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2-cute-4-school · 4 years ago

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NCT Dream reaction : another member scares you

Tw : near drowning scare, lots of bugs??

Mark Lee

donghyuck loves teasing mark

you’re mark’s s/o

results : donghyuck loves bullying you

congrats you get a free pass to cry with me cuz donghyuck is ruthless

but you learnt to live with it so it’s okay most of the time

until his friendly teasing involved a quite deep pool and your unprepared form being swung violently into it

so when you submerged underwater and didn’t come back up, mark forgot everything else and dove head first into the pool

his spiderman senses kicked in thank god

donghyuck saw his life flash before his eyes ⊙△⊙

when mark dragged you to the surface and hoisted you out of the water with donghyuck’s help, you took your sweet time before coughing violently

you gotta suck the life out of that dramatic effect ya know

mark coddled you the entire day, embracing your trembling form and keeping hyuck away despite his attempts to apologize to you :<

this man would spend an entire lifetime just taking care of you and smothering you with no complaints i swear cause you became like the centre of the universe for him ಥ_ಥ

writing music? thinks of you ; eating watermelon? y/n would like it ; showering? we could have some fun

but once he tucked you safely into bed and made sure you comfortably fell asleep after a scare that shortened both your lives by 10 years

WWIII commenced （ノ♯｀△´）ノ~’┻━┻

markhyuck summer fight pt.2

Huang Renjun

there’s ONE(1) thing you and renjun totally agree on

scary movies can suck your di- └( ͡° ︿ °͡ )┘

but the other devil spawns ( read dreamies ) decided you deserve suffering their enjoyment blame them

so you’re settled on the couch between china line with renjun trying to keep his macho man facade give up jun we know you’re babie (♥ω♥*)

but still feeling you tremble like a leaf beside him melted his lil heart :((((

so he kept a hand on your knee the entire time, rubbing random patterns on your leg in an attempt to soothe your nerves

the atmosphere became so tense, any hint of conversation dying once everyone was immersed in the movies, an eerie silence enveloping you

but when dear angel chenle decided to shriek in your ears and dig his fingers in you sides let me tell you gals

you jumped out of your skin

and spoiler alert : didn’t land back on the couch

cue dolphin noises

but when you looked up at renjun, a deep pout settled on your lips and glassy puppy eyes ( つ᷄.̯σ̣̥᷅ ) he saw red before his eyes

“YAH ZHONG CHENLE YOU WANTED SCARY MOVIES?!? I’LL GIVE YOU A SCARE ENOUGH FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE, YOU RASCAL !!!1!1!!”

no one dares to scare/hurt his baby and escapes unharmed no exceptions sorry

after he taught chenle the lesson of his life, it’s cuddle time!!! (۶* ‘ꆚ’)۶”

he spoons you protectively and smothers you in a TON of kithes until he’s content with hearing your giggles :>

Lee Jeno

you made it your personal mission to find a way to eradicate all bugs

no cap

and jeno just nodded along to your endless rambling about your strong dislike towards them

let’s be honest here, he was internally gushing at your cuteness like your biggest supporter (　◠ ◡ ◠　)

so when renjun dangerously nears you without a common garden bug he found during your picnic with the dreamies in between his fingers and sticks it in your face with the hugest shit eating grin (ര̀ᴗര́)و ̑̑

you let out the loudest screech and scramble to throw yourself in jeno’s arm who acted like your comfort blanket by now i’m so soft for jeno can you tell????

and he just 「(°ヘ°)

‘my baby?? scared?? the nerve of some people?? gotta!!!show!!them!!no one!!!NO ONE!!!messes with my baby!!!’ (｀Д´)

so he just pats you head lovingly and rubs your back until you calm down enough to let go of him

and then he leaves the cutest *smooch* on your forehead and gets up

he walks calmly towards renjun who was pretending to occupy himself with smoothing down a blanket and just...cracks his knuckles kaneki style

jeno just grabs the biggest bug he was able to find and grips the hem of renjun’s sweats harshly

wanna know what this gangsta beach does?? he frickin throws the bug down poor renjun’s pants

and then just leaves his unfortunate victim thrashing and shrieking for his life and retreats back in your arms like the terrifying baby he is

don’t mistake his softness for you as weakness!!1! he becomes ruthless when it comes to you :<

Lee Donghyuck

he’s already ruthless enough

so please PLEASE for the love of God don’t give him a reason to become even more of a devil spawn

but poor jisung didn’t get the gist bless his pure soul 🐣

you weren’t even that scared when you opened your phone to an remarkably ugly image of a cockroach (basically the same prank that was done to fetus jisung some time ago)

but you still let out a shriek loud enough to alert haechan

and while haechan seemed silent while he smothered you, his mind was going highwire which is NEVER good (￣ェ￣;)

*time skip to the next day*

3 times

3 TIMES DID JISUNG SEE HIS LIFE FLASH BEFORE HIS EYES IN A SINGLE DAMNED DAY and he’s never been the same since

so when he barges in the living room where sweet innocent hyuck is seated on the couch with you cradled in his lap while feeding both you and himself and watching netflix

jisung has a fit it was damn time baby chick

“you put cockroaches in the shower, in my cup AND on my pillow, do you want me to die young??!!?”

