#wait whats cleo's last name

[yourelosingains]

new poster for outerbanks 3

[eternalxvenus]

༻ room for one more? ༺

summary: after many failed dates, you begin to give up on the dating scene until Sarah and John B give you an interesting proposal.

cw: smut 18+, sarah x f!reader x john b, threesome, oral (f and m receiving), face sitting, overstimulation, squirting, dirty talk, praise, p in v, unprotected sex, pet names (sweetheart, pretty girl, good girl, baby), brief drug use, lmk if i missed any!

wc: 3.6k

notes: thank you to the lovely @juniebugg for giving me this amazing idea, i loved writing it and hope i did it justice 🙏🏽

☆ obx masterlist ☆

The sun was setting but the day was still hot, a soft wind tickling your skin. You were lying on your towel, opting to enjoy the last few rays of the sun with Kie. JJ, Pope, John B, Cleo, and Sarah were all in the water swimming and playing around. You all had a rough week for different reasons and so JJ called for a mandatory beach day.

As you dozed in and out, listening to the sound of the waves, Kie nudged your side softly. "So... how is the whole dating thing coming along?"

Even though she was genuinely curious, you couldn't help the sting of embarrassment as you tried not to groan. "Not so great. I have a date with Kelce tomorrow, but I'm not over the moon excited." You turned to look at Kie through your sunglasses with a tight smile. "If this one doesn't work out, I'm giving up."

Her nose scrunched up in mild disapproval. "Kelce? I didn't think you'd go for someone in that circle.

Truth be told, you usually wouldn't. Even though the whole Kooks vs Pogues thing isn't as relevant anymore, some Kooks were still stuck in their old ways. "Me either. He came up to me and started a conversation at the boneyard a couple nights ago and asked for my number. Now we suddenly have a date at the country club," you sighed with a shrug.

"Even if it doesn't go well, don't stress it. You don't have to push a relationship anytime soon– you're still young."

You sat up and turned onto your back, deciding to take a nap while you could. "Easy for you to say. You have JJ, Cleo has Pope, and Sarah has John B. I'm the odd one out." Kie gave you a solemn smile but didn't say anything else, which you were thankful for.

A few hours later, everyone was out of the water, and the wind picked up leaving goosebumps on their wet skin. While everyone was drying off, Kie woke you up and said it was time to go.

You asked John B to take you home because you had plans tomorrow. As everyone laughed and joked around with one another, you couldn't bring yourself to be in a cheerful mood knowing they each had their special person within the group.

Once you were home, you immediately took a warm shower to try and let the warm water relax you. It did somewhat, but it didn't stop your brain from overthinking. After what felt like hours of tossing and turning in bed, one melatonin later, you finally were able to fall asleep and stay asleep.

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The room was unbearably hot when you woke up. You flung the covers off you as you wiped the light sheen of sweat from your forehead. You'd left the window open, and your AC wasn't on. With an irritated groan, you got up and closed the window. Wanting to cool down your room as quick as possible, you turned the AC on as low as it could go.

You checked your phone and saw a few missed messages.

Kie: have fun on your date, lmk how it goes!

Sarah: if you aren't busy later come swing by the chateau :)

Kelce: morning, i'll be there at 1 to pick you up for lunch. can't wait to see you.

You sent in your replies and got ready for your date with Kelce. Light makeup and a cute but simple white dress. As you grabbed it from your closet, you saw the red dress you shoved in the back with the price tag still attached. You'd bought it impulsively while shopping with the girls one day but had never worn it. 

It was a mid-thigh deep cherry red with a slit and showed off your cleavage perfectly—according to Sarah, at least. It had never seen the outside of your closet, no matter how many times your friends tried to make you wear it. You never felt like you could truly pull it off.

There were five minutes to spare when you'd finally finished up. As you were spraying your perfume a text from Kelce came in letting you know he was outside. You grabbed your purse and met him outside, where he sat in his car.

A small sigh left your lips. He didn't bother to meet you at the door. Perhaps he wasn't the gentleman type. You got into his expensive car, the leather seat cool from the AC blasting on high.

"Ready to go?" He asked, giving you a once over. You nodded softly and gave him a small smile. Neither of you spoke much the entire ride there. You sat on your phone checking social media, playing games, anything to pass the time.

Kelce parked in front of the country club and beckoned you to follow him. He led you to the outdoor patio that connected to a restaurant. After a waiter sat you both and you ordered drinks, Kelce started the conversation.

"So, is this your first time at the country club?."

"Uh... yeah, it is."

"What do you think of it?" he said, taking a sip of the drink that had been placed in front of him.

You shrugged, "It's nice, I can see why people come here." There was a beat of silence and you knew this date wasn't going to be the best.

"Honestly, I'm surprised we're here right now. I never thought I'd be taking a pogue on a date at the country club. But you're really hot, so I've got no complaints."

His statement made you internally roll your eyes. "Right..."

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱✩•̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

You were back home, feet aching slightly from your shoes, and the heat was making you feel groggy and gross. The date was not good. All Kelce could talk about was himself, the kook life, and how he wanted to bring you to a party at Topper's next week. You declined. He also made slick remarks about you being a pogue which pissed you off.

You: hey sarah, i'll be over in a bit.

She sent a thumbs to your message. You got in your car and made your way to the chateau. When you pulled up, you saw John B out by the deck. 

Inside you could see Sarah walking around so you went in to greet her.

"Hey, I'm here," you said knocking on the door as you walked inside. 

"Hey! Glad you could make it." She sat the plates she was holding into the cabinet and motioned for you to sit. She came over and sat next to you on the couch as you both got comfortable. "Kie mentioned you had a date… how did it go?"

You picked at your nails and shook your head. "Not too great."

Sarah hummed sympathetically. "Well, Kelce isn’t as interesting as he makes himself out to be." You both laughed as you nodded in agreement.

You laid back on the couch letting your head fall back. "When is everyone else coming?" assuming Sarah or John B had something planned for everyone tonight.

"Actually, I only invited you. John B and I wanted to talk to you about something," she sighed. You felt nervousness bloom in your stomach as she stood up. "I'm gonna go get John B, just sit tight."

While waiting for them to come back your mind was wandering, not sure what could be so important that they had to talk to you together and in person. The door swung open and Sarah walked back in with John B right behind her. No one spoke as they pulled up two chairs and sat in front of you on the couch. John B gave a soft smile which helped your nerves just a little.

"Okay so," Sarah spoke up. "We weren't really sure how to go about this so just bear with me here. You're one of our best friends and we've spent a lot of time together over the years..."

You could hear your heart beating in your ears, almost drowning out Sarah's voice. Please don't tell me they don't want to be friends anymore, you thought to yourself.

"Anyways, me and John B have been talking. We both find you attractive obviously. And we wanted to invite you to bed with us! Like a threesome." Sarah had a smile on her face and your eyes widened.

"W-what? You want to have a threesome? With me?" They both nodded.

"Basically, me and Sarah had been talking and we asked each other who we'd want to hook up with if we were single. To our surprise we both said you, so we figured why not just ask."

Your face felt burning hot with shyness and embarrassment. You'd only had sex one time and it wasn't all that great. You and your boyfriend at the time had wanted to lose your virginities to each other but neither of you knew what you were doing.

Sarah's hand grabbed yours and pulled you out of your swarming thoughts. "You don't have to answer right now." She was caressing the back of your hand with her thumb reassuringly. "Go home and just think about it. We'll be waiting patiently for your answer— no pressure at all, okay?"

The air in the room felt a little less heavy. You knew they wouldn't force you or be mad if you decided not to. "Okay," you said with a small smile.

They both hugged you, walked you to your car, and waved you off home. On the ride back, all you could think about was whether you should accept or not. You weren't experienced and didn't want to disappoint them.

You were laying in bed but once again couldn't sleep. You decided to take a few hits of the weed pen JJ had given you a while back, it's lasted you a while since you only use it when you can't sleep or need to relax.

Once you felt the high encompassing your mind you laid down and closed your eyes. Your mind drifted to the thought of being in bed with Sarah and John B. With that, you fell asleep.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱✩•̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

It had been three days since your threesome invitation. You had thought about it a lot. Even though you hadn't spoken to Sarah and John B directly, you all still talked in the group chat with everyone else like normal.

It was still early in the morning when you texted Sarah.

You: hey are you and John B up yet?

20 minutes later, you got a reply.

Sarah: good morning! i am but he's still sleeping lol. what's up?

You: i've given it some thought and i wanna do this but are you sure? i'm not the most experienced when it comes to all that

Sarah: i'm so happy! thank you for trusting us and don't worry we'll both be there to guide you. are you free tonight?

You said yes and she told you to come over at 7. That gave you 11 hours to completely freak out before heading over there.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱✩•̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

The warm air from outside blew into your car as you sat outside the chateau, trying to give yourself a mini pep talk. They suggested that you come in loungewear, so you wore shorts and a cropped tank top with no bra, all things considered.

You went up and knocked on the door and waited. John B came and greeted you with a hug. He didn't hide the fact that he was taking in your body. 

"Hey, come in. Sarah's finishing up in the shower so she should be out in a few minutes." With a brief nod, you followed him inside.

It was so weird, normally the chateau felt like a second home. You'd help yourself to whatever and never felt out of place. This time it was the complete opposite. You didn't want to touch anything or sit without someone telling you to. You felt like a guest, who was visiting for the first time.

John B sensed your nervousness and gave you a smirk. "Don't get all shy now sweetheart, we haven't even started. Speaking of which, is there anything you wanna do? We could have some takeout, watch a movie, anything really."

You gave him a puzzled look. "I thought we were going to... you know."

"I love your enthusiasm," he chuckled. "We are, but Sarah and I both thought it'd be best to ease into it rather than just jump right in. We want this to be as comfortable as possible for you."

It was the little things like this that reminded you that these are your best friends. They knew you like the back of their hand and wanted this to be enjoyable for you and them. "A movie sounds nice," you said with a smile.

A little while later you were all sat on the couch watching some random movie that you'd picked. It wasn't all that good but you were still tuned in. Your eyes glanced away from the TV when you felt Sarah's hand start grazing the inside of your thigh. She was still facing forward almost as if nothing was happening. You looked back at the TV and spread your legs a little wider.

It was summer, entirely too hot for any blankets— even with the cool air of the AC blowing— so if John B looked, he'd see what was happening. The light, teasing touches went on for a few more minutes and you could feel yourself getting more and more worked up. You were ready to break the silence and ask for more until you felt John B's lips on your neck. A soft gasp slipped past your lips as your eyes fluttered closed.

"This okay?" he muttered against your neck, and you nodded. "Use your words, pretty girl."

You managed to whimper out a soft 'Yes' which encouraged them both to keep going. Sarah's hand moved higher, lightly rubbing you through your shorts. A moan slipped from your pouty lips at the contact and you tried grinding your hips against her hand for more stimulation. "Let's go to the bed," Sarah whispered.

The short walk was filled with little kisses and light touches, none of you wanted to stop even for a second. Sarah instructed you to take off your clothes and lay on the bed. She and John B did the same as she sat behind you and John B positioned himself in between your thighs.

"Fuck... your pussy is dripping." You attempt to close your legs but he has a strong grip on your thighs. "Don't try and hide yourself, I wanna see everything."

Sarah brought her hands up to massage your tits, your nipples feeling painfully hard. "John B is gonna use his mouth to make you feel good, okay?"

"Okay– oh!" He wasted no time licking a long stripe to collect your arousal on his tongue.

"How does she taste baby?" Sarah asked. You could hear the lust and neediness in her voice. "She's so fucking sweet, like candy." John B couldn't help but moan as he continued to move his tongue in and out of your hole. You felt one of Sarah's hands leave your breast to touch herself behind you. Her soft moans make you even more turned on.

John B brought his mouth to your clit and sucked hard. That was all it took to have you falling over the edge in pleasure. One hand squeezed Sarah's arm while the other tugged on John B's brown tresses. Your moans filled the room as you rode out your first orgasm of the night.

Sarah replaced your spot in front of John B and once again he wasted no time lapping at her essence. Once she reached her peak John B didn't stop he was pushing her into overstimulation and instructed you to hold her legs open.

"John B! Please– ohmygod– it's too much!" she tried to push his head away but he didn't budge until he pulled another orgasm from her. You watched in amazement as she started to squirt making a mess of the bed and his face. He wore your combined juices proudly, not bothering to wipe any of it off. 

You leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Fuck Sarah you look so hot like this, squirting all over the place, being so messy." She whimpered at your words as John B finally gave her some reprieve.

She pulled you down so your lips collided with hers in a heated bruising kiss. Her tongue swiped across your lip and made its way into your mouth massaging your tongue.

In the corner of your eye, you saw John B stroking his hard cock slowly. Sarah noticed as well and gave you a smirk. "Let's show him how thankful you are for making you cum."

John B positioned himself up against the headboard and Sarah brought you face to face with his length. "Grab the base and take him into your mouth. He likes it really messy," She whispered while keeping her gaze on him. You followed her instructions and did your best to please him.

Once you'd taken as much as you could into your mouth, a light gag leaving your throat, he groaned. "Fuuuuck, that's it, take it all in that tight little throat." You went at your own pace for a bit, then Sarah took over gagging you on his cock at a brutal pace. Your eyes watered and there was spit and drool all over your chin and his pelvis. John B's thighs tensed and without warning his load filled your throat forcing you to swallow it all. 

You coughed a bit and Sarah rubbed your back soothingly while you and John B caught his breath. "You did so good baby." She went to kiss your neck and caress your body.

The praise did things to you. "Thank you." John B pulled you against him and kissed you deeply. "Do you wanna keep going, sweetheart?" John B muttered against your lips. The room felt so hot in combination with all the body heat and the summer air. You were definitely spent, but you wanted to go again. "I want you inside, please."

He nodded and moved you down to straddle him. Sarah moved to sit on his face, facing you. She moaned, feeling his tongue on her clit again. You sink down on his length feeling completely and utterly full. Sarah pulled you in for a kiss as you rocked your hips in a slow rhythm.

The stimulation on your clit from grinding felt delicious, you knew you wouldn't last much longer. One look at Sarah and you could tell she was close too. "I wanna cum together," you whispered against her lips. "Okay, together." she nodded. John B pushed his hips up to get impossibly deeper and gave a harsh such on Sarah's clit, pushing you both over the edge.

You both collapsed onto the bed, your body completely worn out. Sarah and John B left kisses and comforting touches anywhere they could, telling you how well you did and that they were so proud. Their voices faded away as sleep overtook you.

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A month after your night with Sarah and John B things couldn't have been better. You'd spent many pleasure-filled nights at the chateau. They were always showing you something new and making you feel so good. There were even times when it would be just one of them if the other was busy or not around.

You weren't expecting the text from Sarah asking you to come over considering you were just there two days ago. She asked you the wear that red dress which made you even more confused.

Walking into the chateau, not bothering to knock, you saw the table with lots of food and a candle adorning the middle of the table. "What's all this?" you questioned. John B and Sarah both turned from their spot in the kitchen and greeted you. 

"We wanted to do something special to thank you, you look beautiful by the way," he said leading you to the empty chair. They sat down at the table and you could tell something was coming up. Even Sarah looked a bit nervous. Maybe they were going to end things.

"So, we don't want to keep you here with this uncertainty. We did all these because this past month has been amazing. You've always been a great friend and I think– we think– doing this has made us incredibly closer." You nod in agreement. "We want you to be our girlfriend. We'll be an official polyamorous couple. I don't want to have to give you up to someone else and neither does Sarah. We want you to be ours and we'll be yours completely."

You felt like the wind had been sucked out of you. They wanted you to be their girlfriend. Before you could say anything Sarah chimed in. "Sorry if this seems sudden and we understand if you want to keep things how they are. You don't have to have an answer–"

"Of course I would," you cut her off with a wide smile. You could see the worry leave both of their faces. "God I love you." Sarah laughed leaning over to place a kiss on your cheek, John B following suit.

The rest of the night was spent having an amazing dinner and even better sex with your new partners. Never in a million years did you think this would be your life but you loved it and you loved them. They were your best friends and lovers wrapped in one.

likes, comments, and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

[petriwriting]

Bright Future Ahead - JJ Maybank X Reader

Based on THIS request.

Summary: Reader tells JJ they are pregnant.

A/N Did not proofread, wrote this at the gym lol

“C’mon baby girl,” JJ says, the little girls footsteps thud on the floor as she toddler-waddles over to JJ, whose across the hall.

John B and Sarah had a few errands to run, so you and JJ had offered to watch over their sweet daughter Ella Rouledge while they did so. She was so sweet, an Angel with little curls and eyes like her fathers. She was bold and adventurous, taking after both of her parents in that regard. One thing she particularly liked was playing dress up with JJ. Her god father was her idol, she wanted to be just like him, even mimicking his mannerisms from a young age, it was so heart warming to see. You couldn’t wait to have your own child.

Over the last 5 years, the Pogues had given up on treasure hunting, and everyone was settled into a comfortable and safe life. You and JJ had been through everything together, and you loved him more than anyone could imagine and in return you were his whole world. You had gotten engaged shortly after Morocco, JJ had said he didn’t want to waste anymore time because he knew you were the one, and in case they were swept on another crazy adventure he wanted you to be his, officially. You’d taken his last name and had a backyard ceremony with the group with string lights and beer, and a pastor certificate pope and Cleo found online it was in fact legally binding. Since then, JJ had put a lot of his energy into his business, JJ Maybanks deep sea charters, a huge success, now with a second location opening on the other side of the island. Everyone was making enough money to live comfortably, however in Pogue fashion they certainly did not live like kooks. John B and Sarah were fully invested in their family, Cleo and Pope were doing well too, as pope was finishing his degree. All was well for those 5 years, the good and the bad. You were thankful that JJ stuck with you through it all. He had grown into himself, and matured a lot after the incident with his father. He had healed significantly. You were thankful to have seen it all. Reminiscing on the past had only further directed your mind to your future ahead of you…

“Can I brush your hair?” The little girl squeals excitedly, her mother had her hair in braids with bows and they wiggled as she moved excitedly across the playroom. “Sure kiddo, anything.” JJ chuckled and sat down on the floor while the girl brought out her play makeup and hair accessories. You approached the room, and stood in the doorway. “Whose hungry for lunch?” You say with a smile. “Me me!!!” The girl yells excitedly. “Me too,” JJ chuckles. “Well, I’m thinking tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches?” You offered. “Sounds delicious!” JJ exclaimed, looking at himself in the fake mirror.

“Are you sure about this one?” He asks, playing along with the girls banter. She was desolately trying to reach JJs head while he sat on the floor and was brushing what she could reach while comparing the butterfly hair clips with his complexion. “This one,” she says insistently, settling on a blue clip, JJ had to clip it to his own hair because she struggled to do so by herself, her tiny hands weren’t quite strong enough. “Wow! This one really brings out my eyes, huh Y/N?” He turned to you who was admiringly watching playtime unfold from the doorway still. “You look so fabulous.” You reply still holding a slight smile. You would have gladly played with the girl if she wanted, but there was something about JJ that she just loved and you couldn’t blame her. She had said he has better hair the last time they played princess together, and that it was more fun to play with than your hair, you weren’t particularly offended by this though. “I’ll get lunch started, you say, disappearing into the kitchen. You didn’t want to leave, lingering for a few moments watching Ella begin to paint JJ’s nails a glittery purple color. He was no match for her.

