#there’s just so much yelling and complaining and trying to just placate everyone
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icterid-rubus · 1 year ago
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Man, it’s almost a week late but I have finally gotten my period. It happened almost exactly after everyone else started cleaning up and I sured up plans to leave the is place. I think this has not been a relaxing vacation.
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mxtxfanatic · 7 months ago
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Hm, I know I said at least in my first reading of mdzs that I felt like Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were actually friends as kids, I would like to remind folks that the catastrophic breakdown of their friendship was not because of some misplaced care but because Jiang Cheng is a stagnant character whose whole role in the story is to be the one who never learns, changes, and grows past his insecurities and resentments. They were always going to fall out with each other, even if the Sunshot Campaign never happened, even if the Wen Clan didn’t exist as a subjugating force terrorizing the other clans, because no matter how much Jiang Cheng cares about anyone, he will always place his personal resentments first.
I’m so serious: reread the pre-fall of Lotus Pier parts of the novel (flashback extras included), and tell me how many times Jiang Cheng says something genuinely nice about or to the benefit of Wei Wuxian without prompting. Point to me places where Jiang Cheng puts himself on the line for Wei Wuxian that is not him distracting the Wen. Compare the number of unambiguously positive interactions they have to the number of interactions they have in total, and I bet you’ll see that the positives are laughingly scant. Most every interaction they have together, Jiang Cheng is being a negative nancy. He’s the type of friend who, if you said “Today is a good day!” would snidely respond back, “What’s so good about?” before loudly complaining about what a nuisance your happiness is. Jiang Cheng is the type of friend that tells you that everyone else hates you because you’re so annoying, and you need to do something about that because he also finds you annoying so you should be lucky he “puts up with” you. And all of this negativity can be directly traced back to the resentment Jiang Cheng feels caused by his own mother projecting her insecurities onto him. Jiang Cheng, who cannot grow, learn, or change, is unable to extract his own self from his mother’s insecurities, ending up inheriting them as his own, instead.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like teen!Jiang Cheng is some irredeemable monster (that is reserved for his adult self), but Wei Wuxian already shows signs of being tired of his attitude as kids. He snaps at Jiang Cheng rudeness in the lotus pod seeds extra. He constantly admonishes Jiang Cheng about his blatant disregard for the lives and safety of other people. Most of the time, Wei Wuxian won’t even engage in the petty little remarks that Jiang Cheng makes, just treating it like nobody had spoken at all. The only times Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian move as a unit is when they have a common enemy—like Jin Zixuan—but without that, they are only held together by the fact that…they’ve been friends for a long time.
And this kinda leads me back to the point about the yunmeng friendship not being able to withstand the test of time even without an outside conflict: I would place the point of no return for their relationship at Wei Wuxian killing the xuanwu of slaughter, not at the fall of Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian is one of two individuals that killed a mythological bloodthirsty creature responsible for hundreds of deaths, spent a week in a coma from his injuries and lack of immediate care, and what does he get for it? Jiang Cheng shows up with soup gifted to Wei Wuxian by Jiang Yanli, except he’s eaten all the meat out of it. Jiang Fengmian gives the most lukewarm praise to Wei Wuxian for his achievements—which Wei Wuxian neither complained about nor called him out for—because they were both trying to be mindful of Jing Cheng’s insecurities, and Jiang Cheng still made it about himself. When Madam Yu storms in to yell about how Wei Wuxian is a “bastard child” and he’s just trying to show off, Jiang Cheng consciously and unambiguously sides with his mother. Wei Wuxian had to drag his feverish body out of bed—after just awakening from a week-long coma—to placate pity-party Jiang Cheng, and the only thing that makes him feel better is not promises of continued friendship but of servitude. Even if at this point Wei Wuxian was still viewing Jiang Cheng as a—admittedly caustic—friend, Jiang Cheng’s view had fully transitioned from “annoying friend my mother hates” to “the servant I need to keep in line lest he overshadows me.” If anything, the fall of Lotus Pier, the debt placed on Wei Wuxian by the Jiang leaders, and the subsequent war probably allowed their friendship to last longer than it naturally would have (remember, they are only united against outside forces).
All this to say that while Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian may have started out as genuine friends in their childhood, their transition to enemies has absolutely nothing to do with that care. Sometimes we fall out with people because we just do not like them as people. Jiang Cheng’s resentment prevented him from appreciating Wei Wuxian as a person, leading to the end of their friendship and their descent into eventual enemies. Not misplaced or warped care, just pure, undeniable resentment.
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drunk-with-anticipation · 2 years ago
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hollywood studios
2/24/2023 11:03pm
i really question sometimes in my family if i am the crazy one? or maybe they grew up in another time? maybe we just grew up so differently that i dont feel i can understand them.
we were celebrating my moms birthday and lots of small things had been going wrong. being with my family really reminds me why i used to drink it made existing easier in some ways. we were all tired and there was a dense fog over the city. as we approached the park august kept yelling about the fog.
we were running a bit behind schedule but made it to the cantina in star wars land for morning drinks. it was really cool. the day was exhausting but overall going well. we went from the cantina to the smugglers run ride. the park had been more packed than normal which meant that everyone was a bit more on edge. we went and got pizza then went on the minnie mouse ride in the chinese theatre. we went on toy story mania and then went to walt disney presents and the disney junior area to cool down. after that we went to our dinner reservations at hollywood & vine. it was a buffet it was pretty mediocre quality. at least the characters were coming through which the kids liked. when we were leaving mom and i went to the bathroom and kevin made a joke about us having bladders the size of peas.
we then went to go walk towards rise of the resistance. the really popular star wars ride where there is always a 2 or 3 hour wait. on the way there kevin says he has to go to the bathroom and i start making the joke he made less than 15 minutes earlier about having a small bladder. he cuts me off and says his stomachs bothering him and i said i didnt really care and that it was literally the same thing he just said to me and then he grabbed me by the neck with the same two finger grip digging in that he always did when i was a kid that i hated and he jerked me like he was trying to throw me to the ground and i tried to push against him and wiggle out if it and he kept pushing me to the ground so i elbowed him in the side and he let go and i yelled that he was a fucking bastard he finally let go and walked off to the bathroom. and then everyone started telling me how he was having stomach problems and a long day!! like didnt even check on me or anything and i started saying that it didnt matter and he does not get to put his hands on me like that and saying that i should expect it because no one in this family respects me. and complaining about how its a pattern and theres been other recent times where he has sat on me even after ive been yelling out in pain. and they were just like well everyones had a long day. and then i started chasing the kids around again while he was in the bathroom. and i think my mom told him off when he came back because when he came back he said he was sorry and gave me a hug but i sorta didnt drop it. like i was just like saying the same thing i just said back to you shouldnt cause that kinda response especially when its not relevant. and he told me that he was just sick of me saying that all day and then i asked him if his medicine also caused him to hallucinate cause I was literally saying what he said. and then he asked me when i got so sassy and i said who do you think i learned it from and my mom kinda just wanted it done so we ended it and went to go on the ride.
and then the ride was closed for technical difficulties!! and we went back and now i really have to do pleasantries with all these people even tho i have such pain in my heart from my brother attacking me in public!! and my family being more concerned about his wellbeing and placating me!!
insult to injury i am sleeping in the living room right next to my brothers bedroom. so obviously i can hear them talk and i really can hear him being surprised i got upset with him or something? idk he was less clear and then julie pretty much said it was due after 10 years like what?? i just dont get these people
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kalpasio · 2 years ago
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Working From Home
You Better Drink All Of That
A shorter Kalpas x reader fic taking place in the Golden Courtyard mentioned in the summer event. Chapter 1 is below the cut!
Moving into the Golden Courtyard, you had been nervous. Between the influencer, the genius mechanic, and the not so average “average IT guy,” you weren’t sure you would fit in. Hell, even the butler was a world class chef. You were a leader in your field, yes, but that field was so small, you didn’t receive very much recognition. That being said, you weren’t making peanuts for your salary, and you figured you’d outgrown the apartment you got right out of college.
To your surprise, when you moved in, everyone was very welcoming and happy with the skills you brough with you. After having lived there a year, you felt comfortable around most of the residents, and you all had gotten used to each other’s habits and schedules.
Unfortunately, the group you worked with had to make some cutbacks and you no longer had an office building. Which mean you had to work from home. Which meant your schedule was thrown out the window.
Since you didn’t have to travel anywhere or fuss so much about your appearance, you didn’t need to get up at the crack of dawn. Sleeping in felt fantastic! Getting yelled at did not. Honestly, you should’ve expected it. The Golden Courtyard’s butler, Kalpas, was known to chew residents out when they skipped a meal, and this was no different.
“You’re late.”
“Yes, I know,” you gave a small smile in the hopes of placating the angry chef. “I’m not driving into the office anymore, so I’ll be getting up later, if that’s alright. I know you have your other job; I don’t want to make you late.”
“Whatever. I saved your plate.” You tried to thank him, but he cut you off. “Don’t thank me, go eat. Quit wasting my time.”
Sending him another smile, you picked up the plate he put in front of you and sat down to eat. Though it wasn’t fresh, the food had been reheated and everything on the plate was something you loved. You’re surprised he managed to save any of it, you had expected to grab the food that no one else wanted and be on your way. Certainly, you weren’t going to complain, this was a better breakfast than you normally were able to score.
When you brought your dishes back, Kalpas stopped you. “Is this when you’re going to be waking up?”
“Unless something weird comes up, yeah. Why?”
“Got it.”
“Got what?”
He just kicked you out of his kitchen without an explanation and sent you off to work.
Switching to working in your apartment was more work than you expected, and you ended up missing lunch. Luckily, Kalpas had a habit of shoving snacks at you when you left the cafeteria, so you had plenty of food. Between that and your late breakfast, you were fine, though it was nothing like the lunches he made. When it got to be dinner time, you called it quits. Oh, the advantages of being the lead of a project.
 Entering the kitchen, you had a grin on your face. Not only was there a meal already made for you; it was undoubtedly amazing, and you could smell how good the food was before you even entered. Of course, that grin dropped the instant you walked in and were fixed with a very nasty scowl.
“My cooking not good enough?”
“What? Your cooking is perf—"
“You trying to ruin my rep then?”
“No? Kalpas, what are you—”
“Then why the hell did you miss lunch?” he slammed his hands on the counter and leaned forward to continue glaring at you. It felt like you were being interrogated.
“I got caught up with work. Now can I have my food or are you sending me to bed without supper?” He forcefully pushed off the counter and slid a plate over to you. “I try to make it to meals, but I can’t just drop everything to come eat.”
“You better figure it out,” he threatened, and you took that as your cue to leave.
Switching to working in your apartment was more work than you expected, and you ended up missing lunch. Luckily, Kalpas had a habit of shoving snacks at you when you left the cafeteria, so you had plenty of food. Between that and your late breakfast, you were fine, though it was nothing like the lunches he made. When it got to be dinner time, you called it quits. Oh, the advantages of being the lead of a project.
 Entering the kitchen, you had a grin on your face. Not only was there a meal already made for you; it was undoubtedly amazing, and you could smell how good the food was before you even entered. Of course, that grin dropped the instant you walked in and were fixed with a very nasty scowl.
“My cooking not good enough?”
“What? Your cooking is perf—"
“You trying to ruin my rep then?”
“No? Kalpas, what are you—”
“Then why the hell did you miss lunch?” he slammed his hands on the counter and leaned forward to continue glaring at you. It felt like you were being interrogated.
“I got caught up with work. Now can I have my food or are you sending me to bed without supper?” He forcefully pushed off the counter and slid a plate over to you. “I try to make it to meals, but I can’t just drop everything to come eat.”
“You better figure it out,” he threatened, and you took that as your cue to leave.
When you came down for breakfast the next day, your food was being plated just as you stepped into the kitchen. Still feeling a bit bad for missing lunch yesterday, you took your food, mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ and left.
An hour or so later, you had reached a good stopping point in your work, and you decided you’d get some tea. You did have a kitchen and you did have a kettle, but the tea you were craving was one you’d have to go down to the main kitchen to get. So down the stairs you went, assuming Kalpas had already left for his other job.
And you were mostly right. He had all his things and was heading out the door when you entered the kitchen. Immediately, he was on you for entering his kitchen and you were quick to tell him you were just there for the tea you wanted. Making your way to the kettle, you reached for it, but Kalpas beat you to it.
“I can make tea myself,” you said, not wanting to stand there awkwardly while you both waited through the long tea making process.
“You have to steep it for the right amount of time,” he said and started filling the kettle with water.
“I know...” you started but quickly gave up when Kalpas gave you a glare. Shockingly he picked the tea you wanted, and when the drink was ready, he handed it to you with a little potholder so you wouldn’t burn yourself carrying it back to your room.
“You better drink all of that,” he threatened. You just smiled, thanked him, and left. Once the tea had cooled enough to drink, you found it was made perfectly and it gave you the energy you needed to get through your fifty-eight emails. Between getting work done, and arriving to meals on time, all in all, it was a good day.
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junicai · 4 years ago
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who taught you that?
| order no. | 4/21
| summary | Aria's Korean has improved greatly since stepping off the plane to Korea. But sometimes, the lingo still trips her up - in interesting ways.
| word count | 2.3k
| warnings | Sexual innuendos
| era | circa. January 2017
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The cushions had been collected from throughout the dorm; blankets pulled from beds and from the top shelves of wardrobes to amass a large pile in the centre of the living room. The members stood around in varying degrees of formal clothing;
Some still in their clothes that they had worn for the promotion earlier on in the day, and others having stripped and changed into leggings and old shorts and faded t-shirts as soon as they had stepped foot into their home.
Aria had waited for the others to use the bathroom before she had slid in quietly afterwards, knowing that she took the longest in the shower and not wanting to use a large amount of the hot water.
Sure, the spray of water ran a little icy towards the end, but she'd read that it was good for your pores to turn the shower head cold at the end of a haircare routine anyway, so she wasn't complaining.
She'd shuffled her way out of the bathroom and into her room, where she immediately fluffed out the excess water still in her hair, leaving it damp and loose to dry on her shoulders, prior to tugging on a stolen sweatshirt and a pair of cotton shorts that had been retired to sleep status months ago.
The hoodie was warm, and Aria tugged it around her neck to fight the chill of her damp hair, shuffling out into the living room with a blanket fisted in her hand and a pillow tucked underneath her other arm.
"Do you want to just toss that onto the couch, there, and go dry your hair?" Doyoung paced over to Aria, hands taking the bedding from hers already.
"Oh, no, it's okay." Aria shook her head, moving to help him flatten out her blanket onto the carpet. They were building a blanket fort, of a kind.
The movie night had been Taeyong's idea - a bonding experience he said. Donghyuck had jumped at the idea of constructing a fortress of soft and fluffy bedding, and well. No one was going to turn him down.
"You'll catch a chill, go dry your hair." Doyoung reprimanded, gently but firmly tugging the edge of the blanket from her grip.
"My hair dryer is broken," Aria winced.
"Well why didn't you just say that?" He looked up at her briefly, shooing her towards his own room. "Go, you can use mine. I think Jaehyun's in there, maybe he can help."
Aria nodded, mollified, and made her way into Doyoung's room. She passed Taeil in the hallway, who patted her back lightly in greeting. The doorway was cracked open, so she knocked once before tentatively pushing it open.
There, as Doyoung had predicted, was Jaehyun, sitting on his bed and scrolling through something on his phone. He looked up when Aria knocked, and smiled, locking his phone and dropping it into his lap.
"Hey, Akari. What's up?" He asked.
"Uh," Aria wrung her hands in front of her. "Do you know where Doyoung oppa's hairdryer is? He told me I could use it because mine is broken," She trailed off.
"Yeah! Sure, give me a moment." Jaehyun pushed himself off the bed, crouching down in front of the storage unit beside Doyoung's bed and pulling open the bottom drawer. There, beneath several half empty bottles of varying brands of hair conditioner and toning shampoo was the hairdryer, which he pulled out with a flourish.
"There we go. Do you need help or?"
Aria shook her head. "Oh no, it's alright. I'll be out quickly, you can go join them in the living room."
"Yeah, no problem. Don't take too long though, or else I think Donghyuck will pick the movie again, and last time," Jaehyun grimaced. "That didn't end very well."
Aria could remember. Last time, Donghyuck had insisted on watching a new horror film that had recently come out in the cinemas; one that Aria never actually ended up watching in favor of burying her head in Yuta's shoulder, his hands covering her ears as the characters on the screen screamed blue murder.
Hilariously though, Donghyuck hadn't fared much better, despite the movie being his own choice, and the two maknaes ended up sharing a bed for the following three days - unable to sleep alone.
Aria agreed, and as soon as Jaehyun had left the bedroom she plugged in the hairdryer and began running her fingers through her hair to detangle any knots.
She pulled the device away from her head when the air grew too hot for her to handle, and spent a couple seconds trying to figure out how to turn down the heat. After giving up on the endeavor though, Aria just decided to get through it as quickly as possible.
She blew out every strand until it was only slightly damp and no longer dripping with water, and tugged her hair into two plaits on either side of her head.
The hairdryer was pushed back into the bottom drawer of the storage unit, and Aria closed the door into Doyoung's bedroom behind her as she left the room.
Entering back into the kitchen, she realized that Mark, Sicheng and Jaehyun had already claimed their spots on the floor and singular armchair respectively.
Looking over, Taeyong and Doyoung were leaning against the counter with Taeil; Donghyuck emerging from behind the wall to join them.
Aria padded over to the second group, wanting to grab a glass of water prior to settling down for the movie and becoming reluctant to move less she lose her comfortable position.
As she made her way across into the kitchen, she caught the tail end of Donghyuck's whining tirade, his hands clutching onto the back of Doyoung's sweatshirt.
"But hyung, I'm hungry." He pouted, pulling on the material.
"It's late, Hyuck, you'll feel sick if you eat this late."
Donghyuck's pout deepened. "But not if I eat something that isn't sugary."
"No."
"Please."
"No."
"Please!"
Doyoung sighed a long suffering sigh. "Fine."
Donghyuck cheered, squeezing Doyoung in a hug in thanks. "Thank you thank you!"
Doyoung grumbled something about raising him wrong with no manners at all, placated by Taeil's hand rubbing soothing circles on his shoulder.
Taeyong just turned away, hiding his grin into the glass of water he was sipping.
"Hm," Donghyuck pondered, fingers tapping his chin. "What to eat, what to find."
Aria's head popped into the conversation. "Do you want to eat ramen?"
Taeyong choked on his water.
"What!" Donghyuck whipped around, hand landing on his chest.
Aria stumbled back slightly, eyes wide and bewildered. "R-ramen? Ramen noodles? Do you, want to, eat them?" She turned to Taeil. "Am I saying that right?"
"Saying what right?"
"Do you want to eat ramen?" Aria sounded out each syllable carefully, thinking it was an issue with her pronunciation. She was still learning Korean - it has improved greatly, but there were still issues that arose occasionally.
"Don't say it again!"
"What? What am I saying!" Aria spun, looking at the four men who were staring back at her with wide eyes.
Taeyong cleared his throat, having recovered from his coughing fit. "It's just, uh, it's nothing."
Aria's face fell. "I thought my Korean was getting better though.."
Doyoung floundered slightly. "It is! Oh it's a million times better; it's not that, Aria. It's not that at all, it's just that - that - hyung, you explain."
Taeyong fixed Doyoung with an affronted look, "You explain!"
"I'll explain," Taeil held out placating hands. "You're scaring her."
It was true. Aria's head was whipping back and forth between the two, the confused crease between her eyebrows only growing deeper and deeper.
"Aria, the phrase that you used, is, generally used in such a context that would mean you'd like to take the other person home - for the night." Taeil slowly explained.
Aria nodded in tandem. "Like a sleepover?"
Donghyuck smacked his hand to his face, dragging it down. "You asked me if I wanted to sleep with you."
Aria's shriek brought yells from the other boys.
"What!"
"What is it!"
"Who's dead!"
The three boys in the living room received no response other than a red faced Aria bursting in, immediately burrowing herself beneath a mountain of blankets and a cackling Donghyuck following her.
"What's happened?" Mark questioned, wide eyed.
Doyoung entered, trailing a hand down his face with his eyes closed. "Nothing, Mark. Nothing at all."
Mark looked over at the mound of blankets that was currently Aria. "Uh, okay?"
As the conversation faded into background noise, Jaehyun shuffled over to Aria's blanketed form.
"Ari? Are you okay?"
"Fine!" She squeaked.
"Are you sure?"
Aria's head popped out from a gap in the blankets. Her cheeks were still flushed a bright red. "Mhm! Totally fine!"
Jaehyun regarded her suspiciously, looking her up and down. Aria's eyes begged him to drop it, pleading with him not here, not here please, don't bring it up here, and he conceded.
Sitting back onto the couch, he pushed himself into the arm slightly, making room for an extra person to sit beside him without saying a word, and Aria gratefully slid out from her blanket hideout and into his arms.
Jaehyun pulled one of the blankets from the floor up over the both of them as they shuffled about for a moment, finding a comfortable position.
Taeil, who had settled onto a mattress of sorts that had been constructed on the floor with Taeyong and Doyoung resting comfortably on either side, took a look around the room.
"Is everyone ready? Drinks, snacks?" He questioned, knowing the uproar that would occur should someone get up in the middle of the film.
After receiving the general consensus of yeses, he clicked onto the movie, and pressed play.
The opening scene of Train to Busan lit up the television screen, and Aria promptly pulled the blanket back up over her head. She could feel Jaehyun chuckle beside her, and a strong arm encircled her waist to pull her against him tighter.
Aria stayed that way throughout the entirety of the film. Midway through, Yuta's hand found it's way onto her knee, rubbing soothing circles into the skin and Aria's own hand slipped out from underneath the blanket to clasp his hand in her own.
For once, she was glad that Korean wasn't her native language, because it meant that when Yuta began speaking to her in soft, gentle tones, the Japanese drowned out the Korean and made it easier for her to pretend that there wasn't a zombie apocalypse happening on the screen right in front of her.
It felt like an eternity, with Jaehyun's arms tightening around her to warn her of a loud noise before it happened, and Yuta's soft murmurs trying to comfort her.
Eventually, the movie clicked off with a light snick and the living room was plunged into darkness. With the television no longer illuminating the room, the only light source came from the moonlight peeking through the gaps in the blinds; and slowly, the members began to stir.
Sicheng and Yuta stood up, the latter patting Aria's leg once, brushing dust from their legs and bending to snag the pillows they were lying against up to their chests.
