#this took way too long i kept getting distracted and anxious about dumb stuff but YAY ITS DONE

[aroace-poly-show]

hellloooooo lovely meowtual may you please talk about hw tsukasa?!?!? as per ur request

hehehehhe. you guys are so so niceys to me btw. cries

awawawa so tsukasa tenma. world future star. he isn’t too different from canon tbh. he’s still loud as always, got that high ego, got those memory issues and everything. his past isn’t much different from canon either. his goal to be a star still came from wanting to make people smile like shows made saki smile, but he forgets that, etc etc you get how it goes. but yknow. n25 swap. he isn’t doing great.

he tends to set high standards for himself, and he’s been trying really hard to get into the acting scene, but it hasn’t been going well. the constant failures have slowly but surely been weighing on him. he’s got a lot of frustration building up, and all that has definitely hit him in the self esteem department *just a tad*, but he does not acknowledge that! cause of course he doesn’t. he’s tsukasa tenma, he’s going to be a star! a star like him doesn’t have time to worry about stuff like that. all he needs to do is keep pushing forward, keep trying harder and harder, just don’t think about the past and all the constant setbacks and he’ll be fine! probably. he has to be fine after all. what kind of a star would he be if he wasn’t?

saki and toya do notice smth’s up with him, saki especially, but tsukasa being tsukasa he lies to them, both intentionally and unintentionally. by that i mean like. like he genuinely Does Not Know he’s not fine. he is just avoiding thinking about his own negative feelings too much, so he just does not fucking realize. when he’s confronted with the idea that he might not actually be perfectly fine, he’s genuinely confused. so when he’s asked if he’s okay, he says yes, because he’s sure he is. and sure sometimes he gets a little down, and he does intentionally lie to them those times, but its simply nothing his siblings need to worry about, so there’s no point in telling them! they don’t need to know, cause he’ll be okay! he can deal with it on his own, he *has* to deal with it on his own, he’ll (repress it) get over it soon enough! no need to worry them :)

like i mentioned, tsukasa’s also the only one still actively doing theater at the time of the main story. he loves it, he’s dedicated to it, he hasn’t given up on it yet. and he gets to be the one to get hw back into it. yayayayay. i like to think hw is very fond of him, like rui and nene were w/ emu. here’s another one of their group who holds so much passion for theater and loves it, and who hasn’t given up on it. they believe in him. its like living vicariously through him. yk. they might not know each other too well yet, but they hope it goes well for him.

and like idk but the thing about tsukasa and theater is that its So important to him, he’s devoted so much of his life to it, he can’t see himself doing anything else. he doesn’t have a driving motivation for it, he can’t remember it, but all he’s sure of is that he has to reach this goal. so like. when faced with the idea that maybe he *isn’t* good enough to become a star like he wants to, its terrifying to him. so he just. doesn’t think about that. every failed audition, every rejection, every setback is a reminder of that though. main story gets him to his last straw. which is fun!

again. main story ideas are giving me trouble. and i’m still figuring stuff out. so not elaborating too much on what happens. but after a series of events tsukasa remembers and gets the rest of hw on board w/ trying to do shows again. cause like, again they don’t know each other that well but tsukasa does care about them, he wants to make people smile and his friends are included in that. he wants them to enjoy shows again. he wants his friends happy. and w/ enough persuasion hw joins him and yayy they become a theater troupe. yippee :3 

i might have more thoughts to add later. idk. i’d add a fun facts section but i already mentioned everything i had for him in past posts jdhfgdfjkgl

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen

[Donatello x fem reader]

Bayverse, sfw.

Was this stupid?

Was this risky?

Would Splinter find out and send him to the Hashi?

These questions ran through Donatello's mind as he booted up the game. An online multiplayer, one that he didn't play often but had recently got more invested in. The most video games he played were usually with Mikey, in the family room, with only him and his brother. Not alone in his lab with his personal computer where he was hidden, doing something Splinter would most likely not approve of. But some part of him that he always kept shoved aside longed for any kind of normalcy among the outsiders, humans—so he booted up the game, and waited to play.

As he customized his character, every so often he would throw a glance over his shoulder toward the entrance to his lab, and every time he heard a noise nearby was on the ready to close out the game in case someone tried to come in. Perhaps not scandalous among anyone else, but he had the feeling that he really should not be interacting with anyone online. The other part of him, though, told him that logistically, it would be fine; he'd never tell anyone anything. No one could get information out of him. What harm would it be to chat once in a while?

Within his first week of playing the game on-and-off, he'd found himself a small group in which he partied up with sometimes. They never talked outside of the in-game chat, whether it were text or voice chat (no one could tell him from a human anyway), but he was fine with that. He had fun talking and playing together all the same, and eventually, that game became one of his new hobbies that he indulged in regularly. Which his brothers noticed.

"I'm down," said Donnie through the mic as his character was struck one too many times. "Anyone available to revive me?"

There was a knock at his lab door. He nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly shut his mic off, exiting out the game before getting out of his chair. He made himself look busy over by his lab equipment as Leo leaned in.

His brother gave him an odd look. "Were you talking to someone?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

On the inside, Donnie's stomach churned. He almost knocked over one of his beakers. "No? No, of course not. Only to myself, if that counts," he answered, steadying his voice. He looked around his work station and grabbed the nearest object. "Stupid titrator. Always trying to break. Guess that's why it was with the junk I found."

He felt exposed under Leo's scrutiny, because his brother in blue had a knack for sensing a lie, just like their master. He gave occasional eye contact as he continued fiddling with the stuff on his desk.

But Leo seemed to believe this lie. Donnie did mutter to himself sometimes; he wouldn't put it past him. "Okay, then," Leo responded on his way out. "Oh, and we got pizza."

"Cool, I'll be right there," Donnie said, turning back to his monitors. He waited until he heard the door shut before he hopped back on the game, telling his party goodbye in the chat before he logged out.

His cursor had been hovering over the exit button when he heard a feminine voice. "When will you be on again?" she asked. "I'd be down to partner up!"

He stared at the screen momentarily. The person speaking had not used the voice chat before, only the text. What he knew so far was that she was about his age, but not much else. But he was a little excited, more than usual, actually, to have caught the eye of someone in particular. He wouldn't admit to feeling like a kind of outsider among his small group of online acquaintances, but he was finally starting to feel like he belonged, with this.

Slightly nervous, he hurried to type in the chat: I might be online tomorrow.

He couldn't give her a definite answer. His life was a spontaneous one, and sometimes he disliked the unpredictability of it. He typed again: I'm usually on late afternoon. When his brothers were asleep.

"Alright, cool. See you later, Bo."

"Bo", he repeated inwardly, snorting. A dumb username and reference to his weapon of choice, but he wasn't about to reveal his actual name. He exited out of the game. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was beginning to push it with this. What if he got caught? Mikey could bust in any second. His master could catch on to his absences and start questioning what was really going on. Any number of things, but when he heard that girl's voice, he knew he'd be coming back at some point.

"Bro, what are you doing in there? Mikey's going to eat all of this if you don't get in here quick!" called Raphael from the living room.

Donnie left and joined his brothers, Leo commenting with a chuckle, "So he finally leaves his hole."

Mikey held up a slice of his pizza, pepperoni. "The party's in here, dude!"

Grabbing the last two slices of pizza, Donnie sat down. "I was just working on something," he lied through his teeth, "a personal project."

"A personal project?" Leo asked curiously.

"Don't get him started on that, he'll never shut up about it and forget to eat," Raph interjected, then took a huge bite of his food.

Donnie's brows furrowed and he put down his pizza, ready to bicker with Raph about it, but he stopped himself. He feigned casualness, "Doesn't matter anyway, it's busted. Just some useless stuff I found a while back." He picked on his pizza while the rest finished up their dinner. His mind was elsewhere, too distracted to eat much and made a bit anxious by his recent escapades in the online world. He knew what he was doing, took every precaution possible, but the inherent nature of keeping secrets from his family made him downright uncomfortable. It was just too weird to keep things from his brothers.

Once everyone was done, they all geared up for patrol. They quickly went topside and freestyled their route, this night. The city was quiet in the sense that there were no glaringly obvious criminal activities. But cars still honked, people still played music, and the other clamor of the city was still going strong. He loosened up and forgot about the girl once he was out there, running and climbing with his brothers. This was the "normal" he could always come back to.

Chapter 2

[haikyuu-friendships]

Hi !!! Could I request headcanons for a fem reader who is Shōyō Hinata’s childhood best friend !!!

Hi! Thank you so much for this request!! It took a long time for me to get this out and I'm really sorry about that, but here it finally is!

Childhood friends with Hinata Shoyo headcanons under the cut!

The Hinata’s have been your next-door neighbors for your entire life

Your parents were also close friends

So you two have been attached at the hip since you were toddlers

You would always go on little ‘adventures’ together and explore around the neighborhood when you were little

You went to the same school together all the way from elementary through high school

In middle school, you were on the girls’ volleyball team

You helped him out with his own practicing whenever you could

He was the one to get you into volleyball, mostly because he kept talking to you about the little giant for ages after he first saw him on tv

And it didn’t take long for you to also start thinking it was cool as hell

You both know pretty much everything about each other

From things like favorite colors, to everything that makes you both anxious, to the specific crushes you both had in elementary school

So of course you’re also an expert at knowing how to calm him down whenever he goes into Nervous Wreck Mode™ (like he did during the seijoh practice match)

You give the rest of the team a course on how to help him

He also knows how to cheer you up whenever you’re feeling down

Sometimes that means just rambling to you about something to distract you, which is his specialty

He’ll just go on and on about a new technique he’s learning, or telling you about all the weird shit Tanaka and Nishinoya get up to until you’ve forgotten that you were even sad in the first place

You would always be each others fake dates for events 

But you see each other as siblings so much that you both know that nothing’s actually going to come from it

You have frequent sleepovers, even in your late teens

You both are at each other’s houses so often that you both have two homes really

You also end up being super close with Natsu too

She actually likes you more than she likes Shoyo

And of course Shoyo is forever bitter about that, claiming you ‘stole’ her

You were low-key jealous when he started getting really close with Kageyama

Mostly because he started hanging out with him almost as much as he hung out with you

On top of that, Kags is his go-to practice partner now, which was the title you held for over three years

But it doesn’t take too long for Shoyo to realize how you felt

He knows you so well after all, how could he not notice that something’s up

So now the three of you all hang out whenever you can so he doesn’t have to choose between you two

So you and Kageyama became close pretty quickly too

Of course you tease them for their obvious crushes on each other any chance you get

Anyway, enough about a character anon didn’t ask for

You two have the best inside jokes

Shoyo gets up to a lot of dumb stuff that makes for the funniest stories

No one knows why the hell you laugh whenever someone mentions cinder blocks or parabolas 

(Yes those are both references to inside jokes I’m a part of)

If someone asks about it you just say “cause of Shoyo, that’s why”

You both tease each other for your heights constantly

If you’re short, then he’ll make fun of you for it despite being fully aware that he’s also very short

If you’re tall, then “tree” and “giraffe” are very common words in his vocabulary

Lighthearted teasing is a pillar of your friendship

I think that’s it for now! I feel like I went a bit overboard and wrote a lot of these, but it’s the least y’all deserve after having to wait this long for any content. Thanks again for the request and I really hope you like these anon!

-Seri

[eldri-sv]

8 - Hitoshi Shinsou

Kaori Shinsou has always been fascinated by people's minds. She is one of the best students in her Criminal Psychology course at U.A. and - being the lucky girl she is - her professor is not only one handsome dude, but is also working on the case of the serial killer Stain - a case that has been going on for years. As she is about to become Professor Aizawa's TA during the next term, a lot of other interesting cases start popping up all over the country... AU, OC x Aizawa

Trigger warnings: mentions of death and murder, violence, blood, gore, hospitals, injuries, worry, anxiety

(possibly incomplete, if you’d like something added, please let me know)

(All India Radio - Mexicola)

If Hitoshi Shinsou hadn't known his sister as well as he did, he would have been wondering why she was running into a fight that was most definitely going to hurt her in one way or the other. But Hitoshi was close to Kaori and he knew she could become a terrible, terrible dumbass when she was faced with an extraordinary situation. No matter how smart she might be in everyday life - she just tended to make very stupid decisions sometimes. Or maybe they were brave ones. Hitoshi wasn't quite sure.

If he was less of an insomniac he might have fallen asleep on the hospital chair in his sister's room. But even though he tried to fall asleep, it was just impossible. At least he could have an eye on Kaori. She had woken up shortly earlier, babbled some nonsense and had fallen asleep again.

At least she was finally getting some rest. Kind of sad she had to get some severe head trauma for that. Hitoshi had been thinking about paying a visit to the first year that got injured while getting his sister and her professor away from the center of the attack. Apparently he got a good few broken bones from that, which was good considering how much worse it could have gone.

But Hitoshi was not the most social person in the world and he really wanted to avoid an awkward conversation with this guy he barely knew. Maybe he could send some flowers and a card later, or whatever one was supposed to do in this sort of situation. How would he know?

Hitoshi looked at Kaori who seemed to be quite stable now. The doctors were incredibly concerned, because both her and Professor Aizawa had been passed out for well over 30 minutes when they got to the hospital. Through some weird luck Kaori had gotten away without needing any surgery. She had a few broken bones and a severe concussion, but they didn't have to open her skull.

Aizawa, however, had needed surgery. He had a much more severe case of head trauma and his whole skull was apparently fractured. Or that's what Hitoshi's parents said, at least. It was kind of funny to him that he had spent more time with them at the hospital than at home. They were doctors at this very hospital and alway, always, always at work. Even now they hadn't taken time off to check on Kaori, they were busy with emergency surgeries and whatnot.

"Toshi...?"

Hitoshi looked up and saw Kaori look at him with tired eyes. She seemed a little confused, as she looked around the room.

"Rise and shine, Kaori." he said with a smug grin on his face. He was really relieved that she had finally woken up. The nurses were getting anxious for her to properly wake up. If she hadn't they would have had to run a lot more tests on her.

"Don't really feel like it. Am I... at the hospital?" she replied. She carefully sat up a little and groaned, holding her head.

"Yeah. How are you feeling?" Hitoshi said and pulled his chair up closer to the hospital bed. God, he had been so worried when he heard that there was an attack and that people were injured. He had tried to call Kaori for ages and she wouldn't answer. And then his parents called and said he should get to the hospital as quickly as he could. When he saw her first, she was just done with her CT scan and they were bringing her to the room. She was still wearing her bloody clothes and everything.

"Like shit. Got a headache. Feel a little sick and dizzy. And confused." she replied and took a look around the room.

"Can you get me some water?" she wanted to know. Hitoshi nodded and got up, picking up an empty glass that he had been drinking from. He walked over to the bathroom that was in the room and started washing out the glass and filling it with tap water. He still couldn't believe how lucky she was to be alive.

"Can you remember anything of what happened?" Hitoshi asked her, as he was on his way back to her. He gave her the glass of water and she started gulping it down quickly, as if she hadn't had anything to drink in days. Hitoshi sat down in his chair again, as Kaori put the glass on the side table.

"Let's see... I was at the Rescue Training Facility with Mr. Aizawa and then there were a bunch of criminals all of a sudden and... Aizawa told us to get out while he was fighting them off, but the exit was blocked off by a group of guys and they were questioning some of the first years... no one really took note of me, so I went to some side room and got a bulletproof vest and some weapons and then... I went to help Mr. Aizawa, because he was out there all alone and... I don't know... he got knocked out by this big massive guy and... oh dear God..." she recalled, gasping for air. There were tears streaming down her face. Hitoshi rubbed his neck. What the hell had she seen in there?

"Hey, hey, hey... it's alright, Kao-chan. It's all good." he said, trying to calm her down. He really didn't know what to tell her.

"Is... is he okay? Is Mr. Aizawa...?"

"He's alive. He had to have surgery, because his head trauma was much more severe than yours. He also fractured his face and both his arms and a few ribs were broken. Apparently some of the kids that got you out were saying that he probably would have died if you didn't distract the big guy, so... looks like your grades are gonna go up." Hitoshi explained with a shit-eating grin.

"I would hit you, if I could move right now. Aizawa will legit not care, he is wildly strict about stuff like that." Kaori corrected him, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"Sorry. Hey, you did well. You were really brave out there. It was pretty dumb to go in in the first place, but you did a good thing. And it turned out well in the end. But don't do it again." he replied.

"Thanks, Toshi." Kaori said and burst into another crying spell. Hitoshi wasn't really the kind of person that was good with physical affection, so he hesitated a little before sitting down on the bed and hugging her, as she was crying. Whatever had really happened in there, she must have gone through a lot.

"It was bad... they... they broke his arms... right in front of... in front of my eyes... fuck..." Kaori mumbled between sobs. Hitoshi gently rubbed her back. She'd always do that when he was upset about something.

"I don't think I'll ever get that noise out of my head... that loud, terrible cracking noise..." she added and shuddered. Hitoshi tried imagining it, but he couldn't. He'd never seen someone's arms get broken by sheer brutal force.

"That sounds really bad. How did you get knocked out? They said you had a taser lying next to you. What the hell were you trying to do?" he asked, trying to change the topic, so she'd maybe be able to think about something else. He would have offered to get some coffee with her, but the nurses had told him that coffee was completely out of the question and walking around was out of the question, too, until they had done a proper assessment with her. So none of those would have worked.

"Well, when Aizawa got knocked out, I kinda just froze and... and then there was this guy behind me and he was holding a knife to my neck... and then someone else told him that one of the students got out and I kinda panicked, because I thought... I dunno what I thought, but you know... this is it, they have nothing to lose, they'll slit your throat or kidnap you as a hostage and you'll die a slow torturous death. So I just... I got my taser and I zapped the guy with the knife and then I figured I'd play hero and try to zap the big guy, because he kept smashing Aizawa's head into the ground and... well, it didn't exactly faze him much." Kaori explained.

"Wow. Sounds like you were being a badass out there. Mixed with a bit of dumbass, maybe." Hitoshi replied. He was honestly somewhat impressed and it was difficult to impress him at this point.

"There was more than a bit of dumbass. Shit, I should have just stayed with the other students. I could have easily died out there, if they hadn't managed to somehow get one person out to alert everyone else." she said, shaking her head. Hitoshi just shrugged and gave her a tired smile.

"I mean, a couple of students went in to get you and Aizawa out, when there was an opening. That's at least what I was told, so yeah. You were insanely lucky." he told her. Kaori's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my God. Please tell me no one else got hurt. Did anyone die? Shit, please, please tell me no one got hurt getting me out of there." she said quickly. Hitoshi shook his head and leaned against the foot end of the bed.

"Nah, no one died. Most kids got a few scratches and bruises, that's all. One kid broke a few bones, but nothing serious." he told her. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned the kid with the broken bones.

"Nothing serious? Toshi, broken bones are pretty damn serious. Like they should not be happening." Kaori protested, shaking her head, but quickly stopping. She probably realized that it hurt to shake your head when you had a terrible concussion.

"So... uh... when can I get out of here? Any chance of getting a coffee or something?" she asked, after she had stopped for long enough and was feeling better. Hitoshi just shrugged. How the hell was he supposed to know?