“they’re fake tho”

“I DIDN’T KNOW THAT WHEN I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK” ⊙﹏☉

eventually jisung retreated to put some shoes on and leave the dorm for a breath of fresh air after the near-death experience he encountered

“i feel bad for him” you took pity on the kid alright

“don’t worry your pretty head”

and he just kithes the heck out of you and automatically deleted all your worries once immersed in his sweet lips who could resist him tho

until another scream echoes

“IN MY SHOES TOO?!? YOU KNOW WHAT, I MIGHT JUST MOVE OUT”

Na Jaemin

we all know jaemin enjoys photography

and you’d be a fool to believe his camera roll is not ABSOLUTELY FULL of pictures of you both candid and not

he always insisted he takes photos of things he loves or are beautiful and you’re both and even more ✿♥‿♥✿

that’s how some of your hangouts turn into mini photoshoots whenever jaemin was in the mood

and that’s how you found yourself modeling for jaemin while the other dreamies were lunging around

“i’m frying over here, can you hurry up?”

“not my fault my baby is the prettiest unlike you gremlins, hyuck”

“what’d you say?!!?!?!!” lowkey ready to swing

jaemin doesn’t spare him a second glance, he can only focus on you :>

“hey honey can you climb on that ledge for me?”

he helps you like the gentleman he is to climb the stone ledge, one hand clutching yours and the other gripping your waist softly (๑°꒵°๑)･*♡

so you’re posing, focusing on the camera when you feel a hand tightly clasp over your ankle

and jeez do you scream so loud hyuck was left fried, insulted and deaf

and you can’t even step away from the ledge before jaemin envelops you in his arms and clutches you tightly to his chest

“aigoo aigoo~ my baby it’s okay, nana is here” in the softest voice possible (๑´ω`๑)

he smooths down your hair, petting it affectionately and as he leans down to smooch your forehead he meets eyes with a sheepish jeno who peeks over from behind the ledge

and jaemin just stares him down with that disappointed mom look

and jeno just knows he won’t be getting any dinner tonight

but jaemin’s head is full of you you you did i mention you? so he can only coo at you and smother your entire face in little kithes :<

“you’re the absolute cutest and all mine, my cute baby” *bursting uwus* *fake gagging noises in the background from hyuck*

“so candidate no. 2 without dinner tonight huh?” hyuck: “wait no pls”

Zhong Chenle

power napping is your favorite kind of date with chenle

just curling up against each other wherever you two could fit and spooning or just cuddling or even just holding hands if the weather was too hot

okay but just imagine chenle holding someone’s hand while he sleeps i’m ded just imagining it x.x

so it’s already understood that you’re a sleep lover who isn’t tho

and while you fell asleep, chenle still had to wash the dishes after a meal with the dreamies

jaemin being the affectionate person he is cooed over your cuteness and couldn’t help himself from throwing himself beside you on the bed and jumping on it while screaming your name (basically the same thing he did to chenle :)))) )

but unfortunately you were a quite light sleeper and easily startled when woken up suddenly and not so gently ( ͠° ͟ʖ °͠ )

so you let out a chocked noise that immediately alerted chenle who returned to see you staring at jaemin like a deer caught in headlights

“ah hyung why would you do that? you scared them like that”

chenle whined as he pushed jaemin away who retreated with slumped shoulders and a pout don’t worry jaems we love you

and chenle just slips under the blanket and brings you closer to lay down together and soothes you ༶ඬ༝ඬ༶

and he just embraces you, tangling your legs together and hiding your face in the crook of his neck while he runs his fingers through your hair comfortingly chenle would make the best cuddle buddy no take-backs

“shh it’s alright, just go back to sleep, i’ll stay with you” (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

with chenle’s assurance and tight grip on your body to bring you as close as humanly possible, you fall back asleep as chenle stares fondly at you

and that’s how chenle escaped washing dishes *ha suck it losers*

Park Jisung

jisung blames mark

mark is his oldest hyung and the supposedly most responsible debatable among them

so how could his leader scare you to tears and then dump your shaking figure for him, the baby, to take care of (ノ-_-)ノ ~┻━┻

jisung could only stare at you as he hovered above your curled up form

“y-y/n, come on, there’s nothing to cry about, hyung didn’t mean it”

*mark facepalms* *sm building facepalms* *the white house facepalms*

mark just motions aggressively to jisung to rub your back

and jisung pales as if mark suggested going to a haunted house *sigh* jisung you absolute clueless baby

he SUPER HESITATINGLY pats your back awkwardly, but you only curl up into yourself even more

mark pushes jisung to sit down beside you and prompts him to comfort you properly and jisung gulps

“sooo, how are you feeling?”

*well done jisung take a guess you sharp tool* (－‸ლ)

mark is just boiling with worry you might just dump jisung after his worryingly poor attempt when your small voice cuts through

“can you please hug me, sung?” (●´^｀●)

jisung.exe has shut down please retry in a moment

“s-sure, yeah, just-”

but you just slot yourself in his lap and bury your face in his shoulder

jisung.exe is overwhelmed by your cuteness pls spare him

but he eventually wraps his arms around you too and just rubs up and down, occasionally massaging the nape of your neck gently

“this is actually nice, can we stay like this please?” (⺣◡⺣)♡*

you just tighten your grip on him in response

and jisung rests his head on top of your head to hide his reddening face away but also to hold you even closer because despite his shy demeanor he cherishes you so so much so please have patience with this baby

mark just shakes his head from the doorway with a fond smile knowing that you’re just right for each other (︶ω︶)

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today-only-happens-once · 6 years ago

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Tight Spaces and Brave Faces

Title: Tight Spaces and Brave Faces

Word Count: 5141

Summary: For as long as they’ve all known him, Patton Foster has had crippling claustrophobia. One night at a cast party brings that all bubbling back to the surface, and Virgil can’t get the door open. College AU. Platonic Moxiety, platonic LAMP/CALM.