Mark slowly rose from the floor, arms raising above his head and he rolled his neck with a crack that reverberated around the room.
Gradually, all the members bar two bid a goodnight and sleepily shuffled their way back to their own beds, bar Donghyuck, who followed Mark into his bed.
The movie might not have been his choice this evening, but that didn't change the fact that he was too prideful for his own good; and that meant watching the film in its entirety, even if it sacrificed two days of restful sleep.
Honestly, she fully expected to find Donghyuck in her own bed tomorrow, or be dragged into his.
Aria, still encircled in Jaehyun's arms, was reluctant to move. Here, she was warm, and comfortable, and her bed was most definitely cold, and she'd have to move around all her bedding to find a comfortable position.
Dithering over her options, she was taken by surprise when Jaehyun tightened his grip on her waist slightly, rolling over to position her more comfortably and safely away from the edge of the couch.
"Jae?" Aria whispered when he didn't let go. "Shouldn't we go to bed? It's pretty late."
"M'no." He mumbled. "I'm tired, let's just sleep here."
"Oh," Aria thought about it for a moment. Was this what her manager meant when she said that Aria would bond with the boys eventually?
"Yeah, yeah okay. Let's sleep here."
Aria ran a hand over Jaehyun's hair once, before snuggling back down into his warm embrace.
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bechloeislegit · 3 years ago
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Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl - Chapter 1
A/N: First, I'd like to say Happy (Belated) Birthday, malexfaith (the actual day was April 14)! Second, I asked for an idea for a fic for her birthday, and this is one idea she sent me. It was originally going to be a one-shot, but it got away from me. (I hope y'all like it).
Award-winning singer Beca Mitchell has had a rough few months. Her bosses force her to take some time off to get herself together. They send her to a ranch where she meets Chloe Beale. They knew each other when they were children; can they be friends again or will a different kind of relationship develop?
Award-winning singer/songwriter Beca Mitchell stood in front of her two best friends, Stacie Conrad and Cynthia Rose (CR) Adams. The two women currently standing before Beca weren't just her friends; they worked for her. Stacie was her manager, and CR was her publicist.
"I'm not going!" Beca yelled at the two women, stomping her foot like a child.
"You have no choice!" Stacie yelled back. "Do I need to remind you why we are having this discussion in the first place?"
Three Days Earlier. . .
Beca hit the final note, and the crowd started cheering and applauding. Beca smiled out at the crowd as she waved and made her way off the stage.
"Beca! Beca! Beca!" The crowd chanted.
"Encore time, Beca," Stacie said.
"I need some water first," Beca said, trying to catch her breath.
"Here," Cynthia Rose said, handing Beca a bottle of water.
"Thanks," Beca said, chugging down half the bottle.
Beca wiped her face and ran back onto the stage. The band started playing, and the crowd started cheering.
Beca started singing and made her way over to the band. The bass player played a riff, and Beca was getting into it when she suddenly stopped and put a hand to her head. A loud "oh" went up from the crowd as Beca started to fall; the bass player grabbed Beca and eased her down to the ground. Several people came running from backstage.
CR yelled for someone to call 9-1-1 as Stacie hit her knees and grabbed Beca to her.
"Beca?" Stacie called her name as she lightly smacked her cheeks.
Beca did not respond, and Stacie yelled, "Someone call 9-1-1!"
"Already done," CR said as Stacie continued trying to rouse Beca.
An announcement was made asking that everyone leave the building in a calm and peaceful manner. The place emptied out for the most part; there were still a few who made their way close to the stage and stood watching what was happening. Security prevented them from getting onto the stage.
Beca came around about five minutes later, and a small cheer went up from the small crowd. They became quiet again when two EMTs arrived and made their way onto the stage, immediately going over to Beca.
"Want to tell me what happened?" one of the EMTs asked as he started to take Beca's vital signs.
"I'm not really sure," Beca said. "I was singing, and then I felt dizzy. Next thing I know, I'm waking up to this one," she points her thumb toward Stacie, "slapping my face."
"You passed out," Stacie said. "I was trying to wake you up."
"We should take her in so a doctor can check her out," the EMT told Stacie.
"I'll ride with her," Stacie said. "CR, you call Theo and let him know what's happened."
"Got it," CR said.
"I don't think I need to go to the hospital," Beca said.
"I don't care what you think you need, Beca," Stacie said, shaking her head. "I just knew something like this was going to happen."
The EMTs helped Beca up and onto the gurney. They proceeded to fasten the restraints to hold Beca securely. Stacie followed the EMTs out to the ambulance; Beca complained the entire way about not needing to go to the hospital.
"Shut up, Beca," Stacie said. She looked at the EMT and asked, "Is there any way you can knock her out again?"
"I heard that," Beca said.
"You were meant to," Stacie shot back.
Back to the present. . .
"You passed out because you were drunk and dehydrated," Stacie said.
"I didn't do anything!" Beca said, running a hand through her hair.
"Didn't do anything!" Stacie repeated. "Are you drunk right now?"
"Stacie, calm down," CR said. "Yelling at her is not helping anything."
"She is going to ruin us all," Stacie said. "I can't keep doing this with her. We're running out of favors to call in to keep her shenanigans out of the tabloids."
"I know," CR placated. "She just needs to understand that the studio isn't playing around this time."
"This time?" Beca questioned. "What did I supposedly do to make this time so special?"
"Have you totally forgotten the drunken brawl you started?" Stacie asked. "And let's not forget about the threesome thing. You're lucky you're not in jail."
"For what?" Beca asked. "We were in a bar, and they were both being served alcoholic drinks."
"Yeah, well, one of them was only seventeen," Stacie said. "The age of consent in California is eighteen. And don't think because you're a woman, you get a pass. Her parents have every right to have you charged with having sex with a minor. You're lucky they were more upset that the bartender was serving their underage daughter alcohol, or it could have been so much worse for you."
"I can't be blamed for not knowing how old she really was," Beca mumbled.
Stacie rubbed her temples and looked at Beca. "You'd better get your head on straight, or you're done."
"I'm still not going to wherever it is the studio wants to send me," Beca said. "I'm an adult, and they can't make me do anything I don't want to do!"
"Take it easy, Beca," CR said in a calmer voice. "I'm telling you this as your friend. You're under contract, so yes, they can make you do whatever they want you to."
"Wanna bet?" Beca said petulantly. "Tell the studio I don't want to go."
"The studio folks aren't asking you if you want to go," CR said, stepping into Beca's personal space. "They're telling you, you have to go. You need to take some time off to rest and get your head back in the game."
"I don't understand why," Beca said, lowering her voice and taking a step back.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Stacie yelled. "You literally passed out during the encore at your concert because you were drunk, Beca. You're exhausted, and you're making bad decisions; really bad decisions."
"Not to mention the fact that your daddy issues are becoming a PR nightmare," CR added. "I know you were hoping your dad came back it was to make amends . . ."
"I don't want to talk about him," Beca interrupted, crossing her arms and glaring at Stacie and CR.
"Okay, you don't want to talk about your dad; that's fine," CR said. "Let's talk about how the studio is considering canceling your contract and letting you go."
"What?!"
"CR's right," Stacie confirmed. "If you don't take time off, you're done. Fired. No more music. No more VIP treatment. No more one-night stands with your fans. No more making money. Are you ready for that?"
"And, if Khalid fires you," CR said. "Don't count on another studio wanting to sign you."
Beca ran a hand through her hair and stared at Stacie and CR. She let out a loud sigh.
"Fine, I'll go."
"Good," Stacie and CR said simultaneously.
"But. . ."
"But. . . what?" CR asked hesitantly.
"But," Beca said, smirking. "You two have to go with me."
"Not gonna happen," CR immediately stated. "Denise is due in two weeks, so I can't go."
"I'll accept that as a good reason for you not going," Beca said and then turned to look at Stacie. "What about you?"
"I don't want to go," Stacie said.
"If not wanting to go isn't a good enough reason for me not to go," Beca said. "It's not a good enough reason for you either. So, if I don't get a choice in the matter, you don't get a choice. Make sure you tell the studio honchos if you don't go, I don't go, and let's see what happens then."
Beca turned and left the room.
~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~
A week later, Beca and Stacie were on a private jet heading to Denver, Colorado. Beca was sulking as Stacie calmly flipped through a magazine. Neither woman spoke, and they flew in relative silence for close to two hours before Beca broke that silence.
"I can't believe you caved with the studio and are making me do this," Beca huffed. "I thought you were my friend."
"I am your friend," Stacie said, continuing to flip the pages of the magazine. "But, I'm also your manager. I love you, but I love my job more, and I'm not going to do anything to lose you or my job. So, if I have to go to Denver and babysit you, then that's what I'm going to do."
"Why exactly were we going to Denver?" Beca asked. "Is it like a spa retreat or something?"
"Nope," Stacie said, setting her magazine aside while pulling something out of her bag. She held it out toward Beca. "We're going to be spending the next three weeks at a western-style dude ranch."
"A DUDE RANCH?" Beca screeched, causing Stacie to grimace. "Whose bright idea was that?"
"Theo's," Stacie replied with a shrug.
"I should have known," Beca snarled. "That guy never did like me." Beca sighed and asked, "What the fuck am I supposed to do there?"
"You're supposed to rest and relax," Stacie said. "And they run a dry ranch, so there won't be any booze to get you into trouble."
Beca scoffed, and Stacie handed a pamphlet over to Beca.
"Read the brochure if you want to know what you'll be doing," Stacie said.
Beca took the brochure and looked through it.
"The only form of transportation on the ranch is on horseback," Beca read aloud. "The only horses I want to deal with are the ones under a car's hood."
"What part of the only form of transportation is on horseback are you not understanding?" Stacie asked. "Get it through that thick skull of yours; there are no cars, trucks, or other motorized vehicles. Just horses. I'm personally looking forward to riding again."
"Good for you! But there's no way I'm riding one of those beasts," Beca grumbled. "I hate horses."
"Just give it a shot, Beca," Stacie said. "Horses will help calm you; you're supposed to try and relax. And, you could always save a horse and ride a cowboy instead. Or in your case, a cowgirl. But only if she's over eighteen."
"Haha," Beca scoffed. "I get ridden plenty, thank you very much."
"Groupies and one-night stands don't count," Stacie said. "You need to find someone to have an adult, meaningful relationship with."
"Says the woman who calls her vagina a hunter," Beca snorted. "When was the last time you had an adult meaningful relationship?"
"We're not talking about me," Stacie said. "Plus, I'm not under contract, so what I do is nobody's business but my own."
"I'm starting to regret signing a contract," Beca said. "Almost as much as I regret hiring a friend to be my manager."
Stacie shrugged and picked up another magazine. "You know you love me."
"We both know I do," Beca said, sighing. "But would it kill you to let me live my life the way I want to?"
"Probably not," Stacie shrugged. "But, it might kill you and I'm not willing to take that chance. Believe it or not, I actually do like having you around."
Beca was saved from responding as the Captain announced, "Ladies, please fasten your seatbelts. We're making our final approach into Denver and should be landing in about ten minutes."
~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~
A van from the ranch was waiting in the hangar when the jet came to a stop. The pilot opened the door and lowered the stairway. Stacie stepped out first to find a man looking, every bit the cowboy in blue jeans, checkered shirt, boots, and hat, staring up at her from the bottom.
"Miss Mitchell?" the cowboy asked, tipping his hat.
"That's her," Stacie replied and pointed over her shoulder.
Beca gave a small wave over Stacie's shoulder.
"Nice to meet you, ladies," the cowboy said. "My name is Tom and I'll be escorting you to the ranch. I'll get your bags while you make yourselves comfortable in the van."
Stacie got into the van and watched as Beca grabbed two of the bags and placed them in the van herself. Tom grabbed the remaining bags and placed them in the back. Tom opened the driver's door, removed his hat, and situated himself behind the wheel.
"The drive will take about forty-five minutes," Tom said, looking over his shoulder at the two women. "There's water in the cooler behind you. Help yourself."
Tom turned to face the front and started the van.
About an hour later, the van turned off the main road onto a dirt road. Beca sat up and started looking around. Off in the distance, she saw several buildings.
"Looks like something from an old Western movie," Beca said.
"I love the log cabin look," Stacie said, looking around.
"Will we be staying in a log cabin?" Beca asked Tom.
"Sort of," Tom said. "All our guests stay in individual one-room cabins. The main building houses the offices, gym, game room, kitchen, and dining room. Since this is our slow time, you'll both probably be given your own room."
"That actually sounds cool," Beca said.
Stacie lowered her window, saying "Look at all this wide-open space. And smell that clean, fresh air. We're definitely not in LA anymore."
"If I click my heels three times and say there's no place like home," Beca said. "Will I wake up from this nightmare and find myself in my own bed back in LA?"
"No," Stacie said. "And I can't believe Miss I Hate Movies, just used one to make a point."
Beca let out a snort and looked out her window.
"Those things are huge," Beca said, spying two horses being ridden by a man and a woman; they looked as if they were racing.
"Oh, wow," Stacie said, leering at the couple. "The scenery just keeps getting better."
The woman's hat flew off and red hair flew out behind her. Both riders stopped and the woman said something to the man that could not be heard in the car.
Beca's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the redhead's face as she turned and trotted back to where her hat landed. She was gorgeous.
"If she can ride a horse," Beca said, pointing at the female rider. "I may just have to take up riding myself. She makes it look hot."
"She's really pretty," Stacie said, looking the girl up and down.
"She sure is," Beca mumbled. "She kind of reminds me of someone I knew when I was a kid."
Beca and Stacie continued to watch the two riders.
"He's also really hot," Stacie said. "He can park his boots under my bed anytime."
"Ew, gross," Beca said. "Try and keep it in your pants, Stacie."
"I will if you will," Stacie said, laughing. "Who does the hot redhead remind you of?"
"Someone I knew from back when I lived in Atlanta," Beca responded. "We actually met in Kindergarten and became fast friends. I'd say she was my best friend from the time we met up until we were nine."
"What happened when you were nine?"
"Didn't I already tell you about that?" Beca asked; Stacie shook her head. Beca continued. "My grandmother got sick and my mom took me with her to Seattle to help her out. I was only supposed to be gone for the summer. But, my grandma died and left my mother her house. My mom and dad were going through a rough time and my mom decided to stay in Seattle and asked my dad to come there. He chose to stay in Atlanta and promised to come to visit, but he never did. They eventually divorced."
Stacie looked at Tom and asked, "Who are they?"
"That's Chicago and Chloe," Tom said, glancing over at the couple. "Chicago's dad owns this place and Chicago runs it. Chloe is a vet and takes care of the animals on the ranch."
"Chloe?" Beca repeated. "What's her last name?"
"Beale," Tom said as the van came to a stop in front of the main building.
"Oh, my God," Beca whispered as she continued watching the redhead. "I do know her! Or rather, I did."
"Are Chicago and Chloe a couple?" Stacie asked.
"God, no," Tom said, chuckling. "Chicago is married to Jessica and Chloe is his cousin."
"Good to know," Stacie murmured, looking at Beca watching the redhead.
~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~
Beca and Stacie stood next to each other and watched as Chicago and Chloe rode up to them and hopped off their horses. A woman walked out of the main building and stood next to Chicago. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
"Good afternoon, Miss Mitchell, Miss Conrad," Chicago said, removing his hat. "Welcome! My name is Chicago Walp and this is my wife, Jessica. We run this Ranch for my dad, so if you need anything, anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask either one of us."
Chloe cleared her throat and Chicago smiled over at her.
"Sorry, Chlo," Chicago said, chuckling. "And this lovely young lady is Dr. Chloe Beale. She takes care of all the animals. She also gives riding lessons for anyone who wishes to learn."
"Please, we're just Beca and Stacie," Stacie said.
"I know who Beca is," Chloe said, smiling. "I was totes excited when I heard you were going to be a guest. I'm a big fan."
"Thank you," Beca said, looking down at the ground.
Tom was retrieving the luggage from the van and Chicago moved to help him.
"Please be careful with those two bags," Beca said, rushing over to them. "I'll take them."
Beca put one of the bags over her shoulder and pulled the other over to where Stacie was talking to Jessica and Chloe.
". . .said she'd love to learn to ride," Stacie was telling Jessica and Chloe.
"Who said that?" Beca asked. "It wasn't me. I hate horses; they're just huge, scary beasts."
Jessica and Chloe both laughed.
"Didn't you also say, if Chloe was riding that you might have to reconsider riding because she made riding a horse look hot?" Stacie asked, chuckling when Beca's face turned red.
"That's not-," Beca stuttered, looking from Stacie to Chloe and back again. "I, uh, didn't, um. Ugh! I hate you so much right now."
"It's okay, Beca," Chloe said, chuckling. "I think you'd look hot riding, too. And our horses are very tame. I'd be happy to teach you to ride and show you how tame they are."
Beca blinked a few times and stared at Chloe. Chloe looked at Beca and then at Stacie.
"I'm sure Beca would love that," Stacie said, causing Beca to snort.
"I might be game," Beca said. "If Stacie takes lessons, too."
"I already know how to ride," Stacie said, smirking. "But I'll go along with you so you don't get scared."
"Good," Jessica said. "Now that's settled, let's get you to your rooms, shall we?"
"Ladies, if you'll follow us please," Chicago said as he and Tom walked past them.
Beca and Stacie followed. When they entered the main building, Tom grabbed a luggage cart and he and Chicago set the luggage on it. Beca gently placed the two bags she was carrying onto the pile and stepped back.
"Let's get you checked in," Jessica said, leading the way over to the registration desk. "Thanks, Tom, Chicago."
"No problem, babe," Chicago said, shooting Jessica a smile.
"You're welcome," Tom said. He tipped his hat at Beca and Stacie, and said, "Enjoy your stay, ladies."
"Thanks, Tom," Stacie said, winking at him.
Tom smiled at her before turning and exiting the building behind Chicago. Chloe walked over and stood by the desk; she couldn't stop looking at Beca. Beca looked back at her, blushing and looking away when Chloe smiled at her.
Jessica got Beca and Stacie checked in and grabbed their room keys, handing them to Chloe.
"Chloe, would you like to show Beca and Stacie to their cabins?"
"I'd love to," Chloe said excitedly, grabbing the keys. "Thanks, Jess."
Jessica winked at her and Chloe walked over to the luggage cart. She looked back at Beca and Stacie.
"If you ladies will follow me," Chloe said as she started pushing the cart.
Stacie nudged Beca's shoulder when she noticed Beca looking at Chloe's ass.
"Rein it in, Beca," Stacie whispered. "A bit of discretion wouldn't kill you."
Beca blushed and moved her eyes up to stare at the back of Chloe's head.
~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~
Chloe took the cart outside and started toward a row of cabins. The path was wooden and stretched from the main building around to all the cabins. Chloe stopped at Cabin #4 and unlocked the door. She left the luggage cart outside and stepped through the doorway. Beca and Stacie followed her inside.
"This is your cabin, Miss Mitchell," Chloe said, waving an arm around the room. "Your bathroom is through that door over there."
Beca looked to where Chloe was pointing and nodded her head in acknowledgment.
"Please call me Beca," Beca told Chloe as she looked around the room.
"Okay," Chloe said, stepping back out the door. "Beca, if you'll point out your luggage I'll bring it in for you."
Chloe reached for a bag and Beca stopped her, saying, "I got it."
Beca grabbed her laptop case and another case, and took her cases over to the desk, and started to unpack them.
"No offense," Stacie told Chloe. "She's just very particular about people touching her equipment."
"Understandable," Chloe said. "I'm sure it's very expensive. What else is hers?"
"I'll help you with them," Stacie said. "This one stays here and that one there." Stacie grabbed one of the suitcases and pointed at the other.
The bags were placed near the bed and Chloe walked over to the wall, getting both Beca and Stacie's attention. She placed her hand on the thermostat and explained, "Each cabin has its own thermostat. You can control both the heat and air conditioning to your liking. It's usually mild during the day, but the temperatures drop somewhat at night. If you need an extra blanket or pillow, you can find them in the closet next to the bathroom. That's also where we keep everything you'll need for the bathroom, like towels and soap, among other things. If there's something you need and can't find, just pick up the phone and dial star zero one. That rings at the front desk in the main cabin. Someone is always there 24/7. Or you can dial star zero three and reach me; I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have."
"Thank you, Chloe," Beca said.
"Stacie," Chloe said, tearing her gaze away from Beca to look at Stacie. "You'll be right next door in cabin #5. The rooms are set up in the exact same way. Do you have any questions? Or need anything?"
"I'm starting to get a bit hungry," Stacie said. "What time does dinner start being served?"
"Oh," Chloe said as she walked over to the desk and pulled a folder out of the drawer. "There's a weekly schedule of activities and a menu for all meals inside this folder. It's updated every Sunday night. I know tonight we're having a barbecue with all the fixin's. You'll get a chance to meet some of the staff as well as the other guests." She glanced at her watch. "Aubrey will probably be ringing the dinner bell shortly."
"Who's Aubrey?" Stacie asked.
"She's my best friend," Chloe responded. "She's also the cook. You'll love everything she makes; I know I do."
"I'd like to unpack before dinner," Stacie said. "Beca, I'll swing by and get you when the dinner bell sounds. Okay?"
"Okay," Beca said. "I'll unpack and freshen up a bit."
"Great," Chloe said. "Here's your room key. We have a master key to all the rooms if you should lose or misplace it."
"Thanks again, Chloe," Beca said, taking the key.
"Stacie," Chloe said, turning toward her. "Let's get you to your room."
Stacie followed Chloe out the door. She took a deep breath. "Something smells good!"
"It's the meat from the grill."
"Whatever it is, it smells delicious."
"The meats are great, but it's the sides that make the meal for me. I'm sure Aubrey made potato salad, pasta salad, as well as a vegetable salad. Corn on the cob and baked beans for sure, and several desserts."
"Sounds like quite the feast," Stacie said.
Chloe pushed the luggage rack to the next cabin and helped Stacie take her bags inside.
"Here's your key," Chloe said as she handed the key to Stacie.
"Thank you, Chloe," Stacie said.
"You're welcome. I'll see you and Beca at dinner."
Chloe left and was surprised to see Beca looking out her door.
"Did you need something, Beca?"
"I was wondering if you had a minute?"
"Um, sure."
Beca stood aside and let Chloe enter the cabin. Chloe walked over to the desk chair and sat down.
Beca started pacing back and forth. Chloe watched her for a moment.
"So, um, what can I do for you, Beca?"
~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~
About ten minutes after Chloe left her, Stacie was startled by a sudden loud clanging sound. Realizing it must be the dinner bell, she laughed quietly to herself and shook her head.