As you prepared lunch for the three of you, you could hear the girl’s innocent laughter and JJs colliding. She was delighted her uncle JJ was playing with her. It warmed your heart to imagine how sweet and tender and caring he would be when the two of you decided to start a family. It made you flush, and you felt fuzzy and warm as if you had only just fallen in love with him, instead your were falling deeper in love with JJ.

The thing was, you had just found out you were pregnant. The morning prior, you had taken a test after not feeling too great for a few days and as if shocked, you gasped when you found out. It wasn’t that you weren’t ready for this step in your future, it was that you were slightly sad to mourn the loss of the things you were able to do with JJ alone, like showering together and having sex on the couch in the middle of the day. Sure, they were great, but that sadness and slight doubt was replaced when you saw how amazing he was with Ella, he was attentive and caring, gentle and soft. He showed his gentle side only with her, and sometimes you wanted to squeal in excitement because of how cute it was.

Pretty soon, there would be a little JJ running around causing trouble, and you couldn’t be happier to think of it. Now, you just had to tell JJ himself. You’d taken 4 boxes worth of tests to be sure, and Sarah had helped book an appintment for you later that week with the doctor that helped her through her pregnancy, you had told kie as well and she immediately bought you a pack of prenatal vitamins and healthy snacks. Something she said was absolutely vital. She even offered to show you some pregnancy yoga stretches she taught other women. Everyone was excited for you, even John B, who Sarah had told by accident. You were slightly worried you wouldn’t find the right moment to tell JJ, not that he would react badly, just that it was such a big moment for the two of you.

You were lost in your own world while you prepared the soup and made the sandwiches in the routledge kitchen, you hadn’t noticed how quiet things had gotten. It had only been a little less than an hour, so curiosity got the better of you and you wandered back into the playroom. JJ shushed you before you could say anything and your eyes met his. Ella was sleeping peacefully cuddled up my JJ’s side, she must have wanted him to read a story and had fallen asleep. The poor girl must have been exhausted from playing. JJ looked at you with a soft smile, 2 pink butterfly clips were in his hair, and he looked a bit goofy but he was still your JJ.

You smiled softly at him, “Let me,” you mouthed to him, reaching for Ella and gently picking her up in your arms to tuck her into bed. JJ pulled a soft blanket over her as she lay peacefully sleeping. You turned for the door, while JJ leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Sleep tight cupcake.” He said softly, before joining you. You gently shut the door behind you and lead JJ to the kitchen.

“Gosh she is somethin’ else.” JJ says with a slight laugh, taking the clips out of his hair. “I love the nail color on you, very complimentary.” You joke. You proceeded to the kitchen, where you both enjoyed the lunch you had made in comfortable silence. JJ knew something was up since you were acting oddly in that moment. After eating, you sighed and went to clean to rinse the dishes, putting them into the dish washer.

“Hey,” you said finally. “Can we talk?” You ask, JJ smiles gently “of course.” He says. “What’about?” He asks you. “Well.” You begin, he can tell you’re upset, nervous at least. He takes your hands in his gently holding them in a comforting way he waits patiently for you to let it out, and when you are ready after a moment you do. “Seeing you and Ella makes my heart melt, you are so sweet with her and it just,” you stutter, stopping yourself. “It makes me realize how much of an amazing father you’ll be.” You look up at the ocean eyes of his, “I can’t wait to start a family with you.” He admits softly. “And you know I’m ready whenever you are.” He explains. He had said before he was patiently waiting for you to be ready, and he would support you however you needed. “Jayj,” you say gently. “I’m uh,” you sigh softly. “I’m pregnant.”

Silence, JJs expression that was soft turns into an elated smile. “Really, baby?” He asks in disbelief. “Yes.” You confirm. “Like 6 tests.” He embraces you tightly for a quick moment. “Oh my god,” he says through a smile and a joyous laugh. “We’re havin’ a baby!” He exclaims. “Woo!” He says loudly, with a fist up in victory. you shush hun reminding him of Ella sleeping a few doors down. JJ gets kinda serious for a few minutes, and leans down so he his face to face with your stomach, “hear that baby Maybank?” He says, “your mama and I are gonna spoil you rotten. I’ll give you everything I always wanted as a kid. We’re gonna love you so much,” JJ says, his voice cracks as he’s gotten emotional, teary eyed. “I love you so much.” He says, to both you and your baby. He embraces you with his head rested on your stomach.

You enjoy his touch and run your fingers through his hair for a few moments, he finally stands up fully again and wipes the tears from his eyes and kisses you deeply, you are so swept up in his embrace you don’t hear Sarah and John B coming back home with a few groceries. JJ pulls back immediately and goes over to John B, “we’re having a baby!” He exclaims. John B shares his excitement and they embrace. “Congratulations, man.” He pats JJ on the back. Sarah is excited too and smiled at you, scurrying to put the handful of groceries away. “Well I didn’t know you were going to tell him now.” She says with a sigh, reaching under the sink and pulling out a very expensive and fancy bottle of sparkling cider. “But we got this as a gift to celebrate!” She exclaims popping the bottle open with a satisfying fizz of bubbles and a pop.

The rest of the evening is spent in a happy daze, a night you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Kie had come over and hugged both of you very happily, and Pope and Cleo shortly after. The evening was spent in celebration, sharing happy memories and drinks. Nob alcoholic ones for you of course. Deep down you knew you were right where you needed to be and you couldn’t think of a better man to have as your baby’s father than JJ Maybank.

Taglist: @jsbaby

[featherandferns]

Could I pretty please request:

We might have a problem...Ask me again in twenty minutes.

This sounds so much fun. I can’t wait to see what you do with it, everything you write is absolute magic<3

8. We might have a problem...Ask me again in twenty minutes.

idk which part of the series I'm taking this road chase from lmao just go with it! sorry it took me so long to get to these lmao

Neutral - prompt 8

“Guys! They’re getting closer!” Kiara calls out. 

“I hate this! I hate all of this!” you loudly announce. 

“Yeah, thank you, baby, keep that feedback coming - it’s very helpful,” JJ mutters. 

His hands are clenching the wheel tight, knuckles white, focus trained dead ahead on the road. Speed limits are a thing of the past: a nicety that all of you have long since abandoned. Anxiety is pulsing through your veins, somehow sharpening and blurring your vision. In the dark streets of Kildare, your headlights illuminate the road ahead. Behind, are square-groupers. Some gang or another that you had collectively managed to tick off during one of your many adventures. It was becoming far from a coincidence that you all managed to find yourself in these situations time and time again. 

“They’re gaining!” Cleo tells you through her thick accent. 

Your head snaps around to look through the rearview. She was right. What kind of car were they driving? 

“JJ!” you shout. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it,” he says underbreath, shifting up a gear, picking up the speed. The Twinkie grunts at the effort and your brows tug together, eyes glancing down to the bonnet that you can see through the front window. 

“Pope! How’s it looking?” JJ asks his friend in the back. Pope inspects the roadmap, trying to make out the street names through the dimly lit back of the van. “Pope!”

“Just give me a minute!” 

“We don’t have a minute!” three of you chorus. 

“Oh my God, this is how we die,” Sarah very usefully says to herself. You see your boyfriend roll his eyes, aggravated, stressed and driven. 

“Pope, there’s a fork coming up,” you say, making out the road layout ahead. You glance to JJ and notice he isn’t slowing down. Then, to Pope. Then, to the road. “Pope!”

“Left! Take a left!”

JJ slams on the breaks, pulls up the handbrake, shifts down a gear, and toggles with the clutch. It happens in a split second, a chaotic collection of events that is blurred into one. Everyone in the van goes flying: you into the side window, gasping out in pain at the collision. Turning the wheel tight, JJ practically skids onto the road. The engine revs like a monster truck. And then, it makes the most blood chilling, mechanic-concerning noise you’ve ever heard. JJ tries to do something with the gear shift and it wiggles uselessly in place. 

“Uh oh,” he mumbles. 

“Uh oh? What’s ‘uh oh’?” you panic, studying him. He cringes and looks at the road. 

“Uh…We might have a problem,” he says, trying to keep his tone chipper. 

“We might have a problem?” you echo, bewildered. 

“Ask me again in twenty minutes,” JJ flippantly says. He keeps driving ahead, foot hard on the pedal, but something sounds different this time. Something feels different too. 

“JJ,” John B says in a rather levelled out tone. The kind that hints at a deeper anxiety. “Please don’t tell me you’re driving this in neutral right now?”

“Look, man, the axel must have–”

“Oh no.”

“We’re coasting?” 

“At seventy miles per hour!” 

“Look! I don’t control the fates, a’right! We gotta loose these guys!” JJ argues back, lifting one hand from the wheel to wave everybody off. You reach out and slam it back onto the grip; the last thing you need is him to lose control of the car. 

“Oh my God, we’re actually going to die,” Sarah repeats, and this time, you don’t entirely disagree. It feels like a real possibility now. 

“Kie! Are they still tailing us?” JJ calls out. Everyone looks through the back window. A new layer of tension has stacked inside the van. 

“I don’t see them,” she says, the road behinds nothing but a dark abyss. “Maybe turn down a side road just to be safe?”

“Great, yeah, just make a turn in neutral,” you mutter. 

“Baby, I gotta admit, if you keep that kinda attitude up, I might actually end up crashing this car,” JJ tells you. Your mouth falls open. 

“Don’t tell me something like that!”

“Just make the turn!” John B demands. 

“He’s right, man!” Cleo agrees. 

“There’s a side road coming up in about ten yards or so,” Pope informs. 

JJ nods and you immediately steel yourself in your seat. You check your seatbelt and grip the bottom of the chair, and you wait for him to slow down. He does, but not by much, and when he finally braves the corner, you make peace with your maker. 

Thankfully, no collision comes. The engine rumbles off and the gang lets out a collected sigh of relief. Slowly opening your eyes, you glance over to see your boyfriend staring blankly at his grip on the wheel. He eventually looks over at you and a smile comes onto his face. 

“What’d I tell you, huh? Nothing to worry about.”

“You owe me noodles,” you tell him, unimpressed, and get out the truck. The others follow suit and Sarah actually staggers over to some trash cans, worried she might vomit. JJ heads to the car bonnet and cracks it open. Smoke billows out with steam and he waves it away, John B and Cleo coming to join him in their inspection. You wander over to help console Kie and Sarah. 

“Yep, that’s what I thought!” JJ announces. You look over to him to find a piece of mechanics held up in a bandana. “The gear shift is fucked!” Your eyes narrow at him for his chipperness. He owes you even more noodles now.

[araybiaaa]

“𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

THEY’RE at home sprawled out on the couch. She’s laid with her head tucked comfortably on his chest and her legs strewn across his lap. Rafe’s hands were occupied shoveling handfuls of buttered popcorn into his mouth while the other gently caressed Sofia’s leg.

They’d decided to spend the weekend inside of the house rather than going over to Barry’s for the party that he was throwing like they initially planned—which truthfully, Rafe didn’t mind because he enjoyed spending quality time with Sofia, it’s become something that he’s appreciated as their relationship grew. 

Barry liked to joke that Rafe had become boring and soft; because he didn’t indulge in the party lifestyle like he previously did. And would often make jesting quips about them being an old married couple. He still enjoyed partying and drinking, he just enjoyed spending time with his fiancée more. 

They’re watching Die Hard, Rafe’s favorite movie, when there’s a sudden vibration of his phone ringing beside him that has Rafe pausing the movie so that he’s able to retrieve the phone. Picking it up, he smiles when he notices the contact name appearing in the middle of the screen. He slides his finger over the button answering the FaceTime call.

“Hey, dickhead.” He greets, watching as Sarah’s face affixed in an amused smile when she appeared on the screen. Sofia shakes her head, chuckling softly as she sat upright so that she was leaning over and looking at the screen.

“Hey, Sarah.” Sofia says with a wave of her hand; her greeting’s much more amicable than Rafe’s. 

“Hey, dickwad!” She says, indulging in her brother’s playful rapport. “Hey, Sof!”

Rafe absentmindedly set the bowl of popcorn aside so that Sofia’s able to snuggle more comfortably against his chest. “What’s up?” He questions, noticing that when she moves the camera a few angles downward that she’s dressed in soigné attire— wearing a black dress with a curly updo and she has her face neatly primped with makeup. Behind her, Rafe sees John B entering from their bedroom, dressed equally as formal.

“Did you ask them?” John B inquires, in what Rafe assumes what was supposed to be a whisper, judging from the way Sarah’s face furrows. But his question falls clear and audible to Rafe’s ears, seemingly piquing his interest. 

“Not yet.” John B recoils, murmuring a soft apology to his wife before he approaches the phone and greets both Rafe and Sofia. 

“Hey. Ask us what?” John B and Sarah share a look between each other, before Sarah sighs softly and begins to confess. 

“Well, the reason that I called you is because John B and I’s anniversary is tonight and we were planning on going out for dinner to celebrate but—”

John B intercepted, offering his own spiel to explain. “But our sitter canceled last minute and we don’t have anyone else to watch Valerie for us. JJ and Kiara are still in Yucatán and Pope and Cleo are at that family gathering for his father’s birthday,” He laments in exasperation.

“And we really don’t want to cancel. We’ve had this planned for weeks,”

Rafe nods, “So you want us to babysit?”

Sarah nods, giving him a hopeful look. “Could you? I mean if you guys are busy or if you just don’t want to then we have no choice but to cancel but—?” She raised her brows, looking at him expectantly as she waited anxiously for his response. 

“Of course we’ll watch her.” Sofia assures her, causing a heavy sigh of relief to dispel from Sarah as her worried expression substituted for one of mirth. 

“I’m actually offended that you even think you have to ask,” Rafe jokingly remarks before confirming Sofia’s sentiment. Sarah and John B both extend their appreciation again, informing them that they would soon be on their way before ending the call. 


 

…

 

It’s twenty minutes later that the front door bell is ringing. Rafe clambers off of the couch, walking through the living room to the front door. Unlocking it, he tugs the door open and is immediately trampled by Valerie who squeals an excited, “uncle Rafe!” and lifts her arms in the air for him to catch her mid jump.

He chuckles, hefting her in the air as he tucked her high against his chest. Valerie was a perfect combination of Sarah and John B—she inherited her blonde curls and wide brown eyes from her father, while her facial features resembled Sarah’s. Her personality was reciprocal of both her parents; adventurous and intrepid. Rafe admired that at only three years old—she already had such a definitive personality. 

Behind her, John B and Sarah stood with Valerie’s bag in tow. She shrugs the strap of Valerie’s bag off of her shoulder as she sauntered in the house, walking into the living room. 

“We shouldn’t be gone until no later than eleven o’clock. Her bedtime is eight thirty, so don’t let this little monster trick you with those puppy dog eyes into letting her stay up a minute later.” Sarah condemns, though with no actual authoritative malice behind her reproach as she wriggled her fingers against Valerie’s stomach and tickled her. 

The little girl giggled and squirmed in Rafe’s arms. 

John B stepped closer towards them, crouching down a bit so that he’s able to press a kiss against his daughter’s cheek. “We’ll be back, Bug. Be good for your uncle Rafe, okay?”

When she’s sobered from her laughter, she nods, giving her parents an innocent look that even makes Rafe melt at the sight of it. “Okay, daddy!” She agrees, plucking her thumb in her mouth as she leaned her head against Rafe’s shoulder. She waves a goodbye to her parents, with Sarah giving her one last kiss on her cheek before they’re both making their haste exit.

“Alright, now that the fun police is gone what do you want to do?” Rafe questions after Sarah and John B made their departure. Valerie pursed her lips and taps her chin in thought. And she’s so adorable with her furrowed expression that Rafe’s heart lurches in adoration. 

She gasps after a moment’s thought. “We can play dolls! Mommy brought my Barbie’s and then we can play—” She gasps again, her attention seemingly distracted as her head turns towards the staircase that Sofia was descending down. “Auntie Sofia!” She exclaimed with far more excitement at the sight of her than she did with Rafe. (And if it were anyone else he might’ve been offended but he understands her excitement because he always reacts that way when he sees her too.)

She squirms, leaning over so that she’s got her body halfway extended towards Sofia. 

Sofia tucks her hands underneath Valerie’s arms as she transfers her into her arms. Valerie throws her arms around Sofia’s neck, embracing her into a hug. 

“Hi, pretty girl.” Sofia coos, smiling as she reciprocated the embrace. 

“Auntie Sofia, uncle Rafe and I are going to play dolls. Do you want to play with us?” She ponders, tilting her head at Sofia. 

“Of course I do! Come on uncle Rafe, we’ll let you get the first pick in which Barbie you want to be,” She teases and Rafe can’t do anything but shake his head and laugh.

…

 

She scoots out of the chair that she was previously seated in, absentmindedly abandoning the uncapped markers and crayons she was using while coloring, and snagged the piece of paper off of the table before making her way towards him.

Valerie shuffled the paper that she was carrying around. She extends the now crumbled up paper towards him, smiling widely as she avers, “Look what I did!”

With his curiosity piqued, Rafe retrieved the paper from her grasp and looked at it. It was a picture drawn of scribbled lines and skewed shapes; contrary to the dexterous feat of a toddler. He could tell she’d worked hard on it as there was still residue of the green smudge from the marker on the side of her hand; along a wide smile and hopeful eyes that looked at him for validation that he immediately feeds her.

He gasps, “You did so good!” He compliments, seeing her expression stretch in mirth as she reveled in his boasting praise. Beside him, Sofia walks away from the stove where she was cooking dinner and gauged at the drawing. 

“Hm…I think this deserves to be hung up,” Sofia grabs the piece of artwork and a magnet, securely sticking it onto the refrigerator. “There it looks better already,” She smiles as she reaches her hand down and runs it over Valerie’s hair. “Dinner’s almost ready. You two go wash up while I set the table, okay?” 

Rafe grabs ahold of Valerie’s hand as he lead them into the guest bathroom. He perched her down onto the counter, reaching over her to turn on the faucet. He lathers both of their hands with the cucumber scented soap until it’s fully sudsy. Once it’s thoroughly rubbed in, he places her hands beneath the spout and rinsed their hands clean, drying them off afterwards with a fresh cloth. 

When they walk back into the kitchen, his senses are invaded by the delicious aroma of baked chicken, rice and vegetables. Sofia’s setting the last of the dinner onto the table as they approach. 

Valerie, with the assistance of Rafe, climbs into the chair between them with a cushion hefting her to a leveled height of the table. 

“Auntie Sofia how do you know how to cook so good?” She questions as Sofia sets her plate down in front of her. Her childlike curiosity gets the better of her.

“My mom taught me. I used to help her in the kitchen and she would show me how to do everything. It was my favorite thing to do with her when I was growing up.” Sofia reminisces, brushing a hand over Rafe’s shoulder in passing as she made her way to her seat. 

“My mommy and I don’t cook. But we do go fishing with daddy!” 

Rafe snorts, “That’s because your mommy can’t cook. She’s the last person that should be anywhere near a kitchen,” He teases, earning a playful chiding look from Sofia.

“I know you’re not talking. The last time you tried to make me breakfast in bed you burned the toast!” She rebuttals, causing Rafe to harbor a feigned offense at her sudden defense of his sister over him. 

Rafe blushed in chagrin, his head duck slightly at Valerie’s stifling giggles of amusement. “Well, that was different. That toaster is confusing!” He rebuttals, though it didn’t stop Valerie’s giggles and Sofia’s taunting.