Warnings: hurt/comfort, some angst, claustrophobia, being trapped in a small space, descriptions of crowds and tight spaces (specifically closets), alcohol mention, panic attack (mostly off-screen), cursing, spoilers for Heathers the Musical, feelings of guilt, a bit of fluff towards the end, please let me know if I forgot anything.

A/N: Been a while, yeah? Thank you to everyone who was so kind and patient with me during my writing hiatus. The hiatus was… needed and helpful, although I only hope this fic makes up for the lack of writing content the past few weeks. I’ve never written a focus on the Moxiety dynamic for a one-shot before. The rough draft was extra rough and this had to go through some major revisions… I hope this turned out okay. Nervous to post, but when am I not? <3

…

The lobby of the performing arts center is packed as the theater spills out into the tiled space. Excited voices bounce off the marble pillars with words of congratulations and greetings. Virgil Shea stands at the far outskirts of the thickening crowd, pressing against the wall to create as much space from the sea of bodies as he can. His roommate, Patton Foster, is already pressed flat against the wall.

His smile is a bit stiff as his gaze scans the crowd for their roommate, Roman Prince. Their fourth roommate, Logan Sanders, stands with his arms crossed on the other side of Patton. Virgil frowns at the way Patton seems to be trying to melt into the wall, even though he understands. For as long as Virgil has known him, Patton has struggled with debilitating claustrophobia. It was worse when it was small, cramped spaces, but crowds could sometimes be hard for him to handle too.

Virgil spots the spiral staircase, noting that the swarm of people that had been working their way down it after the curtain had mostly thinned out by now. He nudges Patton beside him. “I’m gonna head over there. See if I can’t spot Roman from further up.”

Patton follows his gaze, and a note of relief floods his eyes at the lack of a crowd in that part of the room. “I’ll come too!”

At Logan’s quizzical look, Virgil jerks his head towards the stairs, and the three of them skirt the outside of the crowd and make their way through the lobby. The red carpeting does little to absorb the sound of cast members chatting excitedly with their friends and family that had attended the opening night production of Heathers The Musical!

As the three of them head up the steps—stopping about half-way to lean over the railing and scan the crowd for their roommate—Virgil hears Patton take in a deep breath.

“I may not entirely understand theatre,” Logan says suddenly, “but seeing Roman perform a role so unlike his usual demeanor was certainly interesting.”

Virgil watches the people milling around below them. Some of the girls in the cast are handed flower bouquets. People are exchanging hugs, cast members laugh loudly with eyes bright from the flood of post-show adrenaline. Virgil may have stopped getting involved in theater after high school, but he’s glad that Roman didn’t. Though he’d never tell his roommate, Virgil knows that Roman is talented and works hard at it.

“He was so good!” Patton adds, nodding in agreement. “His whole performance was just… J-D-lightful.” He laughs as Logan groans.

Virgil smirks at the pun. “Always knew Princey had a dark side.”

“Don’t worry,” chimes a new, familiar voice coming up the stairs behind them. “You’re still the Emo Nightmare of the group.”

All three of them turn as Roman jogs up the stairs towards them. The dark clothes and slicked back hair looks suddenly odd on the young actor, if only because the brightness of his smile and revitalized energy in his eyes has turned him back into Roman, not J.D anymore. His stage make-up that had looked edgy and dangerous on him while on stage looks thick and dramatic up close. He’s got a fake blood streak down his temple starting somewhere up in his hairline.

“Roman!” Patton gushes, giving is roommate a hug. “You were amazing! I was actually a little scared of you when you killed Kurt. It felt so real.”

Roman grabs hold of the railing on the stairs to keep his balance as he hugs his roommate back. When they separate, Roman gives a dramatic bow. “You’re too kind, Patton.”

“I don’t know about that, Patton,” Virgil quips. “Roman Prince being straight? Unrealistic.”

Roman holds a hand to his chest. “I’ll admit, ‘Dead Girl Walking’ is always an exercise of my greatest acting ability…” Roman trails off, then smiles with a note of uncertainty. “But really. Did you guys like it?”

Logan inclines his head. “The performance was adequate.” Roman rolls his eyes with a sense of affection.

“Not that you need the ego boost,” Virgil says when Roman looks at him, “but yeah. It was really good, Roman.”

Roman beams.

“Actually,” Logan says, adjusting the frame of his glasses, “I was hoping to ask you about the technical design of—“

“Roman?”

Roman turns at the sound of his name being accompanied by someone ascending the staircase. The girl that Virgil recognizes as having played opposite Roman as Veronica stops a few steps below the four of them. She’s got a soft, warm smile that—not unlike Roman’s transformation—seems somehow to be such a stark contrast to her character they’d just seen on stage. Her dark hair is mussed, her own stage blood streaking her left cheek. She smiles brightly.

She offers Roman a hug, and the young actor accepts it warmly. “Nicole, you were exquisite as always.”

She smiles. “You kidding? You brought the house to its feet when you came out at the end!”

“Funny,” Roman says, “I got a very different reaction when I came out in high school.” Virgil snorts.

Nicole rolls her eyes before her gaze falls on the three of them standing on the stairs behind Roman. “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“Don’t worry about it, kiddo,” Patton jumps in. “You were amazing!” Nicole seems briefly startled at the enthusiasm, but her smile is sincere and Virgil swears he sees a faint blush underneath her thick layer of makeup.