"No idea. They said that they were gonna run some tests on you, but were definitely keeping you in overnight, maybe a day or two, depending on how you were feeling. Said they can't do much in the hospital and a concussion needs lots of rest, so you shouldn't do anything too taxing." he explained.

"When are they coming back for the assessment? Am I allowed to walk around the hospital while I'm here? I wanna go home, I have assignments to do..." Kaori wanted to know. Hitoshi raised one eyebrow. His sister always left assignments until the last possible moment and now she suddenly wanted to do them? If he wanted to be mean, he'd be calling bullshit on that...

"Bullshit. You never do your assignments unless it's the night before."

"Well, maybe I'll change my ways after almost dying. How would you know?"

"I know you won't. But I can call the nurses and tell them you're awake enough so they can have a look at you, if you want."

"Yeah, that would be nice."

[mastrechef]

I finally finished one of my other writing projects, so I came back to this early. So here’s the next installment of my Kingdom Hearts fic that I still have yet to come up with a name for.

If you haven’t read the previous parts, here are links:

Part 1: https://mastrechef.tumblr.com/post/610880203769757696/this-idea-has-been-stewing-in-my-mind-for-a-while

Part 2: https://mastrechef.tumblr.com/post/611540563650609152/more-kingdom-hearts-stuff-just-because-i-feel-like

The scene was familiar, and yet at the same time not. She looked like no more than a doll, motionless and absent of any sign of  life aside from the faint rise and fall of her chest. Looking on, Namine felt the usual stirring of remorse as a different image superimposed itself over Kairi. She had already spent far too much time standing by the wayside, watching while others slept away, unaware of the world moving on without them. To be in that situation again, even if—or perhaps, especially if—her involvement was minimal, left her feeling unsettled.

“How are things looking?” And there was Riku, checking in for updates like clockwork.

“Still nothing I’m afraid. Ienzo and the others were thinking it might be time to wake her up.” Riku nodded distractedly. Namine contemplated him for a moment. He had been running himself ragged lately, although he tried his best not to show it, his misplaced guilt over Sora’s disappearance driving him to extremes. Idly, she wondered when he’d last had a decent night’s sleep.

Speaking of sleep… “I heard you’ve started looking into your dreams for leads.”

“That’s right.” He huffed in discontent. “I feel like there’s something there, but I don’t really know what it is I’m looking for.”

Namine pursed her lips together, debating to herself. There had been something on her mind for a while now, something she hadn’t really known how to address. If anyone should know about it, it was Riku; yet, she still found herself hesitating. Her powers had caused nothing but pain, and if she could live the rest of her life without using them again she would be happy. More than anything, she wanted them to be gone. But in this case, her lingering connection to Sora might be their best lead. As much as she disliked it, she owed him this much.

“There’s something I need to show you,” she said eventually, flipping through the sketchbook she carried with her everywhere. She skipped past all the old drawings of Sora and of Roxas, past the newer sketches of Radiant Garden, finally coming to a halt on an image that stood out from the rest in its monochrome coloration. “The place in your dream...does it look like this?”

He took the offered sketchbook from her to examine the drawing in detail. “The buildings themselves look different, but something tells me they’re the same place. How did you know?”

“I suspected as much,” she said mostly to herself. “It was so strange, I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. It seems my ability to influence Sora’s memories still works. I pulled this from some of his newest memories.”

“You mean you can tell what Sora’s been up to? What he’s doing right now?”

“Sort of. The memories are distorted, and they’ve only been getting worse.”

“Still, it’s another avenue we can pursue.” He took Namine’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” Riku understood what it was that she was offering; he also understood just what it would cost her. Already she felt anxious. For Sora, she reminded herself.

...

He’s like a stray cat, Sora couldn’t help but think when Vanitas inevitably hunted him down again, this time aimlessly wandering the winding city streets. About as prickly as one too. He made a mental note never to mention that out loud. He had a feeling Vanitas would take issue with the comparison. Deciding to let the other start the conversation this time, Sora kept his silence. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Who is that guy you’re always fighting?”

“His name’s Yozora, although I don’t think that’s really him.” Sora didn’t bother to elaborate further. He had the barest inkling of what was really going on, though Yozora’s role in it was the one thing he was certain of.

Nevertheless, Vanitas obviously understood anyway. “He’s the reason you’re stuck here.” It wasn’t a question; rather it was a confident assertion.

“Yeah.” Sora took a moment to scrutinize the other boy. There were deep bags under his eyes and weariness hung over him like a cloak. While physically they looked to be about the same age, Vanitas looked to be much more weighed down, like every instant just existing was felt as a physical burden. An ache of a different kind bloomed in his chest. “Why don’t you stay with me for a while?” he offered on impulse. “My heart has always been a sanctuary for others. I was able to help Ventus become whole again; I could do the same for you.”

Vanitas shot him a flat stare. “You don’t get it.”

“I’m not dumb. I don’t know all the details, but I know that everything you’ve been through must have been painful.” He had enough vague impressions from Roxas and Xion to understand that much. And he himself knew intimately the pain of not being enough; not strong enough, not fast enough, not worthy enough. More gently, he said, “At least if you stay with me you won’t ever be alone. And if you want to sleep and ignore the world for a while, that’s fine too.”

The sound of Vanitas’ footsteps halted, and Sora stopped as well to look back at him.

“Why are you trying so hard to save me?” If he was trying for aggressive, all he achieved was sounding mildly annoyed. Above all else, he just sounded tired. It made Sora incredibly sad to see someone in such a state.

“Because you deserve a chance. All you’ve known is darkness, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have something else.” He put as much sincerity into both his words and his expression as he could. He wanted—no, needed Vanitas to believe him.

In the face of Sora’s earnest desire to help, Vanitas was unable to refuse. Sora could read it in his eyes. He beamed. Vanitas stubbornly avoided looking at him directly, seeming to already be regretting his decision, but all the same, he didn’t call up a dark corridor to get away.

“So how does this work?”

“I have no clue. I don’t really remember how it happened before. Maybe—if it’s anything like the power of waking, it’ll come to me when I need it.”

Without warning, Sora grabbed Vanitas by the wrist to pull him close, simultaneously placing a hand on his chest, digging blunt nails in slightly when he tried to flinch away. He closed his eyes in concentration. He had opened his heart to Ventus once, and later to Kairi, Roxas, and presumably Xion, even if he hadn’t been conscious of it at the time. Now, he just needed to replicate that. His heart would lead the way.

There was a slight shift in energy, and a tingle went down his spine. Sora could sense it now, the flickering pinprick of light coated in darkness that was Vanitas’ heart. He focused on it, drawing it out. Vanitas exhaled in a woosh, but Sora didn’t acknowledge it, focused as he was. Come to me, he willed. There was a sudden pulse and Sora nearly lost his balance as Vanitas disappeared in a shower of light. In his mind’s eye, he could see Vanitas descending gently onto his station of awakening.

“Oh,” he whispered breathlessly. The void that had opened up when Ventus woke was shrinking, the cracks in his heart filling in. The old, persistent ache was gone. In its place he felt...surprisingly warm, like a flame had ignited within his chest. It was a little strange, but not unwelcome. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who had forgotten what being whole was like.

You cozy in there? He was only a little startled to actually receive a reply.

Just peachy. Now shut the fuck up and let me sleep. But don’t think I won’t take over if you start doing stupid shit.

Got it.

Sora lifted his gaze to the stars overhead, renewed resolve flowing into him. He had a feeling that his next meeting with Yozora would go very differently.

Dodging immediately to the side had become so routine as to be pure muscle memory. He brought his keyblade up to block the swift alternating succession of laser beams and sword strikes. Feeling faster than he had in all their previous battles, Sora took the initiative to charge Yozora, landing a couple solid strikes to his midsection. Yozora backflipped away, and Sora held back, knowing he would be readying his next attack.

Phantom sword slashes flew through the air as Sora danced around them. Narrowly twisting away from another one, he threw a firaga his opponent’s way, distracting him enough to allow Sora to close the distance once more. A surge of exhilaration flooded his body. After what felt like an entire lifetime fighting heartless or nobodies or any resident big bad that was up to no good, battle was in his blood. As much as he’d like nothing better than to return to Destiny Islands with Riku and Kairi, he doubted he could settle into a peaceful life. A restless part of him would always seek out adventure or the adrenaline rush of a good fight.

When Yozora retreated from his assault again, Sora tensed his muscles in preparation. He rolled away before the glowing red pyramid could trap him. As soon as he got to his feet, he instantly spun around, bracing his keyblade against Yozora’s lightning quick onslaught. He evaded a second pyramid, then cast thundaga to interrupt the other’s rhythm.

The battle continued, becoming more of a competition of stamina. The fatigue that had plagued Sora before was non-existent. He felt so energized that he could go on like this for ages. Yozora showed no signs of slowing either.

An idea formed as he recalled the fight at the Keyblade Graveyard. Pouring all his magic into it, he summoned forth the ultimate keyblade transformation. Surrounded by a swarm of blades, he had but to direct them towards Yozora. He was quickly overwhelmed.

Yozora collapsed to his knees, panting in exertion. He lifted a hand as it began dispersing into blue light. “I guess...that my powers aren’t needed yet.”

“What do you mean?” Sora was confused. What powers? Was Yozora not the one who trapped him here?

Yozora’s expression turned strangely melancholy. “Nevermind.” He gave Sora one last tiny, barely there smile before everything burst into light.

Sora uncovered his eyes, blinking away the spots burned into his vision, to see the cloud filled sky and mirror-like watery landscape of the Final World. The last specks of light drifted off into the air like puffs of dandelions blown by the wind.

[redactedfing-blog]

Megamind Modern Cowboy AU (Part 2)

Yah boi dumb European is back - I had to do quite a bit of research for this (and upcoming) chapters but hey, it was worth it. I hope you enjoy.

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

Growing up, Lee made a very good cowboy. He could saddle a horse and ride it at fast speeds without worrying about his balance, and he was darn good at lassoing cattle. The only downside, his grandpa had said, was that he couldn’t put on a hat - because his head was far too large. Rodney made jokes about this sometimes, saying that if he could find a hat big enough for its head, the hat would probably be the size of the ranch itself. At least this time, Lee knew the jokes were all in good fun.

All of his excitable energy went into his work. He would be up in the morning, cleaning out the horse stables, and helping tend to the land in the heat of the afternoon. Sometimes he would be delegated the task of fixing the truck or re-shoeing the horses. It was funny, considering he did not consider himself much of a farrier, but he was quite handy when it came to tinkering and repairing things. He also loved the horses and went out of his way to sneak them a few apple slices after herding the cattle for long periods of time.

Although he didn’t wear a hat, Lee most certainly had a large collection of kerchiefs that he wore on a daily basis. If he couldn’t have the hat, he might as well have the rest of the gear to make up for it. On some days, if there was little to no clouds, his skin matched the tone of the clear blue sky, and it seemed in a way, fitting. Years of hard work and effort had made his muscles incredibly toned, though he still had a short and rather skinny frame. He had begun to grow facial hair and often trimmed it so it looked like a rough, but smart stubble. Because the ranch was in such a secluded area, (it was a very small town), all the locals knew him, and never really did a double-take when he came in to have dinner or a drink with his family.

Lee, although very skilled at many traits, had yet to master cooking. Sometimes he’d leave rice in the pan for too long so it stuck to the bottom, or accidentally burning the meat. Usually, Rodney or Minion took over making things like grillades. Baking, however, was his strong suit. From a child to adolescence, he had helped his grandma make an assortment of treats. From pies, pecan to blueberry, cakes, biscuits. The fact that he had an incredibly sweet tooth helped. His dad often complained of him not knowing how to cook ‘proper’ food, but he had Minion, and being able to make something was better than being able to make nothing, in his opinion.

Now, he was an adult and was working every day except Sunday along with his family members to run the ranch. It was incredibly fun and often left you tired enough to get a decent night's sleep - which is something he struggled to do when he wasn’t tired enough.

Despite how content Lee was at the ranch, he still couldn’t shake off those horrible feelings years later. No matter how distracted he was while hammering hot metal into horseshoes, fixing saddles or trucks, a small, irritating voice kept muttering about his ‘destiny’ and how that should have been his priority. Forget those people, what about the two that saved your life? What did they want from you? Accusations and questions and doubt swirled up inside of him and made him sick to his stomach. Was he really going to go and do something as petty as that? It was so many years ago. What would his family think of him? He was aware that Rodney had been in hot water with the law before, but it was nothing compared to this.

His passions and the things that made him happy were being discarded in favor of something far more sinister, which made him feel anxious, given that he really wasn’t like that. Still, he had an awful lot of pent up rage towards those people that he sometimes wished he could act upon. “They started it, after all.” He’d tell himself, “You need to show them that they should have regretted what they said to you.”

It was dumb, but Lee feared that this would get the better of him. It began to circle him more frequently. Cleaning out the stables? Revenge. Repairing equipment? Revenge. Horse riding for fun? Revenge. Whenever he’d try and convince himself it was unnecessary and petty, and that he could have a happier life where he was without getting into trouble with the law, these thoughts dismissed whatever argument he came up with and pushed him to follow his ‘destiny.’ After all, you don’t have a say in what your destiny is, you just have to do it.

His family members had begun to take notice, and his Dad and Uncle Shawn began to grow weary of how familiar his attitude was now to how it had been back in his school days. Lee slowly began to stop smiling so often, or he became so engrossed in his work that he’d drown out anything else, even those who came in for a bit of small talk. Despite focusing so much of his energy on his work, he started losing sleep, his eyes always looked foggy and sullen in the morning, and exhausted at night. He began scribbling ideas for objects of mayhem rather than contraptions of convenience, and sure enough, his sleep schedule quickly spiraled out of control.

Rodney was the first to speak up, even though he was one of the last to be worried. He figured that something had happened and that Lee was just grieving, or bearing the brunt of getting over it. Once a week had passed, he felt that something was wrong.

“Hey cuz, you haven’t been yurself lately, fancy talkin ‘bout it?”

For the first time that week, Lee looked at someone dead in the eyes. He looked tired and incredibly cold. The worry must have shown on Rodney’s face, because he plastered on a bitter smile over his depressed expression, and began to chuckle. Chuckling probably wasn’t the best way to describe it though, as he started to shake, and streams of tears began to flow down his cheeks. His face morphed into one that was deeply angry and broken, and Rodney pulled him into an awkward hug, waiting for him to calm down. Instead, he started hyperventilating and kept choking on his own tears until his exhaustion got the better of him and he passed out. Calling Uncle Boe, they both carried him to his room, and placed him in his bed, leaving a glass of water on the nightstand for when he woke up.

That morning, Lee awoke to everything feeling fuzzy, as the objects in his room that he tried to focus on began to dance in circles around his head. He felt ill, yet he felt nothing. He trudged over to the tank in the corner of his room and placed Minion in his ball. Then, he pulled out a heavy case from beneath his bed and started to stuff his clothes, his books, his… plans. He then proceeded to check the time. It was 4 AM, and nobody would be awake for at least another hour unless he woke somebody up. He used this time to have a shower and get dressed, as well as have breakfast, before shoving the case in the back of one of the trucks outside.

By then, the rest of his family had stirred and were already in the kitchen. He came in Minion’s ball under his arm and announced that he had to leave for something important. He never specified what, as he was sure that if he did they would try to talk him out of it. His family looked concerned, sad, that he was leaving. They couldn’t be sad though, as he knew that deep down, they probably didn’t care. As much as he loved the ranch, his dismal destiny called. So, without a (visible) trace of doubt, he clambered into the van, started the vehicle and began to drive toward Metro City, Michigan.

He tried so very hard, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking back that morning.

[julesthequirky]

Kisses Have Consequences: The Friendship Proposal

Summary: You’re Misha’s best friend. Working with him on SPN had never been a problem, until one scene, forcing you both to admit certain truths about each other and find that kisses have consequences.

Warnings: Smut, unprotected sex, adultery, explicit language, accidental pregnancy, extreme emotions, angst, drrraaaaaaaaamaaaaa.

Feedback is GOLD. If you like it, reblog it. Work is unbeta’d so all mistakes are mine. Don’t be afraid to leave a comment.

A/N: This chapter is portrayed by Misha’s point of view and then the readers. Also it’s a slightly longer chapter.

He parked outside of their apartment complex in Vancouver. When Y/N got the news that her character would become a featured regular like his character he advised her to rent out an apartment in Vancouver and as luck would have it, an apartment in his complex opened up and she snatched it the first chance she got.

They had plenty of happy times here, with only a few floors between them, no one stopped the late night movies and talks and sometimes parties either he or she pulled. All neighbours welcome. Booze was plied of course. When it came to hiatus, it became the time for long meaningful hugs and plans to take part in each others charity campaigns.

These days she never came to his and he had to stop himself from going to her. The parties stopped, the late night hang outs ended and he sat in an apartment void of her presence. He missed her. She had been his best friend and vice versa and this was getting ridiculous. He hoped he could reconnect without tipping her off about her pregnancy. He wanted to enjoy having her around again.

Right now, he sat as she was unbuckling her seatbelt. Her hand touched the car door and he reached out, placing his hand over her free hand.

“Please, this is ridiculous,” He sighed. “I want to talk about this divide between us.”

She relented and stayed, leaning back in her seat.

“I understand why you did it, but enough now. I miss you. I want to go back to how things were. Pre-kiss.”

“We’ll never have that back, Misha. You said it yourself.”

“But we can at least be friends. We can at least be friendlier to each other. I know we won't have what we once did, but maybe we could start anew? I just really miss you.”

Beside him, she stayed in her seat, contemplating his words, finally she turned to look at him.

“What if it gets too awkward? What if one of us tries to kiss the other? Again?” She asked, concerned.

It was meant for him he knew. Out of both of them, it would most likely be him to initiate another kiss and dammit, if he could he would. He knew she wouldn’t and also knew if he tried she wouldn’t let him.

“Y/N, if I’ve learnt anything in my life, I’ve definitely learnt to not repeat something that shouldn’t have happened. I’m proposing we become friends. Just friends. That’s all.”

She turned to look forward. She was thinking on it.

“I just feel guilty…”

“Stop. What’s done is done. We can't change that, but we can move on from it.”

She nodded. One of her favourite things about him (she told him), was that he always had sound advice and today he knew she couldn’t argue with that.

“You’re right.”

He didn’t want to toot his own horn, but he knew.

“Okay, but I have a condition. I don’t think we should go round each others apartments in the evenings.”

That was one of the things he had been looking forward to start back up. He swallowed his disappointment and nodded.

“Of course. Well, we can still practice any pages we get together, since our characters have become closer.”

“Sure.”

She smiled, then tilted her head in confusion.

“I do have to ask, why are we here? Why not at the set?”

“You got the day off. All your scenes have been moved to tomorrow. Ordained by higher up.”

Y/N sighed.

“There’s a lot of work to do. And it needs to be done, I don’t have time to rest, I-”

He grabbed her hand again.

“Y/N, it will be fine. Just rest. Robert allowed me today to check in on you regularly.”

She gave him that look.

