would be odd if someone you didn't know suddenly came in to the gym, sat down and started talking you so you promptly introduced yourself. "hi... I'm (y/n), (l/n) (y/n)." you paused thinking about what to say next and then continuing, "Kaori's friend" pointing to the energetic and cheerful girl over with the rest of the volleyball team.

Kenma looked at you for a few seconds longer and you started overthinking, 'What if he thinks you're weird?' 'What if he hates you?' 'Why would he hate you?'. You started a debate with yourself as he finally spoke, "Kenma, Kozume Kenma..."

Of course you knew his name already but it would make you sound like a stalker if you said something like, "I'm (y/n)! And you, sir, are Kozume Kenma, Kuroo's friend and a second year setter, whatever a setter is!" you didn't know much about volleyball but your friend told you about the boys volleyball team once and you ought to remember a few roles.

You glanced over to the game he was playing and immediately recognised the art style of the game. Your eyes lit up and blurted out, "hey! isn't that MonHun?" Kenma looked at you with a bewildered expression, "Yes... do you play it too?" he asked in a soft and quiet tone. You grinned and put your left hand on the nape of your neck, awkwardly rubbing it, "ah, umm... no... sorry. I just know a lot about games and I suck at it too to be honest."

Kenma looked at your for a second and went back to his game as you continued to look at his console. Little did you know, the two of your friends were silently gushing about how adorable and shy and awkward you and Kenma were being. One might not know if they weren't close to Kenma but Kuroo knew on an instant that Kenma was actually freaking out on the inside, to an outsider his attitude might not seem to change but to Kuroo, even the slightest difference was noticeable to him. Kenma seemed a bit giddy, his hand movements were quickened, more unstable as if he was panicking —which he was.

With a smirk playing on the bed headed teen's lips, he nudged Kaori with his elbows gently, "how long do you think they'll realise?" Kaori too had a fleeting suspicion about the two of you and now she was almost a hundred percent sure that her suspicions were confirmed. She stared at the two of you and pondered for awhile, with her right hand on her chin she said, "an hour?" Kuroo laughed a bit and ruffled his girlfriends hair, "you're so adorable." This made her blush profusely. Kaori then inquired, "should we tell them?" "Nah"

You realised that the team was taking a bit too long on admiring your sketchbook, you started to wonder if they were still absorbed in your art or they simply acted like they forgot they had practice. Making a small huff, you turned to look at Kenma again, staring intently in his game, he was on level 37. You heard the game was quite hard, you always wanted to play them but due to the fact that you inevitably sucked at it, you never bothered.

Minutes later, boredom got the best of you and you finally decided to ask, "Hey Kenma-san, can I borrow your console?"

"... after this level" he replied. Kuroo stared in awe as he saw you achieve something he was never able to —borrow Kenma's games whilst he was in the middle of a level. The third year captain was so proud of his friend's character development that he nearly teared up, whispering , "he grows up so fast" to Kaori, to which she giggled to.

After Kenma had beaten that level he handed it to you, setting his game level to the very first one. You awkwardly took it and stared fumbling with the controls. "I think I know how to play this" You said, "it's just dodging and attacking, right?" You rhetorically asked.

"Essentially, yeah" Kenma replied. Your heartbeat quickened and you suddenly felt awkward. A few button smashes and frantically waving the console around, you surprisingly passed level 1. You gave Kenma back his gaming console and raised up both your hands to celebrate beating the first level, you weren't expecting to actually win it, you were used to losing and being killed off. Kenma smiled at your cheery sight.

"High five, Kenma-san!" You said enthusiastically. Holding out both your hands towards him and waited for him to return your high five. Pausing his game and looking up from his console, he saw what you had written on your palm. Wide eyed, Kenma raised his hands to high five you, realising that you had the same green ink on your palm. You were too busy celebrating your victory you didn't bother to realise that he too had what you written on you palm. Putting down your hands, you saw that Kenma was still holding his out, you stared at him and then to his palm. It was then realisation hit you.

You lifted up your palm and stared into your hand and then to his, repeating this gesture for a sold three times before one of you spoke out.

"Are you-?" You asked, not bothering to finish your question. You quickly stood up and patted down the invisible dirt and wrinkles on your skirt and ushered him to wait as you ran over to your bag and grabbed out a baby blue pen you 'borrowed' from Kaori and went back over to Kenma. You turned over to show your wrist and started doodling a simple tulip on your wrist, Kenma in turn, turned around his arm and saw that he too had a baby blue inked tulip on his wrist.

Dropping the pen, you both stared at each other intently. "You're my soulmate" you both said quietly in unison. You let out a sigh of relief and immediately thought about the amount of times you've drawn on yourself.

"I'm- uh, sorry for the constant doodles, I get bored easily" you said meekly, covering your mouth with the collar of your shirt to hide the blush that was starting to appear on your cheeks. You smiled at you and told you that he rather enjoyed them and wouldn't mind if you continued to do so.

Kuroo and Kaori high fives each other as the other teammates were finally done looking at your sketchbook. They were now all looking at the two of you quietly sitting next to each other, cheeks tainted pink.

"What's up with Kenma-san?" Lev asked Kuroo. Kuroo smiled and told him, "he found his soulmate." Lev perked up and went over to where Kenma was and shook his hands to congratulate his senpai. "Kenma-san, congratulations! Today must be your lucky day! Your soulmate is very pretty and so are her drawings! You should look at them too!" As he said the last few parts, Lev looked at you. You gave him a shy smile with a faint blush and looked away, over to your short friend, you knew she was the one who had set this up indirectly.

After the whole ordeal, the two of you exchanged emails and talked about little things that had no meaning to it. You felt butterflies in your stomach the whole chat. He decided he would walk you back home along with Kuroo and Kaori, you assured him you would be fine but he insisted that his house was not far from yours so it was nothing.

"You know, Kenma-san, I kind of always liked you, even if you might've not been my soulmate," you said quietly while the four of you were walking back. You and Kenma walked as a pair while your friends walked behind the two of you at an excruciatingly slow pace which made the two of you decide to walk ahead of them.

Part of you hoped that he didn't listen as it would be rather embarrassing by the other half wanted him to know how much you love him as cheesy as it sounds. He heard it and stared down on the pavement you were walking on as did you. The two of you were so awkward together it was just too sweet. "Me too" he returned you a tone as soft and as quiet as yours.

"Do you think I can go over to your house someday, I kinda wanna play those games of yours" you voiced our in a shy tone. Kenma's eyes widen as he stared at you, thinking.

"Yeah".

The doodles never stopped from then on, maybe it even multiplied but Kenma didn't mind. He would sometimes show it to Kuroo and tell him thing like "Look what (y/n) drew," with hints of interest in his voice. It was absolutely adorable every time the two of you walked back home talking about your day. Somedays you would even stay over at his home and play his games, yet you still inevitably sucked.

[warehouse13pod]

Show Notes 108A Duped - Part 1

Down the rabbit hole we go, Agents!

Here they are! At long, long last—the show notes for 108 “Duped!”

These notes cover 108 “Duped” Part 1.

You can listen to it in this embedded player:

Or on Youtube:

Let’s jump right in! 

Miranda and I started this episode with some fun facts about ourselves. Mine was that I once got a pillow from Sargento that said “Sweet dreams are made of cheese,” because I complimented it online.

First of all, here’s the song it references.

Now, here are the tweets of how it happened. Here’s the Tweet I saw from Warehouse 13 co-creator and legendary TV writer/producer, Jane Espenson and the conversation that followed:

And at this very moment, that pillow is serving as a laptop cushion.

Now, onto the show.

This week’s writer appreciation focused on another writing team, Benjamin Raab and Deric A. Hughes who shared some awesome behind-the-scenes pix with us on twitter! After we released the episode, Ben tweeted at us and told us the crew let Ben and Deric cameo on every episode they wrote/produced. Here’s the pic from “Duped!” They were on the elevator with Pete!