When the laughter subsides, they begin eating. It started off with them engaging in small conversations until Valerie’s inquisitiveness arose again. “When you get married, who’s going to be your flower girl?”

“Well we were hoping that it would be you,” Sofia answers, giving the little girl a smile. 

Their wedding was set for new summer and while everything wasn’t completely finalized, they were at a point where she wasn’t completely stressed over the details of everything anymore, which offered both of them relief. 

“I was a flower girl at my mommy and daddy’s wedding.” She recalls knowingly; as if they themselves weren’t also in attendance. But Sofia and Rafe only share a smile at her enthusiasm. “You know, if you had a daughter then she could be your flower girl.” 

They both pause a bit; their gazes fleeting from each other’s. A blush now colored Sofia’s cheeks, she nods, absentmindedly prodding her food with her fork while Rafe harrumphed softly. 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s, you’re right.” He nods before shoveling another forkful of rice into his mouth before Valerie has the opportunity to bombard them with another question.  

…

They’re standing at the sink tackling the dishes in the sink; they work in a deft tandem with her washing and him drying. Valerie has occupied herself in the living room, gasping animatedly and reciting the words nearly verbatim as she watched Finding Nemo. 

He grabs ahold of the plate that she proffers towards him, rinsing it underneath the water before thoroughly drying it with the cloth. He turns to gauge a look at Sofia.

“You’ve been quiet since dinner.” She blinks, almost as if she’s retracting herself from her reverie. 

She shrugs, giving him a small smile. “I’ve just been thinking,” She admits, reaching into the dishwater to retrieve another plate that she begins washing. 

“Yeah? About what?” He inquired; wanting to know the exact reason for her emotional distancing. She pauses, almost reluctantly as she looks up at him. After a moment’s thought she sighs as she drops the towel into the water and dries her hands off. 

“Truthfully? About us,” The way she says it in addition to her body language—her arms hugging herself and her standing with such a great distance between them admittedly arose panic within him. And he’s parting his mouth, preparing to beg for her to not breakup with him until her next words offer him some semblance of relief. “Hearing what Valerie said got me thinking about children. I know that we agreed to wait because we’re both just starting our careers but I don’t know, Rafe…” 

He exhaled a shaky breath, shaking his head. She gives him a confused look. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I thought that you were having second thoughts or something, I don’t know. Never mind.” He admits sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. 

Sofia furrowed her brows in confusion. “Second thoughts about what—us?” She asked incredulously, wondering how he came to that absurd conclusion. She walks up to him, cradling his face in her hands as she gave him a softened look. “I love you and I want to marry you. I’m not leaving you and you damn sure aren’t leaving me.” She says, attempting to assuage his worries and it seems to work because he’s smiling as he leans forward and brushes his mouth against hers in a kiss.

“What I was saying is that I know that we wanted to wait until a few years after we were married to start a family, but seeing how you are with Valerie just makes me excited to think about how you’d be with our own child.” 

They had deep conversations about having children especially after they got engaged. At first, to them, it seemed most logical to wait until a few years down the line. They were both just starting in their careers and they wanted to enjoy some time alone with it just being them. But Sofia came to realize that there would never be a perfect time to start a family. It would be naive for her to think so.

And as the night proceeded, seeing Rafe playing Barbie with Valerie; hearing him talk in a high pitched voice and indulging into her imagination made Sofia realize how much she wanted that with Rafe. A family to call their own. 

“Really?”

Sofia nods, “Really.”

Rafe smiles as he reaches out and grabbed her by the arm until she’s pulled against his chest. “Then let’s do it.” He agrees without an inkling of hesitation and it admittedly surprises her in how haste he was to concede.

“Really?”

He laughs, settling his hands on her waist as he leaned closer towards her. “Really. Sof, I never cared about when we have kids. All I know is that I want to marry you and have a family with you. The details of when and how don’t matter to me. If you want kids right now, we can go upstairs and rip our clothes off—”

“Rafe!” She reproaches playfully, smacking him against the chest as she looked over at Valerie who was thankfully out of range to overhear their conversation.

“Okay. Okay, but I’m serious. Now or five years from now, it’s up to you. But it’s something that I want too. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

Sofia smiles in mirth as she stands on the tip of her toes and wraps her arms around his heightened neck. He lifts her off of the ground; imprinting kisses all over her face until she turns to meet his lips in a slow kiss. “So…” She murmurs against his lips, pulling away to look at him.

“So. Let’s start a family,” He smiles as he leaned in for another kiss. 


[fountainpenguin]

Secret Life finale highlights for me:

- "My strategy: Kill Skizz and Tango. Will happen at some point... Or, just maim them and watch them die in a corner." - Scar

- Scott on Grian's loyalty: "I have never seen a man drop a pair of sunglasses faster in my life [than last season after Joel died]."

- I think I reblogged someone's speculation weeks ago that at the dawn of final session, everyone's task book would just say "Win Secret Life." Congrats to them for Apollo's gift of prophecy.

- Martyn's beat of pause before saying to Joel "Welcome to the Out of Context video."

- At the start of the season, Etho said Joel was the first one he wanted to kill because "He's cheeky." When Joel is asked who he wants to kill, he says "Etho." Glad you're enjoying your rivalry, boys, smh...

- Joel, once again giving into his Shrek origins, watching Bdubs' wool globe go up in flames and chirping "My world's on fire; how 'bout yours?"

- Tango does not break his "pathetic death" curse. Just blipped out of existence. Love that for him.

- Spitting, crying... BigB panics and flees into his creepy backrooms for safety. Immediately vanishes into the tunnel maze. Scar pursues and skids to a halt because he hasn't seen it yet and is thoroughly creeped out.

- Scar coming up to surface and trying to describe how BigB disappeared. Martyn looks down at where they're standing and is just like "Oh, that's the backrooms." Mental image of Scar as that meme that goes "The. what."

- Scar describing BigB as a sneaky squirrel. "Squirrel" was the name of BigB's horse in Double Life.

- Joel's anxiety about entering a Nether portal on the final episode, specifically because of how he and Etho perma-died in Double Life

- Whatever was going on with Martyn flinging ender pearls up the ladder seconds before he died

- Additionally, people in the background commenting that they think Martyn's teamed up with Cleo and the only reason he was near them was an attempt to bear down and kill them

- Scar to Bdubs, watching Cleo and Etho from a distance: "Look at this- Mom and Dad are bringing their new ugly stepson to meet us, Bdubs." /camera pans to the warden chasing them

- Bdubs tells Scar that Cleo said he was her favorite son and Scar IMMEDIATELY, without responding or even waiting for Bdubs to finish his sentence, jumps a wall and books it to Cleo to confirm... Mental image of him swinging dramatically over it with one hand, his shawl billowing behind him

- Scar chases Cleo while they're both being pursued by a warden, asking her if he's her favorite son. Doesn't let up until she assures him she "just said it to keep Bdubs happy." what is wrong with the Clocker family.

- Joel somehow pulled off a beautiful PVP kill on Skizz despite having only 2.5 hearts

- In earlier episodes, Joel had people say "The florist sends his regards" on his behalf before striking. Before killing Skizz, he says "Scar sends his regards" since Scar really wanted to kill Skizz but bequeathed the fight to Joel instead.

- Scar trotting up to Etho and Cleo, who are watching him from a cliff, and announcing "I am not up to anything nefarious!"

- Scar's weird spiky wall design is really pretty

- slkdjfskldjfsklj?!?!?!? I had a bullet point on this list that said "Honorable non-finale mention to Scar getting both the Green and Yellow kill on Etho this season" but now I see I need to correct that:

- Shout-out to Scar killing Etho - in Etho's front yard - THREE TIMES this season. Etho rushing back to his base, tripping over his feet and saying "I'm going home, everybody- I'm dying at my home-"

- Scott to Scar: "I went down to BigB - to get him - and I see what you mean; he does just talk his way out of things so you feel bad; you just leave him." / Scar: "That's why you don't let him speak. You just inner monologue. You start talking about Star Wars so you can't hear his charms."

- As Scar drives his sword into Cleo, he says "Good-bye, Mom- This is for you telling Bdubs [he's your] favorite." Geez, dude. Scar killed both his parents; this family is a mess. Bonus points for Joel fumbling in the background like "Oh my gosh- Scar, you savage-"

- I watched multiple POVs until I was caught up to the standoff between Gem & The Scotts vs. The Mounders... So picking up from there with Scar's POV b/c his is the one I randomly started with today: I love how Joel basically went "I am once again throwing caution to the wind and charging into battle with a murderous Red rage in my eyes and no one behind me" like he ALWAYS does.

- Bdubs and Scar decide to back him up... Amazing.

- Scar has gotten 4 kills (Tango, Etho, Cleo, Impulse) and he was super close to getting BigB as well before Scott sniped the kill. Geez... The man is vicious today. During Limited Life, Grian made a comment that went something like "Of course Scar is only destructive / successful when I'm not on his team" and honestly? Yeah...

- Pearl begging Scar to kill her- Pearl warning Scar that if she perma-kills Gem, she'll go up 10 hearts- Scar refusing, insisting that he doesn't want to turn on her because it feels lame...

- Scar got Gem, he got Gem... GeminiSlay is DOWN!

- SCAR SWEEP WITH THE BOW!!

Oh my goodness, I saw his episode title ("Can Villain Scar Win?") and the words that went through my head were "Welp, that's a spoiler that he's dead." I see I was wrong.

GG, SCAR WIN!!! Man who wanted so desperately to have friends, only to trip and fail time and time again... GoodTimesWithVictor!!

My heart, Scar letting that zombie knock him down to half a heart... playing up like he didn't just watch the lightning bolt mark Pearl's demise. He wanders, calling out to Pearl, asking where she went... quietly giggling and muttering to himself as that zombie pushes at him... GG, Scar. GG.

My goodness, is this the only time we haven't seen the winner die in their perspective? Scar slams that success button for winning the game, gets 5 hearts, turns back, and that's it... That's the game. End scene.

What a LAD!!

[hopepetal]

Decided to do a bit of writing for the first session of secret life! Very slight spoilers for Grian's first episode below! (I took a lot of creative liberty)

--

There’s something achingly familiar about the sand underneath their feet. The way it shifts as they make their way through the desert– not their desert, but that’s alright– in search of resources and food. The sun beats down on them from above, and Grian has to give Scar a warning look. Don’t even think about taking your shirt off.

Scar grins back at him, and if they had been allies, he would’ve ignored that warning look to playfully annoy Grian as he had done many a time back in their desert. But this is not their desert, and they are not allies. There is no blood-forged loyalty between them, no soulbond tying their lives together. 

And yet, they had returned to the sand together, laughing softly at the awkward jokes that each other made. Drawn together by no one’s will outside of their own, Grian and Scar walk together under the desert sun like they are allies (they are not).

Grian’s feathers rustle as he notices a small grouping of cacti, hopping off of the camel with his stone axe in hand. His back aches slightly from the mildly uncomfortable ride– he still liked llamas more. This, he tells Scar as he begins to carefully chop the cacti and scoop them into his inventory. 

“I dunno!” he replies with a shrug, when Scar asks him why he doesn’t like camels as much. “Llamas are just more comfortable. And camels are really slow, I don’t know if you noticed that.”

Scar chuckles slightly, shaking his head. “This poor camel is workin’ his butt off to transport you back and forth, and look at how you treat him! Hatin’ on him, calling him names! You’re not too kind to your workers, G. Shame on you! Shame on you, I say.”

Grian rolls his eyes as he moves to collect the next cactus. “You’re so dramatic, Scar. I never said I hated camels.” The cactus falls, and Grian pushes it into his inventory with a little less care for the needles that prick his skin. “I just like llamas more. More comfortable on the rear, y’know?” 

Scar scoffs playfully, tutting softly in disappointment. “I never thought you’d discriminate based on butt comfortatibilital–” He cuts himself off with a slight frown– “comforta– comfortability!” His lopsided grin returns to his face as he moves over to the camel and reaches up to gently pet its rough fur. “Don’t listen to the meanie, Mr…!” He pauses, looking over at Grian. “Any name ideas?” he asks, and Grian lets out a disbelieving laugh.

“Scar!” Grian pauses in his cactus gathering and turns to face the other man, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows. “You shouldn’t start naming every animal you see. It’s the life series, for goodness sakes. You know it’s either going to die or be stolen, and what are you going to do when you retaliate and then no one wants to ally with you?”

Scar pulls his lips together into a frown, pouting. “That’s just not gonna happen! Just you wait, G– I’ll be so useful and kind to everyone on the server that they’re all gonna be my allies! Yes sir, Scar Goodtimes is going to be a friend to all this season!”

Grian laughs. “Can’t wait to see how that one turns out,” he teases. “You have a bit of a history of either going off alone, or only having one friend.”

Scar gasps in mock surprise, though the hurt that shines so briefly in his eyes is real. “Grian! You can’t just say that to a man! And you know that is not true! I had Cleo and Bdubs last season! We were family!”

Grian rolls his eyes. “Yeah, so was boatem, and look at how we ended up.” He folds his wings behind his back as he turns back to the cacti, pulling his axe out once more as he begins to chop down the desert plants. He didn’t really even know why he wanted the cacti so bad– it wasn’t as if they were actually all that useful, other than some dye. 

It was at this point that Scar realizes just what Grian was doing, and stumbles forward with a yelp. “Hey! Hey there! I’m not letting you get the monopoly, mister!” He struggles to pull out his axe before swiftly chopping into the base of the cactus. “I’ve learned better by now!” he crows, scooping the fallen plant into his hands. And for a moment, he pauses, and silence falls over the two of them.

Scar seems to consider something, green eyes darkening from memories. He cups the small piece of cactus in his hands, careful to not let the needles prick into his skin. He looks up at Grian, down, then back up again. The silence continues to ring. 

Grian swallows, and the anticipation (fear? he thinks it might be fear) building in his chest makes him think that the stakes of this moment should be higher. That the number of lives should be lower. It makes him think that there should be a ring of cacti around the two of them, and that he should be gazing into red eyes.

But the eyes he meets are lime green. Wrong, but not red. The only cacti around are in Grian’s inventory and Scar’s hands. And the sand that shifts slightly beneath their feet is not pitted with explosions nor stained with blood. Grian realizes his feathers had begun to puff out and forces himself to calm down. 

It’s fine. He’s fine. 

Scar’s expression tells Grian he’s thinking the same thing. The silence crescendos into a deafening roar. 

Scar steps forward, and carefully places the cactus down on the sand in front of Grian. “I’ll let you have the monopoly,” he murmurs, and Grian chokes out a laugh as he picks up the cactus and puts that into his inventory as well. Scar gives him a grin and breathes out his next question. “Can we still be friends?”

Grian slowly blinks, and looks up at Scar. He takes a deep breath. Then another. The silence does not ring; it screams. 

Scar glances up and sees Grian there, staring at the cactus, and frowns. “Hey, G? You good?”

Grian blinks back tears, and nods. “...yeah. Yeah, I’m good. We can still be friends.” 

Friends. Not allies. Neither were quite ready to be the latter just yet. But it was a start. They left that desert– not their desert, they’d never quite leave that– alive and feeling the light sting of cactus needles pricking into their skin.

[kaihuntrr]

part one: when the sun was eclipsed.

Grian remembers of a time when Jimmy was still around. And what happened to him.

Another day, another perfect time to set sail.

Another chance to strike at the beasts that terrorized the people.

Grian stood proudly at the bow, facing the large iron gate in the distance. He saw the large shadow cast by the stone walls, its darkness providing a sense of safety to the town’s citizens with  a glint of the canons that adorned the top. It was a ready defense from any invading monsters, though they never dared to swim close to the islands. Maybe those monsters had some intelligence after all if they knew to stay away from the kingdom. They were protected by the king, the navy, and the hunters, each one ensuring humanity could live and thrive within the walls. It was good. It was perfect. 

It was home. 

It was going to be another exciting day. The crew planned to sail off into the sea, to find some beasts to kill, and to return to the love and warmth of the people and recover. Prepare, leave, kill, return, rest, then repeat. The simple, monotonous life of a hunter was easier said than done. A lot of hunters risked their lives every day to keep the people safe and sound. It was one of the most noble deeds a person could do in their life- it was even more noble to be acknowledged by the king himself. 

One day, this crew was going to earn the king’s approval. They had already slain small packs of those disgusting monsters, an impressive feat compared to the one or two beasts other crews their age had taken down. It was only a matter of time before the king addressed him, his brothers, and their crew. Then, they’d be hunters for the king– better than all the rest! It was going to be one of the best days of their lives, he just knew it. 

After all, he was the cunning Grian Solidarity. He was the youngest of his family and had the biggest hunger to prove himself on the wild seas. He and his brothers had made this crew not too long ago, and with how much money they’d been raking in, they just had to be the best out of all the people their age! The amount of people who had looked down on them for just being green, overeager upcomers wasn’t surprising, but Grian could bet those people were eating their own insults now. They just had to be!

Grian rested his hands on the railing, breathing in the fresh air, and hummed in delight. The ship was prepared to set sail and the others would likely return before the gates were scheduled to open. He’d done his part- checking on the weapons and restocking the ship with ammo was pretty easy when he was with Mumbo and Scar- so he had the luxury of sitting back, relaxing while waiting for the others to get on board–

“Grian?” He jumped at the sound of his name. He turned around to see Joel looking around, worried. “Have you seen Jimmy? I haven’t seen him anywhere.” Grian frowned, suddenly concerned.

Jimmy had been acting weird lately. Not only had he gotten that flower tattoo out of nowhere, but he’d been acting a lot more aloof on their hunting trips too. He’d been acting like that for a couple of months at least. He had been pretty scared of the ocean before, when they were younger, but a little exposure therapy didn’t hurt and he’d been fine. It also wasn’t the first time that he had wandered around like this- but he usually came back well before the ship would set sail.

Grian hummed, trying to recall if he had seen his brother in the past few… hours, probably. He ran through where he’d last seen the other members of their crew. He’d seen Cleo hanging around with Mumbo, Scar and Bdubs were doing something together, and Lizzie was out in the port talking to Martyn before he was due to set off with the Kestrels. Grian remembered catching Joel glancing at Lizzie a dozen times earlier, silently wishing she could join them on their hunts. “...No, I haven’t,” he finally said, putting a hand on his chin. “Any idea where he’d be?”

“No, that’s why I was asking you in the first place…,” Joel grumbled. “He’s probably in the harbor somewhere, let’s go look for him.”

“But I just got comfortable…,” Grian jokingly complained. One sour look from Joel made him roll his eyes and relent. Jimmy knew this town like the back of his hand, just like the rest of them. He wasn’t lost, Grian was sure of it. “Fine. But Tim’s probably just wandering around again. You know how he is.” He shrugged. Joel made a small frown and sighed, but followed Grian as the two descended from the ship and into the hustle and bustle of the port town behind them.

—————

So maybe Jimmy had gotten lost somewhere in town.

How was Grian supposed to know that?

Even so, he probably wouldn’t be too hard to find. It wasn’t like the town was… big.

Grian and Joel scoured the marketplace, one of the busier sides of town, in hopes they’d run into Jimmy there. It wasn’t an unusual spot for them to frequent, considering all the supplies and ammo they had to restock themselves with every time they came back to port, so Grian was sure that Jimmy would be around here. Maybe he was buying something for the crew? That would be really nice of him.