“You should go back. They need you more than me, besides I’m quite capable of spending a day alone.”

Misha didn’t miss a beat.

“You spend all your days alone.”

She didn’t say anything to that.

“Come on, It’ll make a nice change and a nice introduction for our friendship renewal.”

“You won't let me say no, will you?”

“Nope.” He popped the P and began to get out of the car.

He knew by becoming her friend again he could keep a closer check on her and hopefully influence a healthier lifestyle for the baby she didn’t know she was having. He knew he was doing it for his own selfish reasons, but he couldn’t stop now.

 *

 Friends. You and Misha were now friends. Again. Seeing him in your apartment made it feel like nothing had happened between you both, worse still, he looked like he belonged. Having him around, instilled you with a sense of peace, but now, you had an air of caution. It scared you how right it was for him to be in the same space as you. He wasn’t meant for you. He already had someone else. He was meant for her.

He carried your drinks in and placed them both on eclectic coasters. Misha hadn’t gone for coffee, but instead had preferred tea. The same as you. he passed over the remote.

“So, what do you fancy watching? The Walking Dead? Bit of Vampire Diaries?” He smiled when you scrunched your nose in disgust. “No. Okay, hmm Supernatural?” He suggested, resting his chin on top of the remote.

You shook your head, giving him an odd look.

“God, no, you know I don’t like watching myself on TV.”

Whatever he would put on it didn’t matter, you were going to be too distracted to watch.

“Oh, I know.” He switched the TV on and using the remote navigated his way to Netflix, where he proceeded to search for a particular programme.

“iZombie?”

You had seen the icon on your Netflix, but hadn’t thought much of it. Zombies weren’t your cup of tea.

“I know you’re not into zombies, or scary movies, but I promise this isn’t scary and it’s good.”

You would have to trust his judgement on that.

And he was right. It was good and it wasn’t scary. The only scary thing was how he knew what you’d like. He always knew. You were hooked, yet distracted. You couldn’t help but notice the comfortable slouch of his body on your couch, didn’t want to like how his leg felt touching yours and you couldn’t stop yourself peeking when his lips curved over the mug when he took a sip of tea. It was torture. No matter how much you wanted to kiss him, you couldn’t. You wouldn’t.

Misha had been right. No matter what you felt about him, it wouldn’t change. It didn’t when you kept your distance. Instead it had been torture. You had missed him, so much more over those few weeks, obsessed about him, but never asking about him. He had been your best friend for about five years. His constant presence had been a comfort and without it you felt empty and alone.

It was dumb how much you loved him.

You hadn’t thought about it before. Of course it made sense now. You loved him. The kiss, the night after and the distance away put it into perspective for you. It was wrong. You couldn’t love a married man, yet you did.

You didn’t know whether or not to tell him. It would alter this new attempt at friendship he had kindly offered. It wouldn’t go away. The statement pecked away at your conciousness, miring any other thoughts from coming.

You got up, making an excuse to make a drink and forgetting to offer him one.

“I can make it.”

You shook your head.

“I can make a drink, Misha.”

“I know but you're meant to be resting.”

He wasn’t going to let up.

“It’s one drink.”

You were anxious to get some more space between the two of you. You walked into your kitchenette and flicked on the kettle.

“Y/N, is everything okay? I mean, you almost leapt out of your seat, you decline my offer when you know you should be resting and you seem to want to make more space between us.”

“You're thinking too much into it.”

“You're holding your mug pretty damn tight and it’s still hot, as I can see the steam from it.” You looked into your hot mug. Then put it aside. “What the hell’s wrong. Do you not want be friends any more?”

Oh God.

“I can't tell you. It’s dumb.”

The kettle was loud at this point, frustrating him, making him flip the switch back up, ceasing the kettle to boil.

“I don’t care if it sounds dumb. You’ve told me plenty of ‘dumb’ things before.”

You had your back to him.

“It would change this new dynamic.”

He made a sound, somewhere between a scoff and a sigh.

“Please, just tell me.”

It was on the tip of your tongue. Your hands held onto the counter, biting your lip, forcing yourself to stop yourself from telling.

“Is it bad?”

“You shook your head, then nodded.

“For me, I guess.”

“Whatever it is I bet we can figure out what to do. I just- I want you to be comfortable with telling me stuff again. I missed that.”

It was coming. And crap, it was getting harder to keep it in. He shouldn’t know, but dammit.

“I love you.”

You didn’t look at him, a weight of relief off you. He was quiet for a moment.

“Oh…”

He didn’t have to love you back. Better if he didn’t. Now you turned to him. He stood there, looking at you.

“Forget I said anything. Forget I even said those words. I’ll take them back.”

He moved then, and grasped your upper arms in his hands. You looked up into his ultramarine blue eyes.

“God, no. Don’t take them back and I certainly don’t want to forget.”

You could hear his heart in his chest beating hard against his ribcage. He rested his forehead against yours.

“This changes things, Mish.”

A hand left your arm and he put a finger to your lips making you suck in a breath.

“It will only change if you want it to,” He paused for a moment. “I will never forget those words, Y/N. You’re being honest with yourself and with me.”

His finger moved away, for his hand to cup your jaw, his lush full lips, brushing yours.

“We can't” You barely whispered.

“I’m telling you how I feel.” He responded and pressed his lips to yours.

Misha Fic Tags:

@goobykeding, @greenappleeyes, @sugarcookiedean

EVERYTHING!!

@one-to-beam-up @missjenniferb @dean-winchesters-bacon @mypassionsarenysins @ezilyamuzed @curly-haired-disaster

@supernatural-teamfreewillpage

[smhtaehyung]

when all daisies disappear🌼 | chapter 2

cr.

• masterlist

• Pairing: taehyung x OC (mental hospital au)

• Genre: angst, fluff, eventual smut, romance

• Word count: 2.8k

• Warning: will contain themes such as suicidal thoughts, depression and physical violence. Some of the backstory for Taehyung’s character is taken from the BTS concepts during the hyyh era. if you feel uncomfortable with the topic of mental illness, I advise you not to read further.

•••

chapter 2 ➸ 496 🌼

"I like your paintings." He complimented me, observing my room. "Sure. Okay." I said in a confused manner whilst writing a copy of the schedule about the meals, medication and group activities for him. "You can't just say thanks to people?" He asked, giggling a bit as he showed his smile for the first time. His smile was incredibly boxy, it did not seem like any other smile, making me slightly puzzled. ”No.” I coldly answered. “Thanks for copying that schedule for me.” He said as he stood by the bed. ”I’m only doing it because I have a feeling you’d fuck it up and then I’d be my fault.” I said as I took a red sharpie and underlined the important hours. “Well, thanks, anyway.” He said in a bright tone and looked down. The way his mood switched from bright to cold and enigmatic, confused me. By then, I was already analysing him hard. Was he bipolar? Socially anxious? What is the reason he’s here? I think I questioned myself more than I did him. Why was he so intriguing? I ignored him and continued copying. After a few seconds of silence I glanced at him up and down, noticing he was still standing. “Aren’t you gonna sit? It’s annoying me.” I said in a harsh tone. “I’m good as of like this for now.” “You’re good as of like that? Don’t you mean you’re good as of right now? Are you that poor of a talker? The shrinks are not gonna love you really-” I started slightly provoking tone but he cut me off. “Why are you so mean and defensive?” He asked in a slight chuckle that confused and frustrated me at the same time. He didn’t  care about my opinion or insults, which both infuriated and intrigued me.  “Why did you pick me then?” I directly asked. “I like to be challenged.” He said in a bright tone. “Jesus.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. After about 20 seconds he whispered to me. "Do you want one?" He shyly, yet kindly asked, pointing a plastic bag of chocolate candy to me, but actually the only thing I noticed were his tanned hands.

"No. Why can’t you just shut up?" I gave him the judging look again. He took one for himself, quietly unwrapping it and putting it in his mouth. My eyes were focused on his plump lips and a tongue that swirled over the piece of chocolate. My mind was overthinking his simple offer. He distracted me a lot by doing all that. And I didn't know how to feel about it. On one hand, it was extremely random and kind of adorable and on the other hand, it was extremely annoying and stupid.Jiyu softly knocked on the door and peeked her head in. Her beautiful white teeth shone through my eyes. “Taehyung, sweety, It’s time to meet your psychologists.” She softly spoke with a smile. He gave a reassuring half genuine smile and walked over to her. “Ugh, sweety.” I scoffed, mocking Jiyu’s words. “I heard you Ji.” She teased me in a serious tone. I shook my head. “Ji. That’s a cute nickname. I’m gonna call you Ji.” Taehyung suddenly spoke. “I’ll knock your teeth in if you do that.” I said, focusing on the paper in front of me. ”Jia!” Jiyu scolded me with her tone at the same time Taehyung spoke “Deal.” I slightly chuckled and rolled my eyes. Taehyung, walked past Jiyu as she scolded me with her look. After a few seconds, I finished the copy and put it on his nightstand. I wandered around the room, trying to think about how should I act towards him. He made me question my character and personality so much. I did not know why did I feel a need to act nice towards him. Once my thoughts were way too loud, I kneeled and pulled the drawer out of the old wooden nightstand, finding a secret department where I hid my cigarettes. I was on my way to the only peaceful place here, somewhere I wasn’t as bitter and fucked up as everyone thought I always was. Somewhere where my childhood and pure like character was kept all along, at least in that one last fragile fragment of my brain. I went outside of the room, adjusting my cardigan right. I held my cigarettes and a lighter under my sleeve as I sneaked my way down to the main hallway. I hurried past the reception to not get noticed and opened the last, 13th door, on the right side of the hallway. I walked up the staircase that was leading me to the roof. I stood on my tip toes to reach for the key that was hidden inside a pot with a dried and shrivelled orchids. I unlocked the door and walked up the few stone stairs that sent cold shivers through my shoes that missed their laces.I stared at the sky that was slowly growing more and more orange. I walked closer to the edge and sat down. I took of my shoes and pushed my feet out the gaps of the metal bars, keeping me from falling. I tried to lit a cigarette, escaping the wind. Even wind tried to stop me from smoking. Smoking since 12 years old never really gives you any sense that what you’re doing is stupid. Acting tough in front of people when you’re 19 is even worst. It’s so childish, just like Taehyung said it. I inhaled a smoke and shut my eyes, trying to stop my thoughts. Why am I thinking about you? Why are you so real, yet you seem like a dream? Why would I feel something for you, after going through so many roommates? Why do you answer me back when I don’t want you? Why do I only know you for less than a day yet you’re already one of the most annoying people I know.

Thinking about you only results in me overthinking myself. Am I really this clingy to people? Am I even feeling the need to be close to you, or just push you away the further I can? Am I finally feeling something, so it scares me to a point of overthinking what you, a boyish stranger, thinks of me.

I smoked away my thoughts until I was feeling numb. Staring at the sky I lit another one and tried to focus on the progressive coldness my skin was feeling every second passing by. After half an hour, that seemed like an entire day, I got up and put on my shoes as soon as the dark night plastered onto the clear sky and I couldn’t bear the coldness anymore in my light cardigan. I hid the key back to its place and walked down the stairs and onto the hallway. I walked right past the man hallway and entered back my ward. I walked down the hallway, observing the some ceiling lamps that were flickering. I stared at the lamp for a bit too long until my eyes started to hurt. I shook off my head and looked to my right where some of the girls of this wards were staring at me like most of the time. “What are you looking at?” I scoffed. “N-Nothing.” One of them said as they continued staring. “Well, will you stop then?” I asked in a pissed off tone as they stepped back, noticing I was aggressively walking towards them. They quickly walked away as I shook my head and walked past one of the psychiatrist’s office, noticing Taehyung was inside and already talking to one of the best out of the worst shrinks around here.I hesitated and stared. The state of perplexity washed over my entire body and mind. He did it again. He was sitting there with the most numb stare, yet raw emotions that gave that numbness a meaning. He wasn’t acting at all child-like or bright. He seemed rather sad and unresponsive to the treatment, like most of us yes, but seeing him like this made me question him even more. Why the act? Why is he acting so bright if he’s fucked up? Why did he build that defensive character?

His head moved to the left as for a quick second he saw me looking. I quickly turned and started to walk, even though he noticed it. “Ugh dumb.” I said to myself under my breath as I was walking. “Who?” One of the boys on the ward asked, hearing me speak. “You.” I immediately spat out, my act seeming normal to him and anyone who heard. I walked to my room and noticed a change. He unpacked his stuff and whole room smelled quite nice. All his things were set up neat and clean, making me wonder why was he acting that pedantic. Kind of petty in some aspects too. He didn’t move the copy of the schedule I left. It was on the same spot I left it. If you were to compare his and mine side of the room you'd be puzzled the same way I am. Such a white, tidy and minimalistic side of his compared to my expressive, colour stained and quiet messy side that screams out one of a kond character.

I think you'd be bewildered just like I am if you saw some weird things he decorated his side of the room with. From white ceramic figures and metal jelwery to white daisies. Why daisies? And why are there so many of them. Quite literally he filled a glass that's supposed to be for water, and put a lot of daisies inside, almost fully falling out of the glass. Daisies by the figurienes, daisies by his clothes, daisies tucked on the edge of the mattress, so they peak out, daisies in many small crystal vases that dominated all his cabinets and a night stand. Some daisies were even taped to the wall. There even was a small bouquet of daisies tied in a white ribbon that he left by the window we both shared, being the border between mine and his side.After confusedly observing the room, I heard the door open behind me. Taehyung went inside with an unreadable face. He casually sat on the bed as I stared around in a understable feeling of shock. "What the fuck?" I spoke. He gently moved his head up so his eyes could meet mine. "Why did you turn our room into a fucking flowershop?" I asked, pointing to all the daisies. "It's not that much. You're overreacting. I just really like daisies." He said and shrugged, his playful character slightly shining through. "Huh, that's a weird fetish." I teased him as I sat down. "It's not a fetish. It's more of a need." He said, making me even more puzzled. "You're addicted to daisies? That's why you're here?" I asked, making him sound really dumb. "No, you don't get it. It has to do with something personal, maybe I'll tell you, but I don't know-" he tried to speak but I cut him off. "I don't care, you do know that? It was a retorical question, you dumbass." I lied, shaking my head. "Sure you don't." He shortly giggled under his breath. "What's that supposed to mean?" I spoke in a intimidating tone but felt so scared to what he might thought. "You stared for quite a while." He said, smirking at me. Staring at me like that made my hands shake a little bit. "That's called being sedated. That's the only thing they're gonna give you here." I said, trying to switch the topic. "I don't think it's quite simple as that." He said, staring right through me. How could he read some parts of me so well already?

He got up and took his t-shirt and a pajama for sleeping, along with his stuff to wash himself. He was heading to the washroom down the hallway that the whole ward shared. I sat in silence, ignoring his last sentence. He slid through the gap of the door instead of opening it fully. It's no doubt this boy has a difficult mind to understand. I changed into my sleeping clothes. I put on my t-shirt, feeling the feshly soft fabric press against my skin, letting my arms breathe. My arms carried a story of a kind too, well actually only one arm. Its wrist carried a story that has been repeated a few times to reach for an unreachable pain relief. A break from everything. I've tried to die three times since being in here. Only once it was close, and It was last time. Seeing the people on his ward percieve me the way I show them my toughness, would only bring them a thought that I sometimes I too get manicly depressed and driven off the edge.

I snuggled under the puffy covers and turned off the light on my nightstand, not touching Taehyung's lamp. I felt myself drift off to sleep pretty quickly. As I was somewhere between the awake state and sleep, I heard Taehyung enter the room. Too tired to move, I laid almost asleep and carefully listened to his soft steps. He was so careful not to wake me up that it almost made me smile. He laid down and turned off the lamp the quietest way he could as he snuggled under the covers too and let out a light breath before drifting off to sleep. A very peaceful and unusual moment it was.

•••

The sound of light steps was replaced by a rushed voice from Jiyu to wake me up for my art activity program. "C'mon, Ji. Wake up." She said and softly nudged my arm. "Ugh, I'm coming." I said and opened my eyes, immediately turning my head to the right. Taehyung was not sleeping. He wasn't even in the room. His bed has been perfectly made as I assumed he was already waiting for the art therapy. Jiyu exited the room once she saw me get up. I put on some random clothes, barely able to keep my eyes open. I sighed and went with my fingers through my bangs to brush them. I walked outside and looked to my left. I walked into the art activities room and immediately noticed Taehyung reading a letter.

Thursdays we get the mail, letters or any other kind of a dearly written document. But I decided roughly around 3 years ago to not look at them. Not open them. To me tgey always seemed so desperate and even more depressing. I don't accept visitation either. I wanted to build a life here, as miserable as that sounds, but building myself up (or down) like this, was a way for me to grow up. So all the letters are placed in the storage room with all the files, collecting dust. Taehyung smiled looking upon his letter, making me extremely curious. I walked over to him, to sit on the only seat that was not taken, opposite him. "Hey." He said with a bright smile. Somehow, I noticed it seemed fake because that's wasn't how his real smile looked like. But why did I remember that detail about him? There's no doubts he was an interesting man to observe. Only observe. Because he's so frustrating as a person and mysterious, so there's no doubt that people wouldn't be drawn to him. Even me."Who sent you a letter that makes you act all weird about it?" I asked in a disgusted tone. He sent me a teasingly judgemental look before speaking. "Oh, It's from my girlfriend." He said it casually with a soft smile, staring into my eyes. You know, there are words that make your heart sink just like that, but feeling that way made me question why was I feeling that, right in that moment, and why so sudden. And why him? Why does my heart feel like this? And why do I even keep his soft steps in my mind? Could a person influence you this much in such a short time?

"What's it say?" I nervously asked, leaning over. He folded the letter in half and put it in his pocket. "You're very nosy." He commented. "It's my girlfriends letter. So It's private." He said, still keepig his hands in his pockets. "Of course you have a girlfriend." I mumbled under my breath, somehow feeling that was predictable about him. He was a handsome young man who had an idiot like personality that had its own charm so why wouldn't girls fall for him? "You roll your eyes a lot." He spoke, smiling at me. "Only because you annoy me." I said when our therapy teacher handed us the smooth papers. "You're annoyed I have a girlfirend or-" He tried to speak but out of fear I cut him off. "You wish." I scoffed and took a pencil out of the old metal can.

What's something so interesting about that letter that he keeps staring at it? What could his girlfriend possibly say?

part 3

[wheresmynaya]

Meeting in the Middle | Brittana

Attempting to keep the streak going from last year’s offering for Brittana’s Anniversary! Here we have the first chapter of a new short story I’ve been working on. Trying to get back in the swing of things so sorry for the cliches (but not really). Enjoy!

           When her plane lands early on a Wednesday morning, Brittany can’t help but feel disappointed in herself. She had no one to blame but herself, it was her fault and she had to live with it. Usually trips home came with feelings of excitement, but all she feels as she stares out of the window as the plane slows to a stop is anything but excitement. She couldn’t believe she was back in the same small town she hoped she’d never have to come back to. Sure, short visits during the holidays were okay but this was different.

This wasn’t just a short visit.