It was only a few minutes later that Stacie grabbed her room key and left her cabin. Beca and Chloe were coming out of Beca's room as Stacie reached it.
"Oh, hey, Chloe," Stacie said, surprised to see her. "I wasn't expecting to see you with Beca."
"Beca wanted to know about the riding lessons," Chloe said. "You two have a lesson tomorrow morning at ten."
"We do?"
"I told you, Stacie," Beca said. "If I'm going to take lessons, so are you."
"And I told you, I already know how to ride," Stacie said. "Besides, will you even be up before ten?"
"Don't worry about me," Beca said, glaring at her. "I'll be up in plenty of time."
Stacie ignored Beca's glare and looked her up and down.
"Loving the cowgirl look, Beca," Stacie said. "I'm guessing you only brought your plaid shirts and jeans without knowing you'd end up on a ranch."
"I think she looks adorable," Chloe said, causing Beca's cheeks to redden.
"I'm not adorable," Beca mumbled.
"She does love her plaid shirts and jeans," Stacie said.
"What's wrong with that?" Beca asked. "They are good for any occasion."
Stacie snorted as she looked out over at the tables that were set up for the cookout.
"That looks like a lot of food," Stacie said. "How many guests do you have?"
"Including you and Beca, we have eight guests," Jessica's voice said from behind them. "And all the staffs' meals are provided. Come with me and I'll introduce you to some of the other people who work here."
Beca and Stacie followed Jessica and Chloe over to the huge grill that was being manned by two of the cowboys.
"Guys," Jessica calls out, getting their attention. "I'd like you to meet some VIPs that will be with us for the next three weeks."
The two men turned to look at Beca and Stacie. One had dark brown hair and was a couple of inches taller than Stacie; the other's hair was a lighter brown and he was about Stacie's height. They both have boyish faces and grinned at the two women.
"I know her," the taller of the two said, pointing toward Beca.
"No, you don't," Beca said, shaking her head. "He doesn't."
31 notes · View notes
colorseeingchick · 4 years ago
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Onigiri and Second Chances
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Pairing: Osamu Miya x Reader
Summary: The Black Jackals are hosting a Christmas party, and Osamu agrees to come. But there’s some details Atsumu forgot to tell him- 1, he’s supposed to mass-make Onigiri for the party, and 2, a figure from his past is making a reappearance. 
Warnings: Mostly Fluff, some Angst, suggestive content, swearing 
Word Count: 3.7k 
A/N: Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays everyone! This is far from my best work but I hope its fun regardless !
Osamu swears he can see his breath crystalize before him in his kitchen as he plots the murder of his damned brother. 
Well, plotting his brother’s demise is currently secondary to the molding of the  onigiri in his hand. It feels odd, the contrast between the soft, squishy rice warming his palms as he meticulously works at it and the prickly cold that bites his forearms, bare and at the mercy of the cold air of his kitchen, unprotected by his rolled up sleeves. 
Now, you probably have a lot of questions! 
Why’s Osamu Miya making some lip-smacking onigiri at 4 pm on Christmas Eve? 
Because his bitch of a brother tricked him.
Why’s he making 70? 
Ask Atsumu smh (if it’s not abundantly clear, my boy Osamu is VERY salty).
Has he been here for like, 3 hours already? 
Yeah, he sure as hell has. 
Will he be here for a good few more?
Uh huh. 
Why? 
Well, Osamu doesn’t take onigiri lightly. 1. If he’s gonna make em for Atsumu’s party, he was gonna do em right. Even though Atsumu forgot to mention that onigiri was gonna be the special dish to Osamu- the one making the onigiri- until 10 am the day of, (I’m sure y’all get why Osamu is mad now) there wasn’t a chance in hell he was gonna let his dishes fall flat, especially for a party this big. He has a bunch of specialty flavors he’s been wanting to showcase anyways, and in the process of making so many for such a large number, he knows it’s easy to get lost in a ‘quantity over quality’ mindset. No matter the amount, Onigiri Miya’s quality never wavers (A/N: period king as you should). 
But the AC being broken? That’s not a part of his plan. And it was just kinda, icing on his metaphorical cake of reasons why he’s pissed as hell right now. It makes him question if all this effort is really worth it, at least for tonight. 
Osamu’s initially thought that, because his brother’s the host for this party, that maybe he should try to spruce up a bit, come in lookin like an acceptable counterpart to his charismatic, showy brother. But now? He’ll realistically be here in this kitchen till the time of the party, so he’ll show up lookin a lil rough. Effort that should’ve gone into his looks is not being put into his food.  If Atsumu complains, Osamu will not hesitate to shove an onigiri up his-
It’s whatever. It’s not like he has anyone he needs to impress there anyways. He’s just the onigiri twin tonight. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The party is in full swing when Osamu arrives. But unlike Atsumu’s usual parties, the music wasn’t blaring- it’s festive and moderate. And despite being ‘party’ attire, everyone seems a little less scandalous. I guess that’s natural when some business representatives and officials from the volleyball world are also present. Unfortunately, this does mean that Osamu is the most underdressed, but he’s come to terms with it. 
But knowing his brother, there’s no way a Miya party would be fully professional. There has to be some element of childishness or stupidity somewhere in this party-
And Osamu gets his answer when he looks up. 
Mistletoe. And lots of it. It’s not everywhere everywhere. But there’s more than one, and they are seemingly strategically placed. 
Osamu chuckles. Leave it to his brother to try and start shit. All this means is that he has to be careful to not end up in the wrong spot with some random person. He’ll be fine. 
Giant container filled with onigiri in hand, he maneuvers his way to the kitchen, nodding and smiling at his acquaintances as he goes. As he’s about to step onto the cold tile of the kitchen, he stops dead in his tracks. 
Fuck his brother. 
He didn’t say anything about you being here. Somebody’ll have to stop him from slugging his asshat of a twin across the face. 
“SAMMMMUUUU!!!!!” Speak of the devil. 
Atsumu slings his arm over his twin’s shoulder,  a cup in his other hand.
“Are ya drunk?” 
“Huh? No. Gotta keep it together! I’m the host after all.” Atsumu smiles wide, rather stupidly. 
“Great. If yer sober, that means I can beat the ever livin’ shit outta ya and yer gonna remember.” 
“Oi, oi, what did I do!? Ya just got here!” Fear shined Atsumu’s bright eyes. 
“If you could like, not beat my boyfriend up, I’d appreciate it a bit, Samu-kun,” a female voice gently chimes in. 
“Homura-chan, hello.” Osamu’s shoulders relax as his brother’s level-headed girlfriend pops up in between the two, giving Osamu a side hug only to watch Atsumu pout. 
“Homura…” Atsumu’s whine is enough for her to placate him with a tight hug, but she continues to face Osamu. 
“Why do you wanna kill him this time? Not that you’re wrong for wanting to. I’m just curious.”
“Hey!”
“He didn’t tell me they were gon be here.” Osamu’s eyes shift to you, laughing in the kitchen, talking to Hinata and Bokuto, while filling cups with hot chocolate. 
“Oh I thought you were gonna yell at him for not telling you about the onigiris till this morning.”
“That too.”
“HEY!” 
“But I guess it’s my fault they’re here. I invited them, they are my best friend after all. But I should have told you. I’m sorry, Samu.”
“No, no. Its fine Homura-chan. I just…” 
Osamu doesn’t know how to verbalize it. He’s had a crush on you since 2nd year, and it didn’t go anywhere even through college. You two knew each other pretty well, and he almost asked you out. Emphasis on almost. Being honest, he abandoned ship when he saw some guy kissing you after class one day- he figured he had waited for too long. He cut off communication with you soon after, despite your attempts to reach out. Homura had time and time again reminded Osamu that you didn’t hate him, and he did trust her. But that didn’t help him shake off the feeling you did, and always would, resent him. 
It also did not help that his stomach jumped the moment he heard your beautiful laugh resonate in the kitchen, or that his face heated up when he saw you warmly hug your cup of hot chocolate, sipping it so gently. So cute. 
He’s still whipped. Fuck. 
Homura nudges his shoulder, one hand intertwined with Atsumu’s. “We’re not gonna make you talk to them-”
“maybe...” adds in Atsumu.
“-But if they come up to ya, maybe it won’t be the worst thing.”
Osamu looks down, tightly gripping the strap attached to his container. “Okay,” he quietly agrees.
Atsumu slaps his brother’s shoulder with a smile and comments, “ya know where my clothes are, grab em if ya need em” before taking his leave to go entertain other guests.
“I’m assuming you have more containers?” Homura asks, standing by Osamu’s side.
“70 onigiris definitely do not fit in here.” Osamu smiles with his quip, and she smiles back. 
“Figured. I’ll help ya grab the rest. Go and put that down first.” She heads towards the front door, leaving him in the doorway. 
He takes a deep breath before recomposing himself, restoring his classic blank n’ bored expression. He strides into the kitchen, placing the black container down softly and attracts eyes in the process, including yours. He feels your soft gaze somehow dig into the back of his head once he swiftly turns around, walking away back to the front door. As he steps back into the winter breeze, he’s met with Homura’s knowing gaze. 
“They’re single, ya know.” 
Osamu huffs out cold hair, eyes closing at the sting of the wind. And somehow, the cold sting filling his lungs eased the fear in his stomach. 
“I look like shit.”
“Atsu said you could take his clothes. Let’s go pick somethin’ nice out for ya.” 
This is gonna be a long night. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Osamu sits himself on the couch, a glass of champagne in one hand. Atsumu’s maroon button-up faintly smells like his signature cologne, and although he usually hates it, something about it helps Osamu channel his brother’s cockiness confidence, which feels very helpful right about now. 
But the confidence he’s tryna channel can only do so much. Suna and Akaashi are both worried as they watch Osamu space out mid conversation. Its far from normal. Suna knows exactly what’s on his best friend’s mind, while Akaashi is astute enough to make a guess. 
“Myaa-sam.” Akaashi gently calls to Osamu. No response. 
So Suna gives him a nice kick. 
“Oi!” Osamu rubs his shin. 
“Talk to them, before ya go crazy and take us all down with ya,” Suna’s tone is flat and bored, but the intensity of the statement is clear. 
“I dunno…” 
“Myaa-sam, don’t you think it's worth a try?” Akaashi’s approach is different, soft and coaxing. 
“Ya know how awkward it’s gonna be?” His leg is bouncing now.
He wants to. Very badly. But he can’t. It might only make things worse. 
“It’s only awkward if ya make it awkward. And that’s comin’ from me. Ya know, from both of our personal experiences, waiting too long is the worst mistake you can make.” Suna turns his gaze back to the kitchen, wistfulness is his voice. 
“We fucked up. But yer gettin’ a second chance. Don’t do it again.” 
Osamu knows Suna’s pain. He knows he’s right. 
“How the hell do I even start?” 
Suna’s gaze shifts to something, or someone, else before quickly locking eyes with Akaashi. 
“Don’t run.” He then gets up wordlessly and walks away. 
Akaashi brushes his pants off before standing, a small smile resting on his face. 
“Just remember Myaa-sam, you’ll only regret the things you don’t do. It’s best to be honest,” and with that, Akaashi also walks away. 
As Osamu’s eyes trace Akaashi’s path of escape, his eyes are caught by you, happily bounding towards him- a smile on your face and onigiri in hand. 
Yeah, that’s you for sure. Osamu is caught between the nerves in his stomach and the fuzziness in his mind as you come up to him. 
“Osamu, hello! Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, L/N.”
“Can, can I sit here?”
Don’t run. 
“Yeah.”
As you sit down, he notes the distance, he notes how your arms are in front of you, he notes your smile, and he notes how your eyes shine. He notes how cute you look with the onigiri tightly held in your hands. 
“Your onigiri’s are amazing! I always knew you were a great cook, but I’m so sad I never got to try them before!”
“Thank you, L/N. These definitely aren’t my best, Tsumu didn’t tell me I needed to make em till this mornin’ so… I was worried they weren’t as good.”
A lie. He knows they’re not bad. But he wants you to think they can be much better. 
“If this is bad then I’ll definitely have to come by and try more! Because this is the best onigiri I’ve ever had. But maybe that’s because you’re the one who made em.” You quickly move on from your comment by taking a giant bite out of your onigiri, and Osamu hopes that you don’t see how intensely his face heats up. 
Are ya, flirting? With him? Nah, yer just being you, all nice and all. But that doesn’t do anything to mitigate how much you’ve just stroked his ego. 
“Sounds like classic Atsumu, to forget to tell ya something important. What was your day like? Having to prep all this so fast.” You look up at him, expectantly, eagerly ready to listen to him.
Your undivided attention does illegal things to his heart, ya know. 
But just like that, you two fall into your usual pace, as if y’all had never stopped talking in the first place. He tells you stories, you add in charismatic quips, you both share laughs, and slowly the gap between you two closes. Osamu’s hand is now empty of any glasses and lounges against the back of the chair right by your head. You, on the other hand, have your legs pulled up under you, your knees gently pushing against his thigh. 
“Oh my gosh I should be at more Black Jackals games from now on, this sounds amazing,” you say as you wipe a tear from your eye after laughing too hard. 
“If yer goin, lemme know, I can keep ya company,” Osamu lets the words fall from his mouth before he processes what he’s saying. 
You pause, soaking in his words. “Really?”
Now it’s his turn to process his offer. “Uh.. only… if yer interested-”
“I’d love that.” You smile at him, excitement clear in your voice. 
As Osamu indulges himself in the sight of your smile, he realizes that some rice clung to the corner of your face. Out of instinct and enabled by proximity, his hand resting in his lap reaches out to you. His hand caresses your jaw while his thumb drags against the corner of your mouth, down over your bottom lip. Out of shock, you could do nothing but stare at him as his eyes meet yours. 
In this moment, in this place, time has stopped. Osamu has one thought on his mind as he thumbs at your lips. 
I need to kiss them. Now.
But then he didn’t. 
Osamu sharply retracts his hand, a “ah, sorry,” running off his tongue. 
“You’re, you’re fine.” You look down, flustered. “I’ll, be right back.” Osamu sighs and feels his heart start to sting as you walk away, head lowered. 
Fuck me. I fucked up again, didn’t I? I just didn’t want to do anything they didn’t want. 
 Osamu snaps back to reality as he feels a hard slap against the back of his head. 
He’s ready to fight when he turns around, only to see Homura and Atsumu behind the couch. 
“The fuck was that, Samu?” Atsumu aggressively yell whispers. 
“What doya mean!” He knows what Atsumu means. He hates admitting Tsumu is right, but he can’t admit that. 
Homura’s disappointed glare quiets him down. “Don’t do anything you don’t want to, Osamu. But if you want it, you can’t keep running away. And don’t lead them on either, that ain’t fair.” 
“I didn’t know if they wanted to…” Hasn’t that always been the problem? Osamu is a confident guy. He pulls a lotta people, pretty consistently too. But you were different, always had been. Osamu never wanted to hurt you, never wanted to make you uncomfortable. Never wanted to ruin your friendship. But in trying to do that, once it was too late, he knew that’s exactly what he did. And he couldn’t find it in himself to do that again. 
“They want it. I know my best friend. They want you as much as you want them, headass. So if you’re not gonna make a move, I will.” With that, Homura turns on her heels and walks away, Atsumu glaring at his brother while his girlfriend pulls him along. 
That’s definitely a threat. What does it mean? Who knows! But better to not find out.
Osamu’s eyes scan the room and he finds Suna leaning up against a wall, Akaashi standing next to him. Suna’s lazy gaze makes contact with Osamu’s for a moment before closing while sipping at his hot chocolate. Akaashi’s squint also feels more piercing in this moment. 
My boys are talkin’ shit about me? Incorrect, Samu. In case you have not realized, your boys are not the type to talk in the first place. 
I deserve it this time though. He rubs the back of his neck as he stands up to stretch. 
You do regret the things you don’t do. Dammit Akaashi. Time to talk it out. 
Osamu strides through the house tryna find you. He finds you stepping down the stairs, wiping at your face. His heart shatters and he really wants nothing but to hug you. But he resists, mind determined. 
“L/N.”
“Osamu! Hi um… I’m so sorry if I’ve been bothering you.” 
“L/N.”
“I’ll just let you go, I don’t wanna make you anymore uncomfortable.”
“Y/N.” Osamu grabs your arm as you try and walk away and gently tugs you to face him. “Please. Can we talk?” 
You pause, take a deep breath, and then turn to him, eyes still ensuring him that he has your undivided attention. 
With butterflies fluttering in his stomach, he calmly speaks. “I like you.”
Your eyes widen.
“I like you a lot. Since 2nd year-”
“In college?”
“High school.” 
You shudder and tears pool in the corners of your eyes. Instinct takes over Osamu as he pulls you forward with all his weight, throwing you against his chest as he wraps his arms around you. 
“I’m sorry I never told ya,” he whispers to you as he rocks you side to side, your face buried in his chest and your arms tight around his back. 
“I’ve always been so scared of, hurtin ya. You were one of my close friends, and I didn’t wanna mess it up over feelings. I didn’t wanna lose ya.” 
You nuzzle against his chest as he feels you start to shake.
“But when I saw that guy kissin ya one day, I thought… I thought I lost you anyways. I realized I waited too long and that I made a mistake. And then I proceeded to do everythin’ I never wanted to do, I hurt ya and I fucked up our friendship.”
“Osamu, I never wanted him to kiss me.” Your voice cracks. 
“...What?” His eyes go wide with concern and confusion. 
“He kissed me outta the blue. I thought we were just friends but he didn’t see it that way. I was just being myself, though. But right after that I told him there was someone else I liked.” 
Osamu internally hits himself. Maybe he should just ask Atsumu to punch him. How could he be so fuckin’ stupid? 
“I was gonna confess to you after that, but that’s when you dipped on me. I didn’t know what I did, and Homura told me to talk to you and find out for myself- she said it’d be fine if I talked to you, and that I should learn to communicate with you but I… I didn’t reach out. That’s my fault.”
Osamu pulls you closer to him, crushing you as much as he could. It’s his turn to shed a few tears, in frustration and pain. He coulda been with you all this time, but he was being a headass. Maybe Homura should punch him instead. 
“I’m...I’m so so sorry Y/N. I missed ya so much.” He cradles you in his arms, a calming (self-calming) sigh falling through his lips. 
“I’ve missed you too, Samu.”
You two look at each other for a good, long moment before small smiles crawl onto your faces. Osamu pulls you against him once more. 
“Let’s try this again. I wanna get it right this time.”
“Sounds good to me.” You say, sniffles stopping and giggles rising out of your chest. 
He buries his nose into the top of your head drawing in the sweet smell of your shampoo while his hands grab onto your fluffy sweater. 
“So cute! NOW KISS.” You and Osamu jolt out of your hug when Atsumu barks. All Osamu’s (and your) friends had now come to look at you two, smiles all around. 
Akaashi smiles fondly. Suna smiles lazily, and your favorite dumb Black Jackals (Bokuto and Hinata), who were unaware of any history between you two, are now in shock while also smiling like crazy. 
“Get it, Mya-samm!” Bokuto cheers out, causing everyone to erupt into laughter. 
“Wait, wait!” Atsumu runs down the hall, jumps, and then runs right up to his twin. He then proceeds to hold a mistletoe right above yours and Osamu’s head. 
“ I’ve been waitin’ for this shit to happen for Ion even know how many years. No chickenin’ out of it this time.” 
“Wasn’t planning on it, jackass.” 
Osamu’s hands find their way to your cheeks, gently caressing it with his fingers running up and down your jaw. His eyes take their time inspecting every inch of your face, mentally mapping every beautiful feature that adorns you. With the fire hot in his stomach and his lips aching, he pulls your face to meet his, lips gently massaging yours, telling you everything he had said earlier all over again, but this time with his actions. 
He likes you. A lot. For years. And he’s missed you so much. 
He slows the kiss down, taking his time to let you feel his lips against yours. When your hands reach up to hold his face he can’t help but try and pull you closer. 
As he pulls away after a mere 30 seconds, which did indeed feel like forever, his adrenaline is pumping and his smile is uncontrollable. The whooping and hollering slowly starts to die down, not that either of you heard it while so focused on the other. 
Osamu’s eyes find Suna’s. Suna has his camera out, as per usual, but his face has a small smile on it, and he nods to his best friend. With that, he nudges Akaashi and they walk back to to the family room. 
“Alright alright let’s get going boys. We have games that need to be played.” Homura grabs Bokuto and Hinata by the arm and collar (respectively) after giving a look to you. 
In that moment, Atsumu winked at Osamu while doing the ‘okay’ sign with his hands before walking to the room with everyone else. 
It was a signal the two had established way back in high school, when he and Homura started dating. It was their nonverbal sign of permission to the other twin for guaranteed privacy- which was important in a household of shared rooms and shared, well, everything. 
“What now Samu?” You look up at him, tugging him closer now that everyone else was gone. 
“I’m not done with ya just yet.” He smiles down at you, his eyes mischievous. 
You tilt your head in confusion. 
“I’m throwin ya over my shoulder, okay?” 
“Yes but why-” 
With that, Osamu sweeps you off the floor and throws you over his right shoulder easily.
“I messed up for years of my life, and now I have to make up for lost time. I told ya I’m not done with ya just yet.” 
Osamu proceeds to carry you up the stairs, giggles falling from your mouth. 
He’s gonna make sure you know much he really likes you. He’ll shower you in so much love, there won’t be a doubt left in your mind. 
He promises.
Epilogue- the next day
As the Black Jackals all slept like logs in their rooms, the smell of pancakes and coffee filled the air, attracting some of the other guests.
Some of the other boys, Suna, Akaashi, and Osamu, had all slept over, and were the among the first to find their way to the kitchen. 
“Samu, did Y/N get home ok?” Homura asks him while flipping some pancakes at the stove. 
Rubbing his eyes as he approaches her with a cup of coffee in hand, he nods. “Happy n’ safe.” 
“I’m very glad.”
“Homura-chan, I have a question for ya.” 
“Yes?”
“You knew both of our sides of the story from a long time ago. Why did ya never say anythin’? I’m not mad but I’m tryna figure it out.”
She smiles before saying, “It didn’t feel right. I love you both. A lot, obviously. But I think we both know intervening can... make things worse. A lot worse.”
A shared memory flashes through their minds. 
“And on top of that, I don’t think it would’ve solved the real issue both of you had. I wanted y’all to be happy in a relationship, but that meant y’all would have some barriers to cross. Y’all needed to grow before you could work as a couple. So I figured time would do its work.” 