We got that tweet and some good corrections and fun facts from Ben and Deric themselves! What up, dudes‽

Miranda says that we start the episode “en media res” which means “in the middle of things” in Latin. Here’s a link to what it means in terms of narrative storytelling.

Later, we also compared Myka’s dress in the pilot…

…to her dress in Duped.

Great work by the costuming/hair/makeup team on emphasizing all the subtle ways that Myka was Not Normal™

Because we love to give due credit, so, the people responsible are

Costuming: Joanne Hanson

Hair: Susan Exton-Stranks

Makeup: Marie Nardella

We also have a good laugh talking about how Pete miscategorizes Alice in Wonderland as Chick Lit.

Alice in Wonderland is obviously not Chick Lit (although there’s nothing wrong with Chick Lit).

This led us to a brief discussion of how Miranda’s sister trolls her by calling “Doctor Who” Mister Who. That already wasn’t accurate, but now it’s especially inaccurate as The Doctor is a woman! As a side note, I personally would buy a T-Shirt that said “Mister Who” on it just to make a laugh. Anyone else? Anyone?

Next up, Miranda noticed that Pete was wearing a North Canton, Ohio t-shirt and connected the dots that Eddie McClintock himself is from North Canton. Further proof that Eddie and Pete are essentially the same person.

Speaking of Eddie, this is also the episode where we learned that Eddie was voted the 82nd Sexiest Man Alive, according to TVBuddy. Alas, alack, the link to the list is now dead. So I can’t link it. I tried.

Next, we talked about how amazing Eddie is at doing an impersonation of Myka sticking her neck out when she’s mad.

In the Warehouse, an artifactified disco ball plays Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”

Here’s that song:

When Act II starts we get some really orange lighting that plays right into our color theory. I couldn’t find a picture of that scene and Amazon won’t let me screenshot, but, in general, most cinematography of Myka in this episode is very orange. Here are a couple examples of how orange most things are that involve Alice in this episode:

Then we talked about how weird it was when Myka actually took one of Artie’s pastries.

Actual footage of my face when she took one:

Actual footage of my face when she took SECONDS:

Then we got the introduction of Gary and Jillian Whitman—this week’s red herring bad guys and focus of this week’s dual Actor’s Spotlight, courtesy of Miranda.

Gary was played by Niall Matter.

Miranda recommended watching the TV show he was on called The Best Years.

Jillian (my name-thief) was played by Erica Cerra.

Miranda noticed a subtle Walt Whitman reference and gave the dates of his life and Lewis Carroll’s/Charles Dodgson’s life.

Walt Whitman: 1819 - 1892

Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson: 1832 - 1898

There will be a lot more information about Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson in the show notes for Part 2 of this episode.

Then we talked about how Artie was a tad too aggressive in telling Claudia to “back off!” and how this all reminded us of a scene in The Importance of Being Earnest where two characters grumpily eat cakes. Miranda later specified that it reminded her of the scene where Jack and Algernon eat muffins. Meanwhile, it reminded me of the scene where Gwendolen and Cecily get passive-aggressive over whether tea should be enjoyed with bread and butter or with cake.

Here’s a snippet of the scene Miranda was thinking of:

 Algernon.  If it was my business, I wouldn’t talk about it.  [Begins to eat muffins.]  It is very vulgar to talk about one’s business.  Only people like stock-brokers do that, and then merely at dinner parties.

Jack.  How can you sit there, calmly eating muffins when we are in this horrible trouble, I can’t make out.  You seem to me to be perfectly heartless.

Algernon.  Well, I can’t eat muffins in an agitated manner.  The butter would probably get on my cuffs.  One should always eat muffins quite calmly.  It is the only way to eat them.

Jack.  I say it’s perfectly heartless your eating muffins at all, under the circumstances.

Here’s a snippet of the scene I was thinking of:

Cecily.  May I offer you some tea, Miss Fairfax?

Gwendolen.  [With elaborate politeness.]  Thank you.  [Aside.]  Detestable girl!  But I require tea!

Cecily.  [Sweetly.]  Sugar?

Gwendolen.  [Superciliously.]  No, thank you.  Sugar is not fashionable any more. [Cecily looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar into the cup.]

Cecily.  [Severely.]  Cake or bread and butter?

Gwendolen.  [In a bored manner.]  Bread and butter, please.  Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.

Cecily.  [Cuts a very large slice of cake, and puts it on the tray.]  Hand that to Miss Fairfax.

[Merriman does so, and goes out with footman.  Gwendolen drinks the tea and makes a grimace.  Puts down cup at once, reaches out her hand to the bread and butter, looks at it, and finds it is cake.  Rises in indignation.]

Gwendolen.  You have filled my tea with lumps of sugar, and though I asked most distinctly for bread and butter, you have given me cake.  I am known for the gentleness of my disposition, and the extraordinary sweetness of my nature, but I warn you, Miss Cardew, you may go too far. 

Both of those scenes take place in Act II.

If you read nothing else in these show notes STOP AND WATCH THE FOLLOWING CLIP!

Here’s a clip from an early movie adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest that features my favorite line delivery of anything ever:

Good luck ever looking at a handbag without thinking of that again.

While we’re on the subject, I played Cecily in the Importance of Being Earnest, so I’m legally obligated to share a couple photos of that as proof:

As a final note on the matter, you can read the entire play from project Gutenberg here (and I recommend that you do, because it’s one of my all-time faves.).

Later, Miranda and I wondered if the infinity tattoo on Myka’s ankle was Joanne Kelly’s or was something Alice did when they got to Vegas. I think someone tweeted at us about this awhile ago. If anyone has that info, I’ll update the show notes with that and credit to the Tweeter.

After that, we discussed Myka’s/Alice’s casual mention of Carson’s Rule of Linear Transfer and her assertion that it means “forced outcomes require tangency.” I posited that this rule is not a mathematic or scientific principle but rather a warehouse-specific rule. The only Carson’s Rule that Miranda and I could find when researching this was an unrelated rule about bandwidth. If you’re super into telecommunications, you can read more about Carson’s Banwidth Rule here.

Backing up a little bit in the episode, we discussed a little bit about the history of disco and disco clubs via exerpts from a written interview with Professor Carol Cooper.

She spoke with us about Studio 54, Vaughn Harper, and the roots of a Studio 54 laying in a black-owned club called Leviticus.

I didn’t mention it in the episode, but that makes the club in Empire (also named Leviticus) a truly nicely named homage to history. Bustle.com did a deep dive on that fact here.

Relatedly, when the disco ball drops earlier in the warehouse, Claudia does her own take on the Saturday Night Fever dance…

…then devastates Artie by incorrectly dating the Disco Era. Find approximate dates and more info here.

Then Miranda compared Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Tara Maclay from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

First of all, the episode of Buffy that we referenced was Season 4, Episode 16 “Who Are You?”

Second of all, we made a Buffy reference, so… You know… Take a shot.

Then we talked about Myka’s reaction to Pete referencing a rabbit’s foot as a lucky charm.

That was both a great reference to the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland…

…and a great reference to keychains from the 1990s and early 2000s. For those who don’t understand that reference, I was gonna link to some funny pictures from that era, but googling “rabbit’s foot” actually led me to down a sad path, so… like.. Not gonna share that.

Then we talked about how Pete saying “Kirk out

…was an improvised line that referenced Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek: The Original Series and the communicators they used as well as to the flip phones from the era just before warehouse 13 premiered.

Then, both Ben Raab and Eddie McClintock explained that the reaction on set to Eddie saying “Kirk out!” looked something like this…

…until the network gave them the all-clear.

Winding things down for this episode, Miranda and I figured out what a Roulette table looked like:

…and appreciated Claudia’s knowledge of CIA laser mics. Turns out, laser microphones are really a thing!

Finally, for this week’s

~HEAVY THEMES~

…we talked about how off-putting Miranda and I found it when Alice (as Myka) drank both on the job and in front of Pete.

Not all people in recovery are triggered when people drink around them, but some are.