Roman laughs and sweeps an arm up the staircase in a grand gesture. “Nicole, these are my roommates. Patton, Logan, and Virgil.”

Virgil nods a greeting as Logan chimes, “Salutations.”

“It’s great to meet you guys,” Nicole replies. A second later, her face lights up with an idea. “You all should come to the cast party tonight! Alex is hosting it at the music frat house. It’s supposed to be a ton of fun. I don’t know everyone who will be there, but the more the merrier, right?”

“We’ll be there,” Roman answers immediately for the four of them. Virgil shoots an exasperated look at the back of his head. Did Romano really just sign us up for a party?

“Great! I’ll see you guys there, then!” Nicole waves and hurries back down the spiral staircase.

When Roman turns back around and sees the dry look Virgil is giving him, he waves a hand. “Don’t give me that, Sweeney Toddler. It’ll be fun!”

…

The music frat house is jammed with people.

Virgil shoulders his way through the bodies pressing against one another in the living room as a rap song blares from the big speakers in the corner. Colored lights are projected in changing patterns on the walls and ceiling of the room. The air is hot and thick with the scent of sweat and beer. When the song hits the bass drop, Virgil feels the floor beneath his feet vibrate.

The whole thing sets his nerves on edge. It doesn’t help that he has this weird feeling in his stomach that something is distinctly wrong. A part of him wants to leave, and given how crowded the house is, he wonders if maybe Patton would want to come with him. Their apartment building was only a few blocks away anyway.

Virgil makes his way to the far end of the room, doing his best to avoid the drinks sloshing over the rim of the solo cups as they jumped and danced to the music. He sees Roman sitting on the sofa, chatting with a member of the tech crew. Virgil recognizes them as someone he’d had freshman year history with; Elliot, Virgil thinks the name is. Roman’s face brightens when Virgil breaks through the crowd in front of him.

“Hey, Virge!” he shouts, either still running off the post-show high or simply to be heard over all the noise. The graphic design major isn’t sure which.

“Have you seen Patton?” Virgil asks, unable to ignore the squirming in his gut.

Roman seems to see it in his face, too, because his brows pull together in concern. He straightens up slightly, his gaze scanning the crowd of people. He shakes his head as he looks back at Virgil. “I just saw him like, ten minutes ago. He said something about finding the bathroom.” He looks back at Elliot. “Hang on,” he says to them. “I’ll be right back.”

Roman gracefully jumps up from his perch on the arm of the sofa and starts making his way through the house. He ducks into the small dining room that had—intentionally or not—been turned into an overflow space of dancers. Couples lined the walls, heads ducked towards one another in flirty conversation. Two girls giggle as one kisses the other’s nose. Another couple is kissing sloppily in the corner and Virgil quickly averts his gaze.

He follows Roman through the entryway at the far end of the room, down the tight hallway, to the staircase that led up to the second floor of the house. Logan stands at the foot of it by the railing, chatting idly with some people that Virgil distantly recognized as being part of the pit orchestra and production team.

“Hey. Specs.” Roman claps a hand on Logan’s shoulder as he comes up from behind him. Logan’s cool brown gaze flashes up in annoyance before turning to confusion at seeing Roman and Virgil.

The sense of urgency is ballooning slowly in Virgil’s chest, getting harder for him to ignore even though he can’t exactly pinpoint why. “Have you seen Patton?” he asks before Logan can respond.

Logan meets Virgil’s gaze. “I did see him go upstairs, although that was several minutes ago. A few other students are up there as well.”

Something doesn’t feel right. It’s a vague weight over his head that Virgil can’t shake for the life of him. He brushes past Logan and takes the stairs two at a time. He hears Roman say his name before two sets of footsteps following up the stairs behind him.

The hallway at the top of the stairs is tight and dark and the floor creaks beneath him. All of the doors are closed except for the one just slightly to the right of the staircase. The door is open, the light is on; it’s the bathroom. Patton is nowhere to be found.

There are a few guys further down the hall crowded around a door on the left. It’s a slightly smaller door, probably to a closet of some sort. One of them jiggles the handle before snorting in laughter. He slaps his friend’s shoulder. “Dude, dude, dude,” he says between laughter, “I think he jammed it. Guess he’s not getting out now.”

Roman reaches the top of the stairs as Virgil’s mind starts racing. “Hey, man,” Roman calls out to them, oblivious to their conversation or the way Virgil pales beside him. “You didn’t see my roommate come up here, did you?”

“Who’s your roommate?” one of them asks. “Wait, the weird guy in the blue polo?”

Virgil’s hands twitch into fists at his sides. “Tell me you didn’t…”

The one closest to Virgil rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Learn to take a joke, man—“

“Is he in there?” Virgil demands, his sharp gaze startling the other three into silence. When the one in the middle glances at the door and says nothing, Virgil sees red.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Roman demands, crossing the short length of hallway to stand almost nose-to-nose with the one in the middle. Virgil pushes past all of them to get at the door, trying the handle.

It won’t turn. It’s locked, or jammed or… Virgil knocks softly on the door. “Patton?” He doesn’t hear anything on the other side and he feels his stomach drop. He tries the handle again, but he can’t turn it. Blindly, Virgil shoves his shoulder into the door with a small thud. “Patton? Can you open the door?”

There’s still no answer. It’s hard to tell whether the heavy beat vibrating the floor from the music below or Virgil’s heart is faster. He jiggles the handle again and shakes the door slightly, trying to force it open. It doesn’t budge.

“Maybe he’s enjoying the seven minutes in heaven by himself,” one of them jokes. Virgil doesn’t turn around, but he’s pretty sure he can hear the smirk in his voice.