Grian looked around the marketplace, seeing a variety of townsfolk going about their day, pointing at imported fabrics, trying out newly minted tools, and smelling the fresh food from different restaurants and stalls. He could hear everything, from barters between villagers to the giggles of children to older men bickering with each other about their wives. The place was alive; it felt so amazing to get lost in the crowd, but there wasn’t any trace of his brother. 

He looked at Joel and gestured to the crowd and nodded. Joel nodded back, understanding the thought Grian had in mind. It was best to split up.

Grian slipped away into the crowd of people and cupped his mouth. “Tim!” he shouted, looking around. “Come on Tim- we have to leave soon!”

“Jim, this isn’t funny!” Joel called out from somewhere behind him. “Where are you?”

The brothers sifted through the crowd, looking around for any sign that their brother might’ve been around. It shouldn’t have been too hard– he’d gotten himself lost before, and Grian and Joel were always able to find him. The only annoying bit was how often Jimmy got lost. They had been in and around this town for more than a year! He should know his way around at least!

“There he is!” Joel called out, pointing up the street to one of the narrow streets to where Jimmy had just exited from. Jimmy looked around for a moment, apparently not seeing them, then exhaled what seemed to be a sigh of relief as he shook his head. He turned and started walking in the direction of the ship. 

Grian and Joel pushed through the crowd, calling out for their brother as he still seemed to not notice them, even as they grew closer. Grian was sure he was shouting- why hadn’t Jimmy noticed yet?

“Tim! Tim!” Grian called out for what felt like the hundredth time, the sound finally registered. Jimmy turned around and looked at his brothers with wide eyes, allowing them to catch up to him. Grian crossed his arms as he stood in front of him, “Where were you?”

Jimmy rubbed the back of his head and forced an awkward smile. “Nowhere important, just had to check up on something.” His eyes darted around, looking at anything but Grian and Joel. “Sorry if I scared you a bit, it’s nothing to worry about.”

“We’ve been looking for you for the past thirty minutes,” Joel groaned, “And this isn’t the first time you’ve vanished right before launch. There has to be some reason you’ve been wandering off.”

Jimmy frowned and looked down at the ground, as if unsure of himself. There had to be some type of problem making him act the way he was. Why couldn’t he just tell them…? They were brothers and there were no secrets between them. What could possibly be so serious and so secret-?

“Like I said, it’s nothing for you to worry about,” Jimmy insisted, his voice more stern. It sounded almost like he was on edge. Then he paused, slightly shaking his head. “We’re leaving soon right? I’m not late, so it’s fine.”

Joel looked unhappy about that answer, crossing his arms. “That’s the plan.” He looked briefly up at the sky then back down to Jimmy. “I think everyone else is back on board, we should get moving.” He looked over the other ships as other hunters prepared for their own voyages, still frowning.

“Definitely,” Jimmy agreed. He looked back and forth from the ships to his brothers, a smirk forming on his face. That look of mischievousness tended to show up when he’d thought of something stupid. “How about we race to the ship?”

Grian shot a glance at Joel, an unspoken scheme passing between them, then he looked back to Jimmy. “So long as you don’t trip over a bunch of swords and impale yourself….” Grian shrugged nonchalantly, earning a small snicker from Joel and a bright blush of embarrassment on Jimmy’s face.

“Wh- I’m not that clumsy!” Jimmy sputtered, his shoulders rising as he started shaking his head adamantly.

Yeah right, Grian almost said, but he kept it to himself.

Joel grinned, “Sure you are! Out of all of us, you’re gonna be the one to die first, probably doing something stupid,” he pushed Jimmy aside, breaking into a run as Grian followed right behind him. 

“And you’re slow too!” Grian called out, glancing behind him momentarily to see the stunned look on Jimmy’s face.

“Wh- no countdown?! You’re supposed to do a countdown!” Jimmy shouted as he scrambled after them, “Oh you’re gonna get it! Cheaters!”

Grian and Joel laughed as Jimmy attempted to catch up, chasing after them like they had chased each other as kids. Their hearty laughter filled the air, breaking whatever tension there had been between them. Nothing but bright smiles and exhausted breaths hung between them as they boarded the ship, teasing and prodding each other all the way up the gangplank, sharing childish grins and teasing until it was finally time for those iron gates to open once more.

—————

The sea had a calmness to it.

A still, uneasy calmness that Grian couldn’t quite describe.

He could remember the stories hunters would tell each other; how the apparent silence meant an easy voyage for sailors, but the moment that hunters let their guard down a swarm of beasts would descend upon the ship. That was how arrogant hunters met their doom, because they’d doubted their enemy. A good hunter would never let their guard down, would train to keep their skills sharp, and would never doubt their enemy’s power. 

Grian stood in the crow’s nest, using a telescope to search the ocean for any sign of monsters. He didn’t see much, just a quiet, endless ocean. The one thing he was slightly unnerved with was the lack of birds perched on the ship, there weren’t even any in the skies. Though… maybe that was a good thing? He wasn’t too sure.

It must be nice, being able to fly wherever you want.

Their crew was far from the Crown Isles. It had been two and a half days of straight voyaging, and Grian had begun to get quite bored. It was all the same monotonous routine without a monster to fight. There wasn’t that much to do on a ship except sleep, read, or play games. Things would just get interesting later, but ‘later’ was so far away….

He could hear faded conversations from his friends down below and the distant rumble of the engine. Sighing to himself and deciding that the coast was clear, Grian shut his telescope and tucked it away in his bag. He made his way down the wooden ladder, feeling the nice breeze on his skin and breathed it in.

“See anything from up there?” Joel called out from the steering wheel. 

Grian shook his head. “Nothing, so we can relax for a little while longer,” he shrugged, looking up at Joel. “It’s a nice break.”

“It sure is!” Joel replied.

Grian looked across the deck to see Jimmy and Scar having a pleasant conversation. Grian felt his heart swell at the sight of Scar’s goofy grin. He was such a lovable idiot. He felt his heart skip as the two locked eyes and Scar waved him over.

“Heya, captain!” Scar swung his arm around Grian the moment he arrived, “What’d you see up there?”

“I haven’t seen anything, so no worries there.” Grian pushed Scar’s arm away and shook his head. “What were you two talking about?”

Jimmy widened his eyes and shot a glance at Scar. Scar didn’t notice as he immediately responded, “Oh! Jimmy here was talking about this gift he’d give you-.” Jimmy immediately swatted his arm, then looked away in embarrassment. Scar paused, then slowly turned to Jimmy, “...Was I not supposed to say that?”

“Scar!” Jimmy groaned, his cheeks getting redder and redder as he covered his face with his hands with a groan. “Go get Joel, now that you’ve ruined it…!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Scar laughed, walking away. “But I still think that idea of yours is really cute!”

Grian’s gaze followed Scar for a short while as he walked up the deck, then he blinked and looked back at Jimmy. “Gift…?” He raised an eyebrow, looking suspiciously at Jimmy’s hands, now firmly stuffed into his pockets.

“I- I thought you two might like something since I’ve been off doing… other stuff lately,” Jimmy raised his shoulders, his voice growing softer. “I got a gift, something for all three of us.”

Jimmy flinched as he heard Joel’s hearty laugh. “Jim got a present for his little brothers?” Joel grinned mockingly. “I was wondering when you’d stop slacking off and fulfill your duty as the oldest to spoil your little brothers!”

Jimmy’s expression soured. “Wh-! Well if you have that attitude with me, I’m not giving it to you!” He huffed, but Grian could see the facsimile of the stern look on Jimmy’s face. Grian raised his eyebrows and shook his head as Joel rolled his eyes.

“Aw, Jiiim…!” Joel cooed, tilting his head, trying to get Jimmy to look at him with his sweet-little-brother puppy-dog eyes. They usually worked. “Come on, please?” Jimmy’s expression soured further but it only gave Joel an evil glint in his eyes. “Don’t make me do it.” Silence. Joel rolled his eyes and nudged Grian, both of them snickering as Joel took in a deep breath.

Then, he did what he’d always done since they were kids: being lovingly annoying to their eldest brother.

“Please please please please-.”

One of Jimmy’s eyes twitched as he shot a deathly glare at Joel. “Joel, quit it!”

“You forced me,” Joel said defensively, shrugging almost helplessly with a smug look on his face. In a blink, he was back to puppy-dog eyes. “Jiiiiimmm…!”

Jimmy sighed, relenting as he relaxed his shoulders. “Sometimes I wish I could stay mad at both of you forever,” he tilted his head in exasperation. “I got these.”

Jimmy pulled out two small things from his pocket. 

Lockets.

They were small and oblong, silver teardrops carved with their initials on one side and a long feather on the back. They hung from silver chains with delicate little clasps. Jimmy gave them the locket with their respective initials. Grian stared at it with wide starry eyes. He opened the locket and gasped.

“Th- these are….”

“Remember the photo we took on the day we got this ship?” Jimmy asked fondly. “I was able to make some copies- and I got them in a nice locket for all of us!” 

The locket’s picture was of the three of them standing together with their ship behind them, all nice and new. Grian remembered that day fondly- all the emotions they’d had when finishing their training to be hunters, the well wishes of their parents and support of their friends, and finally seeing the ship they’d call their own.

It was all so… perfect. 

“Do you like it…?”

“It’s… it’s wonderful, Tim,” Grian was speechless, shifting his hand around to examine the locket from all sides. “I love it.”

“Yeah… these are great gifts, Jim,” Joel nodded, unclasping his locket to put it around his neck. “They’re the perfect good luck charms.”

“You think so?” Jimmy smiled as Grian and Joel nodded in agreement. “Oh that’s great, there’s a little something special in them, too.”

“It’s pretty special as is, Jim,” Joel kept his eyes on the locket, looking at it from every angle with adoration, “what’s there to top?”

“It’s a surprise, so you’ll figure it out.”

“Have it your way, Tim.” Grian stuck his tongue out as he slipped his locket on. Though, he did appreciate a good mystery, so cracking the surprise was definitely going to be a fun pastime of his. “Anyway, since there aren’t any monsters around, how about we share a toast?” He clapped his hands together and looked at his brothers eagerly.

“Are you sure about that?” Joel asked, wariness rang in his voice. “We’re out at sea, G, you wouldn’t want–!”

“It’s alright, we’ll be fine!” Grian waved his hand in dismissal. “We haven’t seen a beast for days! Just a drink or two won’t be too much of a hassle. Martyn isn’t here so we don’t have a problem with drunks or lightweights!” 

“You make a good point…,” Joel muttered, relenting a little. Jimmy glanced at him and shook his head, but Joel shrugged. “Fine. Just a drink or two.”

Grian nodded and put a hand to his chest. “Just one or two, promise.”

The crew did have a few barrels of liquor stashed away, and it would be a waste to keep those down there forever. The three of them got to work bringing some of the barrels up, and with some coaxing, the rest of the crew got together to share a few drinks. It’d help with the boredom, but it was also to take some of their edges off, as there were tales of hunters being overly paranoid and turning on each other while out to sea… those were definitely some odd stories.

Grian sipped some of the ale in his mug, swirling the burning liquid as he looked on at his crew. Scar, Joel and Cleo were passing jokes around, Mumbo was explaining something to Bdubs, who didn’t look like he was retaining any of it, and Jimmy was… well, he was by himself, standing at the railing and staring off into the water.

“Hey.” Jimmy flinched at Grian’s voice as he approached. Grian gave his brother a smile, but his eyes widened when he saw Jimmy… dumping his drink over the side of the ship? “Uh- are you good, Tim?”

Jimmy blinked. “Wh- oh! Whoops,” he grinned sheepishly as he quickly reoriented his cup and frowned at the alcohol remaining. “Guess my head’s starting to buzz now, huh?” 

“What’re you doing over here, instead of over there with everybody else?” Grian tilted his head towards the rest of their crew. They looked happy, all together like that. They were having fun. “Unless you want to be alone for a little while…?”

“I don’t mind the company–,” Jimmy said quickly, looking at the sea. “It’s… it’s nice that everyone’s enjoying themselves.” He almost looked withdrawn, like the alcohol was making him more sad than happy. Grian frowned. Jimmy was usually a loud, boisterous drunk, teetering on being overly friendly– not this.

“Yeah, but you should be enjoying yourself too,” Grian nudged Jimmy’s shoulder. 

“Grian…, I know you want me to have fun but…,” Jimmy sighed. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for everyone to get drunk. Someone should keep watch, keep the ship from getting into any trouble….” He trailed off, but Grian could see his eyes shift to Bdubs as his voice lowered.

Grian took a quick glance at Bdubs, seeing how happy the man was with the rest of the crew. It was hard to imagine such a bubbly man starting his hunting career off with a death.

The Storm Chaser had been a fine ship, boasting a streak of thirteen beasts slain each month, and one of their members was Bdubs’ brother, Pungence. With its iron and brass covered hull and naval blue and blood red sails, it was easy to spot the ship out in the waters.

Which made the discovery of its wreckage all the more horrifying. 

It was said that the crew was arrogant enough to let their guards down, only for a beast to come and tear their ship apart. Grian remembered Bdubs adamantly pushing against the story and blamed it on something else- like faulty machinery or an ambush, though he couldn’t remember much from before he’d been found floating amongst the wreckage. Grian wasn’t sure what to think about it.

Grian shook his head. “We won’t get into any trouble today, Tim, we’ll be okay,” he put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and smiled warmly. Jimmy was still a little antsy, but a good drink could loosen him up enough to let go of his worries. “So come on! Let’s go join them!” He caught Jimmy by the elbow, pulling him across the deck to where the others were. 

He tried not to pay too much attention to how Jimmy flinched when he’d grabbed his arm.

“Grian, I-....” Jimmy stopped after just a few steps. Grian furrowed his eyebrows as Jimmy’s eyes widened and looked around, like he was expecting to see something, only for him to shake his head and smile when there was nothing there. Grian wasn’t sure if it was genuine or not. He was really regretting the buzz in the back of his skull. It made it hard to think, hard to read Jimmy as he said, “...Sure. Let’s go see them.”

Grian took a few steps forward, but started walking quicker as he saw the smiling faces of his friends, his crew. He practically dragged Jimmy all the way to the others. It didn’t seem to bother Jimmy too much, at least Grian didn’t think so. “Hey! Guess who made it?” Grian chuckled mischievously as Jimmy rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Jimothy!” Bdubs giggled as they walked up, finally blinking out of his blank stare to wave wildly at them. “There you are!” He slung his arm around Jimmy, the sudden motion startling the man. Bdubs’ grin only grew wider. “Aw come on! Don’t be so jumpy!” 

“Are you sure they’re not drunk?” Jimmy whispered to Grian as he glanced at the others, but his voice was still loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear.

“What? We’re fine,” Bdubs shook his head, dismissing the notion. “Just wanted to mess with you, captain. What’s with the drinks all of a sudden?”

“Can’t we just have a drink every once in a while?” Grian chuckled bashfully. He took a sip from his own mug. “I don’t want you all going insane.”

“Can’t go insane when we’re all messing with Jim! You’re heaps of entertainment!” Joel laughed as he wrapped his arm around Jimmy’s neck, pulling him down with such force that it sloshed the few remaining drops of his drink down Jimmy’s shirt. Joel paused, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked at his brother, slowly taking in the solemn, almost distant look on Jimmy’s face. “Why do you look so upset?”

“I-... it’s nothing. It’s hard to talk about, that’s all.” Jimmy looked away. “But don’t worry about me!” He raised his hands, forcing a laugh, “Let’s just finish the rest of the drinks.”

“We’ll stop worrying when you stop being so sad,” Cleo mumbled amusingly, not a trace of malice in their voice as they took a swig of their mug. Grian wasn’t sure how many times she’d drank out of it, but he didn’t remember seeing her refill it at all. “But whatever you say, captain.”

Grian downed the rest of his drink, savoring the burning feeling. It was always fun to drink with friends, much more so when they were all having a good time. Grian easily let the world slip out of focus with his friends- his family right in front of him, so he didn’t notice the weather turning. 

He didn’t notice the dark clouds covering the sky. He didn’t notice when the chill breeze of the ocean turned freezing on his skin. And he didn’t notice how much the waves had begun to sway the ship from side to side with how much he was swaying on his own. He couldn’t focus on much with his buzzing head, even if–

“GUYS!” Scar’s sudden shout alerted the entire crew. “It’s a storm! Watch out for beasts!”

That wasn’t good.

“Get to your positions, quickly!” Grian shouted. “A storm could spell trouble!”

The crew immediately flew to their positions. Scar climbed up to the crow’s nest as fast as he could, Cleo ran towards one of the cannons with Joel beside her on the left, Jimmy and Mumbo ran to the right to hold their cannons, and Grian picked up a harpoon and dashed to the bow of the ship.

Thunder rumbled overhead, the waves began to crash against the hull of the ship. Storms were fine. They’ve weathered some nasty storms in the past, and this one was just the same as the others–!

Then Grian heard something.

Tha-thump.

Tha-thump.

What was that sound? A heartbeat-? His-? Then why did it sound like it was coming from the water? 

Then the ship suddenly began to tilt sideways, the deck slanting under their feet.

“H-Hold on tight!” Grian grabbed the closest railing and held on for dear life as the ship continued to tilt. He was closest to Jimmy and Mumbo, the three of them clinging to the railing. Grian shook his head, squinting at the water as he attempted to get a look at the monster.

He couldn’t see any sign of the beast, not its jaws or body. The whole sea around them had turned dark from the storm, too dark for the creature’s silhouette to be visible under the surface.

Rain fell out of the sky and crashed on the deck, pelting the surrounding seas in a blurry mess as Grian struggled to see. The odd, rhythmic tha-thumps drummed in Grian’s ears, the only thing he could hear over the howling wind and the booming thunder. Wind whipped around, further obscuring Grian’s vision.

Then Grian’s whole body froze as a bone-chilling trill reverberated through the depths, making his teeth rattle in his skull. 

The sound reverberated through the chaos of the sea, rumbling the wood and steel of the ship, and down to Grian’s very soul. That sound… it didn’t sound like anything like the beasts he took down in the past. The hand gripping the harpoon trembled as he tried to look for the beast in the water.

The ship continued to tilt. 

“Why aren’t any of you firing?!” Joel snapped, his voice barely audible above the sounds of the sky and sea. 

“There isn’t anything to shoot!” Grian shouted back, lifting his harpoon high for the chance of this beast to reveal itself. Nothing- nothing at all. Grian’s heartbeat quickened, searching desperately for a shadow in the water. A beast couldn’t hide itself as it was attempting to flip over an entire ship…! It needed to have a shadow! There had to be some kind of shadow! His eyes turned further out, where the water turned lighter very suddenly, almost in a defined line…. 

What if-.... That couldn’t be possible, could it? “U- unless….”

Unless the dark sea surrounding the ship was all a part of the monster’s large shadow.

Grian heaved his arm forward and threw the harpoon into the water, using all of his strength to plunge the blade as deep into the water as he could manage.

The ship suddenly jerked sideways as a loud, earth-shaking growl rumbled through the waters.

Grian lost his grip on the railing, his foot slipping out from under him on the slick deck. He pitched backwards, but the deck fell away under him as the whole ship turned sideways. He felt himself bounce across the deck, scraping the back of his arms and shoulders as he flipped over. One of his hands somehow managed to grab onto a rope, bringing him to a sharp, sudden stop that wrenched his shoulder. Grian heard himself let out a cry of pain that he didn't fully realize he'd made. He looked up, blinking water out of his eyes just in time to watch a shape fall past him-

Jimmy.