Here is an article from American Addiction Centers on how best to support an alcoholic and support their recovery.

If anyone has resources that they find helpful, we’re always happy to add them to these show notes or create a page devoted to resources for things discussed in our Heavy Themes sections. 

And, with that, we are done with Part 1!

 See you next time, Agents.

[moodforanime]

The Possesions of the Wild series Volume 1: The nomad

Chapter 5: The fight for approval

Word count: 4,462 words

tags: @insanity-is-always-fun

(previous) (index) (next)

__________________________________________________________

Guy's eyes opened wide as they filled with shock and disbelief.

'No...' he whispered.

'Oh, you can believe it!' Temon's eyes filled with pleasure from the gained reactions. 'Please don't be so shocked.'

'But- But it can't be!' Tenten said. 'The first Hokage had only one child; an daughter!'

'Oh, mind leaving my most annoying uncle aside?' Temon puffed disgusted. 'I am no child of his and I'm tired of being associated with his being.'

'But then...' Neji murmured, as he connected the dots in his head.

'You don't have to mind Temon, my dear.' Kana told Kaiya. 'I am your opponent, not him. I'm sure your friends can do just fine with him.'

Kana grabbed her sword and prepared to attack. Instinctively, Kaiya put her hand in the small purse in which she always carried a few kunai. She searched through her purse and realised that she only had one Kunai left. Shit! She started regretting that she left her Tachi home. Even if it did hold a little weight, she decided that she should carry her sword in every mission.

'Last time you had an dumb luck, but now, you will truly face my Dragon cry!' Kana proud fully tugged onto her sword and aimed at Kaiya who struggled to keep her balance, while Temon started shaking the ground again. Kaiya pulled out the kunai and looked at it in disappointment. It was an kunai she had used for years, and the results of her training and battles were visible through the chirps and scratch marks on it. She held her kunai with an grip and did the craziest, yet most rational thing she could do at the moment: she tried to dodge the giant sword with her kunai.

'Kaiya!' Neji yelled.

The brown haired girl couldn't handle all the force with which the Dragon Cry hit her, and was pushed into a tree, hitting a tree mercilessly, fact that was proven moments later as a little blood dripped from her forehead.

'Kaiya! I'll go check on her-' Tenten took a few steps back, willing to go to Kaiya's in, but was stopped. A huge wall of dirt rose around them.

'Ntz, ntz, ntz. ' Temon shook his head in disapproval. 'You see, young lady, when you start something, you must also end it. The same goes for this fight. We won't stop until one of us -you most, likely- loose. Kana will take care of your little wild friend.'

'Wild friend? Excuse me, Kaiya is a human being.' Tenten protested, feeling offended by the blue-haired man's words.'

Temon sighed.

'That's why they shouldn't let women become ninja. They're always driven by their emotions. But Don't worry, young lady. The truth will eventually come out.'

'Truth?' Tenten repeated. 'What truth?'

'Don't worry about that, Tenten. We need to focus on how to get finish things quickly.' Guy said.

If he said that he wasn't curious about what truth Temon spoke about, he'd be a huge liar. He would've loved to find out more, but he couldn't let anything happen to his students. Whatever he meant when he talked about Kaiya didn't matter. Not for now, anyway. The four set themselves in an ready-to-attack position, looking at the man who just so relaxingly waited for their first move.

'We need to help Kaiya. She can't handle that woman all on her own!' Tenten whispered.

'If we want to help Kaiya, we need to beat this guy first.' Neji answered.

'Which... may take awhile.' Lee completed.

'If we want to help her, we need to hurry.' Guy said. 'Now, remember our training. Lee, remember what I told you about that technique.'

'I mustn't use it for anything but for protecting my loved ones.'

'Indeed. Now, if something happens and the fight takes an unexpected turn and i won't be able to protect you, I allow you to use it. Am I clear?'

'Yes, sensei.' Lee answered, feeling uneasy by the slight tremble in his sensei's voice.

'Prepare for the attack... Now!'

Kaiya slowly opened her eyes. For a second, she thought that her consciousness was still missing, but she soon realised that it wasn't so. She really did move. Weirdly enough, she didnt feel the ground under her legs. She slightly tilted her head around, and felt how her head appeared to be ten times heavier, along with an awful internal headache.

She unwillingly moaned, something that caused her to stop moving. She was pulled down by gravity and, as she hit the ground, more pain was send through her veins. She looked up with half open eyes the figure of the spiky-haired woman looking disgusted upon her.

Kaiya got herself up so she could be sitting in an cross-legged pose, and twitched as an pain shook through her spine. She searched her purse for her kunai, but it was gone.

'Oh, you must be looking for this.' Kana said indifferent, as she threw two pieces of metal towards Kaiya.

Kaiya catched the two pieces of metal and looked at them. If she was to connect the two, she would see her old kunai, now with an more obvious cut at its half.

'You're lucky that you had that kunai. If you would've not used it to protect yourself, be sure that by now, you would have been cut in two.' Kana informed in an now matter-of-fact voice.

Kaiya, who was still sitting on the ground, looked at her kunai.

'By the way, you're not good at hiding stuff. I found my backpack in no time at all.'

An shine could be seen in in Kaiya's eyes.

'I never meant to hide your stupid bag.' Kaiya said, raising to her feet.

Kaiya looked around and could see that huge earth wall somewhere not that far away appeared. She listened closely and could swear she was hearing screams coming from behind the earth wall. That must be where they are, Kaiya thought.

'Hey! Where are you going? Nobody turns their back on me!' Kana yelled, as Kaiya jumped on the tree branches nearby, closing the distance between her and where the Earth wall was.

'Don't be a coward. Come here and face me!' yelled as she arrived to her destination, sounding braver than she actually felt.

Kana appeared in front of Kaiya within seconds. As she looked down at the girl, one of her mouth's corners twitched.

'You don't really know what you're getting yourself into, do ya?' Kana murmured.

If Kaiya would've not learned to control her body so well, she would've been trembling under her opponent's gaze. If only her plan would work...

'What was that?' Lee asked, while panting down.

The fight didn't take place for more than two minutes, but it appeared that those 120 seconds were just enough for the man to bring out his strongest moves. Around them, the ground was all filled with cracks and gaps, due to his attempts in blocking them and the three man group and their sensei were already full of scratches and bruises. For a second, Lee thought he heard Kaiya yelling something about a cow and a face.

'What?' Tenten responded, without getting her eyes off the opponent.

'N-Nevermind.' Lee closed the subject, as he examined Temon.

Lee made another attempt at attacking Temon and tried to put him to the ground, but karma returned to him faster than he expected. Lee flew back and hit the Earth wall that was conjuring them.

'What. An. Idiot.' Neji mumbled to himself as he prepared himself for the next attack. 'Byakugan!'

Neji's eyes widened as the veins around pumped up to a thousand times their normal size as he activated his Kekkei Genkai. Due to the training he got when he was younger with his father, and later with his uncle and cousins, he got to almost perfect his Byakugan. He looked around him, checking on his teammates, then the opponent. At first, he thought he had something in his eye, and rubbed his eyes in attempt to clean his vision.

'What do you see, Neji?' Guy asked.

Kaiya was standing still while keeping her head down. Something stopped her from responding to Kana's insistent gaze that now rested on the back of her head.

'Be careful, child.' Kana warned. 'Playing cool will bring you nothing but eternal pain and an sure shameful death. If you act like this, you'll bring nothing but misery to your clan's name. Do you really want that?'

Kaiya's eyes widened in shock. She gritted her teeth and looked but.

'Who are you to lecture me?' Kaiya asked, her voice now holding an similarity with an roar. 'You, who knows nothing of me or my past. You, who has no pride and accepted to be send to intervene in others' business just for an pat on the back and a sack of money. Would you deny any of it?'