“I suggest,” Roman says in a low, dangerous voice, “that you either find a way to get that door open or you don’t let the front one hit you on the way out.” His voice reminds Virgil suddenly of when he’d been J.D from earlier that night.

“Whoa, calm down, man,” one of them says. “Look, we didn’t mean to actually jam the door. That was your guy. He like, totally freaked out when we closed the door on him. We were just messing with him.”

“Evidence suggests that you did more than simply close the door on him,” Logan cuts in. His voice is a lethal, savage calm. “If the door is jammed because our roommate pulled on it, then you likely where holding the door closed on him. Otherwise, opening it would have been no problem. Now, there’s a chance I may be mistaken, but I’ve found that I am rarely incorrect.”

Virgil knocks on the door again. He can feel his heart in his throat. “Patton, can you please try to open the door?” He doesn’t hear the rest of the conversation behind him as he grabs the handle and jiggles the door again. He presses his ear against it, listening for a moment. “Pat, we’re trying to get you out, okay?” The music and crowd noise from downstairs make it hard to tell, but Virgil swears he hears a quiet whimper come from the other side of the door.

He hears rapid footsteps behind him that recede down the stairs. When he glances over his shoulder, only Logan and Roman are left in the hallway.

“I can’t get it open,” he says in a tight voice. He backs up from the door, then throws his weight into it with his shoulder. The impact is jarring, but the door doesn’t budge. “Come on,” he growls under his breath. Can he kick in the door? No, he doesn’t know how to do that. And even if he did, it could easily end up hurting Patton.

“Virgil.”

He pulls back from the door and is about to throw his weight into it again—he has to get through that door—but feels a firm hand grab his shoulder.

“Stop,” Logan says softly but firmly from behind him. “You are more likely to dislocate your shoulder doing that than you are to open the door.”

Virgil roughly shrugs out of Logan’s grip. “Then what do you suggest, Logan?” he snaps. “Patton is in there and I can’t get the door open—“

“Keep him calm,” Logan tells him. “I will find a way to get the door open, but right now you and Roman focus on helping Patton stay calm.”

Virgil looks up into Logan’s steady gaze and takes a breath before nodding. “Okay.” The corner of Logan’s mouth quirks slightly before he nods back and hurries down the stairs.

The graphic design major turns back towards the door and leans his head against it softly. “Patton, if you can hear me, I need you to breathe.” The party downstairs is still too loud for him to really hear if he gets a response. He just hopes that Patton can hear him and is listening. “We’re gonna breathe in for four seconds, okay? Here we go. In…” Virgil counts out loud to four. “Hold for seven seconds.” He counts again. “Now let it out for eight seconds.” When he counts to eight, Virgil swallows and pauses. “Good. We’re gonna do it a few more times, okay? Breathe in for four seconds…”

The dark, cramped hallway creaks as Roman takes a step closer. Virgil walks through the exercise once or twice more. He doesn’t know if it’s actually helping, if Patton can actually hear him, and it kills him a little that he doesn’t know. He feels Roman place a hand on his arm as he steps closer.

“Hey, Patton,” Roman says in an unusually soft voice. “Did I ever tell you about the field behind my house back home?”

Virgil’s glances at Roman, confused. What? He mouths. Roman holds up a hand and mouths back, Trust me. He hesitates a moment, then takes a step back to let Roman get closer to the door.

“It was this huge grass field. In the far distance, you could just barely make out the trees silhouetted on the horizon line. Wildflowers in the spring and summer would coat the field in yellows, reds, and blues that matched the sky above. And the sky out there…” Roman has his eyes closed, looking lost in his own world. “It goes on for miles on a clear day. The brightest sky you’ve ever seen. Don’t even get me started on the sunsets out there. The reds and golds and violets would bleed into one another and reflect off the clouds, endless colors filling the vast sky above you. And since we kind of lived in the middle of nowhere, the night sky was just full of stars. I used to think you could see the farthest corners of the universe out there.”

Roman’s voice is smooth and effortless. Virgil can feel the tension in his shoulders easing just a little bit, and he realizes what Roman is doing. He’s painting a picture of wide, open, colorful spaces as a way to combat the tight, dark one Patton is trapped in. There’s a flicker of uncertainty in the actor’s eyes as he opens them and looks at Virgil. He isn’t sure if it’s working. Virgil doesn’t know either.

Roman opens his mouth and takes a breath to continue when the rapid but methodical sound of footsteps coming up the stairs signals Logan’s reappearance. Virgil straightens up and looks at him expectantly.

Logan holds up a butter knife. “It was the best I could do.” He squeezes past Roman to kneel on the thin carpeting and wedge the knife by the lock in the door. It takes him a couple of seconds before they hear a quiet click, nearly drowned out by the thumping bass from below. Logan tosses the knife to the floor and twists the handle, the door swinging open effortlessly. Virgil squeezes past Roman and through the door into the closet as soon as there’s enough of a crack for his body to slip through.

The walls of the closet are lined with shelves full of cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and toiletries, and on the floor in the middle of it all is Patton. His knees pulled up to his chest, his face buried in his arms. Trembling.

Virgil unzips his hoodie and shrugs out of it as he kneels in front of him. “Patton,” he says in a soft voice. “Hey.” He knows the trembling isn’t really because Patton is cold but he drapes his sweatshirt around Patton’s shoulders anyway.