Grian let go of the rope and kicked off the sideways deck before he even realized he was moving, just barely clearing the railing as the ship rocked back the other way to right itself.

He plunged into the icy water, already reaching for his brother.

Grian’s body froze as the icy water closed over his head, shock startling his nerves. He pushed through, kicking towards the surface. His head burst out of the water, salt stinging his eyes as he turned his head frantically to look for Jimmy. He couldn’t be too far- maybe he was in shock, maybe so much so that he couldn’t move! Grian turned his head more frantically. He needed to get to him, he needed to find him!

He spotted Jimmy farther out, treading water. The ship must’ve launched him far. With a fire in his heart, Grian began to push through the waves, swimming closer and closer to his brother, every breath fueling him forward. “Tim! Tim!”

“Grian?!” Jimmy turned around. His eyes widened in shock and he glanced from the water around him then back to Grian. He held his hand up. “Grian wait-!”

“Jimmy!” Grian called out, “I’m coming to you! Just hold on!”

Tha-thump.

Tha-thump.

The beast was nearby, probably circling around them. They would be fine- they had to be fine. Grian still had his guns and Jimmy had his dagger. Whatever beast it was could live another day, he didn’t care if it got away! Grian was only focused on getting to Jimmy and getting them both back on the ship.

But Jimmy was shaking his head as Grian continued to swim up to him. In fact- he seemed to be moving further away…!

Jimmy’s face twisted into something painful and almost apologetic. “Grian, I’m sor–!”

A large red fin flashed out of the water and-... Jimmy was gone.

Grian stared at the place where Jimmy had been. 

He could hear his friends’ shouts, muffled and distant to his ears. His stare was hollow and empty as the rhythmic noise slowly faded into nothingness. The monster was gone, and it had taken Jimmy with it.

Grian’s whole world had shattered in a heartbeat.

He didn’t hear himself scream, agony ripping out of his chest. He didn’t stop until his throat gave out.

—————

It had been at least two days since the hunters escaped from Crescent Bay.

Grian was sitting behind the large desk of the captain’s quarters, absentmindedly staring at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. He was still shaken from the events at Crescent Bay, and judging by the general silence of the ship, everyone else was too, stuck processing it all like a bad nightmare that wouldn’t go away no matter how high the sun rose. 

What bothered Grian the most were that sea prince’s eyes. They were the same ones Martyn scribbled on his sketchbook, before he’d disappeared. The encounter played in his head over and over. The bellowing thunder, the flashing lightning, the echoing heartbeat–

Grian paused.

…Echoing heartbeat?

Something- some thought or distant memory was tugging on his brain. Grian sat forward, rubbing his forehead in thought. The familiar yet unfamiliar sound of a loud heartbeat drummed in his mind as he wracked his brain. He remembered that he’d heard that sound before, but the part that was bothering him was where. He drew his eyebrows together, holding both sides of his face as he sunk back into his chair.

He remembered hearing that heartbeat when he and Cleo were in the cave.

He remembered faintly hearing it faintly just before Martyn went under with that scuttler.

…He remembered hearing the noise just before Jimmy died.

Tha-thump.

Grian slowly sat up.

…There was no way….

Tha-thump.

…It couldn’t have been his imagination, could it…?

Tha-thump.

So the beast that killed Jimmy was…!

“Grian, I’m sor–!”

Grian laid his head on his desk. The echo of his memory screamed in agony. He tried not to echo it as salt stung his eyes. His throat felt torn.

A sea prince.

A sea prince killed his brother.

Grian cradled the locket he had worn buried in his shirt for so long, the last thing Jimmy ever gave him.

As soon as they caught that sea prince, he’d rip its heart out.

[sparkybells]

twenty four hours into Wild Life and here are my thoughts from the povs I have seen so far (Scott, Jimmy, Lizzie, Scar, Joel, Gem, Cleo, and Skizz)

-THE RETURN OF GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSS (and impulse)

-not Scott finding Jimmy in a cave within the first few minuets 😭

-it Scott’s video alone I counted at least five “hole” jokes, the out of context videos are gonna have a field day

-Smallidarity crumbs

-SO MANY EMPIRES REFERENCES

-Valley girls immediately teaming up, they have been waiting to be paired since last season

-LIZZIE JIMMY SCAR TEAM UP WHEN I TELL YOU THIS WAS MY DREAM TEAM UP

-Martyn living up to his name sake

-THE RETURN OF RENCHANTING FELLAS WE ARE EATING

-Ren serenading the group around a campfire was so wholesome

-Joel and Gem team up, the chaos about to ensue between those two

—Skizz immediately going feral

-Grian Mumbo and Skizz learning what it’s like to be ants

-My prediction is that the wild cards will start silly goofy but progressively get deadlier as the season goes on

-if they keep referencing past seasons, groups, and smps we are COOKED

[sarioh]

rio i miss and love you and your analysis posts. what are your thoughts on the clethubs dynamic this season (in anticipation of the new episode tmrw)

hi aleph thank you so much for giving me a green flag to just drop a 1000 word rant about clethubs also sorry i missed the deadline and also sorry about the length. anyways personally i think clethubs is what you get when you put 3 people who are burdened with Remembering in a world where no one else really seems to. like, of course the other players remember and make references to events of the past, but they don’t remember in the way these three do.

to me this is best explained through a breakdown of Trust and how it manifests between each of them indiviudally. etho, especially, is so distrusted by most of the server. he’s a schemer, he has a reputation of being really unreadable and also unpredictable, but if you actually try to understand him it’s really easy to see that he’s actually the most straightforward person alive. he operates purely on debts and repayments. not debts in a trade sense—those are a business transaction and subject to being logically dissected and exploited. but debts in an emotional sense. etho offered grian mercy in limited life because of the diamond sword in episode 1, which grian had forgotten about entirely all the while etho had been biding his time and waiting for a chance to repay it all season.

cleo is the only person on the server who seems to really understand this part of etho, and therefore is the only person who seems to be able to read his true intentions. not only that, but she's the only one who really seems to approach the concept of loyalty in the same way. in the life series, alliances are feeble and fleeting, and for the most past actions hold no bearing in the future. it doesn’t matter what happened 5 episodes ago—if you’re not on my side now, you’re against me. there’s no such thing for cleo—loyalty and betrayal are not just momentary states of being. if you took something dear from me 5 episodes ago, i will never fully allow myself to need you again. even if we're in the final five and our survival depends on each other.

cleo and etho were direct antagonists in the last season and have no reason to trust each other now, but they trust openly despite it because better than most they understand the burden of a debt unpaid, and the burden of remembering in a way that no one else seems to. to them, loyalty isn’t about who you arbitrarily align yourself with, it’s a gesture. it’s “you gave me an extra pair of diamond leggings 3 episodes ago for no reason when you could’ve given it to your allies and now you have no idea that youre in my good books forever.” you can be on opposites ends of a war from someone but if they extend you a moment of mercy, well, how are you supposed to forget that? how are you not supposed to spend the rest of your life repaying that? they both subconsciously keep lists, not just of people they want to kill (like so many other players seem to), but of people who have extended a hand to them in a time where it didn't really make sense to. of gestures that were silently meaningful towards people they care about. "i trust you because bdubs trusted you" etc etc.

it makes so much sense that cleo and etho would both go immediately to becoming sworn allies this season after being bitter enemies in the previous series. because they both understand that there’s no such thing as fleeting alliances, and when they've decided to choose each other, it’s more than just a shared base or a team name—it’s something unshakable. it’s a thousand debts you take turns repaying.

and then theres bdubs, where remembering takes a different form entirely. for him, remembering manifests as shared history. if i chose you before, really chose you, then i’m going to choose you again and again and again. i’m going to hover in your orbit even if you don’t choose me the next time, because you and i both know what we had, even if we’re not supposed to acknowledge it. “that was a different universe, this is a different world. you’re just cleo” but i’m going to spend the rest of the episode hovering longingly by your base anyways. “this is our old thing, if it comes down to it we don’t betray each other” because the loyalty created its roots years ago and has been growing out of control ever since. you ask bdubs where his team is and he shifts uncomfortably and refuses to explicitly call them his allies, insisting that they just showed up around him but he's not really sure.

and just like etho, the other players never fully trust bdubs. he’s fickle with his loyalty and seems to be a split decision away from turning on his friends at any second, but cleo and etho both know that’s not really true either. their trust towards him comes from that Remembering, that fundamental understanding of shared history.

for etho, it’s the push and pull. it’s the knowing that we go so far back that what happens in between never really matters. you got caught in an explosion or a trap that i set in your base? well, good thing we have a hundred more lives to play with so we can just laugh it off like we always do. a stray explosion or a firing squad aren’t an act of betrayal, any more than a mocking comment about your height or a casual threat of violence. and when it really matters, we both know we’d put down our swords.

for cleo, it’s something unshakeable. bdubs, the known traitor of 3rd life, was fiercely protective of her and her alone. so she’s never wary of him the same way anyone else is—she knows that when bdubs really chooses you, then you’re marked for life.

so yeah. clethubs is three guys who share the burden of remembering. and also have some kind of unspoken understanding of each others motives and intentions that no other player seems to have concretely picked up on. but in a way that ultimately just culminates in them acting like freaks around each other and not actually making any direct effort to team mostly because, as usual, etho and bdubs have no idea how to communicate their intentions directly and sincerely like normal people and instead opt to hover in the fringes of each others alliances and make really weird and loaded comments . Anyways

[whereispearlescentmoon]

Wild Life Pearl POV Reaction

Hell yeah! Scott’s on board with being chaotic!

Oh he knows what Pearl did… wuh woh.

Scott changed his skin without turning yellow, so name mc spoilers have actually failed me.

“Operation get Pearl back to green” I don’t think this is going to happen if the namemc spoilers were any indication . Actually why do I feel dread?

BigB is here!!! Guess we really are letting bygones be bygones.

Robot quiz about the Life Series? I actually don’t like this tbh. Doesn’t seem fair to Pearl, Ren, Skizz, Mumbo, and Lizzie who weren’t in some of the series.

BigB is really back!!!!!

“Cleo that looks good on you there. Forgiveness.” “BigB, do you want to test me?”

Ah the hole jokes.

Oh the quiz bots go to one person?

“I forgot, I was out so early” “I see Grian, that’s why you don’t respect my win…” GET HIM CLEO GET HIM

Oh no Cleo got got….

Pearl’s first question. This one is about the current life series so that seems more fair. Although Pearl by her own admission on stream doesn’t watch other POVs because she doesn’t want spoilers of what people are planning.

“Hi! I’m Cleo!” Dont think I didn’t catch that season 9 throw back.

“I’m a spider today!” Aussie Aussie Aussie!

“It’s a question about the only season I wasn’t in!” THIS IS WHAT IM SAYING SKIZZ! And him and Pearl only missed one season! What about Ren, Mumbo, and Lizzie who missed two (three for Lizzie if you count Real Life which evidently the quiz has questions about!)? What about Gem who only joined in Secret Life?

“What did Pearl and Scar use to hurt their soulmates in Double Life?” Every Pearl fan stares off into the distance shaking from the cold. Also Grian just not telling Skizz the solution… Spanner divorce.

BigB, Martyn, and Jimmy mass death? Ohh that’s what happens when you get it wrong. Yeah I’m actually really not a fan of this wild card. And it spawns a ravager which can kill others in the area. Great, perfectly balanced. No notes.

Wait wait, so sometimes it kills you and sometimes you just get huge? How is that fair at all? I’m sorry but it seems like this and the snail twist both needed massive balancing reconsiderations.

“Should we go antagonize Gem and Joel? Seems like a good idea.” “You’re calling the shots so sure.” “All in! All in!” How I’ve always wanted Scott and Cleo to respond to Pearl /j

“On a scale of 1-10 how much do you love me today?” “Oh, like 0,” “*sigh* I try every time,” The shiny duo divorce continues. Also, you don’t seem to hate her very much Gem, given that you’re chit chatting like nothing is wrong at all.

“Don’t be alone today, that’s scary,”

“It’s okay I’ve got lots of lives to spare, unlike some people,”

“That was unnecessary. I’m tired of this fighting Gem! Cant we be friends?”

“No? You want to kill me!”

“No, no I don’t! When have I ever tried to kill you this season?”

“Not this season.”

“Exactly. You know Scar allied with us in that last episode of Secret Life right? You know. I didn’t kill you. I let Scar do it.”

“I know you didn’t kill me,”

“So what are you cranky about? Do we need to talk about it?”

“I’m not cranky”

“You are cranky!”

“I just, you know I wanted drama. So this is the drama.”

“This is the drama. You’re telling me we could have been friends this whole time but you’re just like ‘ohohohoho I hate you’”

“Yeah, I mean why not?” SO EVEN GEM ADMITS ITS ABOUT NOTHING! That’s actually so slay of her.

YOU CANT TYPE IN CHAT????? THE SNAIL IS BACK IF YOU FAIL??? CLEO IS ON SEVEN HEARTS AND NOT REGENING??!? I just… these punishments are so unbalanced. Scar gets insta killed by a snail, one of them triple killed, Grian just got big, and Cleo is fine as long as she doesn’t take damage.

Hi Billy!

Oh Gem is at their base for once! SHE BLEW UP CLEO? Or got her blown up??? Oh she’s gotta die.

“Does anyone have a thing of flint and steel?” Dangerous question coming from notorious arsonist ZombieCleo. “I’m gonna hit Gem in the one place she actually cares about” There it is! Missed you bestie arsonist!

PEARL BLEW HERSELF UP WITH MARTYN!!! And since he’s on light green, she’s on red.

CLEO BURNED DOWN THE RENWOOD HOUSE! YAAAAAY I LOVE YOU ARSONIST CLEO!!!!

“Haven’t you accepted in this series that nothing stays alive?” Hey Pearl, that was the rawest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. Congrats.

Yay Scarlet Pearl! Oh no… Scarlet Pearl… :(

Pearl your kill attempts do get a little sad if you fail like four different times. Love your girl fail nature bestie! Love your pathetic wet cat aura!

A robot voice modulator for failing? Oh wait they can’t understand her at all????? Her pathetic wet cat aura is so strong! Especially her big nods when Gem offers to hang out when they’re both red! Also Gem and Joel just trying to get her to kill Scott while she tries to fight them and they can’t understand is so funny.

Pearl and Impulse pretending to understand each other is so funny. And Pearl still talking in spite of everything is also hilarious. Tango is blooping as well!! Yay!! Also it’s like Skizz could understand that Pearl was complementing him.

Tango getting in a boat and stealing Skizz’s robot is so funny.

We have Etho now! Yay!

Wait a second. Scott didn’t you promise Pearl a life when she went red. Where’s the self sacrifice blue boy? Come on blue boy.

MUMBO FIRST OUT OH NO! Can’t wait for the fandom to once again misuse what a canary is and apply it to him!

PEARL NO DONT HOLD OUT KILL HIM TO GET YELLOW PLS! PEARL! PEARL!

“I get to wack you a little bit longer, get a little therapy” “After this, we’re settled, no more grudges” The Galaxy duo experience is this happening multiple times every season. Not mad about it though.

“The real full circle moment would have been if we had snow in this” Powdered snow mention two! Also not the puffer fish killing Scott before Pearl can hit him lol.

Pearlie got her mace! Yay!

We have BigB and Etho on our team now!

Honestly, my final thoughts are I don’t love this week’s wild card. The punishments seem unbalanced and the questions aren’t fair to those who weren’t in certain life series. I know that people get pissed if you dare criticize anything to do with anything but like, it’s literally just my opinion.

[yacinthemorning]

A Lesson in Listening

Summary: Grian's brother is moving to town and staying with him while he house hunts. While introducing him to his friend, however, Jimmy and Tango seem to make quite a connection. Determined not to suffer through the pining, Grian and Impulse attempt to play matchmaker.

Ships: Grian & Impulse(Platonic), Jimmy/Tango (Romantic), ZITS (Platonic), Grian & Jimmy (Familial)

Warnings: mild acephobia, verbal fight, sibling bullying, misunderstandings, relationship meddling

If Grian was good at one thing, it was connecting people. Not to be a braggart, but he was a sociable sort who was good at reading people, made new friends with ease, and led the pecking order in his circles. It was his great talent, really. One of many.

“Humility not being among them, clearly.”

“Shush.” Grian hissed, whipping his head around to glare daggers into Impulse. The stout man returned it with his trademark innocent smile, as if Grian didn’t know what went on in the head behind it. “You’re distracting me.”

Impulse chuckled. “What’s there to distract from?”

“I’ll have you know mixing friend groups is a very delicate process!” Grian explained, holding his phone to show the opened notepad doc. “Inviting the wrong person could be the difference between success and disaster.”

“I think you’re overthinking things, G. Anyone who’d get along with you will probably get along with your brother.”

Therein lied the problem, though. Jimmy was nothing like Grian. Okay, well, nothing was a bit of a strong word. Jimmy was extroverted and sociable like Grian, and they both had a fondness for mischief and cats. And maybe Jimmy was the first person Grian always invited to karaoke night when he was in town, because no one else was quite as enthusiastic as they were. But other than that they were nothing alike! For one, unlike Grian, Jimmy was a massive loser.

“That’s a bit rude.”

Grian squawked. “Would you please stop reading my mind!”

“You should stop speaking your mind, then.” Impulse shrugged and returned to scrolling through his phone. Grian had assigned him the task of picking out the venue for the night out, being far more familiar with the town than Grian. He paused, “You might as well monologue, I know you want to.”

“I don’t monologue! I’m not Scar.” Another name was struck out on the list. Doc was angry at him right now, anyways. “I just want things to go well, can I not be excited that Tim is moving closer? I’ve barely got to see him more than once every other month for the past several years! By the way, we can’t-“

“Can’t eat red meat so make sure there’s other options, yeah, I know.” A large hand patted down on Grian’s head, ruffling his hair.

He pouted, falling back into the cushions of his couch. “I feel like you do not appreciate the skill needed to coordinate you people. It’s like herding cats, you know.”

“Why do you think we leave it to you?” Impulse leaned over Grian’s shoulder. “Who you got so far, anyways?”

“You, Scar, Gem, and Cleo. Mostly people he’s met before at least.”

A curious hum filled the air and Grian patiently waited for whatever idea was brewing in Impulse’s head. There were a few taps to his screen, then, “You think Tango can come?”

“Tango?” Grian’s eyebrow quirked up. “Isn’t he hauled up in his basement working on some game right now?” While most certainly a good friend, Tango was one Grian went almost just as long without seeing as his brother half a day’s drive away, despite being a street away. Once he had an idea he would dedicate himself to it until it was done.

Impulse sighed. “Yeah. Zed was able to get him outside for an hour last week, and he went on some business trip for a bit, but he also hasn’t eaten in like two days last I checked. It’d be good excuse to drag him out. He’s gonna forget what real people sound like outside his headphones if we don’t.”

“I honestly don’t know how he expects to survive if he moves out from you guys.”

“I already made him promise to give me a set of spare keys when he does.”