'Why would you so freely assume I was send by someone?' Kana narrowed her eyebrows. 'If you really want to know, I can assure you-'

'People like you, or anyone, to be fair, need someone to lead them through life. It came to me that people are dependent things that require constant attention and control. Even leaders need leaders. Thus, gods were created. They thought that the idea of an divine being with the supreme power among us would shut the defections out.'

'Defections?'

'The very few people who can take and control the harnesses of their own life and aren't afraid to fight for their freedom. The government is afraid of them.'

'Enough.' Kana spat out in annoyance.

Kana took the Dragon Cry in her hand and aimed it at Kaiya. Kaiya, noticing Kana's action, jumped a few meters into the air, landing on the nearest tree branch. In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Cry changed direction, following Kaiya. The sword missed her by just a few centimeters, planting itself deep into the tree.

'You-' Kana yelled annoyed as, with an powerful pull, she took the sword back, shaking the tree Kaiya was in.

Kana put her sword into the ground and, relying on it, she pushed herself up. She jumped just above the trees and attempted landing on Kaiya.

'You should've not done that. ' Kaiya murmured, as she jumped off the branch.

Kana thought she saw Kaiya grabbing something as she jumped but brushed it off, something that she soon had to regret. Kana landed on the branch and saw Kaiya next to her sword, smiling.

'Don't you even think of-' Kana called out, as Kaiya reached her hand out for the sword.

Kaiya, defying Kana's yells, curled her fingers around the sword. She attempted picking it up, but due to it's unexpected weight, she had to let the sword down seconds after, something that make Kana burst out laughing.

'Aw, you poor thing.' Kana laughed. 'I might have overestimated you. In order to use a sword, you must, first of all, train to hold it!'

Kaiya closed her eyes and breathed in. The grip she had on the sword tightened as Kaiya slowly opened her eyes. With an great effort, she pulled the sword up and pushed it to the tree in which Kana sat. It didn't take more than one hit for the tree to become unable to stand. Kaiya let the sword drop to the ground and, as the tree fell, she clenched one of her fists and pulled.

Kana's eyes widened. Threads. Before she could even do something. Meters and meters of threads pulled her to the tree trunk, conjuring her body, making it impossible for her to move.

'God damn you, Kobayashi! You will pay, I swear!' Kana yelled in anger, before hitting the ground with an loud crash!.

Kaiya stood there, shook by the woman's words. Who was she? How did she know? Kaiya advanced hesitantly to the fallen tree and saw how Kana's neck and legs were positioned in very uncomfortable positions. As she looked at the blonde woman, Kaiya felt a shiver running through her entire body. If she would've not heard an scream coming from behind the earth wall, Kaiya would have remained still for the rest of the day, sinking like a boat in her own ocean of thoughts.

Kaiya turned to the earth wall and looked at it. She wanted to put her hand on the wall, but her hand went through it, along with her entire body.

'Shit!' Kaiya cussed, as her body kissed the ground.

'Kaiya! Are you alright?' Tenten asked shocked and worried at the same time as she ran to her side.

'I guess you could say I've been better, but I'll do.' Kaiya answered quite truthfully, as she got to her feet.

She looked at the blue-haired man, who stared at Neji with pure interest and an controlled amount of shock I his eyes.

'An Byakugan? You must be a Hyuuga, am I right? I heard of you. You must be the only real treath there must be here. None of the others, including that wild beast you have there, should be an trearh Temon made a sign with his head towards Kaiya, who picked up his gaze with suspicion overflowing on her face.

'I'm fine.' Kaiya insisted, as she noticed Neji's eyes. 'What's that Byakugan of yours doing?'

'The Byakugan is an Kekkei Genkai from Neji's clan that-' Tenten started explaining.

'Get to the point.' Kaiya hurried her.

'His eyes allow him to see the chakra flow in someone's body. If I am right, there's an technique on this matter that allows Byakugan users to stop the chakra working in an body.'

'The eight trigrams, sixty-four palms.' Neji completed. 'Even though I only started recently on learning that technique, I could try give it a shot, but that would only be suicidal. Sensei, can you please try to attack him?

'Why?' Lee asked, as he rejoined his team.

'Don't worry, Lee.' Guy said. 'I'm sure Neji has an plan.'

'Neji this, Neji that, I swear to god-' Lee mumbled.

'Lee.'

'Yes, sensei.'

Guy did as Neji asked and attempted kicking Temon, only for him to be pushed away by an ball of light. The three students watched as their sensei hit the wall and didn't have a single reaction after that.

'I think he passed out.' Kaiya suggested.

'Sensei!' Lee wanted to go to Guy in the hope of waking him up, but was stopped by Tenten.

'No, Lee. I'm sure Guy-sensei will resist until later.' Tenten said. 'Did you find anything, Neji?'

'I... didn't see any chakra in his body, until he used that ninjutsu against Guy-sensei.' Neji said. 'I don't understand.'

'Maybe he's something like me.' Lee suggested.

'You do have chakra in you, idiot. It's simply on a lower level than most people's. This guy... this guy looks like he throws all of his chakra away from his body and then summons it all at once when performing a ninjutsu.'

'But... that's physically impossible!' Tenten argued.

'Never say never. Who knows what kind of overpowered lunatics there are out there?' Kaiya said, quieting Tenten.

Temon let out an deep laugh.

'You know, you should listen to your wild friend more. She might be more than you think.' Temon smirked. 'Don't you agree, Kaiya?'

'How do you know my name?' Kaiya asked, not even trying to hide her suspicious assumptions.

'How could I not, having Kana as my partner? Speaking of Kana... It's not usual for her to let her prey escape.'

'She didn't do such thing. She lost.' Kaiya said, with an now calmer voice, ignoring her teammates' shocked reactions.

'There's no way an kid would-'

'You can go check it for yourself, if you want to.'

In an moment of anger, Temon made a some fast hand signs. As he finished, the ground started shaking as threads of wood raised from the ground, getting a tight grip on the four genin's legs and then bodies. While Neji, Lee and Tenten were moving agitated in attempt to escape, Kaiya just stared shocked at the wood that grew on her body.

'There's no need for you to move. The wood only responds to my commands.'

Kaiya raised her somber gaze in order to see Temon, now fully aware of her opponents. She looked at Temon, who appeared to be drained from most of his energy after his last move.

'You.' Kaiya murmured.

'Finally realised, eh? I wonder why we always meet in such situations.'

'How could you do that, you filthy animal?' Kaiya asked angered as she tried to escape the wooden prison. 'Where's your soul?'

Neji, Tenten and Lee stopped forgot about their attempt of escaping and watched how Kaiya looked at Temon with an Wild gaze of anger.

'I would look in a mirror, before talking.' Temon responded, unbothered by Kaiya's verbal attacks.

'Disgrâce! Dishonneur!' Kaiya yelled, blinded by the fury boiling harder and harder inside her.

'What's happening with her?' Tenten asked her teammates, startled by Kaiya's reaction.

'Hmpf. Let's just say that... she had a little... inconvenience in which I was involved.' Temon explained. 'Am I right?'

'Je te chie dans le cou!' Kaiya answered, as she attempted to spit him.

'Now, now. Please don't act like this. You don't want to prove my word and get your friends an opinion on what you really are, now do you?' Temon tilted his head to the left, as he gave Kaiya an questioning look.

Kaiya grunted as she stopped trying to escape, lowerig her head.

'Kaiya...' Neji began.

'Never mind.' Kaiya responded, without giving Neji an look.

'Now, if we all calmed down, I think that we could finish our business smoothly.' Temon said, as he walked to an passed out Guy who still held the luggage close by in one of his hands.

'No!' Tenten yelled.

'Don't you dare touch Guy-sensei!' Lee exclaimed, now fighting and biting the wood that held him from protecting his sensei.

'Please don't misunderstand.' Temon said. 'I have nothing against your sensei; I respect him for taking care of such annoying brats. The thing is, i need that luggage and as less proof as possible. The last thing I need is another report over me going through the Five Nations.'

'Another report...?' Neji wondered.