“Although!!” Atsumu’s bright voice cuts in as he marches into the kitchen, wrapping his girlfriend in his arms, “us not telling you they were coming yesterday was 100% planned.” 
“And not telling me about onigiris?”
“Yeah that was intentional. Had to keep ya away from the house long enough.” 
“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill ya, Tsumu.” 
A/N: I hope y’all enjoyed! The ambiguity with Suna, Osamu, and Homura was intentional, so stay tuned!!!
143 notes · View notes
kuiinncedes · 4 years ago
Note
PROMPT LIST? cheerio!tina & skank!quinn, angst #37, quinntina ofc
yes prompt list!! sorry this took so long, thanks sm for prompting sim <33
some pre-notes: first that wow this got long again 😂 2398 words (before probably some edits in the tumblr post editor) *oops i did it again*
1 2 3 these are my other three (very short) “installments” for this “verse” i guess 🤪 i wouldn’t say it’s required to read them tho i think everything is pretty understandable 🥰
this also got a little anti rachel lol 🥴 and anti schue but like yeah and i think that’s it 😗
Angst 37: “Lie to me. I don’t care what you say, just lie to me. Make me feel okay again.”
--
Glee club has been going well… all things considered.
Including the fact that Quinn’s crush on Tina only grows, that Rachel Berry still doesn’t seem to warm up to her and Kurt’s presence in the choir room, that the teacher really kind of sucks and apparently only Kurt and Quinn see it, that most of the other members are still wary around them - around Quinn.
But not Tina. Tina, who’s one of the most popular girls in school, not actually head of the Cheerios but probably the most well-liked, and there’s a reason. Tina is the first to welcome her and Kurt to the glee club after their audition, the first to make an effort to befriend them. She talks to Kurt about fashion, and Kurt is hesitant to bring down his facade but Quinn can tell how much he loves it, how much he’s missed talking about something that brings him so much joy. Even with his temporary and purposely limited wardrobe situation, he’s talked Quinn’s ear off about the things he wants to do and wear in New York City; she doesn’t understand much of it so she’s glad Tina does.
And she talks to Quinn. Tina actually talks to Quinn like… like she’s a person, just another student at this school, not Quinn Fabray, half of the most cold and closed-off duo that walks the halls, ex-most popular girl in school, Quinn Fabray with an unspeakable history, unspeakable in that Quinn will have consequences for those who speak about it. 
It’s dramatic, she knows. But it’s part of her untouchable image at this piece of shit school with its horrible students. 
Not Tina. Tina’s not horrible.
(Get a grip, Fabray.)
It feels like she and Kurt are on the edge of a precipice with glee club. Tina likes them, Blaine is nice enough to them (Kurt seems to like him, too), Rachel isn’t very welcoming, everyone else mostly ignores them. (Which is fine - preferable, really.)
They sway in the back, they sing, they do their part. And Quinn has missed singing, so it’s not all bad, she supposes.
But Quinn can feel the tension, the others’ hesitation whenever she and Kurt walk in to sit in the back, their unspoken thoughts, loud in their silence, their barely hidden glances.
She feels like she’ll tumble from the edge with one push.
One day, Tina sits beside Quinn and she can’t stop her jump of surprise. Tina just shoots her a small smile and moves her chair a bit further away, but Quinn finds herself wishing she would scoot the other way instead.
Tina keeps sitting by Quinn, and Quinn has no idea why.
She ignores the way her heart speeds up a little every time she makes eye contact with Tina, the way Kurt smirks knowingly at her but then returns to staring at the back of Blaine Anderson’s head, the way she can’t stop letting her eyes wander over to Tina every time Mr. Schuester starts talking about something she has no interest in (which she admits is very often).
Kurt had said glee would give her the chance to talk to Tina. And he was right - she’s made conversation with Tina multiple times (mostly initiated by Tina, though), and she would say they’re friends. Tina has said they’re friends and she definitely didn’t freak out to Kurt about it.
Kurt she called me her friend holy shit -
Inside voice, honey. Your gay is showing.
Shut - we’re literally outside. Let’s talk about you and Blaine.
Nope, fuck you, walking away now.
Kurt - wait! She - but she called me her friend - Kurt -
Besides Kurt, Tina is probably the person she’s closest with. Which still doesn’t say much - she’s not close to anyone besides Kurt…
But she wants to be, she thinks as she watches Tina perform an upbeat solo, a song she doesn’t recognize, but she watches her - how alive she looks, how good she sounds. It’s not like Quinn hasn’t heard her sing in the months since she’s joined, but if she had it her way, Tina would be the only one singing in this entire group. (She would insist on highlighting others, though, so Quinn adds herself and Kurt to that list. Not that they would ever get a solo.)
“All right, guys,” Mr. Schuester says. Kurt nudges Quinn with his elbow to get her to pay attention, and she shoots him a half-hearted glare. 
“So that was everyone who signed up to audition for a solo at regionals,” he continues. “I’ll let you know who we’re featuring by tomorrow. So I’ll see you then!”
“Who do you think is gonna get it?” Kurt asks as they leave, walking out to the parking lot. 
“Um…” 
“Right, I forgot, you’re too busy staring at Tina to know what’s going on in glee.”
Quinn scoffs. “I know what’s going on in glee.”
Kurt gives her a questioning look.
“I do! Sure, I didn’t know about the auditions, but I know Rachel’s probably getting the solo, even though it should go to Tina.”
“Anyone could tell you that.”
Quinn shoves Kurt lightly, a smile spreading across her face as they get into his car. Quinn’s been spending more time at Kurt’s lately - Quinn’s parents don’t give a fuck about her - they did the bare minimum allowing her to stay when she was pregnant and they’ve used up all their good parenting cards, it seems. She’s infinitely grateful for Burt Hummel, because if the kids and some of the teachers at school are going to treat her and Kurt like shit, at least there’s someone in their corner.
-
Completely unsurprisingly, Mr. Schuester announces Rachel as the soloist for regionals the next day, after years of the same thing, from what Quinn has heard.
Surprisingly, Tina isn’t in the room. Although, Quinn thinks, she wouldn’t be either if she knew what the outcome was going to be. And everyone knew what the outcome was going to be.
But Mercedes pushes back against his decision anyway, Santana complains, Blaine and Brittany try to placate, Kurt watches Blaine, Rachel jabbers about her destiny as the New Directions soloist or something, Quinn sits and wonders about the empty chair next to her. (She also wonders what would be the easiest way to get Rachel to shut the fuck up.)
She’s not paying attention, letting everyone’s arguing fade into the background. She barely registers Rachel saying shrilly, “We’re supposed to be a family!”
“Not much of a family when you’re the only one who can have anything good!” Mercedes snaps.
“I bet you wouldn’t react like this if Kurt or Quinn got the solo! Like they would even deserve it! At least I belong here, they don’t even - ”
“Would you shut - ” Mercedes starts at the same time Santana yells back, “Quinn doesn’t need a family, she’s a mother!”
And she knows - Quinn knows - that Santana just does this, she says shit and hurts people and this is just that and it’s whatever but -
Suddenly Quinn is in sophomore year again, hearing the taunts of her classmates behind her back and to her face. Suddenly she’s in sophomore year again, somehow invisible in the halls but also the only person anyone was looking at, pointing at, laughing at. She’s in sophomore year again and teachers do nothing to help her, no one but Kurt bothers to notice anything but the fact that she’s pregnant. And they laugh, and they taunt, and they stare.
She’s a mother. 
There it is. There’s the edge of the cliff that she has been fighting for balance on in this stupid club for months. 
Like they would even deserve it.
They don’t belong here.
And Quinn’s falling.
“I need to go, meet you at your car,” she says roughly to Kurt, who it seems hasn’t been paying attention at all, more focused on committing to memory the details of Blaine Anderson from halfway across the room. Quinn storms out and the arguing continues behind her.
Quinn slams the door to the bathroom as she barges in and all at once, sees that Tina is here (Tina is here?), realizes that she herself is crying, trying not to make noise and she just throws her bag on the floor and sinks down against a wall, hands around her knees and head leaned back. It’s too fucking much.
“Quinn?” Tina asks gently, so gently and Quinn watches as Tina kneels down in front of her. “Are you okay?”
Quinn wipes at her face, laughing harshly. “Yeah. Fine.”
Tina looks at her, not moving but just watching her. Quinn thinks it must be uncomfortable for her to kneel on the bathroom floor in her Cheerios outfit. Quinn thinks that Tina shouldn’t care about her, she should just leave, save her knees from the cold tile.
She doesn’t leave. 
After a moment, Tina says, “Hey, so, you don’t have to tell me anything… but I’m here if you need to.”
Quinn’s not actively crying anymore, grey smudges on her fingers where her makeup was wiped off. Her face probably looks like a nightmare, but she’s too exhausted to care. She leans her head back again and fixes her gaze just above Tina’s head, at the ceiling, the harsh bathroom lights piercing her vision through the tears in her eyes.
“I just - ” I guess I’m talking, she thinks, “Santana said something dumb about me being a mother and that’s what I heard sneered at me every day for months and even now still… and I’m not…”
Quinn trails off, looking at Tina again who nods, encouraging her to continue. She swallows and averts her gaze again.
“…and Rachel said something dumb about Kurt and I not belonging and not deserving it but she’s Rachel and I don’t care about the shit she says - I usually don’t. But her saying that - ” she scoffs. “Newsflash, Rachel, we don’t fucking belong anywhere.”
That was painfully made obvious sophomore year, with Quinn’s exit from the Cheerios, from popularity. It was obvious when no matter what, she couldn’t get it back, any of it. It was obvious when she and Kurt were the only ones to really notice each other and help each other. It was obvious when the only choice they had, the one they took, was becoming this and isolating themselves. It was obvious when the only chance they had was each other.
As if she needs someone else to tell her that, to rub it in.
It’s been building up, she realizes, this feeling, the hatred, the estrangement and isolation. She wonders if Kurt feels the same, how close he is to the edge, or if he’s even on a precipice like she is at all.
Quinn’s falling, she doesn’t know when or how it will end and she just wants -
“Lie to me,” she says to Tina, teeth clenched and voice tired. “I don’t care what you say, just lie to me. Make me feel okay again.”
Falling, falling, falling - 
Quinn thinks bitterly that she should be used to it after her falls from popularity.
Tina takes her hands gently and squeezes them in reassurance. “I know this might just seem like words, and I’m not lying - you do belong. Both of you. You belong in glee club. You belong here.”
Quinn just swallows again, letting the words wash over her, and in the back of her mind, the part that’s not thinking about - everything, she marvels at the fact that Tina is holding her hands, and Tina’s skin is soft, and Tina’s words and actions feel genuine.
Falling… slowing.
Lie to me.
“We don’t belong. Everyone hates us,” Quinn mutters.
“I don’t,” Tina says, smiling a little. “I know we can be pretty difficult, the glee club, but we really don’t think that. Rachel might - if I’m being honest, I think she’s the one who doesn’t belong in glee club, for a multitude of reasons - but it really is supposed to be a safe, welcoming space. I’m really sorry we haven’t been able to do that for you.”
Quinn shrugs. “You have,” she admits softly. 
Tina looks like she doesn’t know what to say to that. Quinn pushes herself up against the wall, a little awkwardly, hands still intertwined with Tina’s, who squeezes again. “I’ll talk to her,” Tina says. “Rachel. I’ve been getting fed up with her shit, anyway. I’ve been needing to talk to her.”
“Okay,” is all Quinn can think to say, quietly uttered, her voice a little choked. “You don’t have to - ”
“No, I do,” Tina says. “And I want to. Mr. Schue lets her get away with way too much.”
Quinn huffs a laugh and Tina grins slightly, then withdraws her hands and pulls them through her ponytail, suddenly looking almost nervous. Quinn drops her hands in her lap and plays with her rings. Now that Quinn’s calmed down, her proximity-to-Tina-Cohen-Chang-induced nerves are back in full force. 
And maybe she isn’t falling anymore.
“Why weren’t you there today?” she asks after a moment.
Tina’s lips clench into a line. “Knew Rachel was getting the solo. I don’t know, I didn’t want to deal with that today, you know? Three years of the same shit, I’m just tired of it.”
Quinn hums in understanding. She can imagine.
“Are you okay? What do you say we… get out of here? Go somewhere?” Tina asks a little awkwardly, wincing slightly as she stands up and extends a hand for Quinn. She takes it and lets Tina pull her up.
“I’m actually… going home with Kurt, ” - but going somewhere with Tina - Kurt will understand - “actually, yeah, sure. I’ll let him know,” Quinn answers, not letting herself doubt the decision, pulling her phone from her pocket and quickly typing out a text and sending it to Kurt, who immediately responds.
omg did u actually talk and get a date with tina cohen chang
Quinn replies, fuck you, i’m leaving bye
are you okay?
yeah, fine i’ll talk to you later
ok have fun on your date ;)
yeah 🖕
Tina bounces a little and shoots her a smile when she puts her phone away. “Awesome. There’s this coffee shop that I think you’ll love - ”
“It’s not the Lima Bean, is it?”
Tina laughs. “Of course not. Barely anyone knows about this place, at least from school, so I really love it there.”
Tina grabs Quinn’s hand again and they head out of the school, Quinn ignoring how she can feel her pounding heartbeat against Tina’s skin. Hopefully Tina doesn’t notice.
*****
some notes for after 🤪
ok so i don’t really know why i used the “she’s a mother” line and idk if i’m just overthinking it but i’m not saying that scene was bad or anything ?? idk lol it was just on my mind i guess so i put it in slkdgfj (basically,, not related to the canon scene lol i just like adding canon lines 😗)
i think the point i was trying to make if any was that quinn doesn’t really have any family (in this au) so yeah it’s kind of a sensitive point
i did say this was very similar to my previous werewolf!quinn and vampire!tina fic but i’m okay with it now tbh,,, you know like it’s an alternate universe and they just help each other in all universes :’) yeah
i would love to continue this but i don’t have the best track record with that lol so we’ll see 😂
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willow-salix · 4 years ago
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Hog-Malarkey
Just a little (I’m lying about the little) thing that @olliepig​ and I have thrown together for you all to enjoy. The Secret Santa gift exchange took care of Christmas so we’ve got New Year covered. Here’s a little snippet of the first half (we’ll post the second half tomorrow), you can read the rest on Ao3 by clicking this link. 
“Remind me again, just why are we here?” asked John with a shiver as the car made its way through the streets toward the centre of the city.
“Because Penny was invited to some fancy party at the castle and invited Gordon and Cat, which somehow ended up with all of us getting dragged along just for good measure,” Scott grumbled from the front seat, ignoring the whack on the back of the head that could have come just as easily from Cat or Selene.
“Well I think it’s going to be fun,” declared Selene firmly with a defiant look at John, daring him to disagree with her. “It’s not often we get to spend time together off the island as a family and the least you boys can do is stop complaining.”
“It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s too early and I have far too much work to catch up on after Christmas, I fail to see why I had to be included on this little trip,” John muttered under his breath, crossing his arms  in an effort to keep warm. The driver had the heating on full blast but he could still feel the damp cold sneaking into every exposed gap on his person to freeze him down to his toes. 
“I’m looking forward to it,” Virgil piped up, a happy grin firmly fixed on his face. Scott shot a look at him that clearly warned him not to elaborate on that, on pain of death.
“Honestly, you men are so grumpy it’s ridiculous. I thought I’d married the only anti social one,” Selene said, ignoring  John's huff of protest, “but clearly not. This is a chance to have a break, maybe take in the sights and relax and all you're doing is complaining. If this is how it’s going to be then Cat and I will leave you at the hotel and have some fun on our own, won’t we, Tippy Toes?”
“Absolutely. If you boys want to be miserable then that's fine, but you’re not cramping our style. I’ve not been to Edinburgh for years and I’ve been looking forward to this so I’ll be damned if I’m letting some grumpy ass Tracys spoil it,” Cat finished with a flourish.
“OK, OK,” Scott placated her. “We’ll get checked in to the hotel, get some warmer clothes on and head out to see what the city has to offer. How does that sound, everyone?”
“That’s good for me,” Virgil smiled, nudging Alan as he peered out the window at the fairground attractions that were in the gardens below the castle. “Wanna go and see those, squirt?”
“I’m not a kid any more, Virgil,” grumbled Alan, trying hard to ignore the matching grins on his brothers’ faces as they watched him trying to reconcile his love for anything that spun him upside down with his desire to be seen as one of the adults. “But I guess it might be fun…”
“I’d just like to say, here and now, that I am NOT going on anything that spins fast or does that loopy loop shit, not unless you want me throwing up on your lap. We all remember what happened last time I let Alan and Gordon drag me onto a ride and we won’t be doing it again,” Selene told them firmly. 
Alan sniggered to himself, reminded of their trip to the theme park a few years before. “I promise we won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
“Good,” she huffed. “I need a relaxing break after the stress of dealing with you idiots the entirety of Christmas.”
“She’s just worried what she’ll blurt out this time if she goes on another ride,” Scott side whispered to Cat. “Last time she yelled for a divorce and they had only been dating four months but Grandma overheard and got all excited. They said they weren't ever getting hitched but now look, married and scowling all the time. I thought that only happened in TV shows.” He ducked and yelped when he received another smack around the head, confirming his suspicions that it had been Selene the first time too.
“I don’t think there is anything else she could yell out,” Cat whispered back. “Not unless she starts offering to sacrifice her first born to ensure her safety.”
“Don’t give Grandma more ideas,” Scott winked. “That would mean popping out a sprog first.”
“We can hear you, you know,” John hissed through chattering teeth, allowing Selene to wrap her arms around him in a bid to warm him up. Space was never like this, his suit kept him at the perfect temperature, space was quiet and calm and above all, didn't have his brothers there. This little trip was going to be a nightmare, he could feel it in his bones. 
“I know,” Scott assured him. “Doesn’t make it less true.”
“I think that's us here,” Cat called out, elbowing Scott in the ribs as they pulled up outside a grand looking old building right beside the castle, shutting down any further conversation. 
“Wow,” Selene whispered, her nose pressed against the window. “That really is a castle, an actual freaking castle. Bitch, we’re gonna be princesses!”
“Hell yeah, we are,” Cat grinned back at her as John and Scott exchanged a look of pure terror, wondering what was about to be unleashed onto the world.
“I wonder if  they have decent bathtubs here?” Selene pondered, ignoring the sniggers that echoed around the car. It wasn’t her fault that Scott had told everyone about the room cleaning bill that Penelope had discreetly passed on to him after she and John had accidentally flooded a bathroom the morning after Penelope’s charity ball.
"I meant so John could warm up!" 
"Sure you did," Scott drawled, not sounding like he believed her at all. 
“Oh look,” Virgil called loudly, pointing out of the window, clearly having never been more thankful to see his younger brother in his life before. “There’s Gordo.”
John frowned, catching sight of the strained look on the aquanauts face through the rain speckled windows of the car. “He doesn’t look happy.”
“That’s not a good sign,” Scott agreed, throwing open the door before the driver could make his way around the car to open it for them, waving his aside impatiently. “Gordon, what's wrong?” 
Selene exchanged a look with Cat, one eyebrow raised, Cat shrugged in return, a small smile forming as she watched Scott striding across the pavement. It was always interesting to watch the sudden shift that took place inside Scott whenever his bro sense tingled. He could go from teasing to serious in the blink of an eye whenever he felt like one of his family needed him.
“I know that smile,” Selene whispered to the other woman, “should we be expecting another room cleaning bill?”
“He’s just so damn sexy when he does that,” Cat sighed dreamily.
Selene cast a glance at John who had apparently forgotten that he was cold and grumpy to join Scott in his interrogation, a frown creasing his forehead as he shifted effortlessly into work mode. “Yeah, I'm with ya, girl.” 
Slipping her arm through Selene’s, Cat towed her along as they scurried to catch up with the rest of the family, Virgil and Alan having exited while they had been eyeing up their men.
“So she was sick right there and then?” they heard Alan ask, his eyes as round as saucers, as the girls joined the huddle of Tracy that had formed.
“In the ice bucket,” Gordon confirmed with a sad nod.
“She didn’t go on any of those rides, did she?” Alan asked. “Because if that’s the reaction I’m definitely not sitting next to Sel on anything ever again.”
“Hey!” Selene protested, insulted on her stomach's behalf. Alan just shrugged, unconcerned, he'd only said the truth. 
“And you still don’t know what it was that caused it?” Virgil asked, trying valiantly to drag the conversation back to its original point, the medic in him wanting all the information. 
“No! One minute we were enjoying dinner the next she was bright red and honking like a goose whenever she tried to speak.”
“Definitely an allergic reaction,” Virgil agreed. “Any other symptoms?”
“Other than re-spackling half the bathroom from both exits and not coming out all night?”
Alan made a face that registered his disgust at his brother’s vivid description, he'd never look at the Lady the same again.
“Yes, other than that."
“Itchy, blotchy, pukey,” Gordon ticked off symptoms on his fingers like he was calling a register at Disneyland. “Swollen and dizzy. Nope, I think that’s about it.”
“Is that not enough?” Selene asked, her eyes widening in horror.
“Where is she now?” Cat asked, concerned for her best friend. Penelope was not one to be caught out in such a manner, she had very few allergies but always made sure that any chef was well informed before she dined, so this one had to be previously unknown.
“Parker took her home about an hour ago, she’s got the family doctor on standby waiting to meet her back at the manor.”
“So, does that mean we can all go home?” John asked hopefully.
Gordon shook his head. “She made me promise that we would represent her in her absence. Apparently someone from the Creighton-Ward family has been in attendance for the last two hundred years and we can’t let her down.”
“Well, if you promised I don’t see that we have a choice,” Virgil admitted.
“Oh, come on guys,” Gordon pleaded, seeing the looks of resignation on his family’s faces. “It won’t be that different to what we would have been doing already, we just have to be on our best behavior and follow a few more traditions, that's all.”
“Why do I feel like we’re going to regret this?” Scott groaned.  
               ***
“So you’re telling me now that we’ve all got to wear kilts?” Scott exclaimed, his displeasure written all over his face as he took in the five matching outfits that hung from a rail that had been wheeled into the shared living space of their suite. 
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tarithenurse · 4 years ago
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Nightingale - 21
Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Hatake Kakashi &/x Fem!OC Contents: Some...niceness? Oh, that’s gotta be a mistake! Curious Naruto (that’s a warning all on its own). A/N: Work is fucked (not so noticeable during night shifts, though, and I (+ many colleagues) feel horrible about it all (we’re supposed to do rehabilitation but it’s bare basic care)...and so I’ve got a job interview tomorrow and I’m freaking OUT because I didn’t expect to be taken into consideration! ARGH! As usual, ASK or REBLOG for tag!