Grian tilted his head as he stared at his last message to the man in question. Something about a crazy idea for a remote-controlled cat toy he thought of. In all honesty it wasn’t the worst idea. Not the cat toy- Tango was a strong personality who left a big impression, but he was always polite. Certainly much more introverted than everyone else going, but not nearly as bad as Zed. At least, when he remembered to leave his basement. It couldn’t do them any harm. At the very worst he could sit in the corner and chatter with Impulse. “Yeah, sure, let’s invite him.” He said, already typing. 

Impulse gave a thumbs up. “Tell him we’re gonna go to that barbeque place he loves, that’ll get him.”

“I said-”

“They have plenty of chicken and even vegetarian options, I double checked. It’s right across from the bowling alley, too. And call him, don’t text, or he’ll never see it.”

It was a small miracle Tango agreed to go. It was a small miracle he answered his phone at all. The mention of barbeque worked, though. How much of the rest of the evening they could convince him to stick around for had yet to be seen, but Grian was hopeful he’d stay a little while at least.

Impulse could deal with Tango, though. Right now, Grian had his hands full with Jimmy. They were running ten minutes behind because his poor little brother couldn’t bear going a day without a bubble bath. “C’mon, Tim, get in the car!” He shouted from the window.

Jimmy stumbled in, nearly dropping his phone between the seats in the process. “I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying, I just had to send a text. I thought this was supposed to be fun?” He whined. The second his door was closed Grian began driving, not waiting for him to get his seatbelt in. He was so tall and lanky he’d just smash his head through the glass whether he had one on or not, anyways.

“It’s called punctuality, Timmy. Something the hosts should have!”

“Alright, I get it.” He slumped back into his seat, caving as he always did. It must be hard, having an older brother who was always right. Of course, it was much harder being said brother, as Grian could attest.

The car ride was quiet, only the radio filling the space while Grian worked to remember where he needed to go. Jimmy was the first to break the silence, “So, I’ve scheduled some tours for this week.”

Grian hummed. “Anything promising?”

“Actually yeah.” He chirped, pulling out his phone. Before he could shove it in Grian’s face he put his hand up. It’d only been a month since he rear-ended a Toyota, and he’ll be damned if he hit someone else. The last thing his friends needed was to reignite the jokes about him being too short to see over the dashboard. Jimmy made a whine but didn’t try again. “There’s a place not far out of town in the farmlands. It’s small and old, but it’s an actual house with over half an acre.”

“I dunno why you care so much about land. A condo downtown is way better.”

“It’s nice, isn’t it? I could have a garden.”

“I guess.” The obnoxiously large sign for the barbeque glared high above the trees and buildings around it just up ahead. “Oh, we’re already here. Should be mostly people you met before, by the way.”

“That’s fine.”

Pulling into the parking lot, Grian could already see Impulse’s minivan and Cleo’s beat up old car. He clicked his tongue as he pulled up next to them. “See! I told you we were late, everyone’s already here.”

“Oh, come off it, they probably just got here, it’s fine.”

It was not fine, the host should always be first, but he wouldn’t expect Jimmy to understand. The two squabbled all the way inside, only stopping to tell the waiter their booking. A nice large table on the patio already had most of Grian’s friends sitting around, still having yet to be served even drinks. Everyone but Tango despite his phone, unmistakable with its Guy Fieri case, on the table. Bathroom, maybe? He was always terrible about going before he left. Scar was the first to spot them. “G! Timmy! You’re here!”

“That we are.” Grian mumbled and turned to Impulse. “Where’s-”

“Hey, Grian, just in time!” The scratchy voice of Tango shouted too-loudly behind them. He saw Jimmy jump, and both brothers swivelled on their heels. Tango jolted back a bit, friendly wave shrinking to his side at the reaction. His eyes grew wide, locking with Jimmy’s which mirrored him like two deer caught in headlights. “Oh!” He squeaked unintentionally.

It jogged Jimmy out of his fright enough to look away, though Grian took suspicious note of the redness of his ears. He gave his baby brother a raised eyebrow, but he didn’t seem to see it.

“Right, well, Tango, Cleo, this is my brother, Ti-”

“It’s Jimmy.” Jimmy jumped in at lightning speed, holding his hand out for Tango to shake with a wide smile. “The name’s Jimmy.” Tango hesitated for a second, before tentatively shaking back with an equally tentative smile.

“Tango, of the Tek variety. Nice to finally meet you.”

“I thought you said your brother was Tim?” Cleo asked.

Impulse scratched at his bread. “Honestly, I thought it was.”

“It’s not, my name’s Jimmy. Don’t trust anything this man says, he’s a menace.” Jimmy huffed, which got far too enthusiastic an agreement from nearly the whole table for Grian’s liking. Behind him, Tango snuck around back to the table. In a baffling move, as far as Grian was concerned, he paused at the empty chair across from his own and pulled it out. He nodded towards Jimmy, who muttered a sheepish thanks. Grian narrowed his eyes at the engineer, but he seemed to be pointedly not looking at him. A shared look from Impulse, though, let him know he wasn’t the only one who took notice.

“Well, then, Jimmy, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Cleo reached over the table, offering their hand.

Chatter very quickly picked itself up once they were all sat down. Most was directed towards Jimmy, asking what he did and the places he was looking at and how on earth did he get his hair that perfect. It was a bit awkward with him sitting at the end. Given the middle seat where Grian now sat was also empty, he suspected Tango’s little gentleman’s stunt had messed up the seating arrangement Impulse intentionally left. 

It wasn’t the last. When their drinks came Tango had ordered some crazy bright red fruity slushy monstrosity like he was on vacation or something. For him it might as well be. Something that brightly coloured, with a fruit skewer at that, was basically tempting the gods as far as Jimmy was concerned, who looked more dazzled by it than the already bright blue drink he ordered. Only a sip had been taken before Tango was nudging it towards him, asking, “Wanna try?” Which he wholeheartedly accepted.

Honestly, between that and the conversation somehow always managing to close into a back and forth between the pair, Grian wanted to gag. Did his brother have absolutely no shame? Or maybe Grian was just bitter he had to order something lighter as their driver. It was at least funny to watch Scar also ask for a sip and be completely ignored.

A large platter was ordered over individual meals. It was just easier, when everyone wanted to try this and that. Astonishingly, it was probably the first time Grian had witnessed Tango eat a vegetable, when he tried one of the skewers the brothers ordered on the side. That was the power of good barbeque, he supposed.

They finally called it after Gem won the third round of bowling in a row. Grian tapped against the open door of his car, glaring holes in the back of his brother’s head, who was too busy saying goodbye to Tango to notice. “Come ooon Tim!” He finally shouted after the third obnoxious little giggle they shared. When he turned, Grian narrowed his eyes. You ain’t subtle. The pair finally said goodbye for real, and Jimmy ran to get in the car before Grian decided to drive off without him. He’d barely gotten his seatbelt on before he was furiously typing something on his phone. Really?

“So, how was it?” Grian asked.

“It was fun, your friends seem cool.” Was the distracted response.

“Mhm…” He leaned closer over his shoulder. “And how was Tango?”

If it was possible to jump out of one’s skin then Jimmy had jumped out of his skin, muscles, and bones. “Huh?” He squeaked, face red and eyes bugged. Grian only returned it with an unimpressed eye roll.

“Oh please. You nearly dropped a bowling ball on your foot while swooning.”

“Well… He’s a cool guy, isn’t he?”

And that shut Grian up. More efficiently than he would like to admit. He expected Jimmy to deny it, or be too flustered to say much of anything. When Grian failed to reply Jimmy went back to his phone, tapping away with a smile. There was that obnoxious giggle again.

This was not one of the issues Grian anticipated having when his brother told him he was moving. 

“So, how do we set them up?”

Impulse Hummed, spending far too long reading the contents of a can of cream of mushroom like it wasn’t the same can he always bought. “Who?”

“ Who? ” Grian mocked back. “Tim and Tango!”

“Do we need to?” Three more cans joined the first, before they moved on to the broths. Grian threw the bouillon in the cart before his companion could grab a carton that would languish in the back of his fridge. “They seem to be doing fine on their own.”

“No, trust me. I know Tim. He was literally living with his last boyfriend before he realized they were dating and that he liked him. He’s an idiot.”

“And Tango hasn’t exactly been leaving the basement much lately.” Impulse conceded, grabbing a carton of pho broth anyways. Acceptable, Grian supposed.

“So, then, any ideas?”

They paused before entering the next aisle. The larger man’s face twisted in thought. “Well, we could invite him to D&D, run a oneshot, and have their characters drink a love potion until they get the hint.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea, absolutely not.” He wrote it down in his phone for a future session.

“Another dinner?”

“What are the odds of getting Tango out of the house twice?”

“Probably a lot higher than you’d think with how they were acting.”

“What if I gave Timmy a tour of your house and just locked the basement door behind him?”

“You know I’m starting to think we might be bad at this and should leave it to someone else.”

“Nonsense!” Grian grabbed the first bottle of soya sauce he spotted, much to Impulse’s protests. He wasn’t going to sit and wait for him to match the prices to the ounces. “Look, I know Timmy best, and you know Tango best. Logically, there’s no better pair of heads to crack together for this. They’ll thank us at the wedding.”

A jar of pickled bamboo shoots found its way into the cart beside the biggest bag of basmati rice Impulse could pick up. He had to catch his breath before he continued. “Listen, Grian, do you need to… talk, or something?”

“What?” Grian’s head whipped around from the wall of spices he was mulling over. “About what?”

Impulse hunched his shoulders up, cringing slightly. “I dunno, y’know… You’re planning your brother’s wedding to your friend while picking out my groceries for me. I’m not even sure how you found out I was grocery shopping or found me in the store. I don’t think that’s normal, healthy person behaviour.” 

“I am so completely normal and healthy!” He said just a bit too loud.

“You know you can talk to me if you need to.”

This was getting nowhere real fast. “Are you going to help me or not?”

Impulse sighed. “I’ll help.”

“Good. Then, what’s the plan?”

In the end, the plan was little more than ‘wait and see’ with a side sprinkling of putting the pair in as much direct contact as possible. This turned out to be much more work than they anticipated, however. Jimmy had always been a socialite, but he seemed to be gone every other day viewing houses or visiting locations. Meanwhile, Tango did as he does and made himself busy constantly. Every group activity Grian planned was lucky to get even one of them, and he was about to lose his damn mind.

Their big break finally showed itself one evening, when Jimmy dropped in with Grian. Well, it was more like Grian promised to drive him to do some errands and made a left turn away from the mall and directly to the ZITS house instead. A decision Jimmy was not familiar enough with the town yet to notice until it was too late. Just the sound of Jimmy’s voice managed to draw Tango upstairs to see what was going on in his kitchen, where the rest of them were chatting.

Immediately the annoying little giggles started up again. If there was one thing in this world that could make Grian try to keep them apart, it was that giggle.

“By the way, Jimmy,” Skizz piped up from where he leaned against the sink. “You still need a lift tomorrow?”

When had Jimmy found time to befriend Skizz? Who knows. Knowing the two of them they probably bumped into each other on the street and kept talking till the sun went down. Extroverts were so exhausting. (He ignored the little Impulse-ish voice nagging that Grian was also something of an extrovert.)

“Yeah, sorry, I appreciate it.”

“Where you going?” Impulse asked.

“Got another house tour.” Tango of all people replied. Maybe that wasn’t all that surprising, though, given the amount Grian has spotted Jimmy texting the past few days.

“Is that so? Will you be going with them?” Grian teased, but instead got a toothy grin back.

“Yessiree!”

Really? Inviting your crush house hunting? Was that forward or just weird? Either way, it was an opportunity. “You know, Tim, you haven’t invited me to go with you.” He whined, putting on his best puppy dog eyes. 

Unfortunately, while Jimmy’s talents were sparse, this was one area where he outranked Grian by a factor of magnitudes and had unlocked absolute immunity, or something. “Yeah. That was on purpose.” He said bluntly, not even looking away from Tango, who laughed. In fact, everyone laughed. Even Impulse, the traitor.

Grian wouldn’t give up so easily, however. “Well I think you should. So where is it?”

“What? You’ll just embarrass me, I’m not telling you!” He squeaked, finally looking at his kind, sweet, dear older brother.

“Yes, you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

And that was how Jimmy ended up in a headlock on ZITS’s kitchen floor, Impulse reluctantly using Jimmy’s phone to text Grian the address on his calendar. Tango, simp that he was, managed to distract Grian by jokingly calling Jimmy honey, forcing Grian to let go in order to pretend to hurl, during which time Jimmy made his escape back to the car. 

He won though, and the next day when Jimmy pulled up with Skizz and Tango to the house tour, Grian and Impulse were already waiting there with the realtor.

“I can’t believe you.” Jimmy dragged his hands down his face. “Don’t you have to, I don’t know, work?”

“Jokes on you, I’m my own boss.” Grian puffed up his chest.

Tango patted Jimmy on the back and turned the both of them towards the poor, confused realtor. “Let’s just get this over with.” He soothed, to which Jimmy gave him a saccharine smile.

The property was ridiculously nice. It wasn’t especially big, but it was lined by woodlands and already had a garden, albeit in need of some severe TLC. There was even an old chicken coop to the side of the house that only needed new fencing and cleaning. The house itself was a one-story cutesy cottage-like thing. It was older, but whomever had lived in it last had the wiring redone and appliances replaced. The bedroom was big, too, as they tended to be in these older houses, and the bathroom had a proper large tub. There was a spare office room with a nice big window to the garden. The garage was separate, and large enough to be a workshop. All that while being well within the range of good internet and still close enough one could walk to town if they really wanted to. 

It was, essentially, Jimmy’s dream home. The only issue Jimmy seemed to have was the fact that the wall between the living room and kitchen had been knocked out for a more modern open concept design with the largest windows in the house.

“It’d probably be a pain to heat in winter, right?” He asked no one in particular. 

Grian knew jack all about houses, and only shrugged. It still wasn’t that big, so he imagined not. Impulse and Skizz seemed to mull the idea over a little longer. Tango, though, saw an opportunity, and Grian had to give him credit because the man took it without hesitation. His arm was around Jimmy’s shoulder, toothy grin leaned in a bit too close. “Well, that sounds like a good excuse to cuddle up in bed all winter, hm?”

Jimmy’s cheeks turned pink. He muttered something under his breath that made Tango chuckle. Grian rolled his eyes towards Impulse, who seemed almost too shocked by his friend’s forwardness to notice.

More questions were asked, things Grian was glad he never had to worry about as a condo guy. Owning a home seemed like so much work, but Jimmy had lists upon lists. Of course, it was Jimmy, and even with lists he forgot certain things. But Tango seemed ready to pick up the slack with his own barrage of inquiries. 

“I think,” Jimmy said, looking at the kitchen with a bit of awe. “I think this might be it, guys.”

“Yeah?” Tango’s eyes practically sparkled with excitement. Jimmy nodded.

The realtor stepped up. “There aren’t any other serious inquiries at the moment, I think you have a good chance if you put in the asking price.” Jimmy nodded, and the realtor went off to his car to make a call.

Grian pursed his lips at his brother, though. “Are you sure you can afford that? I know you’ve saved up and all, but it’s still a lot.”

Jimmy beamed though, clearly overwhelmed with excitement. “Of course, you think we would look at houses we can’t afford?”

“I mean if I’m honest kind of, but- wait. We?”

“I’ll have you know, despite the beliefs of certain individuals, my credit score’s top notch.” Tango patted his chest proudly. “And between the two of us we have more than enough savings for the down payment.”

Grian felt the wires in his brain short circuit and reboot. An unholy screech came from his throat. “What!”

Jimmy and Tango both side-eyed each other, their awkward smiles caught between guilty and like they were ready to burst out laughing. “You… Thought I could buy a home on my own?” Jimmy asked, hiccupping in the middle.

Impulse looked just as dumbfounded. “When did you work this out?” His voice came out hoarse.

It was Tango’s turn to be confused, raising an eyebrow. “Um, months ago? I told you, Impy.”

“You said you were thinking about moving out, not buying a house with a stranger!”

“Wait-” Skizz burst out laughing, pointing at Grian and Impulse. “You guys really didn’t know?”

“No, why do you know!”

“Cause I listen to my roommates?”

“Hold on. Months ago?” Grian pushed them out of the way, getting into his brother’s face.

It seemed Tango was no longer able to hold in his laughter, leaning on Jimmy for support while Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck. “I honestly couldn’t tell if you’d actually forgotten or if this was some bit.” He admitted.

“We’ve been together for almost three years.” Tango wheezed out between cackles.

“Excuse me?” Balked Grian. “Since when? You’ve never met!” His head whipped between the two. How on earth-

A finger twirled absently in the air as Jimmy tried to explain. “Do you remember your Halloween party? The one me and Joel attended, where Tango was dressed up as an imposter?”

“Yeah?” It was the biggest party he’d ever held, how could he forget? His brow creased. “But that doesn’t make any sense, I never got to introduce you two cause you both went… home… early.” Grian’s eyes went wide as the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

Tango leaned against Jimmy’s shoulder with a smirk. “There it is.”

“Oh. My god.”

“I told you he doesn’t ever listen to me.” Jimmy groaned.

“You two-”

“Yeah.”

Grian gasp cracked. “Jimmy you slut !”

“ Excuse me? ” Jimmy shouted back in equal amounts of disbelief and anger.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the realtor pause in the entryway, then slowly back out of view once more.

“You heard me!”

“What do you think we did!”

“Well you weren’t enjoying my party, that’s for sure!”

 “Okay, okay, everybody calm down.” Skizz stepped in, pushing Grian towards Impulse, who seemed to hold Grian back on instinct more than anything as he was still lost in shock.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Impulse asked, giving his housemate a look of betrayal. It was returned with concern.

“I did? I swear I did.”

“Dipple Dop, he told us he was busy in call with his partner all the time. He extended his work trips several times.”

“That was Timmy?” He stumbled back, leaning on the counter. “I thought he meant, like, an MMO buddy.”

“Yeah, and you certainly never told me!” Grian huffed, which Jimmy returned.

“I did tell you, but you didn’t listen! Or did you just do that thing like with Scott where you thought I wasn’t aware I was dating the guy I lived with for two months just because I told you we hadn’t-”

“You know what?” Skizz clapped his hands together. “I think we all need to just take a deep breath, okay? Everybody just breathe. In,” He took a deep breath, of which his housemates joined in while the brothers continued to glare at each other. “And out.” They all let out a long sigh.

 A brief silence fell over the group, only interrupted by a nervous knock at the door. The realtor stuck his head in, eyes darting between the group. “Um, Mister Solidarity, Mister Tek, could I speak to you now?”

“Yes, one second.” Jimmy said, voice tight. The pair left to talk outside.

Grian and Impulse went home after that, waiting for the other three to return. They said little, Grian fuming while Impulse stared at his lap like his dog just died. Zed popped in to say he was going out, at which point he was let in on the day’s events and gave them both odd looks. Had they really been the only ones who didn’t know? 

By the time everyone else arrived back at the house they’d pulled themselves together somewhat. Not entirely, but enough to ask questions without shouting.

“So, you’re really leaving?” Impulse asked, voice almost watery. Tango’s posture softened with his smile, and pulled the larger man into a big hug.

“Oh, buddy, I told you I was gonna. I’m a big boy now!”

“Yeah, but… I dunno. We’ve lived together since college. I didn’t think this would actually happen…”

Skizz rubbed his back. “Hey, he ain’t movin’ cross country, he’s just down the road. We’ll see him all the time.”

“Yeah! I promise, Impy, I ain’t going nowhere.”