Temon stretched his arms in order to get the luggage, but the only thing he got was a strong foot in his face.

'What the f-' Temon stopped himself as he took a few steps back, rubbing his now bleeding nose.

'You shouldn't talk so almighty, Temon. You've always been weak on that one, don't you think?' Guy asked as he got up, with an smirk on his face. 'I thought you learned your lesson back then and now know not to underestimate the eternal youth!'

Temon's face was flooded with utter shock, something that allowed Guy to give him multiple hits.

'You rock, Guy-sensei!' Lee cheered, pleased with his sensei's move.

Guy smirked as he looked into the blue-haired man's eyes.

'I don't know what happened to you, I don't know what your goal is, but I can tell you this: whatever you do, don't underestimate Konoha's shinobi.'

Guy attempted to give Temon another hit, but his attack was block as Temon grabbed one of his legs and pushed him up against the wall.

'Listen up, old man. I'll admit I didn't see through your little trick, but I never underestimate my opponent. Maybe you should do the same.'

Wood threads started to circle up around Guy, creating an small cage.

Crack!

'Hm?' Temon turned his head around.

Crack! Crack!

Temon raised his eyebrows. While three of the students were frozen in shock, one of them was shaking, her head down. Kaiya's hands formed tight fists and her muscles tensed. With each movement, the restraining wood around her showed apparitions of cracks, one by one, each deeper than the one before, damaging the wood slowly but safely.

'I've seen you before. I've seen your moves, your tactics... You can't get away now.' Kaiya said as, with an final move, the wood around her fell to the ground, divided in an thousand pieces.

Kaiya looked at Temon, whose smile began to tremble. A few deep growls could be heard coming from the girl's direction. What her teammates didn't see was that her eyes changed to an golden-ish colour.

'No.' Temon murmured, acknowledging what would happen when he saw someone's eyes turning golden. 'Please.'

It was too late. Kaiya's back arched as she ran to him, making almost inhumane sounds. Even though he tried, Temon couldn't fully protect himself from Kaiya's hit and was pushed to the ground. Kaiya crouched over him as she prepared to give him the final attack through an hit that would decapitate Temon.

'Please! This is exactly what happened to Jun. Do you really want it to repeat to someone else?' Temon asked in horror, as he closed his eyes and crouched in defends.

Kaiya's hand stopped just as it was about to hit Temon's head. She stared at Temon a few moments, before getting up and taking a few steps back.

'Don't try to attack us again, or I'll have no hesitation. Am I clear?' Kaiya growled.

The cage that held Guy captive, as well as the wood around Neji, Tenten and Lee crumbled, leaving them all to fall to the ground. Lee sighed in relief, although he was as tense as before.

'We should thank god.' Tenten said. 'Don't you think, Neji?'

'Actually, I think we should thank Kaiya.' Neji said, as he got on his feet. 'In the end, it was her who defeated this guy and freed us.'

Tenten watched how Kaiya walked away from Temon and checked on Guy's pulse. The ,she walked to somewhere next to him and grabbed the luggage, as the wall slowly crumbled to the ground.

'Hey, can one of you get him? My hands are already full.' Kaiya asked, as she pointed to Guy.

'Uh, don't worry, I'll get it, Kaiya-san.' Lee said, as he hurried to get his sensei.

'Did he just...' Tenten looked at Neji.

'Yep. He's just shocked and, knowing him, embarrassed. Can't say I'm not.' Neji answered, looking how Lee took Guy and offered to carry the luggage as well, something that was refused.

Minutes later, the earth wall was fully crumbled, allowing the wounded group to advance.

'What's with that tree?' Tenten pointed at an the fallen tree nearby, where the buzz of flies could be heard.

'Oh. I wouldn't go there if I were you.' Kaiya mumbled.

'Why?'

'The sun will set soon. I think that we should stop soon for the night.' Kaiya changed the subject, as she looked away.

'I don't see why we should do that. We're still in a good shape and we would only waste some useful hours of advancing, don't you think?' Neji protested.

'First of all,' Kaiya looked into Neji's eyes in a deadly manner. 'our sensei fainted. Carrying him only slows us down. Second of all, just because you want to act tough, it doesn't mean that the others do, too. Third and last of all, I'm tired. If we weren't to stop, would you be able to carry me, as well?'

Neji didn't bring aything in his defense, but prefered to mumble something under his breath

'Anyway, can we go a little further? I'm uncomfortable knowing that that weird dude isn't that far away from us.' Tenten suggested.

'Whatever.' Kaiya shrugged.

'Hey, can I ask you something?' Tenten asked Kaiya.

'I guess you can.' Kaiya answered in a tired manner.

'Speaking of that man, he mentioned something about an... incident?'

'Maybe.' Kaiya growled, looking away.

'He also mentioned about someone named... Jun and you seemed to know somebody with that name.'

'I do.' Kaiya now answered at such ease, that it surprised Tenten. She expected Kaiya to brush it off.

'May I ask, who is he?'

'Some weakling, for su-' Neji began, but couldn't proceed any further.

Neji didn't get to finish his sentence, as an punch was planted in his face. He lost balance and fell to the ground, bringing his sensei and teammate  down as well. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground with a bloody nose.

'Don't.' Kaiya growled warningly, before walking away.

'What? Where? Where is he?' Guy began to mumble.

'Guy-sensei!' Lee exclaimed as he forgot for a second about what just happened, turning his attention on his sensei.

'What happened?' Guy asked as he massaged his forehead. 'The last thing I remember was that I tried to-'

'You lost consciousness due to the power with which you hit the wall.' Tenten informed. 'You were out the rest of the fight.'

'Oh? Then you guys fought that man on your own?' Guy asked, amazed.

'About that...' Tente began.

'Of course we did, sensei!' Lee said has he began to gesture energicaly, something that obviously confused the poor man's mind.

'Lee!' Tenten scoffed. 'I'm sorry about that, sensei. We did our best, but the man seemed to be able to control wood, and he blocked us from moving through moulding some wood around us. Kaiya was able, somehow, to destroy that thing and eventually beat him.'

'Did you... kill him?' Guy narrowed his eyebrows.

'No.' Kaiya answered. 'But are we going to leave soon? The sun is already setting and we still haven't found an place where we can camp overnight.'

'O-Of course.' Guy answered while jumping to his feet, as he realised that he was still on the ground. 'Let's go!'

A/N

Wooo! Here we are, with chapter five from 'The Possesions of the Wild'. You might have noticed that I changed the cover of the book. What do you think? Should I keep the new one, or change it to the old one? Any of you new here, here's the old cover:



Moving on, yep, this chapter IS, in fact, longer, the chapter itself having aprox. 4200 words, thus with about 1,000 word longer. Yay!

What do you guys think of this chapter? Should've Kaiya killed Temon? Who do you think that Jun is? What do you think of Kaiya's eyes that changed?

Oh, yeah! You noticed that part when Kaiya spoke in another language? It was French. At first, she just said 'disgrace! Dishonour!', but after that she insulted him, telling him that she'll pee down his neck. Fabulous, don't you think(irony stinks here worse than a skunk)? Anyone wondering, no I'm not French, nor do I speak the language fluently. I looked up some insults in French and chose the best one from the list. 😂

Well, that was it for now, see you in the next chapter!

- Avery <3

[gasters-story]

Chapter 29

Word count: 2,192

It almost felt like Sans never could sleep enough now, even when its been awhile since he woke up from that event. It troubled him too much apparently. He was constantly yawning and rubbing his face as he tried to understand what happened or may have not at all. Gaster wouldn't just kill a kid like that, right? It still didn't make sense why he would even if its been hours.

He's always looked up to Gaster and studied under him since he was a little babybones who wanted to learn science, so he wanted to make sense of that. Hell, since Gaster is the only doctor and the Royal one he's got to deal with a lot with the well beings of kids. Why was this one different? Was it too much of a human to know what to do? Yet he knows a lot about humans too.