Brittany rested her hand on the brace wrapped around her knee and breathed in deeply. It was sore, but that was probably due to such a cramped cabin and barely any leg space. She had an appointment already organized to get it properly checked out but that wans’t until Monday and the pain pills she had taken before she left Los Angeles were probably wearing off now. Plus the guy in front of her just had to have his seat all the way back too so that didn’t really help either. Brittany did a little stretch before pulling out her phone to switch off Airplane Mode.

           Two texts from her mom came through first telling Brittany that she and her dad couldn’t wait to see her and that they’d be waiting at the gate. Brittany quickly typed back a response saying she had just landed then slipped her phone in her back pocket in time to grab her carryon bag from the overhead compartment.

/

           As Brittany walks to Luggage Claim A, her attention is grabbed by the unmistakable squeal of happiness that could only come from one person in the whole world. She looks up in time to see her mom with the biggest smile on her face on her way over with arms wide, ready for a hug.

           “Welcome home, hun!” Whitney exclaimed then wrapped Brittany in a tight hug.

           “Thanks, mom.” Brittany sighed as she felt herself start to crumble in the embrace. She swallowed the lump in her throat that had been camping out since she began her journey home late last night, “Where’s dad?”

           Whitney pulled away and squinted as she looked back at the way she came, “He was right behind me, I swear. Pierce!” Just then the luggage belt began to move and suitcases started to tumble down. Whitney patted Brittany’s shoulder and gestured to move closer to the luggage claim, “He probably got distracted by the souvenir shop, you know how much he loves those things.”

           Brittany just chuckled as she kept an eye out for her suitcase, “They have the coolest stuff.”

           “Brittany gets it.” Pierce stated as he poked at his wife’s side, sending her a wink, before giving Brittany a big hug, “Long time no see! You’ve gotten so tall!”

           “Dad..I stopped growing a long time ago.” Brittany shook her head at her dad’s humor and smiled at her parents, “Thanks for picking me up.”

           “Of course, dear.” Whitney replied with a softened smile, “We’re happy to help and we’re glad you’re back home.”

           “Yeah, me too.” Brittany lied, that same feeling of disappointment creeping back again.

/

           After retrieving Brittany’s luggage, Whitney and Pierce drove Brittany to the apartment they had scoped out upon Brittany’s arrival. Brittany had been hard at work before she left LA organizing a place to live when she got back to Ohio, not really wanting to go back to her parents’ house as it was already a low blow for her having to return to her hometown under the certain circumstances.

           The recently remodeled apartment building was situated in the more built up part of town which somewhat reminded Brittany of where she lived in LA. Nothing in Lima could really compare to the fast pace lifestyle she had become so accustomed to, but it was still a nice try. She was close to a couple diners, a corner store, and Quinn’s café was just a couple blocks back.

           “You’re #303.” Pierce said as he led the way. He dug in his pocket for the key and said to Brittany over his shoulder, “I think you’ve already got a visitor.”

           As he pushed open the door, Brittany was greeted by a familiar meow.

           “Tubbs!” Brittany squealed as she reached down to lift up the fluffiest cat in the Lima, “You’re so skinny, have you been dieting?”

           Lord Tubbington just purred and nuzzled happily in Brittany’s arms.

           “So your first appointment is on Monday,” Whitney reminded Brittany as they brought up the last of Brittany’s belongings, “I’ve put the business card on the fridge just there and you’ll have your car by then but if you’re more comfortable with your dad taking you then-“

           “I should be okay.” Brittany interrupted, not wanting to be a burden on anyone or seem incapable because of the dumb brace.

           Pierce just frowned and set a hand on Brittany’s shoulder, “We’re happy to help you, Britt.”

           “Thanks.” Brittany answered shortly then cleared her throat as she looked around at the boxes and suitcases, “Well, I should probably get to work unpacking.”

           Whitney and Pierce looked to each other then back at Brittany and nodded, offering small smiles. They each hugged and kissed their daughter before saying their goodbyes. Once they had gone, Brittany took a seat on the second-hand couch and took a deep breath, soaking in the silence. LT soon joined her and nestled into her side.

Brittany looked around her new place; cute kitchenette right when you walked in that opened into the living room, to the right led to a small balcony that looked out on to the city park, and to the left was the bathroom then Brittany’s room. It was a lovely place, tiny, but enough for Brittany and Tubbs. Plus, less space meant less to clean!

Brittany scratched behind his ear and stared out the window of her small living room, “Home sweet home, huh Tubbs?”

LT just blinked blankly at her.

Brittany just smirked and gave him a gentle pat, “Let’s unpack.”

/

           It’s not until the next day after two trips to the corner store for a much needed grocery shop and basic necessities that Brittany finally gets the time to give Quinn a call. They had grown up together and remained close friends even after Brittany had moved to LA. Quinn always looked out for Brittany in high school and was a great tutor when Brittany began to struggle. Brittany was also there for Quinn, even when Beth came along during Quinn’s second year of college and the Fabrays didn’t want anything to do with her. The Pierce’s treated Quinn and Beth like family and Brittany got the sister and niece she’d always wanted.

           “Brittany!” A high pitched squeak answered down the line after two rings.

           Brittany couldn’t help but smile at the little blonde’s excitement, “Hey Beth, how are you?”

           “I’m good, when are you comin’ to visit? I miss you, it’s been forever since I saw you.” Beth asked sounding a little breathless, no doubt running around.

           “It has been a long time, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll be by soon,” Brittany answered, as she began to put away the last few bags of stuff she bought earlier, “Is your mom around?”

           “Yup, I’ll go get her!”

           Several muttered voices and lots of stomping later, Brittany faintly heard the voice of her best friend, “Thank you, baby. Now go get cleaned up, we’re leaving soon. Britt?”

           “Hey Q,” Brittany answered, “You busy?”

           “Of course not, I’ve only been waiting for your call since you’ve landed!” Quinn teased, “How are you? Settling in?”

           “Yeah, you know.” Brittany sighed as she looked around the small apartment, most of the boxes had been broken down already but the place was still a mess, “I’m getting there.”

           “That’s good. We’ve got to catch up soon; Beth has been so excited since I told her you were moving back.”

           “Me too.” Brittany lied.

           “You don’t have to lie.” Quinn laughed, always able to see right through her, “I know how much it sucks that you’ve had to come back. You loved LA.”

           “Yeah, I did..”

           “Well, you love us more. Anyway, how’s the knee?”

           “Hurts.” Brittany frowned, looking down at the brace. She took a deep breath, felt the tears begin to well in her eyes, “I really messed up, Q.”

           “Brittany..don’t-“ Suddenly Quinn’s cut off by the sound of Beth crying, “Shit. I’m coming, honey! This kid, I swear. Can I call you back?”

           Brittany wipes the tears and takes a deep breath in attempt to make her voice sound even, “Yeah, of course.”

/

           When Quinn does manage to call back it’s only for a couple minutes; they’re on the way to Beth’s ballet rehearsal but she does manage to set up a day for her and Brittany to catch up and that makes Brittany feel a little better.

/

           When Monday rolls around, Brittany feels anxious. It’s her first appointment and she knows she’ll have to attend physical therapy, but she’s never liked going to the doctor’s. Maybe it’s the fear that she might never get to dance again or maybe she just hates the smell; either way, she feels antsy as she says her goodbyes to LT and heads for the lift.

           As she’s locking the door, she hears a couple voices down the hall. She’s surprised because for the past few days she thought she was the only one who lived on her floor it had been that quiet. Brittany was just about to peek around the corner when she realized the conversation she had been overhearing was actually an argument.

           “You’re never around, Dani!” The first woman snapped, “You don’t make an effort, like at all!”

           “Seriously? That’s your excuse?” The second woman replies, Dani.

She’s angry, Brittany can tell by the sound of her voice, but not as angry as the other person. They sound like they’re getting closer and for some reason Brittany is frozen at her front door. She knows she’ll have to walk past them, but she doesn’t want to feel like she’s intruding on this private conversation yet she already has and now she feels awkward.

“It’s not an excuse. It’s true! Tonight was really important to me and yet again you’ve made me feel stupid for waiting around for you.” The first woman says and Brittany cringes at the mention of a word she hates, “What’s the point anymore?”

“You know my schedule is tight, I can’t just stop what I’m doing for small gigs like that.”

The woman laughs but it’s not because she finds the other funny, it’s pure sarcasm, “Wow. Sorry I’m not big and important like you.”

“Come on, that’s not what I meant.”

“So what am I supposed to do then? Just wait around until it’s convenient for you? How is that fair? This relationship is so fucking one sided and I’m sick of it!”

Brittany straightens at the word relationship and realizes that they must be dating then catches how invested she is in their conversation and shakes her head at how wrong she is for listening. She finally builds up the courage to head for the lifts, but just as she turns, she drops her keys and they noisily fall to the floor. She grits her teeth and quickly scoops them up hoping she could turn invisible, but sadly she doesn’t go unnoticed.

When Brittany stands, she finds stormy, dark brown eyes narrowed in her direction.

Granted, they’re stormy, dark brown eyes that belong to a beautiful Latina with long, dark, wavy hair swept over her shoulder. The woman’s lips are full and look super soft but she purses them at Brittany and her furrows her brows.

Brittany blinks out of staring, suddenly feeling flushed, and offers a nervous smile, “Uh..hi.”

The Latina just rolls her eyes and looks back at the blue-haired woman in front of her, “I think you should probably go home.”

Brittany takes that as her cue as well and hurries to the lift, the argument continuing behind her but at a much lower tone. Once safe behind the doors, she scolds herself for being so nosey. She couldn’t believe how long she let herself listen to some strangers’ conversation like that, but she was thankful that the Latina didn’t go off on her too.

Easily making it the highlight of the day, Brittany headed to her appointment with the image of the very angry yet very attractive woman in her mind.

/

           “Well Miss Pierce, your x-rays are in and I have good news and bad news.” Dr. Andrews commented as he secured them to the board, “Good news is nothing’s broken.”

           Brittany let out a sigh of relief and nodded, “That’s good.”

           “It is.” Dr. Andrews replied and swiveled in his chair to look at Brittany, “Bad news is you’ve torn your meniscus pretty good.”

Brittany felt her shoulders slump, but she wasn’t really surprised. She’s been injured before, so much so that she had gotten pretty good at self diagnosing, but it’s not the first time she’s had trouble with her knee.

“You can’t see the tear on here, these were just used to rule out any breaks,” Dr. Andrews continued then looked to Brittany, “Have you had problems with this knee in the past?”

Brittany nodded, a feeling a little guilty, “A few years back I had a similar injury. It’s usually fine but sometimes it acts up if I don’t warm up really well first.”

Dr. Andrews noted that on his clipboard, “Did you get it checked out?”

“Kind of?” Brittany mumbled then shook her head, “I didn’t really have the money at the time to go to an actual doctor.”

“I see,” He said and pushed his wire-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose before offering a kind smile, “I can understand that. Well, with this being your second tear to the same knee you’re going to have to be extremely careful. We don’t want this to get worse. At this stage you won’t need surgery, but that can change depending on you and how you take care of yourself. That means no strenuous activities, no jogging, and definitely no dancing.”

           “Right.” Brittany answered as she stared down at her twiddling fingers feeling like her whole world just ended, “That’ll be hard.”

“Small price to pay.” Dr. Andrews shrugged, “It could be a lot worse, but you’re very lucky it isn’t.”

“Dancing is just all I have going for me,” Brittany sighed as she shook her head, “I wasn’t good in school, Doc, dancing is it for me and if I can’t do that then what am I supposed to do? It’s all I’ve got; I don’t have a backup plan.”

           “I’m sorry, Miss Pierce.” Dr. Andrews said, not really knowing what to say, then added, “Hey, this is only temporary. You’ll get to dance again and that’s something you should be happy about. It may not be as soon as you’d like, but it will happen.” Brittany looked to him and gave a thankful smile, “Maybe take this time to see what else you’re good at, huh? I’ll write up a prescription for the pain and the swelling. I’ll give you the business card of the physical therapist I recommend as well. She really is amazing and I’m not just saying that because she’s my wife.”

           Brittany chuckled at that and waited as he tore off the papers she needed to take to reception, “Thanks a lot, Doc.”

           “No problem.” He smiled and handed her the papers, “I’ll see you in a few weeks. Good luck, Miss Pierce!”

           It was a low blow for Brittany, not being able to dance, but she knew Dr. Andrews was right when he called her lucky. She really was and deep down, underneath the guilt and disappointment of being so clumsy and complacent, Brittany knew there wasn’t anything that was going to keep her from dancing. Other than a torn meniscus, but like the doc said, that’s only temporary.

           She went straight to the chemist to file her prescription since she was beginning to run low on her other pain medication. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy and she was able to be in and out in no time. With the poking and prodding done at her appointment, her knee had been pretty sore and she couldn’t wait to get home and rest.

/

           When Brittany gets back to her apartment building, she had almost forgotten the embarrassing moment when she got caught listening in on her neighbor’s conversation. Lucky for her, she’s instantly reminded as the lift doors open and a familiar blue-haired woman looks up at her. The woman looks like she has been crying and Brittany offers a small smile as they pass each other. She wonders what happened and if the Latina with the sultry yet very intimidating voice is okay. Then she remembers she probably wouldn’t be so interested if she was minding her own business in the first place.

           Brittany returns to her home and instantly turns on the kettle before changing out of her brace and jeans.

           “Ready for some dinner, Tubbs?” Brittany calls out as she returns to the kitchen in comfy, baggy sweats and her hair up in a messy bun, “Why am I asking? Of course you are.”

           She reaches in the pantry for the can and the bag of treats, but quickly notices LT is nowhere in sight. Weird considering he moves the fastest at the sound of the bag of treats, Brittany calls out for him again. Thinking he’s possibly in a deep kitty nap, she goes on to fill his food bowl anyway then makes herself a cup of tea.

She spends the night filling out career tests and scrolling through endless job ads that don’t grab her attention. She hadn’t been too great at school, if anything writing was her second favorite thing to do besides dancing but what job revolved around that?  

She doesn’t notice she’s fallen asleep until she feels a familiar warmth scoot in next to her. LT pats and prods at Brittany’s thigh until he’s comfortable and Brittany laughs at how content he looks, “And where have you been?” It’s not until a few minutes later that she realizes her reeks of smoke. “I can’t believe you.” Brittany squints at him, “I thought you quit.”

LT just purrs and nuzzles into her hand.

The next time she awakes it’s because it has started to storm and she’s left the balcony door open. She’s sleepy and a bit groggy as she limps over to the door. It’s dark aside from the street lights illuminating the sidewalks below and the slight chill in the air makes Brittany shiver a little as she edges up the screen, but something makes her pause at the handle: a voice.

I can make you mine,

taste your lips of wine,

With the steady rainfall and the gentle sound of their voice, Brittany felt so relaxed and at ease like being sung a lullaby. The words were sung with a mix of such longing and serenity, each note filled with so much emotion. Brittany leaned against the glass, afraid to make a sound and the singing to stop. She was mesmerized, as if trapped by some siren and she couldn’t turn away.

any time, night or day

Only trouble is, gee wiz,

I’m dreamin’ my life away

A loud crack of thunder broke Brittany’s trance as lightning rippled across the sky. Brittany waited for the singing to continue, but it never did. With that, she slid the door shut and went to get ready for bed, humming the lyrics at the same slow melodious pace as the mysterious voice from the balcony.

/

           Brittany plans to see Quinn and Beth early one afternoon for an ice cream date, an old tradition Quinn and Brittany carried with them through their many years of friendship. Brittany heads out and makes her way to the lift. Surprisingly she doesn’t have to wait and enters the lift then presses the ground floor but someone yells out at her.

           “Hold the lift!”

           Brittany quickly reaches her hand out to stop the doors from closing just in time for a familiar neighbor to squeeze through the doors.

“Thanks.” The Latina says, a little breathlessly. She’s clad in a tight, knee-length, black skirt and a white button up tucked into the hem, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows; very professional looking. Dark sunglasses sit atop her head, and a she’s trying to readjust the strap of her bag and straighten papers against her side.

           “Fuck off.” The woman curses as her phone chimes multiple times and Brittany can guess that she’s off to a rough morning. A couple pens clatter to the floor but Brittany can see she doesn’t have another hand to pick them up, so she bends down instead. She offers them back to the Latina with a small smile as the woman finally gets the papers organized, “Thanks.”

           “That’s okay.” Brittany replies, noting the softness of the woman’s voice. Surprisingly she has a different setting other than pissed off, who knew?

After the rustling of papers subsides, Brittany becomes hyper aware of the silence and attempts to fill it somehow, “Nice pens.” She instantly feels like kicking herself because what the hell? She can feel her cheeks pink and the tips of her ears go red. She looks for a hole to crawl into but no luck.

           To her surprise, the woman makes this noise that’s a cross between a giggle and a snort and it’s the cutest thing Brittany’s ever heard.

           “Thanks.” The woman says, “I design them for a living.”

           Astonished, Brittany looks to her wide-eyed, “Really?”

           “No.” The Latina smirks, “Not really.”

           “Right.” Brittany says, hoping the woman didn’t catch on to how gullible she is.

Once again the lift goes quiet and for the first time Brittany takes note of just how slow the thing moves when she’s trapped in a confined space with an attractive woman.

           Thankfully the doors open 5 seconds later and the woman quickly hurries out, but not before tossing her long waves over her shoulder, “See you later.”

           Brittany just nods, too star struck to say anything in return.

/

Beth was her usual rambunctious self as she dragged Brittany to the display window and pointed out her favorite flavors. It was a perfect afternoon for ice cream and the three find an empty table outside in the sun.

Quinn tucks a napkin in Beth’s collar and looks to Brittany, “How’s the new place? I’m still waiting on my invite by the way.”

Brittany just smiled, “It’s coming together. Still working on making it feel like home, but LT has adjusted perfectly although I still haven’t figured out where he sneaks off to. Oh, and have I told you about my embarrassing encounter with one of my neighbors who happens to be absolutely gorgeous?”

Quinn raised her brows in interest.

Brittany nodded as if to confirm it, “I know, so scandalous.”

“Do tell.” Quinn urged then motioned to Beth, “Leave out the special details please, she’s still young.”

“It wasn’t like that.” Brittany laughed and went on to tell her about the run in with the Latina and her blue-haired lady friend. The story had Quinn feeling embarrassed for Brittany and she wasn’t even there, “Well hopefully it’s the last time I’ll ever see her so it’s fine.”

Quinn just shook her head, “So how’s the job hunt going?”

           “Not good. I’m not really qualified in anything.” Brittany confessed, taking a swipe at her rainbow sorbet, “According to this career test I’ve taken, I should be a taxi driver.”

           “What?” Quinn was shocked, “Those things aren’t accurate. Remember the one I took in high school? Apparently I’m supposed to be a guidance counselor.”

           “That would be a good fit.” Brittany replied, “You love drama and people would tell you all the gossip.”

           “I don’t think that’s how it works.” Quinn laughed and looked to Beth with ice cream all over her face, “Tasty?”

           Beth just nodded happily.