Patton’s breath hiccups as he pulls his head out of his arms. Virgil feels his heart constrict at the tear tracks that mark his cheeks. He hears movement behind him and when he glances over his shoulder, he sees that Logan has a hand on Roman’s shoulder as if keeping him from coming into the closet too. He whispers something in the actor’s ear. Roman nods and takes a small step back.

Virgil looks back at Patton. “You’re safe now,” he says. “What do you say we get out of here?”

He offers a hand, but he sees the way Patton’s shoulders tense and he pulls back. He doesn’t take it personally. Patton needs as much space as he can get right now. The vacuum in the corner is tipped over and shoved into a pile of toilet paper under the bottom shelf. Virgil wonders in the back of his mind if that might have been Patton’s doing.

“Patton,” Logan says from the hallway, his voice softer than Virgil can ever remember it being, “Can you stand up?”

There’s a moment of hesitation. Then, so quietly that Virgil almost misses it: “Y-yeah.”

Patton uncurls himself, scrubs a hand against his tear-stained cheeks, and stands on shaky legs. Virgil stands with him, slipping his hands into the back pocket of his jeans and moving out of the way of the door. Instinct is telling Virgil to grab his arm, to steady him, protect him like you failed to do in the first place, but he doesn’t want to overwhelm or overstimulate him. So Virgil hovers in the corner, follows Patton out the door, and pulls the door shut behind him.

Logan offers Patton his hand with a gentle, reassuring look. Patton swallows and glances up at him before slipping his arms through the sleeves of Virgil’s hoodie and quietly placing his hand in Logan’s outstretched one.

“Let’s go home,” Logan says softly.

…

The moment they are out of the house and the door has closed behind them, the world becomes immediately quieter. The brisk autumn air tugs at the strands of hair falling into Virgil’s eyes. Roman rushes down the steps of the porch towards the sidewalk with his arms spread out.

“You wanna know what song I feel like singing tonight, Logan?” Roman announces as he grabs hold of the nearby streetlamp and spins around it.

The chemical engineering student adjusts the frame of his glasses as he follows Roman down the sidewalk, his other hand still entwined with Patton’s. “What would that be, Roman?”

“All we see is sky for forever!” Roman belts out, a show tune that Virgil immediately recognizes from Dear Evan Hansen. The young actor isn’t exactly being subtle. The out-stretched arms, spinning around, walking ahead of them, singing a song not from the beginning of the tune but from that particular line… he’s emphasizing all of the open space around them as much as possible.

The corner of Virgil’s mouth quirks upwards in an almost-smile. He glances at Patton out of the corner of his eye and notices that he seems steadier now as he smiles warmly at Roman’s antics. He seems to be breathing normally.

It’s something, at least.

Virgil can’t quite shake the feeling of guilt gnawing at his stomach even as he crosses his arms over his chest to brace against the cold air, keeping stride a few steps behind the other three. He doesn’t know what to do. Not really, anyway. He’d been useless to get Patton out of the closet. Useless to prevent him getting trapped in it in the first place. He’d always been the one who focused on keeping the others’ safe, but he’d failed. Where did that leave him?

Patton is safe now. That should be all that matters. But the weight sits heavy and uncomfortable in his chest anyway. He wants to ask Patton if he’s okay—just to make sure, to actually hear him confirm it so maybe his gut will stop twisting—but Patton smiles and laughs at something Roman says and the words die in Virgil’s throat. Maybe bringing it up is a mistake. Patton probably just needs a distraction right now.

Virgil could do that.

Patton glances over his shoulder at him, his brow pulling together in sudden concern. “Holy smokes, kiddo,” he says and starts shrugging out of the hoodie, “I wasn’t even thinking. You must be freezing.”

Virgil’s eyes widen and he grabs Patton’s arms to stop him before he twists out of the sweatshirt. No, Patton,” he insists. “Really. It’s fine. Keep it until we get back to the apartment.”

Patton stops, but looks at him doubtfully. “I don’t want you getting sick.”

Virgil dismissively rolls his eyes. “I won’t, dad. Leave the hoodie on, will you?”

Patton purses his lips. “If you’re sure…” He shrugs it back over his shoulders and slips his hands into the pockets. Virgil gives him a small smile. He feels some of the tension loosen in his chest at the warm look in his friend’s eyes. “Thank you,” Patton adds, a weight to his words that Virgil pretends he doesn’t notice.

Instead, he shakes his head teasingly and bumps his shoulder into his roommate’s. “Don’t mention it.”

…

When they get back to the apartment ten minutes later, Roman dramatically stretches and announces that he needs his “beauty rest” before the matinee tomorrow. Virgil doesn’t miss the soft, uncertain look he gives Patton—the brief crack in Roman’s normality checking that Patton is okay—and Patton gives him a sincere smile and tells him to not let the bed bugs bite. Roman says something about “vanquishing such vile creatures in my sleep!” before he heads into his and Patton’s shared room and closes the door.

Logan stifles a yawn. “Patton, if you’re certain that you don’t require assistance or companionship, I think I may retire for the night as well.”

“You’re sweet for offering, Logan, but you don’t need to worry about me!” Patton flashes him a bright smile but there’s something just a little off about it to Virgil.

The exhausted chemical engineering student glances at Virgil as if to assure himself that someone would be staying up with Patton a little while longer. Virgil nods subtly, and Logan inclines his head to Patton, bids them goodnight, and heads into his and Virgil’s shared room.

There’s a quiet moment after the door clicks shut behind him when neither of them says anything. The quiet living room separated from the kitchen by a wall and short hallway feels small and noticeably silent given the party they had just come from. The heating unit kicks on with a quiet rumble. The thin carpet and mismatching furniture feels like home.