Sans would've just brushed it off as another crazy nightmare but Gaster was acting more agitated and busy. He normally isn't so worked up about his research like this.

“G?” Sans says it like a question, mostly out of concern. Gaster looks over then back at his papers.

“Good to see you're awake. If you can go to the location specifically described on the paper and explore it'll be a big help.” He says, gesturing to the paper taped up on the wall. This happened last time but Gaster never seemed so bothered. Sans just listened and took the paper even if he knew where. “Tell me about it when you come back.”

Sans instantly went to the spot the kid fell to wait. He could have swore he waited hours, but the kid never came. Maybe it was just some dream messing with them. Maybe he hoped that at least.

Sadly, it didn't seem he'd get what he hoped for today.

That kid was in the lab again but this time not because Sans had carried them in order to save them. Instead they must've snuck in since Gaster looked very annoyed to see them. Sans put his “nightmare” to the back of his mind to listen in on the two before letting his presence be known.

“What are you doing?” Gaster spoke sharply to the human.

“Just got some curious questions for you, since you are the Royal Scientist and all, so you must know quite a bit.” The kid met the other's tone with the same annoyance but anger as well.

“Like what happens if your soul were to shatter right here and now?” After that, Sans had heard enough and stepped into the room.

“G?” He acted like he wasn't just there in the hall to listen in. He caught both of their attentions, both gazes on him.

“Ah, Sans. Can you deal with them so I can get back to my work?” Gaster gestures to the kid, first to respond since he was use to seeing Sans just appear after waking up from his naps.

“Uh, sure doc.” The assistant looked at the kid, who glared at him, before ushering them out by pulling their arm. The kid complied, probably only because they knew they could just sneak back in.

“You listen to that guy?” They hissed out at Sans. He looks over, his face just showing confusion.

“He's my boss.” Was all he said against their comment. “What's your name kid?” They glared at Sans like they heard themselves be called that recently, very recently.

“Cut the kid part and call me Chara.” To say the least, Chara seems to be having a very terrible day. Before Sans could say anything else, the other pursued the previous topic. “Doesn't Gaster seem off to you? Especially since he's being a jerk?”

“Well, you did break into a lab, even if I've never seen him really that annoyed.” Sans responds, trying to seem not so bothered.

“He just seems to know more than he lets on!” Chara crosses their arms, then they pause to think. “Have you been getting a strong sense of deja vu lately? Like things repeated?” Sans thought for a moment. It wasn't like they were wrong, he just didn't know if he should say.

“Well… kinda, yea?” Sans hoped they weren't trying to prod at what he keeps hoping is just some nightmare. “Hours worth of it really.”

“Yeah, but to me it feels more like a second chance than deja vu entirely.” Chara starts. “I dreamed, or something, that I fell down in this place and already knew this all would happen. Yet these both feel just as real.”

Sans stopped and sighed once they got to the exit. “Yeah… sounds rough.” He didn't know what else to say without showing he's uncomfortable to the other.

“And that's why I came here. I wanted to talk to Gaster since in that dream or whatever had him killing me!” Chara didn't seem to plan to leave after all, as much as their conversation was fun to Sans. He hated how anxious it made him feel. “He clearly knows something about it as well so we sh-”

“Not gone yet? And I thought you were a quiet kid.” Gaster says with a groan. Chara just glares at him without a word. “I was just fixing your mistake and now you're complaining about it?”

“Was that real then? You killing me?” Chara honestly seemed ready to beat Gaster up with how hard they were clenching up their fists.

“Yes, but I only did it because I knew you would come back. You didn't probably if you've never had it done before, which can be explained by your words.” Chara scoffs at him as he speaks.

“Why didn't you just tell me then? Wouldn't that be a nicer result?” Gaster rolled his eyes at their words.

“I didn't want anyone to use it for personal gain when it could just be forgotten instead.” He speaks harshly, making Sans interject awkwardly.

“Is that why I don't know much about whatever is happening?” He asks, giving Gaster a slightly confused look. The scientist has taught him a lot even on sound in general, but such a thing slipped away from his teachings.

“It didn't really happen often or meaningful enough anymore for me to care to mention.” Gaster turns to head back into the main part of the lab. “Consider yourself luck being the most determined brat at the moment. Don't be stupid with it.” And he was gone.

Sans awkwardly looked at Chara who was fuming still, yet seemed to calm a tad with one thing answered. “If you ever want to visit, just knock next time kid.” He rests a hand on their head, making them look over. “I'll let you in if I'm the one to notice.”

Chara broke away from Sans and crossed their arms before walking away. “Guess I'll think about it.”

Sans watched them head out of the lab and out of sight. He let out a sigh before moving back to work and just decided to nap until he's needed.

With a flop onto his still yet to be made bed, Sans connecting the dots. Gaster was the type to be cryptic but if whatever happened before was real, then why did Gaster seem so upset even after? Why does Gaster have to be cryptic at with really anything?

By the next ‘morning’, Sans was a bit skeptic that he couldn't find Gaster. He even checked the old scientist's room and found nothing. As he remembered the time before his last nap, he decided go check some documents before he continues his search.

There had go be something on red souls specifically that Gaster may know. Something about the most determined and all this going back deja vu stuff. He found a little, but it didn't do much to have him know more than he could just figure out on his own.

He looked at Gaster's desk and noticed the journal lying open on it. He fanned through the pages in search, going back dates to when they were able to be tracked easier. He had to remember wingdings as he read through, slipping out a cheat sheet once he's forgotten a letter.

He was surprised by one entry about two kids being murdered… then something clicked. He fanned to more recent entries, when dates started vanishing, then put it on the last one. ae started to search the room and found a hidden button built into the wall, to look like a part of one. It took a moment, but the wall opened up to reveal a tucked away soul in a jar.

Sans pulled it out to look it over, scanning it's beat and orange glow closely. It wouldn't be long before he was lifting the container to head out of the room. He followed a path he had read in the journal.

The machinery he stopped in front of brought back a lot of early memories, like when he first saw Gaster. He somewhat knew how to get it working, the rest being guess work. Admittedly, he was shaking during the entire process. Frustrated and scared with this all. Gaster clearly didn't say everything, but he didn't think about him hiding this.

“You'll need a body too, if you really want to complete it.” When he heard Gaster's voice, Sans had to take a deep breath. What he had read had angered him with all the scientist had hidden since he was a babybones, but he wanted to not let that control him. That's how he was raised after all, even if by someone who always let the important part of things go missing. Anger doesn't solve anything if there's no solution to the problem. Even if the solution doesn't exactly work fully it needs to be something to allow anger in any form.

“Yeah, kinda figured that. Planned to get this ol’ machine working first.” Sans gestured to it while he made some adjustments and got the soul in place.

With a sigh, Gaster set down a coffee mug on a nearby desk and walked off. Sans enjoyed the peace while it lasted, but Gaster was back pretty fast. He had young skeleton in his arms and a clean one at that. Dead as ever but looked like he's been ready to be revived for years, especially if it's soul was hidden in Gaster's room and the body near the machine. If not, it would be placed to be ready to use incase they decided to try and shatter the barrier. Even Gaster could hide the soul next to the other exit no one knew of, so only him and Sans could get to it.

Which made the assistant wonder why he's alive now if he could have been used for something else previously. Now his soul was weaker. They already knew the power needed to rivals the barrier after all, so they could use all they can but Gaster didn't seem to see it that way. He already had the machine essentially ready to start when Sans gave up on trying to figure out Gaster's cryptic motives.

“Why are you doing this after being caught red handed by someone who may look down on you now?” Sans asks as he watches Gaster fill up the machine and activate it.

The scientist sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I just have to own up to mistakes is all.” He went to his desk where the coffee was to sit there. “The main reason I waited on doing this was because I know I wouldn't last with two kids at once. I know my limits.”

Sans pauses before moving to sit on the desk. “I guess your one kid limit also depends on their attitude, huh?” Gaster hides his ghost of a smile with a sip of his drink.