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Ch. 21
Kakashi had refused to leave the woman behind at first. It wasn’t until the Hokage had stepped over and threatened with constant missions abroad that the blue nightingale finally snapped out of her stupor, glared at her protector, and told him not to be a bloody idiot that he accepted leaving her behind – and even then, his thoughts constantly sought her out.
He had not had the motivation to think of something for Team 7 to do as training, but he also knew he needed the distraction.
“Perhaps,” he had contemplated, “you could do better in the bell-test this time?”
Of course, Naruto had complained: “Why’s it always you get the easy part of holding on to things? It’s not fair!”
“You rather be the one defending the bells?” An idea had formed then. “Fine, you three will have to protect three bells from me...if you succeed saving just one, then there might be a prize -”
“Yipeee!”
“...if you fail twice, though...” he had let the threat hang in the air, knowing that would be plenty of motivation.
...
Dirty, tired, but happy. The three students’ chatter surrounds Kakashi, bringing an unseen smile to his face. Naruto’s recount of his apparently more amazing moves than anyone had witnessed is a high-speed noise compared to the more dignified analysis of the other two. Gotta remember this exercise, the sensei promises himself as he picks a stick from his unruly hair.
“Must admit...the first round was over so quickly, I thought you hadn’t even learned anything from it,” he teases, earning groans and contradictions in return.
“But we did it! I never give up!”
Sakura sighs. “We know, Naruto, now quit yelling!”
“Butbutbut! What do we win?!”
That stops all three students who look to their leader.
“Ah, right. I did promise something, didn’t I?” Oops, shouldn’t have let my attention slip at the end. “Well then, how does a stop at Ichiraku’s sound?”
Apparently, that sounds good to more than just Naruto who always can eat, and they set off towards the best ramen-bar in town.
He hears the angry voice before the student do, and though the distance still is too great to pick out the individual words it's clear from the tone that most must be threats of sorts. As a jōnin, it may not be his explicit task to investigate the matter – there's the local police corps for civilian crimes and misdemeanours – but the presence of a shinobi such as him tends to have a calming effect on any hotheads.
Skidding around the corner with the kids hot on his heels, the scenery in front of a bakery unfolds with theatrical clarity: the matron, standing on the stoop to her shop with a broom in hand and both arms and hair flying wild on the rage she's spewing; the crowd, a mix of customers from the bakery and passers by, simultaneously intrigued and appalled as they take in the drama; and finally the demure figure with the hands clasped before her and the cascade of blue hair obscuring the face that's lowered towards the sandy ground. No one, to stop the verbal abuse from the shop owner – although Kakashi doubts the newcomer has been allowed to walk around the Village without a shadow.
"Hai, what seems to be the issue here?" he interrupts gently, placing himself between the two women.
The baker smiles coldly. "About time," she fumes, "this...this girl has the audacity of asking for continuous employment even after the ANBU came this morning to ransack the room she was renting!"
"I believe there has been a verbal agreement between the two of you that part of the rent was payed in labour?" Glancing at Uguisu, it worries the jōnin that she's not raising her voice to speak up for herself.
"If I'd known she was a criminal then I'd ne-"
Kakashi fully turns to the woman. "Criminal?" His disapproval is palpable in the air. "If she was a criminal, then she wouldn’t be allowed to walk around freely anymore."
Tugging away a few of the errand strands which leaves white flour smeared across black hair, the baker glances at the surrounding people who do nothing to help her out. "Well...she's been lying to me about her identity...even disguising herself! If I'd had any idea then I wouldn't have rented the room to her!"
"Not everyone has the luxury to freely announce their presence wherever they go." He ignores the halfhearted attempt at a protest from behind him. "Now, for the rent...I believe you are owed?"
"Yes."
"Perhaps we can reach an arrangement...I'll be willing to supervise until the remainder of the debt has been payed off in the form of cleaning. Would that be acceptable?" Hesitantly, sure, but Kakashi wins the acceptance and only a slight huff when the baker finally returns to her business. "Alright. Nothing left to see here, people!"
The onlookers scatter slowly, muttering as they go but not daring to be too obvious in their curiosity while there still is a ninja present.
"You didn't have to do that," Uguisu points out softly.
Maybe not. "Where will you be staying now?" he deflects.
"A room at the dorms."
The trio of kids have edged closer, one of them cowering under a death glare from Sakura, proving that she at least has some tact and managed to stop the usual flow of obnoxious questions. Sasuke has stuffed the fists deep into his pockets and pretends a pebble is much more interesting, but their teacher is well aware that the kid is soaking up any and all information.
"We were headed to Ichiraku’s for a celebratory ramen dinner...want to come along?" Regret is plastered across her face, a shrug growing into a shake of the head, but Kakashi has made a decision. "My treat, of course, can't expect you to stick it out with the number one knucklehead there otherwise."
Her crooked smile alone would be enough for the man to live for.
Introductions are quickly managed on the way to Ichiraku, and though Uguisu dishes out an impressive amount of non-answers the kids stop pushing for information as soon as they get their food. Blue hair pushed to one side, the former mystery has laid claim to a seat at the end, allowing her to sit at an angle that grants a better view while her back is protected and Kakashi sits as a buffer between her and the kids.
"Celebration?" Mr. Ichiraku, the patron of the eatery, looks between the guests.
"Hai!" Somehow, Naruto manages to be talk and eat at the same time. "We beat Kakashi at his own game!"
It earns a smile from the chef who gladly engages with the kid.
The teacher glances to the added guest only to find her attention glued on Sakura. "Haruno-sama," Uguisu begins, "would it be possible for me to borrow your Academy books from before the Genin exam?"
The question silences everyone, underlining the sudden hectic stuttering from the girl in answer.
"Why do you need them, hey, lady?" Naruto demands, voicing the question everyone else is thinking.
Before satisfying their curiosity, the woman takes a sip of water, her brows wrinkling slightly as if she’s thinking of the best way to say whatever is on her mind. “Sarutobi Hokage has decided the best way to ensure my past training is by having me sit in with the Academy Recruits -”
“Whaaat?!”
“Shut up, Naruto!”
“- meanwhile my warden will plan an alternate chunin exam.” She bites softly into the bottom lip, momentarily lost in thought. “I suppose that’s for the best.”
To Naruto’s credit, he really has been trying to hold back for several seconds, but now the scratchy laughter escapes him in a sputter that makes his comrades cringe visibly. “Hahaaa! You’re gonna be learning with the kiddies! Eheheheeee-”
He’s efficiently silenced by Sakura once more. This time probably for longer as he’ll have to nurse an oncoming lump on his head.
Looking past Kakashi, the girl attempts a placating smile. “Hai, you can borrow them. And please excuse Naruto who’s a moron.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Let me get them right away!” The rose-haired girl rushes off before Uguisu can stop her, leaving three guests and a cook behind with a dazed boy.
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not-majestic-bluenicorn · 4 years ago
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Crescent || Chapter 10
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Fandom(s): ATEEZ
AU: Treasure Hunters
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Relationship: Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
Language: English
Status: Ongoing
Chapter WC: 5,414 words
Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, more will be added.
Chapter Warnings: Blood, Injuries (Dislocated shoulder), Torture (electrocution).
Summary:
"You don't make friends easily, do you?" Yunho asked.
"Why does that matter to you?" San immediately retorted, posture growing even more tense. Yunho raised his hands in an attempt to placate him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it was just a question..." Yunho opened his eyes wide, not expecting this reaction from San. "I genuinely just want to talk to you, I've never seen you interact with anyone else from the crew..."
"You're worried about me, basically?" San asked, looking at him with distrust, but relaxing a little bit more.
"Yeah, you can put it that way." Yunho smiled, putting his hands down.
AO3
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Tagged: @angel0taiyo​
Jongho was lying on his bed, reading a book about other treasure myths and stories. Hongjoong had picked it up for him in the last stop they had made when it had caught his attention. He wasn't much of a reader, but with their hunt for the treasure, he had gotten interested in it. Jongho had never received a formal education, and so everything he knew had been learned from the workers that had taken care of him all of his life.
The reading was simple enough that he could understand it and enjoy it, but every once in a while he would stumble against a couple of words that he wasn't too sure of their meaning. Whenever this happened, he would ask the person closest to him. At that moment, the person was Mingi, who was sprawled on the bottom bunk bed, more asleep than awake. Jongho poked his head from over the railing on his bed and observed the taller man as he fought sleep.
"Mingi..." He called. If Mingi didn't answer, he would just let him sleep and go look for someone else.
"Hm?" Mingi replied back, eyes opening and meeting Jongho's gaze. "Oh, hey..." He yawned softly. "What's up?"
"Do you have any idea what these words could mean?" Jongho asked, passing him the book and using the bookmark to point at the words.
Jongho noticed as Mingi immediately tensed once he received the book. He put it on his lap and just stared at it blankly for a moment, eyes fixed at the point in the page marked by the bookmark. Jongho waited, patiently, maybe Mingi wasn't sure either and was trying to decipher them. He knew how much Mingi liked helping others, maybe he didn't want to disappoint Jongho.
Still, the seconds became minutes and nothing came from Mingi's mouth, and Jongho started to get worried. The truth was that Mingi couldn't read. He had been orphaned pretty early in his life and raised like most kids in an infirmary until he had had the age to work at the mines. The only education he had ever received was how to operate explosives. So as Mingi started at the words, he began to panic, and without realizing, he started to breathe heavily.
Jongho got off his bed and knelt in front of Mingi, grabbing his shoulders with both hands and shaking him softly, urging him to react. Mingi looked at him after a moment and Jongho took the book from his hands, throwing it away. He couldn't understand why Mingi had panicked like that, but that wouldn't matter until he calmed down.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Jongho asked, grabbing Mingi's face with one hand to make sure he was looking at him and was focused on something. "Follow my breathing, it's okay."
Mingi did as he was told, following Jongho's breathing as he looked into his eyes, unable to tear his eyes away. Little by little, his breathing returned to normal and he no longer felt like he was about to pass out. Jongho didn't let go of his face until he was sure Mingi wasn't going to faint in front of him.
"What happened just now?" He asked softly, when he felt like Mingi would be able to reply.
"I'm sorry," Mingi apologized, looking so regretful that anyone would think he had committed some sort of crime.
"Why are you sorry?" Jongho continued speaking in a soft voice to him, softly coaxing the answer out of Mingi.
"I'm sorry," Mingi repeated again, closing his eyes. "I don't know how to read, or write... I-I never learned, I'm sorry."
Jongho's eyes widened slightly before his expression softened once again. So that was the reason Mingi always refused to help when there were documents involved. It also explained why he hadn't wanted to order at the restaurant bar when they had gone, even though he had been staring hungrily at Jongho's food the rest of the night. Mingi didn't know how to read.
"It's okay, it's not your fault." Jongho reassured him, trying to come up with the right thing to say at a moment like that.
"It's pathetic, though, it's such a basic thing... and I can't do it." Mingi sighed, feeling worthless. A little voice in his head shaped like Wooyoung told him he wasn't, but he pushed that voice away, feeling tired and defeated.
"It's not pathetic, you're not pathetic," Jongho insisted, grabbing Mingi's hands. "It's not your fault that you didn't get the chance to learn. There's nothing wrong with you, you're perfect."
Mingi looked at Jongho with big eyes. He almost looked like he was about to cry, but didn't, deciding to hold it in instead because he didn't want to ridicule himself in front of Jongho more than he already had. 
"You do have the universal translator installed though, right? Those are supplied by the government." Jongho asked, wanting to make sure that the situation wasn't worse than it seemed. Mingi nodded. "Then I can try to teach you how to read and write, if you want. I'm sure the others would be willing to help as well."
"No!" Mingi raised his voice, startling Jongho. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, just- You can't tell anyone." Mingi insisted, looking a bit scared. "I don't want them to think badly of me."
"I'm sure they wouldn't," Jongho reassured him, but Mingi's expression told him that he just wasn't ready to believe him something like that. "But it is not my place to tell them anything, so I promise I won't."
"Thank you." Mingi smiled weakly, and Jongho smiled back at him.
"Don't worry about it, go to sleep now." Jongho leaned closer to ruffle Mingi's hair and Mingi stared at him.
His heartbeat picked up as he stared at Jongho from up close. No one had ever told him he was perfect, yet Jongho knew so much about him, about his imperfections, and he had not hesitated when he had looked Mingi in the eye and told him he was perfect. Jongho told him to rest well before getting off of his bed and going back to the top bunk.
Mingi could only stare at him. His heart was beating so fast and loud that it flooded his ears and he couldn't hear anything else. There was no way Jongho couldn't hear it too, but if he did, he had decided to spare Mingi the embarrassment and not talk about it. Mingi, too, decided to spare himself from the conflicts that came with feelings and just covered his head with a pillow and willed himself to sleep.
--
The next morning, Yunho felt so much better after spending that small moment with Hongjoong. He wasn't necessarily a stranger to sailing through space, but he had never before passed so much time on a vessel with no obvious destiny in sight. He could tell he wasn't the only feeling like that, though, so he knew he had to keep himself in high spirits to motivate the rest of the crew. Yunho did wonder though how Hongjoong wasn't absolutely exhausted of the whole thing yet. He suspected it was probably because he wanted to honor his brother, and nothing would stop him from doing just that.
As he paced around the deck, Yunho spotted San softly stretching on the opposite side. Yunho observed him with curiosity. Since the beginning of the journey, San had kept to himself for the most part; he didn't really speak with the rest of the crew members and was always locked with Hongjoong in the quarters just working on the map. Yunho had heard from other crew members that they found him intimidating.
San had never complained about how much time he spent working on the map, and there was no way to tell only by his expression if he was enjoying it or if he hated the whole thing. Hongjoong had become sort of close to him after spending so much time together, but other than that, no one ever talked to San. Yunho couldn't help but feel curious about him. Especially after what he had noticed when they had revealed the little bet they had going on with Hwanwoong and Siyeon.
To be fair, Yunho understood how people would sometimes be drawn to Hongjoong. He was just attractive in many ways. Yunho himself wasn't jealous, so he found it very amusing when other people showed interest in Hongjoong and then were surprised when they learned about Yunho. Which was funny, because they were hardly ever apart and they weren't secretive about their relationship either.
In a split second, and driven by curiosity, Yunho changed his route and walked towards San. San looked at him at first, but seemed to convince himself that Yunho was just going to pass by and didn't say anything until Yunho stood in front of him. San continued stretching until he noticed Yunho wasn't leaving, and decided to ask him if he needed something.
"Not really," Yunho shrugged. "I was just thinking of chatting with you."
San looked at him with confusion, stopping mid stretch to just look at Yunho from head to toe and then back up again. Yunho chuckled, unable to understand why it would be so weird to San that someone wanted to talk with him. Maybe he was conscious about his intimidating presence. Maybe he was doing it on purpose and hadn't expected someone to bypass it and talk to him. Whatever it was, Yunho had made his decision that he would learn something about the man that day.
"Why are you so weirded out?" Yunho smiled. "I mean, I know we've never had just a chat before, but it can't be that weird, can it?"
"I guess not..." San mumbled, finishing his stretches before facing Yunho.
It was obvious by the straight line his shoulders formed that he was tense, and Yunho couldn't help but find it amusing. San was always so serious and kept to himself, but Yunho had never seen him tense. Now though, he looked uncomfortable and out of place, and he realized that this might be the first time someone from the crew was actually talking to him.
"You don't make friends easily, do you?" Yunho asked.
"Why does that matter to you?" San immediately retorted, posture growing even more tense. Yunho raised his hands in an attempt to placate him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, it was just a question..." Yunho opened his eyes wide, not expecting this reaction from San. "I genuinely just want to talk to you, I've never seen you interact with anyone else from the crew..."
"You're worried about me, basically?" San asked, looking at him with distrust, but relaxing a little bit more.
"Yeah, you can put it that way." Yunho smiled, putting his hands down. "We've barely spent time away from this ship, and I can imagine it might be getting to some of the crew members, so I just wanted to check on you." Yunho shrugged. "It's harder when you don't have someone to rely on."
San sighed and leaned against the rail with his back, tilting his head backwards to look at the black canvas that was space. There were so many stars and planets and whatnot out there, but even with all of that, it was dark. He reckoned it would probably be difficult to see on the ship if it wasn't because the artificial atmosphere it came with emitted a glow of its own. 
"It is a bit hard, yeah," San agreed, letting his defenses down a little. "I'm okay though."
He was very stressed, but it was not for the reasons Yunho was thinking about. Honestly, he couldn't care less about being away from land for so long, it was something he could handle. But the stress of not fulfilling his mission was killing him. He had yet to make the choice of killing Hongjoong and each day it only became harder and harder to pull the trigger on the Captain. 
Of course, that wasn't something he could share with anyone, so he had to carry the burden alone. Plus, even if he could share it by some sort of miracle, no one was willing to approach him, and he wasn't there to make friends, so there was no one to share with anyway. Yunho didn't seem quite satisfied by his answer though, so San guessed he wasn't going to get away from that one easily.
"Why don't you try to approach the others?" Yunho suggested, leaning on the rail by San's side. "Also aren't you close to Hongjoong? You could try talking to him, he wouldn't push you away."
"Well, why don't the others approach me, then?" San huffed, not wanting to have this conversation. "I wouldn't say I'm close to the Captain either..." He mumbled right after, trying to ignore the feeling akin to guilt setting on his chest.
"It would hurt him quite a lot to hear you say that," Yunho smiled slightly, but he seemed uncomfortable. "And the others don't approach you because you look..."
"Scary?" San supplied, having heard that countless times before. "You can go ahead and say it, I don't mind."
"I wouldn't say scary," Yunho shook his head. "Maybe a little intimidating."
"Well, I didn't do anything to intimidate them so..." San shrugged again. "They can just think whatever they want, I'm okay anyway."
"You're a difficult one, aren't you?" Yunho chuckled, looking down at San.
"I get told that often, yes," San nodded, scoffing.
 "What is the real reason you don't approach others?" Yunho insisted.
"Why do you think there's a reason?" San crossed his arms and looked back at Yunho, challenging him.
"Well, you're particularly defensive about it, so there must be something, right?" Yunho leaned in closer unconsciously, putting an arm behind San's back on the rail. San briefly looked at it before looking back at Yunho.
"Not really," San let out a deep breath. "Let's just say it's something my people are not very good at."
That wasn't entirely a lie, but it wasn't completely true either. San just had never had an opportunity to socialize. People like him were especially raised, from a young age, to be used as weapons and tools. He knew nothing but the training he had received in proper etiquette, how to act like a normal human being that had grown with a normal background. 
San had never particularly excelled at those classes though. He was an expert at managing all sorts of weapons and carrying out any kind of technical task. He had learned so many languages in case his universal translator ever failed, and he could absorb almost any kind of information. But he didn't know how to properly interact with others. He couldn't pretend to be a friend or play games of seduction.
Because of that, he was usually sent out on missions where he didn't need to interact with people much, and this one was supposed to be like that. He would just get in, kill Hongjoong, and disappear. But it had not gone as it was supposed to, and now he was basically trapped in the ship with no idea of what to do and how to deal with his situation. And he was alone, because he just didn't know how to interact with the others.
"Fair enough," Yunho said after observing him for a while and stepped back. San had to hold himself from sighing in relief. "There's not much that can be done in matters of culture and such."  San nodded and stepped away from the railway, assuming that was the end of the conversation. However, Yunho spoke again. "You can come speak to me if you need something to, or to Hongjoong. You don't have to think of us as friends, but we won't push you away."
"Okay," San agreed, his voice quiet and small. "Thanks." He didn't look at Yunho as he said that and just left towards the crew's quarters.
Yunho stalled in the main deck for a little while before going to Hongjoong's quarters to look for him. He found him sitting next to Yeosang, their heads close together as they examined a picture of a statue, probably trying to find the code in it. He smiled, amused, when he noticed the glances Yeosang would spare at Hongjoong every few seconds.
He decided it would be fun to give them a surprise and approached them in complete silence. He looked over their heads at the picture, it was kind of blurry, so no doubt they were looking so closely at it. And after a few seconds waiting for them to realize, he decided to announce his presence.
"What are you looking at?" Yunho asked.
Hongjoong raised his head in surprise and hit Yeosang on the eye by accident. Yunho grimaced at the nasty sound of their bump as they both complained in pain and tried to rub the spots. He felt only mildly sorry as his grimace turned into a laugh. Neither of the two victims paid him any mind as Hongjoong checked on Yeosang to see if he was okay.
"I'm so sorry," Hongjoong repeated, grabbing Yeosang's face delicately to check on him. 
"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Yeosang insisted, trying to push Hongjoong away because he was too close.
Instead, Hongjoong pushed Yeosang's hands down with one hand and used the other to check the affected area. Yunho had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as Yeosang's face became red and he made the inhuman effort to not look Hongjoong in the face. When Hongjoong was satisfied with his little checkup, he patted Yeosang's head and then turned to confront Yunho.
"Why did you do that?!" He yelled, standing up to confront him. Yunho's shoulders just continued to shake slightly as he laughed, trying really hard to keep it under control. "Stop laughing!"
"I'm sorry!" Yunho tried to pull a serious face before he broke into a wide smile again. "I just wanted to see what you were looking at," he turned to look at Yeosang, "it's not my fault that your reaction was so funny."
Judging by how red his face went, Yeosang knew that those words were directed at him. He stammered an excuse before giving up and just turning to look at the picture again, wanting the ship to swallow him whole instead. Yunho grinned until Hongjoong slapped his arm, claiming his attention back. He didn't seem very happy with his little prank.
"Stop teasing him, you have no rights," Hongjoong reprimanded him. He looked adorable when he wasn't truly angry, just like right then.
"Oh, and you do?" Yunho teased, raised an eyebrow. He could see how Yeosang sunk deeper on his seat from the corner of his eye, and it took copious amounts of strength to not start laughing again.
"Shut up, shut up!" Hongjoong whisper-yelled, looking absolutely scandalized at Yunho, who just shrugged.
"Yeosang, can you give us a moment, I think the Captain has something he wants to talk with me?" Yunho glanced at Yeosang before looking back at Hongjoong, who was trying to kill him with just his stare.
"Y-Yes, I'll be outside." Yeosang dropped everything he was doing and left the quarters in a hurry, gone within seconds.
Yunho turned to look at Hongjoong and smiled, but Hongjoong only looked at him with murderous intentions. The taller man raised his hands in defeat and yelped when Hongjoong hit him on the arm again. Hongjoong could be short, but he was ferocious, and usually only Yunho could get out of it unscathed.