           “You could work at Lucy Q’s with me if you wanted?” Quinn suggested, “I could always use some help and with Beth starting school soon it’ll be hard to pull off the opening shift.”

           “I don’t know, Q, I’m not great at making coffee..or drinking it.”

           “That’s alright, I can teach you or maybe I’ll just have you waitress?” Quinn offered, “It’s not too hard and it’ll be fun for you. Short shifts so you’re not on your feet too much.”

           Brittany thought about the possibilities, “I do like meeting new people.”

           “So is that a yes?”

           “We’ll talk about pay.” Brittany joked and reached over to shake Quinn’s hand, “You’ve got yourself a new employee.”

/

           Early mornings become part of Brittany’s routine as she starts working at Lucy Q’s. She doesn’t mind too much because it’s short days and she still gets to have a life after. Why that’s important considering all she does after work is go home to her cat and watch reruns of Dancing with the Stars, she’ll never know.

Coincidentally, running into the Latina in the lift becomes a part of Brittany’s routine as well. Some days she’s a frazzled mess like the first time, others she looks as if she hadn’t slept in days, but Brittany admires that somehow the woman still manages to dress stylishly every time. Always form fitting skirts or dresses, or tight jeans and crop tops with a combination of jackets and sweaters. Brittany notices she’s almost always wearing some sort of heeled shoe, whether it be high heels or boots, there’s always that tell-tale sound of clicking anywhere she steps like she commands attention. The Latina doesn’t usually say much other than the usual pleasantries which Brittany always initiates then glues her eyes to her phone.

           It’s not until one Saturday morning that Brittany’s on her way to work that she runs into the woman in the lift and gets a different response. Brittany offers her usual smile and greets her, “Good morning!”

           Today the woman cringes and lowers the sunglasses over her weary eyes, “Why are you always so damn chipper?”

           Brittany just shrugs, noting the woman must’ve had a late night judging by the frizzy hair and lack of makeup which she usually has applied flawlessly, and lowers her voice, “I’ve always been an early riser I guess.”

           The woman scrunches her nose in disgust and leans heavily against the wall of the lift as the doors open, “Sounds exhausting.”

           Once again, Brittany doesn’t get to say much as the woman saunters off without another word. She’s just a few steps in front of her, but even from this distance Brittany could see that the woman was gifted. With that ass, it was honestly perfect. Brittany found herself staring and quickly focused on checking her mailbox before she could get caught. Inside were the usual, junk mail, bills, weird subscriptions for the last tenant, and a letter that was clearly in the wrong box.

           Brittany stared at the unit number and frowned, “Who confuses #303 and #305?” She just shrugged, closed her mailbox door, and slipped the letter into the right box.

/

           The first time Brittany sees the Latina outside of the apartment building, she’s so surprised she snaps a crayon in half.

           Brittany’s at Lucy Q’s and Beth’s by for a visit. Quinn’s cleaning up to take her home and Brittany’s kneeled next to Beth, helping her color in a butterfly when the bells near the entrance chime. To her disbelief, it’s the woman and her blue-haired lady friend.

           Brittany snaps a crayon in half and Beth looks at her in shock, “Hey!”

           “Sorry, Princess, I’ll tape it back!” Brittany quickly apologizes and kisses the top of her head before heading over to Quinn.

           “It’s not the same!” Brittany hears Beth pout but she’s already rounding the counter.

           “Sorry Britt, I’ll be out of here in a sec. I’m just looking for my keys.” Quinn begins and she shuffles through the menus on the counter, but Brittany continues to eye the couple as the pick a seat near the windows in the corner.

           “She’s here.” Brittany says as if Quinn would automatically know who she was referring to.

           Quinn looks up in a frantic, “That bitch from Ecolab? I swear she’s doing the most to shut me down.” Then she scans the floor; Beth, older couple near the entrance, a group of younger ladies by the window, and the Latina. Quinn smiles and continues to look for her keys, “Oh, hottie in the corner?”

           “She’s my neighbor.” Brittany comments and begins to help Quinn look for her keys, kind of, “Not the blue one, the other.”

           “I didn’t even notice the blue one.” Quinn teased, “You should probably see if they want any coffee. They down it like it’s water here.”

           “Right.” Brittany just about built up the courage to walk over when one of the other waitresses beats her to the table, “Damnit, Tina. She ruins everything.”

           Quinn finally finds her keys, “Here we go! I’m just going to check one more thing and we’ll go. Can you keep an eye on Beth?”

           Brittany just nodded and walked around the counter to continue to help Beth color, somewhat crushed that Tina took her girl. Her table, she meant her table.

           “If you’re going to break more crayons, you can’t color with me.” Beth informed her as Brittany kneeled.

           “I won’t break anymore.” Brittany promised, ruffling the little girl’s short hair, “Looks very pretty, you’re doing a great job.”

           “Thanks, Brittany!” Beth grinned and happily scribbled across the page.

           Brittany sat there for a few more minutes, switching from helping Beth color to sneaking a peek at the couple in the corner. She noted that the Latina looked a little happier than their first encounter and it didn’t seem like they were arguing which was nice. She didn’t know much about either of them, but Brittany genuinely felt content seeing them enjoying the afternoon. Well, she felt content seeing the Latina enjoy the afternoon.

           “Alright Britt,” Quinn called as she rounded the corner, “We’re heading off. Ready to go, baby?”

           Beth nodded and began to clean up her crayons.

           “Don’t worry about locking up or anything,” Quinn reminded Brittany as she helped Beth into her jacket, “Tina and Jessie will do that, just focus on the floor.”

           “No problem.” Brittany nodded and said her goodbyes to the two.

           With them gone, Brittany focused on her work. Restocking behind the bar and clearing any dirty tables was easy work, but the bending down began to irritate her knee so she moved to organize the magazine and newspaper table. She was so busy straightening up that she didn’t realize someone had come up beside her.

           “Nice organization skills.” The Latina commented, Brittany didn’t realize she was being funny until she looked up and saw the woman smirking.

           “One of many perks.” Brittany replied casually then pointed to the magazines, “Did you need one?”

           “Yeah.” The woman said and leaned across for the Entertainment magazine before looking back at Brittany, “Does this screw up your symmetry?”

           “Symmetry isn’t really my thing,” Brittany answered with a shrug, “Doing things straight was never a strongpoint of mine.”

           The Latina snorted as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth, hiding her smile.

Brittany just tilted her head in confusion, “What?”

           “Nothing.” The woman assured her then said, “Symmetry is a bit overrated, isn’t it?”

           With that, the Latina returned to her table in the corner of the room leaving Brittany to return to her work but she couldn’t help but feel a particular set of stormy, dark brown eyes belonging to a very attractive woman with long, dark, wavy hair on her moments later.

A subtle look over her shoulder only confirms it.

Song used was: All I Have to Do is Dream (Cover) by Lauren O’Connell

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [WATTPAD]

Spring vacation was kind to the pop idol formerly known as Risette. She and her friends spent a lot of time in the park or at Junes, hanging around at each other's houses. It was never the same with Narukami gone but sometimes they could come pretty close, and that was worth doing.

Though she had hoped to see Ebihara in town, maybe check in with her again despite the way they left things, apparently the priss had taken off with her family or something. Oh well. It wasn't exactly that she desperately wanted to interact with her, she just didn't like knowing a friend was hurting and she couldn't help. No matter how new and rocky the friendship was.

She also wound up being busy throughout the end of March because she was trying to restart her career. At first, her agent and the agency she had belonged to were resistant to the idea of letting her back in; it seemed they had some sort of issue with putting a lot of time and effort into an idol who would only abandon them. But her putting on a sugary sweet tone and telling them she missed them so much, while also saying she would be so sad if she had to work for a different agency instead, did the trick. Never underestimate the effectiveness of flattery and a veiled threat when used in tandem.

Logistics and singing lessons had kept her busy for most of the remaining break. Three days remained until the new school year started up. They had all been anxious about going into their final year — well, the older students. Rise and Kanji and Naoto would just be starting their second year.

"Boring Friday in boring Inaba," Yosuke was sighing as they slowly walked into town.

"Yep," Chie groaned.

"Not for one of us," Naoto mentioned. "How did your audition go, Rise?"

The teen idol huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "Can you believe they actually made me re-audition? They know I can do the work! This was just a power play to make me feel bad for taking a break in the first place."

"Sure," Yosuke snorted. "They probably thought you were past your prime. They don't know what we know."

"And… what do 'we' know?"

"That you are still the mega-hot Risette that we all know and love. Like, you haven't even gained any weight or anything!"

While Yukiko and Chie were groaning and Kanji was face-palming, Rise smiled sweetly and bounced closer to Yosuke's side. "Aww, you knew just what I needed to hear! Thanks, sweetie!"

His entire face turned red, and his floppy brown hair seemed to twitch back and forth. "S-s-s-sweetie!"

"Don't encourage him," Chie grunted with a firm shake of her head. "You know he's too dumb to figure out you're just messing with him."

"Yeah, I am! Wait- I mean, I'm not- she's not! You…"

"Give it up, man," Kanji sighed heavily, pounding him on the back so hard that he staggered.

"Oh, I'm gonna get a melon soda," Rise piped up before the argument got out of hand. "Anybody else want one?"

"If it's fizzy," Yukiko said with a modest smile. "Chie wants orange with pulp."

"Hey! You don't know that for sure," Chie yelped… with a highly suspicious blush breaking out across her cheeks. Yukiko only giggled.

By now, Rise was walking over to the vending machine in front of Souzai Daigaku. She was starting to get a little suspicious of Yukiko and Chie… but she definitely didn't want to accuse them of anything. Especially considering how uncomfortable Naoto still seemed surrounding the issues of gender and sexuality. Kanji talked a big game about being over all that stuff, at least, but Naoto got very quiet and nervous when the topic came up. The last thing she wanted was to make her friends uncomfortable.

As the heavy steel can bumped into the dispenser below, she bent down to retrieve it… and the glint from something caught her eye. She looked over to see it was a pair of sunglasses — adorning the face of someone she had been hoping to see for two weeks now.

"Ebihara?!"

The other girl started, then grimaced as she gripped the lip of the table outside the restaurant. She looked very put together — on par with something Rise would wear. Long summery white skirt that was partly see-through, strappy pink sandals that matched her pink cardigan. And also matched her choker, which was almost always around her neck like some part of her official uniform. Every nail manicured, not a strand of hair out of place, lips glistening from a fresh coat.

And she was not happy.

"Oh God, it's you."

"Wha- hey! Just what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I don't know. Do you maybe not remember trying to make me feel like an asshole in Aiya?"

"That is not what I was doing. Geez! I was only pointing out that you have to put yourself out there if you want to-"

"Hey, I don't need a lesson in friendship from Risette. Go get preachy on TV for your little fans."

She almost let that scare her off. So very almost. But she decided to give it one last shot before she left Ai to her own devices. "Well then, I… I apologize for sounding preachy. It was not my intention."

That finally made the other girl take her sunglasses off. "Did you rehearse that long? Because you sound like the lady on my voicemail."

But Rise didn't really take those words in right away. She was too distracted by the dark circles under her schoolmate's eyes. Was Ebihara not sleeping very well? Why not? She wanted to ask, but she was at least smart enough not to try it for fear of being snapped at again.

"I… I didn't. You just got really mad at me last time for no reason, and I'm trying to be careful with my words. Or whatever."

"It wasn't for no reason. You made fun of me."

"What? No!"

"Yes, you did, you cunt. You told me I could come hang out with you guys, and then came into the bathroom while I was… indisposed, and told me I was doing it wrong!"

Rolling her eyes was the only way she had to vent her feelings other than throwing the melon soda at this girl's head. And she didn't want to dent her skull — for now.

"I said I was sorry, and that I didn't mean to piss you off, so can you stop yelling at me?"

"THAT'S-" After that single word, Ebihara grabbed her purse and started to stand up… then stopped. Took a deep breath. "No. I promised him I'd be better, I am better."

"U-uhhhh…?"

Expression still fiercely angry, hands on her hips with her purse dangling down past her knee, she stomped over to glare daggers straight down into Rise's eyes and causing the shorter girl to gulp. Wow was she tall — had to be at least ten centimetres taller! No giant, but tall for a girl, especially compared to her and Chie and Naoto; Yukiko was always so tall and poised… but her attention was wandering, and she had missed what Ai was saying.

"Huh?"

"I said," she snapped impatiently, "do you want to join me for tea?"

"WHAT?!"

"I SAID DO YOU-"

"No, no, I got it!" she yelped, hastily covering her ears to stop them from ringing thanks to how loud Ebihara could get. "Sorry, I'm just shocked! You really acted like you hated me!"

Ebi's lips pursed for a long moment as she turned to stare at the rest of the team. By now, they had figured out their friend was not returning right away, and were watching with detached interest. "You and Narukami-kun… you were trying to tell me something. I'm only good at manipulating people or bossing them around. No one has ever wanted to be my friend before, not my entire life. The reasons just changed. So…"

"Soooooo… is this you asking if we can be fr-"

"Don't make it awkward, bitch," she hissed over Rise. "Let's say we'll make this a trial run. You probably won't be able to stand me and I probably won't be able to stand you, but you're the only one giving it a shot."

At least Ebi wasn't trying to say it was all Rise's fault. Plus, it was obvious this was the best she could do in terms of asking politely and being friendly. She knew from her years in the entertainment industry that some people just didn't seem to be born with friendliness in their DNA. But that didn't mean they didn't deserve friendship.

"Of course! We're just heading to Junes if you wanted to tag along."

But Ai instantly looked a lot less thrilled with that idea — and she had already looked less than thrilled. "I have class."

"Huh? I mean, school doesn't start until Monday…"

"It's not that kind of class." As she pushed off from the seat, she yanked the melon soda out of Rise's hands. "Thanks."

"Wha- hey! Oooh, you're paying me back for that!"

"Isn't this a favour? Don't friends do favours?" Then she slid her sunglasses back into place, waved over the edge of what was now her can, and strutted away.

It wasn't until she was half a block away that the idol ground back to life and ran after her, shouting a few metres behind her, "HEY! When are we getting tea?"

Ebi looked almost panicked when she turned back around. But it only lasted a second; then she was thoroughly embarrassed and grimacing as she quickly walked back to the other girl's side.

"Keep it down! Why are you so noisy? Do you have to remind everyone that you're a vocalist every day?"

"And do you have to conveniently forget to set the time and place?"

"That's… shut up." But she still looked embarrassed, even if only because her cheeks were a little rosy. She took out her phone and said, "Numbers?"

"Yeah," Rise sighed wearily as she took out her own. They touched them together to share contact information, then checked their screens to make sure it had worked. "Cool. Ebi."

"Ugh…"

"Oh, you don't like that nickname?"

"I dunno, it's fine. I'll just keep calling you Risette, it's not like I'm going to mix you up with some other Risette."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Guess not. But that's not how my friends talk to me."

"Fine — Rise. Only because I am definitely not a fan." Then she walked away.

Leaving Rise wondering why the hell she bothered. Couldn't Ebihara at least make a half-hearted attempt to be kind?

                                            ~ o ~

Rise almost gave up on her potential new friend. She certainly didn't want to be the first one to text after all that cold-shouldering and denigration, and as kept being pointed out to her, she was famous and had plenty of friends. So why should she bust her ass to be warm and welcoming to a frigid asshole?

All that changed late that night.

EBI: Hey Rise?

She almost ignored it. Almost. In fact she tossed her phone aside in disgust and finished rinsing off so she could get in the bathtub, burgundy-hued hair carefully up in a towel-turban so she wouldn't have to mess with it too much the next day. But once she had settled into the hot water, she thought better of it and reached for her phone.

RISE: Hi

EBI: Okay so ur pissed

EBI: We can call tea off if you want

RISE: I didn't say anything did I?

EBI: You don't have to

EBI: Listen

RISE: Ok…?

But there was no response. She had watched the screen for a minute or so before giving up, laying her phone aside and trying to relax again. Not that she had any success. And eventually, about five minutes later…

EBI: I promised Yu I was going to change. Stop being this horrible bitch to everybody. But I can't stop, I don't know how to stop. Maybe it was stupid but I thought I would just figure it out if I kept trying but every time you talk I start thinking of how I can cut you down… I want to "win" the conversation. Idk. I'm stupid and you deserve better and I don't think I can do better so if you want to call off our tea time I won't even be mad, not really

EBI: I'm sorry I'm like this.

"Whoa," she found herself breathing, heart lurching in her chest. Yes, she had seen glimpses of this version of Ebihara, but had never expected to see more than that. Now she was really, truly opening up to her, and she had no idea how to respond.

But she made herself do it. Maybe mostly because she felt bad about ignoring the first text, but she definitely didn't want to leave this girl hanging the one time she really opened up.

RISE: Atzrbucks?

EBI: What

RISE: For tea. I'm more into coffee but whatever, they have both

EBI: Are you brain-damaged? I'm giving you a chance to get out of this toxic ass friendship

EBI: Free of charge

RISE: You said this was a trial run didn't you? Doesn't that mean if it doesn't work out we can walk away then?

EBI: Well yeah

EBI: But I figured that shit was over. God I even stole your soda

EBI: Are you a masochist?

RISE: Hey I know I look like a spoiled brat because I was a 15 yr old idol but I'm not that weak

RISE: And I'm not 15 anymore UwU

EBI: ...why are you telling me that

EBI: Nevermind

RISE: Lol

EBI: Your funeral I was just trying to be nice and let you off easy

EBI: But I mean you've seen how bad I am at that

RISE: Nobody said you have to get it perfect right away :)

EBI: I guess

EBI: Tomorrow at 10?

RISE: Yeah~! See you then!

EBI: K

Only once she had finished her long soak, smiling slightly the entire time, did Rise get another message. So she paused in her toweling off to check her phone.

EBI: Thanks

RISE: ❤️

                                              ~ o ~

"So you're really going through with it?"

"I guess so. I mean, Ebi seems like she's really hurting but doesn't want to admit how bad it is. She needs somebody and I guess it's me."

"Weird," Yukiko's voice responded from her phone where it lay on the vanity. Rise was just putting the final touches on her makeup before heading out. "But I do think it's very nice of you to try to help her."

"Hey, that's me! Just the nicest girl you could ever know!"

"Right," she giggled. "So… may I ask you a question? It may sound a little strange."

"You may," Rise replied with a snort, making fun of how formal her friend was being.

"Okay. So Chie got me a very nice gift recently. And… um, her birthday is coming up. Eventually."

"Yeah?" She wasn't getting the whole truth. Rise could tell — mostly because she was pretty sure Chie's birthday was in July, which was still quite a ways off. But she decided it would be cruel to call Yukiko out on hedging around the facts; if she didn't want to be completely honest, there was probably a valid reason.

"Y-yeah! And, well, we already gave each other necklaces. But I'm trying to think of a really good gift to get her for this occasion. Something special. I'm just not sure… I mean, I know Chie very well, but I'm nervous. And you seem like someone who is very good at giving gifts."

Rise had to laugh at that one, shaking her head as she started putting most of her makeup away. "Right! I mean, who am I getting them for? My grandma? She just tries to give the gift back or tell me all she wants is to 'see me happy'. Can't even give her soap on a rope or whatever."