The three continued to talk among each other, comforting their friend, so Grian left them be. Instead, he turned his attention onto Jimmy, who still looked huffy, with his arms crossed and a glare squarely on Grian.

“I told you.”

“Well, maybe you should have told me better.” Grian turned his nose up as an almost automatic response. Jimmy threw his arms in the air and stomped off to the doorway, and immediately Grian felt the regret. He chased after his little brother. “Wait, Tim. I’m…” A warbled wheeze escaped his throat, straining to get the dreaded word out. “Ssso-…rry... That I didn’t listen.”

The shift was near-instant, disdain laxing into smugness. “There, was that so hard?”

“Immensely.”

“Oh, come off it, you big baby.”

“I just don’t get it.” Grian grabbed his hair. “How did I miss that you two were dating? Why didn’t Tango say something when we invited him to dinner?”

“Well, it probably started with the fact that you introduce me to everyone as Tim and his boyfriend’s name is Jimmy.” He sneered, eyebrow raised.

Well, he had him there. Not that he would ever admit that to his brother’s face. “I still can’t believe you ditched my party to hook up with my friend.”

“Oh my god, we didn’t hook up!” Jimmy threw his head back. “We just went to get Mcdonald’s and watch movies because Tango almost had a panic attack at the number of people you invited and couldn’t breathe.”

“In my defence, I didn’t expect that many people to actually show up.”

“Either way, stop projecting.”

“Wh- excuse me?”

“Tango’s the same as me. I can assure you nothing like that would ever happen.”

Grian pouted. Well, at least they were happy and close by. “Fine, I’ll forgive you if you can get Tango to come to roller derby night.”

“Uh, I don’t have anything I need to be forgiven for, and I’m not going to make Tango do something he doesn’t want to do.”

“But Tim, consider: Tango falling on his butt in the most hideous disco suit.”

That gave Jimmy pause, thinking for a solid moment before a smile stretched behind his hand. “Alright, fine.”

“Yes!” Grian pumped his fist into the air, nearly smacking Impulse in the face as the group joined them.

“What’s going on out here?”

“Nothing.” Both brothers replied, matching smiles immediately getting them suspicious looks. Jimmy pushed past them to grab Tango’s hand and drag him towards the basement. “C’mon, we have to finish planning.”

“Yessir.” Tango saluted with a chuckle. 

As they retreated, Grian shouted after them. “Oh, Tango!”

“Yeah?” Bless his soul, he was too busy giving his partner a doofy look that was wiped away the second he turned to see Grian. He did his best to bore a hole through the man’s skull.

“You better watch your back. I know where you sleep.”

“Well, I’d hope so.” Grian didn’t like that grin. “Be weird if you didn’t know where your brother was.”

And that was how Grian began to plan the death of Tango Tek.

[gard3nias]

18| Opposites attract

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wc: 5.59k

date: 15/11/2024

mdi // masterlist // playlist

—Now playing: R.I.P. 2 My Youth by The Neighbourhood ✫

"Daph? Are you there?" And there was silence. After what seemed like a trance founded on anxiety and heavy breaths, there was silence. Back to life. Back to reality. Or was it?

“Rhodes?” Her head was a cage with rubber walls, the type that allows words to bounce nonstop, the only right formula that can fuel her anxiety. They won’t come out nor stop popping up.

Daphne was in the bathroom, in a stall. Beneath her was the toilet with the lid closed and in front of her was the door behind which she’d just heard her friend’s voice. How long had she been there? Couldn’t have been too long, come on. She hadn’t cried that much, had she? Her tailbone wasn’t complaining about the discomfort it would feel when she sat on a hard surface for too long with her knees against her chest so it couldn’t be.

“Rhodes?” She didn’t verbally reply when her name was called, just got up, systemised her sweater a bit and went to the desk. When she was standing next to the teacher, she tried not to look at the colour of the pen he used to write her grade so her heart dropped out of her body nearly as hard as she did on her chair when she read the number in the top right corner.

Like a slot machine, the sadness on her face disappeared to show no reaction. Her brain behaved the same way but in the row were three equal numbers penned in red with Mr Keeley’s handwriting. Just as she’d made her way back to her desk, her feet moved one after the other almost robotically as they did when she walked out of the class, along the hallway to the bathroom and into a stall. 

Her hand reached for the lid, closed it after closing the door and sat on it before taking in a big breath and letting it all out, giving space for her brain to focus on what was next. Like fuel to an empty engine, the battery to a malfunctioning clock and the current through a wire. That was all she needed before her vision gradually blurred out, her eyes filled up and the pinching on her thighs got more intense. It took her no time to reach her height, climbing up the stairs to the maximum stress. The last drop of water sank into the filled cup and it overflew, dragging out sobs that she tried to muffle against her legs.

Maybe she needed this. Not the failure but certainly the venting out hence the surprise she felt when her ears caught something disrupting the echoing silence of the bathroom. It wasn’t entirely surprising on its own: it’s a school bathroom, people are expected to walk in whenever they want and do whatever they want; it wouldn’t have stopped her from crying. She’s behind the door of a stall, her feet are on the toilet and certainly no one could recognise her just from the sound of her weeping.

“Daph?” The voice was a wake-up call, the necessary to have her snap back to reality and out of the virulent world her mind was easing its way to.

“Y-yeah?” Her voice was there—somewhere, very tiny but present and she didn’t forget it in the toxic dimension. Her hands moved to wipe the tears away before she could even register, muscle memory.

“You okay?” It wasn’t official but Daphne’s brain’s favourite activity was overthinking but not enough to have a prepared answer to such a simple question, maybe a bot response. 

Was she okay? Objectively, no. Subjectively? She had to be: she had wrongly planned her study schedule and underestimated the physics topic which caused her to make so many stupid and little mistakes that weighed a lot in the final grade. The number penned in red was a six and a minus following which meant she didn’t pass it—its real value was 5.75, not a full six. It was expected after prioritising that stupid physics topic about light. The topic of this test was easy and quick to understand with common sense so it didn’t scare her and she studied it superficially.

Cleo didn’t know this as she waited for a reply behind the stall door. It eventually came but non-verbal: Daphne came out after trying her best to conceal the traces of a potential anxiety attack that she was about to go through.

“Hey.” That was the only word she said and Cleo checked her to find a better answer from her body language. “I— erm, what are you doing here?”

“I was worried so I came to check on you.” Daphne’s hands fiddled with anything they came in contact with, her jeans, nails, hair, the sleeves and the bottom edge of her sweater because she didn’t know how to act. She didn’t want to behave like the last time, making her friends feel obliged to organise a whole picnic for her, no. She had to force herself to forget about school that day despite wanting to cry out like a baby. She couldn’t lie though: Cleo’s scrutinising eyes made her feel slightly uncomfortable and, back there, she really wanted to ball her eyes out and set free the dark feelings clouding her brain and sending it into system malfunction. Let the dark tears roll down her cheeks, land on her sweater and even soak it up. She didn’t care as long as they were out of her body. The sweater could be restored after a quick trip to Washing Machine and Dryer.

“And I wanted to tell you that is nothing serious. You can easily retake the test—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that but that’s… not the problem. I’m just—” Her words got stuck in her throat maybe with the sobs she wanted to release before. Running away from Cleo’s inspecting eyes, she went to the sink to wash her hands and rub her eyes without caring about proving Cleo’s suspicions or not. The bathroom was silent as she did her thing and Cleo stood beside her with arms crossed and a worried look all across her face, one Daphne tried to avoid as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Cleo didn’t fail the test. On the top corner of her sheet was a bright red seven so she was surprised to see that Daphne failed hers. Yes, it wasn’t so far away from passing the test but she’d found the topic so easy that she expected someone like Daphne to get a grade way higher than hers—like Asher did since he had got a 9.5. Clearly, all these thoughts and hopes were not to be mentioned to her friend. Failure happens sometimes, one just has to accept it and learn from it.

“I didn’t plan my study well and prioritised the other topic above this so I don’t really feel bad about the grade, y’know. It was kind of expected. Physics just sucks, I guess.” Her tone was as cold as the water dripping from her fingers into the sink and Cleo felt it without knowing how to warm it up. She just had to accept it as they returned to the classroom. Luckily for Daphne, the bell had rung for the break to begin so no eyes were too focused on her when she stepped back inside.

Her demeanour may be matching in temperature with the breeze blowing outside her school but maybe it would’ve warmed up if only she had met the pair of eyes wandering around the hallway looking for hers. Even with glasses on, he couldn’t find her.

Are Wednesdays always this bad?

—Now playing: $TING by The Neighbourhood ✫

It was another of the seemingly everlasting series of cloudy but bright autumn days. The sunlight didn’t warm anything up, overpowered by the slicing and chilly breeze that blew from the clouds to Daphne against her face, through her hair to her neck and against her jean-covered legs.

Her feet moved one after the other in the warm comfort of her mini-platform sheepskin boots. The pair of jeans she wore wasn’t anything special, as was the sweater underneath her thick jacket. Around her neck was a scarf that struggled to cover her as much as she wanted.

The direction she was headed caused her to walk against the draft. Her nose quickly caught a warmer shade while her hair blew towards the direction her friends had taken as they went home. Her destination was the library, her second home at this point. In no time, she’d become a regular there, so much so that the receptionist knew her and greeted her with a smile whenever she came in and went out. They knew she always walked past the building to the nearby bakery, grabbed something to eat and returned to eat it on the stairs before finally heading inside.

The little teenager peacefully ate her piece of pizza with her headphones working as earmuffs and sat in a position that implied she was feeling a bit cold. Anyone looking outside from inside the building would wonder why she wouldn’t eat inside but it was a simple choice she’d made and wasn’t bothered about. She felt like the library was a place to be kept clean—even when she was inside and wanted a snack from the vending machine, she would eat it outside the study zone.

Finally, she finished having her lunch and grabbed all her belongings to go inside. Waving at the receptionist, she walked straight to the elevators and went up to the study zone where her favourite spot sat empty, waiting for her to occupy it. As if she were in a moving vehicle, she liked sitting next to the window because it helped her concentrate, she enjoyed the natural light and it allowed her to keep track of time without always having to check her phone.

She loved hearing how silent the library was unlike outside where the town was blooming with noise. Specifically, the study zone felt like a capsule of its own where the commotion decreased even further and, willing to hear it, she always turned the music off and pulled her headphones down.

One hand was in her pocket while the other held her phone and Daphne walked through the oh-so-familiar space, heading straight to her usual spot. Another advantage of it was that it was secluded, a spot pretty hidden, one that you reach only if you patiently walk around the library in search of something new instead of settling down in the first ones you see when you step inside. The way leading there resembled a labyrinth outlined by rows of bookshelves.

As she approached it, the number of people she saw reduced until there were barely any. The table she always sits at welcomes three chairs on both sides and she always picks the closest one to the window. Next to it, forming aisles in the library, was a second and a third table, barely two meters away from each other. 

Sitting in the centre of the wide table was a wooden divider against a socket to which Daphne connected the charger of her iPad. Her school bag leaned against the leg of the table and her jacket hugged the backrest of the chair when she went to look for physics books to study with. 

Failing the test didn’t hurt as much as the other time because she realised the fault was on her for not planning her studies better and neglecting the latest topic. After all, it seemed easy and maybe that was the problem. Her friends had already told her that since she didn’t fail badly, Mr Keeley would test her orally on the topic so she wouldn’t have to retake the test fully. Those words didn’t comfort her because studying wasn’t hard for her, especially once she planned how to use her time perfectly. This time, it was a slip-up that wouldn’t happen again hence the numerous physics books painfully sitting in her arms as she returned to her seat not without struggling between carrying the weight and trying not to have everything fall and cause a rumble of noise all through the peaceful library.

She placed the pile in a corner to make herself comfortable before opening the first one, her digital notebook and diving into the activity, headphones on, soft music playing and legs crossed.

—Now playing: Sad Girl by Lana Del Rey ✫

According to the receptionist, the opening and closing of the library doors could be equated to club doors with the only difference being the origin of the noise which in this case came from outside. Along with the noise came a hot breeze during summer and a cold one in autumn and winter. With a smile and a little greeting, their job was back on pause while Taehyung proceeded towards the elevators. 

He didn’t hesitate before unzipping his jacket as the library’s warmth was already getting to him. By the time the lift tinged and opened, it would be thrown across his arm while the other held his backpack. He ruffled his hair as he casually walked into the study zone. Around his neck were his headphones and sitting on his nose were his new companions, for the time being—his glasses.  

His schedule was packed which wasn’t unusual but because of the campaign, he felt like it was the end of the world and weighed on him like a mansion. He barely paid any attention as he walked through the room towards his self-assigned position but froze when his eyes landed on it and saw it occupied. It had been long since he last came to the library to study but he felt it could never be long enough for anyone to dig this deep in the library because the first tables right at the entrance were never fully occupied.

He stood in the little lane separating the two wide tables away from the window, the third one was where she was. He blinked a few times to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating but soon came to his senses and decided to sit at the third table, on the polar opposite, making them on the same side but multiple chairs away.

He plopped on the chair and let his backpack slide onto the floor as he watched her and thought of what he could do. He wondered if he should sit at the same table as hers or greet her but she looked so focused on whatever she was studying and it felt illegal to disturb her. He even believed she was in a similar situation as his because of the pile of books on the table which reminded him not to get distracted so, reluctantly, he decided to mind his business and study. He kept his backpack and his jacket on the empty chair next to him before taking his books out.

—Now playing: Single by The Neighbourhood ✫

Late Afternoon rolled around. Came by as quickly as it left so Evening could step in. The artificial lights carved into the ceiling of the library seemed to shine brighter against the darkness that penetrated from outside into the building. 

Closing hours were approaching while the number of students progressively reduced, turning the main area of the study zone similar to the secluded one where Daphne and Taehyung spent their afternoon studying.

Having to answer duty’s call, Taehyung couldn’t indulge in his brain’s favourite activity but it still tried to sneak it in as best as it could. Studying technically next to Daphne made him seem like he’d come there to play. She would barely lift her head off her book. Her body was always living in the best comfort because she never stretched and barely changed positions. He, on the other hand, had had multiple breaks when he’d go for a walk in the building or through bookshelves, go out for a smoke or get himself a little treat at the vending machines. Her only form of distraction if one could call it that, was drinking from the water bottle next to her.

He was amazed, there was no other way to put it but in his amazement, he just mentally complimented her and packed his things. He couldn’t do it as she, never—since he had to follow the Pomodoro technique and have at least two breaks in one hour—and, therefore, he got up to look for a little book he could read to come out of the focus session he was in fully minutes ago. His mind couldn’t even picture himself in her shoes because he could never be focused for that long especially considering all that the past weeks have been for him.

Visibly, Daphne seemed not to care about his unspoken thoughts. She just went on with her life and her activity for a few more minutes after he’d left before she decided it was time to start packing everything up. She removed the charger from the socket, placed all her school supplies in her pencil case, and when all of her belongings were in her backpack, she finally got up and took the pile of books to be kept back.

She was physically and mentally tired at that point and every inch of her body was laced with impatience to return the books to their spots and rush home quickly. They say patience is a gift and yes, she’d received it but maybe had left it at home that day. Curse words flew out of her mouth one after the other like the wagons of a train when the book sitting on top of the pile made her go through several stages of distress: it kept moving to one side which she tried to contrast but eventually failed when it tipped over; to prevent it from slamming flat on the floor and sounding like a titan had just slammed someone, she used her foot to stop the impact or, better, to feel the impact. 

“Ouch! Fuck!” Her frustration could be heard even in the soft whispering and Taehyung did. He was walking along the way separating the windows from the rows of bookshelves and he was just about to walk past her when he heard her.

“Need some help there?” He asked the question and he answered it without giving her the time to even understand who was speaking to her. He slammed his book shut without checking what page he’d reached and, after placing it on a nearby shelf, he crouched to pick the book up. Daphne was still stunned and suddenly the weight in her hands ceased to exist both because her mind stopped thinking about it and also because he’d collected the whole pile from her.

Clearing her voice, she finally replied, “Erm, thank you.” From his body language, she understood that he didn’t mind about it so she simply silently walked behind him. He already knew his way around and where the books belonged so she stopped trying to show him the directions after he anticipated her words a couple of times. When they were at the right section, she hurried to collect the books from him and place them in their right spot. Only once they were done did they finally stand to face each other.

“Thank you, again,” she chuckled. 

“It’s nothing really.” She nodded and smiled. Her eyes stared at his for a split second before they started wandering around. He tilted his head and asked, “Daphne, right?” with a wider smile, she nodded even more eagerly.

“Yeah and… you’re Taehyung,” he chuckled and nodded as well. Objectively, it could just look like a couple of teenagers remembering each other’s names after just one encounter. How cute. How lovely. Who wouldn’t want to be in their shoes? The only thing was that they were both oblivious to the fact that they remembered each other’s name not from that one night but from social media stalking and daydreams that go way back to before the party.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you knew your way around so well— which is completely stupid because you have lived here since you can remember. Sorry, I’m so dumb,”

“Oh, no, you’re not and I don’t blame you. It’s been so long since I stepped foot in here, especially after the campaign and all that shit.” Unconsciously, they started walking back to their spots, she with her arms crossed in front of her chest while he with his hands in his jeans pockets.

“I bet that was a whole rollercoaster ride,”

“It was worse, way worse than what I could have ever expected. Thank God it’s the first and last time I’m doing something like that. I hated it so bad,”

“But where do you think the real struggle lies? In the preparation or when you actually get elected?” He just chuckled at her words, head turning to look at her. 

“Why is everyone so sure we’ll get elected?” 

Her facial expressions anticipated her words, “I mean, I don’t really know much of it but from what I’ve been told, y’all are very influential around here so it’s already been predicted since day one. You wouldn’t want to be elected anyway?”

He sighed, “I don’t know really. I joined only because my friend wanted to do it and I didn’t want to hold her back from it, besides, she was and still is kind of relying on us to be part of her team so...”

They stopped at her spot first as they continued talking. Once Daphne had packed her stuff and wore her jacket, they walked to his spot and she waited for him to get his things before they left together, walking past the handful of people working on their books or their devices and the ones packing their things to leave. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open only to slide back close once they were in and pressed on the number zero. He leaned against the wall facing the doors while she against the one opposite the buttons.

“So… you were studying physics all this while?” he broke the silence. 

“Yeah. I’m in a bit of a crisis right now,”

“So much that you needed so many books?” he laughed and she laughed too, nodding and getting slightly shy. “We’ve done only two tests so far and I failed both of them so yeah… I think I need that many books.” 

Taehyung’s facial expression spoke volumes, going from surprise to confusion all with a smile on and it amused her. “You failed both? Were they so hard?”

“Not necessarily. The second one was easy but I failed it because I didn’t study well since I was focused on the topic of the first one. I don’t even know if I can say that it’s hard. I could be just a dumb person of my own but that shit’s ass and I just don’t get it so yeah, I was studying so much for that one and barely reserved any time for the other one. Ass.” Taehyung laughed, the elevator dinged and they came out.

The ground floor was even emptier. The children's section and the cafeteria were already closed and some cleaners were already sweeping the floors. “Have a good evening,” from their little cubicle, the receptionist greeted them, the teenagers waved back and exited the noise-cancelling building to venture into the blast outside. 