"What was that, Yunho?" Hongjoong asked him, serious this time. "Are you trying to scare him off because you didn't want him on the ship to begin with?"
"I promise I'm not." Yunho's smile softened. "I genuinely just wanted to scare both of you 'cause you looked so focused on that picture, thought it would be fun."
"And?" Hongjoong pressed further, not satisfied with that answer.
"And he might have been looking at you in a way that made me want to tease him a little." Yunho grinned, exposing his intentions.
Hongjoong hit him again, a few times for good measure, and Yunho ran away from him until he stopped. Hongjoong seemed a little ruffled, and Yunho wondered if maybe he had hit a sore spot. He had seen the way Yeosang was looking at Hongjoong though, so he wasn't about to take back his words, he was an honest man after all.
"Stop joking about these things," Hongjoong mumbled once he got tired of hitting him on the arm.
"I'm not joking! I seriously think you've charmed at least a couple of our crew members," Yunho exclaimed. He was trying to look serious, but Hongjoong's embarrassed expression made it hard for him. "You should stop seducing our crew, Captain, it's going to make work difficult." 
"I'm not seducing anyone!" Hongjoong yelled, hitting him again, but weekly this time.
His face was so red that Yunho decided to take pity on him. He brought Hongjoong into a hug and he buried his face on Yunho's chest, taking deep breaths to calm down from how embarrassed he was.
"Stop teasing me..." Hongjoong complained weakly after staying in that positions for a few minutes.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop," Yunho smiled. He knew Hongjoong wasn't genuinely upset beyond his embarrassment, but he still felt a little bit bad about it. "But for the record, you know we can work things out if one of them catches your eye, right?"
"I know,"Hongjoong nodded, voice muffled. "But that's not what's happening, okay?"
"Okay, I believe you," Yunho kissed the crown of Hongjoong's head and dropped the topic. It had been enough teasing for one day.
--
Wooyoung was sitting on his bed in the hotel room he had booked in Umeri. He had been having more dreams recently about his destiny. They were still confusing and he couldn't completely understand them since he didn't have the full picture, but the one thing he knew was that they weren't supposed to meet yet. He knew his dreams would show him where to meet them once it was time.
Truth be told, he was starting to get a little impatient. He had been visiting Mingi and Yeosang in dreams, and had already met Hongjoong once, but he really wanted to meet all of them, in person. Yunho scared him a little bit, because from what he had heard, he didn't seem to trust others easily. And San was, apparently, intimidating. The only other options were Jongho, who Mingi seemed really fond of, and the mystery man they were missing.
He went to bed trying to make his mind, and before he realized it, he had fallen asleep without choosing who to visit next. The place he found himself in was far from pleasant as Yeosang, Mingi, or even Hongjoong's dreams had been. Wooyoung was inside of some sort of building, completely white, which made the light bounce off the walls and the floor in painful ways. It took him a while to get used to it, but once he did, he began walking around.
Wooyoung had never seen a building so white, and it was starting to make his head hurt, but it's structure was so detailed that this could only be another memory. The hallway was slightly curved, and Wooyoung deduced that the building he was on was some sort of tube. Eventually, after walking for an eternity, he found an entrance on the wall to his left, towards the interior of the building. 
There was nothing near the entrance that told him what it was, but it was completely open, and since he was tired of just walking around in literal circles, he decided to try his luck. The inside of the room was the same blinding white, but here and there were specs of black that filled it up. They were training equipment. He had stumbled upon some sort of training room, and he wasn't alone.
In the center, there was something akin to a boxing ring, and a tall man dressed in black clothes stood in one of the sides as two other people sparred in the center. Wooyoung walked closer, and soon he noticed that one of these people was San, dressed in completely gray clothes. The person he was fighting with was also wearing gray clothes only, which had made it difficult for Wooyoung to differentiate them at first.
The breathing of the two fighters was heavy, and they were both covered in sweat. San had a little bit of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, where a purple blotch was starting to form. However, this was nothing compared to the other person, who had multiple bruises and gashes and was holding their left arm close to their body, probably dislocated. Wooyoung wanted to interrupt the dream, but San's determined eyes deterred him from it.
Instead, he watched how the other person dashed towards San and tried to throw a punch. San easily dodged to his right and grabbed the person's arm, using their weight to throw them over. He sat on the floor and pulled the arm between his legs, placing them on top of the person's neck and cutting their air flow. 
It couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds before the man dressed in black, who Wooyoung guessed was some sort of coach, stopped them, but to Wooyoung it felt like an eternity. He watched the other fighter struggle, but it was obvious he had already lost. He tried in vain to ask San to stop, and then the coach pulled a small device and pressed a button. San yelled and shook in his place before his body went limp, and Wooyoung had to cover his mouth to not scream.
The coach called someone else to pick the body of the person that had lost before leaving San abandoned on the floor. Once everyone had left, Wooyoung got on top of the ring and approached San. He was on the verge of crying, unable to comprehend where the horrible dream was coming from, but he held it in and sat next to San. San was awake, but he was breathing hard from the pain of the shock, and seemed to be unable to stand up.
"Are you okay?" Wooyoung asked with a trembling voice.
San eyes immediately shot open and he looked at Wooyoung. Despite having talked to him, the dream place didn't disappear around him like it had happened with the other dreams he had visited before, and Wooyoung looked around in worry. With some effort, San sat down and grabbed Wooyoung by the neck of the shirt pulling him closer. Wooyoung yelped and looked at him in fear.
"Who are you?" San heaved out. He sounded exhausted, and Wooyoung knew that his real body was probably also restless.
"I-" Wooyoung didn't know what to say. He was terrified by what he had seen before and couldn't make up his mind.
"How did you get into my dreams? Unless..." San narrowed his eyes as he examined Wooyoung closely. His expression lightened up with understanding. "You're a Somnum."
Wooyoung's eyes widened, and he immediately tried to rip San's hand off, but it was like the other had regained all his strength all of a sudden. San pushed him to the floor and sat on top of him, immobilizing both his arms with his legs. Wooyoung trashed around, panicking, but San was too strong and he couldn't push him off, couldn't get him to move.
"Calm down!" San yelled. He too was panting, seemingly still tired from the sparring he had been doing before. 
San conjured a knife and pointed it to Wooyoung's neck. Wooyoung immediately stopped moving and looked at San with tearful eyes. He was scared, this was not how things were supposed to go. San wasn't supposed to be threatening him with a knife inside his dream. Wooyoung's panic was so strong, that he couldn't even remember how to force his body to wake up, to leave.
"Who sent you here?" San asked, voice rough.
"W-What?" Wooyoung asked, a couple of tears spilling from his eyes.
"Who sent you, to kill me?" San's mind was going a mile a minute. He knew that the Organization had captured a few Somnum and used them on special missions to kill particularly difficult subjects that wouldn't be easy to take care of with their normal tools. San was probably one of those difficult subjects.
"No one sent me!" Wooyoung yelled, trying hard to control his tears.
"Stop lying! Why else would you be here?!" San was starting to lose his patient. Had they finally decided to get rid of him?
"I promise I'm not going to kill you!" Wooyoung was now full on sobbing. If San chose to kill him, that would be the end of it all, he couldn't let that happen.
"Then why are you here?" San's resolution lost force as he saw Wooyoung cry. It made him uncomfortable, but it was impossible to think that someone who looked so afraid was there to do him any harm.
"Because you're part of my destiny," Wooyoung sobbed. His arms hurt under San's weight, but he was too scared to try moving again. "I saw you in my dream, you know what I am, you must know!" 
"I don't believe you," San muttered, but his resolve was shattering. 
He knew very well about the traditions and lifestyle of the Somnum, they were always urged to capture them if they saw one during their missions. Captured Somnum were treated worse than the soldiers of the Organization, worse than even animals. San had met a few and it was like their personalities had been stripped away from them. But the man under him still seemed human, still seemed like himself.
"P-Please," Wooyoung begged. "You can ask Yeosang, Mingi or Hongjoong, they've seen me in dreams too, I beg you."
"Why them?" San asked, leaning closer to Wooyoung. It was a dream, but he was still self conscious of his surroundings.
"Yunho and Jongho are also part of this, and someone else, but I haven't met any of them yet..." Wooyoung began to calm down as San's aggressiveness died down as well. "We're supposed to be together, there's something else beyond finding the treasure, but I don't know what it is yet."
"So you know about the treasure," San mumbled. "What else do you know, about this destiny of yours?"
"I really don't think you want to know..." Wooyoung mumbled. He still hadn't revealed to anyone what happened to them, and he was afraid to.
"Tell me," San insisted, reminding Wooyoung there was still a knife pressed to his neck.
"We're supposed to fall in love," Wooyoung mumbled, his face growing red with embarrassment. "The eight of us."
San dropped the knife, feeling genuinely shocked about the revelation, and the knife vanished in a cloud of thin smoke. Wooyoung looked at him in curiosity. The grip on him softened and he was able to get his arms out. He sighed in relief as he watched all sorts of thoughts reflect on San's face, like he was trying to decide just how bad these news were. 
"That's impossible, it can't happen as you say." San mumbled, remembering his mission.
"Why?" Wooyoung had managed to stop crying. He was still pretty much shaken, but he didn't think San would try to kill him again.
He sat down instead, causing their faces to be just millimetres away from each other. San pushed him away, slightly startled, and moved to sit down beside him, suddenly too self conscious about Wooyoung's presence. What Wooyoung was saying just couldn't be possible. San had been sent there with a mission, and yet... And yet he didn't think Wooyoung was lying either. He was in trouble.
"I think you should leave..." San said, looking at Wooyoung without really looking at him. Wooyoung wanted to complain, to stay and clarify things with San, but that empty look San gave him was enough to deter him from insisting. He nodded and stood up. 
"Just... Please don't tell the others, they're not supposed to know yet." Wooyoung added, looking at San with worry.
San nodded, and Wooyoung woke up.
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thecassadilla · 4 years ago
Text
Change of Pace - Chapter 2
Pairing: Kristanna
Chapter 2 on AO3 
Chapter 1
Word Count: 3,332
Summary: With her sister’s blessing, Anna takes a step back from her royal duties and finds herself working for a ski resort nestled in the mountains. A chance encounter with the resort’s maintenance technician leads them down an unexpected path, as they must work together to plan the resort’s annual ball - and maybe fall in love in the process.
Author’s Note: Hi everyone! Sorry to leave you all with a cliffhanger last week! This chapter picks up on the same day but from a different perspective ;). I’m thinking I’m gonna update on Tuesdays every week if that’s cool? Or should I try to update more often? Also, if you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you enjoy the holiday safely! Sorry for all the asterisked words - tumblr likes to censor and remove posts from tags if they have “bad” words in them, but the uncensored version is on AO3. Enjoy!!!
There were very fews words that Kristoff Bjorgman would use to describe his life; miserable, mundane, ordinary. From the minute he woke up in the morning until the minute he went to bed at night, he wished he were someone or somewhere else.
Nobody stayed in Valley of the Living Rock - often shortened to Valley - if they could help it. The main draw to the area was Valley Ski Resort, which was nestled in the mountains. For decades, the town flourished during the winter months, but suffered as warm weather drew near due to the resort’s influence. Most of the people who stayed in town year round lived above their means, as it was difficult to find and keep work when the money practically dried up in the summertime. That all changed when the resort began to expand - adding amenities such as a pool, archery, horseback riding, and a multitude of events that attracted people during the hottest months of the year.
After the resort expanded, the local government decided to put money into the town itself, enticing visitors to venture away from the resort during their visits and see what the town had to offer. Tourists began to appreciate Valley itself as a picturesque, quaint town they could visit during their stay at the resort, and money began to pour into the local economy. Deciding to take full advantage, the decision was made for the main street to be transformed to a “Winter Wonderland,” with the storefronts adorning themselves with string lights, wreaths, and pine garland in the colder months. Business boomed and as the years went on, more and more people came to visit.
For Kristoff, life in Valley was bleak. Abandoned at birth, it was difficult to navigate the foster system as a small, generally “unwanted” child. He was bounced around a lot in his early years before becoming one of the lucky few who managed to find a family willing and able to foster him until adulthood. But people talked, and in small towns like his, that gossip traveled fast. By the time he made it to high school, he had hardly any friends. The only good thing that had ever happened to him - aside from his family - was his ex-girlfriend, Joslyn. She moved to Valley in their senior year of high school, and was as much of an outcast as he was. They became fast friends and eventually started a relationship. She stuck around for a few years and attended the local community college while they dated, but like everyone else who had the opportunity, she eventually moved on. The breakup was amicable and he admittedly missed her from time to time, but also understood that where she was going was bigger and better than what Valley - and he - had to offer. 
As a junior in high school, he’d managed to snag a job at Valley Ski Resort as a janitor, and then after he graduated, he took courses in plumbing, electricity, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in order to be promoted to a maintenance technician. It was a year round job with sh*tty pay, but it put food on the table and he had to take whatever he could get. On the bright side, it was a step up from cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors. There was no escaping Valley, for a person like him.
He didn’t mind the work at all, but there were few words to describe how much he loathed the hotel. The people who visited were willing to spend a fortune on the amenities, but were generally unkempt behind closed doors. He could think of several occasions where he’d nearly slipped on a used c*ndom after being called to a guest room for maintenance, or how frequently the pipes would clog because people were determined to flush non-flushable items. 
But still, he went to work everyday, and waited to go home. He did what he had to do and he hated every second of it. The only advantage of working at the resort was the employee ski pass that came along with it. He frequently spent his weekends navigating the slopes and had worked his way up to expert-level. Coasting down the side of a mountain was freeing. For those few hours, he could put aside the monotonous life that he lived and could focus on what was right in front of him. 
On this particular day, he had a sinking feeling about heading into work. He just knew that something bad was going to happen - he could feel it in his chest. He debated calling out, but because he couldn’t afford to miss a day without pay, he had to go in, bad feeling or not. The feeling only got worse as he climbed out of his car and stared at the main building in front of him.
The interior of the resort was in desperate need of an upgrade; faded, worn-out gray carpet covered the floors of the lobby area, and old-school style wood paneling laced the walls. The guest rooms in the central building remained the least expensive as a result of this, and as part of the resort’s expansion process, dozens of stand-alone cabins were built on the property. Difficult to maintain, but guests were willing to pour money into spending a week in a luxury cabin with the same amenities as a hotel but with the added benefit of a home-y feel. 
He walked in through the employee entrance, which happened to be situated right next to the lobby area but was only accessible from the outside. Down a long stretch of hall and then to the left sat the maintenance office. One of the perks of the job was that he didn’t have to wear coveralls like he did when he was a janitor; just dark-colored jeans, a company-provided shirt with the hotel’s name stitched onto the front, and work boots. He dropped his jacket in his locker, grabbed one of the work cell phones so that the front desk could reach if he was needed for a repair or other issue, and walked into the main office, where his boss, Andrew, was scrolling through his email.
“Hey, man,” he said.
The other man glanced back for a second before returning to his work. “Hey, Kristoff.”
“What’s on the agenda today?”
“Nothing crazy,” Andrew responded. “A couple of rooms complained of low water pressure, so we’ll have to check that out. It’s probably calcium buildup that’s clogging the showerheads, or a clog, or something. But aside from that, it seems like it’s going to be a pretty normal day.”
He heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank god.”
He didn’t mind working with Andrew; he was quiet and kept to himself, which Kristoff appreciated. It was easier to work with someone who didn’t waste half the day with gossip or other nonsense. Having a job was about getting work done, after all.
Andrew had a list of the rooms that had been experiencing the low water pressure from the front desk complaints, so when he finished answering his emails, they set off to figure out what exactly was happening and why it was happening. “I bet another pipe froze again.”
“This hotel is so old, do they even realize that the pipes probably have to be replaced?”
“They know, they just won’t listen,” Andrew said, shaking his head. “This is going to be a losing battle for the rest of eternity.”
Just as they made it to the first floor of guest rooms, a call came over on Andrew’s work phone. They stopped in the middle of the hallway so he could pick it up. 
“Hello, this is Andrew from maintenance,” he answered, scrunching his face up in concentration. “They said the water smelled bad? Did they say if it was a weird color or anything?...okay, we’ll look into it. Thanks.”
“Another water complaint?” Kristoff asked, once Andrew had hung up the phone.
“Yeah, something weird is going on today.”
“Probably a frozen pipe, like you said.”
They knocked on the door of the first guest on their list, and a woman answered. “Are you the maintenance guys?”
“We are ma’am. The front desk told us that your water pressure is low, do you mind if we come in and take a look?”
The woman shook her head. “I didn’t say low water pressure. I said no water pressure - as in, there’s no water, at all.”
The two men exchanged a worried glance before Andrew spoke up again. “Do you mind if we have a look?”
The woman didn’t answer, but stepped out of the way so they could walk into the room. They went into the bathroom, and attempted to turn the faucets to no avail. 
The woman was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. “Well?”
“We’re trying to figure out what’s going on, ma’am. We’re going to check in with a few more guests and the front desk will get back to you.” 
“I’m taking my family skiing, and all I have to say is that the water better be working when I get back or someone will be getting an earful from me. I did not spend all of this money to wind up in a room with no water!”
They nodded in an attempt to placate her and as soon as they made it back into the hallway, she slammed the door in their faces. 
“God, I hate this place,” Kristoff muttered.
“I don’t understand how people on vacation can be so f*cking miserable. Management will make sure they get a more expensive room on the house if there’s nothing we can do about it, so I don’t really see the point of throwing a fit.”
“I know. It’s kind of disgusting how entitled some of these people are. I understand the frustration, but don’t yell at the people who are trying to figure out what the problem is.” Kristoff shook his head. “Let’s go to the next one.”
The routine seemed to repeat itself; the rooms were occupied by extremely angry guests who were experiencing a myriad of plumbing issues - either little or no water pressure, foul smelling water, or rust-colored water.
“Something big is going on here. Bigger than just a frozen pipe,” Andrew deduced, after visiting several guests’ rooms and being called a few more times by the front desk. “I can’t figure out what it is though.”
“Do you think a pipe burst somewhere?” he suggested.
Andrew shrugged. “I can’t imagine where. There are guests in basically every area of this hotel and no one has called about a leaking ceiling. Unless it was something in the basement.”
“We should go check.”
The two men scrambled to the basement, but as cold and neglected as it was, there were no signs of water damage anywhere. Just a lot of dust and noise from the systems that were housed down there.
“I’m stumped,” Andrew admitted, throwing his hands in the air.
“It has to be somewhere in the building. None of the other buildings or lodges have complained about issues with their water, right?”
The other man skimmed the list in his hands. “Nope, just this one.”
“Are there any places that guests and employees normally wouldn’t go during the day? The lobby’s fine, the children’s center is fine...wait, what about the ballroom?” Kristoff snapped his fingers.
“Oh sh*t, we should check the ballroom,” Andrew agreed. “No one goes in there unless they’re having some kind of an event.”
“I bet that’s where we’re going to find our problem.”
They raced back up to the first floor and passed the front desk to the corner of the hotel that housed the ballroom. Andrew searched through his massive ring of keys before locating the one that unlocked the doors. 
“Holy f*ck,” Kristoff gasped, his eyes widening at the site in front of him. 
The entire room was destroyed. The ceilings had caved as a result of the massive amount of water that had pooled from the burst pipe. Nearly everything in the room had been destroyed from either the water damage or from the impact of the broken pieces of ceiling landing on it. The walls were moist, and there was a considerable amount of water remaining on the floor. 
“How the hell did no one hear this?!” Andrew bellowed.
“This...is bad,” Kristoff said, shaking his head. “This is thousands of dollars worth of damage.”
“I need to get Bonnie on the phone,” Andrew said suddenly, walking away from the scene.
Kristoff continued to stare in the meantime; the room was significantly damaged. First and foremost, the pipes would have to be replaced - immediately. They were already going to be spending a large amount of money for the repairs, and they definitely couldn’t afford to lose the income that guests would bring in by occupying the rooms in that building. They’d have to drain the water that pooled on the floor, rip out the carpet and gut the walls, throw away all of the destroyed tables and chairs. 
When Andrew came back a few minutes later, he was not happy. “Bonnie is on her way and she’s having a cow.”
“Can you blame her? This is a nightmare.”
“I need to see if I can get any of the other guys in today. They’re going to be p*ssed.”
“I’m here and I’m p*ssed,” Kristoff scoffed. “I knew I should’ve called out today.”
“Good thing you didn’t because I would’ve had to haul your a*s in anyway.”
“Yeah, right. Zach calls out once a week and no one ever does anything about it. The rest of us are forced to pick up his slack all the time - if I called out once, it wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“Trust me, Zach isn’t going to be employed here for much longer.”
Bonnie finally arrived a moment later with a panicked look on her face and interrupted their conversation. “What the h*ll happened?”
“See for yourself, boss,” Andrew answered, motioning to the entrance to the ballroom.
Bonnie peered inside before staggering back and raising her hands to her face. “Oh my god.”
“The damage is severe, Bonnie. The repairs are going to be time-consuming, and you’ll have to postpone any events that they were planning on holding here,” Andrew spoke up. “Most importantly, the guests in this building have to be relocated until we can replace the pipes.”
Bonnie nodded, and for the first time that Kristoff had ever observed, she was totally speechless. In all his years of working around her, he’d never seen her so quiet.
“I’m working on getting my other guys in here,” Andrew continued. “This is not going to be an easy fix.”
“Alright,” she said, before pointing at Kristoff. “You go tell the front desk to start working on getting the guests out of this building and then come back here.”
“Yes, ma’am.” 
He couldn’t help but roll his eyes once his back was turned; this was not his job. He wasn’t an errand boy. But because he wasn’t trying to lose his job, he begrudgingly followed her instructions. Once he arrived in the lobby, approached the first person he saw at the front desk, a brunette woman with thick black eyeliner who he recognized from high school.
“Hey, you need to -”
She raised a finger, but didn’t look in his direction. “Hold on, I’m helping my guest.”
“This is important.”
“Sir, you should get in line.”
He glanced over at the line - which was long, because it was checkout time, of course - before interrupting again. “I have orders from Bonnie -”
That seemed to catch her attention. “Let me get my manager out here.” 
“Thanks.”
A few moments later, the manager appeared from a door behind the front desk. “How can I help you?”
“I work in maintenance,” Kristoff explained. “Bonnie needed me to tell you that guests can’t stay in this building for a couple of days. A pipe burst and there won’t be any water in most, if not all, of the rooms.”