"Awwwwww," Yukiko cooed. "What a sweet woman."

"She is." Then she cleared her throat. "Okay, so. You wanna get Chie something spicy, or sweet?"

"O-oh, I don't really know. I just know I gave her jewelry for… Christmas." Another lie. "So I think this gift should be something different, but I'm not sure what."

Rise wanted to flat out ask if they were a little bit more than just friends, as she had begun to suspect. But she didn't want to embarrass either of them just in case she was wrong. "Right. Well, uh, I know she's really into kung fu. Maybe you could get her some DVDs? Or hey — who's her favorite action star? Bruce Lee, Jet Li?"

"Oh, I… think it's Sammy… something? Sonny? Her favourite movie is 'Project A', I remember that much."

"Don't know it. But yeah! Why don't you see if you can track down a poster of that movie? Or I could try to help you, I guess; I wouldn't mind."

"O-oh, you don't have to do that! This isn't your responsibility! I just need to learn how to be a better girlf… fr… a better friend, yes."

Well, that definitely seemed to be confirmation. Rise's eyebrow went up, but she very delicately kept herself from asking a question right away. "Yeah, girlfriend, I get you." There; maybe that would make Yukiko feel less awkward.

"R-right! Yes! Hahahaha… haaaa…" The junior innkeeper cleared her throat before saying, "Alright, I u-um, I should let you go so you won't be late to meet up with Ebihara-san."

"It's not that crucial," she laughed easily. "But I mean, good luck? You got this. And I'm sure whatever you end up doing for her birthday is gonna be magical; you're super nice, and super thoughtful like that. Won't even be an issue."

"Oh, I really hope you're right. Thank you, Rise. And have fun!"

"I'll do my best!"

But as she hung up and stared at herself in the mirror, Rise had to wonder just how much fun she was about to have. What would they even have to talk about?

                                               To Be Continued…

[sayonaralullaby-a]

Finally, am I done giving my full thoughts on/venting my own experiences in 2017. Warning for child abuse, brief mention of/implied suicide, and homophobia.

Shoving the honest and blunt thought of how 2017 as numbers means nothing to me ( if you can get what I'm saying ) aside, looking at my chapter overall of this soon to be ending year, as I said before, it could've been better.

During the beginning of 2017 was when I had to deal with the loss of my very close friend as he left me even after everything I had done to give him the love and support he needed. Sure, the loss was mostly my fault; I snapped at him because of my paranoia and anxiety was running so high as I thought he was mad at me for dropping our long-term love plots for our OCs when I wanted to focus on my education more than roleplaying, but I still wish we could've actually talk and settle things right to each other, but if he wished to not do so and instead leave me and the things we had done together behind as he doesn't want forgive me, that's okay. People come and go, and what I did was a complete shitty as I should've known better so I don't blame him for leaving me. I just hope he's doing okay today and may 2018 and beyond treat him well. I know he had gone through so much and probably still does in the present, especially when Tr.mp was elected, even if it hurts a lot knowing I lost him in the end, I'm just glad that before we never talk to each other again, I managed to do for him what I always wanted to do all the time. To give the love and support when he needed them the most.

Meanwhile until September, I also have to deal with my so called friend at my school. He's narcissistic, unwilling to express much care, once threatened my other friend he would blackmail him, pretty much my mom 2.0 as in manipulative and an asshole. Again, I'm fine with him now, but during those months were so fucking shitty, and the fact I didn't feel like school could be like a tiny home to me with my friends, mainly Casey, while my apartment is fucking shit when my abusive and toxic mom is around, which is like 99.5% she is, was so depressing because there were no where else I could go besides internet with my online friends that would make me feel just a bit at least that I am still alive and real. Still does it blew my mind I had a 100% on my math test as I'm fucking terrible at math, but too bad I couldn't be proud of myself when that day was horrible having to deal with that fucker.

During the spring break on March, that was when I had a girlfriend. If I can actually tell it is supposed to be had instead of have. She was intelligent, funny, and just a wonder to be with. We reunited after we both left the roleplay site forum when it got revamped and haven't seen each other for months until that day we met again on Tumblr. She started saying how she should take me away and live with her somewhere far. How we should be together as a couple. I took her sayings as to date, and we did. Until in the middle of August, we lost touch as I realized she's not as friendly as I thought. I shouldn't be surprised, knowing her personality, but I just believed. Like a fool. To hear from my other friend how she was talking shit behind her back and lying about her when she couldn't be able to tell what holds behind her texts. My ex-girlfriend’s words and actions are just as worse as a stranger doing it, especially knowing how hers along with many others made my friend feel horrible and ashamed of herself to the point she wanted to give up. Even if she did it to someone who I’m just a stranger to, I do not ever accept that sort of attitude and mindset from anyone who does that, unless the person who are being treated that way had done or said way worse than not being able to tell how their texts were worded rudely or sarcastically when it wasn't intended to. Either you shut the fuck up or talk and behave civilly. It's so simple.

The problem I had with her ( anyway - if it weren't for her turning out to be a disgusting asshole ) was the lack of interactions, mainly from me. Both in reality and on the internet, I'm... not that great at socializing. So the fact her and I just drifted off to each other without saying any goodbyes or anything at all in the end doesn't really surprise me. Again, as I said earlier, people come and go, and I know with the friends I have today, they would all go, and I always tell every single one of them I love them because even if it hurts so much, I will never know when they would, so it's just best for me to remind them I love them. And I love them. And I want them to know even if them and I don't end up keeping in touch anymore, I love them so so much. I say this many times but I'm horrible at interacting and I never will. I'm not interesting as I don't get into many tv series, books, films, whatever. I get distracted easily, I don't have much time getting into them, and I'm so wary of the actors, actresses, writers, etc because nowadays, some of them would turn out to be completely way different as in disgusting and horrible than how they usually act towards their fans and such ( such as M.lanie M.rtinez and N.ck R.binson from Polygon who turned out to be garbage this year ). I shouldn't spend part of my life looking up to and even take my time and effort into making my content for what or who is actually full of shit. Fuck them. Even if I am into few things at least, I rarely talk to people about it unless they prompted me to, though eventually I don't continue it because I don't know how to. So if you talk to me, don't be surprised I don't often reply back when either I don't know how to continue the conversation or I'm overwhelmed at the thoughts of annoying you or whatever along the line. It’s very exhausting to talk to me, so really, I don't blame anyone even my close friends and partners who drifts away from me. But if you really want to be my friend, I advice you to keep talking to me, keep throwing topics at me, anything that would make it easy for you, even if I don't end up carrying it, just do it.

I think the absolute worse part of 2017 was when I believe on April when I got my journal book to do my journal stuff, I drew Casey as his favourite animal, and I drew a pin on him that said “I’m gay”. My mom saw, and she got extremely mad at me, telling me “being gay isn't something to be proud of,” and she kept shoving questions down in my throat if he was trans as she was also transphobic and I had to lie to her, replying that he's a new friend of mine while [ his dead name ] left the school. I apologized many times and thankfully I was forgiven, but I felt extremely shitty saying his dead name and to be honest, I still do. I should've done better but I just panicked and that was the first thing that came to mind. Then that was when my mom started to actually ignore me and for the first time she actually neglected me, she didn't give me my dinner as I have to get it myself, and she was mad at me for almost a week, which that's the longest time she was so at me. When I got my dinner after realizing she didn't give me any food, she asked me why as she thought I would stay in my room. At that time, I become completely careless and emotionless, just eating my food as she just ranted her toxic and abusive ass at me. Throughout the entire time while I was eating, she was trying to gaslight me and guilt-trip me. All I can remember her saying was how she knew one day I will leave her behind. That when I was born, she can already tell by the look of me that that I would end up leaving her behind and become a disgrace. That I would turn out to be horrible. I knew she was trying to make me feel guilty, but having a fear of turning out to be rude and violent already, that still didn't help me become more anxious and afraid of myself as just that small part of me feel like that would happen. That was when I tried to plan running away from home. At least live with Casey. But after a week of thinking about it, I realized how completely difficult and different my life would be if I did run away from home, and it's not that easy doing that like I see in movies, video games and whatnot, plus I can't just leave my two brothers behind, so I dropped the plans. Obviously, I deal with her every single day, so I shouldn't be bothered listing everything else that she did to me, but that was the absolute worse one I got from her in 2017.

2017 was definitely the year I've honestly dealt with a lot of intrusive and suicidal thoughts and had used self-deprecation humor so many times, more than I had in any other years, as I can only assume my depression was getting worse as months went by. Also my emotions? They are in no doubt messy and exhausting to deal with this year as people would see me happy then five minutes later I'm sad and is ready to embrace death then five minute later, here I am being happy again. I like to think that when I'm dealing with some dumb sad shit and/or dealing with something bad that happened to me it's easy for me to get out of them as long as I have something to distract me and keep me calm? I don't know, but I guess it's good knowing that I don't often get stuck into the mud for weeks at least. But yeah. Bless this mess.

Despite all of that, during the last August was when I got into Brooklyn Nine Nine and Sugar Pine 7, as September was when I got into Buzzfeed Unsolved. They were the very few best things that I had done in that year as I don't regret getting into them at all. They bring me so much joy and inspiration. Also the people in the community of Buzzfeed Unsolved who does graphic/video edits and artworks are the ones who actually pushed me into doing graphic edits as a hobby with a massive amount of inspiration. I made so many friends in that community and they all make me feel so loved and respected everyday as it's always a joy to see them on my dashboard. To know how it feels to be so alive and most importantly happy at the end of the year from September to December is a fucking blessing, and just, to the friends I made from few months ago through Buzzfeed Unsolved along with Casey, Cy, and Ella, thank you all so so much. 2017 could've been better to me, yes, but you guys making my 2017 at least a bit more brighter and kind to me in the end is what makes it all up for it, and I can't ever be grateful enough for it.

Thank you.

[respect-my-authoritah-imagines]

Hero (Kyle Broflovski/ Reader)

Striderfan : Can you please make a superhero kyle x superhero reader?

I have a plot:

The reader is a normal silly girl by day, but in night she's a superhero. Kyle is a normal guy with his friends, but at night he's the humankite who work with his superhero friends and the reader. The reader is in love with Kyle, but not with Humankite. But Kyle is in love with The reader in her superhero form, but not her normal self.

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"(Y/N), Wake up!"

As I was in the depths of my dreams I heard someone call me by my name, I raised my head from my desk and stared at the person who ruined my slumber, it was the teacher. "What was your dream, Miss (Y/N)?" he asked. I dream't about me falling asleep on a cloud, I guess I dream't about sleeping since I was too tired from last night.

"Miss (Y/N), why don't you share your dream with the class instead of keeping  it to yourself."

"I was having a dream about me being attacked by a monster but I guess I'm still dreaming." with my comment the whole class started laughing, I'm usually grumpy when I'm awoken from a nap. "Kenny, you're laughing too hard" I heard my seatmate talk to the guy who sat next to him. I sat down next to Kyle, the smartest guy in our class.

"(Y/N), principal's office now."

I got out of my seat and headed to the principal's office, I'm used to being there since I would usually get in trouble. The principal's office is where I made friends, the usual people that would get into trouble and be sent into the principal's office is Stan, Kenny, Cartman, Craig and Kyle.

When I got in the principal's office I sat down on a chair and waited for my turn, it seems like someone was talking to the principal. I rested my head on the wall next to me, I was still tired from saving the world yesterday. Just like the members of Coon and Friends, I try to make the town a better place along with keeping my identity a secret.

After a while of sleeping I heard the door open. "Oh! (Y/N), What are you in for today?" I looked up the man who just exited the principal's office, it was Stan. "I called the teacher a monster since she woke me up from my nap." I explained. "Nice, Well I have to go back to class now." Stan said as he walked to the door, about to leave. "Also let's hangout later." With those words he was gone from the room.

"(Y/N), your turn." The principal's secretary said to me. I got up from my seat and entered the principal's office. After a while I got out and went back to class. "Hey (Y/N), how was it?" My seatmate Kyle asked. "It was the same as always." I said as I sat down. "What did you guys do for class?" I might seem like a silly girl but I actually care about my grades.

"Well we have to submit a report on first three chapters of this book." Kyle showed the book that we had to do  a report on, I took the book from his hand but as I was trying to get it my hand accidentally touched his, I tried my best not to blush. Once I've gotten the book in my hands I skimmed through a few pages. "It doesn't look that bad." I checked the blurb of the book, it seemed interesting enough. I distracted myself from the thought of touching his hand.

"For once an assignment that looks interesting." Kyle commented about the book. "You should pick up your book from the teacher." He added. "Ah, you're right." I gave his book back. "See you later." I went to the teacher's lounge and picked up my book. On my way out of school I ran into Stan. "(Y/N), we were waiting for you."

"What are we going to do today?" I asked as I stuffed my book in my bag. "We could go to the park." Kyle suggested. "That's lame." Cartman as always would disagree with Kyle's suggestions. "Shut up, Cartman. Why won't you come up with a better idea." The one in the orange jacket suggested "The mall, stupid Jew."

"Oh yeah we haven't been to the mall in a while now, we could go there." Stan said, I looked over to Kyle since we were going with Cartman's suggestion. "That's actually a good idea, I need to get a new protractor." Kyle was okay with it. Since everyone agreed to go to the mall we headed there.

Cartman, Stan and Kenny were arguing about something while Kyle and I were walking next to each other. I'm not used to walking with just Kyle I would always over think and embarrass myself , I guess it's because I like him. "Kyle, do you want to work on the report together?" I asked but then realized it was going to be an individual paper. "I mean we should--" I didn't know what to say so I was going to make something up as I spoke.

"We should. How about tomorrow?" He suggested. "Yeah that's good." it would have been bad if he suggested doing it tonight, I had  somewhere to do later tonight. "So.. How are you Kyle?" I didn't know what to talk about but I wanted to talk with him some more as we were still far from  the mall. "I'm doing okay, (Y/N)."  with his answer I kept quiet for a while since I didn't know how to extend the conversation.

"How about you?"

"I'm doing okay." the silence came back as replied to his question. "Where do we do the paper?" I don't really know if my parents would allow me to have someone over tomorrow so it's better to know whether he would want it to be in his place. "We can do it in the library." that's kind of a long walk for my house. "Yeah that's okay." I couldn't disagree.

Within a few minutes we finally made it to the mall and we split up, Cartman was with Kenny, Kyle was going to purchase a protractor and I was walking around with Stan.

"Stan, let's go to the arcade."

"Oh! You want to get your ass kicked?"

"Say all you want I'm going to beat you."

"Then let's start things off with a race." as soon as he said race he began running to the arcade. "That's cheating!" I shouted as I tried beating him to the arcade. In the end I won "You're so fast" Stan said with his eyes glittering from amusement. "I wouldn't let you beat me."

We then walked around and looked for a game to play, we found a new shooting game and started off with that. After a few hours all of us met up again and grabbed a snack then went home.

9:30 PM

I just finished reading the first chapter of the book we were suppose to read and I was about to read the start of the second chapter, but then realized that I had to save some work for tomorrow and I had something to do. I got out my head out of the desk and made my way to my closet and changed into a costume no one has ever seen me wear before.

I changed into a black shirt, wore a gas mask, black pants, white sneakers and tied my hair into a ponytail. My suit isn't that creative but it had to do. During the day I would just be a silly student but at night I would be a hero.

Wearing my costume I opened the window, threw a bunch of blankets that I tied together. I've always used this technique to get out of the house without getting find out by my parents. I got out of my room through climbing down the blanket and after I got near the ground I released my clutches off the blanket and jumped down. I looked around and made my way through the street and ran until I made it the post office, I looked around the alleyway near the post office and kicked a metal bar which triggered a ladder to fall down from the roof. I would always use this to get to the top of the post office.

the rooftop of the post office is where I would watch over the town. I look around from the edge of the building as to view the different houses of other people as well as some of the public community. It was kinda boring watching over the time all alone, yeah there's some other heroes in South Park but they're all in the same alliance, I would like to join them but it's an "all boys" kind of thing.  "No point moping around." I tried to get out of my slump and decided to go around town, I got off the roof and patrolled the town through feet.

Usually at this time people would gather at the Coon's place. I continued walking on the sidewalk hoping to ran into some trouble, it would be fun to goof around since the town seemed a bit boring than usual. "(Hero's Name)" I heard someone call my name so I turned around as to see who called me, it turns out it was one of the people in the Coon and Friends' circle. "The Human Kite!".

"Are you doing your rounds?"

I would usually ran into the Human Kite as I was patrolling but I didn't expect to run into him this early. "Yeah, I actually just started doing my rounds." I explained, "Do you want me to join you?" The Human Kite would usually join me in patrolling the town, I don't know why he would do that when he could have just join his other superhero friends.  "Yeah, I'm okay with that." with my reply I then started patrolling once again but this time with The Human Kite.

"Hey (H/N)"

"What is it, Human Kite?" He would usually say start the conversation since I wouldn't know how to start one with him nor what to talk about. "Why won't you join the alliance?" He asked, "I don't really have a reason to join them besides isn't there a rule that says 'no girls allowed'"

"I guess you're right but it would be really cool if we could hang out some more, (H/N)" I chuckled at his comment. "Human Kite, I'm flattered but we both know that if I were really that interesting The Coon would have already recruited me a long time ago." I replied. "You know The Coon is a dumb ass. If you talk to everyone else in the circle maybe they would ask you to join." The Human Kite is really nice.

"I hope there's not much trouble tonight." I said then a sigh followed. "What's wrong, (H/N). Do you have something to do ?" The Human Kite asked. "I have to do something for my class." I felt like I wasn't giving enough effort for my school work, I'm usually happy when it came to patrolling but the fact that I'll have to do school work with Kyle tomorrow made me anxious, I wanted him to praise me for doing well so I wanted to have ahead start.

"I also have some stuff to do for school but I wanted to help a friend out so I haven't done anything yet." It seemed that he was that nice of person to help someone out. "That's so nice of you, Human Kite." I said as we continued to patrol the town. "Though I really wish I had time to do some advance reading so that I can help her out some more tomorrow."

I don't know why but The Human Kite reminds me of Kyle, he's as nice and as smart as Kyle. "Stop." The Human Kite suddenly grabbed my hand as I was about to bumped into a street light, I was too focused in the conversation and I was also worried about to tomorrow so I wasn't paying that much attention to my surroundings.

"Thanks, Human Kite."

"That was a close one." The Human Kite definitely cares. "Hey  Human Kite" I heard someone call out The Human Kite from the distance. "Who was that" The voice wasn't something I was familiar with. "What is it, Toolshed?", The figure who called out The Human Kite was no other then his best friend, The Toolshed.  Toolshed got closer to us then sighed. "there's nothing happening today." He sighed. "We should still patrol the town" Human Kite suggested. "Oh! Who's this" Toolshed looked over to me "Hey, (H/N). I'm surprised that you guys are together."  

"Yeah, we sorta bumped into each other."

Stan then grinned as I said that. "Ohhh! I see what's going on."