He hears Patton take in a deep, slow breath. He’s still wearing Virgil’s hoodie, but Virgil doesn’t mind. He looks like he feels safe, even as the warm light of the lamp in the corner shows just how much the sweatshirt engulfs his frame. It’s a comforting sight that helps the lingering tightness in Virgil’s stomach, the one that twists a little more each time he thinks about Patton crying on the floor of the storage closet…

“You don’t have to stay up,” Patton says softly, breaking the quiet air around them. “It’s pretty late, kiddo.”

“I’d probably just be scrolling through Tumblr for an hour anyway,” Virgil replies with a tone that is lighter than the weight in his gaze. He looks at his friend a moment longer; Patton looks almost normal, really, if it isn’t for the way he won’t meet Virgil’s eyes. “D’ya want some tea, Patton?”

Patton blinks in surprise. “Oh. Uh, sure. That’d be great.”

“Cool. One sec.”

Virgil takes his time in the kitchen, grabbing a mug with a cat pun for Patton and a black and purple one for himself as he heats the water. He doesn’t rush the process. He has a feeling that Patton could use a moment by himself, to be alone and recognize that he is safe. To not feel like he has to put up a front for anyone else.

Patton had been getting better about not hiding his negative emotions—he really had—but old habits die hard. And Virgil knows all too intimately what it is like to feel exposed and need those tried and true defense mechanisms.

After he drops the tea bags into the mugs of steaming water a few minutes later, Virgil heads back to the living room around the corner. Patton is already sitting on the couch, his shoes discarded by the leg of the coffee table in front of him and his feet tucked up underneath him. Virgil hands him the cat mug and sits beside him, setting his own cup on one of the coasters Logan had bought for the apartment.

Patton gives him a faint, appreciative smile and curls his hands around the cup. He inhales the steam and scent of lavender and cinnamon. He relaxes back into the cushions of the couch a bit.

“Thanks, Virge.”

“Any time, Patton.”

Patton shakes his head and looks down at the floating tea bag in his mug. “No,” he insists quietly. “I don’t just mean the tea. I mean… for tonight. For coming to find me and… helping me get out.”

Virgil nudges the lid of his laptop—which had been sitting on the corner of the coffee table from before they’d left for Roman’s performance—up as he glances at Patton over his shoulder. “I know,” he says. “But we’re here for you as much as you’re here for us.”

Patton swallows and nods. His eyes flicker up to meet Virgil’s before averting them again. Virgil busies himself by quickly logging into his laptop. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, his tone light and casual. He doesn’t want Patton to feel like he has to. Virgil figures he’s felt trapped enough tonight; he doesn’t want to add to that.

“Not… not tonight,” Patton admits quietly.

Virgil nods, and pulls up the Netflix tab on his browser. He can’t say the answer surprises him. That’s okay. Patton knows that they’re there for him, and when he wants to talk about it? Virgil and the others will be there.

“Do you want to watch some Parks and Rec instead?”

He doesn’t miss the relieved smile that pulls across his friend’s face. “Sounds perfect, kiddo.”

...

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#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #moxiety #moxiety fanfiction #platonic moxiety #angst #claustrophobia #tight spaces #heathers spoilers #yeets this onto tumblr and then runs far away because idk how i feel about this fic #aaaaa why is posting scary every time #also sorry mobile users its a longer fic this time #long post #just in case

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eisforeidolon · 8 years ago

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Episode: The Raid

Oh, this was much better. Not the best episode ever, but considering the ongoing storylines already in play and the telegraphed likely future conflict with the BMOL over ethics, a solid one.

Thankfully, we finally got to have at least a little time to dwell on some of the emotional conflicts this season. The BMOL's torture of Sam, Mary's utter abandonment of her children and giant shitstorm of lies, and the Winchester's feelings about it. Could have stood to have a little more, but at least it finally got some screen time.

Mary goes on about “playing three decades of catch up” as a sympathy ploy, but it just doesn't work when she's been playing them with the BMOL, not her sons. She may be their mother, but she has done absolutely nothing to be their Mom. She's telling herself she's doing this for her sons - her sons she hasn't bothered to get to know or ask what they want. So no, I don't believe for a second it's about them in any real sense, though perhaps she might actually think it is in the mess of justifications in her head. Of course, I also find getting out of hunting even for herself suspect as hell, because she supposedly quit hunting when she got married, wanted nothing more than to stay out … and yet they made that a complete fucking lie earlier this season. So why am I supposed to buy it as a motivation again now after its plausibility has been so effectively sabotaged? Or are we going back to that thing where all the hunters believe they can’t get out but believe others can, like that bit with Bobby about Dean at the beginning of season 6?

I can't not find that one BMOL guy gushing about Mary being the awesomest Winchester to ever awesome a little hilarious. Dude is totally hot for her, that's the only possible explanation so far as I'm concerned, especially considering how spotty their information has been on the Winchesters.

I get that we're probably supposed to assume the vampire population climbed during the whole Mother of All business or whatever, but I can't help but be underwhelmed by the idea of the BMOL wiping out all of the vampires … when we were told they were on the verge of extinction a little over a decade ago. Through the efforts of bog standard American hunters. All the gadgets, and the BMOL can't even match that without nearly getting wiped out in turn by their own arrogance. Tsk tsk.