The manager's eyes widened. “O-okay. What about the restrooms on this floor? Or the restaurants and the bakery?”
“We’re not sure what the situation is with those areas of the hotel.”
She nodded. “Okay, well keep me posted. There are a lot of places on this floor that require the use of water.”
“Has anyone called to complain from any of those places?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that they’re unaffected, but I’m sure Bonnie will be in touch soon.”
“Thank you.”
He gave her a slight nod before turning around and walking back towards the ballroom; for the first time that day, someone had actually been appreciative and not downright condescending about the situation. He was just glad that she didn’t rip him a new one like all of the guests had earlier. 
“Good, you’re back,” Bonnie said once he finally made it back to the ballroom.
“Any updates?”
“I just made contact with the people in the event planning office,” Bonnie explained. “They’re coming down now. I need you to wait out here for them, so you could tell them about the damage. The annual ball is in three months and this was their venue.”
“I should probably start clearing stuff out of there,” he insisted, hoping to remind her that he was not her personal secretary or a professional bearer of bad news. “We can’t start gutting it out until the water is drained and all of the damaged furniture is removed.”
“You need to stay right here,” Bonnie said snidely, placing a hand on his shoulder before walking away.
“Is she serious?” he wondered aloud, his mouth agape. He really was her errand boy, wasn’t he?
“Hey man, Scott and Dan are both on their way in now,” Andrew said, approaching from inside the ballroom. “Liam and Eli are outside doing snow removal. I’m trying to get in touch with a couple of the other guys, but some of them have to be in for the overnight shift. Management has to take pictures of the damage for insurance reasons before we can touch anything, but we should be able to start getting rid of the furniture later today.”
“I have to wait here and break the bad news to the event planners,” he responded bitterly. “Because I’m not the maintenance guy today, I’m her errand boy.”
Andrew shook his head. “She’s really pushing her luck. She should be the one to tell them since we warned her that the pipes would need to be replaced a long time ago and she brushed it off.”
“You know, I had a gut feeling that today would suck. Wish that I could’ve been wrong.” 
“Should’ve checked the calendar, man. It’s Friday the thirteenth.”
He scoffed. “I’m not superstitious.”
Andrew shrugged before taking a few steps backwards. “I’m just saying.”
As soon as Andrew’s back was turned, he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. It was quite the coincidence that this had all gone down on a day historically known for the bad luck it brought. He reminded himself that he didn’t believe in that stuff; this was a real life situation that had only happened because of sheer negligence from Bonnie and the other people who ran the hotel. If they had just listened from the start and had replaced the pipes when Andrew recommended they should, they wouldn’t even be in this mess. He didn’t necessarily believe in curses either, but at this point, he was convinced he’d done something wrong in life that warranted this misery. 
Until he spotted a gorgeous redhead he didn’t recognize being dragged in his direction by the half-a-head shorter lady he knew from around the hotel, and he was suddenly aware of a new sensation different from the misery and dread he was used to - a hopeful fluttering in the pit of his stomach.  
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girls-scenarios · 4 years ago
Text
Would You?
Idol: Mina (gugudan, formerly ioi)
Prompt: Hiii can I get college AU of reader x Gugudan Mina where reader is trying their best to take care of a very drunk Mina in a party. Mina keeps asking nonsensical question but as she’s taken home, she blurts out ‘would you like me back if i confessed that I Iiked you?’ The ending is up to you, tyyyy!
Writer: Admin Kiwi
A/N: I miss gugudan so much that it’s not even funny. I’ve kind of lost hope for a comeback now... Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this scenario!
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You had never seen Mina so drunk. Sure, you’d been to parties with her before and the two of you had gotten drunk together plenty of times. She loved to party and have fun, and you loved to have fun with her. But she’d never gotten like... this.
She was giggling and holding your arm in an iron grasp, her eyes hazy as she rubbed her face against your shoulder. “There’s four banana’s,” she said through giggles, pointing at the bowl on the kitchen counter that did, in fact, have bananas in it. There were only two, though.
“And that’s funny?” You were nowhere near drunk enough to understand why the bananas had sent her into yet another fit of giggles. In fact, when you’d walked into the kitchen to find her giggling, slumped against the counter with a cup in her hand, tilted near spilling, you had promptly put down your drink out of worry for her wellbeing. You had no idea when she’d separated from Sejeong, who was currently belting out a song in the living room, but the last time you’d seen her, she hadn’t been anywhere near this drunk. What was she drinking?
She let out a string of noises that sounded vaguely like words before bursting into giggles again and you swallowed, your arm beginning to tingle and your face flushing as she shuffled even closer. Dealing with a drunk friend was hard enough, but dealing with a drunk friend who you had a crush on? You weren’t sure you were going to make it through the night.
“Why don’t we drink some water?” You suggested, steering her back to the fridge. Thankfully, Hana had stocked up on bottled water, and you pulled one out, opening it and handing it to Mina. She stared at it for a moment before coming back to and taking a sip.
“It’s not alcohol,” she said sadly, staring down at the bottle like it had offended her. With a nervous laugh, you encouraged her to take another sip.
“It’s not. It’ll help you feel better though, so think some more.”
“‘Mmm I don’t wanna.” She finally let go of your arm, only to hug you after putting the bottle on the counter. Your heart picked up and you wished you could push her away, but you knew that would likely result in making her cry and you didn’t want that.
“Um, how about we go back to the living room? They’re playing karaoke. You like karaoke.”
At this, her face lit up. “I do! Will you sing with me?” She slurred, looking up at you with her eyes wide and a pout on her lips. God, she was so cute. Even if she was drunk.
“S-sure. Let’s go.” Awkwardly, you detatched yourself from her grip and took her hand instead, which placated her, and she followed happily behind you.
It was now Haebin’s turn to sing, and as she dramatically performed her own song from a musical she’d been in, Sejeong and Hana were pretending to do the high notes behind her. You found a seat open beside Sally, who gave you a sweet little smile as you guided Mina to sit beside her.
“I forgot you were here!” Oh god, she was drunk too. Sober Sally was sweet and quiet. Drunk Mimi was spacey and spoke her mind. You just laughed, feeling way too sober for this.
“Oh, that-.”
“You can’t forget about (Y/N)!” Mina jumped to your defense. Or, really, just turned in her spot to frown at Sally. “They’re so important!”
“Thanks, but it’s okay,” you said, hoping to calm her down with a pat on the shoulder.
“It’s not. I didn’t forget about you. I can’t forget about you.” She pouted and your heart skipped a beat before you could remind yourself that she was drunk and probably didn’t mean anything that she was saying. She grabbed your hand again and pulled you down onto the arm of the couch beside her, and you couldn’t find it in yourself to push her away when she put her head on your lap.
Soon, Haebin was done with her song and Nayoung and Soyee jumped up to sing a trot song and Mina hummed along, not bothering to sit up as she moved her arms and cheered. Halfway through the song, she looked up at you with wide eyes.
“Do you think a microphone could hurt someone?”
You blinked. “What? Like, if you hit someone with it?”
“No, do you think the electricity could, like, hurt someone?”
You had no idea what she was talking about, so you just laughed. “I don’t think so. Not the Bluetooth one.”
“Oh.” She stared up at you for a moment, making you shift under her intense gaze. “Do you think dogs can talk?”
“I don’t think so, Mina.”
“Oh.” This one made her frown, her lips turned into a pout once again. “The dog from Up could talk.”
“That’s because it was an animated movie.”
“I want a talking dog.”
“Me too.”
Mimi’s drunken yell that it was her turn distracted Mina for a moment, but soon she was staring up at you again.
“Would you still love me if I was a worm?”
“If you were a worm?” This conversation was getting weird. You found yourself laughing again, hoping that your answer wouldn’t give your feelings away. ‘Well, I guess. But how would you turn into a worm?”
“You never know. But you wouldn’t squish me?”
“Not if I knew it was you.”
“Good.” She seemed satisfied with your answer and you let out a relieved sigh, only for her to startle you by sitting up and grabbing your hand. “We wanna sing!” She yelled, interrupting Mimi, and you groaned internally. It was going to be a long night.
-
By the end of the party, only you, Haebin, and Hana were sober enough to help everyone get home. Haebin took responsibility for Nayoung and Soyee while Hana convinced Sally, Sejeong, and Hyeyeon to stay at the house with her and Mimi. Which, of course, left you with Mina.
Her apartment was close to yours, so you accepted your fate, calling goodbye to your friends as you wrapped an arm around her to make sure she didn’t fall and set off on your way.
The night air was cool and it seemed to sober her up a little bit, because she was mostly quiet as the two of you walked, only humming occasionally under her breath. But as you walked up to her apartment door, she suddenly turned to you and grabbed your arm, holding you tight again.
“Is something wrong?” You asked as you opened the door, her code already memorized from how much time you’d spent at her place.
“I need to know something.” She was obviously still drunk, her face flushed and her body swaying slightly, and you sighed, guiding her inside.
“What is it?”
“Would you still like me if I confessed that I like you?”
Her words made you freeze in your tracks, your heartbeat roaring in your ears. “W-what?” You turned to face her, your eyes wide and your chest feeling tight.
“I like you,” she said bluntly, studying your face, then slumping forward. “Sorry, you hate me now, it’s okay.”
“I don’t hate you!” You were rushing, trying to find the right words to say. “Actually, I like you too. I could never hate you. But you’re drunk, Mina. Right now isn’t the time to talk about this.”
“What do you mean?”
You took a deep breath. “I don’t want to do anything to you in this state. So if you remember this conversation when you wake up, call me and then we can talk. When we’re both sober.”
“Oh. Okay.” She looked down at the ground. “I am tired.”
“I know you are,” you said softly, guiding her to her room. “So get some sleep and we’ll talk in the morning. Okay?”
She sat down on her bed and accepted the pajamas you put in her arms. “Okay.”
“Goodnight, Mina,” you said, turning for the door, and after a moment, she replied.
“Goodnight.”
Your heart pounded the entire way home, and even later, laying in your bed, her words still repeated in your head, over and over. And you knew you weren’t going to be getting much sleep.
-
The next morning, you woke up to a text from Hana complaining about spilled alcohol in the carpet, but no messages from Mina. The events of the night before were still fresh in your mind, and you couldn’t help but feel disappointed as you sighed and padded to your bathroom to wash up.
It wasn’t until you were searching through your cabinets for a late breakfast that your phone rang, making your breath catch in your throat.
It was her. Did she remember?
“Hello?” You tried your best not to sound too hopeful, but your heart was already jumping around in your chest and your stomach felt like it was being tied into knots. On the other side of the line, you heard her clear her throat.
“Hey (Y/N). Thanks for taking care of me last night.” There was a slight waver to her voice, and she sounded like she was in pain. She probably was in pain: hangovers were getting worse as the two of you got older.
“Well I couldn’t just leave you to your own devices,” you said, adding a playful lilt to your voice. “You were so drunk you asked me if dogs could talk.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” She let out a soft laugh. “I was a mess. I guess I should stay away from tequila from now on.”
You swallowed down the ball of nerves beginning to ball in your throat before replying. “So, how much do you remember from last night?”
“Most of it. I remember all of the singing and clinging onto you and asking you a bunch of dumb questions.” She paused for a moment. “And one not dumb question when you brought me home.”
“Oh.” The breath left your lungs and you leaned against your counter, your body thrumming with so much anticipation that you were almost shivering. “So you remember me asking you to call?”
“I do. And I’ve been super nervous all morning, but since my drunk self decided to confess, there’s no going back now. So I called to say that I, um, still like you.”
Happiness and relief washed over you, giddiness replacing the nerves and making you want to burst into laughter. “That’s a good thing, since I still like you too.”
“Oh. Good.” She started to laugh, and you joined in, enjoying the sound even through the phone speaker. “That’s great. So, uh, should we date now?”
“That seems to be the next step,” you joked, feeling like you were floating. “So I’ll ask you out on our first date. Would you like to go to brunch with me?”
“I guess I’ll have to thank drunk me.” She giggled on the other line, making you smile so wide that your cheeks hurt. “Because I’d love to go out with you. How does eleven sound?”
“That sounds perfect.”
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sugdenlovesdingle · 4 years ago
Text
for @aaronsmrshifty because things didn’t go according to plan with the @robronengagementgiftexchange and then this took me forever and a day to finish.... but i hope you like it!
A promise kept (AO3)
“I’m going to marry you one day.”
Robert had said it to Aaron when they were teenagers, trying to figure out the world and their place in it. Aaron had jokingly asked if that was a promise or a threat but Robert had just laughed and kissed him.
He’d said it a few times since then. When they’d gotten back together after a big fight that had led to an almost six month break up, when Aaron had supported him when he’d come out to his parents, and the first night in their own flat.
Aaron had never given it much thought, put it down to Robert being the romantic sod he is, who just liked saying these things.
As it turned out, he wasn’t just saying it.
He should have known. Robert isn’t one to make big promises like that and not keep them.
But still it’s the last thing Aaron expected to find looking through Robert’s bedside cabinet looking for the cufflinks he knew Robert kept in there.
They were running late for Matty’s wedding and it was the absolute worst timing in the world but he couldn’t stop staring at the little black velvet box in his hand.
“Aaron, come on, we’re going to be late! Have you found them yet?” Robert yelled from down the stairs. “Just go without. No-one’s going to notice if you just keep your jacket on.”
Aaron heard him and knew he should reply and they should get going, but he was too mesmerised by the two rings in the box.
“Aaron? Are you ok?” Robert called out when he got no reply. “Aaron?”
The sound of footsteps on the stairs made Aaron snap out of it. He quickly closed the box and slid it in his pocket, getting up and meeting Robert halfway down the stairs.
“Did you find them?”
“Yeah, yeah I got them.” He held up one of his wrists to show Robert.
“Right. Did you not hear me when I called you just now?”
“Uhm yeah… sort of. I was distracted… Adam sent me a video of Matty being all stressed out. Looking for the rings.”
“They lost the rings?”
“No, he’d just forgotten he’d already given them to Adam. Weeks ago. He’s kept them in his bedside cabinet.”
Robert nodded as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Alright. Well we’re running late so I’ll drive.”
“What? What does being late have to do with you driving?” Aaron protested, easily falling back into the familiar argument.
“We’re taking my car and you already have a speeding ticket waiting for you.”
“I’m going to fight that. That piece of road is just really unclear.”
“Save it for the judge.” Robert joked and waited for Aaron to lock the door to their flat.
“I’ll drive back tonight.” Aaron decided, getting into the passenger’s seat.
“I thought we could get a room and stay the night. So we can both have a drink.”
Aaron considered the suggestion for a moment.
“Can we afford a hotel that posh?”
“It’s just for one night. And I can put it on the business account.”
“Nicola will kill you.”
“Nicola doesn’t have a leg to stand on. She did the same thing last month.” Robert grinned as he turned the car onto the motorway.
When they arrived at the wedding venue, Holly was busy arranging everyone just so for the family photos she was taking. Matty had asked her to be the wedding photographer, and Adam hadn’t stopped complaining about his sister’s creative streak since.
When he spotted Aaron he started mouthing ‘Help’ and ‘Save me’.
“Adam don’t ruin my photos!” Holly snapped when she noticed her brother making faces.
“Hol, it’s alright. I just want some pics of us during the ceremony and maybe a few of the reception.” Matty placated. “I don’t need Adam’s face 50 times over. He’s not that interesting.”
“Cheers bro.” Adam deadpanned and decided he’d had enough of Holly’s stressing and made his way over to Aaron and Robert. “Alright lads?”
“Are you allowed to just leave like that?” Aaron asked jokingly as he greeted his friend.
“Holly thinks she’s going to win awards taking photos at her brother’s wedding... and apparently I’m not helping.” Adam said with a chuckle.
“So how’s the groom?” Robert asked. “Has he recovered yet from earlier?”
“Earlier?” Adam frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The rings? He’d thought you’d lost them?”
“No? I’ve kept them safe for weeks… they’re right here…” Adam patted his pocket.
Robert looked back and forth between Adam and Aaron.
“Are you having me on? You sent Aaron a video earlier…”
“Uh… no I didn’t?”
“Yeah you did mate.” Aaron cut in quickly. “Is your memory getting that bad that you forget what you did an hour ago?”
Both Adam and Robert were utterly confused but thankfully at that moment Vic appeared at Robert’s side insisting she wanted some pics with her big brother, and dragged him away.
“What’s going on?” Adam asked when the Sugden siblings were out of earshot. “Are you cheating on him or something?”
“What? Of course not? What makes you say that?”
“You telling him I sent you videos when I didn’t?”
“I’m not cheating on him. I would never.”
“Ok. So what is it?”
“I… I found something. In his drawer in our bedroom at home.”
“Ok, stop right there, I don’t think I want to hear this. Whatever you two get up to in the bedroom is your business but I really don’t want to know.”
Aaron rolled his eyes.
“It’s nothing like that.” He quickly glanced around to make sure Robert wasn’t watching them and pulled the little box from his pocket and opened it. “I found this.”
“Is that…”
“A ring? Yes. Two actually.”
“Is he going to propose?”
“I don’t know. I think so. Maybe?”
“Right. Shouldn’t he have it then?”
“Well yes… but I panicked.” Aaron admitted. “I was looking for cufflinks in his drawer and then found this hidden away in the back of it. And I just… put them in my pocket when I heard him coming up the stairs. And now I don’t know what to do.”
Adam shrugged.
“Put them back?”
“Oh sure, I’ll just drive all the way home and back here in less than half an hour without Robert noticing. Great plan Ads, definitely fool proof.” Aaron replied sarcastically.
“I didn’t mean now. But just… when you get home tonight.”
“We’re not going home. We got a room at the hotel.”
“Really? Alright for some. I didn’t know Home James was doing that well.”
“Shut up. What am I supposed to do with these now? He’ll find them in my pocket sooner or later.”
“I don’t know. Just tell him you found them?”
“No. I can’t do that. You hang on to them for me.” He pushed the little box into Adam’s hands.
“No way. What if I get them mixed up and give them the wrong rings in there?” he nodded at the church behind them. “Just talk to your boyfriend.” Adam said and gave Aaron the box back and went to find Matty.
Before Aaron really had time to think, he saw Robert making his way back to him and he quickly stuffed the box back in his pocket.
“All done?”
“Hopefully. If I never have to pose for another picture again, it’ll be too soon.” Robert complained and Aaron laughed.
“Hey I’m supposed to be the grumpy one in this relationship.”
They went inside and found a seat on the groom side to watch one of their best friends marry the love of his life.
The wedding was lovely. Everyone was happy for the newlyweds and neither them or the guests stopped smiling throughout the entire ceremony.
Aaron watched Matty slide the ring onto his new wife’s finger and imagined doing that to Robert. He watched them share their first kiss as married couple and their first dance at the reception and wondered what it would be like for him and Robert.
He was vaguely aware of Adam getting up from his seat to make his best man speech. He listened to him joke about the odds of Matty marrying a girl called Hannah and Moira having a daughter called Hannah after all, as well as wishing them all the best in their life together.
What kind of bad jokes would Adam make as his best man?
When Adam sat back down at their table, Holly slapped him on the back of the head.
“What’s that for?!”
“For being an idiot!”
Aaron bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. When he looked at Matty he saw he only had eyes for his new wife and his thoughts drifted back to the little box in his pocket.
Would he and Robert be like that if they got married? Would they only have eyes for each other? Would the rest of the world just cease to exist?
Robert’s hand on his arm pulled him back to reality.
“I said are you ok? You seem distracted.”
“Oh uh yeah I’m fine. Just… kind of zoned out a bit. Don’t worry.”
“Are you sure? You’ve been weird all day.”
“Weird? What do you mean weird?” Aaron asked, getting defensive.
“You’ve barely heard a word I’ve said since we left home and I doubt you could even tell me what colour the bride’s dress is.”
“White, isn’t it?” Aaron said with a cheeky grin.
Robert rolled his eyes.
“Just talk to me… I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong, I promise.”
“Then what’s bothering you so much that you’re not even criticising the music?”
Aaron sighed, he should’ve known Robert would notice he was distracted. He knew him better than anyone after all.
“Nothing’s bothering me… not really… I just…” he looked around and noticed everyone’s attention was on the happy couple. “Come take a walk with me?”
They walked into the hotel garden to find a place where they could talk.
“If you’re trying to think of a nice way to break up with me… a wedding is not the place.”
“I’m not breaking up with you. That’s the last thing I want!” Aaron said and saw Robert relax. “I kind of love you, you know.”
Robert smiled and leaned in to press a kiss to Aaron’s lips.
“I kind of love you too.” He put his hands on Aaron’s hips and pulled him close. “But is that what you brought me out here for? To tell me you love me? I mean I appreciate the sentiment but - ”  
He was cut off by Aaron pulling the ring box from his pocket and all but shoving it in his face.
“I found this at home. In your drawer.”
“I…  you… you weren’t supposed to find that…”
“It’s not what I think it is then?”
“I uh…” Robert swallowed thickly. “What do you think it is?”
“Something that will get us one of these sometime…” he nodded at the wedding party going on inside.
“Yeah… yeah that’s… uh… what I was hoping… Is that a problem? I mean it doesn’t have to mean anything if you’re not ready or anything…”
“I didn’t say that.” Aaron opened the box and studied the rings for a moment. “I just… wasn’t expecting it I suppose.”
“Well… I’ve been saying it for years… so I thought I’d finally make good on my promise.” Robert admitted. “I wanted to do it on our anniversary.”
Aaron frowned.
“That was ages ago.”
“I know… I lost my nerve.” Robert said and took one ring out of the box. “But I’m feeling a lot more confident today.”
Aaron’s breath hitched in his throat as he watched Robert get down on one knee and hold the ring up.
“Aaron Dingle… will you marry me?”
Instead of answering Robert’s question, Aaron pulled him to his feet and took the other ring from the box.
“Only if you’ll marry me too.”
Robert smiled and put the ring on Aaron’s finger.
“Of course I will.”
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zayray030 · 4 years ago
Text
Don't push a kind woman into darkness.
Summary: Iris really wanted to cry. She desperately wanted to cry and she didn't want to be the teams punching bag any longer.
OR
Everyone's a dick to Iris and she finally pops off and her husband reminds her that he will always love her
Notes: Team Arrow is here because they wanted to visit Central because of a villlian. Everyone is a dick except for Barry and Felicity so yeah.
Iris wanted to cry. She desperately wanted to cry. She also wanted to sleep. Maybe she could sleep forever and not have to wake up again to this. But maybe this was just a nightmare? Maybe she could wake up if she tried really hard.