“Mhm, but we weren't meant to get along anyways.” He mutters. Sans gives him a concerned look and adjusts how he's sitting.

“Why do you say that G?”

Gaster took a moment to answer. “War and the last human I encountered with the same problem and soul type.” With his quick silence, Sans guessed he didn't want to talk about it anymore than that. Sans just changed the subject once he understood what the other meant exactly.

“So how long does this process take exactly?” Sans gestures to the big machine at work. Gaster looked up at it, unconsciously rubbing at the holes in his hands.

“Normally a year for the magic to take effect like it should, but I added something that should make it just a few months now.” He answers before getting up and pushing his chair in to leave.

Sans stayed where he was and watched the machine work. Maybe he could say something to that kid later, even if it didn't really have a chance of meaning anything. He just thought he'd say something that might help them cool off about all this, for the purpose of less problems in the future, even when he still felt his uncomfortable mood lingering in his bones.

First | Previous | Next

[Index]

[distinctivelibrarians]

Just Us and the Stars Above

(read on ao3)

This was for @greetings-and-defiance​ but since it got written at stupid-late last night, waited until now to post it here!

A date. Enough to make Cassandra giddy anyway. But Estrella won't tell her where they're going until the day of.

(It's worth the wait.)

There was no sneaking in the Annex.

They’d all tried of course. As of now, the only two that had managed—consistently anyway—were Ezekiel and Flynn. The former because claims to being the world’s best thief and being unable to sneak through a cluttered room were mutually exclusive, and the latter because...well, actually no one had figured that out yet.

The point was, Cassandra knew better than to try to sneak through the Annex to the Back Door. But, fortune favors the brave and all that—she still tried.

Eve clearing her throat from her desk nearly sent Cassandra to the floor—Jacob’s latest stack of books in just the right spot to trip over.

Cassandra couldn’t even really be mad about being caught out—Eve hadn’t actually be hiding, after all. Cassandra had just been too focused on the door to actually. Look around. And, of all the people to catch her, she’d take Eve over any of the others. Except maybe Jenkins. Maybe.

“Going to need a lift back?” Eve asked, fond smile in place as she moved around to the front of her desk, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest. And that’s why Cassandra preferred Eve. No poking and prodding and nosing around. Not right now anyway—she knew, later, Eve would sneak in questions under the guise of just catching up, but, to be fair, Cassandra did the same whenever Eve and Flynn disappeared for awhile. Only fair, then.

Still, she could feel her cheeks heat up a bit as she ducked her head, unable to hide the delighted smile on her face. “We were planning on being out pretty late...Jenkins said I could call him later for the Door.”

Eve hummed, “I’ll be around. Flynn’s coming back in the morning, figured I’d stick around, see if I could catch him before he crashed. Give me a call, yeah?”

Cassandra beamed at her, hopping over to wrap her in a quick hug, only to be gently pushed away with a laugh, “Go on, you’re going to be late!”

Cassandra squeaked slightly, scrabbling for her phone to double-check the time—she hadn’t thought she’d taken too long getting ready, but she’d been distracted and she hadn’t been paying as close attention to the time as she probably should have and—only for Eve to snort and gently, but firmly, grab her arms to steer her to the Back Door. “You’re fine. Go!” A quick look showed that the Back Door was apparently already calibrated, which gave Cassandra just enough time to round on Eve, an accusation of teaming up on her lips, only to see Eve grin as she gave her a gentle push through the door.

Falling through the Back Door was always disorienting, even when facing the right way and braced for it. Falling backwards through it onto unfamiliar—and apparently, uneven—ground? Yeah, Cassandra was going down.

If it wasn’t for the arms suddenly wrapped around her, her back meeting someone’s chest as she flailed slightly—off-balance and definitely only precariously on two feet, but still, upright.

The warm, honey-rich laugh in her ear sent delighted shivers through her as she relaxed back into the hold. “When I asked Eve to get you here quick, I didn’t think she’d be so direct.” A kiss was pressed to her cheek before she was being spun around.

Balance wasn’t really needed to throw her arms around a still chuckling Estrella—just enough to make sure elbows weren’t being flung really. Estrella’s arms wrapped back around her immediately as Cassandra pressed her face into the crook of her neck, just pulling her close and breathing deeply. Estrella’s laughter died down—slowly, naturally, and so, so sweet—as she tightened her grip around Cassandra.

“I missed you,” Cassandra breathed into her skin, low and soft, more felt than heard. Estrella sighed softly—relief, the start of an easier breath—before pulling back just enough to cup Cassandra’s face in her hands.

“I missed you too,” a soft kiss and they could both breathe easier, hold each other a little less tight.

Given the chance to recenter herself—pull herself back into the moment—Cassandra reached up to catch one of Estrella’s hands as they dropped from her face, glancing around curiously.

Estrella had asked if a surprise would be okay for their next date (of course it would be), and then had proven just how serious she’d been about the ‘surprise’ part. Despite her best efforts, Cassandra hadn’t been able to get a hint about Estrella’s plans. She hadn’t even gotten the coordinates for the Back Door until thirty minutes ago. And while she could have figured out where they were...the giddiness and delight over the whole affair had swept her up by then. She’d already waited a week—what was another half hour by that point?

They were currently on a deck—attached to a house, the door leading outside having been the Back Door’s entrance apparently. She couldn’t immediately place where the house was. All she could see around them was tall grass, occasionally dotted with rocky outcroppings and thin trees, the land gently sloping down into what she could only assume was the floor of a valley.

The night around them was already thick and dark, hanging heavy and close around them, but with just enough light to cast everything into sharp and unreal relief.

She frowned, glancing back at Estrella, who was just watching her, dark eyes glinting with amusement.

Estrella leaned in to ghost a sweet kiss over her lips before raising her free hand to Cassandra’s chin, gently tilting her head upwards.

Cassandra couldn’t be sure if Estrella was laughing again—all she heard was her own gasp.

Stars. Thousands of them. Bright and beautiful, so many lighting up the sky, hanging like diamonds in velvet around a moon that was little more than a sliver of silver. The valley they were in was ringed with foothills and burgeoning peaks tall enough to close off the sky around them—give them their very own scrying pool that glittered and twinkled in a way Cassandra had only ever seen in museums and labs.

She glanced back down, taking in Estrella watching her. Estrella, in a silver top that looked so, so soft, a turquoise band wrapped around her hair as silver glinted at her throat and ears. Estrella, with her dark eyes twinkling as bright as any of the stars up above. Estrella, who was smiling at her so, so sweetly, that Cassandra couldn’t help but kiss her again.

It took them a bit, but Estrella did finally manage to show her the actual plan for the night—a plush blanket and pillows, spread out on the deck, a basket of sweet finger foods nearby (Cassandra nearly cried at a bite of orange, sweet and bright and gently pulling at so many summer memories, swirling around her easily as she tried to explain to Estrella), and what looked like a guitar set off to the side.

When Estrella revealed that the guitar was hers and that, well, she’d like to play for Cassandra...perhaps Cassandra was a little too excited, but, well. Estrella had told her, a handful of times now, about her love of music, about the instruments her mother had encouraged her to learn growing up. How she’d never stuck with any to become spectacular, but that was alright, she liked picking up different ones at different times, and playing what she could. It was never about mastering.

For Estrella, music was another way to create—her fields and her work gave her plenty of opportunities to heal, to create, to enliven. Music was just another stretch of that for her, but different enough to also give her a break when needed.

It had also been a way to connect with her mother. A more traditional upbringing saw her mother learning, to perfection, a small handful of instruments. Estrella learning to play had given her mother a chance to reach out, try new ones just for fun, under the guise of helping her daughter practice. Not always for the better—apparently, no horns of any kind were allowed in the house after a particularly awful duet.

Estrella didn’t come out and say it, but Cassandra knew she hadn’t played since...well, since.

That Estrella would want to now, in this little hide-away, no one to hear but her and the stars...Well, the tears were to be expected, really.