Cars honked and rumbled from the end of the street where the town centre was. Taehyung’s hands were still in his pocket while Daphne held her phone with which she checked what time the bus would arrive at the terminal in front of their school so the two were silently walking next to each other on the sidewalk. 

He didn’t like the silence but he couldn’t lie and say that her distraction wasn’t allowing him to look at her like a kid looks at fireworks on New Year’s night. Around her neck was a thick scarf she tried to hide her face into. The draft had changed direction and was now blowing from the town into the street they walked in. The jacket she was wearing was so big that her hands were barely out. Her nails were covered in cherry red polish and some of her fingers were in golden rings. He couldn’t fully see her side profile despite the small distance between them because her bangs were covering it whenever the breeze didn’t blow harshly. 

“Your physics teacher allows you to retake the tests right?” He spoke first to fill up the space between them.

“Yeah”

“And when are they?”

“Erm, the ass topic one is in two Wednesdays while the easier one is in mid-December.” He internally rejoiced when her phone was slipped back into her pocket and she looked up at him as she spoke. If her eyes liked wandering around, his liked to catch every little detail that brought her face to life. It’s not the first time he’s seen pretty girls, pretty people in general, but it was the first time it had him like this. There was just something about her that he couldn’t just shrug off his shoulders—he didn’t want to anyway.

“Why so far away? When did you take the tests?” As he asked the question, he wondered if silence had run through from when she spoke. Don’t be harsh on him. He recalls that the last he was looking at her face, he lost track of time.

“I don’t know why. The teacher’s an asshole. The first test was above a month ago while the second one was last week. He had a reason only for the first one since almost the whole class failed it,”

“Goddamn! Almost the whole class?” She nodded. Gradually, they made their way out of the library’s street and into town where the closest bus stop was the one after the terminal.

“I think the topic is that hard. I still don’t fully get it and I started studying it intensely before the first test and now I’m locked in even harder.” Taehyung chuckled and waited for them to cross the street and walk onto the bus stop before he spoke again.

“You know? I could help you if you want… with physics” Daphne’s eyes widened for a split second as she sat on the empty bench, hands still in her pocket because of the chilly weather. Even in a thousand light years to come, she’d never be able to put into words what was going on within her guts when he said those words. 

“Really?”

“Yeah, besides, you’re a junior and I’m a senior so I’ve already gone through the topics last year,” As he spoke his back rested against the pillar holding the sheltering surface above his head.

“But I don’t want to bother you. I think you already have enough on your plate,”

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re not bothering me. I’m the one who offered and my plate is pretty wide. Enough is never enough” he chuckled, getting lost in the way the streetlights glittered in her eyes. What enchanted him the most was her smile. Daphne didn’t know the effects it had on him.

She giggled and replied, “If you say so”. His smile broadened and he tried to hold it back by biting his lip but obviously failed. Daphne didn’t have enough time to admire how good he looked, how his hair swayed with the wind, how he was standing or how the tip of his nose was getting redder with the cold before the bus arrived and they had to get on.

Just like that Tuesday evening after training at the school gym, the bus was practically empty and one could only see the reflection of the inside when trying to look outside. As usual, they made a beeline to the back where they could comfortably sit next to each other. She led the way and he meekly followed.

Not surprisingly, Daphne sat right next to the window: He sat right next to her, leaving no empty seats in between. She believed it to be a great change, especially since she hadn’t seen him on the bus for a long time. 

Luckily for them, the heater was on so they could warm up after walking in the chilly environment that was outside. She took her jacket off and he helped her keep it and her bag next to him on the empty seat.

“Anyway, what are the topics?” he restarted. “The first one was about light and the second about sound.”

“Light and sound, huh? Which one do you find hardest to understand?” as he spoke, he leaned back against the headrest, hands still in his pocket, and turned to look at her without the rest of his body budging.

“The first certainly.” He chuckled again. It’s all he’s been doing for the whole while because he didn’t know which other subtle way he could use to express the crazy happiness within his guts. Sorry, he had to let it out somehow. “You got any notes?”

“What? You think I don’t?” as he chuckled, his Adam’s apple bopped. She laughed, shook her head and cleared the misunderstanding, “No, no, that’s not what I meant and you know it,” the way he looked was making her shy. Maybe he could get it, maybe not, but her eyes started wandering around like the ones of a lost puppy again.

“Mmh hmm.” She rolled her eyes and he laughed, head turning back up to face the ceiling.

“When would it start?” There was no need to look outside. A prettier view was right next to her and the contrast between the darkness of the evening and the lights inside made it impossible for her to see anything unless she glued her face to the windows.

“Whenever you want.” He didn’t look at her as he replied this time because he soon had to come down from the bus—he was about to get lost in her sparkling eyes and pretty smile and forget about his other plans.

“Oh, my God. I almost forgot. I’m staying at my friend’s tonight because he’s just in deep shit as I am after the campaign so I’m coming down at the next bus stop.” Thank goodness he remembered ‘cause only God knows how he would’ve had to explain to Jimin why he forgot to go to his place: “So, you see… I was talking to this very pretty girl, you know the new one in town, the one I met at the party and never told you about, the brunette with sparkling eyes, a fine ass body and a deadly but stunning smile? The one in junior year. Yeah, that one. I think I have a crush on her, a huge, fat, no, obese, astronomical, titanic, humongous crush on her, yes, and she drives me crazy, fucking insane so much so I become dumb next to her. Literally dumb. It’s already a lot I can talk to her, form coherent sentences in my head and not slur my words so yeah, that’s why I forgot to come help you. Please, find it in your heart to forgive me.” Would that work? Who knows. Regardless, he would never say it. Not to him at least but certainly to his reflection in the mirror once he gets back home and reminisces this day.

“Oh.” Two simple letters with barely any meaning but they held so much disappointment. Again, the party had to be ended too soon. Why was it always when the two of them were talking? If only he actually caught the tone she spoke with, he would have certainly texted Jimin telling him he couldn’t make it and spend the rest of the ride next to her.

“Here,” he spoke a little while after and let his actions finish the sentence as he placed his phone in front of her. On the screen was a dialling pad. She did everything within her body not to smile like an idiot, took the phone in her hands and typed in her phone number. Smooth like butter.

“Here you go,” maybe he was hallucinating again—which wouldn’t be surprising—but there was something in the way she said that that had him double-checking her for any special facial expressions but, as expected, she didn’t even look his way—wandering eyes—and he smiled before saving her contact. Was it joy? Shyness? He didn’t know. Better not be, not now, else he would literally lose his shit and have the driver stomp on the brake once he’d hear him scream.

“Well, I guess we’ll see each other soon then,” she nodded and watched him as he took his bag, slung it across his shoulder and headed towards the closest door. 

Pressing on the red button, a sound dinged through the bus and moments later, the vehicle stopped and the doors slid open. She waved at him and he waved back right before coming down from the bus at El Grillo’s bus stop. Doors closed and finally, she allowed herself to express some of her happiness by squirming and squealing in her seat. Moments later, when her phone dinged and a notification came in, she’d wish she were at home, on her bed and rolling on it.

Unknown number: you tell me when and we start

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[reagi-df]

Leon is so happy to meet other versions of himself at the @tmntaucompetition, Cleo on the other hand? Not so much, he's going through stuff and it's bad enough he's having to deal with Leon and Him. But Leon thinks it might be good exposure.... Hopefully there won't be any bloodshed

--------- “Bro, can't you just chill,? Leo whines. “Your not even 26 yet and I can already see the wrinkles in your face from the resting bitch face you keep sporting” 

Leo turns his head to the side, amber eyes narrowing at him, “chill?” He echoes, turns fully to Leon now, “it’s bad enough I have to deal with you and him, but now there’s more of us?”

Leo drags his hands down his face with a groan and Leon catches the slight shake in his limbs. Brows furrowing, Leon adjusts his stance, shoulders drawing back as he fingers the scalpel that’s hidden in his wrappings, ready and waiting. 

Keeping his voice low Leon speaks slowly. “It’s not a big deal, their not going to be here for long”

Leo digs his fingers into his skin and lets off a sharp hiss as he hunches his shoulders. 

Leon curses and edges out from behind the settee and warily steps closer, “hey” he waits for a solid 5 seconds before the older slider lifts his head, and he hates the look the other is giving him.

His distorted pupils have retracted into slits, and a chill runs through Leon; he suddenly feels like he’s prey and those predators were locked onto him. He desperately tries to remember what he saw the other peepaws do when Leo gets like this, hell Leons sure Casey would have a better understanding of how to help his counterpart. 

A low growl ripples out, shattering the quietness that had filled the room. Shit, he thinks, he stares down at the predator. 

He feels a tug on his ninpo and dread fills him. He needs to defuse this situation as quickly as he can.  

Leon’s eye catches onto a cup of water sitting on the table, eyes dart back and forth between the slider and the water, he’s seen Tello do the same and it worked then, sure Tello had to hide for a few hour a until Leo calmed down and stopped hunting him but it still worked. 

He’s just hoping it’ll work now. 

He edges toward the table as casually as he could, makes sure he’s out of arm reaches and keeps his tone soft. 

“Look i'm going to be real with you, I’ve never been good on the whole “self help” stuff,” Leon air quotes, “but I know the usual process of getting people to calm down from panic attacks won’t usually work on you and I’d really like to not knock you out if I can help it”

Once he’s close, he inches his fingers closer to the cup; those irregular eyes were locked into his own, it unsettles  him but if the older wasn’t looking at what his hands are doing then that’s fine. 

Like magicians, it’s all about misleading.

Cup firmly in his hand he steps forward. 

“So it’s either you let me help you calm down. Or I go get Tello, hell even Casey ” he’s a little disappointed name dropping Casey didn’t get a reaction out of him. 

Sharp eyes peek out from his fingers, Leo’s golden eyes are a stark contrast to his black mask, making them all the more piercing as they stare into Leon’s very being.

When he’s met with no other reaction, Leon carries on, “okay that’s good, I’m probably the last person you wanna see but there’s nothing I can do.”

“And hey, I’m sorry” he grins and throws the cup of water at his counterpart's face, the slider flings back with a hiss and lands on his backside.

Leon waits with a bated breath, as Leo stares up at him,  eye blinking while the water drips from his face. It takes a few seconds for either one of them to speak.

“What. The hell” Leo growls and Leon can’t take him seriously when he looks like a grumpy wet cat.

Faking casual Leo shrugs nonchalantly and sets the cup down, “shouldn’t have hissed at me then” even as he speaks he’s still creeping away, those same amber eyes narrowed into slits, and he sees the way the eldest slider's body tenses up.

Eugh boy

“Y’know, I’m curious” Leo gets up slowly, water droplets hitting his plastron and onto the floor. “I don’t remember how fast I used to be when I was younger” Leo regrets everything up until this point when he sees a smile twist onto Leo’s face, sharp white canines glisten in the light.

“You sure you won’t pop a hip” unable to hold back a snark, Leon regards him.

“Wanna test it?”  His voice is low and menacing and Leo could see the sadistic look in his eyes.

“I just suddenly remembered Donnie wants me, so how about we test this some other time m’kay?”   Grinning Leo turns and legs it with his counterpart hot on his tail. 

“I shoulda just let you suffer!” Leo yelps just as a hand missed reaching out for him.

Please excuse my dyslexia

[life-winners-liveblog]

Watching Double Life session 5

P2

Grian: Red army ...what a creative and original name.

Scott: I think they had more important things to worry about G.

Grian: I know but my point stands.

~~~~~

Cleo: Heh.

Martyn: Shut.

Cleo: Heh heh heh.

Martyn: Stop it.

Cleo: What's wrong? Afraid of a ladder getting you?

Martyn: That's not me!

Scott: Well...only technically.

Martyn: I'm not afraid of ladders!

~~~~~~

Grian: Of course Scar stole the enchanter again

Scar: Wha- Hey!

Pearl: It's a bit predictable now mate, 3 games of it.

Scar: Rude.

3L!Scar: Mean.

~~~~~~

Grian: Man.

Scott: ...?

Grian: ...

Scott: ??????

~~~~~~

Martyn: Is this really happening?

3L!Scar: Looks like it.

Martyn: BigB isn't going to be swayed by a cookie, there's just no-

Pearl: You were saying?

Martyn: I stand corrected.

Scar: That can't be Big B, no way this is mr hole man.

Grian: Mr What!?

Scar: Eh, you'll see.

~~~~~~

Scar: Wait, other me and his G are the last greens?

Scott: I guess so.

Martyn: You just noticed?

Scar: Woooo! Go team Scarian!

Pearl: Pftttttt

Grian: Scar!!

Scar: What did I say?

Cleo: Oh this is gold.

Grian: Do you remember what I told you about mixing names like that?

Scar: Not to?

Grian: Exactly.

Previous

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[deityoftherain]

cuddle hideaway - Zombiewood LimL-Setting Fanfic

This can be read as platonic, queerplatonic, or romantic, I just don't know their duo name so I'm marking it with "zombiewood" :D

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Other

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Status: Completed Oneshot

Word Count: 1,275

Summary: Tired of playing single mother of two to Bdubs and Scar, Cleo trekked across the map to visit their soulmate, Martyn, on the Coral Isles.

Full fanfic underneath the cut! Please reblog, leave kudos on the AO3 fic slash notes/likes here on Tumblr, comment either place, and etc if you enjoy the story :D

Knock, knock, knock!

The quick pattern sounded against the door to the Coral Isles, announcing Cleo’s presence before they ever even used their voice. “Martyn?” Martyn raised a brow at the call, curious as to what Cleo (or, perhaps, The Clockers in general) needed. Considering the “walls” weren’t actually walls at all– pushing through bamboo and sugar cane was annoying, but not impossible– the door was useless in keeping people out. Most just went around it, but here Cleo was, waiting patiently.

Who knows how long that patience would last?

“Yeah? What’s up?” Martyn inquired, exiting the chest room to go around the building and approach the zombie hybrid. “If you’re looking for Scott, he’s not here.”

“I’m actually here for you,” Cleo corrected as Martyn opened the door and took her appearance in.

Her curly, fiery red hair was partly held back with a pink headband, though some of her bangs still spilled over onto her forehead. The band was situated around her head like his own black one was, a spark of something igniting within him. He doubted that she donned the headband because of him and, logically, he knew it was because of the whole eighties exercise disco zombie look she was going for, but he was okay with lying to himself that it signified remnants of their soulbound connection carrying over from Double Life.

Once he moved on from that speck of hope, he noticed that Cleo looked more exhausted than usual, even for a death game. Their shoulders were hunched forward slightly (which was unlike them, for they usually held their head high, even when they objectively shouldn’t) and their bloodshot eyes were creased with lack of sleep. 

Martyn had experienced exhaustion just as much as the next Player, but that didn’t tend to hit him or any of the other Players he’d talked to until after the winner was declared. The world the games were hosted on usually gave them buffs that upped their strength, resistance to damage, and energy. Knowing that begged the question, why?

Before he could ask, Cleo continued with a weak, “Can I come in?”

Martyn raised an eyebrow at them, considering their question for a moment. They didn’t appear to have malicious plans– and he was weaker to his soulmate’s desires than he was willing to admit– so he stepped back and held the door open for them to walk through. “I won’t stop you.”

Cleo only nodded, officially entering the Coral Isles with permission from one of its cohabitates. That was more than what the rest of the server could claim, for they just barged in most of the time. Careful to avoid the pufferfish that Scott had placed around, Martyn led her up to the deck of their base. Scott had decorated it for company (even if the company was just each other), so it was the most comfortable place above water to take someone. 

“So whatcha here for?” Martyn turned on his heel to face her before flopping down on the cushions in one fluid motion. “I mean, I’m always down to have a bit of a chinwag, especially with you, but y’know: death game, separate factions, limited time, Limited Life.”

“No reason in particular,” Cleo dismissed with a wave of their hand before sitting down near him. Their lips curled into a lighthearted smirk and their eyes gleamed mischievously as they leaned to poke Martyn’s side. “Why? Am I not allowed to see my soulmate and my kids’ godfather?”

Martyn batted her hand away with a chuckle. “I mean, a’course you’re allowed, you always are, but you don’t typically come all the way over here unless you need something. I’m usually the one coming to you.” Cleo’s playful expression morphed back to one of exhaustion as they sighed and rubbed at their face. “I just needed a break from Bdubs and Scar, some peace and quiet, a little tranquility. I love them to the stars and back, as I do with all my friends, don’t get me wrong, but playing the role of ‘mother’ is so, so draining.”

“I can imagine.” Martyn frowned as he glanced in the direction of the Clockers’ base, furrowing his brow for only a moment before turning his attention back to Cleo. “Eyy, well, mate, you’re always free to crash here. I’m sure Scott won’t mind; you two have always been close. Widows’ alliance, chosen soulmates, gatekeep and gaslight, y’know.”

Cleo cracked a smile at that, an airy laugh escaping from their lips. “Thank you, Martyn. You’re the best.”

“I know.” Martyn smirked, allowing overexaggerated confidence to accent his words before he patted the spot next to him. “Now get over here. Your soulmate is insisting on cuddle time. It’s mandatory, no use in protesting.”

“Is that so?” Cleo covered a mildly breathy snort with her hand, accompanied with an affectionate eyeroll and head tilt.

“It is,” Martyn confirmed. “Now hurry up! I’m not getting any younger over here.” “I do see a few silver-y hairs among the blonde,” Cleo responded like it was an agreement, sporting a cheeky grin as she stood up to move herself beside him. “Too bad you aren’t part-zombie because I don’t have to worry about covering up signs of my age like you clearly have to start doing, old man.”

Martyn pinched her arm in retaliation, making Cleo yelp in protest. He barked sharply at her yelp, feeling a sense of triumph and knowing that it didn’t actually hurt. They’ve felt much, much worse playing these games, and the server would numb that sensation significantly to help with the whole killing each other thing. “That’s what you get!”

“You’re the worst,” Cleo huffed, leaning her body into Martyn, using him like a pillow.

Martyn wrapped his arm around his sleepy soulmate, more than content with this fate. Still, he couldn’t resist shooting back, “I thought I was the best?”

“I would like to retract my earlier statement,” Cleo murmured into his chest, red hair standing out against his neon green shirt. 

“Denied, now go to sleep,” Martyn instructed, resting one hand on their back and the other against the back of their head. He gently scratched his fingers against her scalp and she sighed peacefully in response, taking his command of sleeping to heart. 

It didn’t take long before soft snores rumbled in her chest. Martyn peered fondly down at her before pressing a caring yet chaste kiss against her untamable curls. One would think they smelled foul because of their zombie hybridity, but they didn’t. They smelled more, like, vaguely earthy? Martyn struggled to place it, but if he had to, he would describe their scent as turned dirt and foliage with a faint hint of smoke.

Tiredness tugged at his eyelids and he wondered if perhaps he should sleep as well. Void knows they both probably need it, especially with how bloodlust-y everyone has been (seemingly more so than usual for how few reds there were) because of the ticking timer. Besides, there were much worse ways to spend an afternoon than being trapped under his soulmate’s resting body.

Arms wrapped around Cleo, Martyn leaned his head back against the headrest. He let his eyelids flutter close before squeezing them shut as a yawn forced his mouth open. He smacked his lips together after the yawn finished, a shiver shooting down his limbs. Martyn hugged Cleo closer to him, using her body for any hint of warmth (there wasn’t much due to her slowed heartbeat and blood circulation) and protection from the wind it would provide. He was out like a submerged torch only a moment later.