Those thoughts filled the African American woman as she tried her best to keep her emotions in check as the team took turns at using her as a punching bag.
What Iris had been thinking at the time was that if she hadn't jumped at the attacker that was attacking a little girl in the mall then the little girl would have gotten hurt. But of course her father was choosing to skip over that part.
“I just wanted-” Iris tried but was interrupted. She just wanted to tell them her side of the story. She just wanted to tell them what had actually happened but there was too much anger.
“Iris, what you wanted is completely different than what you should have done.” Caitlin said using her special doctor voice. Iris didn't like the sound of it. It sounded condescending and the way that she was looking at Iris made her want to punch the doctor's perfect teeth.
“What I should have done is-” Iris really just wanted them to shut up right now but they wouldn't shut up and it wasn't helping. Was the room spinning or was it just her?
“Get to safety, Iris. You should have let the professionals handle it.” interrupted Oliver. If Iris was the same girl she was before, she would have swooned at the thought of Oliver Queen talking to her, but now she just wanted him to shut up and she wanted him to use that brain of his and listen to her.
“Okay guys. Let's take a breath.” Felicity interrupted everyone and Iris really wanted to hug the blond right now. “I'm sure Iris has a logical explanation, right Iris!?” Felicity asked her and Iris really wanted to bury herself in the blonde's arms right now. She was no Barry but her arms would help her feel safe until Barry could come to save her.
“I'm sorry blondie, but right now the only logical thing is that Iris decided that she wanted attention and went head first into danger.” interrupted Ralph before Iris could begin and she really wanted to get her hands on some of that acid that the Trickster had made right now.
“I wouldn't call it heard first because technically she hadn't head butted him.” Felicity had said, trying to diffuse the tension but only making it worse.
“Felicity, you're being biased.” said Diggle who hadn't said anything so far and Iris couldn't help but glare at him. So Felicity was biased for siding with Iris but Oliver could speak even though he wasn't even part of the team?
“Can I just-” Iris really wanted to talk right now but everyone was being an ass today. Maybe not Barry and Felicity definitely. They listen, they understand.
“No Iris! You don't get to be pissed off! Do you have any idea how worried we were? You don't get to worry us like that and complain about it!” snapped Cisco and she could see the hurt in his eyes. But why couldn't he see the hurt in her eyes?
“But I just-” she was cut off again and she desperately wanted to break down right now.
“West Allen, don't even try it. Even someone with the IQ of gum would know not to stupidly jump into battle like that!” Harry snapped and she really wanted to say something hurtful at him but she couldn't. She just held back and tried not to burst into tears.
“Please can I-” she desperately tried not to cry but it was hard. However that's until her father spoke again.
“Iris, please be grateful. Everyone on this team goes through more horrible stuff than you and don't complain. But you complain about us worrying and-” but she had had it. They don't complain? Oh, that was not going to stand.
“I'M SORRY?!?” she screamed, turning to him, giving him the glare she leaves for the scum of earth. Everyone except Felicity recoiled slightly in shock at her tone. It was one of pure hate but she didn't have it in her to care at this point.
“THEY DON'T COMPLAIN! BUT I DO!?!” she didn't even care about how mean she sounded. She had every right. Not once has she been allowed to scream for all her worth but everyone has been allowed to rag at her for the smallest thing. She didn't even care at the look of pain in Caitlin’s eyes. The Ice Queen could sit down and listen to others for once.
“Iris maybe-” Oliver tried to interrupt but she wasn't going to have it. She turned to him and sent him a glare so angry he was shocked into silence.
“Maybe you should shut it and keep your nose out of everyone's business and accept the fact that just maybe you're a dick to everyone who needs to understand the meaning of boundaries and not to interfere in shit he has no need to interfere in!” suggested Iris mockingly, but the tone was angry and harsh and tears where flowing down her eyes.
“Baby girl I'm sorry I-” if her dad thought he could sweet talk her into forgiving him then he had another thing coming.
“When will you understand!!? I'm not a baby!?! I have gone through enough shit to classify me as a senior! I was lied to by everyone in my life for an entire year, all for the sole reason that I was a girl!” she screamed at her father and he had the decency to look ashamed.
“Iris, people have to lie to-” Digg tried to placate her but she spoke over him, sending him a nasty glare that had him shutting his trap.
“My fiancé killed himself right in front of me thinking that I never loved him!! And you wanna know the worst part?!? I forced myself to push that away to make sure that everyone else around me was protected, safe and happy! To make sure you were okay! Make sure Barry was okay!!” she screamed and she could feel Caitlin giving her a sad look from behind her but Iris didn't want her pity.
“YOU!!!” Iris screamed as she turned to the ice queen. Caitlin looked like a deer caught in headlights and her hands were icing up but Iris didn't care. This was long overdue and she wasn't going to wait any longer.
“Don't even get me started on YOU!! You fucking assisted in my murder and I had to fucking accept the fact that you would start working with us again. You and that phycopath! And when I tried to yell at you before, you know what happened?! I got fucking yelled at like I was the villain!!”Caitlin had the decency to look ashamed but when she opened her mouth Iris spoke over her. “I would be perfectly fucking fine with you here. But I didn't even get a fucking apology!” Caitlin froze at that, horror setting in her eyes but Iris could care less.
“I have sat here in this team doing nothing but be sweet and nice to everyone. Have tried my hardest to make sure we all stayed friends. Didn't complain when I was sidelined and just took it in. Because when I did speak up I was looked at as if I was the villain.” Iris said, her tears making her choke on a few words and her dad looked like he wanted to hug her, but he could tell Iris wouldn't react too nicely to that.
“And now, I may not have been stranded on an island for 5 years,” she said nodding at Oliver who had a mighty look of shame. “or been in the army.” Diggle had the sense to look ashamed at himself. “but I know about being hurt. And the biggest hurt ever, is when people you love and trust won't even listen to you.” Her tears were falling silently now but Felicity was smiling encouragingly at her and Iris continued.
“But if you had listened then you would have known the criminal was straight up molesting the little girl and I stopped him from going any further. If you would have all wanted him to continue, I'll make sure to remember that when I see someone getting touched against their will.” her voice sounded so broken and so wrong on the normally happy girl that everyone but Felicity couldn't help but put their heads down in shame.
“She's right you know.” came a voice. Everyone turned around and they could see Barry standing there and he had a look of upmost fury on his face and he was glaring at everyone like he would do to the criminals he would arrest for murder or for rape. In disgust.
“She has been through so much and instead of complaining and whining about it like we do, she goes on about it to be a better person. She puts her problems aside for others and makes sure that everyone is protected. I won't deny that I have wronged her in the past, because I have, but I always make sure to apologise.” said Barry, cold fury directed at them and Cisco couldn't help but bow his head down in shame.
It reminded him of time he had created the cold gun and Barry had found out.
Barry quickly sped over to his wife and quickly picked her up, carrying her bridal style. Iris didn't say anything, just put her head in the crook of Barry's neck and tried to stop her tears.
“Now, I'm going to take my beautiful, selfless, kind wife home and all of you, except for Felicity considering she's the only one being nice to her, are going to think long and hard about what you've done and find ways to beg for forgiveness.” Barry's tone held no room for discussion and even Ralph or Oliver tried to say anything.
“Make sure she knows she's loved. And by that I mean bring her chocolate. Not that there's anything wrong with sex. I mean that is if you use sex. Which is fine.” Felicity babbled going bright red and Iris couldn't help the watery giggle that escaped her.
“I prefer both.” she said softly and Barry couldn't but smile at his wife.
“Then you'll get both.” he said quietly into her ear before running off.
“We really messed up this time.” mumbled Cisco and nobody, not even Harry could deny how dirty they've done Iris. Even Joe was standing there, shame in his eyes at the pain he bought his girl.
~Westallen loft~
Barry quickly sped into his and Iris's loft and quickly went over to their bed. He gently laid her down and sped into the kitchen. He grabbed all her favourite chocolates and sped back into the room.
He speedily undressed her out of her jeans and blouse and into some pajama shorts and a flash hoodie.
“I love you, Iris West Allen.” Barry said lovingly as he began kissing down her body and Iris couldn't help her giggle.
“Babe, no!” she giggled. Barry pouted in disappointment but didn't interrupt as she continued. “Let me eat the chocolate first. I need the sugar to catch up to you. Your stamina is crazy.” she said throwing a saucy wink at him and Barry couldn't help feeling the love for the woman right in front of him grow tenfold.
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aedelia · 4 years ago
Text
A Hero in the Making
Also cross posted with FF.net and AO3
All Tucker wanted was to play on the slide.  Some bullies interfere and he ends up gaining something much better than just a trip down a slide.
A Hero in the Making
                 Tucker was grinning as he raced around the playground. He had helped his mom make cookies and she let him lick the spoon and the beaters.  It tasted amazing as always and then she had shooed him out the door to play while they baked.  There were only a few weeks left of the summer before third grade and the weather was perfect! It was nice and warm outside, birds were singing and kids were laughing while they played.  He ran past a bench where a red haired girl with headphones had her nose in a book and a sandbox where the little kids were digging for treasure.  
His eyes lit up when he spotted that the big slide was empty.  He clambered up the rope ramp and bounced in excitement at the entrance to the tunnel.  He had just put his hands on the top to go in when he felt someone grab his shirt from behind and yank him back.  He stumbled as he was pulled and tried to keep his feet under him while being dragged backwards to the edge of the platform.
A tall blond boy with green eyes gave him a mean smile and said, “Kids with glasses aren’t allowed to slide.”
Tucker shook his head at him twisting his neck to try to see the other boy, “Yes I am!  I’ve gone on this slide before!”
Tucker was flailing around and trying to get the bigger kid to lose his grip on his shirt.  The blond boy smirked as he yanked Tucker back again and swung him around.  He then shoved Tucker down the ramp. He was bouncing and tumbling as he rolled over the knots to the ground.
“Hey Frankie, this kid thinks he’s allowed to slide on our slide!”
Another blond boy who looked like the big kid snatched Tucker’s glasses off the ground from where they had fallen.  He peered through the lenses; his eyes magnified as he held them up to his face.
“Wow Russ, his eyes are really bad.  I can’t see anything!”  He looked around the playground with his dirty hands half covering the glass and smudging the lens as he twisted and bent the frames.
“Hey give them back!” Tucker shouted, shedding wood chips as he scrambled to his feet and lunged at the thief.
The other boy laughed and held the glasses up high above Tucker’s head where he couldn’t reach them. There was a thud as Russ jumped back down to the ground.  
“You’re just a little kid, you’re not even big enough to get your glasses back!” He taunted, shoving Tucker.
“A blind little kid!” Echoed the other blond as he pushed Tucker back into Russ’s grip.
Russ grabbed Tucker’s ball cap off his head and threw it behind him, “My big brother is on the Casper football team and you’re not cool enough to wear a Ravens hat!”
Tucker’s hair had sprung into a fluffy cloud without his hat and Russ squashed his hand into it, smacking Tucker on the head in the process.
“Wow!  Look how girly his hair is!”  
He shoved Tucker back to his friend.
“It’s so gross and poofy!” Frankie exclaimed, shoving Tucker again.
“Stop it!”  Tucker cried as he was violently shoved back and forth between the other boys.  His vision became more blurry as his eyes started to tear up.  New insults assaulted him with each push.
“So girly like a princess!”
“Aw look he’s crying now!”
“Little girly crybaby!”
“No one is going to save the crying princess!”
“Princess Poofyhead!”
“Cotton Candy Head!”
Frankie pointed Tucker’s glasses at him and said, “More like Cotton Head.” He said slyly, “You should go find some cotton and pick it like-” his next words were cut off as a red and white blur flew into him and tackled him to the ground.
“You’re just a mean bully!” A voice shouted from the figure kneeling on the downed bully.  
Russ shoved Tucker one more time, knocking him to the ground as he rounded on the shorter boy that had interrupted his fun.
“Hey kid, we’re just showing this crybaby who’s allowed and not allowed on the playground.  It wasn’t very nice of you to knock down my cousin.”
The boy swiped the glasses from the stunned blond he had knocked down and leaped in between Tucker and the bigger bully.  Now that he was closer, Tucker could see he had curly black hair, a red and white shirt, shorts, and red shoes.
“It wasn’t very nice of you to be a bully and be mean!” he shouted.
“Hey hey, we’re not bullies! We were just...enforcing order on the playground.”  Russ, hands stretched out in placation.
“You’re lying!” The black haired boy hissed through clenched teeth, “The rules are to be kind to each other!”  He clenched the hand holding the glasses and roughly pointed his other at the bully. “Stealing is wrong!  Pushing around kids that are smaller than you is wrong! Calling people mean names is wrong!” His volume increased until he was shouting.
The second bully slowly got to his feet.  He rubbed his backside and then brushed off the playground dirt and wood chips that were clinging to his shirt and shorts.  “We were just having some fun.” He muttered.
The smaller black haired boy heard him and quickly changed targets, “It’s not fun if it hurts someone else!  If you don’t leave us alone and go away…” he paused, face scrunched as he thought of a good threat, “I’ll yell for my mommy and daddy and tell everyone that you were hitting and calling names.”
Russ stood still for a moment thinking before he grimaced slightly, “Hey Frankie, let’s go.  Slides are stupid anyways.  Let’s let the babies play with the stupid baby toys.” He turned and tugged his cousin along when it looked like he was going to argue.
“Why are you listening to him?  He’s just a whiny little kid, the only reason he knocked me down was he got me by surprise.” Frankie complained.
Russ leaned towards him and loudly whispered, “Cause we don’t want the Freaky Fentons coming over here. Let the weirdoes play, we have better things we can do.”  
Frankie faced the smaller boys as he was led away and called, “Keep your weirdness to yourselves freaks!”
Tucker’s rescuer waited until the tormenters were far enough away before crouching down level with him. “Hi!  I’m Danny!” He said with a friendly grin.  
“My name’s Tucker.” he responded, using his sleeve to wipe away his tears.
Danny offered his hand and helped pull Tucker to his feet.  He frowned as he passed the glasses back to their owner, “I’m sorry they messed up your glasses.  I ran as fast as I could but I was on the monkey bars when I saw what happened.”
Tucker shook his head still letting out little sniffles, “Thank you for helping me, they were really mean and said some really bad things.”
Danny had a thoughtful look as he picked up the hat and handed it to Tucker.  “Do you want me to tell the grownups?”
Tucker shook his head again as he put the crooked glasses on his face, “No then they’ll just be mad and come after me again.  They’re not worth it.”  He blinked as he adjusted to being able to see again, Danny’s eyes were very blue.
Danny shrugged, “If you’re sure.”  He offered Tucker his hand again.  “Come meet my big sister!  Jazzy is really smart, she skipped the fifth grade and is starting middle school this year.”
Tucker hesitantly took Danny’s hand and asked, “Why are we going to your sister?”
Danny grinned at him, “Cause we’re friends now right?  Jazzy will want to meet my new friend and know who you are!”
Tucker felt hope in his chest like a little bird stretching its wings for the first time.  He shyly returned the smile, “Yeah I’d love to be friends.”  
Danny’s grip was gentle as he led Tucker to the park bench, chattering the whole way. “And I have these really cool model rocket ships that my mommy and daddy got me, they glow in the dark!  And I have glow in the dark stickers on my ceiling too!  Daddy had to help me put them on, he’s really tall!  We had to do them over a lot until they matched the real constellations.  My mommy makes cookies every week and they’re really good!  We have ghost sprinkles that we can put on them.”
“My mom makes cookies too, I helped her make some today.” Tucker said.
“Helping make cookies is so much fun! Did your mommy let you lick the spoon?” Danny asked.
“Yeah!  She let me lick the spoon and the beaters from the mixer too!  It was so good!” Tucker answered.
“Ohhh that’s the best!”
They came to a stop next to the bench that Tucker had run past earlier.  The red-haired girl was still reading her book.  It didn’t have many pictures and Tucker could see a lot of big words.  He recognized ‘mitochondria’ and ‘nucleus’ but didn’t know what ‘vacuole’ or ‘cytoplasm’ meant.
Danny reached out with his free hand and put it right over the pages, “Jazzy!” he sang while wiggling his fingers.
“Danny!  I was reading that!”  The girl slid her headphones down around her neck as she finally looked up. Mozart continued to play as she and Tucker stared at each other for a moment.
Danny looked back and forth between them with a sunny smile on his face, “Jazzy!  This is my new friend Tucker.  Some bullies were being mean to him but I stopped them.” He said proudly.
She held her hand out to Tucker, “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Jasmine Fenton, but you can call me Jazz.”
Tucker gave her his best firm handshake and replied, “My name is Tucker Foley and I just turned 8 last month.”
Now that the introductions were through, Danny pressed forward and asked, “Jazzy can Tucker come over to our house to play?”
His sister frowned at him, “Danny you can’t just invite him without checking with his parents first. He can come over to our house if he gets permission first.”  
Danny turned to Tucker with hope shining brightly in his eyes.  Tucker rubbed the back of his neck as he considered what to do, Danny was even better at the puppy eyes than him.  “We can go ask my mom if it’s ok, she can fix my glasses up too.”  He grinned at the other boy, “She’ll be really glad to meet my friend and the cookies might be done now too!”
Once he had agreed Danny began bouncing in place and tugging on his sister’s hand.  “Come on Jazzy, you have to come too!”  As she packed her book and music away, he turned expectantly to Tucker, “Where do you live?” he asked.
Tucker pointed and said, “The second street over from the park on that side.  I live in the yellow house.” He grinned as Danny took his free hand and started swinging their arms as they walked, Jazz trailing a few steps behind them.
It only took a few minutes for them to arrive at the door to the Foley house.  Tucker shoved the door open, kicking off his shoes while yelling, “Mom!  I made a new friend!”  He turned to the Fenton siblings and pointed to the mat by the front door.  “You can put your shoes here and then you can come into the kitchen and meet my mom.”
Once all the footwear had been dropped onto the mat, he led them down the hall and into the kitchen.
“Wow, your cookies smell really good!” Danny exclaimed as they came into the room.  
“Why thank you, young man.” Angela Foley said as she used an oven mitt and a spatula to slide the cookies from the baking sheet to the cooling rack.  Once all of the cookies had been moved she looked up at the children hovering by the hallway.  “Oh my! Tucker, what happened?  You’re covered in dirt and your glasses!”
Tucker sniffed as he showed the bent frames to his mother, “There were some mean big kids at the playground and they messed up my glasses and tried to take my hat too.  Danny made them stop.”
“And this is Danny?” she asked, looking at the other boy.
Danny nodded while scuffing his foot as the attention shifted to him, “They were being really mean and pushing him and saying mean names.” he explained.
“And who’s this?” she asked while looking at the third child in the room.
“My name is Jasmine Fenton, I’m Danny’s older sister and I didn’t see the bullies.” Jazz answered while hovering behind her younger brother.
Mrs. Foley knelt down in front of Danny to meet his eye level and sincerely said, “Thank you Danny for helping Tucker when the bullies were being mean to him.  It means a lot to me that he has a friend who will stand up for him if someone is being a bully.”
Danny nodded and then surprised himself with a big sniff as tears started to come down.  He scrunched up his face in confusion as he continued to sniffle.
Jazz moved around to face him while asking, “Danny, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Danny shook his head, “No! I don’t know why I can’t stop.” He said, offended that the tears wouldn’t stop.
Tucker tugged on his mom’s sleeve, “Mom, why would you cry is you aren’t hurt or sad?” he asked.
The other children waited expectantly for the answer.
Angela smiled and said, “Well sometimes if you’re trying very hard to be brave and strong when you’re feeling scared you can get through without crying, but when you get somewhere safe then the scared or sad feelings will still need to come out.  It’s ok to cry if you need to, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
She got off the floor and dampened a nearby towel.  She then used it to wipe Danny’s face of tears and dirt.  Once she had cleaned his face, she rinsed the towel and repeated the action with Tucker.  Jazz watched her with something close to awe in her eyes, “How did you know that?” she asked.
Angela chuckled and answered her, “That’s called psychology dear.  It’s the study of how the mind works and is very useful for understanding why people act in certain ways.”
Jazz nodded thoughtfully while watching Danny and quietly muttered, “Psychology sounds very useful and helpful.”
“There, that’s a lot better now.” Mrs. Foley said once both boys were cleaned and calm.  She gestured to the kitchen table and said, “Why don’t you three have a seat and help yourself to some cookies while I fix Tucker’s glasses.”  After plating the sufficiently cooled cookies, she ruffled Danny’s hair and held out her hand for the damaged glasses.  Tucker handed them over and then slid into the chair next to Danny, “Mom, after my glasses are fixed may I go over to play with Danny?”
His mother hummed thoughtfully as she ran water over the glasses to remove the dirt and smudges. She glanced at the table and had to hide her grin at the pleading looks the boys had.  “Of course you may.  As long as you come back before dark and follow any rules the Fentons have in their home.  You can give their parents our phone number when you get there.”  She carefully didn’t react to the happy exclamations from the boys and gently bent the metal frames back into the correct position. Once she was satisfied with the shape, she used a clean cloth to wipe the lens and passed them back to Tucker.
Once his glasses were back in place, Tucker shoved the last third of his cookie into his mouth and chewed furiously.  A moment later he thanked his mother and slid out of his seat.  He shifted on his feet while he waited for Danny and Jazz to finish their cookies as well.  Once they had all finished and Mrs. Foley had dropped some baggies with more cookies into their hands, they were out the door again.
Angela hummed cheerfully as she started cleaning her baking dishes.  She had almost finished scrubbing her baking pan when her husband returned from work and entered the kitchen.
“Hello Honey.” He said as he pecked her on the cheek.  “Where’s Tucker?” he asked as he swiped one of the warm cookies from the plate on the table.
“Tucker made some friends at the playground today.  Some bullies were harassing him and another boy stepped in and scared them off.” His wife answered while finishing the dishes.
“That’s wonderful!” He absently replied before taking a bite of the pilfered treat.
“Yes, the Fenton children are very sweet and were very polite when they came here to ask if Tucker could come over to play.” She said while placing the last dish on the drying rack.
Maurice choked on his cookie; “Did you say Fenton?” he gasped out, crumbs flying.
Angela dropped the towel she was using to dry her hands and hurried over to pound on his back.  “Yes, the Fentons.” she repeated, “Danny is around Tucker’s age and Jasmine is his older sister.”
“That’s great Honey.” Maurice wheezed, thinking back to his junior year of college and the party where he poured a whole bowl of punch over some huge freshman with the name Fenton. ‘That was years ago and hundreds of miles away from here.  Surely it can’t be the same Fenton?’
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