Speaking of gadgets, loved Sam's little quip about the “low budget Mission Impossible vibe”. Especially since I was thinking earlier with the scene in their temporary headquarters that it was annoying the writers seem to wish they were writing James Bond this season with all the sudden epic gadgets and sci-fi looking hideout crap. I dunno, I get it as a way to contrast them with the Winchesters, and I’m a little more forgiving of it after this episode showing it failing them so utterly, but it can’t help but feel a little gimmicky and ass-pull-ish. Possibly I’m just being picky.

I do have to question why they still aren't managing to recruit any hunters, though. Because they do have gadgets. And they are apparently effectively killing tons of things. The other hunters weren't tortured by one of their wackadoo operatives gone rogue. So....? I mean, sure, hunters are secretive and suspicious, but seriously nobody but Mary is impressed with their toys and kill rate? Maybe if they gave less speeches and more free samples or something, I don't know.

Of course the BMOL would know the locations of other MOL bunkers, that only makes sense. I did like the interplay between Ketch and Dean. He knew enough to bring a gift in liquor form, to get him in the door. To then not-so-subtly push off Toni as a crazy ex-girlfriend who he tried to warn his organization about to distance both himself personally and the BMOL generally from her actions. And then to cap it all off by a session of bonding over old-fashioned machete wielding violence. I liked that he totally thought he had Dean on the hook from it. Of course, the best part was that I think their interaction over the remaining vampire in the nest makes it clear he actually didn't at all. Dean is a very physical kind of guy and seems pretty obvious on the surface, but that’s just the surface - he's not a sadist by choice, the violence is more a means to an end and an outlet than a real joy. He’s more than intelligent enough to know exactly what Ketch was trying with each of his overtures, and even pissed at Mary, no doubt wants to know what they’re getting her into. I think he probably has far more of a measure of Ketch than Ketch does of him at the end of this day. Well, if the writers have even a smidgen of a clue what they’re doing, anyway.

With the minor question of why all the doors in the BMOL compound aren't on lock down by default, I did think the whole section of the episode that took place with the vampire incursion there was excellent. Of course the BMOL were overconfident and despite knowing the vampires were all connected - even bragging about that knowledge – somehow didn't realize they'd strike back. Likewise their overestimation that they knew where the Alpha was, and the fact none of them there were fighters or remotely prepared (which tracks much better with what we knew of the American branch, too). Although I've seen people attribute it to seeing the Colt again, Sam's face when Mary is caught in yet another lie about having risked all their lives for it after having lied to get him there ... and his ability to push past it to do the job of the moment. Sam remembering the recipe for the bullets, the only other hunter there being a mole, all the bluffing between Sam and the Alpha Vamp, Sam and the BMOL guy making and executing a plan without words, and the callback to the old slow-mo of the Colt being fired.

It's a bit of a bummer to see the Alpha Vamp go, but since older characters that get brought back on this show often seem to either die immediately or gradually have every bit of nuance and interest sucked out as they linger on like a bad smell (hey, Lucifer!) … he was awesome in this episode right down to the final quip when he knew he was bested, so I'll take it. The way it was shot with the flashbacks was particularly striking, too.

I get why Dean would rush to save Mary, but I hate that the writers yet again go back to that place where he has to take back his rightful anger and be sorry for … being upset at being repeatedly lied to and betrayed when not being entirely ignored by his own mother. Yeah, no, fuck that. It has nothing at all to do with wanting to be coddled, unless by coddled you mean not intentionally shit on. You can be incredibly mad at someone, not forgive or excuse their actions, and not want them to die at the same time. Considering this is always what Dean does when he has a conflict with family, which is why so much never gets resolved and comes back again, it’s way less surprising this happened than that some people apparently think this is somehow character development? Whatever.

Granted, it will have a lot to do with how it plays out, but I'm not actually upset at this point by Sam agreeing to work with the BMOL, because I can see a few reasons for it after this episode. I don’t necessarily exclude buying into their spiel to some degree and being impressed with their tech as a factor, though I’d like to think Sam would have enough healthy suspicion for it not to be the only one.

As to other possibilities, if Mary is tied in to the BMOL, any time they're in trouble he and Dean are going to get pulled in, anyway, just like here - and Sam has seemed overeager all along to try and connect with and justify Mary’s decisions despite her own lack of efforts. It may have been his version of picking a side by going along to look out for Mary, assuming Dean will, as always, eventually bend, especially since he already did enough to show this time.

For another thing, if the BMOL have really been killing that many monsters, better to know what's going on with them. Future retaliation might not just come back on the BMOL, it might hit hunters, too – they are changing the balance, and better to know what they're doing and have some time to prepare than be in the dark. In fact, it might be a good idea to know just what they are doing to make sure there isn't anything shady going on (spoiler: there totally is).

Finally, I've seen a few complaints about how it makes no sense that Sam would voluntarily join up after seeing how incompetent this op of the BMOL turned out, but I actually think it's directly the opposite. What better way to convince someone like Sam to get involved than to show that these people actually do need HIS help? If they're just other hunters out killing monsters, whatever, fine, their organization screwed him over and he wants no part of it. But Sam got to know these new people a little bit as people. Humans, fighting on the same side, who were nothing like Toni, and they'd have been massacred if he wasn't there. Sure, the tech angle was cool and all, and he knows they’re potentially shady, but what better bait could they possibly have come up with to put on that hook than being needed? One of Sam’s biggest weaknesses is an almost desperation to be the hero, to be doing good and therefore be able to believe he is good.

I won't, however, be so willing to forgive the writers if it ultimately turns into another fucking brothers-lying-to-each-other debacle. Let's leave that zombie horse alone, can't we, please?

#spn season 12 #spn spoilers #spn 12x14

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