But Estrella was nothing but smiles, telling Cassandra about how the old flamenco guitar she’d brought was actually the one she’d started learning on, all those years ago. How she’d never picked up the improvisation and rhythm necessary to actually play the guitar as required in flamenco. But how she still enjoyed playing around with what skill she did have. How she enjoyed the slower, more drawn out styles.

In turn, Cassandra told Estrella how her music looked against a backdrop of stars, notes and chords dancing in the velvet space between sparkling diamonds, dancing from star to star and creating their own ballet in the night.

Morning saw Cassandra and Estrella curled up on the blanket, Cassandra’s temple resting on Estrella’s shoulder. They’d talked into the wee hours of the morning before slowly going quiet—just enjoying sharing the same space, watching the sky fade from black to silver-lined purple.

They waited until the last moment before they headed inside. Estrella was safe, of course, the weak grey light of the morning sun peaking over the mountains nothing compared to the meteorite’s properties, not so soon after leaving the resort. But, Estrella was needed back at the retreat, and Cassandra had no doubt the Library would need the team very soon. Her luck, probably as soon as she walked in the door.

Still, another hour enjoying a quickly whipped together breakfast wouldn’t hurt anything.

Breakfast ended up being blueberry pancakes. Half the batter ended up on the floor after a kiss-related incident neither of them wanted to take the blame for, but couldn’t stop giggling about for the rest of the day, even as they went about their responsibilities.

(Already thinking about the next time they could slip away, just them and the night sky.)

[rwbydrivels-blog]

Could you do blake, yang and velvet's reaction to their s/o saying “maybe i dont feel like sharing you right now”

this was actually supposed to be a bit longer, but as i was writing, i didn’t save the originally file correctly, so had to go based on memory what i had originally wrote for each individual character! this would’ve been up earlier had i not been so careless, but i do hope you don’t mind the slight alteration to the prompt!

BLAKE BELLADONNA

Lying against the cool green of Remnant, you inhaled deeply through your nostrils and exhaled with a large grin. Your eyes closed, you absorbed the comfortable feel of the night air and listened to the quiet lulls of nature. Timid cricket chirps resonated through your ears as you slowly repositioned yourself to sit up. Your eyes slowly made their way to a seemingly occupied Faunus who had her attention focused on her novel.

“Do you always come out at night to read?” you asked, glancing up to the splattered dots of white in the sky above.

At first, the Faunus didn’t reply, only scan her golden irises across the pages while you smiled at her. After turning a separate page, she raised her head and turned to you. “It’s not necessarily the night, just areas that are quiet enough for me to process the content of my books.”

“Ah, I see.” You nodded, groaning as you stretched out your limbs. She lowered her book, setting it aside her as she watched you stand up. “Your still going to meet with Sun later? It’s already kinda late.”

She hesitated, looking to the nearby fireflies before answering. “We have to try as hard as we can in order to help the people of Menagerie. We can’t force them, but the more people we can talk to… The more people that are willing to listen, perhaps we can have them see that not all Humans agree with us being second-class citizens.”

You nodded, following the trail of the luminescent bugs before kneeling in front of her. “I understand. But don’t you think it’s OK to stay here just a bit longer, Blake?”

Her ears lowered for just a moment before she saw you hovering over her. “I’m not leaving right away, I promised you I’d share the time evenly between you and Sun.”

You narrowed your eyes before hovering over her with a playful smirk. You placed your hands on your hips as she wore a quizzical expression. “Well… Maybe I don’t feel like sharing you right now.”

“Come again?” She blinked, her ears standing upright before she found herself being hugged to the ground with a hearty laugh.

YANG XIAO LONG

A loud scream escaped you as you connected fists with the blonde, sending large amounts of gravel and earth into the air with every consecutive blow. Cracking her neck, your sparring partner dodged blasts you sent towards her, bright red energy beams escaping the palms of your hands as her crimson eyes examined your shots. Cautiously the fighter watched your movement, a soft chuckle coming from her as she held a solid stance.

“You have to try harder than that,” she commented, digging the heel of her boot into the ground as the both of you slowly circled one another on the makeshift battleground, “you’re not even landing direct shots.” “The same can be said for you, Yang,” you remarked, clenching your fists, “or are you afraid to hurt me?”

“Don’t give yourself too much credit,” she retorted, smirking as you dashed towards her. “I can whoop your butt in my sleep.”

The two of you made direct eye contact as you closed the distance towards her. The brawler pulled her arm back, ready to not only counter your charge but also double the power she’d receive, but paused as your figure vanished. Yang blinked as you seemed to disappear and reappear next to her at an odd angle. Swiftly she spun around, performing a roundhouse kick that would’ve connected had you not preemptively jumped and sent more energy blasts towards her.

Crossing her arms in an “x” formation, she blocked the beams you charged at her, and flipped backwards. Looking around the area for you, the Huntress grinned. Steam slowly came from the ends of her gauntlets as she remained alert. Momentarily you had escaped her sight, something she both enjoyed and disliked, but knew all too well.“This ol’ trick again? Please.”

Yang pounded her fists together, following quickly by punching the ground and erupting a slab of earth that hovered just before her. In a swift motion, she through the slab against a particular area of the field, making you appear, and forced to confront her. Once again you both were matching your kicks and punches, causing more damage to the area around the longer your sparring took place.

“This isn’t going to end any time soon, will it?” You questioned, huffing.

“Oh, it will, especially when you’re on the ground.” She pressed into you, making you temporarily lose your footing as you clashed with her once more. “Losing your breath already?”

“Huh. I sure hope you don’t have anything planned after this, ‘cause I don’t feel like sharing you right now. You’re too fun.” An excited you charged another energy shot, as Yang in turn prepared a blast from her gauntlet, aiming directly at you. You wouldn’t comment on it, but you watched as her cheeks became a shade of deep cerise.

VELVET SCARLATINA

Velvet’s disposition always captivated you; whether if it was in privacy, in public, or on the battlefield amongst your fellow Hunters, the Faunus carried herself in such a way that was admirable. Her dedication to her friends, how she concerned herself with others, but also stood up for herself when it came to; it was endearing. The way her lips curled upward as she smiled, her genuine laughs if there was a clever joke, and how rosy pink her cheeks became if she were flustered; Velvet had many traits you found not only adorable, but heartwarming.

“Have you seen my camera?” Her soft voice seemed to snap you out of your deep thought of your partner as she turned to you. “I was going to take a few photos of me and Yatsuhashi today before we start training.”

“Oh, I… I have it right here,” you raised your hand, waving her weapon slightly towards her, “I was just looking at it while you were getting ready to leave.”

The Rabbit nodded, adjusting her sleeves as she studied herself in the mirror. Her hair rested on her shoulders as she flexed her hand and moved her fingers a bit, “OK, good. I’ll be gone for a few hours, but I promise to call you once we’re finished.”

You pursed your lips while you steadied your grip on the camera. “Don’t think you train a bit too much? I mean, you and your team are exceptional fighters… Surely you deserve some time off. After all–”

The brunette walked over to you and held up her pointer finger, causing you to abandon your thought. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to train with Yatsu. Plus, there are certain techniques he can help me with that I keep falling short on.”

She smiled sweetly at you, making your cheeks warm up a bit. Clearing your throat, you quickly followed her statement, “Well, do you think he’d mind if I tagged along?”

Velvet sat down next to you, blinking before placing her hand on your leg. “Hm… I don’t think he’d mind, Yatsuhashi is a very nice person. Though, I’m not sure if Coco or Fox will pop up, they tend to do that at times. …But this is a first; what made you want to tag along? Normally you are with your team, not so much as minding when I–”

“Because maybe I don’t feel like sharing you right now.” You interrupted, staring deeply into her chocolate pools and causing an immediate flustered expression from her. Her cheeks were a deep scarlet, and she froze as you moved slightly closer to her. “I just… We haven’t seen one another in awhile and… I want to spend more time with you. Just you.”