"Yeah, Human Kite has a crush on (H/N)" The Coon from behind shouted. I blushed in surprised. "Shut up, Fatass!" I couldn't figure out what face he was making right now. "You weren't suppose to say that, Stupid!" ToolShed punched The Coon.

"You have a crush on me, HumanKite?" I was surprised about this I couldn't help but to question him.

"Yeah, HumanKite do you?" The Coon asked as he was trying escape Toolshed's clutches. "Yeah I do." I didn't think he was serious. I didn't know what to do with that answer, I think he's a great guy but "I like you HumanKite but I already have someone I like--" Those words left my mouth, I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to say next but I manage to find the word and courage to do so"romantically."

That's right! I like Kyle. "I'm sorry, HumanKite." I apologized

"Ohhhh! You get rejected" the Coon mocked the HumanKite.

"Cartman, you dumbass" ToolShed went out of character and hit the coon.

"Cartman? I'm the Coon" While the two were getting a fight. I looked at the HumanKite, he looked sad. "I'm sorry. I just don't like you romantically. I have someone at my school who I really like though I'm fully aware that he doesn't have eyes for me." Kyle has never shown romantic interest towards me.

The HumanKite smiled and patted my head. "He's an idiot for not liking you. You're nice, smart , caring and pretty cute." I didn't expect him to bombard me with compliments, this caused my cheeks to turn red. "Guys! We need your help hurry up!" Mysterion called from the other side of the road. The Coon and Toolshed ran to him. "HumanKite, we need your help the most!" as soon as Mysterion added that my phone started making a strange beeping sound, this was the sound my phone made whenever my parents' show were about to end and they would go to my room to check up on me. "You're cute when you blush, I'll see you next time." The HumanKite said as he made his way to the Coon. I ran back home before my parents could realized that I snuck out.

The following day was the day that Kyle and I were suppose to go to library to do the report.  I got dressed then headed out to the library, when I was walking home I came to the realization that I'm not bothered by The HumanKite's confession. I feel bad for rejecting the HumanKite, but I know that giving him false hope would be even worse.

"(Y/N)!" Someone called

"Kyle!" I waved at him as ran closer to him. "Good morning" I added. I looked at Kyle as soon I was next to him. "You look really tired, Kyle."  He looked like he hadn't gotten enough sleep though it could be because he cried. "Did you watch a sad movie? You look like someone who spent the whole night crying."

"Yeah something like that" He sighed then looked at me with a such a sad face. "Do I look that sad?" He asked. "Yeah you do." I was starting to get concerned about him. "Do you want to eat before going to library?" Maybe eating some food can distract him from being sad. "I already ate, but if you haven't sure we can."

"I ate before coming here as well." my attempts to bring him out to cheer up failed. "Don't worry, I'm over it." Kyle knew that I was trying to cheer him up by planning on bringing him out. "Thanks for wanting to help, (Y/N)" He patted my head, his hand on head made me blush. "How about you, (Y/N). Are you okay? It looks like you have a fever." He noticed my cheeks turning red, I panicked and reached for his hand on my head and removed it, still holding on to it I looked at him with my arm blocking my face. "No!" Kyle looked surprised when he heard me scream.

"I'm sorry" He said in surprise. I realized what I have done in impulse and said "No, It's my fault I overacted."

"It's okay don't worry. I kind of did something out of character so I understand why you were surprised."

I felt like I made him sad, I stopped hiding my face with my arm and looked at him. "No! not at all I'm just being weird." I was still embarrassed, but I didn't want him to think that I feel uncomfortable being touched by him. "I really like when you show affection."  Kyle's cheeks starts to turn red, I was confused why it suddenly turned red. "Wait!" I screamed in my head, I just realized what made him blush.  "What I mean't was I like you"

"What?"

"I.."

"What the fuck did I just say" I thought to myself "I can't tell him that I don't" I looked at him, he was blushing I was probably blushing as well. I decided to just go get my feelings finally out of my chest. "Kyle, I like you." It took a while, but I finally confessed my feelings.

"Thank you, (Y/N)" Kyle chuckled, I confessed at such an odd time of course it was funny to him. "Let's head to the library." He said as he started walking, leaving me confused. "Kyle?" I called him. He stops and without turning to face me he said "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I already have someone I like." and like that I got rejected.

I felt like crying, but we had a report to finish. I followed Kyle to library, I was walking behind him as we made our way to our destination. Eventually we got to the library. The day went somewhat smoothly Kyle and I didn't mention what happened earlier, we didn't let it bother us.

When we had finished our report, we left the library. Kyle finished his report first yet he still waited for me. On the way home I decided to finally bring my confession up. "Kyle, can you look at me for a bit." He was still walking in front of me just like earlier on our way to the library. When words left my mouth, he turned and placed his attention on me.  "I'm sorry about earlier." I apologized, my cheeks turned red as I remember how I confessed. "Please forget about my confession." I didn't want things to be awkward between us. Kyle stared at me for a bit, it seemed that he didn't know what to say. "See you tomorrow." I said as I ran away from him, I made my home wanting to cry.

The following weeks I would go to school same as usual, I would get myself in trouble and do well in my tests the only thing that has changed was that I've been ignoring Kyle. I told him that I didn't want things to be awkward yet here I am making things worse, I didn't want things to be this way. I know that there's nothing I can do to fix our relationship. We can no longer become the friends we were before.

I was on my way to the music class when I bumped into Kyle, who had just exited the classroom next to me. "Kyle" It's been so long since I've seen him this close. "Hey, (Y/N)" He greeted me with a smile. I was surprised that he didn't look at me with disgust. "I have to go to class." I didn't want to stay until he does look at me in disgust. "Wait" He said as he held my hand.

He stared at me as he held my hand, I didn't know how to respond my cheeks were red once more. "Kyle, this is embarrassing." people were looking at us. "I was right." I raised my head to get a closer look at him, I don't understand where he was getting at. "Excuse me?"

"When you blush you remind of her."

It was sad enough that I was rejected now he's comparing me to other girls. "(Y/N), you're (H/N)" He said to me. I looked at him with my eyebrow raised. "N-" before I could answered he stopped me by putting his index finger against my lips. "When you were ignoring me I had some time to think. To be honest you were all that I was thinking about this past few days, I never gave you a proper reply, I just told you I liked someone, I never told you how I felt about you." He removed his finger from my lips. "I didn't really think about our relationship nor saw you romantically, but when  you started ignoring me I tried digging deep inside my mind on what I felt about you."

"Kyle-" I wanted him to take a deep breath, it seemed like he was having a hard time talking. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I just didn't expect to see you this early. Anyways I realized that the reason why I liked (H/N) was because she reminded me of you."

"Why didn't you fall for me first?" I couldn't help but to question him.

"We've been friends longer than I can remember, so I was scared of making it weird by confessing. I fell for (H/N) because I only knew her for a few months and I knew that our friendship was something I treasured even more than hers."

I kept quiet, I didn't know what to say. "What I'm saying is I love you, (Y/N)" my eyes widen from the shock. "I'm sorry for making you feel like shit. I didn't want to give you some half-ass answer when you confessed to me."

"I tried forgetting the feelings I had for you, Kyle." I admitted to him "Though I couldn't. I guess I just really love you."

Kyle held my hand gently and asked "Would you like to go out with me sometimes."

I smiled at him and replied "I guess we do have to make up for the times we didn't see each other these past few days."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes"

extra . Kyle's realization  

Kyle was at the library, it has been 2 days since he last had a proper conversation with (Y/N). He had been rewinding hey confession in his head multiple times, for some reason he thought about (Y/N) more than the memory of being rejected. "I think about (Y/N) than being rejected by the girl I like) he thought to himself, as soon as he said that the image of (H/N) came into his head and he realized something, (Y/N) and (H/N) look alike.

extra . Hero

Kyle and I were hanging out at the mall when we passed by a movie poster, it had a bunch of super heroes in it. "Kyle wait." I stopped walking as the poster made me realize something. "How do you know (H/N)?" I asked "I was rejected by her"

"..."

"..."

"That means I rejected you!?" I practically shouted at Kyle in public "Pretty much. I guess you really liked me since you rejected the best hero in all of Coon and Friends" He joked, I smiled at him and hugged his arm. "Kyle, you're such a dork."  

[spectrumscribe]

Friends don’t care about their friends’ teeth issues.

a quick drabble for my friend @sassatello for their super awesome 2003 TMNT Constellation AU, which you should all go check out because it is neat and adorable.

I hyper focused a little on Donatello’s teeth, and this was born from that hyper focus. Just a nice thing for some hurt/comfort, and budding friendship.

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Don liked a lot of things about himself.

He liked his brain, and he liked his skin, how the stars and constellations on it would glow and spiral. He liked his voice and he liked his height. He liked his personality, and considered it to be a pretty good one.

He didn’t like his teeth so much.

Hardly at all.

His tongue and teeth, the length and sharpness of them- he disliked them quite a lot.

Don tended to keep his mouth closed, on the days he felt most conscious of them. He was thankful that his skin was so dark, that no one could see his mouth at all when he shut it.

He still smiled, mostly. There wasn’t anyone but his brothers to see his teeth, and at this point, there was nothing to hide from one another. They’d been alive and together so long, what purpose was there to hiding any part of himself from them?

Then April had come, and things had gotten a bit more difficult.

As they’d all met her, one by one, it’d been hard not to like her.

April was bright and hardworking and like a breath of fresh air, after decades and decades of it just being Don and his brothers.

April smiled at Don every time she visited. Don couldn’t smile back.

He mumbled, and waved, and did his best to communicate how happy he was to see her each time, without opening his mouth all the way.

He would’ve loved to have long conversations with her- because really, good conversation partners were so hard to come by in his situation- but he had to settle for short responses and short questions and just- short everything. To keep his teeth hidden.

He wasn’t sure how April would react. He didn’t want to chase off his and his brothers’ first chance at a friend in so long. Not because of his stupid, stupid teeth.

He’d shown them to humans before, by accident, on purpose, and…

Well. Don couldn’t say any of them had taken the reveal kindly.

April was comfortable with them being what they were, but how comfortable would she be if she saw what Don hid behind his lips? She’d seen Raph’s, but Raph’s were so much smaller than Don’s. Oddly large eye-teeth, but nothing too abnormal.

Don’s had looked like that, back before they’d been transformed. He missed that part of being mortal.

He didn’t want to risk it, so he kept his mouth shut. Even when he wanted to laugh out loud like his brothers and friend were, or give April an encouraging smile when she asked them questions about their history and lives, he kept his mouth shut.

His brothers didn’t comment. Maybe because they didn’t notice, maybe because they were giving him space to figure things out himself. Either way, Don appreciated they didn’t ask him why he kept so quiet around April.

He continued doing so, keeping his teeth secret and his smile hidden. Every evening April came around, so carefully, so very carefully, hiding a part of himself from her.

Until-

-she saw.

A dumb mistake. He was hundreds and hundreds of years old, he should have known better, and he should have been more careful.

She still saw, though.

April had been bringing them snacks, soon after she’d started visiting. Fresh produce, straight from markets Don and his brothers couldn’t enter without causing a panic. She brought vegetables and fruits they wouldn’t steal from the groves of hardworking people, and sweet man-made treats from further into civilization that they’d never even tasted before.

Sometimes there were still some leftover, after she’d delivered them. Sometimes they didn’t eat all the treats right away, and there would still be some the next time she came around.

Don liked the apples she’d bring, the crunchiness of the fruit and how sweet its insides would taste.

He and Raph had been killing time together, lounging comfortably in one of the many rooms of their ruins. They’d been talking, and Don had lost track of time as they did, because debates on anything he liked always did that to him, and-

-he’d taken out the apple he’d saved, snagged straight from the bin they kept all the perishables in, and he’d opened his mouth without hesitation. Fangs- which they were, no way around it- out in plain sight as he bit into the apple.

He’d swallowed, still half distracted by Raph and their debate, and he’d opened his mouth again to take another bite, long tongue darting out to catch sweet juices dripping off the fruit-

When light had shone over him, exposing him and his teeth, and someone had let out a startled gasp.

Don’s grip on his apple slipped as he startled, as he whipped his head around to look for the source of sound.

April, standing in the doorway of the room, flashlight in hand to pierce the darkness of their home. She was staring at him, lips parted.

Don’s apple hit the stone floor with a dull thunk. His mouth was frozen open, horror and shock keeping him still.

April, with her light still shone on Don, inhaled to say something, her eyes wide and visible even with the flashlight obscuring most of her expression, and-

-Don bolted before she could say anything.

She’d seen, she’d seen, she’d seen-

He dissipated his form, turning into a rolling cloud of black and stars, and escaped around his friend. As a cloud, formless and light, he skimmed along the ceilings of the ruins. Running, fleeing, hiding from someone who’d seen something of him he hadn’t wanted her to see-

-she saw him, she saw his teeth and his secret he’d so carefully kept-

Don flew through the ruins, spreading himself out and whirling through the ancient halls. He kept going, deeper and deeper, until he came to an atrium.

No light. No windows. Just a few locked doors, including the one he shoved shut with his telekinesis.

Alone, Don filled the ceiling, and let his formless body turn into a small storm. Purple star constellations breaking and forming all over, shifting rapidly as Don’s feelings were.

Don couldn’t quite speak like this. He didn’t have a mouth either.

He didn’t have his teeth. His stupid, stupid, horrible teeth-

Don made a shuddering sound, coming from every part of him, and the dust clinging to the walls fell.

He should have been more careful.

She’d seen, April had seen, and he had no idea what to do.

    Raph hadn’t had time to react before Don ran- or something, whatever you called escaping via smoke form- and he got stuck with the explanation of things to their very confused human friend.

“Did I startle him?” April asked, turning off her flashlight as she did. “I-I was just coming to find you guys, because you weren’t waiting outside like you usually are, and Mikey said you two were in this wing of the ruins-” She shook her head, cutting herself off. “Sorry. I’m rambling. I didn’t mean to scare Don like that. Um. Could you tell me why I did though…? And… the teeth?””

Raph sighed, and crossed his arms. This had been a while coming, but he’d hoped it would go better. For Don’s sake. Raph and their other brothers had been hoping Don would do this by choice, and not…

“Yeah, he’s… kind of really touchy about them,” Raph said slowly, choosing his words carefully as he did. This was Don’s to explain, not his. He’d leave the bulk of thing to his brother, whenever Raph coaxed him back out of his metaphorical and physical shell. “They’re not something he really likes to talk about. S’why he didn’t show them up till now.”

“Oh jeeze, I’m really sorry then. That was a complete invasion of his privacy.”

Raph waved off April’s apologies. “You didn’t know you’d be walking in like that, and he should’ve told you sooner. He’s been puttin’ it off for too long. We were just hopin’ he’d do this by choice is all.”

April seemed upset still. “I’m still sorry. Do think I could, um, talk to him? I know he’s a bit quiet, but I’d just… I feel like I should tell him I really don’t mind? They’re actually kind of neat.”

“Don’s less quiet than you think. Kind of a motor mouth when you really get him going on stuff.”

“But he hasn’t been around me, because… of the teeth?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, Don.”

“Yep. I’ll sort him out. Just head back outside, we’ll join you guys whenever I drag his sorry shell out to talk.”

“You sure?”

“Don’t worry. I got this.”

“Tell him I’m sorry for this, I really didn’t mean to. If he needed more time…”

“We’ve had a couple hundred years plus. Time is the last thing we need more of.”

April gave him one last apologetic and worried look, and then left. Alone in the room, Raph sighed. This was a mess, and more stress than they’d had to deal with in a good while.

Change was nice, but less so when it was at the cost of someone’s emotional wellbeing. They had a hard enough time with that as it was.

Raph took his time making his way through their ruins, giving Don ample time to collect himself. If Raph tried to confront him right away, it would just be a lot of incoherent anxiety on Don’s end, and frustration on Raph’s.

Raph followed the disturbances in the dust, sweeping drag marks along the ceiling where Don had been. It wasn’t hard to find his brother, he just had to keep going until the tracks stopped, and there Don was.

Pushing the door open with a grunt, Raph entered the room his brother had hidden himself inside.

Still a swirling ink cloud, his constellation patterns the only source of light in the room. Don resembled closely a bunch of black and purple glow paint dropped into water and stirred around. Raph’s brother had spread across the whole of the atrium ceiling, and created an indoor night sky.

A crackle of purple electricity went through the cloud, showing that Don was still anxious. Raph didn’t react as the miniature lightning strikes flashed. He’d seen it all before.

“Are you done freaking out yet?” Raph asked, crossing his arms and craning his neck upwards.

Don’s reply was mostly wordless, shuddering through the air, and caused another discharge of dust from the ceiling.

“Could you at least calm down enough to talk?”

Don’s smoke roiled over the ceiling, stars spinning wildly as he did. His voice came from every direction as he spoke. She SAW, Raph, she saw them she saw me.

“Yeah, and she was fine with it, which you would have known if you stuck around to listen,” Raph said. Don’s swirling form slowed from maelstrom to drifting smoke, and there was an audible pause as he processed what Raph had said.

…really?

“Yes really. Get off the ceiling and we can talk about that.”

...not yet?

“Don.”

Fine…

Raph made himself comfortable, sitting down to lean against the stone wall. It took a moment, but Don slowly drifted down from the ceiling to collect around Raph. The black smoke settled quietly, no longer rushing with anxious emotions. Now it was just Don calming down, with just the tiniest, mostly harmless crackles of electricity.

“You gonna to change back, or no.”

No… I’d rather not, Don’s smoky self replied, his voice disembodied as he spoke. Another pause, and then he asked, Did she really not mind?

“Nah. Mostly, she’s worried about spookin’ you off like she did,” Raph said. He watched a few of Don’s stars drift by him, the soft purple lights subdued now that his brother was calming down. Raph’s own red glow was gentle, matching his mood. “She was just coming to find us, since we lost track of time again.”

…I’m so embarrassed, Don confessed, a ripple of agitation going through his smoke. I… I was just so worried, and then I panicked, and… ugh. I didn’t want this to go like it did.

“Don’t you mean you didn’t want it to happen at all?” Raph said pointedly.

…shut up.

“You were avoiding it, and this was going to happen sooner or later. Don’t try to tell me you haven’t been just burnin’ with questions every time April rolls by.”

I… yes, but I just…

Don’s sigh wasn’t physical, but it was certainly audible. His constellations swirled around as he released the heavy sound, and they all collected beside Raph. The rest of Don’s smoke followed, and it condensed back into Raph’s brother.

Don now sat beside Raph, knees to his chest and his arms around his knees. He sighed again, and dropped his head onto Raph’s shoulder.

“I didn’t want to deal with this at all, okay?” He said quietly. “There. I said it. I was procrastinating and now you can all call me on it.”

“You were scared,” Raph said without aim to poke fun. Not right now. Later, when things weren’t so raw. “You were nervous about scarin’ April off in turn, and tried to hide from it.”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“No apologies necessary, Don. You weren’t doin’ anything wrong. You’re entitled to your privacy.”

“It’s stupid though,” Don mumbled, a tightness in his voice. Self-incriminating. “I should be over it by now.”

“Hey.” Raph reached up and flicked Don’s forehead, making his brother grumble. “Don’t do that. Spiralling into self-pity is what’s stupid.”

“But…”

“No buts. Think positive or something.”

“You sound like Mikey.”

“God I hope not.”

That got a huff of laughter out of Don, and Raph smiled. He bared his own, smaller, canine like teeth in a smile. A reminder to his brother that Don’s weren’t so special. “You ready to go back? I’m sure you two have a lot of questions to ask.”

Don made a “mgh” sound. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“If it helps any, Mike’ll probably be there the whole time, same as me.”

“Where’s Leo?”

“Who knows. Probably doing yoga somewhere on the roof again.”

“Ha, he hates it when you call it yoga.”

“I call things like I see them.”

Another huff of laughter, and Don moved away from Raph. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s do this before I chicken out again.”

“Last I checked, you were a turtle,” Raph said cheekily. He got off the ground, dusting away the… dust, from his legs as he did.

“Shut up,” Don replied, a hint of grin showing on the darkness of his skin. Teeth showing, that was a good sign then.

Raph shoved Don’s shoulder, and then grabbed it again to pull his brother into a one armed hug. “C’mon, you can do this fine. April’s cool. She’ll think they’re great.”

Don made a disbelieving sound, and Raph tightened his arm on Don’s shoulders.

“You’ll see, just you wait.”

    April was waiting for them, just Raph had said she’d be. Dressed in sensible clothes for hiking, and her hair done up in a messy braid. She and Mikey were talking- or Mikey was talking, and April was trying to get an amused word in edgewise.

As Don approached her, she smiled the same way she had since they’d all met and started to befriend each other. Open, welcoming, not in the least bit put off by who and what they were.

That gave Don the confidence to talk, even though he would’ve liked to have gone back to being a formless smoke cloud.

She listened patiently, and let him take his time.

Don clasped his hands nervously, and spoke despite his tight throat. “I didn’t mean to, um, run away like that. Or I did, but I feel bad about it, and… I panicked, and didn’t give you any time to explain yourself. Um. Sorry for that. I guess even I act before I think things through sometimes.”

April shook her head. “No, I invaded your privacy, even if I didn’t mean to. The turning into a black cloud thing was a bit surprising, but I’ve already seen Mikey do that at least twenty times, so… even with that happening? It wasn’t much of a shock. Why don’t we call it even, and both apologize? Since we both seem to think the other did nothing wrong, and put the blame on ourselves.”

Don gave a tiny smile, with just a little of his teeth showing. “That sounds good to me. I apologize, then.”

“I apologize too,” April echoed. Her then eyes drifted to Don’s small smile, and she carefully asked, “Are you willing to explain them? If it’s not too stressful for you. I mean, I’ve seen Raph’s pointy eye-teeth plenty, but yours…”

“No, no I owe you at least a brief explanation. Or, I’d like to give you one. You’re our friend, and you’ve shared a lot of yourself already. It’s my turn.”

“Only if you’re comfortable with it,” April cautioned.

Don nodded. “I know. I think I am now. Thank you for that.”

“I didn’t do anything particularly special, but okay,” April said. She gestured for Don to start if he wanted to. Don took a breath, and started to.

“They used to be smaller,” Don explained, showing the tips of his long teeth. “Um. A lot smaller. Then they got larger, after we ascended. If that’s the term for what we did.”

April looked at Don’s teeth closely. Not with reluctance or nervousness, but curiosity. It made Don brave enough to smile a bit for her. She smiled back. “I only have one question though. How does your mouth fit them, exactly? They’re too large for your jaw line to physically close with.”

“Now see, I’ve been trying to figure that out for centuries,” Don said, a swell of excitement growing in him. “My best theory is that since I’m not mortal, and have basically transcended into godhood, physics don’t apply quite practically my physical being anymore. It would make the best sense, since we developed so many other powers.”

“So it could be like Schrödinger’s cat? They don’t exist if your mouth isn’t open?”

“Possibly, yes!”

“Oh no, they’re bonding,” Raph said dryly from his seat on the amphitheatre stairs with Mikey. “Mike, we should run while we can. I feel like Don and April are going to get chatty real quick here.”

Mikey put his hands on the sides of his head, grimacing. “Yikes, I don’t think I can take two Donnie’s. My head already hurts just thinking about it.”

“Your head hurts if you think period.”

“Wow, rude, Raph. I think plenty without it hurting.”

“Not before you speak you don’t.”

Mikey scoffed, and shoved Raph’s shoulder. Raph shoved back, and the two of them devolved into a wrestling contest on the crumbling stairs.

April laughed, shaking her head at Don’s siblings. “I guess we’ll have to leave the theoretical sciences for later.”

“I guess so,” Don agreed, also shaking his head at his brothers. He smiled though, because they’d kept quiet the whole time up to this point, and been solid presences that gave him support. “Could we talk about some other things too? I have some questions about what the field of archeology looks like at the moment. I haven’t had time to brush up that area of sciences in a few decades. And how much do you know about biology? Or mathematics? I dropped those too, and I haven’t been able to catch up in a while. Humanity moves almost too fast even for me to keep track of it all-”

“See what I told you? Motor mouth.” Raph said pointedly to April, multitasking his attention as he held Mikey in a headlock.

April laughed again, and Don felt like he’d missed something.

“Just a little bit,” April chuckled, giving Don a quick grin.

Don hesitated only for a split second, before giving one back. Complete with teeth.

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

NOTE: I was eating garlic bread while writing this first scene. Truefans will know.

Scott and Ramona made good on their offer to help me clean up Super Simon's super-mess. Unfortunately, they only stuck around long enough to do that because they had to move on to find the next piece of the Gideonflux. Or the next Gideonflux? I wasn't clear on whether or not that was the name of each thingy or the whole of them once collected. Either way, we hugged and said our goodbyes once the slime was gone.

"Look me up sometime," Ramona whispered into my ear as we hugged. "If you're ever on Alpha Centauri, or in the States. I tend to hang out there mostly."

"Probably not happening. I've had enough excitement for a while."

"Totally understandable." Then she moved on to hug Knives while I turned to Scott.

"So… um, do you still play?"

He shrugged and gave a quiet laugh. "We both know I suck. And not just at the bass guitar." It was quiet for a moment. "I was expecting you to say 'yeah, you do, Scott'."

"Mm. Just didn't feel like saying it. You helped me clean up in here, and were pretty cool about me coming out just now. Helps a lot."

"Did you come out? Oh… yeah, I guess so. I mean, maybe living with Wallace kind of did that thing."

"That thing?"

"You know, the thing where you aren't surprised by certain kinds of stuff anymore."

"Desensitised you?"

"That's it."

Nodding a little, I glanced over at where Ramona and Knives were chattering away like old friends, even though they had once been bitter rivals for Scott's affections. "Shit changes. Easier to just roll with it."

"Kind of my motto lately, too," he admitted with a little chuckle. Then he frowned. "Kim?"

"Yes?"

"The bald look sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

"Right. I dunno, I got a little of it chopped off with a buzz saw from a sub-boss, and I kept trying to even it out, and Ramona walked in to see I already completely shaved it off. So I've been trying to rock it, but… yeah, she agrees with you. I'll grow it back out."

"You'll survive the stubbly stage," I snorted. "Anyway… uh, take it easy, Pilgrim."

"You too, Princess Pine."

"Shut the fuck up and go."

Once they got back to the subspace pipe in the ceiling, they waved over their shoulders, and Knives and I waved back. Then Ramona took his hand and they jumped upward into the pipe and out of our lives forever. Or, y'know… for a long time, anyway. The pipe was gone, too; just vanished into the mystic.

After staring after them for a long moment, Knives turned to beam up at me. "You're in loooove with me, huh?"

"You can shut the fuck up and go, too," I grumbled, which didn't affect her in the slightest. She only leaned up and kissed my cheek, which made me roll my eyes but I still couldn't help the little smile on my face. "Bleh. Should we try to do any more repairs in here? Or what?"

"Dunno. But you look really cute in that dress. Kinda distracting."

"Huh?" Glancing down, I saw that the 'princess dress' my other self had been wearing was still on me. "Oh, great. I look like a bridal reject."

"You look beautiful. Like… honestly, when we get back, I really want to see you in stuff like this more often. But only if you want to!" she added as her smile vanished, worried I would be mad. But I wasn't; just surprised.

"Really? You like me all girled up? I figured it would help if I was the more 'butch' of the two of us. Like… I know you act like it isn't important, but it is. To both of us. You're my girlfriend, and everyone else is gonna see you that way."

A little shrug of one shoulder tried to say that she didn't mind, but her smile gave away how pleased she was that I had thought about that. "Nah. I like who I am and how I look; pretty confident in that. But I would probably dress extra girly if you were extra girly, so we could be lipstick lesbians together."

"Aww," I said with a little snort, and we both giggled. "Is it weird that I find that idea cute? It's cute, right?"

"Totally cute! And we can be super butch one day, and all the days between we can just… be us."

"Yeah," I whispered as I picked up my spear and we headed for the entrance. Almost more to myself than to her. "Us."

                                                ~ o ~

To summarise, I walked her all the way back to the Belly Button Portal and let her get sucked back up and out. Then I was kind of by myself and not sure of what to do. This was different from the dream-slash-flashback; now I was just kinda hanging out in my own stomach. How did I get myself into these messes?

But then I felt myself being called upward. It was kind of rude, my feet were sucked into the air first and I had to hold my dress down to keep it from falling up around my head — even though there was nobody around to see my underwear anyway. Then I was leaving my inner plane behind…

When I 'woke up' an instant later, I was lying on the sofa in the same curled-up position that I was in when I turned to stone. Everybody was gathered around who had been there when I was smacked with the glove, though a couple of them were seated or in different positions. Steph had changed into a different shirt at some point. Wallace was taking off a blue fingerless glove and tossing it casually on the coffee table, as if he did this kind of thing every day. When she noticed my eyes were open, Knives grinned at me and helped me sit up.

"Hey," she said in a gentle voice.

"How do you feel?" Stephen asked, brow furrowed as he felt my forehead. "Like, feverish or anything?"

"I'm fine, you jerk," I sighed as I slapped his hand away. "And that's for smacking me while I was a statue."

Clearly anxious, Steph crouched down next to me. "You okay? I mean… seriously, are you?"

"Yeah. Just really… man, that was weird. But I'm gonna be just fine now. Promise." My eyes found those of my girlfriend, my 'prince' and my ninja saviour, and drew her in close to me. "Pleased as punch."

The minute our lips met, in front of God and everybody, Wallace let out a long sigh. "Well, this is my cue to exit. Glad to lend my chi and expertise but I'm not much for girl-on-girl. Or girl-on-anything."

"Thanks for the boosts," Knives giggled as she turned back, though she was still half-lying on top of me. I didn't mind at all. "Helped with the sub-boss and final boss a lot. You wanna hang out sometime?"

"Why? You know any more boys with glasses?" Then he let out a tsk of mild annoyance. "Oh yeah, crap… steady boyfriend. I'm off the market; looking, no touching. Which reminds me that Goodhandy's awaits, so-"

"I meant to just like, chill and have fun together? Unless you don't wanna… it's fine."

"We're hanging out," I told Wallace in a stern, no-arguments-allowed tone. I could tell Knives was already doubting herself from his spurning of the offer, and that wasn't allowed.

"Fine, so we'll hang out," he grumbled with a roll of his eyes as he got to the front door. "Anywhere with a liquor licence. Goodnight, kids." And with that, he shuffled out.

"Yeah, I should go, too," Stephen said as he stood. "But seriously, I'm really glad you're okay, Kim. We should, uh, jam together sometime; I know we have a regular drummer but you're every bit as good-"

"Don't stroke my ego, Stills. But… yeah, could be fun."

Knives giggled as she hugged me a little before jumping to her feet excitedly. "Maybe we could get Sex Bob-omb back together! I mean, we just saw Scott, and the rest of the band's right here! Even Neil!"

"U-uh, yeah," Neil said, glancing nervously at Knives. I could tell he still felt really awkward about how things ended. Good. Fucking needed to own up to what he did.

In fact, I decided that needed to happen right away. Without another word, I hooked a hand around his upper arm and started dragging him to the kitchen. "Thanks for hauling me back here," I said as we entered.

"Sure, yeah. I couldn't just leave you out-"

"Okay, listen," I hissed once we were around the corner. "You're a nice kid, salt of the earth, blah blah blah. But I think you owe Knives an apology for how you ended things."

Caught off guard, he cleared his throat and looked away. "W-why? You're with her now, and like… that works out. For you two, I mean."

"If you're talking about her junk, that's not important to me. Maybe it'll 'work out', maybe not. But you kind of made her feel like crap about that. I know it's not the only reason you broke up, but it's part of it and you should maybe own up to how shitty you handled things."

"Oh. Well…" Swallowing hard, he looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I was really, uh, surprised. But I still thought she was great! Just, like… I couldn't handle it. Made me feel really uncomfortable, and like…" His voice got quieter, and I could tell this wasn't the easiest thing in the world for him. Especially Neil, who wasn't used to talking a lot. "I didn't want to hurt her any worse so I broke it off and tried to, uh, let her down easy. Besides, I knew she was still into Scott, and kind of crushing on Stephen. I was just kinda… there."

"What did you say? I mean, the way you 'let her down easy' is just as important as the fact that you tried. Which yeah, I guess is pretty decent."

"Just that, um, I didn't think I could handle it if we ever went past kissing. But that I hoped she found a guy who's less, uh… weird about that. I dunno, she's just really special, and I felt dumb for being hung up on… on pants stuff."

Even though 'pants stuff' was a ridiculous and hilarious way to phrase it, I couldn't help sympathising. Maybe I got over it where Neil couldn't, but we both had that moment of surprise, and the discomfort right after. But the average dude tends to have that latent homophobia thing going on, that even if they kind of grow and learn they still feel weird about anything intimate involving another guy. Or in this case, another person who happens to have a dick. Guess it wasn't fair to punish Neil too much for being average.

"Alright, I get you. But you should still apologise. Not in public, but like… I think she'd really feel better if you just said something. Knives is definitely special, and very sensitive, and deserves the best." After a brief pause, I added, "Maybe I'm a little biased, but you know I'm right."

Nodding, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. Just wasn't something I could handle when she told me, but like… it's not about who she is. At all! Because she's awesome. I'm really glad you two are like, so close now."

"Dating. You can say we're dating."

"Yeah, that. Girlfriends or whatever. It's cool."

Rolling my eyes, I went back into the living room. I guess "it's cool" was the best I could expect and it was a positive sign. I saw Knives look up, then past my shoulder at Neil, and then she patted me on the hip and smiled at me as she walked past; I guess he planned to do it literally right away.

"Wow," Steph sighed as she slumped down on the couch. I hit it with her, and Stephen on my other side.

"Yeah. Wow."

"What was it like in there? I mean… you kind of act like you could tell. That whole glove thing."

"You at least knew what we were doing when you were a statue," Stephen said in a grumbling voice.

"Yeah. Uh… the statue thing was more annoying than anything, but I'd already been through something like that with the glove before. The rest…"

Where the fuck do you even start with a story like this?

                                                ~ o ~

About two hours later, Knives and I excused ourselves from the Nordegraf ancestral home and went back toward my place. It was pretty late — well actually, early. The thing took all night. Felt pretty bad for all our friends, but at least it made sense of why Steph had changed her shirt. Both of us called off work as we walked, knowing we had been through way too much crap to bother with focusing on annoying customers for one day.

"Can't believe I have this whole other plane of existence in my ribcage," I muttered as we walked. "There's a John Mayer joke in there somewhere."

"What?" Knives laughed. I didn't bother to explain, and she didn't bother to ask again. "Anyway, I'm just glad we did it. You were stone for so long…"

"Yeah. Well, I guess that won't be happening anymore."

"Really? So… you think taking care of Super Simon fixed it?"

With a long sigh, I stared up at the sky as we walked. Putting one thought in front of the other. "He wasn't the real problem. It was me. Gideon took advantage of it, but the… Fluxy thing wouldn't have worked if I wasn't already broken inside. But yeah, I'm not going to be 'rocking out' anymore."

My shy smile lingered for a few seconds. Nervous that the joke was too stupid. This time, Knives definitely caught the pun and groaned, bumped her hip into mine as we walked. And I laughed. I really laughed… it felt weird and wrong, but I told myself not to worry about that.

"I like that."

"What, shitty puns?"

"No. You laughing. It's a great laugh."

"I sound like a coughing parrot."

"Nah," she giggled, lacing her fingers through mine and pulling me over to kiss my cheek. "Just because I can tell you're out of practice doesn't mean I can't hear how beautiful it's gonna be when you figure out I'm not gonna make fun of you for laughing."

God, why did my cheeks have to be so hot? "Y-yeah. Um… I guess I could blame Princess Pine for that."

"What do you mean?"

"The part of me that we set free. I mean… it's a bunch of metaphorical bullshit, but with our lives as fucked up as they are…" Sighing, I came to a stop, leaning my back against a telephone pole. "She was the real me, yeah. I guess that's true. Thing is, the other me was the real me, too. A NegaKim that I let take control because Princess Pine couldn't handle how much pain she was in after… Scott. But they weren't really that different from each other, so instead of extremes like 'black and white' or 'hot and cold', it's more like… 'mildly warm and slightly chilly'. NegaKim was stronger in some ways, and I needed her to help me stay alive. Problem was, she's not very good at taking the steps to heal, so I kinda got stuck in this limbo. Not getting worse, but not getting better, either."

"Ohhh," was all she breathed. But she was listening with rapt attention, rocking back and forth on her boots as I babbled. "Then you made the cage yourself?"

"Maybe. Probably a combination of me and the Gideonflux. Like, that I gave it the power to really lock down my lighter side, or whatever. Like I said, metaphorical shit. But now that she's out, it's… not as hard to get closer to you."

Her body curled around mine, and I felt a little flutter. Call me a closet case if you want, but it still felt crazy being all affectionate with her in public. Now I was willing to let it happen, though. Princess Pine was part of me again and she gave me a different kind of power.

The power of love. It's a curious thing.

"NegaKim was actually doing pretty good at that before, y'know. I never felt like you were being mean just to be mean. Only that you were having trouble opening up."

"Bet you didn't suspect it was a fragment of Ramona's ex to blame," I snorted, and she laughed as she nuzzled my collarbone. "Jesus, what a crazy night."

After a moment's indecision, Knives took a step back, pulling my hands a little to get me to stand up. Then she held them out for a second before dropping them, and I kept them in that position with my eyebrows raising. After a slight crouch, she hopped up into my arms.

"HNGG! What are you doing?!"

"Letting you carry me home," she tittered, arms wrapping tightly around my neck as I threatened to buckle under her.

"Thought I was supposed to be the princess and you the prince. Gender-nonspecific prince," I added hastily. Didn't seem to have bothered her in the slightest, if the kiss to my nose was any indicator.

"We're whatever we want to be. C'mon, let's go!"

God, she felt so good. Didn't have the heart to drop her, even if my back wasn't thrilled with hauling her all the way back to my place. Just didn't want to let her go.

                                                 To Be Concluded…